As time goes by...

Ashley and I aren't together anymore (he went back home to Wales, etc.) but I still wanted to make this layout about how I felt about him at the height of our relationship. We had a great relationship, and I wanted to remember how I felt about him while we were together.

You can't really see it here, but I scrawled a little message at the bottom of the brown strip of paper. It says: "Haven't I made this page before? I'm getting Deja Vu."

I have made it before. This is what it looked like:

The things I loved about him were written on a piece of paper in a pouch. This is what it said: "Blue eyes, honest, John Cusack-Look-A-Like, silly, different from everyone else, comfortable... and you always loved me, with no strings attached."

I love how some of the things that I loved about him were the same when we were going out for a month-ish* in Wales in 2003-04 and when we were going out for several months this past year when he was in Chico. There are definite similarities, but the way I felt about him deepend the second time around. I guess that's what happens with age, and with more time to explore a relationship.

*A month-ish isn't very long. We were chicken, involved in drama, and we had crappy timing. Let's leave it at that.

Reunited with Nikon

I think my Nikon and I are finally seeing eye to eye.

The Prodigal Return

How it happened...

A long long time ago in a far away land... Jaime scrapbooked all the time. And I mean ALL THE TIME. She had albums full of completed pages, a job at a scrapbook store, and a desk full of scrapbooking supplies. She even incorporated her senior project into a scrapbook. She loved scrapping and was told she was quite good at it.

After awhile... He love of the hobby dwindled. One day, a little over a year ago, she got irrationally angry at all the scrapbooking supplies that were taking up space in her room. She threw away the dumb stuff, packed up the good stuff, and did not scrap for over a year. She didn't miss it in the slightest.

A few months ago... Debbi found out that Jaime didn't scrap anymore and gave her a few little nudges back towards her once favorite hobby. Jaime starts checking Elsie's blog on a regular basis around this time.

A few weeks ago... Jaime saw Nikki at the Harry Potter book release party. They talked a little about scrapping and Nikki made it sound appealing again.

A few days ago... Jaime loos through some old scrapbooks, searching for a particular picture. She noticed how goos the books look. She is suprised.

Yesterday... Jaime visited the Scrappery in Cotati, on a whim. After seeing all kinds of new stuff, she left the store and went home. She checked her bank account balance, and sifted through old paper, adhesive, and embellishments to see what was what. She burns some pictures onto a cd, and returns to the Scrappery to buy some paper. She gets pictures printed at Target, and buys some adhesive and embellishments at Beverly's.

Today... Jaime creates not a scrapbook page, but sort of a scrapbook frame piece. It was fun. It is made in the style she left of with, but she knows her style will quickly update once she starts looking at magaines again.

Today... Jaime has returned to the scrapbooking world.

PS Jaime has to learn how to take good pictures of her scrapbook pages. This is a new practice, and thus was never an issue for her before. My, how the times have changed! : )

PPS Jaime loves the leaf she made for the flower. It's her favorite part of the project, besides the picture.

You're it!

Nikki tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger (how sweet!) so now its time to tag some of my fave bloggers back. I'm going to skip Debbi, Nikki, and Brenda (even though I love them and their little blogs too) because they were already tagged. So here are my tagged gals:

Clem. Maybe this will inspire her to blog more often!

Marissa. Because she makes a solid blue background interesting.

Unfortunately, all the people that I mentioned above are the only people that I know read my blog and actually blog themselves. So, that's all for me!

I love my job. We throw the best company parties!

What should I be for Halloween?

Here are my three favorite ideas so far.

1. Holly. As in Holly and Hef.

Difficulty level: Medium. It won't be difficult to find the things I need, but I will have to put effort into the details to make sure I look like Holly, not just any Playboy Bunny.

What I will need: Fake eyelashes, platinum wig, pink argyle sweater, bunny necklace, small dog to carry around (stuffed will be fine), bunny tattoo on lower back (fake, of course), tight jeans, a flatter stomach.

Drawbacks: Will most likely attract the wrong kind of attention. I prefer to attract guys that think I'm adorable and clever, not slutty guys remeber a blurry face beyond a crystal-clear, sizable rack.

Would be best if... I had a "Hef" to walk around with me. Would be best if Hef was played by a girl, it would make it more fun.

2. Mary Poppins. As in practically perfect in every way.

Difficulty level: High-ish. Will need to ransack thrift stores.

What I will need: a carpet bag, hat with flower sticking out of it, long cloak (my peacoat might work), an umbrella, and cute little boots.

Drawbacks: I might get hot, and there are a lot of props to carry around. Could be expensive.

Would be best if... the weather turned out to be really cold this Halloween.

3. Penny Pingleton. As in Amanda Bynes's most recent roll.

Difficulty level: Medium

What I will need: a retro dress, a lollipop, and hairspray. LOTS of hairspray.

Drawbacks: Will have to learn how to tease hair.

Would be best if... I met a really cute African American man with some serious dancing abilities on Halloween night. Would complete the costume if I had a Seaweed! : )

Anyone want to place a vote?

I like it better than guacamole. And that's saying something!

Neil and I were practicing salsa in their living room while his brother, Ravi, secretly filmed. Rosalia jumps around in the background. I love salsa. Can't wait for Thursday!

I'm on Flickr!

Just a preview. Click on the sidebar link or go to www.flickr.com/photos/photosbyjaime

I like it.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” -C.S. Lewis.

In Vino Veritas

I'm becoming a YouTube Whore.

When mom and I saw this preview before the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix it didn't have the little scene in the begining that compares The Golden Compass to The Lord of the Rings. But the second we saw the alethiometer we gasped and grabbed each others arm.

I didn't even know they were making this into a movie!

And Nicole Kidman will be an awesome Ms. Coulter.

I loved this routine!

The judges said that they didn't understand it, but they didn't feel like they had to. I loved it. I thought they were piano keys, and the dance was about pauses.

I am so my mother's daughter.

Things that are making me well up right now...

It's so romantic...

Just the thought of it. It's the last one, and in a little while all the fun speculation will be over. I don't want Harry to die. Or Ron. Or Hermione. Or Neville. Or Ginny. Or anyone, except Voldemort.

I can't really explain why. This song brings up layers and layers of emotions in me.

Because the 5th one always does.

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.

Honorary Welsh Girl Hears the Mothership

I found this pen in my notebook yesterday, and I have no idea how it got there. I have never seen it before in my life.

The other side of the pen reads: www.studyintheuk.org. I have already done that. And it may be pure coincidince, but my time in Wales was such an important time in my life, that I feel like the sudden and inexplicalbe presence of this pen in my life means something.

Maybe it's trying to give me direction. When I was in Wales I was completely confused about myself and my place in the world. I was lost and lonely, but I was accomplishing a goal that I had my entire life. I was living abroad. I was studying abroad. I was traveling to Italy. I was falling in love in a foregin country. So while I was a little lost hobbit on a crazy adventure most of the time, there was such importance and purpose behind my life that in a strange way I felt romantically fulfilled. I could have given Wordsworth a run for his money.

Maybe I'm just supposed to focus on saving for and planning my next trip abroad. Maybe I am supposed to focus on my writing. Maybe I am supposed to work harder at making a career out of my writing.

I have no idea where I am going with this post other than this: a symbol of a very important part of my life has surfaced lately, and I think it is trying to tell me something.

*** "Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkein ***

It's going to be a hat.

Hopefully I'll finish it on the journey down I-5 for Heather's San Diego wedding this weekend. If I do, I will have sucessfully fullfilled my one and only New Years Resolution: to learn how to knit a hat.

I love this yarn. Pink, purple, and sparkle, why wouldn't I? It's right up my alley. The colors remind me of the color of Aurora's dresses in Sleeping Beauty as the fairies take turns changing the color of her dress. "Make it pink! Make it blue!" When my aunt and I watched that movie when I was a kid, I would make it pink and she would make it blue. The word Aurora runs through my mind as these beautiful bright jewel tones slide over my needles and loop into this hat. I am also making a flower to attach to the side. This is definitely going to be a bold hat, but I think at least I will like it.

I have a similar yarn in green tones and I plan to make another hat with that yarn. The colors remind me of a mermaid tale. Maybe like Ariel's.

I think I have a weird Disney theme haunting my knitting right now.

Oh, and the words scrawled across my hat represent my forage into the world of Adobe Photoshop. I think I need to take a class to learn to use it properly.

Daphne, I adore you!

As promised, here are pics of Niles and Daphne, Marissa's cats. They are named after characters on Fraiser, so I like to play around with quotes from the show while I am playing with/ talking to them.

I proclaim "Daphne, I adore you!" as Niles did to Daphne in the infamous red dress episode.

It's also fun to shout "Niiiiles!" in a booming, urgent voice the way Fraiser does during an episode around the time Niles and Daphne start dating.

I think it's so appropriate that Daphne is hiding in the back of this photo. She's very skittish and quite shy, but she's slowly warming up to me.

New Camera

While everyone else is busy buying fancy new models of expensive cameras, I seem to have regressed. I have a big old, clunky, stupidly heavy Nikon D1X that takes great pictures, but I decided that I wanted a little "throw in my purse" type camera that I can take on nights out on the town, to work, and anywhere else that I don't want to take "the monster." ANd since Heather's wedding is next weekend and the battery for my Nikon still isn't working, I figured now would be a good time to get one. So here it is. My silly little Kodak EasyShare that I am already having loads of fun with.

Fourth of July Ghost

Lots of people think that low light pictures with blurry light lines are dumb, but I love them. This one looks almost like a ghost playing with fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Sometimes Fish are HUGE!!! Like tuna...

Something Fishy in Monterey

With the windows down...

Tasteless Paris Hilton Jokes

Here I am, practicing my Paris Hilton pose on Alcatraz.

(Not-so) Yummy Coffee on Alcatraz

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!

I rock so hard.

There's nothing better than browsing a website that has published your work only to stumble across an article that the EDITOR wrote praising your story.

Check it out.

I rock so hard.

Momma and Baby Love

Sooo Seattle.

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.

I am afraid of hippos.

This may sound strange, but I used to be terrified of the hippos at the Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) when I was a little girl. Wierd, considering my favorite animals as a kid were lions. And really, which animal do you think would pose a greater threat if I were to run into the two out in the wild?

None-the-less, hippos used to terrify me. I think it was the way they would just sort of popup from underwater, with absolutely no notice. Or maybe I thought I would fall into their pond. Or maybe I realized, after seeing one yawn, that a hippo could easily swallow my three-foot tall, little girl body whole.

There was a collage of large, smooth rocks that I used to play on while we visited the hippo exhibit at the zoo. They were far enough from the pond where I knew I wouldn't have to worry about falling in, and they were a pleasant distractiont. Pleasant, that is, until someone pointed out to me that they kind of looked like giant hippos, rising out of the water.

This picture, with my mock-Macauly Culkin scream face, shows how I have overcome my fear of hippos. I think I've realized that they can't swallow my new, 5'3", womanly body whole.

It would take more like two gulps.

Hello, I'm a Monk Fish!

The Flying Fish Stand in Pike Place Market, Seattle.

Something Cool

I did a photo shoot for my friend Nicolette and her jazz trio. These were my two favorite shots.

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.

She drinks a whiskey drink, she drinks a vodka drink. She drinks a lager drink, she drinks a cider drink.

She sings the songs that remind her of the good times, she sings the songs that remind her of the better times.
-Tubthumping, Chumbawumba

A little while ago I announced my plan to save money so I can go visit Wales next summer. Well, scratch that plan. Or rather, warp speed that plan. I'm going over Christmas instead.

I've developed a strategic economic plan (a.k.a., a budget). I'm saving money from my weekly columns with Potrero, my comission from the winery, and money from assistant photography work during wedding season. I'll also be throwing in tips I recieve along the way, but I don't have a particular savings plans for my tips.

I made $9 in tips today, and announced to everyone I was working with that I could officially buy two drinks at a pub in Wales (I'll take the vodka drink and the cider drink, please). The $9 are tucked safely in a tupperwear under my bed (no one rob me, please).

It's so much fun to let people know about my goal and keep them posted on the rate of my sucess. I feel like people are excited for me, which makes saving money so much fun. I love striving to reach a goal! I plan on making a little poster to help keep track of my savings volume.

There are a few road blocks in my way. I have to pay of my credit card and pay for my trip to San Diego for Heather's wedding before I can start throwing significant hunks of money in my savings account. So in other words, the saving process may start off slow, but it will snowball once my other financial commitments are taken care of.

In my next Welsh Savings Account Blog I will start brainstorming my travel plans.

Wish me luck!


The Plan

Total Savings Goal: $2,200

Total Savings So Far: $9

Amount Left To Save:$2,191

As Of Today:
One American Dollar = .50 British Pound



Photo from: http://www.d12world.com/board/showthread.php?p=3604052

Am I a total dork for thinking this is sooo cute?

Yes, I am.

I got bangs! My hair is so "now."

I got my hair cut and colored today! Linh from Teasing Ceasar does my hair and she always does a great job. I love the color of my hair (I'd say it's definitely auburn!) and I love how my hair looks with all the dead ends clipped off the bottom. And of course, there are the bangs to think of as well. I haven't had bangs since 6th grade and they looked horrid at that time. But bangs are "in" now, and I decided that if Rory from Gilmore GIrls looked cute with them, I probably would too. After all, it's just hair. Linh was glad I chose to cut them (I waited until the last minute to make my final decision).

It took three hours for 3 highlight/lowlight colors and a cut. Linh always forgets how much hair I have until she's about half way through my highlights and it seems like she should be done already.

I'm lovin' it. Linh said my hair went from hippie to hip today.

Bonus points for anyone who knows what movie I quoted for the title of this blog. Extra bonus points for those who can find another movie quote (from a different movie) within the text.

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.

Top Five Things I Am Looking Forward to This Summer

My sweetheart is leaving me come mid-June. Well, not really leaving me, but flying back home to Wales. Whenever I get upset about that, I try to think of all the cool things that are happening this summer.

1. Ashley and I are going to Seattle in the end of May!
2. Marissa is moving in with me in June!
3. Heather's Wedding in July!
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release in July!
5. Lots and lots of money from busy season at work. Time to start saving for some travel adventures!

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.

Getting excited!

Fashion (turn to the left) Fashion (turn to the right)

"My rule of thumb is always wear what you want, when you want. That will create your own personal style and that is fashion to me"

-Betsy Johnson

I found this quote in blog-land today and it reminded me of how I used to view my relation to fashion in the pre-What not to Wear/The Girls Next Door/America's Next Top Model/The Search for the Next Pussy-Cat Doll days. Ah, simpler times.

I think I watch too much T.V.

Skinny

You know what's better that stepping on the scale and discovering that you have actually lost a few pounds?

Looking in the mirror and looking like you lost a few pounds, regardless of what the scale says.

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.