General Jaime Update : )

Hi. My name is Jaime. Remember me? I used to write on this blog.

: )

So, what has been up with me since I last wrote here over a month ago? I have made a lot of stuff. Finished a skirt. Made a skirt out of old pajama pants. Lots of scrapbook pages. A bajillion interviews at work. Some progress on the sweater. Still a lot of drama associated with that though. Three placemats. More on the way!

I have also been sick a lot. Just one thing after another, and I haven't felt 100% in about three weeks. But I think that things will be changing, starting this weekend. : ) I look forward to having energy to make more stuff again.

I have also had my first cavities filled. I also found out my dental coverage sucks. I should become a dentist and make some big bucks. Too bad touching peoples spit does not sound fun to me.

Neil and I are also back into Salsa classes. It's fun when people stop to watch us, then complement us afterwards. We dance so well together. It's really fun! I told Neil that next week we should make our nametags say Fred and Ginger. Haven't yet told him I want to be Fred though!

Speaking of famous old school dancers, I just finished watchin "On The Town" a fun 1949 musical with old blue eyes, plus lots of other fun people. I just adore this movie. I was grumpy before I started watching it, but now I am happy. : )

What else makes me happy? The sweetie. We are planning on him moving here or me moving there sometime in the near future. I can't wait to live in the same city with him again. We haven't lived in the same city since we met in Swansea in 2003-04! He lived in Chico last year, but that's still a few hours away from my chateau. Can't wait for him to be close by. : )

I also found some really cute dishes at Cost Plus and glasses at Pier One. Will buy once teeth are paid for and yarn/scrapbooking/sewing stashes are satisfactory. : )

That's all for now. I wonder when my next update will be? : )

resuming normal life

Ashley and I on New Years : )

Hiya guys! I am back from Wales, and though I didn't want to come home, now I am ready to resume my regular life and get going in 2008.

I guess step one for resuming normal life would be to unpack. Hmm. Must consider this at some point.

Step two would be to get on top of my New Years Resolutions. I try to make my New Years resolutions fun and attainable. No big "I am going to excersize everyday" or other sillyness that is going to last a week and make me feel bad for not following through the rest of the year.

Last year, I made a resolution to learn how to knit a hat. And I did! I knit at least five hats last year and it was fun, productive and educational.

This year, I have decided to learn how to sew properly. I know how to do some very basic thing, like thread my machine, cut out a pattern, and other stupidly easy things, but I want to know how to do make good quality, complicated garmets.

I also want to open an Etsy shop. That is a more challenging resolution, but I still want to do it.

Do you have any resolutions this year?

Confession: I Yachtied.

Gulp. I hate to admit it. But yes, people. I went to the Yacht Club this weekend.


For those of you who think that sounds ok and kind of posh, rewind. Think again. It is hugely ironic that this place is called the Yacht Club. It's the diviest of all dives I have ever seen, and a guaranteed Rancho Reunion. Not always people you want to see either. Thankfully, we only ran into one that night, and he was fine.


But I really wanted to see my friend Catherine and her sister/my friend Laura while she was in town. This is how the evening began:


Jaime drives home from work @winery rediculously tired but determined not to punk out on her friends. Watches Bend it Like Beckham for a little while on TV before changing for the night out. At one point she takes off the jeans she put on to put pajamas back on, but forces herself back into going out clothes.


Arrives at Catherine's house and has three glasses of wine. Three. Puts on Catherine's perfume before she goes out and Catherine keeps telling her how good she smells all night.


We go out. I down a Malibu and Coke right off the bat.

We take a few fun pictures.












I decide I need a shot to loosen up a little more. Kiersten buys me a vodka one.

Suddenly, it's a good idea to document how stupid I feel (and how much fun I am having) by taking a picture of myself in the wierd bathroom.





And another.





Gina buys another round, and I am unaware of the fact that I am getting another shot until no one knows who it's for and I realize it's probably mine.



We dance. I video it, but it's way too dark to see.

I take this photo though:





We're in the mirror.

I remember Catherine quoting Knocked Up "Now that's how you get pink eye" while two people bumped and grinded really stupidly, and stupidly close to us.

I am pleased to announce, that no matter how drunk I got all night, I realized how dumb everyone there was. And how unnatractive most were. Badly dressed. Not us of course, we all looked cute and fabulous.

Someone wanted Taco Bell, someone told someone to stop trying to talk like they were sober, and I giggled a lot.

And earlier in the night, Cath and I talked about how dorky we were in Junior High, how awkward we felt and how goody-goody we were in High School, and how awesome, cute, and confident we are now.

This is us:



I can't wait to spend more time with this girl. : )

Jaime needs a ride home. She sends Ashley a drunken facebook message, then goes to bed.

She has to go get her car the next morning (thanks roomie!) and ends up missing the craft fair in Golden Gate Park that she wanted to go to because she's running behind all day.

Damn Yachtie.

September 9, 7 pm SCT (Standard Couch Time)

...From here on in I shoot with the following script...

I am comfortably situated on the couch. The remote and my laptop are nearby and I am wearing my favorite lougewear. I will not be getting up from the couch for the entire rest of the evening for any reasons but the following:

1. To dive under the table if there is an earthquake.


2. To run out the front door if there is a fire.


3. To finish making the pasta I have started. A girl's gotta eat!


4. To put a DVD in the DVD Player.


5. To get my book or cell phone out of my purse, which is on the dining room table.

I will NOT be getting up for the following reasons:

1. To get my notebook out of the car so I can work on articles I need to write. There will be ample time tomorrow.


2. To return the videos that are already overdue.


3. To burn photos onto a cd.


4. To do laundry.

Things I am looking forward to doing while on the couch:

1. Eating Pasta King pesto.


2. Reading Yes Man by Danny Wallace.


3. Watching the Girls Next Door at 10pm.


4. Maybe watching Under the Tuscon Sun. Maybe it will curb my current desire to leave the country and never come back.


5. Having tea.

Oh, and on a slightly strange and definitely random note, I have decided to be Holly for Halloween. : ) (Thanks for all the advice in the previous post, gals.) Holly and Bridget were in my dream last night, and they helped me put together my costume. Oh, and I asked Holly what Playboy jewelry I should get from Spencers to best communicate Holly, not random Playboy Bunny. She reccomended the charm braclelet she designed, and I agreed. The bracelet is actually at Spencers, BTW.

Anyone get my title and first line reference?

I said no, no, no.

Rehab seems to be a theme that is permeating my existance lately. I bought the new Amy Winehouse cd so "Rehab" is permanently stuck in my head. The day after I bought it I was watching E! and discovered that her stepfather was urging people not to buy her cd untill she goes to rehab.

Ooops.

Half of Hollywood is in rehab. The only one I really worry about though is Owen Wilson. He's not in rehab (I don't think) but apparently he tried to commit suicide. I find this very sad because I really like him. I think he is very talented, and I hope he doesn't pull a Belushi disapearing act.

I don't need to go to rehab, thank God. I am not an alcoholic or a drug addict. But I do work in an industry where alcoholism is quite prevelant. I know a few people who I am concerned about.

My addiction?

Coffee.

I got addicted to coffee when I worked at Starbucks. I am so thankful that I am addicted to coffee and this is why: I learned that it is easy to become addicted to something that is available to you for free, something that you work with, and something that all your other friends use regularly.

I very rarely want to drink after working around alcohol all day, which I think shows that I don't have an innate draw towards alcohol. But if I am glad that I am aware of how socially accepted habits can become dependencies. I'm certain that I will not, one day, be going to rehab. No, no, no.

Unless someone develops a rehab center for coffee addicts. Or for shopping addicts. I've been doing a lot of shopping lately. : )

Re-decorating

These are some ideas I had for my "new" room.

1. Paint entire room a soft white. See previous post to see rediculously pink wall. And for the record, it is actually a cinder-block wall, so I just rolled the pink over it too look like bricks.


2. Take everything off walls, including french board, "create" sign, and various scrapbooked picture frames.


3. Install a very high shelf along one wall of room (high enough so the kitties don't even have a chance) and place all picture frames along it.


4. Move bed to other side of room so it is no longer against the brick wall.


5. Trade desks with mom so I have a smaller one. Paint legs of new desk a nicer color than dark green (color to be determined).


6. Hang art work on one (or more walls). I like this, this, and one of these. Maybe this one. Frame "We are Scientists" poster and include as art. I looove that poster, despite how wierd looking it is, for many reasons.


7. Get this bedspread and possibly new sheets.


8. Paint dresser. Color to be determined.


9. Hang scarves or fabric as a curtain over top portion of closet to conceal storage.


10. Figure our a sophisticated way to use dragonfly light strings.


11. Possibly hang light curtains over window.


12. Hang french board on back of door.

And just because I want to include a little art work on this entry, here is a picture I took recently that I really like.

Aghhh raghhh @#*^! (aka, my stupid, crappy, chaotic room!)

I hate doing massive spring cleanings. I end up just wanting to throw absolutely everything in my room away because I don't know what to do with it all when it's all a massive mess all over my bedroom floor, but I don't let myself because I know I would regret not having a few things later on (aka, every photo I have ever taken). But what do you do with stuff like a never opened, perfectly good box of tacks when you already have two others? Or a bottle of white out you never use, but don't want to have to buy one later if you need it? Or an empty wine bottle that your mom had labels custom made for you college graduation? Or a million, loose flying cd's that you have no idea whether they are empty, contain pictures, or are mixed cd's you don't need. And are they scratched, and therefore useless? The bags of stuff that is going to the good will have made it to the car, quite impressively. But when will they actually get to the goodwill?

But my room needs it, so I plunder on. Once all the crap that I don't need/want anymore is gone from my room, I can think about repainting my wall, trading desks with mom, painting my furniture, re-hanging things, buying a new duvet, maybe buying a rug or something, and just generally making my room a lot less chaotic, and a lot less bright pink. Making it grown-up and cool, but personal. Not hotel like. Not like one giant scrapbook (keep it to the books, please!).

BTW, lots of cool Stampin' Up! stamps for the first gals who call dibs.

Party in Jaime's Car!!!

This is what the interior of my car looked like today. Here is a run down of what's goin' on here.




Photo #1: Wore my awesome Marie Antoinette shoes today.



Photo #2: Jaime nametag was from salsa class! Level two started today. I got the happy face sticker for being a good follower. The iced latte was from earlier today. The coctail looking drink is from my grandma's birthday party! Don't worry, only sprite in the cup. Left my grandma's Hawaii-themed, pool party in Novato in order to get to salsa on time.



Photo #3: Two cd's I'm diggin' right now: The Dirty Dancing Havana Nights soundtrack and the Mona Lisa Smile soundtrack. Very different cd's! Grandma liked listening to Mona Lisa Smile on the way to Novato; it was full of songs from her days as a twenty-somethin'. Silver shoes: my salsa shoes. Started Salsa 2 toaday and loved it: the class is smaller so there is more personal attention. My phone: thought it died a week or so ago after prolonged exposure to liquids, but it pulled through. DVD: mom lent me Miss Potter to watch before it has to go back to Blockbuster. Finally, purple scarf. My dear friend Laurie brought it back from Milan for me. It was such a suprise! It's a great light summer scarf.

Thus, a day in the life of Jaime's fabulous life in the "fast lane" (it's really more like the middle lane). Then again, taking pictures in my car really isn't the safest idea. Maybe I live in the fast lane after all!

You know you're a match made in roomate heaven when...

You both love to eat very good gourmet cheese while watching very bad reality TV.

Mrs. Marlaire and her Gaggle

My friend Heather got married in San Diego last weekend. She is the first out of all my close friends to get married, and I am very happy for her. She's wanted this since I first met her my sophmore year of college, but she wouldn't settle for anything less than true love that would last a lifetime, and I think she's found it. I only just met Colin this weekend, and only for a few minutes, but I liked him immediately. He laughed at all us gaggle being crackheads when we introduced ourselves, and he seemed happy to meet us.

Speaking of being crackheads, we should call ourselves the gaggle of crackheads. We were one of the loudest groups at the reception, and everyone was perfectly aware ofhow much fun we were having. We were the only people who threw someone in the pool. We made fishy faces in our pictures for no reason at all, and I took pictures of Christine "with the flowers." Most pictures are too rediculous to post for outside viewing, but here are some of my favorites.

What happens when I get hungry...

Perhaps one of my greatest faults, or at least annoyances to other people, is my blood sugar level. It drops suddenly, with maybe a two second warning, and it is not pretty. I get cranky, mean, tired... and I take it out on the person closest to me.

My poor friends and family.

My new resolution is this: keep snacks with me at all times. Trail mix is the best idea. The nuts have protein for long term energy and the chocolate and dried fruits give instant sugar energy. At least the mix will give me enough energy to make it to the next deli or smoothie place.

My new roomie!

Meet Marissa, my new roomate. I also have two other new roomates named Daphne and Niles. Niles is grey and looks like he is wearing a suit all the time. Daphne is striped and hides under the bed all day. Niles and Daphne are cats, clearly, but Marissa is definitely human.

Living with Marissa is really fun. She always puts cups back in the cup cupboard, and she buys lots of magazines that she lets me read.

Pics of Daphne and Niles coming as soon as my battery is fixed!

Me in My House.

This is the first house I ever lived in.

When Ashley and I visited Seattle recently, I took him to see it. My dad rents it out now, and we just happened to visit it while it was between tenants (new people were moving in a few days later), so I felt perfectly guilt-free taking invasive photos of one of the cutest little houses I have ever been in.

The structure of my house (I call it that, even though it's not really mine. But in all of Seattle, it's the house that feels closest to mine), is in awesome shape. They put new carpet and new applicances in recently, and all the things that are expensive/difficult to fix look like they are in good shape. However, the lawn needs some serious weeding and manicuring, and the outdoor paint could use a spicier coat of love. Over-all, though, I am pleased with the way the house is holding up.

There are a lot of windows in this house, a situation which offered lots of cool self portrait photo-ops. In this pic, I am looking through the back door and you can almost see through the front window of the house. The white building you see in the window is the renovated garage. It's a perfect little artists studio/office/whatever that really gives this teeny tiny house a little something extra.

I love this house, and I love that Ashley loved it too. I only hope that it makes it back to me one day.

We're Okay!

This is my favorite picture from the white water rafting trip I went on with Ashley and his friends Ali, Diyana, and Ali. We took this picture when we were back in Chico after an over night trip rafting down the Trinity River. One of the first things our guides taught us to do in the safety instructional they taught us before we started rafting was what to do if you fall out of the raft. First, obeviously, try to grab on to the raft. If you get seperated from the boat, look for your guide. He will pat his head to ask if you are ok. If you are ok, you're supposed to pat your head back. If you are not ok, you're supposed to make a cross with your arms.

We all made it back from the Trinity River Rafting Trip "ok," so we decided to document our state with a clever photo.

***For the record, I didn't fall out of the raft once in the entire trip. In fact, Ali is the only one who fell out during the entire trip. However, the first time we went down Hell Hole, everyone in my raft did fall into the center of the boat while a giant rapid washed over us.

A Mush Mush Entry

There are so many things I love about this guy.

5. Um, hello, can we SAY Welsh accent? So hot!

4. His eyes are Clark Kent blue.

3. He has the greatest smile.

2. He has a wonderful sense of integrity.

1. He's the most honest person I have ever known, but he is not offensively honest. He expresses his opinion and examines his feelings truthfully, but he has a wonderful knack for being polite at the same time. He is uncompromisingly and kindly Ashley at all times.

(If he is reading this right now, he's thinking "Ok, what's wrong with you?" the way he does any time I get super mushy)

But the thing I have discovered about love recently is this. I can list off dozens of things I love about him; I can name things he does or has done, characteristics he has, the way he does things, and the way he looks, but I can't tell you why I love him. I think that's part of the magic of love. Maybe that's where the phrase "you can't choose who you love" comes in.

I am only glad that I didn't choose to love someone so wonderful.


***Bonus reason***
I always feel like he loves me.

This is fun!

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Melodrama

I sincerely identify with the way Bridget Jones over reacts to and over analyzes every little bit of her life. I certainly have been lately, so I felt the need to show this appropriate melo-dramatic spoof trailer as an example of my current state.

My Lifetime Goals (preliminary draft)

Ashley and I have been having lenghty discussions about our individual life goals lately. In response to the confusion I have been about what I want to do with my life, he suggested that I make a list of my goals. From this list, I hope to gain focus, direction, and a faint clue as to what I should do next! : ) Some categories are very precise because I know exactly what I want from them, but others are less clear. Though I know I want each goal I have listed to be a part of my life, I don't know the details on how I want each of them to work out.

Here is my current list:

1.Get Married.
Have a loving, healthy, happy, and committed marriage with the love of my life.

2.Have Children.
Have 2-3 kids within my marriage (see above). Adoption is an option, but I would love to carry my children if possible.

3.Have a Career.
Enjoy and take pride in the work I do. Work in a creative profession. Enjoy my workplace envirnment.

4.Be financially Sound.
Practice good financial habits in order to provide for my family and help us do the thigs we want to do in life (buy a home, travel, pay for college, etc.).

5.Create A Home.
Buy a home. Create an environment that my kids want to invite their friends to. Express myself artistically and creatively in the house. Maintain a resonably well organized house.

6.Be Healthy.
Maintain a hppy, healthy, and attractive body.

7.Live Internationally.
At least one more time! : )

8.Travel.
Travel experiences I wish to take part in include, but certainly aren't limited to the following:
African Safari, Australia, Hawaii (snorkeling and coffee plantation), Washington D.C. (Holocaust Museum), Prince Edward Island, Prague, Amsterdam, Aushwitz, The Wall of China, Kyoto and Tokyo, The Northern Lights, Amish Country...

9.Write a Book.
The details are still fuzzy on this one.

We miss our Star Girl

I am sad to announce that my dog, Star, passed away late last Thursday night. She and one of her friends (another dog named Zara) got into a container of snail bait, and ended up poisoning themselves. Daisy, their other doggy friend, didn't eat any of the bait, so she's just fine. A little confused and lonely, but fine.

Star was a very sweet dog. She wagged her whole rear end when she wagged her tail. She had curly hair on her ears that resembled pigtails, and spots on her nose that reminded me of freckles. She was our Star Girl, our Dog Star constellation, and we will miss her loads.

Splash

AMC has been playing one of my childhood favorite movies a lot lately: Splash. Beth and I watched this movie ad-nosiem when we were little. Since I've been catching little bits of it on TV lately, I've begun to realize how this movie has seeped into my adult life, especially events that have happened within the last year.

Hair crimping. While everyone is busy stairghtening their hair, I am crimping mine, a'la Darryl Hannah.

Mermaid Costume. I was a mermaid for Halloween this year.

Tom Hanks. Ah, Tom Hanks. Ever the noble, goofy, cute (in his younger years) and awesomely talented actor. He's been my favorite actor ever since I was a kid. And he's totally the type of guy I fall for.

The Story. When you look at the story all symbolically and Jaime-like, this story is about discovering how far you would go for love. Though I doubt I will have to committ to living my life under water in the name of love, the possibility of leaving my home for love is there.