ABC's Of Me

I follow a few blogs and saw this exercise today on A New Kind of Normal and thought I'd do it too! Whatever it takes to help those who follow me know more about me. I challenge my fellow bloggers to do it too! The ABC's of Me!

1. Age – mentally I'm 18; physically I am celebrating the 25th anniversary of my 18th birthday (do your own math)



2. Bed size – Queen (just like me)



3. Chore you hate – chores I don't hate is a much shorter list. Really, are there sick people out there who LIKE chores?!



4. Dogs – None, tho I would really like a purse pup. Unfortunately, I think my cats would eat it.



5. Essential start of your day – COFFEE



6. Favorite color – Cerulean blue (thank you Irma Baumlein!)



7. Gold or silver – actually, I prefer platnium



8. Height – about 5 foot 7ish , but if I don't work on my posture, before long I'll be 5 foot 4



9. Instruments I play (or have played) – flute, piccolo, stand-up string bass (and I can hold my own on bass guitar because the frets are the same) and the tri-toms



10. Job title – Assistant Manager of Customer Service



11. Kids – Julz, Tigger and Kit-Kat



12. Live – Ala-freakin'-Bama



13. Mom’s name – um....Mother



14. Nickname – my godchildren call me JoJo, the others are unprintable =)



15. Overnight hospital stays – more than I care to remember, ball park, about 10 maybe?



16. Pet peeve – Oh my, that list is long and distinguished, but A-numero-uno would have to be hand washing, followed closely by bad driving



17. Quote from a movie – "Yes, married, jeesh"



18. Right or left handed – really depends on what I'm doing.



19. Siblings – unfortunately...LOL! Just kidding Brother!



20. Time you wake up – 2:00 a.m, 4:15 a.m , and 6:00 a.m and when ever else the bladder tells me



21. Underwear – Oh Goodness Yes...white cotton and totally unsexy (I'm old now, I've earned the right)



22. Vegetable you dislike – beets



23. What makes you run late – too much fabulousness, too little time to get to it all.



24. X-rays you have had done – the usual, teeth, wrist, arm, ankles, feet, ribs, appendix, skull



25. Yummy food you make – baked bacon wraps and grape jelly meatballs



26. Zoo animal - I am quite partial to penguins but our zoo doesn't have any.

Let me know if you post this yourself. I love reading these!

~En-Joy!

Sha Na Na Na Na Na Na...Happy Birthday Sweet 16!

Happy 16th birthday "Kit-Kat" I love you!

Thank you for letting me be your Mom.

Confession Time: Shaving

NOTE: This confession is not for the faint of heart.

For the record: I HATE SHAVING MY LEGS!

There, I've said it. It's not that I don't like having silky smooth legs, I just hate the process that gets them there. If I could shave them one last final time and never have to worry with it again, I'd be the happiest girl in the world.

(Also for the record, these are NOT my legs. Note the scarred knee. This is just for illustration purposes.)

I know. Hairy legs on a woman is not very sexy. Frankly, I've NEVER been any good at it. I have very coarse, unusally dense, curly hair on my arms and legs that grow in all directions. Despite spending a great deal of money on the best products, and a great deal of time, carefully shaving, I still manage to aquire quite a few nasty nicks or a large amount of razor burn. I leave behind enough blood in my beige bathroom to look like a 70's slasher moview was filmed in there. Silky smooth legs in between a dozen or so band-aids are not sexy either.

Then there are the spots that I miss. And not just little spots, long swatches of fuzzy skin, usually visible to everyone but me. My knees and ankles are always the worst, mostly because they are thin and bony. I will never forget my embarassment as a lunch date pointed out both a patch of razor burn and a missed patch on my knee. Yeah, he was a superficial jerk, but I digress.

This is quite possibly one of my biggest secrets. There was a time when I was extremely meticulous about my grooming rituals. I'd never dream of being caught with ragged nails or chipped polish. I wouldn't go to the mail box without my hair curled or my makeup perfect, I wouldn't dream of having a single stray stubbly hair visible. But as more important things in life started happening (code for being a busy mom), I came to care for myself less and less. Yes, I know there are women who can juggle EVERYTHING that life throws at them. I am not one of those women. Somethings have to fall by the wayside. Most days, if my top matches my pants, and my shoes match those, I consider it a good day, whether I have on makeup or my hair is fixed or not.

This is not to say that I am not clean. As I have posted here before, cleanliness is very important to me. Proper bathing is paramount!

I try to avoid shaving my legs whenever possible, usually the Winter months, and hold out as long as I can. I can get away with it easily because I usally wear pants all Winter. Every now and again, I will wear thick tights or tall boots with a skirt, just to vary my wardrobe, all while hiding my hairy legs. Then, usually about right now, it's time to start shaving again.

Now, as blase' as I am about shaving my legs, my underarms are a completely different story. I can't take a shower or bath that I don't shave my underarms. Even if I'd just shaved them that morning, I've got to shave them again.

I think women with unshaven underarms are just gross, no matter who they may be.

I even think that men should shave theirs too. My husband had unusually hairy underarms when we met. Whenever he felt the need to wear a tank top, which was often, everyone got an eye full. It always reminded me of Krumm, from the Ahh! Real Monsters! cartoon series.

Thankfully, when he started working out, someone convinced him that it would be beneficial to shave them, so he did.

I've always wondered why it was decided that women must shave certain body parts but men must not. Think about it. Where it is desireable for men to have hair, it is desirable for women to not have it.

Interesting double standard.

One of THOSE Bloggers

I am working to avoid becoming "one of THOSE bloggers." The ones who start a blog, gets loyal followers, then doesn't post for months at a stretch. Despite having lots to say, having time to blog it is becoming harder and harder. So, as they say, life happens.

So here is a little bit about what is going on right now:

This was my last Saturday to sleep late. The Moody Miracle League season starts next Saturday, April 2nd. Since I am the volunteer coordinator, I have to be their early to ensure all the volunteers are registered, oriented, and matched with a player. I will have to get up that same time that I get up for work.

Kit-Kat turns 16 on Tuesday and she is most enthusiastic about driving practice. Tigger, who is now 17 but still doesn't have his license, not so much. I'd like for both of them to have their license soon, despite having a car for either of them to drive. I'm also not looking forward to the jump our insurance rates are going to take. Yeah, our agent LOVES us!

Work is....well, work. (That is about all I can say without instigating possible legal ramifications)

On the upside, I've been contacted by the fact checker of both "All You" magazine on a blurb that I submitted, and "More" magazine about the pageant I was in last August. Look for me in the May issue of "All You" and the June issue of "More"!

I just watched "The Blind Side" for the one millionth time. I am completely fascinated by Sandra Bullock in this role! I've spent most of the morning googling her wardrobe and makeup for it. So far, I've only found information on the plastic watch she's wearing (the kind that made my arm break out= yech!), and some kid doing a subpar youtube tutorial on what she thinks might be the eye makeup technique. So much for finding everything you need on the internet.

For the record, I sincerely doubt that LAT would have thought that Nick Satan was "extremely handsome." He looks like a cross between a used car salesman and a televangalist. He reminds me of the guys that used to golf with my dad and then spend the rest of the day in the Nineteenth Hole smoking cigars, drinking goodness knows what, and watching more golf on tv. Plus, he's old. Equally unlikely that he would actually comment on the window treatments, otherwise his line delivery would have been more natural.

I've wanted to check out the new Coach outlet at the Grand River Mall, but my car has developed the annoying habit of dying in shopping center parking lots. Once I've driven there, I am pretty much stuck for 2 or 3 hours. Twice now, Super Dave, the darling hubby of my BFF and partner in crime, Cyndi, has come with his wrecker to save me. The last time this happened, the part cost $300.

Did I mention the car pays off next month? At least I know where the money for the part will come from. Though it would also fund a really nice, classic Coach bag.

Every day I look in the mirror and see less and less of the Joy I know, and more and more of my grandmother (except without the grandchild, which all of my friends seem to be having all around me.) That is UNACCEPTABLE! I hope I get a good bonus this year. I am going to use every cent of it on some sort of self improvement ( smart lipo, down payment on a face lift, etc...) I wonder how much it would cost to have plastic surgery to look like Jennifer Anniston?

In two weeks we will be having our monthly classmate dinner. That is always a lot of fun and is the only date night I've been getting lately with the darling hubby. I have a large group of former classmates on Facebook and each month I invite the whole group. I really wish that more could attend, but have a great time with the core group that started the habit. We are becoming quite the bowlers, finding ourselves at the local lanes after every dinner. Darling hubby and I are going to have to invest in our own balls, as there are hardly any that are useful at the lane. I have fat fingers, so I need large finger holes, but my wrist won't let me support a ball over 8 pounds.

Kit-Kat has been selected to participate in the Alabama prelim for National American Miss and, not only does she actually want to participate, darling hubby is actually going to let her! I am thrilled at the prospect of her competing and she is excited because it will "look good on her college transcript."

I have recently been plagued by nearly unbearable pain and fatigue. My legs have ached constantly for the better part of two weeks, and over the counter meds do little but increase my fatigue. I have to limit them during work hours for fear I will fall asleep at my desk, despite the gallons of coffee I consume. I don't have time to go to the doctor to have it checked out, for reasons listed above. It has done quite a number on my attitude as well. I'm trying to put on a brave face and work through it, but it has made my fuse really short. I've spent more than one lunch hour in the bathroom crying because despite putting on the brave face, something has gotten to me. Rather than asking me if I am okay, or if I need help with anything, or anything remotely encouraging, I'm being reported for having a sour attitude. Gee, I wonder why.

Well I need to get off the computer now, because, like everything else in my life, someone else wants to be using it.

~ En-JOY

Rednecks....recycling BEFORE it was vogue

A recent Facebook exchange with one of my friends from Oregon about my mother's newest yard art, a bottle tree, got me to thinking. Rednecks were recycling long before it was vogue!

With the push for everyone to "go green," recycling and repurposing (a.k.a. "upcycling") is all the rage. But it is hardly new. I've grown up with it. The act of taking an object, usually trash, and giving it new life as something else, is a Southern tradition. I've always known that Southerners were a resourceful lot. But the ingenuity of the Redneck brings recycling and repurposing to new heights.


I share the following examples of Redneck Arts and Crafts

The Crochet Beer Can Hat

For men...

and for ladies

The Tire Tulip

The Bottle Tree

My mother's is very similar to this one, but not quite as "full." I picked this photo, not only because it was very colorful, it also showed a variety of bottles. She only has wine bottles on hers right now, but after I shared this photo, she's going to explore more options.

Beer/Soda Can Pinwheel

A Candy Wrapper Belt

with matching Gum Wrapper Bag

to go with the Gum Wrapper Prom Dress

or maybe the Juice Box Purse

to go with the Duct Tape Prom Dress

Ladies Activewear

Storm Shelter

The Classic: A White Porcelain Planter

And lastly, our (yes, I do mean OUR, as in my family...see Darling Hubby in his favorite Auburn hat and little Kit-Kat?) house boat. We call it, The Campoon.

My grandparents taught me that anything with use left in it, was still worth something to someone. Sometimes, you just have to think outside of the box.

~En-Joy

What Time Is It?!

This post may be somewhat of a rant. I'm a little disoriented and cranky.

I can not believe how quickly this time change crap rolled around again! Isn't this the craziest thing you've ever done? Twice a year, we mindlessly follow along, and roll our clocks back and forth and then don't sleep properly for months, until it's time to do it again.

Right now it is 10:19 p.m. Central, but my body is conditioned so that it believes it is 9:10 p.m. so I am not sleepy, not-- one-- little--bit. Since I get up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for work, my poor body is conditioned to believe that it is only 3:30 a.m.! This will cause me to drink unimmaginable amounts of coffee at my office, thus keeping me up tomorrow night. It's a viscious circle. Given I already have a sleep disorder, it's extremely hard to recover from this disruption.

In 1966 our "friends" on Capitol Hill decided that we needed more daylight, so they decided to pass a law that twice a year would disrupt the natural sleep rythms of the entire nation. I have a hard time believing that my parents would have voted for this nonsense. Who do I have to vote into office to make it stop?

Studies show that lack of proper sleep contributes to a whole host of heath problems, including obesity. Ironically, obesity in America has been on a steady rise for the past 40 years. A coincidence? I don't think so. The government is so concerned with the obesity rate in America, one would think they'd take a long hard look at the correlation between the two.

It is no longer necessary for us to swap our clocks back and forth. The remainder of the year, we make adjustments to make up for the "missing" daylight. The states of Hawaii and Arizona decided that observing Daylight Saving Time was unnecessary and have successfully functioned without it for quite some time now. It's time for the rest of the country to follow suit.

The most logical answer for those who want more daylight is for THEM to GET UP EARLIER!

There are more people in favor of abolishing DST than keeping it.
It's time we band together and bring this issue to a vote.