No news...

They often say that no news is good news, but in my case it's just plain ol' boring!

I'm ready for something exciting to happen. And I should point out, that something exciting should not be confused with something bad, plenty of those things have been around the last few months.

The most exciting thing to happen to me this week? A french lady took my picture. She was at the International Quilt Festival reception I attended and became completely enthralled with my DAR pins and the fact that I was dressed in white. She just had to take my picture to take back to France. There is no telling what kind of stories are going to be accompanying my picture upon her return.

There was also an incident with changing clothes in a parking garage, but I won't elaborate. Gotta love those crazy Quilt Festivals!

My exciting weekend plans? Tonight is boot camp and some much anticipated chicken fried rice from Wanfu, plus avoiding downtown at all costs (I just don't really get into slut-o-ween). Tomorrow I will be working for Pamela at a seminar at the Texas Land Office and then working at Bath and Body Works. Sunday will be filled with an 11 mile run and working a floorset at BBW. Like I said, I could definitely use a dose of excitement in my life. All suggestions that do NOT involve internet dating sites are welcome.

Weekend Recap

I spent the weekend in Lufkin. Originally I was going home for SFA's Homecoming, but we actually spent very little time in Nacogdoches. Guess it just goes to show that I'm getting older, I'd rather spend time with my family when I find myself in East Texas. Here are some fun pictures from my time in Lufkin:

I can't get the pictures in chronological order and I didn't want to start over, so this picture is actually from Sunday. Madelyn fell in love with Ella's "Baby Alive" when we were at Scott and Brook's on Saturday. Baby Alive was in the garage sale and didn't sell, so Brook sent her home to Mady. She was walking around the lake house holding Baby up in the air like this saying "weeee" and it took me a few minutes to realize why. Madelyn gets thrown around a LOT by just about everyone she knows, so naturally, she thinks this is what you do with babies. Of course, she would also throw Baby down on the ground, and that is NOT what you do with babies.

Ella has a new fascination with taking "silly" pictures. She made me take at least 5 on my own. I guess I can't really complain since before now she did NOT enjoy having her picture taken at all. I've never seen her smile in so many pictures before!

Ella and Madelyn are my new running buddies. I went over to Scott and Brook's to do a little running (their neighborhood is more running friendly than Fuller Springs, plus their block equals a .25 mile so it's easier to gauge distance) on Saturday morning. We got out the double stroller and Ella and Madelyn made a few laps with me. Madelyn had no clue what was going on, but it was nice to have Ella to encourage me. She kept on wanting to do just one more lap. Before we did 4 laps in the stroller she ran with me a lap and rode her bike for two laps. We got a lot of exercise! And let me tell you... pushing a double stroller and running is a LOT of extra work!

Ella is trying to get Madelyn and Eric together so I can take a picture of the three of them. As you can see, it was not very successful. It's so fun that Madelyn and Eric are now mobile enough to play together, though they spent most of the morning just staring at each other.

I went over for Trick-or-Treating on Saturday night. Yes, I do realize this was early. Their neighborhood does it early for the kids so they don't have to compete with all of the outsiders for candy or deal with the extra crowd. Ella was Tinkerbell and Eric was Peter Pan, aren't they adorable?

Granny and Papa wanted to get a picture with the kiddos. Tempe has a picture of her and Jerrell with Ella on Halloween last year and she wants to make it an annual thing. When she told Ella she wanted to take a picture with her and Eric and Papa, Ella said "Like last year?" Tempe was so impressed that Ella remembered! I think that probably has something to do with the picture from last year that is on their fridge rather than Ella's amazing memory (though she does remember practically EVERYTHING).

I love Eric's face in this photo. Ella is being super cute and he's not very sure of all of the love and attention he's getting from his big sister!

This train was actually a present to Jay and I for our second Christmas, making it 25 years old! We had let my Great Aunt Catherine have it for her grandkids after we outgrew it and about a month ago she had me come by her house to pick it up and take to Madelyn. I spent half an hour going through my box of old pictures to see if I had one of us on this train to compare it with, but they're all in Lufkin. This is one of the few toys that actually survived my childhood.

Madelyn and I went for a little walk on Sunday and ended up down at the water so we put our feet in. Madelyn would actually hold her leg up like this for a few seconds and then splash it down in the water. Thank goodness the water wasn't too cold for it being October. Of course, we did have to immediately put her in a new outift because she got herself pretty soaked from all of her splashing around!

I got back to Austin and went for my first ever 10 mile run on Sunday evening. It was a good run! I feel much better about the 1/2 Marathon that is quickly approaching in the next few weeks. My legs are still a little achey from the run, but I think that is partially due to all of the leg exercises we did at boot camp last night. It never fails, anytime I am completely sore somewhere, Sam works that body part the most. Speaking of boot camp, last week was my one year anniversary! It's hard to believe it's been a year since I started this complete exercise regime overhaul in my life. That means it's also been a year of putting up with Bunker's incessant teasing. At least it's also been a year of Wanfu Fridays, that makes up for the teasing a little bit.

My kiddie kitties...

My cats entertain me. They are unlike any other cats I know. Cats are not supposed to beg for attention from you like dogs. They aren't supposed to be curious and getting into everything. They are supposed to keep to themselves and grace you with their presence when they feel like it. Not mine.

I've probably discussed this before, but it just blows my mind. My cats have to be in whatever room I'm in. When I come home at night, they are waiting at the door for me. When I go to the bathroom, they come with me. I can't get out of the shower without seeing them sitting there and staring at me. When I watch tv they are almost always within 5 feet of me. They don't get in my bed immediately when I got to sleep, but if I don't fall asleep after a few minutes I feel them get into bed. This goes against everything I've ever been told about cats, it's behavior more like dogs. I guess they just really love me. It's so bizarre!

This week they have been bad kitties. They have very much reminded me of my childhood with my brothers, as they have been teasing and chasing each other back and forth across the apartment ALL week! They've been known to do this in the past, but it has never been a constant event over any extended period of time. A few times I have actually watched one hit the other with her paw across the face and then run away. What I wouldn't give to be able to read their minds when they're doing this!

I guess if I'm going to wind up an old cat lady, I'm glad that I have Smokey and Giada who are full of personality to keep me entertained.

I heart presents!

It's been one of those weeks. I realize that I have to take the blame for some of it, but the cosmics have been working against me as well. I won't list what's gone wrong because that's just depressing, so I'm going to focus on the positive.

Tuesday evening I found a notice from UPS on my door and was thrilled yesterday when I stopped by the apartment complex office to find my new Cartier watch! Even when it seems like the world hates me I have to remember that I am loved, very dearly, by plenty of people. This "just because" present from one of my biggest fans serves as a reminder. She was right when she said it just looked like me.

Also on the plus side, or I guess technically the minus sign, I lost 3 lbs this week! I'm not even sure how I did it since I'm not following the "Sam Plan" diet as strictly these days.... I need some carbs, I'm training for a 1/2 marathon. I'm also going to buy some new jeans after work. I tried on a smaller size this weekend and they fit, but I didn't like the cuff, so I'm on going to get the ones I like today.

I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in Lufkin. The original plan was to celebrate SFA's Homecoming all weekend, and while I'm sure there will still be a trip or two to Nac, most of our friends have had to bail on the festivities, so I will probably spend more time with the fam. I can't wait to see precious Madelyn and am looking forward to seeing Ella and Eric all decked out for Halloween!

Fall is in the air...

We've experienced our first batch of cool weather in the Austin area this week, with overnight lows hitting the upper 50s and the mid-day weather hovering around 80. Rational thought would lead you to believe that this is a mild cool front at the most, especially in the middle of October, but if you looked at how people around the Capitol are dressed you would think we were in for very cool days.

When I walked outside today in my 3/4 length shirt, jeans, and flip flops (comfortable attire for my plane ride later this afternoon), I thought to myself how nice it felt outside, but I wasn't cold in the least. Julie has been talking for weeks about how excited she is to wear fall clothes so I wasn't suprised at all when I walked in to the office this morning to find her wearing a turtleneck, our office is freezing all of the time so it makes sense.

I didn't start poking fun until we made a trip up to the Capitol Grill and I saw some of the Capitol boys sitting and chatting over coffee (this is a daily routine for a few guys I know). Caleb was wearing a Northface fleece and Isaac was wearing a Northface fleece vest. As we walked past them I couldn't help but point out that the high today is going to be near 80, but yet they look like they're ready to face much more severe temperatures. I guess in Texas you have to take whatever cold weather you can get, no matter how mild it might be. At the very least, I was able to giggle this morning at Julie and the boys who are ready for winter... in October.

I'm headed to New Orleans this weekend and can't wait to spend some quality time with Ruth and to visit my little Marie. These girls are two of my favorite people, and I don't get to see them nearly enough. Ruth has needed my friendship lately, and it's been hard to comfort over the phone knowing that you're a time zone apart, so I am thankful that this weekend will allow me to do so in person. I can't believe it's been over a year since I've seen Marie, as I've known her for almost all of her life. She's like a little sister to me, and I'm interested to see how much she has matured as she approaches the end of her college days and prepares to begin life as an adult. I wish everyone else would have been able to make the trip, but we are going to have plenty of fun without them and there's always next time!

It's raining babies!

2 out of the 4 couples whose weddings I have attended in the last 6 months are now expecting babies! Blake and Amanda and Lindsay and Randy will be parents next spring. I couldn't be more excited about having another baby cousin on the way. So I wonder who's next??? If I was a betting woman, I'd say Kareen and Justin. Last year was the year of engagements, I think this year will be the year of babies, which makes sense.

And while it's beginning to rain babies, it's also raining outside. Of course, Austin desperately needs the rain, but I don't enjoy the traffic that it brings, and boot camp will be interesting crammed into the studio tonight if the track is still wet.

I'm taking a break from having Fox News on at work today and instead am listening to the Project Runway marathon in honor of the finale tonight. I want Leeanne to win. Actually, I want anyone but Kenley to win, which is unfortunate because she was one of my favorites at the beginning.

A craptastic run...

Yesterday morning I went for an 8 mile run with my friend Drea. We've got a little over a month until the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon that as of Friday I have signed up for and paid my non-refundable registration fee, so it's time to get motivated. It'd been a few weeks since I'd gone on a long run, I believe the last one was 7 miles with Andrea the morning of the Texas/Rice game.

I have to say, this run completely kicked my booty. It might be because Drea runs so much faster than me and I paced with her for the first mile and a half, and we chatted some... it completely exhausted me. After I let her get ahead, I began to think that maybe I would just do 6 miles, and I kept on thinking about how disappointed I was in myself for not performing better and having to walk so much. As I progressed further, I began to feel better and was actually able to finish much stronger. I'm definitely going to have to buckle down these next few weeks if I'm going to make a decent showing at the 1/2 marathon next month.

Running is by far the most difficult thing I've ever done. It's not just about physicality, you also have to take into consideration the emotional and mental game that goes along with it as well. It's a balance that is difficult to achieve, but I think once you get past a certain level, it becomes much easier. I've worked for a lot of things in my life and achieved most of my goals, but this has put me on a whole new level.... I'm used to things coming pretty easy to me, and this has not. I think in the long run, I will enjoy this achievement much more because of all of the work that has gone into it.

As I was feeling rather defeated on my run, I had to just take a moment to step back and realize that there was nothing to feel bad about. I remember the elation I felt the first time I ran a mile straight. Running 8 miles is quite an achievement that a lot of people can't do, so even if I have to walk some and even if it's hard... it's still an achievement!

The weather is getting nicer and I'm going to be more consistent with my short runs, and I plan on making a much better showing on my next long run on Sunday... even if it does come after a weekend of shenanigans in New Orleans.

Blast from the past

I was reminded this morning that anything and everything you put on the internet will live on FOR-EV-ER. About 6 years ago now, my brother Jay had a web page called "The Jay Journal". It was very similar to my friend Richey's "Richey Report" where they would post sound clips of them talking about whatever they deemed important at the time and then they'd also put pictures. One day my friend Molly and I decided to "hack" into the Jay Journal, see it was hosted on our local internet provider's site, so I had the password. Given that I dabbled ever-so-briefly with html in high school, I was able to post "Jamie and Molly ROCK the Jay Journal" in the place where Jay's logo originally stood.

Naturally, my actions required retaliation on Jay's part. He took the photo posted below, which is actually from my installation as National Recording Secretary for the Children of the American Revolution (and Molly as National Organizing Secretary), and did a little doctoring to it. The preface of the picture was that he had stumbled onto a secret organization and witnessed the installation of their President and Vice President. The rest kind of speaks for itself.

Apparently my friend Stefan has the oldest computer in the world and posted this picture to facebook this morning. It's made me giggle to remember these fun times!

Growing Mady

I'm amazed at how fast my precious niece Madelyn is turning into a little girl! She's beginning to lose her chubby cheeks and is into everything. Lindsey sent me a batch of new pictures which of course I immediately shared with just about everyone I know via e-mail, but here's a few more just in case you aren't on my e-mail list or if you're like me and you can't get enough of Madelyn. I am looking forward to spending time with Mady, Jay, and Lindsey when we head home later this month for SFA's Homecoming. October is already flying by so fast!

Swinging with Daddy Jay at the playground

She's into EVERYTHING, and loves to climb!

She wants to help Daddy fix the light fixture, so helpful!

A few funny things...

First, my car is a-okay! All it needed was a new battery. The lawnmower is alive and kickin it well, minus the fact that the radio is now stuck on volume 1 and that means I can't hear anything. It's rather annoying.... anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it? I tried tweezers, but it didn't work.

Just wanted to share a few funny things from this weekend.

I now know where the term "cat fight" comes from, because Candice and I actually witnessed one on Friday night. I was sitting on the couch, putting on make-up before going out to meet Andrea and Bunker. The mirror I was using was reflecting on the wall and Smokey and Giada were very intrigued by this. They were both sitting on the arm of the couch staring at the wall. Smokey reached out and had her paw on Giada like she was going to stop her from getting this reflection. The next thing I know, Smokey rares back her paw and hits Giada across the face! Giada returns the hit and they begin pawing at each other and didn't stop until I hit them with a pillow. It was was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. While I do not have a picture of it, I do have a picture of something else hilarious. Giada LOVES shoes, especially my running shoes. When I get home from boot camp in the evenings and take my shoes off, she likes to cuddle with them. It is so bizarre, just take a look for yourself:



Lately Andrea has been getting the most random pick-up lines. When we were at the Texas/Rice football game, a guy was behind us in line for ice cream and asked her what she got complimented on most: Her eyes or her smile. She told him she wasn't sure, and he said "Well, I like your toes." Andrea had forgotten to paint her toe-nails that morning so she thought this was odd. Friday night we went to Sherlocks to begin her birthday celebration. We were sitting in our booth, minding our own business when this guy walking by stops and tells Andrea that she has the most beautiful black hair. Very random. Here's a picture of us with shots to officially celebrate Andrea's 24th birthday at midnight.

I decided to stop by Banana Republic on my way home from work on Saturday afternoon to see what they had on sale. I wanted to get a cute dress for Andrea's birthday outing that evening. I found a dress that I had liked when it first came out, but hadn't wanted to spend $120 on, and it was a size 4 so I thought I'd give it a shot. I get in the dressing room and get it mostly zipped up when I start having problems. The sales girl helps me zip it up and we decide my bra is just too thick. The dress looks pretty cute, so I decide to get it. After I take it off I glance at the size again and I don't know how I managed to do this, but what I thought was a 4 was actually a 0! That made my afternoon. Here's a pic of my roomie and me in my size 0 dress.

A group of about 20 of us went to dinner at Baby A's to begin Andrea's birthday celebration on Saturday. Andrea had four guy friends from high school who traveled from Lufkin to spend her birthday with her. I didn't recognize any of them (3 of the 4 had big, burly beards), and wasn't that surprised since they are all 4 years younger than me. About half way through dinner I think, well maybe I know an older sibling or something, so I asked Andrea and she went around the table telling me their last names. She gets to Mark and says "Squyres", to which I immediately shout out, "we're cousins!". He hadn't realized that my last name was Durham and that I was Jay's sister and I hadn't realized that he was a Squyres. I also quickly pointed out that he had another cousin at the table, Bunker. Only I could go to dinner with a random group of people and not realize that I was related to one of them... that's how big my family is. Here's a picture of the cousins at Bunker's after dinner.

The little lawnmower that could

Last night as I was driving to Sandi and Doug's for an evening of house-sitting I decided to stop by Sonic and pick up some dinner. I was really craving onion rings, and it's been ages... probably somewhere along the lines of a year since I've had them. I don't think God wanted me to have onion rings.

I ordered my food and turned my car off while I waited, but had it turned so I could still listen to the radio. They delivered my food and I went to start my car and... nothing. Nada. Zilch. The car wasn't wanting to start. In the past I've experienced some issues with my battery connection, so I figured this was probably the problem. I popped the hood and got out of my car and jiggled the connection like I've done in the past. I got back in my car and went to start it and it made a very tired sound and did not want to start. The man beside me commented that it did not sound very good... and then drove away! Thanks for that, mister.

I called my parents so I could ask my dad what the best plan of attack would be. We both decided that it would be good to find someone who could jump my car off because the battery was probably just dead. I walked up the car on the other side of me and asked the couple if they by chance had jumper cables and if they would be willing to jump me off. They were more than happy to help.

The guy got out the jumper cables and went to hook them up. I should have known it was going to be bad when the sparks started flying. It wasn't until I saw a smoking battery and my horn started to continuously blow that I realized this was definitely going to be bad. My car completely died. No lights. No beeping when the key was put into the ignition with the door open. No automatic door lock. I thanked the guy for trying to help and called my dad back. We agreed that I should wait until the morning to get my car towed since the mechanic wasn't open on a Sunday night at 8 pm. Sonic agreed to let me leave my car there over night, and Bunker drove to come pick me up so I could go by Sandi and Doug's and check on Miamao and then go back home. It turns out that particular parking spot seems to be cursed: 2 people have broken down in that same spot the two nights prior to me!

I arrived at Sonic at 7:45 am after my roommate Candice so graciously agreed to get up early this morning and to drive me there. I used my trusty AT&T roadside assistance and got a tow truck, which was naturally delayed an extra half hour so I was waiting at Sonic for a full hour. We took my car to Cutler Automotive and Victor has been working on it. He called me a little after lunch and said that he's going to have to replace the battery because it is not holding a charge AT ALL. I asked him if this could have happened if the guy hooked up the jumper cables wrong and he seemed to think that the battery just suddenly died. I don't remember when my battery was changed so I asked if he could tell me how old it was... he said he would have to clear all of the dirt off first before he knew. When I called to my dad to get an update he said he was pretty sure that the battery was the ORIGINAL that came with the car, making it 10 1/2 years old! I'm okay with having to replace the original battery after 10 1/2 years and 244,000 miles.

We will see after Victor gets the new battery on if there is anything else wrong with my car. He thinks he will have it ready for me by the end of the day.... keep your fingers crossed that my little lawnmower is okay!

Two Very Special Birthdays

Two very special people in my life are celebrating birthdays this weekend! Today is my Aunt Tempe's birthday. I can just hear her saying "JAMIE!" in her shocked tone if I was to tell you just how old she is turning today, so I will refrain, especially since she is a frequent visitor to my blog and I would DEFINITELY get in trouble! I'm sending my love from Austin, wishing I could be there to celebrate this milestone, and wishing you nothing but the happiest of birthdays! Here is a picture of Tempe and Ella from this past Christmas.

Tomorrow is my dear friend Andrea's 24th birthday. Andrea is originally from Lufkin, but given that she's a baby and I'm ancient, we did not know each other until college when she worked at Bath and Body Works with me. After I moved to Austin and was looking to transfer stores, I walked into the store at Highland and Andrea was working so I knew it was the place for me. Since then our friendship has grown and after her days at BBW came to a close, she decided to join us for boot camp so now I see her even more! I'm looking forward to celebrating this weekend and hopefully no flip flops will be lost. Here's a picture of Andrea and I from Bunker's party after the Texas/Rice game a few weekends ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADIES! Love you both very, very much!

Client of the Month!

When I arrived at personal training this morning I had the pleasure of seeing my pretty picture under "Client of the Month." For the moment I am going to look past the fact that my name was misspelled... Sam has always had placement problems when it comes to the "i" in my name, along with most of the world.
The picture he used is from boot camp over the summer, and it's amazing how much my body has changed since then! Sam's Plan really worked wonders, and while I've been a little laxed lately with my eating (this can be attributed to not having enough time to go to the grocery store), I'm pleased at where I am at.
In the next month I am going to be intensifying my training as the half-marathon is just a little more than a month away (hard to believe!), so I'm certain that more results are in my future. My plan is to get to where I want to be before Session hits so I can spend 5 months trying to not gain it all back!
Bunker and Andrea have already been Client of the Month, so I'm happy to be able to join them for such an honor. I should insist on a trophy or certificate to commemorate the occasion or something...

Time flies...

I'm house-sitting for Sandi and Doug for the next two weeks while they are on vacation. Sandi went to high school with my mom and lived in our guest house for a few years when I was about 6. I lived with them for a few months when I first moved to Austin and have continued to see them as frequent as possible since I moved out.

As I got into bed last night in my old room at their house, it hit me just how long it had been since I had slept there, and it made me a little nostalgic. It's so weird to think that in January it will have been four years since I moved to Austin. At times it feels like I just got here and at other times it feels like I've been here for an eternity.

So much has changed since I first moved to Austin, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with my life thus far. To think that I've been in the "real" world for almost 4 years is crazy though, because I don't really feel grown-up... I still feel like my college-self, though I require much more sleep and lead a life of much more boring ways. Perhaps it won't be until I have the responsibility of owning a house, being married and raising kids that I will ever feel "grown-up". Or maybe I will be 80 and still feel like life is just getting started. Who knows?

It was a fun weekend at ACL. Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy!

Cousin Becky and I on Friday.

Phillip and I. (He agreed to come last minute after my roommate Candace had to go out of town)

Brady, Becky, Bobby, Bunker and I on Saturday.

Becky, Bunker and I on Sunday.