more answers.

go to the new blog to see the rest of my answers + pictures of me and the boy.

and don't forget to update your links with my new site name!

drumroll please...

without further ado.... the new and improved blog:

janalaurene.com/blog

ch ch changes..

confession: i get excited very easily. sometimes my excitement can be excessive.

for example, i've stayed up past 3am the last 4 nights in a row working on a project that i'm super super excited about. probably excessive.

want to know what project has justified me sleeping 4-5 hours a night?

i can't tell you. it's a secret.

ok, just kidding. i'll tell you.

it's a new blog and website! a REAL website!

phew. it's so good to not have to hold that inside any longer.

why a new blog, you ask?

well, for a while now i've been debating having a separate blog for just my photography and painting. a more professional looking blog. because professional looking blogs obviously make you more of a professional. BUT... i just haven't wanted to. i don't want to post on two blogs. i don't want people to only check one blog and not the other. so i came up with a better solution.

a new blog in general. a new domain name and a new layout. it's clean and organized and the perfect blend of personality + professional. the boy and his awesome roommate have spent SO much time helping me get everything together and work out all the kinks - they have honestly been so great i can't even tell you.

i really wanted to have the new and improved blog up today, but it needs just a little more fine tuning. so it's looking more like tomorrow or wednesday. and as soon as it's up and running, i will answer all of your wonderful questions and pick a winner! so if you still want to ask a question - you have another day or two! (ps. reading through your questions has been SO so fun. i can't wait to share some of my answers). the website will probably be another week or so, but the simple fact that i have my own website is so exciting to me it's almost nerdy.

in other news:

i whipped up an AMAZING new recipe yesterday with the help of the boy's roommate - justin. in fact, we spent over 2 hours cooking + taking amazing photos of our little creation. not only are these two guys fabulous and making websites, but they are also excellent at letting their tummies rumble and waiting to eat for the sake of photography and my blog. not to mention rearranging tables and holding lights/reflectors for the sake of my photography as well. i can not say enough good things about them - mostly the boy. he's my favorite.

i woke up early today. and i went jogging. i almost died. oh utah air, please get warmer! i'm out of shape and you being so cold just makes it harder! but i do feel very accomplished/slightly liberated.

do you ever look forward to certain activities that you start counting down hours? i'm going to play tennis with the boy and then eat leftovers on his lunch break. 3 hours. so excited.

in fact, we made calendars yesterday. calendars and schedules and checklists. he showed me how to use google calendars (amazing) because he's good with computers. i drew our schedules for the week on binder paper, color coded them, and taped his to the fridge because i'm good with drawing and color coding. we were seriously sitting at the kitchen table at 11pm last night, laptops out, making schedules. i should have taken a picture. 

i miss my nieces and nephews. they are getting so big and cute and i can't stand that i live 800 miles away from them. (some of them live even farther away, actually).

ok, well this has turned into rambling and brain dumping so i'll stop now.

but keep an eye out for the debut of my new + improved blog - can't wait to show you!

xoxo.

jana

21 questions.

let's play a game called 21 questions.

[this isn't how the real 21 questions is played, but that's ok]

i know there's a few people out there that read this little blog of mine. some of you i know. and a lot of you i don't know - but i love you just the same! it may sound creepy, but it's not. and even if it is, just go with it.

anyway, every once in a while i will peruse through a blog and wonder certain things. like, i wonder how her and her husband met, or where did she learn to cook like that, and where does she buy her daughter's clothes because i'm pretty sure she dresses better than me. you know, things like that. 

so today i had the thought: i wonder what people wonder about me? there has to be something, right? especially from the people i've never met. 

so here's your chance to ask me anything.

really. ask me anything and i will tell you. you want to know what kind of camera i use? no problem. want to know what color the boy's eyes are? done.

i figure i'll leave this open for a few days and next week i'll answer my favorite 21 of your questions. [i really hope there's at least 21 or i will be slightly embarrassed].

and as a little added incentive, i'll pick a name from one of the comments to receive a complimentary photo session, like this one i gave away a few months ago. it would obviously work best if you live in the bay area or utah, but hey, maybe i'll need a vacation.

so ask away! please don't be shy!

EDITED: if i happen to draw the name of someone that doesn't live anywhere in the nearby vicinity - i will probably have to opt for sending you a painting instead. hope that's ok. the boy was probably right when he said it was a lot more practical than a photo session. i just chose to offer a photo session because i'm better at following through with those in a timely manner. (i struggle sometimes with following through, i'm working on it, don't judge me). 

moral of the story: you can still ask a question and possibly win something - even if you live across the country. or in a different country. i don't discriminate :)

dear mom,

i thought about e-mailing you, but i know you read my blog too, so this works just as well.

remember how you sent me the recipe for your sweet and sour chicken yesterday? well, i made it [don't worry, it was delicious. but we'll talk about that later].

anyway, it took me over 2 hours. 2 hours. we didn't eat dinner until 9 last night. and i realized something. every time i make a recipe of yours for the first time - something you made all the time while i was at home - and i realize it's kind of hard, and takes forever, and the smoke from burning oil burns my eyes a little, it makes me grow an added respect for you. really. how you made us dinners like that with 7 kids is beyond me.

now that we have that out of the way, i do have an excuse for why it took so long. i also made fried rice, which i had never made before either. it wasn't too hard, but definitely added time. oh, and it was way good too. i used so much garlic and ginger i almost died - in a good way. in fact, my fingers still smell a little bit like garlic and ginger today.

one last thing. don't be mad. i made a few changes to your recipe, and i think i liked it better. i used red bell peppers instead of green. and you know how the sauce calls for ketchup? well i forgot to put it in. i didn't realize until we were already eating. but i didn't mind the difference. and i added a dash or two of red pepper flakes, to make it just a little spicy. and i added a drop of red food coloring, to make the sauce a little more pink. you know, like it looks in real chinese food restaurants. still, i would have had no idea what i was doing without your recipe as a jumping off point.

i didn't get to take any pictures - that's the problem i run into when i cook at night. there's just no natural light. that, and i'm starving and want to eat.

i think your teriyaki chicken is next on my 'to cook' list. want to send me the recipe?

love you.

xoxo.

jana

ps. mom do you mind if i share the recipe on here? i bet people would want it, right people that read my blog? i honestly think when i made it last night that it was better than any sweet and sour i've had at a restaurant. i just need to make it again so i can get some pictures before i post it.

monday brain dump.

long weekend. 

my body hurts. 

friday, alexandra (the roommate) and i drove up to play cards and make pizzas with the boy and his roommate. she had never been up there with me before, and it was kind of fun for her to see a part of my life that she has definitely been missing out on. the pizzas were completely homemade and delicious. and i was so glad that alexandra is just as competitive as me when it comes to silly card games.

saturday, the boy and i decided to play tennis. i used to play tennis all the time in high school, and we've been talking about playing forever. let me just tell you, that i have not worked out in close to 2 months. and that is why my body hurts. yes, i am a sissy.

sunday, we made dinner for a friend of the boy that just had their first baby about a month ago. i made pioneer woman's macaroni + cheese but was not too impressed - no offense pioneer woman, don't hate me. i actually really liked it before it was baked, so i have this awesome idea to make it just how i like it. i'm kind of dying to try it again this week, just a little bit tweaked - so stay tuned.

besides that, i should be studying for my biology test that i have to take today. and as soon as i'm done with class, i'm taking the boy to the bean museum on campus for a nature photography exhibit. i'm terrible at taking photos of nature, and he loves it, so it will be a good experience for both of us. the picture above is the best i can do with landscapes. my bad. i'm a portrait kind of photographer.

so i'm having these struggles with my blog. i've been wanting to do a makeover for a while now. i want it to be personal, but i want it to look professional, and well, i struggle. everyone says to just have 2 separate blogs, but i just don't want to. is that silly of me? is separate better? hmmm. choices, choices.

i've been having other struggles too. with babies. everyone is getting to have babies lately. except me. (i realize that i have to be married first, but we are just going to overlook that for the sake of this argument). until now, it has never been that bad. i just figured that as long as my sister-in-laws kept the babies coming, it would hold me over until i could have babies of my own. only, it doesn't work out like that when the babies are 800 miles away! and boys just don't understand that there is a difference between meeting a baby as a newborn, and meeting them as a 4 month old. it's like they are a completely different person by then. am i the only one who thinks this way? i actually know i'm not, i just wish that there was a way for me to describe it in a more logical manner - boys understand logic.

i need a kitchen with windows. for picture-taking purposes.

i cook in my boyfriend's kitchen a lot, for a few reasons. one, he lives in a super nice condo with granite countertops and it's just a pretty kitchen to cook in. two, he only has one roommate (usually i'm cooking for the 3 of us) so i don't have to worry about being in anybody's way. and three, if his roommate is home - he knows more about cooking than i do. honestly. it's awesome. he taught me how to make bread. he told me the scientific reason behind why i don't like baked macaroni + cheese, and he's even taught me how to properly disinfect the kitchen. his name is justin (the friend/roommate), and i told him that i'm taking him with me when i get to register for wedding gifts because i think he knows more about pans than anyone i know. that justin is a good friend to have around.

they have caffeine-free diet coke at crest. they actually have it everywhere in utah. i had no idea. it tastes almost exactly the same. mom, you would be so proud.

well that's enough for today.

oh, but i would like your input on the blog thing. and the baby thing. like i said, i struggle.

xoxo.

jana

me + the boy

maybe one of these days i'll quit calling him "the boy".

and maybe one of these days i'll actually post a picture where you can see his whole face.

but until that day, here's one of my favorites.

he's actually the only boy i've ever dated that i have pictures with. i never remember to take pictures of me in general, especially not with people i'm dating. he'll even hang in there for 20-ish minutes when i have the perfect picture i need to get of us with my camera timer. it's happened more than once. 

he's a keeper.

xoxo.

jana

utah changed it's mind about spring and it started snowing yesterday. looks like it's card games and hot chocolate tonight :)

hope your weekend is lovely and warm.