Stuff

Adam is out of town this week (NYC) so I have been staying by myself. It hasn't been so bad though I may rethink watching Crossing Jordan reruns at 10PM while I am trying to fall asleep. A really freaky thing happened on Monday night. I fell asleep about halfway through the episode and at 2:30 I waked to find the same episode on again and half way through. This proved very confusing for me as I thought I had dozed for just a few seconds. So, I am very excited about seeing some movies this weekend. There is a matinee on Friday morning at 10:30 AM. 10:30 AM? What a strange time. I must see a movie at 10:30 AM just because of the rare time. I am sure it will be the same as seeing it any other time. But, much like seeing something you don't need or really care to own at an outlet mall, you have to buy it because you may not have the chance later.

By the way, I updated the Weekly Mystery Link.

Things I have learned and things I want to know...

Things I Have Learned
1- don't let your car get less than 1/4 (or 1/2 really) a tank of gas. This makes your fuel pump work harder. This was the final diagnosis of my car, which is now fixed.

2-women in their twenties need a vaccination against Whooping Cough (Pertussis). According to a pediatrician, women in their twenties can get it, pass it on, etc.

Things I Want to Know
1-is making your own bread cheaper and/or healthier. I have noticed the homemakery type sites really talking about bread starters and such. I just don't think that bread is that expensive to buy and we can get all kinds.

2-does sewing your own clothes really save money? I don't think so.

Boring post...don't read it.

Can't you listen to directions? Don't you trust me? I said it was boring, yet you are still reading. Last night I went to the spinning class offered at my gym. I have been several times but I do not claim to be the expert. My friend, Becky, had never tried it so we decided to go in place of our run. The class was half full with mostly men. Becky and I assumed this class to be more attractive to men, over some of the other classes offered, because "biking" is a manly sport. I would imagine that some of the men get on the bikes in the room and imagine themselves something of a local Lance Armstrong. Maybe you think I am being hard on these poor guys. They really brought it on themselves. You see I have never been in a class where I felt like people were really looking and judging my effort or capability. I may have thought they were before, but after last night I realize that, in the past, I was wrong. Last night they were looking. The teacher was a tall buff woman that played good music loud enough that we could barely understand the instructions. I did make out some Whooo! 's and some ooooowwww!'s (think something akin to a howling wolfman) throughout. Really she was a good teacher that kept her eye on our form and speed. But the men, three in particular, kept turning around and looking back like they were checking to see if we were laying on the floor (which I could have been had my feet not been strapped to the pedals). However, their looks were not justified because I had my this-is-no-problem-for-me face on the whole time. They kept looking back as if to see if we were keeping up. I felt like saying "we have been two feet behind you the whole time, the bikes don't actually move, and by the way I think you need to go down a size in the exercise shorts". Still it was a good workout and we may go back on Monday. I just think it is so interesting to watch all these men check themselves out in the mirror at the gym. This is something you do at home where no one can see. My favorite is the strategically ripped t-shirt. Then again any see through mesh garment is worse.

Ok, so enough about the gym. I am sorry that Adam hasn't put the promised pictures on flickr. I hid all his socks this morning so maybe he will learn to do what I ask... Last night all three of us went to Chick-fil-a. I went to Walmart after and actually had a list but I still ended up cruising the aisles just looking and dropping random stuff into my basket. I don't understand how anyone has any money with Walmart around. There is always something that you "need". You just don't know it until you get there and see it. Next time I am only going to buy the things that I think of before I go. If I am standing in the bathroom and think that I need some bath mats then I will put that on the list and buy them. It never crossed my mind until I saw them in Walmart.

Oh, by the way, my car broke down again yesterday. I am so annoyed. Adam had to come get me and then we picked up Syd. She smiles so much now. It is so cute. I saw all the babies leaving the H2O Babies class at the gym last night. They were so cute. I think I am going to sign her up for a class in August. This would require me to be in a swimsuit so this might be good for me. Sydney is also making so much noise. Adam thinks that she actually said a sentence the other day. We have it on video. I really need to get to editing all that. J

Check this out

You really need to check this out.

www.blurb.com

When the blog feature is ready, we will use it to do our blog book with our "old" blog, not this boring one... You can do all sorts of things besides blog books and I think the prices are reasonable.

Adam discovered this (or maybe it was his brother, Brian) through their computer software conferences or something like that. J

We have progress

This morning when I left the house Sydney was playing in her bed with some toys and wasn't crying to get out. This is very good. Yesterday she slept for a couple of hours in a row instead of every other hour napping. I am hoping this means we might be getting to two naps a day instead of three+

By the way, I want to know your best scores on the mystery link. Adam has done it for 27 seconds... Me? 0.345 seconds

J

Weekly Link

Please check out the Mystery Link of the Week. It is really annoying and addictive at the same time. Cherri, this is up your alley.

Also, Adam is putting some pictures on Flickr as I type so check out that link too and see what is new. I will put a few on the blog also!

J

Bad Day(s)

I don't know what is going on. It seems like the past week has been a whirlwind of bad days with a few good days mixed in. Last week I broke down in the hood while on the way home from work. I take the back way home so it was bound to happen eventually. My car slowed to a stop from 45 mph and I am sure the cars passing could hear me saying Noooooooo! at the top of my lungs. I waited in the hot sun for 45 minutes for help in the parking lot of a tire place on Bullard Street. There was one other car there and it had the word "Sexy Slim" decaled on the front windshield. I barely cracked the window for air so I was practically melting in the car. I occupied myself by watching the inner workings of the establishment where I was parked. It seem auto-ish enough but surprisingly (and to my relief) not one person asked if there was a problem though I was parked in their tiny. Yet, I did what any average southern woman would do. I put on my lipstick and waited for the tow truck driver.

With my car in the shop, I have had transportation issues. The day of the breakdown (the car's, not mine) I waited for my mom to pick me up at the gym, later that day. She couldn't find her cell phone so she was going to be a while and I was ready to get home. You would think I could find someone to pick me up but there was not one immediately available. So I decided to kick up the workout and walk home. I took the back way through downtown Clinton and it only took about 25 minutes. I was not so happy with my choice to run 3 miles at the gym after lifting weights about halfway through the walk home. I was also kicking myself for forgetting my sunglasses. The walk through the neighborhood was interesting because every other house was getting a new roof and I am afraid that that particular day was not the best day to wear the unintentionally suggestive t-shirt to the gym. I ended the day with sushi so that made me happy in the end.

Adam just went to get my car tonight. I don't know why it took so long. We tried to pick it up twice but barely made it out of the parking space before it stopped working. I don't care about that anymore. I am just glad I have a car again. My bike has a basket on the front but you can't get many groceries at one time with it... So tomorrow is grocery day. Yea.

Cell Phone

May I rant? What is the deal with cell phones? Will the world ever be the same? What if I were asking all these questions loudly while on my phone in line at the grocery? Or perhaps as we are driving down the road together and I answer my phone mid-conversation? I am really surprised at the lack of courtesy in cell phone use. Sometimes it can be annoying to be reached at any point. Here are list of offenses and my thoughts on them. Keep in mind I do these too.

1. Calling people's cell phone first, when they just might be at home. Some people prefer this because they have it on them at all times. This is usually found in the younger.
2. Leaving an unnecessary message when you know that they will call you back based on the missed call notice on their phone. I hate checking that thing because it makes you listen to the whole message before you can delete it.
3. Answering your phone while you are in a face-to-face conversation with someone, perhaps in a car or at dinner in a restaurant. I understand this because the person might really need to talk to you, but you can say "excuse me" before answering it and keep the call to a minimum?
4. Asking "where are you?" Sometimes this is appropriate such as to gage when someone will be arriving or to ascertain if the person is in a good place to talk (but even on this one can't we just say "can you talk?") What if the person doesn't want to say "where they are"?
5. Not believing that it is ok to let the call go and call the person later. If they called your home you wouldn't have someone waiting there to say "I will call you back later". This should be understood by the fact that they are leaving one of those unnecessary messages or they are cool enough to just let the missed call number speak for itself.
6. Deciding not to answer the phone in a public place and just letting it ring until it reaches voicemail. There is a reject call /send it to voice mail feature and it is usually just one button.
7. Forgetting to silence it in church or a movie. My mom maintains that her phone has a life of its own and the does silence it, but it finds its way back to ringing. This was the case a few weeks ago in church. The best part is that her purse was under my seat and she was on the row in front of me. I had to run out with the purse and it looked like it was me.

I am sure there are more.

Word of the Day

kludge \KLOOJ\ noun
: a system and especially a computer system made up of poorly matched components

I had to post this because it is such an awesome word. I like words that are prounounced differently than the spelling shows. It makes you look so much smarter. I try to use the word of the day each day because it is fun and educational. This one might be hard to use, but then I have never been one to shy away from the occasional random comment. J

Look at me, look at me

Sydney now demands that all our attention be on her at every moment. She will play some on the floor, but she will let you know when you have been away too long. Her crying has also reached a new level. Deliberately loud. I have decided that I need new system for getting her ready to go places. I like to be able to leave at a moment's notice, but this usually results in me frantically packing a diaper bag and I will most certainly forget something. I am going to try to replinish the bag after each use for the rest of the week. I will keep you updated on this very interesting topic, I promise.

Now for an update on my hair twirling. I have not stopped. I am more aware of it now. Typically, I wouldn't notice that I was doing it, but now I catch myself and I think that is a big step for me. Some of the time I just stop and other times I find myself wondering why I would want to stop. One reason I know I need to quit is that the way I act about it reminds me of more serious addictions. Just one more time. Or I will quit tomorrow so I will twirl as much as I want just one last time. Or I can control it so it won't be a big deal if I keep on, I can stop if I want to stop. I will tell you what I need, I need a twirlers annonymous group. I am not getting the support I need from my friends and family though. The other night Adam and I went to a party and then stopped by Barnes and Noble with some friends. Our friends were in a separate car behind us and as soon as Adam's cell phone rang I new why they were calling. To tell me to stop twirling my hair. Now that is friendship. Sadly, this is the only time that someone has told me to stop since I announced this change.

Wow, I have really gone on and on about really boring stuff. J

I am changing the Mystery Link today....

Mystery Link

I think that each week I am going to change the link (to the right) labeled "mystery link" to a different website. This should be fun, no?

News Flash!

I am officially out of the bad mood. Sydney just turned from her back to her stomach. I heard the constant throat clearing noise that she is amusing herself with currently and I went in her room to discover her on her stomach (she doesn't sleep that way). She was distressed by this and my excitement didn't help. Well, since I am blogging once again today, I need to ask a question and maybe someone can help me out. She was doing so well with only needing one feeding a night and only 3 ounces at that feeding. She got sick a few weeks ago and then was sick again last week and we can't get back to where we were. Her naps are sporatic and so is her feeding. She just isn't interested in eating. We are still going in there to reinsert the pacifier (Adam is actually in there at this moment). My friend, Laura, warned me about doing this weeks ago. I can't stop!! Why is she doing this? I don't think she is currently in a growth spurt, but I don't know what else to do. I let her cry this morning at five and she just didn't stop. It is always like that. J

@#$%^&*!

I am soooo annoyed! I am on a diet so you don't mess with me right now. I had my frozen banana all frozen and ready to make some dumb smoothie with milk and splenda and I can only find part of the blender. It isn't even the part that blends the junk! To top that off, Adam returned MY Charlie's Angels DVD to blockbuster instead of the second C.A. Movie that I rented. You never get those things back. It is like they go into a black hole. Oh, and as soon as you go in there asking about it they want to know where their movie is. This isn't the only chick flick/girl power movie that has made its way to blockbuster. I am starting to think it is a conspiracy because we always end up keeping the more masculine movie in place of it. This is how Lost in Translation found its permanent home in the What A Girl Wants case. I am cranky because I ran today and I had a bad morning because I didn't plan ahead. It's hard enough finding something for me to wear and then I have Sydney to consider and Adam is digging through a pile of socks trying to find a match. I need some carbs. Oh don't worry, I am not doing the low carb thing again. The last time I tried that I ended up shopping with someone else's grocery cart in the store. Then I accused this poor guy, just trying to get his cart back from me, of stealing my purse. Ok, I am really a posting maniac today. I am just spitting them out without thinking. I will regret this tomorrow. J

P.S. You know what is really annoying? People who misspell the word "lose" and type "loose" instead.

One Question

How do you lose a blender????? J

Come to my window...

It is a strange thing letting people into your little world. I guess that is what blogs are supposed to do. Being honest is a way to connect to people. They see that we are a lot alike. If it showed the perfect life then you might be bored with this blog and move on. To be honest, I am not sure how many people actually look at this thing anymore. At first I thought, what on earth would I write about? I have nothing to say. I guess I really don't, especially now. I started it to give updates on the baby. I still will do that but there is only so much that is interesting to other people. But I have always been a story teller. Even if they aren't particularly good, I will tell them. I am even entertained by the reactions that the bad stories get. I guess you could say I am humored by the human (and non-human, like my dog) response, even if it is at my expense. Don't get me wrong, I am not a button pusher or a shock value enthusiast. I might be considered a line crosser at times and maybe I push something just to the limit, but aren't most people that way? Isn't that the tactic most people use to get what they want? I just think life is funny, in a Seinfeld/The Office sort of way. I used to laugh at everything – all the time. Even if it wasn't appropriate ( i.e. funerals, class, church). In high school my friend, Tuesday, and I were notorious for our giggles. So much, in fact, that we earn some sort of award or public recognition for it in one of those cheesy senior class "remember when" things. I think it went something like this …Remember when Jessica and Tuesday weren't laughing? We don't!... Hardy, har, har. You probably weren't laughing because you didn't get it.

From an early age, I always had a "great" idea and my friends actually started saying "oh, no!" when I said the dreaded words, "I have an idea". Hey, they did not have to participate. They were free to make that decision after they heard the components of the idea/plan. But I think they knew all to well that one of my ideas could end up with us locked in a one stall bathroom, in the principal's office explaining a very incriminating note, being left downtown at night at the closing of Jubilee Jam, being chased by a bull in a neighbors field, or quite possibly dressed like a construction worker reciting Shakespeare to a large group. Like I said, no one made them participate. But they always did. I guess that is a little of my brother coming out in me. I am convinced that He could convince you to do or believe anything - at least that is what he told me. I guess you could say that I am creative. I like a challenge and I can usually come up with a way to spice things up a bit. I am responsible for several A+ grades for my fellow students when I came up with the idea to do our assigned section of Hamlet as the Village People with a surprise ending featuring a routine to YMCA. Now that is entertainment, people! If you don't believe me just ask my aunt, Cherri, I think I remember her being at one of the practices. I guess blogging in a way allows me to continue the creativity. It does make you sensor yourself more than you would in a diary and, since diaries are meant to be stolen by your brother and/or found when you are gone, this is a good thing. It teaches you to write what is important to the story and you get to see when you failed to convey something the way you had, originally, hoped. Putting your thoughts down helps you sort how you are feeling and I think it makes your conversation style more concise. I see now why writing is important. I didn't get that in high school and I ignored the "rules" of paragraph construction (I know you must have noticed this). I hesitate every time I hit the comma button because I know it probably doesn't belong there and I also know that perspicacious people in the punctuation world are reading this and it bugs them to no end that they can't edit. But I would read and recite anything put in front of me. While I was writing this post a friend asked me, by email, what I thought about blogs, listing several typical downfalls (overly intellectual, overly homemakerly, and overly boring). I am sitting here thinking that I know I am not two of those... It actually helped me sort out what I think about them and why they are so interesting/cool. This is an excerpt of my response.

...Blogging brings people together!! ...My friends might check out some of his (Adam) music links or his friends might read my friends' blogs. Family looking for pictures of Sydney will see what kind of books we read and movies we like. Maybe I am romanticising it a bit...;-) I just think it is neat to read about other people's life and see what it is really like. With some blogs, you get to read what is in their heads. It is like peeking into the windows of someone else's house. You are just curious to see if they have the same decorating style as you do...

So there, I have attempted to be overly intellectual, overly boring, and overly...wait I wasn't overly homemakerly. Well I got to go churn some butter before Adam gets home.
J

Gym Shorts

I went to the gym this evening and I started thinking about something while I was breaking a sweat. Why do I wear pants to the gym in the summer? I see all sorts of people wearing shorts, yet, I feel weird wearing them. I am not sure if I am waiting to get in shape to wear them or if it is the fact that they ride up in the back when you walk or run on the treadmill. I lifted weights and then I did the step class. Ok, I did 30 minutes of the 45 minute class. It is hard to leave mid class. You have to walk out with purpose so you don't look like you can't take the heat. You have to look at your watch, gather your things and put the step away, and then walk quickly out like you have stayed there as long as possible and now must get on with your very important life. The trick is to make it look like you worked in this 30 minutes even though you really had no time for it. You must not hobble out or look winded at any point. As you get to the door you give the instructor a little wave to say thank you for meeting my daily exercise needs. You are really thinking thank you for making me feel inferior to the guy sporting the spandex shorts and weird fanny pack water dispenser. Of course he can stay. He is wearing a light weight fabric that moves with him. I am wearing the pants. J

Product Recommendation

Every now and then I try to come up with a new invention. I wish I had thought of the collapsible tupperware. I went to Walmart today to get it, not caring what it costs. My cabinets are overrun with bottoms and tops that don't match. Sometimes I put food in the fridge with no intention of actually eating the rest of it. This has put us in the disposable container category because, let's face it, who wants to empty them when you have no idea how long they have been in there? Adam and I bought a new fridge this past year. We proudly shoved it into the space, which I saw as dangerously small. Adam saw it as a perfect fit. Honestly, pure will fit that thing in. This fridge has all the bells and whistles that you can get on a middle of the road stainless front side by side. I still remember the look on the salesman's face when we bought it. He showed us the upright pizza storage cabinet (I love secret compartments) in the freezer and Adam said "you just sold this refrigerator". Ok, I have gotten off course. The pizza cabinet story is to explain that we eat frozen pizza often and that we have had problems storing it. Maybe keeping the leftovers is in a way my own little trophy to commemorate me actually cooking a meal.

J

Twirly Girly

I know that most people are coming here for the pictures so I will get them on here as soon as Adam gets off his conference call tonight.

This is hard starting from scratch. I know each post is a story of its own but you build a blog and that means that every post doesn't have to be fabulous. They can lean on past posts. I need to do another middle of the night post.

Ok, I thought of something. I have decided to stop twirling my hair. Cold turkey. I think it makes me look stupid and/or nervous when I am doing it. And I know it bugs people. It bugs ME. Now I am going to need your help. You can't let me do it anymore. If you see me doing it then you have my permission to slap my hand. Let me explain the twirl. This is something that I have done since childhood. I don't know why I do it. It isn't something I do when I am nervous or anxious. I just do it all the time. When I think, drive, navagate the New York City subway system, when I am excited about something, or bored, I twirl my hair. New York City was actually where the double twirl was born. Those subway maps are confusing! There are several myths about my twirling that I must clear up before I give it up. I don't want to give it a bad rap. Myth #1 - the twirling was what caused me to have hand surgery. I was the big mouth that proposed this possibility. Unfortunately, my family thought it was hilarious and kept it going. The fact is that no one knows what causes trigger finger but some cases have been linked to repetitive motion. So basically it remains a mystery (I am sooo mysterious) Myth #2 - it is the reason my hair is curly. Now that is just plain silly. Obviously, my hair is curly by design and twirling it actually makes it less curly over the course of the day. So there you have it.

Jessica

Out with the old, in with the new

I have decided to move away from the old blog and start afresh with this blog. Can't you just picture it? A blog with no subject boundaries. Sounds good to me.