Dear 16 year old self-

I first saw this post on Meredith's blog and thought it was super cute! Then, I started seeing it more and more... and continued with my thoughts of how cute it was. In short, I'm a follower and jumping on the bandwagon.

So, the year is 1997. (Yeah, I know, hand me my cane and walker. Whatever, people). If I could have a talk with my 16 year old self, I'd say...

* Good for you! You passed your driving test on the first try! Now, how about you realize you can't see and get some glasses. You'll avoid twelve a few fender benders and save some cash.

* Learn from your experiences, but if a relationship/friendship/etc fails, don't let it guide your future actions. If you do, you're giving someone who wasn't right in your life an awfully lot of influence.

* Listen to your boss at the pool when she says "Lifeguarding is one of the best jobs you will ever have."

* Don't dye your own hair. Trust me.

* Skip the tanning beds. Your 30 year old self with thank you.

* Be nicer to your mom...a lot nicer. You're a teenager and you don't know everything. *gasp*And besides, she's pretty cool.

* Make a decent contact at each one of those random jobs you've had in high school/college. When you're 24, you're going to have to remember them all to list on your bar application, along with references that can prove you worked there. If you're thinking that's a pain in the @ss, you're growing up before my eyes. ;)

* There will come a day when having your own land phone line won't be nearly as cool as it is now. (We won't even start on the answering machines).

* Life is very much about timing. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that are timed oh-so-right. (And take note of ones that are oh-so-wrong).

* You already like planning. A lot. Don't be afraid to take some risks!

* Try harder at math.

* Start taking calcium and vitamin D now. Or at least TRY to like milk. When you fall down the stairs when you're 27, your body will thank you.

* You're a pretty cool chick. Hold your head high.

* Always speak up, even if you're afraid you might be wrong. Just have an open mind if you are.

* You're going to become a lawyer! And then, you'll decide not to practice. *shrugs*

* Things you learn while traveling will exceed anything you've ever read in a book. Go. Experience. See. Explore. :)

* And while I'm on that... Ask questions and take in everything you can from those family trips to historical/landmark places instead of pretending to be too cool. You'll be thankful your family took those trips when you're older.

* Your mom knows when you're pulling a fast one, even if you think you're a mastermind genius and she had no idea.

* Black doesn't look bad on you. The girl who told you that is a mean hussy.

* When invited to snowball fights, red rover, etc, in the middle of the night in college, GO! Always go!

* College will give you some of the best memories and best friends of your life. Don't waste your time with boys that have the potential to ruin or spoil any of those memories.

* You'll make some great friends in law school, too. But, you'll also learn a lot about the person you are and the person you're not. Embrace those lessons instead of fighting them.

* Just like you didn't get the convertible when you turned 16 (like you totally imagined in your head as a child), you might not be where you currently anticipate you'll be when you're 25, 26, 27.... That's okay! You'll have a lot going for you, so don't be so hard on yourself over such silliness!

* Not all fish tastes bad. Quit being stubborn and order some salmon.

What about you? What would you say to your 16 year old self?

Happy Friday, friends! Cheers to the weekend! :)
(I am so proud of myself for working on posts a couple nights this week and being able to set them up in advance! Makes it so easy! Woohoo!)

Overly Social Networked?

Was just talking to a friend about how many social networks we're on... Got me wondering.. What about you guys? How many are you on and how many is "too many?"

I'm on:

* Facebook

* Twitter

* LinkedIn

* Google+ (haven't quite figured it out yet)

* Pinterest

* Polyvore (even though I never use it)

* Blogger (duh). ;) 

Whoa. I mean I work in communications/PR, so it'd be weird if I hated social media. But when I list them all out, I think "yowza!" haha... *shrugs* 

I find that if I'm blogging a lot, I'm not tweeting as much and vice versa. So I guess I kinda binge and purge on different networks, depending on my mood and how busy I am. I'm the most active on fbook, twitter, and blogger. Pinterest is close behind, though. 

On a social network note, I got myself in the beta group for the new fbook timeline that's launching soon. I'm still TBD on my feelings. This is what my profile now looks like. You can scroll through my whole timeline on the right side of the big photo. Weird. Jackie=not great with change. haha.. ;) 

What I learned on my summer vacation ;)

1. Eric explores a lot (and I like to capture it on film...er.. digital memory card). 

Seriously... our group turned around and saw Eric's back headed into this steep mountainside... haha..

....and he made it down there!

Further supporting evidence: 

1. 

You already saw this one... 

2.

3.

I really did find it extremely entertaining to turn my head just in time to see his interest perked and heading off to explore something... :) I've noticed him doing this before on vacations, but found it really hilarious this time for some reason... :)  I probably do it, too, but I held the camera most of the time so I got to take the sneaky snapshots. ;)

 2. Cross body bags are awesome. 

This was just a cheap one I got at Forever 21 last year, but I figured that made it even better for travel b/c it could get damaged and I wouldn't care that much.

Exhibit A: They give you something to do with your hands in photos alone....

 Exhibit B: And they free up your hands to do other things... like pick fresh grapes in Healdsburg! (post coming up soon). :)

I've been back a month and I can't stop carrying this cheap little bag. It's just so nice to have my hands free! I want a nicer, more structured one, but I can't find any I like that aren't WAY expensive...

San Francisco- Alcatraz!

Where did we leave off? Oh right... Eric and I were on the ferry to Alcatraz for our night tour of the infamous prison! 

I heart wind. My hair does too. haha.... 

Sean Connery, I'm coming for you. 

The sun was starting to hang lower in the sky as we arrived at Alcatraz island..... *building suspense.. er.. or attempting to..* 

The first stop for prisoners (and our tour)= the showers. Yikes!

I thought it was amazing that the audio tour was in so many different languages! Eric and I were in the extreme minority in our group being from the states. So cool! The guide asked "So where is everyone from?" As Eric and I both opened our mouths, lots of people started in with "Switzerland! Canada! New Zealand!" We just looked at each other and silently mouthed "Oklahoma.." haha..

 Akon's song, Locked Up, is going through my head right now. Totally serious.

 The audio tour started when you pressed play on your little tour box. But, you could stop it any time. Somehow, Eric and I got off on our tours by about 15 seconds. I'd be staring at something intently and listening to the history and he'd be in the next room looking at me like the slow kid.

Oh and check out my new jacket (above)! It's the one I got earlier in the day at REI! Eric actually REALLY wanted one (the guy's version-obviously), but it wasn't in his size. He showed me mine (otherwise I would have missed it) and I fell in love with it... er... as much as one can love a jacket. I got mine partly as a gift from my fantastic boyfriend who doesn't like to see me cold...or maybe just doesn't like to give up his jacket.. but whatever. It was really sweet. :) His mom ended up finding his jacket online for his bday! So Eric has his jacket now, too! Yeah, that's right folks, we kiiinda match. Totally not intended, but whatever. Prepare for the matching jacket photo that will happen at some point on this blog. There's your warning..haha.. ;)

About 20 min into the tour, we stopped our audio to head outside for some sunset photos. :) Eric got some fantastic ones of the skyline, bridge, etc...

The wind and I had a love hate relationship the whole trip, but especially on Alcatraz. (Friends, please note my jacket was zipped up and my scarf was wrapped tightly around my neck. It was chilly! If you're headed there, be prepared! I was plenty warm in what I wore, but I saw others who were totally NOT prepared and felt badly for them). 

In the operating room... nervous! 

 Much creepier after the sun goes down...

Hey, wanna go take a walk on this-super-inviting-and-not-creepy-at-all path?

 When you take the night tour, you have the option of taking the first ferry back (8:40 pm) or the last ferry (9:30). As we saw people scurrying to the 8:40 ferry, we threw caution to the wind and opted to stay til the last ferry. You have free reign of the whole area so you can wander on your own after the tour, which we did. I had about 20 minutes where I seriously thought we'd missed the memo and the 8:40 ferry was indeed the last ferry and we'd therefore be stuck on Alcatraz all night long. There was not a SOUL in sight. Ignoring this fact, Eric wanted to go exploring. I, on the other hand, was channeling my inner Sean Connery badass and trying not to wet my pants.

"Let's go down here and explore!" -Eric. "Seriously?! Tell my mother and my dog that I loved them." -Jackie 

After exploring the super creepy corridor with not another soul in sight, we took a photo...ya know.. just in case we didn't make it out alive... and hiked back up to the main prison area.

This is my "I'm about to become an Unsolved Mystery" face

 Once we got back up, we realized there actually were a ton of people around. Phew. There was another ferry coming and the company wasn't going to leave us there all night after all!

Alcatraz=my favorite part of our trip! :) Seriously, friends, take the night tour! I was being overdramatic in this post, but it was seriously really outstanding. And take the earlier of the two night tours if you can so you get the chance to wander around and take the last ferry back like we did! :) The night tour was recommended by a good friend and she didn't lead us astray! It's a little cooler, but I was comfortable in my zipped (and very well lined) jacket and scarf. I probably could have done well with some light gloves when wandering outside, but that's just me being a wuss and not a necessity.

Got done and ended up hiking quite a bit to find a cab b/c there was a baseball game the same night and no cabs were anywhere near the pier that late. Eh well, whatever. :) We found the subway and drug our cold, tired selves to our hotel feeling really satisfied with the fun-filled evening. :)

Next up, Sonoma/Healdsburg! :) Thanks so much for sticking with me, friends!

Fabulous Fall Blog Challenge: Day 6!

I'm obviously starting Neely and Amber's challenge a leetle late (day 6), but who says you have to go in order or hit each day's topics? :) Workdays sometimes get away from me, so I'm going to try to preschedule a post or two... :)  

Today's Topic: Fall TV shows!! What is new, returning, you wish would get canceled :) 


What's new: 


1. Person of Interest. Okay, so if you've been reading awhile, you know I was a Lost fanatic. Soooo when there's a show with one of my favorite Lost actors, Michael Emerson, I'm going to give it a shot. Person of Interest started last week and I was NOT disappointed. First things first, Ben Michael Emerson plays a great character that's just the right amount of shady for us Lost fans to latch on and believe in. I dig that. Second, when did Jim Caviezel become so nice to look at? Dig that, too. And the plot? Has lots of promise. I really loved the first episode and am looking forward to this week's show. If you like conspiracy theory/action type stuff, you will dig this show. 

2. Up All Night. I actually watched this only after I'd read lots of positive hype on twitter, entertainment blogs, etc. I can't say I disagree with the critics! This show is funny stuff, friends! Great cast, too! 

3. Once Upon a Time. This show is actually from a couple of the writers of Lost. (I was really obsessed. It is what it is). It starts in October and I'm excited. Admittedly, I'm not so sure on the plot. Parallel worlds-one with fantasy prince charmings and jazz and the other with normal folks-sounds odd. But, I also thought the plot to Lost sounded kinda dumb and it turned out to be my fav show ever. Sooooo there's that.

4. New Girl. Watched it last week. Gonna give it another shot. It was so-so. Cute enough, but could easily see it moving to the bottom of my "must watch" shows on the dvr...

5. Charlie's Angels. Cared enough to record it. But haven't cared enough to watch it yet. I adore Minka, so I'll watch the pilot at some point soon. Have you watched it. Thoughts?

Returning!

1. GOSSIP GIRL! TONIGHT! Two words: Hell.yes. I cannot wait to see what mischief Blair and Serena get into this year. Inevitably, I'll become annoyed with Serena mid season per usual when she picks some boy over school/work/anything else. And I'll also sit on the edge of my seat when Chuck and Blair have many moments where they ALMOST reconnect.. I can't wait! And we have fun little watch parties so that's another bonus! :) GG must be watched with snacks, wine, and girlfriends!

 2. Nikita. Back in the day, I was obsessed with Alias. I like spy shows with female protagonists. :) Eric was late to pick me up some Friday night last year and I ended up watching a little bit of Nikita's pilot while I waited. The dvr has been set ever since. I hope this second season is as good as the first one was!

 3. Community. I love me some Joel. I've had lots of people say Joel= my boyfriend, Eric, especially on The Soup. ha! I could see that. Community is awesome. Watch it and love it, friends. :)

 4. Private Practice. This show has easily surpassed Grey's in my book. The characters are better, the plot is better. Just better better better. Please ignore that I found an old photo of the cast. Just realized it. Oops.

5. Desperate Housewives. If this wasn't its last season, I'd put it in the cancel category. I've loved the show, but it's run its course. Definitely excited to see how they wrap it all up though! :)

As for what would get canceled, I dunno... I wax and wane about some shows. Some shows just have a bad season. That said, I am not impressed with Grey's at all anymore. They need to change something to reel people back in... or just wrap it up. *shrugs*

So yeah, that's what's happening on my DVR this season! :) What about you, friends?

Weekend Recap!

Hi friends! How was your last weekend in September? (Whoa, right?!) 

Friday, I went from this... 

...to THIS! :)

And I love it! I have been dying to do a longish bob like Jen's (below). (Don't you like how I act like we're friends by the way-"Oh, ya know.. my buddy, Jen..." haha). 

Mine's prolly a little shorter than hers, but that's cool. I like it a lot!

Friday night, had a brief going away happy hour for my boss. It was fun, but also bittersweet to say goodbye to his days as coworker. :( Since I had a couple happy hour beverages in me, it seemed to make no sense to head home! A girl friend, Ashley, and I headed to have dinner and girl talk at a local restaurant on the patio. The weather here has been too fabulous to waste. All patios, all the time. ;)

Saturday night, headed out to Eric's fam's for some fabulous bbq and to watch the TU game. Alas, TU was once again not victorious. *le sigh* We're coming back this weekend, friends. You just wait.

And today, I made some yumminess I'd discovered on Chelsea's blog- cheesecake stuffed strawberries!

My actual photo! (I'm so proud.. haha) 

They were SO yummy and really easy! And they were a hit at a bbq tonight! I made some extra for Gossip Girl premiere night tomorrow night (we always have GG watch parties at our casa. So glad it's back!) I have a ton of supplies left, so I'll probably make some for the tailgate next weekend, too!

To make:

 Ingredients:
-1 lb strawberries (I actually used two containers or 2lbs b/c strawberries are going out of season, so I wanted to pick out the best ones from each container. I had PLENTY of cheesecake filling for all the berries in both containers). 
-8 oz. (one brick) cream cheese, softened 
-3-4 tbsp powdered sugar (4 tbsp for a sweeter filling)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-graham cracker crumbs 

Directions:
1. Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and clean out with a paring knife, if necessary (some may already be hollow inside). Prep all strawberries and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill strawberries with cheesecake mixture. Once strawberries are filled, dip the top in graham cracker crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.


Like Chelsea, I thought it would take awhile to cut the center from the berries, but it really didn't at all. Thanks again for posting, Chelsea! :)

Took the berry goodness to a bbq hosted by one of my friends and coworkers, April! Our little team got together to bid farewell to our boss and hang out off the clock.

Friends, check.out.that.cookie.cake April made. Holy yummy. (here's where she got the recipe if you're interested! It was SO good!)

With Jesse (far right). Our little team won't be the same without him... :(

Andrea, me, April 

 Soooo that was the weekend! :)  (I need to get back on board with the San Fran blogging. I know I know.) Happy Monday, everyone!

Weekend Recap!

Last weekend was our first home football game! Some of you maaaay have heard about the weather at this game. It was CRAZY! Thanks to some storms, game kicked off at.... 12:17 a.m! 

But before that happened, the sun was shining there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In other words, perfect tailgating weather!

I serve as the current chair for the young alumni and helped work a tailgate for the alum assn for part of the afternoon/evening and then headed over to Eric's fam's regular tailgate! :) 

We gave out some really cute t-shirts to alumni and advertised some upcoming events. I think it was really successful, but I might be biased. :)

I was so excited to wear this dress so thank GOODNESS weather behaved...at least most of the day, that is. ;) I've kinda wanted a little dress forevah and Eric's mom actually made this one for me! Isn't that sweet?! She'd never even made one before! I'll tell you right now that anything I attempt with a needle and thread would NOT come out looking like this, especially sans pattern on the first try. Is it weird if I wear it to the next home game in a few weeks again? (Say no). :)

Another thing his mom does that's super cute is wrap candy bars with TU wrappers...

 ...and the ingredients are the players names! ha! Love it!

Okay, we were kicking back and enjoying some tailgate fun when we got word that a MAJOR storm and possible tornado was on its way. Awesome.

But...

Have no fear! Eric will put up the tent walls, everyone! (this photo amuses me).

 We cleaned up what we could from the tailgate quickly and headed to wait out the storm nearby.

As the time ticked by, yawns started. I mean, the game was already scheduled for 9 pm, soooo at 10:30, we were kinda needing some caffeine. (I'm old). But, rain stopped so we opted to give it another go.

The temp dropped so layers got added...haha... :)

Once the lightening had officially moved out of the area, they decided to play! Kickoff was at 12:15 am and we were happily in our seats!

 Crowd not so bad for a midnight kickoff, me thinks...

 And then it started raining again... (You're feeling like this is never-ending, right? Yeah, so were we. haha!)

 Long post short, we headed home at halftime (2am) and watched the rest on TV. The whole experience was hilarious and made for great memories! :)

Sunday, I convinced Eric to see Lion King in 3d (and also to take this photo. He looks thrilled.. haha). We were surrounded by kiddos clasping Simba toys...haha!

A really great weekend all the way around, even with the crazy storm delayed game! :)