25 Things You Don't Know About Me.

Happy Sunday, friends! :)

Hope you had a fantastic day. We went to the new church plant and am excited to go again. Everyone was really friendly, the message felt a big long but overall a positive experience. When we came back, we bathed the pups to get them ready to go bye byes (always an exciting time for our pups) to get their heartworm test/meds. They weren't excited but they did it without yelping like that tiny chihuahua in front of them. The real excitement comes when we have to get them to take their heartworm meds every month - anyone with dogs have good ideas for this?

Not sure if you've gotten into the Winter Olympics or not - I started watching them after my surgery but I didn't get real into it. I was more sad that my shows were on hiatus until after they ended. I started getting excited thinking it was this week they were coming back but lo & behold - next week I am excited for these shows specifically: Scandal & Parenthood!

So - here's what I wanted to do on my blog tonight. When I used to read those celebrity mags - they'd have this section that the celebrity would share these unknown facts. So I thought why not share 25 facts about myself? Here we go.

1) When I have a bad day at work, I go HERE or over HERE for a belly laughin good time. 

2) I am a coupon clipper - but not like the extreme hoarders who take it a bit too far.

3) Sometimes I don't update Facebook for more than a week!

4) My Instagram & Starbucks are good friends of mine.

5) I make a mean batch of tacos, they're my husband's favorite meal.

6) I invented his second fave meal on accident, try them yourself - recipe HERE! :)

7) After having my favorite scent @ Bath & Body Works for over a decade - I just switched to my new scent - Sexy Dahlias! 

8) My favorite times in college were going to Barnes & Noble, finding a comfy couch with Sbux & reading James Patterson mystery novels. Perfect way to relax my mind.

9) My favorite ice cream sandwiches are Market Pantry from Target!

10) Most of the ideas from my wedding were DIY projects: centerpieces, guestbook, etc.

11) Cadbury Creme Eggs & Peeps are my favorite candy. 

12) Cracker Barrel & Waffle House are my favorite roadtrip restaurants.

13) My favorite thing to do is peruse the Kitchen aisle at Target or Walmart. 

14) Every year I treat myself to a Krispy Kreme donut for that fix. 

15) I'm a 'card' person. I grew up giving people birthday cards & sending Christmas cards. My husband didn't. I think his family gets confused when I send them each year.

16) I get excited about trips to Target. Especially when the clearance section is involved.

17) I enjoy flipping the calendar every 1st of the month. Especially with our vintage Disney 2014 calendar.

18) I'm addicted to Smart Water.

19) My brother & I have an arrangement to where on his birthday, I am allowed to spoil my nephew more.

20) Every year on March 5th & September 10th - I make a big fuss about my dogs' birthdays.

21) I am the most creative at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby or the crafty section @ Walmart.

22) I am addicted to the taste of Buffalo -- especially Mac & Cheese (Market Pantry).

23) I love looking up recipes of Pinterest. Especially for my crock pot.

24) Our bakery that made our wedding cake - the top layer was Root Beer flavored.

25) When I got married & tried to change my name on Facebook - they required me sending a copy of my marriage license first!

Hope you enjoyed those facts. Time to take some meds to feel better, still recovering. Hope your Monday is awesome, I am picking up my long awaited Girl Scout cookies from my sister. :) ~ J

Back to the Grind.

Hello, loves!
Hope you've enjoyed the past 48 hours of 2014 thus far. I've been inspired from visiting other blogs through a weekly linkup I post on & I'm trying to blog more substance-y posts than just what the weather is & what I ate for dinner because well I think there is more purpose in life than boring people on my daily life.

Anywho - I came across something that a fellow blogger who is a daily must read for me over at The Everyday Joys - does that makes way more sense in terms of making goals. See I'm a planner. I like, erm looove to plan things. I turn 30 next year - that is insane to me. I have already begun making ideas for it, trying to imagine what I want to do & after some brainstorming - I've decided on the beach which is a great thing since I live by all the beaches & mostly sunny weather year round. I digress - that is over 22 months away so I am going to stop looking for now. My blogger friend does monthly goals and revisits them after which I think is fantastic for holding yourself accountable. So instead of looping up my yearlong 2014 goals, I am going to break them down into a more eye level approach - monthly goals.

JANUARY GOALS:

1) Exercise 26 days out of the month.  If you follow me on Instagram, soon you'll be seeing my workouts & myself more frequently especially in the next twenty minutes. I am going to be coming on here with weekly updates because its true, working out alone & trying to yield results is harder than working out with others. I am going to start back up Monday with myFitnessPal & own up to the holiday weight gain :( I think exercising 26/31 days is pretty darn good. 

2)  Be a better friend. This really applies to family/friends who don't live close by but are still dear to my heart w/ monthly Skype dates.. 


3) Use Instagram more. I try to be all miss photographer but I sometimes forget about it. It's time to be a bit more #carpediem on a regular basis!


4. Watch the excessive sugar intake. Being a woman - its okay to indulge on chocolate or Starbucks from time to time but I need to learn when to say no. I am really going to wean myself off the extra soda that I've been drinking and I know this will help me for the long term as well as drop additional weight. Need to get back on the addicted to Smart Water train (which happened tonight!)

5. Entertainment Book = Creative Date Nights. Being that we subscribe to Netflix/Hulu on a monthly basis means we're rarely movie theater people unless its Anchorman 2. *tomorrow!* So, I am going to use this book this year to come up with fun date nights with my mister so that we can see more of our city, save money & be together. So far this far - we've been to Disney, taken some selfies & tomorrow we'll be doing it again - Everest @ Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom. Hooray!

6.  End every post I do with "Hallelujah's" - on a weekly basis. I think its important to remember the positive in everything we do. Maybe one day that could be become a linkup in itself but for now, it will be my way to keep the positivity a float in my life. I'm already a fairly positive person as is - it's in my DNA so finding positivity in my life won't be overall a complicated task but actually quite enjoyable. I also am a big fan of sharing so I will be providing y'all with my positivity so check back - it's a comin'.

7. Sew something. For Christmas in 2013 - I made my dad a 'Cleveland Browns' pillow. For my mom & nephew, (it didn't happen for Christmas) I am finishing their minky blankets once my sewing machine gets fixed. I am new at sewing but come from a family of crafty women, literally. So, my goal is to peruse Pinterest for productive projects that I can continue to improve my new talent. 

8. Make my passion for writing a priority. I have a voice & I do have a goal to someday self publish my book so in order for that to happen - I need to write the book to publish it.

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.