I died.

Since Saturday, I've been feeling under the weather. It started out as a sore throat that lasted a day or two, and then I started sneezing and having sinus pressure and started to feel congested. I assumed it was just allergies because there is a thick layer of yellow pollen covering everything in sight. Tuesday night, I felt it all settling in my chest. I was wheezing and had developed a nasty cough. I felt like death. Again, I just assumed it was allergies and that maybe that had caused me to start to develop an upper respiratory infection. I was so sick and congested that I was coughing and wheezing and snoring in my sleep. It was apparently so bad that B got up in the middle of the night and went to sleep in the guest room. Poor guy. He came back in to our room to check on me when he woke up yesterday morning. He sat next to me on the bed and rubbed my back. Our conversation went like this:

A: I have some sad news. I died. I'm dead now. Tell me the nice things you plan to say about me at my funeral. 

B: Well, I will tell everyone that you were extremely kind, that you had a very nice booty, and that you lived a long and happy life. 

A: 28 years is not a long life. 

B: I know it's not. But you're also not dead. 

That man just gets me. (I also love that he said I had a very nice booty. Priorities, people.) I drug myself into work because I knew I had stuff that I had to do. My boss comes in at 10am every day. The first thing she said to me when she walked in was, "Girl, I love you, but you look like shit. Why are you here?" I told her I felt awful but that I had stuff to do and that it was probably just allergies. Then she heard me cough, and I was concerned that one of my lungs would fly out and land on my desk. She politely insisted that I go home and take my laptop with me so I could work remotely. She reached over and felt my head and told me that I felt feverish and made me promise to go see a doctor on my way home. I promised, gathered all my things, and drove myself to the nearest Urgent Care. 

They made me wear a sexy face mask so that I didn't spread my germs. When the doctor saw me, he took my temperature and listened to my chest. With a very concerned look on his face, her told me I had a fever of 102 (and 97 is normal for me) and told me that I have a pretty bad case of pneumonia. Really?! He called in an antibiotic for me and sent me on my way, telling me to get lots of rest and stay hydrated. 

I emailed my boss with the bad news, and she replied and said, "I KNEW IT!" I told her that if it was alright with her, I'd work from home for the rest of the day and also the following day, so that the antibiotics could get in my system and I wouldn't be contagious. She emailed me back and said, "Please just work from home the rest of the week and you can come back on Monday when you're better. I'm hereby ordering you to stay in bed ALL DAMN WEEK and nap as often as you want to. I love you but I don't love your germs." There are so many reasons why I love my job and I love the people there. I have never worked anywhere that was so understanding and compassionate when it comes to dealing with illness. I also am incredibly thankful that my job can be done from the comfort of my bed and that I was not forced to use up any sick days. 

I spent the rest of my day working on my laptop in my bed, waiting for CVS to call and tell me that my prescription was ready to pick up. They never called. Keep in mind that my doctor called it in to them at NOON. Around 8:45, I begrudgingly drove myself up there, assuming that they'd just forgotten to call me. The pharmacist told me they were running behind and Id have to come back and pick it up tomorrow. At that point, I literally burst into tears and tried to explain to her that I had pneumonia and needed that medicine hours ago. (Let me also paint you a picture of how I looked at the time. It was pouring rain and unseasonably cold. Most of my winter clothes are put away. I had on no makeup, my face was red and puffy, and I was wearing my glasses. Since I was battling a fever, I was so cold. I'd thrown on the only sweatshirt I could find, which just happened to be bright red and said Meowy Christmas across the front. I looked busted and felt worse than I looked. And on top of all that, I'd begun to ugly cry like Kim Kardashian or Dawson Leery.)

She huffed and puffed and grumbled and finally filled my prescription. It literally took her maybe three whole minutes. I thanked her profusely and told her she was a lifesaver. She huffed and muttered, "Ugh, whatever." I guess someone pissed in her Cornflakes that morning. 

I still feel like garbage today and I guess it's going to get a little worse before it gets better. I'm just thankful that my boss played the Mom Card on me and made me go to the doctor. If I would have let this crisp go on for another day or two, it's very likely that I would have ended up in the hospital. Pneumonia is no joke, friends. I'm just ready to be better 

Love,

A

I'm officially a prude.

Let me explain. 

Does anyone else love shopping in Groupon's Goods section for deals on products you'd never buy if they weren't on sale? I'm super guilty. Lately I've noticed a trend in the products they have listed, and you may have noticed, too. There seem to be a growing number of...ahem..."adult" products listed. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about sexual freedom. You do you. I just find it super awkward to log on to Groupon looking for a curling iron and find 17 different kinds of fake va-jay-jays on my screen. (And to be clear, I'm totally cool with the real V word, but I'm not trying to write it on here for fear of my little blog popping up in the search results for something gross.) 

Groupon has all of these specific categories like "Health & Beauty" and I really feel like they need and "Adult/NSFW" category. 

So I did a thing just now. I did a really prudish, old lady thing. I emailed Groupon and told them how I felt. I just can't look at another fake peen without saying something. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go knit a sweater before my 8pm bedtime. 

Love,

A

Five on Friday!

TGIF!  I'm back for another weekly edition of Five on Friday.  I will be linking up with the lovely Christina, the amazing Karli, and the incredible Amy!

   

-ONE-

March Madness has begun!  My alma mater, Wofford College, became SoCon champions (again!) and got their ticket to go dancing (again!) and they faced off late last night against Arkansas.  Wofford is a #12 seed and Arkasnas is a #5 seed, but there has been a history of #12 teams beating #5 teams, so my fellow Terriers and I were holding out hope.  We played an amazing game, but came up 3 points short in the end.  I am very proud of my team, not only for their skill on the court, but for the good sportsmanship and integrity.  At one point during the game, on of the players for Arkansas decided it would be a great idea to kick off one of his shoes into the crowd.  Then, another player decided to toss him a shoe from the bench, all while clock was running and the game was going!  This incident immediately made me think of a scene from Austin Powers, and apparently I wasn't alone.

-TWO-

I ordered a new phone case for my iPhone 6.  I have literally been eyeing this case design for years and I decided it was finally time.  If you know me at all, you know how much I love Biggie.

-THREE-

B and I get our next shipment of Plated meals tomorrow, and I can't wait to see what is up next!  If you want to learn more about our adventures with Plated, you should check this out.  

-FOUR-

I have been loving this song ever since B and I saw WALK THE MOON play live over the summer.  This video just makes me so happy.  I dare you to not get this stuck in your head!

-FIVE-

It's finally Spring!  I can't wait for the weather to be nice and beautiful (because it is dreary today)!

Love, 

A

Plated.

So I mentioned in my last post that I'm not a master chef or any kind of culinary expert.  I also mentioned that I'm a bit of a picky eater.  Glad I got those things off my chest.  

B and I signed up for this awesome program called Plated.  Plated allows you the ability to cook chef-inspired meals at home.  You select your delivery date, your menu items, cook it, and enjoy!  Plated sends you a recipe card and all of your ingredients.  It seriously couldn't be any easier.  The ingredients are locally sourced, the meat is hormone free, and the packaging is environmentally friendly.

Here are the meals we have tried so far (And since B is vegetarian, we opted for all vegetarian meals):

Seared Ginger Soy Tempeh with Mizuna and Miso Slaw

Their version.

Our version.

I didn't love the slaw, but that's because I don't really like green stuff.  The tempe was pretty good.  The slaw called for a homemade vinaigrette, which turned out to be delicious!  This took 45 minutes to prepare and had 590 calories.  

êêê

Spicy Coconut Rice Noodles with Kale and Basil

 

Their version.

Our version.

I was really optimistic about this recipe!  The chopping of the kale was a tedious task, but I felt for sure that this would be yummy.  I was wrong.  I really didn't like it and B just tolerated it.  I think we realized that we just don't care for the taste of coconut (unless you're talking about a pina colada).  I don't think we'd ever make this again, but I did really love the rice noodles.  This took about 35 minutes to prepare and had 600 calories.

ê

Cheesy Corn Arepas with Roasted Mushrooms and Avocado

Their version.

Our version.

I admittedly hate mushrooms, so I didn't eat them (but I did try them), but B said they were pretty good.  Our arepas ended up looking a lot yellower than theirs, but I think that was just because of the color of the cornmeal.  These were really tasty and I loved that they added honey to their avocado mix.  My only real complaint was that these fried pretty hard and were a little crunchier than I would want them in the future.  Overall, this was a tasty meal!  This took 40 minutes to prepare and had 600 calories.

êêê

White Bean Fritters with SunDried Tomatoes

Their version.

Our version.

Holy crap, these were DELICIOUS!  We will definitely be making these again very soon.  These have rosemary and sundried tomatoes in them and they are topped with paremsan cheese.  B and I both want to try these again, but instead of placing them on a bed of greens, we want to try them as a burger alternative on a bun.  My mouth is watering just thinking about these... These took 40 minutes to prepare and had 580 calories.

êêêê

Plated has so many different options, and their menu changes each week.  You have choices in Land, Sea, and Veggie and can mix and match.  Each meal feeds 2 people (and the portions are sizable).  Each meal costs $12 (which breaks down to $6/person, and you can't eat out anywhere for that cheap).  We typically order 3 meals per week.  Not only do we save money but we also save time (less shopping) and we get to try new things and learn new skills. 

If you want to give Plated a try, click here.  

Happy cooking!

Love, 

A

These are my confessions. (And my pleas for help!)

Sorry for getting Usher stuck in your head. It's a catchy tune. 

I've been thinking about some things lately and I decided some confessions are in order. And to be very honest, I hope some of you are brave and kind enough to let me know I'm not alone in all of this. Or just break it to me gently that I am, in fact, crazy. Either way. 

I am 28 years old, and almost halfway to 29. Most days I have my ish mostly together, but there are some days that make me wonder if I even know how to be a proper adult. I feel like at some point, all of the other adults got together and had a meeting where they were given the rules and told all the tricks and secrets about being an adult, and somehow I didn't get that meeting invite, or even the follow-up notes on what I'd missed. There are several things that I feel like I should have learned or figured out by 28 that I'm just clueless about. So here are my confessions. 

1.  I don't have a skincare routine. On a good night, I remember to take off my makeup and properly wash my face before I go to bed. Other nights, I simply "wash" my face with a wet washcloth and don't even bother trying to remove my mascara. I moisturize when my face is dry. I try to put on sunscreen if I know I'll be outside (even in the winter and on cloudy days, because skin cancer is no joke). I know this is plain wrong, so can someone please tell me what I should be doing??

2.  I also don't know how to properly apply makeup. I mean, I know the basics and I know what goes where, but I don't know how to contour my face or do even a decent smokey eye. I just started getting semi-confident with eyeliner about 2 years ago. My daily basics are a light foundation and/or concealer, powder, blush (if I remember), and mascara. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll add eyeshadow and eyeliner. Lipstick is hit or miss. I own some, but I usually feel like a clown if I wear it. I'm more or a Chapstick or gloss gal. I've tried YouTube tutorials and taking tips from my friends, but I seem to always end up looking like a drag queen. Any advice here?

3. I rarely groom my eyebrows. Now this is something I know I should do, but I'll admit that I'm just lazy. My Mom would never let me touch them growing up for fear that is over-pluck and have scary, pencil-thin brows. Her's are light but full, a la Brooke Shields. I'm blonde, so mine are lighter as well. I don't really have a natural arch, but I also don't rock a Frida Kahlo unibrow. I try to maintain the strays when I notice them getting out of control, but they aren't too bad. I tend to do serious work on them about every 3 months or so, or for important events where I know I'll be having my picture taken a lot (like weddings and such). Mostly I just wait until one of my cosmetically-inclined friends sees me and takes the matter into their own hands. 

4.  I'm terrible at fancy cooking. B and I recently got a subscription to Plated. They send you a recipe and all of the ingredients for a fancy meal, and all you have to do is whip it up. We cooked our first 2 meals this weekend and they were quite good! However, I did have to Google "mince" because I had no idea what degree of chopping that meant. Turns out I did know, but I just didn't know that I knew. I also have an issue with touching things that are mushy or have a weird texture. Chopping tomatoes makes me uncomfortable and I just can't bear to touch raw meat. (Thankfully B is a vegetarian, so the meat thing is never an issue.) Judge away, but will someone please teach me how to cook?? 

(Tempe with some fancy slaw.)

(Some kind of fancy pan-fried corn cakes with mushrooms and tomato and avocado salad.)

5.  I am terrible with removing stains from our laundry. Most of our stains are food-related. My Mom taught me the importance of pretreating stains to keep them from setting in, and she is some sort of stain removal wizard. (My Dad is a mechanic, so he often comes home with serious black grease and oil stains, and she makes them disappear like magic.) She's tried to teach me her magic, but I can't ever seem to duplicate the results. My 2 biggest struggles are makeup (I dropped a glob of foundation on a white shirt recently and cannot get it out) and oil (specifically EVOL that B has gotten on a few items of clothing while cooking/eating). Can anyone give me tips?? Teach me your ways, oh domestic goddesses!

6.  I cannot like salad, no matter how hard I try. I hate lettuce and I feel like I'm eating leaves. (Yes, I know that's basically what lettuce is, but I feel like I just walked up to a tree and started picking and eating leaves.) I've even tried fancy salads with all sorts of different greens, but I can't like it. It's probably a texture thing. I don't like touching or eating weird textures. Yes, I know I'm picky. People tell me that I should try dressings because that will make the salad tasty and desirable, and if you know me, you know how much I love ranch dressing. My problem is, I have to drown a salad in ranch to even be able to get it down without gagging or grimacing. To me, drowning a healthy meal in ranch defeats the purpose of said healthy meal. I might as well skip all of those benefits and calories all together. And believe me, I've tried so hard to like or even tolerate salad. I want to like it, but I just can't. Can someone teach me how to do this?? (Likely no, but it's worth a shot.)

7.  I can't manage to wake up without hitting the snooze button at least 5 times. Or 10, let's just be honest. Since the iPhone has a preset snooze time of 9 minutes, I end up setting 2 alarms every morning so that I get about 5 minutes between them. B wakes up as soon as his alarm goes off and has never hit snooze. He's just ip and ready to start his day, which is pure insanity to me. The man doesn't even drink coffee. He's just naturally perky in the mornings. I AM NOT. My snooze button habit drives him bonkers. On some mornings when I go to work before him, he's been known to get up and go sleep in the guest room as soon as my first alarm goes off, and that gives him another 30 or so minutes of uninterrupted sleep. (For those of you that just read that and think that I'm totally rude for that, just know that I keep my alarm on the quietest setting possible -- one notch above silent -- and I only wake up earlier than him a maximum of 2 days a week.) I also can't wake up early without an alarm (unless I have to pee). On the weekends when we have no plans, B naturally wakes up around 8am or even before. He has learned and is kind enough not to disturb me. I need my beauty rest. (Remember me telling you that I don't understand makeup? That's part of why I need so much beauty rest. I cannot magically transform this face to look gorgeous. Lord knows what I'd look like without beauty rest. With the amount I get on lucky weekends, you'd think I'd be as flawless as Beyoncé.) Part of my struggles with waking up stem from the fact that I don't sleep well and have occasional insomnia. I've always been a night owl. I can't just wake up with the first chirp of my alarm and be ready to face the day. I love my sleep and I love my bed, and I really have to adjust to the idea of waking up and starting my day. Do you want to know the real reason why Sleeping Beauty was always my favorite princess? It wasn't because of her gorgeous blond locks or because Prince Charming literally found her and they lived happily ever after. It's because that bitch got to sleep uninterrupted for so damn long! (We won't get into the story's morbid truths or the rape undertones or or creepy part of the story really are. Let's just think about how wonderful the sleep part is.) You early risers, can you teach me how you do it?? Can you train me to become a morning person??

That's a whole lot of confessions for one post, so I'll save some of the others for a later time. 

Oh wise readers, will you please share your wisdom with me? Will you also share your confessions with me? It's cathartic to get it all out there, I promise. 

Love,

A

Five on Friday!

Did you miss me?  I'm back for another weekly edition of Five on Friday!  I will be linking up with the lovely Christina and the amazing Karli!

     

-ONE-

We have had the most bizarre weather here in Charlotte lately.  One day it will be snowing like crazy and then the next day it will be 70 degrees.  It's making me a little crazy (and also a little sick) and it makes it impossible to know what to wear from one day to the next!  Ohhh, who am I kidding.  I wear yoga pants/leggings every day of the week.

-TWO-

I was so excited that I got to see two of my very best friends this past weekend.  Katie and Daniel were in town so we met them for brunch at 5Church.  It is always so much fun catching up with them, and I loved hearing about the progress on their house!

-THREE-

After brunch on Saturday, I drove to Greenville and spent the night with my BFFAE and her sweet baby girl.  I am so in love with Mia, and I'm glad we got to bond.  Aunt Allison is going to spoil her rotten.

-FOUR-

My mom rescued a stray cat from the parking lot at her work this week.  She brought her home, and she seems to like living with my parents.  Dad named her Katniss.  She likes to hang out on the roof or hang out in the garage while my Dad works on his Mustang.  He even brings her into the house at night for cuddles.  Mom and Dad send me nightly text and picture updates on Katniss.  They told me yesterday that they think she might be pregnant and are going to try and take her to the vet this weekend.  She's apparently a very gentle kitty.

-FIVE-

I have got to get some kind of skincare routine that works for my face.  I'm breaking out like a teenager!  This weather has made my cheeks super dry but the rest of my face is oily. I just can't seem to get it figured out.  Any trusty products or routines that you can recommend?  I'm desperate!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

A

On Wednesdays, we wear parkas. Because it's cold.

Y'all, I was not built for cold weather. It literally makes my bones ache. This cold front is making me feel like an old lady!

Our sweet little house experienced its first snow on Tuesday (and is likely to get more tonight)!

In honor of the cold weather, I made the season's first batch of vegetarian chili. 

B and I have been watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix and we are midway through season 5. Thanks to Gemma Teller, I've become obsessed with black manicures. They match the color of my soul these days. 

I just wanted to pop in with a quick update. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm!

Love,

A

Let Me Take a Selfie.

Last night, my iPhone notified me that its storage is almost full. I'm terrible about never deleting pictures from my phone and currently have over 1,700. It's insane. I decided to purge my photos. Most of the pictures on my phone are completely unnecessary and need to be deleted, so it was a very overdue task. It was mostly screenshots of cute things I'll never buy and several failed attempts at a cute picture with B. Then I came across a picture that shocked me. It may be the funniest and most baffling picture of all time. I swear to you that neither B nor I took this picture. SWEAR!

Y'all, Princess Fiona somehow managed to take the worlds greatest selfie. I know you can't possibly believe me, but I swear that neither B nor I took it. I can't look at this picture without crying from fits of laughter. Look at her face! She is so serious! It kills me dead. 

I also found this picture that I took recently at Target. I think this man was very lost. He stood on this aisle for an incredibly long time. 

Thank goodness for cell phone cameras. 

Do you have any mysterious or funny pictures on your phone? Has your pet ever taken a selfie? I'd love to hear your stories!

Love,

A

Five on Friday!

I'm back for another weekly edition of Five on Friday!  I will be linking up with the lovely Christina and the amazing Karli!

     

-ONE-

The weather has turned cold and rainy again here today, and it is just depressing.  I tried to cheer myself up today by wearing my NOTORIOUS shirt and unicorn earrings, but things are still gloomy.  

     

-TWO-

B and I are headed back to Atlanta today for the weekend for another one of his Continuing EEducation classes.  This means that I get to see my dear friend John again, and I get to meet his new puppy!

-THREE-

Work has been crazy busy this week (what with working in sports and having the Super Bowl right around the corner) and I feel like I am starting to get sick.  I am really hoping that I have a chance to recuperate this weekend, while still being able to have some fun.  I could really use a nap right now!

-FOUR-

For those of you that haven't realized it yet, I am a huge nerd.  B and I absolutely love Doctor Who, and I have recently started watching the spin-off, Torchwood, on Netflix.  I love it and I can't believe they are removing it from Netflix at the end of the month.  I have a lot of catching up to do before the 31st!

-FIVE-

I want to hear from you, my readers!  What do you want to see me write about?  What do you want to know?  Leave me a comment so I can make this blog even better!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Love, A

Blogging in the Real World

Blogging is something that has really taken off and become popular in recent years. Back in high school and college, I had a blog on Xanga (anyone remember that?!) that basically talked about my schoolwork and my ridiculous love life. I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago and reread some of my old entries and was so embarrassed about what I'd written. (Side note: George R. R. Martin, the creator of Game of Thrones, still has an active Live Journal site and I think that's amazing!) My posts talked about my boyfriend at the time who then became my ex, and I naively talked about how perfect we were together and how we were soulmates and that I'd love him until the end of time, and then progressed to (after the tragic break-up) me talking about how wonderful he was and how he was still my very best friend and how he'd realize one day how perfect we were together and come back to me. It was awful and total garbage. If I could go back in time and sit down with 18-year-old me, I'd punch her in the face and tell her to get a clue. My feelings were so genuine at the time, but I was so naive and had my priorities totally out of whack. 

Excuse me while I go vomit. 

I got back into blogging a few years ago. I was big into reading blogs at the time, and they were the cool thing to do. Several of my friends encouraged me to start my own, because I have a love for informal writing and my life is pretty ridiculous (especially at the time, back when I was young and single) and friends encouraged me to document my life journey, not only for myself, but also for their amusement. Since then, I have tried to blog and accurately document my life and all of the ups and downs. I've always kept it real and never tried to sugarcoat any of it. 

All of my ramblings have a point, I swear. A friend of mine from college (she was an English major while I was an English minor) recently announced that she is pregnant with her first child. She started a blog to chronicle everything that happens, but today she made the blog public after she announced her pregnancy on social media. (It is also worth noting that she is the CEO and founder of a social media based marketing firm.) AL (as I shall call her) is a great writer, and she is incredibly funny. Her blog obviously details her journey with her first pregnancy. I sincerely admire how authentic she has been with documenting her pregnancy and all of its ups and downs. I feel like most pregnancy blogs that I read (which used to be lifestyle blogs until their wonderful authors got knocked up) tend to just talk about how #blessed they are. I use the hashtag there for a reason. We've all seen people humblebrag on social media about how #blessed they are, and quite frankly, I think it's become a bit cliche. These pregnancy bloggers talk about how magical and beautiful it is to be with child, but they tend to leave out a lot of the reality. (Before anyone starts to get onto me about this, hear me out.) I dearly love all of the blogs that I read, and I think that having a baby is a wonderful thing. HOWEVER, I think that women tend to romanticize pregnancy (and many other aspects of their lives). These pregnant bloggers talk about all of the growth milestones of their fetus and about the changes in their body and daily routines, but they seem to avoid talking about the negative and sometimes scary changes. They passively reference and joke about heartburn and stretch marks, but I feel like they never get real with us. Blogging these days seems to focus on people's Pinterest-perfect outfits/crafts/meals. I honestly think that by avoiding the real topics in our lives, we are doing our readers and fellow women a disservice. By painting these "perfect" pictures of ourselves and omitting our struggles and downfalls, we are setting up false expectations. As bloggers, we open up our lives to complete strangers, and I know that that is a scary thing, but we choose to do this. We share intimate details about the successes in our lives, but we seem too afraid to talk about our shortcomings or failures. It seems silly to me to paint such a one-sided picture of ourselves. If we are willing to share our success, why are we not equally as willing to share our failures? I just feel like these pregnancy blogs (as well as other lifestyle blogs in general) tend to only talk about the sparkly wonderful moments. Why are we so scared and hesitant to talk about the real moments? I love AL's new blog because she's totally honest in all that she had to say. She talks about the constipation that comes with pregnancy, just as candidly as she talks about the joy of hearing her child's heartbeat. These bloggers that paint a portrait of pregnancy as being nothing but joy and Magic are really doing a disservice to fellow women. They are making other women feel inadequate or like they are "doing it wrong" or like the struggles they face are isolated instead of universal. I personally would love to see more bloggers paint an accurate portrayal of pregnancy (and of life in general). I'd love to know that I'm not alone in my struggles (and no, I'm not pregnant, but I hope you can see my point). It's up to us as women to spread the word about what to expect when you're expecting. As a blogger, I can easily tell you that I rely on my fellow bloggers for life intel and that I trust them more than Google or Wikipedia. By sugarcoating our stories, we are making each other feel like we aren't enough. It may not be blog-worthy, but sometimes it's nice to know that other people's houses aren't always immaculate and that other people eat Easy Mac for dinner instead of Instagram-worthy gourmet meals. 

Let's be real with each other. Let's stop making each other feel unworthy by only focusing on the magic in our lives. Let's equally share about our shirty days as we do about our perfect days. Life isn't perfect and we shouldn't blog as it it is. I challenge you to write a real post about your day, even if work was terrible, your kids misbehaved and you strongly considered shipping them off to the nearest boarding school, your clothes didn't match and were covered in stains and holes, and you burned the frozen pizza you made for dinner. Let's be real with each other. I promise that your authentic blog posts are the most enjoyable to read. 

I love all of you and I hope that we can strive to be more authentic this year. 

Love,

A

PS- I'm having frozen pizza for dinner, my work day was hell, and I skipped showering this morning so I could sleep in. That's my real life today. 

Five on Friday

I completely forgot to post and link up last week, but I'm back!  I will be linking up with the lovely Christina and the amazing Karli!

     

-ONE-

We celebrated my Grandmother's 94th birthday on Saturday.  My parents, B, and I made a day trip to Alabama to celebrate with Grandmother and the family.  We had a great lunch and enjoyed spending time together.  A day trip meant spending upwards of 8 hours in the car on Saturday, but it was totally worth it to see my sweet Grandmother.

-TWO-

I've officially finished my second week of physical therapy for my foot (and I have at least one more week left, but likely more).  I have regained some strength and range of motion, but this cold and rainy weather has made my bones absolutely ache.  I'm hoping that some sunshine this weekend will help make things a little more tolerable.

-THREE-

I bought the most magical mascara over the weekend and I am totally obsessed.  You can buy some here.  It's called They're REAL! by benefit.  It is the Holy Grail of mascaras that I have spent years searching for!  I bought the smaller size for $10, just because I wasn't sure how it would work, but I'm a firm believer now. 

-FOUR-

The weather has gotten to be super cold here over the last week or so.  When we were down to a windchill in the negatives, it dawned on me that I don't own a proper winter coat (or anything really warm for that matter).  I popped into Sears to return some Lands' End shoes and found this adorable jacket on clearance.  It is so warm and cozy (and cute)!

-FIVE-

I potentially have some big life changes on the horizon, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Have a wonderful weekend, loves!

Love,

A

Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful, laid bsck Christmas and I can't believe it's already over! B and I drove "home" to Greenville, SC to spend time with my parents. He had to work on Christmas Eve, so we drove straight to church and had to sneak in the back since we were a little late. Our preacher was home sick with the flu, but the service was still great. We always do lessons and carols on Christmas Eve and I love it. Afterwards, we went with some friends and ate dinner at Waffle House, which is a silly family tradition. (We've always opted out of the standard home-cooked meal because it's always been just me and my parents and it's a lot of effort to cook a big meal for just 3 people, especially since we all usually end up working on Christmas Eve and go straight from work to church.) B has been kind enough to embrace our tradition for the past 2 years that we've been together. 

We woke up on Christmas morning and Mom made us breakfast. I think this was the first year ever that someone had to actually come wake me up on Christmas morning instead of the other way around! What can I say, I was exhausted. I'd ordered Christmas crackers for the whole family so we opened those first, put on our crowns, and told our jokes. (I first learned of their existence from last year's Christmas episode of Doctor Who, and I thought it would be a fun tradition to start in our family.) 

We sat around the tree and opened our stockings and presents. It was so funny because Mom gave me a sweater for Christmas, and it just so happens that I'd bought the exact same one for myself and I'd worn it to church the night before. The look on her face when she saw me wearing it was confusing, but I totally understood when I unwrapped it! We gave my Dad a sign for the garage that said, "1965 Mustang Parking Only," and he gave us one that said, "TARDIS Parking Only." It was completely unplanned, and so funny. I guess great minds really do think alike! B bought me a beautiful Brighton heart necklace and I haven't taken it off since! There is a jewelry shop in the little town down the road from us called Allison Love's Fine Jewelry (which is a very fitting name). We have become loyal customers since it opened this past year, so the owner knows us well and knows my taste. He told B that when that necklace came in, he instantly thought of me and sat one aside. He was right!

After we opened presents, Mom made us homemade potato soup and peanut butter pie. (It was nice for B to have soft foods to eat since he is still recovering from his gum surgery.) We continued our family tradition by going to the movies. We saw Night at the Museum 3, and it was pretty cute. None of us were huge fans of the first two films, but we chose it because it was Robin Williams's last movie. I have to say, it was a very fitting last role for him, and they did a great job honoring his legacy. When the credits rolled, they dedicated the movie to him and said, "Magic never dies." (Mom and I have always been huge fans of Robin, and we called each other and cried when we heard the news of his death. He was a tue gem and the world is a much sadder place without him.)

After the movie, B and I loaded up the car with all of our goodies and headed back home to Charlotte because we both had to work the next day. We had a wonderful first Christmas with my parents! I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas, too!

Yes, we are wearing matching Doctor Who sweatshirts, because we are nerdy and that's how we roll. 

Funny story about that mistletoe: My parents went on their first date in December. My Dad picked my Mom up at her house, and she had that mistletoe hanging in the doorway. He casually asked her, "Does that thing work?" It was their first date, so she told him, "No, I think the batteries are dead." He gave her a pack of batteries for Christmas the next week. 

Love,

A

Adios 2014!

I'm going to go ahead and state for the record that I loathe NYE. It's always been my least favorite holiday, but 4 years ago, it became my least favorite day ever. Four years ago, my Granddaddy passed away. I don't want to rehash that awful day, but I will make this disclaimer: when a family member dies, be sure all of your relatives know before you post it on Facebook, because that's a really shitty way to have to find out. 

I've always been disliked NYae because it is always full of magical expectations and always seems to ended a drunken disaster. Things never go as planned, at least in my experience. Bars are overcrowded and overpriced. People drink way too much and flake out. Thus, I decided a few years ago to not treat NYE any different than any other night. Last year, B and I rang in the new year at an Avett Brothers concert, and I have to say, it was the best NYE I've ever had. This year, we will enjoy a bottle of Champagne and some Netflix, just the 2 of us (and the cat). 

I hope everyone has a safe and fun night. Here's to big things in 2015!

Love,

A

Christmas Miracles

There is so much tragedy in the world and I feel like every time I turn on the news, I'm bombarded with awful stories about death and violence and other terrible things. The best story I've heard recently was about a woman that walked into a Massachusetts Toys R Us and spent $20,000 to pay off the layaways for all of the stores' customers. It just warmed my heart!

Today I got a text from an old coworker and dear friend. I'll call here Lee. She is a hardworking single mother with a 5-year-old son, who is the light of her life. Last month, her son's father texted her and said he would send her money to buy Christmas gifts for their son. This came as a big shock to her, as he has never even paid child support. With this news, she went to K-Mart and put all of his gifts on layaway. Money has been especially tight for her lately since she has seen an increase in tuition for her son's school and daycare. (The local public school system is atrocious, and her son received a scholarship to a local private school so she enrolled him so that he could receive the best education possible.) Lee and I had even talked on the phone last week and she told me that she was so excited that she was going to be able to give her son a really good Christmas this year, and I was so happy for her. She texted me today with some sad news. Her son's father had texted her this afternoon and informed her that he wasn't going to send money for Christmas because he was having some financial trouble. This meant that she was not going to be able to make her final layaway payment tonight. She told me that she currently has $35 to her name until payday next week and she still needed to buy groceries for dinner tonight and that her gas light in her car had been on for 3 days. Lee was terribly embarrassed but she asked me if she could borrow $20 from me until she got paid. Of course I told her yes and offered to loan her more than $20 so that she didn't have to worry about money in the coming days. 

I decided that instead of just giving her some cash that I would just make my way over to the K-Mart and pay off her layaway balance. She only owed $42.81 and I wanted to do something nice for her since she is struggling right now. I walked back to the layaway department and there were 3 women in line in front of me and a man was at the register. I noticed that all 3 women were silently crying. The man turned around and said, "Merry Christmas," and he left. After a moment, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked the women if they were alright. One of the women dried her eyes and told me that they were better than alright. That man had been sitting on the bench in the layaway department, just waiting for someone to come back there to make a payment. When the women got to the register, he asked who their layaway items were for. One of the women told him that they were Christmas presents for her young son. She pulled a worn envelope of cash out of her pocket and he stopped her. Without even asking the cashier the total, he handed over her credit card and told them that he was going to make the final payment for them. The women and the cashier were all shocked. The women immediately began thanking him and crying. He said that they could repay him by having a Merry Christmas. When it came my turn at the register, I asked the cashier if that happened a lot. She told me that it had been happening more often in the wake of the story of the Massachusetts woman that paid off layaway for strangers at Toys R Us. She told me that in fact, I was the third person that day to come pay off layaway for someone else. She told me that like me, most people that did it were making payments for people they knew, but that that man was the first she'd seen that made a payment for a total stranger. 

For those of you who think that goodness and kindness are dead, I'd like to tell you firsthand that it is not. My heart is so full and warm for witnessing this. 

I called Lee and told her I actually wouldn't be able to meet her tonight to lend her the $20. I heard the sadness in her voice as she said, "It's ok, friend. I still love you and I appreciate you trying." I told her that I couldn't meet her because I'd gone ahead and paid off her layaway, and that when she went to get her items, she would just have to pay the remaining balance of 1 cent. (K-Mart will not hold your layaway items once they are completely paid for, so I left her with the smallest balance allowed.) Lee started crying and thanking me. For the record, I didn't do this so that I could brag. I did it because I love her and I know what it's like to be strapped for money and how humiliating it is to ask someone to borrow money. I'm sharing this story because I was in such awe of that man and the generosity he showed those women who were complete strangers. The Christmas spirit is alive and well, my friends! 

Love,

A

Five on Friday!

Another week of December has flown by and we are less than a week away from Christmas.  Can you believe it??  Once again, I am linking up with Christina for Five on Friday.  Hope you enjoy!

-ONE- 

Today we had our Secret Santa party and holiday luncheon at work.  I made the jalapeno corn dip like I'd planned, and it turned out great.  I got several compliments from our sales guys and several enthusiastic thumbs-ups with full mouths.  I definitely think I will be adding this recipe to my party rotation.  I also got a lot of compliments from the girls in the office about my Crock-Pot.  I got it last year from Target, but they are available on Amazon.  

-TWO-

As you might have already read, I started walking again this week.  It continues to be tough and painful, but I'm trying to muster through.  B had his surgery yesterday so we are quite a pair right now.  

-THREE-

B and I will be going to see his family this weekend to celebrate an early Christmas and to celebrate his birthday.  It will be a small get together with his parents and his sister and her husband.  I doubt we will do too much since he and I are both in recovery mode, but I'm looking forward to spending quality time together.  

-FOUR-

I'm really wanting one of these cool curling irons for my hair!

-FIVE-

There is this great clothing company that I just discovered called Lauren James.  They are having great sales leading up to Christmas.  Today they have all of their koozies and stickers 50% off when you use the code DAY10WIN at check-out.  Here are a few of my favorite items!

Have a great weekend!

Love,

A

Baby Steps

I started taking tiny baby steps today! I went back to my surgeon today and he removed my cast and put me in a walking boot! After a very long and stressful 8 weeks of not being able to walk, I'm finally able to start gradually putting weight on my right foot. I'm ditching the faithful knee scooter and I'll be using crutches to help me with my transition over the next week or so. It's surprising just how weak your whole leg gets after 2 months of not using it. I now have the joy of dry, dead skin and a super hairy leg to deal with, but I'm thrilled to be making progress! My surgeon said my X-rays look great, things are healing well, and my scar will continue to heal nicely and fade with time. I'm not too thrilled to be back in so much pain, but no pain, no gain. I'll be in the walking boot for at least 6 weeks and then I will likely move into a shoe with a rigid sole, like Danskos. 

Now I'm off to soak my gnarly foot in a tub of hot water and slather my leg with all of the lotion I can find!

Love,

A

Beware of Zombies!

I'm writing this post from the passenger seat as B drives us home from Georgia. I'm not well-suited for long car rides these days. 

We went to Fayetteville, GA this weekend and took a side trip to the town of Senoia, which was about 20 minutes away. Senoia is a movie town. Several movies were filmed there and that's where they film some of The Walking Dead. 

We went to Senoia first on Saturday night but it was dark and most things were closed when we got there. We decided to eat at Zac Brown's Southern Ground restaurant and we were not disappointed! Their margarita was killer, and we ended the night with their chocolate and peanut butter bread pudding (of which I was skeptical but ended up loving). 

We went back to Senoia on our way home today. We shopped at The Woodbury Shoppe and managed to see parts of the set. It was really neat! We could have taken the $65 tour, but we were short on time. 

Anyone want to let me borrow $34.99?

That's the burnt out church in the background. 

B and I checked out a jail cell. 

The Governor 's Dead Wife

"Everyone makes it till they don't!" -Bob

Tyreese and Lizzie

How was your weekend? I'd love to hear!

Love,

A