9 Months Sober!

It has been a very long time since I last updated my blog.  I have wanted to post something multiple times over the last year or so since I posted last, but I haven't known how to start back up. Do I just pretend nothing ever happened and go on like normal?  Do I have to have something extremely interesting and intriguing to write about to get things going again?  These, among many others, are the questions that I have asked myself when I have thought to start writing on my blog again.  I have everything and nothing to talk about.  So much has happened since I last wrote, and also in my day to day life, it's like nothing has happened. I guess I will just try to play catch up and see where it goes from there.

First things first, I should state the reason for my absence.  The truth is, I don't really know why I stopped.  Maybe it was laziness, maybe I felt like nothing significant was happening so what was the point?  Maybe it was a little bit of both.  On October 1, 2015 Jason and I made a monumental decision.  At least, I think it was pretty monumental.  We decided to get rid of our smart phones and swap them out for dumb ones. I know what you are thinking, as I have gotten it all so many times since I made the switch.  "Why did you guys do that?" "you guys are awesome, I would love to do that but I never could because I need it for work," and my personal favorite, "you guys must be saving a lot of money!"

As for the "Why?"  I will answer simply.  We were spending more time on with our technology than we were with each other.  It wasn't like we were any more obsessive about it than any of you.  It wasn't posing an immediate threat to our relationship at all.  We looked just like any other modern day couple.  The only problem was that we didn't like that picture.  We didn't want to look like any other modern day couple.  We didn't want technology to become more important to us than the person sitting next to us.  We wanted more undivided attention from others, and we wanted to give more undivided attention to others.  We had wanted to do this from the beginning of our marriage and it took us about a year and a half to finally take the plunge.  I also wanted to free myself from my addiction to technology.  For me, it was any and all types of social media.  I am guessing a lot of you share this same addiction.  If you don't, good for you!  If you do, but you think you don't, maybe it is time to re-evaluate?  I never even knew how much time I wasted on my smart phone until I didn't have one anymore.

To respond to the remark that "you guys are awesome, I would love to do that but I never could because I need it for work," I had that same reservation.  That's why it took me over a year and a half to finally do it.  However, it was just an excuse, because I could do it, and my business completely relies on my social media presence, and all of my clients are in contact with me directly via text and email.  I do all of my own booking, and I am constantly texting clients. Is it a little more inconvenient?  Yes, but barely. In fact, I have had more success with my business due to social media in the last 9 months without a smart phone than I ever did with one.  How is that possible?  I had more time to focus on my business.  I didn't waste hours and hours looking through my feed and looking at other people's lives.  I have an iPad, and I have done all of my posting from that.  I get on for about 20 minutes a day to build my business, then I get off of it.  I can build my business just as well using an iPad, and I waste a lot less time during the day.

"You must be saving a lot of money!"  Haha.  Yeah, obviously we are saving money, but that was of no consequence to us, and that is not the reason that we did it.  Honestly, we aren't even saving that much money.  Smart phone plan's aren't that much more expensive than the plan that we have now, and while we are saving money, it isn't enough to care about. I wanted to get a dumb phone because I wanted to spend more time with the people in my life instead of the people in my social media networks.  I wanted to get a dumb phone to break my obsession with needing to know what everyone else was doing all the time.  I wanted to get a dumb phone so I could enjoy my own life more, and not compare myself to the perfect pictures that people paint of themselves on their profiles.  I wanted a dumb phone for so many more reasons than I named, and I am so glad that I have a dumb phone even though I see people silently judging me and feeling bad for me every time I pull it out.  Hahaha seriously it is one of my favorite things to notice now, Jason and I laugh about it all the time!

I do miss a few things about the smart phone interface.  I miss the calendar, I miss the convenience of taking a picture of anything and everything all the time, I miss the voicemail, and I miss the way that I received group messages.  Believe it or not, group messages are like a bajillion times more annoying with a dumb phone because everyones messages come in a little individual message from that single person, and you can't respond to the whole group.  Super dumb.  But those are the only things that I miss.  If I ever got a smart phone again, it would be without Data and I would only want one for the convenience of the way that the phone works.

Anyway, I didn't expect this to turn into such a long post about my dumb phone, I mostly just wanted to tell you guys that we got dumb phones and move on to more exciting things, but I guess that will have to come another day, and it just gives me a reason to write another post here soon so I can update you on more important things!  I promise my next post will be more intriguing.  But then again, maybe I shouldn't make any promises, because I would hate to disappoint. TTYL. HAGS. NEVER CHANGE!

Independence Day

This fourth of July was one for the books.  It was the first time Jason and I were able to celebrate it together, so that made it so special for me!  Last year, we were doing the whole long distance thing.  This year, we had planned to go to the beach, but since there was a hurricane headed straight for us, we decided to spend our fourth somewhere else.  We decided to go to Ashville.  It is about 3 hours away from Charlotte, and we both have been wanting to go there since we moved here.  Why Ashville, you ask?  Well, it is the home of the Vanderbilt Mansion, or otherwise known as the Biltmore Estate.  Anyone who loves art, history, nature, architecture, culture, etc. would absolutely love visiting the Biltmore!  I highly recommend it to anyone.

We spent all day looking around, and we were even mischievous and slinked into parts of the house that weren't for public viewing.... oops!  Really, I don't feel bad about it at all though... I'm the most curious little thing there ever was.  One time I was visiting Nauvoo and we were in Lucy Mack Smith's house, and I opened a drawer in her bedroom and I found a falling apart, hand written journal!  I was so excited!  I showed my Dad and he told me not to touch it, then he told the ladies who worked in the house and they sounded alarmed and they took care of it... ahhhh I just wanted to read it so badly!  I'm too curious for my own good.  Anyway, they didn't let us take pictures of the inside of the house, but the furniture and the art is absolutely gorgeous.  There was still clothing in the closets, and I was in heaven.  The library?  Don't even get me started on the library!  It is filled with thousands of first edition books that are hundreds of years old, and they were like... the prettiest books that I've ever seen!  Picture the library on Beauty and the Beast, only better.  And did I mention it is the largest home in the U.S?  If ever you get the chance to go to the Biltmore, GO!  Jason and I had such a great time!

After we were done with the inside of the house, we explored the gardens and the grounds, and then we went to the winery and they had free wine tasting!  Cool right?  Except we don't drink.... Luckily for us, they had fresh squeezed grape juice, so we took advantage of that.  We sat in the park and people watched, and everytime I saw a dog, I ran over to pet it.  It was just such a good day.  Then we went to dinner at Cedric's and we were able to sit out on the patio of the restaurant and watch the fireworks that the Biltmore puts on every year.  It was so magical.  I love America so much, and I am so incredibly blessed to live here!  On Sunday at church when we sang the National Anthem, it brought tears to my eyes as I thought of our history and those who came before us.  So many people have sacrificed for our freedom, and there aren't words to describe my gratitude for them!  If I know anything, I know that this is truly a blessed land, and that we are in fact, "one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all."  I love my country.  God Bless the U.S.A.

The One With the Winner and Mr. Heckles

Hello my pretties!  Jason and I had WAY too much fun with this little video announcing the winner of the giveaway! Watch to find out who won!

In other news, Jason and I live above Mr. Heckles.

Except, our version of Mr. Heckles is an old lady with a light pink bathrobe.  Apparently this woman has nothing better to do than pound her sealing for 5 minutes every time either of us walk from one room to the other.  You may think I'm exaggerating, and I seriously wish that I was!  But, unfortunately, it's true.

Yesterday, I was putting away laundry while Jason was at work.  You know, just your average, everyday activity.  Then, someone came to my door and knocked quite loudly.  I got nervous, because I don't know anyone in North Carolina yet, so I ignored it and just sat there waiting for whoever was at the door to leave.  The knocking started again, and again, I ignored it, willing whoever was at my door to go away.  Once more, the knocking started, so I decided to go to the door to look through the peep hole.  The only problem with that is, I'm too short to look through the peep hole.  So, I hesitantly opened the door to see a lady in a pink bathrobe.  She explained to me that I was being much too loud, and my footsteps were like elephants have been walking around in here. Talk about the last thing a girl wants to hear.. am I right?  I mean... elephant footsteps?  What am I? 500 pounds?  Anyway, I told her I was just walking around my apartment, and I'm sorry and I'll try to keep it down.  I thought that would be the end of it... oh how I wish it was the end of it.  Last night, when Jason came home and we were eating dinner and doing dishes, suddenly we heard a loud pounding sound coming from underneath us.  Mr. Freaking. Heckles.  We took a few steps, and the pounding started again.  Seriously?  We don't even have shoes on, lady!

Tonight, we had a friend over for dinner and we finished it off with Breaking Bad.  Guess who was tap-tapping (more like pound-pounding) away underneath us? None other than Mr. Heckles.  Has it stopped?  No.  I can't walk from one room to another without hearing that awful pounding.  I'm going crazy.  Anyway.... that's all the news I have for you... to be continued.

Congrats Emily Cooper for winning the giveaway!  And Thank you all for entering!  Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future!  Emily, please email me at sheree.otterson@gmail.com so I can get your prize to you!

xoxo,

Sheree