You gotta grow up sometime.

I turned 30 in February. I was and am completely fine with that, but I knew the days of not caring about certain parts of growing older were behind me (i.e., wrinkles). I read a Q&A section Family Circle magazine recently - yes, I do have a subscription to Family Circle courtesy of my Mamaw, and yes, I am the only grandchild she has that is both single and without children. My Mamaw told me it has good articles, and it really does. I can't do much right now with topics on raising pre-teens or keeping my kids safe online, but the recipes and the home decor ideas are pretty nice.

This particular Q&A I read was about skin care. A reader asked, "when should I begin an anti-aging skin regime?" The answer, "if you are asking the question, it probably means you should start now." Well, I've asked myself that question a few times here and there, but never done anything about it. Today, though, I've reached a new chapter in my life, and I will now be using these products on a daily (hopefully) basis. It really helps that they all smell so amazing! If I'm going to use a night creme, I'm all for it being good smelling and moisturizing as I drift off to sleep.



If this new habit I'm trying to form goes well, I fully expect that the way I look today is the way I'll look 30 years from now.

Today I realized...

-I'm hooked on coffee, not caffeine, just the taste of hot coffee with sweetener and half&half.
-Bangs require lots of upkeep, but thankfully my hairdresser offers complimentary trims.
-When I don't practice my golf swing in over a week it's going to be pretty shaky.
-That feeling when you hit the golf ball in just the right spot is so rewarding.
-I am really, really behind on watching shows on the DVR.
-Those "Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off" deals on lipstick are very hard to resist.
-I have a 50/50 shot at getting a color of lipstick I actually like when I can't try it on first.
-Sometimes I just want to spend money on pointless things, especially on the day I get paid.
-Talking myself out of buying things I don't need is such an important ability.
-As helpful as it is to get advice from girls, sometimes the best advice comes from a guy.
-For the first time since I bought my house, I have a neighbor that I can walk across the street and talk to, but possibly more important, to ask "neighborly" favors of.
-Running is becoming much more therapeutic than it used to be for me.
-Having less fat on my body makes it much harder to stay warm in cold weather.

Ticket Master

I've become a big concert-goer in the last couple of years, and I wish I had been that way long before then. I love seeing music performed live. Wait, let me be more specific...I love seeing music performed live when it sounds as good, if not better than the recording. I am blown away by artists that stand at the mic, barely open there mouths, and pure beauty flows out. It immediately reminds me how talented our God made us, and maybe it makes me a little jealous that He didn't give me that talent. Oh well! I also love the smaller venues where everyone stands in one room to make the show feel really intimate.

Lately I've been going to the larger venues to see bands I really like that are growing a huge audience. I'm used to buying tickets for a show, walking through the door, and standing in a good spot about halfway between the stage and the back of the room, but these larger venues actually have you choose a seating area. Crazy, I know! I tend to just hit "Best Available" and see what happens. Each time I've been pretty surprised at what "Best Available" means. This past April, we went to see a band at one of the larger venues with our best available tickets and naturally headed towards the lower level thinking we would be somewhere in those seats. I was pretty impressed when the usher looked at our tickets and walked us all the way down to the front row, but didn't stop us there. He told us to walk down the steps because we were actually in the pit. Pretty awesome! The place held a few thousand guests, but we were standing close to the stage with about 200 people so once again I got that intimate concert experience I love.

Now last night, I went to see the amazingly talented Feist. I knew I had awesome tickets because it said Row A when I got them in the mail. I couldn't wait to be front row to see her, but when we got there and headed towards the usher who I assumed would point us down to the front row, they told us to go back out and upstairs. Huh? We got upstairs, and I was so confused as to how this could be the front row. Another usher looked at our tickets and walked us down the side of the 1st balcony through a little door, and said "Your seats are the first two." Apparently Row A I purchased tickets for wasn't the first row in the theater, it was the first row in the little box to the side of the stage. We sat down in our seats and were practically on top of the stage. It was glorious! And just in case you need a visual aid for what I'm talking about this was my view all night...



I think I'm going to keep rolling the dice when I order tickets cause I'm really liking the results so far!

Those Hollywood Nights

A friend of mine likes to go all out Halloween weekend. She's all about having reasons to throw a party and dress up, but when a holiday coincides with her birthday, there's even more incentive. This year her annual Halloween party attracted celebrities from classic movies to reality stars to even major league-ers, and to make sure she didn't miss a moment, she asked me to be the paparazzi. I had my first red carpet experience, and I even got to sit in on an awards ceremony. It was tons of fun!



And since I couldn't be without proper attire, I decided to find my inner "Girl Friday" for the night.



Thanks to Pinterest (yet again!), I found great hair and makeup tutorials to get a pretty authentic look, but I gotta tell you...I would not have been cut out to do hair in the 40s! I don't have the skills to make victory rolls and pin curls. As much as I love the look, I'm glad to be living in the 2000s.

My protein shake brings all the boys to the yard

I get on kicks where I want something pretty much every day for a month, and then I move on. This month it's been all about the protein shakes. I have a Ninja blender that just knows how to get the job done in no time at all. On Pinterest I saw a recipe for a pumpkin shake that looked awesome, but since I'd already had a heavenly one at Sonic the week before that was made with ice cream and whipped cream I knew I would need to find a less sugary option if I wanted to enjoy it on almost a daily basis. Once again I went on the hunt for recipes and came up with this...




Try not to be turned off by the orange color. It's quite delicious, and here's how I make it (just a reminder, I don't measure all things out so I'm sorry if you're one of those people that needs precise amounts):

Pumpkin Protein Shake (for 1)
1/3 can Pumpkin Puree
3 (large) spoonfuls Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1/4 Cup low-fat or fat-free Cream Cheese
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 packet Splenda
Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger to taste (or use a Pumpkin Spice blend)
1 Cup Ice

Blend together until smooth and all ice has been chopped up. Because of the cream cheese, the shake is unbelievably thick - we're talking triple milk shake thick, and I LOVE IT!! You can use cottage cheese in place of the cream cheese if you prefer a thinner shake. This has become one of my go-to's if I know I'll be working through lunch or need something sweeter at the end of the day I also make cherry, peach, and coffee shakes to mix things up so I'll post those ingredients on here sometime.