Jana Says

Living life from cover to cover

It’s my birthday and other stuff

by Jana 16 Comments

Today is my birthday!!! It’s kind of crazy that I’m 37 because on a good day I feel 12, maybe 14. 


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And since it’s my birthday, I get to do whatever I want. Which will probably mean taking a nap and watching a movie all by myself. I might buy lunch for myself, too, since I never do that. Treat yo’self, amirite?


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I’m also linking up with Kristen which is something I’ve been meaning to do for months but keep forgetting. I blame the fact that I’m getting old. 

I belong to a Bichon Frise group on Facebook (because I have 2. Not because I’m crazy obsessed with the breed. Although that, too). Anyway, a lady in the group has been sharing photos of Josh, a Bichon mix who was brought to a kill shelter at 48 hours old because the breeder thought he wouldn’t get enough money for Josh. You see, Josh has a cleft palate and also, the breeder is an asshole. And some amazing lady rescued him, bottle fed him, and now Josh is in the running to be on the cover of Modern Dog magazine (totally sounds made up but it’s not). If you could vote for him, that’d be amazing. There’s no registering or anything. Just clicking a button.

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I have become completely obsessed with the show Longmire. It’s not really even that good. I mean, it doesn’t totally suck, but it’s kind of like Law and Order: Wyoming. So dead sheep and horses along with the dead bodies. But it has Lou Diamond Phillips and he was in La Bamba and that’s enough for me. It’s also on Netflix so binge watching is possible. Which is pretty much how I pick shows now.

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Speaking of TV, can I just express for a minute how upset I am that SouthLAnd was canceled and I can’t even watch reruns on Netflix or anywhere? Get your shit together, Netflix. This show needs to be on your service. Now.

I cleaned my desk and my office yesterday, except for my husband’s desk. Now I’m just sad that all my stuff is clean and organized but I still have to sit at his to use his laptop since mine has the blue screen of death and I’m too broke right now to buy a new one. 

I have the Oregon Trail app for my iPad and every time I try to play it, the damn thing crashes. I’m pretty sure I can fix the problem somehow but I’ve become too lazy to figure out how.

I mentioned Netflix twice in this post. Well, I guess technically 3 times. I need something else to talk about. Clearly.

I love that my computer’s Google doodle is a whole bunch of birthday stuff. I guess their complete invasion into my life and privacy has some benefit. Thanks, Google!

Have a great Thursday, y’all! You have my permission to do whatever you want today in the name of my birthday. 

 

Linking up with Kristin:

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Friday favorites, volume 5

by Jana 23 Comments

It’s Friday. You know the drill. Linking up with Amanda from Meet at the Barre for another round of Friday favorites.

Friday Favorites
Favorite song

This has been a pretty crappy week and when I’m in a shit mood, I use music to cheer me up. One of my default bands that I listen to for that is Weezer because their songs are fun and peppy and also sometimes not which is fine, too. They also make some of the most kick ass videos. Like, ever. My personal favorite is the one for Keep Fishin’. Because Muppets.

 

Favorite frugal find

A big part of this week has centered around getting ready for my parents’ 40th anniversary on Sunday. That has become decidedly not frugal. To compensate, I found a copycat recipe for Starbucks’ vanilla bean frappuccino. I don’t drink coffee so when I do go there, it’s either that or unsweetened green tea. But I can buy the tea at the grocery store, and that save beaucoup bucks, and now I can make the frappuccinos at home, too. And so can you:

Blend ice, 2 scoops vanilla bean ice cream, 8 oz. skim milk, and roughly 3 oz. vanilla flavored coffee creamer (I used Bailey’s because it was on sale). You can top with whipped cream if you want. I did not. Serves 2 (or 3. Or 1. Up to you).

Favorite picture

I take an obscene amount of pictures of my dogs. They’re pretty sick of it at this point and I’m pretty sure they would tell me to fuck off if they could. But they can’t so I win. And if you follow me on Instagram then you saw this already but those who didn’t get to see it for the first time and it’s just so cute. This is Barkley. He’s 10. He’s yappy and hates trucks and he’s super sweet and cuddly and does stuff like this.

 

 

Nothing like falling asleep with a good book.
Nothing like falling asleep with a good book.

 

Favorite book thing

Amy Poehler wrote a book. It comes out in October. This is the cover. I cannot wait.


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Favorite funnies 

 

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Have a great weekend! See you Monday when I’ll have some good pioneer stuff for you and make sure to stop back next week for some confessions, my May goals recap and June goals, my birthday (on Thursday!), and my first attempt at a tutorial! 

Friday Favorites, volume 4

by Jana 16 Comments

Yay for Friday! And the start to a long weekend! Which is made even longer with my daughter having today and Monday off from school. Nothing like a 4 day weekend 2 weeks before summer break starts. Because everyone needs a small break before an 11 week one, right?

 

And while that not be my favorite thing, there are plenty of other things that are. Like:

Favorite song

I had a hard time choosing one because too many good songs. But I have a major obsession with Halestorm, and Lzzy Hale is just plain badass, so I went with one of theirs, Freak Like Me. Have a listen while you read the rest of the post:

Favorite frugal choice

Someone I follow on Pinterest pinned a post “9 Frugal Things I Did Last Month” and I am not above stealing good ideas so I am using it for this, a new regular weekly favorite I’ll be adding. This week, my favorite frugal thing was taking advantage of my free 30 day trial for Amazon Fire TV. I can’t wait to figure that shit out. And, living near an Amazon shipping facility is awesome because things get here fast. Like one day fast. It’s pretty spectacular.

Favorite funny #1

Tiny Vulgar Unicorn wins the internet this week. Maybe even this month. I don’t even know how to describe this except to show you (warning: it might be offensive but it is freaking hilarious). And make sure to read the rest when you’re done.

 

Favorite funny #2

Because farts are always funny. ALWAYS. And it also just occurred to me that I inadvertently made a shit joke as a prelude to introducing farts. I’m almost proud of that.

 
Favorite thing that happened to someone else

 

Congrats to my girl Steph from Life According to Steph on her Huffington Post Live segment! I’ve known Steph a LONG time and she’s always been one of the most well spoken people I know. I’m glad she got a chance to share that with even more people.
 
Favorite new product

 

I am on a constant quest for a good body lotion. There are some Body Shop ones that are great and Bath and Body is hit or miss and some of the drugstore brands aren’t so great. Then I tried Johnson’s Baby Creamy Oil when we were visiting my in-laws a few weeks ago and I liked it and it’s totally for adults I think and bought some and now I probably won’t use anything else. Hands down, best lotion ever. And Johnson’s people, if you’re reading, I do accept free stuff. Just sayin’.
And that’s all she wrote this week, friends. Enjoy your long weekend!
 
Linking up with Amanda from Meet at the Barre

Friday Favorites
 

Humpday Confessions: Makes me smile

by Jana 30 Comments

It’s confessions time again!

Last time, I confessed some things that make me angry. I might have ranted a bit. Fine, I ranted a whole lot. Then I promised that I would talk about what made me happy because you know, balance and all that. So while I was sitting in line waiting to get my daughter from school (an activity that makes me decidedly unhappy), I wrote a list of things that turn my frown upside down.

They’re mostly small things because if I can find joy in the minutiae then I can find joy in the big stuff. Also, it’s easier to identify the big things that make me happy; the small stuff isn’t always so easy to find. But I managed,

Without further ado, I confess that all of these make me incredibly happier than maybe they should:

  • Finding money or gift card with money left on it. Because free shopping.
  • Hearing a song I love on the radio. Especially if it’s a song that I almost never hear. Like this one.

http://youtu.be/8O317T6Zlno

  • Meeting someone who loves (or hates) the same things as me. You hate coffee? I hate coffee. We’re BFFs now.
  • Getting something on sale unexpectedly. Now I can buy more things. Score!
  • Parking in a really good spot. It’s even better if the lot is crowded. I win. You lose. Good day.


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  • Sleeping through the night without having to get up to pee at all during the night. Bladder control FTW!
  • Frosting shots. Because cake is just something to hold up frosting.
  • Getting a text from someone you’d been thinking about and hadn’t talked to in awhile. It’s nice to be thought of.
  • Taking a BuzzFeed quiz and getting a response that makes sense. Or is the response I want. Like that I would belong to the Freaks and Geeks clique.
  • Reruns of my favorite shows when I am not expecting them to be on TV. Particularly if it’s Roseanne or Freaks and Geeks (two of my favorite shows of all time). Don’t expect me to move until they’re over.
  • Buying a nail polish color and it looks more amazing than anticipated. Like this one (Essie I’m Using My Maiden Name).

 

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  • Repins. I love having my good taste validated.
  • The fact that my most repinned pin is this picture of Wentworth Miller:

 

 
Blog comments also make me happy so go ahead a leave a comment with a few small things that make you happy.

 

Linking up with Kathy from Vodka and Soda for Humpday Confessions

 

Vodka and Soda

Friday favorites, volume 3

by Jana 21 Comments

It’s Friday! That means it’s time for another round of Friday Favorites with Amanda from Meet at the Barre (which has quickly become a must read around these parts)  

Friday Favorites
Favorite song

Of course, we’ll kick it off with my favorite song of the week. This week’s honoree is Theory of a Deadman’s The Truth Is…(I Lied About Everything). You know how people love to talk about Taylor Swift and her ability to shit on her exes in a song? Well, this song bitch slaps Taylor Swift’s attempts because this? THIS is how you do a breakup song. Warning: it uses some expletives and graphic language so if you’re at work, turn the sound down. Unless you work somewhere really awesome and they don’t care about that kind of stuff.

The Truth Is… (I Lied About Everything) by Theory of a Deadman on Grooveshark          

 

Favorite blogs

I wrote about a few of my favorites once before and now it’s time for the second installment. As a relatively new lifestyle blogger, many blogs that have been around awhile are brand new to me, and it makes me sad that it took so long to discover them although better late than never, right? Here’s this month’s list:

  • Another Housewife–written by my dear friend Jenniemarie whose ass I will kick if she doesn’t start working on her memoir soon, it’s a blog about her faith, her family, her struggles with depression (which I completely understand on a level I wish I didn’t), and her life in general. 
  • Voyage of the Mee Mee–I adore Amanda’s blog. She makes me laugh a lot and most of her posts have me blurting out “I wish I had thought of that” because she’s just so damn entertaining. Also, her use of GIFs is spectacular and I want to know where she finds them.
  • Vodka and Soda–another one who makes me laugh out loud and often. Plus she’s from Toronto so we can just add her to the long list of awesome things to come out of that place. Like Rush. I’m thinking there’s something in the water or some shot they give them at birth that just generates awesomeness. (Incidentally, the band featured in this week’s favorite song is also from Canada. The other side of the country, but still. What the hell, Canada?)
  • Eternally Wanderlyn–Lynsey’s series on Love Every Body is worth checking out her blog, and the rest is worth sticking around for. She’s another work from home/I hate pants/wannabe hermit so I feel that she and I are kindred spirits.
  • Life by Nadine Lynn–If I lived closer to Nadine, I feel that we’d hang out on a regular basis. We both love beer, have similar taste in music, and I think maybe her little dog Mac is a breed cousin to my crazy dogs. Plus, she has a 40 X 40 list and I’m totally going to steal the idea even though I have way less time to 40 than she does.

 

Favorite TV Show

We just got HBO back ($10 a month for a year? Yes, please) so we’re finally getting around to watching True Detective. Holy shit, y’all. That show lives up to ALL the hype it got and then some. I’m sad there’s only 8 episodes and we’ll be done by the weekend but O.M.G. What a well spent 8 hours. 

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Favorite shoes I would wear if I could

As a short person, I enjoy a nice pair of heels. You know, so I’m basically the same height as everyone else. But once the heel gets higher than, say, 2 inches, I can’t walk. You might as well throw me onto a pair of stilts. Which eliminates a whole lot of shoes. Sadly. However, I’m seriously contemplating not caring because these are amazing.I mean, just look at them:

 

 

Found these on Rebel Circus. A site I like to visit often and one day hope to buy shit from.
Found these on Rebel Circus. A site I like to visit often and one day hope to buy shit from.

 

However, there is no way I’m paying $93 for shoes that will kill my feet. You can’t tell from the picture, but that’s a 4 1/2″ heel. No, thank you. I’ll stick with being short in flip flops and flats.

 

Favorite quote

I happened upon this as a temporary tattoo (I don’t know how. Pinterest is a weird little animal) but it’s a great quote anyway.

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Have a great weekend, everyone! What were some of your favorite things of the week?

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