Is it June already?!?

I love summer. But that fact that it's already summer of 2014 is crazy to me. This year is flying by. Oh well, I think that's a good thing. 

So obvi it's been a while since I've posted. I don't really have an excuse.... well... except for the fact that I've been busy. Like stupid busy. The month of April was crazy. Good, though. Being busy with portrait sessions isn't something I ever plan for, but it was a great way to spend all of April and most of May. Speaking of which, May was pretty awesome too. Filled with lots of fun, weddings, and other shenanigans. Which brings us to June. For the sake of time and laziness on my end, I'll just quickly bullet the updates in my life (since March)

· My best friend got hitched (it was awesome. Love you Kaitlyn VERETTE!!! Happy one month anniversary!!)

· We all lost an incredible friend/cattleman/inspiration

· Read a boat load of books (see below)

· Discovered Netflix (GAHHHH!) (see below)

· Made a huge lifestyle change of doing my own nails (scary)

· Team #BlinnWin 2013-2014 has left Brenham, America :(

· My babies all graduated from High School.... Emily June, Anna, Haley, Atalie, Jonathan, Maddy, Mason, Dylan, Team Hope&Faith, Jeb, Caleb, Logan, Ashley, Kourtney, Quinton, McKenna, and so many more... I love y'all and will miss you SO MUCH next year :(

· Chopped of all my hair ... No, I am not trying to look like Miley Cyrus. No, I'm not going through a quarter-life-crisis. I'm lazy, it's easy. I like it, and yes the coach likes it. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but it's not on your head, so get over it. Stop asking me if I'm okay. Stop touching it. Stop singing Miley Cyrus songs when I enter a room (T-SHACK!....(though admittedly, it is really funny)). Get over it.  

· Judged a show with the coach (well... sort of)

· Spoke during state 4-H roundup 

· Pictured the state simmy/simbrah show with my showchamps fam

· Potentially have a pregnant dog (super unclear/super impossible.... but our little market lamb is looking more and more like a dang overfed southdown lately :( sooooo hopefully it was the neighbors Chihuahua that did the deed)

· The Spurs won (GO SPURS GO!). No, I'm not a huge basketball fan - but I do love the Spurs. And if you look back to last year's posts around this time, you will see I am not a bandwagoner. I secretly love watching Tony Parker play. It's freaking hilarious. I literally cheer "Go little man!" When he has the ball. And Kiwi (Yes, I call Kawhi Leonard Kiwi) is amazing - both athletically and professionally - like I want to be his friend. And, I mean, who didn't cry watching Tim Duncan with his kids? If you didn't you might be heartless. Or male. And Manu.....well, he is the easiest person for me to pick out when I'm watching the games without my glasses on. Bald white men are hard to come by in the NBA. And Lebron is a frogging baby. 

· That's essentially it. 

Since I'm such an opinionated little cuss, I figured I would go over some of the books I've read since March and some of the TV shows I've crazily become addicted to... Because if I utilized this post to vent... well.... I'm sure my lovely stalkers- I mean readers would have a few choice words to say about me. (Get over it already)

Books (yes, they still make these)

· If I Stay · Pretty incredible/horribly tragic/terrible ending/I really liked it. Back in April, I saw the previews for the movie based on this book and thought it looked really interesting. Naturally, I felt I had to read the book before even thinking about seeing the movie, I dove into this love story. It isn't typical. It is straight up SAD. If you are looking for a quick, witty, emotional read then definitely check it out. I will say, after reading this there is no way I want to see the movie. If you've read it, then you understand.

· The Stark Trilogy · Okay, I really did not like 50 shades. So sue me. But this trilogy..... well.... it's uuhhh.... it's nice. I recommend it. el oh el.

· Psychos · This is the second book written by "Babe Walker". As most of my readers know, I LOVED White Girl Problems. I will say, it is funny... and good... but it's not as good as WGP. I'm still planning on rereading it. But... it wasn't as EL OH EL funny as WGP. Still screen-shotted a boat load of pages, however. 

· Are you there vodka, it's me Chelsea ·  READ IT! Like now! and while you are at it download....

· My Horizontal Life · You'll thank me later. The Chapter 'Shut up already' is absolutely hilarious. I read a lot of the chapters out loud to the coach while we were driving somewhere. He enjoyed them. You will too.

· The Fault In Our Stars · Let me be the first to say, I DID NOT want to like this book. After seeing the  previews for the movie, I was so upset. Tris and Caleb can not be in love. That's incest. And I may be from Lancaster County, but I do not support kissing cousins/siblings/the family pet. But, I caved and read the book. And I have to admit -- IT WAS AMAZING! It's a really short, quick read... I read it from cover to cover in 6 hours (it was a slow day). But, holy gracious, it is amazing. I didn't cry like Pinterest tells you you will. Okay, maybe I did a little. But instead of being really sad at the end, I smiled. The book is so wonderfully written. I know it sounds corny, but it is the most beautiful book I've ever read. I recommend it to everyone - young, old, Christian, Wiccan, in-love, pissed-at-life, everyone! I'm still working up the courage to see the movie. I know I will cry. And again, I really do not want to see Tris and Caleb kissing. It will just ruin everything. 

Currently reading....

· Is everyone hanging out without me? · I made the mistake of starting this after reading the Chelsea Handler books. Don't do that. Mindy isn't nearly as funny as Chelsea. At least I don't think so.

· City of Heavenly Fire - Mortal Instruments Series · So far, it is much like the 5 books before it... not bad enough to scrap it completely but not good enough that you can't put it down. I don't mind it... I'm making myself finish it because I feel obligated to complete the series. But it kind of sucks. Just saying. The writer should have stopped with the first one. I'm not really into supernatural stuff, though... Unless it's Harry Potter. I flipping love Harry Potter.

T.V. Series (God Bless netflix and my ADD)

· Orange is the new black ·  Thank you, Rebecca Hamilton, for recommending this show. HOLY COW IT'S AWESOME. Except for the whole lesbian thing. Contrary to my haircut, I'm not into girl on girl anything. But again, past that, both season 1 and 2 are freaking incredible. It makes prison look fun.... something tells me I'm going to regret putting that on the internet.... :/

· Pretty Little Liars · I know, I'm super late jumping on the PLL bandwagon. But I don't care. I have to have something playing when I edit pictures. It's just a thing. My previous boss/amazing friend/about to be the most gorgeous mommy ever, Blaine Fisher, can attest to that. It just helps your productivity. So when I started editing to Netflix, it suggested I watch PLL. I was skeptical. But now, I'm addicted. And the coach hates it. End of story. Oh - one last thing.... Ezra Fitz is freaking gorgeous. That is all.

· Ladies of London ·  LOVE. Better than RHOanything. Caroline Stanbury is the definition of perfection.

· RHOC · Shannon, you're crazy. Everyone needs to stop picking on Heather. She is amazing. Right up there with C_Stanbury. 

· FIFA World Cup ·  If the coach makes me watch one more game, I will cry. Unless David Beckham is still playing.... Is he still playing? Cuz, I'll watch the shizz out of that game. 

And on that note, the coach is calling for me to meet him at the school so we can go look at our potential new home (way more important than blogging (yay for being a grown-up! (insert eye roll))). 

PS- the coach and I are judging a show together on his birthday. Isn't that kind of awesome? #nerdstatus 

PPS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MYKA BLISSARD!!!! Love you, girl!!!!

Until next time my faithful non-stalkers.

Kisses

-J

(because I am THAT obsessed)

Branding myself

I'm not exactly a girly girl. Like at all. If you see me at a stock show and I'm wearing make-up... well, consider yourself lucky. Cause it hardly ever happens. And "bling"? Ha! Yeah, that word is not on my radar. I have my staple jewelry pieces that I wear daily - that being my wedding and engagement ring, my aggie ring, my grammy's ring, and my diamond earrings the coach got me as a wedding gift. Oh, and I guess my helix stud too. Can't really take that out yet. 

Anyway! That all being said, I don't typically wear a lot of jewelry or change my pieces up all that much. However, I have become addicted to Courtney Kerr and her blog What Courtney Wore - thus becoming OBSESSED with BaubleBar. When she featured her hashtag/@ necklace on her blog (around Christmas), I was immediately in love with the idea. And since it was during the "giving" season, I decided to treat myself to this beauty >>>

I am seriously BEYOND obsessed with this necklace. And yes, I look like death eating a cracker in this picture. Go ahead and judge me. But I'm just that frogging excited for my "brand". 

Yes. I am 100% aware that there should be an apostrophe in between the 's' and the 'w'. But for those of you who know how hashtags work, you know that's not an option. Yes, it drives me bat-poop-cray-cray. But I'm having to deal with it. So I suggest y'all do the same. 

Okay, I just wanted to brag about my new purchase and give a HUGE shout-out to the crew at Bauble Bar for making some seriously amazing pieces of jewelry. They might actually turn me into a girly girl. 

Ha! That's a laugh. 

Let's play catch-up

Okay, so obviously it's been a while. The fall kind of got the best of me. I've been running around like a crazy person and on my "off" moments, I've either filled them with spending time with the coach or with our four-legged daughter, leaving minimal time for blogging. So let me try and catch y'all up on the important stuff that's been going on.

-My birthday present from the coach is insanely amazing. Still.
-I got another tattoo.
-I've traveled. A lot.
-The coach wants sheep.
-No, he really and truly wants sheep.
-I broke a video camera. And when I say "I", I mean TSA and their greedy, rough, fast moving hands broke a video camera. All resulting in potentially the worst three days I've experienced in my adult life.
-I no longer will fly to video places.
-I read a lot of books and saw a lot of movies. But more on some of that later.
-The coach and I had a Hannibal Lector moment with some random couple on twitter. I apologize for saying this, but I'm still creeped out. Like who does that?!
-Team #blinnwin fish rocked the first two contests this year.
-I cut my hair. And went blonder. It's awesome.
-Sophomores left for Kansas City this morning.
-I leave for Kansas City tomorrow!

I think that was all the major stuff... ish.

Anyway, since it has been a long month plus of no posting, I figured I would start up with current events and leave the past to the list noted above. I really don't feel the need to go into detail on anything and plus, none of y'all care. Am I right? Exactly.

Let's start up with a little review.

So if you follow me on twitter then you know that this past tuesday was a big one for me, entertainment wise. The new season of Awkward premiered and the final book in the Divergent series, Allegiant, hit my kindle.... And here is their reviews

Awkward :: TEAM COLLIN! Like honestly. Need I say more? Other than the fact that the premiere was totes awesome. I am THRILLED for this season. Matty doesn't deserve Jenna.

Allegiant :: If you have not read the first or second book in the Divergent series, all I have to say is WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!? These books are beyond all normal levels of incredible. Typically in trilogies, I dislike the second book... but not with this one. I loved it. And then the third happened.... ERRMAHGERRRRD. So good. I just finished this book earlier today and am still crying. I will say, I wish the ending didn't happen the way it did, but I think it made the book just that much more incredible. Such an awesome story. And not at all typical with what has been hitting book stores in the past five/ten years. It's an insane mix between The Hunger Games ... and The Hunger Games on crack. Speaking of that series... I honestly didn't think a trilogy or any book for that matter would top the story of the girl on fire. But Tris absolutely stomped that idea. Without question the best series I have ever read. So good. Could not put it down. Now, if only I could give the coach some kind of serum so he would get tattoos like Tobias....

I'm kidding.


For the most part.


Anyway... Like I said earlier, I leave for The American Royal tomorrow. I've missed the thrill of picturing shows and cannot wait to work with ShowChampions once again.

Oh, and this will be the first time I've been back to the Royal since 'happily ever after' started in the P&L district. Crazy to think it's been three years already. I'm sure I'll have more on that in a later post...



Then again... I can't promise I will return to being a frequent blogger.


Opps.

#MCM

I should have posted this yesterday. I even had time to post this yesterday. But I was way to caught up in a book to desire to post this yesterday. It's true. Go ahead, judge me. But for those of you who have read the Divergent series/trilogy/two books that are currently out... you completely understand. I can't even begin to describe how awesome the first two books are. There is a trailer out for the first movie. Google it. Then buy the book. And nod your head in agreement.

Back on track....

This week's #MCM :: appropriate and professional social media posting for the collegiate age.

Yup. You read correctly. For those of you who have been through the trials and tribulations of college, you understand where the coach is coming from. AND if you are in a coaching position and have access to the internet, you REALLY know where he is coming from. Let me make one thing clear - the coach does not have a facebook, twitter, instagram or any other type of social media outlet. But his wife, mother, friends and coworkers do. And, he has a phone. What does that mean? When he is looking over my shoulder at my facebook or he hears someone talking about a picture or status that was posted about his students doing something they shouldn't be, he gets a little irritated.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Joelynn, you are a froggin' hypocrite for even posting this. And you're right. I am. However, I'm old. Above the legal drinking age. I have a career. I post some pretty nutso, blunt, rude and even somewhat humorous stuff on this here blog of mine. Since you see the way I am now, just imagine how I was in college.

Here's the difference - 8 years. In the past 8 years, social media has gone from "oh hey, what's a Facebook?" to "you DON'T tweet? You must be a loser". That doesn't make my past actions right. But it does mean that if you post something stupid on any forms of social media, it is just that - social. That means your dirty laundry or night long beer olympics is now viral. Anyone can access that information.

Just about every single employer now-a-days will run a standard "stalk-out" on a young person before they hire them. This way they can see what a person is actually like, not just the robot in the interview chair, trained to respond exactly as they should to impress their hirer. Heck, the coach had me facebook stalk each recruit as they came in - sorry guys! This is just what our society is leaning towards. If you don't like it, don't post stupid crap! Then you won't have to deal with the repercussions!

I'm not saying 'don't have fun' ... go ahead, act like underage idiots. Risk your future. See what happens. But I am saying keep that crap off the internet. You look trashy. You look lazy. You look like a depressed drunk. You look factionless (book worm humor).

*****

So here's the take-home message.... No matter what you post, the people you don't think will see or you don't want to see it, see it. So every time you are about to post something, think to yourself - would I say these words, show this picture or video or talk this way directly to my parents, my grandparents, my coach, my professors, my future employer, my future spouse, my future children or even my friends? If you hesitate or answer no to ANY of these people... backspace, delete, rewind and DON'T FROGGIN' POST IT!

*****

Oh, and if he breaks up with you... please.... for .... the .... love.... of... God.... KEEP THE TEARS TO YOURSELF! Twitter doesn't care.


Whew! That was fun.

That moment....

When I'm on my parents' computer and about to be done with an 8 picture upload for a "photo Friday" blog post and the effing power goes out. Seriously? Seriously? And of course, I'm stuck re-uploading them all... on essentially dial-up internet.

So y'all are going to have to wait until we get back to Texas tomorrow for my "photo Friday" on crack edition.... eff you, power. Ugh.

Here's a shot to hold y'all over until tomorrow. Because I'm not about to sit here for another two hours.....

 

...cuz it would be like watching the corn grow.

 

On a side note, the corn is REALLY froggin' tall here in Lancaster County. Like what the crack?

 

 



This can't be happening....

BABE WALKER ISN'T AN ACTUAL PERSON?!?!?



i just died inside.



where are my tissues?



#whitegirlproblems



#sayitisntso



#:'(