Hey la, Hey la~ My Boyfriend's Back!

So, my boyfriend comes for a visit today!!  But, before I can pick him up from the bus station, I have a baby shower to go to!  I spent my morning preparing a grade salad for one of my best friend's baby showers.  She's having twin boys!  It finally hit me just the other day when I was putting together her gift bag, that we're getting old!  I'll be turning 21 in just a week or so, and all my friends are getting married or having children!  I think that's insane how quickly it all comes up!  It seems like just last year when I was a naive high schooler.
Either way, I'm still really excited for my friend.  She's going to be a terrific, loving mother.  I sort of wish I was in her shoes!  Just a little.  But, I know the time to start a family will come, and I shouldn't try to fast-forward to anything if it's not time.
So, today is a very exciting day!  I can barely hold back my excitement!  I haven't seen a bunch of these friends in months, at least, so it'll be really nice to mingle again and see how everyone's holding up.  :)  And.... well, my boyfriend will be here tonight!!  Eeeee!!  I am SO excited.  Alright.  I can tell my sentences are getting short and repetitive, so I should probably sign off.  I blame all this excitement and my lack of sleep.  Goodbye!  :)

Hello, blogging world, once again!

It's been quite some time since my last post!  And I hadn't realized my lack of posting until just now!!  Oh, boy.

Well, the last few days have been quite fun.  I spent the weekend with my family, up at our summer camp.  Spent time visiting with my relatives, and I even got to see my older brother and sister-in-law.  So, that was a treat!  :)

I had a blast helping put down a new bamboo floor in the guest room.  And, now, it looks gorgeous!  I absolutely LOVE re-doing floors, because the outcome is so worth it!  I've helped tile floor in the past and strip old wood floors, but I'd never put down a wood floor before.  It was definitely a neat and worthwhile experience.

And, the weather was beautiful for a weekend on the lake.  It did rain once or twice, lightly though, but just enough to make everything nice and muddy.  Let's just say we all got covered with our fair share of mud!

The last couple days have been productive, but I just feel so exhausted all the time, it seems.  For some reason, for the past week I've been having these dreams every night.  And, I'm not one to remember dreaming much, except for those horrific dreams that stay with you.  So, having dreams and remembering dreaming for six nights in a row is something that I find somewhat out-of-the-ordinary.  And, it's been disturbing my sleep.  Hence, the exhaustion during the past few days.

What I'd like to know, is why all the dreams now?  And what on earth do they mean?!  I've had the most odd dreams, too!  Like, for example, turning into animals, going on a trip overseas with random people I've never met before, running from something (dunno what exactly~ but it seems to happen in the majority of these dreams...), discovering a massive museum in an Englishman's apartment, and working for some business-owner in Africa, just to list a few.  To me, they seem to be all over the place (quite literally, plot-wise).  Most of them, except for my most recent dream (the overseas trip to Singapore), all are connected with this theme of running from something.  I'd like to know what.  And why my last dream didn't have this particular piece.  Hmm... questions to consider, I guess.

Don't worry, faithful readers, if the dreams continue, I'll be sure to keep you in the loop!  Hah.  Oh, well.  Signing off for the night!

Jen

Pulling a BP...

So, I was headed out to this new Bible study group I've been wanting to join, and I was nearly there, when....

The car behind me flashed his bright lights.  I pulled over, not really sure (but having a slight idea) of why he was trying to catch my attention.  

"You're spraying gas everywhere!" he yells out his passenger window, after I pull over.  

"Thanks!" I yell back, annoyed that, once again, my car has decided to pull a temper tantrum.  

For the past few weeks, my car's smelled like gasoline when I start it up.  And, it did again yesterday when I went to leave home for the Bible study group I'd been waiting to attend.  But, this time the smell didn't go away... and neither did the gas, which was streaming from underneath my car.  So, needless to say, I ended up turning around to head back home.  Didn't get to check out my friend's group.  Maybe next week...

When I got home, my dad gave me some advice, and I went out there alone, in the dark to try and repair my gas line.  And.... I think I did it!!  I was so proud of myself!  I wound up driving it around the block a couple of times this morning, and I didn't smell (or see) any trace of gas!!  Soooooo, I'm thinking that's a good thing. For now, at least.

I ended up telling my boyfriend all about it.  Wanna know how he responded?!  Yes, he laughed at me.  Told me that I'd caught on to some sort of fad, I guess: first, BP spilling oil in the ocean; now me leaking gas all over the roads.  Ha.  Well, I'm just glad I was given the opportunity laugh after having so many car troubles lately.  

So, that was yesterday...  Today, hmmm.  Not much really happened today that I can recall.  Pretty sure I just spent the majority of the day being lazy.  Oh!  And I made fried rice for the first time tonight.  And it turned out really good!!  I was surprised, actually.  :)  So, I might be making that a bit more often.

Also, my younger brother is over for the next couple of days visiting.  And, tomorrow, I get to meet my other brother's girlfriend!  It should be a fun couple of days.

Alright, back to lazy land...

Up and about...

Today's already been a productive day, and it's only just after noon!  I went down to the fast food place, but they're "not hiring."  Ugh.  Whatever.  So, I went down the road a bit and picked up an application for this sub shop.  Maybe things will look up there...

Besides all that, I've been in this terrific "let's get stuff done!" mood.  Washed and brushed out the dog, did dishes and laundry, cleaned and swept the house a bit, and who knows what else.  So, yay for productivity.  Nay for getting turned away from a fast food restaurant!!!  Ayyy..  Oh, well.  Maybe I'll start to get some calls in a few days.  Or maybe this sub shop deal will work out.  I'm trying not to worry, because I do know that God's got it all planned out.  I've been setting up my own plans lately, like signing the lease for a house next fall and planning my life out.  But, if God doesn't want any of that for me, I know He's got much better things planned for me, that I could never dream of!  So, it may seem disappointing and nerve-racking right now, but in the end it's all going to play out better than I could have ever come up with myself.  All for His glory!!

So, I'm still looking forward to going to this Bible study tonight.  And.... I'm still nervous!  Darn these nerves and this stomach, and this brain that comes up with ridiculous circumstances that cause all this nervousness and worry!  :)  I'm sure that after tonight, I'll be much more at ease and at peace with the way things are looking.

Signing off for now,
Jen

June 14

Today marked thirteen incredible months since my boyfriend and I began dating.  We've made it over a year, and I still haven't managed to scare him off!  :)  Hah.

Besides that, I finally made it to the gym today to work off some of those cupcakes and brownies I've been making (and, obviously, eating).  Managed to run over five miles on the elliptical (my favorite machine...), which really surprised me, as I haven't worked out in like a year... or two, possibly....

And, I've determined that tomorrow (for certain!), I am storming the closest fast food restaurant and demanding a job!  Well, maybe not so much demanding, as asking politely, and possibly even begging.  Yes, I have reached this point.  None of my applications have resulted in job offers, which is really kind of disappointing.  But I'm getting over it as we speak.  And someone needs to do the dirty jobs.  So, it might as well be me.

I'm also thinking of going to this Bible study my friend told me about (the one who invited me to her church).  I'm kind of nervous, as she's the only one I really know there, but I'm sure it will be more than worth it.  So, tomorrow I'm looking up directions to the place, and I'll be on my way!  Besides that, I don't really have any plans.

Oh, and have I mentioned how amazing home videos can be??  I came across a bunch of them today (and I'm watching them as I write this), and it's so neat to be able to watch my brothers and I as little kids with my parents.  I have just decided that home-videos will be a must when I get married and start a family someday.

p.s. Little kids can be so adorable!!!

Cute.

Stayed up really late last night, 'til the wee hours of this morning.  I fell asleep to the sound of birds chirping.  The story?  I got into one of those girly moods and felt like giving myself a late-night semi-mani & pedi.

I chose to go with a cute, bright pink!

After waking up in the early afternoon (oops!), I went out.  Applied for yet another job, then visited the bookstore and came across a few cookbooks I felt I couldn't do without... one full of vegetarian recipes, and two about cupcakes and desserts. You can tell quite a bit about a person by the books they have.  Hah.  Anyway, tonight I tried out one of the cupcake recipes in the one book.  Ugh.  It was a disappointment.  The recipe called for way too much butter, and they came out really greasy, sadly.  And the icing was off.  So, I think I'm going to try to work on perfecting my cupcake!  It'll give me something to do over the next few days.  

I wrote yesterday that I'd try to post some pics of my new slippers, so here they are.  I absolutely love the one pair with the red on them...

This pair was cute... and cheap!!  :)

And I LOVE this pair!

So, that's all I've got for today.  Tomorrow I want to hit up the gym for some much-needed sweating, and maybe I'll try out a new recipe or two.  :)  

Enjoy the days we've been given!  And the people we get to spend them with.  

Oh, rainy day..

All rain showers today.  But that's not enough to bring the day down, is it?!

Had a chance to hang out with one of my close friends today.  Spent hours roaming through the mall.  It made the rain not such a big deal.  Also, I came across the cutest pair of slippers today.  I'll have to post a pic later.  :)

Also, this whole eating-healthier-thing doesn't seem to be catching on with me yet.  Today's meals consisted of: peanut butter toast for breakfast, white chocolate and ice cream for lunch, shin cup noodles for dinner, and a brownie for a late-night snack.  Yikes!!  My healthy eating habits have seriously gone down the drain!  Oh, boy. But, I must say, although I do regret the chocolate and the ice cream, I in no way feel bad about the brownie.  I baked it with some peach slices on top, and it was absolutely delicious!  Maybe nowhere near healthy, but it was soooooo worth it.

Besides that, I've become addicted to Glee.  It's this wonderfully-bad show about a high school glee club trying to make it, and all the drama that follows them.  It's so bad that it's good!  Kind of like those really, really ugly dogs that you'll come across every once in a while- they're so hideously ugly that you can't help but find them cute.

Anyway, tomorrow will hopefully be spent at the gym.  And I am definitely driving myself full-force to find a job tomorrow.  I've gotta find one... and soon!!  Please pray for me!

Late-night post

Hello!  Not a very eventful day.  A brief synopsis: watched a movie, talked to my boyfriend, ate chocolate, spent some time with my family, ate ice cream, read a little, and am now blogging.  :)  See?  Not very eventful, but that doesn't mean it wasn't exciting!  I found out from my boyfriend today that he's planning on taking the bus to come see me for my birthday next month!  So, I'm totally stoked about that.  And, there's the possibility of going to the local stadium next week for the opening day baseball game with my mom, so that's also something to look forward to.

My plans for later today (when it's not the middle of the night...) include a massive cleaning spree, getting out for some fresh air, possibly making a much-needed trip to the gym, making something delicious for dinner (not quite sure what yet), keeping my eyes open for local job opportunities, and spending some quality time with my mom and younger brother.  There will definitely be some loud music playing during my cleaning spree.  And I'll break it all up with some quiet time, where I can give my full attention over to soaking in God's word.

On a separate note, I've just realized how unhealthy my eating habits have become in the past couple of weeks.  So, I'm going to have to pay more attention to what I take into my body, as well as the nutrition my diet offers.  I've been on a vegetarian diet for about a year now, and things like my protein in-take and the health and nutrition my food offers have become a concern.  So, I'm thinking it might be smart to pay better attention to all of this now that I have nothing better to do.  :)  Also, I had been contemplating switching off of the veggy diet at my 1 year mark, but I'm thinking lately that maybe that's something I'm not gonna do right away.  I might allow myself to indulge in meat occasionally (very rarely, though, I'm thinking), as I do miss certain foods still, but I can't seem to get over how greasy and unhealthy it all seems now that I've been without it for so long.  Hmmm..  This has presented quite the dilemma.  I don't want to switch back over to how I used to eat, with having meat daily.  But, I'm also concerned with however this vegetarianism might effect my health in the long-run.  I'm not sure.  And I haven't been to visit with a dietitian or whatever at all, so I'm not sure what the effect could be...  Oh, well.  I think I'm doing fine as of now.  We'll see where this all goes.

Well, it's about time to sign off now.  It's very late, and I'm overly tired.  Good night, all.

Rainy Day...

With today came some less-than-desirable weather.  Rain, rain, cold, and... rain.  So, I ended up spending most of the day inside.  Applied for another job today.  And.... bought groceries (including chocolate and ice cream, of course!).  Also spent much of the day watching movies.  So, it was definitely a lazy day, to say the least!

Sorry, all, for the lame post.  Figured it is probably better to post something lame than to get into the habit of not posting and eventually giving it up altogether.  

Alright, I'm off to help my younger brother with his video project!  :)

Sunburned & Smiling!

Hello, again!!

This past week was spent visiting my boyfriend.  The four-hour drive was well worth it.  We hung out, went camping, visited a theme park, and spent time together working on our sunburns.  Haha.  Overall, it was so much fun.  I'm back home now and missing him, but life goes on.  Back to my job search once again.  I'm bent on filling out more applications today, no matter how much it pains me.

Looks like this week is going to be another gorgeous one!  Can't wait for things to start happening!  :)  Out for the day.