Jessica Thinks

Earlier this week I went to pump gas and all I had was cash so I had to go into the store to pay. The young man behind the counter was polite and the transaction was quick. Because I was fresh from work I ended the short conversation by saying "Have a good day!" in my best customer service voice and his response was "Alright." It struck me as odd, mostly because his inflection was of someone being given directions and agreeing to follow them in a half hearted and resigned way. Maybe no one else told him to have a good day so he hadn't thought about it, and then he felt like he should just because I told him to with such enthusiasm. Does it make your day in any way if someone tells you, "Have a good day!" Is it an annoyance, or do you even notice those little polite sayings when you are busily running through your day?

I know it is cliché, but I have to do it. A New Year’s post. Time slips by quicker every year. A year is nothing anymore. Plans fly away on pieces of paper, never completed. Days and weeks fly by and my kids grow and the opportunity to “Raise” them flies right out the window. Work turns into life and weekends are for rest instead of fun. But as I look back on the year, there were some pretty cool things going on in life. We started off the year on wobbly legs feeling some growing pains within our family. And that is a large suitcase to unpack. So, we will leave that alone. I took Kayla, Christa and Jonathan to see their favorite comedian, Chris D’elia in San Francisco and we had a fun adventure walking and then taking an Uber around the area. We also sat in the front row and drank root beer floats. It was awesome. Abby turned 9 and I took her to the American Girl store for her birthday and we spent forever walking around trying to decide what she wanted to get, and we got he...

I picked up this audio book because it was Reese Witherspoon's Book Club selection for the month. I didn't realize it was a prequel to Practical Magic until I was ready to click "order," and I could not have been more excited to read it. I LOVE that movie. So much so that I had everyone in my wedding walk out to a song from the soundtrack for that movie. I love that my niece is named Jillian because of that movie. (I mean I love it because of that, not that she was named that because of the movie....or was she? little Jillybean!) That movie was where I discovered Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks.. Talk about a great soundtrack! All of this to say, I was thrilled about this book. Practical Magic follows the lives of Gillian and Sally Owens and The Rules of Magic gives us more Owens family history with a look into the early lives of the Aunts that raise Gillian and Sally after their parents fall victim to the Owens curse. Most of this review is based on the assumpti...

I have so much to say, I hope I can organize my thoughts here into something that makes a little bit of sense. Keep in mind this is not a news blog, this is an opinion blog. So, what I have to say is based on what I have heard, and how it has made me feel. For me this storm of debauchery began with the #metoo campaign. Watching all of the women I know pour out their experiences to support each other and put it out there that we are not alone. I appreciate all of you in your bravery and openness. The many allegations against Harvey Weinstein became the focus shortly after that, letting us know that even celebrities are not exempt from the shit we all have to go through as women. We also saw that it takes a lot of women standing together to be taken seriously and if you are not the "right type" of woman, you might as well keep it to yourself until someone more reputable shines a light on the asshole who hurt you. The Courtney Loves and Rose McGowans of the industry were not...

The time has come. The end is near. Your days are numbered Mr. Claus. I have one rule in my home about the holidays: "If you do not  believe , you do not receive! " This rule came about because of the age differences in our kids. With the oldest being 25 and the youngest not quite ten, I had to figure out how to save the spirit of our Holidays for the younger kids.  I have been pleasantly surprised with the adhesiveness of this rule. My kids may have doubted the existence of the man in red on more than one occasion, only for their beliefs to be bolstered by their older siblings. There's something about seeing your 16 year old sisters excitedly clamor for their chance to have their picture taken with the big man at your traditional "Breakfast with Santa" that nullifies the nagging doubt that the little brats in class stuck in your head. But alas, the illusion can only last for so long, no matter how hard your Mom shoves the mythical man's existenc...

It has been 1 year 10 months and 5 days since my last cigarette and 3 days since the last time I had one in a dream. I do not crave them anymore, but I do miss the break from life that they provided at times. Maybe that's a lie. I do crave them when it is cold and raining, but I don't actually want one, I just love the feeling of blowing the smoke into the cool moist air and how it hangs there longer and seems like so much more than it is because your breath is also visible on days like that. But, those days also trap the smell in your clothes and amplify it when you return to the warm dry indoors. I hate the smell of them. Which is hard when my husband still smokes. It's a little unreasonable to ask him to brush his teeth, wash his face and hands and change his clothes every time he comes back inside from smoking, so I just deal with it as best I can. I can immediately tell if a person smokes when they walk past me in the store, or walk up to my counter at work. You can...

This photo has nothing to do with this post, it's just pretty! You may have noticed a title change to the blog as well as a URL change. I tried to get everything to match, but someone else holds the URL I wanted for the direct link to my blog. so https:www.jessicathinksblog.blogspot.com it is! But, you can get here by typing in www.jessicathinks.com which is pretty cool. I'm attempting to post more, because I feel that I need a project or a goal in order to keep myself occupied.  I think that we all come to a point in our lives where the number of people who care what we think or what we have to say takes a sudden hit and whether we want to admit it or not, our opinions need validation, or at the very least open reception. Being heard is a basic human need. There is a reason why spiritual peoples who give up human comforts often times give up speaking. They are forced into keeping all thoughts to themselves, which probably enhances the idea that they are communing...

I won't say how old I was when I stopped believing this; I thought for a long time that people were saying "beauty is in the eye of the holder." To me that meant that you could only be beautiful if you saw yourself as beautiful. You are the holder of your image and if you see that image as beautiful then it would be true.  I now know that the saying goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," meaning the person looking upon you has the control of whether or not you are beautiful.  Just as much as I believe we are predisposed to see our own flaws, I think we are predisposed to find our own likeness appealing, which is probably why we think our own children are cuter than others and why selfies are even a thing.  So I like my interpretation of that saying better (the incorrect one). We see beauty in ourselves, whether we admit it or not, and that is what makes us beautiful to others, whether they admit it or not. No one else is in control of our beauty. The behol...

Three days before Christmas and I was in the dizzy, achy, shivery beginning stages of the worst flu I have had in years. This one was for the books! I had a fever for six days straight, then again for about three more days. It ruined my entire holiday from work and really put a damper on any plans the kids had thought up for what to do with their time off from school. Sickie Selfie Another thing it did, was completely obliterate any urge I had to smoke. OK, well not completely. I wanted to smoke, but I just knew it would either make me cough or make me sick, or make me cough so much that I would get sick. So for my entire vacation from work I didn't smoke. six days, no smoking, sick as a dog. In the past, those first two weeks were the hardest part of quitting. I was half way through that period of time and I was still suffering a nasty cough. I pushed through on the idea that I might or might not quit if I made it through the two weeks, but I was going to g...

**Update: As of Sunday Sept 6th, Nicole Arbour's videos have been disabled. Per Nicole, YouTube has diablos her account, but YouTube has denied this claim lending merit to the speculation that Nicole herself has disabled her account in order to gain more exposure. Ironically, this tactic is working for her as many news sources are now covering the story of this shut down, such as CNN. I hope that the channel and all of the videos are put back online, because as I do not agree with the content, I do believe in freedom of speech. I also believe that important conversations were brought about by what was said in her video.  There are so many things in this video that are inaccurate, that I don't even know where to start. I'll start here: Did you ever think that your "bomb of truth" might injure someone? Your channel gaining followers due to some viral videos (which is probably the motivation behind this video) the shrapnel from your "bomb of truth" may...

I recently received three new, pink lipsticks in a swap with one of those awesome online friends I have never met in real life, but whom I have known for about 15 years. I decided I would try each of them and share my impressions with all of you. I'm going to go from pale to bright - just because I feel like it. #1       First I tried City Colors Creamy Lip Stain in Flirtini. The color was subtle and a little paler than I usually like. It wasn't as creamy as I was expecting and had a more velvety feel. There is a slight rose scent, which I was really not a fan of. After a little while, I blotted to see if this "stain" had any staying power and it came right off.       I wouldn't buy this color for myself,  but it will go into my make-up stash at home in case I find occasion for it. maybe for a job interview or something?     #2     Next up was NYX Butter Lipstick in Little Susie (BLS12...

The Gunn House Hotel Sonora, California A recent house hunting trip required an over night stay in Sonora, California. While our family would usually stay with my best friend and her family, we were without children and opted to spring for a hotel room. There were many different events going on in the surrounding area and we were lucky enough to get one of two remaining rooms at The Gunn House Hotel.       Check in was easy and we were handed an actual key for room 15. Making our way around the building toward our room, we passed through the courtyard. Decorated with some fun antiques and some signs with quirky sayings pained on them, the hotel could be described as "quaint."    Landscaping  Wrought-iron detail Courtyard     Our room was upstairs which was fine , but there was no elevators, so booking a room on the first floor would have been smart considering my husband has some mobility issues. It turned out ...

I will be the first to admit that I think I'm dying. Every few days, there is something that I feel or see on or in my body that convinces me I have cancer, meningitis, plague or the flesh eating zombie virus. When my face hurts on the left side, I know it has to be a stoke. What do you mean "that's not what happens when you have a stroke"? Although I am a self-labelled hypochondriac, I'm a horrible one. Usually I only tell my husband when I think I'm dying and then we both laugh about it. He is not callous about my health concerns. He just knows, based on experience, that he will suggest I go to the doctor and I will not go. One of the things that causes me more anxiety than that weird mark  on my leg, is spending money on a copay to go find out what it is. (I wonder if I can get them to waive my co-pay based on the deep personal distress it causes me...probably not) All of these facts are just to illustrate how serious I am when I tell you about the thing...

No I'm not talking about drinking too much wine and embarrassing my husband. I'm talking about bath time. If you've never heard of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, or visited one of their stores, you are missing out. Their products are Fresh and Handmade...duh. The stores smell amazing because most of the products are just piled on trays and plates, unpackaged. You can pick up and try anything in the store, just ask a sales associate. They will be happy to throw a Bath Bomb into a giant bucket of water so you can see how it fizzes. On a recent trip to my local mall I made a stop in this store to have a look around. After our bathroom remodel, I wanted to try out our new tub and wanted some accoutrements. I left with a few seasonal bath bombs shaped like bunnies for my daughters ( Hoppity Poppity ). A Big Blue Bath Bomb , a Honey Bee Bath Bomb , a Sakura Bath Bomb , a French Kiss Bubble Bar , and two Massage bars ( Yes Yes Yes  and Dirty ). My girls loved the Hoppity Pop...