jillbequick.com

As of Jan 1, site is live and being updated. Go visit! jillbequick.com

Newness

New website coming next week. Check back for the link.

(http://jillbequick.com)

Finally, Friday (58)

1. Doing lots of cool things with my mom (and being really tired after!)
2. Books, books and a list of books to read.
3. New stuff for my apartment!!

Posté avec Blogsy

Music: Stay or Leave

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BsjZ5WWwRF8

I can't tell you for how long or for how many different reasons I enjoyed listening to this song. But it's been long and many.

Posté avec Blogsy

Finally, Friday (57)

1. My mom coming tomorrow to visit for a week plus
2. Getting into a new routine with the dogs in our new place
3. Sims 4 coming out in 2014?!?!?!

Ps- happy Friday the 13th!

Posté avec Blogsy

HP Nerds Unite!

Warner Bros is making Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into a film! It'll feature the imagined author's adventures in life as he writes this beginner Care of Magical Creatures textbook. Can I say.... I am incredibly thrilled! And it's such a unique and unexpected way to go back into the world of Harry Potter. So. Pumped.

Read more about Jk Rowling's screenplay debut here.

 

Posté avec Blogsy

Just Another Manic...

Wednesday?

Wednesdays are pretty crazy for me. I have multiple scheduled meetings that occur every week and then somehow a ton of one-time meetings always get scheduled too. There are some Wednesdays where I don't get to my desk between 9-3 PM. Lately I've had to leave around 4:30 to walk the dogs and feed them and then I'll have to log back in to finish the bare minimum of what had to get done.

It's a crazy day and somehow I always forget just how crazy Wednesdays can be. I'm just glad I can log in from home so that I can take care of business there and not have to stay at work extra late and then drive home and try and do everything.

My job's a little crazy now too but I'm having fun with it and starting to get past the big changes and on to developing a routine. Although usually when things feel Ike they're settling down something unexpected happens to liven things up. Luckily I'm the type of person who likes that and likes juggling multiple projects and roles at once so it's just exciting for me. Plus I think I've learned to put everything into perspective and not get stressed out when projects or priorities change.

Speaking of livening things up, I'm teaching my first TNU class (our in-house university) starting at the end of the month so that'll be a fun new challenge. Beginner Excel, anyone?

Posté avec Blogsy

Grand Master Relaxation

If this isn't pure relaxation, I honestly don't know what is. Completely sprawled out for the world to see, no cares in the world and dreaming.

I found out today that this poor guy and his sister caught some fleas so I spent a good part of today doing and purchasing various things to rid them of this biting menace. It doesn't seem widespread throughout the house and I don't have any bites so I think I caught it early enough. FYI if you're moving from the desert to the east coast, your dog will need some type of flea protection. Just saying. Preventative measures.

Posté avec Blogsy

Moving In

If you didn't notice, I (accidentally) took a week off last week. And rather than go back in time and write back-posts, I'm just gonna go ahead and move forward. Besides, they'd probably be terrible anyway! Short and pointless.

Anyway, the reason I didn't blog last week was because I moved! So it took a while to get everything set up and get the routine down with me and the dogs. The three of us share a two bedroom apartment on the bottom floor, with a huge kitchen, steps away from a lake and park and that smells like bakery just down the road. It's plenty of space for the dogs to run around and play in so I'm quite happy with that.

We go on at least four walks a day around the neighborhood and around the lake and we cuddle every night under the blankets. I have to say, it's not a bad life.

Tonight I leave you with a video of a song that's been stuck in my head for weeks. I'm hoping either you'll get it stuck in yours too or this exercise will release it from mine.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N6bp-L6my2Q

Posté avec Blogsy

Ben & Bones

This is Ben.

Ben likes bones.

Ben likes having his bone and his sister's bone at the same time.

Ben gets real jealous when Penelope has one.

Ben gets suspicious when you take pictures of him with his bones.

He doesn't like that.

Posté avec Blogsy

Apple Cake

My department at work (the international team) started having potlucks where we all bring dishes from our heritage or our area of expertise. I like to bring French food so for our second potluck last week, I made an apple cake from a French cookbook I have. It was so easy, just had to make a thick batter, cut up some apples, mix it together and bake! The hardest part of the whole process was whipping up some whipped cream by hand.

I had never made the cake before but everyone said it was really good and came out moist. So if you want to try some let me know and I'll make it the next time I see you. :)

Ps - you will have to have a stand mixer for the whipped cream and help peel the apples!!

Posté avec Blogsy

Action Shots

Sean and I have been planning a trip to have me come photograph him kayaking for months, but I wanted to wait until I got my new lens (MOM). Since that doesn't look like it will ever happen, I just went ahead and did it with the ones I have. 

We went down to the Deerfield River about an hour and some change away at 9:30 AM ish and got home around 6. We stopped at a used bookstore on the way back and got some pizza when we passed through Amherst. It was a really beautiful day and I got to see a lot of things (and experience a lot of things - like not realizing the parking break had a separate release lever). 

I took about 300 pictures over the course of the day and have A LOT of photos to go through. Here is a quick snapshot: 

Finally, Friday (55)

1. New projects at work and meeting people for the first time who I've been getting emails from since I started
2. Teaching new commands to my puppies
3. My friend building me a sick awesome computer (all the better to play Sims with)

Posté avec Blogsy

Lunch party

 Would it really be better if it said Lanch Party?

Today was a pretty long day. Woke up at 5, work at 7, and all-day meeting that went until 5:30. (=tired face in the picture)

The meeting wasn't bad at all, just long. It was really nice to have a 45 minute break to celebrate... Drum roll... The launch of our Portuguese-language site! There was a really well-done celebration with a ribbon, giant scissors and fake champagne. I was the Portuguese product manager's mentor so I was recognized as part of the SI team and was given this awesome SI jersey with my name on the back and a soccer ball! It was really sweet and surprising of them to include me in that and give us sweet swag.

We ate ice cream and cake to accompany the fake champagne and I even have a huge sign with my name on it that was part of the decor. It was a very cool moment to break up the day and celebrate a great success with the people on my team! 

Music: Pompeii

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY

Hike to Bear's Den

Two weekends ago Sean and I went for a quick hike in New Salem, Massachusetts before we went to run errands. We went to the Bear's Den which was a waterfall and a trail which followed the Swift River for a little while.

Sean showed me some lines he would take in a kayak on the river and waves he would surf if he were a tiny smurf-person in a tiny smurf-boat, which was pretty cool. Sean climbed up the rocks and across the water because he's crazy, but it turned out well.

Saw some more cool mushrooms so naturally I had to share.

Finally, Friday (54)

1. Finally finding a good apartment with enough space for me and the puppies, two bedrooms and affordable!
2. Snuggling with said puppies after spending the night away from them for the first night since we brought them back.
3. New, exciting projects at work and learning new things

Posté avec Blogsy

Jill Reviews: Jot Stylus

Note: I wrote this with puppies playing on my lap, which s why my handwriting is oh so sloppy

Note 2: I purchased the Adonit Jot Flip, seen here.

 

Posté avec Blogsy

TN Volleyball Tournament

Tonight I played on a four-man team in my work's volleyball tournament. My original team ended up unofficially disbanding the day before, but I was able to join another team and we did pretty well!

There were four teams altogether and each round was best of three. We were the first to go and we won the first two sets of fifteen. Then we sat out for a while and played in the finals with the sales team who were, necessarily, excellent communicators. We ended up losing then but they had some really good players so I didn't feel too bad.

We have our own sand volleyball court at work so we got pretty dirty, my feet were pretty much orange when I was washing them off!

Hopefully I'll be able to spend some more time playing on work teams after I move because I'm so far away now that it's not worth it to do after-work sports. Here's to future activities though!

Posté avec Blogsy

Gourmet Saturdays

On Saturday I had the idea to cook a chicken. Go figure. I had heard about this recipe for Engagement Chicken from a lot of places - talk shows, food shows, magazines. It was everywhere at one point and I knew it was really easy so I looked it up and decided to make it.

Really all you need is a four lb chicken. You rub it down inside and out with salt and pepper and then shove two lemons up its butt (pricked three times each with a fork). Cook it at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, breast down, then flip it over and cook another hour and fifteen minutes. Then let it rest for at least 15 mates before you carve it.

It results in an incredibly delicious and moist chicken with a flavor that's not too overpowering- so you can use the leftovers in a lot of different dishes.

I also, microwaved some homemade potato chips, which was also easy. Cut thinly and coat in oil. Add a bit of oil to just coat the bottom of a plate. Place potato slices on it, microwave 3-5 minutes until brown and salt. Tada!

 

Posté avec Blogsy