Sunday, December 29, 2013

Opinions are like behinds.......

Something has been bugging me lately.  Nagging at the edge of my mind despite what happens around me.

What does the GRAND OLD FLAG truly represent?

I know what we were TAUGHT it represented. I know what we all want it to represent.

I have travelled to far away lands with many exotic things, but every time I left the good old U.S.A. the minute I stepped foot on red, white, and blue soil again I felt it all the way to the bone.  I was HOME!

The USA represents a fantastic idea that was started back in the days of Aristotle. An idea of equality and happiness, but can we as human beings truly see each other as equals?

This country was founded by people who were willing to brave a whole lot of water and a small ship to a land they didn't know for sure existed.  They did it all for freedom of religion and from persecution.

Lately, as you know, one of my favorite past times has been interrupted.  My TV watching is being messed with and I don't like it one little bit. It's a show about a family who love each other and love God.

DUCK DYNASTY has truly lived up to it's name.  It's taking over this country one Walmart at a time. These are people who have more money than they need and a very fun and interesting life full of colorful personalities.  It's a TV producer's dream.

There's Si.....the crazy old uncle who works as little as possible and naps as much as possible and has introduced the word "Jack" as an emphasizing word into our lives.  If THAT 4-letter word is what people are quoting then please by all means.....Jack away! JACK!

There is Willie, the son that went and got educated.  He turned "yuppie" as his Father would say and he took the duck call that his Father invented and turned it into a fortune.  Judge him for whatever you want, but the man is obviously a business genius.

There's Jase, Willie's older brother, the second child with the most clever snarky come backs to the events that occur in his life.  He sees the irony in everything and he talks about it to our completely hilarious amusement!

There are the "wives." The women behind the men.  As we know, women are the ones who are really in control.  

There's Miss Kay and the inexplicable reason her own sons call her this and not the traditional "mom." The ultimate "pioneer woman"....whatever that means. I'm not exactly sure but she seems to preach that so you go Miss Kay.  She obviously shows love through the best Southern tradition she knows and that's through food.  She is an amazing cook and her sons' praises and waist lines demonstrate this.

MOST IMPORTANTLY there is Phil.  He's the patriarch, the Father, the Dad, the hunter, the voice of reason.  The show may center around Willie, but without Phil there is no show.

AS we know there was a huge controversy over something Phil Robertson said in a magazine article about gays and something racial.

Back for a minute to the beginning, one of the fundamental rights of a man according to the men who bravely set up this country we are all so proud of is freedom of speech.  They wanted everyone in this country to never have to worry about the words they speak at least not from the government's stand point.   You can have a problem with opinions but you can't be prosecuted by law for them.

Phil Robertson is a simple man.  He wants to hunt, eat Miss Kay's cooking, and thank Jesus and God for all the blessings he has been given.  He believes in a religion that follows the Bible. The Bible is "technically" racist, sexist and every other "ist" we all fight today. If you're going to hate Phil then that's religious persecution. Isn't that EXACTLY what our ancestors on the Mayflower came here to escape?  

Phil Robertson has never pretended to be a tv star. He shies away from the limelight most of the time. Where is there a rule that says we have to all agree on everything? I'm sorry, but that's completely impossible and definitely never going to happen. This is humanity ladies and gentleman every man or woman is entitled to think or believe what they want whether it's "right" or not. So back off. Everyone is persecuting a man for supposed persecution. As Jesus himself said. He who is without sin cast the first stone. No one is perfect. So let's just let the man have his opinion and go on with our lives, which in all honesty what a man says in a TV show has never mattered when it comes to everyday life. So calm down. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. We are all entitled to our beliefs. So let's get over it already. 

That's my opinion, oughta be yours, but if it's not that's ok. You get your own blog and voice it because I live in the greatest country in the world and I can!

Love,
JP

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Sunscreen and my life


About 100 years ago or so there was a song or chant? Called Sunscreen. I heard it today on my iPod and I thought. I should do a blog on how it relates to my life.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 
This applies to me because I'm high school class of 1999:

I'd put a picture here of my senior class but it was taken back in the stone ages before smart phones. So...contrary to popular belief...... YES THERE ARE SOME THINGS NOT ON GOOGLE!

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
   MOVING ON:  well he's absolutely right after years and agonizing days of sunburns from beaches and lake trips. SUNSCREEN IS MORE VALUABLE TO ME THEN GOLD. SPF 50 please. Tans are soooo last decade. Well at least real ones. 
 The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by 
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable 
than my own meandering 
experience…I will dispense this advice now. My advice may not be very valuable to anyone else but me, but here goes anyway.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not 
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. 
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and 
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before 
you and how fabulous you really looked….

I'm still considered young and approaching my 33rd birthday. Yes it's true readers I'm not a random rambling 20-something anymore. I have reached and passed and cried over reaching and surpassing into my 3rd decade of life. 

A rare post 30 pic of me. They don't happen often because I hate all pictures of me but for you dear readers. I will suck it up. So yo! Sup?

You’re not as fat as you 
imagine.

I know for a fact this is true. When I look in the mirror I see this

 I've been told this is in fact NOT ME. So I guess I'm not as fat as I imagine. Just a lil less fat than this. 

See? We could be twins. At least that's what I SEE. Could there be some kinda mix up with the mirror or something? Oh well it shall remain a mystery.             

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as 
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum.

Well...... Pass the bubblegum which I could never figure out how to blow bubbles with. SO FAIL! I worry about everything. It's in my DNA. If there was a magic pill you could take to stop your worries and never worry again. I'd take it before you could say.......wait there might be side effects....aren't you worried? Oh wait there are. They're called Xanax and I'm already taking them have been since idk. Birth. But worry is something that still haunts me and most likely always will.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that 
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm 
on some idle Tuesday.

Mine was some random Saturday in October at 5 AM.
My beloved older brother Richard called me and told me "The doctor's got my blood work back and they said I need to go to the ER immediately." In my early morning fog I thought this was some kind of sick twisted nightmare.  

8 hours later my brother was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocitic Leukemia or for those of you who are unaware of health stuff unlike me and my OCD knowledge....C-A-N-C-E-R


 My most beloved brother called me to tell me he was headed to the ER and later was diagnosed with Leukemia. It's a moment I will truly NEVER forget. There was a scar on my heart that day, one that will never heal.
                        


He's not perfect but he's my big brother and I love him more than anything in the world. Kisses BUB! He's got some form of Leukemia you can "live with" so for now he's living with it. But that Saturday morning was the scariest I have ever had. He wasn't even 45 and he could've been dying. Actually he IS dying it's just a matter of how quickly, which scares the daylights out of me. Yeah, I was BLINDSIDED to say the very least. More like hit by a Mack Truck.



All I could think about on that idle Saturday was WHY? Why him? What did he do to deserve this? That was one thing I never worried about. In his hard and tumultuous life Cancer was NEVER anything that ever crossed my mind would befall my beloved oldest brother.  The man who I put on a pedestal and worshipped as a little girl and still (don't tell him) do to this day!

He's my hero.  He's the person I count on when something needs fixing whether in my house or in my life. He's my role model and most importantly he's my friend. I've always felt welcome in his life and I know that he truly loves me completely and unconditionally.  That is one gift I can never repay except to love HIM back unconditionally.  But he taught me what that truly means.

Do one thing everyday that scares you
Being ME random moments scare me and recently I drove on ice on the interstate. That was scary for sure. In general two words.....NASHVILLE TRAFFIC!

Sing
I don't think anyone wants me to follow THIS particular advice since I'm utterly and completely tone deaf.
 I rock out like I'm a frickin rockstar in my car by myself...let's keep it that way! 
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with 
people who are reckless with yours.

I am not reckless with anyone's heart. Not purposely at least. But unfortunately I put up with a huge number of people that are reckless with mine. I'm working on it but it's not so easy.

This is advice that I wish over the years I had truly heeded, but unfortunately I didn't and I have trouble doing it to this day.  I don't break many hearts but I've had a ton of people be reckless with mine. I've let them get away with it and therefore have scarred my heart in the process. This is not easy to do by any stretch of the imagination.

Floss
I do this but definitely not often enough. Sorry to my dentist and my gums. 
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes 
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with 
yourself.
Depends on what the jealousy is about. When it comes to relationships I'm not that bad. With friends I strive to not be jealous but to be happy and try to hold on to the belief that one day the world will pay me back. You know karma. 

My biggest worry is that I'm losing this race against myself....how that's possible I don't know but right now it's how I feel.  I've never been a jealous person I always felt like my time and turn in everything would come. Yeah, I'm not so sure anymore....cause patience is not my strongest virtue by any means and I am so close to giving up and starting to be jealous.


Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you 
succeed in doing this, tell me how.
I cannot find one person in my small corner of the world that ACTUALLY succeeds in doing this. If the rare person crosses my path who CAN. They can never tell me how. 

I FAIL EVERYDAY!!!!! HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW TO EVEN BEGIN DOING THIS....I TAKE WAY TOO MUCH TO HEART.  SO IF ANYONE WHO MAY POSSIBLY BY SOME MIRACLE READ THIS BLOG.....if you know how to do this....PLEASE GOD I BEG OF YOU! TELL ME HOW!!!! PLLLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAASSSSSSEEEE detailed instructions preferably in an instruction manual. :)




This song/chant is right. We all remember the bad and are lightning quick to completely forget the good. :(




Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
I don't think I even have any love letters or I would keep them. I definitely throw away my bank statements to my mom's complete and constant annoyance :)
Stretch
Duh, every time I can I stretch and make a stupid "stretching noise" to accompany it. 
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your 
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they 
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year 
olds I know still don’t.

Yeah. Um. I don't know what the hell I wanna do with my life. I'm not 40 yet but it's creeping up on me. If I don't figure this out soon I'm going to be one of these so-called "interesting" 40 year olds.  I'm getting closer every day.

Get plenty of calcium.
Ok THIS I do. I love all things dairy and I have milk in my skinny vanilla lattes from Starbucks every morning. CHECK THAT ONE OFF THE LIST! 
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
I'm very kind to them. I tell them everyday they are great benders! I do a cheer. Yay Knees! Mine are in DECENT shape luckily but if I keep hitting them on my desk at work that might not last for long. 

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe 
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky 
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…
 Not getting married and not having kids is my worst nightmare. I will NOT be dancing at my 75th wedding anniversary unless I live to be like 200. Or something. I can't do math. 


what ever you do, don’t 
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your 
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
 Um ok. Sure but why have my chance choices lead me here? Oh well. I guess we will find out someday. I berate myself way too much. I don't congratulate myself enough. I need desperately to find a balance.


Enjoy your body, 
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people 
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever 
own..

Whenever I hear this part I think of naughty things. Use your body. Hmm how so? I'm deathly afraid of it and I'm scared to death of what other people think.  I don't know how to face this fear.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Well several years ago at a dance club my BFF told me I looked like I was doing a Jane Fonda workout. That scarred me for life. So my living room is the ONLY place I will dance and usually just when ELLEN does on her talk show and only if I'm alone. Otherwise it's chair city for me baby, but I can rock a chair dance like no body else. 

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Sadly, I'm one of those sad people who always reads all the directions. My friends make fun of me until they need me to help them with something then it's like who made fun now? Booyah!
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
I do and they do. Easy as that. 

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for 
good.

Yeah I did this CHECK NUMBER TWO ON THIS LIST. I talk to my Mom on a pretty much daily basis and see her for some quality time at least once a week.  My Father on the other hand is a completely different story. It's strained at best and down right f-ed up every other time. 

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the 
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Except for aforementioned brother it is impossible to be nice to my siblings. So I will just say. Nahhhh to that one. Not for lack of trying on my part but my other brother has never acted like I was welcome in his life and I have never felt that way.  
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you 
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and 
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you 
knew when you were young.

There are some people in my life who I have done the above for they are listed here:
NORI:
I take the second "F" in Best Friend Forever VERY seriously.  She will always be a completely necessary part of my life.  Taking any part of my time with her out of my life would be like cutting off one of my arms.  She is like a star in the sky, always there shining down on me even when I'm not looking or noticing.  She's always on my mind.  Not a day goes by where something doesn't remind me of the crazy amount of memories we've lived together.  If not for this woman I don't know if I would have made it through my 20s.

RACHEL:
God, there is so much to say.  How do you even describe a friendship like ours? It's crazy, tumultuous, nutty, fun, dramatic, and treasured.  We fight a lot, but we love each other triple the amount we fight.  I'd do anything for her and she would do the same for me.  She's stuck by me even when I've done everything I could think of to push her away.  She is the most tenacious and loyal person I know and it's only a couple of reasons why I love her.  She and Nori are my soulmates and my life cannot be if either one of them is taken out of the story.  She is one of the faces I would see when my life flashes before my eyes and I can't wait to make more memories.  I know a lot about her but I learn new things every single day and I never want to lose her.  I will do everything I possibly can to keep her my BFF.  She's the sister I should've had and I thank God every day that she entered my life over 11 years ago.  

BARBIE:

She's the newest of my friends but I knew from the moment I met her when it should've been awkward and uncomfortable it was completely the opposite.  It was like I was visiting someone I had known my whole life. I've laughed more with her in one weekend than with other friends. She's my inspiration and I admire the hell out of her.  She has this amazing quality about her that you just know if you are with her everything is going to be okay.  She's a survivor and one of the few people in my life who can take care of me without me resenting it even a little.  That's soooo rare for me.  I haven't spent as many memories with her but I hope so much to make so many more in the future.  She and I were like two pieces of a puzzle that just clicked and fit together perfectly.  The saddest thing about her is that she doesn't understand why I or anyone else thinks she's so amazing.  She's so blind to how great and inspiring she is.

STEPHANIE:
Stephanie has truly been someone who shaped the person I am today.  She was my first friend and she will always be special to me and always fill my heart.  We've kind of grown apart lately, but her importance in the story that is "me," is too important to even put into words.  

KELLEY:

Kelley and I are so on again, off again, but always on.  That makes no sense to the average reader but she will understand.  We either spend too much time together or not enough.  She will be in my future as she is in my present and my past.  I mean we do have a blog together ogling hot men, so she has no choice really.  No matter how different our paths go, they always converge in the end. It's just the way we are.  She's an important part of who I am and will continue to be.


Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live 
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
I could see myself living in Cali later in my life but I've visited NYC and as much as I'd like to think I'm a "city" girl.  I'm not a NYC girl.  It's too fast paced and intimidating and cold both emotionally and in weather.  It's somewhere I would love to visit countless times in my life, but living there just ain't gonna happen.
Travel.
Thanks to my Mom this is another big fat CHECK MARK on my list because of her I've been to Europe and all over the US and experienced so many things and places and I managed to get her on airplanes so that is amazing.  She made me completely fall in love with traveling and I will do it for the rest of my life because of her. 

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will 
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize 
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were 
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.
This is something I have ALWAYS DONE it's just the way I was raised.  I already see that children today don't do this nearly enough.  I'm not even old YET but I KNOW I will get old and one day the politics of today and the prices of today will be considered those of "yore." Or "the good old days" I just hope I can achieve the things in my life before I get old that I can look back on and tell great stories to my children and grand-children and if I'm lucky great-grand children!

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, 
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one 
might run out.
I've seen both these things happen to way too many people. I dont' do this enough. It' s something I'm working on. I want to not have to depend on my parents as much financially.  It's hard to do, it's hard to cut those final strings that make life a little less scary.  It's time to grow up and become a real bonafide adult. I'm so close just a few steps farther!

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will 
look 85.
This will not even be an issue MOVING ON! I never do my hair to Rachel's complete annoyance.....and Nori's lol

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who 
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of 
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the 
ugly parts and recycling it for more than 
it’s worth.
I will never underestimate the power of good advice from those that have lived to experience and learn all the lessons that this song and it's lyrics has to teach.
But trust me on the sunscreen…uh...yeah...me fair skinned...I burn. It's bad.   It works! YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH SOME SUNSCREEN! 

You also can never go wrong with a song that reminds you of the important things that you should focus on in life. It's why I love this song so much and why I learn something new every time I listen.  Thanks for reading.  More to come as life goes on so will my ramblings....

I love you all so much and I'm very blessed even when I THINK I'm not. When I think I'm not, I will refer to everything said above! STAY TUNED.....I have to go apply sunscreen! Laters baby!
Love,
Julie


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Lessons in LIFE and DEATH: THE ONE ITEM ON MY BUCKET LIST

This blog is going to slowly become my diary of just ramblings...wait...isn't that the title? haha!

With the recent deaths of two highly known people lately.

Paul Walker:

When looking through the hundreds of pictures of him there is one thing that I notice more than anything else.  HE IS SMILING. I am pretty good at picking out a fake smile and the real thing.  Paul's was the real thing.  

No doubt, he had problems, many of them surely, but he did live a fast life.  He had a child very early and fast in life and he lived for speed.  The main point is that he may have died young but he LIVED well. The reason this is evident is because everyone who knew him says the same things and his actions and the smile on his face tell all we need to know.

Another person who died recently who really LIVED was Nelson Mandela. 

 I was not around for the main parts of the apartheid and for a long time I didn't understand honestly, what the hell was going on in South Africa other than extreme and aggravated racism.  But it was Africa I was a young privileged girl in the United States what did I care? 

Well that's the sad thing about the USA we are selfish and self-centered.  We live in our own petty worlds and most of us go through life miserable.

Nelson had every reason to be miserable and to not get up and wipe the dirt off him after his over 25 years in prison unjustly.   

He had every reason to hate the world and to give up on life and unlike Paul he didn't live a short one but it was one, like Paul, that was full of smiles and happiness despite any hardships.  

PEOPLE BECOME LEGENDS FOR A REASON.  
The ones who do become legends are the ones who truly knew how to live life no matter the amount of it they got.


Another example is Marilyn Monroe.


Judge her all you want but she is a legend and her life has more messages to teach than most of us could EVER learn.

It's almost like truly living is being appreciative of just breathing in and out and being healthy.  It's not until we get sick or lose someone we love that we reflect on what wastes of time our everyday lives can be.
She is well known even today and she lived in the 1950s and man did she LIVE!

Another legend that lives forever in the lessons his VERY SHORT life taught us is 
James Dean.

James lives on today though he died in 1951 and he lived his words. He bridged the gap and became a great man in such a SHORT life.

This quote says it all. Paul Walker had 40 years, Marilyn about that many too, Nelson had over 90 but James had barely 24 years.  But he did what he loved and loved what he lived.  I just pray that one day the example of these people will teach me how to stop simply existing and start LIVING! 

I want to look back on my life no matter WHEN it ends and regret nothing.  That is the ONE thing on my bucket list.

When the end comes I want to look back and have no regrets.  Let's hope that I can check this one task off my list!

Appreciate it, it's harder than you think. If you figure out how to do it. Clue me in will ya? It's easy to say and nearly impossible to DO! The people above DID it.  Will you?

Love,
Julie


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Back after two years with Random Ramblings

 Ok so the name of this blog is ramblings.

So here goes. 
I used to own and run an RP site where people would tweet as characters of popular movies and tv shows but really it was just a place to connect. 
Had problems, got lazy, closed it. 

So now I get on Facebook and Tumblr praying for just one interesting thing to show up. Most of the time. Not. But sometimes. 

Here are some recent gems from my endeavors. 

Yep I feel you Steve. My emotions can go from zero to 60 faster than well....whatever the hell is really fast? Idk. A cheetah?

Ok, it's no secret I'm in love with Misha Collins. If you don't know this about me. You don't know me very well. 

Here's my 2011 10 seconds of happiness
I love me some Jensen and Jared. They are both eye candy, but something about a guy who keeps me laughing and make my cheeks hurt from smiling is the most irresistible thing I've ever experienced. Misha does that. 
Moving on cause he lives in Canada is married and has kids and I look like above.  Yuck! A girl is allowed to dream this is a....kinda....free.....expensive ass country after all. Right? Sometimes I'm not sure but anyway. 

This describes like idk EVERYONE I know.   Moving on let's not get all dramatic about it. 

This is just Truth I had to get out there!

The death of some great people has shown me this is true. We go through our mundane lives never realizing this advice no matter how many times I'm told. I forget. It's great advice but sometimes the best advice is nearly impossible to live by. 

This is the story of my life right now. Not to mention it's Duck Dynasty. I love ALL things duck dynasty! Happy Happy Happy!

Ok enough seriously random ramblings for today. Not my best work. Gotta say. My writing is way out of practice but damn am I getting good on my phone's touch screen! 

This whole post was done on my IPhone that's right I am freaking awesome! Kelley and I started CELEBMANMEAT back up after a very long hiatus. Go check it out. One person that will never be man meat. ANY DUCK DUNASTY GUY! Here's the link in case by some miracle anyone actually reads this blog. 
Http://celebmanmeat.blogspot.com. Visit and for crying out loud. COMMENT!!!

All my random love!
Julie
Twitter @ramblingsofjp



UPDATE MAY 18, 2017

SO....DUCK DYNASTY