My friend, Jessica

Today, I'm linking up with Kelly for Singles Friday.  This is a great blog with a great idea that has actually worked and led to five (count them 5) marriages!  How cool is that?  

In this blog post, I am introducing my friend, Jessica.  Here she is: 

Jessica has been one of my longest-standing friends; we've been friends since high school... for some twelve odd years.  Jessica is 26 and is from Little Rock, Arkansas.  She is a very social person, was in a sorority in college, and loves spending time with her friends.  She is a very loyal friend.   

She is both smart and independent.  She got a biological engineering degree and in college and got a job in that field.  She owns her own house and car and pays all the bills; what I call fiscally responsible.  I am so in awe of her hardworking and independent spirit!  

She is involved in her local church on a regular basis.  She enjoys volunteering and getting to know other people in her church. 

She is very active and keeps herself pretty busy.  She has recently gotten into running and is doing races, like the Color Run.  I can't wait to see pictures from this.  It sounds pretty neat!  

But men, if the way (or one of the ways) to your heart is through your stomach, this girl just might be the key for you!  She enjoys cooking and baking ... and she is great at it!  She is the first one to bring great treats and snacks to get-togethers and they're pretty amazing.  

Finally, I have to mention that, just like me, she is a big Arkansas Razorbacks fan!  Go Hogs! 

Jessica is awesome... and a terrific friend.  I would love to be a part of helping her find that special someone.  If you are interested in meeting Jessica and getting to know her better, or know someone who might be a good match, please leave a comment on this blog post! 

Busy Little Bee!

Lately, though I've taken some stuff off my plate, I feel like I've added even more onto it.  Whether it is forming businesses, drafting wills, teaching a Kaplan LSAT class, or even the mundane things, like cleaning and cooking, I seem to fill a lot of my moments with things to do.  While thinking about my schedule, I came across this article which discusses how many Christians become "too busy for God."  How sad but true does this concept seem to some of you?  It does to me! 

I am so thankful for a church home where I can get  plugged in.  Though these things alone are not enough time for me to spend in the Bible or in prayer, I am thankful for the women's and couple's bible studies I'm in that just started.  I am hopeful that they challenge me to be in God's Word on a daily basis, not to make it just one more thing to check off my to-do list, but to really grow deeper in my knowledge of and passion for the Lord.      

I find the Cross Church Fayetteville Sunday services themselves to also be wonderful.  It was refreshing and very necessary to refocus my thoughts today after a pretty awful and (I'm embarrassed to say) somewhat emotionally draining college game day.  You Arkansas Razorback fans know where I'm coming from!  Although yesterday seemed pretty humbling in the football realm, our pastor, Nick Floyd, reminded us that being humble does not mean thinking less of yourself... it means thinking of yourself less.  Wow, what a lesson I needed to hear!    

I'm sorry about the rambling nature of this post.  These are just thoughts I've wanted to share lately and see if I'm alone in.  This is a verse I need to live by: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."  Colossians 3:2 (NIV)     

My BIG Boy and my own craftinessless!

Graham turned 10 months old about a week ago... wow, unbelievable!  I'm already thinking about his 1st birthday party.  We had his follow up doctor appointment and he went from 14 lbs. 15 oz. and 27.5 in. last month to 16 lbs. 8 oz. and 29 in.!  We are so happy and excited that he is back on track... Well, he is on his own 3rd-ish percentile track on the normal charts.  However, we did find out that he is firmly on the breastfed babies chart, so that's great news.  That's the chart we'll be using for next month's weight check too.  Here's an updated picture of my big boy: 

He has two bottom teeth now and is still crawling and pulling up everywhere he can.  Every once in a while, he'll let go for a couple of seconds and stand on his own but that's as close as he's gotten to standing on his own/walking so far.  He is quite the talker!  He babbles all the time ... bamawagatada... lots of letters/sounds!  It seems like he's saying new ones everyday.     
Due to Graham's growth, it looks like we'll have to start looking for a convertible seat for the car, because he will soon be too long for his infant car seat.  Any suggestions, my mom friends?  

On another note, I've decided to try to make all my Christmas gifts this year.  We'll see how this goes considering I'm not very crafty but I will keep you updated.  Unfortunately I probably won't post pictures or anything until after Christmas because I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise!  

In getting ready for being crafty, I decided to "make" my niece's 7th birthday present.  It's ... money!! (that's presented in a cute and unique way).  I emptied a tissue box and put $1 bills in it.  I taped each bill end to end, so she could just pull the dollars out one after another.  The more bills, the more surprise and excitement from the birthday girl.  I attached a bow and a little note that read 'Happy birthday!  Don't "blow" it all in one place!' FYI, this gift was a hit!  

   

Growing (sort of)

Wow, it's been a while since I've written a blog post, but I've been waiting for something to write about.  Still don't have too much... but I will give a brief update. 

I am still making progress on the weight loss goal.  I am finally within 10 lbs. of my ultimate weight loss goal and within 1.5 lbs. of my pre-pregnancy weight!  Slowly but surely... 

On another note, Graham is now 9 months old.  I cannot believe it!  I don't know if this is a "mom thing," but part of me feels like this time has just flown while another part of me feels like Graham has been with us forever.  He is crawling very quickly and pulling up and standing on everything.  He waves and claps now, though not always on demand.  He has 1 bottom tooth and 1 bottom tooth breaking through the surface.  It's pretty darn cute if you ask me.  

He babbles all the time, but lately I've really wondered if he's said his first words.  He has waved and said "ba ba" at the same time (like "bye bye"); and he has stared straight at me and said "ma" when he wanted to get picked up.  But it really isn't too easy to tell babbling from talking, so I'm not writing the milestone down in his baby book until we are certain (want to get the thumbs up from Dustin).    

Graham had his 9-month appointment recently and, for the first time, did not gain as much weight as the doctor would like.  This isn't good, especially since he's always been on the skinny side to begin with.  I was really surprised, because he has never shown signs of hunger and has been eating just as well lately as he always has.  So for this month I am taking fenugreek and mother's milk tea to boost my milk supply, because we deduced that that's the likely culprit.  We come back in a month to see if he has gained more weight, so please pray that this works!       

Pampered Chef

I am not a Pampered Chef sales-person or representative in any way.  But my friend, Sarah, is having a giveaway on her blog for a $30 Pampered Chef gift card and I hope I win it!  I currently only have 1 Pampered Chef item in my kitchen utensils.  It is a whisk and was a wedding gift from a dear friend of mine.  I must say it is the best quality kitchen utensil I own!  Not only that, it even looks sleek and stylish (If you know me, you know I probably wouldn't have picked that out for myself but I love it).  It looks similar to this:

If you know me, you also know that I love cooking.  I like baking as well, though I do less of it and probably am less confident with my baking skills.  If any of you follow my blog and are into cooking or baking like me, you should definitely go to Sarah's blog and enter her contest too (though you don't have to, because then I might have a better chance of winning it myself).   

Weight Loss... argh!

It's been a while since my last blog post.  I've got to get back on top of this!  As a short update to my weight loss goals, I have come to somewhat of a standstill in the progress.  You all may or may not be able to relate,  but it seems so easy to either eat well or work out on a consistent basis, but doing both of those together is where my real struggle lies.  This past month, I've been eating pretty well but haven't been working out consistently.  I really wish I had a workout buddy... someone who could come with me to classes (I think I'd be kept accountable that way).   

That's my goal for this next month.  Eating well AND working out consistently (at least 4-5 times a week).  Once I get back on track, I think the weight will continue to fall off. 

Weight Loss Update: The Progress Continues

It's been 3 months since my original post about my weight loss goals for this year, so I wanted to post another update! As time goes by, my will power has waned some and I have not been quite as strict as I was when I first started this journey. I have, however, still made some progress. This month, I lost another 4.2 lbs., for a total of 18.7 lbs. since the beginning of the year.

I still have 4.8 lbs. to lose until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight and 11.8 lbs. until I hit my ultimate goal. I hope to get to my pre-pregnancy weight by my next post (5/5/12). I need to have more will power to reach this goal (esp. with the yummy Easter treats I'll be surrounded with soon), so wish me luck!