About

Hi there!

It is so great that you’ve stopped by for a visit. Sit back, Relax, Kick off those shoes and Get cozy. Maybe we’ll laugh together, share some tears together, explore together, cook together, or just share our lives with each other.

I’m creating this blog as a reminder to make memories. To LIVE life.. whether it’s loving my family, trying a new recipe, going on an adventure or just appreciating the little things. Life is about living, learning and discovering and not taking the small moments for granted.

Well, I’ll start out by introducing myself. I am a Mom of 2 beautiful children and a Wife to the Love of my life and Best friend. We live in the Smokey Mountains near Asheville in North Carolina. We have a manic dog, a chubby guinea pig and one fish.

If we’re gonna be friends then I need to let you in on my “secret”.

I have OCD.

Unless you are fortunate enough to have OCD.. the thinking process seems to be completely crazy and irrational. Well, here’s something you may not realize. When you have OCD the thinking process seems to be completely crazy and irrational. The difference is even though you know it… you feel like a prisoner with no choice but yet to comply.

I’ll let you into my brain for a moment. OK, lets do an experiment. Do Not Blink. Well, I’m sure you can sit there and hold your eyes open for a minute maybe. Soon, you will start feeling an uncomfortable sensation. Shortly after that you will more then like inevitably give in.. not because you want to but because your body feels the need to. And that my friends is OCD to me. They say certain chemicals in the brain are different and take different neural pathways than a “normal” brain.

At times, my ocd can make up an intricate and large amount of my psyche. It can sometimes make living in each moment a challenge. I experience a lot of roller coasters and my brain sometimes is similar to riding a carousel and repeats repeats repeats around and around in loops. These loops can sometimes consume hours of my days and keep me awake till the early morning. I have a tendency to miss out on adventures life has to offer and completing a goal or chore can be an overwhelming task. But ocd is merely a part of me just like all the other parts that make up ME. I’m just perfectly imperfect.

My goal here is to conquer my pinterest boards, to kick that bucket list, to share m and to savor and embrace the imperfections and find the beauty in them as well. We all have struggles and ocd is just one of mine.
I truly hope I inspire someone.. somewhere.. in some way…
Find your SHINE!
– Melissa