can anyone else not sleep?

or is it just me?

it's almost 1:00 in the morning, i worked a 10-hour office day, i've e-mailed everyone back [at least i think so - please tell me if i haven't], and my eyes aren't even tired - i have some horrible sleeping habits [see numbers 16 and 17 here].

so naturally, i began perusing my photo library and realized that there are quite a few things that i miss.

for instance.

i miss scrapbooking...

[i'll call you soon - promise!]

i miss high school. definitely not all of it, but i do miss the having an excuse to dress up and be ridiculous part. [photo circa october 2005. check out my tan legs. i miss being a lifeguard].

i miss these girls in general, and the summer, and my tan, and concerts on my birthday, and trips to candy rock... [photo circa june 2008]

i miss this guy. not the one on the left - i don't know him. i miss the cute boy on the right. may 8. enough said. [i may or may not have a countdown on my calendar at work].

i miss utah. and byu football games, and student wards, and smart cookie, and school in general - weird? [photo circa november 2007]

i miss babies. i love when they get bigger too, but there's nothing like that sweet smell of a newborn to get your biological clock ticking. but since i kind of need a husband to have some of my own... ahem. don't worry sister-in-laws, no pressure :) [photo circa january 2008]

i miss the beach, and i miss san francisco, and i miss ice cream sundaes from mr. ghirardelli, and i miss beautiful picture taking weather. [photo circa october 2008]

don't get me wrong - life is good and the future looks beautiful, but today i am in a reminiscing kind of mood :)

i'm sure i could even keep going, but now my eyes are tired.

xoxo.

jana

p.s. don't worry, if you haven't yet you can still enter my fun little giveaway here. 

i've been loving all your sweet comments and creative ideas - can't wait to pick some winners!

lucky you.

lucky 5 of you, actually.

i have been having the best day! mostly because of all the sweet e-mails and comments i’ve received thanks to liz and this wonderful post. [i’m in the process of responding to everyone – i promise i haven’t forgotten about you]

so in honor of my awesome day, i decided that the time has come for my very first giveaway!

[a mess crafted by me]

but first – some restrictions and limitations may apply:

1.  5 lucky winners will receive something handmade by me, especially for them. which means each prize will be different and completely awesome.
2.  prizes have a 99% satisfaction guarantee. so in the event that you win and don’t like your prize [which hopefully won’t happen], i’ll be incredibly sorry, but there are no refunds or exchanges.
3.  winners may have to be patient. i have a couple of really good ideas, and i know for a fact that some of them will take longer than others. but i promise that your prize will come, and it will come in 2009.
4.  to enter, simply leave a comment below telling me what creative thing you wish you could do most. [i personally would love to learn how to sew and play the guitar or the piano, but you only have to tell me one]. feel free to comment even if you don’t know me and/or you don't have a blog of your own and/or if you live in a foreign country – i promise i’m nice.
5.  last but not least, these 5 lucky winners will be chosen completely at random next monday [march 2 at 11:00pm pacific standard time] after i finish watching the much-anticipated finale of the bachelor [dear jason, pick melissa… i guess].

sound good?

hope you’re having a happy day too! 

comment away!



xoxo.
jana

p.s. thanks for the idea chelsi!

i've had a lot of questions...

about paintings.

if you're interested in having a lovely piece of art for yourself:
1. you're way cool
2. e-mail me at janalaurene@gmail.com and tell me what you are looking for and i can give you quote. [sorry i don't have set prices yet - hopefully someday soon]

better late than never.

right?

i know valentine's day was last week, but i couldn't resist making my favorite cookies anyway.

in case you were wondering, a batch and a half makes about this many

this slightly made me want to be a food stylist. it's a real job, i swear. i'm just pretty sure they're not in very high demand. but if you hear of any job openings for martha stewart, feel free to let me know :)

[i really hope i'm not the only person that thinks these pictures are cool].

the end.

p.s. if you would like some cookies, please let me know - otherwise i may just eat the entire batch and a half by myself.

dear birthday fairy,

remember that time i told you i would be ok with having no pets? well, i lied.

i want one of these.

this one belongs to my friend rachael, but i would love you forever if you got me my own.

xoxo.

jana

p.s. i'm slightly kidding - $850 is a kind of pricey birthday present. but just in case - i would want a girl puppy. you know when my birthday is :)

meet the men in my life.

jack. nathan. and mckay

[from left to right]

>

the first time jack and i met – he threw up all over me. i’m happy to report that our relationship has gotten much better over the last 5 years. i love that jack is an awesome sleepover buddy and i love how he is mr. romantic. [seriously, this kid has some awesome pick-up lines]. i also love how when people see me and jack together they say my boys will probably look just like him – oh, i can only hope.

last week, nate woke up from his sunday nap and was super grumpy. [don’t worry nate, i hate when i get woken up from naps too.] i tried to get a picture of him holding his painting, but the only one i got was of him screaming and trying to throw it. later we tried to get him to quote kung fu panda, but everytime we asked, all we got was a whiney “noooo” and a pouty face. that was until we told nate this – no kung fu panda, no cake. “noodles? you had a dream about noodles?” we even got a smile. [i know it’s bad to pick favorites, but his painting is my favorite so far].

mckay was the only one of the three that I got to see in the hospital just a few hours after he was born, when I was on my way to the airport to go back to school. i even got to hold him before either of his grandmas – so i considered myself pretty lucky. he also happens to be one of my favorite people to snuggle with at the moment. The other night when I was babysitting, he woke up about an hour after i put him down, so i went in his room to get him before he woke up the other two. i figured i would be spending the next couple hours trying to calm him down until his parents got back, but instead he just stared at me while i held him, happy as a tired little clam. we both fell asleep on the couch, and the entire next day my arms felt so empty – i just wanted a little mckay to hold. [don’t worry, i’m not 20-years-old and baby hungry at all]


i guess these really aren’t my men – but i love melissa for sharing them with me :)



paintings done from these photos.

dear jason the bachelor,

seriously, i think you are quite possibly a huge idiot.

you picked mandy moore the cheerleader and boring molly over jillian? i seriously don't even want to watch the finale. i'm going to, but i don't want to.

and i hope jillian finds someone nicer, smarter, taller, hotter, and richer than you because she was by far the best catch on the show.

that's all - no x's and o's for you.

jana.