my life... take three

Things I Think About

2009-04-29T11:12:00.004-04:00

In no particular order.

1. Why the janitor is not concerned that they are putting the rolls of toilet paper on WRONG every single day. Is this on purpose? To drive me INSANE?

2. There is an obscene amount of women who walk around with their winter jackets and do not take the string out of the back pleat of their jacket. This criss cross stitch is ONLY there so the manufacturer can ship the product and the store can put it on display w out the pleat getting all messed up and needing ironing. The women that walk around with this string in their coats look like huge bubble asses and probably dont realize that they look like assholes. Clearly this one actually really bothers me. Some days I almost want to walk up to these women and tell them.

3. skinny jeans. Unless you are actually really skinny (like my sister in law) these DO NOT LOOK GOOD ON YOU.

4. how are skinny jeans AND wide legs BOTH in fashion right now? I cant keep up.

5. I'm concerned that there is something wrong with me when I prefer Extra to The Evening News. Except this swine flu thing - its fascinating to me and I cant read/see enough about it. Also Pirates. Also fascinating. All other news sucks.

6. How some of the people I see on a daily basis have multiple $2,000 bags. Their closets could be sold to mortgage my condo.

7. Why I still feel the need to drink like im in college.

8. Why when i do drink like i did in college it hurts WAY more.

9. I'm currently obsessed with how enormous my boobs have gotten - why are they bigger? eh! (I'm sure I'll get a few death threats from my not-so-well-endowed friends out there for that one)

10. Baby names. I bet you every time someone has a kid and names it something cute about half of their girlfriends are pissed they didnt get knocked up first to steal the name.

11. I never thought I'd be able to sleep with someone who snores or is a weird sleeper. Apparently now im ok with having a dog sleep on top of my head while snoring very loudly and randomly farting throughout the night.

12. I wish I could get back into making jewelry. I should take a class on how to do it the right way. That way it will be more fun.

13. If i was loaded I'd be a walking Anthropologie catalogue.

14. Brett likes to announce "we're fat" while eating something really bad. Buddy - thats not going to help.

15. I wish I could tell some reps where to go. No, I dont want to meet you if I have never heard of your site/magazine/radio station/ TV station. WHY would you think that would be interesting to me? Do you think I have hours in my day to learn something new? riiigghhhttt. Send me a media kit.

16. Even though I wish I could tell off these reps I am trying to be nice. Sometimes its not easy.

17. My biggest pet peeve about all of these cold calls/emails I get is when someone says "I'm calling about XXX client that XX person told me you run." Oh really - I dont have that client and I dont know that person. Then they openly admit that they were reading off a sheet OR that they just copied the same email over again to send it to me after I call them out on it. Drives me insane.

18. Another thing that drives me insane are those people who dont move out of the way on the subway or bus when you are trying to get out. "Look bitch you arent going to get where you are going any faster until I get off this bus so move your ass"

19. My dog smells good. My parents dogs dont smell good. Is Billie just less oily or something? I touch my parents dog and she smells like "dog". I wash my hands. Its weird.

20. We just got my car fixed - new transmission. This means that Brett will be the first one to get a new car when we need one since mine is all set for years. Not like I wasnt expecting that but now he has a great excuse.

21. I still really want to know who sent me that coconut in high school.

22. If I cant be funny in a facebook status what makes me think that Twitter is ok for me. I think i'll stick to this.

23. I try not to tell people I dont like football. Then i'll never get free tickets. Not a fan of the game but the tailgating is a blast!

24. I fantasize about the places I will live due to moving for the coast guard. most likely i'll live in crappy places but hey its fun to dream huh?

25. do the playboy Girls Next Door really sleep with Hef? I REALLY want to know this. I'm sure you do too.

Thats it! I'm sure I'll have more later... hehe

Tape Worm

2009-04-29T11:02:00.002-04:00

I think I have a tape worm. I'm going to call him Marty. I'm hungry all the time. Its probably just being bored at work but it sucks. Marty is constantly yelling at me and forcing me to think about walking to the ice cream store or eating the candy in the dish in my office. Its no fun. I hate my tape worm.

And nooooo for all of you reading this. I am not with child. This is me. All the time. Starving! Damn you Marty.

bridesmaid.. hopefully better than the first time

2009-04-13T13:39:00.002-04:00

So this weekend I went with my sisters to pick out and try on bridesmaid dresses for Maggie's upcoming nuptials. The place was kinda gross but if the dress is cheap... I'm in!

We tried on several dresses - we should have tried on the really gross ones and taken pics but I wasn't thinking about blog postings on Sat. Sorry blogosphere!

We did find a lovely dress that fit both Dee and I well. The one problem is that my boob-o-licous body was a little well... overflowing from the top. Now most women (including little sis Dee) would say there is not a problem with overflowing boobs but I tend to disagree. They were overflowing into my armpits and didn't really allow me to put my hands to my sides. Hmmm should we have gotten another dress?

My favorite part of this whole experience is the obligatory "you can wear it again!" No, you can rarely ever wear it again. Well, scratch that. You can wear it again but only on Halloween if you are a Drunk Bridesmaid or the Tooth Fairy. I was both of those when I used my first bridesmaid dress which was bubblegum pink with 3 1/2 foot around toole gown with spiky rosettes along the top of the dress. I was a drunk ballerina during the entire wedding. Because the bride was screwing some other dude up to the night before her wedding I decided to get shitfaced and twirl a lot in my ballerina dress while screaming "Im a drunk ballerina! look at me! Im drunk! woo hoo! Look at me twirl!" all while humming the song from the Nutcracker.

A little knowledge and a need for a lot of education

2009-04-08T14:47:00.002-04:00

I don't know how I discovered Dooce but a couple of years ago I did and she's really an interesting blogger. I'm in love with her pictures of how she dresses up her dog and the hysterical stories about raising a child and a puppy at the same time.

Today's post was something I wouldn't normally pay much attention to but it was very interesting. I don't have children yet but I do think that I'd want to learn as much about vaccinations as possible. I had many interactions with Autistic children when I worked at a local children's shoe store for years. Many customers came in to have us fit the shoes of their autistic children and knew who should be their sales person depending on gender or personality. This understanding of what their child could or wanted to handle and control I am sure took months and years of education and study. If I saw my child change and take on autistic characteristics after something like a vaccine I would make sure I knew as much as I could.

What I am saying is... I see both sides. I can see the side of the autistic parent who is so passionate about their child's condition that they will try to find any way to make that not happen to anyone else. I can also see the side of most of the population who feel that a child that is not vaccinated could be a danger to many people including young babies and children, the very ill and elderly.

Personally when it is time for me to have children I think I will educate myself. I will see if there is a middle solution that allows my child to be vaccinated but perhaps at a less aggressive schedule of treatment. My husband and his job would force us to travel a lot and that means vaccinations.

The more I write what my opinion is the more I know I need to educate myself. I'm so thankful for blogs and interesting news stories to force me to think and educate myself on issues that I might not be aware of otherwise. yay blogosphere- thanks for making me think twice about the world we live in.

Here is a link to the article again:
http://dooce.com/2009/04/07/word-or-two-about-vaccinations/#comments-start

Ultimate Fighter

2009-04-06T09:26:00.002-04:00

my dog thinks she is employed by Vince Mcmahon of the WWE. She is short and stalky and flights well... like a bulldog. She is strategic and doesnt exert herself like other dogs.

Here are a couple of examples of Billie's take down techniques.

1. Ankle Bite - if a dog is running around her and teasing her she will simply sprint after them for a second and bite their back ankle. This is immediate take down where she then pounces on them and bites their ears etc. Hysterical. Dogs dont know its coming.

2. Flying Puppy - this is when she is playing and she is close to a park bench. She jumps on the bench and flys onto the other dog knocking him over. Also hysterical. A real crowd pleaser.

3. Body Slam - since Billie Jean is 50 pounds but only a little over a foot tall she can also just take out dogs by slamming into them. If they are taller she slams into their legs and they fall over. She also can do this to adults. I always keep a wide stance at the dog park so I'm not body slammed by my own dog.

4. Side Slam - Sometimes there are dogs that in playing with Billie Jean they feel the need to run around in a big circle to get away from her. It usually works for a minute until Billie catches them mid circle and side slams them mid run. This is why we call her strategic. She doesnt need to run the full circle - she just finds the point that is closest to her and sprints to the side slam. Works every time.

5. Statue - this is pretty self explanatory. She puts herself in the running path of a dog to take down and just stays there like a statue. The dog doesnt assume she wont join in the running so they plow right into her. She holds her ground (since she's so close to it) and the dog falls over or sometimes launches themselves over her body. This is really funny since Billie normally doesnt flinch throughout the entire thing and the other dog just got flung.

6. Sneak Attack - Billie is really good at making you think she isnt paying attention to you. She does the sneak attack to dogs and humans alike. You will be sitting there minding your own business when she just walks up and bites you. Sneak Attack! She did this to me this morning.

Stay at Home Mommy

2009-04-06T09:13:00.002-04:00

So Brett and I had an interesting talk this weekend. We discussed how when we have kids Brett thinks that one of us should stay home. Since he makes like double my salary it would probably be me. I never in my life thought I'd be the kind of woman who would be a stay at home mom. Not that its a bad thing but I just never was the type - I love to work.

When we were talking it wasn't a big shock to me that Brett said that. Our Coast Guard life can bring us to various places across the country and its possible that I wont be able to work in all of those places. I think that gives me a much better feeling about Brett's thoughts.

If we were living in Boston, NY, SF, Seattle I think I'd have a very difficult time staying home and raising children. Now if we were in Hawaii or Savannah I think I'd feel very differently. I also have a boss now that is a freelancer with my agency in Boston. I see her once a month or sometimes more and I talk to her all day. When her kids are at school we have our client calls and when they are out of school I usually only call her when I have to ask a question. I think I could do that. I could work from home as a part time freelancer for an agency that needs me - regardless of where I live.

When I worked from home before it was an impossible situation with an impossible client. I also felt as though I had no choice but to take that situation and not complain. This time I have a choice and I know better. No one has to suffer that much in their job. No matter the pay. I am at the level in my job where I could be a huge asset (and I do believe I currently am) to any agency. I'd also have my dog to keep me sane and possibly some day some kids to keep me insane.

I guess we'll see what life... or the Coast Guard brings us.

Krav Maga Part 2

2009-03-28T15:29:00.003-04:00

So today I went to an intro session for Krav Maga. I figured I had not taken a class since November so it was a good opportunity to go back. It was great. I didnt feel like i was going to die after the first class last time. I was great. I even looked good sweating.

So I signed up for 6 months. Its quite expensive and after the new transmission the Honda needs I'm pretty sure Brett's going to put me on a no spending lock down.

I do think I need something and its perfect to get me energized about getting a bathing suit body. Notice I didnt say bikini. hahaha now that would be a miracle!

My friend Amy is also taking a month worth of classes with me before she is transferred to Seattle.

Obviously I want to do it for the confidence and exercise but i also think its a pretty cool skill to have. I feel cool and tough. Is that bad? Who doesnt want to feel cool and tough?

Now I just hope I dont get any bruises like this one before I have to attend my summer weddings or events. oops.

Happy St.Patty's Day

2009-03-17T10:21:00.004-04:00

The old black homeless man in the T was singing Danny Boy this morning. I guess its St.Patty's day where even the black homeless dudes in Boston are Irish!

I am not wearing green b/c the shirt did not look OK with the pants I had on and I didn't want to iron again. I am wearing my green emerald shamrock earrings. OR should I say my mothers green emerald shamrock earrings. I love these things. I wear them once a year and I just love it. I also think my sisters are pissed that I have these in my possession. ha ha ladies!

Later today I am going to a Coast Guard Spouse's Association event for St.Patty's day. I'm not so sure how I feel about the Coastie Wives after this incident but I will give it another try.

"oh Danny Boy!"

2009-03-09T22:02:00.003-04:00

So for the past couple of days I have been wondering why I feel so weird. I sit weird. I walk weird. My clothes feel weird. I have constant weggies. Then today I figured it out. I'm getting fatter on one single side of my ass. I literally have a fat ass... on the right. I officially have a lopsided ass.

How do I suck the fat out of a single ass cheek?

Sasha claims I'm lucky to even have an ass. I told her she just thinks that because hers are evenly distributed. If she had a lopsided ass then maybe she wouldn't think I was so lucky. Then... we'd be soul sisters. Ass sisters.

So for all you people who don't believe me I took some Photo Booth pics. To PROVE my ass-ets aren't the same.

I was able to get Billies ass into this second one. She has a more symmetrical ass with cowlicks in her hair. Its a very cute ass.

Fashion + Jaci = Fear

2009-03-08T18:11:00.003-04:00

My new agency has a lot of fashion clients. Every week it seems we are meeting with new fashion clients. Its a really new world for me and its very exciting. Last week I was in NY for a new business meeting for a great fashion brand. I was told I was traveling to NY on Monday and the meeting was the next afternoon. Obviously I made myself available but then started freaking out about what to wear. The last new biz meeting I went to I was one of the 4 people in the meeting wearing a black turtleneck. The owner of the fashion company asked us if "we were attending his F**king funeral". It was pretty funny but I was quite mortified. No more black turtlenecks.

The professional world has gotten more casual. I think a lot of people at my agency and other local agencies wear jeans every day. I am not that person. I have issues feeling professional in jeans.

Monday night after work I went out shopping for an outfit to wear. I was not wearing another black turtleneck. I tried on literally every dress in the store, suits, and tons of shirts. Literally nothing fit or looked good. I finally ended up with a white button down (so fashionable huh?) and paired it with a nice wool pant and wool jacket I had at home. I dressed it up with a big beaded necklace.

The meeting was great. I left feeling great but wondering If I'd ever fit into this world. I'm not really that funky and I pretty much have only 2-3 nice shirts/pants which means I wear the same thing every week. Oops!

i also dont think this economy will allow me to buy some more fashionable clothes. Does anyone have any tips for me? How do I take a bland closet and make it cool?

Dermablend is my friend

2009-03-08T17:59:00.002-04:00

I get hives. All the time. For really any reason. For no reason at all. Its awful. Well... its not THAT awful. Its just really a pain in my ass.

In high school I never really had them - then one awful prom date asked me over to his house so his parents could take enough pictures to wallpaper their house, cottage and car interiors. I looked great. Minus the red blotches ALL over my face and body. That was really D day for me. Since then I have been aware of my hive issues and tried very hard to hide them at all times. Most days that means scarves, turtlenecks and carefully placed hair, hands and folders to hide my neck.

Once during a presentation a friend said that she couldn't pay attention to my speech. She just kept watching my neck and face as tiny little red blotches popped up and then just kept coming until they took over everything in one single red blotch. Good times.

In business my hives are a point of weakness. It shows that I'm nervous even if I'm not really nervous. I have done a pretty good job of hiding them but I cant wear a scarf or turtleneck everyday w out people thinking some odd things. When I worked in San Fran my office colleagues had a poll. A couple people thought I had hickeys or a nasty scar and one thought was that I was really a dude hiding an adams apple. After all I WAS in San Fran.

The good thing is that I can also "hide" them by being tan. My wedding was perfect. Not a blotch in sight because I was perfectly golden tan. I cant do that 365 days a year. A couple of months ago I found out that I can hide my hives with some dermablend makeup. Its a very thick makeup that I used as a teen to hide my tattoo for years. I decided to give it a try for my neck. It worked and I'm happy.

Now I can wear button down shirts and v-neck's w out the fear of the blotches coming out like i have chicken pox. dermablend is my friend. Now I need to find something to hide my fat. Somehow I dont think thats going to be as easy as some makeup. damn.

friends vs basketball

2009-02-27T08:56:00.003-05:00

So Brett and I got a wedding invite yesterday. Brett looked at the date and realized last year we were doing something very special... seeing the Celtics win their championship. We aren't sure what to do. Its possible that they get knocked out in round 2 and wont even make it to the Finals.

The wedding is in New Orleans so I immediately want to go. The groom is a guy that was on the ship with Brett but I have never met him. I'm not sure the last time they saw or spoke but he's a dude and apparently that's pretty normal.

Brett was the best man in a wedding for a guy that I had never met. When we flew out to CA for the wedding it was like no time had went by. That's when I realized that things like time and lack of communication don't matter much for guys.

Anyways - in addition to Ryan being an old friend of Brett's and the wedding in a cool location we also have several friends in the NOLA area. Anna and Bull are there in NOLA and Andy and Jen are about an hour away. I haven't seen Anna and Bull in well over a year and Andy and Jen haven't been to Boston in about 3 years. It would be a great vacation but the one hang up is possibly missing the Finals.

What should we do? I think it might be easier for them at first to know that we will try to make it. We will be able to give them notice and hopefully it doesn't screw things up. The other thing we could do is just fly down for the weekend but then it sort of makes the big visit to the rest of our friends impossible.

Obviously we will wait and figure this out but what do you think?

Game

2009-02-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

Another one of my favorite games to play on the T is "guess the gender"! For example this morning there was a person with a stalky figure and a really long pony tail. Seeing this person from behind I began the game...

Pony tail- 1 for chick
Bad outfit- toss up
Stalky physique- toss up
Ring on finger- 2 for chick
Sneakers- toss up (small feet)

Wait on second! Facial hair! Hhmmm I think its an ugly ass dude. That's it for todays game folks! Hopefully next week there will be more fun to be had on the T. Have a good weekend!

music in the T

2009-02-25T16:33:00.004-05:00

So with the new job I now have a different commute. I think Ive blogged before about how much it sucks. There are a few bright spots. A few things that make me smile or laugh on my way to work.

One of them is the music on the T. I get off at Downtown Crossing to change trains (did I say my commute sucks... eh!) and there is always some interesting music. First there is one guy whom i think might be homeless. He strums away at his guitar and screams loudly "JESUS! OOOHHHH JESUS" in some sort of melody. This morning he was singing "Ive been working on the railroad". Now what does that have to do with Jesus? I wish I stuck around to the second verse.

Then there is the couple (i assume they are a couple because...) that brings this HUGE karaoke machine down to Downtown Crossing subway station and they turn that bad boy on. Microphone and everything they belt out some Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and Dione Warwick. Now the odd thing is that its a guy and a girl but they aren't there together. I cant imagine there are two different people EACH with a karaoke machine singing away for coins in Downtown Crossing. That would be even funnier.

Now since I'm changing trains I don't mind my morning music since I literally get off the train and walk past them to another platform. If I had to stay on the platform and listen to more than 30 seconds of "That's What Friends Are For" then I might be blogging about a very different emotion.

Music is one of the little things that makes me laugh. I also laugh when I overhear conversations. The other day was one of the best ones in a while. I was walking into the T and this woman was walking out. All I heard her on the other side of a cell phone call saying "Did you find them?" "What?" "No, the bottom ones" "Damn I lost my bottom teeth".

I almost fell over. It was too good to be true. Was this woman really talking on the phone in public to another person about how she LOST her bottom teeth. Priceless.

49

2009-01-29T09:55:00.002-05:00

So on Tuesday my dad turned "49". I felt bad because I missed his birthday due to traveling for work. When we were kids we'd ask Dad what he wanted for his birthday or Christmas and he would always answer with: "Good grades" so we'd buy him socks.

This year I'll get him some socks and maybe a nice shirt to go with them.

Happy 49th Dad! ;)

Some Clouds. Cold. Low 1F.

2009-01-15T13:44:00.004-05:00

Honestly who chooses to live like this? Tonight its going to 1 degree outside. That dog better pee faster than she has ever peed before on tonight's walk!

Poor Brett had to do a boarding very early this morning. He has got to be miserable.

I am hoping for a nice warm night inside the house. I hear its just going to get worse this weekend. Last night my mother in law called Brett. It was 80 degrees in Southern Cali. gggrrrrrr!

sleeping habits

2009-01-03T23:00:00.003-05:00

Brett and I have a queen bed... and a 50 lb bulldog. Normal people have the dog sleep on a bed of their own on the floor. She has one of those. Never touched. Other dogs might sleep at the end of the bed protecting their parents. Our dog sleeps between us in the bed. When Brett leaves in the morning she doesn't go to his side of the bed. Instead she comes up and lays on my head. She likes to put her head either on my neck or directly on top of my head. I move so she isn't breathing into my face and her heavy head and wet jowls aren't on my face. Her body then wraps itself around my head while taking up 90% of my pillow. She then pushes her paws into my head, neck and shoulders to make more room for her body on my pillow. I eventually wake up to find that I am no longer sleeping on the pillow. I pull her body off of my pillow. She then sleeps between the two pillows on the bed, snoring into my pillow. Her little legs are stretched out and as I try to get comfortable i end up sleeping on top of dog legs.

This is how my day starts. Everyday between 6am and 7:30am. Breathing my dogs breath and sleeping on her little legs.

The dog is always the most comfortable person in the room. As I write this I am sitting/laying on the couch with my legs bent to the side. The dog is laying down with her body on the other side of my bent legs. The way to picture this is the dog is taking up 90% of the couch and I am trying to fit on the couch while attempting to be comfortable. Oh and did I mention Brett is also on the couch. He has to sit diagonal with his legs on the table. The dog has taken over the couch and she is snoring. Loudly. Anytime one of us moves she wakes up and gives us dirty looks. Afterwards within 10 seconds the snoring resumes, her eyes might still be open but she is again snoring. If she hasn't found her own spot on the couch she just sleeps on top of us. Here is a classic night from my view.

nice huh? Thank god she's only 50 pounds. I'd have a lot more problems if she was 75 pounds huh?

Snowy Lawn Chairs

2009-01-03T18:27:00.004-05:00

There is a phenomenon that happens in the winter when it snows. People in the city "save" their parking spots that they shoveled out using Spacesavers as the Mayor calls them. Spacesavers are typically lawn chairs, broken fans, garbage cans, and cones. It makes the beautiful snow look like a ghetto of broken chairs.

From the Mayor's office on the City of Boston website:
"Any spacesavers® left in on-street parking spaces that have been shoveled out must be removed 48 hours after a snow emergency has ended."

Keywords here are: 48 HOURS and SNOW EMERGENCY

Knowing that this is an actual rule I am OK with people doing this... most of the time. I personally do NOT put anything outside in a spot I shoveled and thankfully in Charlestown there are many other people that share my frustration with this "rule". Last winter we had 3 days of intense snow. so much snow that work was cancelled - that never happens! Anyways - I spent hours outside shoveling myself out of my spot knowing full well that if I went anywhere I would be hard pressed to find a new one. That's just the risk you have to take and after being stuck inside for several days. In this case we were willing to risk it. When I returned my spot was not taken but it was actually saved.... by someone else. Someone had the audacity to steal the parking spot that I had spent hours shoveling. That is NOT acceptable. I removed the lawn chair and attached a lovely note to it. Hopefully I taught that person a lesson, though i doubt it.

The thing that drives me so nuts about this "rule" is that it ONLY applies to snow emergency days. People think that any snow - even 1 inch - gives them the OK to save their parking space. I get so angry walking down the street looking at lawn chairs saved in spots that have no snow anywhere near them.

I have thought many times about photocopying lots of notices and making them look official to warn my lovely neighbors. The only problem is I might get caught putting them up. I know this is just a part of life and thankfully Charlestown is not the worst of them all. Southie is pretty brutal for their "spacesavers" in the winter.

Ahhh the charms of living in the city.

The Poop Run

2008-12-30T23:42:00.001-05:00

So Brett and I have been dealing with this phenomenon for a little over a year now. The Poop Run is what Billie Jean does when she needs to go #2. This dog will run over a block before finding the right place to go. She's also pretty private so this "spot" also cannot be within 15 feet of another person, dog or running car. If she sees a person, dog or a moving/running car the Poop Run must start from the beginning. Some nights we could spend 20 minutes running after this dog looking at her butt waiting for something to happen. The spot must also be hidden and also "perfect". Usually a "perfect" spot is on top of leaves, in between the curb and a car, hidden behind a house or down a scary alley. Pooping on top of snow is pretty difficult. A new method is to run back and forth across a snowy area to create a private divot in which to poop. That works pretty well.

I haven't asked but I'm pretty sure that the dog walker wants to murder my dog everyday when she is dragging her around attempting to poop. I'm afraid that if I ask I might get slapped by a neon blue poop bag she has in her hand.

The Poop Run has caused more than one problem before. Due to our dog's private bathroom needs she sometimes runs away from the park area to do her business. God forbid Oscar, Roxanne, Sadie or Birch see her poop. She'd never be able to live it down. When my dog is running away other dogs find it perfectly acceptable to go within inches of my feet. Me, well I'd rather a dog with some discretion but her private pooping is a little out of control. I think she might actually get embarrassed if someone/dog sees her pooping. Her head darts around like she's trying to hide and then gives me death looks like I was supposed to stop traffic while she is going.

The dog has issues. I have like 10 more years of the Poop Run in my future. Wish me luck.

2008 Review

2008-12-28T13:41:00.017-05:00

We are a couple days away from the end of 2008. Its been a good year and I thought I'd review some of the highlights and low-lights.

I finally paid off my car. I own a car! Then it broke. Stupid car broke about 2 months after I paid that bitch off. Nasty.

In 2008 there was some baby news. My friend Matt is having a baby... well his new wife is but its 50% him. That's scary. If you have ever met Matt you'd be afraid right now. My friend Nancie is also having a baby. As a child she used to talk like the devil. I'm not kidding. She had this deep awful devil voice that she used to talk in. Lets hope her kid doesn't get that gene.

Also I learned the truth about child birth. All you women out there who are like "oh sure it was fine" are all lying. My friend Lauren just had a baby and told us the TRUTH. Her baby girl was a week late and after 30 hours just didn't feel like coming out. So she had a C-Section and said it was all just awful. Granted she's happy as a clam now with beautiful Annabelle but she told us the truth. It was awful. Anything over 4 pounds is like popping out a turkey. I might re-consider this whole mommy thing. I cant even keep a dog from eating Aleve and Vaseline. Shouldn't that tell you all something?

I joined a Krav Maga class. I loved it. I kicked some major ass. I also got the largest bruise known to man. I impressed some huge ass dudes by kicking their asses. It was pretty awesome. I keep waiting for someone to choke me or trap me so I can "go all krav on them". So far no takers.

The Celtics won their 17th Banner last June. It was amazing. After freaking out that Brett bought Celtics Season tickets it was all worth it. We went to almost all of the home playoff games and we were there the night they clinched the title. It was amazing. We cried and we smelled cigar smoke. It was great. Congrats Celtics. You deserve it!

I took part in a very important election. I'm excited to see what 2009 brings. Please make this economy better. I need to sell my condo in a couple of years and my friends need to get their jobs back!

I also learned some not so great things. I learned first hand what its like to deal with someone with addiction problems. One of my co-workers had a serious addiction problem and we had to deal with that in the workplace. It was an incredibly difficult time and I don't think I did so well. I've been around addiction before but this was a little different. We had to hide it and cover for her because we thought that was best. It wasn't. Hopefully we all learned how to react next time.

I got a new job! After 4 1/2 years at The Agency I left to take a job at The Smaller Agency. It was a great move. I'm leaving work earlier and working on projects that I did not have the opportunity to do at The Old Agency. It was a great career move for me. I'm also pretty excited about my negotiation skills. I got game.

Also in the not so fab 2008 news I initiated a law suit against my former neighbor. Its still on-going. He stole several thousands of dollars from us and we are hoping 2009 is the year we can make this right and get out money back. hhmmm maybe I can use my sweet Krav moves on that asshole. woot woot!

I painted the front room/office of our house. It looks great. It took me forever but I did it. All by myself. Next time I will be hiring someone. Painting is a bitch. Thankfully the sea foam green is now gone.

I went on my first cruise. It was only for 2 days but it was great. Apparently I get sea sick. Brett said I was a wuss.

I survived the first year of Brett going back to school. Its not fun - for either of us. I learned to talk to Brett "in clif note version" so he could still do homework and I could still tell him my daily stories. I cant wait for classes to be over.

I also had some great times this year with my family and friends. Kristy and Casey's trip to Boston was awesome.

We had a blast with Dick and Mich at the Cat House in Hyannis.

I also had an amazing time at the New Kids on the Block concert and rocked out like a retard.

i watched my puppy grow up. She will be two years old in April of 09. She still eats EVERYTHING including a bottle of Aleve and Vaseline. She also still has her weird quirks that makes her our dog. I cant imagine life without her. Isnt that what people say about kids? hehehe

I hope you had a great 2008 and I wish you a wonderful 2009. Love you all! -Jaci

House Modeling

2008-12-14T20:56:00.003-05:00

I had 30 days to buy my condo. I think I did a pretty good job. Its a 777 sq feet rowhouse but its a nice place. Its a 1 bath two bedroom place with what looks like granite countertops and cherry hardwood floors throughout. Its on a nice street with lots of trees and within walking distance to a grocery store, restaurants and coffee shops. Its also a 10 minute walk to the T (subway) and there is parking on the street. We are on the second floor with one unit below and one above us. There is also a great roofdeck with a grill and a view of the city. In the summer you can see the fireworks on the 4th of July from the Charles River.

I walked into this place when we were looking and it felt like home. Everyone felt that way. Pretty sure my mom started praying that we could get this place.

I also knew it would be an easy place to sell again. That was one of the qualifiers. Since we move every couple of years it needed to be sellable with little to no improvements needed.

Since we moved in I had a walk in closet installed in the 8x10 room off the side of the second bedroom/office in the front. The walk in closet is not a common feature and I didnt see a single one in the 30+ condos I looked at in the city. Nice selling point right? I also painted the front room to a neutral color. It was a light green before - not a fan. I also bought a new kitchen fan (the other one actually broke) but it makes a big difference. I was watching HGTV today and thinking about how I would model my house when I go to sell and have an open house. Here are the things I would do.

1. remove the coffee table - dog ate it. Not good
2. remove the livingroom rug & polish all of the hardwood floors to a shine
3. remove all of the dogs stuff and clean out the closet so you can actually see the potential
4. remove the papasan
5. remove all pictures hanging on the exposed brick
6. plant some nice flowers in the outside pot on the sidewalk. Place more flowers on the steps of the lobby
7. remove the stuff from the closets to show that our clothes arent cramped in there
8. remove the couch from the office to make that room look larger
9. remove everything from the countertops to make the kitchen look larger
10. remove the coat rack - makes it cramped when you walk in

Those are my ideas. What do you think?

I remember looking at other condos and thinking that I'd like to see the closet without so many clothes and i kept thinking - will my stuff fit if theirs cant? So many people left their places so cramped and filled with their own personality. From watching HGTV i believe the best bet is to make it neutral enough that everyone else can imagine their own personality in the condo. We have a couple of years still but everything I do I always think about what that means for us and selling this place again.

Please don't re-send the chocolates!

2008-12-14T20:42:00.002-05:00

Its Christmastime and working at an ad agency you get a lot of food gifts. Chocolates and pies and cupcakes galore! Its a bad time to think about a diet. Well... it normally would be...

On Tuesday afternoon I got a box of chocolate from one of my sales reps. I opened it up and ate a chocolate and some other people had some nuts. So the cleaning people wouldn't throw the box out I put it on my desk for the night. Wednesday morning I put the box back on the cafe table in the middle of the office. Around noon someone went to check out the goodies. Instead of lovely chocolates there were thousands of little tiny swarming bugs. We all screamed like little kids and tried to throw out the box as soon as possible.

The rest of the day I felt nasty. I was itchy feeling and sick. Then I also felt obligated to send an email to the company that paid for my gift basket. I wanted to let them know they should contact the vendor and also halt sending more before checking out the boxes. I also called my old agency and instructed them to throw out their box asap. The next day I got an apologetic voicemail and an email from the president of the company. I felt bad but I also ate bugs. In the email the president said she would be sending another replacement box. I quickly wrote back and told her it wasn't a big deal (a lie) and that she did not have to send a new box (because it would just get thrown out) very nicely. Come on! Who wants more bug chocolates??? NASTY!!!

Then I thought that would be the worst of it and it really was but I still continued to have food gift issues. I got a small box of peppermint bark and I brought it home. I opened up the box to have one after dinner on Friday and as I picked up the bark a big huge thick piece of hair came up with it. It wasn't mine. It was wrapped in my bark. Needless to say I threw out that box too.

Whats up with food lately? I think its safe to say I am officially on a food gift diet. No more for Jaci.

The Quest for the Best Boston Burrito

2008-12-08T20:46:00.002-05:00

My husband has an obsession with Burritos. The man could eat one every day. He grew up in Southern California and now that we live in Boston there is a ongoing quest for the best East Coast burrito.

The other day was a first for me. Brett had read about this great burrito place in Beacon Hill and wanted to check it out. I Googled it and the website looked great. There were reviews from Todd English but for some reason I didn't read the FINE print. Apparently the burrito "restaurant" is IN a gas station.

Brett and I pulled up to the pump and went in for our burritos. They were great! They weren't the best of Boston but they were pretty damn good.

We are still on our quest. Any suggestions? Oh and see the last post... we tried Jose's in Cambridge and then came home to Billie Jean and some little blue pills.

A bottle of Aleve and Vaseline

2008-12-08T20:27:00.005-05:00

Its what my dog had for lunch this past Friday.

Brett and I came home from some Birthday Burritos (we took the day off for our birthday) and the dog had taken a jar of Vaseline off my bedside table. She licked it clean. I got mad at her and threw the jar away. Then when I went into the office I saw 32 blue pills on the office couch. She had chewed the entire bottle but left 32 pills. I freaked. Aleve is made of Naproxen and is toxic to dogs. I called my vet and they told me to call Poison Control. $60 later I was on the phone with a doctor who was telling me that if Billie Jean had more than 2 pills she was screwed. At 2+ pills she would probably either have Kidney failure or ulcers. They made me give her two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to make her vomit and that worked. Unfortunately no pills were in there. We had to go to the vets to make sure. She's my baby. I couldn't lose her.

We went to the vet and Billie was given a stomach full of charcoal and an IV. They wanted to keep her till Sunday. We left her overnight but on Saturday I didn't know if I wanted to keep her there. The idiot vet also called me and asked the following "Is Billie Jean a picky eater?" I literally almost reached through the phone to bitch slap her. Is she kidding? The dog ate Vaseline and Aleve. Pretty sure she'd eat just about anything.

Soo... I called again and asked how much the damage was already. $417 for Friday and half of Saturday. I made the decision to pick her up. There was no way I was paying another $250 for another night. I knew that I could drop her off the next day for more fluids for about $30. $250 vs $30? ya - I choose $30 and picked up my puppy.

She is doing much better. Yesterday she got more fluids and some drugs. I stayed home with her today and she is back to her old self.

My stupid dog. I will have to add this to the list of things she has eaten.

war or peace?

2008-11-19T16:00:00.002-05:00

There has been a lot going on in my life lately. I dont exactly want to post it all here but I thought I'd give a quick overview of the recent situation.

I am having some issues with a co-worker. She and I are not seeing eye to eye and she wants me to be aware of everything that I do not do accurately or to her liking. I've dealt with this before but not on this level. Or so I thought!

I went to lunch with one of my old bosses today and she reminded me that my situation is not unlike another one that I was in that I clearly made myself forget about. This OLD co-worker literally had it out for me. I wouldnt be surprised if she had a voodoo doll with my face on it. She was the devil. She still is the devil. I am probably going to hell for all the awful thoughts I think about her.

Once during a business trip she sent me an email around 12am. The next morning before 8am she asked me about the email. I had not read my email. I prefer to eat before I pour myself into Blackberry hell especially for her emails. Also - WHY is she emailing me when I am literally down the hall from her and in meetings the entire next day.

So I tell her that I didnt read it so she freaks out and then in detail explains the email. One thing led to another and because I dont do work at 2am she changed my presentation without consulting me. She did NOT have authority to do that as we worked in different departments and due to her error she 100% altered my plan. I let her have it. It was NOT acceptable and she needed to know it.

From that day on she was awful. She made it her lifes goal to make mine hell. She talked shit about me on a conference call that I walked into. Then I called her out on it and got all the heads of the company involved. It was war. Thankfully I dont work with this bitch anymore.

Now I have another battle. I'm struggling because I dont want this to become the old situation so I need to play my cards carefully. Everyone that knows me knows im a bitch or a bulldog or whatever you want to call it. I can be nasty. I can be the person that stands up TO you or the person that stands up FOR you. I can be your best asset or your worst enemy.

This situation will not become the old one. I am declaring peace. I wont be walked over but I also wont be irrationale. I need to find a new resolution. Pray for me!