jMcJohnson

Tonight, I wanted chocolate so badly, I fixed a (at LEAST) year and a half-old box of brownie mix.

The batter? Weird tasting.

The brownies? Delicious.

March, 2006

In the last two weeks, Ryan has lost his iPod and I have (apparently) lost my camera. I am trying to find the universal signifigance of these events: are we too attached to our material possessions? Are we about to come into some money so we can upgrade these devices without feeling any financial crunchiness? So far, no answers, but that’s okay, I’m patient.

On Wednesday, I did (yet another) very adult thing…I went to the dermatologist for a mole check. If you know me, you know two things:

1. I am SUPER Mole-y
2. I hate tanning/burning (yet I do enjoy peeling other people’s sunburns. I am complicated.)

So, all I have been reading about is melanoma and how it quietly kills you and I realized it was time to get my moles checked. In the weeks leading up to my appointment, I started to freak out about a few moles that I thought maybe looked weird. Appointment day came, and I had what they call a full body mole check (FBMC). All I can say is thank God I had a female doctor. Little did I know the FBMC includes checking such places as BETWEEN YOUR BUTT CHEEKS and UNDER YOUR BOOBS. Good times.

Turns out, all the moles I was freaking out abut were fine. It was two little innocent looking ones that seemed weird to the doctor. Not super-bad weird, but a little darker than the others. The doctor gave me the option of coming back in six months and checking them again, or just getting them removed that day. I opted for immediate removal. The numbing shot hurt like hell, but the mole removal wasn’t bad, especially since they were right next to each other. I got three stiches which will be removed in two weeks. They’re going to biopsy the moles and let me know what’s up, but she told me she wasn’t too concerned. She praised my sun avoidance, and told me to come back once a year to get my moles checked.

Skin cancer is scary! Stay out of the sun, lizard women!

I’d show you my stiches but I lost my camera (remember?)

French-fry eater
World traveler
Bare leg attacker
Former fat-ass
Major surgery survivor
Collar-hater
Master snuggler
Outdoor lover
Loyal friend

Your furry face is a part of some of my best memories.

You will be missed.

On Friday I did something I thought I would never do. I ran a mile and a half. Without stopping. Without dying. I’m doing the Couch to 5k program and Friday was the end of Week 5. The last workout of week was to run (and by run I mean jog) 20 minutes without stopping. Up to that point I had only jogged 8 minutes without stopping…and it made me huff and puff like the Big Bad Wolf. In true Jamie form, I woke up Friday morning anxious that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I knew that I could just stop and try again next time if I couldn’t do it, but up to that point, I had been able to do each workout-and I knew I would feel like a loser if I failed. Nevertheless, I drove to the gym, tossed a towel over the little readout on the treadmill that tells me how long I’ve been woking out, and got started.

And…I did it. This isn’t a huge achievement to most people who are in reasonable shape, but this is pretty big for me. In high school, I walked everytime we were supposed to be running the mile, I didn’t care. I’ve never really cared. But (being close to) turning 30 does strange things to a person. I feel like I have gained a large measure of sanity about my body. I have realized that at this point in my life, exercise must become my friend. No more excuses. I just have to do it. And now I do. Instead of agonizing over every trip to the gym, I just go. Sometimes, I just don’t go, but the key is I don’t let one slipup stop me from going ever again.

So, now that I’ve run the mile, the next logical step is to install one of those huge ropes from the ceiling in my living room so that I can finally climb it. I also need to do 3 pull-ups and hit 4″ on the sit-and-reach…after that, I’m calling my (chain-smoking, obese) high school gym teacher and telling him to stick it.

Believe it or not, Kansas City is home to some very beautiful pieces of sculpture and architecture. Take for example, this:

This lovely spire is located on the Plaza. On top of a Cheesecake Factory.

I do love the Midwest.

Joe vs. The Volcano
(by “volcano” I mean Peanut Butter Bacon Burger)

What goes with peanut butter, ground beef and bacon? Pepper, you fool.

Joe gives his arteries the finger!

Last night, I was making a new playlist for my iPod and I was listening to some music in my iTunes library I hadn’t heard for a while. In college, I used to LOVE the Indigo Girls. So much, that after a few years of listening to them constantly, I got sick of them and pretty much stopped listening to them altogether. As I got to the “I’s” on my list, I listened to this song: (read the words, it’s worth it)

Romeo+Juliet
written by Mark Knopfler

A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
He’s laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like “you and me babe, how about it?”

Juliet says “hey, it’s Romeo, you nearly gave me a heart attack”
He’s underneath the window now she’s singing “hey la my boyfriend’s back”
You shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that
Anyway what you gonna do about it?

Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet and you exploded into my heart
And I forget I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?
Julie

They both came up on different streets, they both were streets of shame
Both dirty, both mean, yes and even the dream was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
Now tell me honey, how can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

When you can fall for chains of silver
You can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers
And the promises they hold
You promised me everything, and then you promised me thick and thin,
Now you just turn away and you say “oh Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him”

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said “I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you till I die”
There’s a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?
Julie

But I can’t do the talk like the talk on the TV
And I can’t do a love song like the way it’s meant to be
I can’t do everything, but I’ll do anything for you
I can’t do anything except be in love with you

And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be
All I do is keep the beat I keep bad bad company
Now all I do is kiss you through the bars of this rhyme
When Julie, I’d do the stars with you any time

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you till I die
There’s a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong?
Julie

A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
He’s laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
Finds a convinient streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like “you and me babe, how about it?”

I hadn’t listened to this song in probably three years at least. And it made me cry my eyes out. Not so much for it’s relevance in my life right now, but for just how beautifully it’s written, and for the time and place that it takes me to. Getting older makes me realize how great my life has been so far (up to and including now) and how unbelieveably lucky I have been. This song takes me back to that wild early twenties place where relationships were SO DRAMATIC and an (almost) entirely different cast of characters played a huge part in my life. I certainly don’t wish to be that age again, but sometimes it’s a bittersweet memory.

I could list probably 50 other songs that take me back to another place and time. What songs do that for you?

Hi. It’s me. I know it’s been a while.

Sorry.

I’m going to ease into this posting thing again with a picture. Here is the shirt I made in my sewing class.

It’s a little too short and a little too tight, but I made it myself, dammit. And if I lose 10 pounds and shrink a couple inches, it will fit PERFECTLY.

So, yeah, I’m back.

I know…I’ve missed you all too.