Shots Suck

Thanks to Adit's wedding in Thailand next month, we had to get our shots. And thanks to our anxiety of shots (both Justin and mine), I passed out completely. Good thing I was sitting down. Poor Justin was trying to talk me back but he couldn't take it. He ended up on the floor with his legs up on the counter at the health department before his shots.

Once the smelling salt got me back, my blue lips went back to normal and I saw my husband on the floor. What was going on here?!

We are such babies.

Lucky me, I go back in one month for a booster. The nurse promised to have an ice pack and the smelling salts ready for me. And Justin promised not to go with me.

Family Cruise 2008

Starring Mom and Dad, Chris and Angel, Heather and Joe, Jessi and Justin.

Us waiting at the terminal while they found a "broken pencil" in my dad's carry-on. 10 points for the person who knows what a "broken pencil" is.

You too can exercise on vacation by running 10 miles on a cruise ship. It's only 60 laps. Easy!


It was only 99% humidity in Guatemala. It felt like 200% on a bike going uphill to see waterfalls.


Don't let your brain go to mush on vacation. Take a class! I learned how to make towel animals. Cute aren't they?


I knew I got my "boozing" gene from someone.


My sister, the iced tea.


Ok, there she is with her Joe. Or is it Joe and me and "oh there's Heather?"


On the boat in Honduras where we should have stayed. But Justin needed that trompo.

Incase you didn't know...

Las Vegas is terrible. For the third time during a holiday season, we've had packages stolen from our house. This time, the person came into our back yard and took it! I'm not in the holiday mood now even though my tree isn't done with decorations and my house doesn't have the lights up. Who knows if I'll put them up now. I don't even want to wrap anything or buy anything else.

The only thing I want to do is get new locks on the house and a security system and never have things delivered to the house.

Oh and MOVE!

Justin called it "Seasons Stealings." I think its appropriate.

**
Update: I called my shipper and they are overnighting my order for free...to my work address. Lesson learned. Holiday spirit back on.

Random Weekend Info

For the first time since living here in Las Vegas, we saw tons (and I really mean like 6 of them) of famous people in a 30 min time frame. After all our shopping on Saturday, my cousin drove in from North Carolina for the night. We headed over to the Palms 9 restaurant. We'd never been there but I'd heard great things about it.

We had to sit in the lounge but it was probably the best place to be. While hanging out, my cousin Josh and friend, Chuck, saw some basketball player. I have no idea who it was but they were EXCITED.

Not 10 minutes later, Big Pussy from The Sopranos and some other peeps came in (a comedian maybe). Then Mario Lopez (aka Slater) breezed by us and sat right behind us with a bunch of chicks. Sweet.

Then (yes, one more), Kid Rock came in. His hair is really stringy. Needless to say, my cousin and friend were impressed.

Also a first for us, we bought a Christmas tree. Justin doesn't remember that we had one our first year, but he went with it so I'll consider it a first. I LOVE it and our house smells so good. I also made some ornaments (marbleized) for it.

So tonight I'll finish decorating it while sipping cocoa and mini marshmallows that Justin made (yes he made marshmallows). We are total homemakers.

I knew he had it in him

It's amazing what one can do in 2.5 hours. Since the run I've been lazy. I'll admit it. But last night, I got home from work and cleaned my house. Not because we have company this weekend (well, mostly) but because things had been driving me nuts!

Actually what kicked it off was Justin. He's not the type to initiate cleaning but on Tuesday (sick day, and he was really sick), he organized the pantry! Guess he knew how annoyed I was about it. Or it could be the fact that he was sick of me buying canned vegetarian refried beans thinking we were low. (I tend to go through 2 cans a week.)

Either way, when I came home and saw him organizing the cupboards next to the fridge, I was shocked. He didn't say anything except, "I'm making my way around the kitchen." Naturally I thought he just started. But when I opened the pantry to get items out for dinner I was floored! He told me what shelf was what and where to find things. Oh, and we don't need anymore chicken and beef broth (a staple in my mind and you can never have too many) or refried beans. I just laughed and secretly thought I could easily fit 2 more cans in there.

I was so happy he started something without me asking! I knew he had it in him.

He didn't finish his project but we had plans to finish it last night. The plan was to hit up the British store and get some malteasers for his ice cream, go home and finish organizing the kitchen cupboards. Once we started, I couldn't stop. He stopped to make ice cream but I kept going. I figured if I gave myself until 8pm then I could relax. And that's what I did.

His little act of kindness/annoyance/boredom or whatever he was feeling made me happy. Maybe all the organizing shows I watch got through to him. Either way, I knew he had it in him.

Crappy Run...Literally

My second attempt at the Las Vegas Marathon was Sunday. Vowing to never do a full again, I did the half. 13.1 miles; still a lengthly distance and still difficult. But when you see the 6 mile marker, you're almost half-way done. So it's a good mental boost.

I knew I'd be on my own since Justin is faster than me and has done maybe three training runs at my pace. And my other partner injured herself as did her husband (who was to run with Justin) so they stayed back and took it easy. So we were on our own.

A few things I did differently with this run that cost me:

1. I didn't take the two nights before it seriously like I did with long distance runs while training for the full marathon. Nothing greasy, no beer, lots of water, sleep and stretching. I just thought, "eh, I've done 10 milers with no prep, I'll be fine!"

2. No headphones. I thought, "eh, I'm running in a big crowd, I don't need them!" The most boring part of the race was the second half. Why is that?

3. Not taking any precautionary meds with me. When I did the full, I had a few Advil and some Immodium in my pocket for emergencies. I didn't even have pockets this time! Stopping 4 times at the scarce port-o-potties was not fun or time saving.

4. Only hitting the restroom once before the race. See above.

Things I did differently this time that was rewarding:

1. Since my husband ran and we've got connections, he was able to put the medal on me when I crossed the finish line. That was sweet.

2. I wore pants not shorts. So I didn't freeze.

3. I had the endurance to run from water station to water station. Or from port-o-potty to port-o-potty. However you look at it. On the full, I was done at mile 20. And when I was done I mean done, I didn't want to take another step.

4. I didn't sleep the day away. I slept maybe 30 minutes and hung out the rest of the day. And I came into work today!

Do I have a sense of accomplishment? Maybe. I'm not really sure because it was a crappy run and I know I could have done better. But I finished. I guess there will be other runs out there, but I won't let people talk me into them either. I love the idea of doing races like that, but it's the training that I feel takes over my life for 6 months or longer. I'd rather casually train for something longer than 6 months so it doesn't seem so daunting.

Yesterday, when we got home, we watched the recording of the event, Justin asked, "I don't know how you did the full."

Honestly, I'm surprised too.

4 days left

And I promise I won't sign up for another marathon. Justin and I run the half this Sunday at 6am. The good thing about this is I'll be done no later than 9am (at my slowest), back in bed by 10am. Awesome.

I got a spa gift certificate from the directors at work. At "thank you" gift for all the work I did on the conference in October. I think I may make an appointment after the marathon for a spa day. Well deserved I think.

Justin and I got back from our Cruise to central America on Sunday. Minus a few days of bad weather, 3rd world countries with "one dollar" kids, and running 10 miles on the boat, it was a good trip with my family.

Pictures to come as soon as my sister sends me the 517 she took compared to the 20 we took. She was able to capture classic Jessi and Justin moments. You won't be disappointed.

What's that smell? Monarail! Oh I mean Tuna!

I just made tuna casserole for lunch. Everyone loves me.

Blocked

Ok, so I don't have anything good to report regarding the chili cheese burrito, mostly because I had a mental block. Since I've finally noticed how chubby I am, I'm starting to use that nutrition minor I got back in college and eat a bit better. Before I left work I visited Taco Bell's website; 370 calories and 16g of fat for on chili cheese burrito. Oh my garage! I just couldn't do that to myself. Seriously. No really, I couldn't. So I came home and had some yummy vegetarian, fat-free refried beans. Less than 300 calories and only like 4g of fat! (I had 2 servings. Totally worth it.)

I'm glad I've got that mental block there to stop me. But I'm sure some day it'll feel like this:




I wanted to yell at him to move so I could get a chili cheese burrito, but his gigantic head stopped me from overloading...oh and from enjoying about half the show that night. From what I heard it wasn't all that great.

A Miracle Just Might Happen Today

Planning ahead for my dinner, I was thinking it'd be a good bean burrito night. I'm craving refried beans as usual. But then, and this could be seen as a miracle in itself, our friend Poodle called me today. He figured with my extensive background and love of bean burritos I would already know this information he was about to tell me.

I didn't.

Turns out, he had a chili cheese burrito last night. Not one, but three! And he's not in Canada right now. If he was, that'd be a very mean joke. He had them in Las Vegas! Due to one of their high calorie specialties out right now, chili cheese nachos, they've brought back the burrito. No f-ing way!

So, I will go tonight and ask for one with confidence. And when they look at me with the usual glazed look, I'll just ask for my usual "pintos and beans". (Long story short, I didn't know pintos were beans. Justin has laughed at me for 7 years and counting.)

Full report tomorrow!

People's Choice

Not a very flattering photo, but eh, I'm chubby from all angles. The annual Halloween party was great. Not too many embarrassing photos and no scandalise stories to report. Everyone was "smoking" candy cigarettes and gum cigars. My tray was handy for a drink and camera tray. Everyone was totally jealous of the convenience.

As usual was, surprise surprise, the same girl won sexiest costume with her standard short skirt and boobage all over the place. No shock really. But what was shocking, Batman won sexiest male! Heck ya! You know you can't resist this:


And yet another surprise: I won the people's choice award outdoing the boobage girl! After 4 years, Justin and I won something. We were pretty excited. Can't you tell:

I am a Marketing Specialist Specializing in Travel Arrangements

Maybe today is "write about your work" day because over at Writinggal, she wrote about her past experience in an office. Luckily, she doesn't have to deal with dressing up when clients come to the office anymore. Or dealing with car pick-up problems with said clients. Or make sure clients get their breakfast and lunch and then their ride back to the airport. That seems to be my job ever since my company had our annual conference 3 weeks ago. That explains my lack of posts over the last two months.

In August I was asked to help with the conference by making all the travel arrangements. I was super excited. Finally I was going to do the job I was paid for; Marketing. Well on the bottom end of it. I didn't have to do all the planning and marketing materials that my boss had to do. I just did the travel arrangements. Oh and this was for 160 people. So ya, I was busy for 2 months. Booking flights, hotel, car service which always seems to be a fiasco. But for some reason that's the easy part - booking it. When the time comes for it to all come together, that's when it'll fall apart.

I really shouldn't judge myself so hard because everything actually went well. I was a mad woman for 3 days during this event. Everyone remembered me smiling, saying "hi," "what do you need," "I can do that for you," running around causing my bunions to hurt. But I got the job done no matter how hectic it was. It was almost like my days at Lone Star Steak House. But I didn't go home each night smelling like steak. The level of responsibility might have been too much for me. Because I got sick about a week later.

I thought I was done with it until today. Once again I was asked to take care of travel arrangements for about 10 people. Easy! But I should have known better. Actually the only thing that went wrong was the car was late picking up the guys. But they made it in time and all got fed and sent back home. One guy asked me what my official title was. "Marketing Specialist" I think he was looking for "Secretary" with all the arrangements I've been doing.

With our upcoming trip out of the country, I'm doing my own travel arrangements. Hotel, airfare, transportation but Justin will be my only client and I think I can smile at him all day long... but my bunions will still hurt.

Halloween Disappointment

Last night I wanted to finish my Halloween costume. I worked hard on making the top look like the costume I modeled it after - the Playboy cigarette girl. But once I started attaching the skirt I knew I should have just bought it. So with disappointment we went to the store to buy it. $60 later (so over priced!), I'm the owner of a costume that Justin says looks "to the tee" like the one I made. Well minus the skirt issue.

Had I known they used a swimsuit type fabric that would have made a HUGE difference. But I probably should have gone to the store to look at it first before tackling this project.

So now with mine out of the way, I'll be working on Justin's. I'll post pictures after the party since his is a secret. Need a hint? Last year the hot tub at the party was called "Justin's Cove" this year he's request it be called "Justin's Cave".

Halloween Party!

It's that time again for the annual Halloween Party! We've been working on our Halloween costumes since August. Ya ya, we know, we are crazy but we just get so excited for it! Shannyn and her husband Joe throw a great costume party so we have to take it seriously.

Justin's costume is a secret. He wants it to be a surprise. I say whatever. I don't want anyone showing up dressed like me so I've told anyone who's asked. I'm a "Cigar...Cigarette" girl. See the candy links on the right? Apparently they still sell candy cigarettes. I thought those were banned! So I bought them from Amazon. They smell so yummy. The cigars taste ok. It's gum and it's a lot of gum to chew. So I might be going home with a bunch of those.

I'm playing around with my hair to see if I can do it up 40's style. Since it's so long it might be hard. But I'll keep trying.

The fun part will be getting up at 5am after the party for our 11 mile run. I can't wait til the training is over and I can run when I want. It's true what they say - training's the hard part, running the marathon is easy. Glad I'm only doing the half!

Justin's foot is still bothering him so he won't be running 10 miles on Sunday. And I'm just bothered in general because I'll be running all 10.

I left my heart in Sam Franks Disco

This past weekend was our 6th wedding anniversary. Thank you to all who called and wished us a happy day. We actually celebrated it early by taking a trip to Northern California. We figured we should go before we move (not sure when that'll be, but it could be soon).

We had a weekend filled trip starting at Atwater California - my birthplace; Yosemite National Park - giant trees; San Francisco - where Justin mentioned he left his heart many times. I kept singing "be sure to wear sunflowers in your hair" (or is it "some flowers" in your hair?) It's an old song. If any one knows the song I'm mentioning, you're s-m-r-t!

Blink and you'll miss it - Atwater!

Learning about trees!

Big tree fell down!

I think Justin wasn't interested in the bridge when he took this picture. Nice dirt patch.

Not too bad for someone only 5 feet tall.

On our actual anniversary we went shopping, had a nice lunch and chilled for the rest of the day since we were running 9 miles on Sunday. Surprise to us they actually lowered the mileage to 7. But Justin and John ran the entire distance. Show-offs.

I know I'm slacking but there's a good reason!

After two weeks of craziness at work, I was finally able to relax somewhat this weekend. My mind was officially gone when I started to quote people flights from locations they weren't at. I knew it was time to go home on Friday.

I was determined NOT to think about work. (fyi: I'm planning this huge convention/show/event whatever you want to call it. Booking airfare, scheduling shuttles and anything else that goes along with it for 150 people.) It's all waiting for me today. Yeah!

I actually sewed on Saturday and Sunday. It was relaxed until I f-'d up my serger. Finally realizing I just needed new needles. I'm an idiot. I made 1 top and started on another one (hope to have it finished tonight). I still suck somewhat at sewing clothes but I'm learning. And the serger makes things look nicer. If I can only thread it faster.

Justin and I went out to eat on Friday. We read on our Thailand guide book to leave some food on our plate since it's a sign to the host that you were well taken care of. But it was mentally hard to leave any amount of a $20 piece of fish on my plate. But we managed to do it.

Oh and we are going to Thailand :) Justin's friend in Minnesota is getting married. So we are heading to Bangkok in January the day after my birthday for his wedding. But I still get to go to London for my birthday. Just a week later. We'll make it around the world. I think that's cool!

Well here's to a week that less hectic and idiotic. Oh and to a 3-day weekend on Friday!

It's Finals Week

2007 DCI season is coming to a close this week and I like to predict my top 12. Last year I was actually right with top 5. But it was easy to tell about half way thru who was going to place what.

This year, it's different. Honestly, I have no idea. The last show I saw was Phoenix where it was almost rained out right when the Colts came on. They stopped playing their opener and called it quits. We on the other hand went under the stadium hoping they weren't going to cancel it. I didn't drive 5 hours and pay $80 for 47+ plans to fly over every single corps then for it to rain.

At last, the rain let up and the Colts came back on...then it started again. This time, drizzling. They continued and did great on wet grass. Same with Crown (who's guard is awesome!), Regiment and Cavaliers. I zoned out after the 47th airplane passed over which says a lot for the last 4 shows. Not even an airplane could distract me. Great shows.

I can't predict this year and I'm not going to try. My opinion is just that and I'm not going to have people say, "Your crazy to think Regiment will be Cavies!"

I don't think I am. See some of you in Pasadena!

Whoppers vs. Maltesers

In 6 months, I'll be heading over to London for my 30th birthday. To get started with the celebrations, Justin and I have been reading about London, Great Britain, England and any other books on the area. It's really all the same isn't it my British friends? Just kidding.

Anyway, we visited our local British food store over the weekend. Justin's been on the hunt for these things called Maltesers. Apparently, they are the British version of whoppers. I like whoppers only at Halloween. They aren't an everyday type sweet for me. I don't even consider them a treat. Just another chocolate sweet in the sea of chocolate sweets.

But Maltesers are a bit different. Like all chocolates in Europe, they know what's up. Our chocolate can't even compare to this rich treat (yes, Maltesers are a treat). It takes this somewhat boring sweet to the next level. I actually like Maltesers and it's not even close to Halloween.

So if you have a British store in town, pick some up. They are also available on line.

Farming Life in Idaho

We can't afford them kids. We sprung for these fancy farming tools.

No, You Da-Hoe

Lesson learned: Don't take your heart rate monitor up to Idaho. It'll end up in a shoe bin in a camper of a cousin you haven't seen in 5+ years.

Oh, bring your fly swatter.