Seriously So Blessed is Seriously the BEST!

Thanks to my sis Dee Ann and my friend Misty, I get my fill of typical Mormon Culture through this hilarious blog! It is so funny and even though I laugh about half of the posts, I find myself relating even if I don't want to! All because I love Stampin' Up!, Michael and I are both in School, I am part of a book club and we are "seriously so blessed!" You have to check it out not only if you get a chance but also if you have a sense of humor and don't mind making fun of the culture you are part of!

To check it out just click on the title.

Fun at the Apple Store!

MIchael and I had some time to kill while waiting to pick up his computer that was being worked on and we decided to head over the an unused Mac and take some pictures. My favorite is the one that looks all Andy Warhol. We look so like we don't care which truly captured the essence of pop art, don't you think?!?!

Water For Elephants

I had just recently read a really great book that my boss recommended and I have to get it on the blog and tell others about it. It is called Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen and it was absolutely wonderful. I actually read it in about 3 day (when we had no electricity) but I think I would have flown through this novel nonetheless. It is about a 22 year-old veterinarian student from Cornell in the 1930's who finds himself on a train that houses an entire circus, including its workers, performers and animals and what he does among them for the next 3 months of his life. It is a great novel that reads really well, and I would love to know if anyone has read it. If so, let me know what you thought.

Thanks and happy reading!! :)

Big, Bad Seniors. Who said picking on Freshmen wasn't fun?

Michael and I have officially started our senior year at the University of Cincinnati and we can't help but feel proud of ourselves. Classes started Wednesday and even though I am a transfer student and have technically only been at UC for 3 quarters, I couldn't help but scoff, give the stink-eye to, or deliberately give bad directions a couple of little-bitty Freshman. Michael personally knocked a few books out of some of their hands to show off not only his rank in this social realm, but to also show of his masculine muscles. No, just kidding, although it is nice to no longer have that deer-in-the-headlights look in our eyes.

It is crazy to think that we will be done here in a mere 9 months and we will be off to somewhere new and the cycle will start all over again at Graduate School.
Classes will be absolutely crazy for the two of us this quarter and I barely have room in my schedule to watch The Office on Thursday nights, but I know it will all be worth it in the end.
I know have to share my thoughts on how lucky I feel to be finishing my degree 8 years after graduating from Bountiful High School, but of course I have to say, "better late than never," and I have to thank Michael for all of his support, as well. Now, the true challenge will be to try and graduate with a combined debt of less than $50,000 in student loans by the time we are done in 3-4 years. I wonder if we can keep our education under budget...

P.S. This building, among others on our campus was recently in Architectural Record. It is very cool, as far as Michael is concerned and that is a lot coming from an Arch student.

Who Needs Electricity? Wait... I do!

So, do to a recent hurricane in Texas many of the Duke Energy employees who serve us so well here in Cincinnati went to help turn power back on in the South. Little did anyone know that around 4:00pm Sunday afternoon a freak windstorm would blow through the tri-state knocking down trees, and cutting power to more than a million customers from Dayton, Ohio, to Lawrenceburg, Indiana to Florence, Kentucky. It goes without saying that we were all very surprised and very underprepared. Calling in reinforcements from S. Carolina has not been quite enough because half of our Duke staff is still in Texas, but we are getting by nonetheless.

There are many good reason for electricity; hot food, cold food, television, radio, lighting, computer use, charging a cell phone, but we had to learn over the past 4 days how to survive without all of these wonderful things. So, in the midst of no power and no entertainment, I have decided to give my list of the very few reasons why I love living without electricity.

1. There are oh-so-many good books to read out there and I finally had an excuse to get some summer reading in just before school starts next week.

2. Playing board games is a lot of fun by candlelight.

3. Peanut Butter and Jelly tastes delicious when there is no other food left in the house.

4. It's amazing how much cleaning you can do when you don't have television to compromise your time.

5. It truly is nice to go to bed before 10:00pm because you have run out of things to do.

For anyone interested, Michael and I are still without power but this only means that we'll be eating our chunky peanut butter and grape jam sandwiches to candlelight tonight as I challenge him to a rematch of scrabble.

I've Been Tagged...

So, I've been tagged by my sister and this was so exciting because I haven't been tagged since I went to Gilchrist Elementary School. So here it is... a short list of all things Jayna.

* 3 Joys *

1. Spending time by the ocean, smelling the salty air and getting sand suck between my toes.
2. Staying up late with a good book.
3. Eating dinner with my husband.

*3 Fears*

1. Not planning ahead and learning the hard way.
2. That UC will deny my transfer credits and I won't be able to graduate in the Spring.
3. That our house won't sell before we have to leave for Grad School.

*3 Goals*

1. Run in a Marathon. (too bad I don't run at all!)
2. Become an amazing cook.
3. Have a loving, energetic, and amazingly fun family someday.

* 3 current obsessions/collections*

1. I am still obsessed with Designer Jeans.
2. Classic Literature.
3. Learning to eat well and take a multi-vitamin.

*3 random surprising facts about me*

1. I have a heart-shaped birthmark.
2. I love lime popsicles.
3. I am a nanny of three boys ages 8,9 and 11. I have been their nanny for 3 years and counting... and counting... and counting... :)

So, this is everything you ever wanted to know about me! I am now going to tag a couple of people I would like to know a little more about and they are Amy Cottrell and Nici Tucker!! So, have fun ladies!!

Yearbook Yourself is all the rage...

Thanks to my friend Heather, I've visited yearbookyourself.com today and I found myself laughing so hard! Here I was at home by myself and I couldn't stop laughing at what I was looking at on the internet. It's simple, just upload your picture onto Yearbook Yourself and see what your yearbook picture would have looked like in each of the past 5 decades! This was great and I had a lot of fun with Michael's! I've added my favorite "Yearbook Pictures" of each of us and I especially love Michael's throughout the 70's. The facial hair really helped him throughout that particular decade and I think he would have blended in very well.

So, What Disney Princess am I?

I've seen that a couple of my friends from Tally have done this quiz and posted their results on their blogs, so decided to check it out. I know, I know, a little childish, but it was just for fun. Well... the result is....

Cinderella

I found this cute and interesting because everyone always tells me I must have so much patience to be able to put up with my husband Michael! (Just Kidding, I love you honey!) But, I think I learned a lot of patience from growing up in a large family and being the 7th child of 9 children. So, my verdict is that it was a pretty cute quiz, but it's not going to tell you the inner workings of your personality or something, it was just cute and fun, and I can't complain that I can now compare myself to Cinderella. I clean up after others all day, (I am a nanny) I come home and slave away in the kitchen for hours, (okay, I cook for like 30 minutes and I get to enjoy what I eat) but at least I have found a Prince Charming. :)


You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?