Only 44 more days to go

It's only been two days since he left and I've already started my next countdown. Always looking to the future is fun.. but never forget the lessons that got you where you are today. I'm so grateful for the obstacles, lessons and the amazing blessings I've recieved in my life so far because they've all allowed me to grow and become the person I am today.






P.S.
After the forty-four day countdown is over, the one to follow will only be three days long :-)))

Rough Drafts Are Supposed To Be Rough

It surprised me one Saturday morning not too far behind us when I awoke to a mixture of yearning and twinges of sadness but absolute warmth and hope only being made more satisfying by a sense of trust, happiness, eagerness, loyalty and.... Love that I had for sure never felt before in my entire life. (Well.. I'm speaking in regards of feelings towards another person that isn't my son.) Amazed at how I felt, while contemplating the many reasons that had been allowing me to feel this way, I kept going back and forth between trains of thought that my mind was chasing after. After several hours (actually it took all day) I finally understood. Well, let me rephrase that. I understood as much as a two year old would understand in a college calculus course. Absolutely nothing. Though I do understand that the way I feel is... forever.


May life be as beautiful and full of happy surprises as always.

Another bunch of things I wouldn't want to leave without doing

22. See The White House
23. Be a bridesmaid
24. Learn to speak Italian.
25. Stand in at least two states at the same time.
26. Celebrate my birthday anywhere but Stanislaus County.
27. Stay up for 96 hours straight.
28. Have more than thirty stamps on my passport.
29. Just stand on a roof. Or ... Anything as long as it's on a roof. Lol
30. Learn any style of ballroom dance (except swing because I can already do that.)
31. To understand why the packaging of hot dogs and their significant other.. The buns doesn't add up.
32. Have a valentine... That is NOT a family member. Lol

Brains and things

I am addicted to  how the mind works. How drugs, exercise, vitamins, death of a loved one can all affect our brains. I'm obsessed with abnormalities, tumors, all kinds of severe lacerations.. You name it, I've probably already thought it over and then some. I've been thinking a lot about my problem with cancer. That you never know. You just never know. Oncology really gets to me. Leukemia, cancers of the liver, tongue, prostate, uterus, you name the organ and you can probably get cancer there. Even in the brain. So I don't really know what the difference is to me. Why I feel like I can cope with some forms of the disease and why I feel like I could never cope with other forms of it. It's strange. I know that I don't know what it's like to be sick hardly at all. A cough and a sniffle is no where near what is to be considered sick in comparison to what people battling cancer go through every day. I can't wait to help people with their ailments and I'm so excited to get in there and just save some freakin' lives.

This I know for sure.

You take the pictures and I'll provide the hugs.

Between John Mayer and Colbie Caillat I feel as though the world makes absolute sense. Together, this couple of musicians absolutely blows my mind. I didn't even know I liked Colbie all that much. I've been listening to her music for the majority of the past hour and I've come to the conclusion that my favorite songs are "The Little Things" "I Won't" and "Oxygen" don't get me wrong. They are all good but for some reason those three just flat out get me.

It's unlike chasing rainbows.

"Everyday I fight for all my future somethings."

First Day

I sat two rows behind your average lady-that-asks-forty-questions-per-class-that-the-teacher-answered-five-seconds-ago-and-forty-more-questions-that-the-answers-were-just-plain-common-sense-to. If you didn't expect there to be conversion problems in Chemistry there is most definitely a problem with you. How else are you going to convert moles. What the hell is a mole any way? Thats why you have to convert that P.O.S. because otherwise no one would know what a mole freakin translates in. Duh. Big duh.  REALLY!?

At MJC you get one of these women in almost every class. I can only recall two glorious classrooms in which this particular species of woman was not in the class among us.

It slows down the classroom. It makes everyone give a huge mournful sigh every time a question is asked by this person as well as makes everyone want to kick the question-happy person out the door.

Please don't be this person. Ever. Or else...
No one will like you.

Thanks K. Bye

The 435.1 mile walk my heart makes every day

Life is always full of surprises. You never fully know what's around the corner even if you spend all your free time planning, preparing and scheming for the future.  Life and I get along quite well directly because of it's unpredictability. It's way of making everything a little more exciting with all the twists and turns.

Distance is also something that could be considered unpredictable. In the sense that no one truly understands what distance will do to them until they are thrown into the fire.. or perhaps thrown under the bus.  For some, it is simply too much to handle. . . and others? Well, in all honesty.. I don't know how others see it. I just know that I would fall under the category of "others" and that I'm currently finding out. What I do know for certain is that distance can be the best and worst thing that ever could happen to you at the very same time.

Well. Off to get a prescription for glasses.
Goodness knows I need it. :)

Always,
Jennifer

~Soon-To-Be Enchanted Moments~

Appreciation Moment

Let us enjoy the beauty of this world together for one quick moment ...

Makes me almost wish I still were aiming for Marine Biology. Unfortunate for me though, Jacques Cousteau pretty much covered it all. 

Bella Italia... I shall see you some day.

It was just too perfect to not post.

  

I'm not so fond of spiders, but I can appreciate the true wonder of such a critter.

Makes me laugh.

engagement photography makes me a little too happy. :-)

Nature at it's finest.

Ok so... Spiderman probably hasn't gone to war. But come on.. I know you love the pic. :-)

Don't rush through life. :-)

P.S. I don't own nor do I want credit for any of the photography here. None of it is mine. I simply love and admire each one of the pieces.

Movies I could have done without and a couple other important lessons.

- Remember Me (Robert Pattinson is in it. No surprise there as to why it sucked.)

- After. Life    (Justin Long hadn't failed me until tonight.)


So, despite the fact that the movie night we had featured two lame movies... I had a lot of fun. :-D

So... thank you :-)

But I wanted to take the time to make note of a couple quotes I rather enjoyed on this wonderful evening.

They go as follows:

"Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires."
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
(to be absolutely honest I had no clue who this even was until tonight.)


*I would love to take a picture like this one.


"A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman
in whose company he finds himself electrified and enkindled, but for that
one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy."
George Jean Nathan

Part of this quote somehow hit home for me... I even had to bold some of it in case you were wondering which part that was. ;)

I've always wondered why people die. Why it is a part of nature. To pass on... understanding that Earth would go on without you just fine whether you're here or not. How if it weren't for family and friends that knew you, it may have been as though you had never existed in the first place. Though I am beginning to understand that the reason people die is... to make life important.

-Jen

Quote of the day

"Anger is a killing thing:
it kills the man who angers,
for each rage leaves him
less than he had been before
- it takes something from him."

Louis L'Amour

All Tapped Out

You may want to listen to this before reading on:



Tap Tap Revenge pretty much possessed me for a grand total of seven days. It was like the lyrics in the the song "Tap Tap Domination" by Stroke 9 (link posted above)about needing to get the high score for every song. Once I finally remembered that life is all about moderation, I decided it was better to just part with this app completely if I couldn't keep the game playing under control. (For the record I'd already unlocked all free content and gotten 100%s on over twenty songs on levels hard and expert.) Pretty safe rule of thumb: If you're going overboard with this tapulous game app...maybe it's best to just delete it and start doing something more productive with your life.. Like going out for a run or spending time with the people you love.

Now that I'm on the subject of apps I should probably address something else, since I'm so against it and haven't even brought it up. Before you get an app for s dating service or something along those lines please recognize that anyone can say anything online. That doesn't necessarily make it true. I am all for meeting people organically. I feel sorry for anyone that feels the need to use a method of finding a significant other such as Zoosk. What the H is a Zoosk, anyway? Can I find it in the candy section at the grocery store? Or would it be in a hardware store next to the light fixtures? If anyone can shed some light on the definition of a Zoosk... It would be greatly appreciated.

Danke

-Jennifer

For those of us working on not being complete fatties.

I ended up getting this book at the friendly neighborhood Borders.. and I do believe I'm falling for it.

I made this delicious Raspberry Lemon cake tonight and couldn't help but think, "Man, I am definitely going to get healthy if I can eat stuff like this!" (When I say something like that, I mean it.) The book has about thirty breakfasts and desserts that make your mouth water just by looking at the pictures, along with snacks and dinners that are definitely satisfying and won't leave you craving something well-seasoned and rich with flavor.

I may actually enjoy baking now...

Well. We'll see.

**I had no choice but to take a picture.. and I'm not ashamed of that at all. 

-Jen

The grass is greener on THIS side of the fence...

People ask me all the time how I could possibly be so stress free and happy. Here's my million dollars worth on stress (because goodness knows my thoughts are worth a whole lot more than 2 cents.) For those of you that don't have a hobby... and no, watching television is not a hobby... you should get one. If you aren't constantly laughing at yourself and smiling about all the wonderful things that make up your life, you should start. Not to burst anyones overloaded bubble but there are a lot of people who feel the need to pile their plates up sky-high. Just say no to any more than what you can truly handle.

Yes. I do find these comics hilarious.

If you're not used to laughing at random moments throughout the day as I am used to doing... (and if you happen to have an iPhone) consider getting one of those apps with the funny/lame jokes. Reading a couple of those jokes throughout the day to keep a good mood going and soon you'll find little reasons to be happy throughout the day without even having to read the jokes. Smiling and laughing are definitely the biggest stress-relievers. Not only that but they're free and can be shared with everyone. Who could ask for more?

Hope this helps. :-D

Experience-oriented advice.

Love,
Jennifer

Pretty Little Liars

Newest obsession.



Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. That's for true.

-Jen

Remember

Remember to always smile.
Remember to love everyone and everything.
Remember to give of yourself always.
Remember, remember to remember that life is a gift.
Remember that everyone needs love.
Remember that there will always be someone that knows exactly what you're going through and how you're feeling.
Remember that everyone has a story. Whether you can see it or not.
Remember that you are never alone.
Remember that love and charity are interchangeable words.
Remember that the only thing stopping you from having what you so badly want is yourself.
Remember, next time you feel as though you've hit rock bottom... that you've felt that way before and got up and over it just fine.
Remember to love with every fiber of your being.
Remember to remember your blessings.
Remember to count every blessing a second, third, fourth, hundredth and thousandth time.
Remember that everyone wants to be loved, that everyone deserves to be loved.
Remember that we are no better than anyone else on this earth regardless of the home, the money, the clothes, the cars, the friends... remember that we are all equal in our Heavenly Fathers eyes.


Remember that love is the greatest gift we can both give and receive at all times... and remember: it's free.

Everybody loves love.

For true.

Joy in Little Curiosities

At least, common in my case.
Because people at the aquarium just KNOW that I want to flash that lucky Octopus...

... this car is obviously frightened.

I got a flash back from the Final Destination movies

Drawn for me to help me understand the personalities of a particular friend of mine. It's frightfully accurate!

This is one of those uhm *cough* fine cops waiting in front of my house to give out some $200 tickets. Now Isn't he a sweetheart.

If you can't tell... that car is actually a metallic pink. It was ridonkulous. For true.

This is my favorite word (legit)... according to Kristine and Brian. Pfft. What do they know! ;-D

Once I become a P.A. I am soooooo gonna get me a car like this!!!

Legitness at its best.

Recreational Dating

The next time you are lonely and are regretting the fact that you DIDN'T accept to go on a date with a guy you DIDN'T like that much . . . remind yourself that you would have hurt that poor guy by dating him and not even being into him. Hello... leading someone on is horrible. No one should ever be toyed with like that. If you feel nothing for the fella' just be honest and tell him you only see him as a friend... or whatever the case may be. It sucks to see my guy friends get hurt because girls accept going on dates with them only to tell them later on a fourth or fifth date that they're really not interested in being anything more than friends. Poor guys. Girls that recreationally date because they're lonely SUCK. 

. 

The Art of Rapping... And other Little Things I Learned In Speech Class

I had to watch the rest of these in my speech class. Hope you like them :-)


What not to do...


even "great" public speakers have things they need to work on:


Oh man...

My ABC rule has few exceptions... these are the only exceptions.

THE ONLY FOUR COUNTRY SONGS I'VE EVER LIKED. AND PROBABLY EVER WILL LIKE. No offense to those who love country... Just not my thang. Since I'm one of them O.G.s You know how I do ;-)

ABC means Anything But Country

Tango

This is part of an actual song:

"What network are you on, ORANGE,
Colour of your bathwater, ORANGE,
Your favourite fruit must be an ORANGE,
Girl, did you know your ORANGE!!
Slap bang goes on your fake tan,
Girl you look like the tango man
Woodeeyy wooo, do the tango,
Wooodeeyy wooo, do the tango"

I had to google the Tango Man... and this is what I got:

I dont even know what to make of this. But do you know what the true story is here?   

The dude really is too orange. Just sayin'

KIDDING! In my understanding the Tango Man is actually a guy that goes around all orange and chills at soccer games in England. Though this is just what I got off of my good friend "Google search". 

Video of the Tango Man:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=6623571

Cloudy with a chance of Congestion.

Third day of being sicky icky. Allowing myself to record how I feel right now is quite difficult to do. Though I know I must.  I can breathe out one nostril (my left one to be exact.) I couldn't really taste the Taco Bell Kristine brought me... but I'm sure it woulda been absolutely delish if I would have had the privilege of owning taste buds that functioned properly at the moment. I've been in my pjs since about five this evening (Green ones with cute little book worms on them that Aiden loves looking and pointing at.) Currently listening to: Cobra Starship "Hot Mess"

Yesterday I felt horrible, today I managed. If all goes well tomorrow will be awesome :-) Kristiney beany came over to keep my sick little self company and watch Bucket List. After all, she is the one that got me sick to begin with... So keeping me entertained at my death bed was the least she could do...


Kidding Kristine!

Having Fun Being Me---Being Me and Having Fun.

This week has been awesome. The soccer, Baptisms for the Dead, the talks I'm preparing to give and the friends I have make my life anything but boring. :-) Yesterday alone I was told that I looked like a person one would normally see in New York City instead of Modesto. IDK. . . but I'm pretty sure that was a compliment. I would LOVE living in New York. (Just sayin') :-D

Top 10 Places I'd like to live in the U.S. (IN NO SPECIFIC ORDER)

1. Nashua, New Hampshire
2. New York-- anywhere in NY
3. Basically anywhere in California
4. Chicago, Illinois 
5. Seattle Washington
6. Washington D.C.
7. Salt Lake City, Utah
8. Raleigh, North Carolina
9. cleveland ohio
10. Clarksburg West Virginia?

I don't even know. 

I want to live in a cool new place where no one knows my name. 

That would be legit. 

Quick as a Turtle

To say the absolute least... I've been working my way through the Book Of Mormon. It ain't easy. I find myself lucky to have the study guide at my side every morning and night as I attempt to understand everything I read instead of just pretending to understand (which I can honestly say I used to do.) 

It's taken me a while to get through second Nephi... but I just don't like moving ahead until I fully understand what's going on. I feel absolutely useless when I'm lost. I love the scriptures no matter what... but understanding them makes me love them a hundred times more :-)

As I was reading this morning I realized that for the next three or four hours I'm legitimately on a spiritual high. It's fun to ride the jolly train, and that train is a whole lot... jollier after reading the scriptures. 

True story. 

True Story:

Life is so beyond beautiful. I'm so blessed to have the wonderful family I have. I'm hoping to be able to do a baptism for my great grandmother whom just passed away this week in Guatemala. It would be exciting to do temple work for her, and I just can't wait! 

Today I am officially certified for CPR and choking... and then in a couple weeks I'll be certified in first aid as well. I absolutely love my life! I was with the girls today, and I don't get how they can uplift me even more than I already am... It's incredible to know each and everyone of those girls. They make me a better person and I'm so excited to have them all in my life and to see what adventures we will be going on together in the future. :-)

Planning next saturday, along with a speech and then a photography day. 

SHOULD BE FUN!

Interesting to me

I am the same height as Lady Sov, Reese Witherspoon and Lady Gaga.

That is A O.K. with me.


I love being short.


Rachel Bilson, Anna Paquin, Anne Hathaway, Alyssa Milano, Keira Knightley, Selena Gomez, Tina Fey, Sarah Palin ALL brown eyes and brown hair.

I rather enjoy having that lovely combination of features..



I can now go to sleep happy. :-)

"Please Don't Worry.

... cuz worry is wasteful and useless. "

New goal: Read my French Book Of Mormon by the end of this year. (In hopes of learning French fluently, ya know :-})

Stuff to look forward to this week:

1. Baptisms for the dead
2. EMS responder class/CPR certification
3. Preparation for speech course
4. Ride along with the fire department
5. Photography with mah girls
6. Search for costumes part I

I love my friends and family that help me get through so much and are always going to be there for me. My life is truly blessed and I'm so happy to be headed in such a bright direction. I've been having thoughts of where my life will be headed and in all honesty I can't stop dreaming of the future and how amazing everything is going to be. I just can't wait!

Life: A Constant Prayer

 I'm learning so much from other people these days. It's interesting to watch things change and grow and transform into something even better than what it was when it first was planted. The love we have for one another grows and becomes stronger through acts of kindness along with a hundred things we've laughed about. Leaves we've turned together and intimacies shared make our relationships stronger from day to day, week by week and year by year. The gospel helps you grow as a person, becoming stronger and more beautiful within as each and every day goes by. Life is so wonderful and I'm truly grateful I've been allowed to come here and be part of so many lives and to be able to do so much. Laughing, growing, learning, and hopefully being a  light to the people around me. 


Basically... I love all the people in my life, all the experiences I've had that have made me the person I am today. 
So... Thank you.

Looking beyond it

Everyone sees themselves as something. Tall. Short. Fat. Skinny. Muscular. Ugly. Gorgeous. Strong. Shy. Mature. Flighty. Smart. Funny. Dumb.

Whatever the case may be, realize that the way you see yourself is for the most part the way other people see you. If you focus all day on the fact that you're short, other people will notice that.

Just saying. Understand that everyone is beautiful in their own special way. Realize that being different i a wonderful thing... and that everyone has a story. A sensitive topic. Something they don't like about themselves.

Not to self: Learn to be sensitive to that regardless of the circumstance.

The party AFTER the party...

The bachelor party was awesome. To say the least. Ate tons of snacks, hung out with people I love and saw The Bachelor. Most attractive man on television. True story.

That all however, is beside the point. Rochelle, Lindy and I were back at Rochelle's house after the party and I realized that my car was absolutely stuck in the mud outside Rochelle's house. We got some shovels out along with some rain boots and started stomping around all over the place to get my car outta there but of course, it so didn't work. We called a peep to ask what we should do and the advice was as follows: Put boards under the tires so we can drive it out of the mud and onto the road. Well yeah... that was so not even close to legit. We ended up having Rochelle's dad drive it out of the mud hardcore... since I was obviously the biggest fraidy cat in the world and didn't want to hear my engine rev the way it did... poor car was trying sooo hard to get out of the mud! We finally did it... and I got home safely :-) Thanks for asking! :-)

Here are the pics:

Life: A Retrospective Moment

Looking into the past can be a wonderful thing at a time like this. My life has changed a 1000% since the New Year and I'm happy to say that I'm also a 1000 times happier :-) Taking time to look back into the past couple of years today has shown me how far I've come. It has allowed me to see how much I've grown, what I have learned, the many things people have taught me (and probably things they don't even realize they've taught me.) It's amazing to think back and just ponder my choices, my friends, my lessons, my dreams, goals and hopes for this coming year and how much they differ now from those of previous years.

To all the people so far this year that I've been able to have fun with, spend time with, talk to, laugh with, sing with, dance with, smile with, joke with, take classes with... THANK YOU. You make my world a better place without even realizing it! :-)

You have no idea how much you all mean to me!

Slow Me Down

How should I say this? I love writing. The line I keep repeating is that the grass is greener on THIS side. It's the truth. Tomorrow is my first meeting for my calling.

Got home from game night and actually... It was a whole lot more fun than I thought it would be! :-)

"See them karats on that chick? Yeah she pimped Bugs Bunny."

We Live, We Laugh

Having a blaaaaaast

Oh my gosh she can carry me.

Look! My baby..... --->

I make my way into EVERY picture... WEEEEE!

Love Is Pouring Like The Rain

I love Kristine. True story.

She's pretty much the most awesome person I know. She's a fatty (just like me) and she is suuupa gangsta (also much like I am) and she loves to dance (Again... I'm seeing a patter) and today... I even ended up with a nasty scab on my ankle (in the exact place where she has a scab from dance..)

We went to Turlock Institute tonight... and it was fun :-) I was of course the 5th wheel. (Since Brian and Kristine and another couple which will remain nameless were there...) I was left to my own entertainment at times. Goodness gracious it was RIDONKULOUS! Though I must say I love them all and I got lots of group hugs... so I'm ok with that :-) We took silly pictures and had tons of fun, not to mention had a wonderful lesson! I love the gospel and this church. It's amazing how comforting it is and how all your cares and worries fade away by just reading the scriptures or praying.

Now I must address a subject that's been bugging me for the past hour. Kristine and I had a conversation on the way home with someone that I found disturbing and deeply offensive. This person was attempting to get us (Kristine and I) to believe that one is in fact allowed to go into the temple even if you are not following the Word of Wisdom. Mentioning that drinking coffee or tea is "just a small portion of the Word of Wisdom that isn't that big of a deal." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? No matter what, you have to be worthy to go into the temple. There are no degrees of worthiness... you're either worthy or you're not. If you smoke. You are NOT worthy. You have to quit, try and strive to be better. Thing about me is that I find a lot of peace from my scriptures and from being at church and having a calling and I know my Heavenly Father well enough to at least know FOR EXAMPLE, that I would be so embarrassed to stand next to him with a cigarette in my hand. Isn't this the thought one should carry around with them all day, every day? The constant thought of, "How would I feel right now if Jesus Christ were standing next to me?" For example, "Would I be comfortable chugging down a mug of coffee?" "Would I be comfortable listening to this particular song in my car with Heavenly Father in the passenger seat?" "Would I be comfortable wearing this if I were in the same room as President Thomas S. Monson?"

To grow and be better and become stronger in one's faith is a long, arduous process. No one ever said it was easy. But it is so worth it. The pure love shown to us and given to us by our Heavenly Father is stronger and more beautiful than anything else on this Earth. It has a way of moving us, but we have to do our part too. To allow that love to envelop us and elevate us to the better people we are striving to become.

The pictures- Monday Night Delight

The most delicious snackage I have yet to encounter...

and some of the girls completely engrossed in The Bachelor...

and Kristine after stuffing her face full of popcorn....

Afterwards we just HAD to take a group pic seeing as how there were so many new faces!

Lindy and I snuck in a quick pic....

and then another super quick pic with

Chelsea before bouncin' ----->