trouble me.

 "Sunrise, sunrise, couldn't tempt us if it tried cause the afternoon's already come and gone."

Another day, another dollar. This weekend was pretty jam packed if I do say so myself. Jeepers, I don't even know where to start. It's 2:46 pm currently. It is a perfectly sunny day here today and the downtown streets of Naperville will scattered with people. But this is today. Let us go to Friday's adventures...

Friday: It started with a simple morning. Danielle and I had a bikeride and played a little frisbee. WooHOO for it going over the fence again! I am too good at that. I got ready, had work at two and we got out at 12:05am. Not bad. I don't even notice I work so long. I got my first paycheck from there too and I cannot complain :) Work was also fun because a new girl started. So YAY! I am no longer the new girl which holds some reassurance I suppose. I also started adding detail to cookies (eyes, bows, etc) after you fill it. Afterward, even though it was late, Matt came over because we wanted to hang out and watch an episode of South Park or two before he left around two :)

Saturday: Hmm.. Let's see. I got up a little earlier than expected (9:15) and got ready to go to my sister in law's house so we could head over to the French farmers market! Awesome stuff! I got some looseleaf tea (moroccan mint), a tea canister, fresh farm eggs, and of course strawberries! I am upset at myself for going to whole foods the day before and getting some stuff I could have gotten at the farmers market, but I'll know better for next time. My sister was telling me about how there are these farming Co-ops where you pay a certain amount to a farm each season and you get a cut of the crop each week. That sounds something that I would really like to do in the future. Me and Clarissa got scones and eggs as well, so when we went back to her house we had quite the breakfast. After that, I went home, went rollerblading (LOVE  IT!) and Matt and Eric picked me up and we went shooting in Plainfield. Matthew and Eric just got guns recently (45's) a Glock and a Springfield. I shot both. I like shooting, but these were a little harder. I like a 9mm. I had some decent shots. Mostly all body and some face shots. Can't be too upset. Ha Ha. After all this we went back to Matthew's house where we had dinner. I went home, met up with Meredith and went back over to Matthews for more margaritas. We watched some episodes of Madmen and Always Sunny In Philadelphia. After a long night..we all called it quits, and I got into bed around 4. I need sleep.

This picture is a little older (from last time I shot)

Today has been pretty good. Went on a rollerblade and enjoyed the weather. Mere and I went downtown naperville and we got RED MANGO! YAY! It was pretty tasty. I keep thinking about my days in Malta. If it were last year, I would be in the fishing villages (Marsaxlokk) and learning about Malta's history. We'd be eating in streetside cafes, I'd be splitting canoles with my fellow travellers and learning more about fortification tactics and the language and ways of the people. I would also still be hardcore battling jet lag. It is sad how I remember Malta so well, but now all I have to preserve it is my memory and the pages of my journal.

Tonight I'm going to Matthews house for dinner again. YAY! It should be very tasty. I open Jamba tomorrow. It is what it is. I only work one day a week, which is kinda sad just for the fact that I want more money coming in. I'm good at putting a good amount of money into my savings so I just want all I can get :)

"speak to me, there's no telling where it starts or how it ends, speak to me, while you're building this great big wall to defend me" 

-10,000 Maniacs "Trouble me"

I have decided that if Radiohead and Natalie Merchant toured together that it would be the dream concert. THE DREAM CONCERT, PEOPLE! Gosh I love them both so much. Thom Yorke--call Natalie Merchant and get some shit set up..k thanks!

sincerely,

Tessa Erin.

Last year I'd be in Malta :(

Ay yay yay and more yays!

Today was a long day that I did not quite anticipate, but I am not disappointed persay... HA HA (I'm reminded of the South Park episode with the vampires vs goth.) I think that everytime I say "persay" I'm going to hate myself for it afterwards. Oh well!

I decided a few things today. I decided to work my ass off in skating today. I had a great lesson and I loved it. I want to improve and I need it to start showing. I need to just absorb everything in a lesson and apply it. I need to start picking up the pace technically. I just need lessons and more of them. I wish I had all the money in the world for lessons every day. Then we'd be onto something. Needless to say, It was a great skate. It may have not been my absolute best technically (damn double toe), but I felt good about it. I'm so in love with the movement. I have got to get enrolled in a ballet class ASAP.

Another thing I decided that I need to start really focusing on what I eat again. Of course, I can list off what I ate three days ago. I do very much think about what I eat. It's just when I get too comfortable with certain foods and introduce them more than I should. Moderation is key; summer is time for definate reforecasting in how we eat and think about our meals. Due to the warmth of the air, our bodies no longer need heavier and richer foods, but long for farmstand fruit and fresh vegetables and lighter soups (cold soups). Fruits especially. They pair with so much--meals or dessert. Also, cheese is amazing with certain fruits and wines. I want to get to be really familiar with pairings so while entertaining the future I will always have the appropriate bottle of vino on hand. I haven't been feeling well lately either. Sometimes I do eat too many sweets than my body can handle. I'm planning on eating fruits, vegetables, and carbs (rice, bread, etc). Simple foods. Things that my body doesnt have to over process. I just want clean foods in me. Kind of a cleanse? Nothing crazy, but I doubt I'm going to make it. I want to, but it's hard to do, but will result in good things. When you cut out sugar and salt you notice a big difference. If you gave up sugar/salt (what you can anyways) for three month you wouldn't need as much anymore. You would just train yourself to like it unsweeted or find alternatives (honey, cinnamon). Too bad wheatgrass makes me vom :/...sorry--rambling!

Work went really well. We got out at 12:05 though. Kind of a bummer. I really wanted to hang out with Meredith. I keep missing her when she is home because I have funny hours with work. I need the money, so in the end it's allgood. We had a few really good laughs though, so it was worth it. I like it because we are all pretty comfortable with eachother. I love it ha ha even though I'm tired and am dragging by the end, it's fun. Tomorrow I'm going on an early morning bikeride with Danielle. It shall be fun. I want to skate, but oh well, such is life.

Check out that South Park episode at the top! Go to the farmers market this weekend! Don't forget!

 

Movie Recommendations! (links = trailers)

 

1) Amelie: this is such a cute movie. Don't worry, they have subtitles when you buy the movie. It's good for any walks of life and is perfect for any mood.

2) Black Sheep: Chris Farley and David Spade. Great tagteam. This is a link to one of my fave scenes in the movie. "They've got like levers galore in this thing.."

3) Closer: I have no idea where my DVD copy went. I watched this movie all the time. I had it on in the background all the time. I think it's clever and so true. 

4) Into The Wild: My parents rented this movie and had it on the counter. I snagged it before they could and watched it in my room. Normally, this is impossible. It's a lengthy movie, so if I can watch it, so can you. This story (I love the book as well--a true story) makes me want to go out and live nomadically. His story is so enticing. I love it. I love his independance and freedom. It gets you in touch with what is necessary in life. God I love this story.

5) Garden State: OO! 2 Natalie Portman hits on the list! This movie is so simple yet adorable and yet carries emotion so well. I could watch this movie any day.

Try and rent one of these or see it soon! Hope you enjoy them!

-Tessabeebop

"Beagles and Labs!" ;)

Why, 12:03 just struck, looks like Thursday. That means skating lesson and work. Meredith comes home tomorrow, so I hope we can hang out afterwards. Everytime she's been home lately I have not been able to see her! I'm excited.

Back to today. My dad turned 60! How exciting. Wow what a day. I would have been leaving for Malta today too. It's so sad to think about. Matthew and I were discussing how I shouldn't be sad because next time will be different and it being different will be good. The thing is, is that the experience I had last time was so new and refreshing. There are few things people would actually want to go through again. I would LOVE to relive it again. So to me it is sad regaurdless of me being able to back. I would be in great shape knowing I'd have the same kind of experience. I was in awe for mostly all of the trip. I was so good natured and I loved everything and I loved encountering new land and people. Each day was a new excitement and lesson. I'm so thankful for that experience. Wow, look at my goin on about Malta (what else is new?) So my parents met up my grandparents at 11:30 for Clara's and I headed my seperate way to skating. I'm so glad that I went today. Meagan and I pretty much had the ice to ourselves. It was clean ice too! I cannot even believe it. We didn't think we were at Seven Bridges anymore! ha ha ha. I really love working on spins, but they take a lot out of me. I can do a lot of jumps over and over, but it's hard because your body eventually gets tired of whatever it's doing. You have to pace yourself and be accurate on the ones you try to perform. Tricky Ricky!

I met Matthew up for lunch (Butterfields of course)--2 days in a row! After that I picked up the two cookie baskets my mom ordered. I made both of them, so that was neat. We got my dad a basket of gourmet cookies and then got him a dog cookie that resembled my dog, the piping was even made to look like fur. It was fun to do :) I ended up running into Danielle (she was walking) and I scooped her up and we took a quick walk and played some frisbee. I ended up getting curious about making my own shampoo/rinse. I have a tendancy to get into some weird kicks with food and oraganics and body stuff. So about a year ago I was really into organic hair prods but the fad diminished when it was just too much damn money. So I came accross a blog that gave directions on how to make super easy hair wash. It sounds crazy just using water and baking soda, but it really absorbs moisture without stripping your hair of it's natural oils that it needs. The rince is simply apple cider vinegar with water. It's just a basic ratio of 1 tablespoon to one cup of warm water (in their own seperate containers!). Read about it on that site for more information. But it REALLY works. My hair is soft and was super easy to brush after. You would think lathering water and baking soda would get it tangled, but after you rinse it out with water and apply your actual ACV rinse it makes it soft and brushable right out of the shower. How nice! After Danielle left and I washed my hair and all that Matt came and picked me up and headed out to a property he needed to analyze, went to the mall (H&M), and Hobby Lobby. I had to get more beads and wire for barrettes that I've been crankin out like a mad woman. I love them :)

Dessert was at my house after all that and My brother (John), sister in law (Clarissa), and Matthew went out to dinner and chilled at their place for a bit. We watched some South Park and ended up ducking out at 11:15. A good day/night overall. We shall see what tomororw holds!

Bonne Nuit!

-Tessa

mammatus clouds.

Oh, one of the best parts of the day. Reflection time!

Today brought upon some good things. I was pretty chipper for the most part. Today, even though I had planned on going skating, I decided against it. Tomorrow is my day off and I figure that the time would be better suited to skate tomorrow. I would have just had to rush around to make it to work on time. Danielle came over and we biked over to Walgreens and then came back and played hardcore frisbee. I have come to love frisbee and treat it like we are training for an Olympic event. How badass would that be? I'm not talking about frolf, I'm talking about just tossing a frisbee. Ha ha ha. We are training ourselves to throw left handed. I have high hopes.

After the frisbee event, I showered up, got ready, and headed to lunch at Butterfield's to meet Matthew and his parents. I'm kind of pissed. They brought me the wrong dish, but whatever, i ate it anyways. It wasn't bad. I had work afterwards and it went really well. We got out pretty early, minimal orders. That's always nice! Afterward Matthew came over and we just hung out, had some rhubarb pie, and watched some South Park. 

Pictures from work:

 

I have good hopes for the day tomorrow.  I plan on waking up, going skating with Meagan, stopping by work, headin home where my grandparents and parents will be playing cards all through the day and my dad's 60th celebration will take place. My brother, sister in law, and Matthew are coming over at 6 for dessert. It will be a good time. The day is pretty flexible though. I look forward to see what my dad thinks of the gift my bro and I got him. I hope he likes it!

I cannot even believe that a YEAR ago on Thursday that I'd be finished packing and heading to Malta. It is so sad. I miss it so much and would give anything to be in that same apprehensive/excited/anxious place that I was. It really did change my life. I hate to hear about people that have disappointing international travels. I believe what lies on the other side of the Atlantic is a fabulous place (for the most part). Mostly Europe is what I'm talking about. I am so excited to go again and really explore more areas. I feel sometimes that I am so stupid for coming back home. Of course, I had to, but it is just a shame that I had such a short time in Europe (2 weeks). But boy, did we really conquer Malta!

I am very excited for our weather tomorrow! Rain and instability. That's what I'm talkin about! It will be a good day to stay inside and hang out and enjoy the family company. So I woke up this morning to my mom freaking out about something. There is a larger than life beehive on the side of my roof and it's right near the room where the exercise bike is. It was crazy. That was amusing to watch for awhile, but kind of gross. I would hate to see all those bees get smoked. I really hope they can relocate the hive. I think they are honeybees. They are very small. Possibly baby wasps, but it looks more like a honey comb hive. Good times?

 

Wow, I just found something interesting out.. M.I.A's song $20 (one of my faves, I know every word. ha ha) chorus features the chorus of the Pixies song "Where Is My Mind" I definately feel lame for not knowing that. OH well, we learn something new everyday! Anywho, I need some sleep!

Bring that umbrella tomorrow! Enjoy your Wednesday!

-Tessa Erin.

remember the game "Memory?"

Why HELLO! Don't forget tomorrow is TUESDAY. Don't worry, we will all make the mistake.

So, I was stumbling around on the internet, facebook chatting, and of course jammin to Pandora when I realized I should definately be blogging. Lately I have been writing when I have been 2/3 asleep. No bueno. Last night my biggest frustration came from not being able to transfer my pictures from my phone to the computer through a cord I received through Matthew (this alleviates the problem of having to take the chip in and out constantly). It took me awhile to figure it out. It caused me to get even more tired. Yikes.

Today was a good day overall. I woke up at nine (everyone seemed to be texting me) and Danielle came over at 10:30 and she and I went on an hour and a half walk through the perserve. It was fun times for sure. I came home, showered, and met up with my brother to go pick out a gift for my dad. I will keep it hush hush for now (even though I'm pretty positive he doesn't read this) ha ha. I feel pretty good about our gift. My parents came back today. I went to Matthew's house for dinner at six for ribs, potato salad, homemade hummus/pita chips, and fruit and cake. Loved it. Smoked hookah while Matthew and Eric attended to a shitty game of cards where Eric barely understood the rules. It was enjoyable. We watched a show of "Always Sunny In Philidephia". Pretty funny; glad I saw an episode.

Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, I enjoyed the true laziness of the day. Yesterday was where it was at for your socialization outdoors. Today was a day to watch marathons of your favorite TV shows, get crafty, or spend time with some family. I have always welcomed rainy weather with open arms. However, this morning I believe everyone was dragging. The rain is a great change of pace and it give you a break from watering your plants. You cannot complain about the latter! ;)

So I anticipate what is to come for my summer. I cannot have any hopes. I cannot look forward to anything too much; you tend to really let yourself down when you hype things up. No expectations is the way to go with summers, I've learned. Hopefully some awesome things will come into the works. I've really been diggin the Talking Heads lately. I've always been a fan, but I hear more and more and I like them. David Byrne sounds so much like Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root... well, vice versa, I suppose and I LOVE rusted root so it all makes sense in the end.

Tomorrow = cookies! Woohoo! I think I might sneak in a lil skate time. I miss it so much. I cannot believe my little skater friend Julie quit! It saddens me. Matthew and I watched her compete a few weeks ago and it's crazy to end something so big in your life that you devote all your time to. It is hard to want to reach the top while they just keep making it harder to do so. It is such a stressful and intense sport. I loved quitting and having all that free time, that was back when I was in 5th grade. I had already been doing the sport for 7 years and I was only 10! Now I wish I could have just showed a little god damn dedication. In the end it was the right thing to do to meddle in theater, cheerleading, chess club, friends, boyfriends, soccer, and work. Sometimes we have to pursuit other interests in hopes to find out what truly suits us. You can't just keep doing the same thing over and over if you're not confident it's what you want to continue doing. I'm excited to see where she goes.

I will leave you with videos and pictures of the weekend.

I love love love having flowers in my room. Anything to add a little life. I keep a lot of flowers. Normally I keep one flower from an important/meaningful bouquet. So I have vases of dead flowers all over. So having some flowers that are full of life and add so much great smell to my room are really quite the bonus. These are beautiful too! I cannot remember the name though! :(

Finally you get to see these barrettes I'm making. 

They are coming along. Each one gets better!

This is p 1 of the video walk with Danielle. Ha Ha. man oh man.

What a fuzzy morning. I wanted to sleep! Oh well, this made it worth it.

 and this would be p2 of the video walk. The infamous TREE!!

Sorry it's sideways; but you can work with it!

Jeepers! Time for me to skedattle into bed! Muy tired. Time to turn off the weather channel, turn off the speakers, but the computer to sleep, and scurry into bed. Have a delightful night! Drink a lot of water tomorrow!

-tessaroobopalop

the wind is high.

RUSTED ROOT IS AWESOME!

I am so glad I have seen that band four times :)

Wow. What a day and what a weekend! It has been a pretty great weekend thus far. I worked everyday this week which allowed me to relish in todays laziness although you would hardly consider it that. Let's talk about yesterday...

I opened up Jamba and it was a pleasant and easy open. I left at eleven fifteen and sauntered downtown naperville with Jackie before eating a highly craved burrito bowl that failed to meet the high hopes I had for it. Jackie and I headed back to my place and listened to tunes while making barrettes. They are really the star of my posts lately, aren't they? Not a bad thing. Jackie and I ended up going on a bike ride later in the day and then when Matthew picked me up for dinner, we dropped Jackie off. We went to Lalo's for dinner. I enjoy their margaritas and shredded beef a whole lot. I normally do not eat beef. I like to avoid meat when I can, but eh, I enjoy it in a meal here and there. After dinner we headed to the mall and I got some GREAT things at Forever 21. Mostly accessories...

but I got a nice black dress that's perfect for the evening out. I love that stores style. It's like charlotte russe mixed with H&M which is perfect. After the mall we headed to hookah and then settled in back at my house where electric sheep, good music, and south park was to all be enjoyed.

This morning, I got up semi early and headed to Jamba to get a smoothie for breakfast. My parents went to the summerhouse and took all good things with them and I was also left with sour milk--grrr! So I went to trader joes and got my yogurt, bread, new beautiful flowers for my room, and of course black licorice scotty dogs. Which reminds me that I need to buy fennel soon! Which reminds me that I need to cook with Matthew soon! :) When I got home, Danielle came over and we took off for what turned out to be a 12 mile bike ride (she has a spedometer/mile tracker) how convenient! At two thirty I headed to my bro and sister in laws house and hung out for the majority of the day while we waited for others to show up at night for a poker game. Clarissa made some amazing champagne punch which had us buzzing. It was fabulous. I love a good sunday daytime sunny drunk. I was sobered by 11 and headed home. I am so so so tired. Tomorrow calls for plans with Danielle and maybe my weather class Danielle. It's odd how I met two good friends both named Danielle and each one was in my science class at C.O.D.  Bizarre-o! 

I am SO tired. Zzzzzzz.

-tessa

eyes darting through tall grass.

So I don't have long. It's 1:08 am and I have to be up by 6:40 to open Jamba. It almost seems like there is no point in going to bed, but I know better.

I can't spill too much about the day, but knowing me, I will. The day started with the decision of walking to the gym (1.9 miles) from my house. Took me 25 minutes and when I hit the gym I did weights and stretching and then walked back. All in all, I'm happy about it. I hate the gym, but I need to lift weights. I think resistance training is important and it's useful for skating. After this, I got ready and headed to work. It was pretty good. Decorated and glazed. I don't really enjoy glazing, but only because I am still really slow at it. Oh well. Time will allow me to get better. We got out of work early early for a Friday (9:55!) ha ha. So it was nice. Afterward, Matthew came over and we watched some Chelsea Lately and The Soup. HA HA I love those shows. I laughed SO hard at tonights episodes. Thank you, E!

I have to talk about a dream I had two nights ago because I cannot stop thinking about it. I had a dream I was at Seven Bridges on the NHL rink (where the competitions take placE) warming up with a group of competitive figure skaters (5-7 min warm up before the programs) and they were all in dresses and I was in skating pants and a sweater. I had no music and no routine planned and obviously no dress. I was not a competitive figure skater and I kept telling the girls that were in my group that I was not a competitive figure skater but I would be competing with them tonight. I was rocking in my warm up too, landing jumps I don't have and feeling really confident. After warm up when we were waiting for the skaters to perform, a coach said that if I was not a competitive skater that I should have really used the name of someone who was. She then introduced herself in a way that was soliciting her services as a coach. However it was odd because in my dream, I had the same coach I have now in real life. Sometimes odd to carry over literall into a dream. Normally it's distorted. Anywho..I was waiting and waiting for my time to go on and I had to wait forever because they were cleaning the ice with a squeegie (SP?) instead of a zamboni! So then When they called my name I remember my best friend from high school in the front row cheering for me and I skated out to the center, struck my pose, and just as the first note of the music hit I woke up realizing I had slept in an hour late! I'm so bummed I missed what I skated like. It's for the best..an unfinished dream..a good thing perhaps!

Sorry. I had to write it. Tomorrow should be a good day! We shall see what goes down. I have plans, but they are flexible. YAY! I only work till 12:30! Which is better than the usual 3. My hand is KILLING me from the pipe work. My middle finger on my right hand in particular. I'm worried about the condition of my hands. Whatever, I love what I do. It's a good thing  I have a few days off to get it into all star shape.

Gosh. I've been jonesin to watch some shows from the past! I'll call this the BLAST FROM THE PAST TV SPECIAL:

1) So weird - Disney Channel. My GOD I loved that show! I still would if i knew disney played it once in awhile

2) The ONE SATURDAY MORNING cartoons; Doug, Recess, and Pepper Ann. Wow, watching that intro makes me think of laying in bed watching cartoons I loved just as every kid should. Where my biggest decision was count chocula or fruity pepples. What happened, youth?!

3) The Magic school bus! No explanation needed.

4) Drew Carey Show. I loved this show. I love the intro song too.

5) Roseanne. Thank GOD for Nick@Nite who still plays this gem. (Hilarious Clips)

Now i shall set off to expect to watch the sunrise. Enjoy your day before showers settle in at night!

; tessa

orange chocolate.

Today proved to be a good one for sure. I am loving my schedules these days. Today consisted of seeing Danielle at our usual 10:30 and she unloaded a bag full of clothes for me! She gave me a ton of really great clothing items, beads, and best of all SCRUNCHIES! We had environmental bio together in the fall semester (how we met) and I had like 4 scrunchies in my purse and I said, "you know a figure skater when there are 4 scrunchies in their purse." i am so excited to wear some of my new threads and hair accessories that I have aquired. Major "cha-ching". We went on a 6 mi bike ride (30 mins) and played 30 mins of "pretty intense" frisbee. I threw it over the fence of this one yard and we had to deal with some strat ideas of how we would get it back. It worked out in the end.

I got ready, went to Butterfields to semi meet Matthew. He had a meeting at one, but I met him at 12:3o where we talked briefly over iced tea. I got grilled cheese and mushroom barley soup. It was delicious to the third power. Work was at two which was fantastico! I love it there a lot. I made some cookies, made some frosting, and of course decorated cookies. Here are some of the ones I decorated today; TESSABEES!

After work (which got out pretty early tonight!) Matthew and I met up at the Hilton to kick back some Tanqueray and tonic and I got some mango-brie quesadillas (so predictable). I have not had Red Mango in forever.  How sad!  Soon.  I have come a little further on my barrette endeavors. They are getting better and better each time, as expected I suppose.  I'm excited for the next one I make. I love getting crafty. I'm notorious for spending a ton of money on something I'm into for the time being. Things always change. I come back to it years later looking to use certain materials for something new.  Hobby Lobby has some killer beads right now that I cannot wait to throw on hemp. I want to make a new one for my Phish concert coming up!

I have no clue what tomorrow holds. How exhilerating. No public skate tomorrow, so I will most likely go to the gym or bike ride. But I should throw forward a few weights. Ugh. Gym it is. Work--Cookies (2-?)

So it appears that 96,000 pounds of beef have been recalled coming from IL. Maybe I am way behind on this piece of news-- (I never watch TV). But it is this kind of shit that worries me. We are eating products from animals that are shot with hormones and animals that are treated and fed very poorly. What is that to say abour our intake? It just makes me think twice. Same with milk...cows are given the Bovine growth hormone. We really don't know what kind of effect this will have on us years from now because it is too recent for us to see the the full cycle. I hate the food here in America. I want to move to France. Where cuisine is important. Unlike here, where people eat anywhere, anytime, and eat anything. We have no class when it comes to taste. Some of us do, don't get me wrong, but so many people have eating disorders. I'm not just talking about skinny girls and bulimia. I'm talking about any eating pattern that strays from the normal three meals a day (what makes most sense for our system).  Disordered eating.  It's everywhere.

Exciting news! Hurricane season has started!  I love tropical meteorology. I liked it the most I think. Anywho. I want to go make more barrettes!  :)

keep it real.

xx tessabee.

summer is no bummer

I have to share THIS link with you all. It is so funny. It kind of reminds me of my mom (not at all in looks! but how she is) ha ha ha. I found it on my buddy D.J.'s facebook.

The night is still young! 10:46 pm. Cannot beat that, although I have no intentions of going out and you'd find me positioned comfortably in my pajamas. I'm always out late these days. I remember being in bed by 10. I can always kiss those nights good bye in the summer. Normally it's 3am every night. There is just so much to do and so much to explore in the summer. While the weather allows you, one should be soaking up every ounce of outside time. I long for these nights. I enjoying coming home from work and just hangin out and having no plans. Sometimes, I love plans, but it's always good to change it up.

Today was groovy. Danielle came over again (we do our daily walk/frisbee/bikeride) and we walked over to Hobby Lobby because I have been really into beaded hair clips lately. So I wanted to get crafty and make my own. I got all the supplies and we headed back to enjoy electric sheep, bah samba (amazing new station i love on pandora!), conversation, and me attempting to bead a barrette. She left, i got ready, and headed to work. It was really not bad at all. Of course, we had a steady stream of people, but I'm lucky I closed with good people. Jackie and Jen--what a tag team. I love the people there. It's the only thing keeping me there. Whatever. 

It was taco Wednesday..which should have really made things better, but they were on the cold side. What a downer. I am super picky about my food being hot. I will always send it back (nicely, of course). I like my food to be very hot if it is a hot dish. I don't settle for that lukewarm crap. However, I look forward to Taco Wednesdays (or Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, etc.) Whichever night I choose to get tacos. It is so odd to think that all our little Jamba seniors are graduating! How exciting. Such a big transition period for them. In the end I am really glad that I decided to stay home. I got back into skating, had a solid job and obtained good experience, met some awesome people (including my boyfriend, Matthew!), and formed a better relationship with my parents (I guess?) All in all, it was a great move for me. Every person has to do their thing and do what pleases them, especially when it comes to education. I think so many people go away that should not. Do not go to a university as an undecided major. You are just wasting a lot of time and money and causing yourself more stress. I've met some of the coolest people in the walls of C.O.D. We are quite an interesting pack of kids. You have the slackers mixed with the people who care. I want to keep learning and I enjoy a classroom setting in the sense of it being a sort of like a forum to discuss and explore a subject. I would take a class or two for the rest of my life. Especially Field Studies. Those are the way to go. That's how I got to go to Malta and learn about all the fabulous things I did :)

I shall be on my way to go make more barrettes! I shall post pictures of them soon! Sorry for the lack of linkaroos in the post. I shall provide pictures instead!

My very first baguettes! I loved them and they were one of the best I've ever made. I feel it's blogworthy. Who doesn't like fresh bread out of the oven? Never had it?! MAKE BREAD SOON! :)

Me..probably at the age of 7 with five trophies in front of me from one weekend of all first place. This appeared in the newspaper. Someone..please remind me why I quit..? I know why I did, it's just sad. Some girl came into Jamba tonight and told me she's been doing ballet for 13 years. If I were still skating it would have been 18 years. How INSANE to think about that.

Me back in the dayyy. Senior year. I literally chopped my hair off with a razor blade. I'm not kidding around when I say I take a razor to my locks ;) It's odd because a lot of people who met me now don't know that I had super short hair.

...and an amusing video of my dog just being himself:

Away I go! Best sleep wishes to you! Still early, Europe; sleep in that extra hour or two :)

wacky zingoz.

Hola!

Today has been a GREAT day! I am really enjoying the drastic turn around that I've had in the past 2 months. Ask me how life was a two months ago and I would have just shaken my head in disgust/disappointment. I was stuggling in a class where the subject was one of my favorite things in the world. I'm sure you all guessed it!.. Meteorology. I wasn't skating how I wanted to, and i just felt stressed and irresponsible all the time. Now that the weather is warming my bones I am a lot happier and more relieved. My parents were on my back about taking summer classes. They want me to get my degree. So do I. More so than anyone else, I want my degree. It is odd because when the summer is here and I'm free of all things academic, i want to be studying and learning. But NO way was I falling for that summer school trap again. I cannot spend 3 hours inside a classroom in the summertime. No way. I tried before and dropped all my classes (oops). Needless to say...I'm happy. Sorry I couldn't just cut to the chase.

Danielle came by around 10:45 and we took an hour long bike ride and followed it with frisbee. We are getting damn good. My mom announced to me that she planned on buying me 3D chalk. (that look on the little girls face will most likely mimick mine.) I am beyond stoked. I've been pumping myself up about getting sidewalk chalk but I have not done it yet. So I hope she starts her search sooner than later. (PS mom; if you're reading check Target, Toys R us, or like..Meijer? ha ha). I got ready and headed to work. Cookies! I loved it. I decorated a ton of baby cookies. I like doing these the least. I don't hate them as much as I used to. The bib always looks like shit. And the bottles. Good god. But I love this bouquet. So all is good at work and I really like the people I work with. I'm so lucky to have landed it. Thanks again, Matthew! :) I have to note right now that Lupe Fiasco on Pandora is great. Great hip-hop/rap tunes for sure.

5 Fave stations right now on Pandora:

1) Smoke City

2) Beck

3) Radiohead

4) Led Zeppelin

5) Lupe Fiasco

So after work, Matthew scooped me up and we went to the hookah bar for a quick smoke and parted ways. It's a bummer getting out of work so late sometimes, but I don't mind. I will enjoy the money later and the cookie job does not bother me at all. I love going. My hand is in some real bad pain though. I'm nervous for my right hand in my future. Arthritis for sure. How sad :(

I'm about to throw down five more... Things I am REALLY diggin at the moment:

1) pandora pandora pandora.

2) Electric Sheep. You have to download it, people! You will thank me forever! It provokes me to read the book "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" I am so curious. It is the story that the screen saver was based on. It is made to keep mutating itself before your eyes. You can also control in some way how the sheep will move and create your own images. 

3) My improved frisbee game

4) My new job

5) Goodwill

That is a phenomenal list. I am happy with that. Tomorrow may or may not equate to hell. If you have read my previous post, you may have read that sunny days mean bad days at Jamba Juice. Tomorrow is expected to reach a high of 83 degrees farenheit. Damnit. Oh and you can cue the sunny skies as well. Thank god it is a Wednesday and not a Friday. Sometimes you literally feel like you have served EVERYONE in Naperville. It's lame. Anywho that is at 2-cl. I can barely skate this week. It sucks, but next week i can so it's okay. I work everyday this week. Tomorrow Jamba, Thursday/Friday cookies, Saturday I open Jamba. It's all good. MAKIN PAPER! 

OH! Big NEWS! I got my new shipment of tea! They are fantastic! I got Lemon Vanilla white tea, Japanese Cherry green tea, and Peaches & Cream green tea. They are great. I LOVE Teagschwendner's aroma collections. I even told the delivery man how happy I was that he delievered the box full of my fabulous tea! (luckily, i caught him as I was pulling into my driveway).

Check out this crazycoolness! Enjoy and SLEEP tight!

-tessa