today was a good day... already.

It's Friday!!! YES!

I've been waiting all week for this moment.

I've been waiting all my blogging life for a moment like this.

Yesterday I received a super sweet email from Lindsay King from InReads. I wasn't sure if it was spam, or possibly just someone trying to pull a fast one on me. So I let the letter sit in my inbox. At the end of this really complimentary letter she asked me a few questions about love, and marriage and relationship details. She had found a lot of herself in my words and that touched me. I wish I would have had some type of blog or person to listen to when I was in the dating seas. When I was in my teens, or twenties, making the same mistakes over and over again until my mascara was running down my cheeks. You know, other than books like The Rules and other self help stuff that essentially I would read and not listen to at all. I'm a bit bullheaded, but I digress.

Lindsay had stated that she was going to do a write up about my blog. That's what she does. She reads blogs and she writes about said blogs that catch her attention. I was a bit nervous at first so I waited for today to come. She gave me a link, to read my article at the end of the email. This morning, I got to work, checked my emails and went back to hers. I decided it was now or never,  I clicked on the link. Let's just say I was floored, and for a non-super-girlie-girl I got weepy eyed. What she wrote about me, about my blog, made me feel amazing. She got me, she gets me and she's sharing it with the world on the internet. SCORE!

This came at a time when I wasn't sure about blogging anymore. I've been lazy lately, not sure what to write about. Not sure if my voice was one people wanted to hear. Do I start advertising to get more follows? Do I even care about how many people follow? I love my followers, but did I need more?  I've always been a quality over quantity type of girl, in all parts of my life, and really didn't want to lose that. Not saying that sponsorship means that, I think it's a great way to also promote other writers in our ranks and ourselves. Add to that the fact that blogging is no my job, if I was getting paid for this, I'd work it, trust! Blogging for me has never been a passion, but more so, a way to vent. The bonus side effect is making LOTS of new friends.

Lindsay's write up has not only boosted my confidence but made me really thankful for this community, and for my ability to express myself fully, even though I wasn't sure if I was on the right track.

So please excuse me while I beam with pride and have a big head today. This morning has already started off on the right foot, and I'm not even finished my first cup of coffee yet.

Thank you Lindsay!

P.S. I am a huge Steelers fan, but my second favorite team is the Redskins. I still love my home team girl. No worries there.

the future you.

VIA

I'd like to think that each day I try do to a little to make the world a better place. I saw this image and I thought, that is such a right on concept. (Wow, I just sounded a bit hippie-ish saying that, eek!) It's true, we should do something everyday that our future self will thank us for. Below is a list of things, I'm doing today, that I think I will be very happy I did, in the future.

"No regrets, that's my motto... 

that and everyone Wang Chung Tonight!"

 – Luke (Out Cold)

THE FUTURE ME WOULD BE PROUD....

ONE // RECYCLING

Mike and I have started recycling. I realized in just one short month of starting our recycling mission, just how much waste the two of us produce. Wait, that sounded gross, RECYCLABLE waste. Paper, aluminum, plastic. We were totally doing our fair share of destroying the earth and filling landfills with crap we could easily give to someone else to recycle.

We Mike used to take the trash out at least 2-3 times a week to our larger outdoor can. Now, he only takes it out about 1 time, right before trash day. Unless we have a lot of people over, and have a party, there is not a lot of trash that goes into the can. I love this.  One of our best friends recycles too and she says she often just has to empty her can because it smells, not because it's full. Win/Win! Less trash.

Oddly enough our recycle bin is always overflowing. A lot of it is due to boxes that items are wrapped in. We break them down but they still multiply quickly. Beer cases, pizza boxes, boxes holding cat food, add to that cat food cans, and soda/beer cans, plastic bottles, plastic containers, etc. Our recycle box is always full on Thursday. Thankfully, our pick-up people WILL take other items stacked next to the box if needed, incase we have overflow. I often wish the bin had a lid on it, but that might make it hard to pick-up and toss in the truck. My only issue is that I wish our town recycled glass bottles/jars.

BOTTOM LINE: The future me should be happy we're starting to think about the world's future. Where we will live and our kids will live, and even more important our grandkids will live. Wait, holy shit I haven't even had a kid and I'm talking about grandkids - PUMP THE BREAKS!

TWO // NOT COMPROMISING WHO I AM

Mike and I had a big discussion yesterday about where we are in our lives. We've been getting the usual comments, when are you going to have kids? When are you going to buy a house? When are you going to essentially "grow up". My gut reaction, NEVER. I never want to grow up. I will grow old, yes, but I will never grow up.  Kids? I am sure we will need to get serious about them soon, I'm not getting any younger but I'm also not in a rush. A home, we are looking, but not actively. I'm much more worried about bringing down my debt than I am about creating more of it.

BOTTOM LINE: I will hope my future self will remember me now, and think I was a good person for not compromising who I am, who I want to be and who I enjoy being. I hope that my future self won't look back regretting that I didn't take the corporate route, that I followed my creative heart and that it's a good thing, not a bad thing. I hope that the future me will be happy I didn't grow up, and that my children will be happy that Mom and Dad both have a child side to them, at least until they are 14 and we embarrass the shit out of them on a regular basis.

THREE // CONTROLLING MY DEBT

Currently Mike and I both are trying to bring down our debt. To help plan for the future. It's not a quick fix, we both have bills we need to pay and want to pay down before adding more to the pot. While we'd love to have a house, right this second it's something we're both unsure of. Who knows, next month we might change our minds.

BOTTOM LINE: We'll get there when we get there.

FOUR // TAKING TIME TO BE A MARRIED COUPLE (CHILD FREE)

I hope that the future me will enjoy the fact that we took our time to have kids. I know some people love them and have wanted them from day one of marriage or since they were old enough to desire kids. I am not one of those people. I LOVE KIDS, but currently I also love sleep. Eventually I will have to learn to love kids more than sleep. This isn't that moment. I'm still selfish, and I hope that the future me will respect my wishes at this time when she's knee deep in dirty diapers at 2, 3, and 4 am!

I hope that the future me in my 40's, 50's and 60's will look back at my 20 something and 30 something lifestyle and think "I lived, loved and enjoyed myself. I made a shit ton of mistakes but I learned from them all." I hope that she will also think "P.S. Thanks for using eye cream so early in life, I really appreciate that."

I hope that our future selves will be happy we took time to grow as a couple, first. And then a family second. 

BOTTOM LINE: I was happy I spent my 20's partying and making new friends. I'm happy even though I was in serious relationships that I didn't settle down too early. It worked for a lot of my friends, most are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary! That's awesome! I also think they found the one they were meant to be with back then. I didn't. I found Mike later than most of my friends and I'm happy I never settled when people thought I should have, just for the sake of being married, or following the "proposed plan". Mike and I both are thankful we had this time to not only live our lives but find each other when we were both ready. I'm also happy we've taken these years as a couple to really get to know each there, to travel and to enjoy the fun of not having too many responsibilities. We are responsible adults, but currently just responsible for each other.

VIA

FIVE // WORKING OUT

While I've hopped on and off the wagon of fitness I'm happy I'm still giving it a try. I hope to start making better choices for my health. Working out, eating better and just trying to mentally and physically make myself a better person I believe will pay off when I'm older.

BOTTOM LINE: I hope that when I'm 70 I'm still able to be up and around and have energy like some of these older, healthy folks I've seen. I don't want a rocking chair lifestyle before the age of 80.

I could probably go ON and ON about this, and I'm sure I'll think of about 20 other things once I post this but these were the big ones. I'm still growing as a person even in my mid/late 30's and I still think I have a lot of work to do for myself, this earth and the community. So here's to still growing, and growing old, not up!

So what do you want to do today, that will make your future self proud?