Adios Oh Eight, Hello Oh Nine

Last year around this time I posted my resolutions for this year:

MAKE a scarf.
TRAVEL to England.
MOVE out of my parents house (maybe - I actually enjoy living there)
GET a pet hamster
GET published in another magazine
EAT healthier (this is with the exception of literally the past two weeks!)
DO more spontaneous random acts of kindness
VOLUNTEER for an organization I'm interested in.
CREATE a book from my European pictures
READ at least one book a month.

As you can see, I didn't do too well with keeping those resolutions. So this year I'm not making a resolution list. As you can see from above, I like crossing things off. In fact, I may put my 2009 To Do list on the side of this blog so I can cross them off as I accomplish them.

Without further ado, here's my 2009 To Do list

Visit England again (the plan is to go in September)
Make a Scarf (this one will continue to appear till I actually make one!)
Get published in another magazine
Start my own Web site
Lose 25 pounds (ideally I'd like to accomplish this by June 13.)
Meet someone from MIG
Run (and walk) a full marathon
Work out at least three days every week, but won't freak out if I miss a day
Dye my hair
Read at least 10 books
Bake more

Tonight should be exciting to say the least. In about two hours I'll be joining Kenny, Amanda, Chris, my grandma and my parents at The Cooperage for dinner, then two hours later Kenny and I will join his parents for dinner. No, that's not a miss-print; we're having two really yummy dinners tonight. Ah, the things we do to make each other happy.

After dinner we're scooting over to the west side for the annual New Year's Eve party. Kenny and I met at this party three years ago and got together at the party two years ago, so we're also celebrating our two-year anniversary today/tomorrow! With that said, I need to go get ready. I hope you all have a wonderful NYE and will continue to follow me and my typing into next year.

Have a save and very happy new years!

Merry Christmas 2008

To all my friends and family:

Here's hoping I get to do this sometime this winter:




Cute!!!:



Please?



And Happy Hanukkah!


Seriously. Need. A. Drink.



Merry Christmas :)

Lonely Eyes

It seems like just yesterday that I sent my laptop away to get fixed, but here I am waiting for it to come back again. This past weekend my screen was going black on me and wouldn't let me do anything, so I sent it off yesterday to get fixed.

I hope it comes back soon, because I miss it already. My evenings are lonely without it, which I guess goes to show you just how much of a homebody I really am.

Yesterday, besides sending my computer away, I went to the eye doctor to get new contacts. They feel SO much better than the old ones I had, but I think the prescription for the left eye is just a touch off, because it's not focusing as it should be. And after staring at a computer screen since before 9 this morning, my eyes are starting to get really tired and very dry. It's all I can do to keep them open for the next few minutes.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Not only am I going to Las Vegas (woohoo!), but friends I haven't seen for a very long time are coming into town, as is my boyfriend! So excited for next week :)

Sellin' on eBay!

Well, it's official: I'm an eBay seller!

Yup, my first auction ended tonight and the bag sold for...are you ready for this?...$81!!! Oh yeah, baby! Not only that but I was able to print out the shipping label from my home and the postal carrier is picking the package up tomorrow. Very, very cool.

Now that I'm on a selling "high" all I want to do is find more things to sell. I have three more things up for bid right now, but so far they don't have any bites. That's not stopping me from putting more up there, though. I have some books, VHS tapes (I'm sure there's someone out there looking for Notting Hill on VHS!) and some prom dresses I want to get out of the house.

I would LOVE to work on that tonight, but my computer kinda sorta crashed earlier tonight. I called Apple and it's something to do with the power cord...again. So right now it's running on it's little battery, and unfortunately for me (and my laptop) my battery sucks out energy very, very fast.

I guess this is the perfect time to turn the computer off and go scrounge up more things to sell!

*Shameless plug: See the eBay logo to the right of this post? Yeah, you should click it; it takes you to the things I'm selling. Who knows, maybe my junk will be your treasure!

StumbleUpon

I saw this while "stumbling" and all I can say is WOW:

Photos That Changed The World.

My eBay

I'm an official eBay seller as of yesterday evening! I finally got fed up with some of the stuff I had hanging around that I didn't exactly want to take to Goodwill, but they wouldn't take at Buffalo Exchange. Actually, since there haven't been any bids as of yet, I guess I'm a wannabe eBay seller.

As of right now I have three items up for bid on eBay. I took the photos, I used attractive-looking templates, and now I wait. And wait. And wait...

Up for grab I have:
*Harveys Black Original Seatbelt Bag Purse Satchel Tote

*Red "Emilie M" Leather-Like Purse Handbag

*"Last Kiss" Black White Red Blue Coat Jacket XL
*Note: the links above will not work once the items have sold, but I do have a Jesstagirl02 Store

I also have several prom/fancy dresses, shoes, and books I'd like to sell. It's kind of a fun venture and I'm excited to see if anything comes of it! (click the link; it's the items above plus whatever else I add) and I'm going to try to get the code for the scrolling gallery to put on this blog.

But I am le tired

I am very tired today because of the Best of the City Party the magazine hosted last night, so in honor of feeling completely useless today I'd like to post two videos that made my day. The first is an oldie, but goodie; the second one just made me laugh so hard that I started crying. I mentioned to a coworker that I wanted a bagel for lunch and she directed me to watch the second video shown here. Good times.

End of Ze World:

Foamy - Five More Minutes:

Now it's time for work.

An Eskimo Proverb:

"May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart!"

Happy first day of December.

My New Ride

My lovely silver Pontiac Grand Am has slowly been kicking the bucket for awhile. So much so, in fact, that when I went to see how much I could get for it they came back with just five words: "Seven hundred and fifty dollars." Wow. I had two broken windows (electrical problems) that needed to be fixed and that alone would cost me at least $700, not to mention the fact that it was due for some tuneups, an oil change, and just a lot of TLC.

My car was a '99 and had close to 115,000 miles on it and boy did it live a very fulfilled and happy life on the road. But it was time to move on to something a little more safe, stable, gas efficient, and something I could enjoy driving for at least another ten years. So when my parents decided to head to the Toyota dealership in town (they, too, were looking for a car) I decided to tag along.

My dad ended up trading in his '95 caravan:
For an '05 Toyota Highlander that looks a little something like this (*note* this is not the actual car, I just found a picture of a similar one online):
That mini van took us on a countless number of trips around the country and it will be missed.

So, while my parents were buying their new ride, I was out in the lot looking at this beauty:
It's a 2008 Scion tC and I can't wait to drive it again. I'm sure I already mentioned this, but had I built this car from the ground up, not only would it have cost me at least $3,000 more, but I would have tweaked it to look just like this one. It's a used car - it has about 20,000 miles on it - but it's exactly what I wanted...minus the two-door factor. I love the color, tinted windows, alloy wheels (won't have to worry about those babies falling off while driving!), two working windows, TWO (!) sun roofs, an awesome radio, cruise control, and on and on and on.

Here, take a peak into the newest addition of my family:

Ok, now I know this is REALLY geeky (again, we can blame Kenny for this), but on Battlestar Galactica (only the coolest sci-fi show ever) the "bad guys" are called "Cylons." Now everytime I mention to someone what kind of car I drive - a Scion - I have to concentrate and make every effort to not say that I drive a Cylon. What's even funnier is that Scion also makes a car that people call "toasters" because of their boxy frame. On Battlestar, a cylon's nickname is a toaster. Get it?! Ah, I think it's hilarious.

A "toaster"

So even though I had to say adios to my loyal Grand Am, I'm pretty excited to start a new chapter in my life with this new (used) car.

Happy Belated Turkey Day

Last night I promised I'd post about Thanksgiving and my week in Georgia, so while my geeky boyfriend watches Star Trek, I'll get my type on.

I'm seriously shocked by how fast the time has flown by. I know it's cliche and all, but seriously; I can't believe that it's already 12:01 (est) on Saturday. I technically leave tomorrow and that makes me ridiculously sad.

Kenny and I spent the beginning of my time here shopping around and finding home decor to fill his house and make it a home. I think it's safe to say that he now has a workable and enjoyable kitchen. On another day we took a trip to Lowe's and picked out two shades of paint, one for the guest bedroom and the other for the guest bathroom. The next day we opened the cans and started covering the white walls with colorful paint.

Thanksgiving went off even better than expected. We woke up early on Thursday to start brining our turkey with a recipe Kenny found while watching the Food Network. The Good Eats Roast Turkey had to brine for 6 hours and then cook for another three(ish). While the bird was soaking up flavor, we cleaned the house and got to work on the other dishes we were providing: Kenny's homemade rolls (so. freaking. delicious! but I forgot to take a picture - just trust me about how good they are), my grandma's yummy green bean casserole (this is before it went in the oven, so just imagine the french onions all brown and crispy!):salad (manderan oranges, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions): mashed potatoes, gravy (from a recipe out of a magazine), and Sandra Lee's Sweet Biscuit Wreath that I made...all...on my own (with Kenny rooting me on from the sidelines):
We invited the Harr's over for dinner (they brought an addicting pumpkin butter, stuffing, sweet potatoes, chocolate meringue pie - yummy, a sister, a father-in-law, and two ridiculously cute kids) and they arrived just as we were taking the last parts of the meal out of the oven. Truth be told, the turkey took about an hour to cook longer than we expected, but by the time that bird came out of the oven we knew it was worth it.

Not only was this one of the juiciest turkeys I've ever seen, but instead of the flavor overpowering the meat it added to the richness of the turkey. Unfortunately, I made some gravy that I didn't think was that great and I poured it all over my meat. But on the bright side, there is plenty of meat leftover.




The whole meal was fantastic; I loved the company, the food, and even the cooking process and cleaning up after.

As surreal as it sounds, Kenny and I haven't fought or even argued this entire trip. Going back home is going to be hard. He'll be coming home for Christmas, but it's not the same. I'm planning on visiting again in February and I already can't wait. Tomorrow he and I are going to Callaway Gardens' Fantasy of Lights for our 2nd annual Thanksgiving weekend tradition (ha - we can now say it's an annual tradition!) and I can't wait.

Next up I'll have to post pictures of my new car...but that will come on a different day. Oh, and I hope you all like the new look of this blog. It's not a huge difference, but it's enough for me to notice and enjoy.

Big Bird

I had great plans to write a fantastic recap of the Thanksgiving Day festivities....but all I can think about right now is how much my head wants to be on a pillow.

In a nut shell (ugh...even thinking about nuts makes me feel fuller): This was one great day!

More to come sometime tomorrow when I can fit into my jeans again...

Big Girl Moment

Well, on Tuesday afternoon I pulled up my big girl panties (that one was for you, Jenna!) and became a new (slightly used) car owner. Yup. I bought the Scion tC and I'm loving every time I put the peddle to the metal.

Actually, I'm trying hard not to hit the gas so I can save on fuel, but other than that I'm enjoying my new purchase.

Before I bought the car Kenny asked me one very serious and important question: does this one have working windows? Oh yes it sure does! Not only that, but it doesn't have hubcaps, it came with alloy wheels, which means I don't need to worry about my hubcaps falling off ever again! (This was an ongoing problem; in fact, when I traded in my car there were five hubcaps all together and three of them were different...hmmm!).

Oh! And my car has not one, but TWO sun roofs! Even though I'm still a tad bit bummed it's a two door vehicle with a smaller trunk, Kenny assures me that I'll get used to it soon.

I love it! (pictures to come soon.)

A Disappointing Dunkin’ Date

Since I’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a new (slightly used) car, I’m going to have to put a halt on my spending habits. I’ll start brewing my own coffee at home, bringing my own lunch to work, and staying away from anything that says, “drive thru.” I consider myself pretty money savvy, and have been pretty excited that the spiraling downward economy hasn’t pinched my wallet…until now. Sure I’m going to get 30 miles per gallon compared to the 19 I’m getting with my car now, but does that really matter at the moment since I have to fully insure my car and pay a car payment each month? At least gas has dipped below two bucks here!

I think I’ll be okay, because in the long run this is way worth it. Who knows, my insurance may not even be too much. My Grand Am was considered a four-door sport’s car and the Sicion has all the stars you can get when it comes to safety, it’s not considered a sport’s car, and it’s a coup.

With all that being said, I woke up this morning and could tell it was going to be a coffee day. Unfortunately, Dunkin’ Donuts was out of my regular French Vanilla brew (GAH!) so I had to go with their Cinnamon flavor (bleh). So much for enjoying the last cupa joe that I’m gonna buy! Oh! And to top it off, kitchen at work is being remodeled, so I can’t make it to the microwave to heat up the lunch that I brought, which means I’m gonna have to go to one of those fast food places I mentioned above. Sheesh. I guess I’ll start cutting the spending starting tomorrow.

New Hot Wheels?!

My parents bought a car yesterday. Actually, they bought a Toyota Highlander. They love it and I like it a lot. They basically ran their '95 mini-van to the ground and getting a new car was WAY overdue.

Which brings me to my (almost) new car! I currently own a '99 Pontiac Grand Am that I LOVE, but it's slowly falling apart. Example: two of my windows do not work. Not only do they not work, but they fall down when I drive. ACK. Kelly Blue Book has it listed for practically NOTHING and every time I have to fix something on it (like a week or two ago when I had to get my horn wroking again I spent $100) I cringe.

I've been considering getting a new car for several months and was leaning towards a Honda Civic, but yesterday when I was at the dealership the salesgal (who happens to be a family friend and who is giving me her family discount - heck yeah!) showed me a Scion TC....and I fell in love.

I was/am still a teeny bit hesitent because it's a two door and I always swore I would never own a two door (heh, I also swore I'd never do a LDR or date someone in the military!), but the back seat is incredibly roomy, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't have people in my backseat as often as I did in high school or college; in fact, I can't remember the last time I had a friend in the back seat.

So, I'm taking my car in tomorrow to see how much I can get for it and talk finances. This is a huge step for me; it'll be my first real car. I feel like I'm really growing up.

Ok, so this is what I'm looking at: It's a 2008 Scion TC (link is to the actual car I'm looking at - please don't go and buy it from underneath me!). If I were to build this car from the bottom up I would pick every single thing feature that it has. I love the color, I love the fabric, I LOVE the sunroofs, the way it looks, everything!

Junk Food Meltdown

Ugh, I feel ashamed for all that I’ve put in my body in the past day (sigh…and this morning. You see, yesterday I found out that I’ve lost five pounds all together since I really made losing weight a goal. Hoo-freaking-ray! And last night my mom and dad told me I looked thinner, and I didn’t even tell them about my milestone earlier that morning.

Heh, here’s where the guilt rides in: I met Laura at Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up and I practically chugged a tall caramel apple cider (mind you, I did get it with sugar free caramel!), then after lunch – a slice of delicious pizza – I had a mini cupcake. I know what you’re thinking, “it was just a mini! Give yourself a break!” Well, I still felt bad. Then for dinner I had three slices of Little Caesar’s Pizza and a salad. Whew.

…and then there’s today…

For breakfast I had another two slices of pizza (my plan is to eat it all so it won’t be in the house anymore tempting me!! Good plan, eh?!). Then I desperately needed coffee, so I stopped at my Dunkin’ Donuts and got my regular cup ‘o Joe. But as I was standing there I saw the donuts calling my name, and I NEVER get donuts, I don’t even really like them, except for today. So I got a donut with sprinkles and chocolate, and now the donut’s sitting here in my desk in front of me saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” So you know what I’m going to do? I’m gonna eat it.

I realize all of this really isn’t too bad in the whole healthy-eating scheme of things, but I’ve really been trying to do well. I guess I’ll jump back on track after the yummy donut. Um…and after lunch because I’m going to Garduno’s with the folks.

Template

I need a new blogger template. I love the concept of this one, but the colors hurt my eyes! Maybe I'll get inspired sometime and work on the colors. Any suggestions?

And He's Off

Well, I had him home for 12 fantastic days, but now he's somewhere in the air flying the friendly skies on his way back to Georgia. It was great while he was here. I got to see him almost all of the 12 days - usually at night for dinner. He got to see my work, go to a work party, we went to three Halloween parties (!!) had dinner with both sets of parents and grandparents and then we had dinner with both parents together. Whew. It was a whirlwind.

And now I'm sad because he's gone. The thing is, Kenny will always miss out on different functions because of the military. Tonight my friends are having a party and tomorrow we're celebrating my great aunt's 95 birthday, but he'll be back in Warner Robins and not here. There will always be something he's missing.

I do feel bad though because I've been sick the last few days and haven't been able to see him as much. It started off on Wednesday just feeling like a cold was upon me. On Thursday I woke up and felt like I was gagging and chocking on something. The uvula in my mouth/throat was swollen and preventing me from swallowing; combine that with all the aches and pains I was feeling and the fever I had and I was definitely under the weather. I slept most of Thursday and hoped I'd feel better on Friday. Friday morning rolled around and I felt worse. My throat felt like it was on fire, so a trip to the doc was in order.

It turns out that the rapid throat culture says it's not strep, but the doctor still gave me an antibiotic, so I'm hoping it's going to kick in ASAP. My throat still feels like it's on fire though. And now i'm going to go take yet another nap.

Coffee Fix

I really wish my Dunkin Donuts had a drive through. It's not because I'm lazy, it's because I'm addicted to their coffee and on gloomy/rainy days—like today—getting out of my car seems silly. Ok. Maybe I am lazy. But I'm only lazy till I get my caffeine fix.

History Is in the Making

President Obama.

Really, that's all I have to say. If I hear "time for a change" one more time I may actually scream. I'm tired of this election and I think people need to move on with their lives. I had an eerily uncomfortable feeling while I was watching all of this and I honestly don't think the American people know what we're getting into. A country can only handle so much "change" at one time.

But, I will respect my president.

Happy History Changing Day

Seeing as how this is such an important day in the history of America, I figured I should do my duty and blog.

I honestly just can't wait for this election to be over. I get that it's historic and either way we're going to have a black man as a president or a woman as a vice president, but I'm just so over this election.

Personally, I don't like either candidate, but I had to go with the lesser of two evils for this one.

In other news - yup, there is actually other stuff going on besides this darn election - Kenny's been in town for a whole week and it's been nothing short of great!

We've done dinner with both sets of parents (yup, our parents met each other!), we've seen my friends, gone to parties, and have hung out just the two of use. It's been great and it's not even over yet. He's here till Saturday, so hopefully we'll get more time with just the two of us now. I think we're going out just the two of us tomorrow night.

I'm thinking about changing this template again, because I'm still not crazy about this one. We'll see.

An Engagement Announcment

Ah, the secret is finally out of the bag: my baby brother is officially engaged. Whoa! Yeah. I know. It's pretty crazy.

I have serious mixed emotions about it, but it's not my wedding; I need to just shut up and be happy for him the two of them.

He's been carrying the ring around with him for several days, and I'm pretty sure it was about to burn a whole in his pocket. From what it sounds like, Amanda pretty much has the whole kit and caboodle planned already. To each their own, I guess.

It was strange being over at the Sloan's house last night. They all know Chris on a completely different level than how we know him or Amanda. They know him like a son and like a brother. I know Amanda like...a girlfriend who we see every once in awhile. I'm sure we'll get to know her better, but in the mean time it's like they're taking away our Chris faster than any of us are prepared for.

They've also only known each other for less than a year - and I understand that people get married and live prosperous and happy lives together, but I just pray that they're preparing for a marriage and not just a wedding. It's way too easy to be wrapped up in "love" and the prospect of having a wedding, than actually plan for a life together.

I think it's also strange for me because I'm the oldest and I'm supposed to be the one to experience things first. And now I'm the one being left in the dust. It's a strange concept for me to grasp. Kenny suggests we jump the gun and beat them at a wedding with an elopement in Vegas - ha.

I'm excited to get to know Amanda more and I wish them the best of luck.

Overheard at Dunkin Donuts:

I was in desperate need for a DD coffee, and while I was waiting for my French vanilla brew to be filled a man walked in. This was the conversation:

Man: “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I found a Dunkin Donut’s here!”

[side note: Someone with that much exuberance demanded that I look at him. This man was in his 50s, wearing a burnt orange shirt with the state of Texas printed in the middle and the word “TEXAS” right above it; he had more than a beer belly and looked as though he needed to shave about three weeks ago.]

DD lady: “Well, what can I get for you?”

Man: “Coffee. Extra large. Extra cream. Extra sugar.”

DD lady: “You pour your own cream and sugar.”

Man: “WHAT?!!”

DD lady: [a little louder this time because maybe she thinks he’s a bit hearing impaired] “The cream and sugar is right there for you to pour yourself.” [She points to me pouring my milk into my coffee.]

Man: “You don’t do it for me?”

DD lady: “We don’t do it here, the customer does.”

Man: “Well never mind then. I don’t want to do it myself. NEVER MIND!”

[And then he stormed out of DD. I was right behind him (I had finished pouring my own milk into my own coffee) and I noticed this guy was driving one of the largest trucks I’ve ever seen, and he had a burnt orange “Texas” license plate on the front of his big ol’ truck.]

Me: “Go back to Texas!”

Some things...

*I went with my baby brother on Tuesday to shop for an engagement ring for his girlfriend.

*He's proposing...sometime (Amanda may somehow happen to read this so I can't go and SAY when it's gonna be!)

(side note: We had a family discussion about this - I've been kinda resentful about him getting married for several reason - and I feel better about it now. They want to get married next summer, but Kenny will be deployed. I know it's not my wedding, but I asked if they'd consider waiting till Kenny got back so he can be there, too, and he said they'd think about it. I REALLLLLY hope they will.)

* I still don't know who to freaking vote for. I hate this election and I want it to be over.

* I just bought my ticket to see Kenny over Thanksgiving. I was originally going to take two days off work and be out there for four days. Well, we were talking about it and if I end up taking that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off then I can be out there for NINE days! It's a little confusing, but I think it'll be worth it. ...This will be the longest period of time Kenny and I will be together in one place, and I think it'll be really good for the two of us.

*He'll be out here for his TDY in TWELVE days! Even though he'll be here we still have both families and friends to see, so it'll be two weeks of having him home, but not the same as nine days together in a place that I could potentially live one day...

*He officially bought his house yesterday and got the keys. He's a homeowner :)

*I promise more things are going on in my life that don't include him...I just can't really think of anything.

*Oh! Work is awesome :)

*Crap. And my throat hurts a little bit.

Tiny Pokes, Major Pain

I'm pretty positive my dentist enjoys watching me squirm and make grimacing faces while my mouth is wide open. I also think she like prodding my gums with very sharp and tiny tools just for fun, all the while I'm just thinking to myself, "lady, you're damn lucky I've been coming to this same office for the past 25 years, because I would like nothing more than to bite down on your fingers right now." I mean really, what would stop me from doing that?

I know I don't floss and brush my teeth twice I day, but I do brush, floss, and use this special mouth wash the recommended every morning. That's gotta count for something, right? Wrong. I have to see the dentist every four months now instead of twice a year. Lame. Apparently my gums are not like they should be. I've never had a cavity (knock on wood), or anything more serious than needing braces, and I'm constantly praised on having good teeth and a great smile from them, but that's not enough.

When I was younger my mom would always take my brother and I to Dairy Queen after an appointment, because no kid willingly likes going to the dentist. And let me tell you, today is definitely one of those days that I needed a Blizzard. I would have broken my diet to get one today, too, but unfortunately I got out of there at 10 am and DQ wasn't open. I'm taking a rain check.

Expect More

Some days/weeks I get on these exciting blog hypes and write as often as possible, and then there are times like this where I don't write at all. I actually have A LOT I'd like to talk about, but by the time I get on here it seems silly, so I don't blog. Instead, I read what my other favorite bloggers are up to.

I do have something exciting to mention: two weeks from today my boyfriend will be in town for two (!!!) weeks. I'm pretty ridiculously excited to see him for more than just a weekend. Heh. Imagine that, a girlfriends actually wants to be with her boyfriend for more than just a few days. That's really what I have to look forward to.

And these dates:
Oct. 28: Kenny comes home
Oct. 31: We get to dress up for Halloween together
Nov. 26: I fly out to Georgia for Thanksgiving!
Dec. 3: Best of the City Party (woot woot)
Dec. 24: Christmas fun begins
Dec. 25: CHRISTMAS!
Dec. 31: Kenny and I celebrate two (!!!) years together
Jan. 24: My birthday and possibly heading to Miami to see Jeff and Meghan

I'll make this my October resolution to blog more. Expect more from me.

Healthy Choices

As I type this I'm wishing I could magically lose wight by positive thoughts and actions, because about a half hour ago I turned down a free meal at El Pinto. Maybe you don't understand. Here's the thing, El Pinto is my favorite New Mexican restaurant, and I do not—EVER—turn down enchiladas, let alone free enchiladas from my favorite restaurant. Except for right now.

Yesterday, seven of us at work decided to take the weight-loss plunge. We're calling it Albuquerque The Magazine's Biggest Loser. I have to lose 28 pounds by January 1. That comes out to 3 months (13 weeks) and equals 2.1 pounds a week, which is what's recommended. All the girls at work are committing to lose weight, we're calling it Albuquerque The Magazine's Biggest Loser and the winner gets $400 (we all chipped in $50). So. I don't want to lose - well, I want to lose, I just don't want to lose the competition!

I worked out this morning and I hurt right now (the good kind of hurt), so hopefully I can keep that up. So healthy choices is my new motto from here on out. Hopefully they don't include saying "no" to my favorite meals too often.

Oh, and in place of having cheesy, rolled enchiladas smothered in some of the best red and green chile around with delicious Spanish rice and refried beans, I ate my Healthy Choice frozen meal at my desk. Go me.

Fire!

I was just sitting here on the couch and surfing the net when I started getting a headache. Then I noticed that there was the smell of sulfur; it kinda smelled like the Fourth of July exploded. Then I heard the sirens. I knew this had to be bad...and close.

I grabbed my mom and we jumped in the car. We didn't have to go far at all, our street looked really foggy, but it wasn't fog, it was smoke. We drove just a bit (i'd say half a block) and discovered that an abandoned pub was engulfed in flames. We left about 15 minutes ago when it looked like it was dying, but it's on the news now and the building's engulfed again. The WORST part is that the wind is blowing directly towards my house. I can't tell you how much I reek of smoke right now. UGH.

Good news is that nobody was injured or hurt...my tummy's just upset (not helping my IBS) and my mom had to use her inhaler. IT STINKS!!!! The fire also doesn't have anywhere to jump, so that's a good thing.

Here are a few pictures I took - my camera SUCKS and out of 28 shots, this was the best I could get. (Seriously, I can only take one picture before my camera dies and I have to turn the batteries. I think a new camera will be in order soon.).





I know it doesn't look like it, but they just showed on the news that the whole left side is now in flames. They're letting it "burn all the way out"....um...doesn't make much sense to me.

AH! The journalist in me realllllllllly wants to walk back over because the fire's going again (the sky is red outside my house), but my stomach hurts and I'm tired.

Picture and Update Fest!

Oh goodness, it's been awhile since I've posted! Well, I'll try to make this short and sweet, but we all know that's probably not going to happen!!

Backing up:
Kenny came in Friday (9/5) night! But he was supposed to originally get in on Sept. 2, then that was delayed to Thursday the fourth in the morning, then it was the fifth in the morning...and so on and so on.

I freaked out when I heard it was going to be delayed AGAIN because I was supposed to leave Sunday at 8 am. I called Delta and spoke with some not-very-nice lady who only cared about following the rules and was going to charge $450 to change my flight for later that . Yeah, that wasn't going to fly, so I called back and talked with a supervisor. I pulled the "military card" (hey, I wasn't about to spend $900 on this trip) and she worked with me and we ended up changing my ticket to come home on Monday morning for a $170 change. Now, I could handle that.

I stayed with Kelly, Bryan and their two kids (THANK YOU A MILLION, AGAIN!!!) and we made a sign for Kenny before he got in:


But back to the homecoming. It was awesome. I had NO idea what to expect, but I just went with the flow. We actually got to see the plane fly in and land on base.


There must have been about 50-75 (maybe more, i'm a bad judge of numbers!) people waiting for their loves, family members and friends to get off the plane. The rolled the stairs up to the plane and then they started deboarding. It was such a sight to see.





I started crying almost immediately because a little girl ran up to her daddy and just hugged him like there was no tomorrow. He said, 'Ok, I have to stand up now," and she just shook her head and said, "I don't wanna let go of you again." Ah. It breaks my heart all over again!

Kenny was one of the first to come off the plane, and I know this sounds really, really silly/stupid, but I was most nervous about not recognizing him. You see, they were ALL wearing the SAME uniform/color and I was just so afraid that I wouldn't be able to pick him out. But the minute he came through I knew it was him.

Really there were just lots of hugs and kisses and tears. I think I cry more when I see homecomings not directly related to me, but damn do I love them! I saw moms reunited with their kids, dads who missed birthdays and lots and lots of love all around.

And that was my first homecoming; I apologize for how long it took me to get the pictures up!

Now back to real time:

I had a pretty good day yesterday! I got to sleep in a bit and then went gallivanting around town with my mom. We had lunch at a yummy casual Italian restaurant and I had a very delicious sandwich! Then I came home and took a nap (I LOVE Saturdays because taking a nap in the middle of the day is perfectly acceptable).

After the nap I decided to make some cupcakes. I LOVE cupcakes and decided I'm going to make a valid attempt to make them more often! Today the church my dad grew up in out in Tome has a "Fiesta" for all the churchgoers and at the park they have a cake walk, so I wanted to make some for that. I'll try to remember to take pics of it!

I had SO much fun making them! Here are some pics:

Me (I'm even wearing an apron! Go me! lol):


The FUNFETTI batter:


pouring it into the mini cups!


What 80 mini cupcakes without frosting look like:


I dyed the white vanilla frosting pink (it's much more vibrant in person):





And blue!:


And then I mixed the two and made a purple:

I ended up having two more pans of each. Woohoo! I'm really excited about doing this and can't wait to make more! :)

Here We Go!

Typin' at the airport...on my way to see Kenny...pray for safe travels for the both of us :)

Happy Delayed Tears

*So I wrote this yesterday, but instead of pressing "publish" I accidentally pressed "save now", so here ya go:

Well, i woke up today at 5 am because of two reasons 1) there's a class at the gym I wanted to go to at 5:30 and B) I have to be at the airport tomorrow morning at 5 am, so I figured I'd try to ease myself into it.

But now I'm awake and sitting on my couch and it's 5:32 because I also realized I wanna check into my flight and have to do that at 6 am. No gym for me. I may do something from my ON DEMAND here after I write this.

It kinda sucks, but there's a slight chance Kenny will be delayed even further. He said he'd let me know ASAP today, so I'll be on pins and needles trying to figure out what to do. I'm going to do my best to not freak out and just go with the flow. This is what being a military issued girlfriend is all about... right?!

On a plus note, my Kenny is too freaking good to me. We were talking last night about him staying in the AF and he asked me if I thought I could do this for another 18 years. I said I could and that it'd be different if we were married, because I'd be there when he got home and it wouldn't be this difficult dealing with airplanes and worrying about time off work. Well, then I reversed the question and asked the same thing to him and he said, "I know i can, as hellicaious as it is out here, i like the job and everything. Im willing to give it up in a heartbeat for you though. And id never ever regret it." And I absolutely believe him.

Heh. Then I told him that I may have been crying (it was an emotional day yesterday!) and he said, "i still feel bed. its my job to make you not cry." And I thought about that for awhile.

When I was younger I used to like this quote:
The one who makes you cry isn't worth your tears, and the one who is worth your tears would never make you cry.

I remember that from growing up and I thought it was silly, because every boy I had been with or liked had made me cry for one silly reason or another. And now here's Kenny. I'll admit that I've absolutely cried over him, but every single time I can think of me crying it's been because of something the Air Force has done. Not him. He has never made me cry. And that makes me smile (and maybe cry a little bit...but they're happy tears! Happy tears don't count, because he makes me cry happy tears all the freaking time!).

On hold

Heh. I knew better than to get my hopes up and get excited. I just knew it. Kenny just called me about a half hour ago. As soon as I saw the familiar Air Force number I knew it would be crappy news. He always calls at night, so for him to call about nine hours early meant something was up. He started the call with, “It’s not my fault.”

And it’s not, and I know that. They’re delaying his departure by a day because of the hurricane, which I whole-heartedly understand. I realize a day isn't a whole lot in the whole scheme of things, it’s just that when you only have less than 60 hours to spend with your love to begin with, every hour counts. We’ll be down to being with each other for about 48 hours now and I’m now there’s one less night that I get to spend cuddled up in his arms, but I fully expect to do my best to make every moment count. It just sucks and I’m praying he doesn’t get delayed more—something I can honestly see happening since Hurricane Hannah hasn’t even hit the US yet. I made myself not cry over the phone, and I didn’t cry when I hung up, but I can feel the tears on the brink of falling now.

Perfect Timing

I sent my lovely computer away Monday around 2 pm to be fixed. I packed it real tight, taped it shut and kissed it goodbye, crossing my fingers I’d get to see it at least by next week. You see I’ve never had good luck with computers when they break. In fact, most of my junior and senior years of college were spent cursing at Best Buy’s Geek Squad for being no more intelligent than an ant. Seriously.

So when I checked the tracking number for my iBook last night I was SHOCKED to find out that it was already being shipped back to me. Wow. Talk about fast service. Not only that, but when I called to report my laptop’s booboo they answered my call in less than five minutes and were actually helpful, unlike just about any other customer-service hotline.

My dad called me this morning around 10 am to let me know that Fed Ex Air had just dropped off my laptop. Again, talk about fast service. I’m not all that great at math, but by my calculations that comes out to less than 48 hours from the time I sealed the box to the time it arrived back on my doorstep.

I’m tellin’ ya, once you go MAC you never go back.

Another awesome timing story happened this afternoon. Kenny got online for a quick five minutes before his flight and was way happier than necessary for being stuck in a desert. Well, it turns out that the cookies I sent him on Saturday arrived today. Can I get another “wow”?! That means they got there in about three days. Seriously, that’s just crazy! No word on how delicious they are yet, but he promised me he'd share them with his crew :) Is it wrong that I’m questioning whether he’s really stationed in Qatar or not? I mean I can’t even get something I ordered online to get to me that fast! Simply amazing I tell ya!

Lazy Monday

Well, I'm still typing on my precious laptop. Yup, Murphey's Law has allowed me to use my computer this weekend. It freaked out on me once, but other than that it's been fine. It's kinda hard for me to send it away since it's actually working, but there is something wrong with it and it needs to be fixed.

Yesterday I went to my yoga class and the usual girl was out of town. Boy, oh boy was it a workout and a half! It was an hour and a half long, but I loved every second of it, even when I was cursing under my breath that there was no way my body was going to do what she was showing us to do. But then I somehow did it! Class kicked my butt, but I feel great today.

My countdown is down to just NINE DAYS!!!!! So close, but still so far away.

Today we got a memo that we don't have to go into work till 3 pm because we're hosting the Chef Knockout at the Convention Center this afternoon. This is going to be a really fun event! So this morning I think I'm going to hit the gym, get a long-overdue pedicure at this new place that opened up by my house (they're offering FREE designs!), send off my computer, and then depending on what time it is, do a little research for an article I'm writing. Then I'm off to work till 10 pm.

Off I go; I've got people to see and things to do!

iBook's under the weather

I realize it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, but nothing interesting worthy enough to write about has happened lately…until yesterday.

I got home from work, flopped down on the couch, and opened up my iBook. What I saw on the screen wasn’t my mauve background but black and white vertical stripes taking over the entire screen. My hands start immediately shaking. And then I get frustrated. I tried the touchpad mouse pad to move the mouse, but instead of moving the mouse, which I couldn’t see, I moved the stripes. The stripes went from black and white to mauve and black and every color in between. With my hands still shaking I started to cry. This is my only connection to Kenny right now and instead of being able to talk to him, my screen is dancing with stripes.

Thankfully my mom is the coolest mom EVER and saves everything, including the box to my iBook so I could call tech support. LUCKILY my computer was still under warranty (some of the tears were little dollar signs dropping down from my eyes, because I was thinking about how much it’d cost me). The nice man on the phone talked me through some unsuccessful steps to resolve my “issue” and in the end he said I’d have to send it in.

This shouldn’t affect my hard drive, but just to be safe I backed everything up. The thought of losing my computer with years of work on it just makes me sick to my stomach…and the thought of not being able to chat with Kenny online just makes me plain sad. Thank goodness it’ll only be gone for “about a week” and that this is towards the end of his deployment.

In other not-so-depressing-for-me news, I bought my ticket to go see him ☺ In 12 days we won’t have to deal with being separated by an ocean and thousands (millions???) of miles. I seriously can’t wait!!!!

Tonight I won’t have to sit at home and throw a pity party for the (temporary) loss of my laptop, because I’m going to the Isotopes game with the girls; always a fun time.

….till next time…

Oh, hell no.

This article on CNN makes me outraged! It's one thing to charge fliers for carrying on extra baggage, but do not, DO NOT charge our troops going overseas for a deployment. It's not like they don't have enough to worry about, but now when they get to the airport they may have to shell out money? Come on! Our men and women don't need to rethink taking particular items with them when leaving their homes, their families and friends, and their lives for 3-15 months. They're doing us a service; you'd think we could do one for them.

Edit (8/14): If the link above isn't working (it was giving me a blank page this morning) try reading it here.

wednesday's words

Sorry for the slacking of posts. I blame Kenny, really. Since he and I have been able to chat online more often I haven't had the need to complain about how bored I am or how much I'm missing him.

I was just looking at my last post and noticed that's when my car went into the shop. Well, it's almost a week later and it's still not out. Good times for all. Turns out that when I took it home on Friday night (ok, I did have it home for a few hours) it worked fine, but then when I tried to start it on Saturday it just didn't do it. Eight hundred dollars later they figured out it was the fuel pump. We had AAA tow it over Sunday night so they could get it back to me on Monday.

All of that would have been fine and dandy had the AAA towing company not jacked my car. They placed their chain on the WRONG part of my car and broke something else. Needless to say, I was/am mad and it's still at the shop. Luckily I have awesome parents who've managed to finagle the car situation so I can get to and from work!

Sorry, that whole story seemed kinda boring to me. So what else is new? Um....Kenny wants me to go see him when he gets home :) That's about three weeks away, so I'm way excited about that. Other than that, I'm ready for fall to get here.

Oh! The Olympics, as much as I love and am obsessed with them, are kinda ruining my plans to work out. Here I am watching Phelps and Coughlin win medal after medal, and I'm literally sitting in front of the TV cheering and getting inspired. But then I notice the time. I've been staying up very close to midnight every night watching the Olympics, so by the time I wake up early enough to go to the gym I just end up rolling over and catching a few more zzzz's. Maybe I'll be more motivated after the Olympics end. Heh. Yeah, that's it.

Brothers 'n stuff

"My brother's car smells like a sweaty boy," is exactly what I said out loud when I sat down in the driver's seat of his SUV.

My car had an internal boo-boo and was in the shop for the day. Had to get the battery replaced and need to replace my front brakes very shortly. It actually happened at a really convenient time. Car troubles rarely happen at a good time, because there's always stress involved with finding a replacement ride. Luckily, Chris has been in Guatemala for the past two weeks, which left me to his ride.

I'll be back in my own lovely car tomorrow :)

In the mean time, I'm watching "So You Think You Can Dance" and feeling like a lazy bum. I mean, geez! These girls are doing things I can only dream about doing - if that (says the girl who's literally sprawled out on the couch with her laptop chilling on her lap).

I am going to the gym tomorrow, so maybe I won't feel as listless. Heh, but I'm going for yoga. And it's not actually a cardio yoga, it's "restorative" yoga where I focus on breathing and relaxing. And I don't actually even break a sweat. I suppose I could get up early and make it to the gym, but I've been sleeping in all week and I don't really want to break that tradition, especially on a Friday.

Even though Kenny's around the world right now he's making me feel lazy, too! Since he doesn't have anything to do when he's not flying he goes to the gym for hours at a time. The skinny boy has already lost 15 pounds! Gees louise!

I'll start my gym-going back up on Monday, along with eating healthy (since I'm going to Taco Cabana tomorrow for lunch and having a cupcake for dinner).

the eighth month

Can you believe it's August already? Personally, I hope August flies by as fast. July could have hurried itself up a little bit, but considering I've made it one month, one weeks, and three days without constant communication with Kenny, I think I'm doing OK.

We have a month or so to go, and I can honestly say I have NO idea how families can do this for a year or more. Sigh. Kenny did get word today that he has tentative plans for his next tour...March 2009. But I don't want to think about that yet, so I'll push it to the back of my mind till it needs to be brought up.

Till then I'll just think about how today is our 19 month anniversary, which is very exciting and very cool! What else is equally amazing is that we figured out a way to "chat" online. Gmail has a chat feature and he found out that it's not blocked out there. One night we were able to "talk" for an hour and I can't tell you how relieving it was to just talk and not be worried about when our 15 minutes was going to run out. On that note, he said he'll try to call me tonight!

I honestly didn't intend to write about Kenny this entire time. Oops.

I missed yoga tonight and now I feel guilty. I came home to change and then I made the mistake of resting on the couch. Honestly, I was only going to close my eyes for five minutes! Oh well, I'll maybe flip to On Demand and use one of their programs. Eh. Who am I kidding? I'm not going to!

TGIF

cynical

*I wrote this yesterday, but forgot to actually post it!*

Ya know the saying, "No news is good news"? Well, I've always thought it was kind of a crappy way of being optimistic. It seems like it's just sugar coating the fact that you haven't heard from someone.

I hadn't heard from Kenny for two days and now I know why. I got an email from him this morning and he's fine - which is FANTASTIC, but the stupid plane he was on broke....while he was in the air. Ya know the story about the Qantas jet that dropped 10,000 feet? Basically something similar happened to him...I think.

In his email (which is why i know he sugar coated it, because he likes to protect me) he said they descended quickly, and all the emergency lights went on. It was bad enough to where they needed oxygen. Then I guess they were below 10,000 feet (where you don't need oxygen anymore??), and took their masks off...only to smell smoke. So they dumped all their fuel and cut off all power - while they were still. in. the. air. AH!

Obviously he's ok, since he emailed me, but AH! He always complains about how crappy the planes are, and it drives me crazy to know that he has to fly in them day in and day out.

So I don't know how I feel about "no news is good news" saying.

Whew. He said he'd try to call today, so I really hope I get to hear his voice. Reading his email made me remember what he's doing out there and that this is serious. UGH!!!

In other news (this is not as scary!), I am officially going to take up yoga. I've only taken it three times, and even though I don't consider myself a "germ-a-phobe", I couldn't stand putting my feet and body on those mats they have at the gym, so I went out and bought myself a mat and bag.

Aren't they pretty!:




Anywho, I think they're pretty, and I really do love the classes I've gone to, so I figure if I enjoy it and if I think it's helping me deal with stress then I should put my all into it!

I'll keep you guys updated on Kenny.

So that's what I wrote yesterday, and he did end up calling me in the evening. He said he was good, but sounded exhausted. He had been flying for 22 hours. I can't even imagine 22 hours on a plane, and he usually does 12 hours on a plane when he works. So tiring.

It's Getting Hot In HERE!

What is with this humidity?

I made the mistake of yelling, "I HATE HUMIDITY" in the bathroom of a club last night and a girl—very proudly, I need to add—reminded me that this is not humidity. That if I wanted to experience humidity I should go to North Carolina, which is where I'm assuming she's from.

Well, I'm not from North Carolina, or Georgia, or from any other place where humidity is accepted as a form of weather. I'm from Albuquerque where we are known for having dry heat, so when I wake up in the morning and just feel sticky all over, it's not good. It's even worse, as I discovered, when you're in the middle of a club. I don't think the owner of this nightclub knew about air conditioning (and they weren't swamp coolers, so it could have been cooler), because two air vents doesn't really cut it when there are hundreds of bodies dancing together in a space as big as a matchbox car.

I was even there at the very beginning when the club opened and it was hot. If I were the owner I'd make it as cold as a refrigerator. Shoot. As a guest of the club I'd even willingly pay a cover charge to help cover their electric bill if it meant it'd be a little more bearable!

Heat, stickiness, humidity, and sweaty people aside, I had a lot of fun last night. I had to go to Lotus Nightclub for a work function, and my friends ended up coming over. We stayed till just before last call and had a blast!

The night before I went to a baseball game with Natalie, and it really reminded me that I still need my people. Since Kenny left I kinda isolated myself from my friends (that and we've had lots of events lately for work), and I want to start hanging out with them more. They're fun people.

The only thing is that I don't know if I can do another late night like last night for awhile. I'm an old lady already! Bedtime for me is before eleven.

Friday tales.

There's a chance I may have left my iPod in Denver somewhere. I'll have to check my room and suitcase again, but if it's not there then I left it in the rental car or hotel room. So that's a bummer.

Can you believe that next Friday will be August 1? Geez, time is flying by. That means it's only a little over a month till my Kenny comes home :) And by home, I of course mean back to America, which is home enough for me.

Tomorrow I'm heading over to La Bella Spa and Salon for a Lavender Bliss Manicure and Spa Pedicure. This is all courtesy of my lovely boyfriend as my birthday gift. Sure I'm indulging almost exactly six months later, but I absolutely can't wait!

Lavender Bliss Manicure: An enhancement to the classic European Manicure, this treatment tends to every detail using lavender, cistus, and helicrysium. These essential oils are wonderful for stress, sore muscles, and relaxation and will be used in the form of effervescent soaking crystals, a hand scrub, and a creamy hand lotion. The entire body is left feeling rested and the hands like new.

Spa Pedicure: This European style pedicure includes a foot exfoliation and the use of moisturizing creams and serums
to leave your feet perfectly groomed and baby soft.

Can't wait!

...need a Keva Juice ASAP if I want to even think about staying awake for the rest of the afternoon...

Denver, oh, Denver.

****I need to just preface this entry by saying that in November 2007 I ran a half marathon, and this past weekend I was sweating more than I did when I ran 13 miles.*****

Just how many times do you have to hit the porta-potty when you drink five, 20 oz waters; one 22 oz beer; one delicious 16 oz strawberry lemonade and one 16 oz pina colada? The answer is once. I know. I"m as shocked as you are. That just tells you how much I was sweating during the 100-degree music festival in Denver. One hundred degrees; who would've thought it'd be that hot in Denver.

Overall the concert was great and I'm anxious to see the lineup for next year so I can start planning for it. I got to see several bands for a second (and third) time, and several for the very first time. I was a little sad that Jason Mraz only played songs off his newest album, but most of my complaining during that set went to the scorching sun that was beating down on me. I seriously felt like I was in an oven. Sure it was only 101, but still! My lovely boyfriend reminded me that he's been out in the middle east where it usually reaches 115 during the day, and that he has to wear his long-sleeved flight suit all day everyday. That may put things into perspective for me, but it sure didn't make me cool off any faster! Thank goodness it was MUCH cooler at the festival yesterday than on Saturday.

I am coming home with my skin slightly pink - despite slathering on sunscreen every chance I could - and a new T-shirt. I bought a shirt that has a peace sign scribbled in the middle of the shirt with "Back By Popular Demand" underneath. I like it.

Not only do I like it, but I planned to wear it on my flight home today. Let me just tell you that wearing this shirt has helped me remain a much calmer Jessica.

Have you ever heard of the line Bugs Bunny says:"should have made a left toin at Albukoykee"? Well. We made a wrong left turn in Denver and instead of making it to the airport in time for my flight, I missed it by about 15 minutes.

I remembered the shirt I was wearing, so I tried incredibly hard not to be upset with anyone. Plus, when things go differently as planned you usually can't do anything about it except to try to go with the flow. It's not like they could hold the plane for me, so I just had to move on and change my flight. Which I did, which is why I have time to blog right now. Luckily I did bring some work with me and I just about finished one of my assignments, so I'll start the next one once my coffee kicks in.

This weekend taught me things I that I already knew, but just needed a reminder of it. I do not like my life/plans in the hands of others. I like to be the one in charge. If I miss something I want it to be because of me, not somebody else; I'd rather blame myself.

Take this weekend, for example. I missed one of the performers I specifically bought the tickets for, and had I just done what I wanted to do, I may not have missed it. That's not to say I don't appreciate it when someone does me a favor, it's just that I'd rather do it on my own.

Now that this weekend is out of the way I want to try really hard to focus on work and relaxing. Since Kenny's been gone my stress levels have been way high. I also feel like several of my friendships are falling to the wayside, which is very unfortunate. I just set up a manicure and pedicure for Saturday. I've been waiting for six months for this and I think next weekend will be the perfect time. (Kenny gave me a gift certificate to one of the best spas in town for my birthday back in January, so I finally get to use it!!!).

Not being able to talk to him consistently is getting harder by the day. He's usually able to send me a pretty lengthy email everyday. (HA! AS I typed that I got one from him!!!!). Still, it's not the same as hearing his voice everyday, or being able to tell him what's going on as it happens. Deployments SUCK!!!!!

Ok. I need to get off this ridiculously uncomfy chair I'm sitting on at the airport.

I'm totally getting a Bloody Mary on the plane.

Flippity Flop

I need new flip flops really bad. My cheap, black flops from Target are paper thin and make my feet feel 15 times bigger than they actually are. Needless today, a day of walking around on them *shopping* has made my feet sore. And my weekend hasn't even started yet! My weekend meaning, a two day music festival in Denver, Colorado.

I'm up in the "Mile High City" for the Mile High Music Festival and I can't wait. Actually, I can wait because I'm seriously tired right now. I spent the day shopping at the Castle Rock Outlets - a destination my family and I have made just about every summer.

Before shopping for three hours we went to the US Olympic Complex where Olympic hopefuls are currently training and competing to make it on the team. That place was freaking awesome. After that we headed to the Air Force Academy because I wanted to get something Air Forcey to flaunt how proud I am of my boyfriend. I left there with a tank top and missing him very, very much.

But back to the concert. I'm going to see some of my favorites like Gavin DeGraw, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Colbie Caillet, Ingrid Michelson, State Radio, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Dave Matthews Band, One Republic and OAR. It's ok to be jealous. Eh, then when you get jealous just think that I'm going to be outside in 93 degree heat for about 10 hours with no in or out privileges. Ugh.

Which brings me to right now. It's 9 pm and the old lady in me REALLLLLLLLLY wants to go to sleep, but I promised Jenna I'd go out on the town with her. She should know that Old Lady Jess may win if she doesn't call soon though....

Ok. I"m going to take a nap.

Weekend Update

I'm really sad this weekend is over, mostly because it went by extremely fast and I was all too busy. On Saturday I went to a travel-writing workshop and was inspired beyond belief to start making my dream of travel writing a reality. I also decided I'm going to take up photography. Like buy-the-fancy, -expensive-camera-and-learn-how-to-take-print-worthy-photos photography to go along with my articles. I really couldn’t be happier about this! Saturday was also awesome because it took my mind off the crappy night I had on Friday with Kenny, which leads me to Sunday.

SIDENOTE: I got a phone call from Kenny Friday night and it kind of put me over the edge. He didn't sound like himself AT ALL. Everything was very short and very dry. He said he was just tired, but I have a feeling it was something he couldn't tell me. Anyway, it just upset me and I spent the night in tears; I cried myself to sleep.

I found a yoga class at one of the gyms I go to, so I decided to suck it up and do it. In short, it was amazing. I really focused on all of the moves and on deepening my breathing; it was as though the stress just melted away. I even found another yoga class that is specifically for relaxation, calming stress, and boosting your immune system, so I can't wait to take that one too. After yoga, I had a few hours before I had to go bowling.

Yup, bowling. Every year the magazine has a bowling tournament. We're still a relatively young company though, so we do all the set up. We had to get there two hours early, so I was at a bowling alley from 2 till 8. GAH!!! I only played one game (and kicked EVERYBODY'S butt on my team, by the way!!!!!!) but my knee that I had knee surgery is SO SORE today!!! I'm sure it's the bowling on it combined with yoga. Actually, I'm quite sore from the yoga, which is exciting because it really wasn't all that hard!!!

OH! And Kenny found a way to call me again last night. Sure, it was another 15 minutes, but he said he could tell I took our last conversation really hard, so he wanted to talk to me again. It was incredible to hear his voice. Actually, this was the first time I didn't cry while talking to him. Usually I have tears just flowing down my face, but not this time! It's still really hard to believe he's only been gone three weeks, because it seriously feels like three months already.

Better Luck Next Time

Well, 9:30 am came and went without a phone call from KOB telling me that I'm supposed to fly out and see NKOTB. Bummer. Bigger bummer too, because my mom qualified this morning! Yup. Ha. And to think I doubted her when she said she'd get qualified. While we won't be going out to LA for this, we did win a pancake breakfast at IHop, and I got a Frontier burrito and orange juice this morning. Not too shabby! Could've been worse. I could've "won" a half eaten Cliff bar (what they gave away before I "won" yesterday).

NKOTB and me

Ok, I just have to do this: "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" That was me just screaming from the excitement of getting qualified on 93.3 KOB FM to go see New Kids On The Block in Los Angeles. AND be and their question and answer session with the press. Oh. my. great. goodness :)

They draw the winner...err...my name tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

It was kinda funny. I knew they were qualifying people this morning, so on my way to work all I did was press "send" wait for the busy signal; then "end"; then "send" again, and so on and so on. I did that 99 times (my phone keeps track). Finally I realized I wasn't going to get through, so I turned off my car and pressed it one more time - it was habit to press "send" by that point. Instead of hearing the busy signal it rang!!! I had to catch my breath though, because I didn't want to be one of those crazy girls who scream on the radio. So, now I'm qualified. YIPEE!!

Tune in tomorrow to hear my name as the winner :)

'Burque Heat

I've decided that I like Albuquerque in July. Gone are our hurricane winds, and in are the monsoons. Every afternoon the clouds roll in and a smile spreads upon my face. Wow. How's that for cheesy? Actually, there's no smile because I only see the clouds once I leave the office, then I think, "Damn. I wish I had one of the snazzy executive offices." Not that I'm complaining, mind you! But I like changing weather.

I like it all except for one thing. The humidity. I LOVE the dry heat of New Mexico. Love it, love it, love it. I do not love it when the dry heat gets sucked up by humidity like it does in the morning. It's not a fun thing to go to the gym at 6 am and be sweating BEFORE I even step on the elliptical! I suppose that's one bad thing about July. It's a good thing I opened with "I like Albuquerque in July" instead of "I love Albuquerque in July."

Actually. I just love Albuquerque in general.