'11 update

So far 2011 has been going exceptionally well and it's only been 7 days! One set back put a bit of a downer on a few things BUT not to fret: it shall be remedied soon =]

In these past 7 days I have been having a good time:

*blogging
*getting appointments set up for GA schedule
*walking the pup
*having all GA paperwork wrapped up
*changing name on bank account (about time, right?)
*working HARD
*running
*hanging out and having dinner with friends
*cleaning out the kitchen and hall
*getting excited about school
*reading
*changing over MDs from Chattanooga to Murfreesboro (REALLY about time)
*starting AND keeping up with my photo-a-day project

...and managing to see my husband and pup at the end of the day.

Not too shabby for the first 7 days huh?!  I've still got 24 to go-let's hope it all is this wonderful come January 31st!

Love for always,
J

New Year-pt. 3 of 3 (Resolutions)

Last but not least: part 3 of my New Year's trilogy-resolutions for 2011.  As I've said before, I am usually a daily or monthly list maker BUT 2011 has a lot in store that I want to accomplish.  Obviously they'll fall in months once done but I want to make an overall list for when I'm lose sight or get too overwhelmed.

1) Donate more-whether it's money, clothes, time I want to do more of it.  According to Der I get "donation binges" where I tear our home upside down and inside out ridding of things we no longer need/want and giving them to some that do. No harm in it and I like it.
2) Stay healthy, hopefully slimming a bit in the process.  I have no real reason not to and if you read this blog you'll know what I mean.
3) Do well in school. I always have and don't plan on stopping.
4) Travel more-this is a big one because Der and I both love to travel.  Whether we go to Florida to see the in-laws and/or DisneyWorld, California to see Patrick and/or Der's grandparents, or Chicago (just because I really wanna go) I want to get more traveling under my belt in 2011. The only place travel won't count is to Chattanooga since I go there all of the time.
5) Read more-I think when I get a Kindle this may be a bit easier.  Now don't get me wrong: I love a good library smelling book as much as the next person but carrying 20 books in my over-the-shoulder tote doesn't seem to make sense for my shoulders or for purpose sake.  So, with the Kindle I can lightly carry around the classics (not to mention my school books) for traveling and class sake.
6) A photo a day project: if you're linked with me on Facebook.com, I am hoping to do a project where I take a photo a day and talk about it-traversing my year in 2011 through photos.  Once I get a real camera this will be made much much easier but until then, crappy cell phone pics will have to do. 1 down, 364 to go!
7) Finish Raley home.  We've lived here almost 8 months and everything isn't finished-in part due to finances, in part due to forgetfulness, lol. I want everything completed by the summer if possible, but by Dec. 31 2011 at the latest.
8) Go to at least 1 concert. I'm not really concerned as to whom I'm seeing but I want to see at least one.  I don't think 2010 had any for me (at least none memorable) so I'd like to remedy that.
9) See more theater-especially since I am jonesing for it so much as of late. Whether it's professional ("Spring Awakening!") or local (MTSU) I want to see more of it.
10) Celebrate.  I don't care if it's for weddings, birthdays or sheer fun-I want to jump for joy even more this year though 2010 had a LOT of that going on. Life is for living, after all.

I know many of these seem kind of "DUH!" but keeping track of them along with life in general may be harder than it seems-we'll see!

What are you hoping to accomplish in 2011?!

New Year-pt. 2 of 3 (Monthly Goals)

On to part 2! Hi-Ho Silver!

A lovely friend of mine asked the best way to keep goals (whether it's daily, monthly, yearly) and I said writing them down (for me, this blog) is the best way: you have it in writing, others are reading it, and you can reference back to it: win-win-win! I am a "to do" list maker anyway but my friend Ooey Gooey Daily News gave me the inspiration to do monthly goals as well as yearly resolutions and day-to-day ones.

So, without further ado, here are my goals for January, 2011.

*Health
1) Drink more water (this will probably always be here as a goal)
2) Cut back on fast food-December was a fast food month for me so I want to get back to my normal and less expensive eating habits.
3) Train for 5k Zoo Run on Jan. 22
4) Continue working out 4 days per week-swimming, Zumba, treadmill, weights, etc.
5) Walk Tucker 2 days a week and this does not count as my working out days. He needs and loves it!
6) Go the the MD

*Home
1) Complete bathroom (I've decided that if I can't find those damn white frames then I will find some cheap ones, spray paint them white, and hang them instead)
2) Sand, prime and paint table in bedroom
3) De-clutter and reorganize all closets, cabinets, drawers.
4) Get new a new Queen mattress set for bedroom (YEEEEEEEEE!)
5) Get new and matching bedding for new mattresses
6) Put up laundry once done *gulps*

*School
1) Study/do research or homework every night except Sunday.
2) Aim for straight A's.
3) Keep up with GA hours, homework, classes and research in an organized manner.
4) R.E.A.D.


*Fun
1) Finish The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2) Start & finish The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
3) Celebrate Andrew's 3rd birthday
4) Celebrate husband's 23rd birthday
5) "Celebrate" BFF's departure for Navy boot camp =(
6) Go on lavish date with Der (this is where my LBD will come in)
7) Have in/out dinners with friends
8) Get new camera


Seems like a lot...and it is! Cheers to keeping them up!

Now the last blog: New Years-pt. 3 of 3 (Resolutions).

New Year-pt. 1 of 3

I kind of failed at posting my blog yesterday (1/1/11) with details of New Years and new goals/resolutions....Trust me though: it's probably for the best. (And no, I wasn't that hung over).

Alright so a couple of things first:
1) I AM IN GRADUATE SCHOOL! I will officially begin Jan 13th to earn my MA in Sociology, taking 6 hours this semester. I. can. not. wait.
2) I AM IN THE GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP (GA) PROGRAM! This is a program where I'll work 20 hours per week on campus doing research, grading papers, helping assist classes, etc. It also pays for my tuition per semester if my GPA is a 3.0 or above and allots a stipend per month to me for my work! Again: I. CAN. NOT. WAIT! I am stupidly stoked about this and I have talked to one of the professors who I'm working with and he's covering info. and studies that I'm super interested in! YES! More to come once I'm really in it.

*Okay-now that the sheer excitement is out of the way, I shall detail our New Year's Eve shin-dig.  We had a few friends over (Patrick-in from LA!, Brian, and Mark) to hang out with for the New Year.  We had a random assortment of food, partly because we didn't know we were having the party at our house until Thursday evening, lol.  We had chili dip (recipe to come later), shrimp cocktail, and cookies (weird, right?!)  The boys brought whiskey for them and I had margarita mix and tequila for me-the sparking white wine we had was bad.  We all just hung out, played games, and laughed until the New Year came along.  John and Elisa stopped by after getting back from San Diego to say hello and Happy New Year! It's nice to have them back!! I was beat so after the New Year was rung (?) in I changed and went to bed-oh so tired.  I fell asleep to the sounds clicking and beating and was totally okay with it, lol. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures-I just forgot!-but here a the 4 I did, lol.

Here is Der with his whiskey and coke watching his friends play Rock Band 3 (ignore my stems in the pic)

Here are Brian (guitar), Patrick (drums), and Mark (bass) playing RB3

Me and Mr. R bringing in the New Year with a sweet kiss

Me and D smiling for 2011

One awesome thing I realized NYE is that I have officially lost some weight! I tried on 2 dresses of which: one I couldn't get in to and the other I was super uncomfy in-and they BOTH fit (and fairly well)!!!! YAY! So even though I didn't go shop for a new dress in a smaller size, it's still nice to know that 2 I haven't been able to wear (in over a year) I can again! So I made Der promise to take me on an amazing date so I can wear my LBD. Love it.  I am proud of myself and so was Der! He knew how much me not fitting in to some of my clothes was messing with my esteem so it was nice to have some positive and laid back compliments when I had achieved it (he's kind of my hero like that).

Happy 2011 to all!

Now on to New Year-pt. 2 of 3 (Monthly Goals)!

Last of 2010 goals

Okay okay...I didn't do as well as I should have this month BUT that's what new years are for, right? New beginnings.  See below for the tally of my December goals.


~Home
*Decorate for the holidays (DONE! It was fun to decorate our first home together-see pictures for details!)

(This is part of our display-our little candles and snow globe, sitting snow man, and poinsettia)

(My little village! This is Der's favorite part-he got me the big tree last year to complete it! It's so sweet)

(This is the tree after it was decorated)

(Our stockings! The Snowman is Der, the Santa is mine, and the pup is [naturally] Tucker's. They were all stuffed to the brim this year! See this blog for details)

(Our tree with all of the gifts [and this is only 1 side of it]! We were fortunate enough to have almost everyone's stuff done by the season this year! Our budget was still small but time escaped me before I could get: Shelley, Andrew, Dylan, and finish Tressa's SO they will be getting theirs after the New Year.)

(Our tree Christmas evening after all [but my in-laws] gifts had been dispersed & opened.)

(A surprise to say the least! I got this amazing ornament from my awesome Aunt Susan-it says "The Raleys" and "Our First Christmas" on it with 2 little snowmen-1 being Der and 1 being me.  She even added a little pup with the name Tucker on it for us! My eyes swelled with tears when we got this in the mail-it was so sweet, unexpected, and personal. Thank you Aunt Susan!)

*Put up laundry when it's done (I hate putting up laundry) (FAIL-I've got a basket from 2 weeks ago still sitting in the hall with clean clothes....oops, lol!)
*Sand and prime table in bedroom (FAIL-I honestly just didn't feel like it any this week [I've been off] BUT in my defense I've been sick with sinus and cold crap for over a week so that's contributed...maybe on Sunday?)

~Health
*Clock at least 8 consecutive miles on the elliptical or treadmill (FAIL-I hardly went to the gym at all this month! And I feel like crap (both physically and due to guilt) BUT when I did go I was doing well on the treadmill with my new knee wrap! YAY!)
*Drink more water (Meh-I'll count this as a FAIL because I've been drinking more tea than water)
*Get knee brace and wear it when running (this should help me increase my endurance on the treadmill/concrete vs using the elliptical) (DONE! Yahoo!)
*Even during the break from work (and due to Christmas) work out in SOME way at least 3 days a week (this will be a tough one!) (FAIL-see health #1 for details. I was doing fine with the first few weeks of December actually-when I didn't go to the gym I did a workout video from home but then...I slacked and then got sick so no gym for me.)
*Walk Tucker every Sunday unless it's raining all day....(Okay: I was doing so good with this except this past Sunday because I forgot it was Sunday! Once I remembered it was like 10 at night so I did walk him first thing Monday morning...so I'm counting this still as a DONE.)
*Drink less coffee-less meaning no more than 4 times per week (this is less considering I drink it almost every day!) (DONE! I've felt better but it's been hard since it was so cold this month.  I substituted hot tea, water, and every once in a while hot cocoa and it worked fine! I may pull this one to January just because I can!)

~Fun
*Go Christmas shopping with Mom and Jen (Yeeee!! This has become a tradition and it's SO much fun!) (DONE! We always have such a great time! They come up here early on a Saturday or Sunday morning, we go to the mall, shop, then go to Steak N' Shake for lunch/early dinner, shop some more, then they head back home-a tradition I l.o.v.e. and want to continue! Here's a pic of me and my sister at Steak N' Shake):

*Finish shopping and wrap presents (well duh!) (DONE! It was a ton of fun this year!)
*Mail out holiday cards by December 17th (DONE! I hope some of you who read this received yours! See this blog if you didn't get to see it or didn't receive one)
*Celebrate early Christmas with Kelly, Wes, Tonya, and the boys (DONE! So much fun-I got 2 adorable headbands and some earrings from Kelly & Wes,and Tonya got me some comfy Christmas socks and an Elvis jukebox Salt and pepper shaker set! I collect salt and pepper shakers so it was very nice and so sweet to get these-now adding to my collection! We all had a nice time hanging out and just relaxing-something we all seemed to have needed)
*Buy a New Years dress (hopefully in a smaller size!) (FAIL-I honestly kind of forgot but after reading The Glamourist blog about them I wish I remembered sooner! Booooo...maybe next year? Or maybe in a few weeks I'll go get a new dress and Der can take me on a lovely date so I can wear it...yes-sounds good!)
*Celebrate Christmas with family (DONE! I'm waiting on my sister to upload the pictures so I can share.)
*Celebrate the New Year with friends (DONE! We're celebrating tonight and after this blog I need to get to cleaning!)
*Celebrate Elisa's Bday (DONE! It was fun and laid back-just like Elisa!)
*Celebrate Mom's Bday (DONE sorta...Mom was in Chatt when her birthday rolled around but when we came in for Christmas we gave her her gift (blueberry coffee) and hung out with her as late celebration + we both called her on her actual day to sing and tell her we love her)

~Books
*Finish "Picture of Dorian Gray" (DONE! Outside of a few monotonous chapters, it was a good book and I'm glad I read it.)
***POTENTIALLY start some reading on Graduate school books IF I get in...*** (This is neither a FAIL or DONE because: 1) I did get accepted into Graduate School for an MA in Sociology 2) I was accepted into the GA program [SUPER EXCITING NEWS]!! 3)I have yet to buy the books needed for my 2 classes (very expensive) but I plan on getting them once the semester starts and pouring over them my first weekend off from class.)
*Start "Hitchhikers Guide" Series (DONE! I am on Chapter 9 of "Hitchhikers" and am liking it thus far.)



And the tally is:               DONE=   14           FAIL=      6                 NEITHER=1


Wow! I thought I did much worse! But to be fair: the things I did fail are pretty important (health wise) so I need to step up my game on them come 2011. Yahoo-great job ME for December!


I'll have a few new things to add once 2011 rolls around-check back tomorrow to see!


Kisses.

It's Christmas time in the city!

Alright so I know Christmas is over (duh-it's now Tuesday!) but I am going to post about our Christmas day now. (Remember: all pictures are from my crappy cell phone)

Ready?

Okay so let me clarify that Der and I spent this Christmas (2010) together.  We did not travel, have guests over, nothing.  We decided (much to a few peoples dismay) to celebrate the holiday together, our first as husband and wife.  We stayed right here in the Boro with our pup and the snow and celebrated with our little family staying in robes and pjs all day long. It was nice.*  We (read: I) woke up around 7 something, checked my emails and facebook (guilty!), started some hot tea and coffee, plugged the tree in, and hung out a bit doing my weekend routine while I let Der get a few more hours of shut-eye (he is not chipper in the morning and don't think that for one minute Christmas would be an exception, lol).  Then I couldn't stand it any more so I made some delicious chocolate chip pancakes for us to eat while we opened our gifts!  I woke Der up to them and he actually was smiling =]

They were piping hot and sooooo yummy!

So I made him trek into the living room where our tree was on and our presents were glistening under it so wonderfully.  I was taking the pictures so there's only one of me (oops!-but it's probably a good thing since I never left my pjs, lol).

(I told you he wasn't a morning person!  But he (and apparently Tuck) enjoyed the pancakes)

He's digging in his stocking-he got some lottery scratch off tickets (family tradition), some candy and some Magic cards!

Here is Tuck with most of his loot from his stocking-one big bone, two small bones, a bag of tennis balls (his favorite!), a new collar, and a fluffy squeak toy-we think he really enjoyed all of his stuff!

Here is D with his big gift-an old school Nintendo game Cube!  Being a gamer, he collects both old games and particularly old game systems.  This year he got the Game Cube from me and a Sega Genesis from my sister!  It was totally worth seeing his smile for this gift and it wasn't at all expensive!  He also got a graphic tee and a book by Twain from me.

Now this sneaky little booger is clever.  He wrapped me a Christmas throw (I'm a blanket fan), got me candles and chocolate truffles and a gingerbread house making kit (both the truffles and gingerbread house are traditions for us) in my stocking.  It was awesome! BUT: I have something in the mail that should get here today and I have NO idea what it is! I told him I'd keep the Christmas decor up until it got here because he felt a little bad that I didn't have a lot to unwrap Christmas day (I totally don't care!) but I am a little excited to see what it could be! I honestly have no idea.  Sneaky sneaky....

Anyway-so after presents Der and Tuck were both worn out so they went to take a nap (I was tired too but the coffee and tea I drank didn't help).

I don't know if you can really see-but Tuck is here perched on Der's shoulder like a little bird-both snooooooozing away.  It was adorable and I couldn't resist!

One thing you need to understand is that my family has never had a Christmas dinner. We are so busy all day during Christmas and our whole family has a big party at the end of the day where everyone brings snacky foods and soft drinks that there has never been time for it.  But Der is used to a HUGE Christmas dinner.  His mother, being one of the best cooks I've ever met, makes t.o.n.s. of food, desserts, drinks, etc., for a late Christmas lunch or dinner that he was bummed I hadn't planned on doing a Christmas dinner for just us two.  When he finally divulged that it is a tradition in his family, one that he'd like to carry over when we have kids one day, I said alright and we went to the store a few days before to get our tiny feast.  I told him it's not an issue to have Christmas dinner but that I was not going to spend all day cooking-it ain't my style, lol.  And for years when we travel, I'll assure him we'll have a Christmas dinner when we return home (if one is not being prepared to wherever we're going).

So-when they got back up we started our little 3 pound Christmas turkey and I started to unpack our china that my mother got me for my Christmas present! Oh it's GORGEOUS!  

We now have 2 full sets of our china, silver, and crystal! I was so excited that 1) I got it for Christmas with help from my Aunt Lynn and moms help and 2) we were able to use it just in time for our very first Christmas dinner!  It was truly very personal and amazing.

Here's our table set for two with our fabulous place settings.

With the turkey cooking I set the table and then Der and I played Mario Party on the Game Cube-man it was so much fun! We had mimosas while we played (which I think are normally tasty) but they tasted pretty bad, lol.  

I don't know if it was the different OJ I bought or the fairly cheap champagne but they weren't that great...pretty though!

 Naturally, I won (haha!) but we both had a blast (from the past) playing and jokingly competing against one another. After the game we went in to the living room to watch a video my mom got me that was very reminiscent of my childhood.  Does anyone remember the Disney shorts of Bongo the Bear and Mickey and the Beanstalk-both put on a film called "Fun and Fancy Free"?

This movies was a faaaaaaavorite of mine as a child and my awesome mom got it for me this year! So special.  It was great snuggling on the couch with my new throw watching this movie with my boo and pup. 

After the movie was over we finished up the sides for dinner (mashed potatoes, peas, croissants) and started to eat! Our little turkey turned out wonderfully and while we were eating we were baking a cake for dessert!

We lit some candles for our centerpieces and had water and sparking grape juice in our glasses. It was very good and very intimate. Even little Tuck got his very own small Christmas feast!

Now, the Christmas cake isn't your typical Christmas cake: Der wanted the cake mix and frosting that had the built in sprinkles-I laughed because it was essentially a birthday cake that just happened to fall on Christmas...well-I bet Jesus would have liked it, lol!

I feel like I need to explain why it is so small-I was trying to flip the first pan over to cool before frosting...and of course, it wasn't wanting to flip so I shook and tried to (very carefully)get it out.  You know what's coming...it finally came out and crumbled beneath my fingers...I was a little miffed but Der just laughed and perfectly got the second pan flipped (jealous). So the above picture is the 1 pan cake being frosted by King Flipper while I humbly take the photo, lol.  Note to self: grease pan better next time.

After dinner we went in to the bedroom and lay around like lazies.  It was awesome.  I was tired (still getting over a sickness I contracted the Wednesday before the holiday) so me, Der, and Tuck went to snuggle in the bedroom (a random tradition we do when we're all fed well). This was when I realized that we hadn't taken any pictures of us for our first Christmas!

There we go-holiday love <3

And that, my friends, was the Raley's first Christmas, 2010.  It was laid back, comfortable, and special.  I'm glad it happened =]

Look for a few more blog updates later this week-2011 is coming to a close and I've got a few more details and stories to tell!

*I am used to a ton of hustle and bustle on Christmas day because my family usually wakes up around 8-9 and is going, going, going ALL day long with visits to other houses, food, gifts, travel, etc. Nice denotes we simply hung out, locked inside all day with the snow and one another-yes!

'Tis the Season

I can't believe Christmas is in 6 days!  We have everyone's presents (except for Shelley which we're getting after the New Year) and they're wrapped and lovely under our little tree!

See?!  And this is only 1/2 of of the tree!

I love the holiday season and I'm not just meaning Christmas.  I love the crisp air, the drinks, the FOOD, the togetherness and the smells.  I'd say from Thanksgiving through January 2nd is my favorite holiday season and NOT because there are 3 main holidays back to back but because most people are in amazing moods and everyone kind of takes a break from the monotony and negativity of the world.

We are having dinner with John and Elisa tonight and exchanging little gifts! Then Monday night (after Zumba and if it's not raining) Der and I are going to walk to square to check out the decor and lights. Then Tuesday we're celebrating with Tonya, Kelly, Wes, Andrew and Dylan.  Wednesday after work we're driving to Chattanooga for a few days then heading back to our Boro for Christmas! The Raley's first Christmas-gee, I love the way that sounds <3

Just remember to let the little things go, smile, laugh a lot, and remember to think of everyone else this season.