Weekend Tidbits.

Welp, we made it through another week, congrats. I don't know about you but I couldn't be happier. There were points this week I didn't know if I'd make it in one piece. Part of my transition to a new team has left me turning into a 99 year old woman -- falling asleep at 8:30. Yiiikes. That was different yet serendipidity? Yeah.

I felt the need to update but I don't really have anything big to update. Just a few random things.

One of the ladies I work with do Transformations - a type of physician supervised weight loss. I am debating about if I can with my condition and if its worth it. I've heard great things about women who've kept it off but I am eager to get other perspectives. I've tried my share of diets -- Weight Watchers, South Beach, Atkins, but the bottom line is -- none of these are magic - they won't let you lose the weight overnight just like you didn't gain the weight in 5 seconds. That is what I need to decide to do.

I am loving that the holidays are right around the corner. I got my Starbucks holiday drink on last weekend even the day of my best friend's wedding. Which, she looked gorgeous & I am so happy for her. Here are a few shots of me & her --

I was lucky enough to celebrate the wedding with two of our friends. The three of us kept the others sane. It was an interesting wedding especially when my friend Katty G caught the bouquet that night again. She caught it at my wedding so I loved it so its a new tradition in a way. But it was great fun to celebrate my bestie and her mister. :) Plus it allowed my mister & I to get a picture together. YAY. We looked schnazzy. :)

Today was probably the best day ever. I am going to get back on track with my squat challenge. Kind of fell off the wagon and rolled around in the mud -- basically just forgot to stay on it. But today I belted out N*Sync on the way into work -- we're talking classic hits like 'Bye, Bye, Bye' & 'It's gonna be meeee!' lol. That will get a smile on my face pulling into work on a Friday. I also made a student loan payment. Been working hard to have a bit extra. It may sound off to others but I honestly am ready to just make more payments. I am actually looking forward to being in repayment.  & then I got this awesome email from Laura over @ The Every Day Joys (if you're not following her blog, well I'm scratching my head as she is fantastic!) -- I won the Hunger Games giveaway on my blog. When I told my husband he was surprised as I just got into this movie series recently. But hey, it always feels nice to win a giveaway. :)

I had to make a sad decision today. I have been obsessed with deals on Moolala lately (kind of like a Groupon that pays you for every deal you buy) - I ordered 5 canvasses and I just kept running into sizing snags. They were going to revolutionize our living room - make it more homey feeling -- but alas, I had to get a refund. So I am bummed but still on the look out for great canvas deals. 

It's been one full week since joining my new team at work & I love it. It will take time to make friends with all the new people but I am loving the non stress and the energy I have. I got home tonight - got laundry going, got the dishes going, made dinner. I think at one point I looked at my husband like 'we can throw a newborn in this -- I got my A game on' Something of that nature. Plus tonight - in other randomness - I was able to buy my dogs' Christmas gifts - basically cutesy treats. They wont really care as they have a ton laying around our house but I am excited to give them the treats.  Essentially I am all done with Christmas shopping in terms of gifts minus my husband. This will happen next week with the incredible Amazon sale. Cannot wait to get some good deals - I am taking part in Target's black friday sale but I have some items I have been saving for. 

Hope you enjoyed my weekend tidbits. I will most likely think of many many more. 

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 :)

Motivated & back on track.

Hello, lovelies!
Hope your week has started off much less stressful than mine. All I will say is I am glad tomorrow is Thursday. I feel like this work week has dragged on much slower than any other.

However -- I will say that I am finally getting back on track with my weight loss. Been blog-hopping per se to find different ways people are losing weight -- let's be honest, Pinterest gives me ideas but it also provides procrastination and zaps my time in other areas: Holidays, Home Decor, DIY projects and sometimes Food ;) So -- I'm back to Just Dance 4 and really excited to be off my plateau to lose 10% of my weight which is 24 lbs by Sept 30th. I've felt super motivated since being more intentional about my food choices, and holding myself accountable -- which is key for me.

3 reasons I've re-discovered my motivation is:

#1 & #2 are happening together -- the first is my BIG #28th birthday, which my husband makes fun of me because I get more excited about my birthday than most 5 year olds at Chuckie Cheese's :) This picture is of a previous birthday but it's a motivated picture because I want to be back at this weight by my 29th!

Secondly-- my husband & I are taking my birthday//much needed vacation to go on our first Disney cruise to the Bahamas :) We got a sneak peek of the ship last year. 

We had just a GREAT time on our first cruise for my last birthday that I cannot wait for 3 uninterrupted days with my husband and all things Disney! :)

Lastly, my bestie gets married in less than 3 months from now. That is insane how time has flown by. I cannot wait to watch her get married to her mister. Cannot wait to get my dress shopping on at Ross in November!

There you have it -- I'm back on track & it's been enjoyable thus far. Today at the office I got two compliments from coworkers which honestly made my day. It's great to be told how great you look after months of hard work & sacrifices. Plus with my hypothyroidism -- its not coming off the fastest but its coming off. 

Any tips or ideas are greatly appreciated. Time for #AGT! 

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!

After 2 weeks of not being able to link up, I'm BAAAACK for fab friday & this lady is happy!

Today I want to talk about these FAB things:
1) I lost about 5-6 lbs this month, gave myself a new weight goal (minus 15) by May 1st.

2) I met my goal for March for Pampered Chef (2 shows submitted) + I get all Help Whip Cancer products free :) (Perfect for my Help Whip Cancer all of May!)

3) I am in the last few weeks of my last MBA course and I have a perfect A.

4) Last week, I applied to work part time at 4Rivers in the Sweet Shop so hopefully I'll hear back soon.

5) This weekend is Easter & I am finally letting myself have Cadbury Eggs. Favorite candy ever and I stayed strong, buying some tonight :)

6) This weekend I am taking a much deserved break from school, for at least tomorrow. I am getting lots of house cleaning and reorganizing done since the Home Decor on Pinterest have given me new ideas. My husband = not too excited as me. Pshh. What a typical dude.

7) Part of my graduation for getting my Master's in less than a month, wheeee. is that I am getting a cupcake (portion control) and a bonus: All American Rejects at Universal Orlando. Love that I'll be there :D

8) Finally doing my hair this weekend-- kiiind of tired of people's comments that I have  gray hair. Yeahhh, not supposed to tell a lady about that to her face, weirdos. 

Have a wonderful Easter weekend :)  ~Jessica

#operationredbikini

So, this morning- I did my first weigh in of the year. I lost 4 pounds this week :)

I'm pretty excited. I absolutely love knowing the weight is starting to come off, I was getting a tad nervous.

Definitely encouraged to keep it going especially because now I need to lose 86 pounds to be done (until I get pregnant). A lot of people have asked why I am aiming towards such a big number.

Let me answer that question as honestly as possible.

#1) I have struggled with weight since I was 11. I had a pretty unhealthy relationship with food in that I used it to hide my feelings or struggles in high school. I didn't have the best experience in high school, was bullied throughout middle school and some of high school. So, now I am changing my outlook on food and how many portions I have.

#2) I've seen the number on the scale & while I don't let it define who I am because its just a number; it does have a say in the sense of what size I am currently wearing AS OPPOSED TO the size I am aiming for-- size 8/9 :)

#3) As much as I would love to take a few months off & be on Biggest Loser-- I don't have the paid time off or the means to live on a ranch with Jillian Michaels. She'd be a bit too much to deal with 24/7.

So there you have it- I'm working my tush off to lose 86 more pounds because I need to be fit & healthy :)

& in other news...

-Usually I'm an overachiever with hw for school but trying to drum up motivation for my final paper wasn't there. However, I had to be at work 2 hours early today so I was able to get 4 pages done. YAY for being a month ahead.

-Tonight my husband & I had an impromptu date night. Nice to talk to him w/ great food & not w/ our two dogs watching/begging for food. Just saying, it was nice to shake things up.

-I met with my host after work today. We talked about the show next Saturday & I'm pretty psyched. I love being a Pampered Chef consultant. :)

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend! Here's to another great wk towards #operationredbikini :)