Please pause for a moment of reflection...

There were a lot of factors in my life that lead me into the blogging world.  2010 was a very eventful (to say the least) year for me and I was determined to make 2011 just as eventful.  haha.  With a few notable differences....  I could do without ending a 4 year relationship, being (pretty much) unemployed, and broke.  So maybe I should clear that up.....I was determined to make 2011 the year of positive life changing events!  Looking back at all that went down in 2010, I regret that I didn't have this outlet as therapy. I made a promise to myself that this year would be diffferent.  And no matter how miniscule, hilarious, or embarrassing the events of the year may be, they would be documented.  And put out in the universe for everyone to see.

I struggled a lot with the decision to start this blog.  I didn't know if I could be as open as I wanted to be, if I would get made fun of, or if people would even care to read what I had to say.  After a lot of self reflection, I decided I just didn't care.  And for this whole blog writing thing to accomplish what I wanted it to accomplish, I couldn't care.  And here I am today....almost six months into this adventure.

Over the last few months I've written about many things....make-up, wish lists, music I like....But most importantly, I have let my guard down several times and let you all into the parts of my life that really make me, me.  Work drama, family events and there was definitely embarrassment -- crying in Ulta because I didn't have $8 to buy nail polish, promiscuous nights on the street corner with ballers, etc.  And I don't regret a minute of it.

In the last month or so, I had lost sight of all the reasons that got me here, and my posts suffered because of it.  So I'm writing today to make a promise to you all, but mostly myself, to stay focused on why I loved this so much at the beginning, and continue to write, for all of those reasons.

As I am reflecting over my short lived blog journey, I felt it was important to give credit to the blogs that I credit with getting me here, and keeping me here.  These are the gals that get me to log in everyday.  They make me laugh, sometimes even cry, they've taught me about make-up and home decor.....but most importantly, they've helped me to realize I'm not alone in all of this, and I'm not the only one with embarrassing stories about 19 year old boys ;)

So here they are, in no particular order...

   

And these ladies...

(I couldn't find your buttons, if you have one, I'm sorry)

Sole Matters

Kandeeland

 

Shasta Anne

How 'bout a lil hump day treat...

I know, two days in a row!  You are not seeing things, I have actually posted two days in a row.

Here's why I have the time to do this...

So, you all know how much I love my job and desperately need a new one...

See, I only work part time, and with my tiny little furbaby mouth to feed, that simply does not cut the mustard finacially.  For a while there, we were super busy at the gym and I was getting lots of extra hours, pretty much full time hours.  Well, that has recently changed, again.  But not because we are not busy, but because one of our members (who is a teacher and off during the summer) was bored and wanted something to do.  Well, wouldn't you know it, they took the extra hours they had given me and passed them on over to her.  Nice of them, huh?  I have worked here over two years.  When I started, we were under different management and I was hired as a full time employee, with much more grown up (degree appropriate) job duties.  New management came, along with budget cuts and hour cuts for this girl.  So it is common knowledge around here that I want and need more hours and I jump on them any time they are available. 

So needless to say, this little passing on of the extra hours to someone with a full time, salary career, who is just bored has more than pissed me off.  To put the icing on the cake, she gets the daytime hours that I have always wanted and asked for (I work late afternoon-evening) and most days when I come in to work, she has already done most of the tasks that are my responsibility.  Me = not a happy camper. 

Problem = when I am mad or irritated, the world knows it.  I don't hide my moods very well, and I have this great little trait where my mind thinks up smartass remarks really quickly and my mouth speaks them even faster.  So, usually to protect the innocent, not so innocent, and most importantly my job, I remain silent and ignore everyone. 

Well, that was the really long explaination to why I am writing two post in two days.  This is day two of coming to work and finding that I have pretty much nothing to do, because it has already been done.  I'm sure as hell not going home, because I don't get paid if I'm not here, so I will just take this opportunity to do my own thing and get some stuff done (i.e. blog post).  Bright side! :)

So let me catch you up on my life recently....

One

update on Mr. L....

So Miranda sat me down a little over a week ago and had a big 'come to Jesus' with me and told me I was forbidden to talk to him anymore!  Okay, okay, that may be just a little bit of an exaggeration.  But she did really help me put a lot in to perspective.  This little "friendship" would only end badly and most likely badly for me.   See, he's fun to hang out with now but here in a couple months he will be very busy with, uhhh, let's just call it his "extracurricular activities of the university sponsored nature"....And remember, he is only 19 and I am of the age where I need to be thinking a little more seriously about my future (Boo!  Where is the fun in that??).   So anyway, I did as I was told and I am gradually wheening myself off that "friendship."  I would like to keep in contact with him enough to maintain a friendship tho (and I think my friends and family would probably prefer I did too, in case any benefits came from said friendship, haha), because he was fun to hang out with.  But oh well, we will see what happens.

Two

Last night for dinner I had three glasses of wine and a good portion of a bag of Jalepeno Cheddar Cheetos.  I need an intervention.

Three

I have decided that I need to find more friends who will drink with me.  For a couple of reasons.  I need more people that will come over and have a glass of vino with me at night so I can try to follow that dumb, don't drink by yourself rule, that I break almost every day.  Plus I need another single girl in our friend mix.  Being single is fun, but having no one to be single and fun with you, is not so fun.  And last but not least, my birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and I would really like to have a big night out with a big group of friends.  Problem, our group of friends is not so big.  So if anyone out there reading this is in the Lex-vegas area and would like to come drink vino with me, or be fun-single with me....hit a sister up!

Four

I am SUPER excited that this guy won The Voice!!  He was my favorite from day one.  His voice is amazing!  And he's not too bad on the eyes either. When he sang "Fix You" by Coldplay....amazeballs.  Then he and Adam Levine (another one of my all time favs) sang MJ "Man in the Mirror."  Everytime he sang I didn't think it was possible for him to get any better, but yet he did.

So, I leave you with this little hump day treat.  YOU.  ARE.  WELCOME!

Make-up, Fireworks and K-mart Feet...

How was everyone's holiday weekend??  I had a fun, relaxing weekend with friends.  I have recently become obsessed with watching Kandee Johnson make-up tutorials on YouTube.  She is amazing, and super cute, so you can't help but love her.  This is awesome for my make-up applying skills, but not so awesome for my cash flow.  Watched her videos all day Friday, Saturday I single-handedly helped my girl at the MAC counter reach her sales quota for the month day.  Here is my attempt at the Carrie Underwood eye (via PinkLouLou - who is responsible for introducing me to KJ).  Ignore the fact that I don't have any other make-up but eye make-up on.  This was before I left for MAC and I was trying to see what I needed, if anything, to accomplish the look.

(ybs- I hate these cell phone pics of self, no way to do it without feeling super lame-o)

 I purchased the StudioFix liquid foundation and I am OBSESSED.  It goes on really light and easy and feels great- not at all greasy or gooey, but also has great coverage!  I'm a huge fan.

Sunday we celebrated the 4th the way any good American does.....With good food, lots of sweet tea vodka, redneck explosive devices, and great friends! 

We each brought our furbabies to the party, so we also celebrated with lots of dogs.

Here is Bentley in his festive decor, headed to party...

...and all the dogs in the yard, cooling off in the kiddie pool...

Sawyer steaking his claim on the pool, he does not care to share his pool...

Bentley just barked at all the others playing in the water.  He was having none of that.  It just looked like a b-a-t-h tub to him, and he is NOT a fan of those...

And here is me with my wet angel baby...

We also had fireworks, of course.  Luckily, no serious injuries.  There were injuries, just not serious ones.  Just a tiny little shoulder burn and some  acoustic trauma , both from sparklers!  Beware.

In, other news.....These were Miranda's K-mart feet after the nights festivities

...and I found these Nike Basketball sleeves at Miranda's.....so I'm pretty sure I'm good at basketball now

Let's Discuss...

....How it has been almost two weeks since my last blog post.  You know, the one where I promised to do better about posting more often??  Fail. 

....The fact that my two besties are spread around the country and I miss them.  Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration... they are actually both in the same state, South Carolina.  But different places (beaches, uh, hate them) in SC.  Either way, the fact still remains, I am here and they are not and I am one lonely little girlie.  Sad face.

.... me buying a chocolate chip cookie cake (you know, the big round ones with all the icing on 'em? Yeah) from Kroger on Saturday night.  By Sunday night, I had eaten almost the entire thing, BY MYSELF!  So I threw the rest of it in the trash.  Are you kidding me??  I don't even like icing.  But you would never have known that if you had been there to witness my fat ass devouring that cookie.  There was also no hiding the fluorescent pink tongue I couldn't get rid of for days because of all the food coloring in the icing.  Thank God I had no one to hang out with me this weekend and witness this debacle.

.... how I watched every second of the BET awards on Sunday night, and it may be my new favorite awards show!  All of my favorites performed... Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Drake, Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, etc etc etc.  You get the point.  My taste in music is all over the place, for serious.  My weekly iTunes receipts look like they must have come from ten different people.  Country, Bluegrass, hip hop, oldies...  But there was not a performance on this show that I didn't get pumped about. 

...how I watched "Love and Basketball" three times this weekend.  Hey, I told you I was bored and lonely.  But be honest, you know you love this movie!  I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't love this movie.  If you haven't seen it, I can't be friends with you again until you watch it. 

....how I downloaded the Instagram App on my phone and I am officially obsessed.  If you don't already have it (I realize I am late to jump on this bandwagon) I suggest you get it ASAP. It is a free photo editing app....so, I also did this all weekend...

I mean, seriously??  Is he not the absolute cutest thing you have ever seen??  Angel. Straight from Jesus.



....my out of control obsession with Sauvignon Blanc.  I am seriously going through at least two bottles a week, by myself.  At what point does an "obsession" turn into a "problem."   I don't think the whole "drinking by yourself" rule applies.  I mean, I live by myself people.  What am I supposed to do, make my friends come over every night just so I can follow some stupid rule? 

....the fact that I have accomplished absolutely nothing at work today, but this blog post.   Oh well, I had my priorities.


Talk to ya'll soon!  I'm not even gonna promise to do better because, let's be honest, who knows? 

These are my confessions...

Cue the Usher song!!

Taking a hint from my BFF Taryn and doing a "Friday Confessions" post...Here goes nothin!

I confess....

....that I have only worked two days this week, but I am still so relieved that it is Friday

...that I spent the majority of this week laying on my butt on the beach drinking skinny girl ritas, and I am not one bit sorry about that

...that I may or may not be enjoying spending time with Mr. L more than I want to admit.    Big OOPS on that one!  Don't worry though, I'll get it together soon. 

...that I also may have enjoyed him singing to me the other night. But just a little bit.  In my defense it was "Cupid" by 112 and anyone that knows me knows how I feel about 112.  I didn't have a chance. 

...that Mr. L may or may not be 19 years old.  Bigger OOPS on that.  Again, I promise to get it together soon.

...that I made a promise to myself to stay single for a year (starting in December).   It has been a lot easier, and a lot more fun than I thought it would be  (no, Mr. L does not count!  Hey its my promise, I make the rules)

...that I taught my niece to sing "dance, too much booty in the pants" and shake her butt.  I also taught her to yell "Spring Break!" and lift her shirt up when she was 2.  I'm 'that' Aunt, and her Dad hates me for it.

...I work at a gym and haven't really worked out (not counting walking Bentley and a few runs here and there) in a loooooong time.

...that my sister and I had to teach my Mom the meaning behind "once you go black you never go back."  That was an awkward conversation.

...that I have gone through two bottles of wine by myself since Wednesday night.  Problem??  Maybe.

...that wine was my dinner last night.  Not sure if this helps my case or makes it worse.

...that I have not been a very good blogger lately, but I promise to do better!!


Now, what are your confessions??  Don't be shy!

Friday! Friday!

Sorry for the long absence friends!  It has been a crazy busy week at the gym.  We launched a Groupon yesterday and it is on sale until tomorrow.  We have already sold 175 of them!!  It is for 6 weeks of unlimited access to our facility, a one on one session with a coach, and an hour massage.  It is a really great deal, you should check it out if you are in the Lexington area! 

That being said, it is making my life a living hell.  The phone rings non-stop and as soon as you hang up, you have to check the voicemail and call back the people that called while you were talking to the other person.  Its a vicious cycle.  Not to mention the scheduling and bookkeeping that comes along with it.  Mad. House. 

But its Friday!  And I am headed to the beach this weekend.  I know, great time for me to be leaving work.  I have to fly back early on Wednesday because there was no way I could be away for a whole week right now.  But hey, at least I will get a few days of sun and sand (...and a drink in my hand...).

In other news...On Tuesday night I went to meet my nephew Charlie.  He is one of my best friends Aaron's baby boy.  He is so stinkin cute.  He is already 10 weeks old and I am just meeting him.  I feel like such a bad aunt.  Here he is....Charlie Vinson House

That is Aaron's wife Katie, who I also love.  You can't really tell by this picture but she looks absolutely amazing after popping a baby out a mere 10 weeks ago!  How much do we hate her??

For our staff meeting Tuesday we hopped in the back of the deuce (a 2 1/2 ton military truck, we use for promo stuff at the gym) and went to Orange Leaf.  Nothing like some good clean redneck fun for a staff meeting.  I also love the fact that at 2 o'clock on Tuesday you could find every coach from CrossFit shoving frozen yogurt in their faces.  Life is too short to not have some Orange Leaf every once in a while. 

Meet the Deuce...

Last weekend, we decided to go out and have a few adult bevvy's and do some dancing.  We also thought that this required pimp cups, cuz hey, what doesn't?

It has been so hot here this week!  Poor Bentley.  He has had to cut his groundhog stalking time down cuz little fatty can't stand to be outside for more than a few minutes at a time.  So he comes in every few minutes and does this for a bit...

Then heads right back out on the deck to tantalize cute, chubby, little outside creatures with his ninja-like stealthy-ness.  I am afraid groundhogs days are numbered.

That's all for now!  Have a great weekend!  I will try to blog from the beach!

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

Ok, lets be honest...I should just call this "What I'm WANTING Wednesday"

First item on the list....

I blame PinkLouLou for this little obsession.  She just haaaasss to post so many pics of her and all her friends looking so fab with this little bag.... Just add this to the list of things that she raves about that I in turn determine I MUST have.  I have decided that I will take a cue from my bestie Miranda and purchase this little baby for my self when I finally get a 'big girl job.'  All the more reason to get said job pronto!

Next up is the Simply Shabby Chic bedding from Target.   So cute! 

Finally found the girly bedding that I have been looking for.  The problem is everything is so cute!  I don't think I could decide which color?!

After spending the weekend at Brooke's house in Savannah, I have become obsessed with anything monogrammed.  Thanks Brooke.  I now want everything in my house monogrammed....towels, bedding, wine glasses (did anyone else see Evelyn's monogrammed wine glasses on Basketball Wives?? Yes, I wath BW, lets get passed that), clothing....yeah, obsessed.

 

And since we (oh yeah, that was just me) brought it up....I'm also just a little (ok, maybe more like a lot) obsessed with the show Basketball Wives!

I have been wearing Issey Miyake perfume for a while but they recently came out with Issey Miyake Floral....I must have this.

Now for some things that I have recently tried, that I love...

I am obsessed with this body lotion.  It absorbs quickly and doesn't feel all sticky and slimy.  Plus it smells so good and the smell last all day!

I have this eyeliner in a million different colors.  I like to switch up my eyeliner color a lot.  It goes on so smooth and is really cheap.  A lot of times its buy one get one and I've even seen them on sale for $1 each.  No joke.


That is all for now....

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!