home for the holidays

there is something special about being home for the holidays. i'm not sure if it is the decorations, the nostalgia, the family or just the season. Sure, it's not NYC or Chicago...but it does have one hell of an affinity for being quite quaint. and that, is just as good. (well...almost as good!)

everyone has a sense of connection to the place that they grew up, however as i get older i find that mine is one that is a little difficult to describe. I will though at least try.

as a bratty teenager i'm sure that i wasn't fond of the family parties, the post dinner clean ups or just the buzz that is Christmas time. Now, not the case. I find myself reflecting (yes, reflecting) a lot about growing up, growing older, moving away and then eventually coming home. coming home to what made me, well...me. coming home to the friends that i grew up with, and the family that i'd be lost without.

now, with that being said, i think that moving away is a necessary evil. i wouldn't be a proud gamecock alum, know how to kill a cockroach, OR be able to hang curtains or fix a tire myself if i didn't. so... moral of the story i think is that lessons learned along the way make coming home that much sweeter. i am thankful for the experiences along the way and am also grateful that i get to come home for the holidays, something a lot of people out there unfortunately don't get to do. so enjoy the holidays... truly the greatest time of the year.

Some favorites...

by far the best holiday season i've ever had... NYC trip with my kappa krew and bests.
when i think holidays, i think  these girls. no matter what.

something sexy about the snow... great picture.

i WILL have one, and i WILL do this...obsessed!

the only place with warm weather that i'd love to be for the holidays.. Charleston SC. I have photographed this house myself before actually... it's fairly "classic" Charleston. also obsessed!

pre thanksgiving thanks

maybe it is just the time of the year? maybe that's not a good thing...regardless, i want to give pre-thanksgiving thanks. i think that it's important to do so for a few reasons, as well as for no real reason at all.(the way it should be)...

oh and i started writing this blog four days ago. what does that tell ya? (here is a hint; i'm a horrible person)

why give thanks:

• it makes people feel good
• it acts as a personal centering mechanism
• it is important to be grateful
• the time of the year (guilty)
• perspective
• ripple effect (and who doesn't love the wave [click link] besides Bill O'Reilly?)
• what is rewarded is repeated
• it makes your parents proud (aka: makes you seem like less of a shit head) 
• life is short

so, with all of that in mind i have been seeing a lot of "what i am thankful for" daily posts on facebook. (assuming this is because it's November...so ha! i'm not the only selfish person out there!)
now, because facebook has been an absolute political opinionated mess (at least it was when i intended this to be posted...) and just because i don't think it belongs on the book, i decided to do my own little "what i'm thankful for" here goes nothing...

what i am thankful for:

• my family, more specifically the relationships with each and every one. all very different from one another, but each just as special. my mom is my rock, i am absolutely a daddy's little girl and i will always be an incredibly proud sister.
• my families health. it may not always be good news but hey, it could always be worse.
• my best friend. The best friend.
• my loving boyfriend. home will be wherever i'm with you...
• i have a job. it pays my bills.
• my parents have a job. they have always provided and never faltered. 
• shelter. in the simplest form.
• food, also in the simplest form.
• freedom (it isn't free). period.
• my degree. i couldn't be more proud or drawn to such a state, city or southern sense of charm than i could be as an alumni.
• the lesson. the lesson i was taught at an age i can't even pinpoint. my dad always made it very very clear that i would go to college. there was no discussion to be had otherwise. thank you dad.
• my stubborn sense of spirit. yep, you read correctly. i am my grandmother's granddaughter, my aunt's niece, my dad and mom's daughter in the purest form.
• the little things. ie: internet, music, candles, comfy clothes and airplanes...just to name a few.

so hey, November or not...being thankful is important. and as i wrote, i realized i have a lot to be thankful for. and to be very honest that is a rewarded feeling. and hey, after a disaster of a day like mine, maybe i was meant to not have the time or patience to write this until today... a little serendipitous if i may say?

reminder.

be still.

just because... well, it's awesome.

blogs

okay. i'm switching it up. my blogs per my personal favor are semi stress relievers. they act as a sounding board. everyone needs a sounding board. now, because of that they can be a little negative. #getoverit :)
however, i would like to say that there are SO many types stress relievers that today i've decided to get a breath of fresh air and just simply speak about an observation of mine. the not so negative kind.

as part of my daily routine i love finding new blogs, reading up on new blogs, following new blogs and of course keeping up or following up with the regulars.(oh and doing work too...) i have found that you can learn a lot from a blog. it could be DIY stuff, it could be wedding stuff, food stuff or just about anything in between type stuff. some of them are fairly inspirational and there are a good chunk out there that are a little bit more my style. stream of consciousness, and talking a little bit about life's every day thoughts, accidents and labors of love.

a few of my favorite blogs are linked below... enjoy


http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/

http://lifelawluck.blogspot.com/

http://www.oneartsymama.com/

http://lovelylittlesnippets.blogspot.com/

http://realhousewivesofbc.blogspot.com/

http://www.myheartsdesireblog.com/

sometimes i wonder if i could be the type of mom/woman who is crafty, tech savvy, cute and everything in between like so many of these bloggers are? here's to hoping...

(insert judgement call: chances are a lot of these bloggers are stay at home moms living thoughtfully and thankfully off of good luck, hard work and a hubbies good job ($$$) therefore get to do this stuff for fun... here's to hoping for that too ;))

every two months

i look forward to a day or two every one or two months. every one or two months, if i schedule accordingly i am blessed with a vacation day or in this past weekend's case, 2. without vacation i am fairly certain that any sane person would absolutely lose their mind. however, i am a positively sure that those who like myself NEED those vacation days to see those that they actually can't any other day of the week are a little more thankful when the "check in for your flight" email alert comes in and therefore a little more disappointed when the days off quickly vanish.

good thing is, this next go around isn't a two month marathon, just a three week sprint.
bad thing is, the past weekend is over...

leaving something you love is always hard. maybe it's your mom or your dad, or maybe it's your grandmother or  even your dog. for me it is all of those things and more. see, one would figure i would be good at packing up and shipping out. one would figure i am a pro at saying goodbye. well, only part of that is true. sure, i may pack like a champ, but i'll tell ya what... the whole goodbye thing just does not look good on me. i have found that saying goodbye isn't hard because the day or weekend is over, but yet it is hard because you need to say goodbye to so much more than just a few days. it is saying goodbye to date nights, to kisses on the forehead, to homemade dinners for two, to hot tea before bed, to not waking up alone in the middle of the night, to fun weekend excursions and of course cuddling company and comforting conversation on lazy work nights... it is for me, saying goodbye to opportunity and ultimately saying hello to being back on your own...24 -7.

if you have lived alone you know that it is not easy. sure, maybe having a roommate is not your style, so you'd prefer it, but that is not really what i'm talking about. i'm talking about living thousands of miles away from your future and even farther away from your foundation. (thank god for the worlds best friend only 2 hours away) all of which for me i have finally found are the biggest part of actually feeling like yourself in this crazy mixed up world. now that, is the hard part.

sure, i have learned a lot and have grown up even more, but i can't wait until i in the very least, get to do all of this living and learning with loved ones by my side. and now like so many before...we wait. we wait for the next circled day off on the master calendar and for the plan in place to fall into just that.

hopefully that place, with a little luck will finally be a home...

...patience was never my thing, however weekends like pictured below absolutely are!

remember it

country music stars sing about it, (ie; example A, example B) Nicholas Sparks writes about it and well, girls like me have lived it. it is something that runs deep, brings scars and teaches a lot of lessons. it allows you to speak of pasts thinking that you'd be their future. it has taught me to live, learn and move on and up...or down. but, what about moving back?

it's through small town memories that you learn to take the good with the bad, enjoy a back road and single stop light towns.... its those small towns that teach you how to love, live and breathe the way that small towns intend for you too. its through small towns that the knee scrapes and high school heartache will always feel fresh and it is the same thing that make all those big cities seem just a little scarier. 

everyone comes from a place they call home. my home is a place that i can smell, touch and breathe in as if standing right on the edge of the high school parking lot, or curb of the driveway. i remember everything just a little too well. the good, the bad and the scary. sometimes i wonder if it is because of the waves from familiar strangers or the comfortable red barns and faded yellow dashed lines that makes the connection to future possibility and curiosity a bit more difficult to taste. i wonder if it is because of the lessons learned in a place so confined that it does not allow for you to really take the next exit? i somehow feel like there is a sense of belonging to what was to a time and place that still is...

meanwhile i find myself at 24 thinking more about home, and what home means to me or to those who i have grown up around. i chose to run, fast and far. so sure, most were happy with what they had, and well still have. i  just simply chose to pick up move away. to live in a place that was not as full of back roads where i could hear the same songs play in my head, or see the street signs that triggered automatic discontent. and now with leaving, comes growing. and with growing comes a sense of belonging to what has made me think and feel the way i do today. sure, i may see the high school sweethearts still going strong, or the old soccer fields with our sweat in the same dirt but do you really ever lose sight of what will always be home? no matter how far or fast you run?


Time won't fly it's like I'm paralyzed by it
I´d like to be my old self again
But I'm still trying to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone
But your keep my old scarf from that very first week
Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can't get rid of it, cause you remember it all too well yeah

a suggestion

everyone (i hope) has those songs that just hit them...ya know, gives them goosebumps. 

i couldn't tell you specifically what song, but i remember on multiple occasions running errands with my dad on the weekends in the summer while growing up. windows down, always. he would have a certain song on, one that i probably at the time hated...or still do. regardless, these songs weren't played all the time but when they were there was something that i would always notice. goosebumps. my dad would literally get goosebumps at a certain part of the song.

i, i have absolutely inherited that trait. thankfully. 

songs that give you goosebumps can change your mood in a second. they change your perspective of the day, or at least the morning, afternoon or night. they are far and few between but when they are heard...i assure you goosebumps never felt so great. 

now, this brings me to another point. are you a lyrics person or are you a music (in the literal sense) person? if you HAD to pick, what would it be?....think about it, don't worry you don't need to tell me, and honestly... i don't want you too. it's a personal thing really, a preference. keep it that way. 

anyway, the song's that give me goosebumps, well, they have both the lyrics and the sound. (sorry!) i'm not a writer, a poet or even an artist. i enjoy singing, i have a blog and i work hard...that's about it. but what i do know is that songs that have a build in both volume (crescendo) and emotion ("pre-chorus", "pre-hook", "b-section", "lift") give me goosebumps. i almost always save these songs for the car and right from the beginning...i 
turn up the volume, sit back and wait for it. wait for the goosebumps, which crazy 
enough...happen every. single. time. pretty cool right? i think so too. 

my suggestion would be go listen to that song that gives you goosebumps. turn the volume
up and wait for it. it won't disappoint. i assure you.

and just because i'm sure you are all wondering what gives me goosebumps...The Great Escape. P!nk. (don't  knock it until you try it my friends)

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY.
2:50 minutes in is that "pre-hook" i spoke of. 

tradition

what makes Christmas special? What about Easter? Or, is it just that third Wednesday of every month? 
easy for me to answer that one.... it has to be tradition. tradition makes ordinary holidays, or events, extraordinary... special even. 

what is special about tradition itself is that it doesn't need to be grand mom's 100 year old recipe for that big dinner or your dad's old record on repeat that makes something special. tradition is something that can be created, started, and molded into what you desire it to be at any moment. sure, there is something more special or unique about that little something you have always done that makes that day different, or allows you to always recall it as your favorite memory. however, it is through evolution of time, relationships and season that traditions can be born again.

fairly exciting right?

when i think about traditions i am immediately drawn to being a child and waiting. i think about Christmas ...the absolute epitome for tradition. i recall Christmas morning and having to wait until 8:30 am. no matter the age my brother would wake at dawn, a time of which he would rarely see...well ever any other day of the year. it is tradition that he sit, he wait and we watch the clock. at 8:30 am we were simply allowed downstairs however only able to look, not touch. no touching until coffee was made. no. matter. what.  So as A Christmas Story played on the background (another tradition in itself) we would wait...
as i recall the holidays i think of a more recent tradition. thanksgiving muddling season. yep, you've got it.   Old Fashions. Beam, Cherries, Oranges, Sugar and...a muddler. thanksgiving day of course brings thanksgiving night, which ultimately always, brings Old Fashions AND A Christmas Vacation. A perfect holiday tradition if you ask me.
so what about tradition on non holidays? easy. growing up Tuesday nights were a tradition in itself. it was Me, Dad and the baby brother. More so me and dad. It was dinner (sloppy joes), it was Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, then warm baths, followed by freezing exits, Full House and a do-nut, or whatever dessert special was in store. Tuesdays were tradition. always will be. 

everyone has traditions that are special to them. some more valuable than others. some more grand than the one the year before however no matter the motive or action, it is what the tradition brings to a persons spirit, or memory that is important. being able to create new traditions excites me to be whoever i'll be as the years go on. so sure as a wife i'd love to start a few and as a mom i know i'll have plenty but i can only hope that each is as special as the one before, but never as valuable as the next. 

Some Hopeful Tradition Ideas:
Christmas Eve Surprise Box. Include: new pajamas, Christmas movie, popcorn, mugs, hot chocolate, marshmallows, Christmas book.

Making a cup of tea before work for your loved one every Friday. Even if you have different schedules.

A Christmas cookie exchange or an ornament exchange among long distance friends.

First day of school picture. EVERY year.