It's Been a Long Time, I Shouldn't Have Left You

I swore to myself that I would be really, really awesome at keeping up with this whole blogging thing. I'd like to turn to the evidence - Number 35 ("Start a blog and actually keep up with it").  And then life got in the way. So let me just catch you up on things I've been doing since my last post in July.

To start, the bf and I celebrated two wonderful years together. He thoughtfully planned a stay-cation which included dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant, winery tours, and Number 43, horseback riding in the mountains. His horse continued to take him into the trees, which was quite amusing. And me, I could have stayed on mine for another hour or two.



Next, we made a trip down to sunny Florida for my 10 year high school reunion. Number 91: complete. I attended my high school reunion without completely hating it. Cons: The parade was ungodly hot and we were the last float (yes, I said float....perks to being raised in a small town. The city literally shuts down for the homecoming parade). Pros: I got to hang with my high school besties, catch up with people I haven't seen (except on facebook) in 10 years, and I even got to dip outta there early so I could attend another friend's wedding an hour away. And Freddie got to go to the beach for the first time. Seeing a tiny eight pound Papillon chase the waves is the equivalent of baby giggles....it's just precious.

Then came Number 74, host a themed party, or as I like to call it "Fall-o-Ween". Somehow twenty of my closest friends decided to come over on a Monday night, carve pumpkins, eat spooky treats, and get back home by 10:30pm. Wasn't the rager I was hoping for *sarcasm inserted* but it was a wonderful time. Please take time to "oooooooh" and "ahhhhhh" over my decorations, food, and the Jack Skellington pumpkin carved by my perfectionist of a life partner. Did I mention, Halloween is my favorite holiday? Just in case that wasn't evident.

If you'd like your mouth to water, this is what I served: Mummy (hot) Dogs, Pumpkin Poop (cheeze balls), Pumpkin Puke (the pumpkin looked like it was throwing up guac), Skin & Bones (hummus and veggies), Monster Mouth Bites (granny smith apples with cashew butter and marshmallows as teeth), and Boo-Za (french bread ghost pizza). It may be 10am, but now I'm hungry.

To wrap things up, we booked a cruise in December, which should take care of #53 and #81...because I plan on swimming with Flipper. Promise not to keep you in suspense for another 4 months.

Until Next Time,
L

Got $15 dollars? Got 15 minutes? Good.

Today, like most days, I received a Michael's coupon in my inbox. The glorious 40% off coupon was burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to head over to the craft store at lunch.

I've been wanting to make a wreath for my fancy new front door (okay, it's a normal front door but I have very high hopes to make it fancy one day) since moving in a little more than a month ago. The boyfriend is out of town and *cringe* my tv/internet isn't working again. What's with that AT&T? So I popped in Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkiban. Yes, I'm on number 3 of the series. Cruising right through them...thankfully.

My tangent is over, I promise. So I decided to give myself a limit of $15 at Michaels and see what I come up with. Thanks to my 40% off coupon, my total was $14.16 and I purchased:

• A large wreath - $11.99 with 40% off - $7.20
• 2 maroon flowers (also 40% off) - $1.97/each
• 1 gold flower (40% off) - $1.97/each

I dug in my craft box to find a leftover roll of burlap and my trusty hot glue gun. Can I get 15 minutes on the clock, please.

Step 1 - Cut the burlap in half. Hot glue one end to the wreath and begin to wrap on a diagonal. Make sure to wrap tightly. Make sure to use your hot glue sporadically to secure the burlap to the wreath.

Step 2: Once you've wrapped all the way around, enjoy. Don't worry about it being perfect. You can cover it right up with your flowers. 

Step 3: Pop off the flowers from the stem. Hot glue wherever you like them. Since they will still have a little knub on the bottom, feel free to push it into the foam. You're not going to hurt anything. Promise. 

Step 4: Hang on the front door and enjoy. 

Stop the clock...this project was completed within 15 minutes. And the front door looks FABULOUS. What else can you do with $15 in 15 minutes that looks this awesome?

Until next time,

L

A little update. A lot done.

You'd think I'd be updating this thing every day. How busy can someone who works for their sorority possibly be busy over summer? Ha. Quite busy, actually. Convention, scholarships, fiscal year end - oh my!

But what about after work....you know in your free time? Junior League obligations basically stand still while school's out. Well ladies and gents, I completely bypassed the "savings" stage of number 57 and the life-partner and I committed to purchasing a new home together. Some say it's better than an engagement ring...

This little 4/3 gem of a house in Grant Park completely consumes our spare time. But for being in here for exactly one month, I'd say it's coming together quite nicely.

Some other things that have happened in the past month or two since last posting....I was convinced to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February. I think I was still on a running high from my 2 mile jog earlier in the morning, and distracted by googling fun Disney Princess running outfits. So the girl who has yet to finish a 5k without stopping has agreed to do 13.1 miles in 200 days. Kill me now. Just kidding....my new motto:

Even more fun things in store involving Harry Potter. Last night in the midst of overcast skies (and no rain) my AT&T U-Verse was acting up *gasp, please don't do this again AT&T as I've had nothing but glowing reviews since getting you* so with no internet, AppleTV access, or reality TV, I decided to pop in HP & the Sorcerer's Stone. I decided to space out all the movies instead of wasting 19.6 straight hours on a full on Harry Potter marathon. Honestly, I don't think I could handle that. Should have done the Twilight movie series...I personally don't mind watching Taylor Lautner prance around half naked. DRadcliffe just ain't doing it for me. One down, seven more to go. (My reaction to that statement is quite similar to Harry in the Invisibility Cloak). 

I've also started to tackle my "old movie" challenge. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Seriously, The Philadelphia Story was hilarious. Granted, they're a little too okay with DV, which is never okay. A Streetcar Named Desire was wonderful because Marlon Brando was built like a Greek god, but super hard to sit through. If you don't know why, watch it. Back to a lighter movie....I'd like to recommend Some Like It Hot. Crossdressing has never looked so good. Plus you get a boozey blonde who steals the show, Marilyn <3.

I promise not to take such a long hiatus between posts. My time is running out on my 1001 days and I still have a lot to do. 

Until next time,

L

465 - The Countdown Continues

It occurred to me that I wasn't quite sure when my 1001 days were up. Thanks to the magic and wonder of the internet, I was able to find a day counter where you can add and subtract days from a specific date. I found out when the end is.

July 31st, 2015.

465 days away.

1 year, 3 months, and 11 days from now.

It's a bit overwhelming. Now that I know the date, I'm putting my butt in high gear and finishing some stuff.

So my plan for the rest of the week...er...month -

Begin some of my lists. Purchase Rosetta Stone. Get my closet up and running on Poshmark (it's not Ebay or Etsy, but it'll do). Start "training" for my 5k, again - third times a charm, right? Plan out my Harry Potter Movie Marathon - any takers...? Start plotting my themed dinner party. I'm thinking something during my birthday month. And most likely there will be a "dress up" component. And phew, now I'm exhausted.

*Note, if you're interested in wasting a weekend or an entire month, here is a list of the Top 10 "Painfully Long" movie marathons with how much time each of them take. 19.6 hours for me and Harry. With no breaks. Crap.

Viva Las Vegas

I crossed a couple things of the ol' list this weekend that I'm pretty jazzed about. The first of which, Number 90, was to head back to Vegas for the weekend, which led to Number 72, hit up a Cirque show. Unfortunately my Vegas weekend wasn't what you're picturing in your head. No trips to the club (which if you're in the market for an awesome club experience, check out Surrender at the Wynn - it's awesome). No trips to the Thunder Down Under - where I'm sure I would have met the next Channing Tatum. No hotel pool parties. No Vegas fine dining. Sadface.

So what did I do while there? Hung out with my Uncle, the 60 year old bachelor, and my mom.Oh, and I learned how to play (and totally dominated) blackjack, walking away $200 richer (technically I won $300 but my Uncle fronted me $100 to start and I had to pay him back). It definitely made me want to start playing. Now my only problem is the closest casino is roughly 3 hours away. Oh well, now I can spend that money on shoes or more Pure Barre classes.

When we found out I was going to Vegas my mom got super excited to take me to my very first Cirque show. She saw O for her birthday, Zumanity last time she was in Vegas, and was open to any other show. I did my research, watched all the trailers, read the reviews, and finally settled on Mystere. Holy amazeballs, so glad I picked this show.

I can't even tell you what the best part of the show was. The dancing, the acrobatics, the strong men, the poles, the aerial silk performance....no. It was probably the abs on every single performer. Holy wow. I also loved the familiarity of one of the songs, Égypte, which was one of my favorite dance routines I ever did (you know, a million years ago when I used to compete). It makes sense, my former dance teacher loves Vegas & Cirque shows!

After this low key trip, I'm rearing to get back there ASAP. And do all those things I named above (that I didn't do this time around). Hopefully next time Southwest won't lose my bags - how this is possible on a direct flight, who knows? And hopefully next time I win bigger!

Until next time, Vegas.

Accomplishing A Lot

Not to talk about how I loved being an advisor and all my collegiate girls (again)....but I had a thought as one of them cried about how she ran, and lost, for Panhellenic President. Welcome to my life, this happened to me - twice, love. Anyways...my thought...without sounding super corny and cliche, I think a lot of us focus on missed opportunities, not getting a job interview, times we were selected last (or not even selected) in gym class, really really really unfortunate incidents that highlight what a crappy person/athlete/employee we must be, instead of focusing on what we've accomplished and our success. So one of my "challenges" on my list is to write down 50 things I've accomplished in the 27 years of my life. Here goes nothing...

1. I got a Master's degree y'all. 
2. And a 4.0 in grad school. Plus I was the only person to never miss a day of class. Overachiever? Pssssh. Okay, maybe a little.
3. Nominated for UCF Homecoming Court, and the uber prestigious Order of Pegasus,  So what if I didn't get any of the above honors...it's the nomination that counts. Right? 
4. I won Freshman of the Year and Sister of the Year in my sorority. #glorydays 
5. Cliff jumping in Jamaica. I cut the entire line so I wouldn't chicken out, and I landed SO ungracefully in the water that I had bruises all up in my inner thighs, I still did it. Off a 30 foot cliff, no less.
6. I was accepted to every grad school I applied to. Boom.
7. Moving to ATL on blind faith and lots of support from darling friends. 
8. Choosing to attend the second largest university in the country (WOOOOOOO UCF) for a fresh start over UF/FSU with my entire high school.
9. Elected to serve on the Junior League of Atlanta's Training Council for 2013-2014 as District Advisor Chair-Elect. Keep in mind, I had transferred to JLA a little over a year before this. Was this even allowed? Probably not. 
10. I'll be on the JLA Membership Council as the 2014-2015 District Advisor Chair overseeing 50 wonderful advisors who in turn work with EVERY. SINGLE. JLA. MEMBER. 
11. I collected a ridiculous amount of money on behalf of my former company in outstanding invoices. Probably more money in 6 months than I'll make in a lifetime. Unless I start getting paid big bucks to blog/craft/internet search/social media/etc...
    
12. Having the patience and persistence to teach my too-smart-for-his-own-good Papillon lots of fun tricks. We're up to 8 right now. Sit, down, stay, bark, up, high-five, paw, spin. He's like a canine Einstein. Now if only we could teach Mr. Fred to use the toilet. 
13. Cutting Diet Coke out of my life. Granted, it only lasted 2 months...I'm pretty impressed I lasted that long. 
14. Taking the LSAT. Last minute. On my birthday. After my college boyfriend dumped me the night before. Clearly I didn't do so hot, but I'm proud of myself for following through.
15. Going to the dark side. After 9+ years of bleaching and coloring my hair, I decided to test out the theory "People take you more seriously if you're brunette". Here I am 5 years later still trying to see if that theory is accurate. But let me tell you going from bleach blonde to jet black is a major accomplishment. And a lot less money wasted on my hair each month. 
16. Working for my sorority. When you go through recruitment, get a bid, and get initiated you never actually think you'd end up working for them professionally. I know that certainly wasn't in my 10 year plan freshman year. But here I am, 9 years later. Development Coordinator for the Foundation. It's crazy. 
    
17. Speaking of that, my first weekend on the job I raised a RIDICULOUS amount of money. I guess asking people for money (and not just my parents) is in my DNA. 
18. And not to keep tooting my own horn - which may I remind you is what this post is actually about-  but I'm getting promoted after being in my position for 2 months. The #takeover has begun.
19. Taking a chance and falling in love with a 2nd business, Rodan + Fields. My skin has never looked and felt better. Plus I'm loving the extra income. No worries ladies & gents...stay tuned for a whole post devoted to the magic and wonders of R+F.
20. Trying a new kind of "dance" that involves a large, skinny, shiny metal pole. Then having the balls to perform in front of people. In class.....not at da club. Still in front of strangers though. It's energizing, empowering, and above all insanely fun. Not only do I recommend Spinarella to everyone (There's a virtual Jiggle class so you can participate near and far. Warning: Ro will make you twerk) but if you're in the Atlanta area, come with me and I'll even pay for your first class. That's how much you'll love it #satisfactionguaranteed.

Items 21-50 are locked up safe and sound. They're things that either I don't think y'all would find interesting or are kinda personal. I know, I know...everything I put out here in CyberLand is personal. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll create a follow up to this post. Keep your fingers crossed, loves.

Until next time,

L

The Countdown is On!

Goodbye Christmas :(

It's a tragic time of year. Christmas decorations come down and are packed up. Christmas lights are ever so gently stripped from a tree and thrown in a box, only to be cursed the following year for getting tangled. Girls are making resolutions to starve themselves and become exercise anorexics lose weight. Guys are counting down the days until they can stop listening to the aforementioned girls crying about how they just wanna lose 3lbs. Resolutions only last for so long, right?

I'm going to be the first one to admit it. I have been seriously slacking on my list. Seriously. Slacking. In 2014, I vow to accomplish more on my list. This means more doing and more blogging (hey there Number 35).

Here's my plan -

• I'm tackling the 'No Booze for a Month which started just after my darling friends birthdays January 4th and 5th. January 6th was Day 1 of my Detox. Luckily for me, my detox ends 3 days before visiting my besties L&L in NYC for the weekend. Talk about perfect timing. That will put a "Done" next to item Numero 89.
• On January 26th, I'm doing my first 5k of 2014. Since my honey got me some SWEET hot pink Nike Lunar's for Christmas, there's really no excuse for my fat ass not to run. So hoping my "training" goes well, I'm running the entire thing and crossing off Number 4.
• Numbers 72 and 90 will be knocked off my To-Do List in March. My darling Uncle has insisted my mother and I take a trip to Vegas to visit him. I know what you're thinking, how much fun could you possibly have with your 60 year old mother and uncle? To respond....do you know my family? Mom is allowing me to pick the Cirque show, and the Uncle is taking me gambling. I went to Vegas once before (for work) which was still awesome. This time I'm looking forward to doing touristy things - like shopping, shows, and tons of gambling. Especially craps, blackjack and placing bets on basketball....helllllo March Madness. 
• Number 52 will be accomplished right now. This new year has brought about some incredible changes and I'm pleased to announce one of these changes includes my profession. I accepted a position with my sorority's foundation. I am beyond excited to give back to an organization that has done so much for me. Without further ado, here are my 5 professional goals as of January 1, 2014 - 

1. Break into the non-profit world and be a rockstar. Give it your all. It's not about the money - it's about helping people. This is your new mantra. I repeat, not about money. You were born to help people...it's in your DNA. 
2. Spend less time surfing the internet, social media-ing, and online shopping at work. If you have free time, it's going to be sent learning something relevant. Something that can be helpful in your profession. Webinars, podcasts, white paper perusing, etc...Seek out formal and informal professional development opportunities.
3. Keep the big picture in mind. I'm sure there will be tasks I don't like to do. Just remember someone has to do these tasks in order for the foundation to succeed. Having a positive outlook will make it easier. This is an amazing opportunity and it will require an "All Hands on Deck" mentality. Your job description doesn't quite cover it. Be open, flexible, and available to assist in any way possible.
4. Work on management skills. Learn to train others with more patience and understanding. Listen more, boss less. You might not manage a group of people now, but you will in the future. Do it right.
5. Working with all women will be a huge change. Do not get into office politics, gossip, or drama. Be friendly, approachable, and a listening ear but do not sink to the level of others. 

I'd actually love any and all advice, professional goals, feedback, anything from friends who work in the nonprofit sector. So please reach out! 

So now I shared my plan. Let me celebrate the small success of checking something off my list. I completed my "Pinteresting" baking challenge and have continued to power through. To round out the list of 10 - these delicious breakfast muffins. I also made cheeseballs. And pepper/bacon egg patty things. Can you say "overachiever"?

Number 95 deserves a post all to itself. Sit tight my little chickadees.

Until next time,
L