Stories & advice that feel like coming home.

100 in 365 Wrap-Up

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Last year I created this list of things that I wanted to do while John was gone. Looking over this list, I'm pretty surprised that I got so much done. I'm disappointed with what I read, but in all fairness, I read a ton last year-- just not the books that I said that I wanted to. Go figure! My new list for 2013-14 is residing at the 100 in 365 tab, now. Check it out and see what's on my plate for a new year. Here's what I accomplished, September 2012-September 2013!Wedding Stuff1.       Learn how to cardas.2.      Make Keep Reading...

DIY Wedding Ceremony Decorations

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Warning: This post is just a cheap excuse to post pictures of our wedding. John and I were married in my home church, which is already very ornate, so we didn't have much to do to decorate for the ceremony. The biggest decoration project for the ceremony were pew bows. I just loved them. They were simple, elegant, and added a touch of color without being obnoxious. They took so little time to make, too.  You'll Need:1 1/2 yards of netting per pew1 yard of ribbon per pew (we used 1 1/2 inch ribbon)1 bunch of Baby's Breath per pewtwisties or clear tapescissorsDirections:Pull the Keep Reading...

There’s No Place Like Home

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John's homecoming story is long, which is one of the reasons I've been having such a hard time putting it into words. It began on Friday, May 30, when I drove to John's hometown for his side of the family's bridal shower.Originally, the shower had been planned for Saturday, June 1 but of course, the Navy found the one day in a radius of three weeks that wasn't wide open on my schedule and plunked John's homecoming in the middle of it. John's sisters and mom had been able to quickly rearrange the party for the day before,  in the evening. So many people graciously changed their schedule Keep Reading...

The Sign of the (Happiest) Times!

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John's been home for a week and two days! (I'm sorry if you feel like I've been holding out on you.) We traveled every single day for a week, with the exception of Friday. It was a whirlwind, and I promise I will share everything!But I can't help savoring every moment. This week, I'm going to detail the pre-homecoming, homecoming, and post-homecoming (and everything in between) festivities. Let's start at the beginning: the homecoming sign!I had made up my mind at the beginning of the deployment that I wanted to make a sign for John's homecoming. (It's even on my 100 in 365!) I was very Keep Reading...

Down-to-earth suggestions for having a great deployment.

5 Things I’m Glad I Did During Deployment

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It is very difficult for me to look at this past year and find good from John's deployment. I'm a very optimistic person, but this deployment has infuriated me for political reasons as well as personal ones. Acknowledging positive outcomes from this year actually feels a little like a betrayal to those feelings and myself. However, when I look back at the last year, there are a lot of things I did that I ended up being really happy about. I collected the top five for you. I'm glad that during this deployment, I... ...wrote 365 letters to John. Well, okay. I don't have 365 letters Keep Reading...

#52: Part One

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I love cross stitching. But I'm exceptionally fussy. I almost exclusively stitch Mill Hill kits. They are stylish and interesting-- not the 1980's block lettering samplers that make me shudder!I've found it very difficult to find the time to cross stitch items for myself. Every time I go shopping, I always find myself picking up designs that I want to make and give to people I love.  My goal, this year, was to stitch at least two wall hangings for decorating our house. I started stitching this one with every intention to keep it for us. The color palette fit the colors I am hoping to Keep Reading...

Cherry Blossoms and #72

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Things that are exciting: checking another item off my 100 in 365 list. And yesterday, I did just that! Despite living in Baltimore for almost five full years and really wanting to go, I had never been to the Cherry Blossom Festival. It's too easy to put these things off until "next year."  And even this year, even with the list, I didn't commit to going until a few minutes before my dad and I jumped in the car and headed down to the nearest Metro station.It was a great day-- we saw parts of the Cherry Blossom parade, walked around the rim of the Tidal Basin, saw a ton of tired, cranky Keep Reading...

SITS Day!

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Hi! I am thrilled to be the SITS Girls' featured blogger today! I absolutely love the friendships that I've cultivated through SITS (you know who you are!). If you are a blogger and haven't checked out this extraordinary community, you really should! You won't be disappointed!A special welcome to any SITS-tahs who are in the house! Please let me know you've dropped by! I'd love to link up and  stay in touch with you through Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest! I started Jo, My Gosh! last August as a way to catalog and cope with my fiance's year-long deployment to Afghanistan. Keep Reading...

#26 Eats It!

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It's been a bit of time since I last posted about a checked off item on my 100 in 365 list. I've crossed off quite a few-- books, mostly. I went to a bridal show (more about that later), and I ran an 8k. Yes. I ran an 8k. Let me put some more emphasis on that. I  ran an 8k. You might remember that my friend Ashley and I walked the Baltimore Half-Marathon in October when I was able to cross off #24 from my list.  (There's some photographic evidence to the right if you need it! Look at how short my hair was in October!) Afterwards, we both realized that we liked it so Keep Reading...

You are Cordially Invited…

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...to join... I started my 100 in 365 two months after John left on his deployment. As I looked at the year from the beginning of the deployment, it seemed like a giant, empty hole. While I'm not done with it yet, it has helped me stay focused on the things that I really want to get done while John is away.I've noticed that other blogs have similar lists. If you've got one, no matter what you call it--  a bucket list, a 10 in 12, a 101 in 1001, a 25 before 25, or something else-- link it up, slap the button on your page, and be part of a directory that's full of optimism, adventure, and Keep Reading...

R&R Stands for Ridiculous & Rad!

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Here's the post I've been dying to write and post, but just couldn't bring myself to write it and admit that John's leave has come and gone. Lame, right? I know. But as I was flipping through pictures that are now more than a month and a half old, I couldn't help but smile and feel absolutely, over-the-moon happy. Somehow we managed to fit so much awesome into 15 days that it pained me to have to choose between photos. (So you'll just have to look at a lot of photos of food and us. Sorry.)Food If you know anything about me by now, you know that I love food. So does John. (This is most likely Keep Reading...

Cajun Cookin’ with Tif

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Today, I've got a delicious Southern treat for you straight from Tif who blogs at Ramblings of a Southern Belle.  Tif has been hanging out on my sidebar for the past month and she's also contributing a $20 Amazon or Starbucks gift card for our February Sponsor Giveaway! (If you haven't entered, you've got less than one day! Hurry, hurry!) One of the best things about blogging is getting to meet so many different people from all around the world. Being a Southern gal, Tif shared with me a recipe from a Louisianan friend of hers. I made it last night for dinner (and now I only have 11 Keep Reading...

Crossing off Delicious #57

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Two nights ago, I tried my hand at making candy! Usually I stay away from trying to make it (eating it is easier!). I wanted to make my own caramels, not only because it's on my 100 in 365 list, but because now I will have a never-ending supply of caramel at my beck and call! If you're on Pinterest, you have probably seen at least one recipe for six-minute caramels. In the summer, I pinned a recipe, but I really thought that it would be as successful as some of the crazy diets and ideas that Pinterest is chockablock with. Two days ago, I decided to see if these recipes really worked.And much Keep Reading...

Christmas Cross Stitch

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Merry Christmas a Month Late! And another check mark on the ol' 100 in 365 list! I had to keep these Christmas ornaments under wraps until after John's R&R and the two extra Christmas we had when he was home. I loved making these-- from shopping for the perfect ornament for each person, to stitching them, to giving them. I don't think I'll be able to do it every year, since I think I probably sank between 4-10 hours into each one (depending on the pattern). That's just not sustainable...especially if our families grow.  But I am glad that I did it this year. (If you're interested Keep Reading...

Another TWO Bite the Dust!

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During John's R&R, I crossed off a few more items from my 100 in 365 list. Over the next few days, I'll share those. It seems fitting to first write about the bookends of his leave-- when he came home and when he left. First-- and appropriately-- John's return:You've seen this picture before, but it is one of two photos immediately taken following John's half-homecoming. His brother took one in the airport of John-- and it's really cute-- but I'm in the background, awkwardly staring at something off camera, with my mouth gaping open, slinging my apish arms into my coat. In the interest of Keep Reading...

13 Posts for 2013

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2012, wow. What a year! Strange, thrilling, maddening, challenging, frustrating, and elating... and all in just 366 days. I can't say that I'm excited that 2012 is over, but I can't say that I'm sad to see it go. 2012 will always be the year that John proposed.  But it will also always be the year that he left for Afghanistan. But 2012 will also be the year that I traveled more than I have in a long time. It's the year I spent more time with my Grandpa, the year I started writing again, the year I began a blog, the year I completed a half-marathon. It is the year I lived in two time Keep Reading...

A Box in Time for Boxing Day!

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Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were so wonderful! I hope that you enjoyed them, surrounded by family and delicious food, too! Now, as I struggle to stay awake on Christmas Day night while I wait for John to hop online, I'm finally able to publish a post about the Christmas Eve care package I sent him! John will be home on leave soon. (What an exciting sentence to type!) Instead of  Christmas box with Christmas presents, I opted to send items John could open Christmas Eve-- a stocking and cute stocking stuffers. This way, he was able to celebrate and we still were able to keep Christmas Keep Reading...

Ornament Round-Up

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Welcome to my Countdown to Christmas Series. To start at the beginning, click here.  I sent my deployed fiance a box with a paper, pin-up Christmas tree and 24 small packages, one for each day until Christmas. Daily (or nearly daily) I will be blogging about the day's surprise!Merry Christmas Eve! Today is also Day #200 of John's deployment, which is fantastic! To celebrate (and because I've run out of days of Advent), I present to you the rest of the ornaments that John opened and hung on his Christmas tree this year. For the felt ornaments, I haven't published templates, because Keep Reading...

DIY Letter Ornament

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Welcome to my Countdown to Christmas Series. To start at the beginning, click here.  I sent my deployed fiance a box with a paper, pin-up Christmas tree and 24 small packages, one for each day until Christmas. Daily (or nearly daily) I will be blogging about the day's surprise! Whenever my students complain about writing assignments-- which they do a great deal, I get righteously indignant. Writing is not just busy work. Writing is power. Writing changes lives. John and I met in our college marching band, and we became friends fairly quickly. We ended up going on a date my sophomore Keep Reading...

Alternative gingerbread man felt ornament-- tutorial and pattern are linked!

DIY Gingerbread Man Ornament

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It feels like I've taken such a hiatus from my blog-- but it's only been two days! So many fantastic things have happened in the past 48 hours (some of which you'll read about in just a bit!). But I digress. I've got another Countdown to Christmas ornament post for you!I have resolved to not say that this ornament is one of my favorites. I have an annoying habit of qualifying all of my posts that way. This is not one of my favorite ornaments. But it is a funny one. It's definitely unique. It's definitely a twist on an old Christmas standard. And it's definitely unexpected! When I saw this Keep Reading...

Jo, My Gosh! Has Been Featured On…

Jo, My Gosh! Has Been Featured On…

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