"The
first is a specific tragedy I call Leggings-As-Pants/Tights-As-Leggings
(LAP/TAL = no). And don’t make me delve into the crisis that is Tights-As-Pants
(TAP = seek professional intervention)."
Here’s Jen to explain this herself:
For the record, she's also against Manpris.
Practical Advice For Everyday Life
"Cooking is not an affliction, and we aren’t
incapable women who can’t crack eggs. We should disregard those commercials and
remember that feeding people real food has always been a good, noble task."
"You can’t do
everything perfectly. You don’t have to
live up to an invented standard of perfection.
You can choose what to be involved in and when to say no to things. Choose the things you find life-giving."
Laughter
"I
just saw a commercial for mousse that will not only battle this Texas humidity
and make me a hair model but also make people laugh hysterically at my wit!
WhoknewIcouldbethatfunny? It seems my new hair will attract young,
good-looking, multicultural friends, and we will run through a field laughing
over our shoulders while our hair bounces and shines. Well done, mousse!"
Tears
Her
wish for her children: "I pray for your
kindness more than your success, because the latter without the former is a
tragedy. God measures our entire existence by only two things: how we love Him
and how we love people. If you get this right, you can get a million other
things wrong. Have the courage to be
exactly who you are. Love God and follow Him. Really,
nothing else matters. Be
kind. Be
you. Love
Jesus."
Pop Culture References
I love seeing these all together - doesn't it make you want to read the book, just so you can figure out how she worked all these in?!
Tina Turner, Coach and Tami Taylor, high-waisted jeans, Netflix,
Olympics, Paul Rudd, Shakira, Young Jedi, Annie Leibovitz, Instagram, Aerosmith,
HGTV House Hunters, US Weekly, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Friends, Maya
Angelou, Annie Dillard, iPhones, Buzzfeed, Target, Jessica Alba, Mason
jars, Garanimals, Gatorade, Mary Janes, American Idol, Alex Preston, Will
Ferrell, Young MC, like a boss, DeLorean, Jennifer Lopez, L’Oreal EverSleek, Halle
Barry, Maybelline, Walgreens, Sarah Jessica Parker, Garnier Nutrisse, Eva
Mendez, As-Seen-On-TV Products, EZ Egg Cracker, Gwyneth (Paltrow), Ben
Howard, Cameron Diaz, Ina Garten, HGTV, Jimmy Fallon, Thank-You Notes, Spanx, Jell-O,
Children of the Corn, Disney-Themed Slanket, Amazon Prime, Ann Voskamp, Nickelodeon,
Dynasty, Pinterest, Game Boys, So You Think You Can Dance, William and Kate, March
Madness, Scrabble, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, Third Day, Aquire the Fire, MercyMe,
Xbox, Angry Birds, Minecraft, Madden NFL, Facebook, E-Readers, Hamburger
Helper, Food Network, Wolfgang Puck, Justin Bieber, Phil Donahue, Sally
Jessy Raphael, the Bieb, Sandi Patty, YouTube, Top 40, Kidz Bop, Bruno Mars, American Idol, Ke$ha, FloRida, Melissa McCarthy, The Tom Green Show, Punk’d, The Jamie
Kennedy Experiment, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop
Talking, Twitter, Siri, Autocorrect, Mark Zuckerberg, Tinder, Bluetooth, (President)
Obama, Spotify, Jock Jams, Subway, Sandwich Artists, Gru, Despicable Me, Justin
Timberlake, Disney, Mowgli, Taco Bell, Dane Cook, Circo, Taylor Swift, fist bump,
Ovaltine, Tim Riggins
Thank You Notes
"Thank you, Person Having a Cell Phone Conversation in the
Public Bathroom Stall Right Next to Me at Target, for the reminder that nothing
is sacred (or sanitary) anymore. Not only do I know your digestive habits now,
but I also know that your cousin Lucy is marrying a loser the whole family
hates and you are “not about to pay $120 on a dress for a lame wedding.” Good
talk."
"Thank you, Taco Bell, for knowing one hundred sauce packets
and zero napkins are the perfect number of things to put in my bag."
Truth and Wisdom
"Annie Dillard was right: “How we spend our days is, of
course, how we spend our lives.” You
decide your days should contain laughter and grace, strength and security."
"If
we tell the truth in the small things, our honesty is well-practiced when stuff
gets dire. This creates a sincere community for which the earth is starving. In
a world full of the fake, artificial, pretend, and superficial, we have the
sustenance to nourish our starving hearts."
Old School Twitter
If Twitter were around back then…
"@JenKing—April 13, 1989—Haysville, KS Had the best time at youth group! #WednesdayWarrior Won the skits with my Paula Abdul imitation. #StraightUp"
"@JenHatmaker—December 31, 1993—Wichita, KS Our wedding was DREAMY! Colors: forest green and burgundy, of course. Tea-length bridesmaids dresses. No alcohol at reception. #Baptist #AlsoIAm19"
Use of Capitalization
I love her use of capitalization. I don’t know why, but I Love It.
"Sure, I planned on being a Darling Lamb Wife, but I accidentally got a fiery personality and forgot to be darling."
"When I was a kid, I thought my parents knew everything because they were parents. I was unclear how information about All The Things had been transferred to them, but I was certain they were in possession of it."
My Endorsement
Here's the one that didn't get picked at all:
Like
chips and salsa, Jen’s sense of humor and authenticity are an irresistible
combination. For the Love left me feeling refreshed, restored and
energized to love people. I can’t wait for everyone I know to read this
book!
~ Lyndi; INTJ, Aunt of Hadley and Henry, Diet Coke Drinker,
Wichita, KS
Here's the one on the website:
This book is So Good. I
laughed and I cried and I identified with so much of what Jen said. Reading
this book felt like a weeklong vacation with my best friend. I want everyone I
know to read this book.
~ Lyndi; Paralegal, Photographer and Craft Blogger, Wichita, KS
As a member of the #LaunchTeam and one of the #500 – I’ve read through the book more than once and I’m telling you – it’s good.
I cut out two igloos. The first one, I sewed to the page and the second one I cut into puzzle pieces. Then I sewed with a thick zig zag stitch on the base around each piece (as a guide to where the pieces go) and added velcro to all the pieces.
This is the cute penguin that lives in the igloo.
The snow at the bottom of the page forms several pockets, where the puzzle pieces can be stored.
This was possibly the most time consuming page. I made three of each sock design, then sewed two of those together, with a magnet in between them and then sewed one to the page with a magnet behind it. I used regular strength button magnets found at Michael's, and they're not quite strong enough. Michael's also had "super strong" magnets, that I used for the fishing page, which I think would've worked better with this page as well. http://www.michaels.com/pro-mag-neodymium-magnets-.5%22/10382640.html#q=magnets&start=42
As I'm posting this blog, I remembered that I wanted to find a couple fun buttons for the washing machine. #workinprogress
I got this plant, when it was "up for grabs" at my office. When I got it, the plant was healthy, but the soil was near the bottom of the container, looking like it had eroded away. And it was in a dirty, plastic container. So, I decided to re-pot it.
My first step was to find a pot. I found a good size, gold, clay pot at Goodwill. I decided it would be extra cute if I added white stripes, so I used painters tape to tape stripes off (harder than it looks, since the pot doesn't have a uniform circumference.) Then I just spray painted the whole thing white with several coats.
Then I got to peel off the tape and reveal the stripes!
Then I added soil and re-potted the plant, at which time I found it was actually a bunch of cuttings put together, so that was more challenging to re-pot.
I like how it turned out and here it is back at my office!
This page was so easy and I LOVE how it turned out! Hobby Lobby had buttons on sale for 50% off, so I went and picked out a bunch of fun ones and got a plain sheet of lavender felt and a glittery sheet. I also found felt letters/numbers that stick on (which is what made this page so easy).
I cut the flaps with my rotary cutter and mat. Then I sewed them on with a zig zag stitch, to make them strong. Then I stuck the numbers on. Then I hand sewed the buttons on under the flaps. Then only problem I ran into was that I bought soccer balls and saved them for under the 7 flap, but they were too large to fit under the flap, so I still need to find some small buttons to use.
I kind of forgot how fun it is to design and make your own jewelry - you can customize it exactly to the colors and style you want. It's also a nice project that once you get started, you don't have to think about what you're doing, you just thread one bead after another.
I wanted a bracelet to match the new tank I found at Old Navy, so I got red, silver, dark blue and sky blue seed beads.
1. This is obviously the Old Navy model, not me.
2. It's cuter in person and paired with red capris.
3. Look - the model's bracelet is similar to mine!
I found a tutorial that said you can measure your wrist and then make one really long strand that you can then wrap around your wrist, which gives you the multi-strand look (rather than making a bunch of bracelets to make a multi-strand bracelet.)
After I was finished adding all the beads, I put a crimp bead on each end, as well as a clasp on one end and a chain on the other end. Then I looped the wire and fed it back through the crimp bead and several of the seed beads. Then I tightened it. Then I used the crimping tool to crimp the crimp bead. (I realize that sentence has an excessive use of the word crimp.) Then I cut the extra wire.
Making jewelry was so much fun, I ended up making necklaces to match as well - which you can see below in this picture of my adorable nephew Henry, who was celebrating his first birthday on the 4th of July!
