Things to Do in Atlanta

This idea came to me the NIGHT before social media began. Literally! I went to bed Saturday evening and said to myself, "I can't wait to write this up tomorrow" and when I got to church the next morning, Mama Seed told me what was on the prayer card and what we were fasting from - Social Media - I said to myself, "Are you for real?!!? I have to wait a WHOLE week to write this blog?!!?"

Anyway, here we are, a week later and I lived :) Then, an amazing thing happened on Saturday - I rode MARTA for the first time! It was sooo super exciting too! I went to FSO with Bridgette and Atiya and to avoid traffic and paying stupid money for parking, we decided to take MARTA. We met at Atiya's place and rode the train down. I lived in LI for a summer and my Aunt and cousins have lived in LI for all my life, in addition to many trips to visit Yudes in NYC so I've rode the subway before but this was different. And it was a lot of fun! It's nothing like the NYC Subway system (thank Lord) but something I could get used to!

So, this leads me to my LIST .. I've been in the A for 2 years - hard to believe right?!?! - and haven't done anything really Atlanta-ish. I want people to come visit me but other than seeing me, what are we going to do!? What are we going to see?! I know all the stuff EVERYONE knows - The World of Coke, Aquarium (went with Skylar - awesome!!!), GA Dome, etc. - but I want to know all the stuff that only people who KNOW Atlanta know. And I'm starting to know some stuff but because of my stuff job in retail (ughhhhhhh) I can't ever plan to do anything fun! :(

Here's my challenge to YOU, all of my fellow readers: send me all the Atlanta things I just HAVE to do. I won't put any limitations on it except to say I don't like animals so the zoo probably isn't going to make the list of places I'm going to try and I don't like rollercoasters so Six Flags is probably out as well, unless you know of some visitors pass (I enjoy going to hang out with people - I'm an excellent purse/bag holder and picture taker!). Not saying I'm going to do EVERYTHING, but I'm definitely going to give everything some good thought - this is a year of trying new things, WHY NOT?!!? Oh, and if you know of any good food places, send them my way - you know I love me some food!

Last thing - feel free to email, facebook, twitter, text, whatever you need to do to get your suggestion to me if you don't have an account to post your comment on here :) Thanks in advance!

Smooches,
S

Fasting from Social Media

I took a week off of Facebook and Twitter last week as part of Impact's 40 Days of Prayer. I'm a little bit upset with myself that this was the first one that I truly committed myself to but I think I learned a lot from this one week. And I definitely grew a lot from this experience. It wasn't as hard as I originally thought it would be. When I'm out and about and bored, fb and twitter keep me occupied and that's where I thought it would be hardest, so I deleted the apps from my phone immediately - no need to be tempted, right?! I had plenty of work to do at home so that wasn't a problem either. After the first few days, it wasn't that bad. It got bad towards the end of the week .. especially when I needed to get in touch with a friend who's phone was stolen and fb was the only way I could get in touch with her. I'm kinda over fb for now, we'll see how that progresses. I was never really obsessed with Twitter (there were definitely times I was OBSESSED with fb!!), I like reading people tweets and RT-ing things but I don't tweet that much. Either way, it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it :)

30 Things A Woman Should Do Before 30...

I realize the point of a blog is to write your own stuff but this list was just tooooo good not to post. So, here is the disclaimer - I did NOT write this!!! But, I did make notes next to them so you can see the progress I am making! :)

1. Have a passport - Thanks to my parents I've had a passport since I was quite young!
2. Have at least 1 international stamp on your CURRENT passport. (Excluding the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico) - I have all of those plus France, thanks to marching band in high school. And I plan on getting a lot more!
3. Have a checking AND savings account- both in good standing. - I have both accounts and neither of them are ever in the negative .. that means they are in good standing, right?! ;)
4. Have a playbook (or strategic plan) for your life. 1/5/10 year growth plan to include finances, family, faith, dreams. - Definitely a work in progress. I have some plans!
5. Have a “Happy Place” list- all things/places which enhance your life.
6. Attend a VIP event as a guest.
7. Donate TIME to help a charity.
8. Have a MENTOR for “work” stuff.
9. Have a MENTOR for “life” stuff.
10. Have at least ONE mentee. (Each one reach one).
11. Have a therapist on speed dial.
12. Have a Fab-Five: 5 good friends who don’t let you slide with bs, and who keep you in check AND have your best interest at heart. - Figuring this out more and more, day by day.
13. Be able to look in the mirror and be “OK” with who looks back. - I can honestly say YES!!! This just happened within the last year but it happened!!! :)
14. Have an HIV test. POW!
15. Have an ANNUAL pap smear. - Done and DONE. Since I was 14. Thanks Mama Ross!
16. Have an oral exam.
17. Read the entire Bible (I suggest a focus on proverbs’ life lessons because they have a different meaning during this “next” phase of life). - Since joining !mpact, this has become more important to me and WILL be done before I turn 30.
18. Buy “The Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers.
19. Forgive yourself for “it” (whatever “it” is). Lighten up on yourself. Life is short… Have fun. - Starting to get better at this. Some things are easier than others but I'm not holding on to EVERYTHING like I used to...
20. Do something extreme (sky diving, zip lining, surfing, etc). - I went on the motorcycle ride, I'm planning on getting a tattoo soon, going ziplining - it's like I'm a whole new person! lol ;)
21. Review your schedule and make sure you have “me-time” EVERY week.
22. Make a vision board. - Just got the board and can't WAIT to finally do it!
23. Send a note to a friend (handwritten, not #Twitter ). - yep! And it makes their day, which then makes my day!
24. BUY some high quality stationary.
25. Treat yourself to a 5-star meal.
26. Go to a Broadway or Off-Broadway musical/play.
27. Spend the night at a 4-5 star hotel. - Thanks to my sister, Adrie, sure have!!!
28. Take a Spa Trip to Sedona (or anywhere in AZ actually).
29. Have a meeting/meal with a politician. - In high school, sure did!
30. Hug yourself, and MEAN it. - Literally? Yep, who doesn't love a good hug?!

What are some of the other things you think women should do by 30?

So, that's 11 with 4 in progress .. so I'm only half way thru with less than 2 years to go. Um, I need to get my bootie in gear!!! Ready .. Set .. GOOOOOO!

Love and smooches,

S