still having trouble posting...i just got back from a super fun weekend trip to cleveland and I want to put up pictures and blogger won't let me! Anyway, here is the rock and roll hall of fame! Just one of the many items that was on our weekend agenda. LOVE that place! I could spend all day in there, looking at all the rock memorabilia. Cleveland is so fun and i'm glad my grandparents flew me and josh out! p.s. When I hit post to blogger, it says "404 not found"...anyone know a solution to this problem? Mobile blogging is fine, but I want to put up pictures from our trip!

blogger issues

I am having major issues with posting right now. I composed a few great posts and none of them will post! i'm working out the kinks and will hopefully be able to post my fun posts another time

popcorn popping on the apricot tree

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560196782&sk=photos#!/video/video.php?v=124303431782

i don't know if you will be able to view this video but i really hope you can.
i miss my friends!!

long time no update

hello? hello? is this thing on? i've been MIA for quite a while (does that surprise anyone?) but am ready to give my blog the much needed attention it deserves. in case you've forgotten, i'm now a sophomore at UNCC and havin' a good ole time. i got accepted into the dual licensure education program which means when i graduate i will have a license in elementary education and special education K-6. i'm enjoying dorm life for another year in a brand new dorm! everything is squeaky clean(which is nice but now everytime i put a scuff on the wall i could be fined for it at the end of the year) but the walls are paper thin. i've had to bang the wall and stomp on the ground several times as a hint to the people beside and below me to turn down the volume a bit. i'm making friends and going to lots of free campus activities on the weekends. josh is still consumed with studio work but we are having lots of fun.

so that's my life. see, it hasn't really gotten any more exciting than it was before but i have been feeling bad, neglecting my blog so.

see, i'm still alive!

this past week has been busy busy busy! i worked 27 hours last week which is a lot for me, jenn and daniel flew to wilmington, went to the beach with friends, developed tan lines, cleaned some houses, read some harry potter, played some mario kart, and ate some sushi. i'm lovin' summer but i'm excited to go back to school in the fall!

also this never fails to crack me up:

ode to the dollar tree

when we would go visit my grandparents in west virginia, mama and papa would always take me to the dollar store and let me pick out whatever i wanted. being younger, i was amazed and would always pick out some weird glass decorative animal and a candy bar. you see, my love for the dollar store was fostered at a young age. i know what you're probably thinking, "oh, the dollar store is chinsey and only old people/poor people shop there." while it's true, old people shop there, here are some reasons i love the dollar store (and you should too!):

1. everything EVERYTHING EVERYTHING is a dollar. one dollar. one buckaroo. inflation in the economy has just about made everything increase in price (ie milk, GAS, bread) but at the dollar tree, everything is a dollar. every day. every time. one george washington.
2. aisles and aisles of items. a craft aisle, a health/beauty aisle, a cleaning supplies aisle, a picture frame aisle, the list goes on and on. you can find almost anything you need (or don't need) there.
3. some of you may argue "the quality is horrible, that's why it's only a dollar!" false! everything i've bought from the dollar tree has held up perfectly well. i see no point in buying a picture frame for $4 when i can find almost the exact same one at the dollar store for $1. and if you do happen to buy something and it breaks, who cares? it was only a dollar, go buy another one (:
4. because of their large selection in items, it's an easy place to find craft ideas or buy little home accents. they have vases and candles and art and picture frames, and framed mirrors and poster board and little wooden signs you color with markers, and markers, and crayons, i'm telling you, the list goes on and on.
5. hair accessories. i buy a pack of about 30 hair ties for $1. a pack of 10 plastic headbands for $1. i'm very good at losing/breaking hair ties so i don't care having to go out and buy hair ties every couple weeks for $1.
6. drinkware. living in an apartment next semester, i'm going to need to have some kitchen items for myself. they have tons of glasses for $1. they have vintage coke ones, big water glasses, martini glasses, it's endless! i'm going to be living with a bunch of college girls who are probably as clumsy as i am, why would i spend lots of money on nice drinking glasses when they'll probably end up broken by the end of the semester anyway?
7. their section of storage/organizing units is huge! i like having everything organized in its proper spot and when they have every type of desk insert or storage container, it makes it very easy. they have colorful ones, and little crates and normal rubbermaid containers, and cloth boxes (kinda like the one i bought from ikea)
8. nail polish. i don't care to spend $5 on a stupid bottle of name brand nail polish when it's just going to chip off eventually anyway. they have a large variety of fun colors and brands and those little foam toe dividers and nail files so you can give yourself a home pedicure for about $3!!


i could go on and on about why i love the dollar store but i have work soon. i don't want you to think i shop there because i'm poor or that i shop there and only there for everything. i probably wouldn't buy food other than candy there. i just feel like we spend too much money on things when we can get the same thing for much less money and isn't that what everyone wants? to be wiser when spending money? when i'm out other places shopping i'm constantly trying to add up how much everything is going to be and if i have enough cash or if i'm going to have to use my card and sometimes feel guilty about spending so much money. at the dollar store it's much easier. 5 items? $5.40 with tax. it's a great place to go if you are like me and don't care about name brands. just go and walk around and you'll see what i mean when i say they have anything and everything!!

birthday weekend

so my birthday was this passed weekend and it was a nice birthday. i worked saturday afternoon then dozed off when i got home. josh brought me flowers and took me to dinner and a movie for a birthday date. we had flaming amy's (YUM) and saw the new pirates movie. it was a good night! sunday we went to church then afterwards i came home and dozed again before dad came home and i got to open my presents and eat cake. josh got me these:

classic ray-ban wayfarers. i love them so much!! i look so cool in them but i'm so scared i'm going to break them so fingers-crossed i won't be my normal clumsy self and they'll last forever!!

all i really asked for from my parents was a tv i could take and put in my dorm room next semester. mom pretty much swore i wasn't getting one but i was pleasantly surprised when i opened this:

isn't it beautiful? i love it!! it'll look super fine in my room next semester.

yesterday after work i stopped by walgreens and picked up some black nail polish so i could do my zebra toes. ta-da!
aren't they cute? they look a little rough but i'll get better with practice. michelle came over in the afternoon/evening and swam and watched secret life and played mario kart with me and it was fun. i miss having girl time.

i'm totes doing this to my toenails

sunscreen is your friend

so last night as i was going to bed, i thought my sunburn was pretty mild, if that. i woke up today feeling terrible. my chin, cheeks, and nose have blistered, my shoulders hurt and my thighs are on fire. i feel like i can rent myself out as a small space heater. my face is splotchy with spaces that are white where sunscreen was adequately applied and red where the opposite occurred. it was hard to get up for work today and i really just wanted to go back to sleep. i want to sleep on a mattress made of ice cubes to keep me cool. i'm not wearing pants because 1) it's hot and 2) pants hurt my thighs. i'm going to sleep now and will hopefully feel better in the morning.

when my sunburn starts to peel i'm going to look like a complete freak. oh well. at least it won't hurt anymore. i've applied aloe several times but i don't feel any different. any neat sunscreen remedies you've heard of or have used on yourself???? i'm desperate over here!

why is this post so long?

as i was saying, this past week was great! here's what i did...
tuesday- i can't really remember what i did tuesday...
wednesday- wednesday was josh's 19th birthday! i told him i had made lunch reservations and would pick him up at 10:30. little did he know i hadn't made reservations and had actually planned a surprised birthday trip to myrtle beach! we had a picnic lunch at the south carolina visitors center, played mini golf at mayday golf, went to alligator adventure and got matching t-shirts, took old timey pictures at broadway at the beach and finished the evening with burgers and cookies at fuddruckers before heading home. josh was totally surprised and we had a really fun day together. my birthday is on sunday and i'm excited to see what he has planned for us!

about to leave for "lunch"

mini golf pro

pit-stopping on the golf course to take pictures

petting a huge tortoise at alligator adventure!

at first glance we didn't think these things were real

snake chowin' on a bunny in the serpentarium

turtle party!

bobbette was born without a tail...did you know being born tailless is the most common birth defect among crocodiles? well now you know...

riding a dinosaur at broadway at the beach

posing on the boardwalk at broadway at the beach

old timey photo #1

old timey photo #2

thursday and friday- i cleaned houses in the morning with jana which was great work! as strange as it sounds i don't mind doing housework and enjoy spending time with jana. i can't wait to work with her all summer! i worked at gymboree on friday too, so i got two paychecks on friday...i'm a fan.

saturday- me and mom got up early and went yardsale-ing. i'm looking for cheap, fun things for my dorm next semester and thought i'd turn to the world of yardsale-ing for those things. i was kind of shocked by what people try and sell...they take all their dirty stuff and just throw it on the ground and want people to buy it...i thought they would at least try and make the stuff look nice. all i really found were some records for my record wall (idea totes stolen from jenn). i forgot to take a picture of them and the photo uploader hates me this evening anyway but i got an Elvis one, the best of the beach boys, the sound of music soundtrack and yes. it was exciting to find those and josh said he wants to go next saturday...also after yardsale-ing we figured we might as well complete the experience with a trip to goodwill. goodwill is a fun place to go and look through stuff. i've found some really good quality and name brands there. it's not a place i go every time i want to buy clothes but like i said, it's just a fun place to go to me. anyways, at goodwill we found some UNCW t-shirts and a bellamy elementary t-shirt so we got those and we also found this waffle maker for $3.99:

we tested it out last night and it works BEAUTIFULLY! i looked up a recipe for chocolate chip waffle batter/mix online and made it then poured all the batter into the maker. it was a pain in the butt to clean after the experience but the waffles were fresh and delicious and i can't wait to use it next semester (neither can josh)!

sunday- church and YSA sacrament. good times.

monday(today!)- went to the beach with the usual big group of people. we were there from about 10-4:30 and it was great fun! i have decided that i am the greatest body surfer/boogie boarder in the world. if any of you think you might be better than me and want to challenge me, bring it on. my thighs got sunburned which is kind of awkward/painful and my cheeks are sunkissed but other than that i feel like i did pretty well for 6+ hours in direct sunlight!boogie boarding!making maggie into a mermaid

this post is long and i do apologize. i have about 3 drafts of this entry because the photo uploader is being a jerk. that is all. i hope this coming week is just as fun as last week! (and it totes should because my birthday is in 6 days!)

i've had SUCH A GREAT WEEK!!!! i have lots of pictures to upload and stories to tell but it is late and i am tired so you'll have to wait until tomorrow ;)

FHE was....weird to say the least. I'm sure I felt that way because I've never gone before, but I just felt uncomfortable and awkward the whole time. I'm usually somewhat outgoing but when I get in a big group of people, hardly any of which I know, I tend to be shy and quiet. It was just not what I had pictured in my mind. I'm going to keep going though because the only way for it to be less awkward is to go and meet people but it will be interesting, that's for sure...

tithing

I've been searching for jobs high and low this past week, seeming to have no success. As I was wallowing in self pity "oh, I'm never going to get a job!" I had a light bulb moment; I needed to pay my tithing. I worked one time during spring break at gymboree and made about $20 so I owed $2 in tithing. I had set aside the money when cashing the check but I hadn't thought twice about it since. This morning before church I dug through one of my 3-drawer containers and found the bank envelope with the 2 month old tithing money in it. After turning in my envelope I didn't really feel any different. As soon as the closing prayer was finished, my friend Jana who sits beside me asked if I wanted to help her with her cleaning business and a few hours later I got offered a babysitting gig. It just all fit together so perfectly and really strengthened my testimony on tithing.

quite obviously paying tithing is not the first thing I do when I get a paycheck but I feel like I should make it more of a priority in my own life. The blessings I receive from paying my tithing are more valuable to me than the money itself and it's such a simple thing! 10% is not much at all and the money is the Lord's anyway.

I went to the YSA sacrament meeting today for the first time since being home and it was so much better than I thought it would be! Me and Blake rode together so we both knew at least one person. One of my old friends who I haven't seen since BYU (oh, BYU) was there so it was nice to catch up with her and my friends who are twins were there too and everybody was just so happy and cheerful and it made me really excited to go next week! I've made arrangements with Blake to carpool for FHE tomorrow too. Maybe really being a YSA won't be so bad afterall!

bathing suit

last week when we went to myrtle beach, my mom bought me this one piece from the Gap outlet:

(mine is teal and white though, instead of that ugly brown and burgundy)

one pieces never fit me properly because my top is a small but my bottom is a medium and they don't really make one pieces with a small top and medium bottom. as i was trying it on i thought "oh this is going to be another dud one-piece" but as i wiggled it on, it fit beautifully. the bottom is cut a little high in the front but other than that I love it

so moral of the story, if you're looking for a one piece hit up the Gap. Or Gap outlet (at the outlet, my bathing suit was only $14, originally $44.99!!)

job search

i wish someone would just hand me a job and say "here ya go!" i've never had to actually go around asking people if they were hiring. i filled out an application for rucker johns this afternoon. tomorrow i'm gonna try aeropostale and charlotte rousse. wish me luck! (i need it!!)

P.S. all my grades from last semester have been posted..what up 3.8 GPA??

summer

took my last final yesterday and now i am home for summer break! excitement! here is a list of things i am looking forward to this summer:

- gymboree!
- probably getting another job because i need cash money
- trip to NYC with the kiebs!
- u2 concert
- taking back sunday concert
- having jenn and daniel home for a few weeks
- girls camp (possibly? still not sure if i'm gonna be able to go)
- spending time with my family
- learning how to cook (i have an apartment with a kitchen next semester so i'm gonna be cookin' it up)
- not doing school work
- tanning poolside
- hangin' wiff my friends

summer 2011, look out! here comes meeeee

today i moved all my clothes back into my closet and dresser. note to self: never buy an article of clothing ever again. i have too many clothes. i packed up a big box of things i don't really wear anymore and stuck them in closet until jenn gets here and goes through it. whatever she doesn't want is going off to plato's closet/the faire circle/goodwill.

this evening i went to yogalates (yoga+ pilates) with my mom. i thought it was gonna be easier than it actually was. i basically got my butt kicked. at the end we did this "total relaxation" thing and it was amazing. we just laid there and breathed and "released". i could've laid on that floor for years. after the class we lifted weights (because i want to be able to beat josh in arm wrestling by the end of the summer) and now it hurts to type this. i like going to the gym for the hospital employees because it's all a bunch of real people instead of the people who lift 800lbs in an effort to impress everyone; i feel comfortable standing there lifting my 7 1/2 lb free weights. did i mention it's free? oh yeah, that's the best part.

tomorrow i have to go back to charlotte for some finals. booooo! summer is so close...

also i re-arranged my class schedule in the fall so i don't have to take a cape fear class during summer...soooo that means i am eligible to go to girl's camp! i called sister barr and she said she would look and see if i could be a level leader with jenn. i really hope i get to be with her. just think, all 3 yankey girls together? how fun would that be! she said she would get back to me later this week so i will just have to wait it out...

also spellcheck isn't working so forgive me if things are spelled wrong.

also please forgive me for using "also" so much.

i'm back!

today at church adrienne came up to me and told me she missed me and that i never blog anymore, which is true. i felt like no one read it except for me and josh, when i forced him to read it. so if nothing else, this blog is for you, adrienne ;)

my freshman year of college is almost over. i have two more finals, next wednesday and thursday, and then it will be summer! this past school year has gone by horribly slow, yet super fast at the same time. i feel like i've really matured just in this past semester. i've had to share a room with someone other than a family member, and have had to do things without my family there. i'm excited for summer but i'm also to go back to school in the fall and live in the brand spankin' new dorms!

going to a YSA ward has been...weird. I'm so used to babies and children and old people that it was just really strange to be with people aroundmy age. well, not really around my age. i was by far the youngest person in the ward, the next being 23 or 24. i felt a lack in connection between me and the other members and i am partly to blame for that. i didn't go to FHE or institute because it was far away and i didn't want to ask josh to borrow the car evey day although no one ever really made the effort to invite me out to either or even bothered to say hello to me and josh. i hear YSA wards can be really fun, so this summer i'm going to try to go to everything so the transition in the fall will be easier and i will be able to have friends in my ward there.

life has been good.

i'll try and update this thing more often.


p.s. i tweet now...i don't know whether to be proud or ashamed of that www.twitter.com/jyankey1