Thoughts on being a 20-Something

   So lately I have been seeing a bunch of girls/women "sharing" blogs and posts of "how to be a 20-something", or you know titles close to that. I am all for some of these blogs considering I am a 20-something... 22 to be exact, and for the most part it seems as if the posts are speaking to me . However, in most of these reads there's always sections or a quick line about being married to young or before a certain age.. how people think marriage will ruin their early 20's and so forth.... Now I am a early "20-something" and I AM getting married at the very ripe age of 23 (in 4 months to be exact).. So I wanted to share some of the thoughts I have when reading those posts..

1. Since when do people put an age on marriage? Now I'm not talking about being 18/19 so forth because I to think that's too early.  Don't get me wrong, I realize that in the south there are pressures of getting married early because the "biological time clock is running out" BUT what's wrong with getting married at/before 23? 
2. Saying things like well how can who you're marrying be your best friend? Doesn't that hurt your BFF (girl wise) feelings? Well....the answer is no. You SHOULD marry you're best friend... Friendship is the basis of a healthy relationship...these men are going to be with you day in and day out and without that friendship you're headed for a very rocky road! 
3. Being so young and getting married will cause you to lose out on the things you have dreamed.... Since when has this ever occurred? If you miss out on the things you have always dreamt of doing...it's not because of marriage... it's because you have backed out on your dreams..
4. My friendships will continue to grow and flourish while married. I love Jared, but I definitely like my time with just my girls drinking wine and having fun too. I realize that the way of thinking may change, but true friendships will continue even though I have a wedding band on my left finger.

The truth is Marriage is SO exciting to me... I cannot wait to be Mrs. Tiffany Averill.. even typing that puts a smile on my face.

I don't believe that marriage is a hindrance, I believe people let it become that way, use it as an excuse as to why they can't do things or go places when in reality... it's not their spouses keeping them.. they just really don't want to go.

I also am a big believer that life is what you make it... if you want to be miserable then you will be miserable... I believe marriage is the same way.

I also feel that as long as God is the priority in the relationship, then the marriage has nothing but room to flourish...

People want us to be so open minded but are so close minded when it comes to marriage.. The divorce rate is high? So what.. that doesn't determine how YOUR relationship will be.. don't look at it that way. You shouldn't go into a marriage expecting divorce, if you do go ahead and wave that little red flag and get out now! 

I am off my soap box now, just thought that maybe, just maybe marriage isn't the problem... it's the ideologies people throw behind that word.

July 21, 2013... The day of our Engagement!

Reflections

 Since I cannot sleep tonight I have been reflecting on my past year. This year has been such a whirlwind and I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm blogging (the first time in a LONG time) because I didn't feel like being one of those people who place massive status updates on facebook. So here goes... a recap of My 2013!

  My group of friends is what I would call a rather adventurous group. There is always something being planned, a new scheme every week. Whether these plans/schemes/escapades ever occur well that's another story. However, we had talked and talked...and talked about wanting to go on a ski trip for a while. So in March of 2013 that's exactly what we did! A group of 12 packed up and went to Winter Park, CO. We had an absolute blast!

The girls after an eventful day of snow tubing

Colorado is seriously a BEAUTIFUL place!

 Coming home from Colorado required a serious reality check. I came back home to my crazy, fast paced life of working 2 jobs (at the time) and nursing school. 

  In May, my nursing school held its Pinning Ceremony. It was an awesome service and I am so glad I participated. The pinning ceremony is the big point of nursing school, it's like a nurse's right of passage. 

Me and my fella afterwards

Sarah and myself after the ceremony!

  In July a lot of big events occurred for me! Jared and I got engaged! Totally unexpected, and SO perfect :) He proposed on the beach in front of Edgewater and I could not have imagined it any better. We had gone down to Panama City Beach for our annual beach trip and his mom (who lives in PCB) wanted to have pictures taken on the beach (and we had this planned for a while). So we get ready to go down to the beach while our friends stay in the condo to get ready to go out that night. When we get down to the beach the photographer tells Jared and I to step over she needed to focus her camera with the light along with some other snazzy photographer terms. Well, once again didn't think anything of it because Mrs. Ginger, John-John and Jenn were getting Bailey Grace (our niece) situated. It was incredibly windy on this particular day so before she snapped some shots I had turned my head to get the hair out of my face, giving Jared the perfect amount of time to apparently drop to one knee.... When I turned back around there he was... on the ground...on ONE knee...and I being totally unaware of what was going on, thought he had fallen down. Then he popped the question! Excited is an extreme understatement.

EEK!

This says it all :)

  Fast forward to the next week, I came home to 3 finals in one class :/  Talk about a MAJOR buzzkill. Cloud 9 was still in full affect however, I passed all 3 with no problem! So there's 2 milestones in my life that occurred in this past year.

  In October I lost a very special person, my Nana. Nana is the first family member that I lost, and I can actually say I remembered. Nana battled lung cancer for 1.5 years, and considering the field I chose to venture into caused me to know a little more than I would have liked at times, especially at the end. She and I became pretty close throughout her fight. She was a fiesty little woman and I am so sad that she won't be there on my wedding day, but I am so fortunate that Jared proposed in front of a camera and she got to see the pictures of our engagement! 

  On a happier note, in October Jared and I got to celebrate our niece, Bailey Grace's, first birthday party! My oh my this year has gone quickly, and she has gotten so growny in just a year! Love that little munchkin with all my heart!

Bailey Grace is ONE!

 I also got to celebrate Braydon's 4th birthday in November! Ah he's getting so big and I cannot believe he is for! "Tippany" sure loves this little boy as well!

Braydon is 4!

 Finally, this December I got to walk in graduation, since there is no summer graduation! I am so glad that I finally got to close that chapter to a very long book! I was given a pin at graduation called the Presidential Challenge Award for completing school in 4 years or less... pretty cool... or at least I thought haha!  

 Christmas is less than a week away, and Jared has to work so it's now a 3 day event rather than 1! I'm fine with that.. this is my favorite holiday after all :)

In the past year I have learned to start letting go and letting God more than ever. Everything is for Him after all, so putting it in His hands is much easier than trying to control it myself! I am so thankful for my blessings! This year has been a fun one, and I cannot wait to see what 2014 will bring :) A husband is for sure on May 10th... now I just have to get through the boards exam for my License as an RN!! 

Busy little bee

Hey y'all!
 
So lately I have been EXTREMELY busy with working and school and well life! I feel like I haven't slowed down since the beginning of January! There's a lot that's been on my mind so this is going to be another one of my bullet pointed, kind of random, brain storming whatever you want to call it posts. Okay? Okay, here we go!

• I work at least an 8 hour shift almost every day and by no means am I complaining because I am super thankful for my job! I think that's something people forget to do sometimes, myself included, ya know? Just being thankful that God has granted us with the opportunity to earn a living and do well for ourselves! 
• Patience is one of MY worst qualities. I am not a very patient person, I try really hard to be, but I'm the type of a person who would rather just go and do and get things done rather than just wait a situation out or whatever the case may be. I'm working on becoming more patient, I'm learning every day that there's just sometimes no cure better than a little bit of patience!
• OMG okay so I want another tattoo, It will only be my second one and the first one I got was tiny... I know, I know, that sounds like excuses, but I feel like I have beat the stereotypes of tattoos to some extent.. maybe. However I am pretty sure I will be getting another one pretty soon and I'm kind of really pumped about it! 
• about tattoos, I love them, I feel like it's a way for someone to express themselves. Now let me go ahead and say I do NOT like for someone to be covered in them from head to toe but I feel like they can be very pretty and tasteful :)
• Is buying yourself a box of Valentine's Day chocolates completely terrible? I have torn these chocolates up today, they're an AWESOME study food
• I have a test on Tuesday at 8:30am, I wish by some miracle school would get canceled or something else, but obviously that's not going to happen so I put my big girl panties on and I have been studying all day, this blogpost is actually my little study break at the moment! 

I have a lot more going on in this big noggin' of mine, however, I need to study and I need to sleep soon I have to be at work in the morning! So I'm going to close this off! Goodnight folks!

Scatterbrain Tuesday!

Jared and I had SO much fun yesterday...and do you know what we did?? We rode around his property called "the river" just enjoying each other's company! I love days like that ya know? The phrase "it's the little things that really mean the most" is true. I don't need fancy dates, just time with my fella! 

Jared and I both LOVE music, Jared stays more into country whereas I like all types. Anyways we rode around with the windows down just genuinely enjoying each others company. I know it sounds corny but between my school and 2 jobs and Jared's 2 jobs we really don't get to BE with each other even when we're together sometimes, so it was just nice to be able to do that yesterday! 

• Okay so call me crazy (or extremely unhealthy) whichever you please, but I love fried pickles. I love pickles in general but I have been on a fried pickle craze lately. I found an awesome recipe for fried pickles and I am so EXCITED to try it...maybe for the super bowl :)

• I haven't been doing much lately other than school, work, and more school. I need to be writing a paper on the Tdap vaccine, but somehow or another I ended up blogging tonight.

• I can't wait to actually become a RN, I feel like my blogs will have lots of interesting stories, today some of my classmates and I were talking about our past clinical experiences and all I can do is laugh. Man-oh-man we have seen some interesting things!

• So Jared's grandmar found us a table and got it refinished... I am so excited about this table. It's black walnut and absolutely beautiful, I think I may have found a set of chairs for it I liked today. I don't have a house, but at least I have a table!

• Y'all I had a lady straight diss Jared today, I understand that we have been dating for a LONG time, but just because he hasn't proposed in someone else's time-wheel doesn't meant they have the right to talk negatively about him or IT to me! This lady upset me today, pretty much demeaned my whole relationship... RUDE! ok I'm off my soapbox. I promise!

• You know they really meant when they said if you can count 5 good friends on your hand you're doing good. For real.

My post is all over the place and I apologize, but until next time y'all!!

Catching Up!

Hey again everyone! I have come to terms with the fact that I am not the best blogger.. however, I am going to catch up with what all has happened in the past couple of months!

Last semester was terrible & I repeat TERRIBLE! I have never had my limits tested school-wise as I did in the fall. I felt like there was a roadblock at every turn, every time one thing would get better another would fall apart. I also struggled with a couple of skin conditions (that makes me sound like a total weeny) however, they weren't the easiest to deal with.
        Towards the middle of the semester I came down with shingles. I swear to you that was one of the MOST painful things I have ever had to go through! I missed a little over a week of school because I was at home unable to move for fear that my nerve endings were going to cause me to writhe in pain! So I get through with those stupid things and at the end of the semester (FINALS week) I came down with a really bad case of poison ivy.. so I had a nice battle with benadryl while trying to study!

I'm an AUNT!! :) Bailey Grace came into the world 10-22-12. I am in loveeee with that beautiful little girl, and I absolutely LOVE seeing Jared with her! He's already the best uncle!!

I am working at Chick-Fil-A now! And I LOVE it!! I was extremely nervous whenever I got hired, working in the food industry was never on my agenda, and until now the closest I had ever been to the food industry was making chef-boy-rd lunches for teenyboppers at a summer camp I was a counselor at! This is one of the best companies I could ever imagine working for. It is SO refreshing to go to work in a Christian environment, where we can bow our heads and pray as a group & receive no backlash for it. I have had so much fun with the opening of the new store in Cordele, I got to meet a lot of cool people and do stuff that some people will never get the opportunity to experience with this company. On the Wednesday before our opening day Dan Cathy (Truitt Cathy's son) spent time with us and helped us open the new store!

Jared and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary, I know I got all mushy-gushy in my last post so I promise that will not occur here. However, he took me to Atlanta for our anniversary! He's such a good date, he's kind of a romantic, but I'm pretty sure he'd never admit it :) Every year for our anniversary he plans it, he doesn't tell me what we're doing. He doesn't tell me where we're going, and I love it!! We went to the Fox Theatre to watch Beauty and the Beast! I have never been to the Fox before but after watching the play I was hooked, and I will definitely return for another (Hopefully Mary Poppins!!)

I'm all over the place with this post, but I just want to catch everyone up!

Christmas this year was awesome! I'm extremely sad knowing that Jared has to work this year :/ It's the first time since he's been a fireman, so like 5 years. But here's some pictures from Christmas!

Jared, Me, Jenn, & John-John

Isn't Mrs. Sally's Christmas tree beautiful?!

Me and the cutest little girl ever!

The ladies

After I got pictures from the Averill family, I realized how much the Arnett's slacked this year with pictures.. my family has never been big on taking pictures, but I usually at least get one at Christmas time... but not this year!

Well folks I think it's time to put the computer up! 

God Bless <3

Hello again blogging world! I have taken quite the break!

I have Jared on the brain due to our upcoming 7 year anniversary in November. I'm sure this blog will be lengthy, but full of wonderful memories!!!


  Jared and I have been dating for almost 7 years! I cannot believe that our 7th anniversary is quickly approaching. November 27, 2012 will be the date. I can't help but keep my mind on this subject so I'm going to take a walk down memory lane on this blog.

  We met when I was 12 and Jared was 13, he and my brother were (and still are) the best of friends. I was NOT very boy crazy at all whenever we met for the first time, so it was more like the gaining of a new friend rather than someone that I could potentially spend my life with...who would have known 9 years down the road that we'd be dating for 7 of those precious years?

  We didn't see each other much during that time span, only when he would be with Dwayne (my brother) and they would stop by my house to grab something or I would run into him at an occasional Fullington Academy event (both Jared & his brother were attending there at this time).

  At 13 I started to see Jared in a new light... but I would NEVER admit it. He would call me quite often, but I wouldn't pick up...or if I did I tried to act like I didn't care.. I mean after all we were just friends... and I was sure he didn't feel the same way. As that year progressed Jared called me more & more, and I started like him more and more...however I continued to play hard to get...

One night I realized that Jared had left his CD case in Dwayne's truck, so to be slick I slid him a little letter in there basically to just tell him how much I enjoyed his friendship. I never knew whether he got it or not..nothing was ever said, and as I have learned over the course of these 7 years my boyfriend does not get subtle hints...or any hints at that.

Come time for fall football to start.  Fullington vs Crisp Academy.. I couldn't help but to be excited because I knew Jared would be there.. so my friends and I got dressed to impress and went to the game. Sure enough Jared was there..but to my dismay he had 2 girls with him the whole night...talk about putting a damper on my night. What I failed to mention earlier is that we had talked before the game & he wanted me to make sure I spoke to him...well having seeing 2 other girls with him I figured I was the LAST thing on his mind.... so I ignored him. Which I believe this drove him crazy because he called me later asking me why I didn't speak. I told him the obvious reasons.

Fast forward another year I was entering into the 9th grade and he was entering into the 10th. Jared and I started communicating a lot more, I would notice him at my softball games against Fullington & he made sure he would call to see how things were going. Come November, Brandi and I were in Illinois for Thanksgiving with my family, and he was working on a truck with his "boys". We had been texting the whole time we were up there and I couldn't deny to Brandi how much I liked him, best friends just know those kinds of things. Brandi decided to take matters into her own hands & somehow in the wee early morning of November 27, 2005 Jared & I were "official".

I am so thankful for the years I have spent with this amazing person! We have been through almost everything I think imaginable. From immature jealousy & fights to real life situations such as divorce and cancer. Jared is my right-hand-man and I don't know if I would be the same person today without him.

Now as I am looking back on all these memories I can't help but to smile and giggle. As I face the last 2 semesters of school and realize I will be graduating from GSW in the spring I can't help but to be excited for the future :) We have had a blast over the course of these 7 years & I'm looking forward to many more!!!

Random!

Helloooo Friends!! It's been a while! I think it's officially safe to say that I am NOT the best blogger! I had a hunch to blog a little bit while I was having a little bit of "me" time. Let's see.. I have a feeling this may be a bit of a random post.. so please forgive my scatter brain!!

Jared and I are going to the movies tonight! I am so excited, I absolutely LOVE the movies, everything about them well... maybe not everything...I don't actually care to much for popcorn. Anywho it seems like getting me and Jared time is impossible here lately!! So us to venturing out to the movies on our own is a big deal:) The whole idea spurred from our group of friends discussing the thought...well Jared and I never heard any for sure plans... so we decided to just go ahead and go to have a small date night! We're going to go see That's My Boy. I hope it's as funny as it looks!

Have you ever just been so busy that you don't understand how time flies or what has happened to the month that you were just in? i have been that way a lot in the past two months. I absolutely cannot believe that it is already the end of June and that July is rapidly approaching (which I am by no means complaining...end of summer classes is approaching!!)  As I said earlier it seems as if Jared and I just haven't been able to spend a lot of alone time together lately. He's a fireman, so he's off every 2 days buuuttt... with clinicals, school, & work I have barely any free time.... soooo I guess it kinda boils down to being my fault :/ Only 1 month left though and summer semester will be over which will allow us to do more!

I have been in OB clinicals the past 2 weeks... I'm not going to lie, I thought this was going to be the worst section of nursing school ever...not saying it's the best but I actually haven't despised OB as much as I originally thought I did. I thinking seeing an actual birth changed my whole thinking process with this area. The birth was pretty amazing.. I'm not sure if it was because it was so in the moment or what. It moves so fast that you don't have time to realize the kinda gross stuff that comes along with it that those pictures you see in health class so beautifully elaborate .... yuck!! I had a blast watching that birth though...definitely the coolest thing I have seen yet!!

There have been some pretty serious life lessons learned in the past couple of weeks.  I am not going to go into detail but is it not crazy how sometimes it takes something horrific to make something so easy to understand FINALLY hit home? I guess sometimes you really need that realization that life IS so precious and that you should never take a day nor the people around you for granted.

That's it today...this is definitely a terribly random post... but I guess I'm a scatter brain and always will be!!

Until next time!!!

Tiffany