My ish
Alone
I’ve been having this feeling lately of feeling alone. I write on my blog to try and help me feel connected to people, yet it just makes me feel more disconnected. It didn’t used to feel this way, but now it does. I don’t know why, really. Nothing has changed that I’m aware of. It just feels so empty. Sort of like a one sided friendship. Like I am giving of myself and not really receiving anything in return. Not that I am supposed to expect something in return, but I sort of thought that it would help me stay connected to people from far away, but really I don’t think it is. Maybe it is helping people stay connected to me, but I don’t feel that. All I feel is that people know what’s going on in my life, and I have no clue what is going on in…
Read MoreNo Likey Bike Riding in the Rain
Ok, I know Justin has been meaning to write about this, and I hate to steal the topic of his blog post, but too bad because i need to share about my experience as well! Today we had my bike fixed and a baby seat put on it! YAY! Justin and I decided that since it was such a nice sunny day out, that we would take our bikes for a spin! Well, sunny could mean rain within minutes if you are talking Amsterdam weather. Oh yeah. So basically, it starting POURING! Thank the Lord that I had bought a little rain poncho thing for Maisie the day before for a time just like this! I must admit a few things from my past before I continue. I’ve never really been great at riding bikes. It all started back when I was around four years old and got my leg/foot…
Read MoreA Year Ago Today…
… we moved from Paris. The last year has been absolutely crazy in every way possible. Here are just some of the things/decisions/highlights of the last year. We stayed in more than 10 DIFFERENT places in the last year. Eight of those being for at least two weeks at a time. Paris to Denver to Virginia to Portland to Sacramento to Portland to Sacramento to Southern California to Sacramento to Portland to Sacramento to Denver and back to Europe, where we stayed in Hungary for a week, Den Haag for a week, and now we are in Amsterdam and have been here for just over a week. CRAZY!!!!! A year ago, we had made plans to move to Amsterdam after a SHORT (which turned into a year) time in the states. Plans to Amsterdam fell through, so we decided to stay in Portland and start a cafe, something we always…
Read MoreA dramatic day for me and a cat
There is always excitement at the Graf house! One of the boys found a cat the other day and brought it into the house, asking to keep it. Of course Laina agreed to this because she knew the cat would probably just run away anyways as cats are always coming in and out of their yard. Well, Justin and Sydney (one of their daughters) are allergic to cats and began to get really bad allergies. They weren’t pleased with the cat. So yesterday Sydney and Maisie and I were doing dishes outside (the kitchen is still in the process of being remodeled) and I spotted the cat going after one of the chickens! NOOOOOO! At least it wasn’t the baby chicks, but still. Once the cat gets a taste for chicken, it will only want more! This freaked me out, so I took it upon myself to pick up…
Read MoreGreasy Hair
Before I left for Europe I had one of my hairdresser friends tell me that I shouldn’t wash my hair everyday because it will actually make it more greasy. Does this apply to all hair types? I am just an oily person. Yes, it’s true. So I have been trying this whole washing my hair every other day thing for a few weeks now. Only one time did I cave and wash it two days in a row. Basically, I just want to share how this does not seem to be working for me so far!! My head feels like it weighs twice the amount from all the grease. I feel sticky and yucky, even if I have showered. I don’t know how long I can take this whole washing my hair every other day thing. In fact, I think today will be the last day of greasiness for me.…
Read MoreA letter from my teenage years
Justin, Maisie, and I are in Sacramento, CA right now, finishing up loose ends before our big move back to Europe! Yeah, that’s right. We are headed back in just five days!!! So we have been sorting through my mom’s garage (we had a garage sale the last couple days) and I have taken it upon myself to organize photos and other memory type things. I was very excited to come across a binder titled, “Jennifer” where I found lots of fun things from my childhood and teenage years. It’s always fun to take a walk in memory lane and see how I was as a child. I was a pain. It is proved in the following letter that I wrote out to my mom. Here it is typed EXACTLY how I wrote it! At the top of the page, it reads, “I thought about this for a…
Read MoreTeeth Extravaganza!
Let’s just say that I became best friends forever with two amazing dentists, their assistant, and the lady at the front desk. They all know me by now. I have had three fillings, two crowns (one of those to fix the broken tooth and the other to fix my root canal crown that the dentist thought was done in a third world country…no, just Roseville, CA), a teeth cleaning, and FOUR teeth pulled!!!! And that isn’t counting my first visit to figure out an action plan for my teeth and the follow up to the teeth pulling. So like I said, they know me well. All of it was just sick and wrong (like dentist appointments should be). But let me just say teeth pulling!!! THE WORST OF THE WORST! Everything about it. The fear building up to the appointment, the nightmares leading up to the appointment, the shots, the…
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