The Meandering Thoughts of Jan

Because his guitar solo is so hot, it will melt your face off.  Here is a prime example: PS  Shaky Camera Syndrome affects all of us at some point in our lives.  Let's have some compassion for the camera person of this video (me) who got a little distracted at different points of the concert and could have used a tripod.  Thank you.

One of the reasons I love summer is all the festivities that are going on almost every weekend.  Last weekend was the Chalk Art Festival, this weekend was the Art Festival.  My best bud Talena and I decided to attend the Art Festival for a girls night. At the festival there were multiple booths where you could buy items from local artists as well and music and performing arts on various stages.  So much culture, so little time. When we first arrived, we caught the tail end of Ballet West's performance.  I've always had a love for ballet, since I spent a few years in ballet during my years of youth.  I was never amazing at it, but I did come to appreciate it.  I was sad we missed most of their performance, sigh. No, she doesn't have four arms.  There is a guy behind her. Talena and I wandered around looking at the different art available.  There were many forms to choose from:  pottery, photography,  paintings, carvings, tin a...

Last weekend, Danny and I went to the Chalk Art Festival in Salt Lake City.  That is one talent I wish I had, artistic talent.  Oh well, at least I can enjoy other's artistic abilities.  We had fun looking at the art and picking out our favorites.  Here were a few of mine... I found this one really breathtaking. I thought this one was quite beautiful. I liked the idea of "Starry Night" over the Utah desert. There was a lot of art from different animated movies.  This one from "How to Train a Dragon" was my favorite from that genre. Me and Danny, to prove that we were there. Foot Art In other news, today is a sick day, which is kind of lame.  I'm living off of jello and Gatorade.  I came home yesterday feeling funny, which turned into a whiny me curled up in bed.  I have a nice husband who made me chicken noodle soup for dinner and watched documentaries about National Parks on Netflix with me.  Danny eve...

With all this wacky weather we've had this past spring, I have not able to go hiking until just last weekend!  My cousin Heidi was in town, so we went on a little hike up Rock Canyon in Provo.  I've been up this canyon multiple times in my life, especially when I lived in Provo.  It is beautiful this time of year, very green.  Also the spring runoff has turned the barely there stream into a raging river.  I quickly learned that I need to get my hiking skills into gear this summer and get into shape, because I was so out of breath!  (Should I admit that, oh well, just admitted it.)   Heidi and I had a great time chatting, enjoying nature and taking pictures of course.  We even saw a snake, which we were a little bit scared about, but survived.  (I can handle spiders, bugs, even mice, but snakes freak me out.) Heidi about to take a swim...but not really because I told her if she dived in I would try to save her, but we would both most li...

Ok kids, it's time for a fun little game we call "Where's Jannifer?"  (Closely related to the "Where's Waldo?")  Not only did I get to be an assistant on this production, but I also got to be an extra.  Let me tell you, running over to the director and producer between takes and then running back to my spot for another shot was a bit tiring.  Luckily I have a nice husband who rubbed my feet when I got home.  I thought this Mormon Message turned out really well.

For our book club, we read The Help  by Kathryn Stockett.    What made book club even better was that Melina was in town so we all were able to get together instead of having our book club over video chat.  We had a great discussion about the book and our lives. The Help takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's during the civil rights movement.  It focuses on three women, Aibileen and Minny, two African Amercian maids, and Skeeter (her nickname) a caucasian woman who wants to write their stories of what it is like to be a black maid in the South.  It is a risk for these women to meet together, but they feel their stories need to be told.   In my opinion, it was sweet to see the relationship between these different women grow and it was interesting to learn more about the social issues at that time.  However, I felt the book moved a little slow at times and I didn't feel like the end really tied up the story that well.   During o...

Apparently my sisters and I really like making wreaths.  This time my mom and sister-in-law JanaRae joined in as well.  We made rag wreaths, which is a really simple project.  First you cut up fabric into 1" x 7" strips. Next you form a wire hanger into a circle.  Then you spend the rest of the evening tying strips of fabric around the hanger frame.  This is why you have a get-together when making these, so you can chat while you are tying.  We were making these as 4th of July decorations, so we had everyone bring fabric in patterns of red, white and blue to share.  Here are pics of all the crafting fun!  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of JanaRae, because she came a little bit later.  Sorry JanaRae! Noelle and Mom during craft time! The wreaths were Michele's idea. Yay for making wreaths! The final product, which I thought turned out really cute!

My future cottage in France... a girl can dream! The other day I read this article  about how necessary it is for your brain to take breaks and vacations so you don't burn out and this article  about how the U.S. gives the least vacation time compared to the rest of the world and I realized my deep down need for vacations isn't just a lazy desire but is actually good for my brain health.  I'm constantly saving up my vacation time to get away.  When I'm out of vacation time, I research places I would like to visit and plan fantasy vacations.  Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job.  I'm a lucky girl to get to work where I do, but everyone needs time to relax. In the second article it shares that France guarantees 6 weeks of vacation as a minimum.  I can't even fathom 6 weeks of vacation time, it sounds like heaven.  When I got home that evening I announced to the husband Danny that I wanted to move to France.  His response was to...

It's true, I would describe myself as an introvert.  I verified this with one of my best buds, Talena (also an introvert) and my husband, Danny (an extrovert).  I once heard it described that if you get energy and recharge by spending time alone you are an introvert.  If you get energy and recharge by being with people you are an extrovert.  This could be one of the reasons why I need naps after work so often, because being around that many people all day is exhausting to me.  Anyway, the reason I share all this is that my friend Lisa had a list of facts and myths about introverts on her blog.  (Yay, shout out to Lisa!)  I found it interesting because I could relate to many of the points.  Lisa told me she actually found the list on this website .  I wanted to share the list to give a little view of a life of an introvert. Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk. This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to s...

My sweet Grandpa passed away today.  He was 92.  I'm so grateful to know he is with my Grandma now and that I will see him again.  I'm so blessed to have had his example in my life.  He was so friendly and would talk to anyone.  He loved sharing the gospel to anyone who would listen, including telemarketers. I was lucky to live near my Grandpa for the pass 2.5 years.  I made frequent visits during my lunch break to have lunch with him.  He would always tell me stories during our lunch.  I think my favorite stories were when he first held hands with a girl and how he fell in love with my Grandma through letters while he was at war. On Sunday night, Danny and I were able to visit Grandpa in the hospital.  He grasped my hand while we shared with him about our trip to Kansas. We also talked about his favorite topics, family history and temple work, which he responded the most too.  Even though he wasn't responding to everything we were ...