Allow me to influence you...

Yeah, it's been a while....but here I am. I don't blog anymore, but since the ol' blog is still in existence, I thought I'd put it to good use for this.
I'm a member of a site called Influenster. In a nutshell, you sign up for an account, input your interests, answer surveys, and if they think you're a good match, you will receive a product to use and review. I've been sent quite a few things since I signed up, but I recently received my biggest item since becoming a member. A Keurig! The Keurig k55 to be exact.
So without further ado, here's my review...

I've never actually owned or operated a Keurig. I figured if I don't drink coffee, why own a coffeemaker? I'm not sure why I was picked for this campaign, but I'm glad I was. Turns out, it's more than just for coffee! I mean... I never really gave it much thought, but you can use this thing for all kinds of stuff! I was also sent quite a few K cups (the little pods of different drink mixes that go in the machine). Vanilla caramel coffee, English breakfast tea, and hot chocolate. I love the hot chocolate. Who doesn't? I tried the tea and while it was a little strong for my liking, it was still drinkable. The coffee however, well, I'm not a coffee fan, so keep that in mind. I just didn't like it at all. My mom did though, so guess where those pods ended up? 😄
But this isn't about what drinks I prefer. It's about the machine. And I gotta say, I totally recommend it! If you like any type of hot tea, coffee, cider, hot chocolate, the list goes on... and you are looking for convenience, this is it. It took me once of reading the directions and I had it down. It was quick, easy to use, and looks good sitting on my counter! If you're a busy person due to work, kids, etc. and don't have time for the conventional brewing system (the loose grounds, the filters, etc.) then get a Keurig! Or, if it you're the only one in the house looking for a quick, hot cuppa joe (or other hot beverages) and you don't want to make a full pot, get a Keurig! It's one cup at a time. How convenient is that?! You're limited to the k cups you can find, but I went on the Keurig website and there's plenty of things to choose from. Something for everyone. I can't wait to try some apple cider in it this fall.

Happily Childfree

For those of you who know me, and you don't even have to know me well to know this, you're aware of the fact that I am childfree. I decide to use the term "childfree" and not "childless" because being "less" of something implies that you don't have what you desire. I have no desire to have children, therefore I am free of them (and quite happily, I might add).
If you want to come on here and debate about why having kids is the "greatest thing you've ever done" and how your life just wouldn't be complete without them, save your time. I've heard it all. Accept the fact that your lifestyle is just as much for you as mine is for me. I'm quite pleased to *NOT* say that having children has been my greatest accomplishment in life.

I was lucky enough to find a man who shares my lifestyle choice. I really don't remember specifically talking about the kid issue before we were married. It's like we just started our life together and the subject or desire to have children never really fit into that life. I know it's probably something we should have discussed BEFORE we got married, and maybe we did and I just don't remember, but for the most part, it wasn't really a big issue. Maybe we had that much of a connection to just kind of "know".... ya know? Unfortunately, society, my doctor, and some of my family aren't quite as understanding. When people find out I'm 31, married, and have no kids, they think I'm some sort of freak of nature. They look at me like I'm nuts. "You mean you don't want kids?!"

Yep. That's what I said.

It's generally not as accepted in life for females my age to not have the desire to bring at least one child into this world. It's just not "normal". The last time I was at my GYN appointment, we were discussing kids. When I told her I didn't want any, she said (and I quote)....."you have a good 5-10 years of fertility left, so maybe you'll change your mind".

Seriously?

I mean, for the 31 years I've been on this earth, I've never once said, or even MENTIONED that I might one day want kids. What the hell is going to change in 5-10 years?
My family is starting to come around and accept the fact that I will never have any. My parents have long ago came to the understanding. Other family members, not so much. I was told at our last Christmas gathering that I better have kids or else I'll be alone when I get old with no one to take care of me. Again I say....

Seriously?!

Maybe by the time I'm 60 they'll see how serious I am.

Who's That Girl?

I said I'd take a minute to tell you a little about myself. So here's more about me than you'll probably ever need (or want) to know.

I'm in my 30s, born and raised in central Alabama, married for 11 years. He's retired from the Air Force and now in law enforcement, which has blessed us enough to afford me the opportunity to stay home.
After we married in 2001, I moved to Turkey, which is where Steve (that's the hubs) had been living for about nine months before we were married. We were there for 15 months, then got stationed in San Antonio, Texas. He retired there and we moved back home to Alabama. Yes, he's from here as well. It came in handy when deciding where we're move to after we didn't have the Air Force deciding that for us.

No kids. I'm a big advocate of the childfree lifestyle. It's one of the greatest choices I've ever made in my life and I was blessed with finding someone who also didn't want kids. Many of my friends and relatives have children, and I respect their decision, but it doesn't always get reciprocated. Unfortunately, society looks at you like there's something mentally wrong if you say you don't want kids. I could go on and on about this subject, but I won't. For now.

This is about to get really random......

To go way back, I was a cheerleader in school for nine years. I miss it and still love everything cheerleading related. I would love to coach, but cheerleading has changed so much since I was in school, I doubt I would have the capabilities.

I hate hot weather. Now you're REALLY looking at me funny, right? I can hear your thoughts. They're saying "but you're from Alabama". I get that a lot. Just because I've lived here most of my life doesn't mean I love the heat and humidity. My heart's in Alabama, but my body wants to be in Alaska. Oh well. Guess I'll stay here for a while. ~Sweet Home Alabama~

Gatlinburg, Tennesse is my second home. No, really. I think I lived there in another life or something. We visit once a year and I always feel like I'm going home when the mountains come into view. I can't explain it. It just happens. If I didn't have roots here, then I'd be an Alabama fan living in Tennessee.

FOOTBALL! Sorry. I love football. ROLL TIDE!! I'm not your average girl when it comes to football season. I'm glued to the tv when there's a game on. I also love high school football. Most people in their 30s don't give their old high school a second thought. I love mine. I still go to the games, proudly displaying my old colors (blue and white) in some form or fashion.

I was born on St. Patrick's Day. Pretty cool huh? It's the reason for my shamrock tattoo. I guess I could have started out with this one. Oh well. Like the blog name says....

I love Christmas. I love to decorate for Christmas. Well, ANY holiday, really. I've been told I should give it a go at having my own decorating business, but I'm afraid it'd take all the fun out of it. I decorate a tree for each holiday throughout the year. My family thinks I'm a little nuts.

I guess that's me, in a (big) nutshell. If you ever want to know anything else, and I couldn't imagine why you would, just ask. Now I need to get back to painting my nails. (Wasn't I doing that a couple of posts ago??)

Happy weekend everyone!

Is It Over?

Ever heard the old adage "bad things come in threes"? Well, I'm on number four. It all started back earlier this year when my grandfather passed away. He was in bad health, and it was kind of expected, but it's still strange to lose a grandparent...which was a first for me. Then around the same time, my daddy had to have surgery. He's doing fine now, but it was such bad timing with him losing his father. Fast forward to just a few weeks ago. We found out my mama had uterine cancer. She had a hysterectomy and is expected to be cancer free. Now we find out yesterday that my husband's grandmother passed away. Needless to say, 2012 has been a heck of a year. We still have a good 4 1/2 months left of this year, so hopefully we can get through it without anything else bad happening. I'm knocking on wood as I type.
I was going to do a sort of "introductory" post here.....you know, kind of introducing myself for you who just randomly happen upon my little corner of the internet here.....but I have a million things to get done in the next couple of days, so that will have to wait till later. I promise I will let you in on a little more about me soon, so you'll know what you're getting yourself into. But for now I have to go get Granny's List done. (more on that later)
Hope your Monday is off to as good a start as a Monday can.

Nails and Gilmore Girls and Oh Yeah....Welcome!

So...I've had blogs in the past that I never really kept up with. Then I moved on to Live Journal, Myspace, and eventually Facebook, which is where my online world currently resides. There's been many times when I've wanted to talk about something in more space than Facebook will allow (and probably more than my friends care to read), so I figured why not start up a blog again? That way I can rant or rave about whatever I want, and if people don't feel like reading it, they don't have to hide it on their wall or skip over it to get to something more interesting. Because let's face it, I'm not really all that interesting. But this blog will allow me to do just that.....go on and on about my uninteresting thoughts while giving people a choice of whether or not they really feel like reading it.
So, with that being said (see? I told you.....on and on and on...).......  Welcome to my new blog!

I'm sitting here waiting on my nails to dry. You should see me trying to type. It's quite entertaining. I'm doing this new thing on my nails that's like water marbling without the water. I can see the question mark on your face. It's really a thing. I promise. Water marbling has proven to NOT be my thing. It's impossible for me to get right. But this waterless marbling seems to be working so far. Well, with the exception of my thumbnail on my right hand, which I messed up (and will eventually re-do because I'm a perfectionist). And the polish all over my hands and my right leg. Ok I never claimed to be a pro nail artist. But hopefully the end result will look decent. I love having my nails done, but I hate the actual act of painting them. The process seems to take FOREVER. Who knows when they will be dry and THEN I have to do a top coat and let THAT dry. In the meantime, I'll sit here watching Gilmore Girls (one of my favorite shows *ever*) and hope I don't bump anything with my nails.

So, if you're still here, thanks for reading my randomness. I hope you'll come back and join me as I talk about whatever comes to mind.
Welcome to my world.