16 and Pregnant

Michael and I just finished watching this season of 16 and Pregnant Dr. Drew finale. I love this show. I know it gets mixed reviews and there are lots of opinions out there about the show, but I like it. I think and hope it shows a realistic portrayal of what being a teen mom is like. 

I also like to watch Teen Mom in hopes that showing that be a parent is not easy will hopefully think before having sex.

I consider myself a realist. Teens are going to have sex, and it seems every year to become more and more common. Teens see it on TV and in movies. I did an extensive project on this topic in college because I feel pretty passionate about it. It angers me when schools think that absentince only sex ed works. Its just sticking your head in the sand. If you do not give teens the facts and options that are available to them they wont use em. I consider myself luck enough to have gone to a middle and high school that was out spoken and truthful. Sex education for me began in elementary school. I wouldnt say it was 100% about sex, mostly about puberty and they would separate the girls and boys. In middle school they would separate us again and talk about puberty as well as sex and self esteem issues. I never felt uneducated. In high school we had to take a semester of health and of course sex was covered, but we were spoken to as adults. My health teacher at the time gave us an almost play by play of her two pregnancies and deliveries. Some classes even watched a video of a baby being born. I did not know many people who had kids in high school, we all knew better and this was a school here in Georgia.

When I have children I plan on being very open and honest with them, especially my daughters. My mom was, I never felt uneducated. I think more parents and schools need to step up and be honest with their teens. Sex happens, and even between teenagers. Parents need to pull their  head out of the sand and become more realistic.

30 Day Blog Challege: Day 4

Day 4: Your Parents

This picture can pretty much sum my stepdad up! This is my mom Sheila and my stepdad Bob. 

My stepdad is really funny and a character. He has always been there for me, my brothers and my mom. Where is a photo of my dad do you ask? I need to scan some in, but my dad passed away when I  was 14. (I will blog about that later). He has stayed by our side during many ups and downs. He is my go to about business, money, and just life in general. As a fellow Capricorn, we get along great. 

Here is me and my mom at my college graduation. She has always been there for me. We have grown extremely close since I entered college and moved out. We now speak everyday, I call her on my drive home from work. She is currently in school and I am so proud of her. 

New Years Resolutions

I have never been one for new years resolutions, but this year I am going to make some and stick to it by god! Here are my goals for 2011:

1. Be Healthy! This is one of the most important to me. I am currently at my heaviest weigh I have ever been at. Every doctor I see (there is a handful) tells me I need to loose weight. I would ideally like to loose 50 lbs by my wedding (Oct. 9th in case you didnt know). But to me it isnt about the pounds, its about health. I need to get healthier. I need to eat healthier (cut out the fast food) and work out more. I just want to fit into my clothes and stop buying new clothes just because everything else doesnt fit. I was always a skinny kid, when puberty hit and I gained a lot of weight in 8th grade my mom was shocked. She told me she thought I would never have to worry about my weight (she and my brothers are naturally skinny), but instead I got my dads genes. I joined softball in 8th grade and played for years, so again I never thought about weight or working out. I was healthy because of playing. So after high school I stopped playing softball and now then I am in a desk job I am defiantly a lot less active and need to jump on it. I am going to use this blog to post about my weight lose journey. I will post pictures and hopefully it will push me to stick with it!

2. Pull the stick out of my butt. This may sound silly, but I have a tendency to be rigid and boring. I need to learn to relax and go with the flow more. My fiance is great at that!

3. My last goal this year is to be better with money. I have come a long way from a couple years ago. Michael was a big part of that. I stopped hiding and lieing about money. There are no secrets. Sometimes I make mistakes when it comes to money, but it isnt the end of the world. But I need to be better with budgeting and buying random crap. Michael and I have a goal of paying off our credit cards, the wedding and save money this year.

What is your goals for 2011? Are they more about in inner you or vanity?

my 2010 recap

Lets recap my 2010 year - or try my best.

January - 
My new years was pretty boring, I was the new person at Chili's so I had to work New Years. Came home and watched TV with Michael and worked the next day as well. Like I said boring. We always spend Jan. 7th in Pennslyvania with Michael's family. They are Russian Christian Orthodox and their church goes by the Orthodox calender, so Christmas is Jan. 7th (also my birthday). We do enjoy going up to visit, always get pretty snow and we get to see Michaels family and friends. And true to tradition, I always get sick during our trips to Pa. No idea why, but I do. This trip I had a terrible cold the whole time and was miserable and I got pink eye from the airport. Nasty!

February -
I started a new internship in February. It was a full time internship with a local hospital in the marketing and PR field. It was pretty boring, but I made good contacts. We also got real snow in Georgia around Valentines day. And again, I was sick around Valentines day. All winter I get this stupid cold at least once a month. February 13th also marked the 9th year anniversary since my dad passed.

March -
Michael and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. We also spent spring break in Florida with Mike and Jess. Mike and Jess are our best friends. They have been married for a couple years and recently had a baby girl, our goddaughter Kylee. Our trip to Florida was chilly but relaxing and fun. Michael's little sister also came down to visit for a couple days for her spring break and then she babysat Malibu and Bailey while we were in Fl.

April -
Nothing really exciting happened that I can remember. Michael and I just worked and went to school. I was job hunting like crazy around this time, getting ready for graduation.

May -
Now this was a busy month. I graduated from college! I also started a new job in Mississippi. It was just for the summer before the company moved out to Georgia. I packed up my stuff and moved to Mississippi temporarily. It was THE hardest thing I had to do. I cried the whole drive out there. I missed my bed, my pups, Michael, my area. It made me stronger and our relationship stronger. I knew Michael would support me no matter what. It wasnt easy, but he was there for me.

June -
Michael turned 29! His countdown to 30 began. To celebrate his birthday I took him to a local Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. He loved it, he loved meat! It is one of those restaurants that continues to bring you different types of meat. I was still living out in Mississippi during June. I was driving home every Friday night. It was a 5 hour drive. It was long, but I did enjoy the drive. It was a hoooot summer. Miserable heat!

July -
I was still in Mississippi, driving back and forth every weekend. It was still hot and miserable. I celebrated my moms birthday on July 4th and my little brothers birthday on July 23rd. At the end of the month, I moved back home to Georgia. The company I was working for was moving to Georgia at the end of the month. Michael also graduated from college! I was so proud of him. After the ceremony, while taking pictures Michael PROPOSED! I was super shocked, surprised and thrilled. My mom, stepdad, brother, his mom, dad and sister were all there. It was perfect and wonderful.

August -
August began bitter sweet. This month is where God showed again he always has a plan. The beginning of the month began with me being let go from the job I just spent the whole summer working at. It was crushing, but my family and fiance rallied around me, I reached out to my contacts and got hired right away at a wonderful company I had done an internship with. I landed a great job, started as part time, but with an option of full time in a month. Michael and I dove into wedding planning.

September -
My goddaughter was born. Michael and I wanted to be there, but with Mike and Jess living in Pa, it wasnt much of an option. I was brought on as a full time employee this month as well. Michael and I began counseling with our priest this month as well.

October -
I began the intro to Orthodoxy classes at our church. I have to be baptized. Michael and I pretty much finalized all the wedding plans.

November -
Michael and I traveled to Pa with Malibu and Bailey. Bailey it turns out is an awful traveler. We went to Pa to visit his family and for Kylee's baptism. And again in true fashion I got sick the day before we left.

December -
More of work and wedding planning for Michael and I. We had a quiet Christmas. My mom and stepdad went to NYC to visit his family. My little brother came over for Christmas eve, we all went to church, ate dinner and opened presents. It was nice and quiet. The next day Michael had to work till noon. We told my little brother to stay home because it was snowing! Georgia actually got lots of snow on Christmas day, first time in over 100 years. It was beautiful. Michael and I just hung out at the house and watched "Friday Night Lights" - he got me hooked on that show.

That was my year! It was a mix of boring, but also VERY exciting!

How was your 2010? What are you looking forward to in 2011? I am looking forward to my wedding, watching my goddaughter grow up, and enjoying my life.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Your first love...

I  am gonna talk about my first full on crush. I dont know if you would say it was love, since it was middle school and all, but I was almost obsessed with this kid for like 3 years.

His name was Chris. He was a year older then me and we met at the beginning of my 6th grade year. I think we met in drama, not 100% sure. I had a crush on him from the beginning of 6th grade until well he broke my heart at the beginning of 8th grade. It is really funny looking back at it.

We did several plays together in middle school and were like an odd couple during each play. We always flirted, cuddled during rehearsals. We always hung and out and it was well known of my insane crush. We finally made it official "boyfriend/girlfriend" status during 7th grade, his 8th grade year.

He then broke my heart the summer before he went to high school. I laugh now looking back at it.

stop yelling in my ear

I have mentioned that my fiance Michael referees high school basketball. I try and go to as many games with him as possible, because they are fun to go to sometimes. Its fun to watch him, especially in a good game. This post will be mainly my venting about obnoxious basketball parents.

I do not know much about basketball, I went to my first game when I started dating Michael, so needless to say I do not know a lot of the rules, but I am learning. I can tell you my number one complaint about going to these high school games is the OBNOXIOUS parents who think they child is the best player and that they are the coach. The moms and dads who like to yell and coach from the sidelines test my patience. You are a grown adult and you heckle the other team from the stands? The stuff that get really gets my blood boiling is the making fun of or yelling at the referees. If you do not agree with their call fine, go become a referee and do it yourself, dont yell at them. The fans can get pretty mean.

If you child cant dribble, or run or shoot, guess what it is not a foul, your child just sucks! It is not the referees fault if your child is not good at basketball. And your child is not a perfect angel, they will foul other kids and sometimes they will do something stupid and get an intentional foul or T'ed up.

Get over it and stop yelling in my ear at the referees, coaches and players who cant hear you.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name


It was the only semi clever thing I could come up with. I would really like any suggestions for anything more wordy or clever. I am terrible at creative things. 

30 day blog challenge: Day 1

I figured I would give it a shot!

Day 1: Share a recent photo and 15 facts

This is me and my goddaughter Kylee at her baptism

one I have lived in 5 states - Florida, California, Kansas, Illinois and Georgia

two i love snow!

three I work at a really cool, small family owned company

four I a slight hypocroniacte. 

five I cant spell to save my life

six I was a film minor in college

seven my dream is to write,produce and direct a movie

eight I oddly really want to act as well - in tv, film, or on the stage

nine i am always hungry

ten I was a lot more outgoing as a kid and teenager, I have become more shy as I have gotten older and it annoys me

eleven My fiance and I try to go see a movie every weekend

twelve I have the internal struggle of being a stay at home mom vs career women all the time

thirteen I have very few close friends

fourteen I am an incredibly light sleeper, the tv has to be on a show I have seen a lot (I prefer Roseanne) and at a certain volume for me to fall asleep and I dont remember the last time I actually slept through the night without waking up to at least turn over

fifteen I am such a worry wort, I always think the worst

Michael and I

I figured I would give a little bit about me and my wonderful fiance.

His name is Michael, he is 29 (or as he puts it...almost 30) He is pretty pathetic about the whole turning 30 thing. Its adorable really. He is a grad student here in Atlanta. He is working toward his MBA and wants to work ideally in hockey. He grew up in a REALLY small town in the mountains in Pennsylvania. He loves sports, especially hockey and basketball. He also referees high school basketball. He loves it. He is great thinking on his feet and keeps my head straight. He is slightly type A, but a bit relaxed. He is the budget conscious, organized one which comes in really handy during the wedding planning process. He is great at helping me squash my unrational fears. He worked as an EMT and did a stint in school to become a nurse. He loves medicine. He is a great caring person who I love so much.

We met in January of 2008. We were both in a statics class and the only way I passed this stupid class was because of him. We started dating in March of 2008 after some very messy drama I had to deal with. I have nothing to hid, so I may post about that time, but I also may not to respect all the people involved. But I will think about it. We still cannot agree about when our official first date was. I just say the beginning of March. He took me to Savannah (one of my favorite cities) for spring break. We had a great time and we both love that city. He was my friend first and a great one at that and the relationship grew to what we have now.

Anyway, we have been inseperatable every since. We officially moved in together that spring and got engaged this July. We work as a great team. Sure we argue sometimes and drive each other crazy, but what couple doesn't.

We are getting married Oct. 9, 2011. We planned the wedding in about a month. We began the day after we got engaged. We had already discussed a lot of things, like a date. We knew we wanted to get married in the fall, I preferred October. The weather in Atlanta can be a little iffy, but October tends to be a mild month.  We found the perfect Orthodox church. (He is Russian Orthodox and I will be baptized a week before the wedding). We are really excited to bring our families together. We have great support from both sides of our families.

Overall, we are a great team and work well together. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

My babies

I have mentioned the two little adorable creatures who capture my heart and their names are Malibu and Bailey. They are our Westie pups.

Bailey doing what she does best, snuggling

Malibu laying on the clean clothes

Malibu is our big boy. He is 5 years old and Michael had him before he met me. He is the opposite of how a Westie is suppose to behave. He acts like an old man. He is skiddish around people and dogs he doesnt know, he would rather hang with Michael, but he is a big snuggler and loves to play with his toys. He is also a great traveler. 

Bailey is our baby girl and the most dramatic dog I have ever met. She is 2 years old. We picked her up from a very nice breeder in Alabama and immediately fell in love with her. She is very dramatic and will talk to you. She LOVES attention and playing with other dogs and people. You could break into the house and she would be your best friend. She is fearless and full of energy. She loves to snuggle and loves to go to the dog park. She is not the best traveler. She HATES being in her dog carrier (we fly with them every now and then) and she will let you know it. Its good she is sweet and adorable, because we say a lot there is nothing going on in that little head of hers. But we love her so much. 

These are our silly pups who we love. We talk about them too much, we are crazy when we leave them with a dog sitter, and we drive our friends crazy with pictures. Below are some funny pictures. 

They always steal our pillows

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first post on my blog.

I was inspired to start a blog from reading several other peoples. I figure my fiance is most likely getting annoyed to me talk endlessly, so maybe you guys will like to!

I have a lot of random thoughts, stories, and just day to day things I like to share. I have always been a talker, so why not a blogger!

Lets start with a little bit about me. I am 23, turning 24 next week. I am engaged and getting married Oct, 9 2011. We are super excited and cannot wait. I live in the Atlanta area and have a love hate relationship with it. I am a very emotional person, I LOVE movies and TV. I also love anything entertainment. If it is in a People magazine, I know it. I know tons of random useless entertainment knowledge. It really does amaze people. I  have two beautiful Westie puppies who I love as if they are my own children.

If there is anything you could like to know about me, ask! I will post about random things and more details about the stuff I listed about myself.

Welcome!