Happy Almost Hump Day

Good Tuesday morning, all!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week thus far. This is a busy week for me, but I almost prefer busy over boredom. Don't you?

As I don't have much time to write since I will be on my way to work in just minutes, here is a quote from Thoughtful Mind that I find intriguing.

 “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

Scarf Love

This is another braided scarf that I crocheted. However, this is the first one I've made using more than one color of yarn. I thought it turned out pretty well! I love the braided pattern, but it's a bit of a pain to make, so I'm constantly looking through Pinterest for other scarf design ideas. Perhaps next I'll try a regular infinity scarf. Or I'll just suck it up and keep making the braided ones. We shall see.

"Allow yourself to be a beginner. No ones starts out excellent." 
 - behappy.me 

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone has a great Monday. Here is a quote I read recently on behappy.me that I really liked.

"Do not educate your child to be rich. Educate them to be happy. So when they grow up, they'll know the value of things, not the price."

Crochet Crafts

Here are the scarves I've crocheted so far. The ones on the left are for girls and the ones on the right are for women. Stay tuned for pics of more as the holidays get closer!

T.G.I.S.

Ok, am I the only one who doesn't understand the whole T.G.I.F. phrase? I'm all for Friday as a great day of the week (since it's the final one), but I'm pretty sure it's Saturday and Sunday that people look forward to most. Friday is still a work day, people. In conclusion, I think it should be coined T.G.I.S. Don't steal it.

In other news... WOAH. Avery is running throughout the house sporadically, like a crazy cat hopped up on catnip. She just ran into my office, meowed real loud, and darted out. It was hilarious, yet disturbing at the same time.

Back to my train of thought...in other news, today, I'm going to visit baby Brie for the second time! So excited to see my best friend's baby girl who will be a month old tomorrow! I'm upset with myself for not having visited her more often since she came into the world, but I've been busy either working or trying to find another job—which I did, so yay! I look forward to watching baby Brie grow up! She's such a doll. I'll post a photo after my visit. 

Avery's back in the office with me, rolling around on the floor like it's made of silk, when really our carpet burns like hell when you rub your skin on it. Made that mistake the other day when I was doing some Insanity workouts on it. Rug burns are the worst.

So after I go visit Brie, I'm plan to go shopping for some work shoes. Of course, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes, but I like to challenge that saying. Shoot, I have 30-plus pairs, and yet I maybe wear 10 of them throughout the year. #girlproblems

I'm SO ready for Thanksgiving break. Food, food, and more food. Ahhh. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'm still researching a dessert dish to prepare. Turns out, there are actually some really cute cupcakes made to look like little turkeys that I have on my options list. But, I would like to try to bake something out of my comfort zone of cupcakes and cookies. I've never made a pie, so that would more than likely be a disaster. I don't really fancy pudding, so that's out of the question. I'll keep browsing Pinterest until something catches my interest. That rhyme was not intentional, I promise.

Until next time!


BeHappy.Me
Subscribe to this website for daily happy quotes. They're more of positive inspiration than anything and I enjoy reading them everyday to remind me of how great my life is.

"If one thing makes you sad, then find TWO things that make you happy."

Oh yeah, T.G.I.S.!!!

Here's What's New

Here's what's new (and you better be ready for some extreme randomness):

 - In the last week, I've discovered that my cat loves vanilla ice cream and Starbucks whipped cream.

 - I started crocheting scarves about a month ago (I'm currently on scarf #7 and have like 10 more to go for Christmas gifts) and it's been like an addiction ever since. Seriously, whenever I'm not at work or eating or sleeping, I'm crocheting. I can't even watch a new movie with my hook and yarn in hand.

 - I recently got a new job as copy production editor for a publishing company. Super excited about the fact that I get to correct grammatical errors for a living. If you didn't know, proofreading is my thing! When I read books for pleasure, I will circle any errors that I find in the book while reading it. It's a disease.

 This isn't something that's new, but it's hilarious and I have to share. Today, at work (gymnastics work) I had this conversation with one of my gymnasts:

Gymnast: Coach Jordan, were you subbing at my school today?
Me: No, I don't sub anymore—I got another job.
Gymnast: Nooo. What job are you doing now?
Me: I'm a writer.
Gymnast: Oh. That's lame. You should be a cafeteria lady, so I can see you everyday.

Hmmm. Well then.

And another conversation with a kid during open gym tonight:

Boy: Hey, coach. Do you know Alesandro?
Me: No. Who's that?
Boy: He's the guy that just went down the tumble trak. He fell and hurt his knee on the pass before the one he just did.
Me: Alesandro, how's your knee?
Alesandro: I fell and hurt it (shows me knee), but it's better now.
Me: Ok, good.
Boy: Yeah, I hit my head earlier, but then I put water on it, and it was better.

Apparently water has healing powers that only children can benefit from.

Back to the NEWs.

 - Ben has bronchitis, so I'm trying to stay away from him at the moment since the Internet can't make up its mind as to whether it's contagious or not.

 - Our new house is coming along so nicely on the inside. We (well, mostly I) are adding decorations to it little by little. I'm thankful that Ben allows me to do whatever I want with the place. He trusts my taste in home decor for whatever reason.

 - I baked cupcakes for the first time EVER for my best friend's baby shower back in September. Not only did they taste good, but they were so fun to make and decorate. I also made some again for Halloween for my co-workers. And now, I'm a little stumped because I opened my big mouth and said I'd make dessert for Thanksgiving, and yet I still have no clue what to make. Obviously, cupcakes aren't appropriate... or are they?

 - Ben and I wouldn't mind having another pet around the house; however, we have one big problem. Trying to decide what type of pet. I want a cat. He wants a dog. He's allergic to cats, but for some reason Avery (my cat) doesn't bother him, so I figured cool, let's get another cat to keep her company. He says no, because he'll be allergic. He also seems to think that dogs are better than cats. Um, NO. Cats may be assholes half the time, but dogs aren't independent and cool like cats.

Cats rule. That is all.

I have plenty more new things in my life, but my eyelids are finally starting to fall and I'm going to take advantage of this and get some shut eye after this hectic week!

I will dream about the Starbucks that I will have in the morning.

Goodnight, friends!

Another One Bites the Dust

Here I am at midnight sitting on my couch, bored. I worked 11 hours today and have been up since 5 a.m., and yet I'm bored. So much so, that I just found myself on Facebook scrolling back through old posts of mine. I got as far back as June and came across a post where I shared my latest blog post. 

I can't believe it—I forgot that I had a blog.

After coming to this realization, I came to another realization soon after. Why did I even create this blog in the first place?

Well, I created it thinking that I was going to post to it every day or almost everyday, and that it would force me to keep up with my writing skills through practicing them in "diary" form, and that I would enjoy and look forward to writing about myself and my encounters so that others could read them. Boy was I off. Let's see, I've posted about eight times since I started the blog in April. My writing skills haven't progressed one bit. And I obviously don't look forward to writing the posts because I've neglected to do so for almost five months! 

Phew.

So why am I writing this post now?

Guilt.

That's the only explanation I can think of right now. I set a goal for myself months ago, to create this blog and keep up with it and when I finally realized that I wasn't doing any of that, I felt guilty. 

And apparently, I think this one post will make up for months of zero posts. We'll see.

I'd like to post more, but I don't feel like my life is all that interesting at the moment. I'll give it a try, and see where it takes me. Maybe I can make my life more interesting for the sake of my blog!

Who Says?

Ever since I graduated from UCF in December 2011, I've felt there's been a level of success I'm forced to live up to.

You go to school for 17 years of your life in order to graduate with a bachelor's degree in a subject that you love. You then immediately apply for as many jobs in your career field as you can find available and hope to land one. Once you've been offered a job, you are to enjoy it and stick with it for years to accumulate experience and a resume builder. 

That is how I've come to view the world post graduation after learning how so many of my friends and acquaintances have turned out so "successful."

But, who says that this is the path I am supposed to follow?

Who says I'm supposed to immediately find a job after college and love it?

Who says I'm supposed to stay at said job for years until I'm ready to take my career to the next level?

Who says this is what happiness is?

I was very excited and fortunate to land a job in my career field soon after graduating. I was a newspaper reporter, and the vast amount of knowledge and experience that I gained at that job still baffles me. I was at the job for about six months when I started to realize that it wasn't for me. Of course, my family wasn't too happy with my decision, but it was after all, MY decision. I cried on the day that I gave my two weeks, and on the drive home on my last day of work, and a couple weeks later on my drive to a new job that was located past my old job's site. I honestly miss the people I worked with more than that job. I was blessed to have co-workers that felt like family from day one. (Shout out to my awesome Destin Log fam!)

So, pursuing a career in magazines felt right up my alley and I was for sure this time that I would stay with it for years to come.

Three months later, I was done with that job. Shocker, right?

It wasn't all about writing for the magazine. It was 15 percent writing for the magazine, and the other 85 percent, working as a PR rep for a marketing company. Both were steady job titles of mine, but only one truly made me happy. Being happy 15 percent of the time doesn't cut it even if the money is good. I can honestly say that money does NOT buy happiness. It just doesn't.

After going through a rough time, trying to figure out what made me happy in life, I turned to a career that was a hobby of mine as a kid for 11 years—gymnastics. Of course, there are still some stressful days at my job as a gym coach (what job isn't stressful sometimes?) but I finally found what makes me happy before going into work, during work, and after leaving work. How many people can truly say that about their job? Once again, my parents were shocked. I had a job that didn't have anything to do with my degree that they paid for. But, who says I have to have a full-time job in writing?

I also write on the side for a local magazine, but it's no where near the amount of work that I would like to have in order to keep my writing abilities well polished.

One day, I'll get a phone call from a publishing company or a magazine, offering me one of my dream positions of freelance proofreader/copy editor or freelance writer. But until then, I'm going to enjoy the jobs I have now and view the path that I've taken to get to where I am today as a learning lesson. Everything most definitely happens for a reason. Whether you view that reason as positive or negative is up to you. 

If you are constantly comparing yourself to those around you that are your age and successful with their fancy full-time careers that they seem so content with, then you are viewing the lesson negatively. Who cares what others are doing with their lives? If they want to be successful, congratulate them. If they want to rub it in, delete them off of Facebook. ;)

If you have the strength to step back and look at your past as something that has molded you into the person you are today—the person who has put themselves through so much to try to find what makes them happy—then you have the positive power to continue to grow as an individual who will find that one day everything will click. Whether that day comes this year or ten years from now, is all a part of the journey.

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters." 
- Audrey Hepburn

My happy place. I'm sure most would agree with me.

                                   

Password Pains

My apologies go out to those of you who follow me on here. If what I'm about to tell you keeps you from returning to read my future posts, then I completely understand. But, try not to hold it against me too much...

Since I haven't been as good about creating new posts as often as a regular blogger should, I finally got bit by the blog bug last week, and was ready to share my thoughts with all of you. There was just one tiny problem—I forgot both my username and password.

Of course, this issue could have been easily resolved if I'd have written this information down when I first created my blog, but that would be what the Jordan with common sense would do. Apparently, I was lacking that on the birth day of Greener Grass, Louder Laughs.

To my dismay, I tried for all of 20 minutes to access my account, typing in any and every username and password that I could imagine possible for me to have created. It was hopeless.

Yes, I gave up and almost saw it as a sign that I should just be done with my blog. I wasn't keeping up with it anyways, right? Wrong.

Something inside me clicked today when my brother began experiencing trouble trying to log into his Xbox Live account. I thought it was funny at first, knowing how much it bothered him that he couldn't play Call Of Duty or whatever crazy zombie game that was the peak of his interest at the moment. But that feeling was short lived when I was reminded that I too was having log-in issues with my blog. 

I got back on my computer, ready to face again all of the embarrassing red error messages informing me that I had entered either my username or password incorrectly. Making me feel as if I was trying to hack into my own account. So I tried. Again and again. Then, I gave in and clicked on the lovely blue words that totally diminished what little pride I had left in at least trying to recover my password from the depths of my mind—can't access your account?

Reluctantly, I clicked on the question and was taken to a page that asked for my gmail username. Um, hello? I don't know it. After typing in an incorrect username, I was taken to another page that gave me the option of choosing that I'd forgotten my password. I clicked that option. My computer proceeded to inform me that my password had been sent to my gmail account that I didn't know the name or password for. Good one, Google. 

After a few more failed attempts at submitting the incorrect username, a page popped up that asked me to submit an alternate email address that I would have included with the creation of my blog. So, I typed in another email and hallelujah it worked. 

The moral of the story is write down every username and password that you've ever created and will ever create. Or end up like me. Username-less. Password-less. Pride-less. 

Happy Mother's Day

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the moms out there. Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend, and cheers to many more Mother's Day celebrations!

Hopefully, next weekend we can be here... 

Choices, Chances, Changes

To answer your question, no, I have not been busy writing magazine articles like I said I would if I happened to neglect my blog. I've been lazy lately, slacking on creating new blog posts because I've not had any ideas of what to write about.

I'm still lacking ideas today, but I'm going to give it a try anyways. This might sound a little Dr. Phil-ish, so I apologize for those who may have something against his good-looking mustache and sexy, bald head. Totally kidding, he freaks me out, too. 

The past few months have been an extreme life lesson for me. I've realized a lot about myself. Who I am, and who I want to become. I've also realized who I am not, and that has been the biggest eye opener.

You have to be true to yourself and what makes you happy. Just because others think that a job is "cool" or looks good on a resume or earns a decent income, doesn't mean that the person doing the job has to stick with it if they don't enjoy it. YES, I know it's extremely challenging to find a job nowadays, and finding one that you like adds to the challenge. But, why endure a job that doesn't bring you happiness and a sense of completion during the majority of time that you work it? Sure, you should give some things a chance, but only YOU know deep down in your heart what you like and what you don't like. 

I think the biggest obstacle for me to overcome in the past few months wasn't facing my parents with my decision to quit two steady jobs. It was facing myself. I was disappointed in ME. 

While taking time off from working a full-time job and instead working a couple part-time ones that I absolutely love, but don't afford me to buy everything that I need (or desire... a girl has got to splurge sometimes!), I've come to find my own kind of happiness. I've overcome my disappointment and instead, I've come to appreciate myself for making the career choices that I have. Not many people have the will power (or level of insanity as some may see it) to do so.

"You must make a Choice to take a Chance or your life will never Change."


Other than my love for coaching gymnastics and writing magazine articles, here are some other things that lighten up my life.

Beer. Duh.

Flowers. Ahem... 

Good food.

My cat.

A huge sundae. Go to my hips, I don't care.

Austin. Keepin' it weird.

Boating to paradise.

Country music.

 And of course the people that make my life complete.

My amazing boyfriend.

My awesome family.

My sweet boo.

My long-distance besty.

Frappuccinos, Crochet, and Magazines

I'm not going to lie, my day has been pretty slow. I didn't roll myself out of bed until after ten due to the lovely insomnia I've been having lately. I went to the kitchen to make a frappuccino (mix a cup of ice, a cup of milk, and about three tablespoons of powder de-caf/sugar free coffee) and blend. I then went to the sink to clean the blender and, for the first time in my life, the blade won and my finger was in mucho pain. If that wasn't bad enough, I freaked out so much from the slight injury that I had to quickly sit down so as not to pass out. Am I the only one that's ever experienced this feeling? This was a first for me and pretty scary. I don't know if it was from seeing the blood or thinking that I hurt myself more than I really did. Feel free to call me a wimp. But, I moved on fairly fast and enjoyed my frappuccino even though it was the culprit of my morning's misfortune. 

With a band-aid on my finger and nothing to do until work in the late afternoon, I turned to my favorite hobby: crochet. Before you jump to conclusions about me, crochet is a craft for those of ALL ages to enjoy. Yeah, I know what you were thinking. 

Anyways, I grabbed a project that I've been working on for the past month. A Tunisian crochet blanket. When finished it will measure in at 47" by 56" which is about 47" by 56" too big for this crochet beginner who has taught herself everything about the craft. It's been a month and I've managed to crochet about 15 percent of the blanket. I'll be lucky if I finish this thing by Christmas. It's a fun way to pass the time nonetheless. 

Of course, I have the attention span of a three year old, so every so often during my crocheting I would pick up my phone and get on Instagram or Facebook or check my email. When I checked my email, to my surprise, there was a new message with the article design of my VIE article to be published in next month's Artist Issue! I was pretty ecstatic. Being able to see your hard work come together in its final form is quite fulfilling. I can't help but smile thinking about it right now. For those of you who have ever had anything published, you know the feeling. Be on the look out for my article next month.

I'll stop here with further boring you on my not-so-interesting day. Instead, take this quote and make the most of it.

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream... " 
- C.S. Lewis 

Never Fear

Today, my boyfriend and I ventured to the Florida "country" for a BBQ with his friends. It started out laid back with everyone posted up in chairs overlooking a private pond while soaking up some good ole vitamin D. Then some gunshots sounded in the distance and immediately my boyfriend was ready to go to where the makeshift shooting range was.

"Do you want to come with?" he asked me.

My first reaction was Heck no, I don't want to come with. You know how much guns scare me. But then I told myself, the only way I'm going to start getting over this fear is by facing it. So I did just that.

"Sure, I'll come with," I told him, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. 

We got to the area where a few others were watching and waiting to shoot their gun next, and after they had their turn I was asked if I wanted to give it a try. I had only shot guns one other time in my entire life. My mind said yes, but apparently my body didn't agree. I went for it anyways. I aimed a .40 pistol at the target and shot. And shot a couple more times.

"Take some breaths. You're shaking like a damn leaf," one of the guys said to me.

So, I took some breaths, and realized that at that moment I was conquering one of my fears. It felt liberating!

With that said, the next time you are faced with one of your fears, look it straight in the eye and control it with will power. 

One of my other fears is of heights. Guess I'll have to find the tallest roller coaster to overcome that one!

"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." Bertrand Russell

Love What You Do

Yesterday was a very proud day in my young coaching career. Two of my team gymnasts got their standing backhandsprings AND running roundoff backhandsprings. Impressive, I know. The most rewarding part was seeing my gymnasts' faces light up (kind of like when someone has just heard great news and doesn't know whether the messenger is pulling their leg or not) after they stuck their pass for the first time, gaining more and more confidence in their gymnastics abilities. And also bringing back my own memories of learning the skill when I was about seven. Who'd have thought I'd be back in the gym coaching 16 years later!

Before I continue, let me give you a head's up on something... I am absolutely terrible at math. We're talking I just had to think for a few seconds about how many years are left over if I take seven away from my current age. It's exhausting sometimes, but hey, I majored in English for a reason, guys. So if I make a math error, you can call me out for it, but I assure you that it won't help my adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing/working out how long it will take train A to arrive at the south station if bananas are yellow skills one bit.

Needless to say, I had a great day at work yesterday. Not just because of my gymnasts' achievements, but because I LOVE MY JOB. I'm telling you right now if you don't love what you do in life... If you don't love what you spend more time doing during the week than you do sleeping... If you don't love what could potentially be your job for years to come... then stop. For a minute. And think. What is it that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life and be completely content with? Plan how to make that happen and just GO FOR IT. "You can do ANYthing you put your mind to."

Ok, I'll stop my preaching and turn to a completely different subject... That's right I'm talking about gambling! (I'm sure you saw that one coming). Today, I went on a brief trip to Wind Creek Casino with my boyfriend and his family to blow some money, but most importantly, to indulge in the surf and turf buffet of champions! Holy cow did we eat a lot. I had a stuffed crab cake, cheese grits, a mushroom/onion/pepper mix, beef tips, crab chowder, side salad, chocolate pecan pie, oatmeal cookie and my first-ever bite of a macaroon. Phew. That made me full all over again. Half of us left breaking even while the other half lost a few dollars. All in all, we left full, so we were pretty darn happy.

It's a beautiful (slightly teeth chattering) Saturday night in April, so I hope you're enjoying it.

On a comedic side note, check out the latest in sanitary toilet technology that I encountered for the first time at the casino. I spent the three seconds that it takes to change the cover with my mouth wide open in utter amazement. Why hasn't anyone thought of this until now?

Wave your hand and the seat cover magically changes.

"Life is too short to be anything but happy."

There's a First Time for Everything

So I caved. I told myself I would never do such a bandwagon thing as create my own blog, but here I am, having allowed myself to take on a new title—blogger. I assure you I have good reason.

In all honesty, I'm taking this new title for a spin because the act of writing in my life has gone from an overwhelming amount of news stories, to an almost non-existent batch of magazine articles in just a couple of months.

In other words, this WRITER needs to write!

For those of you who are interested in reading about my life, may it be on a daily or weekly basis, I am flattered... I think. But be forewarned. You've just hopped aboard my ride as a blogger where I will tell you about my days at work when my students tattle tail on one another because someone burped and didn't say excuse me, because someone cut in line, or my favorite... because someone let one rip. There are also those wonderful days when one of my gymnasts gets a new skill or overcomes a fear. Those days truly lighten up my life. Then, there are those days when I'm not coaching gymnastics or writing magazine articles, and I'm just trying to find fun things to do with my time, so that my parents don't start giving me a list of chores to do... Yes. I live at home with my parents. Free rent and free food? I'd be crazy not to. 

In my spare time, you can find me crocheting (don't judge me), tumbling on my in-ground trampoline (it's even cooler than it sounds), laying out by the pool, going for walks around the neighborhood, playing disc golf at the park (against my own will), watching Friends on TV (every single day), playing Apples to Apples with my family (again, don't judge me), staring at the guitar my dad got me because I don't know how to play it, riding bikes with my bro, getting my British-accented boyfriend to repeatedly say the word "little," and then some. 

I promise that my next post will be much more full of color and life, so be ready for it.

Cheers to the weekend!

"The grass is greener where you water it." - Neil Barringham