ATTENTION: NEW BLOG

ATTENTION: NEW BLOG

www.jandjvela.blogspot.com

i just can't take it any longer. i have created a new blog because this blog is depressing me. it is no fun looking at your own creation everyday and seeing something that you think is ugly and that you have no control over. i will no longer be posting under this address anymore (yeah, i have a lump in my throat saying that. i'm incredibly and ridiculously emotional these days), so please do the following:

-i know this is annoying, but don't forget to change our blog address under all of your blog settings.
-please keep visiting me on my blog. it's the only way to stay in touch these days.
-be happy.

i haven't switched everything over yet, so be patient.

goodbye, jakeandjennavela.blogspot.com. it has truly been a great ride.

ah-hem.

nothing is working in my life.

i hate comcast.

i hate blogger.

whatever

i don't even like this template but it's the only one that would bring my sidebar stuff up. sorry for the ugly blog.

what the heck.

something is wrong with blogger. i have picked a new template at least thirty times and for some reason, it's not bringing my pictures or links or anything up on the sides like it usually does. has this happened to anyone else? do you have a solution? i've tried numerous different templates and it still isn't loading right. i know all my side things are on the bottom, but no matter what template i use, it won't let me move them!


help me.

a good start to the summer.

this summer has already been a fun and busy one. below are a few pictures--yes, that's right, i finally have something of substance to talk about! jake is doing so well with his work this summer, which is no surprise considering he is one of the hardest working people i know. i'm very proud of him and so grateful for his hard work for our family. and then, there is the ode to my amazing nephews that i can't get enough of. seriously. seattle was so fun playing with nicco, kai, and baby crew (to see more pictures of crewby-doo go here). i also loved hanging out with jenye and ricky--we just laughed and laughed. and i love seeing my little andrew every day. he tells me that he really misses his auntie ra-ra (rach). anyway--life is good! not much to complain about here.

at olive garden saturday night. jake's face has healed 100%, as i knew it would.

some of the group at olive garden.

our good friends troy and teri.

drew is so chubby, i can hardly stand it.

and he loved the shower cap, thank you very much. little baker.

my strong boys.

kai and "lella" (bella)

shower caps.

this is for sure the newest, most exciting thing in my life as of yesterday. i got three amazing shower caps from the grocery store for $1.00. the one thing i've always needed but for some reason never purchased is a shower cap, and this is the cutest one i've ever seen. sorry...no makeup in this picture--just woke up in fact. go get yourself a shower cap and make those days of not wanting to wash hair a little more fun!

katie is going private.

for any of you who happen to look at my sister's blog, she is going private. she doesn't care if you want to continue looking, which means you have to leave your email on her blog. no big deal if she doesn't know you that well or at all. anyway, just wanted to get the word out for her.

that's it.

dear friends and fellow bloggers,

i think i officially weigh the most i've ever weighed in my life. i'm really not kidding, and i'm not writing this so that you will all leave a nice comment that says, "oh give me a break, you are not fat." i agree with you. i'm not fat. but i'm definitely not what i used to be either, and i think i've finally had it. the reasons i'm posting about this are personal, and are ones that will allow me to check my blog daily and see that i, jenna vela, have physically written (...typed) that i WILL stop at nothing to get in enough shape in order to start feeling good about myself again. no, no, i am not going on some crazy diet. no, no, i will not spend 4 hours at the gym. BUT, i will be managing myself a little better. this includes: getting better sleep. spending more than an hour at the gym, but not live there so that i end up having arms like madge (she is way too manly for me). eating six meals a day, and breakfast will be my main focus. no more cheese (i have a serious addiction, and cheese ain't low-fat). everytime i want to dip my little hand into my bag of nestle chocolate chips, i am INSTEAD going to guzzle a huge glass of water. if i have the urge to make cookies with those little chocolate chips, then i will make them, eat one, and then give the rest away. i will read my scriptures more often. i WILL sign up for my independent study classes and i will get A's in them. i will treat my husband like a king and just CHILL out (because let's be honest, sometimes i really am a little too sensitive). and finally, i will NEVER cut my hair again...at least for three more years. and i will somehow be strong enough to make it through the awkward stages (which is where my hair and i currently reside). and so....

i think all of these things will allow me to feel better about myself, because right now i'm feeling a little awkward about me. all of these things, i promise to you and to myself. thank you for the love and the support.

sea-town

i'm off to seattle tomorrow to play with my cute nephews! i can't wait!

but i'll miss this chunker while i'm gone!

la la la.

two days ago, i walked into nordstrom on a mission. i bought this great eye-liner about two weeks ago...the twisty kind (or so i thought). it wasn't twisting and i couldn't figure it out. i confidently walked up to the counter and this was the said conversation:

me: hi there. hey, so i bought this eye-liner about two weeks ago and for some reason, it's not twisting up like it's supposed to.


lady: that's because it's not a twist kind. this is the twist kind (pulls out the kind that obviously twists up).

me: oh (stunned).

lady: yeah, this is the kind that sharpens. see? (gives me a free sharpen).

me: wow, that sharpens nicely. i feel like an idiot.

lady: it happens to the best of us.

me: don't tell anyone i came in with this problem (i really did say that).

lady: oh, i won't (with a smile).

me: have a nice day! (walk of shame out of nordstrom).


oh, bother.

blah blah.

sorry...again, no pictures. you see, i'm in the process of trying to get the internet and losing 15 pounds. neither are an easy task. soon though friends, i promise. the past week has been quite a roller coaster. i've been thinking that i should explain why i haven't exactly been up to par on my blogging these days. two thursdays ago (may 1), jake left for his BYU rugby championship in california. i stayed behind to pack up the rest of the house and get everything ready for our roadtrip on sunday. i was out on saturday running some last minute errands when my dad called, telling me that my grandma passed away. she had been battling with cancer for a long time (the sad effects of smoking), so it was sort of expected, however she died a lot sooner than i thought she would. she was in a lot of pain though...so in a way, it was a blessing. and yes, i know she is in an incredible place and so happy to be back with my grandpa, but the human side of me is selfishly sad and wishing she was still here. such is life i guess. her death presented a challenge...the funeral was the upcoming wednesday (may 7) in florida...so we had to get from utah to DC to florida in just two days. jake got home from his trip on sunday around 1:30 p.m. (we had planned to leave at 2), and something wasn't right with him. as he smiled at me when he got home, i noticed that half of his face wasn't working. at first i thought he was joking around, and i kept saying, "stop making that face! what are you doing??" unfortunately, he wasn't kidding. he had lost all muscle control in the right side of his face. he called his mom, who is a nurse, and she said she was pretty sure it was bell's palsy (to read more about it, click here) and that we needed to get to the emergency room. so, off we went to the hospital where we waited for two hours to be seen. jake was so over it--he was just about to walk out when they finally called his name. we went back, and sure enough, he was diagnosed with a very mild case of bell's palsy. most people don't catch their symptoms until after 72 hours, which means it's too late to get some antibiotics to help it. well, jake's symptons had started the day before, so we were very grateful to catch it in time. he was given some medicine, and 3 hours later, we finally got on the road. needless to say, we flew across the country as fast as we could, feeling the pressure because my flight to florida was on tuesday night. we had to be in DC by 5 in order for me to make the flight for the funeral on wednesday morning. we got to DC at 5:30 last tuesday, and i literally got out of my car and immediately into katie's car to drive to the airport. we flew to florida where i spent the next day with a lot of family that i hadn't seen for awhile. it was an emotional few days for me, to say the least. we flew back to DC wednesday night. jake is so sweet and had already unpacked most of the house, so i didn't have much to do except unpack my clothes and do some grocery shopping the next day.

so this brings us to today, where my days consist of going to the gym, cleaning, cooking, and reading. i'm starting independent study classes next week, which will occupy a lot of my time (something i'm very excited about). i've also started my first book. yes....i'm writing a book. not only that, but i've decided to change my blog around a little bit. i think i'm going to turn it into more of a very, very honest journal...with pictures of course. anyway, i just have all these ideas burning through my skull and i'm going to do something about them. jake's face has improved a lot, and it's slowly getting back to normal. it hasn't slowed him down one bit, that's for sure. he's had a lot of success since we've been here, something that we're both really thankful for.

SO, now you all know why i haven't been posting very often. i will be better. until next time.

boring.

oh my gosh, are you so bored with my blog? because i am. really, really bored. i don't have the internet in our apartment here, which means i have to come down to an internet cafe in our complex...and i can't upload pictures. not that we have any new ones. anyway, i just want to say that #1: i am alive and so is jake and #2: will hopefully get internet soon and update more often.

you have my word.

love to all. and come visit.

my goodness.

tomorrow is the big day.  i've got everything all packed up, ready to be loaded in the car.  i was going to put it there myself, but i can't lift everything.  the kitchen stuff is heavy.  jake gets home from the rugby championship tomorrow and then we are off.  i went to costco today and got some snacks for the car.  i've been filling my belly all day with the food in our house, trying to get rid of it through my digestive system instead of throwing it away---it's been somewhat of a success.  speaking of success, i've successfully burned the first 3 harry potter books onto cd's so jake and i can have some form of entertainment.  i won't get into the details of the process because it will only put me in a bad mood, but all i will say is that it is finally finished.  what else.  i'm so tired.  it's 11 pm and i'm thinking i'm going to head to bed now.  i love you all.  will post sometime later this week.  pray we don't wreck.  pray our car doesn't get stolen somehow.  you never know.

CHECK YA LATER!

a.p.r.i.l.

april has been one crazy, fast month. we're moving in four days...so my life for the next few days is packing, organizing, changing addresses, and doing my best not to go crazy. april has been a month of sickness: jake had a terrible cold and mouth problem for almost 2 weeks, and i had my foot problem and am still recovering from a nasty throat virus. awesome. april has also been a month of weird weather, blue walls (i painted my living room with the help of my mother dearest), visitors (lyndsi, mama, and carly), and the following:

one year anniversary (28th...i love my husband)

weddings. go ali and eric.

friends. really, good friends.

birthdays. my beloved.

and more beautiful friends.

i like you april, and i can't believe you're almost over. summer, here we come. road trip 2008 to DC commences SUNDAY.

bam bam bam...how is that a bad plan?

i am officially done with finals. i'll drink to that.

ouch, chawlayyy.

have you ever been given a shot in the side of your foot? i experienced it this morning...it was more painful that i thought possible.

so, i ran the half-marathon. the next day, my right foot hurt sooo bad. every time i put any kind of pressure on it, pain would shoot through my entire foot. ah, the joys of tendinitis.

went to the foot doctor this morning (oh, did i mention i limped around campus all day yesterday, practically in tears? lopsided? and everyone was looking at me like i had some sort of mental problem? that was fun.) and he told me that my tendinitis was extremely inflamed, which was the source of the pain. i told him my extensive experience with tendinitis (you know, coming home from a mission because of it, wearing special shoes, all that jazz), and he suggested i just go for the gold and get a shot of steroids in my tendon, which would numb the bottom and side of my foot, allowing me to walk with no pain for six weeks.

i took the shot. i squirmed, said "ow" probably 40 times--i've never felt pain like that. 20 seconds of pain pain PAIN.

but now i can walk. thank you, dr. rogers.

the half-marathon.

she runs...

mile 1.50: two songs play on my ipod: mr. brightside and bittersweet symphony.

mile 1.52: ipod freezes. YES, FREEZES... slight panic.

mile 1.55: conversation with self: ok, this is not a big deal. you can definitely run 13 miles without music. yeahhh no problem, jenna. you rock. you are strong. you can do this.

mile 2: dear ipod: you've ruined my life.

mile 4: conversation with self: wow i'm kind of tired...what mile am i on? 4???? that's it???

mile 5: conversation with self: this down hill is nice. i like you, hill. thank you for existing.

mile 6: conversation with self: these houses in sugarhouse are very cute. maybe one day i'll have one just like it, with a bright white kitchen with creaky wooden floors...light blue walls. or, maybe i want a celery green? i don't know. but either way, it's going to be cheery. oh wow, that man had b.o. is my 350 final on tuesday or monday? i wonder how jake's rugby game went? my dream last night was crazy. oh my gosh, i miss jake. what should i eat after this? a hamburger? no. crap, i have to start packing for the summer. my feet hurt.

mile 8: serious burst of energy.

mile 9: conversation with self: oh my gosh, i feel GREAT. i think i should just turn around and go up the actual "marathon" route! i could do it!

mile 10: conversation with self: i'm pretty sure i've been running in this park for a good two miles now. where is gateway? how come i don't see the fountain yet?

mile 11: conversation with self: ok, not feeling exactly great anymore. why are my feet tingling? is my back chaffing against my running pants?

mile 12: mentally singing "better, faster, stronger" by dear kanye.

mile 12.2: out loud singing "better, faster, stronger" by dear kanye.

mile 12.5: must. keep. moving.

mile 12.6: "only two more blocks!" someone yells. liar.

mile 12.7: all of a sudden, hear crowd going wild! i mean, cheering and screaming! oh my gosh, they love me! they totally love me! they are for sure cheering for ME!

mile 12.8: hear the loud announcer say: "and here comes the first marathon-finisher!"

mile 12.9: realized the first marathon-finisher is right behind me, which explains the cheering. maybe one of them was for me.

mile 13: realized that someone ran an entire marathon in the amount of time i ran a HALF-marathon, but proud of myself anyway.

back chaffage, sore feet, two 1/2 blisters, and one sun burn later, i am a happy girl.

thank you, katie, for being at the finish line. pictures coming as soon as katie emails them to me. loves.

why now??

i'm pretty sure i have strep throat. two days ago, my throat closed up and i could barely talk. it got better yesterday, and now its back, full throttle. i'm running a half-marathon on saturday... how am i going to do that if i can hardly swallow? any suggestions for quick healing? i've been trying to sleep a lot, drink orange juice, daily vitamin---HELP.


i could use some prayers.

um...

it's snowing outside.


i'm so over utah.

that's better.

it only took me one try today. i'm keeping this for awhile.

you know, sometimes i feel so pathetic that i care so much. i'm at school, in a very crowded computer lab...and i'm blogging.

what is my life coming to?

all i know is that it's over 75 degrees today. this is something to celebrate.

hello, summer. i've missed you.

i greatly dislike my blog.

i'm over the fancy designs. i'm over the plainness. there is no answer.

poem by a worn-out student

went to bed at 3, woke up at 7:30

after a bath, my hair is still dirty

of course it was raining, when i rolled out of bed

"you've got to be kidding me," was all that i said.

with my backpack weighing more than a ton

i put on my jacket and prayed for the sun

but no sun was seen, and as soon as i parked

the hail started falling

"awesome," was my remark.

a ten mile walk to campus, no big deal

the hail continued to hit me, and my happiness steal

it soon turned to snow, and i laughed quite a laugh

"it's april for heaven's sakes!" as i tripped over my calve

with so much homework that kept me up

my eyes droop sadly as i drink water from my cup.

"stay awake, you fool.  concentrate," i say.

won't this day ever end and send me on my way?

this poem proves how delirious i am.  thank you, and good day.

an actual update.

there is much to update on, and i have a ton of homework---so i'm going to be quick. first things first. it was jake's birthday on saturday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i'm so thankful he was born because without him, i honestly don't know where i'd be. i know that saying is cliche, but really. where would i be and what would i be doing? NO IDEA. i love you jakey. we went bowling and then grabbed some food--it was a lot of fun just hanging out the two of us. usually we go see a movie or something, but we decided to actually get out and DO something. he beat me, but i let him win. i mean it was his birthday, come on.





then, this past week we were in colorado for rob and jessie's wedding. it was so much fun being there with our good friends and family. julie and max (vela) were there and we LOVED seeing them and hanging out. we always have so much fun with the people we love. the two days we were there went by too fast, though. now we're back, doing homework and the regular routine. congrats to rob and jessie. we had a blast and we're really happy for you.

dancing.

jeff and jake, doing what they do best. being funny.

i really love jake vela.

yummy.

like father, like son. honestly.

the happy couple.

don't worry. still obsessed with andrew. he can put his own binky in now.

he can't help himself.

i love this picture. i should enhance all my photos.

jake and his best friends.

snoop dog and the book of mormon.

interesting. to read the article about snoop dog converting to mormonism, go here.

kelsey.

i have to dedicate a post to miss kelsey nixon and how amazing i think she is. i'm telling you...if there has ever been a bound and determined woman out there, kelsey might surpass her. she is fabulous, talented, beautiful, and smart. anyway, check out the link and see her progress. love you kelsey.

hare krishna

we went to the hare krishna celebration in spanish fork this last saturday with the bean clan. it was pure madness. here is what happened: they burned a witch at the stake (by witch i mean a dummy with a hockey jersey and helmet on) and once that happened, pure chaos. everyone had bags of colored chalk--once the witch was lit, everyone threw their bags through the air. we couldn't see the sun. we couldn't see each other. we were inhaling chalk...our boogers were every color of the rainbow. we had a blast.

before.

after.