Janae Says...

Things I love: -The gospel -Inspired leaders and friends (friend and RS president Holly said some things today that I loved) -The hymn entitled "I Believe in Christ," and the line that says "He lives to calm my troubled heart." Gets me every time -Consistent home teachers -My patriarchal blessing -Good roommates -Family, friends and colleagues who read my blog and support me or cheer me on (thanks Camille M, Breezy, Becky, Tonia, and everyone else) -Bangs that cover a zit -The phrases "holy buckets" and "Merlin's beard!" -When people laugh at my jokes or tell me I'm funny I realized today that I'm at one of those pivotal points in my life. You know, "You're starting high school! What a big girl you are!" "You're applying to colleges! I can't believe it!" Now I'm graduating college (never you mind that I just typed "graduation" instead of graduating, guess I'm ready for i...

In the last several weeks, I'm feeling about 110% inadequate in just about everything I do. I feel like I suck at both of my jobs. I've missed two meetings at school due to plain irresponsibility and forgetfulness. One time I left a meeting early because I forgot all of my stuff at home. I assigned a Holocaust research topic and a vocabulary word that got several parents angry at me. I was behind on grading for the last week. I am currently facing a huge internal resistance to do this week's lesson plans. I missed a meeting this morning at Blockbuster that I didn't know about; I almost broke into tears because I felt so dumb about it. I called in sick to both jobs yesterday and feel bad about it. I suck at my calling. I've missed two Sundays' worth of pre- and post-church meetings due to being out of town and due to family stuff; I missed ward visits due to exhaustion; and I missed apartment visits the other night due to sickness. I suck at being a friend...

Which is better: Peanut Butter M&Ms... or Reese's Pieces?

Seriously? I started coughing yesterday and kept it up all day. Today my head weighs 36 pounds. I feel like I have a fever. My face is drained of color. My eyes are sunken. I can feel the sickness moving to my ears. And I still have almost three hours left at this stupid thing. Kill me now.

Casey James , you are so unbelievably attractive. Will you please make out with me? It'd be the perfect ending to this day from hell.

I submit that sneezing while a. putting on makeup and b. eating oatmeal is probably one of the worst things our bodies can decide to do.

We had a late birthday party for me tonight at my grandma's house. She is so cute. She put balloons up and had tons of presents for me. She made my favorite dinner--chicken and dumplings. She even got me an amazing carrot cake from Cakes du Fleur in Salt Lake. It was so, so good. My aunt April got me a book called Fearless Dating , so we'll see if that helps me become more fruitful. My grandma and grandpa got me a black shirt that says "Rock on!!!" which I love. They got me cute heart slippers. They got me a "throw blanket with sleeves," aka an off-brand Snuggie. It's pink with red hearts. They got me a red mug that says "hugs" with extra creamy Hershey eggs in it. They got me a little soft stuffed bunny rabbit because I miss my baby Sam. And last, but not least, a Scentsy burner. It's heart-shaped and so cute. She got me four scents to put in it: pomegranate, fruit basket, apple pie, and last but not least, "Simply Irresistible....

My aunt makes this antique jewelry. She made me a necklace with a Chinese coin on it that has a rabbit's head. I am the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. Here is a picture of my necklace. I went to Barnes and Noble today, and the guy at the checkstand was like, "What does that mean? Follow the white rabbit?" I responded, confused, "What? My necklace?" "Yeah, have you ever seen the Matrix?" "Yeah, I love that movie... but what the freak are you even referring to that for ?" "I was just wondering if that's what your necklace meant. You know, like, follow the white rabbit, that part in the Matrix?" "No, it's just because I'm the year of the rabbit." I then proceeded to ignore his little joke with an awkward chuckle and asked if there were any more gift cards. I feel bad that that was his attempt at a joke and that I totally squashed it because I just didn't know what the crap he'd b...

Oh, Mr. Mali, how you inspire me.

A few notes... I like riding on Trax. I love Salt Lake. I finally articulated that the reason I love it so much is that if I can't be in California, it's the next closest city in Utah that makes me feel at home. I want to live in a place where people are unassuming, where I will be unassuming, and where I can share the gospel. And, parents should not, I repeat should not , message teachers on Facebook. I mean, seriously. Facebook is recreational--don't bug me at home on my private internet zone. My email address is on PowerSchool. Let's just use some logic here, people. Golly.

So I made the drive down to Vegas on Friday morning at around 9:15 AM. Don't worry I didn't play with my phone much while driving. :) Instead I sang really loudly to keep myself awake. By 12:40 I got to St. George and stopped to see Shivani. We chatted at her work for a little bit. It was a fun break, and it was good to see her. So I went on the last stretch and stopped to see my cousin Natalie. I made it all the way out to her house (North Las Vegas) on a tank of gas. But she was super cute. Natalie, her fiancee, and I all went to lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant. It was really yummy. Somehow I made it to the Luxor valet without getting lost! Mom met me downstairs while I waited by one of Criss Angel's numerous fancy motorcycles. She took me up to the room, and we got settled. We hung out for a little bit and kind of planned out the weekend. Then we went downstairs to eat at T&T (Tacos and Tequila) where I just had some chips and salsa and a salad. It...

Well, it started yesterday when I got home and my door was heart attacked by the compassionate service committee of Relief Society. It was super cute. I got the present from my mom which was a stack of about six boxes (more presents for me to open! yay) filled with Ghirardelli chocolate products.  I also got a card from two grandpas (that had money in them. Score). Then I went to bed at 7:30 last night. I was really, really tired if you couldn't tell. I woke up probably after four complete REM cycles. Kind of ridiculous, but totally awesome. I got myself a donut or two this morning. I had a super good day at work which included -All six classes singing "Happy Birthday" to me -A Dove chocolate rose from a couple of students (4th period) -A giant Hershey's kiss from another student (3rd period) -An "Oh shoot I forgot your present at home" from another student -A "what do you want for your birthday because my family always gets birthday prese...

I'm obsessed with onion rings. Especially from Red Robin.

At the beginning of January I went and saw this movie. It was pretty good. I wasn't in love with it, but I appreciated the story and what it was trying to do. What's more, I loved the soundtrack! I've been using mp3panda.com because they have like 40 cent albums. They don't have the Invictus soundtrack yet, unfortunately. I'm not sure they'll get it. I'll have to get it at FYE if that's the case. I satisfied my craving (at least for now) by downloading the Ultimate Collection from Ladysmith Black Mambazo (80 cents for 34 tracks). My first encounter with this South African acapella group was when I was a little girl. They sang a song at the end of Michael Jackson's movie, Moonwalker. I was always fascinated with their unique sound, their beautiful voices. And now I'm even more fascinated by the tribal aspect of it. I'm loving this beautiful sound.

Reminiscing. More often than not: a bad idea. Note to self: Old pictures and videos--no touchy!

I love free things. But you know that already! So far I've gotten free dessert coupons from: Cold Stone Yoasis Chili's T.G.I. Friday's And free food coupons from: Tucano's Red Robin More to come, I'm sure (including from Baskin Robbins, chyeah!).

So, a friend of mine told me about a new dessert place I needed to visit. This is a potential problem. I already have a serious addiction to Red Mango. Adding another (fattier) place to my list would be a mistake. But, who cares!? I went with Dawnielle tonight, to the Cocoa Bean, which is at Brigham's Landing by Sub Zero, El Pastorero, Jamba Juice, Burgers Supreme, whatever you know over there. I was so impressed. It's designed so amazingly. Everything is based on the cocoa bean instead of the coffee bean, obviously, which I think is a brilliant way to cater to the Provo/LDS audience. They have a fantastic drink selection (might I suggest the Irish Cremanilla, I think that's what it was called) for those of you trying to find coffee substitutes. It was fantastic. The drink selection was both hot and cold, and there is also a menu for Italian Sodas. They have a varying selection of cupcakes based on what day of the week it is. I got the Red Velvet. It was good. Dawn got...