Take a Day Trip #26

Tomorrow Cody and I will travel 108.79 miles to Jonesboro to see Lady Antebellum!!!

And then 108.79 miles back to Cabot.

If you haven't heard of them, they have hits like:

Need You Now
I Run To You
American Honey
Our Kind Of Love

This is a group that I would definitely make a trip to see and it just so happens, it will be a day trip so mark off #26!! I'm sure there will be lots of pictures to come. I cannot wait to see them in Concert!!

Still working on my 30 by 30

So, I turned 28 on September 9th, and I realized, I still have SO much to do to complete my Thirty by Thirty List!! Have I really only completed 11 & 1/2??? I have GOT to get to work.

THIRTY BY THIRTY LIST

1. Go to Mexico (June 2010)
2. Donate Blood (January 2010)
3. Take a cooking class (March 2010)
4. Find a church home and get involved
5. Complete 60 miles in 3 days (November 2009)
6. Go camping for a weekend and sleep under the stars
7. Run a 5k (April & May, 2010)
8. Visit a vineyard
9. Take a trip to California
10. Go fishing and bait my own hook
11. Volunteer for a good cause (different than #5)
12. See Central Park and Rockefeller Center in the winter
13. Plan a reunion for all of my first cousins
14. Take a midnight walk on a beach
15. Lose 10 lbs, and keep it off
16. Invest in stocks that I have researched myself
17. Fix something on my car (change oil, tire, filter, etc)
18. Stay up all night and watch the sun come up the next morning
19. Swim with dolphins (June, 2010)
20. Find a job/hobby/something I'm extremely passionate about and enjoy it
21. Go 1 month without shopping for myself (July-August 2009)
22. Vegas, Baby!! (November 2009)
23. Try a food I've never tried before (January 2010)
24. Take a walk in the rain, on purpose (Me and Max, July, 2010)
25. Spend an entire day with my mom and one with my dad (from breakfast to bedtime) (Mom- July, 2010)
26. Take a day trip (must be more than 60 miles away)
27. Shoot a gun (March 2010)
28. Try something daring: bungee jump, sky dive, hot air balloon ride, etc
29. Do something nice for a stranger without them knowing
30. Personal Goal…

Love...Ten Years in the Making...

This post goes all the way back to my Freshman year of college. I had just turned 18, made some great new friends and started a new chapter in my life. I had always wanted to attend the University of Arkansas, and once I finally got there, I realized that a HOG FAN was the way for me!!

About a month into the school year, a girl friend of mine was at an AGR fraternity party just down the road from my dorm. She called and asked my friend Jenny and I to join her so we decided to go. About 20 minutes later, a guy in a white Dodge pulled up outside of Reid Hall to pick us up. He said that Britney had sent him, and as leery as we were, we decided to jump in and head to the party.

Cody & I, one of our first photos together

That guy, Cody, and I began dating and spent 3 great years with each other. We experienced so much together, travelled together, and it was obvious that we were very happy whenever we were in the other's company. As time went on though, I felt like I was tied down. I was still very young and not ready for the next step. I hadn't experienced as much out of life as I had wanted and therefore, ended the relationship with Cody.

Over the years, Cody and I stayed in touch some. We saw or spoke to each other for a few big moments in our lives, like when I moved back to Little Rock, during the marriage, and when his dad passed away. Amazingly, I've always wondered what he is doing, if he was married, and why I ended our relationship all those years ago.

The answers to all these questions came just 2 months ago. My divorce was final and life seemed to be falling back into place. So one Tuesday night, I sent Cody a message through Facebook to see how he was doing. He replied and that began a long string of emails resulting in him making a trip to Dallas that weekend to see me. We went to all the fun places to see in Dallas...a Rangers game, dinners, Glass Cactus, Sneaky Pete's and we had an amazing time. Sunday though, when it was time for him to leave, I was sad. I didn't want him to leave. I knew, after that weekend, a day wouldn't go by that I wouldn't want him by my side. He is my best friend and my perfect compliment, and I can't imagine a day without him.

Tour of Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Dickson Street in Fayetteville

Making my comeback!!

Well, here I am!! After 6 LONG months, I've finally decided to make my way back to blogging!! Hopefully I haven't lost everyone during my separation/divorce/move/sabbatical, but if so, I hope to get you all back soon!

As many of you know, life was pretty much unbearable for a while. I mean, let's face it, 2010 was looking like a year I wanted to completely forget. My ex and I decided to separate, I moved into an extended stay hotel, finally got an apartment (but was far away from many of my friends), went through a very ugly and difficult divorce, gave up my dog in exchange for getting my life back, and pretty much became a recluse... it just seemed that nothing was going to go my way. Not only that, I endured three of the most stressful things you can go through in life all at once: Divorce, Moving, & Job Change. For many of those months, I blew off my friends, hated myself and didn't want anything to do with finding happiness.

Amazingly, most of what happened over the 4 months during the divorce proceedings is a blur now. I know that some of my friends probably don't understand why I didn't talk more, call more, e-mail more... but honestly, it was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced. It's not that I didn't want to, it was that I couldn't talk about it, e-mail about it, text about it, etc. I wanted to block everything that was happening and pretend it wasn't really true. The man I had cared for 5 years of my life had hurt me in more ways than I would wish on anyone. And to make it 100 times worse, he wanted to take my dog, my baby, my little Maximus Cooper Henry away from me.

As I look back now, I do not regret the divorce, or leaving him, or wishing for more out of life. I knew I deserved someone better for me. Someone that cared for me unconditionally and someone who was without a doubt, my perfect compliment. Thankfully, I had the courage to acknowledge that and to fight for it!!

I still miss Max!! Even now, I tear up thinking about him, but I realize that the experience was a huge life lesson for me. He was the first dog I had bought for myself. I trained him, groomed him, took him to the vet, and spent countless hours just loving on him. BUT, he was a dog and I knew that someday I would lose him, I just didn't want to accept it. I've moved on now to another sweet shi tzu puppy, and he is a handful. He wants to be right next to me all the time, loving on me, and playing with me. And although he doesn't take the place of Max, I realize now that he wasn't supposed to and that no dog will ever replace him, but he makes me just as happy!

So... that's some of what has happened in the last 6 months but not to worry, there is a lot more to come.... much HAPPIER, MORE EXCITING, AMAZING things to come!!!
I have realized what I was looking for all along and finally got my happiness!