as much as i hate to be at work when no one else is, i am experiencing now something i haven’t experienced in quite some time during the weekday hours of 8 to 5 (or 6 or 7 or whatever, you know. it’s work.)

some free time.

so, what to do w/ a couple hours of free time when nearly everyone else is on vacation?  blog surf.

i found one blog that i very much appreciated, and i’d like to share.

it’s called “welcome home- a guide to modern living” and it can be located here: heartanddesign.blogspot.com

at first it appeared to be a pretty standard “inspiring design” compilation blog.  i can appreciate those.  and i do. but every now and then, i like to see them mix it up.

example?

there is a whole post highlighting the shenanigans of this shark. how can one not enjoy that?

misplaced as it may seem in a design blog, i find it wholly acceptable and even necessary.

additionally, i saw this quote:

I heard the other day you can tell a lot about a person’s personality in how they handle three situations:
1. Lost luggage
2. Getting caught in the rain
3. Untangling Christmas lights

and i thought, this is very true, i will judge people based on these standards from now on.

last thing: giant underwear.  for those not aware, my sisters and i, at one point in time, had a pair of giant underwear.  yes, giant (okay, bigger than normal…big enough to fit 3 young adults).  perfect for photo ops and awkward family reunions, they were never far from the three of us when we were united.  sadly, i have no idea where they have wandered off to, but today i saw this picture and was reminded of fond memories.

check it:

oh, and i feel i must mention, there are tons of sweet decor photos.  which is exactly what i came for.
-jessica

all I want is your eyes
in the morning
as we wake for a short while

bowerbirds ~ northern lights

and that’s where i’m headed…Riviera Maya to be exact. 4 days of sand and sun and warmth. so the fact that it’s 20 degrees here in st louis can’t really get me down today because i’m soon headed south for a toasty holiday.

i leave early morning on Christmas eve.  i’m a little sad about missing the actual day of Christmas w/ my family, but we’ve rescheduled.  i’m not sure it will be the same.  i’ll be w/ my aunt,uncle and cousin emma.  (she just turned 18).  i created this photo of all of us on the beach to simulate what the experience would be like.  this is what we gave to emma on her birthday to break the news about Mexico:

it’s obviously a very realistic representation.

as far as the actual holiday goes, i have almost all of my shopping done…need to pick up a few odds and ends, but overall, i’ve done quite well this year.  ahead of schedule, even.  which is surprising considering i put nearly all of my own holiday needs aside to tackle Switch’s.  if your company every suggests you personally send out all of the holiday cards, i recommend you politely decline, if that is at all possible.  it’s a big task. (though, i must say, the site/card turned out really well, and i’m really happy about the results.)

ok.  time for some email blasting fun.  i’m launching our Q4 “switch hits” today.  if you’re interested in what Switch is up to, you can check it out here. the field day video is complete with cheesy music and all, AND if you watch closely, you’ll notice the magenta shirted indian on the human roulette wheel is me!  it’s worth viewing simply because of that fact, i think. :)

have a good week before Christmas week.

-jess

which is why my company, Switch, has decided to give away all the stuff in my boss’ office this holiday season.

we’re giving away a ton of sweet stuff, including the massage chair that i love sooooo very much :/
from hockey sticks to a computer to a bass guitar, the items are definitely grab-worthy.

check it out and pass it along if you like it!

-jess

i’m disappointed in my lack of postings as of late.  between work, moving, a spastic puppy, and just attempting to keep a social life, i’ve been a touch busy.

i want to show you pictures of my fabulous new stuff (fabulous may be an overstatement, but i really enjoy it), but i haven’t taken them quite yet. soon.  i purchased my first new couch.  pieced together a desk, a tv stand and an elliptical.  i bartered for a vintage coffee table on craigs list, which i’m in the process of painting.  (orange and green, if you were wondering).

i’m finally feeling comfortable in that place.  it feels more like home.  i made friends w/ a few of the neighbors, and i’m really excited to live so close to fun people (in maplewood i never saw my neighbors, and in belleville most of my neighbors were older than my grandparents).  in fact, i planned a little shin-dig to celebrate my birthday this friday.  having a luau in december.  i see no issue with this.

i turned 25 yesterday.  woah. 25.  it feels weird.   i was feeling old, and to combat that, my friends from work surprised me with a night at Chuck e Cheese’s.  it was magical.  i had such a fun time…and who knew they sold beer there? i had the blow up hat, the “i partied with chuck e” balloon and a small, sparkly, chuck e w/ top hat temporary tattoo on my left hand.

the high-point of my birthday (besides watching Mark hit the jack-pot on the bounce ball drop game), was getting a wii.  i’ve wanted one for so very long, and now i am the proud owner.  addiction will soon follow.

even got a little tennis action in before bed last night.

on a completely different note, i’m doing some exciting things at work.  i moved to a new desk.  i have THREE walls instead of two (moving on up!). i also have more time to devote to Switch’s marketing efforts (the real excitement).  we’re getting ready to launch our 2nd edition of the Switch Hits electronic newsletter, our holiday promotion/card is nearly up and ready, and we’re making plans for next year.  organization!

i have high hopes for 2010…just in general.  so bring it on.

oh yes, and per my older sister’s suggestion, i picked up and nearly finished the Alchemist this week.  adoring it so far.  recommending it strongly to you.

i hope to soon return to you with photos of my evolving apartment, my sweet pup, and maybe some warm/fuzzy holiday moments.  stay tuned!

jessica

And you can’t sustain anything
Everything must change
So be thankful for everything
And I am

maria taylor ~ two of those too

i’m going to Mexico for Christmas.

it will be very strange to be someplace warm for the holidays.  i’m pretty sure that has never happened to me before.

chicago tomorrow through thursday.  digital marketing mixer. 

can’t wait to get some field day photos up here.  it was an awesome awesome day for Switch.

-jessica

so every now and then my local cable just kicks it.  simply won’t work.  it’s super lame because one of the things i like to do when i get ready for the day is watch the news.  gotta figure out where the shootings and robberies occurred the night before.

i also enjoy fox 2’s tim ezell and his silly antics.

but for the past few days, i’ve been forced to find alternative sources of entertainment.

enter saved by the bell.

i can’t tell you how many times i’ve seen each episode of this show that has been playing SINCE I WAS FIVE.  yep.  5.  but i could basically tell you which episode i’m watching in less than 30 seconds.  i can name the teachers that only appeared in even just one episode.  i know the nuances and contradictions. it’s creepy how well i know that show.

anyway, yesterday as i was getting up and around, my all-time favorite episode came on.

yep, you guessed it.  the ever-popular caffeine pill episode.

the “freak-out” is such a memorable moment.  everyone knows what you’re talking about when you say the caffeine pill episode was on.

unfortunately for me, i have to be at work by 8, and since the episode started at 7:30, i missed my favorite part.  sad day. however, i youtubed it and placed it here for your viewing pleasure.

what’s your favorite sbtb episode?

-jess

I’m so excited,
And I just can’t hide it,
I’m about to lose control
And I think I like it.
pointer sisters ~ i’m so excited

so guess what today is….

yep! it’s my one year anniversary at

i cannot believe how quickly it has flown by.well, good year, good place, good times.i realized today that i never showed you what was inside that egg.  since you are probably dying of curiousity, here are the final photos:

(nevermind i don’t have time now, soon, though)

-jess

i love working with such creative people.  check out our awesome bowling trophy.  (i stole this from the switch blog, btw)

 

you like?

 

-jess

 

our plane landed in st louis just after 11pm last night

needless to say, i’m quite dead today, however, before i pass out for a nice long nap, i would like to share some of my trip with you.

not all of it, though, because as they say “what happens in vegas…” well, you know the rest.

going for work is quite different than going with friends, but regardless, it was still a lot of fun.

here are a few shots of our booth WHICH, btw, won the “Best New Exhibitor Booth”….sweet!

^our truck, breaking through the wall of traditional media (also see our pile of old tv’s to the left!)

^some of our banners

^switch liberate your brand!

^paintball aftermath..messy messy messy. (but fun!)

^liberate yourself from the confines of traditional media by shooting up this tv with a paintball gun :)

^yes.  we rock.  go switch!

^ate my first oyster..i also ate my first snail..and just some of the best food i’ve ever eaten in general

^it’s 5 degrees in the red square vodka freezer…so you have to wear a fur coat and hat with flaps

^so you can see how big he is.

^dancing, posing, i’m not sure, but we certainly had fun at rumjungle

^jeannie sported the switch dots to dinner at mon ami gabi (best salmon i’ve ever had, fyi)

so we never saw the sun, and we barely slept (basically we became vampires for 4 days), but we accomplished our mission, and had a lot of fun doing it…

yay switch!

-jess

during our time at the Exhibitor Show, we are required to wear black dickies button up shirts with our dots and logo, and black cargo pants.   (oh and let’s not forget the comfy, BLACK tennis shoes…i’m thinking of packing the chuck’s and seeing if they will make the cut for the show floor)

wait, wait…cargo pants?  i thought those went out of style 3 years ago.  oh yes.  they did, my friend.  which is why i found it to be such a difficult task.  making my mission even more difficult is the fact that i had no desire to invest more than $20 on the pants (which i will most likely never wear again…perhaps they can become my painting costume, though)

no, not cargo shorts, or cargo capris (which did exist in some stores due to the onset of spring), but cargo PANTS.  in black.

after scouring the oldnavy.com, target.com, and multitudes of other online stores, i trekked to the mall in search of the elusive black cargo pants.

after all, how can you really get a feel for a pair of pants without trying them on?

i visited nearly every store in the west county mall.

while shopping for black cargo pants, i also located a number of other key items that i felt i absolutely could not live without: a necklace with an orange feather, pink tennis shoes, a long sleeved purple t-shirt, and a jumbo box of junior mints.

i did not intend to purchase any of these things.  i also wanted to purchase a kayak, but it wouldn’t fit in the car.

finally, our journey led us to jcpenneys.  ahhhh jcpenneys, it’s been a long while since we’ve crossed paths. 

guess what they had hidden away in the back of the juniors’ secion??

oh yes…there they are…black cargo pants.  in my size.  no alterations necessary.  they even make the tush look nice.

 good job, jcpenneys.  i suppose i can always count on you in a bind.

-jessica