monday night TV

I've never been shy about or ashamed of my addiction to reality television. And now that I work in the television industry, I feel all the more justified. Since my early pre-teen days, my mom and I have been impossibly obsessed with the Bachelor and Bachelorette. Unlike a lot of the reality TV shows I watched in my teen years, I am not "out growing" this one, in fact, I like each season more than the one before. Maybe it's because I'm finally reaching the same age as some of the contestants, so the men seem to get more handsome very season.

I know that when a new year starts each January, a new batch of crazy women will take over my Monday night television as they compete to find love on the Bachelor. And in March, one of the Bachelor's heartbroken and rejected females will take over as the Bachelorette for the summer.

It's a beautiful cycle of television joy. 

This season is all about Emily Maynard. The too-beautiful-for-words single momma who is looking for a step-daddy for her daughter after her finance 

(and daughter's father) was killed in a racecar accident. 

Yes, yes, I know it's horribly contrived. 

Hold your judgements because it's amazing and I vow to never stop watching.

Love me some Monday nights

One part ABC + 

handsome men + 

single mom looking for love

One part wine +

pajamas +

chocolate chips

=

a very happy post grad.

Easter Flowers.

It's early in the morning, well 8:30 -- early for this college senior, and all I want to do is crawl into a ball and go back to bed. That isn't on the agenda today, I have an exam in the afternoon so I have my pandora on a dreamy station, a steamy cup of coffee by my side and my window open so I can hear the birds and feel the breeze. I want to go back to bed, but this way of studying is an equally good alternative.

I'm studying for my final final. You read it right, the last exam I will ever take as a student at Penn State. I'll fill my brain with knowledge of mass media history for the next few hours, only to take the exam and lose half of the names and dates I had known so well an hour before. I wish I could revel in this a little more, but I still have several assignments and projects to keep me busy for the next few days.

I want to try to process the last four years, but summarizing what has happened, who I've become, who I've met, triumphs and shortcomings along the way .. it seems way too daunting of a task to even think of, let alone squeeze into a short little blog post.

I can't really summarize 4 years. Which is good, because nobody is asking me to. But I can say a few things about my current state of mind: Easter Flowers.

Since getting my driver's license, it's always been my task to go out with my sisters the night before Easter and buy my mom and grandmom Easter flowers. It's simple, sweet and is always a guarantee to make them happy. Never, in a million years, can I imagine giving my mom Easter flowers and having her be disappointed or dissatisfied. That constancy is a good thing.

I fear leaving my carefree and happy days of college and being jaded by the world; working a job that's miserable for a bit to get my foot in the door (likely) or working an 8-5 job that leaves me unfulfilled and totally drained (more likely). My fear in this isn't those jobs or those feelings, it's in not finding joy in my "Easter flowers."

My Easter flowers are what I'm doing right now. Listening to good music, drinking coffee, writing and admiring the still clam streets of my home through my window. Whether I'm studying for a test, having a qt, applying for jobs or just taking a few moments to relax, I hope the things that make me happy now will always make me happy. I hope that I am never dissatisfied with a clam, cool morning, my caffeine and Pandora streaming.I don't think I ever will. I don't think I ever could.

Here are some of our Easter flowers from this weekend:

 

Okay. Tucker isn't a flower, but how look stinkin' cute he is

a thankful tuesday

I am very blessed girl, and I never want to take that for granted. Today I was thinking about all the amazing things I am thankful for and was overwhelmed with not just the big obvious things [my amazing, wonderful, healthy and loving friends and family, my education, food, shelter, etc.] but all the little things, that I'm more likely to not see as daily blessings.

1. Music

I know that you all know how much I love music. And it's true, music is one of my most, if not the most, special material things in my life. When I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm doing homework, driving, cooking, reading, writing, blogging, falling asleep, walking to class, having a quiet time + so much more. I love music, and I am so lucky to know what kind of music I like for what occasions and moods and to have access to so much good music. What an unnecessary blessing in my life that I get to enjoy the gift of music every single day!

2. My roommate, Kendall

they don't make them this cute these days

Let me tell you, this girl is special. Not only is she my best friend, but she's more of a soul mate. She understands me [and most importantly -- puts up with me] during many not-so-pretty moments. For example, on the last night of spring break, I got a nasty stomach virus. I woke up, got sick, ran to where she was sleeping, told her I needed paper towels, and ran back to the bathroom. Without any questions she woke up, got me what I needed and took care of me. This morning, only a few days later, I woke up at 9:05 with a midterm at 9:05 [I blame my soothing Ingrid Michaelson alarm song], I wake her up in a panic and ask her to drive me to class, without questions or complaining, she did - and talked to me about how it could be worse the entire way there. We'll be far away from each other next year, and I honestly don't know what I'm going to do without her. She's probably the greatest person I have ever known, and I'm so thankful and blessed that I know her. 

3. Coffee Mugs

I have this in white with red lettering and it's my favorite of the bunch!

Okay, I'm not even going to go there with being thankful for coffee, if you read this blog, then you know that coffee ranks up there with family and friends. But, a small little blessing is cute mugs! I consider myself a sort of 'collector' in this. If starbucks sells a cute mug, there is a 99% chance I'll buy it. I have more than I would like to admit, and I love them! I even have some mugs that fit certain moods I'm in. Even though I've turned into a mug snob and really hate to drink out of 'ugly mugs' I realize what small blessings beautiful coffee mugs are. 

4. Nail polish

I love painting my nails! Who knew that putting on nail polish could make you feel so good? Well, besides the person who did, in fact, invent it. I can't wear nail polish to work, and I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So every Thursday afternoon I come home from work and pick out a shade to sport until the following Tuesday. Nail polish is a little life joy. And isn't that what life is about? Taking part of things that give you joy? I'm so very thankful for nail polish 

5. Napping blankets

don't you want to just curl up under this?

Okay, it would be weird for me to go deep about this one, but I have lots of comfy, soft, fleecy blankets that I love curing under to listen to music, watch TV, drink coffee, talk with friends, and nap. In fact my legs are wrapped up in my favorite brown one as I write this. Mmm, I love soft blankets.  

It's actually now 12:30 am on Wednesday, but I started writing this on Tuesday, so that's what I'm still going to consider the time to be. I am so thankful for so many things in my life, stretching far beyond material items. Looking at things we're thankful for forces us to look at why life is good. If we weren't thankful for anything, we wouldn't appreciate anything -- and if we didn't appreciate anything we'd miss out on a lifetime of happiness. 

What are the little things in life that you love and are thankful for?

and i'm back

Spring break was wonderful! I'll write in detail and post photos tomorrow [well, later today considering that it's 12:30 am].

I got back pretty late and completely pooped last night, so today was the perfect relaxing Sunday. Waking from a 12 hour slumber, coffee made my way, a long hot shower, my itunes playing and grocery shopping and cupcake making with roommates. life is just so good.

The weather is a little dreary here, but I've been spoiled with a week of sunny warmth, so it feels natural for a chilly overcast day -- the State College way.

I can't believe my senior year spring break is over! The final stretch of my academic life has officially begun! ah!

rainy day

rose cupcake baking

(for our Bachelor finale party, of course!)

my wonderful roommates

(minus the wonderful Natalie)

a little Norah

=
a perfect lazy Sunday and a very happy jules

see ya in a week!

I won't be posting for 8 or so days, because it is [un]officially my spring break! I'm headed to:

sunny, sweet & warm Jacksonville Flordia! 

I'm not going for a typical college spring break drink fest, but I'm going with the Navigators to work with the kind people of Jacksonville doing service projects to improve improve city life. We're working with an organization called 2nd Mile Ministries, check out all the great stuff they do for the children of Jacksonville here!

It's starting off with an epic roadtrip with a handful of wonderful people (including fellow blogger Paige Moyer -- check her out :) ) at 6 am tomorrow, with a one-day stay and visit with friends in Athens, GA.. then to Florida we go!

Prayer Requests: that I don't return looking like a lobster no matter how likely it is

Enjoy your spring breaks, and if you don't have one then sit outside on a nice day, make yourself a girly cocktail and soak up the first glimpses of beautiful weather. 

see you in a week! 

friday favorites

It's Friday, and a new weekend is upon us. 

with my senioritis hitting me harder each day, weekends seem sweeter than ever

besides the upcoming weekend being my favorite thing about Fridays, 

here's some more of my favorite things in honor of my favorite day of the week. 

Vanilla candles, can't live in a house without them

watching [personal] classic movies all weekend

 Coffee, cute mug and my initial rolled into one -- nothing better

($6 at anthropologie, hello, what could be better?)

Spoil yourself and think about the little things in your day that make you happy and feel good. When we are able to identify the good things, instead of focusing on the bad, being thankful and living in a happy state of mind becomes much easier. I might have a 'packed-tight with obligations weekend' ahead of me and a huge exam on Monday, but I'm drinking out of my J mug with my vanilla candles burning, and I know I'm living la dolce vita

why did I go through 22 years not knowing about this?

Well, probably because I didn't like vegetables for the first 20 of them.

My new favorite thing on an english muffin

happiness is the little things in life, like really delicious cream cheese

moments

One of my best friends and I take a class together,
this video was shown and we were both left speechless.
Speechless at how beautiful the simple moments are that make up our life. 

Enjoy not only this video, but every moment - memorable or insignificant -
that is your life. 

Also, check out my friend's blog here. :)

yes for a best friend in photo class

random acts of kindness

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.”

It's no hidden secret to my dearest friends that I'll find any reason to quote my favorite movie, Love Actually, like I did above. However I found that quote running through my head yesterday over and over when my sisters and I were stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire on our way to a family Christmas party.

My two sisters, Hannah and Meredith, 18 and 16, and I were a few hours behind my parents on our way to our Aunt and Uncle's house to celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family. It's a pretty short drive, only about 2 hours. Twenty minutes into the trip, as soon as we crossed the Delaware state line, we heard a small pop. We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders, it didn't seem like anything was wrong. 

About an hour later, when we were deep into "slower lower" my sisters and I were cruising a cool 75 mph and singing along to Taylor Swift oblivious to any problems whatsoever. I could see a car driving parallel with us in the left hand lane yelling at Hannah, who was driving. The woman was screaming "flat flat flat."

Great, we thought, flat tire. 

We pulled over and examined that my sister's car did, in fact, have a flat tire on the back wheel of the drivers side. I've had flats before, I wasn't concerned, it wasn't a big deal. I called my dad to get his advice and he said that if we drove a few more miles there would be a wawa. We could fill up our tire with air and pop back onto the highway and get to my uncles. 

Perfect plan. 

We went to the wawa, and hooked up the air into the tire. Now, this next statement may bring about judgmental laughs, as it did with my father, uncles and cousins when we recounted the story, but understand that neither of us three girls have ever put air into tires before -- therefore, we didn't know what an air pump was suppose to look like. After 15 minutes of trying to put air into the tire and not understanding why it wouldn't fill up, an older man, around 65 years old pulled up and told us that the pump we were using didn't work -- half of the parts were missing. Great. He tried to think of places that had air pumps, but couldn't. But, he had a solution. 

He said that he was a fireman, and if we followed him off the highway and into town, he could use the firehouse's air and send us on our way. Perfect! 

So, we followed him. We pulled into the Symrna Delaware firehouse and parked the car, the man pulled out the air and started to fill our tire.

"You have a nail in it," he told us. Oh boy. "How far do you think you traveled with the nail in this tire.... an hour? You girls are very very lucky." 

He told us that he would plug it for us, but the fire house had no tire plugs. By this point, all the firemen who were at the firehouse, about 5 of them, were out looking at our tire. One guy said that he had a plug at his house and he would go back and get it. 

So he left, as he was gone, my sisters and I got a private tour of the Symrna firehouse and got all of their awards and trophies explained to us in detail. 

The man with the plug came back, they got on their backs, plugged the tire, filled all four tires up with air and told us we were good to go. 

I went to go give the man -- who had originally found us trying to use a broken air pump to put air into a tire with a nail at wawa -- a deep and sincere thank you, shake his hand and and get his name. As I put my hand out, the man bypassed my extended hand and gave me a hug.

So we were back on the road after spending 45 minutes with the firemen who had helped us with more than we had ever asked from them. And the man who found us and made sure we were safely back on the road, never even told us his name. 

Moments and stories, like the one my sisters and I experienced yesterday, remind me of how special random acts of kindness can be. These moments give me hope in the human population, that somewhere, deep in our core -- people care about people. 

We're called to love one another, yes, but love doesn't always come in the form of giving gifts to your family, or bringing canned items to a soup drive, sometimes it can be selflessly helping out three girls with a flat tire. 

Maybe it was because it's Christmas, or maybe it was because the man has three daughters himself, no matter what his reasoning was - he helped us, and asked nothing in return. 

So, whenever I am feeling particularly gloomy with the stand of the world, I may not think of the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport (sorry, Hugh Grant) but I'll think of the five men who fixed our tire. They way they helped us wasn't newsworthy -- but it was love. 

And I too have a feeling that if we look for it, love actually is all around. 

today is thanksgiving

and I have a lot to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for my family, my friends and their health. 

I'm thankful for music, coffee & faith. 

I'm thankful that I get to come home to a warm house and carefully prepared meal each and every year, 

and I'm thankful that I don't know what it's like not to have that. 

I'm thankful for good books, changing seasons & chai tea. 

I'm thankful for every person in my life. I'm thankful that they are never more than a plane ride away.  

I have millions of reasons to be thankful, not just today, but all year long. 

I hope you have a lot to be thankful for too. Happy Thanksgiving.

see you next year

My favorite season is fall. I love the leaves, the weather, the colors as you drive, new school supplies, farmer's markets and football games.

To me, once Thanksgiving is over, fall is also over. This may not be technically true, but that's how I mark it. After Thanksgiving I'll transition into a heavier coat accompanied with a hat and gloves. I'll plan out everything I need to buy for Christmas. I'll get end of the semester drinks with those who are are graduating and listen to hours upon hours of Christmas music and "winter song" by Ingrid and Sara. And when I sit in Starbucks, and look out the windows, my view will be obstructed by big snowflake stickers pressed onto the glass.

It's a great time of year, but as it gets colder, I'll grow nostalgic for fall. This year's fall season was amazing, it was also my last one living in State College, a town with quite possibly the most beautiful fall season in PA.

Even though the holidays are just around the corner, for these next few days, I'm going to hold onto fall for as long as I can. I'm going to wear just a fleece and marvel at every yellow, orange and red leaved tree I pass. I'm going to keep listening to my Fall2010 playlist on iTunes and burn my pumpkin spice candle until it's all gone.

So, my dear fall, you are leaving as quickly as you came. But I'll look forward to seeing you next year in a new town. Please come early and stay late. It's been, as always, another fantastic season. 

Love, Jules 

I love typography and on any given lazy Sunday, 

I could browse font types for hours.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

                                                                                                   -Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse

gives me hope

A recent trend in the website/blogging world over the past few years is one that you are no doubt familiar with if you spend any kind of time on the internet. It is websites with user submitted content, anonymously sharing little blurbs about their lives with the rest of the world. However, it isn't just random life stories and happenings, they are all "themed" according to the respective site.

The first website, the grandfather of all it's website branch-offs, is FML or fmylife.com. I'm sure you can figure out what it means. On this site, users submit small stories and life events that they thought, well, sucked. Everything posted on the site is something that has had a negative affect in the user's life. An example of something you may find on the site would be: Today I woke up, got dressed, commuted an hour to my job, and realized it was Saturday. FML. Or, sometimes, they are much more serious: I Just found out my finacee cheated on me with my maid-of-honor, it's the night before our wedding. FML.

So, as you can see, these life happenings that people are sharing with the world are only things that have made negative, and potentially catastrophic impacts on people. At first glace, the website can seem funny. People sharing with the world all the little mistakes we make day-in and day-out that really piss us off. But looking closer, this website is sad. People hating their lives or their circumstances so much that they need to put it on a website just so they can find humor in their pain. Now, the commuting to work one -- not so serious. But there are many that are similar to the wedding one, posts where people are traumatized.

I started out being a huge fan of this website, visiting it almost daily for laughs for over a year, however in the past few years, I've become a little bit disturbed by its concept. Since when is dwelling on the negative ever a useful thing? When has that ever improved any circumstance?

Since I love cliches, I'm going to quote the Dave Matthews Band, "celebrate we will, because life is short, but sweet for certain." We should be trying to love and absorb every second of our ever-so-temporary lives. Yes, bad things happen, but it's celebrating the good things that matter. So these trendy websites, that are essentially haters on life, get me upset.

Like I said FML is the grandfather, the site that started the internet craze, but it is not to be out-done by it's offspring, textsfromlastnight.com, a horrible excuse for entertainment where people submit raunchy and disgusting text messages they have received/sent out. Then there is mylifeisaverage.com, think fml with less drama. For example: today I watched 5 hours of TV with my cat. my life is average. 

However, there has been a small shift in these popular sites, with the creation and rising popularity of a different kind of website; This website was born as a direct result of the popularity of the aforementioned sites. It's called givesmehope.com, its tagline is "FML for the optimist." And that is exactly what it is. The idea is the same, users submit anonyomous life happening, but ones that give them hope for the future, that remind them that the world is not always such a bad place.

The results of this site are pretty remarkable, and I feel so challenged to look at all the good things in my life that give me hope. Like the unconditional love of my parents and sisters give me hope, the power of life-long friendships give me hope, and people who always say hold open the door for someone behind them give me hope.

We all struggle, and we are all dealt those times where things really feel like they suck -- be it commuting an hour to work on a Saturday or a heart-shattering revelation the night before your wedding -- regardless, we all have more than enough to be thankful and it is possible to see good in our lives even in the midst of a less-than-ideal situation. It's my hope that we can always be able to find the things in our lives that give us hope.

Here are a few examples from the website,  please let them warm your heart as they did mine.

I am a third grade teacher. Most kids come in with notes or messages written by their mothers in their lunch sacks. One little girl's dad left, and her mother abuses drugs. But her 12 year old brother never fails to write "I love you" on her brown paper bag. He GMH.

I was at the mall the other day when I saw an old couple sitting together. The man looked over at the woman and said, "Jane, we did it. We grew old together." The look in her eyes GMH. 

Today my 7 year old daughter gave my 5 year old son a kiss on the cheek. After she walked away, I saw him rubbing the spot where she had kissed him. I asked if he was wiping the kiss off. He said "no, I'm rubbing it in so it gets to my heart faster." Siblings that truly love each other GMH!

A guy I knew in high school would bring two dozen roses to school every Valentines Day. He would give one rose to each girl he knew that didn't have a valentine. He felt that every girl deserved to feel special. I was one of those girls. We've been married 3 years. Stand up guys in a world of flakes GMH.

I have suffered from an eating disorder for quite a long time. When I was 17, I was sitting in a diner that I always go to to fiddle with my food. When my cheeseburger came there was a tiny flag in the bun. The young waiter had written "Please eat" onto the flag. People who notice the little things GMH.

I was on the bus on my way to the mall, when a homeless man sat next to me. He saw that I was looking at the bouquet of flowers he held, and told me that they were for his wife because today is her birthday. As he got off the bus, he walked into the cemetery and placed the flowers on his wife's grave.
A love that never dies GMH. 

Today was my cousins Kaylee's fifth birthday, and a little girl with Dwarfism was at her party.
Kaylee came up to me holding her hand and said, "This is my best friend Elena, and she can't grow. She's special, God made her that way." My baby cousin's blind love for others GMH.

I attended my friend's wedding a few months after my husband passed away. Watching her father/daughter dance brought me to tears thinking about how my daughter will never get that chance. My husband's friend came up to me and said she may not have her daddy but she will have a line of 'uncles' waiting for their first dance with her. GMH

ode to coffee

Sometimes I forget about the simple bliss that is drinking a cup of coffee. Too often it's: make, throw into travel mug, out the door, consume mindlessly.

However, my  love for coffee is deep and real, and there is really is nothing better than a big mug filled to the brim with coffee, a little creamer and a little splenda. For an out-of-control experience, listen to Coldplay or Ingrid Michaelson while drinking.

Most people are ashamed of their caffeine addictions, however I find no shame in being completely dependent on a warm drink for my daily, mental sanity. In fact, I owe a lot to coffee. It's presence in my life has allowed me to stay awake in many boring classes, write countless papers in the early-morning hours, and get A's on numerous exams.

Apart from school work, I owe the bonding and growth of many relationships to coffee. I have had immeasurable amounts of wonderful conversations sitting in starbucks, saints or in the living rooms of close friends, as we drank - you guessed it - coffee.

Even when I am just by myself, coffee makes me warm and happy inside. I can't remember where I was when I made many important life decisions, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was drinking coffee when I made them.

Really, I would be lost without it.

So here's to you coffee, I'll be raising my mug in your honor for many years to come.

Spring

I created this blog for a class back in the fall semester, however since it will eternally abide in cyber-space, I might as well keep up with it.


Outside of the world wide web, spring time has hit Happy Valley and it's absolutely beautiful. There is only one week of classes left, plus finals. I cannot even begin to comprehend where this year went. I feel as though I have learned so much this year, about myself and others. I am so thankful for that.

So praise God for things like spring