lol, so… once i get down there and make things all pretty, i’ll take pics. i’m really excited for this move though. i move all the time, so it’s nothing new to me… but i’ve always had roommates. i’m finally in a position in life where i can afford a beautiful place on my own, and rightfully so, i should be, seeing as how i’m almost 31. but because its finally JUST ME… i’m giddy more than i normally would be. i also have about 6 close friends that i’ve known for years – one even from high school – that all live there already and are waiting for me to get there. it’ll be nice to see them on any given day and not have to get on a plane to do so ;)

anyway… life is great and i can’t complain. aside from the fact that i’ve still yet to see a UFO and i’m getting annoyed, hahaha. i’m making it my mission ;)

its a lot nicer in person cause the pic sucks… but, my new dining room table. i wanted that dark wooden look and found it on sale, so it was a good day, haha.

i LOVE square plates, so i had to get these. plus its just plain white because it matches everything and food looks pretty against it, lol. i’m big on “hosting”, so if i’m cooking for other people, even if its a damn burger… i want it to look all “oooooh”. HAHA.

i have no other reason to post utensils in my blog, except to say, THESE ARE AWESOME. i wanted to share. and there you go. lol.

in other news… my grandfather surprised my mom recently and said he’s taking her to italy for 2 weeks… so that’s kind of awesome. he’s gonna be 86 in february and completely healthy. acts like he’s 60, still works and does construction every day (he refuses to stop cause he says he’ll be bored), and literally has nothing wrong with him at all. you’d never know the man was 85. but after my uncle – who is years younger than him – passed away in april… i think it made my grandfather all neurotic and worried that he could go tomorrow, god forbid. so when he sprung this trip to italy on my mom, he was like, i can’t spend my money when i die, so let’s go. took him 85 years to live life to the fullest ;) but i’m happy they’re going. its gonna be a beautiful trip.

i’m trying to convince all of them to come down to florida for christmas this year, so we’ll see how that goes. since i was a little girl my parents have always wanted to see disney during christmas… so what better time than now since i’ll be down there, lol. crossing my fingers.

all of my stuff is in my storage unit, so it will be quick and easy to load it into the truck and not forget anything. i have some stuff here at the house though that i still need to pack, but for the most part, everything is done. cable/internet is being set up the night i move in, electric is on the day before, i have furniture being shipped, i have more furniture to BUY (hello ikea down the street haha)… but other than that… i’m ready.

friday just needs to get here now…

;)

anyway, i’ve been wanting to do my entire bedroom over. it all started because i decided i had to get a baroque/damask print comforter for my bed… but i could never find exactly the right one. usually when i’m decorating anything, it takes forever, just because what i see in my head is what i HAVE to have… and majority of the time what i see in my head is just shit i create. lol. if i actually FIND the things my mind likes to design… it’s OH HAPPY DAY, cause it rarely ever happens. but i typically end up having to compromise with my head. given that i’m a web designer and not an interior one, if it isn’t already physically produced somewhere, i sure as hell can’t sit down to make it.

SO… i’m online today browsing through bed bath and beyond, as ya DO, and i find the exact damn comforter i created in my head (see pic). ON TOP OF THIS… i realized the setup in the picture is ALSO what i saw in my head, colors and all.

i freaked out and went to purchase IMMEDIATELY, lol, but right now its out of stock online AND in stores. so i ended up finding it on another site. so damn happy though. i got the whole ensemble including the throw pillows… cause they’re precious. haha.

depending on the new bed that i buy, i want a tall tufted headboard. i absolutely LOVE big headboards, because i feel like its that one piece that ties the entire room together. in my opinion, tufted headboards are VERY sexy, but they’re a few hundred bucks, and if i could workaround that, i’m all about it. 

so i think what i’m gonna do is just make one (see THAT i could make, haha). in the pic to the right, it’s nice, but i want it taller, with about 4 rows of squares instead of the two shown. doing this at home it isn’t super difficult, but its not a piece of cake either. its worth it though for me to spend $75 on something that is normally a lot more, not to mention, i have the creative freedom to make it look however i want it to. and in that case, making it a rich plum/purple will definitely be an awesome accent to pull in the rest of the color in the room. i’m gonna have big framed prints made of my photos from london… haven’t decided yet if i want them all black and white, but i’m leaning that way… and they’re all going in the bedroom. i’m getting a “berry” colored version of the “keep calm and carry on” print to go in there too. i already have a beautiful framed one but its red.

i’m gonna keep my kitchen the same “tuscan” decor that i love. i have a shitload of italian paintings and wall art that i saved in storage.  i’m either gonna stick with that or go more modern. not sure. but i found these 4 pieces online and got all sorts of ideas, haha… so whatever style i go with, its gonna be based around them.

i haven’t even thought about the bathrooms or my guest bedroom/office yet. god help me with those because they will absolutely take the longest. why? cause it’s a room that my guests will stay in. and that means, it has to be perfect. even more so than my bedroom, the guest room/office needs to be something that i could be okay with working in all day, and in the same breath, something that makes my friends or family happy sleeping in there.

the living room… easiest room. period. it’ll come to me when i’m not thinking about it. haha.

so i got them, they fit perfectly, i’m ecstatic and i can’t wait to get em dirty ;)

i see ANOTHER package in the mail…. “royal mail”… and i couldn’t help smiling.
i knew it would be from mark. and i knew it would most likely be something harry potter related ;)

when i went to see the latest HP movie at the IMAX 3D, i was highly disappointed that they didn’t give out the “harry potter” shaped 3d glasses that i heard about from people who went that night. apparently they were just for opening night.

leave it to mark to work one floor above warner brothers uk and manage to wrangle me the damn glasses. HAHA.

awesome surprise, and between this and the shoes… my day has been made. lol.

a little over one month and then florida… by the way.
quick list of houses to send to brenden, and all i have to do is narrow it down and then get the paperwork taken care, deposit, etc. i’m literally ready to move yesterday… so… i’m looking forward to this coming month. its gonna FLY with how much shit i have to take care of haha. but i love that. i love preparing for things. it gets me so amped up.

i’m a weirdo.

;)

meet rupert grint? check.

;)

which reminds me i need to email that girl that sent me the photos because if it wasn’t for her, i would have nothing but memory to commemorate that fabulous day, haha. i still don’t know how my picture deleted. i really don’t. brenden went to take it… she realized it was way zoomed in and took a minute to fix it, he even waited like the good little ginger he is… she made some jokes, he laughed, took the photo, all was happy in the land of hogwarts… and BAM… i go to look at it, i SEE IT… i wait 30 seconds and look at it again… and it is GONE. my cell phone doesn’t delete any photo without confirming yes first. so how in the fuck this happened, i really don’t know. brenden was like are you KIDDING ME. it was ridiculous.

unless this kid pulled out a fucking wand and made it vanish without me knowing… i don’t have a clue where it went.

so mid panic mode, we went searching through the crowd of people around us and somehow managed to find a girl that had me on her camera. praise jesus.

so while blurry, i DO NOT CARE, haha.

and he’s cheesin. ;)
LOVE HIM.

moving on.
ive been in touch with a few different realtors/home owners/whatever and i’m getting a list together and setting up showings for brenden to go look at for me. it saves me money on flying down again, and she’s helping me out immensely. getting down to the wire though now ;) i’m very, very excited.

what else…

OH.

can we talk about this for a second? i feel as though we need to.
this is the GREATEST ICE CREAM I HAVE EVER HAD…. period.
bold statement to make, yes i know… but listen to me when i talk about food. lol.
bunches of cake pieces all mixed in, and it literally tastes EXACTLY like a red velvet cupcake. EXACTLY.
it… is… phenom.
trust me. if you like red velvet anything… get off your ass and go to the store immediately.

is it awful that i just wrote all that as i’m about to sign off here and go workout? lol.

ps – very sad news about amy winehouse. i was eerily just talking about her not even a week ago. she was one of my absolute favorite voices of our time, and there seriously was no one that even came close to her talent in that style. i’ve been cringing over the ADULTS that have been leaving tweets and status updates by making jokes about it though. obviously none of you have ever had the unfortunate experience of growing up with an addict. and if you have, shame on you for acting like little twits. its a painful, and debilitating “disease” for ALL parties involved… and it is by far the furthest thing from a joke. so grow up.

also… i feel so terrible for what happened in norway. seriously… NORWAY!?  i was actually watching the news last night and felt all discombobulated. because when do you EVER hear about violence in NORWAY… i mean really. and KIDS? it just breaks my heart. its too much. those families are in my prayers.

alright. time to wanna vomit from this new workout, lol.

-j.

This month’s eclipse, July 1, is due to be the biggest one this year, for it comes with a powerful cardinal cross in cardinal signs. Your sign is cardinal, so that’s why this particular eclipse may speak strongly and directly to you. In your life, anything that is worn to the bone and no longer working, or is no longer relevant to your future, the situation, or relationship, will suddenly collapse, dissolve, or in other ways reveal its weakness. After an eclipse is over, we can see where the holes lie, and where we have to plaster to strengthen the wall.

that was exactly what happened in my life ON JULY 1ST. i’m telling you… this woman is incredible. she absolutely never fails me. just sayin. you should check out her site, even if you’re skeptical… i guarantee you’ll soon be addicted. haha.

in other news…. i absolutely love the call block feature on my cell phone. lol. speaking of july 1st, i had to fully utilize it that night. so… basically… if someone sends me a text and i don’t respond? i’m not getting them. cause you’re blocked.

haha, so after initially joking about it, i decided to go ahead and actually put up a little advice section on this blog (check the top menu). why not? i think i give damn good advice to people in my life, and i’ve “shockingly” managed to help out quite a few people, lol. so… that’s that. its up. if you need it… use it.

and on that note, i’ve been working so much i haven’t been looking at any places to live, haha.
back to house hunting!

i can’t wait to see you, orlando ;)

i haven’t updated in a minute…. figured i would change that. looks like the entire month of june was just skipped over. heh.

that’s fine though. i’ve been busy, as usual. i think i’ve gone out probably twice in the last month, just because i’ve been glued to this laptop and working like a fiend so i could save some extra bucks to move.
i’m a hustler ;)
even though a few select people would choose to think otherwise, given that i work from the comfort of my home, for myself, and not back in an office like i always did. i’m lazy… i need to get my life together… i’m this… i’m that. haha. it’s humorous. i also know that said people would most likely love to switch places and have their entire day to choose what to do and when to do it. but you know what else? what is super important to me that no one even realizes because their too busy laughing with info they DON’T know about?

due to the fact that i’m not working for any physical company, and what i do is freelance, i’ve been collecting unemployment. and my unemployment is not the crap little amount that helps pay for groceries every month. it’s an amount that i could actually live off of, pay rent with, whatever the case may be.

people don’t know that, because i don’t usually throw my business around. i could easily just  sit at home all day and do jack shit since i have money coming in for doing nothing.

but i work… every… single… day.
weekends, holidays, 2 in the morning, you name it, i’m working.

BY CHOICE.
MY choice.

because i want money in the bank, doing what i love to do, and building my design “business” to be where i see it being.

if that doesn’t say enough about the type of person i am, and how i’m NOT lazy, i really don’t know how else to put it. but maybe the people that have all the jokes to make and shit talking to do, can find out that little tidbit about yours truly that they never knew about, and kiss my fuckin ass.

foot… meet mouth.

i’m not better than anyone. rest assured i have more than enough flaws and problems in my life for 10 people. but i work hard… WHEN I DONT NEED TO.  i never went to school for these things. i was a dance major at the university of the arts. i can’t draw anything but a pretty awesome eye, lol… or a flower. i’m really good at flowers. haha. the point is, I TAUGHT MYSELF how to DESIGN. and to be doing something that i learned on my own… to be doing it WELL, making “J. Bongiorno Design” actually known with some big companies that have since turned into clients, on top of referrals to OTHER big companies… I’D SAY THATS A FUCKIN ACCOMPLISHMENT IF THERE EVER WAS ONE. i’m definitely not one to ever give a shit about defending my life, or the choices i make. but in this specific case… after seeing certain things people that have known me all my life have been saying… i refuse to keep my mouth shut.

but the most important thing to me, and only me… is that i’m incredibly happy. not even just with working so much, or money, etc… but with myself.
with my life.
with where i’m going, and what i’m doing.
with WHO is in my life… <3
who i wake up to every morning that makes me smile ;)
with how i’m able to move to florida right NOW, but i’m being smart about it and not rushing like i do everything in my life, and taking the time to be completely secure financially, “because you never know”.
i’m ecstatic with what i have waiting for me down there.
and i’m beyond proud of myself.

and thats all that matters.

its sad to me that i have to resort to writing something like this because people are so miserable with their own lives, they have nothing better to do than worry about mine.

like i said yesterday…
“don’t compare your life to others. you have no idea what their journey is all about.”

my priorities are infested with ADD.

anyway… random, but i was flipping through instyle mag the other day and thought this was gorgeous. i’m not getting married anytime soon… i don’t even have a boyfriend. but the point is… i believe if i WAS to say… be getting married… at any given time… i’d more than likely be trying this on.

just saying. it’s very me. my mother still would love for me to wear her “i had kate middleton’s dress before she was even born” ensemble… but knowing my personal style… i think this would also look rather lovely on me.

but again… i’m not even dating anyone right now, lol, so… one step at a time kiddies.

anyway. i have packing to do. flying down to florida tomorrow. yay? sure. i rented a ford focus for when i’m there. and now i’ll feel like an american idol. haha.

its gonna be fun though. my little cousins have never been there before, and the last 3 times i’ve seen them, we’ve talked about nothing but disney, harry potter, florida, and me moving. i knew my cousin ann-marie was planning to take them as a surprise, but i found out 2 weeks ago that we apparently will be down there the same time. haha. so of course i freaked out, because i seriously do NOTHING but answer questions about the wizarding world of harry potter for my 7yr old cousin brett… and i was actually going to bring them back something this week.

little did i know.

so their first surprise was this past saturday when they woke the kids up at 3am to fly to orlando, lol (love that). their second surprise now is when i show up to universal on thursday, as planned, and walk up behind them. haha. its gonna be hilarious. i was just telling brett 2 weeks ago how i’m planning to move… kid is gonna think i moved a week later. LOL. but i’m excited.

cause i’m 12.

i feel like i had so much more to write about but i’m going blank.

okay… off to finish laundry, pack, dye my hair, pack more, and then who knows.

but needless to say, if you ever want to kill me?
lavender oil.
anything that has lavender oil as an ingredient.
throw it at me.
i’ll be dead in 5 minutes.

moving on… i lost another inch in my waist. so im up to 3 inches in less than 2 weeks. yea. who knew. ;)
i’m still working out and eating healthy… having a cheat day every once in awhile, but other than that… jillian michael’s six week six pack is a godsend. my waist is starting to go back to how it was when i danced. slowly but surely. i could see the difference though.

also? i just started on these this week and i LOVE THEM.
GNC total lean | LEAN SHAKE.

i’ve been drinking one or two a day, but they fill you up for awhile and for a protein shake they are DELICIOUS. the chocolate tastes just like chocolate milk, and no weird after taste. i have the swiss chocolate and vanilla bean flavors, but they also come in cookies and cream and strawberry, and in powder form too. not a fan of having to mix anything, so i got the ready to drink 4 packs. they’re for men and women but exactly what i needed because as a woman, i want lean muscle. i usually have one for breakfast or a snack, then i workout and im full for a few hours and super energetic.

25 grams of protein.
170 calories.
24 vitamins and minerals.
lactose free.
AND…. only 2 grams of sugar.

TWO. GRAMS.

*cue in the chorus of angels*

speaking of ;)
if you didn’t catch ICONic Boyz on ABDC last night… watch this video from last night.

so damn good.
oh and ps – thank you to whoever has been watching and voting for them every week! they’re still in it and kickin ass, lets keep them goin!

haha oh my god so listen…
i looked out my window like an hour ago, and i see my neighbor helen (that you all know so well lol), sitting outside her house with a flower pot on her head.

let’s zoom in.

i’m a lot closer than you can tell by the photo, but i can assure you, its a flower pot.
as a matter of fact, i swear on everything holy… thats a flower pot.
wanna know how i know that its a flower pot? because this is the second time i’ve seen it as an accessory.

LOL. this what im talking about when i have a helen story. THIS is what i mean when i say she’s like 150 years old and her fuck for a son leaves her all day to do anything she wants… like plan her escape missions when she tries to get out of the house… or run around the circle screaming “help me” fifty times until one of us sees her… or simply, sit outside in 85 degree weather wearing a sweater and a flower pot on her head.

this is what i write about. i couldn’t make this shit up if i tried.

did you catch ICONic boyz last week rockin the hell out of black eyed peas? LOVED it.

so listen… to prepare for tonight’s NEW episode of ABDC, joanna sent me some links to the latest interviews that the boys did. tonight is gonna be REALLY cute, so if you’ve been watching… you don’t wanna miss this one. i hope they start throwing in some individual stuff with jason. you gotta see the way this kid moves. he’s like the scarecrow… its crazy. anyway, check out the interviews, and don’t forget to tune in tonight!

America’s Best Dance Crew
MTV
10pm EST

haha, too cute.
i know they’re gonna win ;)

meanwhile, back at the ranch…

i booked my florida stuff the other day. may 18th – 23rd. i have a bunch of places to check out and a possible interview with disney!?!? ;) we shall see… i think i may have to make another stop at hogwarts one of those days though. YOU KNOW I HAVE TO. haha.

apparently i lost 6 lbs in the last few weeks. not complaining. not surprised either. i’ve been eating healthy and “moderately” working out… there’s no reason i should NOT have lost anything. definitely not stoppin till i get my “britney” body back though, which shockingly i did have. god i miss her so. haha. but if i could have it once for many many years, i can definitely have it again. wish me luck! i’m beyond motivated when it comes to this crap lol.

can we discuss how awesome “The Voice” is? i think we can. i can’t wait to see next week. idol finally has some great competition (sorry people from idol that read this but its true. haha). i love everything about this show. and the fact that all four “judges” are incredible artists and KNOW what to listen for? FINALLY a show based on vocals ONLY… and i couldn’t be happier. plus carson daly hosting it… he’s actually someone who knows and appreciates good music… REALLY good music, unlike seacrest who appreciates a dollar. not to mention that the chemistry between all 4 artists really just vibes so well. i seriously seriously love it. its just a perfect setup. but seeing adam levine every week also doesn’t hurt. ha.

shia’s not too thrilled about the thunderstorms today. hehe. still so adorable tho ;)

i planned to write a bunch of good shit in this entry and i pretty much just went all over the place instead.
oh well.
WATCH ABDC TONIGHT AND VOTE FOR THE BOYS RIGHT AFTER!!!
lol thanks.

“…in other news, i was given a new boss on sunday night. no more pooja. in fact, and i do say this with the utmost happiness, she’s gone as of this monday. and thank god because honestly working under her made me want to stab my eyes with a pen. so who replaced the ever so wonderful upper management? ken robinson. can i just tell you? i damn near peed when i found out. A, he’s in london, and that’s just grand (funny how i had a thing for london 5 years before i even went. heh) B, i absolutely adore him… aside from the obvious that he’s a clone of hugh grant – and this is in fact true… looks and accent thank you. and C, i’ve had a crush on him since the first time he called me… mostly due in part to the accent that makes me nuts. when we all flew to germany with the company to meet up with the other divisions from other countries, there were quite a few nights of drinking, and while he was married and nothing could ever happen… he flirted like the best of em. one night in particular, i ended up in his hotel room with my coworker lisa… and it was insane. obviously like i said, MARRIED, nothing at all happened. but the 3 of us drank till the wee hours, and all i remember is me and lisa with our shirts unbuttoned and dancing around the room. I CANT EVEN TELL YOU. haha.”

okay so now… enter “my life is a joke” from stage left, and see why this is about to be a wtf!? moment…

before i went to london, i contacted an old co-worker who was a very close friend of mine back then… antje, aka angie. found her on facebook, emailed her, and asked if she had the contact info for “the guy that worked the london office” that she and everyone else knew i had a massive crush on. i couldn’t remember his name, and i did a search on linkedin thinking i could possibly find this man, but ended up finally contacting her. she writes back to me, happy to hear from me, tells me his name, and gives me his email.

mark page.
now… since its 5, almost 6 years later from that time in my life, “mark page” sounded like that could possibly have been him… sounded typically english… and i went with it, ASSUMING IT WAS HIM, because angie’s been with the company for YEARS and i knew she would remember anyone. we start emailing about 2 weeks before london, he supposedly remembers me, he’s all excited, i’m all excited, things should be awesome, bla bla bla.

so now i’m in london, and he’s txting me and we make plans to go to lunch on his break. he tells me to meet him at this awesome little gastro pub called “queen’s head & artichoke”. i get there, we somehow see each other, and now what’s hilarious is that as i’m writing this, i REMEMBER at the time, that i was thinking to myself… “wow he changed. i used to be crazy over this man? he’s cute… but why did i think he looked like hugh grant? funny how my mind worked at 23.”

we had a great lunch, and we “caught up” from what i remember… but i SPECIFICALLY remember him saying how he just got married. so i said, “you re-married?”, and he was like, “what?? …no. haha… why would you think that??”. and i looked at him and i said, “um… because you WERE MARRIED back when we were in germany and i worked for the company.” – and he looked a little puzzled and was like, “well ive been dating her for years, i may have said married because that’s what it always felt like hahaha. who knows.”

and i sat there completely unfazed. as if this man just had the worst memory possible, and i just brushed it off. i have no idea what i was thinking LOL.

long story short… it was a great lunch, nice conversation, and good to catch up with him…

OR RATHER…

MEET… HIM…

considering he was NOT ken robinson!

hahahaha, i can’t even believe this. for the last 2 years, i had no clue that i had lunch with a complete stranger, and we sat there both conversing as though it was so long ago who remembers who. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS. hahaha. only me. i don’t know who HE thought i was, but he went with it like so much time has passed, this has to be someone i know. and now that i think about it, the whole damn time i with with him i was wondering WHY we weren’t like how we used to be. i mean, me and “ken”… we always had this great chemistry, even though he was married. he was just a huge flirt. and THIS GIRL over here is sitting across from some stranger in the middle of london, talking about stories with who she THOUGHT WAS KEN….

please. i cant even right now. hahahaha.
im like hysterically laughing and completely wanna cry all at the same time. i hope angie sees this and laughs her ass off at what happened. LOL. thank god i came across that livejournal entry from YEARS AGO. jesus christ. lol.

what the fuckkkkkkk my life is ridiculous. LOL