Teenagers Suck.

Teenagers.  I hate them. But I have a HUGE reason to hate them right now. 

Our house was TP'd on Wednesday night.  Haha. Funny. Annoying. Actually, teenagers, I hate you.  So rude. And awful. And just annoying. Your generation. It sucks. 

 

Then last night.  Our house was egged.  And the teens have gone too far.  Kyle will be getting out the pressure washer when he gets home from work.

 

And I know this sounds dramatic, but we are actually very concerned about how long this will go on and what it could esclate to.  We are filing a police report tonight and have talked about home security and outside cameras.  It all just seems to be so much, but the safety of our house and McKenna is our #1.  We do not understand why this is happening, why the teens are targeting us, and how to get it to stop.  Feeling helpless in your own house is hands down the worst feeling ever. And even worse is the not knowing what will happen next and how bad it could get. Seriously, I will be going to bed tonight wondering what is next and what we will wake up to tomorrow. Hopefully, property damage never happens.

 

We are both just so over this.  We are tired.  We are confused.  And we just want it to stop.

 

And to answer all the questions - yes, we put out good Halloween candy.  No we did not piss off any teens.  That we know of.  McKenna did bite someone this week, but she is a minor so her idenity is not released. And no, they probably do not have our house mixed up with someone elses. Yes, Mulligan did bark like a mad man, but I didn't think anything of it - even though I did see 2 sketchy people running around in front of our house.  Why would I think, "oh, my house is getting rolled right now, must stop them".  Teens. Get off my lawn.

 

And.  I am going to go.  Have a good weekend everyone.  Pray that our house makes it through the night untouched. I want to do a stakeout tonight, but K won't let me.  I may chase down a hoodlum teen tonight and take him home to his momma and tell his momma that his kid is an a-hole :)  Seriously.  I hate teenagers.

Weekend Round Up [delayed]

NOTE: This post has been written for a few weeks now, but I was waiting on pictures from the race to be delivered to my email inbox. They still have not arrived, so I decided to just hit “post”.  And if ever we get pictures from the race - I will post those - if they are acceptable. But seriously Big Pumpkin, where are the pictures yo?!

The weekend before Halloween we had a busy little weekend.  We ran a 5k on Saturday and then visited our favorite local pumpkin patch on Sunday.  The 5k was not a first for McKenna, but the pumpkin patch was.  Overall, it was a really fun weekend.  And now that McKenna is getting older we like to keep her busy and entertained.  It is getting harder as the weather is getting colder though.

Race Recap :: Big Pumpkin 5K {Roswell, GA}
I have run this race pretty much every year for 5 years.  And it is a local favorite of mine simply because it is a low key, no frills race.  The course isn’t easy, but it isn’t hard either.  Just the right amount of hills and flat ground.  I pushed the jogger with McKenna in it and Kyle ran ahead (per the usual) and then came back to meet us.  However, I was kind of on his heels (ok, that may be an exaggeration) so he did not have to run too far to meet us back on the course.  I finished in 36 minutes (which is my fasted 5K since getting back into running and pushing a jogger).  Kyle finished in 28 minutes, not his fastest 5K, but he did a great job.  And like I said, I was on his heels… 8 minutes behind (which isn’t bad considering I am pushing 60 lbs of baby and stroller). 

The only downfall this year is that I still am not fast enough to get past all the run/walkers who have zero race etiquette, but I am fast enough to keep up with a lot of people.  Therefore it made the very narrow parts of the course challenging - a lot of congestion and people walking 5 people wide, blocking the road.  I was very thankful for our all terrain jogger since we went off roading a few times.  And there were a lot of people lined up close to the start that shouldn’t have been. Trust me - weaving and having to sprint around people pushing 60 lbs makes you winded fast.  But other than all that we had a great time, it was great weather, and per the usual there were great people all around.  We cannot wait till next years race. 

Pumpkin Patch :: Uncle Shucks Farm {Dawsonville, GA}
Even though we knew McKenna would have little to no interest in a pumpkin patch we still wanted to take her to one and start teaching her how to be a basic white girl. :-) (yup, I said it).  Everyone in our area tends to go to a place called Burt’s Farm and we don’t understand why.  We love Uncle Shucks - there is just so much more to do there than at Burt’s.  But, to each their own.  I think McKenna had fun, but she is always so so stone-faced that we would never actually know.  We played around in the small corn maze and let her lead the way and make decisions.  After awhile she got bored (shocker) and her feet got tired and I got to carry her (she is heavy) till the end.  Weeee. We then went to look at the goats (McKenna called them dogs) and road the hayride.  The hayride, McKenna was a little bored and she decided to play with my purse and take all the contents out.  Yeah.  Not the best place to play with mommy’s purse.  But.  I think the highlight of the day was the wooden cutout where McKenna had to put her head in the  hole.  At first, she had no idea what she was supposed to do.  And when she finally figured out what we wanted her to do she turned into a total ham and was posing for the camera and playing a little game of peek-a-boo. Good times.  Next year we are looking forward to letting her ride the ponies and maybe get her face painted.  And as she gets older she can shoot the corn cannons.  We did not get a pumpkin.  Only because we knew we would not carve it so it would be a waste of money.

Mondays with McKenna {3}

First things first.  I mentioned in an earlier post that McKenna had big news.  Well.  She doesn’t anymore.  She was supposed to be moving to the big 200 room today, but for some reason that changed and she is staying in the 150 room another month or so.  I am OK with that - she will get to stay with Ms. Barbara, but at the same time I like the idea of the 200 room to keep her challenged. But what is a few months?

Second. She is 15 months old. But did not grow a lot from her 12 month appointment to her 15 month appointment.  She is still rocking 24 months and 2T clothes. Depending on the brand.  She is active and all over the place. So much walking and running in our house. She is 100% keeping us on our toes.  Evidently her head shrunk, but I think the nurse just did not get a good measurement last time or this time due to her screaming and kicking and thrashing around.   Yeah. So. McKenna does not like the pediatricians office.  She stayed the same weight as well.

I am loving all things fall for her.  For example, I got her riding boots because what 1 year old does not need riding boots. Well.  She hated them at first.  And daycare took them off because she fell and hit her head.  But.  Later they put them back on and she warmed up to them and now she loves her riding boots.   Thank freaking goodness since those are the shoes she will be wearing for our Family Photos in November. Sorry McKenna, you’re kind of turning into my personal baby doll with boots and fringe booties and cute chunky sweaters and sassy graphic tees. I appreciate you being semi-ok with it.

She is starting to understand more things.  She knows where her room is and where to go when we say, “Go to your room”.  She can go to her wagon when told.  She can find her shoes and is starting to get all sort of opinions on what she wants to wear each day.  She knows where her chair is for dinner time and snack time.  She knows  where bath time happens. She screams and screams when she is told “NO”.   She knows who Mulligan and Kennesaw are and she knows how to properly pet them.

We do need ideas on what to get her for Christmas. So, please share if you have ideas.  We know we are going to get her some puzzles and things like that, but the poor kid is 100% tired of all her baby toys so we need to do an overhaul. 

Michelob Ultra Atlanta 13.1 // Recap

At the beginning of October I ran the Michelob Ultra 13.1 Atlanta race.  I had run this race when it was just Atlanta 13.1 and before Michelob Ultra and Lifetime Fitness got involved so I had really high hopes for this race, but was pretty disappointed from the very beginning.

Packet pick up was a slow slow mess.  There was one person manning the packet pickup table.  Yup, you read that right. One person to hand out race numbers, shirts, and race day bags.  The poor lady apologized to everyone for the long wait and I still cannot figure out why they would have one person handing out race numbers and what not.  But that was not even the worst.  At packet pick up, one week out from the race, the exact location of the starting line and where to park had not yet been announced. Simpler terms: no one knew where they needed to be for the race and it wasn’t posted online until about 3 days before the race. 

Race Day was not too bad.  Granted, it was a LONG walk to the start (and a long walk back) everything seemed to run pretty smoothly.  The actual course had its highs and its lows.  Truthfully, I did not think it was too bad - kinda boring, nothing too exciting about it, there was nothing that made me say, “oh that is cool”.  We did run one area twice (by the new Braves stadium) and it was a meh area.  Nothing to look at with the exception of apartments and a new baseball stadium being built.  And I don’t know if the course was missing mile markers or if it was on purpose or if I just missed them, but I messed my Garmin up from the very beginning and my miles were all off so I was kinda relying on those and they were nowhere to be seen after mile 10.  So that last 5k was pretty slow and miserable and I thought I would never find the end since mile 11 never ever came.  The course had it’s fair share of hills and the weather was off and on.  Not too hot, not too cold, rained off and on.  There was one part of the course that was on a trail next to the river and that may have been the highlight of the course for me.  Semi flat land, good scenery, allowed me to pick up the pace, serene little area tucked away in city chaos.

It was a slow and steady race for me seeing how I did not run more than 6 miles leading up to the race.  Typical Barbie training style, but I am not super young anymore so my body (read: hips) started to hurt around mile 8.  Yikes.  I think that picture was taken around mile 5 or 6 or something like that and I was still trucking along (doing better than the dude in orange behind me! HA!)… and in that picture I don’t look like death.  But trust me, there are some pictures and yikes. (Maybe I shouldn’t comment on the dude in orange. #karma)

Near the end, trucking up one of the many hills, 2 police officers mentioned that the finish was just over the hill and then it was all downhill from there.  I had to believe them since I could hear the finish line party; however, I did not believe them because I had not seen a mile marker since freaking mile 10 and at that moment, in my mind, I was running the longest 10th mile in the history of any half marathon. I finished (and that is what matters) in 2 hours and 41 minutes.   Not my best time.  But I had to start back somewhere and I got a pretty cool new piece of medal … to sit in a box in my closet with all the other medals I have collecting dust. :-)

I did not stick around for the post race party.  I had no one to party with.  And I was tired and who really wants to drink a beer post race and then get on the road to drive home.  And really Michelob Ultra, is that actually safe?!  The post race party was a little hectic and I just wanted to find a quick escape.  I got my finisher’s medal.  Had my picture taken and walked a bit.  I somehow missed the finisher’s bags so I did not grab one of those and was actually bummed about that.  (Hey Michelob Ultra, put the bags closer to the medals next time. K. Thanks!)  I grabbed a water, a banana, and some nasty dried snap pea things and headed home for an ice bath and family time.

Am I glad I got up and did it?!  Yes.  Will I do another half marathon?  Yes.  Will I train properly for that one?  Ehhhh… probably not because that is not my style, but I am running more so maybe I won’t be as old lady with hip problem like next time.

And just a shout out to the Cobb County cops - you all were awesome and great on the course. I know it is not the most exciting assignment to have on a Sunday morning, but we runners appreciate all you do to keep us safe on the course.  So. Thank You!

Five Things Friday

I have so so so many things to blog about.  This is going to be my draft.  And a little taste of what should theoretically come.   Plus I need to get back on that Thankful Post Thing. You know.  When I find the time to sit down and blog. In-between all the 4 zillion errands I need to run (I have needed an oil change since SEPTEMBER) and chasing a 15 month old around the house and laundry and catching up on crap TV (which, by the way. Grey’s Anatomy last night? Yes? To everyone who bowed out seasons ago - you’re missing out.  And Quantico. Goodness I am hooked.  And my guilty pleasure - Scream Queens.  Yup. Don’t recommend it.  It is bad. Real bad.)  …. I have found it hard to spend time blogging.  My bad.

O.N.E
I ran a half marathon at the very beginning of October.  It was not pretty.  My training was (per the usual) less than stellar or structured or disciplined. Long story short I did not run more than 6 miles to prep for 13.1 … my bad.  But, I survived. And I have a medal to prove it. Post to come. Theoretically. And, we have a family 5k tomorrow.  It will be the 2nd time we run this one as a family.  Fingers crossed it is not too cold.  Post to come on that one too.

T.W.O
Actually this is going to be a busy weekend and you just may get one big blog post.  We are going to a Pumpkin Patch on Sunday afternoon.  I am sure McKenna is going to be unamused and wonder what we are doing there.  But.  She will suck it up and love the hayride and love pictures with pumpkins.  After all, she is a budding white girl and we all know white girls love all things fall and one of those things is pumpkin patches.

T.H.R.E.E
A few weeks back we went to Florida to visit with my parents and it was great to get away.  It was McKenna’s first plane ride and I had a tiny bit of anxiety.  Full disclosure: I started googling “one year olds on planes” and things like that back in March.  And I read a lot.  And all you really need to know is - keep that kid distracted and you will be A OK.  But, we had a great time.  McKenna warmed up to the pool (after 3 days) and she enjoyed eating out and hanging out with her grandparents.  She did not sleep well, so I did not  sleep well, but it was just great to get away!  Again. Theoretically. Post to come + pictures.

F.O.U.R
Kyle has been asking me what I want for Christmas and I cannot give him any answers. I have no idea what I want for Christmas.  So. I need ideas.  Give me ideas people. I mean, there are things that I want. For example. Red Glossy Hunter Rain Boots. But then I ask, when will I actually wear them?  A new Tory Burch York Bag.  But that is out of our budget range.  Le Sigh.

F.I.V.E
Speaking of “Le Sigh” - I joined the world of Fantasy Football this year and I cannot handle it.  As always I expect too much from players (that I know nothing about) and get mad at them each week.  I think Kyle thinks I am 25% funny and then 75% annoying as I complain about my players who “should think about a new career path because the NFL isn’t working for them anymore” …. or when I tell him I am dropping players or benching players.  I just don’t lose well & if a player is projected to get 10 points he should get 10 freaking points.  What needs to happen each week is this.  I need to set my roster.  Then delete the app off my phone.  And then check the outcome Tuesday morning. 

Welp.  I hope everyone has a really good weekend.  And I have A LOT of writing to do this weekend and upcoming week.  McKenna has some exciting things going on in her life too.  Well, exciting for her.  I am having a hard time dealing with the fact that my kid is basically going to high school.  OH.  And if any of you mom’s want to do a book swap thing - message me and I will give you all the details! 

Transformation Thursday || Hizzy Style

FYI: Hizzy = house  and we have been doing a lot to the house lately. I have a super long list of home improvements I want to do on our house and we are slowly chipping away at the list.

:: Update One ::
We took out the sliding glass doors that lead from our eat in kitchen to the back yard and installed french doors.  I don’t have a before picture, but these doors look so much better than the old ratty sliding glass doors that sometimes would not open or not open all the way.  Our kitchen just looks cleaner and nicer.  Simply put, it was an upgrade that was overdue (K and I were losing our patience and sanity a little bit each day) and surprisingly not very expensive, but it really makes our kitchen area just look so much better.  Now, we just constantly worry about our bad dogs taking the door off its hinges as they run outback and we always scold them for pawing the door to go out or come back in.  They’re too nice to have the dogs mess then up with their disrespectful ways.

:: Update Two ::
We have this sitting room off the foyer that will probably never really get used, but I knew I did not want an “off limits” room like I had in my childhood house and I knew that we couldn’t have anything too nice in that room because we have bad dogs who love to sit at the window and bark at poor innocent people as they walk by.  Add a dog to the mix and good grief, game over. Dogs have lost their mind. So, we could not have nice things.  About a year ago we moved the old love seat into this room, but this Labor Day we added a coffee table and an end table.  I know that the coffee table needed a little bit of additional décor (again, nothing too much because of our dogs) so plan on slowly scouring Target and Home Goods for little items to make it just right.  I am happy with the overall outcome of this room and know it will be better once it is fully done.  But, it feels GREAT to have one more room basically done in our house. …we just need new pillows for that couch  Ones that stand out and add a little brightness to the room.  The hunt continues

:: Update Three ::
I have a handy husband. Labor Day weekend Kyle totally upgraded (what he could) of our hall bathroom.  And this bathroom now looks A TON better.  He just swapped out hardware and added a towel ring, but I love the new look of this bathroom.  The old gold look was dated and not attractive.  Plus, it is nice to have the towel off the counter and hanging.  The only question that remains: will we replace the marble on top with granite?  Part of me says yes.  Part of me says no.  I guess it would come down to price.  The marble doesn’t look bad… but it could look better.  I may also frame the mirror.  There are some easy-ish looking tutorials on Pinterest.  Who knows.  But, I do know it looks a ton better and my husband did such a good job.  No. He is not for hire.  He has 2 more bathrooms to do!!

Next Up: The master bedroom – new paint colors & new over the bed décor and then that room should be done, done, and done.  Kyle is not looking forward to spending a weekend or two painting, but it is cheaper than hiring someone and I have totally volunteered to help him out.  But we have this thing called a baby.  We also have 6 ceiling fans to replace.  The one in our room and the upstairs “foyer” do have top priority. 

Long Range: I would love the have the kitchen done next, but we are still having to save for that.  Granite ain’t cheap.  We have been tossing around the idea of a new door and painting the shutters since it is not as expensive and curb appeal is huge.  But… we will see. And don’t get me started on the major master bathroom overhaul we want to do.  Evidently, we need to win the lotto.  Or maybe we should have bought new construction v. an old house. 

Mondays with McKenna {2}

As I sit here anxiously waiting to watch 2 new ABC TV shows {and potentially get hooked} I thought it would be a good idea to talk about all things McKenna! AND THERE IS SO MUCH!

Most exciting.  She is walking!  And walking fairly well.  She still stumbles around like a little drunk sorority girl and every now and then she still scoots around on her bottom. But for the most part, walking is her #1 movement of choice! =D  ….sadly I cannot seem to insert the video because I am just not smart enough. But. She is walking!

She can officially point to 4 body parts.  She can put her hands on her head, show us where her nose is, touch her feet, and find her bellybutton.  I think the bellybutton is the most fun because she pulls up her shirt and smiles so big!  Bellybuttons are funny things. S

She is also a HUGE fan of the shape sorter my parents got her for Christmas. And she is getting really good at sorting the shapes into the bucket.  She does better when no one is watching her, but she loves the cheers and claps she gets when the square falls into the bucket because she put it in the right hole.  She also simply loves books.  Sometimes when it is just too quiet, we find her sitting there flipping though a book and it melts my heart.

McKenna is starting to voice her opinions on what she is wearing. It all started a few weekends ago with her game day dress.  She lost her mind when she saw her pants.  And I gave in and put her jeans and tee-shirt back on.  Then after nap, I tried the outfit again and she lost her mind again.  Welp. I made her cry for about 10 minutes and then she realized she just had to deal with it. Hours later, she still hated those pants.  The other day I put her in a romper and she cried and cried over that too.  And lastly, I bought her the cutest pair of brown faux suede fringe booties for her outfit for picture day.  She cries looking at them.  Just cries.  Well, I told Kyle to put her in the dress, cardigan, and booties and just let her cry on Wednesday.  I will be on a work trip so I won’t be there, but I have a feeling she will go to school in her pink and purple running shoes and the outfit will be ruined.  Can’t wait to see how she reacts to her riding boots for family photos in November.

Oh. Another example. McKenna’s day care did a charity event where all the little babes had to dress up like a superhero. Well. You can tell she was not the biggest fan of her superhero costume.  She pretty much looked distressed and/or angry all day about her get up.  Honestly, I am surprised daycare never changed her into one of her spare outfits.  And… Notice how she is wearing her pink and purple running shoes.  Not the shoe cover thing the outfit came with.  Truthfully, I was not going to fight that battle the tears were so intense that morning. I have a feeling the costume may have been itchy.  But I also wonder how Halloween will go and if we will be able to get her dressed in a costume… We shall see.

She is 14 months - almost 15 months - and I cannot believe how much she is growing up.  We picked her up from daycare on Friday and she just looked older.  Both Kyle and I commented on how she just looked different and older.  It is just crazy how fast she is growing up and how quickly she is learning to do things on her own.  Soon we are going to be sending her to Bama Bound and then moving her into her dorm in Tuscaloosa.   

Mondays with McKenna {1}

I have a goal. Every Monday I am going to write about the little lady. OR if not every Monday I will write each Monday when there is some tidbit of exciting news to share. Or goofy story. Or fun video.

McKenna. Ya’ll. She makes my heart smile.

Milestones: well. she is finally crawling (and has been for a few months). She pulls up on pretty much anything and everything. She loves loves loves to walk with assistance – holding her Dad’s hand or pushing one of her many toys around.  She is not walking on her own yet, but we are ready for when she does.  She has mastered the stairs (going up, not down) and how to slide down the slide. She no longer sits in her high chair; she has joined the family at the dinner table. Basically, she is a big girl or something like that. I don’t think she has a favorite toy right now, but she loves all things Little People and she is obsessed with anything that she can stand up and push.  She has a mouthful of teeth and loves to get her teeth brushed.  I think she just loves the apple banana toothpaste, but whatever.

Other Happenings: We recently had a birthday party to attend. It was at Chuck-E-Cheeses. She was pretty much overwhelmed at first and just wanted to be held, but then she warmed up to the whole place and had a ball.  She LOVED the Barney ride and would try to put tokens in on her own to make the ride start over again once it stopped. I am pretty sure she rode that ride about 15 times, many times back to back.  And she learned to climb and slide and had the time of her life. Of course, the Barney ride was at the foot of the slide so she would power crawl over to the ride, pull herself up, and pretty much say, “come on guys, time to ride Barney” …  She chowed down on 2 pieces of pizza and 1 cupcake and got bright blue icing all over Kyle’s polo. This girl can eat. Best part: she napped HARD that day.

Because of Chuck-E-Cheeses we are pretty much living at the park on weekends.  Well, “living at” is a bit of an exaggeration. But, we do spend some time there every Saturday and Sunday. She seriously LOVES to slide and we have thought about buying her a backyard play thing for our deck, but it is more fun to take her to the park and watch her climb and slide around.  And she loves her wagon rides down to the park. …well, she actually loves everything about her wagon. She has a cup holder for her sippy and she loves to “read” her books on the ride. That thing was the best hand me down EVER. 

She is a wild thing. When we keep her indoors at our house she likes to “fall off” our bed. Fall off = slide off the side with Dad ready to catch her.  She loves to climb all over her pink chair and climb over the back of it onto the couch and then fall back down onto the pink chair.  And she loves to slide off the couch onto the ground.  Needless to say, I have the worry gene from my Mom’s side of the family so I think she will gray my hair sooner than later.

This little one constantly keeps us on our toes.  But she seriously brings us an insane amount of joy and it has been so so so fun watching her become more and more mobile over the last few weeks. 

Grateful Challenge || 21 || Summer

Labor day marks the end of the summer.  So I thought it would be fitting to talk about summer and why I am grateful for this season.  Summer has its downsides. The heat. The humidity. People walking their dogs again (this is bad because we have bad dogs). I no longer get months to do nothing.

But despite its downsides there are some things about summer that I am just flat out thankful for.

FIRST. Schools out. Which means traffic isn’t quite as bad. It is still bad, but not everyday and frankly just not as bad.  There is something beautiful about a 45 minute commute instead of a 60 minute or longer commute.  There are no school buses clogging my neighborhood that I have to fight with/wait for their pesky stop sign to go down. The scommute to work is simply just easier.

SECOND. Longer nights = family dog walks.  Most nights this is the only 30 minutes that Kyle and I have to catch up on the week. When we get home we are rushing around to get the table set, dinner cooked, and everyone fed.  Then post dog walk we are bathing the baby and then really taking selfish (but needed) me time.  So these strolls (sometimes hot and humid strolls) are our 30 minutes to dish on the day. Plus, it brings me so much joy to watch McKenna sit in the back of her wagon “reading” her book and drinking her milk from her sippy.

THREE. The pool. I am thankful and grateful for days at the pool. Activities at the pool have changed since having a baby and my melanoma diagnosis. But again, it is the family time. Slathering the family in high SPF and packing everything up to go splash in the water. I was worried that M would hate the pool. but she warmed up to it and now we have another fun family activity to do together. And I am forever grateful for anything that gives me family time and activities that make my heart smile.

FOUR. The weather. It may be hot and humid 99% of the time here in Atlanta, but the weather is just great for family activities, grilling out, and fellowshipping with our great neighbors.  As the weather starts to get cold we all turn back into hermits.  We try to maximize the spring – fall weather as much as possible. 

Let’s be honest.  Summer is a great season.  As you get older you find a different appreciation for it.  Had I written this post 10 years ago or so I would be grateful for long days by the pool with my friends, patio drinking, short summer school classes, summer concerts with lawn seats, floating the cahaba, and other shenanigans like that.  But. As summer comes to an end, I can only count down the days till next summer.

Gratitude || 4 || Family Member

I went to a funeral the other day.  A very good friend of mine lost her dad. Suddenly. Unexpectedly. He was 62. When I told her I was so very sorry for her loss and reminded her that I was there for her & told her that if she needed anything to just let me know, she response was simple and short. All she said was: thank you and hug your dad next time you get the chance.

And it made me start to think. I don’t just hug my dad every time I see him. Most times he pulls me in and makes me give him a hug as I am rushing through life.  My dad makes it known every time he sees me (or my brother) that we are loved.  Those hugs are important to him. I need to do better. And just pause. Take a moment to hug him and then go back to rushing around.

I am grateful for my Dad (and many other family members). Yes, he may drive me nuts from time to time, but he is my Dad and he has showed me and taught me many things throughout my life.  He has taught me that family is important. Friends are important. And if you can, you should be there for family and friends in both good times and bad.  He introduced me to all things Alabama.  He (and my mom) have shown me what a respectful, solid, and good marriage looks like.  He was an insanely active participant in my childhood, so I know that I will expect no less from Kyle. My dad has shown me (and continues to show me) that life is not just about me.  That it is important to be generous with your time and to make people a priority if they’re important to you. And that sometimes those times are hard and trying and tiring, but it is the right thing to do and most times those situations are just temporary.  I can think back on different times in my life where my Dad has set a good example for how you should live your life. Caring for an immediate family member, building churches, getting me out of trouble, opening his house to friends and family members pretty much whenever, donating his time and money, and just taking a genuine interest in people and their story – my dad may not find joy in each and every thing, but he understands what it means to be a good person and to live a good life.

With my friend’s dads unexpected passing it made me think. My Dad won’t be around forever. As morbid and sad it is to think that, it is the honest truth. But, I have been so lucky to have my Dad by my side for 31 years and counting.  He is one of my biggest cheerleaders and advocates. Have there been times that I have let him down? Yes, probably too many to count. Have there been times where I tested his patience? Oh heck yes. But his love for me is unwavering (or at least I think it is) and at the end of the day I know I have impressed him and make him proud. And I am forever grateful that my little sassy firecracker has a Grand Bobby who simply adores her and loves her.  And I know she brings him immense joy as well. 

And, I still owe my Dad a hug.  But I guess that will have to wait until we meet him in sunny Florida for a quick, easy vacation.

Writing. I’ve been doing it.

 

This post is nothing exciting. But, I have been writing. Everything is in draft form right now. But… there are a few things queued up.  I started back up the 52 week thankful challenge. So there are a few of those. Plus, I have to gush about little McKenna.

So, if there is anyone out there reading (other than my parents and aunt)… …you will have reading material soon. I promise.

Um. Hello?

I have not blogged since May. I am pretty sure I have zero followers at this point. Well, my aunt and parents probably still eagerly await any type of update on this thing. So if anyone is still out there. Hi. Hello. Good to see you again.

I should probably do some life updates, huh? Well. I now have a one year old. McKenna turned one in July and we had a super low key birthday party. All family and all attention was 100% on her. I got a promotion at work. I am now a director. That means I am important. But not really. I started running again as prep for my half marathon at the beginning of October. We still have two dogs. And I still have a husband.

So. McKenna is one. And it is A LOT of fun.  The girl is getting more and more mobile. She still is not walking, but at like 11 months she finally started crawling which was a sigh of relief. Now I just wait for the walking, but she is making strides and will get there eventually. I just worry about her being behind and parents judging her. (Which is something I need to get better at because I have turned down play dates with friends who have kids walking.)  She just decided this past weekend that she loves the water.  it took all summer, but she does like the pool. Now, we need to think seriously about swim lessons. ;D And. She loves books. LOVES books. If a book is by her, she has her nose in it.

Me. I moved into a Director of Major Accounts role back in July. I am in charge of a few of our major accounts. It has been a big challenge but I am enjoying that.  I sometimes wish I had more direction, but I have one coworker who has been great to bounce ideas off of.  I have had some travel in this new role, nothing more than usual. And don’t judge me, but the break from life is kind of nice.  I am running more and more lately and I am really enjoying it. Oddly. I have a half marathon on the books for the beginning of October and have 2 races that I am thinking about signing up for.  A 10k and a 5k.

Dogs and Kyle are good too. Nothing going on with them really.  Just a lot of fantasy football starting for Kyle and better weather which means more puppy play dates for the dogs.

I am not 100% sure of why I chose to blog or update on my life tonight.  maybe it is the new laptop. but hopefully I get better at this……..

|| 4 Things Friday || What We’ve Been Up To!

I know it is supposed to be 5 things Friday, but I wanted to catch people up on what we have been up to and well, there just was not 5 things so you’re getting 4 things friday. We have been pretty busy lately, life has been keeping us on our toes and when I am lucky, in bed by like 9:30……but that does not happen nearly enough. I thought it may be easier to just break down what we have been up to in this format versus a zillion different blog posts – though I know my aunt would love a zillion different blog posts. Sorry!

|| ONE ||
We celebrated our 3 year anniversary back in March and I had no idea what I wanted to get Kyle for his anniversary gift. I didn’t want to get him the normal clothes, video game, books, whatever that I normally did, so I thought I would get him Darius Rucker concert tickets since Kyle always says he misses our date days. WELL…our super babysitters {also known as the grandparents} were traveling so I then had to get creative. Well. I ended up getting us tickets to Tree Top Quest in Buford and let me tell you, it was A LOT of fun. Terrifying at times [there may have been one part where I told kyle, “I am frozen, like cannot move” and I also told kyle multiple times, “we have a baby at home, we cannot die”], but the ziplines were fun and the challenges were challenging at times {for example moving logs} but we had a great time. There was one “course” that was literally just zipline after zipline and that was refreshing after Course #4 where I literally thought I may have a heart attack {it did have one really long and fun zipline though}. We got to just spend time together and have fun together – something that we rarely get to do.  Totally recommended for anyone who wants an out of the box  day in Atlanta and I was shocked we had something like this that wasn’t in the mountains of Georgia.

|| TWO ||
Little Sassy had her first {and last} Saturday Gymboree “session” or play date – whatever you want to call it.  The poor girl was a trooper, she was teething {and got 3 teeth at once} and she had a double ear infection {that we didn’t know about} so she was a little out of it and not so sure what was going on. Honestly, I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. But… I think this place would be a great idea for a future birthday party or maybe when she is crawling or running or just moving around better – but everything there she has at daycare.  We just do not see the added value since she gets all the same things Monday – Friday …and right now she can’t even crawl to move around on the various “activities” so truthfully, it was kind of a waste – which was a bummer because I had such high hopes and expectations and thought it would be a great addition to what she gets at daycare to keep her learning and busy and it just was not that.  BUT.. she did LOVE their waffle balls and she may have had 3 at one time. I do still want to do Mommy and Me tumbling classes when she is like 2 … so hopefully we have more success then. 

|| THREE ||
We had a little mini vacation in Orange Beach, Alabama for my best friend’s wedding #takenbyclaytonn and we had so much fun.  The grandparents had a long, fun filled weekend with the little one.  We disappeared Thursday morning to meet up with an old college friend and his wife and then stay with his family in Gulf Shores. On Friday we ventured over to Orange Beach and after the Bridesmaid Brunch laid out by the pool, floated the lazy river, drank some beers, and got a little sunburned {sorry dermatologist, I just missed a few spots}. We just had fun catching up and doing nothing and for reals, I need a lazy river in my life full time OR I need a full time job that is just floating a lazy river. It was just relaxing to get away and make it a point FOR ONCE to be on PTO and actually be on PTO.  We had the rehearsal on Friday night, the dinner, and then we all {Kyle, my friend from college, his wife, and me} headed to the FloraBama – which I had never been to before and probably was not missing anything.  But, I can now say I have been there & evidently, I was supposed to drink a Bushwacker or something like that. Whoops. 

Saturday was the wedding day. Kyle and my friends got to spend all day by the pool – with one strict instruction – do not drink too much – while I was with the bride getting her ready and myself ready. It was a fun wedding, a gorgeous wedding, and I could not be happier for Greg and Heather.  T hey are 2 of the nicest people in the world and I wish  them just a zillion years of happiness, good times, great memories, and lots of beautiful babies. And I was honored to be part of their day and to help H-Bomb get ready and to love on her and Greg!  And, I may still be using the sunglasses because well, they were awesome and such a fun touch and I could use some more sweet potato fries. I loved having a reason to escape reality and celebrate 2 amazing people and their families.  We cannot wait to go back and bring McKenna with us because we think she will have the best time on the slides and the lazy river.   CONGRATS TO HEALTHER & GREG!!

|| FOUR ||
We ran our annual 5k together {The Brookhaven Bolt} and I pushed McKenna in the stroller. Kyle ran ahead of us like he normally does and then he came back to get a few more miles and ran to the end with me. Kyle and I were not happy with our 5K times, but Kyle did forget his water bottle with me so he had to start farther back than he likes to so he did lose time weaving in and out of walkers and strollers and slow people. My time, truthfully, wasn’t bad – it was faster than the last 5K we ran where I pushed McKenna by a few seconds, I just thought it would have been faster. Granted, the first half mile or mile I couldn’t find my groove – when I did, I was golden – and this race is pretty hilly so it was harder. but still. I thought it would be faster.  As always, this was a great race. The turn out seems to get bigger and bigger each year, but it is always very well executed and it is a challenging course which is always a plus.  It does benefit an elementary school so I hope McKenna’s school and PTA puts on a similar event. I would LOVE for her to be part of some kiddie run club that preps for a community race like this.

…I think that is a pretty detailed life update… we have some house improvements on the list for this summer that I am looking forward to. and should provide some blog content – maybe. But all in all life is good. we are looking forward to the summer, even though we have no plans.

M is for McKenna (and Monday)

I have not done a post about McKenna lately. I slacked on her 9 month picture taking and blog posting and then her 10 month milestone has kinda come and gone. Granted, she is still 10 months and we could do it. …we need to do it… But I thought I would do a quick update on all things McKenna Marie.

Well. She is 10 months and 3 feet tall. She is rocking 18 month clothes.  I am wondering when we can sign her up for volleyball or basketball.  She is so tall we should use that to our advantage and maybe she can go to Alabama on an athletic scholarship. The ladies at daycare always talk about how tall she is.  She is 24 pounds – or at least she was at her 8 month appointment.  She has 6 teeth – maybe 7 – but we aren’t 100% confident that the 7th has grown all the way in so we don’t really count it as a tooth.

Girl loves to eat.  We cannot seem to get her to eat her veggies – daycare can, we cannot – but she loves pretty much every fruit she has tried.  She does like Cheerios; however, the dogs get a lot of them.  Actually, the dogs get a lot of food.  McKenna has started hand feeding Mulligan things she does not want to eat. Mainly her veggies. And when I catch her she immediately snaps her hand back up and looks at me like “what, I am not doing anything”.

She still is not crawling, but she is scooting across the room and she can scoot FAST. Which basically means we are all eyes on her all the time. And we are pretty confident she is going to be a handful once she starts walking because she already gets into pretty much anything and everything.

We recently had to drop the mattress on her crib because she has a new trick. She likes to sit up on her own now and jabber until we come and break her out of baby jail.  We figured it was only a matter of time before she started pulling herself up.  And this new trick means the days of leaving her in her crib and letting her jabber herself back to sleep are long gone.

She moved from the 100 room to the 150 room at 9 months so she is now with the bigger kids and does a lot more arts and crafts. Sadly, we don’t get any of her artwork sent home, but she did make me two pretty awesome crafts for Mother’s Day.  But, we need to buy her crayons and coloring book and some play-doh since she loves those things at school and we are always looking for new things to do with her at home.  But, I think the move from the baby infant room to the little walker room is helping encourage her to move around a little bit more.  And the lessons are a little bit older as well so she is theoretically learning more advanced things.

She still loves the stroller, but now she likes to sit up and look around and smile at dogs as they pass by.  And she really just likes to look at pretty much anything and everything.  We have started going back to the greenway on the weekends so she gets to see a lot of people and nature, before she just passes out for naptime.

McKenna did get her first ear infection last month. And it was a doozy. It was a double ear infection and she hated her medicine so we had to sneak it in her bottle.  She was a total cuddle monster when she was not feeling well.  And to make matters worse, she was teething at the same time so she was just one unhappy little baby.  BUT – that is all past us now and she is back to the happy, perfect little thing that she is.

Needless to say, it has been a fun and busy last 2 months.  McKenna is keeping us on our toes, but it is all just so fun.  She is figuring things out and jabbering all the time.  She is starting to FINALLY say mama, since she was just saying dada all the time.  We feel like she is always learning something new or getting into something that she shouldn’t be [for example, my bookshelf is her favorite thing ever since she can pull every book onto the floor and then shake them]. But. It is just fun.

I am probably missing something or a lot of somethings. But, I wanted to do a recap on what the little lady has been up to.  And hopefully we will take those 10 month pictures and 11 month pictures and 12 month pictures.  Mom needs to stop slacking!!

Last Year–> This Year

This picture is so fun to me. To quote my friend Mary, “this actually looks like you ran a race, then had a baby pop out by the end”. =D

The left is Kyle and me last year (plus McKenna since I was 7.5 months pregnant) at the Brookhaven Bolt last year.   The picture on the right – Kyle, McKenna, and me this year at the same race.

What I love and think is fun is:

1) I planned to wear the same outfit on purpose. For this side by side picture. Kyle on the other hand. Evidently he only has 1 outfit he likes to run in, so he runs e.v.e.r.y race in the same thing. {boy needs more race wear} So while it looks like we planned this, only 50% of it was planned.

2) McKenna. Girl. Get it together. She looks SO not amused and SO unhappy. I promise. We don’t torture her. But evidently, the dramatics are high and her teenage years just may be painful

We had fun this morning. Of course, my FitBit no longer wants to sync so on a good “step” day no one will EVER know. First World Problems. Kyle and I were not happy with our times, I am more content with mine. But… another year done, now we just wait till the 2016 Brookhaven Bolt.

|| 6 || Health. Always Taken For Granted.

I was supposed to post this post last week { again. running a week behind on this gratitude challenge thing } but life seemed to just get in the way of sitting down and blogging. typical.

 

When I first decided to jump ahead on this gratitude challenge and discuss why I was thankful for health I was going to focus on myself and how I was thankful I made it through all my health challenges last year - with scars { literally } but I made it through. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it since may is melanoma awareness month and I wanted to urge everyone to take the time this month to go to the dermatologist to get checked.   ....seriously, though - go get your body looked at... I was ready to explain and talk about how years of baking in the sun and tanning beds probably led to it.  And I will still say that no tanning bed is good and you may think that a good burn will turn into a good tan, but there is no such thing as a "good burn" and to wear sunscreen. But right now I just don't feel led to talk about how I am thankful for my health.

 

but I just read the news that my sweet friend from high school is having one last test done on her 3 week old before they put her on the heart transplant list. her 3 week old is suffering from heart failure. it just puts everything into perspective for me. I am healthy. my husband is healthy. I have a healthy, happy, beautiful daughter. who may have been cranky this weekend since she was cutting 3 teeth, but she was not in the ICU fighting for her life surrounded by my family. 

 

I feel like we take for granted our health and we just assume that our kids are immune to bad things and then WHAM they just hit us or someone close to us it hit with something hard.  My heart hurts for my friend and her family and her sweet baby girl.  It makes me want to hug McKenna just a little tighter each night and get less frustrated with her when she feed her cheerios and strawberries to the dogs.

 

I have a happy and healthy family and baby girl and grandparents for her to grow up with and brother and extended family. For that. I am so very very thankful.  And yes, I am thankful that my husband urged me to go to the dermatologist, if it was not for him my melanoma would still be on my back doing who knows what. I am thankful that it was caught early; after all, early detection really does save lives.

 

So if you have like .349885 seconds to spare. Just send a good prayer up or good thoughts or whatever you do in tough times for my friend and her family.  And hug your family a little tighter and tell them how much they mean to you. Because you could be hit with your wham moment at any time.

Current Emotion: Heartbroken

I am currently in Alabama for work, which is fine. I am heading back to Atlanta today. But yesterday I got a picture from Kyle via text message and when I saw it, I got so excited and then I saw the date.

Muffins with Mom - Thursday May 7th at 2:45 PM.  It then hit me [ literally like running into a brick wall ] that I would not be able to make it. I would be out of town for my best friend's wedding that day - my very best friend from college, the girl that I love more than anyone will ever know, and the girl that always knows the right thing to say and always brightens my day. And I immediately had 2 options.  1. Skip Muffins with Mom or 2. Skip the Bridesmaid Brunch on Friday morning.  And I knew that option 2, skipping the brunch was not an option. 

 

I cried. And LAWD did I cry. I called Kyle from my hotel room after Pure Barre and I cried. Hardest cry in a long time. I turned red I cried so hard. You see - these are the things that I have been looking forward to. We had be talking about muffins with mom and donuts with dad since we did our tour and I have to miss the 1st one. And I know there will be more, but this is the first one.  This is my FIRST Mother's Day. I won't get another first Mother's Day or another first muffins with mom. And I also don't get a very special art project for my FIRST MOTHER'S DAY!

 

Of course, I am asking my parents to pull her out of school that day or at least before this event happens. I don't want to be judged as the mom who didn't show up because she couldn't make time or couldn't get away from the office when that is not the truth. I would be there with freaking bells on if I could be there. But I can't. And McKenna cannot and will not be the only kid without a mom to have muffins with and do a very special art project with.

 

Seriously, current emotion... heartbroken. And as I finish this up, I am starting to cry again. Simply because I love that monster. I love being her Mom. I was and am so excited for things like this. And I was so excited for a Mother's Day art project - a first mother's day art project - and I am missing out on that.

 

....And you better believe we're getting up on Sunday morning to haul back to Atlanta so I can get some time with my little Kenna on Mother's Day...

|| 41 || .take time to do what makes your soul happy.

… I am jumping ahead – again – forgive me … but the gratitude challenge that was right after ‘family’ is a little too similar so I am going to spread it out!

As a full time working semi-new mom to an adorable little love bug I do not have a lot of time to myself.  In fact, Kyle used to tell me that I need to find a hobby since I think I was driving him a little crazy at times.

My hobbies currently include, but are not limited to:
1) running {alone or with the family}
2) FlyWheel {normally at 6:00 AM}
3) Pure Barre {normally at lunch}

…trend? Yeah. Working out. but I am insanely grateful for those activities/hobbies because they force me to take me time. Time for me to release a lot of stress. Time for me to think about what in the world I am doing with my life. I sometimes have epiphanies on the spin bike. I sometimes just blank out and think about nothing while at Pure Barre. I sometimes just need a good 45 minute run to “Rage the Night Away” to keep from breaking.

And sometimes the hobby includes my husband and little girl – but there really is nothing better than a family run on the Greenway on the weekends or a family 5K or 10K on a Saturday morning. I love celebrating with Kyle when his 5K finish time is faster than his last.  After years of running alone and racing alone I love having someone by my side and I am thankful that Kyle is healthy with me so we can set that example for little M.

Working out has not only become my hobby but it has also become my sanity.  I have found something that is good for me to lose myself in when I am questioning everything or beating myself up over work or just had a bad week or day.  Pounding the pavement or leaving it all on the bike really does clear my mind – even if it is just a temporary thing.

I am forever grateful for a good run. or a good pure barre class. or a good morning on the spin bike. the harder the workout the better. the harder the workout the more stress is lost. the harder the workout the more I think and get rid of the petty stupid things. and the best thing about those 3 hobbies of mine, no matter how long I am gone all 3 welcome me back with open arms [ and a swift kick in the butt ] and for that I am even more grateful.

always find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive.

Gratitude || Week 4 || Family

…yup, I am running a week behind I am aware… therefore, you’re in for 2 gratitude posts this week.

Family. Yup. I have one. Yup. I am grateful for them. Every single member of my family. And I don’t think family is limited to those people who you are connected to by birth or marriage. I have a work family too.

My family is made up of Kyle, McKenna, Kennesaw, and Mulligan. 3 humans, 2 furbabies and it is a circus. They all keep me on my toes and keep me laughing and make me not take life too serious. 

then I have my mom and dad who are not too far away and it is great having them close by.  Not only does my daughter get to grow up knowing her grandparents and spending lots of time with them – it is nice to be able to have a life when having a baby since I know we can often count on them to watch the little monster.  and I know I was a total pain in their butt growing up, but I have to believe their hard rules and early curfews must have semi shaped me into who I am today.

I have an older brother who also lives in Atlanta and I don’t see him as often as I should, but he is the kind of guy who would drop everything for you if he could and help you out. And I have only had to call in a few favors over the years, but it is nice to know that there is someone who will come turn off your crock pot because you’re 100% convinced it will burn your house down while you’re at work and not think you’re totally crazy.

and then there is my aunt who has kept us stocked on the cutest baby clothes around, but more importantly she has allowed us to not have to think about keeping our kid clothed when there are so many other things to think about.  and just in general, she has the largest heart around and I can only hope to love my family as much as she loves all of us.

then there is my work family. my office mom { karen } and my work wife { afton } and my buddy { Lydia } … who keep me sane and are there for me to vent to and the ones who challenge my thoughts and give me advice all the time and who are honest with me and laugh with me.

Quite honestly, there are times { a lot of times } that I tend to take people for granted. I just assume they will always be around and I will always have people in my corner, but that isn’t how life really works. But… these are some people that I am thankful for and am glad to have in my corner.

McKenna’s First Easter

McKenna had a great first Easter.  The Easter Bunny spoiled her with bubbles and books clothes and food and some super fun toys {she LOVES her camera} and then we got to do dinner with my parents, so she got a little extra loving that day!

She tore right into her Easter Basket and wouldn’t let me put things back into the basket – everything had to stay on the floor where she could touch it and feel it.

Luckily she was too young for the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt, because I thought it was on Sunday when it was actually on Saturday {that would have been a huge mommy fail} but we’re looking forward to possibly doing that next year.  But, if you cannot tell from the basket pictures – it may take her a few years to grow into her basket so she can hold it… ….not drag it.

BUT! We had a great first Easter. Watching her dive right into the basket makes me excited for her 1st birthday and then Christmas!

gratitude #15 :: spring is here

 

As you can tell – I am jumping ahead! I figured, it would be OK and appropriate to jump ahead since it is officially spring,

I once saw the quote, “my favorite weather is bird chirping weather” and I don’t know who said it or wrote it but it could not be more accurate. 

Spring could be my favorite season.  I am not going to say the cliché I am grateful winter has ended and we have nice weather … in fact, I may not even mention the term grateful. Simply because I don’t know what I am grateful about spring.

But I will say I love spring weather. I love that it is not too hot and not too cold. I love the crispness of the mornings and the evenings. I love when I can pull out the flip flops and sandals. I love that spring signifies the start of months of puppy play dates and weekend mornings on the greenway with my family and nightly dog walks and Friday night wine nights on the back porch under the stars and weekend coffee on the porch with a good book.

Maybe I am grateful for all that? Maybe I am grateful that spring signifies the start of getting out of the house more and seeing our neighbors more? Maybe I am grateful for sandal weather because I can get more pedicures? ….but I can say that I am thankful that the cold weather is behind us and spring signifies pretty weather!  WAIT! I TOTALLY SAID I WOULDN’T SAY THAT. Le Sigh.

What about spring are you grateful for?

gratitude #2 // Song of Solomon 3:4

 

“I have found the one whom my soul loves.”
--Song of Solomon 3:4

I have been in a relationship with Kyle for over 8 years and we have been married for 3 years and 1 week. Hands down, I would call myself lucky, but that is cliché. I would also say that I married my best friend. Again. that is cliché. But seriously, I am lucky and I am married to my best friend.  For that I am grateful. 

I may not always like Kyle and I may not always like the advice he hands out on how to handle situations, but I always love him and the advice he gives me and has given me over time has not only grown me personally, but professionally. I am grateful to have someone by my side that I don’t always have to be socially acceptable around and to have someone by my side who supports me and challenges me and grows me. 

We live in a time where people are pretty selfish, but I am married to a guy who values our quality time together and who makes it a priority to spend time with me instead of playing video games. I have a husband who looks forward to date days or morning runs together. I have a husband who likes to go to the grocery store with me, simply because it is time that we get to spend together. There is rarely a moment that I don’t feel loved. Kyle makes it a priority to make me feel loved and feel beautiful. And, it is so much more than just saying the words.

Of course. He is not without faults. He has a quick temper when annoyed or frustrated and sometimes he gets lost in video games that he forgets to do things and let’s be honest - he doesn’t have the best listening skills. But, no one is perfect and I have come to accept his quirks and short comings and I have learned to not let them get to me because it is just Kyle being Kyle.

I live in a circus. We are on a hectic, crazy road right now and I have a husband who is walking right next to me during this time and who is laughing with me and who is keeping calm when I am panicking.  Quite simply, Kyle is just a great partner to have when navigating this crazy thing called life and for that I am grateful that I never found a job in  Atlanta and had to go home to Virginia and continue working at Logan’s Roadhouse. And I am grateful for margaritas in the snow where we got to know each other even more. And I will be forever grateful that he took a huge leap and moved away form his family and friends and moved to Atlanta with me almost 7 years ago.

Giving Back – Work Community Day

Once upon a time I created a 30 before 30 list. Well… don’t be fooled. I am no longer under 30 and I completed 8 of the items out of 30. Yeah. Pretty awful. I know. BUT! I had the opportunity to complete one of the items this past weekend with my company. So, while it doesn’t actually count, I can now take #29: Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity off my bucket list.

This past Saturday my company volunteered on a build with Habitat for Humanity and I really cannot call it a “build” since the house was finished – but we got to help with things like cleaning and touching up paint on both the inside and the outside of the house as well as landscaping. Let’s just say, it was an interesting experience but an overall great opportunity.  I saw my first ever crack head {true story} and we got yelled at by the neighbor lady who lived next door for being too loud when she was  trying to sleep {in her defense it was like 8:00 AM and she had gotten off work at 11:00 PM} … but it really makes you realize how lucky you are and how deserving some people are.  The woman who was the future home owner was gracious and she appreciated everything that we did for her and the other volunteers.  It was just a honor to help build a house for her to live in with her daughter and her 2 grandsons {who were adorable, by the way}.

I did a little bit of everything – I raked dirt to remove big rocks to prep the ground for sod and then I helped carry sod {which by the way is heavy and dirty} and then I did some paint touch up on the outside of the house {and managed to not spill any paint on the front porch}.  Everyone kept telling Kyle, “see she can totally do yard work, she just tells you that she can’t”.  And well, yes. Yes, I can do yard work I chose not to – after all, someone needs to watch McKenna.  So – we just took pictures with our yard tools and covered in dirt to prove that we can do the work – just chose not to unless we are volunteering! =D

I think the biggest thing that I learned was that these homes are just not given to individuals – they have to earn that house.  The potential owner has to apply to be part of the “Habitat Family” and they must have a steady job and good credit.  They also have to work on the house for 250 hours as it is being built and they have to participate in a years worth of “homeownership”" education”.  I never realized that the future homeowners had to do so much and that they would be  side by side with all the volunteers working on the house.  My only regret was not taking the time to tell her congrats after the house was dedicated to her.  That house was something that she had wanted and wanted and now she finally had it.

Overall – it was a cold day with great fellowship with my coworkers giving back to a family that so very much deserved the cute little house that was built for them by strangers who elected to give up a Saturday of their time.  The work was not hard, in fact there really was not a lot of work to get done since the house was done and all we had to do was odds and ends before the house was ready for the dedication ceremony we got done fairly easily. 

I have to say, it feels good to work for a company that gives back to its community. I would 100% do it again and maybe next time I can swing a hammer or put up a wall or something more builder like.  OR I can do something a little less dangerous like paint or rake dirt again.  After all, I am not sure I should be wielding a nail gun or even a screw driver.

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge : #1 Why Start?

 

Last week I came across this blogging challenge on a blog that I used to read a long time ago.  And as you know, it is a personal goal of mine to get back into this blogging thing on the regular a bit more.  And I thought, what is better than a 52 week challenge? Plus, I really liked the concept and it would commit me to a solid year of blogging about something other than my daughter and my dogs and my husband uber boring life.

when I decided to commit to this challenge there was the “it will commit me to opening my laptop and blogging” piece.  But more importantly, it will force me to take a step back from my busy life and to express gratitude for something. Confession: I sometimes get so wrapped up in the bad. and the gray. and the drama. that I miss the little things in life that are so good. while I am busy complaining about something small or rolling my eyes at the situation I am in, I am missing out on how lucky I am. in all honestly, I know I am one lucky girl… …but I am not always a little ray of sunshine so I hope this challenge changes me and my outlook on life!  my goal is that when I get to week #52 and answer the “did  this challenge change you” question/post I will be able to say yes.

Are you up for the challenge?! If so… …do it with me. It will be fun and I would love to hear what other people are grateful for. Just let me know that you’re doing it so I can make sure I am following your blog.

5 things Friday +1.

Alas. Another 5 things Friday where I can literally ramble about things that are fairly unimportant. And by fairly unimportant, I mean 100% unimportant.

[ one ] I have a major, uncontrollable itch to do some home improvements on our house. And I am pretty sure Kyle is getting annoyed listening to me talk about them. So, you get the hear my want list. I want my sliding doors gone & replaced with French doors. I want granite countertops & new cabinet doors. I want a deck remodel – with a fire pit added. I want to redo our master bathroom. I want to pain the shutters and get a new door.  Evidently, I need to win the lotto because with our penny pinching ways McKenna will be 43 and I still won’t have granite counter tops. #truth

[ two ] I think McKenna just may have the largest Easter basket in town. When Pottery Barn Kids calls something a large, they are not messing around. This is a LARGE basket that we need to get filled with stuff from the “Easter Bunny”. So, I am accepting ideas and suggestions. Please comment below. Seriously. Please do. But… …how cute is this thing. And Kyle did ask me, “this is her Easter Basket for awhile, right?!” … Pottery Barn Easter baskets aren’t cheap.  Even with that 15% off coupon code! =D

kyle wants to mention that mckenna is now eating finger foods on her own … something about a pincher finger reflex made this possible. I just think she is growing up a little too fast.

[ three ] In case you missed it. the debate over how a toilet paper roll is supposed to sit on the holder was put to rest this week.  And the toilet paper is supposed to hang OVER not under.  So for all those years that my OCD behavior has fixed this other people’s homes was not just me being OCD, it was me being 100% right. HA!  And I will no longer apologize for my toilet paper changing ways, but I will continue to fix it when I see it because it drives me NUTS.

[ four ] I get to see my best friend and her husband to be this upcoming week and to describe my feelings … I am REALLY EXCITED!  She gets to formally ask me to be a bridesmaid and if she is lucky I will say yes! I will be really sad when this client of ours closes their doors because it will be the end of random middle of the week visits with by bestie.

[ five ] I have a personal goal to get better at this blogging thing… …like I want to go back to the days of my running blog with most consistent posts and more followers and more comments – I miss engaging with people. I just have to make time for it and well, being a new mom + a working mom sometimes time is limited. But… I need to make it a priority.  So if anyone who reads this has any recommendations, please comment below.

[ +1 ] I am 15 classes deep in the 20 in 31 #purebarrechallenge – 5 to go. I CAN DO IT. I just have to pencil it in and stick to it because my available days are few and far between for the rest of the month. And by available days, I mean my lunch breaks!

WELLLLLL.  That is the 5 +1 … have a good weekend!!