That's What Jenni Said

I’m an IT consultant, so I know the importance of proper gear and technology in meeting any goal. Back when I started this C25K program I asked my friends who were already seasoned runners which shoe they’d recommend and without reserve all advised me to purchase Asics. In addition, I completed the running shoe profiler on runners world ( http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/whichshoe/1,,s6-240-325-329-0-0-0-0-0,00.html ) and several Asics models were recommended. Previously I’ve been a loyal customer of New Balance, but based on the strength and breadth of recommendations for Asics I decided to give them a try. I purchased a pair of Gel Evolution 5s through Amazon and have been thrilled with them since day 1. There was no awkward break-in period with blisters and no other problems that are common with new shoes. I love them! All of my athletic shoe purchases going forward will be Asics and as I’ve become more involved in running and met many other folks who are new to the sport I recomme...

I'm looking for the words to describe a situation that is sad and happy at all once, depending on which party to the situation you interview. Not the good kind of sad either such as weddings sad or sending kids off to college sad, but plain old-fashioned rip your heart out sadness. Today the remaining four sets of bone china that we needed to complete our service for twelve arrived in the mail. As we've continue to build and strengthen our marriage over the course of almost twelve years we've also taken steps to build our china collection. It came to us by way of a divorcing couple who chose to sell their place settings on Ebay for next to nothing. The place settings arrived, new in their elegantly themed gift boxes, the delicate wedding ribbons still fashioned around the boxes a luxurious bows.  So incredibly sad. Log onto Ebay.com at any time and you can peruse the remains of divorcing couples whose hopes and dreams were once focused on the joy that they were sure the fut...

This week I had my annual performance assessment with the federal contractor I do most of my work for. It went well and I received a small increase in my compensation. I finally caved and went shopping at Dress Barn. I have avoided the place for eons, despite the fact that the answer to the question I've posed many of my well dressed friends ("Where did you find that beautiful dress?") is often "Dress Barn". It's all about the name. Why would I shop in a venue that infers all of its clients are barnyard animals? Regardless, I saw yet another stranger beautifully attired in Dress Barn apparel so I felt I owed it to myself to take a look at what they have to offer. I fell in love instantly. Dresses - beautiful dresses- as far as the eye can see. I picked up 6 on sale for 60% off. A parade of dresses. My dream is to have so many dresses that I never have to wear pants ever again and this store may actually make that possible. My purchase was limited only by m...

It's been another productive week. My days were filled with solving problems at work and my evenings were filled with socializing and a few select ParJen Consulting appointments. Saturday was the busiest day of all. In the morning Jon and I ventured to DC to lead the NoVA walkers on a stroll around Southwest DC on the waterfront. We did 3 miles and then enjoyed brunch at Phillips. Immediately following we headed to Alexandria where Jon dropped me off at a client's home to perform some consulting work while he browsed home depot for our new kitchen appliances. After that we headed to my friend Rho's house for the monthly NoVA Supper Club dinner. The theme was Italian and the food was great. Met some new people who were very nice. Today Jon and I finalized our kitchen appliances purchase at the local home depot. We are going with all stainless steel and picked out an oven, over the range microwave, dishwasher and fridge. I'm excited to finally have a convection oven. ...

  Today we officially finished all of our Christmas shopping. It was a fun and stress-free shopping season. The majority of our gifts we purchased on Black Friday and the rest we purchased online, avoiding the crowds at the malls. Went to a Christmas party for the Women's Fellowship group and learned a new game called 'Mad Gab'. I wasn't the best at it but I wasn't the worst either. The food was good and the company was even better. One of my favorite friends, Irma, was there. She has a very infectious laugh and is always full of such joy and optimism. I really enjoy being in her presence. Church was very special on Sunday as a couple we are friends with had their little baby girl baptized and we all came up to the altar and gathered around her to pray. I'm a mushy girly girl so you know I cried. One thing I really love about the Christian Church is the pervasive sense of love that permeates throughout the entire congregation. It's nice to enjoy a sens...

I did it! I finally found a dress for this year's National Chamber of Commerce Holiday Reception. I wandered by it at Macy's today while shopping with my friend Rho ( http://pi-girl.livejournal.com ). I went onto Macys.com to find a picture of it to show you and in doing so discovered something interesting. If you buy the dress online and fit standard sizing [12 and below] you can pick up the dress, normally $109 on sale for $81. However, if you are plus-sized [14+] you can get the same dress, also normally priced $109 on sale for $71. This has to be a first in my experience- plus sized outfit by the same designer priced cheaper than the smaller counterpart. Odd, don't you think? In any case, I'm happy to report that in the store the dress was even more deeply discounted than either dress price online. Woo! Plus, Rho (COUPON QUEEN!!!) had a 20% off coupon and I got an additional 20% off for opening a Macy's account so the dress was really a bargain. This was ac...

Friday morning the crew (A and her hubby R, myself and hubby J) rolled out of the home of A's parents at 5am. You haven't seen attitude until you've seen Long Islanders in line at Best Buy at 5am for the biggest sale of the year. There was a lot of swearing, pushing, rushing, and at one point customers formed a human chain to stop new customers from entering the store ahead of those that had been in line since 2am. It was intense and a lot more physically aggressive than similar Black Friday sales events held in Virginia. After Best Buy we popped into Home Depot, ToysRus and Sears. A lot of great deals. The only thing that was disappointing was the sales tax. 8.6% for NY state and another 4 or 5 % on top of that for local taxes. Ouch! Some things I really don't miss about living in NY and sales tax is definitely one of them. By 9am we had completed 3/4 of our Christmas shopping for the year and we headed to a diner for breakfast. A quick breakfast and review of our pu...