I live in the South people

Yup, I sure do. I live in the South where we drink sweet tea daily, wave at people we don't know, we talk about ya ma and them, we call our grandparents Grandad and Nanny, and have mosquitoes in January!

Man.........I love the South! There is nowhere else I'd rather be.

You call these directions?

I am by no means a fashionista, or anything close to one. So I am reaching out to my fashion knowledgeable friends. Please don't laugh.

One of the things I used to like about clothes is that you always know how to tend to them, take care of them, keep them CLEAN! Dry clean only, hand wash and line dry, tumble dry low, machine wash warm, use cool iron if necessary. The combination is endless.

So imagine my surprise when I read this: Machine wash cold with like colors, line dry in cool place. For best results dry clean.

WHAT?

I feel like if the tag could talk it would say "sure go ahead and try washing your brand new (what I consider nice) pants and line drying them, but when you ruin them you'll realize you should have just dry cleaned them!"

So what do I do....do I attempt to wash them or do I just surrender them to the dry cleaners?

Geez.......

Sorry it's a long one

Since the holidays are fast approaching (hello, Thanksgiving next week) and thus a new year right around the corner. So naturally I started thinking about New Year's resolutions. AND this coming year and from here on out I plan on doing something different, more on that in a minute. Right now I want to tell you how I arrived at point right here, right now, writing this blog post. Okay, here we go.

In thinking about New Year's resolutions, I remembered once upon a time (I think I was 15, so about 10 years ago) that I wrote out a list of "Things to Do In My Life". And I know I had kept it because I remembered seeing it about a year ago. Soooooo, I started digging in my boxes upon boxes of pictures and letters and random other items I have felt the need to keep over the years and finally found it. But it's what I didn't expect to find that made me want to write this post. Of course it was in the second to last box I looked in, so I had the chance to look at all kinds of old college and high school pictures and letters! Oh what a good time I had just laughing and smiling all by myself on the floor of the bedroom as I was flooded with memories. And then, then, as I continued to read letters, I started to cry, I cried and cried and cried. It was truly the strangest thing and as I write this I can feel my eyes starting to water. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was crying. Then, it hit me. I missed being myself. Now let me explain as some of you might be thinking that I missed the old me, I guess in a way I did, but not in the way that I wanted to go back in time. I missed remembering who I was/am. Still confused? I've been so overwhelmed with the fact that I don't have a job, own a house, etc. I've been so worried for the last few years about the complete WRONG things. I was sad because I was able to become the person I am, in the place where I'm at with the help of most of these people, these people who are just memories for the most part now. These people were all I had at one point and somehow, even with all the moments they helped make in my life, I managed to let my relationship with them fall to way side.

Now at this point you might be thinking we all do that Jonnie, it's just something that happens. Well I'm not okay with that....not anymore. I want to make sure that everybody who means/meant something to me knows it and they know it as often as I can tell them. I will no longer be consumed with the things that won't matter when I leave this world! I will from this day on make an effort to be the best me I can be and part of that is constantly remembering where I can from and those who helped shape me! Sorry, I feel like this is a common issue for me, but this time it really hit me, because I just spend the last twenty minutes on the floor crying like it's nobodies business. We'll continue this conversation at a later point.

Okay, now that all that's out, I want to share my list with you...here you go:

• See New York at Christmas time
• Be a size six (hahah...this makes me laugh, why did I care at 15?)
• Take up yoga/kickboxing (I've done it, but I wouldn't say I've taken it up)
• Learn to dance
  
• Go to San Franciso
• Be a mother
• Marry the man of my dreams
• Participate in a life changing experience (I love it, isn't everything life changing?)
• Volunteer my time
• Learn to play the guitar
• Learn to speak Thai
• Study Astrology
• Own a St. Bernard (I really don't have this desire anymore)
  
• Visit Thailand
• Meet my Grandma (my mom's mom) (sadly she died before I ever got to do this)
• Learn Sign Language
• Go on a cruise
• Run in a marathon
• Learn to play the piano
• Have ice cream with my little brother
• Have a day with my real dad
• Watch a meteor shower
• Graduate from college with honors (I'm just glad I finished)
  
• Take up photography
• Study aboard in Spain (I missed out on this one too)

Many of these things I still want to accomplish in life and there is much more to add to it. Instead of making New Year's resolutions I plan to just add to my list through out the year and as I accomplish them I will mark them off......my whole life just became a New Year's resolution.

I feel like all this was so random, oh well! Happy Thursday.

Just a few things

Hello blog friends. I only have a few things to share and a question or two.

First things first. I want to share a very important adult lesson I learned. ALWAYS carry cash. If not, this could happen to you. You finish a day of substitute teaching in a suburb you've never been too, you eagerly get in your car ready to see your puppies and change clothes. You turn on your GPS only to realize that it sucks and you may never get home. It finally comes on and leads you towards home, as you take the right to the bridge as your faithful GPS tells you, you realize that there is a toll ahead and no place to turn around. Why do you need to turn around? Because you DON'T have any change or cash to pay the toll. Too late, you're stuck, yup stuck. (Thanks GPS for the heads up.) You pray that some miracle will happen and the person in front of you is feeling gracious enough to pay for the car behind them or that the tollbooth person is feeling extremely nice today..........NOPE! Neither of those fantasies comes true, but what does happen is the very NOT nice tollbooth lady makes you feel stupid and looks at you like you should know better. THEN she tells you that she will have to make all the other booths stop letting people through for a moment so you can turn around. So lesson learned always carry cash!

Now for seconds. I joined a league this week where I get to play basketball every Monday, which I'm very excited about since once upon a time I only lived to play basketball. Now heading to the gym on Monday I had all kinds of thoughts, what if I really suck now, or make a fool out of myself? Worse, what if I pass out from being so out of shape??????? Instead this happened, I didn't suck, well at least not as much as I imagined and I actually found a crossover jump shot that would have been nice to have back in the day. I didn't pass out, but I did feel like puking a time or two. Once the game was over I could tell two things, one, this is going to be fun, two, I may not ever be able to move again. I was sore yesterday but I honestly feel like I can't move at all today. So lesson learned.....it's much harder the day after the next day!

And lastly, at what point do you finally stop getting pimples and/or zits? I mean seriously, what do you have to look forward to in aging if you will forever have to live with these horrors!? Is this a problem for anyone else or were you all blessed with great skin!

Happy Wednesday!!

I'm never ceased to be amazed!

No, really....I'm not only easily entertained, but I'm easily amazed. I don't consider these bad traits by the way, I actually think I enjoy life a little bit more because of these traits. And today I'm amazed at how a song, a smell, an object can make you think of the most random, distant thing, person, or place. I mean isn't that just crazy to think about. Normally it's a song that takes me back to that moment and it never fears to feel like it was yesterday. So here are some of the things that I've thought about lately just because of some simple song.

Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks always makes me think of when I was packing for college and I had so many emotions about everything and I just started crying while I was packing when this song came on. I can remember standing in the hallway taping some boxes up.



Since You Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson reminds me of my first time going to Memphis. It was for New Year's and it was a blast. My friend Melissa and I rode together and the whole way there we really wanted to hear this song and NEVER heard it. Amazing considering we listened to every radio station we could. AND the whole way back we NEVER heard it. Melissa drops me off at home and all the sudden I see her hauling butt in reverse. I thought something was wrong, but no.....the song had finally come on. (Sorry for the crappy video, it real video won't let me embed it).



You were mine by the Dixie Chicks reminds me of my sister. She had just moved out of the house and moved all the way to Houston. I missed her so much and she had just bought this CD right before she left. So everytime I heard a song off it I was sad.



I could honestly make a book about all the songs that remind me of good and bad times. I am glad that every now and then I can hear a song on the radio, at the store, or out on the town and think of some of my favorite people and moments. What songs remind you of someone, something or someplace. I'd love to hear. Besides I'm not convinced that I actually have more than 5 people that read this blog. I should work on that.

So we meet again....

Well hello there blog world. Sorry for the quite long vacation. I just haven't had much time between moving to New Orleans, unpacking, spending a week at the beach with all my besties, watching my best friend get married, looking for a job, oh and not having Internet access at our house! But forget all that I'm finally back!!!! Get excited. :)

Today I've been thinking about things I wish I could incorporate into my daily life......so here they are, 5 things that I am going to start doing daily!

1. Walking Harli. (I would Plato, but I tried that once and I thought he was going to pass out. Bulldogs are only supposed to get 20 minutes of exercise and it shouldn't be strenuous.)

2. Making my bed.

3. Wake up early enough to eat breakfast and have plenty of time to get myself to work. (I am a big fan of breakfast, but I usually eat it in my car on my way to work.)

4. Exercise!!!!!

5. Cook dinner. (okay let's be real, this won't happen daily, but that's the goal.)

What 5 things would you wish you could do more of daily or in my case do it daily at all?

And keeps your eyes open for pics of New Orleans life and our house!