Love, Life & Laughter with Jenn

11 Me, 11 Asked, 11 For You- Tagged

2012-01-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

One of my very dearest friends, H over @ Small Town Girl

tagged me in a fun 11, 11, 11 post! I'm so glad she did, I'm working on getting better about blogging and she is helping me!

The Rules:

#1 You must post these rules.

#2 Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.

#3 Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

11 Things About Me:
1 I adore children and love witnessing their little brains absorb and learn from me

2 I can't wait to marry my soul-mate

3 I've been blessed with the most amazing group of girlfriends

4 I loveee the HLSR BBQ Cook Off that takes place the last weekend in Feb, and the 3 weeks that follow

5 Weekends in April-Oct/Nov you normally won't find me in the city limits, you can find me near a body of water with a wakeboard strapped to my feet or a fishing pole in my hand

6 I love country music and dancing to it.. I'm aware I need some professional lessons, but I enjoy myself so that's all that matters :)

7 I'm OCD and have all kinds of lists and I live for checking them off, I'm also rather organized

8 I have a special place in my heart for the Waco FD, Waco paramedics, and the Hilcrest Trauma team

9 I carry my camera everywhere I go

10 I fear letting others down

11 Food textures freak me out.. I don't eat sushi, tomatoes, oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, pickles, mushrooms- you get the picture

11 Questions Heather asked:

1. What are your top 2 goals for 2012? Loosing the last of the _ _ pounds I want to loose and begin my career! Yes they both sound pretty cliche huh? But they are both extremely relevant for me this year as far as where I am in life.. 1- I just completed my degree, so now ready for the job and 2- I WILL get the rest of the weight I gained off before I walk down the isle.. So those are my top 2 goals!

2. Name one thing you might have done differently in 2011. Stress less, nuff' said!

3. Favorite alcoholic drink? Beer

4. What is your favorite color nail polish? I would have to say any color right now... I got my nails done french for about 6 years until a few months back when I decided 'long' nails weren't made for teaching. So I'm loving Shellac and any color right now, I was always jealous of girls with colors, bahah!

5. What's your dream car? Z71 Fully Loaded Tahoe.. Or a Denali

6. If you were to go meet Big Guns Upstairs tomorrow, what is one thing you would want to do today? Eek Heather... I would have to say have a party with all the people that really mean the most to me and probably would want the party to be at what I call "My Little Heaven," my river house aka San Breezy!

7. Do you prefer heels or flats? Flats

8. What is your favorite type of music? Texas Country

9. What is one of your hobbies?Water activities

10. Who inspires you most? My 3 best friends- BD, Mama and Pops

11. Favorite dessert? Cake Pops

My Questions:

1.What are you looking forward to the most in 2012?

2. Are you in love with Pinterest? If so- have you made anything from the website?

3. What's your personal favorite hobby?

4. How long have you had your blog and do you sometimes feel over whelmed by it?

5. What is your favorite go-to outfit?

6. Favorite type of music?

7. Do you collect anything?

8. One thing on your 'bucket list' to do before you die?

9. Favorite store for accessories?

10. Favorite season- winter, fall, summer or spring?

11. Favorite face product?

I tag:

being brynn

the katie did blog

chapters of our life

cmae-a day in the life

The Derringer Family

Happy Monday

My most recent fav of us- BD and I out with friends during the holiday break (I can't figure out why it's flipped...)

2012 Goals for Myself

2012-01-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

For some reason I don't do well with setting myself "resolutions," not sure if it has something to do with I'm not good with 'forcing' stuff upon myself like saying I HAVE to do exactly this! Or maybe it's simply this.... (see below) and I fit right in the statistic with many other American's

62% of people make New Years resolutions
8% are successful
19% achieve resolutions every other year  on average
49% have infrequent success
24% NEVER succeed and have failed on EVERY resolution EVERY year!

(That’s 1 in 4 people who fail each and every time they make a resolution!)

So I'm picking up right where I left off last year, I'll be honest.. I did not conquer everything I set out to do at this time last year but then again I never looked at my list on my blog again until today.. So I will be writing this years goals down in my lovely Erin Condren Life Planner to help keep better track in 2012!

In no particular order..

- Loose _ _ more pounds, get in shape, go down in clothing sizes and get ready to try on wedding dresses!
I would have to say this IS #1 on my list. I have already been working at it and have lost a significant amount of weight but I need to get back in routine and work HARDER at it!!!!!
This sums it up well...

- Eat better.. nuff' said!

- Stay organized!
Notice I said stay, I'm already what I would call an organized person so I just need to keep it up.. This will be essential for me this year with starting my career and planning a wedding.

- Blog more.. seriously this time!

- Start my career...

This is HUGE and I pray so hard for this to happen in God's plan for me.

- Spend more time with my girlfriends I hold dear to my heart and also learn more about them!

-Take better care of my skin

-Continue to take an unnecessary amount of pictures with family and friends!

- Less web browsing, read more books and articles.
This will be really hard with my handy little device I just bought myself after graduation...

- Create more and finish projects I started inspired by Pinterest

-Speak less and listen more, be more positive!!

- To sum up goals for 2012!!

Christmas in NYC Tips/What to do?

2011-12-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest, I've never really had big dreams of experiencing Christmas in New York, yes it's crossed my mind that it would be a future dream goal, but did not see it happening in the near future..

Well a few months ago my mom randomly asked me if I wanted to join my aunt and two cousins in New York on December 17th. Well my first reaction was NO, I graduate from college on the 16th, this is a goal that I have struggled to achieve for many years and I want to enjoy the experience and celebrate all weekend with BD and my friends... After some re-evaluating of this once in a life time opportunity, mom and I booked our flights and were headed to NYC this Saturday!!!!

Due to my busy schedule I have not had a lot of time to do research like I normally do when I am going to a new place, I'm the queen of reading reviews, looking at pictures, and just over all doing research...

Soo I need some tips, ideas, suggestions, etc.

Where do we go? What's a must to do?

I know all the "norm" such as:

Rockefeller Center

Times Square

Radio City

Macy's

Central Park

Fifth Avenue

We are also defiantly going to:

See the Broadway play Wicked

Shop at Canal Street

Visit the 9/11 Memorial

Shop at H&M (we don't have one in Houston yet...)

Go to Kleinfelds (I looked into getting an appointment just for the heck of it, they are booked until Jan. 13.. I don't think they would be too happy if I went in and tried on dresses and really didn't have intentions of buying anyways...ha)

So what else is a must to do in NYC during Christmas time?

Any tips on how to do something or anything you've experienced while there?

Anything is appreciated!!!!

Thankful Thanksgiving Postings Update!

2011-12-04T19:07:00.001-08:00

I totally failed at my Thankful Thanksgiving posts I only got 10 done but there are 30 days in November, so after calculations, I did not complete 20!!!! Eeek, I promise I had full intentions of completing 30 days of what I'm thankful for! Not sure what I was thinking, knowing I would be completing my student teaching semester and all of my end of semester projects and papers but honestly on November 1st when I started to post about my thankfulness I did not see "time" getting in the way of my posts, oh well such is life huh? So I planned on catching myself up and completing my 30 days of Thankful Thanksgiving posts but I have decided to just move on from it.. So better luck to me next year!

Thank You to those who commented and were interested to follow along!

I have so much to be thankful for and could posts something all 365 days of the year, I'm beyond blessed!!!!

So I will begin doing my thankful Thursday postings again to keep up with what I'm thankful for each week!

November- Thankful Thanksgiving 9&10

2011-11-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

November 9: Today I am thankful for life. Yes just simple life! After experiencing thankful #1, I have had a complete different outlook on life.. I used to be quick to judge people by their looks or what they do or things they said, no I am not proud of this but I'm strong enough to admit I USED to do these things and I do not anymore! My outlook on it is that you do not know what that person has been through nor do you know what they might currently be going through. I see looks people give my Bubba when we are in public all the time or hear people make comments about the immature things he says, I have learned to just swallow with pride and tell myself my Bubba is perfect just the way he is!!!

With all that aside cause that is not where I was going with my thankfulness..... A young man I went to grade school with took his life last Thursday, unfortunately I am unable to attend his service due to my commitment in student teaching. I am thankful that although life has had me down in the dumps sometimes and I've had to go to some serious counseling in my life, I was able to over come those hard times and stand tall and proud today!

November 10th: I am thankful for ALL of my friends! Really old friends (as in known for a long time..,) old friends, and new friends!

November 11th: Today I am thankful for our TROOPS and VETERANS! Happy Veterans day to all those who have served! All those currently serving, return home safe and know that your service is appreciated!!!

November- Thankful Thanksgiving 7&8

2011-11-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

I would like to express my thankfulness and appreciation for my lovely girlfriends now but I've been beyond blessed in that category so that post is going to take a little more time than what I have right now, so those will come in another post...

November 7th: Even though there's a lot of craziness and political controversies going on right now, I STILL feel extremely thankful to live in a country known as the "land of the free." America is a place of opportunity! There is so much room for people to grow, with a strong drive and dedication people can succeed in whatever they aim for rather it be owning their own business, becoming CEO of a company, earning their masters or doctorate, and much more! People in America are ambitious, bold, and confident! I'm thankful that I'm an American citizen and call the USA my home.

God Bless America

November 8th: Something else I'm extremely thankful is rather fitting for today, since I did this today... The freedom to VOTE! Not only just that as an American citizen were allowed to VOTE but we have our own free will to VOTE for whoever and whatever we personally choose!

And this is exactly how I feel.......

November- Thankful Thanksgiving

2011-11-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

It feels good to know you're loved... I have not posted since July 25th, but I have been checking my reader's list almost daily again lately. With the new blogger layout my amount of views is easily readable as soon as I log in, each time I log in I've been noticing I have about 30-50 more views than I did the last time I logged in. Not sure who has been looking, but it's nice to know that after almost a 5 month pause, people are still checking hoping just maybe by chance I actually blogged...

Well I'm in blogging mode again! Not that I ever was in a "funk" or did not want to blog my absence was simply just due to lack of free time and topics to blog about. I always seem to get that blogging hype near the holidays.

I've been seeing friends on Facebook participating in the "Thankful Postings," I am eager to participate but not via posts on Facebook... Soo what better place to do my daily Thanksgiving postings about what I'm Thankful for and get back in the swing of blogging than my own personal journal AKA Love, Life, & Laughter with Jenn?!?!

I like to think of myself as an extremely thankful person, not only in November or in certain situations, but year round. I pretty much Thank people when they do just about anything for me... One of my favorite ways to Thank people and show I care is by sending them a person written card :)

Let me catch up:

November 1st: With this tragedy happening 2 days prior (but 8 years ago..) it's obvious on this day that I am Thankful for my Bubba but also God and miracles happening. The year after that post (see link above) I had a different outlook on the situation and I can not recall crying once that entire following year, not even the weekend or day leading up to that day I always dread. I was so proud of myself! This year did not follow suite... I had a rough time with it this year, I cried pretty much every day for the week leading to the day and spent a lot of time alone that weekend. I am not sure if extra stresses taking place in life that I've had built up inside just finally hit me and then mix the date in the pot and it just all over boiled or what but let's just say I was an emotional wreck. Non the less, that is one of the most Thankful blessings I have in my life!

November 2nd: The day prior's Thankful obviously helps lead to this one.. My (insert the best adjective you've ever heard here with a synonym such as: amazing, fantastic, great, best ever, etc.) Parents!!! Words can not even begin to describe my Thankfulness for my parents. I grew up with my family being close and spending as much time together as possible and with parents who always showed how much they cared but never did I really think it would turn into what it has today. They are truly 2 of my very best friends!! Not only do they always "know whats best for me" but they give their advice and reasoning for why they know this but then they step back and let me make the decision of taking their advice or not and learn on my own why or why not that was a good decision. They continue to support me in life's ups and down's not only as my parents but also as my best friends, they are sometimes standing in front of me to help lead the way but they also stand beside me to walk the path with me. I could go on and on but to sum up why I'm so Thankful for my parents, they have Faith in me no matter what!

November 3rd: I'm thankful for the opportunity to complete my B.S. in Interdisciplinary studies and be certified to teach EC-6 in a little over a month. When I graduated high school in 2003, my college graduation seemed just a few years away and like it was going to be an easy task to accomplish. Never did I think that I would be finally finishing in Dec 2011. Three short months after beginning college I was blind sided (refer to Thankful Nov 1st) and medically withdrew from my first semester of college courses. With anticipation of returning the following semester, then led to taking a few years off. After returning, college did not come easy to me. Not only was the routine a struggle but it seemed like the learning disabilities that I had always struggled with hit me harder and harder every year there after, ha. Fast forward a few years and I was faced with this situation that situation but no need for those details because who has not been faced with challenging situations in their lives, right? But now here I am today, a time of the future that seemed so far away, a discussion of a time to come that continued to be pushed further and further back... A soon to be college graduate!

I feel like this picture is rather appropriate...

November 4th: This guy deserves to fall pretty high on my Thankful Thanksgiving list! I could go on and on about my fiance' BD and why I'm thankful for him. But this post would turn into a book. He walks beside me in all I do, he supports and encourages me to do better and pick myself up when I'm down. I have to give him credit, coming into my close nit family and fitting in and putting up with our high strung fast paced life isn't an easy thing to do, but he did not have one bit of trouble with it! He is extremely shy and doesn't talk much but he just goes with the flow and fits right in like he's been a part of us forever. BD and my mama have a relationship that no one would ever imagine since he is so quite.. They have nick names for each other that they always address each other by, they text almost everyday and she loves him to death!!! To sum my thankfulness for him up, we've had our ups and downs but I wouldn't change a single moment of it cause it has got us to where we are today! He has made life style changes not only to better himself but also us and I am extremely proud of him! I look forward to conquering all of lives adventurous with BD by my side!!

BD and I in Galveston for our 4 year Anniv celebration in July

November 5th: I am thankful for all my extended family! That includes my dear sweet Auntie Cousin Joy who is watching over us in heaven and her husband Frank who I just love to pieces!!! My Pops brother and his wife and my 2 cousins and their little ones! My mamas 2 sisters and 1 brother and the awesome cousins they have given me! Also my cousins significant others that have married into the family.

I don't have any recent pics to post saved on this computer to post... But we have plenty of great photos together :)

November 6th: My future in laws! They have accepted me for who I am and welcomed me to the family with open arms! I'm probably not the easiest future daughter-in-law, I'm really talkative, I'm sometimes all over the place, I'm real particular on things and have to have things a certain way (MAJOR OCD,) and I'm kinda hard to shop for on Birthday and Christmas gifts... But they still love me and support BD and I! I look forward to many family memories to come!

again I don't have any pics on this comp...

If you are still reading at this point.. Thank You, ha.. This turned into a really long post. I'm looking forward to 24 more days of what I'm Thankful for!!!

Life Planner..Follow Up & Major Deal!

2011-07-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

So now that this is officially my third post in the past week about planners... I really DO look obsessed, but I'm not really that bad, promise!

If you viewed my post Life Planner..Might Be A Winner
and you were intrigued by what you saw, then you must read on!!!!

Thanks to my buffer (aka best friend,) at livelaughLenz
passing on some fabulous info that her friend Meredith at the tichenor family
emailed to her today...

I was able to get my LifePlanner for $23 bucks today!!!

Here's how:
1. Purchase the current deal on plumdistrict.com, a $25 voucher for 50 credit to use on erincondren.com

feel free to purchase from this link to help me get plumdistrict credit :)
https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=u3a3554addc5

2. When checking out on plum district, enter code inthenew to receive 20% off your order, making it only $20!

3. You will receive the voucher email quickly!
Follow the directions at the bottom on how to check out on erin condren's website

4. After picking out your wonderful items on the website and adding them to the cart, when you checkout enter your plum district voucher number then enter 2011off for an additional 10% off, you will see the final total on the next page!

Hope that all makes sense, feel free to email me if you have any problems or questions!

I'm looking forward to my package showing up on my door step on August 8th, just in time to start my last semester of college!

Life Planner.. Might be the winner!

2011-07-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Remember my post the other day, Do I want A myAgenda? Thank You to those that commented or emailed and gave your thoughts!

I might of found something even better, ok well not better but more beneficial for me personally...

I might seem a little crazy, but I'm pretty excited about this one..
The Life Planner by erincondren.com

If you go to the website and browse around or even watch the video you might either 1. think I'm crazy for caring that much or 2. want one your self :)

Let me share a few reasons why I'm smitten:

Nuff' said!

I love love quotes, especially in simple forms like this.. They just pop up, not necessarily looking at them via online etc...

I love the fun colors, makes it exciting to look ahead at the months to come!

Lined paper within.. Genius!

Workout log, maybe it can help be a motivation!

To do lists and Goals... Is my name written in there already?

Slot inside for extra papers.. I need this in my life!

Now as for my cover...

I'm a sucker for all things photo, but I don't know how I could choose only 6 and if I'm going to have it for a year+, I might get tired of them...

As mentioned above, I love quotes!

I love all things brown, especially with pretty colors mixed in!

How fabulous would it be for me to have these also?
But I'm not that crazy... One thing at a time ;)

Teacher Planner

Wedding Planner

So any suggestions on which one I should get?
Has anyone ever used this planner?

Happy Friday!!!

Do I want a myAgenda?

2011-07-18T12:47:00.001-07:00

I might have a mild obsession with having a perfect organizer/planner..
This mild obsession leads to when I get a new planner for the year, I hunt for the perfect one, even if this means going to a few different stores to get "that perfect planner" and when I find this planner, it's like a high....

That being said, the past few years I have grown to like day runner planners, I like that they come in various color/themes and have simple pages with wide day spaces but not broke down by time slots (appointment style.)

I don't like that my planner has these additions:

"Long term to do lists" "another to do lists"
these lists move with me every week when I flip the week and re-clip the pasts weeks..

more to do lists.. One started last week, one started today.. stuck on the front of my planner

I have been eying the momAgenda for many years, well let's be real here, I am clearly not at that point.. SO then when the myAgenda came out, well hello this is perfect! I have just been putting off spending more on a planner.

What I love about the myAgenda:

For my life style the next 5-6 months I can use the 5 different sections to break down things to do for:
Daily/My personal life
Student Teaching
My college classes
Daily Exercise
?

Umm did the makers of this know the selling point for me, or what?
This is essential for me beginning in January!

This is important for me to know!

I love the weekly quotes, to bad there wasn't horoscopes also.. ha

I've also heard there is a gift idea section, simply perfect for me!! When I see something or hear about something and it rings a bell as a good gift for a family or friend, I write it down in the back of my planner to refer back to come Christmas time!

I think this is my FAV color to choose from.. Wish they still had the Purple or Silver this year!

SO ladies spill it, what's your favorite planner? Do you have a my/momAgenda? Would you suggest it?

Wedding Wednesday: Misc. Pics & Friends

2011-07-13T12:48:00.001-07:00

It's been while since I've done a WW.. Oct 27 2010 to be exact! Since the planning was put on hold I 1. haven't been "up to" talking anything wedding and 2. didn't really have much to WW blog about.

Not much has changed but I've been up to looking at Wedding blogs again and stalking the internet for ideas and pics.

So here's a few things I'm loving lately:

This picture is great to really show the girls shoes! My girls are ALL awesome and already purchased their shoes, I knew when I saw them they were the shoes I wanted my girls to wear so they all jumped on it before they sold out!

I thought of this idea years ago and now I found a picture of it actually done! I wrote down some ideas when BD and I first got engaged last year, I need to try and find that piece of paper..

I showed this picture in my Pintrest blog the other day, but had to share it again! I'm always up for something 'differnt/creative.' I've had a few Guest Book ideas outside the traditional but never seen this one, def a top choice!

To make this post more exciting,I leave you with pictures of some wonderful couples I am blessed to share their upcoming Nuptial's and celebration events with over the next few months!!

Julia and Michael: An amazing woman and friend I met through our mutual friend H Ty! I'm so glad that she is doing what she really wants at heart, she is so smart :)! Private ceremony in August, Reception in September!

Rachel and Cullen: Rachel and I have been good friends since middle school! Their big hoedown is 9-10-11, she has put so much effort into everything, she is even making all the paper goods herself, she's quite a designer!

Mark and Kristen: Mark went to grade school with BD but I started hanging out with Mark about 8-10 months before crossing paths with BD. Mark started dating Kristen within the next year, from the first time I met her, she fit right in with everyone! I still remember the first time Mark told me about "this girl in his class." I can't wait to watch their dream wedding unfold,they are both so excited! September, Georgetown TX.

TOMS Wedges

2011-07-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday my lovely blog readers!!

I've been eyeing/wanting a pair of the TOM Wedges since I 'heard' they were even going to be making them (probably for a year and half now.)

I have stalked them out online, Nordstrom, and Sun & Ski Sports on various occasions but continued to fight the urge..

While on the Strand in Galveston this weekend with BD, I slipped a pair on just to kill the curious cat anddd I'm SOLD, well not yet because they did not have the color I would like to have but I think I am going to treat myself to a pair now! Just as I heard and as are my TOMS shoes, they are SUPER comfortable!!!
I do not dress up often nor do I ever really wear heels.. Even though Summer is half over I feel that I can be a little more dressed up feeling sometimes with the TOMS wedges :)

These are prob my FAV pair...

I really like these, very clean, simple look but I can't decide if they are too summery...

But I'm leaning towards buying these for more practical reasoning- I can wear them this Summer, into the Fall, in the classroom, etc etc..

So what do you think ladies, the Linen Pinstripe or the Black canvas?

Thankful Thursday #28: BD- My Love!

2011-07-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to be too cheesy and all lovey dovey on my blog...
But I'm due for a Thankful Thursday update and well today just deserves this one :)

Thankful Thursday #28 is for my lovely fiance , BD!

Today we celebrate 4 years of dating! I realize more and more every week how much I appreciate him and his patience with my never-ending fast paced lifestyle that I enjoy living (not that he is one to just sit around, but I"m always on the go..)

Thanks to a family I'm super close with, we are able to celebrate our Anniversary together in style again on a budget friendly trip (aka no room and board, just food and fun is on us.)

Here is last years pre-celebration post,basically doing the same thing just adding some extras in!

Here is last years 3 year celebration post!

I was up for just hanging out with friends this weekend or even going fishing with my parents, but I'm so glad BD suggested we go spend some time togehter. Were together every weekend but seldom ever alone, so this quality time is much over due!!!

I'll leave you with a recent picture my mom snapped of us having a moment on the boat!

(sorry for the bathing suit pic, I don't like doing that.. But this picture makes my heart happy)

Hopefully next year at this time we will be celebrating a few months marriage anniversary rather than a dating anniversary!

My 4th of July Crafty Attempt

2011-07-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

According to Dictionary.com, this is what I did...

Crafty: Of, involving, or relating to the making of decorative objects and other things by hand

I tend to think I have some creativity in me... So I find these pictures and inspiration boards via online and I attempt to re-create things and have this really good envision of what I want and they just never look the same.. I'm not sure if it's a lack of funds to supply everything needed to make it look the same or what it might be, but over all I'm pretty satisfied with my fun 4th of July decor I've built up over the past few years from various sales, Target dollar section, etc.

My holiday weekend started out perfectly on Thursday with a lunch/car wash date with my precious little flower girl and her awesome mama! She might not look excited to see me, but I promise she was ;)

Table centerpiece: Old ornaments my parents were throwing away after cleaning out the Christmas decor from years past... I grabbed them out of the trash pile and figured we could create something Patriotic with them, along with some cylinders from Home Goods, this is what we came up with!

Close-up of one of the small cylinders:

Coffee table when you enter the house downstairs: all items courtesy of the Target dollar section a few years ago

Serve ware for the weekend:

Pinwheels lined in one of the flower beds:

American Flags lining the sidewalk:

Upstairs rail, downstairs doors, and 4th of July Banner:

Now for the food part:

Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Strawberries:

My mom, cousin Lory, and I also made chocalte dipped pretzel sticks that I did not get a picture of but they are at the end of the dessert buffet line here:

I will leave you with a fun picture my cousin took of the strawberries on her phone:

If I get the patience later, I might do a fun 4th of July post to show all the good times and memories that were made!

Oh How Pinterest-ing!

2011-07-06T11:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks to MJ over at Teaching In Heels for sending me a Pintrest invitation, I am now addicted.. ha!

Thanks to MJ and Kerbi for linking up to Michelle over at, The Vintage Apple,
I'm jumping on the bandwagon and joining in on Oh Pinterest-ing Wednesday!!

Here's some things I'm lovin' this week!

My new FAV guest book idea! Maybe it could be a calendar of pictures of us or random pictures of family, friends, and guests at the wedding?!?!

I would give almost anything to already be in my own classroom....

And if I had enough extra time on my hands..I would make all my little bundles of joy these for Valentine's Day!

How cute is this summer outfit? If only I was a little thinner, or braver?

Have I shared my slight obsession for all things Texas?

That's what I'm lovin' this week!
Leave me a comment if your needing an Pintrest invite!!!

Photobook America... Ya, Eh, or No?

2011-07-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever made a Photobook via Photobook America?

The quality looks great!
The prices look a little on the high side.... But I saw this Groupon which has brought me upon this wondering of the quality of the books published via the photobook maker...
Not that I need to purchase anymore Groupons, I still have 2 that I need to use... Buttt this is something I would use and in the works of needing to begin creating 3 photo books, so perfect timing! ha!

I normally use via MyPublisher to create my Photobooks, and have not been let down by the quality, creativeness, price, coupons, or turn-around time produced via MyPublisher

So I'm leaning towards just continuing to use MyPublisher, but I always enjoy reeving my bloggers feedback!

Happy 4th Of July!!!
Pictures to come tomorrow of my attempt to be crafty and Martha Stewartish this weekend....
Some might find my attempt as an epic fail, but I'm pretty pleased with what I did with the money and time I had to work with :)

4th of July Fun- Food, Favor, or Decor Ideas!!

2011-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling crafty.....

We have some friends and family coming down to our second home this weekend aka the river house aka my little heaven to celebrate our wonderful freedom!

I want to challenge myself to do something crafty and fun this week as a little party favor for people coming or a yummy treat or even just a little festive decor!
It's not going to be a big party or anything special just a few close friends that I would like to show a little love for coming down.

Here's where you come into play! I need some ideas!!!

My mom and I tried to make this last year for the 4th of July

Let's just say it did not look like this one... After photo documenting the entire process (to blog about...) and my mom and I being so excited about making this cake, we ended up throwing it in the trash (literally) and just making a plain chocolate cake.

So I do not want to try and attempt anything to this affect again... I know I am not a baker and I am OK with that!!!

Here are some things I found that look fabulous and fairly easy:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Red White and Blue Ice Pops

The Red White and Blue popcorn looks fairly easy?

I would love to make these as party favors, this might be the kid coming out in me...

This sign makes my heart so happy!!! If only I would of started planning this out a little sooner...

Chocolate Pretzels... Are on my level of do-able!

If we had kids... We WOULD be doing this!!!

If I was going somewhere that I would dress up/cute.. I would love to be wearing this but since I stay in my swim suit 80% of the day, I won't be wearing this.

Soo have any of you ladies made anything fun for this weekend or made anything in the past you would like to share?

Feel free to comment and share :)

Hope everyone has a fun Fourth of July doing whatever brings you happiness and don't forget of those who help us have our freedom!!

Images used: Pinterest and Google Images

Do You Pintrest?

2011-06-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

I caved....

Over the past few months I have heard the site mentioned and seen various fabulous boards posted on blogs and other social media but I kept telling myself that I did not need to join and fall into the trap of looking at another site daily (I used to look at my blogger daily.. That has been neglected the past few months,) but after finding myself checking out the site more often I decided to give in..

Thanks to MJ over at Teaching In Heels, I got my invite to follow and quickly got signed up!

In case you aren't familiar, here' s a quick overview of what it is:
Pintrest is a web-based place to bookmark all of your favorite images all in one place. You can create different folders for things you may be looking for or for things you want to remember.

Some boards I'm looking forward to creating:
Crafts
Teaching
Wedding Ideas
Fun Girl Time Ideas
Fashion
Beauty
Gift Ideas
and much more....

So are you "Pinning"?
I'm not sure how it all works yet but I know you have to be 'invited' so if you are interested in starting leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite (once I figure out how to...ha.)

Coupon Saving...Help!

2011-06-13T19:39:00.001-07:00

I would like to do this: Save Money

By doing this: Easy Coupon Clipping

Without having to do this: Being A Crazy Coupon Lady (w/o being obsessed...)

Without having to do this: Spending Hours/Too Much Time Browsing Online

And Be Able To Do This: Walk Out Of ~~Target~~ The Store Proud Of My Purchases

To sum it up.. I want to know the in's and out's of the coupon world these days. As I mentioned above, I do not want to spend a lot of time, effort, or money just to get the coupons. I do not want to spend hours googling each item I want or use a lot of ink to print all the unnecessary coupons and I also do not want to sign up for a million websites in order to receive their coupons.

I have one website I like going to weekly, it's very organized and updated often. If I know I am going to a certain store, I will check her website to see if she has that stores coupon for the week. I might be a little ashamed to say this but... I have her site book marked and easily accessible, I have looked into the grocery coupon section and it just makes my head spin...
Mommy Saves Big Printable Coupons

So what is the trick my blog friends? How do I save $ without spending too much time etc doing so. What's your trick? What website do you use?

PS- Another thing I hear of people doing is buying a cheaper brand (one they normally don't use) just to use a coupon or they buy way too many of one item just to save.. I don't want to do that either :)

PSS- I might be a little obsessed with Target..

Blog Dashboard: Subcategory

2011-06-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

I might be wishing this and there might really be a way to do it.. But I really wish that the google blog dashboard had a sub-category section!!!!!
I would like to be able to break up the blogs I follow into different categories, for instance: I would like to have a 'friends section with people I am close with/personally know' a 'wedding idea section' a 'fellow teachers and teaching inspirations section' etc. Although I enjoy reading all of the blogs I follow, I don't have time to get around to them all everyday but yet there are a select few I enjoy reading every time I get on but yet my dashboard is so full that I get half way thru it and ready to log off... I know you might be saying well delete the ones you don't read, but that's the whole point, I don't want to get rid of any of them but yet I don't have time to look at all the fabulous wedding blogs I follow everyday... Does that make sense?

So if any of you lovely ladies know of a way you can separate out the blogs you follow, please share!!

Asking for Prayers... For my Bubba

2011-06-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

Without going into too much detail I would like to ask for any extra prayers and thoughts you wouldn't mind sending my families way.
If you know me personally, you know my brother's situations.. If you don't know me personally, well you can read here..

It seems as though it's a continuous cycle over the years.. About every 6-7 months "all hell breaks loose" and something has to happen rather it be medically, emotionally, legally, physically, etc. something bad happens with my poor innocent brother. Although I want to so bad cause it's weighing on my heavy heart to get it all out, I do not want to publicly go into details about anything.
I'm not one to put my business in the open nor am I one to ask for much of anybody but I'm desperate for some extra thoughts and prayers.

Thank You ahead of time

Thankful Thursday #28:

2011-05-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thankful Thursday #28: Opportunities

This can be a very broad term. But this Thursday some opportunities I'm thankful for:

*Time with family
*A flexible schedule
*Good times/Fun times
*Vacation
*College
*Working with children
*Spending time with those I love and who love me in return
*Working this summer
*Student teaching in the school district of choice

What I'm supposed to be doing... Rehersal Dinner

2011-05-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

As we speak we are supposed to be enjoying our rehearsal dinner.. Well if you have been following my blog or your a personal friend, you know that we had to move our date back in order to prioritize for our future and what would be best for us. I'm 110% happy and OK with this decision, to be honest the fact that the wedding was supposed to be this weekend really has not bothered me. I haven't really talked to anyone about it, no tears have been shed, and I'm actually kind of glad it's not this weekend with the stressful semester I had.

I was excited to wake up today knowing that I got to go see two little one's that I just adore! I got to spend a few hours today with one of my flower girls, one of my matron of honor's, and one of my ring bearers (he doesn't know he is one yet and I have not asked his parents since he's only 2 months old, but I will be asking them when I start working on planning again ;)
I also got a nice jog in today and spent some time at the gym. Now the thing that has probably kept my mind off of the 'wedding weekend' is I'm packing to head out on a 7 day Bon Voyage with Brian's Dad and step family and other friends on Sunday and his step-mom is so awesome for picking this weekend for us to set sail since the wedding plans had to change!

As we set sail we will be celebrating:
Brian's Dad's 60th Birthday
Brian, his brother Mason, and friend Austin's Birthdays
College graduations

Pics to come!

Thankful Thursday #27

2011-05-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my 'Thankful Thursdays' for far too long! I have SO much to be Thankful for and I'm a very appreciative person so this is one blog ritual that should not be neglected!

Thankful Thursday #26 was America's Freedom To Vote.. I guess I did this post related to voting elections coming up soon.

Thankful Thursday #27 seems it's right in line and only appropriate to be Thankful for at this moment but also something to always be Thankful for...

#27: Our Troops and Our Freedom- If you live in America and your any sort of a civilian, this needs no explanation...

I'm Proud To Be An American- Soldiers Tribute

Blog Book

2011-05-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I've had a new outlook on technology, both good and bad...

For the bad part- I feel as though technology can often fail us.. As though it wont' always save everything of might clear out what you do have just randomly one day...

For the good part- Technology is so accessible and advanced and can make tasks so much easier these days!

With that being said, lately I've had a slight fear of not being able to access my blogger one day or to be more exact that eventually my very first post from
March 9 2009 will no longer exist in cyber space...

So I'm wanting to begin creating a 'blog book'

How easy is it? I do not want something that I have to position every box, text, picture etc..

What is the best site?
Pro's and cons...
Blurb.com
Blog2print.com
Blogbooker.com

Or none of the above?

I think making a blog book will be so fun to look back on one day and see all the fun times I've had, the things I've shared, the trends I liked and blogged about etc, and one thing I really look forward to making is something to do with my title page designs..

Check out a few of my FAVS I've had over time Thanks to my sweet friend Danielle
I can't find me first design, but I know I have it saved somewhere :)

I'm baccckkkkkk!!!

2011-04-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

With that title you would think I've been gone for a year huh? Well no just 75 days and yes I counted! I have randomly checked up on a few of my favorite blogs about once every 3-4 weeks but as I said, it was a simple 'check up' so needless to say I'm lost on most of my fellow bloggers lives!

Yes I could go on and on about all the craziness that has gone on in my life this semester and what I've missed and who I've missed and how I learned some new ways 'stress can take a toll on your body' but let's be honest, you do not want to hear about it and frankly I'm not one to focus on the negative so I'll save that for a later date or possibly never..

So better yet, I'll share some of the enjoyable events in my life from the past 75 days..

I went into the semester returning to the Education program I was in after taking some time off, needless to say I knew no one.... I'm thrilled to say I had no problem making new friends (imagine that ;)) To be honest it would of been hard to not get to know new people when we spent SO much time together every week!
The picture above is from our methods class one day, (side note, there was only one guy out of all 28 of us.. He's a trooper) we had a quick break and ran to Chick-Fil-A, poor Lauren had to get stuff for a project and didn't get to join, but came back with some Scooby- Doo socks from Target for us :)

I enjoyed working my 3rd year on a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo committee! This might sound like a sales pitch, but those 3 weeks with 35+ hours on top of your normal daily life can be extremely exhausting but when you see the smile and excitement on the childrens faces (I volunteer on the committee that oversees all of the children exhibits and educational aspects of HLSR).. It makes it all worth it!!!
This picture is from one of my shifts worked with 2 of my longest friends, (we went to Enrique Inglesias at the Rodeo together.. does that tell you anything?) who joined the committee this year!

In between the rodeo shifts I enjoyed...

Tim McGraw with my best friend aka my mom!

Gary Allan with BD, Heather, Chad, Shelby, Taylor, Justin, Julia, and Michael!

The AMAZING Miranda Lambert with Lacy, Casey, Heather, Constance, Julia, and Kelly

Zac Brown Band with BD, Pierce, Mark, Kristen, Lindsey, and Mark

My favorite part of the rodeo, Mutton' Bustin'

I celebrated my 26th Birthday with some of my amazing friends and family causing ruckus at Bingo Hall.. I'm all about having fun in a different/unique way, (outside of standing in a bar where you can't even hear any of your friends to talk and your eyes burn from the smoke, just being honest..) so I always set out to find something everyone will enjoy, and this time I landed on playing Bingo!
Minus us being shushed most of the night by the regulars, it was a very fun night!

Me with my fabulous Bingo Cake Pops

My amazingly sweet friends brought me some precious gifts... One thing to learn about me, I strongly dis-like receiving gifts... I LOVE giving gifts and will buy the people I love a gift for the littlest thing but I do not like receiving, at Christmas time I always sit and watch everyone else and their excitement until someone catches me and yells at me to start opening, ha!
Thank You- Matt & Tracy, Michelle & Bill, Tracy, Heather, Rachael, Lindsey J, and Lindsey P

MY parents CAME!!! My parents do not get out often, so this was a big deal, especially for them to drive into town at night and stay out till after 10 when they normally are in bed by 10! I am sooo glad they came and boy my dad was the life of the party!!!!

Poor BD, he kept trying to keep up with my cards for me while I was a social butterfly, I think he finally gave up...

My BFF Rachael and I.. This picture makes me smile big and she's just amazing, need proof? Go here

Out of the 650+ people there.. We actually had a winner from our group!! BD's friend Pierce won a $700 something pot that was split 6 ways!!!

I'm kinda getting tired of uploading pics, so I'm just going to do a quick run down of a few more pics of 'big' things I've done..

We went to Dallas to watch BD's brother play Lacrosse.. It's his senior year at Texas Tech and we have not been to any of his games :/

So of course we can't ever make a Dallas trip without seeing 4 of our most favorite people!!

I told Fynn and Wyatt to 'say cheese' and this is what I got... LOVE their little personalities!!

Brian and his Brothers after the Lacrosse game

A few years ago a sweet friend of mine lost her father to liver disease, I was unfamiliar with this awful disease until Julia put her amazing will power into force and began spreading the word for a cure! We walked in honor of her dad, here's a pic of half our group!

I have another friend that's getting hitched, it's actually this weekend! I'm so excited about this wedding, I have known Sherry for 8 years.. We met through a guy I used to date that she was close friends with.. Over the years we have discovered the many of friends we have in common, although I don't see her much, we know each other is always there and we will randomly text each other anytime we need something
I can't wait to see her walk down the isle in her dress that fits her to a T and see her little baby girl Ky strut down the isle!

I have other random pics and events but I think you've seen enough :) Basically my life has been rather boring and mainly consumed with school, it might look like I've done a lot but the pics you see is about it to be honest..

I do have another special announcement that I can't wait to blog about and show pics but that will have to come next time ;)

Thanks to those who are still 'following' me!

It won't be too long until my next post :)

Ringing In The New Year- Things to look forward to!

2011-02-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

*Side note: This post was created January 3rd, yes I'm just going back mid February to complete and publish it.. Enjoy :)

This year BD and I rang in the New Year with a few close friends at our friends parents house.. We defiantly are over the whole going out "in town" idea, for one we don't have the money for it (although I still spent more than I would of liked to on decor, fireworks etc) and it's just not safe going from in town to the suburbs even in a taxi.. We only drove approx 10 miles from our friends house back to Brian's for the night and we had a car pull out in front of us at a light, our light was green and had been green and this car just went straight threw his red light, BD was driving since he does not drink at all and he was very shook up and scared.. So just goes to show no matter how little you drive on NYE it still can be dangerous!

We had a great night with lots of laughs, dancing, being silly, taking pictures, shooting fire works, and just having fun out on all the land the house was on! Here's very few pics to show:

Brian and I celebrating another New Year together, hopefully this year brings us as many great times as 2010!

The Girl's of the night!

And that's all I'm gonna post as far as pics.. ha!

Now onto the more fun part of the post!!

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:
*Weekends at Bernard..

*Starting another semester and a semi new chapter in my life in the Education field

*Celebrating 1 year engagement with BD, you can read back to the proposal here

*Our big camping trip with some of our best friends

*The Winter Boat Show at Reliant

*One of my bestest friends Birthday celebrations, were going to see Randy Rogers Band! Head over to her blog and feel free to leave her a little comment saying she should start blogging again :)

*My first Nephew's Baby Shower, OK not "technically" my nephew but close enough.. It is my God sister also one of my MOH's baby shower.. When she called to tell me she was prego, she said, I have something to tell you, "You're going to be an Aunt" so yep I'll be an Aunt!

*The World Championship Bar-B-Que , This is one weekend I look forward to every year! If your not from Houston, here's a little run down.. It's a 3 day event, hundreds of cooking teams come out and compete for the best bbq, all put on by sponsorship, you have to "know someone" to get into a tent.. you have to have tickets into each tent and are checked at the door, when you go in all the tents vary but most always have tons of good food- free drinks- dancing- and just lots of fun, I don't even drink but I just love going and having fun with friends and taking it all in. I love the scene and the cow boy hats and laughing at the crazy people!

*Working another year on the Ladies Go Texan Rodeo Committee! Also very excited that 2 of my girl friends' that I've been close with since Middle School have joined the committee this year so we will be signing up for as many shifts as possible together

*Not really looking forward to this one.. But my 26th Birthday!

*Spring Break, fortunately I will be able to look forward to this every year forever with the career field I have choose.. Unlike most people have to stop looking forward to it once they graduate college!

*The arrival of the baby boy mentioned above :)

*The Child Advocates Gala and Auction

*My friend Lyndsey's Wedding in April

*Helping host my friend Courtney's Baby shower

*BD's 26th Birthday

* Finishing another semester of school, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel..

*Our cruise in May to celebrate Brian's dad's Birthday & Brian and his bro's Graduations... We will be leaving the weekend we were supposed to get married this year, so this will be perfect timing for a little get away!!

*Possibly my family's 3rd Annual Craw fish Boil

*Summer weekend's at Bernard aka the river house

* My friend Sherry's Wedding in May

*Events/Tournaments with the Wakeboarding organization were involved in:
GCWA

*Hopefully finding an Education related job during the summer months

*My friend Julia's Wedding in August

*Celebrating all my friends and families Birthday's in 2011

*Graduation in December

That's all I can think of off the top of my head that I know is for sure happening in 2011, maybe I can do an updated post mid year!

My Lovely Blog Readers.. I don't like not blogging!

2011-02-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not even gonna go into the whole spill as to why I haven't blogged in so long and how busy I've been cause let's be honest here.. That's not what y'all want to read nor is it really what I want to talk about!

Just a brief update:
*The demand of schooling this semester is absurd..speaking of I am supposed to be in Dallas with BD's family as we speak for his cousins wedding but I had to make the tough decision on Wednesday to go ahead and back out due to the amount of work I've been doing on weekends and have to do this weekend, it just wasn't feasible for me to try and get my work done during the week to allow me to get away this weekend.. If you know me, you know I must really have a lot to do cause #1 I love going to weddings and spending time with BD's family and #2 I've never really let school work keep me from doing something I want to do.....
SO I'm sitting here doing work and taking a break to blog :)

*I LOVE the elementary school I'm at this semester and really really enjoy my SBTE teacher's classrooms I'm in

*I'm not getting to go to boot camp as much as I was going and would like to go... I know I Know it's part of the "real world" and I"m working on getting used to it but after dealing with 43 fourth graders everyday and then also having endless assignments due for my college courses and making lesson plans etc. Boot camp is basically the last thing on my mind, unfortunately...
On a positive note though, I have lost another 7 lbs. totaling approx. 28 lbs
(if you realize this is much smaller, good for you.. If you know me, you know I strongly dislike talking about myself and my accomplishments)

*I miss seeing my friends... enough said!

*I'm ready to have my own classroom to practice my own classroom management and watching my kids minds bloom and develop on my teaching philosophy and so much more... Yes I'm going to be a teacher even though I just wrote out one of the most horrible sentences, don't judge!

*I'm ready for RODEO!! I say every year I'm going to go to sooo many shows and let's be real here... After working a 6 hour shift on my feet running around with kids at the Rodeo, I very seldom want to stay for the show or even go back to enjoy myself... But I'm going to try and change that this year and seriously go to several shows, this should be easier since 2 of my girlfriends are on the committee with me this year and since my friend H Ty and I have talked about going to some shows, like old times... 4 years ago we went to I think 7 or 8 out of the 18-20 shows together!

This is the only pic I can find right now of us at the Rodeo together, Rodeo Cook Off 2005/6? (I know there are at least 25+ from over the years, but them all off of my facebook and have moved them off my laptop onto an external hard drive)
Did I mention how proud I am of this girl? NO I didn't, so wow I've always envied how headstrong she is and her Faith but this girl has shown it more than ever in the past 6 months! Without giving too much of her personal life out into the cyber world... She has been burned 1 too many times, after years of guarding her heart she finally let the guard down and yet it happened again... I'm not going to lie and say she was OK, she was lonely and confused for a few months after she fought through with that determination and Faith that I mentioned she had, she's back on her feet and full force!!!! She is back to the H Ty we all know and love. I tried to be the best friend I could and stick by her side rather it be to cry to, vent to, send her surprise cards in the mail, or just all around be there.. I hope I helped! This ole silly boy is not all that brought her down, she has had a rough past few months but nothing will hold this girl down, I promise you!!!! OK well I did not plan on talking about that and I think I've shared enough of her business and now that I'm teary eyed, I'll stop :)

H and I at her apt. before going to see Randy Rogers for her B-Day!

*I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of a little baby boy named Luke... If this little guy doesn't hurry up and get here, I might mentally go broke! I do not walk in ANY store and not ~~see something~~ pick something up and think about buying it... I've learned that I have to resist the temptation, I've bought him a few little things and my mom keeps telling me to stop so we can focus on something bigger and more beneficial for the future parents! Although I most importantly pray for good health for the mom and baby and comfort of labor for the mom, I pray a little bit also that he decides to come closer to afternoon time so I'm able to get up to the hospital shortly after and not have to miss school ;)

*I'm really excited about the little Valentine's I'm making for my students... I know I know all you teacher's are saying, just wait after a couple years that will be the last thing on your mind and your lucky if you make it to the store to buy candy, ha! But for now I'm excited and ready to get out my scrapbooking supplies!!!!

*I'm behind on my Daily Devotional, yes that is NOT something you allow to get behind on but I have.... so I'm going to wrap this post up so I can get back to writing this extravagant lesson on Civil War and then on the next break, I'll do some reading :)

Sorry so long and very few pics but until next time....
Smile, it's the ultimate anti-depressant!!!

Face Powder Help/Suggestions?

2011-01-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

First things first.. Thanks to all those who noticed my post after post after post the past few days... That's what staying in on a Friday night and experiencing the "grown up" world can do for ya :) (After reading and catching up with a bunch of blogs, I was in the mood to blog.. So I went to my drafts and my list of blog ideas and I started typing away, I set the post dates for the following days)

With a busy busy semester ahead of me, I am trying not to really make any "plans" for BD and I on weekends, minus the "can't miss activities." If you know me, you know this is very uncommon.. For years I have had something of some sort planned for BD and I to do pretty much every weekend rather it simply be dinner or going out with friends or as extreme as going out of town..
Since I know I will be more exhausted come the weekends this semester, I'm ready to kinda 'grow up' and have more nights in relaxing... I know my big sis is probably saying see I told you or Thank God your realizing now, ha! But she has no room to talk as she has always been Ms. social bug!

Now that I went off on my random tangent, on to the reason for this post...

I need some of you wonderful ladies advice/help...

I'm not happy with my powder I'm currently using... As mentined in my post a few days ago about concelear, I strongly dislike buying new make-up!!

I'm one that always wants to try new things and I jump around.. Rather it be toothpaste, body wash, make-up, or even cloths...
I love trying new things and rarely 'finish' a bottle of anything in my bathroom.. I'm learning this is not smart for more than one reason!
1. Too expensive
2. Never know if your going to like it better than the last
3. Makes my bathroom look cluttered
and the list goes on...

You know the saying, if it's not broke.. Don't fix it! I need to learn to live by that, If I like the way something is..then simply stick with it and use it!

So with that being said!

In middle school/high school when I started wearing make-up I began wearing Cover Girl and would alternate and use Clinique..

Over the years I've used Clinique Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder

A few times over the years I've tried ( remember above me I mentioned I cant' stick with anything, prime example..I'd have something that worked fine but yet I wanted to try MAC) using MAC Stuido-Fix Power.. I never liked it, not the first time, not the second time, and yes you guessed it.. NOT the third time!
So many people wore MAC and I always wanted to be that 'MAC Make-Up user' don't ask why...

Over the years of switching, I decided to try Bare Minerals Powder/Foundation and really liked it! You might be asking OK well then why don't you use it, I mentioned in my Concealer Post, I'm allergic to Bare Minerals Make-Up. I absolutely loved the natural-radiant glow that this make up gave me though!

After reading some good reviews and having a lady at Sephora help me.. I decided to go with Laura Mercier Pressed Power

To be brutally honest I do NOT like it!
I feel as those my face looks like this...

OK, that might be a bad image.. Cause fortunately I do not have any wrinkles yet, but what I'm trying to get at with this image is you can see every little imperfection and hair.. You can def tell there is a layer of make-up on her face (You can also tell on mine when I wear that make up)

I feel like MiMi from the Drew Carey Show

OK not literally but you get the picture...

So what do I do? I want the natural yet pretty look back!! Do you have a recommendation or should I try going back to the Clinique that I've used for years or try another Mineral Loose Powder?

P.S.

I use this Primer after my lotion and have always had great results with it, I've also changed my face lotions a few times and have had all the same results of the thick yuck looking make-up!

Thanks in advance for any tips/opinions!

Sending My Luck & Love!

2011-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

I just want to send some Good Luck and Love to a few of my special friends...

* I have a friend starting a new job on Monday, she really deserves this and needs it to ease her life!!

*I have another friend who went to an interview on Friday, cross your fingers things work out!

* I have a friend who just finished her first half marathon this past weekend, she has been training for half a year and put so much dedication into this.. Technically she doesn't need the luck anymore cause she already finished, maybe the luck I sent her in a card at the first of the month helped her ;)

*I have another friend going to some training tomorrow in hopes of possibly getting a "not so good" job to then eventually hopefully move up to the good job part! PLEASE say a big prayer for this one!!!

* I have a friend who landed an awesome job only 2 weeks after graduating! She is in her very own classroom and doing great, she also found out a few weeks before that she is expecting her second child!!!

* I have another friend who is having bad back pain that's sometimes keeping her in bed, hopefully she finds solutions soon!

* I have a friend who is running a 5K in a few weeks, followed by a 10K.. And I will be pushing her to sign up for a half shortly after that! She has the dedication and strength to complete it with her eyes closed, she just needs the Faith!

* I have a friend who moved back to her home town of Dallas today... It made me sad to see her go this week, but I know she will be happier there and know that I will be seeing her again, so I'm not too worried :)

* I have a friend who is planning her wedding and dealing with a lot of unnecessary/unfair stress that is making her experience very unpleasant

* I have a fiance (bet you can't guess who that one is ;)) who is ready to make leaps and bounds!! New doors are opening and I'm so proud of him!!! We still need to land a job for him, but he's headed in the right direction!

Wow sounds like I have a lot of just random "friends" ha!
I'm sure I forgot someone that I have been praying for or thinking of but don't you worry, I haven't forgot about them in my heart :)

Good Luck, Get Well, and I Love all my friends!!!

Concealer Make Up Help?!?!

2011-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've learned in the blogging world, what better "go-to" for advice/tips than your blog or blogs you follow..

I'm on the hunt for a new concealer!

I strongly dislike (I do not like to use the word hate) buying new make-up.. Especially trying new make-up!

I have not been happy or consistent in purchasing a concealer for a couple years, I used to really like and use regularly the Bare Mineral's Powder Concelear

After wondering why I had these bumps on my face that looked like a rash for over a year... I finally realized I was allergic to Bare mineral's make-up, I stopped using all Bare mineral's and my face was clear within a few weeks!

Before that I used the MAC studio finish concealer

I didn't like how fast the MAC dried up..

Recently, my current concelaer is the Bobbi Brown

After reading several reviews and hearing ramps and raves about this concealer I made the leap and went and got it..... To be honest, I'm not that impressed! Especially for how much each little itty bitty tube cost..
This is a well known concealer but for some reason I'm just not a fan, If I remember right it was kinda watery at first and then now it's super dry.. And in the middle, it helped with my under eyes but not really any "cover-up" like I can normally get both out of a concealer
You can read about it here: Bobbi Brown Concealer

Does anyone know how long your supposed to keep make-up? I read a few articles but still unsure

So what do you use ladies, what's your FAV? I don't have to have the best of the best, I don't mind spending a little money just not too much!

Refillable Razor vs. Disposable Razor

2011-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

I never thought I'd be posting about this....

Back in October, yes approx. 4 months ago I got the worst razor burn I've ever had (maybe even the first real case of razor burn) I'm talking it looked like a advertisement pic you might see that is trying to promote to prevent razor burn!!
Randomly during boot camp one night I asked the girl's I'm friends with, If they've ever had razor burn and what they did? They said to throw out my current razor and get a new one, as also discussed how it's best to do this about once a month.. So I did! For almost 2 weeks after I could not roll my deodorant on, I had to "tap" it on, I could not wear certain shirts or bras, and could only lightly go over my arm pit every 4-5 days (sick, I know...)
It gradually started going away but was still defiantly noticeably there and pretty uncomfortable..

When I was at my yearly "head to toe" check up at my dermatologist last week I decided to go ahead and just mention the razor burn and see what she said.....

She asked if I used dispobsable razors...

Yes I do

What do you use to shave with, shaving cream?

She recommended getting a mens refillable razor, she said the disposable only have 3 blades and do not cut as close to the skin.. Compared the the refillable have 5 blades and cut closer to the skin causing less irritation to the skin, especially in a sensitive area

She also said that she recommends the Avenno shaving cream but that this was not a must, just if maybe next time I buy new cream I could get this one..

I started using this combo about 1.5 weeks ago, after 3 days my razor burn was 100% gone and my hair has not come back near as quick as it used to.. This may sound gross but I can go days without shaving and barely see any hairs coming in!

I've always been set on doing the disposable because they are cheaper and more convenient but I do not think I will ever go back except when I'm on a trip or something!

Let me know if anyone has had a similar experience, I would love to hear that I'm not the only random weirdo that was excited about a new shaving set-up :)

Missing My Dear Sweet Joy

2011-01-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

This post is long over due.. I started it on Janurary 4th, made me sad so I stopped.. Started it again on Janurary 12th, same thing.. And now here I am on the 21st getting the courage to give it another shot!

Some of you might briefly remember this post from the first week of Janurary last year, Joy Marie, and if you know me personally you know my love for this sweet dear woman!

With out going into too much detail and not making it sound like I'm striving for attention.. Basically she passed away a year ago (the first day I tried doing this post)... I've never missed someone SO much in my whole entire life!!

I was cleaning out some old picture boxes that have been under my bed for years just basically waiting to be dug threw for any "special" pics that needed to be saved such as family pics, memorable moments, close friends, my first car, etc... and the rest such as ex's, old friends, stupid/worthless pics, etc needing to be throw away!!

As I was going threw these boxes I came across this pic...

This is me with Joy's wedding bouquet when she married her second husband, Frank.. Let me just tell you, the second I put this pic in my hand the tears started pouring!! I felt like such a little baby, my mom came in my room as she heard me to find out what had happened...

There is one yes 1 thing I would give up almost anything at my wedding just to have... Frank bought Joy a 3 tier diamond necklace and gave it to her the day they got married.. side note- Joy has talked about and dreamed about my wedding day since as far back as I can remember.. Frank knowing Joy's dreams for my wedding, when we realized she was not going to live to see the day I walk down the isle, he decided he wanted me to wear that necklace on my wedding day, he told Joy about this a few weeks before she passed and she was beyond thrilled!! Due to personal family drama that to be honest is the most selfish situation I've ever heard of... Frank did not get any access/rights to any of Joy's jewelry or any of her belongings for that matter, that being said by the time Frank got his thoughts together in the weeks after she passed, the necklace was already gone..
Frank still says he is going to ask for the necklace back since he technically bought it etc. and I PRAY that he gets the courage up to ask for it back and I get to have a piece of Joy resting on my chest the day I finally walk down the isle!

If you believe in prayer and don't mind, say a quick prayer or make a wish that one day he will get his hands on that necklace again and will be able to pass it on to me.

Ugh I did not plan on this post to get this emotional but since it has and I don't want to cry anymore I'm gonna go ahead and wrap it up..

Miss You Auntie Cousin Joy!

Things You Don't Learn About Teaching in College!

2011-01-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

This video is pretty old, 2008 to be exact.. Some of you may of already seen it but I came across it again and wanted to share it!
When you were a kid in school, the principles office was scary... As a teacher, the principles office is STILL scary!! haha!

Nail Update! Shellac Manicure

2011-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

Remember this blog post last week, Nails or No Nails?

First of all, Thank You to all of you who left comments on your tips or past experiences and Thanks to all those that emailed me with your thoughts!

I decided to go ahead and get rid of the acrylic nails! I kinda feel like a dork, I feel like I did a good dead or something! ha!

After doing research and talking with friends I decided to go ahead and get the Shellac manicure. I started seeing signs at my nail salon and hearing about this new manicure a few months back but never really looked into it.. Basically it is gel nails, you can read about it here:
CND Sheallc Manicure

I went in thinking that it was just a natural color like a clear coat, until Kim (my nail lady of 5+ years :)) today said OK, what color do you want? I said I though it was just a clear natural look, she laughed and handed me the samples of colors

The main idea of me getting rid of the acrylic was to start budgeting and save money... Well this kinda defeated the purpose, it cost the exact same... BUT I still feel better about making the switch, I feel like my nails will be healthier, easier to maintain, easier to work with kids, etc..

I'm thinking that I might just go the Shellac as a transition from the Acrylic to eventually do the basic manicure (to stick with the original concept of saving money).. I think the Shellac is a good transition, for the few minutes I had no acrylic on my nail and before she did the gel, it felt SOOOO weird and of course paper thin :/

All and all I'm glad I went with my gut and Thanks again for the tips, and to top it off my nail lady didn't even really ask questions and agreed it was a good idea :)

Here's my nails, I went with a very light pink.. They even have where you can do french and then also bright colors, that maybe I'll get brave closer to summer and venture out to, but we'll see......

If you have a question or want an update in a few weeks, feel free to email me!

E-Mail please, going private!

2011-01-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Remember this post from last week, To go private or not?

As I was typing and then posting the blog post I was already about 80% sure I was going to set my blog to private...

After receiving all your wonderful comments/ideas/& input I was 95% sure I was going to set my blog to private.....

After going to orientation for school on Friday and hearing "Go home, google yourself.. The first week of school you and your co-teacher will type up a letter to send home to the parent's in your class telling them about you and the first thing the parents are going to do is google you."
So I came home and did... After finding several web pages pop up, most of them in reference to my blog and in google images were some of my pics from my blog..

I am now 100% sure I am setting my blog to private!!

Thanks to all those who left me comments last week, I have all them saved and will be adding your email address to my list :)

If there is anyone else that still wants to follow my blog, please leave a comment on this post with your email address and I will be more than happy to add you to my private list!!!

Hope everyone stayed warm and dry this weekend!

To go private or not?

2011-01-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

I've been debating making my blog private for quite sometime now, well honestly since I created my blog in 2009! I have not really put much thought into it as you can probably tell since I haven't ever mentioned it before..

I don't put anything bad on my blog, I don't talk bad about people or anything, so why make it private right? Well basically just for my safety and those who I might mention/post a pic of on my blog.

With all the "social network" talk that I've been hearing and discussing with friends lately kinda has me a little weary about what I put online. The online web is basically an open book.. I've always had my setting on facebook as private as possible.. A few months back I went threw my facebook albums and deleted over half of them ( probably had 70+ albums), after talking with a few friends and doing some reserach online in reference to jobs etc. I went threw last week and deleted a ton more albums along with any extra info I had on my profile under the "about me" section or the "likes" section and I also took off the year I was born.
I decided to do this since my fiance BD is starting to look for a new job now that he has his certification complete and also for my safety as I will be starting in the part of my school program where I will be at the Elementary school 4 days a week this semester..
One of my dad's friends that owns his own company told my dad that whenever someone comes in with an application the first thing he does is look at their facebook.. Also when his workers call into work and have an excuse why they can't come in, he looks on their facebook to see what they have posted lately, one guy called in sick one day and he looked at his facebook and saw he was out of town that past weekend and had pics of partying and saying how the guy was having such a great time that he was going to stay an extra day.. Welp your boss just caught you in a lie buddy!! Ouch!
My big sis Lindsey sent me the link to this facebook article today and it opened up my eyes to this matter even more...

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111722/what-your-facebook-profile-may-be-telling-id-thieves

Also FYI, always check your facebook settings.. Facebook doesn't necessarily go in and "change" your settings but they are always "updating" there privacy/settings and if you don't know this and go in and check it periodically you won't know that you need to "unckeck" something that they might of added that automatically enables others to see about you...

Sorry I sound like a natzee about this but I've heard of too many job situations lately happening and also remember although you have all your settings to as private as possible, there are ALWAYS ways around it, especially with any government type job, they can bypass those settings with the click of a button!!

OK now that I went off on a tangent let me get back on track....... I'm thinking of setting my blog to private, I know it's easy to do but it makes me sad that I might loose some followers since it's not just as simple as clicking "follow."

Sooo here's where I need your help, I know how to set to private but I need all the email address so I can do so!!! Please leave me a comment with your blogger/google account email address so I can add you to my followers list!!

PS. Another reason I'm wanting to do this: I made my comments to where you didn't have to do the password just so it was easier for y'all to leave comments, but then I started getting SO much spam etc on my blogger comments so I changed it back...

I hope I get a lot of comments so I can add a lot of followers to continue viewing my blog!!!!

Nails or No Nails?

2011-01-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

I have a confession... I have been getting my nails "done" since I was a Soph or Junior in high school (2001/2002) yes that is approx. 9 years!!!! I'll admit, I'm a little at awe about this myself... Now just to justify for the sake of making myself feel better, I do not go every 2 weeks like they tell you to and you technically should cause they start looking a little ehh, so I have not been spending that much $$$... I have not had my nails "done" from time to time here and there for like a few weeks or a month throughout the past 9 ( breath...) years, simply to let them get stronger and simply let my nails take a break. Also my nails have gotten so long over time and also become strong enough that I don't really have "fake nails" anymore its just acrylic on top of my real nail.

SO here's the question... Has anyone ever done the transition of not having nails anymore?!?!

I am trying to "simplify" my life... I use this term very broadly, as I will still do other things that people would not consider simplified.. But this is one of my first things I feel needs to go! I have thought about it several times over the years but it was nothing more than a though.. It came into my head and quickly left as I started to think about all the things I love about having nails: Prettier hands, girlie, pampering myself, picking at things, making things easier to open, etc.
I have never really considered doing it...
I have been going to the same nail salon and lady for the past 5+ years.. I know she will try to talk me out of it simply because it is her business and she will want me coming back but I am determined to explain to her as why I don't want to do it anymore.. (wow I'm sounding kinda pathetic at this point)

So to close this question out.. I know I will still want to go get a manicure about once a month and I don't know that I will want a color on my nail but maybe just a pretty shimmer or clear looking polish.. Any tips or suggestions? I heard a few months back that OPI has something new out that is kind of hard like acrylic that you can get when you do a manicure..

My Friends Are Better Than Yours......

2010-12-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

OK, so maybe the title isn't entirely true especially since many of my really good friends read my blog and they also have other great friends, but I can say I have been truly blessed with some amazing girl friends and they all show it and make me feel that way in various ways! With everything I have been through this year from my health to wedding changes to school to weight gain, my friends have been there when I needed to cry, when I haven't looked my best, when I just wanted to sit with them and not go out, when I've canceled on them and haven't been the best friend I could be, when I've had to leave their bachlorette party early because I was too sick, when I wanted to have a slumber party and feel like we were young again, when I didn't show up to their Birthday celebrations, when they couldn't get a hold of me and had to call/text my mom to check on me or find out what a new doctor said, when I've needed flowers to cheer me up.. they were sent to my house, when I needed a card in the mail to make me smile, when I needed a sweet post written on my facebook wall, when I needed to try a new experience such as yoga or just crafting, when I needed that "just because" gift, when I needed to vent, and the list can go on and on!!!!

One really sweet thing that was done this year for me is what brings me to this post... I feel that I always find creative ways to show my friends just how much I appreciate and love them and this year one of my groups of girlfriends topped everything I've done!

This year we celebrated our 3rd Annual Girl's Christmas Dinner/Gift Exchange together, three years ago while we were all out one night it was just casually mentioned that we should start doing this and I'm not too sure if anyone really thought it was going to happen, well leave it up to me and I'll make it happen, so we did it! As an appreciation of me planning this event for us the past three years the girls got me a necklace that I had mentioned on this post. When they brought it up and told me what they had done for me I wanted to cry, I def teared up but tried to not be a drama queen and cry, I'm sorry I'm emotional and when people do things like that for me I just can't help it...

Here's the precious/pretty/sweet/dainty little necklace they got me:

Here's the description online:

BFF. Partner in crime. Confidant. No matter what she goes by, she is your best friend! Let her know how much her friendship means to you with our best friends reminder necklace. The wishbone charm lets her carry her wishes with her everywhere. She deserves it. Come to think of it, so do you!

Here's the card message the necklace came on:

make a wish and put on your necklace. I believe we were meant to be friends. let your necklace be a daily reminder that your love and friendship is an amazing gift to me!

How sweet is that? So does my title beat yours?!?! ;)

I can't tell you my wish or it won't come true, but I will say with these group of girl's it will come true!

I sent each of them a little Thank You note in the mail and hope they really know how much it means to me that they did this for me

Here's a pic from our first annual party Dec. 2008 at Jenny's parent's house

This is our 2nd annual at Kristina's APT.. I didn't get very many good pics this year:(

This years 3rd annual party at Corelli's Italian restaurant

I look forward to collecting many more of these precious little necklace's

Year of the Rabbit- In my life..

2010-12-31T07:40:00.000-08:00

- I've done some brief research and have found that only 8% of people who make New Years resolutions stick with them the following twelve months, as a matter of fact more than half don't even make it to the end of Janurary.

I also learned mainly the reason for that is simply that people can't adjust their lives drastically all of a sudden and make all these changes, so basically many people are set up for failure. The reserach has proved that in that 8% all those people started ideally planning for these new resolutions/goals approx 4 weeks before the New Year or even off and on for several months, not just the week prior to the New Year. Now with all that being said, here is my plan...

My New Year's goal's to roll over from this past year (past few months) and simply push harder!

Includes but is not limited to:

{Continue really pushing myself in boot camp}
Ideally I would like to go all 4 times a week my boot camp is offered but I'll be honest with myself it's a challenge to make it to every session so I will try to commit to 3 times per week and hope for 4!

{Continue loosing weight}
Approx. 25 pounds down in the past 2.5-3 months, _ _ to go.....

{Budget,Save,less shopping}
OK I'll be honest, I haven't really been doing this yet.. I have been budgeting better and not shopping as much but I haven't been saving.. yet

{Continue to use coupons}
I've become the coupon notsee and I'm not even a mom yet!! I've always enjoyed reading the Sunday Newspaper sale ad's and clipping coupons but now in this virtual world we live in, they simply pop up in my email way too often and also I have a few lovely coupon lady blogs I follow.. Now let me say this though, I do not print a bunch of coupons that I'm only going to save .50c here or .25c, I look at it as it's costing me more in paper and ink to print the coupon

{Eat better}
This has always been a challenge for me as I simply love food and love junk food. I was not raised eating the healthiest foods and I am extremely picky and can't do certain textures so basically I'm a difficult eater..
I have really made some changes over the past few months and looking forward to continuing and doing better! Getting my gallbladder removed in May has helped this change be easier as I couldn't eat many foods anymore but that's besides the point...

*Included in this category*

-Better balanced meals

-Better and more breakfasts

-Cut way back on Soda's, I know I should cut it all together.. But let's be honest, if you know me I have been a soda lover my whole life, I actually was talking with some girl friends the other day about how they used to come to my house when we were young and our fridge had a row of Cokes, Sunkist, DP, Root Beer, Cherry Coke, etc...
So I'll be real with myself, I will take the challenge of only having them on occasion!!

{Stay organized}
I'll toot my own horn for a sec.. I've always been good at this, I pretty much know where anything I need is at all times, I use color coded plans, I have tons of storage container/bin things, I have several personal file folders already, I make to-do lists and stick with them by crossing out etc, my laptop and email folders are very organized, and even my back pack and purse have certain ways of staying in order

{Send random cards in the mail and Thank You notes}
I'm the Queen at this and I absolutely love it!

New goals/hopes for 2011: (simply said)

-Blog way more than I did in 2010
-Learn more about Brian
-Forget past failures
-less web browsing
-more book/article reading
-spend as much time as possible with girlfriends (yes I do this a lot, but this next year will be much harder as I will have a busier day schedule and more exhausted in the evenings)
-spend more time with people over the age of 60 and under the age of 6
-Agree to disagree
-Don't compare myself to others or be jealous of others
-Get "dressed" more aka don't wear my comfy black pants and sports bras so much
-Spend more time with my future in-law's
-Call my family more
-Continue to take an unbelievable amount of pics of friends & family
-Continue to learn as much as I can to be the best possible teacher
-Be open minded
-Count my blessings
-Finish writing my mission list: 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days
-Learn to do 180 on my Wakeboard
-Cook...
-Maybe do this:

You can read about it here: One Hundred Push Ups

Last but least, spend more time in prayer, reading my Bible, and reading my daily devotional

Well, that's a wrap blog friends!!!
I look forward to another blessed year of reading everyone's blogs and learning new things you share!

With all the being said...

Catching Up....

2010-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm alive!!!
No I didn't forget about: My 12 Days of Christmas posts, the 3 posts I blogged about back in October, 3 Things Introduction.. and yes I still plan on doing those and doing a brief wrap up of the 12 days posts!

I just caught up on my Dashboard/Reading List, I went back all the way to December 15th when I last read anyone's post and got caught up on what I felt was necessary...

But now I'm off to shower to go to dinner with my longest life long group of girlfriends who I've spent a lot of time with over this break but be ready for several posts the next couple days!!
One I'm really looking forward to is about my New Years goals, plans, etc.. No NOT New Years Resolutions!!

PS- If your bored and wanna look or have a fav pair to share, I'm on the hunt for an "everyday" earring.. I want a stud earring, sterling silver, kinda dainty.. I need a pair to help dress me up with my buisness casual attire for next semester, I have kinda mis-placed my Diamond Studs at the moment and don't know that I would want to wear those anyways..
SO you got a fav pair or brand or seen something cute? Please share!!

I hope all my blog readers had a Blessed Christmas with their families and friends!

"12 Days Of Christmas" Day 4- Tips/Tricks to Budget

2010-12-11T20:20:00.001-08:00

Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season

Let me start off by saying that famous line, "Practice what you preach".. So I am going to say these things with every bit of intention on doing them myself!

1. Use coupons USE coupons USE coupons!!! I have bought very few items this past year (including before Holiday shopping) without a coupon.. If a coupon is possible, I normally have it, rather it came in the mail, newspaper, via email, (I am signed up for emails to almost every store I shop at) found on a blog I follow, or goggled for "blank store promo code month year". I will admit, at times I feel cheap and if it's too stressful to use the coupon or it's a very little discount, I don't waste my time.. But if I could go back and add up for you how much I've saved you would be surprised, as I think I would be too!!

2. Make a list!!! Write down everyone you plan to get something for and ideally how much you should spend.. Oh and stick to the list!!!

3. Only buy what you can afford!

4. Don't be afraid to look for good deals, rather it be at a discounted type store or even the sale racks!

5. It's never too early to start purchasing things.. If you see something that just fits one of your loved ones to a T, buy it.. If a store closes and you can stock up on gifts, do it.. If an "end of season" sale happens at a favorite store and has great things you can't pass up, buy a variety of things for parties like white elephant, or a small gift exchange at work etc...

6. If your extended family is still buying for each individual person, suggest drawing names or playing some type of gift exchange game to where you only bring one gift and then maybe something little and special for your elderly family members.

7. Don't buy at Hobby Lobby or Garden Ridge till a week after Thanksgiving when they put everything 50% off!!!!

8. Please please please don't spend lots of $$$ on gift packaging... Most all my bags come from the dollar store, and not only the single bags but the ones with 2-3 gift bags per $1... They also have great gift box labels, sometimes you can get more for your money at Wal-Mart on those but still always keep the dollar store in mind!

9. Do something personal, write something.. make something.. do something with pictures..
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

10. Stock up on Christmas decor, wrap, etc the day after Christmas and the weeks following.. Put it away with all your old goodies as they go back in the attic for another year :)

So there you have it.. Those are my top 10 money saving thoughts! What are yours?

"12 Days of Christmas" Day 3- Meaningful/Memorable Gifts

2010-12-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

Day 3: Meaningful/Memorable Gifts

* This might not be very relevant but I think my most meaningful and memorable gift would be the gift of life my parents have given me.. The unconditional love and support they have always shown me, the young woman they have taught me to grow into, the value they have shown me what true love and real friendships means, and the list goes on and on!

*Quality time with my family and friends!

*All the Christmas cards we receive early!

*ANYTHING handmade and/or personalized!!!

*Special ornaments.. Especially personalized with name, initial, year, or certain type that relates to my life

*Anything including a photo on it

*The Victoria Secret spray- "Heavenly" my Maw-Maw got me every year the last 5 years she was alive

I think my all time favorite gift that I can remember from the past few years would be far have to be my:

I think this gifts top all gifts of all for several reasons.. taking pictures is one of my most fav things to do, captures some lifetime memorable moments, great quality, and I can get so much use out of it for years to come as to some things in the past like cloths, toys, etc. that I only got minimal use out of!

"12 Days of Christmas" Day 2- Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks

2010-12-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

* So I am aware I am super behind, the 12/14 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge is almost complete and I am on Day 2... With my busy schedule and lack of blogging time lately I have decided my goal is to complete the 12/14 Days of Christmas by December 25th, Christmas Day! Sorry Aly & Molly for breaking the rules.. Please forgive me :)

Day 2 - Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks

- Black Friday has already passed.. and I did not partake in any of the shopping madness but I will wing it!

*I have never done Black Friday Shopping, I've never had a reason to.. Don't have kids to go buy all the top selling toys for and don't have my own place yet to need that amazing deal on a 42" flat screen... My parents have told me they used to be the crazy people waiting in line at Toys R Us to get the best deals, Bless them for being the most amazing parents!

*For weeks my sweet friend Katie over at A Daily Dose of Dallas and I planned on being at Target when they opened and also hitting up Best Buy but the night before as we were both heading up to Baker St. to meet friends, we decided against it..

*I did go with another sweet friend Lindsey over at Longhorn in Houston to Target on the Saturday after black Friday after we went to an early morning yoga session and lunch. We went basically for a few necessities, and I ranked in on about 8 dvd's mostly costing 1.99 or 3.99!

*I have done a great deal of online shopping the past few weeks.. A few things I can think of that I've ordered... Photo gifts for my parents, a shirt for Brian, some ornaments, jeans for me, a funny sign to hang at our river house for my dad, a few things for my little Allie girl's first Christmas, a gift for my buffer Megan, some gifts to donate, a gift for my bff Rachael, some stuff for my brother, a graduation gift for a few of my fellow UH education friends graduating this semester.. and I think that's it so far. With all the "email deals" I keep getting I just can't resist! I've gotten up to 60% of some things and haven't paid over 3.99 for ANY shipping!!!

*Over the past couple years I'm growing to liking online shopping more.. If I know exactly what I want and know the quality, size, color, etc is good, it's almost just as easy to order it online with the cheap shipping everywhere is offering!!

*I very seldom buy anything without some sort of "promo code," I have even goggled until I have found one before placing an order!!

*We have had the same UPS guy deliver to our house since we moved here 13 years ago.. Everyone knows him on a first name basis, he even knows our dogs and talks to them every time he comes to the door.. Thursday night I heard his truck pulling up as the dogs started barking, I thought to myself NO way is Charles delivering at package at 9:40 at night.. Sure enough I look out and he's walking up the drive way, I went outside and joked with him and said "how dare me order so much that you have to work this late" he just laughed and said he enjoyed it, I told him to go home and go to bed, "he would probably be back tomorrow" sure enough, he delivered here again on Friday, eek!!! Needless to say, he's on my gift card purchase lists this year!

I don't really have any tricks or tips to share other than the online shopping I talked about above!

Oh actually I do have one thing... Some times if you find something you really like in a store, especially a boutique style shop, take a pic on your phone (or write it down, of course) of the info on the tag and go home and goggle it! Sometimes you will find you can only purchase the item wholesale or that is isn't cheaper online but sometimes you will find it for half the price!!!!

Shutterfly 2010 Christmas Card

2010-11-30T19:19:00.001-08:00

Oh What Fun Christmas Card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

"12 Days of Christmas" Day 1- Christmas Traditions

2010-11-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my family really has any "traditions" but I can tell you what we normally do...

This is the only picture from Christmas time that I could find easily without digging into endless amounts of photo books...

Starting with the weeks leading up to Christmas:
*Growing up my mom would always spend an entire weekend if not two weekends baking cookies, she would bake approx. 20-25 differnt types of cookies and would make a cookie tray to some of their top customers, family, and close friends.. When I would go with my mom to deliver the cookies, people's faces would just light up when we walked in as they knew why we were there each year. As the years have gone by for several reasons some of the main ones being my parents sold their nursery business, we don't get together as often with our extended family, and let's be honest a main reason is cause we can't consume all those lovely sweets and not have to work out for 6+ hours a day to try and work it off like we could when my parents were younger and even myself.
So now my mom spends one Saturday at the first of December baking approx 7-10 differnt types of cookies and we give them to a few close family friends and I bring a tray to both of Brian's parents houses.

*I remember waking up every morning in the month of December and going straight to the advent calendar in the kitchen to move the little mouse to the next day and counting how many more days till the "25th"

*Growing up my family would always cook chicken and dumplings (or some sort of warm dish) Christmas Eve night, as my mom was cooking I would be busy in the living room sorting out the presents to each person's designated stack to open. The presents we opened Christmas Eve were from "my parents" and my brother and I would exchange our gifts we picked out for each other, we would wake up Christmas morning to our visit from Santa Claus!!!! After going through those gifts we would head to our Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house where we would eat and do Christmas with my mom's side of the family.

As my brother and I have grown older things have changed a little...

* The past few years my family has gone to Christmas Eve Church service then out to eat at a semi-nice restaurant then home to open all of our gifts. Santa still comes Christmas morning and fills our stockings with goodies like gift cards, toiletries, small items, etc etc
- My mom has always been the best about making everything fair for my brother and I.. I can't Thank her enough for this!! She spends extra time as she is wrapping gifts through out the month and writes down what is in each box and what kind of paper it is wrapped in (she makes a visual note) then normally on the 23rd or 24th she pulls them all back out from under the tree and numbers them, we have to open #1 at the same time then #2 and so on... The gift normally has the same $ value or is the same "type" of gift, a dvd, socks, shirt, etc..

*On Christmas day we normally always take our time getting ready and head over to my dad's cousins who you might know as Auntie Cousin Joy (she gave herself this name when we were little kids, she didn't want to just be a cousin, she wanted to more of an Aunt for us and boy was she ever!) But since my sweet Auntie Cousin Joy passed away at the beginning of this year, things will be differnt this year.. I'm not sure what the plan is to be honest!
I feel like I am giving you a novel of each thing, so I am just going to briefly mention a few other things we do:

- We all get a pack of socks every year, its a huge joke with the 4 of us.. We get all excited when we open them and act like it's a package of gold!
- I have made my Dad a photo wall calendar and my mom a photo desktop calendar of pictures from the previous year for the past 7+ years.. I normally try and theme them out, one year I did a pic from when we were young and a pic of the past year for every month (diff pics each month of course) I also try and put a pic of something significant for that month (March My B-day, pic of me.. Sept parents Anniv, pic of them.. December pic of Christmas from the year before etc etc)
- One of my closest friends Rebekah celebrates with us every year if she can not make it home to her parents, this year she went home for Thanksgiving so she will be spending Christmas with us
- I get our puppies a new costume/shirt/hat every year.. It's a HUGE hit for the family, my dad talks about it all year especially a lot as we get closer to the holiday..

- This is not a good thing... As I've gotten older and harder to shop for, I pretty much know about 70% of what I'm getting.. I'm normally with my mom when she buys it or I order it online and give it to her, ha... My poor mom tries so hard to still find ways to surprise me, she's just too sweet!

I guess that's enough of what we do every year!

I'd like to briefly list a few things I want to do with my little family in the future:

-Collect an ornament every year, I love giving themed ornaments that pertain to what that person likes or enjoys doing..
-Teach my kids the real meaning behind Christmas at an early age
- Participate in "Elf on the shelf" every year!

- Help them believe in Santa for as long as possible....
-Leave cookies for Santa
-Do the Advent Calendar together every day
-Watch Charlie Brown's Christmas Story every year
-Listen to Christmas music as we decorate
-Volunteer/give to the orphans a couple times during the Holiday season
- Never forget the Reason For The Season!
-Do crafts together
-Take Family Christmas Pictures every year
-Be stress free as we try to spend time with all of our families
-Build a Snowman (out of sand) on the beach at least once
-Dress up every Christmas Eve
-Spend Christmas day in our PJ's

Can you tell I will be your "typical" over achiever mom.. EEK!!!

New "Collector Items"/Christmas Gift

2010-11-29T21:24:00.000-08:00

I have recently discovered the oh so precious Dogeared brand at Nordstrom.. They have a few to choose from in store at Nordstrom but TONS more on the retailers website (click below)

I have been wanting a new "everyday" necklace for quite some time but just haven't found the right one, I have my Wax Poetic charm necklace (click below) that I wear often but mainly only when I have on a cute shirt or outfit in general.. And I still want a few new charms and a little jewel to add to this necklace but want something more simple I can wear everyday with t-shirts etc.

So now that you have all that extra info... The point of this post, I want to start collecting a variety of the Dogeared necklace's, they are not cheap so I do not expect to have a "collection" of them anytime soon but you gotta start somewhere right? So who better to start this wonderful collection for me then my lovely fiance?!?! Here's a few idea designs I like that I sent over to him via email today!

This is my fav to get from him with the little diamond in the corner

I like the simplicity of this one... It's also on the same chain that my wax poetic charms are on

I love the sideways look on this one.. I'm such a simple girl but yet sometimes just need a little difference in that simpleness!

This one is on the card "new beginnings" not sure if it is relevant for us but I still love the little heart!
There are tons of differnt categories (hence why I want to start collecting them, I can continue to get some throughout my life) that have really really cute ones and they all come on neat little cards that have a meaning behind them, I'm all about the sentimental gifts!
Here's a few of my other favs:

One of my favorite thoughts is, "its the little things" eek which reminds me I have a few blog posts I need to finish....

I really love this petite little heart.. They also have a "Bridal" section, even though I don't know when exactly.. I will be getting married one day and this little section is oh so perfect!

This little Faith one is just precious to me! I like how the cross sits off the chain

Although I don't have anything wish bone.. Heart's and Wish Bone's are 2 of my favorite symbols!

One other thing I have recently fallen in love with and want to start collecting... But once again they are pricey and I can only wear a few at a time so I can't collect too many...

I love stack-able rings, I have been wanting some every since I first laid eyes on Stella & Dot's cute band set ones a few years ago.. I have been eying Robindira Unsworth's for a little while now but have yet to see them in person!

(click on pic for website)

I am more of a silver person, so I hope she comes out with some more soon although I do love many of the gold ones on the website..
This is the only silver one I see, its a good starter one though ;)

So what do you think? Know anyone that has any of these pieces of jewelry? Have anything you recently started collecting that you just love?

pics used: Dogeared website and Unsworth's website

"12 Days of Christmas" Blog Challenge!

2010-11-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to participate in Aly & Molly's First Annual "12 Days of Christmas" blog challenge!
Some of you may have seen this on some other blogs you follow and yes it started last Monday on November 22 but for more than one reason (too busy to commit to blogging everyday, not in the full swing Holiday spirit yet, wanted to gather my thoughts for the various posts) I am not starting till today. So some of my posts (number 2) might not fit with the week after Thanksgiving but I'm OK with that :)

Here's the topics: (silly girls chose 14, they couldn't seem to narrow it down to 12)

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditions
Day 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks
Day 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've received
Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season
Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special
Day 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)
Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)
Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays
Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe
Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles
Day 11: New Year Resolutions
Day 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outdoor)
Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe
Day 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience?

Be on the lookout tomorrow for Day 1's post!!

Shutterfly 50 Free Holiday Cards Blog

2010-11-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

If you know me.. You know I'm ALL about coupons and savings! I rarely order anything online without having some kind of promo code.. So when I saw this blog post on some other blog's I had to jump on the bandwagon and contact Shutterfly (side not, even if I didn't stumble upon this awesome deal, I would still be ordering my Christmas cards from shutterfly this year)

So here's the deal: Contact shutter fly by filling out this form.. They will contact you soon via email with the required info of what you need to do (blog about the giveaway, at least 150 words, promote it, email them back.. and they send you the promo code) Easy enough, right?

I have used Shutterfly on numerous occasions for various events, I have always been very pleased with the customer service, quality of products, variety of products, and also pricing!

This is our Christmas Card I sent out last year (ordered from Shutterfly)

(sorry it's upside down.. It doesn't show up that way when I upload it)

I was very excited a few weeks ago when I received a shutterfly Holiday catalog in the mail for the first year..

(once again, sorry for the upside down pic)

Here's a few of my favorites from Shutterfly's Christmas Cards for 2010:

This is my absolute favorite style, they have other one's like it using diff colors and designs.. But I LOVE the "Top 10 moments in 2010" what a fun way to share with your family and friends what exciting things have gone on the past year with your family! I think this is especially neat if you have little ones who are discovering new things, if you took family vacations, switched jobs, bought a new house etc etc.. With my family, I don't know what I would put as my brother and I are older, but still a top fav!!
*I'm not sure if this one is included in the "50 free" because it's not in the Christmas Card section, its under it's own tab in a sub-category.. just FYI

I love this one cause of the 3 stack and caption between each, so you can briefly include some info about your family but also have plenty of space for pics.. I also like this one (not that you have to do this) how they used self taken pics, not all professional pics...

This is a fav cause I like the colors and how it's kinda short and to the point! I really really like that it says Merry Christmas, It might sound silly but I very seldom purchase anything rather it be a card, home decor, etc. that says Happy Holidays

How fun is this one? I love how you can do a pic for each month, this will be perfect for me in the future with my little family with the unbelievable amount of pics I take each month!

Head over to Shutterfly's website to check out the:
Christmas Cards
Calendars
and even the Birthday Cards

Now I need your help/thoughts? For my family Christmas card, do I put a pic on it with my fiance and the 4 of us or just my family? Yes he is defiantly a part of our family already but not "officially" I know a lot of people don't see it as a big deal.. But I do, it sometimes bothers me when people include boyfriends/girlfriends etc in their family pics when they aren't officially part of the family, sorry if that sounds mean or harsh...

I hope some of my fellow bloggers take the 15 mins. to do this deal! Every penny saved counts, especially during the Holidays :)

So What Wednesdays

2010-11-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

I am participating in MaMa Dew's So What Wednesdays for the first time this week.. We'll see how I do!

So what if...

* I make all my extra money by getting to paid to hang out with all my most favorite kids.. I hate taking money from their parents cause it's more of a treat for me to see them and spend time with them, but I'm just a college student, I have to make money some how, right?
I watched my 2 little 11 yr old and 16 yr old all last week and weekend..
I'm watching my baby Allie as we speak, (she is sleeping, haha) I also watched her Monday and will on Friday..
and I watched my other future flower girl Andi Jane and her brother's Ethan and Joesiah yesterday right after school till 11 last night

*I volunteer too much, I enjoy it!

*I try my hardest to stay in as much touch with my close friends as possible, rather it be simply writing on their facebooks, texting, emailing, calling, or better yet seeing them!

*I send at least 1 card a week to someone rather it be a Birthday, Anniversary, Thinking Of You, Miss You, Congrats, Good Luck, Thank You, or Just For Fun card! Speaking of, I have 3 sitting on my desk right now that I need to get out, one being my God Sister's 1st Anniversary card that was this past Sunday... eek!

*I am not being able to make weekly dinner/shopping dates with my girlfriends like I used to ALWAYS do because I am doing boot camp Mon, Wed, and Thursday... I'm working on my health and fitness for myself :)

*I take too many pics...

*I normally have my Christmas shopping half done at this point or at least the whole list made and I have not bought one thing yet and really have no idea what I want to get people..

*I get tired of things easily/quickly like my cell phone case, purses, certain routines...

*I love planning anything and everything!

*I talk to my dogs like they are people and always greet them hello and tell them goodbye

*I am already ready for summer weekends at Bernard (the river house) and it's only November and just now starting to get "cold" I love the quality time I spend with my parents and fiance down there and we def didn't get enough of it this year!

*My main Christmas present from my parents is already sitting in my closet... My mom got me my pair of Lucchese Cowgirl Boots I've been wanting for years, we had to pre order them cause they are not sold anywhere in Houston and they came in early.. There supposed to be in her closet but she doesn't have room..haha!

*I graduated high school in 2003 and not finishing college till 2011, I've had some set backs and had to take off a couple years..

*I think the shows "Jersey Shore" and all of the "Real Housewives" are stupid.. I'm entitled to my own opinion right?

*I am obsessed with Tervis Tumblers and that's all I use at home and if I'm at a friends house and they have one in the cabinet I always tend to grab it...

*I get my feelings hurt when I feel like people only talk to or hang out with me when it's convenient for them and then they aren't too concerned with your life just about their own..

*I have 3 "draft" posts waiting to be finished so I can post them on my blog

This is actually pretty fun and I could go on and on but I will stop here.. I think all of you should play along, you know you want to!!!

Custom License Plate

2010-11-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

So some might think it's silly but I think it's fun...

I think it's neat to have expression on your car, expression as in your interests... Some might think it's tacky that that I have too much on my back window but I like it and have made sure that it's not "too much" and that all my stickers match and do not color clash, yes I am OCD enough to make sure that even that matches!

I currenlty have on my back window: (this changes often, but these set of stickers have been on there for a while)
Top center: Liquid Force (wakeboard brand I ride and love)
Bottom left: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Lifetime member sticker (the description basically sums it up and I am very proud of this one, this is something I have wanted to be a part of since I was a little girl)
Bottom center: GCWA (Gulf Coast Wakeboarding Association- Houston's wake boarding club that I have made friends through, go to most of the tournaments, and my dad is a sponsor of)
Bottom Left: CCA ( Coastal Conservation Association- Fishing Association across America but big in Texas, I can't say this completely relates to me, but my fiance is a die hard fisherman, as is my Dad, You don't hear or see me fishing often now but when Brian get's a better boat for me to go out on and we can go to better water's, I will become a die hard with him, as of now I support the organization, I enjoy going to their banquets and silent auctions, so I represent on my car :))

So now that brings me to my license plate....
I got my first car when I turned 16, I debated on a personalized plate for years and finally got it when I was 18 and kept the car till I was 22..
Side note real quick: I love love love Texas, yes some people say they love Texas and enjoy living here etc. but I literally have that weird obsession with the state of Texas, you might be singing this in your head as you read..

Mr. Way Too Proud of Texas Guy (click to watch video)

So when I was debating on what plate to get, I knew I wanted "God Bless Texas." I though ok no one is going to have this and have the exact name I want on it, so I called the DPS to check on the avlaiblity of "Jenn" nope someone in Texas already has it, after asking a few more and finding out more names were taken then I ever though possible I hung up the phone set down and made a list of anything with abbreviations of my name, Texas, favorite number, and on and on and this is what I finally came up with

So now I'm ready for get another one for my car now! I don't know what I want though, I don't want it to be "too much" also I don't know if I want it personalized or just a personal plate with random letters/numbers.. Thoughts?

Here are some ones that have caught my eye:

I'm liking these new plain colored plates that Texas has come out with, but once again idk about the color's cause I'm way too ocd for the colors to clash, red could look good or possibly just plain black although I LOVE the Orange one!!!!

I also really like the UH one, I have nothing representing my future alma mater. I used to have a sticker but then felt kinda weird being 25, still in school and representing my school.. Idk don't ask!

There is the HLSR one, which I already mentioned I have the sticker above, but I could take that off.. I love what it says at the bottom of the plate!!

There is also CCA, which I also mentioned having the sticker above, and don't think I need fish on my car, although I think my fiance would really never question why he is marrying me again, haha!!

There is also the CASA plate which I discussed a few posts back about just completing the training to become a CASA worker, but I just completed the training last month and am not very inovolved yet so I would feel kinda silly getting this one..

So ladies, what do you think? Any suggestions on which plate I should get or if I should get it with a personalized word or just the standard state issued letter/number mix?

All suggestions/comments appreciated!

All pictures used are from the Texas DPS website (minus my old plate)

Wedding Wednesday: Guest List... Other Randoms

2010-10-27T08:13:00.001-07:00

One of every Bride's nightmares is the Guest List!! Who to invite, of course family then your best/closest friends.. Then where does the line get drawn? You have Co-workers, College friends, Grade School friends, Childhood friends, Best friends parents, Your parents friends, Your In-Laws friends, Church friends, and the list goes on and on!

I am not ready to make all the decisions yet... I have an ideal "A" list and "B" list going on but nothing is final by any means, I just saw this little picture "graph" to help with the Guest list pressure and wanted to share. It was featured in the July/August edition of Bride's Magazine

(you should be able to click on the image to enlarge)

A Few Random Side Notes:
* I'm headed to get a massage today.. I've been wanting to get one for month's and just never could justify with myself why I should treat myself to one, well after working really hard in school lately and getting in my first "my fault" accident yesterday (no not hurt just really shook up,) I'm finally treating myself to one to hopefully make this week get better! I carry all my anxiety/tension in my shoulders and I feel like my shoulders are up at my jaw line right now.. I even asked my friend Justin in boot camp last week why my shoulders looked a certain way when doing this one routine compared to everyone else's looking more relaxed...

* Well I didn't get a 100 on that test I was hoping to, so no LuLu Lemon pants for me! Better luck next time huh? ha!

*Flying anywhere the first of Dec or Jan-Mar next year? Southwest Airlines is offering great deals, $30, $60, $90 etc (depending how many miles) Sale ends tomorrow night, head over to the website to see if anything works for you! If it does... feel free to buy me a ticket also with the money you saved ;)

*Last but NOT least, I wanted to dedicate a special post for this but don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or look like I'm just jumping on a bandwagon... Please please please Pray for Katie and Ben today, they've been in my prayers so much lately and today is their 3 year anniversary and Katie is bringing Ben all the cards people have sent to the hospital, I sent my card about 3 weeks ago and have been eager for today! If you aren't familiar with Ben and Katie head over to their blog and "follow" their story. They were invovled in a tragic car accident, Katie had minimal broken bones, bumps, and bruises and was out within a couple weeks. Ben has not been so fortunate, he is still in the hospital doing numerous amounts of therapy and making progress everyday! Katie has won Wife of the year award with out having to put up a fight, that woman is amazing, she loves Ben with her whole entire heart and so much more. I don't have the right to sit here and really say anymore as I do not know them personally, and if I do continue to talk I will ball my eyes out even more.. So just head over to her blog and read for yourself, make sure to show her some love, she deserves it!!

Click on image above or here

Still trying to find time to gather my thoughts for the blog posts I blogged about last week, sorry....

Just a little Friday Fun/Random

2010-10-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

*First things first.. My friend Rachael I was speaking of in my previous post, after reading so many blogs every day and debating on doing it herself, she finally caved.. Rachael is blogging! Rachael's Blog: Tales from a suburban wife Go follow her and show her some love!

*I've been eyeing everything on the LuLuLemon website for several months now... Obviously with the prices of things, I have not made a purchase yet.. The few ladies I have talked to that wears their stuff swears by it, a girl I know that teaches Yoga at Bikram lives for LuLuLemon wear! Sooooo If I get a 100 on my test I took yesterday that was super hard and I studied hard for, I'm gonna treat myself and buy myself a pair of the crop pants!!!!

This isn't the pair I want.. But you get the idea :)

* How fun are these plates?

Rather it be a milestone Birthday, anything Wedding related, Holidays, or just a simple celebration that have them all!!
They can get pretty pricey at $10 for a package of 10 but if your having a small gathering or maybe just make a couple packages and then use solid color plates to match!

Hallmark Custom Plates

Enter Code: PARTY20 for 20% off your order and free shipping on order $50+

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone has a great weekend, we have a rehearsal dinner tonight for Brian's cousins wedding that he is an usher in, my cousins new hubby's 30th surprise Birthday in Kemah tomorrow, then I head straight to Downtown for the wedding!
Lots of pics to come and hoping to do my post on Sunday that I blogged about on Thursday!

Thankful Thursday #26

2010-10-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

My last Thankful Thurs. was on July 29th (yes that was 11 Thursdays ago) and I explained how Thankful I was for my Girlfriends! If you would like to read back further on Thankful Thursdays please go to the left of my blog under "Labels" and click on the topic!

Thankful # 26: America's Freedom To Vote

Today's Thankful dates back to 20 years before I was even born when the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. I do not want to get into politics on my blog so I am just going to leave it at exactly what I said I was Thankful for stated above, nothing about which political party you belong to, who you are/want to vote for, and nothing about what you feel is right/wrong.

God Bless America

3 Things: Introduction!

2010-10-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

Last night while having dinner with one of my most dearest friends, Rachael.. It seemed as though we both kept "hitting the nail on the head"/"hitting home" in relation to each others life's, feelings, and, thoughts!

After re-capping several times through out the day today on what we talked about, I want to do a blog "series" about it.. I've jotted down a lot of notes today, done some research, and, going to continue to do some more, that being said I am going to break it down into 3 separate posts.. I don't think I've ever put this much thought/effort into a blog post, which speaking of I just realized this is my 200th post!!!! I think that's a sign that this is off to a great start!

I'm hoping I can get some feed back from my followers and see if anyone can relate and possibly even make a slight impact on someone..

The Topics Will Be:
1. Why wait for a special occasion? 2. Life's too short! 3. Were only young once!

Yes they all sound like basically the same thing and yes in speaking they can be but I have so much to say about each topic separately that I want to do a post for each!

So I'm not sure when these posts will be (pretty busy the next few days) but just be on the look out for them :)

I leave you with a few pics of the wonderful RachE and I!

This is mine and Rachael's first "technical" picture together, even though its not of just us and I'm not even sure if we had really had more than a 5 minute convo. at this point...
At Don's in San Marcos, ready to float the river Summer 09'.. I think this is a perfect pic to introduce, "Were Only Young Once!"

Fast forward several months....
April 2010, Rachael & I the day she married her best friend, literally her best friend.. I don't think those 2 could be more a like!

Now would be a good time for you to create that account so you can comment..Hint Hint Rachael!! :)

A little of this & A little of that...

2010-10-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hi my fellow blog friends! I've been wanting to blog for weeks now but it just has seemed to be at the bottom of the list, but after a couple of my lovely girlfriends (not mentioning names ;)) continue to ask me when I'm gonna blog I figured it was about that time!

No need to go into details as to how busy I've been, cause that's the story of my life.. It I'm not busy, then somethings wrong with me, which leads me into a few things that have been going on lately, Let's see since I last blogged...

HH/Dinner with these always so fun girls while the guys par took in opening day of Dove Season and then met us out for a long night of shuffle board!

Celebrated one of my best friends, Rachael (far left) hubby's B-Days and also our dear friend who we met through, Chris aka Morty!

Celebrated my Brother's 30th Birthday at Fogo De Chao with the fam!

At the Country Fair to see Randy Rogers Band, always a good time with these ladies, especially at a RR concert, their true fans :)

Celebrated 35 wonderful years of marriage with my parents!!

Brian and I after Taste Of Texas, man we were stuffed!!

Mom and I joined a friends team this year rather than doing it alone like we normally do! Such a great event for so many amazing ladies who battle Breast Cancer

So glad I got to witness/celebrate one of my longgg time friends Anand marry his best friend Whitney! In the pic along with me and the newlyweds is Shauna, Preng, and Britany, lots of laughs and good chats we had this night!

One more pic to leave ya with... Bekah, Crystal, and I enjoying a night in the hott tub and hours on end of great talks!

More exciting/random news:
- School is going really good this semester, I'm busting butt to stay on my A game but I'm enjoying it!
- I'm having bad wedding fever again.. I wanna plan plan plan!! ha
- Speaking of weddings, lots of ideal changes going on!
- I miss my little Allie that I used to nanny so so much, she took her first 6 steps last week!!!!
- I just completed my 30 hours training (every Mon & Wed night the past 5 weeks) to be a casa volunteer for Child Advocates of Fort Bend

I know many of you are saying how do you have time or why are you doing this, your already busy enough.. Like I said I wouldn't be "me" if I wasn't busy and volunteering is one of my most fav things to do!
- Speaking of volunteering, one of my friends from grade school, Shauna (pic above) is on my rodeo committee with me this year and I could not be more excited!!! She's such a fun person and great friend, were gonna have some fun with this!!

I could go on and on with other random stuff and also all the exciting things I have coming up and are looking forward to but I think I'll wrap it up for tonight and that will give me another reason to blog soon :)

Also I'm to intruged with watching the last miner being rescued. God Bless all those men and their families, lets pray they all remain in good health!

I'm Alive!

2010-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm alive! I could go on and on about how crazy my life has been and give you all my excuses as to why I have not blogged but I do not think that is necessary! So I'll just say YES I'm alive, still have my blog, and dearly miss reading all my blogs! I'll admit I have not kept up with anyone's blogs, bad blog follower, I know! When I signed on today for the first time in over a month I was excited to see I still had all 94 followers I had before AND even 1 more so I have 95 followers!

I don't have much to say so I'll just do some bullets on things I'm looking forward to this fall:

Our QB Case Keenum is up for The O'Brien QB Award, feel free to vote here.. I do daily! He is ranked # 2 right now!

Nuff' Said!

* My parents 35th Anniversary is at the end of the month!!! I'm so so excited to celebrate this amazing benchmark with 2 of my best friends, they are my idols and have everything I ever dream of having in my future marriage!
I started to plan a surprise get together with close family and friends but then decided to wait till 40th for a get together and then 50th for the BIG party! I'm still trying to think of something really neat to get them, they have everything they need and don't necessarily have any hobbies to get them anything for so any ideas?? Their talking about going to Vegas to celebrate and keep putting off planning it as they are trying to figure out my schedule but I told them I'm NOT going, I want them to go celebrate and enjoy themselves!
So come on ladies help me think of something? I like the idea of doing something with pics from over the years but want something creative, I make them a new wall calendar every Christmas with pics from the past year so that's out of the question..

* Looking forward to Fall with lots of Texas Country Concerts lined up to attend at The Fort Bend County Fair & Ziegfest!

* Looking forward to sharing/witnessing the marriage of one of Brian's cousins in Oct and also a high school/family friends wedding in Oct

*Wearing boots, especially my Cowgirl boots!

* My brother's 30th Birthday in a couple weekends!!!

* Being 1 more semester closer to finishing school!

*Going to Dallas to visit one of my most FAV families including the 2 most precious boys in the world!!

This pic is from 08' but its an all time FAV of mine!

* Also of course looking forward to spending the Holiday's with family and friends!

And the list goes on.. But for now that's all I got!

Thanks for still following me :) And please if you have any ideas for a great Anniv gift for my parents comment or email me Jenmb123@aol.com

Check Out These Giveaways!

2010-08-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Danielle (also a BM of mine :)) is doing a giveaway from her little side job she has started up. Here's what you can win:

No matter what the theme of your house or a certain room may be, this can go!

Make sure to head over to her blog, it ends tonight at Midnight!!!

Also make sure to become a new follower of her blog, she's been in a rut and hasn't been blogging but she is back in full force so you wanna keep up with her

Danielle @ The Lenz's

Also check out:

Kristal at My Life As A Wife

I enjoyed following her blog through all her wedding planning, she got married in May and has kept her blog up to date with interesting posts!

She is doing a give away for a cute pair of pj's from Jammie Girl, I have never heard of this site, so fun for gifts, honeymoon wear, vacays in general, or just when you feel like looking sassy!

Go follow her blog and enter her give away!

Tell them I sent you :)

As I mentioned on my last blog post I am putting together a give away, having a hard time deciding what to do, any ideas?

In Appreciation of my blog followers!!

2010-07-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

*195th Post *

93 Followers (Which I have been meaning to blog about, thanks to all my new followers!!! I have had approx 30 new followers since I got the lovely Jenn @ Munchkin Land Designs do my new blog layout, seeing all these new followers makes me want to do more posts!)

So in honor of my 200th post and hopefully getting 100 followers soon..... I am going to be doing a give away soon! Details to come...

Thankful Thursday #25

2010-07-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

When I first started "Thankful Thursday" I said I was thankful for my girl friends, but I can't say it enough! Everyone says they have the best girl friends in the world, but I am willing to put up a fight on this one to see who wins, ha!

A few things that make me thankful for my girl friends this week:
* Their unconditional support through life and the curves that I get thrown with
*Their concern for my health as I still struggle with what's wrong with me
*Their ideas/help with the planning of our engagement party
*Cooking me dinner, drinking some wine, and having great laughs last night!
*Checking up on my blog often and questioning me as to where my Wed Wedding and Thankful Thursday posts are :)
*Returning my emails often and making me feel loved
*Running errands with me

Those are just a few to mention for the week, I'm sure more and more are to come!!

I know some of those things may seem like the littlest things and are silly to be so thankful for, but when you come from some of the friendships I have had in the past.. You learn to appreciate what you have now!

Inspiration Board- How to make?

2010-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Can someone please tell me how to make the inspiration boards? I know you can make the fashion/clothing ones on pryvore.com but I want to make one with using my own pics. I saw some articles through Google that you just make it in your photo editing software or on photo shop but I do not have either of those. There has to be an easier way, I see people make them all the time!

Thanks!

Cricut Cartridge: Old West

2010-07-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

I've been eying the Cricut Old West Cartridge for months/years now... When I buy new cartridge's I always just buy the standard/all around cartridges that are more practical. But now that were having a Western themed engagement party and Michael's Craft store has the cartridge's 50% off this week, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase.

It will defiantly get its use not only with our party, but also...
* I love anything and everything Western, hence our party theme and future home decor
*We often attended Texas Country concerts, and of course I take pics
*I can always use it for something to do with my rodeo committee, Ladies Go Texan

Now I just need to figure out how to make the die cuts that are 2 toned papers/colors like this one I found on ebay (yes people make things and list them on ebay)

Any Cricut users out there have any tips?

Off to google "how to" and maybe even play a little, my cricut is getting a little rusty anyways!

How to? Need help ladies!

2010-07-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Alright ladies get your creative wheels a spinnin' I need some tips!

I am wanting to make these cute little hay stacks as part of the center piece for our Western themed Engagement party, here's what I'm thinking:

* I can buy the hay stacks at Hobby Lobby, or even in 6 packs online at various places

*I can print the hearts on tan card stock on my Cricut Expression and then maybe just write the J + B with brown fine marker

*Punch mini holes in the sides with some scrapbook tools I already have and then tie it around the hay stack with floral wire (thank Catherine)

So what do you think? Any better ideas? I like the burnt/rustic look if you have any idea how to do that, but I'm willing to not have that look and not pay 29.99 for this on ETSY

Thanks in advance ladies, many more DIY project ideas to come!

Thankful Thursday #24

2010-07-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Thankful #24: This week I am especially thankful for my personal trainer Stephanie.. She is SO supportive and encouraging! I tried to quit going to her and basically she didn't let me, we had the heart to heart melt down on the phone for 30 mins one day and I was back at the gym with her the next morning. I have been getting sick every time I work out and have to excuse my self to the bathroom, she comes in there with me and supports me and gets me wet paper towels for my face. She knows what will keep me going, she mentions stuff about "walking down the isle" "wearing a strapless dress" or anything wedding related for that matter!

Of course I am Thankful for my life, my relationship with God, my family, my fiance, my friends and much more but this week I just need to thank Steph!!!!

Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Party Dress

2010-07-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

We (Brian's mom and I) are in the process of planning our Western Themed Engagement Party that we are having in October

I'm on the hunt for a dress now since everywhere has their "summer/short" stuff on sale!

Here's what I need:
* Cute with my cowgirl boots
*not too short!
*something not too fitted since I have not lost any weight yet!
*and of course I am looking for something white

Here is what I have found that has my size in stock, I am just going to order a couple online and then do returns rather than going to a million stores

Dillard's:

1. Lucky Brand, cute western?
2. Might be too fitted under the bust

3. CUTE but maybe too fancy for backyard western engagement party
4. This is a fav! Just don't know about strapless with my arm fat, ha

Banana Republic

5. I think this one is also a Fav! I love the back, just hope its not see through at all!

Macys:

6.

So which # ladies and what do you like or dislike?

Top 2 Tuesday: Things I want to Purchase

2010-07-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is my first time to participate in Top 2 Tuesday
A lot of blogs I follow do it every week and thought I'd jump on the band wagon, ha!
This weeks topic is fun, 2 things I want to purchase

Here are 2 things I've been eying, of course I pick the most pricey things....

I have been eying these Lucchese's at Cavenders for a while now!! I've always just wanted them but now I need them to change into for the reception at the wedding.. I am not necessarily dead set on this pair, just a pair of Lucchese's in general would be wonderful!

I have already blogged about this little lovely "under water" point and shoot camera! I don't know what I'm waiting on, I have my heart set on it just can't take the leap to purchase it.... I went to Wolf Camera last night and looked at 2 other brands versions of "under water" camera's and just can't have a change of heart on my love for Sony point and shoots!

Face Bronzer

2010-07-08T21:35:00.001-07:00

Next up that I'm on the hunt for is a new bronzer!

I LoVe the one I use now....

Its the Two Faced brand which I purchase at Ulta!

I am happy with it, I just get bored with my make-up and like changing it up and trying new things!

A few things to keep in mind:
* I don't like glitter/shimmer in my bronzer
*Can't be too DARK or light for that matter, but you know some bronzers are just super dark!
*I only wear make up about once a week so its not that important to spend a lot of $$ so relatively fair price!
*I don't like it to be too thick and def not have a foundation of any sort

Some bronzers I have tried in the past: (at least the ones I can remember)

California Tan Bronzer, sold at Darque Tan or any Tanning Salon for that matter, used to purchase this when I worked there

Mac.. If I remember right I didn't like how thick it was

Physician's Formula, don't remember why I switched from this one to be honest

And that's all I can remember for now

So what do you use ladies? What are the pro's & con's?

Flat Iron Help

2010-07-08T21:24:00.001-07:00

Per mom's request, we are on the hunt for a new flat iron/straightener

After purchasing Revlon, hot tools, and so on straighteners several years ago(possibly 7-9) we made the big purchase of a Chi

After purchasing 2 of these, broke 1 and gave my friend Bekah one..
We purchased the Chi Turbo

After a couple years of using the Chi Turbo, it got moved on to our weekend house (Bernard) because we were introduced to this beauty

The Paul Mitchell Flat Iron, by far the best I have ever used! We now have 2 of these and my mom is ready to move one to the river house and give the Chi (at the river house) the boot...

So the question is, what is the HIT Flat Iron now, I have not even looked at any Flat Iron's in years due to my love for the Paul Mitchell!

If I am not reccomended to a better flat iron, we will probably just purchase another Paul Mitchell, I still hands down think it works great but willing to see what else is newer and better!

SO fill me in ladies!!

8 Things

2010-07-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to...

1) Finishing school!

2) Aquapalooza at Lake Travis next weekend, Girls weekend at the river house the following weekend, H-Town Showdown Wakeboard Tournament, Brad Paisley H2O Tour.. OK I think you get the hint, I live for weekends!

3) Brian starting with a career company in August!

4) Watching the baby I nanny grow and develop over the next couple months!

5) Celebrating my brother's 30th Birthday and parents 35th anniversary in September!

6) Starting my teaching job

7) Moving in with Brian (after the wedding or possibly a couple months before, were gonna play it by ear)

8) And of course, last but NOT least.. The Big Wedding Day!!!

8 Things I did Yesterday...

1) Ate lunch with Brian and Pierce

2) Talked to a couple girlfriends on the phone via text & call

3) Ate at Outback with my parents and got my mom an Iphone!!! She went from a pink Motorola Razar to an iphone, she is SOOO lost, poor thing!

4) Went to Academy, bought Brian some Boat Oil and me some of the Western Themed Silly bands I've been wanting, kid at heart!

5) Got a cute key copied at The Home Depot!

6) Took a nap

7) Facebook stalked (not a good thing)

8) Picked up room

8 Things I Wish I Could Do...

1) Get motivated to hard core diet and exercise!

2) Do tricks on my wakeboard!

3) Volunteer more!

4) Get in routine of wearing my retainer again, I want my teeth perfect for the wedding, the ortho said it would take us 9 months to do the whole process, holy moly! Better get crackin'

5) Save the animals in the Gulf & stop the oil spill

6) Send my parents on a vacation ALONE!

7) Be more positive

8) Work for a non-profit organization and be a teacher at the same time!

8 Shows I Enjoy...I don't really watch tv, this may be hard!

1) Fuel TV

2) TLC (cake boss, little couple, kate +8, anything to do with weddings)

3) Dateline & 20/20

4) Deadliest Catch

5) Biggest Loser

6) Loosing it with Jillian

7) Lifetime Movies

8) Extreme Home Makeover

Now you are ALL tagged!

Help Save Radio

2010-07-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

Please take about 20 seconds to sign this petition to help SAVE our Radio Stations! I enjoy supporting Am/Fm stations, they work hard and even better they are free! I don't have XM or Sirus in my car nor do I listen to my ipod in my car..

This petition is legit and I have personally heard radio stations asking for our support!

Thanks in advance!!

http://www.helpsaveradio.org/petition.php

Thankful Thursday #23

2010-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Thankful Thursdays are back thanks to the support from Jenn @ Munchkin Land Designs!

So I went back to my Thankful Thursdays and think I left off on #22

here are the last few:
Thankful 18: My brother and his willingness to fight his problems everyday
Thankful 19: The Doctor's that are going to help me figure out what is wrong with me
Thankful 20: Ok I've said my best friends.. But I'm thankful for ALL my friends!!!
Thankful 21: Having family to spend the Holiday's with
Thankful 22: The faith God has lead me to

I was doing my Thankful Thursdays around last November, a lot of things have changed since then with my health, got engaged, made more friends, etc but I'm still Thankful for SO many things

Thankful #23: That hurricane Alex did not hit Houston, or even end up close by for that matter. We had our far share with Ike 2 hurricane seasons ago... Also thankful that not many people were hurt in Mexico and South Texas and not too bad of damage was done

Wedding Wednesday: Date Change

2010-07-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the email we sent out to our wedding party, family, and friends last week...

First of all we wanna say Thank You for all your excitement and support in us getting married! Each and everyone of you mean the world to us in your own special way!

After days of praying, crying, and lots of thinking we have decided to move our wedding date. This is not necessarily something I wanted to do but after several pro's & con's lists we have found this is best for us as we start our next journey in life together. Our main reason is due to the medical issues I was dealing with Feb, March, April, & May, I am all better now after the surgery I had in May! Due to all this I may be another semester behind in school (depending what the dean says about the online classes I was taking and a few assignments I wasn't able to complete) and also all the health bills that my parents have had to pay that were not expected expenses. Another major reason, if I end up a semester behind, I will not have a job when we get married and Brian will just be finishing school. As we get married and start our journey in life together our morals and responsibilities are to take on all our own bills and live on our own, this can't be done without an income and money saved... Get my drift?

We are working with Briscoe Manor right now, but our tentative date is September 17 2011, so only 4 months postponed :)

I appreciate & respect all your cares, thoughts, & concerns that you have shown! I am still upset and kinda mind boggled about this discussion. I hope everyone understands and supports our discussion.

P.S. Sorry I have not discussed this with anyone.. Wanted to be sure about the decision first

Thanks,

Jenn and Brian

So there you have it ladies, you got the full on personal version of our decision to move our wedding date

I could not ask for a better wedding party & family! I got some of the BEST email replies and phone calls, here's a few pieces from some emails..

"I know that God will do nothing but glorify you and Brian in this situation and make your marriage just that much stronger. You are setting a good example of faith, patience and perseverance. I respect you guys so much for making this decision."

You don't know howww comforting that email made me feel about the situation!

"Four months difference is not a lot and the month of September is a beautiful one! I know that the decision was not an easy one but 5 years from now you will look back and you will only remember the special day that the two of you became one."

I couldn't of said it better myself! My parents got married in September and they celebrate 35 years this year, has to be a great month :)

"We're so proud of you guys! All your hard work is going to pay off and you'll be much happier walking down the isle with all your ducks in a row!"

Do you know how many people told me the ducks in a row thing? I've never heard it until this email was sent out..

Thanks to all my wonderful friends for being so supportive and no fear blog friends, lots of wedding post to still come, just 4 additional months of them, ha!

Book for Mom.... Help!

2010-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

So my mom is not big on reading.. Over the past 2 years she has read 2 books, she gets really into reading for like 3 days and then doesn't touch the book again for like a month..

These were her 2 readings:

I want to get her a new book to read for when she is at the river and were (Brian and I) not there and since my dad stays outside and works all day...

From what I gather: She likes inspirational books and books that are based on true stories also she has to be kept on edge and interested!

Any thoughts on books for my mom?

America's Largest Flag

2010-06-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

"Unfortunately, the biggest flag in God's creation won't be an actual flag. It will be a painting of one. On the other hand, it won't be some wimpy 2-D representation of the Stars & Stripes, it'll be a really cool artistic, not-quite-3-D-despite-the-claim rendering of a fluttering flag."
Quote from the Houston Press

Artist Scott LoBaido is well known for painting American Flags all over America, have you ever seen one? Well of course Houston is getting the biggest one, remember everything's bigger in Texas!

Scott started the painting on June 14th (flag day) and his goal to finish is this weekend, July 4th! He is painting on top of a building near Hobby Airport, unfortunately (for me) you can only see from an airplane.. My father only flies Continental which only fly's out of Houston's other airport (IAH)

Go check out his work: Scott LoBaido

Also you can watch a live video of him and his crew painting: Live Video

Great way to kick of the Fourth of July Weekend!

God Bless America!