Jamaica...Day 3

I suppose I need to get back to blogging about my vacation now that the holiday craziness is over. Here's a beautiful picture of the amazing country:

Our third night was one of Jimmy's favorite nights. The resort threw a party on the beach that included lots of grub, desserts, and a guy who did crazy fire tricks!

Here's an example of some of the food...I put this one in because it made me think of the Razorbacks! WOO PIG SOOIE!

We spent a couple of hours dancing and hanging out on the beach! Livin' the sweet life :)

Jamaica...Day 2

Each morning in Ocho Rios began with this amazing view:

All of that while munching on this amazing breakfast (this is just a small part of the buffet):

We got to enjoy that for 7 days in a row! Wow! That gave me a lot of motivation to get up every morning :) After breakfast we explored the resort so that the stupid map they gave us made a little more sense. We mostly spent the day at the beach and pool...sippin' on our favorite cocktails and soakin' up some sun.

That night, we made reservations at the Japenese Hibachi Grill. Our chef was quite the entertainer and sang to us the whole time. Jimmy and I got crazy and joined in on the fun. Jimmy used his chopsticks as drum sticks and we ended up singing "Rocky Top" because there were 4 UT people at the table :) Good times. Oddly enough, we went to our room after dinner to watch "Once Upon a Time" before we went out for the night (we are obsessed with that show!).

Just when I thought the night life couldn't get better than the Steel Drum Band the night before, I ended up having just as much fun with this night's late entertainment. One of the bars had Karaoke hour followed by club style dancing! Lisa+2 apple martinis+1 cosmopolitan+Jimmy=crazy time! The Jamaican people are so awesome! This is us after dancing that night:

Jamaica...Day 1

I was trying to think of a way to tell everyone about our vaction without overwhelming them with a HUGE blog. Everyday was so unique and fun in it's own way so I decided to just write separate blogs for each day as I feel lead :)

The flights were ok (although we left for the airport at 430 a.m.!!!) but, when we got to Montego Bay, we had a long bus ride to the resort (in Ocho Rios). I had such a headache from flying that it made the ride HORRIBLE! When we got to the resort, it took forever to check in and get to our room but I managed to find time for a quick pose:

We had no idea how to get around the resort (which was actually two separate resorts) and all they gave us was a map the size of a postcard. Needless to say, Jimmy and I had some arguments over where we were going which put us both in a bad mood...How can you be in a bad mood in Jamaica?!

Later that night, it was all made better by the Steel Drum Band. They were so amazing! (I've tried to upload a video of them on this blog several times but it's not working...I posted it to my facebook if you're interested)

Staying Positive...Not Easy

I have had the most crappy weekend of all time. I had grand plans of being productive...getting things ready for our vacation, cleaning the house, making cookies, finishing Christmas shopping, etc. but God had another plan...and I haven't quite figured out why this was His plan.

First, I got sick. I NEVER get sick. I'm not even sure what I had. Thought it might have been food poisoning but now I'm beginning to think it was some sort of flu. I spent my entire Saturday on the couch in pain...Jimmy took good care of me :)

The next day, I felt so much better. I could actually walk around without pain. I took a small trip to Target to get some things and, on my way home, my car stops functioning. Not quite sure what it is but the gear shift wasn't working...my car wouldn't shift....had to call AAA (they are amazing, by the way) and get my car towed to Tuffy. Now Jimmy and I have to coordinate getting both of us to work with one vehicle. We've done it before, we know it sucks but we'll just deal with it appropriately.

I'm doing a decent job at staying positive (even though it sounds like I'm complaining a lot)...I just wish things weren't this way :( I'll just keep looking forward to that vacation we have in two weeks!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Although I LOVE the summer (warm weather...being outdoors), this time of year is beginning to grow on me! Cute clothes, temperatures aren't too hot or too cold, warm drinks are appropriate :) (I'm not a fan of it getting dark so early but that's a minor detail I can look over)...Most of all, during this season, I love the three F's:

FOOD, FAMILY, and FOOTBALL!!!

This past weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jimmy's dad and family...and now I get to look forward to another Thanksgiving with his mom's family next week! This is the first year in a long time that I'll get to see my family at Christmas! I am INSANELY excited about it and can't wait to spend time with them :) Christmas is my mom's favorite holiday so it's always awesome to be with her during that time.

What's left? Oh yeah...football :) I love my Razorbacks and they are having one of their best years! #6 in the BCS right now and they have a good chance to make bigger and better things happen...WOO PIG SOOIE!!!

Morning Exercise

I've always heard that it is better to exercise in the morning but never really knew the reasons why. If you know me, you know I'm NOT a morning person AT ALL! Three weeks ago, Jimmy and I decided that we would start waking up at 5:15 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings to workout. I am proud to say that we are still going strong! It's been the most amazing feeling but it has been a huge challenge for me. I thought I would share some reasons morning exercise is a good thing (according to Yahoo):

1. Morning Exercisers Stick With It- If I had a crazy day at work and felt tired, that was my excuse for not working out...now that I do it in the morning, I don't have to feel guilty for skipping at night!
2. Morning Exercisers Have More Energy- I think this is absolutely true...I feel so much better when I get home from the gym in the morning and I'm always ready to conquer the day...I can't believe I was literally rolling out of bed three weeks ago!
3. Morning Exercisers Sleep Better- I honestly have not experienced this yet...I have such a hard time falling asleep at night. Maybe in a few more weeks it will start helping me sleep :)
4. Morning Exercisers Eat Better- Not so much...maybe because I'm not trying to lose weight.
5. Morning Exercisers Are in a Better Mood- I'm in a much better mood in the morning, for sure! But don't test me ;)

Halloween Cookie Adventure

My mom sent me some Halloween cookie cutters in the mail...a ghost, a cat, and a pumpkin:

The humerous part of all of this is that I don't bake things! But I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try to make some cookies from scratch. They ended up tasting like the yummy frosted ones from the store :) I used a recipe from my Betty Crocker cook book and bought my frosting and sprinkles from the store. Here they are straight out of the oven:

I figured out that I wasn't a fan of the decorating part so I didn't do my best work...I got lazy! Here is the finished product:

Hope I made you proud, Mom!

Humility Test

Pastor Rich preached a message on humility. I think you can listen to it at sanctuarycolumbus.com. Here is something he left with us to think about:

1. Am I teachable?
2. How do I respond to correction?
3. Have I repented quickly and thoroughly?
4. Am I considerate of others?
5. Do I serve and receive service well?
6. Am I aware of the evidence of God's grace in my life?
7. Have I disagreed agreeably?
8. How much attention and affirmation do I require?

All of these spoke to me in some form or fashion but the ones that really stuck out were #1 and #2. These are the two that I'm currently struggling with...How about you?

My Seventeen Magazine Embarrassing Moment

I have to give props to my friend, Lindsay Roth, for the title idea. I told her this story and she said it reminded her of the embarrassing stories they put in Seventeen magazines when we were teenagers :)

Last night, our friends Dan and Becca came over and we played a friendly game of Battle of the Sexes. One of us must have left the door open to the bathroom and my dog, Angel, got bored and decided to explore through the trash can. This might be the appropriate time to let you all know that it's currently my time of the month. Basically, Angel came down the stairs with a surprise in her mouth in the form of a pad! GROOOOOSSSSS!!!! I could care less if Jimmy, or even Becca saw it...but Dan?! I think my quickness in hiding the evidence was very good so I'm pretty sure Dan was clueless.

Dog Events

Those of you who know me may think that I'm obsessed with my dogs...and that's sort of true! At this point in my life, they seem so much better than kids to me! Jimmy and I even bought them costumes for Halloween (one a banana, the other an angel).

Such sweet little girls :) Jimmy and I try to keep our girls active and entertained so we do things like going to the dog park, agility class, etc. If you like to do things with your dogs, here are a few October events you may want to attend:

October 8th: Pup-a-ween @ Alum Creek Dog Park, 12 noon- 5 p.m. Here's the link:
http://www.alumcreekdogpark.com/
October 9th: Izzie and Angel's Birthday Party! This is at my house. See my events on facebook for details :)
October, the whole month: Lynd's Farm Corn Maze- it's dog friendly and Wizard of Oz themed
http://lyndfruitfarm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=51&Itemid=66

Remember to love on your doggies and have fun with them!

Late Night Dance Party= Fun Date with Husband

My hubby asked me out on a date this past weekend...the date was a dance party in the middle of our living room :) It was SO MUCH FUN!!! We went to Pandora, put in "Ice Cream Paint Job" and danced from 10-11 p.m. Hoping for more spontaneous dates in the future! :)

Vacation

I am overwhelmingly excited about our vacation in December!!! The picture above is from our honeymoon in Antigua. That was our breakfast view every morning :) This time we are going to Sandals Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios, Jamaica! I'm super stoked to be staying 7 days this time. Sometime in the middle of the week, we'll be taking a catamaran cruise to Dunn's River Falls (an amazing waterfall in Jamaica). Anyway, I had to share my excitement because I just can't contain it! I'll leave with a picture of one of the sunsets in Antigua:

The Joy of the Lord WILL be my strength

You guys know I suck at writing so this is nothing mind-blowing...just something that stuck out to me at church. Pastor Rich has been speaking to us about joy. This part stuck out to me because I possess them all:

Joy Killers:

1. Selfishness- "For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind" -James 3:16. YIKES! This is a problem for me...I'm selfish all the time!
2. Resentment- "Watch out the no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." -Hebrews 12:15. Another YIKES!
3. Fear- "Anxiety weighs down the heart..." -Proverbs 12:25. Holy moly...I'm anxious A LOT.

Katelyn

See that cute girl in the middle of the front row? That's my sister Katelyn :) I met her almost 11 years ago when my mom was dating my now step dad, Steve. I believe she was three years old at the time and is now 14! OH MY GOODNESS!!! So much has happened in those 11 years!

I was so excited when I visited home in July to help my parents move to WV. I could tell that Katelyn had grown up a lot. We also had a new bond...Christianity. She told me all about her story of how she came to know the Lord. It was so AWESOME! I got to enjoy her company again this past weekend. We spent a lot of time together including Zoombezi Bay...it was a blast. I am so proud of her and can't wait to hang out with her some more :)

Lisa's ABC's

I stole this blog idea from my sister-in-law, Amy, who got it from someone else...Since I suck at writing, these list things work well for me :)

A. age: 28 (29 in less than a month!!)

B. bedsize: Queen...although King would be my choice

C. chore you hate: dusting

D. dogs: Izzie and Angel :)
E. essential start to your day: silence

F. favorite color: greens

G. gold or silver: silver

H. height: almost five eight

I. instruments you play: currently none, in school I played clarinet

J. job title: Physical Therapist

K. kids: NO!!!

L. live: Gahanna, OH

M. maiden name: Reaves

N. nickname(s): Boo, booski, Lisa D, Lis (Leees)

O. overnight hospital stays: None

P. pet peeve: being late, stupid drivers

Q. quote: I don't memorize quotes

R. righty or lefty: righty

S. siblings: Shawna, Brett, Ashley, Sam, Katelyn

T. time you wake up: waking up and actually getting up are two different things I wake up sometime between 630 and 7 and get up around 720

U. university attended: Arkansas State then Belmont

V. vegetables you dislike: sweet potatoes

W. what makes you run late: I don't run late...if I do, it's probably because of Jimmy...but that's very rare

X. x-rays: elbow, knee, mouth

Y. yummy food: Italian, Mexican, Japanese, American...that's pretty much everything :)

Z. zoo animal favorite: giraffe

Mystery Solved...Partially

I'm NOT pregnant yet I still feel like poo. This was one of the worst emotional roller coasters I've experienced as an adult. It sucked...

Jimmy, MIA

If you haven't checked out the Columbus Jazz and Ribs Festival, YOU SHOULD! Great food, great music, and, of course, great people watching ;) I just wanted to share a little adventure from the festival last night...

My friends and I had just finished getting some yummy ice cream when my adventure for the night began. Jimmy announced that he was going to a "meeting" in the bathroom. He said we could do whatever and he would call when he was finished. Several minutes went by without a call so I texted to tell him where we were sitting. Several more minutes went by before I decided to call his phone. I called three times and on the third time a man says "Hello?" I then said "Booski?" The man said "No, this is officer [insert name]." Basically, the officer found Jimmy's phone and I had to walk all the way across the other side of the festival to get the phone.

The problem: I still don't know where Jimmy is located :( After I returned to my gang and told them the situation, we split up to search for my goofball. As soon as we split up, there was a restricted call on Jimmy's phone...I answered and it was another officer. He said "Your husband is standing by the big peanut-mobile." GEEZ!! I was so stressed at that point but was happy that we located Jimmy. Let's hope for better luck next time he has a meeting in the bathroom.

Possibly TMI [if you're a guy]

Those of you who know me also know that I have a fear of having kids. Sometimes I say I don't like kids, sometimes I say they freak me out or annoy me...other times they are referred to as birth control :) The overall lesson from these lastest statements: I'm not ready to have kids!

Almost 2 weeks ago, I was supposed to start my period. I didn't freak out until the 5th day. I decided that I would wait til day 7 or 8 to take a pregnancy test. I've never had to do that before so I'm sure I was lookin' like a fool! I got home from work this past Friday, chugged water so that I could pee (found out later I shouldn't have done that), and got negative results...RELIEF! Or so I thought...

All weekend I was paranoid about starting my period but wasn't totally freaked out at this point. I decided that I would wait a few more days and retest if I didn't start. After researching the internet like crazy about different signs of pregnancy and situations in which people test negative but are really pregnant, I decided that I was ready to take another pregnancy test. Last night= negative...this morning=negative! You would think that 3 negative test results would convince me that I have no worries of being preggo.

WRONG!!! I talked to my mom this afternoon and she told me this story:

"When I was pregnant with your sister, Ashley, I took 8 pregnancy tests and they were all negative. Weird things kept happening like changes in appetite and types of foods I liked to eat, stomach aches, etc. I finally went to the doctor and they had to do a blood test to determine that I was in fact pregnant!"

Needless to say, I haven't yet ruled out the possibility of pregnancy and I won't until I start a period. I've decided not to go to the doctor just yet. If you ladies have any other stories of negative pregnancy tests just let me know! I'll take any advice or stories of symptoms you had at the beginning of pregnancy. I know I'm going to overanalyze everything that is going on in my body until my period comes...

Puppies are Like Kids...Well, at Least 75% of the Time

When Jimmy and I got Izzie, we knew we'd be giving up some of our free time to be with her, train her, etc. Once we felt like we mastered that, we decided Izzie needed a sister (Angel) to wear her out so that she wouldn't wear us out so much! I'm so happy we made that decision..they are two peas in a pod :) Love my girls!
Since having them, Jimmy and I don't always have the one-on-one time that we would like to have because the puppies are like kids...we have to pay attention to them, make sure they aren't causing trouble, getting into something they shouldn't be getting into, trying to escape (ANGEL!!!), etc. This weekend, we went on a church retreat to Salt Fork Lodge and Jimmy's mom watched the girls. I'm always nervous when I have to leave them because I want them to behave and I'm so freaked out by Angel's escape artist skills.
Despite my fear of leaving the puppies, I had an awesome weekend. Jimmy and I got to hang out and enjoy some quality time together. Our time was as simple as laying by the pool and getting our tan on (well, I got a tan...Jimmy got a few more freckles), sitting in the hot tub, playing stupid kid games with each other in the pool, being scared by the deer that kept walking by the bonfire...I just had so much fun with him :) I love my boo. By the end of the retreat, we were ready to get home and enjoy our reunion with Izzie and Angel.
I'm so thankful for our little family :) Love you Jimmy, Izzie, and Angel!!!!

Izzie Davis

This past Sunday, Jimmy and I decided to drive to Columbus Grove, OH to pick out our first puppy as a couple! If you had asked us a week earlier if we wanted a pet we would have said NO! But, in the snap of a finger, we decided we wanted to get a Mini Aussie. We did our research and ended up at Anderson Acres :)

After our long adventure there, we had 4 puppies to choose from and we ended up making the BEST CHOICE EVER! Her name was originally Sarah but Mrs. Anderson said we were welcome to rename her...we had already picked out the name Izzie before we even got the puppy so we went with that...IZZIE DAVIS!

She is such a joy! So cute, so playful...just a blast to hang out with!! I hate leaving her home while we're at work! I just want to be home to play with her all the time :)

She was nervous at first but has really come around in just 2 days! Here are some of the highlights:

Sunday: threw up on me in the car 4 times..but it was ok because she is cute...we figured out she hates the leash but LOVES the snow

Monday: her first day alone...so sad for me...when I got home there were 4 poop piles on the floor...our fault for leaving food for her to eat all day long...the good thing is that every time we take her outside (which is a lot) she pees and poos!





Tuesday: she finally got used to the leash...still not the greatest but we're working on it!





As the week went on, we continued to play chase in the snow and have barking wars on the floor...she thinks I'm the insane one and Jimmy is the calm one...now that's backwards!!! Overall, Izzie is AWESOME and I'm so excited to have her...she is really loving it here and I'm so happy for her :)





Next task: crate training...we start that tomorrow (I'm tired of picking up poo and pee when I get home!)