TRYING TO BE PINTREST-Y

It's like, pom poms you know?

a mustache in a frame. so indieeeee.

Hallie and I are rather proud of these.

If you want to make them, just go get yourself some cool shirts from goodwill, old throw pillows, and some hot glue. Fashion your shirt around your pillow and wham-o! You have a new pillow!

Our take at super cute mason jars. (They are actually Ragu jars.)

Double the List

This blog is coming to my dear sweet readers from: THE UCO LIBRARY YA'LL.

To my adoring fans (I have always wanted to address you as that)

I won't apologize for having zero posts between September and now ( I AM SO SORRY, I WISH I COULD WRITE YOU, I HATE THAT I DIDN'T, PLEASE FORGIVE ME). In other news, sometimes people write things in parentheses that don't really count towards what they are actually trying to say.

Since September I have eaten a couple of times, slept a few nights, and studied for Organic Chemistry and stuff. So knock knock...who is there...I have missed blogging. 

When I was in Panama this past summer, many of the teenage kids I hung out with wanted me to open them a Facebook page. The following is a list of the reasons why it was a bad idea that I even tried to:

1. They don't have electricity in their homes

2. They don't have regular access to a computer

3. They don't have an e-mail address

4. None of their friends have any of the above

5. You have to have all of the above to have a Facebook

6. Now my google account is under the spanish name "Hillarye Torrero" because I tried to make Hillarye Torrero a profile and now I can't figure out how to switch my google email back to be under my name, "Katelyn Jackson"

Because of those aforementioned things, I was stupid to have tried. So it's like...my name isn't Hillarye you know?

I am feeling in a list-y kind of mood right now, so I'm gonna throw down another list.

1. It is Christmas time

2. So I am feeling just fine

3. I'm just staying on my grind

4. So I don't fall behind

5. Haha #1-4 was a poem 

6. I cannot bring myself to listen to anything other than Christmas music until December 25th

7. But I am liking it

8. I am just putting everything in list form so I can use sentence fragments

9. Fragments seem to be funnier

10. People like the fragments because they are kind of snappy and quick

11. Like a nice quick wit

12. Luckily I got some really good Christmas music to enjoy this season

13. I have them on my iTunes in a playlist entitled "Christmas Jamzz"

14. Today while I was making a sandwich in the panini maker at school someone caught me making sound affects for the no-stick spray as I was applying it to the hot griddle.

15. It was like a little high pitched laugh/whoosh when I made it spray. 

16. I really need to studying but I feel weird leaving this at only 16 things. I'll give you 20

17. I am going to be a youth intern next summer

18. My birthday is December 18th.

19. My favorite food is any type of finger food.

20. Merry Christmas

Thank you so much for reading this, it means a lot that you did.

God bless your day!

Year of Lipstick

This blog post is coming to you live from: my dorm room.

The proof you crave. I just thought I would include this picture. I thought it was funny.

This post is entitled "Year of Lipstick" for many reasons. First and foremost the title represents an activity I am committed to and thus learning how to be committed to other things in my life, but more on that later.

My best friend Courtney can be seen at many fancy events wearing a classy shade of lipstick. In the true fashion of friendship, I promptly copied her idea and went and bought myself some lipstick at my local Wal-Mart. Naturally I chose the cheapest lipstick and wound up with a tube of Wet-and-Wild brand lipstick. It is a great color, but cheap as it is, my lips look like the dry Sahara desert if I don't but a little chap-stick underneath. Ladies, a word of advice, don't skimp on the limp, and by that I don't know what I mean. I'm a sucker for a rhyme. JUST DON'T BY CHEAP LIPSTICK AND YOUR LIPS WILL THANK YOU.

Moving on. I bought myself some lipstick for the fancy occasions in my life, but every time I wore it out I found myself getting more attention (mainly from the ladies but a compliment is a compliment). In turn, the lipstick gave me more confidence. It made me feel prettier, so I kept wearing it. People like me better when I wear the lipstick! Soon I began to use the phrase "year of lipstick," proclaiming to all that this current school year I would wear lipstick everyday, and so far, I have done fairly well. I committed to the lip color and soon twisted my fun and mostly shallow statement into a deep and profound ( I mean I am trying to be profound at least) metaphor for my life.

I am stating that if I can commit to wearing lipstick everyday and making that small decision in my life, other things that I need to commit to will also fall in line. If I can stay committed to a small thing, that small thing will manifest itself into bigger things and my life will explode into one that is truly committed to important things. Such as:

1. My Faith and the constant pursuit of a renewed mind

2. A significant other (but where oh where can he be?)

3. My school work that is the foundation to the rest of my goals in life

4. My friendships and the intentionality I want to have with all of them

5. My year of transformation

The list can go on and on. 

These are my freshly colored lips.

Here the lipstick can be seen at a fancy event. Doesn't my good friend Kaitlyn look so beautiful?

This year I will daily continue to transform myself and let God mold me. I will not get discouraged because as Ephesians 1:8 says, "he has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

So what reason do I have to not love this life that I have been given. 

Wear lipstick, feel better about yourself, and stay committed!

K. Jack

You are Now Being Redirected

This blog is coming to you live from Farallon, Panama, inside my room in the Upton's home.

I am just writing this blog quickly to inform you that if you would like to continue following my blog for the summer, I have created a blog specifically for my summer activities.

Click here for the link!

I created this blog for the supporters of my trip and so forth. I just didn't want my blog title to be "I'm a Creep, I'm a Weirdo" to be  displayed to all who wouldn't normally be reading my writing and I did not want to change the title of this blog. Thus, I created a summer missions blog. I love you all! Keep reading if you dare!

K. Jack

Welcome Summer

This blog is coming to you live from the Tinus private lobby.

there it is. and by it I mean me.

I finished my first year of college this week and moved out of my room today. Overall, I could have done a lot better school-wise, but you know what is weird, I'm just trying to get MY DEGREE. I don't know, when I think about that, it really freaks me out. So much has happened since the last time I blogged.

Since we have chatted last I have made new friends, went to a banquet, stopped the war on terrorism,read the Book of Mormon, when to a National concert and lots of other stuff. 

I also thundered up.

stood in front of a large glowing cross with my best friend Courtney

and I already told you about the concert

Tomorrow I leave for chorale tour, which includes an entire chorale traveling on a bus across the U. S. and stopping along the way to Washing D.C. and New York City. I mean, I am excited I guess, but I just want to go home. I just don't know what else to blog about, I'm all blogged out.

Bliggity Bloggity Bloop.

K. Jack

My Portfolio

This blog is coming to you live for the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library

Just me, in a library.

So upon returning from Spring Break, Oklahoma Christian University has proved to be relatively uneventful. Last week was WPA (women pay all) week, and boy let me tell you, I payed all. Monday was ice skating, Tuesday a movie, Wednesday frozen yogurt, Thursday a sock hop, and Friday was a Rwandan cultural night. When I say I payed all I actually mean everything was free except for the two sodas I bought at the sock hop. I also talked a big game and informed all those around I was about to "blow the week up" and "have a date every night." Both of those statements were false. I had a date two of the nights, and didn't even go to some of the events. So much for the potential explosion my week could have been.

In other news, if you ever need to write a really large amount of words in a short amount of time, come talk to me. I had a rough draft of a paper due this past Thursday, and I just waited, and waited, and waited to begin. It was due at 5:00 pm Thursday evening. Want to know what time I started? 1:00 pm Thursday afternoon, and I was done by 4:00! Granted, it was only six pages when I was aiming for ten, but hey, it was a rough draft! Get off my back.

Also, I caved. I downloaded the "instagram" application for the iPhone and am loving it! Just so you know, I will never give instagram credit hereafter for the photos I will take. I will save them to my phone and upload/tweet/print/publish the photos as my own creation with no outside help whatsoever. That is probably illegal, but who is counting! I mean arresting, I mean...

Here is some of my original artwork:

I call this one: Kendall Maddog Mayes

I call this: Karissa Teaching

Well there is my portfolio. Making it big, instagram style.

K.Jack

A Flaming Hot Blog Post

This blog is coming to you live from: my home.

I have that spring break glow.

Disclaimer: The contents of this blog may offend some/ make others feel uncomfortable. It deals with a rather serious event that recently occurred in my life and I plan on making light of it. I also plan on speaking bluntly and just want to forewarn any who may not want to read such material.

Spring break started a bit early for me this year. By early, I mean I left the night before I planned to leave, so not anything radical, but early nonetheless. Of course, I had a reason for departing early. Unfortunately it was because there was a fire in my home. 

Around 8:00 pm I received a hysterical call from my mother that brought me news of the fiery inferno that was my home. I knew I had to get home as soon as I could, but I still had a day of classes and exams. Obviously I was quite shaken up and not thinking rationally. I was not concerned with the seven hour drive I had ahead of me; I was just wondering how to tell my professors, "Hey, um, I just got a call that my house was set on fire by a crazy person (I will get to that detail) and, um, I was wondering if I could get excused from class/exam tomorrow." I was, thankfully, taken complete care of by my wonderful friend Amy Kelly. She made a few calls and off I went into the night.

To make a long story short, my mom married this guy, guy went crazy, mom filed for divorce, guy went crazier, mom and brother got a rent house, all of our stuff was still in the old house, then the old house was set on fire. You can put the pieces of "whodunit" together yourself.

So upon arriving in Jonesboro around 4:00 am I went to our new house (which we were so lucky to have seeing as our other house had been engulfed in flames) and caught up with my mother on the evenings events.

Our backdoor had been kicked in and three separate fires set inside. One fire was on my mothers bed, another on a pile of dirty clothes in the hallway, and the last one by the back door on some photos and newspapers. Investigators determined it was indeed arson and a investigation is currently underway. 

The first picture is of the bathroom and you can really see the soot and smoke damage. The next one is of the hallway ceiling.

The top picture is my mothers bed and the bottoms picture is the hallway.

 For legality sakes, I cannot say who we all feel set the fire (apparently that is slander), but being readers of above average intelligence, I feel confident you have a good idea as to who may have had a motive. 

Anyhow, the whole situation sounds terribly sad, and it is, especially after being inside my home and seeing the damage and smelling the smell and not being able to take anything out with out detoxifying it first, but over all it was a positive thing. I mean, if my house was going to burn what better time than spring break? Because it happened Thursday night, I even got out of my Friday classes and one ridiculously hard exam (although I will eventually have to take it)! Also, no one was hurt only material possessions were lost ( about $80,000 of material damage, but hey who is counting). 

I am a bit bitter though. I'm bitter because of the state it has left my family in, and the hermit-like state it had induced for me. I want to see my friends, but I also don't want to leave my mother or our house in general. 

Speaking of friends. They are the best. I had so many people checking on me and making sure I made it home safely. I cannot thank those of you who were looking out for me enough!

On a lighter note, I have now watched all of the movies that were nominated for best picture this year and they were all phenomenal. 

The most fun part of having your house burn down is being able to use it as an excuse/response for anything. For example:

Teacher: Clay (my brother) can you please stop talking.

Clay: Oh sorry, I was just telling my friend here how my house burnt down last night.

or maybe:

Cop: Mam, did you know that you were speeding?

Said Mam: Yes officer, but my house was set on fire tonight, and I'm just trying to get home to be with my family.

or how about:

Jane: Hey want to go see a movie?

Sue: I would, but my house just burn down! 

You get the drift. 

Well that is all for know, leave a comment if it is your burning desire.

K.Jack