Opinions, Please

Tonight I will be watching a girl movie and I am deciding between two films :)

Please share your thoughts and opinions on these:

Which should I watch?

Your opinions are highly valued and greatly appreciated :)

Meme

When you can't think of anything to write about, just copy someone else's blog. And in this case, I'm copying Lindsee who posted this cute ABC meme. What is a meme, you ask? Well, I copied this definition from the world wide web:

Meme: In science, a Meme (pronounced to rhyme with “theme”) is a self-propagating unit of thought that is spread from one host to another. Richard Dawkins invented the term as a kind of idea-gene. Like genes, as Memes spread they mutate or die. Only the fittest Memes survive.

For bloggers Memes have become synonymous with internet quizzes, surveys, and novelties that people link to and pass around on their blogs, forums and via email, things like the “which superhero are you most like” test…

Now that you've been educated on what meme's are all about, I shall proceed:

A. Age: 27

B. Bed size: King. Grant and I inherited a king size bed when we got married and while we are ridiculously too small for it, (we are both very slight in stature) we now can't sleep in anything else. Mostly because I am what you call a ROLLER. I'm all over the place :)

C. Chore that you hate: Carrying groceries from the car to my house. I think I hate this less when it is less than 100 degrees outside, but still. Sometimes I consider telling the bag boy at the grocery store that I'll pay him $50 to follow me home and carry my groceries into my house.

D. Dogs: Just 1 dog. My little Moxie boy. He's quirky and I love that.

E. Essential start to your day: C.O.F.F.E.E.

F. Favorite color: GOLD! Isn't that weird? But I love gold.

G. Gold or Silver: See F.

H. Height: 5'2. I'm very wee.

I. Instruments you play: Piano. French Horn (seriously, but it's been awhile) and one Sunday a few years ago a choir director made me play the harp. I told him that I didn't know how to play the harp. He said that the harpist was sick and that if you know how to play the piano you can play the harp. Turns out he was right... but it hurt my fingers. :(

J. Job title: Social Media Manager.

K. Kids: No babies yet!

L. Live: Texas- Oh hail the mighty state! I love Texas and I love Houston. That is all.

M. Mother’s name: Cheryl Kay. She's pretty much awesome..

N. Nicknames: Jen. Jenny. JD.  Jiffer. Jiffer Markin. Neefer. Neef. Jennifer Juniper. Drojen. JenJen. Big Red. JeenyMartini. Martini. MiniMart. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.

O. Overnight hospital stays: I got my tonsils out when I was 7 and something happened 2 weeks post surgery where I started bleeding and stayed in the hospital two nights. Lindsee came to visit me and was silent and wouldn't talk to me cause she was freaked out. Hid behind her mom. Hilarious.

P. Pet peeves: When people sing along to a song they don't know the words to.

Q. Quote from a movie: “Oh, lavender, you get on my head."

R. Right or left handed: Right handed, what what!!

S. Siblings: Two older sisters. And they have some husbands. And Grant has a brother and he has a darling wife That makes 2 sisters, 1 sister in law and 3 brother in laws. :)

U. Ultimate Vacation: I WANT TO GO TO EUROPE FOR A MONTH.

V. Vegetable you hate: Green beans. GAG.

W. What makes you run late: Oversleeping. Jen loves to sleep.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Feet. I get lots of hairline fractures from running into things. 

Y. Yummy food that you make: Mashed potatoes :) And some awesome desserts.

Z. Zoo animal: Panda Bears are adorable.

Feel free to steal this meme!

It's Hard to Blog After a Vacation

We just got back from vacation last night. I always find it really difficult to write a coherent blog post after I return from a trip. Therefore, I am just going to do this blog as if I'm filling out a form, because that is the level of creative writing that I am currently capable of producing.

Where did you go? I went to Orange Beach, Alabama.

Why would you go to Alabama? There are actually really pretty beaches there as you get close to Florida.

How did you get there? Grant and I drove there. Yep, it was about 9 hours. We rented a car to save money on gas and to avoid putting all those miles on one of our vehicles. We ended up with a bright red Jeep Patriot. We drove halfway there Wednesday night, slept in a hotel from 1:15am-7:00am and then woke up and drove the rest of the way.We got there by 10:30am Thursday!

Who else was on this trip with you? My husband Grant, his awesome parents, his brother Chase and his  wife Ronda (Ronda is the one who had the idea to introduce me and my Grant... we're forever thankful for her!), their 3 children (Evan age 2, Emmy age 2, Olivia age 1), cousin Wendy and her husband Cosmo, and their 2 children (Isabella 10, Sofia 4). That makes 13 adults and 5 kids. 

Where did you stay? We stayed in a gorgeous condo right on the beach. We all chipped in to a great condo with a kitchen, living room, 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. There was a jacuzzi on our balcony. For reals. 

What did you do while you were there? I napped everyday. I hugged and loved on sweet kiddos. We watched a lot of football. We went to the beach and to the pool. We went to the outlet malls. We ATE MORE FOOD THAN ANY HUMAN SHOULD EVER EAT.

Did you take any pictures? Um, that's a negative.

What?! I'm sorry?! You didn't take any pictures? Um, no.

Why the heck not? Well, all I brought was the camera on my phone. And I brought that to the beach one day and took a few pictures and they all turned out bad cause the sun was so bright and then I realized that I didn't want to spend my vacation taking pictures. And also I want the children to love their Aunt Jenny and not be annoyed by her constant picture taking. And the kids are hard to take pictures of because they are running away at all times.  Also, I don't love photos of me in swim suits. Also, I don't love photos of me in swimsuits when I'm mega pale, which is all the time. 

Did you have fun? Yessss! I had so much fun and it was hard to come home.

What are you doing right now? I made tacos for dinner and I'm waiting for Grant to get home from work. I'm trying hard not to eat anything before he gets home. I'm watching Dancing With the Stars because I only watch the most sophisticated of television shows. 

So you really didn't take any pictures? Move the heck on. 

Would you like to say anything else about your trip? I love to eat off of the kids' plates. Their food is awesome. (Macaroni and cheese)

Are you gonna end this blog now? Pretty much. 

So, How's Work?

So, it's been over 3 months since I started my own business.  3 months since I up and quit my long-term, steady job to take a risk on something that was just that: RISKY.

I get asked a lot how things are going, (great!) if I'm liking what I'm doing (absolutely!), and if I regret leaving the law firm (absolutely NOT). Does it have its stressors? Yes. But is it rewarding? Abundantly.

There are things that I wasn't prepared for, like having to mess with quarterly taxes and the logistical issues of setting up a bank account, a PO Box, establishing an entity with the Secretary of State, and the large amount of pressure (self-inflicted, of course) of financial goals and trying to achieve them.

There are things that I am loving, like setting my own hours, doing something that I love, helping people, businesses, companies, and organizations get the word out about what they're doing, getting emails from clients telling me that they are seeing a difference since I've started to work for them, overcoming obstacles, conquering challenges head on, and, of course, lunch dates with friends that can last more than an hour!

The freedom that I am feeling, the amount that I am accomplishing, the fulfillment that I feel after a hard days work, and the joy of knowing that my husband and my home are taken care of is indescribable. I know it seems small, but the stress of balancing work and home life was not good for me before. I got home from work and was either tired or frustrated and laundry would go weeks without being touched. Literally. WEEKS. But I now have the ability to do chores in the morning and still start my workday by 8:30 or 9am. And, let's face it, last week I wasn't feeling too good so I worked from 8-10am in the comfort of my own bed. (Totally honest here, in 3 months that was the first time I worked from bed!)

I just feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel better, I've lost weight, I don't break out as much and I'm not frazzled like I used to be. So many people have told me that I am a different person since I left the law firm. Calmer. Less panicked. I think my husband would agree... I am much more pleasant to come home to!

I do miss my friends at the firm. Believe it or not, we did have some fun there and I miss the jokes and the comradery that I had with the girls there. Sometimes the house gets really quiet and I can't wait for Grant to come home.

I've been pleasantly surprised that I don't find it hard to stay disciplined. I was worried that I wouldn't have as great of a work ethic without supervisors breathing down my neck each day, but to be honest, I feel like I get MORE work done now that I'm working for myself! I rarely leave my office during my workday and I sometimes have a hard time turning work off after Grant gets home.

My client list continues to grow (I think I have 7 now?) and I have two promising meetings next week. I'm blessed for sure.

The moral of this story is this: Work is good. I am beyond blessed and beyond thankful that the Lord provided this opportunity and that I have a husband who supported me as I chose to take a big risk.

I've never been much of an "entrepreneur" and never would've thought that I'd start my own business. It's working though, and I am so, so grateful!