My Little Sis is pretty amazing

Wow! It's been awhile since I posted anything on here. This is now pretty old news, but I wanted to post it anyways. Lauren came home for Christmas vacation and was desperate to make some money so she could pay her rent and have a place to live Spring Semester - so I told her she could do the mudding and sanding in my living room and I would pay her. She thought that was a pretty good deal - and knowing how much I would have to pay someone else to do it, I knew I was getting a good deal. So for two weeks in January she spent most of her afternoons and evenings at my house mudding, sanding, and painting. I helped during the evenings, but made her do all the hard stuff - ie - anything involving ladders. It was really fun to spend that time with her watching BBC miniseries (Pride and Prejudice and North and South) and talking.

It was slightly scary up there!

During
After
Lauren got into a fight with my old blinds so I had to find something new (I was so sad)

Thanks Chicka! It looks fabulous! Now I just need to rehang all my pictures!

My name is Jana and I am a blonde

I have always wanted to be a wonderful cook - I have heard so many stories about my great grandma and what a wonderful cook she was, and I have always hoped some of those genes rubbed off on me. Unfortunately, I seem to turn into a MAJOR blonde the minute I step into the kitchen. I have provided my roommates endless entertainment over the years. Despite the hilarity, things usually turn out okay - so maybe I did get some of the good cook genes.

In an attempt at not taking myself so seriously - and in trying to follow Elder Wirthlin's advice to be able to laugh at yourself, I am posting the following true story. Just to make myself feel better I have to disclose that this occurred towards the end of a VERY long week, after I had just spent 12 hours at work.

My coworker was having a birthday and I wanted to do something special for her. She is allergic to gluten and I had some leftover gluten free flour that I had used in a cake for Halloween (another blonde moment, another story). So, I figured I would make her some muffins. I found a recipe on-line and started in on the muffins while chatting with my sister on the phone (note, if you are a blonde in the kitchen - it probably isn't the best idea to multi-task while working there). Despite this, my first batch turned out pretty good. But, I only had 12 muffins. There are exactly 12 people in my office, not including me, plus I work with a bunch of guys, so I knew I needed more. The only problem was that I didn't quite have enough flour for a full second batch. No big deal I thought, I had 1 cup of flour left and it called for 1 1/2 cups - so I can just third everything and make two thirds of a batch, right? So, still talking on the phone, I start a second batch. I peek in on the muffins and they are rapidly expanding in the tin - oozing out of the pan and on to the oven. Thinking I just filled them too full, I put a cookie sheet underneath them to catch any more drippings and shut the door to let them finish cooking. Then the smoke started. I hurried and opened the oven and pulled out the muffins - which were by this point looking more like tart cups than muffins. And watched in horror as a fire ignited in my oven!

Yes, some of the batter that came out of the cups caught on fire! My sister is still on the phone, laughing at me, and I am trying to get my brain to work enough to figure out what to do. Finally I just shut the door in the hopes it would all go away.

Needless to say, my coworkers got exactly 12 muffins, and I could only hope I didn't mess them up too badly since I didn't get to try one.

Proof of my hair color is in the pictures below.

All About Me

My sister did this, and it looked really fun, plus I needed to do something so my rant wasn't the first thing people saw!

All about me: a story in pictures.



1. Family Portrait, 2. Lemonade, 3. Le porquinho de Janá, 4. Trying out a new tub, 5. Literary Soon-to-Reads. Stuff on my short list, 2004 (annotated), 6. karate kid meets flying mom - _MG_3046.JPG, 7. Chocolate dessert, 8. Green Gables Bedroom, 9. My Workers Expect Me To Be Hard, 10. Boundary, 11. Down the Path, 12. Running to Catch the Ice Cream Truck

If you want to play, here's how:

Type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows). Leave me a comment if you do it, so I can check it out!

The questions:

1. what do you love most in life? (family)
2. favorite drink? (lemonade)
3. what is your first name? (Jana)
4. your flickr name. (bcexorowo - nothing - xopowo worked though)
5. one word to describe you. (analytical)
6. what do you want to be when you grow up? (mom - or according to the picture a superhero)
7. favorite dessert? (chocolate cake with mint frosting)
8. dream vacation? (Prince Edward Island)
9. who is your celebrity crush? (Richard Armitage - if you haven't seen North and South, we need to talk)
(this was my favorite pic, but it wasn't as artsy as the rest, so I didn't include it - but thought I would add it here for your viewing pleasure).
10. what is your favorite color? (yellow)
11. what high school did you attend? (Hillcrest)
12. what is your favorite food? (ice cream)

Long Personal Rant

Note: The following is a long personal rant, mainly written to make me feel better. Feel free to skip this post.

So, for the last six months or so my washer has been dying. I had already had the problem fixed once, and it didn't last long, so I didn't want to spend the money to have it fixed again, when the machine is old and falling apart anyways. So I started hunting for a good deal on a new washer. Two problems, my old washer was a combined stacked unit - so I had to get a new washer and dryer. Second problem, the place set up for my washer and dryer is VERY SMALL - so I had to find the very small, space saver units, which are not very popular and therefore, hardly ever go on sale. I was hoping to find something on sale before my washer died completely, but each time I did laundry - and had to sit on the lid to keep it down - I was sure I was never going to make it and was preparing myself to spend about $300 more than I wanted to. So, imagine my joy when I found the small washer and dryer at Best Buy on clearance the day after Christmas! Finally, I was back in the price range I wanted and jumped on the chance. So, I anxiously awaited delivery of said unit, the following Monday. And here begins the rant.

I was told to expect a phone call on Sunday to give me a two hour window when the delivery and installation people would be there. No phone call came. So, as soon as the store opened, I called Best Buy, only to be told that delivery was scheduled for sometime between 9:30 and 11:30 (this was at 10:30). So I raced home from work and waited until 11:45, then called Best Buy again. After half an hour of run around and no one answering the phone, the dispatcher finally told me that he couldn't get in touch with the delivery guy, but he left a message for him to call me. At 12:30 I get a phone call from the delivery guy - the washer I purchased is not in stock at the store, or at any store in the valley, and he will not be able to deliver it today! So, after missing two hours of work, and spending half an hour on the phone trying to get answers, I am finally told, there is no washer, and since it was a clearance item, they can't order it, so I am SOL and will have to go into the store and find something else or cancel my order. Not only am I incredibly bummed about not getting my washer, I am incredibly upset that no one had the courtesy to tell me this until I called to find out where it was!

But, the story gets better. I go back in to Best Buy and talk to the salesperson who originally sold me the unit. He insists that they have the unit and shows it to me, all boxed up and ready to go. He keeps messing around with some inventory thing on the computer until I finally notice that the unit he is showing me is different from the sales model on the floor. Apparently the unit they have in stock is the new model, not the clearance model. The salesperson apologizes and agrees to sell me the new unit at the clearance price since it was their mistake. He takes my number and promises to call that evening and let me know when it will be delivered. I leave, feeling okay about Best Buy - not thrilled, but glad they seem to be trying to make it up. Until about 10:00 that night - when I still have not received a phone call. Surprise, surprise. So, called the next morning, and after another half hour of trying to get anyone to pick up the phone, I was finally told that they were going to give me the washer at their cost, but it was still about $40 more than what I paid, so I needed to go back in to Best Buy and repurchase the washer. After another hour long trip to Best Buy, we finally, hopefully have everything figured out - and delivery is set for Saturday and I am now having nightmares about my washer/dryer and the delivery.

But the story still doesn't end. I get a phone call on Friday telling me that delivery is scheduled between 9 and 11 am. Hooray - maybe a little redemption for Best Buy! Not!
10:30 Saturday morning and I get a call, they are running late, it will now be between 11:00 and 12:00.
12:30, I call, they are still running behind but are almost to my house. They arrive about 10 minutes later.
2:30 - They have been trying to install everything for about 2 hours when I am told there is a problem, they can't hook my dryer up to the vent. It seems the connection in my wall is old and outdated and won't attach to the dryer hose I was sold. Sorry, nothing we can do. Seriously, this guy was ready to pack up and leave me with a dryer in the middle of my kitchen! After explaining to him as calmly as I could under the situation that I refused to pay for delivery and installation if the product wasn't installed, he told me I could go find a part that would work and call him and he would try to come back and fix the problem, at his convenience of course.

So, after 3 trips to Best Buy, 5 calls to Best Buy (each one taking at least 30 minutes), 5 1/2 hours of waiting for delivery people, and 2 hours of installation, my old, semi-working washer/dryer is gone, I have a working washer, and no dryer. And, the assurance that maybe, if things aren't too busy tomorrow, they will be able to come over and get my dryer hooked up.

Word to the wise, no matter the price, don't buy major appliances from Best Buy, it is never worth it!

Hooray for Photoshop!

People at work have been bugging me for the last year now to get my picture taken to put on our company website. I really don't like pictures of me - so I have been avoiding it. Well, I was informed last week that we are sending out a letter to a bunch of potential clients and I was the only person without a picture - so I couldn't put it off any more. I called around to see where I could get a business photo taken - but it was SO expensive. So my coworker said she would just take my picture at the office and use that. After a little mini photo shoot yesterday - we realized that it just wasn't going to work - the picture was so different from the professional ones - it really stuck out.

So I bit the bullet and went in to get some professional pictures today. It took 10 minutes to take the pictures and I was really getting upset about spending so much money on 10 minutes of pictures - then I sat down in front of a computer screen while the photographer airbrushed my photo and touched everything up - suddenly I was seeing the value of a professional photographer.

I have to say - even knowing that my next birthday will be the big 3-0- I have never felt as old as I did while watching him zoom in on my forehead and under my eyes and erase all the little lines and bags!

Before

After

Tagged

My coworker tagged me a little while ago - sorry it took so long for me to get to it Mel.

8 Shows I like to watch:

1. Chuck
2. Eli Stone
3. Pushing Daisies (and yes #2 and #3 were both just canceled - not too happy about it)
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Amazing Race
6. Anything on HGTV
7. Most things on TLC
8. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (I was quite obsessed with this show in Middle School)

8 Restaurants I like to eat at:
1. Wingers
2. Macaroni Grill
3. Olive Garden
4. Fongs (in Rexburg - best Chinese ever!)
5. Mings (next to my house - second best Chinese ever!)
6. Bombay House
7. Paradise Bakery or Kneaders
8. Red Lobster

8 Things that happened today:

1. Overslept (that happens everyday)
2. Got my picture taken
3. Got rid the office Christmas decoration out of my office (it gets passed around from person to person every day)
4. Ate a greek salad
5. Went to Enrichment and had yummy tomato soup
6. Went to tithing settlement
7. Updated my blog
8. Watched the end of a bad cheesy Christmas movie on Lifetime

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Christmas
2. Getting the rest of my house painted
3. Getting my attic turned into a loft
4. Going to Russia
5. Going on a date (the drought has to end sometime right?)
6. Getting married
7. Seeing my siblings get married
8. Playing in the snow

8 Things on my wish list:

1. A new washer and dryer
2. A completed loft
3. A new bed
4. New couches
5. A boyfriend
6. A healthy family
7. My car and house paid off
8. World Peace :)

8 People I am tagging:
I think most everyone has already done this - so if you haven't - tag you're it!

I ♥ The Men in My Life

So, I started this post over a month ago - and just never got around to finishing/posting it! I am a slacker, I know.

I have THE BEST Dad and Brother in the world. You see, there is a little known fact about me, I hate - HATE - textured walls. I just don't like them. Unfortunately, my entire house is textured. Except where the previous owners hung their pictures - in those places they covered the holes up with Spackle - but didn't texture it. So - randomly throughout the walls there are splotches of smoothness. It just looks really cheap and tacky. So the first home improvement item on my list was of course, getting rid of the textured walls. Has anyone tried this before? I hadn't, but my Dad has. Let me tell you, it is not the easiest or neatest process. Despite knowing this, my sweet Dad agreed to help me and my brother smooth out my walls. I figured we would start with a small, easy room. So the first weekend in October we had a mudding party. Now to smooth textured walls requires a lot of mud. You have to mud all the walls, let it dry, sand, and repeat - until they are smooth - for us it took 3 layers of mud - that is three times scraping mud onto the walls and three times sanding it smooth - with dust flying into every imaginable corner of my house. Of course then you have to prime the walls, and then paint the walls. For two weeks my roommate and I survived with our dining room set up in the living room while my kind brother and dad spent all their free time helping me mud, sand, prime, install a chair rail, and paint (and help me decide what colors to paint - I am a TERRIBLE decision maker). I am really happy with the result - except that it makes the rest of my house look even worse than it did before.

After it was all done, I was considering hiring someone to do the other rooms. But now, six weeks later, the memory is fading and I am thinking I can tackle the other rooms after Christmas. Anyone want to join in a mudding party?