June 24




June 23

Love is a choice. Love is an action. As the movie Dan in Real Life says, Love is also an ability. All earthly relationships take work. So too, my relationship with God. It takes work. It takes choices, action, and ability. And in the hard times when I don't feel God, and I don't understand, and it seems like He is silent I can make a choice to love God. When the desire isn't there, and I'm not on a "honeymoon stage" or feel "on fire," or even in place I can be used. When I feel I'm just here surviving....when my heart begins to fail, I can learn to willfully love God.

So, like David, I WILL....

I WILL give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I WILL tell of all Your wonders;
I WILL be glad and exult in You;
I WILL sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
(Psalm 9:1-2)

......even when there's no want.

June 22

I eat breakfast most mornings. Cereal is the food of choice. I like Cracklin Oat Bran cereal. Even though I think it looks a little like horse feed.
Family Force 5 Really likes Cracklin Oat Bran.
Really Real Show 23 Rocks my Moccs! (click & watch)

LOVE
Jessica

churches have nuns, cowboys got guns and everyone's waiting to die

so the past few days have been kinda crazy. my boyfriend came to visit me and we had some fun times. here is a list of things we did (all ending in failure)
-we played twister in walmart's parking lot w/ joy, luis, and arturo (we got eaten by mosquitoes and it wasn't very fun)
- david lost his phone in walmart while trying to find a sandwich cooker thing
-we started a fire to cook the sandwich things...we did finally get it, but then it started raining
- david stayed in the rain to cook the sandwich...it got burnt
- we were going to see year one, but we looked it up and there was tons of sketchy stuff so we decided to red box slumdog millionaire...it wasn't there. no worries though cuz joy had a membership to movie gallery
- we went to mcdonalds around 4 am b/c david wanted a milkshake...they don't serve them at that time, they don't serve mocha's either
- we put pennies on the train tracks...too bad it was dark and we couldn't find them.
EXCITING HUH?!?!?!


i also dropped my phone and the screen broke. i'm still using it b/c i can read half the screen. yes is is ridiculous.

i had a dramatic mon. night. i saw this big black blob move across the floor as i was watching tv. i turned on the light and there was this ginormous spider. i didn't know what to do w/ it. it was too big to squish and i wasn't gunna pick it up...i went upstairs to get my dad, but it was midnight and i didn't want to wake him up. stinkin david told me to use windex...but i am not my sister. when i got back downstairs the spider was gone. i went on a search. when i finally found it, i kinda freaked out b/c i wasn't expecting to see it. i got a big hairspray lid and trapped it. i put a heavy flashlight on top and waited til the morning when i asked my dad to kill it. he was surprised at how big it was. i wasn't exaggerating...my dad, who can do one handed push ups and fears nothing, said "whoa, it is big" no worries, he got toilet paper, picked up that thing and flushed it down the toilet. yes, it was big.

i watched amazing grace. it wasn't too bad. it was different than i thought it was gunna be. i wasn't paying attention the whole time though b/c i was looking up recipes b/c i feel like making something. i think i found a delicious recipe for a mocha ice cream cake thing. this morning i returned to my love, the chariot. they most definitely rocked my face off. i forgot how much i loved them. everything about them is great. plus i figured out something wonderful. there is a girl singing along on one of there songs and it just came to me this morning, could that be hailey williams, my current favorite girl singer? after a bit of research i found it to be true. just another reason to love them. today i also got my hair trimmed, paid my car registration, and got my hair stuck in the back of my blow dryer...i'm still not sure how it happened. yes, life is crazy.

Today I....

June 21



*Snoozed for an hour and a half.
*Learned a lot from Romans 12.
*Went to Cafe Rio.
*FREE MEAL.
*Saw a man in a yoga-ish outfit. Tried twice to take a picture....couldn't get it.
*Cleaned my room.
*Called my pops to wish him a happy Father's day. I have a great dad!
*Had Bible study. Only took us 15 minutes and 5 wrong culsdesac (don't know the spelling)
*Attended a frisbee / 4 Square Parking Garage Party.
*Won the Corrugated Tin Climber award.
*Was taxied on a bike.
*Picked David up, heartbroken as he has left his true like.
*Didn't take one picture (except of that yoga man...but they didn't turn out)

LOVE
Jessica

18,19,20

June 20

S'mores + Sparklers= Summer



Smore eating contest [i won with 3]




You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get all the sparklers lit in time. Talent.



I made the perfect S'more!

June 19

Ahh, what a wonderful day. Three girls from my youth group wanted to learn to skim. This is what my teaching ended up looking like.

The Epitome of Grace

Then we got bored and made Bethanie into a mermaid.....a River Mermaid. They look a little different than normal ones. She is beautiful.

June 18

My love cupcakes made it! I was so happy. The only problem was my sister took my love cupcakes and threw them. See post below. Out of love my family still ate them....and loved them.

Love is a beautiful thing, even if it is a little messy.

LOVE
Jessica

so my life is pretty good

top 10 reasons why my life is good

1. God is good ALL the time

2. my boyfriend flew in from st. george on thurs.

3. i have thurs.-sun. off

4. i played twister in the parking lot of walmart

5. i ate tortas for the first time in months

6. my sister sent me cupcakes

7. i dropped in at the skatepark

8. luis is back in town

9. i have no schedule to keep so i can stay up til 7:30 am and sleep all afternoon

10. i have great and random friends who are willing to risk looking stupid to have some fun

so my sister sent me these AMAZING cupcakes w/ david. i was so excited that they actually made it through security in one piece! i picked up the box as we were unloading david's stuff. in my hands....about to walk inside...splat. i dropped the box. i stinkin dropped it! fortunately they didn't fall out, so yes we still ate them....and they were still AMAZING!

june 17

Sending my love in the form of a cupcake.

My most favorite place in this world is a little cafe called Twentyfive Main. They make delicious cupcakes. I'm sending a bit of my love to my family. Father's day is Sunday. I love my mother. My sister is feeling a little St. George sick. I love my family. This will do the trick!!!!!!!!!!

I was planning on mailing them, but there are too many variables. Ice can melt. "This side up" signs don't really mean anything anymore. I didn't have one toothpick in my apartment. My sister's bf is flying there tomorrow. I checked TSA standards and "pies and cakes" ARE allowed. We'll see if he can make it through security. I'm crossing my fingers!!!! I will maybe seriously shed a few tears if they throw them away. Here's Hoping.....
GO!!! "LOVE cupcakes!!!" GO!!!

LOVE
Jessica

June 16

I put the Fun in Funfetti

Today I made funfetti cookies for the cooks. Easy recipe my friend Begga shared with me. Grab a box of Funfetti cake. The recipe is actually on the box...but I'll share it too. 1/3 C of oil. 2 eggs. Mix with a spoon. Make into small balls and place on ungreased pan. Use a cup to smoosh cookies into a circle. Bake at 375 for about 6-8 minutes, until edges are brown. Rainbow chip frosting on the top is scrumptious! Enjoy!
Sidenote: Seran wrap really is one of the devil's minions!

LOVE
Jessica

WAKE UP!

so my alarm is still going crazy. it went off at 6:30 this morning. not my favorite thing...but it's all good b/c i fell right back asleep. i went to work early b/c a bunch of crazy old ladies wanted to check in at the same time. yay for extra money (that may or may not have been a little sarcastic since i make slightly more than minimum wage). all in all, God is good thus life is good. peace.

win or lose

June 15

Monday. Monday. I hit every red light. That's just something I've come to realize, and even accept. The only time it's ridiculous is when I'm already late for church or when I'm driving home from work at 10:00 and still have to wait at a red light when no one else is on the road. I won a very important bet today. My car isn't in it's prime. It screeches, the transmission is a little rough, and I don't even have a working radio. But my pal's car is in the same situation. Bets were made, "who's car will die first." Today, June 15, David's car died. Deader than dead. My car did not. I won. In fact, I think I may have won a sonic drink for having a lasting car. Bad news is, he has a nicer car now. Mine still screeches and has a bad transmission and a radio that doesn't work. It was a Monday.


LOVE
Jessica

CHANGE...of the oil

my dad showed me how to change the oil in my car today. it was pretty fun. i realized 2 things: one, i have zero muscles, and two, oil tends to drip...and it apparently likes to drip on my face...multiple times. i am hardcore.

Gates

June 14

Gates are meant to keep people out. They really work. Today we went to a friends house for a little pool get together. We arrived a little bit later than the others. Our friends live in a gated community. No prob, right? Well, until we started calling every person we could think of for the code. No one was answering. A man pulled up behind us and we decided to get in on his codage. He obviously didn't know a code and after about 3 minutes we decided to leave and try another route. A construction route that had been open. Nope. A big red gate stood in our way. Throughout this time we continued to call and leave hate messages. I even got ahold of their fax machine. Anna finally decided that we should just leave her car, crawl under the gate, and walk to the house. And we did. I only got a little tar all over my yellow dress.

The positive: We got to drive / ride in a fun little golf cart to go back and get Anna's car.

I also had my husband or TLK drawn for me today. If you don't look like this....I'm not lookin!

June 13

"The world God wants to love, the world God is appealing to, may never see Him; our own faces may get in the way."

Philip Yancy

Disappointments With God


LOVE
Jessica

Lazy Day

so today was a pretty chill day. i set my alarm for 7 b/c i was gunna play bass for the worship service, so it went off and stuff and i hit the snooze once. i checked my clock before i got up. there was a problem. it said that it was 6. so i checked my alarm again, and it was set for 7. i went out to the living room to check more clocks....it was 6. so i set my alarm again, it didn't even go off this time. my mom called my cell (she was upstairs) which woke me up...at 8:45. so i didn't make it to practice. still played though, so no one complained. the rest of the day i watched movies and tried to sleep. i also drank lots of coffee....yum. it was a pretty good day.

Mesquite....

June 12

We went to Mesquite. Anna wanted to go for her birthday. She really wanted to eat at a buffet. After paying $20 we learned it was Seafood Extravaganza night. The WORST. We each ate a few bites. Anna had a nice salad. We were pretty excited about dessert. Then we saw the non-fat yogurt sign. I hoped to spruce up my non-fat yogurt with some whipped cream. It came out completely liquid. I lost out.

Then Anna opened up presents. I got her a sweet Polaroid camera. Anna spent some big bucks on the slots. She got up to $3.75, then lost it all. We got to see Michael at work. And his co-worker Mara. She took the above picture of just our heads. We laughed a lot. All night. It was a ridiculous evening!

LOVE
Jessica

Today I was supposed to work. I went in and they
apparently decided to change the schedule w/out telling me. Oh well. Arturo, Joy, and I decided to play some 4 square. There was a problem. There were only 3 of us. We decided to make a sign to see if ppl would stop by and play w/ us. Cars drove by. Skaters rolled by. Finally some kids came over and asked if they could play. Then it just went crazy. We had 10-15 kids at the end. They were so sad when we left. Then we went to sonic, ppl were making out.

The Greats

June 11

I finished reading F. Scott Fizgerald's The Great Gatsby. I was excited to read a book taking place during the Jazz Age. I will admit I was a little disappointed. A depressing book about discontentment and dishonesty. Thank goodness, there's more to life. I did find quite a few new words I hope to add to my vocabulary soon. Well, after I find out what they mean. Such as:

contralto deepest female voice. Range between a tenor and mezzo-soprano.
dilatory slow; intended to delay
genially friendly
ingratiate to establish self in the favor or good graces of others, by deliberate effort
ineffable incapable of being expressed or described in words
meretricious alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions
nebulous hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused
jonquils having long, narrow, rushlike leaves and fragrant, yellow or white flowers
vestige mark, trace, or visible evidence of something no longer present or in existence

My favorite silly line of the book follows....

"I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it
might sober me up to sit in a library."


I also went on a the Great Shopping Trip with Anna. It was short. But, we found some delicious things.

LOVE
Jessica

Erns & Enlisting

June 10

This is my friend and roomie Anna. I call her Erns. It was her birthday. She loves most things. She loves Disney. She loves Christmas and July 4th. She loves High School Musical. She loves boy bands. She loves hamburgers and Mexican food. She loves sports, especially Michael Jordan. She loves buying soundtracks. She loves buying things on impulse. She loves carrot cake. She is great. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA



David Enlisted Today.
God bless America

LOVE

Jessica

The American Dream

June 9

I am an American Girl. I clean. I bake brownies for the cooks. (It makes them happy to cook my food). I empty the dishwasher.

Tuesdays are CarPool Tuesday. Every Tuesday Margo and I would close together at the restaurant. She lives right on my way. We decided to be green and drive together. Since Margo has been gone in Thailand I've missed my Carpool and her. Lucky for me, I found a replacement for the week. My friend Dennis carpooled with me. One block. Then he walked back to work. Dennis is a hero in the carpool books!

LOVE
JESSICA

seven and eight

June 8

Today I filled out 80 gift certificates for $10. I had to number each one. Write
the amount on each one. Date each one. Sign each one.
I don't really want to ever do that again.

June 7

I was kind of a mess today.

I sneezed in the shower and my teeth whitening strips fell out.
I burnt my forehead about three times with a curling iron.
I spilled syrup on my dress during lunch.
I spilled coffee on 99.2 % of my shirt later that day.

One year ago, my brother got married. It was the most miserable wedding I have ever attended. Wyoming, in June, is still way too cold for an outdoor wedding. It was windy. It was freezing. Literally everyone in the audience had hoodies, blankets, stocking caps...whatever warm things they had in their vehicles. A lot of the audience came from Nebraska, so it resembled a Husker football game. Yet we stood in our little dresses. Our muscles tensed up from shivering so much that we could barely move our arms from the "holding the flowers" pose. Ah, Memories. Happy Anniversary Brady and Janelle!

LOVE
Jessica

if you bring the love, i'll bring the sugar

So my day began in a wonderful way, despite the fact i woke up late. I barely got out of the shower when my mom began knocking on my bathroom door. she brought a beautiful spiced up cup of joe. it was delicious. the downside (if it can be called that) is that i was getting ready to meet joy at madeline's for coffee. i stayed up til 3, so i decided it was only fitting that i drink coffee so i could make it to my coffee appointment and still function. i made it. at madeline's i got a caramella. delicious. i had a buzz afterwards though. maybe consuming lots of coffee and sugar on an empty stomach really isn't a good thing. madeline's was great though. they have the best couch. we stayed and talked for a few hours. it was a good time. later i took my mom around town, then we decided to hit up sonic for happy hour. too bad we saw the dq sign for brownie batter blizzards (they are my FAVORITE) mmmm. i sat out on my deck and ate it. the rest of the afternoon i tried cleaning my room. i still have to unpack my college jank and throw all this old stuff away. i also discovered that i have 39 pairs of shoes in my closest right now. anyways, i need to get back to cleaning. PEACE

WE

June 6

I also made a birthday cake for my friend. I wanted to make a cake face. I thought it would be rather funny. AND It wasn't very hard. The worst part was getting the cake out of the pan. Half of his face stuck to the bottom. Other parts were flying all over the floor. I was laughing out loud at the chaos. It worked out ok. Win. Win. Win.

Creator and Creation

LOVE
Jessica

*sigh

So i've pretty much just been working all week and that's about it. nothing too exciting has happened. i watched defiance w/ james and robin. it was good, but some parts really weirded me out. joy and i made that greek pizza thing that jessica blogged about. we added chicken and it was wonderful. last night i got off work early, but all my friends have lives. james and robin did bring their dog zoe over and she shed all over my deck. we decided to spin the hair into yarn, so if you get a scarf this christmas, you can thank zoe. after that i talked on the phone to a boy for a couple hours, that was pretty great except it was cold out and this stinkin gangsta kept speeding by on his 4 wheeler. so yeah...my life= work, tv (mostly reality shows about housewives, fashion, huge families, and finding husbands), food, and friends. i can't complain. PEACE.

Pearls

June 5


Today was a really blah day.

Victories are listed below:

1. I wore pearls and one of my favorite dresses.
2. I had to sew the straps of that dress. Many "ouches," but no wardrobe malfunctions.
   
3. Watched a guy get fired for spilling water all over a customer. He lasted one hour.
4. Hired and trained another little hostess.
5. Ate a Spicy Snake Roll. Yum
6. I did not watch one episode of Gilmore Girls.
7. I made $7 in tips.
   
8. My nose is healing nicely.

LOVE
Jessica