Missing

I realize that I've been MIA from my blogging in awhile...and though I have good reason, I am going to try and pick up an try to act as though my life has not changed. Sometimes major life changes come along and they rock you to your core. Kind of knocks you off the course. I've been somehow been able to pull it together (I say somehow, but it has been by the love of the wonderful beautiful people in my life).

Though my post may not be as consistent as before, I am hoping that maybe they won't always be so shallow.

Why is happiness easier to forget than pain?

(Photo Credit: PaperTissue)

Picture of the Year

On Sunday, my small group headed out to the lake (thanks to Nathan & Kristin) to enjoy some water and backyard fun. And while I was tubing, Matt captured my awesome moves on film!
All I have to say is that I am definitely feeling it today.

Its okay to be jealous of my awesome skills...

Puppy Love

A few weeks ago during the search for fabric and other accessories my mom and I stopped by Kitty City, in order for my mom to drop off some paperwork to volunteer. While we were visiting, there were three puppies (2 of which were sisters). The puppy that I fell for was a beagle/dachshund mix named Roxie. I couldn't decide if I was ready for a puppy at that moment, so I went home. Thought about it...and knew I was. Except by Wednesday, she had been adopted. I was a little bit disappointed but I knew there was the right dog for me!

Last Friday, I visited the Humane Society of Charlotte there were almost 100 dogs there, and it was good to see that several had been adopted. I walked around and decided to spend time with pups. The first of which was a young puppy that I felt would be too much of a handful. The 2nd pup was a beagle/Australian cattle dog mix, named Chyna. I put in an application, because after playing with this 4 month old well-behaved pup I knew she was the one! There is a 1-3 day waiting period before the application is accepted. On Tuesday afternoon, I received the call from the Humane Society, to inform me that my application had been accepted but Chyna has already been adopted.

Again, bummed!

I decided that I would visit the Humane Society once again, in hopes of finding the perfect pup. And I did. While looking at the dogs my mom mentioned to the volunteer, how I originally put in an application for Chyna...and to our surprise she was back! The people who had originally adopted her, brought her back TODAY!

Everyone at the animal shelter kept saying, "it must be meant to be". And it has been absolutely perfect! I renamed Chyna, Callie. And I love her!

“You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends, and how, how rare and strange it is, to find in a life composed so much of odds and ends… to find a friend who has these qualities, who has, and gives those qualities upon which friendship lives. How much it means that I say this to you -without these friendships - life, what cauchemar!” - T.S. Eliot

(photo credit PaperTissue)

The Penguin

On Saturday before finding my chair project, my parents and I went to The Penguin for lunch. The Penguin is a little dinner uptown on Commonwealth, with cheap but excellent food. I've been dying to go there for awhile now and my parents saw it featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives on the FoodNetwork. Even though we had to wait an hour, YES AN HOUR to be seated, I thought it was totally worth it. If you have never had Fried Pickles or if you are like me and LOVE fried pickles, I highly recommend ordering them for your appetizer. I had the Patty Melt, which was delicious...I cannot wait to go back and try some of their other items.

Following lunch, we decided to just walk down Commonwealth and check-out a few shops. After leaving the Penguin an African shop was selling watermelon/juice outside of their store, so my dad bought cup. I was perfectly happy with my ice cold bottle of Cheerwine. We stumbled across a vintage shop called Hong Kong, where I purchased a basket weaved handbag for only$16! I could have spent hours in that store...but onward!

It was a perfect Saturday...I love the kind of days where you end up going to places you didn't
even know existed, but soon become your favorite because you cannot wait to go back and visit!

Chair Find

I realize that it is Wednesday and I am a bit behind on my weekend review, however this week has been kickin' my butt! Between the stress of the house (you can keep up by reading my Property Virgin: Updates) and as fall quickly approaches work has been just as crazy!
For the next few minutes I am not going think about all the stress or how insanely busy I've been, but give a rundown of my weekend. Starting with my fabulous find!

I am skipping the first part of my Saturday so, I can tell you about my fabulous find, don't worry...I will get back to the great lunch and the 2nd fab find! After lunch and strolling through a few shops, we (my parents and I) took a gander at this antique/junk store. Where (::drum roll please::) I finally found a chair!! Yay. I've been looking and looking for the perfect chair to fix-up! Here is the best part of the chair I purchased, it was only $25!

Let me rewind a little bit.... A few months ago I picked up a copy of Elle Decor, and there was feature of Scott Currie's home, called Setting Sail. In his home, were a pair of lacquered yellow chairs! I fell in love and knew that I had to find a chair to paint the same yellow for my living room.

I officially started working on my chair Sunday afternoon, despite the sweltering heat. I removed the seat, and did a bit of sanding. However, my very busy schedule this week has gotten in the way of any more progress. I will continue to take pictures!

A Little About Me.

Sometimes I cannot think of anything clever to say on my blog...so I have a survey on backup just in case one of those times comes. However, this is not one of those times, I have been so busy this week (and stressed with all the house stuff) that I haven't had the time to sit and blog, or even read my favorites.
I stole this off of Facebook, so its a little bit silly and a few of the questions pertain to my friends list. I am TRYING to post once a day...this does count as a post, right?!

Kissed someone on your friend list? Yes
Been arrested? No
Do you like someone? I like everyone! :) That is the single girl's answer...
Held a snake? Yes
Were you ever suspended from school? No
Sang karaoke? Yes
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't do? Yes
Laughed until you started crying? Yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes
Kissed in the rain? No
Sang in the shower? No
Sat on a roof top? Yes
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Yes
Broken a bone? No
Shaved your head? No
Played a prank on someone? Yes
Shot a gun? No
Donated Blood? No


LAST PERSON
You hung out with? My small group gang.
You texted? My boss.
You were in a car with? My mom.
Went to the movies with? Amy & Rachel
Person you went to shop with? My parents - furniture shopping
You talked on the phone? Kyle
Made you laugh? Probably someone at work...


THIS OR THAT.
Spring or Summer? Summer
Winter or Fall? Fall
Left or Right? Left
Sunny or rainy? Sunny
Where do you live? North Carolina
Are there 1 or 2 people who you can always trust and rely on? Yes
Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
What time is it? 9:26pm
Are you afraid of commitment? No
What is your greatest hope/wish? Currently to finish the home-buying process.
Do you cook? I can...
Current mood? Stressed...


IN THE LAST 48 HOURS HAVE YOU...
Kissed someone? Nope.
Sang? Yes
Listened to music? Definitely.
Danced Crazy? Negative
Cried? No.


FIRSTS .....
Who was your first prom date? The "pink girls" :)
Who was your first roommate? Katie Pace
What was your first job? Besides babysitting...LifeWay
What was your first car? 1986 Mazda 626 (The Ghetto Bouncer)
When did you go to your first funeral and viewing? 2004
Who was your first grade teacher? Ms. Presley
Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? From Texas to Florida
Who was your first best friend? Leta S.
Where was your first sleepover? If I remember correctly it was probably Leta's house.
Who is the first person you call when you have had a bad day? Irene.
Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a Bridesmaid or groomsman? Desiree's
What's the first thing you did when you got up this morning? Showered
What was the first concert you went to? Is it bad, that I cannot recall at the moment.
What was the last concert you went to? Pat McGee
First tattoo or piercing? Ears in the 1st grade
First celebrity crush? JTT. (Insert ::Aww:: here)
Current celebrity crush? hm. Justin Timberlake.
First crush? Some boy in the first grade who's name, I cannot remember.
Current crush? I don't have one. Is that sad?
First time you tied your shoe laces? Wow. Um. I have no idea...
Favorite thing about yourself? I am a pretty happy person.

Five names you go by:
1. Jennifer
2. Jen
3. J-Rex
4. Gfer (Kelley calls me this)
5. Thats really it....

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Jeans
2. Black tee
3. bobby pins

Three things you want very badly at the moment:
1. A good nights sleep
2. Puppy
3. Less stress with the house process

Two things you did last night:
1. Worked at the CCC Leader Meeting
2. Read

Two things you ate today:
1. Asagio Cheese Bagel
2. Pizza

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Kyle
2. Angela (my realtor, who is fabulous by the way!)

Three things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Working.
2. Sanding my chair
3. GAME NIGHT!

Favorite beverages:
1. Sweet Tea
2. Coke Zero
3. Strawberry Lemonade

Property Virgin: Update

Offer was accepted. Addendum to contract signed. Offer contract.....not signed. Apparently the owner is in the hospital. And though my realtor made daily phone calls after the addendum was signed, it took the sellers agent almost a week to get back to us and give us this news. I have a schedule inspection on Friday. And no contract. Needless to say, there will not be an inspection if there is not a contract signed on Friday. And I am very stressed. It seems like every time I turn around I am adding an extra $50 here than what I originally budgetted or a deposit there. I maybe bald by the time this is all said and done. So currently though there is a closing date of September 15, everything is on hold because of some paperwork that has yet to be signed.

And though I had one of those fabulous weekends, that I cannot wait to blog about...my mind is currently consumed with number crunching and making sure that everything is in order by the mere chance that the paperwork is signed by Friday.

Summer Lovin'

What I love about summer....

flip flops

smell of fresh cut grass

juicy watermelon


perfect weekends


summer dresses

ice cold coca cola on a hot day



grilling out with friends


laying by the pool


free outdoor concerts


sweet strawberries

Milky....

Even before my trip to Japan, thanks to Sarah, I had a love for a candy called Milky. She would always bring me back a bag when she visited...and now that she is living there she has sent me bags of it from time to time. I only have one bag left from my trip to Japan...but thanks to World Market I can have it anytime! Milky is a hard candy that tastes like sweetened condensed milk.

Oh so good!

Fabric Friday

I took a 1/2 day on Friday, to spend the afternoon with my mom and price furniture and go find some fabric for my soon to be home! I have 4 dining room chairs, that need to be reupholstered and I am currently in the market for a chair...I've been scoping out CraigsList.

My living room is going to have an accent wall of a slate gray/blue and white accents. My main couch is a celadon color (like the one pictured). My kitchen is described on a past post. Because all of the rooms flow together, I want to make sure the look (though different) are cohesive and work with one another.

We went to downtown Concord, to Union 21 so I could copy my mom and purchase a centerpiece at one of booths. It is adorable and when she brought it home last weekend I knew I had to have it. It has the colors I am going to be using in both my kitchen and living room and knew that it would tie the rooms together perfectly!

We headed to downtown Kannapolis to a fabric store that would make your upholstering dreams come true! I wasn't sure if I had it in me. To pick out fabric. Come to find out I do. I picked out the following three fabrics.


1) Is for my dining room chairs. (The color is not so bluish-tinted, excuse the bad editing on the photos)


2) For when I find that chair to reupholster...because I am determined! (The color is not coming through at all via the picture, it is a vanilla color)

3) Is for the pillows. That I don't know how to make...hmm

It is slowly coming all together...now if I could only find that chair! (Actually, I need two...)

Superstar Saturday

I had one of those fabulous weekends. Where everything just flowed and came together. I know my blogs will be a little out of order, because I have yet to blog about Friday...but I will, I just need to take some pictures of my Friday Finds!

Saturday, I spent the afternoon with Irene, who just moved into her new place. I am so happy for her and Wayne. I love them both and I am so glad that it worked out that they not only sold their house but found a marvelous place they can call home! Congrats!!!

That evening, was the American Idol concert uptown at the Time Warner Arena! YAY! I was super excited. I attended the concert with my coworker, Natalie, and her son, Jordan. We ate at Brixx for dinner at the 7th St. Parking Deck. I love that place. I ordered my favorite the Bronx Bomber with extra gorgonzola cheese. Yum. Thankfully, Natalie had some gum because my breath was kickin' after eating the pizza.

We made it to the arena by 5:30, just in time before the line got TOO crazy. I was so excited, because are seats were pretty decent Section 114 Row O. I started taking pictures right away...and took about 170. I know thats extreme.

The show was amazing. Just amazing. My favorite performances were Anoop (he was my favorite AI until getting booted off) and Adam. I have to say, I was a little disappointed in Kris' performances, it didn't do anything for me. It was just kind of boring.

Overall it was a blast, and totally worth it. I rarely watch AI from start to finish. I usually watch the auditions and quit. This season however was full of incredible talent. I am considering making a day to the NC State Fair to see Anoop perform (its only $5), and I cannot wait for Adam to go solo. That concert will be amazing!

Happy Shoes!

Don't you love it when you pull out an old favorite from the closet?

Bathroom Humor

I don't do bathroom humor. Or talks about anything that occurs in the bathroom. Its just not my style. On Friday afternoon, I received a text message from my good friend, Michelle who is currently an intern on the Matt & Ramona show asking 'did you use the fancy toilets in Japan?' I replied, that I did...she sent me a number to call into the show. I call. The topic on the show stemmed from this article (I believe) and that the fancy Japanese toilets are on their way to America. Thinking I was only going to be answering questions about the toilet and its fancy features, I was okay with helping out "Java" (Michelle's intern name)....

That was not the case. The host, Matt was asking questions about wiping. The bidet feature. All very awkward questions to be talking about to a stranger about...much less on the air live. At one point, I said "while you pee" on the air. Yes, I said PEE on the air. Surprised that the Japanese were so conservative to cover up the sound of pee, but have dirty underwear in vending machines. He asked me if I saw any! I told him, we didn't go to that part of town. If you want to listen to the whole interview...you can download the podcast on iTunes!

Though I have to admit the whole experience made my day, especially after Matt tweeted "@JenM84 Thanks for doing it..you are a toilet superstar!"

Control Freak

Most of my friends know that I have symptoms of being a semi-control freak. So much so that I have been given the name Movie Nazi, when we go to the theater. I am a stickler for getting there at a particular time before show starts and getting the perfect seats. I am this way in a lot of areas, especially when it comes to planning events/hang outs/reservations...yada yada. In some areas being a control freak, can be quite helpful. Or maybe I am just trying to justify my ways...
Currently I am reading a book, and which the author begins speaking of her own control issues and being called out on them. She began talking about letting go (which inspired me to put up this post-when I came the image on PaperTissue). I thought I would share this bit about letting go.

Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolves only because it has a handle on the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well---that would be the end of the universe. But try dropping it. This is the message I'm getting. Sit quietly for now and cease your relentless participation. Watch what happens. The birds do not crash dead out of the sky in mid-flight, after all. The trees do not wither and die, the rivers do not run red with blood. Life continues to go on. Even the Italian post ofice will keep limping along, doing its own thing without you---why are you so sure that your micromanagement of every moment in this world is so essential? Why don't you let it be? -Elizabeth Gilbert

I understand this. I cannot save the world. I cannot heal everyone. Nothing is perfect. I will never have all the answers. I am not always the boss.
I am not Supergirl. At most I am just an ordinary superstar...at most! That this energy I am wasting on trying to control everything. So I must learn to let go. Let God.

(image credit: PaperTissue)