I am a creature of habit. I could never work at Taco Bell ( I just can’t “Think outside the bun.” ) I get into a routine that works and stick to it. I believe this has a lot to do with my Practicality state of mind. But thanks to my loving husband, I’m trying to branch out and live a little.

Routines make my world go round. I have a morning routine. I believe this is how I am able to be on time to work most mornings. I am normally 15-20 minutes early every morning. Now occasionally, there will be multiple wrecks on my way in, but there’s not much I can do about that. A lot can happen in my 20-mile drive into downtown Nashville. I have my clothes pretty much laid out the night before so I don’t have to worry what to wear. If I have to take something to work, I set it out the night before next to my purse so I won’t forget. Same goes for when I get to work. I have a certain order I work my files, do my closings, etc. I get into this routine, and if something is out of place, I notice it immediately. I consider this my own little quality control. I also take this practice with me when I go out to eat. I normally have certain things I order at restaurants. Sonic – Number 1 combo with cheese, tater tots and diet cherry coke. Taco Bell – crunch wrap supreme combo with a crunchy taco and diet coke. Arbys – medium roast beef sandwich, potato cakes, diet coke. If I see a friend order something different, I’ll inspect their food and decide if I’d like to try it the next time I go. The problem is, if you order something different, and you don’t like it, you are just going to be hungry.

If you know me at all, you know I am very practical. I just got new dishes. Out of all the choices I had in design. I picked a solid cream plate. No designs to go out of style. Just a plain jane cream. (corelle sandstone to be exact) I picked this plate because it was light, nearly unbreakable, took less storage space, and goes with almost everything. I do the same thing shopping for clothes/shoes. Last week I went to Ann Taylor Loft and I found this awesome cardigan (had to be careful not to look like grandma) . This sweater was great for several reasons. The first was the color. It was black, brown, khaki and white. Which means I could wear it with black pants, brown pants or khakis depending on my mood. I can get so many different looks with this one sweater. Also, it was 3/4 sleeves, which means I can wear it virtually all year long (especially with TN weather). This is why my closet has no color. Black goes with black. You don’t have to match shades, figure out what shoes to wear.. It’s easy, it’s practical and I feel like it hides my weight well. I did buy a kelly green shirt which was a huge deal for me. Same goes for shoes. I do not own a pair of red shoes. I probably never will.

This leads me to the title of this blog. I am slowly starting to learn that it’s okay to branch out a little. The fear of doing has kept me from living a lot of my life. I recently read a book called ” Who moved my cheese?” It’s a very good book, I highly recommend it. It basically talks about a lot of times, the fear of doing something is worse than actually doing it. I found this to be very true when I played Rock Band the other night. I don’t sing, mainly because I can’t sing. But I finally took one for the team and broke out some Wonderwall and Buddy Holly. It was fun! Now, I wish i had sang way before now! Who cares if I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, at least I had fun doing it. (clearing throat, Laura, it’s time to wo-man up!) I am going to Atlanta next weekend. This is totally out my character. I found a lot of reasons not to go, but they were all “what if this happens” situations. I’ve decided (with a little nudge from my loving hubby) that you can’t live your life because of what ifs. So provided I can get the day off, I’m going to go to Atlanta and have a good time! And I bet it’ll be just like Rockband. Who knows this may lead to me getting on an airplane, or taking a cruise…