Family


JamesParisNews2005-08-04 (63k image)
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That’s right. Jameson and Paris made the paper today. Jameson is the one on the right. Ofcourse, Paris almost knocked the others over to fight her way to the front of the camera (like father, like daughter).

So if anyone was wondering what Jameson and Paris do on a daily basis, this is it. They enjoy the sunny days out by the pool with their closest friends. Their martini glasses and umbrella got cut from the picture.

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If getting engaged wasn’t enough, my little baby, Jameson, has graduated from Puppy Headstart Class. According to Omar, I can now die a happy woman. Otherwise, I can look forward to the day she finds that special someone to settle down with and have children of her own. On second thought, she will have to adopt.

Back to being serious, she did follow in her mother’s foot steps to become the valedictorian of her class of three. Paris gave her a run for her money in the beginning of the class, but when it came down to the final exam and Paris couldn’t do any tricks, there was no argument who was the smartest puppy.

From seeing the picture, I am sure that you can tell that Jameson was excited for this day to come. She looks like she should be on the brochure for one of the great PetSmart Puppy colleges. Both Quinn and I are very proud of her. She hasn’t made any plans yet, but we do see the next level of education in her future. Why waste a brain like that?

If you haven’t guessed it or heard it already, Quinn and I are engaged! That’s right, I finally tied him down. Now I can finally let myself go…..no more exercise or watching what I eat, no more trips to the tanning bed or hair salon. Those of you who made it over for dinner at our place, please know that you are now one of the lucky few who got to enjoy the old Jodi, the domesticated Jodi. Now I can release the “inner me,” who lays on the couch all day watching Law and Order and spills food in her lap and doesn’t even clean it up (oh wait, the Law and Order part of that might already be true…oops). Anyway, you get the point. Either Charles Brian Quinn is a really brave man or a very naive one to fall for that trick.

Just kidding everyone, I will pick up the food that I spill on myself. And FYI, we are very excited about this new and exciting point in our lives and relationship; therefore we would like to enjoy it for awhile. Please don’t expect any wedding plans to be made any time soon.

A picture of the ring may follow in a couple of days, once I find a lense that can handle this kind of stunning beauty and sparkle. This picture was taken in June 2003 at the wedding of my friend, Julie. I believe it was the first wedding that Quinn had ever attended, and hopefully, not the last.

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I know it’s been awhile since I have updated my website. So much has happened since my last entry. In the past year I have gotten a new car, a new Volkswagen Jetta (except it’s not new anymore since the 2005s came out). Quinn and I finished remodeling the kitchen. He has before and after pictures on his website. Hopefully soon I will have some pictures too. We will soon begin renovating our bathroom and closet as well. The most exciting development in my life,though, which exceeds the ones I just mentioned, is becoming a parent, and for the most part, a single parent. Quinn and I were blessed with our first child at the first of August.

It all began when Roselyn and James’s dog, Frisket, escaped from the backyard. Evidently in the dog world, Frisket is a head-turner, and she milks it for all it’s worth. She travels into every corner of the neighborhood to get the attention of every male dog she can find. Because of her promiscuity, we have been unable to determine who our child’s father is, and no one has come forward to claim her or her siblings.

When we decided to adopt Jameson, we were presented with the pleasure of naming her. We had already told James that we would name our first born after him. Since our puppy was a girl, we had to adapt it a little. Soon after we decided which of the puppies was ours, Wes decided that he wanted a puppy too. Just like some girlfriends have matching handbags, Wes and I have matching puppies. At least that’s how we pictured it to be….going to lunch at a restaurant with a patio with our well-behaved puppies sitting calmly at our feet. As you can probably imagine, that’s not quite how it has turned out.

As we have learned, puppies need a lot of attention. They do not come potty-trained. In fact, they can’t hold their bladders until at least 12 weeks old. They love to chew on everything, even money. Mine and Jameson’s relationship first developed to be sort of a love/hate connection. I could only sleep 3-4 hours at a time before needing to wake up to let Jameson potty, or clean up where she had already pottied. She has had a hard time differentiating between her furry chew toy and my furry rug. As I tried to teach her discipline, Quinn quickly defined his role as the spoiler who sweeps in on the weekends to let Jameson rule the house.

Through the good and the bad, I think Jameson is turning out to be a semi-trained dog with a lot of personality. To Quinn’s defense, it’s hard to look at these puppies and then punish them for doing something mischievous. They’re just so cute! These pictures were taken the first week we got them. They were six weeks old at the time. Now they are at least 3 months older and 6 pounds bigger. The short story is that it’s rough being a single mom, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything. There will be more pictures to come.
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As some of you MAY HAVE or HAVE NOT noticed, jodibell.com was down for a short while, while Quinn was in the middle of changing servers and whatnot. Georgia Tech deleted our accounts from existence, which also deleted Quinn’s access to run his server through Georgia Tech. Enough of this technical talk….

I know my website following has probably dropped dramatically since I never update it with any exciting news anymore, but hey! I had to join the real world at some point in time. While I am still here making comments about how exciting my life used to be, Roselyn (Quinn’s mom) and James are in Italy this week on vacation. So far they are having a blast, and Quinn and I are house-sitting and dog-sitting……coincidentally we haven’t seen one of the dogs for two days (whose idea was it to leave the two of us in charge?!)

By the way, my life still does have exciting points in it, so don’t let me fool you - I got my hair cut yesterday, Quinn and I are gonna catch a couple of flicks at the Decatur Independent Film Festival this week, and we both got off work next Saturday and Sunday to enjoy a real weekend. Oh yeah, we are also car-sitting for Roselyn and James, and we have fallen in love with the ‘92 BMW convertible. We fight over who gets to drive every day, and I am sure life without the top down just won’t be as exciting once Roselyn and James come back and pry the keys out of our hands.

Until next time…..Ciao!

jodicbqriogrande (40k image)
I promise I have been job-hunting, but while that isn’t going so well, I have been spending some quality time with this boy. This picture was taken by my friend Lauren, who has the new sprint phone that takes digital pictures, at a mexican restaurant the other night. We emailed it directly from her phone to my laptop. Isn’t technology so cool. Anyway, I kinda found a job, and my day of training starts later this afternoon, but the bad part is they don’t really have any openings in the schedule yet. They still “hired” me though. Quite complicated and confusing, but isn’t everything in my life? I guess I will see how things are going today, and then maybe apply for some other jobs. I will keep the updates posted.

I do have a lot of projects going on right now……#1, searching for jobs and apartments in Barcelona. CBQ and I have been really motivated lately to make this a reality, so hopefully we can do it. #2, I am assisting a friend with a loft renovation in Carrollton, GA. Should be a great learning experience, and also really fun. Hopefully soon, in my new website design, there will be a section dedicated to cataloguing the progress on this project; should be quite nice. #3, I have a few art projects in the works that will also be catalogued on my site. #4, I gotta get back in shape! I am starting a new workout schedule, and hopefully I will be strict with it even though I don’t have my nazi trainer, Wes, to make me.

Well, that is all I have to say to update you on my life right now. Thanks for still reading, even though the entries are much less exciting. A bientot!


Yes that’s right, Quinn has been putting up with me for one full year now, as of yesterday to be exact. If I had to be put into the category of couples where the excitement lies in what toppings to put on your pizza, then I am glad that I am in it with him. But I am sure that we will continue to be as fun and exciting and adventurous as ever…..in the Atlanta metropolitan area, at least for the summer.

Seriously, I have had the time of my life since I met this boy who completely swept me off my feet from day one. I don’t know what I would do without him. We have been spoiled in this first year of our relationship. Our time together has been limited from the beginning, since I was working on the Velux competition when we met, and then he left for Barcelona and I left for Paris, but we have helped each other through it all. He inspires me to work harder while we are apart so we can enjoy doing nothing and everything while we are together. He has taught me to appreciate someone who is sweet and loves me unconditionally. I can’t wait to get back to him so that we can continue this exciting and new journey together.

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I just now got around to putting the picture of them up here, because I just now got photoshop so that I could shrink the images….YAY! Now I can work on my portfolio. I have no more excuses.

I almost forgot! One of my best friends and roommates, Colin Blake, just got engaged to his very sweet and patient (just kidding Coleen) girlfriend Jennifer. I have to admit that I do feel a little responsible for their relationship….who knows if he would have ever asked her out if I hadn’t blackmailed him to give him the courage to do it in the first place! I have been friends with Colin since freshman year, and we have had many interesting experiences together - CS homework nights (i.e. margarita nights), the night we got my/our couch (i.e. my birthday), dave matthews concert (i.e. my birthday present from colin), soap operas after school, that trip to the bookstore….hee hee, the hunting(s) of the mouse - anyway, the list of memories goes on and on. I realize that no one really picks up on any of this except Colin and me, but I am writing it specifically to him to let him know how much he means to me and how proud I am of him. So congratulations Colin, and no matter how much I have picked on you in the past, I think Jennifer is a very lucky lady, especially since you cook so well ;-)

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So these pictures are the progression through , one of our cooking sessions for Thanksgiving dinner last week. Becky, Tim, and I are arguing about what ingredients do we need more of in the stuffing - more celery, more sage. We finally added too much of both; I was happy as long as I got to mix up the ingredients with my hands. I am so easily amused. I am taking my French final tomorrow morning from 9-12 a.m.; early mornings are not always my best thinking times. OK, enough procrastination for one day. Bye.

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