Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Shelby Jones: In Rare Form. (2016: A Year In Review). 12.13.2016

"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." -J.K. Rowling

2016.
New Friends.
Moving.
Independence.
Loneliness.
Travel.
Hangovers.
Failed Relationships.
Bad Dates.
Restoration.
Laughter.
Tears.
Music.
Weddings.
Sleep.
No Sleep.
Confusion.
Realization.
Reading.
Decisions.
Faking It.
Success.
Failure.
Hope.


So, if you want to skip the rest of the blog, that about sums it up. (But I promise, it's not the fun part!)

For those of you who've decided to stick around--welcome to another round of Shelby's blogging adventures. Always bound to make you chuckle and think to yourself "at least my life isn't as chaotic as hers". ;) Kidding. Maybe. It's relative. Whatever.

Alllllright. Where should I start?  How about January 1st, 2016? Yeah?

I woke up to 2016 with a raging hangover. I had no dreams and hopes or certainties about the upcoming year. Honestly, there wasn't much depth to any of my thoughts at that point.  I was living fast.  I was living day to day with no clue what the good Lord had in store for me. (And it was a LOT!!!!)

Thankfully, in one short year--I've come a long way! And done a lot of cool things! And met a lot of cool people! And traveled to a lot of places!

I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants on this one people--I don't have an overwhelming theme for this blog except that I'm not that scared lost lonely sad "January 1st, 2016 Shelby" anymore and I've had a lot of cool/scary/sad/happy/humbling awesome experiences this year that have helped me become a less lost/embracing the uncertainty and chaos "January 1st, 2017 Shelby". ;)

Let's talk highlights, people. Enjoy.

On January 24th, 2016--I settled into my apartment. Living alone sucked. Do not recommend. But hey, it was cute:




On March 20, 2016--I was smack dab in the middle of Paris, France.  The company I worked for sent me there for a "Group Integration Seminar".

On March 20, 2016 I saw the Eiffel Tower.  I was eating my meals at a pretty castle outside the city every day.

On March 21st, 2016.....I'll save this detail until after Paris details.

On March 24th, 2016 I went to the Palace of Versailles.

And then on March 25, 2016--I was riding around the city, by myself, on top of a double decker bus, stopping at all of the places I had only seen in movies.  Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre...ME. I WAS DOING THAT.

Here are some of the pictures I took:






Amazing.

SO. ALSO.

March 21st, 2016. The cool thing that happened while I was in Paris--I got an interview request for a job at Summit Polymers in Portage, MI.  Game changer. Going back home was so close, I could taste it. Screw Paris (not really, not at all), BUT this was a real opportunity to finally be back home.  There was a hope stirring within me.


Shelly or Shelby... whatever.  I'm going HOME.

April 1st, 2016--April Fool's Day! Oh yeah, and my divorce was finalized.

On April 7th, 2016, I received my job offer from Summit Polymers.

On April 7th, 2016, I put in my two week notice at Plastic Omnium and cried/laughed my whole drive home.

April 21, 2016 was my last day at Plastic Omnium.  My program managers had a going away party for me.  They're dorks.



On April 27th, 2016--I did what any unemployed person would do--and I took my best friend to Vegas for a week.





On May 1st, 2016 I moved into my Dad and step-mom's basement and I started work at Summit Polymers as a Manufacturing Technical Leader on May 2nd, 2016. I was finally home. <3

On May 2nd, 2016--I met my best friend in the whole world.  This girl has changed my world. We've been inseparable since that day.





On May 20, 2016--I turned 25! I had my 4th annual 21st birthday party surrounded by all of my favorite people. Let the quarter life crisis commence!




On June 25th, 2016, my best friend got married. That was awesome.




And so began, the free and fast summer of Shelby Jones. Filled with sunsets, bonfires, friends, baseball games, miller lites, and FAMILY.  I was adjusting well.



July 24th, 2016, Linny Lou and I saw Jon Bellion in concert in Detroit.  That was radical.

On August 1st, 2016, I moved in with two of the goofiest, most hilarious, kindest, most loving and beautiful women I have EVER met in my life.  I feel like I should write a blog on all of the shit that has gone on in this castle of crazies since I've moved in...we have fun.





August 11, 2016--my grandma Miki passed away.  She was amazing.  Gave me one of the greatest gifts on earth-my Daddy D.  On August 12th, 2016, DD and I had a few beers together and celebrated her life.



On September 10, 2016, my best friend(s) got married. Kristin and Nate Thompson.  They know how to throw a party.



On October 13th, 2016--I was in the heart of Guanajuato, Mexico. I was in Silao for work and was able to go into Guanajuato to be a tourist.  Beautiful city.







On November 4th, 2016 I booked a flight to Tacloban City, Philippines.

On November 25th, 2016 at 6am I landed in Tacloban and on November 26th, 2016--AGAIN--my best friend got married.  (I also lost my shoes that day--but that's a minor detail.)






SO--that brings us to the present. I've done some cool things this year.  In the midst of all these blessings--I've been becoming.

Just becoming.

I don't have it all together. I'm sitting here eating the last bit of moosetracks out of the carton. God, will I ever? Not likely. But, I've come a long way since the sorry sad hungover "January 1st, 2016 Shelby".

I'm so thankful for the experiences and the people that have walked in (and out) of my life this year.


Here's to 2017 being the best year of my life. Thank you to all who have played an integral role in getting "January 1st, 2016 Shelby" off of her sorry ass and back on her feet. I owe it all to you all and to Jesus.

December 13th, 2016.....




hahaha. I love you guys.

Shelby


Sunday, April 17, 2016

How to: NOT live life well as a 24 Year Old Female 04.18.2016

Once again, my insomniac brain decided to bring it with another blog. 

It's not my best idea yet but whatevs:

Lately: I'm either messing up a crap ton. Or I'm being primed to author a book on how NOT to live life well as a 24 year old female.

So, I thought... hey all you 24 year old ladies out there, here's some things you should NOT EVER (NEVER) do this year. And maybe if you do not do them life will go a little more smoothly for you this year. :) I will not say whether or not these actually happened to me. :)


DO THESE 24 THINGS if you want to NOT live life well as a 24 year old Female:

1. Put your coffee mug upside down under your Keurig while it makes your morning coffee at least once a month!

2. Don't keep a spare set of keys handy on Christmas Day when you're packing up your vehicle to catch a flight to Miami and lock your keys in your trunk.

3. While in Miami, get a Margarita the size of your face with your girlfriend and then accept the server's suggestion to take a to-go cup after you've asked for your check.

4. No need to plan ahead for getting back home when you go to your first NYE party single.

5. You should definitely feel ok about saying "sure" when some guy you're not REALLY that interested in asks for your number. No need to read the manual on your iPhone on how to use the block feature.

6. Going to the gym after happy hour is a fine idea. The stairmaster isn't that difficult to begin with or anything.

7. You should totally give blood again even if you pass out every other time. 8 billionth times a charm!

8. Don't eat your leftovers. You just made dinner for yourself and you're 24. It's not a huge deal and it wouldn't make sense to appreciate that for a few more days.

9. Just send text messages without pre-screening who the recipient is.

10. Throw your laundry in the washer and then get sleepy and go to bed and forget it for 3 more days. Good idea.

11. Don't put your keys/wallet/phone/charger/bags in the same place every day when you get home. That's way too complicated.

12. Definitely take an idiot's advice on going to a cheap dry cleaning place. You won't have to get them all done somewhere else...again.

13. Wait until the VERY LAST MINUTE to "find a power source" and don't worry about pressing "save" too often.  Live life on the edge.

14. Post one selfie every single day so that you will feel major validation when people like it.

15. Always finish the bottle of wine in one night if you've opened it.  Re-corking is complicated anyway.

16.  Drink a solid 4-5 cups of coffee every day. Skip meals. No harm there.

17. Go to bed every night after 1am. A good 4 hours is all you need to barely survive.

18. When you're nervous, the best thing you can do is NEVER STOP TALKING. It makes everyone super comfortable.

19. You can most likely trust a person even if they sketch you out a little. Don't fact check anything.

20. Set ALL your alarms for the wrong time of day. Don't double check AM/PM.

21. Your knees and legs and toes and butt and hips aren't that important. Run them hard into every sharp corner or surface. Big bruises look cool.

22. You should definitely make decisions without consulting anyone that you trust or value their advice and opinions because what do they know, anyway?

23. Don't ever take time to step away from life and process your emotions and feelings. Just keep doing whatever and making decisions a little blindly. It won't all catch up with you when you are sitting in an airplane alone with no one around you but this guy who might ask for your number after he watched you cry about not having your life together. I REPEAT: DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY SURE.

24. Girl, don't learn a single lesson from all the mistakes you've made. And don't smile every day knowing that everything is gonna be juuuuust fine.