Oh my...

I got to thinkin' today that I have not blogged in FOR-EEVVERRR.
Then I also got to thinkin' that I somehow still make time for:

- late night cinnamon roll baking sessions (Pilsbury, I love you)
- raquetball games at the rec center at least three times a week
- an {almost} daily nap that amazingly always goes longer than anticipated
- checkin' out pictures and leaving comments on Facebook

Moral of the story...

I seriously need to get with it and keep up with this blog of mine!

School has been going great...
if you don't count the overwhelming amount of homework, my hectic schedule, and unrelenting responsibilities.
:)
It's supposed to be that way, right?

I am not only getting homesick, but worksick as well.
[I miss you Scrapbooks, Etc.]
I promise you're still one of my best friends and I will be back as soon as I can!

Just as a reminder, I do have a blog specifically for my stinkin' cute hair accessories which you can find here.

I know this is such a short post, but I have homework to do and freshly baked cinnamon rolls to eat.

Peace Girls!

My life in Tucson

has been:
-fun
-hectic
-sad
-annoying
-exciting
-frustrating

But overall, I still love it here.
I will be posting pictures of the apartment as soon as everything is set up and decorated the way I want it! With all of the homework I have been getting so far, the pictures might take a while!

Also, I finally have my new blog set up for my hair accessories. You can order most of the accessories through the blog shop and the others are available through e-mail ordering. You will see what I mean when you check it out here.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 3-day weekend!

Peace Girls!

Creative Escape is Coming!

As many of you girls know,
Creative Escape is quickly approaching.
So...
I have been hard at work creating my interchangable hair and apparel clips as well as headbands for this big event!
Here are the few I have made so far.
There will be PLENTY more to come!
I will not be putting these up for sale at Scrapbooks, Etc.
until mid-August.
{They will also be available at the on-site store at Creative Escape}
If you know you will want one,
please feel free to pre-order your favorites today!
If you don't see what you love,
hit me up and I can make one custom for you!
:)

More Creations

Here are my latest creations.
I fell in love with three of them and had to keep them for myself..
but the rest are for sale at Scrapbooks, Etc.
:)















This is a child's headband:


The following are for teens/adults:












I apologize because I know these aren't the best pictures.. but madre was asleep, which means she couldn't take pics of me modeling these. Hopefully she will be up on the next go 'round :)

New Stuff!

Ok, so I'm totally excited about my new bows I have been workin' on lately.
My goal this time was to make stinkin' cute stuff that even adults could wear.
Well, I haven't had a life for the past two weeks and I finally took my latest creations to Scrapbooks, Etc. where they are now for sale!!
I gotta tell ya though...
It was unbelievably difficult for me to part with a lot of them.

This is the one I absolutely could not give up and I had to keep for myself:


Did I mention that almost ALL of my new junk is made out of fabric??
I am trying to steer away from ribbon and go for a more sophisticated look.
All of these new bows start at $12 and go up from there just depending on which type/ how much fabric I used.

Remember that special orders are always welcome!
:)

I picked out a few of my favorites so I could share them with you.
Let me know what you think!







This is one is made with houndstooth patterned wool felt:








These are a few of the headbands:



There are tons more at Scrapbooks, Etc. that aren't pictured here so be sure to check them out!!

I also have a new litte addition to my life..
I got a new fish.
:)

My cute friend Alex helped me pick out my fish and after a huge OCD moment from Jenaye, we settled on this one.
His name is
Jimmy Blue Fin
and he is kinda the new love of my life at the moment.
Pathetic, right?
Anyways.. when we bought him, he totally looked blue.
But when we put him in his tank at home, he is definitely a purple fish.
That blue water PetSmart keeps them in is not helpful whatsoever...
So no, I am not colorblind... I just couldn't possibly change the little guy's name after I had already named him.
He is just gonna have to live his life as a purple fish with "blue" in his name.
:)

Goodbye

Andres Flores
Ole Ole Ole
Philipe Guacamole
Martinez Gonzalez

You were such a great fish
and an even better friend.
I will miss you..
but I won't miss cleaning your tank on a weekly basis.
I enjoyed the five months we shared together
and I will never forget you.

Alright, so I know that was a bit sarcastic,
but the death of my fish was honestly kinda hard for me.
I was pretty much obsessed with that thing! haha.

This tragic event really got me thinkin' about my dad.
Weird, I know.. but let me explain.

When I realized my fish had died,
the first thing I did was told my dad.
It was funny to me that my dad could actually tell how upset I was.
"Awww Suzi, how did he die?? What happened??"
I told him that there was no possible way I could flush my own fish so being the hero he is, he offered to do it for me.

And right there, it hit me:
I am 19 years old and it is amazing to me how much I still depend on my dad.
With Father's Day quickly approaching,
this is my shout out to my Dad.
He is my best friend next to my mom and I am so incredibly lucky to have such awesome parents.

So Dad, thank you for flushing my fish, for being my internet "surfing" partner on our laptops while watching tv, for fixing my flat tire that one time I ran over a curb (oops), for "tipping" me when I run errands for you, for always cooking my dinner separately in an attempt to keep mine as plain and spice-free as possible, for constantly making me laugh with your extrememly lame jokes, for letting mom and I take over the house with our scrapbook stuff, and for loving me no matter what. Like when I can't flush my own dead fish at the age of 19, or when I run over curbs, or because of the fact that I'm so stinkin' picky with my food, or for burying your stuff underneath cardstock and ribbon.

I love you Daddy-O.
Happy Father's Day

Oh say, can you see.....

I have finally made a few 4th of July bows after receiving some requests for them!



I will be bringing them to Scrapbooks, Etc. tomorrow morning to put up for sale. They range in price just depending on how much/which type of ribbon was used.

I will hopefully get in a better habit of blogging here in the near future. But like always.. I'm not promising anything! ha

Have a great week!

Peace Girls!

Recent Thoughts

I have been thinking a lot recently
just about random things.
But..
I feel like these thoughts will continue to refuse to leave me alone until I get them out.
So here it goes..

First,
relationships are freakin' hard.
I am so worn out from putting 150% effort into something that doesn't work out.
Yes, I do realize I am only 19 years old..
but those fairy tale endings and high school sweetheart stories do exist.
Why couldn't I be one of the lucky ones??
haha
Since I absolutely REFUSE to have kids in my 30's,
I have got to find this man of mine and start living my life!

Relationships with guys aren't the only tough relationships..
friendships can sometimes be difficult too.
When I attended U of A this year, I lost all of my close friends from home.
We were all so busy with school, work, and different schedules that we hardly talked at all.
I hate to live with regrets,
but I should have done more to keep those friendships going.
I have seen them since I returned home and it made me realize that I would be absolutely crazy to lose these girls as friends because I can't find an extra minute to call and say hi.
So.. my "new school-year resolution" is to keep all my friendships from home strong.
Think I can handle it?

Lastly,
how am I going to survive without my brother at home?
For nineteen years, he has been here whenever I needed him.
I don't know how I am going to handle moving him to Colorado this weekend.
It amazes me how fast time flies right by us...

I have to admit,
I do feel a little better after getting all of this off my chest.
I guess what I need to realize is that:

1.) Life is tough and you have two options: Feel sorry for yourself and complain or choose to be happy and live the life that you want.
2.) Although we might have a ton of "plans" for our life.. there really is no such thing. What is meant to happen will happen. We have no control over that so Jenaye needs to stop worrying about finding this man of hers. :)

I'm sure I could think of more advice for myself
but at 1:20 am, I'm a little short on good ideas.
I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!
I will let you know how moving Preston to Colorado goes this weekend!

Peace Girls!

Dear University of Arizona,

It's me again.
At the beginning of the school year, I wrote you a letter explaining how much I hated you for taking me away from my friends, family, and the job that I loved so much. I look back at that letter, disgusted with my rude remarks and negative attitude.
I am sorry for belittling you and making you feel like the worst thing in the world.
As my freshman year comes to an end,
I want to thank you for so many things.

1.) Thank you for pushing me to become a much harder worker than I was in high school. You taught me that college is a lot tougher than I thought it would be, but at the same time, you made me realize that I can do it. (Even after all those essays and projects I was convinced I wouldn't survive through.)

2.) Thank you for introducing me to a TON of great people... many of whom are my close friends now.

3.) Thank you for making me understand that time management is EVERYTHING.

4.) Thank you for bringing my Mom and I closer together while being so far away from her. We have both noticed that we wouldn't be able to manage without at least one phone call a day to each other. (That doesn't include e-mails or text messages.) You really have showed me that no matter what happens, she will always be my best friend.

5.) Thank you for allowing me to spend one year with my brother. Even though I didn't totally take advantage of seeing him a lot, I am very appreciative that I was lucky enough to have him here.

6.) Thank you for the free gym across the street from my dorm. You know... that one that I hardly ever used... :/

7.) THank you for all of the great memories that I will never forget.

8.) Finally, thank you for making me become a little more independent. I know now that I am capable of being away from my parents for long periods of time. I never thought I would be able to do that!

I have gone through so much during my first year of college... My first frat party (calm down Madre), my first cab ride, being away from my parents, losing my family's best friend.. our dog Barkley, and my first grade of a "B".

I will take all of these experiences with me throughout my life and learn from them. Thank you, again, for everything. I will see you in a few months!

Sincerely,
Jenaye

I guess I forgot

I know I haven't blogged in a while..
and most of you don't know that I got a job in Tucson!
I am working at a new Forever 21 store that took over the old Mervyn's store at Tucson Mall.
This place is
MASSIVE
with 65,000 square feet and 2 floors!
It's definitely a shopper's paradise!
However.. after working over well over 30 hours each week,
I guess I forgot:

1. How impatient Jenaye can get.
2. How bad my feet hurt after working 5 or more hours at a time.
3. How annoying traffic is in the sense that it almost makes me late for work.
4. How it feels to make a little extra spending money.
5. How inconsiderate people can be in the retail industry.

I had an advising appointment this morning for my class schedule next year.
I can't believe this school year is almost over!
Time flies by so fast..

Tomorrow is my roommate's Birthday.
She is turning the big 1-9.
So this is my shout-out to her.
Happy Birthday Lauren!

Nothin' else is really new with me.
I'm just tryin' to get through these last weeks of school while working ridiculous hours.
I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I will do my best to keep updating this baby!

Peace Girls!

Good News and Bad News

As this week comes to an end,
I have some good news and some bad news.

I think I'm gonna start with the bad news first,
cause I'm about 99.84024% positive you won't wanna end with this image in your head.
Ok.. here it goes..
On Monday evening,
I was feeding our fish
{Andres Flores
Ole Ole Ole
Philipe Guacamole
Martinez Gonzalez}
and I noticed his stomach was lookin' a little larger than normal.
After an intense investigation by yours truly,
I came to the conclusion that:
OUR FISH HAS A FREAKIN' TUMOR.
(Yes, very weird.. I know.)
This ugly lump has been getting bigger each day and I have no stinkin' idea what to do!
I don't want the poor little guy to suffer..
but at the same time,
How the heck would I kill it to put it out of it's misery??
After all,
I have a little confession:

My name is Jenaye Lauren Collins
and I save bugs from the pool.

How can I personally kill a fish
if I hate watching bugs die?!
I'm in a rough spot to say the least..

On to the good news!

I made history yesterday when I
SIGNED A LEASE FOR MY FIRST APARTMENT!
(Don't pass out Mom.)

I am so unbelievably excited!
The part that I'm lookin' forward to the most is
decorating.
I am also lovin' the fact that I will have a full-sized fridge
AND
my own washer and dryer!
{Cha-ching}
I am livin' with three other really nice girls.
To make things even better,
we each get our own bathroom!
:)

I got some pictures respresenting my hopes and dreams for my apartment.
However, I do realize these are just DREAMS,
and not reality whatsoever.
BUT...
if I could, I would make my apartment look like this:

The Kitchen:


The Living Room:


The Bedroom:


And the Bathroom:


Oh how I wish that was possible..

I have a test tomorrow and
I have no plans for this weekend..
I will probably try to get some homework done.
Sadly,
I won't be comin' home til Spring Break
which is March 16-20.

Have a great weekend!

Peace Girls!

Oh how I hate Mondays..

This past weekend was wonderful!
On Friday, I went to a car show with my dad.
He was so excited that I finally went with him and actually rode in his GTX with him.
It is so funny to me how proud he is of that thing..
I guess it must be a guy thing.
:)

From there, Seth picked me up and we went to ASU (booooo!!) to watch a few bands play.
Besides the fact that it felt like Antarctica outside, it was really fun!

On Saturday,
I got up kinda early
(early as in like ten o'clock)
and made myself some pancakes.
Usually my dad makes them for me and I decided after tasting mine,
that I'm definitely gonna leave the pancake-making to him.

Later that day, Seth picked me up and we went to Chandler Mall.
What I am about to say might surprise you all:
I didn't buy anything.
To be honest, I'm kinda really proud of myself!
I guess it's easier not to buy anything when you are flat out broke though.
;)

After the mall,
we went back to Seth's house
where he cooked me an amazing Valentine's Day dinner.
It was so thoughtful of him to make my favorite meal!
He even got my favorite dessert!

Ok, you might be surprised again...
but we totally broke up that night.
I'm not gonna go into detail,
but things just weren't workin' out the way we wanted them to.
But let me tell ya.. there's no way I'm givin' up!
Hopefully everything will work out in the end.
But for now,
I've just gotta load my dorm room with cookies and some white chocolate-covered pretzels.
:)

Needless to say,
my Monday has been a little rough.
And...
I'm actually feelin' a little stressed for the first time this semester.
I need to get goin' on all my work tomorrow to make sure it's done by Friday.
After all, I'm going home again for my Mom's Birthday!
:)
{Love you Madre!}

I hope everyone is havin' a great week so far!

Peace Girls!

Finally

I have kept you girls waiting long enough...
I finally have a picture with the new man.
:)



I am feelin' kinda really productive this week.
I have gotten ahead in almost all of my classes
and I am so glad to not be feelin' stressed!

Even more exciting news...
I found a roommate for next year!!
I am going out to dinner with her tonight to talk about where we wanna live!
I will keep you updated.
:)

Madre is outta town for work stuff.
Her and I have a date on Valentine's Day since I gotta pick her up from the airport.
Can't wait to see her!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Peace girls!

So Random

I was sitting in my room and I realized that I needed to update my blog.
But...
I didn't exactly know what to write about this time since nothin' new has really been goin' on.
So I decided that I'm gonna make a list of things that not a whole lot of people know about me.
I know,
kinda weird,
but it's somethin' a little different than normal.
Here it goes!

1. I have to sleep with my closet doors closed or I can't fall asleep.
2. I am 19 years old and I still sleep with my baby blanket (named Blue Blanky) and my bear (named Joey).
3. I have to match at all times.. even my pajamas have to coordinate.
4. If I could have one talent in the whole world, I would want to be able to sing.
5. I miss dancing like crazy and I want to start taking classes again extremely bad.
6. I have a serious addiction to shoes and purses.
7. I totally snort when I laugh.
8. My Mom is my best friend of all time.
9. I absolutely HATE Home Depot and Costco..
the whole warehouse type thing just isn't workin' for me.
10. I straight up jam out in my car when I'm by myslf.
11. Never in my life will I not have blonde hair.
12. High school was probably one of the worst times of my life and I would never go back if given the chance.
13. I'm kinda overly obsessed with ribbon.
:/
14. I am a firm believer that you can do anything you put your mind to. You just have to be willing to put in the hard work.
15. I am way too concerned about what other people think about me.
16. I wouldn't trade my life for anybody else's.
17. My cooking skills go about as far as mac -n- cheese.
18. I despise UGG boots. I think they are hideous.
(Sorry if you own a pair.)
19. My favorite numbers are 14 and 45 and they seem to follow me everywhere.
20. I am probably the most impatient person you will ever meet.
I would not recommend driving with me.
:)

I am coming home this weekend
(thank goodness)
and I've got a few cards to make and a cute boy to see.
:)
Preston has his interview in Colorado tomorrow..
I'm kinda really stinkin' nervous for him.
But I know he is gonna do great!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Peace Girls!

Tales from Tucson

As January comes to an end
(can you believe it?)
I am quickly realizing that I
a: need to find a roommate for next year
b: need to find an apartment for next year
c: need to find a job, like ASAP

I don't think I have been this broke since I was in 7th grade.
Let me tell ya, it's not a good feelin'.

So last weekend I went home to Mesa Town and hung out with the boy Seth.
I had so much fun as always and we even built a step stool for my bed.
Now I don't have to run from across the room and jump onto my 8-foot high bed.
:)
And when I say "built" I literally mean "built".
We made a quick trip to Home Depot and picked up the wood, the legs, the paint, the brushes, and the primer for it.
It was a lot of fun to make something together.
It might already be obvious...
but he kinda did all the work.
I did enjoy eating white chocolate-covered pretzels while watching him put it together though.
:)

Preston has his interview in Colorado next Friday for medical school.
It seems impossible to me how fast we both have grown up!
I still remember my Mom dropping us off at elementary school together!
Where does the time go?!

My classes are going great so far.
I'm trying to stay really far ahead in all my classwork so my weekends will stay open.
It's actually been working out better than I had planned so far!
I just hope I keep this motivation I've got goin' right now!

Nothin' else is really new in my life.
My fish is doing great.
Lauren and I still haven't given the other fish to our friend yet.
I'm gonna miss that little guy when he's gone.
:(

Seth is comin' down tonight after he gets off work.
I absolutely cannot wait!
I have seen him every weekend since school started and
I couldn't be happier!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!
Go Cardinals!!

Peace Girls!

Dorm Room #275

has a new little addition!

On Saturday, my roommate Lauren and I decided our dorm room was lackin' a little somethin'
So..
we hopped in my car and drove to
Petsmart
Although I was totally distracted by all the cute guinea pigs and mice,
Lauren and I bought a fish.
:)
I have never owned a fish before, so needless to say,
I am so excited and a little too overly
OBSESSED
with this thing!
I've caught myself a few times sitting on my floor just staring at it!
How lame is that?
Lauren and I wanted our fish to have a completely original name and a little Mexican flair.
(Don't ask why.. we were just feelin' that way at the time when we bought him)

With that being said, our fish's name is:

Andres Flores
Ole Ole Ole
Philipe Guacamole
Martinez Gonzalez.

I don't think any other fish will ever have a name quite like the one we picked!
:)
In addition,
we bought a fish for one of our guy friends and it's name is:
Joren
(A mix between Jenaye and Lauren)
haha
Anyways.. here is a picture of our new friend!



And here is Joren:



Since this is a new experience for both Lauren and myself,
we posted a little reminder on our door:



Getting a fish was not the only exciting thing that happened this weekend..
the new boy Seth came to Tucson to visit me!
It works out great cause two of his really good friends live right down the hall from me, so he is able to stay the night in their room and then spend all day with me!
It's kinda like a cute little high school reunion with all of us hanging out!
Seth and I watched the Cardinals game yesterday with everyone from my dorm and then we went out for dinner last night.
This weekend has gotta be on my top five list of favorite weekends everrr.
:)

I'm tryin' really hard to keep this baby updated.
Hopefully I will do way better than I did last semester!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Peace!

Sad day..

So I got back to U of A yesterday evening and I'm already kinda wanting to go home.
Like really bad.
It's not that I don't like it here..
It's just that being here only means one thing:
The school work is coming!
(In massive loads)

It seriously took me about 4 hours to unpack all my junk.
I realized that I have way too much stuff here, so I had to do a little re-organizing in addition to unpacking.
I honestly take after my mother, cause I'm resorting to storing some stuff in my car since there is no room in my room!
:)
{Thanks for that Mom!}

Today I just gotta go buy all my stinkin' books and get my binders ready for class.
Other than that, I don't have anything planned.
Let me tell ya, it feels wonderful.
After all, I should be enjoying any free time I get while I still can!

Have a great Tuesday!
Peace girls!