Day 21: Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel. (a pet peeve, a current event, a controversial topic, something your husband or roommate or neighbor or boss does that really ticks you off)

   Hold on, let me climb up to my soap box and pick up my mircrophone. I hope it's hooked up to a PA system because I want everyone to hear me loud and clear.

   Okay, here goes nothing. I would like to bring up the topic of self-portraits, commonly known as selfies. My first topic of choice is the name, itself. Why did we all of a sudden start calling them selfies? Is it to make the act of snapping our picture (every chance we get) cuter? To make it more endearing? Or to justify our narcisism? Why don't we just take that cute little bow off of it and call it what it is? Ron Burgundy had it right when he shamelessly said, "Hey everyone, come see how good I look!"

   I don't take issue with snapping a picture of yourself every once in a while. We all have those days when we look in the mirror and say, "Hmmm, I'm looking extra spectacular today" (or something like that). After all, that's why we call them good hair days, and that's why we ladies just love to purchase make up. Or, at least, this lady sure does!

   I'm talking about those chronic selfies-takers. You know the ones. They're invading your Instagram with pictures of themselves, seemingly unknowing that they just posted the same picture with a slightly different facial expression about 45 seconds ago. 

   People, no one appreciates these! Well, okay, maybe some creeper who's crushing on you and stalking you via your latest and greatest social media network. So, to help you out with what can only be labelled an addiction, I've created a checklist to ensure you don't become one of those people that gets unfollowed, unfriended, or just plain dropped.

   You might be a chronic selfie-taker if:

• at least half of your posted photos include no other person but yourself
• you have posted a picture of yourself more than once in the same day
• If I'm being honest, we should change thist to "in the same week". Once per week is more than sufficient at showing people how good you look.
• your last three posted pictures have the exact same background
• Do you think people don't notice that you're wearing the exact same outfit and you're standing in the exact same spot? There's nothing wrong with taking multiple pictures of yourself in an effort to get the right one, but you should pick that right one and make it your ONLY one.
• you have to use a mirror so you can see your entire outfit
• Don't get me wrong--I'm sure everyone loves your outfit. But consider this: If you're a chronic selfie-taker, you should probably invest in a phone with a flip-camera. It'd be an investment that you'd obviously use everyday.
• the background of your picture includes toilet stalls
• If you can't wait until you have exited the bathroom, you most likely have a selfie problem. The grossness of that public restroom negates your cuteness.
• the number of "likes" you got from your last couple of selfies is decreasing
• Just like you, there are going to be people who think you're cute. In which case they're going to like your photo. This might fuel your drive to take a couple more, but please refrain. As I mentioned earlier, people get tired of looking at you over and over. A great indicator that you've posted one selfie too many is when your likes start to decrease. Take a hint, sweetie, and take a break.

   If you can relate to 3 out of these 5 checkpoints, you might want to think about taking a few shots of scenery, your pet, or some random object just to mix it up a bit. It's just a suggestion.

Blog Everyday Challenge

  So....I'm not doing so hot on the every day part. My bad. I'll do better, I promise. Starting today.

Paleo Day One

     I've challenged myself to a minimum of thirty days in the Paleo lifestyle. I'd like make it a lifestyle change, but I don't want to make that commitment without a trial basis. Thirty days seemed like a good number. Long enough to see if it's for me; short enough to make it through if it's not.
     Before I get blasted with hate mail telling me I don't need to lose weight, I should go ahead and let y'all know weight loss is not a goal in this adventure. I'm curious to see what health benefits come from omitting dairy, grains, and sugar from my diet.
     I looked into Paleo about a year ago and decided it wasn't doable for me. I have an unwavering love for carbs. Since then, I've talked to several people that have adopted the diet into their daily lives and some who, like me, are simply trying it out. I have yet to find anyone who says they didn't like it. (If you tried it and didn't care for it, please leave a comment as to why you feel this way. I'd love to know!) Everyone I've spoken with says they feel so much better and can feel a definite change. The only con I've heard is that it can be inconvenient, is costly, and takes a lot of organization and preparation--this could be a real problem for me.
     After doing some independent research, I found some great recipes for breads and desserts. Granted, I'm sure they're not going to be what I'm used to but at least I can trick myself into thinking I'm not depriving myself of guilty pleasures.
     Today was a bit of a wake-up call for me. Did I mention this takes a lot of preparation?? Perhaps deciding I was going to commit to it at 8:00 at night wasn't the best way to start, but I figured starting on a Monday would be ideal. I'm all for diving in, but I might should have started when there was a decent amount of time to look up recipes, make a grocery list, do my shopping, and prepare some meals for the following day. Oh no, that'd be too easy! One of my mantras I find myself repeating constantly is, "Life would be easy if I didn't make it so hard on myself", and this decision goes right along with it.
     So I got dressed and loaded myself into the car around 8:30 on Sunday evening to make the 20 minute drive to the grocery store for some eggs, chicken, fruits, and veggies. After getting home around 9:45, I fired up the oven, baked a couple chicken breasts, and cut up some fruits and veggies in preparation for tomorrow's lunch. By the time the chicken was done, it was about 11:00 and I was in need of some serious z's. The plan was to wake up (without snoozing for 20 minutes), cook a couple eggs for breakfast, roast the veggies, and stick it in a lunchbox for work.
     Long story short, I snoozed for the full 20 minutes because I was so tired from staying up so late and didn't have time to make breakfast. I completely forgot about the veggies until I cracked open the Tupperware at lunch time and faced that disappointment. But all was well because I had plenty of fruit--pineapples, peaches, blackberries, and blueberries. And let's not forget the dehydrated chicken breast. I may or may not have overcooked that bad boy, and of course I didn't prepare a Paleo-approved dipping sauce to help choke it down. Oh, and I was also informed, all too late, that fruit is Paleo-approved but only 1-3 daily servings. Did you hear all the fruit I named earlier?? Perfect.
     No matter. I refused to let my lack of preparation, dehydrated chicken jerky, and fruit-overload get to me. I headed back to the grocery store after work and picked up some more Paleo-approved groceries and made myself a fine dinner. Turns out that chicken isn't so dry with my yummy homemade honey mustard, and the roasted veggies were fantastic!
     So here I sit satisfied with a full belly and tomorrow's lunch packed and ready to go. I think this just might work out! Overall, I'd say today was a success!

Paleo Groceries So Far:
Chicken Breasts
Steak
Salmon
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Garlic
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Almond Flour
+ Olive Oil                                
Breaking the Bank

   
   

Day 20: Things you've learned that school won't teach you

Day 20: Things you've learned that school won't teach you

• Treat everyone with respect, and don't burn bridges. You truly can't get anywhere in life without the help of other people. No man is an island. 
• Your teacher lied; you really will have a calculator with you wherever you go. Don't stress if you suck at borrowing; your calculator doesn't.
• Laughter is the best temporary medicine. If you're looking for a long-term fix, time will take care of it.
• Human interaction is on its way to extinction. Fight it.
• Sometimes you just have to learn from experience, but it saves a lot of time if you just listen to your parents.
• Never settle.
• Prayer changes everything.

Day 19: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives

Day 19: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archive.

• I included this entry and this one because they speak to me every time I read them. I hope they do the same for you!

• I go back and reference this entry prior to every visit to Nashville. 

• This, this, and this made it to the list because everyone likes to hear the ridiculousness that spews out of the mouths of children.

• This entry is special to me because it announces a recent life change.

• I had to include this because of my obsession with Pure Barre.

• Last but definitely not least, I included this post because I love this hymn so much.

And so it begins!

     Anthony officially moved to Dothan last weekend to begin his last leg of academia before becoming a DO. This was the quickest moving/unpacking I've ever been a part of! I can only hope mine will be the same in a couple of weeks.

     He's spent the past week in Orientation, getting acquainted with his new school and making new friends. Classes officially begin on Monday! How exciting! 

     His will be the first graduating class at ACOM. As we were walking around campus and looking at the brand new school, housing, and landscape, I couldn't help but wonder what it would look like in twenty years. It made me think of Auburn and how much it's changed in just the few years since I was a student there. Wonder if the freshman (or whatever you call first year med students) will think about what their school looked like in its beginning and how the brand new students felt.

In front of his new school

First Night in the New Apartment

Visiting the Botanical Gardens

This little lady had crazy long toes. It was almost disturbing.

Pretty koi

He emailed me a copy of this beaut today. So handsome!

Can you tell I'm proud of him and excited for him?! It's so admirable to want something so badly that you're willing to commit that amount of time and effort to get there. There's no way I could go to school for that long! It's one of the many reasons I admire this little boy. 

Day 18: Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now.

  I prefer lighthearted to real (esp. for my personal blog), but I'm also one to follow directions to the letter. What I'm struggling with:

   Sap Alert: I feel it only fair to say that this next paragraph is super sappy, and I apologize in advance.

  If I'm being completely honest, I'm struggling with missing my dear Anthony. He moved to Dothan last weekend and officially starts medical school on Monday. I realize it's been less than a week, but we've been virtually inseparable for the past three months. And I kinda liked it. :)

  Fortunately I've been out of town all week on business which kept me busy and distracted, and I just learned he will be coming home for the weekend!