Giant Blank Wall No More

When Luke and I were looking at houses my first concern was always "where will our TV go?".

Which is a bit silly, yes, BUT nothing is worse than an awkward living room with less than desirable viewing of the TV.

OK yes, there are a lot of things worse than that, and I'm sure the top interior designer would tell you not to position your furniture around the TV, but for us normal non-fancy people we do like our furniture positioned around the TV so having a living room that accommodated this simple request only made sense.

When we first saw our house that we live in now I was taken aback by the perfect living room layout. It had a huge wall perfect for a TV with enough room to position the furniture around the TV. It seemed like a dream for any TV-aholic such as myself.

We bought the house, moved in, and positioned the furniture, it was then that I realized I had been going about this all wrong.

I may have had the perfect set up for taking in countless hours of mind-numbing housewives but I also had a GIANT BLANK WALL that seemed impossible to decorate.

I tried every brainstorming tactic short of hiring an interior decorator to fill the space but nothing seemed to come together. It was such an awkward space. 

I wanted to get one of those big nice entertainment centers but those are expensive and it seems we have a million other places that need our money, giant blank walls were put on the back burner.

So a couple of weeks ago I made it my mission to take care of the giant bank wall on a budget. And 3 wall pieces, one hanging of a shelf, marriage counseling for hanging shelf, and a couple of decorations later our giant blank wall is covered. I can rest easy now.

This is the best "before" picture I can find right now. I tried to avoid taking pictures of the whole wall because it bothered me so much. I have issues.

 

And the "after":

I love how it turned out! 

I found the shelf at a craft show I went to a couple of weeks ago through the vendor "Just Dreamin"
When I first saw it I thought maybe it had potential and the more I looked at it I realized it was perfect!

I found the printable in the middle on pinterest.

I'm just so relieved to have that wall covered!

Fall Weekend Fun

We had such a fun and FULL weekend. I loved it!

It all started Friday when my sister who is in college randomly decided to come spend the night with us. I love that she lives a bit closer to us now that she is at college and hope she will randomly come stay with us more. We loved having her!

We had planned to go to a bonfire that night with friends from church so my sister Haley joined us. 

It was a COLD night but we had fun going on a hay ride and then sitting in front of the bonfire while we {Luke} roasted hot dogs and smores! 

Saturday my mom had already planned to drive up to keep Eli for us while we went to a wedding so it was just a bonus that  my sister was there.

One of Luke's friends from high school was getting married, so we were able to enjoy some time catching up with his old friends. I love that Luke comes from a close group of high school friends and as each person gets married the spouses are invited in! :-)

I only took one picture that day, here I am with Shannon (a fellow spouse)

Saturday was also special because Luke's high school friend Sam was in town for the wedding. We were able to host Sam, her husband, and their friends over to watch the OU game. It was fun to have everyone over and Eli thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention before the game. 

Sunday we relaxed after church. I also snuck in a 3 hour nap which was fabulous!

My Hair Video

Today I found myself in a strange predicament.

I put Eli down for a nap and then started getting myself ready to do my daily nap chores, ya know cleaning, laundry, emails, etc.

And then I realized I had nothing to do. My house is clean, we are going out tonight so no need to fix dinner, I did all laundry yesterday and I'm caught up on all emails. Yes I could FIND some sort of work to do but instead I decided to enjoy it.

I watched a little Say Yes to the Dress (minus bon bons) and then decided to take advantage of my "free" time and film my hair vlog.

I've had a copule of people ask me how I do my hair, and while it's NOTHING special I decided to film it.

And before you watch I have to remind you that I am entirely long-winded. Somehow this video is 16 minutes and that's after I edited out some parts.

So if you have absolutely nothing to do feel free to watch, and maybe skip ahead.

A few disclaimers:
1. I say um a lot
2. My chair squeaks. I heard it while I was filming but thought maybe you wouldn't be able to hear it in the video. I was wrong
3. It is hard to see my hair which is the main focus of the video. Awesome.
4. I've never claimed to be cool. It is obvious after this mess





The products I mention in the post:

1. Paul Mitchell Brush
2. Paul Mitchell Fast Form Gel
3. Big Sexy Hair Spray
4. Big Sexy Powder Play
5. Paul Mitchell Blow Dryer

Also, my curling iron is a Conair 1 1/2 inch barrel that I got at Target. I've had it for a couple of years and it seems to work just fine for me but I should probably invest in a new one soon.

Comment if you have any other questions!

Same Ole Thursday

Well today is my first "official" day as a stay at home mom.

Although, it doesn't feel any different than usual because I've has Thursdays off since Eli was born.

And in all actuality most of the time I felt like a stay at home mom who just happened to go into the office 20 hours a week.

I imagine it will feel weird Sunday night when I realize I dont have to wake up and go into the office in the morning, but other than that everything feels pretty normal.

I've had a feeling of excitement in me, knowing that I will now be home with Eli full time. I was hoping Eli felt the same way but upon picking him up from the babysitter's house yesterday he screamed and cried for his DADA like I was some crazed lady trying to abduct him.

Nope, just the mom who GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU.

Just kidding, I didn't give up everything, just almost everything.

Eli is pretty good at entertaining himself and likes to play alone for the most part, so in between playing with him here and there I've gotten a fair amount of cleaning done and even sent out my Scentsy team newsletter.

I also started meal planning for next week because yesterday Luke said:

"I say this in the most supportive, non-nagging husband way I know possible, but are you going to start cooking again anytime soon?"

Point taken.

I'm still waiting to do that "sit on the couch while eating bon bons and watching TV" thing that people say stay at home moms do.......

Leaving

Today has been much more emotional for me than I thought it would be.

This is my last full day at work. Tomorrow I will come into the office, but I'm only working half a day. I will turn in my keys, give back my parking decal, turnover my staff ID and say goodbye.

I've been so caught up in the excitement of being able to stay home with Eli that I haven't thought about the actual leaving part.

I walked onto this university 10 years ago. TEN YEARS ago. It feels like forever, and feels like yesterday all wrapped up in some weird ball.

I grew up on this campus, no doubt about it. I was walking on campus today to go pay an outstanding parking ticket (dont' tell Luke) and the weight of everything that occurred in my life on this campus hit me.

This is where I began and ended my college experience. This is where I met some of my long time best friends and where I lost some friends. This is where I fell in love, and then broke up with that love.

I was walking today and passed the place where I ran into that love after breaking up with him and FINALLY feeling "over him" only to go to class and receive a text message from him about two minutes later that said "I am still in love with you". I later married that love.

I got my first "real" job on this campus and experienced the ups and downs of office life. There were times where I thrived and loved every minute and there were times where I waned to leave. But yet something kept me here.

It's weird to walk across campus and be filled with so many memories from various seasons of my life. In one spot I simultaneously have the memory of walking with a friend to class every single Monday/Wednesday/Friday and a particular stairwell being our place of "goodbye" for the afternoon, and a memory on that same stairwell  where Luke and I took pictures for our second Christmas card as a married couple.

I walked past a field where Luke played intramural football during college and us girls would cheer him and his teammates on from the side, and years later that field would become a place where I would host a large campus wide event just a couple of months after giving birth.

I cried my eyes out on this campus on the last day of college knowing that friends were moving and life was going to be different, and I beamed with excitement on this campus when I brought my baby here for the first time to meet my co-workers.

This is my home, and oddly I never saw it coming. I've been here for ten years attending classes, forming friendships, getting married, changing jobs, growing professionally and having a baby, all the while never realizing that with each life change this campus was always a constant.

And now, it will simply be a memory. It will no longer be in my everyday life. The next step in my journey is beginning, and it's weird because with every other new step in a journey it involved this campus somehow in some way. For the past ten years it has been apart of my identity every step of the way.

Tomorrow when I come in and say goodbye I will probably cry, not because I'm sad, but because I am grateful for all my time on this campus, it has grown me in more ways than I could have realized.
I will carry the memories with me as I step away and begin the next season of my life. I will always hold in my heart this campus, it was apart of me and will always be apart of me.

Our Fall Weekend

We had such a wonderful fall weekend. The weather wasn't very "fall-ish" considering it was almost 90 degrees everyday, but I still wore boots and scarves. Fall is my favorite season and I will participate fully even if the weather decides not to participate - which is ANNOYING.

Friday I went to my very favorite craft show. It comes to town twice a year and I try and go every year. And now that I've said that I realize the last time I went was when I was big and pregnant so I guess I've missed a few along the way. I blogged about it here, which is a pretty funny story and still makes me laugh. 

I was excited because i found a great shelf for an affordable price and I'm going to put it over our TV. We have a HUGE giant BLANK wall in our living room that has got on my nerves for almost 3 years now, and I've finally decided to tackle it. Clearly I'm a fast mover.

Luke and I hung the shelf on Saturday which almost resulted in us signing up for marriage counseling. After hanging the shelf Luke said this is why we will never work together. MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY.

Saturday after we hung the shelf from hell (although I still say the shelf hanging mistakes were not the shelf's mistake but possibly USER ERROR, (which would be the reason we needed to go to counseling afterwards)) we went to the pumpkin patch.

We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch. We went last year and man what a difference it was this year! Last year Eli was just a wee little guy. This year he was a running, screaming, throwing {small} pumpkins kinda guy.

 

  

 Sarah and her family met us at the pumpkin patch. I love watching our boys play (and fight) together. We always have so much fun with them!

 Sunday after church we went to a work event for Luke's job. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to finally meet some of his co-workers that I hear him talk about a lot. I like to put a face to a name.

It was a great weekend and I'm so thankful. NOW if we get just get some fall weather up in this motha I would be a VERY happy person!

Outfit Link Up and Giveaway Winner!

I'm linking up with Rachel at Suburban Strut again for some outfit pics! 

Lately I've had an obsession with cobalt blue - and from what I'm seeing I'm not the only one. It is such a big color this season and I am loving it!

I got this cobalt blue shirt at Shopsosie.com

And this cobalt blue jacket at TJ Maxx. This jacket is cute but verges on the line of a circus ring leader jacket. 

And then this blue dress that I got at Gap

If I like something I tend to get like 8 million pieces of that one thing, so right now I am getting all things cobalt blue. I should probably step back a little! 

And now the riffraff giveaway winner!

Kodi you are the winner! Email me and I will send you the necklace!

Thanks to everybody who entered! Be sure and visit the Riffraff FB page! 

Inspiration or Comparison?

Today a read a quote on Twitter that aboslutely resonated with me. Lisa Bevere tweeted the following:

Make sure social media inspires you rather than allow it to distract or create a culture of comparison and competition.

I was reading my timeline and simply read this like I would any other tweet, but had to stop and read it again.

Wow. I feel like there is such a powerful message in those short 20 words.

It is no secret that I am a lover of social media. Sometimes I am teased about this from friends who only know me through "real life" but my friends that I have met through blogging and/or twitter completely get it.

I love social media for the purpose of keeping up with friends that I probably would have grown apart from over time, I use it to develop deeper relationships, I use it to grow my Scentsy business, I use it to connect with others when I'm sitting at home with a crazy child and want some outside world contact.

There are so many positives to social media - but as with anything there are negatives.

Sometimes social media can dominate my time and this is NOT ok. I am going to be transparent and say that Luke and I have gotten into arguments over the amount of time I spend checking Twitter. He hates talking to me and trying to carry on a conversation with me while my eyes are glued to my phone.

And I don't blame him, yet I still do it and we still argue about it. I am trying to get better about it and trying to limit the times that I check twitter but GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON GOOD CONVERSATIONS. Dumb, I know.

And while reading the tweets, and looking at the pics I sometimes get lost in the game of comparison. Not about material things because honestly comparing my material items to another person's items have never been a problem for me.  I can look at someone's beautiful ginormous home or all their designer clothes and say "wow that's awesome for them but we choose to do other things with the money that we have".  I have never really struggled with being jealous of what other's have.

But I do have plenty of struggles in other areas. Often times I feel like a failure as a mom or wife when I read what other's are doing. I compare my relationship with Luke to others thinking, "hmm they don't seem to fight as much as we do" or  in regard to motherhood I think "wow, I don't work with my child as much as they work with theirs, I wonder if they will have an honor student and I will have a bully?"

This would be the place where social media goes from a fun simple thing to something that is bringing negativity into my life and allowing me to go into the pit that is comparison.

Because I love social media so much I don't want it to become something negative in my life. So I've been trying to figure out what I can do to keep it a source of inspiration in my life and not something that only brings negativity.

I've been working on changing my thoughts from comparison to motivation. If I see something that makes me feel inadequate as a mom I can take a step back and reevaluate. Is this a rational feeling? If so how can I inappropriate this into my life? What can I take from this? If it's not a rational feeling I can recognize that it is a lie and stop the thought.

Social media can be a good place, I have gotten so many tips and help in regards to parenting Eli, fun date night ideas, good crafts, amazing organization ideas and I'm able to connect with spiritual leaders I respect. I have developed some amazing and authentic friendships through social media. I just have to learn to let go of the comparison game. It's not healthy and it is turning something in my life that can be good into something negative. I don't want to take away something that could be good just because I can't control my own thoughts and emotions.

Do you find yourself struggling in any area with social media? How can you make it a source of inspiration in your life?

Ten Year Reunion

Last weekend I went to my ten year reunion.

I always swore I would never go to it. I didn't hate high school but I definitely never EVER want to relive those years. They are better left in the past where they belong.

So the day that I went on paypal and paid a good chunk of money to go to the reunion surprised me more than anyone.

And now, after the reunion I can say that I am very glad that I went. For some reason I've had a negative taste in my mouth of my high school years. I'm definitely one to {over}analyze every single situation so all weekend I tried to figure out why I had negative feelings towards high school.

I was having a good time at the reunion so why was it that I harbored bad feelings of my high school time?

I enjoyed my time in high school. However I wasn't the prettiest, smartest, most popular, most outgoing or most spiritual, I was just me.

During all of my analyzing I realized this is what has bothered me all these years, I simply didn't like me. My high school years were great (aside from my grades which were in fact not great). I had good friends, I managed to stay out of "trouble", I was involved with a youth group that brought many fun memories as well as one of my closest and best friends.

It seems a little belated but ten years later I have realized it is ok that I wasn't the prettiest, smartest, most popular, most outgoing or most spiritual, and that I was just me. 

It's amazing how accepting me for me is a constant journey. All these years I have thought I didn't like high school but really I just didn't like me, which is sad. I am learning to accept myself and love myself. I think it will always be a journey.

Honestly I never realized that it was just insecurity that was plaguing me, and somehow going to my ten year reunion helped me to realize this. So in a way I'm kind of glad these two girls basically made me go!

The reunion was two days Friday night and Saturday night. Friday night was much more relaxed and I enjoyed it more, but the whole weekend was great. 

Me with my sweet husband who makes me SO thankful that I didn't waste time on any high school boys! :-)

 

One of my besties Lacey. I am so thankful for her friendship. Every time I'm around her it makes me thankful for real and authentic relationships. We can go two years without seeing each other and get together and just be us. It is a special friendship.  We actually met our senior year but consider ourselves "high school best friends"

My good friend Miranda. We have been friends since 3rd grade and share MANY memories together including our insane love for all things Hanson. We may have had a pretend joint Hanson wedding one time. We totally walked down the aisle to "I will come to you" which I'm pretty sure was written for Hanson's dead grandma. Don't tell our 13 year old selves.

It was a great weekend and I'm glad I went! I'm not sure Luke feels the same way since I basically left him alone a lot of time while I talked to people. Luke is very thankful for his iPhone that kept him entertained.

It's crazy but I never thought high school would still be teaching me life lessons ten years later. But it is. I am learning to love me for me everyday!

Riffraff GIveaway!!

I am really excited to be hosting a giveaway for Riffraff. I do not live in Fayetteville, Arkansas where Riffraff is located but because of their awesome Facebook page I have been able to purchase items from them. They post new {adorable} stuff all the time. Check it out their facebook page and also their blog, this week is customer appreciation week! 

Recently Riffraff sent me this super cute red necklace. I have worn it almost everyday since I got it. You can wear it dressed up or dressed down. 

Today I wore it with a leopard shirt and black skinnies:

 Or in the past I've worn it with a shirt and zip up hoodie. It works both ways, it is so versatile and did I mention cute?

And now I get to giveaway this same necklace to one of my lucky readers!

Well not this same exact one. You won't get a used necklace, you will get a brand new necklace just like this beautiful red one!

To enter all you have to do is visit the Riffraff Facebook page and "like" them, then come back here and comment and let me know that you either "liked" them or you already "like" them!

It's that easy! Good luck!

31 Days of FAILING

When I randomly decided to join the 31 days of blogging I knew I wanted to choose something that would encourage me to blog everyday about the basic details of life. Stuff that I always want to blog about but I'm afraid it will bore people.

And then I started my 31 days and realized I ALREADY DID THAT.

Really my 31 days details weren't any different than what I normally did, so I guess that was something good that I learned from 31 days. I will just continue to do what I'm doing. BE BORING.

Maybe next year I will do something superficial like 31 days of wearing only items in your closet without buying anything new. Superficial seems easier than boring details from my day. Like my "Top Knot" yawn.

Plus I'm so far behind in my 31 days I'm not sure it is worth catching up. Eli and I were in my hometown all week visiting family and friends and I did a couple of Scentsy parties while there.

It was a productive and fun week. There was a time when I wanted more than anything to be back in my hometown, but right now I'm ok with the way things are. I would love to be closer to family and some of my close friends that are there, but I love our life here and our town. Sometimes my heart feels torn.

Apparently visiting with family and friends while thinking about how my heart is town between two cities trumps blogging everyday. Go figure.

So this is me ending my 31 days. It was a good 13 days give or take (TAKE) a few days.

Stay tuned as I continue to be boring, it's what I do best!

October Specials

Every month I like to do a little Scentsy update with all the specials for that month. If you ever have any further questions about anything please don't hesitate to email me! MeganTree84{at}gmail{dot}com

The October warmer of the month is Tom, he is so cute and is 10% off for this month only!

Did you know that Scentsy has the cutest little stuffed animals that come with a Scent Pak so they smell fresh and clean all the time?

I have Patch the Dog in Eli's room and he loves to hold him and love on him. Patch sits on his dresser when he isn't playing with him (to help the room smell good) and every morning when Eli wakes up he points to him and wants to touch him. It is so cute.

Right now Scentsy is offering an amazing deal. All full size buddies are Buy One get One FREE. Seriously, it is such a good deal!!!

These make great gifts for kids or expectant moms. There are lots of different animal options, be sure to check them all out.

And lastly in personal Scentsy news I'm officially a director! So happy and thankful for the opportunities this gives me!

As always if you've ever considered becoming a Scentsy consultant let me know and we can talk! I love to share my Scentsy story!

Day of Silence

Today on this blog it is a day of silence in remembrance of Matt Turner.

If you stumbled upon this blog today please take a moment to pray for the family of this man, especially his wife Julee and Preslee.

And also, pray for anyone who is heavy hearted today.

Day 8 of 31

It is hard to squeeze in a post right now because everything is so crazy busy.

Eli and I are headed to my hometown Tuesday afternoon. I have three Scentsy parties scheduled for the week! I am looking forward to the parties and also spending time with family and friends. We will miss Luke so much, and I know he will miss us, but I think he has booked his calendar pretty full for the week so the time shouuld go by quickly.

Sunday night for dinner I made Angie's chili. YUM, it was good. My idea of a perfect chili is THICK and SPICY (but not too spicy for Luke). This chili hit that criteria. We had a lot of leftover chili so Monday for dinner we did Three Way Chili. I grew up eating this but I've realized that not a lot of people are familiar with this.

Basically you cook some spaghetti noodles and dump your chili over the spaghetti, you can add any toppings, I usually loveo cheese and onion on mine but didn't have a freshly chopped onion at home tonight.

This isn't the best picture (maybe the wrost picture ever) but it is sure good!

After dinner Luke gave Eli his bath while I started trying to pack us and get all my party gear ready to go. It is definitely a huge feat. Plus I have no idea what to pack since it is 30 degrees in the morning and 80 degrees by noon. The responbility of dressing another human is stressful.

Soon after Eli's bath a cute little baby wrapped in a towel came running into my room where I was packing. I love this happy little guy so much



I have a lot to blog about this week.....

I will be doing a Riff Raff giveaway! Get excited!!

I want to highlight the latest Scentsy specials for October (there are some good ones).

I still need to blog about my weekend AKA my 10 year reunion (it was better than I thought it would be)

I plan on doing a vlog about how I style my hair because I've had several people ask.

So, I have a lot of things to blog about, along with my regular "journaling" for the 31 days.

However, it will all wait, on Wednesday I will be silencing my blog in rememberance of Matt Turner.

Please continue to pray for Julee, Preslee, and their family during this time and in the months to come.

 

Secret of the Wings Review

I am a self-proclaimed Disney lover. I love going to Disney World, I love watching Disney movies, and the Disney channel is on in our house pretty much all day long -- well until Luke gets home and turns it to football.

With that said I was recently offered the opportunity to review a new movie from Disney and I knew it was something I would enjoy, so I went for it.

I received Disney's "Secret of the Wings" in the mail and waited for the perfect time to watch it. Let's be honest, as a busy mom there never really is "the perfect time", but I was anxious to watch it. So one Sunday afternoon I popped it in my laptop and Eli sat on my lap, and we watched the latest movie from the Disney fairys franchise.

I am familiar with the other movies in the series, but Disney's "Secret of the Wings" was my first time watching one of these movies, and after watching it I am anxious to watch the others.

This movie was particularly enjoyable because it reunites Tinker Bell with her long-lost sister Periwinkle. Did you know Tink had a sister? Me neither!! And neither did Tink. The movie has a cute intro and several scenes which lead up to Tink and Periwinkle's meeting. I did not know what the movie was about before viewing this and this scene completely caught me by surprise and even made me a little emotional.

As the oldest sister of three girls, I fully understand the strong bond that sisters hold and can't imagine going my whole life without knowing my sisters. Yes, it is a cartoon, but the animators do such a good job of making everything so realistic. In fact production actually enlisted the help of twin-study experts to find out exactly how twins react upon meeting each other for the first time. That is so neat to me, and it was really evident in the movie that the proper research was done. You can feel the emotions while watching the movie.

One of the reasons Disney is so special to me is because it is a part of my childhood. My sisters and I would sit around and watch Disney movies together. While watching this movie I thought of my sisters many times and thought about how I wanted to watch this movie with them. I know that they would enjoy it just like I did.
Tink and Periwinkle are very different in a lot of ways, just like my sisters and I are different, but nothing changes the fact that they are sisters; they have a special bond that they share with no one else. This is how it is with my sisters: no matter our differences, or distance, we will ALWAYS be sisters and share that bond.

While watching the movie I especially thought of my middle sister, who is a hair stylist and thought about how she would really enjoy the intricate details of the fairies' hair! Seriously! There was one fairy in particular with short hair that I thought about taking a picture of and giving it to my sister to cut my hair like - it was that cute!
Which is no surprise considering Ken Paves (yes, THE Ken Paves) was the official hairstylist for the fairies. I am jealous of a fairy's hair!

I would recommend everybody watch Disney's "Secret of the Wings" -- especially if you have a sister and have experienced that deep bond. This is a movie I definitely plan to own and watch again.

Me with my sisters: So thankful for the bond we share:

Would you like to own "Secret of the Wings"? To be entered for a chance to win, tell me what sisterhood means to you.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the†
following unique term in your tweet message: #SweepstakesEntry; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post"

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 10/8 to 10/31.

Be sure to visit the Secret of the Wings Reel Sisterhood brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win!

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Day 7 of 31: Journaling

Today has been a normal Sunday in our house. Church, lunch, football and relaxing.

I have had a heavy heart all day though after hearing the news that my friend Julee's husband passed away last night.

Please be in prayer for Julee, their daughter Preslee, and all their family and friends.

When words fail we turn to prayer, and that is what I am doing. Covering them in prayer.

Please join me.

Day 6 of 31 days of journaling

Dang, I already missed a day in my 31 days of blogging, so now it's 30 days of blogging.

We have been in my hometown all weekend for my 10 year reunion.

The fact that I went to my 10 year reunion is an example of why you should never say never. I NEVER thought I would go to my reunion. But I did. And I had fun. Imagine that. 

I was able to spend time with two friends who I don't get to see a whole lot, which was the best part of the whole thing.

Overall it was a great weekend, but I am exhausted. We are on the road headed home now and I'm already looking forward to crawling into bed. 

Goodnight!

Journaling: Day Four

Thursday Thursday.

This day started out with me thinking I was going to get my hair done at 2:00. My sister is a hair stylist and if our schedules align she usually does my hair, but with her being in a different town it is so hard to get our schedules together. This weekend is my 10 year high school reunion (something I always said I would never go to (never say never)) so I am DESPERATE for a hair color and cut.

Because I'm sure everybody at the reunion is dying to see my hair and praying I don't have split ends. 

Anyways, I'm not going to see my sister before the dreaded reunion so I had to call someone local to do it. Which means I will end up paying 100% more than usual but DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES.

I got a call around noon to notify me that my hair girl was sick. I will admit that I sort of freaked out a tiny bit, and by tiny bit I mean my heart dropped to the floor and I think I quit breathing.

But then she told me that she was going to come in on Friday and she could do it then. Hallelujah! 

Side note - my friend just texted me and told me she got her nails done today for the reunion, I feel like I'm really behind and I'm going to be the sloppy not cute person at the reunion which sounds like high school so it will be normal.

Carrying on...

I never wash my hair on days when I'm getting my hair done, so here I was with gross 2nd day hair (I'm a girl who washes her hair everyday) and no hair appointment. I didn't want to just throw it up in a pony tail, so I went to Meredith's blog and watched her sock bun tutorial. 

It took me several attempts and this was what I finally got:

I will admit I felt a little ridiculous with it, especially when Eli and I met Luke during the day he asked why I was trying to look like Michelle Duggar. He is so weird. And then he kept talking about it all day and saying how crazy it was to see me "like this" what does "LIKE THIS" mean??

Another side note: See my super cute red necklace? I will be giving it away on my blog soon! Stay tuned....

Luke brought Eli and I home after we dropped my car off at the shop to get the oil changed and whatever 18 other things the maintenance men found wrong with it and we spent our afternoon playing. Playing means Eli jumping on my back a hundred times begging for piggy back rides. 

Later we picked up my car, got pizza and enjoyed our night together!

We also face timed with my baby sister for her birthday. We watched her open gifts and wished we could eat her cake through the phone

(I totally blurred out my mom cause she was blinking, but I thought this pic of my sis and Eli was too cute)

It was a good Thursday! 

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My Dream Job

When I was a little girl I dreamed of being a teacher.

When I was seven my dad brought home a giant chalk board from his office and set it up in what was formerly our basement but at that moment it was transformed into Miss Smith's personal classroom. I would go down the stairs to the basement, ahem classroom, put on a dress out of my box of dress up clothes (which happened to be my mom's old prom dresses so I was one FANCY teacher) and I would get to teaching my imaginary students.

Sometimes my little sister would sit in as a student but it never went well because she was not as obedient as my imaginary students and I did not want her bad behavior bringing down my class.

My dream of being a teacher lasted many years. I come from a long line of teachers in my family so it probably just seemed very natural to me.

I don't remember when that dream began to fade but it was sometime during high school. I graduated high school not knowing what I wanted to do when I "grew up" and ended up switching my major seven times in college.  One of those seven majors was education but I eventually ended up getting a degree in mass communication.

I graduated college and my dream job had changed. Becoming a teacher was just a distant memory, I now wanted so badly to work on my college campus. I had been a student worker there for almost all of my time as a student and knew that THIS was where I wanted to work. I was notified of a job opening and I nervously filled out my application, wrote my cover letter, and prayed for an interview.

I remember talking to a friend about how this was my DREAM job and she sort of chuckled. Looking back I realize that it does seem silly that such a small position at a campus could be anybody's dream job, but it was mine. I loved my campus and dreamed of what I could do in that position.

One interview later the job was mine, which lead to many years on a campus I love.  During my time on campus I have had a couple of job position changes, changed offices, made many friendships, learned so much and made memories that I will keep forever.

And then once again my dream job changed.

My heart went from a young girl longing to teach a room full of students, to a girl who didn't really know what she wanted to do, but then found her passion and focus on a college campus all the way to a woman whose heart longs and desires to be home with her baby boy.

I have loved {almost} every single second of my past year and a half working part time. I was offered a position that was a complete and total answer to our prayers at the time. We couldn't live on one salary, yet I couldn't fathom going back to work full time, so we prayed for an answer, and I was offered a part time job at the place I already loved. It was perfect.

And it has been perfect; I have amazing work office, fun co-workers, a busy work schedule and a dedicated and loving babysitter It has been truly the perfect setup. But something still tugged at my heart. Yes, I had an amazing setup that I NEVER took for-granted, but my dream had changed, and now I wanted to be home full time.

So after much prayer, discussion, debating, weighing pros and cons and prayer, Luke and I together decided the best move for our family was for me to leave one dream job to begin another. So in November I will officially become a full time stay at home mom. Thus fulfilling another dream job in my life.

Leaving one job does not come without some tears, and a sadness to leave a community that I have come to love, but I know that I am making the right choice. I am filled with peace about my decision. I am excited and thankful to begin my new journey.

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Journaling: Day Two

Do you ever have those weeks where you just feel exhausted all the time?

That is how I feel this week, and Luke feel exhausted also.

It is 9:00 on a Tuesday night and we are both in bed already. Granted we aren't going to sleep, as I am typing on my computer and Luke is listening to music with his headphones but still we are in BED.

This is unheard of us for us we usually go to bed somewhere between 10:30-11:30. Which could explain why we are so exhausted this week, maybe it has finally caught up to us?

Today after work the committee that worked on our event last week went out to celebrate a good event! Which worked our perfectly because Luke's mom was in town so she brought Eli and Luke dinner while I was out with work friends.

I know Eli loved having his granny here to play with, and Luke loved the good dinner. Win Win.

I wore my new polka dot pants that I got for Gap for our special outing. I like these pants because they are WAY out of my comfort zone. But I'm trying to take more fashion chances lately.

 On the way home the song "Call me Maybe" came on the radio. I am fully aware that 99.9% of the population is sick of this song but I still love it and belt it out whenever I hear it.

Does anybody ever pretend they are in a music video? Like just driving your car all normal and then that one special song comes on and soon you are driving around, singing your heart out, doing little dances even though you are confined by a seat belt, not to mention the fact that you are in a small TRANSPARENT box where anybody and everybody can see you, but the song is so good you just don't care. That was me tonight. I came up with a pretty good music video for Call me Maybe.

Well I guess I better try and go to sleep before I stay up till midnight again and then find myself exhausted the next morning yet can't figure out WHY I'M SO DADGUM TIRED.

I have a problem with using too many caps in one blog post. I'm working on it. But clearly not as hard as I'm working on my Call me Maybe music video dances. Those are dang good.

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