stay tuned.

i'll be posting the rest of this wedding next week.

and having a giveaway.

and maybe i'll even post a recipe like i used to.

in the meantime, have a lovely weekend :)

xoxo.

jana

i love camera timers.

[taken on the fourth of july]

i added this photo to my new banner a little while ago..

but decided it needed a post all its own.

xoxo.

jana

ps. thank you thank you thank you for all of your sweet comments. they have been making my day... i can't even tell you :)

oh life.

[photo taken today]

i feel like it's been a while since i've dumped my brain. so here goes.

first, i feel like i need to say thank you. thank you for the sweet comments about my dandelion painting. i'm going to fix it up a little and give it away real soon, so get excited :). it was so fun to paint something different, with no definitive direction or real purpose other than the fact that i love to paint. and just thank you in general for reading my little blog. when i first started this thing, i really had no idea what i was doing it for, and i'm pretty sure i was the only one reading it. but blogging is strangely enjoyable, even more so knowing that people read it. not only do they read it, but some people actually like it. and that is reason enough for me to blog.

in fact, i'm on a little blogging kick right now. i'm 3 for 3 this week. that is much more desirable to me than my blogging lulls. i hope you feel the same way.

i had a pretty day today. hence, me posting another picture of myself. it's funny what a difference it makes to actually try to look your best for no reason other than you just plain feel like it. i felt 10 million times better today than i did yesterday, when i didn't shower and stayed in my swimsuit all day long. 

i think my red lipstick today may have even helped me almost beat my all-time bowling record, as well as almost beat a certain someone i was playing against. yeah, i went there mr. you-know-who you are. i almost beat you. in fact, i was beating you at some points of the game. i should have taken a picture.

speaking of this certain mr., he's pretty dang cute, and i really wish he didn't look at my blog so i could post a picture of him to show you how cute he really is. cute isn't even an accurate adjective... i'm going to go with pretty dang handsome or freaking good-looking. he doesn't like when i say freaking, but he does let me follow him around with my camera, and sits more still than me when i have to leave the shutter open for 10 seconds to get the picture i want. it's sweet. but i'm keeping the details of him to a minimum. one, because i like him a whole bunch and i don't want to jinx it and have to un-blog about him later. and two, he has yet to refer to me as his girlfriend. maybe after he does that, it will be ok to blog about him for real. just saying.

i have to take mr. aforementioned to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. that's in 3 hours. awesome. maybe i just won't sleep and i'll make an awesome breakfast. hmm. tempting.

i felt like i had a lot more thoughts when i first began writing.

oh, i did some goal-listing the other day. i made 3 lists of goals, in fact. daily goals, weekly goals, and monthly goals. i love lists. i love plans. and i love goals. i'll give you some examples:

daily goal: exercise. even if it's just stretching.

weekly goal: finish a painting.

monthly goal: read a church book, and non-church book.

i'm really excited about the reading one. i just started a book yesterday, and should have it finished by the end of the month. and i'm keeping a list of all the words that i either don't know, or wish i used more frequently. i need to work on speaking better - another goal.

today at the bowling alley, i ran into a boy, whom i go to church with, who told the boy whom i'm dating how i give really great comments in our church classes. it made me so happy. yet, at the same time, it made me a little sad. mostly because i realized i could be doing a much better job of showing that side of me all the time, outside of church. something else for me to work on. i'm all for self-improvement.

i'm in love with the next food network star. does anyone watch that? i really hope melissa wins. sure she's incredibly chipper and talks fast sometimes, but i still think she's great. in the last episode, she gave the most amazing little introduction. it gave me chills - the good kind. i'll have to watch it again so i can write down exactly what she said.

i missed the season finale of the bachelorette. in fact, i missed the last half of the season of the bachelorette. for how excited i was when the season started, it surprises me how quickly i stopped caring. but i think she picked ed, right? and i thought he was really cute, so good for you jill. also. dear abc, if you're reading this, i think jake would make the best bachelor for next season. trust me on this.

and i missed the last week of so you think you can dance. sad sad sad. i need to find someone that has it recorded. stat.

shoot, i just remembered i have no milk for the breakfast i wanted to make. certain boy, why must you drink all my milk?

i love taking pictures of food, and i haven't done it lately. i need more windows in my kitchen. dear future husband, please note that i would like a kitchen with a lot of windows. the natural light will be very conducive to my food photography. also, i would love white cabinets, granite countertops, and a chalkboard. i love kitchens. just saying.

i'm tired. i guess when you hit 21, all-nighters aren't as easy as they used to be.

ok, last thing. that is, if you are still reading. i would love to know what you enjoy seeing on this little blog of mine. what is it that keeps you coming back? what would you like to see more of? obviously, i'll still share what i find lovely and interesting and important to me... but as much as this blog is for me, it's mostly for you, let's just be honest. so i would love love love your thoughts.

hmm. goodnight/good morning. hope we all have a lovely wednesday :)

xoxo.

jana

i'm just wondering.

is this something you would put up in your home?

ps. your opinions would be greatly appreciated - i might even be planning on giving it away :)

i'm feeling a little self-centered.

and that's ok.

i feel like it's ok to take pictures to send to the boy you like when you're in california - that way he won't forget what you look like.

and it's ok to rearrange the furniture in your living room for a self-portrait when you're having a really good hair day.

it's ok to take pictures of yourself in some kind of reflective surface for the sake of documenting. even if you're just documenting feeling attractive.

really. it's ok to feel good about yourself.

it's ok to have bad days. and it's ok to be really happy on your pretty days.

it's ok to feel beautiful in your skin.

and it's ok to think about losing 10 pounds anyway.

i think regina said it best:

i've got a perfect body

but sometimes i forget.

i've got a perfect body

cause my eyelashes catch my sweat.

- regina spektor

you're right regina - i do have a perfect body.

i may not be a supermodel, but my eyelashes sure do catch my sweat.

a new favorite.

WARNING: betsy, don't look! 

this should be arriving at your door today...

could this little girl be any cuter? i'm thinking the next shirley temple.

and her mom was even sweet enough to let me paint her bow red. love it!

xoxo.

jana

ps. if you're interested in having a painting of your own, shoot me an e-mail at janalaurene@gmail.com and i would be happy to give you some info!

someday...

i would love to have twins.

preferably a boy and girl.

so i could decorate their room like this.

you know you like someone when...

you make a paper chain counting the days until they come back.

and it only has 5 links.

and you know that he looks at your blog and is going to read this, but you post it anyway.

paige.

meet my friend paige.

she's from preston, idaho - you know, like napoleon dynamite. [she even got to wear an awesome poofy-sleeved dress for the school dance scene].

she sat next to me in our sewing class and would listen to all my crazy boy stories while we would unpick our seams. yeah, we unpicked lots of seams.

oh, and she does pageants. why wouldn't she?

i like to call these her future senator photos.

i almost forgot.

this got me an A on my lighting assignment.

and a date.

[it was a really good date.]

sneak peek.

i honestly could not have asked for a better couple to shoot for my first wedding.

can't wait to share the rest.

post 100.

it only took me about a year and a half to get here. party!

i can't think of anything better to share in my 100th post than this pretty girl's bridals.

i kept showing her the pictures as i would take them while saying "can i just show you how gorgeous you are? ok, i just thought you should know."

yes. i love them.

lizzie turned 2.

and she had a party all things nemo + some awesome mexican food. i'm sure nemo would have enjoyed it.

my sister is a master of cakes.

my parents.

the happy little birthday girl.

i love my clients.

kerry sent me this picture

so i painted her this

and she sent me this

not only are my clients super patient with me, and creative, and just plain awesome, but then they go out of their way to tell me how much they love their painting and attach an awesome picture like this!

thanks for making my day kerry!

xoxo.

jana

ps. if you are an owner of a jana beck painting, and feel any kind of desire to send me a picture of it with your kiddos or of it on display on your home, i would absolutely love it!