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.

Staring my goals in the face.

May is a month of chapters in my life. It has been the month where chapters closed, followed by open windows of new ones emerging. This year is the 10th anniversary when all of my big dreams were birthed. I was celebrating my graduation from high school. I knew that moment on May 28th, 2004 that my life was truly about to start for real. No matter all the crappy cards that I had been dealt those four years, this part of my life was over and the real, better silver lining that my parents had told me about was ready to show itself.

After high school, I started the newer chapter of my life. I started college out of state, while I only stayed at that college for 18 months, it was a huge learning experience. I really understood myself - in terms of what I dislike, what I like and what I wanted to do with my life while in college. I moved back home with my parents and took a year to attend the local community college to get those gen ed's out of the way. It wasn't mentally challenging because the workload felt like an extension of high school but by the following January when I made the decision to stay in-state, I was able to transfer a lot of credits in. I started with education, but made the switch (I regret it now) to communications, which I do like my degree. 

I remember May 2nd, 2009. I had spent the night before prepping my hair so it'd be curly. My mom made me a dress that's sparkly and butterflies. It was a fantastic day to spend with friends & family. 6 weeks after I graduated, I met my now husband. I was involved in an internship that would prove to be heading nowhere. My now husband was finishing an internship at Disney in the College Program, and about to start his final semester at college. I was ready for an adventure, the kind that changes your life in an instant. That adventure was my now husband. I surprised my parents by announcing, hey I'm moving to Kansas. I moved into my first apartment, I got a job (that I loved!) and started grad school while being with the man I loved. I only was there for a year but in that time we knew what our goals were: we wanted to be together with many adventures. We wanted to finish our degrees, get married, buy a house, start a family & the list goes on. [Before I moved I had lost 25 lbs, and then when I moved on my own - I gained it back and some more.]

We're about to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. We've really accomplished a lot of FANTASTIC goals. We bought our first house six months after we got married, which our wedding gifts helped with our down payment. We both graduated with our graduate degrees, months apart last year. We've worked on our house and made significant improvements. Last year, we put a big dent towards our student loans before we were required and are on the way to being debt free down the road. 

Tonight - however was staring down my goals. I've mentioned this before but I've had hypothyroidism my entire life. This condition goes against weight loss, and its definitely been a struggle in my life. Two years ago when I started my weight loss journey for the sole purpose of getting healthy - I lost 40 lbs fast. Now, with my remaining 75 lbs to lose - its proving to be a challenge. But this month - I decided I needed to make time for my goals. I stare at them in the face, I count calories, I force myself to portion size my meals and I only allow myself two cheat days/week. I'm learning how to really tone down stress, its hurt me in reaching my goals. But tonight I started a new workout routine, 40 minutes of Zumba at the Expert level followed by Jillian Michaels. My goals are simple - my husband is ready to be a daddy and I really want to give that to him next fall. So, I had to step my goals up, and I am excited because I am ready to enjoy life more fully.

I was thinking of this post while working out and I felt like its important to share my goals from where I started until the present moment. My big goal right now is to just lose the weight, as close to 50 lbs by my birthday in October. I am celebrating my birthday at the beach and with friends/family but I'd really like to be able to buy a new bathing suit as a birthday gift to me. Living in Florida, I can always find a good bathing suit sale - so I am excited to meet the goal for myself. 

What about you? What are the goals you're staring at right now to accomplish? Big or small - know that you can do it! Every time it feels like too much - I quote both Philippians 4:13 & Jeremiah 29:11 over and over. 

              

Thank God tomorrow is Thursday! I'm so excited for the long holiday weekend ahead! See you back here tomorrow! ~ Jessica

Million dollar winner.

Remember in high school, or on a rainy day, you'd entertain the thought of 'What would I do with an (extra) million dollars? See, I've expanded on that thought today actually at work. If you don't win the lottery and you don't have an inheritance, how exactly do you encounter this million dollars exactly? Is it a check, or piles of twenties in a briefcase at a specific location? Do you know who is gifting you this rather large amount? As a woman who questions alot in her normal everyday life, no one could be surprised that when given this unexpected gift that I'd just take it. After all, there are so many creepers in the world who make even the slightest random acts of kindness aawwkward to the max.

But let's just go with it. If I were to stumble upon a briefcase of piles of twenties in the mall, on a Thursday @10am by a mysterious man in a suit. -- here is how I'd use it. Not to be boring but I have to consider two different scenarios. The first one being that I am still indebted to my student loans and basically my current circumstances.

First, after taxes, I'd take what I need and pay off three HUGE loans: both mine & my hubs' student loan debts in FULL. (Would love to watch SallieMae process this payment). & then my entire mortgage paid off in FULL too. -- gotta be responsible & honestly I am ready to pay these all off.

Secondly, I'd trade our car in and then purchase a 2014 Chevy Volt for myself. My husband is holding out for the self driving cars and I'd put the x amount in a savings account for him to buy the car he wants at the right time.

Thirdly, I'd pay for my own kitchen remodel. I've got my eye on a few things that I wish had come with my house originally but are on the 'house' bucket list so to speak.

Lastly, I'd put a chunk in our savings and the biggest chunk in my IRA. :)

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Now. the other scenario if I were to stumble upon this money in about 9 years when my student debt is paid off.

It'd be a shorter list. By this time, we'd have kids & ready to celebrate our first big anniversary, the 10th (close to it).

So I think it'd only be right if I helped us not only pay for the trip but with generous souvenir budgets.

Secondly, I'd pay off our mortgage in full & take care of any fix-it project regardless of the cost.

Thirdly, I'd take a look at what we're driving. Still want a Chevy Volt, its pricey but oh so worth it. ;)

Lastly, I'd split it between investing in my house, my savings and my IRA.

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Yeah -- I don't foresee a million dollars showing up on my porch. & even if I did, I don't feel spending it on a lavish lifestyle is worth it. I hear people all the time commenting that if they got rich, they'd retire. I'd be in a new tax bracket or five, but I grew up having to earn what I wanted. Even if I was given something, that made me want to work for it that much harder. I feel that if I were in this situation, I'd just keep working. It'd be nice to know that if anything drastic happened, I'd have a cushion but its a time old truth -- Money doesn't buy your happiness. It's up to YOU! :)

{jess}

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}

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

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)