What's in a Year?

It feels so good to be back. All that white space ready for me to use it...yup. I hope y'all had a Merry Merry Christmas. I know that we did. I must have been a good girl because Santa brought me the three things I really wanted. =)

I just can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2013. It just doesn't seem right. So much has happened. I thought I'd  do a quick little recap.

February
I started my concert binge of 2013 and went to see Luke Bryan for the first time. Mhmmmm.

I had a boring 22nd birthday party. 23 is coming in with a bang.

March 

Teagan somehow turned 5. I just don't know where the time went. 

April

Blake, my momma, and I went to Kansas City to watch a discussion panel with some of the cast of Sons of Anarchy. We also got to see Katey Segal perform a few songs. It was amazing.

May

I went and saw Kenny Chesney for the second time. We had way more fun than we should have. 

But even more importantly, my Auntie started the path of remission. She beat breast cancer's ass!

June

 My wife started her path of remission too! She beat lung cancer.

I went and saw Miranda Lambert. It wasn't the best concert, but that wasn't her fault at all. I can't wait to see her again. 

Blake and I adopted Olivia. My how much she's grown.

July

I went to Toby Keith's benefit for Moore Ok. It was the first festival I've seen and I saw a lot of country music artists I never would have seen. 

We went to our first broadway show. And of course it was Lion King. The one I wanted to see the most!

August

Teagan started kindergarten. It's been an interesting year for her. That's for sure.

October

Man what a busy month concert wise. 

First we had Blake Shelton.

Then there was Keith Urban. And I got to touch him. I'm still not over that. This was the second time I'd seen him and it was so much fun!

And then we went to Florida Georgia Line. Which was a blast too.

Blake and I celebrated 4 years of being together. And for the first time we didn't go to a Halloween party. I'm a little sad about it still.

November

I took Blake to see Korn and Rob Zombie for our anniversary. He loved it. More than any other concert we've been to. 

December

We celebrated Blake's birthday and Christmas. 

Sorry this is the longest post ever. I hope y'all have a wonderful New Year's Eve and start your year out right. Lots of love!

Traditions

I love traditions. I'm not very traditional though. I can't get with that. Anyway...the holidays bring my favorite traditions. 

- I always get together with my dad's side of the family and we have Christmas on Christmas Eve. All the great food and company help a little ;). 

- I always always wake up at my mommas on Christmas morning. I always try to stay in bed as long as possible otherwise everybody would be up at 5! 

- with my momma I always open my stocking first. There's really no reason but it's how we've always done things. 

This year though, the traditions will be am little different. And I don't know how I really feel about that. 

This year will be my first Christmas in five years to wake up without teagan. It's his Christmas this year, per our parenting plan. And honestly, it sucks. 

I don't know what it will be like to wake up without her and I don't really know if I want to. I know it won't be the same without her. 

I've tried to stay positive, for the sake of having some "Christmas spirit", but it's awfully hard. 

And we always do my Christmas Eve at my grandma's at night. It always gives me time to get ready for the day. And it ends late, which makes it that much easier to get an excited little girl in bed. But tho year we have to do in the afternoon because she has to be with her dad at 9. I won't be able to put her to bed and hear how excited she is to get up tomorrow morning. 

And Blake has to work and won't make it in time for our gift exchange. That bums me out too. 

So, I guess maybe I'll have to make new traditions. Ones that will still make me feel like it's the holidays. 

But this still sucks. 

Merry Christmas y'all! See ya sometime after the holidays. I hope you have a great Christmas! 

Pay It Forward

I wasn't going to post today because I really don't have the time. But something happened to me that made me want to come here.

Yesterday wasn't the best day I've ever had. Actually, far from it. I couldn't sleep last night so I felt it being dragged over to today too.

I had just dropped Tea off at school and went ot get myself some breakfast at Mickey D's because it's what I do on Fridays. The line was long but I stayed anyway. I was irritated by how slow the line was and my car was making weird noises. There was a Range Rover in front of me and an Escalade behind me. I was just thinking mean things about their cars because I'm sure they work properly. Even if they don't, they run better than mine. I got up to the window and thought finally. The girl at the window told me that the Range Rover in front of me had paid for my breakfast.

And I lost it. Ugly cries insued. Right in front of the poor lady just trying to do her job. I hadn't felt that grateful for somebody in a long time. It really is the little things that matter. That person, who I was judging, just did one of the kindest acts ever to somebody who really needed some holiday spirit thrown her way. And now I feel better. Today will be better. I'll remember that Range Rover for the rest of my life. Right down to the Tulsa, OK license plate holder they had, even though they live in Missouri. And if I see them again, I will thank them.

That's all I've got today. Just remember, somebody somewhere needs some of your holiday spirit. You can show it in the littlest of ways. You don't have a clue how much it will help. A little smile goes a long way.

Linking up with Whitney while I'm here!

p.s. Yes, I paid for the Escalade behind me. And I hope it continued on from there.

6 Things You Shouldn't Say to A Server

There are things that as a waitress, I hate to ear. It's like my ears bleed when somebody says some stupid comment. I thought that today was the day to share them with you. In case, ya know, you might have said this. But I know that you guys don't do that. =)

"I'm going to have six other people with me."
They say this when I greet them at their table. No shit, really? I thought that all these extra menus were for you because you have schizophrenia and your different personalities want their own menu. I'm working, not blind or stupid. Save your breath. I got this.

"...no we're going to have 100 people."
This is the answer the hosts get sometimes when they ask people how many there's going to be tonight. Listen, we get that there are only two of you standing in front of us. And yes, we figure it's only going to be you two but we are required to ask. Some people have people join them and if we didn't ask we'd never know. Don't be a smart ass about it. It's redundant to us. Imagine repeating yourself every time you saw a person walk in the door, wouldn't you want to stab your eyeballs out? Please just appease us.

"With bread sticks too."
Again, no fucking shit. This applies to OG mainly, I get that. We know you want bread. That's probably 74% of the reason you came in today. Please don't tell me how to do my job. You'll get your bread. Your 180 calorie per piece bread.

"Do you think that this portion was worth x amount of dollars that I spent on it?"
I've had this conversation, not once, but twice in two weeks. It's embarrassing to put any server in that situation. Listen, some stuff at OG might be overpriced. And I'm sorry you feel that way. However, don't ask me for my opinion. I know better than to say what I think. I need this job and I'm not going to agree with you that your food wasn't quality enough for what you're paying. That could be my job. I had one guy who argued with me about whether or not I had an opinion about it. Like, guy, I'm not going to agree with you so you can go tell my boss and then I get fired. He wouldn't shut his mouth until his wife told him that I really wasn't going to give him my thoughts on the matter. I don't make the rules, I just work here. It's not called "Chloe's Garden." If you don't like what you're paying for the portion you're getting, then tell my manager. Please for the love of all things sparkly, don't ask me!

"We're going to be here for awhile! We haven't seen each other in ages!"
Awesome! You're going to sit at my table - of which I only get three of at a time - for the next 3 hours and only tip me what you would regularly tip if you were only going to be here for a normal length. GREAT! I can't wait to get one less table because you can't catch up at your house. I understand that you want to have a nice visit, but an hour and half max is what a nice visit should be. For every hour you're at my table, I'm losing money. I know this isn't your fault that the company I work for has some odd rules, but hey, work with me here. I'll give you an hour and a half of good service. After that mark, it declines. So please take your lady talk and have it at your house afterwards.

"...."

Then there are the silent ones. The ones that don't say a word when you walk up to the table to introduce yourself to and get their drink orders. And they just sit and stare at each other. No matter how many things you say to them, they don't answer. It's a really confusing situation. I thought people came here because they knew that they'd have to talk to me. I can't read your mind sir. Please...anything! These are the ones that get irritated the easiest. They don't tell me anything and get mad because I didn't bring their pasta out like they like it. Oops. My bad.


What stupid things do people say, that drive you to drink, at work?

Best Songs of the Year

I love me some music. I really truly do. And although I may listen to a lot of country, and mainstream stuff, I still think that I can learn from it.

Last week when Helene announced that she was going to host this link up, I already knew I was going to participate. The problem is, what songs would I pick. I have seriously thought about it for a week. And I still have no clue.

I want to pick all the songs unless they're by Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or Gaga. But I won't. So, here's what songs I could think of that I adored this year. And no, they're not in any certain order.

Royals - Lorde
I was behind the times when this song came out. Everybody knew what it was before me. But damn it's an amazing song! It's not like all the other music that came out. I just dig it.



Radio Active - Imagine Dragons
Rocking out to this song is the bomb. I can get a good workout doing so. However, I have to tell you that when it came out, I thought the lyrics were "Ready to rock you" instead of radio active. Fail.



My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em UP) - Fall Out Boy
Another song made for rocking out. The return of FOB was unexpected to me. I was never a fan girl but I appreciate this good song. I don't know if you've ever watched them perform it, but they look bored as shit. Please rock out while singing this song.



Anything by Blake Shelton

Seriously. I don't think he released one song I didn't like this year. If I have to pick, I have to pick three songs. Boys Round Here, Mine Would Be You, Sure Be Cool if You Did. Love all of them. Apparently Blake and Vevo don't get along because they only had 4 videos and none of them were my songs. Google it!

Play it Again - Luke Bryan

He hasn't released it on the radio yet, but technically it came out in 2013. IT strikes a chord with me because what girl doesn't go "OMG THIS IS MY SONG!!!" every time her favorite song comes on. As much as I love Luke, I've played this song before and I just think that this picture is more appropriate.

Ho Hey - The Lumineers
People got tired of this song really fast but I still love it. Something about that "folk" sound gets me sometimes. I know they aren't really that folksy but I say they are and let me be happy.



We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
And she won't stop. Please don't stop Miley.



It Goes Like This - Thomas Rhett
Just listening to this one makes me smile.



Wake Me Up - Avicci
This song could be considered over played but when you don't have a radio, nothing is overplayed. I really like that this song is considered EDM. I could get more into that genre if it sounded like this.


Thrift Shop/Ceiling Can't Hold Us - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
I know that these are two different songs but I love them both. I really just like Macklemore. I mean he raps about shit that matters. I can appreciate that. Can't wait to hear more from theses two! And again, I couldn't find anything on Vevo.

Timber - PitBull & Ke$ha
I love Kesha. LOVE her. And this song just gets stuck in my head and I enjoy singing it to piss off people. =) When we went to Blake's Christmas party the dueling pianists played this and it sounded awesome!




I could keep going. But I've gotta get to work.

Do you agree with anything on this list? Or disagree?

The One Where I Do A Quiz

Y'all know I love getting mail. But you know what I don't love?? I don't love when my mail gets delivered to some town I've never heard of and I don't know if I'll ever get it back. Especially when it's a package that I've paid for. My ipsy bag is missing this month and I'm quite bummed about it. I checked out my glam room and everything that was coming to me was perfect. Blah. Anyway...I had to get that rant out of the way. You see...ipsy doesn't have a customer care phone number. Nope. The only way to get ahold of them is to email them. And we all know that e-mailing a company is the last resort into fixing a problem. I'm not holding my breath this time. Best believe if it happens again...ipsy and I will be breaking up.

That's all I've got. Pretty lame-o huh. I'll leave you with this. The Blogmopolitan quiz. Enjoy!

It's not the most attractive thing in the world but this is the first time I've ever tried this!

Thanks to Erin for letting me play along. You can find it here!

Blowpops and Birthdays

Happy Monday y'all. Today is my last day of my weekend. Sad face. I was off all weekend long and then got a bonus day. Don't mind if I do.

I have to say, it was a great weekend. Busy, but still great.

My gma, teag, and I went to see my uncle. He's staying about an hour and a half east of us. They got so much snow where he was. I was actually jealous. I hate snow, but if it's going to happen I want it to be beautiful and cover everything. I want it to look like a Christmas card. That's what snows about yo! We took a couple of wrong turns, and ended up at this cute little general store. It was exactly what you'd think of if you were reading a book that was set back in the day. I mean it was just perfect. The store owner had a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything. I was so giddy about being there. He even had free candy jars! Teagan got a kick out of that.

Our visit with Jason (my uncle) was awesome. He has such a good heart and he always always makes me laugh. It was a good visit and we're going back the Sunday after Christmas!

Later that night was Blake's work Christmas party. I wasn't excited for that at all, but it turned out not to be so bad. OK, it was great. The party was at a dueling piano bar that I hadn't been to before. I LOVED it. We drank a little too much and had a little bit too much fun. I took hardly any pictures because I was busy having a great time. It feels good to not have to worry about getting a great shot and to just enjoy myself. But I did have some great shots. Get it, get it. I'm hilarious.

Here are a few pictures from the night.

A BlowPop Martini. 

 Us with our blowpops. 

There's a story here. See, my friend there had been in this bar before and knew about the blowpops that came with the martini. When she asked for two of the martinis, a bitchy rude ass bartender told her that all they have is dum dums. Well, my friend was trying to be funny and asked for a blowpop martini with a dum dum. Bitchy bartender said "if you want a blowpop bad enough you can walk across the street and go buy some. I'm too busy for this." Ummmm what?!? We're both waitresses and got a kick out of her bullshit and her way of treating customers. So, for her tip, we went across the street and got her a couple bags of blowpops. Merry Christmas!

Yesterday was this handsome man's 31rst birthday. It's a good thing he looks good because I sure as hell didn't. We took him out for dinner, gave him some presents. Then we went to renew our Sam's Club membership. Because we don't have a Costco. =( 

I know that he had a great birthday. 

At least he said he did. 

What's Happenin' What's up

Ahhh the good ol' blog. I missed it yesterday. I had intended to link up with Helene and Taylor but I had somewhat of a shitty morning and couldn't get to the computer. All is well now though.

I wore my blog so hard shirt to work yesterday. And I finally told people that I had a blog. Some looked at me funny, others were like whatever about it, but dammit, I'm proud and this space is mine.

I like that I can write whatever I choose whenever I choose. The best kind of writing is when I have nothing to say and the words just flow out of my fingers. I think that they move faster than my brain can process what I'm thinking at times.

It's funny how writing has always been a release for me. I used to write "poetry" when I was younger. I can't believe I wrote some of the shit I did, but I've been told it was good. Now I write for all to read. It's such a scary thought that anybody can read this whenever they want. But I wouldn't change a thing. I mean, I've finally had a person steal my pictures to use as their own. It's a funny story actually.

I was checking my stats and saw that babycenter.com was a referring url. I thought what in the fuck would bring people from babycenter to my blog? I don't talk about babies or my own kid that often. That's odd. So ya know, I had to do some snooping.

This 15 year old girl was trolling a forum I guess and people wanted to see a picture of her with her aunt. So she typed something into google and came up with this image.

However, that's not my aunt, that's my mom. This was before the Luke Bryan concert in February. I posted a pic with my Aunt too. She grabbed the wrong one. Oops. I tried to message her and tell her that she should be careful with what she chooses to use off the internet. She not so politely told me that I wasn't really that girl and I need to shut the fuck up. lololol. 

I know that people can take whatever they want off of my blog, or out of google images and it doesn't really bother me, unless they're pretending to be me a lot more than this girl was. It just made for a good story. 

I'm gonna nap now. I watched the season finale of Sons last night and I couldn't sleep afterward. Seriously though...if you watched it, how heartbreaking was that??!!?? I want to discuss it with people but I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't watched. E-mail me with your thoughts!

Peace out girl scouts.

I'm Your Sunshine

Ah man it's Monday. Another snow day too. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of it!

I get the pleasure of working a double today because I picked up a shift tonight. See, it always sounds like a good idea at the time, then the day comes around and I'm like "Ughhhhh, Why did I pick up this shift?!?!". Hopefully it's an easy day and I don't have to be there all night. We'll see.

My weekend was full of work. I guess we did one thing, we watched The Purge. I loved it! I mean, I couldn't get behind the fact that's it's only a little over 8 years away and people are ok with it, but other than that it was great. And we watched Joy Ride because it was on tv and Blake likes to torture me. I was a little sad. Oh, I didn't mention that Paul Walker and I were besties. Ok, not really but I've loved the Fast and the Furious franchise since it came out, so my heart is still sad. I forgot how good it was though!

Anyway...since I've not see anything except for snow and OG for the past 3 days, I thought I'd get around to accepting my Sunshine Award. I was nominated by miss Amanda from Voyage of the MeeMee. She's too sweet. I def need some sunshine right now.

There are supposed to be rules and stuff but I'm not following them. I feel like being a rebel today. =)

I'm supposed to list 11 facts about me, but I feel like I've exhausted everything I can say. So I'm just going to answer the questions she asked.

1. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of you life, what would it be?
Right now it would be "Play it Again" by Luke Bryan. It's a fun song and tells a great story.

2. How many hours a day do you spend doing blog related stuff? (I want to feel "normal" so I'm crossing my fingers that it's a lot.)
It just depends. Daily, at least an hour and a half. But if I don't have anything to do and I don't mind staring at my laptop, than it could be anywhere from 3 to 5. That's way too much time. Shhh. Don't tell.

3. If you could have any super hero power, what would it be?
I'm really nosy, so I'd love to hear people's thoughts Sookie Stackhouse style. I want to know how you really feel about me!

4. Are you a morning person, afternoon person, or night person?
I'm a mid-morning, early afternoon person. I get the most done between 1030 and 1.

5. How much wood would a wood chuck chuck... screw it, you get a free pass here. Bonus points if you can actually say it without googling it.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? No googling.

6. What is your current favorite TV show? (If you say you don't like TV, I'mma slap you and never read your blog again.)
I don't wanna pick. I love Sons of Anarchy. And tomorrow is the season finale and I'm sad. Street Outlaws on Discovery channel is super awesome. Not a lot of people watch that channel but they have some really awesome tv shows. It's about some street racers from OKC. I told you that I loved Fast and the Furious, and it's because I really like street racing. The Walking Dead and True Blood also make this list. I watch too much tv.

7. Are you left handed or right handed?
I'm a lefty by default. I didn't have an option. My momma and daddy are both lefties.

8. What is your favorite smell?
When I use the original scent Tide and originial scent Bounce sheets and pull stuff from the dryer. It's a little specific. What can I say. But I really like anything foodie too.

9. Do you ever talk to yourself?
Do people not do this?

10. What is your favorite quote?
Your mom. Not really, but I don't get into the whole quote thing too often. 

11.Who/what makes you smile like no one/nothing else can?
Blake and Teagan. The dogs. My hoodie. Christmas. I'm really not hard to make smile. 

Well, that's all from me today. I have to go to work and I need to eat first. So I'll see ya tomorrow. Maybe. 

What Makes Me Want To Blog

Happy Friday cupcakes! Hope your week was absolutely amazing. Mine was pretty good. I can't complain.

I took a little hiatus this week and only posted once. I just didn't have anything to say and I didn't want to post just to post. I even contemplated whether or not to continue on with it. Sometimes it just seems to be  hassle and I don't want that.  It's a place I come to spill my guts, or to show off the things I'm obsessed with. I knew that deleting it wasn't the answer. How would I manage my friendships that have grown from this blog? I want this blog to be something people can relate to. I want it to be a place where I can make wonderful friends. So, if I don't blog, it's just because I don't think I have anything worth saying. And sometimes, that's ok. And sometimes when I'm not blogging, I don't read very many blogs. A break is a nice thing.

Anyway...I'm going to link up for 5 for Friday again. It's the cool thing to do, and I always want to be a cool kid. Let's do it!

1. I got my fabulous package from Whit! I ordered her first shirt from her new venture and I was super excited about it. It came with a koozie! Awesome free present =). Anyway...this shirt had a huge impact on my decision to not quit blogging. I mean, how I could I wear it with pride if I wasn't blogging? Not very many people in my real life know about it, but now I'm ready to share. When people ask I want to get all giddy and tell them all about my favorite thing.

Whitney hasn't posted her next shirt yet, but make sure you're paying attention for the announcement!

2. We decorated a little for Christmas! For the first time in years we have a normal people Christmas tree. It's nice but definitely not me. But it makes the little happy and that's what matters. We actually have two trees. One's a little smaller and we let Teagan go to town on it. It has all of our old ornaments on it. 

3. I'm almost done Christmas shopping. Write that down. I never ever ever get done this early and it's super exciting. I just need to finish a few things up and I can feel relieved. I'm so ready.

4. Helene posted about how having a fb page for your blog is important. And she backed it up with reasons it is. At first I didn't believe her but ya know...when the proof is there you have to take it. So come like my fb page please! I promise to try and use it more than I do.

5. It's Friday. I think that's worth celebrating! Happy weekend ya'll, but before ya go...I have to link up. So here's some old school N*SYNC for ya. And it's the perfect song for the weekend!

Winter Bucket List

I can't believe it's December...says every person ever. But for real, it just seems like I was reading posts about ya'll taking some awesome summer vacays. 

But it's the happiest time of the year so I mean it doesn't get better than this! I love Christmas time. Tomorrow we're putting the tree(s) up and I can't wait. Yes, we do have more than one. We each have one because ya know...who likes to share. 

I did a fall bucket list and now I think it's time to do a winter one. Let's get to it.

(be proud... I made something myself)

Send out Christmas cards. That means if you want one...let me know! Last chance, I plan on getting started today!

Make a snow angel with Teag.

Bake a Christmas desert.

Make our own hot cocoa.

Go look at the Christmas lights.

Watch one movie about Christmas/Winter. Any suggestions? 

Read Teagan "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve.

Make a Christmas craft. I was thinking of something like this

Write and send letters to Santa.

And maybe...this one is kind of big, take a carriage ride. 

What's on your bucket list?