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