The Day of My Birth.

Today is not only Halloween- It is my BIRTHDAY!!  On this day, 26 years ago, I was BORN....  

I wasn't due until November, but due to cosmic forces (It was Halloween, a Full Moon AND a HURRICANE)  I was birthed.  Pretty crazy right?

Well, I am still in Baltimore (till tomorrow) and am having a blast, so I will leave you with a Halloween inspired photograph that we created recently...

It's odd to say I'm officially on my way out of my 20's.  Not that I'm one of those people who's afraid of aging.  It's just a hard concept to grasp...I'm not getting "old", I'm maturing and I'm proud of that ;)

Hope you all have a lovely Halloween with your children, family, friends or even just a night of handing out treats...I think we will be venturing out for my Birthday for a second time, so who knows what this day and night will bring!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

My Very First Blog Award

When I dropped Will off yesterday, I did not think much of anything would make me feel better, but Erin over at Every Branch blessed me with a blog award and lifted my spirits immensely!  I am so proud that my first award is such a meaningful one.  It means the world to me <3

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. 

To keep this award going and pass it along to other new deserving blogs, the recipient must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!


My honorees are:


1.  Zara @ Eat, Shop and Be Married
2.  Cara @ Chic Meets Healthy
3.  Rachel @ day2day joys
4.  Leisha @ We Are The Shepperds
5.  Katie @ Married...With a Pup

Happy Hump Day!!

xoxox

Janna Renee

My Dentist Says I'm Stressed

I'm thinking it's a bad thing when your dentist can tell you are stressed...Apparently, I have been grinding my teeth extra in the past week. He asked if I was having problems at home and I laughed and said no...This is just the busiest month of my LIFE!

We are almost through this month, but I still have to say good bye to my husband for a month of training, host the double-baby baby shower, go to Baltimore, celebrate my birthday AND now I have to make sure our house is perfect for our lease renewal. Luckily, I'm handling it all a lot better than I thought I would- i.e. I was only mad for about 4 minutes (instead of 4 hours) when he broke the news that he was leaving for training early. GO ME!

I'll make it y'all. I always do. I'm just not looking forward to sending the Hubs away...Let's just hope he'll be back in time for Turkey day! Cross your fingers for me...

By the way, today marks a year and a half of marriage for us. I can honestly say it's been the best year and a half of my life. #soblessed

I'll leave you with a few more of our new photos to celebrate:

Two+Dog=Family

Here is a sneak peak at our "family" photos!  I wasn't sure what to call them, but I guess we are a family even if we only have  a fur-baby so far ;)

Which one should we use for the Christmas card this year?  I'm gonna need your input BIG TIME.

Like I said, this is a sneak peak, and I share more soon.  I'll also be telling y'all why I'll be in Pensacola this weekend coming up, so y'all come back now, ya here?!

(I apologize for being such a tease, but I'm really NOT sorry ;)

I Am A Felon

Y'all...I have a date with a judge today...dun-dun-dunh....  Remember when I told you about the little fender bender I was in last month?  Well, it's time for me to pay up.  I actually got a ticket for "following too close", which I do NOT believe I deserve, so I am going to plead my case at the mercy of the court!  I'll pay the ticket, but I don't think I deserve any points on my shiny record!  I'm innocent, I tell ya!

I'm not gonna lie...I'm a wee bit nervous.  I have no reason to be, but I have never been to court before.  For some reason, just the thought of it is nerve wracking.  I keep having to tell myself that I'm just gonna show up, explain why I shouldn't get the points and then it will all be over.  Needless to say, I don't think I will becoming a felon any time soon, because I have learned my lesson!  Lesson= I don't EVER want to set foot in a court AGAIN!

Ps. Our photo shoot went AMAZING yesterday!  I have literally checked my FB and email 20 times, hoping to find a sample of the photos.  Until then- here are a couple pics the hubz snapped when we got home:

Don't let Monday get ya down!  At least you are NOT a felon like me :(

Instagram is Oh-so-fun.

Hello My Dearies!

I apologize that it's been a few days!  This month is kicking my butt, but no excuses here- I'll get back on my game ;)  So what have I been doing?  Well, work- as usual, getting back to dinners with the hubby, planning for the Double-baby-baby-shower I am throwing and trying to squeeze in time to celebrate my birthday with the hubz, since he won't be here for it...Oh yeah- and a wedding that I am in back home next weekend on top of it all. 

 It actually all caught up to me yesterday and I was a bit of a mess, but Will demanded that we take the puppy to the park and he managed to get to the bottom of my problem and EVENTUALLY I ended up in a little better spirits.  Although, I'm not sure if he lifted my spirits or the scenery did...take a look:

A little secret:  The only reason I wanted an Iphone was for Instagram #true story

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!  Will and I are actually going to a couples photo shoot this afternoon, so I have to go get ready!

xoxo

Dating: Good, Bad and Funny

I am havin' some fun over at Alexis Laughs and was just inspired by her post on Dating Stories...Lemme tell you- It's hilarious and reminded me of a lot of funny/interesting stories from the past...Would you allow me to share?

I would like to pretend that my "relationships" from back then were perfect and I was perfect, but that is NOT the case...Isn't that the fun of it, though?  Having a crush, feeling the rush and wondering if said crush feels the same way?  Sometimes the anticipation was the best part...win or lose. 

For as many boys as there were that courted me, there were just as many that I wished would notice me or at least notice me in the way that a young girl wants to be noticed.  I probably ended up being a little more forward than I should have at times, but hey...every "no" led me closer to my hubby!  Cheesy, I know ;)  For all you single ladies out there- Don't be afraid to show your feelings towards a guy.  Most of the time they are more afraid to talk to you than you are to them and the other times- they may like you and just not know it...Boys tend to think on a different wave length than we do.  You know the whole "Mars Vs. Venus" thing.  Just remember there is a difference between making yourself available and seeming desperate. #fineline

This would be a NO:

This is more like it:

Now to the good stuff:

There was one summer that I followed a boy around for a WHOLE summer, because I had SUCH a crush on him...He was a lifeguard with a 12-pack, and I'm not talkin' beer.  I don't think he saw me as anything more than a friend, but I liked him so much that I helped him put baby oil on his burned butt (don't ask, just don't worry it was a g-rated-one-cheek-at-a-time-thing) just to get some attention.  I think we did make-out once, but his ego ended up being too big for my idea of summer lovin'!

One boy was a passionate Spaniard and wrote me the most beautiful love notes, brought me flowers and even laid out a trail of Hershey kisses to a surprise of flowers and presents in my room.  Pretty intense for a fifteen-year-old, so as sweet as he was...he had to go!  Not that I EVER think he would have gotten physical with me, but his passion truly came out when we broke up.  He punched the stop sign on the way home and practically broke his hand!  We all had a good laugh on that one (once it had healed) and we are still friends.

At one point, my girlfriend and I were dating two lovely young men and thought it would be funny to trade boyfriends....The boys weren't amused.  We traded back and it was no harm, no fowl, but we learned that boys weren't like trading cards. Dang.

I went through old notes and letters from grade school the other day and stumbled upon some doozies.  Particularly, the correspondence between myself and a middle school bus mate. We used to write poems back and forth and let me tell you-  I have no clue how we put those deep-well-beyond-our-years-thoughts into poetic form. 

On that very same bus, I "dated" another handsome young man.  We held hands on the way to school, walked each other to class and "dated" two times...That equaled love back in the day.  We used to spend hours on the phone and he was more like a girlfriend than a guy friend...Although, I think I should have picked up on that, 'cuz then I might have realized that he was GAY!  I knew he was too pretty and too sweet!  You know what they say, "All the good ones are either gay or taken..."

Perhaps my favorite story- was of a guy that I never even dated.  I'm not even sure how we got to know each other, but I certainly will never forget how he left single roses for me all over town.  My car, my locker, my cubby at work, church and I can't even recall where else.  They added up to a dozen roses and then he brought me one more in person for good measure.  He was very romantic.  He used to call me and make me sing to him.  That's the part that made me fall for him.  There is just something about a guy who knows your deepest desires and desires them as well.  He knew how much singing meant to me, so it meant just as much to him.  We never officially "dated", but the courtship was fun!

So how did dating my husband go?  Well, you can read the full story HERE, but I guess the funny part is that I didn't even know our first date was a date...He persuaded me to go with him to Miami, under the pretense that he "didn't know his way around", and by the end of the night I was in love.  After we had been dating a bit, some of my friends voiced some concerns, though.  They explained that they were not comfortable with me dating this 32 year old "server" when I was only 22 and "going places".  I almost cried with laughter and they looked at me like I had two heads, until I told them that he was only 23!  Oh that PRANKSTER! Lucky for him, his humor was what sealed the deal and he has kept me laughing for almost four years now.

I hope that I was HALF as entertaining as Alexis...but at least I was entertained ;)

Happy Humpday, y'all! We're halfway there!

Happy Columbus Day!

Not that I'm hating on Columbus or anything- I mean I don't want to steal his thunder on his day- BUT we all know he wasn't the first here.  Does that mean that we shouldn't celebrate him? No.  It means that we should take the time to understand why we should celebrate him.

We all know that the Asiatic peoples that became the Native Americans, we're here first, and we also know that those Norse Vikings weren't far behind.  Problem is-  They weren't well documented and didn't make as big of an impact.  Obviously, the Native Americans established themselves, but they forgot to send the memo out to the rest of the world.

That's where Columbus entered the picture.."In 1492, Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue..."  I mean c'mon- he must be important, we have a poem about the guy.  It wasn't that he was the first, and it wasn't that he was the best.  It's just that he was the greediest  smartest.  He is the one that linked the Old world to the New World, established commerce and established Import/Export. 

Regardless, of whether you feel for the Native Americans or disclaim that he was the "first", we can't deny that we all wouldn't be here without him.  He is a major part of America's history and all we can do is be informed and learn from his mistakes.  Maybe, if he had done his job right we wouldn't still be paying reparations...mentally and monetarily.

Take this day as a blessing and a lesson.  

#loveallpeoples

I Need Another European Adventure.

About four years ago, my grandparents surprised my siblings and I by taking us to Europe for a WHOLE month! I must say, it was one of the best experiences of our lives....

It all began with a NEVER-ENDING flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands in August of 2007, along with loss of sleep from our first major time zone change.

Next stop: NORWAY! 

Probably THE most breathtaking country I have ever been to.

We hopped on a 700 passenger cruise ship in Amsterdam, and it became our home for the next 18 days and three countries ;)

via

After Norway and a jaunt into the Arctic Circle, we headed down to The Shetland Islands.  Where they really have those little Shetland ponies, by the way.

And then Scotland!

At the end of the 18 days, we were sad that our seaward journey had come to a close, but at least we still had a few more days to explore Amsterdam!

Our Hotel for the last week:

Die Port Van Cleve Hotel, Dam Square-Amsterdam

How gorgeous, RIGHT?  It was the old Heineken Brewery, until the brewery needed to expand.  It is definately not a Holiday Inn or anything "Americans" are used to, but that's the charm of it...Over stuffed with furniture and no AC, it might dissuade some from staying here, but for the history, location and charm-we LOVED it!

When I imagined Holland, I imagined Windmills and Tulips and let me tell you, that is what we found! Oh-and those little wooden shoes! They were everywhere!

How cool is this outdoor potty?  These were all over Amsterdam, and I was only sad that they didn't have anything for females.  In case you don't know- you have to pay to use public restrooms over there, so you need to have options like this!

And a few more for good measure:

Can you see why I want to go back?

Super Bass By Sophia Grace

Are you wondering who Sophia Grace is?  She just happens to be the most talented five year old that I have ever seen.  She dances (with attitude), raps and has a set of pipes that comes out of nowhere.  

Don't take my word for it...See for yourself:

This lil' Brit blew me away, as I'm sure you have seen why.  I am saddened because some people are taking it negatively, due to the mature nature, but the song plays on the radio, television and even grocery stores...Personally, I'm more offended by parents posting pictures of their kids practically toungin' each other.  I'd rather have my child expressing creativity, than makin' out with their playmate.

Regardless, you can NOT deny the talent that Sophia has.  Thank goodness You Tube introduces us to these little treasures!

Happy Friday, Y'all!

I'm Diversifying...Er Trying...

I know that I'm pretty much behind the curve, but this week I have been exploring Pinterest and Etsy!!  Ok, so I'm waaaaay behind the curve, but at least I'm trying!  

Etsy has been pretty easy to figure out...As a matter of fact- I have already ordered some AWESOME stuff. Pinterest, on the other hand, has me a bit lost.  I created a Board and think that I installed a Pin, but thus far- haven't figured out how to work either one...If anyone would like to help me along- I am taking volunteers!  I think people want other people to "follow" them, so if you help me I will DEFINITELY follow you. For life.

Everyone keeps telling me that I should do Twitter too, but I'm not gonna lie- I just don't get it...Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like all you do is post really short statuses and people follow others, just to follow them.  Am I missing something?  I feel like I must be, since people are so obsessed with it.  

It's amazing how blogging has opened this whole new world to me. I know that I'm a 20-something and should be up on all this, but like I said- I'm behind the curve ;)

xoxo

Happy Tuesday!!

    

Cafe Press is Convenient AND Entertaining!

Ever heard of  cafepress.com?  Well, if you haven't- lemme tell ya- not only can you find some great gift ideas, you will be thoroughly entertained in the process...For example:

For the farmer in you:

To show off:

If I ever get pregnant with twins- I must have this:

For the teachers out there:

As a public service:

And I FELL in LOVE with this one:

Weiser is only part, but he still is a Weimaraner!  Happy to call myself a Weimaraner Mom <3

I just went through the site again, and I was entertained for HOURS!  Thank goodness they have ways to narrow your search because there is more merchandise than you will know what to do with!  I also bookmarked LOTS of gift possibilities, so my Christmas shopping should be a little easier ;)

Sweet Dreams, y'all!