i'm a lazy blogger so this post is just pictures

yes, we made a blanket fort for the sole purpose of eating chocolate cake and listening to jim gaffigan standup.

be jealous.

p.s. kitchen roselli in east bend. do it.

(un)productivity

4 years later aaaaaand you're qualified to answer phones...

 Today was my first official day of unemployment, which was (expectedly) sad and unproductive.  I had a very, very long to-do list of things that sickness, employment, and loooooooove have prevented me from accomplishing over the past 3 weeks, but actually, I did very little of it.

It's bittersweet to be finishing with my year of ministry and moving on. It's also frustrating to have a very expensive piece of paper hanging on the wall in my room that says i should be qualified for a job, but to receive rejection after rejection.

I didn't really intend for this post to turn into a rant about my employment frustrations. I truly honestly know that big J has it under control.  If I learned anything at all from the whole Sweden debacle, it's that God knows best.  He's never done me wrong, never let a bill go unpaid, and never given me anything that I couldn't handle, but there are still moments where I think "grrrrrrrrrrrrr i hate this" and proceed to throw myself a really fancy pity party.

On a positive note: I got out and ran for the first time in a week and it was so. nice. I'm so impatient to up my distance so that I can feel like a real runner (sorry, JP!), but it was fantastical to get back out after a week of tissues and dayquil, even if it was only 1.5 miles. :) Unemployment or not, I'm a lucky girl.

Night, y'all.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward

you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Psalm 73:23-25

to: jaws

two nights ago, i got serenaded via skype, which seems like it might be weird

but was actually incredibly sweet. 

can you believe we've been together over 4 months and this is the first time i've heard him play?

you might say "what is the point of dating a guy who can play guitar if he doesn't play you sappy love songs?"

and don't worry, i was asking myself that too.

so at the risk of being "that girl", i wanted to post these pictures that make me smile every time i look at them AND

prove to jaws that i DO mention him on my blog. 

that is all. :)

she flies without wings

My dear sis, Ki, got me a living social deal for two horseback riding lessons as a Christmas present.  I've been waiting for the weather to get really nice, so this weekend I finally slipped those boots back on and got back in the saddle after 6 years!

getting Bo dressed and ready to go

"Mooooooom! Where are my friends?? Why can't I go play?"

Bo was a perfect gentleman, except for the face scratches.

Nothing like an after workout snack of fresh clover...

I had such a great time and can't wait to go back for my second lesson!

Also, thanks to my boo, Jaws, for being such a great photographer.

Peace, love, and future blog posts.  I promise!

with love, from internet

my new favorite way to pack: drawing outfit ideas before hitting the closet. i'm hoping this will cut down on the agonizing "what am i going to weaaaaaaar?" portion of packing for next weekend's beach trip.

it took the combined power of lacey & jaclyn +5 hours to pack for NYC... and that was only my suitcase.

oh and don't worry, i erased the fugly floral tanktop +black skinny jeans combo up in the top left.

 

 @WillFerrell

I changed all my passwords to 'incorrect'. So my computer just tells me when I forget.

how awesome is this room? i bookmarked it so hopefully i can remember when i'm more mature
(read: when i'm done buying pink duvets and/or married)

here

 

my friend samantha is famous! read about how she met Jesus here:

life was not what I thought it should be.

here

way to ruin it, kid. :)

Happy Weekend, friends.

it's the little things...

i had a sudden realization the other day that life has been so good lately.

it's kind of the nature of life & stuff to cycle through good times and bad times, and it's weird that you don't normally realize that you're in the middle of one of those cycles until you're at the very tip top (or zenith, as the GRE practice book taught me) or at the very bottom of the pit. when you're at the top, everything seems so beautiful by association (like when you're looking at the city from an airplane), but when you're at the bottom, it seems like you're never going to come out.  right now i must be on the good cycle (or else I've gotten really good about being appreciative. doubtful.) because everything seems so sweet.  even those little things:

<--- having bible study outside!

making the kids I nanny pizza for dinner twice in one week and only feeling a teensy bit guilty about it.


settling arguments like this:
"when we get to heaven, we're going to replay that moment and then I will say 'i was right.'
... in the most holy way possible, of course." 




 praying with kids:
"jesus thank you for this day and bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and thank you for my clothes. AAA-men."
(by the way, there was no food in the room)

 and listening to screamo while applying for jobs. it helps relieve some of the frustration, I swear. 

The only negative thing I have to say about this week is that i am AT WAR with the bird that lives in the tree by my driveway. this joker poops on my car EVERY DAY. every SINGLE day, i tell you.  where is his decency?

happy thoughts

right now, a song is being written that you will play over and over in your car.

there is someone in the world who has your exact sense of humor and thinks you are funny

someone, somewhere has prayed for you

a med-student somewhere is drinking coffee and studying so that one day they will help you get well

no matter how bad things get, there will always be jokes on the internet to make us laugh

there will always be a cup of coffee in the morning

in your life there is someone wiser than you and someone who needs your wisdom.

you can always start over

xoxo,
little j

travels

Is there anywhere in the world that you really would love to visit?

Maybe you'd love to see lions in Africa or walk the Great Wall of China?

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know that my original plan was to spend this year in Sweden as a missionary. Although I am now grateful that God changed my plans (and offered me so many wonderful opportunities here in my hometown instead), I would still love to visit Scandinavia at some point during my life.

I mean, just look at it...

the ice hotel

aren't swedish people so beautiful?

cold shower in the mountains

i don't even like snow and this is so beautiful...

viking burial mounds

the have a special word for getting coffee with friends!

tree hotel

stockholm syndrome!

kayak anyone?

let's not forget that this is the country that brought usVolvo, IKEA, swedish meatballs, ABBA, and saab.

What about you? Where would you go if money/time was no object?

motherhood

this made me laugh out loud. this is totally the kind of mom i will be.

the '<3 MOM' part cracks me up.

Happy friday, lovelies.

revenge of the nerds

"Much of what we know about man is 

derived from the study of sweet peas and
a species of vinegar fly."-Unknown

i waste so much time

here

tumblr

here

"Bacteria aren't trying to hurt anyone; they're just trying to SURVIVE!!!!"

-my microbiology professor

can you tell i was a science geek in college?

fa-la-la-la-la

here

Disclaimer: This clip has the f*bomb in it, but it was too awesome to pass up. EARMUFFS!

here

I'll be in Ohi-er with the fam all week (prob no internet access). Expect hilarious photos/stories upon my return. 

Happy Christmas!

nature

Sorry I've been MIA, friends. The Christmas Season is kicking my butt!

Here are pictures from my afternoon at Pilot Mountain last week. It was really peacful and relaxing, except for the part where two rangers didn't see me coming and blew leaves in my face. Fun.

big bang

I LIT-relly can not stop watching this show right now.

P.S. I just found out that Jim Parsons is gay IRL. is it weird that I had a teensy crush on him? sad day.

guy on a buffalo

This is what we did at staff meeting today. I'm warning you, this song will be stuck in your head forEVER. This is part 4 of the series, but all you really need to know is that the guy rides a buffalo.

"Hey dead guy, I done told you not to mess with a guy riding a buffalo."

umba-way

It is literally impossible to be sad while listening to this song.

Maybe you're stressed out, having a bad day, or trying not to be sad. If you are, take a couple minutes and listen to this song. Seriously, it's impossible not to feel a little happy while jammin' to it.  Plus, if you're in your early/mid twenties, it probably reminds you of this:

here

Happy Monday!