Back to Normal

Dudes, It's been a while since I've posted. I suck, I know. But with the RNC in town, everything was wacked out. Mostly my work schedule because of all the protesters and road closures in St. Paul (where I work), I got to do some of my work at home. Not a good place to be when a little dog wants to sit in your lap all the time.

Plus, PLUS.... it's cold here. It's only September! I'm not ready! My Wii Fit instructor jacket isn't going to cut it soon. I'll actually have to go winter coat shopping. I haven't done that since Utah. Oh man, I'm not looking forward to it.

Justin hates me for this minor complaint.

We went to the state fair last weekend (guess I should show you pictures too-but they are still on my camera. It'd be easy to load them up if I hadn't lost my cool usb memory card.), after visiting the Miracle of Birth center (where they display animals in pens giving birth), I decided not to eat any meat. I just couldn't do it. So I had homemade tator-tots on a stick. Oh man, they were good. But seriously, after about 3 hours there, I was done. Too many people, too many strollers, it seemed like we were always going against the crowd, so we left. But we managed not to spend all of our money so we were proud of ourselves. I think next year, we'll go during the week when it's less crowded.

My latest thing is Craigslist. We sold stuff on it right before we moved (and by stuff, I mean, most of our stuff), so I'm all about looking for deals. I know that we'll have to buy appliances for our new house (no word on the approval yet), so I've been hunting things down. What deals! People are even selling their kitchen cupboards and sinks! For now, I just need a washer and dryer. So far, it'll be easy to find.

Well, this has been the longest 4 day work week ever. EVER! So I'm off to stay busy before I go home for the day.

Have a great weekend.

Wii Fit Instructor!

I totally made my Wii Fit instructor fleece jacket. It's so soft, subby, and stylish! I used Jalie 2679 and it went together pretty easy. I did have a hard time sewing multiple layers of fleece, but I went slow and it turned pretty good.

Justin really liked it. He determined that it was a stylish pattern (how all the pieces make look "ready-to-wear") instead of it being just a boring looking jacket.

I actually finished my New Look shirt and it looks good too, but I haven't taken any photos of it yet.

On to a new project, just in time for the 3-day weekend!

Guess where I'm going tomorrow. The State Fair! After all these years of hearing Justin say, "We NEED to go." We're finally going, and I'm so excited. I don't think my belly will be excited but hey, I just signed up for a 5k so I'll just run it off :)

Have a great weekend everyone.

ADD

I saw Joe Lilly's brother driving a bus yesterday (if he has a brother). And for a second there, I thought it was JL because he looked at me, like he knew me.

I also saw a girl who hasn't shaved her legs in probably 4 months. But she had a new hair cut. What's the logic behind that?

I haven't seen this girl in a while.

Something smelled on the bus this morning. It wasn't me.

I decided out of the blue, to sign up for a 5k. Honestly, I needed something to do. Justin seemed to agree so he's in. A 5k after the half I did 7 months ago should be a piece of cake, right? I haven't run since the half so it's like I'm starting over. Again. Oh, sure, I've got lots of ideas to make my training better. But how much better am I going to get in a month to run 3 miles? Probably just enough to finish it. That sucks. Maybe I should have thought about this a little longer. Or picked a race further out. But this isn't Las Vegas and the weather starts getting cooler (read: freaking freezing) here sooner (read: like NOW!) so a race in October should be fine. Let's hope.

House update: No update. Oh, except the bank is taking their sweet-ass time deciding if the house is worth what I'm offering. Come on bank, you don't have any other offers on the dump, just approve me already will ya?

Who's upgraded to firefox 3.0? Do I have to upgrade to get rid of the stupid pop up that happens every 2 minutes? Seriously, it's irritating.

Who It Pays to Know

A Dermatologist, for one. I didn't have to make an appointment to freeze off this stupid, annoying little thing* on my heel. Mother-in-law did it for me, all in the comfort of my room. I asked, "Is this going to hurt?" I got an honest answer, "Yes."

Crap. I can't have my Mother-in-Law thinking I'm a wimp**.

I sat quietly and let my foot freeze to a temp of -190 (it thawed out pretty quickly), Justin, on the other hand, screamed like a baby when it was his turn. Mother-in-law and I just laughed. No co-pay needed. Score!

My blog is 3 years old. I've gone through 2 jobs and 2 homes in that time. I've been to some crazy parties and have had some crazy parties. I ran a marathon then I ran a 1/2. Scully has hasn't grown but I swear her ears have.

Now I can finally put to rest that I won't be sued by an old High School Band that I used to teach for, who I actually sued. The statute of limitations has passed. And they can't touch me now. This will be the first and last time I ever bring that up again.

*I hate to mention that I even have one because I think they are gross, but I developed a wart on my foot after the half marathon. Or was it after my trip to Thailand?

**Mother-in-Law knows about this story and has said on numerous occasions, "you'll never make it through child birth." Probably not, but that's what medication is for, right?

Super Sunday Savings!

I don't usually go to Hancock's for anything even though I am a "preferred card member," whatever that means. But I got a flier in the mail last week about a "Grand Opening" of a remodeled store not too far from me. It had patterns on sale for 99 cents, 50% off notions and a bunch of other coupons. I did need a few things so I decided to go on Sunday.

On the way up, I noticed that they were giving away gift cards to the first 100 people. Cool, but I wasn't worried if I didn't get one. We ended up getting two! I walked in first, they handed me a $5 gift card, then Justin walked in shortly after me and he got one too. Score $10!

So here's what I got:
Zipper for a hoodie I'm going to make
2 spools of Maxi-lock thread
Tracing wheel
3 patterns

All for $3! I actually could have used both $5 gift cards and got money BACK from Hancock's but I figured I could use it next week since the sale continues. (And they are giving out more gift cards Saturday and Sunday at this location.)

Something else I saved.... My New Look shirt. I had the collar attached and had just finished attaching the sleeves when it just didn't look right on me. I determined I needed a shoulder adjustment but of course I had to rip out the collar and sleeves to fix the shoulder. So I think I solved the bunchy problem. We'll see today when I attach everything.

Justin's super savings: Have you heard of this store, Aldi? I've seen ads for it in the Sunday paper but have never gone. Justin wanted to stop there after my score at Hancock's. It's a little weird that they make you pay a quarter to get a shopping cart but I think it makes up for all the deals you can score there. Here's what we got:

Bag of trail mix
Pringles
Bread
Tortilla's
Cheese
3-bacon wrapped filet's
energy drinks

All for $18! I told Justin to look at the dates on everything and they were all fine. Has anyone else shopped at that store? It's small but if you have a big family it'd be worth it to check it out.

But, no matter how much we saved, it all went out the window when we had to fill up Justin's car with gas. So much for Sunday savings.

Overheard at DCI Finals

At the bar:
"I want a happy ending." followed by a butt slap. (Things I OVERHEARD. I did NOT say this.)

At the show during Semi-finals. Cavaliers entering the field after a near perfect performance by Regiment:
"Samurai, you're going down!"
Followed by me, Jerry Springer style, "Oooooooo!"

After every good catch, the woman sitting behind me:
"Yesssss!"

"I am SPARTACUS!"

"And in 2nd place, with a score of 98.1......."

"The Blue Devils!"

However, the crowd was cheering for someone else!



Phantom Regiment deserved to win this year no question. Justin and I were really glad to be there to see it happen. I don't know what was more awesome, Regiment winning or Mike O. hugging me when they announced 2nd place. It was a momentous occasion either way. I guess he doesn't hate me ;) and I guess Regiment can do a Roman show and win.

Crafty Planet around the Corner

Seriously, I had no idea this was like 3 miles from my house. Oh my garage I'm so excited! We went for dinner on Johnson street last night and I saw it and was totally like, "No way!!!"

Because my luck is so incredible, the restaurant took so freaking long for dinner that the store closed before we even got our food. Boooo. And I'm going out of town tomorrow so I won't be able to go this weekend. Double boooo. But it will be there for me when I get back.

And for your weekend enjoyment, I love me some good roommate miscommunication.


Mmmm I'm craving some Chicken Makhani!

Many updates or post with no direction

Update on the house situation: It'll be a while. I don't want to jinx it so I'm not going to post about it. But I do want to say, that I'll have my own sewing room if we get it! (this sucker has 4 bedrooms, and last time I counted, there's only 2 of us.)

Update on the hair situation: It's still long even though I did entertain Mike's idea of a fro for about 3 seconds. I swear my hair was thick when I was little. What the hell happened? It's all nice and straight and thinned out. Any suggestions on getting thickness back? No? Won't happen? I knew it. I think I'll let it grow another couple inches and then chop it off. Maybe something between a fro and what I have now.

Update on transportation issues: My a/c sucks in the silly car. But I'm not too worried now because I think the summer heat waves are gone here in Minnesota. The bus, however, is another story. They keep it freaking freezing. I purposely leave work late so I can walk fast to the bus stop just so I'm warm getting on. By the time we get to my stop (the last stop) I'm good. But in the morning, that's a whole different story.

This morning I saw a chick, probably younger than me, get on the bus at my stop. Her tongue was sticking out. Like her lips were too big to keep that thing in. I kept trying to sneak-a-peak to see if maybe she was just licking her lips or trying to cool her tongue off. Nope. I'm sure it's nothing medical cause when she talks her lips close. What's that all about? So weird.

Update on the sewing front: I'm almost done with my New Look shirt. I've never done a shirt with a collar before. It was interesting but I got it to work. Now I just have to attach the sleeves, buttons and hem it up.

I've actually got a good setup in the basement right now. I'm sure the in-laws hate the fact that I've used their pool table for tracing patterns. But I haven't damaged it and don't plan to. It's just convenient.

Update on DCI: It's this weekend. I can't wait. Regiment just might pull off a win this year. Oh, and I AM SPARTACUS!

Spolier Alert

Who was/is a fan of The X-Files? That's what I thought. I seem to be the only one. Even Justin was leery of the show when he moved in with me 8 years ago. But I held my ground and watched it weekly. So did Justin by default and guess what...he started to like it.

Consider yourself warned if you haven't seen the new movie and want to. I've got some things to say.

We saw The X-Files this weekend. I liked it for many reasons. Mulder and Scully are still hot. It was creepy. No, there weren't any aliens but remember, half of the series was about faith, religion, medical experiments, and generally weirdos doing weird things to each other (Think "Home" or "Blood" or "Aubrey").

Once you realize that, then it's just one really long episode; much like their season finale cliffhangers. But this time you didn't have to wait 4 months for the conclusion. The best part, Amanda Peet dies. She wasn't really adding anything to the movie and neither was her sidekick, Exhibit-however he spells his name. Skinner would have been fine in that role. And for every fan who wanted Mulder and Scully to hook up....well, I won't spoil that for you.

It wasn't a summer blockbuster but I still enjoyed it as one last X-Files episode. Now I want to watch them all again from the beginning. Thinking back, the episodes were detail oriented but you never got the answers. Just more questions, leaving you unable to wait for the next episode because you just.had.to.know.now! Now who can tell me what current show that sounds like?

______________ Economics?

I like my long hair. But you can't do much styling with long hair. The last time I got it cut, which wasn't that long ago, it was layered and I could part it with a nice side sweep. But my hair grows like weeds. So now it's just long again. Nothing awesome.

I want to cut it. Short. Not "mom" short but above my shoulders. But I'm thinking that would be too short for my face (think round and chubby). Plus I shed like no other and I'm tired of long hairs all over the place.

So, internets, should I cut it short?

Still haven't heard anything on our house offer. I hope (if they accept) we'll be able to close by October. That seems reasonable right? You know, cause it's August 1st and October seems so far away.

Speaking of it being August, DCI finals are next week and I haven't given any predictions this year. Honestly, I saw one show at the beginning of the season and I hung out at the beer tent all night so it's hard for me to say.

It's down to Blue Devils and Phantom from the scores I've seen. Obviously, I'd love to see Phantom win. It's my 10-year anniversary of my rookie year (not that actually means anything-cause we sucked back then. Well, I guess it's all relative because for a corps NOT to make it to finals would suck and we finished 8 out of 12). With each passing year I drift further and further away from the activity that took up so many years of my young adulthood. I miss WinterGuard and I want to teach again. Actually, I just want to clean. Anyone want a really good cleaner? Anyone? Bueller? (voodoo economics)

This weekend's plans:
Sew up my New Look shirt.
Play Rock Band with Justin
Sleep
Possible trip to the Salon
Go see The X-Files

What's everyone else doing?

Summer Projects

I realized my serger mistake after thinking about it on the way home from work. Needles. I need new needles. I knew I had 2 left so I ordered more. But I was able to finish my knit top until 1 of my needles broke (I rule again). So before I can do my coverstich, I have to wait for my new needles to come in.

But I did finish this 2 weeks ago:



It makes these muggy Minnesota summer's easier with the silkiness of the fabric. Oh, and trying to hem it was a pain but I did it very carefully. I entered it in this Sew-Along.

Up next on the sewing front: New Look 6407
It's been done many times, with positive results, so I figure it's pretty good.

I went to the dentist today and not only did I get my teeth cleaned and thoroughly examined, I also got a paraffin hand treatment. I need one of these at home! I'm sure I looked funny with my hands in mittens to keep the wax on, protective glasses, with my mouth wide open. Good news: she had nothing to clean, my mouth was perfect (I rule). Bad news: I have to make up the 3 hours I lost.

Let's hope this works

I guess we could have spared ourselves about 2 months of house hunting and just gone with the first house we agreed to. Lucky for us, it was still on the market so we put an offer in on Saturday. Unfortunately, it's in foreclosure so this could take a while.

In the mean time, I decided to whip out my serger. I wasn't going to use it at all but thought why not. Of course, since it had been many, many months since I last used it, the instructions had to come out too. I had this knit top all cut out before we moved so I wanted to finish it last night. I threaded it and all was well until I had to change the stitch - it didn't like what I did so I gave up before I screamed. And I was almost done too. I suck.

I've actually completed more clothing projects while living here than in Las Vegas. Well, a lot of my projects in Vegas were totes, purses, and bags, none of which I've done here. It's easy to come home after liking your job and want to work on a fun project. In Vegas, my job sucked the life out of me at home and I didn't want to do anything. So the way I see it, the move was worth it.

1 Week

Justin made it to Minneapolis last Thursday. Now he's all set up to start working on his secret "x-files" and get his stuff up and running.

Speaking of "X-Files" I'm so excited to see the movie. Scully is really excited to hear her name on the big screen. She had no idea she was famous. I think it's weird there aren't very many commercials for the movie. I hope it's good, but the fact that Amanda Peet is in it is worrisome.

We saw "The Dark Knight". It was pretty good. Batman beats up his mom and sister and the Joker overdoses. Oh wait, wrong movie.

We're still house hunting. I think I'm ready to take a break. I swear I've looked at 30 houses. I don't know how the "House Hunters" do it with only 3 choices and I think their agents are lame.

Last night we got to relive our trip to Thailand for Adit and Paveena's wedding. Paveena is finally here so we met them for dinner and watched the wedding video. 2 hours and 4 beers later, the video was done. Justin was shocked that it was 2 hours, I said "It was 4 days long! 2 hour is nothing!" We all agreed. We're already talking of our next trip back to Thailand. We should just move there the way our dollar is here, but it's too hot and I moved away from that for a reason. Maybe when I retire.

Counter

I expected one. I got one. I declined it. So now I'm waiting for them to decline my offer.

Unrelated: Justin is finally on his way here! The last time I saw him was June 15th, and he DIDN'T look like this:



Who is this man??

House Hunters Minneapolis Pt. 2

Will it be house #1 with mold growing up the wall from the basement to the first floor? (I only made it one step into the house before I turned around and left. Seriously, Realtors, don't you think that type of information should be in the listing?)

Or

House #2 with 11 different rooms? This house must have been a school or boarding house or a whore house with all of its bedrooms, it was so big!

Or

House #3, close to where the train will be, beautifully redone, with so much charm it makes YOU (or me) look bad?

Which do you think?

Randomness from Jessi

I've had my cell phone for 4 years (or close to it). It still works so I seen no use getting another one. But Justin needs a phone so he's adopting mine and I got a new one! So, if you want our new numbers, email me.

Justin has 2 more days at work. I'm sure he's excited to leave and be a stay-at-home-dog-watcher. Scully will love him for that.

House hunting is still in full swing. It doesn't help when you do find a house you like and someone who hasn't seen it decides it's too close to where he grew up. So I'll keep looking.

(this post is full of randomness, keep reading if you want to)

I've got new wrinkles around my eyes. But the best part about them (if there is any), they only show up when I smile or laugh. That leads me to believe that my 30 years of smiling and laughing is a good way to make wrinkles.

I put on lotion this morning that I haven't worn since our round-the-world trip. It reminds me of Bangkok. I'd love to go back. I still can't believe that I flew over the biggest body of water for a wedding. Now I know that when something is 400 baht, just buy it. It's only $12! (roughly)

Since airfare is so expensive right now, Justin and I might be missing DCI finals for the first time in years. The dumb thing: we already bought airfare to Indy...from Las Vegas. Lucky us, South West Airlines doesn't fly from MSP at all. We suck and so does everything that's going on with fuel costs. Update: I found a reasonable flight. Now I don't have to spend $1,000 to go to Indy!

Can someone tell me what "Change" Obama is talking about? Just wondering. Because I know the obvious change: A new president.

SUTA

I'm sorry to the person who came across my blog looking for that meaning. You'll never find it online unless you join Phantom Regiment. I'm not even sure if the staff know unless they are alumni.

House Hunters Minneapolis

Will it be house #1 with everything I want but in a crappy neighborhood?

Or

House #2 with a HUGE garage (and by huge I mean almost bigger than the house) in a great neighborhood but needs a new kitchen?

Or

House #3 with an interesting layout but with a surprise in the basement. A hot tub in f-ing up the entire house with the humidity.

(rotting out the windows, ceilings, carpet, EVERYTHING)







I think I'll keep looking.

Here it Comes!

The caffeine crash is coming. I can feel it.

Hopefully I'll recover fast because I've got my very own episode of House Hunters after work.

(Ok, it's just me, my agent and my father-in-law. I do like to walk through the houses like I'm on the show, but I don't like to touch anything.)

Workout

While Justin and I are apart I've got a lot of time on my hands at home. The in-laws do their own thing and I do mine. We meet for dinner but the rest of the night is left to me just hanging out. I needed something to do so I bought Workout: One-On-One Training with Jackie. I was reading reviews of this video and apparently she attracts married, 30-somethings. Hey, that's me!

I figured, why not. I like her show, she's hot, and I liked the format idea for this. It got good reviews. Here's mine: Basically, it's 3, 20 minute sections: core, lower body, and upper body. Everything you do is for 60 seconds. The moves are simple and yet busted my ass. I seriously couldn't walk for 3 days after doing the lower body. I didn't think I was out of shape that much.

She's pretty straight forward during the video. Doesn't cheer me on annoyingly, tells me how my form should be, basically like a trainer should. I'm finally able to do 2 of the 3 in a day. It's tiring but I feel so much better afterwards. Hopefully, I'll be able to do all 3 sections by next week.

I call this my lesbian workout and I love it. So if you're looking for something to do with good eye candy to keep you motivated(there's a cute guy and 3 chick trainers from Sky Sport too) then check this out.

On a totally unrelated note: I had a caffeinated latte today (first time in a very long time) and I'm totally wired, shaky, and I wrote this in about 35 seconds (excuse the crappy grammar please). I expect to crash soon.