rant + random wednesday

rant + random wednesday

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Before I dive into the post for today - I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in Shanna's Random Wednesday linkup today! She has a great giveaway up today. You should stop by her blog!

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Day 22. Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel..


Indecisiveness. 

Indecisiveness is the bane of my existence! I do not understand making plans to meet up and then not being able to make a solid decision about what to do. I hate it when it's all tossed in my lap and other people can't make a definite decision or even just a suggestion. Why!? Please do not ask me to hang out and then be passive about what on earth to do. Suggest something! Or at least be enthusiastic about a suggestion that has been made by someone else. I am a planner. I like knowing what's coming next. So indecisiveness and passiveness are painful for me. I can be decisive and push an idea forward. I know some people who lack this ability. You know who you are! Now let me just say - I stinking LOVE those people. Every infuriatingly indecisive, passive part of them. But Lord above, someone make a decision! 

There. I feel better now. 

Who knows, maybe my high ability to be decisive is a gift. I believe every single person in my life is there for a reason and I care deeply for each of them. Perhaps God gave me extra decision making abilities to balance out my indecisive friends. wink. In all seriousness - Friendship should build up both parties. Where one is weak the other is strong. Honesty, I am happy to take on the role of decision maker in these friendships and push my friends to be more decisive themselves.  I know that they push me forward where I am weak.


Now that i've got that mini rant out of my system. What would you rant about?
< happy wednesday >

just live life

just live life

Monday, May 20, 2013

Blog Every Day In May - Day 20. Get real. Share something you're struggling with right now..

Okay, I'm struggling with this post..

What am I struggling with? I'm a little stumped.

I could probably answer with several different things that I struggle with in one way or another. But I'm supposed to 'Get real', so I should dig a little deeper. I was talking with a friend the other day, having one of those personal conversations that you could only trust certain people with. There are few people, in my experience, that can be counted as real friends. Trustworthy. Loyal. Forgiving. Honest. I am blessed to have three people in my life that posses those qualities, that I am close to. This friend is unquestionably one of them.

Said friend and I were discussing the very prompt for this post - things we're struggling with. We just happen to be struggling with almost the same thing. Contentment where we are. Perhaps it is just my youth, but much of the time I can struggle being content where I am right now in life. I want my future right now. I want to jump ahead. I get impatient.

Now, I am not a discontent person. I have true joy and happiness in my life. Quite a lot of it. But I have my moments where I want what's next. It's easy to get wrapped up in that and start feeling lonely and start questioning things. 

I did have a freeing moment during my conversation, where it hit me that life is kind of like a road-trip, it is as much about the journey as the destination. Being impatient and trying to rush what's next robs me of joyful moments and memories that I have the opportunity to experience and make as I walk my road. There is so much life to be experienced, new friends to make, goals to be accomplished..

The journey is half the fun and that makes the struggle much easier to overcome.

  Stop obsessing about the destination and just live life.

I am happy where I am right now, and I look forward to my journey. I don't know what will happen along the way, but I have my friends and family to keep me company and just live life with. That's valuable. All that I acquire and share with them along the way will make the destination that much sweeter.

what are you struggling with?
< happy monday, friends! >

the five

the five

Sunday, May 19, 2013

day 19. The Challenge for today - Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them..

this is a difficult one. not because i struggled to think of five of my favorite blogs, but because i can only choose five for this post. that's just wrong!

 after much deliberation..

Shanna's blog is a favorite because I feel like I can relate to her blog. She is the sweetest ever! Following her blog is like spending time with a friend. And she has a fantastic fashion sense. Her outfits always inspire me!  Her blog is fresh, unique, genuine, and fun!

                                            

I found Jenni's blog through another favorite blog. She is the reason I began doing this challenge. Jenni is sweet and sassy. It comes out in her posts and I love that! She is so much fun. Her blog is super easy to navigate and packed with great posts and helpful information for other bloggers. And to top it off, she takes beautiful photos!

                                                       

Ilene's blog was the very first blog that I ever started following. It is so honest and truly enjoyable to read. Ilene and I attended the same church for many years and I had the privilege to get to know her a little bit. She is the most personable young woman that I have ever met. She has a simply adorable style that is effortless and one hundred percent her! And she has an Etsy shop { muchloveilly - shop } filled with her fashion-y creations.

                                                       

Living In Yellow is Erin's delightful blog. Erin is great! She draws you in with her personality - which is wrapped around every pretty inch of her blog. She is witty and authentic in her writing. Personally, I always feel inspired after visiting her blog. Her happy attitude and kindness absolutely make her a favorite.
Sandy is completely adorable. She is one of those people that you want to get to know better. She has a lovely blog filled with stylish fashion posts that always leave me wanting some article of clothing or cute accessory that she has donned. Her femininity and sweetness make her blog incredibly refreshing and will leave a smile on your face. my list of favorite blogs is ever growing. there are so many sweet bloggers out there with fantastic blogs. i can only hope to one day have as loyal a following as these great girls. if you haven't made your way over to their blogs before, i insist that you must! you won't regret it. what are your five favorite blogs?  < have a great sunday! >

the crack in the windshield

the crack in the windshield

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Blog Every Day In May day 18.  Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt..

I'm not sure why this picture was taken at such a severe angle. At any rate, this is us around the time of my story.

i am a terrible story teller. i can't even share a movie synopsis without looking like a deer in headlights. how do i properly convey the emotions and describe the details in a timely manner while being witty?

it just.. doesn't happen for me. i, however, an not opposed to a challenge..

many years ago, when i lived next door to the gee's, i would play outside for hours with my childhood friends josh and caleb. I am still friends with them and see them often. on the particular day in this story, i was playing with only josh. my family had recently purchased a golf-cart, which was a big deal for us kids. if you had a golf-cart, you were cool. i was under the strict instruction not to let any of the other children drive the golf-cart, for safety purposes. wise, right? you have no idea. we were fond of building ramps, on the empty lot between our houses, to launch off of in that poor little cart. that golf cart lasted for years! i have no idea how it made it. 

so, on this day josh requested to drive the golf cart. since i was not allowed to let anyone drive the golf-cart, i promptly came up with the perfect solution... let him drive it, but i'll keep my hand on the wheel. it was perfect. technically i was still driving. why i genuinely thought this was a brilliant idea, i do not know.

josh had never driven a golf-cart before and honestly, was not a good driver at all. i still love you josh. as we were blazing across the empty lot toward my house, josh was overcome with the impression that we were on a race track and lost all ability to comply with the idea of safety. as we raced up my driveway, i insisted that he hit the brakes so we didn't drive into the garage door ahead of us. nothing. i quickly snatched the wheel to the right, closed my eyes as we barreled down the mini hill next to my driveway, and slammed on the brakes. we stopped suddenly. not because i had braked, something had halted the golf-cart. i opened my eyes and josh was missing. the impact of crashing into my father's work van had catapulted him out of the golf-cart. and now i was beginning to feel pain. the tires had turned suddenly upon impact, wrenching the wheel in my hand and snatching the skin off of two of my fingers. that didn't hurt quite as much as the very large crack now stretched across the windshield of the golf-cart and the delightful dent in my father's van.

tears. apologies. band-aids.

everything worked out all right. my parents are very loving, gracious people and i do not remember being punished beyond receiving a talking to. josh recovered from the shock of being unseated and planted in the grass. my hand healed. we learned our lesson.. for a little while. 

we went on to have many more accidents, including that time i was run over by the golf-cart.

but that's a story for another day..

what childhood story would you tell? < happy saturday! >

picture of my heart

picture of my heart

Friday, May 17, 2013

we've hit day 17 in Blog Every Day In May. The Challenge for today -  A favorite photo of yourself and why..

this photo is a favorite because it is a captured moment of something that i cherish. That little niblet in the photo is my niece. i feel closest to her out of my three nieces. i was there when she was born and that really created a special bond with her. I love this shot, it's completely candid. she was not in the best mood and needed aunt jenny to hold her. cradling that little girl in my arms turns my heart into a messy puddle of love.

i also really love this photo because it is a picture of my heart for the future - when I will cradle my own little person; be their comfort and their protection. what a tremendous gift and responsibility that will be. 

i welcome the blessing and honor of the challenge.

what is your favorite photo? why is it your favorite? < happy friday! >

overcoming the challenge

overcoming the challenge

Thursday, May 16, 2013

day 16.  The Challenge - Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it..

aside from my health issues, i don't have too many difficult things in my life. i'm blessed in that way. i had to really think about today's prompt. i've had sixteen days to mull it over and it was still tough. something that came to mind, that i have had a difficult time with, is how quiet i am. anyone who knows me very well would strongly disagree with that. when i'm comfortable with people i relax and open up and reveal a much more outgoing, personable jen. even then i still have to work at it. 

for those that don't know me, my quiet, reserved nature can come across as aloof.

i was seventeen the first time anyone told me that i was aloof. i was genuinely shocked and hurt. i had no idea that i was putting off a vibe of indifference. that was the last thing that i wanted.

i have purposed since then to be more personable with others. it is something that i have to work at everyday. i have to remind myself to strike up conversations with people and show them that i'm interested. 

i have grown tremendously and find myself interacting with more people and being described as "sweet, kind, and personable" it truly brings joy to my heart to hear that, because i genuinely am interested and i care immensely for people.

what about you? what challenges are you facing? < happy thursday, friends >

happiness

happiness

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

the days are just flying by in The Challenge. day 14 is a fun one -Ten things that make you really happy..

- baking anything completely from scratch -

- laughing about things with my sister that i could never laugh about with anyone else -

- spending time near and on the beach. especially with good friends -

 - froyo. froyo makes me really happy -

- going on movie runs with these three amazing people. it never fails to be a blast -

- spending time with my nieces (the niblets) the cuteness is substantial -

- spending time on the plantation with friends and taking care of my equine baby, ice -

- having real, deep conversations with friends -

- misbehaving with my mom. if we were both twenty and in college we'd be roomies and best friends! -

- thanksgiving with the florida bunch every year. the food. the laughter. it's such happiness -

i could keep going, but then we'd be here for a while. 

what makes you really happy?

< happy tuesday, friends! >

i sincerely apologize

i sincerely apologize

Monday, May 13, 2013

Day 13.  The Challenge -  Issue a public apology..

 Dear Friends,
 A very sinister enemy has arisen over the past few years that is robbing our men of their ability to put on footwear that actually qualifies as a real shoe. Flip flops, Crocs, and the like, are taking over as the common footwear among men. They are showing up now at church, weddings, work, between the months of October and April, and with jeans. This is sad and alarming. 
 I would like to apologize on behalf of the men that have fallen victim to these crafty adversaries of fashion and hygiene. They have been deceived and manipulated into donning these abominations in so many inappropriate places and times. My greatest hope is that we can turn this tragic situation around and save what little bit of fashion sense remains among our men. Be strong friends. Do not lose heart. There is still hope. 

Sincerely,
 Jen





what would you apologize for? < happy monday, friends! >

sweet memories

sweet memories

Sunday, May 12, 2013

before i dive into the challenge for the day, i'd like to take a minute to wish my precious momma a Happy Mother's Day! my mom is a precious, spunky little thing. she is not only my mother, she is my best friend. we joke. we laugh. we share. we cry. i could never put into words how important she is or how much i need and love her. i am tremendously thankful to call her mine. Happy Mother's Day, Momma!

The Challenge for today is - What do you miss? a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...

i took sometime to really think about this. there are quite a few things that i could choose from. i've chosen to go with a time of my life that i miss. i was scrolling through the hundreds of pictures on my laptop and i came across a photo of myself and a friend from childhood. i just happen to still live down the street from this childhood friend and am very close to his mother.

way back in the day when we were six to eleven, we lived next door to each other. there was a big empty lot between our houses that we would play on for hours and hours. we were great childhood buddies. as i looked at a more recent photo of us and several recent photos of myself and another friend from childhood, i thought back to that time in our lives. it was bittersweet to think about. i'm very happy to be where i am in life, but i absolutely miss those times. the innocence of childhood is precious. i miss spending hours outside and never running out of games to play. it's was such a sweet time.

i am very blessed to still be friends, as young adults, with these childhood mates. i wouldn't trade all of the memories we've made for anything!

so here's to the good ole days of playing in the summer heat, having water balloon fights, watching movies, and laughing till we cried.

love you guys!

what do you miss? < Happy Mother's Day and Happy Sunday! >

10 words

10 words

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Dekker - the lil dude

this picture has nothing to do with anything about this post. i just think it's adorable!

i am not very good at describing myself for other people. i always feel weird listing all of the wonderful things that make me so amazing.. i kid. it is odd though, trying to think of key points about yourself to share with someone so they get a quick, clear picture of you. there's no getting away from that today though. the Blog Every Day In May challenge of the day is - Sell yourself in 10 words or less..

i'm choosing to interpret this as a list of ten individual words that describe me. so let's kick this off!

compassionate

creative

loyal

determined 

strong

spontaneous

disciplined

playful

tender

hardworking 

there you have it.. me in ten words. are you sold? 

have a fun saturday everyone!

how would you sell yourself in ten words or less? < happy weekend! >