The Right Stuff...

Can you believe it? NKOTB is reuniting and holding a show in NYC on April 4. I loved New Kids On The Block, but I guess what girl my age didn't. I had poster, which of course my brothers drew all over.



Oh glory. Oh beauty. First one was a sweet one...second one was a blast...ahhhh. I had the comforter, I had t-shirts, I had their white cassette tape. Amazing. I hope they come West. California, no matter, I'll be there with scrunchy and all.

Alright, well I mentioned my new dresser but I thought you might like to see it for yourself...here she is..



Lovely. I'm going to bed.

Lunch Time Uppppdattteee.

Shoes. I have a real problem with shoes. I love them. They love me, I think. I bought another pair. Now, for someone who loves shoes at least I have the mind to buy them from Target and Payless so not to overspend my budget...well at least not too much. Here are the new members of the family:



Also this weekend I got a new dresser that is mighty cute. My other one fell apart, probably because I stuffed it full of too much junk and it was just retailiating. Hopefully I'll treat this one a little bit nicer.


This is it, except mine is white. It kind of has a beachy look to it. I like it. I hope it lasts awhile anyway.

Well I'm off to a meeting. More later.

I'm going to kick influenza in the face

...This sucks. I can't sleep or anything. Missseerrrry....

Catching up a little late..

Sorry I've been out of sorts this week, I've been sick with the flu. I wanted to let you know about my weekend getaway from last week and give you a few photographs. We had a pretty lovely stay, the resort is happily situated in Hood Canal. Very picturesque.

Here's some of the view:


This is the resort.


The Cascade Mountains outside of our window.


Some random hills across the canal.



"The Beach." We couldn't find any geo-ducks, a real bust, I'll tell ya.


Okay, so other than spending time with Chris, this was the best part. The resort had a cat called "Alder" (the resort name is "Alderbrook resort") and it was the sweeeeettesssttt freaking cat ever. It meeelllttteeed in your arms and had soft bunny fur. O...M....G....I loved it. I'd go back just for that cat. Yes, I will grow up to be a cat lady. What the f ever.


Oh...that's hot.


Okay, this is just shameless posting pictures of myself now.


Having a cup of joe in our room, enjoying the view.


And after breakfast....aw, so sweet.

Here's the truth about our stay. It was nice, it was beautiful, we had fun. But the service was absolutely horrible...I mean horrible. The worst service I have ever had anywhere. The restaurant staff was awful, the desk clerks were not helpful, it just was no bueno. So I wouldn't coin this hotel as a "resort", it was more like a Holiday Inn on a beautiful property with a fantastic cat. Meh.

On the way home while we were waiting for the ferry Edna (my 2005 Honda Civic) had about all she could take of running my radio and heater so she died in the line at the Bremerton Ferry. I flipped out. Luckily, we got jumped off and she's alive again.



Ah, back in gloomy, overcasty, lovely Seattle.

Alright, I'm sick. I'm going to go get some sleep.

Hang on...

....I will update you on my weekend trip when I get home this evening.

Quick Weekend Update..lots of pictures...

Egg dying was alright...I didn't last long, I started to get bored because, well, my eggs sucked. Here's how it shook out..









Yes, they all suck, but here is my favorite...







Chris lasted a bit longer and of course his turned out better. Dang it.



This is his favorite, I think....



Like I said, I didn't last long, so I started playing jawbreaker...typical...





And then lots of pictures...







And I end with a little black dress...



Off to lunch and hood canal.

Cliche, maybe, but TGIF

This weekend is going to be really good, I'm very excited. Tonight we're going to kick off the evening with some classic egg dying. Now I'm not sure if you all are in tune with the gingerbread house fiasco of 2007, but let's just say I'm not exceptionally skilled in the ways of holiday decor. However, I have read up on egg dying techniques and prepared myself as best I can. I'll take pictures so you can see how it shakes out. I'll also put up the pictures of the gingerbread scandal later, because well, they're terrible and definitely worth seeing during any season.

Tomorrow I'm going to Pink Door for lunch and to celebrate the Tap Project.

http://www.tapproject.org/ (You can get involved in your own area!)

There is not a single healthy thing on the entire menu. So Philanthropic/Unhealthy lunch here I come. Menu here:



It looks delicious though. I'm thinking Caesar salda with crab and dressing on the side. Looks semi-promising. A bunch of friends are going so it should be nice to sit out on their deck looking over Puget Sound. Very good times.

Afterward I'm heading over to Hood Canal to spend my evening at the Alderbrook Resort. http://www.alderbrookresort.com/alderbrook_photo.php Chris and I are just going for the night and to have a nice Easter brunch and then heading back on Sunday. I think it will be a lot of fun. I mean look at this....




Perfect. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Longest day ever..

I went to water aerobics last night. I was such a fool to make fun of those old bitties, it totally kicked my butt. On Tuesday Kel, Wac and I are going to try deep water aerobics....treading water for an hour, sounds like death. I'm totally excited. :)

I'm not really sure why today dragged on forever, but it certainly did. The day started out pretty good...I lost 2.2 lbs! Yayyyyy.

Even though I got to work late today, it just lasted forever. Everyone is out on vacation so it feels like I'm working a weekend. Miserable. I had a Student Outreach meeting this afternoon, though. Good to see that committee. I really like those ladies, they're so nice.

Unfortuantely I don't have much to offer you today other than my new chosen resort destination...it's so beautiful..

http://www.swvresort.com/home.cfm

Who's interested in taking me there? I'm packed and set to go tomorrow for any takers. Alright, I'm out.

I love old pictures

My mom sent these to me today. Most of them are of my grandmother, great grandmother and great grandfather and I think my great great grandparents. They're just so perfect...


That's my grandmother with my uncle in 1960.


My grandmother and my great uncle in 1941.



My great grandfather in 1914.





My great grandfather around 1941. I love that he liked cats.


My great grandmother. I have that ring that's on her finger on my finger right now...




My great grandmother in India. My mom always said she was an incredibly cool woman. Looks like it to be playing with a cobra.




My grandmother. I want a bathing suit like that, please. For my water aerobics class I think it'd be perfect.


So I think this is my great grandfather's father.

Okay, I saved my favorite for last.


These are my great great grandparents at their wedding. Love it.

Oh Seattle, how I love you in winter time.

That's what it's going to look like for the next week of my life. Only minus the sun.

I am lucky...

So I like my job and I'm well aware that I'm lucky to enjoy my job....because, we'll let's face it...most people don't. I bet you don't, do you?

So today we had meeting about social media and blogging, and how to speak with bloggers...now, I don't expect and PR people to approach me anytime soon and ask me to blog about their products or services, but wouldn't that be cool. I wonder what someone would approach me about....shoes, please, Lord...some PR person out there in the world approach me about writing about shoes. Who does PR for Jimmy Choo? I love Jimmy Choos and the people I talk to love to hear what kind of shoes I love. I love them. Give me.

Taryn Rose, I can wear your shoes, give me. Give me now.


These are just ridiculous enough to belong on my 7.5 sized foot.


Alright, I'm out.

My middle name is "Emo"

Okay, so some of my teammates apologized, very nice of them. I decided to go emotional all over them, trying to lather on the guilt. Not sure that it worked.

I really appreciate your apologies, but I still would rather stay in "sub out" mode for the next couple games. If this were a first time occurrence, I'd be more forgiving, but I haven't felt welcome on the field since I started. Which is fine. I know I'm not good and I'm okay with that which is why I joined a D league. I just should have said something sooner so I didn't feel so emotional about it. That is definitely my mistake.

Maybe after awhile I'll feel like kicking it in a non-soccer capacity, but I don't think I'll come around until after the season has waned. While I know that none of you meant it personally and you all are really great people and folks I want to be friends with, I'm just still a little too crumpled on the edges to feel immediately ok.

While I certainly can't speak for Chris and I want him to keep playing, I don't know that he will. Again, best of luck.

Best,
Jessica

I have to check in with my mother to see if my chosen guilt technique was appropriate and I'll let you know what she says...haha. Just kidding, Mom.

Pussy footing

I HATE the term "pussy footing," it's sooooo very irritating. I have heard a lot of it lately. When I started thinking about how much I hate that term, I started to think, "Well, Jessica, what would you prefer?" The truth is that I hate all words associated with doddling. They are all crappy words. Lolligag.....who the heck uses that freaking word. I hate hate hate it.

Okay, let me explain, I quit my soccer team. Why, you ask? Because I broke my foot? Because I have other plans? Because I'm emotional? Okay, its the last one. According to my teammates I spend too much time "pussy footing" on the field. So this is how the game went last night.


We had a girl sub for us who had never played with us before, so my teammates let her know that she shouldn't pass to me because I suck. True, I do suck, but not very nice of the teammates.

I missed defending the goal and the goalie said to a teammate that got mad "You know she can't handle it, she's not good, she can't handle it."

The goalie asked me to stay back and defend and another teammate yelled that I wasn't running enough and said "Jessica, if you're not going to run, then SUB OUT!" So I did. I subbed out for the rest of the season. Done and done.

I sent them an e-mail which I guess is ridiculous to show on here, but I will anyway.

Hi all,


As Chris mentioned to some of you last night I will not be playing for the rest of the season. I joined the team to have a good time and meet new people and last night was anything but fun. I understand being competitive, but I sincerely believe that you can do that and still be a good team player.

Unfortunately, last night's game made me feel not wanted and even took a hit to my self esteem. If I wanted to feel insecure, I would have saved myself the $145 and picked up a Cosmopolitan magazine instead.

I'd like to think that I've been kind to all of you, a good teammate and didn't ever make you feel unappreciated. I wish you the best of luck with the rest of the season.

Best,
Jessica

Hm....anyway. I won't be pussy footing anymore on the field. I've decided to move my efforts into the water. My first water aerobics class begins Wednesday evening, and I don't think it's much of a team sport so I should be free to lolligag at my own leasure. Ahhh, that will be so nice.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Today or this past Saturday if you're a practicing Catholic

Work is going okay. Mostly I'm bored with A not here. She kept things in motion, made sure I was getting new and exciting tasks, kept things interesting. I'm going to have to learn to cope, though, because she's going to be gone for another 2 1/2 months on maternity leave. God save us all.

I have a soccer game tonight at Magunson, I hate playing there. It's an old warehouse and a lot of the windows have been shattered out so the temperature drops to around zero degrees. You think that would be nice because you get sweaty from running around, but no...it makes your skin feel like it's going to burn off, because internally you're hot but externally you're a glacier. Ugh. Tonight is one of my teammates last games because she took a job with Google in San Francisco, so she's off to live with the yuppies. Those San Francisco yuppies with their clean air and smothering sustainable lifestyle. Recycle...pshhhhhhhh...compost..pshhhhhh...

I think we're going to Peso's http://www.pesoskitchen.com/ as a going away ceremony, which is absolutely perfect because it's only 1 1/2 blocks from my house and a Mexican restaurant so I don't have to deal with green beer or people who drink green beer. Thank goodness. I might eat some guacamole just to be festive.

Alright, work time....

Weekend Update

The weekend was pretty relaxing, as predicted, which I was totally thrilled about. Friday night resulted in a lot of absolutely nothing. I sat around and watched some television and went to bed early, which was perfect.

Saturday I got my hair cut, which I thought was pretty cute the day of, now I'm having second thoughts. Here's a picture of it...



It's alright. We'll see. I got some curlers to try and work it, but they're not really doing the job. I'll try to be a little bit more patience with it in the mornings and see what it produces.

After my hair cut I went shopping for some items and ended up with a cuutttee new pair of green flats from Payless.



So cute on my feet. I enjoy mucho. I am not wearing them today for St. Patrick's Day. Don't ask me why. I'm just not.

Saturday night I went to Venom which has to be exactly the type of place I don't ever want to go to, ever again. It is gross and gross and gross. Lots of girls with clothes that I know no mother would ever approve of, it would certainly get my mother's silent point to return to the house and change. It's winter time, ladies. There is no reason to show your bottom, even if your personality sucks. Lameness. I wore jeans an a long shirt in case you're curious. Anyway...I will never return there, unless someone offers up a hearty sum of cash...or shoes.

Sunday was good. I spent time with D and W, we went to brunch and then got our nails done. We're going to do that every two weeks to make sure we get to see each other and we're well manicured. It's good to see them, my work week has become so boring without them.

Anyway, that's enough for now. More later, if you're lucky.

A bit more to say today

I'm not feeling well. I am almost certain I'm coming down with something. Makes me so sad. I want to kick it in the face. Bah. Stupid sickness. Maybe it will help me lose more weight...just kidding...kinda.

I'm excited about the weekend, it's going to be relaxing. I'm planning hanging out tonight, eating left over thai food and watching a movie. Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done, going shopping for some more pants (since I only have 4 pairs that fit my body now), hang out with some friends. Sunday I am brunching with some friends and getting my nails did and Sunday night I'm going to spend the night being alone and reading my book. Okay, all that sounds relatively boring but I'm excited.

I haven't posted any recent pictures, since I really haven't been writing, so here's one...




That's relatively recent. In the past monthish. I'll put up more later, kids. I'm out.

In Memory

Somber start to the morning. Darci called this morning to let me know that a friend, Nathan Dodd, from growing up passed away in his sleep. Nathan was 24 years old and they aren't sure what was the cause.

While I haven't been a close friend to Nathan in years, when something like this happens it's easy to think back about how you were connected, how they affected you, and what you learned from your interactions and experiences with that person.

Nathan went through school with me, from grade school to highschool, and was always on the periphery of my life. He was one of those boys in middle school that all of the girls had the biggest crushes on and my 6th and 7th grade year books reflect exactly that. His picture is circled with hearts and a note to the side that says "hott!" During this time I didn't really interact with him, I was more of a silent observer...in band...in class...on field trips. I can remember one school field trip we went to Brookwood mall and got goodie bags for some band event and they had little tubes of toothpaste. Nathan ate my tube of toothpaste. I don't know why I remember that.

When I got into 8th grade and into high school, Nathan and I became better friends. We had the same group of friends. My friend Becky's play house in her backyard was our hang out for years and it's tattooed with his name and the random things that highschool boys write on walls...followed up with edits from the girls with "Nathan is a crazy" or hearts or whatever.

I went away to college and lost touch with Nathan. I'd hear about him now and again from friends, mostly that his antics were getting worse and worse and he was getting into more and more trouble.

I saw him again on December 23, 2006 at a party with some friends. He was barely coherant, but happy to see me. He told me things were going well and he was engaged to a wonderful girl. I don't think their engagement lasted much after that. I saw him again this Christmas and the interaction was similar again. He was incoherant, happy to see me and we talked for awhile. I told him about my life in Seattle and what I'd been up to. He turned to me and wrapped an arm around me and said the first clear statement he had said all night, "I always knew you'd do well Jess, take the world by storm." Nothing consequential happened for the rest of the evening and we parted without speaking again. Three months later, he passed away.

I'd like to think that was a good note to end on...he believed in me. That's how I'll chose to remember him. A fun-loving, handsome young man who believed in me.

Terrible day

It is quite true that terrible days come to all of this, but today really is terrible. Okay, perhaps that's a bit mellow dramatic, nothing that terrible really happened to me personally, per say. It's just not going the way I'd like my day to go.

Started out pretty good. I went to Weight Watchers and lost 3.6 lbs this week, which is probably my biggest lost, ever. I was pretty excited about it and thought today could do me no wrong...I should have known better because as soon as I left WW, I headed down to my dentist office (literally in the same building, on the same floor, really amazing).

I hate having my teeth cleaned, who doesn't. It was just unpleasant and the dental tech scolded me for poor flossing, which honestly I thought I was a pro. Oh well.

Then to work. Wrong from the start. Bad meetings, missed meetings, snide e-mails to art directors, sloppy day on the job. Uncomfortable and in tight fitting jeans. Just misery.

Only two more meetings and then some random bits of work until I can go home and lay on the couch and watch P & P and feel sorry for myself.

Hm.

This is it..

It's absolutely necessary for me to keep an updated log as to what's going on in my life, I don't know why I find it so difficult. I guess it's mostly because I know what is going on and I can't image another person finds anything in my life that interesting to sit there and read....but, maybe I might like it as a reference later in life. So here's where we stand since November 8.

Several of my close friends left work taking small bits of my enthusiasm with them. Work really does go by faster when there are people around you that you get along well with. That's alright, I'm bringing about some of my own internal happiness. It's too premature to mention what it is, yet.

I've been home a couple times since we last spoke...twice. I was there as recently as last week. I really do miss it. I miss my family a lot. I just wish that the flight home wasn't so long and I'd get to do it a lot more often. My brothers are in Tahoe this weekend, which would have been close but I couldn't afford that trip. Dang it.

Other things on the radar -- I'm playing soccer now and I've become an huge advocate of weight watchers although this week has been a little rough. But in the spirit of my love of the game, and to make me write more than I do now, I'll tell you what I've eaten today...

2 reduced calorie slices of bread (1 pt)
Reduce calorie cream cheese (1 pt)
1 cup grapes (1 pt)
Light and Fit Yogurt of the Peach persuasion (1 pt)
Lean Cuisine Sante Fe Rice and Beans (5 pts)
1 cup spinach (0 pt)
1 Hersey's Kiss (0.5 pt)

Yay. Weigh in is tomorrow. I'm setting my goal weight tomorrow. I think I'm about 11 pounds away from my goal weight. I'll keep you updated more later.