HERE

Thoughts from a girl that has no idea what she is supposed to do with her life- and for now I'm just here.

[keljones-blog1]

The price millennials Pay for living in a small town.

Probably since I could remember, I wanted to “get away.” Leave this everybody knows your business town and run as far as I could. It’s funny that I am currently sitting in my house writing this, that is located in that “small town.” I never in a million years would have thought I would have moved back here, let alone found a job(s) here. 

It’s so easy to criticize a small town. I hear it all the time... “No Jobs, No Restaurants, No Movie Theater, No Bowling Alley(thank heavens we don’t have one of those because they are a little gross if you ask me). But what about what we do have? 

Sure, every restaurant might close at 8:00 p.m., but maybe they are just trying to help the obesity epidemic...did you ever think of that? We just have a few retail stores, but thank heavens because I would be more broke than I already am. I am sure these are not the reasons, but it’s a different perspective. 

Long story short I moved back here because the love of my life’s family runs a small business which is the momentum and sustainability of any small town. I begged with him every which way to move back to Charlotte with me, be spontaneous and go to Georgia, Florida, and just about anywhere that wasn’t where we grew up. I want to be in an airplane traveling somewhere...every weekend if I could...so we made a deal that we would make our small town “home base” if we could travel every time our finances allowed. 

In our 1.5 years of being married, we have been to Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Jamaica, and New York.  So he has kept his promise to me, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I am thankful we made the choice to stay. 

The fear that comes with living in a big city, the attitudes, and business of life in large towns, you almost miss the point of living. Sure I pay the price of not having everything right at my finger tips and I have to travel 45 minutes to an hour to shop, but it helps to block out the unnecessaries. With technology today and the majority of my job being online, I am thankful I don’t have all these other distractors in life... I am thankful that not having a whole lot to do teaches me how to make things to do...it allows me to reach inside to my inner child and get out and explore... to visit the local waterfalls, the Appalachian Trail, and other outdoor recreation that we take for granted! 

I might have lost a lot of things coming back, but the quality of life I gained and the relationships I have made add up quickly and make the loss worth loosing because I wouldn’t trade this small town life for the city. 

[keljones-blog1]

New Year, New Me..makes me wanna gag.

After the eggnog, the family parties, and of course the opening of gifts... you start to hear the talk of New Year Resolutions. 

res·o·lu·tion/ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/

noun

1.a firm decision to do or not to do something:

Y’all that says a FIRM decision...not a, “I’m going to give it a week and see how it goes.” You are changing something FOR GOOD. I mean prime example... January one you are going to see people come out of the wood work to be at the gym. It is kind of like in college where I would be in class every day and then come final time some jerk would be in MY SEAT... I get it, it isn’t technically my seat, but we all know there is that unspoken understanding. So all you people out there hitting the gym Monday...make it last. Take this as a challenge to not be done come March. If you’re going to steal my treadmill and take up the rack the whole time, take it for longer than a couple of weeks...that’s just annoying

I hate the word resolution just because it’s more so just turned into a joke of a word...so these are my new years “permanent decisions.”

 Tithing in church...y’all love God love People... that’s all there is to it.

and yup..that’s it. no long list. The longer the list I think the more you can’t hold yourself accountable. 

Peace, love, and blessings in the new year! 

“see ya next year, losers.”

-Kel

[keljones-blog1]

8 months later....

Remember when  I said I was for real going to blog this time.... HA My last post was in April and now we are rolling up on Christmas. Hey...at least I came back! 

I’m bacccccck with a new post in the works... and I promise it won’t take 8 months to get. 

[keljones-blog1]

Uprooted

Life was pretty good. Everything was falling into place like couples dream like it would after marriage. I found a job right after college in the exact field I wanted to be in. Jordan (the huzband) and I was given this perfect little mountain cabin to fix up and life was great. We had our own little mountain, a spectacular little view, and we were happy. 

If you haven't picked up on it yet, I am writing in past tense. 

In a blink of an eye your perfect little world can be flipped upside down. Sometimes we think God is blessing us ( which he did, don’t get me wrong),  but God is really just preparing your heart and teaching you life lessons. 

On February 25, 2017 I got a text from Jordan that said;

                            “He’s out here firing off rounds on his shotgun in our yard

                              and he just pointed it at Thomas and Thomas while they

                               were trying to leave” 2:33p.m.

And things escalated quickly as the Ron Burgundy gif says it best.

To spare you this super long detailed post,  the S.W.A.T team was called in, no I am not making this up. I sat in my car bawling my eyes out worried that there was a good chance that the man I woke up to that morning might not be there when I was allowed back up to my house. 

By the grace of the good Lord they all were escorted through the woods unharmed, but just a little shaken. I mean who wouldn’t after your life was just put into the mercy of someone else’s hands? 

We were uprooted from our cabin in a matter of two hours for safety precautions. 

You truly realize all the CRAP you have when moving your whole life into five cars within a matter of minutes. Most importantly, I realized that when God does call us home, you can’t take all this stuff. So is it really worth accumulating? I honestly just want the basics when we move into our new house. That way I might not weigh as much when God is pulling me up to heaven.

So a closet purge is coming! Add me on Facebook to see all the goods! 

I also foresee a before+after blog post of our soon to be rental house... I get to put my “event designer” job to good use.

 Also in upcoming post- what I would say to the man that held my husband’s life in his hand and stole a bit of my happiness that day.

“Sometimes our lives have to be completed uprooted to find where we were meant to be.” 

[keljones-blog1]

Full Force

Do you ever feel like you are just jogging in place?

Like you are going as fast as you can all day long and then you look up and you are in the same place as when you started?

Or better yet, get knocked down and hang out on the side of the path for awhile maybe in some mud...bushes..briars?

It’s like no matter what you do your just stuck... you’re just here.

You can’t get ahead- you’re never going to be first...you might make it up to second place, but first place is just a little to much for you to catch up to.

Here’s to the runners that run a good race, but haven’t quite figured out the way to the finish line. To the ones that are just living and waiting for the map to the end of the course.

Happy Friday

[keljones-blog1]

Spruce

I think this marks my third attempt at becoming a world famous blogger that gets paid thousands and thousands of dollars to write about her fabulous, entertaining life. 

Well, I could have made it happen if I had the fabulous/entertaining part. I fall short in many categories in life and that’s just one of the many. 

What’s my day job you might ask? Well, you shouldn’t have asked, because here we go

Social Media Specialist

Waitress

Store Manager

Sports Reporter

TV Producer

Teacher

Coach

Those are the only ones I get paid for.

I always had this misconception that you graduate college and have it all figured out. I had no doubts in what major I was going to declare. Okay, that’s a boldface lie.

December 2011- Communication Major

April 2012( touring college)- Business Major

May 2012- History Major

August 2012- Education Major 

Starting Freshman year- Dance Major (who saw that coming?!)

I changed my major five times before I even sat foot on campus. Is there an award to be won for that accomplishment? 

So here I am a year after graduating thinking I would have life figured out.... And I think i’m the most lost i’ve ever been. If I had to put life in a simile, it would be “ If life is a bunch of crossroads to get to your final destination, then I am stuck in traffic.” 

What to expect from these ramblings of mine; lifestyle( kelly’s lifestyle not the I’m going to dress up super cute and take a selfie- I’ll probably be in clothes that could pass like that came fresh out of dumpster) the life of being a Saint Bernard owner, and all the life fails I make.

“I know I’m not actually lost because that would mean I know where I’m going- and someone is playing hide and seek with my life map.”