The Bread to my Shit Sandwich

"Life is a shit sandwich, but if you have enough bread, you don't taste the shit."  Jonathan Winters


Not only am I sharing this quote with my fellow bloggers because of it's comical value, but also because, when I read it, it made me think about my own personal "shit sandwich," and all of the wonderful people who are my "bread." I have amazing people in my life. I know that everyone says that, but I honestly do. I have the kind of parents that, in a world where it is so hard to do so, have given me the best example of what life and marriage could and should be like. They have taught me the true meaning of love between two people, in all of it's "unperfectness." Their love gives me faith in finding my own.

I have the sister of all sisters. The kind of sister that gives and gives and never stops, even when I may not deserve it-or anyone else for that matter. She has the sweetest soul of anyone that I know. She is the only person that I know that can be so sweet and so strong all at the same time. I like to believe that some of that rubbed off on me, but not nearly as much. She has given me the two greatest gifts that I have received in this lifetime, being my two amazingly beautiful nieces. On my darkest day, just seeing their sweet faces can make it shine at it's brightest. For my sister, I am forever grateful.

I come from a very small family. Some people have great big families full of many many loved ones. I have a family of fewer people, but it's filled with just as much love as all of those great big ones. They are all I need. I grew up with wonderful grandparents on each side of my family, who, in completely different ways, taught me so many valuable lessons in love, and how, when it's in it's truest form, it can endure anything. I have two very sweet aunts, two uncles that would have my back and you on yours if you were to think about messing with me, 3 great cousins (add one 2nd cousin, Ethan), and some pretty good great aunts/uncles as well. Life is good in the life of the Jones/Morrison family :)

And the last, but definitely not least, honorable mention in my "shit sandwich" blog would be my amazing friends. Those people that come along, one by one, on life's journey. They are the loves of my life. They come from all different walks of my life. From childhood friends, to high school, to college and thereafter. They all serve a different purpose in my life, and I in theirs. As a whole, they are, no doubt, the glue that holds my life together. In my opinion, no words can express, nor can a high enough value be placed, on the sanctity of friendship. In the words of "Big" from Sex and the City to Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, speaking of Carrie..."You girls are the loves of her life. Any guy is just lucky to come in fourth place." Amen to that.

So, with all of this being said...I would like to dedicate this blog to all of the people, who most definitely know who they are, that make up the "bread" to my "shit sandwich." In a crazy world that is often full of doubt, you all have remained constant and undoubted. My "shit sandwich" just wouldn't be the same if I lost a single one of you.

Ocean Breeze and Summer Reads...

Let's see, it was a pretty successful weekend. Not only did I eat a tasty steak at Outback on Saturday night; I also ate the floor at Outback on Saturday night. Yep, you heard me....I took quite a tumble in front of about 7 tables full of people on my way to the restroom. I literally slipped on a pile of ketchup....this type of thing ONLY happens to me, and I'm still not convinced that it wasn't a setup.

To make up for the mortifying fall, I proceeded to walk to Barnes and Noble after dinner and buy 4 new books. I am currently reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. I'm not very far into it, but it has definitely already made up for the fall...I have a serious knack for picking out a good book.

I spent the first half of my Sunday at the pool with my new book, and also apparently with a pool full of non-bachelors attending the Bachelor party of the guy who was obviously the very last to take the plunge. I'll be surprised if he goes through with it considering all the poor guy's friends did the whole time was dis on their wives/marriages. One guy's wife sucked at cooking. Another guy's wife thought she was a really good cook, but little did she know.... One of the wives gained 20 pounds within a month of the wedding date. I mean, the list goes on and on. Somehow I still managed to stay enthralled in my new book... Oh , and they also referred to a "cooler" as an "ice chest." It was quite entertaining.

As a pleasant surprise, I spent the second half of my Sunday out on "Plan Bee" (the name of a friend of ours' boat) at Crab Island. Ohhhh Crab Island. If you think you've heard of it, but don't remember if you've been there before, then you definitely haven't been there. A friend of mine made the comment that, "It's like Talladega on the water, replacing the race cars with boats, minus the race." This is so true. It's always a good time though. It was just a small taste compared to what is in store this coming weekend....

Speaking of this weekend...I will spend this entire week preparing for it. It's gonna be a doozy. Lots of friends coming in town, off work Friday and Saturday. If you need me, I'll either be posted up beachside or boatside.....

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."  John Lubbock

A Saturday in Tune...

Hola!

Have I mentioned how glad I am to be back in the world of blogging? I'm pretty happy about it.

So, I'm working today at the gallery in Seaside. Considering the summer season has not quite peaked yet, days are a little slow here at times. I sit at my desk with my smart water, my blackberry, and the infamous MAC computer that I have fallen madly in love with. I immediately turn on Pandora radio and my day begins. A day full of amazing music can do wonders for the soul. I have always been a lover of music, and as most of my friends would agree, my taste in music has always been slightly off of the beaten path. Where most people see sadness in a particular song, I see beauty. Where some people see "weirdness" in a certain song, I see "uniqueness." On any given bad day, I can find all the comfort I need in a long drive and a good playlist. It's an amazing thing. I feel sorry for people who listen to music, but never truely hear it. Music can surface thoughts and emotions that you never knew existed. It can take you back to moments passed. It can literally cleanse the impurities of your soul if you let it. Music keeps me in tune with myself. I live for days like today.....

"If music be the food of love; play on." -William Shakespeare

Re-vamped. Re-energized. Really happy. And, most importantly, Re-located.

Well guys, I'm back! I apologize to my 2 followers for disappearing for so long. I know how hard that must have been for ALL of you. I will take this opportune time to update you ALL on where the hell I've been for the last, err, I don't know exactly how long...

-Well let me start by saying that the boyfriend that is spoken of in the previous blogs, well, how should I say this? Ummm...he did not make the cut. Much to everyone's surprise...considering no one ever has. I wish the best for him...some things just aren't meant to work out. That's all we'll say about that.

-Now that I got that out of the way, I can talk about how awesome my life is right now. I have recently made a HUGE change in my life, and moved to the fabulous city of Destin...or Santa Rosa Beach, if I wanna sound snobby. I mean, as if the city itself isn't enough brighten any one's life, I have the added plus of getting to see my sister and beautiful nieces EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! I know, right? It's amazing. Much to my sister's disbelief, I love nothing more than waking up every morning to their screaming voices insisting that I wake up RIGHT THEN! I don't even mind them trampling me in my own bed, letting me know that they mean business. I wouldn't trade it for the world....well, at least not until I find my own place. haha It's a wonderful life I am living here, and it has been a very enlightening experience...one in which I'm sure I will blog about in the days to come. Basically, I found a job as a nanny for a wonderful family that resides in Grayton/Blue Mountain Beach. The husband, Lee Crum, is a pretty nationally known photographer. They own a photography gallery in Seaside, The Gallery of Photographs, where I also work as a gallery assistant. Life. is. Good.

-Since living here in the Sunshine State, I have enrolled myself in "Destin Bootcamp." Yep, that's what I said. Crazy enough, I LOVE IT!! I feel better than I ever have before. It is a series of very intense, circuit-training type workout sessions with a personal trainer. We do most of our workouts on the beach, oddly enough, considering I'm slightly OCD about getting "sandy." I actually think it is slowly curing my obsessive-compulsiveness on this issue. Pretty soon I'll be kickin' ass and takin' names. Not hardly, but at least I know I could if need be....

I am going to go ahead and welcome myself back to the world of blogging. I have missed it, and I have a lot to say these days. More to come soon....

"Open your heart - open it wide; there is someone standing outside." -Mary Engelbreit

Yay for Spring, Boo for skin-cancer!

Summer is near my friends. The warmth of the sun is slowly progressing day by day, ingenerating a brightness inside of my soul. This is my favorite time of the year; the passing of winter to spring, and more importantly the change in my skin tone from pasty white to a more not-so-pasty tone. This is always a good thing. However, every year, the sunbathing tradition scares me more and more. As much as I love laying in that chair, eyes closed, soaking in the strongest of the sun's rays day after day, as much as possible, I refuse to do so without the proper protection. I do not want to be leather-face by the time that I am 35, nor do I want skin cancer, so I have turned into somewhat of a sunscreen nazi, and I would encourage the rest of you to do the same. You cannot turn back the "aging-clock" of time, well, not without lots of money and a risk of looking like Joan Rivers once you become addicted to it, so my vote is for the much more simple and affordable approach....SUNSCREEN!! And, no, SPF 4 does not do the job! If the thought of your skin one day resembling pig-skin is not enough to scare you, then the very-possible risk of skin cancer should. This includes tanning beds people! If you go by the books, you should always wear minimun of 30 SPF when sunbathing, and reapply every 2 hours. I cannot say that I am that strict with myself, but I promise to make a conscious effort to do so, as long as the rest of you will put forth some effort as well. I challenge each and every one of you (again, pretending I have tons of readers) to put aside your vanity, grab some sunscreen and APPLY!...everyday before you leave the house. You don't have to be sunbathing in order for your skin to be damaged. Famous words from my mother and mothers around the world I'm sure..."Just because you are wearing sunscreen does not mean you won't get any sun!" My mom exhausted this expression every summer growing up, and I never took her advice until now, and much to my surprise, she was right! You can still achieve that summer glow, except without the sunburn and the peeling of your skin. Peeling skin=not good! I am a HUGE fan of gradual self tanners such as Jergens and Aveeno, and also of spray tans for that quick "special event" tan. Consider yourself officially challenged! It's not going to be easy, but I can promise that it will be worth it! Ok everyone, on your mark....get set.....GO!! TO YOUR LOCAL WALGREENS TO BUY SOME SUNSCREEN....and self tanner or whatever else you need.

I love Walgreens by the way!

Bachelor trash and Bluegrass bash

Not-So-Breaking News: Jason Mesnick is a Douchebag!....and a cry baby.

Jillian is the new Bachelorette just as I predicted. YAY!!!!

I'm going to Auburn this weekend for a Bluegrass festival and I am SUPER-STOKED about it! I can't even put into words how bad I need to get out of this town :) It's going to be a very sunny weekend on the plains and I am so excited! My best friend Amy is coming and bringing her "new man"...which I am very excited about, because well she is really excited about it, and he seems like a REALLY good guy. Can't wait to meet him!

It's been a pretty good week so far. Had dinner and Bachelor finale on Monday with the girls, my boyfriend's birthday dinner yesterday, and now just looking forward to a relaxing, sunny weekend in one of my favorite little towns :)

Oh yeah, so does anyone know any good tv shows that come on Monday nights?? My friends and I need to replace our "Dinner and the Bachelor" night with "Dinner and some other show" night, and so we're trying to figure it out. I know that new show Lie to Me is supposed to be really good. Maybe we'll just make it "Dinner and rent-a-movie" night?? I hope everyone is having a good week!

"Watch a man in times of... adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off." -Lucretius

My not so "rose-colored" blog

"Yeah, this is my town! na na na na naaa..." Love me some Montgomery Gentry ;)

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20090225/NEWS/902250297/1016/NEWS01

This is a really sad story, but I mean, come on! How does this happen???

I know I know. I haven't blogged in quite a few days now. I feel horrible that I have left my handful of readers with nothing to read, but being that my blog is titled "My world through rose colored glasses," I was having some problems coming up with anything "rose-colored" to blog about. The crazy thing about that is, that in reality I have SO MANY rose-colored things and people in my life, but for some reason we overlook those things when something is going wrong in our lives. I have been pretty down in the dumps lately, and I have tried to disguise it as much as I can; however, much to my dismay, I haven't been doing a very good job at it. I keep getting the dreaded, "Is everything ok with you?" question. I lose my ability to hold it all together when people start asking questions. Apparently, it's "good to talk about your feelings" or something like that. So, I have been trying that, but mostly it's been talking to myself...at night....when I should be sleeping, which equals no sleep...which is NO GOOD for my stress levels. I'm working on it though. The most important thing though, is for me to keep in mind that I have GREAT people in my life. Family, friends, boyfriend...and they support me 100%. I am extremely lucky to have such a wonderful support system, so THANKYOU to all my people who have been there for me through so many tough times, and also for being there for me now. I love all of you!