So Happy I'm Thirty

Reason #4 your 30s are actually awesome: You aren't dead broke. (only kinda broke...) I am not rich. Let’s get that out on the table right now. But, ladies, gone are the days of Barefoot and Sutter Home. My standard wine is $12 a bottle. I’m a pretty classy broad. I vividly remember how poor I was in my early 20s. It is almost palpable. I literally lived paycheck to paycheck and borrowed money from my mom in between. And she still paid my car insurance and cell phone bill. Ahhh...the good old days. Let's all take a moment to Thank Barak Obama for health insurance until you're 26. And life was still so hard. Of course, I had to prioritize, so that was a lesson worth learning. Rent, car payment, groceries, gas, happy hours...no exceptions. These days, I am a bargain shopper. But, that is by choice, not necessity. I don’t have to check my bank account every single day. If I need a new $30 mascara, I can just buy it. I felt like royalty when I was able to buy real furnitu...

30somethings have a surprisingly high tolerance for things that other people seem to hate. Call it 'low standards' and 'no expectations' if you must. I like to think of us as 'go with the flow' and 'breezy.' Really I think it's just survival mode and we don't have time to care.  Here's a brief list of things that 20s and some 40s probably hate, but those 30somethings know where it's at... 1. No plans on Friday or Saturday night Or should I say no pants on Friday or Saturday night... Bonus points if you had plans but someone besides you cancelled. There is no greater joy than trying to be social but it just didn’t work out. 2. Going to the Grocery store Aldi is my Mecca. I want to hommage every day. It is like a mini-vacation. I go up and down every aisle. I’m reading all the ingredients. I made a paper list and a phone list. Sometimes I’ll even hit up two different stores in the same day. It’s basically an adult version of Caro...

Reason #3 that your 30s are actually awesome: The 3 C's of Adulthood C #1: Career. First of all, in my 20s, I barely had even a working definition of what the term career actually meant. I was basking in my hourly job that paid my car payment and half of the rent because you know, roommates. It hadn't even occurred to me that my Psych degree wasn't going to land me my dream job. So cute. Anywho, after realizing that near minimum wage was not going to get me any place I wanted to go in this life, I went graduate school. I became a professional. Luckily for me, I didn’t just find my career, I found my calling. I recognize that this is rare. Finding your calling is not a 30something thing, only few have such luck. I am doing what I was born to do, and I am good at it. I’m not tooting my own horn or anything. I can name about 1,000,000 jobs that I would be terrible at and one that I’m good at. It comes naturally to me. I’ve only been at it for 3 years, I’m ...

This post is actually a little spicier than my usual ramblings. I guess when you write about things that people hate, it elicits some passion. Please excuse my sass. I'm a nice person. I love Jesus, but even He flipped a table or two. I'm just a human ok... 1. Parties that don’t start until 8pm. See previous post: Sleep is my favorite hobby. If the party doesn’t START until 8, then I can’t even arrive before 8:30. If I don’t arrive until 8:30, then I can’t leave until 11:30. By the time I get home, it’ll be 12am. I do not stay up until midnight. This means, I went through the effort of getting dressed AGAIN at 7:30pm just to go to sleep 4 hours later. Too much effort. Too tired. 6pm start time or Mama can't make it. #sorrynotsorry 2. Other people’s children. Ok, no one HATES children. I might even have a higher tolerance than most 30somethings for this due to School Counselor Life. But, most 30somethings don't love being around other people's children. Eit...

Reason #2 that your 30's are actually awesome: Sleep is my favorite hobby. Every single night, without fail, I climb into bed before 10pm and say to my husband “ahhhh...my favorite time of the whole entire day.” I go on and on about how much I love getting in bed. I comment on how fluffy my pillow is. How soft my memory foam mattress feels. How the temperature is perfect with the fan on. Why does my husband allow me to do this every day? It’s like he’s living out the movie Groundhog Day every single night. He responds like it’s the first time I’ve ever said these things. Sometimes he even tells me “my favorite time is when Young finally goes to sleep and we have 2 hours to Netflix and chill.” I also pretend it is the first time he has expressed this sentiment. He’s a dream sometimes. You can really substitute “sleep” with any solitary activity. My favorite hobby is “taking bubble baths” “getting pedicures by myself” “reading a book” “hiding in the bat...

Happy Hump Day, Friends! I came up with a little a post to get you through your mid-week slump. Here's a comprehensive list of things that 30somethings love. 1.Dry Shampoo I remember the first day I ever tried Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo. My life changed forever. I’ve never been the same. I have pretty oily hair. I have to wash it every single day. I can’t even talk about it without tearing up. When I started using dry shampoo, I cut down to 2 washes a week. What? It is straight up sorcery. 2. Grocery Delivery Because let’s be real, all my Pinterest recipes call for some weird spice or vegetable and I don’t have 45  minutes to look around Publix for marjoram. 3. Reusable grocery bags Nothing makes you feel more like you’ve done your civic duty than walking into the store with your bags! Your gait changes to a strut as you walk across the parking lot. It’s like the wind should be blowing through your hair and Alicia Keys “Girl On Fire” is playing the background. You win, ...

Reason #1 that your 30's are actually awesome:  Women support other women I cannot tell you the overwhelming support that I feel from the women in my life. Like, they have my back. When I feel like I am failing as a friend, mom, wife, counselor, whatever, the women in my life are so encouraging. They normalize my feelings. When I declare that life is hard, they empathize and sympathize. There is no shame in being vulnerable. Either we’ve been there, we’ll be there soon, or we’re actually in it together. We are a strong, united front. We’re a freakin’ tribe. In my 20s, I did not feel this sense of unity. There was an unspoken competition in the air. All.The.Time. Who has the better job, the first to get married, the nicest house, the most money, the skinniest, the cutest clothes. It was a game of comparison. Gag me. There was a bit of affirmation in knowing that you are better off than someone else in one particular area. Like, “hey, I mean, at least I’m not _______ like S...