Here’s What You Need To Know

I’m getting ready to go on a very much needed vacation. By now most of you know how the past few months have gone for me, so this is truly a needed get-away. I’ve been anticipating this trip for quite some time and it is finally time to start packing.

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What’s On Your Bucket List?

Today we’re going to play a game. I don’t know about you, but I love to play games. As in actual games with rules and prizes and stuff, not the emotional games game. I don’t play those games. Those are hurtful. But I digress.

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It’s That Time of Year Again.

It’s the beginning of a brand spanking shiny new year, full of hope and promise. That means, out with the old habits and in with the new resolutions. Lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, save more money, blah, blah, blah. You all know the drill.

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A Rare Phenomenon

 

Well – today’s the big day. The day we’ve been hearing so much about. A day no one has seen since 2009. A day not to be repeated for another two years (according to Google, if you can believe Google). Can you feel the anticipation? The sky goes dark. Temperatures drop. Birds and animals go quiet. For those of you who’ve been living in a cave, today there will be a total eclipse of the sun in certain parts of the United States. In most states, there will only be a partial eclipse, thanks to the fickle new moon, who only wishes to travel in a straight line across the middle of the nation.

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New Year – New Goals – New Determination!

It’s almost January – let the dieting, working out, eating healthier, spending less, drinking less, and other awesome goals begin! Here’s to a good two weeks of purging the old habits and staying focused on those resolutions. Mark my words, by the end of January there will be a noticeable decline in gym attendance and longer lines at the burger joint drive through windows.

Resolutions are wonderful; however, rarely attainable. Most people make the same resolutions every year or set such high estimations of their sticktuitiveness that they are setting themselves up to fail.

I’ve never been a fan of resolutions. I have goals, sure, long term things I’d like to do or accomplish. But I don’t set out to start something new every January simply because it’s a new year. I always make it my resolution to make no resolutions. And guess what? I always reach my goal.

However, this year, I’m changing things up. I’m going to make some resolutions. I’m going to do some wild and crazy things this year. I’m not sure when, or where, or how, but I’ll blog of them when they happen. Stay tuned.

If you’re a resolution maker – kudos to you and good luck. If you need some ideas for some simple, attainable resolutions, may I suggest a new hobby? Check out the video below for an idea that might work for you.

Happy end of December dear blog followers! Here’s hoping 2017 is fabulous. And here’s to making goals you can stick to.

Do you make resolutions? Do you start every new year on a diet, determined to do better than last year? Are you searching for your inner wild child?

Word of the day: Saxicolous

Fun fact about me: I’ve grown fond of pecans since living in Mississippi.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, December 2016. Video courtesy YouTube (Studio C)

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An Adventure of Firsts

Have you ever set out to cross something off your bucket list? Well, I do and recently, I did. I finally took a Disney cruise. Not my first cruise, my first DISNEY cruise!! Needless to say, I was very excited.

The entire journey turned out to be one “first” after another, starting with Thanksgiving day in New Orleans.

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Look For the Beauty

It is with heavy heart that I write this post. Not because of the election results. I’m not overjoyed (I remain hopeful), but neither do I feel the need to slit my wrists. I am saddened because of the ugliness that followed the results. Come on, America – knock it off already.

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What’s Going On At the Baer House?

Well, it’s been a year now and we’re getting to know the bed and breakfast routine pretty well. We’re also becoming familiar with the highs and lows of tourist traffic patterns here in Vicksburg. Vicksburg is very much a tourist town, but I think it’s pretty accurate to say we definitely have a tourist “season,” and thank the good lord for that.

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Blog Interrupted, Or . . . What’s Going On In Your World?

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to talk about you. That’s right – you. As I’m beginning to discover, it’s not always about me. (I know, that’s wrong, but true.)

So, dear readers, tell me, what’s going on in your world? What little tidbits of completely useless information should I know about you?

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Whistlin’ Dixie In the Land of Cotton

M, dotted letter, crooked letter, crooked letter, dotted letter, crooked letter, crooked letter, dotted letter, hump back, hump back, dotted letter.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in my blog that I’d hidden a clue in the post regarding my new home. The clue was this picture:

Photo courtesy Google Images

The Magnolia State, home of the Rebels and the Bulldogs, birthplace of Elvis Aaron Presley (Tupelo, January 8, 1935), famous for the Natchez Trace and the Great River Road (Blues Highway), former home of Jefferson Davis, first and only president of the Southern Confederate States during the War Between the States (who, incidentally, despised war).

Beauvoir – Jefferson Davis’s home. Photo courtesy Google Images

 

 

Why Mississippi you ask? Because my friends, after we decided that owing a bed & breakfast held a certain appeal to us, we started researching and Mississippi proved to be the state that afforded us the most bang for our buck. We visited, explored, researched some more, and voila, we found the perfect place. Contracts were signed, paperwork flew across the internet, deals were made, and now it’s about to happen. Just a couple more weeks and it’ll be official – I’ll be a resident of Mississippi!

Photo courtesy Google Images

In the meantime, while you’re all planning your trips to visit me (you are right?), here are 10 lesser known yet fun facts about Mississippi:

1 – It is approximately 725 miles from Disney World;

2 – It is approximately 1,780 miles from Disneyland;

3 – Shoes were first offered in boxed pairs (1 left, 1 right) around 1884 at Phil Gilbert’s Shoe Parlor on Washington Street in Vicksburg;

4 – It is the home of the International Hall of Checkers and the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum;

5 – The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second largest in the country, the first being Arlington;

6 – The world’s largest pecan nursery is located in Mississippi;

7 – Vicksburg is home to the world’s largest hydraulic research laboratory and is operated by the US Army Corp of Engineers;

8 – John B. Stetson, honed the craft of hat-making at Dunn’s Falls, near Meridian, after the Civil War, forever changing the look of western headgear.

9 – S.B. Sam Vick, of Batesville, was the only man to ever pinch hit for Babe Ruth. He played for both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

10 – Most importantly, it is where you’ll find the Baer House Inn, circa 1870, my new home! (Almost.)

Photo courtesy Baer House Inn

I hope you’ll all come and visit (but not all at the same time because I don’t have that much room) and enjoy some Southern hospitality and home cooked vittles.

Question: What is your favorite Southern dish? Ever been to Mississippi? Got a cool Mississippi fun fact? If you stay overnight, what would you like to eat for breakfast?

Word of the Day:  Taboret

Fun Fact About Me: I’ve only been to Mississippi twice. And no, that awesome car does not come with the house. (Dang it!)

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, June 2015. Photos courtesy Baer House Inn and Google Images

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