Chillin' in the Cut at Mr. Chuck's!

Happy Friday, Everybody!

 

First of all, I want to state for the record—I truly earned this weekend!

Don’t get me wrong—I had a great week, but it kinda dragged a little bit around Tuesday and Wednesday, but then it picked back up around yesterday afternoon.

And now, here we are on this beautiful Friday evening, further proving that good thing still come to those who wait.

And with that said, I also want to state for the record that I truly enjoyed my family this evening at Mr. Chuck’s restaurant… and vice-versa! Suffice it to say, we still know how to close down the place… hahahaha! Forget a great time—the Joneses had ourselves a grand ol’ time!

Now, check this out: Gramma Jewel is a regular at Mr. Chuck’s place… seriously, y’all! As soon as she walked in, everybody in the restaurant was all like: “Hey, Ms. V—long time no see!”

That’s right, y’all—Gramma Jewel is known as “Ms. V” to the other regular patrons.

Anyway, we all met up around six this evening, and Gramma Jewel had already ordered appetizers and everything. Come to find out, though, Mr. Chuck has a Happy Hour special—free appetizers between 5pm and 8pm on Fridays.

By the way, I made mention earlier on that Mr. Chuck enjoyed our company—that wasn’t an exaggeration. You see, Mr. Chuck was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, and he enjoyed our patronage so much that he wanted to pay for our bill. Well, Gramma Jewel insisted that she pay, and Mr. Chuck decided to take off twenty percent of the bill.

Overall, it was a great night with great food, great family, great friends, and great fun… and y’all already know that we took a couple pictures to commemorate this magical moment! Incidentally, Mr. Chuck asked if he could have a couple of pictures to put on his Delta Dinin’ Wall of Fame… and of course, we obliged him.

Okay, y’all—it’s getting late, and I’m feeling a little drowsy. I reckon I’ll close up tonight’s blog post and turn in for the night. Besides, my cousin Erica has one more full day out here before she returns to Fisk University this Monday, and she wants to see the Hollywood sign up close at the Griffith Park Observatory… YAY!!!

Until tomorrow, y’all—I’ll holla!

 

 

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

Jones Family Reunion 2015—Rockin' It Ol' Skool!

Hi, Everybody!

Well, as you can probably guess, it’s on and crack-a-lackin’ over here at my Auntie Cherri and Uncle Alex’s house! Our family reunion kicked off yesterday afternoon when Gramma Jewel had a chili cheese party—burgers, hot dogs, fries, and nachos. But that was yesterday—today, we Joneses kicked off this beautiful Saturday afternoon in full gear and in full force, right here in Long Beach, California! And as the title of today’s blog post suggests, we are rockin’ the party that’s rockin’ the body!

I guess you can say that the Joneses are here in Long Beach to kick ass and chew bubblegum. There’s just one problem , though: My cousin Vanessa only has one piece of bubblegum left… hahahaha!

And of course, we’ve got some very special guests with us—friends who may as well be family, if you weeeeeeeeeee… and yes, I gave a tribute to Big Dust and Hot Rod, all in one setting.

But back to the lecture at hand: My Gramma Jewel invited her friend Mr. Hawkins, who in turn brought along his family—daughter Ms. Janet, son-in-law Mr. Adam, and grandson Michael. I think I mentioned it last week, but it’s worth repeating again: If Gramma Jewel loves you, then you are automatically set for life. And that’s exactly the case with Mr. Hawkins and his peeps.

You know, I can’t seem to put it in words, but it seems as though everytime my family gets together, we seem to outdo ourselves. Y’all may recall our great big family photo that we took last year… well, per Gramma Jewel’s request, we took a family photo this year. Gramma Jewel explained that she wanted us to take a family photo every year for every family reunion, as our own special family tradition.

Uncle Ronnie’s response: “Whatever the Queen wants, is what the Queen will receive.”

Well, I reckon I’d better get back to the fun. Besides, I don’t want to miss the talent show. The Brown Sugar Trio is back by popular demand, and they’re gonna perform “Rappers Delight” again, much like they did last year. I can’t wait to hear Great Aunt Reesie perform Master Gee’s part again.

Okay, y’all—I holla at’cha tomorrow after church!

 

 

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

Countdown to Jones Family Reunion 2015

Happy Saturday, Everybody!

Wouldn’t you know it—it just occurred to me that today is August 1, 2015. That might explain why I feel so refreshed… and I’m also a little sore from yesterday’s field trip. I know that running and walking is great exercise, but I was not prepared for that impromptu hike at Griffith Park, but then again, I reckon that could be counted as physical education.

Hot Damn—there’s a creative idea!

So, here’s the latest news: As you can tell by the photo in today’s blog post, my family is getting ready for our family reunion next weekend, and as per the plan from last year, my Auntie Cherri and Uncle Alex will be the gracious hosts. I sure hope Long Beach is ready, because the Joneses are gonna party like it’s on sale for $19.99… hahaha! I heard Apu from The Simpsons tell that corny joke, but y’all get what I’m sayin’.

Now, in addition to this year’s reunion being held at Uncle Alex and Auntie Cherri’s, I’ve got some great news: On Sunday, August 9, 2015, our girl Rebecca Ann Morgan will be getting baptized!

Naturally, we are very excited for her, considering that she only told us just about a week ago. She said that she had been conversing with Pastor Rich for the past couple months, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA as she completed this, her sophomore year. Becky told us that she wanted this year’s family reunion to be something to truly remember, and she figured that her baptism would be the perfect way to celebrate our family this year.

Now, y’all already know that all of us Joneses will be there en masse, front row and center, dressed to the nines, and in full force to witness such a special moment in Becky’s life!

In the three years that I’ve known Becky, I am still proud of her. I consider her my inspiration, and I am truly impressed with her testimony, which she lives every day. We don’t need to talk about where she’s been—we already know that. Besides, what truly matters is that she knows where she’s going, and I for one am glad to help her along the way.

It’s really gonna be exciting to see her get baptized on August 9, and I’m gonna make sure that I bring my camera and my camcorder on that great day!

Well, y’all—that’s just about gonna do it for me. I shall holla at y’all later, but in the meantime, y’all take real good care of yourselves.

 

 

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

It's About That Time For Another Celebration, Y'all!

Happy Friday, Everybody!

Before I begin today’s blog post, I have a special message for one Mr. Bret Douglas:

Happy #58, Mr. D! I already know that you are celebrating every moment of it. Be sure that Mrs. D and the rest of the fam treat you to all of your favorite places. Love ya lots!

So, as y’all can see from the photo in today’s blog post, I am just about ready for the summertime. Notwithstanding my return to Southern Cali and my upcoming internship, it’s about that time for my family reunion. With the success of last year’s festivities, the family decided to have our reunion every second Saturday in August. And lemme tell y’all—last year was so much fun! I’ve said it over and over again, but it’s worth repeating: The Joneses know how to party, Baby! I love how everything worked out for us to celebrate family togetherness in Nashville, and I know that Gramma Jewel’s best friend (and my honorary second grandmother) Mother Davis had a blast; she told me herself. Well, per Gramma Jewel’s mandate, we gotta make this a yearly thing. That being said, our family reunion this year will take place at Uncle Alex and Auntie Cherri’s house in Long Beach.

Yes, I know that I haven’t really talked about it much, but I can assure y’all that my family has been in deep discussion about Jones Family Reunion 2015. Matter of fact, it was just last year that Uncle Alex and Auntie Cherri volunteered to host this year’s reunion. Cousin Keith promised to bring back all of those fantastic ol’ skool hits, and of course, Gramma Jewel is gonna make her award-winning strawberry seven-up cake. The only thing we’re missing is a catchy theme; once we get that, Mom will go ahead and order the t-shirts.

I’m wondering now… yeah, I’ll go ahead and do it—I’m gonna invite Ruby, Theo, Azalea, and Craig. After all, like Gramma Jewel says: “Family don’t just mean blood, Baby!”

Okay, ‘all—that’s gonna do it for me today, and seeing as how Sunday is Mother’s Day, I’m gonna post a very special Mother’s Day blog post for a very special woman sometime tomorrow. Until then, y’all be good!

Smooches,

Natasha

And A Great Time Was Surely Had By All!

Happy Friday, Y’all!

 



Here we are—every last one of us!

Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m kinda sad that the fun is about to come to a close. I truly had myself some fun this summer, from meeting up with my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Martin to my fantastically blessed family reunion… I really wish that I was a writer or a magazine publisher on account of I want to immortalize the fun that I had. And I want y’all to keep in mind that this is only one picture that you’re looking at right now—we took plenty of pictures over the weekend. There’s one picture that my Auntie Cherri took of Gramma Jewel taking the initiative to save everyone’s hearing… let me help y’all read between the lines: Great Aunt Donna was about to sing “Put On A Happy Face,” and she was already butchering the song. Right before she was about to hit the grand finale part, Gramma Jewel immediately covered her mouth and said, “Uh-uh! We ain’t havin’ this today!”

Explain to me why everybody (with the exception of Great Aunt Donna) applauded… hahaha!

And I know I told y’all this the other day, but I also enjoyed my visit to Ruleville. I think I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I truly felt like I was living in a time in history when I saw the old house that Gramma Jewel and Great Aunt Reesie were raised up in. I honestly thought that Gramma Jewel was kidding when she said that she grew up in a small house—I got to see for myself that she wasn’t just whistlin’ Dixie. Her old house consisted of two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen, and somehow they all connected to one another. Y’all should’ve seen the look on Gramma Jewel’s face when she looked around and fondly remembered the time she brought Grampa Clark over to meet Great Gramma Lynn and Great Grampa Gregory… “I was so scared for your Grampa Clark,” she recounted. “But he kept assuring me that he was willing to withstand a grilling from Great Grampa Gregory because he loved me just that much.”

And of course, I said: “Awwwwwwwwwwww!”

Well, that’s enough reminiscing for today—I’ve got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow. I called my girl Ruby earlier this morning, and seeing as how all returning Rustites have to check in no later than this Sunday, we’ve arranged to meet up and get a dorm in Emma Elzy… YAY!!! And I just thought about something: Gramma Jewel, Mama, and Daddy get a chance to meet Ruby’s parents for once—this is gonna be so damn cool!

Okay, y’all—I gotta go for real this time. Holla!


Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

It's A Family Affair!

Hey, Y’all—and Greetings from Auntie Reesie’s!

Well, as you can tell by the photo, it’s on and crack-a-lackin’ out here in Nashville, Tennessee! Now, mind you: This is only one of many photos that I was able to add on to my blog post, and in case you’re wondering, the party is still goin’ on! One thing that I’ve learned about my family (and I’m only twenty years old), is that us Joneses definitely rocks the party that rocks the body! Real talk, y’all—our family reunion is off the charts, for real, tho!

 

I don’t even know where to begin, but I can tell you that we are having so much fun. I want to state for the record: If it is a crime to have entirely too much fun at a family reunion, then y’all may as well come by Auntie Reesie’s house, and lock us all up and throw away the key… hahaha!

 

About an hour ago, we had our own dance-off around Auntie Reesie’s backyard. First, we did the Cupid Shuffle, and yes—Gramma Jewel tore it up! Then afterwards, we did the Mississippi Slide… you cha-cha with your right, you cha-cha with your left, back it up, and jump! And finally, we did the Wobble… let me rephrase that: The women between Erica’s age and Auntie Stephanie’s age did the Wobble! Yes, Gramma Jewel is still adamant on her refusal to even try to learn it. And then, Cousin Keith requested that we form a Conga line. After it was agreed upon, my mom jumped up and volunteered to be the leader.

 

I’m tellin’ y’all—we’re havin’ us a good time on this day, and it will continue on tomorrow when we head down to Memphis at Great Aunt Donna’s church (which is Gramma Jewel’s old church). Now, check this out: I just found out that Great Aunt Donna’s church is having a special Friends & Family Day celebration tomorrow, and considering that we’re still in the midst of our family reunion, y’all already know that we’re all gonna be dressed to the nines!

 

Okay, y’all—I gotta get goin’ back to the fun, but I at least wanted to give y’all an update about what’s been going on so far at Great Aunt Reesie’s. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to holla at y’all sometime tomorrow, but until then, y’all take it light.

 

 

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha