I Love Yard Sales!

This morning I was awakened to the sound of my phone vibrating to signal that I had a new text message. I looked and saw that it was from Rachel. She told me that she was yard saling with her sister and wanted me to come. I was pumped! I love yard sales. You never know what you will find.

After taking a quick shower and throwing on some clothes, I went outside to wait for them to pick me up. We went to yard sale after yard sale, following all of the neon colored signs that guided the way. We dealt with nice people who were just looking to get rid of stuff and the mean ladies who were in it to make a profit. After 4 hours of going to countless yard sales, I came home with the following:

-A wine cooler (not the drink, the actual refrigerator)...it was free
-A 1970s model lazy boy recliner (somehow I managed to fit it in my car)...it was also free
-A Gigapet
-Pocohantus VHS tape
-The Sixth Sense VHS tape
-A Beautiful Mind VHS tape
-Meet the Fockers DVD
-DC Talk CD
-The Mummy Returns VHS
-2 Christmas music cassettes
-5 packs of glow in the dark stars
-4 giant candy canes with complimentary spool of ribbon
-A light up sign that says "Bar Open"
-A gold medal that reads "I said my 50 states and capitals 2002"
-A book...not quite sure of the title
-A magic set
-Monopoly game
-Cabbage Patch Kids game
-Dracula puzzle
-A set of 4 cups

All of this was under fifteen dollars total....Overall, not a bad day of yard saling! : )

I Have Officially Doubled the Amount of People I Hang Out with in Springfield

It is true....I have officially doubled the amount of people I hang out with in Springfield. You may be asking "Did you go to a rad party?" but no, this is not the case. You see, it is easy to double the amount of people you hang out with when the original number is 1. lol

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my friend Melanie on Facebook, and I was telling her how I didn't have but like one friend in Springfield. She told me she knew a guy up here and would have him add me on Facebook as a friend. Sure enough, within the next 24 hours I had a request from this guy to be my friend. I added him and we started talking through the messaging on Facebook.

Finally after a week of talking online, we exchanged phone numbers and have been texting back and forth a lot. After about a week of just texting, we agreed to meet up on Monday (tonight). Well, I got home early in the afternoon yesterday and he texted me. I told him I was back and he asked if I wanted to do something that day. I agreed and got ready to go.

We met up in a parking lot, and we decided to go check out a corn maze. We had a hard time finding it, but eventually we made it. When we got there, we entered the corn maze thinking it would be easy, but it turned out to be pretty difficult seeing as we passed the same piece of corn four times. It was fun just talking and hanging out while trying to find our way out of the maze.

Once we had made it out of the maze about an hour later, we went to Arby's for supper. It was delicious after all that walking! Then we went to his apartment and just sat and talked. Eventually, his friend came over and we all decided to head to his friend's apartment to watch a movie.

When we got to the friend's apartment, we went inside and quickly decided that we wanted a Fruitista from Taco Bell. We walked across the street and got our tastey treats before finally settling in and watching The Love Guru.

After the movie was over, my new friend took me back to my car. It was definitely a fun night, and I didn't get home until two thirty in the morning.

Today I got a text from my friend asking if I wanted to hang out again tonight. I agreed and he said he would be over after his class got over at seven. We hung out at my apartment for awhile. He loved Puggy, and believe me, she loved him. He played fetch with her for like a hour.

We decided to watch a movie, and he asked if I had ever seen Star Wars. I said that I had not, and he was appalled. He said that we had to go rent it. He didn't see how I could have made it this far in my life without watching Star Wars. So we got in the car and went and got the movie.

Once we were back at my apartment, we watched Star Wars and played with Puggy some more. I tried not to fall asleep, because I was still tired from the previous night. I am officially no longer a Star Wars virgin.

After the movie was over we said good night, but we have plans to hang out again tomorrow night. I am definitely excited. I am glad I have another friend here in Springfield to hang out with instead of sitting at home bored every night!

Going Home...

This weekend I took a much needed break from the every day routine of life in Springfield and headed back home to good ol' Willow Springs. I was very excited to come home and see my family and friends. When Puggy and I arrived at my house, no one was home. Mom called and said she was on her way home from work. I had to go though to meet Amber for lunch, so I left Puggy for mom to puppy sit and left.

When I got to Willow, I had to stop at my former place of employment, Town and Country, to get batteries. When I went in, all of the workers were excited to see me, even my former boss who asked me if I was ready to come back and work for him again. I just laughed.

After leaving Town and Country, I went to Pizza Americana to meet Amber for lunch. When we walked in, we were greeted by three of our former classmates. We went over to their table and said hi and exchanged hugs. After eating with our friends, we all went outside to watch the homecoming parade. It was a blast yelling and cheering for every float. We may have looked like idiots, but at least we got candy!

After the parade, I went back home and saw my family, minus my brother who was getting ready for the football game. Once it was 6o'clock, I headed back to Willow where I dropped Puggy off at my grandma's and picked up Amber for the game. I had fun at the game getting to watch my brother play, even though we lost. I also liked catching up with some of my friends.

That night after the game, Amber and I went to McDonalds and ate chicken nuggets. I was highly disappointed when I was told that the chicken nuggets I had thought my whole life had looked like little Missouris, actually looked more like the United States. It was devastating.

Anyway, after McDonalds, Amber and I went to Carl's house and hung out. All I can say is that it was one of the most hilarious nights of my entire life. God bless my best friend. Unfortunately, around 11:30 I had to leave, because I had to pick up my brother from the homecoming dance. After getting Joseph, I was exhausted and fell right asleep when I got home.

This morning I woke up to the smell of biscuits and gravy. Oh how I miss this. Mom made a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and homemade blueberry muffins. No matter how many cooking classes I take, I will always like my mom's cooking best!

After eating breakfast and getting dressed, I headed to Willow to hang out with Amber. The day was filled with many activities. We cleaned her car (she sprayed me with the water gun thingy at the the car wash on accident). We rode the four wheeler in circles in her yard. We cruised town...she drove while I sat in the passenger seat wearing a four wheeler helmet. We had a scrumptious picnic lunch in the park. We roamed Alco...I bought fake tattoo sleeves which I wore for the rest of the day. We finger painted. We cruised again...this time I drove. Overall, it was a very exciting day.

Once I had said goodbye to Amber, I drove back to Pomona and hung out with my family for the rest of the evening. We had a campfire and roasted hotdogs. We watched a movie and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a great time.

Sadly, tomorrow I will be heading back to my Springfield apartment. I love Springfield, but everytime I come home it is always hard to leave. I love my family and friends, and I definitely do miss them. I am very thankful I got the chance to come down and see them again. I look forward to the next time I can come home and sit around a campfire or finger paint with my best friend. : )

Happy 18 1/2!

Today is my half birthday. Most people do not celebrate this occasion, but today I chose to. My friend Rachel and I went to Wal-Mart and bought a birthday tiara, blue Hawaiian Punch, a pin the tail on the donkey game, balloons, a cheesecake and Goldfish crackers to celebrate. I was stoked. It was probably the best half birthday I have ever had. We ate cheesecake after I blew out the magical relighting candles, played pin the tail on the donkey, and ate Goldfish until we were full. It was a very fun evening. It was most definitely a half birthday I will never forget! : )

Wedding Dress Shopping

Today was a day filled with many dresses. This morning around 9:30 I met my best friend, Amber, and her mom, aunt, and grandma in Mansfield so they could pick me up and we could drive to Lebanon to look at wedding dresses for Amber. I am happy for Amber, and I am excited to be the maid of honor, but wedding dress shopping really isn't my thing. I told Amber that we were getting the first one she tried on so she had to choose wisely. Unfortunately she did not fall in love with the first one she tried on. I was a good friend though, and I sat there patiently as each dress was tried on.

Eventually, though she did find a dress she loved. It was absolutely beautiful. After picking out the dress, she picked out a veil and all of the other accessories that she needed. As we all sat there, her family talked about their weddings and about the future wedding. I was even asked if it made me want to get married watching Amber try on all of the gorgeous dresses. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but the answer is no. I don't plan on getting married for quite some time, if I ever do get married.

Later on I was mentioning how I felt to Amber and she said, don't worry Jordan, you will get married someday. Obviously I wasn't clear. I am not worried that I won't get married. I don't know if I want to get married for a long time if I even do. Who knows what the future will bring, but for now I am perfectly content living the single life. I am happy for Amber, and I wish nothing but the best for her and Carl, but as for me, Puggy is enough of a companion right now! : )

Oh yes, I am a has been

Today I went home, back to good ol' Willow Springs, Mo to watch my not so little brother play football. I went by and picked up Amber and headed to the game. When we got there, we had to pay three dollars each just because we weren't students anymore! Boo.

Once we were into the game, we saw all kinds of people that we once went to school with. I enjoyed talking to them, but as Amber and I walked around, I felt like such a has been! We were too old to be there! But we didn't care. We saw other has beens from our class as well, and it was great catching up. After the game we even went to the truck stop just like we did back in the day. So I guess it is true. I am just a has been trying to relive the glory days. It may have been a little awkward, but at least we had fun!

Running On Empty...

It has been a long day! One of friends came over last night and spent the night. Naturally we stayed up until one in the morning, and then this morning another one of my friends felt it was necessary to text me at 9am and wake me up. Gee thanks, not!

Needless to say, I did get up after the nine o'clock text. I took a shower and watched a little tv before my friend who spent the night and I went to lunch with the friend who texted me at nine. She is now my ex-friend since she woke me up. ; ) After eating, my friend who spent the night went home, and I had a couple of hours just to relax, when I got a text from another friend saying she was coming to Springfield to see me. So that meant even more activities.

When she got to Springfield, she called me, and we went out to eat at TGI Fridays. Afterward, we went to the mall and walked around until it closed. While in the mall, I ran into yet another friend. She asked if we could hang out later on tonight when she got off work, and in my delirium I agreed. My friend and I went on shopping. While she was shopping for make up, I was leaning on clothing racks about to fall asleep. I was dead tired.

Thankfully after exiting the mall, she took me back to my car where I could drive home and get some sleep. Unfortunately when I got here, I realized I had promised my other friend we would hang out tonight. I quickly texted her and told her that I was just too tired, and we could hang out tomorrow. Now I am sitting in bed drifting in and out of consciousness as I write this post. My day was hectic, but fun. I would write more, but I have to go to sleep. : )

They Don't Sell Cocaine, Let's Get Crunk Drunk Instead

While in Gulf Shores, it was my personal mission to find a can of Cocaine energy drink and try it. We went to gas station after gas station picking out the trashiest looking ones in search of my controversial drink. I was very disappointed that after about an hour of searching, we were unable to find it.

Stopping at one last gas station, I got out of the car and ran in to see if they had any Cocaine. After seeing they didn't, I noticed another energy drink I thought would be worth trying, Crunk. I had heard of Crunk before, but I had never actually had the chance to try it. I decided to buy a can and try it.

Getting back in the car, Amber and Chelsea asked what I had picked up while inside and I showed them. I was eager to try it, so I popped open the can and took a swig. It tasted pretty good. Heck, with ingredients like pomegranate juice, horny goat weed, and ashwaganda what was not to like?

I had quickly chugged the can, and afterward, I immediately began to feel the "buzz." It made me feel really light headed and happy. So naturally, I told Amber and Chelsea that I needed more. Later that night we went back to the gas station where I had found the Crunk and bought more. They each bought a can, and I bought four. We started drinking them on the way back to the condo and before long, we were all feeling it.

That night was a blast. We danced to ringtones on our phones, sang at the top of our lungs, and took a ton of pictures. We enjoyed getting "Crunk Drunk" and just having a great time hanging out. Crunk is definitely a powerful energy drink, and I wouldn't recommend drinking more than one can at a time if you don't have a high caffeine tolerance like me, but otherwise it is amazing. I am just hoping I can find it in Springfield now that I am back home!

A Mountain of Fried Okra and More

Today for lunch, we decided to check out Lulu's. From reading on the internet, it sounded like Lulu's was definitely a local favorite, so we were anxious to try it. When we arrived, we were greeted with the sight of a local art market and the sound of live music. The place wasn't that crowded, but then again it was 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon.

We were seated and our waitress greeted us. We decided to start with a mountain of fried okra and some good ol' Alabama sweet tea. As we waited for our appetizer, we decided what we wanted to eat, and afterward we started taking pictures of the restaurant. When our waitress came back, she offered to take all of our pictures together. We posed and were satisfied.

As we ate the huge amount of delicious fried okra that was placed before us, a lone guitar player took the stage. He was fairly good, and we decided to take pictures of him singing. As we did, he started to look at us and smile for our pictures. Then when the song was over, he asked how we were doing, and we said we were great.

He continued to play, and it seemed like anytime one of us would look at him, he was looking directly at us. Eventually while we were eating our delicious meal, he came over and talked to us. He was extremely nice. He asked where we were from and told us to come back and see him if we were in town.

After chatting for a brief moment, he went back to play, and we went back to our meal. We finished, stuffed to the brim, and we paid the waitress. We waved as we exited the restaurant, and the singer just smiled as he played. Overall it was an experience I will never forget. I absolutely loved it, and I would recommend Lulu's to anyone looking for a great place to eat in Gulf Shores!

Message in a Bottle....

This morning while swimming in the ocean, Chelsea and I found a bottle floating in the waves. We quickly swam to it and grabbed it out of the water before anyone else. Rushing to shore, we were stoked to have a message in a bottle.

We showed Amber what we found, and we tried to open the bottle but we couldn't. So, we traveled back to the condo where we chiseled away at the seal with a chef's knife. Eventually we were able to get the bottle open, but we weren't able to get the message out. It ended up that we had to break the bottle with a hammer that Amber had brought on our trip.

Once we had broken the bottle, we pulled out the piece of paper inside and read the names of the people who had sent it. They were from Louisiana and on vacation in Gulf Shores. So obviously it didn't make it far. On the back of the piece of it paper it said, "Send more beer. We are out." I cracked up. It was the best message in a bottle ever! There was also a phone number on the back. We plan on calling them tomorrow. We would have called them today, but we wanted to give them at least one day to hope that their message made it really far along the coastline. It was so exciting to find the bottle. I can't wait to call the people tomorrow!

Hanging Out at The Hangout

When I go out for a night on the town in Springfield, I can expect a extremely crowded club with creepy guys and dirty dancing. Tonight I had a chance to experience a different kind of evening out. This evening we decided that we were going to eat supper at The Hangout. We had heard that it was really cool, and they had live music so it was sure to be a blast.

Around eight o'clock we decided we were hungry and left for The Hangout. When we got there, there were quite a few people. We gave them our name and took our buzzer to wait our turn to eat. We explored the gift shop, then we decided to go outside to see the live music and all they had. It was amazing! There was a stage where the band played with a giant television screen above it that was showing the Olympics. There was a dance floor, a beach area for kids to play in, a fire pit, several tables in the sand, and many bars. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
We were just standing there when the band exited the stage and the DJ started to play music. The first song that came on was the Cha-Cha Slide. We were so excited that we practically ran to the dance floor to do the dance. Doing the Cha-Cha with complete strangers was a blast. Everyone was having fun, both young and old.

After the song was over, we were walking away when the Cupid Shuffle came one. Naturally I insisted we had to participate, so we went back to the dance floor. We had so much fun, not as much fun as the drunk guy dancing on the table was having, but we were having fun.
Afterward, Crank That came on and we watched as many people attempted to "Superman that ho" It was hilarious to watch. When the song ended, we looked at our cell phones and saw it was past nine o'clock. We were starving. We went to the people to ask how much longer it would be, and she told us we had been paged several times. Oops! I guess we were just having too much fun dancing.

Needless to say, we were seated shortly after at a picnic table outside facing the stage. After ordering and waiting about ten minutes, we were able to enjoy our delicious meal and good music. We are looking forward to going back tomorrow. It was so fun there. I am sure tomorrow will be a blast, and who knows, maybe I will dance on a table! : )

The Pink Pony Pub

While on our way to Gulf Shores, I was texting one of my former teachers. She said for us to stay away from The Pink Pony Pub in Gulf Shores. Naturally we were intrigued, and we Googled it as soon as we arrived at the condo. We we anxious to go find it, but we didn't actually have a chance to begin our search until late this afternoon.

We started out our search with great confidence, after all, we did have a GPS. We weren't looking to go in the pub, but we knew we definitely had to take a picture in front of it. So under the authority of Caroline (we named the GPS) we were off.

Traveling down the roads of Gulf Shores, we took all the turns Caroline told us to take, that is until I accidentally turned one street too early. Luckily Caroline is a GPS, and she could calculate the unexpected turn into our journey. Following her directions we traveled in a square which we thought would lead us right to the pub. But then as we found ourselves continuing driving, we noticed we were passing all of the same spots in the square again. Caroline took us around the square twice! Then when we did finally arrive at the destination, it turned out to be a light pole and some trees. There was no Pink Pony Pub to be found. Caroline had definitely let us down this time.

Chelsea called her mom and had her Google the address for the pub, after explaining why we were even going in the first place. She gave us the address, we entered it into Caroline, and we were off. We traveled down a whole new set of streets, traveling for about ten minutes when we noticed we were very close to our apartment. It turns out the address we got was on the road right beside our condo, and it led to a pink house but not a pink pub. We were disappointed, but we were bent on finding the place.

So after that whole ordeal, we went ahead and went to our condo where I Googled the pub and sure enough, the address was for the house right beside us. After some more in depth searching, I found a new address and decided to try it out. After driving about three miles, we found that we had pretty much passed the pub while on our search. It was just hidden behind another place.

We were so excited that we found it, but unfortunately I missed the turn because we didn't find it until I was already past it. So I turned around and on the way back I was getting ready to turn in at the stoplight, but I realized it was a one way street and I couldn't turn. Once again, I drove past the pub. After turning around again, I came back and turned into a parking lot I was sure would get us there, but alas, no, it just got us to hotel parking.


After that, I turned back out onto the road and tried the next turn off. It turned out the parking lot was close by the pub, but it did not lead to The Pink Pony. So I exited out of the parking lot and decided to try one other road. When I turned, I immediately noticed that the road led to the public beach access and you had to pay for a permit to park there. I turned around and exited another parking lot yet again.

Upon driving by the pub, I noticed that the permit parking road was the one I needed to be on, but it was not worth it just for a picture. I was angry by then, and I just decided to keep driving down the highway to see what I could see. Amber asked how far I was going to drive before I turned back to head toward the condo and replied by saying that I was going to keep driving until I was no longer angry. Obviously this took awhile, because before we knew it, we were in Florida. It was probably only about thirty minutes away from our condo, but just thinking I had driven in anger until I had crossed a state line made me crack up.

Since I was feeling better, I turned around and we went back to our condo. Overall it was a fun memory I know I will never forget. We are going back tomorrow to get our picture, so I guess I can handle that.

Getting up at 3am sucked, but it was soooooooo worth it.

This morning at 3am my alarm clock went off after a mere three hours of sleep. I forced myself to get out of bed, regretting the decision to leave Willow Springs at 4 in the morning to head to Gulf Shores. After a ten hour boring car ride, we arrived safely to our destination. Seeing the ocean for the first time in nine years made the sleep deprivation and boredom all worth it. I love this chance to get away from my life. I love this chance to write, and not have to worry about the stresses of everyday life. I am looking forward to what this trip has in store for me. I am sure it will be full of memories I will never forget.

The Talk

When reading the title of this post, you might think that I mean the talk about the birds and the bees. But alas, it was not that talk. I actually had that talk a long time ago, and it was very awkward. Maybe I will write about it someday, but for now let me focus on a different type of talk. This evening I went to my friend Amber's house who is going with me to Gulf Shores. While I was there we ate giant bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats and watched American Gladiators on DVR. We were just laughing and having a good time, when Amber's mom walks in. She then tells us to pause the television and that it is time we have a talk.

I frantically tried to think if I had done anything that I could be in trouble for. When I couldn't think of anything, I just sat there puzzled waiting for her mom to begin. She said that we needed to talk about our trip to Gulf Shores and a few rules she had for us. I was relieved to hear that I wasn't in trouble. Relaxing a bit in my chair I listened as she gave us the rules.

-No smelling perfume. (It might be drugged)
-Bring baseball bats to ward off any potential attackers.
- No sex.
-No drinking.
-No drugs. (This includes tobacco products.)
-You are not allowed to go anywhere on your own. (This includes the bathroom)
-Call often to check in. (Preferably every hour)
-No talking to strangers.
-Do not get in cars with strangers.
-Do not swim too far out.
-Use the walkie-talkies she will provide.


After hearing the rules and going back to our show, I reviewed them in my mind. I thought to myself that I should be able to follow all of them while on vacation.....ok, most of them. Smelling perfume can be quiet tempting. ; )

The 12am Ice Cream Run...

At about ten o'clock tonight I received a text from a friend asking if I would like to go get ice cream with her later on. I agreed, even though I didn't know when "later on" would come. After a couple of hours, my phone rings and the first words I hear when I pick up are, "Are you up, because I still want ice cream." Fortunately for her, I was still up. She then said that she would be at my apartment in about five minutes. I quickly turned off the television, put on some shoes, and gave Puggy a treat as I went outside to wait.

Sure enough, after about five minutes, Rachel showed up in her red Honda Civic which was missing the front bumper and had a black hood she had painted herself earlier this summer. She smiled as I approached the car, and as I climbed in I realized that there was at least one car in the world that is messier than mine. I sat on top of the many cups and fast food wrappers as we traveled to Wendy's where we would get our delicious ice cream.

When we arrived, we were highly disappointed to find that Wendy's was closed. Rachel in her unfailing optimism insisted that there would be at least one ice cream shop in Springfield open at midnight. Driving down the nearly abandoned paved roads we came across another Wendy's. Delighted, we found that it was open to satisfy our ice cream needs. Going through the drive through line, there was one car in front of us. Looking on the screen that was in place "to ensure order accuracy," I could see that the people in front of us were extremely hungry or going home to have a Wendy's party. They ordered $17.00 worth of food for just two people. I couldn't help but wonder why they needed all that food at midnight.

Five minutes later, we were pulling out of the Wendy's parking lot when I asked the infamous question, "What do we do now?" Of course, Rachel being the random person that she is replies, "Let's go golfing." I agreed, and we were off for the mini golf course. Arriving at the golf course and batting cages, we rolled down our windows and asked a group of teens what time the place closed. They said that it had closed at midnight and there were just a couple people finishing up their game. We thanked them and drove off laughing as we realized just how creepy we looked.

After getting back on the main road, once again the question of what to do arose. We decided to just drive and happened to come across a wreck at one of the intersections. Unfortunately, we were never close enough to see exactly what had happened, so the events of the collision were left to our imaginations.

Continuing to drive down the main road, we decided to head to Rachel's apartment. Once there, we traveled up the three flights of steps to reach her apartment on the third floor. Upon entering
the apartment, the smell of cigarette smoke became present and the faint glow of a table lamp in one of the bedrooms could be seen. Rachel's sister greeted us as we sat in the kitchen. Rachel then proceeded to explain to me about some expensive drink I had never even heard of. After taking a couple of swigs to try it, I put the bottle back in the refrigerator and sat at the kitchen table.

For the next five minutes or so, we just sat watching the mouse that was in a cage on top of the refrigerator as it made its way around the loop. Then we decided to head to my apartment, because Rachel had to work at nine in the morning and needed sleep.

When we arrived at the apartment, I said goodbye and came in the apartment to find my pug's tail wagging in glee that I had not abandoned her. I smiled as I threw down my keys and took off my shoes. I layed on the bed and thought about the previous hour's events. Sure, nothing really interesting happened in that hour, but it was an experience I will never forget. I had considered just going to sleep and not going out for ice cream, but why waste an opportunity to do something completely random? Life is all about being spontaneous. Besides, ice cream really does taste better at midnight. : )