Life – Page 3

MEN TELL ALL!

MEN TELL ALL!! Yes! I was so excited to share this once i ran into it following some fellow bloggers. It was such a great idea! What is it?? Well the ‘link-up’ is called; ” Blogger men tell all.” It’s basically a way to have our readers get to know the man behind the girl who blogs! Neat right? Well even though I’m a little late, since the ‘link-up’ is the last Tuesday of every month.. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for September’s link up! FYI, we had fun with the question and answer’s! It was funny because once I presented the idea to Xavier, he was so willing to participate. My favorite part had to be having him ask ‘me’ what ‘his’ answers to his questions would be..lol.. Especially in question one. Well he finally figured it out and here it is!

Here’s a little piece of my handsome boyfriend for you all.. Enjoy! ~Xavier

Isn't he handsome? Love him! — Isn’t he handsome? Love him!

Link-Up #1:

1. If you had a blog what would you call it and what would it be about? It would be called “Experience it with ME.” And it would be about Life, Music and Electronics.

2. If you could live inside any video game, which would it be? “If I could live in any video game which one would it be? WOW!” “World of warcraft. One: its my favorite game of all time. Two: The world in-game is immense, explorable, and interactive. Three: I always wanted to be a warrior that fights giant bosses, kills them for awesome items in order to be and look the best in storm wind! and Four: I get to fly on a unique mount to get from place to place!”

3. Who is your best player on your fantasy football team this season? “I’m not in a fantasy football team this season. I usually do, but not this one.”
4. If you could play for any professional sports team, which would it be? “Whatever team Lebron is in, but if I had to choose one specific.. Id choose the Miami Heat.”
5. What do you typically do with an hour of free time? “Lately, its been playing on my Xbox one, but if not I’d be on my computer that I built.”

-Xavier

Hope you all enjoy and hope you all come back for round two at the end of the month! -Jen ❤

The link to the girls who started it all Here!

OUR HEALTHY CHALLENGE UPDATE

We finally have an update for you all on our fitness/healthy challenge! In the beginning of August we shared with you all that our lifestyle was slacking a bit in regards to being healthy and challenging our bodies to be better and healthy for us! Well, I think we are happy to share with you all that we have pretty much stuck to our goals. We are so very proud of ourselves that we have been working towards a better us, a better lifestyle and healthier choices. In August, we shared with you all a handful of specific goals Here to get us started on our journey.

Since then, we definitely have been trying to meet all of them on our list to our best capabilities. We have been very successful at cooking more at home and eating out less. Eating out lately has been more of a treat for us from time to time, rather than an everyday thing. It really has been better, not only for our health but also financially and for our relationship. We get to work together more often in the kitchen and do things together. One of our most exciting things now come dinner time is to GRILL! Yes! we bought a grill and it was so exciting for us lol. We grill just about anything we can find and can go in our lovely grill! The food taste so much better and we get more excited to eat at home. Plus, it makes food so much healthier! Goals one and two of eating cleaner and eating in more are getting checked off the list for sure!

Goals; three, four and five were more for us outside of our home and they all have been just as successful. Some are more limiting at times, like including more outdoor activities into our schedule. But for the most part, the chances we have had, we have taken the opportunities to do so ( like our kayaking adventures mentioned here and here.) Going to the gym was also a main priority for us, especially since it had been such a big part of who we were before we started slacking. We have been very good in keeping up with the gym for sure. After work we make it a priority to make it to cross-fit at 8pm, which is the last class. At the beginning it was definitely challenging, taking into consideration we are so tired from our 12 hour shifts. But we fought through it and now it’s a lot easier to actually make it to class.

All in all, I am proud of our efforts in sticking to our challenge. October is right around the corner, which was our original beginning goal, and I am certain we will have our goals met. We are on the right path and its keeping us motivated. This challenge was not to be hard-core organic or hardcore body builders. But it was most certainly to be more healthier and to get us out of falling into a sedentary lifestyle. We feel healthier, our clothes are fitting us better and we are seeing the results. It feels great! ..Don’t get me wrong, due to our jobs inconsistent schedules, we at times run late and don’t make it to our workouts, but we make sure to go another day in the week. We also treat ourselves to some good comfort foods from time to time and enjoy a good dessert! We just don’t do it as often! Or.. we make up for it in another way by cutting some other foods out.

Our Fitness/Healthy challenge has been a journey for sure, but a journey we are making sure stays in our lives until we can’t anymore. We are loving the idea of creating new foods, or at least trying new foods and incorporating them into our daily menus. We feel better, we are getting results, and we are still motivated to keep going. That’s really all I could wish for or even ask for in order for us to keep going. We will keep updating you all from time to time on our healthy challenges! Again, any questions and or suggestions are always welcome! Motivation from others is always helpful!

Thanks for the support always!

❤ Jen and X.

Below are some our favorite dishes lately, whether we created or re-created and our new grill and cross-fit gym! (p.s Im not a cross fit junky lol) Enjoy!

blog3 — My handsome, his Tshirt and our grill! lol

PIZZA NIGHTS IN!

Sometimes, we all just need a Night in! In this household, we have many ‘nights in,’ and that is quite okay with us! This past weekend, I was out-of-town for a Disney getaway with some of my closest friends and the kiddos ( My kiddo, was my little sister Sofia, lol) and to celebrate our friends birthday. We had so much fun and can’t wait to share with you all that adventure soon enough! Needless to say, while it was a fun weekend.. it was also very tiring! Disney is not all fun and games people! It’s hours of walking, the killer heat or RAIN!- of Florida (yes, even is September the sun melts us away!) Standing in lines for a while, while the sun is melting you away, oh and did I mention A LOT of walking in the sun!? lol I think you guys get my point.

So today, I caught up on some much needed sleep, ran some errands. And after a quick gym session the last thing we wanted to do was cook a four coarse meal nor get dressed to go out! So we called it a night in! And a night in calls for some good ol’ comfort food that’s quick and easy! Thank goodness for some great publix (our grocery store) finds tonight! We get so excited when we know we can add a healthier twist to some of our favorite comfort foods! Especially since starting our healthy challenge. We really don’t know exactly how many calories are in each slice, nor do I know how much healthier this turkey pepperoni is for xavier, nor how much healthier this version of pizza is. But what really matters at this point is that we tried! lol

Tonight’s menu read: PIZZA a la Jen and X. One pizza, two ways. When we went to our grocery store, we found something that was very appealing to our eyes and our bellies! Boboli Whole Wheat Pizza Dough! It’s already semi-pre cooked and makes it so easy to just add your favorite toppings! We went light on some traditional pizza sauce, some 2% mozzarella light cheese and tried to choose some healthier toppings! For Xavier that included some turkey pepperoni with some thinly sliced onions. I tried to keep it a little lighter and went for some tomatoes, mint leaves, cilantro and thinly sliced onions too. After assembling our master piece, in it went into the oven for just 8-9 minutes and WALA! Dinner was served, along with a glass of red wine for Xavier and a glass of some light Sangria for me.

Our night in turned out to be just what we needed! Some yummy food, pleasant drinks, our feet up on the couch and some much needed relaxation.. You can’t beat that! What are your favorite Pizza toppings?? Do you all have your favorite easy and quick healthy recipes too? We would love to hear all about them! Xavier and I appreciate some good food whenever presented to us! Hope you all had a great Monday!

Jen ❤

HIS

HERS

Cheers to Yummy foods in our bellies! =)

SEE YOU SOON PRIMA

See you soon prima! For my non spanish speaking followers, prima means; cousin in spanish. And let’s just say that I have one special cousin that is so dear to my heart. She was here for her summer vacation from college. Yesterday she left sunny South Florida back for another semester in North Carolina. She is one of my best friends aside from being my cousin. No questions about it. Her name is Natalie. Natalie is 19 years old, going on 35. haha. I really don’t mean that in a bad way. You see..the point that I am trying to make is that she’s not your average 19-year-old. I have watched Natalie grow over the years and the change is remarkable. Remarkable in such an amazing way. I think what bonded us over the years, with me being some years older than her, is her sense of maturity. Watching her grow up from this little spunky girl to such a mature lady has been an honor of mine as her older cousin. I may be older, but I admire her in so many ways.

Natalie is one of the most DETERMINED individuals I have personally met and have had the chance to see the determination in full effect! When she put’s her mind into doing something, anything at all.. you better believe that she will deliver! I have been able to see her work hard for what she has and its honestly inspiring. When she was in high school she came up to me one day and said she was trying out for the “lacrosse club.” I remember looking at her and thinking “Since when does she even know what lacrosse is?!” Well, needless to say, she joined the “club” and taught herself and learned from those who were willing to teach her and soaked up all things lacrosse. That lacrosse “club” soon turned into a “team.” Soon after, we were headed out to her high school lacrosse games and watching her kick some lacrosse butt! Turns out the girl was good! SO good that she managed to be the first in our family to get a full ride scholarship to a University in North Carolina playing lacrosse. Her determination is so great that it never seems to fail her. And I pray that it never does =)

You see, besides being so determined..Natalie is such a loving individual. If and when you meet her, she seems a little straight forward and a bit standoffish. But once you get to know her and draws you in to her fun and laid back personality, you see all the love she has in her. She is so humble at heart, something I hope she never looses. Because Humility is a precious gift to have when you really possess it. She’s also a little jokester at heart and I love that about her because I think its something we both have in common. Laughing is always great, but when we laugh together its even better! I’m so glad that her and I will have so many memories to last us a lifetime. But I’m especially excited for all the future memories we will make!

So the day before she left, we did something we never get tired of doing in this family! Kayaking! Xavier and I packed our little bags and took her to our favorite park to kayak! It was such a beautiful day! The water was amazingly calm and clear, so we took advantage and kayaked out to this amazing sandbar in the Miami bay. It was like being on a little island surrounded by the clear waters. The view is always pretty awesome with the Miami skyline and the palm trees from a far. Breathtaking! I wish that we would’ve spent more time while she was here for the summer. But being a grown up sometimes limits our time. But at the same time, the time we did spend together was great and memorable and full of good laughs!

Were hoping that we can pay her a visit soon to her School and add to the memory book we already have. So dear prima, you will be missed while away at school but I couldn’t be more proud of all your accomplishments thus far. I already cannot wait to see you the next time. Never forget that your favorite cousin is just a phone call away and will always be here for you! Keep your head up at all times and never lose your humility and that happiness you carry on a daily basis. Keep grounded always and always remember to keep God in your heart! It’s so great to be the audience of your life as of now. I am so proud of the woman you have become and all that you have left to be. I hope you have an amazing season and a great semester! Love you Prima!

❤ Jen

Here is our amazing shots from our day kayaking with the Prima!

SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR! =)

10 DAY COUNTDOWN AND SOME WISHES

As of today, the 10 day countdown begins till my 25th Birthday! August 29 to be exact. I am quite excited for this day! While I do realize that I am getting older and turning a quarter of a century old.. I still find it exciting and feel amazingly blessed! Blessed to make it to 25; alive, healthy, happy, with a job, with a place to call home, in love with a man beyond my dreams, and a family that loves me unconditionally.

A couple of months ago I shared my feelings with you all when I realized that my birthday was coming up in my post half way to 50. In that post, I remember telling you all how in shock I was when I realized I would soon be half way to fifty. I also stated that I would try to enjoy my last couple months at 24, and in deed I have tried. Like I mentioned before, there are always going to be ups and downs. In these past couple months I definitely have to say that there were a lot more ups than downs, and for that I am grateful. Within these past two months I have tried to adventure out and do things with my parents, like kayaking which I also shared with you all in a post. I have made new goals, like our healthy/fit challenge, purchased my first new car and much more. While at times I complain how tired I am after a long day of work, I am also grateful that at 24 going on to 25 I have a career and a job. I believe that 24 was a good year for me and one that I am truly proud of and will always remember. Twenty-four was very memorable for me and one that I will always cherish. I personally feel like I accomplished a lot and I didn’t realize it until I sat down to share these feelings with you all. At 24 I graduated with my Bachelors in Nursing, entered the field of nursing with a new job, moved out and in with the love of my life who I met in nursing school (killed two birds with one stone ;P) and purchased my first new car! Not too shabby huh? It wasn’t easy, but it was all worth it.

So on these last 10 days until that BIG 25, I will wait patiently and keep enjoying these last few days as 24 years young! And before I blow out my candles on that day and make some wishes.. I have some wishes before the day comes.

On that day I wish..

to be with my family and xavier’s…

to be with my honey xavier..

to be surrounded with peace..

to be somewhere I haven’t been to before..

to laugh as much as my belly allows..

to enjoy my day no matter what may happen..

and to eat some yummy cupcakes! why not right??

But most importantly, to keep in mind not just on that day.. but everyday, how truly blessed I am. To keep humble and do everything wholehearted. To always remember that God is good and to keep praying for his guidance, no matter what comes my way! I wish that this year more things get accomplished and that I stay true to who I am and who I hope to be. To be a better person. To stay committed to whatever goals I put out for myself. To spend more time with my family. To be a better me for Xavier, my family and myself. I wish for better and greater things for Xavier and I’s relationship. And lastly, I wish that if I fail in any, I learn from them and keep humble at heart. Because who I am and what I have are all by his grace and love. I welcome you with open arms and an open heart 25!! T-minus 10 days! See you soon 25!

Love,

Jen ❤

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Today we decided to spontaneously have a SUNDAY FUNDAY! Well kind of.. Late last night we decided that we should head over to one of our favorite places, Oleta River State Park. We also send out a last-minute invite to my parents and my little sister and they said they would let us know in the morning. So upon waking up, I guess they decided they felt a little spontaneous too and agreed to join us. We made a quick breakfast while my parents met us at our place. When they arrived we were ready to head out and we were full of excitement! This was going to be the first time we took my parents and my little sister to the park where I became Xavier’s girlfriend. Well the excitement was also due to them joining us on a kayaking Sunday in Miami. It was actually my moms first time kayaking and I couldn’t have been more proud of her! She did so well and was so much braver than I thought she would be. I think we all had a laugh or two seeing my parents on the same kayak and one doing all the work! At one point we looked back (since we did get a head start) and we just saw my mom holding the paddles still while my dad paddled to keep up! It was hilarious. My little sister definitely got a kick out of it and was glad she rode on our kayak. She was so cute today and was so excited every time she got a splash of water on her. She was a bit afraid at first, mostly because she kept thinking about “sharks” being in the water. Lets just say once she was on that kayak with us, her excitement and happiness took that fear away. We, re-assured her that she would be okay and that we wouldn’t let anything happen to her. We used the story that only dolphins lived in these waters and sharks lived a lot further away. Worked like a charm! haha. Well needless to say, the day was gorgeous. The sun was shining, and so were we! We made it out to a sandbar and had a blast in the water. It was so nice to be able to share one of our favorite past times with my parents and little sister! Their smiles today were priceless and heartwarming. But most importantly, it was wonderful to spend some quality time with them today…especially being such a beautiful day! We are hoping that next weekend we can head out there again. But next time we hope its with Xavier’s parents and our brothers and sisters. Im hoping we can make it happen! I love where we live. Miami is definitely great place to have in our backyards! This was our day through our iPhone’s.. Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday!