NKOTB concert

Yesterday was the concert and so I drove to Atlanta to meet 

up with my friend who invited me and several other mutual friends.

We decided to meet at the Hudson Grille at 5 for dinner since the show didn't start til 7:30.

There were SO many women in downtown Atlanta last night!

The wait for a table was about an hour, then the wait for our food was another hour.

We got our food (which was delicious as always) at 7:15!

Talk about eating fast.

We did get a discount but we had to scarf our food down, use the restroom, & scurry across the street to Philips Arena as fast as we could.
 

 We thought we'd be ok because concerts rarely start right on time...

but NOPE! As soon as we walked in we could hear Boyz II Men.

We made it to our seats half way through their first song!

Boyz II Men sung all their classics and everyone sung right along with them.

Up next was 98 Degrees.

Of course the crowd was going crazy

  They sung all of their classics too!


The showstopper was New Kids on the Block!
They put on a FABULOUS performance.
The dancing, the lights, confetti, streamers, the music was phenomenal!

This was my favorite band as a kid.
They were my first concert when I was 12!
It's hard to believe it's been 25 years since they first came out.

 The NKTOB fans are the best!
Lots of ladies came in their 80s wear- hair crimped & neon colors.
Some had their old school NKOTB pins and shirts on.
It was a sea of women with maybe 1% men in attendance lol!

The NKOTB, Boyz II Men, & 98 Degrees concert was the BEST concert I've ever been too!

This Week...

This Thursday I am going to see these guys...and I am SO excited!!

 

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dad,

Although you are no longer with me physically, I want you to know how much I loved you when I was lucky enough to have you in my life. I still think about you and I miss you and love you very much!

Source: blovelyevents.com 

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating the wonderful father's in your life! Whether it's your own dad, your husband, brother, grandfather, uncles, etc.  We spent the day at the hubby's parent's house. We grilled some burgers and had a great time just hanging out.  Lazy days like today are always the best!

Life doesn't come with a remote control....

You've got to get up and change it yourself!

I heard this on a tv show tonight.

And it is SO true.

I've been feeling so anxious, nervous, and excited about my career change.

Monday I signed my application to become an insurance agent.

Wednesday I paid for my fingerprints/background check.

Today I am going to have all my paperwork notarized and sent off.

Do you ever think about how we are all conditioned to do the same thing?

Finish High School.

Graduate from College.

Get a great job.

Get Married.

Have Kids.

Save Money.

Retire.

And somewhere in between all of that, we have to somehow manage to be ourselves and enjoy life.

I can check off 5 of those things on that list.

But even though I've followed this general life guideline, I've come to realize that is not necessarily the way life happens for most people. And even if it does, it doesn't necessarily mean it was the best decision. I see so many middle aged people who always tell me:

Follow your dreams!

I wish I could turn back time.

I would've done things differently.

I wish I would have at least tried.

I should've done that.

Source: imgfave.com 

No matter what you do or how you live, everyone has a few regrets.

I just don't want my regrets to be because of money.

I have stayed at this job for the sole purpose of money.

Money shouldn't be the sole reason for working.

My husband ALWAYS tell me:

"That job doesn't make you. Don't let that job consume you.

You are better than that.  Don't ever think that you NEED that job, because you can always find something else that will make you happy."
(I always tell him he needs to be a motivational speaker.)

Source: media-cache2.pinterest.com 

I've had several friends wish me luck, congratulate me, tell me they're proud of me...

and then of course there are a few haters.

The one's who are saying:

Good luck, you're gonna need it in this recession.

It's so saturated, are you sure you want to quit.

Well maybe you'll change your mind and come back.

Those comments DO make me nervous about this decision.

And it causes doubt.

But I keep telling myself, 

You'll never know unless you try.

I say this over & over.

If you have a dream to work for yourself, try it.

Don't let the haters get to you.

 I just wanted to document my feelings on this career change so I can look back at the beginning of my new journey. I'm giving up a lot of money and security to take a chance on doing what I want to do. And not what society tells me I should do. 

And I'm ok with that.

Source: dreambigmagazine.com 

Source: cookingwiths.blogspot.com

Source: pinterest.com 

6 verses to pray for your husband!

Source: floralandfrayed.com

Soap Walla deodorant cream update!

Bad news y'all!

Initially I loved my soap walla cream deodorant.

It smelled great & kept me dry.

However, after only 1 week I developed a horrible rash in both armpits.

My skin is very dark, almost black and red now.

Since I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled, I asked her about this and she said it looked like this deodorant cream has caused a slight fungus in my pits! 

GROSS!

She prescribed some cream and told me to stop using the soap walla.

She said it might be the peppermint that's causing this rash.

I also asked her about the articles on aluminum and parabens in regular deodorant and she said plainly, "I've read all that and I have to say- I have no issues with using regular deodorant on myself or my two teen daughters."

So there ya go.

Back to regular deodorant for now.

When I asked about the lumps in my pits for the 5th time- I asked should it be biopsied.

She again reassured me it's not cancerous and that she sees this often in people who are "curvier!"

My doctor was a polite way with words.

Thank God for closed doors!

Does it sound crazy to hear someone say "Thank God for closed doors?"

I thought so the first time I heard it.

The other day, Actor/Producer Tyler Perry posted a blog about thanking 

God for closed doors.

He was thankful that certain doors that he thought he wanted opened, weren't.

The message I got from that is that sometimes what you THINK you want, is something God doesn't want for you. He may have something else in store for you.

This post gave me a push that I needed for so long.

I have worked for the same company, in the same position for

the last 9.5 years. I have applied for several positions and even went on a 

few interviews. I was passed over for every single position.

It didn't matter that I have 3 college degrees & almost 10 years of experience.

When you're competing against 4000 other people in your 

company and the person who gets picked is either a sorority sister or friend of the hiring

manager, you're screwed.

So last year we started saving money. 

The  purpose was actually to travel to Paris this September but

we decided to do something different.

After almost 10 years with the same job, and lots of closed doors,

I've decided to quit.

I am going to pursue working independently and continue to 

do my wedding photography as well as a jewelry website I am working on.

The biggest change is that I'm going to start selling insurance.

I will be an independent agent for the same company I've been with for 

the last 9.5 years and right now I will only be selling in GA.

It's going to be hard not having a regular paycheck but we've worked

out our finances and the savings we had for Europe will now be used to cover 

our living expenses for the first 7 months ~ just in case!

We also lowered some of our expenses to help with the transition.

Switched cable providers which will save us $75 a month.

Traded in my beloved coupe & got a new suv which actually lowered

our car payments by $100 a month and our insurance by $10 a month.

I LOVED my coupe!

I really hated to get rid of it. :(

My new ride.

The color is  black amethyst.

It came with a lot of great features like a 

bose sound system, navigation, rear view cam, etc.

 I also went ahead and scheduled all my doctor's appointments and dental appointments 

since my insurance will be cancelled once I quit. My dental appt is expected to cost $400 so that means I can't quit as soon as I'd like (part 2 of a root canal).

Bottom line:

In my work life I have been miserable for 9.5 years.

Corporate America is not for everyone- and definitely not for me.

I am thankful for the opportunities, the friendships, and the money of course.

However I can't continue to live this way for a pay check.

I am grateful we were able to save so much money to cover ourselves financially during this new journey for my new career in sales.

And I am SO looking forward to this change!