Day 21-Picture of yourself

Happy Sunday everyone! 

Vote for Miss Kinley!!!

Ok, yes I know this is not the purpose of this blog but I couldn't resist! Our local mall is doing a contest on Facebook  for Halloween costumes. If you have Facebook please click here and it will take you to the page to vote. All you have to do is click vote. They are giving away a $50 gift card to the top three pictures with the most votes

Thanks for helping Kinley win!


Here is the picture we entered:

Day 20-Nicknames

Happy Saturday! We had a wonderful time at our Halloween party last night! I won a trophy for one of the games we played and Jason got a ribbon for his costume! My costume was lame but comfy! Here are a couple of pictures from the party:

Jason as Brett Farve and me as 80's girl

Our winning team!

Me, Holly and Hef

Now to the 30 day blog challenge:

From the minute I was born I have been called a by a nickname. My maiden name is James so therefore my dad wanted to name me Jessie James but my mom protested saying that someday I might need a more "professional" name so she suggested they name me Jessica but call me Jessie that way I would have option. Well if you read my day one post you know that I hate that my name is one thing and I go by something else. Yes, the logical thing would be to just start going by Jessica but honestly I really don't like that name. My name is Jessie and it has been for almost my whole life.


I went by Jessie from the time I was born until the 6th grade then I decided since I was in middle school I needed a more "professional" name so I would start going Jessica. That lasted all of a few weeks and quickly went back to Jessie. 


When I got to college that is when more nicknames started to come about. In my sorority most of the girls went by their last name because that is how roll was taken so it typically just stuck. So one of my first nicknames in college was James. Other nicknames from college would include JJ or JessieJames (yes, all as one word). 


I worked a wonderful summer camp for three summer and of course you can't work at camp without a nickname. This one wasn't anything too exciting. Most people just called me Jessie but two of my very close camp friends who had worked at Wildwood the summer before I started couldn't call me Jessie. See there was the camp dog whose name was Jessie therefore they felt it was weird to call me the same name as the dog so they started calling me Jess. 




On a side note it is story time about names!
Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of a big wedding, a wonderful guy and changing my last name to my husband's once we were married. Well Jason proposed on September 29, 2006 and I was so happy! I couldn't wait to start planning and living out my dream wedding. About a week after he proposed it hit me...I will become a Stinson. But I am Jessie James, Jessie Stinson just doesn't sound right. How can this be. I am Jessie James, I have worked hard to create a name for myself in my profession and beyond that Jessie James is my identity! So I sat down and had the discussion with Jason about my feelings. He was so supportive, as well as his family, and said "whatever you want to do is fine with me, if you last name is James fine or if it is Stinson fine" WOW! So supportive but I was still lost on what to do, well finally about a month before the wedding I decided that I would change my name to Stinson. The final straw was when I sat down to think about once we had kids. I didn't want my kids to have to explain to people that my mom's name is this and my dad's name is this but they are still married. I totally understand that divorce happens so kids might have parents with different last names but when we are happy married I didn't want to have to explain to my kids why I didn't want to change my name. 


I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Make sure to head over to Kate's blog!

Day 19-Something you miss

First of all TGIF! We have a big weekend coming up and I am so pumped! Tonight we are going to a Halloween Party with some friends, tomorrow morning we are carving our pumpkin then we have a wedding reception to attend on Saturday night then Panhel interviews on Sunday for the 2011 Panhellenic Council! What a weekend!
 

I am going to apologize in advance this might be a little bit of an emotional post but this is an emotional topic for me.

I very dearly miss two people who have passed away. I am very lucky girl to have had these two people in my life for as long as I did but I still miss them everyday. I had the privilege to know three of my four Great Grandparents and all four of my grandparents. I lost my first great grandpa when I was 8 and my first grandpa when I was 25. I am a very luck girl!

The first is my Great Grandma Oriela. I had the privilege to spend every singe Saturday night at her house with my Grandma from the time I was three until she passed away when I was in the 6th grade. The things I miss the most about her include her gentle touch, how she was always there to listen no matter what I needed to talk about it, how much she loved the color purple and her love for purple flowers. 


The second is my Grandpa Cook. I wrote a blog about him when I was pregnant and if you would like to read it you can go here. 


Again, I apologize for the sad post on a Friday but I hope that everyone has a wonderful day!

Day 18-Something you regret

I attempt to live my life without regrets. Ok, first of all I think the work regret is DIRTY word. It makes you feel bad about yourself and what ever it is that you wish had gone differently! With that being said I truly feel that everything that happens in life happens for a reason. I may not know the reason at the time but I always hope with enough prayer and time I will figure out the reason for each thing. I also believe that these events shape who we are and help mold us for the future.


Working in Higher Education one of the things I strive to instill in students is that "mistakes" happen...it is a part of life it is what you do when a "mistake" happens that makes you the person you are today. There are plenty of situations I look back on in my life; a conversation, an event, a relationship that I think what would have happened if I would have done things differently but I know I would not be the same person of be in the same place I am now.

However if I had to make a quick list of "mistakes"

*I wish I would not have worked so hard during college and took out more student loans. I had college paid for by applying for scholarships and grants but the other "fun" stuff was all mine.I work 3-4 part time jobs at a time which was great because I could pay for everything I wanted to pay for but the down side was I missed out on a lot of fun things with my friends because I was always working.

*I wish I would have applied to be a LC for my sorority and waited a year to go to Grad school. Being a Greek Advisor now I feel that the knowledge I would have gained working for NHQ would have given me a leg up in the advising world


*I wish I could let go a little more often and let Jason make more decisions. Usually what he suggest ends up working out just fine in the end but I have a problem with letting go enough to let him make the decisions.


I think that pretty much makes the short list for now. Have a wonderful Thursday everyone! Only one more day until TGIF!

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Happy last Wednesday of October! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

I am looking forwad to: (coming up soon)

*Kim's Halloween party this weekend...I still don't have a costume, any ideas?!?!

*MY BIRTHDAY! 

*Seeing who is on the ballot for the 2011 Waterloo Jaycees  

 *Jason's mom coming to visit for week

*My Birthday celebration with Jason...I'm excited for whatever he has planned


*Pre-Thanksgiving with the Waterloo Jaycees


*The UNI Men's Glee Christmas concert

*The Holidays! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas! The beautiful fall colors, family, food, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, stocking, the whole-nine- yards!

*Going to Reno for Christmas 

I am looking forwad to: (long term)

* Being debt free in three years

* Having another baby...I loved my whole pregnancy and look forward to #2 but not before #1 is out of diapers!

*Growing old with Jason

*Seeing the Royals win a World Series 

*Living my life

Day 16-Dream house

To tell the truth the house we own right now is very, very, very close to my dream house. The layout is almost perfect. We live in a split-level that splits in the middle not right inside the front door. Three bedrooms are upstairs with one bathroom then on the main level there is the living-room and kitchen then downstairs is the forth bedroom, tv room, laundry, storage and bathroom. If I had the money here are the things I would change about our current house:

-New siding! Right now we have Masonite and with living in Iowa in the winter it is the worst thing you could ever have on your house! Also, new color, it is currently orange/red and I would like a tan/ light brown with red shutters but unfortunally I think this is going to be a battle because my husband loves the color it is right now, he says it make our house "stick out" compared to the others in our neighborhood.

-New carpet! I think it has the original carpet from when it was built in 1979!

-Bigger closets! Currently one of the extra bedrooms is being used as a walk-in closest...which is very cool however, I'm a little concerned what is going to happen when #2 comes along and I have to give up my walk-in close for a third bedroom!

- An island in the kitchen. For that matter a slightly bigger kitchen, after all "a family that cooks together, stays together" right?

That is pretty much all the changes! The best part of our house is we live on a dead-end street and we don't have any neighbors in the backside so it is very quite with lots of room!

Top 2 Tuesday...Halloween and Fall

Top 2 Halloween or Fall crafts/decor/party ideas

 I like this one because I love to burn candles!

 I think this would look awesome on our porch!

Miscellany Monday

I found this though Kate's 30 Day Blog Challenge and thought I would give it a shot. It kind of fits right into my thought process so here we go!

1. I finally signed the papers to buy Life Insurance on Friday...this took me three months so sign the papers because I was freaked out that if I signed the papers I would die shortly after. 

2. This is my first week at work that I can "relax" and I am totally looking forward to the next 7 weeks which will lead right to the Holiday Break!

3. I realized my birthday is a week and a day away! I am so pumped! I love my birthday!

4.I get to come home at 5 p.m. every night this week from work!

5. I entered Kinley and Beasley into Halloween contest...I'm sure my Facebook friends love me for the crazy amounts of post about voting for them.

Day 15-Bible verse

Matthew 6:23 & 24

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


I think I like this verse because it is something I need to strive for and gives me some guidance. I am a worrier through and through! On days where I am particularly stressed out I try to remember this verse and remember that if I turn things over to God he will take care of me and the things he knows I need.

Day 14-A picture you love

Meet Beasley

Beasley is a 3 year old beagle and the most lovable puppy you will ever meet. This picture was taken the day we took possession of our house. I was taking "before" pictures of the house as Beasley followed me around room to room. He would sit very pretty in each room even though I was not taking the picture of him. Finally I took a picture of him and this is what I got! I love this picture! Jason gave me a copy of this picture in a red frame which is my favorite color to use as my focal point during labor and it was the best gift I ever!

Day 13-Goals

Sorry I missed posting this  yesterday! It was Homecoming at UNI which means long hours with little sleep so it complete slipped my mind!

My Goals:

-Run a half marathon

-Be debt free (as of Thursday, hopefully this will be accomplished in 3 years!! minus our student loans and house payment)



-Live a healthy lifestyle


-Be a good mom/wife/daughter/grand-daughter/sister/friend

-Visit all 50 states

-Visit every major league baseball ballpark


I have many more goals but my brain is just not working right now so I have seen several people who have make a 30 b430 list or a 101 in 1001 list so I think I might spend some time putting pen to paper...stay tuned!

Day 12-What you believe

I believe...

-that people are good

-in karma 


-everything happens for a reason

-C-sections, disposable diapers, and formula don't make me less of a mother (this one has taken me a while to be ok with)

-a day without laughing is a day wasted


-blogging is good for the soul


-in wearing mascara everyday, even if I have no where to go


-sending/receiving "real" mail the kind that come in the mail with a stamp

-that families do not have to be made up of a mom and a dad, families are the people you love, you can have two moms or two dads or just a great circle of friends


-taking photos because they capture memories


-a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes


-children are our future...take care of them and teach them well


-the royals with another World Series...someday hopefully in my lifetime

-I'm a control freak and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon


-I will never feel like there enough hours in the day


-in traditions, especially family traditions


-a good cup or coffee or a bowl of ice cream can cure anything

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

Oh geez! I don't even know where to start! Currently I have 18 shows I have a series recording set for on my DVR! I rarely get to watch "live" TV since I work crazy hours and I don't really like to watch the shows when they are "live" because it takes a whole hour where as if you watch them on DVR it only takes 42 minutes. I would say these are my favorite TV shows since they are set as a series recording:

I love the Amazing Race because it lets me see and learn about places that I would love to travel to but probably will never be able to. 

I'm not sure how I got hooked on Army Wives but I fell in love from the first episode. I don't always agree with the Army lifestyle or maybe I should say I don't understand the lifestyle. It is defiantly not for me so maybe that is why I like the show, it give me a little peak into a lifestyle I know nothing about.

I have watched every episode of BB since the very beginning. BB maybe should fall under the "guilty pleasure" category but since I have faithfully watched every episode I think it gets its own recognition.

What motivation! I love this show! I haven't gotten into the current season as much as I usually do but I'm sure I will as we learn more about the players.

 I started watching Glee because my students hounded me enough that I finally gave in. They replayed the episodes from the very beginning this summer so I started recording them and thought I would have a ton of time while I was home with Kinley but never got around to it so I started a few weeks ago and just finished the first season. I am looking forward being caught up with everyone so that I know what everyone is talking about on facebook!

Shows that I watch so I will be able to know what is going on around the "water cooler" at work:

.

 Thoughtless TV:

 Guilty pleasures:

Like I said I LOVE MY DVR!!!

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

A NUMBER ONE BALLOONS! 

I don't know where this fear came from or even why I have it. 

I hATE with every fiber of my body balloons! 

If they are sitting on a table with no one around them then they are just fine. I can tolirate them. 

However, if someone is carrying them, touching them, blowing them up...

oh it is on!  

I get this feeling that I can't breath and then the freaking out starts! The person with the balloon doesn't have to be trying to pop it they just have to be holding/touching it. 

No, it is not the sounds of it popping that scares me it is the physical balloon.

I have even considered seeing a hypnotist to see if they can cure my fear, as of now I have not done anything about it but I hope to soon since Kinley will want balloons I'm sure at some point in her childhood.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

I have been doing these post day by day so needless to say I didn't look ahead to what the topic for today was so I kind of covered this yesterday! Anyone who knows me knows I love pictures and I love my friends so combine the two and it took me a couple of hours to narrow it down to these few pictures!

 

 Krista and I at my wedding.
We met though Alpha Sigma Alpha and were roommates for a year!

 My favorite picture from my wedding of the Bridesmaids

Copperhead Road!

 Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority Sisters!

 My Bachelorette Party in Lawrence...oh what a night!

 Central friends at Emily's wedding

 My favorite picture of my favorite Grad School buddy!

 Communication buddies!

  CadillacRanch!

 Friday lunch friends/Jaycee friends

Alpha Sigma Alpha sister @ my wedding

This is by far my all time favorite picture of any picture I have it describes mine and Chelsea's relationship to the T. 

Love you lil lil!

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

I wish I had something really exciting to write about today on somewhere really exciting I have traveled to but I don't. The only time I have left the United States was on the cruise my husband and I took for our honeymoon that stopped three places in Mexico. With that being said my favorite place that I have traveled to in the U.S. was New York City. Me and three of my sorority sisters (Chelsea, Ashley, Blair) flew to NYC for one for Chelsea's 21st birthday my senior year, their junior year of college. We were in NYC from December 26th though January 1st, yes that means we spend New Year's Eve in NYC! Chelsea had always wanted to be in NYC for her 21st birthday so with a little help from our parents we were able to make it happen. We had a ton of fun celebrating her birthday and New Year's Eve minus them loosing our luggage for the first three days we were there.  Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Chelsea and 

Chelsea having a legal drink @ Hard Rock

The four of us in front of the Christmas Tree

Ground Zero

Central Park

We got hot dogs from a street vendor...
they don't have these things in KS!

Seinfeld!

Sex in the City!

Happy New Year!