Jessica Thinks

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...