Catch up

My friend Gina just called to tell me that she was catching up on my blog, and noticed that Google had placed an ad for Bally on my page. Ha! Oh, Google ads. Anyway... I dropped that letter in the mail on Thursday night. Then on Friday morning when I got in to work, I had an email response from the request I submitted through the BTF website. They're canceling my membership. Damn now I feel like an ass because I bitched them out in this letter, and then they do what I ask before the letter even arrives. Oh well.

My HUGE news: I completed and passed the AICPA ethics exam 2 weeks ago, so I am DONE with all exams required for my CPA license!!!!! DONE!!! Last week I mailed in my application with the $250 application fee. After they approve my application, I have to send in another check to cover the annual license fee. Thankfully my employer will reimburse me for that. I also had to have my fingerprints taken via LiveScan, which was $30 PLUS $50 for an FBI and DOL background clearance check. Good Lord! They don't make this affordable! I've heard it can take 5 months until I'll get my license and number. I'll keep you posted!

Here is the necklace that I made for Marilyn, the winner of my anniversary giveaway. (That's scrapbook paper, not something I dropped water on.)


And here is a necklace I made for myself. I bought more of these beads, crazy lace agate, so I can make more because I've gotten tons of compliments on it.

I've secured my etsy shop name and URL! I don't currently have any jewelry assembled or listed for sale. I'll let you know when I do!

My super adorable, chubby-bunny nephew will be 10 months old on Wednesday. He's crawling now and just started clapping last week. He's also able to walk while holding onto toys or furniture. He had an unfortunate accident in which he let go of his Intellitainer while walking, fell, and hit his mouth. He broke one of his front teeth and had to have it extracted. Poor baby now has a missing tooth until his permanent one comes in! Here's the silly little monkey, affectionately known at home as "Hillbilly Landon".


And here's a sweet picture of Landy watching Pirates of the Caribbean with his daddy. Too bad my brother had to go and ruin the moment! Thank goodness for photo editing! (Yes, my dad has a 58" TV.)


Peace & love.
J

100 Things About Me - The Giveaway Edition

Ok, so I had what I think is a genius idea for the giveaway celebrating my 3 year blogoversary and 100th post. I am going to list 100 things about me in honor of my 100th post. And you, the readers, need to leave a comment with 3 things from the list that you believe are not true. (Three things in honor of my 3rd year of blogging.) To help your chances of guessing correctly, I will not be listing only 3 false facts; I'll give you 10! And if I gave a sh*t, here is where I would tell you what your chances of choosing three incorrect things are. Unfortunately I'm on staycation, so I will not be calculating and providing that information. :-P

And because I'm exhausted and hopped up on Vicodin from having a tonsillectomy on Wednesday, I have not yet made the piece of jewelry that I'll be giving away. Yeah, I'm doing this all backwards, but that's what we get when my throat, mouth, jaw, teeth, ears, and head all hurt. I'm too busy being a zombie to make jewelry right now. Eventually I will create it and post a photo and give it it to the winner. Please bear with me.

Giveaway rules

1. Leave a comment indicating which three items from the list of 100 you think are false.

2. Leave your email address or link to your blog so I can get in touch with you if you win.

3. The winner will be announced in one week. I will also tell you which of the items are false.

If more than 1 person guesses 3 things or no one guesses 3 correct responses, I'll figure out another way to choose the winner.

And now, drum roll please... 100 Things About Me!

1. I am 5'11".

2. I have one brother

3. and four step-siblings.

4. I took gymnastics lesson during middle school.

5. I have passed all 4 of the CPA exams.

6. I scored 1240 on the SATs.

7. My joints are loose and susceptible to dislocation.

8. I graduated from high school in 2000.

9. After my parents divorced, I lived with my Dad and my brother lived with my Mom.

10. I had to apply 3 times before being accepted to attend Cal Poly.

11. My first car was my dad's 1982 Ford Ranger pick-up.

12. My second car was a 1992 Toyota Camry.

13. I currently drive a 2005 Honda Civic.

14. My dream car is a Camaro.

15. I like to think I'm pretty open minded and accepting.

16. I was sent by my employer to a seminar called "Managing Your Emotions Under Pressure".

17. I have attended 6 different colleges.

18. Since moving out of my dad's house in 2000 I have lived in 9 different apartments.

19. I have a Wii

20. and a Sega Genesis.

21. My hair is naturally curly.

22. I have been coloring my hair since at least high school.

23. Orchids are my favorite flower.

24. I am not interested in sky diving.

25. According to the Body Mass Index I am obese.

26. I love PartyLite candles.

27. My favorite movie is Garden State.

28. Will Ferrell is my favorite actor.

29. John Mayer is my favorite musician.

30. JJ Heller is a new favorite musician.

31. Grey's Anatomy is the one show I can't live without.

32. I prefer silver to gold.

33. My favorite gemstone is a black opal.

34. I passed my driving test on my first try when I was 16.

35. My college roommates got me to like country music.

36. May last vacation was to Kauai, Hawaii.

37. I love Chelsea Handler

38. and try to watch Chelsea Lately every night that I can stay up late enough.

39. I am irrationally afraid of large bridges.

40. I have no first cousins.

My hobbies include:

41. making jewelry

42. reading

43. watching TV

44. surfing the Internet

45. painting

46. photography

47. Men's cologne is irresistible.

48. I'm a PC person. (i.e. not a Mac person)

I have had the following jobs:

49. barista at Starbucks

50. smoothie maker at Jamba Juice

51. Receptionist

52. Accountant

53. Research Manager at a recruiting firm

I have lived in:

54. Los Angeles

55. San Luis Obispo

56. Santa Barbara

57. San Jose

58. I find Dimitri Martin hilarious.

59. I have the most adorable, chubby baby nephew EVER!

60. I occasionally like the way cigarettes smell.

61. I am a firm believer in bathing regularly.

I have traveled to:

62. Mexico

63. Suriname

64. Australia

65. New Zealand

66. South Korea

67. all 50 US states

68. Canada

69. I started enjoying baseball a few years ago - when the Red Sox were in the playoffs (and went on to win the World Series).

70. My favorite sport to watch is ice hockey.

71. I prefer flats to heels.

72. I'm a daddy's girl.

73. I have never done ecstasy.

74. My favorite drink is a margarita.

75. Yes, I love tequila.

76. My brother's fiancee asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding.

77. I grew up attending a Presbyterian church.

78. Most of my clothes are from Gap and Banana Republic.

79. I'm a hopelessly addicted to etsy.com

80. I'm a whore for cereal

81. and sweaters.

82. I have a pet iguana.

83. I hate working out.

84. The radio in my car is broken.

85. I have a cat who requires prescription diet food.

86. I can't walk out of Target without spending close to $100.

During my lifetime I have considered the following occupations:

87. Interior Designer

88. Editor

89. Teacher

90. CEO

91. CPA

92. Wedding Photographer

93. I love Scrabble.

94. I started babysitting when I was 11 years old.

95. I have framed on my wall a photograph of the plane my grandfather flew in WWII.

96. My favorite author is Barbara Kingsolver.

97. I have had 3 serious relationships (i.e. long-term boyfriends)

98. I live alone.

99. I love frozen yogurt.

100. My favorite cookies are peanut butter.

Again, to win:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Choose 3 things from the above list that you think are not true.

Good luck!

J

Warning: Cute overload!

I'm adding some cuteness to the blog here. Plus, I think Kori said she needed to see more photos of babies! :-P Landon will be 8 months old next week. I think he's probably at least around 30 pounds now because he was about 25 at his 6 month check-up. You can see in the second picture that he has a couple teeth coming in! Isn't he just the most adorable little guy EVER?! Can you tell I love him to pieces?

Peace and love.

J

Tuesday Fragments

So I've been absent for a long while because I've been SUPER busy. Work has been keeping me busy, so I don't have time to blog during the day. Then I've had stuff going in the evenings - physical therapy, weight watchers meetings, visiting my nephew, dinner with friends and family, being lazy, and last night I actually went to the gym!

Since I haven't been around and there's nothing majorly important for me to report, I'll just do a little "fragment" post.

I was also sick for a while. it's weird cause I didn't really have any symptoms... I found two large, painful bumps on my head right behind my right ear. I found them only because I felt pain when I was washing my hair in the shower. Over a few days they seemed to be getting larger, so I went to the doctor. Now other than a little bit of pain due to touching it, I had no other symptoms. The doctor said it was likely due to an infection, so he prescribed an anti-biotic. First the medication reeked havoc on my digestive system, if you know what I mean - without getting too graphic. It was so unpleasant I stayed home from work one day. The doctor said I could take acidophilous supplements and eat yogurt. I knew that antibiotics killed that stuff, but I had no idea that that's what cause the, uh, digestive issues. And it turns out that I'm allergic to that particular anti-biotic. Yeah, that weekend I broke out in a horrible, itchy rash over my whole body except my neck, face, and lower legs. It was so horrible that I attempted to sleep for the 3 days that I had it because I didn't want to feel my skin. I ended up taking another day off work because of that. I called the doctor and he prescribed a quick, 5-day antibiotic to take since I'd discontinued the first one. He said, "You'll need to remember that you're allergic to Keflex." Ummm... no shit! Thanks for the advice!

My nephew gets more adorable each day. He was 6 months old on August 9. He had his 6 month check-up a few days later, and.... he is the size of an average 14 month old!! He's 22 lbs and 29 inches long!! That is a BIG baby! Here he is with his uncle Brandon, my step-brother.

In other news, facebook is getting a little crazy... my best friend's grandma, a few old folks from church, and the pastor of the church I grew up in have added me on facebook! Guess I won't be swearing on my facebook page! I would feel bad deleting them, so I won't. I'll just live my life like a lady, as I should anyway... :-P

Oh! I did do something crazy, ridiculous, out-of-character! I got a tattoo! It's on my wrist. It's an ichthus, Greek for fish. The Greek spelling is IXOYE (Iota Chi Omega Upsilon Sigma)... the five Greek letters stand for the words meaning: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. This symbol was first used by early Christians in the 1st and 2nd centuries. For more info see this page.

I went to San Diego with 3 of my girlfriends to attend a wedding of a girl we grew up going to church with. It was the most gorgeous, and likely most expensive wedding I'm sure I will ever attend. The bride's dad is a big dog at a software company here in Silicon Valley. It was a nice weekend away! I don't really like this picture of me, but whatever. I'm a giant compared to all the other girls! Yes, I'm 5'11".

I haven't been doing so well with Weight Watchers, but I've finally decided to get my butt in gear, hence the trip to the gym last night. I'm tired of HATING photos of myself. I'm disgusted... and that, that is really sad. My friend and I went to the Palo Alto Festival of Arts this weekend and this guy who worked at Comcast tried to pick up on us. He was 100% the stereotypical salesman. He gave us his business card and I looked him up on facebook. He had some photos from the past, and he looked super hot, and super fit in those pictures. Now he's got the beer gut and the chubby face. I hate to be superficial, but it's amazing how much a little fat can take a gorgeous person and make him less than attractive. So that was the motivation I needed. Thank you chubby Comcast salesman for making me want to see the hot chick who's hiding under the fat!

Peace and love.

J

Apparently dumber than I thought

Ok, wow. After receiving a comment from Al, and then staring at the "Compose" box for a few minutes, I found the "Add image" icon.

Here's my "test" image. :)

Question on posting photos

Do any of you have advice for posting photos with Blogger?

The only thing I've found so far is uploading my photos to Photobucket.com and then using the generated HTML code to post photos here. I tried Flickr, but the photos were too large and I could only include one photo per blog post.

Please share how you post photos on your blog.

Thanks!

Peace and love.
J

My First Friday Fragments

Check out Mrs.4444 and start doing Friday Fragments.

I decided to join the Friday Fragments club after reading Kori's for a couple months.

*My future sister-in-law, A, has a niece, E, who is 18 months old. She is the cutest little girl ever! She adores her little cousin Landon (my nephew). Yesterday A sent me a text saying that E calls Landon "hanthum bebe" (translation: handsome baby). Adorable!!

Here's E:


And here's the "hanthum bebe" with my dad:



*I got a new camera, the Nikon D90, and I am in the process of learning how to use it. I'm SO excited, but I'm also super impatient about it. Every time I pick up the manual or look at a website, I get overwhelmed and decide I'm not in the mood to read about how to use it.

*When I moved back to San Jose, I was really worried about finding a new hairstylist. I LOVED my stylist in LA and couldn't fathom finding anyone as great as she is. Well guess what, my friend Emily from high school finished cosmetology school a year or two ago and she's now my hairstylist! At first I was nervous about her cutting my hair because it's naturally curly and curly hair requires layering that will make me not look like a cocker spaniel. Despite the fact that she has fewer years experience than my stylist in LA, I think she's much better! For the first time ever, I LOVE my hair. And she gives me a good deal, so that's totally awesome! I know you want to see my hair:


*Last weekend I went with Emily to her 3 year-old daughter's first dance recital! It was ADORABLE. 3 year olds are too young to learn and remember choreography, so they were just sent out on the stage in their tutus to dance however they pleased. Here is a photo of little Miss Annabell and her friends.


*After 7 long years of college, my brother finally graduated last month! We are all so proud of him. Now if only the economy would turn around so he can find a career position that pays better than grocery store cashier. And this Sunday, Danny will be celebrating his first Father's Day! Congratulations and Happy Father's Day, little brother! (My "little" brother is 6'5"! Landon is now 4 months old, weighs 18 lbs 14 oz, and is 27 1/4 inches long!!)


*I've been making jewelry for a few years now - mostly for myself, occasionally for friends and family, and once or twice on commission or special request. A few people have suggested that I sell my pieces, which I thought was a great idea. Unfortunately I was studying for that darn CPA exam, so I resolved that I would start creating and selling jewelry after I passed the exam. That time is now. I haven't really made anything recently, so that's my first priority in this venture. And then the economy sucks, so who knows if anyone would even buy anything from me since I don't already have a customer base! Of course I'm planning to set up shop on etsy. If you have never heard of etsy, you're missing out big time. Go there and be mesmerized. I'll keep you all posted if that venture takes off.

That was fun! I think I'll continue to post Friday Fragments. I need to blog more anyway. Thanks for stopping by!

Peace and love.
J

Introducing Landon John!

Here are a few photos of my nephew Landon John. He was born Monday, February 9, 2009 at 11:32 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 21" long. I can't believe how much he has changed in the last 3 weeks!





Mom, Dad & Landon


Loungin


Taking a nap on Grandma's shoulder


Landon & Auntie Julie

Jewelry

Here are a few pieces of jewelry that I made last year. The red one now belongs to my friend Kirstin. The gorgeous, iridescent pink necklace and bracelet are mine, and I love them!





P.S. It only took me about 8 posts and 2 image hosting sites to get this stupid entry posted!!

Flaming Kitty

This is Sammy.



Sammy lives in San Luis Obispo with his "parents" Jeremy & Keshet. We think Sammy is gay. He likes to prance and strut around the house in scarves and feather boas.