There haven’t been many times in my life during which I’ve been in a funk.

But this is one of them.

I feel completely ridiculous for being in said funk.

I have so much for which to be thankful.

A beautiful home. A loving partner. An adorable wigglypup. A great family who loves and supports me. A home church family who — no matter how long I stay away — welcomes me back with open arms whenever I venture back.

I’ve been lucky enough in this lifetime to be graced with the gift of perspective. I’ve seen what it means to be in need. I know I “have” plenty … More than plenty … More than I need.

But the funk has arrived. And has stayed much longer than I care for it to stay.

So Readers … This is me, reaching out to you.

Have you ever been in a funk? A deep one that lasts and lasts?

What did you do?

I’d love to hear your stories. This gal needs some inspiration, please.

Whenever I set my alarm clock for a wake-up call, I have to set it for an “off” number. Never something “normal” like 6:30 or 7:15 … But instead, I will opt for 6:33 or 7:17.

Tomorrow morning? 7:32.

And that’s the way it is.

Because very recently, this space has begun to attract some new kinds of attention, I want to welcome my new readers (thank you for finding me interesting enough to hang out here for a while) with a little introduction of my own.

This is what you will find in this space.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

There are several tabs at the top of my page.  Each one represents a large part of me, and I tried to condense this blog into categories for easy perusing.  Here’s what you should know about each:

• love.love.love.  This is the spot where you can discover bits and pieces of the most important man in my life, my Boo, my Jacob (though in this space and in real life, he goes by Jake).  He asked me on our first date in August 2008, and ours is not a love story with no bumps in the road.  However, it is a love story populated with him asking me to marry him in May 2010 and I can authentically say that is the date my life changed forever.  He loves me entirely for who I am, flaws, bumps, bruises and all and anticipates my needs before even I know what it is I need.  He is a rascal with the kindest, gentlest heart I’ve ever known and I cannot picture my life without him in it.  We don’t know yet when exactly we are getting married, but our Wigglypup, Ruby, and I just moved in to his home and that process has been one that neither of us take lightly.  We were both willing to do it, but ultimately I ended up being the one to give up my big-girl job and my big-girl life (that were three hours down the road) in order to come and be by his side (which is always where I truly belong).  I just accepted a new job, which fits in perfectly to our new life.  We are truly partners who believe in equality for all who choose to love and who are lucky enough to find it.  It is not an accident that this is the first tab on my blog.
  
  
• making a home:  This is where I will store little tidbits of home decor and general home-y things.  Don’t be fooled!  I am not Little Miss Housewife and typically, in the home, I am the first to tell you I have no idea what I’m doing!  In fact, just this weekend, one of my fellow bloggy friends promised to teach me how to cook via the internet.  Yes!!!!!  I am a little bit obsessed with cleanliness, and by that I don’t mean “neat and tidiness” (though that’s important to my mental health too), but instead, I mean actual germ-free-ness.  I could probably be clinically diagnosed somewhere, though I’m pretty sure it’s not really that bad.  My philosophy about home-making is this:  It should be a reflection of who resides there, regardless of what that involves; It should be “green” and as environmentally friendly as possible, because we all make an impact on the world in which we live; It should be a place where one can go to feel at peace.  I try to create that for myself and my little family, but at times, I too fall short of this life goal.  It’s all about the process and, if I’m really lucky, a great end result.
  
  
• wigglypup:  This is my-dog-turned-our-dog, Ruby.  She’s three years old now and I adopted her from a rescue organization in November 2007, with the help of one really great friend and the support of my always stellar then-roomie, Cassie.  (I also tricked Cassie into adopting Ruby’s sister, Bella!  Sneaky sneak!)  She has a tendency to get spooked by some loud noise and make a run for it, but we’re really hoping she’s grown out of that.  Whenever she has made a run for the hills, this blog community on Tumblr has been EXTREMELY supportive and has helped me to find her!  She is insanely perceptive, entirely too lovable and she adds unmeasurable joy to our life.  She weighs almost 60 pounds and she’s a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, however, I will always call her things like “little” and “precious” because she can squish herself into the tiniest of spaces and, trust me, you’d do it too if you met her!  She’s generally really friggin’ cool and she doesn’t get mad at me when I bring home stray animals to hang out with her for a while.
  
  
• wellness:  This is a space where I talk about well… wellness.  Mine, usually, but sometimes other people’s as well.  I am 5’7” tall and barely weighed 100 pounds my entire life, until a misinformed doctor put me on a medication about a year and a half ago that was entirely horrible for my system (and was entirely out of the range of medicines I needed, though I didn’t realize it at the time) and I gained 50 pounds in about a 12 month time period.  I’m now in a place of working that off, and I can gratefully say 30 of those pounds are gone and I’ve been able to do that in about 4-ish months, give or take.  My general philosophy on wellness is this:  we are all responsible for our own health and we should be polite enough to respect the health needs of others.  If you catch me on a frisky day, I will virtually yell about people not properly washing their hands.  There is one essential piece of my wellness puzzle that I occasionally choose to share with this internet world.
  
  
  
• fashion:  I am somewhat fashionably challenged, and I usually buy my clothes on sale at Ann Taylor Loft.  However, I love cowgirl boots and trying really hard to put outfits together that make me feel cute because, despite my constant struggle with the superficiality of this, I am better able to contribute to the world around me when I feel put together.  Some of my favorite things have been sent to me by people who read this blog and I am truly humbled.  I am no fashionista, but I’m a functional comfort-nista with a little bit of a twist.
  
  
• mywings:  This is a dumping ground of sorts for all the many categories of my life that don’t fall into the others.  What you’ll find here are photos of goofy things my friends and I do when we get to spend time together, articles I might enjoy, quotes others have said that get my mojo going… or any smattering of things, really.  I really like hitching a ride on almost any experience life brings my way and you’ll probably get a good sense of that here.
  
  
• myroots:  This is where you can read about my family and the place from which I came.  My family really is the root of who I am.  My Mom and Stepdad, my Dad and Stepmom, Mysister, her husband and their two ADORABLE children, my aunts, uncles, cousins (and another one who wasn’t there that day!) and all the little things that come from growing up in a small rural town in the South.  My favorite philosopher is my 80-something-year-old grandfather, Pop.  Everyone calls him Pop… and I mean everyone.  It is also no accident that this is the last tab on the page because the bookends of my life are My Love and My Family.

I want to thank you for stopping by.  For reading what you choose to read, and for having that occasionally be about me.  I recognize that blogging is narcissism, and this is mine.  Thanks for being who you are and for respecting me for who I am.

Welcome!