Chillin with my kiddies!

I wish I was able to spend some more time with the Leaver kids, but I don't get much time anymore. However I did go spend an evening with them the other night and we had fun times with the camera. I love these kids. They're the closest things I'll have to my own so I like to spoil them and love on them. I must say my name is so much cuter when Lucas says it. I'll be so sad when he doesn't say Jernine anymore. He's actually said it right a few times. Here are a few pics of our fun time.

School's Cool

So I love teaching, and my class is great. I just taught them the chapter on Tricology, which is the study of hair... fitting right? Well as one of their assignments I wanted them to either draw, or build me a model of the structure of a hair strand. This is what one looks like from our book. I knew they would all do a good job, but I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. Take a look below at some of their work.

The one on the front left is made out of a cake. The cuticle is graham crackers.







What do you think? Didn't they do a great job. I think so!

Time to catch up!

I've loved this week. It's been so AWESOME, being home for the Christmas holiday, and having nothing...I repeat nothing pressing to do. I'll be honest, I've mainly been sleeping. Who says you can never catch up on sleep? Now that I have a bit of time I thought I'd catch up on what's been going on. So the next few posts will be a little catching up!

Been too Busy to Blog

***Disclaimer- I'm in no way complaining***

This is my life lately. Salon, School, Home, repeat. Some days it's Salon, School, Salon, Home. It's Sunday night, and I still have shows on my Tivo from last Monday. I love my jobs and I'm so grateful I have them, I know right now a lot of people are losing theirs right and left. Been there done that. So I'm happy I'm busy, but if my blogs get few and far between, that is why. I saw my kids this weekend and it had been so long since I've seen them. They said "Jernine, where have you been, we've missed you." I know adorable huh. They wanted me to stay for a week. I did too, but it's not to be right now. Anyhow, that's my life, in a nutshell. Hope every body's holiday is Hap-hap-hap-happy!

Under Pressure

"Pressure, pushing down on you pressing down on me, no man ask for. Under pressure, that burns a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on the street....It's the terror of knowing what the world is about, watching some good friend screaming "let me out" pray tomorrow, gets me higher....." - David Bowie

Have you ever had one of those days? Holy crap today was one of those for me. I worked at the school and it seemed to be one crazy thing after another. I love teaching, but sometimes it gets frustrating when the students don't do what they're told, don't follow the rules, so I'm the bad guy for enforcing them. They knew these rules coming into the school. Plus I'm flabbergasted when they say "man I have a color and cut today, I don't want to do that." My reply to them is "Then why are you here? This is what you're trained to do." I don't want to be the hard a**, but I will be. I'm not going to allow the students to break the rules, because it hinders their growth and professionalism. It's all silly. But by the end of the day, I truly felt like a basket case.

Last, but never least...more like first...

I would never end this month without expressing thanks to my Savior. I'm so Thankful for my Church and all it teaches. I'm thankful for my Savior, and all he did for us, and for the Atonement. Without it I would be in big trouble. I'm mentioning this now, first because it has been on my mind a lot. My friend Holly, recently had a brother pass away, and while I am so sad for her and her family, I am so grateful she has the gospel and knowledge of what is to come. I know that the Spirit is a comfort to those that mourn, and I'm grateful that we have that knowledge. I want to say to Holly that my heart goes out to you and me and my family are praying for you and yours.
I know I take the church for granted sometimes, and I'm very repentant of that. I am just glad I have it in my life. That is all!

My Last Hurrah!

I thought I would end the month with the thing I am most thankful for...which is what I started out with. My family and friends. It's okay that I mention them twice, because they are so important to me, it's worth mentioning more than once.
It has been so awesome being home for Thanksgiving, but I was a little scared because, since the weather was a little rainy, they had been cancelling flights, so early Thanksgiving morning I called and found out my flight was leaving on time. Phew!!! While I was waiting in line to board the plane, I called my mom to let her know I was on my way. BUT.... being the trickster that I am I thought I'd have a little fun with it. Here's how the conversation went. Mom: "Happy Thanksgiving, we are so excited for you to get here" Me: "yeah, about that. Ummm My flight's been cancelled" Mom: "WHAT!!! Please tell me your kidding" Me: (as I'm giggling) "Okay, I'm kidding I'm getting ready to board the flight right now." Now I'll share with you my side of the conversation, and what those around me could here. Me: ".....I'm getting ready to board the flight right now.....Oh mom, are you crying?.....Don't cry, it was just a joke, I'll be there in an hour.... Oh man, did I ruin Thanksgiving? I'm a terrible daughter."
Yeah my joke backfired, I've learned never to kid with my mom on Thanksgiving. Or as she puts it "Her Holiday." The people around me went from looking at me with confusion because we were all in line, to laughing because it serves me right for trying to play a joke on my mom. (oh Karma the mouse, how dare you)
But this weekend has been fun and my family has been amazing. We had fun trying to work our timers to get the picture above that the 2 Dave's', were plum tuckered out.
We had so much fun this weekend, we watched movies HSM 3, and Quantum of Solace, in the same day. Of course I was the kitchen cosmetologist and did hair, but I also had time to catch up with a few friends. My friend Tiersa who we try to get together every time I come up, but it doesn't always happen, and my friend Anais Haase. She was one of my mission companions, and I haven't seen her in 6 years. It was so much fun catching up with her. We had such an awesome time and she looks amazing. Anais I love ya like crazy and I'm SO glad we caught up. Let's not let 6 years go by again.
It makes me so excited for Christmas time. I can't wait to come back up and spend more time with my loved ones. This month has made me realize how much I have to be thankful for. For all of you, thank you for being a part of my life. I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine.

Fun with Kaycee

It's so awesome being home to spend time with my family for the holiday. One thing that has be extra special is that my FAVORITE niece is here for the holiday. I can't believe how big she has gotten since I saw her in the summer. She also has the cutest new haircut. Plus this chick cracks me up. She tends to burp in such a way that it would impress anyone. Well at Thanksgiving dinner she burped, loud I might add and I couldn't help it I started laughing, then she burped again and said "ooh, I need to learn to close my mouth," well I completely lost it. I know I shouldn't laugh because that promotes bad behavior, but this is why I don't have children, and I'm not going to stop anytime soon. Anyhow, I'd do just about anything for her. Case in point I went to "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" with her... did I mention it was in 3-D. Yeah she has me wrapped around her finger. So when Jessica told me that she was taking her to "High School Musical 3" and asked me if I wanted to go, I thought to myself, do I want to see the movie NO!!!!! But do I want to spend time with my sister, niece, and mom...well yeah, so I agreed to go. It was no easy feat either, one theater it was sold out, the other the sound was bad so they weren't showing it, and the third one was not until later, but Kaycee was all set to watch it, decked out in her HSM shirt and all. So we went to the later show. Well she was so happy. The whole time we were watching it she had the cheesiest smile on her face. It was good just seeing her so happy. I'm glad I could be a great aunt to her. High School Musical, was sooo cheesy, and definitely not my demographic, did I like the show? No! But... confession, I enjoyed it more than "Twilight." In fact, I would go see HSM again before Twilight. Bottom line, I did NOT like "Twilight at all. But I am SOOOO thankful for my niece Kaycee!

Merci

I can't believe it's nearly the end of the month. Hopefully I won't start having my Christmas panic.... who am I kidding, I will. But here are a few thanks:

1: The rain. Even though I am totally loving the nice weather in Nov. I'm loving it that it's raining right now. It just doesn't rain that much here, so when it does it's kind of nice. Plus I love the smell of rain.
2: Online check in. Now I don't have to check in at the airport, I can forgo all those lines. Yay!
3: This is a little nostalgic but yesterday I hit my 10 year mark of being home from my mission. That is crazy. Even though my mission seems like a lifetime ago, I am so thankful for it. It has made me the person I am. So I'm so thankful for that.
4: Precious sleep. Anyone who knows me knows that this sure doesn't come easy for me. But last night I had such an awesome night of sleep and I didn't wake up once. Which in and of its self is an accomplishment.

Danke Schoen

Things to give thanks for:

1: A few days off. I feel like I've been working ragged, and while I'm loving every minute I'll be glad to get a few days off. It will be nice not having to turn on an alarm clock
2: Text messaging/voice mail. I swear if it weren't for these things I'd never keep in touch with my friends or family
3: Facebook. This is in an entirely different category because, not only do I reconnect with old friends, but it's a fun time waster too.... I'm a geek.
4: Living comforts. I don't know how they did it in the olden days, but there is nothing better than listening to my ipod, while I look on my laptop, in between watching TV shows I've had recorded on my TV, all while laying on my bed. I couldn't do the whole, lighting a fire for warmth, and a candle for light, etc. etc.
5: Peppermint ice cream. No need to elaborate. I love this time of the year for that reason.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

Tonight was a very happy night for me. As you can tell my long awaited and very beloved 24 was back with a 2 hour movie event. For those of you who live in a hole, 24 is (let me make sure I give this enough enthusiasm) THE BEST TV SHOW EVER, and all of you NEED to watch it. Since they had such a long hiatus, and weren't on last year due to the writers strike (I know.. LONGEST. DROUGHT. EVER), they did a movie event to bring us up to date, as to what our hero Jack has been doing since last season, and tie in what the next season will be about. I'm so stoked I can't even begin to describe. Sometimes I play a little game while watching. It's like a drinking game without drinking. So because of that I want to give a run down of the numbers, and give my views on the next season.

16- The number of people Jack killed. Some were at his own hand, and some he set up. But that's pretty good for a 2 hour event
2- Number of torture scenes. It wouldn't be 24 without them.
2- Number of times Jack said Dammit. I know, I'm shocked. Unless it happened more and I'm totally immune to it. But that was in the last 15 minutes as well. I think his new word of choice is Son of a B****, which is all good, because that's my panic word (or phrase) of choice as well. We're kindred.
1- The number of smarmy old men that I'm going to love to hate. Jon Voight, I'm going to love loathing you. I'll give a 1/2 to Powers Boothe the outgoing President, who I've never really liked.
Best line of the night goes to Jack when he said to the wimpy UN guy "Save your helmet for the Parade do you have a gun or not." I love you Jack

Things I learned:
1- I'm liking the Woman Pres. I think she'll be a good addition to the new season. Plus her last name is Taylor and that's just awesome.
2- All kick but men have the initials JB- Jack Bauer, James Bond, Jason Bourne. I don't think they did that by accident. Now I need to find me a man whose last name starts with B..... oh Jack...Where are you.
3- Watching 24 is just as big of a workout as going to the gym. My heart rate was up the whole time.
4- I loved Benton, and wish we would have had some more of him.. (I can't remember what his first name is..)

Bottom line, I'm so excited for Jan. 11, 2009. I'll be glued to my TV (like I need an excuse right)

Many more Thanks

Okay it's been a few days, so here are my thanks:

1: The nice weather. It's been like in the high 70's here the last few weeks. Not even cool enough for a jacket. Let me tell you that's my kind of weather!
2: Entertainment. I can't put in words the joy I am feeling because on Sunday there is a 24 movie event. YAY! I've missed Jack Bauer so much, and I can't wait. I can't help but get wrapped up in all my fun shows. I'm just not ashamed to say it. I can't wait to feel the 24 intensity once again
3: The holiday season. I must say it's been a sneaky thing, because it came way sooner than expected. (Just like every year I suppose). I didn't even realize that Thanksgiving was next week, but I'm super excited to go home and spend time with my family!

Yay for it all.

Oh and one more thing

I did forget to mention one thing I'm thankful for:
Long talks with loved ones

This is a picture of Me and Jess, last Christmas, and may I say we are in true form. We are goofy together, and are super cool, and super sexy! :) (Inside joke for Jess)
We had a long conversation last night, she actually heard the conversation I had with Sadie about Karma the Mouse. But what I'm thankful for is the fact that we can call each other in our times of need. I know I've sure called her many a time so she could hear my drama, and I'm so grateful if I get the chance to reciprocate. I'm not sure how often she reads this blog, but Jess I love ya like crazy, and I'll always be here. You're one of my heroes, and I hope you are feeling better today.

Here's a picture of me and Jen. Love you like crazy too Jen. We love to dish about our favorite TV shows, and all sorts of other very IMPORTANT stuff. Jen, you are as well one of my heroes. Jen has diabetes and I admire her, because it is something that sure changes your life. She's had a lot of problems in the past with it, but I'll be honest, I never can remember her every saying something like "Why me?" I'm sure she thinks it but she keeps a pretty positive attitude about it. I'm not sure I would do the same. Just want you to know Jen that it really is admirable.

Bottom line is I couldn't ask for 2 better sisters in the world. We sure fought like crazy growing up, but they are 2 of my best friends. Love you guys!

Enough of the negative. More positive stuff

Okay, I feel better after stepping on my soapbox, but now back to my thanks!
Here are the things I'm thankful for:
1: My AMAZING Grandparents:

They are 2 of the most supportive, loving people I know. I had a good talk with my Grandma the other day. Albeit very short. She isn't much of a phone person. But she really wanted to know how my my new job was and was so excited for me. I really do appreciate it. They've raised great posterity. Now I no they don't read this, but Grandma and Grandpa your Jeanniney-bug loves you very much
2: The Leavers, and these little kids of theirs:

How could you not love these faces? Lucas didn't really want his picture taken, and Sadie was really into the show they were watching, but I love spending time with these kids. This is totally self-centered, but they totally boost my ego. They are always so excited to see me. Andrea informed me that they said, "Mommy, can you go away for like 4 days so Jeannine can come over." I'm sure it made Andrea feel bad, but it made me so happy. I watched them last night, and they asked me if I was going to be here when they woke up. They were very disappointed when I said no.

They always make me laugh. I walked into the room and saw Lucas like this. He was just wearing the bunny ears, his soccer uniform, and watching Madagascar. I had to take a picture of him. I love trying to reason with them. Admittedly it can be a bit frustrating, but the following conversation explains why it's so funny.
Lucas: "Jernine, Sadie just hit me"
Me: "Sadie come here"
Sadie does not come........ 30 seconds later
Sadie: "Jeannine, Elliet just hit me in the neck"
Me: "Sadie, do you know what Karma is?"
Sadie: "Yes"
Me: "What is it"
Sadie: "A mouse"
Me: "No Sadie, karma is not a mouse"
Sadie: "Who's Karma then?"
Me: "Karma is when you do something bad to someone, then something bad will happen to you. Remember when you hit Lucas?"
Sadie: "Yes"
Me: "Well you hit Lucas, then Elliet hit you. Do you feel bad you hit Lucas?"
Sadie: "No"
Me: "Well maybe that's why Elliet hit you then. How about nobody hit anybody else?"
Sadie: "Okay, but what about the mouse?"

I'm not sure if Sadie will take anything from that conversation except to think that Jeannine is trying to teach me lesson's about mice.
P.S. I have no idea if there is a mouse named Karma, but if there is, It really ruined a teaching moment for me. Hmmm... Is that my Karma?

Things I'm thankful for....and one thing I'm not

I apologize in advance for this long post... I'm on my soapbox!

So here's the story. My friend Kristen works at The Mandalay Bay, and she called me telling me she had 2 tickets to see Kathy Griffin in concert. I agreed and we went to the show. We sat down, and just as it was beginning to start 2.... (Hmmmm... nice words?) big jerks, sat down behind us. They immediately started talking... not whispering.... talking. Plus, the lady had a ear shattering cackle that I'm sure people in New York could here. Going to a comedy show, this does not bode well for us. Well they were talking so loud we couldn't even hear Kathy Griffin. Who isn't very quiet. Well my friend had enough so she turned around and said, "I don't mean to be rude, but when you are talking we can't hear her over you, do you mind talking a little softer?" Not rude at all right? Apparently they didn't think so, they started saying "We aren't even talking very loud, turn around and shut up. if you don't like it, move seats. Now get out of our faces" Ok, I'm paraphrasing, but it was kind of like that. Plus the fact that they were putting their hands in Kristen's face. So.. after that tension filled confrontation do you think we were enjoying ourselves? I'll answer that, the answer is NO we were not. Then for the next 10 minutes every time they laughed they would say "No having fun in this section", and "Oh no better not laugh we may get in trouble." Needless to say we were miserable. Were we wrong in saying something to them? I don't know. Kristen was not rude or sarcastic in any way and then they were complete drunken jerks. Well right about that time someone in another section got up and left and people around him started cheering. Kathy saw this and said, "Just so you know, we may be in Vegas, but in this theater it's a police state, and I'm all in support of the Shushers, if you are talking I'm the one that shushes you. So those of you that are talking and carrying on, good luck because I support the shushers." Well our section totally started cheering and the people behind us started saying, "we're in a comedy show not a movie." Finally I turned around and said quit being such d-bags. (but I did say the word) After that they called us the word... You know what word I'm thinking right... the big "C"-word. Kristen looked like she was about ready to punch someone. I was thinking to myself... I'm really to the point that being thrown in jail might be worth it if I punch this lady in the windpipe. (Please don't judge me and think I'm violent but these people were being horrible). Kristen turned to me and said "Are you enjoying yourself let's just see if we can switch seats." I quickly agreed we got up, (I was a little afraid that we were going to get cheered as well, but everyone was silent, I think they were wishing they would have got up and left as well, these people were ruthless). Kristen went directly to the Security guard and told him the situation, asking if we could please get different seats. Well the security guard asked where we were sitting, she told him where, and I'll be honest I was afraid that he was going to go up and talk to them. Now I'm all about confrontation, but I just didn't want to ruin things for the other concert goers. I already felt guilty that we were partially the reason there evening wasn't stellar, I didn't want a security guard making things worse. Well he just walked over by our old seats but talked to the usher and we got even better seats. The funny thing is, we could still hear that cackle.
So things I've learned from this experience:
1: Kristen and I don't think that Mandalay Bay is the best place for us, and comedy shows, after what happened with Joel Mchale, and Kathy Griffin. However the staff at Mandalay Bay, have always been accommodating and for that I'm very thankful
2: Never confront an obnoxious drunk. Or never sit next to one if you can.
My question is this- What would you have done in this situation? Should we have just stayed? Should we have said nothing and just left? (Probably). "WWYHD" What would you have done?

Gracias

So here are some thanks for the last few days:
1. Wow, I'm so thankful for the beautiful sunsets. Last night after the sunset the sky was the most beautiful red and purple, it was awesome.
2. My parents for buying me a plane ticket to come home for Thanksgiving. I have to teach until Wednesday night, so I wouldn't be able to leave until late Wednesday night, or early Thanksgiving morning. So that was super awesome.
3. I'm thankful for the fact that I filled my tank with gas for less than $30. That is a relief. Yay

My Thanks today

Here is my few things today:
1: Theraflu. My body is trying to come down with a cold, and I don't want it to, so yay for theraflu. I took some and now I'll be able to sleep so cozy. Even though I LITERALLY gag it down and have to give myself pep-talks to drink it. It sure does wonders
2: I'm so THANKFUL I'm done with school. My students started today, and it sure brings back memories. I'm soooo excited for them, but it makes me so glad that that is behind me. I can't wait to teach them all the good stuff.
3: I'm thankful for MY students. They all seem so glad to be there and so excited, It makes me so excited. Isn't enthusiasm contagious?

Thanks and stuff

So here are my thanks today....
1. I'm thankful for friends that will go to the $3.99 and up shoe store in the ghetto, so I could by some fuzzy boots. Thanks Beca. We had a fabulous time, PLUS... I'm thankful that I found cute fuzzy boots. They're so cute, and getting them at the $3.99 and up store they were pretty cheap too.
2. I'm thankful for my TIVO. There is not a better invention. I've been able to catch up on all my shows, and since now I'm going to be working nights, it sure is nice to know that I don't have to miss all my great TV.
3. I'm thankful for my little hamsters. These little guys are so fun to watch. They make me giggle.

Thank you...Thank you very much....

Oh the things to be thankful for.
1: I'm so thankful for hugs.... what could be better huh? Seriously who couldn't love hugs? If you don't you're dead inside, and that's saying a lot coming from me. But there is a specific reason I'm thankful for them today, let me explain.... So today at my AWESOME job, I've been shadowing the freshman class, since I'm getting my freshman class on Monday. Well freshmen, don't work on actually people, they do their cuts, colors, perms, etc. on their Patty mannequin dolls, but, they do get to bring in models from time to time. So today was their first time to bring in their models. One student was doing the haircut they had learned on Tuesday on her niece. She was pretty nervous because she was going to be cutting a lot of hair off, so she asked me to stay near by for moral support. So I complied and kept an eye on her, I was there to give her pointers and help answer her questions, but mainly reassure her when I could tell she was starting to freak out. She was taking on a pretty difficult haircut and I was super proud of her for not wimping out. (A lot of students tried to back out of doing cuts, but we didn't let them,and I wouldn't let her do that anyway). She did such a great job, I cross checked it and helped her fix some very minor snips here and there, then I showed her some tricks on finishing the cut, and let me tell you this girl looked so cute at the end. The cut was soooo fantastic. The other students kept coming up to her and were in awe at the job she did. I think they were jealous they didn't get to do that cut on their models. My student, was beaming from ear to ear, and so was her niece, and afterward she gave me the biggest hug. This hug started from her head and went down to her toes. You could feel how happy she was. Let me tell you that warmed the very cockles of my heart. She threw her arms around her other instructor, and her instructor whispered to me, "I need to walk away because I'm going to start to cry... I'm so happy for her." Anyhow, THAT is why I'm thankful for hugs.
2: I'm thankful for a day off. So it's not technically a full day off, because I'm going in to the salon in the morning to do a quick color, but it will be nice, after this hectic week, to be able to relax for the next 2 days. YAY!

Election Day Thanks!

While I'm not super excited about the whole Election, and while I sort of have a downer attitude about it...(not really a believer of the whole "every vote counts" hoo-ha) my first thanks today has to deal with it:
1: I'm so thankful that it's over, I'm glad we won't be seeing the commercials anymore, getting the phone calls, e-mails... etc. etc. And even though I'm not too thrilled with the outcome either way, it will be good to have someone new in office for people to complain about. I know this sounds like I'm not thankful at all, but I am soooo thankful that I'm an American, and we actually have the right to vote. This country is awesome, and I love being a member of this great nation.
2: I'm going to use all caps because yes, I am shouting this. I LOVE MY NEW JOB. I started my first official day of work today. Yesterday I went to a training class, and that was awesome, because I learned so many good techniques on how to be an effective instructor, but today I shadowed in a classroom, and was able to help the students when they were cutting on their mannequin heads. It was so great to see them get that Ah-ha moment. It was even great to see them struggle, but then after asking a few questions overcome that struggle. I literally left today with the biggest cheesiest grin on my face. I even did a haircut on the instructor of their class, so I did a live model demo. It was awesome to be able to take the reigns and show the students how I was cutting. I felt so at ease, I wasn't nervous or uncomfortable at all. I love what I do, I love doing hair, and I'm SO grateful for my job. Both of them. Right now I'm loving life, and I'm thankful for that too! Life is good!

Buddy the Brilliant

So I went home last weekend and had to love a little on my brother buddy. He's just the most, to say the very least. I love just playing with him, and he loves when people play with him, so it all works out. The funny thing is that he HATES getting his picture taken. He will hide from the camera, and if you pull the camera out and turn it on, he bolts. I did get this picture above of him, but look at how mad he looks. So the funny thing is, my dad is teaching him new tricks everyday, and he's now getting him to literally jump through hoops for him. With him distracted I was able to get this video of him. It's so funny he'll do anything to play a little catch. Sometimes he's too anxious to get the ball and he won't jump through the hoops, but that's part of his charm.

More Thanks

Okay so I've got to play catch up, So a few things I have to voice my thanks for are:
1: So awhile ago, I was writing how some of my clients were asking me in June if I was ready for Christmas. But the funny thing is I actually have Ideas this year, and not only that but I've already bought a few presents. AWESOME. The great thing about that is I'm totally in the Holiday spirit. Really focusing on things I'm Thankful for, and the other day when I was at store I was humming along to the Christmas Carols they were piping through the Musak.
2: I'm really thankful for my pearly whites! I got my braces off on Wednesday and my teeth look AWESOME! Thanks Scott. Here's a pic. Notice my Cheesy smile. Also, don't mind the kinked neck, that's so I wouldn't have a double chin.

3: Okay, this is a total superficial one (like no braces isn't), but I love my music. I love discovering new music, I love listening to my old music. They may be Oldies but they sure are goodies. There is something about hearing my beloved Elvis, that puts a big cheesy grin on my face. I blast it, I rock out and I love EVERY SECOND! It's also awesome to find cheap MP3 download sites like my new fave MP3fiesta. So everyone do yourself a favor next time you're in your car blast your favorite song, sing at the top of your lungs and think of me, I'll be doing the same. My choice will be "Hard-headed woman".

Thanks....Thanks alot!

So I decided to get in the spirit of the holidays I would write things I'm thankful for the whole month of Nov. I'm not sure if I'll be able to write something every day. But I want to have at least 31 things I'm thankful for. So to start the month off right, what I have to be thankful for is.........
1: My AWESOME Family!! I know that's a little cheesy and brown-nosey but I don't know what I would do if I didn't have them. I have a client that recently went through a very tragic event, and lost her grandchild. But rather than the family rallying around one another, there was nothing but discontent. I couldn't even imagine thinking, not to mention saying some of the things that my clients family have said to one another. It makes me so sad for her that she doesn't have a great support system like me. I never want to take that for granted. So to all my family immediate and extended. I love ya like crazy. I know they will always love and support me, and I know that sometimes that could be quite the cross to bare. :)
2: Along those same lines I'm thankful for my friends. You guys are the best. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of characters to associate myself with. I'm a lucky gal!
Like I said I'm a little cheesy. It won't always be like that. Like Veronica Mars would say I'm a marshmallow (because I'm a softie....) just keep that to yourselves please! :)

If you think it's sexy.... come on baby let me know!

So here I am changing my hair color once again. Lately I've changed it then changed it back so fast, people don't know I've done anything different. But the other day my friend Tayla at work did this lady's hair and I said I want to try that...do you think it would look good. Tayla is always trying to get me to do more daring things. This is the girl that goes from white to red to black in about a month so I thought I want something new.... so with out further adieu.....what do you think? I know besides the whole myspace self taken photo. I must say for a girl that always goes back to my dark color, I'm loving it. I've got quite a few compliments and I really am loving the change. That being said I want your honest opinion. I know that at least 5 of you that read my blog are professional stylists, so be honest. I'm interested in every one's opinion.

EEK...

I found this in our house. It was big and icky and when I smushed it, I saw red on it's belly. YIKES! Better call a bug guy!

Why so blue?

This is what happens when you give a 4-year-old a blue raspberry laffy taffy. 2 words for you..... Lesson. Learned. I can't help it, he is still so stinkin' cute!!! What can I say, I'm a smitten kitten.

Beca The Beautiful

On Saturday Oct. 11, 2008. Beca got married. I'm so glad I was able to attend. She looked so beautiful. Her dress was perfect. Not to mention her hair! (do you see me patting myself on the back?) Without a doubt, I know her and Zack will be very happy, he is a great guy and they are a great couple. I was watching the kids that weekend and so I took them to the reception. (As well as the ceremony but that's another long story, I won't bore you with the details) As we were driving to the reception I told the kids we were going to see Beca and she was going to look very pretty. Sadie said "Like a Princess" I said "Yes just like a princess." On our drive there, we saw some spotlights shining in the sky, I'm not sure what it was for, but the kids were positive that they were for Beca. They kept saying "The lights are telling us to come see Princess Beca." They were so excited. Even when we turned away from the spotlights they were still sure it was for her. I must say they should have been. Congrats Beca and Zack.

Kids say the cutest things

While I was watching the kids this week, I couldn't stop laughing at the funny things they were saying. I probably shouldn't have been laughing, but they would totally say things out of left field, things I wouldn't even expect them to say and by instinct I just laughed. This wasn't good when Lucas thought I was making fun of him. It's hard to explain to a 4-year-old that you aren't making fun of him, you just think he's funny. I wanted to write a few things down so I wouldn't forget.

It all started when Lucas said to me "Jernine how about you drive faster" Now in his defense I was going 50 in a 55 zone, but in my defense there was a lot of traffic. Then Lucas told me I needed to see the Halloween decorations because they were so Be-wootiful. Obviously he's Andrea's kid because all of them LOOOVVVE Halloween. (By the way this is his pose when I asked him to open his eyes...)

This picture was also taken when I asked Sadie to open her eyes. It was opposite day I suppose. Notice her outfit. Friday she changed her clothes about 5 times, when I asked her about it she said "I need to wear theses clothes because I haven't worn them in awhile." Also she said to me "Jeannine remember when I got a bloody nose and I wasn't very scared but you were?" Umm... Yeah Sadie, I remember, I won't be forgetting that any time soon. I guess I didn't act as cool and collected as I thought I did.

I had to post this picture of Elliet...oh excuse me "Ellie" because whether she means to be or not this chick is HILARIOUS. I couldn't stop laughing at some of the things she said. Where do I begin. While watching a movie, someone on the movie said fat, Elliet responded to no one in particular "You should say thick, because thick means fat" I started laughing. The funniest thing is she had asked her Mom what thick meant, and Andrea was showing the difference of thick and thin with the size of books. So she is learning. Later that night, as she was playing on the couch she groaned and said "Scott didn't put his shoes away" I said Who? and she said "Scott" I said "And who is Scott?" She said "Daddy" I said "OK, so what do we call him?" and she said "Well his name is Scott isn't it?" That my friends is me being schooled by a 6-year-old TOUCHE'

She likes me...She really likes me

While babysitting last night Elliet was coloring and I was on my computer, she started asking me how to spell all the members of her families name, then she asked me to spell my name, I complied and spelled all of the names for her. I didn't think anything of it, but I found out why she asked me after they had gone to bed and I was cleaning up. I thought it was so cute, I HAD to take a picture. Now I know that if no one else likes me... at least Elliet does. AAAHHHHH!

My Scary Nightmare

Question: What do you do when the 4-year-old you are watching wakes you up at 3:30 in the morning and she's covered in blood?.... If the answer is FREAK OUT, then I did the right thing.... Let me explain:
I'm watching my favorite kids for a few days and since I was only sleeping over one night I decided to sleep on the couch, I told the kids that if they needed me I'd be downstairs, I just didn't think they would need me. They're pretty good about staying in bed once they're down. Anyhow, at around 3:30 I open my eyes to see Sadie looking at me and whimpering, She's got blood all over her face and hands, on her shirt, and on her legs. I didn't know what was happening, I thought I was having a nightmare at first until she grabbed my hand. I immediately jumped up, picked her up, and rushed her to the sink, I turned on the light, and saw that she had a bloody nose. (I'm not a pro when it comes to bloody noses. I can't ever recollect having a gushing bloody nose like this one, and I did what I did when I saw Lucas with one a few months ago. You guessed it I freaked out). I made her hold a tissue to her nose and began cleaning the blood off her face hands and legs. Thankfully the bleeding stopped rather quickly and she was fine. I walked her upstairs and she laid back down and went right to sleep..... I on the other hand couldn't get my heart to slow down for about 20 minutes. Let me tell you, that was the scariest nightmare I've had in a long time! I don't know how you mom's do it!

Bandanna-rama

My good friend Kristen is about the biggest dog lover I know. She has rescued 2 cute Golden Retrievers from a puppy mill and did all she could to get that place shut down. As a result of getting these puppies they have both needed hip surgery. Well as any animal owner will know, vet bills can be astronomical therefore she has to be creative to come up with money to help pay for them. Well her and her mom started sewing these cute doggie bandanna's and selling them at different events. They have an event coming up and Kristen said to me (and I quote) you're Mormon....you sew right? (I guess she thinks in order to become a Mormon we need to pass some sort of home-EC class. I kid.) My response when anyone asks me if I sew is "of course I do....I'm a Taylor". Anyhow, she asked me if I would be willing to sew some bandanna's for them, and they would pay me. Of course I said yes, and let me tell you I've been up to my elbows in bandannas. They have the cutest ones and I said I have to give one of these to my "brover" Buddy. They have the cutest material, and I gave him one that has motorcycles on one side, and paw prints on the other....So cute, and fitting for my parents dog. Here's an example of the bandannas I've been doing for the past week. My total count for the week....Large: about 100, I didn't get an exact count. Medium: 74, Teacup: 34. Crazy huh!!!!/

My lucky luck!

Well I don't know who I have to thank....(Actually I do know who to thank and I have said many a thankful prayer), but it seems my luck is changing. It's about time. I know we all go through dark times, but lately it seems mine have been pitch black. But alas, I see a light. First, my computer is working. Yay! and second, I found out I got the job at the Cosmetology school. I'm excited for this. I've always been interested in teaching at the school, and now I get the opportunity. I just have to remember to teach the way state boards wants me to teach and not teach short cuts. I'm looking forward to this challenge. These last few months I know I was suppose to learn a lesson in humility, patience, faith and obedience. I just hope I did learn things. I know that sometimes...okay A LOT of the time I was unsuccessful, but I did learn not to take things for granted. Anyhow, I'll keep you posted on how the job goes....Oh and in case someone did send a leperachaun my way, I thank you!

She's Back!

I'm back! Hallelujah! It's about freakin time! So whats new everybody? Not a whole lot here? I do have to give a major thanks to my bro-in-law Dave! He saved my life, and by life I mean computer. I don't know what I was doing to it, but he did use the term "de-fragging the hard drive" which totally sounds like something they would do on Star Trek but whatevs. Anyhow I'm back baby. I don't know how the Pioneers did it. Well that's about all I have to say. I'm just glad I'm back withdrawal sucks!

My unlucky luck

So if it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all. Amid trying to find out if I have this new job, which they keep saying they've made no decision yet; (Is that a bad sign???); moving houses, (which is no fun.... ever); and trying to get my life on firm footing; my computer has now decided to wage war on me! I haven't been able to get on the Internet for....oh.....ever! Right now I'm using my brother-in-law's computer while he's trying to fix mine! Aahhh my knight in shining armor. Anyhow, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get Internet access; which totally sucks because I really can't afford a new computer right now! So don't think I've dropped off the face of the earth. I'm just in the dark ages for the time being. Oh and if you see a leprechaun do you mind sending him my way. I can use all the luck I can get!

Joey turns 100K

What a monumental day for me! My precious car Joey turned 100,000 miles today! It was an occasion that I wanted to make sure I documented. I wanted to commemorate this ala How I Met Your Mother style. I downloaded I'm gonna be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers.(To really understand this you'll have to watch the clip below). It's crazy to think I've had this car for that long, I've had some great memories, and I can't believe I've logged all of those miles give or take like 1000. My sister drove the car once from Las Vegas to Utah, and one time Ben Smith did. Joey didn't like that one bit, and wasn't very cooperative with him. Anyhow, I love this car, and I just needed to post this monumental occasion. Thanks Joey!! Here's to 100K more!

It's all greek to me!

Yay! that time is upon us, Greek Festival time. Me loves to get my Greek on! This is such a blast. I've been every year for the last 4 years and I've loved every minute of it. Not only do we get some YUM-M-M-Y Greek food, but we also do a little Greek "dancing" (please notice the quotations. Whenever I say I dance it is always heavy with air-quotes. A dancer I am not!!!). My good friend Tiffany and I love to make fools of ourselves and have a blast doing this. This year we brought Tiffany's sister Tyerra with us, she needed to learn the ways of the Greek.

So our proper Greek attire in tow, we got our Greek groove on! I don't know if Tyerra was impressed or a little embarrassed to be with us, but we had a BLAST! For those of you that have never attended one of these I highly recommend this! (I'm recommending a lot of things lately). It's so cool to see the culture of these people. Makes me wish we did things more of our culture...but I'm part Swedish, and I'm no fan of Lutefisk. Whatever, no matter I can pretend to be Greek at least one day a year. All I have to say is that My Big Fat Greek Night, was fan-freakin-tastic!

My Favorite Vampires!

Who cares about Edward, or any of the Cullen bunch. These are my favorite vampires. One kick butt band called Vampire Weekend. If you haven't heard them then do yourself a favor, and listen! Anyhoo....They were in concert this week and my BFF, Beca and I went to partake in their awesomeness! They were such a blast, and they sounded so good, plus, the lead singer was such a cutie. So-o-o adorable. It was one concert I didn't want to end, but since they only have one album, it wasn't very long. Still I can say I saw them when... because I'm convinced they'll be around for awhile. So to the few of you that read this blog I recommend....nay I implore you to give them a listen.. trust me...you'll thank me later!

This is how we do it!

Lucas is the cutest little dancer. He's always singing and dancing. Especially in the car. I had to pull over and take this little video of him. Check out his facial expressions. Is he not the cutest little thing.

Bowling for French Fries

So when I was watching the Leaver kids we went bowling. For those of you that know me, you know that I'd rather get a root canal then go bowling. I'm not much of a fan to say the least. Among a whole list of things that I don't like, the thought of putting my feet in sweaty bowling shoes... well it sort of skeeves me out, but I wanted to do something fun, and one day when we were driving past the Redrock Casino, the kids told me that's where they go bowling, so I figured we'd do that. I know it was a big task to take on by myself, what can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment. Just a word of advice, I learned that kids are good for about 5 frames, then they get bored. I also learned that you should keep an attendant close because the ball will frequently stop rolling half way down the lane. The last thing that I learned was no matter what age you are, once you start bowling, you do the typical things like dance if you roll a good frame, or fall down if you didn't. I got documentation of this by way of video. Of course I had to snap some photos also. I think the kids were more excited about the french fries they had as a snack. Elliet kept asking me if she won, luckily she did....by one point, or else I'm not sure what would have happened. I have to admit, they behaved pretty well, and they were so super cute bowling and dancing. Just look below.

Also, check out this cute video of the kids bowling!




Here's the final score!

Elliet: 57, Lucas: 56, Sadie: 42.
Oh and FYI, I probably wouldn't have done much better!

Kid Krazyness

So I had the opportunity recently to watch the Leaver kids. They are so much fun. We had a good time, and as Sadie would say "They were a good job." :) We had a lot of fun and of course I couldn't help but snap a few pictures, which is good, because they sure like to pose! Can you blame them... they're A for Adorable! Let's take a trip down memory lane. Here goes!

Ummm...could this get any cuter? Is he not the cutest thing all sported up in his soccer uniform? Andrea warned me of this but I was not prepared for the overload of cuteness!

This picture totally captures Sadie's personality. I can just picture here saying, take one of me right now, I did as I was told.

Here's cute Elliet...oh I mean Ellie, as she likes to be called now. I love to do fun things with her hair, even though a lot of times she didn't want me to do things too extravagant. I was able to do a cute low side pony-tail with her hair all curled. Aahh!!! How cute is she!

One thing the twins liked to do when Elliet was at school, was use me as a jungle gym. As the fun aunt I totally let them. One of the things that they found particularly exciting was playing airplane. They would put their chest on my feet and I would hold them up so they looked like they were flying. WWWEEEEE. They had so much fun doing this, and side-note, it's a great abs workout as well! So it's a win-win situation. Check it out!

Look how much fun they are having. They make it so easy for me to agree to be their jungle gym! More to come later!