blogger award

guess what?

I have been  given a BLOGGER AWARD and I'm so excited about it.

It comes from my friend Becca over at Life in Technicolor!!

 
I absolutely love reading her blog, and she is always so full of surprises.  We have so much in common: she's a wildflower, Beatles loving, record collecting, whimsical type person that didn't surprise me when I found out she was a artsy editor slash journalist. Those that know me are aware of my 'old self', the Erin Andrews obsessed aspiring sports journalist. As my dreams changed from being a sideline reporter to now a special needs advocate, I still have my whimsy in blog-world and write my nonsense stories and quotes and Carrie Bradshaw analysis of my life... and I get to meet cool people like BECCA who keeps me entertained with her own adventuresome journey! Check her out, she's quite intriguing - for instance: she met this great guy one day and hit it off, and 61 days later they ELOPED and are married and living happily!! How cool you know? And guess what she surprised us with when she made her list of 15 FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF that we must do for being given the BLOGGER AWARD. She spills the beans on this: she's probably going to be reading the good ole' WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOUR EXPECTING book. omg - I know, right?? I'm so excited and can't wait to read all about her adventures from here on out - she makes me excited about looking at my GoogleReader... visit her blog, you'll dig it - I promise!!

SO HERE'S WHAT I MUST DO:

1. thank the person that gave me this award

thank you becca

i bragged all about you up there, so you obviously know i dig ya!

keep up the creativity because your readers love it

and never lose your zest, there is a word for people like you and that's: special

and continue to be faithful, your love for God is your best quality and you inspire people to be more stewardly.... and you and Caleb are a wonderful, Christian couple and I have a strong belief that God will do

G R E A T   T H I N G S

for you as you start a loving FAMILY!

thanks for sharing your journey with us here in bLoGwOrLd

you are SO fun! :)

2. share seven things about myself

(or in alabama, we like to say 'saban' for 7)

1. I have six fake teeth. I busted my face into the sidewalk when I was in 2nd grade because a really cool girl I like to call Sissy told me that it was SO fun to rollerblade and have our dog, the boxer Macy (about Millie's age!) pull me. It all happened really fast but I just remember these things: I had on one Hanes sock and one Adidas sock; the rollerblades were black, lime green, and purple; Mom was shopping and Dad was golfing and Pash (what I call my Sissy, Ashley) and I were being watched by a baby-sitter. I swallowed my teeth and I remember the very exact moment that I did it. My mouth hurt way to much to open it as wide as I would have had to in order for someone to reach in there and get them. I didn't realize until about two years later when I resembled 'Bubba' from FORREST GUMP complete with bonded chicklet teeth, swollen gums, an expander, spacers, and a mean-looking lip bumper did I realize how much easier, and how much less pain it probably would have been if I would have just sucked it up and told Sissy, the freaked out baby-sitter who thought her life was over, and my neighbors that I had the teeth in my mouth. I'm sure someone was out there where the sidewalk met with the driveway and grass looking for the remnants of my teeth. Sorry dudes, today isn't your lucky day, I remember thinking - and then 1... 2... 3... gulp.

GAME OVER: since, my life  has been lived in a dentist chair.

2. If I had it my way, I'd wear COWBOY BOOTS 365 days a year! The leather of a boot is my most favorite textile IN THE WORLD! I love my boots and I don't know what I would do without them. I went through a painful separation from them, post-fire, and I cried (no lie) the day I got them back and slipped them onto my little "peets" that missed them SO DAMN MUCH. The secrets that me and those COWBOY BOOTS have between the two of us are what makes my inner-devil chuckle.

We've been places, we've seen things, we've lived a funny life together!

treasures, on the real

3. I just discovered my undying LOVE for i.c.e. c.r.e.a.m.

you scream, i scream, we all scream for ice cream

flava of the week: chocolate banana

flava on the reg: ben and jerry's cherry garcia or chunky monkey

newfound lovecrush: hot fudge on top - Oh Em Gee!

4. never have i ever

...watched true blood

...read twilight or anything sequeling it

...seen twilight or any of the other obsessed-over movies in the 'saga'

...read harry potter or the sequels

...seen harry potter or the sequels

...had to much of an imagination with wizards or vampires

5. I am Tar Heel born, and Tar Heel bred, but when I die I'll be a Crimson Tide dead.

and damn it if I don't have it made in the sport's success & tradition departments

6. I feel the best about my body

 RIGHT NOW

 than I ever have before.

I can't lie, it feels good to not be super self-conscious. I realized if I ate healthier, worked out more, and ate a more regular diet so that my weight can stay consistent, then I would have a clearer conscious about doing better things for my body, and it works - and a good conscious is DEFINITELY the conscious to have in order to keep a healthy self-esteem and a balance with your well-being. If you're confident, you're sexy... and you know MY MOTTO has always been....

rock what you've got

7. I want to write a book one day.

I just want to

live a good life, have many adventures, and learn many lessons

so that I will have something to write about.

Carpe Diem, to that!

3. Pass the award to some of my favorite lovely bloggers

 whom I find, simply, amazing.

it's supposed to be to 15 people, but i'm short on time, darlin's.

Ashley @ Moonpies and Fireflies

click here.

Heather @ A Beautiful Life

click here.

Mary Frances @ Almost Home

click here.

Brittany Fuson @ Brittany Fuson Stationary

click here.

Amanda @ Imperfectly Beautiful

click here.

Lindsey @ Just A Little Girl, Lost In The Moment

click here.

Jane @ Moonflowers, Mojitos, and Me

click here.

peace and love

☮

baily

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

inspiredroom

Who gets to determine where the old ends and the new begins? It's not a day on the calendar, not a birthday, not a New Year. It is an event. Big or small. Something that changes us. Ideally, it gives us hope. A new way of living and looking at the world. Letting go of old habits. Old memories. What's important is that we never stop believing we can have a new beginning. But it's also important to remember that amid all the crap area a few things really worth holding on to. -Meredith Grey

inspiration:

spread the love wednesdays

"Does anybody really know when it's right? And how do you know - are there signs? Fireworks? Is it right when it feels comfortable or is comfortable a sign that there's no fireworks?
Is hesitation a sign that it's not right, or is it a sign that you're not ready? In matters of love how do you know when it's right?" -Carrie Bradshaw

As a recent journal prompt, I was to write a letter to my 'past self' or my 'future self.' I chose to write to me in the past... I found it therapeutic in all sorts of ways, you should try it. I'm also not afraid to admit what I wrote myself, and after a recent big change in my life, I think it would be good for me to write it on here so I have it (because i never know when a fire might take it from me again).
Right now, my heart is broken. I gave myself a chance at big-girl-type love and it wasn't meant to happen right now. I thought I had received my reward for all of the times that had jaded me. I loved hard and I'm ready for that type of thing, but my heart can't deal with doubts and second-guessing. I know I will be fine, I have been in this boat before and I know how it goes. I always come out of situations like this stronger and more fabulous than I was before. And God has a wonderful life in store for me.
I wrote this letter to myself last week. Last week, the 'present self' was in a loving relationship with the person who showed many signs of being my soulmate. Now, I wish I could write a letter to that Baily and warn her that she should have kept her wall up and she should make sure someone'es there to catch her when she falls down in life or falls into this thing called love. But this is the letter I wrote, I wonder what all would change if I ripped it up and re-wrote it...... maybe that can be my next therapy session!

Dear Past Baily,

You may have figured this out by now but, life is hard.  You're going to want to quit and give up on things in life from time to time but you never will - you will ALWAYS bounce back from your pitfalls and you'll look back one day with self-admiration.
You really need to quit sweating the small stuff because it will eventually get the best of you. Keep your faith strong and your friends close and don't ever have enemies to worry about.
Love peace and be peaceful in love. Realize you have a soulmate and cherish your days with a guy you'll meet at your UA freshmen orientation, Chace Spears, because the story with him ends up pretty cool.
Never lose your love for the children in the world and always strive to be an advocate for a better world for them in all that you do.
No matter how dark your world may get at times, just hold on tight and never let your light go out. In all you do in life, in all the dreams you conquer, always do it for the glory and honor of the Lord, do it out of love for the people you love, and do it with that little light of yours that burns with passion. Your passion will  always be your driving force because to you, that's what LIFE IS - passion! It's all about doing what you are passionate about and being passionate in the way you do it. Your passion, you'll come to find out, is to give equality to children with special needs... One thing you will come to find out later in life when you're 20 years old is that you believe, whole-heartedly, that all children have a very special need and that is LOVE and SECURITY and a SAFE LIFE. You'll learn that you are passionate in your beliefs and they will carry you very far in life.
Just don't forget to acknowledge that even though you may go far in life, you have to go through all the BAD PARTS too. But just remember that the most difficult and trying times are the ones you always get through with such tenacity and newfound zest for life. So never, never, never give up. Remember that LIFE ABOUT THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION. Find ambition and inspiration in knowing that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are usually the ones that do. Gain strength from the understanding that God will NEVER give you more than you can bear, so we must trust in him, even when we wish he didn't trust in us with so much. Since this is a letter to the Baily I consider the Baily from the past, I oughta forewarn you that you'll experience those dreadful attacks that suck the breath out of you at an earlier age than you'll want them. It'll always be hard to talk about those 'transition years' when you were turning into a young lady and not a little girl anymore and having to deal with Daddy's diagnosis along with it. The cancer diagnosis changed the lives of the JONESES' and you'll understand that I mean that in a good way. We put our trust in our ultimate provider and most miraculous healer, and He blessed us. I know I live my present life because of the miracle we were all part of when our hero beat the disease. You'll see how strong it'll always make you, each time a trying time will enter your life you will always remember the gentle words of a loving father and the way it sounds each time he tells it, "don't you give up, if you know one lesson of mine it's that we don't give up, I know it's hard - look at what I've gone through - but it's worth it in the end to keep pushing yourself"....
But the strength you find in the hardest times when life just seems to "happen" to you is that you'll notice carries you through. It's a very entertaining ride thus far, but seriously... hang on tight, never doubt the loyalty of your Sissy - she'll always be there, apologize for taking for granted the sacrifices Momma & Daddy make all along the way so that you are always stylin', and never forget to take the time to record/doodle/express in music and arts (your journals you'll obsess over for years) -> and don't dismiss this vital part of your life just because you know a fire is going to take all that you love. You still need to vent all these emotion we juggle throughout our life journey. Sometimes so many emotions happen to us once we don't really know what to think anymore so we're numb and immobile. But this too shall pass.
You will come to realize one day, and it'll be a good day because of it, that your troubles do not define you! And you can bet your ass they never will as long as you have a say in the way our show goes.
And Ohhh, yeah.....
You also oughta know that you'll FINALLY get a new beginning after the fire. You're actually gonna realize how BIG of a BLESSING IN DISGUISE it all turns out to be. Lots of sad times will occupy your journals in the young twenty something's, so maybe losing it to the fire that reshaped and redirected (tremendously) the life we were really not consistently diggin' was a good thing because those are the times in the Baily life span that needed a FRESH START and need not be dwelled upon again. Anyways, I just want to say that life is all about the ride, the journey, and the destination is ours to perceive while here on this earth. When God calls our free-bird spirit to heaven that will be the ultimate destination for eternity - but that home-coming we have no control over. So what we do have control over is our journey and most importantly WHAT WE MAKE OF IT!!! So live, be gypsyesque. Experience the things while not forgetting our roots, our buddies, our family, and our passions! Look always at the door that opens, and NOT the door that closed... promise us that! Never lose sight of the belief that family is the most important thing in your life other than your strong faith in the Holy Spirit. Always find peace in your times of trouble, be it through good music or great friends or the other amazing things in your life.
One day when you are a twenty-something year old, lover of Tom Petty and vinyl records, and your 'The 'Other' Sister' blog, you'll go through one of the toughest days of your life. On APRIL 13, 2010 your cute little college home off of Bear Bryant Drive will burn in a fire and all that you own and love will be forever tarnished but majority of it will be forever lost and brutally stripped away from you. Right when you begin to gain understanding of yourself, which is your overall quest of self-discovery, you are going to PAINFULLY plucked from the life that was finally beginning to show a little fulfillment compared to the curvy, empty phases of the past years. But that's why you are going to see how you were able to get through the difficult times. The people that were there in your life during this forever life-changing event, are people that you will realize are true friends and the most ridiculously groovy souls you'll ever know. You'll come to realize that a lot of good people are on this earth and it can boggle you for days how on earth you were blessed with so many of the world's greatest people. You'll later be able to find joy in knowing that so many wonderful people showered you with love when, sadly enough, alot of people that you love with rare parts of your heart will be exactly the ones that walk out when you so badly need to cry out for their help (w.p.)... Those friends that connected with you on the most strangely comforting levels, all the ones that don't wish to be your 'bridge over troubled water'... no matter how many jam-bands and folk songs you listen to, you realize that the incredibly soothing feeling you have always gotten when seeking comfort in your music doesn't do justice the comfort you found in late-night chats and mid-night grilled cheese sandwiches, and Chinese food, and sushi dinners. Only so many times can you enjoy your ever -so-famously-known favorite song, Me and Bobby McGee, with a smile until you want to scream "Piece Of My Heart" and start the process of putting together all the jumbled up reasons of why it had to lose my best soul-buddy and biggest encourager right when I did. I know that your friendships will come and go at the coming and going of all the stages in your life-span, but eventually you will learn that there are CERTAIN PEOPLE that you meet on the journey that you wished would have stuck around a little longer than they end up staying. But, you'll also come to know really REALLY well that LIFE DOES, IN FACT, GO ON...
So hold on to your self-standards, and never second-guess the beliefs you have in YOURSELF because I can tell you right now it's going to be a BUMPY RIDE. But, I can also tell you right now that now matter what kind of HELL the life of a twenty-something year old is certainly CONQUERABLE if you NEVER LOSE YOUR DRIVE, never let your passion fade or fail to SHINE BRIGHTEST in your life, never lose your FAITH, and always LIVE LIFE OUT OF LOVE.
I have no idea what's in store for us from here on out, but I can gaurantee that no matter how hard it may get, it'll eventually come to reveal that it was all worth it. And trust me when I tell you all that great stuff about the EARTHLY ANGELS that offer unconditional love to you that, at the end of the day, make life worth it (family, true friends, Chaceface, Sissy, and Millie). Like the loving and wonderful relationship that you find the ultimate happiness in at the time of the fire that burned a little bit of your very bubbly spirit! You'll be amazed at how perfect two people can be together when you find yourself - well you're "future self" - experiencing the things our "current self" is witnessing in the present time I'm writing this letter (July 13)
You'll find a love for releasing your emotions, both highs and lows, through channeling your inner art-lover through journals like the one I'm writing this letter to my "past self" in.
But never let anyone tell you that MIRACLES don't happen because you know FIRST-HAND and DAMN WELL that THEY DO!
And be patient and peaceful in love. Never let anyone or anything define you or stand in your way. Take the time to tell the people you appreciate what it is that you appreciate. Sometimes it means the most when you tell someone why they are SO special... I've grown to know this by having this sort of love from some as well as by knowing the pain from the lack of this love by others. And remember that just like 'Me and Bobby McGee' says...
somewhere up near salinas, oh lord, i let him slip away,
he's looking for that home and i hope he finds it
but i'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
Some people are meant to come and go (w.p.), some are meant to stay forever (??), and others that leave that special mark on our hearts (c.s.).
In both of these Bobby McGee's that you meet in college, love hard, and learn about life from are the rare gems in life and you'll understand that even though some have endings and some have futures you are a better person for knowing both of these people and for being loved by them.
I can tell you that watching distance pull at a very unique bond and strong bond into such a thin acquaintanceship is aching tothe heart but always knowing that those bonds don't come in unending supply will always be something that "past" "present" and "future" Baily will struggle with at all stages in life. But, keep on believeing, appreciate the ones that DO love you and are here for you NOW, and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GIVE UP!!!!!!!  Peace and Love, B

There is mention of a friend (w.p.) who is someone that was a very good friend throughout a very uncertain time in my life. I don't blog about him, so just re-stating that in case it caught anyone off guard.

Weird how so many things that I am struggling wtih today, as I pick up the pieces and move on, were addressed to myself in this letter. It's almost like the current me was not just warning the past me, but preparing the future me for a painful and blunt force to the heart I was about to take. But, as I just told me, myself, and I up there in that letter.. LIFE GOES ON. I will be STRONGER, more FABULOUS, and ready to take on the world whether I have to do it alone or not.

when it's not always raining, there'll be days like this
when there's no one complaining, there'll be days like this
when everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
well my mama told me, there'll be days like this

when you don't need to worry, there'll be days like this
when no one in a hurry, there'll be days like this
when you don't get betrayed by that old judas kiss
oh my mama told me, there'll be days like this

when you don't need an answer, there'll be days like this
when you don't meet a chancer, there'll be days like this
when all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
then i must remember, there'll be days like this

when everyone is up front and they're not playing tricks
when you don't have no freeloaders out to get their kicks
when it's nobody's business the way you wanna live
i just have to remember, there'll be days like this

when no one steps on my dreams, there'll be days like this
when people understand what i mean, there'll be days like this
when you ring out of the changes of how everything is
oh mama told me, there'll be days like this
-van morrison 'days like this'

today and always i am a server

"How far you go in life depends on

your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,

sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak & strong.

Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

-George Washington Carver

"May I be medicine for the sick and weary.

May I be their doctor and their nurse until the sickness appears no more.

May I quell the pains of hunger and thirst with rains of food and drink.

May I be a torch for those in need of light, a bed for those in need of a bed,

and a servant for those in need of service."

-Shantideva

"You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out

are the moments when you have done things for others."

-Henry Drummond

"Love is the best friend of humankind,

the helper and the healer of all ills that stand in the way of human happiness."

-Plato

This past week I have been moved by a tremendous amount of things.

Some good, some bad, but all part of the game of life.

The good, though, has been to see the smiling faces of all the children I am around

throughout my coursework.  The children that are typically developing as well as those children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and those that have suffered traumatic brain injuries. I wish I could express the JOY they bring me.

It's indescribable the amount of love that can pour in and out of a classroom when you see it from somewhere that is geared toward hope, awareness, and service for these children.

To have a four year-old little girl in pigtails and a pink, hand-smocked dress climb into your lap and twirl your hair everyday is a feeling unlike any I have ever experienced.

Her almond eyes melt my heart and her little hands, with their simian crease that her extra chromosome caused, are always so gentle and loving. It is no wonder that she pours out her love for me, she is surrounded by love at home, school, and with friends.

That is why I have a hard time understanding why people refuse to serve, love, and - sadly enough - even treat equally, our neighbors with disabilities.

Hard-headed politicians look for all the answers to the world in foreign policy, immigration laws, and taxation practices but they never think that maybe it will all fall into place once we implement the golden rule into our societies:

treat others as you would want to be treated

because if ever one of my friends calls out to me for help, I want to touch their heart like my friend, the little girl with Down syndrome, has touched mine

"miss baily, if the fire still has all of your stuff, you can borrow my things"

I just smiled and tears ran down my face.

How could one not love a life like that? Much less, how could one not think a life

like that is deserving of being in this world?

We spend much of our lives focusing on people and relationships and friendships that end up amounting to nothing in a time of need. But yet, we ignore those indifferent from us because we are unaware of what really makes a child with special needs special! 

Just because God created an individual with an extra 21st chromosome and a predisposed development that is slower and less autonomous than his or her peer, does not mean He didn't bless that child with the same amount of love He did us.

Quite more, actually.

That's what makes children like that so sPeCiaL - the enormous amount of God's love that she expressed to me in a way that holds much more weight than someone sending a text message saying 'I'm here for you' which turns out to be a lie in the end.

So maybe that's why I feel inclined to raise the awareness of Down syndrome/trisomy-21.

Amongst other things, we should all be aware of the blessings that come from being unignorant, inclusive, and non-prejudice. More generally so is that God teaches us to love all of His wonderful creations and to find the richest fulfillment in life is to see the beauty in all things.

And trust me, if the big, compassionate eyes weren't beautiful enough, and if the simian-creased hands weren't God's own 'artist mark', then the beautiful soul that spoke out of her need to be of service to others, is very much so a sense of fulfillment that I look forward to go out an seek on my future endeavors.

I'm glad that many years ago, I was made

AwArE

of these exceptional lives and the goodness of their mere being.

peace&love

baily

this just in

i literally just shrieked and squealed with such excitement that millie's pissed off at me now for waking her up from her nap beauty-sleep. 

she is now lounging on the couch and watching 'harry potter' with E (the roomie). 

well, this is the first i've known about the pig loving magic & whimsy & wizards so much

I only buy her pig and elephant toys

Oh ya, speaking of elephants!

 (roll tide roll)

 i got a text message from a very excited boyfriend of mine (bama born/bama grad), telling me to read what he wrote to justin core (bama born/florida state grad) on his facebook wall.

i love how he (my bama boy) knew this would make my day

Chace Spears   Mr. Core, I was just listening to the Finebaum radio show and Tim Brando just gave his preseason prediction for the National Championship... Bama vs. FSU. I'd welcome the opportunity to get the Seminole's back for Bama's embarassing showing a few years ago in Jacksonville. Thought this would give you a glimmer of hope. Hope you and Megan are doing well!" 2 hours ago via facebook for iPhone 

you probably hate tim brando

right now, if:

• 
  
  you are a fan of boise state

people like tim brando are still not taking you seriously

and please don't damper another football season for me by whining continuously about the BCS for 14-weeks .

(Damn, you give a dog a bone, I reckon'...)

You just left the WAC for the Mountain-West and...

you have the smurf's turf,  an idahoschedule,

and absolutely NO football tradition w h a t s o e v e r.

sorry, dudes

or

• 
  
  you are a florida gator

because y'all absolutely can't stand for the tide or the noles to ever be good

because not only is your dynasty fading, but bama is back to being college football king and your neighbors in tallahassee are about to run that state once they get it all assembled...

you've dominated the sec, until B A M A stole it back (22 sec titles/and counting)

you dominated the S u N s H i N e  S t A t E until bobby finally stopped trying

but now jimbo fisher is running the show and it looks kinda familiar to you i bet.

it oughtta  since y'all turned things around like wham-bam-thankya-ma'am when Urbs got to town.

and you oughta know how fast nick saban and a.l.a.b.a.m.a snuck up on your butt & rained all over your overly-annoying tebow parade that NeveR would GO AWAY

now that he's gone and it's not sacrilegeous to say negative things about timmy-t anymore:

YOU DO ADMIT THAT THE SPECTACLE YOU ALL MADE OF HIM WAS ENTIRELY TOO MUCH, RIGHT?

i don't know how i ever made it the first 17 years of my life

without being a die-hard footballfan

but the second i said my first

 'roll tide'

i could feel it was a

code word

for this very special something of a college-place...

just hearing people talk about football in the fall makes me pumped up

 and to know that i have gotten to experience a lot of super cool things

that others have not is the

 best

part about this town

this place called titletown

peaceandlove

bai 

a song called lochloosa and lochloosa sounds like my home.. for florida...

Lauren and Whitney bought me some suprises when they were in Seaside, Florida over the 4th of July Weekend. Supposedly there's this new record store there that I hear I would "just looove!" and they brought me a couple teases home. They bought me the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' album, Janis Joplin's *ORIGINAL PRESSED* 'I Got Them Ol' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama!' album, and the JJ Grey & Mofro 'The Choice Cuts' album.

The JJ Grey & Mofro album was one I had never heard before (the Michael Jackson and Janis Joplin albums came out obviously several decades ago so I've given my ears a listen a few times on each of those). But the 'The Choice Cuts' vinyl is already well-loved by me.

It got me through a pretty treturous week of studying for that killer Social Psychology exam. But I just got home from it, and I rocked it's gypsy soul. I really do like this lecture, and the material is enough basic theory that I can apply my previous knowledge to it, but it goes into depth in the social and cognitive domains of psychology and there's always a bold-fonted key term in the textbook that I don't know, so it's been pleasantly challenging. I stop there, and go no further, because the last thing I need is to say that and then completely _beep!_ myself when the next two exams are the pit-fall of ever being both pleasant and challenging and becomes HELL.

But I love this album because there is a lot of Florida heritage that are written in the lyrical component of this different style of music. It's swamp-folk and country-rock and a little bit of jazziness mixed with mountainy bluegrass strings. I can put it simpler, into two words: I DIG. (I have even facebook-statused some of the lyrics about my beloved swampy sunhine state!)

Here are some of the lyrics I just love and this new band of interest for me definitely gets a high five for singing some good tunes about the very misunderstood nature of my homestate...

FLORIDA!

Homesick but it's alright / Lochloosa is on my mind / She's on my mind /

I swear its 10,000 degrees in the shade / Lord have mercy knows - how much I love it /

Every mosquito every rattlesnake / Every cane break - everything //

Every alligator / Every black water swamp / Every freshwater spring - everything //

All we need is one more damn developer taking her heart out //

All we need is one more Mickey Mouse / Another golf course another country club /

 Another gated community // Lord I need her /

Lord I need her // And she's slipping away /

Homesick but it's alright / Lochloosa is on my mind /

She's on my mind / She's on my mind

-JJ Grey & Mofro 'Lochloosa'

guess what I DID recently that caused me to miss the good ol' days?? 

i t . i s . w h a t 

 m y . f r i e n d s . d i d

a l l . s u m m e r . l o n g 

w h i l e . g r o w i n g . up 

a couple weeks ago Chaceface and I went N a little ways up the interstate to Smith Lake and enjoyed a day of laying in the water on a raft. Not just any raft. The kind of raft that is considered some prime real-estate on Jones family vacations. A couple cold beers, my boyfran, and a weeks worth of stresses being deferred so that I could

.e n j o y.

.m y.

.S U N D A Y.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was really quite amazing and much, much, much needed!

I wigged.. and I mean WIGGED out when I jumped off that dock into dark and unknown waters and let me anxieties get the best of me as I splashed and cyclopzed around and up that ladder back onto the dock. Chace got quite the kick out of it and intead of saying,

"No, Baily... we're not in Florida - you can swim in lakes, no alligators!"

like a good and compassionate boyfriend would and instead said,

"I bet you someone bought a pet alligator like a dumbass and has let it go in this lake once it got too big and now it's breeding out of control and bringing alligators to my lake!"

Seriously? What.the.heck....???

Could he have not let the fact that I am the MOST-GULLABLE girl he's ever met in his entire life refrain him from saying anything, because by the time I could get me and my not-so-nineteen-year-old-body (complete w/my newest version of big-woman-curves) out of the water, I had already convinced myself that this lake-neighborhood is made up of a bunch of imbeciles with stray pet alligators, which are in a breeding frenzy right below me in

 my very unfamiliar and horribly uncomfortable area of unbeknownst dark lakewater.

I finally warmed up and we enjoyed our day hanging out on the

S H O R E L I N E

o f . a

f r e s h - w a t e r

L  A  K  E

a n d . n o t . h a v i n g

t o . w o r r y . a b o u t . a n y

A L L I G A T O R S

l i k e . w e . h a v e . t o

w o r r y . a b o u t . i n 

t H e . S u N s H i N e . s T a T e

Come see us in Alabama and Florida!

We've got pretty lakes, but it is our beaches that really need your everyone's help!!

The Gulf Oil Spill is staining our very beautiful and much-loved white sandy coastlines.

Our tourism is bruised.Our wildlife are in danger.

And the spirit of those perfect Southern summers still linger,

but it's hard to feel the free-spirited charm of 

O L D  - F L O R I D A  

because of the brutal reality that there is a spilled and spewing detrimental disaster sittingvery unwelcomed in her panhandle's harbors. Just above

the Land of Sunshine and in the Heart of Dixie is the

S T A T E   of   A L A B A M A

where all the well-mannered and good-souled folks are breaking their backs to help out their country, their state, and their fellow Southerner, despite the bitter reality of the unwanted spill of darkness that masks our waters and plagues our shorelines.

message me and tell me how you have contributed to the relief efforts in wake of the BP Oil Spill

i may (or may not) have a personalized

Expressive Journal: starter-kit that i put together to give-away

to ((someone)) who appreciates the things that I appreciate, like:

advocacy, peace, love,

unity & community-service

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A TYPICAL BLOGGER "GiVe AwAy" THAT YOU MAY SUSPECT

NOPE - NOT WHATSOEVER

BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE COOL TO HEAR OTHER'S STORIES OF

NATIONAL//or// STATE//or//COMMUNITY//  VOLUNTEER WORK!!!

*if no one wants to share their story by leaving me a comment, then I will use this time to be up on my soap-box  advocating service oriented and volunteer work  EVERYWHERE, especially with the Gulf Relief Efforts

BUT I THINK YOU WILL LIKE SOME OF MY  IDEAS FOR MY OWN LITTLE WAY TO (INEXPENSIVELY) GIVE BACK TO THE SOUTHERN-COASTAL ECOSYSTEM, THE LOVE AND COMFORT THAT THOSE SaLtY SHORES AND CrYsTaL cLeAr WATERS

 GAVE ME OVER THE YEARS ON THOSE CHERISHED FAMILY VACATIONS

AND ON ALL OF  THE PREPPY, COLLEGE, SPRING-BREAK WEEKS THAT  I SPENT IN

destin, florida . gulf shores, alabama . panama city beach, florida

and

 orange beach, alabama . pensacole, florida . marco island, florida

"at the Bama Breeze, you're one of our own down here, you never drink alone down here, good God I feel at home down here." -Jimmy Buffett's ode to The FloraBama

Oh ya, P.S. I think everyone should go see "GROWN UPS"

because it reminds me of how awesome those summer weeks were when my family

(along with any other family or families we were summer-vacay-ing with)

w o u l d . p u t . t h e . w o r d

F  U  N

☮

i  n t o . t h e . w o r d 

d  y  s  F  U  N  c  t  i  o  n  a  l

will write more on my next study-break!

it helps me vent... thank God!

☮Peace ☮

and

Love

 - bjj -

sorry, me and millie jean have been away for a while....

I'm sorry that I have been on such a blogging hiatus. One of my best friends, Kathleen, has already gotten onto my butt about it. I have so much to blog about, here's the run down of what I'm going to take time this week and write about:

• Justin and Megan Core's Wedding
• 4th of July in Orlando, the newlywed's Independence Day celebration
• House-sitting the Little's dogs
• Stories from the classroom

Ok, so I promise I am going to blog soon.... but I have a test tomorrow ((I thought it was today, but about 8 hours into my studying I realized I had an extra day... yay for that, huh?!)) Bonus points!

Omg here are some pics from Millie at Oak Mountain State Park this weekend at the lake. I COULD NOT KEEP HER LITTLE BEHIND OUT OF THE WATER!

After she was done taking a dump on the dock of the rental cabins we were probably NOT supposed to be at with three dogs. One shnauzer, one black lab, and one little pig-dog. Chaceface would throw the stick in the water for the dogs, Tripp would do an Olympic-style jump off the dock in all of his labrador glory, and my little pig dog would go hopping off the dock, into the paddle boat sitting between the dock and the "beach," then would hop into the water from the muddy "beach" and would just take off swimming into unknown waters until we realized she'd done it again and had to holler for her to come back to the shallow area of the lake. She seriously didn't stop... ever. She found a little "spot" she could rest on and stay in the water. I couldn't keep her out, except from time to time she would run back on the dock and I'd beg her to jump in like Tripp does. I'm sure she was thinking, "Moooom, I'm a boxer not a lab!" But she tried one time, but she literally just looked like someone bumped into her skinny butt and knocked her in. Except no one did. She just toppled herself into the water, then either decided she liked her jumping like a deer through the boat way or she realized what a doofus she looked like and didn't want us to laugh at her anymore. Either way, she just galavanted down to the mud-beach and took off. Chace and I would have to say, "Millie, come back!" "Piggie where are you going?!" "THIS WAY MILLIE!"

There she goes again... "COME BACK THIS WAY MILLIE-JEAN?!?"

Her and Tripp got out in the middle of the lake at one point and I thought we were going to have to go all-out Baywatch on them, but they finally came back by the tease of a new and better stick that Chace found. Needless to say, Millie was hilarious. Chace got aggravated because he couldn't enjoy laying on the dock with his sister and I because he was having to keep the pig-dog from swimming out into the current and drown. She's not as good of a swimmer as Tripp is either.. but they're dogs - I'm not judging her dives and swim skills. She thinks she's as good as him apparently, though, because she just takes off. Or she hangs out on her spot... just sittin' on the dock of a lake... a dog's life.

Peace and Love

BJJ

her resting spot... so cute

so happy to be at oak mountain!

she would not get out of the shallow water, she just hung out there until we turned our backs and she could take off toward deeper waters again...

so tired after all of her swimming!!