You dirty little hamster.

I've been trying to think of things ALL day to blog about. How pathetic is that?
Here is what I came up with.......NOTHING.

So here is a bunch of random stuff, instead.

After months of searching for a job, I finally gave up and got my old job back. Which means I'll be spending half of my week in my home town [an hour away], and the other half of my week here, with my husband. It isn't the most desirable situation, but I'm thankful.

Fall is finally here. I can actually feel it. I played frisbee outside with Kami and DIDN'T break a sweat. I wish it would stay this way forever.

I have been really productive lately--in a crafty kind of way. You guys will get to see it here first. But not quite yet.

Go to Sara's blog and vote on the worst car ever! Trust me, there are some funny ones on there.
While you're there enter her giveaway.

P.S. I miss hearing from all you bloggers who have fallen off the radar.

He's going to kill me

If you've been around here for long enough, you know that my BFF in real life also has a blog.

A lot of you also read and follow his life. I've been thinking about doing this post for a long time, but I could never find the evidence.

Until today.

For those of you who know Mr. O,
meet Ms. O...



Don't worry, he's not a cross dresser. Our high school used to have "Foxy Lady" pageants. I'm not really sure why, but a lot of guys participated.

& No, he did not win.


ANYWAYS..
Today is the last day to sign up for the blogger mail swap. YOU know you wannnnt to.

Tell them that she's not scared

Remember last week when I said that I was going to make myself read at least 30 minutes a day?

Well, it worked. Some days I even got sucked in and read for an hour or two. I actually finished one book and am about 80 pages into another one already.

My new goal is to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. It sounds good, in theory...but don't hold your breath, okay? haha

So far we have 6 people signed up for the Blogger Mail Swap. That's a good start, but it would be more fun with more people. Tell all your friends!

And today, I'll leave you with lyrics that are touching my heart this week:

& I'm twenty three & invincible
Got the world figured out
& the bird on my shoulders
Told me everything's gonna be all right
When is everything gonna be all right?

You've got mail

For a while now, I've been trying to come up with something fun to bring all of us blogger friends together.


One day, I checked the mail, and I had NOTHING. I was honestly a little sad about it. It's not that I was expecting anything, and thankfully there weren't any bills in there. But I realized just how excited I get when I have personal mail.
So, it came to me. What if I started a little Blogger Mail Swap?

Once a month you can receive a package from a fellow blogger, and you can send a package, too!
Here are the guidelines:

1. You have to send a package to get a package.
2. You can put anything that you want in the package, but please let the value be less than $10.
3. You don't have to buy anything for this. You can totally make things if you want!
4. Send package by the posted date. [I will send this in an email]
5. You won't know who you are getting a package from until it arrives. That being said, please don't tell the person you are sending a package to.
6. Please read the blog of the person who you're sending the package to. That's kind of the whole point of this, right? Show each other love.
7. For now, this BMS is limited to U.S. only [sorry, ya'll]
8. Have fun with it! I mean, who doesn't LOVE to get mail?!

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email to jaksart[at!]rocketmail.com.
In the email, please include the following:

First&Last Name
Address [so we can send the packages!]
link to your blog
Favorite Colors
Hobbies
Favorite kind of music
Anything else interesting about yourself


Sign up for OCTOBER'S Blogger Mail Swap by September 26th.

That Saturday, I will go through all the emails, and begin pairing bloggers.
I will send everyone who signed up an email with the info listed above of the blogger they are to send a package to that month. Each month you can choose to participate or opt out. If you want to participate, just make sure to sign up by the deadline. If you don't sign up, no worries, you can participate next month. Spread the word! The more the merrier!

Bright Sun Shiny Day

I should be studying for my exit exam, but instead, I am facebooking and blogging.
I just can't help it.
I was working on the study guide for a while on Thursday, and I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack. Seriously, this thing is really stressing me out.

So here I am for a much needed break. I know you're probably ready for me to tell you who the winner is, right? Right.

Here we go..........
The winner issssssssss
Congratulations, Krysten!
I'll be sending you an email this afternoon with some details.

Thanks to everyone who entered my give away! I have some cool things in the works, so keep an eye out for those. Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Five!

1. What is the first nightmare you remember?

I always used to have nightmares of people breaking into our house.

2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?

Football, I guess. I don't really find sports very interesting, though.

3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?

Probably what I call high waisted skirts w/belts.

4. Did you make good grades in school?
Pretty good, I think. A's & B's.

5. What magazines do you subscribe to?

Food Network, Glamour, & Allure

Don't forget about the give away! It ends tonight!

3D glasses give me a headache.

Tonight, my husband and I went to see Resident Evil: Afterlife.



I had heard both good & bad things about it, but I honestly went in with an open mind. I loved the three that came before it, so I wasn't going to let a few reviews ruin it for me.


And it's a good thing, because I....

LOVED IT!

I do encourage you to see for yourself. It has to be the best 3D movie I have ever seen. There was so much action, a few twists, and some close calls. My heart was beating fast pretty much the entire time, and there were a few times that I jumped out of my seat a little bit.
It was definitely worth the money to see it in theaters. So, what are you waiting for?

Don't forget about my give away. It ends Friday. Tell all your friends!

[s]low country

Guess what I just bought?


A blank canvas.
And I need to fill it with beautiful colors & brush strokes.
This is where YOU come in.

I am 'giving away' a custom portrait painting.
From now until Friday, I will be accepting entries.


Details:
I will paint a portrait of your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, sister, brother, kid, significant other, bffl [you get my point] on an 8x10 canvas, AND send it to you [a $75 value] FOR FREE.

To enter:
Leave a comment on THIS post telling me who you would want a portrait of.
Also, leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.

Extra entries:
Leave a separate comment letting me know

• if you are a new follower.
• if you have tweeted or blogged about this give away [please leave a link!]

Offer only valid in the U.S.
Winner will be announced Saturday, September 18th.

portfolio
etsy

Only in your dreams

You know how Picasso had the blue period?

Well, I must be having a childhood fantasy period, because I keep painting things like this:

& I keep creating things like this:

& as much as my husband laughs at me for it, I don't care.

I'm currently working on a water color series titled 'Today, I am....'
and an acrylic landscape series titled 'Wish you were here.'

One thing I realized that I haven't been doing like I should be.....reading.
I bought/traded SO many books this summer thinking that I would be reading non stop. I read 4 books before I got too busy, and somewhere along the way I forgot to start back.
So, my goal is to read AT LEAST 3o minutes a day, every single day. I know it's not a lot, but it's definitely better than going weeks/months without picking up a book.

Any suggestions for good reads?

srsly...

I fell victim to another fad.

If you ever wanted to know anything about me, now is the time to ask....before I come to my senses =P

idk. my bff, jill.

|source|

Since I've had a lot of time on my hands lately, I've been painting/crafting to take up my time.
Usually I listen to music or watch t.v. so I don't have to sit in silence.
The other day I was watching iCarly [let the hating begin], and I heard someone say something along the lines of 'we're going to be best friends forever'.
I couldn't help but laugh.
It made me think back to my childhood [what can I say, I've been feeling nostalgic lately.]
I had four 'best friends' from preschool until about 10th grade of high school. At that point, we all kind of went our own way. We were still friends in high school, but not the same kind of spend the night at each others houses every weekend, make up dances to pop songs, pretend to be mermaids in the pool kind of bond that we had all those years before.
Other than the fact that one of them passed away our freshman year of college, I could count on my fingers how many times I've talked to the other three since high school graduation.
It's sad actually. I genuinely thought these girls were going to be the people I turned to through all the twists & turns that life took me on. Obviously, I met new friends, and I am more than thankful for them. Without my friends, sometimes I'm not sure how I would get by. As hard as it is to admit that friendships fade away, the fact is that the memories from them don't.
I'm grateful for all of my past & future friendships, but I am no longer naive enough to think that ALL of them last forever.

Umm, seriously...

My husband bought a blackberry this week. It is the bane of my existence.
He has hardly put it down in the 4 days that he has had it, and I don't know how much longer I can take. Now, he's on it during dinner, while we're watching t.v., laying in bed. I mean, come on! The computer is two feet away, and he'll be on facebook on his phone. Don't get me wrong, I totally get that people use blackberrys for business, and they CAN come in really handy, etc. But OBVIOUSLY this isn't why he got one.
Someone PLEASE tell me you've dealt with this before. Tips/advice with trying to convince him he doesn't need it permanently attached to hand would be greatly appreciated.

Memory Lane, Pt. 2

Ohhh, the high school years.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little awkward in high school.
If you can't tell.......
At least I discovered contacts.

at some point, I morphed into a punk kid, and did not leave the house without my chuck taylors, stud belt and coke top bracelet.
*cue emo music*

& of COURSE I had a digital camera...


It's so weird looking back and seeing how LAME I actually was, when I thought I was so amazing. If history really does repeat itself, I guess I'll be doing this same thing again 10 years down the road.