This One is Personal

Let's be honest; I've neglected this blog for the last little while. 

It's not something I'm proud of because I do very much enjoy blogging.

This time I am truly struggling and think it's the perfect time for you to get to know me a little bit better.

I am a fun-loving Hamiltonian who has a serious thing for cupcakes; I am a wife, mom, sister, aunt, friend, and now…

… a full-blown entrepreneur.

And that right there scares the shit out me. 

The truth is, up until a few months ago, I’ve been a full-blown corporate woman for almost nine years. Nine. Almost a full decade. I started working in the world of HR right after I finished college and spent the past nine years working for the same company. Talk about loyalty.

I guess it wasn’t mutual because I was laid off as a result of restructuring. Not fun.

I have to admit; it was really unexpected (though I guess those situations always are). I was shocked, saddened, and I really didn’t know what to do. I cried. I called my sister. I called my husband (and made him come home from work). We went for breakfast and then that afternoon I went for a manicure and pedicure. I deserved it after all.

Not a completely bad day considering how it started.

My point though? I’m 100% going to turn this into something positive.

Yes it’s a pretty crappy feeling when you lose your job, but I also see it as a clean slate. An opportunity to do something I truly love and was meant to do.

This was my sign - I am no longer meant for the corporate world. And now I've had the daunting task of getting used to life at home (mostly working and adjusting to having too much time on my hands). It sounds like a nice problem to have, but sometimes I really don't know what I should be doing or where I should be going. It's such a change from the corporate life.

But I feel like it was meant to be and that I'm meant to set my own schedule; be my own GirlBoss. 

I am meant to live out my dream.

I can now spend some time volunteering at my son’s school; I can keep up with my daily activities and chores without trying to be super mom; I can prepare healthy meals at home; I can spend more time with my family; and I can spend more time focusing my efforts on doing what I love, which is planning weddings (and everything else that comes with being a WeddingGirl).

Just because one door closes it doesn’t mean another one will automatically open. First, make sure the first door stays shut and then work as hard as you can to pick the right door. Don’t just take on the first thing that comes at you as you might end up with some regrets.

As it turns out for me, WeddingGirl has been my right door all along.

Deep down I knew it, it was just hard to make the official transition and I am happy I now have that opportunity.

It’s true that sometimes life throws you unexpected punches. Things go wrong in life, situations change, people change. But the question then becomes, how can I make it better?

You make it better by changing your outlook on the situation. Ask yourself how you can turn the negative into a positive. Picture the change as a clean slate that can be painted anyway you want it.

And own it.

Make it happen.

Be happy because you have the right to be. And trust me, you do.

Oh, and try not to let anyone dictate when you can take your vacation.

Migraine's: How It All Started

I don't think I've ever mentioned it here, but I'm a migraine sufferer. They've recently become more frequent and severe that I thought it would be good idea to add my experience to the general migraine discussion that's going on out there.
Let's start at the beginning.
My migraines actually started when I was a pre-teen. I would get constant headaches and eventually my parents took me to see our family doctor. At that time they weren't diagnosed as migraines, just really bad headaches, and I was put on Tylenol 3.
After a while, they seemed to have just disappeared. It was amazing. Then out of know where, when I was around 17 - 18, they came back in full force; more severe and became relatively frequent. I remember the very first time they came back; I was driving my car and all of a sudden I had a severe migraine with aura (though I didn't know what that was at the time). I immediately called my doctor, who referred me to an Optomitrist right away. 
The Optomitrist dilated my pupils (since most of my migraines centre around my left eye), and he took a good look at what was going on in the back on my eyes. When doctor's dilate your pupils, they can see your optic nerve and the blood vessels in your retina. Because he saw what was going on , he was the one to officially diagnose my migraine.
The type of migraine I suffer from is Ophthalmoplegic migraine, which are an uncommon type of migraine headache in which the eye region is the focal point of pain. 
While it was good to finally get a diagnoses, at the time I was really just told to find a trigger and was given a comparable to Tylenol 3. While they worked back then, Tylenol does nothing for them now.
Finding a trigger is a major part of what I struggle with now. They are random; they come at night, during the day, when I just wake up, and sometimes when I'm just sitting on the couch doing nothing.
But what about you; are you a migraine sufferer? How do you cope? I would love to hear your thoughts.
During my posts about migraine's, I'll continue to talk about my struggles and how I cope with them. My next migraine post will focus on my struggle with finding a trigger.
Thanks for joining in this journey, I really appreciate it.