A boy named Ryan

Ryan got married this weekend. It is a crazy thing for many of you who read my blog to think about. You may have known him when he was 12 flustered with A.D.D., or as a teen-ager only interested in video games and taking things apart, or how about the phase when he sported a 4 inch Mohawk? I remember all of these as well, but I think yesterday will stand out as my best memory. He’s a man now, with a wife, whom I adore, and a real live career that takes him all over North America, and who will soon have his own house. The scrawny little lost kid from Bonne Terre who grew up on Spring Way Drive turned out to be pretty ok. I’m really proud of you Bud.

One tall vanilla steamer please

I can positively say that I am consistently the last person to arrive at the airport for a flight, sometimes cutting it at close as 30 minutes. I can also say I’m often times the last person to board the plane. But I can’t say, until today, that I’ve ever been paged for a flight, followed by “your aircraft is completely loaded and ready for take off”. I can only laugh now, writing this while on the airplane. I wasn’t late because I was in traffic, or visiting with family, or that I got tied up at work. No, no, I had to stop at Starbucks and buy my first steamer of the fall, and I took my leisure at sipping it before going through security. I enjoyed every rich mouthful that passed my lips. See, when I got out of the car at the airport in St. Louis, it was just cold enough to constitute the need for a jacket, which for me is so exciting because my favorite season is upon us…Fall.

A tall vanilla steamer with cinnamon reminds me of so much:

It reminds me of getting all bundled up and walking up and down Pearl, arm in arm with Double B’s, on a chilly night. Then curling up with the dogs for a short night's sleep.

It means that everything I cook from here out will include pumpkin, when appropriate, and sometimes when not appropriate. Person A used to get out of bed excided for the smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen, only to discover that I had included pumpkin in the pancake batter. Here’s another example: “What are you making hun?” “Homemade ice cream” “Yum, what kind?” “Pumpkin!” A conversation which was always met with slight disappointment. My cooking habits this fall will be no different.

All of my favorite activities happen in the Fall. Heather, Cherie and I will get together for our annual baking day some Sunday in October. I’ll host “Donuts and Devotions” where I make homemade donuts out of my grandma’s secret recipe and provide a multitude of toppings for my guests to choose from. Jen and Vaf have their Fall Festival, when we play games and laugh until we can’t breath and attempt to light their house on fire. Halloween is always a hoot in my neighborhood, I love seeing the kids all dressed up and harassing the ones who are way too old to Trick or Treat but do so anyway. And of course my birthday. This year will be special, as it is one to really celebrate. I’ll be 30 and ready to embark on the next and most important phase of my life.

Back in the Lou

I'm spending this week in St. Louis with my ENTIRE family. I'm currently running "Wedding Central" out of my Grandparent's home. As long as you don't touch my piles of stuff or take the Oldsmobile away from me, we're good. Yes, I'm glamorous, driving around in a 1986, faded gray, 4-door Olds. I'm having to run to Panera every hour to get online as there's only one wi-fi connection in their neighborhood, which I only get from 6pm-8pm- Thanks Kellysnetwork. My sister-in-law to-be is having breakdowns on a daily basis right now, but Ryan and I meet them in stride. My poor mother is driving in from Michigan and contracted a flat tire. My aunt and grandmother are in from Kansas City, visiting my Pop's resting place, and Aunt Patty and Steph fly in from NY tonight. At about 4pm today, "Wedding Central" is moving out to the venue, where I will be relaxing for the rest of the weekend...and probably fighting with the mother of the bride. At 4pm today I will enter the "no bull-shit zone"-- there will be no melt downs, no changes, no arguing. From then on there is only fun, relaxing, and celebrating my brother and his new wife.

Yet another

Random and sundry entry

I had almost forgotten that eating a patty melt and chocolate milk shake at Steak n Shake, Imo's Pizza, a cheeseburger at a family barbeque combined with absolutely no exercise could actually make you lose weight. Thank God I was reminded of that fact.

My brother is making out like a bandit right now. Not only are my parents buying him a house, but also are going to renovate the entire thing, are gifting him their entire living room furniture, a tv, washer and dryer, queen sized bed, and a rocking chair (which are quite expensive in case you haven't priced them lately).

Can I please quit working now? I'm really sick of getting up every morning at the same time, going into the same office, interacting with the same people... I need variety. I did manage to secure a wedding in October, which will be quite exciting and lucrative. I'm very excited about it. I'm also excited about the idea of BAKE- which may be making it's debut in Boulder soon.

I went last weekend to celebrate one of my favorite people's birthdays! There were 3 babies running around. Babies bring such joy! And for me such sadness. I guess I thought I would have the fourth baby.

I've found myself stalking PF Changs and the Sawyer Lofts on a regular basis. When I find what I'm looking for, I'll stop.

Choice phrases

The following are phrases which have popped up over the course of Summer 2008 and lay me out on the floor laughing even after hearing them over and over...

1. Julia, you can't act like this anymore. It's time to grow up ...you're not 19 anymore, you're 23 now. (Comment by Zac on the phone while Julia is calling from the Bellaire Penitentiary)

2. One night Julia and I were out and needed cash. Luckily Zac had given Julia an envelope of cash earlier that day for her expenses for the restaurant. When we pulled the envelope out we realized that Zac had clearly written "Paidy Cash" as opposed to "Petty Cash" on the outside. Julia almost drove the car off the road at that point.

3. " Don't start that can of worms"- Zac advising Julia not to "start" criticizing him for something.

4. The other day I told Zac about my recent shenanegins (shenanegins becoming my favorite blogging word lately). He immediately started calling me a slut. He later had to "start the can of worms" with Julia about my recent activities. He says to her " Jen is such a slut... S-L-O-T" to which Julia replies "she's a slot? Zac a slot is something you deposit things into." Zac's reply "EXACTLY!"

5. William Raymond Baker a.k.a. Billy Ray a.k.a. Whooooo Ahooooo-- some guy who has latched on to Julia and become her stalker. When I found out his name was William Raymond and then switched it around to Billy Ray. Enough said.

Ike and I

I weather the storm just fine. It was quite a scary night, I must say. I woke up to the sound of things flying through the air hitting the roof of my friend's house, clutching my pillow for fear that something was going to be flying through the window any second. I re-located to another room quickly where the brick wall surrounding the house was more protective. There would be no more sleep for me Friday night. When the sun started to show through we ventured out to find this:


We discovered that we would need a canoe to get anywhere beyond the end of the driveway:


I finally got to my house on Sunday morning to find my house virtually unscathed. My palm trees were lying on their side, and all sorts of tree limbs and leaves were littering my front yard:


I faired much better than my neighbor:


Luckily these trees fell in the front yard and not on his house or my garage.

Here is the most severe damage I suffered:



I have nothing to complain about. I've been staying at a friend's loft, who has air and internet, it has been heaven. I show up to work looking like a rock star, while everyone else rolls in with hair out of control and wrinkled clothes. Even the beautiful people and attorneys look a mess. No one has power, even the wealthiest of the wealthy. Power lines are down all over the city and there seems to be no return in sight. They are predicting 2 to 4 weeks before Houston is back up and running. Windows all over downtown are blown out. In our office space alone we lost 129 windows. Lines for the gas stations are a mile long in areas that actually have power. There are no stop lights anywhere- everything is a 4-way stop. I was asked earlier today if I regret not leaving. I don't. I've enjoyed this little adventure. People are actually out on their front porches having their evening beer, grilling out and visiting with each other. Neighbors are out helping others in any way that they can. It reminds me of Bonne Terre a bit, the friendliness.

Hi, I'm ok, I came out of the hurricane basically unscathed.

I still have no electricity at my house, but am staying with a friend who does have, and am very thankful. The most exciting thing about my day today was flat ironing my hair.

I went into the office to get everything ready for tomorrow. We will be fully operational, with a few clients even coming in.

I have a ton of photos to post, but am extremely exhausted between dealing with my house, work and living like a vagabond, so i will do so later.