Reward System II

You may be familiar with the fact that I set up a little rewards system for myself and working out, I work out..I get a reward. You may also be familiar with the fact that I would not disclose the details of my system because I felt so stupid about it. But I am ready to explain as this is a good lesson on the whole not counting your chickens before they hatch deal. My reward system was if I go work out on all my workout days, Monday-Friday, then I could buy myself a new article of clothing, most likely athletic wear. While I was at Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday,  a store I already spend a lot of time in but don' usually buy anything, I came across 2 items I wanted very badly, new Northface HYVENT mittens and a sweater that is supposed to be super warm without being too thick, also Northface. I wasn't up for any rewards because I had missed 2 work out days this past week, but I couldn't forgo either of these purchases as they were the only white mittens left and the sweater was 20% off because it was missing a button and if I didn't jump all over that deal somebody else surely would. So I made myself a deal, I would buy my rewards, work out for all my required days for the next 2 WEEKS and then enjoy my rewards, basically, it was a good way to motivate myself...I think. Anyway, as soon as I got home from shopping I fell on the stairs, sprain my ankle/foot and can't work out for 2 weeks.

Fruit Tastes the Same in Chicago

Meeting up with some fruits this weekend, should be a tasty time, Kumquat Desert fig, Kiwi Oil palm, Mango Bitter gourd, Gooseberry Banana, Sweetsop Passion fruit and newly added to the fruit basket, Apricot Pomegranate.

Reward System

I really like going to the gym, once I'm there that is, it's like pulling teeth to get me there, I'm putting a rewards system into action, but it's so stupid that I can't elaborate on the details of the system

A Beyond Akward Moment

As I'm stuffing a Victoria's Secret bag into the garbage (must hide the evidence) Dewberry's brother walks in, witnesses my actions and say "Uh just fyi, these walls are paper thin"

<>

I hate the fact that I'm so into myself

mirror mirror

Is it easier to like people who are attracitive or do the people you like seem attractive?

Either way, I like attractive people, whether it's the fact that they are attractive or my liking them makes them attractive.

Everybody Has One

There are so many things I don't know my opinion (position?) on, trying to understand these things has seemed to bringing me further from a conclusion rather than closer to one.

http://youngandcatholic.net/2011/07/catholic-and-gay/

After copying and pasting that link, a new thought just struck me, do I absolutely have to know how I feel about everything? Would it be son wrong to just be on the fence about some subjects for the rest of my life?

I should be asleep right now.

Life is not bad, aka I should stop complaining

It's going to be a sweet ass weekend, Vanilla Cocoa bean is coming to visit me and then we're getting drunk with Sweetsop Passion fruit, after we swoon over her darling baby, who will henceforth be identified as Elderberry (which I like because it makes me think of the Elder Wand). After getting drunk with Sweetsop, Vanilla and I will be going to kickboxing in ze morning and going to pick up Snow berry Star apple from her field trip to the zoo because she's and apparel design major. Food, drinks and movie quotes from that point on. Amen

Big Step

I know this is a bold statement, but I'm ready to say it, well not fully ready to say it because I'm just going to type it, one day I'll be able to say it out loud with confidence:

One day...I will want to have a baby, because I like babies...some of them...if they're cute and smell perfect

facial book

I'm sure this comes as no surprise...but just let me have my moment:

I recently came across two articles from separate sources that briefly discussed facebook and how it can ruin our lives. People put their best selves forward on the book of faces, we all know this, but has it clicked with us that it may be what makes us unhappy at times? I never really made the connection before, but after coming across these articles I can look back and recall the times that somebody's super perfect pictures/statuses/life made me feel shitty about my own situation. From here on, I hope to paint only accurate pictures of my life, and instead of trying to make people jealous of my life, I'd like to live a life I'd be jealous of and not throw it in somebody's face(book).

I'm Thrifting Because of Whimsy

This is what Snowberry Star apple has done to me, I see somethig oldish and then I want it

What I Bought Yesterday

cross body bag, dark hunter green
recipe box
owl napkin holder
2 belts
vanity tray
boots
leg warmers
bubble hem skirt


and my nephew's christmas gift

AAAAAA Very Merry Unbirthday to Me!

Today is my Unbirthday, but know whose Unbirthday it is not? My Blog's!

Not enough chips



Halloween 2012

I always have great ideas for Halloween costumes but always forget them

cosa uno y cosa dos

Mini Halloween Party

Once Upon a Time

I'm watching ABC's Once Upon a Time, long story short, it's a combination of all kinds of fairy tails, one woman, who is supposed to be the Evil Queen from Snow White, offers Snow White's daughter a Honey Crisp Apple. She then holds up a basket of apples, but they are not Honey Crisp, they look a lot like Red Delicious, which by the way are not delicious, bottom line, I wish ABC would do a little more research before making claims on national television

Water for Elephants

I just purchased Water for Elephants on iTunes so I can listen to it on my way to work. This was a desperate purchase, I plan to get a library card and get audiobooks from the city of St. Paul.

Just so we're on the same page

Being married doesn't make you better than me

Location, Location, Location

Whenever my mom is running behind, which is always, she does things right by the entry door, like painting her nails closer to the door is going to make it less time consuming

Soup's done

I waited patiently for approximately 4 minutes while someone warmed their soup in the microwave at work, when the 4 minutes were up and the soup was done, the guy put an ice cube in it

Life is like a box of chocolates

In this case, a bag of chocolates...Dewberry was up from Iowa this weekend and left today while I was at work

When I got home I decided to indulge in some chocolate, I reached into the bag of Dove chocolate I keep located conveniently on my bed side table, and pulled out a little love note

My life is good after all :)

human nature

I can be perfectly happy one day, and then completely unsettled the next. Example:

About 2 months ago, Dewberry and I were at MOA and I saw these ADORABLE filing folders, didn't buy them because I thought they cost too much. Well yesterday he surprised me with a gift, it was the beautiful blue paisley print filing folders, my heart seriously fluttered when I saw them. The fact that he remembered and paid way to much for them made me feel so happy/loved/content.

BUUUTTTT

Tonight, at a house-warming party, we were socializing with 4 other couples, in each scenario it was clear that the men were very into their women, not in my scenario of course, so naturally, I was pissed the rest of the night.

WEE WILD

3rd period of the Wild game last night I noticed quite a few people looking in the direction that would suggest they were not interested in the game, then I heard some cheering, I looked to see what all the fuss was about and who should I see hanging over the clubhouse balcony? JASON WEE-MAN ACUNA of course! Needless to say I completely ignored the rest of the game despite the fact they went into over time AND THEN to a shoot out. The Wild won, this is the year.

For Christmas

All I want is for Dewberry to pay as much attention to me as I want

pity party

Today was one big "what else can I do to impale myself emotionally?"

I will never be able to rationalize or understand my behavior

Para el bebe

Made this, less than an hour I'm pretty sure

big bang theory - part 2

I see bangs and I want them, I get bangs and I hate them

10/9/11

I once threw away an electric tooth brush set because the dock took up too much counter space

Because she was what?

Started my day off with a pole class (pole tricks, so all tricks no dancing) highlight of that was my instructor suggesting I join the advanced class
All things promised in last night's post were accomplished, with the exception of chips, but Snow Berry Star Apple and I added in some BDUBS and Victoria's Secret

I had big plans for making this post funny, but it's 1:39 am and motivation has left me

FRAN

Snowberry Star Apple is coming to my state and I will be spending le day with her, our schedule includes:

Yangs
Savers
Trader Joes
Chips

"Just gonna eat some these chips before Fran gets here, see if she catches me"

Night Job

I've decided to start working out again, but only if I can look like a floozy while doing so, therefore, I took up pole dancing class to get into shape. Tuesday was my first class and let me tell you, this is my kind of thing! You barely have to wear any clothes for class, short shorts are required for safety, I know this sounds stupid but once you jump up on a pole you find out it's a lot easier, and yes safer, to have as much skin showing as possible. Also, a sports bra is the preferred attire, again for the safety aspect, but I just wore a tank as the rest of my class also wore tanks. I rocked my first class, I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed of the fact that I am a natural...

10/3/11

Nothing interesting happened today

No Hubby = New Hobby

As mentioned last month Dewberry got a job, today I will mention that he left for Iowa to do this job. He'll be back every 3 weeks for 4 days, but I need some new (or pick up the old) hobbies to keep me occupied while he's gone, I'm also hoping to meet new people with my spare time...just need to figure out how

Anyway, new/need to be re-newed hobbies:

cooking class (or any class for that matter)
crocheting
working out (is this considered a hobby?)
reading "I'm Thrifting for Whimsy"
reading in general (lots of books on my plate)
volunteering
playing with my hair

Welcome to my new and improved blog

All that's left to do is come up with a new witty name

7:23 am

Sunrise in Stillwater MN, with my new pink purchase of course :)

50/50

Dewberry and I just got back from seeing 50/50, it's a movie about a young man with cancer staring Joseph Gordon Levitt. During the movie his girlfriend cheats on him. I cried during the sad parts. After the movie was done and we were driving home, still slightly teary eyed, and I said I didn't like the girl who played the girl friend and didn't find her attractive (during the movie it is stated that she is hot and I disagree) so after I say that I didn't like her or think she was attractive (still teary eyed) Dewberry says "Really? Maybe it was just her smile, she had a nice smile". (Even more teary eyed) Dewberry then proceeded to apologize for taking me to a movie that makes me cry, he didn't realize that 50% of the reason I was crying was indeed because of the movie, but the other 50% of the reason I was crying was because he has never complimented my smile.

ice ice baby



I need this



take this down smee

Big boobs and strapless dresses do NOT mix. I REPEAT: Big boobs and strapless dresses do NOT mix.

brother story #2 & #3

Before I tell stories 2 and 3 I should clarify that my brother is not a cross dresser, he just had some issues with names for clothing, having 3 older sisters I think he just assumed that everything was a dress.

#2 - First day of school 1994
My sister and I were in my parents room showing my mom our matching dresses we planned to wear to school that day, in come my brother (not yet old enough to attend school)

My mom says "don't the girls look so pretty in their dresses?"
His reply "where's my dress?"


#3 - Time frame unknown
My sister had a cat named Susie B (Suzie B?), she got a smidgen of poop on my brother some how, he came storming into the house, holding onto the bottom hem of his shirt and exclaimed:

"Jen, look what Susie B did to my dress!"



He has no idea how much this still makes me laugh

no excuse

As stated in a previous post, dewberry got himself a job, what was not stated is that as part of this job he has to go away to job sites for 7-12 months at a time. Since he will be going away I suggested that we go somewhere, just the 2 of us, before he leaves, sort of a mini vacation. Because I'm a brat I'm not going to mention this to him again and see if he takes the initiative to plan something, if he doesn't, I have every intention of being mad at him.

I know this seems petty, but I did just say: I'm a brat

stupid statement #2

The following is a statement my friend made after she was invited to hang out with me, dewberry, kiwi oil palm and her boyfriend

"No, because then I'll feel like a 4th wheel"

brother story #1

My dad used to get very creative with toys for my siblings and me when we were younger

My younger brother had a blue banana seat bike, something happened to the back end where it was no longer in proper working condition, rather than tossing the bike and getting a new one, my dad cut the majority of the bike so all that was left were the handle bars and the front tire

He ran this handle bar tire deal around the yard for weeks, all the while making his "dirt bike" noise

stupid statement #1

The following is a story told by a classmate when I was in elementary school:

"One time I had a grapefruit and it was so bitter my mom had to put more sugar on it"

in a nut shell

whiskey shots
slept in a bathroom on  a ledge above a bathtub
lost my belt
followed a trail of garlic powder
peed in a bird bath
walked into a room to see dewberry bare ass on a couch
danced my face off
i'm a terrible wing man

GroVia - 2

I need to get a life

xy or xx

Lady finger Key lime has yet to expel her baby, thus I don't know if it's a boy or girl...

$

Dewberry got a job, a real one

buzz kill

I wish I wasn't such an out of control drunk, a few people always get concerned whenever I start to get a little too thirsty. When someone wants to get smashed, I just let them do it in hopes that they will return the favor in the future.

GroVia

I'M SO EXCITED!

As mentioned, Lady finger Key lime is having a baby. Not previously mentioned, she wants to do cloth diapers. I took it upon myself to purchase said diapers as a gift, here is the list of things I have purchased:

6 Grovia diaper shells
12 prefold cloth diapers
15 Grovia snap-in inserts (pretty much the same thing as a prefold, just better?)
5 Grovia boosters (pad that goes in the diaper when extra absorbency is needed like night time)
1 large wet bag (bag for dirty diapers to go in)
1 small wet bag (for out and about)
Grovia Magic Stick (for diaper rash I think, can't use regular stuff with cloth diapers)
Charlie's detergent


This is what I actually physically have

tiny handcuff - part 2

i feel like i should clarify my previous post, it's not like i "can't fucking wait to be married"...it's more like "i can't fucking wait to have a diamond ring"

that is all

tiny handcuff

i can't fucking wait to have a left hand ring

queen size

dewberry is out with his boyfriends, i was invited, but declined, as i do not wish to be the girlfriend of the boyfriend who can't go anywhere without said girlfriend

the issue is that he will be staying at a friends house since he's planning on drinking and if he's not here, that means i'm alone, at his parents' house

i've never slept here without him before

bambi, a life in the woods

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all" - Thumper (Walt Disney's Bambi)

working on that

8 (again)

8 days until lady finger has her baby...well 8 days until she's due and apparently due dates count for nothing, except for making conversation maybe?

FB

i care about a lot of things

but there are a lot of things people post on facebook that i don't give a shit about

the end

sweet zoe jane

 

one night dewberry fingerlime and his friend made a pact that whichever of them had a daughter first, they would name her zoe jane after this song, while i'm not crazy about the name zoe i do loooove the name jane and i love the idea of honoring such a commitment like this one

but it kind of makes me sad that dewberry probably wouldn't follow through with this...

54**0

i started this post about six different times and i just couldn't think of how to word it, here is the problem: i really want to write about how am feeling about my visit home, because it just seems so personal, like, it would be some personal bitching, some personal confusion, personal sympathy/empathy and some serious personal sadness

i guess just as long as i addressed the fact that i wanted to write about it will have to be release enough

$ = ?

i accepted a job offer from a company i interviewed with last week, and up until this point i was assuming my life would seem so much better once i knew i had a job

now, not to say that my life is bad, there are just things i can't seem to relax about, many of them requiring employment to in order to relax

but it seems once i stop focusing on one negative aspect (like not having a job) another seems to find its way into your mind...

$

I

HAVE

A

JOB

riding in cars with boys

something about riding in a car at night with the music really loud is so much more fun than just driving around during the day with the music on

8

going for my 8th interview tomorrow

can't really sell myself in an interview because there is nothing i'm good at...for real

i have no idea what i can do for their company, or any company for that matter

?FML?

i have  a really important question

but i can't bring myself to say/ask it out loud (or type it for that matter), but it's driving me crazy that every little thing that happens makes this question pop into my head...

and it's a beyond complicated situation

fifty nifty - part 3

i should clarify that i only hope to hit 49 states...i have no desire to go to texas

mona lisa

eyebrows do so much for a face

fifty nifty - part 2

These are the states I've been in, if gas weren't so expensive I might plan a road trip out west for Labor Day weekend to hit up some more states, but doubt it's going down anytime soon, we'lll see.

babies

sweet sop passion fruit is about to have her baby any day now! that being said, lady finger key lime is due in september, but her baby shower is coming up in 2 weeks and i am beyond excited for it!

lady finger doesn't know if she is having a boy or a girl, so all the decorations and gifts need to be neutral colors, this rule is not going to apply to the cupcakes

i thought about making just plain yellow frosted cupcakes, but that didn't seem like it would be very fun, so i decided that i would make blue and pink frosted cupcakes with little white polka dots on them, just like kumquat desert fig and i did for sweet sop's baby shower

weird, my sister is having a baby and the thing i'm most excited for is the cupcakes at her baby shower...i don't even like to eat cupcakes, i just like to decorate them

the chicken

"which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

when people answer that it was the egg that came first, i automatically think they're stupid

discoveries

yesterday while at the grocery store, i opted not to get anything i normally would, i was only getting a few items so it wasn't a huge deal

i set out with the intention of purchasing just red wine and dark chocolate, instead i bought vanilla chai tea (boathouse brand) along with plain greek yogurt (chobani brand), vanilla yogurt covered pretzels and dried papaya (both kowalski's brand)

it was all good

this experience has instilled my faith in the idea of trying new foods

Ch-ch-ch-changes

"Honey, forever is long, long time, and time has a way of changing things" - Big Momma (Walt Disney's The Fox and the Hound)

Time has changed me, I used to:

1. have blonde hair
2. have my belly button pierced
3. have my tongue pierced
4. go by the name Skyla
5. hang out with a completely different crowd

Ok so I guess I haven't changed that much

i made this

miracle of life...

i can not begin to explain how much i hate the fact that babies come out of vaginas, it's almost enough to make me not want to give birth, seriously, being a girl sucks

blessings

i have a lot to be thankful for

kiwi oil palm

i met my friend kiwi oil palm my freshman year of college, we lived together our sophomore year, and then again our junior and senior years with 2 other girls

we are graduated now and don't talk much, actually, we haven't talked much the past year or so

we've had our differences, and our fights, but still it makes me sad to have gone from being inseparable to not caring that we're separated

food

i hate eating and then getting hungry again 2 hours later, why even eat in the first place?

over or under? - part 2

how do you eat corn on the cob? the typewriter method, or the one where you eat all the way around before moving from one side to the other?

over or under?

I think most people do use the "over" approach when it comes to toilet paper, this is the approach I take, and luckily, so does my boyfriend.

Again, I think this is most common, (based on the people I've asked)...and if it's most common, that probably means it's right, right?

this was a stupid post, sorry

daughter

It's no secret that we have bee molded by our parents to become the people we are today, our morals, beliefs and discipline for our own children. We learn our manners, social norms and life lessons from them. I have definitely picked up life lessons from my parents, but the most significant thing I've learned from my parents is how I don't want to go about doing things, the type of person I don't want to be and the type of life I don't want to live.

I also don't tell my parents when something goes wrong in my life. I only share my triumphs and happiness with them, because to have them think that I need them would be the greatest disappointment for me.

$45,000 later

i'm a college grad and have no idea what to do with my life..just the thought of trying to explain how frustrated i am makes me feel like i'm going to throw up

cats and dogs

when people say "rain was coming down in sheets" do they mean the sheets were horizontal, so they covered you with a blanket of rain? or do they mean the sheets were vertical, like it was raining so heavily the rain looked like sheets?

am i stupid?

untitled #5

apparently, i need to stop working out if i want to lose weight, my weight has increased (7 pounds) since i started working out in january, i know people gain muscle when they work out, not in my case, i just look chubbier, seriously, wtf?!

last legs of school

it was raining today, i refused to walk to class in the wet, and i refused to drive to class so i skipped

then i drove to the gym

can you tell it's my last 3 weeks?

claim to fame

in 5th grade we wrote poems at a class, if we wanted we could have our poem entered in a contest, i ended up getting my poem published in a book of young wisconsin and minnesota poets, here is my fame worth poem :p

Embarrassment

Bright red

Creeping across my face

Like a criminal, a bloody murderer

Everybody's staring at me

Like I have toothpaste on my chin

Embarrassment

meh, it's not much

baby

yeah, i'd like to have kids someday, but what if they're not cute?

American Witch

Did this on facebook awhile back, but then I used Michael Jackson as my artist, this time I used Rob Zombie, which was kind of challenging because all his songs have weird names!

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think. Make the "Title" of this note one of those songs as well ;)

Pick Your Artist: Rob Zombie

Title: American Witch
Are you male or female: “Living Dead Girl"

Describe yourself: "Foxy, Foxy"

How do you feel about yourself: "Feel So Numb"

Describe your current boy/girl situation: "Pussy Liquor"

Describe where you currently live: "House of a Thousand Corpses"

If you could go anywhere you wanted to go: "(Go to) California"

Your favorite form of transportation: "Dragula"

Your best friend(s): "The Devil's Rejects"

Your favorite color is: "Red, Red Kroovy"

Favorite time of day: "Black Sunshine"

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: "How to Make a Monster"

What is life to you: "Death and Destiny Inside the Dream Factory"

What is the best advice you have to give: "Let it all Bleed Out"

Thought for the Day: "Mars Needs Women"

How I would like to die: "Never Gonna Stop"

My soul's present condition: "More Human Than Human"

silhouettes fashion show day 2

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/Walking_the_runway_in_home_120042074.html

You catch a glimpse of me and the other girl who modeled for snow berry in this video, pretty awesome.

Snow berry star apple won an award for best pattern making!

silhouettes fashion show day 1

snow berry star apple has designed two fabulous garments and i am modeling one of them today in the student fashion show, i looooove the hair and makeup she chose

odd habit #6

whenever i'm in my bedroom i won't stand very close to my bed, just in case someone is under there they won't be able to reach if they try to grab me

reason #1

why i love dewberry finger lime

his eyes crinkle in the corner when he smiles

putting the fruit basket/salad to use

just wanted to get a little use out of my code names...

right now i'm waiting for dewberry finger lime to get home from work

tomorrow i'm hanging out with snow berry star apple and kumqat desert fig

this weekend i'm going to my home town to spend time with honeysuckle mulberry, vanilla cocoplum, lady apple key lime and desert lime buffaloberry

sweetsop passion fruit is going to have a baby (yey!)

and gooseberry banana is um...well can't think of anything to go with that

fruit salad #2

more fruit friends:

lady apple key lime
sweetsop passion fruit
gooseberry banana
desert lime buffaloberry

fruit basket

in order to make my blog more interesting, i want to include stories about my friends, but in order to keep things private i will change every body's names to a different kind of fruit. also, the name of the fruit must start with the same letter of their first name, last name also needs a fruit starting with the same letter, here are the fist to be named:

dewberry finger lime
honeysuckle mulberry
kumquat desert fig
snow berry star apple
vanilla cocoplum
kiwi oil palm
beachnut wolfberry
mango bitter gourd

texter

i should probably never send another nasty text for as long as i live

bonafide bitch fest...resolved?

you may recall me bitching about excessive sweating in a post from awhile ago "bonafide bitch fest...deal with it", well hopefully i will be bitching no more! this week i'm going to see a dermatologist to see about getting those sweat glands plugged up and keeping my shirts dry, this could be life change and i'm soooo excited to see if this will actually work for me, updates will follow!

"jennie, telephone!"

those are words i never hear anymore, this because i have only a cell phone and even when i am home at my parents house, people don't call me on the house phone, always my cell phone

so imagine my surprise when i was at my boyfriends house, the home phone rings and his dad yells "jennie, telephone"

it wasn't too weird once i found out it was my boyfriend calling to see if i would meet him for his lunch break

not for the queasy...part duex

fail

i saw the sign

i believe in signs, but not necessarily the way most people do

this is what i don't believe:
you ask for a sign, then you see something and it triggers a reaction in your brain, this reaction tells you that this is your sign!

basically, you ask for a sign and God sends one

this is what i believe:
you ask for a sign, then you see something and it triggers a reaction in your brain, this reaction tells you what you want deep down inside

basically, you ask for a sign and you realizes something you already knew

not for the queasy...

ok so this post is gross, you've been warned

now we all know the dangers and temptations associated with squeezing/picking a pimple, i am never able to ignore the temptation...but this time, i'm going to ignore it and see what happens

odd habit #5

Well, this isn't exactly a habit, or maybe it is, anyway:

I started buying organic milk, not because I want to consume organic milk, but because I like milk that comes in glass jug

I also switched from wheat bread to pumpernickel, this is because I like the way the dark bread looks. I have no idea if this type of bread is beneficial health wise or anything like that, I'm just happy with its color

Cake Pankcakes

I'm very curious to know what pancakes would taste like if they were made with real cake batter

getting the ball rolling

2 job interviews tomorrow

Hot Cross Buns

So now that spring break is over I can go back to my short blog posts...

It grosses me out when I get to class and sit in a chair that is still warm from the last person who sat in it

NYC #10 - Updated lists

Times Square

Central Park

John Lennon’s Memorial

Get a hot dog from a street vendor

Ellis Island

Try a new food (Indian)

Ride the subway

Photo of Statue of Liberty

World Trade Center Memorial

Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day

Souvenir  NY map

Photograph EVERYTHING

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

NYC #9

Overall this service trip was a successful one; we stayed safe, we did God’s work and although we didn’t solve the problem of homelessness in New York City, we did help those in need.

We traveled to NYC as a group of 12, we were split up in 2 teams, and my team was appropriately named Team Diva, 5 girls and 1 guy. We made the best of every situation despite the working conditions or lack of direction. There was never a time I didn’t have fun with my group, even when we were showing up to work sites late because we kept getting ourselves lost, we always laughed and figured it out (just fyi, it is very rare that a situation like this wouldn’t drive me within an inch of my sanity and end with me getting crabby at everybody).

If I had any regrets about this service trip it would have been that I didn’t really evaluate my goals and expectations of the trip. I knew there were a number of things I wanted to do in New York City, but not one thing on my list of things that I wanted to do dealt with the reason that brought me to New York in the first place; the chance to serve. It makes me think (maybe even realize) that my motive for going on this service trip isn’t exactly admirable. I think that I was so excited to go to such a famous city in another part of the country that forgot to put my heart into the service aspect of it.

I’ve been involved with Newman for 5 years now, I wish it would have occurred to me to set a good example and encourage the other people on the trip to go to church, or pray, or just to take a minute to apprehend that we were attempting to do God’s work.  I’m just hoping the other group members are not feeling this way too…

NYC #8

For our last day of service we worked in another soup kitchen, this one was at Trinity Lutheran Church. This soup kitchen was very different from the one we worked in the day before, not just  how the show was run but also the mind-set of those who ran it, their attitudes towards the guests and their overall approach to feeding the hungry. Guests were shuffled in, yelled at, fed and shoved out as quickly as possible.

Now, I don’t know if this approach of in and out as fast as possible is wrong, I guess it was just hard to see it after experiencing such a nurturing environment the day before. One of the things I loved about HASK was that they weren’t just serving a meal; they were giving the guests the opportunity to feel “normal”.  HASK gave the guests the opportunity to choose where and who they wanted to sit with, the opportunity to have a conversation and develop relationships. They are just like us; they are people with social and emotional needs that need to be satisfied. They are people that don’t deserve to be treated like second class citizens just because they are homeless. Being rude or speaking to them like they are less intelligent is not the way to go about meeting those needs.

 Like I said, I don’t know if TLC’s approach is wrong, I just know it’s one that I don’t agree with.

I think a soup kitchen like HASK can do so much more for the homeless population than a soup kitchen like TLC.

NYC #7

After getting lost several times this morning, we made it to the Holy Apostle's Soup Kitchen very behind schedule. Since we were so late we had to throw on our hats, aprons and gloves and dive into our tasks. I was assigned to the "extra bread" station where I buttered hot dog and hamburger buns, crescent rolls and Italian bread like nobody's business. 2 1/2 hours and 900 meals later we cleaned up and ate as well and learned a little bit about HASK.

HASK serves lunch every day of the week from 10:30-12:30, I can't remember exactly how many meals they serve on average, but we served 900 today, and that was considered normal. The coolest thing about HASK is all the partners they work with, once a week they have a medical bus, a chiropractor, a message therapist and a substance abuse counselor come in to work with the guests.

The only disappointing part of the day was not being able to interact with any of the guests that came in to eat since I was facing a wall the entire time I was working. Tomorrow we're working in another soup kitchen so hopefully I can get in some conversations with the guests tomorrow.

NYC #6

Times Square

Central Park

John Lennon’s Memorial

Get a hot dog from a street vendor

Ellis Island

Try a new food (Indian)

Ride the subway

Photo of Statue of Liberty

World Trade Center Memorial

Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day

Souvenir  NY map

Photograph EVERYTHING

It was my birthday at the Indian Restaurant

NYC #5

Today was a better pace than yesterday, we helped out at More Grace Redemption Center in the food pantry section. When we arrived we were put right to work with no introduction, so it was kind of difficult to know what we were supposed to do. It was kind of akward with the people who were in charge because whenever we asked them questions they ignored us, hopefully this was because they were busy, in the last 30 minutes we were there they finally opened up to us.

On our way back to YSOP we stopped on Wall Street, we went to the see the bull and ended up getting our photo taken that was going to be published in an annual report. We were really excited to become famous but were rushed back to YSOP because we didn't want everybody to be waiting for us, which was a total bust because one group was almost an hour late and we had to listen to a veeeeeerrrrry long winded speaker. It sucked. After leaving YSOP we stopped at a hot dog vendor because everybody was starving...and because I was dying for another hot dog, for only $1 who could say no?

Indian restaurant in the East Village tonight and maybe Central Park again, with a different group of people this time.

NYC #4

Made it to Central Park

Didn't make it to John Lennon's Memorial though, at least I can cross one more thing off my list

After Central Park we went to dinner at Start Dust, where the food is ok, the service is putzy but the entertainment is wonderful! Afterwards we went back to Times Square where a movie was being filmed, it was a New Years Eve scene and confetti was flying everywhere, a piece floated over by me, so I chased it down and then jumped and snatched it out of the air. Can't wait to see this movie now, rumor was it was Valentine's Day 2...we'll see.

To end my day I ate a tablet of air borne...my stomach is still fizzing.

NYC #3

First day of working, we met up at the YSOP center (Youth Service Opportunities Project), received our assignments and set out to our destinations. The group I was with went to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to work in the New York City Clothing Bank. When we got there we found out that the people who run the clothing bank didn't know we were coming and already had a group from Texas working.

While waiting to find out what they were going to do with us, we received a brief orientation. The clothing bank receives donations from companies like Macy's. All the clothing they receive is brand new, they aren't allowed to distribute used clothing. The clothing bank distributes donations to 179 different non-profit organizations 4 times a year, which is amazing considering there is no government funding for NPO's. Eventually they asked us to inventory some clothing and organize their supply of diapers...and then we left.

Riding the subway is rather interesting, the worst part is the smell and the best part is people watching. We have the evening to ourselves and in a few minutes some of us are heading to Central Park and to get some food.

Also, I've made some progress on my list :)

         Times Square

         Central Park

         John Lennon’s Memorial

         Get a hot dog from a street vendor

         Ellis Island

         Try a new food (Indian)

         Ride the subway

         Photo of Statue of Liberty

         World Trade Center Memorial

         Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day

         Souvenir  NY map

         Photograph EVERYTHING

NYC #2

I've only been in New York for a few hours and I've already failed to put my bargaining skill to work...I paid 2 dollars extra, oh well.

And you'd think that everybody in New York City would walk fast, like they have somewhere to be, not true. I've gotten stuck behind a few slow walkers today.

Tomorrow we start working at 7:45am, and it will be my first subway ride

This is our room at the Big Apple Hostel, cozy huh?

NYC #1

Just got to the hostel in Times Square, after 2 train rides totaling in 25 hours of riding...while on the train I made a list of things I want to do while here

• Times Square
• Central Park
• John Lennon’s Memorial
• Get a hot dog from a street vendor
• Ellis Island
• Try a new food (Indian)
• Ride the subway
• Photo of Statue of Liberty
• World Trade Center Memorial
• Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day
• Souvenir  NY map
• Photograph EVERYTHING

For now we are running out to explore!

getting excited for spring break #4

This photo is from March 2010, my senior year we were supposed to return to Aurora to work in Hesed House again, but there was a tuberculosis outbreak there a few weeks we were supposed to head down so we ended up in Milwaukee instead. This was my least favorite spring break trip. The photo below is from when we helped remodel a kitchen.

getting excited for spring break #3

My junior year I went to Aurora, Illinois to work in a homeless shelter called Hesed House. Hesed is Hebrew and roughly translates to "unconditional love", and that's exactly what I saw that week while in Aurora. Hesed opens its doors to everybody, and will not turn anybody away (unless they've demonstrated dangerous behavior). Hesed House had different sections throughtout, there was PADS, Public Action to Deliver Shelter, TLC, Transitional Living Community and a food pantry. Everybody at Hesed House works so hard to provide for their guests in PADS and to help guests in TLC get back on their feet and out on their own. Seeing the compassion on a daily basis the week we spent there was beyond inspiring. It was like "hey, good does exist in this world".
Below is a photo of our group making dinner in the TLC section of Hesed House, I really hope I make it back there some day.

getting excited for spring break #2

This photo is from October 2007, my sophomore year, this wasn't a spring break trip, spring break fell on holy week this particular year and it didn't seem appropriate to do a trip. But, at least I got to do some type of service that year. This trip was a one night event that Newman (my church group) does every once in awhile during the semester, we traveled to St. Paul to cook and serve dinner in a men's overnight emergency shelter. We made spaghetti and served cheese and bread with it. This was my first time working with/encountering the homeless.

getting excited for spring break

Since being in college I've made a point to do a spring break service trip every year, spring break starts next week and I will be going to New York City to volunteer in a homeless shelter.

I've decided to post a photo from previous trips everyday in order to get pumped for my upcoming trip.

The proceeding photo is from March 2007, my freshman year, we drove down to Lake Providence Louisiana to work on peoples' homes. The trip was so much fun and the food was amazing! The worst part of the trip was seeing how some people were living, many people we worked for didn't even have running water. The best part of the trip was knowing we were making a direct impact on not only the people whose homes we worked on, but the community as well.



odd habit #4

Sometimes I go to the water fountain and pretend to take a drink...even when people aren't around

1 for the money

I opened a savings account and put ALL the money from my tax return into, plus some that was hanging around in my checking account begging to be spent. Who's awesome? I'm awesome.

untitled #4

there is a very distinct possibility that i am irreversibly screwed up

i say this because 3 aspects of my life are rather fucked right now

banana stick

If I could have any snack in the world right now, I would like a banana, coated in peanut butter and sprinkled with nesquick powder...yum. My sister used to make a banana split similar to this when we were little.

untitled #3

i have not made my bed in days

untitled #2

My boyfriend and I enjoy watching tv shows that have come out on DVD, multiple episodes in one night, no commercials, the power to rewind and pause, it's great. However, we have not managed to finish any series that we have started...here are some series we've started but have failed to finish:

Wonder Years
Freaks and Geeks
Deadwood
Entourage

We are currently attempting Mad Men, we'll see how that goes.

hungry hungry hypocrite - part 3

I really don't see the point in getting married, why must there be the marriage license? Can't people just live together and be fully committed to one another forever without the license? Common law (in some states) allows couples who live together to file their taxes as "married", just as long there is no reason the two shouldn't be married, like if one person is already married.

Sounds like I'm going to be one of those women who never gets married to her boyfriend and has children out of wedlock doesn't it? Nope, I really want a wedding.

list, but not a bucket list

There is a gum commercial on tv that says that the average person has 28 first kisses...I thought there is no way, that's way too many! So I made a list, 31, and I'm sure there are some on there that I can't remember, guess it's not a far fetched statistic.

New Head of Hair

Getting my hair cut/colored today, working on going back to blonde, it has been a long process

Throne

Not only did I waltz into class late, thought it started at 12:40, started at 12:20, but since I was late there were no open desks. I had to sit on a chair in the middle of the room. Now I understand why professors won't always add extra students to the class list.

?

Now, I know I'm not perfect when it comes to grammar/punctuation/spelling, but...I was perusing the facebook home page and saw my cousin had put up a new status where she misspelled the word "tomorrow", she is 22 years old and this is her very creative way of spelling it:

"TOMMARROW"

Seriously?

wishful thinking #2

i also hope my future kids don't lie as much as i did, because i lied a lot about the dumbest things. here is a portion of a conversation that took place between me and one of my friend's parents, (the father from the french toast incident in my "elementary skills" post) my friend, we'll call her Philadelphia, was not present for this conversation so i think here dad was attempting to make small talk, i'm guessing this was in 2nd grade, before i get too far ahead i need to say this, i was the best reader in my class, i know this not only because i never made mistakes in class during group reading, but the teacher told my mom and she of course told me,  ok here it goes.

french toast dad: "how is your caramel apple?"

me: "good, messy"

french toast dad: "how is your reading in school?"

me: "good"

french toast dad: "are you better than Philadelphia?" 

me: (hesitate, shake head no) "i'm good, but she's a bit better than me"

now, this was the type of man that was absurdly pleased to here that his child was better than somebody else, i think that's why i lied, because i knew it was what he wanted to hear

wishful thinking

once when i was little my dad gave me a candy bar, twix, but when i opened it i found one of the twix sticks broken and i cried...i hope my future kids won't be as stupid as i was

odd habit #3

i don't eat oranges because i hate peeling them

his promise

"i promise that i will always be around to make you promises"

is he good or what?

ever after

This is a portion of a conversation that took place between me and the boy while in the kitchen, I was cutting up something during the convo.


ME: "...we're gonna have a happily ever after right?"

HIM: "um, could you put the knife down please?"


Must have been holding it in a menacing way.

soda pop curtis

I used to drink pop a lot, 20 oz Mt. Dew, went through a lot of them in high school and my first 2 years of college. But then, for some reason, I decided that I needed to limit my intake of sugar, just start drinking diet pop right? Wrong. I hate diet pop so much that I just stopped drinking pop in general.

shopping list that no longer exists

When you first move away from home for your first year of college you think you can buy and eat whatever you want, everything your parents would never buy, which is true. You have a meal plan so you can eat whatever you want for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the cafeteria, and the extra food you keep in your dorm for snacking is all the really good stuff. Things like Little Debbie Snacks, chips, pop tarts, ice cream sandwiches and chocolate milk. Then, after you've been away from home for say oh, 2 years, you realize why your parents didn't buy it for you when you lived at home. Shit's expensive.

When I moved out of the dorms and into a house when I was 20, I had to actually start buying groceries, not just snack food. Bread, milk and rice take precedence over anything delicious, I have not purchased anything that is wonderful in a very long time. I miss the following items:

oatmeal cream pies
little chocolate donuts
cosmic brownies
Pillsbury cinnamon rolls
toll house cookie dough
oreos
fig newtons
chips of any variations (i do indulge on occasion but it is not enough)
ice creammicrowave popcorn

fruit snacks (GUSHERS!)

odd habit #2

I have anxiety about the dumbest things, like dust jackets on hard cover books. I prefer hardcover book over paperback, however, hardcover almost always comes with a dust jacket, which I do not like. So you'd think I would simply throw away the dust jacket right? Wrong. I move it from spot to spot, none of which are actually on the book, but completely out of sight. Why can't I just throw them away?

Ignorant

It's funny when people misuse the word 'ignorant'.

happy new year

it's 2011 and cars don't wash themselves yet?

untitled

i'm not above peeing in the shower

kitty cat

The cat from Pinocchio, Figaro, is hilarious, check it out sometime.

mother knows best

I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven when I was younger, whenever I asked my mom for one she would say something like "Why do you want a little oven? I let you use the big one whenever you'd like just as long as I'm around". Now that I'm 23, I'm so tempted to buy one and use it. I would make little cakes, and layer them, and then have a tall little cake, then I realized, the little cake I would be making would basically be a cupcake, and I don't like cupcakes, I don't like cake in general. No need for an Easy Bake Oven. Guess I never really needed one in the first place.

my sister's bday

aaaa very merry unbirthday to me!

sick of saltines

It could very well be perceived that my life totally sucks right now. My boyfriend is out in Vegas celebrating his college graduation, while I work full time on second shift (3pm - 11:30 pm) and live off cream of wheat and saltines :(

i'm so stupid

Today when the qwerty keyboard on my phone crapped out on me I, for some reason thought the entire phone was out of commission...there is a fully functional number pad on my phone still, took me waaaay to long to figure this out. 

I know, could I get any dumber?

resolution

My new year's resolution is kind of weird...I want to be more prepared, always having stamps on hand for example. A recent wild goose chase around an unfamiliar Minnesota town has triggered this desire. So my resolution is kind of like a list of requirements:

1. Always have stamps on hand
2. Refill prescriptions as soon as they are empty
3. Keeping closer track of my keys, phone and chapstick
4. No procrastinating
5. And that whole high maintenance bit from my 12/26/10 post

Not much, but it's a start, I'll probably add to it as January progresses

elementary skills

A long time ago, when I was still in elementary school, I had stayed the night at a friend's house, in the morning we had breakfast, french toast. I cut up my french toast and stared to enjoy the syrup and powdered sugar combo, my friend (we don't speak anymore) started yelling at her father, (like seriously yelling, in a way that I would never speak to my parents) she was upset that he hadn't cut up her french toast for her. She then proceeded to yell at him for cutting up mine, he explained that I had cut mine up on my own, but instead of encouraging her to do the same he just did it for her. Now I'm not sure how old I was when this happened, but I was obviously old enough to cut up my own food, and old enough to think she was stupid for not knowing how to do so herself, and old enough to know that her father was an idiot for continuing to do it for her. How else was she going to learn? I remember feeling very proud that my parents had taught me how to do things for myself.

jennifer's book list, (kicks ass compared to oprah's list)

Soulpancake -Rainn Wilson
Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea - Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne (also on Oprahs list but whatev)
Sliding into Home - Kendra Basket (Wilkinson)

That's all I have for now, hopefully this is the begining of my interesting book titles for my bookshelf.