one more...

so, i have one more thing to be thankful for...


ummm... flat irons!

and yes, that is me taking myself way too seriously. and please disregard the wrinkles on my forehead... i'm pretending they're not there, so you can too!

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 1

happy thanksgiving!!! so today... what i'm really grateful for is family. and juicy turkey. and marvelous mashed potatoes. and amazing gravy. and dill and lemon zest carrots. and raspberry AND orange jello salads. and a great turkey comatose nap. and a great movie. and leftover turkey on leftover rolls. mmmm. yeah for thanksgiving!

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 2

today, i'm grateful that we all grow up... AND that the 90s are over.

ahem... front row, 3rd from the right. don't ask.

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 3

there was a time, when i was about 13, that i didn't want to be seen in public with these two people (you're pretty much at your lamest, at 13). there was a time, when i was in college, that i called these two people almost every night and cried because i was so homesick. and now, these two people are my friends. i don't know what most people's relationships are like with their parents, but my parents have always walked the fine line between being a parent and being a friend pretty well. my recollections of life in the sheppard home consist of a lot of laughing, a lot of debates around the kitchen table, a lot of sleep-overs and parties and playing, a lot of good food and good company, lots of advice and counsel and direction. sure we fought and cried and stomped our feet and slammed some doors and maybe there was the occasional dangling of spit over someone's face... but there was just as much thanking and forgiving and praying and sharing and hugging and kissing (yuck... haha).

when i stop and think... REALLY think about my life, i can't help but be so grateful for my parents. for their love and support and encouragement... for their dedication to our family and to our church and to the community and to each other. anyone who knows my parents (no matter what age) has to make sure to tell me how much they love my parents. how fun they are and what wonderful people they are. it's usually followed by some form of the word "crazy"... but who doesn't need a little crazy in their lives?! :)

so today... i'm grateful for my mom and dad. leigh and winona. the people who taught me how to get things done and make it happen and do what's right and stand for what you believe and tell it like it is and love people and enjoy life and spell it correctly. thank you. i love you both! (and this cute picture).

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 4

who couldn't love this face!? today, i'm grateful for this guy.

(well, technically i'm grateful for him everyday...

but today's the day i choose to say it on my blog)

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 5

i'm thoroughly grateful for the amazing array of poorly made mormon movies.

p.s. no, i'm not. going FIVE days without poking fun at something is REALLY hard. :)

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 6

today, i'm particularly grateful for the awesome women that so many of my male friends have married. yeah for girlfriends by marriage! :)

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 7

every once in awhile, i get the urge to pull out old photos. i am a sucker for nostalgia. i could look through pictures and letters and journals for HOURS. today i found this little gem. yep, that's me (a.k.a. the female version of my brother). and i have to say, i LOVED that fisherprice house. i can still vividly remember what each little room looked like and all the little furniture that went inside it. and so today, i'm grateful for a few things...

a great childhood.

wicked sweet 80s toys.

awesome 80s clothes.

and the old school pictures to prove it.

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 8

today... i'm grateful for smiles and friendly people.

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 9

every morning, i wake up and have a fight with my alarm. it usually goes something like this: "beep beep beep". snooze. snuggle up tighter under my covers. 10 minutes later. "beep beep beep". snooze. turn over and snuggle more. 10 minutes later. "beep beep beep". FINE!! i LOVE my bed. i spent an entire summer in beds that weren't mine (my in-laws, a handful of different beds in europe, my bro & sis in-laws, our place in dc, etc etc etc) and when the time came to sleep in my own bed again... HEAVEN! let me explain what heaven looks like: it looks like a pillow top bed, with a feather bed on top, and a bed cover on top of that, covered in soft sheets and a big fluffy duvet... with a down pillow on the side.

so, anyway... i am grateful for a comfy bed, for a comfy couch (see above), for comfy throw pillows, and a comfy blanket... i am grateful for sleep. i love sleep. if i had a top ten list of favorite things in this world, at least one of them would be sleep. and another one might be naps. and another one might be sleeping-in. and another one would be hagen daz chocolate covered ice cream bars with almonds.

10 days of thanksgiving countdown - day 10

i decided that i need a change of pace around here. sure, it sometimes feels good to complain (thank goodness for me, i do it so well), and it's often more entertaining to poke fun at things... but i think it's time to change my tune (for a few days, at least). so, i'm going to do a 10 day countdown to thanksgiving, by talking about the things i'm grateful for. 'cause as much as complaining feels good... being grateful feels a whole lot better. (and i'll try to avoid laying the cheese on thick.)

so...

i'll start out my countdown by saying, i am grateful for technology... i love technology, for all you napoleonites out there. it may seem like a silly thing to be grateful for... maybe even something that you'd only expect the daughter of a computer geek to say (fancy that), but i really do. because of technology, i get to work from home. i will forever be grateful for this time of my life, when burton and i are home together most of the day. and i'm so grateful that i can work from virtually anywhere.

i also get to stay in touch with my parents in canada for free (well, besides paying for the actual internet). i get to touch base with so many of my dear friends on a much more consistent basis than if it required me to write a letter. though, back in the day, when i was sending friends on missions and paying for long distance to call the next town over, i did have a pretty complex system of keeping track of letters written, letters received, and letters needing reply. but now, it's simple. and i love it.

i'm particularly grateful for technology today, because today my internet went down for the majority of the day. which means i spent the majority of the day in a panic trying to get it back up, since my office phone runs through my internet connection as well. comcast got a healthy dose of "frustrated janaya" today, and although they were of no assistance (see how quickly a gratitude post turns into a complaining post? ... but watch how fast i switch it back!)... burton was my lifesaver! he fixed it. so i'm also grateful for a husband who works so hard in school that he ended up with an entire day with nothing to do, but help me fix the internet.

yeah, for technology! (and over-achieving husbands!)

a padded room sounds quiet

i really really REALLY want to be the kind of person who doesn't get easily irritated by things. but alas... i am not. as i type this, i am already in kind of a grumpy mood (work... the sucky stock market... work... not being out of town still... work... did i mention the sucky stock market?), so it's making the irritation meter a lot more sensitive than it might be otherwise. BUT... there are about 6 things happening to me simultaneously right now that are making me want to scream (again... because, yes... i have literally already thrown my laptop and slammed a door whilst kind of screaming... but more like grunting):

the elderly couple upstairs (bless their sweet hearts... i really do like them) have their grandkids over... and as much as i love kids... CAN THEY PLEASE STOP RUNNING!!!?!?!? it literally sounds like they're running in circles... stomping their feet as they go. and then stopping to wrestle every 45 seconds.

each time they stomp, the window next to me rattles. loudly. constantly.

someone upstairs is playing the piano. and if they were my child, i might be proud... but they're not... so the feeling is something more akin to hate.

burton doesn't have homework right now, so he's playing a game on his laptop... and each time he does something right, there's a little tinkerbell noise that plays through his headphones... i can still hear it. i love him... but the game needs to beat it.

there's at least 4 or 5 other noises i'm hearing right now that are driving me batty. and i have a headache. but... all things considered, i'm still overreacting. is this the part where they try to convince me that a nice white room with padded walls will ease my mind and calm me down? oh, and this jacket with arms that tie around the back is just to help me relax.

oblivious

so... i realized today (actually, i've realized this before today, but it was refreshed in my mind today) that there are a lot of people out there... most people, it sometimes seems... who are completely oblivious to the weird and annoying things about them. for example:

people who interrupt
people who brag
people who have to be right ALL the time
people who have to be in charge
people who say "ummm" every other word
people who say "you know" before and/or after every sentence
people who awkwardly laugh at the wrong moments or for no reason
people who repeat themselves
people who repeat themselves
people who invite themselves to things
people who lie about little things all the time
people who talk too much
people who talk too little
people who are picky
people who complain about everything

you get my point. and even though, about 80% of the list above describes me (... ok... 90%), and i know that... i have to wonder... what annoying things about me do i not know?

and so i ask you first... what annoying things about you are you fully aware of, but can't seem to kick?

and then i hesitantly ask you (if you feel so inclined to answer)... what annoying things about me do you think i'm completely oblivious to... and you wish i wasn't? :) be nice. but seriously... i can't take the thought of being one of those people who hasn't got a clue.

i'm going to regret this huh? :)

embracing the insanity

yep... it's the first week of november, and it's already beginning to look a lot like christmas... every where you go... da da da da da dum. and i've decided that this year, instead of being scrooge about it and complaining about how it's not even thanksgiving and i'm already hearing christmas music in costco and bumping into christmas trees in the mall... i'm going to enjoy it. i mean i love the holidays. i love christmas. i love the music. and the decorations (ahem... SOME of them). and the food. and the cards. and the phone calls. and the presents.... and come on... the clothes, people. you can never have too many pea-coats. or scarves. or sweaters. anyway... this year is going to be different. i'm going to embrace the spirit of christmas. now. november 7th. shockingly... i've even thought about sending out christmas cards this year... on time. but don't count on it.

so... merry 48-days-before-christmas! and a happy 55-days-before-new-years too!

do they make 48 day advent calendars?... 'cause sign me up!

i've been tegged (said with a canadian accent)

so, i have been informed by a creative-smart-handsome-intelligent-athletic-wonderful-someone-who-threw-a-great-Halloween-party (see comments on previous post) that i was tagged (or tegged, as it would sound if i actually said the word out loud... i simply cannot help it). though the actual tag is unclear... i THINK i'm supposed to write 8 odd tidbits about burton and i. so, here goes...

1. when i was 16 and burton was 12, unbeknownst to either of us, i attended his ward in farmington, utah with my friend matt (who was in the same ward) while on a family vacation at cherry hill campground. if someone had told me that day that i would marry one of the deacons passing the sacrament, i'd have laughed in their face 'til it hurt.
2. burton and i have driven from the west coast to the east coast of the united states together, travelled to 26 US states and 7 countries together, and 1 canadian province... which i'm from... that part is pathetic.
3. burton and i kissed before we'd ever even been on a date. THAT is what i call a solid foundation, people!
4. when burton got his family together and told them he had an announcement, in order to tell them he had received his mission call and was going on a mission (something they weren't expecting), his whole family thought he was announcing that we were getting married. his dad's comment to me afterwards -- "we would have been happy either way" ... ya right! :)
5. i usually cook.
6. burton usually cleans.
7. neither of us want to thaw the chicken. (i'm clearly running out of tidbits)
8. we have an on-going disagreement about whether the bottle of hand soap should sit on the rim of the sink or on the counter behind the sink... and everyday it's moved back and forth about a dozen times. insanity, i tell you.

and the list goes on... but that's where it gets too personal... and a little TOO odd. so... i'm supposed to tag two other people. so... (1) whit and ben... because they're blog slackers lately. and (2) becki and jeff... because they're entertaining. :)

(UPDATE: err.... i've been to two canadian provinces. which is still pathetic... but not to be trumped by the patheticness of not remembering that.)