Archive for January 2010

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12 January 2010

Dog

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Random

That’s right. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about getting a pet. But I don’t want fish or turtles, I want a dog. I’ve wanted one for a long time and I think it’s time to take the risk and get one.

I must be totally f*cking insane.

Why am I insane? Mostly because my work schedule is anything but regular. I leave at 7:45 a.m. and get home about 7:30/8 p.m. Monday-Friday. Sometimes later. I’m worried my dog will hate me because I’m gone a lot and destroy my apartment. And I really don’t want that to happen.

I’m also worried that my dog won’t respect me because I can be a little timid around them. I didn’t grow up with pets and take a few minutes to warm up to them. But I do! I don’t want my dog thinking he/she’s the boss. No no, that’s MY job.

But then I think of how great it would be to have someone waiting for me when I get home, to love me unconditionally and challenge me. I’m ready to really care about someone other than myself and want to see if it unlocks a maternal side of me that I’ve never been in touch with before.

I’m not looking forward to walking him/her in snowstorms or cold weather but those are minor things compared to the benefits of having one. And all of my friends with dogs say getting one changes things for the better. I’m ready for that kind of change.

So the next steps are to email my landlord and make sure the condo association is okay with dogs and to start researching breeds. I’m aiming for my new roommate to be here by spring or summer. I’m excited but feel overwhelmed, in a good way.

What about you? Are you on Team Dog or Team Cat? And what are your favorite breads of dogs? Or what is your favorite part of having one?

Update 1/13: I’ve been reading through the comments and agree with many of the great points and stories people are sharing about when they got their dogs. Looking back at the post from last night, one thing I DID forget to really clarify was that while my current work schedule is crazy, I would of course re-evaluate it, making sure I leave at a good time and work from home in the evenings (when necessary) so the dog isn’t alone for 12 hours. You’re right, that isn’t fair. And I think many of you are right, an older dog would be necessary and these are things I’m learning from you guys and will find out more as I start research. The dog isn’t coming home this weekend, next week or next month, this is a lengthy process that I’m looking into and making sure I am prepared for.

Keys, wallet or drivers license: I was really surprised by the varied answers to yesterday’s post. It was a good mix of everything and even a few write-in items, but the most common answer was keys (drivers license was a close second). Keys is definitely what I fear losing the most.

Reminder: You can read my review of Avatar over on the review blog. I was surprised by my reaction to the movie.

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11 January 2010

Keys, wallet or drivers license

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Random

It may sound crazy but I have a serious fear of losing my personal stuff. This includes silly things like gloves or hats, but also the more serious stuff like my keys or wallet.

And because of this fear, I compulsively check to make sure I have everything with me when I am out. This includes regularly checking to make sure I still have my keys (even if I don’t touch them), wallet and Blackberry. I would be seriously pissed if I lost any of those things.

My friends see me constantly do this and laugh (or don’t say anything because they know I’m insane), but I can’t help it. I live in the big city, people can pick pocket!

So when a friend recently teased me about this compulsion, I asked her a simple question:

  • If you had to lose your keys, wallet or drivers license, which would you choose?

Tough one.

She answered drivers license because it’s the least annoying to replace. And I agree with her.

Losing my key is my ultimate fear because I rent and my landlord is not local. And it’s freezing cold outside. Being locked out in winter would be awful!

Plus, losing my wallet means a) I lose the money in the wallet b) I have to cancel and get new credit cards and c) I have to replace my wallet. And I love my wallet.

So by default, driver’s license was the winner. But I’ll still be a loser if I have to get a new picture taken because I love my current one and the ultimate punishment would be getting stuck with a new, lousy one.

What would you pick: key, driver’s license or wallet? Or what is the one thing you would hate to lose, if it’s not one of these three?

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10 January 2010

Weekend recap: Champagne brunch

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Chicago, Food, Friends

Happy Sunday everyone! Well, there is still snow on the ground but it’s warming up into the 30s in Chicago this week. And after a few days last week, that is a heat wave. I never thought I’d say it’s balmy 20 outside right now.

*Dreaming of a beach…..*

This weekend was random, crazy and totally fun. I was also drunk at some point every day this weekend. That’s a big accomplishment for me. Yay!

But what I want to talk to everyone today are two topics: being overserved and brunch. Personally, I love both. I love brunch, with fresh eggs, fruit and food deliciousness, and being overserved because it gets me drunk for cheaper. And while we’re in a recession, I need to maximize my dollar wherever I can.

And fortunately, today I hit the double word score of both items. I had brunch and was ridiculously overserved at it.

That’s right, several Chicago friends and bloggers gathered for the celebration of my colleagues’ Meg and Maris‘ birthday. And when Maris told us about a $20 champagne brunch at a charming Italian restaurant in Lakeview, I was in LOVE.

This is the same place that puts plastic penguins in the window in winter. So cute.

Anyhow, we ate absolutely delicious food and consumed enough champagne to kill a horse. In fact, the waiters started just bringing BOTTLES of champagne to our table with orange juice separate to save on glasses. And we conserved them, with multiple spills along the way.

I’m willing to bet we went through 8-10 bottles of champagne and it was SO much fun. Great food, friends and conversation, that’s a triple word score.

And here’s the last thing I saw too before going into a full champagne haze. The bubbles make memories fuzzier faster.

I don’t know why people complain about being overserved, one day, we all pay that generosity forward.

How was everyone else’s weekend? What type of drinks do you preferred to be “overserved” on? Champagne or wine is a BIGGIE for me.

New movie review: This weekend I saw Avatar and immediately came home to write up my review. Check it out.

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07 January 2010

Pajama fashion show

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Fashion, shopping

I go pajama shopping about as often as I go for my annual. Once a year.

And I’m better about going for my annual than I am about buying or replacing my comfy sleeping clothes. What’s up with that? I remember a speculum more than flannel? That’s f*cked up.

Anyhow, my point is that pajamas are not a priority for me when shopping (because I’d rather have a cute sweater). I usually sleep in an old T-shirt and boxers I stole from an old roommate or naked. I invest so little in sleepwear because I don’t wear it for very long and no one sees me pre-bedtime, plus naked time is fun. I can count the number of lingerie pieces I own on one hand (half of one actually) because I just don’t see the need to invest in them if no one can enjoy it.

But while cleaning out my drawers last month, I realized that half of my “sleepwear” needed to be tossed due to cotton falling apart and massive holes in certain pieces. Oops.

So thanks to awesome pre-holiday sales, I was able to get a few things to help bring my sleepwear wardrobe from sad to kinda cute.

Here are some of my new pieces (yes, it’s a PJ fashion show):

Old Navy

Yes, those are reindeer. So festive!

Wisconsin Badger colors (win!) plus a cute pattern and light enough for spring

Ralph Lauren outlet

Lumberjack-inspired and I’m loving it

Gap

Pink and gray, two of my favorite colors. And the smaller pattern is flattering on the hips

You can also see what stores had the best sleepwear deals too :)

What about you? Do you regularly buy sleepwear or what do you prefer to sleep in? Naked or nothing are acceptable answers. Big plans this weekend?

Thin walls: Thank you for ALL of the great comments on the thin walls post. Some of the stories and stuff you’ve heard were hilarious. No surprise, loud sex was the most reoccurring theme from the comments. Some people need a muzzle :)

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05 January 2010

The joy of thin walls

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: apartment, pet peeve, Random

On New Year’s Day, my hungover body was relaxing on my couch when I heard the distinct sound of someone throwing up, and it wasn’t coming from my apartment.

And as I listened to the dry heaves and sound of someone’s stomach emptying, I thought: god I hate thin walls.

As a long-time apartment dweller, thin walls/floors/ceilings are probably my ultimate pet peeve.

If I could, I would live in an apartment that is surrounded by cement, blocking out sound from any neighbors above, next door or below me. I dream about that because right now, my paper thin walls drive me B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

Of course, when I rented this apartment, I didn’t know about the thin walls, thanks to a landlord who lied like a mofo. And when I realized how thin they were, I actually considered how I could shave my landlord’s head in the middle of the night, without him noticing.

So how thin are the walls/ceiling of my apartment? I can hear the woman living above me snoring, the guy living below me logging on to AOL (“You’ve got mail!”) at all hours and my non-hot next door neighbor fighting with her boyfriends, screaming, “you don’t respect me!” I can handle all of these things, but hearing someone throw up in the apartment next door? That’s just not cool, especially when I’m trying to keep from doing it myself.

But, it is better than my old Minneapolis apartment where a neighbor and her boyfriend would have sex like rabbits ALL THE TIME. It was super uncomfortable. Unfortunately, she was a screamer, fortunately, he didn’t last long ;)

What about you? What is your ultimate pet peeve about living in apartments? Or what is the funniest/worst thing you’ve heard one of your neighbors doing?

Remember to vote!! For me in the 20sb awards here! Mwah!

New movie review: It’s Complicated. And I may have used the words “John K” and “my lady bits” in the same sentence :)

Salad envy: Several of you commented on my healthy, delish salad that I made for dinner last night so I’ll be featuring it in an upcoming post!

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