An Ode to Blogging

I have really been trying to blog more. I know some of you may be thinking why, but I actually enjoy it. I like trying to come up with witty things to share with the world wide web. Well actually the 4 people that read my blog. Today I was racking my brain searching for a clever blog that would evoke many comments from the 4 reading this blog. I really couldn't think of anything, so I decided to google a poem about blogging. So I went to my trusty google search engine and typed in "A Poem about blogging". I thought for sure someone had come up with a super funny poem about blogging. Well I was wrong. I googled and googled and found nothing, but I am not very good at googeling. I then came back to my blog determined to write my own hilarious ode to blogging. I started typing away....An Ode to Blogging....That is about as far as I got. I then decided I had done something wrong. So I went back to google again looking for a poem about blogging. Still nothing. I cam back to my blog....The History of a Blog by: Jennifer...That is about as far as I got. I decided just a hilarious poem would do. So back to google. I googled hilarious poems...I found lots of poems none of which were hilarious. I decided then I would google "The funniest poem of all time", and whichever poem came up first that would be the one for my blog. Well after an hour of rewording the phrase and reading 100's of not very funny poems I decided to go with the funniest joke of all time. This search was also not very fruitful.....So I guess it is not meant to be. No funny poems, no funny jokes, nothing. What a waste of a blog.

Leaving Home to go Home

I am stealing the title of this blog from a post my brother in law made when he was leaving the Navy. I read his post many times thinking he should be excited to return to a quiet apartment, a comfortable bed, and his family. However, I now understand what he meant. I have been at my parents' house in Alabama for a week now. I have spent days enjoying my family. I have truly had a great time. I even got to spend Thanksgiving with 25 of my family members I rarely see. Though I have spent this week doing lots of fun things I have been missing my husband and dogs who had to stay behind in Florida. It is a strange feeling being home yet missing home. I am often reminded of how far away I am from my family when I say "I am going home this weekend". Someone will then look at me perplexed and say something like "Your home is in Florida now", or "Aren't you going home after work."It is hard to explain to someone who has lived right down the road from their family their whole life how the two homes works. I think I might be beginning to understand how children of divorced parents feel. Tonight I am packing. My dad will take me to Atlanta in the morning and I will return to my Florida home glad to see my husband and taking with me many memories of my Alabama home looking forward to returning very soon.

Pre Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

Ever since Tyler and I have been together...about 6 years we have never spent a holiday apart. I like spending the holidays with Tyler. He is generally in a good mood thanks to lots of home cooking and football. But alas this year we will be spending Thanksgiving apart. In my life my mother has only had our whole family over for a holiday meal one time. We usually go to someone else's house, because it is more convenient for the majority of our family. But this year she will be having her entire family over for Thanksgiving. And as I have missed a lot of family moments living 8 hours away, and the fact that Tyler will be working the day before, the day after, and the Saturday following Thanksgiving there would be no point of me staying home with him. Although we made the decision for me to go home jointly I was still feeling a little bit guilty. A lot of people love food and football, but my husband LOVES food and football. More specifically homemade cooking and Alabama football. Both of which I will be indulging in on my trip to Alabama. So as I was saying I was feeling a little guilty when the greatest thing happened. My best friend decided to make an impromptu trip to our humble abode. It was then I decided I would whip up (with her help) a holiday meal for my husband and a few of our Florida friends. So this morning Jenny and I went to the store and bought all the necessary ingredients for a feast for 8. It was when we returned home with groceries in hand that we realized what a great undertaking we had signed up for. I had already invited people so we couldn't canceled. Well it is now about 12 hours later. Of the last 12 hours we have spent at least 7 of them cooking. But we pulled it off. Everybody enjoyed all of their Thanksgiving favorites. The leftovers are now securely in the refrigerator, and I am sitting here thinking over the many holiday dinners I have eaten in my 26 years. I never really thought about the hours of hard labor put into these meals. now have completed my first Thanksgiving dinner (with lots of help) I want to thank everyone who has ever helped to prepare a pan of dressing, a sweet potato casserole, a turkey, or any other part of a holiday feast. Thank you!

Clean House

Have you ever been to someone's house only to be met by the homeowner at the door saying, "Sorry my house is so messy." Or "I have just been so busy I haven't found time to clean the house." Or even "I hope you won't mind the mess." It is then that you enter their house to the smell of Lysol, Windex, apple cinnamon candles, and freshly baked cookies. It is then that you decide never to invite this person to your house. I have had this happen on many occasions. It is an awkward situation. Do you say, "Oh don't worry it won't bother me." Or "What mess?" Or maybe something a little sarcastic like "You are right, this place is such a dumb."? I however have never really had the chance to say these things to house guests. In fact I am the one that moves over laundry on the couch to find you a place to sit. I am the one who only opens the refrigerator 4 inches so that you won't see my disorganization. Today, however, my house is clean. I am having company on Saturday and I am thinking of meeting them at the door and apologizing for a mess that doesn't exist. But I have realized that is just not my style. My husband and I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 hours cleaning our house, and I want people to notice. I want people to say, "Wow, you didn't have to clean for us." Or "I never noticed you had carpet, I thought your floor was made out of clean laundry." I am now faced with a dilemma. What will I say when people arrive and stand astonished that you can actually see my furniture? I think I will say, "Welcome, feel free to keep your shoes on. Put your feet on the couch. Just leave your dishes in the sink. I will get to it eventually. Oh, you spilled grape juice on the floor. Don't worry, the dog will lick it up, and what he doesn't get will serve as a reminder of the fun times with friends."

That Kind of Day

We have all had those days that you just look around and say "Really". You know the days when everything seems to be going wrong. I am already running on a little less energy thanks to the shingles. I woke up late. There was nothing to eat for breakfast that could be cooked in less than 2 minutes which is how long I had allotted. I went to lock the door and couldn't find my house key. I went to go out the garage door, but it wouldn't open. I got stuck behind a bus. When I finally arrived at work my classroom was full of trash that wasn't taken out. I forgot my lunchbox, and we were having beef dipper sticks for lunch. It just seemed nothing could go my way. Luckily the day started to turn around when a friend brought me lunch and spared me from the mystery meat. I came home and begin attacking my house, which is now fairly clean, and followed up with a burrito for dinner. So it all turned out okay. Tyler is leaving for the weekend so I am planning a lot of rest and relaxation for this weekend.

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them, anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you willl win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.