I love you, Athens

I've yet to blog about my trip to Athens last weekend. It's no secret that I wish I was living there but I will just have to settle for frequent trips to stay with my sister! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? That's always been my motto. I was lucky enough to visit two weekends in a row so this upcoming weekend is bound to pale in comparison! 

Two weekends ago I finally got to see my sweet girlfriends from college! I'm still shocked we settled on a date and everyone could come in to town. Thanks to Liezl and Kellie for having us over and for letting me over stay my welcome as usual. Let me say, my girlfriends can cook, y'all! I love that we all bring food instead of going out - we get to spend much more time together catching up and have yummy food at the same time. It is so wonderful to hear about the big changes happening in everyone's lives. I am so blessed by these ladies. Love you girls so much!

Oldie, but goodie! I don't have one with everyone - missing you Liezl!

This past weekend I headed to Athens on Friday to spend the weekend with Haley. Chris was working so I headed out around lunch on Friday to try and beat the traffic. I got into town before Haley got off work so I couldn't resist stopping by Goodwill before I headed to the house. Actually, I stopped at both Goodwill's now that there is one on the Eastside! Just another reason I need to move back! I can't believe we don't have one here in Dalton. 

I didn't score anything ridiculously awesome, but I am so excited about what I did find. I've been searching for something to use as a utensil crock but am really picky about what I want. I found this gorgeous blue ceramic vase and I knew I had to have it! I bought this American flag tray and I can use it in several ways - in a classroom, on the wall, for July 4th decoration, or as a tray on my coffee table (where it is currently sitting). I can't turn down anything with a flag on it, y'all. Just call me Aunt Sam. Lastly, I found a stack of twelve almost new dry erase boards for get this, only five dollars. I couldn't leave without it and I'm glad I didn't. I knew it was a good score when a teacher in line behind me bragged about what a great find it was! Now, I just need a classroom to use them in...

Saturday we headed to Atlanta to a baby shower for one of Haley's friends. Is there anything better than a baby shower? Seriously! There are babies everywhere and I am loving it! I can't wait to buy more sweet baby things for my honorary sister, Beth, in the coming weeks before her baby boy arrives. Saturday night we stopped in at my cousin's house to visit with them. Matt spoiled us with a delicious dinner as usual and I got to hang out with my favorite girl!

Sunday morning was spent lounging around the house until time to head to the UGA Women's basketball game. Dad has been wanting to go for a while so Haley bought us tickets for the game against Texas A & M. The girls have been doing well but unfortunately they didn't pull out a win on Sunday. Of course we love them anyway!

Elaine, this one is for you! That hair is looking crazy! 

I love my people. Here's to another great weekend! Stay warm, safe, and have a great one, y'all!

Cat vs. Dog

Please tell me someone else finds this as funny as I do? Dying!

Happy Hump Day, y'all!

This is great! I love cats and dogs! 

Candy Hearts Wreath

I am not a big fan of January. I love Fall and Christmas so much that I always find myself feeling a little gloomy and depressed when the New Year rolls around. This January is no exception, especially because it has been even more dreary and cold than usual. Seriously, y'all - there was literally no sunlight in Dalton for over a week. It was awful! I already have spring fever, and I have it bad.

On the bright side, I'm already getting excited about Valentine's Day. I've had the same Valentine for nine years now but I still think the holiday is a little ridiculous. We should tell everyone how much they mean to us every day, right? Anyway, I'm still a nut for any holiday because I love to decorate and Valentine's Day is just the same. I love color so Valentine's Day is so much fun because it's acceptable to make my house look like a rainbow threw up everywhere. 

I've had a styrofoam wreath form that I've been itching to use for over a year. This weekend I finally made my mind up and decided to make a wreath out of candy hearts for Valentine's Day. It was definitely time consuming but so worth it! I couldn't be happier with the result!

What you'll need:

Styrofoam wreath form

White satin ribbon - 1.5in for the wreath and .5 inch for the hanger

Hot glue gun - I use a mini glue gun

Hot glue sticks - About 5 mini sticks

Candy Hearts - I used 2 large bags of the Sweethearts brand

• First wrap the wreath with the wide ribbon to cover any uneven spots and make a nice under layer for any areas that show through. I glued the ribbon as I went to keep it as tight and even as possible.
• I glued my hearts in one row around the front of the wreath at a time - like an "O." I wanted the hearts to be as evenly spaced as possible. I would leave a teeny tiny bit of space between the first row of hearts to make spacing the following rows a little bit easier. I didn't have a specific pattern, I just made sure I didn't put any one color twice in a row. If you want a specific pattern, buy an extra bag. There are not even amounts of each color in a bag.
• Only put enough glue for about 3 hearts at a time - if you put more the hearts aren't able to set as well and may fall off. Slow and steady wins the race, y'all!
• I tried my best to "window" the following rows of hearts but it didn't always work that way. As long as you glue them as straight and evenly as you can, they will turn out just fine.
• I did about six rows deep because I wanted the wreath the lay flush against the door and not knock the candy hearts off.
• For the hanger - wrap one piece of the white ribbon around the "top" of the wreath. Glue the two ends together and glue the ribbon to the back of the wreath where there are no candy hearts. 
• I like simplicity so I tied a simple white bow and glued the knot to keep it from coming undone. I then glued it to the front of the white ribbon hanger at the very top. 
• I made a little loop with the .5in ribbon so I could hang it on the command hook on my front door. 
• If you can't tell, I chose to glue my hearts with the word side down. I like the clean look of the plain hearts. I think it would be just as cute to space out a few with the words side up.

There you have it! It took me about two hours and $10-$15 total. I absolutely love how it turned out so I encourage you to make one for yourself!

10 Things

Remember my resolution about blogging truthfully? Baby steps, y'all. This is something important to me. I found this through a blog I follow and love and thought I'd share it with you. Let's do our part to stop violence against all people. 

10 Things You Can Do to Stop Violence Against Women

1. Approach gender violence as a MEN’S issue involving men of all ages, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.
2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner – or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general – don’t look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don’t know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counsellor. DON’T REMAIN SILENT.
3. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don’t be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work towards changing them.
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW.
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the work of campus-based women’s centres. Attend “Take Back the Night” rallies and other public events. Raise money for community-based rape crisis centres and battered women’s shelters. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser.
7. Recognise and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays are wrong in and of themselves. This abuse also has direct links to sexism (e.g. the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, as a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them and a key reason few men do so.)
8. Attend programmes, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence. Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women.
9. Don’t fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any Web site, or buy any music that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media.
10. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programmes, including anti-sexist men’s programmes. Lead by example.

We need to do better in all aspects. Men and Women. Can't we just all get along? Thoughts? Comments? 

Once was lost (and sometimes found)

I have a serious problem, y'all. I lose everything. I mean can't keep up with anything to save my life. My phone, my keys, my lipgloss, my jewelry, my sunglasses... all of it. Everything. Anything! It has gotten me in serious trouble many a time in my life. In my defense, most of the time the things are eventually found - but not always. I usually know immediately whether or not the item in question is missing for good or simply misplaced. I guess it's woman's intuition. Ha!

My problem has gotten exponentially worse over the past few months. I've explained how I kind of sort of have three homes. I still have things in Athens, a ton of stuff at my parents house, and of course piles of crap here in Dalton. Things are scattered from here to Timbuktu and I can't keep it all straight. On top of that I have a bad habit - thanks, Meme - of carrying everything I own with me. Oftentimes everything I own doesn't actually make it back home with me. Big problem. Huge. 

The most recent incident involves this:

Opening my wedding present

 For my wedding present Chris bought me a zoom lens for my camera. As you can imagine that day was chaos so it's shocking I didn't lose it right then and there. Surprisingly, it made the trek to Punta Cana and didn't get stolen (Ahem, Chris Savage). Now, sometime in the weeks after we got home it went missing - you're in shock, I know. Me too. Not really. 

I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn't lost. I remembered checking my purse to make sure I had all my camera accessories at the airport. The problem was, I couldn't find said purse either... Oops. How do you lose a whole purse? Who does that? This girl, that's who. 

Anyways, the lens has been missing for six whole months. I didn't have it to take to football games, or weddings, or to the beach, or to Gatlinburg... And you better bet Chris Savage hasn't let me forget it! Thankfully, he knows of my problem and trusted I'd find it eventually. And friends, eventually I did! This weekend I tore through my room at my parents house like a tornado until I found said purse which had this inside:

Hallelujah! By the time I found the purse I was running out of options. Thank goodness I found it! Now, time to make up for lost time! I think I need a getaway to break it in, don't y'all? That means you, Chris Savage! ;)

Hopefully someone out there can identify with me. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has dropped their phone in a parking lot only to find it laying there two hours later? Oops, maybe I'm alone on that one. I promise I'll try and do better! Where's my journal so I can add that to my resolutions?.....

PS, I subbed in Elementary PE today and just realized I left my favorite tumbler at school... 

Operation Organization Round 1

One of my resolutions was to work on organizing our humble abode. I have a lot of stuff, and not a lot of room to store it. Our guest bedroom looks like a tornado has been through there. Like, seriously. Is there a floor on there? No one knows. Anyway, that project will take a bit more time than this did one so bare with me. 

I thought I'd share some photos of our laundry area. Like a lot of people, we just have a laundry "closet." It's double doors that open to a small area that houses our washer and dryer with one simple shelf above them. AKA the pit of doom. What's the point of that little shelf, anyhow? It barely holds anything! I've always housed cleaning supplies under the sink but seeing as we are lacking cabinet space already, every inch is important. 

My husband has a little problem that I kind of love. He's crazy about keeping everything in stock around the house. We never run out of anything because he's always ahead of the game - unlike me who will use the very last paper towel before realizing it. Oops. It's like the cokes refill themselves ;) (Thanks, honey!) This is great but it only makes my storage issue even worse. I can barely fit the must haves, much less doubles and triples of everything. I knew I needed to come up with a solution in order to fit everything in the laundry closet. 

Solution: Use a shoe storage hanger to hold cleaning supplies. It fits on the back of the door and almost everything can fit inside the pockets. I have everything I need right where I can see it. It's so much nicer than climbing up under the sink and digging through bottles to find what I need! Now, I just use the shelf for larger items like laundry detergent, bigger boxes, and paper towels, etc. Here's some pictures of all my cleaning supplies.

The bottom row is kind of miscellaneous items

Much better than before!

Ahh, much better! What's next?

Cheerful

Today is a dreary day in Dalton. I'm stuck in the condo with a sick husband snuggled up asleep on the couch. In case anyone else needs something to cheer them up, here you go:

Too funny!

Embrace it.

If you spend much time exploring the blog world, you are probably no stranger to the "Word of the Year" fad. Bloggers choose one specific word to define their life in the coming year. I've been reading other blogger's choices for the last month or so and have debated whether or not I should join in on the fun. If I'm being honest, choosing a word for 2013 scares me because it means I'm committing to this word in my daily life. Blogging truthfully was one of my resolutions so here goes nothing, y'all. As soon as I came across this word, I knew it was the word for my year.

Via

Embrace can be defined as, "To take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly." I touched on this idea in my New Years resolutions post without even realizing it. In 2013 I want to focus on willingly and eagerly accepting everything that life throws my way. I haven't done so well with this in the past so it's something I'm committing to in 2013. Y'all know I'm not a fan of change and there are bound to be even bigger changes this year.

I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to live in the future. I'm always waiting for the next big thing to happen. Life has been such a whirlwind up to this point and now that it has slowed down it's a little strange! I think that's just human nature - especially since we have become such a dissatisfied culture that requires instant gratification. So many of us aren't happy just living. Like I've blogged before, it's the in betweens that really matter and make life worth living. I've learned this the hard way and I'm going to focus on embracing the in betweens this year!

Wish me luck!


"To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another that is surely the basic instinct - crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is!"
~ Barbara Kingsolver 

Via

PS

I didn't list this as one of my resolutions, but it's one of those things I'm constantly working on. I found this Weekly Bible Reading Plan on a blog I frequently read. It's a great way to keep up with reading the Word. Check out her blog if you are interested!

Resolutions.

Blogging. Drinks. Media. Relationships. Organization. 

Yes, I'm doing it. I'm putting my new years resolutions into the blogosphere in hopes that I will actually follow through for once in my life. Now, I'm not going to detail my plans to lose weight, or pray more, or not eat cake. We always set ourselves up for disappointment so I'm not doing that this year. There are things I'm constantly working on and I'm good with that. I'm content in my life without making major changes at this point. There are a few things I would like to work on specifically so here goes nothing, y'all.

Blogging. I've gotten better with blogging more regularly, but not with content. It's something I really enjoy and I use it as an outlet for the stresses of daily life. That being said, there are several things that have been on my mind but I have been a little scared to blog about them. This year I'm going to work on blogging more truthfully. It's about to get real, y'all. 

Drinks. If you know me, you know coke is my crutch. When I'm happy, sad, mad, upset, and especially stressed, I lean on it. After I studied abroad in Italy I have been drinking it constantly. I have gotten better the past couple of months but it's something that I still need to work on.

Now, here's where I'm starting that whole blogging truthfully thing. I need to work on my relationship with social media. It can be a wonderful thing but it can also be a terrible thing. Like so many others say, I sometimes feel like I am putting too much pressure on myself and creating unrealistic expectations. It's easy to get caught up in who did what, has what, and is what. That's not what it's here for, y'all! We all need to do better.

Relationships. I'm blessed with a wonderful family and the best sister anyone could ever ask for. Unfortunately, sometimes this influences my other relationships. I need to work on building up the friendships I have and strengthening new ones. This is especially important since I have moved three hours away from everyone!

Organization. Living in the condo has severely inhibited my organizing skills. I'm a teacher, y'all, it's in my blood! I can't even tell you how much I look forward to the day when Chris and I have a house so I can organize all my stuff (dad) like I want. But, for now, that's no excuse. I'll keep you updated as I tackle one thing at a time. First - Chris got a paper shredder from his parents so I can't wait to get that baby warmed up!

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but it's the things that have been on my mind lately. For once, I am going to try and use my resolutions to make me feel better about my life, not worse. What about you? What are you resolutions?


Love,