A Letter to Myself

A lot of changes are coming in my life, big ones that affect me in major ways. I am known to get stressed way to easily and make myself sick worrying about things. I decided to write this letter to myself to look at whenever I feel like I need a lift up.

Hey girl,

I know you're super stressed right now. But I want to remind you of a few things.

1. Your predicament is only momentary, you won't be living paycheck to paycheck every day of your life. So for now just remember that you have all the necessities and a little extra. Just remember that one day it will all come to fruition and learn to live in the small things.

2. You will make it. I know that this test seems like it's going to be impossible, but you are a really smart girl. You can do it, and you can pass. Don't allow yourself to get psyched out from thoughts swirling around in your head. Just remember to pray and do your best, cause that's the best you can do.

3. The future is not in your control. You know who your maker is and you know who has full control over your life. You are not promised tomorrow, so make sure that you do not miss the opportunities right in front of you today, worrying about tomorrow. God has it all under control and he knows exactly what is going to happen. Rest in that.

4. Breath. Don't forget to take those moments, light your candles, put on your relaxation music and just lie on the couch. That doesn't make you lazy or unproductive, it makes you better. You need time to unwind, make sure you allow yourself to actually do that. You do so much for others don't forget about yourself.

5. You only need to please 1 person. God. No one else, not your family, not your friends. As long as what you are doing brings Glory to God then you are doing what you are suppose to. Don't worry about what others think or what they themselves are doing. You do you girl.

6. One day this will all make sense. When you look back 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years for now you will get the opportunity to see the little chess pieces that God has moved around to have you exactly where he needs you in that moment. It will be a good day and you will get to read stuff like this and remember that it all worked out and you didn't need to stress about it.

In the end, you are beautiful, smart, funny, creative, loving, caring, and the list goes on and on. Never ever forget that my love.

Jenny

Parties, Karaoke, and Fall Weather!

This weekend consisted of long nights and fun times!

Friday as soon as I got off work I headed home to change before going down to Atlanta for a birthday party for Andrew, who serves with me in Passion Kids. We went to Fellini's which is a pizza place and sat outside, it was feeling fantastic! After we all ate I pulled out the pound cake I made the night before, I was really nervous how it turned out since this was my first time ever making pound cake. But to my delight everyone thought it was super good and raved about it. I was one happy Jenny.

After Fellini's we headed to Happy Karaoke which is a Korean Karaoke place, and it's an experience that I think every person should have at one point in their life. Basically its you and all of your friends in a room with a tv and some microphones and just about every song known to man, and you just go as long as you want and then pay at the end. It's a ton of fun.

After Karaoke we headed back to our cars and we rode in Haylie's really cool car with the top down, and it was so much fun. It was super cold because of the fall weather that decided to grace us with it's presence and my hair was out of control, but going down 85 singing at the top of our lungs makes the night that much more fun.

 

 

We were all just going to head home when Haylie said she didn't want to stop hanging out so we decided to head to Steak and Shake, it was already 1am at this point so we were all like, what the hey, why not. We stayed there till around 2:30 and then when I started to fall asleep at the table I figured it might be time to stay home. Don't worry I was awake the whole way home but got in at 3 and slept really good that night. I still got up at 9.... which is dumb but story of my life.

 

Saturday I got up and got ready to head out with Lindsey for our roomie Saturday, we decided to go out to Longhorn which is where her boyfran works and have lunch there. After I was done getting ready, I noticed just how long my hair has gotten. My hair grows at a very fast pace and you can ask anyone who knows me, I have had every length of hair imaginable. This was my hair in 2011, last year, and then the picture I took this year....crazy.

 

 See...it grows fast.

And as per usual our roomie Saturday selfie.

 

Saturday night I babysit my kiddos so that my bosses could go on a date, which is always super easy and fun since they are my kids and I know the drill.

 

Sunday was a sleep in day for me. My church is practicing Sabbath for two weeks. We do it every year to allow everyone time to rest and get ready to start another school year. It's a beautiful thing that I am so glad our leadership does as an example to our whole church. So I slept in for a while and then got up and decided to go and do a walk/run. I also weighed in on Sunday and was .5 lbs lighter, woot woot. My run went great, my pace was trimmed down by 12 seconds since the last time I ran it and I felt really good.

 



 

Linking up with these fantastic groups today!

 

 

 

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

 

Jenny 

 



Shrimp Skillet and Pre-Fall Baking.....

On Monday I really really wanted to bake, I got all the ingredients but got invited to a friends house to hang out with people I didn't see all summer, so I went there.

Flash Forward to Tuesday, I knew not only did I want to bake but that I wanted to cook. My roomie was going to be out of the house watching the girls she nannys over night so it was just me, the kitchen and Milo man. Who insists on being right by me every step of the cooking way.

I found this recipe at All*you.com and it looked just so delicious that I had to give it a try.

Shrimp Skillet

Start by cooking 4 pieces of thick cut bacon (uhm yes please)

 

Then take 1 Green Bell Pepper, 1 Onion, and 2 Garlic cloves and chop it all up. Drain all but 1TBS of the Bacon Grease then place the veggies in and cook until tender.

 

 

Then add 2 cups of long grain rice (I would only do 1 1/2 cups because my rice came out undercooked) and cook for another 2 minutes or so.

 

 

Then add 3 cups of Chicken Broth reduced sodium and 1 can of diced tomatoes, 2 tsp of Old Bay, and some salt and cook it until it boils.

 

 

After it boils, place a lid on it and put it in a 375 degree oven, for 20 minutes.

 

 

When the 20 minutes are done take out the pan and place about 1lb of medium shrimp all over the top of the rice.

 

 

Cook in the oven with the lid on for another 10 minutes. When it's done take it out and enjoy!!!

 

 

 

 

Serving Size is 1/6 and it comes in with only 333 calories, so delicious and very filling and the flavors are amazing.

 

 

I also wanted to bake that evening and so I got a jump start on my Fall Baking List with these:

 

 

Snicker Doodle Apple Pie Bars!

 

Original Pin: Here

 

Ingredients:

1 Tube Sugar Cookies

1 Can Apple Pie Filling

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tsp Cinnamon

They recommend a 8x8 or 9x9 pan, but I didn't have one on hand (looks like I am getting one this weekend!) so I used my spring form pan instead!

 

Mix the Cinnamon and Sugar together in a bowl to begin with.

 

 

Take your tube of Sugar Cookie and cut in half.

 

 

Press one half of the cookie in to the bottom of the pan and sprinkle half of the cinnamon and sugar mix over top (I would just lightly sprinkle however much looks good, I think I ended up putting too much....whoops)

 

 

Then add the entire can of apple pie filling.

 

 

 Then take the leftover cookie dough and break it into a bunch of little pieces, and make them flat and then lay them all over the filling and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top. (Yet again I put wayyyy to much on the top, next time I would only sprinkle a little bit)

 

 

Then bake in the oven for like 30 minutes or so.

 

 

Then dish it out onto a plate and serve it with some ice cream.

 

 

Just one thing pre-knocked off my list for my Fall Baking List this season. Make sure to follow along here or see how it all started here!

 

     

 

Of course the house smelled absolutely fantastic and made me even more excited and ready for fall to arrive. The weather is giving a little tease today with it being right around 68 but I know summer is not done rearing its awful head yet, so I will be ready when it comes.

 

Jenny

 



Getting Back On Track....Again

Well it's been a while since I have joined up with the Weigh in Wednesday crew.

My summer was crazy, 3 kids, 50 hours a week, on top of attempting to get in as many vacations and fun trips with friends = Jenny doesn't focus. When I don't focus, I don't do good, eating or working out.

I could say every excuse in the book, but the reality is, I didn't work hard and it shows. I gained weight which is sad to me just because I love who I am, I just wish I was healthy. I am working on it yet again slowly but surely.

The kids went back to school on Monday, so I decided I too should get back on board, eating and exercising.

I am using My Fitness Pal (user name Jennylynn4390) and have decided to put in to lose 1lb a week. Which gives me 1800 calories each day to eat. I attempted the 1500 but I was on the struggle bus, but with 1800 I seem to be able to manage a lot better and not just give up and go out of control.

I started on Monday walking 2 miles in between all my projects and errands that I am doing throughout the day and then Monday night I went home and had so much energy that I went running at a park by my apartment.

 

Tuesday was just as good workout wise, I had the best intentions of running at night, but instead I ended up walking and was just as happy. It was a cool evening and the sunset view over the park was just to die for.

 

 

Sometimes I get frustrated because it is hard for me to run or I just don't feel like working out. During my Tuesday morning walk I was thinking and come to the realization that even if I just walk for 10 minutes at a time whenever I get the chance, that it's better then nothing. Because if I do that every day all week that's 70 extra minutes of walking in which I would normally just be sitting. I need to learn to not be so hard on myself and just know that if I do something (no matter what it is), it's better than nothing. So I made this little gem to keep me focused.

 

 

Yesterday I was really craving Shrimp and Rice for some reason so I found a neat recipe from Allyou magazine called Shrimp Skillet and made it. The rice was a little undercooked so I let it sit a little longer but overall it was a really good meal and each serving was only 333 calories and very filling. I will be posting a blog post on it and the Snicker Doodle Apple Pie Bars I made as well.

 

 

Here's to getting back on the wagon again.

 

Jenny 







Bathroom Re-Do Begins!

Linking up with Syndal for This Weekend I.... and Sami for Weekend Shenanigan's.

On Saturday my lovely roommate and I went to Uncle Maddio's for pizza like we normally do for lunch on Saturday's. It's become sort of a tradition and I love it. We live busy lives and can go days without seeing each other but most Saturdays we spend running errands.

I have been thinking of re-doing my bathroom and my room for that matter for a while but know that I can only do it slowly, which is no problem. I have decided to start with my bathroom. It's cute right now but I have really been swooning over a nautical theme.

So while we were out doing errands I asked Lindsey if we could stop at Hobby Lobby so I could take a look around and maybe get started on something small. Immediately when we walked in we realized this was not something we should have done. Oh well, now we were in for it. We walked all the store and just pointed out everything we loved and dreamed of future houses with the freedom to decorate, paint, and make our own.

Luckily with sales and coupons we didn't do to bad, we even went over to JoAnns and saved a ton of money there.

I ended up with three flat canvases with the plan to paint them, put them on the wall, and then take an empty frame (one I found at Hobby Lobby but need to go back for) and place it around them, it's going to look great and I am really excited about it.

Yesterday I had a major headache so after church I went home and slept for like 2 hours and then got up to work on my canvases.

 

 

I love the way they turned out and can't wait to put them up on the wall, which is the goal this week sometime.

 

So here is the list of stuff that I need to do/want to get for my bathroom. I know it will probably all be completed a long time from now, but I am ok with that. My goal is get done right around the time we need to move again which is in May.

 

Nautical Bathroom Re-Do

 

*Frame for Canvases

*New Towels

*New Shower Curtain

*Paint Shelf in Room

*Jars for Storage

*New Scentsy Holder

*Hamper for Clothes

*Crate White Washed

*Ships Wheel

 

I am sure more stuff will be added as I continue to look around.

 

Have a great Monday!

 

Jenny 

High 5 for Friday

Back by popular demand High Five for Friday with the ever so lovely Lauren Elizabeth. Make sure you go check out all the posts about people's week! I am also linking up with the 5 on Friday link up!

My week started on Monday in Florida as I ended my long weekend vacation full of bridal showers, going away parties, and bachelorette parties. I was one busy girl but it was such a great time!

1. This was taking right before we checked out of our condo on Monday, the lovely lady next to me in the front is the bride-to-be. All the rest of us are her bridesmaids! It was a fun weekend hanging out with these ladies and I can't to be with everyone again in December for the wedding.

2. After I left the condo I headed north about 30 minutes to the beloved St Augustine and had to get my fix of Mangos Mangos. I was joined by some friends and had a fabulous lunch and it was delicious as always.

 

3. This is my super awesome bible study group. I was praying for a long time that God would bring in a group of women to my life to help me grow and just do life with and these ladies are the answer to my prayer. We come from all walks and stages in life and I love them all so much. Wednesdays are the best.

 

4. I posted this picture for Throwback Thursday yesterday of me in the pumpkin patch last year. Why? Because I am so ready for fall to make it's appearance. I love fall. It is my favorite season to cook in and to decorate and to do crafts about. Who doesn't love some scarves and sweaters and boots?!?

 

5. For some reason it took me 3 days to write this post here but I finally did get it out there this morning on the bag that I made to put into the Cara box I sent a few weeks ago. Super simple and a fun night project!

 

This weekend holds nothing too major other then my roomie and I starting a new tradition of inviting someone over for a dinner to get to know them better and just to hang out. More about that to come later.

 

Have a great weekend!!

 

Jenny