Weekend away

Life is still busy in our house, like always! Baylee is getting ready to tryout for basketball at Faith that will go through the end of January. I have almost completed my training at work and will hit the road soon. Michael is still continuing work every day with a smile on his face. He worked 40 days straight...I guess like the rain and Noah's Ark, haha! We had planned to get away and head to Birmingham since Michael finally got a day off. We wanted to do some Christmas shopping and go see my sister...thanks to some band competition in B'ham. There was not a hotel room to be found. Plan B was to head to the beach. I am so glad we chose Plan B. We had a great time! The sunrise at the beach house was beautiful this morning. We had coffee and breakfast at The Wharf. We enjoyed a great morning nap and the view from the pier. We had a wonderful weekend. I love my hubby and we enjoyed our little romantic getaway. I still can't believe it has almost been a year!

Dream Dinners

This is a quick little entry to share with those of you that read my little blog (and can't figure out how to leave a comment because you are technically challenged.) Anyway, for those of you that are busy working women and are tired of the day to day of "what's for dinner?" Well, I have discovered my new favorite thing! Dream Dinners www.dreamdinners.com You go online place your order for 12 meals. We did the 3 portion servings. Then you schedule your time to go to the store in the PineBrook Shopping Center. You go in and prepare your meals . It is the fresh ingredients with all the spices and meat. You make everything for that meal, put it in a Ziploc bag with a label for cooking instructions. BAM...as Emeril would say....1 1/2 hours later I was done with all my meals and had a great time doing it! I went with a friend from work and we had a great time. It is about a $150 for 12 meals of 3 portion sizes. It breaks down to 3 something per portion, but you get restaurant quality meals...not whatever you can throw in a pot in 10 minutes. The food is great and it is so easy! I don't have the time to prepare the ingredients, or stock the spices for theses yummy recipes. The way I see it, 12 meals for $150 dollars...I can't even go to Walmart for that price. Just one thing...this does not include side dishes unless the dish comes with rice or pasta. Check it out! If anyone is interested in doing it...let me know and you can schedule a private party!

Almost a year...

Wow, time flys! I can not believe that it has almost been a year that Michael and I got married. November 3 is fast approaching. My heart still flutters as much as the day I married my husband. It was such a beautiful day and I truly believe that day was blessed God. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, there were butterflies everywhere, and the sunset was the most beautiful sunset that I could ever imagine. I really feel that there was someone watching over that day to make it as perfect as it was. For those of you that don't know, my brother died seven years ago in November. The house the we got married at was the last place that I saw my brother Jasen alive. It was so surreal that day, it was almost that I could feel his presence. Michael and I have been through things this year that I wonder why must we go through this? Then you come through these things and look back, lessons learned. We have learned that blood family, doesn't make you family. It is the people in life that love you, support you, and actually take interest in your life that are your family. Blood or not. I find it so interesting that so called "family", did not know that I had a sister and all that my sister goes through in her life. My sister and her family are a huge part of my life. Michael and I love those that continue to support us and have been wonderful to us throughout this year. We have learned in business that people will cut your throat and smile to your face all for the sake of business. Lesson learned. We have also learned that raising a sassy 12 year old that pushes the limits is harder than we thought. I am so proud of my husband and his patience and love for our daughter. Needless to say, we are not your typical newlyweds. We have laughed a lot, scratched our heads, and cried some. But, in the end, I wouldn't change a thing. Wow, what a year!

The day in the life...

I has been another fun filled , crazy, and whirlwind week in our house. I can imagine life not hectic, ever. I guess you can say that I thrive in chaos. When things are calm, I tend to be a little restless (hence the re-decorating my house and now pondering the idea 0f possibly building another one.) It comes natural, if you know my family. Except my sister, she never gets in a hurry, but she has the craziest life of us all. Which we find it hilarious! Michael is still working his crazy hours at work, which he does with a smile everyday. (I love that man) I am working a 40 hour week at work and what seems a 400 hour week at home...not really. Not only am I housekeeper, cook, chauffeur...I am a landscaper. I think my neighbors got quite a chuckle and was laughing at my cranking lawnmower skills. It took a few attempts and just a couple of non-lady like words, and I was off and running. I think my yard looks wonderful and I am off to buy mums to finish. Needless to say, you can do whatever you put your mind to. I can't imagine sitting home on my rear all day. I would be a 400 whale...ha ha not really. Baylee is busy as ever. This week was Homecoming week at school. Baylee was voted Miss Spirit for her 7th grade class. That's my social butterfly. We went to the football game last night and had a great time! Baylee ran around with her friends. She finally brought her little "boyfriend" up to meet us. Well, for the sake of family tradition, we embarrassed her! Not so bad though, when she said his name, all on cue, we whooped and hollered his name! It was hilarious...she said it was funny later! Maybe we didn't traumatized him too much. I love being a mom to an almost teenager...NOT!!

No Mo Chemo

Life is still crazy in the Jeffrey-Jackson household. Michael is working 7 days a week for Pilot Catastrophe, if I have mentioned that yet. As you know the housing market has slowed down (not too much for Michael though.) He had a friend approach him about working for Pilot for a few months. We prayed about it and realized that God's timing could not be more perfect. I knew that is was going to be hard, but I feel like I am back in the days of "Single Mom" again. Don't get me wrong, there are no complaints from me. It is hard when you don't get a family day together. Well, to the point of this blog entry. It was my nephew's NO MO CHEMO party yesterday at Camp Grace. This place is heaven on earth that is tucked away off of Eliza Jordan Road. It is a beautiful property with a huge lake and rolling green hills. After three years of chemo treatment, Ethan is FINISHED!!! YEAH FOR ETHAN! We as a family are so excited and so excited for my sister that maybe life will slow down for her. Ethan's cancer treatments have been a long and devastating process for our family. Ethan was a happy almost 2 year when he was diagnosed. Then started all the treatments. As if that wasn't enough, when he was three, he went into cardiac arrest due to a respiratory failure. Ethan is now wheelchair bound. He can not walk, talk, or not eat through his mouth. Don't get me wrong, Ethan is a bright and happy child. He understands everything going on around, loves to be a part things, and is learning to communicate through sign language. The hardest part of this whole thing is Ethan beat cancer! We are suppose to move on and Ethan is suppose to begin his life again as a normal 5 year old little boy. I guess God had a different plan. Ethan is moving on in his life, just a little different than we thought. I pray for my sister the most. She has just been making it through life one day at a time. The chemo, doctor visits, and therapy visits have kept her so busy that she really has had time process Ethan's long term care. She is just living day to day. I really think that is all starting to hit her and she is mourning the loss of the Ethan we knew before the "incident" (we call it.) For those of you that do read this, please pray for her that she stays focused on the future and not re-lives the "what could have beens." As for the day, we had a great time with food, fun, and the water activities you could imagine. Ethan was so excited and a GREAT day!

Back to work I go...

It is has been my official first week back to work. I am working for CPSI in Mobile. I will be a clinical support rep. CPSI provides electronic medical documentation for hospitals. (And there are many parts.) My job includes completing hospital installs for hospitals all over the country and supporting them when they get up and going. I will train the nurses on how to use the system. Travel will be involved but there are perks to the job. I do get to keep the sky miles and hotel points for our personal use. We are very excited. Baylee has reminded me of all the places she wants to go! They would include Hawaii, New York, and maybe California. For now, I am going through intense training until December. For me, it is like learning Chinese. It is something totally different and a new challenge. Michael is a very important part of the puzzle. When I am on the road, Michael will be the new "Mr. Mom." Baylee will learn to adjust, but it will be good for both of them. They will learn to depend on each other. They get along great, I have faith they will do fine. Say a prayer though, just in case! I do have to dress everyday, meaning no more scrubs and crocs. My morning includes, ironing, actually fixing my hair, and heels everyday. Boy, I sure miss my scrubs and crocs! Please keep us in your prayers for a smooth transition for my changing career. I am excited for the new challenges ahead!

Volleyball Memories...

I am officially old...seriously. For those that know me I have had a really hard time with Baylee going into seventh grade. Michael reminded me today that Baylee will have her learner's permit in 2 1/2 years. OMG!! I can't believe that I am old enough to have a child that age. I really loved the years that I spent in middle school and majority of memories from high school. Truthfully, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Well Saturday, Baylee had a volleyball tournament at Gulf Shores Middle/High School. It was like a time warp! I could not believe that I was sitting there with Amy V. and we are watching MY child play volleyball. I took a little stroll up the hall and showed Baylee my old classrooms (Mr. Valine...remember Heather in the Ding Dong Mobile.) I loved middle school. It was so innocent...we had so much fun and I loved all my friends. Amy and I figured up that it was almost 20 years ago...20 YEARS AGO!!! At 12 years old, 20 years from now is when you go into the nursing home. Well, get ready Amy, we are headed to the nursing home. Don't worry, Amy and I will rock that nursing home!! Hahaha....here are a few pics from the tournament.