Finally, Another post!

Hi all...I'm keeping up with the Joneses but ahead of the Shipmans and the Johnsons...

A lot has gone on since my last post...it's taken me awhile to post simply because i like to put fresh pictures up and as of about 2 weeks ago i didn't have any. Since those 2 weeks I've snapped some good pictures at my cousin Jeff's Wedding and also shot some good pics at the Christopher Hopper Band's latest gig at the Springville Methodist Church.

First the wedding...I went, even though i was told i didn't have to go...i fulfilled my daughter duties and flew to Tennessee with my parents. When we got there we were pleasantly suprised by my sister who had made up her mind not to come, only to change her mind the tuesday before a saturday wedding! Typical Katie, doesn't want to miss a beat! Here's a picture of us...don't we look HOT?!?!

I had come to the wedding prepared with 3 outfits...but thought that the specific outfit that I was going to wear to the wedding wasn't quite dressy enough, so Super Shopper Katie and I went to Marshalls, Ross and the Dress Barn where she found the most perfectest dress that already matched all my jewelry and the cutest shoes EVER!!! (sorry folks i don't have a picture of them!)

It was a long wedding, and the Priest forgot to say "You may now kiss the Bride"!!! How SAD!??!? But i guess everything is still official!

We had a great time at the reception, dancing and singing and eating...definately better than expected!


Yup 3 days with my family in separate hotel rooms is the way to go...it was a perfect amount of time to be together with plenty of room to get away if you wanted to. And there were people everywhere so if you wanted to escape it wasn't too obvious!

I'll post again in a couple of days (or this afternoon if i get bored) to show you some of my shots from the CH Band concert!

My Ode to ALIAS

Oh ALIAS...what will I do without you? My heart won't pound as fiercely, my breathing will no longer be irregular, my dreams will no longer be filled with missions and Michael Vartan. My Wednesday nights will be empty, lacking quirky one liners and action filled drama. My phone won't ring with familiar voices during commercials, or screaming voices at the credits. There will be no more car crashes, under cover costumes or accents or love affairs. I will have to settle for reruns.

Oh ALIAS...you've been good to me. Even though we didn't meet until just last year, you gave me the best years of your life. I know things about you that I never knew I could know, and things that no on else knows. You have made my friendships stronger, and yes, even made me appreciate knowing French and a bit of Spanish.

Oh ALIAS...thank you. I'll miss you...but you'll always be in my DVD player.

Syd and Vaughn...I hope you live a happy life together...we knew it would end Happily ever after.

Cherry Blossom Festival

This weekend was a great weekend. My mom and I went down to Virgina last Friday to visit my sister Katie and had planned on going to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC on Saturday. My mom LOVES flowers and we have started an annual trip to the various ones around the North East. Last year we went to the Lilac Festival in Rochester and had a great time and so this year it was time to see the Cherry Blossoms!

Friday we met Katie in Leesburg where she works, met her co-workers and hit the outlets. I found a Nike #9 jacket which is AMAZING, and my mom found a table for our kitchen that we're almost done re-doing...see photo!!

Saturday called for rain, but although the skies were overcast, the rain held off for us. I managed to get some great pictures, i probably could have gotten more if the sun was shining. We took the metro into the city so it made getting there and back a breeze, so we walked, talked, and took pictures...what a great day!!!

Sunday we got up, went to Brunch and then headed home. My mom and I were so busy talking we missed one of our exits and ended up going about an hour out of our way (See Rachel, it could happen to anyone) so we pulled out the Atlas and found our way back to Allegany just having lost one hour!!! Oh man, what a road trip!

Now it's back to reality but i wanted to leave you some of my pictures!
Oh yeah...and did i mention that we went to the FREER Gallery of Art which is part of the Smithsonian!! How funny!

Bec and Rach...I haven't talked to you in a while...hope you're still alive...by the way..what do you want for your Birthdays?

Also Bec...I'm going to be in Buffalo on April 19th...i was wondering if i could stop by for the evening, celebrate your birthday and watch the 2 hour ALIAS???? Just a thought.

Ta Daaaaaaaaaaaaa

So here it is...my masterpiece! This 3-D puzzle of Cinderella's Castle had 560 pieces and took about 12 hours to assemble. Was I crazy? Yup...but it was worth it.

Let's start from the beginning...I didn't think that I have had this puzzle for THAT long, but i also think that this might have been the one thing that put me over the top when it came to believing in Santa Clause. I unwrapped this gift, what i think i remember as this puzzle, still had the sticker price on it from Brand Names!! I kept that secret with me and finally told my mom yesterday! I tried putting it together but I soon figured out that i was over my head and put it up in my closet.

Lately i've been in a puzzle kind of mood. Whether my brain is starved for stimulation or i had a need for some sort of hard accomplishment, it had been going on for a couple weeks now.When i go and visit my grandpa at the nursing home they have all sorts of puzzles and stuff around, so i would put 100 piece puzzles together and was ready for a challenging 500 piece one. There was always some one in the room so i never got to start my 500 piece puzzle.I was cleaning my room on friday and found this puzzle. I started it Saturday night after our soccer tournament and dinner with mom, Aunt Mary Jo, and grammy. I worked on it saturday night for 6 hours, i was ready to give up but decided to go to bed and try it again on Sunday. I got back at it sunday afternoon around 1 and finally put the finishing touches on it at 7. My neck is stiff and my back hurts but i finally have a sense of accomplishment!!

So I had ALL ACCESS to the Casting Crowns Concert last night....

So last night, Sunday March 19th Casting Crowns, Nichole Nordeman, and Josh Bates were at St. Bonaventure for the Lifesong Tour. It was AMAZING! And since I work at Bona's, and there's got to be some sort of perks here or there...I got free tickets and an ALL ACCESS PASS!
I showed up at Bona's at about 2:00pm with plans to help set up a little (and earn my ticket), hear and experience sound check, and also do some actual work at Bona's. I had an in with the maintenence guys so they schmoosed one of the managers of the tour to get me in to the Meet & Greet session that Casting Crowns and Nichole Nordeman do before the concert, so I was able to get into that at about 7:00pm. I met all of the band members and shook their hands and held a conversation here or there, but i didn't get my picture taken with any of them because i'm a woose (is that how you spell it?) and didn't ask. I did, however, get all of Casting Crowns autographs!!

I actually got 2 free tickets, called a few people to see if they wanted the extra one, but oddly enough they didn't for one reason or another. That was fine though because I was prepared to use my all access pass for all it was worth and go here, there and everywhere! So I brought both tickets with me just incase i saw someone i knew.

At about 3:30, Mrs. Mac (my Kindergarted teacher and my second mother) called me and asked if the extra ticket was still available because there was another woman who needed some "spiritual guidance" and thought that the concert would be a good place to bring her. So I put my extra ticket at will call and met up with her at the concert.

The concert was awesome and Casting Crowns treated it like a worship service with the words in the background so everyone knew what they were singing about and could sing along. The Lifesong CD is a great one, i recommend it to anyone!

They also had a preacher named Tony something, that used humor when telling about his witnessing technique, and then gave an alter call where over 200 people dedicated their lives to the Lord...how amazing, and a lot of them were adults too! The best part about it was that the lady who went with Mrs. Mac's ticket dedicated her life to Jesus!!!! Everything has a reason for happening!

After the concert i stayed a little while helping fold up chairs and going back stage (cause i could!) and seeing Josh Bates and a couple of the Casting Crown band members again! It was a great experience, I wish you all could have been there!

Vacations seem to fly by...

Well here's my last blog of Vacation, tomorrow is our last day here and it's not actually even a full day, we fly out at 7:30 tomorrow night. We have to check out at 11am so i'm not sure what exactly we're going to do.

We've had a great vacation, but we're at the point where some of us start getting on some others nerves and the innocent sarcasm that was funny at the beginning of the week gets a roll of the eyes and a shake of the head at this point in the vacation! Oh well, family is family and we're all proud and glad that we're so close most of the time! The past few days have been great so i'll recap them for you.

Wednesday was Katie's day to pick our event and she picked a dolphin tour. She has always wanted to swim with the dolphins and this was just one step closer to her dream. We boarded a boat that was a mix between a speed boat and a pontoon with another couple from Minnesota and our captain, Rick. We took off from the harbor and saw 3 dolphins almost immediately. We tried to coral them and get them to chase us and play with us, but they weren't in the playing mood! But we did get to see a bunch of them and one even swam right under our boat. Dolphins are very sneeky suckers and one minute they'd be right next to the boat and the next minute they'd be 500 feet away in the other direction! So the pictures aren't that great...but i did get some!


After seeing the dolphins we drove through houses in the harbor that were worth MILLIONS of dollars...one house there was priced at $40 Million!! It was crazy!! From inside the harbor we went out into the Gulf of Mexico and did some jetskiing, i wonder what my face looked like going 60 mph!!! (My mom even went too: see picture!) From there we went to a private island and got to spend a half an hour just searching for sea shells and chilling out, it was fantastic! The whole day was great, but unfortunately we all got a little fried as well...so wednesday night was spent covered up on the couch watching tv, which is never all that bad!



Today we didn't have anything planned to do, which was nice. We layed out by the pool for a bit (I was definately in the shade or in the pool...not much sun exposure for this girl), hit some shops that were WAY out of our league, then went to the peir to catch a little more sun and then out for dinner...

Who know's what's in store for tomorrow, maybe a little shopping at the outlets, but I can't buy too much because nothing else will fit in my suitcase!

So this is it for me from Florida...it's been great, but now it's back to the real world and to coaching and figureing out what to do with this Asthma Coordinator job...no more excuses for me! Wish me luck!

Holy airboat ride Batman!

Woah man...I was NOT expecting this! Monday, March 6th was dad's day to pick what we're going to do while in Naples. He had talked all weekend about going on an Airboat ride in the Everglades. At first he thought that just he and I would go and Mom and Kate could go shopping, but then they both decided they wanted to go too.

We had an appointment set up for 2:00pm, so after a few hours in the sun we packed up extra clothes, towels and headed south. We were driving for a little over an hour, the further south we got the more country and swampy it got until we were sure that we were in the lower socio-economic status of the Everglades. We stopped at a gas station to grab some lunch, there was a Subway in the gas station where we weren't sure if the attendant was a man or a woman! The smell outside wasn't the most pleasant and we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into! Dad decided that we either go big or go home and had chosen the hour and a half ride, and boy was mom and Kate not pleased!

We finally got there and found a trailer with the address on it, it didn't look like a professional place at all...but we were already in too deep! We got there on time and got into the airboat with our guide named Daryll, along with another couple. Katie wanted to sit in front so she got what she wanted and i sat with her, with mom and dad behind us and the other couple in the third row with Daryll behind.

It started off slow through a no wake zone, then we got into open waters. WOAH MAMA, all of a sudden the boat takes off at 40 mph with the wind wipping through our hair, laughing at one another with spit flying out of our mouths and our stomach's hurting from laghing so hard and not being able to breathe!

It was the best ride of my life! We went through canals, open waters under bridges and saw some wild pigs and even 3 alligators!

Our hour and a half ride was a perfect length, we were able to see and experience everything that Daryll had to offer! Here are some pictures of our adventure!

In Florida....again

Well folks, I'm in Florida...again! This time i'm with my Mom, Dad and sister down in Naples, FL. We'be been here since Friday and could not ask for better weather. It's been 84 and 82 the last couple days and 3 hours in the sun each day is definately enough. My sister thinks that since she has a base tan from the tanning salon that she doesn't need suntan lotion, but she's definately feeling the effects today. She's the color of a lobster and has to reapply the aloe lotion every half hour or so! Usually that's me in the lobster situation, but i'm doing pretty well. Sure i'm burned a little but i've learned my lesson and try and let the burn tan up before really putting myself out there!

Yesterday, Saturday, March 4th we hung out at the pool for 3 hours then headed down to Tin City, kind of a local shopping plaza that's geared towards tourists. Then we headed to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner...always a FL favorite, although I believe that I did go to one in Pittsburgh last time i was there!

Today, Sunday, we did our daily sun bathing then about 3 o'clock headed out for Ft. Myers Beach. We spent about 3 and a half hours there, getting an early dinner and watching the sun set. Katie took a nap in the car while dad and i walked the beach took pictures and basked in the awesomeness of the Lord.

Tomorrow, Monday, we're only going to stay in the sun for 2 hours, then head south to the Everglades where we're looking to take a airboat ride through the waters of the Everglades and hopefully see some alligators and stuff. I'll catch you up in the next couple days.

Here are some pics from this evenings adventures.

Wow...what a February

Wow. What a February! Not the best month I've ever had, but i guess not the worst, although a worse one doesn't come to mind at this time. Those who know me know what's been going on, and i have less than 2 weeks until it's over.

Hopefully this next week won't be horrible, and on Friday i get to go with my parents to see Martina McBride in concert and then off to Circle C for a weekend of fun with my 2 bestest best friends in the whole world.

Then 2 weeks from today i will be in sunny Florida with no worries in the world!!! My brain will officially be shut off, my tan will officially be turned on!

That's what i'm banking on, 2 weeks, one day at a time.....2 weeks.

2 weeks.

Here's a couple pictures i took over the last week...maybe some beauty helps the time go by faster!

I guess it's time for a change

So I took the Coordinator job. I'm not exactly sure what i'm getting into, but i've had a good history of floating in the water that i have been thrown into. Things seem to be off to a good start except that i have NO CLUE what i'm doing or even where to start!! oh well...I took the signs and pressures from around me as Jesus trying to tell me something and although i was pretty anxious about the whole thing, it seems to be the right decision. (just as long as what they told be about the job is true and not much more!)

The perks seem pretty good right now. Even though i'm starting off part time (to finish up my other job as Academic Coordinator at Bona's) I'm technically getting paid for full time work, which is nice. I might be getting a new laptop, or some other new toys like a work cellphone or perhaps a PDA, a satellite wireless internet card and maybe some other doohickey's here or there.

Forgive me if i don't seem totally enthused...i'm still trying to process things while having soccer on the brain, and lack of sleep (i dreamed about recruits all night long) and also figured out that i haven't recruited any defensive players! YIKES! Oh well it won't be totally my problem!

This next month will be a long one, but after that i'll be on VACATION for a week to help clear my head or something. I bought this new Mountain Dew Energy Drink, so i'm going to chug that and see if it helps me wake up any more! Gotta Love Monday's! NOT!

Rach: Did you get the house?? I've tried calling but never seem to get you...let me know what's up!

Bec: I'll touch base with you sometime this week. My dad's bday is saturday so we might celebrate Friday and i'll drive up early saturday. Let me know if that works for you!

Catching up on a few things...

OK...well HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL was a hit! It's safe to say that i was NOT disappointed with the show. Sure there were cheesy points here and there, but you'll have that in any musical or in any Disney Channel Show. I was in great company, down in Pittsburgh where Rachel accompanied me and set aside her Friday night to watch it with me cause she new how excited I was! I think she liked it too...

It got even better when we sent Mike to the bedroom and we didn't have to worry about his comments here or there. Mike, I love you, but sometimes you're a bit much for me! We'll have to work on that if we ever get married!

I had a great time in Pittsburgh, i miss Rachel A LOT but it's always nice to have a weekend away from home and spending it with best friends. Hopefully i'll be seeing Becca in the next few weeks at camp!

So now i'm in a pickle. I was offered this job. Kind of a promotion of where i'm at now at Cornell Cooperative Extension. They talked me into interviewing for the job, so i did. Then when i had decided not to take it they blindsided me with the famous line "The others sucked. You're the only one. We'd have to re-post and re-interview" and blah blah blah. Jaime falls for the good ol guilt trip over and over...will i ever learn? Or get a back bone? Why don't i just tattoo SUCKER on my forehead!?!?!?!?!?!

Is Jesus testing me? Are all these signals a sign that i'm supposed to take the job? I wish that there was a phone number i could call to get the right answer! So if anyone knows anyone who prophecies, could you ask them what i'm supposed to do?

The job invovles some traveling, some administrating, some presentations and a lot of phone calls and face to face meeting. Pretty much everything i dislike doing. I'm quite comfortable sitting on the sidelines, doing my thing, not having to talk to anyone, and free time to do what i want when i want to do it. Aye yi yie!

Girls please let me know what you think. I'm so struggling here! Man, life is tough. I'm talking to Jesus about it, but if you get an answer before i do, could you also ask Him when he coming to Rapture us? That'd be amazing! Thanks!

I'll let you know what i decide...

Call me crazy...

Call me crazy but I love the Disney Channel. Call me childish, immature, or just a really big dork, but it's something about good clean fun that is irresistable to me. Not only do I like the shows on Disney Channel, but I'm a sucker for their "made for TV movies" or Disney Channel Origional Movies...and this Month's Movie is......................HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! (Check out the website!)

I'm not sure why but this movie's got me all giddy inside. Maybe it's the little girl inside of me that idolizes the characters, or wishes to be an actor like them. Maybe it's the intriguing story line that is similar to my life, or the whole in my heart that never got filled with a musical performance of my own...(thanks a lot Miller!) Maybe it's the sub plot of the romantic comedy that pulls me in. Maybe it's just the fact that me loving this kind of stuff makes my friends laugh at me! Whatever it is, "High School Musical" can't get here fast enough!

Through writing this, i think i've had an ephiphany....i love the Disney Channel Stars who give back to society while showing that you can be successful without being annorexic, sluty, or have to curse every other word. I think i still have a chance of being one of the stars of Disney Channel only because i still look like i'm 15! There's still hope!

So for all of you Disney fans out there...Peace out, and keep it real!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Hey Ya'll...haven't posted in awhile so i'll catch everyone up to speed...

December 1-5th, went to Disney World...check the deal on the previous 4 blogs.
(Also check the Disney Day Parade, yes airing ON CHRISTMAS DAY folks, and you might just catch a glimpse of yours truly screaming like a 5 year old that's been to Disney World for the first time ever. I'm standing infront of the Theatre Marquis next to some very large, yet very feminine man/boy in a blue sweatshirt and a santa hat...)
Click here for all the photos

December 1st: Got a call asking me to be interim head soccer coach...i said yes, now i gots tons of work to do!! Recruiting, scheduling, spring training, the works...i think i rather stay behind the scenes, but i'm upfront and center until May.
Click here for the full write up

December 17th: Had a Christmas Party with all my parent's friends, it was nice to see everyone and it helped get the kitchen done and the house all clean.
December 19th: Today. Going over Christmas Lists in my head...spent WAY too much money on everyone, but i don't care cause it's CHRISTMAS! Becca came in on Saturday so we hung out last night which was amazing because i never get to see her and spend some quality time with her. We went to Applebee's and then rented "The Polar Express"...great movie for those who haven't seen it yet.

Last night i stayed up until 1:00am watching a Hallmark Christmas movie...those get me every time. There's one on every night at 9:00pm, so I plan on doing that all week.

It'll be an easy week, physically going to work but not being there mentally, going late and leaving early...ahhhhhhhhh the joys of the holidays.

I can't til Rachel comes home too so the three of us can exchange Christmas presents...i got them some wicked awesome presents!

Whoever reads this, i love you all and miss you all and hope you have a wonderful Holiday!

From 75 to snow in 3 hours or less...

Hello all, here's a recap of the last week...and mainly my trip to Disney World. Sigrid and I had an amazing time...i hadn't been to Disney in a couple of years, and never during the Christmas Season. Not only did i get to go to the theme parks, i also got to be part of the select audience during the taping of the Very Merry Christmas Day Parade, that will air on Christmas day. I never realized how much work goes into filming a parade, can i just say that a parade that takes 2 hours or less on TV takes atleast 3 days to tape, and hours of editing. But it was a once in a lifetime experience, and i wouldn't have wanted anything different.

Day #1, Friday, December 1st:
Got up at 6:00am (after getting to my hotel at 11:30pm the night before) to be ready and waiting for Sigrid and her friends to pick me up and take me to Magic Kingdom to start taping the Holiday Festivities at 8:00am. We made it there just in time, and then were escorted (along with about 300-500 others) to the front of Cinderella's castle to be part of the audience for the taping of some 1 song concerts by various singers and bands. I was excited, but soon found out how much of a perfectionist Disney can be when getting the right shots. We hung around for a few hours, and about 6 or 7 takes of the same song, then decided to hit the rides and attractions of the park. We went on all the main rides, saw some shows and experienced the experience that is Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom. The park closed at 6pm for a Christmas party that you had to pay extra for, so we decided to jet and catch a movie. Chicken Little in 3-D! It was a long but great day...

Day #2, Saturday, December 2nd:
We slept in a little and decided to go to Magic Kingdom for another day, mainly to try and catch the actualy parade. We had heard that Regis and Kelly were going to be there Saturday...and we were right!
I was at the parade for about 4 and a half hours, trying to take in every moment. This was another day of watching and waiting, then watching again...but eventually i got a front row (or should i say curb) seat...so keep your eyes peeled on Christmas morning because you might see my face! I was standing infront of the cinema theatre thing next to a fairly large, fairly feminine teenage boy in a blue sweatshirt and a santa hat...so if you see him, you probably saw me! During the parade i got to see many characters, Santa Clause, Power Rangers (yes they are Disney now) and even Ally & AJ, and the Cheeta Girls!!!

Here's some more pics from the Disney Parade on Day 2:

After hanging out at the parade for a few hours on Day 2, Sigrid and i then went to MGM Studios...it's one of my favorite places since my life long dream is to be a Disney Animator and that's where the Animation Studio is housed. We saw a wicked cool car stunt show, hit up the Rockin Roller Coaster, and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and were content on just hanging out and people watching.
During the winter months each theme park has something specific that they do for Christmas...MGM's was a huge Christmas Light Display...and when i say huge i'm talking millions of lights, and even snow! It was an amazing sight to see and experience...pictures do NOT do it justice...but i'll try. Here is a shot that i stitched together...
And that was the ending to day #2.

Day #3, Sunday December 3rd:
We spent the day at Epcot. A great park that i have learned to appreciate as i've gotten older. We got to the park early in the morning and committed our morning to going on all the rides. There was Test Track, where you are a crash test dummy going through the daily tests that a car would go through...and then went on a new ride called "Soarin" where you feel like you're hang gliding over forests, orange groves, oceans, mountains and deserts. The great thing is, is with the wind flowing through your hair and the smells of the places actually hitting your nose, it feels like you're REALLY FLYING! It was great! We decided to take a break in the middle of the day and go back to the hotel, then around 7 we came back to Epcot to hit the many countries of the world for dinner and then stayed for the nightly Illuminations show. Another long but great day...here are some pics.

Day #4, Monday, December 4th:

Monday was a low key day, we went to Downtown Disney which was right down the street from our hotel, and just chilled out until i had to go to the airport to come back to snowy, cold ol' Allegany...so that's it. I'm back now doing my 4 jobs....oh and for those of you that hadn't heard, i'm now interum head coach of the women's soccer team until we hire a new coach...so my plate is getting just that much fuller.

To check out some pictures from Disney, click on the link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jaima9_5/album?.dir=/d8e5&urlhint=actn,del%3as,33%3af,0

other pictures will be up shortly!