Exercising...Where did you go?

Since January, I've been doing so well with working out 3 times a week. But the past few weeks, I've only been going to the gym about once. It's awful and wow! What a change I've noticed in my body!

I need to stop making excuses.

Like today I was so excited to go to the gym after work, but then my day sort of took a downward spiral and now I'm just looking forward to going home and snuggling with my Man and having dinner. Maybe we'll take a nice long walk?

I really miss the gym though. I miss what it was doing for my body and how loose I felt along with just being in better shape in general. I miss just...feeling healthier. 

Gym! I need to see you! :( I wish my hair wasn't so long and didn't take forever to do after I showered because then I would be going a lot more, no problem!

Jokes

What is the line between an innocent joke and a joke that has crossed the line?

No, really. I'm curious.

When should you be offended and when should you learn to brush something off?

I find that a good 80% of the time when I take a joke too seriously, I get flack for it. But then the one time I actually could care less about a joke is the time that apparently I should stick up for myself?

Maybe if I decide not to take something personally, the rest of the world should accept that and respect my decision and then just move on like the rest of us.

A Relaxing Weekend

I barely did anything this weekend.
I'm not going to lie, it was spectacular.
Friday night, John took me out for dinner to a really nice Italian Restaurant (I say it was to celebrate our 6 month...if you talk to him, he'd probably tease me about it and say it was just something to do on a Friday night. I disagree. :) hehe) It was way too pricey but it was still a nice night out. After that, we just went home and pretty much vegged on the couch. We watched the Eddie Murphy "RAW" comedy show. It was hilarious!!!
Saturday we went and saw the Hangover 2. It was honestly the same movie as the first one. I think it would have been way funnier if instead of focusing on the next days (and the same events as the Hangover 1) it should have focused on their actual night. That would have been hilarious and something different.
After that, I made us a delicious dinner of Chicken Fajitas. I made everything on my own. I marinaded the chicken and everything! I'm becoming quite the little chef.
And then no word of a lie, we literaly played New Super Mario Bros and played 2 games of scrabble. Yep! We're definitely party animals!
The next day I cleaned my bathroom and my bedroom and then went to a nice dinner with my Nona. After that, we went and saw Beauty and the Beast playing at the Auditorium. Can I just say it was ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE? So amazing. I was crying at the end and was just completely blown away. I never thought I'd see such a spectacular performance come to my little city of T.Bay.
So amazing.

This weekend was much needed. The past 1003037289478923 weekends I've been so busy so it was nice to just relax and not do too much.

Have a lovely Monday!

Weekly Gratitude: May 27th

• Thank you to a wonderful 7 1/2 months (or 6 months if you want to count it officially today!) with my wonderful boyfriend, John! It's been so great and I've never been happier in my life. I can't wait to keep going on our day to day together and continue to have as much fun as we do.
• Thank you to great summer reads. Right now I'm reading the sequel to Something Blue. Although, I'm more anxious to get into other books. I'll just finish this one for now though and hopefully find a read that captivates my attention as well as provides me with a memorabe read.*
• Thank you to my busy work schedule the past couple of days. I've been absolutely swamped but it helps the days go by faster!
• Thanks to the relaxing weekend I'm about to have. I really need it and can't wait to sleep in tomorrow!
• I'm so very thankful for the sun shining every single morning when I wake up! Even though it's not that warm, something about it being bright when my alarm goes up, helps me to wake up faster and actually WANT to get out of bed.
• Thank you to my free movie passes all the time. I love going to see movies and it really helps when I don't have to pay a bajillion dollars for a ticket. :)

Have the most wonderful of weekends! xoxo.

****Has anybody read "The Help"? A girl from work recommended it and I'd love to read it and gather more opinions???

My Weekend (Late)

Sorry...I'm aware as to how late this post is.

Anyway, last weekend was very eventful for me.

Me, Tamara and Lindsay all went to Tam's camp which was lots of fun and very necessary.
We basically had a pop and chip party and played cards. It was cute fun!



playing intense game of SkipBo haha

 

pop and chip party

The next night, I got myself dolled up and went to my very first wedding! It was a blast and the bride looked beautiful.
Thank goodness that John's friends are so friendly because I wouldn't have known anybody besides my friend Diandra! I was feeling extra outgoing that night though so everything was great!

The next day, I felt a TEENSY (understatement) bit tired and me and John had to go out to his camp so I could meet his sister, her husband, his niece and his nephews. They are absolutely adorable and they love their Uncle John so much!

Too precious!

Have a great weekend !!!

My Own Happiness

So overall, I'm a very happy girl.

I have so much in my life to be grateful for such as an amazing boyfriend, a loving family, and great friends (and of course 4 cute dogs).

I have a roof over my head, a vehicle to drive (barely), food on the table in front of me and a job that pays my small amount of bills.

However, I've been noticing something about myself lately.

A relatively new discovery.

My happiness comes from making other people happy so I don't feel guilty.

I'm just not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

I make almost every decision because of someone else. I put everybody in my life's happiness before my own.

I don't think I should do that all the time. I think I need to start focusing more on what works best for me and what, in the end, will make me happy.

I can't always make my decisions based on someone else's feelings or because I'm afraid my decision might make someone angry with me.

So I'm putting myself first from now on. However, of course I will still strive on making those I love around me, happy. That's what I live for. To make other's happy. But, I still need to remember that my happiness is just as important, and if not, more important.

And I'm thinking that the significant people in my life will realize that disappointment is sometimes inevitable but they need to accept my decisions whether they like it or not...because well my decisions are not their decisions to make.

Book Review: Something Borrowed (Spoilers)

Everytime I ask for a good book recommendation, somehow, this book always came up.

So when I found out that they were making it into a movie, I decided that I needed to read it.

I have a thing where if I'm interested in a movie (like, really interested) and I know it's based off a book, I have to read the book first.

Anyway, let's get to the point.

I loved this book and I really cared about each and every character.

I think it makes a huge difference in a book when the characters are so well developed, that it matters to you what happens to them and you feel like you're somehow involved in their lives. Like they are your friends and you are the "other character".

As much as this book was honest and funny and even a little sad, I couldn't help but get angry at some points of the book.

I don't believe in "cheating" and that's what this entire book was about. It was about an affair. And not just a random affair. It was a book about betraying your best friend when you're her maid of honor. And you're having sexual relations with her fiancee, Dex. It really is an awful thing when you think about it. Throughout the book, the main character, Rachel, is trying to justify her being "the other woman" because Darcy (the bride to be) can be selfish and inconsiderate. But no one deserves that sort of treatment.

However, we found out later that she cheated on Dex with Dex's best friend and is having his baby. So really, who's the bad guy? Rachel. That's who I think.

Personally, I didn't think that the book was going to end the way it did. Dex and Rachel end up together and I don't know how I felt about that. Near the end, Dex tells her that he can't leave Darcy. That just won't work for him. He can't hurt her that way. So Rachel runs off to England for a trip to visit her friend. But then she comes back and Dex says he called off the wedding and then of course, Dex and Rachel end up together.

I thought that maybe he WOULDN'T call off the wedding like was originally planned, and then he found out that Darcy cheated on him and then tried to go running back to Rachel only to have her reject him and then quit her job and run off to England.

I sort of wish that would've happened. It would've convinced me that Rachel wasn't such a terrible friend and Dex wasn't a jackass.

Anyway, read this book. I really do recommend besides all my ranting. It's cute and you love the characters.

Kbye!

Weekly Gratitude: May 20th

Even though I haven't gone to the gym this week and have been eating my own weight in junk food, I've had a pretty good week.
Let's begin, shall we?

• Thank you to all of the warm weather we've been getting! Nice weather only means more time spent out at camp! And camp is the only place I like to be in the Summer. Unfortunately, this isn't realistic so those times spent at camp are all the more sacred!
• Thank you to BBQ's! There's nothing more seasonal than a delicious BBQ and sitting outside while it's being made and eating it outside too!
• Thank you to reading delicious books while sitting out in...YOU GUESSED IT! The warm, warm weather. I love love love reading in the Summer. That's usually when I read the most, is in the summer.
• Thank you to the wonderful weekend I'm about to have! I really really need it. It's going to be lovely and I can't wait share it all with you on Tuesday when I return from all my wild adventures. :) Hehe.

Love, love.

A Night Away From It All

So last night, John and I decided it would be a good idea to go out to his camp...or for you others out there "Cottage".

He raves and raves about his camp all the time but I've never been there. Well, last night that finally changed and what a beautiful night it was.

We got there and he started barbequing sausages which were so good!

And then we went down by the lake where we read our books just enjoying the quiet and refreshing air.

Then we took a Sauna which was very much needed and afterwards had a bright idea to jump in the lake where the ICE ONLY MELTED OFF JUST DAYS BEFORE! Terrible idea. You can imagine how fast we jumped back in the Sauna after...

And then we went back inside (it was getting dark out) and read inside his beautiful camp.

It was such a great night and we're going back Sunday because his Sister is in town (whom I've never met). So I'm really excited for that!

I even had to PEE in a little POT at night time because it would have been too much of a hassle to go out to the outhouse (which was very glam by the way! haha) But it's Whatevs. I'm rugged.


Hopefully we'll have more mini camp vacay's soon and often! :)

Off to Camp

Me and my Boyfriend are both sick so we're going off to his camp tonight to have a Sauna and in general, some R & R!

I definitely need this country outing as I haven't been feeling myself lately.

Tomorrow is a camp night too which will be fun and like I said, very much needed.

This is actually a picture of my friend Tamara's camp where I'm going tomorrow night.

I don't have much to say right now.

But I can say that I'm extremely tired (like I've already closed my eyes sitting at my desk) and pretty sure I have a stupid cold!

Great.

I better be better in time for my busy weekend I have ahead of me.

Ugh!

Sunny Weekend

Summer has finally showed up in my little town of Thunder Bay!

The weekend has come and gone but what a lovely little weekend it was!

Friday night I went and saw Comic Idol which was (mildly) entertaining. I was more so laughing at all the busts who went up. But there were people who I really appreciated them getting the guts up there and put on a good act!

Saturday had lunch with John and then we went shopping to find a dress for the wedding we are going to this weekend. No luck. I don't want to talk about it.

And then me and John just sat outside and talked. It was LOVELY.

Then Saturday night, I went to my friend Nikki's birthday party followed by seeing "Bridesmaids" with my good friend Holly. It was lovely!

Sunday, me and John layed around outside and collected some much needed UV Rays while reading and BBQing. When I say "we" barbequed I mean, HE barbequed. He is amazing at cooking. I'm not gonna lie. I'm craving the meal that we had last night again.

Then we watched the hockey game together and VANCOUVER WON!

It was a really great weekend. This weekend is going to be another great one! I'm so looking forward to the sunshine and outdoors!

Weekly Gratitude: Friday the 13th.

Happy Friday to all you lovelies out there!


How cute is my dog?

• I'm definitely thankful for that little ball of fat you see at the top of this post.
• I was not thankful for dropping my Frapp all over the top of the stairs at work today HOWEVER I was thankful for the help that I received from Kelly at work and for the new Frapp that I got as a gift from the Frapp Fairy....aka John. :)
• I'm thankful for my celebratory dinner from John last night for my new job. We went to a Steakhouse that I've never been to before and oh my gosh it was so good. I had chicken and ribs and then we had a Skor Cheesecake after. So good!
• I'm thankful for Wendy's Chicken Caeser Salads
• And I'm thankful that I've been given a chance to be an Announcer at work. Definitely a step in the right direction for me!

Have a great weekend everyone.

“…I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and … I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good, about me.”



—Melvin (Jack Nicholson) to Carol (Helen Hunt) in As Good as it Gets

Movin' Up In The World!

Wait...who's a radio announcer?? ME? JESSICA?

You would guess correct!!!

I just got a job covering a Maternity Leave (while I remain here still writing in Creative) Announcing for a Radio Station!!!

I've always wanted to be an On-Air Personality and this is such a great foot in the door!

Wish me luck :D!

Inspirational Wednesday's

Some Neat things I found that really caught my attention:


1. Places I'd like to see that seem like a Fairytale

Colmar, France



Faroe Islands (Halfway between Iceland and Norway)



*Images from this Travel Blog.

2. Nice Quotes in Pictures

*Images from this photo collection.

3. A Part of a book that I've never heard of before...but the writing moved me. Take a look it's from THIS site. It's called " I was trying to describe to you someone " ... It's really nice please go read it.


I got all of this from a fabulous website called http://www.stumbleupon.com/  . You really "Stumble Upon" some of the most fascinating pages. Some are just so inspiring!

Recipe: Bow-Tie Asparagus Pasta

 *Courtesy of Kraft Recipes

So last night after the gym, I really wanted to eat something delicious and satisfying. So I did some research and something relatively simple to make and I found this recipe. And LET ME TELL YOU, it turned out to be probably one of the best pasta's I've ever eaten. If you don't like RICH sauces then STEER CLEAR. But definitely give it a go! SO GOOD!

What you'll need:
Julienne Cut Sun Dried Tomatoes
Cream Cheese (2 OZ)
Chicken Broth (1/2 cup)
1-2 INCH Cut Asparagus
Half Sliced Orange Peppers
Bow Tie Pasta
Kraft Shredded 3 Cheese
Oregeno (1 TBSP)
(Add in desired amounts of each. You don't need much cream cheese or chicken broth...but I've provided how much I used for about 2 servings)

1. So first what you are going to do is you are going to obviously boil your water for the pasta. Don't add salt as the asparagus that will later be added in makes up for that.

2. While your water boils, cut up your Asparagus and orange peppers. Also have your Julienne cut Sun Dried Tomatoes ready.

3. Once your water boils add the pasta in. Boil to desired tenderness BUT IN THE LAST 2 MINUTES add in your chopped asparagus.

4. While your pasta is cooking, put your orange peppers and sundried tomatoes in the frying pan. Pour some of the tomato oil from the jar if you'd like. Fry until crisp or for about 3 minutes.

5. When your pasta is done, drain, and then put in frying pan with the veggies. Also add in your chicken broth, oregeno and cream cheese to make the sauce.

6. Fry and stir for about 5 minutes.

7. Add on cheese and cook until melted (or 2-3 minutes).

 8. Eat one of the best pasta's you will EVER enjoy! I GUARANTEE IT!

HAPPY COOKING!

EVERYBODY: stop what you are doing and...

Check out this amazing website.

I heard of it through Camilla's blog and sometimes when I don't have much to do at work I try and look for new websites.

Well this website directs you to EVERYTHING that interests you. You wanna know how? You check off all your interests and press "stumble" and it directs you to all these different pages that are just SO neat!

For example CLICK HERE for a really cool page on music to "lie on your bed and stare at the ceiling" to. So cool!

Here is the link for the STUMBLE UPON website: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Erica's Bridal Shower

This past Saturday it was my friend, Erica's Bridal Shower!



The Beautiful Bride!


It was a few hours full of games, food, friends and fun!



Me and Erica


At the beginning of the Shower, each of the guests had to take a clothes pin and put them on their collar. Throughout, we weren't allowed to say the words, "Erica" "Kurtis" "Bride" "Groom" or "Wedding" and if we did and someone heard us, they could take our clothes pin. At the end, whoever had the most clothes pins won. Let's just say I was a loser. I had no clothes pins at the end.

Another fun game we played was the Toilet Paper Wedding Dress game. We had to go into groups and in each group we had to pick a bride. We were given 5 rolls of toilet paper and we had to create a wedding dress. The best dress won. I was a bride and I did not win.




My Expensive Wedding Dress!

The food wasn't the greatest. It was a lot of seafood. But if the Bride was happy, I was happy! :)

It was a very nice day and I wish all the best to Erica and Kurtis. Erica you are going to make a beautiful, beautiful bride! I can't wait for your wedding! :)



Us with the Bride!



Just a Couple of Canuck Fans!

 Was NOT ready for this pic! Haha!

 That's better!!

Kesler and Luongo all the way!!!
Alex Burrows is missing from this pic tho. He's also great.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friday

Let's all just take a minute to celebrate what day it is.

Weekly Gratitude: May 6th.

So this week was one of mixed emotions.

Some good things happened. Some not so good things happened.

But you know what?

It's always nice to look at all the positives of the week!

Here we go:

• There were some barriers regarding the Taylor Swift concert but I perservered in my plan. No matter what, I am going and it is going to be a blast no matter what! I've never been so excited for anything!
• One more win in the Vancouver vs. Nashville series!!!! Come on Vancouver! I'm bored of Nashville! Let's beat one more game so we can move on in the Playoffs!
• My T-Shirts that I bought for John and I! The Jersey order I made for a Vancouver Kesler and Luongo jerseys didn't go through. So instead I bought the ONLY TWO customized t shirts at Jersey City entitled none other than... KESLER AND LUONGO! Fate? I think so.
• Thanks to Vampire Diaries! Holy man! People can make fun all they want but I honestly don't believe there is a more attention catching, brain drawing, heart stopping, intensified television show! So good!
• Thank you to my Mom's delicious porkchop recipe. If you like spices, you will LOVE these porkchops. Maybe one day I'll post a recipe.
• Thank you to my motivation! Can you believe I've been exercising for 4 months now? I've definitely noticed a change in my body.

Anyway, this weekend is going to be a good one.

I'll be sure to explain it all to you on Monday!

Happy Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday!

Lifestyle Thursdays: Dresses to Wear to a Wedding

Ugh! How much do you love these dresses?

They are both from Le Chateau.
I'm trying to find a dress to wear to a wedding I have coming up.
Let's just say I'm having a lot of trouble.
I prefer the first dress but I don't know if i want to wear a dress that is so long like that.

Decisions, decisions.

Do you think absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Taylor Swift: I Love This Picture!

How beautiful is this picture?

I love it so much.

41 more days!!!!! AHHHH!

Inspirational Wednesdays: Forgiveness

I think it's one of the most honest statements when it is said that "Friends really do drift apart".

But does that mean that you can't be civil with them when you speak to eachother?

Or does that mean that you don't consider them someone to be dear to your heart anymore?

Recently, I had a friend who wasn't very happy with me and I think it was mostly based on the fact that we no longer spent much time together. But I still really liked her. I didn't have any negative feelings towards her.

And then one day, she just snapped on me and said some hurtful things.

But did I deserve it?

I'm not quite sure what the answer to that is but obviously I had hurt her and that alone is enough for me to make me feel bad.

We hadn't spoken in months and regarding a few different incidents' that have happened lately, I really wanted to talk to her and apologize to her.

I just don't think it's worth it to have bad air between someone who really means something to you.

So I sent her a text (yeah,  yeah, I know, think what you will) and apologized. I never meant to hurt her! I didn't want that!

She forgave me, you know.

She explained why she said the things she said and how she was sorry and that we are fine and we are good and we are happy.

And I couldn't be more thankful because she really is someone I keep close to my heart. She really is one of the better apples who always mean well.

I'll always consider her my friend and maybe one day she'll read this and know that I really am telling the truth and that I really will always consider her one of my "BFFs".

Meet my dog, Walter.

Walter is a pug. An overweight pug.
He likes to run around the house and grab objects that don't belong with him. After that, he proceeds to make sure you know he has it so you will chase him.
And then, when he's REALLY hyper, he likes to dig his face into the ground and spin around in circles.
He also always has to be touching somebody, so you will often find him snuggled up to a human being when he's feeling tired.

Isn't he cute?

He's my baby and I love him so much!

Taylor Swift Concert: Next Month!

I can't WAIT for this.
Unfortunately, there was some road blocks.
Tamara can't get the time off for her new job. Which is understandable but definitely disappointing.
So instead, John offered to take me and my sister to Minneapolis and during the concert he'll just do his own thing.
Tamara's sister, Amanda offered for us to still go together but this is every bit of Jill's special trip as it is mine, so I don't think that would be very fun for her. I think she'd be more comfortable going with people she knows.
And when the time comes, me and John will make sure she has an amazing time!

It's going to be a Sparks Fly type of concert!!!!!!

Friends or Whatever.

How do you know the difference between a real friend and a fake friend?

A real friend. One that is always there to listen when you need it. One that isn't afraid to give you honest advice. One that will make you laugh when you are sad or help when you are sick.

A fake friend. Someone who talks behind your back but is only nice to your face. Someone who doesn't listen when you speak but might offer you advice anyway.

I'll once again reinforce the fact that you need to keep those who matter to you close to your heart and those who you don't trust or are only there when it's convenient for you, keep a bit of a distance.

It'll be beneficial to your own happiness. I promise.

Voting

Is everyone ready?

You are going to vote, right?

Have fun and go with your gut! :)