Our Adventure updates.. of sorts.

Hello again.

As Central Florida has promised, the weather and humidity is trying to make me glow with sweat at 7am. It is truly an attractive image. Google Orlando weather and you'll be empathizing with me.

Last month, my husband & I celebrated 4 magical years together being married. We celebrated with 4Rivers and it was incredible. Next year is our 5th & we're hoping for big celebrations.



 other adventures.

Game night with family & catching Minions in theaters opening weekend. We don't have kids yet, and at first the only couple without any but no regret on my end. My husband was imitating 'Barney Stinson' from How I Met Your Mother. ;)

                          


                          


Other than that - at the end of June - I had a work injury that scratched me up pretty bad. Slip n sliding on concrete is never recommended. Hurt myself & my pride.

& as of late - i've been having starbucks dates + supporting my future pro basketball sister.

                            
                         

                             

Tomorrow - we're having our first #CelebrateRobinWilliams tribute movie night in honor of the late actor who changed our lives with his movies. I am pretty sure we're watching Mrs Doubtfire to kick this annual tradition of ours off. Tomorrow is his birthday and surely I hope he is at peace. :) -- J

                                 
 

Five on Friday!

Hooray, we made it to Friday. It's been a long week. But its over and the weekend has returned.

Today I am still in a rather high celebratory mood. Wednesday was my 3rd wedding anniversary, and I shared the story of my big day from my eyes, the bride.

Today I am celebrating our celebration thus far this week.

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#1.// We celebrated at Smokey Bones. Who doesn't enjoy some BBQ & Sweet Tea after work?

#2.// We both enjoyed some BBQ - he had beef brisket. I had smoked turkey.

#3.//We both had gifts for each other - I gifted him with the shirt in the top right: "I put ketchup on my ketchup." That fits him to a tee! aha.He gave me Anchorman 2 !! :) 

#4.//My husband woke up Tuesday with a head cold so I knew there was a possibility he'd fall asleep super early. I called it.  So I picked out 'A League of Their Own.' Favorite movie!

#5.//We didn't get dessert on Wednesday because it was lots of food. But if you're coming to Orlando anytime soon or if you're familiar with the area - you need to stop by Twistee Treat! It's one of those amazing gems for ice cream here. 

Chris got a Waffle cone dipped in Butterscotch. I got a large vanilla with Pina Colada cone. Made me want to take a trip to the beach. Staycation is SO close!! :) 

This has been a fantastic week for Chris & I. I've been staying motivated, getting up an hour early daily to do the elliptical. Been working out for 2 weeks straight and I am telling a difference. I feel really good, really positive. I am excited to weigh in this weekend but regardless what the #'s say - I will keep on, keepin on. I keep  thinking -  in 3 months, all these good choices will pay off. & I am hoping to lose close to 50 lbs by October. All is going well on that front! :)

Hope you enjoy your weekend!! Take care, thanks for stopping by & I'll see you back here next week! :) 

Happy Third Anniversary, Chris!!

It's hard to believe three years ago today we were hustling about getting ready for our special day. You woke up to a king's buffet (so I've heard) at Disney's Old Key West resort with your family. I woke up, excited and multiple butterflies in my stomach. Not so much nervousness but so very excited to be married that day. Until our reception, I had only managed to enjoy a smoothie. I had spent the weekend with my bridesmaids celebrating and catching up at a hotel.. We also happened to spend too much time at Walmart partly b/c I waited til the last second to buy my shoes.

I spent the morning with my bridesmaids getting my hair done, still tired from watching 'Bride Wars' with my closest ladies and doing our nails from the night before. You spent the day being a stud -- because you are already good looking. As we pulled up to the church & walked to my bridal suite, I took out my music and belted out some serious dance movies to T.Swift. (No shame!) I put on my beautiful perfect dress that made me feel like the prettiest lady in the entire world.

My bridesmaids and I survived the sweltering humidity of Florida to take our pre-ceremony pictures. My parents were there. While we weren't supposed to see each other that day, I kept trying to sneak peeks of you the entire day because I'm a rebel ;) Finally it was time to snap a few more pictures and get our bouquets ready! It was time!!

Together with my  bridesmaids, I stood at the back of the church with my arm looped on my dad's - ready to see you. I watched as you and your groomsmen entered the church first and the vibe of everyone in the room softened. Our ceremony was starting.

I watched, one by one as the groomsmen came back and walked down the aisle with my bridesmaids. As each one left, my heart grew bigger in anticipation. When it was our time to go, my pastor saw my excitement and calmed my sudden sprint to a slower walk. I started smiling half way down the aisle, the excitement thickened. My dad, handed me off to you and took his place at the front to co-officiate the wedding.

I couldn't stop smiling at you, as we held hands. Then came the time to speak our vows and exchange rings. We exchanged our first communion together and lit our unity candle. Before you knew it, pastor Bruce was announcing we were man & wife. Our first kiss as man & wife was like every fireworks show at Disney + every sports game + the chills you get when it thunder and lightnings out of nowhere -- it was a big deal.

We took our man & wife pictures  - and escaped the crazy rainstorm by minutes. We walked into our reception to the song 'Ever After' by Carrie Underwood - and started the descent to that line of food we had so excitedly picked out months before. Flank steak was at the top of my list. We started eating, I felt like I consumed my food in seconds (that's quite a confession). I kept trying to be polite while eating. That was a fun combo. My mind really went to our cake since the top tier was rootbeer flavored. :) Since everyone was in the same room, everyone was on about us doing our first dance. Our song of choice was 'Two is Better than One' by T.Swift & Boys Like Girls. (Everytime I hear that song on my iTunes, gives me the chills/goosebump combo).

After everyone started dancing, on came the toasts & according to my Facebook posts - some rather not so flattering pictures of me in that time. After that was the cake cutting and you could just not get me off the dance floor! I will have to say that one of the most memorable moments of our wedding was when I opened the gift from your parents, the tissue paper landed on a candle and basically almost set my dress on fire. Haha. I laughed but no one else did.

I was a bit sad to change out of my beautiful gown into a normal dress but it was time to say goodbye, the night had come to an end and let's face it, we were ready to head out as Mr & Mrs :) We came out to our friends & family who had lit up sparklers as a stylish way out.

I still think of that day like it was five minutes ago. It was the best day of my life. <3
Here's to many, many more adventures and growing old with my best friend. :)

Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you back here soon! :)

Weekend Wrap Up.

It's hard to come back to work on Mondays isn't it? Especially when your weekend was just THAT good.
My hubs & I had the invite to spend the weekend here at Ponce Inlet, FL, with my parents/sisters: at the beach.

Unfortunately as much as I've been craving a beach day, we managed to be pretty productive.
We both did our fair share of working out (I am addicted to my elliptical & thankful for both my Netflix & Hulu subscriptions.) This am, we worked out before work & it's made me less stressed & its fun to have a reason to watch 3 episodes of 'Cake Boss' simultaneously. We both have been really making more of an effort to watch what we eat and everything in moderation. Its becoming easier to not let my sweet tooth consume my decisions.

What else did we do? We got our house cleaned up on the outside & inside. Our house now shines from all our work. The lawn is mowed. The floor/counters are picked up & scrubbed clean. Dishes are done. Laundry is finally complete.

Our favorite time of the year is this week. Wednesday we celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary with dinner @ Smokey Bones. We don't eat at the same place, though we might when we find somewhere we like THAT much. We're also treating ourselves to Twistee Treat. & we're probably hitting up the theme parks this weekend. I'm excited to gift Chris with his gift that I know he'll love. I feel like we've been married longer but while this post is reserved for Wednesday - I just can't begin to express how much I'm blessed to be with him. He told me the other day, "When I married you, my life really took off."  < 3

Ps. I was excited to step on the scale Saturday to find out I lost 2 lbs. I'll take it :) Thanks for stopping by!

sometimes, i must reflect. #june18

{Oh, Robert De Niro - highlight of the movie.}

Truth is - I absolutely love rom com movies. My husband protests when I want to watch one and then swoon over it - letting my girly side come out. But it's hard not to - when the perfect cue and the kissing starts especially when they have their dramatic speeches about why the other is their perfect match. & why the guy is who they've been waiting for. 

I am a month away from celebrating my 3rd wedding anniversary and today I was reminded about the relationship/bond with my mister is SO important *not that I ever thought it wasn't.* I watched a video about a charming couple, Ian & Larissa who have braved many more dark days but still managed to keep a smile and thanking God for these brighter moments.  His brain injury was but a speck in their relationship and future marriage.  That video made me tear up today and made me remember my wedding vows even more. 

When I married Chris that day almost three years ago, we took an oath. We promised a lot to each other when there are so many uncertainties, I promised to him a life of adventure despite every curve ball in our lives - no matter what happens to us - that I'd have his back in the best & worst situation until our death. Those aren't light promises, folks. Those are intense and I meant every single word. The best thing I've learned about my marriage is that every moment can make or break it. Every thing you say can either build him up or break him down. My sarcasm at times has led to some pretty unfortunate moments between us because I try to be funny. But at the end of the day, we keep moving forward. We don't sweat the small stuff. We gots plans and we are constantly reminded of the bigger picture. We want to start our family, be better off financially *we are* and continue to let God steer us in the direction HE wants to go. 

My husband hates cards - so this year & every year we're going to be crafty. I didn't tell him this part. We're taking a picture on our anniversary - cue the cute selfie and then we're each writing a letter of our favorite memories from that year previously.  I am going to scrapbook them and open these envelopes up on big anniversaries. That's the crafty side of me coming out. I want us to look back in thirty years and remember the memories, the best of what we've had more than what a hallmark card says. The memories are ones you never forget. 

Welp, tomorrow we're trying out a new church and enjoying a nice day together. Which I absolutely love. 

Thanks for stopping by... ~ J