Jen on the Edge

Hi there. I’m Jennifer. Also known as Jen. But never Jenni, please. That persona died a long time ago.

Except that certain relatives and in-laws refuse to stop calling me that, in spite of my repeated requests to the contrary. In the case of one person in particular, I feel quite certain that calling me Jenni is an attempt to piss me off. And it works.

Also, I hate getting mail addressed to my husband’s name, as in “Mrs. Peter J. B—.” Blech.

Oh yeah, him. I have a husband. His name is Pete and I think he’s pretty terrific. We’ve been married since 1991, which means we were fresh out of college and probably FAR TOO YOUNG to get married. But here we are and things are great, so a Bronx cheer to anyone who didn’t think getting married was a good idea.

And, we have two pretty amazing daughters, Graceful and Elegant, who get mentioned a whole lotta lotta lotta on this blog. If you don’t like hearing about someone else’s children, this blog is not for you.

The four of us live in Jenworld, which is in a college town in Virginia.

I have a job. I work part-time as the administrator of a collegiate men’s choral group. The group doesn’t have an office on campus, so my office is in my house. I love my commute. The office dress code is pretty great too.

When I’m not working or being a mother or wife, I am a reading fanatic. I read all the time — books, magazines, blogs, newspapers. Surprisingly, I’ve never had any desire to be a librarian, work at Barnes & Noble, or join a book club. That’s just not my thing.

I’m also crafty, but not artistic. In other words, I love artsy projects but am not actually talented enough to do much more than spend money and make a mess. I knit pretty much every day, quilt on occasion, and putter around on other projects. I often will see interesting things in a magazine or or online and then will have an insane urge to do the same thing myself and won’t rest until I give it a try.

I love modern architecture and interior design. Pete and I would love to one day build an edgy sleek house to our exacting specifications. In the meantime, we live in a cute little traditional house and just have cool furniture in it: Dwell meets Cottage Living.  [Updated June 2008:  YAY!  We're doing it.  For more info, click here.]

There are other characters who are mentioned regularly on this blog. My mother is usually referred to as Grandma Ass. To find out why, click here. Then there’s Crazy Aunt Laura (CAL), who is not actually certifiable — her nickname is a term of endearment. Oh yeah, and the boy, also known as my nephew Micah. Finally, my good friend Melissa is known as the other half of the Dynamic Duo of Shoe Shopping, which you can read about here.

I hope you enjoy your time at Jen on the Edge.