a few things:

i just found out about dark shadows tonight and i can't believe it, i'm so excited... michelle fucking pfeiffer, i love her... wish i could go see it with certain people that i miss and love

when i googled dark shadows just now i accidentally googled dark angels and i ended up watching this

tonight i watched the season finale of parks and rec and it was fantastic (i was a little concerned with how heavy-handed ron was being but then when he said "i've had 15 whiskeys tonight" or something like that it made it all ok)... we couldn't believe the news about the nbc cancellations, but maybe it's for the best, things don't stay good forever... these shows will go out with a bang

i really really enjoyed the last 30rock, the queen of jordan one, it was pretty brilliant

i really am happy with my haircut and this new stylist i found... she complemented my hair color and i was like "even with all the greys?" and she was like, "that's what i meant, it's coming in nicely"... i love her

amy poehler for president!

the real president openly supports gay marriage, yay! (seriously- yay!)

the thing about having no curtains- besides feeling weird about going into the kitchen in my underwear- is that, when i'm taking pictures of myself in my living room, people walking by could totally see me

this saturday i will pick up my new (old) bike, i'm really happy about that

tgif tomorrow, guys!

i really kinda do think this is a good picture of me

the upcoming weekend holds for me: gnocchi, hanging out at my friend's house who lives in the country and has a goat, a party, productivity, a "new" bike, A PET EXPO, late night productivity, an annual meeting, PERFECT WEATHER, watering plants and feeding fish- and definitely seems to be calling for a sunday matinee of dark shadows

(shoot, i just realized it's not quite the weekend yet)

peace and love,
-jenna

ps- i have a friend who is moving to vermont and selling all her shit and i just bought the most darling blonde double-decker end table from her

pps- i have fish now, it's a long story, but they are pretty awesome, somehow totally worth having another thing to take care of

got a good haircut today, and it's wicked good for a half-pony

denim makers of the world, enough with the faux fading already!!!

trend i will be participating in: wedge sneakers (whatever)

trend i will not be participating in: uneven hem dresses (the ones that are way longer in the back, i hate them so much)

yes, i'm the kind of person that buys doggie froyo (huck is enjoying one right now)

i'm really glad nick offerman reminded me that i am beautiful and to stop looking in the mirror b/c i was picking at my face a little today and i have a red spot on my chin and i've been breaking out a lot lately and i might be feeling kinda bad about myself but i'm not... i have my outfit all picked out for tomorrow and it's really cute... ok, to bed!

this video is awesome, this song is awesome, aubrey plaza is awesome

JESUS CHRIST, GIRL

I AM GOING TO SEE NICK OFFERMAN TOMORROW!!!

tomorrow i will drive to ames with my friends mike and jeremiah and we will go sit in the third row of an auditorium at the university and on the stage will be... NICK OFFERMAN!!!

omg i'm so fucking excited!!!

so it seems appropriate to post tonight all the little offerman tidbits (mmm... offerman tidbits...) that i have collected from the google alerts i get about him each day

first of all:

 

 SHIRTLESS!!!

ok, take a minute to compose yourself...

so i guess he did a show at largo in l.a. recently in which he removed his shirt... please please please please please let this happen tomorrow, i will never ask for anything else in life ever

my god he is a beautiful man

this girl is apparently as obsessed with offerman as i am... her post makes me really excited about the show, it would be AMAZING if megan was there, but i don't think she will be... this tumblr girl notes how one of nick's many attractive qualities is that "he hero-worships his wife"... it's so true, in almost every interview he gives he manages to slip in a line or two about how amazingly talented and beautiful his wife is... it's so hot

speaking of megan and speaking of hot, how banging is she in this picture?

yum.

nick and megan were recently at sundance for their movie "smashed" and this happened:

SHIRTLESS AGAIN!!!

oh, nick, you are so funny! also, that scarf looks hand-knit... i'm going to tell myself that megan knit it for him b/c that thought makes me happy

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS? it's pretty much the best thing ever for many reasons, including these: offerman is hotter than ever and megan says "darwin was a douche"... it merits several screen shots, enjoy:

anywho...

i'm wicked excited for the show tomorrow... my most recent offerman google alert led me to a report on a show he did the other night at ohio state... apparently there will be a lot of sex talk, much to my delight...

"I want to assure you that most handcraft disciplines are not nerdy, they are actually super sexy," Offerman said. "Handcrafts take a little patience and a little practice, not unlike the art of oral sex."

"We would kneel face-to-face and pray for the strength to resist, all the while drinking deep of each others musk … then we would fuck," Offerman said. "We would scrump and munch upon one another with pure animal abandon, and then we would cry some more and pray for forgiveness."

and of course, hero-worship of his wife...

"I don't know what I did to end up with a ridiculously hot goddess as my bride," Offerman said. "But I do know that it helps that I'm helplessly devoted to her. It's cute, it's sappy, suck it."

AND THIS: 

"Offerman also encouraged students to listen to Tom Waits, read Wendell Berry, and stay away from  mirrors. 'All the companies that sell you shit, the mirror is their conduit into your house,' Offerman said. 'Guess what people, you're fucking beautiful. Quit looking in the mirror and go make a goddamn chair.'" 

IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE GOING TO A CHURCH WHERE THE MINISTER IS SUPER HOT AND HAS REALLY AWESOME THINGS TO SAY

omg i'm so fucking excited!!!

i'm gonna bring my copy of american craft magazine (thanks, danielle!) (offerman's on the cover of the recent issue) in case i get the opportunity to have him sign something... i'm also going to give him some tomato seeds from work because i think he will appreciate them and i'm a nerd

btw: i know this post makes me look like a crazy stalker fan, whatevs

ps: "bowling for votes" was probably the best parks&rec episode ever

"this bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in pawnee" - ron

i totally wanted to change the name of this blog to iwanttogotothere but some girl already has it of course and she hasn't even posted on it since 2010... blergh!

guess what? more resolutions!

i forgot to include these things on my resolution list (i know it’s already a very long list, but these things are important and btw, i’m thinking that this resolution list will last me a few years anyway)

(1) host more parties… i’m thinking a party per season

i did have a party this month… i had wanted to have a holiday party but that didn’t happen (in a town like this it’s especially difficult to schedule a holiday party b/c every weekend of the holiday season is already taken up by someone’s annual shindig... this isn’t a bad thing of course, but it’s true)… i mostly wanted people to come over and appreciate my christmas tree before i took it down… and then i noticed friday the 13th was coming up and that seemed like a good night for a party (and my tree just barely hung on until then)… i was worried about having an indoor party (i’ve only ever had one other big party here and it was my birthday party which is in june so the party was outside)… my house is so small and i ended up inviting like a hundred people… of course they didn’t all come, but many did… but we all fit and it was a great party…

the menu: white wine sangria, 7-layer bean dip, my famous greek cheese ball, onion dip, pickles, cream cheese brownies, goat cheese and ground cherry jam, and i tried to make a jello mustache with the mustache mold my friend gave me but i failed (note to self: master the art of jello molds)

here are some pictures! (look, girls, i posted to flickr! not the pics you were probably hoping for, but they’ll come, really i promise)

my next party will be a “bridesmaids, brownies, and booze” party… i wanted to organize this when bridesmaids was in the theater but that didn’t happen... but i’ve been talking it up a lot recently so i need to make it happen

other party plans: brunch party! and “good crafternoon!” (this will be a crafting party obs and i plan to have many of them… i want to have one under the big burr oak in the community prairie)

a note on parties: i love hostessing… however, while i enjoy having people in my house, it’s a little difficult for me when they touch my stuff… i have a lot of beloved knick knacks and i’m very particular about how they are placed in my space… of course i love to have people appreciate my things, but it’s so strange to me that someone would pick an object up and then just put it randomly down in a different place or position… however, i realize this makes me a little crazy… i have enough perspective to recognize that the enjoyment i get from having guests is more important than the minor anxiety it causes me when i see that my refrigerator magnets have been rearranged (that’s super crazy that that bothers me, right?)… it's good for me to have people touching my stuff, it’s a practice in letting go of this silly quirk of mine… but i do go around the entire house afterward and put everything back in it’s proper place :)

(2) be better about picking up after myself…

i often let folded laundry sit on the couch for way too long and stuff is always piling up on the dining table and pretty much all other surfaces and i am the worst about putting my dirty clothes in the hamper… i love it when the house is neat, the clutter drives me nuts… it gets to where i feel anxious and then it takes me like an entire day to clean the house… but i get lazy and don’t put my makeup away after i’m done playing with it and it sits on the bathroom sink for a week and once there’s a little bit of clutter it seems to attract more clutter… and i’m always like, “self, if you would just take the extra two seconds to put things away, the clutter wouldn’t build up!”… i need to start listening to myself

(3) get involved in occupy decorah

yep, there’s an occupy decorah… my brother really enjoyed learning about this when i was home at chistmas and when i showed him the picture of the small circle of people holding signs in front of the court house, he found it very funny (but he also really appreciated it)… it might be a small group, but it’s growing… there are some awesome people getting together with the hope of making positive change and i totally support that… they meet on saturdays though and i always forget to go… and also, getting involved in occupy is in conflict with my “don’t take on any more commitments” resolution… but i’d like to be involved in some way

(4) be more like leslie knope, duh

"you know what? no i’m not... i'm not sorry... this guy, he was drunk and he was aggressive and he was rude and he was foul-mouthed and he called me by my second least favorite term for a woman... and my campaign manager punched him... i have to be honest, it was awesome, and my campaign manager and i made out a lot afterward..."

also, be a little bit more like liz lemon, double duh

OH HEY GUYS, PS: if you were at my party and touched my stuff, please do not take offense, i'm so glad you are my friend and you can come over and move my stuff around whenever, i recognize that this whole deal with needing to have all my knick knacks in place is wicked crazy

dan and ira talk about f*rts

just got back from a walk with huck during which i listened to the savage lovecast episode 276

i could probably post after listening to every episode of the lovecast (and i have listened to every single episode), noting something interesting i learned, commenting on how wonderfully crazy human sexuality is, and gushing about how much i love dan savage... but this episode is particularly great b/c dan has ira glass as a guest host! dan and ira! they are buddies (dan's been on TAL a few times) and ira's mom, dr. shirley glass, was the "the godmother of infidelity research" so dan wanted to have ira keep up the family tradition of dishing out sex and relationship advice

of course it's great fun to hear dan and ira joking around together, but i also think they have a wonderful conversation (at the top of the podcast and throughout) about marriage/monogamy (and non monogamy within a marriage or, as dan says, "monogamish" relationships) that is really grounded and thoughtful and well worth a listen for anyone who is a human being

they also talk about farts

ps- i used the dragon dictation iphone app to record some thoughts while i was walking and it won't write "fart"... it writes "f*rt"... since when is fart a four letter word? it will however write "crap"

personalized blog appearance with marimekko's mansikkavuoret print, a classic!

my thoughts on project runway all stars

i just watched the first episode while washing dishes

i like the designers and i'm excited for the competition, but i had no idea about the new judges- at first i was like "but my nina and michael!", then i was like...

"isaac!!! omg!!! i'm so happy!!!" 

seriously, he is saving this show b/c the rest of the substitutes are pretty lame (at the end when austin's like "um, it's austin scarlett" and isaac's like "oh, did i say STARLET?"... gold!)

who is this second-rate heidi?

she seems very nice but couldn't they have found someone with more personality?

and you know, it didn't occur to me right away, but then i was like, "oh yeah, no tim!!!" what a bummer... and what's-her-face from marie claire seems like she would be the worst mentor, she has no warmth

anyway, that's my two cents for now...

ps- can i do april hair? (i already know the answer is "no" but i wish)

(this is the color i've been daydreaming for a while, but i know i can't pull it off, i don't have the right skin tone... sigh)

Flow: Heavy, Mood: Irritable, Cramps: Severe, Backache: Mild

the title of this post is the description of yesterday on iPeriod, my iphone menstrual cycle tracking app… yes, this is the kind of blog in which i will talk openly about my menstrual cycle

yesterday was awful, i had the WORST CRAMPS IN THE WORLD, which is what i say every month on the first day of my cycle and it’s true- there were a few hours in the afternoon when i had to periodically put my head down on my desk the pain was so bad, i really considered going home- i probably should have b/c i was in such a bad mood- usually my worst cramps come in the middle of the night which is like a terrible nightmare, but at least my co-workers aren’t around then for me to be bitchy to- i don’t think i was actually bitchy to anyone but i was grumpy- and there was one point when my coworker asked me to problem-solve something in the database and my brain just wouldn’t function, i actually cried a tiny bit and it was nothing worth crying over… SO DUMB! today hasn’t been great either: Flow: Heavy, Mood: Irritable, Cramps: Medium, Backache: Mild… a little less irritable and the pain wasn’t nauseating but still sucky

so, i didn’t make it to the gym today or yesterday (frowny face) because i was so uncomfortable and there’s no way i’m working out in public with a Heavy Flow but i did go three days this week so i’m calling that a success! and while i didn’t make it to the gym, i did give huck a long walk both days- the walk i like to do, the walk i should do every day, is up broadway to phelps park (which has a beautiful view overlooking the community prairie and the upper iowa) and then back down, around the middle school, and back home- it takes about 25-30 minutes and it’s very enjoyable- and b/c the days are getting longer, i was able to catch the very end of the sunset by the time i got to phelps- ooh aah sunset over the river, sigh

walking huck gives me a chance to catch up on my podcasts- when i first moved here i was so good about walking huck for like an hour every day after work b/c i had so much time b/c my life here hadn’t really started yet- and then when i first moved into my house and was painting and stuff all the time, i listened to podcasts for hours a day- now i usually only listen on walks and long drives and sometimes when i’m puttering around the house- i listen to so many good ones- i won’t list them now, that’s another post altogether- but one of them is radiolab, duh- tonight i listened to a recent radiolab on “loops” and is was so good (duh)- you should listen to it- all i’m gonna say is “whale fall”

i need to always remember to bring my phone with me on walks though- not necessarily to make phone calls, although a walk can be a good time to catch up with friends- but to take notes- i didn’t have it with me yesterday and i had a list of like ten things i was trying to remember by the time i got home, it was getting hard to listen to my podcast- and i also need the phone to take pictures- there is always at least one cool thing to take a picture of on a walk and it’s such a bummer to be without a camera- here are some photos i took tonight:

(hipstamatic seems like such a cheap trick but whatever, sometimes it just gets things so right- that's the entrance to phelps, a little bit of blue sky in the back)

(this one's not hipstamatic, just regular iphone, hipstamatic couldn't get this one- do you see the trees here? the trees are the best part)

it’s been really warm these past couple days- i was so confused when i left the office yesterday b/c the parking lot was all wet but it hadn’t rained, it took me a minute to realize it was b/c all the ice had melted- it also smelled like cow poop… i want it to be crunchy under my feet in january, not muddy- muddy is for springtime

the nice thing about evening walks this time of year is that people still have their christmas lights up- it’s so pretty- part of me wishes people would hang lights on their houses all year but another part of me likes that there’s just a special time of year for it- my christmas lights are still up too:

i’m going to take them down after my friday the 13th party (it’s not a theme btw, it just happens to be on friday the 13th), but i’m thinking of keeping the white lights around the door up forever

ok, so the whole truth about why i didn’t get up to go to the gym the past two days is that in addition to SUFFERING FROM MY PERIOD, i also made the mistake of downloading a free version of the sims on my phone and it’s so dumb, but i find it really enjoyable- so i've been staying up too late... it'll pass... here are two of my sims having sex outside LOL:

BYE!

(one more, it's a posty night) OFFERMAN LOVE

you probably know this b/c i never shut up about it, but if you don't know you should know that i have the hugest crush in the world on NICK OFFERMAN and i imagine that many posts on this blog will be devoted to how sexy and amazing he is- i am going to just ignore the risk that i will probably end up sounding like a crazy person and go forth expressing my love freely and with abandon

here is a picture of the object of my desire that was printed recently in playboy magazine- enjoy!

omgomgomg

wallets

my little brother made me this badass duct tape wallet for xmas, i really wish it was big enough to hold bills b/c i actually need a new wallet ♥

but since its incredible dearness does not alas make it functional, i have my eye on this instead:

 

what it lacks in heart, it makes up for in functionality and beauty- look, it holds your iphone! 

caaaaaauuuuuuuuccccuuuuusssss!

just back from cock-assing! (i've been restraining myself from making that joke on facebook, good thing i have a blog!) it was a wonderful experience... there were no candidates to vote on for the democrats this year, so after electing delegates* to the county convention and such, we discussed and voted on platform resolutions- this was the really wonderful part, to hear my friends and neighbors put forth thoughtful and important resolutions, to actively support them with a hardy "yes!"... there are good people doing good things, don't forget it! i myself did not put forth a resolution tonight- i wasn't exactly sure what i was in for and when it comes to things like this, i am shy unless i've done some work and thinking on my own beforehand (which i did not), but there are other opportunities as the process continues to put forth resolutions and i may do so...

for some dumb reason though, i did not have any lip balm in my pockets tonight so that was uncomfortable

btw- i went to the gym again this morning! but i did have culver's for dinner... baby steps!

*i will be one- there were other positions that needed to be filled as well, be these required more of a commitment of time and energy- there was a little bit of very kindly arm-twisting done to fill these and i felt a little guilty not raising my hand (especially b/c there was a push for the younger participants especially to volunteer)- but i was serious about my resolution not to take on new commitments (of course there will be some, but i have to be thoughtful about them and i can't say "yes" to everything)... i already feel a little stretched thin in honoring the commitments i have already established... taking on too much makes you not much good at anything, and not very happy

a good day

a quick post b/c i'm just returning from a potluck and it's almost time for lights out

an amazing potluck in a beautiful home (two log cabins smacked together), good people, delicious food of course (decorah rules potlucks), and i learned my new favorite game, it's called PICTIONARY TELEPHONE and i'm going to bring it to all my friends (all you need is paper and pencils and you will laugh a lot), and i had some wine, and i made domestic goddess brownies and everyone loved them and i made new friends

and there is still not enough snow but even though it was insanely windy and cold today i am happy for it because it feels like winter, as it should, and on the drive home the car lights made everything sparkle

AND i am proud of myself b/c i did get up and go to the gym at 6am this morning- well, 6:20... i did lie in bed and contemplate it for a while but i really want to be proud of myself so i got up and it wasn't terrible- and huck got a longer than usual walk this afternoon- but i didn't have a very good breakfast b/c i really need to go grocery shopping... but the point was not to make all these changes at once, the point is to set big goals and make at least a little bit of progress every day, to work towards establishing new habits

i wish i could take a day off and clean my house, just sayin

new year's day

one of the problems with the new year is that you have these ideas that you will wake up on new year’s day feeling productive and motivated to start making the changes you set for yourself, but the truth is, you drank a lot of champagne on new year’s eve, so you’re too hung over to do much except stay in bed and catch up on “work of art”

but, you can’t be too hard on yourself because it is important to celebrate… and it’s important to have relaxing days on which you sleep until noon and go to a friend’s house to eat black-eyed peas & collards* and knit and play dominoes (and huck got to spend some time with his bff penny)

however, i am disappointed that i missed the silent service at church this morning, but they aren’t kidding about champagne headaches- ouch

last night turned out to be a really good new year’s eve… i was having a hard time rallying, despite the fact that two wonderful friends of mine hosted a lovely party with delicious snacks and rosemary martinis… despite the fact that i was wearing silver leggings and my awesome plastic charm necklace… still, i was headed towards my usual new year's blues until (at a second party now, a more intimate one), we started a living room dance party ten minutes before midnight… we danced in the new year, passing around the champagne bottle… and there were party poppers with confetti and i wasn’t sad at all

so i’m feeling good and grateful for my friends here in iowa… but also wishing that i had been able to dive into the icy atlantic this morning with katy & danielle… sigh, you can’t have it all

and i was even a little productive tonight and it looks like i’ll have the lights out by 11, go me! it’ll be interesting to see if i can actually make myself get up at 6 tomorrow… discipline!

*apparently this is a traditional southern meal for new year’s day- the black-eyed peas are supposed to bring you luck and the collards are supposed to bring you money… although i think we actually ate kale… there was ham in there too… and we also ate pizza… and chocolate ice cream on pancakes