A Whole New World

It's like moving away to college all over again- I have packed up all my belongings and left my beloved apartment community in West Knox. Where have a gone? The lovely countryside just north of Knox, Anderson County. Here there are more fields than freeways and more backroads than burger joints. 

I moved in with the fiance (oh yes! I never posted about that!), and we are happily working together on the little fixer-upper. In between episodes of Big Brother 14 (go Dan!) and reruns of The Big Bang Theory, we are knocking down 50-yr old walls and pulling out ineffective insulation and living in only 3.5 of the 8 rooms in the whole house. We are "feeling each other out," so to speak- I have learned a lot in the 2 weeks that I have been oficially moved in. Adjustments are already having to be made.

It's been a very big change- I went from that most conveniently located, amenity-packed "luxury" apartment with a roommate who loves a good deal as much as me to what I described above- but what's that thing some famous person said about change? It is how we grow? Right. Well, ok, agreed. I am growing. I am revisiting delayed gratification. I am strengthening my bargaining skills. I am becoming a better compromiser. Hopefully, I am becoming a better friend to Duv. 

I am excited about what is to come in this new part of my life. It has proven to be an adventure so far; I can only imagine what this life we share will be like in 5 years. more to come from... A whole new world!

Fortune Seeking

"A candle throws its light into the darkness;
In a nasty world, so shines a good deed.
Make sure the fortune that you seek
is the fortune that you need...."

My generation wants. We want; we get. We want more; we get more. The problem with this is that this instant gratification is fleeting- The pleasure we get from having things lasts only a short time. We (always the usual exceptions) have blown off the concept of DELAYED GRATIFICATION.

Delayed gratification can teach us (me) valuable lessons- this most important lesson is patience. Things won't happen overnight. Things aren't going to be what I want them to be- not now, anyway. Perhaps things are exactly how they should be now for a reason and I need to be more patient. I am not going to turn into superbod overnight- it'll take months and months of harder work than what I'm doing now. But I am trying to delayed gratification thing- I am sticking with the gym even though I still have my "Fat days," and I am giving everything second goes. This is the year of JEN and patience: ZEN JEN!!

Coming into my swag- Rejects - Cat Daddy (Offical Music Video) HD

Late this week, I came to a shameful realization. I am in my youthful 20s and I haven't learned, what my nerdy self likes to call, a cultural dance. I love hip hop- the style, the swag, all of it! I needed to know one of the dances. I had several from which to choose: The Superman, The Dougie, The CatDaddy, etc. I chose CatDaddy because it seemed like I could use it the most in real life (practical thinking- teachers holla!). SO I LEARNED THE DARNED CATDADDY AND I CAN ROCK IT NOW. United States of my Twenties, I have served you dutifully now.

Gimme time to practice- I maaaay post myself doing it sometime for proof ;)

Thoughts on a Friday Morning

Bildungsroman: Liberal Arts Style

The statement made by a select few judgemental people who saw me carrying around a book called The Marriage Plot: "Oh Jen (insert [again] judgemental laughter here), you and getting married!" My only response at the time: "It's a literature thing, that's all."

What I really wanted to say was: "Aren't you married?" "And...?" "Would you like to have an intellectual conversation today?"

But I didn't. I just smiled and kept walking. If I had bothered to stop and entertain their comments, I would have told them that 'the marriage plot' in literature is a plot based exclusively on the courtship rituals between a man and a woman (pre- openly gay world) and the obstacles that faced the potential couple on its way to the nuptial payoff. Jane Austen, anyone? George Eliot, Bronte misses?

Anyway, the steam is now blown and I can tell you ALL ABOUT THIS BOOK! The reason my coworkers saw me carrying it around it because I could not put it down- I read at night until I HAD to go to sleep, I read during breakfast, I read when making large stacks of copies at school. I took it to lunch with me and when conversation became negative or drone, I pulled out my book that never let me down.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Euginedes has basically written a modern-day bildungsroman, or a coming of age novel. It focuses on 3 post-bac students (thought a flashblack does occur for a significant portion of the novel)- Madeleine Hannah- a WASP (shout out English majors!) who is beautiful yet lacks the confidence she needs to go with it, Leonard Bankhead- one of those guys in your classes that is so brilliant that you go mute in his presence, and Mitchell Grammaticus- unrequited lover of Madeleine and religion. Their lives are tangled together, sometimes loosening up for a while and sometimes staying tangled for a while.

What struck me the most was that there were no physical antagonists in the novel; instead, abstractions assumed the roll of the antagonists. Mitchell struggled with religion, Leonard struggled with mental illness, and Madeleine struggled with her relationship.

It's a great book and the end wraps up the novel pretty well- I don't know if as a reader I was supposed to root for one character over another, but I didn't because I loved them all. If you are looking for an intellectual read that will make you find talk to yourself about the issues raised and a book with feminist undertones, this is the one!

I *Heart* Pyrex

I recently came into some of my Granny's kitchenware. This includes beautiful crystal bowls and plates and posh casserole dishes; however, what I really fell in love with was the old-school Pyrex passed along to me! I receieved 3 Pyrex brand dishes that are green with white flowers on them- I thought they were so beautiful and quirky! I soon got the idea to look these up and see their value- apparently vintage Pyrex is popular! The design is called Crazy Daisy and here is a picture of what I received:

Once I started looking at this stuff online, I saw the other vintage Pyrex designs and became hooked. What I am interested most in is brightly colored dishes- the reds and greens and yellows and mostly- the blues! I went antiquing this weekend and came across a gem- ROOSTERS!
I will definitely keep you updated on my Pyrex obsession!

Keeping Up with the...

KALENDARS!
One thing that I love about the beginning of the year is getting a new calendar! In my pursuit of the perfect calendaric (word?) blend of function and style, I came across some that I wish to share with you! Oh the decisions!
This is a desk calendar from PearentheticalPress on Etsy. Look at the colors! The one downfall to its cuteness: I think it could be too difficult to use as opposed to a wall calendar!

The designs on each page are so bright and optimistic! Perhaps it will make me rethink a wall calendar!

The 2 images above are from another shop on Etsy, Khristian A. Howell, color & print expert. In regards to style- this calendar totally has it! It has beautiful, saturated color and a traditional layout. HOWEVER::: It is loose leaf, meaning the pages aren't bound together like a traditional calendar. I was thinking though that I could get a picture frame for it minus the glass front, and hunker it down that way. Oh the possibilities for this design dime!

This calendar is also loose leaf, is seems. I found this one on Etsy as well- Hungry Fox. It is mythology/myth themed and semi-traditional style. The image takes up more than 50% of the "French-brand paper," but since it's so pretty it really doesn't matter if there's more image and less room to actually use the calendar. Here is what the theme of each month is:

I stopped my search after I narrowed it down to three on Etsy. I did this because I like buying things that are not in stores across America- but I cannot always do with with clothes, shoes, etc, because of prices! So I like to do what I can when I can. Also, I feel like I am supporting the community of people doing their own thing and being proud of it. Go you!

Lemonade & Chevron Stripes

I had a reality snap and came to the conclusion that I am in a really irritable mood today!
Then I thought... MAKE LEMONADE!

I was forced to run my life away when I played mutliple sports in elementary, middle, and high school. Though I didn't absolutely love/crave it, I did come to see it as stress relief. So when this bad mood introduced itself to me, I saw it was an opportunity to seize! I want to start working out and running more, so I put on my sneaks and took off! I only got to about half a mile before I was semi-winded, so I slowed down and it became more of a run for a little/walk for a little than an all out "I'm jogging!" Anyway- I see it as progress and seizing what could have been a sucky day. I am now happy and a little lighter feeling :)

What I REALLY want to share today:
A DIY trick for creating your own chevron striped curtains (These styles of curtains are going for almost $200 bucks on Etsy!):
This website shows you exactly how to create those trendy chevron striped curtains for a SMALL fraction of the cost of the ETSY ones! ENJOY! This is definitely going onto my list of To-Dos! Very exciting!

Etsy CastleCreekDesigns

The DIY version- any color you want! Courtesy Kristen F. Davis Designs

Book Review: Joan Didion's Blue Nights

Joan Didion's Blue Nights is a a memoir in every sense of the word. Didion has inserted such a... frankness into the memories and what she makes of them. Throughout the memoir, Didion recalls her daughter, Quintana Roo, and her actions and reactions. These recollections then cause Didion to question herself and her skills as a mother and person in general. Blue Nights--described by the author as "the long, light evening hours that follow the summer solstice... the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning"-- is a book that entirely captures the feelings of love after the one it has been directed towards passes on.

Christmas 2011

nativity: (noun) birth or origin

The Nativity Scene Charles Poerson

I almost got too wrapped up in Christmas to remember what it is really about. Yesterday, friends & I were going down the road and one recalled his father always making them pray riiiiight as they dove into gift piles. "It's not our day," he would remind them.

With that being said, I have so much to thank Him for:
family who love me, friends who don't give up on me, a love that endures, a great roommate, a job, a car that only messes up sometimes, hot apple cider (that I am currently sipping), unconditionally loving pets, brand new bedding that I miss all day long, 2nd chances, 3rd chances, 4th chances... You get the hint. These things only top the list- there are many more.


Goodnight to all, and to all a good night. May God bless you.

crayons and glue sticks and paper, oh my!

I just started my new job at a middle school. In my heart, I wanted a high school position. After a summer of reluctance and questions and fear, it is turning out to be not so bad. I am actually liking it... a lot! The Language Arts curriculum is split between LA classes and Reading classes- that is the part I am struggling with most. It is just so natural for me to tie it all together, so splitting it is somewhat difficult. However, I made a promise to myself and to the children I will be teaching to still put my entire heart into what I do and to be the very best teacher possible to them.

Coming soon: Pictures of my new classroom!

"We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne..."

A postcard from 1915. I wonder if those people have reached their resolution yet.

The best part of New Year is NEW! New beginnings, new outooks, new new new new new. HOWEVER, if I lived my life the way I should, "starting over" wouldn't be an issue. I would want to keep going like I have been. I am now going to have some superficial resoution this year. I want to be more charitable and I want to live more for God. I want my life to be a testimony to him. I want to alleviate the pain of others. I want to look back and say, "I was here."

Life as a Golden Age

The term "Golden Age" brings to mind peace and prosperity and goodness. I was curious about the origins of the phrase, so I began researching it. Apparently, a golden age is a most flousrishing period. It is a direct translation of a Latin phrase used by classical poets to define the first age of human history, a time that is said to have been one of ideal harmony, innocence, prospoerity, and happiness, free from all strife.

There is a Greek myth about the goddess Astraea; Astraea lived among men during a time when the world was peaceful. Eventually, the world fell into a state of darkness and distress, and at the time, Zeus (her father) placed Astraea among the stars. We know her today as the constellation Virgo.

I want to live my life so that it can be defined as golden. I want to live my life so that I will be free from regret. I want to be the best possible version of myself. This is my goal for the new year: Be golden.