14 Things You're Supposed to Stop Doing After 30, But I'm Doing Them Anyway

Ok. So now that I'm thirty there are lists upon lists out there of things people, more specifically women, are supposed to stop doing once they turn the big three-oh. Yeah, some of those things are a great big basket of "DUH", somethings I've already stopped doing even before this dreaded birthday, but some of the things on these lists... yeah, no. I don't agree, and I'm going to do them anyway.

1. Stop Eating Fast Food (#16 on this list AND #11 on this list)

Seriously? I know it's not the best choice of foods, but sometimes you just NEED a good burger from Burger King or a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a, amiright?

2. Stop Wearing "Ugly" Underwear (#5 on this list)

Ok. Their definition of "ugly" in this particular list was "granny panties" and the like. Well, sorry folks. They. Are. Comfy. Plus you just need more coverage during shark week. 

3. Don't Have a full on Birthday Week (#31 on this list)

Ok. So maybe I don't do this myself, but who am I to tell someone how to celebrate the day/week they entered the world? Do you, girl. Do. You.

4. Stop Letting Your Laundry Pile up (#34 on this list)

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

5. Don't Have a Stuffed Animal on the Bed (#5 on this list AND #16 on this list)

Confession time. I still sleep with a stuffed bear named Scott. I've tried sleeping without him, and it's HARD. But honestly, no one goes in our bedroom to see him sitting there on the bed. Keep that stuffed llama that your granny gave you when you were six, or that giraffe your best friend gave your for your twenty-first birthday as a joke. Stuffed animals hold memories.

6. Stop Crushing on Justin Bieber (#13 on this list)

Nope. Nope. Nope. He may be a bit of a A-hole sometimes, but that boy has talent and a ripped body. 

7. Stop Calling your Father "Daddy"(or Mother "Mommy") (#15 on this list)

I'm sorry. WHAT? My mom will always be Mommy and my dad will always be Daddy. 

8. Stop Wearing Oversized Sunglasses (#18 on this list AND #1 on this list)

These are the only kind that look good on my face, and they provide great coverage and protection from the harmful UV rays. 

9. Stop adding tattoos to your body (#15 on this list)

Dude. No. I love my tattoos and I want more. I am on board with the whole not getting them in dumb places like on your face, but it's MY body and I'll do what I want with it.

10. Stop Wearing Leggings (#17 on this list)

Leggings and Yoga Pants are too damn comfortable to erase them from my wardrobe. I think that as long as they are not too tight and you wear a shirt or cardigan long enough to cover your bum, you're good to go!

11. Don't Own CDs From Your Teenage Years (#26 on this list) 

Really? I still have a CD book full of Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Hanson, Britney Spears, and Mariah Carey. Here's the kicker, I keep it in my car to listen to when I'm feeling nostalgic. 

12. Stop Wearing Screen Printed Tees (#24 on this list AND #7 on this list)

Ok. Most of the time screen printed tees are not appropriate for anyone over 25 anyways, but there are some that you just can't pass up. And, if worn creatively, they can be a great addition to your casual wardrobe. 

13. Stop Wearing Glitter Nail Polish (#31 on this list)

Glitter can be done in a very classy way now, I'm just saying.

14. Don't Own Personal Gaming Systems (#21 on this list)

Ok. Ok. I get not playing them for days at a time, we all have way better things to do, but gaming is how my husband and I met. It's still something we like to do together sometimes, and I'm not giving it up.

What are some things you're not "supposed" to do at your age, but you do anyway?

Another Decade Down, Seven More to Go (Hopefully)

I don't feel thirty. Not even close. But that doesn't negate the fact that I turned the big three-oh yesterday. To be honest, the day didn't start out like I had pictured in my head, and I was so disappointed and angry about it too. Until Hubs' lunch time rolled around and he walked through our front door with flowers and cheesecake (I'm not a huge regular cake eater). Then he topped that off with his announcement that we were going to the Ford Dealership sometime this week to trade his baby, our red Mustang, for a more child friendly piece of transport. We ended up making an appointment to see the vehicle in question this afternoon when he gets home from work. Be prepared for tons of new car snaps and Instagrams!

A while back, I was reading Mar's 30th birthday post and I liked that she reviewed an entire decade of her life to bid farewell to her twenties in a positive way. It's a lovely idea and I thought I might do the same.

20: I moved out on my own for the first time and was learning what it's like to take care of myself. I didn't do very well at first, but I managed to figure it out after a month or two. Not long before this birthday I had met my Llama and we became bestest friends.

21: Yeah. I was sick on this birthday, but it was still made very special by someone who is now one of my very best friends even though we haven't seen each other in nearly three years. Nothing very significant happened this year, but I was still making ends meet.

22: This is the year when I got out of the service and retail industries and began to look after the sweetest little boy in the whole wide world. Being a Nanny was so fulfilling and fun, plus I got a lot of training for my own little one in the future. I taught him to walk, we painted, we played, we sleep trained, and I grew to love him so much. I also left the country for the first time and went to England for two weeks. It was amazing and I want to go back so badly!

23: My life got flipped upside down. Everything changed. I was a wreck. I had to move back in with my parents, find a new car, find a new job, re-home my dog, and figure out what my next move would be. This when you figure out who your real friends are, and I had some good ones.

24: My new job was going well, and was able to move back out on my own again. I lost my Llama this year though, and that was a kick in the gut. This is the year that I began playing the online game that led me to my husband, so that's fun!

25: I managed to land my very first big-girl job. You know, one where flip flops are definitely NOT appropriate for the office and you get paid a salary rather than clocking in hours. I moved twice, and my car breathed it's last breath.

26: Armed with my brand new-to-me car, I moved two more times this year. Let's just say people are fickle and they aren't always prepared to have a roommate. I ended up in a place that I really loved, and then I lost my job. The only highlight was that Philip came down to Georgia for the Easter weekend, and this was the very first time we met in person. Then went my rent went up that spring, I had to move again.

27: Still unemployed, but I fell in love with my new house and my sweet roommates. I'm telling you, boys are so much easier to live with than girls. Philip came down again to help me celebrate my birthday, and finally my new job. Only a month later I decided that I needed a fresh start. And off to Missouri I went. In January of 2014 I started this blog, on April 9th he proposed, and on April 21st we eloped. In other big news, I started school again in June.

28: We just enjoyed being married and making our house and home. I was doing well in school, we adopted Bear in the Fall of 2014, and in July of 2015 decided to start trying for a baby.

29: Most of this year has been consumed with school and battling my infertility. Then we went on our very first cruise! It was so much fun and I can't wait to go on another. I received my Associates degree, then we celebrated two years of marriage as we watched my cousin get married.


So here's to the hardest decade of my life so far, and all the things it taught me. Let's hope my thirties will bring nothing but happiness and love.

This is What MY Infertility Looks Like

It's taking a small handful of pills at least twice a day or more.

It's taking your temperature each morning and trying to figure out what each rise and fall means.

It's analyzing every single pinch and twinge you think you feel in your pelvic region.

It's peeing on test strips several times a day to determine a possible ovulation date.

It's trying to control your mood swings and emotions that are thrown out of sorts due to medication that is helping you ovulate because you can't on your own.

It's having to take that medication in the first place because you have PCOS.

It's blood tests once a month to make sure the medication is working correctly.

It's worrying about the chance of multiples with the medication you take that makes you ovulate, because you only want (and can truly handle) one child.

It's charting all these symptoms and tests and medications in three different fertility tracking apps and comparing them to each other.

It's timing sex around your fertile window.

It's trying make sex not seem like a chore for yourself or your husband.

It's blaming yourself for all the medical bills that are piling up and stressing out your husband.

It's stressing about the fact that those bills are only going to get bigger even when you do finally get pregnant.

It's knowing that if you do fall pregnant, you'll be considered 'high risk.'

It's having your heart broken over and over again with each negative pregnancy test.

It's explaining PCOS to every person you end up talking to about your infertility.

It's crying to your mom on the phone because your body can't do what it was built to do.

It's dealing with all of the symptoms of PCOS.

It's planning your schedule around what phase of your cycle you are in.

It's making baby blankets for family and friends when you'd rather be making them for yourself.

It's having to pass up really good deals and sales on baby stuff because you don't know if you'll ever get pregnant.

It's wondering if the bubble bath is too hot.

It's obsessing over everything that goes into yours and your husband's mouth.

It's having your nursery planned out in your head already, but you still have an empty room.

It's having an entire list of baby names picked out (and your mom hates almost all of them), and you wonder if you even need the list at all anymore.

It's joining several groups on Facebook to find support and to not feel alone in the process, only to debate leaving these groups when you see so many women posting their positive tests and yours are all negative.

It's feeling guilty for being upset that other women are finally getting their big fat positive test after years of trying, and you've only been trying for 14 months.

It's being happy for others who are pregnant, but sad for yourself because you're womb is still empty.

It's wondering if your husband is getting frustrated with your mood swings, but not saying anything.

It's having to crush the hopes of your mom and mother-in-law each unsuccessful cycle.

It's wondering if God is punishing you for some past transgression.

It's not all negative. There are some good things too. 

Having a prolonged "trying" stage has allowed me time for lots of research on everything involved with pregnancy, my health, and delivery.

It's given us more time to get some of our debt paid off.

It's given us more time to be able to be more comfortable financially when it comes time to trade in the Mustang for an SUV. 

It's brought my husband and I closer together as we work through all the emotions and "what ifs" that we're facing right now.

Going through all of this will make it all the more sweet when it finally does happen. Our child will know for damn sure that it is loved and very much wanted. I've tried to keep a log of sorts of everything we've done so far so that I can share it with our child someday. 

Infertility is different for each woman, each man, each couple. This is mine. This is ours.