whats in my bag...

In honor of ending the first month of the new year, I decided to play along with the whole 'whats in my bag' game... I know, you are all so super interested. hehe

Here goes...

(Top to Bottom, Left To Right)

- My Pink Droid

- My Coach Bag (that I got for my 30th Birthday... that holds all the rest of the crap-o-la, lol)

- Sephora Mirror

- Small Coach clutch (for smaller items, like receipts)

- My Pink Kenneth Cole wallet

- Hair Tie (always important)

- Burts Bees chapstick

- Get Lippy by Bodybalm (a MUST HAVE people!!)

- Hand Sanitizer from Bath and Body Works

- A Gift Certificate to Swankys Boutique in Anthem

- My *new* Coach glasses

- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I'm on chapter 3)

- Sephora eye liner and mascara

- Mentha Lip Shine by C.O. Bigalow

- Office and House Keys

- Black Pen

- Book of Matches from Pappadeaux

- First Lucky Penny that I found after my Dad passed away (Pennies From Heaven)

- Playboy Credit Card Case 

- Key Fab to my Lexi, with my Mountainside Fitness pass

- Family photos

- Business Cards for our business

I know, lots of girlie stuff. I might be kind of a girlie girl... I dunno... maybe. lol

I hope you play along! Link Up so I can see whats in YOUR bag!!

xoxo

sharing is caring

hello party people! it's big Friday Night (whoop whoop) and I'm surfin' the net...

I had to share several goodies that and quite fond of lately...

here we go...

Hostess With The Mostess is pretty much my new superhero and I want to be just like her when I grow up. hehe. Look at how precious this Red Riding Hood inspired birthday party is...

Vivs has a super awesome 'getting to know your camera' post... check that out!

I saw this on little chief honeybee's blog and I have to have it!

I'll leave you with my favorite wedding-ness from this week. Green Wedding Shoes featured the cutest Hong Kong Engagement Photos... they made my heart smile... look...

Sharing IS Caring... so what is your favorite thing of the week? Share with me!

fill in the blank friday

1.   If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab       my removable hard drive, my scrapbooks in the family room, and our family albums .

2.  A smell I really like is    fresh cut grass. It reminds me of being a kid and sitting on the lawnmower while my dad cut the grass (now, highly dangerous. lol) .

3.  Something you might not know about me is       that I was on the flag team in junior high, and my second year I was a team lieutenant  .

4.  Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are     We Heart It, Facebook, Twitter, and Etsy    .

5.  This weekend I will    staying home with the chitlins (the hubs in hunting) and getting laundry done .

6. Nothing makes me happier than       laying in bed or cuddled up on the couch watching a chick-flick and drinking a glass of wine   .

7.  A bad habit I have is       picking at my nails... it drives my family crazy   .




Link Up At Lauren's!!

mardi gras

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have you celebrated mardi gras? i have not. not ever. 

this year i will. sort of.

my sweet cousin (whom i call shaniqua, pron. sha-nee-kwa) is turning 18 this year. she is having a mardi gras themed party. i'm quite excited about the whole 'mask-wearing' part of it. something different, ya know.

i love me a themed party. and usually i'm the one heading up the event, but this year i need to focus a little more on getting through my own issues (you know, like grieving and mourning the loss of my dad... battling the weight i've put on because of said event... finding beauty and inspiration and reason in daily life again...) stuff like that. hehe.

anyway...

my mom was kind enough to send me a few links for masks...

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Mom likes this one {credit}

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wee bit wednesday

 {one} how tall are you?5'6"
{two} besides bills, what do you spend most of your money on?food
{three} what are your three favorite websites?TwitterFacebookWeHeartIt
{four} what brand of tennis shoes do you prefer?Nike
{five} what food can you absolutely not stand to eat?Eggs (followed closely by drinking Milk)
{six} How many pairs of jeans do you own?five
{seven} if you could have any job, what would it be?travel blogger
{eight} have you ever ridden in an ambulance?nope
{nine} how many pillows do you sleep with?two
{ten} on a scale of 1-5, how organized are you?4
Link Up At Leigh Ashley's!

WBW+FITBF

So... with my absence last week, I totally missed Wee Bit Wednesday and Fill In The Blank Friday!

((It's sort of a mini-goal of mine to do them all this year... we'll see how I fair out))

I suppose this is more for me than for you... unless you're stalkerazzi and want to know all the dull corners of me. lol. Here goes...

{one} name one thing you worry about running out of.tampons. tmi? well, they asked, i answered. sosorry!
{two} what is your favorite pizza topping?pineapple
{three} what is your favorite harrison ford movie?Working Girl. he's 80s hot in that flick!
{four} apple juice or orange juice?orange juice
{five} what’s your favorite thing to do on a sunday afternoon?watch football and drink a cold beer or two and munch on some wings (no, i'm not a dude, i just sometimes act like one. lol) in the off season, watch Nascar or PBR Bull Riding or go swimming at Moms.
{six} what is the wallpaper on your cellphone of?a picture of my Mom and Dad on the pier in San Clemente just days before he passed away.
{seven} do you have a favorite tv commercial?the Target Lady during Christmas this past year is one of my all time favorite commercials!
{eight} what is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?fried alligator at Pappadeaux
{nine} what is one piece of clothing you can’t live without?the Hollywood Exxtreme Cleavage Bra from Fredericks is my staple
{ten} if you were a character from “lost”, who would you be?i have no clue. i never watched "lost"... probably had something to do with the very first commercial, you know, where the PLANE CRASHES! Ugh! No thanks!
Link Up At Leigh-Ashley's!

1.   My favorite quote is       "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” ~Gilda Radner .

2.  A bad habit I have is    cursing.... like a sailor. lol. Sorry Mom... I try, but I just can't help it  .

3.  The first time I felt like a "grown up" was      when my dad passed away. As much as I still felt/feel like a child, it was then that I had to pull up the big girl panties and deal with what was in front of me  .

4.  Weekends are    usually busy. Our weekends book up quick between kids and birthdays and holidays and social event and company and hunting schedules and work dinners and all the other things that occur. On the rare weekends that I get to just stay home and do nothing (except laundry and clean) I try to enjoy as many movies and laying in my cozy comfy bed and taking baths (but no showers) and a few glasses of wine or a really good beer .

5.  When I was a child I wished my name was     Sophie or Claudia. They sounded so sophisticated and rich, lol .

6.  I wish        on stars, and when I was about 6 or 7 years old I actually got my wish. On a family road trip, I wished for a star of my very own. The next day we were at a carnival and a man running the opposite direction (after a girl) that we were walking handed me a blue stuffed star (that he probably won). At that moment, I believed in all things like fate and God and Santa Claus. hehe   .

7.  A secret I have is       a secret for a reason! lol. Um, I'm still sorta-secretly afraid of the dark. Yes, laugh all you want but I swear every night I have to (quite literally) run upstairs before the hubs turns out all the lights downstairs. I do not like being in the dark. It's scary   .

Link Up At Lauren's!

i've been in Vegas...

My mom and I had the opportunity to stay at Tahiti Village Resort in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Saturday. 

A much needed mini-vaca. It was absolutely lovely to not be responsible or have to made decisions for five whole days! Incredible. 

My mom hadn't been to Vegas in, like, 15 years. The Bellagio wasn't even there! lol. She was quite amazed with the glitz and glamor and bright lights of the Las Vegas strip. The dancing water show at The Bellagio was her favorite thing... until we went to see...

Yes!!! We were blessed to have purchased for us, two tickets to see the Cirque Du Soleil show O at The Bellagio. 

Amazing. Inspiring.

Uplifting. Eccentric.

Stunning. Breathtaking.

Emotional. Sensual.

Powerful. Entertaining.

Beautiful. Mind-blowing.

From the moment the curtain lifted, my jaw dropped to the ground and my eyes welled up with tears of joy and wonder. Such a sense of beauty and appreciation and possibility and hope...

When I was first asked what I thought of the show, the only thing that came to mind was life-changing. And I believe that it was, in a sense. 

For the first time in quite a while, I was able to see something beautiful, and let it touch me, touch my heart, and affect me in a way that was pleasing and inspiring. 

I love to feel inspired. 

The rest of our trip was lovely. We had an amazing dinner at RAO's inside Caesars Palace.

Lovely aritsan breads, and delicate pastas and smooth glasses of wine. It was divine.

I truly enjoyed 'girl time' with my mom... I don't think that we have ever been on a trip together, and it was truly one of the very best trips I have ever had. I love you Mom. Thanks for spending some time (relaxing) with me! xoxo

fill in the blank friday 2.11

1.   I feel happy when      I'm doing something with my kids, like baking, or playing a board game, or even just sitting down on the couch watching a movie or a tv show .

2.  I get silly when    its the last day of work before i leave for a mini-vaca or a holiday  .

3.  Something that makes me sad is       missing my dad every single day  .

4.  Something that makes me annoyed is    people who bring their little kids to adult movies because they can't (or wont) find a babysitter  .

5.  A time that I've been truly surprised was        when Paul surprised me with Lexi (my car) .

6.  I am so thankful for        my family and each day I get to have them in my life   .

7.  I feel loved when       my friends and my family do something nice for me    .

Link up at Lauren's!!

wee bit wednesdays 1.2011

 

{one} have you ever been on tv?yeppers. when i was in anaheim, ca for the PBR i had made a sign that said PBR and NBC on it, and i got taped. It was awesome! lol.
{two} what was the best movie you saw last year?Eclipse. Duh! lol.
{three} do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?The bottom part is tucked in. The top part isn't.
{four} do you cut coupons?Sometimes
{five} do you ever count your steps when you walk?Sometimes... when I'm trying NOT to think about other things. lol
{six} what sauce do you dip your chicken nuggets in?Honey Mustard. Yum in my Tum!
{seven} do you have any magazine subscriptions?Yep... to Oxygen Magazine
{eight} when was the last time you wrote a letter on paper?Um, a few weeks ago.
{nine} what’s your favorite fruit pie?Apple!
{ten} black olives or green olives?Green, fo sho!!
Don't forget to link up over at Leigh Ashley's!

:sharing is caring:

If you know me, and know me well... I'm forever saying 'sharing is caring'. It's just another Jen-ism.

So, I thought since I'm all about it irl (in real life) I decided to share because I care about you in blogland.

Here goes. Sharing is Caring. Numero Uno.

Lacy shared this on her blog, and it pretty much makes a world of sense to me!

Vivs had adorable style, and pretty much is one of my crafty superheros.

If you already don't know about it... Shutterbean is just about my favorite new foodie blog. Pretty stinkin' amazing what she comes up with. Go There Now!!

!!Obsessed!! with this homemade letter writing kit that Danielle Thompson made for her little boy!

Elsie has made me swoon over all footwear shiny and sparkly! Seriously... I want to go and buy a bunch of shoes and spray them gold!! lol

BIG Congratulations for my long time friend (friends since, like, 7th grade) Bridget who is pregnant with baby number six!! Some people knock it, I think it's a blessing!!

Looking forward to Tips and Tricks from Marilyn Monroe via Vivs.

LacyLike opened her new store of yummy natural body love!

Shimelle makes me want to scrapbook... really bad.

Lehua makes me want to scrapbook... really really bad!

The Drifter and The Gypsy made me curious about THIS BOOK...

My good friend Jamie is participating in Joygiving and I think I might want to do something with it. We'll see. My intentions are good.

Wow!! Quite the share for numero uno. I promise it won't always be this long. 

Have A Lovely and Productive Day!!

fill in the blank friday 1.11

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1.   Winter is       chilly and crisp and usually really pretty  .

2.  Summer is    warm in temperature and light and sometimes even miserably hot  .

3.  If it were summer instead of winter right now I'd     be a whole heck of a lot busier at work. lol  .

4.  My favorite thing to do in winter is    read and sip hot peppermint tea on the couch or in bed (sidenote, i think i need a couch in my bedroom... best of both worlds. hehe)  .

5.  My favorite thing to do in summer is       sip bullfrogs by the pool .

6.  The ideal outfit for a sunny summer day is        bikini with a sarong or coverup, sandals and a large hat   .

7.  The ideal outfit for a frigid winter day is       jeans and tank top, with a tshirt on top, then a cardigan on top, and a jacket on top of that. don't forget the socks and tennis shoes or toms or boots     .

Link up At Lauren's!

quiet.

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I've spent alot of time in the quiet. Not something I am used to. No sounds, no commotion. It's peaceful and disturbing to me. It is much needed and most avoided. 

You see, I like chaos. I like being so busy that it forces you deal with the task at hand instead of what is eating away at you inside.

Yesterday, I spent the better half of the day in silence. (I would say complete silence, but I was doing laundry so the whirl of clothes being beaten by water and thrown around by air where a constant muffled background noise.) I like background noise. I need background noise. For me, the television has always been my background noise, exactly like my Dad. I don't have to be watching it, but its a comfort to have it on.

Here is some trivia for you. I have to have the television on when I sleep. The minute the self timer goes off, I'm up and panicked and rushing to turn it back on. The self timer is just to appease my husband so that he can actually get some sleep. lol.

But the night before last, I turned the television off and (eventually) fell asleep in dark silence.

When I woke (early) I took comfort and refuge in the quiet. I embraced it, and carried it with me throughout the day. It gave me space to think about the things that I was avoiding. It gave me clarity to see the things I was choosing not to see. It was enlightening and powerful and terrifying.

Like I said, I was doing laundry (27 loads, I'm still working on) and I was walking around the house trying to clean, pick up, anything! But it didn't matter what I was doing physically, because mentally I was in the quiet. So bizarre and so rare, for me. I am used to having (quite literally) a hundred different things in my head. I know it's a 'mom' thing... 'whats for dinner', the boys needs new shoes, the car needs an oil change, don't forget to check the kids nook history, make a grocery list, make sure to double the ingredients for the soups and chili, balance the checkbook, call the lender'... but for me... I like to add things to my brain that really have no business being there... 'how many miles is it from Phoenix to Virginia, how many customers died last year, is the world really going to end soon, what would it be like to adopt a child, how can I help the starving kids in the world, I want season dinner theater tickets, what if I get cancer, what if Mom gets sick, how many weird worlds biggest things are there in the US, how far is the Grand Canyon from my house...' anything to avoid thinking about the things inside of me that I should be dealing with... need to deal with.

With this holiday season taking the top spot for suckiest holiday season ever... I wasn't doing any New Years resolutions or yearly goals or anything like that (those of you who know me, know that I love my 'New Beginnings') but after yesterday, the quiet got me thinking about Ali Edwards' One Little Word project. I don't know if its something I'll participate in necessarily, but I think for Me... for 2011... I think my word will be Quiet.

What would your word be?