#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 :) 

Merry Christmas + Happy New Year//What I've been up too.

Hello friends + other bloggers who stumble upon my page of the internet: 

I didn't mean to take a break off the blog - it just got SO crazy for me in November with being out of town for Thanksgiving with my inlaws, then my husband's grandma passed unexpectedly, and then Christmas happened (my favorite day).. But now I am on vacation + approaching my workiversary (#4) at my company so I have time to breathe & reminisce.

Thought I'd say HELLO! & share a little bit of the past 6 weeks what #therobinson household has been doing. :)

From top to bottom - Dec 2nd - we saw the Candelight Processional @ Epcot with Neil Patrick Harris. He is fantastic :)

Before this happened - on my roadtrip to the Midwest for Turkey Day - we stopped by my old childhood home in Tennessee. Actually made me tear up after 17 years since we moved + all the memories that flooded in. I got to introduce my husband to a small part of my childhood. :)

Below, a selfie with my mom + sistas before Christmas shopping. Love this picture of us! <3

Below this, posing with my mom before my work Christmas party @ Universal Citywalk!

Lastly, Christmas has always been my favorite day to celebrate. This year marked our 6th Christmas together & regardless I love getting to do life with this guy - sharing moments and adventures :) This was us at my parents on Christmas in front of the tree. :)

  

 

Without further ado -- Merry Christmas + Happy New Year!
                                              Are you excited as me for what 2015 brings? I've started making some plans:

- Getting back into church

-Disney passes renewed//Working hard on the weight loss train!

- Feb 2015 - My niece arrives!! 

-February 14th - been training for my second 5K with my parents :) 

-March 15 - Celebrating my best half's birthday <3

This is just a snapshot of my year. What about you? I hope that this New Year brings you opportunities to do something great - whether its a promotion or a chance to do something great/different. :)  2015 is the year when I start a new era - I turn 30 in October! Been working hard + picking up the pace to lose weight/be proud of the moments to come in this year until my big celebration.

One of the big ways I started doing that is by babysitting to pay down student loans. I am going to continue this process to help make small dents. I am praying for opportunities to find more families or positions to give me a boost.

I hope you enjoy these next few last moments of 2014. :) I am definitely going to refocus attention back on here.  :)

Oh, Hey Friday! {Weekend Edition!}

Happy Friday, y'all!

Today I am joining up with September Farm + The Farmer's Wife for another 'Oh Hey, Friday!' {Weekend Edition!}

It's Friday and honestly what's been going through my mind is this lyric from N*Sync! "Just got paid & it's Friday night." You know the teen in you is singing these lyrics loud & proud, ladies :) 

Okay. First I want to celebrate + share the top 5 moments of my (long) week:

1.  I just finished my Christmas shopping for my family tonight with the exception of a Starbucks gift card that is yet to be ordered. Not going to lie - I did sneak in a few items for myself including this gem because I heart Disney!

2. All of my Christmas shopping + online shopping lately has gone through Ebates first. They give you cash back on your purchases and after x amt - you get a nice, fat check! That kind of helps soften the blow! 

3. As I am sure you read yesterday + today, I am too blessed to be stressed from the result of my car accident on Wednesday - car is already in the shop + I have fallen in love with my rental. My car will get fixed and hopefully less idiots will be out driving while I am trying to get to work. Ahh, probably not but I can hope, right? 

4. I didn't have the chance to get Starbucks on my birthday like usual but thanks to my mom + Target coupons + having the day off to take care of my car situation - I treated myself to a Salted Caramel Mocha and it made me pretty happy. I think the whole time Chris was watching the clock but I was happy to get a Starbucks/Target trip today. 

5. Tomorrow night after work I get to celebrate some of the birthday swag I got & cash in on my free Coldstone ice cream with my best friend! Hooray for girl time + Birthday cake ice cream :) #bestiedates 

All in all - it's Friday//Payday. The weekend is here - date night tomorrow with Chris + relaxing at home//wife duties. 

Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you Monday for my next #dearladies post to encourage & inspire :)  Xo ~ 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

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}

Highlights of my Thanksgiving/Black Friday.

Welp, Thanksgiving is over & I did get to enjoy seconds of my mom's mashed potatoes. Each bite was heavenly & you know its a hit with me when I pass over any other dish on the table for those. Another highlight of my Thanksgiving was this game: Mall Madness. I tend to bring it to my parents when its something fun to do instead of the usual. For the first time ever playing this game - when I went to the bank (to be fair - I was running out of money) it was closed. SEVEN times in a row. Insanity. But it did crack my mom & I up. It also cost me the game because I couldn't afford anything I didn't already have.

 

This year I hit the dessert bug. I made from scratch - pumpkin pie. I don't like pumpkin pie, well I've never had it but the smell of it just makes me feel sick. But I made it for my family because every one else does. For the first time ever - I made a holiday classic pie for my family & it turned out beautifully. I also made Mounds bars as well. We ended up with tons of desserts - 2 extra pies at my parents -- it was overload.

We also braved the stores for Thanksgiving sales & Black Friday today. 

Last night - we braved the cold - it was a windy 50 here but for Florida - that was the killer. (The previous night was 38 with insane winds). We waited outside Kohl's and got my husband's Christmas gifts. 

Today - we planned on Target. I've wanted to go all week. I did score some good deals.

1) 8 opening 'Family' collage

2) Legally Blonde 

3) Talladega Nights

4) A 12 pk of tumblr's for the house. Which we've been needing. 

All for a whopping $28 TOTAL. 

I've also been scouring Amazon all week but yesterday the deals started becoming ones I was interested in.

I just found out I bought the wrong Zumba - which greatly irks me. But I got the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, a beautiful pink infinity scarf, THE playard from our baby registry (we were going to have to buy it regardless - why not save now?) 

But all in all - its been a great start to the holiday season for us. I am already planning out my cooking for Christmas.

& today my husband ordered my Christmas present - a brand new ELLIPTICAL! I can't wait to see how much weight I can lose because sometimes let's be honest - I am motivated to work out on the weekends at 1am. :)

We've been able to be quite productive since getting off work early on Wednesday. Our Christmas tree, lights, some presents are wrapped. Our house is cleaner inside, laundry & dishes are mostly done. Win win all the way around. Cleaning relaxes me.

Weekend Tidbits.

Welp, we made it through another week, congrats. I don't know about you but I couldn't be happier. There were points this week I didn't know if I'd make it in one piece. Part of my transition to a new team has left me turning into a 99 year old woman -- falling asleep at 8:30. Yiiikes. That was different yet serendipidity? Yeah.

I felt the need to update but I don't really have anything big to update. Just a few random things.

One of the ladies I work with do Transformations - a type of physician supervised weight loss. I am debating about if I can with my condition and if its worth it. I've heard great things about women who've kept it off but I am eager to get other perspectives. I've tried my share of diets -- Weight Watchers, South Beach, Atkins, but the bottom line is -- none of these are magic - they won't let you lose the weight overnight just like you didn't gain the weight in 5 seconds. That is what I need to decide to do.

I am loving that the holidays are right around the corner. I got my Starbucks holiday drink on last weekend even the day of my best friend's wedding. Which, she looked gorgeous & I am so happy for her. Here are a few shots of me & her --

I was lucky enough to celebrate the wedding with two of our friends. The three of us kept the others sane. It was an interesting wedding especially when my friend Katty G caught the bouquet that night again. She caught it at my wedding so I loved it so its a new tradition in a way. But it was great fun to celebrate my bestie and her mister. :) Plus it allowed my mister & I to get a picture together. YAY. We looked schnazzy. :)

Today was probably the best day ever. I am going to get back on track with my squat challenge. Kind of fell off the wagon and rolled around in the mud -- basically just forgot to stay on it. But today I belted out N*Sync on the way into work -- we're talking classic hits like 'Bye, Bye, Bye' & 'It's gonna be meeee!' lol. That will get a smile on my face pulling into work on a Friday. I also made a student loan payment. Been working hard to have a bit extra. It may sound off to others but I honestly am ready to just make more payments. I am actually looking forward to being in repayment.  & then I got this awesome email from Laura over @ The Every Day Joys (if you're not following her blog, well I'm scratching my head as she is fantastic!) -- I won the Hunger Games giveaway on my blog. When I told my husband he was surprised as I just got into this movie series recently. But hey, it always feels nice to win a giveaway. :)

I had to make a sad decision today. I have been obsessed with deals on Moolala lately (kind of like a Groupon that pays you for every deal you buy) - I ordered 5 canvasses and I just kept running into sizing snags. They were going to revolutionize our living room - make it more homey feeling -- but alas, I had to get a refund. So I am bummed but still on the look out for great canvas deals. 

It's been one full week since joining my new team at work & I love it. It will take time to make friends with all the new people but I am loving the non stress and the energy I have. I got home tonight - got laundry going, got the dishes going, made dinner. I think at one point I looked at my husband like 'we can throw a newborn in this -- I got my A game on' Something of that nature. Plus tonight - in other randomness - I was able to buy my dogs' Christmas gifts - basically cutesy treats. They wont really care as they have a ton laying around our house but I am excited to give them the treats.  Essentially I am all done with Christmas shopping in terms of gifts minus my husband. This will happen next week with the incredible Amazon sale. Cannot wait to get some good deals - I am taking part in Target's black friday sale but I have some items I have been saving for. 

Hope you enjoyed my weekend tidbits. I will most likely think of many many more. 

For Christmas this year...

For Christmas this year..

Thankfully my husband & I will have Christmas day off work. It  pays to work for an organization that pays you to enjoy the day off with your family. We also get a half day off for Christmas Eve. Since we live in Florida, we are blessed to have sunshine but on that day, it doesn't feel like Christmas. I was born in Ohio so I used to have snowy or at least cold Christmas weather so it felt more like a holiday. I can wish all I want for snow but alas, it just won't happen here. So I live vicariously through my inlaws who live where snow is happening & will. 

Next month, my mom will be snapping our Christmas pictures of us and this year I am trying to find the right template to make a newsletter. Usually we do a Snapfish or Groupon deal for cutesy Christmas cards but it just got too expensive & I enter loan repayment right after Christmas. *What a fun gift to me from the Dept of Education.*

This year, I got reaallly excited for Christmas in September. I started buying gifts then and it didn't make my husband too happy with me. While its mid November, and nice to say I am 95% done shopping for others; I really wish I had just waited. Last year, I got everyone's Christmas presents for $50 and FREE SHIPPING. I was so proud of myself, and it was a great feeling. Next year, when I get the Christmas shopping bug -- I am going to push hard to wait. (My greatest joy is the Amazon black Friday sale or the other online ones).

I agree with Laura -- now that I am older -- I don't really have a flowing list of what I want for Christmas. People will ask but I am happy with gift-cards to Target. or Starbucks.  Give me a day at Target, with my wad of coupons, & the Cartwheel app -- I could wow you with the savings I find & all that I will end up getting. I will say, this year I am doing more homemade and trying to get into that as much as I can going forward because while its nice to get gifts -- that is not the underlining reason I celebrate Christmas. I celebrate it because of Jesus being born. I do get excited to go to the Christmas Eve services, seeing how churches decorate with candles, wreaths & Christmas trees -- that makes my day, or night rather. 

As far as I can remember, I had an real tree growing up. But my husband & I bought ours from Walmart at 70% off and its beautiful. My thing is finding ornaments from all the places we've gone that year or go to - this year I get to add our ornaments from our Disney Bahama cruise and from the Bahamas originally. I think it'd be beautiful to have a real Christmas tree, to breathe in the smell but with my pups out while I am at work, I'm afraid they'd try to eat the tree. 

But I think what I am most excited for -- is the cooking/baking involved & the reactions from family when they open their gifts. Also the big meal involved later that day with my mom's infamous homemade potatoes. Mmm. Deeelish. I'd rather spend the entire day with family than anywhere else. I will probably bring a dessert but I cannot wait to just celebrate the day with those I love most. 

Still a few weeks away but I am excited for Christmas THIS year.