Why Staying in is Better

It was rainy and gloomy for most of the weekend here in Portland. I have no complaints because it allowed me to sleep in, to nap, to watch the entire Season 3 of Game of Thrones and to do very little housework. 

The only mini-complaint I do have is that I made plans and had to leave the house/put pants on. This wasn't too bad after-all considering that I got to witness the Portland Trail Blazers beat the mean 'ole Memphis Grizzlies for the first time this year AND was in bed before 9pm (win!).

For me the weekend has become 2.5 days and nights of pure me time. Time where I'm not on the clock, I'm not attached to my cell phone or my work email. I don't have to do my hair or 'put my face on'. The friends I talk to on the weekends don't care how put-together I come across. It's my absolute favorite, you guys are amazing. 

When I woke up on both Saturday and Sunday morning to texts from 11pm the night before, all I could do was laugh. Don't my friends know about my early bedtime on Fridays because the work week leaves me exhausted? Or that binge-watching an entire season of Game of Thrones would mean no extra time to go out or even meet my mom for coffee?

I'm a homebody at heart and my 26 year old less-worried-about-what-people-think self isn't sorry about it for a single minute.

This gif perfectly captures the way I feel. 

Now that you think I'm awkward and you'll never want to invite me to a party, here's a fun one sided argument for your entertainment:
+ "How to Cure a Hangover" is not in my google search history
+ More likely to get quality workouts in
+ No "cover charge" to hop in your own bed see what I did there?
+ Less likely to "drunk-eat" all of your weekend calorie budget
+ Weekends in have given birth to my new blog design and nerdy shortcuts at work
+ Beer from my fridge is already paid for, and I don't have to tip.
+ No heel-wearing walking injuries
+ What's a taxi?
+ No trying to remember if the new contact in your phone named "John - Weird Laugh" was cute or not
+ And the best of all, I believe that we mentioned above... "no pants".

What do you love about staying in? Or would you drag me off my couch and make me come play?

Fantasy Spring Break in Gifs

If this was 10 years ago I'd be a Junior in high school and would be pretty upset about the fact that Spring Break has now come and gone. Shut it, yes my 10 year reunion is next year - huh? But, I'm not a Junior in high school anymore and I'm thankful for it because that girl didn't know how to do laundry, how to schedule her own doctor's appointment or what a credit card was used for. Becoming an adult day by day, aren't I mom?

It's Friday and I would love nothing more than to be recapping a week full of fun spring-time antics. A week inclusive of pool parties, drinks with umbrellas in them, a hundred selfies and naps on the sand. A week of late nights that led to bad good decisions and stories I couldn't tell you here on the internet. Maybe reading a book or two..?? What can I say I'm a good time girl. 

I could tell you about going to Arena football Monday night, or my week in clean eating, or blog things, work things, even my annual trip to the lady doctor!

While that sounds like a blast of a week recap I'd rather make up a fantasy spring break vacation and tell you all about it like it really happened. Sounds like a lot more fun, doesn't it?

Before you continue, I recommend playing this song to set the scene (and to back that azz up)

Sunday 

The best way to start a vacation is by taking a red-eye flight to somewhere tropical, right? I packed up all the airline bottle booze the T.S.A would allow and boarded a jumbo jet to freedom paradise.

Monday

Touched down in the Bahamas on a Monday morning and immediately handed all of my luggage to my valet and private escort for the week. I raced out to the white sand and the clear blue water to get my fill of sun rays and whistles from the locals. Or the Flamingos. I didn't discriminate.

Tuesday

Day two and I was already making friends at the all-inclusive resort, both girls and guys.  I might have went on a date with a tall dark and handsome east coast boy and he may have even given me a goodnight kiss (and a phone number!)

Wednesday

All the dancing, all the music, all the fun, all the being groped by sweaty people! Wait, what?

Thursday

After being up all night dancing the night away and fighting off the men mosquitos, I just wanted a day at the pool. Just a good book, a swim up bar and SPF 35. What I didn't know to expect were the hard bodies and their poolside antics. I'm not complaining.

Friday

The final morning is a day to wake up early and get the final hours on the beach in before heading back to rainy Portland. It made me beyond sad to pack up my bikini, say 'see you later' to my new friends and adios to the sunshine. But I was thrilled though to find new ways to pack the wine I didn't drink to bring back into the states!

Haha - just kidding. You guys thought there would be wine left over? You obviously don't know my Spring Break alter ego well enough. 

That was by far the greatest spring break trip that I've never taken. Look how much fun I had and all of the dollars I didn't spend!

I recommend that you try making up a fake vacation like this sometime. It almost makes you believe it was real. 

But really, can we do this next year? Happy weekend!

Adult Habits I Need in My Life

There's something so whimsical about Wednesday confessions that make me feel like Thursday should be a little more serious. If days were friends, Wednesday would be my good time party friend that's always down to drink one more margarita. Thursday is then my friend who I'd meet for coffee to talk politics and women's rights on a weekend morning. Okay so I don't exactly have a friend like Thursday but I think you know what I mean. She's a little more serious, that Thursday lady.

For those of you who were here last week, I'm proud to say that I'm now 27 days sober (you'll want to click that link if you think I meant sober from alcohol). Days keep going by and life keeps getting better. Had you asked me in February what I thought March 27th would look like it'd be nothing like this. The future is brighter than ever and I'm approaching a month of freedom with zero intent to break this golden streak.

While we're on the topic of going 27 days without something, let's chat about habits - since talking to that boy was a pretty big one I had to break.

We all form our own habits for better or for worse. They shape who we are and they can say a lot about us. This week of clean eating has made me realize that I've adopted some poor habits when it comes to workday snacking and it's also made me think about the habits I wish I had in my life. The habits that would make me feel like I had my life together and that I was actually 26 years old like my driver's license suggests I am. Want to play along?

+ Make my bed every morning
+ A better skin-care routine (thoughts on this?)
+ Eat dinner at the table, not in my bed hovered over my laptop
+ Something called a bedtime, do you know what this is?
+ Add sweeping, dusting and vacuuming into my cleaning routine
+ Fold the pile of clean laundry that's on my bed right now rather than sleep with it
+ Regular car washes and oil checks
+ A résumé that's ready to go at any given moment
+ To enjoy sitting down with a book to get lost in for hours 

+ Keep up on current events and be able to have intelligent conversations about them
+ Say no and say it often
+ Say yes and say it often
+ Spend money on experiences and not objects
+ Make more phone calls

Those are all baby changes to make, which one should I get after first?

What are some things that you need in your life that would make you feel a little more put together?

Humpday Confessions #5

There really is no better day than Wednesday in blog land.

Here in Portland it's starting to rain and I know I won't want to get out of bed. I'm pretty sure that when I realize it's Christmas morning Wednesday I'll turn off the four alarms that will be blaring from all around my room, make a protein breakfast smoothie and cozy up to my laptop to jump into as many confessions posts as I possibly can before having to actually shower and get to work.

I guess that brings me to my first confession - showering. 

+ I think I've been exaggerated to my whole life, but legend has it that when I was younger I would refuse to take a shower. So on a week like this where we've got spring break, I'd go outside, play in the yard all day, sit in a tree eating leaves story for another day and somehow get away with not bathing for days. At least I wasn't this kid (hey he's from Portland, remember?)

+ Monday night I was browsing the internet when all of my power shut off. Apparently a tree knocked out a line and the entire neighborhood lost power, but all I could think was that it was a personal attack, that a robber/rapist was coming for me. Like usual, first instinct in a panic situation is to reach out to my mom. I laid in bed listening for every indication of a robber outside but you'll be happy I didn't pack up and go running home. However, I did sleep fully clothed in case I would have had to leave quickly.

+ I was carrying around a cup of water at work and had to run into the restroom quickly before a meeting. I realized I was standing there holding an open-top cup of water in the vicinity of toilets and set the cup down on the counter (disgusted), did my business, and left it there. Something about fecal matter in the air didn't make the water seem all that desirable anymore.

+ I don't want to admit this one. Last night I got home at 5pm from work and what did I do? I immediately took off pants (that part is normal) and I took a nap until 8pm. I either needed to catch up on the sleep I missed from the power outage or maybe dance class was really that strenuous. Either way, a win in my book because then I turned to House of Cards and a night with glasses on. Hush.

+ And finally, speaking of sleeping - whenever I see people yawn I instinctively want to put my finger in their mouth. Just because it's funny. It doesn't help that the majority of yawns I see are at work and I don't think the co-worker relationship can go there yet... or ever.

This is what I mean if you're wondering. 

And that concludes my favorite day of all the blogging days.

Can't wait to hop around today and hear all of your confessions!

Vodka and Soda

Spring Clean Eating

Spring cleaning is not only for the home. It should be for your diet too. 

I don't mean "diet" as in restricting calories or saying no to carbs. I mean diet in it's literal definition as "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." So the next time you reach for a handful of potato chips you're welcome to say that they're a part of your "diet". Please use this joke at the next party you attend. 

This weekend I received a Facebook group invite for a "spring cleaning" healthy eating challenge. My first thought was "pffft - I know how to do that, why should I join a 'challenge'?". Then as I reached for the "meh, it's kind of paleo" dried cranberries that are really just full of sugar, I decided that joining in wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I often say that I'm "90% Paleo", meaning that I leave a bit of wiggle room for alcohol and cheese, and then anything else I don't want to say no to. But as a general trend I avoid grains, dairy and sugars because since I've cut them out I feel a million times better. This week of clean eating is intended to poke holes in the "wiggle room" that I allow and see how much wiggle could be adding to my jiggle. (if ya know what I mean!)

3 huge mega keys to my planned success this week are the following:

1. Drink WATER like it's my job! Or... like it's my blog... since you know where priorities are.
2. PLAN snacks, don't scour co-workers drawers for munchies. This is how wheat thins "happen".
3. Meal prep + PACK meals rather than go to the cafeteria (also saves me all the dollars).

The awful thing that I noticed just on my very first day is that when I got "bored" I'd crave something sweet. Like an afternoon coffee, a mint from our admin's desk or tapping into the gross leftover valentine's candy what?. And instead since I was mindful, I opted to go fill my glass of water instead. How many calories have gone down this way out of boredom when a quenched thirst was all my body was searching for? I shudder at the thought.

Monday was ultimately successful, especially that I went to Costco after work and didn't even look at what samples they were serving. I walked in, headed straight toward the gum, took a selfie of how much willpower I was exercising then and walked out with self respect and happy feels.

This could be the first step of a twelve step clean-up program. Thankfully I'm going up the stairs rather than down them... am-i-right, Melissa?

Thanks for inviting me to the challenge my dear friend, Gretchen! You're an inspiration!

What are you guys doing for spring cleaning?

 Also, linking up here:

What About Me?

Welcome back, friends! There's a new look and feel around these parts thanks to an incredibly wonderful lazy weekend.

Question: Is it okay that I still haven't done an "About Me" page, but I've changed up the fonts, headers, social media links and all those things at least 5 times in the last few months?

I think my priorities are out of line, especially when Helene gives "get-your-life-together" tips all the time (here and here). I just don't know what to say that summarizes who I am, especially when that's what I'll be judged on by new readers who come over to play. Do you have any advice for this critical blogger problem?

Right now, my draft {sarcastically} looks something like this:

Hi, I'm Jessi! 

I'm 26 years young and living a happy, healthy life in Portland, Oregon. 

I'm so happy that you know I'm a blogger because now we have the awkward part out of the way that I have to try to explain when I meet people in real life. You have no idea what a relief this is. Especially that I know you're {probably} a blogger too and we basically just became instant best friends. All we have to do now is follow each other on bloglovin', instagram and twitter and we can start talking about buying plane tickets to meet each other in real life. 

You'd probably like to know a little more about me before we go there, right? 

Okay - so I've lived in Portland, Oregon my entire life and I work at Nike World Headquarters. I'm single and am the mother to a handsome betta fish named Tiger. I have a DSLR that I never use, my go-to karaoke song is Regulate (because I can rap, but can't sing) and my new favorite workout is a hip-hop dance class. I use and abuse snapchat. #Selfie is a song about me.

If we were real-life friends you'd know that I can be inappropriately silly and unapologetically awkward. These two things are also reasons why you won't see a vlog on this page, unless somebody were to pay me. Money and alcohol will always make me do something I said I never would. 

I guess since we're getting personal you'll want to see a photo of me too? 

Here's my latest selfie. If you follow me on social media, you'll see many more just like this!

#10kTraining #SweatySelfie #WokeUpLikeThis-Not

I look forward to meeting you soon! 

Love you long time, 

Jessi

Was that as awkward for you as it was for me?

When you first found me did you hunt high and low to find out who I was? Or did you just start reading and liked the girl behind JumpingJE without knowing her single, dogless, workaholic, sweataholic status?

Thanks for your feedback! 

Another Week, Another GIF Party

I'm about to feel pretty sappy, but I'm so in awe of the love I received yesterday. I was going to be happy if only my parents read it, then what I got was so much more. Internet love, in-person love. Even a beautiful lady on a blogging break snuck me an email to let me know that she was thinking about me. All of these gestures of care make me happy that I'm brave enough to share my world to strangers, and hope that someday I can return the support and love I feel this very moment. 

That's the kind of stuff I need in my life and want to continue looking for. The good feels.

Something else that gives me good feels is sharing my week with you in gif form. I know you love it too, and I have Alissa to thank for the original idea. She's HIGHlarious, give me zero credit please!

Onward!

Monday:

Somehow I was chosen to create the playlist for a runway fashion show on Tuesday for a big quarterly meeting. It's probably because I'm never seen without my headphones over my ears so they must think I know music.

I spent half of the day blending fresh dance tracks like the DJ I believe I am. Wanna hear these expert transitions? Download here.

I've since been asked to do the music for our next meeting too (eek!) 

Tuesday:

Ugh, something happened to my iPhone when I went skiing and the ringer on/off nubby button is malfunctioning. It'll be on vibrate but take several minutes to actually turn on silent. Of course I didn't take this into account during a morning snapchat so thankfully only a few people caught me taking a selfie.

Seriously?!

Wednesday:

I got confused by dating, is it really this hard? Which part about the last 7 days of knowing you made me seem like I wanted a serious relationship? When I didn't change my plans for you or was it when I sent two texts because I wanted to make sure you got home okay? oops, sorry Mr. Sensitive.  

Thursday:

The start of March Madness means that everyone at work stops working and is huddled around any one of the TVs you can find on our campus. We even had a serious meeting in front of a TV, beers in hand. In the relaxed environment, you could find me giving zero bothers about the work that was in front of me. 

Friday:

It's Friday. It's payday. I'm done here. 

Enjoy the weekend, pretty friends.

 
#backingitup

Silence is Better

Twenty days sober. 

I'll be getting a little personal today, so if feels aren't your thing then you've been warned to avoid the mush below.

Today we're talking about my sobriety from a boy who has cooties.

Ha, sorry - you didn't think I was talking about booze did you? Oh no, I've had my fair share of imbibing this month thank you, dinner whoring. 

I'm twenty days sober from a love that swept me off my feet. A love where two souls were drawn together by magnetic force.

In what felt like the fastest six months of my life, we met, we fell in love, we started to plan a future and abruptly struggled to find the words to say goodbye. Twenty days ago after much trial and error, we finally figured out how.

How could I say goodbye to the one who made my heart beat a little faster? The one who made my feathers puff out to their fullest? Goodbye to the one who encouraged me to be unapologetic about being the quirky and awkward Jessi I can be? The one who changed the way I look at myself and the way I look at others?

Silence. That's how.

One of the first things my long-distance lover gave me was a magical pair of rose-colored glasses. These glasses that he convinced me to wear gave the world a different girl than the one you see today. They made me believe that I had found the very best for me. That I had accomplished everything I was ever going to. They made me believe love was enough. They stifled my vision of a beautiful family that was all my own.

The greatest injustice that these glasses did was that they actually made me close my eyes.

Late in the month of January this year he decided to let me take the glasses off. I blinked my eyes and finally got a glimpse of the reality I'd ignored. I could see the life I was giving up. I could see the dreams that were no longer within reach.

I could see, which meant that my eyes were finally open. 

Quite ironically, he was the one who convinced me to have the strength to never settle. Opening my eyes made me realize that a future with him would be exactly that; settling.

So for twenty days now, there's been silence.

No contact, no communication, no ignored texts and no missed calls.

This doesn't mean texts haven't been drafted or songs that mean something haven't been played. It doesn't mean that this blog isn't what he reads first thing in the morning or my instagram isn't the last thing he checks at night. But it does mean that I'm on the road to recovery and I've never felt better.

And do you want to know some amazing things have come from this blissful silence?

- More focus at work

- Quiet time to myself in the evenings (to find gifs and Netflix binge, duh)

- Freedom to date (Sup, Portland?)

- Better workouts

- More beautiful blog friends (and more amazing comments each and every day)

Thanks for sticking around with me today. 

20 days is a huge milestone and it feels like I'm onto something. 

Enjoy the silence, friends.

Can't Wait for Summer Confessions

It's Wednesday and you know what that means! 

Here we link up with Kathy (and Ryan) and we get to share all of our filthy, dirty confessions.  This is still happening today, but we have a special twist in the fact that Helene and Taylor are also hosting a one time link-up for why we can't wait for summer. 

Confessions and Summer go hand-in-hand, don't they?

Let's not waste any time and get straight into my little confessions about my plans for this summer! 

+ Sleeveless

For as long as I can remember I've dreaded the idea of summer. The thought of not being able to cover my arms with a jacket or cover my legs with pants has always given me anxiety. After the hard work I've put in this year, I feel different than ever before and am no longer afraid.

Out of habit yesterday while I was driving I turned on the A/C when I got warm in traffic. When I finally realized that I didn't need to be wearing my blazer and that I wasn't reeling with anxiety over strangers in traffic seeing wobbly arms, I had to capture the moment of pride with a selfie. 

+ Hair

I'm thinking about cheating on my hair stylist but only because I'm ultra jealous of Brooke's new haircut. If she's going to be done talking about it on her blog, I'm going to start talking about it. I don't think my stylist is incapable of doing something so beautiful, but I'm impressed how great her long bob/color turned out.

I'm not planning to copy her because I love my length, but I'm thinking a tastefully untrashy ombre (is this a good idea, help?)

+ Summer Fridays

At my work in the summer, we're allowed to "fit 40 hours in" before noon on Friday, and get to check out for the weekend. This is a blissful exit from the office to either head down to the coast, go meet friends who don't work the typical corporate schedule OR my favorite; go home and do nothing. 

These 40 hours aren't really "counted" and it's also a crime to believe that I don't already work 40 hours by noon on Friday every week regardless of the incentive. But, bears will be bears. 

+ Living Vicariously

I don't plan to spend much money on travel this summer after the travel I did (for a boy, ugh) during the winter. What's my ultimate plan? To live deviously and vicariously through all of you beautiful people.

Going to Hawaii? Awesome, take some photos on the beach! All inclusive Caribbean resort? Make that two coconut drinks with bright umbrellas! I hope to make at least one trip but please, keep the tan legged selfies coming. It makes me feel like I'm there on that boat with my flippie-floppies.

Is it okay if I sneak in one quick thing I'm not looking forward to? yes, because its my blog. 

+ Humidity

Thankfully here in the Pacific Northwest there's not a ton of humidity to go around like you poor ladies in other parts of the country, but I still feel it. 

Actually, I don't feel it - my hair does. I can't imagine living in a place where everyday would be the horror that is this gif. Especially if I go un-trashy ombre like I mentioned above. 

This was fun, can't wait for summer and can't wait to hop around and find some new blogs today!

ASAP Tuesday: Sports Obsession

With the NCAA Basketball tournament starting this week, I thought I'd feature an AsapSCIENCE video about why people obsess over sports. Come on, you know who you are!! 

Sports get us excited, on the edge of our seats and kind of bat-shit crazy. If I were a betting woman (which I am), I'd hazard a guess that this NCAA Tourney will steal the show from our beloved missing MH370 #toosoon?

If you yourself haven't filled out a bracket, you've probably heard about it from your male co-workers, your significant other or even all the buzz about the Billion dollar bracket. You know, the one that nobody will win.

Disclaimer: I'm sorry to all of my Canadian friends who don't know the magic that is March Madness. I can guarantee you that all day Thursday and Friday I'll be doing zero work and giving zero cares about it. You know who else will be giving zero cares? Everyone, that's who! 

I'd consider myself to be a sports nut. I work for a sports and fitness company, I've played sports all my life and I plan to continue to be a fan girl until sports are no longer a thing hopefully never. I don't have a dog in the fight in this tournament, and I don't have a boyfriend with a team. But I've never been one to avoid great moments of sport and pure "madness".

Now that I've blabbed about hoops and the bracket I'm not making, here's the video I meant to center this post about... and then didn't:


Yay, science!

The First Run

If you used to follow this blog back in 2013, you'd know me as a pretty serious runner. Serious about my mileage  - not so serious about entering races, PR'ing or even seeing any improvement. As long as I met the mile quota, my work was done and there was nothing more to gain from it.

It all started in the fall of 2009 once I realized that being an ex-collegiate athlete would mean I'd have to fill the void of the workouts I wasn't forced to do getting anymore. I was tired of lifting weights and "bulking", so my sweat of choice became running. I'd always enjoyed running because it was a great way to escape from my own mind and was also an opportunity to explore the beautiful city that I lived in.

When I decide on something, I've been known to go all out with it. So starting in November of 2009 I set a goal of running 100 miles a month. Crazy, right? Well I was flawless with that goal for nearly four years up until September of 2013.

If you hate math like I do, pretend I ran 10 minutes per mile on average meant 1,000 minutes on the road PER MONTH. This investment of 17 hours per month easily turned into a solid day after you also factored in the time it was taking to change, stretch, shower and of course stop mid-run to take the necessary instagram selfies of my right leg in running tights.

When I look back at the amount of time I put into running, preparing to run and thinking about running - I wonder what all I missed out on. I know for a fact now that my body responds better to weight lifting, but never gave it the chance. I know now that I hurt relationships because I placed running on a higher level of importance than people. I also know that I spent a lot of money on all things running and that was even after a huge discount because of the company I work for.

When I missed my goal by 16 miles in September of 2013 it was a huge relief. The pressure was off and it was much like the first 'B' I got in a college course I slacked off in my freshman year.

From that point on I decided that I'd cut my goal in half. Only 50 miles a month and focus more on weight training and keeping my body healthy. It was three quick months of that regimen before we entered 2014. I found myself opening up my schedule for living.

Surprisingly, I didn't run a single mile in January or February, and just laced up for my first run of the year on Saturday. The beautiful thing about the run on Saturday is that there was no "plan" in mind. It was to get out in the sunshine and start my lifting workout with a shake-out.  It was also strategic that I chose to run a route I'd never done before so that I wouldn't be able to count the mileage.

The experience was blissful.

I think I'm okay with being a recreational and fair-weather Portland runner. It looked good on me.