For The Win...

I have had a crazy busy day today...and Holy Hell... as I sit here typing this post for you and waiting for the oven timer to buzz, AGAIN, I realize it's not quite over yet. But that's SUPERFINE....because it was totally worth it!!
What did I do, you ask? OH...you DIDN'T ask?...Then why the fuck are you still reading this?
(Begin at the beginning)...It's Jubilee Days Weekend in my hometown. Since some of you aren't from here (too bad for you)...that's just a little thing my town does the third weekend of every August. You know...a parade, flea market vendors, crafty shit, deep fried food, seeing anyone and everyone and then some. The high school classes hold their reunions (speaking of which...mine is this year. And for those of you interested...I'm skipping it.) and it's usually a roaring good time! There's always a little something for everyone. I love it...like most people...and I anticipate it and look forward to it each year. It's kinda the summer going away party (school used to start here the week following Jubilee...but that changed this year.) It's gotten MUCH smaller...and a little less eventful...from the Jubilees of my youth, but..for me anyway...it's a cherished tradition. And you know how I am about tradition.
So it started today. Tomorrow is the parade and most of the activities, but a few really fun things got going this evening. I started out MY day with my dear friend G....we are working tomorrow in the sorority booth doing really fun crafts with the kiddos! (I KNOW...RIGHT?! That's the LAST place you'd expect to find ME! Crafts AND Kids!).....so today we needed to get supplies gathered, make super creative signage, and go over some last minute details. It was wicked fun and I got to get a little craft groove on.
After all that artsy fartsy marker and paper cutter work, this girl was starving. Crafting is hard work. Nothing sounded better to me than the Fish Fry. Hell Yeah. So, since I had neglected my sweet husband...in lieu of markers and poster board...we grabbed him and headed uptown for some deep fried fishies. UM..YUM!
AND....did I mention there happened to be a Car Show this evening? NO? Now, y'all know how much I love me some shiny chrome. So, I scarfed down my sammie (I even ate the bread...cause this is a special 'casion.)...grabbed my hubs and my camera, deposited G with her husband (he is helping run the car show..which means now G is helping as well. The things we do for our spouses.)...and went in search of amazing photography! FOUND! Give me a couple days to finish stuffing my facehole with Jubilee goodness and I will share them with you!
ANYWHO....after walking the gamut a couple of times, eating a megaloid ice cream cone, visiting with townies, and checking out the first round of wares....I stopped back at G's table. By this point MY husband was done and ready to go home (he has the attention span of an ADHD gnat) so I sent him on and stayed with G to help, visit, and continue snapping. Because, as it turns out, I became the "unofficial official" event photographer!
As if that wasn't exciting enough...I also got to JUDGE the Car Show. OK...so it was just to settle a tie. But hey...I still got to pick my favorite six cars. Do I know anything about cars...other than "I love the color of that one", "ooh, that one's got sparkles", or "OMG, a cherry red mustang"....NOPE. Four wheels and an engine.....but I know what I like. And after today...so does everyone else!
And now...because I'm the BEST MOM EVER, I'm up at 12:45 in the morning...baking 9 gazillion and 5 Peanut Butter cookies for my kids "Cavity Table" tomorrow. She is heading to Washington D.C. in October and needs to raise some funds.....so here I am, baking away. Something seems off to me.
And on THAT note....I'm taking the last batch out of the oven and heading to bed. Tonight I am more than ready.

See ya on the flip flop side!!!

XOX

End Of Summer Wrap Up...

Yes, I realize it's still Summer...and yes, we are still enjoying it when and where we can. But, our days of lazy unscheduled nothingness have been replaced with EARLY scheduled routined bizzyness. I fear that all of our fun will now have to be planned and penciled in spontaneity. What have we become?
I went in to the Summer with great intentions. And realistically....we got quite a bit accomplished considering how little time we had together, how little money we had to spend, and how little...ambition...we had to do much of anything. It was just one of those Summers. Too hot...too broke...too tired...too far...etc etc.
But we pushed through and found that once I convinced them to trust me....they had a pretty good time. Mom usually knows best. One of these days they will learn that on their own, huh?
ANYWHO.....we've been hard at work figuring out a new 'Back To School Routine' that works for everyone (you know...with one bathroom and limited floor space?!), planning all those weeknight sports outings and school projects, and penciling in a whole heaping ton of fun activities to keep us together..keep us busy...and keep us moving....until the snow and hibernation happens! I got a little tired of calling it a 'Bucket List' (as that sounds so depressing...)....SO...in true Messy fashion, I've renamed our list to better suit our family. Drum Roll Please......
I present to you.....the.....

Shit We Wanna Do List: Early Fall Edition (better, right?)

• Go on an unplanned adventure.
• Have photo shoots. Take photo outings.
• Complete another photo challenge. Blog about it.
• Add to growing portfolio.
• Go to the zoo. 
• Go to drive-in movie.
• Go on a picnic.
• Go to flea market. (Farmers Pike will do!)
• Go to Connor Prairie.
• Jubilee Days. Work in Kids Craft Booth! DONE!!
• Make fall wreath.
• Make homemade laundry soap and fabric softener.
• Go to auctions. 
• Create Family Binder.
• Go to Kings Island for HalloScream.
• Finish Family Cookbook. Work on digital version.
• Stampin' Up Party!
• Have a Spa Day with Small.
• Finish back deck decorating.
• Go camping. Sleep in tent. Cook over fire. Survive the night.
• Go on Zombie Walk.
• Finish Smalls bedroom redo.
• Begin Hope Chest Project.
• Write!
• Take art classes with Small at the Arts Place.
• Road trip to Jungle Jim's in Ohio.
• Take the train to Chicago for the weekend.
• Visit Metamora, Indiana during the holidays.
• Visit Nashville, Indiana. Stay a weekend in Brown County. Shop. Eat. Leaf peep.
• Go on Fall Leaf Hike at Arboretum.
• Prepare holiday card and homemade gift lists.
• Update address book.
• Globe Project.
• Begin planning Holiday Party.
• Do something unexpected for Hubby.
• Get caught up on Goodreads Reading Challenge. (I am wicked behind!!)
• Have Family Unplugged Day: Board games, Fondue, Sleeping bags in Living Room, Scary movie.
• Begin Homesteading: Canning, Preserving, and Stocking.
• Work on building up dream pantry.
• Practice a random act of kindness.
• Chili Tailgate Party.
• Halloween Costume Party. (Smalls Request)
• Go to Apple Orchard. Pick apples.
• Make homemade Apple Butter and Apple Sauce.
• Set up recycling station at home.
• Go fishing at Summit Lake.
• Make homemade dish rags and kitchen towels.
• Make quote stones.
• Make fleece scarves for football games & cross country meets! Go Tigers!
• Finish crocheted scarf before first snowfall.
• Build a headboard -or a whole bed- for master bedroom.

Shew!! That's a lot of stuffs!!! Honestly, I know that most of it falls into the "Shit for mom to do" realm. But, I think I'm OK with that. Pretty sure it's my job anyway. You know, just like everything else.
So there you have it.....a little peek into my world the next few months. Oh, don't worry...there will still be plenty of sass, lots of smarts, and probably a little bitch as well. THAT never changes. Keep your eyes peeled for updates and new posts....but don't be all on here like daily...cause I got other shit to do! And that's creepy.

See ya on the flip flop side!

XOX

Bucket Lists, Back To School, Break-Ups, and Bitches..

Holy Wow! It's been a CRAZY summer, huh? Bet you're just chock full of curiosity about what all I've been up to?! NO?
Well...too bad! Cause I'm gonna share anyway! I recently updated my Summer Bucket List to reflect all the super great stuffs we did this summer--even though it felt WICKED short! We are already back to school and back in the swing of things. SO WEIRD!
So I am hard at work on a new and improved (and carried over and recycled) Early Fall Bucket List (and actually I'm sick of calling them 'Bucket Lists'...so I'm working on a new name as well!)...full of all the crazy shit we want to get accomplished before the hustle bustle of holidays and cold weather and hibernation! It's totally doable....you know - between Band, football games, work, school, Cross Country meets, homework, writing, puppies, chores, cooking, real life, and world domination! Eeeks...when did we get so BUSY? Anyways...be on the lookout for that post super soon.
It's State Fair Week here in my corner of the globe...so that means deep fried deliciousness, baby farm animals, people watching, and photo bombs of epic proportions. And for those of you who follow Little League Baseball...you should know that the 2013 Indiana State winning team was from none other than my hometown! We fought a hard battle for Nationals....but considering that my hometown has a population of approximately 2000 people, I'd say that's pretty darn impressive for a group of 13 year old boys. ('Don't Stop Believin' now makes me cry like a little girl.)
What else has been happening, you ask? (And what is up with that totally cryptic...but spot on hilarious blog title!?) WELL.....as some of you may now be aware, I had a pretty big "falling out" with the bestie earlier this summer. Small hiccup...maybe? Sometimes you just have to let people go when they need to go, learn what they need to learn, say what they need to say, and keep your own karma in check. I can't tell you it was easy though. I spent a lot of days in bed. I cried a lot. I questioned things that I had said, decisions I had made, and dissected every inch of myself and my life. Our "break-up" broke me. It rattled me to my very core. (And for those of you keeping score...relish those points. But read on.)
Then, one day...I woke up...I stopped crying..I got out of bed..and I started living. I cleaned my neglected house. I loved my neglected family. And I repaired my neglected soul. (A big thanks to my peeps for being so patient and understanding during this "phase"!)
And I found happiness. And, strangely enough, our lives have never been better. I started blocking people. I stopped following the drama. I learned not to care. I stopped allowing joy to be taken from me. I walked away from toxicity and anger. And I stayed away.
And really amazing things began to happen for us. Our Karma changed. Not only that...but my house has never been cleaner. I started writing again. I lost some weight. We have an amazing routine that works for our family. We are having fun. We laugh more. We love more. We have learned to enjoy our moments...and each other.
I don't rightly know what the correlation is...but it's worth noting.
I don't know what will happen from here on out. I can't predict what lies in my future. I know that my heart is a big ol' glutton....but my brain will probably require some ground rules moving foward.
During all that struggling and suffering....I (re) discovered a few universal truths. (Oh come on...you knew that was coming!)
Hang on to your britches folks....cause Imma 'bout to lay some real world learning down on ya. I learn the lessons so you don't have to. You're fucking welcome.
Cray bitches be trippin'. And not in a good way. And they won't, can't, and will never change. No matter what sweet pearl clutchin' sob story they tell you. Or how many times they tell it. All the big pretty houses, fancy top of the line stuffs, and beach vacations don't make up for a shitty personality or years of repeated hurtful behaviors. Fixins is fixins. Pathological is pathological. Wrap it up nice...but the inside is still a hot mess of crazy.
Call me what you will...but I'd much rather be authentic, loved, honest, respected, admired, liked, appreciated, trusted, and true...in 900 square feet (and poor as shit), than anything otherwise in all the mansions of the world.
And a word on that...if you have to persuade, manipulate, con, convince and/or prove to others that you are happy...are you really? True happiness shines out of a person - because their heart is too big to hold it all. Happy just happens. If you have to force it..well...then you're probably doing it wrong. And making everyone around you miserable in the process.
I know who I am. I know what I want. I know where I'm going. And, finally, I think I know how to get there...and who I want along for the ride. I am thankful for the people in my life. Past and present. I know I'm not perfect. But, I also know that my worst moments are still just a tiny drop in a larger bucket - and that I have friends and loved ones ready to remind me of that. The world revolves around none of us. My problems are small. We are healthy. We are together. We have love. We have all that we need. We have enough.
I don't need to chase love, affection, attention, friendship, or respect. Because I have lived a life WORTHY of those things. I have given...and so I receive. Can you...TRULY...say the same? Because - as I have witnessed, learned, and experienced - every relationship, every encounter, every moment is an opportunity to express love. To be better. To strive for more. To change. Others...and yourself. Go full circle.
Jesus Karma Buddha. (or whatever you believe in.)

TEACH
LEARN
DESTROY
CREATE
EXPLORE
RETURN
REAP
SOW
TAKE
GIVE

I might still be a work in progress...I might still be adjusting the learning curve...but at the end of the day...I can honestly say that I have people in my corner. YOU don't have to be one of them. I'm not for everyone. All I know is that in this life, I am trying to make a difference and treat people the best way that I know how. I might make mistakes. I might fumble the ball on occasion. Because I'm human.
And that's OK.
So take a good look...
On my side, by my side, or in my fucking way. Your choice. But know this...it's a new day. Take the opportunity to make better choices, work some shit out, check yourself, say a little something something and breathe.
And then move the fuck on.
That's all anyone can ask for.

See ya on the flip flop side!

XOX!!