Hanukkah, a wonderful holiday!

I had a very pleasant day today celebrating Hanukkah with Jason's family. The day was filled with delicious food, great conversation, beautiful presents, and very lovely people that I'm happy to have in my life.

Thank you Jan, David, and Judy for my wonderful gifts and great company and conversation, Stephanie and John for hosting in your beautiful home and Jackson for being so darn cute. Happy Hanukkah to all!!

Dinner, Annie, and Friends

We are invited to see Jan, Jason's mom, in a musical theatre performance every year. It's part of the Goddard Space Flight Center, which is where her boyfriend, David, works. This year they put on Annie and it was the best show we've ever seen the community theatre group do. I've always been a huge fan of the movie as a child and as an adult, so I was hoping to enjoy it. They always provide a nice dinner before the show and again the dinner was the best they've ever offered. We also got to hang out with Stephanie and John all evening, which we don't do enough. It was great to see them and check up. All together everything was great and very entertaining. I really liked all the kids who performed in the show. To have or to be a talented brave kid like these were must be a wonderful thing. I wish I had had such talent growing up. I of course was too shy to even read out loud in class. I hope if and when I become a teacher I will somehow show my students that being self-conscience your whole life is no way to live. Anyways the show and dinner tonight were splendid. Jan, thanks for the tickets. You put a fabulous performance on as one of the Boylan Sisters and as part of the ensemble.

My Sister, The Mother

We got to spend time with my Dad, Stepmom, Sister and Nephew this weekend, which was a really nice break from...not spending time with them. Watching my sister with my nephew Jackson I'm so impressed at how successfully she's transitioned into motherhood. It just seems natural for her. Jackson hasn't made things easy for her and John but they've handled everything in stride and probably come out as stronger, better parents for it.

Jackson is a lucky kid to have two such devoted parents, and a mom that obviously loves him more than this blog entry could ever capture. Keep up the good work, Bloom.

Fun Times Close by

I really looking forward to this weekend. It's My Birthday Weekend! Friday I have a wedding to shoot, which will be a lot of fun hard work, then on Saturday Jason and I are chilling and my friend Lauren in coming into town, there's a few street festivals that day and then we might stop by Julianna's husbands 30th birthday surprise. Sunday is the day we're celebrating my birthday at the MD Renaissance Festival. It's always a great time. A few of my friends should be stopping by. It's weird for me to finally start seeing weekends for what they really are instead of just more days off for the unemployed. I feel like I'm fully employed with my photography gigs, Our365, Arbonne start up work and with studying for the Praxis every night. I wish I could see the results in monetary form, but it will accumulate with time.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week we're going to Ocean City with Jason's Dad, Step Mom, Stephanie, John and little Jackson. That should be a great little break from all the mind-scrabbling hecticness that is my life.

Reading to No End

I think another post about the joy of reading is in order.

Since I started reading again seven or so months ago, I haven't stopped. I read all four Twilight books in no time and since then I've read two more novels and then read some short stories and now I'm onto another novel. One of Jason's sister's favorites is called "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend." I've only read the first chapter so far, but so far I'm really liking the tone. Thanks for the recommend, Steph. I've gotten to the point now that I can't go to sleep soundly without reading ten or so pages of a book. I love wiping everything stressful out of my mind and entering a fantasy world for just that little bit of time before I get too sleepy to keep my eyes open. It's a new world that I'm very happy to be part of. I really think this blog has had a lot of do with my renewed enthusiasm to read.

Another positive has sprung from this positive experiment of ours.

Doors Swung Open

I'm finally starting to get paid for my hard work, or at least the pay is coming shortly in some cases. I did an awesome photo shoot today with my beautiful pregnant friend, Libby. I just got done reviewing them and I'm really proud about how a few of them came out. And she ended up paying a little over what I had asked for for the work. She is such a doll and I really wish Roger and her the best.

She also set me up with a company she works for part-time called Our365 which takes photos of newborn babies when they first arrive into this world. I went for the interview and the girl loved me immediately and said that if my background check came back clean then the job is mine, which it did, and it is. It felt so good to be appreciated for just being me. It's only every other weekend, but it's something that will get me experience and get me out of the house.

I also might start selling Arbonne cosmetics. Jasmine's mom works for them and is moving to Atlanta soon with her family and offered to give me her local clients. How amazing, how everything starts coming in all at once. I feel good about everything, a little nervous, but who wouldn't be when I'm going to be entering a few different work environments all at the same time. I used to thrive off getting a bunch of gigs at a time when I was working on films in NYC, so this is no different. It should start coming naturally to me. And yes Steph, I'm scared and excited all at once! Take that.

Freedom Trip

I'm taking a trip next week that will inevitably be bringing back some fond memories of my old adventurous life. As you all know Jason is now away with his sis and I'm staying here and will get to experience a weekend without Jae (the first in many many moons). I don't necessarily know how fun the weekend will be, I'll probably do very little outside the home, but the idea that I'll be living the single life again is both exciting and scary. I'm going to a party for a very long time family (the Parker's) friend's daughter's college graduation. So crazy how time is flying so fast for us all, I remember when Kathleen just started college and now 4 years later and she's done. It should be fun hanging with old family friends. And if I get overwhelmed with too many unknown faces I can always walk to my Uncle Don's house, since I'll be around the corner. We'll see, either way I'm making my own decisions today.

What was the point of this entry? Oh yea, I'm going to drive to NJ to see my friend Brooke (who's in town from Utah), drop my car off at her parents house, hopefully get to visit with her family for a little bit and then go into NYC by train or Brooke's car. She is doing a comedy act at Caroline's in Times Square. She's been performing for a while, but I've never got to see her live. I'm very excited for her and to see the performance. We're then probably hangin out in the city, drinks, good times, etc. I'm staying with Jill Monday, so it will be great to see her as well. Then staying with Lauren (another great friend from college) both Tuesday and Wednesday night. All other plans are up in the air, hopefully I get to have quality city town with Brooke. Either way I'm doing my own thing with my girlfriends in the city I hold dear to my heart. It's been so long and I've missed the energy terribly. Even if Brooke's not around the whole time (BTW Jill and Lauren will have to work during the day hours, so I'll only be hanging with them in the evenings.) I'll have my camera and a beautiful city in my mist. I will hopefully find a lot of amazing inspiration. And don't worry I'm spending as little money as humanly possible. It will be difficult in such a expensive and tempting city.

I love you Jason, have a wonderful time with Steph. Get your drink on at the wedding and have fun. I can't wait to see you on Thursday!! Love you babe!

Chicago Bound

I'll be traveling this afternoon to Chicago for a friend's wedding. But accompanying me on the flight won't be Kate. We couldn't reasonably pay for two tickets. Instead my sister, known on this blog as Steph, Sae, and Bloom, will be joining me. She was invited to the wedding as well and was in a similar financial position. So we'll both be skipping out on our significant others and heading to Chicago together.

More than the wedding, this is what I'm most looking forward to. Getting a chance to hang out with Steph, just the two of us, and the 260 other people coming to the wedding. Steph said it best on the phone a few days ago. We get together occasionally, but with Jackson occupying a lot of her attention and other family members, the two of us don't get to talk much. I know Steph's heart is breaking, having to leave Jax for even a day, let alone two, but I know she's also looking forward to reconnecting this weekend.

It should be a good weekend, followed by a week off from work (I was taking Monday anyway, and decided to just take the week.) I'm so looking forward to this upcoming week and change taking as long as possible to pass.

Jackson at 4 1/2 months

Jackson's getting so big. He is such a cutie and becoming a real flirt. I went to Stephanie's last week and I took some pictures I'm pretty proud of. Jan, Judy, and Jan's friend Carol were there too and it was great hanging with the ladies.

Jackson is getting a great personality. Stephanie and John are doing great parenting jobs, keeping things humorous and joyful. I love witnessing the growth of child and parent, it is a beautiful site. I think I might be going to visit her tomorrow. I can't wait to hang out with Jax and Steph again.

Love me some Hosting

I really enjoy throwing small parties at our house. Sunday we threw a brunch for Jae's mom for retiring from teaching. Steph, John, Jackson, Jan, David, and Judy came over. Just the right amount of people. I made roasted potatoes with onion and peppers and I made banana pudding from scratch. All the food was great and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. I like being the host. Especially cause you can drink all you want and just pass out when everyone leaves without having to decide who drives. And that's exactly what we ended up doing. We had mimosa's, Bloody Mary's, and Southsides for the drinkers to enjoy. I love brunch food and beverages. Jackson was as cute as ever. It was a blast and I can't wait for the next party. Bring it on!

Catching Up with Friends, Indirectly

My cousin James and his wife Amy (it's probably more appropriate to say Amy and my cousin James... James: "I'm helping!") have been maintaining a blog ever since their son Caleb was born about seven months ago. The time between their posts ranges from days to weeks (or minutes, in the case of their last giant blogsplotion of babies, bridges, bread and beaches), but they keep up with it consistently, and I'm always glad when I see a new post from them pop up in my Blogger Dashboard. I love the micro-publishing world for just this reason. It makes it so easy to keep up with people, at least indirectly, when you don't talk to them in person often enough. Here's their blog address if any of you are interested:

http://theajduo.blogspot.com

I mean this truly. I know more about life at the AJ Duo Fortress of Familyhood than I do about the lives of many other people that I see in person on a consistent basis. Blogging allows you to grant media-rich peaks into your daily life to many other people at once. My sister and brother-in-law's site for my nephew Jackson is another good example, which I've mentioned in previous blog posts. I don't see the three of them nearly often enough. There's the phone, of course. But the Jackson blog gives a much deeper picture of his life and those of his foot servants than a quick phone conversation can share.

I think personal blogs are a great addition to the paraphernalia of modern life. Along with Twitter, they represent the best in indirect personal communications, and I'd love to see more people I know start their own blogs. I can tell you that, after this year long experiment is over, Kate and I will start maintaining a smaller-scale blog to share our lives with our friends and family.

Redheads Rule

I've always been a huge fan of red hair. I always wished that my hair was more red than just strawberry blond, hence why I've been dying it redder since college. Jason's sis has gorgeous red hair and her new little man, Jackson, is a promising red head as well. I love boys with red hair, people tend to make fun of redhead boys and I don't get that since I've always found them to be the cutest. I like to stick up for all the redheads, being a half breed myself. I definitely posses the fair-skinned trait that comes with the shade. I don't mind that either, we should steer clear of being in the sun for too long, and if we keep this good habit up, our skin will be smoother, healthier, and younger looking as we get older and all the tanners out there will wish they'd done the same. Yes, being from a beach town I've been made fun of a lot, such as "wow, you are so white I need to put my sunglasses on", and other remarks like that. I rather be white than try to tan and destroy my skin. I've always liked my fair completion, another reason I moved north and the rest of my tanning family remained in the south. This goes out to all the red hot redheads out there, I'm happy to be part of your team if you'll have this half-breed.

Jackson at Two Months

Well, nearly two months. You all remember Jackson, my new-to-the-planet nephew. I was just looking over his website, and I couldn't think of a more positive thing to share tonight.

Jackson, thanks to his parents, is such an endearing little guy. They've done such a great job capturing his essence in his online presence. The writing demonstrates a deep understanding of someone who until very recently...wasn't. It's amazing to me how fast parents and kids bond.

My favorite part of the site is the photos. The shots of my sister and Jackson get me in a way I've never really experienced. They just seem...right. Almost as if Jackson's always been there, pressed up against Steph's cheek, wide-eyed and dazzled by the world, and it's just taken all of us 32 years to notice him.

I'm not going to say a lot tonight. I'm going to let Jackson carry this entry. Here's Jackson, as penned by Jackson.

http://www.ourbabybird.com/

Latifah is a Boy Named Jackson

Kate's entry summed it up.  My sister gave birth yesterday to a 7 lb 8 oz. baby boy.  It was the first time that Kate or I had ever been even peripherally involved in a childbirth, and it was amazing.  Steph was a trooper, with a record fast labor (7.5 hours), and a granite composure (of course I did see her for the first time after the epidural was administered, so I can't speak to her unmedicated state.)

Most of you that know me know that I don't believe in miracles.  Not the supernatural, violate the laws of physics type.  The universe is plenty miraculous without them.  And childbirth definitely falls into the category of an astounding yet perfectly explainable, mind-bogglingly complex, and utterly beautiful miracle.  To think that Stephanie and John, starting from a single cell, were able to, in nine months, cook up a perfectly formed mini-human is incredible. It's akin to a skyscraper, with a built-in set of blueprints, assembling itself from the dirt of it's foundation.  A building which then adapts to it's surroundings and grows ever more complex as time goes on.  That's miraculous at first blush.  Then add to that the fact that even the process of self-assembling humans has itself been tweaked, evolved, and self-assembled from chaos, and you have one the most beautiful, unlikely and elegant miracles in any corner of the universe.

This was the first time I'd seen a baby fresh from the pot.  It's amazing how alert and engaged he already was.  When he wasn't sleeping, Jackson would look at you, react to you, and smile (I swear we saw him do it.)  He was already finger-gripping and murmuring to himself.  With all that can go wrong in development, it's awe-inspiring that so many babies, like Jackson, come out flawless.  It's a perfect demonstration of the potency and resilience of life.

Welcome to the world, Jackson.

Don't take any wooden nickels.

Stephanie Bloom Miller

Today is my sister's birthday - Happy Birthday Steph! Since this is a blog all about the positive, I can't think of a better place or time to call out Steph for being one the coolest people I know. It also doesn't hurt that she's one of our regular readers, so I know she'll see this.

Bloom. Bloom Miller. Miller. Mamabird. Whatever you prefer these days. You're an awesome chick. You've always been your own person, and you the older you get the more you distinguish yourself. No matter what role you take on in life, you take it on with gusto and passion, and claim it wholeheartedly as your own. As a hipster in high school and college, you embodied the image without being a caricature. As a waitress you were loved, as the bottles of Dom Perignon gifted by grateful customers attest. You seem to know as much, if not more, than most dental surgeons, without a day of schooling. You're a photographer, a gardener and a pet therapist, all claimed with equal vigor. As a sister, you're devoted and thoughtful, and I can say with no reservations that once you formally step into the role of "Mommy" you'll do a smashing job.

I've had the pleasure of knowing you your whole life, and most of mine. I've seen some pretty poor examples of sibling relationships over the years, and I'm pretty blessed to have been able to grow up with you as a friend. I'm quite sure I wouldn't be half the person I am today if I hadn't had you around. I have friends that grew up as only children, and I'm glad that wasn't something I had to face. Having a sibling around helped kill boredom and turned everyday into a play date. I can't imagine having grown up any other way. And of all the 29,000,000,000,000 alternate genetic combinations Mom and Dad could have scrambled out back in 1977, none could have been better than you.

Happy Birthday Steph. I'm glad to be your brother, and I'm glad that I can make you "Positive Thing Number 101." Love you.

Nine day tills Babybird rocks the mic.

If You've Got Good Friends...

...you don't need much else.  This is going to be a short entry tonight because it's late and I have to get up early to meet with my accountant to finish my taxes.

What?  Taxes isn't the subject of tonight's entry?  Why else you would mention them in your introductory paragraph?

Tonight's entry is a simple truism, but one that everyone can appreciate.  Like Kate said, we had a few friends over for a hanging out and "oh, look...the Superbowl's on" party.  And earlier in the day Kate and I attended my sister's baby shower (men, I've discovered that baby showers are exactly like regular parties, except there is a lot more talk about breast pumps, stretch marks, and the relative benefits of differing lotions and skin balms.)

It was a great day filled with great people, great conversation, and barely a single morsel of food that wasn't intended to be dipped in another foodstuff.  Really, great friends and family are what make life interesting.  It's easy to get trapped in your own stuff sometimes and forget to reach out, but keeping important people in your life and around you is the secret to happiness.  One of them, at least.

Uncle Jason

My sister Stephanie and brother-in-law John are due to give birth to her first child about a month from tomorrow, which would make me, for the first time in my life, an uncle.  It hadn't really hit me until today, the day before Steph's baby shower, how close it is, and how cool it's going to be.

I can't wait to meet Baby Bird (that's what Steph and John are calling her because they don't know the sex) for the first time.  Meet her for real.  I met her once in a dream I had a few months ago, but in the dream she was a seven year old African American girl named Latifah.  I hold this up as an example of the uncanny predictive powers of dreams.

Kate's nephews also call me Uncle Jason, but this will be the first time a blood relative will be able to use that name.  And I've been thinking about what kind of uncle I'll be.  Off the bat, I know I'll be the uncle that makes coins vanish, and then miraculously reappear from Baby Bird's ears.  Over and over again.  I remember my Uncle Gary that way, and I've always wanted to play that role.  And I'm sure later in life I'll be the uncle that cracks goofy jokes all the time.  Jokes that he thinks are funny but are completely lost on Baby Bird...mainly because they aren't actually funny.

Ultimately I hope I can be the kind of uncle that, once Latifah has grown up and become her own person, she'll remember, think is still cool even though he's a crotchety old man, and have fond memories of.  Gad, I'm talking as if I'll be dead...

What I want it to be cool, funny uncle Jason.  The uncle that Latifah would want to be when she grows up if it weren't biologically impossible for to do so.

Tea Please

I so enjoy a hot or cold cup of tea. It's the perfect caffeinated beverage, I probably average 5 cups of tea a day. My favorite present this holiday was a single cup tea brewer from Stephanie and John, Jason's sister and brother-in-law. They sell them at Teavana (the Mecca of all Tea Shops). I say that even though I've only ventured in there once. After I got the brewer I needed more loose tea options, so I went in and was immediately enthralled by all the tea selections. I am also a big fan of honey in my tea. I don't do sugar or cream anymore. I can also do a nice flavored tea by itself sometimes. Jasmine is one my favorites. Currently I'm into the loose Samurai Chai from Teavana. It's considered a mate, which gives you a nice balanced high without any of the jitters. It's been pretty good to me at work lately. I am also real into white and green teas, and I think the next kind I'm going to try is an Oolong tea. These teas are really good for you. Some are known to lower your cholestrol, help burn calories,and a lot contain antioxidants and great minerals and vitamins. Anyway, tea is great and I enjoy consuming it everyday. Oh, Oh have I mentioned the scents, the aromas are intoxicating. Good gift for Kate... loose tea and honey.