Weekend Roundup.

So, hello again. I took a few weeks off to refresh and focus on circumstances that needed my attention. In return - I feel brighter, happier and ready to get back to what I was doing on here - meeting new friends (which is harder than I thought) + being transparent about myself in hopes of inspiring one person in the world .. or two ;)

So let's catch up on me from the past few weeks.

- Family: Chris + I don't really go on specific date nights all the time. It's a luxury kind of thing and when it happens - it's marvelous. We go out during the week after work and that's kind of our 'us' time. But this week - we changed it up - we tried out a new burger joint here in Winter Park, FL - Shake Shack. It's a burger joint from New York + it's super fresh and oh so deeelish. Everything is fresh and made to order. Every bite of my hamburger was incredible. Plus, the bacon on it - that was a bonus. :) Have a peek & try to not salivate..

- Family, round 2: My mom is one of my best friends. She has been active/fit her entire life and it shows - she is awesome. Recently, she became a certified personal trainer + I am her first client. We've been working out together for a month strengthening me and helping me get back on track with the fitness. 

I tried going it alone for 2 years to lose weight and I did lose 40 lbs but after the weight crept back up - I turned to the expert and let her in to help. I am proud to say I've lost 4 lbs this month we've worked together. & I am excited for the transformation that's begun.. :) So much that paired with my new IPhone - I bought myself a new gift to treat myself. 

This new pink purse from Kohl's is my first treat of many to keep working hard, to keep pushing hard + over time I will see the weight fall off. It's a fantastic feeling so far + I am excited to accomplish my first bigger goal in the coming months!  

I guess its a blessing my in-laws don't really do dessert so for Thanksgiving - I'll be making my mom's homemade mashed potatoes. I made them myself the first time tonight + I hit a pot o' gold. :) 

I must say that while I did catch up on Scandal this weekend -- I got some good cleaning around the house - cleaning out drawers, we can see our kitchen table again + its a good feeling goin into the week that the kitchen/living room is all clean. Laundry is done. Groceries are bought. It's gonna be a good week - excited for our upcoming time off + Thanksgiving overall. & Amazon's Black Friday deals. :) :)

What a great weekend! <3 Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for my series on Mondays where my goal is to overcome Monday blues while inspiring + encouraging anyone who stops over. I'll be talking about perceptions from others. 

Why I'm THANKFUL for Grace.

Hooray, the weekend has almost returned & with a payday attached. Best kind in my opinion. :)

Monday I posted about how us ladies need not to forget that even in the worst circumstances that we're in that God has not brought us so far to feel that we've been forgotten. If you're just joining us, I hope you will check THIS post out! Often, He reminds me of what's important by using life examples and I shouldn't have been surprised after yesterday that I do feel encouraged and not stressed. He took care of all the details and made it seamless.


Yesterday, en-route to work, Chris + I were running late when our car was backed into by an individual who then sped off and when I had to track him down, claimed he didn't know he hit us. This story later changed when he felt that we should've been at fault. {Sadly, sir - that's NOT how common sense works.} We were blessed with a great police officer who sorted through all the frustration and details to give us what we needed to start the fun claims process. We went on our way and went to work which proved to be hard to focus on anything else.

But behind the scenes, God was working on OUR behalf. By the end of the day, our inspection for car repairs was made and today I took the last of my vacation days to ensure that my car was taken care of, my family & I were taken care of in terms of a rental and that we got all of the questions answered so this was a seamless process. Afterwards, I treated myself to Starbucks/Target & caught up on my shows.

So, its hard to feel stressed about the entire situation because through all of it - I see HIS fingerprints stringing together all the details, putting the most graceful, right people to work on our behalf to ensure we were taken care of. All in all, He blessed us with immense GRACE so that while we were shaken up, He took the details and we were blessed with the work on our behalf. While the car is being worked on this weekend, we were not stranded or feel like we had no direction. He has provided ALL of our needs for us and we're being taken care of on His radar.

Thank you as always for stopping by my blog. I hope your week has gone beautifully. Tomorrow I'll be linking up with Farmer's Wife + September Farm for another  edition of 'Oh hey, Friday' to celebrate our top 5 of the week. Hope you'll join us & meet new friends :) xO. - Jessica

Day #2 of #beingThankful

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend thus far. This am, I was able to sleep in -- always feels nice when Friday night & I don't have to set an alarm. Not even sure what time it was when I got out of bed but mornings like this make me appreciative that we're still a year away from starting our family. Granted, I know that when my nephew was born two years ago, after I waited in line (trust me, it was a loooong line) and got to hold that gorgeous little boy -- time stood still. I got to feed him a bottle & while I was tired, I didn't care. When that moment comes for me -- I will gladly be sleep deprived because the second I blink -- they will be much older.

Anywho -- Day #2 of being thankful. I am thankful for my beautiful house. Six months after we got hitched, we were able to use our wedding gifts outside of a cramped apartment & bought our amazing house. While we think the previous owners were a tad on the cray side -- they ripped out light fixtures, shelving, and had painted the upstairs hallway a dark teal. Our downstairs living room was a bright yellow. They definitely fueled our motivation to change all of these things in our home. The Home Depot & Lowe's by our house recognize us for good reasons. We've googled & Youtube-d demos on learning how to do various tasks around the house.

We are so blessed to live where we are. I don't always love our neighbors but slowly & surely we're making our house into the home we want. I am finding a lot of different Pinterest ideas & I am finding a lot of creativity within Target. I will say that my marriage & buying our first home together has taught me alot. Growing up, I was used to my parents' decor styles at their house & obviously my husband was accustomed to his. Merging these two very different tastes has been hard. i really like pictures hanging up & different plaques. He likes bare walls. I definitely have my work cut out for me & there is a lot of compromise.

{jess}

Celebrations of all sorts

Happy early 4th of July :)

Sitting here watching America's Got Talent -- makes me feel inspired to work on me and my best talents which I feel is writing & being that of a rockstar wife. (Among other talents).

I felt like I'd do this post, which I am going to start doing every year to re-introduce myself and my blog from this slice of the internet to those who stop by and hear my voice. I think its important to know yourself and what makes you tick.

Hi, I'm Jessica! I became a wife when I met my husband online four years ago, and we just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. As you can tell we LOVE Disney, and each other. Right now we are working hard on ourselves before we start our family but right now we're also happy with our two dogs: Coco, Schnauzer mix & Lucy, purebred Beagle. We're big on celebrating birthdays in our house, traditions we'll carry on with our kids.  

They sure do make our lives enjoyable & they're just two cuties. 

A few other facts about me:

-I'm a first time aunt to a handsome little boy, Zachary.

- I recently just graduated with my Master's degree :)

- C & I bought our beautiful first house 6 mos after we married. 

-  I'm currently on my own Biggest Loser journey to lose the rest by Dec/Jan.

- I love to quote Bridesmaids. 'I got the first watch!' 

- Tijuana Flats, OMG, I could eat there every day. It's the cheese to my macaroni. <3

- I love taking pictures & browsing Pinterest.

- I love adventures especially w/ C :)

- I'm a Christian & reminded daily that my Savior loves me for exactly who He created me to be, & not of what the world may see me as. Big difference!

Hope you have a happy 4th of July, we're having a BBQ w/ friends + family to celebrate our Master's degrees  :) & FREEDOM!! Best of both worlds :) 

Hope you'll stay awhile ---- J.

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

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!!

This week I want to talk about these FAB things: 

1. I've lost another 2.4 lbs this week & I'm hoping for another 6 before the end of the month :) 

2. I'm getting close to a year since I decided to lose the weight & with the exception of today -- I've worked hard. I'm hoping to be down 50 lbs after a year of working hard. I'm about 14 pounds away. :)

3.My Bangin' Chicken sauce from Tijuana Flats makes any iffy dish AMAZING. 

4. I decided to be a great wife last night & bake cookies for my husband's potluck: White Chocolate Chip cookies. Bonus- I made too many so I still get to enjoy some. 

5. because I submitted 2 shows last month for the salesathon-- I got the new stone for Pampered Chef, a new cookbook & the new rub for FREE :)

6. For Valentine's day- my husband surprised me by getting 4Rivers BBQ (only in FL- a hot spot).