Homeowner happiness!

We have a house!

On March 26th, Jason and I closed on our very first house. We've talked about buying a house for years and knew we wanted to be settled in one before the wedding.

We're staying very close to where our apartment (and my office) is in Roswell - we really like the area and my commute is ideal. We found a three bed, two bath ranch in a neighborhood that is 1,984 square feet and, possibly most importantly, has a two-car garage! It was a pre-approved short sale and, against all odds of it being a short sale, we closed one month after we initially saw the house. The bank was extremely responsive and both the bank and previous owner were motivated to sell.

Since it was a short sale, we bought it as-is. Which means we have lots of fixing up to do! Ten days into owning the house we've already put a big dent in the work that needs to be done. So consider these the before pictures.

Jason was so eager to get started that, immediately after closing, we went straight to the house. We drove separately and I arrived about 30 seconds after him. When I pulled in, he was already started.

Here we are right after closing:

 

Here's the outside:

 

 

And then our pretty trees bloomed:

 

 

 

Oh, right - we have an atrium in the middle of our house. It was marketed as a "plant lovers dream" but everyone that has come into the house so far has expected some Led Zeppelin and a cloud of smoke. We put a hibiscus in it to curb the rumors.

 

When we bought the house, the living room was orange. Like...pumpkin. That was one of our first projects.

 

Luckily now it's a nice beige/grey color. Muuuuuuch better.

 

Our guest rooms were lime green and teal. And our master was a yellowish color. We tackled the master the night we closed - now it's a smokey blue!

 

This is our master bathroom. It needs some work. We've already done a good bit but the "after" pictures will have to wait until it actually looks like an "after" and not a tornado site.

 

Buying as-is also meant that we got to keep appliances, including a washer/dryer that are much better than what we had before. BUT we also inherited a garage full of... treasures.

We have been cleaning and painting and renovating non-stop since we closed and so far this is the best adventure ever! I'll try to update as we tackle projects. Cheers to being homeowners!!!

An Ode to Old Age

It's 2014 and we're off to the races! This is my first week as a permanent employee and it feels great. This chick has BENEFITS! What whattttt! Big girl high five.

I am also now 25 years of age. A whole quarter century. Five times five. I haven't been an age squared in 9 years. My love of symmetry is satisfied. I love to tell people at the office that I'm old now - mostly because they throw me hateful expressions and I'll only be able to say it sarcastically for so long.

On my birthday Jason said, "It's been a good 25 years." So I casually started listing some of my favorite things - and, ya know what?, there are a lot of them. Life's been good.

And it made me think. Lord only knows if I've done it right or wrong. Which leads me to my generation. I'm fascinated by opinions of the millennials, understanding that whatever generation is coming into the workforce at any time will be looked at as rascally rabbits. Oh, those kids. They think they know so much.

And then those people write articles explaining "20 Things 20-Somethings Think They Know But They Don't" or "20 Rude Awakenings Coming at Every 20-Something."

People. Calm yo'selves.

Because even if you think you're riddled with genius, there is someone 10 years older than you that could write a list of "30 Things I Would Tell My Numbnut 30-Something Self."

Here's the thing: There will always be someone older than you and chances are good that they will always think they're wiser than you. I do believe that I am wiser than my 15-year-old self. Kinda how life works. You can't un-experience things soooooo you gain experience over time. Are we surprised?

If I wrote a list of things I would tell my 15-year-old self, it would go like this:
1. Be a decent person
2. Don't do anything too stupid


I imagine if I wrote a list in 10 years to my 25-year-old self, it would look very similar.

My list to everyone writing lists to 20-somethings includes one thing: Stop giving us advice. It does not come from a good place. We will figure it out. Just like you figured it out. And if a millennial does something really stupid at work, you know what will happen? The same thing that would have happened to you. They'll get fired. And probably won't do that thing again. Because that is how people learn - it's how the baby boomers learned to make fire, it's how Gen Y learned to operate a pulley system, it's how Eve learned to stay away from fruit (hence the obesity epidemic).

This is not the first generation to have entitled, drunk, late, overly-ambitious, materialistic, or lazy individuals. And we won't be the last. We also won't be the last generation to write condescending lists of "advice" to those younger than us. I mean...kids these days are addicted to technology when they come out of the womb - will they ever learn to hold a real conversation face-to-face?

Which, of course, was a concern about the invention of the telephone. I'm sure Gen X remembers.


And now, for your eye-rolling entertainment, here are some actual articles about my generation:
Dear Millennials: You're ok. You'll survive. Really.
Why Millennials Can't Grow Up
A generation of idle trophy kids

Farewell, 2013

The year has come to an end and I have mixed feelings about it. This has been the best and worst year of my life. I read a quote recently that some years ask questions and some years answer - this year had it all.

So here it is - my 2013 year in review.

Hope. I baked my birthday cake and made a "24" out of chocolate chips. I talked with my parents and Jason about everything I hoped 24 would hold for me. I was going to graduate, get some job in some city, and finally be in the same town as Jason. I had no clue where I would be in one year - there were a lot of unanswered questions but I had high hopes for the answers. I was ready for what 2013 held for me - or so I thought.

Isolation. Spring was my thesis semester. I only had one friend in grad school to start with, but without classes to force me out of my apartment I rarely came across other humans. I sat at my desk and wrote 12 hours a day - there were multiple 3-5 day periods where I didn't set foot outside my front door. I once broke a six-day hibernation only because I craved a burrito and was determined to find a Moe's. I'm fine spending time by myself so I wasn't lonely, but it was an interesting period of learning about myself and what I was capable of. Which leads us to...

Devastation. It sounds dramatic - but it was. In March, I turned in my thesis and was asked to start from scratch. I felt very lost and very confused and did NOT see it coming. It was a huge blow to my confidence and pride. I looked at every step leading up to that point and could not find where I went wrong - but sometimes you just get screwed. Which was hard for my controlling self to accept.

Dissapointment. I looked up to my thesis chair as a strong business woman who had steamrolled gender roles and taken the journalism world by storm. But not everyone gets to the top with their character in tact. I realized what was actually in front of me with one sentence - "You have to start from scratch - if you're going to cry, go to the bathroom and come back when you're done." The following seven weeks showed that this sentence was just the beginning. And, no, I didn't cry.

Determination. While it may have been fueled by spite, I was completely focused on finishing my second thesis in time to graduate in May. I worked around the clock with the cackling echo of "You'll never be able to get it done in time" on repeat in my mind. I've never had such a challenge and I've never had such a triumph. I finished my second thesis in three weeks.

Humility. I imagine I'll see this again someday with a boss, but I had to learn to swallow my pride. I've been raised that working hard and being a decent human will get you where you need to be, and that's just not always the case. Sometimes you have to obediently do what you're told - even if it means writing a forced thank you email with the head of the grad school copied because otherwise your approved thesis might not be turned in to the school on time. I had to learn that raising hell isn't always the answer - especially if your degree has a gatekeeper.

Risk. Two days after I defended my thesis, I interviewed for a three-month contracting position with Kimberly-Clark. I had my eye on K-C and had applied to multiple permanent positions. I was contacted by a recruiter for the contract but was only promised the three months. In the name of getting my foot in the door, I took the position. This meant signing a lease and moving Jason with me to Roswell on the hope that, if I worked hard enough, they'd hire me full time. In July they pushed my contract through September, in September they pushed it through Halloween, and in October they pushed it through December 31. Two weeks ago I signed my offer for a permanent position - starting January 1st. It has restored my faith in the existence of meritocracies.

Grief. At the end of June, a lifelong friend of mine was found in his apartment days after overdosing on heroin. We were in the same third grade class, sang in middle school chorus, acted in three school plays, and had the same friends in high school. His life took a turn when his parents sent him to military school for ninth grade and he was introduced to some substances. He wrote me a letter every week that year. It's a sad story of what substance abuse can do to such a great life.

Relief. In August, my degree was delivered to my parents house. And I cried.

Excitement. Also in August, Jason and I decided that we wanted to get married. It had always been on the horizon, but suddenly it was right in front of us. We were ready. The conversation went like this. I said, "I'm on the bus. Let's do this. Are you on the bus?" And he said, "I've been on the bus for a while, just waiting for you to hop aboard." Ahh, the romance.

Joy. In November, my beautiful sister Ashley told us that her and her husband are expecting a baby next June - I'm going to be an aunt! I already love the little nugget so much and it's only 16 weeks in fetus years. I can't wait to dress it in rude onesies and pass it back to Ashley when it produces bodily fluids.

Assurance. Eight days ago, Jason and I got engaged. I start my permanent position in a few days. I have a stack of bride magazines on my coffee table. My Etsy and Amazon carts are full of onesies ready to be purchased once we find out the gender of baby avocado. I am right where I need to be.

I feel like I turned 24 a decade ago. I thought I was ready for 2013 and I had no clue. So I will go ahead and readily admit that I can't pretend to guess what 2014 has in store. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Happy New Year!

Here ye! Here ye!

My favorite person ever asked me to marry him yesterday! And I said, "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU SERIOUS!? WHAT? I'M GONNA THROW UP! RIGHT NOW? SERIOUSLY?"....and then I said "yes."


We've been planning to get engaged for months so it's been on my mind. He's not much of a planner so if he set anything up I would automatically suspect a proposal. We actually talked about it the other night and I said that I just wanted to be surprised but I didn't think he could pull off a full surprise because I know it's coming. 

I was wrong.

We were getting ready to go shopping yesterday and he kissed me and said, "Are we gonna spend forever together?" and with my usual attitude I said, "Depends - are you gonna propose?" And he said "Yup." Then he pulled out a ring, dropped to one knee and asked if I'd marry him! I said a lot of "Oh my god! What? Right now! Are you serious? SERIOUSLY!? Ahhh!" 

And then he said, "Let me try this again....will you marry me?" And I said "OF COURSE!!!!!"



Then there were some tears and lots of laughter.

Getting engaged on a Sunday morning meant that all my friends were in church and all his were still sleeping so no one would pick up their phones! But we drove straight to my parents' house to tell the whole family. We get there and everyone was out running errands! So we went to the LOFT and I told the checkout lady. I had to tell someonnnnneeeeee.

When I saw my family later I asked my sisters and mom if they wanted to go get manicures. They kinda said sure and I told them that I need to find a color that goes well with diamonds. It was really fun to see them put it together in those 2-3 seconds. Then we celebrated and called family and friends and had a mini engagement photo shoot. So here come the pictures!

In the car by ourselves cause no one was around:

Life Mantras

There's a lot going on over here. Now, my friends/sisters have temporarily stopped getting married so after 4 bridesmaid dresses in 10 months, I'm putting aside my role of wedding attendant. But there is still plenty to keep me busy. Namely, my awesome new job. I'm one of those lucky people that genuinely enjoys their first big girl job. Knock on wood.

In the past few months of being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I've been eager to find career advice in any and all places. I've always had a thing for picking a quote that speaks to me and using it as a mantra for a given period of time. Upon entering graduate school, I put a sticky note on my desk with the wise words of golfer Gary Player (whom I'd never heard of before):

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

I worked my tush off through grad school by that mantra, and it got me to the middle of my last semester when I was asked to start my thesis from scratch after turning in all 100 finished pages of it. I had worked so hard, but that wasn't a very "lucky" outcome. There was a lot of confusion and I remember seeing my sticky note and unceremoniously dropping it into the trash can. A few days later, when I'd gotten my bearings, it was replaced by my crisis communications mode mantra:

The greater the challenge, the greater the triumph.

Three weeks later, I turned in my second thesis. And a few weeks after that I walked across the stage to receive my well-earned degree...on time. And, admittedly, the triumph was great. What was presumably taken away from me by having to start from scratch was replaced by a much more valuable sense of self-worth and idea of what I was capable of as a student and, more importantly, as a person. The triumph after thesis two was much sweeter than what it would have otherwise been.

All of this to say that I have found certain pieces of advice and sayings that really speak to me - to say what I feel better than I could, and to embody goals, mindsets, and attitudes the same. So in my new position, I've been seeking out a new mantra - something to ready me for all the corporate world has to offer and something to remind me to work hard and keep my character.

A cute little saying I found was "A great time to relax is when you don't have time for it" but that was less than inspiring.

I saw Ashton Kutcher's speech from the Teen Choice Awards that shared three life lessons:
     1) That opportunity looks a lot like hard work
     2) That the way to be really sexy is to be really smart, thoughtful and generous
     3) Build a life, don't just live one

I like those. Good things to live by but nothing quite spoke to me like a true mantra should.

And then our CEO posted a blog about the best career advice he's gotten over the years. It was a list of 12 different lessons including, "Be someone your colleagues want to work with," "Don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn the trade," and "Do what's required to get the job done - from the menial to the extraordinary."

I really liked to read through and see what this successful man found meaningful over the years. After seeking out so much career advice online it was fun to see what my own CEO thought was valuable. And there, in the middle of the list, was the mantra meant for me:

 

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

And suddently I look around - I'm in a job I want, at a company I sought out, with opportunities abound. Certainly seems like I'm pretty lucky again these days. And even in the times when it wasn't quite clear, I've seen now that continuing to work hard brings a lot of luck.

A Wedding in Wilmington

Lisa and Matt's wedding was last weekend and it was a whirlwind weekend! It was extremely fun but felt like it went by in a blink. Luckily I took a lots of pictures and stole some from Anna so here's the wedding day in pictures, from start to finish!

The Austin cousins the morning of the wedding

Sisters old and new!

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. (soon to be Dr.) Hinson! Love you both.