Why we're a #DisneyCruise couple (before we have any kids!)

It's no surprise that since we went on our first Disney cruise 4 years ago that I am quite simply enamored just with cruises but with Disney cruises also.

Each time I go on a cruise, the convo always seems to feel like this, especially if its with someone who doesn't know me as well.
Friend: What are you doing on your vacation?
Jess: I am going on a cruise!
Friend: Oh, cool, what ship?
Jess: Disney!
Friend: ::insert awkward stare at ceiling:: minutes later: oh, cool.

Yeah, you called it - that obvious elephant in the room. I don't have kids and I love Disney cruises. Yes, Disney is geared towards families with kids. Yes, that's not my current family dynamic. BUT - here's why I Disney cruise. It has nothing to do with THAT.

1) I love kids. I grew up around kids and when GOD is ready to bless us with that next step, though we are very excited and praying for that to happen sooooon - it's gonna happen.

2) I love Mickey! My husband & I are both avid fans of Disney in general. We go to the parks often. We buy Disney souvenirs for our home and for each other.

3) We love time together on our cruises. We've been married for 5 years in June. But we are the very best of friends and while we enjoy soaking up the time on the ship ONLY for adults - we do welcome the trips and memories to make with our future kiddos on the family sides.

4) We are both kids at heart. Each of us get excited about the features and benefits of what Disney offers us on board like new movies on the ship, the chance to meet the characters & see Mickey at dinner, and the fact that you can order Mickey bars for room service. Each cruise is such a fantastic getaway and while we don't have kids -- we hope that will be changin' soon.

So, there you have it. In case you were curious why I Disney cruise and yes, we're that couple at dinner that doesn't have kids at our table or kids in our room or kids with us -- it's the type of cruise that honestly fits us just fine all the same.

#MerryChristmasStarbucks - I'm a Christian rebel.

Hello! I saw this in the news that Christians are angry with Starbucks and this really made me angry. From the beginning of time, Starbucks has never been a Christian company and they have never said they hate Christians.. but these supposed "Christians" are really not helping themselves look good. 

Here's the deal. Christians shouldn't be mad that Starbucks isn't putting crosses or snowflakes on their traditional red cups. In the end, it is up to the company (i.e. Starbucks) how they decorate for the holidays. I say Merry Christmas to everyone I see, I don't stick with 'Happy Holidays' . But I guess this season I will be a Christian rebel as I still fully intend on 100% fully enjoying my Starbucks drinks with the red cups because at the end of the day - I'd rather use my Christian faith as a way to shine a light into the lives of others instead of casting shame and judgment. 

Point is - who cares what the holiday red cups at Starbucks look like? I love the bold red color of the cups. Living in FL, its 90 degrees in November so holding a bright red cup to me makes it feel more like Christmas! 

When I accepted Christ into my life, I didn't make the promise that I would boycott businesses that don't share my faith. This is the exact opposite of what Christ wants us to do. ESPECIALLY after the whole Chickfila & Gay marriage news story that rocked America. People threw rocks and wanted to flog Christians then so in return we see that Starbucks doesn't support our faith by what their cups look like and show everyone how rude & hateful 'Christians' are.  NOT COOL!

That is not the Christian I am. Those are the hateful, ignorant, mean spirited ones that are not changing the world the way Christ intended us to. He wants us to share Him in the world & be a shining light while being respectful of differing beliefs. 

So I will still be going to Starbucks this Christmas season. For all y'all who won't because of the silly cup issue, more for me! 

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I don't usually write posts like this inspired by the media. But please understand that I hope more Christians view my point than others. With that said, I am very excited for Thanksgiving & Christmas. They are my favorite part of the year. :) 

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend :) 

friday 5 :)

Hooray for the weekend! Here's to celebrating the weekend & the top 5 moments of the week.

1) Sonny's wings are legit. At the end of August, I was intro'd to Sonny's dry rubbed wings. Wings are my jam, I don't really allow myself to have them but they are incredible. This week I was with my friend for lunch & I got to have my wings again. They were incredible but I really made the random on lookers who watched me dive in - something to talk about.

2) Weight loss. I refuse to lie to myself or anyone. I took a break for my 30th birthday & its been a struggle to get back but today I feel I overdid it with the snacks and it strangely gave me the kick to get back full force. I am excited to get back into my better ways and get off this plateau.

3) MASH. This game made me laugh every single time I played it out for myself or if a friend played it out. Each friend had a different version & I shared this pic yesterday for #throwback & it just made me laugh for a good 5 minutes!!

4) October 14th - 6th anniversary of when we truly started our lives together. I knew we'd get married eventually & this date is something I always celebrate every year. :)

5)  I saw this picture earlier this week and it made me smile. I don't aim to be a Kim K. as my role model but more of a Diana for obvious reasons. This quote also inspires me as I am working on my book more frequently. I sent out a chapter to friends this week to critique and proof, overall to make sure it reads like I want it too. This book is my passion in life to present myself as one who works hard for success not just given to them.

Cheers to the weekend. Time to sleep in some, workout like a beast, clean my house, hopefully a Starbucks date with my sister. Enjoy your weekend!  - J

TGIF:Currently/Lately & Soon.

Hello again. Thanks for stopping by this week as I countdown to my 30th birthday. 2 weeks from tomorrow, officially. :) I am SO SO thrilled to start this next era. Yesterday I made more plans for my celebration - I am booked solid on my birthday to celebrate with my husband and I didn't want a lot of drama/frustration for my special day - so I promised him that my birthday was our day alone. :)

After this week of sharing some of my favorite birthdays, I also don't feel like digging into my personal photos of my childhood so I am going to end that cute series. It takes up more time than I am willing to give. Hope you enjoyed it.

This morning as I sat in the eternity of unmoving traffic in my work commute - I knew I needed to post and celebrate my life with what's current and upcoming. Thank God its Friday. :)

Currently/Lately:
- I am making a good dent in my weight loss. These 2 weeks, we get up an hour early and get our walk on - and I've been loving the time with C before the chaos of the day.

- I am trying do a big purge of unneeded crap in our house. Some of it's just there, taking up space and if it's all over the place - its keeping me from investing in Target's organization home swag. ;) ;)
(Clearly my priorities are in order, riiiiight?)

- I am loving my redder hair. I love this hair dye and I am hopefully cutting my hair this weekend, I have to re-convince myself to do it. I feel like Ariel. & I love it.

- I didn't really go anywhere this summer because of the whole I'm a grownup with limited vacation days. But I have that I need a roadtrip itch. I am the only one because my hubs is perfectly okay without one.

- Craving the beach, it's only an hour away and I need it back in my life. #beachwithdrawals

-I am loving the reactions from others now that I dove into using makeup, more than ever. I put my face on before work and I am witnessing alot more people are friendlier, kinda.

- I am addicted to shopping at etsy. I bought a few #disneyinspired birthday treats and I love it. I just hope I get them in time. But I fully plan on spending more time there especially when we have kids. Etsy is my new Pinterest.

Soon:
- I start my thirties. & I am really excited. Lots that I started in my twenties that will be wrapped up in this era. :) Such as done paying off student loans, starting a family, hopefully done with mortgage//new home.

- Weather will be cooling off in Florida. I am mostly thrilled because I have a 5K to prep for in January. I want to run more of it, train harder and obviously have lost a TON more weight.

- Thanksgiving/Christmas - these are my 2 favorite holidays of the year besides Easter. I love all the decor, the food, time with family, wrapping gifts (yes, its a favorite), shopping, the food, just everything.

- We'll be even more involved at our new church. Finally getting back into this rhythm and I love it. This church gives us both what we needed spiritually and I look forward to having kids to bring them here. :)

- Changes to my job: I cannot reveal anything until I get more to go off but changes are coming and I am SO SO SO happy about this. This all went down this week and its very exciting.

-  I will have to get my hands on my favorite movie ever. Currently $10 on blu-ray @ Amazon. Hoping someone gives me a giftcard for my birthday. :) I posted this on my IG today, you're welcome. Ps. if you have IG - follow me.

Excited to celebrate belatedly with my Dad whose birthday was Wednesday. :) Have a fantastic weekend. Cheers to sleeping in tomorrow! <3

Countdown to THIRTY//Day 18.

Hooray, tomorrow is Wednesday, it is also both my Dad & SIL's birthdays :) As you can tell - I am most excited for my birthday. Each day I get more excited. I pre-ordered some gifts for myself: Pitch Perfect 2. I paid off a student loan. I ordered from Etsy for the first time ever.. & I am hoping to score some #thredUP swag as well . 

Tonight to continue on my blog post series - I am going to excitedly remember another of my little me birthdays: Number 8.

When I celebrated this birthday, my family & I were living in PA - and when you're a kid - one of the COOLEST birthdays you could have - McDonalds. :) I enjoyed every moment. I celebrated with some of my friends & immediate family. I also walked away with some fairly sweet swag. 

I was not living in PA very long because my Dad got 

transferred to FL where I grew up. But I say in that year of PA, I learned life lessons you couldn't wish for on your birthday. 

I learned that without my family - nothing meant as much. I learned that when my brother takes your barbies when it rains so they get dried in the mud - its not ideal or fun to dig out. 

My 8th birthday was a great celebration. & now you get to see a tiny glimpse straight from my personal pictures.. I had a great childhood, & I am having a blast remembering some of my favorite past birthdays. :) 

As always, thanks for stopping by and celebrating with me. I hope you will be back tomorrow again to see what birthday is next to remember & honor again :) Time to hit the hay - busy day ahead. :) 

Countdown to THIRTY://Day 19.

Hope your week is off and running to a positive start. Thanks for stopping by again today as I remember another favorite birthday past along my countdown to starting my 30's era. I am REALLY excited if you can't tell. :)

Tonight I want to remember and celebrate my 2nd birthday. As I mentioned yesterday, I lived up north for the first 5+ years of my life and all my immediate family lived close so I celebrated these birthdays with them. It wasn't uncommon for my multi talented mom to make me a cake, sew me a gift or a combination of these. This particular birthday is my favorite facial expression. I plan on fully recreating this same picture on my 30th. I think it will be a fine joint celebration with cupcakes WITH the same expression.

I showed this picture to some of my coworkers recently and one of them mentioned that hilarious facial expression, "Is that your first time ever having cake?" Haha. No! But it was a homemade Cabbage Patch made of chocolate -- who wouldn't enjoy that? - my reply.

As most of you know, God hasn't blessed my husband & I with our own small baseball team of kids. My mom recently gifted me with some cake pans she had in her house that she didn't want anymore - so for my kids I have some different designs to choose from - Big Bird, Little Mermaid (my eyes got wide with excitement when I got this!), Winnie the Pooh, and gingerbread. I love to find cake pans. These sales get me excited. Yep, I am quirky that way. & that's okay.

My second birthday was apparently pretty fantastic. Every time I see it - it makes me smile.
& even though this year I am blowing out candles for number 30 really soon -- I am really really excited to start this new chapter. I had an incredible childhood. & thus far, adulting hasn't been too horrible.

Again, thanks for stopping by, if nothing else to see what birthday I choose. I hope you'll stop by tomorrow and through the rest of this mini blog post series. - J

Countdown to THIRTY//Day Twenty.

20 days left of my 20's & then I flip the page to begin the new era of my THIRTIES. My husband, family & bestest friends know that I get really, really excited about my birthday. In fact, if you're familiar with my favorite show - How I Met Your Mother - I am pretty much a twin of Lily every birthday of mine. You're welcome.

Today I am starting this new mini blog post series as I celebrate my favorite birthdays in the past 29 years. I've been planning my 30th since the day I turned 29 & I'm not kidding. :)

Today I am going to remember my sixth birthday. When I was little - I technically had 2 celebrations. What kid doesn't like that? One party was strictly for family since I lived up north during that time and another for friends. My grandpa (may he rest in peace) video recorded this particular birthday. It's the cutest thing to watch because of how small my cousins are. These days I do miss my family birthday celebrations but the friends/family in my life - I am grateful for them.

What made my 6th birthday special was because it sparked my love for Ariel//Little Mermaid. Every single gift I got that year was Little Mermaid & I loved every moment of it. The clothes, the dolls, everything. :) & my mom truly outdid herself. She sewed me a Little Mermaid pillow (still sleep with it every night) & a Little Mermaid dress with a matching bow. Saving both for my future daughter to wear. <3

My sixth birthday was a legendary day. Truly I have the best family and friends to celebrate with. Memories were created. My mom baked me a dollcake - I now have the same dollcake set to make for my future kids. And I cannot wait for the day when I have kids. I really wish I would STOP getting asked from certain people when that would be. All I know is that I am making dents in my weight loss and when God wants me to bless us - that He will. Until then, I will countdown til I'm officially THIRTY. :) 

Have a truly fantastic rest of your weekend. Much to do before my 6am alarm for working out. - J