Okay, I guess it's time to accept the fact that I'm getting older. It's self-admittedly pretty bad when you forget that your own birthday is a few days away. I guess that's what I get for being so busy, yeah? Oh wells, life goes on. Today is the day we celebrate my birth. I, for one, am glad I've been given this many years to live and I hope God grants me many more! I am more blessed than I ever imagined!
I've been trying to reflect on the past year so that I could leave you all with some pearls of wisdom - wisdom is what you're supposed to look forward to with age, isn't it? I find this assignment to be challenging, since who knows if there is anything that I have learned this year that would apply to your lives, but here goes nothing!
1. If you're going to have long hair, for the love of everything, attempt to style it! (I am as guilty as they come of rocking the "hey, check out my hair as it literally just hangs on either side of my face day after day" look. But we have to focus - Pinterest has changed the game, y'all. There is no excuse for not at least TRYING the tutorials for cute styles that you've pinned.)
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| Proud crafty mama, I am! Can't wait to share professional pictures of these bad boys in use! |
3. Sometimes, letting go is a part of growing up. Over the past year, several people I had invested a lot of time and energy in let me down. Not just once - more like continuously. I have finally gotten to the point in my life where I am okay with letting go of relationships that make me sad more than they make me happy. If someone constantly uses me, they're gone. If they lie to me, they're gone. If they only exist for the sole purpose of starting or continuing drama, they're gone. As much as I've tried to complicate it over the years, it really is as simple as that. Pray for them, bless their hearts, and move on.
4. In the same vein as number 3, make it a PRIORITY to surround yourself with good, positive, challenging people. I promise you, it will become one of your proudest accomplishments.
5. Spend less time posting on facebook and other social media sites and live your life. Wow this took a lot of time to put into action, because let's face it - we all love a good timesuck or two. For example, I actually had someone say to me, "I can't believe you didn't post pictures while on your trip this week!" Newsflash: I was enjoying my HONEYMOON. The only honeymoon I'll ever get. I didn't want to spend my precious week off putting pictures or statuses on facebook about how much I enjoyed engorging myself with crab legs, hush puppies, and honey butter (rest assured, I did. A lot.). I wanted to spend my precious week off from work with my brand new, super sexy, uber fun, hunk of a husband. [Sidebar: I did take pictures. I will post them when I get some time. Pinky promise.]
6. Magic Mike was an awesome movie, and not for the plotline.
7. Getting organized is hard. Staying organized is harder. This is a work in progress for me because I'm not a natural organizer where everything has it's place. Or, I'm not that way about everything - I am about some things and I wish I was about everything. I'm a clutterbug. My husband is somewhat of a clutterbug. Two clutterbugs living in Casa De Clutterbug equals chaos on most days. We're working on it. If organization is a challenge for you, too, all I can say is keep going and don't give up!
8. When all else fails you, simply say a prayer. God hears everything you tell Him. He is always faithful.
9. When you constantly have prayed for something (that promotion at work, the guy/girl to take things to the next level, to win the lottery, to find someone to be with, or to make pain go away in some form) and nothing changes, the right move is not to curse God. It's not to blame Him, call Him a meanie or some other terrible name, or swear off believing in Him altogether. The correct move is to take a long hard look in the mirror, buck up a bit, and realize that maybe God isn't ignoring you...maybe God is simply telling you, "No." Guess what, it happens.
10. Finally, one last nugget of wisdom (you like how I word played on a form of chicken???) for you that I've learned in the past year is marry someone who turns you into a team. Marry someone you genuinely want to do life with. Marry someone who you can successfully have difficult discussions with. Marry someone who makes the world a better place. Marry someone who takes time for the little things. Marry someone who makes you laugh. Marry someone who knows what to do when you cry. Marry someone who knows how to say the words, "I'm sorry." Marry someone who wants to marry you. Marry the person who does all these things for you. Trust me, it rocks the most.
From me, on my birthday, to all of you - thanks for being in my life and for constantly lifting me up. I hope I can do the same for all of you!
Until next time,
