& that's a wrap. 2013.

I cannot believe that tomorrow is New Years Eve. I also can't believe that Christmas came last week. This year flew by. My husband & I are graciously off this week from work and I am so happy. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas with your family. My hubs & I are starting to begin our own traditions for the holidays, kind of getting them started for when we have our own kids. Christmas morning started out with Chris making us breakfast and him unwrapping a gift from his family - this one had strict 'Don't open til Christmas'. His brother bought us a Wii U and his sister's gift was a new Wii U game. Which was perfect because I had bought a Zumba game for the Wii U - I am opening it tomorrow :)

Afterwards - we headed to my parents for the afternoon of opening more presents, a nice lunch and just time with my family. When we got there - wrapping paper & boxes were strewn all over my parents because my sisters & little nephew just couldn't wait til we got there to open their gifts. So - everyone was all happy when we got there because we had gifts for them & we got all of our gifts right then and there. A tad hectic. Honestly it was one of those years when each gift I got - I loved & were a favorite. My sister got us a Mickey Ornament that she was stoked to give us because it was 'so US!' It was so cute. My brother/sis in law got us a Starbucks gift card which they knew I'd be overly excited for. My parents got us gifts - some individual & some for both of. Two of my faves from all of them: my mom sewed us throw pillows for our couch & my husband surprised me with *early* Disney season passes!

BUT TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF 2013! WHAAA?!

I posted this on my Facebook last night because I thought it was important to be transparent. I saw a post on a friend's blog over the weekend and having a 'word of the year' and after much reflection. I think my word of 2014 is going to be TRANSPARENT. To a degree - I have no problem being honest with family & friends about my personal goals for the new year. In fact - there are 4 main things about this next year that I fully plan on being TRANSPARENT about & accomplishing wholeheartedly:

2013 has been kind of a roller-coaster ride for us. Honestly there;s a few things I'm thrilled for in 2014:
1) Making a noticeable dent for repayment of student loans.
2) Continuing to make sacrifices for my hubs in all aspects of our lives.
3) Continue to be more active & healthy.
4) Seek out new adventures for ourselves daily.

I'm really excited for the blessings, joys, and even the lessons to be learned in 2014 & for a fresh slate.  Ps. I am really stoked that I am ending the year with Tijuana Flats!! :) :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! You stay classy :) -- Jessica

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas (Eve), y'all! The past 48 hours I've been cramming as many Christmas-y movies in my life as humanly possible. Last night I re-watched Christmas Vacation. Tonight I am determined to watch Elf, shockingly haven't watched it & am making sugar cookies/peanut butter fudge for tomorrow. 

Hubs & I are SO excited for 2014 and that all of our hard foundational work these last few years will start paying off next year. I thought about it & I want to share my top 5 BEST moments of 2013.

Ohhh snap - the GOOD:

1) I graduated with my Master's after 3+ years of grueling papers, sleep deprivation and changing my major a few times. April 27th is a day I will never forget. 

2) I worked my booty off at work & it paid off two fold. I earned Top Performer at work & then I was promoted in November to my new position.

3) I celebrated my big ol' 28th birthday with my first-ever Disney cruise. & had this amazing drink with my hubs in paradise. :) 

4) My best friend got married. Love you, Mrs. Rhodes :)

5) I celebrated 10 years of friendship with this lady (We equally looove Ross!) 

Overall - I had a pretty fantastic year. I learned, I grew, I soared. I learned more about my marriage and how to serve my husband best. I grew to love Mexican food, and helped my husband appreciate chick flicks and why they are needed. I soared - I graduated with my Master's, I met new friends through blogging. I lost some weight (more to come on that). I discovered what I liked, what I didn't & appreciated why I am blessed. Once again, family trumps everything. I am ready for 2014 to come & for the opportunity to learn more about my life and those around me. Have a very Merry Christmas & stay classy. - Jessica

Weekends, #Coldstone & work Christmas parties!

Happy Monday, lovelies!

Hope everyone had a fantastic relaxing weekend. I took my sisters Christmas shopping Saturday & was able to take advantage of the 10% discount they gave over the weekend. I also felt generous & treated my sister to Starbucks as a tradition we have. It was rushed but we have sister dates every so often. Then I spent the next evening fighting with my Mom's sewing machine & sadly, her machine won & I got zilch sewing done. That leaves tomorrow to finish all 3 projects.

Overall - I had a fairly fantastic weekend. Yesterday, my mister & I saw Frozen. I liked it but I guess I am more of an old school when it comes to Disney princess movies. I prefer that if you have a princess w/ a love interest whatsoever that they get married at some point. I feel like I prefer Tangled over Frozen, because I was more engaged & while there were funny moments - I was falling asleep in the movie.

However, after the movie - my hubs & I treated ourselves to #Coldstone, we definitely take advantage of the Groupon offers occasionally. My hubs went with Peppermint flavored & I went with Peppermint & Cookie Dough w/ Cake Batter ice cream - my signature preference.

Last night was our annual Christmas party at work. Every year, our company makes it the party of the year with incredible food, desserts, entertainment - and for the second year in the row - we brought my parents. It's nice to introduce them to my friends at work. So many people go so its hard to see people you know. They must've known I was coming with the mini red velvet cupcakes for dessert. Only one of the options, I had some of a brownie sundae complete w/ maraschino cherries, ice cream, warm hot fudge - the works. & on the way out - I had a flaming s'more. Incredible.

My parents & I always take pictures together at this party because I'm blessed they are my parents. & because I want people to come see how good we look. We take sweet selfies.

 Hope you & your family have a very Merry Christmas! Thankful for all of you who I met this year through my blog & excited to meet even more through various linkups to come. You stay classy! - Jessica

#12daysofblogging: my Wish List

Hiiii there. For those just stopping by my blog - welcome, glad you're here. I've seen this linkup come through a few times and I just never found the time to get my post up & shared. So - here we go. First time on this particular linkup. Onward & upward.

Decided to join this linkup on day 9 of #12daysofblogging! if you’re just joining us, you can find out more about the Christmas linkup here. Today’s prompt is “Christmas wishlist”. get inspired and spread the Christmas spirit! 

Once we get past all the giftcards this woman could enjoy - there are a few items that I'd love to see under the tree next week. 

 Black Amethyst anything & everything is pretty freaking fantastic.
My sister actually got me fairly excited about this scent when she had the body butter in her room. When I'd be over at my parents, I'd always take a detour into her room just to have the opportunity of using her body butter. She no longer has this so its up to my parents or myself to go the distance.

If I could walk into my kitchen on Christmas Day & have my kitchen re-modeled to something similar like this. My husband & I are just beginning loan repayment from grad school & its simply not something we can even think of seriously for another 15 years.

I take tons & have tons of good pictures from my wedding & life since to put in canvasses up around my house. While I want bigger sizes, just having the money to be able to afford the opportunity would be fantastic.

I am pretty blessed - I have everything I needed & these are just wishes. Over time they will go from wishes to the opportunity of having them happen but for now -- I just like to think of these 3 things as ideas that I wish for. Thanks for stopping by & hope you have a Merry Christmas! :) - Jessica

TGBTL Week #3: My (fave) Go-to Recipe!

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! Absolutely loving these link ups & getting to spend time making new friends. For those who just stopped by my blog - welcome, glad you're here. Every Wednesday, I link up with Hayley & Lauren for 'The Girl Between the Lines' linkup. If you want to share or need more info on this fantastic linkup, go here!

Today's prompt is: What is my go-to meal?

I love cooking and I discovered this recipe while I was a Pampered Chef consultant. For those who are unclear of what Pampered Chef is - its amazing cookware. It's pricey but worth it for those who love cooking/baking :)

Anywho - the story behind this recipe is that since I have a late shift every week - I was getting frustrated because I'd get home and not feel like I had any good substance meals for my husband & I. I still get frustrated from time to time since that hasn't changed but I am addicted to this recipe & it's worth the time prepping/cooking because you can tweak it as much as you want. For example: I love pepperoni & mushrooms - and because this is individualized to a degree - if I wanted to add that in on mine -- I could & it would be a fantastic win-win.

Now that I've written a mini novel as my back story, my go to recipe is Pizza Sliders.
[Set your oven to 415 & your timer for 11 minutes.]

Ingredients: 1 bowl (I use my batter bowl), 1 packet of yeast. 1 tsp sugar. 1 c warm water*Also - pizza sauce, shredded cheese, optional toppings. & Pam spray. 

NOTE: I've found that it's easier to prep the dough the night before & keep it chilled. Much easier to work with and takes most of the work away for dinner. (Win win!)

• Empty the yeast into your bowl with the sugar & water. *NOTE: It's vital that the water is a good balance of warm & not too hot. If its too hot - I've found that it makes everything complicated)*
  
• Mix everything, set a timer for 10-11 minutes. I look for a bubble-sh form so I know everything is good.
  After the 10 minutes -in the same bowl, add 2-2 1/2 c. of bread flour, 2 Tbs of olive oil, dash of salt. Mix up, but don't over mix! Flour counter top. Roll out dough. Cut out individual circles/or whatever cutter you have on hand.

 

** Fill in each space of your brownie pan, w/ a spray of Pam & a circle of dough so it should resemble something like this. (Put a spoonful of pizza sauce in there as illustrated on the left).*

Put as much or little of shredded cheese/pepperoni as you'd like on each piece. 

& then you will have this amazingness waiting for you!

This recipe is so popular in my household that I sometimes double the batch if I want to have more on hand or if its a busy week so that its a quick & easy meal. It's a favorite with my husband too. :)

SO WHAT! Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! I cannot believe Christmas is a week from today. I'm ready for it, mostly. Today I am linking up with Shannon for her awesome weekly 'So What Wednesday'. 

This week (& lately) I am saying SO WHAT if:

1) I emailed the chick on my husband's team to say THANK YOU for his new wallet that she so generously gifted for Secret Santa. I love my husband but he is too frugal sometimes.

2) I've been counting down to my office's Secret Santa/Cookie exchange on Friday morning; so that I can start making Christmas cookies early.

3) I got my vacation days approved at work for the week of New Years. Already excited about the possibilities & the fact that this explains my more-than-cheeriness lately:



4) My sister's Varsity Basketball Christmas tournament is at my alma mater high school this weekend. I can't wait to show up there after ten years & eagerly cheer on the other team (just a bit too excited)!

5) I have my own recipes for Christmas cookies but just in case Pinterest has something I may have overlooked, they have replaced Google searches for the most part.

6) Anytime I get a cute picture of my husband & I, like the ones from this weekend @ SeaWorld, I'll instantly put them on my Instagram with awesome hashtags. #makingmemoriescount

7) I've watched the amazing, hilarious National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie twice in a week. The Griswolds have the perfect quotes. Already planning to watch it again twice, before the end of the year.

Absolutely love this link up. Thanks for stopping by. You stay classy :) - Jessica

Sewing, Family & Chocolate

Hi lovelies! Just thought I'd pop in - last night I was working on my attempted linkup but then my computer died & I hadn't saved my post - to make a frustrating story shorter - I decided I needed 'me time'. I caved and found this big Santa ($1 at Wal-Mart) that was calling my name. Sometimes chocolate can be your best friend or at least make a rough week better.

This weekend I am once again humbled by my family, especially my mom. She is 8 months away from graduating with her Master's in Occupational Therapy & took time to help me get at least 2/3 done with my sewing projects even though she had a big amount of homework to do. I learned what servant leadership is because of her and her example. Almost done with my dad's gift & my parents' combined gift but next week - I will be finishing those & my nephews. Is anyone else waiting for gifts they ordered online? Looks like I'll be making some calls this week. Starting to become a nail biter again. 

Welp, so far its been a nice weekend - doing the wife thing with laundry & house stuff. Tomorrow we're taking advantage of our Sea World passes & the nice weather to celebrate in their Christmas festivities. I'm excited to have the time with my husband - and taking lots of pictures together & those cute animals. :) Wishing all of you a restful Sunday in all of your adventures!

- Jessica

Finish the Sentence with Holly & Jake

 
Woot. I am on a blogging spree today. I found this linkup while browsing other blogs and because I feel like a chatty Cathy today - I need something to take the edge off. If you are just stopping by my blog - welcome. This is my first successful attempt at this linkup & I've officially made a reminder on my phone to make this a consistent date. (I have to plan ahead or I will feel like this):

1. My favorite Christmas was the first one I had when I was dating my now-husband, Chris. I had just moved halfway across the country two and a half months prior - and met his family all at once. I wasn't expecting much from them since they didn't know me but it made me so happy when I got quite a few presents under the tree from my future in-laws because they wanted too. Extra bonuses for me :)

2. The worst Christmas I had was probably when I was in my first year of college. At the time, I went to school out of state so when I returned for a month- I was in that weird limbo/transition state. I just felt like I didn't belong being home. (Glad that feeling is gone!)*

3. That one gift that made me scratch my head and say, "Hmmmm" was when my grandparents gave me an emergency car kit. Still unsure of the logic there - I mean I get the safety logic but wasn't too thrilled to be seventeen and get a car emergency kit. #awkward

4. One year I made an effort to stay up late and help my mom with wrapping gifts, adjust stockings & it made us even closer since she had so much to get done.

5. I think the worst gift to give is a gift card. Especially to a place I never go too. It's quick but pretty meaningless unless you're just at a complete lost - then why not, send a text & get ideas. *I over analyzed that.*

6. At Christmastime I typically pretty chill. I am a bargain hunter & get great deals. So I feel pretty good, I just have to remind myself to watch the sugar intake & not indulge TOO much.*

7. Typically, family Christmas is with my husband & my parents/siblings. The real chaos comes when my in-laws move here next Christmas. 

8. If I could change one thing about the Holiday season, I wouldn't. Goes to fast as is.

9. It is so hard to buy for my brother. He is very picky & I never know if he will like my gifts unless I get really lucky. Like last year with the TMNT pajama pants @ Tarjay. That was golden.

10. My favorite Christmas tradition is watching Charlie Brown Christmas while making Christmas cookies.

11. Santa, baby, bring me an entire new wardrobe, courtesy of Kohl's. That's not too hard is it ;)

Be blessed! - Jessica

TGBTL Week #2: Favorite Holiday things

To be honest, I've been excited to share since last week's post. For those who are just stopping by my blog - welcome. Each Wednesday, I am posting in 'The Girl Between the Lines' linkup started by two ladies that I am excited to get to know more. Check out more information here if you'd like to join us today or each week! Today's prompt is my favorite holiday things which I do not mind sharing at all. :) There are quite a few of them so I will try to pick my absolute favorites so you're not reading a riveting post as long as War & Peace.

My first one to share of favorite holiday gifts is the time with my family. Now that I am married with a little family of my own and living on my own - I don't feel like I see my family enough. Granted my mom is my best friend & they live 30 minutes away but still - I absolutely love that as long as I can remember - the holidays bring my family together each year. When I am with them on Christmas Day, we have our traditions that we've always had - the sibling picture in front of the Christmas tree, my mom makes cinnamon rolls, mini ones to resemble a Christmas tree & before any gifts are opened - we dive into our stockings. :) This year feels just as special because of the recent loss in my family. A week ago, 12/5, my great grandma who was 98 years young went to be with Jesus. I gratefully got to be with family last week in Ohio to celebrate her, her incredible legacy and the fact that she's reunited with her Creator for eternity. :)

Secondly, I love to use this time to reflect on what God has blessed me with this year, in the good and bad. I feel that so many attempt those 'New Year' resolutions to try to change something about themselves -- these 'resolution' ideas only last until March, maybe. I like to sit and reflect with a cup of hot chocolate/mini marshmallows on top and appreciate what I've gleaned from this year. I've never had a year that was absolutely perfect  or that I got exactly what I wanted. My parents taught me while growing up to appreciate everything, whether good or bad. I really do appreciate the life that I have because it feels like something in my life is always changing, and sometimes I don't even notice it until months down the road. I would say that this year - I appreciate the relationships in my life - with my husband, my family, my friends - because when I need them, they're always on hand to support me.

While I could list many more -- I am going to end it with simply decorating inside & out for Christmas. I get so excited for the day after Thanksgiving because its when we pull out our tree, ornaments, lights, garland, the masses of wrapping paper & all those gifts that I already bought -- next year I am waiting longer to buy Christmas gifts. But it truly is my favorite time because C & I usually do the decorating first around the house - this year we put up garland around the house, bought extra Glade scents so we can walk in our house & smell pine trees & really feel more Christmas-y. Since we live in Florida, we don't get to enjoy snow or cold weather - we just get 365 days of humidity and killer heat. It's nice for beach days but not so much on Christmas day. Doesn't make it feel like Christmas when its 85 & you're all sweaty ;) I digress. My husband knows & appreciates that whenever we go on vacation -- I save to buy an ornament as a keepsake of our trip. We have an ornament from the Alamo from our honeymoon to the Riverwalk/San Antonio, TX. We have two 'first home' ones from my parents & grandparents when we closed on our house in 2011. This year we are adding the one from the Bahamas & one from our cruise ship. There are tons of ornaments from my childhood on my tree and I just love to remember the memories each Christmas.

Hope you've had a great week thus far, I had today off with my hubs. Thank God for nice weather & Universal passes. :)

Be blessed. -- Jessica

TGBTL Week #1: Photo & 3 Things.

Hello Wednesday! This has been an emotionally rough week for my family & I. Still waiting to see how the events will unfold but if you will just keep all of us in your prayers & thoughts for the time being -- I do greatly appreciate it.

Ever since I saw that Lauren was starting this new linkup - I was really excited. I keep trying to do the Hi Five for Friday link up & one day I might but right now - not happening. I also make it move to do So What Wednesday because it gives the middle of the week an edge. So, I've successfully added a few permanent calendar events to my phone to help me remember these linkups. Anywho - I'll save you the rambling because that's a gift for my husband.

Today I am going to share a picture with y'all of me with three of my favorite things about myself. At first this was a challenge but I consider myself a creative lady -- so here goes it.

The three things I absolutely LOVE about myself:

1) I married the best fit for myself. He is taking this picture that describe the following two things but my husband really is the cheese to my macaroni. He takes care of me, he always knows what to say when I need a laugh and he gives the best hugs.

2) I looooove Tijuana Flats & their Taco Tuesdaze which I took part in last night. That is my saving grace every other week. I also treated myself to some queso which is like liquid crack. It's just that good. I am trying really hard to lose the weight I need to but Tijuana Flats is my biggest indulgence.


3) I love date nights (or in this case - date lunches) with my husband that end up or involve Tijuana Flats in some case. My husband & I both work pretty hard during the week, and this year we graduated with our Master's degrees so now that we have our nights back -- its nice to be able to spend time together after 2+ years of just giving each other high fives before we went to sleep. We now have a date night every week except for this week which is sad.

That will do it for me this week. Look forward to hopping around and getting to know y'all on my lunch break. For those ladies who don't know and blog but want to meet other bloggers --- feel free to join the Girl Between the Lines linkup over at Lauren's blog. Thanks for stopping by. You stay classy, planet earth :) 

2014 {resolutions} begun.

One month from now, we'll be celebrating a new year. One month from now, we'll be starting or continuing our New Year's Resolutions. For the past few weeks, I've been trying to get re-pumped to hit back to the working out. I decided today that I wanted to start 31 days early on my goals for 2014. Boy did I start. I found this site (fitnessblender) which does at-home workouts, and they were just as intense as I need. Tonight I started with a ballet inspired barre workout & I will definitely be sore tomorrow. But I am ready to get back on it. I want to lose 10 lbs or more. I know most people wait until the New Year to start working out but usually these 'resolutions' don't make it past March. I got a significant amount to lose and am hoping to lose it all by my 3rd wedding anniversary. I made a daily 'workout date' on my phone to remind me that 1 hour of my day + good choices (all day) is vital to my success. I'm excited to see where I am weight wise as of January 1st.

I cannot believe its December. This year has flown by and so did my time off from work for Thanksgiving. Along with working out, my husband & I have a busy yet turning point *slash year* ahead with 2014. We've been working hard in the past few years and I feel like in the year to come - all of our efforts will start to pay off. Today & yesterday we got our tree up, I wrote & sent out our Christmas letter to family & friends and if not most importantly - we fiercely got our clean on. We cleaned our living room, re-organized what was in cabinets & out. I tackled a job I've been piling up - my side of the closet. (Ever since watching a season of Hoarders), I've noticed that I was starting to become one in my 'never throw anything away' mindset. I have a great big donation for Goodwill, room in my closet and I feel mentally more organized. I spent three hours in my closet today while watching a favorite show and while I am not done - I feel like I made a great big dent.

To wrap up our weekend - we got into the holiday spirit - happily.

We watched the classic 'Christmas Vacation' with great big laughs of the Griswold family.
& I enjoyed some hot chocolate. Since it doesn't snow here, I like to find ways to make the most of the Christmas season. :)

{jessica}