A Favorite Song

I cannot even describe how much I love this song.

Tonight

Peppermint Tea

Photo editing

Figuring out Life

Create

Goals take time.  Even though I wish I could snap my fingers like Mary Poppins and have everything done within seconds, I do appreciate the time it takes to accomplish a goal.  I learn and I am more grateful for the opportunities I am given to learn because of the time it takes to fulfill a goal.  I have been graciously given resources and time to accomplish happiness in my life, so the question is, what am I going to do with the time that I have been given?  Goals make it worthwhile and I am able to measure what I am doing with my time.  

So, some of my projects as of late are coming together and it is exciting to see the final product!  I am able to say that I am happy with what I have been filling my time with and I am learning so much!  The album cover I designed for a band was just submitted to be printed (Mark Tonelli Quartet).  

 The cover

   The inside cover

The CD design

The tray card

I can not wait to see the final product.  I am slightly nervous.  Even though it looks amazing on my computer screen, I do not feel like it is complete until I see the CD case itself, covered in plastic, ready to sell. 

After that, I have held two sessions of my photography class!  It has been a great success and so much fun!  For the first session, I had 17 people show up. Wow.  I taught everyone how to use the different functions and buttons on their cameras.  It was amazing to see how many people owned DSLRs and had only ever used the automatic setting because they had no idea how to use their camera.  It was so exciting to see people's eyes light up when they had that "aha!" moment and realized they could do so much more with their amazing cameras.  I love photography.  On the second session we learned about composing a landscape photograph and a portrait.  Again, people's eyes lit up and it was thrilling to see them have a renewed excitement in photography. 

The official flyer.  I hope to keep doing these classes!

If you noticed in the post before, my quilt is coming together as well!  I love creating.  I would not be able to live a full life if I could not create.  Here is part of a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about creation.  It is beautiful, and I hope you take the time to read it and appreciate the ability you have within you to create!

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit {children} of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.  The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.  Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. 'There is a great work for the Saints to do,' he said. 'Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.'

...trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. "

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, General Conference, October 2008 (www.lds.org)

So, what are you going to do with the time that you have been given today?  I encourage you to take the time to create something beautiful.  Write a letter, draw a picture, make a meal to warm someone's heart.  Make your bed!  :)  You have it within you to create something beautiful.  As for me, today, I think I'll take a few pictures, write a letter to my sister, and make someone smile.  

Have a wonderful day!

A Needle and Thread

My quilt is coming together!  I am having a marvelous time working on it with my mother.  This photograph was taken right before we basted the whole thing together.  Now on to hand stitching and embroidery!  Wish me luck :)

"Love Will be Enough for Us"

Before I lay myself down tonight, I wanted to share a song that will sing me to sleep tonight with hopes of my future life. Almost a lullaby, it is a sweet love song.  Dave Barnes is the creator of this beautiful song, entitled, "Love Will be Enough for Us."  I couldn't find a suitable version of it on youtube, so trust my word:  it is absolutely lovely.  Here are the lyrics.  If you want to hear it, I suggest you look for it on iTunes and dream along with it.

Build a little cabin on a little tall hill
plan a little garden,pray for every meal
and we'll grow,and we'll grow
take a little nap in the butterfly grass
just you and I and the clouds a pass
and we're close,so close

we'll be living out where the river bends
where the grass gets green and the highway ends
living easy,easy 
you and me baby and the daffodils the kids growing up 
in the rolling hills
and love will be enough for us

rains coming down on the old tin roof
a lullaby storm in the middle of june
falling slow,falling slow

we'll be living out where the river bends
where the grass gets green and the highway ends
living easy
you and me baby and the daffodils the kids growing up 
in the rolling hills
and love will be enough for 
us,oooooh,love,ooooooh,love,will be enough

wake up darling let's leave tonight,
we can disappear under the clear moonlight 

and we'll be living out where the river bends
where the grass gets green and the highway ends
living easy
You and me baby and the daffodils the kids growing up 
in the rolling hills
and love will be enough for us

We'll build a little cabin on a little tall hill

   

Choose to be Happy

Shamefully I write at 12:58am.  I know I should be in bed.  I will regret this late night when 7:15am rolls around with my little sister shouting in my ear, “WAKE UP JANA!”  The word SHOUT cannot even describe how loud that exclamation will be in six hours.  I decided that my bed was calling my name at about 10:30pm.  I ran upstairs, put on my favorite sweat pants and readied myself for sleep.  Then, I had the brilliant idea to check my email.  Which then led to me writing a few emails.  Which then led to checking out a few photography blogs, which then led to MORE photography blogs, and voila! Here I am:  2.5 hours later, my mind buzzing with thoughts and inspirations and ideas and planning.  Oh.  I exhaust myself with just thinking!  So, to calm my running thoughts, here I am writing them all down.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get some sleep after this…

I wrote about goals in my last note.  I have been thinking a lot about goals and a lot about accomplishing them.  These thoughts were all inspired by a recent letter I received from my dear sister, Abs.  Let me jot down a few lines from that beloved letter:

Jan, are you happy??  I want you to be happy.  I would do anything to make you happy.  The Lord knows what he’s doing with you.  He wants you to be happy, too.  That’s all He wants for you.  I just want you to remember—AND DON’T roll your eyes or discount this just because I’m your sister—YOU’VE GOT THE FULL PACKAGE…you’ve got it all.  I hope you’re finding ways—never mind, I know you are—but finding ways to stay happy, REALLY happy.  When I’m feeling down about myself, I make goals.  Lots of good, healthy goals!  Now’s the time to do it!

Now besides realizing I have been blessed with the most amazing, beautiful sister when reading these words, I also realized that she’s right!  Goals are a wonderful way to stay happy and feel good about myself.  And that’s why I write them and do all that I can to accomplish them.  I never consider a goal failed or unfulfilled.  If I didn’t accomplish it the first time around, I try again.  I just simply haven’t finished it…yet…but I will!  And that mind set keeps me from being down on myself. 

Are you finding ways to stay happy?

Why is it so easy to be down on yourself?  My mother and I were having a discussion recently about blogs, Pinterest, facebook, twitter, and more blogs.  There is so much information out there and so many people are accomplishing amazing things!  Everyone seems so talented these days!  My mother told me that when she was my age, people were not even THINKING to create things that my generation creates.  It really is amazing, but I am afraid it can be another way to feel down on oneself.     Look at ALL these amazing people photographing and sewing and cooking and decorating.  OH MY GOODNESS.   And then the thoughts start to creep in…I’m not good enough.  I don’t have the right equipment.  I don’t have the money I need to start a project like that.  I wish I were that original.  I’m guilty, and chances are, you are, too. 

Instead of wasting my time looking at website after website (which I have very clearly been guilty of tonight) and PLANNING to be as amazing at So and So, I need to stop worrying about being better than them, and just get out and do.  Just DO.  Be confident, and be happy.  Live my life, and not try and live another’s or compare myself to them.  I have worked the last 25 years to not compare myself to others, and goodness, it is not easy.  I’m still young and I do not want to spend the next 60 years comparing my skills and looks and abilities to those of others.

Do you have any secret tips on how to be confident?  I would love to be let in on your little secret.

My secret is to choose to be happy with what I have. 

I learned this from my mother.  When I was nine years old, I was teased a lot for my looks.  I remember being constantly teased about how big my lips and teeth were.  Truly, my mouth was too big for my face.  (Thankfully, not many pictures exist of me in this state).  One girl in particular teased me on a daily basis.  I remember coming home crying to my mom because girls told me my lips were fat.  My mother pulled out a picture book that I had and opened to a painting of a grown woman with beautiful black eyes, the perfect little nose, and huge, voluptuous lips.  I remember thinking she was stunning.  My mother then said, “Grown women pay a lot of money to have their lips as big as yours.  You’ll have beautiful lips when you’re older.”  I chose then and there to be happy about my lips.  I was still teased, but eventually, my face grew into my lips, my teeth were straightened out (read more about my adventure here) and now I laugh when I think how silly it was that girls used to tease me for having full lips.  Women really do pay to have lips like mine! But the object of this story is that you may not always be able to change how you look or be better than someone else at a particular sport or hobby, but you can choose to be happy with what you have to offer.  And I have learned that what I have to offer is often much more than I realize.  (That goes for you, too!)

So, world of stellar blogs and über accomplishments, I am not afraid of you.  I will not let you get me down.  I will be happy for other people’s accomplishments and I will be happy for my own. 

Get off the computer already and go out and do something that makes you happy!

Or go to bed.  Which is what I am about to do.

March Madness (this has absolutely nothing to do with basketball)

March is here.  I never thought it would come this quickly.  In December, a new transition of my life began.  I graduated, I moved to New York with my family, and the job hunt began—holy goodness, no one prepared me for this!  Job-hunting is NOT fun.  I am positive anyone could have told me that, but it apparently wasn’t obvious to me until it was upon me.  When I graduated, I told myself two things:

-Get a job by the first week in February.

-Move out of my parent’s house by April.

Those, of course, were worthy goals.  I need an income, and I can’t burden my parents for much longer.  Unfortunately, I did not consider all factors that would go into pursuing my goals. 

So, now March is here, and I am still jobless and no closer to my goal of independence than I was three months ago.  Gah.  This is hard.  It didn’t help that I moved blindly to a new city, actually, a new state AND a new side of the country, where I have zero connections and friends.  Usually, I enjoy the challenge, but I think this time around, I bit off more than I can chew.  I submitted my first job application the day after New Year’s.  And then another, and another, and…another.  Ideally, I have been looking for a job in photography.  I want more experience working with other professional photographers.  There is still so much to learn despite having a degree in photography.  I contacted magazines, newspapers, and studios.  Nothing.  They all had lovely excuses like, “We don’t need more photographers,” “Budget cuts,” “You don’t have enough experience.”  (Well, duh, that’s why I’m looking for a job.)  I finally found work as a studio manager for a commercial chain studio.  Oh goodness.  I had the job for seven hours and then quit.  It was not at all what I thought.  And plus, a stabbing had just occurred outside the front door in recent months and was being patrolled by police officers.  I certainly didn’t want to be walking out alone in that parking lot at night.  Silly excuse, maybe, but good enough for me.  (You can read more about why I quit that job HERE.)

So, back to hunt I went.  I have become so desperate for a job, that I have broadened my job search to almost anything.  I finally found a job nearby working at the local ski slope.  Hah. I waited another two weeks for a background check (it’s on the military base) and then I was finally in the system.  I called my supervisor to find out my schedule and he told me they were closing the ski slope due to WARM WEATHER.  Just my luck.  Actually, though, the supervisor felt bad enough about the situation that he found me another job on base at the golf course.  So, now I have to wait another three weeks before that job begins.  I am still looking for something better….hopefully.  FINGERS CROSSED…five hundred times. 

In the meantime, though, I have been incredibly blessed with other opportunities.  I have been working on an album cover for a local jazz quartet.  That has been a lot of fun listening to their music, watching the band perform, and drawing inspiration for an album cover.  Here is an example of what I’ve been working on.  It’s not finished, but it’s getting there:

Then, I finally had the bright idea to contact the arts and crafts center on West Point.  I do not know why I didn’t call them earlier.  I asked if I could help volunteer teach their art classes.  Turns out, they’ve been looking for someone to help out.  Perfect!  So, now I’m teaching a photography class, and if it goes well, we’ll hold more, and I’ll get paid!  (I’m holding my breath on this one!  This would be so fun teaching to the community on a regular basis).  Here’s what we’ll be doing this month:

I’ve been able to get some freelance photography work in and I have a goal to take at least one picture a day.  I’ve been setting goals for myself that I haven’t had time for in years and what a blessing that is for me!  I have time to spend with my mother and sister, as well, which, believe it or not, is the cherry-on-top for me :)

Even though things aren’t going according to plan, I still have a lot to be thankful for.  I have a warm, feathery bed, lots of yummy food, a family that loves me, a beautiful home in a beautiful location, new friends, and time to develop new talents.  Really, I have a lot to be happy about.  Don’t you think?

This Month’s Goals:

            Make a quilt—I’m working on this one with my mom.  SO MUCH FUN!

      Try a new recipe every week—I have found some seriously good cupcake recipes at ourbestbites.com

      Take a photograph everyday—This one thrills my heart!

      Get a job—working on it

      Volunteer in the community—check!

      Wash the dishes everyday—this one can be hard sometimes…sorry, Mom!

      Make my bed everyday—you’d think a 25 year old would have this one down..ha…not me

            Read a good book—I gotta keep up my literary skills, you know?  Any suggestions? 

            Find reasons to be happy everyday!