The Life of Bon: Back to my bloggy home!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Back to my bloggy home!



Well, folks.  Looks like we're back in the saddle.   Back in the blog saddle.  It feels good.  After 2 1/2 weeks off from blogging, I'm not entirely sure I remember how to ride, but we'll give it a go.

Greg and I got home from our big trip to Europe last night.  Our plane landed about 8:30 and it was all we could do to get in the car, roll through Costa Vida for some dinner, and drive ourselves home.  We about dang near collapsed into bed at 9:30 (9:30 pm in Utah is 5:30 am in Germany.  We felt like it was the middle of the night!)  Then, this morning, I couldn't force myself to sleep in past 6 am.  I tried.  Believe me I tried!  But my stomach was grumbling up a storm.  I was fiercely hungry, and by 6:30 I gave up on sleep and listened to my body that so rudely demanded food instead.  I put a load in the laundry and ran to the grocery store.  (The drawbacks to a long vacation- absolutely no edible food in the house when you get back!)

Who knew?  The grocery store is empty as can be at 7 am.  I had the place to myself!  Just me and the dude stocking shelves.  By golly, I might be switching up my routine to morning grocery shopping runs.  It was a grocery shopping dream this morning.  It beats the heck out of fighting the mobs for a measly loaf of bread in the evening- you know how it is.

When I got home about 7:30, Greg was awake and cleaning the kitchen.  We both hate mornings.  The fact that we were both willingly awake before 7 am on a day that neither of us had to work... really, it could only be jet lag.

It's amazing to have so much energy in the morning.  Really it is!  We did three loads of laundry, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned and organized the whole apartment, unpacked all our suitcases, and did the grocery shopping all before 10 am!  Jet lag- don't mind if I do!

There is a lot to say about our trip.  Vacations our awesome.  Vacations are also very exhausting.  I feel like I've been working on a quarter tank for the past month, and I am ready to do nothing for the next five weeks but sit on my couch in my air conditioned apartment and wait for baby.  You can come sit with me if you want.  All are welcome!

I will post more about our vacation.  But not today.  Because it's 9:45 pm and usually you'd think a woman would have at least a little energy left this time of night, especially when she has summers off and has no kids and can do whatever she wants all day every day.  But this woman does not have energy.  Not a bit.  So I believe I shall lie here and catch up on The Bachelor. You don't mind, do you? Tomorrow there shall be a nice long post, I promise you that!

In the mean time, I've got Jenny here to tell you a little about her blog and her reasons for blogging.  I know it's hard to always believe what a blogger says before a guest post because, hey, it's sponsored, I'm being paid to tell you to read this blog.  But the truth is I'd tell you to read Jenny's blog sponsor or no sponsor because this girl has got it going on.  I love her outlook on life and the way she views writing and blogging.  She just gets it, you know?  She is a spectacular blogger and you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't read her guest post and then click over to her blog.

You may now proceed.

reading-jenericgeneration

Oh, hello, there. I was just sitting here reading my book, and you caught me by surprise. But now that I have your ear (eyes, really), allow me to introduce myself. Okay, so I'm not being entirely honest here. You didn't actually catch me by surprise. But unfortunately, every other intro I have come up with so far screams, "I paid to be here today". Ignoring that fact feels kind of awkward to me. It's like the blog equivalent of a weak handshake. And nobody likes that. But the real truth about my being here today is this: I am excited. I've been looking forward to being here all month. I am excited because the people who like Bonnie and this space she has created are the people who like books and joyfulness and not taking themselves too seriously. I'm all about that. And I am honored to have your attention for these few moments. Do you want to know something? I once thought my calling was in the political world but then realized my true love in life is writing. Being in your twenties is full of surprises, I have found. I moved from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. five years ago to pursue my short-lived political career. I still live in the D.C. area, but I don't work in politics anymore. Ever seen House of Cards? Yeeeeeah. Instead, I work in the un-glamorous private sector and write a blog called Jeneric Generation, which is surprisingly much more fulfilling than my former life. This is what I look like standing in front of the White House, in case you wanted to know. Five years I've lived here, and I still get giddy walking past our national monuments.

  whitehouse-jenericgeneration
So what do I write about on Jeneric Generation (remember when you asked me that right after you interrupted my reading session?)? My theme quote for my blog, and everything I write, is this one by C.S. Lewis: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Doesn't that make you want to stop wasting time and start enjoying everything that life has to offer? I write so that I might understand the meaning of a holiday at the sea. I write about writing a lot, because it is a source of both great joy and great frustration for me. If you are a writer, I know you understand. I write tongue-in-cheek (shhhh) guides to being jealous the right way, and instructions on how to kill creativity. One of my favorite posts is the one I wrote about how it ended with my husband (it's not what you think). What I love about blogging is that it continually teaches me that none of us are as original as we think. We are all so similar when you get down to it. And when we all make ourselves vulnerable in our writing, we are not only comforted by the familiarity of each other's words, but we also grow in our understanding of the world. And isn't that exciting? I really do hope you stop by Jeneric Generation and say hello. I would love to meet you! At the very least you could find me on twitter and apologize for surprising me at the beginning of this post.

  capitol-dc-jenericgeneration
Before I go, I am going to leave you with the first part of the story I am writing about how I met my husband after I moved to D.C. Sound like a plan? It's one of my favorite stories:

"So it goes like this: In the fall of 2010, I was dating another guy. Isn't that how all good love stories start?  I had been in Washington, D.C. for almost a year, and hadn't so much as gone out on one date. There was this time when this completely self-absorbed guy asked me out after walking up the stairs behind me (ew), and didn't really get it when I said, “I don’t go out with strangers.” And there was this other time that this guy walked me home after an embarrassing non-purchase at a corner store where I walked up to the counter with my Ben and Jerry’s, and then realized I didn't have my wallet. The guy behind me didn't offer to pay (although he did ask if I needed to borrow some money….who borrows money from strangers?), and then somehow ended up walking the mile back to my house with me. (Don’t worry: when that guy left I promptly retrieved my wallet and walked 8 blocks to a different corner store to get Ben and Jerry’s. Oh, and the dude was harmless.)

Needless to say, I didn't have any expectations. I didn't really like any of the guys in D.C. As the chief of staff in my office used to said, “D.C. guys are all taken because they are all in love with themselves.” Of course, there are the exceptions, but they are few and far between. Or married."

Read the rest here! Thank you, Bonnie, and Bonnie's readers, for letting me take up a few minutes of your day! I've had fun. And now, back to my book. ;)  

7 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're back blogging, and I can't wait for all the vaca photos!

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  2. Welcome back! I RARELY read about or follow the sponsored blogger from the sponsored post but you got me this time!!! Jenny has a new Insta and bloglovin' follower. Fellow writer over here. : )

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  3. so glad you're back safe. Does the baby countdown begin now? :)

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  4. Welcome back! So glad you had a fabulous time!

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  5. Welcome back my friend...............I liked this post, it was long but I read it anyway...............

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  6. Love that first picture. ;) Welcome home!
    Country Girl's Daybook

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  7. Welcome back! From what I can tell from Instagram you've had a great trip. But I'm glad you're back to blogging! :)

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