Birthdays on Birthdays on Birthdays

Two of my closest friends call ourselves "Three." How we evolved into Three is a random story - one that involved a writing contest, voting, and comments counting for points. An evening hosted by St. Germain and champagne was on the line, and so we did what we did best ....nearly crashed the website with THOUSANDS of ridiculous comments. 

Sadly we didn't win (And oddly as well, because I TOTALLY cheated and had Steve hack their website to make sure that we could run a script to make the site "auto vote" for Team Three every time we clicked our mouses....so obviously the whole contest was rigged. Stupid St. Germain. Shows what they know. Couldn't recognize pure beauty and genius when its crashing your own website). 

Even though we never awarded our night of limos, open bars at clubs and hotel suites - we did use this opportunity to solidify the fact that we are THREE. Three has a personality and a persona all of it's own. There is no controlling it. There is no containing it. There's is only subduing/bribing Three into acting like a sane human being (you can ask my husband. We are a  perfect vortex of inappropriate behavior, too much drinking, and laughing so hard that no one else can understand what is happening. He's really had to take lessons on how to herd us into behaving). 

Well something majestical has happened in the universe. 

2/3 of three has a birthday AT THE SAME TIME. Emily's birthday was today. Sam's birthday is tomorrow. Which means that this week is a TORNADO OF BIRTHDAY FANTASTICALNESS.

It's Spring in San Francisco.

I swear there is literally nothing better in the entire world than the turning of spring in this city.

It's been nearly 2 years since Steve and I moved here from Southern California, and for the most part we haven't looked back. We don't really miss LA; we don't miss having to drive everywhere we go, we don't miss Panera Bread and Starbucks on every corner, we don't miss Irvine's perfectly planned communities. BUT OH MY GOD WE MISS THE SUNSHINE.

As much as we're in love with San Francisco, the weather is still something I'm not adjusted to. I constantly have the feeling that I'm waiting for summer...like it's right around the corner, and it will finally be 85 and I can pull my shorts out from under the bed (how sad this this - all of my shorts and bathing suits are literally packed away. And I keep waiting for the day when I can put them in my drawers...yet we never get there. It's like a mean mirage).

But I have discovered a little secret - a little corner of the universe that is sparkly and perfect:

SAN FRANCISCO IN THE SPRING TIME.

Dear Jenna Marbles...

Dear Jenna Marbles,

My name is Jenni, and I am one of your biggest fans. I'm sure you hear that you a lot, because people freaking love you. But really, I have converted most of my friend group into Jenna-Marbles-Fanatics and have motivated entire groups of people into wasting HOURS of work time by watching your videos (although we both know it wasn't really wasting, it's really more like investing).

I knew we were soul mates when I first realized that we are both weird, in that great amazing kinda way. Actually that's a lie. I knew we were soul mates when I saw THIS VIDEO and laughed so hard I cried. And then I made my husband watch it like 8 times in a row with me.

We should be friends not only because I think this video is hysterical - but because I have done THE EXACT SAME THING to Steve before. More than once.

I am writing you this letter to invite you to my birthday party. And I am fairly sure that you are much too busy and important to come to your fans birthday parties. But I am hoping that I can bribe you a little, and you will see how amazing it will be.

A Ground Hog Day Birthday

So in October I am turning 30. I have been turning 25 for the last 4 years, and really have no intention of being thirty. I mean honestly:

Pitbull is Sad.

For those of you who don't know, I kinda love (read: OB.SESSED.)  Jenna Marbles. She's basically my Internet-friend (who doesn't know me yet), and I'm determined to figure out a way to get her to come to my birthday party this fall (more on that later).

But, EVERY time I am sad, I find my self saying "Pitbull is sad..."

Mainly in reference to this video that I think is hysterical:

I'm not going to get into the details of WHY I am sad (I know, that is so mean. It's like telling you I have a secret and not sharing. Sorry kids, not everything is for the Internets. Sometimes a little time and perspective does a body good).

BUT - do not fear! Instead I have something better!

For the Love of Climbing

Have you ever loved something, but somehow managed to forget that you love it?

Like you think, "oh yeah, I really like that thing" but then your life gets away from you, and a year goes by before you ever think of it again? And then you reconnect with it and your like "OH MY GOD THIS IS AMAZING WHY DO I NOT SPEND MY WHOLE LIFE DOING THIS EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY!?"

This is me and climbing.

Last night I went climbing for the first time in about 8 months, and it basically made me feel like this:

I used to climb aalllll the time. I wasn't some amazing climber, but I had a group of friends who loved it, so instead of "happy hours" we'd meet to at the gym and do some routes. I'd go several times a week. And then one of my friends got really into lead climbing/sport/trad, and could take us majestical places like Joshua Tree or Malibu Creek and we'd scramble around outdoors.

At The Beginning.

The 18th of this month marks the 4-year date-a-versary for Steve and I.

It was four years ago that I drank too much and sat on his lap to let him know I was interested. That he asked me on a date. That he drove 100 miles that night to drive from LA to Huntington Beach to pick me up, to Hollywood for the date, and then all the way home. That he told me this story about his first car that he had to parked under a tree with a bee hive, and sap and bees were constantly stuck all over his powder blue Camry. That I laughed so hard I snorted. That he bought me 2 beers because he didn't know which one I wanted. Four years since I sat in a seat in a small private concert and realized "Ohmygod, I think I might marry this man."

It was destiny. lol.

I cannot even begin to get my brain around that number.

I know it's not the longest two people have been together. It's not even a dent in the married world (it's been eighteen months married).

But four years is the longest time I have ever been connected to another soul. Four years ago I was twenty-five, and when I look at my now twenty-five year old brother I laugh because I think he is such a baby, and he seems altogether too young.  Or I think about things that have happened "forever ago," and remember that Steve was around, so he is in those memories. It's kinda crazy.

But as we round the corner on four years, I have been discovering something that strikes me as remarkable:

Blur.

I have been sitting in front of my computer for nearly an hour - bouncing back and forth to Pinterest to see if I should do a Pinterest-pins post, and then racking my brains for other things to say.

It's not that I'm out of ideas, it's just that this week has been so fast.

So. Fast.

I honestly thought it was Tuesday, and just found out that the office baby shower that I planned to go to, and the happy hour I was going to stop in at were on Wednesday and Thursday respectively....so I completely missed them.

Apparently today is Friday?

But I promise, this isn't a "I was a busy blogger so Im going to make excuses" post.

I was busy doing some kick ass stuff!

I'm working on a new blog theme for a client, and broke into the CSS stylesheet yesterday to make some customizations.

One of my girlfriends recently gave me a small yogurt making kit, so mid-day and mid-project I decided to try my hand at homemade yogurt. Cause you know, I don't have enough going on.

There was a moment where I was literally stirring my homemade yogurt with one hand, while coding a website with the other.

Watch out Martha Stewart.

Also, I spent like a collective 3 hours this week watching tutorials on book design because the momentum has really started to pick up on my Cookbook Project (OHMYGOD FINALLY). I literally have been working on this for a year, and every step of the way has felt uphill. It is just now that I feel like I am starting to pick up steam, and getting a vision for what I where I am going. It's been painful.

A few things that have helped that have been:

Rent Control and Curtains.

Ok, so you guys who follow me often know that I have the "wanna-buy-a-house" syndrome. It's the way some women look at babies, and you can see it all over their face that they've got the baby bug....I look at "Open House" signs, and swoon.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about this new longing, and about how suddenly hanging curtains seems like a significant and important step in my quest for permanence.

But then this happened:

"Dear Mr. Heffernan and Ms. Heffernan Brown,

We love your continued residency here at the [Insert Apartment Complex Name Here]. As you know, your lease terms are up at the end of May, and we are prepared to offer a re-negotiated rate for your next lease, if you'd decide to resign with us.

We know that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach isn't always accommodating to our residents, so we've broken our pricing based on the number of months you'd sign with us. Take a look at the prices below, and then feel free to stop by the leasing office to discuss your renewal.

1 Month - $4,815.00 --> (I wish this was a gross exaggeration to make you laugh. This is the real number on that paper. PEOPLE PAY THIS. REAL PEOPLE IN LIFE PAY THIS TO LIVE IN AN APARTMENT. My head is literally imploding).

2 Months - $ a little less
3 Months - $ a little less
4 Months - $ a little less
....all the way down a 12 month lease.

You get the idea.

The final number was still outrageous, and then there was a hand written note that said "Since you've been great tenants, we're willing to come down to $XX"

This new "lower price" is still 35% more than we were paying last year to live in the same exact place.

My head is still imploding.

So now we are faced with a new thought.

WE NEED RENT CONTROL.

Triathlon.

For my first wedding anniversary, I bought my husband admission tickets to the Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon.

Now usually when our friends find out about this, it initiates a series of questions. I will take my liberties to answer them now:

1. Yes, I bought tickets for both of us. We are doing it together.
2. No, neither of us has ever done one before.
3. Yes, when I bought the tickets I was fairly confident that he would actually like it. Similar to the time were I took him surprise skydiving. But that's a different story.
4. Yes, I'm getting very nervous.
5. Yes, the swim is outdoor. It's in a reservoir somewhere in Mountain View.
6. The water temperature is expected to be around 68 degrees.
7. Yes, we plan on looking into renting wetsuits.
8. No, I am not nervous about the swim. I swam competitively, so that is not an issue. The water temperature makes me nervous, but the 1/2 mile swim does not.
9. No, I am not good at biking and yes I am very nervous about it.
10. It's in April.

This past weekend, we decided to give all three legs of the event a trial run. Back-to back-to back, just like in the real event. Since we've never really done this before, we didn't really have the concept of how long a 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run was going to feel. We've been pretty good about training - we go to the gym at 5:30am several mornings a week, run, lift weights, swim, bike, etc. But we've just never done all of these things at once. So, a trial was definitely necessary.

Ok, at the end of this little experiment, this was basically me:

Just a Glimpse.

Last Friday I got an epic call.  The kind of call where as soon as you answer and realize what is happening, instantly your heart is in your throat.

"Hello, is this Jenni Heffernan Brown? This is the had of graduate admissions for USF. I'm just calling to tell you that we were delighted with your application..."

He said a lot more than that, but I heard nothing. Steve and I were too busy jumping up and down on the guest bed.

Later that evening, we'd walked a half-mile in the rain to celebrate over a cocktail. We'd picked out a new bar that some of our friends keep telling us we need to try. It's relaxed, and slightly swanky, and sophisticated without making you feel dumb for not knowing all of the ingredients on the menu.

As I sat at the table staring out into the rain, I had one thought that repeated in my mind over and over.

"If the twenty-four year old Jenni could have just a glimpse of this moment....would she even believe it?"

Let me paint you a little picture of who I was remembering:

At twenty-four I was dating someone who I almost was engaged to. I want to say this with as many asterisks and disclaimers as I can mention, simply because I know now that I most likely would not have gone through with it. 

He was a person I had met while living overseas, and we'd both found the process of re-acclimating to our North American lives more difficult than we'd anticipated. In those first few weeks of being back in our respective countries, I would often find him chatting online late at night. Neither of us could sleep, and chatting with different time zones seemed to ease the anxiety of being awake while the darkness slept.

As you can imagine, chatting turned into  more chatting, which turned into phone calls, which turned into visits. It was on one of these visits, while he and I were sitting in a darkened movie theatre, that he leaned over to me and whispered "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Video Week: Part Six, Dance Dance Dance

FRIDAY BONUS!

Who loves you? Who loves you more than anyone in the history of ever?

I do.

Since it's Friday, and I know Friday's are hard, I've grabbed one more clip for you to round out this week's Video line up.

I really hope you guys liked this week - I really had fun pulling these all together. If you have some videos that you love and watch a billion-ty times over, feel free to send them my way - I can add them to my ongoing hoard.

So, our final video for this week is insanely cute.

But I think the thing that I love the most is the simplicity of it.

Sometimes, our strengths can seem so transparent to us. Maybe it's because to us they are likened to breathing - they feel natural so we think nothing of them. We might say to ourselves "Yea, I'm amazing at that, but it's no big deal. It's just a thing I can do." They come so easily, we often fail to see their enormity.

Seeing the little girl in this next video just reminds me that sometimes are passions are simple and uncomplicated. And to really follow them, it is simple as well. Just keep doing what you love.

Even two year olds can understand that.

Alright my sweet angle faces. Hope you have a killer weekend. Go hike a mountain or something.

See you Monday.

-J

Video Week: Part Five, The Mountain

It's FRIDAY!!!

Congratulations amigos, we've made it through another week. Hopefully it didn't feel too long, since you've had all of these amazing clips to look at through the week, keeping you inspired and ready to kick ass.

Today clip is amaze-balls.

As with the others, you might have seen it before, since I'm pretty sure it's one of the most miraculous videos ever created.

I probably have watched this one fewer than any of the others in this week's line up, but it still holds a spot in my tops list.

Again, this is going to be one that you're gonna want in HD, and as big as possible. The quality of this video is simply staggering.

Bah. 

This. World. Is. So. Beautiful.

Happy Friday Friends - 

- J

And ps, since I love you so much (and since sometimes Friday's can draaaaag on forever), I miiiiiiight have a bonus post to help you get through the afternoon. Check back with me in a few hours.

Loveyoumeanit.

Video Week: Part Four, Alan Watts

Hi Friends,

I'm really excited for today's clip.

I found this maaaaybe about six months ago, and this was definitely a factor in the decision to leave my job and pursue writing.

That decision and the factors around my career vs. my passions can be a whole post in themselves, but this clip happened to find me at the right moment and hammered into my guts like a railroad spike.

 I'm very lucky to be married to someone who I think was born without fear, and probably has never even considered the questions of "How will I pay my bills?" or "What if I fail?"or "What if I can't make a living do that?" He just started doing what he loved, and somehow everything has fallen into place.

So now, as I wrestle with my own career and passions, he looks at me simply and says "Who cares if you fail, or if you never make any money....just go for it."

And then came along this video.

And then I quit my lovely marketing career to pursue writing. Fingers crossed.

Be warned friends, if you are even thinking for one tiny minute that you are not happy with your career, this clip might get you. It might burrow under your skin and make you itch a little. It might make you think thoughts that scare you, or create plans that you never dreamed of. Watch with caution.

"It's all wretch and no vomit....it never gets there."

Ass kicked.

-J

Video Week: Part Three, Kuroshio Sea

Heeeeeeellllloooooooooooo.

If you're unsure of how I said that, it was exactly like this:

And you're in luck because that wasn't even the clip of the day today. That was a bonus-extra just for your sparkle face.

Ok, today's video from my YouTube hoarders collection goes waaaaaaaaaaay back. I think the first time I saw this was back in 2009. And I think I have watched it 2 million of it's 3.6 million views.

This clip is of the Kuroshio Sea, one of the largest aquariums in the world. It holds over 1.9 gallons of water, and something of that magnitude really does something.

There's nothing deep about this. There's nothing magical. 

But every time I watch this video I feel so small.

I am reminded of the breathtaking world that is all around us every. single day.

Do your self a favor with this one.

Play it on HD if you can, expand it to the largest screen you can get, and crank your speakers as loud as they will go.

You won't regret it.

The world is a magical place friends.

- J

Video Week: Part Two, Thumbs Up

Happy Tuesday Party People.

I hope you watched yesterday's video on repeat all day long. And if you didn't it's ok....you probably just don't have feelings.

Today's video is a little more lighthearted.

There's some good chances that you've seen it before, because:

a) It has over 5 million views
b) If you're my friend I've most likely sent it to you before

In fact, I have used this clip when resigning from my last two companies. I love that it's funny and cute, but really actually has some really good advice for trying new things and facing something that scares you.

Are you ready?

Little kid learns how to ride a bike and makes a speech:

Ahhhhhhh....so much cuteness I die.

So remember kids:

- Find the things in life that make you happy of yourself

- I know you can believe in yourself

- Just keep practicing

All right, thumbs up for rock and roll,

-J

Video Week: Part One, The Pale Blue Dot

So, I have a small guilty pleasure.

I collect YouTube Videos.

Well, I suppose I don't "collect them"...they're out on the internet for free for anyone to look at. But over the past 3 or 4 years or so, I have started growing a collection of videos that I watch over and over and over and over and over.

They aren't the kind of videos you might expect me love. There is no burning hair, men pretending to be women, or auto tuned remixes.

These are a different kind of video.

I am tempted here to go into a big long spiel trying to capture exactly what it is about these clips that I find so enthralling, and why I keep coming back to them....but I don't know if that can be done.

That is exactly what I love about this little collection: they are enthralling and elusive at the same time. Simple yet moving.

Some of these clips I have literally watched hundreds of times. I have had bad days where I feel lost and uninspired and have put them on repeat, and just sat at my desk letting them go by over and over and over. They whisper things that kick my ass in the worst of ways.

So this week, I have a surprise for you. We're doing a week of movies, where I am going to share my top 5 favorites. Some of these are popular and you might have seen them before. Some you might not like or get why I think they're so amazing - but this is my blog so shut up. Hahhaa. I'm totally kidding. I think you'll like some of these, and I'm excited to share them.

So, first up is The Pale Blue Dot.
(I have watched this 17-billonty times. I simply cannot get over it.)

It literally pushes the air from my lungs.

We are so small.

There are a thousand other words in my brain, but I feel it will do no justice. I'm just going to press replay.

Happy Monday,

-J

Cookbook Proj.

Ok, so a few days ago I mentioned that I am working on a cookbook project.

There are some interesting things that you should know so you can understand why this project is so difficult.

1) I have never made a cookbook before
2) I am not a professional photographer
3) I am not a professional chef
4) I have no idea how to get a booked published

Additionally, it is a cookbook about the mexican food that my grandma used to make. So that adds some additional complications.

5) I don't speak Spanish. She doesn't speak a lot of English.
6) I live in San Francisco. My grandma lives in LA.

So, clearly after seeing these factors, my immediate response was "LET'S MAKE A COOKBOOK!"

Actually what happened was this: