Vinyls & Vino

...and just like that, a month has passed and I haven't blogged.  The best of intentions don't always pan out... So, here's a quick look at the last month: Work had me traveling a bit over the past few weeks, and I spent a couple days with my best friend and her family during one of my trips.  It was great to get some time with the Smith family... especially this little love-bug, Garrett.  He's going to be one year old this weekend!  I won't get to celebrate his birthday, though.... ...Because these two are getting married!  We've had lots of wedding showers over the past few weeks, including this one held by Lucas & Lauren's church family in Lawton.  During this photo, their pastor was putting them to the test with a game of "Who knows each other better?"  It's going to be surreal to watch my baby brother become someone's HUSBAND this weekend, but I am so excited for them both and am anxious to help celebrate their big da...

Thursday night I had wine with family.   Then I came home, crawled in bed and awoke Friday to find myself in enough pain to warrant taking a pain pill (something I never do) and curling back into bed (something I do every chance I get).  Without going into details, I'll just say this:  my life has been pretty gloomy the past 3 days, and I'm SICK of staring at the walls of my home and having to lie down to stay comfortable.  (I'm ok- I'll be going to my doc soon, so this isn't a plea for sympathy.  All's well!) When one lives alone and can only stay comfortable by lying down, one gets bored.  Very bored.  Housework slips, hygiene gets neglected... needless to say, it's not pretty around my house at the moment.  I could have spent the last few days working on getting caught up on some writing, but instead I've slept and watched reruns of Cougar Town (seriously, greatest show in syndication right now).   I could have caught up...

Ready for a super cliche statement? The weekends are NEVER long enough...  this one was no exception. Saturday morning I teamed up with other residents in our little community to repaint some equipment at our local playground... it was fun to jump in and do something nice for a town I love so much.   It didn't take long for me to end up covered in paint and primer, but it was well worth the mess! I am the MESSIEST painter of all time, ever.   After the painting project, I headed to the local lake to spend some time with family.  With the "unofficial" end of summer coming this weekend, I was excited about getting to have a lazy lake afternoon- even if it did end up POURING rain on us toward the end of the evening (and just when we were getting ready to charcoal some steaks!) My spot.   Red Clay.   The color of home. Our lake (and every other body of water around here) has a red clay bottom, which means the water is not...

I am many,  many things in life.  A cook is NOT one of them.   To be honest, I don't really care for cooking.  On the rare occasions that I decide to do it, I either stick to the absolute basics (tacos, spaghetti, anything from a box...) or I get adventurous and try something new (which just means I follow a recipe to the "T."  And usually still end up getting something wrong...). While the cooking gene completely missed me, baking is one thing I've always loved.   I've also always loved EATING baked goods, which can be dangerous when combined with my love of actually doing the baking.  For this reason, I generally only bake when I have someone in mind to give the sweets to.  I'll bake, take one or two  cookies/slices/squares out of whatever I've created, and then pass the rest along. (In other words, my fella and his roommate get quite a bit of sweets from me).   I had a...

Every so often, I see articles posted online stating “You know you’re from a small town if…” or “Living in a small town means…”.   These are always good for a laugh, because they are all so very, very true.   This week, I’ve compiled some of the most common items found on these lists and added my own comments here and there.   I’m sure some of these are meant to poke fun, but I prefer to see the charm in them.   To me, THIS is what’s right about small-town living.   Well, most of them, anyway… *The grocery store was also the place to rent movies, drop off dry cleaning, rent a carpet shampooer, and to leave your rolls of film to be developed . *You can name every person in your graduating class, and their GPA’s and you still keep in touch with every one of them *It’s not abnormal for you to see horses, pigs, chickens, cows, etc. in someone’s back yard. *When you call the wrong landline number, the person who answers will politely give you...

A few of the songs I've been obsessed with this month.... Vice by Miranda Lambert.   I'm usually 'on-the-fence' about Miranda.  I like her well enough.  Saw her at a music festival years ago, and she puts on a great show.  I own a few of her songs, but she isn't exactly a favorite, and her songs usually wear on me after a few plays.  This one, however- AMAZING.  I can't stop listening. Ophelia by The Lumineers. This band can really do NO wrong, in my eyes (ears).   I'm really wanting to add this album to my vinyl collection. In Bloom (Nirvana Cover) by Sturgill Simpson This one took me some time.  When I first heard it, I HATED it.  But after hearing it a few times, I've grown to love Simpson's rendition of this 90's classic.  I love cover songs that really change a well-known song, so I'm not sure why it took awhile for this one to click with me, but I'm glad it finally did! Ain't No Man by the A...

Three weeks from today, I will turn 34. Thirty-four. Just typing it, I feel like I need to stop a minute and let it sink in.  Age is something that truly has never really bothered me- I've never minded getting older.  It's a privilege.  It's a right of passage, a sign of strength. It's something too many don't get to do.    For reasons I really can't explain, this year I'm finding the thought of another birthday a bit daunting.   Just for the record, I don't think 34 is old.  I don't think my youth is gone or that life is over... but 34. There's just something about it that is stinging me a bit.   I've decided that I need to shift my focus from whatever it is about that number that is getting to me, and rather focus on what a wild ride this past year has been. My 33rd birthday was extremely bittersweet.  On the eve of my birthday, I celebrated with a few close friends (all whom I rarely see) around a fire...

After years of blogging, I fell off out of the blog orbit...  and then, I attempted to reenter the atmosphere many, many times.  I could never seem to pick up steam.  After taking time off and my life changing quite a bit, I couldn't find my niche, my voice, my purpose- but I missed writing and I missed the blogging community, so I kept trying.  And failing to stick to it. One spring day, I wrote a "note" on Facebook, in response to a negative post about my hometown.  From there, I was approached about starting to write for my local paper (a weekly column called "What's Right About Jefferson County," that I do for free.  I'm no journalist. Ain't nobody winning a Pulitzer around here anytime soon).  I am so grateful for the chance - and the responsibility- to write on a regular basis again.  Getting back into the habit of writing has re-lit the fire for writing for me and I've once again been toying with the idea of this blog.  Aga...

**This column, originally posted on Facebook, began a weekly column for me in my small, hometown newspaper.  Each week, I talk about good things taking place in the area.  This column is titled "What's Right About Jefferson County"... thus, "What's Right" lives here, as well.** This tiny town, nestled low between muddy creeks and covered from above by the shade of decade-old native trees, has been the only place I will ever call “home.” Admittedly, I haven’t lived many other places, and not at all outside of Texoma. And admittedly, my mailing address is in Ryan now, thanks to country-living. Still, Jefferson County is all I need to know as home, and Waurika will forever be my place. Being from a small-school taught me to be well-rounded, and it taught me to refrain from living life in a manner that I wouldn’t want others to know about. I learned that one the hard way at times... but it was still a lesson learned. I’ve never been able to name a “favorit...