FLASHBACK 2006 (ish)

"i will remember you...will you remember me?"
i discovered my favorite scent completely by accident. i was at hot topic and saw rag doll sitting on the shelf. at only $20, i thought for sure it would stink to high heaven. it didn't. emma is curled up in my lap, soon after, playing with my poison ring. yes. i wear a poison ring. she leans into my neck "aunt chrissie, you smell good". she mentions the poison ring to anybody that will listen. people wonder if i'm a witch. i don't mind. 
FLASH FORWARD 2011
jamie's nephews always ask me about my poison ring. trace "what do you put in there?" me "magic potions" t "what KIND of magic potions?" me "whatever kind" t "so. ummm. you could turn uncle jamie into a frog?" me "yep". 
we show up to a family gathering. i warn the boys that i WILL be turning their uncle jamie into a frog. they bug me all day long. finally, jamie asks me to get him a beer. "it's happening now boys!". i open the bottle and, when jamie isn't looking" the boys stare as i open the poison ring and empty the contents into his beer. their eyes widen as he takes a sip. nothing happens right away. the boys are disappointed. about 15 minutes pass. "ribbit". little boys are giggling. "ribbit ribbit". little boys are rolling in the floor with laughter. 
and this is my legacy. this is how i will be remembered. they will remember my scent. they will remember my poison rings. best of all, they will remember my magic.
today is the last day of "what will your legacy be"month. so...what will your legacy be?

                 

          

 

                                   

 

emma attempting to wiggle her nose like auntie cardinal

FLASHBACK september 2009

"we're movin' on up...to the east side...to a deluxe apartment in the sky..."
i am moving in with jamie. we load up the mini cooper and the expedition and off we go. finding places for all my things is easy. jamie doesn't have anything. oh, he has furniture. he has a couple tv's. he has a ps3. but his apartment is empty. there are no pictures on the walls. there are no knick knacks sitting around. within a few days, the apartment looks like a home. there are family pictures everywhere. you can't see the tops of shelves for all the things I love. the things i think JAMIE should love.
FLASH FORWARD june 2011
now we are being moved to the carolina's. people come in and pack all of our things. it's nice to have someone else do the work. i highly recommend it. but, now, i also highly recommend not having things. things are so unnecessary. things have to wrapped. things have to boxed. things have to be shipped. things have to be unboxed. things have to be unwrapped. ugh.
within 3 days of delivery, i have been like a child at christmas. eagerly unwrapping everything we own and finding it's new spot. the house looks like we've always lived here. i love my things. i LOVE my things.
FLASH FORWARD today
the packers are here. we are being sent back to cincinnati. i sit at my computer and watch as people carefully wrap each plate. each cup. each thing we own. i can think of only one thing: THINGS ARE SO UNNECESSARY!

             

 

and we have to take down all the hidden birds

FLASHBACK 1971

"a b c is easy it's like counting up to three...sing a simple melody...that's how easy love can be"
almost 6 years old and already in love. already in love and planning our marriage. this boy is cute. this boy has mice. this boy has a snake. this boy goes on all kinds of adventures. this boy can sing. this boy has his own tv show. this boy is michael jackson. not just michael jackson but CARTOON michael jackson. yep. i'm in love with a cartoon boy. for the record, he is not my first, or (dare i say?) last, cartoon husband. i was also imagination married to cartoon donny osmond, bugs bunny, shaggy, and "yellow submarine" paul mccartney. 
FLASH FORWARD 1979
now i'm in 8th grade and i wanna "rock with you"...all night. rock the night away. i am totally in love with the "off the wall" album. and i'm pretty sure my parent's are sick of hearing it.
FLASH FORWARD 1982
i'm a junior in high school. i am all new wave and punk. my favorite band is the cure (heads up...they are still in my top 5). i TRY not to like the thriller album. i can't help myself. it's awesome! it will stay at the top of the charts for 80 weeks. did you hear me? EIGHTY weeks. 
michael jackson would have been 54 today. so dance. shout. shake your body down to the ground.

                   

 

        

 

FLASH BACK december 1977

"well you can tell by the way i use my walk, i'm a woman's man no time to talk..."
i've been asked out on my first "date". i'm in 7th grade. mama drops me off at colony square to meet my "date". we go see "saturday night fever". this is the first time i see an example of "swagger". john travolta walking, like a d~bag, to the bee gees "stayin' alive".  this was the beginning of the end for disco. 
FLASH FORWARD today
today is world sauntering day. slow down. enjoy the world around you. strut a little.

                  

 

 

FLASHBACK december 2011

"its just that social life its got you on the run..."
we are home for christmas. i get to spend a lot of time with my nieces. my oldest niece asks me if i've been on pinterest yet. i haven't. i download it to my phone and start exploring. okay, i'm bored now. it's kind of pointless. but other people keep telling me it's "the new social network" and "it's going to be the demise of facebook".
FLASH FORWARD today
i have learned to love pinterest. NO. it will never be the demise of facebook. and NO. there is positively nothing "social" about it (sorry folks, you have very little interaction with people on pinterest...you simply see things you might like, posted by people you have decided to follow). but i have found great recipes (more than i will ever have an opportunity to try). i have found amazing clothes (more than will fit in anybody's closet). and i have found some fabulous art projects (and i can't wait to start on my latest inspiration for the new nest). i encourage you all to check it out, however, there are some tricks that i think all pinners should follow.

1~do it from the convenience of your home, with your computer. although the iphone and droid apps have been improved, you can search more pins on your computer. plus, following the pin to it's link from your computer will save battery life on your phone.
2~follow the links. that's the whole point of pinterest. i see a cute top on pinterest and i pin it to a board,  but following the link (embedded in the pic) will take me to a website where i can either purchase the top or, at least, see where i can purchase it. *i highly suggest following the link before you pin...that cute top may lead to a website trying to sell you egg shells...boo...save your followers that headache. also, should this happen, report this pin as spam. *
3~follow EVERYBODY. if you get a notification that some rando liked your "i enjoy being a girl" board (that's my style board, of course you can call yours whatever you like), follow them back. why, you ask? because, if they like your style, chances are you will like theirs. they may pin things you haven't seen. again....that's the point!!!
4~add the "pin it" button to your tool bar. you WANT to share what you've found on other websites. I WANT you to share what you've found. OTHER PINNERS WANT you to share. again...this is the point of pinterest. and don't just post pictures of your stuff. i want a link to a website where i can find that chair that i now really want for my bird's nest.  click here to learn how.
5~BLOGGERS: if you are blogging about, let's say, party ideas, for example, try ACTUALLY telling us pinners how to do what you are blogging about. more than once, i have followed links to blogs with party ideas that told me what their ideas were, but not how to do it. example #1~gift bags were used in a party game. i was not given the rules or ideas of what i might put inside the bags; and #2~a balloon avalanche (because, in his effort to find out what i am doing for bridgey's birthday, danny asked if i was doing this...ummmm no, she's not 12) had a picture of the balloons ready to go and told me the supplies i would need, but never told me a) how to set it up or b) what would happen (although i kind of had an idea). this is important. if you aren't going to tell me how to do things, i will find other bloggers that will.

                          

#1~peppermint-martini

#2~cinnamon roll french toast 

#3~a meme i made (but you can find tons on pinterest)

#4~my style board

HAPPY PINNING!!!   

FLASHBACK 1972

"delta dawn what's that flower you have on..."
end of summer 1972. we load up and take off for a cross~country road trip to california. dad and lil bro in the van. me and mama in the comet. mama and i sing "delta dawn" all the way from ohio to cali. we drive thru vegas (it looks nothing like it will 38 years later when i go to bird's wedding). we are heading towards the city of angels. i can see the capital records building before mama spots it. this will be the last time i can see far off without glasses...boo!!
FLASH FORWARD today
jamie and i have mini~road trips every time we go to ohio. we have to drive thru west virginia every single trip. scary. why, you ask? well...in my imagination, this is the place all "wrong turn" movies take place. you know?!! you miss your exit and think "no problem..i'll just take this road. certainly it will take me there". it doesn't. it takes you right into the deep dark woods, inhabited by mutant rednecks with a taste for human flesh! this is not meant to say that all west virginians are rednecks...in fact i have met some very nice people there. but remember how i said this is in my imagination. that place....well THAT place is very scary. however, we still have fun. we sing. we car dance. we eat road trip food (mcdonald's and beef jerky). we have deep conversations about serial killers and rednecks.