the scooter

justin bought a scooter. it's a sweet 1986 honda aero.  white with a blue seat, and an awesome "back to the future" speedometer. the best part, other than looking sleek and sexy, is that it costs as much as a latte to fill with gas.

last night i took it out for a spin. it took some convincing. but it turns out i'm a natural....check it

there were just a few mishaps that happened between home and the store. first, my skirt flew up. it was a little chilly and slightly embarrassing. luckily there were no witness... then, i had trouble getting the kickstand down. i was muttering to myself and trying to push the bike forward to get the kickstand to stay down. i was contemplating leaning it against the wall, but then tried rolling the scooter back and botta-bing, the scooter parked. which is lucky for me because justin told me if i had leaned the scooter against the wall it would have been my last ride.

watch out world, jessica is a scooter-ridin'-girl!

mama's girl

i am such a mama's girl...and proud of it!
today is my mom's birthday. i wish i was there to celebrate with her. the month of may has always been her birthday month, because mother's day and her birthday were always just a week or so apart...she has been heard more than once saying, "you have to be nice to me...it's my birthday month!"

i love love love her so much...and as i sit and try and think of what it is exactly that i love the very most about her...it would have to be the joy and warmth that she exudes. people (especially strangers) are drawn to her. here are some memories and pictures that help show my point:

when we were in NYC together, she convinced the people around us on the packed subway she was from boston by using her fake accent. she was talking really loudly about things like her "caa" (car) and pretty soon the guy next to us asked, "where in new england are you from?"...oh brother!
(for the record she is from california....)

this is another great example of her carefree ways... mackenzie and nana had a fun day at the portland children's museum painting eachother's faces. she then proceeded to the grocery store to pick up a few things before heading home. she was stopped in the store, high-fived, cheered, and giggled at...why? oh, because she was walking around with her face paint still on, why not?

this year to celebrate her "birthday month" we went to see wicked...it was fabulous! she of course was encouraging me to switch seats and go snag some "vacant" spots three rows ahead...story of my life. i finally agreed, but as soon as she plopped down in our new stolen seats, she declared the view was not nearly as good, and to my relief we returned to our original seats.



i love you mom! so glad you were born. smooches!



conversing with the girls

here is a little snippet of mackenzie, addison and i this evening:

mackenzie (crying): where'd daddy go?
me: daddy went to work darlin'
addison: wheeeeeeee!

justin comes running in because he forgot something. he is wearing his helmet and goggles for the scooter. picture this:

me: laughing really hard
justin: what?
mackenzie: daddy!

justin goes out the door.

addison: whaaaaaaaaa!
mackenzie: did daddy go to mexico?
me: mexico?
mackenzie (nodding her head): daddy's in mexico.
me: mexico?
mackenzie nods
me: daddy's at a meeting, he'll come in and give you lots of kisses when he gets home
addison: toot
mackenzie: did he say "nice to meet you" to his friends?
me: what? oh, right the meeting... um. yeah
addison: ooooooooooo iiiiii ooooooo
mackenzie: where's my teapot?

mothers day is the best day

even though today is monday, i still had a smile on my face all day....cause my weekend was awesome!

on saturday miss addie and i celebrated the upcoming arrival of baby ella. her hair was stunning as usual.

the cinco de mayo 10k. this is before the race on sunday. how can you tell? the look of extreme pain is missing...

 justin, mackenzie, and addison cheered me on. they gave me these beautiful flowers and were at the 6 mile marker cheering me on. (notice the look of pain, masked with a smile).

  cornbread waffles from the food carts in north portland. yum-o!

kenze and i being silly....love that little mug!

then justin showered me with extravagant gifts.

we worked in the garden in between the rain showers.

 and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.

perfection.

the end.

this and that

this is what i've been up to...

the warm weather last weekend was such a tease! it only reminded me of how painfully desperate i was for blue skies. in the past months i have spent hours walking around my existing garden, staring out the window at the empty garden boxes, and wondering the aisles of home depot...planning my attack on the backyard. here is the official "before" picture

blah. that is how it looked....but after last weekend, and some extra hours this weekend, i will have a little update for you.

the command center for garden planning...blueberries, strawberries, and seeds waiting to be planted!

and in other news....

last thursday was my first day back to work. friends and family kept checking in and asking how i felt about it, and i would say, "oh fine"...but then weird things started happening...

first, i ran out of gas in north portland, the sad part was i had no idea i was even close to empty. luckily my sweet friend was with me and rescued us. then, well, i hit a car... a parked car

it was a taxi actually, and the driver was inside. as were the customers. so on second thought, i might not be as in ship shape as i thought i was with this whole returning-work-thing. this week, thankfully, has been a little less eventful...the mishaps being limited to putting two contacts in one eye without realizing it until i was getting ready to welcome first graders and couldnt see anything (justin had to bring my glasses to work, he hasnt let me leave the house without my glasses in hand since)...oh, and when i forgot my pump and had to turn around half way to school and go get it, making me so late that i literally entered the building as the bell was ringing to commence the day...other than that, smooth sailing. oh and what is the river in egypt called...oh, that's right, da-nile!

big talker

there are a handful of stories from my childhood that are told over and over. some of them i would love to lay to rest and never hear again...others make me laugh and chime in with my own details.

is your family like this? retelling the same stories over and over? 

on occasion i have been told i am quite the talker. and all i can say is, true! true! true! and with that said and admitted, this story usually follows...

i'm four maybe five, and papa and i are headed north on 1-5. its raining hard (if you are a family member, you already know where this is goin'). we are probably 3 hours into a 9 hour drive, and i have been talking-without breathing papa would say- the whole time. finally, in exasperation, papa bribes me with a quarter to sit quietly and not talk. deal. determined to be the best non-talker he has ever seen, i busy myself with looking in the glove box. i notice a yellow button and push it. nothing happens, i push it again. nothing. i close the glove box and stare out the window happy with myself that i have yet to whisper a word. "PISTOL!" (which means S*** in papa language). i turn to look at what he was staring at in the rear-view mirror. the trunk is wide open and flapping in the wind.  we pull over on the shoulder of the highway as cars zoom by. papa turns and gives me the eye. i smile at him, proud that i have yet to say a word...that quarter is so mine! he slams the door and walks in the pouring rain around back to shut the trunk, getting sprayed by the semis flying by. i would love to say the rest of the journey was quiet, but in truth i probably begged my quarter from him, and then kept right on blabbin'....

i cant remember now if he gave me that quarter. i don't remember the rest of the drive. but at least once a year this story is brought out and dusted off and retold with added flair. and we laugh. 

the other night addison was talking my ear off...it reminded me of her mom...but you couldnt pay me a million dollars to shush this child. she has got a lot to say....

listen here to what's on her mind. 

the ladies...

so last spring i started reading omnivores dilemma. you might have been aware of this because i posted a picture right over there...see it? to the right? well, even though the picture is still there i have read that book and many others since last spring, promise. but this book is worth talking about. you know what many friends have said when i bring up this book? "ohhh, i'm afraid to read that...i don't want to know" which is exactly what i said before i read it. the thing is, once you do read it, you'll want to change a lot about the way you eat. i did. i also would recommend watching the movie food inc. while you're at it. i'm not going to share everything i read, or why i think you should read it too...i simply am going to share some of the things that my family and i have been doing this past year to eat a little more consciously....

• we made a habit of visiting the farmers market
• we bought a half a cow (beef) and split it with family from a local farmer
• we grew our own vegetable garden
• we ate what's in season
• we are always working on reducing the amount of processed food we eat
• we tried to make "it" ourself...bread, ice cream, granola, fruit leather...

and the last thing, our newest  project....

our ladies

come over for fresh eggs in...oh, about four months