Turning 30: 30 Things Every Woman Should Know and Have

I recently read this article on the Huffington Post, which was written by Glamour Magazine.  The title is 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the time She's 30.  I'm two months away from turning 28, so I decided I would post the list and write whether I have experienced it or not. 


By 30, you should have ...
1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come. I've never had a boyfriend, but there are a guy or two that make me grateful for higher standards.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family. - Don't have this.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour. - Got it!
4. A purse, a suitcase, and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying. - I've got the purse and umbrella, not the suitcase.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond. - Got it!
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age. - I probably need to work on making my life a little more exciting. 
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age -- and some money set aside to help fund it. - I have a 401K, does that count?
8. An email address, a voice mailbox, and a bank account -- all of which nobody has access to but you. - I've got all three things!
9. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded. - Got it!
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry. - Blessed to have amazing friends.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra. - I've got 1 of 3. 
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it. - I need to work on this.
13. The belief that you deserve it. - Yes I deserve it, but I can't justify spending $200 on a purse. I do have expensive makeup though.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30. - Just started Aveeno Positively Ageless skin care regimen, love yoga and Pilate's.  I'll face the other things head on as they come up!
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better. - I have a good job, though it's not the career I envisioned for myself.  Now I just need to work on the satisfying relationship.

By 30, you should know ...
1. How to fall in love without losing yourself. - Hard lesson to learn, but one of the most valuable to know.
2. How you feel about having kids. - Like kids, but they're not for me.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship. - I don't know about any of these.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away. - Another difficult lesson to learn.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next. - In my mind I'm a rock star at kissing.  In reality.....not so sure.
6. The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town. - I know the first two, not the tailor.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to. - I know this all too well.
8. Where to go -- be it your best friend’s kitchen table or a yoga mat -- when your soul needs soothing. - For everyday life I know this.  When new things pop up, I have to learn what my soul needs.
9. That you can’t change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents. - Tough things to learn.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over. - Amen!
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love. - Decide what your standards are and never lose your integrity.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or not flossing for very long. - Amen!
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally. - Not everyone is meant to be in your life.  If they are, their presence may not be for positive reasons.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault. - And if it is your fault, admit it, learn from it and move on.
15. Why they say life begins at 30 - Excited about the 30's.  I do have a couple more years to learn lessons and enjoy my 20's to the fullest.

What are your answers to these questions?

Until Next Time,

Things I'm Loving

The past few blog posts having been somewhat deep so this one is going to be a rundown of all the things I have tried recently and am loving.

A few months ago I purchased 20 Something 20 Everything by Christine Hassler.  I knew I was smack dab in the middle of my quarter-life crisis and I hoped this would help guide me through.  Boy did it.  This is not some book you just read and accept.  There is a lot of personal journaling and writing involved, but it is so worth it.  In working through this book I realized that I had grouped all men together because of something a random guy said to a friend years ago.  It's crazy to realize the things you let change you without your consent.

Last year I had purchased one of Gabrielle Bernstein's meditation albums and really enjoyed it.  This year she came out with Medi-Dating: Meditations for Fearless Romance.  It was my Valentine's gift to myself.  If you enjoy guided meditation and are single, you will really enjoy this album.  For me at least, the meditations reminded me to focus on making and keeping myself whole while seeking out my partner, instead of focusing so much on the nit picky "list" that we've all created.

One day I was walking through Target and went to look at the workout DVD's.  I came across the Yoga for Stress Relief and Flexibility DVD by Ashley Turner.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I had wanted to try yoga for years, but could never find a DVD where the instructor made me feel comfortable practicing.  They always made me feel guilty for not being a certain size, etc.  This DVD changed everything!  From the beginning Ashley makes you feel comfortable.  Throughout all of the positions she shows you the different stages where you can take each position.  Last night I did the Yoga for Weight Loss DVD for the first time.  What a great workout it was!  I now look forward to working out each night.

I kept hearing about the Naked by Urban Decay eye shadow set.  The colors were OK, but it is $50 and I wasn't sure how much I would use it.  Then I read that they came out with Naked 2.   Game on!  The colors are exactly what I am looking for and can guarantee I will use this set pretty much every day.  Though I haven't purchased it yet, I already feel like it will be well worth the cost.



I am the girl that watches sports, reads military books and can drop some serious money on makeup!  The book I am currently reading is The Red Circle by Brandon Webb.  He was a sniper for the Navy SEALS.  It's such a great book with lots of insight.  Must read!

I having been taking a bunch of vitamins to help lessen some of the perimenopause symptoms.  Normally they make me very nauseous;  however I have started taking them first thing in the morning with the help of these Bolthouse Farms drinks.  I usually drink either the Green Goodness or Vanilla Chai Tea.  I've had a bunch of their other flavors and they are all delicious!

What are some of the things that you love right now?

Until Next Time,

Falling Apart

When everything seems so wrong, your life isn't falling apart. God is rebuilding it to make you stronger and wiser. ~ Unknown

Found here



I've learned that sometimes you have to fall apart in order to put yourself back together.  Case in point, on Monday I completely fell apart while at therapy.  One minute I was good, the next there were tears.  And raw emotions.  This kind of thing tends to happen when I choose to ignore my feelings and emotions.  And I usually choose to ignore my feelings and emotions when they are bad ones.  I mean, who actually wants to deal with feeling sad or vulnerable or angry? 

And ignoring my real (and bad) feelings and emotions is exactly what I have been doing.  I have been using humor when discussing perimenopause.  The saying goes "you gotta laugh until it's time to cry."  Monday I needed to cry.  Because when I started talking about how I really felt, the real raw emotions came up.

Truth be told, having perimenopause makes me feel old. Instead of feeling 27, I feel 47.  I feel like there is another large con on the pro/con list of me.  Deep down I truly do not want kids, but I also don't want the choice taken away from me. 

I gave myself the rest of Monday to feel bad for myself, but come Tuesday I knew I needed to change my attitude.  In the big scheme of things, it's just perimenopause.  It could be so much worse.  I sat down and thought about the many many ways that I am blessed.  I'm healthy, I have amazing family and friends.  I love my job and co-workers.  Life is pretty freaking good. 

And while I'm not thrilled to experience hot flashes and mood swings again, I'll deal with them head on. 

Found here

Until Next Time,

Fatigue and Fraud

The past few months I haven't felt like myself.  Something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  First I thought I was just being lazy.  Then I thought maybe I was depressed.  Last week I finally realized what it was - menopause.  And even thought this is the second time around, it kicked my butt as much as it did the first time.

A few years ago I went through early menopause (I had already been diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis).  Thanks to a vitamin regimen I was able to have most of the symptoms completely go away.  Just an FYI - menopause or perimenopause can be a sneaky little bastard.  I thought I was losing my mind.  Instead I'm going through menopause for a second time at the ripe age of 27.  Fantastic!

There is anxiety, hot flashes, depression, foggy mind, exhaustion and weight gain to deal with.  The anxiety and depression didn't sound any alarms.  I have dealt with both in my past and I knew I could get through them again.  The hot flashes haven't completely gone away, but they are rare and insanely annoying.  Have you ever been somewhere and seen a really hot guy?  Just as you start to make eye contact you start sweating like crazy and have to fan yourself to get any kind of relief.  Good times! The symptoms that really had me thinking - foggy mind, exhaustion and weight gain. 

There have been so many days where I am trying to focus on something and I just couldn't get my mind to follow along.  Quite a few times I would walk into the storage room at my office and have no clue what I was in there for.  Many nights I would come home with the best of intentions of writing a blog, but would stare at a screen at a loss as to what I should write about. 

The exhaustion has been a whole different beast.  I have never felt so tired in my entire life.  But not only am I tired, I also have insomnia.  There is nothing worse than not being able to sleep when you are exhausted.  Thankfully I have spent almost this entire weekend (including Friday) sleeping.  I'll sleep for 12 hours, wake up and barely be able to stay awake for 2 hours before I'm asleep again.  Most nights I come home, crawl into bed and fight to stay awake until 9 to 10.  There is something about that time frame where my internal clock turns and then I'm wide awake.  And exhausted.

The hardest thing to deal with is the weight gain.  It's not easy to admit that I've gained 10 pounds.  I have been horrifically hard on myself the past few months.  So many nights I would plan to work out or eat healthy, but by the time I'd get home, I'd barely be awake and would eat whatever.  People ask me all the time how I've lost 92 pounds and I can tell them in great detail what needs to be done.  But right now I couldn't do those things for myself.  And it makes me feel like a big fat fraud. 

I'm changing my diet and going back to what has worked for me in the past.  Cutting out processed foods, bad carbs and as much sugar as possible.  I'm also trying to eliminate as much sodium as possible as well.  My hope is that my hormones will stabilize soon and my metabolism will kick back in and do it's job. 

If there are more than a few days between posts, just know that I am doing my best to get myself back.

Until Next Time,

Just Me

My apologies for not having a post up sooner.  First I got really busy at work, then every time I would sit down to write a blog, I would end up staring at the screen.  There was just nothing to write about.  Then I realized that it's because I was happy and content.  And after a rollercoaster few months, it was such a blessing.  Sure I wish I was in a relationship or was thinner or made more money.  But in the large scheme of life, I have no complaints.  God has blessed me more than I could imagine.

While I have been sitting with my happiness and contentness, I also realized that I have been ignoring myself lately.  Tuning out what I really need.  Focusing on others instead of on me.  It can feel very selfish to simply focus on yourself and not on others.  So this post is going to be for me and about me and to remind me of who I really am!

I am totally and completely my fathers daughter (no matter how much I try and fight it!).  Watching a baseball game brings me an inner peace that nothing else can.  I watch ESPN, Military Channel and the History Channel on a regular basis.  I rarely watch E!, Style or HGTV. 

My favorite color is grey.  The various shades are comforting on different levels.  No matter how much I try and fight it, deep down I believe in fairytales and Happily Ever Afters.  I can buy the same shade of lipstick and nail polish in every brand.  I am petrified of people in costumes.  When I was younger, the only way my parents could get me up in the mornings was to play the sports section from the previous nights news broadcast. 

I am addicted to Shark Week.  And the Berry Bar.  I have two TV's in my room so I can watch two sports at once.  I want to go out and make friends, but I'm somewhat awkward in social situations.  No matter how many times I watch episodes of The Big Bang Theory, I still laugh likes it's the first time. 

I wish I was thinner and didn't have bat wings, a muffin top and jiggly bits, but I do.  As embarrassing as it is, at times I act like a four year old in my relationship with God.  I may have once said that I wasn't going to talk to Him until He gave me what I wanted.  Had to learn the hard way that it doesn't work that way! 

Looking back over the mistakes I've made and the numerous painful lessons that had to be learned the hard way, I wouldn't change one minute of my journey or who I am.


Until Next Time,