Pics as Promised

To make my October goals for reals-below are some pics, as promised!

Halloween decor-

(It's hard to tell-but these are out fall centerpieces on the dining room table, complete with witches hat salt n' pepper shakers)

(tiny candy bowl for lack of trick-or-treaters)

(Witch and pumpkin snow globe with pumpkin candle holder in the background)

We had more decor but with my lame phone camera you can't really get the jist of it-there's a big purple light spider web outside of our bedroom window and a door sign that reads "Welcome" in a bunch of Halloween lettering.  Wahoo!  I'm not excited about taking it all down this week though, lol.

Now on to the hanging of the shelves pics!

*Before-

(notice the one shelf hanging on the wall crammed with a bunch of stuff on it-disregard the dog, he comes with the family, lol)

*After hanging-

(3 gorgeous black shelves hung above the sofa and table!)

*After hanging and decorating-

(Ta-Da! It's hard to make out with this bad phone camera but we've got on the large shelf: caricature from honeymoon + book on the Cosmos, medium shelf: large purple candle from an old b-day gifted to me by my sister + picture of Andrew and Dylan, small shelf: round green oil candle + Jules Verne and Douglas Adams series.  Isn't it darling?!  I want to get a piece of greenery for the large shelf and then the living room is almost done!  When more improvements are made, expect to be the first to know!)

And lastly, on to the bedroom!

*Before twin paintings-

(notice only 1 painting and the bed in the corner)

*After with twin paintings and furniture re-arranging-

(twin paintings done by me (on the same wall) but with the dresser in between on opposite wall-MUCH better suited this way and seems to give more space...ignore the clothes...I've been gone 3 weekends, lol)

*After with bed moved and pics posted-

(bed was moved to opposite wall and 3 gray scale photos of flowers hung above-makes it feel very homey and comfortable now)

*And just because it makes me happy-

(Our Disney Honeymoon frame! It works wonderfully with our gray/silver, blue, white scheme in the bedroom plus it's precious.  I'm getting the pics developed this week (FINALLY) so we'll get a good one in there soon!)

Hope you enjoyed checking out the new updates as much as I have!

Love, love, love.

October Goals-updated

Hello Ladies and Gents! Below are the goals I did and did not get accomplished for the month of October:

~School:
1) Study every day for the GRE until taken (fail-I didn't study as much as I should have and I accept)
2) Prep by studying guide and practice tests found online-with timers included (complete!)
3) Take GRE on October 29th (eeeeek!) (COMPLETE!!! DONE! FINISHED!-should get results back by Thanksgiving and should ALSO know if I've been accepted in to the Sociology Graduate Program!)


~Health:
1) Keep up running by doing so 4 days minimum per week (fail-with the whole knee situation I had to take a break-got back in to working out (via the elliptical until it's fully healed) 3 days a week and am doing quite well)
2) Clock at least 3 consecutive miles of straight running (Not sure? since I haven't been actually running I guess it's a fail-but I have clocked 2.87 miles and about .5 miles of elliptical and walking on the treadmill...so FAIL to running but COMPLETE to 3 miles-let's call this a stalemate)
3) Continue to watch sugar intake-hopefully shedding 1 inch or more from mid-section (complete! I don't think I've lost an inch but I have noticed my stomach is the tiniest bit flatter so I'll take it and work harder plus I notice as much as I LOVE sugar, I do surprisingly well without a ton in my system!)
4) Drink more dairy! (as a female in mid 20s, I am still not getting enough calcium for my bones to be able to rock n' roll in my older years-so I will find low carb dairy products [i.e. yogurts, milk, greens] to keep my sugar intake down but boost my bone density) (complete! Found a great sugar reduced yogurt, some good cheeses, and a little bit of skim milk thrown in for the month to go along with my calcium supplement)
5) Cut back coffee intake-I've been a bit nauseous lately (and no I am NOT pregnant) and I think that may be the culprit so I'm going to lay off completely for a few weeks and see...(Complete-I've cut back a lot, though not completely (I say as I drink some right now)-some of the nurses I work with helped deduce that I was most likely getting sick because I was taking all of my vitamins with coffee and on a pretty empty stomach. Once I changed that routine it quit!)

~Home:
1) Finish bathroom completely (hang rest of pictures) (fail- I've got the pics but couldn't find enough of the frames I needed, so I'll wait about another week and see if they've got more in store or I'll have to come up with another plan...)
2) Get and hang 2 shelves for living room (Complete! We actually have got 4 new shelves and will be hanging them up this evening)
3) Purchase DVD stand (fail-couldn't find one in store (Walmart or Target) so it looks like online ordering will do the trick)
4) Put pictures of updated home on blog (I'm counting this as complete since I'll be putting them up tonight after we finish the shelves)

~Friends:
1) See Shelley when she visits Chattanooga (I haven't seen her since the wedding!!) (complete!!! YAY! We had a few margaritas and shots with her boyfriend and a few other friends in downtown chatt-very fun and good to catch up!)
2) Throw belated bday lunch for Tonya (fail BUT I did get to see her in Jekyll and Hyde this month! So friendship counted, just moving the Bday dinner until a day where she doesn't have dang rehearsal! lol)
3) Visit Kelly, Wes and the boys (Complete! We will be seeing them in approximately 3 hours or so-I can't believe that little baby Dylan is already crawling like a mad man! Hopefully we'll have pics of that to come soon!)

~Assortment:
1) Put up Halloween decorations (yahoo!) (Complete! Pics to come with the update house pics later tonight)
2) Find Halloween costume (I'm thinking maybe this or this??) (fail-this is the first Halloween in as long as I can remember that I'm not doing anything and I'm okay with it! October has been so crazy and busy that I think it'll be good to just relax tonight-last night, in good spirits, I watched my FAVORITE movie "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and sang along)


Alright, so what's the score?  Complete=  10 goals, Fail=6 goals, Stalemate=1 goal


Not too shabby, right?  Considering this has been a CRAZY month I didn't do too bad!  Tomorrow I'll update my November goals-it's going to get INTENSE next month but I think I'm ready =]

**How was your October??**

The time has come

Today is D-Day.

GRE Day.

The day I've-been-panicking-over-for-the-past-few-months day.

And there's now nothing to do but to take the damn thing...

So...around noon (eastern time) send your thoughts, prayers, good karma, and nice ju-ju my way, if you'd like.  I know I'll appreciate it =]

I should know my score around Thanksgiving so when I do I'll keep you all posted!

Also, once this madness is over I'll be updating more-thank god.

Love you all, and wish me luck!

J

Jekyll & Hyde

Simple and sweet: I am SO excited to be seeing "Jekyll and Hyde" tonight!  Perfect for getting in the Halloween spirit, ya know?! (Plus I don't think changing my template hurt either, lol)

I've never heard the music and I haven't seen a show since mom was in "Brigadoon" this summer and before that I don't even remember!!  So pumped...oh, and did I mention that the lovely Tonya Pewitt (wonderful friend) will be performing in it?!

What a gal.

Isn't this costume G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S?! And she wears it soooo well =]

What do you think?  Do you know any of the music for this show?

Whilst waiting on the laundry to wash

Hello lovelies!  I know it's been almost 2 weeks since I've written last (so sorry!) but I'm here at last!

I have been quite the busy little bee around here but not with what I had intended!  October has already rocked and it ain't even over =]

Quick recap before I grab the laundry-pics to follow in a later blog:

1) NEW CAR
2) Visit from Mother in Law
3) New dishes
4) Wonderfullness with the husband and puppy
5) Almost finishing Criminal Minds-Season 3 (as of tonight!)
6) Prospects of shopping
7) New gym membership
8) New hair color
9) Visit with Shelley (!!!)

Okay-got to grab that laundry! I love and miss you all and you're WELCOME to leave comments...I promise I won't mind  ;)

<3

A painful halt

I have to take a break from my running schedule...which makes me very sad.  I've actually been doing well and going further in shorter time.  I did somethng to my knee (probably over extended it when my leg hit the ground) and now I'm getting sharp pains around it.  So: I must take a week or so off completely from running before I do something worse to it.  Basic walking hurts so maybe some pool therapy can help? Hmmm....

I had a picture of my bummed knee with a bag of frozen corn on it but this silly computer won't let me upload it just yet.  Don't hold your breath.

The shoes, partner, socks, and trail are all wonderful when running though.  I have high hopes that the weather will stay like this for a few weeks-it's perfect for running!

Keep those fingers crossed this isn't too serious and will heal with some R&R.

*And don't hold it against my goals...I've actualyl been doing good until yesterday!

Xoxox

October goals and the like

Well hello cats and kittens!  What a fine October morning it is today-very great way to start a good crisp autumn.

Alright, so among small goals I plan on accomplishing today (if my allergies will subside for the day), I am also starting some bigger goals for the month of October.

You ready?

~School:
1) Study every day for the GRE until taken
2) Prep by studying guide and practice tests found online-with timers included
3) Take GRE on October 29th (eeeeek!)


~Health:
1) Keep up running by doing so 4 days minimum per week
2) Clock at least 3 consecutive miles of straight running
3) Continue to watch sugar intake-hopefully shedding 1 inch or more from mid-section
4) Drink more dairy! (as a female in mid 20s, I am still not getting enough calcium for my bones to be able to rock n' roll in my older years-so I will find low carb dairy products [i.e. yogurts, milk, greens] to keep my sugar intake down but boost my bone density)
5) Cut back coffee intake-I've been a bit nauseous lately (and no I am NOT pregnant) and I think that may be the culprit so I'm going to lay off completely for a few weeks and see...

~Home:
1) Finish bathroom completely (hang rest of pictures)
2) Get and hang 2 shelves for living room
3) Purchase DVD stand
4) Put pictures of updated home on blog

~Friends:
1) See Shelley when she visits Chattanooga (I haven't seen her since the wedding!!)
2) Throw belated bday lunch for Tonya
3) Visit Kelly, Wes and the boys

~Assortment:
1) Put up Halloween decorations (yahoo!)
2) Find Halloween costume (I'm thinking maybe this or this??)

October shall be a busy month-but I love being busy! November will be an awesome month too-full of creativity and crafts and Christmas shopping!  Hold tight-it's going to get a bit wild =]

<3

September goals-Part II (the real deal)

Okay, so if you've been following, you've seen I've posted 2 blogs already about my goals for September and the progress I've made (first blog and then updated blog).  Now I shall recap what I actually got accomplished...

~School

1) Study more for the GRE -FAIL-I hardly studied at all in September...but follow in to October and you'll see progress...

2) Apply for FAFSA -COMPLETE (kinda)-I have it almost done except for like 2 questions Der has to help me with in regards to my taxes from last year and student loan stuff...so I'm going to count this as an almost win?

~Work

1) Annual Evaluation on September 14th -COMPLETE! YAHOO FOR RAISES AND GOOD EVALS!

2) Train Kristy -COMPLETE (kinda)-I have trained her on as much as I can when she is able to be in the office and not the field-so win!

~Books

1) Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -FAIL haven't even started...

2) Read The Portrait of Dorian Gray -FAIL-I'm still in the intro....

~ Miscellaneous

1) Start training for 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles!!)-I am starting with 30 minutes for 2 weeks, 45 minutes for 2 weeks, and then 1 hr for 2 months-details here -I don't know what to call it...I was out for 2 weeks, but when I started training again, I've come back with vengeance!! I'll go ahead and say "fail" for game sake, but I really am proud of how far I've come in the past few weeks-even when I was off =]

2) Download HP #2 to iPod- FAIL-I honestly just forgot, lol.

3) Buy early X-Mas presents -COMPLETE! Not all presents bought, obviously, but I've bought a few more since last updated

4) Spend more time with friends (Shelley, Destiny, Kelly, Tonya-in particular)-COMPLETE-I hung out with Kelly (previous blog already counted Destiny and Tonya)-Shelley and I's play date had to get moved to October but I still count this as a win

5) Get hair cut and styled-think pics below (I got an even better and more fabulous cut and color-see details here)-COMPLETE AND FABULOUS!!!

~Home

1) Finish painting for bedroom and hang (done-and I LOVE it!)-COMPLETE

2) Print off more pictures for hanging and sending -I guess FAIL? I forgot the other 4 frames I wanted to hang, but I found them again so I'll put them on my new list, lol

3) Get shelf up for bathroom -COMPLETE! It looks wonderful and goes so well-pictures will come soon, scouts honor

Okay: so we've got 

COMPLETES-7   FAIL-6 

Hey!  An very close month-not too shabby considering I've been upside down and a bit crazy. =] Next month will be better.

Tomorrow I'll update my goals for October and hopefully find a picture of the *almost* car we're getting! YEEE!

I have a lot to do this weekend and I'm totally okay with it.

Love and kisses, ladies and gents.

A poem from the Husband

The other day Derrick and I got into an argument...I had to go to work before it was fully resolved, but when I came home last night, here is what I was given as an apology.

Roses are red, violets are blue, Jordan is mad & Derrick is too.


J-is for Jordan who wants Derrick to be nice
O-is for oh brother! the thing she's thinking now
R-is for Raley, the family she's now a part of
D-is for Derrick, the husband she wants to Sub-Zero uppercut (inside joke!)
A-is for asshole, what she thinks Derrick is
N-is for negotiation of peace, what Derrick wants most


R-is for rockin' what Jordan does best, her clothes always sharp and face never a mess
A-is for anxious, the way she's feeling about a car
L-is for lame, because this poem is sub-par
E-is for Elise, the prettiest middle name around
Y-is for your love, which can never simmer down


I love you.


Okay-could anyone still stay mad after this fun, original, and honest little poem? LOL.  It made me laugh-which is usually the hardest barrier to break when we are arguing, but once broken always makes things calm down.

It was a bit personal but I had to share the silly side of my husband that a lot of people don't get to see and that is one of his most endearing qualities.  His vows on our wedding day were also in a poem form- funny, sweet and SO romantic.

I like him.

And I think this is a very original and sincere apology, which I accepted.

Smile today...it's Friday!