Men are cats, REAL men are dogs!

Today on Whatever Wednesdays... Girl Code!

I watched this show with Wally once and thought to myself (or said out loud to be more exact) "What in the world is this craziness?" And then I was hooked and we watched like three straight episodes. She's was just like... "It's Girl Code, duh!" So since Shay would love for us to share some girl code of our own I am going to start with the lovely subject of men and what mothers sometimes say about them! So here goes Melanie's girl code...

ON MEN!
"Mother always said, never trust a man who tells you to trust him." - Wisegal (Lifetime movie)
Well, that mama's been around awhile and she knows her stuff! A man tells you "Come on girl, you can trust me" then girl you run the other way!! Kick your shoes off, grab them in your hand, and haul booty. Ain't no reason to play around with that.  And if you find yourself in said situation with said man, you must keep a friend around for back-up. Because we all know how charming "trust me" can sound in the right lighting. True story: Wally and I are finishing up an evening downtown and go to walk her dog (she lived right across the street from the main park in the middle of our downtown area) when we overhear a guy trying to coax some girl to come with him. Red flag #1. We do think this girl may have known this dude, but either way... girl's friend is trying to pull girl down the street in the opposite direction. Girl is not going all too willingly and is instead stopping to hear this guy out while the guy is trying to persuade the friend that it is fine to let this girl go with him. At this point he is getting frustrated and barks at the friend that she can trust him and tries to pull the other girl with him. At that point I decide to just shout "run girl, run the other way" (I don't know what came over me, but I think Walls and I were in the middle of our own man discussion and I was in the heat of the moment). So what does this girl do, she says, "what?! Oh ok!" and literally starts to run the other way. The friend nods us a thank you while the guy gets clearly perturbed and tries to get the girls attention back (she didn't run very far). He must have assumed that the girls were with us because he tells the friend to "go with the other Jackie" (whoever that may be) while pointing towards us and trying to get her to leave her friend with him. Ultimately I think the friend was going to end up winning this situation but after a few minutes of trying to to talk to this poor random girl we went back into Walls apartment.
Moral of the story: Girl, don't trust that player! He's got nothing that you want to put your trust in!

The type of men to trust: Dogs

Men are cats, REAL men are dogs!
I think I heard somewhere (maybe on Girl Code) that the men are dogs saying should be changed. I agree! Though I do not have a dog of my own I had one growing up and this one is growing on me. Dogs? They are loyal, protective, there when you need a cuddle, and can truly be your best friend! They are loving and will have your back at all costs! Trust the dog men! Do not trust cat men. I have a cat. I love my cat! But here is what I have learned about them. Cats are self absorbed, run around your feet whining, mouthing off and begging for attention, if they don't get their way you will be sorry, and they only want you around if there is something you can offer them. Protection? Heck no, they would drop you in a second if some stranger came along and offered any kind of affection (either that or just run right out the door the second it is opened). While I do not think many real men still exist, they are out there. The one living in my house is living proof and though he is off the market there are others like him out there waiting for a good girl to come home to.
Moral of the story: Say no to cat men!

ON GIRLFRIENDS
We have each others backs... period! No ifs, ands, or buts! 
1.) The world is tough enough without us being shiesty to one another! 
2.) Do not take another girls man! 
3.) Never let a relationship ruin a friendship! Play nice and learn to get along!  

Moral of the story: Be a chick, not a dude... bro code = no code! 

ON BEAUTY
Play with fire and you might get burned!
This is a literal connotation of the term. The sun is a big ball, made of boiling hot, hotness (let's call it a burning hot fire ball shall we?). Man invented this lovely thing that we call sunscreen.  Before that, God made people and he made some more fair than others. He also made some smarter than others. If you believe that your skin tans different in different areas, well then I think you may occasionally be correct. So there you sit, on the beach, feeling like the top of your thighs are getting burnt and already look darker than the rest of your legs. So what do you do? You put sunscreen just there! You leave the rest of your white legs exposed to the sun, since you are only going to be out for another hour after all. Later in the day, after your shower, you notice a very definitive line down the side of each thigh. Your thighs now look like Bella, while the entire rest of your legs look like Beyonce (or close, you can dream girl, I'll let you)... we shall call this a leg mullet (whiny girl thighs, fierce party calves).  I'm not really sure who you are but it's ok girl, it happens to the best of us. P.S. ouch my calves burn!
Moral of the story: Just sunscreen your whole body dummy! Or let it all fry... but we must have balance!! 

Ok so I don't really know if you were lookin' for all of that but it's... 

 and I do what I want! 

What's your girl code mood at the moment?! 

Which Story Do I Belong In?

It's another lovely edition of the Whatever Wednesdays link-up and the topic is: If you could live in a different decade, what would it be and why? 

Well, I have always found this quote, from Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, fitting for my life at times...
  "My dear, you were obviously born into the wrong story." 
Except the story that I was meant to be born into changes all the time. 

Sometimes it is my own and other times (typically depending upon the book or movie that I am loving at the time) it is a far different time and place.  If I watch Downton Abbey, I want to live in Yorkshire in the early 1900s. I have always felt that my soul would fit right into a Jane Austen novel or that I would make the perfect Jo March and run a school for boys in the late 1800s. Sometimes I want to live in the wild west and ride the range. Other times I feel an inkling to go back to small town America when it was just blooming.. think "Little House on the Prairie." 

I think those would probably be my favorites, though there are tons of others I think I would like to try out. Like maybe a boarding school during the 1960s. Sounds fun?! Ok, well it was in "The Trouble with Angels."

I do know that I can't live with the dinosaurs. I would not make a good cave woman! Though watching The Croods did make it a little more appealing. Such a cute movie; you should totally see it! 

Just Call Me the Mad Hatter (or am I the Rabbit? or Alice?)

And all today's wisdom will come from Alice and Wonderland, mainly because I had tried to start a paragraph, got halfway through it and then realized it made not one lick of sense to any suitable brain. Made perfect sense to mine today, after a two hour long crazy and fun conversation with a friend that in hindsight left me feeling a little out of sorts and in a mood for comparing her story to my own (they are similar yet each with their own twists)... thou shall not compare! It's never good (see there I go not making much sense again)! These words should sum it up better than I ever could. Enjoy! And have a fabulous, carefree, and crazy weekend! Apparently that seems to be the mood I am in. 

And that is all. Good day to you! 

My Peace for the Soul Place

It's Wednesday and I am about to get all kinds of Whatever Wednesday up in here because I am going to start with today's topic and transition into Tennessee. Alrighty people?! This is mainly due to the fact that my response to today's topic is going to be short and sweet (somewhat). 

The lovely Whatever Wednesday gals, Shay and Alissa, would like for me to discuss my first kiss with you, but considering I talked about it in last weeks Whatever Wednesday post, you can read it in more detail there or just take it like this...  I don't really remember, ok?! Probably something one should remember, I know! I could be all sly and just say my dad, but technically it could have been my mom (I guess I could ask which one kissed me first if I wanted to, but nah!). I could also say that I think my first "official" one was in fourth grade in the fort part of our playground in the backyard. However, 1.) I do not know if that is completely correct and 2.) I may only be remembering it because it is the one my brother remembers and often reminds me of. Prime example I was setting for my younger siblings! Except I think John Wayne had probably already had his first one long before that point and I also think it may have taken place because he dared us. Who knows?! Not me! Maybe my brother can tell you. 
Anyways... I do know who my last one was with. And where! It was to Babe, in the shining state of Tennessee (ok, so really it was here at home, last night before going to bed. But Tennessee is a happier setting and also useful for the following) and that is how we will move into the rest of this post.  

I am not sure if my soul was meant to be raised for city living.  I think it belongs somewhere in the likes of Tennessee with a decent mix of country living and the suburbs. More of your small town feel, if you will! Most days I know that Florida is my home and that I belong here but some moments, I find myself longing for a different place, a different way of life. A place where things move at a slower pace and life doesn't seem to make people so flustered. My heart literally seems to sing when I am in Tennessee. It is at peace and my world is calm. I am on vacation but I also feel as if living there would make me slow a little bit and take in more around me. We were coming off the boat after a day on the water and joking with some of the neighbors about what goes on in their "little" cove (they were joking about all the craziness but...). And that is when I referred to it as "a little slice of heaven" and not a single one of them disagreed. They have a corner of the world that still seems untouched by the outside. Where you know your neighbors (heck you know everyone on the almost 30,000 acre lake) and where you all have each others backs. The kind of place where you can leave your doors unlocked while boating and not fear coming home to absolutely nothing, mainly because those who may even think of coming in "uninvited" also know you have an extensive gun collection. It is the type of place where all are welcomed and where setting an extra place at dinner because someone swung by for a glass of sweet tea is never even thought twice about (just pull up a seat). It's this magical land where the beer cooler always seems full, yet people's hands are never empty. Where the sun doesn't seem to burn as harshly and where the water is perfect for bobbing. Children are respectful because they have been taught how you treat others and the world is less 'dog-eat-dog' and more about 'help-a-brother-out' and 'roll-with-the-punches'. It's a place where you don't have to worry too much about people gossiping about you because what they may say about you, they will also say to you and it's never really in a harsh, judgemental way. It's more so a way of acknowledging that we all have our "stuff" and we may as well put it on the table. I am not sure what it is about all of it that sounds so appealing to me, but I could very well plant myself on a piece of land up there, settle in and never leave. 

 Going, going, gone.

Alas, my home is here and while some part of me may long for more land and a quieter, slower pace I do love my life in the sunny state of Florida and I would miss my people (most of them anyways ;) ). If I could bundle it up and take it all with me then I would, but then... I don't know if it would so calm anymore. 

Where's your place? Where do you find peace?

High Five for Monday

Sooo... it may be Monday, but I have been out of town, out of touch with technology and in the midst of all that is right in the world.  Now, it is back to reality and though the Five on Friday is supposed to take place on, well, Friday I figured I would (in pure Melanie fashion) jump on the bandwagon a bit late.

Here are five things I am loving lately

1.) Tennessee!!

 It is my place. It is the place I think my soul belongs. More on that later. Until then just know it is something somewhere that I am really, REALLY, REALLY loving! Which is why it is also number...

2.) TENNESSEE!!

Even the storms seem better in Tennessee. It was less like a horrible, Florida flood and more like this incredible, peaceful light show that we got to enjoy from the confines of a wrap around back porch while the storm took place right across the lake behind the mountains leading into Kentucky. 

3.) This book

I have read this book already but our 12 hour road trip consisted of dramatic readings. Babe is still working his way through it after reading Divergent and while he is not a reader he has managed to get immersed in some of the books I love (which I love him for). Due to school he has not really been able to pick it up since our cruise in January. Most car trips consist of at least some dramatic reading periods by me while he drives. This trip we actually made it through almost 250 pages. I have forgotten a good bit of what happens and so now we will be reading this book aloud together so I can finish it with him.  If you are looking for a new book series and have not read this one I seriously recommend it! It is right up there with Hunger Games for me. However, I would wait until at least September to start (depending on how quick a reader you are). The third and final book does not come out until October (which I was unaware of when I first picked up the series before out last cruise).

4.) This movie

Fe, fi, fo, fum... you should watch it, is is fun!

We just watched it and my expectations were somewhat low. I had wanted a movie that I didn't think would require much thought and gave Babe three choices. He chose Jack over Despicable Me and Keeping Score (both of which I still want to see). I thought this movie was great! A little icky at parts (the giants were somewhat disgusting) but overall a really cute story! And though most of it was somewhat predictable to me (there is not many a movie or tv show that can stump, I always call the ending) there were parts that I was off about, which I deem like worthy in my book any day. It was kind of Narnian-esque in the filming. One scene looked exactly like the scene when the White Witch comes to discuss the terms of payment for Edmund's treachery.

5.) Skype

While in Tennessee I got the first chance to Skype with my bro, who is currently serving in Afghanistan. Tears ensued, but it was so great to see his face and hear his voice. Well, kind of. One thing about the lake is that there is not very good wi-fi reception. This is great for the most part because I leave all cares behind. Yet, it's not so great when trying to Skype all the way across the world. It was hard to see him but it was perfection either way. He got a chance to see all the Tennessee crowd too, which was nice! 

What five things are you loving this week?