Little Boy

February 28, 2015

Pleading with tears streaming down your little face.
"YOU PROMISED!"
My heart aches because someone broke their promise...
I know it wasn't me. I wish I could repair the chinks in your armor
you've put on too soon.

Pure snow flakes streaming - you caught a glimpse at the door.
"Oh! It's just snow!" you said brightly and you were innocent again.
Your childlike outburst won me over.

Little friend- streaming down the hall with your fast legs.
You shined with "ten more---ten less."
Let's uncover your strengths, treasures.
I promised I'd love you no matter what choices you make.

I'll keep my promise.

Day 7: Ten Favorite Foods

Day 7 of 31 - Ten Favorite Foods

I always joke there are two things Janas are good at: eating and sleeping. Mostly I say it to be funny but also, I enjoy both things. Like many people, I associate food with happiness and making memories.When I get together with friends, we get a bite to eat. Birthdays, Easter, family cookouts, there's always something delicious to eat.  Although I come from a family of good cooks, my favorites are simple. So without further adieu, my ten favorite foods...

1. Chicken
2. Steak
3. Sushi
4. Peanut Butter and Jelly with Cheetos
5.Cheeseburgers
6. Greek Salad/Caesar Salad/Mixed Green Salad
7. Pizza
8. Bread - rolls, baguettes, waffles, biscuits, etc.
9. Beef Fajitas, nachos, burritos
10. Grapes, Bananas, Peaches

See? Nothing revolutionary. Probably even a lot like a kid's list of favorite foods. What are some of your favorites?

Day 6: 3 Personality Traits I am Proud of...

Day 6: 3 Personality Traits I am Proud of...

 There's really no way to complete this challenge without feeling like a fathead. I guess I'll jump right in and tell you 3 personality traits that make me great.

1. Honest reactions and Honest Answers
I cannot lie nor do I want to lie. If you want the truth, ask me a question then look at my facial expression. It always says what I'm thinking before my mouth does.

2. I have good manners.
Whether at QuikTrip (local gas station), at work, at church, or at school, good manners are important. Manners matter when holding doors. Yes ma'am and no sir aren't reserved for elderly only. It applies from the youngest pre-k students at school to anyone you see out and about. Manners help my communication with students and parents. They help with coworkers. And that old saying, "You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar" is true. If you're polite, people are a lot more willing to help you or just plain be around you. So YAY manners!

3. I have a big heart.
People are important. Friends are important. Family is important. Students are important. I rarely come across a person I don't like and when I've decided you're my friend, you are. I feel things deeply and wish I could fix problems. I worry about my students a lot. I know I was made for teaching. I think people are fascinating and there's almost always room for another friend.

Seriously, no way to write any of that without feeling super gloat-y. What are your favorite personality traits?

Day 5: My guilty pleasure

Day 5: My guilty pleasure

I asked my husband what he thought my guilty pleasure was. "Oh, you have a lot of them. You like booty music. Any songs about booties, but I feel like they're not really guilty pleasures because you don't mind talking about it."

True story, ya'll. I do love a good song about booties. First of all, it's funny. Call me juvenile, but it's plain hilarious and I don't know how anyone can be serious when they're singing about booties. So funny! Second of all, booty songs usually have a good beat. The truth about me is there's no way I can dance inappropriately so booty songs are just silly in my book.

May I present to you.... my "guilty pleasure"

Jana's Top 5 Songs with Booty References

1. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

       2. Bootylicious - Destiny's Child





       3.  B Double O T Y - Tone the Chiefrocca on America's Got Talent




       4. Country Girl Shake it for Me - Luke Bryan


      5. Cutie Patootie - Eden Wood



What's your guilty pleasure? If you don't understand my love for booty songs... well, I'm gonna be like Taylor and ...

Day 4: My Earliest Memory

Day 4- My Earliest Memory

As an early childhood educator, I know research shows the first two years are the most critical in development and growth. That being said, most people don't remember anything from their first two years of life. I know I was dearly loved and my mom spent lots of time talking to me and took me everywhere. I know when she complained about her back hurting, my daddy fussed, "Well, wiiiiife, if you'd put her down your back would feel better." I know I never lacked for quality time with a loving adult.

My earliest memories must be between 3 and 4  years old. I remember standing on my bed looking in a mirror to cut my bangs. I had a sense of foreboding, a quickening in my chest, knowing it was something I shouldn't be doing. I remember going to the zoo with my parents and my big brother. My brother and I were really good pals. I remember wearing my swimsuit outside to play with tubs and buckets of water in the driveway. The obvious thing to do when swimsuits get wet is take them off. (I jest because that's what I did.) I remember being flogged by a rooster.

There's an abundance of pictures from my childhood, so I can never tell where the picture end and the memories begin. One thing is certain; my earliest memory is love.

Day 3 of 31- Meaning of my business name: FearlessFaithVintage

Day 3- Meaning of my business name - FearlessFaithVintage

I love "rescuing" vintage. I have loved vintage from the time I was a child. My elementary school yearbook has proof!

 

That shirt I'm wearing was delightful. The colors were incredibly UNFLATTERING on me...but neither here nor there at this point. Proof is in the pudding, vintage is and always has been my jam.
(I was obviously concerned that "me" wouldn't suffice, hence me also adding "Jana".)

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control" (English Standard Version)   I have a tendency to overthink things and I knew God would not allow me to love vintage so much without a purpose. So I stepped out fearlessly and began selling vintage on Etsy and Instagram. I've made some diverse virtual friendships and learned running a business is harder than it looks.

And finally, Faith is two fold; it's my middle name but it also means I have faith in Jesus and know my Heavenly Father always provides what I need and more than enough.

Have you ever shopped an Instagram store? It's super easy if you have PayPal! Feel free to follow @fearlessfaithvintage on Instagram to see what its about.

Blogging Challenge Day 2 of 31

Day 2: 20 Facts About Me

1.  Vintage is supreme in my wardrobe. 
2. I love a good "teacher bag"
3. I love cheesy, predictable television/movies.
4. I'm a sucker for sequins, glitter, sparkle. 
5. I used to be scared to go in Hot Topic in the mall. 
6. My mom told me the birthmark on my leg was from a grasshopper spitting on my leg and I believed it. 
7. Clueless makes me feel like I'm in middle school again every time. 
8. I don't have not one single pair of plain white socks. 
9. Gwen Stefani, Betsey Johnson, the ladies of Advanced Style, and Kandee Johnson are my style-fashion icons.
10. If I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, it'd probably be chicken.
    
    
    
11. My arms and knees hyper-extend.
12. I have had red hair, pink hair, and purple hair. 
13. I believed in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny until I was 10. Thanks, Ashley.
14. I talk to the television a lot. Way too much. 
15. I'm probably never gonna dress like a teacher. It's not quite on purpose but it is what it is. 
16.  I have anxiety.
17. I like Cheetos in my chicken noodle soup.
18. I can touch my nose with my tongue. 
19. Barbies were my absolute favorite toy growing up. Pretty sure I made my mom nuts by asking her to make them talk all the time. 
20. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 11 years old after a Bishops Southern Gospel concert. 

31 Day Blog Challenge - Making time...

Day 1: Introduction


Many regular readers of Every Day is Your Runway already know me in real life, so an "introduction" may be redundant. But... after months of silence and a good talk with a friend, I'm making time.

Hi! I'm my daddy's baby and my momma's only. This is why I'm rotten, not spoiled rotten with things, but spoiled rotten with love. I'm a perfect mix of my mom and my dad. I love people and I really love children. I wanted to be a country singer when I was six years old but now I hardly listen to country music. My favorite songs as a child were "All my exes live in Texas" and "Boot Scootin' Boogie".

I started dance lessons when I was three. I took karate for a month because I thought the gi was cute. I used to eat chapstick and made "blush" from ground up sandstones. I love the purple flowers most people call weeds. I call them horsey-head flowers because they look like horses heads.

I have two sisters and a brother. My momma is one of my best friends. I was the apple of my Grannaw's eye and my Grandma Jessie thought I had perfect eyebrows. People used to say I looked like Aunt Martha, but I say I look like me.

I'm theatrical and dramatic and never give the short answer. I have the "G-Gene" and I'm proud of it. I'm married to Joe. He's still the cutest guy I've ever seen.

I teach first graders and kids are my favorite kind of people. I watch way too much television. I'm a perfectionist who's too hard on herself but kind of like Joan of Arc, "I'm not afraid. I was born to do this," teach, that is.

I love Jesus. I like glitter. Three things I'm good at: sleeping, eating, and reading. Kids wave at me in random places like the movie theater. I cry easily, when I'm happy, sad, frustrated, or angry. I love with my whole heart.

I miss my Color Guard days of high school but still enjoy dance class with my favorite Miss Patti. I identify with being artsy even though I don't make lots of art. I consider my artistic outlet my outfits. Thrifting is my favorite hobby, today, anyway.

I still chew my nails, even though my big brother told me not to. I love all things vintage and there's not a lot of fashion styles I dislike. I wish I would have taken that extra six hours of Spanish so I could have minored in it.

I guess that about sums me up.... Hi. I'm Jana Faith and I think I'm pretty great. Most of the time.