YUMMY YUMMY

Welp.

I owe you guys one. So here it is.

Life has been a freaking whirlwind. I have been all over the place recently. I spent the last weekend in San Francisco (best weekend of my life) and my sister has been visiting from Chicago for Thanksgiving. I've been busy with a whole lot of happy, that's for sure.

Most of my writing time has gone to my articles for Red Flag. It has been exhausting, which is really very silly. (Jenny, if you want to be a writer, time to suck it up.) I don't like turning anything in that isn't just right, and it turns out that takes a bit of time. It's not quite like writing this. Writing my blog posts can be very cathartic and freeflowing. That and I don't have to dumb my writing down into digestible paragraphs or use simple language so everyone can understand it. Bleh. But I am so very appreciative and excited I have an outlet to challenge me in my writing. I. Am. So. Lucky.

I start my big girl job on Monday. I seriously can't wait. I have had a nice break from working regular hours recently so I'm ready to get back into a working schedule. Speaking of that, let's take a moment to remember my days at SOS Debt Solutions and say a final farewell to Natasha, my payday-loan-consolidating-sales-girl-alter-ego. I owe that job many thanks for the bizarre stories, flexible hours, and good friends that came out of it. So thank you, SOS. We had a good run.

LUSH has been my little safe haven recently. I love all those girls (and Ricky) so much. Sometimes I feel like I just need to go in there and recharge with lots of positive vibes. When the store is slow we go to to the front door and give each other arm massages to bring people in. It gives us just enough time to fill each other in on what's going on in our lives. I'm known in there as Jenny Love because I always want to talk to everyone about their relationships. Which is hilarious. Before I started working there I was rather cynical about all of that silliness. But thanks to these ladies, I am a rather hopeFUL romantic. They all get there excited to tell me new business. Love 'em.

Now, San Francisco.

Be still, my heart.

(Sigh). I'm in love with that city, though that's nothing new. I always have been. In fact, I recently stumbled upon an old diary of mine. I had planned out my life and what I wanted to accomplish. Here's some of my list:

Graduate from the University of Arizona.
Study abroad in England.
Live in San Francisco or Los Angeles.
Work for a major production company.
Marry some big handsome man.

Well, looks like I'm on a roll! (And 4 out of 5 ain't bad, right?) How cute, look at me and my dreams coming true. I've got some new goals a'brewin', too. Apparently if you write down your goals they magically come true. Thanks, Universe.

Speaking of big handsome men, take a look at this old pillowcase my mom found as she was going through her boxes:

Big, silly, hairy men. Apparently it was in my blood. Gives a whole new meaning to the "Burt" stare...

I'm hilarious.

Anyways, San Francisco. (sigh, again). It was a blast to say the least. I spent part of the first day wandering around the city and letting it speak to me a bit.

I walked up some ridiculous hills, visited with the stinky Occupy SF group (who, let's face it, just wanted an excuse to be lazy bums--their signs were completely off topic), lit some candles in my favorite church, had some poached eggs and a latte at a sweet little French cafe, and even made a stop in the first LUSH I ever went to when I was just thirteen years old. I felt very accomplished to say the least.

I met up with my handsome friend Spencer in the afternoon after he got off of work. We went on a few errands before heading to his apartment to watch the U of A basketball game with his roommate Tim and Tim's girlfriend, Kelly. They're the best. We then somehow ended up watching about four hours of Amish documentaries? I don't know how it happened, but I'm glad it did. They live right near Haight and Ashbury so we went out later to cash in on some food and nighttime entertainment. We had some tapas and sangria at Cha Cha Cha, a swanky little Spanish restaurant across the street from their apartment, followed by listening to some live jazz music. My, we sound classy!

Saturday was dedicated to being a shameless tourist. Spencer was incredibly patient with me, thank goodness. And then...

The Golden Gate Bridge. I finally made it. We took a cab across to the Marin Headlands so we could get a picturesque view. If you want pure joy in its' most raw form, take me there.

Mmmm.

We slowly made our way back across the bridge. It was lovely. Very breezy but so peaceful. We then proceeded to the Palace of Fine Arts (where we randomly stumbled upon a Raiders scarf for Spencer), Fisherman's Wharf (bay shrimp and beer included), Pier 39 for a compulsory Ghirardelli chocolate and sea lion watching, and dim sum in China Town. A very small Asian lady yelled "YUMMY YUMMY" at us for a couple minutes until we were convinced she wasn't lying. And she wasn't-- it certainly was delicious.

We were quite exhausted by the end of our long walk touring day. Luckily we got to unwind a bit with buckets of beer and football. We met up with some of Spencer's friends at a bar called the Bus Stop to watch four football games at once. Talk about sports overstimulation. ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNND U of A beat ASU ANNDDDDD it was amazing. Gotta love when those rivalry games go in your favor.

During one of the games I got up to go to the bathroom. On my way in and out of the restroom I was hit on three times-- even asked, "So, do you come here often?" Some bachelor party attendee also asked me if he could have my bra to fill in his checkerboard game slot. Silly boys.

Don't worry, I politely declined. Twice. And no, I didn't recently become really really ridiculously good-looking. Men outnumber women in San Francisco by about 65,000, according to the very real blog "Why There Are No Girls in San Francisco". So, you know, the poor guys probably hadn't seen a lady in quite a while. And there I was, the exotic LA woman that I am.

Afterwards we met up with some of Spencer's fellow Raiders season ticket holders to visit a local bar, Whiskey Thieves. There I was with ten guys. So apparently the ratio is about 10:1. They were all very sweet and inviting. I spent the next morning and afternoon with them, too. We all went to Spencer's friend Chris' house for a fantastically home-cooked breakfast and Raiders watching! I brought a big box of doughnuts and was welcomed with open arms. I love me some football and happy boys when their team wins.

Spencer and I spent the rest of the evening visiting the Painted Ladies (famous for their days on the Full House intro), walking through the parks, eating my favorite BBQ chicken pizza from a little pizzeria down the street, and watching the Sharks game. I remember falling slowly asleep on the couch as the rain sprinkled lightly outside, warm and cozy under the blanket. I flew home early the next morning.

There's something about San Francisco, folks. I just can't seem to wipe the smile off my face while I'm there.

Now here I am, back in LA. It definitely feels like home, but perhaps more so like the home you might be outgrowing. I haven't outgrown in quite yet, but it's starting to feel a little tight around the middle. Though it's exactly what I need for the time being.

I picked my sister up from the airport on Wednesday evening. I hadn't seen Jamie since my graduation in May, so needless to say I was very excited to see her. We had a little slumber party at my house and then headed to my mum's early Thanksgiving morning. We watched some of the parade, drank some coffee and ate some fruit, then headed off to hike Runyon Canyon. (You know, to try and compensate just a little bit for the impending damage that was going to be done the rest of the day). It was such a perfect sunny Thanksgiving!

We got home, had some lunch, and went to work. Pies, turkey, potatoes, creamed corn, homemade beer bread, you name it. Before we knew it dinner had come and gone. It was certainly a quiet little Thanksgiving with just the three of us. We took a walk after stuffing ourselves silly and then capped the night off with Elf. I can't think of anything better than a belly full of good food and one of my favorite holiday movies.

We've been on a very tight schedule with Jamie here. She had a lot of things she wanted to accomplish. We have been to Yoga Shelter every day, which has been a lovely treat for my lazy winter body. We visited City Walk at Universal Studios yesterday to see the Muppet Movie, went to the Griddle for pancakes, Santa Monica beach for sun and swinging on my favorite swing set, and sushi for dinner last night. We woke early this morning to yoga again and then--get this-- stopped by In-N-Out AND Krispy Kreme. She's a nutritionist, ya'll, so you can't judge us too much. I'm going to be sad when she has to head back to Chicago. I do I do I do love my sister.

Phew... time for the week to start. I have got a jam-packed lineup:

- Big girl job!
- Sharks/Kings game tomorrow night with Hilda (I. cannot. wait.)
- Rehearsals for the FEMMESTASTIKS sketch show I'm in (just two weeks away!!)
- Writing, writing, writing
- Yoga
- Seeing Blake's show
- Basic social upkeep
- Bravo benefit this weekend
- Running/jogging/lazy-speed-walking with Colton

Woo. Woo. Woo. Let's do this.

In closing, I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. I love the happy, thankful vibes that fly around this time of year. I try to fill each day with a whole lot of gratitude. I am a very lucky, healthy, happy girl. So off I go, to seize some more days. Let me know if you want to join me. I'd love the company and the conversation.

Kisses.