Tuesday, April 5, 2011
>Day 5 of 30.
I have one brother and he is 11 years older than me. We aren't that close because we grew up almost separately, as he lived with my dad in one town and I lived with my mom 2 hrs away. But I don't see this as a bad thing... I don't have to talk to him everyday to know that he is my brother. Should I ever need anything, I know I can call him and he will be there to help anyway he can and vice versa. I really think age difference and distance is the only obstacle but not a big deal to me.
My mom is afraid that when she is no longer around, ya know 100 years from now, that we won't keep in touch. One day she began her pleas for us to talk more, first with my brother.
His response: why? if anything happens with her, you'll let me know. :)
They both laughed and she left it at that.
But she had to still try to persuade me to call him more.
My response: why? if anything happens with him, you'll let me know. :)
We laughed about it and she told me those were his exact words and said she could definitely tell we were her kids. :)
I admit I was worried about his reaction to me being with Jessica, but he just took it in stride. This past year her name was actually on his Christmas list. Normally, some of our family members just address a gift card to us both. It meant so much to me that he got her her own gift (even if mom picked it out for him! Lol)
I have always been proud of my brother and this unique bond we share. Distance and time just doesn't matter.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, April 4, 2011
>Day 4 of 30.
My parents began dating around 1974-ish, when my mom was 18 and my dad was 28! ShOcKiNg, I know :) They got married and had my brother, Chris, very, very soon after that. They were married for 2 short years, when they divorced.
My mom went on to marry another man, who turned out to be more of a nightmare than a life-long love. When my brother was 5, her husband hit her. Now my momma is an extremely strong woman and is by no means a "victim". She, of course, hit him back!! She called my dad to come get my brother because she didnt want him there to witness any arguing or fighting of the sort. She had planned to have my dad take my brother for a few days, while she packed their stuff and found a place closer "back home". However, when she called my dad, he knew something was up. And all he said was "That son-of-a-bitch hit u didnt he?!?" (excuse the cursing) My mom said "Yes! But I hit him back!!!" His reply was "Well hell, I knew that" That part of the story still makes me smile today everytime I hear it, or even just think about it. He begged her to let him come get her and Chris, and that he would help them get settled somewhere. Being the stubborn woman she is, she said no that she just needed him to get Chris. When my dad arrived to get Chris, he asked her one more time to come with him. She said she looked around and realized now was the time to go. She threw everything she could into garbage bags and loaded up his truck and headed back toward their hometown, this was quite a long drive. I always say he rescued her, even though she has never needed that. :) Sometime passed and they got back together and got married.... again. They tried continously to have another baby, but the doctors said that she would never have anymore children. *cue the tears*
However God had a different plan for them & 5 years later they were blessed with a beautiful baby girl :) When my mom realized she was *late*, she called my *AUNT KATHY* (who was mentioned in the crafty blog posts!) and all my aunt could say was "OMG YOU'RE PREGNANT!!" My mom did not think this was so because "she couldnt have anymore." But sure enough she was.
My parents divorced when I was 3, but did their best to remain somewhat friends. My mom remarried her true prince charming a few years later. My stepdad was a wonderful man who loved us more than anything. He promised my mom he was always take care of us. 16 months after they were married, he passed away from past Air-Force injury & complications. But he kept his word and he has always provided for us, and even now with college. As if our world was not already turned upside down from his death, my dad passed away 16 months later from lung cancer. We knew he was sick and she knew it was pretty bad. One Sunday afternoon, my dad's "wife" called my mom and said he was not doing good, and she should bring me down to his house. Of course my mom packed up, and we were on our way. I spent the whole day with him. She knew this would probably be the last time we saw him. She made sure to tell my brother that now was the time to say whatever he needed too, because he might not have the chance much longer. We left Sunday evening to head back home, my brother called my mom around 1am to tell her that he had passed.
I was going on a camping trip with my school, and my daddy's last words to me was "I love you & have fun on your trip!!" My mom knew she couldnt tell me about my dad because he wanted me to have fun and not to miss out. When I woke up for school, she said I asked about him, which I didnt usually do. She had to look me in the face and lie. The courage it took for her to do that is simply amazing. For 4 days, she talked to me on the phone from camp and pretended eveything was ok. When I got home from camp, she told me the truth. There was very little time before we were on the road for the funeral.
My mom raised me by herself. She is incredibly strong, loving, open-minded, and accepting. She is truly my best friend. I have always talked freely with her about ALL aspects of my life. I dated guys for quite sometime before realizing I was a lesbian. The first girl I dated my mom just smiled and said "Well, at least you wont get pregnant ;)" We thought it was a phase. When we realized it wasnt, she embraced it and never judged. She welcomed Jess with open arms and treats her just like her own kid. My mom even came to several bball games :)
I read so many blogs about families turn apart when someone coming out. I consider myself truly blessed to have such an accepting mom/family.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
>Day 3 of 30
This post is about my first love. My first love is Shirrell. Even though I had previous relationships before we met, they were nothing compared to what we have together. From day one I knew she was the one! And I know that sounds cliche, but it is true. Before we even met we had too many uncanny aspects that fit together. It was just meant to be from the beginning. When I am with her nothing else in the world matters, it is just the two of us! We can have a whole conversation without even speaking a word to each other. I have never known a more compasionate caring person in my whole life. She will do anything for the people she loves, and I am so grateful that I am one of those people. Shirrell brings out the best in me and I think that is what love is all about. She loves me because of all my flaws and not despite them. She treats me like a princess, even though I am the "boy"! I love everything about her. Even on the tough days, I couldn't imigine being with anyone else. She is the sun in my sky and I would do anything for her. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her. I love you my Butterfly! Forever and Always.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
>Day 2 of 30.
The story behind our blog name is quite simple. Its our trademark :) We write Shell & Bake on EVERYTHING! My mom even had me a backpack purse made with Shell & Bake embroidered on it.
Shell- is a nickname for Shirrell. When my niece was a baby, she couldn't say my name.. it always came out Shell. So it stuck. All through my teenage years most of my friends called me Shell, along with any other nickname they could make-up, including Shay-rizzle.. but thats another story. :)
Bake- is Jess nickname from basketball, short for Baker. We LOVE her nickname, especially since it's part of how we met.
Sidenote: Now that the basketball season is done, she is playing intramural softball. This year the team had shirts made with their names & numbers on them. Of course her shirt says BAKE 23 on it, but she had me one made that says Bake's Girl 23. Awww. :)
Friday, April 1, 2011
>Day 1 of 30 Day Challenge!!
This is more of an introduction to how we met.
We met in the summer of 2008. We actually met on Myspace. HA! We don't usually tell people that. I had just quit my job and was coming to terms that I was a lesbian. I had "dated" girls before but never actually been in a relationship with a girl. I was just curious to see what a real, fully committed lesbian couple looked like, so I browsed all the lesbians in my area. I was not looking for anyone to date at all. But I found Jessica.. whose screen name was Bake. Now I had no clue what that meant and was beyond curious.. plus she was boyish and pretty :) In her pic was her and a girl hugging, so I assumed they were together, exactly what I wanted to find. So I read her page only to determine that her page sounded exactly like MINE.. well.. minus playing basktball. And she was single!! The pretty girl in her pic was her *roommate* YAY! Now I dont know why I was excited.. haha I was NOT about to meet/like/date/anything with this stranger from the internet. But I requested to be her friend anyways. :)
12 hours of myspace messages turned into teaching her to download yahoo messenger turned into days/nights of talking which turned into the discovery that her aunt lives 10 min from my mom and her mom was moving into a house about 20 min from my mom's. We met in a Publix parking lot and the rest is history :)


15 Interesting Facts!
1. I am left handed & Jess is right handed.
2. I have to brush my teeth with hot water & Jess has to have cold water!
3. I really like the edges of fresh baked cookies because its crunchy while Jess likes the gooey center.
4. I have to sleep to something I really like or I will wake up constantly.. and now she has developed my habit.
5. Jess HATES feet!!!
6. We both love it cold in the house and we rarely turn on the heat... well except the little heater for the babies.
7. I got my first job when I was 15... and Jess is starting her *first* job next week at 22.
8. I have NEVER played any sports and Jess has played almost EVERY sport.
9. We are addicted to way too many tv shows and
10.We are "old". We dont go out and we prefer to be home watching dvr & snuggling.
11. We treat our chihuahuas like children and believe they understand everything we say to them.
12. I have recently decided if I dont get into nursing school.. to go to Jess' school for the same degree as her but use it completely different.
13. I have developed a crafty nature in the last couple of months and my mom couldnt be happier. :)
14. My all-time favorite baby name since I was 12 years old was Jessica Lynn .... which is her name.
15.Jess is always making random songs/dances that she does constantly until it actually stays stuck in my head. Example: She says I am her butterfly (we still dont know why that started). We call it each other Pookie. One day when I was mad about something, she tried everything to make me laugh. She started singing "Pookie Wookie Butterfly" phrase over and over and over and over. So now anytime I aggravated about something, she starts singing. I cant help but laugh because its just so silly. :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
>April 1st! 30 Day Challenge
Here it is:
Day 1- (April 1) Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you’re afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you’ve learned
Day 25-Favorite memory
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, March 24, 2011
3 days of crafting with Mom :)
so we could be on the road to moms asap.
We had planned to work on ALL of our projects including
Jess's bball collage, our Hers & Hers mirrors, a decorative photo wall mount,
and a new ribbon book I bought.
However,
we only finished the collage.
Haha.
We were lazy Tuesday and spent too much time shopping on Wednesday.
We also wanted to try making cake pops.
I saw these on a few blogs here and there,
and thought they were too cute not to attempt to bake them myself.
We ran out of time for that, so I packed up all the stuff needed (including several of
Mom's things) to make them when we got home today.
Btw, since I have become so nesty and crafty lately,
I have all these ideas of things to make or bake.
Now I realize how expensive my ideas could be since I dont have anything
to attempt to create anything with.
The best thing having these is ideas is that my mom has been having these ideas for that last
15 years or so.
:)
She has a craft room with enough supplies for scrapbooking, stamping, baking,
cake decorating, candy jar making, & any other craft.
It is my personal belief that SHE could supply every Hobb.y Lobby or Mich.ael's
within a hundred mile radius. lol.
It doesnt matter what I say looks like fun to make or bake,
she has the supplies. It may even be something she hasn't tried to make or bake
but "it was on sale and she had a coupon and well she only paid $0.50 for it in the end".
(This idea occurred about a month ago!)
I have always wanted to stamp with markers but I have never really understood the process of it
and my mom doesn't do it.
I tried endlessly to explain it to her but she didnt know exactly what I wanted to do.
So we called my aunt (who equally owns as much craft stuff as mom) and she
had some ideas as how to go about it.
We shopped at some craft stores to see if I liked anything because
I didnt just wanna jump into it and buy a bunch of stuff.
Mom says she "thinks" she has a few things at home that I might like and
I could play with it before I start really buying stuff.
We go home and search the craft room, (and by craft room I mean converted garage with tons of space!)
She pulls out 2 totes FULL of stamps, stamp blocks, ink (Mart.ha Stewa.rt ink at that),
all kinds of stuff.
Me: *Laughing* Where did you get all this?? You dont even stamp!!
Her: Well it was on sale.. I paid like a $0.50 for it. :)
Lol.
This never ceases to amaze me.
But it always works out in my favor!
This is the collage we have been working on for Jess.
Each letter is cut out (using a c.ricut) and then glued by hand..
more time consuming than I had antispated.
But so worth it.
*edited info*
This is a random online pic of the cake pops.
I can't wait to go back to mom's to finish the rest of my projects!
Being at Grandma's makes little chihuahuas very tired.. they slept the whole way home and
have been napping since we got here!!
In the crate on the way home.
*Mango IS the big pink hump Kiwi is resting on*
Sleeping beside Momma J on the couch.
*SNORING*