auntie dot

i don't know what provoked it, but i really miss my auntie dot - my nana's oldest sister and my godmother. she died from heart problems when i was 11 or 12. i remember it was sometime in december and i had just come from my girl scout meeting where we made mini christmas trees. my dad told me and i just remember crying and crying.

i have so many good memories of her from my childhood. i adored her. when she would come over from england to visit, she'd bring me winnie the pooh books, colored pencils, cadburry dots. i always got so excited for her to open her suitcase.

we spent hours and hours sitting in the garden. i would dress us up in scarves, garden hats, and clip-on earrings. auntie dot was queen elizabeth and i was princess di. i had this blue elephant slide that i'd tip on its side to use as our throne.




i've been thinking a lot about england recently. i have some new artwork up in my hallway from my mom of famous english places. i want a home with a english garden... somewhere i can escape to.

why condoms are your friend

we'll call her "angie"


8:14pm angie:
uh to ask a weird private question
you didn't catch any funk diseases from xxxxx did you?
my paranoia kicked in
hello

8:16pm me:
hi
you asked me this already

8:16pm angie:
i did?
what'd you say?

8:16pm me:
yes you did
i said no

8:16pm angie:
oh k
woo!
sorry i was being a paranoid fruitcake cuz i got a weird rash
ewww
woo!
thank you so much and sorry!

8:17pm me:
maybe you need to see a dr

8:17pm angie:
most likely

Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail

my mom was born in england and came to america with my nana and grandfather on a boat in 1955. the only british thing about my mom is she tends to say "bloody" this and "bloody" that. she grew up in alexandria as an only child and went to high school at tc williams, where eventually my sister and i both attended. she then went to college at university of miami, where she met my dad. my dad was born and raised in the suburbs of chicago. he was the second of four brothers -- 3 of them close in age and my uncle drew was a surprise 8? years later. my dad went to a small college that ronald regan attended. in fact, he got an award for beating ronald regan's swimming record in the early 90's.

my parents were married at the national cathedral in DC, summer 1975. it sounded very fancy. rolls royces and everything!

after my parents married, they settled down in alexandria and eventually bought the house i grew up in. they were married for seven years before i came along, and five years later, my sister was born. my mom was very strict with me growing up and my dad was pretty indifferent.

my mom used to have really long hair. my dad's hair was short and they both have brown hair. my mom has green eyes, my dad and sister have blue eyes, and to keep it interesting, mine are hazel.

holidays were very important growing up. i think my dad's favorite was thanksgiving. cooking the turkey, making the sides (i miss his mushrooms), and generally keeping us starving until we gorged ourselves on the feast. yummy. hands down, christmas is my mom's favorite. gifts from santa were placed ever so carefully under the tree and unwrapped. the "big gifts". my sister and i would sneak downstairs and open our stockings.

we ate a lot of ground beef growing up. hamburger helper, meatloaf, spaghetti, hamburger helper, meatloaf, spaghetti, and chinese food.

my mom has worked for the world bank forever... over 30 years. my dad worked at rec centers. he was really into swimming/lifeguarding/etc. it was nice when i was little because we could go swimming for free.

in 2003, my parents got divorced and i've been estranged from my dad since then. it was a messy and sad time. he's remarried and living in arizona. my mom has become much more laid back after the divorce and i consider her one of my best friends. we're very close. i love the way she laughs. :)

Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail

it's hard for me to pinpoint my first love. i can think of a couple candidates, but with those people potentially having access to my blog, i'd rather not even go there.

i do find that when a relationship ends, i often think to myself "did i really love this person or was i caught up in the moment??"

so for now, we'll say my first great love was new kids on the block. while i never saw them in concert, i was caught up in the boy band frenzy. i had books, stickers, cassette tapes... joey and jordan were my favorites.

Day 01 – Introduce yourself

hello, reader. i'm jennifer. AKA jeniphir, phir, jenapahear, nuphir, miss phir, red, summers... the list goes on.

i've lived in virginia my entire life. my mom still lives in the house i grew up in. my nana technically still lives in the house my mom grew up in. i know all the short-cuts in alexandria (where i grew up) and arlington (where i've lived for the last 6 years). i've been fortunate to travel frequently and see the world. the only place i've ever been that i could see myself living other than the DC area is colorado or new mexico. people will often tell me i have an accent... i've heard midwest, new england, new york, northern PA, and a southern accent. i tend to subconsciously mimic others accents, so that probably explains it.

i've been dying my hair since i was 11 and cannot quite recall the natural color... some sort of dirty ash blonde. i've been a red head for so long now that most people assume it's natural. i love it. i have 6 tattoos and 6 piercings. i like symmetry. i'm curvy and i embrace it. i have a penchant for hair flowers and red lipstick. i enjoy pampering myself and prefer to have a fresh manicure and pedicure.

i'm very emotional and i cry easily. i empathize with people who have had hardships. i won't give homeless people money, but i will give them food. i have OCD, specifically a strong obsession with numbers and lists. it works for me. my favorite drink is a jack and coke and i smoke camel lights.

i'm self employed and sell sensual products for a living. at first, it just seemed like something fun to do and to say that i do. four years later, i can say that i have helped women discover themselves, empower themselves, and i've helped couples to keep the romance going in the bedroom. my team name is the passion scouts, an homage to my 10 years of being a girl scout.

point of reference - 30 day blog challenge

Day 01 – Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 – What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 – Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 – Your day, in great detail
Day 07 – Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 – A moment, in great detail
Day 09 – Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 – Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 – What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 – This week, in great detail
Day 14 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 – Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 – Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 – Your favorite memory, in great detail
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 – Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 – This month, in great detail
Day 21 – Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 – A first, in great detail
Day 26 – Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 – Your favorite place, in great detail
Day 28 – Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 – Your aspirations, in great detail
Day 30 – One last moment, in great detail

discovering edith

i know a fair amount about my father's side of the family thanks to my uncle, who did extensive research into our geneology. my mom's side... not so much. i have a million cousins thanks to my nana's 3 sisters and their off spring, but that's about as far as it goes. my nana and her sisters grew up poor in england during the war. their father had some kind of neurological disorder due to war injuries and their mother was from ireland. anymore than that, i'd probably have to travel and do some research myself.

the one that really interests me is my mom's dad's mom... my maternal great grandmother, edith. i don't know much about edith, but i've picked up bits and pieces over the years. i've only just learned her name. edith had black hair and no teeth (tho that was probably towards the end, i assume). she liked to wear red lipstick and she was an alcoholic, spending all of her money on booze. my nana has told me several times that she was a gypsy. my mom tells me that she was a burlesque dancer or lady of the night -- kind of hard to tell exactly if it was the former or the latter based on the time period (sometime 1920's-1940's).

stay tuned readers... i need to go pick my nana's brain.

4 years!!!

four years ago today, emilie reinertsen called me up and signed me to be a passion parties consultant. i was so excited! little did i know where this journey would take me.

in the last year, i've quit my job, paid off some lingering credit card debt, did a lot of traveling, and made even more friends. i've seen my business grow by leaps and bounds. when i started with PP, it was for fun and in hopes that one day i would be able to quit that evil drs office. as i spend today reflecting on what i've achieved in the last four years, i am really proud of myself and my team for all the achievements we have made.

i have a bachelorette party tonight and i'm hitting up the store beforehand to buy a bottle of champagne. tonight there is going to be a celebration!!!

for everyone out there that is struggling to take your business to the next level, take it from me. keep working at it. don't give up! i've had my share of ups and downs in the last four years but i have never given up. DON'T QUIT BEFORE PAYDAY!!!

have a great weekend of fun and parties,
love jennifer

when having hairy legs is a good thing

i hate shaving. there, i said it. most of my girlfriends and my sister religiously shave their legs. i find every excuse not to. i find it tedious, i always miss a little patch, and it's generally a pain in the ass. tights/fishnets are my friends.

i had 3 first dates this week. i pose the question to myself "to shave or not to shave" before the dates. leg hair for me is like a chastity belt. leg hair keeps me out of trouble. running around DC at all hours of the night drinking boat loads of bourbon with shaved legs can lead to trouble. doing the same thing with hairy legs gives you an out.... "i haven't shaved..."

thank you leg hair for keeping me from making bad decisions in my drunken haziness.

i did shave today... but today was different. 80 degrees and sunny and i wanted to wear a dress without fishnets. plus, my date was at the mall in the afternoon and involved 0 alcohol, so i knew i was safe.

putting the ass in sass

i was recently told "one thing about you is you just looooove jennifer"

well, DUH!

i totally love myself. i think that is so important, especially as a curvy woman, to have a lot of self love. i like looking good, i enjoy pampering myself and looking pretty. we have one body and one life -- may as well take full advantage of that!

it took me some time to get to this point. i didn't really grow into my body until my early 20's. it was like puberty hit me and my body had to catch up. i used to worry too much about what people thought of me and of my looks, now, quite frankly, i do not care. i like to push the envelope when i can -- not quite as far as lady gaga, but hey... a lady can dream!

there's definitely a fine line between loving yourself and being self-absorbed. i'd like to think i'm much more of the first than the latter. some may disagree, but i've found that those who do are generally self-loathing.

i have 3 dates this week and i'm excited about getting back out there are meeting new people. i'm hoping they are confident and happy too... i have no patience for debbie downers.

a decade later

march 25th, 2000 ~ 7am - driving home from maryland, i fell asleep driving on 495 (on cruise control) and flipped my car into a ditch. my 3 week old car was totaled and i ended up on a stretcher and in the emergency room. prognosis: broken collarbone, furious parents, and no car.

and the beginning of a teenage angst downward spiral that ended in april 2003.

see, ten years ago, when i was seventeen, i was the polar opposite of the woman i am today. at seventeen i was very sad, incredibly self-conscious, and awkward. i didn't have many friends and would go home from school most days and cry. i was floating through life, waiting and hoping and dreaming that things could be different, that i could be someone else.

it's strange to think back and see how i was then compared to now. as i think back to that horrible accident that happened ten years ago today, i am thankful because it makes what i have now so much more special.

and i am incredibly grateful that mistakes i made didn't leave lasting marks on my adult life.

-phir