Build a Bridge.

Well folks, you're in for a treat. I've got another rant coming for you! Sorry in advance if I offend anyone but wow, I need to get a load of my chest.

Now before I begin on this particular rant, don't misunderstand me. EVERYONE has bad days, bad weeks, bad months...hell, I'll even go as far as to say bad years. I get it. I've had them, we've all had them. It's just part of life. What I can't stand are those people who won't accept support, encouragement, or advice when they're feeling down. Those people who just seem to downright refuse to be happy. Those that mope around all day, or spout complaints to anyone who will listen, and then when someone asks how they are (which is what they're wanting in the first place) they either say "oh nothing" or they go on and on about how much they're life sucks, when in reality, they're 72% of the time, the root of the problem. And when you try and cheer them up, nothing, NOT ONE THING, can make them see the proverbial silver lining.

Honestly, life is not that bad. And if you need a reminder of that, turn on the news for just 10 minutes out of the day and you can be hit in the face with that fact. Abductions. Senseless killings. Unemployment. Homelessness. Gigantic natural disasters that destroy entire countries.

NOW THOSE ARE REAL PROBLEMS. And it's truly all a matter of perspective.

Like I said, don't get me wrong, I have my momentary pity parties, where I seek advice and counsel from my close friends. I shed some tears even every now and then. But I eventually build a bridge and get the hell over it pretty dang fast. You can either waste your time being unhappy and in the process bringing everyone else down along with you OR you can re-evaluate the importance of the situation at hand, and figure out if in the scheme of things..OF ALL THINGS...if its really that important. Chances are, if you've still got a roof over your head, food to eat, and someone who cares about you, then it's just not that bad.

Read more...

Eight Things I Couldn't Live Without...

#1 God. I know it's cliche-ish, but for me its really true. Without His comfort and love I'd be curled up in a ball rocking myself like a crazy person. He truly is my first "Dad," and everything I have is because He gave it to me!

#2 Obviously my family. My parents, sisters, my babe, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...the whole shebang. I also consider a few of my great friends my family. You all fit into this category! I'd be nothing without you.

#3 My pets...I truly am the biggest animal lover. I cry during the ASPCA Sarah McLachlan commercials..EVERYT TIME. I can't really visit animal shelters or I wind up taking somebody home..which is how I got my two great gals Lexi and Jugee (don't ask about the name, I can't explain lol). No matter how bad my day is, the fact that they are ALWAYS happy to see me can't help but brighten my day!

#4 Mapquest. I think you can figure that one out.

#5 My running shoes.

#6 My Canon T1i...ahhh, I'm not so secretly in love with it and its magnificent pictures.

#7 Diet Soda...I've tried, oh how I've tried to give you up you filthy habit, but you keep sucking me back in.

#8 My Ipod (nicknamed the Baddest IPOD alive) and for damn good reason. If you're interested I'll let you have a listen.

And that's pretty much it! Those are the essentials. To be honest, it was really difficult thinking about actual items that I couldn't live without...all of the "things" I listed I could truly give up and be ok, as long as I have God, friends and family, and of course...my pets lol.

What are some things you guys couldn't live without?? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

Read more...

Day Two

Okay so nine things people may not know about me...here goes nothing haha.

1. I cannot stand the sound of silverware clinking against ANYTHING metallic or teeth or plates for that matter. The simple thought of it is driving me nuts right now. It's almost a panic that washes over me when I hear that noise.

2. Same goes for fingernails scraping against paper of any sort. Omg, I have the chills right now and must immediately move on from this topic.

3. I used to have THE BIGGESET gap between my two front teeth known to mankind. I could pose as a fountain and spit water out of it, and nobody would know the difference. But then I got it fixed and now my teeth are perfect, all without the aid of braces :)

4. I used to raise goats. Lots of them. I was like a goat lady or something.

5. I like to think I have a semi web toe, though nobody agrees with me.

6. I was the valedictorian of my high school class, and graduated undergrad with a 4.0.

7. I once came toe to toe with a car thief trying to jack my car, and 30 minutes later after having a nice conversation with him, convinced him not to steal my car. He walked quietly away into the woods.

8. I secretly wish I could be a professional photographer.

9. I'm addicted to watching HGTV. I'm watching HGTV right now.

So there they are! I'm kinda lame, so now you officially know how lame I am! :-)

Read more...

Day One

Ok, so I'm bored and incredibly impatient and antsy, so I'm starting my first of the ten days of blogging tonight! I'm just to exciteeedd to sleeeeeepppp!

So the topic for Day One is "Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now."

Ronnie and Sammy: You guys are horrible together. Ron, you're incredible...incredibly jealous and controlling that is. Sammy, I think you like this about him? I just don't get it. Every time I'm "forced" to watch Jersey Shore by my sister, I get progressively more annoyed. Hallelujah for season finales.

Elizabeth Taylor: I loved you in National Velvet. You remind me of my memaw. I'm sad you're gone. :-/

Sam (sister): So happy for you and all of the adventures you have ahead of you! Can't wait to be your wedding planner. But deep down inside I'm so sad to know that my best friend will be leaving me soon to start her new life! I'll miss you lots!

Heather: Again, I'm super thrilled for you and Casey to be moving back to San Antonio to be together and be with your family....I'm gonna miss you guys so much though, you don't even know! It's been a great year getting to have my best friend in the same town, and the door is always open when you come back to visit! Looking forward to New Orleans :-)

Meg: It's about damn time that boy put a ring on it! So happy for you and Joe getting engaged! I knew he would get some sense knocked into him soon and realize that you're the best damn thing that's ever happened to him! Can't wait to see the pics of the new house and hear all about your new adventures. :-)

Steve Carrell: Why are you leaving the office? Seriously. Why? This has been haunting me all season long, and I'm not ok with it.

Jugee (my cat): Why why why whyyyyyyy do you wait until right before I have to walk out the door (usually running late) and then dash into my room, directly under my bed, and refuse to come out?? You know I can't leave the door open in my room while I'm gone, and you know I can't lock you in there all day, so why do you do it? Why do you force me to drag you out of there by the tail? I just don't get it.

Jeff: I'm super proud of you and how far you've come. So looking forward to seeing where this whole thing takes us :-) Also, I wish you were home right now so we could eat lots of bad food and watch Californication. :-/

Mom: Get excited old lady! It's almost your fiftieth birthday! Prepare yourself for what's in store, and that's all I'm gonna say. ;-)

JMU Peeps: I can't wait for New Orleans this summer! It's gonna be a blast and reunion of epic proportions!

Read more...

On the first day of blogging my true love gave to me..

Just random photos of the kiddos :)

Doesn't it suck when life gets in the way of having fun? That's essentially what I feel has been happening to me lately! My life has been consumed with school, work, homework, sleep, shower, and repeat. No time for creativity and blogging and all of the things that bring joy to my life...which is a terrible thing for my mojo :) Sooooooooo....

I've decided to take on this fun little blogland activity titled the very catchy, "TEN DAYS OF BLOGGING". Not catchy at all, lol, but nevertheless, very inspiring. Most nights, after work, I find it hard to bring myself to even bathe or brush my teeth, let alone write a funny and thought provoking blurb that people actually want to read, so this blog series is essentially ten days of writing about prompted subjects that you guys may or may not care to know, but will get me back in the groove again!

Here's what the ten day schedule looks like:

Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.

Day Two: Nine things about yourself that most people don't know.

Day Three: Eight things you couldn't live without.

Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.

Day Five: Six things you wish you could change or you wish you’d never done.

Day Six: Five people who mean a lot to you.

Day Seven: Four turn offs.

Day Eight: Three turn ons.

Day Nine: Two words that describe your life right now.

Day Ten: One confession.

So that's the plan! Feel free to leave comments, play along, give me your own thoughts or whatever else tickles your fancy. Let's have some fun!

Read more...

I'm on the pursuit of happiness.

Wow, I am so full. Full of food. Full of life. Full of happiness, and all of the great things that come along with that. One of my favorite verses from the Bible is from Psalms 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” My cup runneth over…to me that is the epitome of my life today. My proverbial cup is overflowing with all of the good things that life has been sending my way as of late, and I just cannot gush enough about them! First of all, lets just get a brief recap of the past week so you can all get a handle on what’s been going on at Casa de Johnson (Yohnson if we’re being lingually correct).

1. My littlest sister Alex (aka Karate Kid) has spent the entire week of spring break with me. That in and of itself has kind of thrown off my normal routine, but it truly has been a great experience. Every once in a while, its necessary for us creatures of habit to be thrown out of our every day normalcy and be challenged to adapt. This week has been exactly that. From shopping, to movies, to eating out, to the beach and the pool, we’ve truly lived it up. Watch out, you may be seeing us on Girls Gone Wild SB2K11 Edition! (Just kidding mom, we were always fully clothed…except for that one time…but they promised us beads, so its ok).

2. My middle little sister Sam has been gone most of the week to New York to visit her boyfriend, now FIANCE in New York. Yep, that’s right, she’s getting hitched! Her and her long time boyfriend got engaged on her trip, and she couldn’t be happier. So this means, we both get to live our lifelong dreams of planning a wedding (her for real, ,me, vicariously through her lol) and we can now rest easy knowing that all of our lonely nights of David Tutera and TLC weren’t for naught!

3. My wonderful boyfriend Jeff, has been on a work related hiatus from our crazy household for the past year or so (he probably calls it his vacation from estrogen overload), and he is now officially back in CC for a wonderful new opportunity :) And all of us girls (cats and dogs included) just couldn’t be happier! We’re all looking forward to what’s in store for us next.

4. I finally tackled a bucket list item, and came away victorious!! That’s right folks, you heard me, BUCKET LIST ALERT!! I’ve successfully tackled one of Julia Child’s most difficult recipes, Beef Bourgouignon, and nobody’s thrown up yet! That, in itself, is a triumph for all. For all mankind. Well, for all womankind who envision themselves amateur foodies that is, lol. It can be done! If I can do it, so can you! Be on the lookout, I’m putting together a separate post with pictures and an epic description of the 6 hour debaucle that was the tackling of this particular girl’s Mount Everest.

So sit back, and enjoy a few pictures from this weeks happenings, and prepare yourself to be wowed in the very near future by my FOOD PORNO MONTAGE. All PG of course.

As for me, I’m just going to sit back, pick the Beef outta my teeth, and try not to let my cup of Black Bottom Cupcake Ice Cream Overload runneth over too much.

Read more...

Design Dilemma

If you had to choose, which duvet cover would you go with? I'm looking for something cheap, and in line with my current color palette, so I can reuse most of my current bedding! I have chocolate brown and greyish/bluish/silverish and paleyellow accent tones throughout my room! What's the consensus??

West Elm (59.99 duvet only, not including shipping)

Ikea via Ebay (35.00 includes duvet and two shams AND Shipping included!)

West Elm (59.99 duvet only, shipping not included)

Read more...