Meme-riffic

Marta shared a meme that made me feel like sharing too. So I did.

5 things on my to-do list today:
- make dinner.
- pilates.
- read more ansel adams.
- put up clean laundry.
- call about tickets for sunday.

5 things on my lifelong to-do list:
- learn french.
- be a good wife.
- learn photography.
- travel as much as possible.
- share my family history.

Sweets I enjoy:
chocolate glazed donuts. chocolate cake. cheesecake. chocolate chip cookies. sour patch kids. pumpkin bread. milkshakes. haribos.

Last three books I read:
- in defense of food michael pollan.
- woody: movies in manhattan julian fox.
- sense and sensibility jane austen.

Last three movies I've watched:
- top hat.
- hannah and her sisters.
- manhattan murder mystery.

Places I have lived:
- home, fort worth tx.

Full Recovery and a Meme

I am feeling much better and am back at work today. I have no idea what brought on my headache, but I am glad it is gone, after two consecutive evening remedies of 3 Advil and 1 Benadryl. That's quite a medicinal cocktail, but it seemed to do the trick. No worries, I didn't exceed anything that my doctor has not prescribed me in the past. :) Monday marked my sister & her husband's first anniversary so I called the other day to give my congratulations. We are soon approaching an anniversary of our own, but I will write more on that another time. During my sick leave I managed to finish Pride & Prejudice completely, which has improved my reading streak. I seem to have broken, at least for the time being, my previous habit of stopping every book 3/4 of the way through. And after I take a small amount of time to revisit some P&P fanfiction, I think I will move on to Sense & Sensibility. And all of this planning leads me to the meme that my garden swap partner, Colleen, recently posted.

Five Things On My To-Do List:

1. Make special cake for my special guy.
2. Sign up for Ed's Camera Workshop.
3. Plan next week's menu and choose something to make for dinner at the In-Law's this Sunday, probably another yogurt cake.
4. Get a post up on Small Time Cooks, also probably the yogurt cake, ha.
5. Laundry. Really need to do laundry.

P.S.- 6. Post pics of what I got from my garden swap partner.

Just J.

my name: jessica
four words: just, jerk, jam, juggle
state/city: johannesburg
boy name: jonathan
girl name: jemima
occupation: justice of the peace
something found in a kitchen: juice
something you shout: jump!
something you look for in a guy/girl: jauntiness
something that is in your room: junk. josh, usually.
place to shop at: j crew
name a band/artist: joni mitchell

saw this on marta's blog

Marriage Meme

Lindsey tagged me for this marriage meme, so what could I do but oblige. I'm posting this on both my blogs, fyi.

Where did you meet your husband?
Josh and I met in 1997 at the movie theater we both worked at, at the ticket drop to be exact. We were both working usher shifts. His friend Andrew got him a job at the theater. I actually liked Andrew a bit, but he quit when I was out of town one weekend. When I came back to work, there was Josh.

What was the first thing you said to your husband?
I don't remember exactly, but I probably said hi. I know shortly thereafter I asked if he had cleaned a specific theater, cause that's when I found out that no one had explained to him that he was supposed to do that! I do remember that I laughed so much as we cleaned theaters together that night.

Where was the first kiss? First date?
Josh and I were friends first and sort of fell in love with each other without the other one really knowing it. He was going out with my friend, who was also a co-worker, so I never made any moves. Eventually, as we grew closer and closer through our friendship we sort of figured out that we needed to be together. So, I guess maybe when we were hanging out in his room listening to music and he held my hand could be our first date. He took my hand and held it in his for a long time, with neither of us saying anything, as we listened to the Rolling Stones' song Angie. We didn't really discuss it much later either, but after that moment we knew we had to be together and he broke up with his girlfriend.*
It took us a little while to get around to kissing. When we started going out Josh had just gotten his tongue pierced, and he had a bad case of bronchitis. Not exactly perfect make-out conditions. In fact, Josh told me he loved me before we even had our first kiss. But that first kiss was in his bedroom. I don't remember specifics, but I think While My Guitar Gently Weeps might have been playing. I guess it seems strange that I don't remember it that well, but we've kissed a lot since then. :)

Did you have a long courtship?
Brother, you've got no idea! Josh and I met April 5th, 1997. We were dating mid-March 1998, and officially boyfriend/girlfriend April 4th, 1998. We got engaged March 19th, 2005. And we just got married October 6th, 2006. I know a lot of people stop celebrating any 'dating anniversary' when they get married, but I refuse. I put a lot of time in and I'm gonna commemorate it darnnit! In fact, one of the reasons I chose our wedding date is because we now have an anniversary every 6 months. :)

Where did you get engaged?
We got engaged at a club. That probably sounds weird. Josh proposed at a Chemistry Set show at a club called The Moon, which is just a few minutes from our apartment. Almost all our friends and family were there. Including that guy Andrew (see first answer). I honestly hadn't seen him since he quit the theater, which was 8 years prior. But Josh told him about the surprise he had planned and he was so excited to come. It was the second best surprise of the night. To help distract me we went out to dinner with my cousin Angie before the show. As all our parents began to file into the club I had a sneaking suspicion, especially since I knew he had the ring. Towards the end of the show they coerced me up on stage to play shakers on the last song. This had never happened before, so I was pretty sure I knew what was coming. The song has a big build-up ending, but in place of that Josh came out from behind the drums and proposed. Everyone cheered, it was totally awesome, and when I got down from the stage they had one last surprise. The band had learned my favorite Neil Young song, Helpless. Spent the rest of the night talking to all our friends who had come out for the event and having random girls tell me they almost cried.









Where did you get married?
We were married at the YWCA in downtown Fort Worth. It's a historical building with beautiful architecture. And the rental fee you pay goes directly to their programs for women and children, so it's even more beautiful because of it.
















How did the reception go?
Pretty darn good, aside from my caterer being crazy. We got to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in a long time, danced, laughed, and even cried a teeny-tiny bit. We put a lot of work into
our wedding and people noticed- we got compliments on the flowers Steph and I did, the table runners Mom made, and the music- every single song being hand-picked by the two of us.
























How was the honeymoon?
Umm, like the most awesomest ever! We got married on a Friday and left for New Mexico on Sunday. As long as Josh and I had been together (see answer 4), we had never been on a vacation just the two of us. We spent two nights at Casita La Joya, 25 miles south of Taos, which was an absolute pleasure and just what the doctor ordered after months of stressful wedding prep. Then we stayed 4 nights in Santa Fe. We ate some of the most delicious food and saw some incredible sights, including snow on the ground! That seemed like a miracle since it was in the 90's when we left Texas. I think about and miss Santa Fe almost everyday and I can't wait to go back.
























*That whole girlfriend thing probably sounds bad, but he had broken up with her a few weeks earlier. She convinced him to get back together, but that he could see other people- knowing full well that it was me he intended to see. And pretty much after our first 'date', he broke up with her completely. And all we did was hold hands. I'm not some kind of high school home wrecker or anything. :)

Eight Is Enough

Jane from The Speckled Egg tagged me this morning. The rules? Name 8 facts or habits about myself.

1. Before Josh and I were dating I lamented to my sister & her then-boyfriend about how much I cared for him. The boyfriend brought me an actual four-leaf clover for good luck the next day. Josh broke up with his girlfriend to pursue me on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. Convincing proof of the luck of the Irish, eh?
2. Several years ago I spent the night at the Myrtles Plantation. That was the scariest night of my life, and I would love to go back! Believe me, you don't know haunted till you've been tucked into bed by unseen hands! *cue Vincent Price laugh*
3. I don't eat broken Cheerios. I find them disgusting, and search through a handful at a time till I have enough in my bowl. I don't know how this habit started, my mom says I never liked them. I especially hate the Cheerios that were never fully formed, and taper off. There is just something so irregular about them.
4. My BFF Stephanie and I once stayed up till all hours of the night to write limericks about all our co-workers. I know, you just discovered a new level of nerdiness.
5. I graduated first in my class. But I went to an alternative high school, and there were only about 24 of us in the graduating class, so that takes away some of the impressiveness.
6. I don't do all that well with keeping house plants, but when I have one I typically name it Maude. Except one time when I named one Florida.
7. I can probably tell you just about anything you want to know about The Beatles. No, really, I mean it.
8. Thanks to this PBS special, I think I would be perfectly happy to be employed by the Queen and work in the housekeeping department of Windsor Castle. I also have a slight crush on Prince Philip.

I'm supposed to tag 8 other people, but I'm not sure I know 8 bloggers who haven't been tagged already. So, I guess if you read this and feel like sharing less than 9 things about yourself, then you should do it!