i heart brooklyn

brooklyn, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess

I just got back from a week in NY, visiting with my aunt and sisters. I always enjoy myself up there. It's like going to a different world. And that's a nice thing to do sometimes. ;)

I flew up Friday morning with my youngest sister, Rachel, from Roanoke, VA. Friday night we all celebrated (my aunt) Jacquie's 30th birthday (and yes, she's my aunt - not my cousin). The rest of the trip was, of course, spent eating out. This trip we had lots of food from their neighborhood in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn: ny pizza, take-out chinese, mexican, brunch at a french cafe. And we also hit some restaurants in the city, Landmark being my favorite. We even stopped in at a few bars: at camp we played a few rounds of guitar hero, at another brooklyn establishment we got to play some old school pac-man, and at a sports bar in the city we watched the stanley cup playoffs and battled each other on the Wii. I found it interesting that video games were the main entertainment at each bar we visited.

You can't go to the city without seeing a broadway show. And they are usually pretty pricy. So if you are ever in town and on a budget, but want to hit broadway, I recommend Broadwaybox.com. They have better deals than TKTS and you can print off the coupons and take them right to the box office the day of the show. Anyway, we ended up seeing Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein. Sadly, being such a fan of the movie, I have to say that it was a disappointment. All the punchlines were the same. No new jokes, really. The songs weren't very funny. But I will say that the part of Igor was played very well! And the scenery was amazing. They spared no expense on the sets, that's for sure. But next time, I will fork over the extra money and see Wicked.

My favorite part of the trip was probably taking a trip in the Dance Cab. (Or, so we dubbed it.) You see, in NYC, even visiting a Target store is a major hassle. After waiting at customer service for over an hour for our items, we have to figure out how to get 2 miles home carrying a kitchen microwave cart and a window unit air conditioner. A cab is the only option. So, we walk out of Target with our heavy products and right away a gentleman appears asking if we need a cab and carries our items off to the trunk of his 90s Volvo. I was pretty suspicious. But since we outnumbered him 4-1, I figured we were safe. It ended up being the best cab experience I've had to date. Half way through the trip, he started flipping through the radio stations and landed on "With You" by Chris Brown. And when you are a Dumas/Yeager/Vess, a song cannot come on the radio without dancing and singing to accompany it. So, here we are riding in a cab, singing and dancing all the way home. We also jammed to Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" and ended with a classic Michael Jackson dance tune. We had a blast. So, if you are ever in NY and a guy in a Volvo wants to give you a ride, you might want to consider it. You never know, it might be the Dance Cab.

We tried to go to a preppy roof party, but we didn't make it in time. Unfortunately, we still had to walk around the city dressed preppy for no reason. Ha.



Poor Rachel ended up catching mono somehow, so she was sick for much of the trip. So, we didn't do a ton of sight-seeing. But it's always fun to see my sisters and aunt, no matter what we're doing!!!

Cha cha now y'all

DSC_0275, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. I'm working hard on the wedding pics for Katie & Andrew.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a favorite pic from our youth group prom we had a few weeks ago. It was a blast. Here is Jeremy and our fellow youth leader, Marc, going low, all the way to the flo' in their best cha-cha style. Let me see you clap your hands!

Here are some more memorable images from the night.

Family

P1140583.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

Over Thanksgiving break, I also did a shoot with my sister, Emilie, and aunt, Jacquie, who recently became roommates in Brooklyn. I thought it would be neat for them to have some fun pictures together for their new apartment. So, we coordinated some outfits and hit the beach. It was fun and we had a little bit of drama too. The ocean almost claimed a brand new pair of rainbow sandals from Em, but she selflessly dove into the freezing waters to rescue her poor flip-flops from eminent disaster. Since she was already soaking wet, we figured she might as well pose in the water. Thanks Em!

Savannah, again

P1140094.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

So, here I am on the road. But this time it's different. This time I took my husband with me. Hooray!

Life on the road has been okay, but lately its been wearing us out. I've been away from home for over 6 weeks in a row. So, in the past month and a half, I have probably only gotten to spend about 12 days with Jeremy. Wow. That is pretty sad, when I put it that way.

Anyway, this week I was blessed enough to be scheduled on a shoot where the first two days were canceled. So, I got to spend a few extra days at home. Then, I was able to steal my husband away and take him with me for the rest of the week. And then, when I arrived at my shoot today, they canceled today as well. So, Jeremy and I were able to hang out all day together. It was great. I am so glad that he came with me.

(The shot posted above is from our last trip to Savannah, in August. I love the look of cobblestone streets, but functionality wise they're a nightmare. Never walk on them in high heels!)

edward scissorhands

P1140360.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

okay, this isn't a groundbreaking photo or anything, but i couldn't help posting this. jeremy was edward scissorhands at our youth costume party last weekend. isn't it uncanny?! :)

PT

P1140265.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

Guess what? As if I didn't have enough new things in my life, I just bought a car!

I have had only one car in my life, my Jeep Cherokee, since my senior year in college. She has been a great car. But with over 230,000 miles on the jeep and a job where I travel hundreds of miles a week, it just seemed like the right time for something new. I gave the jeep to jeremy and we bought a PT Cruiser.

Its a 2002 Limited Edition with 78,000 miles. It has leather/suede interior, a sunroof, nice stereo, and lots of fun features. The best part is that it has lots of storage for work and my favorite part is that it has cup holders. Ha.

Anyway, just wanted to share yet another new thing in my life lately. Welcome the PT to the Vess family!

sister in nyc

moving subway, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

so, yesterday my sister moved to new york city. i cannot begin to say how jealous i am. :)

ever since our aunt (who is my age) moved up to the city over 6 years ago, i have wanted to join her. she tried very hard for several years to convince jeremy and i to come up there and get an apartment with her. but alas, jeremy cannot withstand cold temperatures. so the ny move was out.

my middle sister emilie decided last winter that she would move to ny this fall. so yesterday she flew up there and tomorrow she starts her new job in the city. good luck in the big apple, em!

(the shot above was taken on my last trip to new york in november '06. subways are fun.)

I'm tired

backside of a building, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

So, I haven't updated in a few days. But its been a very busy week.

It started off on Monday with Andrew Bryant coming to Salisbury to take band shots for the guys. We had a lot of fun. Beforehand, me and the boys hit Marshalls and Old Navy, looking for some fun tshirts and good fitting jeans. Who knew I'd become a stylist? Then when Andrew got there, LOS played a couple songs for him and then we just jumped right in to picture taking. Andrew had some really great, creative poses in mind, and the guys came up with a few too. We pretty much tried everything we could think of. Inside, outside, standing, sitting, jumping, singing. It was so fun. If you want to see a few of the shots, visit Andrew's blog and look for the post called Lords of Salisbury. They are amazing!

The other big thing this week is that I have started working full time again. It's been two years since my last full time job. I took some time off when we moved to NC, simply because I could. Honestly, I thought I would get bored not working and then want to go back to work immediately. But that wasn't really how it ended up. I became a new person. My life stopped revolving around my career. I was able to volunteer in the youth ministry and grow in my walk with the Lord, because I gained a whole new focus and put my identity in the things it should be in. So, I feel now that I am ready to work again after all these changes. We could definitely use the financial boost. And I am looking forward to having more of a set schedule again. I'll be on the road a lot, mostly locally. But if I am ever in a city near you, I'll let you know!

I am so tired now. Time for bed. Gotta work tomorrow!

(The shot posted above was taken in downtown Salisbury, NC back in May '06. I love the look of old buildings, especially in alleys or at back entrances.)

Planes, trains, and automobiles

P1010747.JPG, originally uploaded by jermandjessvess.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love to travel!

I was asked recently, which mode of transportation was my favorite between plane, boat, and car - and I chose car. Planes are great when you are going long distances, particularly over large mountains or bodies of water. (And of course, you get amazing views that you'd never otherwise have the chance to see.)

But flying is definitely not a feeling that I love. I usually take motion sickness meds to keep from getting too nauseated. I'm also afraid of heights. Ironically, I've been skydiving and I've also been on an aerial acrobat plane.



I've only been on one cruise, and I really enjoyed it.



It didn't make me sick, but it wasn't like it was so fun that I would exclusively travel by boat from now on. However, I did get sick on a smaller boat - Jeremy's uncle's sailboat. It was a 4 day trip off the Gulf Coast. I was okay until we had a storm roll up on us. All day long we were tossed about by the wind and waves. Definitely not my favorite day.

I guess I like the familiarity of driving and maybe that feeling of being in control, but something about getting behind the wheel of a vehicle just feels so right.

I love driving long distances too. Usually when Jeremy and I go anywhere, I drive almost the entire way. Partly the reason is that I have a tendency to get car sick if I'm not driving. So Jeremy kindly lets me drive.

It was pointed out to me recently that I am pretty much a jetsetter. In the past year, I have been to Hawaii, NYC, Florida, Mexico, Gatlinburg, Maryland, the Outer Banks, Nashville, Savannah, etc. (And not even to mention trips to the NC mountains, several visits to Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, & Winston-Salem, and countless visits to Emerald Isle.) And of course, when I visit all these places, I love to take pictures!































I hopefully will one day have a job or the kind of life that involves a lot of travel. I may have an interview this week, in fact, to travel around to various churches and take photos for church directories. It may not sound like glamorous work, but the fact that it combines traveling with photography is quite exciting to me. Now I just have to convince Jeremy that he can live without me for a few days a week!

(The shot posted above was taken in February 2006 on 1-40 West in the mountains of TN on the way to Gatlinburg for a youth conference. Don't forget to hold your breath and of course honk your horn until we're all the way through the tunnel!)