NYC... Wedding... LasVegas... House... say WHAT?!?

Ok, people, just to be honest, blogging is an outlet for me to just ramble about & free my mind of anything & everything. Besides the fact that Nathan is probably going to lock himself in a closet if he has to hear anymore of this crazy lady's nonsense, I write in hopes that someone out there can relate or simply for your entertainment.

First of all, raise your hand if you feel like you have a BAzillion things going on at one time & you just want scream, or hide, or just laugh endlessly because you have no earthly idea on how it is all going to be completed (in-time....what does that mean....on-time?) Meek....meeee.....meeee....pick me!

Just a thought, maybe I should take out stock in Post-It. I might come out even once I finish all my to-do, should have done, forgotten, lists!

In less than one month, one of the biggest events of my career will be taking place in NYC.  Drum roll please.......My very first hospitality expo (furniture show), with my very first ORIGINAL designs will be shown, my very first layout will be displayed....YEP, that is a ton of firsts! And to top it all off, our new president of Flexsteel will be attending, whom is a lady (another first for our company)! Can I get a "girl power?" If you did a study of the ratio of men vs. women employed at Flexsteel it would probably be a 1:50 ratio...no joke. So another female in the mix makes for a lot of celebrating on this end of the spectrum!  Girls Rule & Boys Drool!!! When I found out our new prez was a female, I rejoiced to say the least. I mean, don't get me wrong I love most of the men I work with but there is only so much "man" you can handle at one time.

Anyways, yes, I will be displaying several of my designs at one of the largest Hospitality shows in the FF&E industry! A little history about Flexsteel..... a very reputable, classic, OLD company, Flexsteel has been around for over 100 years. We are praised for quality & durable integrity. Although we have some great designs, we are very, how can I say this kindly? ....stuck.  Stuck in old ways on so many levels it should be illegal. My challenge by this company (& to myself)? Turn chunky & clunky into slim & sexy....true statement (sounds like Extreme Makeover or some over done diet campaign) doesn't it? Yes, you read it clearly. Flexsteel wants to change its course & evolve into a more young, fresh,
top-market company.

With all that being said, a huge risk that I am taking for this show is in my backdrop design. In pushing Flexsteel in a more modern direction I have deemed my show concept "Rockstar."
Explanation: A classic rock artist is always trying to push the envelope.  He is more than likely breaking the rules & never the less, full of overflowing energy & excitement. So, as a new spin on furniture for Flexsteel this is me saying goodbye old, hello new. As my backdrop, we are installing a 20' wide x 8' wide black & white, high impact, electric image of a classic rock artist in concert. Seriously, I want sweat, hair slinging, loud sound....everything exciting you would experience at your first concert or 100th concert. Confused? Since we are so set in our old-school rhythms, this idea is really pushing it. Pushing it so much that Nathan has already questioned me about the insanity of my decision.

Exact conversation -
Nathan: Do you really want to do this on your first show?
Me: I mean, either go big or go home (literally, I might get fired over this & be sent to the hiz-ouse.)

So, my mind is racing to say the least. I have a to-do list that is Hwy 45 long & things are being added continuously.  Everyone please cross your fingers & say a giant prayer for this designer. I'm seriously going to need it to make it until D-Day (November 9).

On top of all the show drama, my wedding (I act like I am the only one getting married ...haha... OUR wedding) is less than 6 months away....yes you heard it right! Just to be exact that is 5 months, 3 weeks & 5 days away - that is a total of 177 days! So surreal to say the least. I can remember like it was yesterday. My thoughts to myself were "O, you have 14 months away until the big day... O, you have a year away.... O, you have 8 months to go." No ma'am, not anymore.  I am feeerrrreaaking out. As a designer & a complete control, OCD freak, my biggest fear as perfectionist is that I am going to walk into that reception & say "What....whose reception is this because it is definitely not mine." It is sooo hard to let go of control & let others take over. I mean don't get me wrong, I know this is the exact reason why we brides hire "professionals" but come on brides, & wifies & soon to be brides, it's our big day, we all want it to be perfect. In my mind, it is our first debut as the Chaneys. I have to keep in mind, in the midst of all the wedding planning, the main & most important focus of this whole event is to marry my best friend that God has truly blessed me with :) Stay focused, stay focused, keep your mind & eye on the target.....   it's so hard.

Along with wedding planning, there is this little detail that Nathan & I have been trying to nail down. The honeymoon. Yea, everyone dreams of this romantic$, secluded$$, luxurious$$$, worry free$$$$ getaway where you can just melt away in the sunshine & bask in your new accomplished life as a married couple. Yea buddy. Do you know what that all adds up to be $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$? I did not realize how much all these wedding things including the honeymoon costs ...a kidney is what it all adds up to be haha. Seriously, I asked Nathan last night if he would be interested in selling one of his kidney's on the black market .... I don't even think he responded, in fact he gave me that look of "you have seriously lost it" & changed the TV back to ESPN Sports Center (which I have grown to despise over the past few weeks.)  Joking, obviously (about the kidney & all).

Although, Nathan & I have both wrestled with the concept of to spend or not to spend (that is the question). We are treating our wedding as an opportunity to show our appreciation for all of the love & support our family & friends have shown us over these wonderful few years that we have spent together. A large, family & friend celebration is what we want our day to be all about! The honeymoon on the other hand, can you say relax & chillax??? ahhhhhhh....sighhh....  Hurry up April 13th!

Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Chaney has never sounded sweeter.

Besides the NY show & the wedding coming up, less than a month after my wedding is Flexsteel's largest show of the year. Here we go again....is it ever going to end? With a hopeful spirit & a semi-sound mind, I am in high hopes that once I get this first show under my belt things will fall in to place a little more gracefully for the next show. In high hope meantime holding my breath. Exhale,  phewww....

In the midst of all these events, Nathan & I continue in this buying/building/looking for a needle in a haystack home search. Buying our first home = scary. As we are extremely happy & content in our ever so improving, cozy apartment, we both feel that buying versus renting is a better choice for us. As the search continues please keep us in your prayers. Pray for open minds & patient hearts :)

With all of that being said, I will continue to blog & drive everyone crazy while I free my spinning mind. As Nathan says "I can just see the wheels-a-turning."       :) Bless him :)

Thank you Lord for this overflowing cup you have provided for me. Thank you for my job & the stability that it provides. Thank you for a man that encourages me, loves me & prays with me. Thank you for friends that I can laugh with & that inspire me to be my best & to inspire others. Thank you for the support of my family & this great nation that has provided me with freedom.  May I be an example of your glory & grace no matter how busy life gets, may I always keep walking in your light.

LOVE,

Anna

#WHAT #EXACTLY #DOES #THIS #MEAN

Look - out - world, Hello 2012, I have just recently joined the world of #tweeting. Ok, I know what you are thinking, Anna, come'on now, really?  But - hey, this whole time I have been thinking.....I have Facebook, a blog, Instagram, email, an iPhone, cable t.v., how much more digitally connected can I be??? I even use snail mail on occasion!  An old fashioned, hand-written letter never goes out of style for this lady! After being diverted into the chaos of the #hashtag#, my first few hours of a tweeter....hehe....have been rather interesting! So far, I have learned that Twitter is pretty much a form of short hand blogging & technologically connected TRL shout-outs.

I miss watching TRL after school and reading those heartfelt confessions on the ribbon scrolling the bottom of every teenagers favorite show! As a teen, I dreamed my name would show up on that digital scroll one-day.....(some unknown, secret admirer romeo shouting-out his undying love for me a million miles away)....thank the good Lord above that never happened.  #embarrassing teen moments
PS......sorry mom & dad for "illegally" watching MTV.

Anyways, back to tweeting on twitter....HELP! What exactly is the meaning of this gadget ---> # <---
Who knew this tiny, little symbol could open up so much liberation?  You have a thought, tweet it. Have an idea, tweet it.  Have an opinion, tweet it. Have a little word-vomit, tweet it? (readers discretion is advised).....I have always wanted to write that, maybe I can tweet it! Haha!

So to all you readers & twitterers out there, I cannot wait to read all of your heartfelt or should I say hashtag felt tweets! And please, pretty please excuse any wrong or lame tweets I have for the next few days, I am a tweeter in training :)

@AnnaEngland13

Property Virgins...

So Nathan & I have recently entered the good ole world of REAL estate... And that is exactly what it is, REAL! I never knew how being a first time home buyer could be so stressful, phewwww.  Anywho, apparently Nathan & I live in the middle of the Property Hunger Games.  If a good buy enters the market in Starkville, within hours it has a Sale Pending stamp right above it's eyebrow.  It is unREAL! After placing an offer on the sweetest little downtown cottage, all jokes aside, I went into I'M GOING TO HAVE A COMPLETE BREAK DOWN, PANIC ATTACK mode. To make a long story short, we lost the bid.  I mean c'mon now, let's get real.  One minute you place a substantial offer & the next you are beat out by a different buyer who offers WAY over the asking price.  Where on Earth does that happen?...yep, Starkville.

...ahhhh Mississippi's College Town, there is no place like home :)

Although, Nathan & I are enjoying our much more roomy but still perfectly cosy 2 bedroom apartment (the one we just recently moved into, a month ago) we can't help but hear the ever so eager call of a quaint fenced in back yard & a perfect place for a swing front porch.  We have decided not to settle for less & wait for the one.

Couch to 5K who?

Ok, I would love to post some wonderful new found results of how this whole Couch to 5K thing is going but as a matter of fact, that is it....it's going.  I am only on the 3rd week and I found myself filled with pains-taken boredom & the nagging intellect of my brain screaming I HATE TO RUN! So to all you zin-filled runners out there...congratulations, I just don't get what all the fuss is about. I am going to do my best to continue putting mine & running's differences aside and hopefully I will discover a new found appreciation for my running shoes! JUST DO IT!

Work-out Nazi.....

OK, so, I know it has been a while but I have been extremely busy.  Between Las Vegas (work), finding a new apartment (and the angels sang....HALLELUJAH), wedding planning and just life in general I haven't had time for anything.

In the midst of all the chaos, I have recently become more and more aware of my age or should I say the downhill mudslide that takes place in every life cycle called getting older.  It feels like I graduated from college and someone hurriedly ran to flip the light switch to off.  I mean, all of the sudden, BAAM, your old! I'm tired, my clothes fluctuate from too tight to too loose, my brain doesn't want to function correctly and I need more sleep than ever!  What happened to going out on Thursday nights?  LIFE, that's what happened! Who has the energy, stamina, persona for that anymore?  Not this girl! No Ma'am! Anyways, to boost my energy level I have a plan that hopefully will be put into motion as soon as I can get the motivation.  Nathan says that I am the work-out Nazi, meaning I absolutely, most entirely, hate, detest and protest against all forms of exercise.

Define exercising.......

The ability to think about anything and everything else you could be doing while killing yourself in a sweaty, hot, miserable environment of a prison while listening to your ADELE playlist; as you remind yourself you never want to eat anything ever again besides plain lettuce and water. 

ADELE. your the only one who can get me through that second week of Couch to 5K! Yes, I have joined that band-wagon, don't hate. And yes, that second week was a challenge!

Coming from the south, women do not sweat, they "glisten."  Not this southern belle.  When I work out, I not only glisten to say the least, I wilt.

As, I endure this dreadful mountain of an adventure called working-out, keep reading for upcoming updates....

.....the good, bad and ugly of exercise and everything else that makes this world go round :)

The Beginning

Well Hello Everyone! This is officially my first post of my first blog.  What made me decide to start a blog you ask? I have so many things to talk about - too many thoughts that need more than just thinking about.  Listen closely as I rant and rave with run on sentences about my life and everything intersting.

Just a little information to bring everyone up to date:  I just made a 191 mile move from Cordova, TN to Starkville, MS (in one weekend).  Yes, my last day in Memphis ended on a Friday and I began a brand new career  in Starkville the following Monday.  My poor little Jeep Wrangler was loaded down to its gills.  The transition has been exciting, eye opening and FAST! My fiancé and I (yes, I am engaged, we can talk about that later) are residing in a one bedroom, one bath, ONE CLOSET apartment.  We are searching for something bigger to say the least.  Never having to share a closet ever, my fashion habits are not closet sharing friendly.  It is a daily struggle to keep my OCD clutter control personality under wraps as I transform what used to be a bachelor pad into a home fit for 2.

My new career:  Imagine you are blind-folded, gagged, and driven to an unfamiliar place.  Now imagine you wake up in a conference room full of VIP's, CEO's, etc, etc, etc NAKED.  This is pretty much how I felt on my first day of the new job.  Commercial Furniture Designer......brain overload!  Each day is a brand new day filled with new scenarios, terminology, problems, and praises.  As one of my favorite college professors would say, "your making my head explode." Yes, furniture, I am talking to you, you are making my head explode.

My new home: I heart Starkville, I heart Starkville, I heart Starkville. But come on people, where's the Target? As you fellow shop-a-holics might understand, every girl needs to be in a 30 mile radius of a Target! Besides that, Starkville has soooo many sweet little shops and boutiques to satisfy any fashion-fene like myself.  Living in Mississippi's college town most certainly has it's perks - live music, arts & crafts festivals, free concerts, tailgating and SEC college sports right in your back yard, what's not to love?  But what makes this really home? My best friends, brother and fiancé are all within reach (actually within a 15 minute drive of one another)! Yippeee!  On another note about my new "home" (physically speaking).  Sharing a space with someone is always going to have its challenges.  But living with the opposite sex in a one bedroom apartment with a teeny, tiny, closet....TRUE CHALLENGE.  We start our day off with a strict regiment - fighting over the bathroom.  Ok, honestly, all you home builders out there, why design a space with one bathroom - this should be illegal.  Next on the morning schedule, I peel back the clothes in our cram-packed, jammed together, pretty much vacuumed sealed closet to find my outfit for the day.  While I am doing this, I notice my fiancé in the bathroom, shaving while he eats his breakfast......is that really sanitary?  The things guys do, I will never understand. When I arrive home from work, I scan over our 2 room chateau and question "when did the tornado come through?" Oh yeah, I forgot, this is where it all began. Our day. On to supper. Cooking, yes I love to cook.  I love to pull out my Mac or recipe box at the beginning of the week and make my weekly supper plan. If you have not figured this out yet, I am an organizing, list making, freak who cannot function without a plan in place and Post-Its.  Going to the grocery store is simply invigorating - unless it's Wal-Mart.  When you go to Wal-Mart in Starkville, you leave asking yourself, "Why don't we have a Target?"  After whipping up dinner, the cleaning begins.  Multi-tasking between washing clothes, picking up after my beloved Nathan and preparing for the next day leads to the next question...Where did the day go?  As I lay down at night, I am reminded of why I moved back to this ever so wonderful place, peace and quiet.

Nathan: Bless him.  Patient and calm, he adds balance to my chaos. What would I do without him? Well, I'll tell you what I would do, I would probably spend less time picking up little piles of State Farm papers, clothes, music books, and such but I would not trade those little piles for anything.  In fact, when we were enduring the long distance chapter of our relationship, I missed his little piles.  Anyways, Nathan has also began a new adventure....Insurance.  State Farm has taken over our life.  Like me, Nathan has spent the last few months learning, studying, and practicing.  He is so smart, ambitious and anxious.  I cannot wait to see what God has in-store for him (and us).

I know everyone is probably tired of reading, wondering when this madness is going to end.  However, be patient, as I am new to this whole world of blogging.  I am excited to begin sharing my favorites and disfavorables!

More fun to come!  :)