Blog Every Day in May

I've seen this blog idea all over the blog world, and thought it would be fun to participate. Even if it's a day late. Sue me!

So, now I'll be making up for yesterday's post, and doing today's post too. Can you handle all of that? I sure hope so!

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less

I was born in Maryland in the early 80's and today my parents still live in that same house I grew up in. I was such a perfect baby that they stopped after me (at least that's what I tell myself anyway). I was kind of a tom boy (mainly because I lived on a street with a lot of boys) when I was a kid, playing in creeks and woods, riding bikes, etc. In high school I joined the volleyball team, had my first serious boyfriend (6 years), and made my way to University of Maryland (go terps!) where I had 4 great years making friends and enjoying the college life. After college, I went to GW University in DC to get my Masters in Speech Pathology which eventually brought me to my current job in the school system working with kiddos, and living in Virginia. Over the years I learned a lot about myself through all of life's experiences in the "real world," some tough break ups, etc. One of those relationships got me my cuddly, super friendly and lovable pup, Cooper, who is the wiggly light of my life.  And the rest fell into place when I joined Match.com one day and met the guy of my dreams. We live together and I finally understand why everything else didn't work out before. I’m at a job that I enjoy, with a guy I love, my parents close by, and my special pup. Looking forward to all of the happy things to come, but enjoying the good stuff happening right now!

(263....not bad)

Day 2, Thursday: Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at

You mean other than spending endless hours on Pinterest? :)  Hmmm....

I think the thing that I'm good at, and that I take pride in, is caring about other people. Sometimes this backfires on me, in that people sometimes take advantage of the fact that I'm forgiving, but overall I think it has helped me in my relationships (friends, boyfriends, etc) to be able to put myself in someone else's shoes and try to see their perspective. It's been a valuable tool in my work life as well.

Sometimes it makes me wonder if I should have been a psychologist or psychiatrist/therapist. I love listening to other people's stories and lives, and trying to provide insight or other perspectives on things. 

I think that's also why I like the blog world so much--it gives an opportunity to meet, connect with, and learn about other people, and I find that pretty cool and fascinating.

How's that for a start? :)

The best Christmas yet...

Hey lovies! It's Friday, and it's the eve of Christmas Eve (that's what they said on the news this morning--and it was corny enough that I decided to use it myself!)

I'm here today still running off of the high from last night's Christmas Dinner Date with MG. I got myself ready and then took all of the gifts over to MG's place where we opened a bottle of wine and exchanged our presents. Now, this was the first gift exchange that we have done (you'll remember that it was MG's birthday earlier this month, so I got the uber pressure of being the first one to have to give a gift), so there was some pressure....moreso for MG haha.

I had been telling him things about his presents like "wow, when I got the one today in the mail, it was a LOT heavier than I expected"....and he was all confused and said "I thought you already got the main part of my present....Oh man, I hope I got enough!" It was kinda fun to mess with him. Ok, it was a lot of fun :)

So, with all of the build up, MG said "You open yours first"....so I opened the card first (of course) and it had THE sweetest message inside. I would take a picture and share with you all, but this is one of those times that I want to keep it to myself. But, what it said inside was so sincere and sweet, it almost made me cry. I've read it like 15 times this morning already haha. Also, inside of the card was a gift card to Massage Envy which I am ALL about! I bother MG for massages all the time, and he knows how tense I get at my job, so this was a perfect gift!   Then, there was a rather large box sitting in front of me to be opened, so I tore into it and inside were these beauties that I had mentioned once...more than a month ago (Alana, if you're reading this....close your eyes):

I was SOOOOOOO happy. I put my feet into these guys and I was in heaven! They are SO soft inside! I like that these can be rolled down, or pulled up, or scrunched down. I can see getting a lot of use out of these over the next Winter months (assuming we don't keep getting 60 degree days).

Apparently MG had even been checking my shoes when I went to shower to make sure he got the right size, and then checked with one of my friends to make sure that I would like the grey (he said he remembered me saying grey but wanted to make sure). He did quite well!

MG opened his gifts which included:

it's an ID badge holder with MG's beloved Eagles on it. It kind of killed me a little, as a Skins fan, to order Eagles stuff
MG acknowledged that this shows how much I love him haha

An Eagles t-shirt to add into his Sunday rotation of Eagles shirts (He loved this and immediately threw it into his suitcase that he's taking home this weekend)

4 of these frosty beer mugs--he had mentioned this one weekend that he really needed to get some. So I took care of that!

And then I got him this since he said the navigation on his phone was starting to bother him and he wanted something more reliable:

Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates

I was nervous that he wasn't going to love this part (which is kind of why I got a bunch of little stuff too), but he was thrilled with it! The screen is huge and it has free traffic and map updates, which he was really excited about. He also said that he is going to test it out today when he drive up to Philly for the weekend, especially the traffic part!

So, all in all, we did quite well for each other in terms of gifts!  After we got done opening our presents, we headed into DC for dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill:

We had oysters, crab and artichoke dip, wine,  and some delish entrees! We were stuffed!  We made a quick stop to take a picture in front of one of the trees in the restaurant:

And it's a good thing we got a pic in front of a Christmas tree, since, when we went to leave, it was POURING outside. So, our plans to go see the National Xmas tree and baby trees was squashed. We decided we'll go once MG gets back from Philly, though.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night with a more perfect guy. I look back at the past year, and all that's happened and I am SO happy. I didn't think, back in May, or even this time last year, that I would ever find someone so amazing who I absolutely adore, and who loves me just as much as I love him. MG is the best thing that's happened to me and I'm SO thankful that we found each other.

Maybe I should write a letter to Match.com lol

Anyway, Ill stop being sappy and mushy, and wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and good times with family and friends. Make sure you tell everyone you love that you love them, and give them some extra hugs and kisses. It's the important things that make life living, not the material ones. I'll be at home today giving my mom and dad some extra hugs and kisses myself. I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas!

Sending you, my bloggie friends, hugs and love!

The Weekend Cooper got a TON of Love...

Happy Monday, lovies! I'm a little later than normal on this post because I'm on my first day of vacation, and have spent it catching up on the DVR, grocery shopping and preparing dinner in the crock pot (Pasta Fagioli...mmm), and cleaning the crap out of my apartment--most of it was stuff in my room, some of it was the crap my roommate continues to leave around (she's up to a collection of 6 empty/semi-empty wine bottles on the kitchen counter, and the pot that has been on the stove for the past week and a half is still there, among other things).

MG and I before the wedding, taken from a 5-year
old's perspective (hence why we are looking down) lol

But, besides my roommate being annoying and messy, I had a FAB weekend up in Philly with MG and his family. We went up for his friend from HS's wedding, and BOY did I get a scoop on what MG was like in high school. Let's just say, I'm glad that he's who he is now haha.

Along with heading up for the wedding, we spent time with MG's family, and brought Cooper along. He was, apparently, the part that MG's nieces and nephew were most excited about. Especially his 5 year old niece (who is one of the cutest little people Ive ever met).

Take a look at the evidence to back that up:

Yes, that is my dog, licking her feet....for at least ten minutes...

 Let's just say that when MG's other niece and nephew arrived later in the evening, Cooper got quite a good amount of exercise (maybe he even lost that extra pound the vet has been getting on me about)! I would be willing to bet that there was probably no more than a total of 5 minutes when Cooper did not have someone's hands on him! :) 

As always, MG's family was SO much fun, and I loved spending time with them. I actually wish that we were closer so that we could see them more often!

It was an awesome weekend! I'm a little jealous that MG is going back up on Friday for Christmas....but at least I'll have Cooper :)

Hope you're having a good start to Monday!

Weekend Recap

Hey all! Happy Monday! This post is coming to you from my bed. Why? Because I'm sick, and even managed to lose my voice in the process. Bah! Today's gonna be spent with cough medicine, tea, and soup for me.

Other than getting sick, my weekend was both fun and scary. Confused? Let me explain...

Friday was MG's 30th birthday party which I had been looking forward to/planning for months. I rushed home on Friday after work and MG picked me up at the metro (what a good boyfriend!), and then dropped me off at my place to get showered and ready. But not before asking me if he could take Cooper, my cuddly loveable pup, with him while I did my thing (I love that he loves my dog!) So, after getting ready I headed over and we ate some pizza and then headed to his friend's going away happy hour for a little bit before making our way to MG's party. The HH was a lot of fun, and nice to catch up with some people--and all of MG's buddies started trying to get him drinks and shots.

I had had MG promise to remain sober-ish until around 10 because, if you remember, I had a surprise for him: his two friends from back home (who now live in Jersey and NY) were coming down to celebrate, after having told him they weren't coming (teehee!) To be honest, this was the part that I was looking forward to most--seeing MG's face when his friends came in, and let me tell you...it was SO great! He was surprised and really happy that they were there with him.

MG and some of his friends

I also loved that some of my friends showed up (all friends who have met/hung out with MG) including my friend Em and her husband Steve (whose wedding was MG's and my first trip "away" together), my friend Trish and her beau (from Tales from Trish, and another friend from around here. We had SUCH a good time, and I loved that all of my friends, who are from completely separate parts of my life, all got along SO well! It was so much fun!

After all of the partying, we all went home, and MG's two buddies (and one's gf) came back to MG's place where we blew up an air mattress and somehow ended up staying up until well past 4am. (Could be the reason why I'm sick today. Boo!) Saturday was spent in recovery once the guys and gf left.  By late afternoon, MG and I made it out to get food and went to see The Descendants, the new Clooney movie. It was really good! I recommend it!

Sunday morning started off with a scare, though. While making coffee in the kitchen, Cooper came into the room on his stomach...kind of crawling, but down on the ground, his back legs behind him. He was shaking and apparently, was having a seizure! He'd never had a seizure before (at least not that I'm aware of), and he was completely stiff, shaking and I felt totally helpless to help him. While it was happening I called the emergency number of the vet and the doctor on call said to make an appointment with the vet once they opened at 10 to get Coop checked out (luckily at this point he seemed ok...was just confused and staying close in my lap). We took him to the vet, and she said he looked good neurologically, and seemed to be acting normally (Cooper was wiggling, and sooooo happy--he loves the vet). We are going to wait and hope that it was a one-time thing. If it happens again we'll probably have to get him an MRI and contemplate seizure meds. Hopefully my little guy will be ok and never have to deal with it again.

I always knew how much I loved my Cooper, but it became even more clear when all of this happened. He's a big bright spot in my life, and so many other people's. He's the dog that will make people who don't like animals, love him. He's great with kids and SUCH a people person. He's got the sweetest disposition I've ever seen in a dog. And he's my little lovebug. I'm glad that he's ok, and I hope that it stays that way, because my life, and several other people's, just wouldn't be the same as it is with him and his little wiggle-butt in it!


So, that was my weekend. Now I'm gonna go make some tea, try to stop coughing, and get my voice back. And spend a lot of cuddle time with my little Coop monster! Hope you have a good start to the week!

Meet the Parents....and family...

Hey all...Happy Monday! Are you a little groggy like I am this morning? It was nice having those days off of work to be away and relax, but it is definitely not easy coming back! I need to keep telling myself: only three more weeks and then 3 weeks off from work! This will be my mantra over the coming weeks!

I wrote and told you all about my Thanksgiving at my parents' house, but this weekend I also went up to Philly to meet the rest of MG's family. They were throwing him a 30th birthday party for friends and family, and it was going to be a great time to celebrate my dude, and meet the rest of his family.

Was I nervous? Only slightly. I had met his mom, sister, and two nieces a couple of weeks before and it went great! The only thing that had me a little nervous was that it was going to be EVERYONE, and all at once! But, it was FANTASTIC! The party was SO much fun...everyone was SO nice, welcoming, friendly. I felt at home instantly.

It was fun being introduced to every new person (to me) who walked into the room, and I even got to meet one of MG's friends from HS and his gf (who are coming down for MG's party this coming Friday, but MG doesnt know that...shhhh). MG's parents rented a juke box that played ALL kinds of music. There was TONS of food, drinking, dancing....it was honestly the best time ever. It amazed me how quickly the night went by!  Sadly, I was so occupied having fun, I forgot to take many pictures, but here is one from the night:

This is going to be one of my favorite pics of us....for one, because I think it's a good picture, and two, because it will forever be, to me, the picture of the night that MG told me that he loves me <3

Yes, the night got even better once we got back to his parents' house and settled in for the night. I'm not going to share all of the sappy details, mainly cuz I want them for myself, but let me tell you, it was incredibly sweet and I still have a smile on my face (even in spite of fighting over 5 hours worth of traffic back yesterday). 

And when we got back, MG got a text last night from his sister, the one who I met this trip, that said: "It's unanimous: We all love Jenn!"  It made me smile to know that they liked me as much as I liked them! 

So, all in all, the weekend was amaze-balls, and I think I am still on cloud 9. Not a bad way to start the week!

Yep, that's me! :)

I hope you all have easy starts to your week! 

Monday Miscellany

Hey, bloggie friends!! Happy Monday!

Today is the first day of school for our students, so the school is abuzz with the sound of kiddos returning to the world of learning (and I think there might be some groans and grumbles in there too....and I'm sure NONE of them are from the teachers! hehe)

So, before getting back into the regular school year swing of things, MP and I decided to take a day trip to Ocean City, MD. I hadn't been back there since I was in High School I believe (I used to just go to the Outer Banks where it was a little more relaxing, and a little less "tourist"). We ended up leaving about an hour later than we had planned (sleepy heads...that was us), and hit some traffic along the way but made it to the beach by 12:30 and had a day filled with beach, ocean, boardwalk, fries, and margaritas! We attempted to get some crabs on our way home but the restaurant was packed with people outside and there was a tour bus pulling in in front of us. All of these things spelled out "long wait" so we went home crab-less!



Sunday was a day of relaxation and some Top Golf. I dont know if Top Golf is a nation-wide thing, but basically it's a driving range but there are different areas that you try and aim for and you get points based on where you hit. You can play games against others to see who can get the most points. This is where MP and I went on our first date and where he taught me how to not suck completely at golf swing a club and have the ball go somewhere in the general vicinity of where I wanted it to go.

MP...making it look easy

I look like I'm putt-putt golfing...lol. I swear my form is
better when  I'm not being forced to take a picture!!

And, now, it's back to work. And that dreaded schedule I still need to make! Dang it! At least I had a good weekend to look back on while I'm "in the weeds" of schedule-making and a new school year!

Hope you all had great weekends and an awesome start to the week!

Things To Look Forward To

Hey, bloggie friends! Hope your week is starting off on the right foot! This weekend was jam-packed with a visit from my roommate's sister, Michelle (aka Virginia Beach Housewife), brother-in-law, nephew and doggie! The weather was amazing so we went all over DC (Eastern Market, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, etc) and had a blast! So, needless to say, I went to bed early last night to get rested up and ready for another week!

With the weather forecast with scattered thunderstorms pretty much the entire week, I'm feeling a little gloomy, so I thought I'd focus on some of the things that I'm looking forward to:

1) Seeing Boyfriend on Thursday or Friday (depending on his work load at work) in NYC for our anniversary weekend. I can't believe it's been 2 years of this long distance dating, and that it's coming to a rapid close (thankfully, for both of our sanity....and my friends' sanity who have to hear my blatherings about it, haha). And we are staying across from the Lincoln Center, so I'll have this to wake up to each morning:

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is looking gloomy there too, but I'm crossing my fingers that some front comes in and blows it away!

2) Getting a moving quote this week. I have been on the lookout/search for


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 a good moving company to hire for my move to St. Louis. I thought about doing PODS, but when I called them, they quoted me at $2,000 for the 8x7x7 cube. Uhhh, say what??? 1) Not even sure I could fit my stuff in that, and 2) $2000 for a box??? That doesn't even include people loading and unloading for me?? No thank you. I've gotten some good quotes from moving companies, but when I look up the company online for reviews, there's hardly any information about them, or the reviews are terrible. Me no likey. So, I'm having United Van Lines come out tomorrow since they're a big company with a good reputation. (Any advice from you all on moving companies that you've used--let me know!).

3) Follow me on this one....my ex boyfriend's, old roommate's, wife, Amberr (did you get that??) is coming to town for work and we're meeting up for dinner this week.  Altho ex bf and I don't talk, I got to know his roommate and roommate's wife while we dated, so whenever Amberr has work down in this area, we try to meet up and catch up on life in person. I think it's been about a year since I saw her, so I'm looking forward to catching up!

4) Today marks 18 more days of school....and they can not end fast enough (altho, I'm still waiting on hearing from St. Louis schools, so maybe I don't want the time to fly TOO fast...leaving Jenn jobless and hopeless haha).

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5) I got this super cute top at Target yesterday. Just happened to see it on my way to check out...grabbed it off the rack without trying it on (it's like I knew how amazing it would be) and it fits! And, it's really cute! ANNNNND it was only $14.95! I'm thinking it will look cute with the linen pants I showed you all before from NY&Co:


(ok, who am I kidding, you know I totally tried the whole thing on when I got home, and it looks super cute!)

So, I'm thinking this outfit will go into my suitcase for this weekend's rendezvouz with Boyfriend! Woohoo!

I'm sure there are some other things going on this week, but those are the ones I'm keeping at the forefront of my mind to make it through the day/week!

Go link up with Meg at Life of Meg for Mingle Monday!



Happy Monday, friends!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy happy Wednesday, lovies! Super excited that I've made it through half of the week, and that I'm linking up with Jamie @ this kind of love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving that Boyfriend and my anniversary weekend trip to NYC is only one week and one day away! It will have been about 4-5 weeks since I last saw him, and I am craving some Boyfriend cuddle time. And I'm super excited to be celebrating 2 years together, surviving distance.



4th of July last year with Boyfriend



I'm loving that Boyfriend and I set a date for my move out to St. Louis so we can end the distance part of our relationship. So, July 4th weekend will be fireworks and my move across country to be with the love of my life! 44 days and counting...

I'm loving Pinterest! I had heard a ton of people mention it in the blog world, and finally decided to give it a go. And now, I AM OBSESSED! I spend a ton of my free time going through the site, finding cool pictures, hair styles, clothes and fooooood recipes! I salivate on a daily basis now thanks to some of the recipes that are posted. One in particular, Cajun Chicken Pasta I can't wait to try! Look how yummy:

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Jenn on Pinterest

                                                                     Droooooool!

I'm  loving that I convinced my friend, Trishy-poo to start her own blog! Go visit her at Tales From Trish so she can share in the awesome bloggy experience with us all!



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I'm loving the movie Something Borrowed. I saw it this weekend with my roommate and it was super cute. I am definitely buying it when it comes out. Also, anyone who saw it, did you notice the covert placement of the Something Blue book in one of the scenes?? (Check out when Rachel and Ethan are talking on a park bench in one of the earlier scenes if you missed it!) Loved loved loved this book, and the movie!





I hope you all are finding some cool things to be loving today! Go over and link up!!
Happy Wednesday!

Best Compliment



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 Happy Friday, everyone!!! I have to admit, I wasn't really entirely swept up in all of the Royal Wedding hub-bub. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see Kate in her dress and the vows, and the balcony kiss, but all of the stuff leading up to it was getting to be kind of overwhelming. But, now that the day is here, and I watched part of the wedding from home (and the kiss from work), I am swept up in the magic of it now. I guess it's that little girl prince/princess wedding fantasy.
And, dang it, they look SO happy (which is even more impressive with ALL of the pressure on them)!



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 As most girls probably do, I think Kate is gorgeous. She isn't a typical form of what most would consider "hot," but I think a more appropriate term is that she is stunning. And she looks kind, like a super friendly, sweet person that you would love to be friends with (even if she wasn't a princess). I think she seems to have the perfect combination of pretty, friendly, worldy, personable etc etc etc etc :)

Well, this brings me to, what might be, one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. When I was out visiting Boyfriend, and the Royal Wedding stuff was on tv....they were talking about Kate going out shopping to local stores and showed several pictures of her... Boyfriend has said before that she is pretty, attractive, etc (I can't blame him...I agree!) and in this moment he says to me "She looks a lot like you"....Insert my mouth falling to the floor while a HUGE smile swept across my face. I told him that that was an incredibly amazing compliment, and I truly take it that way. Even if I don't necessarily see it (and many of you might not either), if there is even a slight resemblance, I will take it. And, if that's what Boyfriend sees, I am 100% a-okay with that!! Here's to awesome compliments that can make your day, week, month, etc!

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Have a royally-fabulous Friday, all!

Three Things I'm Thankful for Thursday

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today is a doom-and-gloom weathery kind of day here in D.C. but we are making it through, one tornado warning at a time! :)

This week has been crazy busy getting back to work after time off, but I wanted to take a little bit of time and share three things that I'm thankful for today!

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1. I'm thankful that I was able to remain cool, calm, and collected today when one of the females I work with came to, once again, criticize the work that I am doing, despite having no actual knowledge of what I do or why I do what I do. This is the second day in a row that she has chosen to do so...I'm just glad that it wasn't in the middle of a parents meeting like she chose to do another time. Being thankful for not strangling someone. Small favors, people!

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2. I'm thankful that Boyfriend was able to book us a hotel for our anniversary weekend in New York City. We have been talking about going since we started dating (Boyfriend went to NYU) to go and get away, but also so he could revisit his friends and so I could finally meet these infamous NY friends I've heard so much about. He is already planning where we are going to eat for our anniversary dinner and everything! I love it when he makes the plans!

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3. I'm thankful that our air conditioning, for some reason, turned itself on in the early hours of the morning, despite being broken last night. Although I woke up shivering, it was a nice wake-up to have a cooled off apartment instead of a hot and humid one! Let's hope the maintenance people can come today and figure out what's wrong since it apparently broke last weekend too.

<--this picture just made me laugh....and at the same time hope that I'm not him when I get home today! :)




So, I hope you all are having amazing ends to the week (one more day til the weekend!!!), and can find a few things to be thankful for today!