"Equally neat!"

I also found this note from Jamie and Emily:

"You're too NEAT! We can't be friends. Love, Emily and Jamie"

"I hate nice people."

I was going through some old boxes today and came across some notes from when I lived in Timp Gateway in Provo. These were from our very favorite Rebecca (my inspiration for blogging and *trying* to be somewhat funny--but no one is Rebbs, let's just face it). She gave me an Easter egg hunt in my apartment with these little notes in them. You have to understand that Rebecca is awesome; she has the driest sense of humor and "hate[s] nice people." She also realized she had too many friends, so she decided she was going to write notes to different people at church and tell them they couldn't be friends anymore; they were too nice. So here are the notes I got (p.s. Brooke, did you get some, too? You should post yours!):

You're so annoying. Seriously.

Please stop talking to me.

Wow. Blonde and superficial. You usually don't get those two together.

You know what? I don't really care.

You have no soul.

Plethora of Thoughts II

I win Aunt of the Year Award (hey, three days left--I'll take it!) for taking Jack to the pet store for the first time in his life yesterday. Apparently he woke up this morning talking about Ya-ya (me) and fish and birdies. Go me!

Las Brisas brunch on a 75-degree day is perfection.

If you think only two-year-olds are immature or unintelligent enough to get their clothing stuck and torn on thorns in the rose bushes outside of Las Brisas, you would be wrong. Ahem.

Jack was, however, the only one to prick his finger on the thorns. Phew!



Opah's 50% off food on Mondays nights was actually enough to keep me away from Cafe Rio on their opening day. Wow. But a four- or five-star filet for $16 is too hard for me to turn down.

Kobe is reverse aging, I swear. I had to take him running/playing/chasing three times one day this last week because he had so much energy.

I loved my trip to Utah! I'll need to post some more later, but I love the Orchestra/MoTab/Kath. Especially Kath. It was a blast seeing Holly and Christina and spending time with them.



The Jazz game with Wendy and Jacob was awesome, especially since just in recent times Wendy couldn't stop bashing on basketball. Jacob and I have converted her. I still love Paul Millsap.



Apparently, one-size-fits-all only works when you're nearing 6'. I drowned in this thing.



Watching my cousin's daughter, Sage, try and hold Joey, the GoldenDoodle puppy, was definitely a highlight of my trip. I have multiple pictures that are just like this: Sage trying to pick up Joey, and Joey trying to run around and play.



We Jergensens are very serious about our cookies. The Cookie Exchange was super fun--thanks for coordinating it with my trip, Jocee!

Confession Time

I have a serious confession to make:

I have listened to the David Archuleta Christmas CD. Many times. And I LOVE it.

Kath is HOT!

We all know this already, but it's fun that the Church in its entirety gets the chance to see it now, thanks to PAGE 17 OF THE DECEMBER ENSIGN.

Seriously, check it out. It's awesome. GO KATH!

Fanny Packs are HOT! Part II

One of our dear friends, Jocelyn, got a kick out of the Fanny Pack story (posted as Mom's status update on Facebook a couple weeks ago).

So it could not have been more perfect that when Jocelyn dropped by yesterday for a few minutes, Mom just so happened to be wearing said hot pink fanny pack (with black trim!) around the house.

Seriously? It was a fantastic moment.

I Have Wanted Items

My sister often walks through our house with an eye for what she wants. The other day, she saw my new Flip and said, "Ooooh, I want that." And not in the, It'd be nice to have one, but in the, I want YOURS sort of way. Too bad I already use it and love it.

Later that day, we were up in my room and she looked around my room . . . "I want your bedroom furniture. It'd be perfect for Jack's room."

"Okay, you're buying me new stuff, then!"

She didn't take me up on that. But I'm not quite sure what it says about my bedroom furniture when it might be perfect for a 2-year-old boy . . .

Things For Which I Am Grateful

My sweet, silly dog.

Lots and lots of food. (Thanks, Wards! You guys are the best!)

My new HP.

Men's cologne. (If you *really* know me well, you know exactly how far my obsession goes)

A boss who says he's thankful for me in his Facebook status. Always nice to be appreciated by your employer.

Martinelli's.

An awesome sister. She's SO. COOL.

A hilarious mom.

Amazing friends.

The new OCMCO CD. I can't stop listening to it!

There's lots more, but I'm pooped.

Be Very Jealous

I'm posting from my new laptop. Be very, very jealous.

In the words of my very nerdy, very geeky, PhD'd, middle-aged ISys professor at the Y, this machine is very, very sexy.

Quad i7 processor. 4GB RAM. 500GB hard drive. Blu-ray. HDTV Tuner. Windows 7. Beta Testing Office 2010. Boo-yah!

Plethora of Thoughts

Opah has 50% off on food on Monday nights. Holy yum. Got the filet. Perfection.

The new OCMCO CD is PHENOMENAL. Might’ve gotten emotional three or four times already on the drive home from picking it up. Who would’ve thought that can happen on the 405 near Jamboree?

My boss gave me a Flip Video ultraHD that he won at a conference in SF last week. Cool! More videos of Kobe! Boo-yah!

Got my order from Athleta today. Maybe trying on swimsuits after eating a big filet mignon dinner isn’t the best idea.

Exchanged some hoodies for Jack at Old Navy tonight because, even though he turned 2 two months ago, the 2T just isn't going to work. He's a 3T-er. Thanks heavens he got some tall genes. Somebody in our family should experience it.

My new laptop comes on Wednesday. I could not be more excited.

I'm going to help a friend prep for the GRE by helping her with the math portion. WOO! I love math!

I went to the gym last week. Woah. (When Mom found out, "Who'd you go with? I know you wouldn't have gone on your own." Snap! She knows me so well.)

Kobe had his surgery just days over a year ago, so I’m getting all reflective and sentimental. Yes, Wendy, even more than usual. =)

Joey's Pizza

I saw the name "Joey's Pizza" today and didn't think of pizza; no, I thought of Alias.

Anyone else think of that, too?

Such warm, happy memories.

Inspired

Every once in a while, I'll have a conversation with a friend and come away even more impressed with and inspired by them than I was before. I had such a conversation with a friend last night and was absolutely blown away. Dear Friend, and you know who you are, you rock.

Sad Facts

Sad Fact #1. I accidentally bought girls socks. They're TINY.
Sad Fact #2. They fit my tiny, tiny feet.
Sad Fact #3. I'm kind of happy because they take up very little space in my drawer.

Fanny Packs are HOT!

There may be a few of you who aren't friends with my mom on Facebook, so maybe I can still get some mileage out of what happened last week.

Mom came back from the gym and my jaw dropped when I saw what she was wearing: short, tight, spandex navy shorts, a navy t-shirt, and a HOT PINK FANNY PACK (with black trim!).

The thing is, I could tell Mom thought she looked goooood. She was checking herself out in the mirror and holding out her chest, impressed with what she put together. I might have said something about how I thought fanny packs went out of style in the 90's, so we Wikipedia'd fanny packs and had a blast with the light reading.

Pictures coming soon . . .

How Deep Did I Sleep?

I woke up the other day and there was a spot on my shoulder/upper arm that was SORE. Super sore. Did someone give me the swine flu vaccine in the middle of the night? Because heaven knows the only way that shot is getting into my body is if I'm unconscious . . .

Or maybe it was just a pimple.

Classic Picture

My cousin, Jocee, posted this on her Facebook yesterday. I think it's one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. I'm thinking that maybe every fifth house in Nellie Gail will want to resort to this. You know, the slacker houses.

Roasted Artichoke Salad

I have to say I'm enjoying Ms. Barefoot Contessa. I need to make more of her recipes, but everything I've tried of hers so far I LOVE. I made this Roasted Artichoke Salad yesterday for lunch and it was goooood; today I'm eating the leftovers and it's maybe even a bit better. Cool!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-artichoke-salad-recipe/index.html

Note: I used the artichoke hearts from Costco (the ones in the big jar) instead of frozen ones, and I used a fresh bell pepper instead of jarred ones.

Yay!

Ever have a low self-confidence day or two, only to get a compliment that picks you up and makes you set for about the next two months? That was me this week, only to have my boss tell me that I'm the "best employee ever"--I'll take it! Thanks, G!

Kerry would be so proud!

I've finally lifted my Shopping Embargo which I've had in place for the last year-plus. I needed a couple new suits for work with all these conferences we attend (as much as I love my black suit, I was so sick of it by the third day of the NY conference!).

But the part that would make Kerry so proud? I increased my pants collection (I'm including jeans in this) by 33%! I had six pairs of pants, and now I have EIGHT! People, for me, that's big.

Now I just have to get them hemmed . . .

The Truth

I had a killer headache for a few days this week, so I scooted on in to my chiropractor to see if I could get some relief (and I did--yay!). I hadn't seen her in 3-4 weeks, and she asked, "Have you lost weight? You look a little slimmer."

"No, I don't think so."

That's a partial truth. The whole truth? I very well could have, and I'd have no idea: we don't have a scale, and I don't remember the last time I weighed myself. I only weigh myself when I'm at a doctor's office and I have to, or I'm at a gym and I'm just curious what I could be, but let's be honest . . . it's been a long time since I've been to the gym.

So, basically, I have no idea if the weight listed on my driver's license is accurate or not. I don't even know what I listed on there. Maybe I should check . . .

I'm also attributing the possibility that I looked slimmer to the fact that I wasn't wearing black, which is a rarity.

I'm Giddy

Check out where we're staying and conferencing, all expenses paid by the conference host, near the end of October for work:




Almost makes the last few weeks of usually working until 11pm or midnight worth it . . . =)

Sleepovers

Our a/c broke, and Mom and I have been camping out in our bonus room, which has its own a/c. Too bad I don't fit under the pool table anymore like I did when I was little. It was my own personal fort.

Anyway, you can imagine it's been a riot, having these sleepovers every night.

Last night she wanted me to be her own personal clapper. She'd clap (and wouldn't just *clap* but would SAY "Clap, Clap" AS she was clapping), then say, "Can you shut the door?"

Then a few minutes later, clap and say, "Can you shut out my light?"

Thanks, Wendy!

I've got Boyz II Men songs stuck in my head.

I blame Wendy.

And this is a good blame, because it's been a fun blast from the past. I've got "End of the Road" stuck in my head right now. This is sort of a random stuck-in-the-head bit because it's been about three weeks since I was playing Nintendo in Wendy's living room in Orem and listening to Boyz II Men's Greatest Hits, a CD her awesome husband so kindly bought for her.

From the Woman Who Doesn't Want A Dog

Mom: Is this just not comfortable? It’s kind of small; Kobe has to turn too much. He needs just a really big mattress. (About one of his mattresses)

Mom: You’re not layering his food right. It needs to be rice, then turkey. Mix that up, and then put the raw veggies on top, because he likes to chew his veggies.

Mom: Oh! I want to go make him some (organic) celery with (organic) peanut butter!
Me: You really don’t have to do that; I made him a big dinner.
Mom: I know, but I bought the organic celery just for him!

And she says she doesn't want a dog . . .

Officially A California Girl

It's only taken 20+ years and a nudging (kidnapping? ha ha!) from LittleSister to make it happen, but I think I've finally made it through the Official Californian Rite Of Passage. I got a pair of these:

How Did Aubrey Know?!

Regarding my last post, Aubrey made some comment about breathing, eating, and dreaming work, or something along those lines.

HOW DID SHE KNOW?!

I've been doing some crazy hours lately, 60-70 hours a week sometimes, and I think maybe it's become a bit much, because last week I had three or four WORK DREAMS. I haven't remembered a dream in months, and now I'm remembering work dreams?

I told my boss the other day, and he just said, "Oh dear. I'm sorry."

I don't mind, though, because I love my job. =)

(but I swear I CAN talk about other things!)

I'm A Slacker

I'm a slacker and haven't blogged much lately. Or maybe it's more than I'm working an insane number of hours and just don't really want to blog about work any more than I already do; as much as I love my job, I'm not sure anyone else wants to hear about it all the time.

I did get to go to New York this last week and that was pretty much awesome. My boss and I checked out Max Brenner (thanks again for the recommendation, Maggie!) and LOVED it. Here's why:



We went on Monday night, and Tuesday morning right before his presentation at the conference, he said something like, "We could go back to Max Brenner again today." Pause. "I'm not really kidding." Okay! So we packed up our suitcases and schlepped them into Max Brenner for one more meal, even though we were pretty short on time.

Other cool things on the trip? Networking parties on hotel rooftops. Pretty cool, and also my first experience hanging out with drunk people! Since I'm new to this hanging-with-drunk-people thing, my boss came up with code words he'd throw into the conversation that would alert me when folks we were talking with were a little (or a lot) tipsy. Turned out to be helpful for me, and now it's a running joke. But check out this place!




Sadly, we were so busy with work stuff that I didn't really get to sightsee or see any of my friends who are out there (or even my aunt, uncle and cousins who were visiting right as I was). But we'll be back soon enough . . .

More Mom Funnies

On Monday night, we were planning on hitting a BBQ for a friend's 40th birthday. Mom came home from tending Jack and said, "How about we take your car?"

I paused for a second and thought it through . . . what could be the motive . . .

A HA!

"Is your car out of gas?"

Silence.

Then she busted up laughing. "I just think it would be nice to take your car."

Mom HATES filling her car with gas. Thinks it's such a waste of time, so stupid, and THAT's the reason why she almost got a hybrid--not because it'd be good for the environment; no, because it'd mean fewer trips to the gas station!

The other funny from getting ready to go to the party: "I hate gifts." Now that's not quite Jo-level ("I HATE friends! I HATE fun!"), but it's getting up there.

Note to Self:

Always wear a bra when taking out the trash at midnight. You never know when your neighbors are going to be outside and will want to chat for 10-15 minutes.

Ah well.

"What was I saying? Oh yeah, that I'm a terrible person."

Last night I got a call from Brooke (a roommate while I was up at the Y), recounting the hilarious details of her date with the Celine Dion-listening, MoTab-loving, heavily tattooed--sleeves and all--Mormon truck driver. I was preparing my Sunday School lesson when she called, so the blue piece of paper that held my notes for the lesson turned into the blue piece of paper that held Brooke's awesome one liners. Here are some classics:

What was I saying? Oh yeah, that I'm a terrible person.

I'm trying REALLY hard to not be a snob.

I was so happy he swore.

I was laughing so hard . . . like, in my head. Then I couldn't hold it in, so I just started laughing really loud.
(upon seeing her date's Celine Dion and MoTab CDs)

That was kinda bratty, but . . . also my true feelings.

These stories will never die; I will be able to tell them forever.

I think I came off as a really nice person.

And my personal favorite, from an email before said date:
is it wrong that i secretly want to make out with him just so i can say i've made out with a tattooed truck driver? it could be an ice breaker at mormon parties "hi, i'm brooke. i work with crack whores in the ghetto and enjoy making out with tattooed truck drivers!"
(used without asking for permission, so Brooke can hunt me down if she hates it . . . hey, trip to CA for Brooke!)

I *Heart* Little Sister

I was seriously craving some chocolate chip cookies tonight. MAJOR craving. I mentioned that to Mom after dinner tonight (I made a Thai Beef Salad!), and she said, "Oh yeah, [Little Sister] and I had a discussion during Relief Society about what kind of cookies she was going to make after dinner." Little Sister bakes cookies just about every Sunday.

For the uninitiated and uninformed, Little Sister is a dear friend of mine from the LH3, was a Beehive when I was a Laurel, and was a freshman when I was . . . still up at BYU. I couldn't stand the thought of her eating cafeteria food every night, so she and I started a Tuesday night tradition where we'd make dinner (or go to PF Chang's) and watch Gilmore Girls. Then we added gym fun. Cafe Rio. Tucano's. Yoga. Great Wall of Chocolate. Etc. When she would have dorm roommate drama, she'd come over and study. She's awesome and I love the girl! She's also amazing with the baking, from lasagna to cookies. She makes the BEST cookies ever; I'm not exaggerating at all. I'll take her cookies over anyone else's or any Mrs. Fields or Paradise Bakery.

So I sent Little Sister a little message, asking what she was going to make. Turns out I ruined the surprise: She was planning on bringing over cookies! So at 10pm, Little Sister and her mother came over and we chatted and ate cookies until just before midnight. We had a BLAST!

HONEY!

That's the new phrase. Yummy cookies, and so dang much fun. The four of us have a blast together. We did PF Chang's a few weeks ago, but clearly hanging out once every few weeks is not nearly enough. Love 'em!

(p.s. Brooke, Little Sister is dating a cute boy! Three months!)

Seriously?!

I'm doing some major trademark lookups for work right now, and I came across the most random trademark for Old Navy including these, and only these, goods and services:

"aprons and underwear"

Seriously?! How random is that?

Registration number 2055346 if anyone wants to look it up and see for themselves. http://www.uspto.gov.

The Bachelorette

Anyone else having fun with The Bachelorette? I'm Team Reid/Ed/Jake/Kiptyn, with a dash of Michael thrown in there for fun, and yes, in that order. Wes makes my skin crawl. But at least Dave, the curser and girl's-shirt-adjuster, is gone! That guy, with his crazy beady eyes, is SCARY. But Reid. Blessed Reid. Be still my heart, in those glasses you are all kinds of hot.

Anyone else see a Tanner P/Sean Hayes resemblance? Just me?

Kobe Keeps Stealing My Place!

Apparently, I can't go inside for even a few minutes if I'm working on a towel of any sort and have any desire to get back on it and work again.

Seriously, though, I think it's the cutest thing when I go inside, look out, and he's taken my towel. What can be cuter?

Santa Barbara, Baby!

I really should have taken more pictures of Santa Barbara than this dinky one from the car, but I slacked, so this is all I've got. My boss and I did a quick day-trip up to Santa Barbara to do some presentations to 35-40 account managers at a company called Commission Junction. CJ is the largest affiliate network around, and we've been working with the Publisher Development Team at CJ to get our name and message out there. They've been phenomenal in helping us and having fun along the way.



After presenting, G was like, Okay, picture time! So we snuck out into the hall and snapped this so I could have a record of my first, real-world business presentation! After the presentations, he said something like, "How was your first real, non-case-in-Business-School, non-Relief Society lesson, non-Sunday School lesson . . . thing?" Pretty dang sweet. Granted, it helped that he's the expert in all this and he did maybe 2/3 of the presentation. But it was all a pretty great experience.

Afterwards, our two hosts took us to this amazing French restaurant about a mile away from their HQ. How I didn't take a picture, I don't know, but three of the "walls" were glass windows, along with the roof, so you had this amazing view of Santa Barbara all around you. Add to that great food and the most amazing Julienne veggies I've ever had, and you're good to go.

Yay for CJ!

And, just like S.F., I can't wait to go back. Looking like September right now. I'm LOVING these work trips!

My Life is Boring

I got my hair cut on Thursday, and we LOVE our hair girl. Bennie is the biggest riot and I'm dying for her to have her own reality TV show. But we're both sitting there, going, Okay, our lives are so boring that there really isn't much to update each other on in the last six weeks.

SERIOUSLY.

How depressing is that? I work, I take care of my dog, I do a social thing here or there with some friends, I eat, but really, what else, other than that? My days run into each other; I'm often asking people what day it is, because heaven knows I can never remember.

So, thinking about this days-running-into-each-other thing, I thought, "Is this what it's like when you're a stay-at-home mom?" I hear about the sometimes monotony or drudgery of the same thing every day, changing diapers, making food, cleaning everything up, etc. Or is it just life in general?

So what do you do to break up the monotony? Honestly, it doesn't feel too bad living it, but I'm sure it's boring to read about! Sorry 'bout that.

PT

I was at physical therapy yesterday when the therapist said something that had us both laughing so hard: Your body's doing something very strange today; it's cooperating.

Classic.

Hilarity. It's Genetic. (though it stops with me)

On Friday night, my mom and I were watching The Devil Wears Prada. It came on TV and we were all excited. Then I realized I own the DVD, so we got even more excited when we realized we could forget the commercials all together.

At one point, Mom said, "Are we . . .? Uh . . . why isn't . . .?" Pause. Confused look. "Don't you know what I'm saying?" Totally genuine, but said through a smile-trying-to-hold-back-a-laugh.

Then we just about died laughing. It's like when Mom's had a conversation in her head, and then asks a question from the middle of said conversation, but that's the first part of the conversation she's actually said out loud.

Also like when Nana visited here years ago. We were playing Taboo, along with my uncle, Jace, and his wife, Jen. It was Nana's turn, and she kept saying, "Uh . . . uh . . . uh . . . WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS GETTING IT?! Uh . . . uh . . . uh . . . C'mon, it's SO EASY! Uh . . . uh . . . uh."

(Can you totally picture that one, JoceeB? =))

Thinking About a Background Here

So even though this is kind of a shock to my black-loving self, I'm thinking I want to spruce up this blog a touch, since, you know, I haven't done a single thing to it since I started it over two years ago, and I want something new.

I haven't looked around a ton, and I really don't know much about this stuff, but I found a few backgrounds at that Cutest Blog on the Block site, and these are some of my favorites. Which do you think fit me best? Or do you know of one not here that you think would be better?

I can't believe I have two options with pink. I shouldn't be surprised that I have a black-and-white background--I think it's so classy! But there are so many options and I have no idea how it's all going to work.

(Read: Heather - help! =))

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

I flew up to San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon for a quick work trip. I flew in early enough so I could walk around and grab dinner before it got dark. The mall there was HUGE. I had a fantastic encounter with an extremely flamboyant gay man at the skin-care counter; he wouldn't tell me where the restrooms were until I promised to come back and let him do a quick demo. I told him I'd be back in less than five minutes, and he was floored when I came back and said, "Okay, show me what you've got!" We talked about natural products, had a hoot chatting, and he gave me a hug as I left. I fully supported the passing of Prop 8, but I do love the fun gays.

Here's a cool GAP building.



Here's an even cooler GAP building, GAP HQ:



Yep, we met with GAP. G has actually had several meetings with them at their HQ, so this wasn't an intro by any means, but it was pretty dang cool, for me, at least, to be meeting with them at their headquarters.

The conference we attended wasn't as great as we were hoping it would be, but I met with a gentleman at one company with which we're talking, so that was productive. Several folks commented on how mellow and subdued this show was, especially when compared to previous years; I still thought the "beer garden" hangout was a little crazy, but maybe that's just me. =)

I've been to S.F. several times before, but I really want to go back! Considering we have several really large clients who are based there, and several tech shows are there every year, I'm hopeful I'll be back soon. Hey, it was a good excuse to pull out my suit, strap on some new shoes (which turned out to be VERY painful--I've got three juicy blisters to prove it!), and learn from the best: my genius boss. Can't wait till I can go back!

Doggie Fun

I was working outside on my laptop one day, went inside for a minute to get some water, and looked outside and saw that Kobe took my place.

Mango is Kobe's friend from two doors up, and I bring her down sometimes to play while Alcene's at work during the day. I guess she liked Kobe's dogloo. =)



And then, PUPPIES!

Nicknames

I love nicknames. Christina gave me a couple a while back and I've got to say, I've kind of fallen in love with them. I called her "Gonzaga" (which, it has to be said, is where John Stockton played college ball), and she hesitated, trying to decide which nickname she was formulating for me would be the least offensive. She settled on, "HOMESCHOOL!"

While I didn't really home school, she said it was between that and "G.E.D." Really, they're both fantastic nicknames and I will totally answer to either of them.

I Love Birthdays!

Especially when it's my own. =) (but I also love them when it's a friend's birthday)

Yesterday was my 27th birthday, so my mom, sister and I picked up some food from this yummy place across from the Montage, then hit the Montage's picnic tables on the cliff overlooking the ocean for one of the most awesome birthday celebrations ever. We were there for a couple of hours and, of course, never ran out of topics of conversation! We're such Jergensens! =)

(please excuse the skankiness of my wind-swept jacket exposing a bit more than I'm used to . . .)

It's Official

I *heart* Criminal Minds. Completely and totally hooked. Got Mom hooked. Now we're both spooked and probably shouldn't watch them late at night. But it seriously rocks. I started in the middle of Season 2, went through Season 3, have seen a few eps of Season 4 (thanks to TiVo!), and am now going back to Season 1 on DVD. Loving it! I wanna be a profiler!

(and yes, the gal in the back with the dark hair is Kathy from FRIENDS, the one who dated Joey and then Chandler)