Fruits and Flowers

One of my best friends is graduating college today. I'm so excited for her! Well, most of my graduating class is finishing college right around now, but I'm especially excited for her! And soon she will be back in town for me to get to see! And then we will be getting ready for her wedding in November! Eeeek!

Baby Raspberries!

Despite the discouraging clouds, rain and wind that we've been having in Washington the last few weeks, it is still spring. Things are beginning to grow. There are flowers everywhere! Tiny green fruits are all over our backyard. I can't wait until they are ripe enough to eat! 

This one got instagrammed....

My mom has a huge orchard and berry patches all over our back yard. Some days, I wander into the yard and eat fresh fruit all day. Raspberries are my favorite, and we have a ton of them. I took a walk through the other day and couldn't help but snap a few photos of all the new life.

Speaking of new life, I saw a baby deer the other day! I usually see baby cows when I drive to school and work. And I see baby goats all the time. I almost never get to see baby deer. So cute!

Baby Grapes

Blueberries on the right, Apples in the background

Dogwood Flowers, post-Instagram

So Pinteresting?

I don't get Pinterest. I just don't get it. I've encountered a LOT of people lately who are "addicted" to it. I simply don't understand. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? As someone who tends to go a little overboard, I was initially reluctant to start using Pinterest. I've found it a little under-stimulating, but I don't hate it. One of the great things that I learned last year was to love real life a lot and enjoy social media in moderation. I no longer spend hours on the Facepage. I can hardly spend twenty minutes on it these days, unless, of course, I have a paper due!

What exactly changed my mind about Pinterest? Weddings obviously! One of my best and oldest friends got engaged this spring and I've been struggling with what to get for her wedding and shower presents. We're too close to get her some sort of kitchen gadget off her registry! I now have one board just for floral sundresses and one for wedding presents. I attempted a Google search for wedding gift ideas but it was to no avail. My search yielded the following ideas: 1) Knit/crochet a blanket/throw/afghan 2) Quilt a blanket. 3) Frame their wedding invitation. Those were all the ideas. Thanks internet, you were a big help. Not. This where Pinterest showed it functionality and I decided to take the leap into this hyper-girly world...

I saw [and pinned] these cute tea towels because I thought it was an apron. Then I had the best idea: hand made aprons. Sexy ones! Nobody else is going to hand make her sexy aprons! I found this cute apron that I'm going to base the new ones on. I like that it looks really feminine, but it is also really functional, won't show stains and has pockets!

In Bloom

I thought that this cute piece of art would be great for their actual wedding. I recently had to choose from a wedding registry that was comprised mainly of things that said either "his and hers" or "I do". Wedding themed stuff is great... when you're newly weds. But I don't really want to spend thirty dollars on a tacky picture frame that you won't really want in 10 years. I immediately loved this when I saw it, because it is going to be cute in any room and it doesn't shout "LOOK WE'RE NEWLYWEDS" the way some other things do. I do not know, however, why the photo is so low quality. It reads "We met, we married, we live", and the hearts are cut from those places on a map. Cute, right?

 

Love Map

My last idea for their wedding gift is a little bit more awesome! My parents took up the hobby of wine making a few years ago. They're getting pretty darn good at it! I want to make [brew?] them a batch of wine and give them a bottle for their wedding. I also want to give them a bottle on their first anniversary. And their second. And third. Wine just gets better with age, so I want to prepare twenty one bottles of wine, one for their wedding through 21st anniversary. Plus, it will cost me about the same amount of money to make one bottle of wine as it will to twenty, since we make it in five gallon carboys.

LasVegas Wedding Favors

I don't see any reason why I can't do all those ideas. Well, if I have the time and money is the only real factor, but I think I can handle them! My mom already agreed to help me with the aprons, and if I can get my dad to help with the wine, the I'll be set! I'll just have twenty bottles of wine that I can't touch....

Friday's Letters

My dear friend Lizzie coerced me to get Instagram. And I love it. Feel free to follow me @jenniferjew. Also, I got on Twitter this week! @jenniferjewface

I think Twitter and Pinterest are both really weird. I've only been on either of them for a few days, and already a bunch of strangers follow me. I suppose I will just have to refrain from posting anything too personal. That can't be that hard!

A sad picture of my favorite city!

And now for Friday's Letters!

Dear Finals, Please be sweet to me this quarter. I know it has been a while since I took classes, but if you could go easy on me this time around, that'd be awesome!

Dear Other Drivers, Why do you aggressively pull onto the road in front of me only to go ten under the speed limit? And WHY must you do this on days that I am late to class??

Dear World, If it involves a cell phone camera or Instagram, please do not call it a "photo shoot". Also, if your mother is involved, it probably isn't a photo shoot. Be honest: it's Vanity.

Dear Body, I'm happy that you've adjusted to the daily workouts. But if you could be "in shape" faster, that would be awesome. I've agreed to a rock climbing party and I just don't want to look like a fool!

Dear Laundry, Be done please. I really would like it if you could be done, once and for all.

Dear Summer,  I'm ready! If you didn't know, you're the season when I get to hike and run and jump! I get to swim and fall and sleep in the sunshine. Mkay Pumpkin?

Dead Week

For a lot of folks this week last week or next week is dead week: the week before finals where nothing happens. No club meetings, no sporting events. Just stress. That's this week for me. There isn't that much going on, but it is super stressful.

A few months ago I applied to a really great dental assisting program at a local school. They have one of the best technical programs in the state. After leaving there, you don't have a certificate, you have your Associates degree in Dental Assisting Technology AND a certificate [and a few other certificates!] I applied a few months ago and have been waiting a few months to find out if I got in. They denied me! I instantly gave up. Luckily my mom has a friend at the school who works in enrollment. She gave her a call and found out what I could do. It turns out that when they evaluated my transcripts, they missed several classes. So they let me in. [Thank you Lord]

My sister's kids being CRAZY!

One would think that this is a blessing. It is. But NOT a load off my chest. In my glee, I took the time to look in depth at my course load for the next year. It will be insanely full. Some quarters, I take seven classes and have to work in a clinic. I got instantly stressed out! I'm struggling now with my THREE classes and part time job! OI! Thinking about this really freaked me out! I've had to tell myself "STOP! BREATHE!" so many times this week. I'm a smart lady. I can do this.

On top of the stress of finals coming up, feeling overwhelmed by what I just committed to and being as poor as a church mouse, my sister's nanny has unexpectedly taken the week off. I've been watching her kids all week, which means waking up around 5 AM rather than my usual 9 and being busy 100% of the time. My homework has suffered.

They found a snake!

A few little things have added to the stress this week too. Our foster kids have been having really bad attitudes lately. They've also stolen a ton of our stuff this week. It's frustrating when people make themselves welcome to things you'd rather then not invite themselves to. It also started raining again and I haven't seen any friends yet this week either.

On the upside, today is Champagne Thursday. It is ALWAYS the best day!

Tell Tommy its Friday

Recently, the lead singer of my favorite band [Against Me!] came out as transgender and is going to begin living as a woman. It has been on my mind because I've had such a crush on him for a few years. Well, cheers to him, I suppose, my first letter this Friday is to you!

Dear Tom Gabel, I always wanted to be a female version of you. I guess you do too. This is probably the most punk thing you could ever do. Party on, Wayne.

Dear Friends, Please stop tagging me in Facebook photos that I'm not in. I know that this is petty. But I HATE it! Why can't you just tag me in a comment?

Dear School, THANK YOU for letting me into that program! I'm so excited I could nearly cry!

Dear Max, I miss you dearly! Wish you were around this week!

Dear James, Happy Birthday, little nephew! I remember when you were born just seven years ago. You were not a cute baby- you looked a lot like an alien. You are very cute now! Hope its a magical day for you!

Dear Sunshine, Wanna go steady?

My Body Hurts

My dear roommate in New Orleans, named Katye, used to always say "that makes my body hurt". Mostly she would make this comment after extremely awkward situations. With her thick southern accent, it would sound SO sassy. Occasionally she would say it after a tough workout. That's why I'm saying it today. My body hurts. I think I might have over-done the work out today. I didn't run at all. Its high impact and it is hard. I did a bit on the elliptical. It was good! Then I did some yoga. It was great! Then I went on a long walk with my dog. Then I went on a bike ride. And then I started frowning. Oh, my little legs are tired.

I didn't have classes yesterday, so I spent the whole day only doing things I like. I went to the coffee shop and read a book. I ate pancakes. I sipped coffee and stared out the window. I saw lots of old friends, made new friends and went to open mic. So many talented people played!

I love seeing people play open mic. I know it is easy for some people to perform, but I also know that it is SO hard for a lot of people. I love seeing my friends play, especially when I know that they are so nervous. Seeing people stretch themselves is always a favorite of mine to watch. I also love hearing people play covers. I once played an acoustic version of Beyonce's Single Ladies.

 My friend Lizzie got a kitten, which decided to take up residence inside a leather purse! Another friend had his dog with him. His dog was very anxious to eat my tacos! I haven't had such a fun, nice, sunny day in quite a while. What a blessing!

Meet Me At The Hub

I'm a few year younger than most of my current friends and for a very long time, I was one of my only people in our circle who was still underage. This led to us having to find some clever places to go that would still serve tasty brews and still let me in. Now that we are all legal-drinkers, this is not such problem, but it was an issue for quite a while. One of our favorite places to go was The Hub, not only because it has sweet beers, but because they have cheap pizzas and it is bike themed and, well, we like bikes. I got to go there today with some old friends, including one that lives out of state. I had to save up all my dollars so I could afford to eat, but it was totally worth it to see friends!

Barley Wine. My new love!

One of my many downfalls is that I cannot stop myself from schmoozing waiters. It can get kind of silly because they're schmoozing for tips and I'm schmoozing to sate my compulsiveness. I just can't NOT flirt with male waiters. Don't worry. I like to keep in innocent, never trashy! Everyone wins!

Lizzie, Professor Cat and Myself

I recently downloaded a new app for my phone and, let me tell you: it is the coolest app ever! I'm not a huge app fan, I've only got Solitaire, iBooks and Stitcher. But a friend told me about this app and I downloaded it right there: Cat Lovers. It adds cats to your photos. It is so much fun.

Friday Letters

I had a baby shower to go to not too long ago I'm not the biggest baby shower fan in the first place and this one was at a ritzy country club. Boy, I've never had to try to sneak my dreadlocks into a country club before! It took so long to find something that wasn't a chunky knitted beanie that would make my hair look a little less like a mop. I finally hid my hair under this beautiful silky scarf. I got as a gift in high school and I still love it. I've always thought I looked very Audrey with it. Not only did it hide my mop-head, it also hid my gauges, which was a great bonus! After I hid my nose ring, I almost looked like I was supposed to be there!

One of my favorite blogs that I follow is Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds. One of my favorite things about her blog is that every Friday she writes "letters" to various people that affected her life that week. Some of them are funny, some of them are serious. Now its turned into something that lots of people do! I think it is just the cutest idea though. So here goes!

Dear Cat, Please stop demanding food at five AM every morning. I love you, but not that much. I've never fed you before nine, why do you bother asking??

Dear School, Accept me into my major so I can quit stressing about it!

Dear Sunshine, Why do you keep leaving me and letting the clouds take over? Maybe this weekend I can get you to stay for a while? I will bake you cookies and smile a lot if you agree to visit more often!

Love and Affection, Jennifer

My Sweet Abuelita

Several years ago, my dear grandmother moved to Arizona and left great big holes in all of our hearts. Luckily, she comes back to visit us every so often and we always make a point to see her when she does.

My grandmother and my dad

If you can't tell from the photo, my grandmother is Mexican, as is my dad. Also, if you didn't notice, it was g-ma's birthday. We got her an e-cig. She loved it! I got a few photos of her trying it out. Because electronic cigarettes are a bit heavier than a regular one, she said that she felt like she had a cigarette holder, like Holly Golightly.

Grandma acting like Audrey Hepburn

In other news, I am proudly getting all A's. Still. More than halfway into the quarter, and I am actually getting good grades. I don't think this has ever happened before! I've always been such an underachiever and a procrastinator. I suppose taking time off from school maybe was a good choice. It has, however, been exceedingly sunny lately and such a struggle to focus on my studies. I've worn nothing but sun dresses all week. As soon as I walk into a classroom, I immediately announce that it is "sundress Monday" or "sunshine Wednesday". It is probably a frustrating habit. I really do have special days every week. Perhaps I will share them another time.

Me and Grams

What a Cat Lady!

Not too long ago, my puppy died. She was old and it was time. I cried. Not too soon after, I got a cat! I haven't had a cat since I was three or four so I wasn't quite sure what it would be like. She's grey!

She's six or seven. I suppose you could say that I got her "used". A friend of my dad's needed a happy home for a cat. I kindly volunteered my services. They had named her Margaret. What an average name for a cat! I quickly revoked her Margaret Privileges and gave her a new name: Festive Catherine.

Yes, I've name my new feline companion Festive Catherine or Party Cat for short. For double-short, I just call her Cat.You know who else calls their cat Cat? Holly Golightly! Oh man! I love anything that equate my life to that the The Audrey Hepburn!

She's a mischievous one!  The other day, she woke me up trying to get into a bag of chips that I abandoned earlier. She likes to snuggle in a big box of knitted caps that I have on a shelf. She's definitely strange and a scared one. Oh man, she is frightened by everything- including my feet. She bats at my feet when they're hidden under my blankets. I think the only issue with Cat is that now I can't have any fish. I remember my sister's cat at my fish right out of their bowl!

I have a test in one of my harder classes tomorrow, so we will see how I do. And I'm looking for a better job. Oh, how I don't want to be looking for a job! Hopefully I will find some sweet employment soon!

Party Cat and Myself

Seafood Boil

Some of my good friends started a tradition last year: Seafood boil to celebrate Easter! It is the perfect way to break Lent and it is the most community-minded way I can think of to eat dinner.

I haven't been to a seafood boil since I was living in New Orleans.  It's such a strange experience. So many pounds of crawfish and boiled vegetables just hanging out on a table! It is the complete opposite of how you normally dine! Mussels, sausage, shrimp, clams, crabs, potatoes, green beans, zucchini. Oh and a ton of limes. It wasn't exactly what I had in New Orleans, but it was a really fun night!

My pretty friend Ruthy also blogged about our Seafood boil! I'm in the very bottom photo with a yellow sweater and an excited expression.

Maybe we can have a New Orleans themed night with Jambalaya, Red Beans and Po Boys! Yummm it sounds so good!

It's Called Clean Eating

This is my lunch!

I am normally opposed to taking pictures of food. It just reminds me of washed-out photos on Instagram. However, this meal was really delicious. I had such a good day after I ate this meal.  I'm completely convinced that "clean eating" is one of the best things you can do for your body. Its not completely "clean"- note the cheese and craisins. Regardless It was such a satisfying day! It was some of the best cantaloupe I've had in my life. I'm all about melons these days.

I read an article in the New York Times about the Edible School Yard and Agrarian society and I just loved it. Here is the link if you want it =] It's a little different writing style. That might be part of why I like it so much. Go ahead and give it a read.

The photo to the right is a picture of my lunch. The photo below is a photo from the NY Times article that reminds me of my lunch!

This is not my photo! http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/

Its a rainy Wednesday afternoon and I'm struggling to find the motivation to do all my homework: I have a test on Friday, a test on Monday, a paper due tomorrow and a paper due on Wednesday. Oh, and eight chapters in two separate books to read today. I suppose I shouldn't spend my whole afternoon on the internet, checking facepage and blogging my little heart out.

It's Been Too Long

These books live on my desk.

The last few weeks have been  crazy! I've been working a ton, I started school, we got two new foster kids. It has been on the stressful side of life, but I'm quite pleased.

I'm getting all A's in my classes, but the rest of my life has been suffering! I hardly ever have time to see friends and I'm not quite sure what color my bedroom carpet it.... Most of the books in this photo aren't actually even text books- they're books I read just for fun. Sadly they've been left to the way side in favor of MGMT 13th Edition and my math textbook. Soon! They will be picked up again within weeks [months...] and I will finally finish them!

Life during the school year is just so tiring! One of my goals for 2012 was to start swimming and rock climbing. I've accomplished neither. Mind you, I've secured gainful employment and I'm making a 4.0, but I haven't done the things I wanted to do. I suppose that's why we call them goals and not "things I can easily achieve".

On the bright side, spring has showed up! The Daffodil Parade has come and gone, sowing season has happened and all the little sprouts are up and growing. I took a picture of the first flowers I saw this year. I was stopped at a stop light. It was so lovely to see flowers after seeing clouds for six months!

Ooooh! Flowers!! My favorite!