This post is sponsored by Nestle Pure Life, however all thoughts, views, and opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

"Kill them with kindness," she said. Over and over and over again.


I didn't understand that advice at all when I was younger, but now that I've grown up, I hold onto it pretty tightly. My sisters have even commented on how good I've gotten at actually doing just that.

I feel that there's a bit of a stigma with that old saying. Some say it's only being fake. Some say it's giving people permission to walk all over you. However, I could not disagree with either of those statements any more than I do already. I solely believe that there is not enough kindness in this world. There aren't enough people who set the bar high for treating people with respect, class, and dignity no matter what the circumstance. There aren't enough people willing to sacrifice their own selfish ways in order to resolve conflict. The world we live in is very me, me, ME. We need to stop underestimating our ability to treat every person that we meet or know with absolute kindness.

If we don't agree with someone's opinions or actions? We can still respect. We can still be kind.
If we don't understand why someone does something? We can still respect. We can still be kind.
If someone hurts us and doesn't apologize or make up for it the way we think they should? We can still respect. We can still be kind.

One of my most favorite quotes comes from an amazing speaker and author named Rick Warren. He says:

"Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means that you must agree with everything they believe in or do. Both are complete nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions in order to be compassionate."

I really don't know that there's any better way to put it. I am so thankful that my mother instilled gentle kindness in me. It has made a tremendous impact on who I have become and I couldn't be more proud of that. I believe it's one of the main reasons I have such a passion for working with young children and the mentally disabled. It's taught me compassion, patience, and grace. It's taught me not only to love, but also to serve. It's taught me that no matter what I'm going through, there is always kindness - whether it be in the form of a hug, smile, or simple compliment - and lovely little kindness needs to be passed a long.

Glad I found yet another saving grace to add to my collection of accessories that are easy to wear when I'm lazy, lazy, lazy. Just keepin' it real here. ;)

Rock the second day hair and kick off your shoes, peeps. Happy weekend!

I.AM.SO.SICK.OF.MINNESOTA.WEATHER. Newsflash, bud. It's JUNE. In June, Kenzie doesn't have school and would like sit outside in her swimsuit with a kiddy cocktail. All day.

This Saturday, I'm supposed to have my senior pictures too. Naturally, though, it's supposed to rain... Lovely. And since you want to be sunkissed tan for those bad boys, I'm more than likely going to need to get a spray tan tomorrow. Shooooooooooooot.

Since I'm a cranky Kenzie about this darn weather, I'm glad this amazing beach essentials giveaway is going live today! Myself, Hallie, Samantha & two other gorgeous ladies have brought you the chance to be the most stylish and fashionable lady of the sand with our BEACH ESSENTIALS giveaway!

The sun goddess that takes this bundle also gets to design all customizable items to her choosing! All you need to do is enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck, pretties!

Sometimes, I get these crazy ideas in my head. I'm tellin' ya, crazy. Last night at work, my oh-so-wonderful idea was that when I got off at 8, I was going to go run 5 miles. WHAT?

I went home, changed into my gym clothes, kidnapped my best friend Amy to come along, and we were off. We had some well needed girl talk on the way there which helped keep me distracted from what I was about to do. HA!

Got to the gym, pranced in the doors, and hopped on that treadmill right away. My biggest fear was that the gym would close before I had the chance to finish. {FYI: Our gym closes at midnight. I was obviously overthinking it + underestimating my ability to actually do it. Haha!}

Mile 1 one was alright... The hardest part of my runs always seems to be finding my pace and getting in the groove. Once I get past that, it's all good.

Mile 2 was okay... I had figured out my pace by this point, but my sides started cramping pretty early. I just kept pushing through because I knew it'd go away but it was seriously hard! I just kept telling myself to keep moving.

Mile 3 was AMAZING! The cramps went away and I was feeling great! I think I just needed to hit my halfway mark to stay motivated!

Mile 4 was up and down. One second I didn't think I'd be able to finish, the next I was jacking up my speed on the treadmill a bit. The last half mile was fantastic!

And just like that... I RAN 5 FREAKING MILES.

Reality... Haha!

Last night, I was stalking my bloggy friend Rachel who's currently in the midst of getting FIT and rocking it! I saw a post of hers where she laid out all of her fitness goals and what she's going to reward herself with when she gets there. I fell in LOVE with that idea. What better way is there to map out my fitness goals for the summer?!

Goal: Attend my first three yoga classes with Karin at Return Yoga! I'm actually really excited about this one, I'm just a teeny bit nervous because there's always that point you have to push yourself past before meeting someone new... I plan to have this one accomplished by next Friday, though!
Reward: A new pair of yoga pants straight off the racks of TJ Maxx! (I still like a killer deal!)

Goal: Reach the halfway point of the C25K program. I'm typically a naturally motivated runner. I'm passionate about it, I love to do it... The only problem is that sometimes my pain limits me and I get caught up in the expectations I have for myself. I feel like following a laid out program will be an easier transition!
Reward: It Doesn't Get Easier, You Get Stronger tank from Abundant Heart.

A lot of you don't know that I'm 17 years old. I live with my parents, two sisters, and brother. We have a nice house in the country with about 10 acres of land. We have a dog, I have a horse. {Yes, I can say I because I pay all of his food + vet bills.} 

I mean, it's not like you would have any way of knowing that I'm 17 + it's not exactly necessary... But I'm just sayin' - for future reference - YES, I'm a teenager. ;)

Anyway, A few months ago, the "moving talk" started in our house. Currently, we live about an hour from where my dad works and my mom commutes about 15 minutes to where she does. My younger sister, younger brother, and I commute about 15 minutes to our elementary/high school. My older sister attends college about 15 minutes in the opposite direction. We live in the middle of a lot of stuff in our area, and it's really pretty nice. To sum it up, I love it here and I've grown up here my entire life.

The attachment I have to our home is unlike anyone else's in my family. I believe that because our house burned down on my 10th birthday. We temporarily moved in with an aunt and uncle of ours, then into a 2 bedroom town home, and finally into our rebuilt and slightly renovated home on the same property it burned on. This property has always been the place I've called home.

When my parents first started the "moving talk," (the idea of my dad being closer to work, us being closer to school, downsizing a bit, etc.) I was ticked to say the least. I felt betrayed. Hurt. Scared. I didn't want to leave this place again knowing that it wasn't my decision and wasn't in the means of my control. In fact, I didn't want to leave it at all. This is the familiar. This is home.

Sure, we'll still be attending the same school. I'll still have all my friends. We'll still get to keep all of our furniture. Everything WILL be okay... It's just hard to move forward from something that you don't want to leave behind.

It took me a couple of weeks, many bad attitudes, and a few heart-to-heart's with my parents before I'm finally okay dealing with the idea of this whole thing. Let me just say, it's been a miserable few weeks... I've been up, down, and all around in terms of my mood. It's been hard.

The hardest part was coming home the other day and seeing that stupid sign at the end of the driveway. Ya know, the one with the realtor's face plastered on it. There was just something that made me feel it's all too real now.

I wanted to run away that day. Literally. But hanging out with one of my long time best friend's, Jaycee, really put it all into perspective for me. She and her family recently moved, too, and she gets it. Everything I told her about feeling attached to where we are now? She felt that way. She listened. She gave me advice on how to deal with it. She told me it'll all be okay. Ever since that talk, I HAVE felt that way. I've been okay.

Something about posting this today makes me a feel even more okay. I've been keeping it a real secret and I just want to have it out there so I can start dealing with it. I already know it's going to be a journey, but I also know it's nothing my family won't be able to handle. God has a plan for it.

And hey, if I get my own bedroom out of the deal, I won't argue too much... Ha! ;)