Patience

This week my patience has been tested numerous times and it's not just holiday related, however rude teenagers in the mall parking lot have not helped the situation. A few times I've let it get the best of me, but I've been working hard at taking a step back and figuring out how best to handle the situation instead of just being mad. Sometimes it's taking a break or saying 'no' to another activity or event. Sometimes, it's exercising. Sometimes it's just sitting on my tush and watching television. Whatever it is, it usually helps more than stewing in grumpiness. So, tonight, I will be seated on my couch, taking a break and tomorrow I'll feel better because of it.

Bathroom Hijinks

A lot of you have already heard this story, but it's too funny not to share with the world.

Yesterday at work we were having a toilet malfunction, which I forgot about. After I took care of business, I decided to try to flush it to see what would happen. It made some noise and then toilet water shot approximately four feet in the air, missing me (Thank God) and splashed on the wall. Of course, I jumped backwards going "EWWWWWWWWWW!" The bowl started to fill with water after that and I waited to see if it was going to overflow. Suddenly, with a great woosh, all the water was sucked down the plumbing and like that I unclogged the toilet. :)

NaNoWriMo - The Epic Adventure

Here it is. The post I promised about my November writing challenge, NaNoWriMo.

To start, I WON! WOOOOT!! I wrote 50,053 words in 29 days. I wrote something almost everyday, even if it was only a couple hundred words. During November I functioned in the real world, but I was living in my novel word. Emails were ignored, shows recorded and as soon as Thanksgiving dinner was cleaned up, I was back at the computer.

I had THE BEST group of cheerleaders a girl could ask for. Whenever I updated my word count on Facebook, I would get motivating comments and notes on my wall. When I finished the challenge, I had this convo with my hubby:

"I couldn't have done this with out all of you."

"Yes, you could."

"But you guys made it easier." 

That's the truth. Toward the end, when I was afraid my story might run out of steam before I reached the 50K mark, the belief you all had in me kept me typing (and not crying). Thank you.

Here's what I learned about myself:

1) I can write an entire novel, with a beginning, middle and end. I'd never done that before.
2) I can write a rough draft without editing (or even rereading) as I go. It's crappy, but the story is out and I have something to work with now. P.S. I still haven't read any of it.
3) Deadlines are my friend.
4) I am most efficient and creative when writing at Starbucks at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday night.
5) I truly enjoy writing (duh). When the challenge was over I felt like I was leaving summer camp. Excited to get back home to my own bed, but bummed to leave my new friends.

What a ride! See you next year NaNo!

Ryan Reynolds ... Step Away from the Gossip Girl.

After a three week hiatus while I participated in NaNoWriMo (more on that in a later post) I'm back in action with a post on my favorite hottie, Ryan Reynolds.

I'm in mourning over my dear Ry-Ry. He's been dating Blake Lively for a while now and my BFF and go-to-gal for celeb news, Stacie, says it's rumored that they're apartment hunting together. Really? Dude, it hasn't even been a year since you separated, not divorced, Scarlett Johansson, and you're already shacking up with a gal 11 years younger than you? I'm sure she's nice, I'm just not seeing what these two have in common. If it works out for them then mazel tov, but if feels like bad decision making to me.

Why do celebs, or anyone for that matter, jump from relationship to relationship? Thoughts?

Top Ten: Shopping Spots

10. Kirklands

Inexpensive, cute home decor. It's been sad to see them phase out their mall stores.

9. White House Black Market

I like the simple concept that all the clothes are either white and/or black. A couple of years ago they started picking one color to showcase each season or so (ex: this winter it's red). At first I was not excited about the change, but they do it sparingly and the pop of color here and there works. Too bad I can't afford the prices.

8. Yankee Candle

I used to work here and after a 4-8 hour shift the scents permeated my clothes, skin and hair. When I got home my mom always told me that I smelled and to take a shower. Smelly memories aside, I still love to go in here to check out new scents and occasionally buy a candle or accessory.

7. Hot Topic

My favorite part about Hot Topic is the awesome pop culture t-shirts they always carry. My second favorite part is the staff is always friendly. I think it's because they have a job where green hair and eyebrow rings are acceptable. 

6. Charming Charlie

Accessories, accessories and more accessories! They also have some shoes and clothes, but you go for the cute, inexpensive jewelry, hats, scarves, headbands and purses. The store itself is enormous; probably about the size of 6-7 Claire's stores, but it's almost exclusively dedicated to adult fashion. My first visit was with a friend and we spent about an hour wandering the displays, organized by color, and still felt like we hadn't seen everything.

5. Old Navy

I've been an Old Navy fan since they first opened. I prefer their denim over any other brand (except the first year the switched to stretch denim ... bad year ... too stretchy). I also like how I can buy an outfit for work or comfy weekend fleece all in the same store. I do wish they'd bring back the "campy" commercials though. They were hilar.

4. Bath & Body Works

Another place I worked where I came home smelling like the store puked on me. It was part of my job to try the products, okay? Sheesh. B&BW has gone through some changes over the years with look, products and scents, but they have never lost focus on their values: sell quality bath products with a 100% guarantee.

3. Target

Please, who doesn't like Target? You can buy a frozen pizza, a tent, a video game and Advil all in the same store. I like to go for the quality, reasonably priced shoes and clothes. Plus most of them have an in-store Starbucks these days. Win.

2. New York & Company

Best work pants ever. This is my favorite clothing store, but I never buy anything full price though. They are constantly sending out coupons and have great clearance sales. Wait a couple months and that $50 sweater will be redlined to $8.

1. Barnes & Noble

Like I even have to explain this, but I will. First of all, I worked at one of their college bookstores and one of their regular stores (not at the same time). It was my second home for awhile. Secondly, I am a reader and a writer. Thirdly, their relaxing atmosphere is conducive to a lazy afternoon having coffee with a friend or perusing through a stack of interesting looking books.

Who's that girl? It's Jess!

My poor little blog has been neglected lately because of a busy schedule, so I thought I'd post something fun to get back into the groove.

I'm in love! No, not like that. Well, I love my husband, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I love the new show New Girl staring Zooey Deschanel! Have you people watched it? If not, stop reading, go to hulu or fox.com and watch the available episodes. We're talking dorky, heartwarming, eyerolling, quotable comedy. For example, after Tuesday night's episode I updated my Facebook status to "I <3 New Girl". Out of the 18 comments that friends left, 12 were quotes from that one episode. There were no duplicates AND it's only a half hour show. That's good stuff.

A quick synopsis to intrigue you further: The aDORKable Jess (Zooey D.) gets dumped in an embarrassing way by her loser boyfriend in ep. 1. She doesn't want to live with her BFF CeCe because all her model roommates are annoying, so she answers an ad and ends up moving in with Nick, Schmidt and Winston. The hilarity that ensues as they all adjust to living with someone of the opposite sex is worth the price of admission. There are some very sweet moments as well where the guys help Jess move on from the break up and stand up for her when she's being bullied. And, as much as they try to avoid it, Jess helps the guys with their girl/self-esteem/sharing, etc. issues. They learn from each other in a fun, caring way and it works.

Go. Watch. Learn about the Douchbag Jar. You won't regret it.

Top Ten: Boy or Girl Bands

This week's Top Ten was inspired by a recent trip visit my parents. They live about two and a half hours away and 45 minutes into the trip I start to lose my radio stations and have to switch to CDs. This time I went old skool ... *NSYNC all the way baby! No Strings Attached followed by Celebrity. I would have listened to their first, self-titled album if it hadn't been stolen out of my car (along with my radio) seven or eight years ago. I'm still mad about that. I hope the hoodlums were very embarrassed to discover that a boy band album was inside their stolen goods.

Anywho, during a convo with Cory, my friend and co-worker, I thought, "I'll do Top Ten Boy Bands! Score!" because I love me some boy bands. Apparently, I'm picky though because I couldn't come up with ten. I remember thinking "Too bad the Spice Girls aren't a boy band." It was then I had my "duh" moment. I could do BOTH!! It is my blog afterall.

So without further adieu, Top Ten: Boy or Girl Bands

10. Hanson

A one-hit wonder, but boy was it catchy! "MMMBop".
 

9. 98 Degrees

They had several hits, but my favorite is probably "The Hardest Thing". So emo! *Sigh*. Meanwhile, check out those classic boy band moves: pointing at the camera, falling to their knees, expressions racked with emotional pain!

8. Backstreet Boys

Surprised they're so low on the list? My heart belongs to another band, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the Boys. My fave has to be "Larger Than Life". Sorry for the lack of cool video. Just picture sharp dance moves and maybe some cuts to an audience going nuts.

7. TLC

The title of one of TLC's albums "CrazySexyCool", is how I think of them. The have fun, empowering and danceable songs (not that I dance to them, but I would if I had any rhythm). My favorite is a departure from their norm: "Unpretty". Beautiful song and great message.

6. Boyz II Men

I'm a sucker for boys who harmonize and Boyz II Men do just that. Often a cappella, which is even better.  I can't even choose which song is my favorite, so I'll go with their first single "Motownphilly".

5. Dixie Chicks

So much controversy! Oy! Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, they have some really awesome songs women can relate to like "Wide Open Spaces". And who hasn't wept or at least teared up when "a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair" found out her "Travelin' Solider" died in Vietnam. The song that really gets the crowd riled up at their concerts though is the epic "Goodbye Earl". Sucks to be you, Earl.

4. New Kids on the Block/NKOTB

My original boy band crush and just about everyone else's, too. When my friend Carina, who is from Peru, heard I included them on the list she immediately started telling me about the New Kids Trapper Keeper she had in school. In Peru! These dudes were a global force. I definitely preferred the original recipe, but when NKOTB emerged a few years ago, I squealed along with every other twenty and thirty-something female around the world. New Kids still has "The Right Stuff".

3. Destiny's Child

Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle! Talented singers and dancers with great fashion sense. Again, awesome harmonies plus all their singles felt unique and original. Destiny's Child taught us to be strong women and to keep those boys in check. One of my faves is "Survivor".

2. Spice Girls
When I was telling people this was going to be my next Top Ten list several said "You're going to include the Spice Girls, right?" OF COURSE!!! GIRL POWER!!! I mean, seriously, it's been almost 15 years since "Wannabe" dropped in the U.S. If I were to walk up to someone about my age and sing "Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want," about half would look at me like I was nuts, but the other half I'm betting would chime in with, "So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want." Being a girl was way more fun after they came to town.

1. *NSYNC
Back in the day you were either Team *NSYNC or Team Backstreet. Obviously I was and still am the former. They're just better! Cuter! Better Singers! They had Justin Timberlake, for goodness sake. Okay, maybe JT was sporting a blonde 'fro for a bit, but we've all had questionable hairdos. Everyone sing along ... you know the words ... "Bye Bye Bye".

It's Begun - Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon

NaNoWriMo ... I can see how this drives writers crazy.

I'm on Day 2 and doing fairly well so far. I'm a little above my target word count (YAY!) and I've been doing pretty good about not editing. I have to admit that I have gone back and changed a word here or there, but I haven't done anything major. For a girl who loves to make things right as she goes, this is a huge step. The way I've gotten past the urge to edit is to write as quickly as I can and not look back. I'm taking the NaNo tagline "Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon" quite seriously. I've abandoned my ways and flying by the seat of my pants.

Along with this "seat of my pants" thing comes the delightful feeling of "Holy. Crap. This is the WORST thing I've ever written. I mean seriously, why am I even doing this? There's no rescuing this motha." It's daunting to push these thoughts aside and keep going. It's tough to keep your faith alive, when you are the one trying to take it down. I'm starting to believe that it's not the word count or the time frame that drives participants to pulling out their hair and crying into their lattes. It's the epic struggle within us all that we're not good enough, interesting enough or talented enough to be writers.

The cool thing is, we're all writers. Whether one person reads our work or a million, we all writers because we simply put words on a page.

Final Thought: I got my editing fix with this blog! Take that NaNo!!! :)

Snow Before Halloween

I'm visiting my parents this weekend and am thouroughly annoyed by the pre-Halloween snow storm we got. I'm a weather geek, but I definitely do not like cold weather or snow. It's annoying, a hassle and makes we whiny. Mother Nature and I aren't speaking until she brings back the fall temps and sunshine.

Luckily, I had purchased some snow boots earlier in the week and thought to bring them with me. So, I got to try out my new kicks, which are adorable as far as snow boots go and it was perfectly acceptable to sit around the house watching Triple D and college football all day. Tomorrow the temps will soar to the mid-forties, which should melt off most of the stuff. Not an epic win, but I'll take it.

Top Ten: The Wonderfulness of Mom and Dad

When I asked for suggestions on what my next Top Ten blog should be about my mom said "How wonderful your parents are?" Of course! Why didn't I think of that?

So today, in honor of my dad's "35th" birthday, Top Ten: The Wonderfulness of Mom and Dad.

10. They LOVE tacky Christmas lights. It was a sad day when they had to retire their blow up Nativity scene after many years of being the centerpiece of the yard.

9. My mom is scary as crap. Friends, old and new, know not to mess with "Mama Malone". I learned my very effective "death stare" from her.

8. My dad claims to pick out all of my gifts because my mother has no clue what she's doing.

7. They have more dogs than kids. This seems like a smart idea.

6. They're big fans of Disney World! Mom's favorite ride is The Tower of Terror and Dad's is The Carousel of Progress.

5. My dad is super funny! I steal most of my jokes from him.

4. My mom is my favorite shopping partner. We like to go in all the same stores and usually she buys me lunch when we're out and about.

3. My dad does things that are unintentionally funny and then make for great stories! Like the time he was trying to view the Hope Diamond, but didn't realize the pedestal turned every few seconds so it was visible on all four sides of the display case. He kept walking around the case to see the diamond, but just couldn't seem to find it! :)

2. They treat my hubby like part of the family, meaning he gets teased big time. The day they start being nice to him, he'll know he's in trouble.

1. They encouraged me to choose a major that would make me happy, even if I wasn't guaranteed a humongous paycheck. (I had to do one nice one!)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

NaNoWriMo

I've attempted NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, www.nanowrimo.org) the past two years, but like blogging, it never stuck. The object of the event is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The key is quantity, not quality. Don't worry if it sucks! Don't delete anything! Just keep writing until you get to 50K. You can make it not suck later, after you've recovered from writing 1,667 words everyday for 30 days.

It's a tough assignment, especially since it occurs in November. Who's bright idea was that anyway? Let's challenge writers to write a novel on the eve of the holiday season! That being said, I have an awesome writer friend who was a winner 2 years ago (you win if you finish) and she told me that she wrote over Thanksgiving with the whole family in the house. That's not even the best part. The smoke detector went off that weekend and before she evacuated the house she grabbed her laptop because dammit she had 47K words and she wasn't losing them! P.S. It was a false alarm! All is well.

I've learned some things about myself this year. I've raised a lot of money for breast cancer research, education and assistance. I walked 39.3 miles to raise awareness for the disease. I've now maintained my blog for several weeks (a record!). If I can do those things, then I can do this. Life's too short to not give it the ole college try. In conclusion, I'm going to do it!

I probably better figure out what I'm going to write about ...

Top Ten Jessica-isms

My belated Friday Top Ten list! Thank you to my co-workers who came up with the idea and more than half of the entries. Not surprising since I make them listen to me 40 hours a week.

Honorable Mention - "Dammit, Dave, do your time sheet!"
Suggested by Dave himself! I do say this a lot, sometimes even multiple times a day. Since I only say it to one person though, it gets an honorable mention.

10. I know, right?
After Anna Kendrick said this in Twilight, there was no going back. I mainly use this on Facebook.

9.OMG!
I'm probably not known for OMG, but I definitely use it a lot. I've even used it in a writing assignment.

8. Mature ...
I used to say this to my buddy, (who shall remain nameless because he'll get all whiny if I mention him in my blog) when he would bust out the four year old poop jokes. These days, no one is immune to a good "Mature ...", even myself.

7. What up?
A general greeting for all. Even the husband.

6. Delightful
Everything's delightful! "How's your yogurt, J-Train?" "Delightful!; "Here's your pen I borrowed." "Delightful!"

5. Holla!
Another greeting and all around fun word. It demonstrates how urban and edgy I am.

4. OH SNAP!
Anytime someone disses me or someone else, you'll hear me shout this out. Thanks to my boss' daughter we now have a version for the most serious of offenses: HOLY SNAP!

3. Shortening words. Ex. "Fab" or "Hilar"
In regards to this I've been saying "hilar" for years. Lately, I've noticed that it's been getting a lot of use in social media and even on television. Ergo ipso facto, I'm ahead of the cool curve.

2. Holy crap!
How can you not love this? It expresses a great depth of surprise, yet it's not offensive like a true curse word. I love this term like Ross loves Rachel.

1. Dude
The epitome of Jessica-sims. Depending on connotation and context, dude can be used for anything. ANYTHING!!! I have been using this word for so long that my childhood friends (and their parents), call me dude. Even now, people greet me with a hearty "DUUUUUDE!"

Did I miss anything??

Top Ten ... ??

What should this week's Top Ten be about?

Choose Joy

I'm not a church going gal. I have my own ideas about God and religion, which I'm not going to discuss here, but I do want you to know I try to respect people's thoughts and beliefs about the aforementioned. That being said, I wanted to share this sweet and inspiring blog I started reading about a month or so ago. I think whether you are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, something else or even unaffiliated, everyone can take something away from this blog. I'll let Sara speak for herself because she does it so well. Choose Joy.

Stacie's Favorite Things

My BFF started a blog (finally). Check her out!

http://staciesfavoritethings.blogspot.com/

Top Ten: Disney

My Favorite Disney or Disney/Pixar Movies of All Time

(Warning: princesses, pirates and cute stuff ahead)

10) The Princess Diaries - Based on the book series of the same name by Meg Cabot, one of my very favorite authors. If that's not reason enough for inclusion on the list, I don't know what would be. However, here are some other reasons: Stars Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. Boom.

9) The Muppet Christmas Carol - Made me laugh then. Makes me laugh now. Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat were brilliantly cast as the narrators. "Light the lamp, not the rat!" Classic.

8) Tangled - New to the lineup, Tangled impressed me with it's modern humor (Frying Pans! Who knew, right?) woven into a classic story. Pascal and Max never speak, but steal the show half the time and Zachary Levi can sing!

7) Monsters, Inc. - Our first pug was named Boo. Our second Sulley. I have a soft spot for this one.

6) The Little Mermaid - Part of the Disney Renaissance, The Little Mermaid was beautiful in all aspects: art, music, lyrics. "Kiss the Girl" is one of my favorite scenes because it encompasses all three.

5) WALL-E - Holy crap, Eve and WALL-E are adorable. Their dance scene in space among the stars (with a fire extinguisher) is so lovely and sweet it makes me want to squeeze those little robots in a big hug! And, not a bad moral to the story either.

4) Lion King - Tell me you don't get goosebumps during the opening sequence ... go ahead. This one is EPIC from beginning to end and manages to be funny at the same time. Luau! 

3) Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl - Three words: Captain Jack Sparrow. Nuff said.

2) Finding Nemo - It's all about the surfer turtles for me, dude.

1) Beauty and the Beast - Belle is my favorite princess because 1) The people in town think she's weird and 2) She likes to read. A geeky princess! Love! Plus you get awesome music, a beautiful ballroom scene and the Beast learns to love. Sigh.

Writing Class

I'm taking a six week fiction writing class this fall and last night was our second meeting. I've been out of college for 8ish years (I was a four and a half year student) and its been about two years since I've taken a writing class. Holy brain function, Batman! I'm struggling! I can feel my brain creaking along during the in-class writing assignments and by the time my teacher asks us to wrap it up I have like, three sentences. Okay, maybe more than three sentences, but you catch my drift.

I'm not sure what's weezin' the juice, but it's a wee bit annoying.

Friday

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Today I am Thankful

Over the past week I've been overwhelmed by the amount of support I, and the team I walk with, have received on our Avon Walk for Breast Cancer adventure. We don't actually walk until May 2012, but people have already opened their hearts in so many ways.

Last week, in exchange for a $10 donation, I promised to write a poem about how awesome the donor was and post it on Facebook for everyone to see. I received two donations in excess of $10 and rave reviews of my poetry, even though I'm obviously no Robert Frost.

This week, my employer pledged to match any donation I receive in the month of October. The WHOLE month! And we're not talking about a huge corporation here ... this is a small family owned business. In addition, they want to outfit us in team t-shirts. Their continuous generousity over the years has been amazing and always encourages me to pay it forward, which I try to do whenever I can.

The match pledge created a domino effect. People have been donating steadily over the past few days, knowing their gift will be doubled. A lot of these people don't know each other or my employers, but they are still coming together, giving what the can, and helping others.

On days when I'm feeling grumpy or the evening news is one sad story after another, I will try to remember this past week and that small things can make a difference.

Training Walk

Today, on the second day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I participated in a 5K training walk for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. One of my BFFs and teammates, Michelle, walked as well and we had a blast! Michelle's first Avon Walk will be in 2012 and she was excited to get a taste of what was to come. As always the Avon crew was supportive and movtivating! One of the walkers spoke to the group before we started. I don't remember her name, but she was a 7 year cancer survivor. Her story reminded us all why we were there and took a little bit of the bite out of the cool fall air.

I am proud to be walking with four awesome ladies next year and hope that we make a difference.

Please check out our team website!

Very Important Update

Remember my and Stacie's lists? From this entry? We have an update!

After seeing several of his movies I've decided to make an addition to my list. My number 4 slot will now be home to Chris Pine AND Chris Evans aka The Chris Spot. After discussing with Stacie, we both felt that we shouldn't limit ourselves to one Hot Guy per spot. So, after much reflection, I am happy to welcome Chris E. to the list!

Photo borrowed with love from MTV.com.

Nice, right?

I'm an athlete ... no really, I am.

I recently started walking again for exercise after a minor leg injury (stress reaction/bone bruise/1 week away from a femoral stress fracture) had me on the bench for about a month and a half. When I sustained said leg injury I told people I was now a "real athlete". They laughed at me! Can you believe it?

I'm here to defend my use of the term "athlete". Dictionary.com defines athlete as:

"A person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requireing physical skill."

I'll immediately take "gifted" out of the equation. There's no question that I'm not gifted in sports. However, I am trained in exercises involving physical agility, stamina AND strength. In November 2010 I signed up for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. For those of you unfamiliar with the event it is a two day walk that raises money and awareness for breast cancer - it's a great cause. How long was the walk, you ask? 39.3 miles. We walked 26.2 miles (a marathon) on day one and 13.1 miles (half marathon) on day two. I trained for 6 months to get myself ready for this walk. On event weekend, I walked all 39.3 miles - up and down hills, on make-shift paths, carrying my own supplies and water. Where I come from that's pretty darn athletic.

On top of all that, I started practing yoga in the spring. There are many, many types of yoga - some more physical than others. My Hatha yoga practice is a happy medium. We focus a lot on breathing and strengthening. During my first class, we were holding the plank pose (see a picture here) and my muscles started shaking from exersion. I had to take a break because I couldn't hold myself up the whole time. Each class I went to made me a little stronger and soon I was able to hold the pose without feeling like my muscles were going to jump out of my skin. Yoga has helped me develop flexibilty and strength, which according to the above definition makes an athlete. If you still don't believe me check this out. The goal is to hold this for 5 minutes. I'm no where near this inversion yet, but come on! That's hardcore!

What I'm trying to say is I may not be Becks or Michael Jordan, but at least I get up and move. And I'm stronger and healthier because of it. I am an athlete.

My Big Outdoor Adventure

A few weeks ago I went camping for the first time. Not tent camping, mind you, but pimped-out-camper camping. Two bathrooms, hot showers, four flat screen televisions, a complete kitchen, an outdoor cooktop and free Wi-Fi.

Despite all the creature comforts, I was not a fan of camping. It was humid, miles from civilization (or maybe a 10 minute drive from the grocery store ... whatevs.) and lacking in activities that an indoor, allergy ridden girl like myself enjoys. Stacie thinks I didn't like camping because I forgot to bring my pink polka dot moose pajama pants (my official camping pants). I think it was because 1) There wasn't a New York & Company close by and 2) I prefer small doses of nature close to home.

The good news is when I tell people I don't like camping, at least I'm speaking from experience!

Comforts

We all have things that are comforting: the smell of bread baking, a hug from mom, macaroni and cheese ... today I've been drinking hot tea because it's a rainy, dreary day.

One of my favorite comforts is hanging out at the Barnes & Noble cafe with my BFF, Stacie. We grab lattes and magazines and gab for hours at "our" table. If "our" table is occupied we glare at the offending party until they move. Really, they should have it permanently reserved for us. But I digress ... Our B&N outing is something we have done for years on a fairly regular basis. We discuss everything from what's going on in our lives to Twilight news (yeah, we're those girls) to our hot guy lists (see below for the line up). It's our time to catch up, lean on each other, share and be girly. Sometimes there are tears, but no matter what there is always laughter. Everyone should have a BFF like mine.

Jessica's Hot Guy List
1. Ryan "Ry-Ry" Reynolds
2. Johnny Depp
3. Vin Diesel
4. Chris Pine
5. Taylor "Tay-Tay" Lautner

Stacie's Hot Guy/Vampire List
1. Robert Pattinson (Current Vampire)
2. Johnny Depp (Upcoming Vampire)
3. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
4. Paul Wesley & Ian Somerhalder (The Boys of Vampire Diaries)
5. David Boreanaz (Former Vampire)

As Big of "Rob and Big" says, "Do work."

As some of you know, I am a fiction writer. Yes, the girl who HATED writing in high school/college writes for fun. What can I say? I'm a free spirit who prefers not to be contained by essay assignments. :) It's just a hobby now, but it would be awesome to have my work published someday.

For a looooooong time I talked and daydreamed about being a writer. I wished really, really, really hard that I could get a book published. I did this for several years and then I had an epiphany:

"Crap. I better write something, if I want to be a writer."

Okay, so I'm a free spirit and a bit slow on the uptake.

My point is a lot of people want things out of life, but don't do them for various reasons. They're scared, they doubt themselves, it's too much work, they're too busy, etc. I realized a blank-page-waiting-for-genius is pretty daunting, but unless I put something on it I wasn't going anywhere. So, I put something on that page. Then the next. Then the next ten pages after that. And boy did it suck. But it was okay because it was on the page and I could fix it later. And even if it still sucked after that, oh well. I was a writer and it felt good.


"When there's a hill to climb, don't think that waiting will make it smaller." - H. Jackson Brown

It's okay to be afraid and to doubt, but don't let it stop you from reaching your dreams. Lace up your climbing shoes and start hiking!


"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." - Pablo Picasso

A bit dramatic maybe, but true. Live your life with no regrets. I like quotes by the way - they inspire me.

So, start writing, go to the gym, take ballroom dancing classes or whatever it is YOU want to do. It's worth it.

This time it's going to stick ...

I've tried blogging in the past with varying degrees of success. Some didn't make it past 5 or 6 entries and some didn't even make it past the design phase. I've decided to try again, this time with no definitive subject matter ... just whatever I'm thinking about that I'd like to share. The format may change, the look may change, but it will always be me. I hope you enjoy!