FloRida Road Jams!

We are hitting the road this morning for Flo's next big adventure and I have been keeping it a big secret from Babe, so I can't spill the beans here either just yet in case he peeks! But stay tuned folks, I'm sure there will be tails (hint, hint) to tell. Until then I figured I would join in with sharing the tunes that have been singing to my heart lately for Blogtember, especially given they are pretty much road trip related! 

These three songs have been playing on repeat for me lately! It made it even more exciting when all three were on a CD that a sweet friend burned and sent my way without even knowing how much I had been loving them. 

Blue Bandana by Jerrod Niemann- This one makes me want to go out and buy a blue bandana for my next road trip... and maybe even try my hand at Merlefest! 

Wild Child by Kenny Chesney- Oh how so much of this song sings right to my soul, "...a touch of crazy hides behind her wild smile... so innocent yet still a little wild child." For as much as my heart and head have grown to understand, and even cling to, the need for rules and order there is still a part of me that will always be part wild child. "She's got a spirit that can't be tamed, she's a calico pony on an open plain." Yup, just gets me! 

Top of the World by Tim Mcgraw- I have a love/hate relationship with this song. The first time I heard it I turned it right off. I thought, "no way is this Tim McGraw," and I refused to continue listening. Tim is my favoritest guy! Any time I can see him in concert I do. I have loved him for years. Recently though I have felt his music has changed and that it doesn't have the same feel it always had. I felt like he was trying to keep up with the times- trying to be "pop mix" country- and I am a very "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kinda gal. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind pop country, but I just didn't think he needed to be singing it. So the first time I heard it I assumed it was someone else, then when I realized it was him I got frustrated and turned it off. I have since gotten over myself. If a guy wants to change his music then he can. So I listened again and of course loved the song because it's great, I just sometimes find myself having to not picture him signing it (sad, I know. Who would want to NOT picture him signing anything- in person, as a serenade, in his cowboy hat). 
"Don't make a difference to me baby, where the wind takes me, long as I'm with you...
We could be rolling on a couple of Goodyear's and painted rust." 

Which is exactly what we are going to do, turn on our FloRida jams and roll out. 

Have a beautiful weekend!! 

What will be on your play list?

And to end with even more happiness I thought I would share this for my fellow Prime lovers, or Prime fence riders, out there! Amazon is offering their Prime membership for just $67 today only!! That's a savings of $32! And if you already have Prime you can still get in on the savings by gifting a membership to yourself. Have it set to deliver right before you would need to renew and then use the gift code to pay for renewal (you may need to change your payment settings so that it doesn't automatically renew on your current method of payment). Happy shopping!! 

Words for Wednesday: J. Raymond Poetry

I have found a new quote love. I stumbled across J. Raymond Poetry on Pinterest and I fell instantly. In my opinion you need only read these as to see why- there is just something so open and honest and raw in these words. They are longer though and of course I started looking all of them up right away, but I realized my mind could only wrap itself around so many at a time. So I have decided to take these slowly, just read one or two J Raymond quotes every so often, so that I will still be discovering more for months to come. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

Joy will Come in the Morning! Small Monday Blessings

Happy Monday World! 

It's not often that I am up to see the sunrise. Well, at least not up enough to go out and enjoy it. This morning though I woke up in the dark, got ready as quickly as I could, so that my sweet husband could drop me at the airport. He's a morning person and I am not, but he patiently waited while I stumbled around trying to get ready, all the while making him late for work. He had surprised me with a flight to Birmingham so that I could visit on of my dearest friends, who had her sweet baby boy recently. I haven't gotten to meet him yet and I can't wait to go snuggle him and hug her new mama neck! 

Anyways, we were up and out right as the sun was beginning to rise and the colors were gorgeous. The above photo does no justice to show the vivid colors and breathtaking light. The sun through the clouds, pushing up into the day, was a sight that my soul needed! It had been a tough weekend, but the reminder that joy will come in the morning was so good for my soul. There are little blessings to be thankful for each and everyday and this morning God reminded me of that in only the way that His handiwork can. Today I am thankful for that, I am thankful for time away to spend with a good friend and I am thankful for the blessing of a sweet man who loves me well. 

Hoping your Monday morning finds you catching small joys that come with a new day! 

Blogtember: Current Obsessions

Today's Yesterday's Blogtember prompt was all about sharing current obsessions so I figured why not hop in on the fun!! These things have been making my life quite a bit happier and more exciting recently! 

Honey in My Coffee
I have tried to lower my sugar intake and so I only put honey in my coffee now (yes, I know honey is still sugar, but in my mind it's healthier; and yes I know that healthier is up fro debate haha). I have been putting honey in my coffee for a long time, but it was honey AND sugar (yikes, I know). Now, it's just honey and it's less of it, but if anything I think it is doubly delicious! It is the perfect combination to be able to get the coffee taste, without an overload of sweetness, and it helps to cut down on the bitter tone that some coffees seem to have. I love it! Plus with the cutest little honey pot and an Ashley Brooke mug it can't get much cuter!! That's like 3 obsessions in 1 right there!
*Side note- I have been known to bring my own honey with me to restaurants that I know don't carry it or that have that the fake honey stuff (yes, I am a honey snob, it's ok). I think the places we frequent must be thinking "here comes that crazy girl with her big ole' thing of honey." Maybe I should stop, but I probably won't.

Flo's New Coasters
I am slowly getting Flo's interior all decorated! I have big plans for her! I love that family and friends have embraced Flo's style right along with us. My bro-in-law and his girlfriend got us the sweetest Flo-warming gifts; coasters with her name on them!! What an awesome find right?! They got them at the Orlando History Center and they couldn't be any more perfect for her color scheme and design theme. Love!

Publix Meal-in-a-Bag
Life just got insanely easier when it comes to my probability of cooking at home! And by cooking I mean opening the oven! Publix has begun to make meals in a bag. They are fresh meals that are put together for you while you shop (1 meal per bag). You customize them to your liking by picking your fish and your flavor (flavor depends on what kind of veggies and grain goes in) and then they throw everything in and you pick them up before you go to the register. It takes them about 5 minutes or so (if they aren't busy) to make each bag, so make sure you go to the fish counter before doing any shopping if you are planning to grab a few. My top favorites are the Caribbean Mango and the Sweet Chili (this one does have a subtle kick to it, but I am NOT a spicy girl at all and I hardly noticed it). If you have no Publix near you I apologize. Start a petition! Publix for the world!!

Kid at Heart Book Series
I am almost finished with the third and final book in The School for Good and Evil Series . As with any good series I am both excited to find out the ending, but sad that it is going to be over. It's intended audience is late elementary/ tween, but my heart just loves it. It is a great story of friendship, the truth of what makes up our hearts and how relationships morph, change and come back together as life unfolds! I couldn't recommend it more. Great for those who love retold fairy tales.

FloRida Planning
I will admit it! I am a pamphlet person. It drives Babe crazy!! Anytime I stumble across one of those racks with pamphlets galore I know he cringes because he knows they will all end up in the car, that they will be half-read and then they will sit in the car for endless amounts of time until he ultimately takes them straight to the recycle bin. However, this is one he can't fault me for! I have literally been pouring over my Florida State Park magazine that I got at our recent adventure to Fort Christmas. I think I have studied this thing more than I ever studied a textbook in school (only half kidding). It has been highlighted, noted in, tabbed and I have only made it through the Northwest region! I am itching to take our next adventure. There are so many places we have never seen and I don't know where to start. Florida friends?! Where should we go next?!

Thanks for joining along on my recent obsessions! Tomorrow is Friday people!! And that makes for a beautiful thing! Have a glorious weekend!
*And because I'm a day late in actually finishing this, I also found it perfectly fitting for fun with the Friday ladies! 

Words for Wednesday: Me, My Story and the Face I Show the World

I actually fell in love with the following quote a while back, but in running through my thoughts on today's Blogtember prompt (the real you vs. the online you. Are they the same or different?) and if I felt and urge to share on the subject I thought this was a perfectly fitting time to share it... 

While the tone of this quote may not seem all that light and happy there is something about it that resonates so much with me. I think, that for me, blogging is a place to share my thoughts, my heart and my passions. It's also not that I truly believe my story isn't sweet. Many parts of my story are so sweet it makes my heart ache, but there are other parts that make my heart ache because they are in stark contrast to any of the sweeter moments. It's the mix of all of that, the sweeter moments and the salty, darker ones that make stories so intriguing to me. It's the truth and reality of life that really catch me as a reader and so I hope that I can offer the same for whoever comes across this space and decides to dig in for a while. I want to be myself fully. So for me, I think I am pretty much that- fully myself- both on and off of this blog. 

If you met me face-to-face, over coffee or while sitting down to lunch, you would learn quickly that I am a pretty open person. You would learn that I'm spastic and a bit all over the place. This blog has been the same. I think when I first started this space I had plans to gloss over some of the rougher parts, to make the things I shared more uplifting and fun, but life isn't always like that and for me I had to share all sides of my story. The folly, the blunders, the dreams and the accomplishments. 

I know that every blog I read may not be the same. There are niche bloggers, with a style that must fit the personality that were established under. Sometimes I think maybe I should have pick a niche and go with it. But then I realized that just wouldn't be me. I can't stick to one thing in "real life" so why try to keep up with just one path here. 

This space flows pretty much the way the pace of my life off the computer flows. When there isn't much going on I don't write as often. When something happens that makes me passionate enough to share it with others over coffee I usually have to write the feelings out at some point or I can't sleep so I may as well put them here. When I get overly excited my voice will get more high pitched in person and I have realized in blog translation that means I just ramble on and on, use tons of parentheses (because I just can't keep my side notes to myself) or I share the high voice on here anyways with a vlog (yes I am talking about Flo). I share the sadness, the broken moments, the laughter and the joy, tears, fears and every spectrum of emotion. I share them because that's life to me, all of it together in on beautiful mess. 

Are there things I don't share? Sure! There may not be many things, but there are some. They are the things I don't share with just anyone. They are the things I reserve for God or Babe or my best persons. 

But all in all, I think I would say I am the same person in blog land and off. And I am happy about that. To hide part of myself from the world is like hiding part of myself even from me. I want to be open- to be open to all of the stories and all of the truths that make me who I am.