Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I know I'm getting older when...

-I'm in bed by 9pm on a weeknight and on the weekends I "sleep in" until 8:30

-I no longer watch "The Real World"

-I wear pearl earrings regularly instead of large hoops

-I often think the TV or music is turned up too loud. "It's hurting my ears!"

-I will have my I.D. ready to show my birth date when purchasing alcohol and the cashier says "I don't need it."

-I used to go out to the bars around 11pm. now I have stayed out late if I was out until 11pm

-I haven't been to Waffle house or Krystal in over a year

-Grocery shopping is fun

-When I check my friends' Facebook pictures instead of the crazy weekend party pictures its of their babies and children

-I get excited to decorate the house for different seasons or holidays

-I don't wear skinny pants or neon clothes

-There was no "emo" type when I was in school

-I make references back to when I was in school

-I don't know who Gucci Man is. Or if I even spelled that right.

-I'd rather wear flats than heels

-When I meet someone in a bar who thinks 23 is "old". Not that I'm even near 23 anymore!

-I look back on all the fun and crazy stuff I did and still think my life is only getting better and better

What about you? What makes you realize that you are getting older?

Monday, September 20, 2010

What an AUsome time!

This weekend we headed to the great plains also known as Auburn, Alabama. Most of my friends and I graduated and left Auburn in 2005 and we only get to come back about 1 time a year so it's always amazing to visit and see what has changed, and boy has Auburn changed! The town has gotten much larger and has added so many new places and buildings and businesses. They now have a transit system which runs specifically at night to take people from their homes to the bars. I can't even imagine how great this would have been when we were there!


We left Friday straight from work and made it to our old stomping grounds around 6ish. We met up with several of our friends and had dinner and then later went out to hit the local bar scene.We decided to ride the transit downtown Friday night and it was so nice to not have to worry about who's driving and finding parking places, etc. Most of the bars have changed or aren't there anymore that were once around when I was a student but I was very happy to see that one bar hadn't changed named Bourbon Street. We headed there Friday night and had a blast. We felt like young college kids until we'd meet people and a.) they had no clue a ring on your left hand means your married and/or b.) we'd try to explain we were older and they would guess our age at 23, which really? Do they believe 23 is old!? It was still a blast and we got to see a girl fight on the transit ride home which was pretty hilarious. The poor driver just acted like nothing happened as the girls are rolling around on the bus fighting. Guess he probably sees a whole lot of stuff that late at night!

Saturday we got up bright and early to tailgate. We headed to our friends Tiffany and Keith's family tailgate which was awesome. They have been tailgating a very long time and I think they really have it down! It was tailgating at it's finest. They had a huge tent, plenty of chairs, games to play, a TV, and food. It was great to see Tiffany and Keith who currently live in Oklahoma, and meet their baby Sawyer who is precious! We also got to see some other great friends we hadn't seen in awhile as well. The game started at 6 and boy was it a nerve racking game! Auburn played terrible for the first half but came back the second half looking like a new team. Luckily though, we won in overtime!

We headed back to Birmingham Sunday morning and I had to attend my soon to be sister-in-law Megan's bridal tea. It was very nice and I hope she had a great time. She got some great presents and had a good turnout!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend! Matt went with his brothers, dad, and some other male family members to Athens, Alabama for a long weekend of golf. They have an annual golf weekend/tournament which took place this past weekend. So I decided to head to Atlanta with the dogs to visit the family while Matt was off playing golf.

Friday evening I met my dad for dinner at this fantastic Italian restaurant. We rarely get to hang out just the two of us and we had a blast just spending time together. My dad is hilarious!!

Saturday my mom and I met went to see my cousin Liz's new house. It is really nice and she is doing a great job of fixing it up! We went to lunch with her and then mom and I came back to hang out around the house, aka nap! Later that evening we did a little shopping and just came back home to relax. It was as always so nice to see her and spend time with her.

Sunday I visited my best friend Amanda, her husband Bobby, and their two kiddos Avery and Reece. They recently moved into this huge and beautiful house in Powder Springs, Ga. I was very excited to see the new house which is amazing! Later, Amanda and I had some great girl time eating lunch together and shopping.

As usual my weekend to Atlanta was too short but I had a great time. I'm so thankful to have such amazing family and friends who live nearby and the drive only takes about 2 hours. I don't think I could live any farther away from them or I'd be very, very sad.

We have another exciting weekend coming up. We are heading to Auburn Friday afternoon and are going to tailgate and go to the game Saturday night. They are playing Clemson and I'm sure it will be a blast. Auburn holds a special place in my heart and I always get emotional when I get to go see my old town and school. War Eagle!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

ADHD America

ADHD-Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I know you've heard of it, been diagnosed with it, think you may have it, or know someone who has. Apparently, in America we tend to quickly diagnose and medicate someone when they have a problem, instead of figuring out what may be the root of it and other possible solutions. I see that often times with children who seem to be somewhat hyperactive or energetic they are diagnosed with ADHD and medicated. No one even considers it may be normal for a young child to sit still or that they are very energetic by nature. And when they do get diagnosed and prescribed medicine, parents are quick to come to me and say "Timmy's medicines aren't working! He's still getting in trouble at school!". Well, perhaps Timmy doesn't actually have ADHD and just maybe has some behavior problems that should be fixed the old fashioned way with more structure and discipline. People assume medicine will fix everything and are sorely disappointed when they find this is not true.

As a whole, our society itself seems to have symptoms of ADHD. We can't seem to sit still and relax, and often like the parents of energetic or hyper children we want medicine whenever we experience anything that we dislike or don't want to feel. Emotions are real, and lots of people would rather medicate themselves instead of dealing with the root of the emotion. We no longer can sit still and complete one task at at time. We are a multi-tasking society. I am not pointing fingers, I myself have been on the phone, playing on the computer, and checking my phone at the same time. I have been reading a book and take a minute to play on the Internet while reading. Why can't I just do one thing at a time anymore? Is it just me? I hope not, because this whole blog is focused on how I believe it's ingrained in our society more and more to be like this. They had to make laws against multi-tasking. Think about the no-texting laws. Shouldn't we realize how dangerous it is to text or be distracted doing something else while driving? You would think we did, but judging by the way we act we don't. Yes we are a busy society. Yes we have a lot of important things to juggle each day whether it be work, family, or our personal lives. But are we truly putting in quality time and care to the tasks at hand when we are doing more than one thing at the same time? When I am talking on the phone to someone am I really listening to what they are saying or able to give them the most helpful advice or input? Probably not. Maybe we should slow down and live our lives, one task and one thing at a time. No, we don't need to be prescribed any medicine to do this. We just need to take a deep breath, stop other tasks, and focus on the most important at the time. I bet we will be more competent in our work, will improve our quality of relationships, and will feel less stressed. I'm gonna try it. Why don't you?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Nick and Megan Shower

This past Friday several friends along with Matt and I threw a wedding shower for my brother-in-law Nick and his fiance Megan. We had a blast and I think they racked up on some gift cards! Here are a few pics from the night: