Just Say Julie

One thing I don't normally do on this blog is prompt myself or goods that I am trying to sell or anything like.  However, the time has come for a little shameless self promotion of sorts. I would like you to meet Clay.  Clay is my big brother (the younger of the two big brothers) and he is participating in the HEB Slimdown Showdown this year.  For those of you who are Texans, HEB is a Texas grocery store chain that is based out of San Antonio. Each year they host the Slimdown Showdown as a way to prompt healthy living in the new year.  The contestants are put through a Fit Camp at the start of the program and given tools to help them be more physically active and eat healthier. They are asked to blog about their experience through the contest and talk about how their habits are changing and how the program is helping them. That is where you come in. Clay needs people to check out his blog. To comment. To share it on social media. To do all those fun th...

I read a blog post this week that really ruffled my feathers. In it, the author insinuated that working mothers did not love their children as much or invest as much time in their children as stay at home moms. Needless to say, as a working mom I was pretty angry about the whole thing. So I did what any sane person would do and took the matter to Twitter where I found my righteous indignation to be well matched. I felt better knowing that others agreed with my viewpoint but I was still upset about the post and bothered that it had gotten to me so much. That really got me thinking. Did I really want to be a stay at home mom? Was that why this was eating at me? Do I really feel like there was truth to the thought that I wasn't investing in my child or that I was letting someone else raise him or that I didn't love him to my fullest? The answer is no to all of the above. There is no doubt that I love Jackson with all my heart. Anyone who sees us together knows that. Nor is ther...

     Thanks to Ginger 's Bring Back the Words linkups, I have been blogging a lot more recently. However, I haven't really talked much about what has been going on with us, just responding to her prompts.  As you all know, we sold our house and moved in May.  School ended and our summer began.  I'd like to say I'm one of those moms who plans all these fun activities for my family to do during the summer.  Truth is our schedule doesn't change much just because it is summer.  Sean went to camp at his school and Jackson attended the summer session at his daycare.  My office implemented summer hours which meant I worked 10 hour days 4 days a week with Fridays off (normally we do 4 9's and half day Fridays).  The only major change this year was having Sean here rather than heading to his mom's for the summer.  So I thought I'd do a quick recap of our summer now that it is coming to an end. June: I spent a week in DC with my boss at...

We spent the week of Jackson's birthday in Mobile with my parents.  I wanted to make sure they got to share J's birthday with him and, since my mom really can't go anywhere right now, we decided to bring the party to them.  As with every trip home, a certain amount of nostalgia comes into play.  I miss home.  A part of me will always reside there.  But I'm not sure I want to live there anymore. Chris and I seriously discussed moving while we were there this time.  I think I feel the need to be home more so now that I have Jackson and I want him to be close to my roots and because of my mom's condition.  I struggle with this because I want to be there but my life is in Austin now.  We would have to start over on everything if we moved back to Mobile.  We would both have to find jobs and a place to live.  We would need a vet and a doctor and schools for the kids.  And we would need to find friends.  I am still in touch with som...

I turned 35 on the 11th. That in and of itself may not seem like a big deal. However, 35 has always been a cut off for me. A line in the sand if you will that said my childbearing days were through. My mom had me 2 before she turned 36 and had her tubes tied during the c-section. I'm pretty sure that's where my magic number came from. 35 and it's time to stop. Chris and I talked about children a lot when we were dating. At first, we were both on the fence. He wasn't sure he wanted more kids and I wasn't sure I wanted any at all. I told him I would know if I was supposed to be a mother if I had a baby before I turned 35. If I wasn't pregnant by then, I wasn't supposed to have kids of my own. Jackson was born 9 days after I turned 34. All while I was pregnant, we talked about the next baby. I enjoyed being pregnant for the most part so the idea of having another baby wasn't a crazy one. But then the delivery was so rough that I wasn't sure I wante...

When I got divorced 4 1/2 years ago, I was living in Killeen near Fort Hood because that was where my ex had been stationed for the previous 2 years.  I had a house and a job and I could have stayed there if I wanted to.  However, I knew it wasn't the place for me and I began my search to relocate.  A lot of people were surprised that I didn't just pack my bags and head back to Alabama.  Instead, I viewed this as an opportunity to explore a little bit.  I was a 30 year single professional with no commitments to tie me to any one place.  I could spread my wings and fly so to speak.  So I started seeking job opportunities in places I thought it would be fun to live: New York City, Orlando, Dallas, Austin.  I could go anywhere and do anything and I was looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life. One of the first jobs I applied for was in Austin and was very similar to the job I was working in Killeen.  I figured I could at least leve...