A D V E N T U R E S.

Hello! Happy New Year. Hope 2015 has started off well for you. Thankfully I've been on vacation this whole week to usher in the New Year w/my best half. :)

We spent our NYE at home, surrounded by 4Rivers BBQ. That was our last big indulge of the year because I am still committed to my #operationpinkbikini goal this year. I gained a few extra pounds and that isn't sticking around. My hubster is also determined to support me this year by him getting fit too. Another good thing that happened on NYE was that I was able to see a good friend of mine that I haven't seen since my wedding day. So catching up over Starbucks, yes please! Feels great to have coffee with friends.

Chris + I ended 2014 on NYE by working out! What a great way to end the year. He was on the elliptical and I was doing a mix of Zumba Core + starting my JessicaSmithTV DVD's. Burned some calories. Which helped me keep the flame to get fit/healthy this coming year. Even when I don't want to - I am VOWING to DO SOMETHING. Everyday. Slowly & surely - I am training for my first 5K that I will be able to run/walk. Hooray. :)

Yesterday - I was able to invest in our home with some extra $$. Our home is definitely a first home with it's own list of fixer upper qualities. Every time we run into an issue - we immediately remember this. So, thankfully Home Depot will be helping us start off our New Year with the first home project - replacing our bathroom towel bars. Thank you Jesus, the other ones are just too dingy & cheap. Lo + behold - not doing favors for ANYONE!

So for 2015 - I am claiming the word A D V E N T U R E S. 

Which this weekend - we will be back to hanging out at Disney. Ohh, the perks of living in Central Florida. :) 

Jan 5th has  2 big adventures - I am celebrating my 4th year @ my company! Another A D V E N T U R E awaits to hit year 5.

& this is my Papa's birthday. Another one spent in HEAVEN. 

CHEERS to A D V E N T U R E S. This year is a milestone one for me. I turn 30! & I am going to work hard to look good. 

Ps. I've been following her YouTube channel for a few months because of my love of ballet + Ballet kickboxing. Starting Monday - JessicaSmithTV will be starting the #FITIN15 challenge. I love her workouts. Try them out HERE! 

My goal for this blog is to be MORE consistent. Posting way more. Meeting new friends. in 2015. 

So I hope you will sit, stay awhile + say HELLO. :) 

 

keepin' up with the robinson's

Happy Wednesday, friends! :)



 

 

Here's some Bob's Burgers gifs for you to enjoy!

 

Florida lately has been gross in terms of rainy, windy weather. I kind of love it but not during the work day as it makes me really tired and harder to stay awake.

 

Wanted to update my life lately because I've just been busy working out and sleeping so blogging just temporarily got moved to the back burner.

 

1) Ever since my surgery - been working hard on my book. Newfound motivation and creativity flowing that comes out of nowhere - I am determined to self publish through Amazon. I am blessed with some great friends who are interested in collaborating with me to share their stories & experiences for my future readers. I am really excited for the opportunity to bless the lives of other teenage/college aged & any other ladies who read my e-book. Hooray!

 

2) This past weekend, hubs & I sweated it out walking the World Showcase at Epcot which is our absolute favorite Disney Park, followed by Magic Kingdom. We also found ourselves at the Flower & Garden festival, where Disney characters were popping up everywhere pruned out of grass. Pretty artistic.

 

3) I am pretty excited about this weekend for a myriad of reasons. First, my mom & I are doing a Women of Faith event with Lisa Harper speaking at one of the Real Life church branches Friday eve/Sat afternoon. Saturday night, we're headed to Magic Kingdom. :)

 

4) When we bought our house, our master bathroom sink never worked. Our house is a fixer upper and finally after 2 1/2 years, my hubs figured out why. Last night we headed to Lowe's, thanks to giftcards from my parents we bought our new faucet which works amazingly.

 

5) I'm back to counting cals with my MyFitnessPal app on my phone & addicted to Zumba - 5-6 times a week and soon starting to train for my 10K in December to run it like Forrest Gump. Goal is to lose 5 pounds by May 1st, hopefully more!

 

6) Our neighborhood isn't the friendliest group of people but while we were walking our dogs on Sunday night - a neighbor not only waved, he said hi. Maybe I am being dramatic - but I wanted to hug him.

 

7) My dad & I were originally going to have a date last weekend but timing wasn't on our side. We're having a date this Sunday afternoon, with help from my entertainment book - Mini Golf & Froyo.

 

This week is really turning out to be something special. Hooray. ~ J

 



Favorite things.

I cannot believe tomorrow is Halloween, and the end of my birthday month! Glad we already bought all of our candy weeks ago and might I add, we only helped ourselves to one. of each. ;) But then we haven't had any since. Everyone buys their candy for 'trick-or-treaters' only & pledges whether internally or out loud -- this is only for the kids, I won't have any. Then secretly, you help yourself here & there. I won't spill your secret :)  I think I am way more excited for November 1st where all Halloween candy is 50% off or more. That's my indulgence.

Everybody has their loves, or as Julie Andrews calls them -- my favorite things. Besides the obvious ones like Jesus, my husband/pups/family, there are those other great joys of my life. I am going to share nine -- there are many more... 

1) Regardless of how you think of their views of what they stand for -- one of my first fave things is CHICKFILA. My hubs & I ate their tonight actually for a impromptu date night and it was incredible. Especially their sweet tea, iced tea & the spicy chicken sandwich - which is kind of like eating the sun. Tonight I scored free dessert which was great timing w/ my promotion at work that happened earlier today :) I could eat there for every meal if I could afford it.

2) Zumba would be my second. I enjoy it because I can do it in my home and not have that big wall length mirror I've heard about. Makes me feel great and I really enjoy dancing as a work out. Ever since my husband intro'd me to it last year -- its one of my absolute favorite things especially after a rough day.

3) Shopping for kitchenware/more gadgets to cook with. Most of my cookware were wedding gifts & some came out of Pampered Chef consultant days which ended this summer. I love experimenting in the kitchen with different flavors and recipes. My hubs is a picky eater so all these Pinterest recipes I try, only about half of them end up being repeaters. When I cook dinner, there are nights when we do our own thing but I do enjoy making dinner for us. 

4) All things Disney. -- theme parks, merchandise, cruise ships, water parks, movies. I love all of it especially since i married a Disney nerd. Our kids are going to looooove us when they arrive. 

5) Beach days. Since I live in sunny Florida, I have quite a few beach options available whenever I want. Except for Jax Beach -- its gorgeous but too far. I love the time I am there -- out in the sun, with my hubs/family, under the umbrella, wiggling my toes in the sand and the sunny weather making me tan. These are the moments I live for especially if my hubs ever loved seafood, and do one of those cutesy restaurants by the water. Eating a cheeseburger at the beach doesn't scream attractive. 

6) Movies like Harry Potter, Freedom Writers, Bridesmaids, or even 10 Things I Hate About You. With the exception of the last one, all of the movies tell a story. Whether it makes you pee your pants from laughing or just merely takes you away and entertains you -- these are movies I really enjoy the most. 

7) COFFEE. I love me some Starbucks. I remember the first time I really enjoyed coffee. I was staying with my gparents and they let me try some with Hazelnut creamer. From then on, I was addicted. I got my first coffee maker & just absolutely LOVED it. I still have it from time to time but I find that hot coffee puts me to sleep and cold coffee wakes me up. But I do enjoy Starbucks, especially Green Tea fraps. INCREDIBLE. 

8) Thin Mint cookies. There's something about these cookies that are just incredible. They are the majority of what I buy from Girl Scouts and just overall the yummiest cookies. Also really addictive. I like to take them, my manual food processor & make my own blizzard.

9) Scrapbooking. I come from a family of DIY/crafty ones. My mom intro'd me when I was in my teens. I am still in process of working on my first cruise scrapbook, just went on my second & in a few months will be completing my third. Clearly I need to get on it and finish them. These will be great keepsakes for us later and our children over the years to see the adventures that their parents went on, and the ones they will join us on. :)

I could take this list and keep going but this snapshot is good enough for me. :) Tomorrow is Halloween, hope you stay safe & your kids enjoy themselves. I am taking the day off for some dental work. Hopefully I won't be too sore bc tomorrow night while I pass out candy, we're concluding our Harry Potter marathon. 

{jess}

fab friday

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Thank God its FRIDAY & I get paid today. I will start off this post saying while this isn't fab, I did get sick on Wednesday. So my memory is suffering but I wanted to prevail and post today as I missed two weeks unintentionally. Sad face.

Today I want to talk about these FAB things:

• The biggest FAB thing that happened this week: I OFFICIALLY finished my Master's on Tuesday!! Ended up graduating with a 3.8 which is terrific, and I can't wait to celebrate big time when my husband finishes his Master's at the end of June. Definitely can't wait to get my degree but more so for the bigger & better things.

• Another FAB thing that happened: more dates, mostly impromptu with my husband to the beach. Lately we've gone in the afternoon/early evening and even though I am sick with a nasty cold, I am hoping we can go tomorrow since we are off Monday (long weekend!) It pays to live by the beach!

• Last FAB thing to mention, now that my Master's is complete, I can get back on track with losing weight. Plus its totally motivating that I'll be able to reunite with Lowe's, Michael's, Jo Ann's to get started on those house projects!

• One more-- I am starting my last month of doing Pampered Chef in May & I am definitely ending with a bang. I have my Help Whip Cancer fundraiser all month long and will be having 2 different shows. I am excited to finish this, it was fun but just hasn't panned out for me.

2013 Ultimate Blog Party

Last year when I started blogging for real, I had just missed this awesome event and wrote it down so that I did it this year. Only a tad bit late for my first Ultimate Blog Party :)

Hi, party people! I'm Jessica, and these are a snapshots of me. Up there, I am celebrating with my family for my sister's championship basketball game in Feb '13 and then below with my husband -- we met and have a common LOVE of Disney :) 

My husband and I met online when he worked at Disney four years ago, and got married June 18th, 2011 :) Right now we are getting in shape until God blesses us with our first baby- very excited for that moment! (*This is my favorite engagement picture, technically- there are a few others..*)

I'm work full-time and am in the last 16 days of finishing my Master's degree. I also am an Independent Consultant with Pampered Chef which I greatly enjoy. I also enjoy concerts. coffee, music, Jesus (he's my favorite), DIY projects (thanks to Pinterest), cooking/baking and being an OCD planner. 

On my blog, if you stop by, you'll find a lot of pictures, some daily life grind, and every Friday, I link up to Laura @ Everyday Joy's Fab Friday which is celebrating the good in your life and not the bad. It's my favorite post of the week besides when I give my updates regarding my weight loss journey. I've lost 42 lbs since last year and I have about many more left. I also enjoy sharing Pampered Chef specials and occasional reviews of products since I am a BzzAgent. 

Hope you'll stick around & I'm excited to meet new friends :) 

-Jessica

You can also find me at:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Bloglovin

Say hello, will ya?

1. Blogs I visit daily.  The Everyday Joys. Honey, I Shrunk the Mom. 

2. Are you on Instagram? Yes, I am! jessheartschris618 ;) 

3. Can we find you on Pinterest? What's your Pinterest address, and what can we expect to see you pinning most? (recipes, DIY projects, home decor, etc.) You can find me HERE!! -- I love pinning food, DIY projects, home decor & ideas for my future kids :) It's gotten to the point where my husband looks over & is like 'oh you're on Pinterest...still?' It's an addiction. 

4. What are your favorite blog link-ups to participate in? (weekly link-ups other bloggers have...any number will do...please link us to them!) Random Wednesday & definitely Fab Friday

5. Why do you blog? I blog because I LOVE to write & clear my head. I think its fun to meet new friends and have an healthy blog/something of your own to share. 

6. Tell us one random fact about yourself.

I was a 2005 Miss South Carolina finalist.