Irene Aftermath

So proud to say that this is where I grew up! Vermont is an amazing place and my heart goes out to everyone there that was affected by the hurricane!

XOXO

Freedom To Marry

Saw this video on TV and had to share...



I thought these two guys were so adorable. Can you imagine being with the same person for 61 years! That truly is amazing.

Take action here:

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/entry/c/new-york

Also...this is so true, it made me smile!

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljklikYAn41qaon3no1_500.jpg

Lots of Love,
Jamie

Into this song lately

Saw this and liked it

Weekend in Massachusetts

Kombucha Tea from Whole Foods on tap...delicious!






Beach on Cape Cod





Caroline in the car because it was freezing and windy!










Me on the beach

Us on the beach!


I also saw my first cranberry bog, which was so cool and very red...I love cranberry juice and its hard to imagine it comes from here!





Out to dinner with Lauren and Caroline at a fancy restaurant




What a fun weekend in Massachusetts!

(Not pictured was food and wine at P.F. Chang's, where our waiter was hitting on Caroline and kept sitting down at our table...so annoying and not cool. Also not pictured was brunch with my college roommate Karen. It was so fun to catch-up with friends from college and spend some time in Mass.)

Really cute proposal video

Proposal Video from Behind the Scenes on Vimeo.

Liked this and wanted to share

A businessman was at the pier of the small Tuvaluan island when a boat with a fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were fish. The businessman complimented the Tuvaluan on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Tuvaluan said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of you time? The Tuvaluan fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, Puna, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitars with my friends; I have a full and busy life."

The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You could sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would need to leave this small fishing island-nation and move to Australia, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Tuvaluan fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take? To which the businessman replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, sir? The businessman laughed and said, "Thats the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and make millions, flying around on your own corporate jet!" "Millions, sir? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing island where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

-Author Unknown

Me Right Now

Just finished reading the new Jodi Picoult book, Sing You Home, which was interesting because it comes with an original CD of music written by the author to listen to during certain sections of the book. I wonder if this will become a new trend, mixing books with music.

Went for a one mile run yesterday with Olive. Ran one mile in nine minutes. Felt good, but it was still a little cold out. Want to go again, maybe without Olive and see how it goes. She did pretty well though and I think it tired her out.

Shawn taught me how to make meatballs over the phone yesterday, while he was driving home from work, so that I could start dinner. They came out good, but not quite as good as his in my opinion. He did not agree. I still need work on rolling the meatballs into neater balls haha.

Shawn and I have been talking on the phone more, which is funny since we live together. We have also been following the news closely since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. It is weird to go about your normal life, when theirs have just been turned upside down.

Went to visit my best friend Caroline last weekend in Massachusetts for the weekend. I took the train and read on the way there and back. Who knew that Amtrak had a really good cheese and cracker snack on their trains? It even had Vermont cheddar and my favorite tea crackers.

Over the weekend, Caroline and I took a drive to Cape Cod and checked out some interesting shops and went for a very short walk on the windy beach. We also went out for a fancy girls dinner, with quite a spectacular dessert of frozen chocolate mousse with pretzel infused whipped cream and crumbled peanut butter and pretzel on the city. The wine was good too. Sunday was a really delicious French Brunch with my college roommate Karen. Drank lots of Kombucha tea from Whole Foods. They have it on tap there and give it to you in Mason Jars with lids. I was very excited about my new jar!

Have done my 35 minute 6-week 6-pack ab video on and off, but still are no where near having a 6-pack. I want to keep doing it though, even if it does not result in a 6-pack.

Shawn and I have been talking a lot and thinking a lot about the future, regarding where we want to live and when we want to have a baby. It's fun to think about and make plans, and feel like you are on the same page with someone else.

We still find endless entertainment in Olive. Her paws, her face, how she runs around the apartment, puts herself to bed and moves her water bowl around when its empty, will always be amusing and funny to us I think. She had a bath tonight.

I do miss my mom's new dog Jodie. I really wish we lived maybe only 3 hours, instead of over 6 hours away, so that we could see eachother more often.

We are hoping for a low-key weekend this weekend. We have a birthday party to go to in Long Island, cleaning and are hoping to go on a date together on Sunday. I am thinking bowling and dinner...maybe pizza...would be a fun night out.

March is going by very fast, which is good and bad. Good because we are getting closer to warm weather and spring, but bad because I have a magazine article due in April at work and need more time to work on it so far! Let's hope it gets done, it always seems to get done in the end, right?

Also, recently read Jonathan Frazen's Freedom and am currently reading The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards, the author of the Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Am very into Adele lately. Listen to Rolling in the Deep. Awesome song!

Broadway Show: Billy Elliot

My uncle (Mason Roberts or Robert Mason, depending how you know him) is currently in the Broadway show Billy Elliot. The show started in Chicago and I was lucky enough to go see it over Thanksgiving right before it left Chicago to move to Toronto.

The show will be in Toronto until July, so I highly recommend trying to see it if you can. It was a very moving show, one that makes you laugh and cry and everything in between. I was really blown away by how good it was when I saw it. It was an inspiring story and the dancing and music was amazing. Of course, we really enjoyed it because we knew someone in the show, got to go back stage afterwards and even had seats in the third row!


The show just opened in Toronto and Sir Elton John was there for the opening. Here is a picture from the Globe and Mail where you can see my uncle on stage with Elton John. My uncle is the second male on the right and he is smiling :)

You can also read about the opening night here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/theatre/elton-john-graces-toronto-red-carpet-at-billy-elliot-gala/article1925926/

So proud of you Uncle Bob. Love you and miss you so much!

Here are the pictures from when I went to see the show in Chicago.

(My uncle and I before the show)



(My uncle and my mom before the show)


(On the stage after the show!)


(My uncle, my mom and I on stage)

(My uncles clothes for the show!)



(Dinner after the show with my aunt, uncles, cousins and my mom)


(Love him!)

(Two of my favorite people and me!)

Olive meets her new friend Jordie!!

My Mom just got a new dog, Jordie. She is part beagle and seven years old. She is so adorable and such a good little girl. This weekend Shawn and I and Olive all got to meet our newest family member and we all fell in love with her!


Olive and Jordie running free outside




Jordie on the couch (Olive taught her to sleep up there hehe)



Look at this beautiful face!





Cuddling together on the couch after a long day of playing






Cuddling up to me!




They can run so fast!

Digging through the snow







Following close behind my mom while we were snow-shoeing in the woods



This is how we found them while we were enjoying our delicious homemade chili for lunch!

We love you Jordie, welcome to the family. Olive misses you already :)

This is awesome

Quotes about Relationships

Since it is Valentine's Day tomorrow, thought I should share these quotes that were posted on Oprah.com about relationships and marriage.

"People who say they knew right away are lying! It's a marathon, not a sprint." — Denzel Washington

"Marriage is a subject that does not give way to analysis, sadly. Who should I marry? You can make all the charts and have all the discussions, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I knew I felt right, and that's all you have. Marriage is a big bet. It's the only bet of its kind, one in which you say, "This feels right...I think I'll change everything.'" — Jerry Seinfeld

"Relationships are about kindness. You have to constantly watch what you say and how you say it." — Barbra Streisand

"There's nothing worth arguing about. I married a sensible, intelligent person, and if we want this thing to work bad enough, then it can. It's very logical. Making her happy or making her laugh is a priority." — Jay Leno

"[I realized] she didn't expect me to always have an answer for her. She wasn't coming to me for a repair. She just needed a shoulder to cry on. From then on, my relationship with my wife, with my mother, female friends, sisters, has opened up. They have become more honest, and we've gotten to know one another better. I'm no longer afraid to not know." — Blair Underwood

"When I love somebody, I like him to be around; I like him to take me out to dinner; I like to look at the sunset with him. But if not, I love him and I hope he's looking at the same sun I am. Loving someone liberates the lover as well as the beloved. And that kind of love comes with age." — Maya Angelou

TED Talk

I found this TED talk about the balance between work and life to be very inspiring, especially when he said: "If you don't design your life, someone else will design it for you and you may not like their idea of balance."

Let's Make a Baby and Cute Baby Video

How funny is this website!

http://host-d.oddcast.com/babymaker/demo/

You can make your own baby, without making an actual baby with pictures of Mom and Dad.

Here's what me and Shawn's baby would look like according to this website! haha



So cute! I can't wait to have a baby someday! In other cute baby news, this video is awesome and so funny! I love that this Dad did this.

Baby's First Audition from alex on Vimeo.