I’d be barefoot earlier in the spring

After going with Alex to have his eyes sliced on for LASIK surgery and having my neck twisted into a near paralytic state by the chiropractor (totally worth it, by the way), I can honestly say that the scariest thing I experienced in the entirety of last week was hearing that whales have boogers. And they can sneeze.
I was cruising along only halfway paying attention to the radio, dreaming that I was on spring break like the rest of my current college friends, when a lady began telling her story of her own vacation. I started paying a bit more attention since I was so relevant to my current state of wishing. She and her boyfriend had taken a boat off the shore to do a little fishing when they came upon a whale! They ran to the side of the boat and watched as he began to surface again. Once he reached the top, he sneezed. The lady thought that it was just water that sprayed her from the sneeze, but she was wrong. Oh so wrong. Instead, she ended up covered in boogers. Whale sized boogers. And that is a very scary thought.

Not only is it the Monday after my least favorite day light savings time, it’s also the first Monday of Spring Break- of which I am no longer allowed to participate since I decided to become a grown up this year. I finally am making enough money to go on a trip without going into debt and I’m not even invited. Thanks for adding insult to injury, big girl world. Oh yeah, and it’s raining. The only thing I want to do is crawl back into bed and somehow detox myself of social media for the rest of the week so I don’t have to feel the “fear of missing out syndrome” every time a beachy picture is posted and hashtagged “#SB2013”….one that I’ll never get to post. I am trying to live vicariously through my luckier friends but instead it’s turned into a sickness that I’m now quenching with orange juice, new sunglasses, and trips to the tanning bed. Not exactly the same as a cocktail on the beach.

But despite the rain today, it’s not too bad down here in Mississippi. We had a spectacular weekend with temperatures in the mid 70’s. I tried to purchase a lounge chair from the Dollar General down the road to get a little “vacation” of my own, but they didn’t have them in stock yet. And honestly, I don’t have a discreet place to really lounge at the house…I’d be more or less laying out right off the corner of a major highway. Maybe I can pretend the roar of the cars and semis are actually the roaring waves. Yes, I like this plan. And since I’m not ever very good at “springing forward”, I didn’t make it to church on Sunday, but Alex and I took the dogs for a ride around the farm (technically Alex took me and the dogs…) so I guess you can say I got my sermon by taking in and appreciating all of God’s creation and the welcoming of a new season- all from my favorite passenger seat with a good cup of coffee and no shoes.

My daily bible verse this morning also helped bandage my wounded, no Spring Break, overslept spirit: “This is My COMMANDMENT- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you WHEREVER YOU GO.” – Joshua 1:9
I love the exclamation point in that verse and wanted to add one after every sentence in the verse, but I guess I don’t exactly get to punctuate what God says…so I’ll just compensate by putting words in all caps and bold.

Wishing you all a well and beachy week! If you’re ever having a dull moment, I would usually suggest dreaming of being on Spring Break…however that seems to only aid in my frustration. So instead, appreciate that SPRING HAS SPRUNG and it’s getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Hallelujah!

Now let’s go see if the Dollar General store has received a shipment of lounge chairs yet so we can set them up by the road and really feel beachy. Just beware of flying sneezes…whales have boogers, so I can now assume that other large animals do as well. At least Alex has perfect vision now and can help me spot them…and my back and neck have been adjusted so much that I could probably do a few flips in celebration of it all…..but let’s not get too crazy.

Love always,

Addie

“If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.” – Nadine Stair

getting old. seriously, cereal-ly.

Well we didn’t make it to the ruins this weekend on our adventure. We vowed that we would go if we got up and on the road by 8am. And those of you that know me know exactly why this plan didn’t work. A bottle of wine while making these plans meant that I slept til 9ish instead. Oops. So we quenched our adventure bone with a scenic drive down to the Carrollton, AL “haunted” courthouse. And yes, we did see the face in the window! Here’s the story behind the face:

Story of the face

The story that I was told (pre-visit to see the face) was that Wells was held in the garret (very top room) of the building because the jail house was full on that particular night. I was also told that the lightning strike killed Wells and his face is forever etched in the window by his “ghost” to prove his innocence.

Not sure about the validity of any of it, but there is definitely something weird in that window. The glass has been replaced several times under the witness of very public audiences, but the face continues to re-appear. I didn’t get a picture but I found one that looks just like what I saw with my own eyes. (It’s hard to miss thanks to the arrow sign that someone has hung on the old building.) No one is allowed in the courthouse currently because it is under renovation.

The face! Ahhh!

We also did some research on other haunted attractions in the area and learned of a very scary “3-Legged Lady Road” in Columbus. Legend has it that if you “entice” her, a lady with three legs will come running at your car and the goal is to beat her across the bridge at the end of the road. She will beat on your car and try to run you off the road, where she will then kill you. Some people have even reported dents in their vehicles after the happening. We decided that if a lady ran at us, we would have to run her over- which could have bad results if it turned out to not be the 3-legged lady- so we opted out of that particular “ghost hunt.”

Yesterday, the entire day was devoted to trying to make a house a home. Hanging pictures, assembling closet fixtures, folding and re-folding clothes, finding a spot for everything, and even a little carpentry work were the main honey-do’s that were crossed off at the end of the day- right before ordering take out and crashing in front of the TV. I’m pretty sure this is what getting old feels like…

And finally, we meet Monday again. This Monday welcomed me with a sore back and no coffee left in the pot by the time I made it in to work. Geeze. Fortunately, I received my birthday month discount card from Anthropologie in the mail, easing the pain a little bit. I also ran across this bible verse that reminded me of my sweet sorority sisters and our amazing  values that we continuously strive for…meaning that no matter how stinky my day starts off, I should always keep my thoughts on God and how He wants me to react:

1 Peter 3:10-12 “For whoever would LOVE LIFE and see GOOD DAYS must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must SEEK PEACE and PURSUE it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

And in case you need a laugh, here’s a few that might do the trick:

Morning People…ehh

Chemistry jokes get me every time…

woudn’t it…?

Happy Monday! Don’t let a bad moment make a bad day, or a bad day make a bad week.

Love always,

Addie

“If each day is a gift, I’d like to know where I can return Mondays.” -Unknown

you can do anything good

It’s easy to think that miracles don’t happen today. The world seems to spin faster every day and we get muddled into all the happenings and mis-happenings, forgetting to keep our focus on the really important things. God reminds us in the Bible that if we focus on Him and make His will our number one priority, He will take care of all the rest.

As humans, it’s our nature to want to “tie up all our ends.” I’m a planner, a list maker, an over-thinker, and obsessive compulsive, making it hard for me to relinquish control and expect everything to be ok. I don’t like group projects because I have my “vision” and expect things to go a certain way. But I need to remember that it’s not about my way, it’s God’s way. Challenge yourself to make a list of your top three priorities (God and mother approved) and focus solely on them for this entire week. Work for God, and let Him work the rest out.

I hope everyone’s Monday/week is off to a good start. I am still trying to catch up from this weekend…sleep deprived and a first-bite-of-king-cake-hangover don’t make for a good starting block, but I’m getting there. Sometimes all you need is a good mantra to live by. Love yourself as much as this girl loves everything, and you will never have another bad day.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you want to be happy, be. Positive affirmations daily. It’s the only way to survive. Oh, and don’t forget to prioritize. Try to take time out of each day to organize your thoughts with God. It will all work out. Promise.

Happy Monday!

Love always,

Addie

“When things go wrong, don’t go with them.” – Elvis Presley