Need, Want, Wear, Read

Christmas is quickly approaching, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon of telling people exactly what I want. :) Need, Want, Wear, Read has been making it's way around the blogosphere for a while now, and specifically, there is a link up happening at E, Myself, and I. Time to join in: 

"Need" 

KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Now, I kind of cheated on this one. I know I'm getting this for Christmas already. My mother is a SAINT. Do you hear me? I love her to death! Thanks, Mommy!!

Want

A New Camera. Not just any camera. I want a fancy camera so I can take beautiful pictures like I see all the time and they be good quality for printing, ordering, etc. Not a phone camera. Specifically, I'd like a Canon Rebel T3. I'm drooling. 

Wear

This was the most difficult category to chose just one thing. If you could see my closet, you would understand. I love clothes/accessories. What girl doesn't? But, there is one thing that I really want right now, and that's some Bare Trap riding boots. I fell in love with them when I tried them on. They must be brown though, I have some black ones already. :)

Read

Last year I picked up a book called "You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl". The title really drew me in on that one. I read it. I LOVED it. It was histerical! I fell in love with Celia Rivenbark. So, now I want to go back and read all of her books. Any of them will do. I'd like to start with the first one though, "Bless Your Heart, Tramp". The titles of these books alone should be enough to draw you in. 

I'd love to hear what 4 things everyone else has on their list!

The Liebster!

Tonight I came home to find that my dear sweet friend Maggie over at Maggie the Mrs has nominated me for the Liebster award! My first thought: What in the heck is a Liebster award? From the Mrs herself: 

Basically it's an award that goes to new bloggers with less than 200 followers. Liebster is German and means sweetheart, beloved person, darling. You get nominated by someone who already has received it.

Essentially, I tell you 11 things about myself, then I answer 11 questions from whoever nominated me, then I pick some folks to give the award to and give them 11 questions to answer. A fun new way to find new blogs!

 I know I JUST did a list yesterday, but I love lists so I'm pretty pumped for an excuse to do another one. 

11 Things About Me:

1. I've had acrylic nails since I was 17. The first time I got them done was for Junior Prom and I've had them ever since. 
2. I couldn't keep a plant alive to save my life. Seriously. The inside of my house is so put together, but no one could tell from looking at it from the outside. 
3. Once I was making cupcakes from cake mix and I screwed it up. They were like little cups of molten lava cupcakes and would not solidify. George witnessed it. I was embarrassed.
4. I found something on Pinterest yesterday that I didn't realize that I lived by, but I do. It said, "When in doubt, just add glitter." Sounds about right. 
5. I have over 60 pairs of shoes. That was not a typo.
6. My ovary tried to kill me this year (Not really, but OMG it was painful).
7. I love dressing up. Any excuse to dress up, I will take. Bars, concerts, parties. Whatever. I'm there.
8. During baseball season I fall behind on all of my television shows because the only thing I will watch is baseball. I love baseball. Thank goodness for DVR.
9. The first "date" that George and I went on, we went to his house first to play pool. He thought he would let me win, but by the middle of the game, he realized I was a little better than I was putting on.
10. My PawPaw used to fix me coffee when I was a little girl. It was more like coffee flavored sugar-milk. I think that's why I love lattes so much today. 
11. My favorite Pandora station is 2000s Hip Hop Radio. Go listen. You'll thank me later. 

11 Questions from Maggie:

1. If you had to give yourself an entirely new name, what would it be and why? Okay, starting with a hard one. I think I would go with pretty much any name with an 'a' on the end. With my last name, it's bound to be great. Take Mona for instance. Mona Lott. Pure gold. 
2. If you had to hear only one song on repeat for every minute of the rest of your life, what song would you choose? Alright, another hard one. I love music, so this is tough. At this point in my life I would choose "You and I" by Lady Gaga. I don't really like too much of her music but there is something about that song that I just LOVE.
3. If a movie was made about you, what celebrity would play you and, if you're married, your hubby? I really like Mila Kunis. I feel like she could play a good "Tasha". As for George, there is only one other tall dark and handsome man that I would consider. His name? Gerard Butler.  
4. What was your favorite class that you've ever taken? (High school, college, etc) AP Chemistry. No question. 
5. What is the best vacation you've ever been on? Talladega. Nothing like it. 
6. If money was no object, what would you want to do with your life? I'd want to be an interior decorator. If I had unlimited funds, I could do wonders with anyone's house. Including my own.
7. What is your favorite holiday? Why? Christmas. I love decorating for Christmas. I love gift shopping. I love giving people gifts. I love seeing my family. I love surprises. Everything I love happens at Christmas. It's the perfect holiday.
8. If you could be a back up singer for any musician, who would you choose? Miranda Lambert. I love her right now. She's incredible. 
9. What talk show would you like to guest host? Conan. I would laugh until I peed myself. Good times will be had. 
10. Whose blog inspires you the most? Thrifty Decor Chick
11. If you could describe your blog in three words, what would they be? Random, Fun, Real

Now, I don't have all that many folks I'm following at the moment, but I do have a couple that need a little boost in posting. Here are my nominations for the Liebster: 

Jessica @ According to Mrs. Fun

Janie @ And This is Who I Am...

 My questions for ya'll: 

1. Why did you start your blog? 
2. If you could switch places with anyone AT ALL for a week, who would it be?
3. Favorite thing to do on date night/girl night? 
4. What is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you? 
5. In what reality show would you excel the most? 
6. If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, which would you choose? 
7. What is your dream job? 
8. What is your claim to fame (what do people know you as)?
9. If I opened your fridge right now, what would I find? 
10. If you were an animal, what would you be? Why?
11. The one thing that you want more than anything else at the moment is: 

I can't wait to read the answers! 

25 for 25

So, I turned 25 on Saturday. I've done a lot with my life so far. I'm pretty happy about the things that I've been able to accomplish and I want to make a list of 25 more things that I would like to accomplish. Maybe not this year, maybe not this decade, but certainly before I leave this wonderful earth. Here's my list! 

1. Be a parent. I know that right now is not the best time for that, but one day it will be and until then, I will live vicariously through all of my parent friends. 
2. Go on a vacation to a state that doesn't border Georgia. I just realized that every vacation that George and I have been on has been to one of the states bordering Georgia. I LOVE the states that border Georgia, but I think it's time to venture out. 
3. Make my garage the craft/work station that I've always wanted. The stuff is there. I just have to do it.
4. Buy George a new car. 
5. Be in a wedding. Okay, who's it gonna be?!
6. Go on a cruise. We've been on one before, but it just doesn't count. At all. 
7. Go to another continent. That would just be amazing. 
8. Bake more. (Someone is getting a stand mixer for Christmas!)
9. Cook more. I need the practice. I'm awful at cooking. I'm also awful at keeping my kitchen stocked. 
10. Finish catching up on Breaking Bad. I just have to. It's killing me. 
11. Work out more. Let's face it - it's gonna be on every list I make from now until forever. 
12. Organize my closet. Mainly my shoes. They are leaking into other parts of the house. Lord help me. 
13. Pay off our credit cards. PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN SOON. It's not like we have a ton of debt, but just having it there, hanging over your head is enough to make you crazy.
14. Fix my front 4 teeth. They are crooked enough to bother me.
15. Figure out what to do with my backyard situation. 
16. Watch George graduate. (This one is happening soon and I'm SO excited and so proud!!)
17. Work on my aim and upgrade to a bigger caliber gun. George has been hounding me about it so I'm gonna do my best. 
18. Visit my brother and his soon-to-be (like in 18 days!) wife. Of all the times he's come down here, I've never come up there. This must happen. 
19. Re-do the guest bedroom. I'm still not certain if I actually want to do this or not. 
20. Make a real effort to look "nice" everyday. Sometimes I just feel better when I look nicer, so we'll give this a go. Who doesn't like looking cute, anyways? 
21. Have more "lazy-days".
22. Take Kimber on more walks. She deserves it. 
23. Grow my hair out. I try every year. 2 years ago it was longer than I ever remember it being. Time to break the record. 
24. Watch the Falcons win a Superbowl, the Braves win the World Series, and the Dawgs to win a BCS Championship. These are completely out of my hands but it would be awesome if it actually happened.
25. Paint more. I can never paint enough.

That was much harder to get through than I thought it would be. But then again, I thought I would never get through these past 25 years either. I guess I'll check back in when I'm 30. Yikes!!

Pre-Birthday Look-Back. Concert Edition!

I plan on having a post for my birthday with "25 Things I'd like to do" but, in celebration of my impending 25th birthday, just for funsies, I'm going to share with you one of my favorite activities: Concerts. I LOVE concerts. Anytime I get the chance to go to a concert, I'm there. Every time I go on a trip, I look for concerts, every time someone comes to visit me, I look for concerts. I'm completely obsessed. Here's a few (read: most) of my favorites. 

• Zac Brown Band / Sugarland 2008

• Brad Paisley feat. Rodney Adkins (Feb. 2008)

• Luke Bryan, Farm Tour 2010

• Blake Shelton, GA National Fair, 2011

• Luke Bryan, Farm Tour 2011

• Miranda Lambert, Feb 2012

• Phillip Phillips, American Idol Homecoming 2012

Going through all of these pictures makes me smile. Hopefully I will get to attend many, many more in the next 3/4 of my life! I'll don the Snooki poof, sit in the rain for hours, miss an opening act because I really wanted Mexican food before the show, meet a dead NASCAR driver legend, be first in line to meet ZBB (OMG!) or I might even use my special talents to get you down to the floor between acts, so you can get the most out of the concert! :) I will literally do just about anything to go to a good concert/while at a concert. Maybe you can join me at my next one. Who's in?

The Little Things

My family is not exactly the most conventional family that you've met, but we make do. Over Thanksgiving I realized just how unconventional we really are. I'm not sure I remember the last time that my dad was home for Thanksgiving. He works overseas and comes home when they tell him that he can. But, every year my mom cooks a full Thanksgiving meal just like we have a full house. And every year it's better than the last. And, I must admit, we eat enough for you to think that he's home. :) 

This year, in addition to a whole turkey, she even made roast beef (MY FAVORITE) and when I asked her how she makes it (which I ask her every time we have it, but for some reason I can not get it right when I try it myself), she informed me that I "have a lot to learn." I just laughed and thought to myself just how right she is. One day I will have the cooking skills of my Momma. One day. 

Now that I'm back home, it's nothing but full-force, full-speed, full-throttle, full-whatever ahead. Guess that's what happens when a holiday ends. Who knew? But, now that I do have to get back in the swing of things, I find myself smiling at the little things that happen throughout the day. They really help get me through the day. Here are just a few things that made me smirk and giggle over the past few weeks:

• Remember when I told you that I forgot to buy George's Old Spice body wash/shampoo? Well, the next day I went to get it and boy did I find a treat! Old Spice apparently comes in the scent of courage! Guess what George has been smelling like for the past few weeks.. You can't tell me that you wouldn't buy it too. Who doesn't want to smell like courage?! And did I mention the name of this spectacular find? DANGER ZONE. Yeah, you read that right. DANGER ZONE. I couldn't resist. It was too good. 

Need I say more? 

• While I was out Black Friday shopping, which just so happened to be on Thursday (WTF?), we had a little break between store openings and we decided that we were hungry, so we went to Sonic for some half-priced breakfast burritos. We got to the drive up window and asked for some delicious burritos and they were apparently not selling them until midnight. Humph. So, we went to the first place we saw - Steak n Shake. And guess what's at Steak n Shake... Frisco Melts AND Ultimate Banana Milkshakes. Heaven! Night was made at that moment. 

• Last night when we got home from Thanksgiving, I was looking in the fridge, while I was putting up all the delicious goodies that my mom made, and I realized that our eggs are going to go bad in a week. This happens all the time with eggs. When we have them, we don't use them. When we need them, we don't have them. Well, I decided that I need to use up those eggs. I didn't really want to do the regular ole scrambled eggs and sausage because, to be quite frank, I don't really like scrambled eggs. I'm too lazy to make omelettes, so what's in the oven right now? Sausage gravy breakfast casserole! Yum. AND, George doesn't have to work til Midnight tonight so he's gonna be home in time for me to see him before I go to bed! What a great day! 

So, I guess as long as I find small things in my everyday walk of life to make me smile, I can make it. And so can you. It's all about the silver linings. 

Mid-Week Confessions Link-Up

It's Wednesday, and I found this link-up while browsing around blogs that I thought were interesting. I'm hooked. Mid-Week Confessions is something that I can get behind! Time for my confessional!

Today I would like to confess how broke I am, and the fact that I'm so obsessed with Black Friday shopping, that I'm going anyways. I have a problem. There is nothing like going out and finding really good deals. It's an obsession. Maybe I won't be able to buy as much as last year, or the year before, but the rush of being the first one in the door is just indescribable. I'm the shopper that plans out shopping strategy a week ahead and goes to the stores to find where everything is (... and I may or may not hide a few things with the help of someone who is equally obsessed) so that I can expedite Black Friday shopping. Again, I have a problem - but that's what Mid-Week Confessions are for, right?

Something else I would like to confess is how lazy I've been lately. When I get home from work, I come home, make sure the puppy has water and I sit my little butt in my recliner and I DON'T MOVE. Not even joking. I feel like an old man, but I don't even care. I feel like I've deserved it these past couple of weeks. And you know what, it feels GOOD. You should all try it sometime.

Those are my confessions for this week - besides the obvious Thanksgiving confession of "I'm going to eat entirely too much food throughout the course of Thursday thru Sunday." So, in case I put myself in a food coma between now and the next time I blog, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fill in the Blanks Friday Link-Up

Okay, so I've never done one of these link-up things so I'm not entirely sure that I'm doing it right, but I've decided to try it since I found one that I love. Please inform me if I'm doing this wrong. I'm still a newbie. :) Alright, here goes nothing! 

1.  My best quality is  my approachability, if that's even a word. I like to pride myself on how friendly I am .

2.  One of my less flattering qualities is  how irritable I can become when people are less-than-smart. I think you all know what I mean .

3.  I'd rather be  crafting .

4. Something I have been challenged with lately is  time. I just can't seem to finish a project .

5. I am looking forward to  decorating the inside of my house for Christmas! It's my favorite thing to do and this year it involves shopping and I LOVE to shop .

6. A super random factoid about me is  I love soft pretzels, and I'm a sucker for a kid with a fundraiser. This is why I've ended up with a box of soft pretzels in my kitchen. It was like the perfect storm .

7.  I want to  go on a vacation. A real one. I can't remember the last time George and I took a trip that was longer than a weekend. I think it's time .