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.

the chopping block

Every 6 months I enter a waiting room with a book in my purse because I know I'll be sitting there for at least an hour.

My name is called, I rise, and I try to give a smile to the nurse who kindly points me in the direction of the small room I will continue to wait in.

She gives me the ugly, scratchy, paper garment to put on and tells me the doctor will be in just as soon as she can be to talk to me.

I sit there biting my lip and I try to fight off the goosebumps from the frigid room.  I scan the room and begin to read those same posters I've read dozens of times that tell me what precautions to take and what the warning signs are.

My mind begins to wander and I start thinking about the trip I will need to make after this visit.  The trip to whatever local drug store in order to buy bandages and medicine and dreading of sleeping on my stomach for the next 2 weeks in order to not irritate the stitches.

I notice a full length mirror on the back of the door and stand up and walk towards it.  I turn my head over my shoulder and stare at my back in the reflection.  I wonder where the new incisions will be, but then quickly give up because I know my guesses are random and are never right.  I start looking at my scars and make a mental note to be better about putting scar cream on them.  There's 4 of them already and who knows how many more to come...I should concern myself more with making them less visible.

The door knob turns and I jump back and return to my seat on the crunchy paper on the exam table.  I'm greeted by a kind face and the comment of "I'd know that back anywhere" in which she tries to break the ice.  I try to smile and I mutter, "who doesn't?!".  She pulls out whatever that magic little magnifier is called that seems to be able to show her just the right spots in which she needs to cut out and remove skin from my back.  It's with the cold touch of that instrument that the dread sinks in, and I wonder where I will soon be chopped.

I recall my last visit in which the words "skin cancer" and "avoid sun exposure" were tossed around like any other nouns or verbs.  The last visit in which the SPF numbers she told me to use sounded more like Powerball lottery numbers than anything I'd be able to find on the shelf.  I wanted to kick myself over and over for visiting the tanning bed religiously in high school. I wanted to beat my head against a wall while thinking of those times of laying out in the sun while only applying baby oil.  What I had done to my body was no better than someone who vandalizes a perfectly good building.  You can cover up the damage, but you know that some type of reminder will always be there and there's no telling what might go wrong in the future as a result of that vandalism.

I snap back into the present moment when I hear the words, "I want to see you again in a year".  A year?  What?  "So we aren't cutting anything out today?" I ask.  For once, I hear the answer "no, you're good to go" and I suddenly don't even care about the co-pay I always hate handing over at the end of the visit.  For once, I'm not handed a sheet on how to take care of my incisions....I don't think about stopping to get bandages...I don't think about how I can't walk my enormous dog because the stitches would pull....I don't think of how I have to tell my husband to be careful when he goes to hug me....in fact, I don't think at all.  I simply tell her she has made my day and leave that doctor's office with a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Now I'm not stupid,  I know some of you are thinking, "I've had that done before, it's really not that bad" and you think I'm blowing this out of proportion.  Well to be honest, I don't care if that's what you think.  No one can tell ME what I felt when I was laying there being cut on or what emotions flooded ME when the doctor told me how I needed to take this seriously.  But what I do care about is making people aware of what they are doing every time they crawl in that tanning bed...and what they're doing every time they allow their skin to get a little too red at the pool...and what they're doing when they're not worried about the ocean washing off all that sunscreen they just put on.

I don't want anyone to ever have to hear that basically their skin is a train wreck.  I don't want anyone to cry in their car after they leave their dermatologist appointment because you left there with a dozen stitches that you weren't expecting and you're scared that even putting your shirt on in the morning will cause you to stretch just a little too much.  I don't want anyone's first wedding anniversary night to entail asking your significant other to change your bandages.

Just like they make medicine for a reason, they make sunscreen for a reason.  Don't worry, you'll still get a tan, but you're being responsible about it.  You'll look in the mirror 30 years from now and thank yourself.

this was only a test

Ever woke up one morning and felt like from the second your feet hit the floor that the day was gonna push you to your limits and test you to see if you lose your cool??  Ladies & gentlemen, I present to you....today.

I woke up this morning with the instant feeling of not enough sleep and thought, "it CANNOT already be time to get up" accompanied by the twinge of a migraine lingering in my temple.

I then proceeded to get out of the shower and realize I had practically nothing clean in terms of work clothes.

I glanced at the clock and realized I wouldn't have enough time to put my makeup on before work.

I unlocked and swung open the door to find that Jasper and I would be trotting out to the car in a steady rainfall.  As we drive the rain proceeds to begin pounding on the windshield just as I switch my wipers off and I swear to you, as soon as I bump them up to high, it merely begins to mist.

I dropped him off at doggy daycare and got to the parking garage at work only to find the only spots left were on the roof....(for further info on my frustration with the roof parking spots, see above where I indicated steady rainfall.)

As I was walking in the door to the courthouse, an officer looked at me, cocked his head to the side and asked me, "you okay today?".  As I breezed past him I muttered, "I just don't have my makeup on yet....."


At this point I am thinking, "alright Negative Nancy, enough with all the bad, make this a good day".


I woke up exhausted this morning, but hey, I woke up to live to see another day...not to mention I woke up with a roof over my head and in a warm bed.


I woke up with a migraine, but there are people who woke up this morning with cancer.  Suck it up self.


I noticed I barely had any clean dress clothes to choose from, but I have clothes to put on my back.


I realized I didn't have time to put on makeup....but there are women in cultures who aren't even allowed to show their faces and here I am moaning and groaning that I can't put powders and liners on at that very second.


I let out sighs every time the rain did the opposite of what I set my wipers to take care of...but I have a car that gets me everywhere I need to be while there are people who cannot come and go as they please or even run necessary errands because they don't have a car.


I became frustrated when the officer looked at me a little funny b/c of the no makeup and asked if I was okay when I walked into work...but he took the time and made the effort to even ask, not to mention I was walking into my place of employment when I know they are so many people desperately looking for jobs in these hard economic times.


It's called a silver lining folks, and we all need to look for it a little more often.

they said it best when they said....

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth."
--Martin H. Fischer



I realize this a little bit more each and every day...

Nothing is better than the love between a husband a wife, voicemails and texts from friends who make you laugh like no one else on this planet, a sunset on a patio with your best 4-legged friend, & knowing every little nagging thing is gonna be alright.

tunnel vision

Despite the fact that this picture of me should be placed in the dictionary for the definition of, "a train wreck", I just love, love, love this little boy!!!!!

And apparently, I was pretty entertained with this tunnel!

who's that playing in parker's little tunnel.....

it's me...it's me....(haha, had to make that SNL reference)

But I finally decided to stop hogging the toys and let him have the fun...

is that not the most precious face you have ever seen?!?!???

"listen lady, it's time for you to get out of my tunnel!"

Nothing like pot roast, cupcakes, and play time with this little love to make a perfect ending to a day!

refreshed

Guilty. Guilty of not noticing all the changes that were now available to edit everything with my blog.  But I discovered them, made changes, and am officially putting a sign up at my desk that simply says "BLOG" to remind me to take some time every day to vent, write, babble, etc.

Sunshine is coming through my office window and I couldn't be happier.  Yesterday's dreariness wore on me terribly.  I have spring fever like it's nobody's business.  I am ready to read chapter upon chapter in my hammock, throw dinner on the grill every other night, enjoy afternoons at the dog park, and hang out until the sun goes down on our patio...gosh, how I miss hanging out on our patio.  The few times we are actually outside lately, we are in layers of clothing, and gloves & standing oh so close to the patio heater waiting for Jasper to find that perfect spot to make his mark.

In the spring and summer, Skye and I spend countless hours in the afternoons and on the weekends in our lawn chairs at the dog park.  We talk about anything and everything and laugh about pretty much everything as we watch our dogs run around as if they've never been off a leash before...and in that moment I'm convinced they are the happiest 4-legged friends on this planet.

I love walking to places downtown to grab lunch while I am at work, but I refuse to do so in this bitterly cold weather.  I can't seem to get enough of Subway sandwiches during the warmer weather and often can't tell myself not to stop by this little corner restaurant for soft serve ice cream.

"People-watching" from the patios of downtown restaurants with an ice cold drink and good company is one of my absolute favorites.  Those are the times when the servers practically know us by name and 9 times out of 10, already know what we want to order.  We don't seem to have a care in the world except for maybe where we'll make room for the next chair to be pulled up.  The ever so comfortable maxi dresses, sunglasses, Lookouts games, flip flops, oh how I want it all right now!

Until then I'll simply just push back the cover to my sunroof as opposed to opening it all the way and anxiously await all that sunshine!

soup lovers

I'm a loud & proud soup lover.  We could probably eat it 5 out of 7 days a week.  I gave this a shot last night and it was absolutely amazing.  There's nothing I love more on a cold & rainy night than being in my favorite sweatshirt and pj pants, having a hearty soup on the stove, and laughing with my hubby to the right of me while my big puppy dog cuddles with the left of me.

Homemade Sausage Potato Soup

1 pound of sausage

4 potatoes

1 32 oz. box of chicken broth

1 can of corn

3 carrots

1 clove garlic, minced (we always have a jar of minced garlic, so I used one tsp.)

1/2 tsp onion powder (if you don't have any, I suggest getting some and not leaving it out...gives GREAT flavor)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 cup of shredded cheese

In a pan, brown the sausage. While the sausage is cooking, or even beforehand, peel and dice the potatoes and carrots. Remember that the smaller the dicing, the faster it will cook, so if you are pressed for time, cut up the veggies smaller and it won't have to boil for as long. Drain the sausage and set aside for later.

In a stock pot, combine the chicken broth, potatoes, celery, carrots and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender - 20 minutes or so. Now at this point, I add the corn. I find it gets a little mushy if I add it with the other veggies. Then I add the milk, cheese and sausage. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through.

some serious catching up to do...

but here's an overview until then....

my reappearing act

So I've been toggling with the idea of deleting my blog.  I just didn't feel as thought my life had anything exciting and appealing to offer any followers/readers.  It's similar to the feeling I get when people ask me, "so, how are things??" & I always respond good...married life is good, the dog is good, friends and family are good, still truckin' along with my job.... booooooring.  

I got discouraged when I wasn't seeing comments or more followers, but then I thought, well, I am not commenting or following anyone in the daily way that I used to, so I needed to stop complaining.

So here goes...a second shot....and I will try oh, so hard not to become discouraged or burnt out.



One thing I have been doing a lot of lately is cooking.  I was telling my hubby the other night that we have come a long way from shake-n-bake chicken and bags of flavored instant potatoes.  Now don't get me wrong, I am perfectly content with a dinner of those, but I started to be a little brave...and not be intimidated with recipes that had an ingredient list longer than...four or five items, ha!  And now if I don't feel like using something, I won't, and if I want to add something in, I do it.  I will never learn unless I try and I have discovered that I actually enjoy doing it!

I made this soup a couple of weeks ago and we loved it!

Chicken Tortellini Soup

9 oz. pkg. frozen cut broccoli, thawed
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Parmesan, grated (optional)
6 1/2 c. water
3 (10 oz.) cans chicken broth
2 c. chicken, cooked and cubed
1 c. carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 oz. pkg. cheese tortellini

(it also called for onion, basil, and oregano..but I left those out)

In large pot combine water, chicken broth, soup, chicken, carrots, & garlic. Bring to a boil; add tortellini.Simmer covered 30 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Serve with cheese. Ten (1 1/2 cup) servings.

So that'll be all for today...short and to the point, but hey, it's an effort :)

2 treats and a trick

Halloween consisted of:

and

Jasper goes to doggy daycare around 2 or 3 days a week and they had a costume day on the Friday of Halloween weekend.  When I dropped him off, it was entertaining to see what others were dressing their pooches as and it was funny to see the looks and laughs we got and we saddled up and went inside!

Friday night our friend Skye had a fabulous Halloween party!  Her house was decorated so creatively and there was definitely an array of costumes.  Just like we always do, we waited until just a few days before Halloween to go get costumes...I wasn't too thrilled with being Wilma Flintstone at first with my Casper-like complexion since I'd be sporting a white outfit, but as we started getting ready the laughs started and I just went with it.  I was satisfied with our choice and only wished we could have found a Dino costume for Jasper! 

We found a cyst on Jasper's bottom lip this past weekend and he had it surgically removed on Monday.  We are waiting on the results of the biopsy to see if this was just a random spot that showed up for some odd reason or if it could be canine oral cancer which I had never heard of and should have NEVER come home and googled.  Just send good vibes and thoughts our way because I need my little mini-horse to be around for as long as possible!

all knotted up

For the past several months I have had pain in my neck that seems to be coming from a knot on the back right side of my neck...and that knot triggers pain that shoots to my right temple.  Rubbing/massaging the knot doesn't seem to help...in fact it almost makes the pain that shoots to my temple even worse.  I thought perhaps our pillows needed to be tossed, so I went out and bought new pillows.  No solution.  I thought I was sleeping on my neck wrong, so I started sleeping on my back.  No solution.  Tylenol, Aleve, Advil, you name it and I tried taking it during the day and before I went to sleep and even if I had to get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom, drink, etc. I would take some.  Still no solution.

One day at work I was almost to the point of tears and made a doctor's appointment.  I was finally starting to think something would change.  I explained to her that there was a ping pong sized knot in my neck and that the pain it was causing not only in my neck, but in my head as well, was starting to be unbearable.  She jotted down some notes and told me that it was just muscles that were tense in my neck (while NOT even feeling the knot) and that they were tension headaches caused by stress.  I will admit, there are days that my job stresses me out, but those days aren't stressful enough to be causing this constant pain.  She wrote 2 different prescriptions and gave me a chiropractor's business card and peace out, holla, she was gone.  I sat there REALLY hoping that this knot is not something serious, seeing as though it's as the base of my skull and she didn't bother to examine it, and hoped for the best with the prescriptions.  Well that hope was crushed when it crushed my wallet and all the pills did were make me sleepy.  $81 dollars later and still hurting is where I am.  I am hesitant to go to a chiropractor because I'm concerned that any pain I have from here on out will require a visit to them. 

Can anyone shed any light on any similar experiences with these pains or any results/visits with chiropractors??  I'm open for any suggestions whatsoever!

they have a passion, yet we label them.

One thing that I have seen consistently throughout life is that when someone has a passion for something, they seemed to be labeled as result of that passion.  These labels often include: nerds, extremists, freaks, weirdos, and you can come up with some you've heard or witnessed yourselves.  I am guilty of this labeling crime and it hasn't been until recently that things have been put into perspective....and I've stopped and asked myself, "who am I to judge?" 

You know, if magic/sci-fi books allow someone to enjoy an evening to themselves by just reading and having some popcorn, then it does NOT mean they're a nerd....if someone quotes bible verses in their facebook status or has one in their email signature, it does NOT mean they're a religion extremist....if someone enjoys a certain style of music, relates to the lyrics, and paints their fingernails black, it does NOT mean they're a freak.  Don't let anyone ever criticize you for what truly brings a smile to your face....don't let others point and laugh because they don't understand your hobby/interest.....don't ever allow yourself to feel ashamed because you are a needle in a haystack. 

In my case, most people will never understand that when I've had a bad day and I break down in tears, a wet nose nudging my buried face can instantly slow down those tears.  In my case, most people will never understand why animal abuse cases literally make my stomach turn and cause my heart to hurt.  In my case, I will always hear, "but why?  they're just dogs" accompanied with the "she's one of those" that they mutter under their breath.  In my case, I got the eye rolling when a college assignment was to make a documentary and I made mine on the dire need for spaying and neutering while videoing the forgotten faces inside my local humane society.  But that's my case...and if people are going to label me, I'm proud to wear that label.

I am a living, breathing, contributing member to society.  I donate money to my local food bank, I donate stacks of clothes to Goodwill, but I just so happen to feel as though my purpose and calling is through helping animal shelters/rescues & less fortunate animals.  I find it unfair for anyone to judge me because I'm unable to shrug it off and not let it bother me when I see a stray dog running through a parking lot...or unfair for anyone to judge me because the links I share on facebook are powerful stories of people who haved saved these 4-legged lives.  When I realize a person isn't an animal person, I don't shrug them off by any means, I understand it's not for everyone.  But man, is it sure hard for some not to shrug me off.

The way I see it is at least I wake up each and every day with a passion for something.  At least I know there's something that will allow me to feel as though I can make a difference.  At least I know when I help out, hungry dogs are being fed and sick dogs are being nursed back to health.  At least I know that someone, somewhere is smiling when they adopt that dog that was saved from being euthanized and that 4-legged soul will bring them many memories for the years to come.

So perhaps maybe we should turn those labels into positive traits.  Instead of nerdy....try intellectual.  Instead of extremist....try faithful.  Instead of freak....try free spirit.

I'm proud to be a needle in a haystack.  And so is he....

cotton candy, school buses, & yard sales

There are people in life that you always have connections with for certain things....like, "oh I know a guy who works at such & such and can get you a discount" or "let me ask around with some people I know, I know that one of them will know how to get it done..."  Well, I am learning what I have to offer as connections...they're random, but they have proved to come in handy.

1.)  Cotton Candy:  and it doesn't stop at just that...that just seems to be the most requested item.  With Male Hale's concession/food vendor business of *Fun Time Foods* we have been the "go-to" people for friends who are helping out with school and church carnivals, friends/family members with children's birthday parties, etc.  We even decided that cotton candy would be something that people would see and say, "oh that's SO them!" and used it for one of our wedding favors!

photo courtesy of happily ever after

We've made candy apples for several people as their wedding favors and and also set up shaved ice at various functions.  I absolutely love the feeling of knowing we have helped someone out so much at the last minute and we've been able to provide something that may be everyday business to us, but is an out of the ordinary treat for others.

2.)  School Buses:  My father-in-law owns his own school bus and drives for our local county's schools, and also transports various football teams for their games, drives students for field trips, and uses his bus to shuttle people during our county fair.  A friend asked me last week if there was any way she and a group of friends could rent a school bus for an evening.  I read her text and thought to myself, out of all the times I've heard him talking about having a bus trip, I had never even thought about that!  She and a large group of friends were going to a wedding atop a windy-roaded mountain here in town and they wanted some safe transportation for the evening and she thought to ask me.  Turns out it is possible and a driver was more than willing to accept the offer!  I was so glad it worked out and no one in that group would have to worry about how they were going to get to where they needed to be afterwards!

3.)  Yard Sales:  To say I like having yard sales would be an understatement, I LOVE having yard sales. You throw a couple of signs up and find yourself with extra cash and less clutter!  Imagine the letter H....the two lines that make up the sides of the H are 2 extremely busy roads and the street I live on is the little line in the middle of the H...aka the motherland for yard sales.  Several weekends ago, I had 4 friends team up with me for a yard sale at my house because I'm always up for having one and I'm always promising the friends that they'll have a good crowd.  From 8-1 we chatted with people, rearranged our items, haggled over prices, and rolled our eyes at some who were convinced we were robbing them blind by asking 50 cents for something.  In the end, a good time was had by all and no one was complaining about the amount of $ they went home with.  So now more and more of my friends are realizing when they start gathering stuff together and begin to wonder what they're going to do with it, they think of my little street and all that traffic that will see our signs.

about me:

That section is always on profiles, surveys, etc.  I got to looking at that section on my FB profile and this is how it reads:

I honestly love my life. I am married to an incredible guy who makes me happier than I could ever, ever express through words. Making people laugh is one of my favorites along with getting flowers and a good, long nap. I’m a little too obsessed with birthdays and if I find out your address, watch out because I love sending cards year-round. I black and white pictures a little too often and I'm convinced Great Danes are the best dogs ever. If it wasn’t considered insane, I’d start decorating for Christmas as soon as fall rolled around if I’m not too busy cheering for the Gators. I feel confident that I could eat Mexican food every day of the week and I live for road trips. Rain and drama can ruin a perfectly good day, as well as a crappy season finale that you’ve waited so long for. I’ll never learn to unpack as soon as I get home and you’ll always find me running in the opposite direction of birds and clowns. Keep your feet away from me and don’t lie to me & we will get along just fine!

We put so much thought into what we cram into that little section that sums us up.  But I stopped to think what people would never learn from reading my about me section.....

(Making people laugh is one of my favorites)...but when I can't make people laugh, it makes me extremely uncomfortable...I seek humor as a way of fitting in.

(I black and white pictures a little too often)....because sometimes it's the only way I can look at a picture of myself and not hate the appearance of an extremely pale girl who has ruined her chances of ever being able to safely be in the sun.

(drama can ruin a perfectly good day)....and I am all too responsible for that drama from time to time.

(I’ll never learn to unpack as soon as I get home)...maybe because I'm surrendering to being back to the grind and having to deal with weekly trials and tribulations, when all I really want is to be away again.

(I’d start decorating for Christmas as soon as fall rolled around)...even though Christmas is always a time when I miss my dad so, so much.  He filmed every Christmas morning until he passed away...I can still hear his laugh in my head.  I still sit and watch those videos sometimes and smile, laugh, and cry all at the same time.


I just found it interesting that there was a counterpart for the things I so easily put out there to tell people about me.