Writer's Block = Random

Random Stuff:what you blog about when you've got writer's block

I am so glad that Grayson isn't a Tiger, Gator, or Volunteer...

He is a little Crimson Tide fan!!!

Seriously, there aren't many things cuter than a little Bama baby!

Okay okay, I have to add this or else my brother-in-law will ground me from hanging out with GCL.
 Baby Grayson DOES have a little bit of Gamecock in him, too.  But, I think he will soon figure out that being a South Carolina fan is really only cool during college baseball's College World Series.
  I'm sure he will stick to Bama during football season, though.  His granddaddy Butch (my Dad) will recruit him to join the Tar Heel faithful with us when it is basketball season. My entire family is nuts over college sports and we do not expect Grayson to be anything different. 

He and his "Aunt Sissy" have been working on his soon-to-be first words....
Rolllll Tide Rolllll!

I think someone may have said "War Eagle" right before this picture was taken.

That's the "go to hell" look that I shoot at Auburn fans, too!

While I'm on the subject of the Tide, let me just tell you how stoked I am about the game this weekend.

It is Bama vs. Florida, and it is the rivalry that I look forward to the most - well, besides Auburn.  We don't play Florida every year because the Gators are in the SEC East and the Tide is in the West, but we have met plenty of times in the past few years between regular season games and the back-to-back SEC Championship games that we split victories in. The rivalry ante was upped on those two special occassions because both years the teams were ranked #1 and #2 in the BCS Poll.  Each won a national championship in the past couple of years and both teams recruit like a boss!  This year, the Gator Nation is not
quite up to their standards. With their new coach and a young-but-talented team, the Gators are the underdogs this weekend.  Bama, on the other hand, is damn near perfect and one of the most fun teams to watch this year.  I am saying that because I am a diehard Bama girl, but I am also saying that because I think a few savvy sports fans would agree with me on that. No matter who is on the field - offense, defense, or special teams - the Crimson Tide puts on a show and Nick Saban makes opposing coaches look stupid.

Anyway, I am very ready to see the show in 'the Swamp' this weekend.  I love beating my home state's largest university and my best friends' alma mater.  The rivalry is super personal for me since I live in Florida, have many Gator friends, and I am in love with a guy who bleeds that tacky orange and blue.  Being as that is his only flaw, I can live with it ;)

It's going to be a good, fun game... even if it is in 'the Swamp' and not at Bryant-Denny. 

We hosted them at home last year and put a good old fashioned ass-whooping on them and sent them back to Gainesville.  I know that in the SEC any given team can win on any given day... so I have to watch my mouth.  I just keep praying for patience and that God calm my nerves down when those fans start doing that stupid ole' "Gator chomp." Ugh... but anyways..

Cheers to the Tide!

Fall is my favorite time of year because it means:

...that it is football season & time for tailgating!

...the weather is cooler (but not miserabe winter weather!)

...a new television season begins

...Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks

... cooking and eating lots of casseroles, soups, and pies

....that the major league baseball season is almost over. (Whew!)

... that I rock boots & scarves with anything and everything.

...that the holidays are right around the corner!!!

I just wish that Florida had more of a Fall.  Summer seems to stick around until Christmas but some years we will have us a little bit of a cold spell winter.  By that I mean, bring a sweater out on your Valentine's Day date because you might need it.  I am cold-natured and have chill bumps all over in the middle of the summer, so I'm ok with just the mild coldness!  I just wish the leaves changed colors... but when the rest of the nation is cold, grey, and bare come Winter, I do have to say it feels good to have such a green and florished environment still.  Florida is just one of a kind - and you either love it or hate it.  I am enjoying it... I have not lived in FL during the Fall since 2004.  I forgot how brutally hot it still is at the end of September!!!

I took this pic from my front yard the other day...

Then later that evening, I took another one....

I thought it was fascinating how blue the daytime sky was, but it was even more exhilerating seeing the same sky be painted pink and look so pretty and sweet. 

I guess Florida is just colorful in her own way.  I can deal with the no leaves changing colors as long as I have a watercolored sunset like that!  (I wish I could have gotten a bigger shot of the sky... it went on and on and on...)

I made a really yummy casserole for my parents and I on Sunday night. 

Once I get it finished I will post the recipe.  Here's a sneak peek:

Chicken & Broccoli & Rice casserole.  It was delish - if I do say so myself!  

This post is so random and I'm over it.  Haha.  I will blog again later today when I actually have something to write about.  I have been itching to really sit down and do some creative writing here lately... I miss my short stories and personal essays that I used to post on here.  I need to make more time for my writing and I need to revitalize my inspirational and motivational techniques to get the writer's vibes vibing!

What inspires you?

I love quotes!

Like this one, for instance...

and this one...

I'll just leave you with that.

A random mess of tid-bits for your Tuesday reading.

Someone send me a prompt, a link-up, or anything to get my inspiration going.

Pretty, pretty please!?!

PEACE & LOVE

bjj

quote

But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking.

 Mitch Albom

Happy Birthday to...

The Boss...

Hope you rock out to some Springsteen this weekend.

I'll be spinning this vinyl in celebration of his 62nd Birthday.

Come on... you've gotta love Bruce!

peace & love

bjj

Her Southern Charm

I received my giveaway winnings package from

Her Southern Charm

I love love love it.

Don't you?

Go check out her blog and shop!!

I promise you will love it as much as I do.

You simply can't not love it!

peace & love

bjj

the weekend, in short.

I went to Savannah this weekend.

To meet halfway with Sheldon.

And we had a really good time - except, I got some pretty bad food poisoning because I went against my better judgement and ate crawfish.  Don't get me wrong - I love me some crawfish - but I was a little waitress at The Bayou Seafood and I grew up going to my aunt and uncle's in NOLA so I know this ain't crawfish season.  But I ate them anyways.  Then went out on the town...

Then I threw up... and threw up some more.  FOR. 14. HOURS. NON. STOP.
Luckily, I can look at that picture without feeling queasy... this is a good thing because like I said - I love me some crawfish. I plan to continue eating these in the Spring and Summer. Probably will stick to my knowledge of in and out of season in the future!

However, it did not ruin our trip entirely.  Actually, the way Sheldon took care of me like a champ made me swoon for him even more.  He's my best friend and I love the heck out of him!

We went over to Tybee Island Pier since we both have a love for the water.  We starred at the water with such stillness and it was one of those really calming moments in a world that seems to be so hectic all of the time.  I enjoyed it... a lot.

Now I am back at home and back to the grind.  I am in-training at my new restaurant gig and I am grateful for the job opp - even if it is a simple one.  I know God is continuing to bless me in my progression and journey right now because I remain so faithful to what He has in store for me.  I am grateful that Sheldon and I have a strong faith in the same things.  It is what makes this time in my life the happiest I have ever been :)

I hope everyone is off to a good start this week!

Peace & Love

Baily

date a girl who reads

I have to share this.  It is so perfect.  (I found it here)

Date a Girl Who Reads

by Rosemarie Urquico

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by God, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

another update

I can't believe we are past Labor Day and it is already Friday again! This past week has flown by for me. I got back from Birmingham after a long day of traveling home in those awful Southeastern storms we had on Labor Day.  But, I spent a wonderful weekend with family and boyfriend... oh, and precious baby nephew Grayson. 

He's grown so much in 3 and 1/2 weeks, it is unreal! I am so ready to see him again already!

This week I'm back on the job-hunt and really praying on where my next direction lies.  My brokenness and tender spirit have been restored and God has blessed me with a personal life that makes me the happiest I have ever been, so I want to get back to the figuring out what is next.  I can't just stay "stuck" forever.  Even though this part of my journey is exciting... it still scares the hell out of me and I pray for God's mercy every single day.  I just want to be the best woman I can be and be the best aunt and role-model for little Grayson.  I can be that living proof that people can turn it all around.  I still need prayers, though... and I am thankful at every moment for the amount of support I have in friends and family and in Sheldon.

Now that it is weekend time again I am ready to watch more college football!

'Tis the season! My favorite time of the year!!!

Roll Tide

peace & love

baily

The Simple Things

I'm linking up with Jesslyn Amber today. 

She's one of my good blog friends & a fellow Crimson Tide gal.

Can't beat that!  Well, except for the fact that she is like me and knows it's the simple things in life that mean the most!! I love her style! It's important that we don't take those little things for granted.

Here is my list of simple things that I appreciated this week:

-Receiving a "daily photo" of baby Grayson every day. And sometimes (well usually) more than just once a day! I can't get enough of that precious little boy!

-Dates on Skype!!!

-a bike ride while the Avett Brothers sang to me

-Sending out some snail mail. Sorry e-mail, but you can't mess with old-fashioned! 

-My best friend and his wife singing Happy Birthday to me on voice-mail while I was out of town for my birthday.  Love them dearly! 

-Brand new pack of socks!   

-a couple of hours set aside for journaling!

-rockin' my white skinny jeans one last time before Labor Day.

-clean sheets!

It really is the simple things!

Have a Happy Thursday... count your blessings! 

peace & love

baily



a song to remind me