a thank you card

dear levi,

thank you for vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom. i must say, it looks

much better...even if we do still have emerald green carpet. lily wants me to let you know that she really appreciates you cleaning out her litter box and picking out all kinds of new food for her to try. and while we're on the subject of thank yous, i would like to also thank you for always telling me that i'm skinny and beautiful and for always feeding me when i am hungry, even if i do turn into a mean, scary monster. i love you very very much. so does lily.

love always,

your girls

jasmine & lily

the future's bright

well hello there!

i had a really great idea for a blog project that i was going to work on today, but it will have to wait now because i got called in to work last minute! i am very excited by this because it means more money! yayyyy! so just sit tight a little longer for the project. i think you will all really love this one! i love it already, and i haven't even started yet!

for now, i'll just tell you all a little more about my job. last night was my first working night. they told me that i wouldn't be serving; i would just be observing the event and maybe helping at the registration table. haha! yeah right. i worked my tail off last night. some highlights include:

- spilling an entire tray of drinks down my pants in the middle of the dance floor in front of everyone

- developing carpal tunnel in my wrist from carrying heavy trays and bussing tables. it's been more than 5 years since i've worked as a server. i'm weak!

- and sitting in traffic for more than an hour on a hot day in my car with no air conditioning to get to work. :/

honestly, i think i was just kind of in shock from being thrown in with no instruction. i actually learn best this way so it was definitely a good thing. and even though i had kind of a rough night last night, i'm really looking forward to going back tonight. one of the girls i worked with was such a sweetheart. she was so helpful and understanding. i hope she's working tonight so i can get to know her better! as soon as i get the hang of this whole thing and get to know everyone better, i'm really going to like this job. as soon as i get my first paycheck, i'm really going to love it!

levi and i are so excited about all the things we'll be able to do with more money. with more money, we will be able to:

- move! we can get a one bedroom that's not in the ghetto! hurray!

- decorate! we can decorate our apartment so that it doesn't look like a college dorm room, but a grown up's home.

- eat out! we love food and restaurants and have missed frequenting our local favorites.

- shop! i haven't bought new clothes for myself since october i think. i can't wait to shop again!!

- pay bills! i am so excited to be able to pay all our bills on time. we will finally get to feel like responsible adults. it will be fantastic!

- travel! i get $50/night hotel rates at any of our hotels in the country with this job. ummm - oh my goshness!!! how cool is that?!?

we can't wait. we just can't wait. life is really really good.

inspiration in all kinds of places

i am feeling a complete lack of inspiration this week with everything. i don't know what my deal is, but i just feel like the least creative person on the planet. maybe i'm just coming down from all the excitement of last week. i don't know, but i don't like it! my brain feels foggy, my eyes feel sleepy, and i'm just kind of out of it. ya know? now i do realize that it is only wednesday so i shouldn't write off the entire week, but i have a tendency of forgetting that "this too shall pass."

so all this lack of inspiration has got me thinking: what inspires me?

1. blogs inspire me. reading what other people have to say gives me ideas, gets me excited, makes me smile, all kinds of good things. here are a couple blogs that provided me with some much needed inspiration today: poptart, apartment 10, hide & seek, and the little misses.

2. baking inspires me. who knew, right? i just popped some muffins into the oven, and i swear i am feeling more creative already!

3. looking at old photos inspires me like crazy. it reminds me of happy times, and what's more inspirational than happiness??? plus, old photos just look cool. here's one of my favorites. it's me and daisy! i think i was 3.

4. and finally, my mister levi inspires me - his faith, his art, his love, his support, his words, his goodness, and his work. when i think about how truly amazing this man is, i am inspired to become more worthy of his love.

now tell me - what inspires you?

catching up

i have been tagged and awarded recently by a few lovely bloggers. it has taken me a really long time to get on this, and i apologize. so this post is dedicated to catching up!

warning: it's going to be a long one! i won't be offended if you skip ahead, skip around, or skip it altogether. :)

first tag:

kathleen from just a small town girl tagged me in this one. i love kathleen. she's such a beautiful, joyful person. if we met in the real world, i know we'd be friends.

Rules to follow... if you're the kind who follows rules (i am not): Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own. Tag five other un-tagged people.

what is your current obsession?
these are more like ongoing obsessions: macarons (see post below), blogs and blogging, and dreaming about the day i can start buying clothes again (soon!!!)

what are you wearing now? 

my cleaning clothes (i'm cleaning today....sort of) - dark grey super soft comfy loose empire waisted tank and black cropped workout pants

do you nap a lot?

almost never. i usually feel nauseous and disoriented when i wake up from naps. i do, however, sleep A LOT during the night. i need 9 hours of sleep a night to be fully functioning. 

what would you like to learn to do? 

everything. i'm a school junkie, and i want to be an expert at everything. i'm starting a new major in the fall - Art History. i am suuuuper excited about it. i also want to go to cooking school and learn how to make gorgeous, delicious pastries and gourmet meals. i want to learn to play piano and sing better. i want to continue to study ballet and other forms of dance. i want to take photography classes to learn how to take better pictures. i  think i'll stop now, or i'll just go on forever. 

what’s for dinner? 

blah. we are reallllly poor this week (low tips for levi and high bills all due at the same time) so tonight we're either having spaghetti or frozen dinners. :/ 

what was the last thing you bought? 

that would have to be gas. wow. my responses are intriguing! 

what is your favorite weather? 

it depends on my mood. i love rainy days, but i also really enjoy perfect summer days. nothing over 80 though. too hot!

what is on your bedside table?  

wooden dancer from my  mom, little flower dish to hold my jewels, dried flower from the bouquet levi bought me when i passed my state board esthetician licensing exam

what is your most challenging goal right now? 

learning to be patient about reaching all my goals

do you have a blog you read daily even when there are no updates? 

not when there aren't updates, but you can see some of the blogs i read regularly in my blog list to the right!

what would you like to have in your hands right now? 

a key to an apartment that levi and i would love

what would you like to get rid of? 

my self doubt and insecurity

what language(s) do you want to be able to speak? 

French! fortunately for me, my new major requires that i study French for two years. i start in september!

what's one thing you're looking forward to? 

the row boat date levi and i have planned

if you were to pick up a pen right now, what would be the first thing you'd write? 

that.

who was your childhood crush?  

elvis! i cried when i found out that he was dead already, and i couldn't marry him.

what do you want to be... when you grow up?

honestly, i just want to be a good wife and mother. and happy.

my tagging is going to be a random selection of followers on this one, and i'm only choosing 3 instead of 5:

1. Miss Eve

2. Justin

3. Gabby

next on the list: mara from in so many words presented me with the Honest Scrap award for being...well, honest! as a recipient of this prestigious award, i am supposed to tell you 10 honest things about myself. well, here goes:

1. i always want to lose 10 pounds. no matter what.

2. i got into a car accident a year and a half ago that turned me into a really overly cautious driver.

3. i have bad dreams almost every night.

4. i hog the covers.

5. i have a tendency to dress like a cartoon character...as in, i find myself wearing the same thing over and over and over again.

6. i'm not super into shoes. i like them, but i don't love them.

7. i think i'm addicted to sugar.

8. i turn into another (really cranky, kinda mean) person if i don't eat every 4 hours.

9. i love levi more than anything on the planet (like you didn't already know that!).

10. i can be kinda shy sometimes.

i am passing on the honest scrap award to these three lovely (and very honest) bloggers:

1. Maddie

2. Adeline

3. Tiffany

and that concludes this very long post! if you read all the way through, thanks for hanging in there! if not, i tooootally understand. :)

priorities

so i started a new job yesterday, and that's great because i'll be making money and everything, but i think i might be more excited over the fact that.....

my hotel is less than 3 miles away from the most amazing macaron shop i've ever been to! i suspect that my future will be filled with lots of tiny, little, delicious treats. oh yay!

plus, the hotel is really cool and all.