Day 4 of 30 Day Blogging Challenge-My Dream Job

My Dream Job

My idea of a dream job-NOT!!

Now this is a tougher thing to talk about for me. I am one of those strange people that has no boundaries around my job. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I am blissfully unaware of where ME ends and the JOB starts....and vice versa. Now the good thing is I've always had jobs that I've loved. They've never been J-O-B-S for me....but how I lived my life.

Except for one....I had one job that I worked at for a year when I was 19. It was a bakery. I was the manager. It was horrible. First of all...yes the smell of carbs can be exhausting. But that never stopped me from eating them. Second of all bakers are flakes. Let me say that again. BAKERS ARE FLAKES!!! SO there were more than a handful of days that I'd work all day and then get the 1am call that the baker hadn't shown up and I'd have to bake all night then work again all day the next day. All on salary. Dang it! Plus....you've been kind enough not to mention which anyone who knows me knows. I CAN'T COOK! I suck at it....so I'm sure I was brilliant at my job. I walked away from that one with zero regrets.

And 20 extra pounds.

Dang it!

So now 30 years and many many many hours later I find myself in a position that I get to choose my dream job. And take my life and make it into what I want it to be. I've spent countless blood, sweat and tears working to help others succeed and now I have a chance to do that for myself. My expectations are different. My goals are different. My needs are different. So here they are:

1) To make a difference in the world
2) To be creative, not just with my mind, but with my hands and my heart
3) To get dirty
4) To not have to wear makeup every day
5) To have something tangible that I can be proud of
6) To make people happy
7) To inspire someone
8) To collaborate with others
9) To innovate
10) To have the ability to stop what I'm doing and meet a friend for coffee and an attitude refresh
11) To have the occasional weekend off with hubs
12) To hang with my fur-kid

And there she goes....wish me luck!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's topic: Your proudest moment

Day 2 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge-20 Facts About Me

20 Facts about me!?! I'm not sure I have 20 interesting facts but here it goes!

1) I love travel! I would go anywhere for just about any reason. And I get wanderlust really quickly. I usually am planning one trip while on another. I can fool myself sometimes by just going somewhere for the weekend to reset my "impulse" button.

2) I don't drink alcohol. Although I frequently find myself in bars since hubby is a musician. It is way more fun watching people drinking and being idiots than being the idiot myself! 

3) I love my dog! Probably not a surprise to many of you since he has his own hashtag. #puppersthejunkyarddog . His name is Puppers and he absolutely rules the roost here. The other truth is that I love him way more than he loves me. He is totally my hubs dog....totally. I just beg him to love me and he tosses a bone my way every now and again!

4) I am a book fanatic. I only read at night now and I frequently lose track of time and read into the wee hours than feel regretful and remorseful the next day while I'm trying to haul my tired butt out of bed!

5) I'm a goofball. I accept and embrace my goofiness however hubs who is a closeted goofball thinks he's hip, slick and cool...He's not. As evidenced by this photo...he's a total goof too. It's one of his finest qualities!

6) I was a mighty cute kid! And I was raised in San Diego. Both of these facts are equally important to "who I am". I did, however, have no hair which I'm sure you are all kind enough not to point out! 

7) I have ZERO patience! Waiting in line? Nope! Holding on the phone? Absolutely not! Filling out forms? Are you kidding me? I'll be tapping my fingers and fidgeting and swearing under my breath. The photo below is one that I IG'd waiting in line at the Post Office which was making me seriously Cray-Cray (As if taking a photo at the Post Office isn't crazy enough)! I just have people to see and places to go and if you are in my way....YOU ARE IN MY WAY!!!

8) I'm a warm weather gal. I've lived in three locations in my life. 

• San Diego
• Hawaii
• Phoenix

Get the picture? I am one of those that throws on a light jacket if the temps plummet into the 70's. You get it, right?

9) I like to color my hair. Alot. Different every time. I'm not one of those that you can call a brunette, or a blonde or a redhead....I'm more like all of the above...and then some. Who knows what's next? Red?

10) I have amazing, talented, beautiful, kind, ingenious daughters. Two of them! They challenge me, and fill me with love, and drive me crazy, and love me to pieces. I never thought of myself of the nurturing kind of parent...and they would probably tell you that I'm not, but they sure changed my life and I can't imagine a minute without either of them!

 11) I live in Arizona. This is quite a fact. I never thought I'd live here but I've actually been here 10 years August 1st! It's been a long strange trip! In my time in Arizona I've come to the following conclusions:

• I love monsoons...they are super cool. And saying the word "haboob" is even cooler!
• I've developed an appreciation for the desert landscape. All cacti are not created equal
• Spring and Fall here are absolute Heaven. Summer is Hell personified. Winter is cool
• Misters are awesome. Pools are awesome. And the people are the best

12) I love old stuff. I often wonder if I were born in another time or another place. It's possible! But I am so drawn to the gentility of another time and the lifestyle of another place. Since I can't be there....I try to fill here with as many old things as I can that speak to me or lift me up!

13) I'm adopted. That's just kind of a fact...not terribly interesting. I was adopted by an amazing couple when I was 3 months old and I always grew up knowing that I was wanted and adored and took a journey to find my family. Then several years ago I got the chance to meet and get to know my birth family and they are amazing people too! I just couldn't be more blessed!

14) I adore my girlfriends. I have the best and the most beautiful girlfriends on earth. I love them fiercely and they are my family. That is all!

15) I am very sarcastic. I speak it fluently. To a fault. Not everyone appreciates it. Sucks to be them....Ok but to be honest it is not just my defense mechanism but also evidence of my sparkling personality and quick wit. If I'm not sarcastic...how do you know how smart I am? I do try to close my mouth and only be sarcastic in my head but see #18

16) I suck at fishing and camping but I actually like both. I'm a terrible fisherwoman (see #7) and I don't like to get dirty or have worm guts under my nails but as long as someone will plop me in a chair with my toes in the water and help me cast so that no one loses an eye when I try it....I'm 100% in! As far as camping...again....do the setup and give me smores. I'm your girl!

17) Coffee is a non-negotiable. I've tried...I've cut back...It's not pretty. I need coffee in the morning and I need it bad. In fact, I can't really make coffee without coffee first so it's preferable that you hand it to me in a steaming mug while my feet are still in slippers. For you that is.....

18) I have resting bitch face. I have exercising bitch face...I just have a bitchy face. And I can't hide my emotions....my every thought comes right through my eyes. Whether or not they are rolling. I can't hide one single tiny thought....it's all right out there for the world to see. Dang it! 

19. I like to write. Probably comes from having a father that's an English professor and a mother that's an attorney. Words and wordsmithing comes easy to me. I guess that's the blogger coming to life, huh?

And finally......If you've held on this long....drum roll please!

20. I love Bravo. It's my biggest dirty secret. My hugest shame...The housewives, the yachties, the cooking shows...i love it all....I watch it in the middle of the night or Sunday mornings when hubs is still asleep (he won't tolerate the nonsense). I just love it. There...it's out!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: My Favorite Quote

Ok...Ok...I'll join in! Day 1 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge

I've seen this all over the blogosphere and I've never really been tempted. Most of all because I always think my clever ideas are better than other clever ideas. I'm sure you agree, but here I am trying to get into better blogging habits rather than being STRUCK by brilliance and then emoting all over the darned page. So here I find myself with a challenge to blog every day for 30 days. Can I really follow directions? Conform to the masses? Find something quippy to say every single solitary day? Access both my keyboard and my brain every day for 30 days (successively)? Well here goes nothing!

Day One: Your Blog's Name

This one should be easy. I've always been about a bargain. I've always seen beauty in the "broken, battered, or bruised" pieces of life. About 5 years ago I started to develop a love...no...an obsession with vintage and vintage-inspired decorating. I loved the recycle-renew-reuse concept and felt the pull towards the past. Living in Arizona as a transplanted San Diegan I truly missed the value of the historical. San Diego as a city is not as old and historic as places back east and down south and I really felt drawn towards them. Almost overnight I developed wanderlust.

Unfortunately I did it alone. Not with my husband and partner. Coming from Philadelphia, he has a much more dismissive approach to anything old. In fact, to him, new is much more desirable and is inspirational. So I found myself at odds with this and struggled to include him in my journey.

So Junkyard was a natural for me....I love everything rusty and dusty, metal and wood. Shabby to industrial and everything in between.

Jezebel to me represented everything forbidden, secretive, and felt...well...a little bit wicked! I wanted to be the "bad-girl" of junking...so what better name?

It was then that Junkyard Jezebel was born!

Stay tuned...tomorrow will be 20 Facts About Me

Junk In The Trunk Vintage Market May 2016 (aka: I'm exhausted and need a nap....and a massage)

I made it! I survived!! I feel like I should have a t-shirt....It was too much work and too much fun and just the right amount of being surrounded by people that I love and that "get" what speaks to me. In other words it was a blast and I am now getting geared up and excited for the July Market in lovely San Diego, CA. As you can imagine I don't need my arm twisted to go to the beach in July! But here is the debrief of this fun market. First we started by lining up the trucks. Did I mention that I drove a U-haul all on my own? And there were no casualties (that I know of)

Then while we waited in the line of trucks to be guided into our spot, the interns provided entertainment.

Here are way, way, way too many photos of my first vintage market booth...but here goes it in all it's evolutions.....the constant changing was sure fun!!

I showed just a bit of DIY Paint to let people know that Laura and I were dealers and painters. It was a bit too hot in Scottsdale to do too much paint outside!

 A little bit of something for everyone. Those breadboards were sold out in a flash! Now to get more!!

My beautiful daughter Ricky's jewelry. She's so talented!!

Love these mini baking tins! They would look so cute in a glass apothecary!

Breadboards and Dough Bowls and Spools oh my!!

Stack em high!!

My fave piece is the sweet curio cabinet! The hit of my booth for sure!

Junk In The Trunk is such a busy market!

My darling daughter Ricky and I celebrating Mothers Day at the market!

"Speak Softly and Carry A Big Stick"! These ladies have it goin on!!

Thanks for visiting my market photos!! My next market is coming up in San Diego at Liberty Station July 16th-17th. More details to come!!