Attempting a comeback

Wow.  That break took a lot longer than I expected.

I'm glad to type that I'm going to try and not take such long breaks in the future.

I wanted to come back sooner, but for a long while there, I was not in the best of moods and I didn't want that to come through in my blog.  I know there are blogs out there that put everything out in the open and that's fine for them.  It's just not how I want my blog to be.  I don't want anyone out there to think I'm perfect or anything.  I just want this blog to be about things that are on the brighter side of life.

And speaking of the brighter side of life.

I got a new job!

I had been praying for a VERY long time.  Like, since 2007, for God to open a window, door, anything to get me out of where I was.

Don't get me wrong.  I loved the majority of my customers, but I knew I wasn't where I needed to be.  And the atmosphere had been going downhill for a while.  It got to where I hated to be there.  I did my job, but when you're not doing your job with joy, you're not giving it your all.  Going through the motions is what I use to describe it.

Of course, I had my doubts about leaving.  I had been there almost 8yrs and even though I wasn't happy, it's hard to leave something so familiar.  I got my confirmation that I was doing the right thing my last day there.

Now, I have a job with the state.  I love all my coworkers and my supervisor.  There's a lot of training I have to go through, but I'm really excited about it.  It's just awesome to say that I love my job and I'm excited to get up and go to work every day.  Even though right now, I'm just reading the manuals and about to begin online training.

I know I've said that happiness is fleeting but as long as you have Jesus in your heart, you will always have joy.  It was hard to find my joy with the old job and happiness was certainly never there.  It's amazing when God answers your prayers and gives you joy and happiness.

Things are good on the home front.  Christen has just a a little over a month until she graduates from high school.  Wowza...  I can't believe it.

She officially signed with her college choice.  And my friend Amy Goins made her an awesome cake to help celebrate.





We ALL survived her first Spring Break trip without parental supervision.  It helped that the two friends she went with are really awesome girls.



Her team was like thisclose to winning their Region (which, I believe they should have won b/c they beat the team in regulation time while it took OT and PKs for them to beat us, but no asked me) but they are still able to host their first State Playoff game.  You gotta love soccer!





Jon is still loving his Star Wars stuff and getting really healthy.

Our boxer babies are still adorable and still love getting into trouble.





So to recap:

left a horrible place, started a great job, Christen closer to graduation and state playoffs, Jon still loving Star Wars and Brandi & Beckham still adorable.

I will be checking on all you awesome bloggers soon.  I hope you all haven't forgotten about me.  :)

InstaFriday & The Giveaway is Upon Us!

It's Friday!!  You know what that means!!

Well, first, it's the weekend.  Yay!

and second, The Valentine's Crafty Prize Pack Giveaway has started!!!  I will try and announce the winner no later than Monday, January 30th.  (but I may be able to announce the winner during that weekend)  So, CLICK HERE TO ENTER.  Please!  You'll be glad you did.  :)

And last, but not least...  it's InstaFriday time!  Time to share my mobile photos of the week.  I'm linking up with Jeanette at Life Rearranged and some other cool ladies you'll see at the end of the post.

I hope you link up too and let me know you did!  I want to see your week via mobile photos!

All my photos were taken on my iPhone and all but one was filtered through Instagram (I'm underthegeorgiasun, come find me!).

Enjoy!



Beckham is such a cuddle-bug.  He really is happiest when he literally right on top of you.



Jon finally got his cards!  He's famous now ya know.  B/c you have to be famous to be on a bubble gum card.  ;)

As most of you know, Jon LOVES Star Wars.  He's part of a group called "The Dark Empire".  Their mission statement is below.

And even though it's not my cup of tea, it makes Jon happy, so that's cool.

Jon even makes pretty much all of his costume.  He commissioned the leather work, but it was still done locally and by hand.  And you see his light saber?  He made that.  Not the light part, but the handle part.  And he's making another one too.



If you click above on the picture, it will take you to their website.



Christen is in love with crab rolls.  So much so, she'll go and purchase them.  I can't stand sea food and Jon really doesn't need to eat all that rice, so she's pretty much been on her own when she wants some.  Until now.  Jessica ate sushi for the first time eva!  And....



She liked it...  she really liked it.

So now Christen has someone to go on sushi runs with.



GA basketball started this past Friday night.  So now we finally got Jessica's basketball hoop up for her to practice when she comes over.  It only took us 3yrs!



ONE of Jon's crock pots full of chili!  He was given some bison and elk meat and decided to make chili.  He added some italian sausage too.  I hear it was good.  I don't eat chili, so I have to take their word for it.



I just love how his ears look here.  He also looks tiny and not like his monsta' self.



This was my view when I pulled onto my street after work one day this week.  It was like I was being welcomed home.  Love it



She makes the funniest faces.



I do believe you can still download this song for free on KLove.  I LOVE this song!!  I wrote about it yesterday.



I made home made spaghetti this week.  I have to have LOTS of garlic.  And believe it or not, this really wasn't enough.  My phone still smells like garlic.  and I love it!



Yes, I mix raw spinach in with my spaghetti...  it's really good, you should try it.



I love it when my cousin Cam comes over.  And so does Beckham.  Cam let Beckham chew on his blanket, I tried to stop it each time but finally gave up and just took a picture.



Oh my gosh dude!  Knuckle deep!  Haha.  How could you not love that face!!!



I love this picture.  Brandi and Christen just turned to look at Beckham at the same and he gave this look like: "What did I do??"



Church Youth basketball started Thursday night.  They always make me nervous.  The games can get pretty intense believe it or not.  But this game was really good. Not many fouls were called and Christen got 6 out of the 19pts they scored.  Oh, and our girls won!  Good day for sure.



Christen on the right her BFF Becca on the left during half time.  Love these girls.

Don't forget to CLICK HERE for the Valentine's Crafty Prize Pack Giveaway!!

Now, go see all other awesome photos:


I'm also linking with:

My Numero-Uno Blog Post

Hi, my name is Jodi and I'm a Christian, 33 year old mother to a 15 year old daughter (yeah, you do the math). I'm also a wife and I work full-time as an insurance agent (P&C). I love my daughter, I love my husband and I tolerate my job. I am thankful for my job, don't get me wrong. But I felt it best to be upfront about my feelings.

We live in a small town in southern Georgia. I've lived here most of my life. I've tried my best to leave and never come back, but there is truly a gravitational force that will not allow me to escape. The last time I moved back here, my mother was so happy to have me back in town! When we moved to her neighborhood, she so was so estatic she sold her house and moved to another subdivision. She then promptly moved about 7 hours away. If she weren't a Christian, I'd swear she was giving me the finger and muttering: "So long sucker!!!" as she drove away. Seriously, I love my mother. I know she loves me.

My daughter, Christen, keeps us on our toes for sure. She is a great soccer player. Her position is goal keeper and she is fierce! She is coming to the end of her 10th grade year in school. Lucky duck is traveling to Sweden in July to play in the Gothia Cup. It's like the World Cup of Soccer, but for kids.

My husband, Jon, is a great person. We are like night and day though. So our relationship proves to be interesting and difficult, but we're in it for the long haul!

I do love to paint (as in art, not walls... I abhor painting walls.... or cabinets.... or doors... well, you get the picture) and I'm going to dabble a little more in photography now because I got a Nikon Coolpix L100 for Mother's Day! GO ME!!! Music is also a passion of mine. I love to sing and write poetry & lyrics. So in this blog, you'll find a little bit of everything.

Soon, I hope to have the posts filled with paintings, photographs, lyrics, poetry, triumphs and trials of being a young mother to a teenage daughter and stories of marriage (blissful and not-so-blissful).Please feel free to comment and ask questions, and please check back soon. More to come!