Day 5: The Jimmy /  by Jessica Peterson

Has anyone seen the Seinfeld episode "The Jimmy"?  Well, in the episode one of the characters named Jimmy always refers to himself in the 3rd person.  So I can't help but laugh every time my nephew does the same. 





This is my favorite shot. 

It has been a pretty mellow day.  My sister-in-law and I watched two movies back to back of "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset".   I don't know why I was so sucked into the shows, they are both barf worthy romantic films full of nothing but sappy dialogue... maybe I am a cynic... but I did watch them so maybe not.


Day 4: Ink /  by Jessica Peterson


Spent most of the day at Jim's tattoo shop, Rogue.  I took promo photos for them (i posted some of em' below). 
I don't know about this place, I swear I came close to passing out a few times from the heat and everyone just made fun of me because apparently 95 degrees is "cool" here... hum?


This made me laugh, I was very tempted to throw down a dollar to see if I would get a hairy mole or sideburns but I just took a photo instead.

Rogue.

Marcus, Jim, and Chris from Rogue

Bizarrely beautiful?
Marcus


Jim

Chris




For some reason we started taking pictures in front of their cars.



Later in the evening we had to get "shockiat" (chocolate) ice-cream.  It was delightful.
Me and little Jimmy.

Day 3: "from the snow?" to AZ /  by Jessica Peterson

I flew to Tucson AZ this afternoon to visit my brother Jimmy and his family and my good friend Kat.  
My brother told me that when he explained to my nephew Jimmy who hasn't seen me since last winter was coming for a visit he said, "Jessica from the snow?"  


From the plane.  
Shadows from the clouds.


Kat picked me up from the airport.  Kat is one of those friends who I can go for months and months without talking to and the minute we do it's as if we had seen each other the day before. I love Kat, we have known each other since the 5th grade and have been through all stages of life.  We seem to always make fun of our teenage selves and the ridiculous things we did as 15 years and the people we know who still act like they are 15. 
I admire her, she is a fantastic mom to her two kids and whenever I see her she feeds me like an Italian mamma.  Thank you Kat! 

This is Jack, Kat's little dude (her little girl was asleep or there would be pictures of her here too). 







Today:

-Paid 16 dollars for a crap salad and diet coke at the Burbank airport
-Ipod froze the second I turned it on and never recovered, forced to listen to the disturbingly gross couple behind me on the plane
-Ate homemade cookies and milk
-Pathetically teared up while reading the bedtime story "I will love you forever" to my nephew before putting him to sleep.


Day 2: I flew 700 miles to babysit /  by Jessica Peterson



And I don't mind at all.  










Today:

awaken by two kids screaming my name and small toys being thrown at my head
drank Diet Coke for breakfast 
Made a hundred emails and I'm sure they all went straight to a junk mail folder
H&M, bought a red skirt
Watched Abby and Oliver become photographers
mopped up spilt apple juice
bargained with cookies  
decided I don't think I want any children of my own
made up at least 20 stories that started with "Once upon a time" 
read story books before bedtime
Oliver asks me not to go tomorrow because he loves me "so much"
decided kids aren't that scary


Day 1: Escape From Utah /  by Jessica Peterson

Today is the first day of my month of travels and it's been a long one.  I woke up at 5am to catch a 7 am flight to LA.  I had only slept about 2 hours (if you could call it sleep, I was squished in my bed with Claire and Max and because I was the last in I was only left a 12'').  I packed last night in a cloud of sleep deprivation and am now regretting doing so as I realize I had only packed 4 non-matching socks and 3 tops and some other random items to last me .  

I am excited for this month, I have promised myself to take a lot of photograph and try to figure things out again ( I seem to find myself in the process a lot).


These are from the drive to the airport.  Thanks Claire for driving me.

I was given the book Eat Pray Love by Rachel for the trip, I read the first 20 pages or so while on the plane, not sure what it will do for me at this point, I hope it gets better. (Sorry Rach.)

Kelly picked my up from the airport (thank you thank you thank you) I know traffic blows, you are a great friend.

I am staying at my brothers while I am here which I love because I am able to spend time with Oliver and Abby.  They are amazing and wonderful. I can't even begin to tell you all the adorable things they say, I wish we could all love as openly and honestly as they do.










My mom had sent these with me to give to them.  I'm not going to lie, I was just as entertained by them and they were.


And we drew.  That's me on the right.

Me, Oliver, Abby, Nick and Hillary.  I am the big one with giant ears.  He was very adamant that each foot and had had 5 fingers or toes.

Dinner at Roscoes...

For those of you who are not familiar with Roscoes I will just say this... Yum.
Chicken and waffles, they go together like PB&J, I swear it!  

Me and the Lizard. 
I do feel sick still but it was worth it.
Dave shows up and finishes our table scraps.   

I really am exhausted. 

Great Documentary to see. /  by Jessica Peterson






I have been wanting to see this documentary for a while and finally broke down and rented it.  I liked it so much I watched it twice, the second time with the commentary. 
I recommend it.  I would give my opinion on whether or not the little girl really does paint these painting but I don't want to ruin anything for you.  

PS I love a good documentary, if you have any suggestions let me know!

Gigantic /  by Jessica Peterson

I watched the movie Gigantic last night.  I liked it but I am confused... If anyone has seen it and understands Zach Galifianakis' role (the homeless dude), please email me your thoughts.

I still recommend it.

I'm gonna ride... /  by Jessica Peterson

I have already reserved 3 flights so far with my All-You-Can-Jet-Pass with JetBlue.  
My first destination will be LA for a few days, I will be visiting Oli and Abs (the cutest nephew and niece sibling team on the planet).  I think we will be going on a treasure hunt while I am there.  Next I will hop on a plane in Burbank and land in Tucson AZ.  There I will hug little Jimmy (maybe the longest hug that will ever exist), see Kat's new babelet and run naked through the desert.  After a few days in the AZ heat I will be headed to NY.  Oh how I love New York!  New York will hold endless adventures and photo making extravaganzas... (Oh dear, my heart is beating through my chest and out into the open air). 
I plan on bouncing around the East for a bit... If you want me to come visit let me know and I will be there.



/  by Jessica Peterson



Good thing I keep my camera with me or else I would miss these kinds of opportunities, like when people try to catch frisbees in their mouths while jumping into pools.

Jessica's Wish List /  by Jessica Peterson

Has anyone read the "Secret"?
Well I watched it one morning about a year ago, the movie promised that if I had a positive attitude and kept what I "wanted" in my mind all the time then I would get it all.  That day I decided to try it out and see what would happen.  I told myself that my lunch that day would be amazingly perfect, I met with Ryan at Indian Palace for the lunch buffet. Like I had promised myself, it was a perfect lunch until I picked up the naan from my plate and found it to be crusty and cold... no good right?  So, I wished in my head with all my power that I would get fresh naan and it would be so soft and so warm, seconds after I wished this a man walked up to our table and held out a basket of warm naan to me, I smiled and laughed and I knew good things were about to happen.

The next day I forgot all about the "Secret" and my plans for becoming a billionaire by 30.

Until today...

Universe, This is what I would like...


A green yard with purple flowers and a veggie garden full of tomatoes to put in my sandwiches and pumpkins for my kids to pick at Halloween

Books and couches
Coziness 
An orange fridge in my kitchen full of my awesome cookie dough and cold milk, avocados and leftover casseroles.

A space for escaping to read and draw and take naps 

To have a home full of life and people and color

For light to always be welcome in my home

Okay... maybe this will never happen but I will put it out there anyway.  A sexy dude to carry me outside to our majestic desert backyard into a hot tub every evening to watch the sunset... (hey, a girl can dream right?)
And this.  Because dogs and kids are a great things to have around.

I really suggest you all do the same.  I think we all sell ourselves short by not figuring out what we want and working for it.

I Love /  by Jessica Peterson


I just wanted to just say that I have a love for photography/seeing/art/life/colors/communication/etc...  I really do. I love so much about it.
I would go off on a tangent but I think I have done that on here too many time. I will just say I feel blessed.  I wish I knew how to embrace this all years ago, unfortunately it took me a while to understand it all and forget about comparing myself and waiting to understand instead of just doing .  It took a while to get here, I still have a long way to go, but oh what a journey it will be. 


Exploring /  by Jessica Peterson

The other evening Rachel, Claire and I went exploring.  We went looking for some mystery lake and ended up nowhere.  The sun was setting and and we wanted to take advantage.  

Literally 10 minutes and 40 mosquito bites later we ended up with these.