The Race

Today was the race Gary had been training for. For the past couple of months Gary has been training for the "Race for the Cure." He and along many others ran 3.1 miles through the city of Lansing. Gary worked so hard to raise money for this cause. I am very proud of him. He did pretty well. I am very proud of him.

Yesterday I got to babysit my niece Alexis. She is soo cute! She is getting so she knows her colors and can count to 10! I figure that is pretty good considering she isn't even two yet!

It's a Beautiful Morning!

After a fun filled evening with friends, Gary and I slept in this morning. It felt so good! We actually woke around 9, but stayed in bed until around 10. I got up, let the dog out, made breakfast and coffee for Gary and we both sat in bed eating, talking, and of course watching a little news. I am still drinking coffee, and lounging in my robe. The sun is pouring in, in our three seasons room where I just came in from. I plan on grabbing a couple of my "Beautiful Home" mags and heading back out to finish up my lesurely morning.

This afternoon, I get to babysit. My brother in law has something planned, so I am taking my neice, Lexi for the afternoon. We are going to be out side. I am going to have her help me in the garden... good luck w/that!! She is 19 months old, so it will be a challenge but fun, for a few hours. I am looking forward to it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Are We Spoiled?

Having the extra time and energy to spoil the man I love makes the best marriage I can think of! We can devote all of our time to each other, instead of splitting our attention among three kids and their after school activities.I love making breakfast in bed for my husband and he likes to make breakfast in bed for me too!. I rub his back several nights a week. I make his favorite meals. I am truly interested in his hobbies ....for the most part (which we can indulge in because we don’t have kids to spend our hard earned cash on!).And I am just as spoiled as he is. I get regular foot massages. Last night I asked for a squeeze of fresh lime juice in my water, and he happily obliged.We love doing special things for each other that I don’t usually see parents doing, simply because their schedules get filled up with other things.But if we want to go to bed a little early for some “couple time,” we do it. If we want to take a long bath together on a Sunday afternoon, we can. We can be spontaneous without calling a babysitter.Marriage isn’t about each partner giving 50%. I’d say it’s close to 100%. And it sure is easier to do when you don’t have kids.

Yep, I guess you would considered us SPOILED!

The Weekend is Coming!

~The weekend is coming! I am so excitied about it too! I am not sure why, I am just glad to have a couple days to rest and enjoy life. I plan on possibly wall papering my bathroom, and then doing so more planning for my backyard. If I can get the bathroom wallpapered, then I can focus on the rest of the things that need to happen in there. I need to get some more bathroom linens, such as new shower curtain, window treatments & a new light fixture. I am also debating on taking the TV out of the living room. I enjoy it there, but I would really like my living room to remain a seating room, ther e is just a look of a TV that is UGLY!

Tonight I am resting, I have had a terrible headache. Therefore, my plans are to pick out clothes for tomorrow, and the just chill. I have shows I like to watch on Thurs. only 4 more shows and Will and Grace is done, that makes me very sad.

Anywhoo, have a good night! Tomorrow is FRIDAY! TGIF!~

Another Day, Another Dollar

Today was just another day, which is just fine with me. I got up, and went to work. Once I got to work, I worked very hard actually. I had a ton on my desk to do! Which is good, because I like to keep busy, because it makes time go by faster. At lunch, I went to Schuler's Books and did some reading. I read some about Paris, and then I started reading a book called "A love affair with my house" I know it sounds kinda "gay" however, I loved it! An interior designer put a book together of pictures and articles of her house. It was beautiful! Anyway, I really enjoyed it.

After work, I came home and Gary and I sat down to dinner. After our dinner of marinated, grilled chicken and snap peas, we went for a lovely walk. Now I am settling in for the night and going to watch a little TV before we retire...

Have a great night!

Paris is Always a Good Idea....

The other night I was watching "Somethings Gotta Give" starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. I don't know why I like this movie so much, it could be the setting. It takes place in the Hamptons and New York City. Anyway, Diane Keaton's character gave me a great idea... When I turn 40..only 9 yrs away...Why not spend it in Paris? I don't even care if I have to go alone, I am going to Paris!! So, on my 40th birthday, I will be sitting in a French Restaurant, sipping french champagne, nibbling on a french dessert, and having "Happy Birthday" being sang to me in French... Paris is always a good idea..

A Message From Jen...

Here’s my story. It feels good to write down my thoughts and I hope the readers of my blog will understand…or not, either way it’s just good to get it out.

My name is Jen (31ears old, wow, that’s weird to say...), I live in Lansing, and I’m married to my wonderful husband, Gary for almost 6 yrs! We don’t have children; we have three cats, and one big stinky dog. So they are our pride and joy! Being childfree isn’t so obvious, certainly not with my family. My family is very conservative. (Married means having children) I think being childfree is wonderful! We are living a life that suits us best. Unfortunately we’re just a minority of the world’s population.

Everything you hear or see in the media involves children, trying to get pregnant or being pregnant. I think that some couples feel a huge pressure to have children; therefore they go through thousands and thousands of dollars trying to get pregnant and never succeed. In the meantime, the pressures keep escalading. They start having martial problems, family issues, and they find themselves dissatisfied with life. When in fact, if they would get off the merry go round, and set back and enjoy life, they would find they would become more satisfied in life, and realize there is a reason why children didn’t come naturally.

Sometimes I feel like an alien in my own environment. I’m happy with my life now and children don’t and probably won’t fit into that picture. Unfortunately everyone thinks you’re mad if you say things like that. So when I’m around my friends I want to talk about our jobs, movies, music, having a good laugh etc. Why does everything change whenever people are having children, they just talk about morning sickness, exploding bodies and burping babies. People I know who were childless by choice are now talking about being pregnant. I thought I’d found someone I could relate to and some day, out of the blue, they tell you they are becoming parents. It’s a crazy world!

But I hope the number of childfree people will grow, so we can make new friends. I don’t mean to sound insensitive to those who have children, but I am just stating things from my corner.

Why...

For now, Gary and I have decided not to have children, and here are a few reasons why......

16 Reasons not to have kids.

1. You go to jail if you hit them.
2. Their friends.
3. If they turn out wrong, it's your fault.
4. You have to clean up after them.
5. You have to drive them everywhere until they get a car, then you pay for the car & the insurance, and they wreck it.
6. You're the center of their life for 10 years, then you don't exist for the next 12.
7. You have to pay for everything.
8. You're responsible for them, legally & financially.
9. It's your job to deal with all complaints about their behavior.
10.They take up all your time for 18 years.
11.Sex: for the first 8 years you're too tired to have sex, then you have to worry about them having it.
12. Sleep.
13. The smell.
14. They might be ugly.
15.You have to lie about your past.
16. They might take after your husband.

A Little Fruity

I did it! I finally started the cleasening diet I had been meaning to start for quite some time. My first day was all protein shakes.. every 2 hours! YUCK! but I did it! Protein and water all day long. Yesterday and today was all fruit. I must admit, I did cheat a little bit, but I feel so much better. I feel so much more enerjectic and no so bloated. I know that I will do this diet again next week. I am not sure how much weight I have lost, if any, but I do feel so much better.

Along with my dieting, I have been walking. Coco and I walk every night for at least 45-60 mins. With the weather being so wonderful, walking has been very enjoyable. As I was walking tonight, I was noticing the trees in bloom and everyone was out mowing, raking and picking up their yards. I am so glad spring/summer is upon us. I am looking forward to being in the sun and planting. Speaking of planting, just one more month, and I can start putting out my flowers in my front yard. I usually use 6 flats for the beds up my front sidewalk! It's a lot of hard work, but very beautiful because I use impatients and plant them very close together so they look like a colorful carpet.

I am looking forward to this weekend. Not that we have anything exciting planned, it will just be nice to have a couple of days off. Work has been going very well, and I am enjoying the people there. Time flies by! I am ending my 5th week on the job. I should be a permanent employee by mid June. It may seem like a ways off, but it will fly by I am sure. I am looking to getting bigger checks.

Well, it's Thurs. night and I am heading to bed! Have a good night.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail..

Happy Easter! What a beautiful weekend this has been! Gary and I went for a walk and have been enjoying our wonderful weather.

Friday after work, Gary and I got to go Buddies which use to be our favorite hang out when we lived in Okemos. After a few drinks and seeing people we haven't seen in quite awhile, we ended up going to some friends house for more drinks and hot tubbing. We didn't even leave until 2am. Today we have been shopping, and shopping. Nothing exciting mind you, but we have been on the go. First it was a music store, then to Lowes for some pricing on flooring ( we are thinking wood floors in our kitchen now) lawn stuff (because we are getting ready for a big lawn project in our back yard) and other misc. items. After our trip to Lowes, we were off to Sam's Club. Whew! It was quite the expensive trip! We were low on EVERYTHING and so we needed to stock up. We also picked up our Easter spiral ham...with glaze...YUM! After our Sam's adventure, we came home walked, and then went for dinner. After dinner, we were back at it at Target. Now we are home for the evening, we are going to watch some movies & rest. Tomorrow we are having guests over for dinner so I have to bake a pie and the ham. I am looking forward to cooking and being the hostess. I plan on having ham, steamed asparagras, smashed red potatoes, salad and maybe someother type of sidedish, oh, and croisants. For dessert, mixed berry pie w/ ice cream. Oh, and shrimp cocktail for appetizer and then some red wine with our meal.

Well, I better get my butt in gear, and finish some things up! Have a Happy Easter!

The Weekend is Over...

The weekend sure goes fast around here! I hardly remember what I did..or if I did anything at all! I didn't end up going to class Thursday night, Friday I worked.. Gary had National Guards so he headed up to Grayling Friday and was gone until Sunday. After work on Friday, I went over to my friend Stacy's. We had pizza and hung out. Saturday, I got up and put all my wicker out in my 3 seasons room, and then went shopping with Stacy and her family. Sunday, I vacuumed, did some laundry and then I got to babysit my neice, Alexis. We took a walk, and then colored Easter eggs. Meantime, Gary came home from guards. Gary was sleepy and Lexi was ready for her afternoon nap. So, all 3 of us laid in bed and watched t.v. Gary and Lexi were out like a light! It was so cute to see Gary and Lexi cuddled up in bed napping. While they were sleeping, I made some strawberry shortcake for a snack. We the "kids" woke up, we ate our snack, and Gary and Lexi played. After Lexi played, Gary and I sat around like old people flipping through the channels. Now I think I am going to go pick out my clothes for tommorrow, and go to bed.. I am tired!

Relieved...

Since it is tax season, Gary relunctidly sat down and did our taxes last night. I was on pins and needles the whole time. You see, we ALWAYS pay in, therefore we dread tax season. Well, after some researching, we found a few more deductions... Gary came out into the kitchen with the calculator in hand, showing me an amount on the calculator, and I said "is that how much we owe?" He said, "no, that's how much we are getting back!" We were so exicited, we started hugging! It's seems like a small feat, to those of you who may get money back every yr.. but it for us, it was like we had won the lottery.

Homework to Do.

As many of you know, I am taking a class, and I have homework, and I just don't have any real desire to do it. Not that it's hard either.... I just would rather stare out into outerspace, I think.. I am tired, and have worked hard on the computer all day......and I just don't want to do it!

Work is soo good! God sure knows what he is doing. The office that I am in, is very nuturing and out for the better good. I am so excited about the whole situation...

Nothing much going on here, Gary is still running like his pants are on fire, due to training for the race he will be in. Honestly, its a great cause, but he is driving me nuts! Run, run, run.. he is like Forest Gump, and just keeps going. AUUGGH

Sping is in the Air...

I have to say, I am loving this weather! Well, the warmer part of it! I am so ready for warm, nice weather. I am itching to get out in the yard and do some planting and landscaping. However, before the fun can begin, I have to do the "dirty" work.. dog poop. Yes, it's been awhile since I have been out with the pooper scooper. So, we have back yard full of poop!

The new job has been going pretty well. I am enjoying the people, and I think the work is going to be exciting. There are also opputunites to do some marketing for the company, so I am looking forward to what the future holds for me at Maximus.

Sure haven't been up to anything real exciting lately! We went downtown on Friday to a friend's downtown apartment, which then we all came back to our house, for drinks and pizza. Yesterday, Gary and I did NOTHING! And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. We watched TV and I don't think we even made our bed.

Well, I am off to scoop the poop! Wish me luck!