thinking december.

i spent 7 straight hours on campus today. and i forgot to eat breakfast, so i definitely didn't eat anything until i got home 30 minutes ago. no bueno.

after a quesadilla and a couple deep breaths, i realized that december starts tomorrow. the other night, my roommate and i decided that we want to do something festive every day of december, leading up to christmas. so we started making a list. [i love lists]. here's what we have so far:

see the lights at temple square

make and hang-up christmas stockings

drink hot chocolate with homemade marshmellows

decorate a christmas tree

wrap our gifts for a little girl in need

watch 'a muppet christmas carol'

make apartment christmas cards

build gingerbread houses

take a drive to check out the neighborhood lights

have a roommate 'christmas' dinner

write goals for 2010

make christmas sugar cookies

go to a christmas concert

make a wreath for the door

take 'family' pictures [our apartment family]

hang mistletoe

christmas caroling

serve food at the homeless shelter

so what am i missing?

what are your favorite traditions for the month of december?

suggestions are welcome :)

xoxo.

jana

someone once asked me what kind of toys i want when i grow up.

i think he meant things like boats or 4-wheelers.


but i would rather have these kinds of toys...

a letterpress machine to make things like this

[via a cup of jo... it's her kissing wish-list - cute, huh?]

a gocco machine - a little more of a realistic [not to mention smaller] option.

a polaroid camera. i've wanted one forever and it makes me sad they stopped making them. i'm sure i could still find one - maybe i'll get lucky.


or a holga camera to take pictures like this

[EDITED: i thought of this one later and added it]

a vintage typewriter. a teal one. more teal than this.


a photobooth. not the cheesy digital kind they have in bowling alleys [don't get me wrong, i'm a sucker for any photobooth], but i want the old-fashioned black and white kind they have at the county fair. seriously, having one in my house would be the sweetest thing ever.

a beach cruiser, but not this color. maybe white. or teal - i'm all about teal lately

[i keep thinking of more random things and adding them]

a helium machine. not to make my voice funny, i hear that kills brain cells, but so i could have floating balloons whenever i felt so inclined.

[don't know where i found this picture. my bad]


hmm. that's all i can think of for now.

xoxo.
jana



i know my blog is totally lacking in the awesomeness department - i'm working on fixing that right away. don't leave just yet :)

25 things.

1. if someone “tags” me to do something, i’ll always do it. i’m not sure why – partially because i'm usually bored and partially because i’ll probably feel guilty if i don’t. this picture was the fourth in my fourth album [tagged by kerri]. in case you're wondering what i'm wearing - it's a sweatshirt that's clearly too big for me tucked into red sweatpants. i'm sure my dad picked it out. but wasn’t i a cute little thing anyway?

2. the first time i kissed a boy, i kissed him on the belly button. i was 4 and kristin told me to.

3. if i could eat 3 regular meals in a day or the same amount of calories in cookies, most days i would go for the cookies.

4. i always thought i hated drawing people, until a couple weeks ago.

5. i like to practice my handwriting – i have since 6th grade [at least that’s as far back as I remember doing it]. really, in school I almost always write things out, even if we have the option to type them. i think that’s why I like making lists and writing letters so much too.

6. the security question for one of my passwords at work is “what is your spouse’s middle name?” i don’t have a spouse, but all of the other questions were lame. the funny thing is, i have about 10 passwords for different things at work, and this is the only one i’ve forgotten and had to call in to get it. when the lady asked my security question, i laughed.

7. i have a dream house. it has a red door, a white kitched, a jungle-themed nursery for the baby and it will have a neverland-themed playroom when the babies are older. those are actually the only things i care about in my dream house – someone else can pick the rest.

8. my cousin britney’s first word was jana. i know that’s not a fact about me, but i think it’s cool… and i don’t know what my first word was.

9. some days i think it might be cool to have 12 kids.


10. if I could have any job in the world right now i would be a high school teacher. seriously, 11th grade english + an art class.

11. i like to see midnight showings of movies. even if i have to go to work or school the next day, and even if it’s a movie i don’t really even care that much about seeing. if there’s a midnight showing, count me in.

12. speaking of movies, i like going to the theater to see movies way too much. i would rather spend money on a movie than clothes. it doesn’t really make sense, considering clothes last a lot longer, but it does explain my lack of a wardrobe.

13. i sleep at the hess house close to every night. i’m a sucker for sleepovers.

14. i’ve always wanted a good reason to punch someone in the face. i slapped my cousin, britney, once in 7th or 8th grade because she pulled my hair – that’s the closest i got.

15. i’m pretty sure my favorite kind of cookie is sister child’s super duper amazing sugar cookie. but they take me forever to make, and even longer to make pretty, so i only make them 3 times a year – valentine’s day, easter, and christmas.

16. i love to sleep. when i don’t have anything to do in the morning, i could easily sleep 12 hours.

17. with that being said, i am a serious night owl and can run on little or no sleep – i know it doesn’t really make sense. last night i stayed up past one in the morning. i have a pretty good feeling that this exact scene will occur lots of nights after I’m married:

11:00pm
husband: i’m going to bed
me: ok, i’ll be right up.

3 hours later – husband wakes up and walks in the room with sleepy eyes, staring at me incredulously as i’m doing something ridiculous for that time of night/morning
husband: seriously jana?
me: my bad.

britney and i were laughing pretty hard after i said this last night because it’s totally going to happen.


18. i now have 8,003 pictures in iphoto. i really need an external hard drive

19. sometimes, when nothing good is on the radio, i’ll pull my ipod out and listen to that instead [only one headphone, don’t worry – i’m a safe driver]. and sometimes if i don’t have my ipod with me, i’ll just sing whatever song i wish was on the radio.

20. and even though i’m not that talented of a singer, i like to choose which songs i would use for my american idol audition.

21. i am a sucker for reality tv. now i know the bachelor is probably partially staged, and it’s kind of not right to be kissing so many girls at the same time – but i still love it!!!! so much, in fact, that the other night i dreamt i was on the show and when my missionary’s mom heard, i lied and told her my cousin entered me to be funny. that was almost as good as the dream I had about will smith’s family coming over to watch general conference – it was a saturday session too. talk about some serious investigators… anyway, i hardly ever remember my dreams lately, so i think it’s hilarious when i actually do.

22. i have 25 folders on my desktop. my favorite is titled “weddings” – guess what’s inside.

23. i don’t pick favorites. no favorite movie, color, artist, flower. i’m too indecisive for favorites.

24. it drives me crazy when people add the letter s onto words that shouldn’t have it – mostly in regards to people’s last names, stores, and restaurants [ex. nordstroms, bajios...]. it’s like the equivalent of bad grammar to me. like when people say “i says” or “i seen”. ugh, i cringe slightly.

25. the application deadline for the art program at byu is february 15th. yikes – thank goodness for fedex. feel free to keep your fingers crossed for me.


[i already did this on facebook, but i felt like posting it here too - so  a lot of them are the same. feel free to play along!]

utah by numbers

days in utah: 3.5

hours spent driving: 22+

times we turned around before getting there: 2

speeding tickets: 1

cousins visited: 12

bateman girls that i love and got to see: 4

old roommates visited: 1

trips to byu campus: 1

movies watched: 8

episodes of one tree hill watched on the drive home: 11

guitar hero songs played: 47

days i slept in: 2

dollars of mine spent: 36

outfits worn: 6

grandparents' birthdays celebrated: 2

coldest temperature: 13 degrees

times eaten out: 8

packages of fruit snacks eaten: 11

pictures taken: 97

times i blew my nose: 31

ibuprofens taken: 7

cousins we said farewell to for 2 years: 1

cousins we predict will get married while he's gone: 7

e-mails sent: 0

trips to the gym: 0

times i missed living in utah: plenty

dear new year,

here you are - my official list of resolutions. i'm planning on tacking this up somewhere that i will see it every day.



i have big things planned for you, 2009.

xoxo.
jana

is it bad that i wrote, scanned, and blogged this from work?

dear santa,

in case you are having a hard time deciding what to bring me, i thought i would give you a few suggestions. plus, i'm pretty sure my mom reads my blog, so maybe she'll get some ideas too.

1. a trip to disneyland. i've always wanted to see it snow on main street. who knows if i could get time off from work, though. maybe wait until next year.
2. a blackberry. seriously, i need a new phone and i think this one needs me too.
3. i still need some running shoes. i bought some a few weeks ago, but they're not that great for running long distances - i'm thinking i'll just wear them to the gym. plus, i'm digging this orange.
4. speaking of things i need for running, i'm hurting for some headphones. my current pair have horrible static. i'm hoping for something cute that will also stay in my ear, both important.

5. i could probably use a new straightener. the chi is good. plus, it's pink and proceeds go to a good cause.

6. did you know i wanted a guitar for my birthday? probably not, you're santa. anyway, i'm still thinking it would be fun to learn how to play one.

7. if not, i already have access to a piano, so maybe you could just bring me some piano lessons. my family would sure appreciate it. horribly slow church hymns = sounds of a mortuary.

8. i saw these monthly journals from pottery barn and i thought it was a super cute idea. maybe they would help with my resolution for writing in my journal every year that i never seem to keep up.

9. if all else fails santa, you can always just take me shopping. you can still wrap my presents and i promise i'll act surprised. let's go to palo alto so we can pick up some cupcakes from sprinkles. i hear they're heavenly.

well santa, hopefully this helps. thanks for listening.

happy happy holidays!

jana

dear thanksgiving,

i know it may not seem like it, but you really are one of my favorite holidays. it makes sense - i love fall, lots of food and any kind of pumpkin desserts. but mostly, i think it is so so important to remember all of our many blessings. however, with christmas right on your heels, i tend to get pretty excited and begin planning the christmas party and listening to holiday tunes before you've even come, as hard as i try not to. so this year, instead of neglecting you and then feeling bad, like i usually do, i decided to compile a list of 100 things that i am grateful for. so thank you, thanksgiving, for the push in the right direction.

here it is, in no particular order:

1. the gospel

2. family

3. good food

4. camera warranties

5. an income

6. missionaries

7. mail

8. friends

9. running shoes

10. cheap gas

11. gyms that stay open 24 hours

12. good health

13. the boy

14. all of his ridiculous phrases

15. christmas songs

16. pumpkin spice donuts

17. the magazine rack at barnes and noble

18. marthastewart.com

19. quesadillas with avocado

20. a warm bed

21. the scriptures

22. the prophet

23. redbox

24. blogs

25. photography

26. nieces and nephews

27. the nursery

28. the temple

29. wonderful sisters-in-law

30. dad's homemade rolls

31. naps

32. walmart

33. football

34. that it doesn't snow in California

35. the beach

36. crunchy fall leaves

37. my new green coat

38. bare essentials make-up

39. prayer

40. the plan of salvation

41. strangers that say nice things

42. paper products

43. rain

44. sunflowers

45. ben & jerry

46. prop 8 passing

47. education

48. fishnet tights

49. the office

50. my i-pod

51. my macbook

52. the geniuses at apple, pretty much

53. paid vacation

54. the christmas dinner to look forward to

55. egg nog

56. movie quotes

57. the candy bowl at work

58. mom's recipes

59. snippet & ink

60. in n' out

61. fall weather

62. hairspray

63. panera mondays

64. family history

65. hershey's limited edition candy cane hugs

66. sales

67. adobe photoshop

68. lists

69. hope

70. patriarchal blessings

71. midnight showings of movies

72. airplanes

73. twinkle lights

74. oversized christmas trees

75. wicked coming to san francisco

76. sunday walks

77. any reason for boysenberry cobbler and homemade ice cream

78. burt's bees chapstick

79. grammatically correct sentences

80. the boy knowing the difference between then and than

81. facebook

82. caramel apple cider from starbucks

83. just less than 6 months

84. leftovers

85. nertz

86. sincere compliments

87. books

88. babies that don't spit up

89. pedicures

90. the grinch movie

91. ashley's grinch impressions

92. pictures in my inbox today

93. charcoal drawings

94. handmade furniture

95. water filters

96. chinese chicken salad from costco

97. the troops

98. democracy

99. personal inspiration

100. creativity

you should try it. it's certainly hard to have a bad day when you realize all that you have to be thankful for.