Traveling Versus Moving

Some things have come to my attention recently, and I think I should consider them as legitimate options.  As of late I have gone through some life changes, and I feel it’s time for me to decide what direction I will take myself.  I sought out advice from a wise, old woman (my mother), and she hit me with an interesting piece of information.  I’m not sure why she waited until now to share this with me, but here it goes.  She has always thought of me to be the one person in my entire family to actually go out and see the world before I consider settling down in life.  She thinks of me as a traveler.  I do indeed like to travel, however I have not previously thought of myself as a traveler.  She told me that I should find out what I’m all about and what the world has to offer me before I settle into anything permanent. 

So this gets me to thinking, “should I just travel, or should I actually move somewhere?”  There are pros and cons to both situations.  I’ve not really thought of actually moving away as something plausible for myself, but if I actually want to do it bad enough, I’m sure that I could make it happen. 

Traveling would mean that I would have to save up some money, and vacation days, before I am ever able to go somewhere worthwhile.  I think I would be able to save up the money to go somewhere before I am ever able to have the vacation days to take off work.  That might mean that in the time I am waiting to get time off, I may “accidentally” find something else to spend my money on.  Also, traveling usually consists of more than one person going somewhere.  I know I could go on a vacation alone, but I would prefer to have someone with me.  Convincing someone else to save up this money and go with me might be a bit of a struggle. 

Moving somewhere would be amazing!  Like traveling, moving is going to cost, but it would be a lot more than one vacation’s worth.  Moving to a new place where I don’t know anyone would also be a little scary.  I don’t doubt that I wouldn’t eventually make friends, but the time and effort put into doing so is wearing me out just thinking about it. I would also have to find a job before I could consider moving.  I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving a steady job to go somewhere and possibly not find a job for months.  I’m sure I could find something quickly (i.e. retail, grocery store, fast food, etc.), but that is certainly not ideal.  Another issue with moving is that I wouldn’t be near any of my family.  I am fairly close to my family, and not being able to see them on a regular basis would be a rough adjustment.  Trips home to see them would also be pricey and few and far between. 

In the next few months I will be able to start saving more money than I am able to now, so either one of these options could transpire.  It is definitely not something to take lightly, but I am going to consider both.  I’m sure I will have more to say about this as time goes and I think about things deeper, so until then Happy Blogging!!

Green Thumb

One thing that I enjoy is my garden.  Most of the things I grow may be in pots, but it’s still a garden.  And it’s MY garden!  Walking outside in the morning and seeing new flowers blooming is the perfect start to my day.  I become overjoyed every time I find something new. 

It may take a little dirty work and patience, but it is well worth it when things actually grow.  Not to mention growing your own produce versus buying it from the store can save you some moolah.  This is perfect for anyone trying to pinch some pennies.  If you’re like me and don’t have the option of digging up your yard, then you may have to invest in some large pots.  The good thing is that they can be reused for years to come.  I do have a couple of flower beds that I make good use of, but I also have 3 large pots and several medium-sized pots.  One of my flower beds contains 6 or 7 tomato plants, and the other one actually has flowers.  By the way, those flowers have begun blooming! 

Hopefully this makes you want to garden too!

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Happy Friday!!!  It’s finally here!  I can’t even express to you how much I love the weekends.  I am overly thrilled to have two whole days to do whatever my heart desiresJ 

Most of my weekends end up full activities and little rest.  Okay, well not little rest, but not as much as I would prefer.  There are always so many things I would like to do, and in turn, I sacrifice sleeping in or going to bed early to do these things.  I’m still young, so I can get away with this, but there will come a time when it all catches up to me.   For now, I will fill my time with as many activities as I please.

However, this weekend has little planned, and I love the idea of it.  It will be the perfect opportunity to “catch up on sleep.”  I know that it is technically not possible to do that, but that’s what I consider it.  Maybe I should change that though.  Maybe I should think of it as “resting up for the week ahead.”  That’s a better way of putting it.

Anyway, the only things that I have planned or would like to do are eat Mexican food (I’ve become addicted), babysit my brother’s kids for a few hours until he gets home from work, and catch up with some friends.  Other than that, I’ll have plenty of time to rest, watch movies and enjoy myself.  I can’t wait!

Now hurry up, 5 o’clock!!!

Smoothies!!!!

I’m always trying to find new recipes for healthy foods or foods to help lose weight or tone up. I try to be health freak, with the exception of regularly eating fast food or giving in to the fattiest meals at restaurants. Well I really like smoothies, and I came across this recipe yesterday that is used as a meal replacement, and believe me, you won’t be able to eat anything after you have this smoothie, because you will be full.  Not just satisfied, but FULL.

 I Googled ‘smoothie meal replacement’, and one of the recipes that I found sounded delish.   I changed a few things around according to what I already had at home, but one of the ingredients was whey protein.   When I think of whey protein, I think of men. Specifically, I think of a man trying to bulk up, and that is the opposite of what I’m trying to do. And I’m not a man.  I know that protein aids in keeping you feeling full for longer, so I decided to give it a go.  Here is the recipe I found online, but with my changes added to it.

Berry-Banana-Choco Smoothie:

½ banana
2 tbsp. peanut butter (I used natural, organic peanut butter)
1 handful fresh or frozen berries
½ cup skim milk
½ cup light or non-fat yogurt—any flavor you prefer(I used blueberry this time)
½ scoop whey protein(I used 1 scoop the first time, but I think I’ll cut it down.  Don’t want to get bulky or anything J)
1-2 handfuls of ice

Blend!!!  I have a smoothie maker that specifically makes smoothies in cups.  You turn the cup over, screw off the blade lid, and it’s ready to drink!  A normal blender would also work just fine.

This recipe yields about 420 calories. 

Life and Such

This is my very first real blog!  I'm rather excited to have started it.  Maybe I should have mentioned this before my previous postings, but I would like this blog to have not one specific focus or theme, but rather a broad outlook on many subjects.  Basically, life.  Not all aspects of life, just the ones I find most interesting, and I would like to share this with everyone who ever takes the time to sit down and read this.  I hope you take everything in here with a grain of salt and a handful of happiness!! 

Debit Card Fiasco

So I recently went to this bar to celebrate one of my best friends’ birthday.  We had previously done a little drinking and barbequing.  Needless to say I was feeling a little buzzed.  Okay, by that point I was feeling drunk.  Whatever. 

Well we go to the bar and have a good ole’ honky-tonk time.  No joke, it’s a country bar, except that they have a huge dance floor and everyone line dances to rap music.  It’s almost always a blast.  Well I started a tab with my debit card, had a couple more drinks, danced pretty hard core, and fast forward to the next morning when said debit card is not with the rest of the things I had in my pocket the night before. 

I had assumed that I left my debit card open at the bar.  It wouldn’t be the first time this has happened.  Well, this bar is only open on weekends and is a couple of hours away.  (The birthday celebration was in another town).  So I have to wait all week before my boyfriend goes back to the bar to ask for my debit card when they tell him that they don’t have it. Great! Just GREAT!! 

I’ve gone this entire time without a debit card, and on top of that I have to wait even longer.  I had to go to the bank, have them cancel my debit card and request a new one, which, by the way, costs $14.  What?!  Who does that?!  It’s like they’re trying to punish me for getting drunk and misplacing my debit card.  It’s not my fault I have a life and like to get out.  Anyway, I don’t think anyone stole it, because there are no ridiculous charges to my card. Thank goodness for Internet Banking. 

Well, here goes another week without a debit card.  Hope my wrist doesn’t get carpal tunnel from writing so many checks….

About Me

Hello all!  I thought I would share a little something about myself to kick this thing off.  I am a twenty-something wannabe banjo player who thrives on grandma-like activities (napping, gardening, cooking, wearing sweaters, etc.), anything that can give me a nice chuckle, and quoting Father of the Bride like it’s nobody’s business. I thoroughly enjoy reminiscing on childhood favorites, feeding my Mexican food addiction, and anything that can get my toes-a-tappin’.