Michael and I leave for Europe in exactly two weeks and I can't wait!  I have been looking forward to and planning this vacation for the past year and a half with Mike's twin sister, Tish, since the four of us, me, Mike, Tish and her husband Trevor, will be going together.  We fly into Frankfurt, Germany to visit with my parents for a few days, where they have been serving a mission for the church, and then we head down to Italy where we will be visiting Venice, Florence, the Cinque Terre region and Rome.  I would love any suggests for great restaurants, parks, gelati spots that we could visit on our trip.  I sure hope the past year of taking Italiano at UC will pay off at least a little bit!  Ciao and any suggestions would be great!

Mr. Tilney!

I'm looking forward to reading some really great books this summer and I've decided to pick up where I left of from last August and finish the rest of Jane Austen's novels that I never read. I took a really great class a year and
a half ago on Jane Austen and her books but we only had time to read four, so I now only have Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park left to read.









To get me ready and in the Regency mood, I've rented Northanger Abbey and watched it with my niece Aubree. This is definitely one of my favorites of Jane Austen's novels and I do believe that Henry Tilney is my favorite of her male protagonists... Oh, and the 2008BBC version of Northanger Abbey only makes me enjoy him even more. Just imagine his wonderful facials expressions in the movie as an added appeal to his charm, an early 19th century Jim Halpert character who becomes even more cute with each smirk he gives!

Sometimes...

Sometimes life just makes me want to smile. I had one of these moments today. Nothing specific, just the thought of how happy I am right now and how wonderful my life can be. It made me smile.

Dying of Anticipation...

I don't know if anyone has noticed my countdown timer but as of now I have roughly 6 days until graduation but this is not exactly as great as it sounds. I still have to look forward to three papers to be finished, two of which are due on Friday, a final in My Discourse Communities class on Thursday (probably the most boring class I have ever taken in my college career) a final on John Milton's Paradise Lost, and another final on Italian that is comprehensive and spans all the way back to September of last year. I don't think I have ever dreaded and hoped for something so much in my entire life. Number 1 on my list of things to do this summer is enjoy a good ole meaningless summer novel that I can unabashedly devour by the pool.

Michael on the other hand has technically already graduated and is currently 'vacationing' in Mexico since his final day of work was last Friday. And I can't wait for him to come home this Thursday! The first thing on his list of things to do this summer? Mow the lawn.

The Greatest Love Triangle in History

After 60 years Archie has made up his mind.  Is anyone else a little put-off that he chose Veronica over Betty?

Why Do They Do This To Us...

I have to share my point of view right now about how disappointed I am with NBC for canceling one of the only mildly entertaining comedies on television right now, Samantha Who?. Not that I have much time to watch television lately anyway, but finding out that this cute little show with a cute little actress, Christina Applegate, and an even cuter leading man, Barry Watson, will not be gracing us with a third season put a frown on my face and made me think of all the other cute little shows that didn't last but should have including the series Pushing Daisies and even a little known series called Love Monkey that showed a whole 8 episodes in the later winter of '06. But it's my belief that CBS had too high of hopes putting a new series on against the Winter Olympics! I mean, I know not everyone has a tiny little crush on Tom Cavanaugh like I do(also known as the star from the series Ed) but the music of Teddy Geiger should have made it last more than 8 episodes.
Wouldn't it be great to turn the channel from the many reality television shows that are pointless and rediculous and just get back to watching a great sitcom again? Maybe in the future they can cancel some of the terrible shows that are on television now that make me wonder who in the world could be watching this crap! Don't get me wrong, I love reality tv (I'm a shameless watcher of America's Next Top Model, American Idol and The Bachelor/Bachelorette, but sometimes enough is enough.)

*For a list of some other great short lived television series, check out this link.

Key Fob

So, this post is to brag about the cutest little key fobs that I have bought from my friend Heather. She makes them herself and sells them for a very good price and they are so cute and handy! I love the fact that you can put them around your wrist and be hands free while carrying your groceries to your front door. These are a few of the fabrics she has right now, but if you are interested in getting your own Key Fobs (and who wouldn't be) , and to see the fabrics she has available just go to her blog here. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Flying Pig 10K

6:30 Am Adrenaline!

On May 2nd, my niece and I participated in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Toyota 10K event and had such a great time!  After deciding on the last day to sign up that I wanted to participate (2 weeks before the event!) I talked Aubree into signing up with me and I am so glad we both did! 

It was such a great experience and after wondering if we could even finish the event, since neither one of us had ever run in a race, we actually did it in less time that we had thought we would!  I am so glad that my awesome niece is here to hang out with me while Michael is gone, but due to the amount of sore muscles we received I doubt I will be able to talk her into anything ever again!! 

We Are So Cool!

The race began at 8am on Saturday and ran us from the Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati where the Reds play, across the Ohio River through Kentucky back across the river past the Bengals Stadium through Downtown and back to Great American Ball Park.  I felt so excited when I finished where they gave me my medal with a pig's butt on it and Aubree and I had a ton of adrenaline for the rest of the day. 

Thumbs UP!

I am so happy I was able to participate in the Flying Pig since I have wanted to since we moved here and this was my last chance, and I am also excited to sign up for some more events once we move to Los Angeles!  

Five Years Later...

I recently went to my True Media account and came across the video I made of my and Michael's wedding over 5 years ago and I can't  believe how young we look!  I just thought i would share a it on the blog with a more recent montage of the two of us, just for fun.  Enjoy.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mexico City and the Swine Flu

For anyone curious about Michael since he's in Mexico City right now during the outbreak of the swine flu, he's doing fine. He's actually living in a house with two doctors, so he's not too worried. For those of you interested in the epidemic, here's a link to an article about the swine flu and how deserted Mexico City was over the weekend because everyone stayed home. Michael even told me about his adventures on Sunday and of how he took the 45 minute bus ride to church to find out it had been canceled, waited at the bus stop for 30 minutes and watched as two buses passed right by him, and even got pooped on by a bird. Good thing their not dealing with a bird flu down there...

LOS ANGELES, HERE WE COME!!

So, it's official.  Michael has decided to accept his admission into the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture Program, and needless to say I am anxious, excited and scared all at the same time.  We still have a lot to do before moving out to LA is August, such as graduate from University of Cincinnati in June, sell the house, pack up everything and find a new home, but we are excited to do something new and exciting.  We will surely miss Ohio and all that Cincinnati has to offer, but I think the trade off for wonderful weather all year round will be alright, not to mention the proximity to the beaches and to family back in Utah.  

I never would have guessed a few months ago when Michael started applying that we'd actually move to California but Michael is really excited about UCLA's Architecture program and things are going to be great, maybe not the shock of rent being more than double what it is now, but I'm sure we'll be more than happy!  Wish us luck and we'll keep you posted on our plans!

Pay It Forward

While looking at a friend's blog I couldn't help but get excited about this wonderful idea she had about paying it forward. It's a great way to spend some time thinking about someone else and getting those creative juices flowing for the benefit of others! So thanks Aubry for the motivation and here's how it works:

The 1st three people (and only those three) to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during the next few months a handmade gift from me. If you don't live nearby, leave me your address on my email, jayna119@gmail.com or through facebook.

What your gift from me will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! But here's the catch: you must participate as well!

After leaving your comment you MUST write up a "Pay It Forward" post on your own blog to keep the fun, creativity and good-works going. So, as you wait for your own gift, you must be making gifts for your three friends who commented! Lets share the love and have fun!