Happy 6th of July

Normally I do Wordless Wednesdays.
Today, I’m not because it is my 26th birthday.

Wow. That’s really hard to believe.
I’ve been wondering to myself lately, “When did this happen? When did I become a grown-up?”
I’ll be getting married next week, I picked up the license yesterday, we got the judge and picked the park.

I don’t think I should have any more birthdays. I think last years’ birthday was my last. Nothing exciting planned. Probably go to the gym and the man make me dinner.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my most memorable birthday. It was my 5th birthday. I woke up everyday for a week before and would tell myself “I’m 5 now. I won’t cry anymore.” Then something that day would make me cry and I would tell myself the same thing the next day. That birthday I got Hungry, Hungry Hippos and we went to St. Louis.

We get these ideas in our heads that we have to have accomplished something or be a certain way by a certain age. Like a professor I had once said “Normal should only be a setting on a dryer.”

Wordless Wednesday

Guest Post

Hey y'all! I'm Hayley from Blue Eyed Blonde. I haven't blogged over there in a while, but I'm trying to get back into it. I was excited when I was asked to write this guest post.

I graduated from college last year with a Bachelors of Fine Arts Photography, and I'm in the process of setting up my own photography business in Northeast Florida. I have shot a few engagement sessions, and a few sessions of my nieces. If you gave me a choice of anything to photograph, I'd pick landscapes. They are so beautiful to me and I could spend the rest of my life photographing nature and landscapes. I also have an obsession with taking pictures of buildings, especially old ones (I get this from my dad).

Here's some of my work, and keep an eye out at www.hayleyzipperer.com. I'm working on getting it up and running! I hope you like them!

Engagement Shoot, Jacksonville, FL, 2011

Engagement Shoot, Orlando, FL, 2011

Burgess Falls, Tennessee, 2010

Big Talbot Island, Jacksonville, FL 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Time’s running out! Go enter my giveaway!

Feeling Me

So the last time I participated in Mental Health Monday, I talked about my anxiety.

This past week I haven’t taken my medicine, mainly because I forgot. I had renewed my prescription, but it never made it to the bathroom, so I didn’t remember to take it while getting ready for work.

I haven’t had any anxiety problems in a long time so I didn’t think not taking it would matter. Then I started feeling weird about Thursday. I was waking up feeling exhausted. Saturday, all I wanted to do was sleep. I went to the gym on Thursday, but didn’t really do much. I started on a machine and after a couple of minutes didn’t want to do it. So I went to another machine, after a couple of minutes, was sick of it. So I decided to do weights, did a couple exercises in that and didn’t feel like continuing. So I decided to get on a stationary bike and read while waiting for Yoga. After a couple of minutes was sick of that and decided to go home instead.

My fiancé made a comment that I deemed depressed. I didn’t feel depressed just tired. Though, it did prevent me from doing things I like to do, like working out and yoga. So I took my medicine and looked up withdrawal symptoms online, and sure enough they matched. After resting for a little bit, I started to feel better and like myself again.

I’m terrified of becoming addicted to anything. In college I was on Lexapro for a while then my friend psyched me out about becoming addicted to it I stopped taking it.  These withdrawal symptoms scare me, I don’t want to have to be on medication forever. I will talk to my doctor about it at my next appointment.

It’s like my professor once said, “I wouldn’t want to be addicted to something I have to have first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed.” Now, he was talking about cigarettes, but that’s how I feel about anything. I never want to be dependent on a substance. Anytime I think I might be, I cut myself off from it.

Please go enter my giveaway!

Wednesday

Still plenty of time to enter to win a gift certificate to Bead Eclectic!

Today I am taking a class through New Horizons. Today's class, Adobe Acrobat 9. Tomorrow's class, Powerpoint 2010 Level 1. Exciting stuff. I love these classes. Though, I took all 3 levels of Word 2010, and went back to work to practice what I learned. I was making a form, and wanted to do other things that the class never taught, so I had to go out online and find out how to do it myself. Also, this is Adobe 9, I have Adobe X on my all my computers now, they are way behind

The first hour or so is always so boring. Every teacher goes through the same stuff about working with the Elluminate program. Also, a lot of what they teach, is pretty basic stuff. Every once in a while, I learn a new trick but yea.

At least I have lots of time for blogging today! Happy Wednesday Everyone! Half way through the week!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Earth Day

Giveaway ending soon!
There will be two winners!
I have extended it, it ends Monday the 25th, about 7pm Central time.
Go Enter!
Please.

So as probably everybody knows, today is Earth Day. Earth Day was started 41 years ago.
While it’s important to help the environment, it’s something that should be done everyday of the year. Like using a reusable mug everyday instead of only today to get your free Starbucks.

Our city, picks up the recycling every two weeks. It’s so nice to not have to worry about dragging recyclables to a center and sorting them.
I saw on Facebook, an event to use a water bottle repeatedly instead of buying a new bottle every time. I use the same water bottle at the gym, until I dropped and broke my last one. I use a plastic cup from QT for water at work, instead of the paper cups on the water cooler.
I reuse plastic sandwich bags when possible.
I try to take canvas bags to the store, sadly a lot of trips are unplanned, so I don’t have bags with me, though I do have some in my trunk now for the next time.

Here are some other things you can do to help.

What do you do to help the Earth?

Wordless Wednesday

Time is running out! Go enter my giveaway! I will love you forever and ever if you do!

 

Mental Health Monday

I found this great blog hop hosted by WordsinSync, Mental Health Monday.

For as long as I can remember, I have had some degree of anxiety. When I was real young, about elementary school age, I would have a hard time sleeping because of it. When I would lay in bed at night, if I thought of an item and wonder where it was, I could not fall asleep until I had gotten out of bed and physically touched that item.

Middle school and high school the anxiety never really bothered me. Then in college, I was in the marching band. Everyday we had practice I would pack everything I needed and head out the door. Several times during the day while walking between classes I would have to stop to check I had everything.

In the work force, I have this slight anxiety that I have to do everything correctly the first time. But last year I had the worst anxiety ever. My neighbor is a selfish jerk, and would be super loud everyday having sex. After listening to this for a couple of months, my anxiety got really bad. Everywhere I went, if I heard the slightest creak, I would tense up, expecting it to be them. I also couldn’t fall asleep at night, expecting to hear them any second. One night I texted my friend, how badly I wanted to fall asleep but was scared to.

I had several anxiety attacks during work. It was so hard to breathe and just felt like I was going to cry. Focusing on something at work, and getting my mind off of it helped a little. The first medication the doctor put me on made this attacks more frequent. I suffered on that medication for about a month, then she had the brilliant idea to put me on medication with more anxiety fighter. Researching the first med, one of the side effects was anxiety.

I’ve gone to the doctor and gotten medication now that seems to be helping. It helps that the neighbors are being fairly quiet which probably helps the most. I’ve been trying to go to the gym regularly and doing yoga.

Go enter my giveaway.