move over, tom selleck.

Now here's a good idea - quite the distinguished tattoo if you ask me. Apparently it's a common enough request that this tattoo parlor has an entire photo album of ones just like it (not shown online - sorry).

Who would've thought? I admire their creativity. Now if only girls could pull off curly mustaches...

narlee.

My "blogs to stalk" list just got bigger. Introducing Narlee.

Meet my sister Karlee and her husband Nate - two of the funniest people I know. The standard "please excuse our dust" post has been made so pretty much expect great things from here on out {no pressure, Curlie}.

Bicker, kiss. Bicker, kiss kiss. I seriously can't wait.

wishful thinking - part II.

Back when the majority of my friends were serving their LDS missions, I tried my hardest to stay in touch with them. I had been told that letters were very important for missionary morale and besides, I was genuinely interested in how they were faring out there. I won't flatter myself and say that my letters were full of precious gems that carried them through all those rough patches, but I really did enjoy writing and keeping up on their lives.

The problem I ran into with all this letter writing was my poor little hand. I felt that if I was going to write one missionary, it would only be fair to write them all. Even though I found myself saying much of the same things in each letter, I didn't have the heart to just type up a "form letter" and sign at the bottom. It felt a bit too impersonal. I always wished that I could just magically create a font out of my own handwriting in order to speed the process up.

Well, once again, wishful thinking does eventually pay off. This website will create a font out of your very own handwriting for only $9. A little too late considering those missionaries are long since back, but I'm still pleased to now have the option of a "Jess" font. I'd probably never use it, but could rest easy knowing it's there. Right. As if I really need one more font on my laptop.

So far this "wishful thinking" has proven successful with this and also my gigantic cupcake pan. Maybe I'll shoot for something a bit higher next time and see what happens.

real or fake?

Smiles, people. Smiles.

Think you’re pretty good at spotting fake ones? Take this quiz and find out. At the end, they’ll show your score and a breakdown of who was fake and who wasn’t. They also explain how to discern between the two. I got 14 out of 20 which leads me to believe I’m a decent guesser because I didn’t have a clue on the majority of them. I’ll happily take my 70%.

Now, let’s all use this information to help us throw out more convincing fake smiles.

... i don't ... what?

Read this and tell me it's not true so I can stop thinking about it.

if time was free and money no object ...

... I'd buy magazines. {Of course, magazines to read while I lounged on my yacht in the Caribbean as butler packed my bags for my next European trip. But those are all just details.} Magazines are definitely a favorite of mine. I love marking pages so I can quickly reference all the nice designs and photography along with the diy projects I won't often have time to complete and food I hope to someday learn how to make. If I'm ever surprised with time and cooking expertise, rest assured I'll know right where to look for ideas.

I'm proud to say that I hold myself back quite nicely when it comes to subscribing to these magazines. I currently only take 3 or 4, although my "want" list grows by the week. Which leads to the point of this "work is quiet and I'm bored" post. Given the time and money, here is a sampling of the magazines I would bury myself in:


I would give detailed descriptions for each one, but that could take awhile and quite frankly I'm not that bored. Suffice it to say they range widely from art & design to The Onion to the embarrassingly consistent fashion magazines. Ahh - magazines. Someday I'll subscribe you all. Unless I then become a hermit reading alone in the dark. At that point, I would consider it wise to begin picking and choosing my subscriptions.

wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking does pay off.

Exhibit A: The gigantic cupcake pan that I have desperately searched for since last fall. I had started to think such a thing didn't exist. Why do I care? I don't know. The more places I couldn't find the pan, the more I wanted to find it.

Exhibit B: The enormous cupcake I will soon attempt to make. Except a lot less "Better Homes & Gardens" and a lot more "So Cupcake." We'll see.


If your birthday is coming up, it's safe to assume you'll be getting one. Who wouldn't want a super sized cupcake? I wonder if this "wishful thinking" thing works with money.

jealous.

Convenient, yet stylish.
Now there's a combo worth admiring.

silver linings.

Can I be honest? Today just really wasn't my day. I realize everyone has bad days, but frankly this one came out of nowhere. No, nothing earth-shattering happened -- just those everyday frustrations that for one reason or another hit you the wrong way sometimes. In a desperate attempt to salvage the day, I'm now forcing myself to think of a few good things that happened alongside the *ick*.

• After weeks of searching, I was finally able to find another place that sells my $1 sugar-free pink lemonade mix in individual packets. That certainly was a small victory. (AND a good deal. At $1 for 8 packets, you're looking at just over 12 cents per packet. Much cheaper than a $1.40 Minute Maid lemonade.)
• I was able to clean a good portion of our house. It's a great thing to look around and not feel guilty about clutter and/or dirt.
• My freakish muscle didn't hurt as badly after my run. It's been feeling better and better lately. Just maybe I'll be able to run the half marathon after all (knock on wood).
• I walked out of Target having purchased only items I had written down on my list. Considering how much I love Target, this is much more than a small victory.
• My bangs worked quite nicely for me this morning. Which doesn't seem to happen very often. Good thing I'm growing them out.
• I finally bought a floodlight for our carport area. Now when coming home at night I'll be able to see where I'm walking. Not to mention the obvious safety benefit of having a well-lit carport. I don't care where you live in Salt Lake - there are sketchy people scattered everywhere.
• Confession: I skipped institute. It's a great class, but sometimes you just don't feel like it. And today I really didn't. I ate pineapple and watched The Fresh Prince of Bel-air instead.

Hmmm. That wasn't too bad. I think it sorta helped.

you heard it here first.

According to the homeless man camped out a couple stories below my office window, he doesn't want and/or need the sacrifices offered by the bleeping cars driving past him. The Bible says that he doesn't need them anymore. His friend agrees with him, however, no matter how hard I look I still fail to see this friend. I wish he would stop yelling so I could concentrate.

Can I just say how tired I am of contacting the police to have them remove homeless men from the premises? Our agency really needs to move. Someone please find us a Daddy Warbucks who is just itching to donate to a good cause ...

penelope.

I had the chance this past weekend to see an advance screening of Penelope and I have to say that I loved it. Loved the storyline, actors, design of the set - - loved it all*. I’ll own it as soon as I possibly can.

* High expectations can ruin a movie. So for those of you who decide to go see it, know that it is a terrible show and you’re going to hate every minute of it. {Really, you might. It’s not for everyone.}

spider pig, spider pig ...

Some people have way too much time (and money) on their hands. The end result is kind of cool, though:
http://thecontaminated.com/simpsons-house-in-real-world/

As long as we're just throwing money away, I'd like to see someone take the time to recreate Pee-wee's Playhouse. Minus Pee-wee cause he's just creepy.

patience. and my pasty white legs.

The setup and filming of this commercial must have required more patience than I think I'll ever have. Hands down. The end result is pretty impressive, though. I must work on this patience thing people are always jabbering about. http://youtube.com/watch?v=uyN9y0BEMqc

Happy Friday, friends. As I'm noticing my pasty white arms and legs, I feel the need to echo Hilda's desperate plea for the snow to leave us alone. Don't get me wrong - I really do love a good batch of snow. But today is sunny, gorgeous, and spring-like which feels wonderful. I realize what Punxsutawney Phil said, but c'mon - he's a groundhog who doesn't really care about the weather. So bring on the spring. Pretty please and thank you.

papa, graumpa, and/or dad

Yesterday was a special day for the Venables - February 11th is the day where we get to celebrate the birthday of none other than our Papa Venable! Well, okay - Papa to my little nieces, Graumpa to my nephews, and Dad to the rest of us. Those of you who know my dad are aware of what a great guy he is. As for the rest of you, you're missing out.

My favorite memory of my dad thus far is when I was in the second grade. Mom had to work mornings at the time, so Dad was given the sole responsibility of getting us ready and off to school each morning. And considering there were three of us girls and only one boy, it was essential that he learn how to braid hair. Which he sure did. Every morning was the same scene: with country music videos playing in the background, each girl would get a turn to sit on the chair in the middle of the kitchen. The other girls were each instructed to hold one of the sections of hair required to make the braid. Dad would then take a section of hair from one of us, cross it over one of the other sections, and promptly hand us a new one to momentarily hold. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until - wonder of wonders - a braid appeared. His method may not have been traditional, but it produced surprisingly good braids. Along with certain bragging rights considering I was one of the few girls at school whose dad actually knew how to do it.

My life has been back and forth and up and down, but Dad has always been there to help me make sense of it all. Through four cars, eight moves, and two of my emotional "I don't understand my health benefits" discussions, he still hasn't disowned me. Which is actually quite amazing considering last year's Jetta check engine light fiasco. He's an extremely patient man who's always willing to help out wherever needed. Dad's the guy who not only clears away the two feet of snow in his own driveway, but feels the need to wander down the street with his snow blower and take care of two or three other driveways as he goes. And after that, why not pack the snow blower onto the trailer and go clear out the grandparents' driveways? Yeah, that's him. And for that example I am extremely grateful.
Happy Birthday, Dad!

the sidewalk.

I realize we've probably all seen these a thousand times, but I ran across them today and couldn't help but post them. I just can't get over how realistic they look - and done on the sidewalk, nonetheless! I'm impressed. Again.