4 Years Ago

4 years ago today I married my Grant.

It was also the same day that I happened to have a horrible 24 hour stomach virus.

The virus was not fun.

But Grant made everything better.

He is one of God's greatest gifts to me and I am beyond blessed.

Happy Anniversary, love.

Thanks for always making everything better.

This Is Gonna Be a Long One, Folks

Buckle up people.

I haven't blogged in a really really REALLY long time. It's the longest I've ever gone. But I don't want to drag this puppy out into 2011 so I'm just gonna do one really big blog to explain myself and my absenteeism.

Continue reading if you dare. We may be here awhile.

The first reason that I haven't blogged is this: The day after my last post, I got sicky sicky sicky sick. I had an upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection and 48 hours of a very high fever. I went to the doctor and got antibiotics but I was drugged up and in bed for days and missed alot of work. The fevers were not very fun. I lost my voice and I was oh-so-attractive.

But I had to press on because I had to get ready for the trip of the century. Grant and I were gone for ten days. We flew to New Orleans, drove to Alabama so Grant could be a groomsman in a wedding, drove to Orlando to spend FIVE DAYS in Disney, drove back to New Orleans (10 HOURS) for Christmas Eve and Christmas, and then flew back to Houston. I AM OVER THE TRAVELING.

Seriously though, we had a GREAT trip!!

See, look at my pictures :)

The twins, Evan and Emily, will be 2 in February. THEY ARE A DELIGHT!!

And this is Miss Olivia Claire. She and I did alot of bonding on this trip. And snuggling. And I kissed her cheeks alot. She almost came home with me because I almost stole her.


Hooray for the Magic Kingdom!! This is Grant's mom and dad in front of the beautiful castle. Thanks for the great trip!!


Grant's cousins were with us as well. This is Grant and 3 year old Sofia. This picture was making my heart ache.

Look at that smile!!


Okay and one more of Evan just cause he's such a punkin.

And here's our Emily. Or Emmy. Or Ema-lily. She is FULL of personality and spunk!

This castle just mesmerized me. I love when Tinkerbell flies!

It was a great trip, but after ten days of traveling we were ready to be home in our comfy bed and get our dog from the kennel. Poor Moxie, he didn't do so well at the kennel. They had to give him valium because they said he was in such a panic.

So when we finally got home, we came home to a little home maintenance issue called WE HAD NO WATER IN OUR HOUSE. Unfortunately, while we were gone a pipe broke in the front yard. Thankfully, one of our awesome awesome neighbors called the water company who came out and turned off our water. And then to make things even better, anothing AMAZING neighbor came over and helped Grant fix the broken pipe. We have a large hole in our front yard now but we can use the shower! Poor Grant came home from a big trip and then had to spend hours in the front yard digging a hole! But we could've come home to a much bigger problem if we weren't surrounded by such great neighbors!

Then we spent Sunday and Monday over at my mom's house having quality Christmas time with my family. I have some girly girly little girl nieces and a spunky little nephew too. They warm my heart.

I LOVE quality family time. Good food, good presents, good kids.

And then I came home and went to bed and had to go back to work today :( I have SO MUCH catching up to do at the office after missing almost two weeks but I made a large dent today!

I feel like there is so much more to tell but I can't think straight. I hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas!

Here are a few photos that my sweet friend Sarah Shalley from Sarah Shalley Photography took for us in November.

I'm glad to be back!

Well, It's Over

The big Christmas-thing is over.

I'm sad.

And happy.

And sad.

And happy.

And my voice is gone.

And it was so much fun.

And I am SO TIRED.

It was a HUGE success.

We sold out FIVE shows.

(That's over 15,000 people, folks).

And then I came and cleaned my kitchen.

And then I went grocery shopping.

And then I cooked my first homemade meal in over a week.

And then I ate my first homemade meal in over a week.

And then I cuddled up on the couch with my husband.

And I haven't seen him in a week, pretty much.

And I decided that it's now time for me to start enjoying the Christmas season.

And now this blog is over.

The Christmas Thing

Jen the Newlywed is sleepy.

And while we're on the subject, Jen and Grant will celebrate their 4th Anniversary on December 30 so I feel like Jen the Newlywed may become "Just Jen".

Why am I talking in the third person?

THE EXHAUSTION.

Tonight is Opening Night of our Christmas-thing. I call it the Christmas-thing because it really is a Christmas PAGEANT but they don't like us to call it that anymore but that is totally what it is.

I am singing in the choir and then I am also singing a little ensemble part. My Kids' Choir is singing a song and there is an elephant in this show. A real, live elephant. And he's a big one too.

There are angels that fly in from the ceiling. It's a big show. I just wanna know if the choir of Angels at Bethlehem ever laid down and took a little nap-nap? Cause if so, can we work that into our show?

I've been at church past 11:00pm for the last two nights.... and last night was a dress rehearsal.

I had to look like this.



Don't I look lovely? They are making me wear red lipstick. Well, it's not actually red. It's "Cinnamon" by Wet n' Wild. That's my friend Liz with me. We are rockin' those tops together. The glitter follows you wherever you go. On bottom we are wearing these long, floor length black skirts. I feel jiggly in the skirt so last night I wore Spanx for the first time ever in my life and after 6 hours I was all HEY THIS IS A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.

I really am excited and thrilled for the show... I'm so glad it's finally here. But going to bed after midnight and waking up before 6:00am is starting to take its toll. We have 5 performances.... it's gonna be a loooong weekend.

And when I come to work they are expecting me to be all productive and stuff and I just want to say DON'T YOU PEOPLE KNOW I'M SLEEPY!??!

Anyways, that's about all I have to say for today. Cup of coffee #1 has commenced.

A PSA from Jen

I'd like to take a moment to make sure all of my readers and their families have a carbon monoxide detector in their home.

These unobtrusive little gadgets can be purchased at your local Home Depot or Lowe's for under $50.00. You just plug it into an outlet and it will let you know anytime that carbon monoxide levels in your home are at a dangerous level.... like ours were last night a 3:00am. I have to admit, it was a little scary. But, depending on how high the levels were, if it went undetected, that can be a deadly situation.

We are so thankful that we were awoken and able to open windows to let fresh air circulate. It made for a very cold night, but a much safer one as well.

Please make sure your home has one. You won't regret it!

SANTA

Santa exists.

He was outside of my office building today.

Oddly enough, he drives a Coca-Cola truck.

He was kind enough to let me take his photo as proof of his existence.

And then I took it a step further.

Baby It's Cold Inside

So, we don't have a working heater.

It is broken or dead or asleep or something.

It doesn't even try to turn on.

I have been walking around my house in giant fuzzy robes with a thermal shirt underneath it and long underwear and pants and socks and slippers and a hat.

And there are about 4 more blankets on my bed.

You'd think we live in Antarctica.

The temperature inside my house dips below 60 every night and one can only sleep with so much clothing on.

The worse part is waking up in the morning and having to get out of bed to get ready for work. Cause putting your feet on that cold wood floor and walking into a room with tiled floor is super appealing when you're already so cold that you can't feel your nose.

I'm not gonna lie. I've been cuddling with the dog.

Today, a man is coming to our house at 3:00 to look at the heater. Grant keeps warning me that just because he is coming today doesn't mean it is going to be fixed today. There is a chance that he will need to order parts or something. But my response to that is "OR MAYBE NOT!! Maybe he WILL fix it today because maybe it just needed to be smacked around a bit? Or maybe just flip a switch of some kind?! MAYBE IT WILL BE FIXED TODAY!"

Optimism is one of my best qualities. And also one of my most disappointing.

Since Wednesday

I last blogged to you on Wednesday.

Today is Sunday.

Since then, I have...

Shopped.

Watched a few movies.

Slept past 9:00am twice.

Eaten some food. Just a little bit.

Decorated my house for Christmas.

Put up the Christmas tree.

Did 3 loads of laundry.

Cleaned the house from top to bottom.

Hung out with family members that I haven't seen in years.

Hugged on some precious kiddos.

MASHED POTATOES.

Had 2 great days at my mom's house.

Lunch with Lindsee... Chinese food.

Spent a whole day with my college roommate and her husband.

Grocery shopped.

Laughed REALLY hard.

Played piano.

BEST STAY-CATION EVER.

But, all good things must come to an end. Back to work tomorrow. Blah.

But it's okay... cause this is what I'm looking at right now :)

Sleep Talker

Scene: It's the middle of the night. Jen is asleep and is awakened to what sounds like is her husband on a phone call. She rolls over, realizes that while he is indeed talking, he is asleep. And he appears to be having a phone call in his dream.

Grant: "Yeah man, well, I think we should be able to work something out. Just talk to him and then call me back and we'll touch base".....

Jen: Gently touches Grant's arm to try to wake him up.

Grant: "Yeah, I think it's, uh.... um,... it's either S-T-A or S-T-E... I think it's S-T-A... he touches me on the arm "Hey, babe... Jen... is it S-T-E or S-T-A?"

Jen: "It's S-T-A" (no idea what he was trying to spell for his phone friend but I decided to play along).

Grant: "Okay, it's S-T-A"

Jen: "Hey, babe? Honey?"

Grant: "Yeah?"

Jen: "You're not really on the phone."

Grant: "........... Okay."

Keepin' It Real : A Train of Thought Brought to You By Jen the Newlywed

Should I go to the gym, or not?

I better go.

I know I don't want to, but I should. I made myself put these awful clothes on. I might as well.

This sports bra is less than comfortable.

Should I wear something with longer sleeves? When I run on the elliptical machine my arm fat jiggles.

I need to change shirts.

UGH I DON'T WANNA GO.

But I did have a small fry from McDonald's today as a 3:00 pick-me-up.

I need to go.

I hope my favorite machine is open. The one with the good TV, the good fan, and is against a wall where no one will be looking at my butt.

I hope creepy isn't there tonight.

I wonder how long we'll stay. I have so many shows to watch tonight.

I don't want to go. I don't have to. I'm not going.

But then again, I did go into Ann Taylor today to find a new dress for all my winter weddings and I tried on every dress in the store and I hated myself in ALL OF THEM. My paleness plus my arms plus my knees do not make for a good look in a cocktail dress.

I need to go.

I'm going.

I need my earbuds. And my water bottle. And my phone so I can entertain myself with apps while I run.

I'll be glad that I'm going. Really, I will.

I will hate it when I'm there.

But when I get home I'll feel all accomplished and proud of myself.

I'm going.

UGH.

Dear Mr. Police Officer,

It is your job to make sure people in our fair city are being safe and obeying the law.

I get that. I support that.

If I was speeding, give me a speeding ticket.

It stings a little bit since it is my first speeding ticket ever in life but I guess I'm due. I'll sign the ticket. If I was speeding, I was speeding. You're doing your job.

However, Mr. Police Officer, I'd like to point out that I was kind to you. I was cooperative. Submissive, even. I said "yes sir" and "no sir". I asked you how your day was going. I smiled at you.

You, Mr. Police Officer, were not kind. You were mean. A bully.

You were patronizing.

You were unnecessarily ugly.

You were impolite. You were less than informative. You asked me no questions about where I had been, where I was going, or even if I had any reason to be speeding.

You made smart-alec comments to my responses and talked down to me.

When you returned from your squad car with my license, you handed me a bunch of paperwork and asked me to sign it. You hadn't said what it was I was signing as you handed it over. I didn't know if it was a warning or a citation (No idea why I thought for a second that you would show mercy on me) and when I asked "is this a ticket?" as you handed it to me, your response was "Now, what does that say on top there? What does that say?". You were condescending.

As I read over the paperwork, I saw that you wrote me two citations. One for speeding on the freeway, and one for speeding on the exit ramp. I signed the ticket, even though I felt the exit ramp ticket was a bit unfair, since I was indeed getting off the freeway and slowing down. But I didn't want to question you or seem uncooperative. I had seen your behavior when I was being submissive and didn't want to begin to see what you would do if I questioned you.

Due to your rudeness and the fact that I really really get upset around mean people, I began to tear up. I didn't start to weep or anything, I just started to do the chin quiver as I handed the signed paperwork back to you.

You just walked away. You didn't say "goodbye" or "have a nice day". You just left.

Mr. Police Officer, I'd like to just ask that you may perhaps try to do your job and protect the people of Houston but also BE A NICE PERSON WHILE YOU DO IT.

BE NICE.

Respectfully,

A Very Sicky Tuesday

Last night I had the intention to get home from work and write the most amazing blog post you've ever read in all of your life.

And then something happened called "Sneezing 47 Times in 3 Minutes" and I sneezed out all of my good ideas. Plus, the sneezing and the nose-blowing and the misery didn't really put me in the mood to write a life-changing blog and so I ended up just swimming in kleenex all night and making joyful noises to the Lord with my nasal congestion.

I'm quite certain that Grant has never been more attracted to me.

I left work early yesterday since I was feeling so yucky. I'm back at work this morning in what some people may call a "heavily medicated state" so I'm sure that I will do a fantastic job today in all things that I do and also I will act totally normal and not at all drowsy.

The only thing that has peaked my interest this morning is the fact that Prince William and Kate Middleton are now engaged and plan to be married in 2011.

You know what I love? WEDDINGS.

You know what else I find fascinating? THE ROYALS.

A Royal Wedding?! It's like combining the Oscar's, the Miss American Pageant, and Disney Princesses all in one :) I'm excited about this. Very excited.

You know what else I'm excited about? The fact that I'm going to eat soup for lunch. Because I'm sicky and cold. And soup will make me feel better.

I'm ending this post now because it is pathetic.

I'm fully expecting for one of you to leave a comment that says "You're pathetic".

For Those Of You With Wee Ones....

My sister, Jaclyn, has pretty stinkin' adorable kids. I know I'm biased, but really. ADORABLE.

Anyhoo, Jaclyn's kids are often winners of the best dressed award amongst children in their age group. Well, there isn't such a thing, but if there were such a thing, THEY WOULD WIN IT.

Jaclyn has a passion for shopping for her babies. And she finds some great stuff at great prices. And you know what she's decided? She's decided to shout her findings from the rooftops!

And what rooftop would that be?

WHY, A BLOG, OF COURSE!!!!

Ladies, if you need clothing ideas for your childrens, look no further:

http://shoppingformylittleloves.blogspot.com/

GO. Marvel at the cuteness.

Since We Last Spoke...

There is just so much that I have to say that I have to do the thing I always do and put them into numbered paragraphs. There's just no way to make this flow as a narrative so it has to be in list format.

I feel like I need to apologize to all of you for the lack of creativity that has been going on around here. I'm sorry. I'm working on it. But, for now, you get numbered paragraphs.

1. Thursday night Grant came home with a present for me. A Sprint Evo 4G. It is leaps and bounds beyond my blackberry and I'm so happy. And addicted. And I can't put it down. Grant is so sweet and I squealed like a 9 year old girl getting to meet Justin Bieber.

2. Friday we went out to my parent's house for burgers. It was so much fun. Lindsee came out for a visit. When she left, my niece Grace shut the door behind her and said "She was very very nice". I agree. Lindsee is very very nice.

I had to take a picture of this moment. Grant (in the beautiful hunting hat) was giving fishing tips to Grace. Grace is using a pink fishing pole. In my parent's swimming pool. Wearing a party dress. And heels.


3. Saturday I slept in (holla!) and then drove up to church for the "Band and Singers" retreat. We ate yummy bagels from Panera, worshipped, workshopped, played "Minute to Win It" games, ate Mission Buritto for lunch, and then played this crazy game that my partner and I WON. And what did we win? WE WON A $25 GIFT CARD TO TARGET THANK YOU VERY MUCH. The options. The choices. The decisions. I've decided on Christmas decor for my home. Bless.

4. Saturday afternoon I slept for a long long time and watched "The Millionaire Matchmaker" which is a train wreck that you can't look away from. It's shocking and horrible and I have so many opinions for all of these people that I can't even begin to write them all out. I could start an entire new blog and fill it up for three years full of opinions I have for the entire cast of characters of that show. At the end of each post I would have a 5 second video clip of me sitting on my couch, shaking my head and saying "What is wrong with people?".

5. My ankle is not as healed as I originally thought and I may or may not have taken a step backwards with the cute boots I wore Saturday night. Oops.

6. Saturday night was date night. Sadly, we were both a little bit snappy and didn't really enjoy our evening till about 3/4 way through when we both decided to start over and smile at one another. We saw "Due Date" which I don't really recommend. It had funny moments but definitely was not my favorite.

7. AND THEN WE DID SOMETHING CALLED DAYLIGHT SAVINGS FALL BACK DAY AND THAT MEANS WE GET AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP AND JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW.

8. Church was so nice this morning. We got to class early and visited with a new couple. We had an excellent teacher who taught us all about being patient. I am sooooo good at being patient. Then we went to church where Pastor Gregg taught a sermon titled "He Must Become Greater, I Must Become Less" which I totally don't need to hear because I am super good at humility and submitting to His will. Or, truthfully speaking, the sermon (nail) was very timely for me (hit me on the ever-loving head).

9. Immediately after church I had a parent meeting for the Kids' Choir. Just in case you haven't been here to read in awhile and are thinking "Holy Moly, did Jen the Newlywed have a baby that is now in the 1st-5th grade that she is going to parent meetings for and I totally missed it?!?". No, no you didn't miss it. I have no babies. I am, however, a co-director of the kids choir and we had a parent meeting today. In a room that was freezing cold. And the people in the hallway had pizza that smelled so good that I almost ate my notes.

10. Grant and I decided to go home for lunch and see what we could whip up. Grant grilled hot dogs. We had no hotdog buns. So I toasted some bread and we had a hot dog sandwich. With Fritos. PURE CLASS.

11. We went to the gym and I worked out my abs and they are now abs of steel. A really loose, cushy steel.

12. Grocery shopping trip to Randall's. (Your Remarkable Store). We got lots of fruits and veggies. When we went down the macaroni and cheese aisle I touched all of the beautiful boxes and told my babies that I missed them and that I think of them every day.

13. Grant made us dinner. Whole Wheat Penne pasta with grilled chicken, broccoli, carrots, garlic, and olive oil. And I made Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, because, as previously stated, I AM A CLASSY GAL.

14. I did two loads of laundry. Well, 3 loads of laundry if you count the sheets. We love sleeping in freshly washed sheets. They smell so good.

15. We took the puppy dog on a long walk because it could not be more beautiful outside.

This blog post must end now before I start telling you all the meals I will be eating this week and how they compare to all the meals I wish I was going to be eating this week.

Long live carbohydrates.

Green Scarf

I'm wearing a green scarf today.


But this isn't how I started out.


I first put on a pale pink scarf and after looking in the mirror, I felt that I needed a bit more pizazz.

Then I put on a new scarf that I haven't worn before that a co-worker brought me after a trip overseas. After putting on that scarf, I realized that it was a) beautiful and b) quite possibly intended to be a table runner.

Then I put on my periwinkle scarf, which is a classic favorite but I still felt like I needed a bit more pop.

My decision became final with the bright green scarf that my dad brought me from Ireland. It has just enough pop. And it looks super cute with my white, button down, collared shirt, brown pants and denim jacket.

The perfect fall outfit. On the most beautiful fall day.

Please keep in mind that the scarf deliberation happened as I was already 30 minutes late for work.

Some decisions are important. The scarf decision is one of them.

Sometimes I Need To Say Some Words

1. The swelling on the ankle is definitely going down. It no longer looks like a lemon. We have down-graded to a golf ball. A bruised golf ball. I am still wearing the ankle brace, but am beginning to walk like a normal human being. Because we all know how normal I am.

2. I really enjoy the word "gubernatorial". I've been watching election coverage and "gubernatorial" makes me giggle every time. All these governors. They're such goobers. Or gubers.

3. I make it a point to avoid politics on the blog because WE LIKE TO HAVE FUN HERE but I do want to take this time to say that I am so glad and proud that we have the right to vote and make changes in our country. I know that it wasn't all that long ago (in the grand scheme of things) that women weren't allowed to vote and I am so glad that I, being a woman, am able to vote, because let's face it, I LIKE TO SPEAK MY MIND.

4. My polling location was in a Bus Barn. It don't get more American than that.

5. I am bothered that CNN is projecting winners based on 1% of the vote being in. ONE EVER LOVING PERCENT. Let's just calm down.

6. For dinner tonight I made breaded chicken wings, steamed broccoli (covered in olive oil) and homemade mashed red potatoes. My plate was 20% broccoli, 20% chicken wings, and 60% mashed potatoes. As God intended.

7. The chilly, rainy weather has propelled me into a dimension of happy that we haven't seen in quite some time. Sweaters are my love language.

8. The cast of characters on CNN right now makes me think that this is a SNL sketch waiting to happen. A woman just said "I'm not getting much love tonight. I'm not getting much love".

9. I NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE which is why I am THRILLED that the Starbuck's RED cups are back. So much happiness.

10. I am a fan of the one-hour Biggest Loser episode. Sometimes two hours is just too much.

11. Daylight savings is this weekend. We fall backwards. Which means an extra hour of sleep for us all. GOD BLESS AMERICA.

12. I have to go do dishes now. And eat more mashed potatoes. I fully intend on cancelling out my crunches.

And You Shall Call Her Lemon Ankle

This weekend was beautiful.

Fabulous.

Fun.

Easy.

It started with tortilla soup and a slumber party at Liz's house. Her husband was away hunting so the girls came over and cuddled on the couch watching movies and chatting. Liz had never seen "When Harry Met Sally" so I made sure to correct that. Such a classic.

I woke up the next morning to find Liz in her kitchen at 7:15am with what seemed like 5 crockpots full of spaghetti. She was making lunch for her little sister's soccer team. Adorable. We ate coffee cake and drank coffee and chatted until I decided to go home and cuddle with my husband a little bit.

Then we headed out to College Station for the A&M/Texas Tech game. Our friends Matt & Katie were our host and hostess in their awesome season ticket seats. We sat in the shade, in the breeze, AND WE WON. Grant and I have not been to an Aggie game in an embarassingly long time but we had so much fun with them and left there thinking that we need to go alot more often.

And also, I sprained my ankle on the way out.

I am ever so graceful.

The game was over, we were walking out of the stands, I got to the last step on the stairs and I came down on my foot wrong. My ankle rolled, I fell down (I felt SO cool) and then a random stranger girl ran and got security who informed me that some medics were coming to cart me down the stadium.

Um, no.

I wasn't even crying. It can't be that bad. I told everyone to give me about 30 seconds. And then I could walk.

And I did. And I was fine.

And then we got in the car and I pulled off my shoes and saw that my ankle had a tumor the size of a lemon growing out of the side of it.

AWESOME.

So today I am gimpy.

I am doing the whole R.I.C.E. thing.

R - Rest - been laying on the couch for FOREVER

I - Ice -- Grant is an Ice NAZI.

C- Compression - my dear husband bought me an ankle brace at the CVS and now I am looking super cool.

E - Elevation - keep the ankle above your heart! I am currently blogging with my foot a good foot and a half higher than the rest of my body.

However, I think we should change that acronym to V.R.I.C.E.

The V stands for Vicodin.


I am irritated and annoyed with myself. But hey, what are you gonna do.

I plan on putting a chair on the front porch and sitting there all night to greet trick-or-treaters. I can't keep getting up to go to the door.

And if I leave the candy-giving responsibility to Grant, he will not do it right. He'll probably just hand out candy and not comment on the costumes or tell all the Ballerinas and Cinderellas and Princesses that they have beautiful shoes and a beautiful tiara.

I may eat some Kit Kat's while I'm out there.

I Have Blog Problems

In the last 48 hours I have started and deleted no less than 7 blog posts.

I get 3 paragraphs in and then I think to myself, "Self, this is stupid and no one wants to read it. Not even yourself, self".

Sometimes I worry about myself.

So now I'm just typing. Typing aimlessly.

Let's just start with what I've done since I left work:

1. Spent an hour and $63 in the HEB.

2. Finished singing "In My Arms" by Plumb on the radio before I got out of my car. I had a really good harmony that I wanted to sing.

3. Made red beans and rice with sausage.

4. Opened the lid to some "Cornbread Made From Scratch" (that's what it says on the label) that I purchased from the good people at HEB. Usually I make my own cornbread (and by "make my own cornbread" I mean "follow directions on the Jiffy box") but I was what I like to call FAMISHED and felt that cooking cornbread would take far too long. (And by "far too long" I mean "9 to 13 minutes").

5. Watched Oprah to see Jerry Seinfeld's wife (random) share some easy recipes "for normal people" which involved stuffing a whole chicken with lemon and rosemary and then tying the chicken's legs together with string. Guess I'm not normal.

6. Ate the food with my husband while watching Biggest Loser.

7. Did some Pilates while watching the Biggest Loser.

8. Talked to my friend Liz on gmail chat.

9. Sent out the weekly prayer request mass email for our Sunday School class.

10. Attempted to write a blog post.

11. Deleted the above-referenced blog post.

12. Hit the "Wrinkle Care" button on my dryer to take care of the clothing I failed to remove from the dryer last night.

13. Folded and put away the above-referenced clothing.

14. Dishes, yo.

15. Cleaned the countertops.

16. Sat my booty down on the couch and decided to stop trying to be creative with the blog and just start typing and see what happens.

17. Blogged while watching the news.

18. I am not at peace with leaving a list on an odd number so this is number 18 just because.

I do hope you enjoyed this post since it took 8 tries to come to fruition.

Also, Jennifer, I saw your comment in my last post. Tim Crane is... well that's a different story for a different day. Perhaps I'll write a blog about it. But for now, it's a mystery...

I Made It

I could write a month's worth of blog posts about the last 4 days.

But I won't do that.

I'll just say the following things:

Not a whole lot of sleep. At all. But it was a whole lot of fun. I held a 4 month old chubby baby girl in my arms while eating a tortilla from Taco C dipped in queso and drinking a Diet Coke. IT WAS BLISS. Also, after having 3 babies under the age of 2 in my home all weekend I've learned that our humble abode is not what you would call "baby proof". It is more along the lines of "dangerous". When another little friend named Nate came over, he found some keys and then promptly headed over to plug the new-found keys into an electrical outlet. We stopped him but I about had a heart attack. Good times.

We had great food, great visit with Grant's family, snuggly babies walking around in pj's and big smiles, and lots of hugs and snuggles. We were so glad to have everyone here and we had a blast. Thanks to Chase, Ronda, Evan, Emily, Olivia, Mom and Dad for making the journey to Houston!


After church this morning, we had Five Guys with some friends and then Jen the Newlywed came on home and got in a comfy t-shirt and comfy pants that are not flattering which makes them more comfy and positioned herself on the couch and stayed there for a solid 3.5 hours.

My chill out nap time was disrupted by a call from Chase Fraud Alert which alerted us to the fact that a fellow Houstonian was having him or herself a fine little Sunday afternoon on our dime. I'm thinking it was a girl since she bought a WHOLE LOT OF SHOES at Memorial City Mall and then journeyed to a cosmetics store and then ate some yummy food at Cheddar's and then picked some things up at Walgreen's and then filled up 3 tanks of gas at a Chevron station. HEY, THANKS FOR THAT. IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY OR ANYTHING. YOU CAN JUST GO SHOPPING WITH MY MONEY. FINE BY ME.


Thankfully, Chase Fraud is great and will take care of all of this but it just bugs me that someone could do that. Urgh.

I've done a load of laundry. It is folded. It is folded in piles on my living room floor. At some point tonight i plan on putting it away but I can't promise that it is going to be anytime soon.

Okay, before I go, I have to ask...

How do we feel about this jacket?




It is from the Loft and it is plaid. I don't think I've ever had a plaid jacket. Aside from cute jeans, what else could i wear it with? Is it one of those pieces that I could only wear once every blue moon? Or could I wear it like every other week? THIS PROBABLY DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE HOUSTON WILL NEVER EVER COOL DOWN EVER.

Jacket opinions, please.

On My Plate

Let me first say that your love and support of Matthew McConaughey has been overwhelming. From your texts, emails, tweets, comments, and stopping me in real life to share your love for Matthew McConaughey... I have just been bombarded with the passion we share for MM.

The next time we vacation together, I will let him know.

So here is what is up with me:

For the next two nights, I will be helping record the "guide vocals" for the Christmas CD that our choir is distributing at the Christmas Celebration performances in December. The entire choir is recording this weekend, but a few of us are spending tonight and tomorrow night singing the guide vocals so the choir will have that in their ears when they record. It will be a very late night and will include very much coffee.

Also, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS PART, the family is coming in this weekend! Grant's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and the three kiddos are coming to spend the weekend with us! Chase, Ronda and the babies are staying at our house and I am so excited. Olivia is 4 months old now which is one of my very most favorite ages and I will snuggle her all weekend! Being that I will have been at church till 11:00 Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I am certain that when the family arrives Grant and I will look like this:

Because that is pretty much how we look all the time. I don't see why this week would look any different.

Last night was also super fun. I went to the Beth Moore Bible study and learned some amazing stuff... and Christy Nockels sang which was phenomenal.... AND i got to see these lovely ladies

(as well as about 60 other people that I love dearly) and I came home very happy.

And hungry.

Which is why breakfast tacos are on my plate.

The Spontaneous Matthew McConaughey Weekend

So the last few weeks/months I have been a little bit STRESSED. And even when I'm not stressed out, I'm busy. I'm not relaxed.

And I feel like my husband has been noticing. I'm not sure how he noticed. I've been so quiet and subtle about my stress.

So Friday was a glorious day. Around 2:00, Grant called me at work. He asked me what we had going on this weekend. After I told him that most of the things I was obligated to were to happen on Sunday, he said these words: "Do you wanna get away with me this weekend?".

UM YES. YES I DO.

FOR THE LOVE.

TAKE ME ANYWHERE.

I think he knew he needed to remove me from the situation.

So he got to searchin on the google and found somewhere to take me.

We drove two hours away to the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, Texas.

We are going to sell our house, quit our jobs and move there.

Me love it.
Moxie got to come with us since the hotel is doggy friendly. Everything was just beautiful. So Texan and quiet and in the country. It has a spa, a golf course, a big pool, lazy river, gardens, restaurants, bike trails, horseback riding, and all kinds of family fun. For those of you with kids, I HIGHLY recommend this for you. So many activities for kids and adults.... on Saturday night we walked out to the park and saw 50 kids sprawled out on blankets, eating freshly roasted s'mores and watching Harry Potter on the big screen. Hotel staff walked around handing out popcorn. It was a beautiful starry night.

On Friday night we stayed in a beautiful, king suite. I had a really, really good night's sleep. I thanked the Lord (and my husband too) for giving us the ability to take such a spontaneous trip that brought so much rejuvenation.

Since our stay was so last minute, we only got to stay in the fancy suite for one night. The second night we moved to a room with 2 queen beds. All I cared about is the fact that the new room still had that big, comfy robe that I lived in for 48 hours. I LOVE ROBES.

Saturday we slept in and had breakfast. We took a bike ride around the property... took walks and enjoyed the view along the Colorado River.

Then Grant played the golf and I had some ME TIME in my room.

It involved:

Nap

Movies

Magazines

Bath

Nap

Prayer

Nap

All in a big comfy robe.

Okay, here's where this gets good.

I was sitting on my balcony, enjoying some magazines and a good cup of coffee.

Moxie and I were having an excellent time.

I heard string music. I looked to the right and saw a wedding. "How perfect!", I thought. I'm enjoying my me time on a beautiful day while listening to live classical music.

People were walking up the sidewalk in front of my balcony and being told by hotel security that they needed to walk elsewhere during the wedding ceremony. (I'd like to take this moment to address the fact that alot of people seemed irritated that they had to walk a different direction. The bride doesn't want your bathing suited flip-flopped children and your big smelly poodle walking behind her altar. GO THE OTHER WAY).

So I'm sittin there and I see a golf cart zip up towards the ceremony. I see the hotel security lift his hand and tell the driver that he needs to go the other way.

Then I heard his voice, "Oh, okay, a wedding, huh? Alright, alright, alright, now what's the best way to get out of here?"

I know that voice. I KNOW THAT VOICE. And I know that girl in the golf cart with him. I know her from People magazine. WHERE IS MY CAMERA, THAT IS MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY!!!

Matthew and his girlfriend Camila.

And this is them driving away.

I then heard the door to the room below me open, and I heard a woman say "I swear to God, Brett it was him!! IT WAS HIM!!"

I hollered down that she was correct. And that I had photographic evidence.

Nothing brings people together like celebrity sightings.

After I saw him, I went inside and saw Fool's Gold on TV, starring my golf cart friend. Following that was Failure to Launch. I wanted to walk over to his room (I knew which one it was) and say HEY, YOU ARE ON THE TV. LET'S WATCH IT TOGETHER!

I think we would've had fun.

This morning, when we left the resort, we walked by Camila and the two children, Levi and Vida, playing outside. Levi looks soooo much like his daddy.

So we're home now.

I feel relaxed.

Rejuvenated.

Grateful.

Calm.

Thankful.

I'm Feeling Chatty Which Is A Totally New Experience For Me

As referenced in my previous post, I'm feeling sicky lately.

However, I have far too much to do so I'm just ignoring the sickness and powering through.

I'd also like to mention that this nightly thing that's been happening where I wake up at 4:17am has got to stop. There is no reason for me to be awake at that hour and I'd like for it to not happen anymore.

My mom is a gem. She is on her way over here right now to bring me an extra crock pot since I'm having a party. She's also bringing me some fall decor since I've only been a home owner for 10 months and I don't own much in the autumn category. She knows that it's important for a fall party to have fall decor. She's a good woman.

I'm watching Biggest Loser right now and therefore I hold my 5lb dumbbells in my hand while I sit here on the couch. It makes me feel better.

Today someone in the office was taking a video of me with their cellphone and I thought she was taking a picture so I just sat there frozen with this goofy look on my face for a good ten seconds until I realized that she was taking a video. I felt super cool.

We celebrated bosses day at the office today since the bosses will be out of town on actual bosses day. We gave them a chocolate cake with a cherry on top. The girls and I wrote "Please Don't Fire Us" on the cake.

Today Grant emailed me and asked me to let him know what weekends are free in the next few weeks. I went through my calendar from now till the end of 2010. Not one free weekend between now and then. And as the year comes to a close, my weekdays get busier and busier as well. It is realizations like this that make me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head and stay there for a few hours or months.

Bob from the Biggest Loser just told the contestants that he thinks that the food in your home should have a shelf life of no longer than two weeks. Um, what about my rice and pasta and fritos and cereal and velveeta? WHAT ABOUT THE VELVEETA, BOB!? And the girl scout cookies?! Girl, please. He also just said that you need to have color on your plate. Um, yeah. I do. Macaroni and cheese is YELLOW. There's your color. Boo-yah.

Okay I'm gonna wrap this up.

Peace out. Eat something yellow or beige. That's my health tip for the day. You're welcome.

Exhausted to the 12th Degree

I haven't written a blog post in a week.

I've tried on several occasions but I've failed. I would sit down to write and get about a paragraph out and then I realized I have nothing else to say that is of any interest to anyone, including myself.

I've been walking around like a zombie for the last week. Zombie may be an exaggeration. I've been walking around like a dead person for the last week.

Nothing bad is happening, it's just that alot is HAPPENING, period. I have work related obligations and family functions and church responsibilities and exercising and cleaning house and making meals and cheering Grant on at a golf tournament that was MUCH HOTTER than I thought it would be. (By the way, he did GREAT at his first "real" tournament. Didn't make the Sunday cut but he had a great performance!). Yesterday I spent 8 hours at church for a variety of reasons. I was supposed to go grocery shopping after the 8th hour but I called Grant and told him that I may fall over dead in HEB if I were to grocery shop. Which is saying something because, as previously stated, I am already a walking dead person as it is.

Among all the activities I've listed, I'd like for you to factor into the equation something I like to call DRUGS. Benadryl. Claritin. Alavert. Zyrtex. Tylenol. And on the 8th day, God made Tylenol PM. And it was good.

Ya see, about 10 days ago my ears and nose and head filled up with snot and I heard a voice somewhere deep inside say to me, "JEN! It's us!! Your allergies!! You didn't think you would make it through October without US did you?!? We're HERE! And we're here to STAY!".

I'd like to state for the record that I do realize that I just personified mucus and I realize that this absurd and disgusting and I blame the drug-induced state that I am currently in.

I also omitted mascara today as it is pointless.

I look beautiful.

Currently

As soon as I finish this blog post, I am starting page one of Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers. This is the sequel to A Mother's Hope which I finished this summer and I have been anxiously awaiting the continued story of Marta and Hildie. I can't wait to start it! But first I am going to share with you people what is going on in my life currently.

Around the House:

As referenced in my previous post, there are alot of fall happenings going on around here. Lots of gourds and pumpkins and Wall Flowers from Bath & Body Works in the "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" scent. There was also alot of fall cleaning this weekend. And alot of laundry. I feel like a new woman.

At work:

I'm busy busy busy all the time. My job description is ever expanding. The end.

At church:

Oooh fall is a busy season at church, is it not? This coming Sunday the Kids Choir that I help with is singing in all 3 services so we have a very busy weekend coming up. I'm also rehearsing with the adult choir at church to perform in the big Christmas Celebration. We've been rehearsing since late August. But it is so fun and I am such a choir nerd. Our Sunday school class is also quite active and I'm hosting a girls' night here at my house in a few weeks. We will also be in costumes. I'm thinking about wearing a blonde wig and an orange jumpsuit. I'd be Lindsay Lohan.

In Houston:

The weather makes me want to burst into a Disney-style song that I've titled "The WEATHER makes me SING with GLEE and dance around and LEAP with GLEE and sing a song with HARMONY and spin and twirl I'M SO HAPPY!!". It's an excellent song. A work in progress. GRANT LOVES IT. I'm sorry but I just start behaving strangely when it dips below 80 degrees. Just so you know.

With Grant:

Gosh, I love him. And he gets cuter and cuter all the time. And funnier. He makes me laugh. Alot. I'm also super proud of him since he made the cut for the Houston Amateur Golf tournament. It's happening this weekend. I'm going to watch him play. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR. I just can't pull off sporty y'all. I can't do it.

In Regards to Food:

I have a big bowl of fruit on my counter right now and my goal is to finish it by Friday. I'm not sure if I can do that. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I could finish off a bag of chips in 30 minutes. Grant opened a bag of chips earlier and then left it by me. I hollered out to him "I NEED YOU TO GET THESE CHIPS AWAY FROM ME!! I WILL EAT THEM. ALL OF THEM" so he rushed back and hid them. Sigh of relief. I am still thinking about them. But yeah, I'm not making any promises about the fruit.

In Regards to Fitness:

Thanks to a tip from my friend Jessica, I am now super obsessed with Pilates. I do it everyday. My U-verse has a channel on OnDemand called Exercise TV that has short workouts on them. I'm loving it and I really really feel it working. I am on my way to getting toned. As long as the chips stay away. I heart carbs.

What's Happening on the Television:

Well, it finally happened. For over a year now we've been playing catch-up with How I Met Your Mother. As of last night, we caught up with the season DVD's and tonight we watched the show on the night it aired for the first time. It feels so good to be caught up! Otherwise, I'm watching alot of Hoarders which has given me a new-found motivation to keep my house in utter perfection. Those people are wacky. And they have a few cats.

Other things I want to share:

I've really been hearing alot about OBEDIENCE lately. Whether I'm reading a book, listening to the radio, sitting in church or praying, I'm getting a strong message that I need to obey. Pastor Gregg said this Sunday that "50% obedience is called disobedience". GOOD STUFF. Anyways, last night I was reading a book by Elisabeth Elliot called Be Still My Soul and there was a nugget that overwhelmed me. I read it three times and then underlined it and then I starred it and then I highlighted it and then I drew arrows by it and then I put a post-it note in the page. Okay I'm exaggerating but I LOVE IT. She said:

"What a joy it is to obey this Lord, who provides us with His Spirit to counsel and empower us and who ensures that everything that happens to us, even the cyclone that brings nothing but destruction, has come through the hedge of his love before it reaches us". -Elisabeth Elliot

Alright, dear blog readers. Wherever you are. Whoever you are. I'm off to read my book.