Dane Cook Was On To Something...

Dane Cook is a funny man (sometimes)... Dane Cook is a hot man (almost all the time). More importantly, Dane Cook is a smart man. (Ok, he said one smart thing once, but it works here.) He had this whole skit talking about relationships and how they really should be called relationshits. I'm starting to think he's right...

Being in a relationship for any length of time is hard. Being in a relationship for over two years for someone who's never done anything longer than three months is a life-altering challenge. You have to be truly, madly, deeply in love to make it last. You have to constantly work at it. You have to communicate. That's the biggest thing right there. No one can read minds (alright, a few people might be able to, but they might also be crazy.) so you need to say what's on yours. If something is bothering you, you have to address the issue. Or you can let it grow and fester and next thing you know, you have this huge three-headed monster that you can't tackle together. It grows between you and just pushes you apart.

I think K and I are at that point. The monster is in the egg still (monsters are hatched, right?), but it's there and that's a problem. I can't keep addressing the issue from my side. I just feel like I'm beating a dead horse. I don't want to fight. It's exhausting. I want K to notice things are off and say something. I want him to want to fix things.

I just want things to be fine. I miss the way things were with my best friend. I miss us.

But then again, maybe he doesn't...



How do you communicate with your other part?


Peace, love and an extra helping of peace,

J xoxo

It's Been a While...

Fancy seeing you here! (I know you're probably having a hard time remembering who I even am... I get it.)

I know it's been a while since my last post and I apologize. I just get so wrapped up in life and work (mainly work) that I don't leave time for me. Blogging and writing are two (One? One in the same, right?) of my favorite things and I need to find the time to do them every now and again. Plus I just talked to my aunt (aka my mentor and idol) and she told me how she'd read some of my previous posts here (now I know where all five page views came from!), and really enjoyed them. That means a lot coming from her because she's a creative writing rock star. So, back to updating this thing more frequently it is!

I'm not going to go into this whole huge (read: boring) post on what I've been up to since my last post. I'll sum it up real quick though: K and I are still dating and living together, we're back in baseball season and my parents are coming to visit TOMORROW!

With Mom and Dad during last year's visit.

My "baby" nephew and niece, Cole and Payson. My loves.

I'm so unbelievably giddy about seeing my parents and baby nephew tomorrow, I can't stand it! I haven't seen them since Christmas/New Years and that's about six months too long. They're coming out at a perfect time too. I don't want to expand on the specifics too much right now, but sometimes life has a funny way of working. There are peaks and valleys, highs and lows. Right now, I think my life is a little split-personality. Some parts are definitely on top of the highest peaks, while others are stuck in the depths of the valleys. I'm extremely happy right now, but I just need some time to figure out how to get out of those valleys... or if I even want to get out of them. Life isn't always a walk in the park and I certainly don't have all the answers for how my life will turn out. There's no turning to the back of the book to cheat and get all the answers. That's tough sometimes. In the end, I know it will all work out the way it's meant to be. Cheesy, yes, but true (at least I believe so). Hopefully a week with Mom, Dad and little Cole will help clear a few things up for me.

So, what have you been up to lately?

xoxo,
J

Peanut Butter Tacos...?

I don't really realize it, but I have my way of doing things (the female, correct way) and K has his way (the male, incorrect way). It's not like we sit around and discuss how we do certain things; it just pops up in every day life. Like today...

K slept most of the morning (as he has since we temporarily adopted Dakota, his family dog -- a 6-year old chocolate lab) while I cleaned and just took care of some weekend chores. He finally woke up around noon and we discussed cooking something for brunch. He was going to stretch out on a culinary limb and make Ramen noodles. (I know this is like a poor person delicatessen, but I seriously love everything about Ramen. It's delicious. And, we're poor.) I asked K if he could make me a half-peanut butter sandwich as well. (Ok, originally I asked for a half-peanut butter and honey sammy, but we're out of honey. And we're poor.) So he proceeds to hand me this:


Seriously.

I ask him what this is. He tells me it's a "peanut butter taco." Seriously.

I get to thinking about the difference between guys and girls. My first though when making that sandwich would have been to cut the bread in half. Literally my first step. But his wasn't. It was to take the bread and spread peanut butter on it and fold it in half. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's just funny how the two of us think differently about simple things.

What do you do differently than other people?

All Work and No Play

As I've mentioned before, K and I work together. It's how we met.

Because of that, we literally spend almost every waking moment together (or in the same place). The good thing is, we do two completely different jobs which means I'm inside the office most of the day (staying a nice transparent white) while he's outside (working on his nice tan). It's not like we share an office and a desk and a chair and never leave each other's side.

It's more like I'll see him in passing (as I just did when he walked past my office two seconds ago! Cue the butterflies...). For the most part, I seriously love working with him. But then there are other days.

Like yesterday.

He was just in a bad mood. It wasn't anything I did or apparently anything I could fix. He was just in a crappy mood with everything going wrong. His phone wasn't working right so I'm trying to fix it and he just keeps snapping at me. So I snapped back. And immediately regretted it. I hate when he's in a bad mood and I don't help the cause and just add to his frustration.

We worked it out a few hours later with some "I'm sorry I snapped"/"I'm sorry I snapped back."/"I love you."/"I love you too, Pookie Bear." And all was A-okay in the world.

Do you work with your significant other? More importantly, could you work with your signifcant other?

Peace, love and snappity, snap, snap,

J

L.O.V.E.

Love is such a strange word indeed. L-O-V-E. Beautifully strange.

Last night on our drive home, I asked K when he knew he loved me. He said about two months into our relationship.

He didn't actually speak the words until a few months later. (Don't judge me, but I'm completely blanking on the exact date right now.)

From the minute I knew I loved him, I always wondered when and how he'd tell me he loved me. Prior to K, I've never been in love and never had anyone I truly cared about this way tell me they love me. (Am I pathetic? ha, maybe!) I remember calling my Aunt Lydia on the way home from work one day and telling her how he just gave me these intense butterflies...bigger and better than any other time. I just hoped he felt the same way.

It was the final night of the Star Wars exhibit at our local museum and K and I had yet to go together even though it was on our to-do list for months!We went and walked the exhibit, geeking out looking at all the cool displays and features. Along the way there were a few interactive places. At one point, we played Legos (his favorite...to this day!), building and testing different things (the only thing I like about science -- the hands on fun stuff!), and making our own robots at the very end. We seriously had the best time ever. As we were leaving the museum, in front of a main highway with cars whizzing by, K grabbed me and kissed me. But it was more than just any kiss we've ever had. It was that kiss!  Then he told me he loved me.

I was so caught off guard. I'd practiced my response a million times in my head in anticipation of this moment. When the big moment finally came, I froze! I realized what just happened and mustered out an "I love you too." And that was it. My big moment came and went, in front of a Star Wars exhibit at a museum. Perfectly nerdy... just like us.

On a side note (becasue I'm full of those!), I did tell K I loved him once before. I was craving my favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream (Phish Food... YUM!) and went to the store to find it. I couldn't find it anywhere! I looked and looked and looked. Nothing. Then K walks up. "Oh, there it is!" he points. And there it was.

I grabbed him at his waist and hugged him and said "Ah! I love you!" After I realized what just happened, I kind of clammed up. Highly embarrassing. But look where we are now!

I just L.O.V.E. him... to pieces.

Peace, love and an extra helping of love,

J

Blah...blah...blah

I hate using a depressing title for this post, but I'm sitting here trying to break through this writer's block I currently have. I should be updating the team's website, but I just can't get the creative juices flowing. So I'm blogging. Blogging about living with my wonderful, fabulous, amazing, hot, awesome boyfriend.

We've been living together now for almost eight months. Wowie Zowie! EIGHT WHOLE months. Let me tell you, before living with K I never, ever in a million bizillion years thought I'd move in with my boyfriend before he put a ring on it. And a wedding ring, not just any ol' engagement ring. But it was different with K... different in a way I can't really explain. We were always together at one of our apartments. Why were we wasting money each month not living together? Since December 1st, 2010, I've never looked back. I love coming home with my best friend. We do have a "10 Minute Work Rule" though. We get the 10 minute car ride home to talk about work. That's it. We might have to drive around the block a few times, but once that car is turned off, so is the work talk. It's probably the best rule K has instilled for us. It makes home about us and let's us have a positive, happy home. Gosh, I just LOVE him!

(WARNING: Random tangent starting in 5...4...3...2...1...)
Lately, I've been on a puppy kick.

I mean, aren't the adorable?!

My beloved puppy Sammy died back in November and she was the absolute greatest puppy ever. (Even if she was 15 years old when she passed away.) Sometimes I want a doggie to replace my Samantha and other times I just want a little playmate to chase around the house. Either way, I know I have to wait till we get into a house with a yard. But it doesn't hurt to ask, does it? :)

For now, I'm going to stick with my new beta fish, Marty. Or Martin Van Buren, if you're looking for the official title. Yes, he's named after our 9th President. I have a strange fixation with naming my beta fish after political figures six feet under. I just can't help it... and neither can K because he actually named Marty. I'd say he's a keeper. (Both K and Marty!)

I think I just saw a crack in this writer's block... back to work!

Peace, love and WOOF!

J

Ugh...

I know I said I would be better about posting. And I wasn't.

"Liar, liar, chicken's on fire!" I can just hear my little nephew chanting that right now. (Maybe one day he'll get the words right. Lucky for him his 6 and a handsome little devil so it doesn't matter.)

Adorable, right? Yea and my nephew is pretty cute too! :)

We just get home from work and I'm so exhausted that the last thing I want to do is be witty and crative. The worst part is? We're just 22 days out from Opening Day, which means work is only going to take up more of my blogging time. Boo, I know.

Well let's see... what have K and I been up to?

We went out for Fat Tuesday to this fabulous little cajun joint in town. (One of the few redeeming things about this place.) We had a few drinks and a few little mudbugs (at least I did... K wouldn't touch the dang things!). And beads! We both got lots of beads, with none of that other stuff, thankyouverymuch! :)

Yummy crawfish!

We've also been working on our apartment since Dec. 1... the day we moved in. Trying to decorate and not in that oh so fabulous "college chic." We both had very inexpensive furniture when we joined forces. We got rid of some stuff and really upgraded a few things (TV, enertainment center, writing table, etc.). Most of our furniture is dark brown... except for the center of our living room. Exhibit A:



U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alabi!

It literally paled in comparision. I figured let's just buy a new table, but K, being the smart man he is, decided we should just refinish it because he loves the table. So we did. What we thought would take a few hours took two weekends. But we LOVE the way it turned out. And it matches fabulously! (Or as K would say: Faaaabbbb-ulous. Flips hand down)

The finished product:



Que lindo!



We've had a few good weeks since my last post. We've made some really good meals:



Savory Baked Chicken and Garlic Mashed Potatoes


And we've had a few kitchen disasters:



Cake Balls (for the umteenth time!)


We went on a glorious hike yesterday. With the weather being so nice lately, we've wanted nothing more than to hang out outside. It was a 2-hour, butt-kicking hike up and down a mountain. No, not a hill, a real life mountain! Unreal. But absolutely awesome at the same time.

All in all, it's been a good spring with muh boo. And even better, it's our O...ON...ONEEE...ONEYEAR anniversary next month! Seriously, where has time gone?! I can't believe it's already been a year that we've spent together. Sitting here next to him on the couch, basking in our post-dinner-food comas, watching a marathon of Family Guy, I can't believe that I've spent (almost) a year with him. But golly gee if it hasn't been the best year of my life.

And he just let out a burp to kill the dinosaurs. Cute moment, gone.

What do you love about your boo?

Peace, love and leftovers,

J

#4... Come On, You Can Do It!

I apologize... I've been very flaky this past week.


What's that you say? You accept my apologies?


Ok good. :)

(Not going to lie- I almost gave up again and then read some other blogs for inspiration and pulled myself back up into the saddle.)

I think the reason I'm not pulled into blogging everyday is because K and I lead a very, very simple life.

We live together.
We work together.
We drive to work together. (And, well, everywhere else too because K's car is in the shop from a little fender bender.)
We cook dinner together.
We eat lunch together.
You get the point.

He's my right hand man. I'm his wing-(wo)man (minus the whole helping him pick up hot chicks at the club thing).

We cook dinner together almost every night. Some nights I let him show off and cook all by himself, as long as I can whip together a decadent dessert.

He packs my lunch (I'm still waiting for my little love note on the napkin...). I save him a seat at the lunch table.

And that's our life together. But you know what, as simple as it is, I absolutely love it.

This weekend, we finished our taxes, went to Red Robin for dinner and played a great game of Monopoly (For the record- I kicked booty!). Nothing exciting, but just how I like it.

I love my boo and our simple life together.

Peace, love and pasta dishes,

J, xoxo

The Couple That Weighs Together, Stays Together...

I completely meant to blog last night, but left my computer at work thinking I wouldn't need it at home. Wrong and wrong.

Anyways, back to the important stuff. The state of Alabama kicked off this great initiative this past week called Scale Back Alabama.

The basic premise is you get a team of four (no more than four, no less than four -- they are very strict about this one.) and you each have 10 weeks to lose 10 lbs. The great thing? If all four of you drop the weight, you get entered in a drawing for $4,000. Yes, that's right -- $1,000 EACH! Do you know what I could do with that cash $$? New wardrobe, new couches, Kitchen Aid mixer, maybe even pay off some student loans. The possibilities are quite endless.

Our team is the "Adios-e Adipose" (adipose is fatty tissue for those of us not up with the medical lingo) and it's myself, K, and two of our good friends from work. Last night was our dreaded weigh in so we figured what better way to kick off a diet than a big 'ol traditional style German dinner. Brats, and potatoes, and slaw, and cheese, and sausages, and bread! Oh the bread! It was that deliciously soft, warm bread that the buttah just melts on the minute you spread it on there. And carbs are my weakness! So of course I had three slices just to myself.

Large German feast and four glasses of water later, we went to weigh in. I had packed on three pounds since the day before. I'm going to credit those lbs to dinner. To keep me honest for the next ten weeks, I weighed in at 130.6 lbs. My goal is 15-20 lbs. Then I'll be a happy camper.

I leave for Vegas in two weeks. It's our annual Vegas V-Day girls trip. No boys allowed. K is so awesome and not making me feel guilty about going, even though it is our first V-day together.

More on that trip later... for now, back to work.

Peace, love, and no more buttah,

J

Welcome to Atlanta Where the Players Play...

Today we ventured out of this lovely little place we like to call Hell (some refer to it as our new hometown). It's not really full of fires and flames -- it just feels like it.


K heard about a "free day" at Turner Field, the home of his beloved Braves. It was free admission to their Hall of Fame and a free tour of the park. We were just talking about heading out to the ATL for a tour of the park so this was perfect timing. Plus we're entirely broke right now so free is money to us! (Creepy person/thing listening to our convos - STOP. Thanks!)


It really was a perfect day (minus the freezing temps!) and a perfect outing. It was awesome to see K on the field and in the dugout where his heros have been. I remember going in the dugout at Wrigley Field and not wanting to get up. I thought about everyone who ever sat there, etc. and couldn't believe that now my hiney was on that bench too! It's an increadible feeling and anyone who's a sports fan, I highly recommend stadium tours whenever possible. But I digress...


The tour of the park and the HOF only lasted about two hours, but it was awesome. We stopped at The Varsity (apparently the world's largest drive in -- but we dined inside, of course) and got some chili cheese hot dogs and burgers, onion rings and fries.


K let me "entertain" him on the way home with a lovely rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want Miss a Thing." I love that he lets me be me, weirdness and all. And let me tell you, there's a lot of weird in here.


Here are some pictures from our lovely day:




Dodgers and Braves... Just like us!

 

In the Coca-Cola Skyfield

 

Hanging out in the dugout




Pretending to be manager Bobby Cox



See the excitement?! :)

Our feet out on the field

Being very fierce, of course!

I'm a Dodger fan at heart, but I sport the Braves "A" just for him. Relationships are full of sacrifices, right?


We're closing out this awesome day with a nice fire, some grilled veggies (diet starts now!), the Wii, and a fierce game of Monolopy. Here's to Park Place and Boardwalks...


and an awesome boyfriend who still loves you when you insist on wearing this sweet getup...

So hot right now!

Peace, love and "Get Out of Jail FREE" cards,


J

Starting Out...

I apologize. The title is lame, but I just need to start this dang thing. I've had it going for the past 24 hours but just haven't sat down to actually write something.

So here it goes...

I'm Jill, a 23-year-old living in Alabama. Don't mistake that with being from Alabama. I'm from Southern California, born and raised. Nothing against people from Alabama, but I am so in love with California and all it has to offer and am so proud to be from there. Let's see, what else? I love my job. I am a sports fanatic (I cheer for every LA team -- and the Chargers but the Dodgers hold the #1 spot in my heart.), baking enthusiast, cooking adventurer, travel lover, unhealthy shoe obsessor, and often a girly girl. Anything else I'm missing? Oh, and I live with my boyfriend.

His name is Kelly. He will most likely be refered to as Pookie Bear from here on out. I know it's Wendys-commercial-cliche, but somehow it fits. Thankfully he's a guys guy. He choice in sports teams is questionable however. I love the Dodgers, he loves the Braves. He loves the Cowgirls, err boys, I love the Chargers. I love him and he loves me. I guess that's all that really matters.

When I told a girlfriend that we were moving intogether, she suggested a start a blog about it. Sure, why not put this trying time in our relationship out there for everyone to judge? Isn't that what our generation is all about? So here it goes.

Wish me luck.

Peace, love, and wintry nights,

J


PS- We're not really anonymous cohabitors. Or suffering from serial cohabiting. Every other witty name I could come up with was already taken. So throw me a bone.