Meet Avery

Av and I.

Okay everyone I have another new best friend. This is Avery! Funny story about this girl; I was best friends with her brother my first semester of college. At first I was intimidated by her because if you have eyes you can see that she is GORGEOUS.  I didn't care to try to become friends with her until last summer and it was a great decision! We lost touch after that summer and then this fall I ran into her at UVU(school) and I was like AVERY? It's a small world and I'm grateful for that. Out of the 34,000 people at that school I ran into someone I knew! How crazy is that!  This girl is so awesome and such a good friend! I'm happy I've been blessed to have such amazing people in my life. Thanks Av, you are AMAZING and I'm happy that I can call you a best friend!

Brunette hair has taken this journey to a whole new level

As you can see I made a huge change look wise. The funny thing is I think I look way more flirty and attractive with blonde hair, but It's been 2 days since I've gone brunette and I'm gotten three dates and a ton of compliments from guys. I'm not sure why the brown hair is such hit with these guys but it makes me excited! haha When I was blonde I never got asked out on dates so this is weird but great. Now that I am going to be a dating machine I may have a chance of getting married someday! It's funny because you never would guess that something as simple as a hair color could change the way guy approach you. I'm thinking red hair next? KIDDING. I would look horrible with red hair but I wonder if I would get asked out on dates? Possible someday but as for now I will stay brunette because it's PERFECT for this winter season. :) 

Friendship.

I have so many wonderful people who I call friends. To me a friend is someone who loves you for you, no matter the circumstances. Religion, weight, color of your skin, political opinions etc... A friend is someone who embraces you when they know you are starting to fall, and sometimes they let you fall but are always there when you get back up. It is someone who can make you smile when the world is dark, someone who defines the light at the end of the tunnel. A friend is someone who knows your fears and protects you when you may be getting caught up in something that will lead to those fears. A friend knows far before your heart gets broken, they know when your hurting. They know when you need advice and they know when you need them to tell you that it just sucks. A friend will do everything in their power to ease your burden.  Friends are people who let you in, and let you be a friend back to them. A friend accepts you, loves you, and knows you.

I've had the opportunity to become VERY close with a number of people and one person that I've become close to is Andy. This story may be odd, thats why I'm sharing it. A friend of mine is serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Argentina and he met Andy who was a new convert to the church. They became the best of friends and through that friendship Andy was brought into my life. He is in Argentina and I've never actually met him but I've had the opportunity of talking to him through the internet and phone and he is the most wonderful individual i've come in contact with. He loves the church and how it's blessed his life, he is bright and he loves life more than anyone i've met! Through this experience of befriending someone who is across the world from me I've learned that God puts certain people into our life for a reason, no one is an accident. In Andy and I's situation we feel like we've known each other our entire life. There are certain things that have happen since we've come in contact that have testified to me we are in each others life for a reason. I've needed his encouraging words and he's been there, without even knowing. He has needed encouraging words and love, and I've been there to try and uplift him as much as possible with my words. Andy has had his fair share of trials in the past few weeks and I've never felt more concern for someone. He is wonderful and he deserves to be happy. I've learned that friends feel when the other is in pain and that if you are in tuned with the spirit you will be inspired to do different things that will make a difference to your friend. I have had numerous times where I have sent a letter or said a prayer for andy and then 2 hours later I get information on what has been happening and what his needs are and thats exactly what I prayed for. I know that God loves us and I know that he will put people into our lives that will help us. Andy is in Argentina and I am in Utah, we've never met yet we are on the same page, ALL the time. It's a great friendship and my life has been blessed tremendously because of it. Thank you Andy for being so wonderful. I love and appreciate you.

To all of my other friends you know that I love and appreciate you as well. This was an experience I think we can all learn from. No matter how great the distance, if your heart is in it, your friendship will remain hard as rock. I love you all. Thank you for being so good to me!

Things that make me happy

I was thinking about how my life has been blessed more than I feel I deserve and how I feel happiness that some people may not get to feel. It's the most comforting feeling in the world! You feel like your on top of the world when your happy, you giggle to yourself and someone overhears and it makes them happy too, you have a grateful heart, always and you will be able to love with more of your heart. So with that being said here is a list of things that make me flat out HAPPY.

* My family.
* Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
* Attending the temple.
* Getting an answer to my prayers.
* Knowing that God lives and that he LOVES me.
* Stepping on crunchy leaves.
* Music that I can sing to.
* ART.
* Baking/cooking for people.
* The moment when I've mastered a skill.
* Giving advice.
* When a man/woman puts aside his/her pride and steps up to his potential.
* Laughing uncontrollably.
* Dancing in my car.
* Seeing other people singing in their cars, you know they are having a great time!
* Clean places.
* When someone tells me I'm beautiful.
* The moment I get to witness two people in love.
* Old people that love each other like there is no tomorrow!
* Hearing stories from individuals who have been through so much.
* When I have a good hair day.
* Not having to wear make-up.
* Watching movies that make me warm and fuzzy inside.
* My BEST FRIENDS!
* Nurturing others when they need to be built up again.
* The moment when you say, "It'll be okay and it finally is OKAY."
* Taking pictures of everything, and everyone around me, God gave me this beautiful earth to take pictures of so I'm going to do it!
* Finding a song that tells a story of your experiences in life.
* When you no longer have to have training wheels on!
* Seeing everyone on Christmas morning.
* The sound of a dirt bike.
* Giggling coming from a corner in the closet, you open the closet to find that the kids were hiding from you.
* Crisp air.
* Redwood trees.
* The ocean.
* Cold water, and warm sandwiches.
* Soup when it's cold.
* Creative dates.
* The sound of bagpipes.
* The service that is done when disaster hits, people coming together.
* Inspirational thoughts.
* Gold Fish.
* Holding a new born baby.
* Those who have the "I survived." stories. It gives all of us hope.
* Fruity or crisp linen smells.
* Warm sand when your feel are cold.
* Tears from laughing so hard.
* Giving and receiving hugs that make you feel that you're okay and nothing could go wrong when your in that persons arms.
* Rain-boots and flip flops.
* Colorful glass.
* Skipping to your destination.
* BRIGHT colored flowers.
* My toes being painted.
* Magnets.
* Clocks, because they always remind me of how precious time is.
* Thumb rings.
* Christmas lights.
* Pumpkins.
* Finding out that the easter bunny was my mom! OF COURSE, you have to be the coolest person ever to be the easter bunny and my mom is THE coolest person EVER.
* Sitting next to a friendly person on an airplane.
* Swimming.
* Looking a pictures of the places I want to travel to and then pretending I was there.
* Faking an accent and people actually believe it!
* Sharing the things I love with the people I love.


Okay I think we all agree thats enough for now. :) Now its your turn to make a list of things that make you happy.

Halloween Frights

Things that freak me out about halloween:
**  Haunted houses.
** Clown masks.
** Corn mazes and how you get extremely lost in them.
** Scary movies.
** People jumping at me, trying to scare me.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE

** It gives creepers a whole night to creep.
** It always seems dark.
** Screams out of no where
** Spiders
** Scarecrows
** you can't tell the prostitutes from regular girls.
** ghosts 


Things I love about halloween:
** Dressing up as a hippi
** It's my best friends favorite holiday
** little kids trick-or-treating in their cute costumes
** carving pumpkins
** baking anything pumpkin
** the moment you get the jackpot house that gives out king size candy bars 


THE END

Jennas journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

I've been thinking about starting a number of businesses in my apartment complex. Since I started cooking like crazy I've realized that things like these hard candies to the left cold sell so good around holidays! I can make pretty much every flavor and I've got a bunch of stencils. I don't have a photo but I also made suckers from the same hard candy recipe. These are chocolate, raspberry. SO good. Anyways there's that Idea and then my other idea was to have like 2 nights a week where I deliver my homemade food to my college peers. What college kid doesn't want a home-cooked meal? EXACTLY my point. Example of how I would do this:
Make a menu for each week. Lets say this week was chicken and rice soup and green chili enchiladas.  I would charge according to the amount requested.
I would make the soup on Wednesday and then deliver it to the different apartments that day. Payment would be due upon arrival of food. Then on Friday I would do the same. How do you think it would work? Suggestions appreciated!

I've got to get better at this!

I'm now living in Orem, Utah and I'm attending Utah Valley University. I thought before I settled for my RN/OP major I would try the teaching rout and I'm leaning more towards the RN/OP. There IS a reason for this. Since I've moved to Orem I've gotten the opportunity to Nanny for the most wonderful family ever! They have 3 sons and the youngest had a heart transplant which unfortunately at times means he will be admitted to the hospital. Since i've started this journey with this wonderful family I've learned so much and I know that being a nurse for kids like my little nanny boy, Mathew would be amazing. These kids are so strong and you see all the love and support they have behind them and it will never cease to amaze you. It wonderful and I'm learning more and more every day. I'm thinking that being an RN is going to be a high possibility.

As far as dating I am single. I think I've broken the record for going away to school and not getting married. :) we'll leave it at that.

I've learned a lot about myself over the last couple of months, those things include:
** I am a fantastic cook!
** I am capable of singing without breaking windows.
** I'm more like my mother than I thought, which is a great thing.
** I want to start my own family in the NEAR future.
** I am capable of becoming this wonderful person and I'm finally not scared of it. Making goals is where it starts, then acting upon those goals.
** I'm a pretty smart kid when I study.
** I love pretty much everyone I meet.
** You hold yourself to a high standard, I look up to you in some way.
** My big sisters are my inspiration(including sister-in-laws)
** I should write greeting cards for hallmark.
** I am blessed with so many wonderful people in my life.
** I'm a darn good photographer.
** I get a lot of traits from my pops! (ex-I can sell ANYTHING.)
** I've got my grandmas kind heart.
** My brother has become my best friend.

The list goes on but you've got the gist of it. I think I've always known this about myself but it's good to list them because it makes me realize more and give thanks to the one whose given all of this to me. I have a grateful heart and I will be indebted to my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ, my entire life. I love where I am in my life and I can't wait to see what's in store for me! <3

Remember to smile along the way, it makes the journey so much more enjoyable.

I'm READY for the fall season <3 

Mission? YES.

 

My roommate and I got to spend part of last Sunday at temple square and it was beautiful! I'm so thankful I get the opportunity to have the beauty of the temple so close to my apartment. I've recently developed a special appreciation for the temple. It's beauty can catch anyones eye but the spirit you can feel while your walking around it or inside is immaculate. You can't feel the same way anywhere else in the world. I've been praying about a mission for about a year and I've finally decided that it's right for me. Every time I am in downtown Salt Lake I see the sister missionaries and they are teaching around the temple every second of every day, it's AMAZING. I've gotten to see how the sister missionaries touch one individual's life at a time and I can't wait till it's my turn. There's nothing more satisfying than sharing something your passionate about with complete strangers. My outlook on sharing the gospel is that life is hard and everyone has their way of dealing with it. If I can make a difference in someone's life with the knowledge that there is a God and he does love us it will be amazing. I've got a year until I can turn my papers in so until then I'll keep studying and praying for the people that I will teach to be ready to accept the gospel. 

Present and Future: Jenna Jones

The past month has been filled with so many wonderful moments. Life has been falling into place perfectly. I’ve recently gotten my 10 year plan up-to-date so with no further ado here we go:

1)   This fall I will take prep for marriage for my religion class and then take my needed medical classes.

2)   This winter I will take mission prep for my religion class and then I will take the last few classes that I will need for my associates in medical assisting.

3)   This spring I graduate with my MA certificate and I can turn my mission papers in.

4)   I will turn 21 and go on a mission, and I WILL love every second of it.

5)   I will come home get back into school and finish with my OP (Occupational therapy) degree.

6)   Get married.

7)   Travel the world.

8)   Have kids.

As you can see I’m well on my way to success but there is no way I would be able to accomplish this without the wonderful support system I have. I would like to thank my mom and dad for making me believe in myself and making me dream big. There were times where I thought I would never be able to do any of this and look at where I am now. I’m so thankful for my parents and everything they do.  I love my parents more than anything and I really hope they know the reason I keep going is because of them. Mom/Dad- I love you!

Okay let me clue you in to what has been happening in my life.  As you can see I’ve got a plan but for right now, in present day, I just live day to day. I should be more organized with my time and serving others but it hasn’t happened this semester. Anyways I work at the most amazing salon in salt lake and I live in one of the most amazing apartment complexes in downtown. I know that downtown is more expensive but it’s worth the price. I’m 2 blocks away from work and temple square so I can walk instead of wasting gas. I am currently trying to stick to my gluten free diet- the outcome of me being diagnosed with celiac disease.  It’s one of the hardest things to do because everything has gluten in it but I notice the world of difference when I stop eating it so I’m going to be working on that. As far as everything else I’m trying to get better with writing my missionary friends and with attending the temple. Both still need work but they are in progress.

I know that life is precious and that it’s a gift so I want to thank everyone in mine for being in it. I love you all. 

Experiences

Life’s been GREAT. It’s been full of opportunity and more love than I deserved. I’ve gotten the amazing opportunity to take a trip to Hawaii with my amazing family and I have the most incredible best friends in the world.

I’ve recently learned that no matter where I am, all that matters is the people I choose to be surrounded by. In a world so massive it’s important to find my place wherever I am. Moving away from home was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do and even though I’m not too far from home, I’m still not home. I can’t go to my mom when I need a hug and I can’t play with my nieces and nephews whenever I want. It sucks but it’s okay because again, another learning experience.

 This experience was moving in an apartment with complete strangers. At first I was skeptical but little did I know the girls I moved in with would become my best friends. After adjusting to the craziness of my freshman year in college I realized that I had made a new home away from home because of the people I surrounded myself by. I no longer had to worry about being alone, or being singled out by my standards, I was happy and I had created a sisterhood with the most amazing people ever.  Over the last year and a half I’ve taken being with Allie, Annmarie and Victoria for granite. They are the girls I’ve talked about in this post, anyways I had this mindset that we would stay roommates forever and that the life away from home would never be hard again. Something you should know about me is that I absolutely hate change, and goodbyes. I finally realized that I couldn’t avoid it so I did get to spend some time with them before they left. I miss them more than they will ever be able to know but I want them to know that I’m proud of them for their accomplishments. I know that all three of them will go far in life and they will succeed in everything they decide to do. Love you guys! 

Life is Amazing.

Okay so I haven't posted since last June. Lets just say thats a bit ridiculous. So i've been a little down lately considering the fact that I've been sick for well lets see.. EVERY month this year. Starting the year off with the cold after cold, the swine flu, wisdom teeth out, strep throat, and tonsillitis. I'm pretty sure I've set the world record for getting sick back to back. Anyways I thought I would post about happy blog today so i'll feel better about myself. Sound good? Alright here we go. Why is my life amazing?

1) My family.

2) My WONDERFUL roommates/best friends.

3) GOD

4) The fact that I've lived life for almost 20 years and I've been in love, AMAZING.

5 The fact that I've lived life for almost 20 years and I've gotten my heart broken...not so amazing but it is at the same time, cause now I can love with an even greater capacity.

6) I have the opportunity to get a college education.

7) I've got a roof over my head.

8) I have people, who TRUELY care for my well-being.

9) I've got the greatest job anyone could ever ask for.

10) I have knowledge that it'll all be okay in the end.

11) Music is deep in my soul.

12) I'm surrounded by beauty every day.