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

I've been meaning to do this....

I’m honored that I received The Stylish Blogger Award from 3 different people!  Ana @ The World Through My Eyes, Amy @ A Daring Little Life, and ABF @ College Girl gave it to me.  I’m so lucky to have met this groovy little community of people in the blogger realm and I am loving it!  This is a good game to sort of “get to know ya” – if you will, and I have been meaning to post it. 

I keep seeing it float around out there, and I figured I better ‘get to it & do it’ before I forget about it!!  I figured it’s a good time to tell you some random things about me (as if I’m not random enough) especially since I have so many new (and WONDERFUL) blog friends! 

I am supposed to share 7 things about myself and then send this award on to 15 other people!  I’m pretty much an open book, but here are 7 random tid-bits about me.

1.    If I could wear one outfit for the rest of my life it would be a pair of comfortable (and cute fittin’) blue jeans with a “wife-beater” style tank!  I joke about this being my “uniform” – haha! I match it with a scarf or funky jewelry and cowboy boots or a pair of gladiator sandals.  I know how and when to clean up nice though!  I’ve got a “posh” side, too!

2.    My organizational skills are superb – NOOOT!!! My organization is WORSEthan my random scatter-brain! Scary (and cluttered) huh?

3.    My “theme words” are: PASSION, HOPE, and UNIQUENESS.  A lot of people’s first impression of me is that I am PASSIONATE FOR LIFE.  I take that as such a compliment!  HOPE is what keeps me grounded – no matter how bad my reality can be sometimes, the hope I have allows me to dream and by dreaming I am about to get through my ruts.  UNIQUENESS is something I have always heard people say I embrace well.  I am proud of myself for that because it is so important to be yourself, because like ‘they’ say, everyone else is already taken. 

4.    When I was a little girl I dreamed of being a sports reporter – think Erin Andrews.  I loved writing and I have always been obsessed with sports.  In high school, I was a sports reporter and held my own sports column in our school’s paper.  I went on to college at the University of Alabama and was a Journalism and Public Relations student at the highly respected College of Information Sciences before switching my direction pretty entirely.  Life lead me to continue my love for writing via my blog, “Picking Wildflowers” (found here) and on my high school sports column’s extension blog “Just Jones It” (found here), but I switched my field of study. The past couple of years I have studied Child Development, Early Education, and Family Studies.  I have a particular interest in working with children with developmental disabilities and their families.  Right now, I am very much in a transition phase and trying to find my bearings, stay grounded, and continue to dream big.  We’ll see where life takes me next!!!

5.    I basically grew up on the soccer field.  I started playing the sport when I was 5 years old and I never stopped playing it until the referee’s whistle sounded the ending of an era my senior year of high school (2005).  The end of my long-running soccer career was the end of a lifestyle and the ending of a love story.  I loved (and still love) the people, coaches, and memories of all the glory days that filled my life on those soccer fields.  I loved how GOOD it HURT to train for hours, how hard it was not to quit or give up at times when it hurt, and how I hated losing and loved winning.  Soccer taught me about life and through that special sport I did not just learn how to be a team player or how to strike a ball into the back of a net, but I learned what Baily Jones was capable of becoming one day.

6.    I have never had any other kind of dog than a BOXER.  It is tough to say if I ever will.  My parents have two: Jackson and Lola; my sister and her husband have two: Maybelle and Beau; and I have one: Mildred Jean (“Millie”)…. they are just the most AWESOME dogs!  We also have two in doggie heaven: Sugar Ray and Macy.

7.    I have so much appreciation for this blog!  A lot of people may not understand it, or think I’m cheesy, or roll their eyes and wish I would “get a life” but I don’t care because, to me, it isn’t cheesy – it’s wonderful, and I have a life – it’s pretty wonderful, too!  I think, and excuse me while I be a Child Development Specialist for a second, that we all have our four main self-domains: our physical, cognitive, emotional, and social selves all make up who we are.  But I think there is a fifth domain to the self and that is the CREATIVE SELF.  And in my honest opinion, I think it is the most important because it is up to us to find it, use it, let it make us who we are, and let it express what those four other domains do.  Be who you are.  And I’m a Blogger.  My creative self has art, writing, and inspiration in it, along with a love for music, people, and new experiences.  This blog is where I let those thoughts and ideas come to life and where I am able to gain more creativity.  It is something I love & I am SO GLAD I found an outlet for my artistic intuitions!

Thanks again to Ana, Amy, and ABF for giving me the

Stylish Blogger Award

I'm tagging these darlin's...

Kathleen @ I Can Watch A Sunset On My Own

Amber @ I Love You To The Moon

Lauren @ The Underwoods

Amber @ A Little Pink In The Cornfields

Deanna @ Mellow Fever

Mimi @ What Mimi Writes

Lindsey @ It's A Wonderful Life

Alexis @ The Journal List

Kelly @ Life In A Small Town

Casey @ Instant Inspiration

Chelsea @ Free To Be Me

Courtenay @ W 31st

Sarah @ Cubicle Sanity

Jade @ Bug Being Bug

Tara @ Head In The Clouds

Can't wait to learn 7 New Things about y'all! :)

peace&love

-BJJ-

Random

I'm addicted to hot tea right now.  And cider.  And don't make fun of me for the Good Mood kind, it couldn't hurt to add a little positivity to your day... or is that not "your cup of tea?" 

 I'm hilarious.

I went to one of my favorite places recently where I got these 2 awesome, vintage-inspired, garland strands. Don't you just love World Market...???

I know this will be the perfect finishing touch once I redecorate my room... 

I think they are so fun!

And they may inspire me to get on my DIY feet & get to making something already!  

I also found this shower curtain while I was there.  Mom and I decided that it is just right for a combination of our two styles, and since I'm living back at her house, I can't just go changing EVERYthing into how I want it... I have to be respectful of her space.  She always has been of mine.

(Even though she did redecorate once I hit the road for college, she did let me help pick it out)...

But this shower curtain will look awesome in my bathroom that connects - Jack 'n Jill like - to what will be my little "sitting/entertaining/crafty room."  And like I said, it's perfectly Mom and I.

Classically Bohemian ;)

I just love it!!!

Do you know what else I love?

The fact that I am a funky jewelry junkie!

Here's one of their hangout spots in my bathroom. 

I'm not a big Juicy Couture girl, but I DO love their VIVA LA JUICY perfume!

I get a lot of "You smell good!" compliments!!!

We only got to play a little bit of frisbee today before the thunderstorm sent us inside to take a mid-afternoon nap!!  But, my migraine wasn't letting me go to sleep and I couldn't resist a photoshoot with that Kodak moment!!   

Whose bed is it anyway???

I'm sorry, but she can sprawl out on my covers, slobber on pillows, and breathe down my neck all she wants to.... because after a good snuggle session in the bed - I get THIS FACE!

...and THAT face gets whatever she wants! ;)

peace and love

baily

10 days: day two

10 Days: day two: 9 things people might not know about me

however, i'm pretty much an open book and i give lots of dets about my life to people

modesty? no way!

regard? errrrrr, wrong answer

for real.

1. i have 6 fake teeth

hey y'all!!!

2. i check under my bed and behind the shower curtain every night before i go to sleep

yes, for the boogey-man.

3. i have a fire nightmare 6 nights out the week

4. my middle name is in honor of Michael Jordan.

no wonder why i'm the best - right???

5. my sister and i had no ties to the state of Alabama before coming here for college

(so when you wanna know why, ask her - I just followed her here)

Where next, sissy?!?

let's go to Charleston and be King Street Queens!

6. i returned an envelope that I found in the parking lot at Target in Oviedo which had a Vermont woman's ID, $800 buckaroos in cash, and a credit card.

The police department in Oviedo honored me with a citizenship award, but I never received a thank-you from 'said Vermont woman.'  Nonetheless - "Bless Her Heart" but in the South I would have used my BEST stationary on that Thank You... and maybe a Benjamin!

7. Before I die, I will see Mick Jagger in person.

8. I'm a borderline hoarder.  That's why I have a lot of shiz to replace, and you'd think losing all that stuff would make me simpler, less hoarderish, but nope. Makes me that more nostalgic and obsessed with even the simplest mementos.  Luckily, I date someone who loves the small things just as much, so, so far we've spread out the loot from here to Myrtle Beach.

9. I talk to myself. A lot.

All day. Everyday.

And when Millie is in the passenger seat she makes me look less cooky.

Except then, I'm a lady talking to my dog instead of myself.

Coo-ku, coo-ku!