I'm just over here nursing a broken heart....and getting by with a little help from my friends.

Me:  Soooo...I forced myself out of bed this afternoon, began the process of unpacking, decided out of curiosity to try on some britches I haven't fit in a while...slid on some awesome cargo pants I forgot I even had, buttoned 'em right up without a fat roll (yay, team!), did a little dance, then bent over to pick up some other clothes off the floor and totally ripped the ass end of said cargo pants from top to bottom.

L:  Using who's ass?

M:.  ...

L:  So the good Lord giveth, and the good Lord taketh away.

M:    I loved those pants.

L:  Ya know this kind of shit only happens to us.

M:  That's because we were created to be so awesome that God knows he can have a little fun.  In fact, this experience is likely the only reason he blessed with me Noassatall..

L:  You should of at least been wearing the padded fake booty panties mommom gave you for Christmas last year.  

M:  Stop talking.

L:  Hahahaha.


~~

We broke up.

I'm on the other side of moving for the second time in 3 weeks, and while I'm ok I sure would appreciate some prayer.

I'll be needing to have another sale as soon as I can get it together in my shop, so stay tuned.

Even with the 40 degree temp and random drizzling rain.

Friday night Mark and I decided the best plan of attack for Saturday would be to get up early and get stuff done, then take a nap and leave for Tuscaloosa and the Bama/LSU football game around noon so we could get there and see some stuff before kickoff at 7pm and the following 4 hour drive home....for which we're gonna have to blame Chelsea since I couldn't find an overnight sitter and there is no way I'm going to introduce her to boarding at the ripe young age of 16 and a half.  We made do with a friend agreeing to pop in for potty visits and extra treats instead.

So the plan....Do I really need to tell you what a colossal failure it was?  Yeah, I totally remember falling asleep peacefully and soundly on Christmas Eve when I was 8.  Don't you?

That 8 year old SANTA IS COMING! excitement is exactly how I felt Saturday morning at the prospect of walking into Bryant Denny Stadium. Go ahead and read that as my inner child was tap dancing all over my 42 year old brain whilst singing her new and not soon to be released hit "No Nap Snap ~ Sleep when you're dead, stupid!"

So...up at 7 am.  Packaging, shipping, Post office, to Mark's for laundry (because he is a boy.  Sigh), to the store, load the car, take a shower, load the cooler, stop for ice, hit the road. Drive!

Once in Tuscaloosa we got lost. Of course we did.  Luckily I have a beautiful and amazing friend who happens to live there, so she drove to where we were so we could hug necks and so she could get us on the right path.  

She's a tiny little bundle of awesome

and everyone should have a Shawn.

So we finally arrive at our FREE parking spot (Yay good ole boy network!) and begin the half mile walk to the stadium.  And the stadium?  Holy Shit...because I have no better words.

6 double flights of stairs, 8 'flights' of 40 degree ramp, 3 pauses for screaming butt muscles, and voila.

The resulting sweaty panting selfie.

When the players ran out on the field to warm up I grabbed this pic before my heart exploded into a million sparkles of happy that reached all the way to Heaven.

There are many many things I will never forget about my first Alabama Football game in Bryant Denny...the excitement, the atmosphere, the grazillion red and white pompoms flapping in unison...the "ROLL TIDE!" screams with every Alabama First Down announcement...but my favorite of all was watching Nick Saban lose his mind during a tv commercial break in the first half.  He was halfway out in the field, gesturing, kicking and screaming, furiously calling the plays himself while one of his assistant coaches was literally dragging him backward toward the sideline by his shirt.  It was unexpected and insane and awesome and I wanted to kiss that Nick right on the mouth.

38-17.  A good edge of your seat first half followed by the dominance of The Tide in the second.

It couldn't have been more perfect.

Island Time

I accidentally found my kind of country.

I didn't even know I have a kind of country.

If you are unfamiliar, check out The Lacs.  There is a little touch of something for everyone.

You know that feeling you get when everything clicks and falls perfectly into place and you wonder what you did so right to deserve so much awesome? Me too.

I think I must be nesting.

Also that the garage sale angels are smiling at me behind my back.

Because this:

He's about 3 feet across and smiling with dimples

and I got him for $10.

I'm going to whitewash the rays with crimson

and slap him on the side of the country house.

Of course I am.

~~

Those letters spell Faith, Love, and Hope...

priceless things that I stole for $6.

They are sitting in a store display

that will hold the tubes of my favorite seed bead colors

 within easy reach on my beading table.

Mine for $3.

Turquoise Candles all in a row?

Why yes, I do happen to have $2.

~~

This one is the perfect size for Delica tubes,

and after some research each compartment

will hold 12 tubes...if I have more than will fit

I'll just go stand in the corner for a minute.

Another $3?

GIMME DAT.

~~

For this I don't even have words.

The stand above~

The sparkling clean shelves below.

I've been looking for one of these since Jesus was a baby.

$20.

~~

A day in the text message life.

L:  Hey sissy, whatcha doin?

M:  Thinking about stabbing someone random in the eye.  Wachewdoin?

L:  ...Running....

M:  Meh.  I'm PMSy starving.  There isn't enough food on the planet to shove into my face today.

L:  Well I have to go find the pumpkins for Matt's school project at the patch near your house.  Then we need to finish the graveyard...spider webbing is all yours.

M:  That sounds like work.  Bring food.

L:  There is still chocolate vodka in the freezer.

M:  Good enough.  I heard that cures cramps.  Somebody somewhere said that.  Probably.  I believe him.

L:  I read it on the internet...and they can't put anything on the internet that isn't true.

M:   I knew you'd know.  That's the reason we don't kick each other in the shin.

L:  Exactly.  

~~

FLASH SALE!

Through Midnight on Saturday take 20% off your entire order 

using coupon code  FLASH20 in my Etsy shop!

You go HERE.

You find treaza.

You buy.

You happy!

Mama's pleased, y'all.

I've been playing with this Tie Dye idea for a few months now, trying this and not liking that...

But These?

Yeah.

If you dig 'em

you'll find 'em

HERE.

~~

There is a 100% chance I just shoved a legal narcotic into my face.

Right shin, left knee, right knee.
(the morning after)

I should have taken a picture of the public access wood 

walkway that tripped me, but I was too busy bleeding.

So these.

Totally worth it.

~~

PS.  Thanks very much for the supportive comments on my last post.  You guys *are* the Casbah.

The last 7 days.

My stepmother died.  I had a 1400 piece disk bead order to finish.  My best friend was in court sadly dissolving a 25 year marriage.  I earned 8 new soon to be scars from room temp glass hitting the hot fire of the torch.  I burned the skin off my lip trying to rush through a Hot Pocket lunch.  I have blown off 2 jewelry orders that would take only a few hours to complete because uh uh right now.   And about midway through I cried because NO REASON.  

And I thank God for my life. The beauty of it. The awareness of it.  The awesome feeling of breathing in and out.  The gift of having a heart so full it can be both broken and healed at the same time.

If you are reading this then you aren't the sort of person I should tell to appreciate your life.  You are the sort of person I will thank for being present in mine.

I'm looking forward to Sunday.

~~

Birthdays, Beaches, and Beads

Because those of you who have been around for a couple of years know what 2011 and early 2012 were like in Julsland, and because these days I am too happy to spend the energy rehashing it all, I'm just going to say that "the other side" of that particular refining fire is perhaps the best of my life thus far.

Losing the things I had fought so hard to hold on to allowed the wounds necessary to embrace that which is most important: the freedom to be vulnerable, to stare wide eyed into the world again and discover it staring lovingly back at me through the eyes of the people with whom I now surround myself.  Some old friends, some new~ a conglomerate of awesome that only God could have designed for my life.

Cliches exist because they have proven true for many, and when someone says you are the company you keep....listen...ok?

Ericca is having a birthday tomorrow, so Friday night we threw her a party at our little hangout bar.  Kim came, and since I haven't seen Kim in 20 years I pretty much tackled her when she walked in the door.  Good girls, y'all.  The kind for whom you'd grab wine and chocolate and go hang out with for no reason.

Y'all have already met Lita, and this pic is such an accurate representation of our friendship that we should print it out and staple it to our faces whenever we are together.   You probably already know this, but it is incredibly hard to duck face while you are laughing hard enough to pee your pants.

She's one of my favorite people ever~

the kind of friend everyone hopes to be

and deep down truly needs.

And she does super pretty super well, too.

(even with a blinding flash in her face)

~~

For the last month or so our Bama Crew has been building a Bama Shack/Man cave for one of the husbands who has been working in Afghanistan for over a year.   He came home last Monday for a 2 week vaca and Saturday night we had a birthday party for he and our YaYa Jena.

The only thing I can really say about the next picture is that Lita made jello shots with vodka....and we might have had 1 or 15....especially Alan, who for some reason known only to him cannot seem to keep his tongue in his mouth while having his photo taken.  Or ever.  

He just became daddy to beautiful little miniHim.

She can't keep her tongue in her mouth either.

Then there is this.
For now there are concrete blocks being used as the step into
the Bama shack, and if you know me at all you just read that as
Look!
Here comes Grace!
And she brought her leg to play!

~~

Lately it has been a weekly thing for one of my oldest friends (37 years) (How is that even possible?)

and I to get our feet in some sand before the weather divebombs.  Welcome to Sunday morning~  

and Sunday evening~

(My favorite time of day on the beach)

And Dusty's oyster bar, where the oysters

are kind of delicious and the buddha chicken wings totally rock~
(even though my hair in this photo does not)
(hush.  I'm a girl.)

~~

I've been super busy having a life lately,

but I've also been super busy working.

I made a few of these beautifully Autumn hued

Essentials collections, and I slapped 'em on Etsy 

at a Wholesale Price.

Because I'm happy, y'all.

(And I want you to be, too!)

100 beads ~ $130 bucks.

You'll find 'em HERE.

~~

FYI.  Count your blessings that I've spared you the stories about the gym.
Because wow.

Labor Day Weekend 2013

Friday morning, up at dawn to get my work finished so I could head south.

This sunrise in Alabama was a treat.

Friday night was spent on some beachy retail therapy and a nice Pier Park dinner outside with my girls.

I'd show y'all pictures of my new sandals (3 pairs, because monster SALE!) 

and divinely delicious chicken and black bean wraps

but yeah.  No.  I'm thinking you don't much care.

(Plus I don't actually have pics of them)

Saturday morning was a little bit awesome though

because this happened~

Then Saturday afternoon there was a whole lotta

Roll Tidin' goin on.

(and possibly some beer drinking and oyster eating)

(although I still can't believe that last part)

(Because oysters are gross)

(yet totally delicious if served on the the end of the knife used to shuck one)

(by a wicked cute manager at Dusty's)

(yes, we won. Yay!)

Even the clouds were Crimson at sunset Saturday night.

I'm pretty sure God brought Monet to hang out on the back deck with us.

The ocean brought us some seaweed on Sunday.

("eeeeew" sayeth some)

(But I totally got my body in that water anyway)

(and rocked seaweed in places seaweed probably shouldn't be)

(ever)

I don't have a photo of the best part because Dolphins are too busy playing to pose,

but we saw several doing full on high out of the water flips with arms flapping.

Like they were waving at us.

So we waved back.

Fin.

~~

Inventory Closeout Sale ~ 50% off ALL remaining listings at Studiojuls.com!

Sale ends Tuesday!

Got Tie Dye?

Revisiting an old design favorite!

You'll find them in my Etsy Shop!

~~

'Cause all of this is how I roll.

Got my new Vanity on~

so I can drive over and watch the game with my motley Bama Crew~

starting in 15 days.

Le Squee.

~~

There's a poker run tomorrow to benefit our local Wounded Warriors.

For that I'd donate a month of my time,

but I only found out about it just now

so I made a few necklaces

for the raffle~

~~

Beach last weekend.

Because This.

and so I could have This.

~~

There's still a 40% sale going on at my website!

(ends Tuesday!)

~~