The End of August

How did everyone's weekend go? Mine was lovely. Had fun at Kaeli's goodbye party (so sad to see her leave but I wish her the best), went to a Bees Baseball game with the girls, and had a swim BBQ with the family at my house. I didn't take very many pictures, but a few at Kaeli's shin-dig:

Well here we go...another month is almost done and over with; one more day until it's September. But we are entering fall...which I must say is my favorite season (besides spring of course).

I feel like today is almost officially the last day of summer (I didn't know until a little bit ago that there was 31 days in this month...whoops). But still, summer is coming to a close and with it, I have to ponder and say even though there were bad times this summer, there were a lot of good as well.

I do miss going to the U of U though; fall semester there was always the greatest, and the campus is so beautiful as the leaves start to change their colors. Plus, my sorority is going through recruitment now and I must say, I miss them all so very much. They made a lot of cute pictures this year that they've been putting up on Facebook. Had to share some:

Love this one because I love the saying (just ordered a bracelet from etsy that says: "Keep Calm & Write On")

I wish them well and hope they get a wonderful group of baby angels :) It's so exciting that my little brother is rushing too. I feel as though it's an end of an era and you really see how life moves along...so you better keep up as Ferris told us.

With fall semester, also comes football...and with that brings The Utes and we are entering the Pac 12 which is so exciting. The first game is on Thursday and I simply cannot wait!! There is something about tailgating and football that just brings a big smile to me face (maybe it's the alcohol...maybe not).

Writing has also come to a screeching halt. I've been trying to apply for as many jobs as possible, that I haven't had a whole lot of time to write. I feel though, even if I did have a lot of spare time, I would still have...dun dun dun: writer's block. I just wrote a post about it on my writing blog: The Written Word . I really dislike writer's block, but I think it belongs to the territory and is bound to happen. Just feel like I have all the ideas, yet getting on the paper is not working the way I'd hoped it would. Of course you cannot give up, and I'm not, but it puts me in a little funk if you will.

Anyways, today I totally bought Vampire Diaries Season 2 on DVD. I needed some Damon Salvatore in my life...and I absolutely loved the second season!! But what I really cannot wait for is Season 3 which starts Sept 15th. Eek!! I'm hoping for some Delena...because I'm sick of Stefan and Elena (where is the chemistry? Oh right. They don't have any).

I still need to watch the VMA's, I taped it, but have yet to witness it! However, I did witness The Hunger Games preview and OMFG...it already looks so amazing. Katniss is better than I hoped she would be. Least they are doing one series right ;) (besides Harry Potter of course). I wish they would work more on The Mortal Instruments, because I'm just praying that Jamie Campbell Bower can truly pull of Jace.

Well that's all I can blab about for now, but one last thing. I want this puppy:

Seriously. Why won't my mom just let me get a dog??! All I hear is, "When you move out, you can do whatever you want." Believe me mom, I'm in the process. Or not...I'm not entirely sure. But until then, I guess I can just "pretend" that is my puppy Toby!

Have a great day everyone. xo.

The Next Step

Well now that I'm done with college, I've been evaluating my life and where I want to go now. Yesterday I met with a woman named Monica who runs Bricks 4 Kidz.

It's a hands-on-approach (after-school program) where teachers teach the children a lesson, then they build what they learned out of Lego's. They can work as teams and even motorize their creations! I think it's an excellent idea, and obviously I'm not going to make a career out of this, it goes for 8 weeks and it's good experience. Also, I'm going to teach preschoolers and their mom's will be there. A sort of bonding experience! And a two day camp which will be really cool. I pretty much have the job so that's exciting.

But then I was looking up adds in the newspaper, and I found a preschool position at the private school Challenger. It's really nice and a lot like Rowland Hall (another private school that I did my teaching-lab). So, why not? I'm going to apply there as well. Luckily Bricks 4 Kidz is an after-school program, so I could do the teaching beforehand. We'll see how it all plays out. I still really want to move to Oregon, or now Columbus Ohio is in the mix (because my best friend is moving there after graduation and I need to get out of this state for a while).

I just hope I know the right direction to go in. You picture being a teacher ever since you were five, and now that it's become reality...it's scary. I just want to do this right and be happy with where ever I go! Hopefully fate will help me out. I love these little teaching sayings; they make me smile:

Speaking of the next step, a good friend of mine, Kaeli is moving to L.A to go to fashion school. She was in my pledge class in our sorority Pi Beta Phi and is the sweetest girl in the world! We even went to Forks, Washington together once for Fall Break :) (Yes, we are nerds). I'm really going to miss her, but I admire her wanting to do bigger and better things!

Forks Washington

"Attempting to be vampires" in Forks

Toga Party

Spring Formal with PC 07' (my pledge class)

Abduction 10' with Pledge Class

Good luck Kaeli I love you!

So I realized, I'm rather obsessed with coffee...it's gotten to the point where I cannot go a day without it. Um, what's wrong with me? I'm not sure. Been wondering that for years ;) Look at this cool owl picture though:

Owl made from coffee beans, cups and coffee

I just love random pictures too. I seriously go everywhere online, but especially We Heart It & Pinterest.
So you know what? I'm going to post some more because they make me happy on this lovely, rainy Friday here in SLC:

Not just cake bites...cake pops!

It's just cool

No words describe how adorable this is

Obsessed with this. I would love this area to write

...or this...

And one more thing. Where do I want to go so badly right now? Well here is a picture that will tell the tale:

Yup, England. I loved London so much...I think I fit in there pretty well. And I'm sorry, but I love the accents (I want one).

Was this post packed-action-full for you? I think so too. So I'm going to end it now.

Happy Friday everyone!!! Have some fun. It's the weekend. I know I have an action packed weekend and I cannot wait :)

xo - J

The Life Lived

I went to Nancy's funeral today, and let me just express that besides my step-father's funeral, this was the most emotional thing I've ever been to. It's amazing how one life can touch so many others - it's inspiration at it's finest. It was also an honor, because the family asked if they could put my poem A Shining Jewel, in the program. People came up to me saying, "Jessica you are an amazing writer and have true talent...never stop." It honestly was such an amazing feeling to be acknowledged in doing something I love to do. And I just hoped I made a positive impact in other's lives, like Nancy has made on my life.

You need to realize what life is all about in these situations. It isn't the messy relationships, feeling fat, doing bad on a test, running out of money, getting in a fight, etc. It's about the people you meet, the choices you make, and the journey to the destination you'll make.

People like Nancy give us courage by living each day as if it were their last and sadly, in a lot of cases, like Nancy and Greg...their days are numbered. But it can show us, the people who don't know when that day will come (hopefully not until we're old in our beds), that we need to live each moment instead of letting the moments pass us by. Also, Nancy showed us that you need to love everything and everything with a full heart, forgive, and to smile and laugh often.

Be thankful for the life you've been dealt and make the best of it. We are all here for a reason and it's time to find out what the point of our life is; what our destiny has in store. We cannot be afraid of the small things in life; fear can cloud happiness and joy - but it is okay to feel. 


I was browsing and saw some quotes and sayings I really liked:

 Those are just some things that caught my eye. They can go out for inspiration, life lessons, teachers (yay), writers (double yay), and believing in yourself. Words make a huge impact I've realized, and that's another reason I'd love to be a writer. Apparently people believe in me, and you know what? I believe in me too. With that being said - please check out my new writing blog: The Written Word

A different change of news, is that I have a job interview tomorrow for somewhat of a teaching job. The organization is called: Bricks 4 Kidz and it's actually really neat! This is an after school program and I'd be able to teach children (just like I wanted). It's a hands on approach to building/architecture with Legos. You teach a different lesson, and then they build along with what you teach. They work in groups or alone and create and use their imagination. This is only a part-time job for me right now, and I'm going to keep putting out my resume for teaching jobs, and will probably substitute teach on the side. I'm tackling this approach because I still want to move out of Utah, so I am also going to be researching and traveling different places a lot. I don't want anything too concrete or I feel as though I'll be stuck. Also, I know it's crazy, but I'm even thinking about doing grad school next year already. I feel as though I'm a school person (maybe that's why I want to be a teacher). But also, I want to focus on writing and the novels I've started. I want to attend conferences, workshops and other writing tool programs that will help me on my path.

Like Nancy showed us, we need to go after what we believe and dream in. In doing so, it makes life worth while.

xo.

The Show Must Go On

It wasn't a surprise that last week was hard, not only for Nancy's family but for me. I felt as though I was re-living the death of my step-father and that was truly draining. However there was a silver lining in the fact that I met Ally Condie, author of Matched last week at Utah's public library. It was amazing to meet someone in the "writing" world and she gave me some great advice. I posted a whole blog post about it on my new (aspiring author) blog: The Written Word - and by the way, I'm going to be annoyingly trying to promote that page because I really want to start a writing workshop and for others to give input on my novels. So please follow and go to that page - tell me what you all think :) Thanks!

This weekend was quite the adventure...as it usually is in Vegas. My dad called me on Thursday and asked if I wanted to go see Garth Brooks in Vegas with him and my cute step-mom Kim. He got a bunch of tickets and we were going to be staying at the Bellagio...um, yes please! Sign me up. I love country, actually I love all types of music, and Garth is just a country legend. It was a great show (even though he didn't sing many of his songs). As I sat there watching him perform, I thought about how an ordinary person can turn their life into something amazing and different from the typical "norm." Who says I can't become a bestselling author? Because I truly think if you have the talent and take the time to accomplish your goals...you can make anything happen. That's what I intend to do.

Overall, it was a fabulous trip; even met football legend Dick Butkus (I'm sorry but I think his last name is hilarious). We went to some fabulous restaurants and shopping. I got an adorable rain jacket that is from H&M and has to do with their "London-line" - which makes me love it even more and I bought a Fossil white watch that I've been dying to have for some time now.

So here is a picture overload of my lovely Vegas weekend:

Water-wall in Wynn (amazing)

Garth's guitar - we had to put cameras away when he came out

Chicago's Dick Buckus 

I love my Red Sox :)

My childhood friend...trying to get money...

Inside of Bellagio - amazing

Portrait made of flowers

Always wanted a greenhouse like this

Amazing ceiling of Bellagio...amazes me every time 

Margaritaville 

Picked a tin with typewriter on it...seemed appropriate :)

New watch - I'm in love

I hope you all had an amazing weekend as well and I was also going to say thank you. Thank you for the kind comments on my last post. It's never easy to lose someone you love, but with good friends, family and faith, I believe you can prosper and move forward in life. God bless you all! 


By the way, I have to add that my little brother Landon starts college at the University of Utah (just like his big sis). Aw. I'm a proud sister and hope he has an amazing adventure like I had! He's the greatest. It's weird that school is starting up tomorrow, and this is the first time since preschool I'm not returning...not sure how I feel about it. Maybe I should just go straight to grad-school...hem hem...*think about it for a minute*...nah, I'll go back in a few years for my masters ;) If anyone is going back to school, GOOD LUCK this year!

xo.