40DOT: Days 25-28

♣♣ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ♣♣ May your day be full of green, luck, rainbows, saints, corned beef, cabbage and green beer, if that's your thing. I just ate off a green plate! I'm the most festive Jessica you've ever met.

It wasn't until last year (yeah, I'm really clueless sometimes) that I learned that Chicago dyes the river green each year. I don't really want to be in Chicago in March, but I would like to see that green water. I suppose I could look out my back door for that, though...the lakes by my place aren't exactly Caribbean blue.

This holiday makes me think of my friend Tina. It's either her favorite holiday or at least one of her favorites, and she used to have a party each year. This year she's doing a special St. Patrick's Day church service (her husband is the pastor). I hope all went well!


Day 25 (March 13): I had lunch with my friend Katrina, and it was great. Good food (Padington's!), good company, and good conversation. The weather was really nice, too. At work I got several projects moved to the next step (i.e. off my plate and to the printer/proofer).

Day 26 (March 14): I went to Walmart on my lunch break and ran into a friend from church. She said that she reads my blog! :) :) Thanks, M--I had no idea! I also found out (thanks, Brenda!) that there's going to be a Veronica Mars movie! I loved that show and have watched the DVDs a few times. They mentioned a movie long ago, but then it didn't seem like it would happen. It's probably weird for me to get all excited about a movie, but I'm still annoyed that the show was cancelled after only three seasons. Any other Veronica Mars fans reading?

Day 27 (March 15): After a week of super tiredness, waking up for work was much more normal (it's never really easy). It was also pay day.


Day 28 (March 16): I got a St. Patrick's package in the mail from Dania. :D That's where the cute garland (is that the word?) in the first photo came from. I also got some of my chores done, though I was pretty slacky all day. Can I blame the weather? It was gray and then poured for awhile (see above photo, which doesn't actually depict it very well). But then it cleared up...


Oh and I resubscribed to Netflix because I found out The Office season 8 is now available there (before it only went to 7). So I watched a couple (several) episodes of that, and it made me actually LOL. I was skeptical about the show without Steve Carell, but they seemed to manage.

Then I had delicious California rolls for dinner:


[And if you think I only had those three pieces, you're trippin.]
Today is sunny, I have music playing and some motivation to get stuff done. Have a very nice day!

40DOT: Days 22-24

Oh hey, I know you've had daffodils in California for like three months, but it's Oregon's turn now!

I wish this was my office. It was SO NICE outside today.

I take thee spring to be my lawfully wedded husband.


Thankfuls! (Do you like my lack of real introduction to this post? I'm no good at intros.)

Day 22 (March 9): Saturday was a nice and sunny day, and I managed to be productive before my evening plans. I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and went shopping. I spent the evening with 9 (give or take) of my friends, eating pizza and playing Dixit to celebrate my friend's birthday. Have you played? It's pretty fun! Anyway, it was a nice night and I was grateful for cool friends, and people who want to hang out with me despite my many flaws. :)


Sunday (March 10): I thought it was cool that my dad responded to my blog (in email). Hi, Dad! Then we discussed me visiting them, and it turned out I had enough points to get a free ticket to Sacramento next month. I really didn't think I'd be able to use my points for a long time, so it was a very pleasant surprise!

Day 23 (March 11): A Monday, but it had its little pleasures. I finally sent out an invitation to some friends (this is an accomplishment for me, as I tend to second-guess the dates/times/details for gatherings that I host) and I'm looking forward to my spring party. In the evening, I made Chinese chicken salad for a potluck the next day, and it turned out pretty well (I hadn't made it in years). I used this recipe, except I added chicken and didn't use as many sesame seeds. And I have no idea if the cabbage I used was Napa. (?)

Day 24/March 12 (Tuesday): I managed to wake up early to get in a bit of exercise before work, but I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sleepy after that, so that kind of canceled it out a bit. But then I came home to a box of stuff from Ulta that I had ordered with a gift certificate--super fun! Plus I won an eBay auction on some shoes when I thought I was outbid. I think I got a pretty good deal, too! (How often do I mention purchases as being my happy thing of the day?) Later, I talked with my friend Holly, who I hadn't talked to in months.

So are the days of my life!


Talk to you soon!

40DOT: Days 20 and 21

I thought I'd take advantage of a quiet Saturday morning and keep on top of my thankfuls.

Day 20 (March 7): Thursdays are one of my favorite days, so I generally feel better on them. Someone mistook me for being a lot younger than I am, which made me happy, and I had a nice conversation with a coworker while picking some of the Daphne blossoms. Oh and some checks came in the mail this day, and I was happy to be able to deposit them with my phone, since my bank is across town.

Day 21 (March 8): Friday! TGIF to the bajillionth power. I actually felt pretty grouchy, tired and headachey all of Friday, so I was very thankful it was the end of the week. In the evening I wasn't ready to go back to my apartment, so I shopped around at the good Target and had a pleasant exchange with the cashier. I also felt a renewed motivation about some aspects of life.

PS The picture at the top of this entry was taken Friday morning as the fog was burning off by my office.

Here are some general thankfuls that don't necessarily pertain to a specific day, but I don't want to forget:

Daily Set and Quiddler: Maybe I've mentioned this, but my friend Dan and I exchange "S&Q" scores each day. (The New York Times puts out a puzzle each day--Set is here, Quiddler is here.) I'm grateful that such puzzles exist, and that I have a friend who wants to compare scores with me. It's a fun little part of my routine, and we've been doing it for probably 4 or 5 years now. (And for the record, Dan generally wins Set, and I used to mostly win at Quiddler, but lately it's evening out. Dan's a natural at pretty much any game.)

Walk It Out: I've recently been getting back into my Wii game that I reviewed here. I love this and hope that one day they'll come out with another.

Lunch breaks: The other day I was thinking about how good it is to have a break in my workday when I can leave and regroup. I usually have an audiobook to listen to, and sometimes I go home, do a little shopping, run errands, or just sit in my car and read or play some phone games. I don't always leave work, but I do at least go to my car, which is like my sanctuary at times. I just find that I'm a happier person when I have that little break and can change up the scenery. I sometimes feel self-conscious about hanging out in my car, but it's like my home away from home! :) Does anyone else feel that way?

Okay, this post is long enough! Thanks for reading it all, if you did.

40DOT: Days 16-19

[The Daphne's in bloom, and smelling terrrrrrrrrific.]
I feel like I should be posting more often, but I just don't always have the interest when I get home from work, lately. Blogging is supposed to be something fun for me, so I'm going to try not to feel bad if I'm not keeping with some particular schedule. :)

Here are some of the good parts of the past few days...


Day 16 (March 2): Saturday was another day of feeling very well compared to previous weeks. I finished my world puzzle! It was fun and definitely enriched my geography knowledge a bit. I am shamefully clueless about the location of most countries outside of North America. I also had a good and helpful phone conversation.

Sunday: This was a great day overall. I was struggling a bit with something early on, but I emailed a friend and then felt excellent for the rest of the day. So nice!! I know these thankfuls are a little vague/general, but feeling good (hopeful, motivated, peaceful) really stands out to me right now!


Day 17 (March 4): On Monday, I happened to wake up very early. At first I was slightly annoyed and wanted to get back to sleep, but then I decided to get up and make use of the extra time. I was able to exercise, catch up on some phone games, and even get to work early. I also saw four deer outside my back door (I couldn't get all four in a photo, though)! Later that day I started a book that I really enjoyed, and it felt nice to be so motivated to read any chance I got.


Day 18 (March 5): The weather took a turn for the extremely dreary this day. I woke up to the sound of steady rain, and I wished so badly that I could keep sleeping. My consolation was that I wore some new jeans that are really comfortable. Sometimes, comfortable clothing can make all the difference in the bearability of a day. I also finished the enjoyable book I had started the day before (and stayed up until 2am doing it--smart one, Jessica!).

Day 19 (March 6): My lunch break saw me purchasing some happy things at Target. My car was doing well--the engine light has been off for a few days now, and though I'm sure it still has an issue, it's just nice to pretend it doesn't. Also, after being really troublesome the day before, my car was back to working better this day (it has a problem being shifted out of Park). The hours went pretty fast, and work was okay--I don't mind my projects or my current work load.


So that's my week so far. I feel like my posts are pretty dull, but at least they should be more colorful soon, as everything starts blooming. How are you doing? Has anything special happened recently?

40DOT: Days 12-15

Happy March! Here are the things I was glad about the past few days...

Day 12 (February 26): I had two different portrait sessions (for work) this day, and they both went fine. The weather cooperated, I kept them fairly short and sweet, and I had the selections edited and chosen by the end of the day.

Day 13 (February 27): I slacked on keeping up with my thankful notes, so this day is kind of a blur and I don't remember anything that stood out! But I do know that I mailed a couple of packages that I had been procrastinating about, and I felt glad to have them off my hands. Otherwise, I think it was just a typical Wednesday.


Day 14 (February 28): This day started out kind of blah but ended okay. When I got home from work, I saw this salamander near the mailboxes. He was just standing there like a statue. I was able to go get my camera and come back out, because he hadn't moved at all (though he did later, so I know he wasn't just a toy ;)).

I decided to walk over to the foresty area where I typically see salamanders, since I had been wanting better photos. They were all over! They blend so well with the ground that you have to study it to see them, though. I guess it was the ideal weather for them to be out: misty, but not too cold. My neighbor was out there, and we chatted while I took pictures (and kept saying, "There's another one! And there's another one! Oh look at this one--he's walking fast."). I remember thinking about how warm it felt, and even though it was gray and damp, it reassured me that the nicer weather would be here soon.

Orange paw!

I was also glad to hear that my neighbor had seen a baby beaver in the lake. I don't think I ever blogged about the fact that a few months ago, I was told the management was setting up lethal traps to get rid of the beavers. :( I was pretty upset about this, because I love the beavers and felt that at least they could just transfer them somewhere else. Oregon is the Beaver State, after all. Anyway, I'm sure they caught some of them, but not all! :) I had a hint that we still had some, but now getting confirmation of a sighting is extra reassuring. I hope I can get pictures of the babies!

I'll post this old beaver photo, just for funzies.


Day 15 (March 1): I felt like something in me turned around yesterday. I felt SO MUCH BETTER than I had for the past couple of weeks. I was feeling hopeful and energized--concepts that were foreign to me for awhile there. The sun was out, and at lunch I spontaneously bought these tulips of happiness. I'm so glad it's now March, and the flowers are going to be blooming like crazy soon. I also realized that it was 3-1-13--palindrome!

I hope you're all having a nice weekend!