It’s time to give a little screen time to an East Coast fridge! My friend Jen (no blog, but yes… yet another Jen) sent me an email earlier this last month (yes, Fridge friday was on an extended vacation) that read:
Jenny - I was thinking of you the other day when I came home from a trip out of town and my mom said, “I cleaned your fridge.” It was so shiny in there I took pics…
One email led to another and shazam - my newest guest fridge! Jen and I have been friends for… my goodness - years! I think we (my hubs, my son and I) crashed her Christmas party back in ‘01. It was there I tasted my first Hot Buttered Rum. Ka-Pow! I think we crashed it because of Blozulfog. She always takes my to crash parties of her friends… and then they become my friends… Can you hear the birds singing? Sadly, Jen and her hubby moved a few (several… too many!) years ago… and have had 2 babies since!
I’m reminiscing for a moment… I remember my husband and I had a party. 10 couples came… 5 of the 10 women were named some form of Jen, Jenny or Jennifer… and 2 of the couples were “Jen and Dave”. This “Jen” was one of the “Jen & Dave” couples. Remember that Jen???
Another thing about this Jen, that endears me to her - is her appreciation for dancing and 80’s music. I mean… she has a great name, is a friend that dances, loves 80’s AND she even told me about a song called 27 Jennifers! Oh - and she’s a mommy. I love mommies…
Now, here are a few words from Jen, about her fridge:
Pre-post business (heh, I wrote “business”): Due to my poor technical skillz - I can’t fix my broken Wordpress photo uploader… I am afraid to add a Flickr application for Wordpress to load my pics in a post (instead of the Wordpress uploader)… and my “blog this” settings are jacked in Flickr so I can’t even blog a pic from there. SO INSTEAD - if you click RIGHT HERE you will see a great shot of my BlogHer namebadge - and the sparkly shirt I eventually ruined for all the wine I spilt on it.
Oh. I remember this card! Did I meet her at the Newbie Mixer, or was it the People’s Party after I spilled half-a-glass of wine all over my semi-splarkly white shirt that won’t return to it’s natural semi-sparkly whiteness. Drats. I wonder if I can get another at Old Navy… Or did we meet at that Speed Dating thing… Doggone stain!…
And while the details become more fuzzy as the cruel hands of time frey the strands of my memory… I am still the girl who gets lost following inane tangents… who finds herself writing about Old Navy instead of BlogHer ‘08. See?!
Should I start with the Newbie Mixer where the juice of fermented grapes flowed like a waterfall? Yes. I should start at the place where one would merely look at another Newbie and conversation flowed like a river of water (because isn’t that what usually flows through rivers - water?). See - tangent!
My new friend: What do you blog about?
Voice in-my-head: She used the word “blog” and looked neither confused nor irritated! I think I am in love with her!!!
Me, using my outside voice: Oh, I’m a mom, so I got the “mom thing” and then just a bunch of silliness… some serious too, but mostly…. yadda, yadda, yadda…
My new friend(s): Do you have a card? I have a card… ***Squeals, hugs, giggles, blog, blog, blog, blog, blog!!!***
I met my first blog-celeb at the newbie mixer - Kristy Sammis of She Just Walks Around with It! She also writes for BlogHer… which is where I discovered Kristy. Her post there titled Balls of Death nearly killed me for all the uncontrollable laughing it evoked from the very core of my being. I think I may have scared the poor dear with my enthusiasm and gushy-ness - kind of like putting too much frosting on a cupcake. I know… there is no. such. thing. as TOO MUCH FROSTING! Unless, you’re a real human, and then, maybe… just maybe… Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to NOT follow a “frosting” tangent?!
Aaaanywho - from the Newbie Mixer Jen and I headed to The People’s Party, where she introduced me as “Drunk” instead of my given name “Jennyonthespot Jenny”. Let me tell ya’ll something about me and Jen - we were college roommates - at a Baptist college. We never drank… well, OK, there was 1 time. But other than that - I liked to play it safe and not get kicked out of school. So, Jen has never seen me “not ‘drunk’… but ‘at ease’”. I was also very excited and my altered alter ego (Jennyonthespot) got to hang out with real-life people! She was so ecstatic.
We left the Newbie Mixer and headed off to The People’s Party (view my picture here) with wine spilled down the side of my cute white top. But you can’t see it in this video. This was actually supposed to be a picture, but the camera was in video mode and, well… I was unable to discern the camera mode for all the “at ease” I was feeling.
That’s me, Jen, and… help!!!
It was in the hallway near The People’s Party that Jen and I met Violet the Verbose of Verbosity Abounds. We and Violet ended up spending much of the rest of the conference together. Without planning, we’d just meet up - it was like… destiny :) “Violet” - I don’t think I ever told you, but you have the greatest smile. Very warm and welcoming. Anyone want to see that smile? CLICK HERE! ”Violet” It was awesome to have time to get know you and to start a friendship :)
Oh, I’m not done.
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When my site isn’t broken, when my children go to bed before frickin’ 11 at night, when I can load pictures, when visitors leave for home, and when I can maybe catch up on a little thing called “sleep”.
It’s been quite the week - returning home from BlogHer ‘08 to a full house of visitors. It has been wonderful having company and being with family, but I haven’t spoken with my husband for more than 5 minutes since… well, over a week. Well over a week. I miss him.
Blah. I just need everything to go exactly as I expect. Exactly as I want. Is that too much to ask?
I am training for my first Olympic distance triathlon. It is in 11 days. I got back from Blogher ‘08 3 days ago. Another name I have given BloHer ‘08 is “Calorie Fest-O-Rama” .
While I was there I met 2 triathloners - Kathleen of Forging Ahead and Catherine (yes I need her URL so I can send some linky-love!)… Kathleen has her first tri coming up very soon! Go Kathleen!!! I was blessed to have met her the first morning and we got to spend lots of pieces of time throughout the weeknd getting to know each other, talking “shop” - tri shop :) I met Catherine the last night, and learned she did her first tri last summer. I did the same one - the Seattle Danskin! We have a special connection I will need to share in a whole other post. It’s remarkable.
I usually try to train 5 to 6 days a week. During BlogHer week I got in 3 days of semi-decent training. I will not tell you the horrible tales of my consumption while away. Suffice it to say I came home to an extra 5 pounds. Blech. But, the happiest-gained 5 pounds I’ve ever met.
But now I am trying to get back on track - since there are only 11 days left on the track! On Monday I rode 14 miles and ran 3.5. On Tuesday I ran 4 miles and took 2 naps for all the exhaustion that overwhelmed me. Today I swam 1 mile and ran 3.5 miles… then walked around Seattle All. Day. Tomorrow…. I dunno. My butt hurts! I am totally serious!
I am thinking Dara Torres never acted like I did 2 weeks before her races, but then again - I don’t have 2 stretchers nor hopes of ever having abs like hers. I do have ab muscles (I can feel them!), only they just are well-insulated… my own special bubble-wrap, if you will. And if you really think about it - what makes people more happy - rock-hard abs or bubble wrap?
Never mind.
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Keep up-to-date on the insane, the insightful, and the whatever…
I landed in Seattle around 10:30 last night. As I made my way to the baggage claim, I realized I was surrounded by airport strangers who just weren’t as excited to meet me as I was to meet them. Whut? I know! So, I saw fit that I have a little talk with myself as I came down from my BlogHer ‘08 high. Perhaps, I had overdosed - or at least gotten reeeeeeealy comfortable with extreme extroversion. So much.
Somewhere between the Newbie mixer on Thursday night and leaving the city of San Francisco Sunday morning, I became all too comfortable with saying “Hi!” in excitable ways, reaching out for hugs to warm-looking strangers and just striking up conversation with any-stinkin’-body, ‘cuz… That. Was. Why. Everyone. Was. There! Fear of rejection - No! OK, I might add that the evening mixers also included free liquor - nothing helps bring people together like a little drinky-drinky. I digress.
ANYwho… On the long walk for my baggage (literally, not figuratively) the following is the discussion that was taking place in my head… These types of conversations are especially easy to have when an individual has more than one personality:
I hope my plane is on time, but if not - at least there is free wifi!
Greetings to all my new BlogHer friends! I can’t wait to visit your sites! How many cards did ya’ll get? I haven’t counted them yet - not sure I can count that high. Math was never my strongest subject :)
Peace out.
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Keep up-to-date on the insane, the insightful, and the whatever…
I arrived at Jen’s place yesterday! We are heading out to San Francisco shortly - hoping we’ll be there in time to catch the BlogHer Newbies Mixer! ***crossing fingers***
But before I got to here… I had to get on a plane and fly here… and you know what happens on planes… don’t you? You meet people. And you know what happens when a blogger meets people… don’t you? She finds a story.
I met Cody on the plane. He was a fella in his early 20’s who openly shared about why he got fired from his last job. He shared quite a bit about his love of alcohol and how his granny used to help him pack his suitcase full of liquor they’d buy at the commissary and she’d send him home with gallons of liquor. When he was 18. That’s Granny, always lookin’ out for her boy :)
I learned so many things about Cody and his young life in our 1.5 hours in the air. Like, how his jaw was broken when he joined in on a street brawl and was slugged by a guy wearing a pair of brass knuckles. I also learned a little about genetically modified corn. Whu? Yep. I did.
My favorite moment was when we got our 100 calorie pack of cheese crackers. He looked at the bag, looked at me, looked at the bag, held up the bag and said, “This is so dumb! What’s up with 100 calories?! It. Is. SO. Jacked. Up!!” I was all shaking my head up and down and from side to side because I was so confused. Where was he going? The ladies - we luv us some 100 calorie pack snacks, so I wasn’t following.
Then he said, “I mean - without calories You. Are. $%^ed!!!” He dropped another of many f-bombs…
True that Cody. I think he should be the new spokesperson for say, Hostess. He could hold up a a box of Twinkies and exclaim, “Without calories you’re &*^%ed! Eat Hostess cupcakes and save your life!!!”
Gosh. What am I not a hot-shot in the advertising world? I am On! Fire!
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