Spring Daisies
According to the sign at Freasy, these little gems were "last chance" material.
I obviously begged to differ.
You can't pass up a bouquet of fresh, spring Gerbera Daisies for $1.50.
Cutesies!
xo,
Jess
Whether she stalks or not...
...this is the lovely gift I'm giving Mr. & Mrs. Levi Yeager tonight!
P.S. Whatever would I have done had they not registered for such darling gifts at my fave Crate&Barrel?!
P.S.S. The photo is overly edited because all I have is my cell phone camera...'member.
xo,
Jess
Bear with me
I ventured to the airport this morning to drop the husfriend off for his 6:00am flight to Michigan. I was surprisingly alert and talkative when we left the house at 4:30am. Okay very, surprisingly.
For the next 2-3 days however, you'll be forced to view photos as taken by my cell phone. Ew! My $50 hand-me-down camera's display screen finally died out on me and Steve took our other digital with him on his trip...rightfully so...it's his.
Thank goodness for photo editing software.
The kitchen and office will be my domains for the next couple of days. It's only 1:18pm and I've already concocted a delicious omlette recipe and crafted a SPRING sign. {as adapted from this sickeningly crafty lady}
xo,
Jess
It pays to pass on your experience
Dylan is totally a Gerber fed baby. Everything we buy for him is Gerber brand. Food, snacks, juice, utensils, everything.
We recently got him Gerber's version of a NutriGrain bar. Tiny fruit and cereal bars if you will. They come in an 8-pack. When I went to grab him one to snack on, much to my dismay, half of the box were not properly packaged. They come individually wrapped and 4 of the 8 weren't sealed all the way, leading to their rock-hard stale state.
I sent an email indicating no compensation necessary, but that a batch of their product was shipped improperly packaged. You know, just as a good Samaritan head's up.
This is the email I received a few minutes ago:
Jessi,
Thank you for contacting us about Gerber® Graduates® Strawberry Banana Fruit & Cereal Bars. We are sorry for any disappointment or inconvenience you may have been caused.
High quality standards have been established for all Gerber products, and we want to know when an item does not meet a customer's expectations. Your information will be passed on to the appropriate personnel here at Gerber.
Although we realize that coupons cannot compensate in any way for your experience, some are being sent to you via postal mail. We hope you will use them with complete confidence and satisfaction.
Again, please accept our apologies for your experience.
I must say, it apparently pays to pass along an experience you've had.
I've also recently become a bit obsessive about writing product reviews when I purchase something. Even if I've bought it a bazillion times in the past, I'm inclined these days to let the cyber world know how much I approve. Ba!
It's funny because I do these things as if I'm bored or in need of things to do. SO not the case.
If anyone ever says it's IMPOSSIBLE to juggle something, I sort of shirk at such a statement now. Currently on my plate: 3 jobs, a one-year-old, baking, cooking, scrapbooking, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, MySpacing, product reviewing, reading, and running. Surprisingly enough not one of the above mentioned is neglected. (Especially the one-year-old...everything else takes a back seat to that one!)
Hooray me! I feel accomplished today. :)
xo,
Jess
Spring Birthdays
Yesterday we took a stay-cation out to Queen Creek for a Birthday BBQ for my older sister Sandi, who just turned 25, and her husband Steven, who will be turning 26 this coming Tuesday.
Two things on our ever-growing wish list: Big TV & Rock Band.
Duets with my sister Shannon are a recipe for laughter and disaster. I could barely make it through Love Song by Sara Bareilles without snorting to my nose's utter distress.
I made the tastiest artichoke dip from a cookbook I haven't pulled out in a while. It was the first time ever making the dish and what better guinea pigs than your family right? You know they'll be honest with you. Luckily for me, there were no family members profusely up-chucking into the trash can. Coming home with an empty 9x13 pan added a little shoulder patting to the internal celebratory dance I did for myself. :)
Of course, since it was a celebration of birthdays, what better way to do so than with cupcakes. I decided to try out a frosting recipe that can be found here. {I'm picking up a tool like this in the coming week from C&B that I've been drooling over for a few days now}. I altered the recipe by adding banana flavoring instead of the mint. A variety of flavorings can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. I buy mine at Fry's Food & Drug Stores, also known as Kroger for the rest of the country. Their selection seems to be the most vast I've found thus far. So I made the delicious banana frosting to top none other than strawberry cupcakes (recipe found here.) The frosting came out a really light shade of yellow (compliments of the vanilla pudding mix), so I tinted it with Wilton's lemon yellow shade of icing tint.
Since the cupcakes weren't a birthday cake, I had to decorate them to make them birthday specific somehow. A little digital scrapbook action, a printer, toothpicks, and some Scotch tape and you've hot Happy Birthday S & S to stick into the tasty treats. This test run...success!
{See why I NEED that decorater's tool. My old-fashioned pastry bag just doesn't cut it.}
Aw, cute! I'll take those two.
Now addicted to the sugary-cinnamon goodness snicker doodles from Paradise Bakery.
They do the SAME thing with their eyebrows!! Priceless.Out with the old. In with the new.
This week was a week for change and adaptation to all of the new and exciting things happening in our lives.
New job constitutes upgrading the office furniture.
Old dining room chair from Ikea.
New, highly more functional (and comfortable) chair from Office Max.
Old hair that was thick and dark and heavy and weighed a ton.
New shorter, thinner, carefree hair.**Please ignore the shiny forehead and lackadaisical/makeup free expression. It was the end of a long day.
xo,
Jess
Jess
1st Day of Spring Eve
'Tis the eve of the first day of spring in Arizona.
What else would this monumental occasion call for than a trip to the swimming hole.
Of course we ventured into the 4 foot depths of the community pool at 10:30am. The 83 degree temperature comfortably acclimated said pool water to a level most would consider "bath warmth".
We stayed and played until noon thirty at which point I was convinced the onset of heat stroke loomed in my near future. Wish me luck, strength, and courage for the upcoming summer months. Good lordy!
Apparently, pool floating apparatuses are for itty-bitty babies and not for an independent one-year-old.
Plenty of snapshots were taken of Dylan, none of yours truly. Continuous spills down the stairs {three in one week...hello?!} have further delayed the start of my running regime to get back into pre-baby shape. When the swelling and continuous shin splint-esque symptoms subside, the pavement has my name on it.
A treat for your time. (Or three)
Are you measuring yourself? Just parts...
We celebrated this lovely Irish holiday sober as a Siamese cat.
Our dinner feast came as close to corned beef and cabbage as mini corn dogs, no side dish.
I sent Steve off to work with cupcakes, but failed miserably at capturing one in still with the cute signs (as pictured above) protruding from atop via toothpick.
Failed attempts at being productive, enticed me to let Dylan devour a vanilla cupcake adorned with homemade green frosting.
I was flung into productivity after the rainfall of cupcake crumbs and green frosting danced to the fiber tips of my carpet.
Success was found in terrifying the living daylight out of Dylan with the vacuum cleaner.
My new found place in the working world has lead me to the realization that an Ikea dining room table chair is NOT the best choice for an office chair.
Severe lower back pain now ensues.
Insomnia is lingering...obviously.
I hope your St. Patrick's Day celebration was as much rip-roarin' fun as it was in our household.
P.S. Allow me to set the stage for the post title's derivation. Steve has pulled out the tape measure and before he starts feeding Puffs to Dylan a la disgustingly dirty tape measure ramp {ew!}, I ask him, "Are you measuring yourself?" to which Steve, whilst holding the extended tape measure from the floor to his hip, nonchalantly replies, "Just parts." I about peed myself.
I've gone and done it...
I've gone and joined Twitter ladies and gents. It's a little more personal, as in Jessi-specific, than the blog which I strive to orient mostly toward the family. You can follow me there too. Yes, it's true, I'm officially Twitterpated.
Chihuly: The Nature of Glass
{Main Tree @ Entrance}
{Main tree detail}
{Mommy & Dylan on the terrace}
{Daddy & Dylan on the terrace}
{Tower of beauty}
{Your head is a sunburst}
{Tons of tiny flying bugs}
{I look just like an agave....wannabe}
{Chandelier}
{Chandelier #2}Prominence = Post-Worthy
I'm sure most of you, if you still subscribe to cable television or happened to watch the monumental Super Bowl of 2009, have seen the new Pepsi ad. I haven't so much seen it a lot since they aired the commercial during the Super Bowl, but there's a generational commercial with Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am singing Forever Young.
There's an elevated level of Bob Dylan prominence in the last couple of years for myself and my new little family. Dylan is named after him {his middle name, Elliott, after the late Elliott Smith who's music inspires us just as much as Mr. Dylan}. It's true, Steve and I are major music nerds. Mostly for those musicians who were revolutionary in their time of fame, but we both appreciate every genre {Steve's not a huge fan of country, but for him, that goes without saying}.
So let me just break down this unspoken prominence:
* I'm Not There comes out in theaters and is phenomenal!
* Our son, named after Bob Dylan.
* Pepsi ad of the song Forever Young
* A birthday card message from Aunt Jean referencing lyrics to Forever Young
* The download of Forever Young as a ring tone following someone's 1st birthday
* The happening upon of the above pictured book
I suppose it shows the prominence more so of the song, Forever Young, than Bob Dylan as a whole, but we'll boil it down to the man behind the music. It's cause inspiration for some personal art {more on this when it actually happens}. We took a trip to Borders one day this week to find a respite in reading. It's been a rough start of 2009 for our families. A majority of the worry onset by the news of the past couple of weeks. Steve got a book titled, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by an amazing Japanese author, Haruki Murakami and I snagged, The Complete Guide to Running for Women, by Claire Kowalchik, former managing editor for Runner's World Magazine. {Can you tell we're aspiring to be a co-dominant running couple? No?} Dylan was with us and has been an angelic child through a lot of teething and toting and dropping off and picking up and falling down the stairs {don't worry, it happened twice and I let my body take the injuries. It's amazing the martyr you become as a mother}, so we agreed to treat him to a new book. This child loves books and has a million, but he deserves a million more. We walked into the child's section after searching the entire first and second floor of Border's at Biltmore by our house. Let me tell you, that store is a nightmare to navigate...even with store maps. Steve's paying more attention to the books than I am, takes notice of the book. It's the lyrics to the song illustrated by Paul Rodgers. At the end of the book is a breakdown of each page's illustration inspiration. Where he got the ideas, the people, basically the story of Bob Dylan's life. I say it's a good item to have in any music lover's collection, but happens to fit in ours for more reasons than one.
Ramble. Done.
xo,
Jess
P.S. Took a trip to Urgent Care today for suspected strep throat. Even though the provider said the swab came back negative, he "made me a deal" and wrote me a script for a Z pack, aka what you get for strep, I'd know, I get it once a year. Wouldn't you say there's obviously a high chance he thinks it will onset in the next couple of days if he was willing to bargain with me for meds?? I said to my mom, "Must be 'Bargain Saturday at NextCare'!" I'm funny, even when I can't breathe.
Let's Paper Jam!
Here's a little update on our little munchkin.
You're probably thinking to yourself, "What in the world is the post title all about?!" Well, I'm here to fill you in on the miraculous genius that is Dylan. Last week I was going to interview for a job (which by the way I got...yay me!). I needed to print out a copy of my resume to bring along, you know, just to make a good "I'm prepared" impression. Update resume. File. Print. Ok. Paper Jam! Hmm. I open the printer to see what in the world could possibly be jamming the printer. Steve and I haven't used the thing since Christmas I don't think. What...what is that I see stuck in there...a check register. Inserted and prompted to feed by none other than Dylan Elliott. Holy cow. Seriously?! First, how did he think to grab a check register from our bedroom, push it along the carpet to the office, open the paper tray of the printer, turn the printer on, and prompt it to make a copy WITHOUT being a sheer genius?? I tell ya. Nothing goes without marvel in this household.
Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks for your long distance/close distance viewing pleasure. :)
This photo serves to fulfill two requests. One for the adorable child of ours and the other to a random person who emailed me asking, "How big is your chalkboard in the dining room?" Well, as you can see anonymous person from cyber space, it's pretty large. I could go and measure the thing, but I figured a scale of chalkboard-to-infant will suffice.
He still does it! Whenever a camera is aimed, ready to shoot, and the words "Say Cheese!" come out of anyone's pie hole, this is the face you'll get.
Sometimes Dylan just plays too hard. I've found him a few times just zonked out in the midst of the bazillion toys he has strewn about his bedroom. I REALLY need to invest in some baskets. Michael's has them for 40% of this week...perhaps I'll have to take a trip.
This was the day Dylan got his lead screening. For those who don't know, it's a test that requires a blood draw just like an adult would get for testing. Dylan was a champ and didn't squirm or squeal so Mommy treated him to new swim trunks (I'd tried his trunks from last summer, but this child is a giant already) and the cute jammies he's donning on this pic. We were in the kitchen and on our way out the door to drop him off with Grammy. I think he was secretly resenting me for allowing someone to jab a needle into his precious little arm.
This was just last Sunday when I went to pick up Dylan from my amazing mom who agreed to have him stay with her and my stepdad over Steve's birthday weekend. She's a trooper taking on a 1-year-old and an old-man-year-old who's awaiting knee surgery #2 on March 30th. Mind you, old-man-year-old is not allowed high intensity pain meds anytime before this surgery so he's been handling it all cold turkey-ish. :( Mad props to my mom!! Thank you for all you still offer to do. :)xo,
Jess
Music Spotlight #1: Eric Hutchinson
I want to start doing music spotlights on musicians that you may have heard of, probably haven't, and totally should!
First up is Mr. Eric Hutchinson. Best known for his song "Rock & Roll".
{If she wanna rock, she rocks,
If she wanna roll, she rolls,
She can roll with the punches,
Long as she feels like she's in control}
If she wanna roll, she rolls,
She can roll with the punches,
Long as she feels like she's in control}
He recently came through Phoenix on March 5th at Marquee Theatre opening up for the one and only G. Love. If you haven't heard of G. Love, think blues meets hip hop meets R&B. Eric is a hoot on stage, making up songs about the space between the stage and the crowd (which mind you is pretty ridiculously large at Marquee). I've always taken a liking to those artists who incorporate humor through improvisation at their live shows. It makes for a more entertaining concert. I'll be honest, I was at the concert for G. Love so I didn't know any other songs of Eric's beside Rock & Roll. However, being the true musician's lover that I am, I've since purchased his album, Sounds Like This, available for purchase HERE.
Meeting him was an experience all its own on the other hand. I towered over a sea of pre-pubescent, brace faces for a quick "good game" toosh tap and a quick snapshot. Needless to say, I felt EXTREMELY out of place. I was in and out of there faster than a sober stint from Lindsay Lohan.
And just for good measure, here's a picture of Musician Boyfriend #9,047 for me: G. Love. :)
Meeting him was an experience all its own on the other hand. I towered over a sea of pre-pubescent, brace faces for a quick "good game" toosh tap and a quick snapshot. Needless to say, I felt EXTREMELY out of place. I was in and out of there faster than a sober stint from Lindsay Lohan.
And just for good measure, here's a picture of Musician Boyfriend #9,047 for me: G. Love. :)
Free Willy
I'm not talking about the Orca whale from the movie back in the 90s.
Does anyone else have a child who insists on stripping down buck naked and then proceeding to urinate EVERYWHERE whenever they're put in their crib to sleep.
I've come to the realization that I could most likely put 4 layers of clothing on Dylan and he'd still manage to wriggle free at night or during nap time.
Thank goodness for laundry rooms!
xo,
Jess
Yes please!
When the time comes to purchase a home, I will not hesitate to purchase my slice of the real estate pie from a gentleman as talented in his field of work as he is at photoshopping. Kudos John Deutsch. I'll take that raggety looking house in the middle of the ghetto. Silver platter preferred.
P.S. That is the realtor in the picture. Not a model. I know, you look surprised.
Just because it's 12:39am...
Two pictures for your late night viewing pleasure
Merry Maid needed...now that I have carpet (brand new at that), I MUST vacuum twice a week.
My nephew Josh's first band concert. He plays the cowbell & high hat. No lie. Dylan was super silly this night.100 years
Last weekend my family took a trip out to Santa Maria, CA for a celebration of 100 years of life that my Great Grandma Bea has endured. There was a big birthday party (naturally) on Saturday, February 21st at the church building that she and my Grandma Marie attend. I was a little scared to take on this road trip without Steve, seeing as how it was Dylan's first and one that spanned a whopping 9 hours one way. Lo and behold, Dylan wasn't all that bad. I realized how much of a team being a parent really is. Needless to say, I'd struggle greatly if, for some tragic reason, I were ever a single mom. Mad props go out to half of the top 36 on American Idol: Season 8. (Random side note: has anyone else noticed that this years' competition is chock full of young, single moms?) Anyway, we left Friday morning at the crack of dawn which for Dylan or myself is anything before 9am. In reality, we left at 7:30am. After seeing Popi break the law (92 in a 75), a couple pit stops for lunch and the potty, and lots of out of key singing with the Murano crew, we arrived in Santa Maria. That night, Lauren came down from Fresno to see us for the weekend. It had been about three weeks and three weeks too long at that. Shannon, Lauren, Travis & I went to a concert in SLO (San Luis Obispo for those not familiar with California city lingo...i.e. me before this vacation). It was the same concert I'd seen two nights in a row down in Phoenix & Tucson the weekend prior, Joshua Radin. No worries though, I'm not a groupie, just happen to have friends who are talented musicians and know what city I'll be in when they are playing there. The show was disappointing. By no means was it the performers fault. Why ever would I slander those I associate with as amigos?! The crowd was atrocious. I got choked up at how incredibly disrespectful and annoying they were being. Here's a little run down of the city of SLO. It's a college town. Worse than Tempe...yep I said WORSE. There was a group of about 12 frat guys in the back making an even more horrible name for those associated with fraternities. Loud, talkative, non-attentive, flat out rude. This bothered Josh so much, he simply unplugged his acoustic guitar and played to the front third of the house...the fans who paid their own $20/person to actually listen to the music. Not like the frat guys in the back who most likely used mommy and daddy's money, originally wired to buy groceries and pay for gas or emergencies, to hang at the bar in downtown on a Friday night and be obnoxious. All in all, I enjoyed myself, as did Lauren, Travis, & Shannon, and have a new found, deep respect for Joshua Radin, Meiko, and Jesse Harris for their professionalism and patience in such a "lash out irrationally at the drop of a hat" circumstance.
The next day, we went to Grandma Bea's shin dig. It was so pretty and there were tons of people there. People from all over the place too. I mean, who wouldn't travel to celebrate a woman who's given so much in the world of ballroom dance and her heart and prayers in everything else she's ever done. She's such a doll. She's a "true Bostonian" in her words. Born in a city just outside of Boston in February of 1909, it was amazing to be there with my little pride and joy who was born just outside of Phoenix in February of 2008. To have an entire century difference in age in the same room was incredibly remarkable. Her guests were gracious and entertaining with their poems, self-proclamations as favorite, and celebrity status....okay so the celeb wasn't there in person, but did send a darling DVD birthday wish. Who is it?! I know you're aching to find out. Well, a lot of my readers (ha, my readers, like I'm a ce-web-rity or something) will appreciate this man because they work in "The Hair World". My Great Grandma Bea was good friends and danced with a young man named John DeJoria's mother. That's right, the half mastermind behind Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron Tequila is a chum to Bea-Bea. He called her a few days before the party to let her know that he wouldn't be able to make it because he had to do hair for the Oscars on Sunday. Understandable. When duty calls right?
Let's see, Sunday and Monday were very relaxing just sort of vegging out and being in the company of family. We left Monday at around noon on our way back to good ole Arizona. No traffic tickets this time around and we all made good time arriving back in the Valley of the Sun at around 9pm. The weekend was over, but the memories I'm sure will live on for a while.
In true, captivating-the-blogging-audience fashion, I've included a sleu of pictures (completely out of chronological order mind you) to show off the good time had by all. Enjoy!!
Dylan after falling asleep on the car ride out there. I can't resist his adorable expression in this one. Like he knows he's up to something and could potentially get caught.
The whole fam damily. Grandma Bea's in the middle there. She's a riot with her fire engine red hair.
Snowy mountain tops...uh...I have no idea which state this was in or whereabouts, but they were pretty nonetheless.
Dylan got a tooth and a half on this trip and wouldn't sleep on Saturday night unless it was in the big bed with mommy and aunt Val. He was a bed hog for sure.
Uncle Vince walked into Sunday morning breakfast, in public, wearing these gems. Goodnight. I think everyone present would agree that Dylan looked way more adorable.
Getting sleepy from all of the attention at the party on Saturday.
The ocean on the way home. I love NorCal's ocean view. Greener than green mountains on one side of you and endless, blue water on the other.
Dylan trying to steal Josh's 7Up at the birthday party. No soda for you...ever. Yuck!
Dylan and Mommy. I think that this picture show's how much he actually does look like me too. I'm always behind the camera and taking pictures of Dylan and Steve so I don't ever think he looks like me. This picture says it all...no doubt about it, he's mine.
Someone went to town on his "ride home" bottle. Yes, he was WTB with no pants on. It was a nine hour road trip for Pete's sake.
Three generations (not in order obviously).
Dylan was super giggly on Saturday. Here he is playing with his long distance girlfriend, Lauren.
Being a big bed hog. Steve sleeps this way too. Good thing I'm a heavy sleeper and don't notice the elbows jabbing me in the ribs or clearing out my ear wax. Please also take note of the dog leg...oops...I mean my right arm in the background. It seriously could be mistaken for a dog's hind leg. Gross/Cool cause I think I'm fat 99.9% of the time.
Shortly after we got outside of Phoenix, Dylan and Aunt Val were passed out in the backseat of Crew Murano.
Dylan just hanging out with Popi at the party. I love how Dylan is just cracking himself up in this one. He's got the sense of humor of his mama.
Their engagements.
Dylan and Grammy. I can't get enough of how cheesy he smiles when he notices the camera pointed at him. Goober...again, just like his mama.
Watching some ballroom dancers.
This is the chipper chap right after we strapped him into the car at 7am. Don't fret, he surely was completely passed out approximately 45 minutes post photo.
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