How does time work?

I’m not exactly sure, but I know that it seems to go by so much quicker than it used to.

Last time we updated this page, it was 2016. Now suddenly, it’s 2025 and so much has happened both on a personal level and a global level.

So, let’s catch up.

2017

Whew. Um that’s really testing my memory. Thankfully, Facebook never forgets. I went to my sorority’s 50th anniversary celebration of our chapter. I went to a Mardi Gras ball in Mobile, AL, and hosted a bridal expo the next day for work (2025 me could never). I was dating a guy in Mobile and because of that, I got to ride in the truck pulling a float in one of the parades. I saw Flogging Molly perform, went to my first Kentucky Derby party, celebrated my oldest friend bringing her son into the world, took my annual Disney World vacation, went on my first cruise as an adult (7 days was too long), celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans, LA, saw some cool places, and just generally enjoyed life.

2018

2018 started off with Mardi Gras in Mobile, AL. My friend was the emblem for his mystic society, and of course we couldn’t skip my favorite ball. That year, I think I went to three Mardi Gras balls and two parades. I went to Charleston, SC, with my mom and then of course the annual Orlando trips for Disney World and Universal Studios. I got a dog, a precious little stray named Bear that just showed up St. Patrick’s Day weekend. I turned 30, a birthday that we keep saying we’re going to re-do because it did NOT go as planned. The rest of the year is the kind of blur that even Facebook memories can’t help sort out.

2019

I was Queen of the Pharoahs mystic society in Mobile, AL. That was an experience, for sure. I dumped the king about 2 weeks before the parade/ball, and discovered the morning of that he hadn’t told anyone. That was interesting. I also went to my favorite ball and the Mystics of Time balls that year as well. Yes, I still have my crown, and yes I do occasionally wear it around the house like a princess. I went to Asheville, NC, later in the spring to clear my head. In October, my poor baby Prius got t-boned, spun around a little bit, and was totaled. No one was hurt. Also, I took up pottery.

2020

Oh, 2020. Before the world shut down, we did our annual Orlando trip and I threw a birthday party for my dog. After? I tried my hand at gardening, hung out with my little quarantine pod, worked, and saved lots of money since I wasn’t go anywhere or doing anything.

2021

The start of a new normal, I guess. I spent a lot of time with my oldest friend and her little ones, aka my littlest best friends. Went to Arkansas for the first time, where I accidentally hiked 3/4 mile up a mountain to hunt for rocks. Lost my job pretty much immediately after getting back from Arkansas. For the rest of the year, I mostly lived off of my savings with a couple of freelance gigs here and there. I spent a lot of time with friends and family. Mostly, I spent the last half of the year getting back to remembering who I was, something I’d sort of lost to the hustle & bustle of work and life over the few years before. It’s wild looking back at photos because you can see the weird lack of depth in my eyes in May, and then the life and sparkle slowly returning throughout the rest of the year.

2022

Lots of new beginnings. I got COVID in February. That same month, I got two new remote, part-time design jobs. I started a new full-time job at the end of March. So for a the rest of the year, my life was pretty much nothing but work, except on Sundays because I reserved one day for myself as to not get completely lost again. Of course all that work meant I got my savings back in order and could go on the annual Disney trip, accompanied by my best friend’s new daughter (my goddaughter) who was on her first trip.

2023

I went shark tooth hunting on Amelia Island, FL, and back to Jekyll Island, GA, in February. It was the perfect time of year for both. Checked out Covington, GA, and a Korean spa in Atlanta one weekend. This was the year I finally got to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That was so much fun! It was a rough year, with falling out with one of my closest friends that really shook everything up. It was the year I finally got to start my Route 66 journey though, something I’ve wanted to do as long as I can remember. That was amazing.

2024

My mom & I went to Savannah for a long weekend, where I continued my tradition of posing in hotel robes. I went to Wauchula, FL, and hunted for megalodon teeth in the Peace River in March. I may not have found one, but I did find lots of fossilized shark teeth and fossilized animal bones. I went to Palm Springs (CA), Clearwater Beach (FL), and Dallas (TX) for work conferences, and of course I soaked up as much networking and local sightseeing as possible at the same time. I went to my first big music festival, which got shut down after the first day because on of the stages sank into the mud. I saw Barenaked Ladies perform in Augusta, GA, and Taylor Swift in New Orleans, LA. I fed a marshmallow to a raccoon and held a baby alligator. I also FINALLY made it to Chicago to live out my John Hughes life! I basically let the best kinds of chaos take over and just let go and enjoyed.

2025

I feel like all I’ve done is work, even though I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. I went back to my favorite Mardi Gras ball for the first time in a few years and took a food tour in Mobile, AL, while I was there, led by one of my favorite friends from college. I went to GA Renfest with another of my favorite college friends. I got a membership to the Montgomery, AL, zoo and visited the baby pygmy hippo. I went to Disney World for a work conference, one that I’ll continue describing to people as feeling like summer camp for adults.

That brings us to now.

Lately, I’ve been prioritizing getting out and meeting new people, which I’d say is going pretty well so far. I’ve been working on making sure my priorities are straight, the biggest one being to have fun with this short little time that I’ve got on this big ol’ blue marble.