Tag: Birthday

39 While 39 – Complete

If you’ve been with me for a while, then you know two things. One, last year I sat out to complete 39 fun things while 39 years old. Two, tomorrow I turn 40. I’m excited to say that I’ve completed 39 things!!! I’ve actually completed a lot more than that, but I finished my list. You will note that my list changed throughout the year. This is a reflection of my own personal growth throughout the year. My most important takeaway has been that it is okay to change what you want in life because that is a sign that you’re growing! I’m so happy with how much I’ve grown over the last year and how much I’ve begun living by my priorities. I could get very philosophical about this, but instead I’ll share my accomplished list!

✓ Ride a roller coaster – rode a couple of them at Dollywood. Wooden roller coasters are still my favorite!

✓ Ride a train – also happened at Dollywood! It was beautiful looking down at all the Christmas lights!

✓ Finish the green and gold dress – I started creating this dress in 2012 when we still played Amtgard. When we stopped, I stopped. Now it is finished, and it is beautiful!

✓ Take a vacation – We took several! Made it to Pigeon Forge area twice, America’s Historical Triangle, Nashville, and Rough River. Looking forward to more travel this year!

✓ Sushimas – First once since 2019! I loved seeing all of our friends and bringing back traditions!

✓ Bet on the Derby – Felt so grown up to bet on the race from my phone. Looking forward to getting my $9 check!

✓ Go kayaking – Nothing like being out on the water to make you feel one with the universe!

✓ Finish Baby Books – LilKsby is turning 4 soon, so I’m elated to say I finally had time to finish his books!

✓ Play pool – I love playing pool! Did this on my birthday last year and in Gatlinburg!

✓ Go to a cave – We had the wonderful opportunity to take our nephew to Mammoth Cave last summer.

✓ Enter a competition for creativity – I’ve always wanted to enter a Christmas tree competition! I came in like 12th out of 31!

✓ Calendar Album – Made an album out of all the calendars LilKsby has made for presents.

✓ Complete 1 Year Frame – I had bought one of these my first year frames before LilKsby was born. Finally completed it!

✓ See Dr Strange 2 – Fun movie!

✓ See Thor Love and Thunder – Great movie!

✓ Read 12 Books – Finished 13 and have started 14!

✓ Watch Young Sheldon 3 and 4 – Glad I did because Seasons 5 and 6 have been amazing!

✓ Watch Step By Step – Great throwback to my childhood!

✓ Go to GenCon Online – Gaming is fun in person and online!

✓ Wedding Scrapbook – After almost 11 years, mine and Mr Kisby’s wedding scrapbook is complete!

✓ Order a t-shirt quilt – Wanted to do this for years! Can’t wait to get it back!

✓ Go to an art museum – Virtually visited the Van Gogh Museum!

✓ Make a state fair entry – have a few ready to go!

✓ Go to Gatlinburg – Great trip! Highly recommend Cade’s Cove!

✓ Go to the Tulip Farm – Beautiful local farm! Love supporting friends!

✓ Complete 10 Coursera Classes – took classes for fun and business!

✓ Complete 5 paintings – painted for myself and Christmas gifts!

✓ Go to JR Neighbors – I’m proud of us for trying something new.

✓ See the BSB DNA Tour – Amazing show with amazing people!

✓ Complete NANOWRIMO – Loved starting this book! Can’t wait to edit and publish!

✓ Go to a winery – Not only did I go to one, I also became a member!

✓ Write Letters for Book – Completed a book with letters from me to Lil Kisby!

✓ Watch The Game Season 2 – This show is epic! There needs to be a Season 3!

✓ Finish a Bible Study – Learned about love being the greatest gift of all!

✓ Go to a pumpkin activity – We went to the Pumpkin Wagon!

✓ Try a salt cave or salt room – So relaxing! I’ve been twice now!

✓ Write 10 fan letters – This was so fun! I never got any responses, but it was fun to do!

✓ Get a Casey’s Taco Pizza – My favorite pizza! I only get them when going west. Hope yo have another soon!

✓ Go to the State Fair – worked it and went as a guest! Love it!

Not on the list? Transitioning from full time working mom to stay at home/work from home mom. Hands down the thing I did while 39 that has helped me be a better wife, mother, and person while also improving my mental and physical health. I challenge all of you to take risks, do things you enjoy, and make your next year the best year!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

#blessed

Wow! Today marks another trip around the sun, and I am humbled by how #blessed I am! For the last three days, I’ve celebrated turning 39 with Mr Kisby, LilKsby, and other family members. As a bonus, I’ve received several messages wishing me a happy birthday. All of these have been remarkable reminders of how lucky I am to know so many wonderful people who know how to make a gal feel loved!

After two years of pandemic birthdays, feeling loved was the best treat! If the past two years have taught us anything, they’ve taught us how when we’re stressed by unprecedented pandemics, work, not enough time, not enough money, etc, we can forget to show others how much we love them. It’s not an intentional neglect, but more of an accident due to circumstances. I’m guilty, and I’m sure others are guilty too. Luckily, we can always change our ways and find our way back to showing others how much we love them!

As I enter my final year of my 30s, I must say that I’m super excited! This decade has been the best yet for me, and I’m sure that the next decade will be even better! Bonus, I feel like there are a lot of exciting things just on the horizon! For now, I’m going to concentrate on showing others the love that has been shown me!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Reflecting on 36

Photo by Elcara Photography

In one hour it will be my 37th birthday! To say that I’m excited would be an understatement. My birthday is definitely my second favorite holiday. I love cake! I love a reason to be with family and friends! I love presents! Most of all, I love celebrating another year here on earth living a life of abundance!

I have to say looking back, that 36 has been one of the best years ever! Some may think, “But Kaysby, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic! In fact, the last two month of your 36th year have been spent social distancing and in pretty much complete isolation with Mr Kisby and LilKsby!” That’s two months of time that I’ve gotten to spend with my AMAZING baby almost 24/7 (seriously I’ve been away from him for maybe two hours) and my hubby (who I don’t just love but also like to be around)!

Plus, some of the greatest things ever have happened while 36! Here are the highlights:

  1. We had a baby! LilKsby has the distinction of being born when I was 36 just as I was born when my dad was 36. Also, the three of us are all Tauruses who were born in the Year of the Pig. How fun is that?
  2. The three of us got to spend A LOT of time together! You know what? We love our little family, and we wouldn’t trade the togetherness for the world!
  3. We got to see some of the best of Broadway by going to Hamilton and Jesus Christ Superstar. Bonus? We also got to watch Jesus Christ Superstar again on Andrew Lloyd Weber’s YouTube channel!
  4. We traveled with LilKsby! He won’t remember it, but I’ll always remember playing with him in hotel pools! I’m so glad that he loves water just like his mama!
  5. We got to celebrate several holidays before and after quarantine began: Halloween, Not-So-Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, a wedding, and birthdays.
  6. We got to get some of the best family pictures ever made with Elcara Photography!
  7. We’ve tried new things like baking a cake from scratch and learning guitar.
  8. We’ve virtually visited museums and amusement parks!
  9. We’ve finally taken time to do little things around the house that there never seemed to be time to complete.
  10. We’ve supported causes near and dear to our hearts!
  11. We’ve taken more time for things we enjoy like creating art, blogging, playing games, and having family movie nights! The last of these is why I’ve finally seen the first three Indiana Jones movies and all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that have been released thus far!
  12. I’ve taken time to read! Books are great!
  13. We’ve taken more time to attend church in person and virtually – especially virtually!

There’s more greatness that I know I just can’t think of right now! 36 has been that great of a year! I hope that 37 will be just as great, and that next year when it is 31 minutes until my birthday, I’ll be finishing another blog about another great year!

To everyone else having a birthday today, tomorrow, or soon, I hope that you can reflect and realize that your year has been great even if there were struggles along the way (after all no road is ever perfectly paved)! Find joy in the little things, and live by your priorities! Love life! Here’s to 37!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Birthday Freebies

Who likes free stuff? 🙋‍♀️ If you said no to that, then I do believe that either (a) you’re a liar or not fully paying attention to the question or (b) you’ve got way more money than I do! And if that is the case, then feel free to share the wealth with those of us you may deem to be peasants!

One of my favorite things about my second favorite holiday aka my birthday (first favorite is Christmas) is all of the birthday coupons that places send you just for signing up for their email lists! Now you’ve got to understand my brain for a second. If somewhere I really like has an email list for discounts, then I’m on it! However, this doesn’t mean I always read the emails all year. Typically I only open them all at birthday time or if they are from Chili’s because let’s face the truth that Chili’s has some of the best chips and salsa on the planet!

Here are some of my favorite birthday discounts in no particular order:

1) Mark’s Feed Store 🥩 – Buy 1 Entree, Get 1 Free! I also like to call this the only time me and Mr Kisby can eat there for less than $20! He treats himself to a combo with pork, chicken, and brisket while I enjoy whatever way I can get the most sides for free. My favorite things at Mark’s are the sides since I’m not a big meat eater. I love their pasta salad and potato salad!

2) Chili’s 🌶 – What they’re on the list? Shocking! Not! 😂 So check out the dilemma we had when going to Chili’s for my birthday which is also the same week as teacher appreciation week. We had to decide which one coupon to use (since Chili’s is like 45 minutes from our house – come on Elizabethtown build one!) from free dessert, 20% off the bill, or free guacamole and chips. So Chili’s has this great deal all the time where you can get 3 things for $10 (non-alcoholic drink, appetizer, and entree). The 20% off couldn’t be applied to the discounted special so we ruled that out. Then we realized that for a $2 up charge we could get guacamole as the appetizer for the 3 for $10 special. So we opted to get the $8 cookie dessert for free! This time we ate for $23! I’ll let you decide if we made the right choice based on the picture!

3) Olive Garden – Free Dessert! 🍝 If you really want to make the most of this coupon, then go at lunch time! You can get a lunch duo (I chose the gnocchi soup and pizza bowl) and your free dessert for less than $10! Tiramisu is delicious all the time, but it is even better when it is free!

4) Fazoli’s – Free cookie with purchase of an entree! 🍪

5) Texas Roadhouse – Free appetizer or side kick of ribs with purchase! We learned the hard way this year that this discount cannot be used with the Early Bird Dining.

6) At Home – 25% Off Your Purchase

7) Victoria Secret – Free Panties

8) IKEA – 15% Off In Store Purchase and Free Food

9) Kirkland’s – Free Gift With Purchase and 25% Off

10) Bojangles – Free Boberry Biscuit – You can’t go wrong with a biscuit that has blueberries baked into it and is covered in frosting!

11) Pizza Hut – Free breadsticks!

These are just the ones that I remember getting from scrolling through my emails! I haven’t been able to use them all, but next year I’ll plan better! 😂

There are a lot more birthday freebies out there if you Google them! Some places even allow you to sign up your kids so that they get birthday freebies too! So you can bet that LilKsby will be getting signed up for freebies!

Put in the comments your favorite birthday freebies so that I can add to my list! And don’t forget to subscribe so that you always get the latest from The Great Kaysby!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby 🎂