Hello all, I have some exciting news for you today. I just started my own business. I am recently a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant, and my website to purchase, or contact me for bookings is http://www.marykay.com/gretta.patrick.
I am so excited to share the products I love with the people I love! And, since I love my readers, whoever you are, I'd love to share my products with you!
Visit my site and send me a message to contact me! Just in time for the holiday season!  I can help you save a bundle on your Christmas gifts.

Happy Shopping
and as always, Keep it Classy, Keep it Country.
Gretta Patrick <3

Vlog 1: Coffee Time With Gretta.

Hey everyone! I'm starting my new "vlog" project! Called "Coffee Time with Gretta" and I'm really excited about it! As you all know, I've recently decided to try broadcast journalism, and I thought that doing vlogs would help! So Hope you enjoy my first Coffee Time! Leave me a comment!

And the Countdown Is On!

Today marks a few different things. One of the most significant, is a birthday - er, two birthdays. Julia Child's birthday is today, and my Dog, Bacchus, who just went through a very unpleasant surgery, turned 10 today. Happy birthday to a fabulous late TV personality chef, and a dog with the best personality ever. 

Today also marks my last day of one of my summer jobs. Not that it was a bad job, but hopefully, with some luck this school year, it was my last day ever working that job! 

Also, there's only six more days until I move back to Chicago. I can't wait to get back to my life there. I'm going to miss my friends here like crazy, but I'm almost packed, I'm counting down days, I'm really ready to go back. It's not enough that my room looks like a war zone with all the clothes and shoes and miscellaneous junk that will soon be packed into boxes and packed into my new apartment, but I also have unfinished business in the craft room to finish before I move into the new place. I've already gone above and beyond for my roommates, what with supplying furniture, kitchen supplies, etc. I've also been doing some crafting for our room. Pictures will come. 

This exciting transition back into school gets me on the subject of change. I've changed so much from last year. If anyone who really knows me thinks back to a year ago today, they would see a much different person than the one typing at this computer right now. They'd see a girl who was head over heels for the biggest mistake of her life. They'd see a girl who had no idea what she wanted, but knew it was nothing that her parents said they wanted for her. They'd see a recovering rebel, a girl with a few different crossroads ahead. 

Now, a year later, things have changed. I'm no longer the same recovering rebel who couldn't see the train-wreck she was heading for. I no longer want the same things I did a year ago. I may still be Gretta, but my outlook on life has completely changed. I'm now just a little bit more grown up than last year. I wouldn't change that for the world, and I'm happy for all the changes that came. 

Some people don't like change, but I say, after careful reflection: bring it on. 

Keep it Classy. Keep it Country. 

Gretta Patrick <3

Hello Love! Here's to Six More... and So On...

Well, I was going to write about something useful, like the benefits of finding a hobby, or the wonderful world of packing for college, but instead I'm writing about something much more exciting on this particular evening.

In earlier blog posts, I've written about letting love find you, about how exciting new relationships feel, about the fear that comes with new relationships, and about the many different aspects of falling for someone. Well, I'm happy to say that to this day, I'm infinitely happy that I conquered my fear of falling all those months ago. I'm happy to say that the exciting new relationship I wrote about hasn't been dull for one second since then, and it's all because I took my own advice, and let love find me.

This past November, I found my incredible boyfriend, Kyle. Since I "bumped into him," he's been my best friend, my unending source of laughter, my confidante, and last but certainly not least, the best boyfriend in the world, and after a very interesting game of truth or dare six months ago, my life hasn't been the same, it's been so much better!

Half a year since I answered "yes" to his "two-part truth." Half a year since I've been able to call him all mine, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I still love talking to him, I love laughing at all his silliness, I love making him laugh that laugh I love so much, and I love being able to know he's always going to be there for me.

Now, I've also written about the difficulties that come along with distance. Spending this summer away from my boyfriend has been far from easy. I've had my share of sadness, of frustration, of heartache. I'm not going to say that the distance thing gets any easier, because in reality, it doesn't. You just get used to it, and you find ways to deal with it. That being said, if I can spend three of our six months together, upwards of 200 miles away from him, and still love him more every day,  then I know we can spend many more months together. Even if we're apart for part of that... if that makes any sense at all.
So, here's to six more. And six more after that, and so on, etc...

Keep it classy. Keep it country.
Gretta Patrick <3

P.S. I'm still as in love with you, and more, as I was when I first told you I love you! And I still miss you you silly Pengin! So... Here's some Penguins!

Put Your Big Girl Pants On...

Less than a month until I go back to school in my wonderful city of Chicago! I've already started getting things together, for instance, I bought a bunch of mason jars to use as water glasses (you can take the girl out of the country...), and I have finally passed the biggest milestone of the summer, getting my wisdom teeth out. This wisdom teeth surgery has had me canceling plans right and left, most - no - all of these plans involved seeing Kyle. This did not make Gretta a happy camper. Now that those incredibly stupid-not-wise-at-all teeth are out of my mouth, I may be a little sore, but I'm a much happier camper!

Anyway, the topic of todays blog is something at which a lot of girls nowadays are not good: dealing. I'm not talking about dealing out cards, I'm talking about dealing with bumps in the road. Take my wisdom teeth surgery for example, I had to cancel going to not one, but two cubs games for these un-wise teeth. I had to cancel one game (and visit to Kyle) to have my consultation, and I had to cancel a second game/visit to have adequate time to heal from the surgery. Plus I had to go home a day early from a 4-day concert (That I had already paid for) in order to even have the surgery. All summer I've been thinking, "If this dumb surgery didn't have to happen then none of this would have been a problem. Why did God even give us wisdom teeth huh? They're pointless!"

After my rage, my temper tantrums, yelling at my daddy, and a whole lot of tears, I finally realized that there was nothing I could do about the situation. I had 2 extra teeth in the bottom of my mouth that were going to mess up my smile if they stayed in there, and they had to come out whether the cubs and Toby Keith played or not. So, I had to learn to deal.

I'd like to say that I put my big girl pants on and dealt with it, but I wouldn't call screaming and crying putting my big girl pants on exactly. I'd call it melting down, and melting down has always been how I've dealt with things. Not the most effective or pleasant method, but my method nonetheless. What I have failed, until now, to realize is, none of that melting down helped. What did help was a family friend giving me 4 extra tickets to the cubs/diamondbacks game. What helped was my boyfriend picking me up from my concert when I desperately needed a shower and a bed and a ride to the train station. What helped was calmly setting a date for him to visit Paris since I can't leave town while I'm recovering from my surgery. What helped was making alternative plans.

Sure, melting down may seem like a quick fix, and believe me, getting your feelings out can definitely blow off a lot of steam, but it doesn't accomplish anything. However, girls like me have to melt down sometimes, so if you must, just make sure nobody else suffers from your tantrums. Go in your room and lock the door, have a good scream and cry, knock some chairs down, kick the wall, then come out of your room a calmer person and come up with a plan B. Works for me every time.

Keep it classy, Keep it country!
Gretta Patrick <3

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Okay everyone! It's almost the third month of summer vacation and it is AWESOME down here in little old Paris. A bit hot, but daddy's grapes are loving the heat. We are about to go on our annual North Carolina beach vacation, and guess who's going with me? You remember the guy I blogged about in the past? The one I was scared to reveal my feelings to? Well we've been dating for about 5 months now, and he's coming with us to North Carolina! When I found out he was going, I was so excited I could've wet myself! I haven't seen him in almost a month and now he's coming on a week-long vacation to the beach. Yay! But the real nature of this post has to do with that month-long absence. Shakespeare once said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I feel like he was - painfully - right. Although I haven't seen Kyle (yes, mystery man has a name) in so long, I still love him just as much as if I'd seen him every day. He is still my everything, and now since I haven't gotten to see, hold, smell, kiss, or anything to him, I appreeciate our relationship, and our time together much more. That being said, hollywood shows a VERY unrealistic picture of long-distance-relationships. To hollywood, they're wildly romantic, and the women sit on their porches talking to their girlfriends about it while reading his letters and sipping sweet tea. Oh no honey! Have they gotten that picture wrong! First of all, you don't even want to talk to your girlfriends about it at the risk of sounding whiney or dramatic. And while love letters and such aren't unheard of, reading them with a calm smile me a sip of that southern sweet tea is. It's impossible to read a sweet letter, email, or even a sweet text without bawling your eyes out! Don't get me wrong, long distance relationships are totally worth it. Every tear, sleepless night, hug from mom is all worth it when you can actually see his face, and be with him. Yes, they're worth it, but that doesn't make them any easier. Keep it classy. Keep it country. Gretta Patrick <3

Calming Thoughts

Okay fellow country girls, now that we're getting into the full swing of the semester, we're starting to feel a little bit stressed. As the "country girl in Chicago," my stress is heightened by the uber fast-paced city. If you're a country girl at heart and are trying to live in a busy city, you know how I'm feeling. You're trying to keep up with everything, but even on a semi non-busy day, you end up feeling so exhausted.
That's because we're used to going back to a house in the middle of nowhere, petting our dogs, kicking our feet up, maybe relaxing by a fireplace. We're used to being able to sit down and vent to our moms, sisters, dads, grandmas, anyone. Here, when we go home, we're still technically at school, and that's doing nothing for our over-used minds.
What is it that calmed you down at home? For me, it was just putting on my Carhartt, a pair of boots, and just walking. I lived literally in the middle of nowhere, and walking meant through fields, by water, on back-roads, maybe gravel or dirt roads, and always with friends or dogs. Even in the dead of winter, I'd step out and go on a walk. As soon as I'd step out of the house, my dogs would meet me. Then, anywhere I went, they'd be there. And I could just walk, and think, and sort things out.
Here, walking isn't the same. It isn't an adventure like it was at home. Granted, it was a very uneventful adventure, but taking a walk in the city isn't the same. Here, there are cars, other people, and my dogs aren't with me. So how on earth am I going to calm myself down?

One: Call my mom. Any time I'm having a bad day, even hearing about home makes me feel better.
Two: Go to the quiet room in the library (or in my case, the quiet floor. I'm sure every university has one), and stare out the window and sort out my thoughts. This helps a lot!
Three: Take a nap. Even if it's only for 20 minutes, I still feel like I've had a little break from all that work.
Four: Clean. Country girls most always had chores at home, so why not simulate them here. Also, it gives you a little break from tasks at hand.
Five: Call my sisters. When all else fails. Talk to my best friends! Things will always look better when I talk to them!
Six: Read for fun. At home, I had a huge library, and would read a lot. So reading takes me back to that happy place.

There you have it. My tips for how to calm the mind of a country girl.

Keep it classy. Keep it country,
Gretta Patrick <3

10 Things Men Should Know About Women

Having seen many of these lists around the internet, I've decided to compile my own list of "the 10 things all men should know about women"

1. Please call before coming over! Especially if it's summer. Women tend to waltz around in their underwear and believe me, it's not cute!

2. Just because we like to watch sports, doesn't mean we know exactly what you're saying. Sometimes the smile, nod, and "yeah, okay, yeah" mean absolutely nothing! Don't be offended, we're girls!

3. No matter how many times you tell us how cute we are without our makeup on, it still doesn't outweigh the "Wow, you look great!" we hear when we do. So we're still wearing makeup 99% of the time. 

4. We don't like to take compliments. It doesn't mean we don't like it when you give them, it's just we feel weird taking them. 

5. If we say "I had a really bad day," That doesn't men we want space, it means "Hug me now you idiot!"

6. If we get angry and say, "We're not speaking," it doesn't mean we're never going to speak again, it just means, "I need to figure out how exactly to strategically plan my next move so that I'm in the right." 

7. If we say, "don't tick me off this week!" it means, "I'm PMS-ing and you need to be sympathetic." 

8. Let's be perfectly clear, we don't dislike action movies, we just like chick-flicks better!

9. If we get you a gift, we put some freaking thought into it. You people are extremely difficult to buy for, and we probably spend 10+ hours just thinking of something meaningful. 

10. Just because we flirt with other men, doesn't mean we're interested in other men. Flirting is just an instinctual thing! Promise!

Keep it classy. Keep it country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Fashion Police Officer Gretta Has Spoken!!! (and really needs to vent)

There are some girls who need to realize that wearing clothes that fit is so much more attractive than trying to look skinny!
I'll be honest, I wear a size 4, I would like to wear a size 2, but that doesn't mean I should buy size 2 dresses and expect to look good in them. Nobody cares if you are a 2,4,6, or an 8. That is, unless you wear clothes that are too small for you, in which case people WILL judge you.
You're going to look beautiful no matter what size you are, so wear clothes that show off your beauty, not clothes that should be showing off someone else's, because they're doing nothing for YOU.

That being said, ladies, please cover up when you go out! Honestly, unless you're looking to get paid for sleeping with someone, there's no excuse for dressing like a prostitute. Trust me. You'll find some WAY more respectable men whilst out on the town if you leave it up to their imagination.
I honestly got more compliments on my attire when I wore long sleeves, a black pencil skirt, and black tights than I did when I was wearing a short skirt and a scrappy top.
So it really comes down to how you want to be seen. Would you rather be seen as beautiful, or as a piece of ass? If you have any self-respect, you'll say the first, and put some clothes on.

Keep it classy. Keep it country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Girl Talking Advice

Good afternoon blogger world, I'm sorry I've been away so long. How will you ever forgive me?

Well, to help earn that forgiveness, I'll write about something extra special: codenames.

Girls, have you ever wanted to talk about someone to your girlfriends, but were afraid that the wrong people would overhear? Well, taking from my favorite show of ALL TIME, Sex and the City, I've found the answer to the ultimate problem, "How to ensure the wrong people don't hear my gossip." That answer is codenames. Give every man you talk about a codename.
Just as Carrie and company used codenames, aka Mr. Big, My girlfriends and I used to use these all the time. A few of the ones we used were Ladder, Chair, Shoes, Mop, Cowboy, Singer, etc...
Now, these may sound like random names, but the thing is, they all need to have some kind of relevance to the guy in question. For instance, Ladder was really tall. The first time I talked to Chair was my eighth grade year and he was sitting on a weird chair. Shoes was a runner for the school office. Mop had long hair. Cowboy was, well, a cowboy, and Singer is also self explanatory. (Please take note, only a couple of these were codenames for guys I was interested in. These also include friends' love interests)
The best part about using these codenames: confidentiality. And half the fun is in choosing the names.

Keep it classy. Keep it country
Gretta Patrick <3

Time to get FUNKY!

In observing most of my friends since I've been to college, I have found that after a break, particularly a long break (aka winter break), college students tend to go into some kind of a down-in-the-dumps stage. In essence, we all go into a funk right after we get snapped back into reality.

Being in said "funk" is really depressing, especially if you're a long way from home. It basically consists of homesickness, refusing to leave your room for extended periods of time, starting at old pictures of home, becoming a bit anti-social, refusing to do anything productive, and most of all, just missing home and the freedom of the previous break. So now the ultimate question arises: how do we get ourselves out of this funk?

One thing you do not want to do, is all I've mentioned above. Sitting in your room wallowing in self pity isn't going to take you home, and certainly don't put on your sparkly red stillettos and pull the Dorothy Gale, because it just doesn't work (I've tried). The best thing you can do is just get the ball rolling. Let me explain this: you just need to do something positive and start some kind of positive chain reaction that keeps you out of your room and out of that funk.

For starters, don't try to do your homework in your room. You'll just end up in that same downward spiral of self-pity. So get out and go to the library, or go to another friend's room. You may not get much homework done in the midst of watching The Kardashians, Modern Family, and Sweet Home Alabama, but trust me, you'll be in a much better mood than if you sat in your room, procrastinating by clicking through old photo albums of your high school days!

Second, do something for yourself! In my last blog, I discussed leaving some time to enjoy life, so pick one of my choices of life-enjoyment activities and get crackin. I've found it really helps to lift my mood when I read for fun or take a walk by the lake.

Another thing that helped me get out of my funk was drama auditions. I didn't get called back, but putting one foot in front of the other doing something I loved was like the cherry on top of my mood-lifter sundae. I even impressed the audition judges. How cool is that?

The last thing I did to cheer myself up: American Idol and chocolate ice cream. I took a break last night and watched the show that will lead to my future success (wink wink), and ate my favorite ice cream. Granted, it wasn't moose tracks, but it certainly lifted my mood!

Keep it classy. Keep it country,
Gretta Patrick <3

Us Small Town Hicks are on to Somethin'

If I learned one thing about living in a small town, it's that every once in a while, you have to step back and just enjoy life. Whether it's waking up and spending a few minutes looking out your window, taking a walk that has no point other than walking, calling an old friend just to chat, or flipping through an old photo album, everyone needs to take some time to realize what life is all about.

No, it isn't about money, it isn't about your job, and it isn't about impressing people. Life is just that: life. It's about living. And sometimes you need to step back and think about that. So instead of getting angry over your lack of checks off your to-do list, just step back and think of the reason there are no checks in those boxes. Chances are, you were probably doing something a lot more fun than said task. Am I right?

So stop worrying about your next deadline, or your shrinking bank account for a little while, and just go out and live a little!

Keep it classy. Keep it country.
Gretta Patrick <3