PB&J shortbread, delicious like my childhood

Jessica’s PB&J Shortbread:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar (I like organic raw cane sugar)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I like organic creamy peanut butter)
• 2 cups flour (I like whole wheat pastry flour — I’m sure regular flour works too)
• 1/2 cup jam (I like blackberry jam)
• cookie cutters (I like heart shaped — always)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Make sure butter is softened (not a melty puddle). Cream softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Add peanut butter and mix together. Then add flour, one cup at a time, folding it into the mixture. Once you have dough, roll it out and make shapes using your cookie cutters. Put the cookies on a nonstick baking pan. In the middle of each cookie, make a small indentation with your finger. Place a little bit of jam (I would say about 1/4 teaspoon) into the indentation. Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. When you take your cookies out, they’ll be soft, so let them sit in the cookie sheet for a couple minutes to firm up before you move it to a wire rack to fully cool. And you’re done. Now you can relive your childhood memories for dessert. You’re welcome.

If you don’t like jam, these cookies go well with chocolate or just by themselves. They also go well with a cold glass of milk followed by a game of tag.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I lost that list, so I don’t remember any of them, so it’s probable that I didn’t keep any of them. That said, I’m only making one resolution, which is to be my true self.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friend Desirae, and Dakota Jaclyn is absolutely beautiful!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I know of.

5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed stateside for this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2011?
- I no longer view things from a mindset that I lack anything, so nothing.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 30, 2010 — My first day of work!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finally landing a sweet job.

9. What was your biggest failure?
It’s not possible for me to fail at anything, so nothing.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Had some weird stomach issue in October, but nothing major because I was already meant to have divine and perfect health always.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
- a couch
- a dining room table and chairs (so amped on these)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My mom’s. I feel like we have such a better relationship now that I’m older.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mostly mine. I was kind of ridiculous when I forgot/chose to forget who my true self and who I really am.

14. Where did most of your money go?
- rent (hurts soooo good)
- food
- gas

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I was going to see Lenin’s body!! But it was really fake/waxy looking, so that was kind of a letdown.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Anything from The Promise Worship Project.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? much much happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner (I know! I was surprised too).
iii. richer or poorer? richer (in many, many ways).

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
- cleaning
- taking photos
- blogging

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
- staying up late
- spending money
- working

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent it with the fam (and the boy’s fam).

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
YES. He is amazing and perfect.

23. How many one-night stands?
Zero.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I didn’t really watch TV but if I sat down for more than 10 minutes I would watch:
- Modern Family
- Glee
- Undercover Boss

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope… I don’t hate anyone because everyone was made awesome and has something to contribute.

26. What was the best book you read?
- the rhema code, by scott schang
- God believes in you

27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
- the promise worship project
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Fyfe Dangerfield

28. What did you want and get?
Pretty much everything.

29. What did you want and not get?
I don’t know… I got everything I wanted.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Inception.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 23 and I spent my day/night preparing for a job interview.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having to not ever stress out about anything.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
I got so many cardigans!

34. What kept you sane?
- God
- mom

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don’t think I ever fancied anyone famous.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I forgot about politics this year — nothing really.

37. Who did you miss?
- the fam
- friends from college

38. Who was the best new person you met?
The man, for sure!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
2007 has been a year of self-discovery and of getting to know myself better. Being out of my element and what I know made me realize what I’m made of: the standards I hold, the friends I keep, and the things I value. We are all in the process of constantly changing ourselves. Every new fashion accessory, catchphrase or behavior is the step to another version of “being yourself.” Most importantly, we shape ourselves through the choices we make in life. I keep thinking about how different I would have been if I had made certain choices differently, but it’s time to move on to the choices in front of us.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum…
still it’s a real good bet the best is yet to come
the best is yet to come and babe, won’t that be fine
you think you’ve seen the sun but you ain’t seen it shine

(frank sinatra/ “the best is yet to come”)

It works not because it settles the question for you, but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know exactly what you are hoping for.

I finally made it to San Diego (via driving from Portland, Ore.). I had to cross some mountains in Ashland, but the Soul Train and all my stuff made it. Fun fact: the highest point on the I-5 is in the mountains of Ashland at 4310 feet. My mom ended up taking the wheel for most of California driving after I seriously got freaked out. It’s so true what they say about LA drivers–they do drive fast and crazy. But now that I’ve been in San Diego for two weeks, I’m getting used to the driving style (speed limit is obviously a suggestion — I’m driving 70 in the “slow lane” and I get passed all the time) and getting around and figuring out where everything is. And I had my mom for a week to help get me settled in, which was also fun. My condo also came with a roommate! She seems chill and awesome and I think we’ll work out just fine.

I love the weather in San Diego. It’s sunny, not too hot and just perfect. I think being in places that have not-so-great weather (Portland and Lexington, VA) makes me appreciate it even more. But at the same time, I refuse to freak out over half an inch of rain. We just got some rain (less than an inch) a couple weeks ago, and people kept calling it “a storm” and I kept thinking, “Oh please. Let me bring you to Portland and you can see how we get “mega storms” half the year.” On the day we got some rain, there were also many accidents. Newsflash: you can’t drive as fast when the road has water on it!

I also jumped headfirst into a new gig at a local TV news station that already has me working hard. I will end up writing for both the newscasts and the site, so I’ll be swinging both ways. I just finished up my two weeks of broadcast writing training and now I’m about to start training for the Web. YAY. I’m so amped on that. Web is my main deal — especially multimedia projects (for which there are opportunities). It gets crazy and stressful, but the good news is that it’s never boring.

But not like it was a completely painless transition: some goodbyes never happened. Some weren’t as meaningful as I wanted and some people haven’t quite grown up yet. As much as I love how everything is exciting and new and an adventure, I miss mostly people, but some things like no sales tax, homecooked lumpia, delicious microbrews and evergreen trees.

Yes kids, I am employed now. In journalism! Therefore, we must doubly rejoice! By the end of the month, I’ll be working at a TV station in San Diego where I will spend most of my time writing stories for their Web site. I’ll also be writing for their newscast and working on some multimedia (hopefully)! This is even more exciting because I have yet to see an SD news site with robust multimedia offerings (other than just video, but more like interactive infographics and such) and we can take the lead. It will be awesome.

So this means I’m packing up and leaving the rainy Northwest for a golden state of mind. But the best part is that I’ll be driving away from my hometown/everything I know and a city full of the finest microbrews in a new car! I just got a 2010 KIA Soul (titanium color) and it’s been fun to drive. It’s cute (according to my grandpa) and has pretty much everything I could need (Sirius, Bluetooth and a sunroof among so many things).

It’s been a whirlwind couple weeks. They’re getting their money’s worth of me in Smoothieland. In other coolness, I’m delighted to see these videos circling my Facebook News Feed:

Now if I can only get my bracket filled out, I’ll be all set.

“Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” -Lady Gaga

(via Lovely Happenings)

Then again, it’s not like your career can snuggle up next to you. Or carry your heavy groceries up a couple flights of stairs. Or change the oil in your car. Or tell you that you’re beautiful. That is the dilemma.

Now that I’m done whining about it, the tough stuff makes life not boring. The lows and highs are what make the roller coaster interesting.

Of course, there are so many things I could have said or done differently, but I feel like I stood confidently behind whatever answers I gave.

It’s easier to remember the bad things over the good. Why else do wounds come with scars? Why don’t we have anything to remember the good things that happen to us? Regardless, you’ve just got to do the best you can in whatever circumstances you’re facing.

Now it’s over and done and everything is committed to something higher than me. I can’t take back anything I said or retake anymore tests from yesterday and nothing is going to keep me from enjoying my today.

Right now I’m reminded that you’re supposed to rest after working (six days shall you labor, but you shall rest on the seventh day and all that). So I’m resting. I’m not going to let yesterday’s events stress me out any longer.

At the same time, a missed opportunity opens up to such great and wonderful potential, provided that you plan far enough in advance to take that next opportunity. We’re back in action. It’s exciting now.

It’s also a good teacher. Lesson learned: do not lose contact with certain people on any circumstances. I know it’s vague, and this is kinda for me anyway because I just need to get this out of my head.

Unrelated: So I just Googled myself (image search) and pictures of me and graphics I’ve made for journalism-related things pop up on the first page! Um, thanks Google.

Jess: It’s cool there. They have the beach, Legoland (not as cool as the real one in Denmark obviously) and Shamu!

Mom: Oh, you mean like the drug?

Jess: There’s a drug called Shamu?

Mom: Yeah, like Shamu-Shamu??

Jess: What are you talking about?!?

Hilarity for hours! Upon further research, I think she meant shabu shabu, which is delicious Japanese hot pot.

Another reason I’ll miss her is because she knows how to shop. Or as we call it, “investing.” I know I said I needed to cut back on my investing, but I argue that it’s almost my birthday (Feb. 25).

After church last Sunday we decided to go to Nordstrom Rack. With Rack, it’s clearly hit or miss. One day, there will be so many things (all the stuff you wanted in the main store but didn’t want to pay full price for), and the next day will have nothing. She went to get some shoes for herself and while she’s wandering around, she finds these gorgeous purple/reddish Frye Harness boots for $119! In size 6! Oh man, it was just like the wise men finding the Christ child.

Love these already!

The going rate for these fabulous leather boots is about $200, and for good measure. They’re well made and will last for years. The Frye company is the oldest American shoe company still in operation (since 1863), supplying boots for soldiers during the Civil War, Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and hippies in the 1960s (gotta throw those history tidbits in — it’s a given). They’ve had nearly 150 years to perfect the art of making the best boots.

I’ve only seen them in black and tan in the Nordstrom stores, so it was weird to see the plum already at the Rack.

But what makes things even better is that my mom let me use her $20 Nordstrom note, which brought my boots down to $99. Luck? Or divine intervention?

As the Nordstrom guy said, my mom and I have “black belts in shopping.” That doesn’t even begin to cover it. You may as well call her the grand master. She innately knows how to find the best deals on anything and hold on to her money as much as possible, which makes me believe that my frugal Asian mom and my future Jewish mother-in-law will get along nicely.

I’m also busy working on a Web site for a friend and staying positive about my life.

This is good. If anything, I have perfected the domestic arts. I can make excellent soup, do laundry, iron and navigate public transit.

Or if all else fails, I could end up taking this guy’s approach.

My job situation is looking better than it has in a long time. All I can say is I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful network. Maybe not jumping into a company right after school was actually a good idea. I’ve had time to reevaluate and reflect on what I really truly want in a job and how to get there. Obviously, I want and need a job. Those college loans, though not terrible, are still looming. And until I get one, I know it’s out there.

My work site! http://jessintime.tumblr.com

Jess in time (portfolio/clip repository) has been back in action, reloaded, updated and ready to go: I put it in a grid style (the designer in me LOVES this) with a header and I included more than just j-clips, because I’ve got to market myself as something more than just a journalist. I have the basic journalism skills plus more (in my case, creativity and Web skills). I’ve also tagged my clips for more organization, but lately the tagged posts keep changing and Tumblr seems like it’s acting up.

Resume re-redesign, proof that the creative process never sleeps.

The creative process never ceases, so I redid my resume yet again and have received great feedback! Most people who have seen it like it, but I did have some corporate HR people that found it confusing and hard to read. I’m blessed to have a career coach as a family friend, so she looked over my cover letter and resume and passed the resume over to one of her friends in HR. He wasn’t impressed. I get that. He does HR for hospitals. He don’t care if your resume looks pretty, he just wants to make sure you’re qualified enough to operate on and stick needles in people. But the newsies somehow get it, which is why I think my life would be unfulfilled if I wasn’t working in news in some way.

I also got a Formspring! I actually think it’s part of a fascinating social experiment. If anonymity was guaranteed, would people be as much more candid in their questions as they are with their words on online forums? Those of you who have to moderate reader comments know what I’m talking about.

Ask me anything and receive fast, timely, relevant and  accurate answers (or if not, a close jess-timate, haha). And go.