A Little Cat Nap

I have had so many exciting things to blog about over the last month, but no time to do so.  I am a firm believer in moving forward, so unfortunately you will not get to hear about all of my hmmmmmmmmm, what did I do over the last month?  O'well, moving forward.

I actually took a few days off of work this week, one for a dentist appointment to have a cavity filled and two for a race that ended up being cancelled.  I have instead been spending my days off returning curtains to ikea, food shopping, and getting the oil changed in my car.  You would think I would measure the windows in the house before I left, but no, that would be too easy and make way too much sense.  These may seem like simple little tasks, but when you attempt to cram them into your 40 hour work week, it is nearly impossible.  I am actually feeling more tired today then I do when I go to work.  Now that I have been home for two days, I realize just how long a "cat nap" actually is.  It's all damn day around hear!  I don't even think Mahoney and Vella have gotten up to poop yet.  I decided to take a short version of a cat-nap myself.  It ended abruptly in a panic because i thought I had a book report due.  Book report????  When was the last time I even had to do one of those?  I finished Grad school a year ago, so I have no clue where that came from.  It was probably because the last time I had the opportunity to take a nap, I was in grade school.   The nap must have triggered a certain area of my brain to think I had a grade school project to do.  Thank heavens no.  I am done with that.

Well toodles.

Jennifer Marie

  

My Morning Show

Throughout college I spent my mornings watching “Good Day Sacramentento.”  The show was always a blast to watch, stuck with local news (which was rarely ever “news”), and was on from 5am to 10am.  I had the greatest schedule in college.  I worked from 11am-3pm M-F and started school around 5/6/7pm depending on the class.  This gave me plenty of time to watch my favorite morning show, work, ride my bike, and then school.  It was sad to see Kelly, Jeff, Taren, Jackie, and Chris leave the show throughout those precious years. They had been apart of my home every morning since I was 20.  Well, graduate school came to an end for me and now it was my turn to move on.  I moved away from my beloved Good Day Sacramento.  My first thought was, what am I going to watch in the morning?  When I initially moved to the Bay I was staying with my friend Rita who would always watch “Today in the Bay” (TITB) with Brent and Laura Cannon.  Rita can’t handle Laura’s eyes, but she would watch anyway.  In late November Keith and I got our own place, and I just kept up the tradition.  TITB is on from 5-7am, and I am sad to say that I can’t even watch until 7 because I have to head to work.  I no longer have that sweet college schedule.  My mornings are no longer full of Sacramento happenings and fun games in the studio, but weather and traffic reports with my cup of coffee.  The big talk on TITB is no longer Laura’s eyes, but the new controversial weather woman.  Just after I moved here TITB replaced their weather man with a weather woman Christina Loren.  The first morning I saw her, I couldn’t believe her boobs.  Christina has stirred up a lot of controversy here in the bay area.  People either lover her or hate her.  I have to say that she really wakes me up every morning.  I find myself glued to the weather just to see what crazy thing she is wearing and what off the wall comment she makes.  Christina, I love you.  I may not have a clue what the weather will be for the day, even after watching it 20 times, but you never fail to shock me.

The happy Good Day crew.........

The happy TITB crew..........

Here is a funny video of Christina.  I remember when she wore this shirt.  

Thanks for reading:)

Jennifer Marie

The Horton Tsunami

My dear ex-housemate of 2 years was Mr. Chris Horton.  He is actually my longest standing housemate.  I am a little anal when it comes to a clean environment.  My coworkers and Keith constantly hear; “I can’t work in this clutter, what is this crap, do you really need this?”  Luckily Chris accepted the fact that I was crazy, and I accepted the fact that he was subpar, so it worked.  My REI co-workers had a nickname for his clutter, “Horton Crumbs.”  If you needed Chris, you just followed the crumb trail.   Haha.  In all honestly Mr. Horton was an awesome housemate.  He was always there to feed my kitties crunchies, pick me up when I forgot keys, or listen to me complain. 

Anyhow, the day of the Horton Tsunami Chris decided to do dishes and clean his car.  This was breaking news in itself, but it gets better.  Chris plugged up the sink, turned on the water and headed out to his car to grab a few (possibly months worth) of bottles and Tupperware that were acquiring that sweet green residue.  Now I was not actually present, but this is the Horton story reiterated.  Apparently he forgot about the sink and began cleaning his car.  After some time had past he walked into a flooded kitchen.  He took every blanket and towel in the house and tossed it on the floor in a failed attempt to soak up the water.  He then placed an uncanny amount of blankets in the washing machine, which resulted in the first aftershock, overflowing water and a broken washer.  By the time I came home I couldn’t tell if water was coming from the garage or the kitchen.  It was everywhere! 

Life after the Tsunami was difficult.  We had no towels to dry with, no blankets to sleep with, and no washer to clean with.  Two weeks after the incident, Keith got the washer up and running again.  We were able to clean up the disaster that was left following the Horton Tsunami, and all lived happily ever after.

In all seriousness, I wish those in Japan the best. 

Thank you for reading

JenniferMarie

The Votes Are In!

The majority voted and people want to hear about Brynne and Jen’s worst adventure ever.  We have had many crazy little adventures, but this one I am about to tell tops them all.  It’s even crazier then dating a pirate or a drug dealer, and by drug dealer I do not mean the pharmaceutical rep.  The boyfriend crazies are another story in itself.  In addition to the pirate, drug dealer and pharmaceutical rep, we have the gay (maybe 2), the nerd, the tattoo artist, the alcoholic, the psyco, the marine and hmmmm I can’t even remember.  It doesn’t matter though, that’s not today’s story.

When Brynne and I were 18/19 years old we started working at a small vet clinic in Citrus Heights.  This is a horrible story in itself and I hated/we hated that job more then anything else in the world.  I loved the animals, but our coworkers and our boss were from a different world.  I think I came home crying everyday because the job was so bad.  I remember my breaking point.  Brynne and I were mailing flyers when my boss came in being as obnoxious as ever.  I handed her an envelope and left.  She was shocked to say the least, and weeks later Brynne left too.  I do have to say that the drama in that place was pretty amusing.  I remember one woman was cheating on her husband, meeting people online and heading out to “meet” them on her lunch break.  It gets better, but I won’t share because that’s not today’s story either.

Anyhow....... We used to coordinate our lunches together and head out for an hour so that we could talk s&!t, pretty typical.  One day we stopped off at this little Mexican Restaurant.  The food was great, conversation great and then it was time to head out.  As we starting walking back to the car we noticed a man walking towards us with a sleeping bag in his hand.  We thought it was odd.  As he started walking faster, we began to scurry to the car.  We realized he was running after us.  We got in the car and my hands were shaking so bad I couldn’t get the key in the ignition.  I was screaming to Brynne, “What do I do?”  She yelled, “F*@King go!”  I got the key in the ignition and the bum jumped on the top of my hood.  I drove forward and his face just plastered on the windshield.  I am not sure how it happened, but I put the car in reverse and he flew off.  Off we went!  No more Mexican Restaurant.

That’s the story, short and sweet.  I think the reason why that was the worst ever, was just because I have never experienced my heart pump so hard in my life!

Just in case you don't know....... below is a stunning picture of my Brynne friend. haha O yes, and a surprised Ari friend.

Thanks for reading

JenniferMarie

The Amateur Porta Potty User (APPU)

Ahhh........ That is a sigh of pure relaxation.

My glories three-day weekend is coming to an end.  I spent all three days sleeping in, practicing metabolic calculations and riding.  I forgot how good it felt to ride a bike in shorts and a t-shirt.  I tucked a few of my favorite country stars in my kit pocket and just rode. The tranquility of my ride was enough to make my mind wander.  I would love to tell you about my thoughts, but instead I am going to tell you about the amateur porta potty user (APPU).   This by no means is coming out of nowhere.  I had the pleasure of watching several APPU come out of the restroom this weekend.  The 6.5 mile stretch of path I ride has about 4 restrooms along the way.  These restrooms are not necessarily porta potties, but very similar in that there is no plumbing, just made better with no portability.  Anyway, to the point if there is one. Sitting in front of a restroom is the best place to people watch.  As the APPU exits the restroom in a hurry with a look of disgust, you will notice them holding their arms away from their body, fiddling with buttons, zippers, pant legs, and scanning for the nearest water source.  A bike racer is not an APPU, rather an expert.  The sight of a porta potty doesn’t frighten us.  It is actually more of a godsend in many situations.  Those early morning wake up calls, long drives, caffeine and nerves can really get the best of you.  I myself am able to slide down my bib shorts while holding my top in my mouth, and proceed to hover over the hole while wearing cycling cleats on a slippery porta potty surface.  A cyclist cannot only contribute their nice legs to riding, but by using the porta potty hover as a common isometric exercise.  It’s those burning isometric contractions that warm us up and tone our butts.  Coming from a world of pageantry, the porta potty hover is one of my pre pageant preparation secrets.  ha.  I will worn you though, the cleanest porta potty is not always the best choice.  You run a higher risk of experiencing "splash back," just ask Keith.  Now I am not really sure where I was going with this.  I seem to have gotten side tracked.  O’ well, I need to get ready for the work week.

Happy Martin Luther King Day Everyone. 

Thanks for reading,

JenniferMarie

P.S. Here is a picture.  If you ask me though a triathlete can always pee in the water.  I mean, the swim is first.  

The Physique Rating

I am curious about this physique rating phenomenon.  Apparently a perfect score is a 9, and the lowest a 1. I find it to be a slap in the face that a 10 doesn’t even exist.  This has been brought to my attention after taking my two well-rounded cats to the kitty Dr. yesterday.  They both scored a 5.  I think the veterinarian was in a generous mood, lets be honest.  I am pretty sure 16 pound cats are considered overweight if not obese.  Moving on........... My bathroom scale has told me that I am an 8 for the past 3 years.  My question is this, what does a girl have to do to score a 9?  It’s impossible. Keith and I have tried and tried.  I will tell you the problem.  The problem is that the bathroom scale has been in society for far too long.  It has already adopted the philosophy of striving for the body you will never have.  It has set unreasonable expectations.  I bet that that stupid scale doesn’t even have the ability for a 9 to pop up on the screen. 

Let’s face it....... There is no such thing as perfect, only pretty close.  Vella and Mahoney couldn’t be happier and they are sitting on a 5.  I think I’ll take my 8 and toast into the New Year. 

Thanks for reading

~JenniferMarie

November in a Nutshell

My poor blog has been neglected lately.  Upon returning from Hawaii late Halloween night, I was up early for a drive to work.  With four hours of sleep and a week vacation behind me, who knew what the week in store? Luckily the weather was warm in the city.  Running along Ocean beach in the sunshine made the transition from Hawaii a little easier.  The Giants won the World Series that Monday. The energy in San Francisco was unbelievable.  I watched and cringed as the Giants played their final game.  When it was over I headed to the roof of my friends SF apartment watched fireworks, and listened cars honking and people screaming.  The San Bruno explosion had occurred my first week in the city.  I remember driving over the Bay Bridge and listening to the radio.  The energy in the city was subdued.  I had patients crying.  They had lost friends, and lost homes.  It was hard for me.  It felt like a close to home 9/11.  The Giants in the World Series was exactly what the city needed.  The residence had something to cheer about.

That same week I went house hunting.  I found myself disappointed and frustrated about what I was finding.  I had called Keith to let out my frustration.  He quickly sent me an address to a home in Millbrae.  I was in the area, and gave the number a call.  The owner of the home was actually there waiting for another prospect that hadn’t shown.  It was a sign!  I fell in love with the place and the area.  It was within our budget, had a garage, 2 bedrooms, a bike commute from work, near great riding, and in a quiet neighborhood close to shopping.  These were our criteria, which yes made it difficult to find a place.  Let the background checks begin!  Keith and I received our keys the day before Thanksgiving.  I had a lot to be thankful for this year; graduate school completion, new job, new home, Miss California Pageant, reconnecting with an old friend (Rita), making new friends, healthy kitties, and continuing love from Keith, friends, and family.  I am also thankful for Brian Hillier and Paul Zierke for helping us move in the rain the day after Thanksgiving.  Much appreciated.  Thank you for the Hillier family and Rita and Adam for allowing me to stay in your homes while Keith and I searched for a place.

Between the Giants and the move, I participated in the Miss California Pageant.  I met a lot of wonderful women, had a wonderful time, and learned a lot.  I hope my little sister Kayleen decides to compete in the future.  I think she would be wonderful.  It was nice to have my brother, parents, and boyfriend there to support me.  It was defiantly a wonderful opportunity.

That was November in a Nutshell.  We are now a little over a week into December.  It is full of Holiday parties and cheer.  Keith is getting settled into his new job, and the kitties have adjusted quite well.  I made my first payment to my school loan.  Here is to 10 years of paying it back!  Sweet.  Well, I guess barrowing was worth it.  I did nail a killer job.

Thanks for reading.

JenniferMarie