So I came across an interesting blog idea...."Write your own obituary".  At first I thought, "Oh no, if I write my own obituary, I'll probably die.  And then, they'll probably use it as my real obituary.  Then that would be ironic".  (Scott says I use the word ironic incorrectly.)  But then I thought, why not?! 

So here goes....

Julie Kristin Helms Lanford was born in 19** in Charlotte, North Carolina.  She was born in Charlotte, but that was only because there were no hospitals in Waxhaw, where her parents lived.  She was the daughter of Johnny & Doris.  Sister of Kevin.  Wife of Scott.  Sister-in-law of Rana.  Aunt to Laura and Daniel.  Julie loved her big family and had OVER 50 aunts & uncles (that is counting their spouses).  She loved all of her aunts, uncles & cousins (well the majority of them) but she especially loved her Grandmother Helms.  Grandma Helms was the only grandparent Julie ever knew and they shared a special bond.   

Julie loved Jesus with her whole heart.  She tried to be like Jesus but failed miserably.  Julie always strived to have a super clean house but that never happened.  It was usually cluttered with dirty clothes strewn everywhere, days old dirty dishes in the kitchen and cat pee on the laundry room floor.  She wanted to be a great cook but frankly, never had the patience.    

Julie was an average student that made average grades.  She was a community college dropout that went on to great success in commercial real estate; a line of work that she found rather dull and boring.   Her husband said that every time something got hard, Julie quit & gave up.  Julie agreed that was pretty accurate.   

Julie loved her animals.  Over the years Julie had many pets; all of of which were special to her.  Her best friend in the world was her nearly toothless cat, Greta Sue.  

Julie had an unnatural fondness for chocolate milk (see name of this blog) and saltine crackers. 

Nothing in the world gave Julie greater pleasure than spending time with her niece and nephew and then getting to leave them.  She loved her parents more than life itself and was thankful for everything that they taught her.  

Julie would like to send a shout out to all of her friends...."What up?"  If Julie were still here today, she'd be trying to clean her house, exercise, eat healthier & learn French.   Oh & laughing about something....everything.  She loved to find the humor in life.  Her favorite thought was, "It could always be worse." 

PS.  Julie would like for Scott to know that she is watching him and after an acceptable period of grieving he is allowed to remarry.  But only if the woman is ugly.

****

Wow, reading that fake obituary made me realize that I might be the dullest person ever.  That's ok though because I love my life and I wouldn't change a thing!  (Except I'd like to hire a maid, personal chef & a personal trainer.) 

  

10 Things

I have been challenged by Megan Pastor of That Wasn't The Plan to share 10 things I love and 10 things I hate.  

So...here are 10 things I love (in no particular order)

1.  Cats on the Internet - I could spend hours looking at cats on the Internet - well, except for Grumpy Cat.  Grumpy Cat does not interest me.  However, cats in space are my particular favorites.  

2.  Ice Hockey  - I love hockey and I love hockey fights.  Don't know why but I do.  

3.  Therapy Dogs - Everyone should love therapy/service animals.  

4.  The Golden Girls.  

5.  Boat rides - I have loved riding on a boat for as long as I can remember.  I really need to make friends with someone who lives on the lake & has a boat.  

6.  Soft blankets -  The only thing that makes soft blankets better is sharing them with my cat.  

7.  My mom's chocolate chip cookies - she puts Rice Krispies in them. 

8.  Maids - I've never had one but I'm sure I'd like them.  

9.  Lint Rollers - when you share a house with 2 large dogs and a cat...you like lint rollers.

10.  Chickens wearing sweaters - What's not to love?  

10 things I hate. 

1.  My new glasses - Um, I really should have taken someone with me when I picked them out.  The cute, MUCH YOUNGER, sales associate said, "They look great on you."  And..."You can't see the blue".  I hate them.  

2.  Commercials - Commercials really annoy me.  Every once in a while you will come across a good commercial but most of the time they are just stupid.  I think they are directed at 12 year old boys.  And girls.

3.  Politics - I hate hearing about politics.

4.  Celebrities - Celebrities are annoying.

5.  Political Celebrities.

6.  Sirens - I am very sensitive to sirens.  Not only do they usually mean something bad has happened; they really hurt my ears.

7.  BBQ restaurants that have pigs as mascots -  That is just wrong.

8.  Loud cars & trucks - Yes, we hear you.  Why are you bringing attention to the fact that you have an insecurity that causes you to need extra attention?

9.  Plastic packaging - Nothing is more infuriating at the time as when you can't open something you have just bought.

10.   Grumpy Cat - It is hard to avoid Grumpy Cat when you are trying to look up cats on the Internet. 

Four Things About Me

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Megan at That Wasn't The Plan for "Four Things About Me".  Visit Megan here:

www.thatwasnttheplan.wordpress.com

4 names people call me other than my real name:

1.  Jules.....  Lots of people call me Jules.  Don't call me that; I hate it.
2.  Miss Julie...I have no idea why people call me this. 
3.  That girl with the long brown hair & glasses (I don't know if anybody really calls me this, but that's the way I would describe myself.) 
4.  Doris & Johnny's daughter


4 jobs I've had:

1.  Rack Room Shoes
2.  Nanny
3.  Legal Assistant for a divorce attorney
4.  Administrative Assistant - in commercial real estate company


4 movies I've seen more than once:

1.  All movies adapted from Jane Austen books....  Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Sense & Sensibility etc.
2.  Hope Floats
3.  The movie where she has the baby in the Wal-Mart aka "Where the Heart Is".
4.  Sweet Home Alabama


4 books I'd recommend:

1.  The Holy Bible :-)  
2. Anything by Jane Austen
More recently:
3.  A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman
4.  The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts


4 places I've lived:

1.  Waxhaw
2.  Charlotte
3.  Fort Mill, SC
4.  That's all...


4 places I'd rather be right now:

1.  There's nowhere I'd rather be than at my house with my animals
2.  But, I do really love Bald Head Island, NC
3.  Hilton Head, SC - Savannah, GA
4.  The NC Mountains


4 things I don't eat:

1.  Pork - I gave it up January 1, 2014 
2.  Dog food
3.  Liver - actually any kind of organ meat
4.  Uncooked red & green peppers


4 tv shows I watch:

1.  The Big Bang Theory
2.  King of Queens
3.  Friends
4.  Reba
5.  Golden Girls
Sorry, I just couldn't narrow it down.  They are all equally always on my television.  Reba is on right now.  Shocker. 


4 of my favorite foods:

1.  Chocolate
2.  Cheese
3.  Potatoes (cooked any way)
4.  I'm addicted to chocolate milk


4 things I'm looking forward to this year:

1.  Every holiday that I'm off of work
2.  Spending time with my friends/family
3.  Losing 10 pounds
4.  Becoming cooler

Blossom and I took a selfie. 

Salud!

So Megan and I are full of great ideas.  Once, we were going to open up a boutique that specialized in designer clothes for your pet chicken.  If I remember correctly, we were going to call it "Just Us Chicks" and hire a chicken named Henrietta for our store mascot.

Then, we went to Food Truck Friday (which, by the way, was a blast) and we decided to open up our own Food Truck business.  I don't think we have named our Food Truck yet, but we did take a cooking class at the Salud Cooking School.  I'm pretty sure that we now know everything we need to know....

Wait a minute...I just went over to Megan's blog to steal some photos and I realized that she has already blogged about our cooking adventure.  So, forget this....you should read Megan's blog! 

https://thatwasnttheplan.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/salud/

To Be Continued...

Mi Familia

I wanted to share a few more of my loves...

Scott & his mom.  I really hit the mother-in-law jackpot with Kathy!

The Helms Family.  Not all of my aunts & uncles could make it to the wedding but the ones that did sure look good!!!

 

 Dad and all of his beautiful sisters

Mom with her brother and sisters.  (Mom was the baby of 14 children!)

Grandmother Lanford

 My sweet, sweet Sue (right).  I miss her more than words can say.

The young girl to the far left is my cousin, Lauren.  Lauren is now an actress in New York City.  The handsome boy to her right is my cousin, Daniel.  Daniel is now a teacher at Myers Park High School.  (Yes, I've been married for a while).  The beautiful lady in the middle is my Mrs. Ruth Patterson.  She was the pianist at my church for over 40 years.  She is also the mother of one of my oldest & dearest friends.  

And, because I can't wait to show this to him at my yearly physical next month....here is a picture of me & my doctor, John Sensenbrenner.  LOL.  He & his wife Kim are dear friends of our family.  

 

Thanks for indulging me as I shared the photos with my family!!!  I know it has been a long time since some of my aunts have seen these photos!

Photo Share...

My friend, Connie, said she would like to see a picture of my wedding dress.  I went a little overboard.  Sadly, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all of the pictures in our photo album.  I wish I had the patience to scan them all in for you.  

My dress, along with the bridesmaid dresses, were made by Jim Hjelm.  The top had little white "pearl like" beads which were made to look like flowers.  The bottom was silk taffeta...I think.  

Linda, as you can see, the church has been remodeled since my wedding.  Long gone are the brown wood & green carpet!  I have to say that time has not been good to my photos...the carpet was not quite that ugly of a green color!

I am so thankful to say that all 3 of these girls are as big a part of my life now as they were then.  

PS.  Nothing was more fun that spinning around in that dress. 

Scott & my brother, Kevin

 

This picture shows a little bit of the back of the dress

Yet again, the carpet was NOT that shade of green.  ??? It was more of a blue...

This picture appeared in Carolina Bride magazine

The new & improved Helms Family

Connie, I told you I wore socks... (socks & Mary Jane's)

 

 The Beginning....