Guest Blogger: Stanford Grad, JP: A Sign of a True Friend

I live in Boston. Lately the weather has been downright cold. I have had to wear my wool coats, scarves, gloves, and everything else.


Today was Sunday, the weather was slightly warmer, like 28 degrees instead of 18 degrees. So I wore a shorter dress with tights to church. The dress is a Jess Berry original.


At church I kept my coat on until right before the first meeting. About fifteen minutes into the meeting, the time when everyone is extremely reverent, my dear friend J, taps me on the shoulder.  Whispering, she very kindly informs me, "Jenn, your zipper is undone."


As she tells me this I reach over to indeed feel more than I expected. My face flushes.


I had apparently gotten ready so fast I had forgotten to zip up the side of my dress directly under my left arm.


I struggle to begin to zip up the dress.  Thoughts race through my head, Will this dress in fact zip up? Has the cute boy behind me heard or seen this? Who ever decided to put a zipper under the arm??


J, understanding my dilemma, discreetly zipped up the side of my dress.  I don't believe that I have ever heard a louder zipper sound. I pray that the congregation thought the sound was a scripture case.

2011: Surviving Hard Times Plus Great Moments

My disclaimer: When I returned from my month in Idaho I was promptly welcomed by a cold that turned into a sinus infection, this in combination with a hectic month end my 2012 goal to pick up my blogging with more dedication has been delayed...by almost a month. I suppose that is predictable when you're busy living blogging takes a backseat.  


2011 in review:


It was a hard year: full of fatigue, sickness, anxiety, and loss. It was a year of survival, waiting upon the Lord. Luckily, my capacity to survive was expanded, thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 
   

I could give a laundry list of the hard moments of 2011 and for historical purposes I have documented them but for purposes of this post I will be dwelling on the great moments that happened amid the storms of 2011. I believe it speaks volumes to the mercy we still receive from God even in the toughest of times.  While many of these may seem mundane to some readers, remember this past year was not about thriving but surviving and being physically ill for over a year (more than normal) even mundane moments become great moments if those moments allow you to focus on something other than the constant feeling of fatigue. 


(in no particular order)


Arizona trip in March with my family (spring training, golf, shopping)
Participating in the videoing of the Mormon Message, Our Hands His Hands, Our Hearts, His Heart.  
Watching my freshmen graduate
Lots of service (mostly received)! 
Opening day of baseball season 
Golf league with The J-Crew 
BS & BW's wedding in April
SJ & NJ's wedding in July
JBH & HN's wedding in July (yes, lots of weddings)
Gordo's wedding 
Spending time with SEC, parents, and BW in Utah in July
Going to Israel, a once in a lifetime experience (and 11 days of physically feeling okay to make the trip)
Spending time with AR and MPR before they moved
Golfing at Deep Cliff (great day)
 AC and NB's engagement surprise
Cook club
Spending time with the Carlstons 
Yankees in the BAY
Thanksgiving with The Ellwangers
Hot tubbing (lots of hot tubbing)
My birthday!
Mama Berry coming in October to help me  
General Conference
Parents and G-parents visiting in November
Purchasing my new bed! 
FMC
Post-Thanksgiving dinner with the Jarvis family
Being with my little girls
Spending the month of December in Idaho

Jack Berry would be proud that I'm still spitting in that "damn mitt". 

Here is to a better year in 2012. 

Guest Blogger: JP's Response To CP's Post

I received the sweetest email from JP this week and as author and editor of my blog I shall post it below.  Let me also just add: CP and JP are gracious and hilarious friends, who clearly love me and I have the utmost respect for each of them.  (I did not however pay them to say such nice things...promise). 


Dear JB,

I would like to respond to Mr. CP's blog with your permission, he missed a few of the most important points.  JB, you are allowed to edit, cut, paste, and rewrite. 

Here it begins: 

Hello dear readers.  My name is Jennifer Peterson.  I would like to challenge Mr. Chris Perry to a duel of epic proportions.  Unfortunately Mr. Chris Perry is the land of milk and honey in California and I am in the cold wintry Massachusetts so this duel of epic proportions will have to be delayed until we meet each other again.  I suspect the meeting will be at a distant mutual friend's wedding that we are both crashing. I will be talking to an acquaintance that I have forgotten her name when I will notice Chris Perry staring at me across the room.  Chris will come over and ask me to introduce me to the person I am talking to.  I will glare at Chris and ignore his comment.  Yes, this will be awkward. Yes I will eventually have to admit that I do not remember the person's name.  At that point the duel will commence. Until that awkward moment, I challenge Chris Perry to a duel of words and rhetoric.

I will mention that Chris Perry is correct in advocating that Jess Berry is Better Than You, however Chris Perry is off target on the word choice "Seriously."   I propose the following word choice with supporting quotes. 

Jess Berry is Graciously Better Than You. 

Quote One:  "Well they are in good company then."  Jess, affectionately known as JB, will use this quote when one of her friends mentions that a person of prominence holds the same opinion as JB.  JB has a well defined sense of self confidence.  Using her self confidence she inspires you to find your own.  She encourages you to be the best you can be. 

Quote Two:  "Yankees are ..."  I usually don't understand the rest of these sentences as they go off into baseball land.  This quote however emphasizes how loyal Jess is to her team.  If you are lucky enough to be on her team, she will be loyal to you.

Quote Three:  She appreciates sweet potato fries.  Jess Berry appreciates the simple pleasures and the finer things of life like no one else.  She has great taste.  (see CP's cooking comments) She will make you feel welcome.  She reaches out to those who need it most.  

Supporting arguments (I could not expand on all, after all I'm in Graduate School now and have homework and such!) 

Red Checkered Vans proves she is a better shopper than you. 

Her moves to Party in the USA proves she is a better dancer than you. 

P90X proves she is a better ab ripper than you. 

Any questions/comments/concerns/rebuttals/suggestions - please email me. 

Yours,

JP

Vacation Baby!

1. Packed, check. Thanks to JP and KB! (with camera to document the goodness)

2. No work for 10 days, check!

3. Pulling an all-nighter to fight the impending jet lag, check.

4. Ready to see The Water Filter and L-Schoe, YES!

5. Excited, check!

Shalom!

Go Bright or Go Home

The JB and JP Summer 2011 collection, embrace the color! (I really struggled not just calling out her shoes after she said the opening prayer in my Sunday school class. Love that JP and her style.

Driving Miss Berry

Saturday morning JP came over and drove me around to run errands. Either she really loves me or was really bored or a combination (probably the most likely scenario). We learned that I like to push the shopping cart faster. Thanks to JP I won't be bringing 10 bottles of small shampoo and I have cool paisley purse to take as well.

Look at JP's serious face...clearly she takes her job of driving Miss Berry seriously.

Now she smiles...JP, thanks for a great Saturday morning!

I introduced JP to The Milk Pail as well...only four years too late. Yet I still gave her the VIP tour and secret rules to conquer each trip to The Milk Pail...which I will share with you now.

1. Only bring your keys and debit card into the store (no need to carry a bulky purse).

2. Remember Milk Pail patrons for the most part are rude (I've never understood why though) so be on the defense...i.e. grab the first basket you can spot and don't aimlessly wander through the market, pick a route and stick to it.

3. Always, always sample the cheese selections at the back of the store.

4. Nutella by the small container is always less expensive at the Milk Pail than Safeway.

5. Each checker has their own line so don't go to the south side of the store line and think you'll wait your turn...aim for the three middle checkout lines...those are always the quickest.

***I also told JP about the game I play every week in the Milk Pail...see how much produce you can buy for under $10, it is more fun than 10 items or less.

JP can't say I've never taught her anything now...

My Freshmen Graduate!

Four years ago JP and L.Smithie came to Stanford.

JP, a shy engineering nerd that probably thought she did something horribly wrong in the pre-existence to have me stick to her immediately like super glue, never to go away. L. Smithie, a shy curly haired freshmen that smiled at lot but stayed pretty quiet most of her freshmen year. Somehow I blinked and they went from shy freshmen to amazing women that graduated today who are anything but shy! From the football playing, to the cooking making, to the many dinners (i.e. weekly) at Wilbur, Roth, & Xanadu, to the Party in the USA dancing, to the introducing of Rebs and Mi (such wonderful friendships made), to the delicious crepes, to the marshmallow popcorn, to the nerf gun war, to the hair curling and makeup applying, to the many ROM-COMs,...to finally watching them graduate this morning. I was beaming with pride! I'm so happy for all these grads!

***I will admit that when I received JP's graduation announcement in the mail I cried. So while today was a sweet day, it was sad day knowing that I'll miss these ladies more than words express...and not just because they fed me weekly. ;)

(Hopefully LS, AS, and The Water Filter will step in to take care of me, hint hint)

Beautiful Ladies!

JP sporting a Jess Berry Spring 2010 original. (I'm completely honored that she'd wear a JB original to The Stanford Graduation)

The Wacky Walk...no formal BYU-I entrance here. HN didn't love the wacky walk...but I did LOVE that they had Pac-Man!

JP waving to the family from the field.

HN, JP, JB, and L.Smithie

Aviators are definitely the hot new look for L.Smithie!

Proud to be friends with these lovely ladies!

The new Grad!

"Hell No We Won't Go" Maybe I should of stolen their sign and added "we won't let you go"...

In true character these two...

Sadly we missed seeing our other amazing Grads! You're all special (and I'm not just saying that, this is my blog after all and if I don't seriously mean something I'll be the first to let you know!)! Congratulations ladies and gents on such an amazing accomplishment!

Crepes: One of My Many Specialties

Monday night we had a little sleepover for some of the graduating Stanford Senior girls. Marshmallow popcorn, peach rings, Mint Moosetracks ice cream (heaven in your mouth), while sighing as we watched The Young Victoria (that movie gets better every time). Followed by these delicious babies in the morning. We missed you MP and you missed out on crepes the next morning!

Happy Tuesday to us!

Top 7 of The Week

(in no particular order)

1. Warm, clean laundry

2. Temple

3. Hole #4 on the New Friday

4. Thursday's massage

5. Dinner with L. Smithie and JP

6. Mint chip ice cream (best ice cream ever)

7. 1:1 time with myself (yes I love my alone time)

My Favorite Shoes...and JP's!

Mondays = Plaid For The J's

JP and L. Smithie Go To The Ball

JP was nice enough to let us (mostly CW let's be honest) doll her up for the Ball. Yes, at Stanford they have Balls. The ladies looked gorgeous! (I hope I used enough hairspray for those curls to last at least 90 minutes. Their dates were pretty handsome as well (but the one photo I snapped with them was blurry). Thanks for letting CW and I play...I'll let you girls be my proxy for such evenings anytime. :)

The dresses were beautiful! L. Smithie rocks maroon and black is killer on JP.

A shot of the back of JP's hair.

I couldn't quite talk JP into wearing the pink heels all evening (apparently comfort over style is preferred while dancing the night away at a Ball), however she did sport them long enough for me to snap this picture. JP, this is proof that your calves need to be in your Top 5 physical features!

My Weekly Roommates: The Ladies of Xanadu

Miss Mi, Rebs, me, L. Smithie, and JP

These ladies are amazing! They've let me be a welcomed 5th wheel each week. I love each chance I have to spend with these girls, it is not about the quality of food, but rather the quality time spent. Rebs is headed off to Oxford, we are excited for her, but I'm going to miss her A LOT! Thanks girls! Love you all!

My Stanford Soph Is Now A Stanford Senior!

JP is kind of a big deal! She spoke at Convocation tonight. She did wonderfully, delivering her address with finesse, spunk, and that engineering humor. She was beautiful, radiant in fact.

We also learned that hairspray is a modern miracle! ;)

Bringing Roommates Together One Curl At A Time

Post Monday night dinner JP let me curl her hair!

Doesn't she look beautiful!!

Roommates that are the same height!

I should have gone to beauty school instead...so much more fun curling hair than playing in spreadsheets.

Inner Workings Of The Stanford Junior Mind Part 13

The Few and Far Between: The Vices of Jess Berry.

1. Dr. Pepper. JB practically uses her many 12 packs as a bed frame. She can tell you the best way of drinking DP, warmed up from the California sun in her car. Which leads to her next vice...

2. Her car. JB often takes nap in her car. She has figured out the perfect level to lean back in the front seat and still be able to change the radio without leaning forward. Obsessed, perhaps?

3. Ten key number pads. Yes these do exist. I asked myself that question earlier. These pads provide bragging rights for accountants by comparing ten key typing speed. I will include her calculator that she carries in her purse into this vice as well.

4. Yankees. If I expand this section further JB might not post this, she is a little sensitive about this subject.

5. GChat. JB and I spend some substantial time talking on GChat or GChatting or "Pinging" I will extrapolate she spends a considerable amount of time chatting with her friends online. She often quotes GChats on her blog.

6. Lists. JB loves lists. If you ask her nicely she might tell you her list of her top five body features or her top five favorite cuts of meat. She probably has many Google Documents filled with various lists.

7. Self Explanatory*

I have given her two weeks to develop some virtues in order to create a comparing list. As Abraham Lincoln has explained, “It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” When explaining this concept to Jess, she asked for a definition of a virtue. Here you are Jess:

Virtue: moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. (from dictionary.com)

*For those who didn't get this one. She LOVES the number seven. She will only wake up on a seven. Like 6:47 or 7:17. She is unique.

For JP...Just A Suggestion...

Inner Workings Of The Stanford Junior Mind Part 12

History

From my little study of history I've found that history revolves around prominent leaders. Historians love to research these important people, resulting in hundreds of books. One side effect of the national prominence and fame is that anything that an important person touches becomes significant.

So I work at a place that researches history. Under the student work desk there is a document folder that keeps falling over and landing on my knees. Kind of annoying. I usually just pick it up and lean against the side. One day in frustration I opened the huge folder, lo and behold there are two pieces of legal sized note paper framed in a large sheet of plexiglass with President Reagan's handwriting. THE President Reagan. I'm not sure what the papers say, I've tried to read them, multiple times. Yes a piece of history hits my knee every time I sit down and to be honest it is kind of a pain.

I hope one day my college physics notes will make it in plexiglass. My notes would also be illegible, but at least mine would have interesting doodles in the margins.

Inner Workings Of The Stanford Junior Mind Part 11

A Plagiarized Blog

**Note that Stanford Junior is getting a bit lazy and pulled the following from a gchat conversation, but still hilarious.

A Good Hugger

1. Uses both arms, an embrace...no side hugging here

2. Depending on the height difference, knows the most ideal placement of their arms

for example a short girl like myself doesn't want to be hugged around the head or neck so a guy should move the placement according...i.e. the boy somehow hugs from the shoulders and is able to wrap around the sides of my waist (advanced skills needed for this)

3. The linger of the hug includes a soft, additional squeeze

4. The person smells good, it makes it so much nicer too (to linger that is)

5. Composition and personality is naturally inclined to hug affectionately so therefore their hugs are not awkward (we all no an awkward hug within moments of the so-called embrace)

Inner Workings Of The Stanford Junior Mind Part 10

Mini blog posts...

1. After a disal drenching of y laptop in hot chocolate during this thanksgiving, aaingly, I was able to take apart y laptop and clean off the keys. Unfortunately neither the letter after L or the letter after Y in the alphabet work very well. So that's why i' issing those letters. Hallelujah I saved y pictures! In the future I will copy paste and not drink close to computers. (yes it worked!) Don't worry I'll be getting a new laptop soon. :)

2. Hey Jess you never mentioned why I was invited to the Celebration of Day 177... hehe

3. Activities I'm grateful for during Thanksgiving Break

1) Making Meltaways with Mother

2) New skirt! Shopping with Gram

3) Snow!

4) Walking Route A

5) Seeing The RM for the first time

6) Thanksgiving with the Cousins

7) Lunch with Pop

8) Finding License in Dryer

9) Getting Files off Laptop

10) Talking With Ted

(Dearest Jess I will not extend this list to 17 because I have no qualms about waking up on the hour.)

***Editor's note: She was invited because we needed someone to wash dishes so our manicured nails wouldn't be ruined. ;)