27 things I've learned or enjoyed...thus far!

As some of you may know today is my 27th birthday!! Happy birthday to me!! I've seen so many things in my short time here on earth but my infinite wisdom is well....infinite!! LOL No, but I've learned a lot. This blog is a list of just a few things I've learned or really enjoyed a lot from as far as I can remember until now! They're not in any particular order. Here it goes...

1. Be fair, take turns!

2. Walk! Don't run!

3. Wash your hands before you eat!

Those top 3 are ones I literally learned in preschool. There was like a whole list of rules but those are just a few my preschool teacher, Sis. Bailey (RIP), taught us.

4. Be honest with yourself.

5. Be honest with God. He appreciates it and he already knows how you feel anyway so stop trying to hide it!

6. Do you really know what your favorite color is and why? Favorite food? Favorite game? Really set out to discover these things and make a list or journal about them.

7. Take things one day at a time. I thank Carmund for teaching me this daily!

8. Fall in love! It's so much fun.

9. Take yourself on dates!

10. Go to Disney World at least 3 times in your lifetime.

11. Laugh out loud at least twice a day.

12. Donate money to a cause or your favorite theatre of some sort BUT it has to be of your choice and whatever amount you choose. Even if it's $5, you'll feel like you contributed a million!

13. Talk to your mom at least once a day. After all, she is the only mother you have!

14. Never and I do mean NEVER let anyone tell you you can't do something. The sky is the limit!

15. Don't live for tomorrow but rather for today. For every moment because it's so precious and life is too short to let things get to you.

16. Try to do a good deed at least once a day. It doesn't matter how big or small.

17. Smile!

18. Try things at least once.

19. Be spontaneous. It could be so much fun and rewarding.

20. Don't let life's troubles get you down or stop you from doing what you want to do.

21. Buy at least one pair of expensive jeans, shoes (especially high heels), dress, and purse.

22. Pamper yourself. You deserve it! A nice day at the spa would be nice right about now.

23. Sometimes it's best to just be quiet.

24. Never pay retail!! (Of course that doesn't apply to #21)

25. Pray everyday.

26. No regrets! Learn from your mistakes.

27. BE YOURSELF!!!

Okay, that's it for now! I have lots more to share but we'll keep it at 27 for now. I've made plenty of stupid mistakes but I regret none of them. I've learned and they've helped make the woman I am today. That's real talk. One more thing, this will be #28: Fall in love! I sure did. You already know, that's just the way it is!

Hair be gone!

Soooo...a lot of things have happened since I last blogged. Where do I begin?

Let's see, Carmund and I grow more and more in love as the minutes go by. At least that's how it feels to me. I'm quite sure no one else in the whole entire world has found love like I have. Nope, don't even try to convince me otherwise. (I'm NOT stubborn!) Seriously, we've got something good going on and I can't fully describe it. I do know I love it!

On April 10, 2010 at around 8:15am I did my Big Chop (BC). For those of you who don't know what that is, it means that I cut my hair down to my natural new growth and rocking a little fro. I decided along with my hair falling out to go completely natural. At first I was just thinking I'll do this little natural thing for a while and then go back to relaxers aka creamy crack. It's funny how sooooo many Black girls are going natural in Bloomington. You wonder why that is? I'll tell you what I think. It's because there are no real Black hair stylist in the area. The closest is Indianapolis and who really wants to go that far?!?!?! I can't lie, I am traveling to Indy faithfully to see my stylist and barber and wouldn't have it any other way. Now I am realizing that being natural is more than just a hair change, it's a state of mind/being. I'm very proud of my heritage and how God made me. Natural it is...all the way! Anyway, after I rocked the fro for about 2 weeks I decided I didn't like it anymore and to cut it down even more. Well, what do you know?! I got it cut and hated it!! I've had my hair very short for years but somehow this seemed a bit extreme. I was practically bald in my eyes. Everybody who saw it loved it but I'm thinking it looks ridiculous. Now I love it and want to keep it short at least until the end of the summer. Let's just say I now know how bald people feel especially when it's cold...

Besides the big hair change I really haven't done much. I went to Boston last week (May 12th - 16th) for Carmund's best friend's wedding. It was a great trip! I told Carmund I wanted to go back to last week. The food was great, the drinks were on par, the people were fantastic, and I looked fabulous! LOL I got to hang out with Carmund's mom which is always fun and educating because I'm always learning something new about her. The best part of the trip I got carded once and asked by the nail tech if I was getting ready for prom. LOL I thought this haircut made me look a bit older but instead I've been mistaken for a teenager?! WOW! I had a great time hanging with Carmund's friends and spending more time with Carmund than I normally would. The wedding was absolutely lovely. It was definitely one of the best weddings I've been to and was executed perfectly (at least from my view as a guest and not as the planner as I would love to be). :-)

Oh wait, I just remembered I did accomplish something. On Thursday, May 6th I completed the Event Planning Certificate Program IU's Continuing Studies Dept was offering this past semester. I'm quite proud of myself for doing something I wanted to do and finishing it! Cheers to me!

I'm living and learning and when life throws you lemons I say not only make lemonade but spice it up with a little rum or something. LOL That's just the way it is...

OH MY DAY!!!

It's been a VERY long time since I've blogged. Between work, the holidays, and my super long vacation just didn't quite find the time. Let me tell you I had the most amazing 2 week vacation ever! Here's what went down...

I flew into the Baltimore airport on Christmas Eve. I knew it was going to be a great break because when I arrived at the airport in Indianapolis there was virtually no one there! It was great. I got there super early because I was sure that it would be crowded and everyone trying to get home for Christmas blah blah blah. Was not the case at all. I went straight through security with no problem. I get to my gate and patiently await the arrival of my plane. As we're getting closer to the time for us to board I realize there are not a lot of people in the seating area waiting. Well, the plane arrived and the person on the intercom said there were only like 34 of us boarding this plane so we all could get a row to ourselves. YES!!! Perfect start to a vacation...

I arrive in Baltimore to be greeted by the love of my life, Carmund. We go over to his father's home to have dinner and open presents. It was a great time! We then go to his mom's house where we will be staying for most of the trip. I love his mom! She's like the coolest lady ever!

Christmas day we head over to his god father's house for brunch. That was awesome! The food was great and the company was even better. Carmund and I were the youngest people there. Everyone else was over 60 I'm sure. It was hilarious! It was a total of 7 of us sitting around the table and hearing stories of their pasts. It was like I had stepped into a scene of The Cosby Show when Cliff and Claire would have friends over for dinner or something. I had a blast! Afterwards, we head back home and later open gifts. We all loved our gifts. I got a Nintendo Wii from Carmund!! Yay!!! His mom gave me one of her mother's beautiful gold and jade bracelet. Words can describe how I felt and feel to have received something that belonged to Carmund's incredible grandmother. Below is a pic of it. She also gave me Preston Bailey's new book Celebrations. This man is an incredible event designer. Christmas day was a blast!!

Each day just got better and better. I was treated very well by everyone. I'm happy to inherit such a great family.

Carmund and I did lots of meet and greets with his friends and family. New Year's Eve I met his best friend and family...great people! Carmund and I spent the whole day out and about downtown DC. We met with friends for lunch then off to the Newseum. Great museum to visit if you're in DC. Carmund and then spent some time together viewing great sites of DC - Capitol building and Union Station. Lots of walking and talking and imagining - very special time and appropriate for the end of the year and the start of a beautiful 2010. We just partied the night away into 2010 with friends. It was exhausting but the most fun I've ever had especially on New Years (I had never done anything before). So special...

The rest of the trip needless to say was amazing!! It's a Christmas vacation I will never forget. It is now January 27th, I am more in love with Carmund today than I was just yesterday. I'm excited about what God is doing in my life and what he's going to in 2010.

Reflecting - my longest yet most sentimental blog yet.

Guys, 2009 has been quite a year for me! There are lots of things that I'm grateful for and a few things I wish never really happened...but did. This blog I'm only reflecting on the good things. You may want a cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa while you're reading this.

Let's start at the beginning. After spending a great Christmas and New Year's break with my oldest sister and husband and their 5 children I was glad to be home. They were thanking me for spending over a week with them and I was thanking them for having all of those children and helping me realize that is not what I'm trying to have any time soon. :-) I remember getting home at the beginning of January and just forever grateful to God for allowing me to be single. I was determined to make 2009 a great year. At the time it was just me, God, and my pet cockatiel, Disney (he is no longer in my care...we'll get to that later). Anyway, for the first time I was super content with being absolutely single!!

As the weeks of January started to pass by and was getting close to February I somehow made a decision to make a trip to the most wonderful place on earth. That's right, Disney World!!! I make this trip at least once a year. As I was doing all of the fun planning (not so fun to some people but I LOVE planning vacations) I decided I would take my youngest nephew who at the time was 6 years old (now 7). He had never been and I believe everybody should experience a WDW vacation. This kid pulls at my heartstrings more than anyone would ever know. He doesn't have the best parents in the world and he's being raised by my parents who are doing the best that they can with him. I knew his spring break was coming up in March and that meant my mother would've had to spend all day everyday for a week straight with a 6 year old. I love my mommy dearest so I figured I'd give the old lady a break. I spent all of February and part of March planning the perfect (and cheapest) Walt Disney World vacation a kid could have. While I was doing all of that I was still content with where I was. At least I thought...

March rolls around and I started to realize that I was getting very, VERY tired of Bloomington, IN. I felt like nothing good was coming out of me being in this town and therefore was trying to see what I could do to get the heck out. Little did anyone know I had boxes in my apartment and some packed. My plan was to go away after I returned from my vacation to Orlando. In the meantime, an innocent little conversation between me and a certain someone began to take place on Facebook maybe about a week before I was to go on vacation. It truly was innocent and I had no serious interest in this guy. Little did I know, this guy aka Carmund White was very interested in me. As a matter of fact it was IU's spring break that he and I talked quite a bit on Facebook and once we did a live chat on there. It just gets better...

On Sunday, March 22, 2009 my nephew, Ronald, and I flew out of Indianapolis airport at about 6am to go to Disney World. I must say it was one of my best trips to WDW. He was so cute and excited about going and his first flying experience on an airplane. We had 2 layovers (maybe the worst part of the trip) but we finally made it to Orlando that afternoon. Got the rental car, checked into the hotel, and off we go to explore the wonderful world of Disney. Our first stop was Mickey D's. This kid loves their french fries and ketchup. Anyway, we spent 4 days and 3 nights taking in all the sights of Disney World. Best trip ever!! While at the airport waiting for our flight I decided to pull out the laptop and check my emails and stuff. For whatever reason the hotel we were at didn't have a connection to the internet that week. Anyway, I got on Facebook and saw I had a nice little message Carmund had written on my wall. It said something to the effect of him wishing me a fun and safe trip. Now that I think about it I was getting sick right before I left going on this trip so his message had something to do with me feeling better too. Ahhhh memories...it's all coming back to me now.

I remember getting home from vacation on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Carmund and I continued to send messages through Facebook into the weekend. Finally, that Saturday, March 28th I realized that this guy continued to make a conversation last for whatever reason and therefore I felt compelled to give him my phone number. I remember that Saturday afternoon telling Carmund to give me a call sometime. He replied with him wanting to give me a call that evening at 8pm. Sure enough he calls right on time. We stayed on the phone for nearly 5 hours talking about any and everything. It truly was the start of a beautiful relationship. And still it gets better...

We had our first date on Thursday, April 2nd at Soma (a coffee shop on Kirkwood). We were there for hours just laughing and talking. As a matter of fact we were the last to leave. He was a complete gentleman and still is. ;-) We talked on the phone every single day and saw each other as much as we could at the time. Then comes Easter Sunday and I was completely honored to hang out with him and a tremendous group of people from South Africa. We all went to Brown County that day after church and had a marvelous time. The South Africans were here to do a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest along with Carmund and other students at IU. I really got to know them quite well. It was a blessing to meet them and to this day call them my friends. The love continues to run deeper for me and Carmund...

My birthday comes around, June 21st. I was to go on a business trip on my birthday (a Sunday), so that Saturday Carmund surprised me with a wonderful gift of a massage at the spa. It was perfect timing because my great friends Sean and Samaria got married that weekend and I had helped plan and coordinate that day. That was a lot of work but soooo much fun!! An hour long massage the next day couldn't have been any better. Afterwards, we head to Indianapolis to go to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Love that place!! We also had lunch at a pizza place in town but I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, that was great too. All this time from the first conversation it felt like I had known Carmund my whole life.

Carmund's birthday was next, July 3rd and so we spent it at Holiday World. From the beginning I knew he loved roller coasters and swimming. What better place to incorporate both loves?!?! I had never been there and he hadn't either but I figured he needed something where it was nothing but fun. We get there and it was an absolute blast. We rode one of the craziest coasters there maybe like 4 times. Probably could have ridden more times but I ended up getting a headache. Best day and weekend ever because he also got to meet my whole family!! Everybody loved him!

In August I got to spend a week with Carmund and his family in the DC area. That was a lot of fun and according to him everybody loved me! :-) I also ate some of the best crab legs to ever be cooked and served to me. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Lots more good things to talk about that has happened over this past year but I'm going to leave it at that for now. I will say this, everyday has truly gotten better than the day before. God promised that to both Carmund and I at the beginning. I remember I was a little skeptical of that at first because I couldn't figure out how that was remotely possible. Well guys, it gets better...

I am excited about spending 2 weeks with Carmund and his folks for Christmas and New Year's. I am super excited about the good things to happen in 2010. I am excited about all the things God has promised me and how they really will happen. I didn't expect to fall in love in 2009 but it happened. I didn't think that there really was a man perfect for me but he's here. I didn't think a lot of things were true or going to happen but boy was I wrong!! I definitely didn't expect for this blog to be about Carmund when I initially started to write but he really is the best thing to happen to me this year and he was right beside me for every good and bad thing. What can I say? That's just the way it is...

To Carmund, with all my love. "It was not into my ear you whispered but into my heart; it was not my lips you kissed but my soul." -Judy Garland