November Goals-fo' real

Okay-I forgot what most of my goals were for this month so just a forewarning-there will be a lot of fails, lol.

~Health:
*Clock 2 days per week of group cardio (yoga, zumba, or kickboxing)- I probably shouldn't, but I'm going to count this as a win.  I did not go, however, the day after Thanksgiving like I normally do but in my defense I wasn't feeling well.*Clock at least another 2 days per week of cardio/strength training (elliptical/treadmill and weight lifting)-Here's the thing... I've tried to keep it up-it's a bit rough but I always feel a lot better.  I'll say FAIL because it wasn't fully consistent but it was damn near close.*Drink more H20-always a good goal-failish?  I ran out of our bottles and our tap tastes horrible so I didn't drink as much as I should but still a good bit....so win/fail?
*Clock 6 consecutive miles on either elliptical or treadmill-FAIL but I've got 5!  After I get my knee brace on Thursday I think this will be a bit better =]

~Fun:
*Do something creative every day in November...yeah I said it-EVERY DAY...all 30 of them!  I'm so worthless tonight I need to find something fairly easy to do before I collapse (blogging will not count!) One reminder though-I will update photos of said crafts 1 time per week so even if you're not seeing the pics for a bit, I swear I'm still at it!- EPIC fail....like I hardly did anything crafty..... BUT the few things I did do are awesome! Details to come tomorrow =]
*Home for Thanksgiving- WIN! It was soooo yummy
*Get new haircut- WIN-she helped lighten it and made it look more how the style is supposed to, lol.
* Thanksgiving with friends-we are making mashed potatoes, bringing drinks, and cranberry sauce (YUM!)- WIN (we all brought deliciousness!)
*HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 ON NOVEMBER 19TH!-DOUBLE WIN! I've seen it twice (yahoo!) and plan on seeing it this coming weekend with my husby =]
*Tonya's B-day lunch/dinner (even if it kills us!) -WIN! After almost a month of trying to finagle schedules we finally did it! We ate at Olive Garden and exchanged her gifts (God I can't WAIT until we get a camera so I can actually capture these moments!)
*Babysit Andrew and Dylan 1 night - FAIL...I was supposed to watch them tonight but their water heater is leaking and we had to push it off for potentially another night next week (which won't be November, lol)
*Continue Christmas shopping finishing at least: Destiny, Kelly, Jen, Mom, and Tonya-WIN! I finished: Jen, Destiny, Mom, Tonya, Kelly, Steve, and Brad!  Just a few more people and then we're done!!
*Celebrate 6 months of marriage <3 -WIN!  It was very laid back and fun.  We saw "Due Date" and ate at Chilis before snuggling for the evening and just hanging out.
~Home:

*Hang picture frames & small shelves in living room- FAIL but I've decided to hold off on hanging those frames until January because if we get a new t.v. it will go RIGHT where the frames are...so there may need to be a new interior design, lol.

*Find frames and hang pics in bathroom-FAIL but not for lack of trying!  No where that I've looked has the frames I need! =(  So I took the one that was hanging up down and I'm gonna try to come up with a new shceme and see if I can get it done by the new year.

* Get small rug for entrance way- FAIL...just because I forgot about it, lol

 

Judges-the tally is?  WIN= 8               FAIL=8   A tie!  Well well November, you weren't too shabby! 

 

But to be honest...I am TOTALLY looking forward to December =] 

 

I'll update y'all on that come tomorrow for new goals and such.

 

Love for always,

J

The new family member

I don't know if I ever told you all about the newest addition to the Raley family!

May I present:

Long John Silver-our blue and red crown beta

He's pretty awesome and loves his Roman home.  We've had him since the beginning of October and I just forgot to tell you all about him!

This is him.  He's rad.

Well well well-it's time for an update!

Hello lovers!

     I hope you're all doing well, having had a wonderful feast on Thanksgiving and doing what you wanted.  Der and I headed to Chattanooga after I got off of work to spend the day with my brother and mother-so much fun and so YUMMY!  We had: turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, peas, green beans, croissant rolls, stuffing, sweet tea, strawberry cream cheese pie, blueberry cream cheese pie, and pumpkin pie *phew!*  It was delicious and mom made some travel plates for us to bring back here! I had Thanksgiving again last night, lol!

     In other news: November is drawing to a close and I have done a lot and feel quite accomplished (even if they're not on my "November Goal" list).  I will recap those goals and discuss what I've done further with my goals update on Tuesday.  =]  I can't believe Wednesday is the 1st of December! My my how fast 2010 has come and how quickly it's leaving!  I feel like 2011 will be another good year.

     I am really excited to put up Christmas decor!  I will put it up on December 1st-after work and before "Criminal Minds".  This will be the first year as Mr. and Mrs. Raley and I can't wait to decorate our home and send out our 50 FREE Shutterfly.com Christmas cards! YAHOO! I've already got 1/2 of the presents bought and next weekend I'm going to wrap them all!!  One of my favorite things about Christmas is the way a tree looks when it's lit up and has presents under it.  I know that's not what Christmas is supposed to be about but I won't pretend that this pretty display of gift giving to one another isn't a wonderful part of the holiday.  My mom and sister are coming up on December 11th to go shopping (a little tradition we like to do every holiday season) so I hope to finish everyone by then.

     The gym is going well...I have been kind of down on myself the past 2 weeks feeling like I'm not getting any results but I went running on Tuesday and did much better than I thought I would!  I guess I've been so ho-hum about it because I'm not really seeing any results but I am feeling much better when I do work out.  Maybe it's the weather?  I plan on going today and working some of this frustration out with a good ol' fashion sweat =]

     In January we plan on getting a new digital camera (one of those pan arounds) and I am SO excited! My blog will actually be a bit more updated and I'll be able to follow our lives in photos!  We're also getting new mattresses which is JUST as exciting because my allergies kick my ass every night and morning so these new luxuries will be wonderful.

     Well I need to finish my apple cider tea, some "Lois and Clark" and eat some breakfast before heading to the gym.  Afterwards I plan on taking Tucker for a walk, sanding and priming my table, and putting up the laundry.

     A mellow little Saturday and I am pumped to partake in it.

Getting excited about...

1) I've started our wedding book using Shutterfly.com and it's coming along SO well!  The last one I was working on crashed with the old laptop so I'm starting fresh on the new PC.  I hope to have it printed out and on our table by the new year!

2) I have been going to the gym for over a month (at least 4 days a week) and I am feeling soooo much better!  Watching what I eat a bit and just generally working on my self has really paid off-I'm lovin' it!  We'll see how far I've come by January 15th  =]

3) I make my first car payment today!  I know it seems more like a pain than a triumph but I'm really excited about it!  Man-I just remembered that I need to post pictures of Fiona (that's her name) on here...maybe soon.

4) I am seeing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" on Friday with my family and I am STUPIDLY EXCITED.  Like it's a bit serious, lol.

5) Thanksgiving is in a week! YAHOO! I can't wait for mom's good home cookin'.

*What are you getting excited about?!*

Christmas via Shutterfly-take II

Okay for real-not only do I really love the Shutterfly.com account for making personal photo books but they also have incredible deals on holiday cards and great photo options in general!  It's also exciting because it helps me keep up with my craft-every-day goal for November.  I've also got our wedding album started through this site so needless to say...I'm loving them!

I have looked at a few other sites (Walgreens, Walmart, Microsoft programs) for making our 1st Christmas cards and most of them have the same standard formats, fonts, and color schemes.  I actually got so frustrated the other day while looking through them that I almost threw in the towel and bought some standards at Office Depot...lucky for me I did not!

While I was reading The Ooey Gooey Daily News' blog, I stumbled upon the Shutterfly.com free giveaway for 50 Christmas cards-(needless to say: I was glad I didn't chuck the money for standard Office Depot cards).  And seeing as her last years Christmas cards from the other place didn't pan out...I think Shutterfly.com is for me this 2010 season!

Now what I am looking for this Christmas season is something special.  It is my first Christmas with my husband so we want these cards to be unique, seasonal, and personal.  Thankfully, while looking through Shutterfly's billions of options and designs, I think we'll get those 3 traits we want! Yahoo!

* I am a HUGE fan of the photo holiday cards-really hits both the personal and unique traits here and I love that!  What's better than having some friendly and familiar faces on your fridge wishing you happy holidays, well wishes, and bright nights?!  Nothing I tell you!  So if you feel the same way-check them out here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery.  I'm loving this display-namely for Christmas.  This combines both the holiday themed card and a photo-perfection if I've ever seen it, lol.


*I also just genuinely love holiday cards.  If Der and I had got our copies of our fall pictures already, Thanksgiving cards would have already been sent! *grumbles to herself*  But I think we don't have to have fall or even Christmas pictures taken for them to turn out...I mean, I've got this started for our potential card and it's looking great, don't you agree??  Check it out! http://www.shutterfly.com/ssc/viewPreview.sfly?fid=0fbb09ec7594db58328a6b68bbcad23c5625c431369d420afd12f45bbad520eada27fa73774b895da76d158d7850ae70

*Now Shutterfly.com asked me to post this on both my facebook, twitter, and blog-honey you KNOW I'm glad to do it!

Here's my FB status for today:

Jordan Elise Raley Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… learn more: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 Check it out and help me get these free cards for the Raley's 1st Christmas!!

Here's my twitter status for today: BigNoseKate28 Jordan Raley 

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… learn more:http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Woohoo!! Hopefully my friends can help me out by checking this stuff out-I'd love it!

I am going to submit this for hopeful winning-wish me luck! Hopefully I can get some fabulous free 1st Christmas cards this year instead of having to fork out lots of dough on mediocre ones-cross the fingers and toes for luck!

<3 J

Quickly-Shutterfly blog

I should be getting ready for work but I (obviously) am not...No worries-today is a no make-up, no hair style kind of day.

First: I hope you're all doing well.  Haven't seen too many updates from a select few which I am positively taking it as being busy (and I'm so proud of you all!)

Second: I am still lacking on the crafts...BUT I should be picking up the slack a bit this weekend while I sand and prime my table and start building and editing Christmas cards. Shutterfly is having this AWESOME 50 Christmas card give away that I'd LOVE to be a part of and hope you would too! Check it out my going here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 for details.  I'm excited because I've looked other places at their cards and prices and think Shutterfly is going to be my best bet for Derrick and I's first Christmas as the Raleys! =] YAHOO!

Last:  I should know my GRE scores in a few weeks so I'll keep you posted once I know something!

Hugs and kisses,

JeR

Ooops...

I won't lie-I haven't even touched anything crafty this week...not once!

So naturally I have no photos to upload for your viewing pleasure...like was promised.

Welp: we can go ahead and count that goal as a FAIL for now...I hope to get better with it though!

We will see-and when there ARE crafts, I'll post them. Scouts Honor  ;]

Ah Saturday-how I love thee!

I really do love Saturdays.  Today is going to be wonderful because I have absolutely NOTHING planned!  It's been a month and 1/2 since that's happened so I am going to take full advantage of it =]

I have some ideas in mind as to what I'd like to do today...cleaning is a must since it's been eons since everything was sparkly and clean! I've already got 3 loads of laundry going (finally!) and the dishes in the wash.  I sit here eating my scrambled eggs, coffee, and banana wondering what else I should do?

Maybe take Tucker to the Greenway for a good walk?  Go get a good workout in with Kristy and Ramona?  Put up the new blinds and curtains for the bedroom?  These all sounds like great ideas...but I may just lounge around reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and wait on my Criminal Minds Netflix to arrive...who knows!?

That's the best thing about the weekends-you can be up for anything.

It hurts so good!

I have to get this out quick...not because I'm in a rush but because my arms are aching from the Zumba class I took with my work friend Kristy tonight.  Actually, my entire body is aching...literally head-to-toes.  1 solid hour of latin/hip-hop/bellydancing and I can officially say my ass is thoroughly kicked.  I'll probably hate it tomorrow but it hurts so good!  I'll be at it again come Friday if my body doesn't kick me to the curb before then!

Anyway, quick list of goals for November-details to come when arms aren't jelly.

~Health:
*Clock 2 days per week of group cardio (yoga, zumba, or kickboxing)
*Clock at least another 2 days per week of cardio/strength training (elliptical/treadmill and weight lifting)
*Drink more H20-always a good goal

*Clock 6 consecutive miles on either elliptical or treadmill.

~Fun:
*Do something creative every day in November...yeah I said it-EVERY DAY...all 30 of them!  I'm so worthless tonight I need to find something fairly easy to do before I collapse (blogging will not count!) One reminder though-I will update photos of said crafts 1 time per week so even if you're not seeing the pics for a bit, I swear I'm still at it!
*Home for Thanksgiving
*Get new haircut
* Thanksgiving with friends-we are making mashed potatoes, bringing drinks, and cranberry sauce (YUM!)
*HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 ON NOVEMBER 19TH!

 

(If you know me at all, you know how big of a deal this is-I am taking PTO for it!!)

*Tonya's B-day lunch/dinner (even if it kills us!)
*Babysit Andrew and Dylan 1 night
*Continue Christmas shopping finishing at least: Destiny, Kelly, Jen, Mom, and Tonya
*Celebrate 6 months of marriage <3

~Home:

*Hang picture frames & small shelves in living room

*Find frames and hang pics in bathroom

* Get small rug for entrance way

Well, right now I think that's it! Doesn't seem like too much to do but OH IT IS! Totally excited though-it's November after all!!  Enjoy the foliage and chill-December is swiftly on its way!