50 Years of Greatness

Today is this lovely lady's 50th birthday. My beautiful Mama. Yesterday, at a small family and friends gathering, I was able to pull off what I'd been working on since the end of March! It was no easy feat, and at times, I came close to tears, but the project came together and I feel safe in saying it was a smashing success! For those unfamiliar, I had come across an idea on Pinterest for a 60th birthday memory project. I glanced at it and thought it seemed very endearing and wonderful, so with Mom's upcoming 50th, I figured I'd tackle it. I had an overwhelming response and there were even friends that I had gone to high school and college with, that have never met my mother, who were anxious to participate as they loved the idea so much. The idea was to have people from all times of her life send along their wishes and a memory of her, so that, by the end, we had 50 memories for 50 years (I actually was able to get 51, one to grow on!) Each memory went into it's own AirMail envelope and then was sealed until the big day!

Happy Birthday,  my sweet, sweet Mama. I love you more than I can say.

Ladyfriend Wednesday: Maya Rudolph

Happy Wednesday, all! You've made it more than halfway through the week AND there's a three day weekend ahead. BOOZE O'CLOCK. What? :)

It's time to get back into Ladyfriend Wednesday (my favorite!). This week, after her stellar variety show, has got to be Maya Rudolph. She may just be my favorite human. I've made no secret of my crazy love of strong, fierce and funny women. And Maya may take the cake. I just really dig women who are unafraid to go there and whose focus isn't on external beauty but internal.

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It could just be me (Bueller? Bueller?), but there is something so soothing about her that I will watch damn near anything she does. And by "near anything," I mean....ANYTHING. SNL sketches, Bridesmaids, and I think we can all agree that her "Bronx Beat" sketch on SNL with Amy Poehler should be a REAL. DAMN. SHOW.  A comedic powerhouse who I wish would just read me bedtime stories every night as Oprah.

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Do yourself a favor. Go rewatch Bridesmaids and allow your heart to flutter with happiness, because if there is anything better on this Earth than the end of that movie, I don't want to know what it is.

Be Honest, You Missed Me.

Happy Monday, you beautiful unicorns! I'm so sorry it's been such a lapse in between posts. Yikes! Life has been kind of crazy and I haven't gotten the chance to devote time to the blog. But, that's changing :)

I have to say, the kindness and generosity of people has overwhelmed me the last few days. I obviously cannot go into specifics quite yet (though most of you have an idea), but wow. I have never felt so humbled in all of my 28 years. To the people who have contacted me, please know that from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I am so touched and thrilled by your kindness and you have made this project such a love filled one. You are the reason why I believe people are inherently good.

HOLY HELL, YOU GUYS. Do you know what's on tonight? Please tell me you are taking an hour of your night to watch Maya Rudolph's variety show? I am so stoked, it's beyond ridiculous.

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An actual, singing and dancing variety show! I cannot wait. I am so in awe of Maya Rudolph and I know tonight will be such a damn delight. WATCH IT. LOVE IT. BE DELIGHTED.

I'm slowly starting to get back into this, so prepare yourselves. Hoping you all are happy, healthy and content. :)

Truth Bombs

You guys, it HAS BEEN A MONDAY. Jesus. Why don't they make margarita trucks? Like ice cream trucks, but for booze. Because I would never leave. Especially after today. But, the day is over and that's all that matters. Time to get ready to face tomorrow :)

I'm about to get super honest with you right now, because I just can't hold it in any longer. Do you ever feel like you're back in middle school? Do you have those days where it seems all the lunch tables are full and you've got to sit by yourself? Because, I gotta say, the last few weeks have felt like that for me. And it's tough. Shockingly enough, I was never the most popular girl in school or the smartest, what have you. I accepted that and was able to move on. It's just so odd to me, at 28, to have those feelings brought up yet again. I always like to think that I'm part of a certain group but than it turns out, I'm just buzzing around the outside, hoping to get in. Last week and this past weekend helped me see that I'm not part of something I thought I was. And the best way to rectify that? Distance. And I honestly can't say I'm that upset about it. I know that I may come across too nerdy/strong/ridiculous/what have you, but I always thought, in the end, friendship would win it (I'm such a damn Pollyanna sometimes, it's ridiculous even to me).

And when it doesn't, that's a tough pill to swallow. When you're not invited places, when you're not thought of, even though the effort has been made on your part, it's a sting that never quite goes away. I've preached a lot about working on myself and getting in tune with what I want, where I want to go, who I want to surround myself, and I've taken those first steps. But, I need people who are going to back me up and be supportive. And I'm dwindling down the people that I choose to surround myself with. Because honestly, I really feel that I can only be my real self around a handful of friends. When I'm laughing my ass off about the difference between Alan Thicke and Alan Rickman with my lady cats or when I'm spending the weekend in Chicago with one of my BFFs from EIU making jokes about the Golden Girls and Donna Martin, that's when I feel my most authentic self. Around strong women who make me laugh and allow me to be myself.

Not everyone currently in your life is going to be there 45 years from now, but luckily enough, I think I've managed to find a few who will tell me to invest in a good caftan, a strong drink and channel my inner Sophia Petrillo. Hopefully you've done the same.

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15 Things About Me

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. Things have been a bit hectic and I needed a bit of a break. While I'll stick close to the format I posted a few days ago, my friend Mandi had a "15 Things About Me" on her blog that I thought was such a great idea. Bear with me, I'm not the most interesting person in the world. :)

1. I'm an incredibly voracious reader. I never make it 24 hours after finishing one book before starting another. I think this probably stems from the fact that I learned how to read at a very early age and as an only child, and a bit of a loner, books were a way for me to escape. They still are. Honestly, most days, I would rather be with a book and a glass of wine than people. I'm trying to work on that, I am :)

2. I talk about my future sons and daughters, but there's a part of me that only wants to have boys. Look, girls can be catty and vicious and I don't think I have the heart to raise a teenage girl.

3. I've never been fishing a day in my life, and I never plan to. It's just not something that gets me going.

4. I was born on a Friday the 13th (yeah, yeah. I've heard the jokes, Chuckles McGee.)

5. There's a part of me that's always wanted to be a dancer on Broadway. I don't know why. But every time I saw a show at the Fox or in NY, I was just mesmerized by the unbelievable ways in which people can use their bodies. (This is something I've never once admitted to a single living person).

6. There is only one stamp on my passport, and that is sad as hell. I want to fill that sucker up and travel the world! I don't think we're meant to stay in one place forever, there's such a huge world out there to see. I need to get started. And maybe move to London for awhile. WHO KNOWS?

7. When I tell you I could quote the movie Grease verbatim, I'm not lying.

8. People that sleep with socks on weird me out. It could be -76 degrees and the dead of winter, and I am barefoot. I only wear socks if I ABSOLUTELY have to.

9. I've been told on more than one occasion that I have an old soul, and that is the best compliment anyone could ever give me.

10. I'm convinced that when I do get married, it will be forever. Because I don't tolerate bullshit. I won't apologize for my high standards and I know there's someone out there who can meet them. It's happening one time, and one time only :)

11. I don't wear much, if any, makeup. I've never been that girl and I never will be.

12. My mama and I were both born in the same hospital, in Boynton Beach, FL.

13. I would eat fried shrimp for every damn meal if I could.

14. At an STL Cardinals game years ago, I was hit in the stomach by a pitch. I still have that ball somewhere and it just goes to show my undying love for a team I've loved my whole life. :)

15. I toyed between Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois University when I was accepted to both. At the time I think I more wanted to go to to WIU because I felt better about the campus and only chose EIU because of the proximity to home. 10 years later, EIU was the best decision I've ever made in my life and where I've met some of my best friends in the world.

One Of These Days...

We're going to get right into it today. Today's prompt is 'something that I feel strongly about.' As a fairly emotional person (and by that I mean, SUPER EMOTIONAL), I feel strongly about a lot of things (education, good manners, Tom Hiddleston, the merits of peanut butter on vanilla ice cream). What I feel the most strongly about though, is equality. Especially after the disheartening remarks that have come out over the last few days in regards to race. Some days, when I jump on Facebook to see what everyone has had for breakfast, and I come across the most upsetting comments that I could ever hope to see, it breaks my heart. And it's not just social media, it's become embedded in our society. In 2008, during President Obama's first run for office, I actually had someone tell me that they thought racism and sexism would be eradicated in our lifetime. I don't know if you're shocked by this, but that person was a heterosexual, white male. I literally laughed in his face. How do you expect two centuries old concepts to just go POOF! overnight? You can't. Because they won't. I would love it if they did. Would do the world's biggest and best happy dance. But you have to be realistic, and the very next sentence out of his mouth was perhaps the most sexist scenario he could have presented. When you tell me you think sexism will be eradicated (like it's a disease) and then proceed to show me how that's actually NOT the case by starting out a sentence, "If a woman....," uh, well, you kind of contradicted yourself there, buddy. Equality only brings about a more tolerant, loving, intelligent and productive society. It only brings about more love, why are we turning away from that? Why is the concept of more love in the world scarier to you than the hate you spew?

I don't understand where the amount of hate comes from that seems to be prevalent in today's society. These trolls that sit behind their computer screen lambasting everything and everyone that's view is different then theirs is sickening and heartbreaking. 9 times out of 10, I scroll past comments on everything. Even pictures of the most adorable baby you've ever seen, because some bastard decides to be a dick. Also, if you're going to insult someone via the Internet (very original, by the way. Kudos on that.), at least do it with the proper grammatical construct. Because I generally don't take insults to heart where the words have numbers in place of letters (also, on a different note, STOP DOING THAT. NUMBERS DON'T BELONG IN WORDS. TYPE OUT THE DAMN WORD.) Or, here's an idea, stop insulting people you've never met and probably will never meet. What purpose is it serving you to spew such hate and vitriol at people? How is it benefiting your life? We all have something different that we bring to the table. We all have talents that are uniquely ours and serves the world in a way that only we can do. It's 2014, you guys. TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN. This shit has got to end. I hate getting up in the morning and reading yet ANOTHER news story that someone has been hurt or killed because of the abhorrent prejudice that seems to permeate our daily lives. I really hope that one day I live in a world where I can wake up and read the headline, "Everyone Decided To Stop Being Dicks To Each Other. Free Puppies and Beer for All!" I think that's realistic.

Maybe that is a bit far fetched, but I do sincerely hope that one day, I'll be raising my children in a world where good news outweighs the bad, where you can marry whoever the hell you damn well please, and where Tina Fey is president.

Journaling Prompts

Happy Monday, you beautiful unicorns! Everyone staying dry and out of harm's way? This weather is vicious! More vicious than I am after being woken up. (Ba dum bum.) Seriously guys, there's a reason I'm still single and that joke is it. THAT JOKE IS IT.

Last week I talked about making a few changes around here. Mostly content wise, the design of the blog will stay the same for now. In one of my many Pinterest binges I came across a set of journaling prompts that I thought would allow not only you to know me a bit better, but if you so choose, for me to know you! AND LOVE YOU. (Hi, I'm a creep.) The prompts are below and some days I'll change it up because to me, some come across a bit tween/teen-y. Are those even words? They are today. The other days of the week that are set aside for travel, books, ladyfriends, etc. will still be around. This was just an idea to prompt me to write more.

We're starting off with 5 Ways to Win my Heart. There are a lot more than 5, but I'll give you the honest answers first.

1.      Be kind. Please don't be a dickbag. To your waiters, your family, your friends, whoever, just BE A NICE PERSON. Stop putting on a show to hide whatever deep seated insecurity it is that you may have (and we all have them). You don't need to be cocky or constantly showing off what six pack you think you may have. I'm a lot more attracted to the fact that you talk about your family/job/friends with such love. That seals it for me. 
2. Have ambition. This is a big one for me because I've dated guys whose lack of ambition astounds me. Set goals for yourself and work to meet them. Don't just settle yourself in place with no desire to move or do anything else with your life. Take life by the balls, man! You want to go live in Barcelona for a year, do it! That excitement and drive is what wins me over. That passion to change the world/drive race cars/meet Zach Galifianakis is what makes you you and drives you to be better, so why hide it?
3. Intelligence is incredibly attractive. I'm not saying that you have to read 567 books a year or have an Ivy League degree, but being able to hold your own in a conversation of substance has always been a big draw for me. That goes for friends too, not just men. 
4. MANNERS. Self explanatory. 
5. Make me laugh. Again, pretty self explanatory.

If you want some more ways to win my heart that may come a bit lower down the list:

  - Don't wear fedoras. Don't wear socks with sandals. Realize the power of good grammar. Own a suit ( a legitimate suit, guys. YOU'RE A MAN. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER). Binge watch Netflix with me on rainy/snowy days. If I order shrimp at dinner, you don't get any. Order your own, dude. Some days I just want to read and not be bothered, understand that. Some days I watch 4 HP movies in a row, understand that. Cubs fans may be tolerated, but will always get made fun of. Republicans have no shot in hell. MOVE ALONG. Traveling the world is big on my bucket list, come along for the ride! 

There's quite a bit more to both lists, but that's a good enough start for now. :)