sweet bits journal- march

everyday before i go to sleep i write down the best part of my day. in helps keep things in perspective and everyday might not be pure unicorns and rainbows but there is something good in e v e r y d a y. 

 

`march 1- much needed mental health day. made peanut butter pretzel brownies. 

`march 2- Went to one of my fave restaurants with my nonny. satisfied my taco salad craving. 

`march 3- church fun, my friend, Jessie, gave my a dress, with to the craft store with my ma and scored. 

`march 4- made the entire home and careers class, laugh, at my obnoxious fox story.

`march 5- noon dismissal, i love you. 

`march 6- life groups made my crappy day much better and we ate guyanese curry together. 

`march 7- olive garden with my co-workers. i love my job. 

`march 8- snow day. thank the LORD! 

`march 9- worked a double, cleaned, crafted and shopped with my ma. #productive

`march 10-fun church day, realized as i was nodding off to sleep that i forgot to do an essay. fun times.

`march11- my mother picked my up from school with a cupcake. 

`march 12- almost cried while watching the bachelor. that's a problem. it's classy sister wives.  

`march 13- loved life groups. ate lie pig. 

`march 14- late night thearpy, i mean target run with my ma. scored big. made banana chocolate chip bread at 10 PM.

`march 15-brought in my banana bread to work like a good italian girl does.     

`march 16- saved/signed up to die 5 years ago today. God, you are good. 

`march 17- brought my aunt to church with my today. had an lol fest with a text banter with my bestie. 

`march 18- failed my road test and sobbed like spongebob in the episode with his grandma and the cookies but listening to this song lifts my up big time. 

                         

`march 19-snowday. thank you jesus. addicted to the hunger games. 

`march 20- went to one of my fave restaurants with my ma. ate like a barbarian. 

`march 21- my one friend presh and and I love to vox eachother. we had a good feed going today!! so grateful for friends. 

`march 22- no school. prayed that god would help me find a replacement or work tomorrow so i can go to my friends birthday shindig. walk into work with a cover. boom. 

`march 23- sweet babysitting gig. besties birthday dinner was a grand time. 

`march 24- preschool kids church today. did resurrection rolls with them. they seemed to get it for a bit but then they were all "so jesus melted?" great. MY COLLEGE BESTIES ARE HOME!! #sociallife

`march 25- finished the first hunger games book. soooo good. props suzanne collins.

`march 26- had a driving lesson that i was super bitter about going to and then the teacher, who goes to my church, gives me two more lessons for free, and moves up my road test. yesssss. 

`march 27- rockin' quiet time with the King of Kings. 

`march 28- mother took me out of school extra early to start break. immediately proceeded to the library to get the 2nd hunger games book. 

`march 29- birthday weekend begins. went to this new and AMAZING waffle place for breakfast. 

`march 30- even more AMAZING easter service. then the best best best time having a birthday dinner with my main girls. 

`march 31- {birthday/resurrection day}- another amazing easter service with water baptisms. cried just like the above meme at them. then hung out with a new friend and had a small easter dinna with family.   

the time i failed my road test

Last week I failed my long awaited road test. I legit cried for about two days. I was pathetic. ughhh. Anything to do with the DMV gives me severe PTSD. Most things in life even the deep, heavy things I just seem to get though by laughing at. Here begins this post. I wake up the morning of my test do my normal minimal morning rituals, minimal because I loathe mornings, it's getting late/I lose track of time and I realize my mom isn't up. Gah, we have to be at the DMV in 10-13ish minutes and we live about the same time away from  it. We floor it all the way down there. Finally get there, just in the nick of time, stand in the perpetual line and I say to the teller, giddy as ever, "I'm here for my road test!" she replies "no ma'am we don't do them here," then I correct her naively "No, not a permit, a road test!" she spits back "Yeah, you take them on such and such an avenue" and hand me a sheet with directions. After that statement spilled out of her mouth she I turn my head to my mom holding back tears and wanting to scream. We hop back in the car and begin following the confusing directions and get lost (within our own hometowns) approximately 587 times.  We , My mother, speeds, make u-turns on a no u-turn highway, and weave on the highway during rush hour, she really goes beyond the call of duty to get me there. After a million and a half circles and dozens of tears, we find it because of the driving school car, waiting in line. The driving school car belonged to this cool, youth volunteers at my church, he gives me a few pointers while I wait. Finally take my test and act cool as cucumber but totally nervous on the inside, aced parallel parking and K-turns! I finish and when she utters the words "well you didn't pass" I'm shocked and didn't believe her either mind you I've been know to be the "most persuasive person" according to my friend Mahadhi so I lightly try to sweet talk her but didn't take it. oy. So I failed. But got some lessons for FREE from that driving school and was able to move my test up way earlier than the two month wait I would have had to the through the DMV!! #bodyofchristswag

"For we know that God works for the GOOD of those who love him and are called according to his purpose" Romans 8:28 

God's got his girl.

sweet bits journal- February

I like a clean perspective. Finding the good in e v e r y t h i n g. Seeing the mundane as beautiful. etc. I started a "Sweet Bits" journal listing/sentencing the sweet bits of the day. It was semi-inspired by this youtube channel.

here goes the sweet bits of FEBRUARY 2013:

`February 1- Babysat some cute kids, their parents told me I was their fave

`February 2- Went on a lunch date with Ma to Marrato's 

`February 3- Had a blogging date with myself at Starbuck's #thuglyfee

`February 4- Mom picked me up form school on time, that my friends is a miracle

`February 5- Sooo sick, but I got a school free day out if it. hollaaa

`February 6- Baked cookies!!

`February 7- Woke up on time #miracle and made a satisfying lunch    

`February 8- SNOW DAY!!! 

`February 9- Trader Joe's & craft date with Ma and found 125 rolled inside of a stuffed bear I got eons  

                    ago. CRAZY!!   

`February 10- Signed up for youth group getaway shindig! SOOO GLAD I DID!! :)

`February 11- I got to craft. Can I get a HALLELUJAH!?

`February 12- Found out I get out at 11:55 on Tuesdays!!!!! 

`February 13- Life groups was rocking tonight!!

`February 14- Went to my favorite restaurant, Peter Pause, with Ma today, and demolished he local 

                       candy store chocolate (turtles) she got me. 

`February 15- Started school vacation, pigged out on free dunkin' donuts

`February 16- Finally got to read (while babysitting) and got $30 for it!!

`February 17- Woke up at 8:30 and needed to be at church by 8:45, make it on time!!

`February 18- NO SCHOOL!! (all week:) Went to my other fave restaurant for curry and my fave fro-

                      yo place for desert with Ma and Lou 

`February 19- NO SCHOOL! Read a magazine with Ma on the couch (trying to make it a weekly 

                       thing) 

`February 20- NO SCHOOL! Needed lazy day.

`February 21- Worked my first day at a kids consignment store! 

`February 22- Ma took me to a new fave restaurant. Had taco salad =out of this world good and then 

                      sped to get to church on time for the getaway/retreat thing and the first night was 

                      AMAZING, such a Holy Spirt filled night!! 

`February 23- Another AMAZING day at the getaway. Sledding, deep convos, ice skating, good food, 

                     and lots of worship! 

`February 24- Soooo sad to leave the getaway but built such strong relationships with God and friends!!!

`February 25- Mom made dinner (miracle) and I had a semi free night (miracle)

`February 26- Work was FUN but long and there was good leftovers and takied for an hour an a half 

                       with my BFF, Presh! (just what I needed)

`February 27- 2 hour snow delay!!!!!! Made breakfast, ate it at home, life group was fab, and for Lou's 

                         last night home I found a ton of pic of our creppy uncle and tapped them all over her 

                         room! (dead form laughter) 

`February 28- Lou moved to NYC, made a delish salad at work and precisely spilled it all of the carpet 

                      on the way to clock out and my co-workeers (and me) laughed at me for about 5 minutes. 

^From the Getaway, Let's Play Find the white girl! 

*Also one of the only pics I took this month :( 

journal entry/ quote

I found a quote in my Bible during church yesterday...

                      

            "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe"

-Saint Augustine 

It must have been from a sermon and I wanted to be preppy and take notes during church. What? I thought is was pretty profound.

Then I scribbled below the quote, I'd say quite a few years ago...

"Your grace has found me just as I am" 

(from the song, "Majesty")

I'm so thankful for grace. I sure do regularly, or hourly, minutely (that's a fun word). I'm thankful that I never had to change and tidy myself up to come to the wondrous cross. My gracious God took me in as as was: needy, messy, weary and washed me in his Son's blood and from there I could be changed for eternity. Hallelujah! 

God has been good to me. 

peeing, grace, and class

I come from a long line of peeps that can't hold their urine. My mom, well she had two offspring, my sister ehh her serial dating middle school boyfriend broke up with her because she always peed during the movies and needed to be caught up on the movie #middleschoolprobs, and my cousin got arrested for peeing in the subway in NYC. classy, I know! Needless to say genetics are a powerful thing and I inherited a walnut sized bladder. On planes when my plane neighbor sits down I prep then for the next few hours of sitting next to me, the hot mess express, and how I frequently pee, and it would be in their best intentions for me to have the outside seat, m'kay. Usually it works. A few weeks ago I was on the bus with my ear buds in listening to my Hillsong station on Pandora and the song "Grace Like Rain" came on. I also had to to make a deposit in the toilet like a certain racehorse. The said song describes grace as water many times thus making my sensation to pee quite worse while the city I live in has severe pothole complications, and makes the said sensation even worse. I barely make it to school with an accident and barely leave Target without purchasing the below bad boys.

i texted my excursion to my friends too. 

things i'm called at work

             today's post is chronicling the variety of names i'm called at work. 
                          i like to write stuff down  ;)

            1. Little Africa or Africa 

         ` this name seems to follow me at all my jobs. lindsey lohan and I have something in      
          common. what? well the lindsey lohan in mean girls not the currently intoxicated    

          one. my coworkers love to hear my wild (literally) tales from africa, along with   

          stories where i forgot to wear a bra to school.

        2. Sarah

          ` I work at a retirement home. old people live there. with dementia or really old 

           brains. And just some cray cray people. A resident enjoys calling me ‘Sarah’ because 

           i “look like the ideal jewish girl.” The said resident also refers to me as ‘he’ or ‘good 

           boy’ often with my freshly waxed eyebrows and girlstashe. damn Italian genes.

          3. jack

           ` this nickname which once drove me crazy, i’ve now grown highly accustomed to   

             nearly every peer group i’m associated with calling me jack. even my bosses call 

             me it. i’ll take it.

         P.S. It's almost friday!!!!!!!! YAYYYYY!!

God, this season, and grace.

You know those crazy people in the Bible like Jonah, Moses and uhhh Jesus too that God calls by name, to do something, and nearly everyone thinks they are CRAZY!? Yeah, I'm in that boat lately. God is speaking oh so loudly, and I want to listen. Despite what people think of my sanity level. God is slowly equipping me for this next season one Olympic size pool of grace at a time. What? I don't know either. Every chapter is better than the one before. 

xoxo, jack