So, here is a glimpse into Mrs. Black's television viewing habits. Tuesday night, that is it Tuesday night is about the only night that I make it a point to watch any television at all. Your minds are spinning aren't they. Questions spinning, "What you don't watch TV?", "How do you not watch TV?", "Are you Amish?". No, I am not amish, I am a super busy person, who spends a lot of time grading papers, working on homework with her kids, and loves to crochet. But, when I do have time to watch TV it is because I am watching the show "Fixer Upper" on HGTV. I absolutely love Chip and Joanna Gaines. Chips quirky habits, with Jo's down to earth vibe keep me on the edge of my seat. Not to mention the search for the perfect home that is created by recycling a home.
My sister and I really enjoy the show, and a funny thing happened at Christmas. Because of our mutual love of the show, we gifted each other a small part of Magnolia. She gifted me the book, "Magnolia Story", I gifted her the magazine "Magnolia". How cool is that? If you don't know the title Magnolia is the company that was created by Chip and JoAnna Gaines. They live in a small town in Texas called Waco. This town used to be pretty busy, however in the 90's a fertilizer factory explosion caused many to lose their jobs and move away. Baylor University is also located near Waco, so while it has a college it seems to have similar vibe as Shippensburg does.
Okay so back to my book. Have you ever watched a show and wanted to know more about the people in the show? I am always asking myself things like, how did they know how to do that, what gave them those ideas, how did they end up as a team...things like that. So as it turns out the book, Magnolia Story, answered so many of these questions for me.
First of my questions were simple: Where are they from, how old are they, when did they meet, do they have a family...typical surface level questions. This book provided all of these answers for me. They are both locals to the Waco area, however Jojo, as she is loving called by Chip, actually moved to New York after graduating from high school in 1996 (The same year I graduated!). She left her father's business of selling Goodyear Tires to go to New York to study. But she never really felt like she completely belonged there. Don't get me wrong she liked it there, but something was just not right, so she headed home to Waco.
Meeting Chip was actually a mix up. She was to meet another young man for a date, but Chip happened to be his baseball buddy from Baylor University. She actually thought that Chip was the person she was to meet, until the real guy walked out of her dad's shop and was introduced to her. Talk about weird. She ended up going on that first date with Chip and they were inseparable from that point on.
