{Listable Life} 5 Things That Drive Me Nuts About Myself

When I saw the prompt for this week's Listable Life I had to link up with Nicole! As weird as it sounds, I've been thinking about doing a post like this recently. However I didn't know how to do it without sounding like an idiot - enter Listable Life and here you go! Link up & complain away about yourself! Sometimes we all need to vent, especially about ourselves, right?

5 Things that Drive Me Nuts About Myself:

1. I'm too hard on myself. I know it, I can admit it, but I just can't seem to change it. I think we are all hard on ourselves to some extent. I seem to  especially target my physical features when playing the self-harassment game. I hate my nose, especially from a side view. I broke it 3x when I was younger so it's all jacked up. I've extensively considered having a nose job, but I've heard the recovery is awful - remember Alexis recently on Real Housewives of OC? I'm a big wuss so the pain really deters me. That's just one example of how I talk myself into feeling bad about silly things. Chubby thighs, breakouts and weird eyebrows are other areas where I can scrutinize myself.

2. I am obsessive about being early. I have complete freakouts if I arrive somewhere on time, which to me is late. I always aim to be at least 15 minutes early - granted, this usually leaves me waiting on others but I'm ok with that. If I hit traffic in the mornings on the way to work then my brain starts worrying overtime about being late. This leads to road rage, which is just not safe.

3. I cannot hide my feelings with my facial expressions. I've been told this many times that you can tell the way I'm feeling based on my facial expression or body language. I'm a very blunt straight forward person, so I guess this isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, it has gotten me in hot water at work and in awkward situations. I'm just not a fake person - If I don't like you then you know it so I have a hard time faking being ok if I'm not.

4. I am developing anxiety problems. And I am physically manifesting them. Within the past 2 years or so, I have noticed myself getting an anxious feeling in certain situations. When I get this uncomfortable/anxious feeling I begin to get hivey-like red splotches on my neck and chest. It doesn't hurt, it just looks funny. Like a flushed face when you get embarrassed, it soon goes away. It really makes me feel self conscious though - anyone else struggled with this problem and overcome it?

5. I'm a grudge holder. I have actually made a significant effort to work on this ugly habit. I'd like to tell you that maybe it's gotten better, but I can't say that with 100% certainty. I'm fiercely loyal to those who deserve my loyalty. The instant that someone betrays my trust, I want to forever cut them off. I have an uncanny ability to just walk away from people who hurt me and never look back. I know it's awful, but it's true. I really want to make an effort not to take some things so seriously and work on this in the future though. I feel like being mad at someone forever only hurts me, not them.

Basically I think we can chalk up all my annoying habits to having control issues. Hmmmm....image that!! You know I'm a work in progress - Love me anyhow?? :) So obviously I need some advice on how to become more of a laid back person! To all my other Type A personality freaks out there - what do you do to help yourself be ok with not being in control all the time?

Listable Life - 5 Reasons I Can't Stop Watching the Real Housewives

Who loves my new blog design??? OOOH me me me! Thanks to the fabulous Tori from EyeCandy, The Pink Growl now brings you a much more sleek and professional look.

Watch out - I'm moving on up in this bloggy world! Just kidding... Tori and I are going to be pairing up REAL soon for a sweet treat to offer my readers. You won't want to miss it!

The topic this week for the MTDL Listable Life is 5 reasons you can't stop watching ____ show. Well if you have been a reader here for any amount of time then you must know by now that I have an unhealthy obsession with the Real Housewives show on Bravo. Pick a season, pick a city - I love them all.

Here are some of the reasons these ladies are on my DVR at all times:

1.    They teach me that it’s okay to let your redneck show sometimes. I’m a true Southern girl, so I truly cannot always hide the fact that I have a smidge of redneck in my blood. I have accepted this fact and I’m even okay with it. That being said, I love it when I see one of the housewives go total ape shit! Like when Teresa from New Jersey flipped the table…y’all know you loved that! I guess Italian tempers are similar to the redneck form of showing your ass. Or when Tamra from Orange Country threw her wine right in Jeana’s face on the finale last year, I mean right in her eyeball. Or even when Sheree from Atlanta got into the fight with Kim and pulled on her wig? Whew girl, that’s just asking for it!

Teresa's table flip incident

Wine right in the peepers

2. They take stereotypes to the extreme. I know a thing or two about stereotypes myself – I bet you think I’m sitting here typing this right now barefoot with my teeth rotting out of my head! I hope you know it’s not true that all southern people are like this. When image pops into your head when you think southern California girls – do you think blonde hair, big boobs? What about New Jersey – Italians, strong Jersey accents, big hair? New York – fancy people who flee to the Hamptons? Beverly Hills – insanely rich, little lap dogs? The Real Housewives definitely takes these stereotypes that society has and gives us exactly what we expect to see. Now there might be one cast mate on each season who breaks that mold, but for the most part, they fit the bill. I am obviously one of the guilty ones who loves to indulge in watching these play out –usually exactly how I imagined they would!

3.    They teach us the value of the American Dream. Did you always have dreams of being a famous singer or writer, but just never got around to pursuing that dream? Well it’s your lucky day! The ladies on the Real Housewives absolutely teach us how to be crafty businesswomen. They have taken their 15 minutes of fame and they want more. Some of them singers, actors, writers with book deals, etc. I’m not trying to hate on them because I love their work – I’ve heard nothing but great things about Kyle from Beverly Hills’s book, I have Tardy for the Party on my freaking iPod, I don’t watch Glee and I tuned in to see Nene and I bought some Gretchen Christine Beaute make up. But you have to admit, that these girls know how to squeeze the hell out of their celebrity status. I actually think we could learn a thing or two from them about working it.

4.    They show us that bigger is better. Bigger boobs, bigger hair, bigger bank accounts, bigger heels & diamonds. Bigger = Better. Period.

5.    They are fun to watch! Okay I might have been poking a little fun at them in #1-4, but in all seriousness I love these gals. They crack me up on a regular basis, and they definitely keep me coming back for more. Sometimes they lose their tempers, or drink too much, or say inappropriate things – but haven’t we all done that before? So I say, don’t judge them just watch them and enjoy the drama brought to you by Bravo!

So tell me, do you indulge yourself in the world of the Real Housewives?

I'm Guest Blogging & Listable Life

Remember when I told you that lots of exciting things were happening here at The Pink Growl? Starting last week when I featured my first guest blogger, and TODAY I am doing my first guest post!! AHHHH! I know that probably sounds silly to some of you more experienced bloggers, but I am super excited about it. Please head on over to Meg's blog at Henning Love to check me out in her Hometown Series. I'm telling her readers all about what it was like growing up in a small town in Tennessee.

And speaking of growing up in a small town - I'm also linking up with Listable Life again today to reminisce about high school!

I'm linking up again with Nicole over at MTDL for Listable Life. I adore her prompts because I always feel like I come out learning something about myself - that might sound cheesy, but it's true! This week will be no different - the prompt is 5 Things I Would Have Done Differently In High School. Whew - that's a toughy! High School for me was almost 10 years ago so being that I'm much older wiser now, I could probably teach my 17 year old self a thing or two.

1. Not let my 16 year old friend drive my car before I even had my driver's license - Sounds like there might be a story behind that, right? Well, there is! So one boring Saturday night when I was 15, my friend and I were looking for something to do. My mom allowed her to drive my car (she was a licensed driver and 16, while I was only a permit driver at 15). My mom said we could run to Sonic and come back. So of course, we drove further than that just to be out of the house longer. Well, 15 year old self, you should have listened to your mom! My friend wrecked my car - BEFORE I EVER HAD THE CHANCE TO DRIVE IT ALONE! I had to go without a car the first couple months of being 16 thanks to that little mistake. No good!

2. Not fall for the popular boy who turned out to be a dud - My senior year in high school, I fell hard for a popular boy. He was a star football player and I was a cheerleader so I naturally thought it was a match made in Heaven. Wrong! He was a jerk, a cheater, bad for my self esteem and actually turned out to be a loser in life. I did manage to learn a few valuable lessons from that relationship, but I also wasted a fair amount of time there. I wish I never would have fallen in that trap! Hindsight is always 20/20 though right?

3. Not let anybody hold me back from going far away for college - This is interesting because if I would have moved far away for college, I probably would not be with Skye and have the life I have today. However, purely for selfish reasons; I wish I would have experienced living on my own in another state while I was young. Instead, I let multiple people - namely the above boy and my mother- persuade me to stay close. I ended up at UT, which is about 30 minutes from my hometown. Again, I can't complain about how things have played out for me, but I always feel slightly lame only living in one place my whole life (so far anyhow).

4. Not let anything keep me from singing or cheering, post high school - Something you might not know about me, is that I used to love to sing. Now, I wasn't anything fabulous, but I did really enjoy it and I was definitely good enough to make myself happy. I was in a showchoir my junior & senior years in high school - junior year was all girls & senior year was co-ed.
I cheered my whole life, literally since age 6. I loved it, and it was a passion of mine. I had the chance to go away and cheer in college - and I turned it down to stay close to home and go to UT (see above). Those were some of the best memories I have in my life - singing and cheering. I still sing in my car, but I have developed this shyness about singing in front of others that I never had in high school. And cheering...well that really feels like a distant memory. No one is ever surprised that I was a cheerleader though, and that makes me happy that I still have some aspect of that in my personality.

5. Not let my social life get in the way of my family life - I have always been a social butterfly. Put a driver's license in my hand and nobody could keep me at home. While this made for some fun memories with my friends, I feel that I did neglect my family a little bit during this time period. One instance that comes to mind in particular, is spending more time with my Nanny (my great grandmother). She passed away the year after I graduated high school and I wish I would have spent more time with her in her last couple of years. I'm sure the same goes for my parents, brother and grandparents too. You can never spend enough time with the people you love the most though.
I know for some people high school is the dark spot on their existence. However, I had a really great high school experience. Being from a smaller town, I ended up graduating high school with most of the people I started kindergarten with. I loved being young and carefree - oh those were the days! Plus, I had a kick ass body back then! Oh if only I could go back to that!

Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for my 2nd featured guest blogger in my 6 week series! And thank you all for making the first one such a success! It was my 2nd most read post of all time!!! Let's keep that momentum rolling.

Listable Life - 5 Celebrities You'd Like to Have Dinner With

Okay so update - coming TOMORROW is Part 3 of Our Love Story. Part 3 will not include the proposal story, because I just didn't want to make it too long. So now you have TWO more parts to look forward to! I've been so busy lately with getting ideas together for my wedding...still feels weird to say that...that I've been a bad little blogger. I can't wait to share my ideas with you though! We are working on finalizing our date now - which makes it REAL! :)

I linked up with MTDL for Listable Life a couple weeks ago and I reallllly loved the response I got. Her readers - which are now some of my readers :) - were fabulous!

5 Celebrities You'd Like to Have Dinner With
I am very obsessed with pop culture and celebrities. I'm not sure why this appeals to me, but it always has. I like reading the gossip magazines and watching E! News. I love seeing what they wear and who they date. It just fascinates me. It was actually quite hard to narrow down my list of 5 celebrities I'd like to sit down and have a dinner conversation with. There are SO many to choose from! Here's the 5 I came up with, in no particular order.

1. Emma Stone
She is just so funny! I love funny people and I like to surround myself with them. Plus, she's a doll! She proved her acting chops in the huge hit The Help, not to mention all her funny roles like Easy A & the classic Superbad. I think she would be easy to talk to, interesting & of course have you laughing your ass off.

2. Mark Wahlberg
I have a massive crush on him. You gotta love his underwear modeling days - or at least I sure do! He just oozes sex appeal, but in a very unintentional way. I love how he has a dash of bad boy, and he has a powerful storyline that he's been able to overcome. He's married with 4 kids and he seems like a real dedicated family man. I love his movies - again, with the bad ass roles. I just feel like he could kick someones ass for me and make me melt. Love the accent too!

I had to show you this to remind you of the underwear modeling days...

3.Miranda Lambert
She's a good ole country girl so you know I'm attracted to that. Girls from TX and girls from TN have a lot in common, whether we like to admit or not sometimes. She seems so genuine and sweet, just makes you want to be her best friend! Plus, I've always been a fan of her music. One of my favorite things about Miranda is her positive role model status. Her weight fluctuates, just like a real woman and she has no problems discussing that fact. She's not a rail thin girl, and she's gorgeous! Maybe I could get her to sing to me over dinner!

4. Ed Helms
Again, with the sense of humor. Andy Bernard from The Office is about as funny as it gets to me. Plus, I want to hear all about his Hangover stories! Did you know that he's really missing that tooth that is missing in the Hangover movie?? Yep, it's true! It actually took me a while to make the connection that Stu from the Hangover was Andy from The Office...I'm slow..but when I did finally realize it the deal was sealed for me. I love his stupid jokes and I always laugh. He is the quintessential quirky character, and I could just eat it up.

5. Justin Timberlake
I have been a huge fan of JT since I was maybe 12 years old back in the NSYNC days. Ahhhh, memories. Now, he's got his whole acting deal going on and he's all engaged and stuff. Justin is a Memphis boy, so that's a huge plus for me. (Although, Memphis is completely different from East TN, I will still consider him a TN boy). I think he's insanely handsome, seems like he's got a great personality, he can sing & dance, he's a decent actor, and he has a clothing line. Is there anything he can't do?? I saw him in concert several years ago and it was still one of the best concerts I've ever been to. He's just a great entertainer overall. I would gladly let him entertain me at dinner.

Were you surprised by my list?? I didn't think you would be! I tried to mix it up a little, but let's face it they are all beautiful people.

Listable Life - 5 People You Treasure the Most

I'm linking up today with Moments That Define Life for my first Listable Life. I've seen several of you guys link up with her and I love how she always offers fun, yet thought provoking ideas for the link ups.

Narrowing down 5 people in your life who you treasure the most is not an easy task! These are in no particular order.

1. The obvious answer -My immediate family and Skye - they are my never ending support and encouragement. Without my family - my mom & dad, my aunt and cousin, my grandparents and especially my baby brother - I would be nothing. Without Skye, I would be a different girl than I am today. I am beyond thankful for the blessing of having all of them close to me. It's true that you can't choose your family, and sometimes we all feel that pain. But I did have the opportunity to choose Skye, and I think I did a pretty good job - if I do say so myself.

2. My pups - Technically I guess they aren't people, but to me they are my daughters. Nothing can turn my day around faster than coming home to their furry faces. The love we share with a pet is so special, and I'm blessed to have 2 of the most insane sweetest girls in the world. Check out their cuteness here.

3. My career role models & female trailblazers - past & present - Interesting choice maybe? But it's true. I have been blessed with some of the most amazing bosses that a girl could wish for. My current boss and one ex-sales manager boss I had in particular. They have both become great friends to me, in addition to career mentors. They are both fun, always encouraging, energetic and they don't let their work define them solely. Both are women too, which I think is why I admire and connect with them on a different level. (Hi Brandi - if you're reading this :), yes I'm talking about YOU!) Not to mention, the women who came before us and blazed the trail so that I could have an option to go to college, and foster my career before I got married and had babies. Girl power!

4. The amazingly brave women & men who serve to protect me - This means all branches of military, police officers & firefighters. If you're new to my blog you may not realize that I come from a long line of police & firefighters. There are 4 generations in my family on my dad's side of police officers & firefighters. I grew up defining my papaw & dad as police officers. And now, I'm proud to add Skye into that as well. My baby brother is a firefighter. I have several family members and very close friends who have served in the military. Without the people who volunteer their lives for the cause of freedom and protection, none of us would be able to lives the rich lives that we do. They often make great sacrifices to do their jobs and do them well. They are under-appreciated. I have an insane amount of pride in my family's history with these types of services. Hug a police officer, solider or firefighter today!

5. Great Friends - In Real Life Friends & Blog Friends - Nothing is better for the soul than a girl's night. Which I always try to squeeze one in at least every 2 weeks with all my different sets of girlfriends. A feeling that comes in a close second, is getting a new follower or comment on your blog. It's so nice to be appreciated - in real life and online. Good friends have an amazing way of lifting you up when you're down, and making you laugh until your stomach aches. Good friends are hard to find too - so when you snag one, treasure them with all your heart!

There we go - my first Listable Life link up! Come link up with us and tell me who do you treasure the most in your life??