Opening My Eyes

Last Friday I read a post on Anissa's site where she mentioned a meet-up for bloggers in Atlanta taking place on Saturday.

Hmmm...

It was free, local, AND they had beer.

Hmmm...

I mentioned it to my husband in that way wives talk to their husbands about things they want to do but need the push to make it happen:

"There's like this thing downtown...with bloggers...and I don't know. Maybe I'll go...but I don't have anybody to go with so....I probably won't...and I won't know anyone....but maybe I will....I don't know."

First, my husband was scared that I expected him to go with me. OMG. He might have to hang out with a bunch of women and drink beer at a brewery.

The Horror!

Once I assured him that I definitely did not want him to attend. He came up with an idea, invite Tiff (otherwise known as Beeker and for the record, I'm Shotgun, don't ask, go with it.)

I was hesitant.

This blog is kinda, sorta, really a secret.

Shhhhhhh....don't tell.

I was worried Tiff would be offended that I hadn't shared my blog with her. My husband assured me she would understand. I wasn't sure, so I sent her a 50,000 word, insecure, rambling email which basically said:

"I wanna go because I'm interested in starting a blog...but definitely don't have a blog, so yeah. No blogging going on 'round here. Please, please go with me!" 

I'm sneaky like that.

Tiff replied:

"Jesus, Amanda. What's up with the long ass email? Do something just for you which has nothing to do with me? Uh, yeah, count me in. There's no Shotgun without Beeker!"

Of course she did.

So we went. When we arrived (an hour late) my nerves kicked in. I thought the event would be in a large private room where peeps would be standing and mingling. Maybe a keynote speaker. I don't know. I'm a rookie. Instead, everyone was seated around the corner of the restaurant's entrance at a group of tables.

The first people we saw were Julia Roberts (yeah, really) and Anissa, The Legend. I won't go into all the reasons I love Anissa, I'm sure you love her for the same reasons. After greeting Anissa and Julia we went to take our seat at a table down from them.

This is when things could have been awkward.

The area we were in had four high-top tables with chairs on one side and a shared bench on the other side against the wall. The tables were full and the last table sat by the corner about three feet away from the table next to it.

Shit. We're gonna be the weirdos in the corner.

Tiff and I couldn't decide if we should move the table over or not.

Hi, my name is Amanda watch me move furniture.

I didn't need to worry. The seated ladies told us to move the table over and they squished in to make room. We met Katherine and she was lovely. We met Jana and she was lovely. Then we met Miranda, Lauren, and Stacie, and we met some other bloggers too. Everyone was lovely. A group of lovely, smart women (and a few awesome men too. AHEM.)

It was amazing.

Y'all these women are legit. Like too legit to quit. For reals.

I can't name all of their credentials, but I was out of my league. Big Time.

The best part is that while I was there I had no clue how important these ladies are. None. They didn't talk about it. They didn't have to. These ladies are awesome and secure with themselves so they don't need to read everyone their resume. They listened to Tiff and me ramble, and they laughed at our lame jokes.

I have never felt so welcome and at home.

Brace yourself.

It's about to get even deeper up in here.

After reflecting (yes, I reflect - with my super duper handy dandy thought mirror I reflect. It's kinda a big deal.) about the meet-up I feel there is a deeper meaning to it. I'm not very religous but maybe Someone (God?) was opening my eyes. The ladies I sat with have dealt (and are dealing?) with postpartum depression. Was Someone showing me that if I have a baby it's not necessarily the perfect life I dream of, there may be issues that come along with giving birth, and support is there for me if I need it?

Whoa. That's some serious shit.

There's more.

Miranda. She's totally my sister from another, er, mister. We each had our wedding at the same venue, when planning my wedding, two years ago, I came across her bridal profile on a website. I pored through her photos for ideas and tried to find her email address to ask some questions. I had no luck then, but Saturday she sat across from me. Maybe people come into your life when they're supposed to.

Tiff. Wow. What can I say about Tiff? That I love her? Yes. That she's a true friend? Yes. Tiff has been my rock these past months. Before my miscarriage I thought I knew what friendship was. I didn't. I do now.

Because of Tiff, I know.

We spent most of the weekend together and at one point she jokingly asked:

"So is that best friend spot filled yet? Are you gonna let me fill it?"

I laughed and said, "You already have."

That's the truth. She filled the best friend slot years ago. It took this weekend and this event for me to see it.

Thanks for the meet-up, ladies.

Thanks for being my best friend, Tiff.

Taking Care of Bi'ness!

Happy Valentines Day Y'all!!!! ♥

I have officially been doing stuff! Stuff that, I hope, will make me a better person. I'm putting things into action. Finally! I'm actually focusing on things I'm doing and not thinking about what hasn't been done. I'm feeling great.

I'm not saying, "I'm going to..." anymore. I'm saying, "I WILL!" No more gonnas...that's the key.

So to keep this positive train a-going I'm gonna recap my successes this week/weekend:

1. I have been writing regularly on this blog!!! Hell yeah!!!

2. I quit Facebook! I've been bored with Facebook lately. I remember how fun and interesting Facebook was when I first joined and it has turned into a grind. I found myself checking it constantly throughout the day without thinking or realizing how often I was doing it. Also, it seems like there are only a few types of people posting on Facebook: Those that pat themselves on the back, sick people, "Other Worldly Types" (you know the type - the guy that posts statuses which make no sense - ex. "Sun = Black Hole. Wow"), and DRAMA TYPES! Um, yeah, no thanks. Speaking of drama I had tons of FB family drama last week, which made me feel like I was being pulled in different directions so finally I said, "Fuck it", and deleted my account altogether. It's been awesome taking a break from ol' Facebook. I'm sure I'll go back but I want to see how long I can stay away.

3. I've been having some issues with a good friend of mine. We've exchanged a couple of emails regarding these issues and have been trying to resolve them. It's been my turn to reply to her email and I've been sitting on it for about two weeks. Mainly I've been mulling over the right things to say. Friday I decided that it had been on my mind long enough and I wrote her back. It was tough and emotional but I did it. I want to move on, move ahead, and I can't have these lingering issues in my life anymore. I feel like I've done what I can with the relationship, so now it's in her court. We'll see how it goes....

4. Okay, I am soooo proud of this one!! Ready??? I bought a tennis racquet, played some tennis with my sweet husband, AND registered for my tennis lessons! How awesome is that?!? I was working on schoolwork last night and I got stuck on some problems so I decided to take my dog for a walk. Since I had just purchased my racquet earlier that day my husband suggested that we go hit some tennis balls instead. We did and it was a BLAST! I am sooooo excited to begin taking lessons next month!

5. I ate crappy this weekend but there were times that I made some good choices. I went to Chattanooga with my parents, sister, and her kids on Saturday. When we were leaving my house we stopped at Chick-fil-a to grab a "snack" for the ride. Everyone ordered combos but I ordered a Kids Meal 1 Count Chicken Finger meal. Then, when we were at lunch instead of ordering chicken fingers or a pizza I ordered bruschetta. These are small steps, but I'm happy I'm making steps whether they be big or small.

6. Yesterday I planned on cleaning our bedroom, catching up laundry, and changing the sheets. My schoolwork took longer than expected so I didn't get a chance to clean the room but I did everything else. I'm happy that laundry is caught up and put away - it makes the workday mornings so much smoother when laundry is taken care of, so I'm celebrating that!

Tonight is Valentine's Day and I'm sure my dear husband is going to have an awesome dinner waiting on me when I get home from class. I love that man. Tomorrow night we're bowling, and I have to work on a paper afterwards. BUT after I get home from class on Wednesday we will go hit some tennis balls again! I think tennis might just be my thing, y'all!

Cracking a New Egg

Wow. So this blog has totally been abandoned, eh?

Actually, it's not so much that I abandoned it as it is that my first post was such a god damn masterpiece that I decided to quit while I was ahead.

What?

I'm like Margaret Mitchell y'all.

Instead of doing what I normally do when it comes to writing like procrastinating and procrastinating, then avoiding it all together like the plague, and then wondering why I'm not some hip member of the blogging community. And how come I'm not BFFs with some of my fave bloggers - they would TOTALLY heart me! And why am I not attending Blogher?? Oh....right....it would help if I actually, ya know, BLOGGED once in awhile! Anyway instead of doing all that stuff I've been doing for like forever - I'm cracking a new egg!

I hereby commit to blogging everyday for a month! Every. Em. Effing. Day. Ha! Who can say that they do that? Barefoot Foodie? The Bloggess? Anissa? Ali? Krista Bella? Metalia? Nope! They can't! Because they don't post every day! I know because I check their blogs. Every. Day.

BTW...I was totally gonna start this on the first of May, but...well, you know...May 13 is just such a ROUND number!

I considered a commitment to post every day for an entire year, but didn't wanna set the blogging world afire with my trailblazing ways!

At least not yet.

So every day...for...an...entire...month. I'm doing it. I swear!