who I am. absorb it.

there are days that the phrases that come out of my mouth are the ones that used to make me cringe and roll my eyes whenever my mom said them.
there are times I know she's the exact reason why I am so particular about organization, how people are treated, & cleaning.
there are times when we both sport our feelings on our sleeves, but can't seem to comprehend why the other one is taking things so personally.

there are instances in which I can be perfectly happy listening to Ray Charles' greatest hits one minute & then jam out to The Rolling Stones the very next just like my dad did.  I appreciate the capacity & influence of music & I know that's something that he often gives me the thumbs up on from up above.
there's not a day that goes by that I don't look in the mirror and notice my big, cabbage patch kid cheeks. and often there are times I wish I could do something about them, but then I wouldn't have the feature that everyone immediately says is undeniable of my dad's.
when I have so much trouble dealing with stress and can't seem to get past my lack of self esteem, that's when I know that I have to be careful because although it was his demise, his addictive personality is running through my veins.

that's who I am.  more often than not I enjoy hearing, "gah, you remind me so much of your dad" or "you are your mother's child, there is no doubt about it!"  I enjoy hearing it because I know them being in this world allowed me to be here....and that when I made my appearance, I was made up of bits & pieces that this tiny baby  had absorbed from both of them...and it's nice knowing no one can ever, ever take that away from me.

the gift of creation is absolutely incredible.  people say so often "they are just like sponges" when a person is a small child, but the truth of it is that the sponge is always there....its just the size of it that continues to grow throughout our lifetime.  we mimic people when we are young, but we mold ourselves as we go through our adult life.  sometimes we absorb admirable qualities and we are useful time & time again to keep things pristine & tidy.  other times we attract the grub & grime that allows us to feel as though we should just be tossed out and we start taking out that feeling on those around us.  before you know it you start smearing your relationships with others with that grime.  no one is perfect.  everyone gets discouraged.  but like my husband tells me time & time again, "don't dwell on it, move on.  you know what you need to do differently now, so do it".  I all too often allow rubbish & remnants I've absorbed from bad situations to stick to me as if they are permanent.  I think if I've screwed up or failed at A, B, & C before then what would ever possess me to try X, Y, or Z much less give A, B, or C another shot.  I'm convinced I can't redeem myself from any mistakes.  it's unfortunate that it has taken 27 years for me to realize there's actually still good qualities caked in under the bad ones, but in the same breath I'm glad my husband has been able to help open my eyes to that.  and to know I'm with someone who can see past my negative tendencies and tell me that he thinks I am a wonderful person is comfort that I cannot even put into words.

but the best way to look at is that you can knock off those remnants & rinse out all that grunge you've allowed yourself to absorb.  show off the things that you've soaked in...those things that people have said time & time again that they've always liked about you.  don't carry around the things that make you dull & dingy.  and just because you have had shabby experiences or acted crummy does NOT mean you are doomed to always being considered that type of person.  make room to absorb life and what it has to offer.

awkward moment monday

I follow "that awkward moment when..." on Twitter & my wheels began to turn for my own trend.

Friday night brought on that awkward moment while working concessions at a local high school football game and the kid ordering didn't have enough money to cover what he ordered and he stood there just looking at me for about ten seconds and then grabbed the food and dashed. Ummmm....

Saturday I was wearing my University of Alabama ball cap when a cashier stopped between her loud smacks of chomping on her gum to ask, "so, are you like cheering for Alabama in that big game tonight?".  The awkwardness presented itself in the form of do I answer her with "no, no, this is just a hat I found on the side of the road and I was having a bad hair day" or "omg, how did you know???"

back with a vengeance

well, no, not really...I don't have anything to do in retaliation but felt as though that's always the catchphrase for a return.

Wow, June 6th for last post, yikes.  Okay let's see here...

July -

awesome vacation 

August -
evidently began to neglect my camera
celebrated 2 years of marriage
had a blast on a savannah bachelorette trip

September -
celebrated my 27th birthday
attended 2 fabulous weddings
mom and I mastered the cotton candy assembly line & cranked out wedding favors

October -

festival season was in full swing
marked the 5th year with my job
decided on Bluto & Olive Oyl for halloween costumes

and now here we are with November's chilly temps & determining a date in which it won't seem nuts for me to go ahead and put my Christmas tree up.  I am antsy as all get out for the Black Friday ads and to plan my shopping strategy, which may not be as fierce, since we will be in Memphis for Thanksgiving.

as seen on tv testimonials

Some people have a gift-giving tradition at Christmas.  You may always get someone a refill of something you know they love and will use, or you receive something handmade every year from a certain person.  Well my hubby gets me an "as seen on TV" product every year.  I always go into those stores and want to try out everything, but never end up walking out with a single thing.  He and I know as well as everyone else that there's always going to be products that just don't work.  You scratch your head and wonder, "how on earth did this ever make it on the shelf?!"  BUT I will say that there are a few of these items that I will forever stand by and they have certainly made little things in my life easier.

1.  Strap Perfect

Something about racerback shirts and dresses just always, always draws me in.  If it's not the pattern I love, it's the color or the fabric or something about it sticks out to me.  But when I would take it off the rack and see the back of it knowing I LOATHE strapless bras, I would think, "forget this, my bra straps will hang out."  But alas, this simple, number eight-shaped, plastic mechanism found it's way on the market and I quit having to put stuff back on the rack when I really wanted it!  They've never broken or allowed my straps to come undone.  In fact, the only bad thing that's ever happened has been when I have misplaced them and I think now I am down to only 2.  I would highly, highly, highly suggest these to any female!

2.  Pasta Boat

The hubby and I both enjoy pasta dishes, but I hated dragging out the big stock pot...waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the water to boil....getting an instant, unwanted facial when I went to drain the noodles....and battling that big pot to fit in the dishwasher.  When I got this I was questioning the final outcome.  I thought the noodles will still be hard or the water would boil over the top, but no, it was actually perfect!  It's dishwasher safe and the little booklet that came with it tells you exactly how much water to put in according to how much pasta you are wanting to make.  It doesn't get any easier than this.

3.  Handy Switch

Do you have one of those outlets that if you ever need to unplug something or plug it back in, it's just a pain to try and get to?  You either have to get down on the ground and stretch your arm and wiggle your fingers to get to it or you end up having to move a piece of furniture to be able to even see the outlet.  This comes in handy for me because, well, I'm a little crazy when it comes to Christmas decorations.  We have our regular Christmas tree, a mini tree with Florida Gators decorations for myself, a mini tree with Alabama Crimson Tide decorations for the hubs, and then a mini gingerbread tree that sits on our kitchen table.  The outlet for the gingerbread tree is behind the kitchen table, so whenever I went to unplug it before we went to bed, I'd have to pull out all the stools from the table and crawl under the kitchen table to reach the plug.  Well now I just plus this bad boy into the outlet and then the tree into this plug.  I keep the switch hidden behind the tree so that when I'm ready to turn the lights off, I just flip the switch and all is well.  Super convenient.  

What about you?  Any "heck yes" or "no way" experiences with this stuff??

when I was a youngster...

my mom taught me to say excuse me when I was making my way through a crowd of people rather than step all over them and shove my way through...

I knew better than to talk back to my elders because, here's a shocker, there were conquences...

wearing makeup was the last thing I was worried about...

I knew to treat a homeless person with the same respect in which I'd treat a millionaire...

I didn't have the internet, and if I did, I sure as heck wouldn't be allowed to have a facebook account....

catching lightning bugs and picking little flowers were enough to keep me entertained as opposed to being cruel to animals or being destructive.

I knew when my mom told me to be quiet during a church service or a wedding that she meant business...and if I didn't obey she would ACTUALLY yank me up and discipline me.

I tried to reach high levels on the reading chart at school, not on video game rankings.

my opinion of being sneaky was packing another Little Debbie in my lunch when mom had her back turned, not a loaded gun.

me and my friends wore friendship bracelets, not labels that we gave each other for our flaws.

a generic brand wasn't something that caused your jaw to drop.

photo op

A girl who works at Jasper's doggy daycare shared these pictures today on Facebook and this biggest smile spread across my face.  I am so thankful that this great group of people enjoy him and take the absolute best care of him!

back in the day...

this post is dedicated to those things that always make me go, "oh my gosh, do you remember........"

(I think it got to the point where my mom dreaded me bringing home scholastic book order forms!)

(what TGIF really meant)

(who could forget Pogs?!?  you had those tubes they went it, the thick slammer ones, & the weird shaped ones!)

okay, okay, I'll stop now.