Learning

Yo! Yo! Yo!

Its been a long time, hasn't it.

Sorry, I've been a flake.

I have been busy being busy for too long.  Here are some things I've been learning:

• Doors are WAY bigger than you think they are.  Wait, do you often think about doors?  HAHA.  I'm an idiot.  I painted my front door and when I started, at 7:30 pm, mind you, I thought, "This won't take long at all, and then it can be open for two hours and dry and I can go to bed by 11."  LIES.  Once I got halfway done, I thought about stopping and letting it dry so I really could go to bed by 11, but then thought, "Oh well!  What's sleep, anyway?"  IDIOT.  I did the first coat of paint that night, and knew I needed better light to get it just right.  I came back at 5 after work and got to work immediately.  It went much better that time.  The final project turned out like this:

• Life doesn't ever happen the way we think it will.

• Harry Potter is magical.  Seriously, I am LOVING reading those books all over again.  I still can't stand Snape.  Spoiler Alert:  I know what happens to him in the end and why, but he had no reason to be sure a jerk to Harry.  If you really loved Lily, maybe have a little respect for her son, even if you did hate his dad.  Lame.  <Insert mean joke about his greasy black hair here>

• Finishing what you start can be hard sometimes.  For example, if you start to make a coat rack in August, and it still isn't done in October, you probably need to finish it, even if you don't really care about anything.  You might end up with something that looks great:

 

the pictures inside are these:

For some reason, I can't find the one of Alexa and me...So here is one from way, way back of she and I.  

Aren't they so cute?

•  I am so behind about Christmas shopping.  I know most people will groan at this.  I just have to spread it out so I can afford it.  Its coming quickly (cough, 69 days, cough) and I still have a few people on the list who need prizes.  Hopefully I'll get done in the next month.

• I love Argentine pasta.  Juli taught me how to make it.  It is really easy.  Wanna know how?  Take an onion, red pepper, garlic, and if you want, a yellow pepper and put them in a pan with some olive oil.  Let them simma, then, after a while add a package of ground beef.   Pour some salt on it, and if you like it spicy, some crushed red pepper.  When that is all cooked up, add two 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce and stir it, stir it real good.  Put it over linguine noodles and you will be in Heaven.  Seriously, soooo tasty.  Blog post and a recipe.  I must be feeling super generous today.   ;)

• Audio books might be the most awesome thing I've found in quite a while.  I usually listen to music all day, but it has been a pleasure having To Kill a Mockingbird in the background this week.  So good.

• My nieces never cease to amaze me.  Children are such a blessing, aren't they?  Ava asked me so many funny questions at our lunch date the other day.  It is so fun getting to know them better every day and being able to see a change in them.  They get better and better the older they get.  I always thought it would be awful for them to get big, but it is just as much fun as when they are little.  They are always learning and it is so much fun.
  
  Anyway,  That better be all for today.  Hope y'all have a wonderful day.
  
  
  ~janalee~

books and reminders

My niece and I have been reading Charlotte's Web and finally finished it this week, two days before school started.  I am pretty tenderhearted when it comes to stories about friends.  I will be honest.  I cried when Charlotte was dying and after she did die.  Now you might be thinking, "You are a grown woman!  Why would you cry?"  I have read that story several times and it always gets to me.  This time around it reminded me of a beautiful girl I was friends with who passed away nearly five years ago.  I couldn't help but think of her.  She was like Charlotte:  strong, kind, wise, funny, smart, etc.  She helped other along life's way and never ever made me feel bad about myself, always built me up.  She also left behind her child for someone to watch over.  As the anniversary of her death, I have been thinking of her dad as well, who passed away with her.  He was such a great man.

Kennedy, my niece, sat listening to me read when Charlotte is telling Wilbur she won't be coming home with him.  She said, "Why are you crying?"  I said, "Because I know what Wilbur feels like."  I kept thinking of how different life is when they are gone.  I remember walking into the house the first time and every time after that, expecting them to come talk to me, or at least be there.  What a weird void.  And by weird, I mean awful.  I guess that is the point of life though.  To love others and find our way back to them. 

Anyway, this is probably a ridiculous post, but it is what it is.  I love that book.  I love my dear friends.  I miss them.  I am going to go cry for a minute now. 

janalee

Laughter

If you want a good laugh, watch this:

Posture!

Friends

So, I have some awesome people in my life.

When I served an LDS mission in the Oregon Eugene, these wonderful people came into my life.  Rhonda and Don are two of my favorite people and have made an impact on my life.  I cannot express the love and admiration I have for them.

They were coming to Vegas for a wedding and I was lucky enough to get off work a little early due to a power outage and make it down in time to spend some time with them.  The ride home wasn't even that bad considering the fact that it was so late.  Good thing for good music and friends.  I am so thankful for them!

So anyway, I know I look like a hot mess in a lot of the photos, but I love them anyways.



Other friends I should blog about are the friends who gave me spiders.

When I first moved in to my new home, I had spiders galore!  Like out of control.  We're talking huge, hairy, nasty-asty, spiders that I had to vacuum up instead of stomp on.  (Not very Oregonian, I know.)  Anyways, I posted on FB "Spiders: 0  Janalee:  8" that week.  This past week, we had a game night and they surprised me with money spiders!  They are made with tons of tiny pins, pipe cleaners for legs and pom poms for eyes, and instead of being covered in hair, they are covered in dollars!  How cool is that?  And look at how cute they are:

Super cute!!!

I have great friends and I feel so blessed.  Shout out to all my homegirls from game night.  I love you guys!

Welp, I am happy!  See?

And I hope you are happy as well.

Janalee

Dressing Up!

Yo yo yo.

So I bought this gem of a dresser from a yard sale for 10 bucks:

Look at the contact paper, people.  Look at that.  It was covering the entire thing.  The lady had stapled it after she had previously glued it down.  Because, as we all know, glue doesn't work on paper....Wow.  It was quite the time getting the contact paper off.  If you search on Pinterest.com, it will tell you to blow dry the paper and it will come up.  I tried that and it didn't help at all.  So I used a fancy stapler remover like this:
 
Combine that with wet towels to get the paper up more, goo gone, and dish soap and water, and it might work out.  It made my hands super raw though, so they were gross for a few days.  Oh well.

Anyway, I scraped it off as much as I could, let the towels work their magic for a few hours, and removed the paper from the dresser.  The goo gone and soap help get that nasty glue off.

Then, I primed that baby.  It smelled awesome in my house.

Then it was time to paint that sucker.


And I couldn't decide if I should do it black or blue.

So I did both.  First I painted it black and applied a second coat.  Then I put tape over parts of it to make a chevron pattern.  Its not perfect, but nothing ever is.  So, alas, here is the final product.

I know a couple of them are a bit crooked, but its all good, right?  Anyway, I'm just glad that bloody contact paper is out of my life!

Janalee

Country Music

So, I listened to this song growing up, only Conway Twitty was the one singing it.

I heard BP do this tribute a couple years ago and loved it.

I listened to it on repeat all day long.  I may have gotten teary eyed a few times, but not because I was sad.  Just because it is so beautiful. 

Anyway, enjoy it.

being Thankful

Wow.

Its all I can do to not cry while I write this.  I just wanted to give a shout out to some people.

Last week, I had a ton of help with loading all of my furniture and boxed up stuff.  Last night, I had a ton of help with unloading all of my furniture, carrying some of it upstairs, and unloading boxes as well.  I even had a few wonderful women stay after and help unpack the kitchen.  As if that wasn't enough, after we were done unloading the stuff, the helpers gave me a card with some cash in it to help me get the extra things I need.  Can you even believe that?!  I am so thankful for the kindness that has been shown to me.  Words cannot say how much your friendships and love mean to me.  I am so very thankful for you being who you are.  I just love you and think the world of you.

Additionally, thank you friends that have been close to me and patient with me when I felt like nothing would ever work out.  I can say that process was absolutely stressful and I can't thank you enough for sticking by me in my insanity. 

Now, on to the next item of business.  After I am completely unpacked (this only really applies to the kitchen), I will be able to BAKE again!  I cannot even wait.  TWO WHOLE LONG MONTHS of no baking.  And now, bliss.  I can't decide what to make first, but baked goods will be how I thank everyone that was involved in helping me.  I know its not much, but it is what I am good at.  Did I ever say that baking is how I cope with stress.  No wonder the past two months have been Hell.  I can't believe I ever made it through.  But here we are.  And it is going to be a good thing.  I can feel it in my bones.

Thank you again, from the bottom and top and center and all over my heart.

I am so thankful.


Janalee