I don't belong here.

No, I don't belong here.
I'm gonna set side
& set sail
for the kingdom come, kingdom come
your kingdom come
won't you let me down...
let my foolish pride forever let me down

-The Beautiful Letdown. Switchfoot.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the LORD, my beloved.

Philippians 3:20-4:1

the moral of the story

things that stressed me out this week:

1. Three tests in two days.

Monday: Marriage and Family at 8:00, Biologoy 1010 at 9:00

Tuesday: Child Development

2. A spur of the moment scholarship application. Really, this one was all my fault - my parents emailed the information to me in January. I had decided to not apply, and then on Wednesday, I got the "we really want you to apply for this...[insert twenty reasons why]" phone call. Needless to say, that phone call put me in line and I spent all of Wednesday and Thursday writing personal statements, filling out applications, dealing with the registrar's office (grrr), lining up reference letters... unexpected projects are so mentally draining.

3. Officially applying to the Psychology major. This one has been postponed for the past year, so I figured - while I'm already filling out applications and writing personal essays, why not get this one taken care of as well?

things that helped to relieve my stress:

1. Going to see Valentine's Day on Tuesday night with my roommates

2. Crab Cakes at Amsterdam and a shopping excursion to Reinvent with Kelsey

3. Watching Confessions of a Shopaholic, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, and Whip It. All in two days.

4. this song.

So, the lesson learned is: Don't procrastinate. Do what your parents ask you to do, when they tell you to do it. And if you fail to do either of those, have a stack of movies and plans to go to your favorite restaurant ready for the weekend.

vice #1

My GREATEST weakness as far as food is concerned are these: Triple Chocolate M&Ms Premiums.

Generally speaking, chocolate is a major, huge, ridiculously unreasonable vice in my life. No matter how healthy I eat, no matter how much I exercise, no matter how many healthy life decisions I make in a day, around ten PM, I always crave the sweet, bitter, melt-in-your-mouth sensation that is chocolate. Forget the inevitable break out, the sure to happen regret of this dietary decision the next morning - the only satisfying solution I've found is this over-priced candy. Because I'm such a nerd in all areas of my life (including personal finance), I was able to look back at how much I spent last semester on late night runs to Kroger and Walgreens for chocolate. The amount is astonishing. shocking. embarrassing. My name is Jana Musselwhite, and I'm a chocaholic.

This year is different, though. I've stopped buying junk food, increased my fruit and vegetable intake, and exercised more consistently. After 51 days into 2010, I've only made the late night chocolate run three times. Where in the world did this will power come from!?

Tonight was one of those three instances. After this stress-filled, nauseatingly long week, I needed to lay on the couch, turn on HBO, pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy a box of my beloved Triple Chocolate M&Ms Premiums. Yes, I regret it. But in the moment, it was marvelous. Absolutely marvelous.

cheeeese!

la photo cabine

I spent an HOUR on this website last night. Taking ridiculous pictures is stress relief at its finest.

valentine greetings

I made these a couple of weeks ago, but wanted to wait until everyone had received theirs before posting pictures. They are a couple of the homemade valentines I sent this year, made with blank cards, scrapbook paper and sharpie pens. So incredibly easy. I think I've decided to make my own cards from now on. This was I can say what I want to say, and not have to mess with the terrible commercialism that is Hallmark. Hooray for creativity! Hooray for being able to make and send cards that have exactly what you want on them!

snow

happy snow day!

Classes are cancelled, snow has been falling constantly since 10:00 this morning, and Bon Iver is playing loudly throughout our apartment... I'm making french toast for lunch and then romping around outside for the rest of the day. This is so wonderful.

"wash me white as snow

& I will be made whole."

-Jon Foreman, White As Snow

snow is such a beautiful, tangible reminder of redemption.

young and full of running

Last night, I saw John Mayer in Birmingham.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Here are just a few thoughts I've collected about concerts:

1. According to Kelsey, we saw Coldplay entirely too early in life. They've set the standard incredibly high for every concert I have attended since. The past couple haven't come anywhere close to our Coldplay experience. I was beginning to lose hope, until...

2. John Mayer changed my mind. His concert... I don't even have words to describe his concert. It should be noted that I am still thinking about what an incredible night it was. I love it when artists can elicit emotions with music or lyrics that I would never feel otherwise. For me, this is the mark of a good concert... or really, good music in general.

3. I never realize that I know almost every word to every song of a band or artist until I see them live.

4. I love it when music is so loud that it shakes your core. Like... the pulse from the speakers shakes your whole body, and you're completely overwhelmed with the beat (in a good way)

5. Going to any concert immediately inspires a mental list of other bands that I would love to see live. This was no exception.

6. I admire John Mayer's talent. His lyrics are filled with one line wonders. "By the time I recognize this moment, this moment will be gone" and "It's not that we don't care, we just know that the fight ain't fair"... and really every single word of Edge of Desire - I really learned to appreciate his songwriting last night.

7. This is why I love John Mayer so much:

go colts!

I'm about to conquer Super Bowl Sunday.

With this Spinach Dip chilling in the refrigerator, A slew of viewing festivities planned for the evening, and a building devotion to/spirit for the Colts (despite my wardrobe's lack of royal blue), I think I can take on everything that's about to come my way.

Did you know the colts were the first NFL team to have cheerleaders? Neither did I. You learn something new everyday...

a tribute to kelsey

Kelsey:

a. the only one of my best friends who lives in the same city as I do.

b. the only one who understands my weird obsessions with Martha Stewart, books, Coldplay... really the only one who understands how ridiculous I can be.

c. probably the coolest freshman girl I know.

(at Coldplay, may 2009 - I know the lady behind me looks like she doesn't belong at a Coldplay concert, however, the demographics for that event were quite interesting.)

Kelsey and I have known each other for a long, long time - probably since third and fourth grade. or before. who knows. However, it wasn't until we were fifteen and sixteen, on a bus on the way back from choir tour in Kansas, that we really got to know each other. We bonded over music - John Mayer, to be specific. What better thing to do on a 14 hour bus ride than to listen to Why Georgia and talk about the brilliance of John's songwriting/guitar playing? It only went up from there... Corinne Bailey Rae, Coldplay... whatever it was that we loved to listen to at that point in our lives, we talked about. The past four years have been filled with multiple lunch/coffee/dinner dates, concerts, snail mail, weekend visits, heart to hearts... I'm starting to sound so cheesy. But I love her and our friendship. I really do.

Today (or yesterday, I guess) was Kelsey's 19th birthday. To celebrate, we ate at Amsterdam. Don't even get me started on how much we love that place... crab cakes and steak and mashed potatoes with truffles and sweet potato chips and chocolate spoon cake and mint cheesecake... all downed. We were members of the clean plate club several times over. The rest of the night was spent making Valentine's Day cards and listening to Lady Gaga. It was a marvelous time. So here's to friendship - may your days also be filled with loving, trustworthy, hilarious friends.

a majority of my posts seem to be about food

1. I worked at my home church's dnow this past weekend. exhausting? without a doubt. rewarding? absolutely. I love high school girls, and it was so great to see how the Lord is working in the lives of the fifteen and sixteen year olds I led. God is without a doubt continuing to work through and within that group of students. There were also some fun shenanigans throughout the weekend, liikkeee... accidentallylockingmycoleader&Ioutofourhosthomeat1AM.

2. vanilla wafers and peanut butter are my favorite snack in the world. I go through a box about every week and a half. And don't even get me started on how much I love peanut butter. And milk, I love milk - but only skim milk.

3. I love love LOVE Ray LaMontagne's cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" a lot. His voice is so wonderful.

4. On Tuesday night, one of my roommates (Ashley), and our friends Josh and Gray all made a pilgrimage to Montgomery to Krispy Kreme. Now... I know Auburn has its own donut shop. However, in my opinion, Daylight doesn't hold a candle to an Original Glazed. NOTHING compares to the sweet sugary goodness that is a Krispy Kreme donut.

(even in valentine's day colors)

meatless

February = vegetarian.

That was the plan as of December 28, 2009. Two and a half days into this adventure, and things are going splendidly. Knowing me, I would be craving a hot dog like no other by this point, but, surprisingly, I'm doing quite alright without meat. I'm starting to love making intentionally healthy food choices - on my weekly Monday grocery run, I stocked up on bananas, yogurt, frozen vegetables, lean cuisine pasta dishes, quaker rice snacks (which sound disgusting, but are actually delicious) and came out about $15 short of what I normally spend. I could definitely get used to this.

On Sunday night, as a temporary farewell to meat, I cooked what has become a favorite at Apt. 14 over the past few months - Sweet and Sour Meatballs. I took care of the meat, and one of my roommates cooked rice and green beans. We had a few friends over to watch the Grammys and eat - a good time was had by all.

The recipe is super simple - It was one of the first things my mom ever taught me how to cook. It's from one of her old, old Southern Living Cookbooks.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits (do not drain)

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 small green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 bag Armour Original Flavored Meatballs

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in large skillet. Stir in pineapple (w/ syrup), vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Add meatballs. Cover; simmer; stir occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in green pepper. Cover; simmer, 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

*Note from Mom: I usually increase the brown sugar to ¾ cup and add another teaspoon of cornstarch to make the sauce thicker.

monday evening thoughts

"It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how."

-Ann Patchett

(emmerroo)