Last day of work!

My last day of work. So exciting. It wasn't the stress free day I'd hoped for but at least it went well for the most part. Some little girl told me I was her favorite waitress, that kind of made my night, even if it wasn't true. :) I can't believe I go back up to school in less than a week. Time has FLOWN by this summer I feel like, and while I'm ready to go back, I'm going to miss being home. Unless you've done it before, it's hard to explain how you feel coming back home from college... it's like you're no longer a part of the town you grew up in or something. Weird. Anyway, I'm ready to go back but it'll definitely be bittersweet. One thing I'm so excited about it going back to my church, The Grove. I love it there and I can't wait to be around that community of people again. Here I come! :)

One funny thing that happened while at work was we had the usual stoners come in and order 4 orders of cheese fries with 18 things of southwest sauce. Background: we only give one thing of sauce per fry order and 4 orders of cheese fries ended up costing them $31.00ish. In.sane. They're so funny to watch though, a pain to clean up after... but entertaining none the less. They always smell like weed though which kinda sucks for the poor families sitting around them. Anyway. That's my story. haha it's dumb and apparently I need to work on my story telling according to one of my coworkers. I think "I had to sneeze... and then I didn't" is a great story. I don't know about the rest of you guys...

It's been fun working there at times, frustrating at others but I'm glad I did it and I'm glad this summer I got to re connect with my sister and just really hang out with my family before life goes crazy and takes us many random places. Oh! Quick update: If you've read my blog before you'll know that I wasn't going to use my money to buy a car for this year and God's already provided by allowing me to have a car for the first 3 weeks I'm up at school doing RA stuff before school actually starts thanks to the generosity of my parents! I'm not sure what'll happen after, but I know God will provide and he already did in a rather unexpected way! :) Alright guys. It's getting later and I should be going to sleep.
Till I write again!
Jacks

Thought of the day: I see the hair stylist like I see the dentist. It's necessary for beauty, but sometimes it's painful to do. I got my hair cut today, lets just say there was enough hair on the floor to stuff into a decent sized pillow. Uff duh.

Lessons from TLC

I've been watching TLC for less than an hour and already I'm creeped out. Isn't it weird that some lady's obsession is eating rocks? Isn't it weird that hillbillies fish with their hands? Isn't it weird that people can hoard stuff until they're evicted from their home and STILL not clean it up?

Yeah. It's weird. And those are only some weird observations I've gotten from watching TLC. Not gonna lie though, it's really interesting to watch. I'm watching hoarders right now which makes me want to go clean my room. How do people live like that?! Why? It's a mystery to me. And now they're cleaning out year old food from a refrigerator. Excuse me while I go barf.

On a lighter note, Bryan and Amanda came home for the weekend and it was so fun! Well. For the most part. I love when we all are together but it inevitably becomes a pick on Jackie session. (At least that's how I feel.) I think it's because I'm the youngest so it's just easier to poke fun at jacks since she's the baby. But it's not fun for me. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being super sensitive but I don't like being laughed at and fault found in me... anywho. It was fun other than that! We went to the Big Dam Bridge and watched this MASSIVE barge go through for about 45 minutes. We were like little kids in a candy store just standing and looking at it haha. I'm sure the people on the boat were like, "What the heck?"

I painted two canvases tonight! Who knew I'd love painting canvases so much. I would've started earlier! :)

Alright. I'm going to bed. Till I write again!
Jacks

Thought of the day: If you haven't seen this video, you need to.

It's a great day to be alive!

Old school country. Normally, I'm not a fan. However, Travis Tritt is classic and his song is something you can sing along with. All.the.time. :) Check it out.

Ok. Moving on. 

I got to see my friends Maria and Rachel tonight, which was so fun! We went to dinner and went to a movie! So nice to hang out with my friends and to laugh and be ourselves! Monte Carlo makes me want to go to France so bad now. I can't WAIT for Junior year when I'll spend a whole semester there! It's going to be amazing I just know it.

I've been having a good summer so far. I can't believe it's almost over- I move up to school in 20 days. Insane. I'm doing pretty well sticking with my Radical year experiment- to update you all, I haven't figured out what to donate my money to yet, I'm considering adopting a compassion kid but haven't totally made up my mind. It's so hard to keep perspective and want to give away my hard earned money. I'm trying to be more willing to spend my money on things that matter in the grand scheme of thing or use it in ways to bless other people rather than blessing myself. I've been convicted recently because I really want a car, and it's become a spot of hardship for me trying to think of ways God's gonna give it to me when I'm wasting my time and energy. God doesn't work in ways I tell him to and he works in his time. I know in my heart that having a car would help me minister, but if I don't end up having one, he'll find ways still. I'm not gonna lie. It's hard for me to not have one, but I'm just praying that God will turn my heart towards him and I know his plan is better for me. Anyway. That's just an update on my life! I've been really convicted recently about using my money to bless people so that's my goal for the rest of the summer, and something I encourage all of you to do. Whether it's picking up the tab for all your friends at dinner or buying them a sonic drink at happy hour, do something to make someone's day. It feels great and really, what were you planning on using the money for anyway?! 

Till I write again!

Jacks

P.S. Way to go guys! We're almost at 1,000 views! Then I'll know I've really arrived in the blogging world ;). 

Thought of the day: I'm going to Harry Potter tomorrow night and am so pumped. But I'm thinking it's gonna be sad to say goodbye! Who's going and what're your thoughts?!

It's been awhile!

Sorry for my absence from the blogging world. I know you all were thinking something happened to me but I'm proud to say, that no. In fact. It hasn't. I'm alive and well, just perhaps a tad less creative than I have been recently. I'd like to start off by saying Happy 4th of July! What a great day to remember where we came from, and to think about where we're going in the future (dim as that may be to some). God Bless America. Can I get an "amen"!?

Currently I have a song on repeat. It's Chris Brown Feat. Justin Bieber... Yes. I am cool like that. It's called Next To You and everyone should check it out. It's great to sing along to. And yes. I do try to sing low like Chris Brown. It's really fun.

Today I spent the day painting canvasses! One is for my lovely friend Rachel for her birthday... which coincidentally was in April. I'm either late or early... Oh well. And the other two were smaller ones for me to hang in my dorm room since I'm seriously lacking things to go on my walls. I'm so excited for this next year though. I'm in process of sewing a quilt out of my old t-shirts and making a new pillow for my room. I'm also painting canvasses and getting new stuff to put in my room. I'm having a blast to say the least. Work takes up some of my time, I work 2-5 days a week depending on if my boss likes me I guess... :) Just joking. But really, It varies how much I work so I mostly fill the rest of that time with watching t.v., tanning with my sister and hanging out with her when she's not at work, and spending my paychecks on clothes and other necessities... such as nail polish and movies. What can I say. It's summer.

My only major news from this summer would be that yes. The rumors are true. I've gotten a tattoo! It's on my wrist, and it's the Hebrew word for Redeemed "ga'al". Although it looks much cooler written in hebrew, I've gotta say. I love that word and it's used in my favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 43:1. Here it is.
"But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."
Wow. What a great reminder to me everyday that I look at my tat to think, "God has called me by name today. I am his." I ask myself this, "Am I living like the God of the universe has called me by name?" That's a sobering question. I lose my temper. I act like the most selfish human being ever and I'm not proud to say that I do not live like I should. I don't let the weight of him calling my name and redeeming me affect how I act. What a sad way to go through life. Living as if I'm the center and as if I am entitled to anything. So needless to say, having it has definitely made me think more about what I do. I admit I'm not fixed or anywhere close to being better about how I respond to things and act, but at least it gets me thinking about that sort of thing ya know?

So there you have it. Nothing else is new in the blog world of Jackie. So until I write again,
Jacks!

Thought of the day: Unless you want to be known as a liar, an idiot, a bearer of bad news, and who knows what else; you may want to choose a profession other than a Weatherman. He predicted 90 degree weather. It was low 80s, high 70s. Liar. At least this time it was a good sort of lie. :)

Also. Be glad your power works. I spent most of my day without power today. Lets just say, the house gets hotter faster than you think. Thank the Lord for a cooler day and Chick Fil A