fill in the blank friday


1.   My favorite place i've ever traveled to is     Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai, HI  .

2.   England   is somewhere I'd love to go someday.


3.  I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by     reading, watching a movie, or sleeping      .

4.  My three must-haves when I travel are     alcoholic beverage (I am scared to death to fly, and this is the only thing that will relax me)    ,    head phones (to play whatever movie they are showing, or listen to whatever music they are playing. anything to drown out that awful 'in flight' noise... ugh)   and      a blanket (they keep it icebox cold, I suppose like a hospital, to keep it all low-germ, even though I almost always get sick after a flight).

5.  My favorite travel companion is    the hubs .

6.  The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is    my first time traveling with myself and two small children (Sissy was not yet 3 and Bubba was nearly 2) as if that isn't stressful enough, on my return flight, we hit some major turbulence (the flight is an hour long, CA to AZ), so the male steward comes on the intercom and says: Um... oh God, Um... if you haven't done so already, please do" followed by more turbulence. I went white as a ghost and the lady sitting across from me (we were in that front area where there are six seats, three on each side facing each other) kept asking if I was okay and got me a cold towel to wipe my beading face. I thought I was gonna die with my babies and leave the hubs all alone. I was also barely 21 (now you know why I absolutely strongly dislike, close to hate flying)  .

7.  The most exotic food I've ever tried while traveling is   Lau Lau on my first visit to Hawai'i on the island of Oahu  .

five for friday

One

Rest In Sweet Peace, Miss Etta James

Two
Source: google.ca via Christina on Pinterest

Dowton Abbey, my new obsession

Three

I so badly want to build a fort, please?

Four

Red Velvet Cupcakes by The Cake Mamas to be had this weekend

Five
Source: piccsy.com via ea on Pinterest

Road Trip, starting NOW

Enjoy your week end!

fill in the blank friday


1.   The last thing I ate was     roasted eggplant. Yum!  .

2.   The last song I listened to was    listened to ...Fall In Love At A Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg. The last song that played was Any Way You Want It by Journey   .


3.  Using the letters in my name I can spell    Jennifer... Jen, Fen, Fin, Fur, Fein, Jeer..  

4.  If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick     Gray, because it's not black or white, and it's slimming  .

5.  If you were to look in my bag right now you'd find    my wallet, my sunglasses, chapstick, and my kindle fire .

6.  When I finish filling in the blanks I'm going to    wrap up my work day and hopefully head to the gym for cycle class  .

7.  My all time favorite song to dance to is    oh geez, no clue. depends on the mood  .

saturday

it has been a quiet saturday around the house...


- the hubs has been hunting deer and javelina all day


- sissy went to a girlfriends house for a sleepover


- bubba is... well...
baCcBS on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs
make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif


- and I'm listening to Frank Sinatra radio on Pandora while scrapbooking

and crafting


how has your saturday been?

fill in the blank friday


1.   One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is     craft (scrapbook, art  journal, paint, sew, etc.)   .

2.   When I have free time I tend to    spend my free time debating on what to do (craft, read, watch a movie, hot bath w/glass of wine) that by the time I finally decide, I only have, like, 15 minutes left. lol    .


3.  If I had an entire day completely to myself I would    take a drive up North and visit my favorite places, and visit friends like Danielle or Rasha  .

4.  I would prefer to spend my free time (alone or with others...)    if I had to pick, I would say alone. I really appreciate my own personal quiet time   .

5.  Most of my free time happens    when the hubs is hunting and the kids are at friends houses .

6.  The best thing about free time is    its usually very quiet and still .

7.  The next time I have free time I should probably    watch the long list of old movies I want to see that my family wont sit down and watch with me   but instead, I'll probably     craft, or read, or heaven-forbid get on Pinterest, lol.

Link Up At Lauren's!!

i need to share this

So, without going into grim details, my heart has been shattered... again. (this time it had nothing to do with death.) Long story short, God had answered my diligent prayers and my family was presented an opportunity of a lifetime, my entire family. I can't disclose the details, but know that it was truly a life changing experience on the scale of winning the lottery (yeah, that is how big this is). For reasons beyond my control, I had to painfully pass on the offer.

This occurred on Tuesday.

Wednesday, I could barely function. I cried deep inside. I cried aloud hard. I was hurt and angry and mournful. And the physical pain that comes with heartache can be unbearable. 

Let me preface by saying, I literally was praying for this answer, nearly every day since my father passed, and nearly double once my uncle recently passed. I knew that this opportunity was God's answer to me. I knew it. I was angry and confused. Why would God send me an answer and not allow me to receive it? Was this a joke? Was I being punk'd by God? Or my jokester uncle, now in Heaven? Did they even have those rights? Is this a test? What's the bigger picture? Where is the lesson? (I am so serious, these were actual question in my brain). 

While bawling on the phone to my Mom, she reminded me of the books she gave me for Christmas. Specifically the daily devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. She began comforting me with Scripture and prayer and told me to read the devotionals. To be completely honest, I was so angry I didn't want anything to do with it. (Sorry Mom). I decided to take a nap (since I had a stress headache the size of Texas and my tummy was tighter than a sailor's wet nautical knot). When I woke up it was dark, and I was alone. I decided to pick up the book.
As I read through the Introduction and caught up on the dailys I began to feel... not as angry. But still, the questioned lingered, and the pain would not subside. To make matters worse, it was my Dad's birthday. He would have been 69. 

I prayed, I journaled, I cried some more, I sat (yes, just... sat). When it was bedtime of course I wasn't tired. I tried watching tv and what I call little 'reality stingers' kept pestering me until I was angry and crying again. I just wanted to go to sleep and end this day. Eventually that happened.

When I woke up this morning, I was tired, disoriented, still angry, still sick. I decided to pick up my devotional. I read it SIX times. I knew what it was saying, but I wanted it to seep in my pores, I wanted to breathe it and know it and love it. 
Psalm 34:18 ... The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The devotional goes on to say "It is through problems and failure, weakness and neediness that you learn to rely on Me." 
Is this the answer? The bigger picture? I'm discussing that with God. But I can tell you that I am one of those 'everything happens for a reason' type of people, and this great heartbreak happened and has in turn make me seek God even more. Yes, I am still angry, and yes I am still in pain. I don't see those things going away anytime soon. This situation has changed my look on things in my life. Things that were once stable and solid ground don't look that way anymore. Changes can happen in the swift blink of an eye. I suppose time will tell.

Lastly, I wanted to thank those who have supported me. Those who sent me messages of love, I greatly appreciate it. I have been through rougher times and have survived those. With the love and support of my friends and family, and above all, God I will get through this heartbreak too.  

like Bill Cosby and a pudding pop

Source: zupas.com via Leticia on Pinterest


"My life is like taking a picture through jello with a fish eye lens camera."  ~ Me

This is what I said to my Mom when she (basically) asked how I was doing. lol. I know, I know... makes absolutely no sense in the world. Just count it as another Jen-ism! lol
Not even trying to be a Debbie Downer... more like a Realistic Rosie. Things feel so disproportionate. Death during a holiday season will do that to you. I feel as though I am constantly fighting against the pushing and poking, trying not to let it pierce me, trying to hold together... like Jello. I'm trying to stay upbeat and colorful and refreshing... like Jello. I'm trying to look at the good in every day... like Jello, if Jelly had eyes. lol. And while this is all time consuming with having to pay attention to detail...(like making beautiful rainbow Jello)... I know that when all is said and done, life will taste just fine and delicious... like Jello. 
Who's hungry?

PS. I noticed that I rep a whole lotta 'lol's in my blogging. This is where you, the studio audience, laugh out loud. Just picture me holding up a cardboard sign with the word 'Applause'  bolded out on it. Perhaps I'm in the bunny suit from A Christmas Story. You're welcome for the visual. lol.

thankful

Happy New Year Y'all! 

I hope that 2011 was good to you and that 2012 will be better. I know it's totally 'all the rage' to do a 2011 recap, and while I have enjoyed reading through my favorite blogs recaps, I'm not gonna do one here. Mainly because I wasn't prepared for it. My uncle's passing kinda thew things into a bit of a tailspin (actually I'm still there, but moving forward).

I don't typically like to make 'resolutions' although I am all for making a list of 'intentions'... can you smell my recent fear of commitment, lol. Anyway, atop that list is a fantastic 365 project (again, not making any promises, but have the ultimate best intentions). Over at InspiredRD Alysa is starting this truly heartwarming and inspiring project called Project 365 Thanks. Whats absolutely perfect about this 365 (versus the photo of yourself for 365 days challenge) is that I have been talking to God a lot about this recently. My heart gets so heavy when I think about all the things that we have and how we don't truly appreciate them. The big things, the little things... some people don't have any things. We just take them for granted. I've been asking God to make me mindful of all the blessing in my life. The things, yes, but also the people, the experiences, the days, the nights, the moments... you see what I mean. When I read about this project I knew this was God answering me. So, with that long explanation, I am going to be participating in this project. More than likely I'll be tweeting my daily thanks, so feel free to follow me on Twitter... @JenCoen. As for today, I've already tweeted (ps, I seriously LOVE Twitter) but I'll share here as well. 
Day One. I am thankful for the beautiful Arizona weather! #365thanks
pic.twitter.com/316t3M5f
(The photo was actually taken by the hubs while out hunting pigs this morning and texted to me)(Sharing is Caring, lol)

If you're feeling inspired as well, please join us!

Additionally on my list of intentions... I recently acquired the Project Life products and I am really so excited to try this new way of scrapbooking / documenting our family life. Yay!
project life by becky higgins

So what is on your list on intentions??? What are you thankful for today???

fill in the blank friday


1.   New Years is    a fresh start   .

2.   One of my New Year's resolutions will be   to stay in the moment    .

3.  A New Year's resolution I've made in the past was to   quit smoking, done (like years ago)   .

4. The most time consuming resolution I ever made was    to eat clean and live healthy. It is more a lifestyle, really  .

5.  This year I will be spending New Year's Eve    at my Mom's eating finger foods and playing board games and watching the ball drop.

6.  If I could wish one thing for my new year it would be    to win the lottery! lol.

7.  2012 is going to be    the end of the world, haha. j/k, j/k, it actually won't because God says in the Bible that no man knows the hour, so take that Mayan calendar! lol .
© something Big is coming...
Maira Gall