SO What, Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday, loves. Today I am linking up with Shannon over at 'Life After I Dew' for the oh so popular 'So What Wednesday' & she has kept it fresh by changing the direction. 

This week I am saying SO WHAT if.. 

I have a cold and that just happened to start on top of it? Everyone in America is dealing with the polar vortex shindig of some sorts and while I live in Florida - it is getting frigid here too, y'all. I've had this sinusy thing for too long. I should work out when I come home but as you can tell being sick drains all energy and possible motivation. Last night - I got home, watched Life of Pi (amazing!) & snacked on gummy bears. Yes, its not nutritious and with my weight loss - its not helping. But every once in a great while- gummy bears is perfection. 

That's really all I got this week. I take Shannon's new direction and I just don't feel like being negative about stuff. I don't love the frigid weather and how in  Florida its 80 today and 20 tomorrow. I don't love getting up to go to work when its cold -- but its part of life and I just deal with it & put on my jams so at least if a dance sesh happens in the am -- that's the silver lining :)

Thanks for stopping by, you stay classy! 

a little bit of this and that.//January Goal recap

Good Morning, loves. Hope you're doing well & staying warm wherever you are. Florida is determined to keep me guessing with our weather - today its sunny and nice but this week its supposed to trick me with the freezing temps. Not nearly as cold as other places but real wintery weather in Florida is crazy!

I thought I'd update so I don't turn into the blogger who only posts for link ups. While they are fun - I need to be better about it. Unfortunately I am still fighting my cold and I am not loving it. Basically this is how I am feeling right now.

Love me some Bob's Burgers!

Let's see I decided to do the Monthly Goals as seen by another blogger. These are the ones I was hoping to accomplish:

JANUARY GOALS:

1) Exercise 26 days out of the month. : I am going to say - this is a monthly goal. And I did pretty darn good - until I got sick. I worked out about half of the month. I didn't lose any weight but I had some health issues this month that contributed.

2)  Be a better friend. I feel okay about this goal, I am still thinking I can improve but at the same time - life is busy so I am not going to make myself feel bad when that gets in the way.

3) Use Instagram more. That just didn't happen this month, maybe when we saw our favorite comedian but other than that - eh not so much.

4. Watch the excessive sugar intake. I did pretty good with this goal this month. This is another monthly goal that I am going to have but I feel like while I did great, I will only get better.

5. Entertainment Book = Creative Date Nights. This just didn't really happen this month either due to unforeseen things that happened. Nothing too bad but enough to make a few date nights be postponed for the time being. 

6.  End every post I do with "Hallelujah's" - on a weekly basis. Didn't do this either :(

7. Sew something. Nope. :(

8. Make my passion for writing a priority. This one is a struggle because due to my laptop having issues, m y Word no longer works but I have been using my old computer and have had a lot of creativity in this area lately. 

Overall - January has been a month where a lot happened out of my control. I started off well with working out and watching my sugar. These are goals I am working on monthly. But I think the biggest goal that my husband & I accomplished this month were a lot of little things - we have a better system of keeping our house clean so we don't have to make it a binge clean when people come over. We tried out a new church this weekend that we really love. It's in a period of growth and we're excited about the opportunities for our own growth by getting involved. Today I will be making my February goals & from my experience this month, I've made more of an effort to make realistic goals instead of pushing myself too hard. 

Feel free to check back here tomorrow for my weekly linkups - So What Wednesday & Girl Between the Lines. You stay classy & thanks for stopping by! 

TGBTL Week #7: Tangible Pride & Joy.

**Disclaimer: This post was intended for Wednesday but due to being sick & technical issues - it just didn't happen. But wanted to get it out there because its a great prompt to share.**

Happy Wednesday, loves. It's been a long week thus far & its only going to continue. Definitely doesn't help that its 25 degrees in Florida & the wind is killer. For those of you just stopping by my blog - WELCOME. Every Wednesday I link up w/ other fantastic women for the 'Girl Between the Lines' goodness. This week we are sharing our most tangible items we hold dearest.

Last week I was trying to find my item for last week's linkup. What I found besides it is something I hold even closer to my heart. I've kept most of the letters from my grandparents since I was a little girl. I am very close to my family. My phone is dead & I am not able to take a picture at this time but just know there is a plethora. All my grandparents on my dad's side have all passed on and I am the absolutest closest to them. I think what makes these notes extremely special to me is that because when I was younger - I used to live closer (distance wise) to my extended family. When my dad was transferred down to Florida, I've missed going to our family get together's, Christmases & Thanksgiving dinners annually. By reading these notes, it not only brought a tear to my eye but a warm feeling in my heart because I am blessed to have the most incredible family in the world.

Along with these letters, I also have a few handmade items from my grandma who went to be with the Lord in 1997 from breast cancer. She was a very beautiful woman, talented in many areas. Two of these items deserve a picture - which I will update gladly this weekend. My family gave me one of my grandma's paintings and a mini wooden horse that she hand painted. My house looks brighter knowing that my grandma's beautiful painting has added richness that you can't get elsewhere.

You stay classy & thanks for stopping by! 

TGBTL Week #6: Best Advice

Happy Wednesday, loves. For all of you just stopping by - welcome. I'm super glad you're here. Today & every Wednesday, I link up with Hayley & Lauren for the Girl Between the Lines. Been meeting some fantastic new friends & I enjoy reading their posts every week. If you'd like to join, feel free to click HERE for more info.

Today's prompt: Best Advice I've ever received.

I've been fairly blessed to have some people in my life who are full of wisdom and don't mind sharing. That said, I am going to share two great examples of advice/wisdom shared. The first is from my wedding. For my guestbook, I asked my guests to share wisdom with us - I found that most of them stuck with 'Don't go to bed angry!' Kind of wish I had gotten more variety but I still enjoyed reading them. (Side note: My mom is a talented woman, she took everything from my wedding & made it into a scrapbook - it's one of those things I'll cherish forever.)**

On the same level of greatness - the morning I was walking to graduate college {May 2, 2009} - my dad hand wrote me a letter that he had written specifically for my big day. He reminded me that I am set apart. He reminds me daily of advice that is incredible. Every time I read this letter to this day, my eyes well up with tears because his writing and his encouragement just get me through those hard moments. Here is a snapshot for you but just know that its one of those items you get in life that you will never part with. I plan on re-enacting it with my kids one day when they've graduated college & hopefully they will keep this up in the future.

Thanks for stopping by! You stay classy. 

SO WHAT, WEDNESDAY!

Hey loves. Happy Wednesday to each of you. Today I am linking up with Shannon over at 'Life after I Dew' for the oh so fun 'So What Wednesday' linkup. (It's one of my favorites). Glad you're here!

This week, I am saying SO WHAT if:

1) I'm addicted to Tijuana Flats, I stood in line last night at one of the absolute craziest locations for 30 min + & I ordered online. But all that waiting was worth it - I am always sad when my tacos are gone.

2) Yesterday was my cheat day for my working out. I really wanted to get back on the elliptical because I love it and consider myself addicted but just couldn't. So I treated myself to Chick-Fil-A for lunch & took a night off working out but hey, I work out 6 days a week so I deserved it.

3) Originally I was gungho about ordering 4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies but I didn't want to back slide on my motivation and weight loss so I cut my order down by 50%. I feel pretty proud.

4) Last night I was on a mission for my Girl Between the Lines linkup (I never miss this linkup on Wednesdays- check back later for my post) and ended up spending an hour being nostalgic going through childhood pics/sentiments. Time well spent.

5) No shame here. I watched & enjoyed 3 hours of Community episodes last night while catching up with Blacklist too. Thank you, Hulu subscription.

6) Finally starting to work on ideas and write my book again. Yesterday I had overwhelming inspiration at work, right before I left - I wrote down what felt like infinite ideas to brainstorm on including a new chapter I hadn't even thought of. Those 5 minutes I scribbled down ideas and just went with the motivation.

7) I peruse Groupon after work for a few hours here and there, sometimes trying to find ideas for gifts, creative date nights but I'm only successful 5% of the time. 

Thanks for stopping by. You stay, classy! 

{Oh how I love} Saturdays.

Wow sometimes I surprise myself - two posts in a day. & my tenacity to lose the weight in terms of choices that I need to make in order to do so. While I won't deny it, I wanted to lose more than .6 so why not put in the absolute most effort in every area - while keeping my balance in tact. I was telling Chris at dinner (Sam's Club cafe is a luxury) that I feel like the reason I am feeling great about this new motivation & determination is that I am doing what I set out to do without going to extreme. Like I think last year when I was trying to lose the weight - I made unrealistic goals and it just didn't happen. You can't lose 10 lbs overnight or by the following week. This seems like a silly concept but there are many sweaty nights & many workouts ahead before I even make a dent. & that's okay - I'd rather work for it and earn it than be given the body I want. That's my mantra this year - to work hard & dream big. 

This week I posted in my weekly linkup 'Girl Between the Lines' about my dad here & while this week was how his perseverance has been reflected in my life thanks to him - it's definitely not the only teachable moment we've had. Though I will admit that I wish I could go back in time - when I was a teen - I chose not to listen to the teachable moments available so that's a regret but I am thankful that my dad is my dad. Everyday is an encouragement from him in terms of my weight loss - and I will never forget the text I received from him on my two previous birthdays - something along the lines of: "Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, you are loved greatly by the Lord and by me - I am so blessed and humbled that I am your dad" - I literally teared up. Even on days where this weight loss journey of mine feels undo-able - he sends texts like that to remind me that no matter what the scale says - I am beautiful & greatly loved! & so are you!

Don't you just love Saturdays that aren't boring to a degree? When I woke up this am - I was telling Chris all that I wanted to get done & for most, this wouldn't be like a jump to it kind of plans. I've been in this cleaning mode since last night - where I've been looking for stuff that needs to be rearranged & made it clean & orderly. Today was no different - we took all of the boxes in our houses from Christmas and the past few months, broke them down & took them to be recycled. Finally can walk in the room without it being an complicated obstacle. & while getting groceries today - we decided to be impulsive a tad. Yay for new pillows & mixer drinks. For those nights that I need a Pina Colada or Margarita. 3 bags for $20 @ Sam's. Dealio!

I am in process of making my blog more - me. Someday when I am done paying off my student loans I will get a design done from Lauren @ The Albrecht's Blog - this chick is talented in that area! Until then - I am busy trying to earn extra to pay all this down. But if anyone has any talent making blog buttons - I'd really like to learn how to make one for my blog & learn how to put other people's buttons on mine. I'd appreciate anyone's talent in that aspect. Also, I am considering putting my blog on Facebook - for those that do it - have you seen more followers find your blog easier? 

Hope your weekend has been fantastic. Time to do some Pinterest & shopping online - I am a visual person so to get excited about my weight loss - I am trying to find something cute in a smaller size to work towards. 

As always - thank you for stopping by. Welcome. You stay classy - xo. Jessica

Serendipitous.

Thank God it's late Friday night/early Saturday morning! Goodness - all week I've been hitting it hard on the workout front except tonight - I indulged on pizza. But I kept having this intuitive feeling that I needed a late night writing sesh where I rocked out to Paramore & did some writing. Who knows its practically 2 am here & I could totes be a rebel and stay up ALL NIGHT. Since its practically Saturday - naps are always a possibility for me. Since I love my husband I will just stick to my headphones instead of making it a concert in my living room. Kind of like that Lizzie McGuire moment where it incredibly backfires on here before she graduates middle school. Fave movie back then. 

This week seemed to fly right on by for me. This am - my boss' mom brought us in breakfast - glad that was a 1 day event because I will not be losing any weight if I had a warm Krispy Kreme donut on a daily basis. Though I won't deny a warm, fresh donut over a cold one - is there anything to really compare that too? 

Have you ever found yourself in a purging mindset? Like you just need to either fiercely clean your house because you need to clean or because it helps you process & work through stuff on your own. Tonight I felt like that - after I had too many calories for dinner - I have been eyeing my kitchen all week like when did a windstorm come through & make a mess in my house. I felt embarrassed and took on about ninety projects simultaneously. What became a project of sweeping the floor, became so much more than that & boy did it feel good. Everything is cleaned off - some dishes that took over my sink are finally washed, & I can feel proud of my effort. Tomorrow is our biweekly grocery trip & I am so glad that I finally re-arranged our pantry - I won''t feel like such a hoarder with all the Pampered Chef, and stuff flying all over my shelves. 

Besides my kitchen that makes me sound like a hobo who doesn't clean that often -- (I really do) - it was much needed to just work it out. I am not really stressed to a degree except with my weight loss goals. I weighed myself and lost .6 over the past few days, but its made me want to do more. I feel like its good for your mind + yourself to have a day/night to get everything in order. Makes everything seem much clearer than trying to go about it blindfolded. 

Whew - its 3am. I feel mentally unpacked & kind of like when Buddy the Elf runs into his dad's office with Zooey Deschanel like I'm in love, I'm in love & I dont care who knows it! One of my favorite lines & favorite movies.

Already excited to get to sleep so I can sleep in tomorrow. You stay classy & thanks for stopping by. - Jessica