Laughter

This one makes me laugh every time I see it...

A Game...

This post says do it for charity...

I also say it would be a good drinking game.

Either way (not that I would actually participate in a drinking game... you all know me better than that!), it would give you another excuse to watch American Idol. Come on, you have to admit you love the show!

Read the post here.

Violence

Article here.

I don't get terrorism at all... or even violence as a statement.

Take this group... the Environmental Liberation Front, or ELF. They burn down houses they don't think are built green... or university buildings that are supposedly genetically engineering trees.

Why? Does it really make that much of a statement? Does violence and terrorism really work the way it is supposed to? Does it really change minds and make others convert to your ideals? Will it suddenly make people change their ways?

From my observations, it doesn't.

McMansions are still going up. And you buring houses down only makes me think you are crazy and belong in jail.

People, violence doesn't get you anywhere. And I know there are revoluntions that are bloody and people are liberated... but I still don't know if war is the best answer. Ever. Sorry... call me a liberal, call me a hippy, but I won't change my mind.

I used to read all the time...

I love to read. When I was a child, it was all you could do not to rip the book out of my hand. I just read and read and read.

My "toy bag" when we went on vacation had a doll, some office supplies and as many books as I could stuff in there.

When i went to the library, i checked out the maximum number of books that you could. 15 if I remember correctly...

In fifth grade, math bored me and my teacher recognized I could already do most of it. So, she let me read in math class. I sat in the back and read books. And in case this makes you doubt my math skills, I can add, subtract, multiply and divide. I loved geometry... passed Calculus, etc. I just prefer to read. The only thing I am not too good at is spelling. Spell check is my best friend.

But, what happened? I feel like I hardly read anymore. My goal is to read more! I love it... seeing the characters, getting to know them. all of it... so help me read more. Ask me what I am reading and if I have read today.

Anyway, I thought this was a cool idea... stole it from Burnside Writer's Blog:

One book that changed my life: Bible... but's lets steer clear of the Christianese answers. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It proved to me that I could read things besides the Babysitters Club. Or, The Tomptom and the Fox. It's a kids book and I used to have my parent's read it to me over and over again as a toddler. I guess it was my first obsession and gave me my passion to read.

One book that I've read more than once: Any of the Harry Potter series. Or Little Women... and Practical Magic. I could pick those up and read them anytime.

One book that I'd want a desert island: Lord of the Rings series... I have never read this... and aspire to. But, I have a feeling the only way you are going to get me to read that monster if it was on a desert island. It seems daunting.

One book that made me laugh: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Its my current read and I have laughed out loud on a plane while reading it. You know that is a good book if I am willing to embarrass myself for it.

One book that made me cry: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... because it was sad, but also because it was the last. But, A Prayer for Owen Meany has also made me cry. You should read it... its my dad's favorite and I am beginning to see why.

One book that scared the he** out of me: The Shining by Stephen King. I never finished it. My friend in HS thought I would like it. Ummm, not so much. Scared me too much. I would be in my house with my parents and still be terrified. I like to sleep too much to read crap like that.

One book I wish had been written: umm... so many because I just wish I was a good writer... but Harry Potter, Blue Like Jazz, Girl Meets God (or something like that).

One book I wish had never been written: The Shining. I'm still having nightmares. Any sequel not written by the original author. Cheap, I tell you. Cheap. Get your own ideas!

One book I'm currently reading: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

One book you've been meaning to read: Way too many... almost anything on my bookshelf in my room... Pride and Prejudice is probably next. Then, Chronicles of Narnia, maybe? There's a lot. I'm also open to suggestions.

Your turn. Any good books you'd recommend? Make your own list!

Countdown

Ten Things You Want To Say To Ten Different People:

1. My name is JAYE... not JAYNE... do you think I would honestly misspell my own name?
2. You're cookies are fine. Just eat them and stop complaining.
3. Get over yourself... you aren't that important
4. Stop hanging with the boys. It makes you look desparate.
5. You really hurt me when...
6. Numbers aren't that important.
7. Stop nagging me! I am an adult you know
8. Just do as I say.
9. He's not worht your time. Break up with him already.
10. I love you.

Nine Things About Yourself:
1. I am a Christian
2. I'm a daughter
3. I LOVE Chick-fila and Papa John's. You won't ever have to convince me to eat there.
4. I really like driving by myself for a long time.
5. I'm constantly day dreaming. Anyone want to bring me down to reality?
6. I hate running... won't do it, don't make me try
7. I don't really do silence. I don't know why. Maybe I am afraid of it?
8. I really like dramas... they pull me in very quickly.
9. I wish I could sing and dance and act... i would love to perform.

Eight Ways To Win My Heart:
1. Give me a compliment
2. Put me at ease in your presence
3. Be a strong, walking Christian
4. Leave your ego at the door
5. Accept my stubbornness... but know if I respect you, I am more likely to give in.
6. Be open minded and love all
7. Don't judge others... you don't know what it is like to be them.
8. Watch Michigan football with me. ;-)

Seven Things That Cross Your Mind A Lot:
1. Concentrate.
2. Will I....
3. When's my next day off?
4. What else can I cross of my to do list?
5. Are you serious?
6. I'm hungry... no you're not... you're bored.
7. Why does my head hurt?

Six Things You Wish You Never Did:
1. There are a couple of friends from High School that I wish I hadn't cared about so much... they weren't good friends
2. Being so selfish... why do I always turn the conversation to me?
3. Called my Grosspapa one more time
4. Used my credit card as much as I did last fall...
5. Eaten White chocolate... talk about NASTY
6. Lose touch with people... so many people I want to email, but is it too late?

Five Turn Offs:
1. Arrogance... you aren't as cool as you think you are
2. someone who needs mothering... ask me for an explanation if you are confused
3. being co-dependent
4. being desparate
5. being akward

Four Turn Ons:
1. personality
2. making me comfortable in your presence
3. loving Christ and loving others as He did
4. Confidence in himself (but not arrogant)

Three Smileys That Describe Your Life:
1. ;)
2. :D
3. :P

Two Things You Want To Do Before You Die:
1. Know what it feels like to be a wife, a mom
2. Sky Dive

One Confession:
1. When I put the silveware in the dishwasher, it needs to be evenly distributed out amongst spots.

Back to Some Quizzes

Found some fun ones... thought I would spend a couple of days doing them. Here's the first!

----------• × • A L L A B O U T M E • × •--------------
Name: Jaye
Single or taken: single
Gender: female
Birthday: Nov 10
Sign: Scorpio
Hair color: brunette
Eye color: green/blue, really depends on my mood/ what I am wearing
Height: 5 foot 10
Are you straight/bisexual/gay?: Straight.
What is your sexiest outfit?: umm, definitely don't have one
What do you usually wear?: work clothes. But in a perfect world, I would wear sweats and flip flops all the time

--------------• × • S P E C I F I C S • × • -------------------
What kind of shampoo do you use?: Pantene Pro-V Hydrating Curls
What are you listening to right now: random play list on my iPod
Who is the last person that called you?: a mom wanting to place her daughter into a GS troop
How many buddies are online right now?: I don't AIM at work, and haven't used AIM in about a year

----------------• × • H A V E Y O U E V E R • × •-------------
Given anyone a bath?: little kids that I have babysat for, so yea
Smoked?: no and NEVER will
Bungee jumped?: someday, but I'd rather sky dive
Made yourself throw up?: ewww, no
Skinny dipped?: nope
Ever been in love?: no more than puppy love
Made yourself cry to get out of trouble?: not since I was five
Pictured your crush naked?: uhhh NO
Actually seen your crush naked?: nope
Cried when someone died?: yes
Lied: sadly, yes.
Fallen for your best friend?: definitely have fallen for my closest guy friend
Rejected someone?: not that i can remember
Used someone?: i hope not. have i ever made someone feel like that?
Done something you regret?: uhhh PLENTY

------------• × • C U R R E N T • × •---------------
Clothes: brown pants, blue Old Navy Perfect Tee and Brown Sweater
Music: nothing at this moment
Desktop picture: pic of some awesome girls outside of Za's
Cd in player: in the car? harry Potter on audio CD, the 3rd book
DVD in player: One Tree Hill, Season 2

----------------• × • L A S T P E R S O N • × •----------------------
You touched: my cat?
Hugged: someone at church on Sunday, I'm sure... Katie or Jill maybe
IMed: its been so long, I couldn't even tell you
You yelled at: my brother, he was bugging me to put on a seat belt in the car

---------------• × • A R E Y O U • × •---------------------
Understanding: I think so
Open-minded: yes, but I hope that you realize I can still have my opinions
Arrogant: I hope not... and I don't think so, but you never know. Let me know if I am
Insecure: YES!
Smart: probably yea... but I consider it more of my perfectionism
Moody: can be
Hard working: yep.
Organized: to an unhealthly degree
Healthy: depends on the day. trying to get better
Shy: Yep, although people don't believe me. But, I am.
Difficult: only if you want me to make the decision. I'm terrible at that.
Bored easily: no, I can entertain myself
Obsessed: with what?
Angry: if you make me so
Happy: most of the time
Hyper: not really... only at a dance PARTY!!!
Trusting: for the most part...

---------• × • W H O D O Y O U W A N N A • × •--------
Kill?: No one!
Slap?: I can't think of anyone, but I am sure there are moments that I would like to
Get really wasted with?: what's the fun of getting wasted? I'd rather hang out with you sober, thanks,
Get high with: se previous answer
Talk to offline: lots of people
Talk to online: let's just set up a date, k?

------------------• × • R A N D O M • × •---------------------
In the morning I: hit the snooze button... then proceed to shower and get ready for the day.
What do you notice first in the opposite sex you're into: Personality... do they make me laugh? do they make me comfortable in my own skin? are they servants... biggest turn off? EGO.

------------• × • W H I C H I S B E T T E R • × ------------
Coke or Pepsi: Coke, hands down... all the time
Flowers or candy: definitely candy
Tall or short: I'm tall... so lets go with, tall

---------------• × • W H O • × • ---------------
Makes you laugh the most: anyone sarcastic
Makes you smile: anything that makes me believe in the good side of people
Gives you a funny feeling when you see him/her: not telling ;-)

-------------• × • D O Y O U E V E R • × •-----------------
Sit on the internet all night waiting for that someone special to IM you?: heck no... i need my sleep.
Wish you were a member of the opposite sex?: sometimes….but only so i could figure out what they are thinking
Wish you were younger: sometimes
Cry because someone said something to you?: yep

-----------• × • N U M B E R • × •--------------
Of times I have had my heart broken: once
Of hearts I have broken: don't know...
Of guys I've kissed: two
Of girls I've kissed: none
Of CD's I own: too many to count... hundreds
Of scars on my body: I have no idea... a couple, I am sure. Little known fact... I have never broken a bone or had stiches.

Another Heartwarming Tale

Read this blog post.

Its another one of those "people are really good, and show love" moments. I love it when it is proved that people are actually caring etc.

Just thought I would share it with you... in case you need a pick me up!

Wash your hands?

Ok, I am a big advocate of washing your hands. This post is by no means implying that I don't wash my hands or think you shouldn't. I do. Please people, for all of us around you, Wash Your Hands!

However, there is this soap in one of the bathrooms here at work, and it is possibly one of the WORST smelling soaps in the world. AND, to top it all off, every time I use it, it makes me want to puke... and I get a headache from it.

Now... what should I do... should I still wash my hands?

The obvious answer is Yes. But, I am seriously considering going to another bathroom just to that because this headache is just not worth washing them there.

8 Hours Only

I think it is amazing how my body works sometimes. I literally will work all day, be busy... and am typically fine with that...

BUT, at around 4:30 my body naturally refuses to want to work anymore. I kid you not... it's like I have a switch in my head and at 4:30 is goes to off. Everyday at about this point, I just go... "I can't do this anymore." I just naturally need the break.

I don't think that is bad... Do you?

Of course... I don't work the 8 hours straight... I have a mid-mornig walk around the building, one walk in mid-afternoon... and almost always a break for lunch (about 10-15 minutes).

What does your natural work schedule look like? Is everyone the same?

$$$

Money is so overrated.



But so necessary.



Why is it a necessary evil?



If I am honest, I have gotten myself into some major credit card trouble. That is pretty scary for me to write out, to admit... It is also pretty scary to let you in on that. But, I am going to. I need to keep this in the light. What I really want is my roomie, Laura, to come home so I can talk to her about it. She is going to be my accountability partner in this.



Anyway, it just seems like money consumes me right now. I can't help but have my mind consumed by it. It is scary, to say the least. But, with this in the light... with God transforming how I view money and my spending habits, I can get out of this trouble. Right? Right!



Lord, help...

Hatred

Hatred is a strong word... I remember hearing this a lot as a child. And it is true... to truly HATE something, that's hard. We all have moments of dislike, abhorring, etc. I would would say few have truly shown hatred. But, I think people do show it.

Now, I don't know much about the Westboro Baptist Church and their pastor Phelps... but I would say I close to hate them... how distasteful can Christians be...

And now, I don't want to question their faith... but sometimes I would wonder how people claiming Christ as their savior could be so un-Christlike. Christ would have NEVER protested at a solider's funeral, or at an actor's. Christ called people out, but he also did it in love and in a loving manner. He showed righteous anger, but the Westboro manner is NOT righteous anger. They hurt people, people who are already in a dark place. People, this is NOT the way to SHOW Christ's love. All they are showing is hate and causing people to hate and turn against God. Not what God wants...

It just makes me sick... sick I tell you.

EDIT: did you know that their home page address is http://www.godhatesfags.com/... ummm... distasteful!!! wrong!!! mean!!! ARG!!! This helps me understand why people don't like Chrsitians, don't want to know Christ. Moments like this make me want to do the same thing. Luckily I already know Christ and know that this is not His Will.

To all who have been hurt by hateful people (who proclaim Christ), I apologize. I am truly sorry for the hurt that you feel. Know that this is not who God is.

Goals for 08

Saw this on another blog... loved the idea... Here's what i have so far...

Try to save a little more money.
Reduce Credit Card Debt.
Eat more fruits and veggies.
Don't beat myself up when I fail at eating more fruits and veggies.
Try to make more eye contact with people when I talk to them.
Stop complaining to people.
Cut down my alarm snoozing by 40% (or more!).
Avoid Red Lobster and other fake seafood places.
Actually work at work for 8 hours most days.
Joke w/ people about "casual relationships," especially if that idea makes them uncomfortable.
Start writing a book.
Avoid getting a tattoo.
Maintain my weight.
Spend a little less time in my Google Feed Reader.
Spend a little less time watching TV.
Spend a little less time obsessing over celebrity world.
Turn 25 years old on November 10th.
Floss more.
Spend less time caring that I don't floss.
Go somewhere on vacation other than Michigan.
Work out more... or atleast walk everyday.
Refuse to watch "The Hills."
Vote for someone to be our next president.
Eat more salad and less fast food.
Make the "Play Artist Michael Bolton" joke whenever I get into a friend's car.
Cook dinner for myself more often.
Talk to my family and friends on the phone more.
Get better at staying within my spending budget.
Avoid doing drugs, especially those with caffeine in them.
Drink more water and less Coke.
Read Don Miller's new book.
Read more books in general.
Tell those who matter to me I love them more.

So, some of these are serious... some are more sarcastic... some I will definitely be able to do... some will probably never happen. Ask me about them... keep me accountable!

Thank You!

I am obsessed... this Burnside Writers Collective Blog is one of the best. Here is another article I love... I love his stance on Health Care, his stance on political parties, everything.

I'll let the article speak for itself. Please read it here.

Thoughts on Work

I really like my new job. I went upstairs to refill my cup with some water and I was thinking, "is this really my job? I greatly enjoy it!"

Praise God that I feel this way about my job. It is fantastic!!! I like knowing that I enjoy what I do, and that overall I get up excited about work.

However, I do not enjoy the fact that my butt is sore all... sitting in a seat all day can make your bottom hurt. Mine does almost everyday by 5pm. Maybe that means I just need to get up and take more walks, huh?

A Question to Ponder

During a down moment at work today I decided to google "My Utmost for the Highest," to see if they provided the devotional online... and, well, they do. So I read it... and whoa, did it give me somethings to ponder.

• Have I lived my last day on earth? Have I had my "white funeral?"

So, I guess what this has made me think about... have I really given up my life to God? Am I really willing to say I am ok dying tomorrow (and maybe that's not what this days devotional wants me to think... but it is where I am being lead). anyway... am I ok with that thought? I have I truly given up my LIFE to be ok walking as the Lord has called me to. You know what, I don't know. I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, but there are days where I just think I am still clinging onto what I want, to things here on earth. I cling to my life, my stuff and materials here on earth. I don't want to leave it all... and I think that is something that God has been showing me and convicting me of recently.

Lord, I want to let go of my life here on earth, to trust you that life with you is so much better. Lord, help me to just give it all to you. Lord, help me to just live my life for the things above, with an eternal perspective. Lord, convict me when I am not living that way. Lord, help me to develop this intimate life with You. Amen.