The Last Time I......

1. Went to Disneyland/World: In May! With Grant's family.

2. Had a phone conversation that lasted over an hour: Joanna!

3. Saw a movie in the theater: Last weekend with Katie, we saw the Nanny Diaries!

4. Saw someone famous: Superbowl 2004!!

5. Took a car trip that was over 10 hours: Oooh it's been a LONG time!

6. Drank Kool-Aid: Probably about a year ago

7. Went to a school dance: Senior prom! (SO FUN)

8. Was on a boat: Labor day weekend I believe at the lake!

9. Was on a plane: September 12.

10. Ate a Rice Krispy Treat: That would be yesterday :)

11. Jogged: A few days ago when Moxie and I went for a run

12. Went to the doctor: Friday blaaaaah

13. Was out of the Country: ummm I guess that would be for our honeymoon in December/January of 2006/2007.

14. Washed my car: Grant washed it about a month ago. Thanks honey :)

15. Ate a bowl of cereal: Yesterday morning, Captain Crunch baby!

16. Held a baby: That would be Thursday night, I held Matt & Julie's little boy Jacob, SO CUTE

17. Watched an episode of Friends: a couple days ago, it was a rerun on TBS

18. Jumped up and down: When the new season of the Office was starting :)

19. Bought an item of clothing: Yesterday. (Macy's is having a HUGE sale ya'll!)

20. Vacummed: Sweet husband did it for me on Friday :)

21. Had to speak/perform in front of a large group of people: Grant and I sang at Ricky and Olga's wedding back in June... does that count?

22. Took a test: Wow, I guess that would be the spring semester of 2006.

23. Went to a wedding: Claire and Russell's in August!!

24. Used a phone with a cord on it: Everyday at work

25. Ate pizza: I think we ordered pizza about 2 weekends ago

26. Had a cup of coffee: Last week

27. Did a math problem by hand: Also Spring semester 2006! :)

28. Had a manicure or pedicure: Pedicure, over a month ago. Girls, it is TIME!

29. Got a package in the mail: About 2 weeks ago! It was a book from Sally

30. Updated my blog: Well before today, it was Thursday I believe! Sorry ladies!

OKAY, you are ALL tagged. You ALL have to do this one :) Have fun ladies!

How Not to Work Out

My sweet precious friend Katie sent me this video and I can't stop watching it. I can't breathe it's so funny! My heart goes out to this poor woman, but you can't not laugh at this. Oooh girl!

Ridiculously Cheesy

Hey ya'll! I rarely get to blog in the evenings but I have a few minutes while dinner is finishing! It's been a nice few days here......

Yesterday I got home from work and started right on my new recipe! I made pork chops braised in a white wine sauce. (FROM SCRATCH!) It was soooo good and I am getting more and more comfortable trying new things. Grant liked it too.

We don't have a television in our bedroom. I didn't think it was a good idea, I am SUCH a tv watcher that if I'm not careful I can get way too into it and I just thought it was a better idea for us to keep it in the living room! So last night it was rainy and chilly and we decided to have a little party! :) We folded out the fold out couch and watched all our shows in a more relaxed atmosphere. It was wonderful.

Now girls, you KNOW I watched The Bachelor. Let me just say, I am well aware that it is ridiculous and cheesy. Perhaps I'll even say it is ridiculously cheesy. It is a train wreck. I have already formed opinions though. :) We'll see how they turn out. If you watched it last night, be sure to read "The Bachelor Recaps" blog I have linked on the left. You'll love it :)

Today was a crazy, crazy hectic day at work. The other paralegal, Amanda, is vacationing with her girlfriends in Jamaica, so I am doing work for two. I am ready for her to come back, but I am sure she's having a wonderful time!

Now I am home, waiting for the cornbread to finish so we can have dinner. (I made red beans and rice tonight ya'll, with sausage! Grant is a happy camper). Right now our friend JP is over playing a new video game with Grant. Lord help me :)

Love ya'll!

Premiere Week!

Ladies!! I am SO excited about this week. It's PREMIERE WEEK! I watch far too much television, but this week is like Christmas for a TV watcher. All the season premieres start this week! I have been waiting!

MONDAY (tonight!)- THE BACHELOR. Do not make fun of me. You are not allowed to. I hadn't watched this show in YEARS, but got back into it during last season's Andy. This new guy is from Austin. Okay, so it's not the most intelligent show. But I like it! Also, if you ARE a cool person and watch it with me, every Tuesday morning this HILARIOUS girl Lincee writes a blog about it, recapping and making predictions. Her blog is linked over there to your left. Anyways, here is the new Bachelor, Brad Womack from Austin, Texas.

WEDNESDAY- KID NATION. Grant and I watched the premiere of this show LAST week and we love it. It's really funny and interesting. There's a little weird kid named Jared, Grant calls him Rainman. :)

THURSDAY- GREY'S ANATOMY AND THE OFFICE!!!! It's my favoritest of all favorites. The Office which is by FAR our favorite show on television, and Grey's Anatomy, which we are shamefully addicted to. Tonight on The Office we get to see how Jim and Pam are doing since their first date! Eeeeee!!!!! I'm a little worried about Grey's. Meredith's half sister is there now and I dont' want her moving in on Derek. No bueno. But here below is Jim & Pam. My favorite almost-couple.

Do any of you watch any of these shows? Would you like to watch with me!? I am SUCH a dork and clearly have too much time on my hands!

Oh yeah, one last thing. My precious sister Jaclyn FINALLY got a blog! I linked her, go say hi! Look at the precious pictures of baby Grace Parker :)

Love you all, have a FABULOUS week!

Up and at 'em

Good morning! This is a beautiful, gorgeous Sunday here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana! I'm about to start getting ready for church here in a minute, but I just have to share with all of you how good God is to me.

Grant has been out of town all weekend. He is in Birmingham, Alabama visiting his 2 greatest guy friends, Ben and Chris. I've been doing alot of traveling lately and I opted to not go and give him a good, long, guy weekend. So I've been here, in Louisiana, all to my lonesome. This could have been a very lonely, boring weekend. But it wasn't!

One thing I REALLY wanted to get accomplished this weekend was some housework. I really wanted to get my closet cleaned out a bit and do several loads of laundry and ironing so we have stuff to wear to work this week! Now, ladies, for those of you who know me or read this blog often, you know that motivation is a struggle for me. Sometimes I just have a really hard time getting started. And then, even if I do get my lazy butt up and get going, I have no joy in it whatsoever. I always feel like I'm wasting my time.

My dear girls, Friday night I got home from work and immediately started a load of laundry and mopping my floors. (I skipped Oprah, ya'll). I cleaned the kitchen and put a load of dishes in the dishwasher, all in the first half hour I was home from work. On a Friday! God blesses me with motivation coming out of my ears!

As if that wasn't a great enough gift, God did something extraordinary. I went to a movie. With a friend!!! That's right ladies, I made a new friend in Baton Rouge! Katie and her husband Mo attend the same church as me and Grant, and also the same weekly Bible Study. Katie's husband had to work this weekend, so Friday night we went to dinner and then went to see The Nanny Diaries (so cute). I needed some girl time and we had a blast.

Yesterday morning, Saturday, without an alarm, I woke up at 8:00. I put on a t-shirt and my tennis shoes, and I took my dog on a walk. At 8:15. On a Saturday morning. When I had nothing to do that day. (Ya'll, God is doing a MAJOR work in me!!). So after Moxie and I spent some quality time together :) I came back to the apartment and ironed my little heart out. I lit candles and blasted Amy Grant's Greatest Hits (holla back to 1986!!) and sang at the top of my lungs. And THEN, Katie came over cause Mo was working again. She brought her wedding album and I got mine out and we oohed and aahed at each other's wedding pictures and talked and talked and talked. I went back to her house with her last night and hung out with her and Mo for awhile so I wouldn't be home all alone.

This morning, I voluntarily woke up at 7:30 and decided to do a post before getting ready for church. Grant is coming home tonight (YAY!) so I am going to get a little bit more done this afternoon.

Praise God for the gift of motivation. Praise God for the gift of new friends! Praise God for beautiful days and beautiful, relaxing, productive weekends! God is SO good, He's so good to me!!

Red Headed Jen

I am a red head. I have red hair, fair skin, and freckles. I am classic red head! It can be both a blessing and a curse. My red headedness prevents me from getting a tan. But it also makes me very unique and different. An article was sent to me today that told me some facts about myself that I did not know!!

*Scientific studies show that red heads report a higher rate of bruising.

*Fair-skinned red heads lack the melanin needed to prevent a sunburn.

*Studies have shown that red heads are more sensitive to thermal pain and heat. (THIS IS WHY I AM NOT COMFORTABLE LYING OUT IN THE SUN ALL DAY!)

*Red heads require a greater amount of anesthesia in surgery.

*Queen Elizabeth I was a red head

*Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) is a famous (fictional) red head who once said, "My hair matches my temper." She is my favorite :)

*In the middle ages, red heads were thought to have the mark of the devil. Nice

*6% of America is red headed.

*Only 4% of the world is red headed

* Red hair is a recessive trait.

*Red hair is thought to produce a fiesty or hot tempered personality. (I already knew that one!)

Anyways, I just thought those were interesting. You blondies and brunettes don't have that many interesting facts about your hair color, now do ya? :)

Fried Chicken vs. Chicken Salad

So, at work, I'm typically the lunch girl. I pick up lunch for whoever needs it. I am normally driving to Timbuktu, but I get lunch. Soooo remember my last post? Remember how I said I was going to try to eat healthier? I have been doing okay so far.

Guess what everyone wants for lunch today? FRIED CHICKEN. With MACARONI AND CHEESE. And CORNBREAD. So I went and picked up FOUR meals of that wonderful, sweet smelling stuff.

Here is what I had for lunch:

Chicken salad

On whole grain bread

with fat free yogurt

and a Fresca.

La-dee-freaking-da!!!!

:) In all seriousness, my goals are not 100% perfect but I am doing okay. Today I am trying to get stuff done now, because Oprah is tivo'd and I can always watch it later.

The dishes are in the dishwasher.

One load of laundry is in the wash.

My favorite candle is lit.

And I am off to the land of bathroom sinks and countertops!

Do you see how I am trying to make myself excited?!!? I am using lots of exclamation points!!!! Yay for eating healthy!! Yay for housework!!! Yay for waiting to watch Oprah on a perfectly good lazy afternoon at home alone!!!!

Girls, I would appreciate it if you were to lift me up in prayer this afternoon. Thank you. ;)

Goals

After a good, LONG, weekend, I am back to Baton Rouge, back to the "norm", back to the routine. I am at my desk right now. As I type this, I'm sure I appear to be very busy typing up a pleading for one of our criminal cases. Little do they know I am updating my blog. Bwa ha ha. :)

Texas is a wonderful wonderful place, full of wonderful wonderful people. I must say, however, that I am very happy to be back here with my husband. 5 days without him gets kinda tough!

Yesterday morning I flew back and hubby picked me up from the Aeropuerto. Then we went to lunch with his parents and grandparents. It was soooo good and the Banana's Foster cheesecakes is to die for. Oooohhhh it is SO good.

Then Hubby and I went back to the house, did some unpacking and I had my own little version of the Superbowl, THE EMMY'S!! I must say, I wasn't to satisfied with the winners. The Office was robbed. However, it was fun to see all the Grey's Anatomy docs and The Office employees all dolled up. Grant was really ready for the Emmy's to be over though. Apparently the FedEx Cup was on, but I hardly feel that that is important!

Soooo it's a new week and I've set 4 goals I plan to accomplish by this weekend. With you all as my witnesses, I will be much more pressured to actually accomplish these things since I have some accountability. So here we go:

1. Eat healthier (honestly). And I need to stop justifying what I eat! Not "well it's 4:30 and I had a long day at work and I have earned this bag of cheetos".

2. Spend a larger chunk of my time in the Word EVERYDAY. Again, no excuses. I have been complaining lately about not knowing where I'm going or what I'm doing with my life.... but the scriptures are SO clear!! "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a LIGHT UNTO MY PATH". The more I spend time in His Word, the more I will have direction! Helllooooooooo!

3. GET STUFF DONE IN MY HOUSE. I am telling you, I have done just enough to get by lately. I've only done the laundry that I know we'll need to wear. I have swept the floors but not mopped them. I have wiped down the counters but not scrubbed them. I am being a lazy lazy wife and that is NOT how it should be!! So I am praying for MOTIVATION to get up and moving!

4. Save money. I've been a little loosey goosey lately and it hit me this weekend that I have Christmas shopping coming up! (How frightening is that!)

Anyways, I am ready to attack this week and get stuff conquered. (All with HIS help of course!)
What are YOUR goals this week??

Love Love Love!

It Is Well With My Soul

I am in Texas, all hail the mighty state. :) I flew in late last night, Aunt Donna's funeral was this morning. The service was beautiful. It was a wonderful tribute to a wonderful, joyful woman. She fought the good fight. She specifically requested Phillipians 4:6-7 to be read at the service. It was so calming to hear "Be Anxious for NOTHING". God is in control! There is no reason to worry. I found it so sweet that she chose that verse. After her long, hard fought battle with cancer, and leaving her sweet husband and children behind, she was telling us to be anxious for nothing. So cool!

It has been quite the reunion down here. All my cousins are here, as well as my sisters and their precious baby girls. I have enjoyed being Aunt Jenny today and giving lots of kisses.

I will head back up to Louisiana (otherwise known as Psycho LSU tiger obsessed land) on Sunday morning, but until then, it's just me and some good old Cypress therapy! PTL!

Thanks everyone for your prayers, keep 'em coming for my cousins.

Home

I got the call this morning that my Aunt Donna has gone home to be with our Savior. Praise the Lord that she is no longer in pain. Please pray for my cousins and my uncle.

Unexpected Date Night

Yesterday we did alot of relaxing during the day. We spent the morning getting FOUR new tires on my car and then we came home to sit. I took two naps. Don't get me wrong, this was a very rare thing for us. A completely free Saturday? Never happens. So as the afternoon moved into evening, we both started saying "let's do something".

Last night was the first LSU home game, so we knew that we basically had the entire city as our playground. No one else in the city of Baton Rouge would be doing anything but watching that game! So, we did something neither of us have ever done before. We went to see a show at the planeterium!

The only thing showing was called "Cosmic Rock". It was basically a bunch of screen saver looking things set to heavy metal music. It was fantastically well done, but we both came to the conclusion that to get the full effect we probably should've taken some LSD or Acid before the show. I've never been on an acid trip, but that show was what I think it would be like! It was very cool but I was a little dizzy afterwards!

After that we went and had dinner at a Hibachi steakhouse. We sat with the nicest people. There were 2 women with their 2 daughters who were from The Woodlands (Holla back to Texas, ya'll!) and then the sweetest family on our left. That sweet sweet family overheard our conversation with the Texas people and when the check came they tried to buy our dinner since we were newlyweds! How sweet!!

My sweet husband thanked the man several times but insisted that we pay for our food. (It wasn't too cheap). It was a wonderful thing to offer and it made me feel all gooey inside. There are such nice people in this world!!

It was a wonderful date night that was totally unplanned but we had a great time.

Anyways, we're going to church in a little while. I should probably get moving since my hair is still wrapped up in a towel. I'm sure this looks really attractive!

Happy Thoughts

Okay, so my last 2 posts have been very sad, and anytime I read them I get all blaaaaaaah again. So I'm going to have a cheery post! Here are my happy thoughts:

1. Our dog, Moxie, when Grant gets home from work. It's quite the performance.

2. My niece Scarlett saying "Mine".

3. My niece Grace with her enthusiastic squeals and smiles.

4. My niece Juliet when she gets excited. (She flaps her arms like a little bird).

5. Laying on the couch reading a magazine under a big comfy blanket while my dog is on my feet chewing on his rope and my husband is watching golf.

6. Christmas!

7. Looking through my wedding album

8. A clean closet!

9. The Olive Garden breadsticks

10. Curling up on the couch while Grant is out playing golf and watching a cheesy Lifetime movie.

11. Remembering hot tub days with my besties!

12. Broadway show soundtracks

13. Making up a song off the top of my head and hearing my sister somehow sing the words with me in unison. Freaky.

14. My sister Shannon's laugh.

15. Being in the car with my parents while mom and I intentionally annoy the heck out of my dad.

16. Dad getting kolaches.

17. Grant calling me "Sweet Girl"

18. Worship on Sunday mornings

19. Pedicures

20. Double dates with Chase & Ronda

21. Talking to Joanna Montana on the phone

22. The Houston Children's Chorus

23. Sitting at the Brian Regan stand up comedy show with Lindsee, wetting our pants.

24. Knowing that I only have 3 weeks left for the season premier of The Office!

25. Watching Tinkerbell fly at Disney World.

26. The nervous-excited feeling I would get right before I went on stage for a musical.

27. Movie nights with my husband

28. The fireplace at my parents house and the big comfy chair in front of it.

29. My mom's mashed potatoes.

30. IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Lord for your many blessings!

Donna Jo

I've never blogged about this for some reason. Maybe I was in denial, I don't know. My dad's little sister, my Aunt Donna Jo, was diagnosed with cancer over two years ago. She has fought very long and fought very hard. Things have taken a turn for the worse. She is now in hospice care and she wants to go home this weekend so she can spend her final days there.

She is only 50 years old and none of this seems right to me. My dad is having a hard time but he sent an email out this morning to the family, a poem by Robert Browning. I thought it was a beautiful image:

"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then some one at my side says: 'There, she is gone!'
'Gone where?'
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when some one at my side says: 'There, she is gone!' there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: 'Here she comes!' "

It is comforting for me to know that she is on her way to be with our Lord and Savior. She is indeed going home.

I'll keep everyone updated. Please pray for my grandparents, her husband Kerry, and my cousins Tony, Katie and Joey.

WOW

What a day it has been, and it's only 9:30. Grant and I didn't get back from Houston last night until well after midnight. We were absolutely exhausted. I woke up this morning, and felt beyond sick. I have a headache, I ache all over, I think I have a fever and my throat hurts really bad. But, I had to go to work since I took yesterday off. So I got ready as usual, and I left the house a few minutes early so I could stop at Walgreens to get some medicine.

I pulled out of my parking spot and started heading towards the main road, and then "thud thud". Flat tire. Again. Another flat tire! I am so tired of this! So I call Grant, head back to the house, take Grant's spare key and took his car to work. And I got here late cause I still stopped at Walgreens.

Honestly, we need to put 4 new tires on that car. I just don't know if we can handle that financially right now. And I feel so bllaaahhhh that its hard to get any work done. I have to get stuff done though cause I'm a day behind!

Hopefully this DayQuil will work...........