Good Life

Happy Thanksgiving!!

There are so many things to be thankful for today and I decided that I should write down a list of things I'm thankful for so that if I ever start to whine or complain or think I have a bad handle on life, I can refer back to this post and get over myself. So technically, this post is more for me than you . . . but maybe it'll help you think of some things to be thankful for as well. Bear in mind that this is not a complete listing, it's just as much as I could think of in about 5 minutes before I get dressed to go celebrate the holiday with the Jones clan!

I am thankful for:

• being alive
• family
• friends
• my faith in God
• chocolate
• my job
• music in general
• pizza
• stretchy pants on holidays
• my phone
• my clothes
• having a space heater in the winter
• the snow falling this morning
• my MacBook Pro
• education
• peacoats
• books
• coffee
• technology
• more chocolate
• running water
• blankets
• jack's mannequin
• my ability to laugh in tough situations
• ice cream
• the way my parents raised me
• scarves
• the youth at Westside Church
• my aunt's broccoli rice and cheese casserole
• more coffee
• shoes
• parachute
• my housemates
• creativity
• my neighborhood
• my co-workers
• swimming pools
• airplanes in the night sky that look like shooting stars
• coffee with honey
• paramore
• the internets
• mamo's christmas cookies
• the academy for even allowing me to be nominated for this award
• 24 hour fitness
• toilet paper
• is chocolate on this list yet? 
• YOU!!!!!!!!!

Stones Under Rushing Water

Life has been a whirlwind this past 2 weeks! The great news is that I'm doing really well on the Game On Diet with my friends. My favorite thing is trash talking the competition—sooo fun!

Well here's a quick rundown on some things that have been going on lately:

Thanks to the Game On Diet, I've traded in my pizza for salads and smoothies.

I've also traded in my potato chips for these:

And boy are they tasty! No but really, I've always liked cucumbers and carrots and stuff like that, so it's not that big of a stretch* but the hard part is resisting the other things I love . . . like pizza . . . and chocolate . . . and cupcakes!

The seasons have changed in the city and I'm loving the fall here in the city. Even with the rain, it's been really nice. I've had to layer up a little more to stay warm at work, but they're working on fixing the heater in my office, so that's a plus!

One of my favorite parts of the Game On Diet is getting together each week to watch The Biggest Loser and Glee! I get to do my weigh-in and then watch as others work toward a better health as well. Then I get to forget about any pounds I may have gained ;) by watching Glee! Yesterday on Biggest Loser, we kept rewinding the DVR because at one point, Jillian grabbed one of the other girls by the butt and made the funniest faces. And THEN, Deb saw a cockroach crawl across the floor when they were at the table doing the elimination round! We still don't know HOW she saw it, but we rewound the DVR and sure enough, it was there!

This morning when I came in to work, I got a special treat in my mailbox: NEW MUSIC to listen to! This is an album from a local Seattle band, THE HEAD AND THE HEART. I spent some time this morning listening to it and I loved the mellow sound. I really appreciate that it incorporates so many different layers and instruments—ones that you don't typically hear on a mainstream candy-coated album.  It was a sweet treat for the indie folk parts of my heart. My favorite song off the album is Cats and Dogs.

In other great news: I have been whining and complaining (mostly to myself) about not getting to see the HBO mini-series BOARDWALK EMPIRE . . . which is a creation of Terence Winter, who made The Sopranos. But not only does it have great writing, it's backed by Scorcese, and it stars Steve Buscemi. Yes, that Steve Buscemi! And, as if that wasn't enough, the story takes place in one of my favorite eras—The Roaring 20s! Gangsters, flapper gowns, bright lights, drama to the max! But now . . .

I'm more than excited to start watching it—I don't even care if the season already started! The only thing is I have to wait until I'm done with the Game On Diet game, because it comes on at 10 and I have to be in bed asleep by 10 so I get my sleep points . . . and as much as I love TV, I'll turn it down for some butt-kickin' points!

Welp, that's pretty much it! My past few days in a nutshell. And oh what a refining process that nutshell is going through. ;)

In other news, I leave for Dallas next week for my Birthday Weekend!!! YAY!

* See what I did there? ;)

Love Is The Movement

Sometimes I get some really interesting things in my formspring. That's the little box to the top right that says "You Ask, I'll Answer," and it allows you to ask or tell me anything anonymously. Well, today I got this in my inbox:

It's an interesting thing for me to think that someone I don't know would consider me as a source to go to about a movement. I mean, it could genuinely be spam mail, but the email address seemed legit, so I decided to do my best to answer it.

MY RESPONSE:

I'm really not quite sure what movement you're talking about . . . but okie dokie?

If you're referring to my movement of loving and caring about people, your first task is to make it a point to say hello to people you pass by on the street.

If you're referring to my movement of sharing art, then your first task is to take 30 minutes out of your day to draw something that makes you smile. Then go to your local library and slip it in a random book.

If you're referring to my movement in a literal sense, your first task is to put your right foot in. your second is to take your right foot out. Then you must put your right foot in and shake it all about.

In any event, I applaud you for your desire to have strong core values. I think they're very essential in making life full. So whichever movement you'd like to join me in, feel free!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again, I'm not sure what they are referring to, but I hope it helped.

In other news, I'm got sick on Saturday night, but I'm on the mend. I'm drinking tea and eating soup like it's my job.

PS: If you have any questions or statements you'd like to share anonymously, please feel free. :D

Dress For The Weather

Halloween is just around the corner and I've already been
browsing the racks for some ideas! 

Truth be told, I'm hoping to stumble across a narwhal costume, because COME ON, it's a narwhal costume! Alas, I have yet to find it. So, I've been looking at some other options. So far, these are my faves:

 AMANDA BANANA

AMO THE HOT DOG

There's actually a Spirit Halloween store that opened up close to the house, and I went to take a look there today. Here are some of the ones I liked:

 SALLY from The Nightmare Before Christmas

 A CLOWN

 THE MONA LISA

RAINBOW BRITE

One of my housemates says I should let you guys decide. I'm definitely up for suggestions . . .

Sing It Out

I was thinking this morning that is was about time for a music update. Mainly because I have a few other blog posts in line that need some editing, thus can't be posted yet. But also because I've recently added to my iTunes and I thought it'd be fun to share (since I haven't done so since the beginning of August)!

One of my best friends sent me an email earlier today and said this reminded him of me. I love my friends, and I LOVE this song! It is seriously so beautiful and visual stunning that it brought tears to my eyes and warm fuzzies to my heart. It also made me miss him a lot. :)

DANCING SHOES by Green River Ordinance



This is a new one I found and took a chance on. I listened to the short sweet 30 second clip (thanks for being lame about that, iTunes), but upon hearing the full song, it has found a home on my playlist! It's so catchy and clever.

UH OH by The Scenic


One of my friends recently went to a Switchfoot show and after the show, Jon Foreman did an acoustic performance outside of the venue. She found an audio recording of it and shared it with me and I love it! It makes me super excited about the next album!

SHE SAYS (THE BLACK EYED BLUES) by Switchfoot



I absolutely love Tegan and Sara with all my little indie / emo heart! This is one of their newly released singles. It's off of their new album, Sainthood (which is just wonderful) and this song has been on repeat a lot on my iTunes!

ON DIRECTING by Tegan and Sara


And last but not least, another sweet sweet love song by Camera Can't Lie called Last Dance. It's got a great hook and it's such a beautiful song! I just never get sick of listening to it! My favorite lyric from it is: "And if we're consumed by counting each hour, what's left of today?"

LAST DANCE by Camera Can't Lie

On Directing

For all those times people told me I should be a comedienne, there is finally some form of justification—though it's not something I'm currently pursuing ;)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Your personality type: "Groundbreaking Thinker"

Creative, resourceful and intellectually quick. Good at a broad range of things. Enjoy debating issues and may be into 'one-up-manship'. They get very excited about new ideas and projects, but may neglect the more routine aspects of life. Generally outspoken and assertive. They enjoy people and are stimulating company. Excellent ability to understand concepts and apply logic to find solutions.

Careers that could fit you include:

Entrepreneurs, lawyers, psychologists, photographers, consultants, sales represenatives, actors, engineers, scientists, inventors, marketers, computer programmers, comedians, computer analysts, credit investigators, journalists, psychiatrists, public relations, designers, writers, artists, musicians, politicians.

(via 41q.com)

And there you have it. I actually think this is pretty accurate. I admit it's REALLY hard for me to suppress the urge to "one-up" people a lot, but it's also a giant pet peeve of mine, so though it's accurate on the results it's definitely something I fight a lot to cut back on.

Forever Young

portrait of a young artist

Yesterday was Vanessa's first day of Kindergarten! I still don't have any pictures of her from yesterday or today, but I got to listen to her on the phone last night go into great detail about her class, her new friends, what she wore, and how excited she was to have a princess backpack.

Her favorite thing to do in class is draw pictures. I asked her what she drew and she said, "The park and the sunshine and the grass and me and mommy and daddy and Annabelle. And the sky. . . and . . . other stuff I can't remember." I said I was proud of her and I encouraged her, "Listen babe, no matter what anyone says, you draw whatever is in your imagination, okay?" She excitedly replied, "Okay!" It's fun being an aunt and watching this little girl grow up knowing she can take on the world!

It's so crazy to grasp the fact that she's already in Kindergarten. I rest easier knowing she LOVES school and loves making friends. She told me about some of her classmates and why she likes them and how she is happy to have "more new" friends. It's comforting to know that just as much as she is into more solitude-centric arts, she is also a wild child with lots of love to share with others.

One exciting thing I'm working towards and saving up for is to pay for an airline ticket for one of my family members and Vanessa to fly up to Seattle to visit next summer! She's growing so much and I would love for her to experience the "world outside," even as a little girl. I live for the moments where I can share my world with her. One of my favorite things I share with her is a little phrase I taught her when she was younger. I would scoop her up in my arms, hold her close and say, "Look, I'm holding you like a baby!" And every time I see her and spend time with her, it warms my heart to see her smile and exclaim, "Aunt Manda, hold me like a baby!" And I do, and we share a close, warm moment together and time seems to stop altogether. I know it won't last long, but I hope she grows up knowing she can come to me at any point in her life and I will hold her "like a baby."

I can't wait to see what this little miss grows up to be!

Easter, 2010

She Paints Me Blue

If anyone would have tried to convince me that rooms have minds of their own, I would say it was rubbish and they need to get their head checked. But after spending the majority of the day painting the new youth room at Westside, I may have to agree with them.





Yesterday H.Stubbs and I started priming the walls of the youth room and oh man it was wild. From trying to keep the tarps from getting snagged on furniture, to paint tape falling out of windows, to accidentally backing into painted walls, laughs were in full effect. We finally got done taping around 5:00 and got a little bit of the priming done by 6:00 when I took her home for dinner.

After dinner, I headed back to Westside to try to finish up. I didn't realize that in the time I had been gone, the room was taking time to scheme a plan to make sure I didn't finish painting it. As I started where I'd left off, some of the tape began peeling in various places (I'm guessing from the heat) so I had to go to those spots and press the tape down firmly. Then, as I was dragging the tarp to a new section down the wall, the bucket of Killz ran into something (I'm still not sure what) and the bucket tipped, causing a bunch of the Killz to fall onto the tarp. At first I was panicked—"How in the world am I going to get all of this cleaned up? And now how am I going to have enough primer to finish the job?!?" So then I did what anyone would do. I made the tarp my new paint tray and used all the primer I could before moving on to the rest of the bucket.


As I continued priming, I noticed there were drips on the previous paint that I hadn't noticed before that must have been from a milk challenge or something from the previous youth group era. The primer did not like the drips and kept leaving the lines on the wall so I had to go over those ares with more primer. Finally 10:30 p.m. rolled around and I called it a night. Despite a few minor setbacks, I'm really glad this painting is underway and I'm even more excited to see the end result!

This week, my evenings will mostly be spent in that room trying to get the paint job finished. I'm hoping that somewhere along the way, the room and I will see eye to eye and it will accept that its getting a new coat of paint!

Bless This Mess

Alrighty I think it's been a while since I updated so now's as good a time as any, right? Right.

Here are a few highlights from my week:

I got to watch my friend Maggie get baptized in Haller Lake.
Maggie has been in my small group this past semester and it was
SO great to get to share such a big moment with her.

Generally, my office is where plants come to die,
but the beautiful flowers that Alisa . . . uh I mean,
Matthew Fox sent me are still blooming beautifully!
They're pretty magical and they still bring a smile to my face.

I got to have a Friday picnic with my co-workers and we ended up
making a Four Square court out of duct tape in our little driveway
and it was so much fun!

I bought a new book and a fun gift for Vanessa.
I ALSO completely filled up her NYC Book Bag that I bought her
during my trip to NYC. Basically,
I bought a NYC Sesame Street messenger bag that lights up
and I'm filling it with tons of good books for her to read!

I finally paid off that pesky parking ticket.
I've definitely learned that those parking enforcement people MEAN it
when they say NO PARKING after 6 p.m.
Even if it's only 10 minutes after.
Dear Seattle Municipal Court: Enjoy the free snark.

I saw this guy dancing on the side of the road today and it was SPECTACULAR!



And in closing, these 4 songs have pretty much been on repeat all week:


A WAY WITH WORDS by Action Item



AMERICAN HONEY by Lady Antebellum



TELL ME I'M A WRECK by Every Avenue



ONE DAY by Matisyahu (Featuring Akon)



Well that's pretty much my week so far! Now I'm off to a sleepover!

Don't forget about the photo caption contest HERE!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Caption Contest Giveaway)

Earlier today, my dad sent me this photo in a text message and said:

DO YOU REMEMBER THIS PICTURE?

WHY DO YOU LOOK SO UPSET?

And I was like,

"Hahaha! I do remember it
but I don't know why I was so upset."

But seriously. I don't know why I was upset.

Maybe it was because:

- I saw someone else with my same bathing suit

- My brother/sister did something to get on my nerves again

- It was part of being a little girl who throws fits

- I crapped myself in public again

- I was born with a pre-packaged amount of attitude and it JUST now decided to show itself

Really who knows. I sat for a few minutes trying to think of a fun little caption for this photo, but I couldn't think of a good one. I mean, I know it's out there, I just don't know what it is.

Maybe you could help me?

Maybe if you help me I'll give you a nice reward?

Okay here's the deal. You caption the photo by leaving a comment on this post only, and at the end of the month, I will pick my favorite and send the winner a $10 Starbucks gift card, a little love note from me via snail mail, and a special cool gift that reminds me of you from my trip to LA. Sound like a plan Stan?

Really what do you have to loose? You have the rest of the month to put your thinking cap on. Your caption won't offend me—seeing myself in that bathing suit has already accomplished that. So caption away!

Mississippi

I was sorting through my iTunes the other day and looking back on all the old music I have stored on there and I got a bit nostalgic. The nostalgia hit over a very unlikely song. It wasn't Vitamin C's Graduation song, it wasn't Green Day's Time of Your Life, it was a Paula Cole song. More specifically, it was MISSISSIPPI by Paula Cole. I was listening to it and I was immediately transported back to High School.

[Here, have a listen]

Not exactly a song that triggers the word "High School," eh? Yeah I didn't think so at first. But there's a story behind it, and THAT story is all about High School.

I know I joke about it, but I really did enjoy my time in the Color Guard at my school. It was a great group and we had so much fun! There was an off-season core of Color Guard called Winter Guard that was basically Color Guard without the marching band and football field. It was generally held in a gym and you got to be more creative and incorporate more fluid dance motions.

One year for our Winter Guard competition, my director encouraged us to compete in the short program in smaller groups. So my friend Jennifer, who we all called Jen (Dot) E, got together and decided to create a routine to Paula Cole's MISSISSIPPI. To us it was an piece that two completely emo kids could appreciate and loaned itself to our obscure version of Winter Guard as an art. One of my favorite things in working with Jen.E was that both of us were dedicated to a "no-holds-barred" routine. I mean, c'mon, as if the lyrics weren't edgy enough—we tried new flag throws, hit some crisp moves, and flowed through it as we added our own little sexually suggestive flair. Yes folks, we had hormones just like everyone else our age. But the fun was in creating the moves and combining our brains to make them big, proud, and full of force. It was during that song, doing those moves, that we felt free to be us.

We didn't win an award, and I'm sure the judges were mildly confused about our message, but it was one of those moments I look back on and I'm like, "THAT'S WHAT IT WAS ABOUT." There was freedom to dream, to challenge ourselves, and to walk out onto that floor and for a moment get lost in the art.

It's about time for my 10-year High School reunion, but I'm not going to be able to make it. It comes right at a time for one of our big project deadlines and too close to my Christmas vacation that it wouldn't be very wise to pay for the extra plane ticket (those suckers aren't cheap). But as I've been debating it and weighing the pros and cons, and figuring out what the wisest decision is, it has made me more grateful for the people who have taken a part in shaping who I am. Jen.E was a part, Jennifer A. was a part. Jessica, Lilly, Monica, Chris, Elaine, Amber, Toni & Andres, and all of my other High School friends were a part. Over the past few years, I've gotten out of touch with a lot of them, but thanks to social networking have been able to reconnect.

The thing I love most is knowing that the moments we shared were so special and meaningful that just a song, or just a phrase, or just an image can pop in my mind and I can remember specific events and how happy we were to be friends. I am so entirely grateful for the friends I've made in my life and I look forward to making more!

Pride and Joy

At my job, we have a meeting every morning where we all gather in the main office and say one good thing that happened the day before or that morning. We also have volunteers that join us. For the past couple of weeks, I've had one of the volunteers working with me in my office. It's been hilarious and we've exchanged banter about our hometowns—she's from New Mexico, I'm from Texas. In fact, she calls me "Texas." It's quite humorous actually. Yesterday I wore my UT shirt to work.

She kept making jokes about the hideousness of the shirt and it was so funny seeing her make faces when she saw the shirt. Well today in our morning meeting, she said that after seeing my shirt yesterday, she decided to "fix" the shirt and wear it in my honor:

It was hilarious! I wasn't completely offended, but it definitely fueled my feisty fun side! So in further creative retaliation, here's what I'm doing:

I printed out 2 pages worth of these suckers and right now I'm coloring them and I'm going to put her name in the center of each of them and stick them up in random places where I know she'll be. I'm also going to decorate her mailbox in the office with some fun UT paraphernalia. I've also downloaded the UT Fight Song and Deep In The Heart Of Texas to play really loud from my computer speakers every time she walks into my office.

The funny thing is, there's another volunteer here from Texas who has agreed to team up with me in the shenanigans and at first she asked, "What is the symbol for New Mexico?" and I was like, "I dunno. I never knew they had one." Then we both cracked up because we realized neither of us really gave enough thought about New Mexico to know more than the fact that it was a state. But man oh man, these office shenanigans are gonna be hilarious!

Just Watch The Fireworks

So I'm almost completely done editing the HUNDREDS of photos I took on my vacation! There's one collection I'm not going to upload to Facebook, simply because they don't really have a home there. I'd get like 1,000 pity comments like "oooh" and "ahhh" and "nice fireworks" and like 2,000 Likes simply because there really is no response to fireworks pictures that aren't just awkward. So I'm just gonna leave them here for people to come back and look at and hopefully be taken back to their own Fourth of July memories.

Maybe it involved a picnic.

Maybe it involved sitting on a blanket with someone special.

Maybe someone you know fell asleep during the fireworks show.

Maybe you set off your own and someone got severely hurt and had to be rushed to the ER and you had to try to keep calm as your mom got in the nurse's face and demanded you be treated immediately only to go home diagnosed with minor burns from a bottle rocket, which made the car ride home extremely awkward and then you had to work for the next month doing odd jobs to help cover the hospital bill cause you swore to everyone it was so bad you were going to die . . .

Whatever your memory, here's to remembering the wonder of fireworks: