Sunday, May 31, 2009

Vibrant colors....

I walked down to the Ballard Sunday market this morning and found some colorful flowers along the way. I have never seen the flower below. Anyone know what it is?


This particular plant is currently growing in my yard, and I'm dying to find out what it looks like once it blooms. For the past week or so, the bulbs have been bleeding a reddish purple liquid. I'll post some pics once they actually open up.

Bow Wow Wow Yippy Yo Yippy Yay.......

I want to get a dog soooooooo badly!! At the Ballard Sunday market, I couldn't keep my eyes off all the awesome dogs. Case in point.....this crazy cute guy chillin' in his owner's backpack. It pretty much made my day.
This is what I saw as I was walking up to the market. Dog in backpack. I had to get a photo. Then I felt creepy taking this woman's photo without her knowing, so I just straight asked her if I could take a picture of her dog in the pack. I think she thought I was crazy, but was kind enough to humor my request.
Then I saw this hairy beast. She was rockin' a pony tail up front, super cute. I'm not sure what kind of dog this is. Any guesses?
Who's this little lady? The sweetest miniature weiner dog ever. I would love to get a miniature Dachsund. Do miniature Bassett Hounds exist? If so, sign me up.
If I had a dog, I'd totally need to get a beach cruiser bike so I could haul it all around Ballard like this duo. How happy would you be to ride around in that milk crate on a sunny day, the wind blowing through your fur?
I think its about time for me to start a new chapter in my life. The canine years. I'm sure Frank will be none too pleased, but it will grow on him:)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

I heart my little house.......

Over the past few weeks, I've fallen in love with my little house all over again. The foliage at this house is so incredibly colorful and beautiful this time of year. I just want to wrap my arms around it and give it a big hug. The past few weeks I've been uber frustrated with my lawnmowning situation. In a quest to alleviate my frustration, I hired a nice young man to come over and tend to my overgrown yard [insert inappropriate joke here]. He did a fabulous job!
The sun and sky were so gorgeous today, I decided to go out and take a few pictures of the lush foliage. I don't know much about flowers, so maybe one of you garden nerds can identify these plants for me. Rhododendrons, perhaps?
These plants totally dwarf my house! They are huge. One of them is about half as tall as the telephone pole outside my house. I think my plan for tomorrow, weather permitting, is to plant some lavender. I have always loved lavender, and gave away all my lavender plants when I moved down to California. It is hard to believe I only lived there 4 months, because it felt like an eternity being away from my family and friends. I've been back 10 months now, and it feels like its only been a few months. Anyway, looking forward to planting some lavender for my nose (and the bees) to enjoy.
Ah......my little house. Isn't she cute? I love this neighborhood!!
This past week has been jam packed full of fun. As most of you know, I turned 32 last Saturday. Lots of hanging out with friends and family over drinks and good eats. As is tradition, I like to spread out the festivities over many days. Here is a rundown of events that took place:
May 19: Dinner and drinks with Helen at Dad Watson's (can you say buttery nipple?)
May 20: Dinner with Bren at Thaiku in Ballard. Possible drink at Old Town Alehouse if the cute bartender was working, but he wasn't, so we bailed
May 22: Dinner and drinks with Casey and Kim. Dinner at O'Shan Sushi in Ballard, and drinks at King's Hardware. Two thumbs up for O'Shan Sushi. Great sushi at affordable prices. At King's Hardware, we discovered they have something on the menu called the Afterschool Special. It's a peanut butter and bacon sandwich. Sounds kinda gross, but sort of intriguing. Maybe someday. They also have a drink called the Brass Bear, which is Hamms mixed with orange juice. Also for another day.
Later on, May 22: Drinks and dancing at Rock Salt. Let's just say I need to learn how to salsa dance, it looked super fun!! Corey will be so excited to find that out!
May 23: The big day!!! I'm 32!!! The day started out well with a breakfast of home fried potatoes, eggs over easy, and bacon. Then off to West Seattle for an afternoon BBQ at Chris and Mike's. Jon, Ashley, Kim, Kyle, Cynthia, JP, Chris, and Mike.....an awesome group of people to spend an afternoon in the sun with. Mike made awesome Luther Burgers, JP made some potent and delicious sangria, and the stories flew. I think I may have peed my pants a little. After West Seattle, Jon, Ash, and I headed back to Fremont and met up with some folks at Dad Watson's to cap off the night with some Oly's and Irish car bombs.
May 26: A trip up to Bellingham with Chris and Brenda. Potato burritos and boutique shopping with my ladies. Casa Que Pasa didn't disappoint me with a rockin' Rancho burrito (basically a potato burrito but with salsa and and lettuce). I managed to find my dream necklace and matching earrings at a shop in Fairhaven called Whimsy. I'll have to post pictures of them because I am in love.
May 27: Haircolor with Leah at Habitude. My new favorite stylist gave me a new look. Darker brown with some bright red streaks. Don't worry Mom, I still look professional:) The streaks are subtle. I'll have to post pictures of the new 'do.
May 28: Met up with Casey at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard for Casey's cousin Brady's 30th birthday bash. He murdered his 20's!!! It was fun meeting some of Casey's extended family. And some good people watching!
May 29: Shopping with Paula, then dinner/drinks with Gina and Paula at Anthony's in Everett. I tried a Chi Chi for the very first time. What is a Chi Chi? It is basically a pina colada, but with vodka instead of rum. It was delicious. Love spending time with these girls!! Afterwards, headed over to Gina's house to spend some time with Atticus. He's walking now!
Tonight: BBQ with the gang, then maybe drinks in Ballard.
Tomorrow: Meet up with Gina, Atticus, and MB at the Ballard Sunday Market. Should be a solid little Sunday:)
Thanks to everyone for making the last few weeks awesome and memorable!! 32 is the new 22!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

All Holes Filled With Homeless or I Would Totally Jerk Off To That Window Setting If I Were Homeless


After a rousing evening of Schmidt's at King's Hardware in Ballard the night before Jess' birthday I wondered on the walk back "Where do the homeless Beat off?" What prompted this query you might ask? None other than the risque mannequins (mannequines?) at the Second Ascent (the nipples on those things, right? {when did large "mushroom stem" nipples become attractive enough to be considered normal enough for the common place?}). Leave it to me to perve out on a window dressing at a thrift store, or gently used active wear bodega.

To make matters even better we saw a totally pie-eyed 400 lbs momma being carried by two homeless dudes down the street. She was blathering something incoherent and desperately sweating through a pair of stretch pants. I wonder where those guys were taking her? A Port-A-Potty? Under the Ballard Bridge? How about Golden Gardens for some Beach Blanket Bingo (Its the wettest wildest game in town!)? Don't say the homeless aren't active, they just work out at different times than us. No offense to the homeless of course.
*Guest blog post by C-money.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Happy 1st Birthday, Atticus!!!

One year ago, today, this awesome little man entered the world. His name is Atticus, and he is pretty much amazing. And as you can tell, he makes some kick ass facial expressions.
A few weeks ago, Gina and I spent the weekend in Entiat. These photos were taken outside Gina's house before we embarked on our journey to the east side. His shirt says "Top Dog" and there is no doubt about that.
Is it just me or does his facial expression in this one translate to him dropping a deuce? I love it.
Can't wait to see how he grows and changes in the coming year! Happy 1st Birthday, Atticus! I love you.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It would be my honor, to be your new stepfather.....


Are you a mother lover?

How did I miss this??

Seriously folks, how did I miss this? Bea Arthur is dead, and no one bothered to tell me. I just figured this one out a few days ago as I was perusing the internet. I stumbled across an "In Memoriam" link and saw a picture of Bea. Rest in peace lady.
I remember watching numerous episodes of Golden Girls as a child. It was sandwiched in between Empty Nest and Sledgehammer on the Saturday night line up. Bea played the tightly wound Dorothy Zbornak, daughter to Estelle Getty's quirky Sophia Petrillo. She wasn't my favorite character on the show, she was always sort of a Debbie Downer, ya know? My favorite Golden Girl was probably Blanche Devereaux.....she's a slut, bung! (Name that movie....)
A couple years ago I went down to Las Vegas with a group of girlfriends for Kim and Corey's joint bachelorette party. Little did I know that I had a vicious case of mononucleosis at the time. A few days before the trip I noticed that my glands were swollen on one side of my neck. I thought it had to do with some dental work I had done that week, so I ignored it and continued with my plans of getting debaucherous in Sin City. On the plane ride from Seattle to Las Vegas, Kim was sitting a row or two behind me and decided it would be funny to rip the above picture of Bea Arthur out of the magazine she was reading (what was she reading anyway? Geriatric Monthly?), and send it up to me with a little "Hi Jess" note on it. It obviously made me laugh considering I saved the dang cutout and presently, two years later, continue to display it on my cork board at home. The entire Vegas trip we referred to my swollen neck gland as "Bea"...... Good stuff.
Cheers to Bea Arthur and girlfriends.......
Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say
Thank you for being a friend
That was for you Kim, you can thank me later.