My dog, Izzy, sure is cute, but she isn’t the brightest pup in the land.

So when she saw a skunk at 11 p.m. last night, she decided it wanted to play.

Three peroxide, Dawn and baking soda bath’s later I’m pretty sure she regrets that decision.

Well, I’d like to think that, but let’s be honest- if given the chance, she’d probably go back for round two.

Want to know what is even better about my dog getting skunked? I didn’t realize she was sprayed until she had been in the house 10 minutes. When the putrid smell filled my nostrils after letting her in, I instead spent my time trying to figure out if the tenants upstairs were using Nair on their hairy man legs.

That gave Izzy plenty of time to lay on two couches, two rugs and the carpet in the guest room.

Thanks, Izzy.

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Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest things for us adults, aren’t they?

Trusting.

Forgiving.

Letting go.

Accepting.

Believing.

Relaxing.

I’ve found the older I get, the more complicated those things become. Shouldn’t it be opposite? Shouldn’t growing up and maturing mean getting better at this whole life thing?

But when I think about someone who is able to do all of those things well – trust, forgive, let go, accept, believe, relax…the first picture that comes to mind is that of a child.

A kid.

To be more specific, I think of the kid that was a part of the family next to me at the public pool last summer (side-note: the public pool is a miserable experience past the age of 13). This little boy, probably six, embodied many of these words within just a few minutes.

It all started when he and his little brother, maybe four years old, were taking turns jumping off the side of the pool into their dad’s arms. And by “taking turns” I mean the younger brother kept taking his turn and cutting off Johny (yes, I just named the older one Johny because, well, that’s just a classic kid name and it felt right).

In honor of Valentine’s Day next week I figured I would spread the love by sharing some secrets for my (unmarried) male blog readers. Here are 14 things girls say translated into what they actually mean.

By the way- I wrote this back when I was a single lady. By now realize I have to actually say what I’m thinking because married men don’t try as hard as single men.

Is it really already that time of year again? The Super Bowl party invites have been sent and you are undoubtedly going to be surrounded by a crowd of people, some of which are there for more than the food and commercials. If you are clueless to the football world, as am I, but find yourself wanting to impress your friends, boyfriend or husband, you’ve stumbled upon the right blog.

Here are 10 tips for clueless women watching the Super Bowl this year:

When Brandon and I decided to buy a home in need of some major TLC, I knew it was going to cause some stress, but considering my nickname is “JoJo” I assumed I would easily kick into Joanna Gaines mode.

Ummm…no.

I’m apparently more like the JoJo from JoJo’s Circus.