Renewing Our Vows

In June, Junior and I will celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. There are days that I can not believe we have been together this long. Then there are days when it feels like we have been married forever.

When we got married, we did the whole court house thing. I never had a real wedding, and sometimes I wish that I did. It is during those moments that I plan what kind of wedding I would have liked, and think that maybe one day I can actually have it. Not with another guy, but with Junior. I think one day I might want to renew our vows. This time around I can send out wedding invitations and hire a DJ and photographer. When I did get married, I didn't let anyone take any pictures, which is kind of sad. I do not have one picture of Junior and I from that day.

I think that maybe our 20th anniversary, in five years, will be the perfect time to renew our vows. I remember when my grandparents did it, and it was a beautiful ceremony. Our wedding invitations will have to say "renewal of vows" instead of wedding. The kids can be a part of it too, as flowers girls or bridesmaids. Ryan would be the best man, I'm sure.

Now I just have to save up enough money to make this happen. I doubt I can hit my dad up twenty years late.

My Birthday Brownies

It seems like I have been posting about my birthday for weeks, but I just have to share one more food picture with you. My mom made these brownies to go along with the crumb cake she made. They had peanut butter in them, as well as two different types of nuts.

I love that my mom made me all the things I love for my birthday. I am one lucky girl.

My Name Is Jennifer, And I Am A Chocoholic

Do any of you watch Disney Channel? If so, you know who I am talking about when I say the name Selena Gomez. She is Brandi's favorite actress/singer these days, and I have to admit that I like her a little bit, too. Tonight while we were watching her show, we saw a commercial she was in, along with other Disney stars. They were asking people to help the people of Haiti, in any way that they can. How awesome is that?

There are so many ways we can donate to the charities that are helping these people, and I have found a pretty sweet one. You see, I am a chocoholic. I admit it freely. I especially love Dark Chocolate. I love it even more when it has nuts in it. So imagine my delight when I found out that between now and Valentine's Day, Intentional Chocolate will donate 100% of their profits to charities helping the people of Haiti.

That's right. I said one hundred percent. So before you head to your local store to buy a box of chocolates, check them out and make your money count.

A Cookie Cell

Kais had to do a project for science class, and she had several options. She could choose between a written report, a power point, or an edible creation. Of course, she chose the edible one. She told me last week that she wanted to make cookies. All she had to do was draw a cell on the top of a sugar cookie with icing. Sounded easy enough.

Until the night before last, when she showed me the picture of the cell she needed to draw. It was insanely intricate, and there was no way she would be able to draw it on one cookie.

So Junior helped her figure out how to make a 3D version using several different sizes and colors of cookies. I have to admit, it came out pretty awesome.

She took it to school today, and came home proud of the 100 she received on it. As usual, I am so proud of her!

Getting Booted While Dropping

I have excellent internet service, most of the time. There have been a few times when I have been doing something semi important (like playing games) and all of a sudden I am booted offline.

I hate that!

Just last week, I was dropping ecards, and all of a sudden, I was booted. Now, for those who drop, you know how frustrating this can be. I had several tabs open, and I was chain dropping. This means that most of the tabs that were open, I got to through someone else's blog. When I got back online, I had to start over again, and click through the same blogs to get to where I was. Not only was this a waste of my time, but it was really annoying. Dropping usually takes me about an hour and a half on a good day. Getting booted and having to get back online takes even more time. It had me wishing that I had satelite high speed internet that was reliable. It's so much easier to drop when I am uninterrupted.

Dropping is also really boring, especially when the blogs you are dropping on haven't updated in a while, and you have nothing new to read. I think there should be a rule or something, that if you don't post at least once a week, you should lose your ecard widget. Maybe that would make dropping a little more interesting.

Aw, Man

I missed the Survivor special that was on tonight. In fact, I didn't even know it was on until I put on CBS after reading with Brandi. I caught the last 30 seconds. I wonder if I can watch it online? I guess I should check the CBS website. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I had a great time tonight at my dad's. We had a delicious supper followed by the elephant cake (there's a picture of it a few posts down, or you can just click here to see it) I wish we could have stayed longer, but it started snowing, and we wanted to get home before it started sticking on the roads. My dad's wife was going to show me her wii fit and biggest loser wii games, because I am still undecided about which I want to get. It's a toss up between those two, or EA Sports active (I think that's the name).

What do you guys recommend?

Here's A Tip For All The Guys Out There

Okay guys. And by guys, I mean all you men out there. Are you looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for that special lady in your life? Why not give her a beautiful magnetic necklace?

Check out the design on the one in the picture. Doesn't it look like little X's and O's? What girl wouldn't love wearing hugs and kisses around her neck? I know I would love it.

You can check out the other Titanium Magnetic Necklaces because you might like a different one better. They all have very strong magnets, so whichever one you choose, you get free shipping, no matter where you live, which is pretty awesome.

I know sometimes it's hard for you men out there to shop for the girls in your lives, so let me make it easier for you with this one little piece of advice:

You can never go wrong with jewelry.

My First Birthday Cake

Every year, my dad's wife makes me an elephant cake for my birthday. This year was no exception. Underneath this cute little guy was devil's food cake, my favorite. It was yummy. Thanks again Elaine!

Pampering Myself A Little

Today is my birthday.

I had a wonderful day full of family and love. My kids made me wonderful cards, and gave me lots of hugs and kisses. I tell you, I love the homemade stuff. I am going to get some pictures of all of it tomorrow. It's kind of late right now, and I just don't have the energy.

Last year on my birthday, my sister came over and put highlights in my hair. I haven't done anything since, so I think it is time to do it again. Only this time, I think I want to pamper myself and have it done at the colony salon. I also want to get a pedicure, which I have never done before. I wonder if I can have both done simultaneously?

That would be awesome.

January Top Droppers

I have got to get better at dropping for this blog. I am grateful that there are people who still drop here, considering I have not dropped back in a long time. I promise once we get settled after the move, I will put more time into this blog.

For now, I want to say a HUGE thank you to those who still come by and drop:

My gypsygoods
Ruth's Creations
My Opinion Counts
The Soap Seduction
Crazy Mom
Alterity Art
My Art and the Mom in Me
Cornella Palsa
Renaescraftycorner
Crafts and cooking

Thanks again to all of you!

I Found The Coolest Yoyo

Ryan and Brandi both have birthdays right before Christmas. Most years, if they get money for their birthdays, we have them put it up until after Christmas, that way they can wait to see what Santa brings before buying anything for themselves.

Christmas has come and gone, and they are both itching to spend their money. Ryan is going to buy a laptop, and Brandi wants a yoyo. Last year there was some guy who came to their school to do magic, and one of the things she liked best were his yoyo tricks. She said that she wanted to learn how to do some tricks herself, but all she had to practice with was an old yoyo from a gum ball machine. As you can imagine, the thing was a piece of garbage, so I promised her I would find her a real yoyo to play with.

Up until last week, I totally forgot. She reminded me of my promise, which led me to an online search, because I just don't know what store around here carries good yoyos. I ended up finding this pretty cool looking red one, and she said she really likes it. It is an intermediate yoyo, so she should be able to learn some pretty neat tricks with it. I will also save some money, because the site I found it on, yoyoshop.co.uk, offers free shipping to everyone.

The only thing holding me back from buying it now is the move. Once I know our new address, I will be placing my order. I can not wait to see if Brandi can figure out how to do all the tricks she wants to.

Riding In Cars With Boys

I keep forgetting how many movies Brittany Murphy is in. I remember watching this movie a long time ago, and when I caught it on one of the premium networks, I sat down and watched again.

And realized that I didn't remember a thing about the movie.

It's about Beverly, Drew Barrymore, a 15 year old girl who ends up pregnant in 1965. She marries her boyfriend (reluctantly) and spends the next ten or so years of her life trying to live the life she thinks she deserves. She is an awful mother, and treats her kid more like an equal, and he ends up taking care of her most of the time. There were seriously times I wanted to reach through the screen and slap the crap out of her.

Her best friend Fay, played by Murphy, finds herself in the same situation, and the girls vow to raise their daughters as best friends, only Bev has a boy. You can use your imagination and figure out how the movie ends.

A chick flick, most definitely, but it will probably be another few years before I sit and watch it again.