Go shorty its your birthday

Thank you job of mine for deciding that employees should get their birthdays off. Great policy indeed. So that means I get a 4 day weekend due to my birthday falling on the Friday before Labor Day weekend.  I'm definitely loving it. Birthdays are great, but birthday freebies are even better. The month before my birthday I decided to look up freebies from different companies just for having a birthday. Honestly, who doesn't love free stuff on their birthday?  We celebrated with birthday eve drinks at home.

All you have to do is sign up for the company's email club and they will email a coupon for something free on your birthday. I have received coupons for a free bagel at Einstein's Bagels, free small smoothie at Planet Smoothie, free IHOP breakfast, free birthday makeup kit at Sephora, and a buy one get one free dinner coupon for Texas de Brazil. Even the husband was impressed with my free stuff and that is hard to do. But T had the best birthday surprise for me, he got me tickets to see this guy in December. Can't. freaking.wait.

Skinny girls shouldn't twerk

Late Friday night E! Online confirmed the rumor that NSYNC was indeed going to perform together for the first time since 2003 on the MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday. As soon as I heard the news I magically reverted back to my 17 year old self who was obsessed with them. I spent most of the weekend excited and listening to NSYNC songs. My dog did not appear to be a fan of JT and company, but it didn't dampen my excitement. I saw them in concert my senior year of high school with my friend Michelle and it was incredible. Earlier in the day my friend had heard on the radio that NSYNC would be at Planet Hollywood, so we raced down I 4 to catch a glimpse of the guys. We were able to shake hands with Joey, JC, and Chris. Lance and Justin were on the opposite side. It was a total fan girl day for us.

Watching NSYNC perform together for the first time in 10 years was worth all the hype. I loved the JT solo performance and how he went through all of his solo hits and ended with where it all began, NSYNC. I shrieked and danced around like a teenage girl and loved every second of it.  Thank you Justin for throwing NSYNC fans a bone with the 2 minute reunion. We appreciate it.

On to what everyone can't stop talking about, Miley Cyrus's performance at the VMA's. Oh Miley no. Was that supposed to be sexy? It came off as someone trying way too hard to be sexy and failing miserably. She reminds me of those girls in college who thought it made them look sexy and cool if they talked constantly about how much they love sex. You love sex, good for you. So do most women. 

Miley take it from a fellow skinny girl, please don't twerk. Being a skinny girl comes with some awesome things but having the booty to properly twerk is not one of them. Just.stop. it.

Currently

Work has been super busy this week and I can't wait for the weekend to officially begin. This is the weekend before my birthday weekend so it will most likely be a low-key one and I can appreciate those kinds of weekends.

Currently

Reading: Since T is such a big comic book fan he has exposed to some great graphic novels. I'm currently reading a graphic called Saga and loving it.

Watching: I'm way behind and just discovered The Mindy Project. I have been binge watching the season on Hulu and love it. I think Mindy might be my new girl crush.


Looking forward to: Next Friday is my birthday and lucky me it falls on Labor Day weekend this year. I have wanted to have a 90's themed birthday party for a while now and this year it is actually happening. Bring out the flannels and 90's tunes!

Am I Southern?

Is Florida part of the south? For those of you from any other part of the country you are probably shaking your head and saying duh right now. But not so fast. This is a real question in the South. Don't believe me? Just google it and read away.

Sometimes I notice my southern tendencies, while other times I'm convinced I am geographically displaced. Let's look at some common southern girl stereotypes to see how I match up.

1. Southern girls love their college football. Check. Nothing beats a Saturday afternoon of watching my Seminoles, except being lucky enough to get tickets to see them in Tallahassee. The real deep south girls would never show up to the stadium in a t-shirt and jeans. Oh no. They dress up as in wear cute dresses in their appropriate team colors.  You will never see me wear a dress to a football game. Nope. I am just not that girly enough. Give me a cute, fitted team shirt and jeans any day.

holyturf.com

2. A real Southern girl never leaves her house without her hair and makeup done. Oh and a cute outfit. I have to be honest I sometimes wish I was one of those girls who always looks perfectly put together. But I'm not and I lack the advanced hair/makeup skills to make that happen. So I get no points in this category.  This is a picture of me out on a typical Saturday. Yeah no points here.

3. All Southern girls love good southern food like fried chicken and biscuits. Check again. Seriously how do you not love fried chicken and biscuits? I also love Chick Fil A which I missed the hell out of for that year I lived in Massachusetts. You can leave out the sweet tea though. I'm quite aware that it is referred as the table wine of the south, but I just can't get the appeal of sweet tea.

4. Southern love country music. No points again. Country music is popular in blogland, but with a few exceptions, it is just a genre of music that I can't get into. I'm more of a rock girl to be truthful. Oh and of course my love of 90's rock/r&b/hip hop/pop music. I can't deny my love of the 90's tunes. 

5. Southern girls go to college to get their MRS degree. Now I think this is an outdated concept and going to college in Florida most girls were not just looking to be married by graduation. There was one girl in the English department who was planning her wedding during her last semester, but she was not the norm. I didn't get married until 31 because I wasn't ready to be married at 24. Some people just need more time on their own. When I lived in MA most girls didn't get married until later in their 20's or early 30's. 

Sunday Social

1. What is something you've always wanted to do but are afraid of?
 I have wanted to go skydiving since I can remember and have yet to do it. I got as far as calling a place to get prices, but never scheduled a jump.

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  Ah the standard job interview question. In 5 years I see myself living somewhere that is not Orlando (hopefully), still working in the non-profit field, happily married, and with a little more money to travel.

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2013?  My first wedding anniversary on November 10. We are planning on making a weekend out of it with tickets to finally see The Book of Mormon and perhaps spend a night in the hotel we got married in.

4. What are your hopes for your blog?  I hope people continue to read it and to develop blogging friendships. Meeting other bloggers is the best part.

5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city? Honestly, no. I was born and raised in Orlando and I feel like it is not the best place for me anymore. My husband's career field could take us to DC, Boston, or outside of the US. I'm open to living outside of Florida.

6. What is your morning routine?  Wake up at 6:50, get ready/dressed, make myself a quick breakfast, head off to work.

Non-mommy issues

Today's post was inspired by something I posted on Facebook earlier in the day. I work with mostly women, specifically women who have children, and I do not. What makes it more of a stark contrast is that I don't plan on having kids, I am what TIME Magazine calls childfree. Here is the FB status in question:

All the other counselors in the office engrossed in conversations about their kids. #childfreewomenproblems Wonder if moms ever feel left out by childfree women?

I haven't really discussed my decision not to have kids on this blog. Growing up I was never one of those girls that dreamed about being a mother, I figured I would have one kid in my early thirties just like my mom did. Having a kid was always something in the abstract and far off. For some reason I thought that the closer I got to thirty my biological clock would just turn on and the baby fever I saw around me would take hold, but it never came. When my husband and I first got together we talked about having just one kid and joked about how our kid would inherit our smart ass tendencies. It wasn't until we got engaged that our talks about having children turned into asking ourselves, do we even want a child? T's career field is one that could have us moving not only across the country, but possibly living abroad. Moving around the world every so often is not exactly kid-friendly, did we want to give up our dream of living abroad for a child we weren't 100% sure we wanted? We have discussed what having kids would mean to us in more detail than some of our friends who are parents. We have even discussed adopting later in life if happen to change our minds.

I posted the FB status in question when all my female co-workers were engrossed in conversation about  their kids and other mom stuff. I can't help but to feel left out. I completely understand that in deciding not to have kids it means being on the outskirts, but now that I am married and inching 32 I really feel it. I have even lost touch with some of my friends that have kids who stop hanging out with me after they have kids. It was interesting to read the moms who commented on Facebook talk about their experiences with their childfree girl friends not spending as much time with them. It saddens me how judgmental women can be towards other women. Working moms judge stay at home moms, and vice versa. The people that matter in my life have not been negative or judgmental about my decision. My family and friends know that I don't hate kids (hello I used to be a teacher!) and never make me feel less than for not wanting kids. Will I encounter strangers who think I'm selfish or not a real women for deciding this? Yes, unfortunately I will. But I'm ok with that.

New look

Thanks to Laura at Sophie and Rory Design for the new blog design. I love it oh so much!!

This week has been super low-key with T out of town on his trip. Luckily I have been spending quality time with my parents (and having nice home-cooked meals), enjoying two days off from work, and cleaning around the house. Yep, exciting times indeed.

The joys of a man-free house

My lovely husband is out of town for the next week. House all to myself and of course Kavalier will be keeping his mama company.  When talking to my sister about how I was going to miss having T around, she laughed and said that was a newlywed thing to say. She has been married for 8 years and has two kids, so in her words she gets excited at any amount of alone time. Guess I'm not there yet.

Back in my post-college still single days I lived by myself in a cozy studio apartment and loved it. I liked not having roommates for once, a bathroom that I didn't have to share, and being able to decorate it however I wished. You don't get to keep that once you get married. It reminds me of that SATC episode where the girls discuss their single girl behaviors that you can indulge in when you live alone. Both T and I had the opportunity to live by ourselves before we moved in together, and honestly I think that is a good thing.


The best things about a man-free house

1. Being able to watch all my junky reality t.v. with no side eyes or comments. T like most guys does not understand why women love the Real Housewives franchise. Having no man around means I can indulge and watch a marathon if I feel like it. Add a glass of wine and you got a nice night in. I may or may not have watched some Dawson's Creek on Netflix.                      
2.  No need to cook actual meals. Let's be real for a second, cooking for one sucks. I hated  doing it   when I lived by myself. Cooking for one usually means leftovers for days, which depending on the dish can get tiresome to eat the same meal on repeat. Having no T around means I can just eat when I want. 

   3. Impromptu dance parties to my favorite 90's music. Enough said.

  4. Lots of quality mom and Kavalier time. Sure he misses his daddy, but daddy doesn't take tons of pictures of him like mommy does.

5.  I just discovered the Cam Me app on iPhone and having the house to myself means practicing the art of selfies. Guys don't understand the concept of selfies and just would look at you weird if they caught you. 

Ladies, what are your favorite things about having the house to yourself?

No More Back to School for Me

Today marks 3 months at my new job at the non-profit. This is the first time in many years that I am not scouting back to school sales for piles of paper and pencils for my students or spending my last weeks of summer setting up my classroom just right. When I made the decision to quit teaching after 7 years in  April I knew my heart was not longer in teaching and that I was ready to move to the next chapter of my career, whatever that might be. I took a chance in jumping without a plan, and luckily it turned out better than I could have ever imagined.


I like my job. A lot. This is my first real office job. I'm still amazed that I can ease into the day which is a sharp contrast to the teacher feeling of being "on" for hours on end. I see my teacher friends on Facebook talk about decorating classrooms and I feel no regret or feelings of wishing it was me. Three months later and I like where the journey has lead me.

I'm linking up with Whitney for #Backthatazzup Friday

My jam is taking it back to 2007 with Jamie Foxx. Enjoy!

Weekend recap

My husband T has been working while going to college for years and this past Saturday he finally graduated with his degree (and with honors I might add). To say I'm proud of him is a major understatement. The graduation was on Saturday and afterwards I threw him a small party for family and friends. Definitely a great weekend!

Are you ready for some football?

When I saw Erin at Love. Fun, and Football was hosting a Football Friday linkup I was instantly excited about the idea. I am a girl who loves me some football. My dad was blessed with two girls and no sons, so in his words he tried to get his daughters into sports. It was a no-go for my older sister who had no idea the Carolina Panthers play two hours away from her. So as the youngest child my dad took me under his wing and passed down his love of football. Thank you dad.

Coming from the south (depending who you ask Florida may or may not be considered part of the south) college football is king. I have loved Florida State football since I was in middle school and would tell my dad how I was going to go to FSU one day. Basically I bleed garnet and gold.

      Back when I was a teacher this hung on the back wall of my classroom. Every year I always had Gator parents and students complain about it. Oh well. Go Noles!

              Like any good sports fan I have a collection of FSU shirts, this is one of my favorite ones. Apologies for the lack of makeup.

Some interesting FSU related facts about me:

1. I change my ringtone to the Florida State fight song during football season. What can I say, I'm dorky about my team.

2. The Seminoles were undefeated all season and won the national championship my freshman year in Tallahassee. Dancing and cheering on Tennessee street on that January night is a memory I will cherish forever. The hangover the next day, which happened to be the first day of spring classes, completely worth it.

3. I met the famous Bobby Bowden my sophomore year. At the time I was working for the on campus club, Club Down Under, where he sometimes filmed his weekly show during football season. I happened to be working the night of his birthday show in which the staff had brought him a birthday cake. Not only did I get to meet Mr. Bowden, but he gave us a piece of his birthday cake.


How about you? Are you a college or NFL fan?

           Doak Campbell Stadium