coherently chaotic.

I’m so excited about this I can hardly stand it. I woke up one morning last week with a crazy do-it-yourself project that I just couldn’t WAIT to get started on. It’s a two parter….and the second part is a pretty incredible surprise so I’m only going to give you the scoop on the first part, for now.

My backyard is pretty stinkin’ boring, so I wanted to spice things up a bit. After months of fighting my sister about getting onto Pinterest, I did it. At first, I didn’t really “get it”. Then something happened. I started having trouble finding new places to Rolodex the new ideas in my head of all of the projects I just HAD TO get started.

Once I thought up this idea (on my own…or so I thought) I looked it up on the big P. Even though I wasn’t the mastermind, I found a few pretty neat ideas…and my brain hasn’t been to rest since. I didn’t want to copy someone else’s idea, I just wanted some inspiration. Boy, did I ever get it.

Let me tell y’all about this pretty incredible little adventure.

It started out with nailing a few boards together….and I got this. (This picture is pretty sad….but I promise the end result is pretty fab, if I do say so myself!)

I could hardly sleep that night because I was trying to figure out exactly how I was going to make this box into a masterpiece, all while trying not to get discouraged. I started seeing how people were turning ordinary shipping pallets into beautiful furniture…many of them like works of art. I. Got. Inspired.

I scoured Craigslist for two days looking for pallets. FREE pallets. I should tell you that I’m trying to make this an entirely green project. So far I’ve spent $27 dollars. That’s it. I’m “upcycling” anything and everything I can. Anywho…I found a man in Norman that had, what he said, 50+ pallets. For FREE. I jumped on it. I was trying to figure out how many of these pallets I could A) lift myself and B) fit into my soccer mom car. Then I realized that I could take my Mammy’s 1980-something Ford F150 pickup truck to Norman and fill up the bed. This plan just kept getting better and better and better. We decided that Saturday was the day and again, I couldn’t wait!!!

I called my cousin Melanie, who just moved to Norman, to see if she wanted to ride along with me so I wouldn’t get kidnapped. You can never be too careful with the Craigslist ventures. Thankfully she agreed. I failed to mention that she would be doing hard labor. I figured she wouldn’t care. Hehe.

I left the house at 7:30 Saturday morning, headed to Edmond to get the pickup and then got on the road to go to Norman. I hung out a Mel’s for a few minutes and then we were off. When we got there, I was a little disappointed and a lot overwhelmed. There were so many pallets I didn’t even know where to start. This is why it’s good to bring reinforcement so they can give you a swift kick in the a. We started picking out the best, most sturdy looking ones and started loading them in the bed. As we were loading the second one, I scratched Melanie’s leg. I would’ve screamed but she acted like it was no big deal. Such a trooper, that one. Love her.

After we loaded a couple of pallets, something caught my eye. I pointed to six of the loveliest pieces of 2 x 4s and plywood boxes I’ve ever seen. Ok, the ONLY ones I’ve ever seen, but they struck my inspiration and took it to a level I didn’t even know existed. He said they were used as catwalks in the rafters of some building. I wasn’t really listening because I was so excited. They are 10 ft long. With three of us, they were pretty easy to get in the pickup (after we got the pallets out because I changed my mind). Then I decided I still wanted pallets. Why? Maybe because I could still do something with them. Maybe because I didn’t want to get home and decide that I wanted pallets and didn’t want to go all the way back to Norman. Maybe because I’m loony. Who knows, but we wedged those puppies in there. Then we grabbed some metal boxes, I think they’re the tops of chimneys…again, I was too excited to pay attention 100%. We threw them in the backseat.

I shook John’s hand and we jumped in the pickup. Then we saw something else. This was like a playground for diy-ers. Oh my goodness. There, underneath some of the pallets, were some seats that at some point in time had been inside of a boat. I couldn’t resist. I thought maybe I could find a place for them in or on my new project. We threw them in the truck as well. Then I realized that I couldn’t get the tailgate closed because the catwalks are 10 feet long….and I had quite a ways to drive this bad boy. John said he’d go see if he had some rope – then he came back with an extension cord. I always say, beggars can’t be choosers. He was just the sweetest little old man. When he was gone, without saying a word, Mel tapped me on the shoulder. When I looked at her, she just raised up her pant leg. This is what that little “scratch” really was. I felt horrible. Still do. Geez, such a trooper, that girl. Love her.

Since there was literally no room left in the pickup, we headed back to Mel’s house so I could be on my long journey home. I asked Mark, Melanie’s hubs, if he could make extra sure that none of that shiz would fall out of the pickup. He added some bungy cords and lovingly told me that I looked like Sanford and Son. I giggled and hummed the theme song the rest of the way home.

I have a really sweet neighbor, Ed, who is always quick to help me….with anything…whether I need a diet coke or helping picking up appliances for me or anything. I figured I could talk him into helping me unload the insanely heavy catwalks from the pickup. I was wrong. Ed was nowhere in sight.

I’ve decided that it really is true, where there is a will, there is a way. After thinking about it for a few minutes and trying to will them all in the backyard, I decided to just get it done myself. I’m still not sure how I did it…but I did and I couldn’t believe how wonderfully this thing was coming together. I seriously stood in front of it after I got everything in its place and stared, in awe. I’m not going to lie, I was proud. I wish I’d taken pictures of me doing this part of it….you would have gotten a good giggle out of it. I was in total get-er-done mode and didn’t even think about it.

I was determined to get a mattress to make it an outdoor bed. I’ve put it directly under my lone tree and it’s just the perfect spot. Next step…find a free mattress. Now, let me just tell you that this does freak me out a little….but I found logic in it because if I could find it for free, and Lysol the you-know-what out of it, then cover it, it would be ok. Right?

So I was on my next mission, finding a mattress…and I finally found one and just absolutely hated it when I got it on there. It just wasn’t right. The last thing I wanted was for this to look like I just threw it together. I wanted to stay proud about it. I promptly took the mattress off.

Then I went inside. A little deflated. I watch a little bit of the Monkees marathon and then it hit me. My darling friend Melissa gave me a HUGE rug before she moved to Florida last summer. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I could do something with it. (It’s too big for any room in my house and I’ve had it rolled up in my spare bedroom.) I used all of my might and got it outside. It is almost as if that rug was made for this project. My smile instantly came back!

I wanted to use the pallets, so I decided to attach one to the side and make a table. Ah…perfect. I added a bench in the front and my chimney-top planters to either side. The table looked a little bare so I spray painted an old flower pot and threw it up there. I’ve since moved the planter on the left and added one of the boat seats….but it’s dark and I can’t take a picture right now!

To add to the ambiance of my new little oasis, I added some pillows (more to come) and hung some makeshift mason jar lanterns to my gorgeous tree. I also added a few to my new pallet table (those aren’t in the picture either).

The day was just so beautiful today, I couldn’t help but lounge on my new creation. My friend Christel came over and we decided to have a pizza picnic…and then I lit the lanterns and we stayed out there so we could see them in all of their glory. Holy cow. Gorgeous. I’m not kidding you when I tell you that I stayed out there for 6 hours. I can’t wait to get a few more pillows and for the weather to be a little more perfect. I plan to spend many a day out there in the near future….especially at the end of the month, when I can reveal the second part of this incredible oasis that’s just a few steps from my backdoor.

Can’t wait to show you the complete and final outcome, but this will do for now. I was too excited with the way it turned out that I had to share it!

xxoo

tj

I’m certain I’m not the only one that does this but I’m going to ask anyway. Forgive my random thoughts today.

Are there certain songs that instantly take you to an incredible memory as soon as you hear even a couple of notes? Maybe even a sad one?

Some of the songs that do this to me are silly and some of them still get me choked up.

I heard one this morning, which made me think of other songs which then led me to write this. The song I heard was James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend” – this one, I’m sure, reminds everyone in the free world about a certain person or a certain time in their life – but it will forever make me think of my dear friend Ashley and her dad Floyd. I’m not going to go into it but I always smile when I hear it – it’s like getting a hug from her sweet dad.

If I hear anything by Eve 6, I instantly picture Rachel and I driving to Enid, America to be whisked away by our boyfriends and going to eat greasy burgers before we’d go sit in the park to wait for school to get out. We did this at least twice a month I’d say – and most of the time we were supposed to be in school ourselves…in Edmond! We definitely preferred the road trips! I’m pretty sure I may have just busted us but guess what Mom and Dad? Ha! We skipped school. Kids….go to school. Don’t skip.

In retrospect, so glad those relationships didn’t pan out like we so hoped they would.

The summer before my freshman year, I took summer school. To this day, it was probably my favorite class of all time – Oklahoma History. Did you know that Oklahoma has more shoreline than any other state? I do – because I learned it in Oklahoma History – 16 years ago. Sheesh. Well, I couldn’t drive yet, so my mom had to chauffeur me around every day. Without fail, every morning (and some afternoons) we would hear Tracy Lawrence sing “Time Marches On” – we still call each other when we hear it now. And we giggle. A lot.

There is a song by the Postal Service that also makes me giggle. I don’t know the name of it off the top of my head but I vividly remember the first time I heard it. It was the day my lovely friends Melissa and Deuce got married. We had gone to Jill’s house for a little pre-gaming and whatnot. Brandon proceeded to play this song as LOUD as his car speakers would go – on repeat – until we got to the church. With all of the windows down. Then it started again the second we left. I wish I could remember the name of it – it’s a great song.

I could do this all day – but I’ll spare you – others on my list (without the entire backstories) are:

“I Will Remember You” – We heard this right after we dropped Bea off at the airport. We thought it was a sign. I don’t know if I’ve ever told her that. Bea….now you know.

“Spirit in the Sky” – Reminds me of Lisa because she imbedded it into my brain years ago.

“Hollerback Girl” – My first Las Vegas adventure with Mary, Greer and Maggie…and Michael.

“SHOTS” and “I’m in Miami Bitch” – Both will forever and always be in my OU/Texas rolodex of memories.

Oh,and I cannot forget Edna….sweet Edna Ruth and her “Great Balls of Fire”!

There are TONS of others, but you get the idea.

What are some of your songs?

I think it’s pretty fun to think about.

xxoo

Taylor Jane

One of my favorite things to do is read my horoscope in the Gazette. I don’t obsess over it (surprisingly) but if I see one, I always grab it – just to see what some stranger says about everyone that was born between July 23 and August 22, myself included. If I like them, I am convinced that they are true. If they are not good then I just ignore them and pretend I never read them.

I, for some reason, just looked online for my horoscope today and it said something about me being more famous in the coming months than ever before…and then had this poem…which I think is pretty darn fantastic…so I wanted to share it with you all.

This is the actual horoscope:

One way or another, you will be more famous in the coming months than you’ve ever been before. That might mean you’ll become better known or more popular . . . or it could take a different turn. To tease out the nuances, let’s draw on Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Famous.”

The river is famous to the fish.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.

Here’s to being famous! Hope everyone is having an incredible week.

xxoo

TJ

I got off of work an hour early this afternoon and decided to take myself to the bookstore. I walked around aimlessly for a bit and then wandered over to books about traveling. I’ve become kind of obsessed with Georgia lately (the country, not the state) and I wanted to see if there was, by chance, a book about it. As I was standing there with my head turned completely sideways, reading title after title, I heard a man’s voice say, You going to Europe? I smiled and just said, Nope! I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to the bookstore to chit chat. I go there to look at books. I assumed this was only logical. Apparently this guy did not get the memo. Why, you ask? Because this is how the rest of our conversation went:

Him: I went to Europe once.

TJD: hmm.

Him: I went to Amsterdam, Paris and Rome.

TJD: Cool.

Him. I got real high in Amsterdam.

TJD: Most people do.

Him: Yeah, I got lost. Really lost. I almost didn’t find my hotel.

TJD: hmm. scary.

Him: I passed out in the back of a cab.

TJD: Well, looks like you made it.

Him: I wasn’t by the red light district. Do you know where the red light district is?

TJD: Yep.

Him: I wasn’t there. I was about thirty minutes from there. Someone woke me up and helped me get back to my hotel. I almost didn’t make it. I was so high.

TJD: Welp, have a good one!

Mind you, I never turned my head to answer him, I kept looking straight ahead, hoping he would get the clue. He didn’t. I felt about as awkward as I would if I’d been standing next to Spencer Pratt and looking at a book on crystals.

In case you were wondering, Barnes and Noble does NOT have any books about Georgia. Hmmph. Back to reading about it on the internet.

xxoo

TJ

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I failed. I know.

I think I’m just going to amend my resolution. I’m going to blog 4-5 times per week. That’s better than nothing!

I worked late Thursday and Friday and then had a double header at Ednas, Friday and Saturday.

We had a birthday party for the twins on Sunday and then I had a blow out….which led to me not getting home last night until after 7:00 because I was getting two tires replaced.

I’m back among the living now….

Sorry I failed….but I’m trying…I promise!

xxoo

Whew, blogging every day is some serious business. And it’s only January 5th!!

Today was a long day at work….a great day, but a long one. As a result, I am more tired than I think I’ve ever been. BUT….I got my Thunder ticket. So stoked about this. Also stoked about going to sleep…..in about 3 minutes.

Hope you all had an incredible Thursday.

Thunder UP!

xxoo

tjd

Let me tell you about my day. This morning, my boss came into my office holding a ticket to Friday’s Thunder game, and a club level access pass.

I was PRETTY excited when I saw it in her hand but I tried to compose myself. I love me some Thunder basketball. Especially Nick Collison….another post….another day…

Waiting for her to tell me “Happy New Year” or something….I kind of just stared at her for a few seconds. I would’ve taken “Happy 8 o’clock hour”…even “Happy Wednesday” would’ve sufficed.

Then….she told me to mail it to someone.

BOOOOOOOOO.

So, it looks like this girl will be watching some Thunder from the comfort of her own home….or perhaps a barstool somewhere….but it does not look like she will be enjoying the game LIVE.

Can’t win ‘em all.

Thunder UP!

xxoo

tjd