Countdown?

So...I'm leaving on vacation in 13 days. 2 days in Disneyland, and a week in South Lake Tahoe. And I'm NOT bringing my DSLR...which feels foreign to me.
I've also been working out doing 30 day squat and ab challenges along with calorie counting using the My Fitness Pal app. Any changes? Only those visible to me.
We've been putting cash aside since January in a mason jar labeled "The Tahoe Jar" which will make things easier on the bank account.
I still need to buy a tankini top, two pairs of pants, a couple shirts. Yes, need. I noticed all of my tee shirts are ones I bought at least 2 years ago. A couple had the tiny holes that are created from the top of your jeans. (I know you know what I'm talking about.) I also need good shoes that will sustain my feet for two full, open-close, both Disneyland and California Adventure...that don't look like they serve an orthopedic function.
Oh yes, also I need to finish two weeks worth of work before I leave. Most of which I won't be able to start until the 3rd.

People can totally lose 5 pounds in 13 days, right? Mainly in their mid-section... It can be done, tell me it can be done!!!

Anyway the real reason behind my rant is I need a cute non-depressing tankini top that is not black, white or yellow. It needs to ship immediately and be at my house before June 5th. I looked at Bev Swimwear and almost pressed purchase before I saw that they take 3-4 weeks.

The kicker? It needs to be under $50. So anyone with any ideas please comment, message me jessajill@gmail.com, leave a comment on my instagram - @jessajill. Seriously... I need help.

Apparently I'm late to the party - Divergent Series

I was told to read a book months ago by my Mom.  She's an avid reader (like 6 books a week) but I just didn't find the time until about a week ago.  

She told me that since I liked the Hunger Games, I should like this movie.  (Who didn't like the hunger games?!) But when you compare a book to one of those BIG books then I'm always a little wary.  "Oh you'll love this book, it's like Twilight, except..."  Alright, look - it'll never be like Twilight.  It'll never be just like Harry Potter and it'll never be just like the Hunger Games, ok?  So don't compare them - they're not the same as any other books and they're near and dear to my heart for very different reasons.

But the "Divergent Series" by Veronica Roth...is different.

Again we have a dystopian futuristic society thing going on, but its different enough than the Hunger Games that you keep reading.  And then you find that they're pretty well written, that you find yourself pulling for the characters and then you find that all of your spare time is spent with your nook because DUDE you can't put it down now - it just got crazy again!!!

The second book is harder to put down than the first, in that more is starting to happen, relationships are deepening, you're finding out more, there is more action.

I finished the book tonight and I just kept thinking, "I hope they make it into a movie, because I would totally see it."  And when I googled when they're releasing the third book I found out - they're making a movie!

They're still casting but the big names attached are Aaron Eckert and Kate Winslet.  For the main characters, Tris and Four (nicknames...it's not a silly book -  I promise!):

Shailene Woodley will be playing the main character: Tris (Beatrice)

Theo James will be playing another big character: Four (Tobias)

I guess it's still uncertain who Aaron Eckert and Kate Winslet will be playing right now, but it should tell you that if big names are attaching themselves to the movie - the books are worth reading.

So I'm telling you, as a person who is wary of all book reviews - if you liked Hunger Games, you'll probably enjoy these books.  Let me be clear: these are not JUST LIKE Hunger Games, these are similar in that it's a broken society in the future, and the main character is a fighter, but that's where the similarities end.

So if you haven't already read them (which I'm sure most of you have) you need to.

I'm already impatient for October when the third book will be released.

Hey - she crafted! Spring Yarn Wreath

I don't know what it was, but I actually decided to do something crafty.  It's the first time in about six months that I've felt the urge to do anything creative.  It must have been the weather.  I decided to make a very springy wreath so I went to Pinterest and found a few tutorials, went to Hobby Lobby and got to work:

What I bought:

Felt in colors of my choosing

Yarn in colors of my choosing

A styrofoam wreath in a size of my choosing

And some ribbon that would match it all.

I already had the glue gun and glue sticks - note: you'll need a lot of glue sticks.

As you can see - I went for the 4-for-a-dollar felt - it's much cheaper this way, especially if you're just making a few felt flowers.  

The nice thing about yarn wreaths is that they're pretty simple.  The idea is to secure a piece of yarn to the back and just start wrapping, over, and over, and over again.  I did two colors but doing just one would be just as simple as well.

Another thing to note: if you're a perfectionist, this may not be the craft for you.  When you're working with a circular surface, there's no way the yarn will lay flat all the way around...it's just not going to happen.

Once you're all wrapped up, it's time to start on the flowers:

Now, I used your run of the mill twisted felt flower that you can find no less than 1200 tutorials on, so I won't bore you with mine, other than to tell you that I did the scallop cut kind as you can see above.

I made some of all sizes and used my green to cut out simple leaf shapes.  I could have gone into more detail on the leaves, I'm sure, but at this point I didn't care.  Also you've got to stop the madness somewhere, folks.

After that I attached the ribbon and decided to hang it in my window:

And done!

This is the easiest of all the crafts I've decided to take on, but not the shortest, the yarn wrapping is a little mind numbing, so maybe pop in a movie and get comfortable - but after that you'll have a fun little wreath - easy to put just about anywhere!

Mean Girls...they're the worst.

Well hello again.

It's been...a while.  I've decided to try not to take this blogging thing so seriously.  There comes a time in every girl's life when she's got to set her priorities...and well...I can either blog about getting fit for the next vacation in June or I can strap in, shut up, and do it.

Also - when said girl often bites off more than she can chew by noticing she can make custom signs to go along with posts and mess around with those for an hour, blog for an hour an then make more custom fun signs for multiple hours...her night is shot.

So I'm stepping back and blogging when I feel I must blog.

Don't worry, there are more to come.  If you follow me on Instagram you know I have at least one pantry door project to finish and share with you.

But today I want to blog about a topic completely unrelated to crafts, home decor, fashion, or beauty. 

I wanna talk about:

I've been thinking about this problem for a couple months now.  You see, my 11 year old niece recently had a run in with them and I've been trying to come up with what you say to a hurt little girl that will actually help.

I've got nothing.

My first reaction was that of my husband's when I told him that his niece was in tears because of mean girls.  Which was to curse those little b****es!

My next reaction was to make a special road trip so I could personally throw an elementary school sized smack down on those little hussies.  

But then cooler heads prevailed and when you've had your fair share with mean girls, you know this will only make the problem worse.  Also...you don't want to be that Aunt who is asked not to "help."  "Aunt Jessa said they'll all end up working a stipper pole anyway..."  I don't think her Mom would appreciate that sentiment. 

First off I need to tell you, my niece...is adorable.  And I'm not just being biased.  She's just cute, she's a pretty girl who is extremely smart for her age.  She excels in basketball, she has a sweet, gentle personality and is an old soul.  If you met her, after ten minutes even you would say, "Who would talk smack on this girl?!"  

But if you know mean girls, like I know mean girls, it doesn't matter.  Sometimes if you have your stuff together that could even make you target.  Because in my experience mean girls are a product of one ore more of the following:

1.  A rough home life.  

2.  Low self esteem.

3.  The product of mean girls who grew up to be mean women, who in turn, raise mean girls.

I could tell my niece, "You know, they're probably just saying those things because they feel bad about themselves and they need to bring people down to their level in order to feel better about their situation."  And I could be right on the money.  But that doesn't make an 11 year old feel better.  It doesn't help her situation.  It doesn't make it stop.  Insight doesn't resolve this particular problem.  

I could tell her "Sometimes you have to learn which friends are your true friends and which friends you need to distance yourself from.  You still need to be civil and respectful of them, but you probably shouldn't hang out with them anymore."  That doesn't help an 11 year old either...especially if the mean girls in question are the "Queen Bees."  In a small classroom of 20-30 students, assuming half of them are girls, you don't have a lot of options when it comes to true friends.  Often people choose the path of least resistance...which in this case is usually just to follow the Queen Bee, because she is mean to those who don't.  So where are your real friends then?

I could tell her of my experiences with the mean girls I went to school with, let her know that it gets better after high school and that those mean girls usually just peak in high school anyway.  Then go on to be divorced twice by the age of 23 or work at the local strip club.

But that's not helpful because sometimes mean girls continue on and become mean women.  They rule their lives and control their surroundings by their ability to threaten and talk down to others.  These women are usually the ones who breed more mean girls.  And the kicker is sometimes these women go on to lead successful lives.  Which is the epitome of unfair...but then again...that's life.  

There's nothing!  And I just keep thinking about these girls...how do you stop this behavior?  You can make every effort not to raise one, to set examples, to turn the other proverbial cheek.  But you can't really protect from the example of other people and their choices on parenting, and other people's home lives, because you never really know what struggles other people are going through, do you?  

The best I've got is to give her a hug, tell her I'm sorry and that she shouldn't believe a word those girls say, because it isn't true.  She's a wonderful person and sometimes people say mean things...and she should do her best to forget it and try to be the bigger person, no matter how hard it may be.

Which, to an 11 year old, might make her feel better for a moment but she still has to deal with these girls daily.  And will for the next 7 years.  And yes, it is character-building and a rite of passage to deal with a-holes of all shapes and sizes, that's just the human condition.  But to what extent? 

I have no solutions here.  I have no answers.  I'm not saying I'm perfect and didn't learn my own lesson on talking behind your friends' back at a young age.  Cause I did.  

I'm just saying I wish I had something I could tell my 11 year old niece that will make it all better.  And I know there's nothing...and it sucks.

I'll end the tangent there, but I'd be happy to hear anyone else's solutions because it's awful to see people you love in tears.

New Year...no real resolutions

Well...aside from flossing more.  Everybody needs to floss more.  But other than that I'm not really tying myself to any "New Year Resolutions."

Why?  Because the goals I have are the same ones I've always had - lose more weight and everything is always a goal, regardless of the date.  I'm always trying to be kinder to people and remember that we all have our mind-numbing stupid moments from time to time.  I'm always trying not to yell at moron drivers from the confines of my car.  I'm constantly trying to keep my place a cleaner, more welcoming space.  (Doing pretty good on that one, I've kept my place clean since December 27th.  That would be more impressive if I had kids, I know, but I'm pretty proud.)

Either way I'm not doing resolutions.  I'm just sitting here waiting for my favorite shows to come off of winter break.  What is that, by the way?  Winter break?  Seriously?  All of the episodes are previously shot anyway, so what's the big deal?  I need more New Girl & Once Upon a Time!!  That's it, really.  I don't have any other shows that I'm angry about.  I'll catch up on Grey's Anatomy more but that show is constantly killing people off so I stopped trying to care about the characters.  Who's next?  McDreamy?  No, I'm not going to play their games anymore.

But I will tell you what my next project is:

Finishing my mirror.  Because it's been put on the back burner for about 6 months now.  It needs to get finished.  I might have to wait a little longer because the only place I can spray paint is out on my terrace...and the high has been a balmy 17 degrees lately.  But I will get it done!!  I am also going to get beautiful large throws for my bedroom.  I got the idea from Z Gallerie - there were these beautiful 24" patterned pillows that would compliment my bedding and add dimension to my bed, but at $70 each, I laughed and walked out angry.  Guys...I'm just...so cheap.  I wouldn't, ever, even if I had that kind of cash.  Why?  Because in my heart, deep, deep, down, I know I can find a better deal.  I can feel it.

Like this:

20" Pillow Covers

The Pillow People

Found on Etsy.  Price for two: $36.00

Now while this seems kind of steep for a girl like me, I've actually done the foot work and I can tell you - this is as good as it gets.  All I've got to do is find the pillows, which I believe can be done for a fair price at Ikea.  I think I would go with the geometric pattern - mostly because I need to shake things up.

Then if I stop over at Rugs USA, I can find rugs for 65% off right now...yes, that is correct - SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF.

This off center chevron master piece originally starts between $223 - $1144 but it's SIXTY FIVE PERCENT OFF.  So this bad boy would start at $144.00.  Which for a good, cute rug like this - is amazing.  It's not in the budget right now, but...isn't it pretty?

And then there's these I just bought:

Two 18x18" Pillow Covers from 

The Pillow Fight

Two pillow covers for $30.00

Not bad.  And with the pillow inserts at $5.99 a piece at Sears.com - that might be the way to go.

Over the Christmas holiday I was introduced to a really fun Wii game, called Just Dance.  I had heard a little bit about it but I was mostly aware of the Xbox Kinect versions, and what Wii game could be fun dancing to if you have to hold the remote?  Well...it turns out Just Dance is a BLAST!  After we got back into town, I first rented it from Redbox to make sure it was something I would actually use regularly or if it was fun, just that once.

I played for 3 hours.

So I purchased Just Dance 4 with some Christmas money:

I've had it for about about 4 days and I've scored 5 stars on most of the songs.  The exercise/ aerobics side is a blast too.  And the kicker is - I'm sore!  It's awesome!

So today I used the rest of my gift cards and bought this:

Which was $21.00 instead of the normal $40.00.  Then using the remainder of my gift cards it cost me a whopping $1.82.  Am I bragging?  You bet I am.  I should have this next week.  And the fun part?  My husband plays this version too, because it has old school hits from the early nineties.  But you didn't hear that from me.  (I may have video.)

Welp, that's all that's new with me.  The hubs and I are tentatively planning an anniversary trip to Jackson Hole soon, because the trip just wasn't do-able around the actual Anniversary last month.  (4 years and no blood drawn purposefully yet!)  So hopefully that will happen within the next couple of months.  Staring down a full work week after all of those days off will be murder.  Pure murder.  

I'm off to play a Wii game guys...how pathetic is that?  Here's to a sore hiney tomorrow!

Wish List 2012

Well, not really a wish list, but more like things I'm LOVING right now that are available to buy.  I have my non-monetary wish list going like "magically lose 10 pounds" and "magically cure cancer" and "magically have $20,000 show up in my bank account," but these things are actually available for purchase.

We'll start off with fun vinyl:

Kitchen Aid Vinyl Decals available for purchase at The House of Smiths for only $12.00.  My mixer is gray so I believe I would love the teal scallops.  Why does little stuff like this make me happy?  I don't know - it just does.  Of course The House of Smith's is chuck-full of cute vinyl lettering for all sorts of projects.  It's vinyl heaven over there.

These Pajama Pants from Aerie.  They're about $25.00 and they're on my list for my husband.  They're adorable, that's why.  I'm more of an "old yoga pants and old t-shirt" kind of girl for pajamas, but these - I love.

Ralph Lauren Big Pony 2

I have been out of perfume for about 2 years.  Why?  Because the two perfumes I loved have been discontinued.  Both are available on Ebay, but of course at escalated prices and because I can't justify it, I'll just have to deal with it, won't I?  But this smells wonderful.

This beautiful dresser from ZGallerie.  It's $999.00.  I didn't say this was a realistic wish list!  Our bedroom dresser is falling apart.  It's from Ikea.  I think that should explain the falling apart.  My husband had it for about a year before we got married.  The drawers are broken, the edges are scuffed from moving it twice - it's seen it's last days.  My husband and I disagree on furniture.  I like the black and white, and he wants rich mahogany colors.  We'll see when it's finally that time to replace.  But this is GORGEOUS!

iPad Mini

Yes I realize you just said, "Duh," that is unless you already have one.  Why the mini?  Less cumbersome.  Really,  I'd rather just win one, but the likelihood of that happening is pretty low.  But I can always dream, right?  At my husband's job, he wins a few of them a year through different venues but he can't keep them, he has to send them to corporate.  Not cool.

Nike Free 4.0 Running Shoes

Mine are just about done and it's that time to replace them.  As much as I love receiving presents like stuff for the house, things to cook and clean with and work out stuff as gifts, I really need them.  And I currently have Free's now and I like them so we'll keep the style going.

Fossil Wallet

My current wallet was $12.00 from Target. The one before it was $20.00 and I had it for about 3 years - and when you know the kind of beating it takes from all the accessories in my purse, you know that's a long time for a wallet.  This of course, is another unrealistic want, but I think it's cute.

The Colette Bed from Crate & Barrel

With a price tag that makes me say, "Hah!  You're joking, right?" clearly, this is an unrealistic want...but isn't it so pretty?!  And look - it's not an Ikea bed which sits so close to the floor, you might as well just set the box spring on the ground and do without the bed frame.  (My husband bought it while we were just dating.  If I had said, "I'm not a fan" at the time, I would have sounded like a psycho adding myself to his life like that.  We were engaged about a month later and I still sleep in a dude bed.)

Well that's all for right this minute.

In an unrelated note:  This is the view from my back door

And it's still coming...

While this is not fun to drive in, it's finally looking like Christmas around here!

Christmas Decor 2012

Yep, I blogged!

First off, I'll just go ahead and tell ya, these past couple months it's been my last priority.  My Mom has been diagnosed with cancer.  I really don't want to share personal stuff like this on a silly little blog like this but when you know that my father had a brain aneurysm 6 and a half years ago and now lives in a nursing home with no real memory of the last 30 years except that he recognizes and loves most of his family - the fact that my healthy parent has cancer just really put a damper on things.  Blogging really doesn't seem that important.  And whenever I get on the computer I end up googling "Non Hodgkins Lymphoma" and I scare myself.  The good/ scary news is that my Mom could potentially live over 20 years with this disease, but is it unfair that I wanted more?  She's only 55.  So now you know, it's not laziness (alright, maybe a little), I just avoid the computer all together.

Well, with that aside - let's talk about lighter things!  Like the Christmas season is here!  Which means decorating my tree!

It went up on Black Friday.  I enjoy Black Friday, not just because of the crazy shopping/ crazy people, but it's the day I get to turn on Christmas music, watch a Christmas movie while I crack out all of my Christmas decor!  Hooray!

My sparkly, glittery tree topper!  The tree has a lot of glitter this year.  Glittery curly twigs, glittery ornaments, glittery snowflakes, glittery gold icicles, and glittery ribbon.  It's just a whole lot of awesome.

It's jam packed, but there is a small part of me that wonders what else I could fit on there.  Luckily my husband reels me in.

The mantle hasn't changed much from last year aside from the ornaments in my fun glass vase. I normally would have added at least 2 more crafts to this but I just haven't found the time this year.

Overall this is the same too except I purchased some extra glittery ornaments for my chandelier.  I like the look better and it left me with more ornaments for decor like the bowl and vase.

That's about it with my little house, it's not much but it makes the place a lot more warm and inviting.

Coming next: my wish list!