The Spaz: Take 2

So.

I spent that better part of an hour in the wee hours of this morning writing this emotion driven blog post all about Whitney Houston's funeral - of which I didn't get the chance to sit down and watch until last night.

Then you know what happened? My iPad ate it. All that emotion, all those tears. It ate them all. I can't find that damn post anywhere. So as I chatted this over with a friend on Twitter last night - we determined that the world was simply not ready for the awesomness that was my emotion driven Whitney Houston post. But I'll give you the highlights:

• I had been purposely putting off watching her funeral. I'd posted my lovely little blog post in her memory and I wasn't quite ready to process it any further than that. I was a total spaz during Michael Jackson's funeral - I knew her's would be worse. And it was.
• When they carried her casket out to her own voice singing "I Will Always Love You" it was quite possibly the saddest thing I've ever seen.
• I cried for 3 straight hours. My eyes are still puffy. Thank goodness I had nothing of major importance to go and do today. 

Now we can all move on from that...

I am still jobless - just to update you all on that situation. I am still not regretting my decision. Ask me again if I remain jobless much longer and my opinion on that may have changed. I have applied for every job I am qualified for and some that I'm not. I'm getting interviews but no worthwhile job offers yet. I could use some thoughts and prayers...

More than once the thought of moving has crossed my mind since this whole job quitting thing occurred. Which is ludicrous considering that I have no money for relocating and have no good idea of where I would go anyway. What's even more ludicrous is that I spelled ludicrous as Ludacris first - as in the rapper. My ghetto side has shown itself. I learned how to spell Ludacris before I learned to spell ludicrous. Don't judge me!

Let's see, what else... Well I think that's about it actually. If any of you have any ideas on how I can make money (no - prostitution is not an option) via freelance writing or anything else really - let me know. Not that I actually expect anyone to have any ideas - but it doesn't hurt to put it out there I guess.

Since we mentioned Ludacris - let's kick back with some Old Skool Luda and Albany, GA's own Field Mob.

Oops... my ghetto is showing!

The Holly Has Been Hauled Out, & Hauled Back In Again...

Happy New Year everyone - I'm back from vacay with the usual cold and/or sinus infection from California. I'm not sure what it is but the fam always seems to be sick when I go visit them. So I spent my New Year's Eve sneezing, sniffling and compiling a large trash bag full of tissues - then rolled into bed at midnight doped up on Nyquil and a lovely hot toddy my father made me out of Peruvian whiskey. I want to share with you my California adventures, but first...

The Marilyn Monroe shot glasses were a Christmas present from Seester & Bro-in-law. LOVE! 

So the holly has been hauled out for yet another season - and has now been hauled back in again. It's time to ring in another brand new year. I've learned to love New Year's Eve celebrations - they never meant much to me in the past. But now I feel the need to reflect upon and celebrate the passing of the old year and gather positive energy for the new year.

I feel that there are many good things coming my way in 2012. I have made great strides in 2011 and though it hasn't been a particularly fantastic year for me, I can't complain too much. There are things I am not happy with, but they mostly center around my own personal issues and not my life in general. This year has been my worst yet for personal, mental and physical struggles. But I believe I have some good things in place and I've built a solid foundation. I know that my happiness is up to me - and my focus for 2012 is on being my own best friend instead of my own worst enemy.

I learned some valuable life lessons in 2011 - I'd like to share just a few of them with you...

What I learned in 2011:

• Cheap eyelash curlers are just as good as expensive ones - maybe even better. Save your 20+ bucks.

• Cheap facial moisturizers however, are NOT an option after 30. You can get away with it in your 20's - but you shouldn't use them then either. Spring for the good stuff, your future wrinkles will thank you.

“Wisdom doesn't automatically come with old age. Nothing does - except wrinkles. It's true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place.” ~ unknown 

• The people who tell you "life is too short to spend one day of it doing things you don't love" don't have a full grasp on reality. It must be nice that they don't have to do things they don't particularly enjoy but... Here's the truth: sometimes in life we have to spend a significant amount of time doing shit we don't particularly like to do and being around people we don't particularly care for. You aren't going to enjoy every second of every day. For example, I don't particularly like going to the grocery store - but I like to eat. Necessary evil. I also don't particularly like heroin addicts. Not exactly the kind of people I want to spend my days with - but I need a paycheck and they need someone to show them how to live without injecting black tar heroin into their blood streams every day - so I go to work. My job allows me to get some very important work experience in and were I to work elsewhere I'd not be able to do what I do. So I do it. I complain about it a lot - and I will likely continue to. Oh well... Sometimes you have to find a way to make lemons out of lemonade (preferably raspberry lemonade with some sweet tea vodka stirred in) until you can make it to the point in life where you are in a better situation - or you find a job that you love. It takes work to get there - and sometimes we have to do things we don't particularly like for a while in order to get to where we want to be. You can't go from nothing to National Champion quality show horse trainer overnight - you gotta spend quite a few years shoveling shit first. Even after you get there, sometimes you even have to go back to shoveling shit when there's no one else there to do it.

"At this very moment, there are people only you can reach, and differences only you can make." ~ Unknown

• Sometimes you give someone or something your all and it doesn't work out. And that's ok because despite all I've been through, I STILL believe that everything happens for a reason.

"When someone tells you who they are, believe them." - Maya Angelou

• Money can't make you happy? I call bullshit! Most of my struggles, concerns and troubles stem from financial issues. I'm feeling fairly certain that money could, in fact - make me quite happy right now. Sorry feel-good, do-gooders. I'd be able to do more feel-good, do-good stuff if I had the financial wherewithal. Check back next New Year's Day - maybe my perception on that will have changed. But for now... nope. 

• I'm convinced that I am doomed to a life of dry, itchy scalp issues. I have experimented with my hair care regimen all year. Nothing works. The best I've figured out is this: 1) I have to wash my hair daily. I know most people say that it's better for the scalp if you don't wash daily - but that is not true for me. Day 2 is when the itching becomes unbearable. 2) Blow dry it as often as possible. Another thing that is the complete opposite of what other people tell me to do. 3) It doesn't matter what shampoo I use. It all makes my scalp itch, even the scalp relief ones and the really expensive ones. 

"Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker." ~ Linus from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

• Birthdays have COMPLETELY lost their appeal. But it's nice when someone gives you something nice for your birthday - because at this point I'm just getting older. It helps to kill the "I'm not at the point in life I'd wanted to be by this age" sting to get a nice ring, necklace, or Coach purse to commiserate with. Unfortunately, no one gets me any of the above. So I get them for myself. 

"Inside every older person is a younger person, wondering what happened." ~ unknown

• And finally - I have realized that I am now, in fact -  turning into my mother. More importantly though, I've realized that this isn't a bad thing after all. 

"All women become like their mothers.  That is their tragedy.  No man does.  That's his." 

~ Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

I wish you all the best for 2012 and I'd LOVE to hear about the life lessons you've learned this year! 

Things that make me happy...

Things that..

Hockey season is finally back! 
My birthday is in 5 days.
After this week - there's only 1 more week of wretched Algebra left! And right now - I'm passing... but only because my dear friend Jeffy is a brilliant tutor! I'd be totally screwed right now without him. I'm so blessed in the friends department. 
My amazing friends. 
HALLOWEEN IS SOON!!! I just love Halloween... It gives me an excuse to wear my pimp costume and smack people ;)
Coming soon: Thanksgiving and Christmas!Christmas is my most favorite time of year EVER! (Not including the beginning of hockey season of course - that's hard to beat.) 
Planning a vegan Thanksgiving.
Going to see my family for Christmas. 
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
And this collabo:
 
& this song too...
 
 
& last but certainly not least...

YOU - my fabulous bloggy friends! I am so grateful for all the wonderful friends I've made through blogging - I may not get to visit your blogs as often as I'd like right now with all that's going on, but I want you to know that I appreciate you and your comments. 
Ya'll ROCK! 
Have a wonderful Wednesday loves!

Weekend Highlights & Pictures

This is the Tiny Dancer of the family - my niece modeling her new dance costume!

Random picture from an iPhone app I have that cracked me up...

Totally... (via)

Major weekend highlight: 

Sitting in a luxury suite Saturday night with all my favorite hockey friends courtesy of Phoenix Coyotes COO Mike Nealy. Being a die-hard, won't-shut-the-hell-up Coyotes fan does have it's perks! This is my little friend Maddy with Fox Sports Arizona's Coyotes TV Color Analyst Tyson Nash.

Getting this little surprise present in the mail from my mother. She made it herself.

:D

And last but certainly not least - the start of Vegan MoFo. An entire month of vegan fabulousness from some of the best vegan bloggers around the interwebz. 

I will be sharing lots of vegan goodness myself - click on the banner below and check it out!

 

Fall

I miss the changing seasons...

{via}

In Phoenix we have two seasons: F*n Hot and Not Quite as Hot.

Back home in Georgia they will soon be feeling a slight chill in the morning air - the first sign that fall is imminent. Those mornings were my favorite growing up.

Fall in South Georgia is one of the simple things in life that brings me immeasurable joy.

I miss those muddy South Georgia rivers & creeks...

But my real reason for loving the smell of that crisp Georgia air was that it meant the Albany Autumn Classic Charity Horse Show was right around the corner.

that's not me by the way...

Then not long after that - the annual AHAF Thanksgiving Arabian Horse Show in Florida. Showing and training Arabian horses was my passion - briefly my career - and now a fond memory. I hope to one day have it back in my life.

Another thing from my childhood I miss greatly is our yearly family vacations in the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

{via}

What's your favorite thing about fall?

etsy wish list!

I adore etsy. I've compiled quite the wish list in there. I'd like to share a few of my favorite finds with you on this magical Monday. It's no secret that I adore everything in zebra print - so let's start there!

Here we have a hand painted zebra night stand from artworksbycarol.

Perfect for the black & white Marilyn room, no?

Truer words have never been spoken... 

Too bad I have no where to put it! 

Sterling silver glass pendant necklace

And matching earrings!

And speaking of Marilyn... Here's a Marilyn Monroe small trinket box from charmingladies3

What's this, you ask? 

Why... it's a Tofu Pirate! 

(And that's damn funny... I don't care who you are!)

I also love my Starfish...

THIS is my next beach cover-up! 

If I ever have a little girl - she is SO getting one of these!

{currently}

I spotted this over at Belle in The City (a kindred spirit... ;) and thought I'd play along!

Current Playlist:Albums: Adele's 19 & 21, Lady Gaga's Born This Way, Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party & Alicia Keys' The Element of Freedom. 
Random Songs: Jason Aldean's Dirt Road Anthem, Taylor Swift's Mean, Zac Brown Band & Jimmy Buffet's Knee Deep & Luke Bryan's Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
Current Nail Polish: 

Current Drink: Heavenly Tea Leaves Organic Chocolate Mint Rooibos herbal tea

Current Food:Gluten Free Pineapple Upside-down Cake. Of which I am up at 5:00am on a Sunday eating a piece of for no apparent reason.

Current TV Show:Family Guy - current & always. I'm not a big TV person. 

Current Wishlist:-To attend classes at Living Light and become a certified raw chef. Just for the hell of it. 

-to open my own gluten free bakery and cafe-paint my bedroom-new Coach purse
Current Needs:I really don't need anything at the moment. Except maybe a raise.And perhaps another piece of pineapple upside-down cake.
Current Celebrity Crush:Seth MacFarlane

Current Blessing:a roof over my head, food to eat, wonderful family and friends
Current Outfit:pj's
Current Indulgence:pineapple upside-down cake
Current Excitement:uhhhh... 
Current Mood:tired. kind of "blah".

Random...

Miscellany Monday

1. I am in need of a bedroom furniture makeover. I need to figure out how to get results like this on a budget:

{cred}

2.  Happiness

{cred}

3. My niece in a field of wildflowers:

4. Crappy iPhone picture of 2 of my dogs (Rhett & LiLi)

5. Wallpaper Luv

ABC's

I'm linking up with my girl Lindsay over at Scenic Glory and playing this fun little game...

The ABC's of ME! 

Age:31

Bed Size: king

Chore you hate: dishes!

Dogs: I have 4 Chinese Shar-pei - Scarlett, Rhett, Savanna & LiLi

Essential start of your day: brush my teeth!

Favorite Color: pink

Gold or silver: Silver for sure!

Height: 5'7

Instruments I play (or have played): I played the Alto Sax in middle school

Job Title: Addictions Counselor

Kids: None (yet)

Live: Phoenix, AZ area

Mom's Name: Joyce

Nickname: Diva, C13, Prusha, H, Nana

Overnight hospital stays: none (knock on wood!)

Pet Peeve: people who make loud eating noises (that's just one - I have many but I won't bore you...)

Quote from a movie: Anchorman - one of my favs! 

Champ Kind:		"... what in the hell is diversity?"
Ron Burgundy:		"... well, I I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era ..."

  

Right or left handed: right

Siblings: 1 sister who is 17 months my senior

Time you wake up: around 2:00 AM... UGH!

Underwear: uhhh... I wear them?

Vegetables you dislike: peppers - all kinds.

What makes you run late: anything and everything - I'm ALWAYS late.

X-rays you've had done: mouth, heels (stupid heel spurs), spine & hips (stupid back spurs...)

Yummy food you make: I make a killer Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Zoo animal: tigers, zebras, bobcats... RAWR!

Late Night... er um... Early Morning Wine Blogging

My friends and I have talked about this - drunk blogging is not wise. Well I'm not exactly drunk... but I am enjoying my 2nd glass of this fantastic sweet red wine. So who knows what may happen...

I've had the week from hell this week. I have these weeks quite often and I find myself exceptionally exhausted most of the time because of it. My blogs and my new blogging buddies and followers have been great - it's awesome that you are all out there and for some reason find what I say to be of some value to you. What good is life if we can't share it with others? I've always communicated best through writing - so a blog is the perfect place for me to let go and share my creativity. 

If you follow my hockey blog - and you may not. That's fine, not everyone is into that kind of stuff - you'll know that I've been dealing with some major stress. They are trying to take my hockey team away. That would be just like someone taking away my world. You see, us hockey people are an entirely different breed. We eat, sleep and breathe the game. We follow every single thing our team does. We don't miss a game. We read every article, every news story, every feature about our team. 

I can't imagine ever being in a relationship with a person who didn't feel the same way I do about hockey. Maybe you could just say hockey IS my boyfriend. There's ups, there's downs, sometimes there's even fights. We disagree on things, like Don Maloney trading Scottie Upshall and the "Don't Blink" marketing campaign. And then there was that whole Carcillo thing... But we always make up in the end. Now it looks like they might be leaving. What will I do then? I think I could not adopt another NHL team - and I don't like other sports. I suppose I would become a mad blogging woman... You've been warned....  

Now it's time for a random "I put my face on another person's body" picture.... 

That's always good times...