Why we plan our A D V E N T U R E S.

To answer this simply, hubs & I are planners.

 From as early as I can remember, I've been the girl who got really excited for 'Back to School' shopping. & not for the reason of school supplies. I did love getting new stuff but my fave part was picking out a cutesy planner for the year. By the end of my semesters in college, I'd legit have like 3-4 planners. Yeah. #awkward - No one needs that many planners! I'd plan to buy more planners. When I met my husband, I am pretty sure he thought intially this weird obsessive planning streak was NOT attractive. ;)

I've been really happily blessed to do life with the man of mine. Our 1st big adventure - I moved from my hometown after graduating college halfway around the world to Kansas, small town life - for him. No regrets - I'd do it again in a heartbeat!! When we first started dating & had a lot more time on our hands - we could afford to do things on a whim. We could take a night at the carnival after our graduate classes ended. We could walk from our apartment to the snow cone shop at the end of the road at 10pm. We bought a car together. We adopted our two dogs together. We made promises to live our lives together, one adventure at a time. Sometimes it feels like our life gets clogged up, midst the dreams to travel, live at Disney ;), and take all of the cruises we find. It really genuinely feels like that at times.

Because our adventures have kind of transformed into other areas of our life - we have mini adventures of sorts: We're both getting fit/healthy so we can start a family. We make our fast passes so we can enjoy our frequent Disney trips without standing in line for 75 minutes. I coupon/use apps and save money while babysitting here & there so to pay down student loan debt. We live pretty frugally for the purpose of paying down loans faster. We take care of our house, inside and out for the idea of having a sanctuary after work - something to be proud of. To really live on the wild side, I keep Groupon and Target on my fingertips to find more date nights/home decor that we love.

We make our vacation plans well in advance for our own reasons. Sometimes we stay up late talking. Regardless of the adventures we want to have, we'll always be planning first. One day the student loans and the mortgage will be paid off, we'll have a family and we'll be parents making decisions to make sure our kids have adventures of their own. But for right now, I am a planner who loves her adventures.

Thanks for stopping by! ~ The Robinsons, xo.

Blog Name change//Valentine's Day weekend edition.

I am still smiling, y'all from the weekend I had.

These last few days I decided I need to change my blog name. When I first started this blog, I liked the combination but for the past few months - I was reminded that I am doing and enjoying life with my hubs. In case he ever decides to hop onto the blogging train, I want him to feel like he can and has a spot to do this. So going forward (until my domain changes), we're now 'Adventures with The Robinson's.' So I hope you'll continue to join us as we keep posting our life together. :) Who knows, maybe I will convince him to share his Disney news on here for those who may love Disney as much as we do? Time will tell.

Onward & upward... 

That also could be from my delish Hazelnut/Mocha coffee from Wawa before work, which is a rare treat. Yesterday, my hubs started his first day at his new role. I am SO blessed we work for the same university and now we'll have a chance to work a tad closer in the same department ;)

But let me slightly back up. 

Saturday morning, my alarm went off at 5:30am - and I excitedly got up. All my training for the past 9 weeks & it was time for my much anticipated race. Wasn't loving the windy 30 degree weather but I was grateful my parents went with me. :)

  

After the race, I got to meet my beautiful niece. She is a week old already. I kept giving her kisses and talking to her, like how cute her big brother is and how truly gorgeous she is. I can't post pictures as this is privacy standard from her parents. But she is absolutely adorable & for this second time aunt - I will be spoiling her like her brother. :)

Fast forward to Saturday evening. My husband & I treat Valentine's Day as a date night, it's not something we celebrate really. But I got each of us one of the $1 chocolate hearts. & a small cookie cake. This year our date night was one of the restaurants at Epcot - Via Napoli. They make the pizza fresh, all of the servers are from Italy and it overlooks the lake on the World Showcase. :)

The last picture is the brick oven they cook all the pizzas in which are all mouths. I couldn't get a clear picture because this restaurant is always busy with servers/guests running around. But it was fun to eat somewhere different for once. :)

Thank you for stopping by!

Five on Friday!

Happy Friday, planet Earth! :)

Been posting all week. But now it's time to celebrate because we reached the end of the week. & it's time to reflect. :) [I haven't done this post in awhile so some of these are from last week but still - all awesome.]

1. I absolutely love my brother's dog, Alice. She is literally my best friend. Always gets so excited when we come over and she is just super cuddly. She wasn't too keen on our photo-shoot.  But she is patient with me. Sometimes she'll rest her head on my leg.

2. Finally made it to Gold level with Starbucks. Been waiting for 2 weeks for this beautiful gift to arrive and now I get to get some drinks. Thanks to giftcards, I am going to keep this status for as long as possible!  It's strange this has been on my bucket list. 

3. We're pretty close to our #third wedding anniversary (NEXT WEEK!) and wanted to remember the card on the left with a note from my hubs on our wedding day. The card on the right is from our first anniversary. This year we're doing something different. :)

4. #KateVoegele is one of my favorite artists. I loved her scenes on #OneTreeHill -- I decided to send her a tweet giving her some high praise. & I was notified that she favorited my tweet. I felt pretty cool!

5. Last weekend, we were at my parents house and we played a championship game of SkipBo. I thought it'd be a great idea to take a #familyselfie. YAY. :)

Hope you have a fantastic weekend. I am excited to spend my weekend with my Dad. I bought him a pretty fantastic gift. I plan on making him a cake as well. I think its going to be a productive weekend of usual weekly wife stuff/working out. Happy to say I've been working out for a week straight. . Enjoy your weekend - see you back here next week! :) :)

Be You, Be Beautiful.

Happy Thursday, friends :) These past few days I have been having all these ideas for my book shindig run through my head and all sorts of other ideas that really don't take precedence just yet ;)

Today I am jamming out to 'Roar' by Katy Perry on my iPod and its literally on repeat, much to the likes of my coworkers but this is my jam. I remember when I first heard this song on the radio and it seemed like another Katy Perry song - something cute but it didn't really impact me. Though since all radio stations seem to overplay music, I was hearing it all the time and the more I heard it - the more I needed it on my iPod.

Some of the lines in this song have really made me smile because I relate to them so well.

'I went from zero to my own hero.' 'I am a champion and you're going to hear me roar.'

When I tell people that I am writing a book - they kind of give me this judgy smile like as if to say 'What could you possibly have to say?' Like they judge me before they've even read anything I have to say. It bothers me sometimes because this book is my pride and joy. I started working on it in 2006. It's been kind of pushed around for these last few years because I've been in transition whether it was switching colleges, moving to Kansas, falling in love with my mister and all sorts of other fun things. '

But now that I am settled - I am ready to write and let my inspiration be used to benefit the lives of teen girls/college girls/adult girls around me. The main reason I am writing a book is that I strongly believe from my countless experiences, both positive and negative that my voice is important and worth sharing it for the opportunity to encourage ladies who may find themselves in the same situation(s) that I did while growing up. I dealt with alot of tears in my formative years from boys, being bullied, mean girls, the whole weight thing and I just strongly believe that if I can share my experiences to be able to prevent even 1 girl somewhere from having to deal with unnecessary pain and frustration than I will feel greatly accomplished.

I am excited for this process and all that will possibly happen in terms of future opportunities by doing this. Writing has always been a therapeutic outlet for me and I believe that there could be doors that open for me in publishing this book.

For those who have had their hearts broken, or have had their own experiences I would love to talk more with you about this. I want to talk to you, and when more chapters are in process find individuals who're interested in sharing to potentially end up being included in my book.

Be You, Be Beautiful will be discussed in my book and I am interested in hearing what you think of this saying in your own life - whether its about you, how its helped you overcome past difficulties or how you would encourage other ladies with this in your own way. (Loaded question, I know!)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

My life {in 5 years}.

Remember when you were a kid and that question would come around, the one that asks you to forecast your entire life on the spot -- where do you see your life in 5 years. It's fun to kind of put a time capsule on here today and then check back in 5 years to see what happened out of my guesses and dreams. I mean, I remember playing that hilarious game in school 'MASH'. You could see just in the title alone if your future would happen in a Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House.  With frilly options, you could end up with your celebrity crush, how many kids you have, the pet you have, the car you drive, what your job and your husband's job would be. Every time you played this game you could end up with a totally different 'future'.

Well today I won't be resorting to that game because one of the few games I loved from my childhood, I own already and its honestly much more fun than seeing what your future entails, which is Mall Madness.

Today I want to answer the 'where do you see yourself in your 5 years' question?

While I don't have kids yet, hopefully God will be blessing our family in 2015 with our firstborn, happy & healthy. Five years from now, our baby will be three years old. They won't grow up with luxury but a lot of love from family and close friends. They will make good friends in our neighborhood and enjoy their life in sunny central Florida where they will be able to go to Disney World, Universal, water parks, etc on a whim. Whether our firstborn is a darling baby girl who loves to accompany her mom on shopping trips and love the color of pink. Or if our firstborn is an adorable baby boy who loves cars, trucks, planes and choo-choo's.

Also, in the next five years, my hubby, Chris & I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary, actually closer to 9th. I hope we will be traveling more, be in fantastic jobs who pay us generously, enjoying our lives here in central Florida with our multiple theme park passes. We'll be midway onto paying off student loans and have owned our first home for almost 7 years. We'll hopefully have made some improvements to our home that will make us enjoy our home more.

Personally, while I hope to have lost all my weight by next year -- I think five years from now, I will greatly enjoy my life. I will be in my early 30's which sounds so nerve-wracking but yet not really in my control. I will have a beautiful family of my own which expands both of ours. I feel like in the next few years -- in a professional side that my Master's degree will pay off and I will be working somewhere that is simply wonderful. I will be taking great vacations and making impacting memories with my entire family.

Life in 5 years seems so far away but in a blink of an eye, it will be here. Regardless of if all these dreams come true or if they happen differently - I am so excited to see what the future brings in all areas of my life.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

{jess}

come what may.

Sitting here on this Friday night, I feel like my head won't stop spinning. To be frank, this week wasn't the greatest or the most spectacular. I'm still waiting for news from Monday morning for an incredible opportunity that was so graciously extended my way. The last few days, I've been trying to give myself a few key pep talks in a variety of areas.

1st) This weight loss thing. Every time I fall off the wagon and make a few too many choices that result in the scale going up, I keep mentally scolding myself. Why? Because I am a lady and I tend to over-analyze. But honestly, with the frustration thrown my way from work lately -- I took that anger, unfairness and molded it into something powerful and fearless tonight. I finally did Zumba. Not as long as I wanted but I was kind of a super wife, prepped dinner & caught up on my favorite shows. But I learned that if I am going to lose this weight, I have to stop with the negativity and balance the good encouragement in. I've been searching for the spark and I think I found what I need to keep that burn alive, to make myself push hard and lose the weight. So, while I have 2 months left in the year, I am going to really work hard, and kick 2014 off with a bang.

I think its important that we stop remembering the negative and the positive. Women are so catty, and competitive in all the wrong contexts. It's rough knowing that there are so many women who feel that bad about themselves that you thought after middle/high school that you could replace them with really great people, but unfortunately for me -- I feel like all the mean girls I dealt with in middle and high school are mucking up the general population. I encounter people on a daily basis who act entitled, spend money like its the same oxygen they breathe and then turn around and treat me horrendously for no reason. I just feel like women need to forget the stress, not let these areas of weakness consume you and find an outlet to where you can keep being the fantastic woman you are. I know I am not the first woman to do it and not the last.. 

2) Dreams & Ambitions. For the longest time, and when I was growing up, I was blessed to have a Dad who loved me so much and made sure I knew it. He also prayed for me and as I got older, encouraged multiple conversations of what I wanted to do, what goals I had and what I wanted my life to turn out. (My Mom was equally incredible as my Dad).* Sometimes you just need people in your life who are willing to sit down and have a lengthy heart to heart. Everyone has passions and everyone has wants. I feel like its important to not only know yourself but to take those moments to really know what you have to offer and what you want to achieve in this life. One of my friends from college who tragically was killed in a car crash earlier this year, she was full of such wisdom and energy in her short life. One of the quotes I've seen over and over that she lived out -- was 'What will I do with this one and only life?' I encourage you to ask yourself this. Do you want to play it safe or do you want to get out and live?

3) Being that girl. That sounds pretty light and casual. But I know who I am, I have a voice, I am beautiful and I am blessed. I may not have the bank account of Donald Trump or the amazing closet of an A-list movie star. But I am writing my chapter(s) of success, romance, adventure and making fantastic memories as I go.  The best part about where I am in life is that my life is still being written -- everyday is a new adventure and I am  ready for the next chapter of starting my family. Until I get there, I have to help myself stay focused on the weight loss, my dreams & ambitions and no matter what -- being the best version of myself possible. :)

What things are you prepping yourself on? I'd love to hear from you. 

lately.

Currently, it feels like EVERYTHING in life seems to be stacking up to where its hard to see anything else. I keep sitting down to update everything and those that follow me, and it just feels like my to do list grows bigger. Maybe its the season of knowing the holiday season is right around the corner & excitedly showing up at stores. Now that my weekend of insane busyness is over, and the work week has resumed -- I wanted to get back into blogging with some key words.

Insurance claims suck.// Almost four months ago, my husband & I came home from celebrating our wedding anniversary to water all over our floor. We kept laying down towels but the water kept seeping out. To make a long, frustrating story short -- we had a water leak in our home. We had to have huge dehumidifiers in our house for a week. We started the process of filing a claim with our insurance company and let's keep it simple -- its been a less than stellar experience. We're still drudging along, hoping for a big breakthrough.

Excited over the moon// for the fact that Thanksgiving & Christmas come swiftly after Halloween. When I was a young girl, I enjoyed dressing up for Halloween because as a young kid, the logic is - yes, I'll wear that goofy outfit because it leads me to CANDYYYY! That wasn't your mindset? Oh, awkward. But while I love the holidays, its hard not too. I mean there are just so many awesome things that make their appearance. I feel like the list of these come outta my mouth like the moment in Forrest Gump when Bubba and Forrest are cleaning the floor with toothbrushes and Bubba is impressing Forrest with his love of shrimp and all that he can do with it...  Except my list would start with: Starbucks holiday drinks, pie, my mom's home cooking, TURKEY!, decorating the house inside and out, putting up the Christmas tree, family coming over whenever they want, presents, Macy's day parades, traditions and Charlie Brown influx. There are so many more things about this list but I could go on and on if I so desired.

Relieved//that fall weather is bringing out mu motivation. I recently discovered the store, World Market and my close lady friends know that in my house -- I am obsessed with finding more items for my kitchen, decorating my house and finding ornaments whenever we go on an adventure. There are so many projects I want to do, some of them can be seen on my Pinterest boards. But then when I get to JoAnn's -- I lose myself in the insaneness of prospective projects. I am making a 3 homemade Christmas gifts for my family this year and I am really excited that I am finally able to be crafty. I am learning how to sew, then crochet, then knitting, then more scrapbooking. It's easy to wrap myself up on ideas with Pinterest but honestly -- my big goal right now is making our house into a home in the decor sense.  I think that's my new Pinterest inspiration next to cooking/baking. I love perusing the home section @ Target, and getting cute ideas to reality.

Counting down//for our next vacation in a few months. My husband will be celebrating his next birthday on the Disney Dream cruise ship, where we just celebrated mine at the beginning of the month. I absolutely love cruising, you meet so many wonderful people, Disney's service and onboard activities are incredible -- I am just ready to sail away for a few days and have uninterrupted time with my mister away from life, our dogs, bills, not so nice neighbors that we just deserve a break from at times.

Well, if you can't tell its back to my to-do list and really making a bigger effort to do ZUMBA, make those phone calls. Pinning new ideas to decorate my house in the way that makes us happy & finding creative outlets to relieve stress & sleep well at night. Lastly, I am using my handy dandy app to get myself into a more frequent post-ing schedule. Hope you had an eventful Monday & have a happy week :) Today was a grrrrrreat day for myself and I thank you for all good thoughts and prayers sent my way this week for an awesome result :)

Not so GLEE ful.

By now, everyone has heard about the tragic death of Cory Monteith a mere 3 days ago.  My reaction, being that of a non celebrity influence, felt like I had been punched in the stomach repeatedly. Let me explain.

This post is about to get real based on the passing of Finn Hudson, aka Cory. Please don't read this as I am some kind of an obsessed fan.  That is not me whatsoever. I am one of the millions of Gleek fans that like most of the world are simply shocked by this news. Cory was one of my absolute favorite characters on Glee and it just feels like since I woke up Sunday morning to find out that he had passed away, that I lost a dear friend. Now since we found out that he had a drug problem, that's not up to me to judge because at the end of the day, he was a human being that just happened to make a fatal mistake.

I think the reason that this passing of Cory has hit me harder than I thought is that when I found out Sunday morning like the rest of the world, I cried. I truly felt like a friend was lost and one of the best. I'm proud to say that I've watched GLEE since the beginning because this show has impacted my life.

Allow me to explain and share a part of my past. When I grew up, even in elementary school, I was bullied. I did not look like the other girls in my class. I was taller, and by the 4th grade I was the only girl that I knew of that developed quite prematurely --- in 4th grade. I have never been a popular girl and I will not lie to you --- I struggled with that for a longer time than anyone would ever want to admit. I didn't have sky high confidence like I told myself I did. That being said. -- Shows like GLEE, Movies like The Princess Diaries were written for girls like me. They gave me motivation, inspiration and encouragement when I needed it most.  People disagree with me when I say this but Taylor Swift's earlier songs were ones I wish I had been able to write and ones that I relate to most because that's what I dealt with and faced alot.

I realize that when GLEE appeared on our TV's in 2009, I was 23. You might be thinking that's kind of older to be struggling with self confidence issues. I will say that I greatly appreciated the stories and the songs that the show has continued to share. The big reason that GLEE and this whole passing of Cory has pulled on my heart strings is that this show roots for the underdog just like that of The Princess Diaries. Characters from both were almost non-existent to the world around them but to that character having an opportunity be thrown to them where they can showcase their talents and finally be recognized for the true rockstars we've known they were this whole time --- THAT is why I appreciate GLEE so much.

Especially in a society where kids are having to grow up so much faster than when I was growing up. Kids these days who are 5 today, feel like with the media pressures from every angle may as well dress, talk, act like they're 18 tomorrow. Shows like GLEE are perfect for every young kid because of the underlying messages that kids need to understand with their own eyes and ears. *DISCLAIMER: Not every scene or relationship on this show is appropriate for all ages of children.*

With all of this said -- take a moment to hug everyone around you a little tighter today. You never know when your moment will come. #carpediem

&& lastly, I will miss you Finn this fall. Thank you for 4 wonderful seasons of GLEE where you taught us all to have faith in ourselves and faith in each other in spite of what makes us different.. #RIPCoryMonteith

fab friday!

Today I want to talk about these FAB things: 1. It's Friday! Been a rough week so I need the weekend badly.
2. I'm officially a nerd & almost 3 weeks ahead in my class. I really don't LOVE it but I want it over with. 3. Next Friday, is not only my husband's birthday BUT we're taking a half day! Celebrating him getting older to head to Universal & 4Rivers for dinner. Yum cannot wait. 4. Last weekend I did my first 5k in awhile, and my knee didn't blow up or hurt at all. It's a belated Fab :)  5. My actual staycation is coming up real in 10 days & it's actually a motivator to clean. Double FAB! 6. While its been a rough week with school & my job, I managed to lose 1.5 lbs this week :)  Hope you have a FAB weekend :) ~ Jessica

30 Things (pt 3)

Happy Sunday! Our plans were to originally spend time with family today but timing changed a bit. Last night I made my mom a cookie cake for her belated birthday party today :) She's not expecting it and I love surprising her this way for lunch!

Maybe two weeks ago, I wrote the original post of 30 Things and today I'll be continuing it with #15-21.

15) Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or when you fell in love: When I met Chris, he was literally weeks away from being done with the Disney College Program and we met on a Christian dating site. He told me that he'd be returning to finish up his last semester at college in KS in a month but that'd didn't matter to me. We got to know each other, talked every day and our first date was at Disney (perks of living in FL & he got in free) park-hopping with a few friends. There was just something about him that I caught early on. He has these amazing blue eyes and a smile that can make your knees buckle right away. But the chemistry we had from early on- I was immensely blessed I found someone this amazing- I had just graduated college 2-3 months prior. The day he left- he met my mom/sister for the first time and just being with him- I wasn't sure if I could handle months away until he came back. I drove him to the airport and when we kissed, it felt like part of me had disappeared. Two months later, I celebrated my birthday & moved half way across the country to be with him. The rest is history.

16) What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

Graduating with my Bachelor's in May '09.

Getting married in June 2011.

Buying our first house in Dec '11.

Paid off our car loan 18 mos early in 2012. 

Graduating with my Master's in April '13.

17) What is thing you wish the most you were great at? Art. I draw stick figures, I try to get inspired when I'm @ JoAnn's or Michaels and look at all the different areas of art but I'm just not blessed to be talented like my sis in law who is an amazing artist.

18) What do you think your spouse loves most about you?

He's told me before & there's a long list but at the top- its a 50/50 thing with my big brown eyes and my smile. There's no clear winner between the two. 

19) How did you feel when you became a parent? This will be answered hopefully Spring 2014. Until then, I have two dogs and that's the closest I am to a parent. When we got our first, Coco- I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to keep her healthy and safe, but enjoying life (as much as a dog can).

20) Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood. The first would be when my grandma passed away when I was 11 from a long battle with breast cancer. She & I were very, very close so her death really impacted me. I remember saying goodbye and   it just hurt for a very, very, very long time. The second was when my sister was born when I was 14. I remember holding her for the first time and just excited to see who she'd become. Update: She's almost a teenager! The third would be: too painful to talk about, sorry. Just know that bullying is real and it does impact people's lives and mentality. 

21) Describe your relationship with your parents. Welp, I know that if It was 10 years ago, I'd be 17 and I'd give a typical answer. Thankfully its 2013, I'm 27 and those past days are very much behind us. My parents and I are very, very close now which I am so so SO thankful and happy for. I enjoy spending time with my family and I know that my best interest is always on their minds. We've come a long way & I know they've always got my back. 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Now that my knee isn't bothering me, time to work out. I have my first 5k this coming Saturday and I really want to do well :) My LAST MBA class starts Wednesday, praise the Lord!  ~Jessica

Fab Friday!

                               Today I want to talk about these fab things... 

1. I lost 2 lbs this week even though I barely dipped into my Girl Scout cookies.

2. Since I couldn't be with my mom on her birthday this week, I decided to celebrate her 29th  making this collage of us over the years. We're so cute!

3.  Maybe no one will find this FAB but I do. I'm baking my mom something awesome for a belated birthday party and of all the amazing desserts Pinterest tempted me with-- I stayed strong in my goals to lose weight.

4. I had an unofficial marathon of Arrested Development & New Girl this week. Best ending to a few nights, justified.

5. I got FREE Skinny Cow ice creams for stocking up on my lunch last week. Over half the box left remain & I shared with my husband. Double fab.

6. Our tax refund will be here hopefully Monday. So excited to pay off 1-2 student loans :) 

7. At my work desk, I've already printed out April and actively counting down til I get done w/ school. 

8. Almost the weekend! Possibly time for Universal or maybe the beach? Love living in Flordeeda. 

Your turn! Head on over to Laura's blog & link up with her to share your FAB news from this week!! 

                                                        ~Jessica

So WHAT Wednesday

This week I'm saying SO WHAT if....

• I haven't worked out intensely like I was. I just deep cleaned part of my house that needed it for 2.5 hours tonight. 
• I've already helped myself to half a sleeve of Thin Mints, they freeze really well and 4 Thin Mints= 1 serving. Justified? You better believe it.
• I come home and slip into my comfy pj pants, life is more comfortable to pay bills, do homework and clean my house than having to do more laundry for a few hours.
• I've been specifically researching the perfect desserts on Pinterest, I fully plan on making My Top 5 whether if it goes on my 'while I'm pregnant' board, my general foodie board or if its just saved on my desktop. None of you may ever know.
• I haven't been the most 'productive' for the past 2 weeks but I am about to start my LAST grad class and if its below sitting in a tub full of scissors than the next 2 months will LITERALLY be a blast.

~Jessica

30 things (pt 2)

Last week, I gave a post about 30 Things I want my kids to know about me. I meant to add on to that post last week but it just didn't happen so here we go. Trying to be more intentional about getting my blog posts written.

Tonight I'll be answering #8-14.

8) What are 5 passions you have?
First one: Baking/Cooking. My mom taught me when I was 16 how to cook. I started cooking for my family in high school, making a few dinners/wk and I really enjoyed it. Some of the meals went pretty terrible but in the 11 years, I've gained more confidence & talent to please my husband. I love to have dinner parties :)

Second one: Travelling. When my husband & I were still dating, we promised each other we'd have adventures & plenty of them. We've been together for 4 years and we've been to San Antonio (Riverwalk), California (Los Angeles), Kansas City.. etc.

Third one: Children/teaching. My biggest regret is that I didn't stick with education in college. I wanted to be a 2nd grade teacher since I was 8.

Fourth one: Paying off student loans. It sounds funny as no one really enjoys making that loan payment but I am one of those interesting people who do. Each month we each make a payment and it's what our tax refunds are going to for many years.

Fifth one: Blogging. I started blogging through Xanga in high school. I tried in college but I couldn't keep it going. Last year, I started a journey that I am 33% done with. I wanted to have a keepsake of my journey to lose 120 lbs. I want to have a baby but until I lose the remaining 80 lbs this year, a baby is only a future wish.

9) List 10 people who have influenced you & how:
First: My parents. They taught me what love, integrity, responsibility, and what living life to your fullest is (among other values). They love me unconditionally and have been my #1 cheerleaders my whole life. They are my closest friends.

Second: My grandparents (paternal). They taught my dad how to love and be a respectful, respectable, humble individual who has a huge heart. I miss both of them & can't wait to see them in Heaven.

Third (thru ten): My extended family. I grew up with them and made good memories with them. They celebrated the highs and were there for the lows. I had a great childhood and life because of them in it.

10) Describe your most embarrassing moment. I attended a youth retreat of my close friends youth group. Some of the younger ones were in the hall, wreaking havoc and in a lapse moment of poor judgement- I decided to throw ice too. I have a horrible aim so one piece I threw hit the fire alarm just at the right angle to make it go off for the ENTIRE HOTEL. Yep- I evacuated an ENTIRE HOTEL for throwing a piece of ice. Needless to say, I never got invited back from that youth group.

11) Describe 10 pet peeves you have *but I only have 7*

• People talking out of their rear without facts. I sit next to people at work who walk around entitled, cocky and experts at everything. It bugs the snot outta me to hear the negativity all day from someone who has no clue for 9 hours/day.
• Horrible drivers- Where I live people must get their driver's license blindly or with no experience. I pray all the time but especially when I get in the car for work.
• Rude people who like #1 feel they are entitled. 
• My neighbors on the left really like to push my buttons to piss me off. Literally have friends over every day, who like to park us into our driveway and have no decency to be smart individuals to know that's not okay. It literally happens multiple times a week *this is my biggest one!*
• Facebook changing things every day.
• President Obama is a pet peeve with spending so much $$ that isn't his. 

12) Describe a typical day in your life. *This will change once I have kids*

First alarm: 7:39am. Snooze once.

Get ready for work.

Make hubby's coffee, let dogs outside, make our breakfast. Get lunch together. Leave by 8:25.

Drop hubby off at work, then to the office 5 min away.

Package FA/have stand up meetings. Work with team to meet goals/try not to stress, Listen to Pandora.

Take a 45 min lunch ~ PINTEREST!!

Get off @ 6p, pick up hubby & head home. 

Let the dogs outside, make dinner. 

WORKOUT for 1 hour/shower.

RELAX/pour a drink/Netflix.

Hit the hay.

13) What's the hardest part of growing up? 

In my opinion, balance is the hardest part. My husband & I work for the same company but I never see him unless we meet for lunch, occasionally. I don't see my friends alot because we're all busy. I'm on a different journey than most people- grad school full time, losing weight, work full time, so that eliminates temptations for me. I love the weekends liek this one that are lazy & at home with my loves. May not be productive but it was relaxing and good to just unwind/destress. 

14.) Describe 5 strengths/weaknesses.

I put others first before myself.

I'm a positive person.

I sacrifice alot.

My intentions are always good.

I'm always wanting to help or volunteer to help. 

Flip side:

I can be too sarcastic.

I try to be a fixer.

I wear my heart on my sleeve.

I don't always think things through.

I'm too serious at times (mostly at work)