Life Falls Into Place

So...my faithful and devoted readers (both of you)...I have big news...I am leaving the big city...sort of.  As you know I was thinking of moving back to to my little Arkansas town this summer.  Well I'm moving next weekend!  But not completely.  I am staying on at my current job but only working one to two days a month and I am going back to my old job (the best place to work ever)! I am beyond happy/excited/thrilled about this turn of events.  As I walked into my current job the other day I found myself counting how much longer I had before I returned to a job that I loved.  I was planning on staying here in Memphis until May because that was when a position would be available for me back home.  God truly heard my prayers this dreary morning because around lunchtime I got the most wonderful phone call I have ever had.  My wonderful boss from home called to say "I really need you now".  It sounded like what I imagine angels sound like when they sing praises in heaven!  I promptly gave notice to my current boss and agreed to come work 1-2 days a month here.  I may decide that I don't want to keep this committment but for the time being it gives me an opportunity to come to Memphis and see my brother and do city things once a month.  And keep my cute little apartment. At least for a little while.  I have missed my little hospital in Louisiana more than I can verbalize at this moment.  I always knew that it was a great job, but gosh...the grass just isn't always greener on the other side of the state line.  So my life will be a little crazy for a while as I adapt to this new plan.  Of course I have a Carribean cruise right in the middle of it all to spice things up :) I leave for New Orleans where I will set sail with my splendid family for a seven day trip in the ocean.  We are going to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.  And don't forget Europe in May.  I am going to need to sleep half of June to recuperate...except that I have to take French in June to complete my BS degree so that I can graduate in August.  Oh well, i will rest next year, right?  I love my life. Truly.  Doesn't get any better than this.

Even the pups agree...sort of :)

T Shirt Vests, Oh My!

So new craft project that anyone (seriously anyone) can do! A tshirt vest!  All you need is a tshirt (size XL) and a pair of good scissors.

Step 1.  Cut off the sleeves.

Step 2. Cut out the neck area.  Start small if you aren't sure and then go back and make the area larger as needed.

Step 3. Cut along the sides. 

Voila! You now have a vest! Wear with a cute tshirt and jeans.  Or something more fashionable if you feel led.

This is me in a white vest holding up the vest we just made above.  Gotta love that "sun in my eyes" squint.

On a side note, I got a very exciting package in the mail from an Etsy shop called The Merriweather Council.  I ordered myself a Valentines Day gift (yep, I'm that girl) and it arrived today.  

So...that is my day in pictures.  Hope you enjoy....I'm going to take a siesta now.
XOXO

Updated Bucket List

So I had some great ideas from my charming friend Paige and my sweet Uncle Mitch about my six month bucket list so I am going to revise it slightly...
1. Take a yoga class.
2. Go for a walk in Overton Park.  In the next thirty days.
3. Visit the National Civil Rights Museum.  See above.
4. Make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon.

5. Learn to knit.
6. Eat alone in a restaurant. Alone. Still yikes.
7. See a feel good movie...any suggestions?
8. Listen to some jazz (I'm pretty pschyed about this one.)
9. Paint the Mississippi. Or attempt to.
10. Go to Europe.  Still in shock that I'm actually doing this!
11. Surround myself with the most positive, inspiring, intelligent people that I can find.  I already have a pretty good group started back home.  :-)

I took some shots of my apartment today, so I will be posting them sometime soon.  Hope everyone had a great week!

My life summarized in lists...

I don't know if I have mentioned before how much I love lists but I'm telling you now...I LOVE them. Like I make lists for everything. Shopping, to do, websites, recipes, trips I want to take, songs I want to download, and the list goes on. So I have decided to compile a list of all the things I want to do in the next 6 months. A bucket list of sorts although I certainly hope I don't kick the bucket in the next 6 months. Since Memphis and I are having some relationship issues at the moment and are thinking of parting ways in the next six months I thought this was a good time frame. So. I'm going to make my list and if you have any suggestions for things I should add then by all means leave a comment :).
1. Take a yoga class. (there is a class at Midtown Yoga seriously want to try).
2. Go for a walk in Overton Park. (when I moved to Memphis I envisioned myself doing this regularly and I have yet to do it).
3. Go to the National Civil Rights museum.
4. Make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon.
5. Learn to knit. My Aunt Anne tried to teach me when I was a child but to no avail. I do believe I was an exasperating child.
6. Eat in a restaurant. Alone. Yikes!
Six things for six months. Not to big of a challenge for this old gal...speaking of which, I will be thirty this year. I don't feel thirty. In fact I don't feel grown up yet...Life seems to be entirely too much fun for me to be an adult!

Am I a....gulp....country girl?

Hola! Bonjour!
Well you all know I moved to Memphis back in July and sort of dropped off the face of the blogosphere. As I'm sure you can imagine I have been trying to find my way in a new city...especially difficult since I've never lived in a city before. Shockingly enough I have found city life to be quite difficult...well shocking to me anyway. Who knew that I would find a city with 650k people to be so lonely? Now, before I go any further, this is not a Blog to be filled with woe and regret...this is a journey of self discovery wrought with the sarcastic humor that I adore. Totally resisting the urge to insert an emoticon here.
First of all I will (soon) post pictures of my super cute apartment...not to brag but my little sanctuary in the city is amazing...angels singing please....ok forget the angels but it is pretty wonderful.
So I have learned more about myself in the last six months than I did in the last 5 years...not all of it pleasant to find but massively important all the same. I think we can all agree that self discovery can range from splendid to absolute poo...yes I said it...poo. Now my current discoveries rank about midway on this scale but when I first made them I will admit I was thinking poo. So here goes...I have considered myself a city person my entire life...and yet, I had never lived in a city until six months ago. Here is the part of the self discovery that makes me cringe....I thought that being in a city would be a fair trade for the friends and family that I was leaving behind. Lesson learned. Not a good trade at all.
I haven't updated this blog simply because I wasn't in the place I intended to be when I started. But now, I'm back! I have learned some hugely valuable things about myself and I have (hopefully) become better for it.
So...my new plan is to most likely to return to my small town this summer...my plan is to never judge small town life negatively again....my plan is to never take my friends and family for granted again. I know I will have to be reminded of this from time to time so this blog is my contract to that effect.
So...am I a country girl? Not nessicarily ...I'm a girl who needs her peeps (yep that just happened) more than she needs tall buildings and rush hour traffic.

Hello…I have multiple personalities…

I briefly mentioned in Blog numero uno that I’m planning a move from South Arkansas to Memphis, TN.  Since we last spoke…err…blogged…I have found a job, moved several boxes of useless junk, and begun a series of tearful goodbyes.  I do, however, have about three weeks until I move “for good”.  As you may have noticed (or not) I have not graced you with my charming and witty (or obnoxious and boring…you decide) ramblings in quite sometime.  Here is why…I have found myself bombarded with a plethora of mood swings, not unlike that which I would imagine someone with multiple personality disorder to experience.  Some days I feel beyond excited at the prospect of living in Memphis (a place I have seen myself moving to for a number of years) while other days I find myself increasingly sad and anxious knowing that I will be leaving behind a pretty awesome network of friends and family.  Sometimes the best decisions we make in life are the hardest ones (i.e. divorcing my ex…both times…).   Of course sometimes the worst decisions we make in our lives are the hardest ones (i.e. getting married…both times…).  Either way I am going to jump and not look back…cause lets face it…I’m not getting any younger.  That and life should be for living…yep I just said that…corny right?! I totally agree…so stick with the younger thing.  So for my sanity and just a reminder to myself in print…for the whole world to see…I’m going to make a list of all the reasons I’m making this move…

1. I have always wanted to live in a town with a population greater than 20,000…
2. Memphis has always felt more like home to me than anywhere else.
3. They have an Indian restaurant…I mean c’mon…that is a requirement for everyone right…??
4. The best bookstore ever resides right in Midtown.
5. Music…enough said…
6. Barbeque…enough said…
7. Overton Park.
8. My awesome big brother.
9. My super cool brother in law.
10. They have a Target and a Starbucks…common sense, hello!
11. An airport!!!!!!!
12. Something to do on a Friday night besides renting a movie.  In all fairness I love movies but it never hurts to change it up a bit!

Well that is a few of the things that they offer to me personally…any thoughts/advice/suggestions on moving to a new city? 

Next time…pictures of the new apartment J I’m super pumped about it!!

To me...

So for this blog posting I am going to do something different...perhaps taboo.  I was going through some boxes and trying to get rid of more useless stuff (more about that later) today when I came across a letter that my Mom (aka Marmie) wrote me when I was the ripe old age of 13.  I remember going through a particularly confusing/difficult/frustrating time in my life and dear old Marmie once again had some wisdom.  So now I am going to type the letter exactly as she wrote it so that perhaps you may glean a life lesson or two from it. And yes, that means that she really should get the credit for this post.

Dear little Robyn,

I know it's hard to be 13.  That's been true through all of time. And that "depression" you mentioned sort've goes with it.  A little moreso for some than others.  You may be one of the "moreso's", as you're bright and sensitive (that just means you feel things a little more than some folks do).

I know, too, that it's important to like yourself.  But you will! That takes time, too, and will get easier as time goes by.

There are books written, mostly for parents, about just this stuff---being 13 (because it's considered the toughest) and 14.  They just explain all of the changes going on - the "little girl" is almost gone and the "grown woman" is not quite there yet.  So, my dear, you are a "young lady" now, and a very fine one.You're also very pretty, Robyn. Your little figure's not quite going thro' all its' changes yet and there will actually be days when you just feel "fat" - as you put it.  But, no, honey, you're definitely not fat!

These days in the Ozarks when we're "snowed in" or "iced in" or "frozen in" or whatever, will go hard with you, too.  Not much to do but read books and watch movies - good books and good movies, but not reality.  So, you're still finding yourself with that "reality" in between movies and books.  Time to think and maybe even to be a little sad sometimes.

You do have friends, too, Robyn, and they like you.  Living out here in Henderson leaves you a little with feelings of being "left out" sometimes.  And it's not as easy to have those close, close friends when we're so far away from everybody.  But, Miss Robyn, even that, you handle well.  Really well.  (Much better than I ever could've when I was your age...)

So you've been up against some odds - but you're a "winner", like your Dad.  And all will go well with you and all of these things will smooth out for you as time goes along. 

I love you so very much, honey.  Now you eat your broccoli and be a good, and HAPPY, girl.

                                                                                               God Bless You,
                                                                                                Marmie

Sitting on the patio reading this letter this afternoon reminded me of several things, but most importantly it reminded me where I came from and how very lucky I was to have her on my side.  Marmie left this world for another over 9 years ago and I miss her everyday.  Nothing is perfect, not my relationship with Marmie, not my eating habits, nor my music taste.  But if I dwell on that that is not perfect...well my skin will suffer for one thing, but more importantly so will my well being.  And lets face it...I'm nothing if not cheerful :)