The dreaded 25th year

Happy Thursday everyone! Are you excited for the up coming weekend? I most certainly am!

Well, I guess I should just jump in here, huh?

Another birthday, another year. The dreaded 25th. 

Turning 16 was a big deal because your parents gave you more responsibility, you could get a job and most of you started driving. 18 was a big year because you were technically an "adult", could go to the clubs (when that was fun to do) and you were headed off to college. Then there was 21 when you could legally drink and your parents still didn't think you were an adult! Although, I am convinced they will never really see you as one until you have children yourself.

As of tomorrow at 3:15am I will no longer be able to say I am in my "early 20's". I will be in my "mid to late 20s". That in itself is a scary thought. Is it as bad as everyone says? Or scary? Is it the year where you actually have to start really growing up? Or will everything stay the same and I am just worrying?! 

Why is it that once we hit (or nearly hit) 25 that we start analyzing everything we do? Where we live. What our job is. Why am I not married? Why don't I have kids? Why, why, why? There are some things I am still questioning, as I rightfully should, and some things I have figured out so far.

Your parents can actually be cool:

I may struggle with this for a while, but I do feel as though I have gotten closer to my mom as I am getting older. There were days when I was younger where I felt like I couldn't say certain things to her. Or swear in front of her for fear of Dawn dish detergent being gargled in my mouth.  Now? Not as much. We understand each other more. We can have intellectual conversations, as well as silly ones. I can say the word "penis" in front of her and she doesn't slap my arm anymore. Not that I say that word a lot. Haha.

It is okay to not be married:

And it is okay to be single. When I was 18 I definitely thought that I would have been married by the age of 25. Now that I am almost 25, I am really glad that I am not. I am not saying that I never want to get married, I just wouldn't want to be married right now. And that is okay. I know many people who are already married that are 25 or younger, and I am not hating on that. They have found their "one", while I'm still testing the waters. And again, that is okay in my book. 

It is okay to not have a child:

And it is okay to have one. Being 25 and not having a child it still okay to me. Like with the marriage thing, I thought I would have had a child by now. Thinking about that now, I am definitely not ready. That may sound selfish of me, and so be it, but I am just not ready. Many can say that you are technically never ready to have kids, which I agree with, but I just don't want them right now. I still enjoy my girls night martinis and wine pajama parties. I enjoy doing what I want, on my own time. And call me old fashion but I wouldn't even consider having a child without being married first. All of this is still okay.

It is okay to have a job and not a career:

I thought I was going to be an RN by now, but that is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I work for a wonderful company right now, which I love, and I am okay with that. It is okay to be 25 and still be unsure what you want to be when you grow up. With the economy the way it is, it is even more acceptable. I am more than happy with the job that I have now, and I will continue with it until I realize what I want to do for the rest of my life, if I ever do. I am still figuring that out!

At what age do you stop getting tattoos:

This is one of those things I am still working on. I have been wanting more tattoos, but is 25 still a reasonable age to be spending money on them? Do I just say no and be happy with the ones I already have? Not that I am not happy with them, I just would have liked to add more to them. But, I definitely have much more important things to save my money for.

 

 At what age do you take your piercings out:

I have had many piercings along the way including my nose, tongue and ear cartilage, but took those out almost 2 years ago. I definitely don't plan on getting anymore piercings. I do, however, still have my belly button piercing in that I had done when I was 16. What would be an acceptable age to take that out? This is something I have been struggling with the past year. This piercing is no longer the "it" thing for me, but I have had it for almost 10 years and thus have become attached to it. Actually, most of the time I forget I even have it!

I have heard meany women say "when I have my first child" or "when I turn 30". I don't plan on having a child anytime soon, and 30 is still 5 years away. I'm not even sure that the hole will close up. I wouldn't want to take it out and the hole close up, and then regret it. I do have a fit stomach, so it's not about how it looks. It's more about how I want portray myself. A belly button piercing is easily hidden in the winter months, but with summer coming up it is harder, esp when you live in a bathing suit.

It is okay to not even know where this blog post is headed:
I'm not really sure I know what I am saying right now. I'm not even sure that this post will have a point to it. All I know is that I am currently happy with the way my life is going, and the things that I'm not so happy about I am working on changing. I am grateful to be alive. I am grateful to have family and friends who love and support me. I am grateful for all the new things that are entering my life! Today I am 24, loving the moment. Tomorrow may be a different story, but we will see how it goes!

Wish me luck!

Until next time!

XOXO
Shawna
  

Update 3/27/13: The belly button ring has since been decommissioned. I was looking at some of my before workout photos, and I figured since I had started on a new healthy path that many things needed to change. That did include the ring being taken out. I will say that it is much easier to shower without it as my loofah doesn't get caught on it anymore! :)

What I'm working on right now!

Happy Thursday everyone!! 

I hope your week is going by quick, I know mine is dragging. I am currently working on my sisters birthday cake for her birthday party this coming Saturday. I am also making cookies and cupcakes to go with the theme of "Monster High". I'll be sure to post more pictures next week too!

These are the cookie toppers that I made last night. It was my first time flooding with royal icing, and I think they came out pretty darn good! These will go on cookies that will be at every place setting on Saturday!

Not only am I tackling all this baking, but I have been working on my crafts as well!

I am in the process of making this AWESOME novel wreath!

The finished product should look like this...

I am using very old yellowed books for my look. You can find the tutorial here, or the YouTube video tutorial which I used here.

I also made this sweet Valentines Day wreath for my office at work! It is made entirely out of cupcake liners aside from the obvious wreath. Pretty cool, huh? Look at my awesome hot glue gun too!

Here she is all finished!

And hanging in my office looking all pretty!

I may keep it up because I feel like it just goes with everything...maybe. And it IS pink- my favorite color!! I may also make other ones to switch out for each holiday. Still thinking about that one too!

I used this tutorial, and it only took me a few hours! Although, I did get a pretty nasty burn so be careful with the hot glue guns!

See? Sooo gross!

(I won't enlarge the picture because, frankly, I don't think you even need to see that!)

I also have started making one for my sister too!!

Don't mind my crazy socks! :)

On top of these wreaths, I want to make a crepe paper rosette wreath, or just something with the rosettes. I still have to finish my pintuck duvet cover I started over the summer as well. So many crafts, so little time! Maybe I should tackle one project before starting another one. Just maybe! Although, it does sound like the logical thing to do. We will see!

Until next time!

XOXO

Shawna

Put a little love in your heart

Hey there everyone!!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner!! Are you excited? Do you have something planned with your someone special?! My valentine will be away, so I will be having a girly night with my sister, nail polish included! Maybe a little wine for me! I thought today I would share with you some of my fav Valentine's Day treats, eats and crafts! 

You can give your valentine those cute candies with messages on them. Here we have the traditional tiny heart candies, only with risque messages! 

You can make some very cute cookies with messages as well!

 

Or even some super cute cake pops!!

I thought these cookies were just adorable!! 

How about some mug brownies with sugar hearts?!

 

Now who wouldn't want heart shaped french toast? I would personally love to make these!! Yum!!

Lips for her and a mustache for him!! Too cute!

You can give him/her pieces of candy and cards to go with them! I don't eat sweets all that often, so I feel this would be more suitable for the younger crowd. Cute idea, nonetheless.

You can even make some cute crafts for this special day. I think the doilies in the shadow box is a cute idea, although you cant really seem them. 

How about a wreath made out of cupcake liners? I WILL be making this over the weekend to hang in my office!

If you don't have a valentine you can always make something sweet for your closest friend! These fortune cookies are adorable, and they are fairly simple to make at home! You could even make them out of felt instead of making the cookie. How about making them together while sipping on some of the yummy drinks pictured below?

 

Looks like ice cream, champagne and juice! Yum!

Well whatever you have planned for this Valentine's Day, I hope you remember to show how much you like/love/can't get enough of your special someone every day of the year, and not just on this on one day! Until next time!

XOXO

Shawna

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!!

XOXO

Shawna

A recap from the past few weeks..and a photo haul!

Happy New Year!! 

 via

I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic New Years!

A week before Christmas, my girlfriend Ashley and I went up to New Hampshire for a Dave Matthews concert! That was my first DMB concert and it was AMAZING!! We got pizza and drinks beforehand, and met up with a couple of Ashley's friends at another bar. After the concert we went to a bar next to the venue where they served our beers in red Solo cups and Santa sang karaoke. The concert was so incredible, and I am so happy that I got to experience it. Here are some pictures from that day/night! Sorry they are phone quality.

This was such an amazing pizza place! If you're ever near Manchester NH, you must check out 900 degrees!!

Ashley and my usual martini!

Our pizzas! Margherita and BBQ Chicken!

My Flirtini and pizza! So yummy!

Brianne and Ashley doing a Nacci!

The pretty lights that lined the street!

 Ashley had to drink Red Bull because she was getting sleepy!

 DMB playing Cornbread! I feel like this was just for Brianne!

I can NOT wait for their summer tour! Tailgating and music?! Why not, it's such a blast!!

The Friday before Christmas my friend Johnna and I went to Ciro's to see a coworker of mine play some Christmas and cover music. Martinis in hand, we sang along and danced all night! It was a great time!  

Love my Johnna!

Boys and their shots!

Just Visiting rocking out!

Martinis with my love!

And again

 We clean up well!

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I swear, Pat and I didn't plan to be matchy!

Aww Derek!

Jamming out!

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This might have been the time when they were auctioning off kisses for charity!

So sweet!

 Love her! 

If you want to see these guys play, check out their Facebook page here! They'll be playing this Saturday at Overtime Bar & Grille if you're interested! They put on a pretty great show!

We had a low key Christmas this year at my house. Although lots of wine was consumed, mostly on my part, it didn't get too rowdy! My parents woke me up at 6:30am wanting to unwrap presents. My mom and I went to bed around midnight Christmas Eve and for the life of me I just wanted to stay in bed, but since my sister had been up for a couple hours already, we had to get up. When I was younger, my parents would make my brothers and I wait until 8am to even get out of bed. We could open our stockings, but we weren't allowed to open any presents until my parents had their coffee. I guess that went out the window when they had my sister! 

I was amazed to see that at 24 my mother still made up a stocking for me. It contained the usual chocolates (which I gave to my sister), deodorant, makeup, chap sticks and hand sanitizers. Still the same as when I was younger- minus the socks! After opening presents, and hearing many joyous screams from my sister, we had a yummy breakfast and started getting ready for the day. The wine was flowing from 11am- HEY don't judge, which made me a happy girl! Our family started coming over around 2 and we ate around 3:30/4pm. 

Baby Travis still hadn't made his arrival by Christmas, and still continues to not listen to the eviction notices! COME ON BABY TRAVIS!! Aunty Shawna is anxiously waiting to see you!!

The Thursday after Christmas, Ashley, Alyssa and myself went out for a girls night!! We went to Bob and Timmy's Legendary Grilled Pizza. It wasn't no 900 degrees (which is what we were looking for) but it did not disappoint! Check out their website here!

Pizza and Sangria for the ladies!! Ashley and I exchanged Christmas gifts! She got me the CUTEST purse and a beautiful scarf. Oh, can't forget all the different lotions she got me! She knows I'm a lotion whore! It was a fab night, and morning after! Love waking up laughing and smiling! Let's just say, my night was anything but #notok! Ha-HA! What would I do without my girlfriends!!

On Friday, Johnna and I went out for drinks. We met up with her fiance Tim and our friend Rob for sushi and more drinks afterwards! We then went to a "gentleman's club" for Johnna's first experience! It was a very fun night!

On New Year's I had planned on staying home and kissing my mirror at midnight, but Ashley dragged me out of the house! I am super happy she did because I had a fantastic night! I rang in the New Year with my best friend, drank wine and sangria, played flip cup, took apple pie shots and loved on some puppies all night!! 

This is Linden! I wanted to take him home!

And his brother Hickory! Just as adorable!

Adults still play Flip Cup!

And the females beat the guys about a million to two!

Linden pup!!! Love him!!

Ashley's pup Cooper!! 

And her other pup Henry! Be still my beating heart!

 Peyton was so sweet!!!

I vaguely remember finding this on the back of the toilet when I went pee. But since it's on my phone, its going up!

Hickory puppp!! So fluffy!

Cooper was a tired little man!

As was Cornbread and Henry! We called her the Tamer!

 

Cornbread always with his smile!!

 Loving me some Coopy-doo!

Happy New Year!!

 

It's a new year, finally! Time to keep all my good memories and lay all the bad ones to rest! Again, I hope that y'all had a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic New Year!! Until next time!!

XOXO,

Shawna