There's No J in California

So JD made his OWN for the both of us.

My good friend JD was kind enough to set aside an evening to visit with me on his trip to Southern California, so we took advantage of it by spending some time at Downtown Disney! JD hadn't been here before, so we had a good time roaming and listening to the street performers, smelling soap at the Basin store, enjoying a tasty dinner at the House of Blues, and doing some Disney shopping.

Getting friendly with Darth. Now, which one of these buttons calls your mom to come pick you up?

A life-sized giraffe out of legos would have been impressive enough....

Fun with hats: Part 1.

Fun with hats: Part 2. Ahoy, mate!

Then JD got stuck in the chains. Way to go, troublemaker.

And we saw the creepiest mannequin EVER.

"I" is the closest we could get to "J". Oh well. Pics would be a lot more fun if we lived in Jalifornia.

Moms Like You Choose Jamie.

Alright...this is an interactive posting, so I want you to creep out of the dark crevices where you lurk and PARTICIPATE! Let's see what kind of slogan we can create with YOUR name. Click HERE and enter YOUR NAME. See what comes up, and report back here with the first slogan you get! SUPER EASY, I promise!

This should be fun...

(If the above link doesn't work, copy/paste www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi)

YOUR COMMENTS are GREAT! I love you guys. : )

VI-O-LA-TED.

That's right. I'm limping after becoming the victim of identity theft. Just as I was about to post a blog with LOTS of fun new pictures from this past week, I got an unwelcome surprise in the form of an unauthorized transaction on my bank account. THIS comes AFTER getting a shredder for my birthday from the parents! (I HAVE been using it, Mom and Dad....) Long story short: A person who obviously doesn't love Jesus opened a paypal account with my information and has charged over $1100.00 to me. SO...now I deal with the aftermath. Cancelling my card and getting it reissued, living with no debit card (or money) for a few days, filing a fraud claim, and hoping the dentist tomorrow will take a check...

Sheesh.

So Behind...

Hi faithful readers! Thanks for stopping by once again.

I just wanted to drop a quick hello, as I've really been slacking on my blogging responsiblities lately. Consequently, I'm sure many of you are now in a tailspin of curiosity, wondering what is going on in Jamie's world. Truth be told, I've been comatose in my blogger motivation this past week, so it's been a self-imposed hiatis from meaningful writing/updates. My apologies!

This means, however, that when I DO get my pictures compiled, documented and uploaded, your thirst for updates will be satiated with a firework-finale-like frenzy of pictures and stories! Stay tuned...

In the Words of Albert Einstein...

~ Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions. ~

~ Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning. ~

~ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius --- and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. ~

~ Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them. ~

~ I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.~

~ The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while~

~ Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.~

~ It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.~

~ If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.~

~ I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive.~

~ In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETH!

Welcome to the other side, sista. 3-0 has never looked so good.

The Price is Wrong

Some people just don't get it; case in point, Joy.
Barker just about loses it on frame nine...

Charlie is a little Hard To Handle

F-R-I-E-N-D-S

JOIN THE PARTY...pictures HERE!

What a weekend! There's no way I could ever thank my peeps enough for coming out to celebrate with me! I've said it before and I'll say it again...I have the GREATEST friends in the world (not everyone would mount a hippety-hop and race around the pool!) Here's a few shots from the festivities. If you have pictures, send them my way and I'll add them!

Major shout-outs to the Platts for letting us invade their lovely home, to Chris, Mom, and Dad for travelling a LONG way to be there, to Stephen for hooking us up with some quality meat, to the Bozas for "bringing the funk", to Tanya for being a "good helper", and to BOBBY- who was with us in spirit! (no...he's not dead. He just lives far away.) Happy birthday, buddy!

Quiescent

qui·es·cent [kwee-es-uhnt, kwahy-] Pronunciation Key
–adjective: being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless: a quiescent mind.

This sums up me today. Or, rather, what I'd LIKE to be after this weekend.
Lots of fun BLOGGIN' to come! Stay tuned for pictures!

In My Next Thirty Years

"My Next Thirty Years"
-Tim McGraw

I think Ill take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now its time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years Im gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things Ive done
Maybe now Ive conquered all my adolescent fears
And Ill do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years Im gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what Im doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, Im gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe Ill remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my (wife)
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

And So It Begins....

At 5:00 a.m. this morning I was awakened to the sound of the bird/creature that bothers me EVERY morning outside my bedroom window. The difference was that my window was open this morning. So, I stumbled out of bed to SHUT said window. When I say stumbled, I literally mean stumbled. I fell across the chair at my computer desk (gracefully, of course), head and elbow first into my dresser and onto the ground, where I layed and thought....THIS is thirty, huh?

It may be time for this....

I've Never...

Well, the time has come! Here's my last blog posting as a twenty-something! Many of you remember that I constructed a "30 things before 30" list on my twenty-ninth birthday. Many of you were a part of helping me with ideas for that list. I'll consider it a successful venture, completing the following amongst others:

-visited a different continent!
-moved into an apartment and reclaimed my furniture from storage
-learned to check my own oil
-Saw the 50th anniversary fireworks at Disneyland

I didn't quite accomplish EVERYTHING...here are the outstanding items from said list:

-Visit to the Getty Center
-See the L.A. Philharmonic perform at Disney Concert Hall
-Drink a bottle of water a day (ouch. It started off well....)
-See a movie alone. (blech! I don't know how you do it, Trotter...)


A couple months ago, I went out with some girlfriends to celebrate Christina Walker's birthday. It was super fun times, and during the course of the evening, we played a game of "I've never". Of course, I won the game (shocker!) which is great for my ego, until I think about what it takes to win- NOT doing stuff. Apparently, there's a lot of STUFF left to do in my life! The next 30 years are gonna be FUN! (according to Tim McGraw)

On that note, make me feel a little better....
Tell me something that YOU'VE never done! I'll help you get started....

I've never ______________________________________.

How Would You Rate?

Turns out I'm only 56% good person. I don't know where that leaves me. Do you think they round up?

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–
not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Hot Fun in the Summertime

On Saturday, I experienced the wonder that is the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival, where the fabulous Carrie Turner Band was turning up the music on the Wine Stage. Mark, Valerie and I evaded admission fees with our "VIP parking pass" (oops) and threw a blanket down just in time to see Carrie's full hour set. Some observations from the experience:
1. There is no shade in Temecula.
2. Drunk people REALLY enjoy Hootie and the Blowfish. DO NOT turn off Hootie on the loudspeakers in the middle of a song. You will have a riot on your hands.
3. Always have a hand sanitizer on hand after visiting a petting zoo.
4. Survivor is STILL rockin' "Eye of the Tiger"...and people love it.
5. The best part of outdoor festivals are the giant polish dogs. Gotta appreciate.

Here's a little clip of "It Should Have Been Lovely." You can tell Chen has a relationship with his guitar in this one.



James, Sarah and I in the pre-show excitement.



Hangin around backstage.

Brian, Blake, Chen, Sarah, Me, Carrie, Drew, James

This is pretty much how I function in petting zoos. Not a friend of the sloth. I can guarantee you I'm thinking about washing my hands at this moment.

We headed over to the mainstage to catch Survivor's mega-hit, Eye of the Tiger. As soon as that lead guitar riff starts, the crowds go wild!

Speaking of Babies...

While I was at dinner in Laguna Beach, I received a text announcing that KADEN had ARRIVED at a whopping 8 lbs, 4 oz, 21 inches. After enjoying dinner, I paid a visit to the new mommy and daddy...and l-i-t-t-l-e baby!



Auntie Jamie and Kaden...about 5 hours old.

The next morning, I took big-sister Kaelyn on a "Jamie date." We enjoyed a little smoothie at a cafe in uptown Whittier.



Always the character.

And....LOVES to steal my camera!

Laguna Beach, Baby!

Mark and Valerie Turner came down to Southern California for a brief vacation, and the three of us ventured to Laguna Beach, where we enjoyed a lovely dinner with a view! Thanks, Turners, for the birthday dinner and great company!

Val and I take in the breathtaking coastline.

Our posh chariot awaits!

Mark and Valerie at Los Brisas, Mark's "old stomping grounds" : )

Our attentive waiter caught wind of a birthday in the hizz-ouse...and Jamie got a special treat!

Countdown to Babytime...

Yes, this was a BUSY week! I wrapped up a huge project at work (it's the end of the school year) and finished coursework for the semester. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I had a few moments to share with friends. I have many fun pictures to share, but I am SO FAR behind! Needing to document these chronologically, I'll start back on Tuesday when our Life Group threw Stephanie a small baby shower (yes, another one!). Stephen was able to join us for the festivities.

There were GIRLS...

and GUYS.

There was CAKE...

...and cute gifts for the little rockstar-to-be.

It's ON!

Free Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com..