the dress.

the other day we got a new dress in at the store. when i saw it-all i could think is, "that is so mom." it is what i picture her wearing during my "growing up" years. just the typical shirt-waist dress i'm sure many of you remember your moms in. i was mentioning it to a customer and a co-worker came over and said "uh-so june cleaver." i fell out laughing and simply proceeded to tell her that gina ennis is a june cleaver. well, today-i wore a shirt waist dress.(my mom happens to love it-of course) i have never heard so many "you are turning into your moms" in my life. i think that is what every daughter doesn't think they want to hear. i certainly would not have wanted to hear it when i was in middle or high school. all the "no-you can't go to his house if there isn't a parent", "no, that dress is too revealing",so on and so on, and then-the all-time favorite,"you'll thank me when you're older." i swore to myself and my friends then and there-i would be a COOL mom. but-yes, i do thank her. and now-i understand exactly where she was coming from. when i see how some of the girls with "cool" moms have turned out-i see why she was willing to have me dislike her for those couple of years. but that is all a little off course. back to the present. most of you know my mom. for those who don't-i can't even begin to describe-but i'll try and paint a picture. her family is her world. from my dad to all of us kids to her mom and brothers. she lives to help us in any way she can. she accepts our need for independence, but has always made it quite clear that we are ALWAYS welcome back home. she manages our house. her days are spent helping other people. she makes john 'to go' breakfasts every morning. she tutors. she's a volunteer social worker. she is God-fearing. she gardens. wherever she is and whatever she is doing, she gives 1000 percent. she mows the lawn. she can make a cake into any shape you ask of her. she takes the trash down.(quite a journey here). she can tell when i'm upset and i need to talk about it. she can tell when i don't want to talk about it. she's fiercely independent, but also very reliant on my dad. she does all our laundry without a fuss. she is "that's goood" she cleans up after us. she enters cookie and pie making contests. and wins. her "country" breakfasts, as well as her chocolate chip cookies, are famous. she can work wonders with construction paper. but none of this describes who my mom really is. she can transition from mom to grandmother to doctors wife to friend to daughter to sister to miss gina as easily as i can change shoes.(and these are all extremely different roles). she doesn't do it in a way that is fake or ever intimidating. it's all very natural. she knows the perfect thing to say and do for every situation. she is the most creative person i know. all this still doesn't capture her. she has always done everything in our power to make sure we have had every opportunity. she lets us make our own minds up, but is always there to offer an opinion when we ask her. basically-my mom is whoever i need her to be at the time. i think everyone in my family would say this and most anyone who knows her. to me, she is a "cool" mom. my mom is the person i wish i was and the mother i want and hope to be someday. so-if wearing a shirt waist dress takes me one step closer to being like her-then order me one in every color.

UPDATE: anyone up for a Texas trip?

robert earl is opening for jimmy buffett april 21st in houston. i'm not real sure how i'll feel about seeing rek on the big stage. i like the smaller atmosphere where i can nervously chat it up with him afterwards-but it will be a great time. and who knows-if jimmy starts singing all his off the wall new stuff and not his oldies but goodies-we'll be ducking out to hang with RICH AND ROB! (hehe) so who wants to come along for the ride? call me asap. we must plan now.


***BUBS***will jared come along with us? will you? plane tickets and snickerdoodles negotiable.

the spring was comin' on

so today is the official first day of spring. and boy of boy-does it sure feel like it. the daffodils are blooming outside the house,the weather is beautiful,the sun shines later,my spring clothes are out-the list just goes on. I love spring. But-this particular one is especially special to me. Why? because last year I wasn't really feeling the spring of spring. It wasn't so much one major event-but rather the culmination of a lot of different things. No one can really prepare you for the weird transition between college and the real world. I've come to know it's something you just have to navigate as you go along. It didn't help that my one plan to "escape" the real world had not worked out. So here I was back in tennessee with not a clue about what I was going to do next. I was dealing with all kinds of different (to me) emotions and couldn't really get a good grasp on any of it. I was floundering. big time. it's funny-because the day i moved back from chicago-john and i went to see robert earl keen. the very first song he played was "feeling good again" and i loved it-but i didn't feel it. maybe that night i thought i did-but deep down-i really didn't. There were just so many questions about what i would do next? would i get a job? stay in memphis? become an au pair in london? what would i do? to say the least-life was extremely chaotic. so what did i do? well, i did the only thing i really had the option of doing. i got a life. and let me tell you-it didn't take me too long to settle into a predictable yet comfortable routine.i had plenty of fun times during this chaotic time. plenty. I also made mistakes. nothing that i couldn't learn from and certainly nothing that i didn't learn from. ( my mom would have a lovely time tearing that sentence apart) this was all extremely nice-but still-no plan for the future. i don't know if any of you have been in this situation(i'm sure you have)but it is just a really weird place. i have never really handled big situations such as this -so i didn't know what to do. i'll never forget discussing this with a good friend one night-and the advice that he gave me-"just keep living and eventually it will come to you." i know that isn't profound at all. it's the simplest thing ever. but sometimes you need a simple solution. you just need someone to tell you it's ok. someone to reassure you that this "limbo" time is actually quite normal. for me-it wasn't. in MY great plan for my future-i was already married, with a job that i loved and would work at until i had my first child. obviously this wasn't in His plan. i'm perfectly fine with that too. still though-i needed something. so i took my friends advice. i took my mind off of it and just focused on living. what a huge weight off my shoulders. it definitely wasn't immediate but- guess what. one day i woke up and it was clear. i knew what it was i had to do. i was met with plenty "are you sures?" and "whats?" but i didn't mind. i was sure. i am sure. in fact-i've never been surer. and i hope when one day my classroom full of 2nd graders is making me go insane-i'll remember how i felt at this exact moment. who knows where this next road will take me. i sure don't-but i intend on having a grand time figuring it out. in fact-i can't wait to buy school supplies. something i thought i'd never say again. but now that i have found my calling-i cant' wait to get started. i couldn't be happier. i have a plan. a path. a faith.friends to comfort me. family to reassure me. i know where i'm going and i cannot tell you how amazing that feels. so back to this spring. today, as i drove home from the park with all windows down and heard, "a chill north wind was blowin' but the spring was coming on" i couldn't help but smile and sing at the top of my lungs. "it feels so good feelin' good again."

at least oranges have zest.

yes,at least they do. have you ever seen "apple zest?" is that ever listed as an ingredient in an especially delicious recipe. no-my friends-i'm afraid not. so i rue the day someone tells me that an "apple" is better somehow than an "orange." just two totally different kinds of fruit. however...i feel we need to delve deeper into someone who would make a statement such as this. what does he(i mean he or she) really mean? is he just covering up his hurt? joking with you? after all-why would someone even bother talking about the humanistic qualities of fruit to someone who he had no interest in? see what i mean? the heart of the matter is clear. it doesn't really matter which one has zest. yes-zest is important-in the "it keeps it interesting" kind of way. and by that i don't mean icky love poems. ugh to icky love poems. the point is it is a hard transition to go from an orange to an apple. one that you don't necessarily want or have to make. he is satisfied with either. grape,kiwi,mango,whatever you wish. he wants you. he just doesn't know how to say that. i feel for him. i really do. however. i must state that no one-not ANYONE has the right to make any of my friends OR FAMILY feel inferior in any way. so i'm not justifying these fruit related comments. just saying i see where he is coming from. so for petes sake...can't we all just make up?

la dolce vita(part 2)

so-i know this is a lot of pictures-but webshots give me a bit of a headache and i don't get headaches...so this is an easier way to share them! like i told john-if you don't want to see the pictures-then just don't look!

la dolce vita(part 1)

i couldn't really get the captions to do right...i'm just not a good blogger. but here some of the pictures...more of rome to come later!

fried chicken and a large DIET coke...back in the us

after a much needed hiatus from everything "stateside"-i am back -once again in america. it's always so weird to me how i feel after a super fun trip. happy to be home-but really sad that it's over. obviously-we had a blast. if you take three best friends and set them in what i feel is one of the coolest countries in the world-there is no way to not have the time of your life.(double negative?)too tired to care. yes-we have been traveling for the last 25 hours so i'm about to hop in the shower then straight to the bed. i'll post pictures perhaps tomorrow-and also be looking for some "life" blogs-after all-12 hours of plane time gives you a lot of time to think things over. for now- i'll tell you what dad just told me-don't let the bed bugs bite...gosh-i miss that when i'm gone!

Arrivederci...

I need a change of country.

I wish you good spaces in the far away places you go...

...i'll do it although i'm not supposed to care.

lots of laughing,dresses,and meatloaf? now!

atlanta was a huge success! katie got the most beautiful dress ever and a great time was had by all. never underestimate what constant laughing can do for the soul. or dancing to 80's music all night for that matter. it was a fabulous time! but it's back to life as usual except that it is crazy this week! lots of working and preparing for next week! when i get some more pictures-i'll be sure to pass them on!

getting wedding ideas and after our makeovers...(i looked a little russian-transvestite(perhaps because her name was Helga) but katie and rachels were great!)