Randomness

A few things on my mind this morning:

Say you went into someone’s office to take a break and have a chat with them. When you ask what they’re doing and they reply “I’m trying to hurry and get this document completed before 3:00 pm today” and its very well 2:30pm, would you still sit in their office and continue to talk about yourself and your fantastic weekend?

I need to know why some folks just can’t catch a hint. For example, the same person comes into your office every single day complaining about how they didn’t get any sleep last night or how their back hurts or their head hurts or all of the above. If you don’t respond or even look up at them, why do they still feel the need to come in to repeat this process? If a person ignores you, don’t you get the hint that they don’t care and don’t want to hear about your daily problems?

I’m not trying to be mean but people really need to be more self aware. I don’t need to hear e v e r y s i n g l e f r e a k i n g d a y how you’re soo tired. That shit gets old. Find something new to talk about. I’m not a wall.

On a lighter note, I love the smell of tea bag paper. Not to be mistaken with the actual tea bags. Those smell okay I guess but the paper... mmm. Babers likes to make fun of this so I’m sure he’ll leave a comment about this one.

I’m over lipstick. Tried putting it on the other day and ate it right off.

I’ve always wanted to be that chic who walks around the house in those cute knees socks but just don’t think it looks right on me. I actually own a few pair and will put them on occasionally just to check, maybe I’ll suddenly look good in them today. Nope. Back in the drawer.

That’s it for today. Holla.

Does this look like diet food to you?

Didn't think so.

I've been a foodie for as long as I can remember. As a child, I relished in the cute little arguments my parents would have over who's spaghetti was better. I leaned on the bar as my mom made squash casserole. My nose would lead me into the kitchen when my father cooked italian sausage with onions and mushrooms. Before I can remember, I was making my own food with the guidance of my parents. I enjoyed learning a new odd taste and secretly loved it when my friends "ewww"d over my cheese and pickle sandwiches or love for sardines drowned in ketchup.

It wasn't until I was out on my own that I began to really experiment with different dishes. At the moment, I have more cooking toys than counter and cabinet space. My dream is to have a big kitchen that my family can grown into and enjoy with me.

That said, I may be a foodie but I've also been a dieter for most of my adult life. As a teen I played volleyball and was a cheerleader. After jumping and prancing and yelling for two hours straight the squad and the team always went to the nearest burger joint where we'd wolf down cheeseburgers with mayo and french fries swimming in ketchup.

Imagine my surprise when I graduated high school and gained ten pounds. Unlike most college freshman I did not gain the freshman fifteen. After gaining those pounds after high school and quickly losing it, I had learned the calories in, calories out rule. Since I no longer cheered two to three nights a week I picked up running. I can still remember the feeling when I got my first runners high. It was love at first... pavement?

I no longer love running like I did back in the day. I'm a little older and my knees remind me of that when I try to break into a sprint at the gym track. But, I do still love food.

Before Thanksgiving I joined WeightWatchers and people, I have nothing but praise for that organization. I already knew the basics but just having the numbers in front of me really helps. Do I sound like I'm getting paid to advertise? I'm not, really. (Swear.) I know once I hit my goal I'll have this knowledge with me to keep me on track for the rest of my life.

I just wanted to share some of the recipes that I've created and am enjoying while on WeightWatchers. It seems like everyone is on a diet these days and well, talking and sharing always keeps me motivated.


Mexi Sausage Quesadilla with Spicy Corn (first shot above)

2 oz Oscar Mayer Turkey Sausage
chopped onion
chopped red & green bell pepper
low fat Bordens shredded cheese
Parkey Butter Spray (zero cal, zero fat, tastes likes butter!)
tortilla

Before you turn your nose up at the turkey sausage, I'll have you know this stuff is really, really good. Even J ate it and liked it. (He's such a champ and a great support for me.)

Saute veggies in the spray butter. I just open the top and pour a little butter in the pan. When the onions start looking clear throw the chopped turkey sausage in and season. I used cumin, salt and garlic powder. After about 5 minutes of cooking the sausage with the veggies, dump the pan full of goodness onto the tortilla. Top with shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and put back into the pan to grill until cheese is melted.

Spicy Corn: basically throw the same veggies as above in a small cooking pot with spray butter along with kernel corn and chopped jalapenos. I spiced mine up more with hot sauce.


Western Eggs (second shot above)

1 egg
chopped onions, bell peppers & mushrooms
fat free cheese
salsa

Saute the veggies, throw in the scrambled egg, top with cheese and a little salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once on your plate top with salsa. Delish!

Happy Dieting Y'all! *muah* Enjoy.

Its hot. Don't deny it.

Nocturnal Tendencies has called upon his fellow bloggers to follow him in showing our lighthearted side. His rules state to keep it simple, a goofy photo showing the silly, lighthearted side of you shall do. I am personally begging you all to play along in an attempt to share in the embarrassment.

You lucky reader get two for the price of one!

That's my sis on the left. If you know me at all, you know I have tons of these ridiculous photos of us. It started Christmas of 2006 when Jason got me my first digital camera. (Thanks babe!)

Anyways, hope you all play along!

Digi cam update: Grrrr!!! I didn't pay much attention as to how my fabulous camera would be delivered. Fed Ex delivery, signature only. So I see the doortag at 5:30 after work that says "Sorry we missed you!" and try the 1-800 number to track down my camera. They give me an address where my camera is being held but tell me to dial 4 for store hours and phone number for that location. No luck. They don't offer the number. So then I call a nearby Fed Ex and ask if they know the number. They do but can't give it out. (What??) Its their storage shipping place. I get directions and the hours and race over trying to beat the dark. I find the place and give them my door tag. Ten minutes later a guy comes out with my door tag but no package. Tells me its not in this unit but the express unit, which closes at 5:00. Argh!!!

I just feel so bad, my poor little cam sitting in that big warehouse all alone, just waiting to meet her mama. I can't help but think "Is she hungry? Is she scared? Does she need me?"

I'll try again tomorrow. *sigh*

Can It Get Any Worse???

Okay so I KNOW the title is a bit dramatic, but I'm just exhausted after the work day.

I work about 44 hours a week, open and close the office and take care of all that is necessary to run a small office. You'd think I'd go home feeling stress-free, what with only three people in the office including myself. Nope. My boss counts as 3 people.

Yesterday the man handed me a set of rolled up plans and asked me to have 3 sets printed, telling me who they were to go to in the morning. A pick up was made, the plans were dropped back off and while he was out of the office I rolled them into their sets and labeled them for the individuals picking them up.

*stare*

This morning I get in early and this is the conversation:

Boss: Jill??! JILL??! (Our office is small, there is no need to holler.)

Me: Yes? (First thing in the morning I'm forced to cop an attitude.)

Boss: What are these?

Me: (In other room) What are WHAT?

I walk into the conference room. He's unrolling all the sets I've done just yesterday for him. Papers are falling off onto the floor, I can't tell which plans belong to which set anymore. I want to cry. Instead I cop more attitude.

Me: What are you doing?? Those were bound & labeled the way you wanted.

Boss: This is wrong. This isn't Project A.

Me: Yes it is. It says it right there on the plans.

He's shaking his head at this point.

Boss: No its not. These aren't the plans I wanted printed.

He looks at me like its my fault.

Me: I printed the plans that you handed to me. Remember yesterday? You put them in front of me and said "Print these".

He's still shaking his head. He then tells me I need to tune in more to what he's working on so I'll know. I tell him I am tuned in but how am I supposed to know that the plans he said he wanted me to print were in fact not really the plans he wanted printed at all? I told him I couldn't read minds.

I'm so freaking tense as I type this. J called me a minute ago and as I was sharing my incident with him I could hear my voice become strained. My shoulder muscles had tightened up.

This is a three person office and I feel this way. There really isn't that much going on but these incidents can put us back. It feels like it did when I used to work 60 hours a week planning conferences and managing associations. This job should be stress free.

J has given me some advice on confronting him, says that just because he's the boss doesn't mean he shouldn't be spoken to about issues that are disrupting the office (and my sanity). Please, if you have any advice on this matter, ridiculous or serious, I want to hear. Please share.

Blast from the Past

While cleaning up my photo folder, I came across this shot. Its so silly so of course I had to share. I have long hair in this shot so its got to be around a year old.

Hello Lover

Dear Nikon D40x,

I just ordered you and I'm sooo anxious to find you in my mailbox next week I can hardly stand it. It took me nearly 10 minutes just to click the final "complete order" button. This purchase stands for something.

I've been making jewelry for over 7 years now but mainly for fun, for creative release. Another one of my creative addictions. I have been told for years that I need to get off my hiney and start taking this seriously. You are the one thing I've needed that has kept me from actually taking professional shots of my jewelry and loading it onto a selling site. Now that I officially have you on order I have NO EXCUSE not to try to move forward. I'm so freaking excited to see you!!!!

I may even shave my legs on Monday, your arrival day. Maybe even break out the red lipstick.

I love you and I haven't even met you yet. Is that too forward?

I pray for your safe arrival. Until then, I'll be dreaming of you.

Sincerely,

Jill

HOW DO YOU DO IT???

I've seen this tag on a few of my favorite sites lately and thought I'd give it a try. If you want to play here 's the directions:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together

Here's mine:

















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Award? For meeee???

Sweet Claudia slapped me with a really cool award that I must brag about:

I must admit, I've been a bit of a slacker on good material lately and feel stretched just popping in to catch up and make my rounds to all bloggy friends' new posts. So this award, *sniff* it just, *sniff* means a lot. *sniff sniff*

But since we are on the topic, I need to know how some of you freaks do it. Not IT, I mean BLOG. Not just blog, but the amount of blogging you do on a daily/weekly basis. Sometimes I'll log onto my bloglines in the evening and see just as many blogs updated as I saw just yesterday evening!! Do you not take baths? Skip meals? Pawn your children off on neighbors to have time for this addiction?

"Go play in the street son, Mama's gotta blog!!"

Seriously, after dinner, clean up, working out (or not), making a few new jewelry pieces, it takes the rest of my evening to settle on the couch to make my reading rounds and then that leaves no time for posting on my own. To be honest, reading y'alls new posts are way more entertaining than writing my own, but I don't want to be left out! *sob*

I need a moment.

Okay, I'll try to be better. Promise!

Jewelry Questions!!!

I've had a lot of awesome compliments on my jewelry and a few questions thrown in the comment box too. I do have just a couple of pieces on my ebay site, link shown at right top of side bar. If you click on View Sellers Other Items you can see a couple others. Also, if you want to see more or if you are interested in buying, just shoot me an email: blueeyez055@aol.com. I don't normally give out my email but I trust y'all won't be begging for nudie shots. ;)

I have a date with my handsome boyfriend this weekend to purchase my camera. Once purchased I plan to take good quality shots of all the new sets I've made and post them on my Etsy site for selling. Hey Kitty - I've got most of it figured out, I'll shoot you a line when I figure out how to list items! Kitty has this precious talent for making sock monkeys. I luff them!! Go check her out if you haven't seen them yet.

Every Day Kindness

I realize now the reason I hesitated at joining Claudia in her every day kindess site. If I'm not around other people, its hard to reach out and be kind to them. Especially if there is no direct interaction with them. So I tried a simple kindness today. No laughing.

I smiled at everyone today. When I went for my weekly office grocery run I smiled at other shoppers as I passed them in the aisle. This particular store is tailored to meet the elderly's needs and so I did a lot of smiling at grandpa and grandma. And you know what? Its CONTAGIOUS. I smiled, they smiled. This one older man was a little taken back by my smile, and gave me that "do I know you?" look, but ended up smiling back anyway. I got so tickled that I played racer-cart to the next aisle so I wouldn't giggle in front of him. I felt silly doing it, but it felt good at the same time. Kind of like playing doctor/patient dress up with your boyfriend. Err, nevermind.

I smiled at the clients that came into my office, which I usually try to do anyway. I smiled at the runner who came to pick up an order for mailing and told her that I appreciated her coming out to pick our order up. I just thought, maybe this person was having a bad day and a random person's smile might take their mind off of it for a minute.

So, maybe it was a small act of kindness but it was kind. I think I'll really have to start peeking on other folks on the EveryDayKindness blogroll for ideas for hermits. :)

That's all I got people. Holla.

Samesies!!

Sorry. I know the title is seriously random, but isn't that what this blog is about anyway? J and I watched SuperBad again this weekend and I can't stop throwing the lines out. Samesies!! We also trekked over to a nearby city to watch Cloverfield in the theatre. I'll rate this movie 7 out of 10. The pros? The unique angle of the filming (unless you consider BlareWitch on the same level, which I don't). The cons? If you are prone to anxiety attacks then this movie is not for you. It. Is. Tense.

A few photos from the weekend:

I love old broken down sheds. They make the best still life. Eerie moment of the weekend below. Driving down the highway with J, saw this amazing site. Not sure if you can see them well enough but that's thousands of birds flocking above this lake in the middle of a field. That shot only captured about a third of the birds.
















And now for my favorite photo of the weekend, Baber's delicious grilled redfish with spicy corn and mushrooms. I can't tell you how yum this meal was. I think he purposely fed this to me right before I had to hit the road back to home, maybe an attempt to make me stay?



















As usual, we had an awesome time. While J was grilling the fish I was playing with the fire. I'm obsessed now I think. I really hated to leave him.

Well, since this has obviously become a photo post, I figure I'll throw in a couple more. Below is a set I just made for an order. What? Oh yes, I know I need to vacuum, shut it!

And a couple of other pieces I did.

I have so much more to post including an award I received (thanks Claudia!) but I have really got to catch up on housework and laundry. I'm taking advantage of being off today by getting my life back in order. I was up at 7:30 am and its gone a little something like this: Same Walton's House of Horrors (as Papa calls it) for healty food like brown rice, shrimp, Lean Cuisines and flavored water. Check. To the tailors for slacks. Check. To Hobby Lobby for some crafties. Check. Visited the fruit stand for fresh pineapple, edamame, bell peppers and mushrooms to name a few items. Check. Back in time for some homemade fish tacos. This hardly feels like a diet. *rubbing happy belly*

Oh yeah, blog post. Check.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Catching Up

I feel like I haven't been a very good blogger lately. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who hone in on one thing at a time and usually don't pop up for breath until I've run it into the ground. My latest addiction is making my jewelry again. I've gotten a few more orders and put a couple things on Ebay. Not sure if I'm going to add more, the listing fees will eat you up. I'm hoping to have my camera by the end of the month and after I take photos I'll have them up on a selling site. Check out the goodies I get to play with. Can you blame me?



A few things going on. Let's start with work. My boss may have multiple personalities. I know this because out of the blue he has become a very tolerable, NICE, easy to work for human being. You remember the boss stories, don't you? Well, he still does really unmannerly things. Example? How about when he comes into my office after he's heard me open a 100 Calorie pack. As he walks in I can see his eyes searching my desk for that tiny packet of snacks and before I know it he's shoved his fat fingers into it, grabbing half the snacks. I mean, SERIOUSLY. Who does that?? Its MY snack damn it. There's an entire box of them in the pantry! I throw the bag out when he walks out the room cuz we all know he doesn't wash his hands after he pees. *bleh* I found myself hiding my Lean Cuisine today because of this habit of his. I'm going to develop food aggression if he doesn't stop.

But, I should stop here because I'm trying to reflect on the good of the moment. It may not last long and I want to enjoy it. My boss has let me off early most days this week, says please and thank you, has ceased yelling my name repeatedly from down the hall with guests in his presence until I am standing before him, AND - here's the big one - he has not asked me to copy one thing this whole week! Yes people, he has been copying everything on his own! Its amazing.

Next I want to announce two small goals I've made for myself as of today.

Goal #1 - Starting Weight Watchers again. I took a break from it for the holidays and after losing 10 lbs on it. I'm back in the gym and also went to my first (second-first?) weigh in this evening. I'm always amazed at how great I feel when I'm eating according to their points system along with steady exercise. I'm ready for that again!

Goal #2 - I've just sent a request to be a part of EveryDayKindness. Its a site Claudia at On A Limb started at the beginning of the year which documents her small or large acts of kindness daily. She has invited others to join her and I want on the bandwagon. I read her blogs daily and often think about what I do to make someone smile or make someone's day better and decided to just jump in.




I'm starting small on my kindness. Today I thanked my boss for his change this week. As a small act of kindness to myself I walked the track for 30 minutes. I can already feel the benefits of this. I have also said a little prayer for a fellow blogger who has recently had a health scare. I won't advertise, but my penpal knows who she is.

On a different note, I'm visiting Babers this weekend. I'm looking forward to monkey arms wrapping me up upon my arrival, as well as a greeting from the pack of dogs living in the area. If Woody starts peeing on my tire, I'll kick him in the hiney. I can't wait to see the newborn puppies mothered by a cute stray hound-type I recently tagged as Lady. Funny enough, after I named her we started noticing her nips getting puffy! (Guess she's not so much of a lady, is she now?) I'm also looking forward to sitting by the fire at night with my glass of wine and my guy, possibly with a Mini Monster on my lap. There is no burning light of a city to spoil the beautiful starry sky where he lives. Yet another thing I'm looking forward to.

Hope you guys have an awesome weekend!! *kisses!*

These are a few of my favorite things

So I've been a jewery addict the last couple of days. Do you know how hard it is to take photos of yourself and still get the jewelry in the shot? I need some friends... Anyway, here are a few of my favorites.

I heart turquoise.
















































Below is dragonskin turquoise. Cool name, huh?

Sunday Mutterings & Restless Minds

1. Dream big :: my own boutique
   
2. Competition :: hate it


3. Torn :: my thoughts on having children


4. Modeling :: lose half my body weight *snort*


5. Coaster :: roller


6. Slut :: whore
(try it, you'll end up calling everyone this. Slutwhore. See? Its funny.)

7. Spread :: eagle


8. Amanda :: Rama


9. Romance :: novels


10. Paradise :: me, babers, the beach, no phones, & margaritas!

Stacie does these and I thought I'd give it a try. Wanna play? Go here.

Restless Minds

I've been out of pocket this week - I adopted a handsome guy and his crazy mini puppy for the week. Babers had a class to attend here so I had the honor of being graced with his presence for not one, not two, but 5 full days. In those 5 days I learned something.

I learned that I've been naive about my thoughts on the daily life of a working mother. Recently an older woman I know was complaining about how she used to get off work around three in the afternoon but no longer does. She complained that she hardly had time to run her errands, get home to cook dinner and take care of her three-person household, not to mention taking care of her needs. I sat there thinking "Is she serious?" I'm embarrassed to say but I felt as if she was being weak. My mother had three children, a husband and herself to take care of after working full time as a teacher, not to mention grading papers, packing lunches, tending to baths, ironing clothes - this woman only has one child and she can't manage?

This week I came home to Jason and Mini, and each evening I was greeted with hugs and kisses and puppy lickings. Then I'd settle on the couch for snuggles, but my mind raced with motherly-type tendings: cooking supper, cleaning up, laundry.

I felt as if I couldn't rest. I almost felt guilty just sitting on the couch to hang out with J. (But I still did it, duh.) I think women have this internal need to nurture and its hard to turn off. Even if I didn't have chores to do and even after the dinner was done and the dishes cleaned (thanks to Babers), I still felt restless, like I needed to be doing something. I never feel like that during the week when I'm alone. The dishes can pile up and the carpet can grow things on it before I whip out the vacuum cleaner and I'll still park my ass on the couch for hours. But with Jason there, I feel like I need to be something else for him, something better.

It made me re-think things. I can now see how easy it would be for a woman to "let herself go" after children and years of marriage. I can see how easily it would be to put others first and keep telling myself that I'll shave my legs later. Believe me, I was not in any way swamped taking care of Babers and Mini, by any means. He probably took just as much care of me and well, Mini is no problem. Actually, J takes care of Mini like she's his child. Still, I just felt it while they were there - that need to nurture and clean and take care of something, anything. It was the strangest thing.

Anyway, restless mind or not, I still had an awesome week. Little popeye snores in the morning, laying in the blue light with his freezing ass feet on my legs... Popcorn and movies in bed, long walks with the Mini Monster... Sweet notes left on my car. So nice. How was your weekend?

Am I The Only One Who

Hates when people look at my food when I'm fixing it or while I'm eating it? Get. A. Way.


Feels the yellow light is unnecessary? We already have the green light and ain't nobody stopping for the yellow one anyway. Bumper car nation.


Finds unsanitary people repulsive? As in don't-stand-near-me repulsive. As in wash-your-hands-after-you-pee repulsive.


Laughs when a chic has a tattoo on her tummy? If she gets old or pregnant...? Sorry if you have one, I get a giggle out of it. Oh! Think about this though - if its a tattoo of her man's name on her belly and she does get preggers, then when he's doing the laundry with her he'll see his name coming at him all stretched out. Fred. Fred. FRED. FRED. That's gotta freak a man out, right?


Despise when women who don't need to lose weight say they need to lose weight? You all know that chic who slaps her flat tummy and says Ugh, I am so fat! then looks around at the other women waiting for a No you aren't! or looks for the men to say Girl you are so hot! You don't need to lose anything. Bitch please. (oh! Sorry if that was a bit out of character. I've been watching ANTM and Ms. Jay says that all the time.)

By the way, there's a rule on this and this is it: If you are smaller (as in skinnier, thinner, have less fat) than your friend, you are not allowed to talk about how faaaattt you are with her. Its RUDE. If you think you are fat and I am 2 sizes larger than you, then you are basically saying I am a LARD ASS. Shut it.

Is tired of self-centered friends? I think I have the scent on me because I attract them like flies. I once had a friend who made me feel awful about wanting to spend most of my weekends with my boyfriend (who lives out of town during the week). Like working with her, talking to her on the phone most evenings and going out for dinner every other weekend wasn't enough. People should really be more self-aware.

Worry about little old ladies at the grocery? I'm so nervous that some crack needy asshole is going to try and rob one of her bitty purse as she's walking to her car with a handful of bags. Even more, I fear my Maw Maw will have this happen to her.

One Life, My Love

I re-read the last post and I had to take it down. The last thing I want to do is hurt my soul mate and I'm afraid I may have (a little).

That post really wasn't intended as a hint or a gripe/rant type of post towards or about my relationship. I've always been a deep romantic at heart and when that movie came on and that song played in the background I just felt all sappy and girlie and had to share the way I felt. Isn't that what blogs are for? But, when I read some of your comments I realized it could be taken different ways.

True I'd like a little more romance in my life - what woman doesn't? However, my relationship with Babers gets better each day and with each day I'm certain that he is the man I want to love forever, naturally romantic or not. What makes a difference to me is an attempt. I even told him if he hid a pair of his boxers in my purse as an attempt at romance I'd take it!

We have one life. ONE. I can't help but strive to make my life as beautiful as possible. The hardest part is over - finding my soul mate. The peas for my carrots, the ying for my yang, the Beavis for my Butthead. You get the picture. Now I just want the decorations. The little things. And the only person I want those from is him.

I wuv you babers.

Tookie Tales

I don't usually advertise other people's blogs on here but you must go visit Tookie Tales. Give my Mama a little support yo. If you like me (and I know you do!) you'll like Tookie's posts. After all, I am her offspring and the apple don't fall far from the tree. (Meaning the tree is cool and quirky like me. Does that make sense? No? Shush.)

Tookie's a newbie here in blogsville so give her some slack and pay her a visit. Pronto.

Happy Saturday y'all. ;)

Whispers in the Night

Before you get started I want to state a warning. If you don't believe in ghosts or spirits or think all that is baloney then you may want to skip this post. I'm not saying the following is factual, I'm just blogging yo.

I mentioned in a previous post about how I need to sleep with a night light. Yes, I said NEED. I sleep with one constantly until the weekend comes because Babers doesn't like it shining in his eyeball. Understandable. He had gotten into the habit a bit back of plugging the night light back in before he left on Sunday but has fallen out of that habit lately. (Bad bad.) The result? I climb into bed, turn off my lamp light and the room is consumed in complete blackness, sending me flying out of the bed, covers everywhere, me tripping over shit to get that night light plugged in. Being in my room in complete darkness freaks me out.

Reason? Here goes... (LBB, that ... was for you. Carrying on... *snort* Okay, I'll stop.)

When I was younger my sister and I shared a room. At some point it was time to move into separate bedrooms, that time being when I could see a distinct line in between her side and mine. That line being her clothes and other various items she owned on the floor that I would shove off my side creating a pretty little divider.

I keep getting off subject. Grr.

Lil sis and I always had a night light in our room, so when I moved into another room I thought I was grown enough to sleep without one. Man I was wrong.

I slept in the spare room which was located in the front of the house away from the other bedrooms. Most nights my mother would stay up until I went to sleep. Maybe she thought I was scared being away from everyone else. (I was a little.) On those nights that she didn't it took forever for me to fall asleep. The air would kick on and I would hear what I thought were whispers. Even if the air was off I'd hear them, but they were quieter. I've always slept on my tummy and would get cricks in my neck from twisting around to peer in the dark at where the whispers were coming from. And then of course my mind would play tricks on me and I thought I would see things in the dark in my room.

Needless to say, I got a night light.

Miraculously, the whispering stopped.

I've slept with a night light every day since then. Then one day my mom and I were watching Sylvia Browne and a lady in the audience stood up to say that she thought her young daughter heard spirits talking at night and wouldn't stay in her own bed. Sylvia simply said "Put a night light in her room and they'll leave her be."

Chills immediately shot up my entire body that day when Sylvia said that and my mom and I just turned and looked at each other, wide-eyed. Neither of us knew it at the time, but she had also been witness to the night whispers too. It took me a little while after hearing that to feel comfortable sleeping alone again without my lamp and night light on, but eventually the lack of good sleep got to me and I started turning the lamp off again.

I can't help but believe what I heard to be true. Do you ever just have a feeling about something and know its true? Anyway, just thought I'd put it out there. Now, let me go plug my night light in.

Jewelry Crazy

Well, I tried. My camera can get shots like this but it just doesn't show the beautimous details on the beads. This is my newest creation made specifically for a new top I purchased for nights out with Babers. That's the beauty of making your own jewelry...

"I simply have no jewelry to wear with this outfit!"

*open jewelry supply* Ta da!!!

The gray beads are diamond cut and really sparkly and purty and the black beads are hand painted and carved. Oh and my hair is covering the chain that the beads on the earring dangles from. Grr. You just can't see it all very well here. Anyway, Stacie (and company) asked for jewelry shots so here's the best you'll get until the new camera is purchased. Maybe I'll try to work with more shots of other jewelries this weekend.

By the way, if you could try NOT to focus on my pores and hone in on the jewelry itself, I'd be so grateful. Thanks.

New Years Eve

The promised New Years pics. Told you I was a photowhore.

Friends of ours have a pretty little piece of property tucked away by the river and every year they build a huge bonfire for New Years Eve. I so wish I would have taken a picture of this monster. The pre-lit bonfire was easily 20 ft wide and 20 ft tall. Though it seems like we were alone in the photos, there's always a big group of us. We talk, laugh, throw poppers at the feet of the unsuspecting, knock back a few.

















Will ya look at that? Babers is SMILING.
















Mini had all the freedom to roam that night, leash free, but don't you know she stayed right underneath our feet the entire night? She's not too keen on the fireworks but if you picked her up and held her, she'd actually look in the sky at them going off. I swear it felt like she was our child that night. Good practice?















Yep, we start 'em out young in the country. Rednecks much? Check out the Hooters Edition Bud Light bottle. I jokingly told someone to save all their bottles because I was going to make a chandelier out of them. One of the women in the group actually believed me.

And yes - *sigh* - that's a fish mouth coozie. So what?



















She is HUMAN I tell ya. Posing for the picture, that's my girl!
















And this is my I've-had-one-too-many-glasses smile.















Did ya think there'd only be one midnight kiss? Psht!

I'm going to scrapbook one of those kissie shots like I did last year, try to start a little tradition of my own. Help me decide which one is better - the top one or this last one.

I know I said my resolution would be to lose 10 lbs, but I think I also want to add one more: To live one day at a time. I'm such a natural worry-wart and I've really got to stop thinking so damn much about the future. What ifs run through my mind constantly. I'm going to give myself a brain wrinkle if I don't get ahold of it. I'm sure I'll tack on a few more resolutions by the time one of those photos gets scrapped.

Wanted to share a pretty fire shot from earlier in the weekend:




















So, I've got one question before I wrap this post up: How long can I keep my Christmas tree up before it becomes obnoxious?

Quick Explanation: J Out of Town

A couple of people have recently asked me about the living situation with J and I, why he's living a couple of hours away. I thought I'd clear it up with one post.

Let's rewind back to the beginning...

J and I went to high school together. I attended a very small K-12 school and my sophomore year of high school a handful of new students came along, one being J. I believe we hit it off pretty early on, though I joke a bit with him about how I'm still not sure we ever really dated back in high school. He says we did but I like to rib him about how I couldn't tell, seeing as he never even tried to kiss me. (Sorry babe!)

We were always joking around with each other back then and had the same sense of humor. We just got each other. But, we graduated and then went our separate ways. Every few years we would run into each other, but the timing was never right. Plus, J was pretty much a bad ass in his early 20's and well, that just wasn't my style. Okay, OKAY, and I was SCARED. I was always the good girl and sometimes J just looked at me like he was gonna sop me up with a biscuit if I wasn't careful.

Fast forward to present day...

J and I have been dating for a year and 8 months. I opened a yearbook today and did a little math: as of this year, J and I have known each other for 14 years. I'm still a little amazed at times. I look at him doing something so normal, like folding a shirt to put in his designated drawer in the dresser and I'll think "Jason C from high school is standing in my room, using one of my dresser drawers." So strange how life turns out.

When J and I first got together his job was ending and he was offered a temporary job to get his foot in the door for a better, permanent position with the same company. He accepted and warned me that the position he would eventually be placed in would move him out of the city, about 2 hours away. Six months into the temp position, he announced that his permanent position had opened. He would pack his bags and be moving to his new place of residence the next week.

My heart sank but I was told that he would only be there until the job ended. As an inspector in construction, he goes where the projects are and it just so happened that the way to get his foot in the door was a project two hours away. Once this job ends, hopefully end of next summer, he'll move on to the next project. The word is in that he wants to be placed closer to home, if not in his home city, and let's just say I'm crossing my fingers. I'm nervous even posting about that part because I don't want to jinx it.

There is sooo much more to the story, but I'm soo sleepy. Besides, if I posted the entire story now, what fun would that be? Oh, and blogger would probably kick me off for the world's longest post EVA.

A few New Year's Eve photos next. I'm just so.... sleeeepppyyy.....*snore*

Night peeps. Hope everyone had an awesome New Year's.