Resale Therapy

Sooooo, one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do is go shopping at resale shops and garage sales. There are some real treasures out there and the best part is that you can get some excellent deals!

One person's trash is another one's treasure! :)

Well, I kind of hit the jackpot.

With $20 I got:

1. A large, retro coffee table in excellent condition ($10) (Sorry no picture, but when I bring it home from the store, I'll post one)

2. Multiple picture frames (.25 or less each)

3. Two shadow boxes (FREE!)

4. Three candle holders (less than a dollar each)

5. A ginger pot (this may not be the right name BUT my aunt told me it's used to hold Ginger) (.50)

6. And some other odds and ends that I didn't photograph.


So, my brilliant plans include refinishing the frames and hanging them in our bedroom with different photos or objects hanging inside them--without the glass....yes, without the glass. Now, you may be asking yourself WHY a gal would hang pictures without the glass but let me tell you--I have a VISION!!!! Just trust me. When I get my VISION completed I will post pics so you can revel in my glory.  :)

I will keep y'all updated on the progress with my MANY, many, many, many, many projects.

Goodnight!

A Little Update From Your Old Friend....

Ok, so I know it's been A WHILE (to say the least) since my last post so let me give you a quick run down on the last 10 months.

Not much has changed! We were non-stop, full speed, running-like-your-panties-are-on-fire BUSY!!! Every weekend for the first six months of the year we had something going on-baseball, family stuff (two baby showers to plan!!), work, etc. Then came summer and that just flew by! When the kids are out of school, time seems to roll by so quickly that I lose track and then suddenly it's time for school again! Well, with August came school, football, work, birthdays, Halloween and now Thanksgiving is two weeks away!

*sigh*

I really need time to slow down! My younger stepson (B) is turning 9 next weekend which is NUTS! My older stepson (M) turned 10 back in September. It dawned on me during M's birthday in September that I have had the pleasure (and pain and frustration and tears and joy) of being in these boys, and their father's, lives for FIVE YEARS! That seems like forever to me! The boys were 4 and 5 when I came into the picture and that is so young! But in my mind they have been their current age the whole time. I can't really remember them being little. That sounds crazy, I'm sure but oh well. I must say though, that I absolutely love the ages they are at. The boys are old enough to dress/bathe themselves as well as get a bowl of cereal in the mornings and tell us if they feel sick BEFORE throwing up in the back seat of the car. But they are also old enough to have formed opinions, amazing and hilarious personalities as well as senses of humor which makes it SO. MUCH. FUN. just being around them!

On another positive and my-doesn't-time-fly note, my husband and I just shared our ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!! This last year has gone by so quickly-I feel like we just got married! And I want to do it all over again!


Well, now that I think of it; there are a couple of new things in our lives--I have started back to school this semester (I had to take two pre-reqs) and will (hopefully! Fingers crossed!) begin Graduate School in January! I am so dang excited! I am going into a counseling program where upon graduation I will receive my LPC. Yay! And Byron completed his TCLEOS (I don't know if that's all the right letters and they may be out of order...) license, which means he is a peace officer. And he is now a reserve deputy in our county! (BTW a reserve deputy is a volunteer, basically, who has the same duties and responsibilities as full-time, paid deputies but just works when he is off of his regular job and does NOT get paid.) He has really enjoyed working with the Sheriff's Office and wants to go full-time so that may be in our future. :)


So I guess that is all that is new with me right now. I hope in the future I will be a regular blogger and I hope even more that I haven't bored you too much (and that I won't as we continue on this journey)! It really is enjoyable but I am just so pooped with every thing else going on that I put blogging on the back burner.

So, here's my early New Year's resolution: blog regularly. And by regularly I mean no more than a month between posts. That's reasonable, right??

Is this real???

Sooooo, how do we know what we are living is really real?

I mean, we could all be dreaming and stuck in a tub of goo with probes coming out of our bodies like Neo in The Matrix (which I hate and am forced to watch RIGHT NOW since the hubby found it on tv) OR maybe none of this is real and we are all characters in a book! I love this idea. It is a prevalent theme in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (who is my all time favorite author!(does he have a blog??)).

I honestly don't think any of these things mentioned above are happening. I'm not really that deep or philosophical.

But a scary thought is what if The Matrix has it all right????? In the movie, once you are woken up from your gooey slumber, you can't go back to your dream state. You have to live FOR REAL! Confusing? A little. Ok, a lot. But they sleep in cells (it looks like prison cells) and wear rags for clothing. How dreary and depressing. If my life is only a dream then I do not EVERRRRR want to wake up! I love my life!!! Maybe that sounds corny or you might even be thinking, "how can this girl be so happy and positive all the time?". Well, I keep a readily available supply of wine and books and sunflower seeds. What else does a girl need? (Besides a great pair of shoes?!)

Ok, its late and I am rambling. I'm really not even sure this blog makes sense. I will reread it in the morning and see if it is worth keeping on this site or if it is totally nuts and a waste of your time. If it is a waste, then I will delete it promptly.

Goodnight friends!

Babies, babies and more babies....

So, my cousin Mel and her husband Samuel are having TWINS! And let me mention that they are some of the best people I know; they are kind, considerate, deeply faithful and absolutely hilarious!!!

Now this pregnancy is a big deal but for more than just the obvious reason of being pregnant in the first place. They have been trying to get pregnant for a few years now but it just wasn't in the cards for pregnancy to happen without help. They have gone through some tough stuff here lately but they are now successfully pregnant and with TWO babies, not just one! This is such a blessing for the whole family. Mel is not the first grandkid to have a baby in our family but she is the first one who lives close enough the we will actually be able to see these kiddos and have a relationship that consists of more than the mandatory holiday exchange.

I can not express how excited I am for Mel and Samuel. They will, without a doubt, be amazing, compassionate parents.

But its not just my family having babies. It seems like EVERYONE on Facebook is pregnant or has recently had a baby. Babies, babies, babies. I have babies on the brain! All this baby stuff going around makes me want one!!!

But I think I will just babysit Mel's when they get here and maybe that will fix my baby fever! Hopefully!!!

(My husband and I are not planning on having any kids for another couple of years.)

Until next time.....

A whole YEAR!?!

Has it really been that long since my last post?? Well, yes. And here is why...

2010 included:

1. Planning my wedding
2. Building our house
3. finishing my last semester of college
4. Working
5. Starting a new, much more difficult job
6. Moved into the new house
7. Got married
8. Thanksgiving
9. Christmas

Seriously. I feel like I am FINALLY able to sit down and breathe! This last year has been the most amazing, stressful and joyous year of my life! But I swear I have never been so exhausted. Now I am married and settled into the new house and getting used to my new job.

Life is really great right now.

The scary thing about life being so amazing (and it has been this great for the last year, at least) is that it has to come back down at some point. Now, don't go calling me a pessimist. I am only being realistic. Things can not stay great forever; its only natural for life to have peaks and valleys. I have accepted this as unavoidable therefore I choose to live my life to the fullest, avoid drama and bullshit if at all possible and love those around me as much as I am capable and LET THEM KNOW!!!

So, I am sorry for being gone so long! I am hoping to write regularly on this blog and keep my dearly devoted readers (hopefully) amused. But more importantly I hope I can always make clear the importance of living life every single day and ENJOYING IT! Life is good, if you let it be. Choose the positive. Ignore the drama. See the good in others. But above all, be honest. With others and with yourself.

Have a good night and I will write again soon!

-J.

The C Word....

Ok, so I am not a huge fan of Christmas. Let me put that out there, first thing.

I love the decorations and cold weather clothing, but I am annoyed by the non stop barrage of Christmas music from Thanksgiving day until New Year's Day and the fake niceness of people during this time of year.

First issue, the music, why is it impossible to listen to any station during those six weeks and hear normal, everyday music? It wouldn't be SO bad if there were some Christmas songs mixed in with the rest of the music on the stations, but NO, that is NOT an option! The only option is zero non-holiday music and 24/7 100% Christmas songs remade over and over by today's favorite one hit wonders. Honestly, in twenty years will anyone remember that the Jonas Brothers sang Joy To The World for one season? In twenty years, will anyone even remember that the Jonas Brothers sang anything? That's neither here nor there. The point is, there are apparently no new Christmas songs, only the same overused handful that are remade year after year and played non stop throughout the season. Let's change it up a little!

Second issue. Fake niceness. Look, I appreciate politeness and consideration just as much as the next guy but I like it 365 days a year. Not just during the Christmas season. If you can't be as friendly and generous in July as you are in December, then what is the point? Everyday we should hold doors open for people, donate to charities, let people merge into traffic and basically think of others besides ourselves. Its not hard, but it does take practice. Being nice is like a foreign language, if you don't use it you lose it.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. Please. :)

On Being Unemployed.....

As of the end of July 2009 I have been unemployed. My first thought was that this would be something to celebrate! I can sleep in every morning, laze around on the couch and watch Lifetime, munch on (unhealthy) snacks. Basically enjoy being a young adult with no debt. Right? WRONG!

I apparently can NOT sleep in ever again. My body has adjusted to waking up early for dreaded work so now every morning I am either up on my own at 8 am or my beagle Rocky wakes me up. It seems that all forces are against my sleeping late. Maybe I should take this as a sign to get out there and be productive and do something with my life. Blahblahblah.

To my chagrin I have been pretty busy. The last three weeks we had the boys (ages 6,7) so I tried to entertain them daily while trying not pull my own hair out. I give props to stay at home moms. By deciding to be at home with your kiddos everyday instead of work, you forfeit any quiet or alone time. You also give up watching any movies that are not Disney or cartoon related. And last but certainly not least, you are not allowed the opportunity to be lazy! Not at all! Every second is busy,busy, noise, moving, chaos. But I digress. The days before the boys were enjoyable and quiet and non active which seemed to be just what the proverbial doctor ordered. The days after the boys went back to their mom's, I have not stopped running. It seems there is a never ending list of errands to be run, rooms to be cleaned, floors to be swept/mopped/vaccumed and school work to be completed.

*sigh*

My point is this, the grass is never greener on the other side. I assumed unemployement/housewife/temporary stay-at-home-mom would be a piece of cake compared to working all day long, five days a week. I was wrong. I am just as busy, if not more, at home each day. The only thing missing from my new "job" is human interaction. I am home alone almost all day with my dog, Rocky and he isn't much on holding up his end of the conversation. If it weren't for the incessant errands and chores, I would most likely develop a severe case of cabin fever and go postal within a week. Let's all hope the errands don't end before I find another job!

Until next time,

Your 20 something friend....