by Joey | Aug 21, 2014 | Throwback
As I sit down to write this, my heart is so full and I am totally on cloud nine. Life, you guys? It’s pretty cool.
So let’s get into some stuff & things, shall we?
++Tuesday was the date-iversary for that husband of mine and me. Since it’s football season, I figured I’d settle for a quick kiss and a see yah later. He makes up for it other days of the year, special or not. So when he popped in around 6:30, I asked what he was doing home. “Changing for dinner,” he said casually. I didn’t think anything of it. Living on campus allows him to pop in and shower at home occasionally. “Where do you want to go,” he asked. Homie surprised me with a quick dinner out!
After dinner, we stopped for some ice cream. He was trying to decide if we should go in or go through the drive thru. “Drive thru,” I said. “You sure you can handle an ice cream cone in the car?” He asked warily. “Yeah!” I said, emphatically. I didn’t get on lick in before it went everywhere. I am a liability! Haha!
++ As I’ve started brainstorming for the next book, I found myself in the same dilemma as always. It’s not something I can just set a time and “do.” I’m generally just thinking about it constantly and have to jot down notes as they hit me. Before I know it, I have pages and pages of random little tid bits, and soon–they’re lost in the jumble. To me, that’s the biggest frustration. How do I organize all that madness? Enter: Evernote! I’ll elaborate more another time, but thanks to Ashley & this post, I can say that one of my biggest issues has been resolved!
++ I went to bed with damp hair on Tuesday night. I never, ever do that but gosh, I was just so exhausted. The next morning, I wasn’t feeling very motivated in the hair department so I just worked with my natural texture. Thanks to the layers, it works out pretty nicely!
++ Sort of related, the humidity here, you guys? Ugh. I went for a run the other night (also, not a good idea to go for a run in 100% humidity after a dinner of crap and a beer but whatevs), and I came back feeling like I’d jumped into a pool. I know everyone is all slow down summer, but I’m okay with the idea of some cooler temperatures. I also just got a pretty snazzy pull over from Under Armor that I can’t wait to bust out. It has thumb holes, guys. Thumb holes!
++I got my new glasses this week. My prescription changed just enough that now I’m having to adjust to being able to actually see everything clearly. It’s crazy to me how used to our bodies become with seeing out of focus. J was watching ESPN the other night and I couldn’t believe that I could read the small ticker across the screen!
Alright friends, that about does it! Happy Tuesday!
linked with: Stuff & Things
by Joey | Aug 20, 2014 | Throwback
It’s been on my todo list forever to clean out my purse. Is it just me, or does anyone else hate doing this? I swear, it doesn’t matter what I do, I can’t keep a purse clean. I figured it’d be a good time to document What’s In My Bag. So let’s just get into it.
1. My wallet which also acts as a clutch for when I’m just running out real quick. I like that I can put my phone in it, too. It contains: a burts bees lemon butter cuticle cream, license, cards, and another lip gloss. Because apparently I need all the lip gloss.
2. Johnson & Johnson Melt Away Stress Lavender and Chamomile hand lotion. It’s my favorite.
3. My glasses prescription
4. Various lists. Most important: a list of Walgreen’s deals that I wanted to take advantage of this week.
5. Ten. 10(!) receipts.
6. An emergency kit. Bandaids, safety pins, bobby pins and lady stuff.
7. Imodium. Because I have IBS. And I don’t have a gall bladder. It’s a fun combo.
8. Sudafed
9. CVS Coupons
10. Uncle George’s business card. Want the best cinnamon buns in the world?
Great Gourmet Cinnamon Roll (this isn’t a sponsored post, it’s just handy to have. They’re a great, unique and delicious gift for any occasion)!
11. Ten lip products. Because why not?
The EOS got separated from his friends. He’s included. Jordana Twist & Shines in Honey Love & Cranberry Crush (a fave), Bare Minerals Moxie Glosses in Crowd Surfer, Firecracker & Maverick, Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Stick in Soft Raspberry, Burts Bees lip shimmer in Rhubarb, Maybelline Baby Lips in Coral Crush, Carmex.
12. Hair tie
13. Luden’s cherry cough drops
15. A random Pepsi coupon. We don’t keep soda in the house anymore so I’m not exactly sure where this came from. And even still, this is a Coke house. Oh, wait…
16. Purell
17. Phone
18. Glasses cleaning cloth. Funny story: my eye doc actually gave me two new ones last week because I’d been using the one I’ve had since I was…in middle school. Let’s just put it this way, my uncle gave it to me. He died 7 years ago… It might have been time for a new one 😉
I’ll admit, there was a pair of underwear in there but I didn’t photograph it because that would be weird. They were clean, I swear. I’d thrown them in when we were going into Raleigh a couple weeks ago and there was a chance I was going to change into an outfit that needed a thong.
This is a relatively tame bag. There have been times that extremely weird crap is in my bag.
What’s the most random item currently in your bag?
by Joey | Aug 19, 2014 | Throwback
(2005)
This life we have?
The one where you spend your days on a football field and I spend mine behind a computer?
The one where at the end of the day, you come home to a house we share?
It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
This is the life I dreamt of all those years ago when everything seemed so impossible.
Who I am with you is who I really want to be.
You’re so good for me.
No truer words.
Happy 11 years.
They say the things you have to work the hardest for are the ones you appreciate the most.
I think we’d both agree on that, huh?
Love you Coach!
by Joey | Aug 18, 2014 | Writing
It was fall of 2009. I was miserable working for a temp agency inputting data for an international distributor of electric components in a DOS system. Yeah, it was as exciting as it sounds. That was job number 6 after only graduating a year and a half before.
To say I was flopping around would be an epic understatement.
I knew when I picked my major (English with a concentration in Creative Writing) that there wouldn’t be one specific job for me after college. I just wanted to write! It sounded so easy! One of my wildly successful writing professors actually encouraged us to go out into the real world and work odd jobs vs. getting an MFA. Little did I know at the time that I would take his advice quite literally.
The temp job was easy enough once I figured out the system and the shortcuts. But I was losing my mind. I remember one day I had a project that took me away from the computer into this one back room where I was packing orders. I put in my earphones and had to consistently wipe away tears as I packed box after box. Was that really all there was? Working some job I hated for the rest of my life? Whether it was that specific one or whatever the next odd job that would follow, the idea terrified me.
Suddenly the world felt so big and I felt so, so small. Like whatever I wanted didn’t actually matter. I felt like I’d wasted my time in college and cursed myself for not picking a more specific major like education (which I really didn’t want to do) or nursing (I suck at science).
All of my friends were finding their grooves. They were getting fancy offices and raises. They were becoming Real Adults and I was driving 45 minutes to a job that would end in a few months only to start the search all over again.
I missed writing. And I
worried that once we got ourselves on a path, whether it was one we meant to get on or not, that we had to stay there. I didn’t really know where to start–but I knew something needed to change.
NANOWRIMO (National Writing Month: November) was fast approaching as was the end of my job assignment. I knew I wasn’t going to write a novel in a month, but I took the excitement buzzing around the writing world and focused it in on one specific goal: write a book.
But where the heck do I even start? Stay tuned!
And keeping with the idea that posts with photos are more fun: here’s where it all went down. My little “apartment” in my parents’ attic!
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by Joey | Aug 16, 2014 | Throwback
Some of these came out pretty blurry. I’d say I’m sorry, but you all know I’m not a fashion blogger 😉
(ah, this is more like it. haha)
I will say this, I am not an online shopper. I’m just not. I worry so much that nothing will fit right if I order it online. Enter: eshakti. You can customize your dress to fit you how you like! That’s like music to this short girl’s ears!
The original version of this dress came down just below the knee, and while it was pretty–I knew it’d make me look like an oompa loompa (hashtag: short girl probs). So when I went to order the dress anyway (heavy sighing), I realized I could pick where I wanted the hem to be. Hallelujah!
The site was super easy to use, and they are on it with the shipping. I got the dress in record time!
Be sure to pop over to their site. They’re almost always running some awesome deals!
