Farewell, Pine Valley

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Today is the end of an era! I started watching All My Children with my mom one summer when I was a kid. In college, I watched only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because I didn't have a 1:30 class those days. When I started my first job, I listened to it on the car radio during my lunch break. And after I started working from home, I always had it on in the background while I worked. Now I DVR it and have a marathon many Sunday afternoons.

And today, 20+ years of faithful viewing come to an end.

Farewell, Pine Valley.

It's OK

This is my first time linking up with the lovely Neely and Amber for "It's OK" Thursday.




It's OK that I haven't blogged consistently in nearly a year. I've been busy. Doing life. But I miss doing life with y'all. Take me back? Pretty please?

It's OK to finally admit that after many faithful seasons of watching, I am completely over Project Runway. I even deleted it off the DVR. Sorry, Heidi.

It's OK that I pluck out every single gray hair I find. I am OK with being 30. I am not OK with gray hair.

It's OK that I am already counting down to Christmas, even though it's not even technically fall yet. I can't help it.

It's OK that I'm cheating on my Starbucks caramel macchiatto. Darn you, salted caramel mocha!

Pucker up and blow

When I saw this PostSecret on Sunday, it immediately made me think of the movie Corrina, Corrina and the scene where Corrina and the little girl are in the car and the stoplight is red and Corrina blows at it and 'makes' it turn green for them. We used to do that all the time when we were kids and thought it was the coolest thing. Even at 29 years old, if I'm at a long red light, I'll watch the cross traffic and wait for that light to turn red before I 'blow' my light green. Never fails to make me smile.

If you haven't seen Corrina, Corrina, you need to get on it. Such a sweet movie.

Do you have any silly little things that you did as a kid that you still do today?

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30 Before 30: #2 Throw an 80's party

Plans for #2 on The List are in full swing and it's time to start working on my costume. There are so many fun options for guys and girls, it's hard to narrow it down to just one. I am thinking maybe I need make like Anne Hathaway at the Oscars and have multiple costume changes!

So far I have managed to narrow it down to these three options:



1. Madonna in her Like a Virgin days
2. 80's prom in all it's shiny satin glory
3. Peppy, big-haired aerobics instructor

Every time I think I've decided, I go back and look at these pictures and change my mind all over again. They could all be super fun.

So help a girl out. What say ye?

What I'm Reading

For months I kept hearing friends say they were obsessed with The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It's considered Young Adult (YA) and I just couldn't see myself getting into anything YA. Too close to all that silly vampire nonsense for me to be interested. But my sister Amy bought me Book #1 for Christmas, knowing full well that if I read it, I would be hooked.

And boy was I! I finished The Hunger Games in four days while we were on a trip to NYC. When I got to the last page of THG, I was so disappointed that I didn't already have #2 to get started! I tweeted out my disappointment and, lo and behold, Catching Fire and Mockingjay were mine to borrow from a friend the very next day! I read Catching Fire in four days and Mockingjay in a single Saturday marathon. I won't give it away for those who haven't read them, but suffice it to say, I couldn't put them down until I knew how it all turned out. I can admit when I am wrong and I will never again turn up my nose at YA books.

What should I read next? I am the waiting list at the library for Water For Elephants so I need something to keep me busy until then.

Pretty Please: Birthday Edition 2

I am loving this new Glass Photo Pendant from Amy Cornwell, which can be personalized with a teeny tiny photo of your choice. I love Amy, but if she keeps coming out with such great new stuff, I'm going to go broke. So someone please save me from the poor house and send me this pretty for my birthday, mmmkay?

Flash Mob

If I could re-do my 30 Before 30 list today there are a few things I would change. Namely, I'd add 'Participate in a flash mob' to the list. Although, in my defense, when I made this last (all the way back in October) flash mobs weren't yet a 'thing'. I mean seriously, how fun would that be to do with your girls?

This is a flash mob that my college friends John and Maria did as part of the youth retreat at their church last weekend. Now Maria can mark 'Flash Mob' off her 40 Before 40 list (sorry, had to rub it in that she's already 30). Clearly, they are way cooler than me.

Pretty Please: Birthday Edition

{link here}

Because who doesn't love toasty warm feet?

My feet are always freezing. I wear socks and slipper Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. It can be 90 degrees outside and I still need socks on my feet. I don't wear them to bed, so in the time it takes me to put my socks in the hamper and crawl into bed, my feet are little blocks of ice again.

Although these are probably a bit like wearing cement blocks on your feet. Hopefully there's never an emergency while lounging around in these babies. Or at least if there is, I'll die with very warm feet.

Is it Spring yet?

It's still definitely winter in Indy (snow flurries this morning!) which is why I was shocked the other day when a friend said it was only two weeks until Spring. Um, wait, what?! How did that happen? I'm usually itching for Spring. Dying for shorts. Staring longingly at my sleeveless dresses. Painting my toenails in February in anticipation of open-toed shoes in April.

This year? Notsomuch. It just totally snuck up on me. But now that I've been made aware? I'm in total Spring Preparation mode. And what better place to start than spring cleaning with a new Spring dress? I am loving pretty much every single thing in Ann Taylor Loft's new spring line. I'll take one of everything.

Please and Thank You.

30 Before 30: #13 Give serious thought to dying my hair red

Like most girls, I have a love/hate relationship with my hair. Two of my sisters have the most amazing corkscrew curls and the third one has a silky curtain of hair thicker than a horse's mane. Me? I got stuck somewhere in between with wavy hair that is neither deliciously curly nor luxuriously straight.

In short, my hair takes a lot of work. Once I find a style that works for me, it takes a lot for me to be willing to change it. I alternate between to styles: long layers and a cute short bob. Boring? Sure. But it works for me.

I may not be wild about my waves, but one thing I've always loved is the color. Healthy and dark and dimensional. Which is why I've never messed with what the good Lord gave me. I'd love to be one of those girls who can change from blonde to chestnut to auburn without batting an eyelash. (see: Rachel McAdams), but I'm way too lazy cheap skittish for that. I have, however, always wondered how I'd look as a redhead. If I ever worked up the courage to do it, red would be the way I'd go. So for my 30x30 List, I decided to give it some serious consideration. If not now, when? (And don't say when I go gray - we're trying to downplay turning 30, remember?)

After a month of experimenting with a new layered haircut, embracing my inner curly girl, and finally taking the plunge into blunt bangs, I figured I was on a roll. Might as well give it a (temporary) go. So while I was home for a week in early December, my sister Amy dyed my hair a nice deep auburn.

I hate both of these pictures of me but they are pretty much the only ones I took the entire month of December. The pictures really don't do the color justice. I loved it. All of my female friends noticed it immediately. Nate didn't notice for four days. So I guess it wasn't shockingly dramatic, but it definitely gave me a good taste of what it might be like to take the plunge for real. For now, I think I'll stick with what my mama gave me (cheap and lazy, I tell you) but when those gray hairs start calling, it's good to know I've got some options.

Tuesday's at the Table

I'm back to participating in All the Small Stuff's Tuesdays at the Table. I've found some amazing recipes (read: short and simple) through TATT, so if you don't check it out every week, you totally should. Or at the last very least, try mine! HA!

I had this Weight Watcher's Taco Soup at bunco in December and loved it so much I came home and Googled it the very next day. I've made it twice since then and I'm still not tired of it. It is so super easy and makes the house smell incredible. Perfect for the winter storm we're in the midst of this week.

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Weight Watcher's Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey (I've been using turkey and Nate has no idea)
1 large onion, chopped (I cheat and use onion flakes)
1 (1 ounce) package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 (1 ounce) package of taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can of pinto beans
1 (16 ounce) can of chili beans (hot or regular)
1 (16 ounce) can of whole kernel corn
1 (10 ounce) can of diced Mexican-style tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can of diced tomatoes (any flavor - I use the basil kind)

Instructions:
1. Brown meat and onions and drain.
2. Mix ranch dressing and taco seasoning into meat.
3. Without draining, add all of the other ingredients.
4. Simmer 1 hour.

An Ode to Katie: An Endless List of Why I Love My Baby Sister (Alternately titled: I Suck at Blogging)

*Poking head sheepishly back into the blog-o-sphere*

Hello? Anyone here?

Anyone?

Bueller?......Bueller?

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Soooo......clearly I took a little big fat (albeit unintentional) hiatus from blogging. No excuse, really. Just got busy and lacking inspiration, then got out of the habit. For those of you who missed me, you have my sister Katie to thank for getting me back on the blogging horse. She gave me an ultimatum to blog by the end of January, and in true big sister fashion, I put it off to the very last day, just because I could. HA!

It's been a busy two months with lots of time with friends and family (rare and much appreciated!), a flooded basement, a new job for Nate, a recent return to his old job for Nate, and lots of progress on my 30 Before 30 list (updates to come!).

And because I'm still finding my blogging mojo again, I'm going to cheat and update you with a little State of Mind.

Loving: my quiet weekend

Hating: that my feet are always cold, no matter how many layers I put on them!

Craving: Fruity Pebbles

Wanting: Spring to hurry up

Reading: The Hunger Games

Watching: Kourtney and Kim Take NYC

Listening to: Jason Aldean, Big Green Tractor

Looking forward to: NYC this weekend! (Twice! In six months!)

Worried about: the winter storm ruining our trip

30 Before 30 : #6 Have a Shaving Whipped Cream Fight

Back in mid-November, my dad's side of the family had a reunion in Jacksonville, FL. As we all get older and busier, it gets harder and harder to get all of the aunts, uncles and grandkids together, so it was lovely to have almost everyone in one place, even just for a few days. We did the typical family reunion stuff: ate too much, watched the Gamecocks whoop up on the Gators (a victory made even sweeter by the fact that we got to watch it with the Gator side of the family!), and had a little friendly family competition (wiffle ball). And, of course, the obligatory family photo shoot.


It was right about the time that we finished the 'grandparents with grandkids' pictures that I noticed some incredibly suspicious behavior going on. The adults (I say that as if I am not nearly 30 years old - apparently I still think of myself as a 'kid' when it comes to the family hierarchy!) were all huddled behind a big tree in the yard. No sooner where the words, 'What are you guys up to over there?' out of my mouth than they all attacked me with two dozen cans of whipped cream.






It turns out that these two had been plotting all day to help me achieve #6 on my 30 Before 30 list. And the rest of the family was all too eager to join in the fun.



It was an awesome surprise! And a wonderful memory that we'll all talk about for years to come. In the last few weeks, the list has definitely become less about accomplishing goals and more about making forever memories with the ones I love.

Sisters are one of God's best ideas

I was very blessed to have my mom, dad and my sister Amy come stay with us for Thanksgiving. They drove all night on Tuesday to surprise me at 6am on Wednesday morning, which gave us a whole extra day together!

We cooked....


And ate....

And molested a turkey....


And cuddled with puppies.....


And shopped....

And played games (I won!)....

And watched movies....

And cuddled some more with puppies....


And threw cupcakes all over the floor....


Okay, so maybe that last one wasn't on purpose, and maybe Amy didn't find it too funny, but how can you not laugh when someone drops a dozen half baked cupcakes on the floor? What else are sisters for?

Cozy

It figures. I've been eyeing new bedding for months and couldn't find a single thing I liked enough to make the change. And then the minute I buy art to match our current bedding, I find this:

{Image via The Company Store}

With some dark grey walls?

Love.