I escaped death!!!

OMGSH! So some people would describe me as overly "dramatic" I would say it is not true at all, I am more like overly "passionate" haha. Anyways that is my disclaimer for this post because last night, I narrowly escaped death!

(side note: this next fact has to be known to all of you or this post will make NO sense... I HATE the number 11, especially 11:11!!! I think it is evil and I am almost positive that that number will eventually have something to do with my demise!)

Ok, so last night I am driving home from my loverly friend Litto's house and it is pretty late, and the roads are pretty slick, like pure ice, no joke! I might as well have been driving on the 7 peaks Ice Rink! Anyways, so I am driving and I am a little nervous in the icy conditions but just then I look down and the clock in my car says 11:11 (OMGSH right?!? insert sqeual here...) So then I freak out in my head and I turn to look at my gages to make sure everything is "under control" and GUESS WHAT?!?! my mileage was 111 too! wow! I was like that has to be a coincidence, not a good one, but one just the same. So I am talking myself out of panicking and into breathing and just then song number 11 comes on and it was my funeral song!!! (that sounds weird but hear me out, so there is a song I always say I want played at my funeral and because of that and the fact that I am overly "passionate", I never listen to that song while driving a car... but yesterday I found a random music CD in my desk at work and took it out and popped it when I left) Ok so here I was sliding, not driving, sliding down state street at 11:11 at night with my mileage at 111 and the funeral song playing at track number 11! You would think I would change the song or push the minute button on the clock or do SOMETHING to better my odds in this situation, but I was too scared to lift my hands off the steering wheel, they were white knuckle gripped at 10 and 2!! Needless to say I made it home ok! whew! I know you were all worried there for a minute!!! But the creepy part is, is that I was telling my daddy this story this morning and he said that he rolled over in bed to get a drink last night and looked at the clock and it was 11:11 and he thought "I should text Jessie", but then he refrained in case I was driving... (he knows I am not the best at waiting til I park to read texts haha we are working on that) But anyways, it was traumatic, I think that Julia Roberts should play me in the movie ;)

One year older... I only wish I was wiser too!

Well another year has come and gone. I was trying to think about my feelings of the last year and how I feel like it went... It seems to have been relatively successful, but as anyones life, it had its ups and downs!

Overall I cant complain, my health has been good. I still have a job, even if I don't always like going, a job is still a job! I started Beauty school... something I have always wanted to do and finally got the courage to do it this past May. I love it too, every second of it!!! My family is doing well... Dad is doing much better.

I made a lot of really good friends. Some of them have been the best friends I have ever had... ever! One of them moved away and we are still best friends... she is more like family, and will ALWAYS be a part of my life no matter how many states lay between us! One of my other best friends and I ended up drifting apart sadly and although we aren't as close now, I will never regret the days we spent together... he taught me so much about me and who I am. I still think the world of him and hope that even when we aren't together as much that things are well with him. I have had a lot of good friends that have been there for me... I have rekindled lost friendships and made existing ones stronger and made many new ones. I don't know where I would be with out the love and support of my friends! They are sometimes the only reason I get out of bed somedays!

I have had a little heartache and A LOT of laughter. I have had cried and held family and friends as they have cried. I have sang and laughed and looked for the positive in some sad times. I have learned that life doesnt stop so neither can I and life is what you make of it.... so I have vowed to make mine a damn good one!

I have made plenty mistakes over the last year and learned many life lessons... but most of all I have spent a lot of time figuring out who I am and where I am going. I love where I am going with my dreams and my goals and I feel good about my future! I am ready for another year. I am ready to have new challenges and new adventures. I am sure there will be many more nights where I cry, but I am positive that I will have more happy days than not. I will make more friends and share another year of holidays with my family... A girl cant ask for more than that! I need to count my blessings cause I have been blessed with more than I deserve!

Rarr!!!

In class we learn how to be creative, think outside the box. It is fun to try new things and now that I feel more comfortable doing hair and make-up I love trying to come up with new and interesting things to try. It is fun to see what you can do... Yesterday Meriam and I were on our way home and I had the brilliant idea to give myself a mohawk when we got home. HAHA well that turned out AWESOME so we decided to do Meriams hair too. Then we needed freak awesome make-up to match out new cool do's! Once we were all done up, we convinced my mom to join the fun. It is cool to see what you can do. We of course need pictures afterwards and it was the perfect opportunity for a photo shoot. haha I never turn down a photo-op! So here is what we got, not only was I happy with how our hair and make up turned out, I loved the pictures too. We had so much fun!!

Goodbye is never easy!

My best friend in the whole world left on Sunday. She got a job in Washington and so she packed up and headed out for her new adventure. I am so proud of her but I am having Jamie withdrawals... We found out that she had 2 weeks before she had to be there so we made sure to squeeze in as many fun things as we could up until she left! We did a lot of fun things. Some of my favorites were 80's dancing and her goodbye party it was fun to spend her last night with her and some of our closest friends...

I was thinking yesterday of all the fun times we have had together and all the things we did together. We had some heartaches and some tears we also shared everything with each other. I have never had a friend like her and we will be friends forever... a few states will not pull us apart.. I love you Jamie Jerms... Good Luck with everything!!!

Just say it...

If there is anything I have learned in my life it is that life is short. People come and go, days move on. Things happen but life doesn't quit. Life doesn't stop. Giving up is not an option. After today, there will always be a tomorrow and then today will be nothing but a yesterday. What happened yesterday cannot be undone. It can not be taken back. It cant be added too. Life is too short not to say how you feel. A friend and I were talking about this the other day and she reminded me that if you have something to say, if you have a compliment to give, if you have feelings to share, then share them. What do you have to lose?!? But if you don't say what you want to say then you don't know when the opportunity to say it will ever come up again. Time passes by so quickly. You never know when your words to someone will be your last. Say you care, tell someone you miss them or tell someone you love them. When you think of a compliment or have the urge to talk to someone that you may not be on the best terms with, do it. I have learned that the only thing I have ever regretted is not saying how I feel when I feel it. I have never regretted being honest with my feelings or my thoughts. This is one of my life goals. Life is too short to keep things to myself. Life is too precious not to share how I feel. Cause if you don't then the next thing you know all if you have is a bunch of piled up yesterdays and regrets. Be who are. Say how you feel. Life is too short not to. I love life and although it is not always easy it is worth it, and it goes on no matter if I am dealing with it or not, so I might as well make the best of it. Make today count, so that yesterday counted then make tomorrow better than today and you cant go wrong! (This song my friend showed me... I love it!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ0z86LmXBM 

Summer Nights...

Summer has been so busy and so fun! I have had a lot going on. Work is still work... but school is going great!! I love it. I have had so much fun and not to brag but I am pretty good at what I do! I am now out on the floor taking real clients every weeknight from 5 to 8. So come see me! I get extra credits for request clients so if you call and request me that would be awesome! It has been so much fun and I feel like I learn the coolest new things every day.

Other than work and school. I have managed to squeeze in some playing as well. We have gone up the canyon a few times for Bon Fires and Barbecues... they are always entertaining. I have hit up a few good movies, been out on some dates, and many nights out playing sand volleyball with my friends. It has been a lot of fun. I got a season pass to Seven Peaks and I went there yesterday with my most favorite people. It was nice to get out and have a day off with nothing but have fun with the people I love to be with. We had a blast! But other than that I just try to be outside as much as I can in the few short hours that I have free. I love summer and am sad it is passing as fast as it is! But there is still plenty of time left to have some serious fun in the sun and I plan on doing just that!

Long time coming....

This past month was extremely busy and flew by so fast. I cant believe the year is more than half over.... I am still trying to figure out where the first half went! I have had some fun, along with some work, school, and stress. Here is what I was up too....

First my daddy, they removed his cancer and his pancreas was clean so he will not have to have chemo or radiation!!! YAY!!! That was the best day and biggest relief I have ever felt! And not only was it Father's Day but we celebrated his 50th birthday last week too! Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you! We threw him a surprise party at the fire station. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day...

Me and my Daddy at his party... 

This is just me playing on the fire truck.... haha

We also celebrated a baby blessing of a friend. A family friend Rosa, had a baby, and I have been watching her every weekend. She is such a sweet baby and we have adopted her and her momma into our family. It was fun to see her be blessed.

She loves her Aunt Jessie =)

My best friend Jamie, has always wanted to fly a plane. I have a cousin who is a pilot and owns a plane and so I talked to him and he agreed to take us for a ride, but better than that, he let her fly it, like actually fly it!! She took off and everything... haha I have never been so scared in my life, lol but it was so much fun! It was so fun to see her so happy! It was a really cool experience and I was so glad that I was there to share it with her...

We have had a lot of fun, has been long and exhausting but I would do any of it over again! School is going really good, One more week and I am a junior and will be out on the floor part time taking clients.... (Come see me!!) School has been such a blessing and I have enjoyed every second of it. I have had a lot of fun experiences so far and have a lot to look forward too. That is the update on my life.... 

Even Angels Fall....

My dad is my hero, he is my strength and he is the pillar that holds me up when I thought I would fall. I never thought he could fall, my dad might be the most amazing person I know. He works 2 jobs, and not because he has too, but because he wants too. He has always sacrificed himself for others, he works now at the hospital and on the ambulance for PG Fire. He saves lives, he sacrifices his time, his safety, and himself every day to help and save others.... so what do you do when the one who saves lives, needs saved?!? This is the thought that has been on my mind for the last month. What do you do when the one person you never thought could fall starts to crumble before your eyes? 

About 3 weeks ago, my parents came over to talk to us, I could tell something was wrong and they sat us down and told us that they found out my daddy has cancer. They are still running tests so we don't know exactly the extent or the kind or the treatment plan, but that was the news. I hate seeing my dad so vulnerable and scared, I hate seeing him hurt and worry. I never thought I would be strong enough to deal with such a trial. But I have found that the Lord will never give you more than you can handle. I don't know how well I am handling it, but I am handling it... I never understood what people meant when they said they felt numb until that day and for the week after that, that is all I was capable of feeling, numbness and nautiousness. I felt like the whole world was moving and I wasn't going anywhere. But once things started progressing I somehow snapped out of it and have been blessed with strength that I need to be there for both my mom and my dad. I thank my Heavenly Father for that strength cause I know with out him I would not be as strong as I need to be. 

I know he will be ok. I know this is not the end. In his words "I am going to kick this, and kick it hard, I am not done here" I know how strong he is. I know this will be a trial and a long hard road for my family but I also know that we will all come out of this stronger. How do I know this? Because that is what my dad taught me, he taught me that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!! I am so grateful for his strength and for his optimism. He is my Hero, my Angel, he is my Daddy!

So Fun!!

I have been in school for just over a week now and I love it! Our first section has been esthetics so I have not worked with hair yet, but I have learned how to give Manicures, Pedicures, and some basic things about acrylics. I love it. I thought the pedicures would freak me out but I actually enjoy giving them. And of course we practice on each other, and I especially love getting them!!

This week we are continuing in esthetics and we are learning facials and waxing and make-up application. I love everything so far, I don't feel like I am in school. I feel like I get to go do something I enjoy for 4 hours a day! It is nice to find something that I am actually good at and be able to do it and enjoy it! 

The only problem that I have run into sos far is that I am used to getting home at night and having 7-8 hours to play.... so now when I get home at 9 every night I forget that that is no longer the case. I still feel like I need to play for 7 hours instead of only 3 and I have been staying up WAY too late. I need to work on that one cause 5  12 hour days in a row do not work well when you go to bed at 3 every night!!! But other than that I have no regrets about starting when I did! I know this is where I am supposed to be and I absolutely LOVE it!

Never too late...

So I have had a dream ever since I was a little girl, to go to Beauty School and learn to cut hair, when I was little I used to cut all my Barbies' hair, and I would cut chucks of hair off my teddy bears and stuff, I have always loved it! I was going to go to school right after high school,  but ended up having health problems and I had to take a different course. But because of those health problems I didnt have much of a social life either...

Well once I moved out on my own and have been doing my own thing I still have been stopping myself from going, mainly for the reason that I was enjoying my social life too much. I was making up for lost time, playing and chilling with friends. But I finally decided that now is the time to make my dreams come true!

I signed up for Bon Losee and attended my first class last night. I really enjoyed my teacher and it is very one on one and will be so much fun. I love it! I know it will be hard sometimes, I will work from 9-4 then have class from 5-9 monday through friday for the next 2 years... BUT it will be so worth it when I am done. And I know that I will still have time to rock the social life after 9 everynight! Lets be honest.... no one parties before then anyways.... especially with out me!! HAHA! I am really excited tho and am so ready to rock the next stage of my life!

Festival of Colors

We went to the Festival of Colors at the Hari Krishna Temple on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I enjoy learning about other people's cultures. They have a lot of dancers perform and then they explain what the ceremony means and then they give the word to throw the chalk. It is a lot of fun once the dust settles and you can breathe again lol. Here are some pics of the event!

What makes a good road trip???

So we went to Idaho to visit a friend of ours (she's kind of a big deal). And I feel like there are many factors that make a road trip successful and entertaining!!! Take note that the following is what is needed for a fabulous road trip.....

The Vehicle... We borrowed Todd's moms van. It might have been one of the most amazing vans I have ever been in. It was one of those ghetto vans from like the 90's that have green carpet from top to bottom. One of the ones with drapes in the windows and lap belts that the elderly drive when they tour the country... it was pretty fabulous! Stepping into this van was like entering a different world... anything was possible in this van... you might even say it was a magical van!! LOL!

The People... The 5 of us that went of course added to the entertainment factor. There was my BFF's Jamie and Brooke and then there was Brooke's boyfriend Todd and her little brother Scotty. I feel like we all brought a little something to the trip! We pretty much jammed out in the van and sang our little hearts out while pigging out on junk food the whole way there (very necessary)!
The Company... When we got there we met up with Princess Michelle and her BFF's Mesho and Stevo and the 3 of them played with the 5 of us all weekend... it was magical!
The Activities... We pretty much rocked the socks off of Idaho!!! We played at the park. We went to Walmart (for a very long time) and while we were there we found books, so we took turns posing like the covers... very fun! We also all invested in a bandana which we proceeded to wear the rest of the day (we are cool like that!!) Then we grabbed some lunch, hit up the grocery store, then headed into Idaho Falls. There we went Go Cart Racing and played at the arcade. We went to another park and then ate dinner at our personal fave, Red Robin, before heading back into Rexburg. We got back and put in a movie and crashed. Sunday we went to church, came home, and made dinner then napped slashed watched a movie. Then the finale... we taught our friends the fabulous tradition of "Rock Star Shots"... which brings me to my next point....




The Drama... We all drank A LOT before we left and then we said good bye and hit the road! Well it wasn't too long into our drive when James and I decided that we needed to go potty and he made Todd pull over! Once we were back on the road and feeling good we were cruisin' and singing when all of a sudden we feel our fabulous van start to slow drastically and Todd announces "I think we are out of gas, I forgot to look down at the gage before we left" So we were able to roll off the side of the road just before the engine shut down and we died on the side of the road.... luckily, when I say I have people, I have people! I have family that lives about 40 minutes from where we were broke down and they were sweet enough to come save us and give us gas.... I freaking love them!!! But that is not even the drama of the night... while we waited for them we had about an hour... and in that hour my sad little blatter had time to fill back up, well if you know me, you know that I DO NOT PEE IN BUSHES! However, it got to the point where it was that, or die from exploding!! So I take my girls with me and we venture outside the van... we got about 5 feet into the desert land when Brooke says "You don't think there are rattle snakes do you?" Well "H" no I am NOT pee'ing out here now!!! So back by the van we stand (well they stand, I am doing the potty dance) and we thought of a plan B. Might I add that it is snowing and freezing! I decided to squat right there by the back tire while my valiant girls stand watch, blocking me.... well I INEVITABLY pee on myself and my pants cause I have never been good at this "squatting" thing! So here I am on the side of the highway, in the snow, covered in pee, laughing our butts off and I am changing my pants! It was very entertaining. Our rescuers showed up eventually and helped us out and we were once again back on the road... we made it home... late... but we made it and I had so much fun!!!!

And there you have it... the ingredients for a road trip worth remembering!!!

Van and Gas= $150

Food, Fun and Activities= $65

Standing on the side of the highway in the snow, half naked and covered in pee with your best friends= PRICELESS!!!!!

Russell and Marie's Wedding

My Brother got married last weekend. It was such a fun day. Here are some pics!

Red-Hot!

Haha I am sure that it doesn't need to be said that I am full of myself a little bit, but I had to share this freaking sweet picture that my friend took of me the other day! I loved it! LOL! She has this cool camera where she can pick up certain colors and put the rest in black and white. So she took this and I think it turned out way cool. Check it out......

Self Advertising...

If you have ever met me you would know that I like me! I am a pretty big fan of myself! LOL! Just kidding  but I did make some super cute scrapbook pages for work and I wanted to share them with  you. There is a freebie and then the rest of the kit are on a really good sale price til valentines day. The artwork was done by one of our amazing artists Celeste Rockwood-Jones and then I put together some quick pages that are great for Valentine's. So here they are and dont judge me for my shameless tie in! Happy Valentines day!

Here is the freebie you can get if you click here. To see the rest of the pages click here. To see what I did with the pages and what you can do click here!

Friends....

I love them! I have made such good friends and I seriously have to ask myself how it is I lived 23 years without them in my life. I heart them and appreciate them so stinking much. It is nice to have a few close people to laugh with and cry with and just be with any day, any time! It is interesting at this age of life the trials that we go through. Sometimes they are similar and sometimes they are completely different. I have recently watched some close friends go through some hard times. With school, work, family, boys, friends. There is so much going on in our lives these days and sometimes it gets overwhelming!!

One of the hardest things for me is to watch a close friend struggle, whatever the struggle may be, it is hard to watch them hurt! I just hope that even though I may or may not have experienced exactly how they feel that they know I am there for them. I recently have had some hard situations that I have been trying to deal with and I know that they are truly there for me and would be anytime I needed them. I heart them and thank my heavenly father so much for the friends that I have been blessed with!

In August 07 when my contract ended at the last place I was living, I was looking for a new place for me and my roommates to go, I had looked at like 20 different apartments and had called about 20 more than that and I was going to this place across the street from where I live now. I looked there and wasn't impressed. Then as I was leaving I saw my complex. It looked really nice and out of my price range and I thought to myself, even if I could afford it they probably don't have an empty apartment for all 4 of us to move into (that had been my main problem). I decided to stop but was already set up for disappointment. I walked in and talked to the lady and I had the STRONGEST feeling that I was supposed to live there. I got the pamphlets and contracts and went home to talk the roommates. I pretty much told them that even if they didn't move there I felt like I was supposed to and I was going to! We all ended up moving there and I have been there for a year and a half and will resign my contract when it is up. I feel like although I am not certain what the purpose of living there was that there indeed was a purpose! I think that I was supposed to move there to meet the friends that I have made. I don't think I could have made it through the last few months without their love and support! It is such a testimony of following promptings and being in tune with the spirit!

Super Hero!

Meriam came stayed with me for a week while her mom was out of town. We had so much fun. We played and went ice skating, ate treats, played rock band, and watched lots of chick flicks! I am the best "mom" ever! LOL! But one of my favorite times was Sunday afternoon we were bored and so we decided to dress up like Super Heros! You might be thinking we are too old for that and that we are slightly lame, but don't knock it til you try it! We dressed up and then we went out in the town. We went and saw my grandparents and they were quite entertained. It was a really fun night. We laughed really hard. I loved having her there and think Lori needs to go on more business trips so that we can play again!

I should strike out!!!!

The GAME.... It stinks! I swear that no matter how you play, you are never playing it "right". Maybe that is the point! Maybe, it is some cruel joke that I have not caught on too... Seriously though, if you don't play it, then you don't get dates. But even if you do play it, you get screwed over! Either you play "too" hard to get and ruin  your chances or you don't play hard enough and then you are pushy and they aren't attracted to you anymore! What the heck is a girl suppose to do??? I don't get it. Who made up the game anyways? Who decided what the "rules" are? Maybe, I should just make up a NEW game LOL! The whole dating thing makes me laugh. I don't know who actually enjoys it. Did you enjoy dating? I don't think I have ever met anyone who would give anything to be back in the dating world. Seriously, I know it is part of life and I will learn from it blah blah blah but it is hard!! It is NOT fun! I think I have this 'gift' of attracting or being attracted to guys that might as well be girls. For real... can you say drama KING?!? Most of the time girls get blamed for the drama and to be honest that is usually true and fair... but I swear some dudes are worse than girls. It is ridiculous!!! WOW! So tell me, what is a girl suppose to do when she can't seem to play the game right and she is liking a guy who might as well be a girl?!? LOL!!!

Finally some Fun!!

I have been working like crazy and I have been trying to get some sleep in when I was not working so I have not done too many fun things lately! But last night we went bowling then to AppleBees and it was so fun! It was great to get all of my friends together and go out and do something fun! We had a blast. We bowled guys against girls and it was 4 on 4. We made a bet that the loser bought chocolate cake and Applebees for the winners after. Well, not that I need to even say it, but the girls KICKED BUTT! We rocked their socks! First game was pretty even, second game was no contest. Jamie got a turkey (3 strikes in a row) and she ended with a 170 and Nicole got a hambone ( I think that is what the guy called it, but that is 4 strikes in a row) she ended with a 183! It was INSANE! They did awesome and when it comes to bowling, I have 2 new heros! LOL! We went to Applebees after and we went around with the waiters and sang Happy Birhtday to people, needless to say , it was a VERY entertaining night! I had so much fun and it was great to see friends I had not seen in a while!