Hair, glorious hair!!!

So, this week I thought I'd treat you to something real special. A walk down my hair memory lane. And boy oh boy is it glorious. I have loads of good pics, but I thought I'd pull out some of the very best/milestone-ish ones. So, without further ado, my hair...


Shortest hair:

I am literally only hours old here. My rock star/crazy momma birthed me at home. Speaking of hair-she's got something pretty special going on in this picture eh???

Longest hair:

This is me graduating high school. AND, that's the length of my luscious locks AFTER a perm-straighten those bad boys out and I'm practically Lady Godiva!

"Best" school picture:

Opps! This is Vance's! (heh heh heh) Pretty awesome though right???



All I can say is, WHAT THE HECK WAS MY MOM THINKING LETTING A 7 YEAR OLD BORROW HER EARRINGS??? I remember thinking how cool I was and how awesome I looked. I'm sure I did then, not so much now.

Family pic:

I love that my brother and sister have the same haircut! Don't know what's going on with my other sis-I think this is the haircut that got her lovingly deemed, "helmet head". Santa is one lucky dude to have all us rag-a-muffins surrounding him!

Vance's Family Pic:

I COULD NOT resist posting this gem. A post about hair and this pic is mandatory! I LOVE this pic. It's just sooo great.

Some silliness:

So my sis and I love to dress up. We usually are pretty good and gonking around too. Put them together and you're guaranteed a good time! This is us circa 2002 when we thought up the brilliant idea to razor scoot around Provo in some wicked hot outfits. Good times. Great hair.

Guilty....as charged

So here they are, some are lame, some are very guilty, but definitely me and mine:
1) Wendy's Chicken Nuggets and 99 cent fries: I have gone here on more occasions that I'd like to admit and 99% of the time it was because my toddler had a tantrum in Target, I've got a headache and well, don't really want to make lunch. Kate loves the meal and so do I! We drive away having only spent $4.25 on lunch, head home get some water and a diet coke and we are set! I know this has to be the world's most un-healthy meal. I saw "Super-Size Me" and I realize what fast food can do. (Just glad they didn't do Wendy's;) McDonald's has always been revolting, especially when being pregnant, and since these are the 2 most abundant fast food joints, I can eat here however often we need to, or want to. Of course I prefer Chick-Fil-A over any other fast food, but they are few and far between. So Wendy's it is........Super. Guilty. Food.

2) The Container Store and containers: Justin moved to Houston 3 months after we met. I flew down a few weeks later to visit him. He took me to the Container Store for one of our dates (and other shopping and dinner), but it was then that I knew that it was true love! How could he know me so well? WOW, this guy was a keeper. My obsession with containers and organization has continued still 6 years into our marriage. I come home with many a container and Justin always gives me the same look, "Really, do you need another one?" Surely there is something in my house left to containerize.

3) Diet Coke: After marrying into Justin's family and going to girls' nights and hanging out with his mom to run errands, I got hooked on Diet Coke. I know it is so awful with it's artificial sweeteners and caramel color, but I love that stuff. You all have seen me pound down a few on a girls' night. I swear one day I will quit drinking them, but for now, it is my guilty pleasure, my "take-me-away-Calgon" moment.

4) Office Supplies: pens and paper. I have WAY TOO MANY pens, little notebooks and yet *almost* every time I go to Target, I come home with more. I love lists, notes to people, notes to my family.....any excuse to buy more, more, more. Any time I would earn money when I was a kid, I would LOVE to go to the Stationary store and get Hello Kitty stationary or Sharpie pens. Weird, I know, but true. In Dental Hygiene school, I got annoyed when people would borrow and keep my pens, so one day I took my label maker and wrote my names on them. (I had a lot of free time on my hands those days, the hubs was working on his Doctorate, after all) Very embarrassing to admit, but true.

5) I can't even tell you how many striped shirts I own or how I am constantly drawn to anything nautical-looking....navy blue, yellow, gray, and red. I have way too much of it, but my eyes just can't turn away. I am wearing a striped sweatshirt and just purchased another striped bag at Target the other day.

6) The Bachelor: You 3 know my obsession with this show and it was on a post a few weeks ago. But, it must be mentioned again, because it is my MOST guilty pleasure. I LOVE THE BACHELOR!!! I have Tuesday talks with my certain undisclosed family members every Tuesday (the show is on Monday nights) to discuss the women and men. It is so completely dumb, juicy, and probably scripted, but I just can't get enough!

So many boys...

So little time! Since we're all being so candid, I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about all the many, many boyfriends I have. Vance and I have been racking our brains trying to come up with my gulity pleasures and weren't having much luck, until that is, we stumbled upon the topic of my other love intrests. Guilty?! Yes, yes-I suppose so, but only very slightly!

Channing Tatum:



We've been seeing each other for a while now, I think since 2007 or so. He shares Sammy's birthdate- I think that says something.



Casey Affleck:



We haven't been seeing each other very long, but he's really sweet, and it's always fun trying to figure out which one of us people are talking too!



Randy Orton:



Sorry girls, it's hard to find a pic of my main man Randy with pants on! Randy and I have been seeing each other ever since Vance decided he's 12 again and wants to watch wrestling on Monday nights, I had to start a fling with Randy here to help get me through, wrestling is boring! Also, I firgured I should probably date at least one bad guy- Randy here is one of the biggest villians in WWE, why that's important I'm sure I don't know-Vance tells me it is. Randy is probably the reason Justin got to accompany Vance to Monday Night RAW a few years ago, something about the sign I made, "Randy you can RKO me anytime!" didn't jive with the hubs. Weird.


Ryan Reynolds:



We've been on again/off again for awhile. Even since he decided to work out a lot we've definitely been on. ;) Plus he's our (Vance and myself) mutual crush-so I don't feel so guilty about Ryan here.


Hugh Jackman:



What woman isn't pretend dating this guy?!

Okay, so, really I couldn't think of too many gulity pleasures! You all know about Mad Men and Drop Dead Diva, so those cats are out of the bag! I do love Nutella-way too much. That stuff is just too delicious! I love to shop and usually spend too much money and I as of late I've been buying way too many shoes. My fav so far are these babies:

Seychelles Come Dancing Peep Toe Pump

Cute right?

And there you have it. ;) Oh, and the boys at RAW, they're cute too, right??

Guilty pleasures;-)

Well, Ladies, I'm finally blogging. It's been way crazy at my casita, but I am really excited to be participating in all this fun.

I have many guilty pleasures, but here are a few that come to mind:

Horseback riding - this one is definitely more pleasure than guilty, but I really love riding horses. There is nothing better than being outdoors on a nice day riding a horse (unless of course you have a very spirited horse).

Romantic Books/Novels - I am such a sucker for romantic books (I like them to be mostly clean;-). Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors, but I like many others as well. I LOVE curling up on a sofa or in my bed, and reading a great romantic book.

Netflix - This is one of my favorites (especially since we don't have cable)! There are tons of shows/movies, and what I love most is there are great educational children videos (a lot from PBS kids) that my boys love watching. Not that we constantly watch TV, but it's nice to have a TV break every once in a while.

Shopping - This one is very dangerous and maybe more on the guilty side of things:-). I am not quite obsessed, but I do enjoy going out shopping. Just a word of caution ladies - stay away from HomeGoods! That store is very dangerous (at least for me). It's a pretty recent discovery and I LOVE that store.

Girls Night Out - I can't tell you all how much this is needed. I love hanging out with my dear friends. Not that hanging out with my darling family isn't a blast, but there is something great about hanging out with girlfriends! Like Melissa said the other day "it's like being in college or high school again" which is totally true.


Anyway, this is just a little about me and my guilty pleasures. Enjoy:-)

Lisa

guilty.

According to urbandictionary.com the definition for this weeks topic is:



guilty pleasure [gil - tee] [plezh - er] noun, 1: something that you shouldn't like, but you like anyway 2: something that you love to do, but you just cannot admit that you do it 3: Keeping a secret collection of ABBA and Carpenters and listening to their albums when no one else is around

We all have them. Some we're proud of, some we're ashamed of, but hopefully with a little self-control we use them in moderation. Here is a list of my guilty pleasures. Enjoy (and in some cases: beware)!

1. Vampire Diaries: It's juvenile, it's risque, it's violent and I probably shouldn't be watching it (ahem, hence "guilty pleasure"), but....... it's sooooooo goooooood! Plus, it's something I look forward to watching every week with my 15 year-old niece (bonding experience, yes?). If you dare to get hooked into watching this, watch it from the beginning. To come in halfway through the 2nd season, you'll be totally lost.
2. LU Biscuit: This "chic little biscuit" is goodness in every bite. I could seriously eat an entire box in sitting (in fact, if you strike the word "could" from this sentence, this sentence would be more accurate. It's not something I "could" do it's something I "do" do.). You know it's time to pull these amazingly delicious goodies out when it's "been one of those days". Oh yes, and...the darker the chocolate, the better! ;)
3. Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa: I loooooooove hot cocoa. And as long as you're going to drink it, you mine as well drink the best, right? One cup of this and you will never buy "Swiss Miss" again. Promise.
4. Etsy: If it's handmade, I love it. The thing I love about Etsy, is that I know I'm buying something that someone put a good amount of time creating. Every stitch, every stroke, every pixel was placed where it was with care. And knowing I'm helping to support someone doing something they truly love doing, makes me feel so good about buying. Win-win.
5. Mudd Shoes: I think their pumps are the cutest on the planet. I want them all. (confession: I own only two pair of Mudd Shoes. Though my heart says, "buy, buy, buy", my mind says, "constraint"....I'm a practial person most of the time and my mind usually wins out over my heart....though I do like it when they come to an agreement. They do most of the time. But not on shoes. I'm rambling, so I'll move on.).
6. People Magazine: Or what me and a friend of mine refer to as "the paper". This is one instance where the heart won over the mind. A few years ago, I could tell you who was hooking up, who was breaking up, the latest scandle, blah, blah, blah. (another confession: I used to own a subscription). This one I finally had to get a handle on. And now, "the paper" is reserved for sickness and airplane trips only.

So! There you have it! Another little piece of me. Some a surprise to you, others probably not. But, it's all a part of who I am. :)

Date Night!

Hello everyone! This is Jenna Corry- Jessica's "Guest Blogger". And honestly, I couldn't feel more cool to be asked to do this... Although I know if I am the MOST qualified, I do know that I love to plan some fun events with my hubby and other couples! Hopefully you'll be able to use an idea or two!

My husband, Jeff, and I have been married for almost 6 years (you got that right Jess!). We have two cute kids- Dallin who will be 5 in April, and Allison who will be two in March. I'm a original "city girl" that moved to a teeny tiny town when we got married. We're talking 500 people. It was a big adjustment.

Jeff and I had come from being engaged in a college town- full of dating opportunity... To being Newlyweds thrown into farm country. At the time, there were no movie theaters, or restaurants here (although we currently have one diner that is open part of the week now). So the regular DINNER AND A MOVIE date nights were basically not in existence anymore. I HAD to start learning to be more creative if I wanted our relationship to continue as good as it was.

Date nights are SO essential to a relationship- whether they are full on go out to dinner/show/concert type dates, or snuggling up to a movie on the couch after the kids are in bed. The important part is that you spend time together. I love the saying:

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb.
It isn't something you get. It's something you do.
It's the way you love your partner every day".
-Barbara De Angelis

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Jeff and I have a variety of "types of dates" we like to do: Group, a double date, and just the two of us. All three are fun, and give us that time together we need. I'm not an incredible writer, so I thought I'd just share a few ideas that I've done recently, and maybe one will spark and idea...

First...

THE GROUP DATE

There are always a lot of fun couples around that want to get out as much as you do. And the great thing is that once you spark the idea of doing a big date- everyone will have so many fun ideas to go off of! Here are a few that we've had fun with:

Hollywood Night
Doesn't everyone have an old formal from those high school days that is sitting in your closet collecting dust? Or doesn't everyone want a super good excuse to actually buy that formal from Goodwill for $5 that just so happens to be your size but you have no real reason to buy it? A few of us put together a surprise party for a friend (the one in bright blue) up at our high school. We went up a few hours before and set up the little theater with Christmas lights and decorations we had at our homes. Not only were the formals dusted off, but the China and Crystal was as well! We had mood music playing, a red carpet to greet us, and a homemade meal put together by everyone. One of the Men is the music teacher at the school, so he was able to let us into the theater. We had a great dinner together, watched a little movie, and played the "Not-so-Newlywed Game".

Scavenger Hunt Luau
Another idea is to separate for a while- The Men together, and the Women together. On this date, we sent the men out on a scavenger hunt. We would give them poems that would describe a place to drive, and they had to get there to get the next clue. At each stop, there were articles of clothing (Hawaiian shirt, hat). There was also a stop with a few dollar bills to buy some Hawaiian Punch at the next place. While they were off on their hunt, the ladies made some quick Hawaiian style pizza, and went up to the baseball diamond that looks over the town. We set up a luau as fast as we could, turned on some music, and were ready for them when they arrived. We ate and danced under the stars.

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Next...
THE DOUBLE DATE
It's really easy to plan something with just two couples. Jeff and I have a lot of fun conversations with other couples this way. It's so interesting what you learn about others when the conversation is led in a smaller setting.

"Country Lovin' " Man date
My friend and I have husbands that have birthdays very close! We decided to plan a "Man date" for them. We constantly had them in mind when trying to come up with what to do. These great guys we all have most likely don't mind the lovey dovey stuff... but they will definitely appreciate a Manly theme once in a while.
We first took them on a four-wheeler ride. (A great thing about being in a small town is we can ride ATV's anywhere we want!) When we arrived to a fun location, we separated into couples and started a Photo Scavenger Hunt. We had to take pictures of both of us together doing everything on the list. As soon as we finished all of the pictures, we met back up and rode over to the "Old Rock Church" that sits empty all the time. The city let us in for free! We had a great man dinner of Steak, corn on the cob, and root beer all set up ready to cook. During dinner we watched a slide show we made for the guys, and also looked at the pictures taken from earlier that day.

Japanese Style
My husband is in the middle of getting his Master's degree while teaching school. That, along with two busy kids, and everyday life... It get's hard to get away sometimes. So we decided this year to have a few "Stay-cations" right here in town. We don't need to get on an actual plane to have cultural refinement! :) This could easily be just a date alone, like I said earlier- it's so interesting what you find out from another couple. We learned lots of fun facts about Asian culture that we didn't know before from them!
This last weekend we "traveled" to Japan... which ended up being right in our front room. Don't be afraid to move around a little furniture to create a fun atmosphere! I went over to Panda express and they gave me a few pairs of chopsticks and fortune cookies for free. Then I looked up some fun recipes online, raided my fabric scraps, grabbed a few things at the dollar store, and cut up a plastic table cloth to create some visual fun. I must confess that I've never been brave enough to try real Sushi. And in our little market in town, there aren't many ingredients to make it ourselves. So I decided to try Dessert Sushi instead with things I had access too.

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And Finally...
JUST THE TWO OF US

This really is the most important. You should always be working at falling in love all over again. It has helped Jeff and I so much to get out with other couples and have that fun... but nothing is as great as just spending time together and remembering why we came together in the first place.

We DO try the occasional "Dinner and Movie" thing when we're out of town... But it's not that often since we don't have resources close. Like I've done with the group/double dates... changing an ordinary place into a "restaurant" is so much fun. Many times, we've just brought a picnic or ran to Subway, and then hopped back in the car to just drive. When we find a place with a great view, we stop and have that great meal together. And don't just limit it to dinner time. Wake up a little early and make breakfast together. Or see if a friend can watch the kids for an hour and surprise him for Lunch.
We also have a lot of fun movie nights on Netflix where we take turns picking a movie. To make it more special- draw up or print out a pretend ticket and stick it in his Wallet or Car in the morning to he knows what to plan on that night.
We also love to save dessert for the evening after the kids are asleep. We have some great conversations together while dunking Oreos in milk... :)

And of course we can't leave out the REAL "dessert" after the kids go to bed. Don't stop being creative here! Doing a few extra things once in a while can change things up a little bit.
I found a great blog a while back called "Love, Actually" with some great ideas and printouts. It just takes a little planning and effort. (Check out the "Ideas" tab and scroll down after clicking on the "date night" button) Some of them I had done before a little differently- like this one. Others were a little out of my comfort zone at first, but fun! Let lose! :)

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A few Tips:

*A date does NOT need to be expensive. All the dates above were about $10 or less (FREE) including food... Seriously!

*If you DO happen to live in a bigger city, there are so many options! Look in the paper or fliers around town. There are so many events like Art Festivals, Cook-offs, Concerts in the Park, Etc... that all happen for free. Whatever your interests are- look for things that are happening in those categories. Also- go to a car dealership and take a test drive in your dream car!

*Use your resources around you. Are there places you have connections with? I've used the high school for a few dates (after asking the principal of course) with just Jeff and I and group dates since I used to have a key, and now have friends that have one. Also there are some empty places around that are available for use for free. There's always the church!

*Trade babysitting with other couples around. They would enjoy a night out just as much as you would- and by working together, it eliminates the babysitter cost.

* It's all about the theme! It makes it so much easier to plan! Take something and run with it!

*Take turns planning dates. Once you put the effort into fun planning, your husband will want in too! He might surprise you with what he has up his sleeve!

*Check out the "real professionals" who have actual dating blogs! There are SO many fun ideas out there. A few I like to look at is the Love, Actually Blog (mentioned previously), and The Dating Diva's.

*Not all dates need to be extravagant. Just make sure to take the time for each other- even if it means scheduling it in your planner the month before. :)

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Thanks Jess for letting me do this. It was fun to think about some of these fun nights again. Now I better get going on planning my next date! Hope you have some ideas starting now as well!
Over and out...

WANTED: date night

This was our last date night. January 26, 2010 at the Wizards game. Seriously! (Thanks to Jess and Drew for the tickets AND the free child care.) Wow-that is so pathetic. I was super crabby as a pregnant lady and didn't feel like getting dressed up to go somewhere half the time (or felt too sick to) and then when the Grandmas both came into town when Avery was born, well I just did not feel up to "going out" yet. Right now date night is Chilis-To-Go and watching a movie via Redbox after the kids are asleep. We need to get a life;) I finally learned of a sitter or 2 in the ward and finally feel like Avery might be old enough to leave. We are going to meet Justin's mom in Disney world in a few weeks and I'm planning on sneaking away with the hubs one night. Hopefully it will happen.......
So, sorry ladies no ideas here-at all.