you want to know what's cool?

when you wake up with a direct view out your window to a sunrise that is completely identical to one you just painted.

light yellow-orange to pink to purple to blue.

that's cool.

in which i tell you a bunch of things about my life.

the five dollar movie bin at walmart?  it's the greatest thing ever...until you find three movies.  then you're already up to 15 dollars.
but i think when those movies are moulin rouge, hook, and august rush, it's worth it.
i'd go back to a year ago today if i could.
i'm reading to kill a mockingbird again.  i will read it a hundred times and not be done with it.  did i mention that it's my favorite book of all time?

it's almost finals.

male sibling is too old.  happy birthday, dear.

this album is my art music.  every time.  speaking of art... someone made one of my paintings into a christmas ornament.  how cool is that?  personally, i think it's a bit morbid to put on a christmas tree.  but it's still amazing.

also on the subject of art...

i can never ever make a silly t-shirt.  everyone else ends up with delightfully lame paint splatters and things and i end up with adorable penguin in the snow t-shirt.  my life is hard.

if nothing else, believe in art

in my painting class we had an assignment to paint a landscape.

after two-ish days of painting, i decided i'd do a project and take a picture of my progress each day.

so here it is.  my landscape from (almost) beginning to end.

i learned a lot.
like how to paint a sky.
and that comments about bob ross will always be humorous.
i'm pretty sure at least one person in class said "happy little trees" every day.

(because i love art.)

(and also this post needed a title)

happy november

song of the month
because i'm very clever.

my month thus far:

excellent new penguin socks.

painting while trying to write a blog post.

and thinking about last year.

because my university is most likely going to tear down my old dorm building in the very near future.

all the students currently living there have until sunday to move out.

my friends are homeless.

C2 won't exist anymore.  the place that holds so many of my memories won't exist anymore.

dear friends, i hope all works out for you, and that you find places to live.

love, jane.

the boys that date the girls that live in this house are choice.

within one week...

to: roommate kate

from: roommate kate's boyfriend.

to: roommate madi

from: roommate kate and kate's boyfriend

to: roommate gracie

from: gracie's boyfriend.

our apartment is all full of flowers!

as for my boyfriend, he didn't buy me flowers, but...

we dance in the kitchen to beatles records and take naps on sunday afternoons.  so it's okay.

go to an awesome university like mine.

i saw this when i left class this morning.  it is most excellent.

francis winnifred.

this should be my name.  i'm completely serious.
i could actually have a nickname.  i would go by france.  or fred.
plus someday when i'm an old lady, i'd have an excellent old lady name.

my dear new followers.
i think that we should be blogging friends.
so leave a comment and tell me what makes you happy.

secretly...

i like that our toaster is broken, and that we make toast in the oven.

i name my blankets.  i do it so can can say that i cuddle with thor, mr. rochester, and neil patrick harris.
random thought: i haven't named one after johnny depp yet.  that's odd.

i love my new real shoes.

i put the "ministry of magic entrance" sign above our toilet.

i adore being called flower.

and to finish, i think we all ought to remember this:

life rocks.

have a lovely day.

sometimes...

i go to painting class, think about france, and paint skulls like a pro.

painting class no longer makes me want to cry.

the end.

france class

so i have this class.

and it's all about france.

it's my fave.

a random happy list

in no particular order:

4 new books

the best roommates ever

mac and cheese

this one boy

tunes

dr. horrible's sing-along blog

patches (my puppy)

my uber gorgeous sisters

my awesome male sibling

france class

cute movies

ludo

institute
excellent socks
missionaries
drawing
france
secret identities.
the big bang theory



the end.

maybe this is silly.

today.
i was in desperate need of a smile, and there was not one to be found.
digital imaging is not my cup of tea, and all i learned from painting class today was that i can't mix colors worth anything. so here i am, doubting my skill as an artist even further, and i get a text from a member of the bishopric wanting to meet with me.
i knew i was going to get a church calling meant to teach me a lesson (this one actually didn't turn out to be terrible, thank goodness.)
and the worst of it... the roommate problems that i never expected.
all this equals jane is a mess.


but then there's this boy.  and he is okay with me being an emotional train wreck sometimes.  and he has me over for dinner.  and we go for a drive.  and we watch the office.  he is great.

oh, and then i log in to post this, and notice that i have 2 followers now.  2!
this is definitely silly of me to get so excited about this.  but it made my day better.
dear bellah, you get the "i made jane smile" award.
have a lovely day.

will you lend a caring hand?

dr. horrible, you make my life happier.


i went home to visit for the long weekend with two of my roommates.  on our way back this morning, we pulled into a gas station, passing a family standing by a car.  they held a sign that read "need help.  food, gas, lodging ...etc"
as one roommate ran inside to use the bathroom, my other roommate and i sat there, wondering what we could do to help.  in our state of perpetual hunger, we don't have much money to spare.  even giving up one dollar means we give up doing an entire load of laundry.

then we remembered all the food we had brought with us.

my roommate found a handful of granola bars, and as we headed back out, we pulled up next to their car.  before we'd even done anything, their faces brightened.  i rolled down my window and handed the granola bars to the father.  he turned around to his sons - "look, boys!"

"we're sorry we can't do more."  we apologized.

"this is wonderful.  thank you so much.  god bless."

"those who bring sunshine to the lives of others

cannot keep it from themselves."

-(the brilliant) JM Barrie

so go help someone.  make someone else smile.

it's splendid.

and tell me the story.  down there, in the comments.

lies and deceit.

i posted a post earlier about french table fitting into my schedule perfectly.
it no longer does.

but i had a pretty excellent day regardless.
starting with, you know, just moving some priceless art into a gallery this morning.
and ending with a splendid date with a boy i fancy.
i love life.

why my roommate is the best in the world.

she wakes me up in time for class every morning.  by any means necessary.

including stealing my pillows and bribing me with chocolate. 

today she stole my blanket.  my blanket that was protecting me from the unbearable cold of our room.

but i wasn't giving up without a fight.  i held onto that blanket like my life depended on it.

of course, this ended up with me on the floor,

still with a death grip on my blanket, wide awake.

and some very amused roommates.

perpetual perpetual hunger.

i have been using "perpetual hunger" as a synonym for "college"

i now realize i will be in college until i am 85

so now i have perpetual perpetual hunger.

and all i will be doing for all those years is reading.

reading textbooks.

probably this delightful book will come in handy.

this one will never get old. promise.

jane eyre. jane eyre. jane eyre.

i love jane eyre.

and today i added my second copy of this to my collection.

unabridged, of course.

i love my book collection.  it will be my best friend during my perpetual perpetual hunger.

yay for being literate.

yay for deciding i want my master's degree.

things that made me smile today that are probably stupid. except the inspirational happy ones. those aren't stupid.

the reason: i waste too much time on pinterest.

i want this so much.

my roommate can tell you this is true.

this is ridiculously cute and i want two of them.

i love michel.  probably because he's french.

the real reason we can.

zombie apocalypse.

and now the inspirational ones:

^

dear paris,

just wait for me. we're going to meet.

i promise.

love,

jane.

(love letters to paris, not men.)

life is too short...

to be anything but happy.

(remember this, jane.)

how to be happy (today)

sleep late because i stayed out too late because sleep is my true love.

wear your cuddling hoodie and curl up in a blanket mom gave you.

watch the big bang theory. or the halloween episode of boy meets world.

get a free t-shirt from the student center. just because.

visit C2.  realize how much you've missed it and be happy you're back.  sit in the middle of the hall with smith, trevor, your roommates, and ridiculously cool ex-boyfriend.

have a big dinner with your neighbors, roommates, your family, and your roommate's family.

take someone's free t-shirt from earlier and put it on your head.  when it falls off, put it on the next person's head.  when it falls off, have them put it on the next person's head until it goes all the way around the room.

we're weird. don'tworryaboutit.

have your dinner party of 14 get locked inside your tiny college-kid apartment.  yell out your window for your neighbor who you've hardly met to help you.

have a roommate date.  talk about everything.

go to sleep wearing dinosaur socks.

someday, it's all going to work out for the best.

and someday i won't get broken up with the first week of school.

my marius is somewhere out there waiting for me.

oh darn.

looks like paris is just as pretty in the winter as it is in the summer.
i guess i'll have to go twice.
or just stay there for a year so i can see what it looks like all the time.


darn it.

college: a state of perpetual hunger.

i said goodbye to my parents
i unpacked all my pretty socks

behold the pretty socks (guest starring my feet)

...

our air conditioning got fixed

and with a few sheets as improvised couch covers, a rug, decorative pillows, a keyboard, and a thrift-store found photo of the eiffel tower,

our dingy living room was transformed into a comfortable, colorful room of awesome.

i walked to a bookstore and found no copies of les miserables.  i'll try again tomorrow.

and since i arrived, i've been in a state of perpetual hunger.

i guess college does that to me.

to combat it, i made pizza and cookies for dinner tonight.

i'm home.

please bless that someday I can see something like this happen.

this.
is fantastic.

i want to see this happen.
i want to be in this.
i wish i was there.


this is cool.

ps, i saw this cast.  it was lovely.  i cried a lot.




the end.

r-e-s-c-u-e...

rescue aid society!
(this has been stuck in my head since i watched the rescuers this morning. love it.)

"faith makes everything turn out right"

have a wonderful day!

:)

this might be the best compliment i have ever received. ever.

so today.
i went to ridiculously cool ex-boyfriend's house.  (to stay consistent, this is what i'll always call him.  even though it's a pain to type out every time instead of his name.)  anyway, i went to his house to hang out with his mom.  because she's just that cool.

short side story:

she gave me this book today.

i found it humorous and ironic.

and i have a feeling it would've been a bit more helpful awhile back than it will be now, but oh well.

back to my real story.

so my roommate and i are hanging out with ridiculously cool ex-boyfriend's mom.  and she complimented the both of us on our new skirts.  my roommate was wearing bright, happy summer colors and i was wearing essentially the same outfit, only in various shades of black and gray.  "i look like the depressing version of my roommate!"  i said.

"you look parisian!"

she replied.

so that was just great news.  because i love paris and i will go there someday.

in fact...

enjoy this picture of the eiffel tower i found while wasting my time on pinterest this morning.

i might be addicted.  it's fine.

he's climbin in your windows...

once upon a time I lived in a dorm.

call me crazy, but it was the best place to live

ever.

on the door to C2 (the best floor in said dorm) was this picture.

every time I went up there to see friends or just hang out I saw this on the door.

so today I came across this picture and it made me smile.

so i thought i'd share.

(plus I just miss C2)

paris.

this is paris.

and someday, this will be me.

wearing a pretty dress and curls in my hair

sitting by the seine

in

paris.

the earth without "art" is just "eh."

i am an artist and i always have been, ever since i could hold a crayon.

i'm studying painting, drawing, and printmaking with a minor in museum studies.
the goal is to someday work in a museum, where i can be surrounded by art and talk about art all day. and then go home and make art.

my future house needs an art studio, a room that can be as messy as it needs to be, where i can throw paint or paint on the walls or floor if a canvas just isn't tickling my fancy.

i love having paint or pencil smeared on my hands.
i love color.
making art gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts;
to make sense of the world.

if you flip through my sketchbook, you will find chalk scribbles and fancy freehand pen drawings. you will find quotes and words that inspire me. you will find quick sketches i've tucked away to finish another day. you will find my life in pictures.

lately i have been what i call art-starving.
i haven't made art in far too long, and all summer, i've been worried.
actually, i've been worried since the day i decided to pursue the study of art.

what if i'm not cut out for this?







what if i'm only mediocre?

then today i found this:

it made me feel better.

because sometimes i am scared to death.  it's terrifying to present your work to a professor.  as helpful as critiques are, there's always the chance that someone is going to rip apart a piece you've put your heart into.  when i make art, it's for a reason.  it means something to me.  but sometimes it's just for me. what do i say when asked to explain one of those pieces?

art is scary.

art is wonderful.

art is life.

 i'll leave you with a little drawing i found in my sketchbook the other day.
it made me happy:)

this post was the cheese, and for that, i apologize.

i've realized that i am quite the overdramatic child.

but that's okay.

a lot of little things

being back in the town that has my heart

climbing waterfalls

roommates

making too many cupcakes and taking one to a rather attractive male that I plan to marry

playing with puppies

chick flicks

tunes and singing along

driving through a pretty gorge

kisses on the cheek...and real kisses

church drawings and matt's class

my second family and i partyin' it up

naps

seeing my new apartment and naming the fridge(his name is harry potter.)

step-hen

lots of hugs and much-needed road trips

birthday cake

being inside stanley's apartment

a magic trick consisting of flying fire and not setting kamber's hand ablaze.

old juni stories

"tea is bad!" *runs away*

meeting his sister when he said i'd never get to

finding someone else to attend a mika concert with my roommates, ridiculously cool ex-boyfriend's mom, and i.

i shot a gun for the first time. and walked through a dam door.

I may have had a perfect weekend:)

dentists.

i am terrified of the dentist.

sometimes you have to go get a root canal.  and sometimes you're crying and fighting and freaking out about it.
so the dentist will let you watch tv so you'll be distracted.

sometimes you don't even know what you're watching.  all you know is that it has plenty of neil patrick harris in it, and that somehow makes everything a little bit better.

129

where can I turn for peace?
where is my solace
when other sources cease
to make me whole?


when with a wounded heart,
anger, or malice
I draw myself apart,
searching my soul?


where, when my aching grows,
where, when I languish,
where, in my need to know,
where can I run?


where is the quiet hand
to calm my anguish?
who, who can understand?
He, only One


He answers privately,
reaches my reaching
in my Gethsemane,
Savior and friend.


gentle the peace he finds
for my beseeching.
constant He is, and kind
love without end.

please bless someone will sing this with me.

i love this hymn.

sometimes it's exactly what  i need to hear.

elephants, tigers, and peacocks, oh my!

 these are elephants
dari, christie, and zuri
so cool

 some sleepy tigers
taking naps in the shade

but the coolest bit of all
this peacock was just wandering about the zoo
just being pretty and stuff.