Postcards To Home ♥

We had a potluck breakfast this morning in the office. Yummy, "I'm about the pass out" food. I brought in lots of bananas figuring they will be eaten throughout the day. Someone made pumpkin waffles, sausage/egg casserole, fruit bowls, pastries, mini doughnuts, bagels and lox....lots of food! We even had drinks...Regular Mimosas and the "White Trash Mimosas" which is Miller High-Life and Sunny D. I'm plugging away at my project but would love to curl up under my comforter right now after the filling breakfast.

Poptart and Cornflake Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: One of my closest friends in Seattle is hitting the road tomorrow morning for a roadtrip with her boyfriend Eric and their dog, Floyd. They are taking a huge roadtrip on their way to their new home in Chicago. Eric is going to gradutate school through the Navy and after 15 months on leave, him and Katie will finally be back together in the Windy City. Saturday night we had a farewell party for Katie and Eric. I forgot I had my camera until the very end so I didn't get a photo of most the guest. Click on the photo to see more images from the silly night.

Last night we had our company holiday party at the Edgewater hotel. Its about 7 blocks from my apartment. We got all dolled up and they had it like a casino where we gambled with fake money with raffle prizes and prizes for the best gamblers. A bunch of us went a bar in my neighborhood afterwards. I only had two glasses of wine at the party but the two drinks at the bar did me in. I didn't take any photos but will try to round some up. I was on time to work but I was part of the high percentage of employees who were truly feeling the pain today.

As new videos are added, I will update this blog to the lastest video update's date.

Click on image to see animation.

T.G.I.F! What a week, what a day. Today was one of those days where a project keeps appearing on your desk hour after hour with more and more changes. That is why one of the account managers gave me this little bottle of Tequila because a certain project is driving us nuts. All we can do is laugh about it. The good news is that we were suppose to come in Sunday to help prepare for a Monday presentation and now we do not have to set foot in this place until Monday morning. Cheers!

Andy recommended a great food web site for me. http://www.epicurious.com The dictionary on the site has become a good friend. http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/ This weeks produce includes Apples, Pears, Spring Mix, Basil (lots of it!) Leeks, Mushrooms, Celeriac (which is a celery root), Winter Squash, Carrots and Kale.

Weather has been crazy. Saturday morning I was out and about at 8am to go to my hair salon. It was chilly but nothing crazy. I got home at 11:30am made breakfast and went back to bed for a nap. I woke up at 2 to a winter wonderland! That is a rarity in this region. It all turned to slush that night but has been raining since. Today we have 3 storms traveling through the area. Rain is falling at historical levels. Seattle had almost 3.5 inches of rain -- making it the second wettest day in Seattle history. My co-workers Cher's car is almost completely submerged in a food across the street from her house. She was at work when someone e-mailed her photos of her car. She shared the photos with us, trying to find laughter in the situation. Here are photos of rescue crews floating by Cher's car. It is only drizzling now and it warmed up. Strange, strange weather.

I have two home video cassettes I need to bring back to PA. I HAD to tape this with my digital camera because I kept watching Jenna over and over and over. Jen, you were an adorable, funny kid... and I had VERY BAD HAIR! WHY ON EARTH DID I THINK HAVING A "PUFF" WAS COOL?

1st night cooking with the produce from the Farmshare. Doesn't the assortment look great? I boiled potatoes and to my surprise, some had purple on the inside. I had to call Andy to figure out if they were actually potatoes. Looks like Andy, my produce-loving-friend will be getting weekly calls from me wondering what things are and what's the best way to prepare them. Tonight I had a yummy dinner with purple potatoes.

Today has been an interesting day. 1. I won a new office chair. 2. My 1st week of Farm-Share produce came in. Kenta and I share the weekly batches and we could not figure out what the one vegetable was. Oh its Kohlrabi, a cabbage. I let Kenta take that home. Tonight I will attempt to prepare radishes for dinner. 3. I just won 2-tickets to D. Lynch’s film Eraserhead from the local newspaper. 4. Today was "Shiny Shoe Wednesday" where Lara suggested we all wear our shiny shoes. I wore mine yesterday so I wore my fun heels instead.

Record player Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: As I write this, I am watching the famous shower scene from Psycho. AMC is having a marathon of Hitchcock flicks. Why a marathon on thanksgiving? Weird eh? This year I wanted to volunteer for Thanksgiving but most places wanted more of a commitment than just the one day. So I scrapped the idea, at least for this year. As most of you know, I took the train down to Portland. To my surprise as I sat on the train reading the Great Gadsby, my Aquent agent who got me the position at T-Mobile was sitting in my train cabin, just 2 seats away. Crazy coincidence: her last name is Gadsby. How weird is that! So we chatted for a while and then I slept. My hotel is A M A Z I N G! Simple yet eclectic with sooooo much personality! The lobby and business area resemble a library with card catalogs and cozy places to sit. My room has a turntable and records. Its huge! I reserved a smaller room that you use a "shared" shower down the h

I got a mystery package today. The note had an image of Lake Union and said something along the lines that Lake Union is giving me my phone back because it wants an iPhone instead. In the package was a T-Mobile Dash. (obviously not the dead one at the bottom of the lake.) Yayyyy!!!! I loved my Dash device and now I don't have to wait until the Spring for a new phone. Things happen in life that we cannot control, but we can control how we treat people. We should be thankful for the little things people do to make us happy and try to do the same for others. Make someone else's life a little easier or more enjoyable no matter how little the act is. Life is too short to hold on to anger and sadness. Life is too short to not live life to its fullest. I may not be happy with how my frienship unraveled with Wayne, but I am thankful he is looking out for me. I appreciate him making the effort to get me the phone. Well its almost midnite and I need to refigerate the Greenbean Casserole

WhirleyBall Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: Game: Whirly B all Location: Edmonds, WA Reason: Tanya's Birthday. We had 30 people to rotate in the 10-person game. You are in bumber cars and need to toss a wiffle ball to your team mates with a scooper in hopes to get it in your team's basket. It was so funny to go after a ball when your car is going so slow or when you had to "chase" after someone. It was like being a bunch of seniors in motorized wheels chairs, only slower! There were a lot of laughs! My team rocked!!!! Good times!!! To See videos go here : www.youtube.com/aimeehossler

I like my new shirt. I first saw the shirt on etsy.com that is designed by a local t-shirt company called Partybot but bought it at a local shop.

We have a green team at work who look into ways we can be "greener" at the office and outside the office. Lara looked into "Community Supportive Agriculture." It is a relationship between a farmer and local members who want to support that farmer in his agricultural efforts. If you are part of this type of program, you become a member of the farm by paying for a season's share. I don't know about you but I have bought some "fresh" produce, such as a pint of strawberries and can taste that somethings not right. So it makes you wonder where some of this stuff is coming from and how are they being produced. When I was a kid, I do not recall strawberries being as big as the ones you'll see in a foodstore. Some farmers use hormones to increase the size of their produce...the bigger means more profit which is not only wrong, its not good for us! If you are part of the farm share, you get a weekly box of seasonal, organic, fresh produce. Based on Lara

I'm meeting up with a fellow ESU Media Communications Alumnae Nathan who lives out here to check out a bunch of art tonight and possibly get some NY style pizza at Piecoras. A bunch of businesses stay open to the public one night per month for their neighborhood art walks. Tonight Capitol Hill has their's. Weather was nice today so I hope it holds up. Should be fun.

A stop action would be a fun project with Jake and Marissa when I come home for the holidays. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Yes, its true. I broke up with French Fries. Since I was little, french fries were my weakness, my favorite food. As a child until my late twenties, I had fries at least once a week. Things have changed, me and fries...we grew apart. In the last few weeks I noticed I feel LIKE crap after eating french fries! Since I have moved out west, fast food is not as accessible. Sure its here, but not on every corner or in every shopping area.I'll have fries occasionally but since its not in my face, I choose other things. Today a few friends from work and I went to Ivars, the popular Seafood staple across the street from our office. I had fries with my meal. I FELT LIKE CRAP afterwards! When I have fast food or french fries now...I can REALLY feel the difference in my body. Walking home from work on days where I ate crap...my walk feels heavier and I have less energy. Today I felt really lazy walking home. So sorry fries but the close relationship we had is over. I prefer to have a fresh, he

Jenna and Marissa Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: I'm so proud of my sister and her amazing skills of being a relaxed mom of two little ones. She started a blog for moms to help other moms. If you know new parents pass along this link: http://mommachurch.blogspot.com/ Ever since we were young, my sister has been passionate about kids. She worked in daycare for 8 years as a teacher and director before having my niece and nephew. She’s now a stay at home mom and thought it would be cool to share her experiences and have a place online where she and other parents can give each other advice or share interesting stories. Enjoy! P.s. “Momma Church” – Her last name is Churchray... no religion ties what-so-ever

WONGDOODY had their Halloween party yesterday. Good times even though I had to be back at my desk working on a firedrill project by the time they announced the costume winners. We started playing Guitar Hero 3 this week, but its starting off as a WONGDOODY tournament. Monkey, my 1st competitor gave up half way through the song because I ROCK :) but Carmine kicked my ass in the second round. I still have a chance at the "performance" competition where we show off our Guitar Hero rock-out styles. Click here to see more Halloween photos.

Starbucks or Tequila for Britney? Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: The leaves are on the ground and its been chilly out. Too chilly for the fall. But all is well because its halloween and a bunch of us dressed up last night. A friend of a friend threw a party and from his place we went to a few bars. I planned my costume about 2 weeks ago and the closer it got, the less I wanted to do it. As of Friday I was totally not in the mood to wear my costume but my friends insisted I do it and not worry about making another costume. I was Bald Britney. I wore a bald cap, clunky make-up, and dressed how she normally when photographed by papparazzi when she goes for her daily starbucks. She usually throws on a pair of ragged jean shorts with fuzzy boots and a low cut top. So it was easy to be her. I cut up my DAD's old beat up jean-shorts shorter (mom, can you believe I still have them!). I attached a Starbucks frappacino to my wrist and I had a babydoll on my back, upside d

Many of you know I was strongly active in volunteering during my few years in Seattle. A couple months ago, I decided to take a break to focus on some other stuff. Its been too many months of not giving back to the community and I realized that this week. Even if its just one volunteer or community-related event a month – I want to do something. This past Tuesday morning, WONGDOODY sponsored an event for Real Change, a Seattle publication that hires homeless to sell the Real Change newspaper on the streets for $1. It helps them get back on their feet and be a part of a group that supports and encourages them. WD had a table at the breakfast event so a group of us attended. Some of the speakers made me realize how important it is to be a part of your community. Get involved in some way, any way. One speaker talked about how we all need to slow down and interact. She is right. How can we have a better place for future generations when we don't interact within our communities? Its goo

This past weekend could almost be a blur but I made sure to jot dot some highlights. Click on photo or link below to see slideshow. I'm gonna split it up in two blogs since 1st reason was for Kurt's Birthday and 2nd was to explore some of the cool design/stationary-related boutiques that I want to keep track of. I arrived in Oakland and the dark clouds from Seattle followed. By the time I was suppose to be heading to the restaurant to surprise Kurt, it was pouring so his girlfriend Stacey decided to surprise Kurt on the way to the restaurant. As she drove through the busy Friday night city streets, Kurt complained and questioned their detour. When they pulled up to my hotel, Kurt looked confused but did not notice me standing at the curb. I hopped in the back seat and Stacey hit the gas. It was hysterical. It took Kurt a few seconds to realize that Aimee being in SF was not a normal thing. Within a few seconds he yelled "Hossler's in San Francisco!" And from that

I only got to venture into a few independent shops over the weekend in San Francisco. You can click on photo for a zoomed in few. What was the purpose? I like finding things made by creative people. I like stationary, artwork, t-shirt designs. I knew of a few shops in the city that I wanted to check out during this trip. 1st was Doe down in Haight Ashbury. I found it through Jill Bliss, the designer of the notebook I carry with me. Doe carries a bunch of her stuff and also Prairie Underground, the clothing company my friend Lisa works for. CUTE little shop! Like most boutiques, the clothing was somewhat expensive but really nice designs and materials. I bought a top and some cool stationary for a friend. Then I ventured up to Nob Hill to check out a few other shops. I loved Picnic. A little shop on Polk Street. Their website is under construction. I wanted to get a certain shirt but darn, they were out of my size. I left empty-handed but will remember to re-visit on my next trip back

For the 1st time, in a long time, I will not touch my computer over the weekend. I usually bring my laptop with me on trips so we can look up cool places to check out or eat at. I know hotels have concierge for that but from my experience, their suggestions don't always mesh with my taste. So I'm all packed. No laptop. Just my ipod and a book. I have plenty of things lined. Its going to be a busy weekend so I doubt I will miss it.

Two quick posted before I leave for San Fran....cisco. I've learned you shouldn't call San Francisco "San Fran" the locals hate it. I'm use to shortening city names since I am from Philadelphia, a.k.a Philly. So before I head to San Fran....cisco (I add the. . . because its so hard not to stop at the 2nd syllable.) here is a post. I went to Adult Skate last night with some friends from work. Good times!!! There were a lot of people. Mostly late 20's I think but I was extremely surprised by these people's skating skills. People had dance moves! Some couples skated like a couple skates on the ice rink. Some guys break-danced in the center of the floor. Music was pretty bad but it was a super fun time with Lara and our WD roller derby girls.

Hey Family.... So its that time of the year where we start asking what each other want for Christmas. Send me your wish list or better yet... make a wish list on Amazon.com like me... that way people can not only see the list, they get a visual and can either buy it right there or locally. Some other great online shops to check out: etsy.com (support independent designers/crafters!)

Cartoon: If you love Mondays Raise Your Hand I could go on and on about how frustrating my day has been. Its mostly due to an annoying project that had me glued to my desk for over 4hours. The kind of project that makes you want to pull your hair out. Fun stuff.

trying to look tough or puckering up? Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: Saturday night Katie and I dragged our friend Lisa out for drinks because... 1.) her now ex-boyfriend is stupid for letting her go . 2.) She was featured in Seattle Magazine. She got a full page in the magazine which was a huge surprise for her. Click here to see the web edition. The night started with light snacks and drinks with Seth and Leanne and then Lisa's buddy Dan met up with us for some dancing. You can click on the image to see a few other photos. Other than that, my weekend was uneventful. This upcoming weekend – San Francisco!

drink up! Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: Bowling alleys have some beer bottles shaped like bowling pins. What an amazing concept! ha ha This weekend was a good time and work has quieted down. This past weekend was my friend Mark's birthday. We went bowling and had drinks at at the house beforehand and afterwards. (CLICK HERE TO SEE A SLIDE SHOW from the night) Katie offered me a ride home since she had to go home to let her dog out. On the way home my mom called from the Keys. She made me aware that it was only 11pm here and I was heading home. I didn't realize the time and boy did that seem pathetic.... my mom partying it up in the keys with the galoopers@2am their time and I was heading home??? Katie and I laughed at their jokes and Galooper humor. To prove to myself I can party as well as my mom, I hopped a cab to where the birthday crew headed next, a bar in Ballard. After some time at the bar, Tanya fed us some yummy stew and I claimed a spot on the sofa. I

A friend sent me this link. It features Win from the Arcade Fire. I'm not sure if they band was tied to this. I assume they are but I'm going to forward it to Ryan in case they haven't seen this! Check out the link and make sure to click around the screen while Win is singing..... http://www.beonlineb.com/click_around.html

The last two weeks have been insane!!! Working until 9 or 10 almost every night because we are sending A LOT of projects to the printer for our client. There was a team of us. Luckily our company treats us to dinner and cab rides for late nights in the office. However its sad when a cab driver remembers you from the night before. But the long nights are almost over. I didn't have to work this past weekend. Saturday I cleaned all day and then chilled out and finished a book I was reading. Sunday I reserved Flexcar for a few hours and ventured out to do badly needed grocery shopping and some errands. By 4:30 I was in a hot tub at Banya 5 . I got an hour massage and then rotated through the hot and cold water options. I was home by 8 and made a delicious, healthy dinner. My house was clean, I was relaxed and prepared for the last long week. (well until the next crazy launch) Tonight, a couple of us went to Zig-Zag for snacks and drinks since it was a miracle we were out by 7pm. I

Ryan in his "cubicle" Last weekend, Ryan came to town with the Arcade Fire. I first saw them 3 years ago. They are a super fun Canadian band with around 8-10 people who rotate instruments and put on one of the most lively performances out there today! Ryan got to spend a day and a half in Seattle. Saturday night I took him and his crew buddy Donnelley to the Whiskey Bar and 5 points Cafe. Sunday I met him and his other crew buddy Chris at their hotel and asked them if they have been to the library. Odd question right? Why in the hell would they care to go into a library.... well Seattle's central library which was across from Ryan's hotel is one of the most remarkable and unique architecture structures in the United States. Ryan and Chris were amazed, especially with the red meeting corrider. If you haven't been there and come out to visit me...remind me and I'll take you there. We then ventured down to the waterfront where they got to be in another buildin

I saved this post until I had time to finish writing and add images from the event. I attended this event two weeks ago.... Katie, Leanne and I waited in line at 11am to get into Seattle's Thread show. It was really cool. Red carpet entrance, DJ pumping out beats... a very fun environment to scan the great deals from local and regional designers. We were part of the 1st 250 that got goody bags. Our friend Lisa works for Prairie Underground, a small (3-person run) clothing company that uses organic cotton to make great designs. I bought this super cute hoodie shown below from them. I got it in a dark grayish-brown color. Not only to support their great designs but its sooooo comfy I had to have it!!! The 3 of us got our hair styled by Vain hairstylist. I loved what they did to Leanne's hair. They added simple extensions to Katie's hair to go with her wonder woman t-shirt. However mine, I looked like "a bad morning after. We were in the event for several hours and then

9/11/07 Sunset Originally uploaded by ::: a i m e e ::: Hi Mom and everyone else who checks in on me. I haven't had time to post since I have been working long hours at the office. (just got in and its 10:30!) This weekend was insane so I didn't get to write then either. I have some fun things to post about when I get a chance, such as the Thread fashion show and getting a chance to spend time with my long-time Philly buddy Ryan, who was in town for work. As for now, I need to shop for flights home for Christmas. Jenna sent me a super cute one of Marissa today. I promise to write more soon and post more videos of Marissa and Jake.

I am alive. Haven't had time to post since I have been working long hours at the office. (just got in and its 10:30!) This weekend was insane so I didn't get to write then either. I have some fun things to post about when I get a chance, such as the Thread fashion show and getting a chance to spend time with my long-time Philly buddy Ryan, who was in town for work. As for now, I need to shop for flights home for Christmas. Jenna sent me a super cute one of Marissa today. I promise to write more soon and post more videos of Marissa and Jake.

So work has been nuts. Last night was the 1st night in a while that I was out before the sunset. I haven't had time to download my pictures from the Fashion event and write about it in my blog. But I will soon!

This weekend has been a low-key but enjoyable day... so far. Last night I stayed after work for a few hours.... almost 3 hours in fact... playing Guitar Hero with friends from work. YIKES! Afterwards, I met up with a friend for dinner at drinks at Cyclops. NOTE: Mom & Dad, this is that cool little bar – with the big eye down the street from me that we ate at. Kaitlyn, Cheryl and I had a very slow, bad-mood-waiter sort of breakfast when they were in town. After that, I met up with two other friends at the Whiskey Bar for a few drinks. I love that dark watering hole! Today I checked out the "Punk Rock Flea Market." Its cool to see markets and events like this in my neighborhood where local independent artist and crafters can sell their stuff. Not as many vendors as I had hoped but a couple of them were really friendly and we got to talking about crafting and how my sewing machine is sitting on my desk begging me for attention. A couple gals sell their stuff on Etsy. Sweet!