Just Jessica

a little progress...

2012-01-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

I have to start this post by explaining a little. My baby...

has had some social issues. It's not that he is not friendly, because he is, he just does not enjoy being around people. I have been slowly trying to MAKE him like people by taking him around people every chance i get. My neighbor watches 7 kids at her house and if they are at the park across the street she will call me to bring Dewey out. We let the kids take turns playing with him. Well they play with him while I hold him down so he can't run away! ha! It seems to be helping.

Last weekend we had a visitor...

Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen? Normally when we have people over, Dewey stays right under my feet. We don't have to worry about him jumping on people because he won't get close enough to them. He will go out of his way to not come into contact. He really surprised us when we saw this...

Isn't that sweet? It was like they were best friends just hanging out. Love him!

Have a great weekend!

Jess

You might have a problem...

2012-01-19T12:46:00.001-08:00

when you think about cupcakes all day long...

I have a serious problem. Nom Nom!

P.S. I've had three already. Somebody help me!

A New Year

2012-01-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

I feel like this year is going to blow by. I can't believe that it's already the 12th! We had a great Christmas/New Year. Santa was really good to us :)

Remember this?

Well my awesome mom went back to Pier 1 and got it for me for Christmas! I know, she's awesome! We decided to hang it over our formal dining room table, I'll take pictures once it's up. Can't wait!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve. We usually go all out but this year we decided to keep it simple. We went to dinner with my parents at a local Italian restaurant and then we went to our neighbor's house after. We just sat on their back patio around the fire, it was a lot of fun.

I have already been super busy this year. My little photography business grew over the holidays so that had been keeping me busy. I bought Photoshop Elements and I'm trying to learn that-any tips would be greatly appreciated! ha!

I don't normally make resolutions for the new year but when I do, I try to keep them realistic. This year I really want to try and 1.) go to church more and 2.) Be nice. I am not saying that I'm a mean person or anything, but everyone could be a little nicer. My impatience gets the best of me sometimes so I am going to continue to work on that.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have had a great start to 2012!

Much Love,
Jess

Blogger vs. Real Life

2011-12-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

I sometimes use this blog as an outlet to rant and rave and I know that most of you don't know who I am in real life. I can be anyone I want on here. What happens when you do meet someone who reads your blog in real life? Is it weird because you know so much about that blogger and they know nothing about you. I kind of think so.

I was in Target last week and I saw a certain blogger who is pretty popular and has tons of followers. At least I'm pretty sure it was said blogger. I thought about introducing myself and letting them know how much I adore their blog, but I didn't. I thought that it was a little creepy. I felt a little like a stalker. So we went on our merry little ways and that was that.

Has anyone out there ever approached a blogger in real life? Was it weird? I want to hear stories!

Much Love,

Jess

What the What?

2011-12-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

For some reason, it has been hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I feel like maybe it is because we moved this Summer and I got all out of whack...I do that when my schedule is messed with. I'm just gonna be honest and tell you that I have been cranky for the past couple of weeks. I can't tell you why, just cranky for no reason.

This morning I slapped myself in the face and told myself to get over it. It worked, I finally started feeling a little more excited about Christmas and holy crap it's only 11 days away! Do you know how much I still have to do? TONS! I have not done my shopping yet, I guess I will be in line with the rest of the morons on Christmas Eve.

I'll let you know how that goes,

Jess

I'm still here...

2011-11-29T09:17:00.001-08:00

That's right, I'm still here! I was going to blog last week, I was off the whole week for Thanksgiving, but I decided that I wasn't going to get out my computer at all. It was actually really nice. The first day that I had off my mom and I went to see Breaking Dawn. OMG. Love! The rest of the week was spent just lounging and getting things around the house done. I just transferred all of my iPhone pics to my computer so I thought that I would share some of those...you will kind of get the idea of what I have been up to. ha!

I had some really cute photography sessions...check them out

www.j-renephotography.blogspot.com

We all went out to eat so my brother could try shrimp for the first time. Weird...I know, long story.

I saw this light fixture shade thing while out shopping and died.

Hung out with this little dude a lot!

Went to one of the World Series games...

I got a pair of Virbrums. Still getting used to them...

So there is my life in iPhone pictures from the last month!

Much Love!

Jess

Nerd Alert

2011-11-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm going a little nerdy here. I just have to share with you how excited I am. This Friday the 1st part of the end of the Twilight movies comes out! I really can't wait.

I'm such a Twi-hard :)

My mom and I usually go on the morning of the first day that the movie is released. Sadly, this year a commitment at work is keeping us from our tradition. So, we are going Monday morning instead. I think I might pee my pants! I'm such a nerd.

Much Love,

Jess

WTF?

2011-11-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

"The Duggar family of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" expecting baby No. 20"

Are you kidding me? The thought of having one stresses me out, 20? Get real people.

Five Question Friday

2011-11-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

TGIF! I am so happy that it's Friday, even though I do have to work tomorrow. I'm still glad that it's the end of the week. I have been so tired this week. I get 8 hours of sleep a night and I'm still tired! I can't get caught up! Anywhoos, on the Mama M.'s 5QF!

1. What movie do you love to quote?

Don't judge...are you ready...Step Brothers! I LOVE that movie. It kills me every time I watch it and it never gets old! There are a few others like...Billy Madison...so sillly, but the lines from it are so funny!

2. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

Does a dirt bike count? If so, then yes, yes I have. It was the first and last time that I have been on anything that resembles a motorcycle. My brother got it for Christmas and I hopped on it acting like I knew what I was doing and before I knew it, I was laying on the ground under the bike. Not good. ha!

3. What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

Sleep. The end.

4. Do you prefer a bunch of small gifts, or one really big, (expensive) gift?

I could go either way. I guess it depends on what the big gift is. ha!

5. Do you ever lose track of days and show up somewhere wrong?

Not really. I did used to have a problem with that in high school. We moved when I was a junior to a different town. They had block classes. You would have an A day and a B day and there would be different classes on each day. See where this could get confusing? So when I was first trying to figure this crazy schedule out, there might have been a day or two that I should up to the wrong class on the wrong day. ha!

Have a great weekend!

Jess

Weekend Wrap-up

2011-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! It went by so fast, I need one more day to sleep. ha! We were so lucky to be invited to Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night! We had an absolute blast!

My brother and I

Even though the Rangers lost so bad, we still had a great time! We got home so late-I was completely exhausted!

Sunday night we went to Hunter's parents to have dinner for his birthday. Dinner was delish and so was the birthday cake as always!

Have a great day!

Jessica

DIY

2011-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago, I saw this cool DIY project on Pintrest. Usually when I try DIY projects, they don't turn out too well. I think this one actually looks cute...

It's an old palette that Hunter brought home from work. By the way, I could not have done it without his help. Thanks Hunter! I'm not totally done decorating it-I'm still playing around with some things. But I really do think it looks cute!

Much Love,

Jess

Show Us Your Life

2011-10-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a "SUYL" post in a looong time. But....when I saw on Kelly's blog what the topic was today I just COULD NOT help myself.

SHOW US YOUR LIFE-PETS!!

If you know me IRL, then you know how crazy I am about my little man.

This is Dewey, he's a cockapoo. We love him so much.

We chose this breed because it is good for allergies. He hardly sheds at all, which is a major bonus! His hair is actually almost like human hair. He's the softest thing ever.

How can you not fall in love with that face?

He does have some social issues. He's not mean at all, but he will not come within 20 feet of a stranger. He hides behind my legs and shivers anytime we have friends over. He is so shy and maybe a little crazy, ha!

Dewey is the sweetest thing ever, when he wants to be, ha!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jess

a sad day

2011-10-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last night when I heard the news that Steve Jobs lost his long battle with cancer, I was immediately sad for his family. I don't consider myself a technologically advanced person. But I am sitting here typing this post on my Mac laptop and answering calls on my iPhone. Steve Jobs touched all of our lives in a way. The tech world lost a visionary, an icon. It's a sad day.

Jess

A New Tradition

2011-09-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

For the second year now, my mom and I participated in the National Coalition for Ovarian Cancer 5K walk. (NOCC for short) We found out about the annual walk last year which happened to be the year after my mom's best friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Thank goodness they caught it early and her friend has had several clear scans since.

This year, my mom's friend and her whole family traveled here to do the walk with us.

She was nervous because she is still recovering from the chemo treatments and didn't think that she would make it all the way. But she did! All the way to the finish line! We were so proud!

Side note: it just so happens that I am very good friends with my mom's friend's daughter, so it worked out for everyone! We had a great time and decided that this will now be a new tradition for our families.

Much Love,

Jess

A few things...

2011-09-14T08:07:00.001-07:00

Grandma, this is for you!

For the other 5 people that read my blog, my Grandma called me last night and was concerned that I have not been blogging and she doesn't know what's going on in my life right now because that's how she keeps up with me. :) So she just called me to check to make sure that we were doing ok, I just love my Grandma!

The truth is I just haven't had much to write about lately. Maybe it was moving and getting settled or maybe is was the 69 days over 100 degrees that just killed it for me. But I'm back now and for the love of my Grandma I figured that I better get back to writing before I make her worry about me more!

We had a tiny visitor last night. She is the sweetest thing that I have ever seen. She is such a good baby, didn't make a peep the whole time she was there.

look at her little bracelet, girl is already stylish and 2 months! I love her!

I have been a little out of sorts lately. Work has been so busy and normally I'm pretty good about staying organized but I lost it somewhere between 101 degrees and 112 degrees this summer. I'm telling you, the heat made me a little nuts. Anyways, I got my iCalendar on my Mac this morning and planned out all the way to the end of the year! It made a huge difference in my mood-call me crazy but when lose control of my organization, I kind of just shut down. ha! But it's all good in the hood now!

Much Love,

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-09-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have been a really bad blogger. I don't know what has gotten in to me. Not much to say I guess, just trying to stay cool in this crazy hot weather. ha!

I do love 5QF though, so here I am. Brought to you by the one an only Mama M.!

1. Shoes in the house - yay or nay?
It really used to bother me in our old house because we had so much carpet. But in our new house we have more wood flooring so it doesn't matter so much to me anymore.

2. What do you call them- flip flops, slippers, thongs, etc?
I call them flips. ha! So lazy, right?

3. What song are you almost embarrassed to admit you know all the lyrics to?
Last weekend VH1 was doing kind of a throwback weekend and a Gloria Estefan song came on that I knew every word to. Hunter looked at me like I was ridiculous. That was a little embarrassing. ha!

4. What is the best quality to have in a friend?
I think the best quality in a friend is loyalty. If you are going to be my friend then I need to know you got my back. I was actually recently put in a position to have to tell my friend something that I knew that I really didn't want to get involved in but I felt like as her friend I needed to. It's that loyalty thing I guess.

5. Do you know what you want for Christmas?
I really don't want anything at all. I just want my friends and family to be happy and healthy!

Happy Weekend!
Jess

4 years

2011-08-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

I want to dedicate my post today to my furry baby! It's his birthday and he is shaking his booty like Sha-na-na!

And what better way to spend you birthday then with your best friend?

Much Love,

Jess

Five Question Friday

2011-08-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Dear 5QF,
I have missed you. It's good to be back.

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?
Now that I think about it, no I don't. ha!

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?
If I had to pick just one it would be.....positive. I haven't really been too positive this week but we can all have our moments, right??

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?
I don't relly have a store that I just refuse to shop at but I WILL NOT shop at Walmart on Sunday. no way. you. can't. make. me.

4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?
I don't have children yet. But when I do I will let you know. ha!

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?
Nope. I like surprises.

Have a great weekend!
Jess

Hello Fall, are you out there?

2011-08-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

So Hunter and I were at the mall over the weekend and I walked by one of my most favorite places on earth, Bath and Body Works. I usually make a quarterly trip there and spend way too much money stocking up on everything from body butter to wallflowers. Well, I'm not due for a trip quite yet but I just couldn't help myself when I saw that they had all of their Fall stuff out already. Fall is my FAVORITE time of year and I just love how it smells! Here are some of my must-haves for this Fall...Did I mention that I LOVE Halloween? LOVE.

Now if we could only get the temperature below 100 degrees here, we will be good! ha!

Jess

SUMMER

2011-08-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do here on this little blog of mine. We have been busy.

One of my good friends had a baby...

A few weekends ago we had some friends over and their little boy had a blast running around in our sprinkler in the backyard...

Oh to be young again. He was so happy and worn out when he was done.

The next weekend my best friend and her husband came up for the weekend from Houston. We had a blast catching up and hanging out. We took them to the original Campisi's in Dallas and it was delicious!

We even went bowling which I haven't done in sooo long. We spent most of the weekend just hanging out which I think we all enjoyed. Fun!

This weekend we celebrated my baby brother's 21 birthday. I can't believe that he is already 21! That makes me feel old. ha!

It was also my parent's 28th anniversary!

And we are already in the second week of August...I feel like I blink and lose a month! ha!

Much Love,

Jess

Summer Reading

2011-07-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

I love to read but I really don't make enough time to actually sit down with a book. I have made it my mission this summer to do as much reading as I can. I try to read during my lunch break at work and instead of watching TV before bed, I have been reading instead. I will admit that I have been sleeping a lot better. I have no idea if the two are related. ha!
I wanted to share two books that I have read this month that are totally worth taking out the time to read. "Heaven is for Real" and "The Hunger Games". The first book will make you laugh and cry, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. It's an awesome book about a 4 year old boy who has to have emergency surgery. During the surgery he goes to Heaven and comes back. Months later his parents pick up on little comments that he makes and it all comes out. SUCH. A. GOOD. BOOK.

"The Hunger Games" more or less replaced my obsession with Twilight. I would have to say that it is almost equally as good. I just finished the first book last night and started the second. I have really enjoyed reading instead of drowning myself in TV. ha!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jess

Five Question Friday

2011-07-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and I couldn't be more happy! I haven't done a 5QF post in a while and I feel like you might want to know five more things about me. ha! ;)

1. If you knew your best friend's spouse was cheating on her or him, would you tell her (him)?
That's a situation I hope to never be in. On one hand I would feel like it's my duty as a best friend to spill the beans. But on the other hand, I would want to stay out of it. I couldn't imagine having to tell someone that.

2. Soda in a can or a bottle?
Neither. I like it is a cup

3. What do you wash first, hair or body?
Hair first. I feel like if I wash my body first then all of the hair gunk would make me dirty again when I rinsed. weird?

4. What advice would you give to any new mama?
Seeing as I am not a Mama myself, I really wouldn't have anything to offer a new Mama

5. What is your best hangover remedy?
A cheeseburger and large DP from Sonic! Makes everything better!

Have a great weekend!
Jess

What I've Been Up To

2011-07-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have totally been a bad Mama to my blog. Neglect is the only word that really comes to mind. I thought that I would use this post to tell you what I have been up to lately. The answer to that is not a whole lot and I've been busy at the same time. Try and keep up here. I have been really busy but at the same time I have lacked motivation to do anything. Maybe it's the sweltering heat out there. It just makes me kinda...lazy. Yeah, lazy. ha!

Last week my cousins were in town for a baseball tournament. Apparently they are super good baseball players. I wouldn't know because they live in Houston and I haven't seen them in like a million years. When they were babies I used to go stay with them to babysit for the whole weekend so my Aunt and Uncle could go out and have fun. They aren't babies anymore...

It was a weird feeling to look up to them. ha!

Last weekend we did stuff around the house. Our friends who live down the street called us to come over and grill out. It was really nice to just sit on their back patio and talk and laugh. We are so glad that we moved closer to friends :)

Last night my girl Britney came to town. I took one of my friends that had never been to a Britney concert. Not only did we get to see Britney but Nicki Minaj opened for her! We had a blast! It was a late night and I'm dragging today but oh so worth it!

Much Love,

Jess

The 4th

2011-07-07T11:43:00.001-07:00

We had a really good weekend. It's kind of late to be talking about the weekend since it is Thursday, but oh well. I haven't really been in the blogging mood lately and I can't really put my finger on why. Maybe because I have been so busy at work and at home that I just needed a break.

Anywoodles....

On Friday night we went over to a friend's house to celebrate his graduation. We had a great time and it was nice to see all of our friends.

We spent Saturday getting ready for my parent's annual 4th of July BBQ. I cooked all day long. I was totally worn out but it was well worth it. Sunday was the party and we had a lot of people show up. It was a blast. The kids were in the pool and the adults were standing around consuming adult beverages. ha! Even my Mema came out to party!! I love her!

Much Love,

Jess

to coupon or not to coupon?

2011-06-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

I have decided to take a leap and try the whole couponing thing. If you don't live under a rock, which apparently I do, then you have heard about the latest craze. These people who spend hours upon hours amaze me. But I have to admit that they do save a ton of money.

I definitely won't be going that far. Actually, I started clipping coupons and comparing the manufacturer's coupons to the store sales and almost gave up. It's really exhausting. I will let you know if I make it through the weekend with my coupons. ha!

Much Love,

Jess

Junk

2011-06-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

I learned a very valuable lesson when we were moving. We have a lot of JUNK. I don't even know where we put it all. As we were moving we started a "garage sale" pile. The pile got bigger and bigger until it took up almost the whole garage. Over the weekend we finally had the garage sale and we got rid of just about everything! It took all day Friday to prepare for the sale but that feeling I got when it was all gone was well worth it.

I also had a photo shoot on Saturday. Click here to see!

Saturday night we went out for our anniversary. We usually do it up big but my only request this year was that we do something low key. We have been going non-stop with moving and the garage sale and everything in between, I just wanted to relax. We went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then just went home an watched a movie. It was perfect.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jess

Happy Day

2011-06-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today is me and Hunter's 4th wedding anniversary. It's a good day. I love having a day to reflect on the time that we have been married. We have had our ups and downs but mostly ups ;) I feel lucky to be married to my best friend. Not many people can say that. Happy Anniversary Hunter, thank you for always being there for me. I love you like a fat kid loves cake!

My Boy

2011-06-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I love this guy...

He makes me smile....

This is what he does during the day, he keeps us safe from bad guys. Don't let size full you, he can be fierce!

or maybe he is just watching for bunnies in the yard. ha!

Much Love,

Jess

Father's Day

2011-06-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

We had the best Father's Day yesterday. We had both our families over to our house for appetizers and drinks and then we all went out to Randy's Steakhouse. It was delicious. I feel so lucky to have the best dad in the world and to live close enough to spend special days with him!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday to You!

2011-06-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my very best friend's birthday! I love her soooooo much. We go together like Macaroni and cheese, like peanut butter and jelly, like birds and feathers. Yeah, it's like that. Get it? we have been besties since 5th grade. We stayed close through going to different middle schools, me moving to a totally different city in high school, going to different colleges, and settling on the opposite side of the state. And still we can call each other any time and pick up right where we left off. So I just wanted to shout out to the bestest friend in the whole world...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!! I luuurve you!
Jess

Absent Blogger

2011-06-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have totally abandoned my little blog. I have been so busy at work and at home. We are almost settled. yay! If you know me, then you know how hard it is for me to be "out of sorts" so to say. With all of this moving stuff, I have definitely been out of sorts. But I am getting back on track now. I will have pictures of the new house soon.

In other news...I have been totally glued to the coverage of the Casey Anthony trial. Sometimes I just don't understand people.

I just can't stop watching. It will be very interesting to see how it all turns out.

Much Love,

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-06-10T06:28:00.001-07:00

I have been so busy trying to get things settled at home, that the week just flew right by! Before I move on to 5QF, I have to say GO MAVS!!

This has been an awesome series and we just need one more win! Ok, moving on...

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

I would actually say they are pretty close. I always pictured myself married (check), with a job (check-although I thought I would be a teacher), and a house (check), a dog (check). All that's left is munchkins, which I can wait a little longer for ;)

2. What is one must have item for the summer?

Moisturizer w/SPF! My face gets so dry in the summer so I am constantly lathering on moisturizer. And chapstick!

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

My parents did not really make me keep up on school stuff during the summer. I would read sometimes, but that's about it. And guess what? I turned out just fine! ha!

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

I freeze it. I have been wanting to try and can stuff but it just seems so time consuming.

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

Yep. On work days I go straight to the shower and get ready. On the weekends I will usually sit and have coffee, but then I get ready for whatever we are doing.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Jess

Home Sweet Home

2011-06-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger but with good reason. We finally sold our house and bought a new one! WOO HOOO!!

We have been working like crazy to get everything put together and make it "ours". We love the new house and we are closer to our friends and family! I hope to be back to my regular blogging schedule now that things are feeling a little more normal. ha!

Much Love,

Jess

my little disaster...

2011-05-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

We got some pretty bad storms here on Tuesday night as did many of you who are in the mid-west. I was stuck at work during all of the chaos and Hunter was at home holding down the fort. I don't usually get too scared during storms, but this one was a doozey. First I got this picture from my parents...

That was out of their front window...scary stuff. I called to make sure that they were all ok and didn't have any damage. And....my baby boy was over there so I had to make sure he was ok. They were all fine, my mom was in the bathtub with the dogs. ha!

About 5 minutes later I got this picture from Hunter....

That's our backyard. That's not cool. Luckily that was the only damage that we had. I know that it could have been a lot worse and there are some people who are missing family members, so I feel pretty blessed that our fence was the only thing that was damaged. Hunter is awesome, he had the whole thing repaired by the time that I got home from work yesterday. I love you Hunter, you rock!

I just wanted to share my little piece of the big disaster...

Jess

Trivial

2011-05-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

I was going to blog today about how things that are going on in my life are really stressing me out. I was going to whine and complain, but when I woke up and turned on the news I saw this...

My problems see so trivial now. At least I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in, food on the table and clothes on my back. At least I HAVE a home to go to after work today.

I just want to take a minute to pray for all of those affected by this disaster and I hope you will too.

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-05-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Man, I am so glad to see Friday. Somewhere around Wednesday I really thought that I might not make it to see Friday, but thankfully Friday and I meet again. I haven't been very good about blogging lately and that's because we have something big going out right now...I'll tell ya more next week. Right now, I'm on to 5QF brought to you by the lovely Mama M.

1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?
Nope. I am usually in bed by 9:30, sometimes earlier. Don't judge, I need my 8 hours! ha!

2. A question for the ladies...What kind of facial hair do you like on your man?
I really prefer none.

3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?
Most of the vacations that i can remember have been great. If you made me pick one that was less than the others I would probably say it was when I was a freshman in high school. I was taking a friend on our family vacation and the day before we left I found out that she kissed my love interest. I was soooo mad, but her dad was already on his was to drop her off at my house. So we faked being friends for the weekend. It was uncomfortable. ha!

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?
Kelly's Korner!

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?
I really love roller coasters but I haven't been to an amusement park in years. I'm sure it would be just as fun as it used to be!

Have a fabulous weekend!
Jess

It was bound to happen

2011-05-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Remember this?

That was back when my bike and I were friends. After this weekend we are no longer that close. ha! Hunter and I decided to go out on a ride on Sunday morning. We went to a trail that I had been on once before. It was definitely hard for me, but I made it through unharmed. It is really close to our house, so we decided to go back to that one. I did a lot better this time and I was really getting the hang of it, when a huge rock appeared out of nowhere-and of course I hit it. I lost control and flew over my handlebars into the trees. ouch! ha! Sometime mid-air, I caught a handlebar in the neck.

For some reason every time I have a big crash or fall like that (and yes it happens often) I get right up to make sure that I'm not bleeding or hurt. Hunter turned around and saw what happened and came back to where I was. We made sure that I wasn't too hurt and I got back on the saddle and finished the ride. I was really ok, other than some bruises, until Monday morning when I could hardly get out of bed because I was so sore! ha!

Needless to say...I realized that I should probably stay on the weenie trails for a while.

Much Love,

Jess

Derby 2011!

2011-05-11T11:10:00.001-07:00

I'm back...I hate missing a week of blogging! ha! We went to Kentucky last weekend and just got back on Monday night, so I have been playing catch up all week.

Hunter's family is from Kentucky and they have been going to the Kentucky Derby for 40+ years. I think his Dad has only missed two! A few years ago they started taking us when they had extra tickets. We haven't been in a couple of years and around December Hunter's dad asked if we wanted to go. We would never pass up a chance to go to Derby! ha!

This year was special because it was the first year ever that Hunter's whole family was there together! We had a blast!

Our seats were right by the red carpet entrance where all of the celebrities come in. You would think that I would have been totally consumed with celebrity watching, but I wasn't. At one point I literally almost ran into a football player but I have no idea who he was. ha!

Me and Hunter's brother...

Hunter's brother brought his best friend. I loved her, she was so sweet!

The whole family at Derby for the first time...awwww

This was the crowd right before the Derby race...crazy

Much Love,

Jess

before I post about my weekend...

2011-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have to share the pictures from our Royal Watching Party at work! I got up at 4:30 AM on Friday to watch the wedding. I watched it right up until I had to leave for work. We decided that we would all get there early to watch together. I have to admit that it was hard for me to pull myself away from that sexy Prince Harry...yowzas!

We decorated the room for the occasion! One of the girls even brought her china! (please excuse my iPhone pictures)

I made scones and coffee cake! (I need a little more practice on making my scones into triangles. ha!)

They are the cutest couple ever!

We even dressed for the occasion! We had a blast!

And when it was all over...I felt a little situational depression coming on. You know like when you get all excited for Christmas and then it's over. It was kind of like that but I was all excited that I could maybe one day be a princess and then it was over. There's always Prince Harry...

Much Love,

Jess

I think I've lost my mind

2011-04-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I could have honestly said that I didn't really care too much about the Royal Wedding. Sure, I wanted to see all of the coverage, but I wasn't all pumped about watching the actual wedding. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I wasn't even born yet when Prince Charles and Princess Di got married.

Last week, that all changed. I can't wait to watch it in the morning. I am so excited to see her dress! I just think it's so cool that she was just an ordinary girl and now she will be royalty! We are even having a Royal Wedding Watching Party at work. We are all getting to work really early and we are going to have a party in the conference room with the big flat screen tv. I am even making scones and muffins! I know that poor Hunter is so tired of hearing about all of the wedding talk...sorry, only one more day and your free and clear! ha!

Much Love,

Jess

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

I hope everybody had a great Easter weekend! We definitely did! My grandma came into town on Thursday night. Sadly, I had to work on Friday but Mom and Grandma came and met me for lunch. I gave up sweets for Lent and since it was Good Friday I ate a huge piece of chocolate cake! There has been debate as to when lent ends, and to be perfectly honest with you I don't really know. I will stick with Good Friday for now.

Friday night we had dinner with Hunter's parents at the country club. Hunter's dad always gives up sweets and he is a sweet-a-holic, so it was also a special day for him. ha!

Saturday we woke up and took our bikes out for a ride. We went to a trail that is not too far from our house and neither of us had ever been on it before. Hunter kept assuring me that it was not going to be hard. whateva! It. was. not. fun. Well the first part anyways. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy walking my bike up the hills and over the ginormous tree roots. I was a little more confident on the way back and actually stayed on my bike! ha!

We spent Saturday afternoon at my parents hanging out with my grandma while she was in town. My dad grilled steaks and we had an awesome dinner, fol
lowed by some Wii fun.

Sunday morning we went to church and then had brunch with my family. Then we went over to my in-laws to see Hunter's great-aunt who came over. It's so nice to be surrounded by an awesome family!

Much love,
Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-04-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

It's Good Friday! I think all Fridays are good, ha! It's been a pretty good week, not too long! Here are this week's questions from Mama M.!

1. What is your favorite Easter tradition?

My Grandma always comes to town for the weekend and I love getting to spend time with her. Then on Sunday we all go to church and then out to brunch!

2. Are you a "shower" or a "long, hot bath" kind of person?

Definitely a long, hot bath kind of girl! I really enjoy relaxing in a hot bath after a long day.

3. Can you parallel park and if so when is the last time you did it?

Sure can, although it has been years since I have!

4. What is your favorite Easter candy?

I usually give up sweets during lent so I really try hard not to munch on the candy (notice I said try). I do have a favorite Easter Candy, reese's eggs!

5. Easter: do you go all out with the Easter Bunny or focus on the religious part of the holiday?

We don't have kids yet, so the Easter Bunny does not visit our house. I try to focus more in the religious part of it all and getting to spend time with my family!

Happy Easter!

Jess

Kentucky Derby outfit!

2011-04-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I wrote The Glamorous Newlywed (link on my sidebar) and asked her if she would mind putting together some outfits to wear to the Kentucky Derby. She does a "What to Wear" post almost everyday and puts together fabulous outfits for people who write her and I just couldn't come up with any cute ideas for the Derby. She was the sweetest and posted her creations for on her blog today! I was so excited to see what she came up with, and I think I am going with this look as my inspiration..

I just want to send a huge thank you to The Glamorous Newlywed for the help!!

Much Love,

Jess

Wanna go ride bikes?

2011-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. I had to work on Saturday morning, but I got to take off Monday! After my event on Saturday, I had a photo shoot in the Bluebonnets with this cutie!

It was hot, but he was a trooper!

Sunday, Hunter and I took our new bikes out. We did an easy trail by the lake. It was so pretty. We had a blast, but my butt was so sore! ha! I think we are going to try to go riding again this weekend.

Yesterday I went to the spa and had lunch with my mom. I went shopping for my outfit for the Kentucky Derby, and got everything! Then I went home and worked on my flower beds in the backyard. It was a very relaxing day off!

Now back to work. boo!

Much Love,

Jess

Show Us Your Life-What's on your reading list

2011-04-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

I really love to read. I just don't. If I start reading a book that I love, then I will finish it pretty quick. But those are hard to come by for me. The last two books that I have read have been awesome! Water For Elephants and Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea? Those were both really good. I started reading Revolutionary Road and I just can't get into it. I saw the movie and I really liked it, although it is a bit of a downer, but I just can't get into the book. Next I would love to read Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang and Crazy Love, which I have heard awesome things about.

And of course I need to read Breaking Dawn again to refresh my memory before the movie comes out in November!

Have a great weekend!

Jess

another day, another dolla

2011-04-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

I really don't have much to say today. I have to work an event tonight for work...hello 12+ hour day. I'm sure I will be a delight come 5:30 tomorrow morning. I would like to apologize to my husband in advance for my behavior tomorrow because to tell you the truth I'm pretty b*tchy before the sun comes up and add that with less than 6 hours of sleep...watch out.

I bought a pair of shoes a couple of weeks ago. It was a great TJMaxx find. Fracno Sarto pumps for $40. I have worn them a few times and I keep thinking that they will get more comfortable. But no, I am wrong every time. I really don't want to retire them yet, we are just getting to know each other. What is a girl to do?

Until next time,

Jess

I'm feeling Cheesy!

2011-04-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Did you know that today is National Grilled Cheese Day? I didn't either. But now that I do know I feel like I have to celebrate What's better than melted cheese between two pieces of buttered bread? I can't think of anything at the moment either. I've got cheese on the brain!

Just looking at these pictures makes my mouth water. I think I will be having a grilled cheese for lunch...nothing else will do.

Happy Grilled Cheese Day!

Jess

Grow Your Own

2011-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

It seems like I've been hearing a lot about growing your own vegetables lately. I don't know if it's because it's that time of year or because we are becoming more conscious. Whatever it is, I'm itching to jump on the band waggon. I'm hesitant right now because we have our house on the market and I don't want to do all the work and then have to leave. So for right now I enjoy Hunter's mom's garden. She is a Master Gardener and last Fall she started to grow vegetables. I love going over there every couple of weeks to see how everything has grown!

White potatoes, Red potatoes, and my favorite...Yukon Gold!

Herbs, Herbs, and more Herbs

Strawberries!

Can you see the tiny tomatoes? So cute!

I think this one is going to be a yellow pepper

Dewey went with us to see her dogs. They had a blast chasing each other!

He had to stay on one side of the fence and he could see us...he hated it! He kept crying!

At least I know once we get moved and I start my own vegetable garden, I have a seasoned gardener to help me get started!

Happy Monday!

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-04-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have had some technical difficulties this morning with spacing on my blog...frustrated to the 100th degree. Hopefully it works this time. Here we go with Mama M.'s 5QF! 1. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would give myself the ability to totally relax! I worry about everything and therefore can never just be. It's exhausting. 2. Write about a time when you got lost. I don't get lost. period. It's like a sixth sense or something. I can always find my way home no matter what. And if I am going somewhere that I have never been, I can always get back sans directions. I'm a freak. I kind of blame it on my dad. When I was younger, about 16 or so, he would always tell me to be very aware of my surroundings and always pay attention to where I was so that if I ever had to call him or or my mom to come get me I could tell them right where I was. I'm glad that I had overprotective parents ;) 3. Camping or 5 star hotel? Give me the 5 stars baby! Not that I am unwilling to go camping. I've been feeling closer to Mother Earth lately, I just prefer room service and down pillows. 4. Have you donated blood? Nope. I promise, I've tried. But every time they come at me with those gigantic needles, I run screaming for the nearest exit. 5. Do you have a budget or do you 'fly by' most months? I'm a budget girl. Might be the control freak lurking deep inside. Have a great weekend!

New Concept: Be On Time

2011-04-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have this problem. I cannot be on time...ever. It is really starting to affect my daily life. It does not matter what time I wake up in the morning, I am still late to work. The universe is out to get me. Today, I woke up at 6:45 and needed to leave my house at 8:00 to go to a dentist appt. Plenty of time right? WRONG. It was 8:12 when I got into my car. I thought that I could make it if I hurried, but then I realized that I needed gas. Crap. By the time I pulled out of the gas station I had like 10 minutes to get to the dentist which is 30 minutes away. So I hauled a**. At one point I looked it my rear view mirror and saw flashing lights. Awesome. After the very nice officer wrote me my ticket I had approximately 30 seconds to make it to the dentist and I was still about 15 minutes away. AAANNNDDD...I couldn't speed and risk getting pulled over by the same officer that just wrote me a ticket. I finally made it to the dentist and I was only about 10 minutes late...and I had to wait on them for 15 minutes...go figure. The morale of my story today is, to try to manage my time better and be. on. time. The end. Much love, Jess

road trip 2011

2011-04-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does it take you a week to get back into your normal routine after a vacation. I feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation! ha! We had a great time on our road trip last week, but I have to say that I am glad we are back home. I spent the weekend catching up on laundry and cleaning...I'm such a blast, I know. Anyways,we

left last Friday and drove to Amarillo for the night. We woke up on Saturday and drove to SantaFe where we stayed the night with some friends. We got there around noon and immediately parked it on the patio and settled in for some cocktails and an afternoon sitting in the sun. It was great, except the sunburn that I later realized was a lot worse than originally thought...oops. That night we went out to a great little restaurant for my birthday.

They had over 300 different margaritas...now that's hard core. ha! Sunday morning we all woke up not feeling our best so we went to a place down the street that served all organic and vegan food, a cleansing more or less. Hunter ordered coconut water, and they brought the whole coconut!

After breakfast we drove to our final destination...Denver, CO. Hunter's brother lives there so we spent the week with him.

Monday we walked around downtown Denver and did some shopping. Our hotel was right in the middle of everything, so it was nice to be able to walk everywhere. We don't really do that too often here in Texas, so my tootsies were wore out by the end of the day! Tuesday we drove to Keystone mountain and spent the day skiing.

Hunter and his brother are great skiiers...me, not so much. But I made it. They were so awesome and patient with me. They would ski down to the bottom of each hill and stop and wait for me. At one point I looked over and I was "skiing" next to a ski school of about 12 six year olds. I heard the instructor yell out "french fries, not pizza!" I looked down and sure enough, I was doing pizza! So I rode with them down the hill and got what I could from the instructor. At some point we made eye contact and I kind of shrugged and he laughed at me! ha! I made it through the day only falling a few times and no injuries! I was so sore on Wednesday that I did not think that I was going to be ableto get up! ha! Wednesday Hunter's brother took us to an outdoor amphitheater called Red Rocks.

It was way amazing. I think we climbed 3,456,234 stairs. I only thought I was sore that morning! I DID NOT make it through Wednesday without any injuries. I climbed up on these rocks for a picture and leaned back a little hard and hit my head....hard!

Thursday morning we woke up really early and started our drive home. We had a blast, but there's no place like home!

Much Love,

Jess

I'm still here!

2011-04-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a great vacation to Colorado! More on that in another post! Right now it's time to answer 5 awesome questions from Mama M. for 5QF!

1. Have you ever had surgery?

Yes, when I was a senior in high school I tore all three major ligaments in my knee and had to have surgery. It was horrible and awful. I never thought that I would be able to bend my knee again! ha!

2. Ever ride in an ambulance?

Nope, knock on wood!

3. How are you in a medical emergency? Panicked? Calm?

Definitely panicked. No questions. I really do try to stay clam but my nerves get the best of me.

4. Do you have a garden? Flowers or veggies?

I would love to have both. Right now would not be a good time for me to start though since we are hoping to move this year. But once we do get moved, I plan to start a veggie garden and a wildflower garden!

5. When did you move out of your parents house?

I moved out to go to school when I was 18, moved back when I graduated at 23, and then moved out again a few months later when I got married.

Have a great weekend!

Jess

I heart....

2011-03-24T09:05:00.001-07:00

Since I love birthdays and mine is this weekend (hint, hint ;)) I'm feeling all warm all peppy! I thought I would share a few things that I love more 'n my shoe collection...well almost. ;)

getting my hair done
the smell of the dishwasher when it's running
fresh coffee
clean laundry
getting mail the "old fashioned" way, it the mailbox!
rainy days
getting my car washed
glitter
vacuumed carpets
they way I feel after a good workout
freshly painted toes
the smell of babies
when Hunter sends me a text in the middle of the day just to say hi
blogging!!
Donuts!!

(Not your well-balanced breakfast, but oh so good!)

I admit that a lot of things irritate me, but after thinking about this list, I realized that a lot of things make me smile too!

Much love,

Jess

Exhausted

2011-03-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

One or two days a week, when Hunter and I work late, I take Dewey to stay at my parent's house for the day. We call them his "play days". ha! (what can I say, we don't have kids yet so he's it!) When he was a little puppy he would be totally worn out by the time we got home from playing all day with my parent's dog, Dublin. Well.... some things never change!

He's so sweet!

Much Love,

Jess

it's monday...there are a few things that help

2011-03-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

i.do.not.like.mondays. It's hard to get up after a great weekend. We celebrated my birthday TWICE! I'm so thankful to have such awesome family. Friday night we went out with Hunter's parents and Saturday night we went out with my family. But here we are, Monday again. I guess I would rather it come than not. ha! I thought I wouldshare some things that I am looking forward to that might make this Monday a little better.

1. This little beauty that my wonderful parents got for me for my b-day! Thanks Mom and Dad!

2. Skiing in Denver.

That's me last year. You didn't know I had moves like that, did you? ha!

3. Going to the KY Derby! Can't wait!

4. And going home to this little guy. I just love him to pieces.

Hope you have some things to look forward to to make your Monday a little better!

Much Love,

Jess

FOR JAPAN WITH LOVE

2011-03-18T10:06:00.001-07:00

Weekend Review (a little late)

2011-03-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's Wednesday and I'm just now posting about my weekend. I have been sluggish to say the least this week. We spent three days at a music festival in Denton.

This is only the second year of the event and the best way that I can describe it is a spin-off of Austin's event SXSW.

There were two outdoor stages and then about 10 different venues that participated. Over the course of four days 300 bands/performers came through Denton! There were performances on the outdoor stages during the afternoon and evening and then at about 10 PM the different bars hosted other bands all night. There were a lot of bands that I have never heard of, so I was little nervous that I wasn't really going to like anything. But I was so wrong. There were several bands that I really really liked, Hunter even went home and downloaded some of the music that he liked! Hunter's brother came in town for the weekend too so it was nice to see him and hang out. He's a goof!

I have to say my favorite performance was Big Boi on Sunday night. F.Y.I, he is part of Outkast.

It was awesome! Although I can't leave out Michael Cera's band, Mister Heavenly! The band wasn't actually all that great, but it was so funny to see Michael Cera up there! He is such a nerd. ha! Needless to say I have been dragging all week. I am sooooo tired and I can't wait for a low key weekend. ha! Now I'm just playing catch up on my sleep.

Much Love,

Jess

Birthday Shout Out!

2011-03-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to send a birthday shout out to my dad today. His birthday was actually yesterday and we all went to church and brunch after but I did not get on here to blog about it. Soooo...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

We all love you very much!

Five Question Friday!

2011-03-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you Lord, it's Friday! Shout out to Mama M. for posting the questions for 5QF!

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?

Yes, only because for the last few years I have only been highlighting the top and letting the bottom go natural. I have a stacked bob, so it's darker on the bottom. Make sense? m'kay. So my natural hair color is a dark(ish) brown with a hint of red. Sounds pretty, but trust me, it's not. I lacks any kind of shine or anything.

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?

I am a planner. Hunter and I have a trip coming up that I totally let him plan with his brother. I'm not really sure what is on the agenda. This is a BIG step for me. It's killing me not having a plan in place. But it's also kind of liberating at the same time. ha!

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?

I am totally in love with spaghetti right now. And it's so easy to whip up which makes it twice as nice! This is subject to change next week.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?

It depends. First on the situation and then on the person. If it's a gift for something that I was invited to, like a wedding or shower, then I definitely expect a thank you. If it was something that I just did for somebody out of the kindness of my heart then not so much. I send thank you noted like crazy, so I guess I just expect the same. That's just me though.

5. How did you meet your best friend?

I moved to a new school in the 5th grade. I went over to a girl's house and K was there too. It was love at first sight. Just kidding...but it really kind of was. ha! We were pretty much joined at the hip after that. We did go to different junior highs, but we maintained our friendship through those grades and once we got to high school we were joined at the hip again. Seriously, we did everything together, if K was there then so was I and vice versa. We had tons of fun together! And even though I moved away in high school and we went to different colleges, we still keep in touch and I know we always will! Love you K!

Happy Friday!

Jess

P.S. Please remember to send prayers to those affected by the earthquake/tsunami. The damage and loss of life is devastating.

Don't judge me

2011-03-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I told you a while ago that I watched a marathon day of Jersey Shore and was totally glued to it!
It's not something that I like to parade around and scream from the rooftops, but it's the honest truth. I just feel like I owe it to you who visit me everyday to be myself and let you in on my inner most secrets ;) And while we are being so honest with each other can I please tell you that I can't get enough of this guy...

What what?

yours truly,

Jess

Lent

2011-03-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

I was raised in the Luthern church. Naturally, the season of Lent has been very present in my life although I didn't truly understand it until a couple of years ago. This post from another blogger that I stumbled upon through Loves of Life explains the season of Lent very well. To me, Lent is a time for me to give up something that I will truly miss during the 40 days to spend more time in relfection and prayer. I have seen many people posting that they are giving up Facebook for Lent. I think this is great, especially for someone like me who Facebook "stalks". ha! But there is something that I would miss more, sweets! (and Ranch) Those are two things that I have almost every day and I will notice the absence. But I can do it! Maybe I will give up Facebook also, I guess that is something that would actually give me more time for relfection. Do you celebrate Lent? What are you giving up?

Much Love,
Jess

Love Affair

2011-03-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

I have a problem. I am addicted to fast food. I am not proud of this. In fact, it sometimes makes me feel all icky. I kicked the habit cold turkey a couple of years ago and it has slowly but surely found it's way back into my life. My waistline does not appreciate it. I have to find a way to not think about fast food for lunch everyday because the more I think about it, the more I want it in my life. I have done good so far this week, it's almost Friday right? Every time I drive by a Taco Bell or Chick-Fil-A my mouth waters. pathetic, right? I am going to do this, my will power will prevail. ha!

Help!
Jess

Meet Baby Olivia

2011-03-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

One of my very close friends, A, had her baby on Saturday. Remember this?

She's here! Baby Olivia.

She weighed almost 10 lbs.! It was a very looooong labor for A, but we are all so excited that Olivia is finally here! She is the sweetest girl ever. I'm totally smitten for her. My mom and I are taking dinner to A and her family tonight and I just can't wait to get my hands on Olivia again!

Have a great Monday!

Jess

Unfinished Business

2011-03-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

I have to get something off my chest...I am not the best at "finishing things." I will start a project and before I finish, I will start on another one. Most of the time I will come back around to the first project and complete it, but who knows how long I will let it sit in limbo...we're talkin months. ha! Case in point...

This is a project that I started over the weekend. It's a travel mug from Starbucks that you can put your own pictures in. I started it and had the best intentions to finish it, but here we are a week later and there it sits, half done. And don't get me started about painting our house. When we first moved in, I painted the living room and intended on painting the bedrooms the next weekend. Two years later the bedrooms finally got painted. This habit is embarrassing, but I can't help it. I think I have ADD. ha! I know this drives Hunter crazy, but I really try not to leave things undone. I think I'm getting a little better as I get older.

Thanks for listening (and not judging),

Jess

It's Monday

2011-02-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm tired
I had to work until 11 PM on Friday night
I really need a haircut
Speaking of hair, I'm bored with mine so I bought some velcro rollers to see if that would do the trick...I haven't tried them yet so we'll see
Is it just me or does it seem like everything you read or hear about has to do with someone having a baby or being pregnant, or just babies in general? Not that I'm complaining, just an observation
I filled up my car with gas today and it was over $50! not cool
It was so pretty outside yesterday, I decided to sit on the back patio in shorts to try and get some sun on my pasty white legs...ick!

That's all I have for now,

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-02-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

It's Friiiiday!!! I'm so glad that it's Friday! I do have to work tonight, but we are putting on a Vegas Night so hopefully the time will go by fast. ha! I am planning on doing some work in my flower beds this weekend...the weather is supposed to be sooo good...and I want to find some fabric to make new throw pillows for our bed. On to 5QF!!

1. Can you drive a stick shift?
Ummmm...that's a negative. A friend tried to teach me once and I was ordered to get out of the car after about 5 seconds. I haven't tried again since then.

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?
I'm not picky at all. I will try anything. I WILL NOT eat beets or oysters.

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Yes!! I just got mine yesterday! Of course I love the thin mints. My second favorite is the lemon cream ones, I forgot what they are called.

4. How do you pamper yourself?
I really love to get pedicures and massages, although I don't get either on a regular basis. I think if we are talking about daily pampering, I would go with my hot bubble baths at night. I. must. have. my. bath.

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
In high school my nickname was Cookie. It's simple really...my last name was Cook. ha!

Have a great weekend!
Jess

I like big butts...

2011-02-22T11:05:00.001-08:00

And I cannot lie. How do you know that your butt is getting too big for your pants, or is it the other way around?

Awesome. I was getting ready for work a few weeks ago when I pulled these babies off the hanger fresh from the cleaners. You know when there all cardboard like and not really stretched out from wearing yet? So when I put them on they were a little snug and I did the little stretch number to loosen them up a bit. All of you ladies know what stretch thing I'm talking about. Right when I went to squat I heard the ripping noise and felt a cool breeze. ha! Needless to say, these pants died a natural death. Gone with the wind.

Much Love,

Jess

Show Us Your Life- Alma Mater

2011-02-18T11:33:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted a SHOW US YOUR LIFE in a long time! Thanks to Kelly for hosting! This week's SUYL is Show Us Your Alma Mater!

Mine is: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS!

GO MEAN GREEN!

I always enjoyed the UNT campus. It's pretty to look at and weirdly quiet. I also loved that it was not big at all. It only took me 10 minutes to walk for one side to the other.

Although there was not much school spirit in the way of football, one of our favorite activities was tailgating. ha! When I was there the stadium was kind of a joke. There were high school stadiums that were better than ours. Come on this is Texas right? I guess that's what I get for going to a school that has outstanding Art and Music programs. ha! Well I guess UNT got the memo because they have been building a new stadium that is out of this world!

I can't wait to go to the games once the new stadium opens!

Have a great Friday!

Much Love,

Jess

Can I get a "hell yeah"?

2011-02-17T19:20:00.001-08:00

Ok, so by now you should all know that I completely and utterly adore Britney Spears. Don't get me wrong, she is not my hero, and it is questionable if I will ever let me kids in on this with me. But homegirl really knows how to knock my socks off every time. Click HERE to see my girl throw it down.

Can I get a "hell yeah" for Brit's new video?

Thank you.

Now on to Five Question Friday! Thank you to Mama M. for hosting!

1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row?

If we are all being honest here, then the answer is yes. Who hasn't? I think that anyone who answers no to this question might be telling a little tale.

2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?

Well there are a few large cities that I have yet to see, like NY and LA. If I had to pick based on my experiences I think I would pick Dallas. I really love it here ;)

3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?

No kids. I hate riding in the car. I'm not even kidding when I tell you that I will fall asleep during a 30 minute car ride. I hate riding in the car so much that I just go to sleep. On the other hand I really like to fly. Hunter is totally opposite, he loves to drive places and "see the country". ha!

4. What is your idea of "spring cleaning"?

Well I am crazy when it comes to keeping a clean house so "spring cleaning" to me is going through closets and organizing everything.

5. What is the best book you have ever read?

I would have to say that the Twilight series books are the only books that I have ever read over and over again. Surprise, I know.

Much love,

Jess

Night Owl

2011-02-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a night person, actually I'm usually in bed by 9:00 PM. ha! I normally blog first thing in the morning, but I'm going to try this night blogging thing for a while. I just always feel kind of rushed in the mornings so we'll see if this works better for me.

So far this week has flown by! Yesterday and today were crazy busy at work. I feel like I am being pulled in 50 different directions and it's starting to get hard to keep everything in line. But I guess I will just have to push through and do the best I can right? right. I feel bad for even complaining a little about my job since there are so many people out there that don't have job. I'm sorry for those people and I really do love my job, but it frustrates me sometimes just like any other job out there.

Anyways, we had a good weekend, even though I'm a few days late posting. Friday night we went to Kirby's Steakhouse with Hunter's parents. It was sooo good. Kirby's is definitely one of my favorites. Saturday night we went to a birthday party and Sunday my parents took us to see the cirque du soleil show Ovo. It was awesome and a little freaky at the same time. There were some little acts that made me a little queasy. They way that those people bend themselves is c.r.a.z.y. ha!

Speaking of crazy. Did y'all see this?

Homegirl has lost her mind.

Much Love,

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-02-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for this day my whole life...well not really...but I have been waiting for this day since Monday! On to the fabulous 5QF questions brought to you by the one and only Mama M.!

1. Would you rather be on ABC's Extreme Home MakeOver or TLC's What not to Wear?

That's a tough one. I would love to be one either one. If you held a gun to my head and made me pick today, I would have to go with What Not to Wear since our house is currently on the market! ha!

2. Do you have any tattoos?

Sure do. I'm from the generation. You know, the one who views our bodies as blank canvases. Yeah, that one.

3. Do you tell your kids about things you did growing up?

Seeing as I have no kids at the moment, the simple answer is no. Will I tell my kids things about my life before them? hmmm...maybe when they are older. On second thought, I really don't like hearing about my Mama before she was Mama. Just kidding Mom, love you!

4. If the traffic signal turns yellow, do you stop or speed up?

I burn rubber baby! Bad.

5. What's your preference: chocolate or chips?

I have a totally uncontrollable sweet tooth. I can sniff out sweets within a mile radius. seriously, it's a problem.

Have a great weekend!

Jess

Motivation

2011-02-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

The fact that today is Thursday and I am one day away from Friday is pure motivation to not bang my head against my desk all day. The end

Snow Much Fun

2011-02-07T10:27:00.001-08:00

Not really...it was not that fun at all. Stuck in the house for4 days with nothing to do! We had wind chills of 14 BELOW zero! What the What? I know that probably sounds warm to some of you in the North, but I live in Texas for a reason, and it's not to play in the snow! ha! And out of the three times that I did leave the house, I fell twice. The second time got me pretty good. ha! On Friday the sun showed up and the roads were looking a lot better. Hunter had to actually get out our broom and sweep the 6 inches of snow off of his car before we could leave. crazy.

While we were out we came across this...

There were about 20 cars pulled over on the side of the road letting their kids sled down this ginormous hill! It was hilarious to watch them. Of course we use the term "sled" very loosely here in the great state of Texas. There was everything from trash can lids all the way to inflatable pool toys. ha!

We spent the rest of the weekend out and about after our four days of being stuck inside. We were suffering from some major cabin fever. Yesterday I went to the gun range with my mom and dad...

it was so much fun! Have a great week!

Much Love,

Jess

I won!

2011-02-02T07:22:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was awarded my very first blogger award and I couldn't be more excited!

Thank you A million times over to Shareena at Sherry Merry Go Round!

I feel so honored and I am smiling from ear to ear right now! Thanks for reading!

There are 4 duties to perform when you receive this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award!

2. Share 7 things about yourself:

I love just-from-the-dryer sheets

I was on the drill team in high school

I enjoy being around kids, they keep me feeling young ;)

I love getting my hair done, and pedicures, and massages! ha!

I dislike yard work

I love getting my car washed

I secretly wish I was the outdoorsy type

3. Award 15 recently discovered (by me anyway) great bloggers!

1. Mandy- Three Makes Five

2. Kim- Somethings Gotta Give

3. Lisa- Diary of a Newlywed

4. Megan- Fried Green Pickles

5. Julie- Girl in the Red Shoes

6. Betsy- Betsy Maddox

7. Claire- Country Mouse in the City

8. From Scotland to Texas

9. Jaclyn- Sparkle Birds

10. Kendall- Brown Eyed Southern Belle

11. Becky- The Branches

12. Melissa- This Life With You

13. Michelle- Wifey In Training

14. Jill- Woodsy Ivy

15. Rebecca- Only A Mama Knows

Thanks again for all the love!

Jess

HAPPY SNOW DAY!

2011-02-01T14:49:00.001-08:00

STAY WARM!

MUCH LOVE,

JESS

I strongly dislike short weekends

2011-01-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

My weekend flew by and before I could even blink I was greeted by Monday morning...boo. I had an event on Saturday morning followed by a baby shower. Saturday night Hunter and I had a little date night. we ate dinner at this little Cajun restaurant that we stumbled upon and went and saw The Rite, very creepy by the way. ha!

Then on Sunday, Hunter built me a "home studio" in our guest room and I had a little photo session. Here's a sneak peek...

Click here to see more! Overall I had a great weekend, just way too short!! ha!

Much Love,

Jess

This is not a political post...

2011-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

...but I just have to say that I recorded all of the episodes of Sarah Palin's Alaska that was on TLC. I thought that I would maybe watch one episode and move on, but I must confess that I am hooked. I don't even care about the political aspect of it. I like seeing her family and seeing that they are just a normal family. Her kids fight like all siblings, her teenage daughter rolls her eyes and talks back just like any other teenager.
What I really love is that they go on all of these awesome outdoor adventures. It just looks like so much fun. They go fishing and camping and hunting. I'm sure they did it all for the show, but I totally want to take a trip to Alaska now.
I have also learned little facts about Alaska, like did you know that 98% of the world's Grizzly bears call Alaska home? Just food for thought. ha!

Much Love,

Jess

Oh baby

2011-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I had a mini photo session with one of my good friends who is very pregnant. She is due in the beginning of March, and it's a baby girl! I can't wait! I wanted to share some of the shots we got, I love taking pictures of her because 1.) she listens to my commands, ha! and 2.) she is sooooo photogenic!

Click here to view more. Thanks for stopping by!
Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-01-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

It's Friday again...woooooohooooo! I'm so glad that it's the weekend. We don't have any big plans, I'm taking maternity pictures of a friends tomorrow so I'm pretty excited about that. Anyways, on to the questions from Mama M.!

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?

Hunter and I met through a mutual friend. I hate to admit it but it wasn't actually love at first sight. We were best friends before we ever started dating, we hung out practically every night. One day we just knew that we should be together and that's all she wrote!

2. What is your favorite room in your house?

I think that currently my favorite room in my house is my bedroom. I decorated in blue and brown and it's just very relaxing to me. That is of course subject to change next week. ha!

3. Can you wiggle your ears?

Not hardly. Are there really people out there who can? That's hilarious!

4. What is your evening ritual?

I head to the gym after work, go home and cook/eat dinner and then I take a hot bath while catching up on shows. You are jealous I know but before you judge please remember that I don't not have little punks running around yet and as soon as I do I KNOW that this will change and I will be lucky to squeeze in one hot bath a week if that, so I am going to enjoy my baths while I still can! ha!

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

My body prefers 9-11 hours, I usually get around 7. This girl needs her sleep and if I haven't had at least 6 hours don't even bother!

Have a Fabulous weekend!

Jess

some random stuff

2011-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

Dewey had a play date at my parent's house yesterday. After work I went to pick him up and I was standing in the kitchen talking to my parents. My brother came in the door shortly after I did. He kicked off his shoes and come in the kitchen to join in on the conversation. I was saying something to my mom as I looked down at my brother's feet and started laughing uncontrollably!

The boy had on, not only two different socks, but one was inside out! We all started laughing and I kept asking him why he would do that, his response was "they are both socks so who cares". Classy.

It's cold here again-that means that it's time for me to hibernate and do a lot of this

P.S. Just in case you have been living under a rock, my girl Britney dropped a new single last week. Oh. My. I love her so much and I can't help but to gush with pride. I kind of feel like what I imagine a parent would feel like when their child overcomes the odds stacked up against them. Go Brit Brit!

Much Love,

Jess

bummed...but still at it

2011-01-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

So a week ago today I started Weight Watchers, well sort of. I only want to lose 10 pounds so I am just using a friend's book to track my points. I did pretty well the first week and I thought for sure that I would have lost a pound or two...nope. NOT. ONE. POUND. I am going to keep tracking my points and stay with it for the next couple of weeks just to see if anything changes. We'll see. I wanted to share a blog with you that is written by a lady who includes all of the WW points in her recipes. She makes some pretty yummy stuff! Click on the link to go to her page www.skinnytates.com.

That's all I got for now,

Jess

2011-01-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

I was going to update you with things that I did over the weekend, but I felt like this was more important. I was reading Angie Smith's blog when I saw a post requesting prayers for Joanne. She had a stroke last week at 38 years old. I don't know her but after reading her blog I was touched and I feel like it's only right that I extend the request for prayers to all of you. This could be any of us, our mother, sister, friend. Please lift this family up in prayer for Joanne's healing!

Jess

Five Question Friday!

2011-01-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

It's Friday. I'm am so done with this week...it was sooooo slow! It's time for you to learn 5 more things about me! Here are the questions from Mama M.!

1. What movie could you watch over and over again and not get tired of?

That's a good one! There are a few. You all know that I love Twilight, so that's a given. I could watch those movies everyday for the rest of my life. ha! The Notebook also tops my list along with, Dirty Dancing, and Cocktail.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve right now?

I have too many. What does that say about me? ha! At this moment in my life I think my biggest pet peeve is....people not being polite.

3. If you had to describe your best friend in five words or less, what would you say?

Beautiful, sweet, honest, trendy, and gangsta at times (just like me!ha!)

4. If you did not have to worry about money or go to school what would you do for a living?

I would take pictures....of everything...all the live long day!

5. What is your one "splurge" item, that you will always buy, no matter the cost?

I really "splurge" on hair care products....and facial products. I LOVE Kinerase moisturizer and thanks to my mom and dad (I love you!) I haven't had to purchase this stuff on my own yet, but I totally would!

Have a GREAT weekend! It looks like mine is going to be rainy. boo!

Jess

these are my confessions

2011-01-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

I thought that it was time to confess some things to you, especially those of you who have been there since the beginning. After all, this whole blogging thing is all about getting to know each other right? right. mkay...

1. I hate waking up in the morning. To the point where I don't like to speak...to anyone. My poor husband finally learned this after three years of marriage. Nothing against you honey, just don't want to be awake. ha!

2. I absolutely LOVE Eminem. I know. I can't help it. He is so sexy in a wud up gangsta kind of way. Love him. Which leads to confession #3

3. When I drink adult beverages I think I am a Gangsta.

4. I use foul language way more than I should. Like in public places where children are present. Bad.

5. I am in LOVE with Britney Spears. Lesbian crush kind of love. I kid.

The old Britney:

And the new:

No discrimination here! ha!

6. I am an irritable person. Period. This is something that I am really working hard on because it is so exhausting to be irritated all of the time.

7. I secretly wish I was a cattle farmer.

8. I have food cravings like a pregnant person, except that I'm not. Weird.

9. I really enjoy my job, but sometimes I want to pull a Jerry McGuire. "Who's comin with me?"

10. I wish I had an Entourage like 'Lil Kim. Yep, it's true.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jess

cold weather calls for chili!

2011-01-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

I have been waiting for it to get cold enough to make a pot of chili, and this week was the week! I have never made homemade chili before so this was my first try. With some guidance from my mom, who is a great cook, I think I was successful!

Jessica's Chili

Sorry about the pinches, and a little of this and a little of that, I have a tendency to not measure but I will do my best.

What you need:

1 tbsp. butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. ground turkey/pork/beef (whatever you prefer)

1 can tomato sauce

1 can crushed tomato

1 can kidney beans

about 1 tbsp. chili powder

about 1 tbsp. cumin

about 1 tbsp. paprika

A pinch or two of dried jalapenos or crushed red pepper

Chicken broth for thinning

Heat butter in a large sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add rest of the ingredients except chicken broth. Cover and cook over medium heat for about two hours and let everything really get to know each other. Add chicken broth throughout cooking if chili gets too thick for your liking. Now for my favorite part, serve chili over Fritos topped with shredded cheese and chopped onions! Yummmmmy!

Stay Warm!

Jess

Weekend Review

2011-01-10T12:16:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday to anyone out there who is happy it's Monday...not me. I do not enjoy Monday's. Especially this one. This is our forecast for this week.

photo from www.wfaa.com

I know to most of you this is nothing, but I'm in Texas y'all and we see one snowflake and we freak out. ha! Hunter and I want to the Apple store yesterday morning to take my first "Apple school" class to learn how to use my fancy new computer. It was raining pretty good when we left our house and about an hour later when we were sitting in the class we looked out the window and saw huge snowflakes coming down. It snowed pretty much all day and everything that was on the ground froze last night. So needless to say, I was late to work this morning.

Besides the crappy weather day yesterday, the rest of the weekend was pretty nice. Saturday when went to a birthday party for a friend's little boy who turned four and they have another on the way.

So Cute!I ended the weekend swearing off cooking because I sliced my finger with one of my new, very sharp, knives. It was bad. It matches the one on my other index finger from the last time I got into a fight with one of my knives in the kitchen.

Hope you have a great Monday afternoon!

Jess

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY!!

2011-01-07T06:12:00.001-08:00

It's the first 5QF of 2011 brought to you by none other than the awesome Mama M.!

1. What is your current favorite book, and why?

For the last couple of years nothing has topped the Twilight series on my list of favorites. Pathetic, I know. But before you go getting all judgemental on me, have you even read the books? That's what I though. Anyways, Hunter got me Chelsea Handler's book "Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea" and I LOVE it. She is hysterical!

2. Do you go to the dentist regularly?

Absolutely! There is something about keeping my teeth clean that tops my list of "must do or I will die". Just kidding about the dying part, but really I do visit the dentist regularly.

3. What is your worst memory from High School?

Dear High School: I don't miss you. At all. The end.

4. What do you hope to be remembered for in your life?

That is kind of a heavy question. I wish that I had the stomach to be a doctor or a nurse so people would remember me for saving lives, but since I get queasy even talking about blood...ew it just happened....that is out of the question for me. So....I guess I would like to be remembered for always being willing to help my friends and family no matter what. I want them to remember me for having a good and caring heart.

5. Are you superstitious or do you have any superstitions?

I used to be...somewhere along the line I got to lazy to care. Ha!

Have a great Friday!

Jess

transparency & a funny story

2011-01-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

I try to post everyday. It usually doesn't happen, it's more like every other day and if I having a bad day or a bad week then forget about it. ha! Sometimes I stumble onto blogs that seem like the writers really have it all. They have perfect lives and never have bad days and that irritates me because we all know that nobody has a perfect life. I usually don't post when I'm having a bad day because I don't want to put that negative energy out there and I really don't want you to think that I'm complaining because while my life is not perfect, I have very little to complain about. I don't want this to be one of those blogs that people stumble on and think that my life is peachy and I have it all together, because let me tell you, I don't. ha! But who does right? So from now on I promise to post even if I am having a bad day or week and let you know about it. Who knows, maybe one of you is having a bad day too and we can have a pity party together. Mkay? mkay....

On to my funny story...This little guy stayed at my parent's house

yesterday while Hunter and I were at work.

When I got there to pick him up my mom had put one of Dublin's doggie sweaters on Dewey. If you have been reading my blog then you have seen pictures of Dublin and Dewey together and you have noticed that Dublin is way bigger than Dewey.

So the sweater appeared to fit ok. I let Dewey go outside before we got in the car, my Dad let him back in while I was talking to my mom. He was acting a little funny but I didn't really pay much attention to it. I picked him up to leave and there was something wet almost like he layed in water. So I flipped him over and the underneath part of his sweater was soaking. I realized that the doggie sweater actually was a little too big/long and covered up his...well you get the pictures. When he went potty it must have shot straight up into the sweater...awesome. Only my dog would find a way to have an accident in his doggie sweater. Needless to say he got a bath last night and all is well now.

Have a great day!

Jess

A New Year

2011-01-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am back at work recovering from a 12 day vacation. I know right! I had 12 whole days off and I really did not want to go to work today. But here I am. Christmas is over, and it's 2011 already! I can't believe that! I don't normally make New Year's resolutions but this year I thought I would give it a try. Here goes

Stop rushing around. I have this terrible habit of rushing, even when I'm not in a hurry. I am going to try my best to slow down in 2011
I am going to try not to sweat the small stuff...really. I know that sounds kind of cliche, but I let myself get way too worked up over little stuff that really does not matter when all is said and done
Go outside more. I really don't spend enough time outside on pretty days
Take one day at a time. I get really overwhelmed because I try to take too much on at one time. I am going to try to live on day at a time in the moment.

We'll start with that. I am really going to do my best to stick to this and revisit this post if I feel myself slipping. Hopefully this will prevent any 2011 posts about how busy and stressed I am! ha!

Much Love,

Jess

A whole week!

2010-12-30T06:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a whole week since I posted. I know you guys missed me. ha! I decided not to post over Christmas and take time to spend with my family. I have had all week off of work and I really haven't even thought about blogging this week. We have been so busy every day. I have a confession...I have been doing a little shopping while I have been off work. ha! I thought I would share some of the pictures from our Christmas.

Yes I got a MacBook, and yes I'm in love...although it's a toss up between that and my new Coach purse!

My brother got a new computer too...yes he's in love.

We ate way too much!! And I got drunk on these babies.

Dewey loved all of his toys and treats that Santa brought him. He was a very good boy so he got a lot! ha! We spent Christmas Eve with Hunter's family. His brother was in town from Colorado and it was really good to see him.

Then we spent Christmas day with my family. My grandma always comes to our house for Christmas and I'm so lucky that she is still able to travel to us.

We also had a surprise visitor, my great-grandmother! My great aunt brought her to see us and I was so glad that she was able to come spend Christmas with us. We spent the day eating and laughing and just enjoying each other's company. It once again reminded me how lucky I am to have such a great family.

I hope that your Christmas was just a great as ours was! Now we are getting ready to ring in 2011!!

Much Love,

Jess

ICE ICE BABY!

2010-12-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

Every year during Christmastime, my parents organize some kind of family Christmas activity. Sometimes we go see A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker. This year we all decided that we wanted to go to the Gaylord Texan to see ICE!
We had been before, but they change the theme every year and this year it's Charlie Brown. How cute! Everyone met up for dinner first and then we headed to the Gaylord. In the years past it has been crowded but not unbearable. Things change. ha! We got to the hotel right at 8:00PM. We decided that it would be better to valet our cars so that my dad didn't have to walk so far (still recovering from back surgery). There were only about 10 cars in front of us in the valet line. 45 minutes late we had not moved. r.e.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s. When you buy tickets you have to pick a "show time" and you cannot be late, we were already almost 30 minutes passed our show time. I was soooo bummed. But my parents are going to call today and explain the situation-we were there in their unorganized valet line-and see if they will let us come another day. Oh well...

Hunter and I are having our little Christmas tonight. We always pick a day before we are with our parents and open presents and have our own Christmas dinner. I'm excited!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2010-12-21T06:22:00.001-08:00

We had a great weekend. We did a little last minute shopping on Saturday and we are officially done with everyone on our list!! That was exciting! On Saturday night we went to Sundance Square in Fort Worth with my parents. It is always sooooo pretty during the holidays. Please excuse the pictures, they were taken with my phone. :) And it was just cold enough to get me in the Christmas spirit!

Have a great week!

Much Love,

Jess

Perfect For Christmas Parties!

2010-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give you the recipe for these little appetizers. They are great to take to parties or serve before Christmas dinner! Click HERE for the recipe!

SHOW US YOUR LIFE- CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little late posting on Kelly's Show Us Your Life...oops! Anyways, I had a great weekend. It's really starting to feel like Christmas, my mom even made Divinity, and it turned out so good! Yummy!

We don't really have a ton of space to do it up BIG for Christmas but I love decorating in the space that we do have! I will start off with my Christmas trees because I love them! Here is the one in the living room...

And this is the fun one that we started this year. There are not a lot of ornaments yet, but I figured that we will start collecting them each year.

I broke down and got us some new stocking this year. They are a huge upgrade from the $4 ones we had from WalMart...ha! They served their purpose, but it was time to retire them!

This is the centerpiece on our table. I had the jar from Hunter's grandpa and I got some fake snow and a red candle to go in it...a mini wreath and voila...our own little Winter Wonderland in a jar!

I love these guys. I got them at Kirklands after Christmas last year for almost nothing! You can put little tea lights in the bottom and they glow!

And who can have Christmas without a little sparkle?

Merry Christmas!

Jess

Five Question Friday-Christmas!

2010-12-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

It's already Five Question Friday!!! What happened to the week? Here are the questions from Mama M. today!

1. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
I'm a lucky girl because I get to open presents on both days! I know right? We celebrate with Hunter's parents on Christmas Eve and we celebrate with my parents on Christmas day. We are so blessed to have two families that surround us on the holidays.

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie (or candy)?
Have you ever tried Hershey's Candy Cane kisses? No, you must go out right now and get a bag, I bet there won't be any left at the end of the day! They are delicious! And to make them even better, last year my mom made sugar cookie cups with these babies in the middle. I died and went to heaven. And then I came back for more cookies. ha!

3. What's the worst Christmas gift you've ever received? I have to say that I have never received a bad gift, and even if I had I would never say so. It's the thought that counts, right? ;)
4. Christmas song that you love?
My very favorite Christmas song is "O Holy Night". The runners up would be, "Baby it's Cold Outside" and "Frosty the Snowman"
5. How many trees do you put up?
I have ALWAYS wanted to put up more than one tree, it's a unexplained phenomenon. This year I got my wish!! We got a new tree for our living room, which we decorated with Red, white, and silver. Then we have a "fun" tree in our guest room. It's a white tree and we put lime green decorations on it. I think it's so cute!
Have a great weekend!
Much Love,

Jess

blah blah blah

2010-12-09T06:21:00.001-08:00

It has been one of those weeks. Not a good week, but not really a bad week either. Hunter has been out of town for work...driving all over the Northeast...in a blizzard! That has had me a tiny bit worried. But he's home safe now. I have just been in kind of a funk this week...I can't really explain it. I hate that I have been feeling like this because it is so close to Christmas and I LOVE Christmas. So as of two minutes ago I am so over whatever had me in a funk...done. ha! I love wrapping Christmas gifts, it's therapeutic to me, very soothing. So last night I rounded up everything that needed wrapping and went to town while catching up on shows that were on the DVR. Then I made so ornaments for our "fun" tree in our guest room. It's a white tree that we are decorating with lime green and silver. Here are the ornaments that I made for it last night.

I made some red ones last year, so I thought maybe I will make this a tradition!

Much Love,

Jess

Woo Hoo it's Friday!

2010-12-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo glad that it's Friday. I do have to attend a short Christmas cocktail thingy for work tonight, but after that I'm home free! I haven't participated in Mama M.'s Five Question Friday in a while and I know that you are just dying to know 5 more random things about me :) So here you go....

1. What's on the top of your holiday wish list and why?!

I really do not need anything at all. I feel bad for wanting when some many people do without this time of year....buuuuuttt if you are going to make me pick something I would have to go with BearPaw boots. They are like Uggs but way cheaper and just as comfortable. I am all about chillin' out lately so these are right up my alley. ha!

2. What is your favorite Christmas gift from the past?

Well, I have been VERY fortunate in my life to get tons of great stuff from my family and Hunter. I would say that my favorite gift would be DEWEY! My mother -in-law got him for me for Christmas three years ago. I don't know what I would do without my little guy!

3. If you had life to do over, what would you be when you grow up?

A nurse. I can't stand the sight of blood, it brings me to my knees every time. But lately I have had this nagging feeling of wanting to make a difference...cheesy huh?

4. When do you put up your tree?
Always the day after Thanksgiving. Even though I had the whole week off I could not bring myself to put it up before Thanksgiving...it just 'aint right.

5. What is your favorite Holiday?
It is a total toss up between Christmas and Halloween. If I had to choose right this minute it would be Christmas because I'm all in the spirit. ha!

Much Love,

Jess

A House Divided

2010-12-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are a house divided. We agree on most things, agree to disagree on others. Most of the time we get along pretty well. There is one little thing that just might tear us apart...

Just kidding about the tear us apart. ha! But this is the one thing that we can't seem to agree on. I thought that this would be a great time to write this post since Harry Potter came out last week and the Eclipse DVD comes out this Friday! Woo Hoo! I am totally a Twi-hard and Hunter thinks Harry Potter is the best thing since sliced bread. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the Harry Potter movies but I have never read any of the books. I always go with Hunter opening weekend to see the HP movies and they are always really good. This last one was really good...different from the others, but still really good! There is something about The Twilight Saga that has a total grip on me though. I know that someone (or a million others) out there understands. The difference between me and Hunter and our "obsessions" is well let's be honest, his is not really an obsession, but moving on...I never let him go with me to see the movies when they come out. I feel like he gets bored and thinks that the whole thing is stupid, so he doesn't go. My mom and I started a tradition to go to the first showing on opening day, we have a lot of fun! Hunter does watch them with me when they come out on DVD :) So needless to say, we will be spending Friday night watching Eclipse!! I can't wait!

Much Love,

Jess

Thankful

2010-11-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was GREAT! Lots of food and family! I had an awesome week off from work but it was soooo hard to get up and get going this morning. Ha! First things first...last year I started a tradition making The Pioneer Woman's delicious cinnamon rolls for Christmas. I got started on them last week while I had some time off. They get easier every time I make them...but the mess never gets any smaller...ha!

Thursday we went to my parents for Thanksgiving dinner. I made this dip...

and these artichoke thingys for appetizers...

I also made Sweet Potato Casserole for the first time and I really liked it! Click here for the recipe!

We had fun taking pictures outside..even though it was freezing!

Me and Hunter...

The kids with Grandma...

The whole family!
Me and Mom... The guys watching The Cowboys get stomped by The Saints...hehehe

The Turkey...YUM!
Dewey taking a nap with my Dad...he loves his Papa so much!

Staying warm by the fire...

Have a great week!

Much Love,

Jess

Staycation Day 2

2010-11-23T06:35:00.001-08:00

I'm enjoying the second day of my "staycation" with a hot cup of coffee reviewing that pictures from my photo shoot yesterday. It's been a while since I have taken pictures of kids and I forgot how much energy three year olds have! I have a couple of errands to run today, then I think I am going to have Hunter get all of our Christmas stuff out of the attic...he will be thrilled. ha!
Click here to see some of the pictures from yesterday...

Much Love,
Jess