Maizy Music

Music has always been a huge part of my life. I was in choir from the time I was in third grade and all the way up to high school. I also spent some time in my parent's church choir. Rarely do I spend an entire day without music. I either listen to it in the car, while at the gym or just while I'm sitting at home writing this blog (currently playing: Good Life by OneRepublic ). My music collection is extremely eclectic. I have some newer rock like Breaking Benjamin, I have some older rock like The Beatles, I have some new country and some old. I even have a few soundtracks from movies, like Chicago, along with some American-Irish folk bands. I'm all over the place with my music. So, I decided that I should do a music post, and hopefully, if it works out I will continue to do music posts. The idea is that since I listen to most of my music during the weekend (while I'm in the car.. hence why this segment is called Maizy Music. Maizy is the name of my car.) I will pick a few songs that really stuck with me through the week end (or week, we'll see...) and post links to them on here. I will then explain why I like this song, assuming there is a reason. I am hoping that this will encourage me to listen to music I haven't considered before because my fear is that I will run out of "new songs" since I tend to listen to the same things over and over and over again. So, let's get started!


Some of you are probably familiar with this song. It's called Hallelujah and has many many singers that have done their own version. It was originally written by Leonard Cohen in 1984 to portray that "many hallelujahs exist) but, as music often does, it means different things to many different people. This particular version is by singer/songwriter Jason Manns, a gentleman you have probably never heard of it. I was introduced to him while watching a video of actor Jensen Ackles and Jensen sings one of Jason's songs. Jason's voice is very soothing to me and for whatever reason, possibly the same reason Cohen originally wrote this song, I really love it. I suppose it is a combination of the music itself and the words. I would agree with Cohen and his interpretation that there are many reasons for rejoicing, or saying "hallelujah" and they aren't always the typical "yay" moments.

Jason Manns' Hallelujah

Another song performed by Mr. Manns is Crazy Love. Typically when I find a new artist I latch on to them and listen to all their songs over and over and over again and Jason is no exception. Earlier I mentioned Jensen Ackles (he plays Dean Winchester on Supernatural, a show you should watch if you don't already, also, Jensen is from Richardson, TX which is about 15 minutes from where I live but I digress.. back to the music). Crazy Love is one of the songs he sings with Jason. Jason did not write this song, he is not the first to perform it but, again, I am now obsessed with him. Like most love songs, this song depicts what everyone wants their relationship to look like. Every women would love for a man to say this about her and actually mean it. I think, in a way, it is what a relationship looks like and it's a great way to remind yourself what your counterpart is looking to you for, comfort when it's needed, a sense of humor to brighten their day, someone to look forward to coming home to. Isn't that something we all want? 

Jason Mann and Jensen Ackles singing Crazy Love

Most likely my descriptions and explanations will get shorter as time goes on. You tell me. Do you like that I explain some of the songs history? Would you prefer to just Google it yourself if you want to know? I really would like to see this "segment" do well and for people to enjoy it, and the way that happens is for "the people" to tell me what they like/don't like. They won't all be "artist themed" I will mix it up and have some rock and country in the same post, but these two songs have been stuck on repeat in my head for DAYS so I thought I would share them with you.

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox! I hope you liked it. If you didn't, let me know why or if there's something I should do differently. Perhaps as time goes on you can learn more about my life through music (that could get interesting... is there a song entitled "My Family Is Insane"? I'm sure there is...). Anywho, your feedback is much needed and appreciated!

Fashion Friday: Sweet Summer Dress

Happy Friday y'all! I made this a while back. I absolutely adore it. Probably my favorite outfit so far!

 Summer Dress by jastevenson

I love that you can pair some cute little flats with this dress for a more casual look or you can dress it up with some nice nude pumps. I would love to have this outfit to wear out and about. Maybe then I would actually look half way decent.

Well that's my Southern Soapbox! Hope you like the outfit! Let me know what you think please!

Wonky and Woot-tastic Wednesday

Happy Hump day! I hope y'all are having a great week!

Wonky:
   - Crop tops. Seriously, they went out of style for a reason. They make people look like ho's and should not be worn by anyone. Ever.
   - Last week we found a mouse in the pool drainer. This week we found a frog. The stupid thing hopped back into the pool while we were trying to rescue it (again, by we I mean Mom). Idgit.
   - Ryan has an 18 hour work day. He didn't get home from work until around 5am. I had to get let Jixer out and stay with him so he wouldn't be all alone. Jixer was mad at Ryan the whole day and slept with me on the couch hahaha.
   - My sweet little nephew is getting so big! He can now use a fork all by himself. Granted he has to use two hands and he basically stabs his food to death, but he uses a fork! And he's only 18 months old! So big :(
   - I haven't decided if this is good or bad but normal people would probably be upset by it so I'll put it under "wonky". The pipe in Mom and Dad's bathroom busted and flooded their bathroom and the kitchen. The floors in the bathroom and kitchen are completely ruined and the cabinets sustained some water damage as well. The reason I'm not sure that this is completely bad is we now get to redo the floors! YAY! Thank you insurance company.
   - Last night I dreamed that I made GIANT pancakes. They were bigger than my head! As if that's not weird enough, AJ ate two of them. I wonder what a dream interpreter would say this means....

Woot-tastic:
   - Again, not sure if this is "good" or "bad". I spent an hour and a half at the gym yesterday. I started watching Supernatural and ended up watching 2 episodes. I'm paying for it today.
   - Ryan and I decided that if ever we become fugitives our new names would be Steve and Sara Wesson. We're just trying to be prepared. Just in case.
   - Talking with my monkey on the phone is possibly the most adorable thing ever. We spent a few minutes growling at each other. Best conversation I've had all week.

   - My cousin took this picture at her Sweet 16. I LOVE it! I was playing "baseball" with dad and AJ walked up so I had him take a swing. We did actually hit the ball and he thought it was so funny! Thanks for the picture Delaney (btw, she is kind of an awesome photographer).
   - I've lost 2 lbs! Even more epic, my mom has lost over 15 lbs!!! GO MOM GO!!
   - I made supper last night! Baked BBQ chicken, homemade potato chips and (not homemade) baked beans! It was actually really good! Will have to do it again so I can take pictures and post the recipe!

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox for this week! Sorry, it's a little boring. It wasn't a very exciting week. I'll try to be more exciting in the next post!

Fashion Friday (on Monday): Bicycles For Meg

Since I was busy Friday and I did a post about the farmer's market on Saturday I decided to save Fashion Friday for today.

I made this for my Saster. She had found this dress at Anthropology but didn't get it, so I decided to find it and make her an outfit! Hope y'all like it!

Bicycles For Meg by jastevenson

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox! Let me know if y'all want me to make an outfit for you! Just send me the links to any article of clothing you want me to use or let me know what kind of style you're looking for!

Dallas Farmer's Market

Downtown Dallas

Nestled just outside of downtown Dallas is the Dallas Farmer's Market. It's a wonderful place to get fresh produce, honey, cooking oils and tons of other things! The best part about going is that you can eat your way through. My family and I prefer to go after breakfast and eat the free samples as a snack before lunch! They have oodles and oodles of options. Plums, pears, peaches, watermelon, apples, berries, cantaloupe, the list goes on and on. They also have people there that raise cattle and other animals, so you can even get your meat there!

Ryan and I

AJ and I

Round Zucchini!

Round Yellow Squash 

When you buy from the farmer's market, or at least the one in Dallas, make sure you look for the stands that have the "I grew" sign. Those farmers have proven that they did indeed grow their vegetables and fruit on their own farm. If a stand doesn't have one of these signs it means they either aren't selling homegrown produce or they haven't proven that they really are selling their own produce. Either way, stick to the "I grew" stands.

My family has been going to the Dallas Farmer's Market for almost 18 years (that's how long we have lived here) and we love it. It's fun to look at all the different food, you get to eat FREE food while you're there and it's something to do that doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Ryan went with us this time and we enjoyed the time we spent together, even though it wasn't anything special. A lady actually referred to me as Ryan's wife while we were there today. It made my heart flutter a little (dumb, I know... but whatever). Anywho, get out there and find your local farmer's market! You can have a lot of fun there!

That's my Southern Soapbox! By the way, I will be posting my "Fashion Friday" post on Monday!

Wonky and Woot-tastic Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! I hope your weeks have been great so far!

Wonky:
   - Mom and I were going out to float around in the pool and tan. While we were out there I decided to use the little net and get all the crepe myrtle leaves and put the chlorine in the little skimmer basket things. When I opened the top of the skimmer on the ground I started to reach into the ground to pull out the basket but immediately stopped (thank God). I then realized why I had stopped. There was something fuzzy on the little white piece. You know, the piece that always goes "flap, flap" when the water moves. I told my mom, because I'm a wiener and there was no way on God's green earth that I was going to figure out what the fuzzy thing was. Mom looked and confirmed my fears. A mouse was stuck on the little flap flap thing. He was alive so we (mostly mom. I was watching from a safe distance, on a chair WAAAYYYY far away) got him out of the little skimmer and scooped him out of the pool and safely into the grass where he quickly scampered away. GO TEAM! Hopefully he tells all his little friends not to go near the pool.
   - It really does bother me when I hear parents saying that their toddler is ADHD. Seriously? Every toddler is ADHD, until they reach about age 15 (or older). Sorry, but that's just how kids are. They have this annoying thing called energy. They have short attention spans. Welcome to the world of children.

 
   - I found this Sunflower "bush" while I was out for a walk/run (mostly walk). What is wonky about that you ask? Well, nothing. Except I found it because I got lost while our for my walk/run. I am house sitting for some friends and decided to go get less fat. I knew the road I was on, and that I didn't want to be on it but I had to pull out my phone for Google Maps to find some back roads back to the house I was staying at. Unfortunately out here the roads don't all connect so I ended up having to walk on the side of Country Club Road, where people usually do about 60MPH on a one way road with no sidewalk or shoulder. It was kind of terrifying.
   - As you probably realized from my Father's Day Weekend post I have been watching Supernatural. Don't get me wrong, I love this show BUT it really bugs me how they seem to have unlimited ammo in their shotguns. I want a gun that you never have to reload.
   - Speaking of Supernatural, two things. One: I have had "Carry On My Wayward Son" stuck in my head for about two weeks thanks to that show. And number two: Ian Somerhalder may have been bumped down to #2 on my "Hollywood Crush list". He has been replaced by Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean in Supernatural.

Woot-tastic:
   - My weekend was pretty awesome. Go check out what I did!
   - Despite getting a little lost, my walk/run (wan for short?) was actually really nice. I like looking at the different houses and things while I'm out.
   - Supernatural really has some awesome music. They don't use anything that was made after 1983 (seriously, the writer said so).

 
   - I love this picture of AJ and Ryan. It's not very good quality but it's so sweet. AJ was getting sleepy so he crawled up in Uncle Ryan's lap and rested. Every now and then he would turn and look at Ryan with a huge grin on his face. Aw :).

   - The sign says it all. Where has this sign been all my life?!

Well that's my Southern Soapbox! I hope you all have a great week, I'm off to watch more Supernatural! I just have 2 seasons left until I'm caught up!

Father's Day Weekend

I hope you all have had a great Father's Day weekend! It has been crazy over here!

Friday AJ came over around noon to spend the day/night while Maegan and my brother in law went on a "date day" for their anniversary! Man that kid is busy! He's a great little man and I love watching him but WOW it takes a lot of energy just to WATCH him run around the house. He's so well behaved but it was pretty much the first time he slept away from home so there was some protesting at bed time. Usually I just let him cry but for whatever reason I just couldn't do it that night. So Aunt Julie rescued from that prison we call a Pack-n-Play. We went down to the living room and I turned out all the lights and rocked him. He was laying his little head on my chest while I hummed "Amazing Grace" (because that's really the only song that I know all the words to and don't need music to sing). I wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep so I stopped humming to listen to his breathing. Almost immediately after I stopped humming he started barking at Rebel. That's when I decided he could go back to his little prison and he fell asleep almost immediately after I put him down. I realized some time while I was humming that instead of putting AJ to sleep, Ryan and Jixer had curled up on the couch and fallen asleep. At least my humming worked on someone.

Saturday was a crazy productive day! It was epic! I woke up at 7am because a certain little monkey decided to wake up early (he usually sleeps until about 9:30-10am) and made pancakes with Pop Pop. AJ did help when we (actually it was just me but I don't want to take all the blame and tarnish the reputation I have for being so smart around kids..) gave him a spatula to "help". The spatula quickly landed in the pan resulting in a slightly damaged pancake, which was given to AJ.

After AJ left I went to Academy with Mom and Dad to get Dad's father's day present. Can you guess what it was? If you guessed a gun, you're correct. Although, it wasn't a shotgun. It was a .22 revolver. It's pretty awesome. After we got back I went on a crazy cleaning spree! I vacuumed and dusted EVERYTHING. Then I organized the laundry room and the linen closet. I'm, sadly, extremely excited about the fact that both of our vacuums fit in our laundry room now (yes, we have two, one for hard wood and one for carpet. we're ghetto, you get used to it). 

Sunday I woke up and went to work, where I got to hold TWO adorable tiny little babies along with two other adorable kiddos. I must say, my job ROCKS! The kids are awesome and so are the parents! And my "bosses" are epic! I suppose they are my bosses but they really just seem like great friends. Anywho, after work I went home and had Father's Day lunch! The best part of Father's Day was going to the shooting range with Dad! Gotta love shootin' some shotguns! After we got home my head was hurting and I decided to take a nap. Which I now realize I should not have done. I was awake long enough to see the sun rise. I went to sleep at 6am and woke up around 9:30am. Roughly 3 hours of sleep, and I haven't taken a nap today. AND I'm still not tired at 10pm. What's wrong with me? Supernatural. That's what. I'm obsessed with Supernatural like I am with Vampire Diaries. Speaking of Vampire Diaries, I think Ian Somerhalder has moved to #2 on my "Hollywood crush" list. Jensen Ackles has jumped ahead of him, or is at the very least tied for 1st place.

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox! I have to go watch Supernatural now! I hope you all had a great Father's Day weekend!

Wonky and Woot-tastic Wednesday

Happy Hump Day y'all!

Wonky:
   - I have this new fear. While I'm driving Maizy with the top down, every time a bird flies over I silently pray that it won't poop on me or in my car. If this were twitter the hashtag would be #problemsinaconvertible.
   - I've been trying to drink more water... which means I spent a lot of time looking at a particular painting in the bathroom.
   - I don't usually wake up before.... noon... and I've decided there's a reason. Nothing happens before noon. Waking up before noon is BORING!
   - So apparently manners are no longer taught to children by their parents, or anyone else for that matter. What is with kids not using their forks/spoons or napkins, or not saying please and thank you? I know 5 and 6 year olds that aren't using forks! On the flip side, I know 2 year olds that do. There were TEENAGERS at Chili's that were eating steak with their fingers. UGH! Stop making excuses for your kids and teach them how to behave because it is seriously DISGUSTING to watch them eat.

Woot-tastic:

   - My ususally sometimes sweet boyfriend brought me ice cream. He was near my house and decided to surprise me. I'm not saying that the way to my heart is through my stomach but.... that's certainly not a horrible way to go. Also, a diamond engagement ring would help. Just sayin'.

   - We got a new, bigger George Foreman. We had a really really small one before but when Mom and I saw this on sale at Target we snatched it up. And of course since I have a new toy... I have to use it!

   - The top picture (because it's obviously not the bottom picture) is grilled lemon-pepper chicken with grilled potato slices, onions, green and yellow bell pepper, along with some asparagus drizzled in Zesty Italian dressing. Not to toot my own horn but... TOOT TOOT! It was pretty fantastic. Then the bottom picture is a hamburger (duh). I seasoned the meat with Worcester sauce, pepper and salt then I grilled some potatoes, onions and bell peppers again. It was so juicy that I was mopping up the juices with my bun. YUM!

Top:Express, Shorts: Kohls, Shoes: DSW,
Jewelry: Charming Charlie

    - Sorry it's not a great picture BUT I love this outfit. It's probably one of my favorites. The "skirt" is actually a pair of lace shorts that just look like a skirt. The top is cute. It has a little flower embellishment sew onto it. And then of course the shoes. I love those shoes. They're adorable wedges I got from DSW. I'll try to get the memory card for the real camera and get a better picture for y'all!

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Fashion Friday: Red for Emily

Happy Fashion Friday! I made this one special for my Aunt Emily :). I hope you like it Aunt Em!

Red for Emily by jastevenson featuring forever 21 shoes

I wasn't sure if I liked red or black shoes with this outfit. I figured Aunt Emily would like the Red but I figured I should give her options :P. I hope you like it Aunt Em!

That's my Southern Soapbox! If you want to check out other Fashion Friday posts click here!

Wonky and Woot-tastic Wednesday

Happy Hump Day y'all!

Wonky:
   - I went to Target for a new swimsuit because everywhere else has really cute ones for $50... for a top... and $50 for a bottom and no swimsuit is $100 cute. Anywho, I was at Target because I found this really cute one that I wanted but they didn't have the bottoms in a medium and there's no way I'm squeezing into a small and I'm pretty sure y'all don't want to see what happens if I dive into the pool wearing a large. So I tried to find other cute swimsuits. And I did. But they still didn't have medium bottoms that even came sort of close to matching the top. So I mixed a polka dot top with striped bottoms.
   -  I love animals. Dog, cats, horses etc. I almost never come across a critter that doesn't love me back. But have you ever found that one animal that just doesn't like you for absolutely no reason? I didn't do anything to this critter but I swear it hates me. No joke, when it sees me it hisses and runs away. So, for no other reason than because it doesn't like me... I no longer like it. I'm mature that way.
   - The things people do (or don't do) while driving just make me want to get out of my car, walk up to their car, knock on their window, and YELL at them! Check out my pet peeves while driving.
   - Without even meaning to, every time I say "uh oh" I sound a lot like my 17 month old nephew.

Woot-tastic:
   - I'm staying in a town that doesn't have oodles and oodles of light pollution and I can actually see the stars! I love looking up on a warm summer night and looking at all the constellations while I listen to the crickets chirps and the frogs ribbit. It sounds so homey and lovely (there are also a few June bugs trying to ruin the moment but I try REALLY hard to ignore them... until one of the stupid things God's creatures flies into me).
   - One of my favorite parts about summer is all the time you get to spend with your family and friends. Monday Mom, Dad, Maegan AJ, Aunt Emily, Mamaw, Mollie and Ryan came over for some fun in the sun.
   - My totally awesome Saster has started a blog! Of course she's not as amusing as I am, but she has a cute kid so I guess that makes up for it. I'll be posting a link to it soon!
   - My post Saturday about sun exposure reducing your risk of getting certain cancers by 50%-80%. CRAZY and woot-tastic!
   - "Talking" on the phone with AJ is possibly one of the most entertaining things ever. It mostly consists of me asking him "What does a dog say" then waiting for Maegan to tell me if it was the right sound.

Pet peeves while on the road

I swear, where did people get their license?! Who on Earth gave it to them? Seriously, please tell me so I can explain a few things to them. Most of my pet peeves are ones I have about driving. What are they, you ask? Well I'm so glad you did because I am going to tell you!

1. Apparently vehicles no longer come equipped with blinkers. I mean, I understand that car companies have been having a hard time financially, but did they really have to stop installing blinkers on cars?

2. Just in case people didn't know, your car probably (I say probably because if your car is as small as my Miata, this may not apply to you) has a blind spot. CHECK IT BEFORE CHANGING LANES!

3. Also in case people didn't know, roads curve. They do not all go straight all the time. When the road curves, your car should too (please don't think I'm saying the car turns on its own, you have to make it do that. I know, that stupid lazy car!) DO NOT just go straight when a road is curving. The person next to you won't appreciate it at all.

4. It's not really a great idea to just stop in the middle of the road for seemingly no reason. And if you get in a wreck, don't just stop in the middle of everything to chew out the person that hit you and call your insurance company. If you can move your vehicle to a parking lot DO IT! Not only are you risking getting run over, you are risking other peoples lives as well.

5. It is just as dangerous to go UNDER the speed limit as it is to go above it. Especially in Dallas. You will get run over. If you can't comfortably drive at the posted speed limit maybe you shouldn't be driving.

6. READ ROAD SIGNS! If there is a sign that says your lane is about to end.... get out of that lane! And don't wait until your lane actually ends to decide "oh crap I actually do need to get over." The signs weren't lying! Chances are there were more than one of these signs, and chances are you've driven on this road many many times (we are creatures of habit) and you already knew exactly when and where the lane ended. AND if you do wait until the last minute... don't get mad and make obscene gestures when I don't let you over.

Sadly, I observed ALL of these pet peeves in a 10 minute drive to Panda Express. Seriously, people need to learn how to drive. Maybe I should open a driving class to correct some of these issues?

Well that's my Southern Soapbox! Happy driving (assuming you don't have one of the above listed things happen to you... in which case you can contact me to join my rant).

Pools, babies and horses

Mom and I are house sitting for some awesome friends of ours. This has become our "summer home" over the last several years. It's complete with a pool, horse, lots of open land and adorable little kitties!

Today, after we finished Vacation Bible School Maegan, AJ, Aunt Emily, Mollie, Mamaw, Ryan and Dad all came over for a nice swim! Later AJ and I ventured off to check the mail. Except we got a little side tracked and petted the horse instead. AJ and Cookie were so sweet together. AJ kept giving Cookie hugs and was so excited to get to pet a horse. We are having another swim day Wednesday so more pictures to come!

That's my Southern Soapbox! Happy summer!