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. :) 

 

Weekend Recap.

It's always hard for me to get back to setting the alarms for another CRAZY work week but I am really excited for this coming weekend. Just got to keep my chin up and keep hitting the workouts each morning. :)

My weekend was pretty fantastic. It involved lots of rest & planning & working out. All that I LOVE.

I kind of went cray with the picture taking - at one point my hubs just stopped smiling. So it was like hey - can you put the phone away so we can focus on what's important - like not setting our house on fire with the grill. ;)

Saturday was awesome for many reasons.

#1//I finally had Starbucks after 2 months. I always get Green Tea & always get a few awkward glances because it is the only green drink they serve but its my favorite. Thanks to giftcards & my gold card - it was a nice treat.

#2//Stepped on the scale and smiled big when I lost another 2 lbs this week. Brings my total to 4 POUNDS this month. Hoping to work hard this weekend to lose a few more before the end of the month.

#3//Ordered two new towels for the house in some fun colors: Guacamole green & Coral (pink) from Target.

#4//Worked & sweated hard. Did Zumba expert level class #5. & some bodyweight training.

#5//Bought myself a small treat - Outshine Coconut Bars. Mmmm.

#6//Fiercely cleaned my bedroom for 3 hours while fighting with internet issues and lack of A/C.
& all my Laundry done! :)

Today was also INCREDIBLE.

#1//I'm a planner - which calms me. Got some ideas brainstormed.

#2//Got our grilling on. Pretty tasty.

#3//Enjoyed Jersey Mike's for dinner.

#4//Celebrated the fact that these crazy Fla rainstorms are keeping our flowers growing pink :)

But Monday is back. Ready for our mini golf date on Friday with my parents. & next weekend's adventure which involve a great dinner, tanning/theme parks, and time with my best half! :)

Thanks for stopping by & I'll see you back here soon!

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

 



April Goals. & March Recap.

Happy Monday, friends! :)

I am so glad its finally April. April just makes me want to sing, like Giselle in Enchanted. You know where she takes McDreamy (I don't find him that cute) out singing, dancing with everyone & their mother in New York. 

You know kiiind of like this:

I bet you know this song more than you'd like to admit. Everytime I watch this movie, with my family, I hear this song for about a week. It's not too long before I am singing along. 

But I feel pretty good about this coming month. I didn't get too fancy with my ambitions. I kept it simple about what I want to do to get me where I need to be - losing the weight. 

1. Work out daily. (Monitor my Treat Yo Self moments.)/Train for 10K (my first one in December).

2. Indulge twice a week. Truly.

3. Beach getaways (we live so close - why not.)

4. Brainstorm and write my book often.

5. Scrapbooking my cruises - finish my first & start on my second.

Although I will say I am proud of the work I did this month. I really felt it was an overall productive month.

In recap:

1) Enjoy my husband's birthday next weekend. I am a big birthday person. I already have his gift but I cannot wait to enjoy his birthday with him for a few days after he took good care of me after my surgery last month.  Definitely feel like he had the best birthday. He was on a Disney cruise in their private island. They provided us an incredible BBQ while we were there and he relaxed in paradise. He celebrated basically the entire cruise. I gave him his two Despicable Me shirts when we came home the next day & he loved both :) 

2) Do something fun for St. Patrick's Day. Even if it's as simple as Shamrock Shakes ;)  I wore green to work and we went out to dinner which was good enough for me. 

3) Get my Yoga/Pilates/Zumba back on - to look good. I did it once but I did get it back on. 

4) Get my beach pass. Already excited for that to pay itself off.  Thanks to my awesome in-laws, we're able to fund our beach pass with his birthday money. Hooray! We'll be getting it soon too. 

5) Work hard to make my house look great on the outside/inside. Lowe's officially knows our name over here. We have an off again, on again relationsihp every other month. I finally put up our pictures, and the awesome collage I scored at Kohl's..  My husband & I added our own personality and it looks fantastic. 

6) Spend more time being creative.  I printed off my cruise pictures and this one goes hand in hand with #5. 

7) Take more 'me time' .. - Sadly, this didn't happen. 

8) Plan more cheap dates with my mister!  Thank God for BOGO's in our entertainment book & cheaper Groupon deals. Huzzah. 

Overall a great month. & I know April will  be truly fantastic. 

Hopefully none of you gets pranked. ~ Jessica

Liberty for Thirty

Happy Monday, friends! :)

So I'm a planner. I have to plan. I spent the better half of my Sunday evening looking at Pinterest interested in making cakes for friends. My husband reminded me that while its good to look at Pinterest for inspiration that its hard to base anything food wise off - because none of my projects turned out well. I didn't love the honesty but then after I took the emotion out of it - I realized that I appreciate when he doesn't sugar coat it and keeps me interested. That said - at least knowing that my 30th birthday is next year - my plans are fairly simple.

I already know that I want to spend my 30th at Daytona Beach here in Florida for the weekend. I want to have a party and a nice cake with family/friends. So I appropriately named my bucket list journey: Liberty for Thirty. :)

It's threefold:

1) I want to have lost all my weight by that day. Today I am starting back on the Zumba/Yoga/Pilates train after having surgery a month ago. I want to be able to have the moment when you wear the size you want - in a cute dress - and just feeling your best on your big day.

I've made more plans on this - in terms of (3) 90 day goals to lose as much weight as possible. Encouraging myself in this time to drink more water, eat less sugar & to control my 'treat yo self' moments better. Today (March 10th) starts my first 90 day goal. This will be coming up in my future posts and excited to share my losses with you.

These are merely just plans because I do have a condition that works against my hard work. & I am a girl who likes my chocolate. But I have re-connected with the MyFitnessPal app that helped me lose my first 40+ pounds & I know that the effort will help me get where I want to be.

2) I want to get my book published. I have all these ideas running through my head all the time that I want to include and am always jotting something down. Tons of napkins with ideas or quotes are on my nightstand.

3) I want to be able to turn 30 - and know that all the groundwork has been done. I will be at the weight that I can successfully start our family. :)

Thanks for your sentiments and well wishes in advance. My 30th birthday is next October, 2015.
My work is pretty much cut out for me and I'll be keeping you posted. Pretty sure this is a part of my book as well - as I'll be journaling this.

[Longer weekend] Wanted.

So, I sit here watching 'Once Upon A Time' & my mind is spinning. I've had a weekend that has seemed to zip by and since I don't have MLK day off, I wish I did.

Let's see Saturday, I tagged along with my family to SeaWorld since they got a few extra passes for my husband & I. We got there & surprise! Our passes were actually FREE Fun Cards aka- basically many more FREE trips to SeaWorld until the end of 2013 :) YAY, many next trips are in the works.

I also got my share of workouts this week- approx 6 times of intense Zumba sessions/walking done. My first 5k for #operationbikini is Saturday, March 2 at Cru (ironically where my Dad works & he's paying for my reg fee). This week, I lost 2 lbs, would've been more but my dogs have been suffering from fleas :( & they bit me up to make my ankles swollen so I gained some un-fab water weight. Swelling has gone down but my month weight loss total is 6 pounds.

Only 84 remain to be at my goal for #operationredbikini :) :)

Last night I was so tired since riding a jerky ride at SeaWorld and screaming kids that I felt pretty sick. Got our laundry outta the way & kitchen cleaning craze. & I usually don't drink but I had my Malibu rum w/pineapple juice. Delish.

Today was one of those days where I feel I need another Sunday to recuperate from today. I had a Pampered Chef party and it went soooo well, but I was on my feet for about 4 hours straight & then grocery shopping. .

I do feel celebratory though. 2013 is a 10 year milestone for one of my very good friends, Katty G. I met her in youth group my senior year of high school, shockingly so long ago. We hit it off right away and our friendship has continually grown to be even stronger since then. She was also a bridesmaid in my wedding, and a great friend to have. She is (besides my parents) the longest friend I have known in life. Isn't that a great feeling to know someone in your life for a decade.

Hope you have a terrific week! ~Jessica

Whew.

I'm so glad tonight is Saturday because if it was a Monday, i wouldn't be mentally okay with that. So, I had a great show tonight for Pampered Chef & I booked another party! My host is also getting a lot of outside orders so it will end up great. Hers is a fundraiser & . I don't think people realize how much work goes into a show for the host but also for the consultant. You have to set up your demo table, pre-make some dishes for faster expediting, and get ready to be on your feet for hours. I love it but boy does it feel like my feet may fall off soon.

After a long day like this-- I needed to clear my head and make a post. *Disclaimer: Random posting.*

Friday- I had my dentist appt & while I thought it was just a cavity it could also turn into a root canal depending on how my tooth reacts to the filling itself . So please pray that I just need a filling as a root canal/crown is too expensive & time consuming. Not the best news but thankful I have the dentist I do.

2nd weigh in of the year: Lost 4 lbs this week :) MyFitnessPal gladly told me I've lost 36 pounds since starting my weight loss journey in April 2012. Hoping to have lost a great amount by then :)

When my husband & I are at home on the weekends (or mutual days off): we love to kick back & watch some movies. This weekend so far: Happy Gilmore *love this movie*, Vegas Vacation, Wayne's World & currently Longest Yard.

Friday before my dentist appointment: I received a (rather misleading) email from Sallie-Mae that 'Congratulations your loans are paid in FULL!' Now, I got excited as if you think grad school is cheap, you're kidding yourself. I got a lil excited but then I realized that they send you an official congrats email when you pay off one loan or all of them. The loan in question? I paid off an unsub loan, yay. Amount: $126.11! Woot ;) I feel accomplished there. But one less loan to worry about.

But all in all today was a great day, I got to sleep in, got to cuddle with my doggies, relax with my man & enjoy a day, partly full with Pampered Chef/making triple layered brownies.

Excited for tomorrow- with coupons in the newspaper, yep I'm a coupon clipper & I love it. Supposedly my 'rest' day for working out but I will probably end up getting back in with Zumba.

& I finally plan on watching Parenthood & Scandal's episodes :) YAY. Love these two shows.

Hope you have a great rest of your weekend/see you next week :) ~Jessica

FAB Friday!

Time for another FAB FRIDAY :) Favorite post of the week. Today I want to talk about these fab things...
-I'm 2 weeks ahead in my current course. Gooo me!!  & I have an A :)
-Thanks to 3 days of 75 min Zumba sessions & downing water like a fish, I lost another  4 pounds.
{This month's total:  8  pounds}
-Saturday is my FIRST Pampered Chef show for January & it's a chocolate party. We'll be making triple layer brownies. I'm also bringing a brownie trifle & s'mores cookies. Can't wait to hopefully get more parties booked!
-Today I ended up having the day off (unfortunately for the dentist) but I'm being paid regardless.
-Since I've gotten back on track with working out, I have much more energy to tackle cleaning my house more often.
Hope you all had a great week!  Time to make my brownie trifle & s'mores cookies before my appt.
Blessings, Jessica