I am responsible.

I am a responsible adult (and I kind of hate it).

I didn't mean for this to happen. Everything started out so promising. Move to Colorado without a job three months before I get married someone who is still in grad school? Sounds like a great plan to me. Little did I know I would get a job no less than five days after moving and start making a steady paycheck within two weeks. I was OK with this development because I like money and sometimes money helps you become even more irresponsible.

Cut to four months later - DOG TIME. So what if my husband and I rent a house! So what if we JUST got married and the stress of a puppy may not be the best idea! SO WHAT if dogs are expensive and take up a lot of your time!!! Having a dog fit right in to my idea of being an irresponsible newlywed...only it didn't turn out that way. I didn't realize the man I married was a dog-training savant and now we have a 75 pound lab that can sit, lay down, shake (with both hands), stay, speak, kennel up and pretty much read our minds with great proficiency. You mean he barks when he hears someone coming up to the house? That's not irresponsible at all! You mean he is quite possibly the most affectionate dog I've ever been around? That's just cute - and not even close to irresponsible. UGH.

Cut to Christmas time. I *irresponsibly* decided to make all of my Christmas gifts this year (at least for the women in my life - I doubt the men would want a makeup bag). Why did I decide to do this? I'm cheap and buying Christmas presents isn't. Being cheap doesn't make you responsible - it just makes you stingy. I irresponsibly put them all off until December. I irresponsibly was not done with them when Levi and I left for Texas a week before Christmas. What I didn't factor in was Bettie Nesbit and her magic fingers of crafting. They (along with copious amounts of free time) lead to the completion of all of my gifts by Christmas morning. What do you mean it doesn't matter if I finished the last one on Christmas Eve? FINE.

Cut to Januay. Life is quiet...and I'm fat. I decide to enroll in a workout program. It's not responsible if the only reason why I'm doing this is to fit in my jeans that no long fit (remember, I'm cheap and clothes are not). Plus, being skinny opens up a whole new area of irresponsibility - inappropriate clothing. So what if you don't want to see 99% of the skin on my body? TOO BAD. It just so happens that my workout program has a contest where the person who has improved the most over the 10 week session wins $1,000. Free money? YES PLEASE. I start the nutrition plan they recommend for the workout program as well - after all, momma IS going to Disney World, she needs some spending money. So when I start to have more energy, feel better and am in a better mood each day - I'm surprised. This is not what I signed up for. All I wanted to do was get skinny and start wearing daisy dukes...I didn't mean to start this "healthy living" crap. But I start to like this new, happy Leah. I start to know exactly why I get stomach aches and how to avoid them. That right there is enough to sell me...if there's anythingng I love more than saving money, it's avoiding pain. I'M HEALTHY NOW, ARE YOU HAPPY?!?!?

I could end it there. I really could...but I didn't. No no, I decided to go to grad school. This actually could have been a completely irresponsible decision. I had a tough time finishing my undergrad - why would I even consider attempting graduate school? But wait! You mean my work lets me get my graduate degree practically for free? Oh grad school isn't anything like undergrad and I'll actually like the classes? OH because I'll like the classes I'll actually do well and get good grades!?! WELL SUPER. There goes my last attempt at messing up my life.

So here I am. A 24 year old newlywed with a full-time job and a well-trained dog. I work out 6 days a week and eat more vegetables than I previously thought humanly possible. I am in graduate school at Regis University to get my Master's of Science in Organizational Leadership and I made an A in my very first class. Though it may sound like I'm bragging - I'm assure you I am not. I am simply trying to tell you that despite my best efforts, I have somehow managed to not make a mess of my life.....yet.

I am responsible. I am so against my will. I got my nose pierced a month ago so don't worry - according to my mother I'm still making plenty of irresponsible decisions.

Picture: Irresponsible decision: Nosering edition.