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Love, Hate, Tag

June 15, 2015 by Jana 38 Comments

The lovely Nadine has tagged me for Love, Hate, Tag, which is a game that’s pretty self-explanatory. List 10 things I love, 10 thing I hate, and then tag 10 others to do it. I’m doing the post in reverse and tagging anyone who wants to do it (or needs a post idea) because I hate picking people for stuff. Perhaps this is why I was never a successful team captain in elementary school.

In any event, let’s check out some of what I love and hate. If you’ve been around awhile, some of these should not surprise you at all.

love hate tag

Love

  1. Books–I had to put this first. Books are my favorite. Everything is possible inside a book. And if you read books, you’re never at a loss for something to do or something to talk about. I could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs about how much I love books. But I’ll spare you. FOR NOW.books quote
  2. Music–one of my favorite quotes is “music is what feelings sound like”. It’s true. I feel about music the way some people feel about paintings or photography. Music, like books, is there for me when I need it and I can always, always match music to my moods.
  3. Dogs–most dogs, anyway. Some dogs are assholes. But the fluffy, unconditional love, not to mention hours of free entertainment, from dogs is incomparable. Plus, they make great nap buddies.
  4. The beach–the smells, the sounds, the sand, the relaxation…everything about the beach improves my mood (except at peak time in the summer when it’s filled with tourists) and my ideal day is a day at the beach with a good book and a great playlist.turtle
  5. Gritty and dark TV shows–I don’t know why. I’m drawn to them. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good comedy but given the choice, I’m picking one with blood and violence and dark humor and suspense and a bounty of the word “fuck”.
  6. Nail polish–the colors, the variety, the way it makes me feel better about my appearance even on a day I feel or look like crap.
  7. To-do lists–I have a messy mind and the messier it gets, the more my depression and anxiety kick in which makes my mind messier and the depression worse and it’s a vicious cycle. To-do lists help calm me down, help me focus, and keep my life in order. They’re my favorite tool next to my planner.
  8. Iced tea–it’s my favorite drink of all time. Unsweetened, please.
  9. Naps–I don’t understand people who don’t take naps. How can you not enjoy sleeping in the middle of the day with a comfy blanket wrapped around you? A midday nap is perfect for a rainy Sunday, a too-hot Saturday or a random Wednesday. As a perk, it’s free. I like free.naps
  10. Travelling–experiencing new places and food and sight seeing and relaxing are all some of my favorite ways to use my time and money, and if I had more money, I’d spend it on travel.

Honorable mention–my crockpot, pickles, polka dots, and baseball

Hate

  1. Mistreatment of animals–no reason to explain why. It’s essentially the most despicable behavior possible.
  2. The Westboro Baptist Church–fuck them. Seriously. Fuck. Them.
  3. Bad drivers–I have zero patience for inconsiderate drivers, road bullies, people who don’t understand traffic rules and signs, and exercise zero consideration for other drivers. funny-traffic-signs-left-lane-ends
  4. Toasted marshmallow jelly beans–Disgusting. An abomination to the jelly bean world. See also: buttered popcorn jelly beans.
  5. Anything orange flavored–I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say that a childhood incident means I am forever scarred from being able to consume anything orange flavored. No juice, candy, the fruit and its cousins…all of it.
  6. Humblebragging–please, just brag. I’d rather deal with your conceit than deal with you pretending you’re not full of yourself. Or you fishing for compliments. humblebrag
  7. Bugs–they bite, they crawl, they fly at you, and they’re just awful. I’m sure somewhere, they serve a purpose but really, they’re awful and can go away.
  8. The people who play their car music so loud it shakes your car and deafens your ears–there’s a special place in hell for them. Probably next to the Westboro Baptist Church.
  9. Ignorance–specifically, using that ignorance and then spouting off opinions and misinformation as if they’re actually grounded in fact and using them to further a hateful agenda. With the vast amount of information available, there’s no excuse for ignorance and not taking the time to learn or gather information is inexcusable. See also: hypocrisy ignorance
  10. When people say my name wrong, I correct them, and then they keep saying it wrong–thanks for listening, jackass. Much appreciated. Also, it’s not a hard name. And it’s spelled J-A-N-A. It’s pronounced with a short “a”. Does not rhyme with Dana. So why would you call me Jenna? Is there an “e” in there? No? Maybe you need to relearn your phonetics. A revisiting of the alphabet would help, too.

Honorable mention: rap music, hangers facing different directions, finding that one spot on your leg you thought you shaved but didn’t

 

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: favorites, lists, random

This week in…: Volume 20

June 12, 2015 by Jana 22 Comments

this week

This week in reading…Finished Dept. of Speculation, started Forever, Interrupted, and still trying to work through Alex Woods. I want to like it but I think it might wind up as a DNF for me. And thank you to the 30+ bloggers who participated in this month’s Show Us Your Books linkup and the next one is July 14. Mark your calendars now!

This week in TV…Orange is the New Black season 3!!! That is all.

This week in confessions…Last Friday was my birthday and, as you know, people come out of the Facebook woodwork to say happy birthday. That is, of course, you’re related to me, in which case you completely ignore the fact that I’m celebrating my birthday. I might not know which of my friends said it but family? I totally keep track.

This week in things that I did…A few months ago, I was interviewed for Media Shower’s blog about all kinds of things like blogging and saving money. You can check out the interview here. I also finally got myself a bit organized with my library book due dates (no more fines for me) and the Interview with a Bookworm series? I have plans for a spin-off. Details coming soon.

This week in cooking…I made easy homemade macaroni and cheese. No one in my family likes it so that means it’s all for me. Fat girl win!tumblr_mt804y2frY1rqfhi2o1_250

This week in things that are awesome…and also why animals are better than people. Did you read the story about the service dog who JUMPED IN FRONT OF A BUS to protect his blind owner? I can think of  one person I’d do that for and she came out of my body.

This week in internet reads…Scary Mommy was on point with the posts about the struggle of the introverted mother and why I use the f word. Then I read this post on Thought Catalog about 17 things that happen when you’re extremely motivated but also extremely lazy. And there was this post about the effects of fiction on the brain which cited all kinds of studies but really left me wondering how I get a job as a test subject for a study of people reading. And because dogs, especially Bichons because, you know, I have two, I loved this senior dog’s advice to younger dogs.

This week in funnies…FullSizeRender (5) FullSizeRender (6) FullSizeRender (4) FullSizeRender (3)

 

Have a great and wonderful and fun weekend! If you’re watching OITNB, let me know so we can discuss! If you actually have a life and don’t care about OITNB or don’t feel the need to watch every single episode in 2 days then I’m a little jealous of you. See you on Monday!

 

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: confessions, Entertainment, weekly wrap-up

Lies I tell myself

June 10, 2015 by Jana 39 Comments

My husband has been away for work for the better part of the past week and since my child keeps inviting friends over, I’ve been housebound which leaves me lots of time to binge watch The Fall (creepy as fuck. Watch it if that’s what you’re into) and have conversations with myself. I’ve written before about all the things I think when I’m alone but let’s revisit that topic, specifically lies I tell myself when my husband is away:

What I say: I’m going to get so much done! I’m going to be so productive! I’ll catch up and even get ahead!

What actually happens: Oh, hello, Netflix.

What I say: I will not freak out over every small noise, creek or thump. My unrealistic paranoia will stay in check!

What actually happens: anxiety cat

What I say: I will not eat my body weight in cheese sandwiches and pickles.

What actually happens: I eat my body weight in cheese sandwiches and pickles.

What I say: I will go to bed early and sleep restfully, comfortably and without interruption!

What actually happens: The child and the dogs steal my bed and I’m left seriously debating if I should move them or just sleep on the couch.IMG_0908

What I say: The child and I will spend quality time together doing projects and talking and playing games.

What actually happens: She hangs out with her friends. I spend time with books and Netflix.

What I say: I will clean the house and do all the laundry and run all the errands so when he comes home, we can just hang out and have fun over the weekend instead of doing all that adulting crap.

What actually happens: I spend a substantial amount of hours on Goodreads, internet shop and pretend like we’re rich and I can buy all the things.

What I say: Everyone will be so calm and peaceful and it’ll be so relaxing to not have to monitor the husband’s ridiculous work schedule for an entire week.

What actually happens: I live in a fucking circus.

 

 

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: family, random, relationships

This week in…Birthday edition!

June 5, 2015 by Jana 36 Comments

minion birthday

It’s my birthday, bitches!!! Today I turn 38 which is all kinds of crazy because on a good day I feel 12, maybe 13 except I have a child and a mortgage and spend a ridiculous amount of time feeding other people/animals or worrying about what to feed them so I guess that actually makes me a grown up. I’m excited for today and all the freebies I will be accumulating and the fact that we’re going to The Everett Theater (featured prominently in Dead Poets Society, specifically the theater where Neil performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) to see The Goonies! Birthday win!

And now let’s do a quick recap of the rest of birthday week:

This week in reading…Finished Wonder, working through Alex Woods, finished a book written by my friend Nick (I’ll be sharing more about this in a few weeks), and started Big Little Lies. Picked up Jon Krakauer’s Missoula: Rape and Justice in a College Town. Show Us Your Books is this Tuesday, June 9 and Alyssa and I will be announcing a yearlong reading challenge this summer so brace yourselves for that. I love how much of my week is devoted to books or thinking about books.

This week in TV…Maybe you know this, maybe you don’t, but I believe that Wentworth Miller is one of the best looking men on the planet. He’s been on TV recently in The Flash and there’s some other superhero show starting next year that he’ll be on, too but the big news is that FOX IS CONSIDERING BRINGING BACK PRISON BREAK!!! #sorrynotsorry for the shouting but I just about lost my shit when I read that. It’ll be an “event series” like they did with 24 but I don’t care. Give me all the Prison Break and give me all the Wentworth Miller. Thank you, Fox, for this gift.wentworth miller

This week in cooking…My husband’s favorite meal that I make is stuffed shells. I don’t make them often because they are a huge pain in the ass. But this time I got smart. This time I made 2 pans of them, one to eat this week for dinner and lunches and one to freeze for the next time he wants them. I wish I had a recipe to share but I don’t because I make them differently every single time. I also used homemade marinara sauce for this batch and holy shit, did it taste even better.

This week in things that are awesome…I know people are split on their opinions of The Big Bang Theory as a show but if you don’t think the fact that the show’s creator established a scholarship fund at UCLA for low income science students with the stars of the show contributing money towards the initial $4M endowment is awesome, you need to rethink your definition of awesome.

This week in internet interestings…My husband, in addition to his full-time job, is a part-time adjunct instructor at a university so this article in The Atlantic (shared on FB by a friend who is a full-time professor) about how poorly adjuncts are paid and the effect on their performance and ability to serve students hit home. Jennifer Weiner knocked it out of the park again with her post for The New York Times on the pressure to look good. Then there was this post from Buzzfeed about how someone impersonated the reporter to trick a sexual assault victim into giving up her real name but the most interesting takeaway for me was learning about some guy named Chuck Johnson. I was blissfully unaware of him until that post, and he is the reason the internet can be a dangerous place (confession: I fell into the “I must learn all about him” rabbit hole at one point). The contempt I have for him is on par with the contempt I feel towards the Duggar parents after watching their “interview” on Wednesday night.

This week in birthday funnies…birthday cake

 

my birthday

birthday facebook birthday getting older

Have a great weekend, y’all! See you back on Monday with a post topic TBD.

 

 

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Entertainment, favorites, weekly wrap-up

#allaboutme

June 3, 2015 by Jana 34 Comments

Birthday week continues so we’re going to talk all about me because that’s what you do during birthday week. Today, I’m going to share random facts you might or might not already know but I figured I’d hashtag the shit out of them for extra fun.

My parents’ 41st wedding anniversary was on Monday and, because my birthday is so close to their anniversary, I tell them that I’m the best anniversary present ever (I also use this as justification for not getting them presents on a regular basis because really, how do you top your own birth? That’s right. You can’t. So I don’t). #ididitonpurpose

I was in a sorority in college. Delta Gamma, for those who are curious. #notallsororitygirlsarevapid

I have a dual undergraduate degree in criminal justice and sociology. I have a master’s in public policy. While I don’t work in those fields anymore, this explains nonfiction books I read and discuss. #iusedtobesmart #ipickedthewrongmajor

I don’t chew gum. #hurtsthejaw

I also do not eat anything orange flavored, including oranges and all of its cousins like clementines and tangerines. I don’t even like the way they smell and, confession time, when my daughter asks me to peel one for her, I tell her no. #worstflavorever #exceptforcoconut

When I was a kid, my best friend was named Rachael. Her mom is the one who taught me how to tie my shoes and she taught me to use bunny ears. I still tie my shoes that way. #bunnyearsarebetterthanloopswoopandpull

I have broken bones, gotten stitches, and once, I got hit in the face with a line drive that earned me two black eyes and 3 days home from school. #battlescarsmakegoodstories

I failed my road test 4 times. Passed on the fifth. #parallelparkingishard

Two of my favorite teachers in high school were science teachers. #butistillhatescience

The first concert I went to was New Kids on the Block and Tiffany. The first concert I went to by myself (with friends, no parents) was Warrant and Poison. The last concert I went to was Rush. #evolutionoftaste #istilllistentoallofthem

The only one of the main 4 professional sports I have not seen live is basketball. I have no plans for that either. #squeakingsneakersdrivemecrazy

Now that you know more than you ever cared to about me, share a random fact of two about you!

 

 

Hashtaghumpdaysm_zpsc121607a

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: linkups, lists, random

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Jana

I'm Jana ...

A book reading, nail polish wearing, binge watching, music loving, dog owning, reluctant cheer mom.
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