GRACIOUS

janiefrancessteindorff

the story:janie's and my parents have know each other since childhood, so when my family moved to montgomery, janie and my older sister became fast friends. janie (and her larger-than-life hairbows) was a constant fixture of my childhood and has become a friend and sister to me. 

 


your [soundtrack]: "roll away your stone" by mumford & sons. "faint not" by jenny & tyler. "all i need" by j.j. heller. "beautiful" by kari jobe. "poison & wine" by the civil wars.


your [rough draft]: philippians, ruth, esther, ecclesiastes, lady in waiting by jackie kendall, redeeming love by francine rivers, passion and purity by elizabeth elliott,  the giving tree by shel silverstein, pride and prejudice by jane austen... just to name a few.


your [shade]: yellow. it has positive connotations.


words to [live] by: "be truthful, gentle, and fearless." [ghandi]


you [love]: people who are simple, positive peggys, lemonade, fall weather, nail polish, my family.


you [hate]: poverty, raisins, ignorance, negative nancys.





your [purpose]: to love Jesus with all my heart mind, and soul. and to love others.


you [believe]: in loving people unconditionally.


your [influence]: my dad. he has such a way of making complicated things simple. he portrays the character of Christ in every situation.


you [admire]: those who are accepting of others. selflessness.


your [escape]: going for a nice jog or walk in pretty weather. 





your [origins]: montgomery. i love it because of the people. they make it home.


your [fondest] memory: the famous sock war game held at the wolf den.


your most [embarrassing] moment: i was deborah the prophetess in a church play in elementary school. i was supposed to give a description of my character and then say, "who am i?" so the audience would have to guess. but of course after i gave my lines, instead of just saying "who am i?" i said, "i'm deborah. who am i?" fail. 


your biggest [challenge]: changing schools in the middle of high school... it ended up being a nice little blessing.


your [proudest] moment: the moment i completed my twenty-page thesis paper my senior year of high school. also, i had to defend my thesis in front of five intimidating teachers, two of whom had their doctorates. i was glistening a little bit!

with my sister mary!

you [wish] to meet: mother teresa... but she's dead.


you [want] to be: a woman after God's own heart who is always learning with a humble heart and teaching with the boldness and wisdom that comes from Christ. 


your [wildest] dream: to raise children in an orphanage somewhere in a third world country.


your [childhood] ambition: to be a ballerina.


your [pet peeves]: pessimistic people. not much else gets on my nerves.


your [guilty] pleasures: the bachelorette!





your [site]: janiestein.tumblr.com


your [last] purchase: two skirts from a consignment shop.


your [location]: i'm a senior elementary education major at troy university.


surprise [us]: i have a kind of mischievous side. i called my mom "pisceycoe" when i was little. i also had two imaginary friends named plarky and revy. i was an odd little girl with  a big imagination, i reckon!


you [are]: positive.





 janie, you are sugar. i am convinced there is no one on this earth as sweet as you, miss janie steindorff. you have held on to all the good parts of being a little girl, but you've also developed an astounding wisdom. you see the good in everyone and approach everyday as the gift that it is. you are sassy and classy and crazy. thank you for making this world brighter. keep loving life, my precious girl.





you are [delightful].

happy birthday, (original) beautiful.

 it seems to be raining birthdays around here! we celebrated my mom's life this week with dinner, presents, and a trip to see transformers 3 (yeah, weird movie choice...)

my brother and sister-in-law sent my mom a birthday package with a recipe book from a bakery in san francisco called miette. this place is heaven on earth, if your idea of heaven involves glass cases brimming with miniature pastel-colored cakes almost too beautiful to eat.
mine does.

inspired by the cookbook, mary and i decided to bake a cake. after attempting to replicate a miette cake, we were so discouraged and terrified that i ended up googling "easy chocolate cake." hey, at least we put in some decorative effort with the raspberries on top.

i don't know how much they liked it, but i thought it was pretty great. i mean, i did eat it for breakfast the next day, or whatever.

happy birthday, beautiful.

 my family had the profound privilege of celebrating twenty-two (delightful) years of mary's life last week! she was whisked away in the early morning for a surprise day at six flags with her boyfriend, then came home to her favorite pesto pizza and a party in our courtyard.

brother jay and i filled the yard with tea candles, twinkle lights, and paper hearts. mary has a thing for pink, if you can't tell.

 louisa's bakery peanut butter cupcakes + limonatas + birthday gifts = good times.

we ate my dad's homemade popcorn as we watched home movies (starring mary) projected onto the side of the house.

a pretty enchanted evening, if i may say so.

independence day(s).

the WHOLE family (minus baby james, sadly) ventured up to lexington, kentucky, to celebrate the fourth of july with our dear sarah and jeremiah this week! we got to see that growing baby bump, visit one of our favorite families (the sizemores!), and eat lots of free yogurt. not a bad week.

i have been officially addicted to ale 8 (kentucky's signature soda) since my first visit to lexington. jay doesn't hate it either!

we watched fireworks from sarah and jer's new land with a bunch of friends. when the sun set, hundreds of fireflies began glowing in the wheat field. so gorgeous.

besides owning wheat fields, sarah and jer also own four (and counting) yogurt shops called orange leaf. so naturally we took a yogurt tour of lexington and visited every location in town. not a flavor was spared.

we drove through bluegrass country to eat at this fun restaurant, windy corner market, with all the families.

all good things must end, as they say, so we had a family brunch at a local restaurant called doodle before heading back to our homes around the country. i suppose it's really a good thing when you're sad to leave your family!

magnificent.

meredithfields[edney]

the story: meredith is one of my sister's dearest friends and sorority sisters at samford. i felt like i knew meredith before i even started school because mary austin talked about her so much. when i got to samford i was so excited when i ran into a girl who knew my name and who i assumed (for some reason) was my sister's roommate, sarah. we had what was probably a very confusing conversation, then i realized much too late that i had been talking to meredith! i was mortified, but meredith didn't care! i definitely know who she is now -- one of my favorite girls!

your [soundtrack]: "time after time" by cyndi lauper, "home" by edward sharpe and the magnetic zeroes, "you are for me" by kari jobe, "dark blue" by jack's mannequin.

your [script]: little women -- cant help but love it. up has become one of my favorites, but my all time favorite is the documentary young at heart -- if you haven't seen it, COME BORROW IT!

your [rough draft]: anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery, wuthering heights by emily bronte, crazy love by francis chan, and my very favorite is the little princess by lori wick.

your [shade]: blue -- everything blue is good.

your [inspiration]: other people's talents and passions. 

words to [live] by: rejoice always and pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.

[1 thessalonians 5:16]

and all i was trying to do was save my own skin, but so were you. [reliant k, "be my escape"]

you [love]: traveling, meeting new people, and flying over a city a nighttime.

you [hate]: inconsideration.

with the REAL sarah trotti.

your [purpose]: glorify the Lord in all that i do.

your [influence]: my dad, he gives and serves others more than anyone i have ever met. he gives his time to serve people in his own context and outside his context. he challenges me in all areas of my life and keeps me accountable to serving and giving to others.

your [escape]: driving at night. i could do it for hours.

with roommate anna.

your [origins]: vicksburg, mississippi. i love it because the people love, care for, and support me more than anyone else i know. i couldn't be any luckier.

your [fondest] memory: traveling to england and scotland with my dad when i was 13.

your biggest [challenge]: learning to love and serve others unconditionally.

you wish to [meet]: lucille ball, i think we would get along.

you want to [be]: a teacher that makes a difference.

your [wildest] dream: sky diving in new zealand.

your childhood [ambition]: broadway star. singing and dancing -- a perfect match. 

your most [embarrassing] moment: telling a girl who didn't have an arm that anytime she "needed a hand" i could help her out... then she busted into tears!

your [pet peeves]: people that tear others down.

your [vices]: grilled cheese! i can never get enough. listening to usher songs put to jazz music.

your [location]: samford university. i am an education major and hoping to get a job in the birmingham area in the years to come.

[surprise] us: i have never lit a match before.

you [are]: competent.

mere, you embody the word "delightful." you are as sweet as they come and spending time around you is an absolute pleasure. you are so easygoing, content, pure-hearted, joyful, and just plain happy. plus i can't recall ever hearing you complain or gossip, and i know that's because your beautiful heart only pours out beautiful things. that's probably why your eyes are so pretty -- because they're the windows to that pretty soul. you are wonderful multiplied by a thousand. i am blessed that i get to be your friend. stay happy in Him, my splendid girl.

you are [delightful].

god is merciful.

johngoodson[mclemore] 

the story: if i haven't known goodson my whole life, i must not have been cognitively aware when we met. our families are old friends and we've gone to the same church for a long, long time. goodson and i now both attend samford (where he's a year ahead of me), and i'm having fun watching this boy grow into a bigger boy. we laugh together, we sing together, and (most importantly) we eat together. 

your [soundtrack]: "arizona" by kings of leon, "blue moon" by dean martin, "don't let me down" by the beatles, "where to begin" by my morning jacket, "john wayne gacy, jr." by sufjan stevens, "gimme one reason" by tracy chapman. 

your [script]: butch cassidy and the sundance kid, it's kind of a funny story.

your [shade]: green, for obvious reasons.

words to [live] by: "question everything."

you [love]: packs of cleaning towels in white miniature tubs, clorox, armor all.

you [hate]: showering, sweat, itchy sweaters, and phonies.

your [purpose]: eat, drink, sleep.

you [believe] in: small talk, although it is a hard skill to master.

your [escape]: sleep or guitar. mostly sleep.

your [pet peeves]: smacking. and when i'm turning into traffic and the passenger looks out of the window and blocks my view of oncoming traffic. 

your [vices]: chewing on straws and whitney houston.

your [origins]: montgomery, alabama. i love it because it's home. 

[fondest] memory: yellowstone with my family when i was like eight years old. things were great until i accidentally strangled myself with my seatbelt. 

your biggest [challenge]: i remember p.e. being pretty challenging in middle school coming in at 4'11", 140 pounds. i think. 

your most [embarrassing] moment: i wet my pants in fifth grade. my mom had to come to school and bring me some new pants. no one found out because i put my backpack in  my lap for like two hours. 

you wish to [meet]: all the famous people i wanna meet would probably be jerks, so i'm pretty satisfied with the people i've already met. 

you want to [be]: a cherokee indian circa sixteenth century.

  

 

your [wildest] dream: i would move to alaska without any money or a car. i wouldn't tell my friends and family, and i would stop contributing to society. people might make a book and/or movie about me. that would be nice.

your childhood [ambition]: i wanted to be a cowboy.

your [site]: blogotheque.net.

your [last] purchase: water and air fresheners.

your [location]: samford university in birmingham. all's well. 

[surprise] us: i am trilingual.

you [like]: my "sick ability to emotionally detach." i feel like it might come in handy in an armageddon type scenario. 

you [are]: a homo sapien. 

goody, you're my brother. i really can't express how much you mean to me or how much you've added to my childhood. you're completely odd, but that's the best thing about you. your tomfoolery makes me laugh harder than almost anyone, but you display an incredible emotional, artistic, and spiritual depth, as well. some of my best memories involve you (who will ever forget our day at universal?!), and i thank you immensely for being such a good part of my life and of the human race. i am very, very proud of who you've been, who you are, and who you're becoming. i believe in you. stay good, my extraordinary boy.

you're the best date, duh.

you are [delightful].