books.

So this is Day 2 of 30 days of me.

The meaning behind your blog name:  Okay, so at first, my blog was going to just be about books that I read, not anything else.  Bookiemonster was one of my favorite names, but it was taken :(  So I have this cute decoration (see below) my friend Chelsea gave me for my bookshelf.  It has a bunch of different stacks of books and then has the quote, "I cannot live without books."  Thomas Jefferson, or as I like to call him, Tommy Jeff, said that statement.  And I agree so much.  Reading is good for the soul.

So, after a couple weeks of trying to come up with something, I looked at the bookshelf and thought that was good enough for me.

Silly Things

So I decided to do this....

A recent picture of myself:

15 Interesting facts about me:

1. I only like eggs when they are hidden in things like cookies, etc.
2. I hate feet.
3. I love Robert Downey Jr.  The other day, my daily journal asked, "If you could be anyone, who would you be?"  My response:  "Robert Downey Jr.'s wife.  Susan Downey is his current wife, but I have two things she does not.  I am a red head.  And I am one helluva cook/baker."  Susan Downey:  Eat your heart out.
4. I am extremely protective of people I love.  And of myself.  If you hurt me, you are dead to me.  I am working on this one.  Forgiveness isn't my strongest suit.
5. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be a parent, and it FREAKS me out.
6. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be a spouse, and it FREAKS me out.
7. I love spoilers.  I cannot stand not knowing.  This is why 5 & 6 are so true for me.  I would rather know every single detail of a book, movie, play, whatever, than go in without any knowledge.  My good friends are onto me though, and sometimes they say, "Lets wait and see!"  Me:  "Does the dad get killed?"  Katie:  "Its The Sound of Music!!"  Me:  "Does he die??"  Zach:  "Lets find out together."  Me:  "But you've seen this before!"  Spoiler alert:  The dad does not die.  And I am so very glad he doesn't.  And never marry the person you were dating when you were 16 going on 17 because he is a nazi!
8. I love television.
9. If you gave me books, a computer with the internet, Coca-Cola and m&ms, and a bathroom, and took everything else away, I could live for days, if not weeks.
10. Tennis is my favorite sport to play.  I used to play softball, but now thinking of that ball hitting me in the face and breaking my glasses makes me not want to play ever again...NERD.
11. I love crafting, even though I fail at it a lot.  Pinterest has literally been one of the best things in my life.
12. I hate being in social situations I'm not accustomed too.  It terrifies me.
13. I am a creature of habit.  I've been reading Life of Pi and when he talks about how much animals need consistency, and are habitual in their way of life, I relate WAY too much to that.  I am such a freak about planning, my dad has always said, "What's your itinerary?"  I used to wonder why he said that, but the older I get the more I see that I am a bit of a freak when it comes to spontaneity.  I like to know what is going to happen.  See numbers 5, 6, 7 & 12.
14. I love flowers.  I love almost all of them.  Just not mums.  Maybe is the name?  Or whatever.
15. I love visiting cemeteries on Memorial Day and the week after and other times during the year.  I think it looks so beautiful with all the flowers and people who are remembering the ones they love who are gone.  I like to go talk to my friends who are gone and sometimes, get the good cry that most of us need once in a while.  Weird, but true.

Winning

First of all, Hello everybody.  I hope you are having a stupendous day.

First of all, lets clear this up before I explode.  The past couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about the purpose of life.  I had some difficult things come up in my life and in the lives of friends.  Sometimes things happen and we don't know why and there is no answer good enough for us.  I think that is just part of life, as much as I don't love it.  It is what it is.  This kind of sums up how I feel regarding the whole "everything happens for a reason" theory:

The next time you say "Everything happens for a reason, don't be surprised if I punch you in the face.  It happened for a reason."
 

Anyway...

On to a much more pleasant topic of conversation...Painting.

As I have stated before, my goal this year is to try new things and make pretty things and all that jazz.  Here is the inspiration for my newest project:

Now, please keep in mind that I have only tried free hand painting once before this (and it did NOT turn out well).  Here is my version, which is not as pretty, but its a start:

So...what do you think?  I know its not perfect, but neither am I, so that is alright with me. 

Another creation I have made recently:

Well, there you have it.

Oh...and I am a master of cooking bacon now.  And I made some mini Reeses cup cookies today and they were delicious.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderous day!!!  

Janalee

New Stuff

I might have a problem...

Okay.  Might isn't even true.  I have a problem.  I need to read more...not shop.  That has been my downfall lately.  Retail therapy is so my go to when I am missing something or someone.  It always helps.  However, I made a goal to try more new things though, and sometimes that requires buying things...oh please.  I'm totally justifying.  Whatever.  I guess when I have a family, I won't be able to be so selfish.

New things I tried this week:

•  Cooking shrimp.  Man.  So easy!!!  I never knew how simple and fun and delicious that would be.  I made Penne a la Betsy this weekend and again this week...twice...and it is amazing.  I think added some sauteed mushrooms could be epic.  Just saying.  So, if you like shrimp, embrace the easiness of it.  I would rather cook with shrimp than any other meat.  It isn't as gross raw as the others.
• Putting together an exercise bicycle...by myself.  This one is still ongoing, but gosh, I'm doing it!  I might have...there I go again..might have said some mean things to get something to work on it, but it did help!  Haha.  What can I say?  I am my father's daughter.  You sometimes have to tell the inanimate object who is boss.  Tony Danza.
• Bidding on Ebay for the very first time...................................I didn't know some crucial things.  And now I am really regretting buying things instead of reading.  Idiot.  Oh well...lesson totally learned.  I didn't know the difference between your bid and a maximum bid...here's hoping an hour goes really fast today...and I can't feel too bad about learning the hard way, because I Really wanted this....
• Making myself go to bed at a reasonable time.  This one is so hard.  I just can't stay up and feel normal like I used to.  Sorry to friends that I have been disappointing.  I guess I'm just getting older.
• Laundry.  I did it all and put it all away the same day.  Now that is new.  And impressive.

So anyway, I'm still trying new things.  And just to update you, I got outbid on my ridiculous bid, so thank heaven that happened.  Lesson learned.  And hey, I will be able to live this week!

Have a pleasant day and try something new!

Janalee

2013...And the end of 2012

Yo.

So this year is going to be my year to try new things.

New things like...dating?  HAHAHA.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  We'll see if I find someone who actually is drunk enough to want that...  I will be sewing a lot this year.  And I plan to make all kinds of new foods.  So far, three days into 2013, I have gone to my first ever English Tea Party.  So much fun for an old chap like myself.  I also learned how to cook bacon!  So easy!  I ate a cucumber sandwich and an apple sandwich for the first time.  Delicious.  I ate homemade bagels (AMAZING) and today I am going to eat a new soup:  bacon-corn chowder with shrimp.  I just realized everything new I have tried so far has been food.  Don't judge.  I just really love food and if it makes me feel better about things, I'm alright with that.  Sorry if you aren't.  But not really.

SO sewing...I bought fabrics and patterns and I am terrified to start that again.  It might just be the most feared thing this week.  I will do my best to overcome the fear though :)

Another thing, I am going to read one new book each month.  Last year I read a lot more than that, but I figure, start small, and then see where you end up.

Man...so far, 2013 has been better than 2012.  Now, I know we are only 3 days into it, but it is shaping up to be pretty darn exciting.  I am going to make myself do more things to get out of my comfort zone.  That is so super scary because I am not really spontaneous...I'm not really okay with doing something without a plan.  My dad always teased me about having an "itinerary" all the time, but truly, I feel crazy without knowing what to expect.  I sound nuts...but oh well.  So, my friend and I are planning a bff trip to DisneyLand.  I have never been there, or to California for that matter.  And I...Am...Terrified.  Every time I think about it, I get a little bit more nervous.  and excited.  And worried.  HAHA.  I'm so not good at new things.  But maybe by the end of this year, I will be.

2012 was a rough year.  But I made it through.  I had so many great things, and some rather unfortunate times.  In the end, I think I came out stronger and I learned valuable lessons about what matters and what does not.  And I also learned that life is much more enjoyable when you don't care what people think and when you do the things you want instead of always placing yourself last on your list.  I don't think being selfish is a value, but I do think that loving yourself is.  I'm working on it.  I stopped doing my happiness project for a few months because of things in life that came up and needed to be faced.  I plan on starting that again this month.  More on that later...

Anyway, here's to a fun-filled, terrifyingly wonderful year for us all.

Janalee

Funny Things

Okay...So last night was AWESOME.

My friend Terra just got home from her mission in Russia and we went and saw the Moscow Boys Choir.  SO cool.  I seriously had tears through the whole thing.  The first time I cried was because they sang Ave Maria, one of my favorite songs, and it was absolutely beautiful and powerful.  It is amazing that those little ones have such talent.  And I have never seen cuter tuxedos in my life.  Just little dudes wearing tuxes is awesome.  So anyway, the first time I cried was from the beauty.  The next few times was because of them being so funny!  They sang this and it made me die laughing.  It was so much fun!  And at one point the pianist came out wearing a cowboy hat!  Their director is a woman with an astounding voice.  If you get the chance to see them, go!  And really, what were they doing in small town Utah?   This has all of their current videos.  So cool.

Now for the moment of moments...The funniest thing that happened there...

They sang "Feliz Navidad".  Now, that made me laugh so hard.  I honestly thought I was going to pee my pantalones.  We are sitting here in America, with some Russian singers who are singing in Spanish.  HAHAHAHAHA.  The best part was just when I thought it couldn't be more awesome, one of the singers breaks out the maracas!!  It was like getting the best Christmas present ever.  It made me so happy.

Then, I got to watch Terra speak RUSSIAN to them!!!  It was so cool.  I wanted to say, "Yeah, I'm friends with her."  It was so awesome.

After the concert, we got to see Juli and welcome her home.  That was so weird and fun and exciting and scary all in one.  I loved it though.  And her cute nieces and nephews made me chase them like the "scary chicken".  It was fun!!

Terra took me home and my stupid neighbors were so drunk.  They thought that sliding down a steep, icy driveway was a good idea.  We watched them fall countless times.  People are so dumb.

Thanks Terra and Juli for making it a fun night!

Janalee

Lessons Learned 2012

So, I learned some lessons this year, both good and difficult.

Here is a list of things I've learned:

• Modern Family and Go On are two of the funniest television shows ever.
• Few things make me happier than good music and food.
• I don't need or want anyone in my life that doesn't need or want me in theirs.
• When you are trying to be happier, almost everything will fight against you.
• Sometimes, you just need a day when you can stay home and just be.
• These five things can make any bad day better:  
• Good food
• Coca-Cola
• Prayer
• Sleep
• A good drive

• Shopping for Christmas all year makes me happy.
• Bad drivers are easy to find.
• Letting go of bad things/situations/people is the best thing you can do for yourself. 
• My choices affect others, whether I mean for them to or not.
• Don't take people you love for granted.  Sometimes they die or leave when you least expect it.
• Do things that make you happy.  For me these are getting my hair cut, new makeup, good books, Christmas or Birthday presents for others, creating something beautiful, making dang good food and desserts.
• Don't keep putting things off.  Do them now...or at least soon.....
• Visiting the Emergency Room three times in one year is far too much for my liking.  I am not cut out for watching people in pain, especially people I love.  Note:  I do make great jokes while in the ER with you.  For instance, I was trying to cheer up my sister when they were doing Xrays and she was in a lot of pain.  I said, "Hey!  Aren't we so lucky Michael Jackson isn't our dad?!"
• Stand up comedy can make great days even better.
• I love being called Gramma.

Those are a few of the things.  I decided the list would get too long if I allowed.   Hope you are all having a tremendously wonderful Christmas season.

Janalee