all dogs go to heaven

when i was little, we didn't have a pet.  if you want to get all technical about it, we had a cat.  but that was more of a psycho toe biting monster than a pet.  i used to get horrendous bouts of pink eye whenever i got in contact with pet dander and my poor saint of a mother was probably too overwhelmed with two children (and a husband that acted like a child 99 percent of the time) for any more living, breathing responsibilities.

since i didn't have the experience of growing up with a dog, i was scared of them for the vast majority of my childhood.  i never had a bad experience with a dog, i just think the fear of the unknown just dug down deep and took hold.  after all, i'm no stranger to illogical paranoid type problems.

somewhere in my late high school-early college years, i started coming around to dogs.  i think that was due to the fact that i was spending more and more time with my friends and those friends pretty much all had dogs.  and none of those dogs lived up cujo lore.  instead, i found them to be sweet, furry babies with personalities all their own.

when i met the boy, he had another lady in his life.  a lady by the name of gracie.  she was 60 some pounds of wild woman, all bound up in tan fur.  gracie and i soon became kindred spirits with personalities that mirrored each other.  wildly neurotic with a stubborn streak and a love for early bedtimes.  the boy and i frequently joked that if we ever split up, she'd be all mine.  she may have started out out his leading lady, but her allegiances ran deep for me.

gracie's like a boss. you know, if zena the warrior princess met governor christie in dog form.   she's protective and would rip the throat out of anyone who tried to cross me.  she holds down the fort when the boy is away. yet,  she's got a woman's intuition and knows when i'm sick or feeling down.  she's not one for cuddles, but she's always right by my side.  she's my pseudo child and i love her like no other.

early last week, we found a lump on her hip.  it's probably nothing, but the nagging "what ifs" have been creeping into my thoughts all week.  for lack of a better explanation, the lump is a scratch on her warrior exterior.  it reminds me that she's not immortal.  she won't be by my side forever. if i think about this for too much longer, i'll be in tears.

it's kind of funny how life works.  as we age, we invest more and more time into the people that we care about the most.  we grow up, we fall in love, and we surround ourselves with a handful of people that we truly couldn't live without.  but what happens when you have to live without one of the special few?

“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp."― Anne Lamott

take a twenty

listen, we've all spent $20 dollars in dumb-dumb ways.  it happens.  you've got a $20 bill in your wallet and you feel like the king of the world.  all like prancing around town,  buying fancy starbucks drinks, just because they are using their holiday cups again & that just makes you feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

but honestly-when was the last time you spent $20 in a way that truly helped someone else? if you can't think of one, i think you're due for your good deed of the day/week/month/millennium.

hurricane sandy was a straight up bia bia. and in true bia bia form, homegirl wrecked shop on a state that brought me my love of a lifetime and one of my very best friends.  even if snooki is the only person you know from the dirty jersey, you owe the state a little something.  after all, she's one very entertaining pickle juice drinkin kind of classy lady.  take a minute (and 20 dollars) to help NJ out.   you'll even get a cool shirt out of the deal.

http://jettylife.com/store/Shop_item.php?id=1059&cat=1&sub=0

In an effort to aid those suffering from Hurricane Sandy, we've designed a reflief t-shirt which will allow us to UNITE & REBUILD!  Profits from the sales of this custom, Jetty T-shirt will go to victims of the storm who are in direct need of assistance as well as the emergency response units who risked their lives to save others.  We will be accepting pre-orders through Friday, November 16th and at that time we will screen print & deliver the first wave of orders.  This relief effort will be focused within New Jersey which was most heavily impacted by the storm.  Our thoughts lie with all who were affected by this historic and devastating storm.-Jetty. 

PS-Governor Christie, like a boss.

oh hai.

i'm back.

you can breathe a sigh of relief now.  your favorite blogger in the whole entire world has been very bad.  after all, it's hard to have a favorite blogger that doesn't even blog.  it's kind of like wanting watermelon in december.  you can want it, but you can't make it magically appear.  i'm sure you've all been wanting me, and my witty prose, and i'm sorry that i didn't magically appear.

however, since i've been gone, i've...

gotten married

& went on a honeymoon.

details in a nutshell: the wedding was by far the best day of my life.   it was everything we ever could have wanted: a day that was truly us-complete with some drool-worthy details (did you see that giant A &J?) and amazeballs food.  the honeymoon started off rocky (thanks american airlines, i hate you) but was such a relaxing week.  i don't think i've spent 7 days (away from phones, email, work, tv, and other real world annoyances) alone with the boy like ever.  i think that's the secret to a successful marriage right there: having a honeymoon every year.  

xoxox,

j

links as of late

try not to cry.  ah-ah's back.

work happy.  ping pong conference table.

need a crazy contraption that uses nothing more than your phone's screen to expose Polaroid-style instant film? done. 

dress classy, dance cheesy.  30 best gangnam style parodies. 

when the boy let's me get preggo, i'm sending that child back if it's a girl.  i want a lil bro.  so he can do bro things.  in these rad bro rooms. 1, 2, 3

10 things you should know about the deed. i'm most curious about 9 & 10. 

what the boy is wearing to our wedding. 

xoxo,
j

teenage dream

When the boy & I first started dating, we texted each other 24/7.  Honestly, the millions of texts we exchanged probably could have been the inspiration for  "Teenage Dream."  The text-versations  were the way we woo'd each other, filled with lusty thoughts and pure anticipation.

Over the years, those texts of lust have simmered down.  A lot.  Now I text the boy all hot like "whatchu need from the grocery store?"  It's a wonder he doesn't just rip my clothes off the minute I come home.  All that talk about groceries, meow.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss those texts.  But what I really think I miss is the idea that he was going about his day, all the while thinking about me, and better yet-needing me.  I'm a really visual person, so maybe this is just a me thing.  Maybe it comes with the territory of being a speed reader, I'm not hard wired to hearing, I'm hard wired to reading.

I recently pinterested my way to a blogger who spoke about the 10 things that have made all the difference for her marriage.  It was no surprise, given my love for all things written, that her idea for a journal jumped out at me.

They have a journal that they fill with words to each other.  Words that aren't too terribly different from our sweet beginnings via text-probably things that your Momma shouldn't read. They take turns writing in it and then leave it for the other to find in an unexpected place. There's no rules for length with the journal, but they try to help it find it's way back to the other within a week or so.

And honestly, the idea seemed even more perfect to me when she shared one of their journal exchanges.   I'm pretty sure biscuit is code word for something, especially if he thinks along the lines of honey boo boo child.  But biscuits aside, I think every girl wants to know that her husband thinks she has money skin....along with various other body parts.

Someone better give me a journal for my wedding present.  And some fancy pens.  I got some serious love letters to write.   After all, one of my goals for 30 before 30 was to be a rad wife.  I bet a rad wife would totally be someone's teenage dream.  Sing it with me now, let you put your hands on me, in my skin tight dreams, be your teenage dream tonight... BTW, you're totally welcome if that song is stuck in your head now.

xoxo,

j

good luck charlie

For those of you that don't spend your free time watching Disney shows, Good Luck Charlie is just that.  The show revolves around a family, the Duncans, as they try to adjust to the birth of their fourth child, Charlotte aka "Charlie." In each episode, Teddy Duncan (her older sister) creates a video diary containing advice for Charlie about their family and life as a teenager. Teddy tries to show Charlie what she might go through when she is older in the video diaries for future reference. Each video diary ends with Teddy (or someone else from the family, even Charlie) saying the eponymous phrase, "Good luck, Charlie."

I was never blessed with a little sister, just a little brother that's skinnier than I am.  Thanks a lot genetics.  However, I was blessed with two of the most adorable younger cousins, now at the sweet ages of 11 & 9.

I've been spending a lot of time travelling back and forth from the beach to Raleigh for various dress fittings & wedding duties, thus giving me a lot of time to hang out with my favorite little friends.  During one of my most recent visits, it was decided that I need to start my own "Good Luck Charlie" for them, which I'll appropriately name "Good Luck Anaire" for a mash up of both their names.

1. Scissors are for cutting, but not for cutting your hair.  Especially not when that cutting involves bangs.  Trust me.
2.  A good friend will tell you when your boyfriend is cheating on you.  Keep her around forever.
3. The only alcohol you should ever drink straight from the bottle is beer.
4.  Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior.
5.  If you show off your boobs, you'll attract the attention of boys.  Notice I said boys.   And you don't want attention, you want respect.
6.  While we are on the subject of boys, never date someone that doesn't open the door for you.
7.  Elope.  But that's a story for another blog day.

This should probably go on my 30 before 30 list, so that I can actually hold myself accountable for getting all of my earthly wisdom documented.  I'm probably not cool enough to video myself, so this little blog will have to suffice.

good luck anaire,
j

a dollar a day, keeps the doctor away

Dear Ann Landers,

Last weekend, we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. This morning they left on a long-awaited trip to Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon! When my parents married, they had only enough money for a three-day trip 50 miles from home. They made a pact then that each time they made love, they would put a dollar in a special metal box and save it for a honeymoon in Hawaii for their 50th anniversary. Dad was a policeman, and Mom was a schoolteacher. They lived in a modest house and did all their own repairs. Raising five children was a challenge, and sometimes, money was short. But no matter what emergency came up , Dad would not let mom take any money out of the “Hawaii account.” As the amount grew, they put it in a savings account and then bought CDs.

My parents were always very much in love. I can remember Dad coming home and telling Mom, “I have a dollar in my pocket.” She would smile at him and reply, “I know just how to spend it.” When each of us children married, Mom and Dad gave us a small metal box and told us their secret, which we found enchanting. All five of us are now saving for our dream honeymoons. Mom and Dad never told us how much money they managed to save, but it must have been considerable because when they cashed in those CDs, they had enough for airfare to Hawaii, plus hotel accommodations for 10 days and plenty of spending money. Before they boarded the plane, Dad winked and said, “Tonight we are starting an account for Cancun. That should only take 25 years!”

Ann, I thought you’d enjoy this story about 50 great years of intimacy in marriage!

From a loving daughter in Abilene, Texas
{found via today's letters}

I think I'm gifting the boy a small metal box on our wedding day.  Obviously, you can't have a great marriage without great intimacy.  And the fact that you get a relatively free trip to around the world out of the deal only makes it even better. 

xoxo,
j