Let's Be For Real

Sometimes I really worry about how messy I am. I mean I’m really really messy. I try to keep it under control. I concoct detailed plans for how I am going to keep my house, car, closet, office, purse or whatever else maintained but they always inevitably fail. 

I can clean. Just call me two days before my mom comes for the weekend and you will find me cleaning. It will look pristine and I will make her think I’ve got it all together when I’m really just pretending. But who am I kidding… she knows me better than that. She saw my bedroom when I was 8, 11, 16, 22. My problem is maintaining it.

I worry because 84% of the time our house looks like a hurricane blew through and we don’t even have kids… or a dog. Our carpet would make you think otherwise. 

I’m hopeful though. My number has improved since we got married. Andrew is a big help. My college roommates would laugh at me giving myself an 84. They definitely lived with Charlotte who was a mess 98% of the time. 

But they are all neat freak anomalies. And everyone else we know seems to be too. Andrew and I have said more than once that we are not sure how we gravitated to such OCD organized roommates or how they put up with us and are somehow still our friends. I think we absorbed what little skill we have from them, thanks guys! 

We’ve started packing for New Orleans. It’s been refreshing. I’m simplifying. Purging. Every item that lands in the big black trash bag or storage pile or yard sale pile feels like a tiny triumph, moving me closer to the day when I will have a place for everything and everything will be in its place.

I’m obviously delusional. That day will never come. The reality of a perfectly organized life has eluded me long enough for me to know it’s not a reality at all but an alternate world found in the pages of magazines, in well-crafted blogs, and at my friends’ houses. 

I’m OK with that. I’ll continue to look to beautiful pictures, Pinterest boards, and all my friends for guidance, not to make me feel inadequate but to give me enough motivation to keep my spaces from spiraling into total chaos. That works for me. See...

Maybe in New Orleans things will be more orderly. Maybe my number will continue to improve. Maybe not.  In any event, I’m going to be for-real about it. Chances are, if my home is looking rockin-awesome, I will take a picture of it and show you because if I took photos every time it was a hot mess this blog would get very very repetitious.

So here’s to being an 84 and having a home that serves me… not the other way around!

Turtle in the Road... It's InstaFriday!

Hey Y’all! Today I am linking up with Jeannett for InstaFriday where we share tidbits from our week in pictures! I am so thankful for FRIENDS this week. I know it’s a little redundant since I wrote about friends in my last post but this is my blog and I’ll be redundant if I want.

I really think God is working it out for Andrew and I to spend quality time with all the people we love before we move to NOLA. I'm serious. It's just working out without us even trying. LOVE IT <3!

1.      Thanks to hurricane Debby, I happened upon a soft shell turtle in the middle of the street in my neighborhood. He was more than a little freaky looking. I did some in-depth Wikipedia research and found out that soft-shells are largely aquatic so this little fella was most likely lost. I had no idea who to call and I was too scared to pick him up so I left him. Hope he made it!

2.      Here’s my token food pic. There was nothing remarkable about this apple other than the fact that it was GINORMOUS. I know you can’t tell by my sub-par photography skills but trust me… I couldn’t even finish it and if there is anything I am NOT, it’s a wimpy eater.

3.4.5…  Last night was hands-down the best part of our week. We got to visit with some of our youth kiddos from Nicholson who were down in Bainbridge for a mission trip. Randi and I kept cracking up because we had to keep swatting gnats trying to take a picture. The other pic is Andrew and one of our brother-sister duos, Brooklyn and Dayton. After we took these I completely forgot to keep taking pictures because I was wrapped up talking to my sweet babies and hearing how their lives have been and I am totally OK with it! Y’all, I can’t tell you how proud I am of these kids.

Shout out to: Ronnie, Randi, Brooklyn, Dayton, Matthew, Alex, Lauren, and Paige! I love you and miss you and am proud of you! Andrew and I could not stop talking about you last night. You are all such amazing-smart-talented-wise-compassionate-strong-handsome-beautiful-funny-dedicated-loving-pleasing disciples of Jesus. It is so obvious you are making a difference and growing into people of influence! I just love you, love you, LOVE YOU!

Life is so good right now. I’m trying to savor every moment of this time. Lord knows it hasn’t always and won’t always be this good. PTL for seasons in our lives. Some of them are so so sweet!

Good Times, Great Friends

What a wonderful weekend! A weekend like the one we just had is a rarity. Andrew and I have 3 couple friends that we are very close to. I really consider them family. Andrew grew up with Kyle, Sean and Daryl in Bainbridge, our home town. All four boys were involved in a lot of the same things and were even in a praise band together at church. Miraculously, they all managed to get a girlfriend in high school and what’s more….. they all married them…. within 9 months of each other! So the four of us girls (April, Mandy, Celia, and I) went from being teeny boppin groupies, watching our boyfriends in the band, to bonafide wives! Granted, since we all started dating so young we all had to endure 5+ year- long relationships that spanned college. But I think we would all agree it was worth it! And it certainly made for a close friendship amongst us.

These day’s we are super spread out so we barely ever get to see each other. Kyle and April live in Birmingham, AL with their PRECIOUS new baby Eli. Sean and Mandy live in North GA between Athens and Atlanta and Daryl and Celia JUST moved back to Bainbridge from Jacksonville, FL.

Andrew and I spent this past weekend at Sean and Mandy’s house with Kyle, April, and Eli for a mutual friend’s wedding in the Atlanta area. Daryl and Celia weren’t there so it didn’t feel quite like old times. WE MISSED Y'ALL!! Also, this was the first time we had a baby in the mix so that was a little different (when different means AMAZING)! I can’t tell you how great it was to be with our closest friends for more than a couple hours around the holidays.

Sean has a pilot’s license and wanted to take us all for a flight around Athens, our old college town. GOOO DAWGS! I have to say I almost missed out on this opportunity because I am a world class scardy-cat. I was slightly panicked just looking at the plane. I could barely muster a smile for a picture.

I was too embarrassed to be the only one on the ground while my friends and husband were flying so I got on board. And heck- if Andrew was going down in a plane I was going down with him. I know that’s a little morbid but those are the things scared people think. I am SO GLAD I did it because it was a blast!

I could tell Sean was a great pilot because he kept saying things like, “breaker breaker 6725 niner ascending northwest all clear” or something. It was beautiful seeing our campus and football stadium from the air. Certainly not an opportunity that comes along every day!

We got to visit Sean and Mandy’s church, grill out, go canoeing, and go to the wedding where we saw a whole host of other long-distance friends. It was such a great time. I know we will make tons of new friends when we go to New Orleans but there is just something about the old ones. I love how we can get together and pick up right where we left off. I know it sounds corny but I think I will always treasure the time we spent together this weekend and I know for sure I will think about it in the moments when things in New Orleans seem hard. Love you guys!

Bandwagons

I feel like I have jumped on a lot of bandwagons lately. I like to think that I am not afraid to do my own thing… but the truth is I love a good trend just like the next girl. Here are a few that I am DIGGING right this second.

1.Chevron.

I cannot get enough zig zags. Usually prints are NOT my thing. I tend to prefer solids and simplicity. But the Chevron trend has taken hold of me in my wardrobe AND home. I got this ahhhhmazing rug for NOLA for my bday and that bathing suit cover-up that I wear as a shirt (doing my own thing) from Target. I didn't realize I looked like such a dork when this picture was taken. Is there a fashion law about double-chevroning? It's meant to be broken.

2.The Hunger Games.

I won’t lie; I’ve been known to follow a reading craze. But seriously, I could not stop reading these books. I just finished Mockingjay last week and don’t know what to do with myself. Any suggestions for summer reading material that will be this riveting?

3.Blogging.

In case you didn’t know, I love the blog life. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner. As much as I love writing posts, I love reading them even more. Here are some of my at-the-moment faves from around the web. Give them some love!

Maggie @ Gussy Sews 

Becca @ The Stanley Clan

Nicole @ Southern Plantation Living

Stasia @ Our Life on a Budget

Gini @ The Bramletts

Nester @ The Nesting Place

What bandwagons are you jumping on this summer!?

InstaFriday: Week in Pictures

I love me some InstaFriday's where I can link up with other awesome bloggers and share tidbits of my week in pics from my cell phone. Y'all know it really works for me since ALL of my pictures come from my phone.  I’m not complaining!

This week was colonoscopy week. I took some hilarious pictures that I won’t be sharing but trust me, they were good.

The day I got back to work we had a dance group called the Senior Strutters come in and perform. They are a group of senior adult women who line dance for entertainment all around Valdosta. Their most senior member is 90, and let me say they were fantastic! I mean they really could shake a leg. They performed for a solid 45 minutes. Here is a little shot of them doing the Wobble… yes you heard me correctly.

Andrew made an amazing bacon cheese burger with BBQ sauce. One thing is certain, my man can grill a hamburger. We can’t get too used to this sort of eating but it was well worth it!

I got a little crazy eating cherries but otherwise… it was a pretty uneventful week.

Only 36 days until moving time!! Have a great weekend!!