I'm a little late on this link-up, but I love music so much I wanted to join in on the fun.

These are my favorite (not necessarily "the best") songs of 2013 in no particular order.

Paramore - Still Into You
Ciara - Body Party (Remix)
Wale - Bad (Remix)
Justin Timberlake - Take Back the Night


Bonnie McKee - American Girl
Kanye West - Blood on the Leaves
Lady Gaga - Do What U Want
John Legend - All of Me


John Mayer and Katy Perry - Who You Love
Britney Spears ft. TI - Tik Tik Boom
Tegan & Sara - Goodbye, Goodbye
Bruno Mars - Treasure


 

1. What am I most proud of this year? 
as cheesy as it sounds, I'm most proud of finally paying off my car.  I bought it in 2009 and 4.5 years later it's paid off.  that's a pretty big accomplishment, I guess.

2. How can I become a better _____________? 
employee...daughter...granddaughter

3. Where am I feeling stuck? 
love life...obviously. or lack thereof.

4. Where do I need to allow myself grace? 
financially.

5. Am I passionate about my career? 
nope.  I need to find something I am passionate about.

9. How well did I take care of my body, mind, and soul? 
I lost about 20 lbs at the spring/summer. then gained about 10 lbs back. so you tell me.

10. How have I been open-minded? 
in my dating life.  i've taken more chances than usual.

turning 30 this year means a lot of things to me.  but mostly, it means I need to grow up.  and with growing up (in my opinion) comes changing things around you.  with the help of pinterest, I've gotten some inspiration to update my bathroom and bedroom. 

I live in a small, tiny box apartment so my space  is limited, but just updating a lamp shade, shower curtain, updating old pictures, can transform a room.  that's what I've found in my case.

In my bedroom, I had several photos I took when I went on a trip to Paris, France in 2008.  As much as I love the photos (and proud of how they turned out if only shot with my dad's point and shoot camera), I wanted to change them out.  My most prized photo is the one I have framed on my night stand.

When Easy Canvas Prints offered a discount 8" x 10" canvas print for me I decided to replace it the black and white photo, with a full color version on a canvas print. 

I was impressed with how easy it was to use the site to order my print.  It was shipped and at my door in no time...less that a week!

The print was beautiful and the canvas felt so sturdy, thick, and high quality.  The color was beautifully done. 

If you're looking to put any recent family photos or personal pictures on canvas, I would highly recommend using Easy Canvas Prints as the place to go.

And here's a list of their current available coupon codes you can use... http://www.easycanvasprints.com/coupon-codes/ 

before Justin Timberlake...there was Jordan Knight.

 

Jordan Knight (New Kids on the Block) was my first celebrity crush. 

 

Recently, buried deep in a box of old momento's, I found a folded piece of notebook paper.  On the front it said "DEAR JORDAN" written in pencil in big crude handwriting.  I opened it up and what I read was a masterpiece.

1. I love that I instead of a making the "O" in Love the heart, I made the "V" the heart.  so original.

2. I'm so proud of 7 year old me, for knowing the difference between "to" and "too."

3. This One's for the Children is still one of my favorite little tunes. 

november means thanksgiving. and thanksgiving means turkey. november is also the time when everyone decides to be thankful for things and let ALL of their facebook friends know.  it's boring.  we're all thankful for shelter, food, family, friends, kids, pets.  i'm just thankful I know how to shower on a regular basis.

 

besides all the typical things to be thankful for...here is a list of 5 things i'm thankful for...some might be on your thankful list too.

 

1. i'm thankful that channing tatum looks like this.

3. i'm thankful this photo exists.

following in the footsteps of Erica...I'd like to join in on this fun. 

 

as november approaches...i've been thinking a LOT about what's happened to me over the past year.  

mistakes were made.

experiences were gained.

family loss.

friendships changed.

relationships altered.

my closest friends don't even know some of things that I've done since november 2012. 

regardless of who knows what or what has happened to me it's made me better.  and this quote made me realize that fact...

i'm trying to learn to look back at my experiences and learn the lessons that they are there to teach. slowly, but surely I think i'm growing up. 

'bout time since i'm 30.

if you read Kate's blog, then you've probably already been filled in on this story. 

 

this weekend, my pumpkin patch cherry was popped.  it didn't hurt at all.

 

I took the trip up to Charlotte to hang out with some of my favorite people and my "little present", Trace.  we're birthday twins and he's the best 30th birthday present I've ever received.

 

we spent the gloomy saturday at a local pumpkin patch.  it was actually fun and cool. 

 

 

that night we watched scarecrow aka the best. movie. ever. (that's a major exaggeration), drank, and had girl time with Maran.  it was so nice to catch up and laugh!

 

I brought the ingredients to match the easy pumpkin bread from Christina's blog.  So on Sunday morning we drank mimosa's, baked, and listened to Christmas music.  this is a not a joke.  in my opinion, it's never too early for Christmas tunes.

 

it was glorious.

 

on my way home, I stopped at my happy place, Southpark Mall.  shopping is my therapy.

 

I hope you didn't click on this post expecting it to be filled with wedding dresses, flowers, bridemaids dresses and engagement rings...because that isn't happening here.

I talk a good game about loving my single life.  I do enjoy it.  It's basically all I've known for my whole life.  It's all I'm comfortable with being...which is probably why I'm 30 years old and still single.

single definitely has it's benefits. I can be lazy. I don't have to shave my legs (or other areas) regularly. I only have to worry about myself and the plans that I make. 

I don't have a "wedding" board on Pinterest.  I don't care what kind of ring I have (wait, yes I do).  I don't know what kind of dress I want (they'll probably be out of style in 20 years when someone wants to marry me).  my wedding is not planned in my head...never has been.

but...with all that said and all that "game" that I may talk, I can't wait to be married. I can't wait to find my "person" and for this dating shit to be over. 

I'm definitely like Charlotte in Sex in the City "I've been dating since I was 15! I'm exhausted! Where is he?!"  I can't wait until the dating game is over and I can take a deep breath and realize I have my "person" by my side for the rest of my life.  hopefully, I'll die before he will because I can't do dating anymore.

and the selfish part of me can't wait to get married if only to have the most awesome reception where all the focus is on ME (and my husband, I guess).

so...cheers to one day (maybe 2045) finding my person.

thanks to Lindsey for giving me something to post about today.  I know you're so grateful I decided to grace you with my presence.

so here goes...things I'm currently doing...enjoy, sweet pals.

Drinking...water. if booze was acceptable to drink at work, I would have a mini fridge constantly stocked with wine bottles.

Watching...this...it gave me so many LOL's this morning.

Eating...nothing.  it's only 9:30AM and I already have a little voice inside my head telling me to go ahead and eat my lunch.  this "food voices" are nothing new.

 

Wanting...to marry Justin Timberlake. what's new?

Hoping...Jesse got Brock and they are now currently building boxes and playing video games in Alaska.

Excited...to visit with my little "present" and his mommy and daddy next weekend. (and Maran too)

Frustrated...that I haven't found an indepently wealthy husband, so I can quit working and focus on just buying designer everything online and making all my Pinterest dreams come true.

Annoyed...that the majority of my Tinder matches live over 80 miles away.  why y'all dudes gotta come to Greenville for "business" all the time?

 

Thinking...about food.

I realize I'm super late to the Breaking Bad party, but I finally hopped on the train and it's safe to say i'm obsessed.  If you follow me on twitter, you know it's real.

I know this isn't your "typical" blog post, especially this time of year.  I should be blogging about boots, pumpkins, sweaters, etc. 

I started watching Breaking Bad on Netflix last Thursday and last night I finished Season 4.  Yes, that proves my obsession.

So for today's Five on Friday link-up...I bring you the 5 things I've learned so far while watching Breaking Bad (don't worry, no spoilers).

1. I prefer "Leather Jacket Jesse" over "Over-sized Hoodie Jesse."

2. Walt Jr. loves his breakfast.  

Probably more than I love Justin Timberlake (just kidding, no one loves anything more than I love Justin Timberlake).

3. Hector Tio Salamanca makes the best faces.  

Pretty much this is the only one he ever makes, but it's good.

4. Gus loves a good vegetable tray to serve at his meetings.

5. These mute Mexican brothers scare the shit out me.

and there you have it friends...obviously these are not ALL of the things that encompasses the greatness that is Breaking Bad, but they are some of the things that make me binge watch over and over again.

this same time last year, I struggled with wanting to chop all my hair off and go for a shorter 'do.  well, I have the same feeling now of wanting to cut all my hair off again. 

i'm more confident about doing it this time, but there's still a little voice (smaller than last year) that tells me it's going to look awful on me.

 

why am I so concerned about my hair?  who cares what it looks like?  hair doesn't define me as a person.  if I cut my hair off I'm still the same person on the inside.  hell, changing my hair might make me a better person on the inside...(maybe not).

 

the last time I had hair that rested on my shoulders I was a senior in college.

 

well, that was 8 years ago.  I was 21-22.  i'm 30 now.  I want a change.  I'm itching so bad for a change.  i'm not saying this is gonna look good on me.  it might look horrible, but hair grows, right?

 

there's a lot of hair laying on my back.  like...a ton.  sure, a good 6" might help give me a good look/change, but why not cut another 4" and be able to help give people who don't have to struggle with the decision of whether to chop their hair off or not.  because they don't have any at all.

 

last year I wanted to cut my hair off and donate it through this Pantene program to women with cancer.  this year it's long again and I want to donate it again. 

 

one of my dear college friends suffered through osteosarcoma and because of chemo she had no hair for a little over a year. 

that was only a part of her cancer struggle, but I want to be able to donate my hair to help another woman who doesn't have hair because of her battle.

 

i'm sure you'll see me a week or two from now with just 3" off because I chickend out.  there are bigger problems to solve than whether or not I cut my hair or not, right?

not sure if any of your read Christina's blog Hungry Meets Healthy.  normally, she's talking about her foodie loves or her shenanigans she has in and around Charleston, SC where she lives.

 

recently, she opened up and blogged about a sexual assault that happened last summer...to her.

 

I can't get over the bravery she has to be able to tell her story to the world.  she's amazing and I'm grateful to her for sharing her story.

 

I've put myself in many a dangerous situation.  I won't go into any details, but my mid-late 20's were basically filled with stories of me in situations (all after drinking) and with most of them I'm surprised I'm even alive.  seriously.

 

I always took my safety for granted.  I'm sure a lot of other women do as well.

 

ladies, I beg you, please take some time and read Christina's brave story about how she survived such a scary attack in a familiar city after a night out with friends.

and in my personal experiences in dangerous situations, if your friend is ever missing, look for her.  make sure you know EXACTLY where she is and if you don't...don't stop until you find her. 

 

 

what's ZFG you ask?

 

well, it stands for Zero F*cks Given.

 

 

 

I try to live by this motto and use it frequently like I do, but I really don't.

 

I care too much about what people say or think about me. 

 

I take things personally.

 

I try to mend friendships, when there is no reason or hope to have that friendship last.

 

I complain too much.

 

I talk about my problems too much.

 

I don't focus on others enough.

 

I don't focus on who I TRULY am enough.

 

I need to let go of what other people think.

 

I need to let go of what I imagine people think.

 

I need to let go about worrying about other people.  How those people dress, what they say, who they date, how they act, how dumb their tweets may/may not be.

 

I need to let go of it ALL and truly be like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.

oh, she didn't sing this in the movie?  oops.  I've never seen the movie.

 

I don't apologize for who I am.

 

I think I'm a geniune, selfless, and loyal person most of the time.

 

If there are people who don't care to get to know me or don't care to have that type of person in their life.  Their loss.

 

 

the end.

I'm gonna jump on the 5 on Friday train, because I've got atleast 5 things that I'm excited about today!

 

1. Labor Day is over.  It's now September.  Which means...not much longer until this...ahhh, fall...my favorite season!

2. And with fall, comes football...more specifically my favorite kind which is college football.

 

The Gamecocks play the Bulldogs this weekend. 

 

3. Last week I saw a pair of boots on Pinterest, clicked, leading me directly to the Tillys.com site where they were on sale (under $25)!  They came in on Wednesday and they fit PERFECTLY around my big ass calves.  Praise baby Jesus. 

this isn't even HALF!

 

4. Not really on an "exciting" note, but today would have been my grandfather's 95th birthday.  I miss that man all the time.  Sometimes I don't even realize he's actually gone and never coming back.  I just imagine that he's off somewhere and just not at home, even though his recliner and chair at the kitchen table are empty.

 

 

5. My childhood best friend, Sarah, went into labor yesterday morning with her first baby.  Baby boy is about 7 weeks early!  Hoping he can hold off until Sunday morning as the doctor ordered this morning.  It was a journey for Sarah and her husband to get to this point and now with all this I can't imagine how they must feel. But they are both VERY strong people, so I know their little boy is equally just as much as fighter.  I can't wait to meet that little fella and hug my best friends neck because I know she must be so tired, scared, excited, and overwhelmed.  Just typing out those words makes me tear up.