catching up.

i finally published a few post i wrote months ago, and at 3 in the morning i couldn't figure out why i didn't post them before, so hopefully they aren't horrible. the orange toe nail one is a bit silly but then again so am i. currently my figure nails are rainbow glittery and my toe nails are ombre purple. what can i say i have a thing for styling my finger nails. 

when i started this blog i had a plan to make some grand list of my reasons i'm glad i'm alive. at times i was diligent and i had/made the time to update this thing. if you hadn't noticed at times i just didn't. 

i still have a post unfinished from july about hp7p2 and how harry "has his mother's eyes". my friends and i dressed up like characters for the midnight premier, and i of course went as the goofiest looking of all of us. can you spot me? (far left seriously ridiculous! i could banish a boggart)

i wanted to write about really good chinese food, white v-neck's, dancing on i15, and spontaneity. Just never did find my circular tuit. bast! if only i could find another round tuit i might get somethings done. 

then there was the adventurous camping/barefoot hiking in a gulch. i'm pretty sure i started the no shoes trend, but another member of the journey gave up their socks before i did. in essence an entire blog could be written just about that one trip, so i think the idea of posting about it was almost too daunting. 

look there are a lot of excuses why i didn't keep up with writing down my reasons.

it is just the way 2011 was... i lived in three different states, had a couple different jobs, attended school, put some odd thousand number of miles on my car, traveled, thought i found love turns out it was just heartburn which i totally got a prescription for, gained a few pounds, cut and colored my hair a few times, decided to go on a mission,
made mistakes, made more money, laughed more than ever, cried more than ever, nannied, cooked, kid history, went to the zoo, sea world, a rodeo, breathing, swimming, ate with my hands, swam in the ocean, fell in love with loco moco and parasailing while in oahu, said a few goodbyes and a few see you laters, caught fish, roasted mallows and bursts, posted silly youtube videos, went to at least eight temples for lots of wonderful reasons, spent time with family, spent time with friends, put on war paint, had christmas in july, painted with pudding (mr. day still owes me some pudding), waxed, bought shoes lots of shoes, listened to prophets, got beautiful flowers, dinner group, had so swiss moments, drank lemonade, wore a big sun hat, painted, dated, decorated, practice a little bball, learned, taught, went to the gym, dressed like a pirate, ate some more especially half birthday cake, shopped with best friends, survived gas leaks, stalked someone somewhat famous (ok not really, but sorta, check my older posts), dressed up like a cowgirl, supported my family, went to a swim meet (it had been so long since i have been to one), gave gifts, the bouch, showered, bathed, read, breakfast club, went to the winery i always wanted to go to, reunited to dear friends, sleepovers, stayed up all night talking, texted, wrote letters, painted a styrofoam solar system, blogged, ultimate college party, fed birds, went to weddings, pulled pranks, played tennis, tinkered with the piano, and so much more. . .

basically, i have been busy living. 

so....here is to a great year! 2011. nothing like what i expect: admittedly  worse and at the same time so much better. i wouldn't re-live ya even if someone paid me a million bucks, but i wouldn't give you up for all the monies on earth. you've been a crazy year, my only hope is that 2012 can rise up to the challenge of following your act. 

life goes by fast, there is no doubt about it; i am so grateful to just enjoy it, especially getting to know the amazing (that is to say awe-inspiring) people that are a part of my life. i've come to realize that don't need to keep up "the list" yet it is still nice to sorta jot it down. 

thanks for all the good times in 2011. :))

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

as my loyal reader, i especially want to thank you, and i want to hear about the your year and   hopefully the good good times we shared in 2011. if you have any memories from this past year you can share or thoughts or reasons to live/things to remember post below! :))

or email me, or call me (until feb 12th, 2012), or write me, or send up smoke signals, or let me know if i should learn brail or morse code ;)

orange toenails.

if you know me you probably know that i like nail polish and i frequently re-paint my nails (both the toe and finger type). currently my toenails are orange.

a few things i know

i was typing out another post, when i realized that it was super vague and i thought to myself: what is the point of this? why not just say what i'm trying to say without the allegory? so i'm going to try that. we'll see how it goes. call me, email me, leave a comment, whatever you'd like if you want to know more and or how i know, if that made any sense or if it doesn't make sense. i wold love to talk with you.

i know:
i would do anything for my family, they are the most important people to me.
my family does not just consist of my blood relatives (see my blog about family).
my siblings are my best friends.
i can count on my brother, sister, mother, and father.
the english alphabet.
that the bible and book of mormon are inspired texts and that by reading them anyone can find peace and increased joy.
i can make tasty foods.
that midst my doubts and confusion, i am doing what is right in my life at this point in time.
i was born with a privileged life and that i often complain about my first world blessing.
an attitude of gratitude leads to happiness.
i am not the best runner, but both my legs work and i can run if necessary.
i love people.
how to do basic math and some maths that are more complicated.
that Jesus Christ is my redeemer.
that Christ's atoning power can heal us completely and we can feel whole again and have peace in our lives by following Him.
Heavenly Father loves his children.
we are children of God.

my plane is boarding now.

i hope to add more to this list soon.
thanks for reading. :)

day watch

lately i've been spending my time working on another type of blog. its a bit of a practical joke. please check it out!
nikdaywatch.blogspot.com
nik is a good friend of mine and day watch is sort of his idea...one day he was joking about how i should start a stalker/fan club blog all about him. thus the idea was born and my roommate and i have been making it better ever since.

its been some time since i've posted. i assure you that my lack of published posts is not because i'm short of topics or interesting life stories, but rather that i haven't made the time to sit down and write. i apologize, the build up has been dull and this post will be rather long. i'm hoping that some photos will make up for things just a bit. 
to sum up: i've done a lot over the past five months...

driven thousands of miles

the grand canyon, it is really big!

flew to hawaii

helped babycakes get ready for prom

said goodbye to my baby brother
(he is serving a mission in brazil for two years)

got matching tmnt pj's
for my sister's 17th

saw water at flood stage 

went fishing with my g-pa

good thing i have favorite things.

so...you know that song from the sound of music, my favorite things? can you recall the verse: "when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when i'm feeling sad,"? well... i am certain that all three of those things shouldn't happen in the same week!
back in may/june i had several moments when i felt sad. mostly because i missed my brother (he's in brazil), i was loosing my tan and gaining pounds (an awful combination), i sorta got dumped (for the first time), a good friend from high school was basically ignoring me (thanks a lot mr. bergan) and i moved (the third major move in six months). 
then, one thursday, i got bit by a dog. not just a playful nibble, but a chopped down drew blood vicious bite from my brother and miss steen's dumb dog sophie. ok....so it might have been my fault, just a little bit...but it throbbed none the less. 
finally, the straw that broke this camel's back...june 4th, i got stung by a bee. not just any bee either...a dead bee with vengeance out for my wee little pinky finger.
so there i was sitting in my grandpa's truck trying to decide if the mass amount of swelling in my right littlest finger was something i should be concerned about, when the sun glared in from the window and distracted me. i couldn't help but think: oh of course! it would be a sunny day in june when i get stung by a bee! and of course i, jeannette, of all people would still have a dog bite wound that needs its bandages frequently changed. and of course i can't help but feel a teensy sad because my grandpa seems upset by the small number of fish we caught today. it is a freaking sound of music trifecta!
and its hilarious to me now thinking back about how my following thoughts went from sad to a sort of upset angry to sarcastic to making fun of myself and then to over joyed by the irony so quickly. said progression went something like this:
...how am i suppose to feel better when there are no snowflakes to stay on my nose and eyelashes? why are the roses not in bloom? what the freak is schnitzel?!? how come i have never ever gotten a brown paper package tied up with strings? are ten year old cats' whiskers as effective as kittens'? hehe. i knew i should have brought warm woolen mittens. this is like the best story ever! i'm totally gonna write my brother and tell him all about it, maybe this would be a good blog too. gosh it is such a pretty day. dang! my finger and bite wound really are throbbing...
i'm pretty sure at about that point my grandpa interrupted my internal monologue and i welcomed the excuse to get away from my thoughts and back into a normal conversation. 
over the following days i enjoyed telling my comedy bit about my life, the sting, the bite, the sadness of it all was really fun to laugh at. i just couldn't help, but shake the feeling that the list of favorite things from the movie weren't really doing the trick. 
then i realized the point of the song isn't to think of julie andrews' voice singing a list of someone else's favorite things...well unless you're like me and you really enjoy musicals and julie's voice...but rather to remind us to think of all the simple and wonderful things that make life better.
so...i started to think of my favorite things, and as always i want to share them with you-my loyal readers. cause well... i think they are an excellent collection of simply reasons that make my life worth living.
my favorite things might not rhyme or have the sing song rhythm, but they do the trick, they put a smile on my face. bonfires with mallows and roasted bursts. going to get the mail and finding a letter written to me. indoor plants. spending time with babycakes, darb, miss funkhouser or any of my other wonderful family members. bright colorful patterns. cinnamon apples. comments on my blog, facebook, photos, etc. cooking meals that are so good people ask for seconds even when they're stuffed to the rafters. my mommy's hugs. telling life stories that make people smile, laugh, think, etc. giving piggyback rides. radio stations that play the songs i can sing along to. boating on a hot summer day. things on major sale. lord darlington and i on a long stretch of road. simply orange juice. the smell of warm pine trees. dollar bill rings. and so many other things. 
i simply remember my favorite things...
and then i don't feel so bad!


28. thinking about my favorite things. 


what are your favorite things? do you have any favorite memories of times we've shared together?

dearest readers.

a bakers dozen of you actually follow my blog and even less leave comments. i imagine this is probably because i lack the ability to post regularly. it is the possibly, that when i do post, my life stories aren't interesting to the masses. yet, for whatever reason (hi mom, hi dad) you continue to read my cheesy little blog....arg...i can't seem to think and type and express what i'm trying to say...basically...thank you. :)) thanks reading this here blog. 

my life has changed a lot over the past few months and i have about a bajillion things i've wanted to blog about so...dear reader there will be more posts coming to you soon. 

blog worthy.

this might sound vain, but i've always wanted to have a newspaper article about me. i guess this dream started when i was a wee tyke i thought the ultimate coolest thing was having your name appear in a newspaper article. seriously! that it is so cool! cause it means you witnessed something noteworthy, or did something other people would want to read about, and you can call up your grandma and be like: "grandma did you see the paper today? section x page x. pretty sweet, right?" big moments in a life can be shared and people can save that story forever and ever. 

in the 4th grade i got to be on tv and sure it was a couple minutes long, but that was not as cool as the newspaper. of course having the local news anchor interview me was kinda awesome, but your mom can't cut that out and put it on your refrigerator.

then in high school my dreams came true. my name was mentioned in a list for honor roll, a few press releases, a few community events, plays, sports teams, fundraisers, etc. i don't know that any of them ever made in on the fridge...to be fair my parents really don't put anything on the fridge.

i still thought having my name printed in a newspaper article was cool, but it never got in the paper for saving a baby from a burning building or witnesses a robbery. it seemed like i was just living my regular life and somehow a journalist found out about little ole me. 

overtime goals and dreams change, right? since i became a part of the blogging world (a couple years ago) i secretly wished that my name would crop up in a friend's post. so i could call my mom up and be like: "yo mom! check out this blog...i know sweet right?!? yup thats me, your daughter, being mentioned in a blog"

i never really thought this would happen, then a few weeks ago this post nothin but nettie was added to adventures of a flunking honor student. it is an entire post about me. i was shocked. i am very honored and humbled and a little bit embarrassed cause frankly this post shows off an interesting side of me. again it wasn't like i'd done anything special or blog worthy, just living. but mr. inman's blog it made me realized that wanting to be mentioned in a blog has a lot less to do with my vanity and is more a having validation that i'm living a life worth remembering. 

i am so grateful for the experiences and opportunities i've have in my life and especially grateful for all the people i've met along the way. thank you for remembering our time together xoxoxo. 

27. having someone blog about me aka being remembered. 

walks with siku.

siku is my brother's dog. he is a hyper, strawberry blonde siberian husky.  like most huskies he is super hairy; i lovingly refer to him as mr. fluffy butt or seekers. the neighbor kids call him our fox (i have no idea why). siku doesn't really bark-he more like gargles roo sounds, but he guards our street with pride.

he loves to swim, eat, and go on long walks with scenic views, its no wonder that we get along so well.

he became part of the fam a couple years ago and i've been told his name means "ice man" and that seems to fit.

each year when i come home for a visit, siku and i go on walks. most of our walks are on the trails near the river 'cause siku and i love to get wet and splash about. at least a couple times a week, i grab his red leash and we set out on our adventures. sometimes we invite other family members to come along. ;)

besides the exercise, beauty of nature, and bonding time, my favorite part about walks with siku are the comments he brings about. once a pair of older ladies asked us for directions to the vineyard and then ask how i trained a wolf to be so well behaved. many folks let me know "thats a beautiful dog" which always fills me with pride. an older gentlemen once commented on how siku was walking me not me walking him, and chuckled to himself as we pasted by. yet, the best comment we ever got was last week.

i had just loaded seekers into the back of the pickup and had started to drive away from the trails just as the county's chain gang of litter-duty incarcerated males were waltzing into the area. i distinctly heard one say to another: "check that out! that is one fine (expletive) woman, she drives a truck and check out that sick-awesome dog!" 

i'm moving back to utah next week; i sure am gonna miss my time with that dog. 

26. walking the family dog: siku. 

aloha.

in the hawaiian language the word aloha has several meanings. we know that aloha is hello and goodbye; it is said often enough on the mainland. i remember friends coming back from hawai'i, tanned and on an aloha kick. they'd toss the greeting around seemingly just to remind me how awesome their vacation was. but as the tans faded so did the use of aloha. it wasn't until i came here: the island of oahu, that i learned aloha is more than a fun and different way of saying hi and bye. aloha is love, compassion, peace, and mercy.

how did i get to oahu? by plane of course. i came to be with my family. all five of us. we planned this trip a few months ago as a last hooray before my brother sets out on a mission to brazil. there is no way i could have imagined just how much i would need this trip. coming here happened at the perfect time.

at the dole plantation. 

the past month has been an experience (that's putting it politely). i have felt the depths of despair and true sorrow. i have failed in more than one way. i was overwhelmed, confused, and felt useless. any wonderful happy moments seemed fleeting. i questioned my reason for being. events that cause revolutionary changes of thought occurred almost too frequently for me to comprehend. i felt homeless and helpless. my soul ached.

i was like a child playing hide-and-go-seek without a good hiding spot. knots turning my stomach and whether i was ready or not, it was time for change. so... i travelled nearly three thousand miles across seven states, to get to my flight to paradise and arrived here a week and a half ago. it has been everything i wanted and hope for, but more importantly hawai'i has been everything i needed. the rain. the sun. the wind. the waves. the food. the pcc. the aloha spirit.

i learned that aloha literally means presence of life. it comes from alo meaning presence, and ha meaning breath of life. but in the aloha state, aloha is more than a word its a way of living. aloha has become a symbol of love and respect; a way of sending and receiving positive energy. on sunday, when i went to church i saw this positive energy being shared as each speaker greeted the congregation with "aloha" and the congregation lovingly returned "aloha". perhaps you have to be in hawai'i to feel the difference between an echoed hello or good morning, and a repeated aloha. it is also said that when you live the spirit of aloha you create eternal positive thoughts and feelings that multiply and effect others. the idea and feeling of aloha is that same truth that Christ teaches. love thy God and love thy fellow man. i believe i have felt the aloha spirit while being here.

parasailing.

it has helped bring me closer to my God as i marvel in all His many creations. the beauty of the islands and the kindness of His children. i have faith that God has a plan for each of us and that He constantly wants to bless us. we just need to turn to Him wholeheartedly and have the willingness to trust Him and be obedient. this experience has helped me to see just how immensely blessed i am. my time in oahu has given me a new appreciation for life and a fervor to become my best.

i am grateful that i could come to oahu and be reminded of the joys of living.
seeing chickens roam free outside a taco bell pizza hut. trying to get lost, only to end up where i'd been before. helping make a friend smile. appreciating beauty in all its many forms. reading. epiphanies! *pineapple grow on the ground, who knew?* trying new things. having my breath taken away and the sweet taste of the next gasp of air. burning my shoulders (not favorite). getting salt water in my eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. forming blisters, sores, and bruises. getting a nice tan before summer. falling in love with loco moco. feeling pain, grief, and sorrow, yet feeling so much more love, peace, and happiness.
i have learned to take both the good and bad in life, but to be especially thankful for the good.

there are a few people i want to especially thank for the experience i've had here.

mr. and mrs. sopu: thank you for your  kindness and for sharing your home, bike, and delicious food with me.
mr. mander: thank you for sharing a priceless experience (everyone should go parasailing!) with a broke college student.
miss cox and friend: thanks for ruby tuesdays, long drives, illegal activity, and jamming out to great tunes.
my friends in texas: thanks for encouraging me to take this detour ;)
gladys at pcc: thank you for sharing your wisdom.
mommy, daddy, darb, and babycakes: thanks making this possible and thanks again for all our excellent memories (noni, lobster skin, etc.). 

you: mahalo! for reading my blog :) and aloha.

25. finding the meaning of aloha in hawaii. 

if you're facebook friends with me, almost all of you are (since only about a dozen people read this blog), you can check out my slight detour album to see more beautiful photos. 

musicals.

musicals might be the most wonderful thing. growing up i would watch the sound of music, the play version of peter pan, and singing in the rain as often as my family would let me. i was mesmerized by camelot and my love for richard harris began. i liked south pacific, the music man, and especially my grandfather singing along with fiddler on the roof. when i was at byu, the best show i saw was a musical: thoroughly modern millie. i also saw seven brides for seven brothers, and newies for the first time while at byu. then there are disney movies which are basically musicals (chitty chitty bang bang, mary poppins, all the classic cartoons) and i've seen broadway's touring the lion king twice, and the phantom of the opera. it is cheesy but completely true: i love musicals!
recently, i was introduced to another musical into the woods and at the end of may i'm going to see wicked :] at the imb performing arts center (aka the opera house). miss steen and i are so so excited!! 
anyways i thought i would share my love with ya all. below is a list of some of my all time favorite musical songs. enjoy these tasty earworms :))

Beauty and the Beast, If I Can't Love Her (Beauty and the Beast)
Camelot (Camelot)
All that Jazz (Chicago)
Finale, Agony, Agony Reprise (Into the Woods)
I Dreamed A Dream (Les Miserables)
The Circle of Life (The Lion King)
Chim Chim Cher-ee, Feed the Birds (Mary Poppins)
Oklahoma, Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma)
The Music of the Night (The Phantom of the Opera)
I Won't Grow Up (Peter Pan the Musical)
Maria, Something Good, Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Singin in the Rain, Good Morning, Moses (Singin' in the Rain)
You'll Be In My Heart (Tarzan)
Gimme Gimme (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Popular, For Good (Wicked)
Over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz)
Go the Distance (Disney's Hercules)
Kiss the Girl, Part of Your World (Disney's The Little Mermaid)
Once Upon a Dream (Disney's Sleeping Beauty)
Blue Hair by Joe Iconis

what you think of my list?  also, If you have any musical songs you think i should listen to, prease prease lemme know! thanks! :))


24. singing and dancing along, to my favorite musical songs.