Baby Bro

My sister totally Jedi mind tricked me and stole my idea about blogging about my bro. So I will write my own post and now it looks like I copied her but oh well.

My baby bro (pictured above) is the coolest person I know. He is one of those people whom you just naturally want to be around. He has the best personality and is super fun. When you get me and my brother and sister together we never stop laughing. In fact, he is so cool that I frequently have people who want to be my friend so that they can get closer to him. Now thats cool. No one ever has befriended someone to get close to me.

What kinda pisses me off though, is if you are my friend first, then you wiggle your way into being my brother's friend, then act like you don't know me. That is unfortunately the case with a certain person and Jake just doesn't see it. He thinks it's all innocent enough. He's like that. He has no idea what the real world is like. See he is so beautiful, that things just sorta always work out for him. He always has the best experiences and opportunities ALWAYS just fall into his lap.

For example, I remember this one time we went shopping at the mall. And EVERY store we went into the sales people were falling all over themselves to dress him and help him. They never asked me once if I needed anything. They were running all over the store grabbing stuff and complimenting him.

 In 2 separate stores on the same day, the salesperson even ran in the back to grab the newest jeans that had just arrived for him to try on. They weren't even supposed to be selling them yet, they hadn't priced them yet. But he just really wanted Jake to try them on. And maybe I am wrong but I totally got the straight vibe from this guy.

When I talked to Jake about how he was being treated and how I couldn't believe sales people could even act that way... You know what he said to me? "Well they probably know I'm serious about finding the perfect jeans" Oh dear sweet nieve little brother.

I am not jealous or anything, I just don't think he realizes how lucky he has it some times. He has had hard times too believe me. But I feel like now he is definitely getting back some good karma.

Happy Mothers Day

Today is Mothers Day and I wanted to do a post in her honor. My mom is the most talented person I know. And I am not just biased, she really is. Growing up with her as a mother definitely had it's perks, especially around school project time. All you would have to do is just mention something to her and she could whip up something amazing. It is definitely where my sister gets it from. I just wanted to make a list of all the things my mom is great at, and I appreciate every one.

She is a:
1. Singer: she sings wonderful. My whole life I grew up around her singing and have her to thank for my love of music. Here is her youtube page with her singing some classics and some originals.
2. Painter:

She is now an accomplished painter, and has her art displayed in a local gallery as well as some local business and homes here and cross country.
3. Author: She as written, illustrated and wrote songs for a children's book that has not been published yet. It is a wonderful book and teaches great morals.
4. Cheerleader: she is always my siblings and my greatest cheerleader. I remember her helping me and my fellow cheerleaders making huge banners for my pep rallies, and she was at every game to watch me perform.
5. Gymnastic's coach: After school we would go to our church for after school care. My mom was one of the after school teachers. She would line us up and teach us all gymnastics. She taught me my first backhand spring.
6. Sculptor: she can make anything. Be it stained glass, clay, or grocery bag, if she can think it she can create it. I remember for one our Halloween parties she made a 16 foot paper mache loch ness monster, 10 foot killer taradactyl, 6 ft tarantula, and 18 ft long anaconda.
7. Jewelry maker:

She makes and sells jewelry at a local boutique here in Madison. And it's sooo pretty.
8. Guitarist: she basically taught herself guitar
9. Pianist: she had piano lessons like forever ago but still can play the Entertainer like it ain't no body's business.
10. Song writer:  here is a link to her Youtube site where you can listen to all of her songs.
11. Decorator: she has great taste and can decorate a house or business as good as a professional.
12. Dog Trainer: she can train a dog, pig, bird, you name it she can train it. She always said training kids is the hardest though.
13. she makes the best chicken spaghetti and Lasagna ever: Nuff said!!
14. Web designer: Once again a self taught feat. here is a link to her own website she created The Creative Thumb
15. Beautician:

she has been helping others feel beautiful for 30 years now. Not to mention me for 30 years.
16. Comedian:

she is one of the goofiest people I know, that has to be where I get it from. Growing up she always took my stuffed animals and tucked their tails in between their legs. Perverted? yes, but she gave me my sense of humor, which in turn allowed me to attract my  husband and his very unique sense of humor. So see the universe makes sense.
17. Animal Lover: Thanks to her undying compassion for animals (a trait I inherited) I now have 2 cats, 2 dogs, fish, and a rabbit. And probably a bird soon.
18. Party Planner: Ahhh the parties, when I was in 8th grade she planned the most outrageous Halloween party that was worthy of that show My Sweet 16, because no expense was too much. She dropped thousands and definitely could have worked for universal studios.
19. Spiritual Soul: . She is always reading and researching more ways to be more spiritually aware.
20. And lastly a Mother:

 She has taught me about unconditional love, and how I want to be as a mother. I don't want to be just like her, I want to be better, which I know are some hard shoes to fill but, isn't that what every mother wants for her child?

I love you Moma, Happy Mother's Day
Love, Jen

Happy Birthday, Twin (for 2 days only!)

Today is my sister's birthday. And Sunday is mine. I was born in 1980 and she came around and was born the next year in 1981. So for 2 days we are twins, according to my sis. We are very close and were always the best of friends growing up. Even though, if you went back in time to when we were teenagers, neither of us would admit that we were. But at the end of the day we knew we had each others backs. My sister literally had my back this one time......at band camp (J/K, I've just always wanted to say that)

Let's go back to Valentine's Day 7th grade. (My sis was in the 6th grade) And we were riding the bus home from school sitting in the back (thats where the cool kids sat, ya know) eating our candy and minding our own business. When this dork (who sat in the front) started trowing those little conversation hearts at us. After a while of trying to ignoring him, he continued to throwing candy at us and I'd had enough.

So like any 7th grade girl would do, I calmly walked to the front of the bus and smeared the chocolate that I had strategically melted in my hands, all over his face. And then, I calmly returned to my seat in the back of the bus. Now I know it was immature and my mom DID raise me right, but he was so annoying and would not stop! Plus I was in 7th grade. Not exactly the peak of my maturity.

Well that really set this little punk off, because unbeknownst to me, this kid was wearing a brand new shirt his moma had just bought him. So there he sat, just fuming and contemplating his revenge. My sister and I both knew that our stop was before his, and  inevitably we would have to pass him to get off the bus. So we set up our exit strategy. I was armed with the only thing i had: pink nail polish. The plan was: if he came after me, I would splash him with the nail polish and when he looked down to see what I had thrown at him, I would take off the bus. But Camille's exit strategy was way more gangsta than mine......

When the bus driver got to our stop we stayed close together and tried to get off as fast as we could. But as I was passing his seat that lil freak jumped up and somehow managed to get  me in a choke-hold! I tried to splash him with my nail polish, but the effect turned out very different than what I had planned in my head. Instead of spraying him with polish it just kinda dripped on him.

So anyway there he was, choking me. Well the dumb-ass forgot that my sister was behind him.  So without missing a beat, she exclaimed "LET GO OF MY SISTER!!!" And bopped him on the head with her clarinet case, enabling me to get away. He then went after her when she tried to get past him, but she whacked him again when he got a hold of her neck.

I didn't think anything else of the matter until the following Monday when I was pulled from my class to go to the Principal's office. (Remember how scary it was to be called to the Principal's office? Going to the Principal's office, to me was the worst thing ever. Everyone in class would all say in unison "aahh woo wooooooooo!") So anyway, I got to his office and waves of nausea hit me when I walked up and saw my sister, my parents, another parental looking unit, and that punk-ass kid all standing there with the principal. I knew we were in deep you know what.

So long story short, we were banned from the bus, and my parents had to reimburse his mom for the ruined shirt, plus we were grounded for like ever. But you know what, my sister had my back. And to this day she'd whoop anyone else's ass if they were truly trying to hurt her family, or die trying. So this blog post is for you sis, Love ya! Hope you have a great birthday today!

P.S. We were not hellians growing up, in fact this was my first and only fight, and trip to the dreaded Principal's office. Plus, did you see anywhere in my post about how the bus driver tried to stop any of this? No you didn't, because he just sat there laughing and promoting student on student violence.

I wish I could remember that kids name and look him up on facebook to get his recollection of this same story, I bet it would be funny (that is, if he doesn't have a brain injury from my sister's clarinet.)