Where our adventures have taken us - #bloghiatusover

Happy Friday. Every once in awhile - it's time to take a break for the purpose of refreshing and getting renewal. That's what I did with my blog. I started wondering if I even wanted to keep this blog going and well I'm back. :) To give a quick update on us. I am still working hard to lose weight & still working on my book. Everything kind of got put on the back burner for a bit but thanks to friends support - this is something I can't wait to self publish. 

This wife has been up to alot of adventures in these last months.

Shortly before Christmas - I finally got to start my new job in Education. I had to wait 3 months for paperwork to get signed but I absolutely love it - 4 months in as a Registrar. It's a phenomenal feeling to know you're supporting and serving students & faculty of the University you've been working with for 5 years. I absolutely love my team and what I do each day.

I spent Christmas with my in-laws, having driven to Missouri from Florida. People always act so surprised when I make this trip like I've lost my marbles but honestly - I love it. We take our dogs with us, we stay in hotels and we usually get to enjoy treats at restaurants that are not locally convenient to us normally like Whataburger.

& the work Christmas party with my parents. 

February: I got to treat my parents to dinner for a mistake and horrible lack of judgment on my part from when I was 16. This was something that felt great to do and healed a lot of hurt with them. 

March was a big month for us that we'd been waiting on for sometime. The first part was that my husband turned 30. I had saved up and made big plans for us including a hotel overnight stay which included a jacuzzi. New toys to play with. 

His parents came into town to celebrate spring break.
& then we closed the month with this two family dinner at 4 Rivers.

Last weekend we were in Disney's Castaway Cay on the Disney Magic cruise ship. 

For now, this is where I am leaving things. This weekend I am going to write why I Disney cruise. Since we don't have kids yet, alot of people wonder why I would do this kind of cruise because there are kids everywhere. I love kids - I grew up as the oldest girl on both sides so I have cousins of all ages and I have a niece/nephew I adore. But I will explain it all in my next post. 

Five reasons to celebrate {big} this week!

Hey y'all. I've been feeling chatty all day. Probably because we caved into Tijuana Flats Taco Tuesday after work. But this week has just been FANTASTIC for me. I felt like celebrating with y'all whether you read my page often or if it's the first time. (if this is your 1st time stopping by - WELCOME! I am striving to post more content on here more often - I hope you'll stick around for the ride!} I'd love to know what you are celebrating this week!


#1) My niece arrived on Monday morning. My bro & his wife don't post pictures of their kids on social media. So out of respect for what they want - I just have to say she is GORGEOUS! I cannot wait to meet her. They are still working on a name.

#2) In October 2014 - I got into a minor car accident - the jerk decided to fight the ticket and take us to court. Well, today was that day. 2 1/2 hours of my day. He didn't even show up to court and was found guilty. But regardless - we can move on and it's finally outta our lives.

#3) My weight loss has been really well. Jan 5th - I celebrated workiversary but I also stepped back into working out like a step con five intensity and I am a little over a month in & I feel great! This past weekend I stayed true to NOT ordering Girl Scout cookies & I am SO glad that I didn't. I successfully thwarted 3 separate tables of Girl Scouts while I was out grocery shopping & didn't ever entertain the thought of caving. ONCE. That says alot because I <3 Thin Mints. :)

#4) This Saturday - I am running (most of) my first 5K. I've been training weekly for 9 weeks and I feel great. I feel strong. All my life I convinced myself and believed that I couldn't run - excuses, excuses, excuses - come to find out - i LOVE to run. Granted I just run short distances, sometimes longer if I can push myself but I actually really like it!

#5) Tomorrow i get to have girl time with this one. She is moving soon and we've been really close for over 10 years. This will make my second friend to move out west but I am excited for her and the adventures ahead of her. I am so blessed that she was a bridesmaid on my wedding day. & for FaceTime/IG :)

             

As always, thank you for stopping by & I hope the rest of your week/Valentine's Day is lovely just like each of YOU!

~ Jessica

TGIF - Oh hey, Friday! :)

Happy Friday! Today I am already smiling because these pictures are relevant already  :) I am linking up with some fantastic ladies today to celebrate my week.

                 

1) I celebrated my birthday two weeks ago but I didn't get to celebrate with everyone - so this week the wonderful ladies that I worked with everyday for 3 years + I had Tijuana Flats together. I was promoted a year ago so I miss seeing them and talking to them and the fun on the team. Definitely going to enjoy this new tradition here and there with some good friends.

2) Today is Friday and I've already gotten some of my housework done that usually consumes my weekend. These items on my weekend to do list will be replaced but this means I will be sleeping better and more time with my mister. Hooray!

3) We picked up our car on Tuesday morning since our car accident last week & it looks incredible. Our bumper was replaced and our front lights. Feel like I am driving a brand new car. :)

4) I got back to working out this week, tomorrow will be my third day. Been back to keeping myself accountable with my food diary app, MyFitnessPal & challenging myself to drink mostly water + eating way less sugar.

5) I've already completed my Christmas shopping for my family - thanks to incredible sales. The bags starting appearing at my front door and I love taking all of the items out, and getting super excited. All of these items are taking up residence in my closet for another month but I love what I found for my whole family. I used Ebates to get cash back on all of my purchases and will be getting money back in a few weeks.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy yourself in all that you do. I hope you will stop by on Monday for another post from my #dearladies series for inspiration & encouragement.

Valentine's Day//Weekend Adventures.

Happy Saturday, loves :)

No surprise that this verse calms me. I mean in the last week - I was so sick and worried what was going on with my body. My husband told me at first he thought I was having a stomach ache but when I told him that my friend with med background thought it was gallbladder related, he was scared for me. Now that it's been a week after the surgery, I am almost back to normal. This whole experience re-ignited a spark inside me that God knew this whole time that the surgery would cease the pain and I would feel better. This spark made me realize that I get to scared and start putting my trust in WebMD (only at drastic measures) instead of Him who took care of us. 

Secondly - I am so glad that VDay is over. I've never really cared about it because I should depend on one day out of the year for my husband to show me how he feels - that's what he does daily. Especially on our anniversary. So this year we kept it low key. Including these gems: Tijuana Flats & House of Cards..

Tijuana Flats & House of Cards - season 2. #VDayCombo

Definitely shaping up to be a great weekend. Tomorrow we're trying out a new church plant, G3 Church right down the road. I am excited for the possibility of finding a home church and building new friends nearby. Hope you had a fantastic week/weekend thus far. ~ J

SO WHAT, WEDNESDAY!

Hey loves. Happy Wednesday to each of you. Today I am linking up with Shannon over at 'Life after I Dew' for the oh so fun 'So What Wednesday' linkup. (It's one of my favorites). Glad you're here!

This week, I am saying SO WHAT if:

1) I'm addicted to Tijuana Flats, I stood in line last night at one of the absolute craziest locations for 30 min + & I ordered online. But all that waiting was worth it - I am always sad when my tacos are gone.

2) Yesterday was my cheat day for my working out. I really wanted to get back on the elliptical because I love it and consider myself addicted but just couldn't. So I treated myself to Chick-Fil-A for lunch & took a night off working out but hey, I work out 6 days a week so I deserved it.

3) Originally I was gungho about ordering 4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies but I didn't want to back slide on my motivation and weight loss so I cut my order down by 50%. I feel pretty proud.

4) Last night I was on a mission for my Girl Between the Lines linkup (I never miss this linkup on Wednesdays- check back later for my post) and ended up spending an hour being nostalgic going through childhood pics/sentiments. Time well spent.

5) No shame here. I watched & enjoyed 3 hours of Community episodes last night while catching up with Blacklist too. Thank you, Hulu subscription.

6) Finally starting to work on ideas and write my book again. Yesterday I had overwhelming inspiration at work, right before I left - I wrote down what felt like infinite ideas to brainstorm on including a new chapter I hadn't even thought of. Those 5 minutes I scribbled down ideas and just went with the motivation.

7) I peruse Groupon after work for a few hours here and there, sometimes trying to find ideas for gifts, creative date nights but I'm only successful 5% of the time. 

Thanks for stopping by. You stay, classy! 

& 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

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 :) 

Day(s) 3-5 of #beingThankful

Where does the time go in a day? This can be said about every aspect of my life lately. Work wise, I am wrapping up my role in my current team before I move to my new role next Friday! Workouts, time with family, etc. I've been working out like crazy lately so I haven't had time to post.

I wanted to catch up on my being Thankful posts. I made them on Facebook but never posted them on here.

Day #3. I am thankful for Pinterest as silly as this is. As a first time homeowner, I love to peruse and find new projects for my house, for my future kids, & anything that seems relatively interesting,

      

Honestly, both of these things are things I love to read about on Pinterest because I have two pups & I am hoping to start our family next Christmas. Pinterest is basically an addiction for women, men & anyone who are creative & need an outlet.

Day #4. I am blessed because I have 3 families that I am apart of. Despite what family they originate from, I am thankful for each and everyone of them. I've been able to make some pretty amazing memories, big and small. I love seeing my family grow and can't wait to see it expand in the next few decades.

    

These pictures are all of immediate family but each person though not pictured is important. My roots were established in two great families, I also was fortunate to marry into a pretty awesome family who have shown me love and happiness before we even exchanged vows.

Day #5. Today I am excited for biweekly date nights with my mister @ Tijuana Flats. :) 

Tonight I got to celebrate my fave lil man's 2nd birthday. Since I won't be there to see him turn 2 tomorrow, and enjoy cake -- I also got a kiss & hug from my nephew which doesn't happen too often. I am so blessed & happy that we have a good relationship thus far.

Hope you're enjoying your week, I am so glad the weekend is getting closer!! ;)

{jess}

Celebrations of all sorts

Happy early 4th of July :)

Sitting here watching America's Got Talent -- makes me feel inspired to work on me and my best talents which I feel is writing & being that of a rockstar wife. (Among other talents).

I felt like I'd do this post, which I am going to start doing every year to re-introduce myself and my blog from this slice of the internet to those who stop by and hear my voice. I think its important to know yourself and what makes you tick.

Hi, I'm Jessica! I became a wife when I met my husband online four years ago, and we just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. As you can tell we LOVE Disney, and each other. Right now we are working hard on ourselves before we start our family but right now we're also happy with our two dogs: Coco, Schnauzer mix & Lucy, purebred Beagle. We're big on celebrating birthdays in our house, traditions we'll carry on with our kids.  

They sure do make our lives enjoyable & they're just two cuties. 

A few other facts about me:

-I'm a first time aunt to a handsome little boy, Zachary.

- I recently just graduated with my Master's degree :)

- C & I bought our beautiful first house 6 mos after we married. 

-  I'm currently on my own Biggest Loser journey to lose the rest by Dec/Jan.

- I love to quote Bridesmaids. 'I got the first watch!' 

- Tijuana Flats, OMG, I could eat there every day. It's the cheese to my macaroni. <3

- I love taking pictures & browsing Pinterest.

- I love adventures especially w/ C :)

- I'm a Christian & reminded daily that my Savior loves me for exactly who He created me to be, & not of what the world may see me as. Big difference!

Hope you have a happy 4th of July, we're having a BBQ w/ friends + family to celebrate our Master's degrees  :) & FREEDOM!! Best of both worlds :) 

Hope you'll stay awhile ---- J.

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

FAB FRIDAY!!

This week I want to talk about these FAB things: 

1. I've lost another 2.4 lbs this week & I'm hoping for another 6 before the end of the month :) 

2. I'm getting close to a year since I decided to lose the weight & with the exception of today -- I've worked hard. I'm hoping to be down 50 lbs after a year of working hard. I'm about 14 pounds away. :)

3.My Bangin' Chicken sauce from Tijuana Flats makes any iffy dish AMAZING. 

4. I decided to be a great wife last night & bake cookies for my husband's potluck: White Chocolate Chip cookies. Bonus- I made too many so I still get to enjoy some. 

5. because I submitted 2 shows last month for the salesathon-- I got the new stone for Pampered Chef, a new cookbook & the new rub for FREE :)

6. For Valentine's day- my husband surprised me by getting 4Rivers BBQ (only in FL- a hot spot).