It's been Awhile!

Well it has been a long time since I posted anything about what is going on with me. I have been beyond busy! I FINALLY have a break from school after a year with no breaks. The reason is because of paper work and it's only about 2 weeks but I am SO excited! I needed it for sure.

On the other side, I got my graduation date! This time next year I will be walking in my cap and gown and can officially call myself a teacher! This is beyond exciting for me. Since I had children so young, I have always been intimidated at the idea of finishing my education and now that I have come so far and actually have a GRADUATION date I know I can do it!!

Another interesting thing in my life is... I have a boyfriend! AHH... LOL! It seems like such a silly term when your older and have kids..boyfriend.. but that's what he is so there you go! :) We have been dating for a few months and so far he is really great! With a liiitle problem that he lives in Washington :-( and i'm not really sure where that problem will take us. I have been praying about it though and have faith that the solution will be shown to me. I just have to have faith and patience...

I recently took a unplanned trip to Alaska to see my Grandma, who has Alzheimer's. It was really great but hard to see her. She is doing better than I expected though and for now that's all I can hope for.. It is amazing as we get older the things that we remember about the people who helped raise us. My grandma was the only one who really ever talked about God or took me to church. I remember sitting on her bed, playing with barbies and listening to her read the Bible. She is my last living grandparent and it is hard to see her struggle...

Well I guess that is enough for now...I will be better and post more later!

~Jessica

My Stress Relief!

In the moments that I am not going crazy :-) I have been painting.. here are a few that I have finished! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

~Jessica

Meet Natalie!

It is another givaway by Becky! This time it is books about a girl named Natalie. I've been told that these are similiar to Junie B. Jones books but have a better message about taking accountabilty and about God. So if ever a time to try this drawing seems like one of the best!

Head on over to Becky's blog and check it out!!

~Jessica

P.S. Sorry to all that I am a terrible blogger.. My life has been crazy and I plain just don't have the time!

How do I?

My 8 year old was recently searching for Vanessa Hudgens stuff online. She game across a blog containing some pics and facts about the HSM 1,2,3 star. But on the side bar there was some EXTREMELY vulgar and disturbing images. I caught it before she noticed but I was APPALLED!!! I reported this blog to blogger but want to do more. I monitor my girls web use VERY closely and certainly did not expect this to pop up on a blog about Vanessa Hudgens. I am very concerned! Any suggestions?!

~Jessica

P.S. Should I post a link to this so others can report it too?

My artsy side! :-)

This is a painting that I just finished for my little lolita! It started as a plain white canvas I got for $5 at Walmart and was inspired by the mural at the zoo! I think it turned out pretty good! :-)

Another Becky Giveaway

Well Becky is doing another wonderful giveaway! This time it is a great kids booked filled with Bible Stories that kids will really enjoy reading. Check out Becky's blog for a chance to win!

Hope I do!! :-)

~Jessica

I apologize greatly for my absence lately! I have been CRAZY busy! More fun stories and recipes to come!

Weigh In!!

Well.. I gained a pound :-( 164#s! But in my defense it was my birthday... can I use that?

I have to say that I got some birthday money and an old navy gift card and TRIED to shop for myself. After trying on many clothes and ending the adventure in tears I spent all the money on my girls.. oh and the water bill.

I guess in some regard I feel that I should share that I struggled with an eating disorder in my mid to late teens and these extre pounds I am carrying "weigh" (pun intended) heavily on my heart. I try and remind myself that I have 3 kids and not a lot of time... yea.. that doesn't usually help.

I just have to keep remind myself that all I need to do it focus... and that I am ok just as I am... I guess.

~Jessica

Don't forget to cheer on the other people at Shrinking Jeans!!

W.O.W!!!!!

Well it is W.O.W time again and I have to say that this time around my project is daunting.. it is.. MY CLOSET!! Now this may not seem like a huge project but oh it is! In my weightloss frustration I will try on something, be mortified by how it looks and throw it on the floor. After doing this 5 or 6 times I stomp out of my closet in tears, and in pajamas. The end result is this.....

Ya... I know *sigh* BUT this WILL be done by next week!!! Wish me luck and don't forget to check and cheer on everyone else entering Becky W.O.W competition!!

~Jessica

Weekly Recipe Swap!!!

Well it's Monday so it's time to share!!!! :-)

My recipe this week is for Cheese and Chiles Chicken breast platter. Obviously any side dish will do to make this delicious and simple dinner!

4 Skinless, chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)

1 cup shredded jack cheese

1 can diced green chiles

1/2 chopped green onions (include tops)

4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled ( I suggest getting some of that grease out also)

1 medium frim but ripe Avacado

1 cup optional sour cream

Bake chicken tightly covered in foil at 350* for fifteen minutes.

While baking chicken mix cheese and chiles.

After the chicken has finished its 15 minuted top evenly with the cheese and chiles. Pat it down. Sprinkle with onions and bacon.

Cook uncovered for about 15 more minutes (your call as you'll be checking it :-). When it is fully cooked Broil about 4 inches below heat until browned ( 2 minutes ish)

Pit and peel Avacado and add to top. Do a dallop of Daisy if you wish :-)

ENJOY!! :-)

~Jessica

Prayer Request

Please keep Frannie in your prayers. She had surgery on her heart this morning and was taken back into surgery for bleeding.  I do not know all the details as I do not know her but please pray for her and her family.

~Jessica

Weigh In!!

163#! That 3 lbs down! I honestly have no idea how I did it?! I did not have a great excercise week but did TRY to eat a little better.. I usually have a really hard time with weight loss due to thyroid issues so I am pretty stoked if this is an accurate loss!! :-) Gonna kick but this week either way! :-) Hope everyone else had and has a great week!! :-)

~Jessica

Cheer everyone on at Shrinking Jeans! :-)

Weekly Recipe Swap!

I am starting an Weekly Recipe Swap! I have been in desperate need of some delicious new and simple recipes and thought it would be great to share with everyone some of my favorites and learn some new ones! So I figure that Monday is a great day to do a post because is will give us all a chance to try our new recipes through out the week! It is your choice if you want it to be a side dish, entree or dessert! Lets have fun and learn a lot of new meal ideas! :-)

Fabulous Homemade Mac N' Cheese!

1/2 of a 1 lb. package elbow macaroni

4 T. butter or margarine
3-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Drain cooked macaroni and add butter or margarine, stirring until melted. Add cheese, then eggs and milk and salt. Cook and stir 3 minutes over medium heat. Pour into greased casserole dish and bake uncovered @ 350° for 20 minutes. (Credit for this recipe goes to my friend Laura :-)

Don't forget to let us know how it all works out! :-) Eat with ya soon!!

~Jessica

Weekly World News!

So my friend Michelle gave me a copy of this magazine called the Weekly World News as a joke! I think it is the funniest thing i've seen in awhile!! Check this out!

I had a good laugh about this headline! Apparently guys..we will be taking our cell phones into heaven so we can send some pics back to our loved ones...or some garbage magazine! Hmm..interesting! :-)

My friend Becky is having another fun giveaway! Go to her blog to get a chance to win this special book just in time for fathers day!!

Fun Family Frames!

This first pic is of the opposing wall. By shopping at thrift stores and yard sales I was able to decorate the entire thing for $13!! (aside from the T.V obviously! :-)

I had been staring at the blank wall in my upstairs loft for about 6 months. On one side I had this memorial to my Grandpa, who helped raise me and died last June. 

On the other side I had nada! I had been searching thrift stores for something that fit in with my decor and kept coming up empty handed.. so I decided to make my own!

We started with simple brown package paper ( the stuff you use to wrap boxes to mail.)

Then we used standard black craft paint and each put a handprint.
Finally I put the finished (and nearly free) project in a frame I found at a thift store for $9!

I think the finished project looks pretty good and the total cost was $10! Do you have any cheap decor projects to share?

Tagged!

Well Tiff tagged me so here goes!

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Summer with my girls
2. Camping
3. Getting my house cleaned
4. Going to Seattle this summer
5. The lake with friends
6. Seeing Jenn
7. My birthday
8. My Aunt and Uncle moving here!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Drove.
2. Volunteered at the girls' school
3. Made dinner
4. Played on the computer
5. Talked to my Mama
6. Helped my girls start to organize their rooms
7. Started a weightloss plan
8. Laundry

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Magically clean my house in 10 minutes.
2. Speak spanish
3. Be done with school already
4. Make enough to pay my bills
5. Have some energy
6. Get my girls to keep their room clean
7. Understand adults who act like they are children
8. Keep my kids young forever

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Lost
2. Boston Legal
3. TMZ
4. Law & Order: SVU
5. Brothers & Sisters
6. Castle
7. ummm..idk..I am not much for T.V

8 People Tagged:

Daiquiri

Becky

Bethany

Jenn

Those are the only people I really know on blogger other than the one who  tagged me!! :-)

Time to Shrink!

OK...deep breath.. i have joined in a weight loss group/challenge called The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans!... but this requires weigh ins..that I have post... to the public. SO.. I am weighing in at.. weeping a little.. 166! I have avoided the scale for awhile so this is a little bit of a O crap moment! But I AM READY TO GET MOTIVATED AND KICK MY OWN ASS!! oh ya.. I went that far with this! Get ready for a thinner me! Here is a pic of me pre baby (2 year old) and this is my goal. 125lbs! 

That is 40lbs total... I have no idea how I got here but I am done with it! Wish me luck and keep checking back for progress! 

~Jessica

Monday Mayhem...

Man o man today feels like a Monday! I was up late last night writing a paper on policies of the Cold War..exhilirarting i know. 

When I was finally finished it was late and I was tired. So I layed down in bed excited for sleep...and it didn't come..it didn't come until 3 am. Sometimes as much as I attempt to avoid getting over stressed or over anxious it all floods in at once. I really do have faith that all I am lacking will be provided but what I struggle with is the patience to wait for it...

So I lay awake with thoughts of the bills I can't pay, the house I can't keep clean and the anxiety of the million "what if's"... I struggle to come up with the answers to my own questions.. and then I realize that I am not having enough faith. I didn't first think to pray about it, in fact I didn't think of that at all. I have had many times in the past months that I really realized the power of prayer so you would think that when I get overwhelmed that would be the first thing I would think about..but it isn't. Why? 

I am excited to get back into the schedule of my bible study. I have grown so much in just what I have learned and maybe I just need to resume my outward actions to help me remember all the inward ones...

Well that's my Monday Mayhem thoughts.. How is your Monday?

~Jessica

Patience.....where are you?!

I'm looking..anybody seen it? I had a VERY productive Math day today! I finished all but my final in English..still waiting for my sigh of relief! Will it come when finals are over? I DON"T KNOW! At this point...it better! I know people balance their lives a little better than this..maybe I need to refine my juggling skill. 

After much math was learned today I came home..to a still filthy house and immediatly the stress level was back up. My kids had cereal for dinner! Anyone know a good maid and cook that will work for food and affectionate praise? LOL! Just for getting on an even playing field with my house!

I am thinking I need a vacation and if it is a weekend in a sleeping bag in the woods, i'm there! Who's in? :-)

Wow! I have been blogging a bit this week! By tomorrow's Lessons to take into the Weekend ya'll will be tired of me! ;-)

~Jessica

When prayer is needed most....

Well I did not post last friday and I have had such a stressful week a feel like a nice vent blog would do me good! 

In the last few weeks I have been missing my much looked forward to Wednesday bible study :-( with all the stuff happening around the house e.g. the ceiling and floor being useless... I have had to meet with demolition people, flooring people, drywall people and painters! UGH...and it always seems to fall on Wednesday! So I have been trying to get my life in prayer a little stronger as I seem to have a hard time settling down into a peaceful and growth like prayer. It has made a big defference even if I only take a minute when I am stressed and say a quick prayer it really changes my attitude... the last month has left me feeling so blessed..

With that said I cannot seem to catch up.. my stress level is higher than it has been in a long time..and so is my laundry pile. My great sense of fear to fail has been creeping up on me. People often ask me how, as a single working, student, parent, I do it. Usually my answer would be..the same as everyone else, God and a daily count of my blessings..lately, I just don't know. I feel like my patience is short and my to do list is long. To long for me to get it done. I realize we all have these same trials but for the past few weeks it has left me feeling like, and I hate to say it, I am in some way failing.

My oldest daughters both have has birthdays this past couple weeks and it leaves me reflective on whether I am doing as good of a job as I should. I think I am...but what if i'm srewing them up? What if my tornado of a room, or my prepared from a box dinners or my occasional outburst of impatience overpowers the love I do my best, in the midst of our chaos, to show them everyminute. I know, I know..it's not. But sometimes the stress of live leaves you feeling a tad incompetent. I know I have only been given what I can handle and I know God has given me these girls because He knows I will be the best parent for them.. and truly, I know this too.

As I said, this month has me counting my blessings but also has me terrified of my failures. In the end, I know that those blessings, my love for life and my children, my friends and my relationship with God, with be there as all I need...

~Jessica

W.O.W o W.O.W!! I'm done!

Thank you Becky for your inspiring hand in getting this big ol' project done. My garage has been my cleaning demise , co-conspiring with laundry of course, for ever! IT IS FINALLY DONE!! I can actually park my car in there! It's been done!! I can prove it!! :-) Well here the pic proof! Hope all you other wowers got your projects complete!

~Jessica

Check out all of Becky's other W.O.W contestants and cheer them on!

W.O.W

Well here is my project I have picked for Becky's W.O.W  contest! My garage has been a pain in my neck since I moved! That was quite awhile ago...so by Wednesday it WILL be shiny and clean!!

~Jessica

Lessons to take in to the Weekend

Well..it is friday again!! Where o where did the week go? We had another trial filled week but the house issues seem to be heading in the right direction! Next week new wood floors will be put in upstairs and new lamininate in the bathroom. I will be so glad when I can finally breath a sigh of relief!

We have been having a great time with my uncle living with us  and are SO excited to have my Aunt and cousin follow! The girls just love him and he returns the feelings! 

I cannot believe that Emma will be 8 in one week and Deanna will be 6 in 13 days!! HOW DO THEY GROW SOOO FAST?!!! The birthday party planning is not even started and although I am feeling a little overwhelmed I know that God will provide all I need to make it through the next week! Speaking of making it through.. I am STILL struggling to comprehend my math and I am squeaking by with a C and...have that 5000 word english paper draft due next week! ahhh.....I must thanks God again for giving me the strength to juggle this insane balancing act that is my life!

On a more exciting note :-) My momma will be here Sunday night!! YEAH!!!! I miss her so much and we are all so excited that she will be here for the girls' birthday party! We sure are sad that the majority of my family lives in Alaska but are grateful that they have the ability to come see us so often (aside from my brother..I have not even met my new niece yet :-()...

Well I guess my Lessons Learned this week would be to have faith that it will work out, not to dwell in what isn't going right and to appreciate and be thankful every moment for friends and family!

Lessons to take into the weekend!

So this week has been both a personal and spiritual growing time for me. To start out the week one of my little angels (who shall remain nameless:=) flooded my upstairs bathroom. This lead to a complete catastrophe that let to a hole in my dining room ceiling, carpet damage and accessing damage cost..as all thing come in three's..shorty after I turned on my fan, being it was a surprising 85 degrees, and my fan light fixture came  crashing down and shattered glass all over. THEN the smoke detector ran out of juice! Now ordinarily  this would not be all that irritating but after the day I was having..it was terrible! I have to admit that I burst into to tears!! I prayed to be calm and amazingly.. I was! 

So I have never been much for praying because I have always felt like i was doing it wrong! I felt such a calm and belief in prayer that it opened up my eyes. Later in the week I was offered a FREE trip to Florida..offered by a man..who I am not dating..much less married to. It seemed like an opportunity I just could not pass up. However, as I thought about it more, I thought to myself..is this something you can do and still feel like me, still feel like I am holding my morals and my promise to the lord?! NO! I am so proud of myself! I feel like I have reached some kind of personal growth that make me sooo happy! Thank you lord!! :-) 

I have been feeling so grateful for the friends I have made in the last 6 months..Iam grateful for the advice that I have been given. I am thankful for people giving me a moral slap in the face :-) not saying well that would be fun, but saying, how is this going to make you feel..how is this going to effect you later..thank you Becky! (i'm sorry for being a flaky scrapbook buddy:-)

So basically I learned this week the power of prayer and the belssing of friends!

Accomplished (an update)!!

Soooo many things have been going on with me lately! I finally!! am back in schol. It is going really well and I am surprised that I am not yet pulling my hair out from being overwhelmed! Being a single parent is so hard sometimes but it still amazes me how the love for three little girls can give me the strength to do ANYTHING!

I have started dating again! eeek... Not really my fav thing about being single but I guess it's necessary unless I want to be sinlge forever!lol! I have went on a few dates but nothing to promising.. I find that my priorities are a bit different than most people i guess.

Not being raised a religious person has always bothered me and I have continued to struggle to find my right place with God... but the other night I had the best dream, although i'm not sure what is was about, I woke up feeling so CONNECTED to him! It was fantastic! I come from an Irish Catholic family and am thinking about taking catholisism classes... I don't know how I feel about it I guess.....

The girls are only a few months from being 8 and 6! eek! Deanna will be a first grader next year, I wonder how I will feel just me and Lola all day! Speaking of..she has hit the terrible twos, something Em and De never did, we are working through it! LOL! a little patience on everyones part!

Well thats it for now. Iam going to try and be a better blogger..HELP ME BECKY!!!!