Thankful Thursday 6.28.12

Remember that book I was telling you about called One Thousand Gifts? Well, in the book, the author talks about finding joy and being grateful in the everyday things. Not only being grateful and thankful for the BIG things, but also those little things that we tend to overlook on a day to day basis. So, this post is about the little things, even if they seem a little trivial. Just stay with me, okay?

1. My daily quiet time. A long time ago, I told you that I was reading through the entire Bible this year. Well, I may or may not have gotten a little behind in my reading. I am trying. I promise. I read it at night before bedtime and it is the most peaceful part of my day. I am truly enjoying getting to read about my Creator and how much He loves me on a daily basis.

 2. Pretty, fun clothes. Before I go on to explain this, please ignore the complete look of shock/constipation/deer in the headlights that I am giving to the camera. Not really sure what was going on there. Back to being grateful and not critical, I love shopping. Shopping for me or anyone else for that matter. I just love it. I also love when I find something fun, comfortable, and practical. Example of this in below picture. I love maxi dresses. So pumped about this comfy one.

3. I am grateful for thoughtfulness. It doesn't take a lot to show someone you care. You can write them a letter, send them a sweet text, or make them something. This week, I received this:

My mom and sister made me a book with pictures of their visit in March. It was so sweet and I love it. I miss them terribly and it is a good little thing to have when I am missing them.


4. Zumba. I try to workout 5-6 times a week. Sometimes I accomplish this, sometimes I stink at this. It really keeps me sane. I don't like to do the same workout everyday, sometimes I run (when I am feeling ambitious), sometimes I take classes, but at least once a week, I zumba. I used to love to dance. I would have dance parties in my bedroom when I was younger. Yes, I was a complete dork. In college, my roomie and I would dance all the time in our 10x10 dorm room. So naturally, I like to zumba. It is super fun, I get a good workout, and my instructor is the bomb.

5. Sweet conversations. Tonight, I talked with one of my very best friends. We live 12 hours away and I miss her a lot. Yet, when we do get together or talk on the phone, it is always precious to me. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am and I love living where I live, but I miss my Tennessee folks. I miss being able to visit family and friends whenever I want instead of having to plan months in advance and buy a plane ticket. So, when I get to spend time or have a conversation with a friend, it makes my heart so very happy.

6. Air conditioning. Can I please just go ahead and get an amen on that one? For real, I am loving the weather because I am a hot weather kind of gal, but I would be hurting if we didn't have air conditioning. I know all you peeps in TN would be too, seriously 105 degrees this weekend???

No matter how big or how small, I am grateful for all these things in my life. Have a wonderful day : )

Summer Lovin'

I love summer. I have always loved summer. I really starting liking it more when I started teaching because I didn't work. There are many things that I love about summer. Get excited because I have compiled a list of some of my favorites.

• fresh fruit: I absolutely love fruit, yet this has not always been the case. But, seriously, who doesn't love fresh, yummy fruit during the summer? If you don't, you should be ashamed. Strawberries are my favorite. We go through like two boxes of strawberries a week in our house. No lie. We don't play.

• Being outdoors. Seriously, I love doing things outside. I have not always liked being outside. I am not really a fan of sweating when I step out my front door. But, I don't mind sweating when I am doing something fun like hiking, swimming, kayaking, or riding on a sweet boat. Check out our new addition. Whoop Whoop!

Ok, totally kidding. We do not own, nor intend to buy this boat. When I was riding around the other day with Trey, this airboat was outside one of his stores. I may or may not want to ride on one of these boats.

• Reading. I really enjoying sitting down with a good book. I feel like in the summer I read more and more than during the rest of the year. My sweet MIL gave me a book for my birthday. I am just now getting around to read it. It is so good. It is all about being thankful for the everyday things. I love it and recommend it to everyone.

• Fourth of July. I love this holiday. Not because the red,white, and blue, or the fun cookouts. I love the fireworks. I am not really sure why, but I have always enjoyed watching fireworks. We don't have definite plans, but I will be watching some fireworks. You can bet on that.
• Being tan. I love having a little color. Don't worry, I wear sunscreen. I would love being able to lay out at the pool at my Y, if it would ever stop raining in Florida. This week alone, I have felt like I was living in Seattle, rather than the Sunshine State. Dear Sun, please come out and play.

What is your favorite part of summer???

Have a happy Tuesday!!! 

Thankful Thursday 6.21.12

I need to get better at being thankful. I have so many things in my life that are amazing. I have a wonderful, loving husband who makes me laugh everyday. I have a family that loves me unconditionally. I have friends who are hilarious, fabulous, and the best supporters. With all of my blessings, I still find myself being selfish. I find myself wanting more like a better body, a better car, or a better wardrobe. I know. There are people battling cancer, dealing with infertility, and losing loved ones. With all of this being said, I am grateful. I thank God every morning when I wake up. Yet, I want and need to be thankful for all my blessings. So, here are just a few thankfuls for this week.

1. I know I say this a lot, but I am going to say it again. I love my husband. I know that I love him more today than I did when I married him. Props to my friend who gave us a card at our wedding who said "My hope is that you love each other the least today and more each day from today." Or something like that. It is true. I love him with each day more than the day before. With that being said, check out the picture below:

He went fishing today. He came home and I told him to put his face wrap up. I told him I wanted to put it on the blog. He said "Make sure you call me the Red Fishing Ninja." Gosh, I love him.

Please ignore our horrible kitchen paint job. The past owner painted our kitchen white with black and red trim. Yikes. This is on our summer to-do list. like for real.

2. Besides our crazy painted kitchen, I do love our home. I am very thankful for a sweet little bungalow to call our own. We are so grateful to have a home that fits us. We absolutely love it.

3. Sweet friends. I seriously have some of the best friends. Just today, one of my awesome friends from college sent out an email about a get-together. Granted it may be scheduled for next year, but nonetheless, we try to stay in contact. Just last month, I got to see two of my best friends and it was such a treat. I really do love them. and miss them. so much.

4. Sidenote: superficial one. I am thankful for my iphone. I know, I know. But, I am grateful that I am able to have an iphone. I get to take fun pictures, set my home alarm, and check facebook. Plus, I get to talk/text my favorite people. 

5. Lazy nights at home. I am grateful that I get to spend most nights in the comfort of my living room, watching NatGeo with my husband. I know, we are so old. Watch out, some nights we even pour a glass of wine in our super fun wine glasses. We are so crazy. Please contain your jealousy. In all seriousness, I really do love it.

Well, this is about .000002% of what I am thankful for today. 

What are you thankful for?

Off to bed, going to work with the husband tomorrow. Stay tuned for more exciting photos. I know you are on the edge of your seat and will checking my blog on the hour tomorrow. I will try promise to update with our adventures.

Have a happy Friday!!!

I don't like alligators, the real kind or the UF kind....

So, seeing that it is practically the weekend again, I guess it is time to share what we did last weekend. I know, slacker of the week on blogging.

When we moved to Orlando last summer, we knew a total of zero people. Well, since August, we still only know about five people (all being our neighbors and realtor), but we met friends! I know, I sound like a complete loser with this post. Just go with it and humor me, okay?

I have decided that Florida has way more to offer than amusement parks and outlet malls. It is pretty sad that when you say you live in Orlando that those things are what people assume Orlando is all about. Well, let me tell you a secret. There is so much more to Orlando. If you like being outdoors, you need to visit here. We have a bajillion lakes, hiking trails (granted that they are pretty flat compared to East Tennessee), and lots of springs. This past weekend, we ventured with our new friends to Juniper Springs.  We went on a seven mile kayaking trip and it could not have been more fun. Juniper Springs is beautiful and the day could not have more perfect weather.

Since I am pretty sure I am the worst person to go kayaking with because I hit every tree in sight, I didn't take my camera or phone for pictures. So, the above pictures are from the website. But, they really don't do the spring or trip justice. It was so beautiful. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

On our little trip, we encountered many animals. You know, the usual, turtles, fish, and GATORS. I saw a real alligator in the flesh. I started paddling fast because I was about to pee my pants that I was in the vicinity of it. You know, watching Swamp People is one thing, but seeing it in real-life is another. Plus, I see enough blue and orange yucky UF Gator stuff in Florida, I don't need to see the real animal. Love to my vols F.O.R.E.V.E.R. and ever. amen.

After our kayaking adventure, we drove right down the road to the cute, little quaint town of Deland. Y'all, seriously, the cutest little town. We ate some yummy food, walked around the sweet town, and even strolled through a car show. After walking off dinner, we finished the night with a game of boys vs. girls Cranium. It was such a fun day and I am so excited to meet new people.

Seriously, how cute is their theatre? We were going to go see "Beauty and the Beast," but a rousing game of Cranium won out.

P.S. I am completely aware that I made us sound lame and friendless in this post. Annnnnd I am totally okay with that. Peace.

Daddy

My daddy is the greatest. He really is. He has never met a stranger. He loves with his whole heart. He would do anything for me. I know this and I really love him for it.

My dad only had daughters, my sister and me. I used to feel bad for him. I always thought that he kinda missed out because he only had girls. Now, I know that my dad was made to have only girls. No other man could be so patient, so loving, so giving like my dad. I couldn't have been blessed more with a greater dad.

My best friend always tells me that my dad is a saint. Not only because he got stuck with me, but because he is genuinely a kind person. One day, she was telling me about a sweet man who would do anything for his family and said "You know, he is a Gene Marlin." I think that could quite possibly be the nicest compliment. To have someone think of your dad so highly. I am so glad that he is my dad.

As I did inherit my dad's skinny, long toes and love for the VOLs, I didn't inherit everything from him (especially his love of Westerns). I just hope that I did inherit the ability to love deeply and care for people like it is my job.  I love you daddy. Thanks for being such a wonderful example of a father.

Happy Father's Day!!!

Friday's Letters 6.15.12

So, I stalk read a lot of blogs. I really like  reading about other people lives. I know that sounds borderline scary. Well, some of these blogs do Friday's Letters. So, here goes nothing.

Dear Orlando, I am loving this weather. Not too hot, but can we tone it down with the rain. I am a little over it.

Dear Husband, I can not wait to hang out with you this weekend. P.S. can you leave your phone off because you are totally a workaholic. love, wife

Dear Jennifer(aka me), you are such a hypochondriac. Stop worrying that you have every disease on WebMD. You don't.

Dear Sister, can you please move to Florida, so we can play the "Would you Rather..." game everyday? That would be super fun. P.S. i miss you a lot.

Dear Chick-fila, you do know you have the best sweet tea ever, right? Well, you do. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy it today.

Dear God, thank you for giving me life and loving me. I don't derserve it, but I am so very thankful for it.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. My husband just informed me that we are going kayaking tomorrow for four hours. Wish me luck because I am pretty sure I may not make it.  : )

FYI: Friday's Letters will not happen every week.

Thankful Thursday: June 14th Edition

Well, I had all intentions of blogging earlier this week, but my body did not. I caught a dreadful stomach bug/food poisoning(still not sure what it was) and it kicked my booty. Like staying in bed and watching Laguna Beach on Netflix. Totally brought back memories of Freshmen Year of College. Now that I am feeling 87% better, I feel that I can blog about some things that make me happy.

• I am extremely thankful for having a flexible job. Since moving, I was able to work part-time at two jobs(substitute teaching and tutoring) and I have loved it. It has given me structure, yet let me be flexible and travel some with Trey. With this being said, I traveled with Trey on Monday. Here is what it looked like:

Of course, we had to have fuel for the trip. Water and DP. I have seriously cut out sugary drinks in my diet lately, yet every once in a while, I have to have a little caffeine. It keeps me going for trips. So I guess I am also thankful for DP. Also, on the way home, we played the cloud game. You know, the game where you look at clouds and tell what you see in them? Yeah, Trey and I definitely did not see the same things AT ALL. I saw a bear in one and in the same cloud he saw an alligator. Two completely different animals, but whatever.

• Gatorade. I am very thankful for gatorade this week. I probably would not have lasted. Yes, I am fully aware that I am a wimp. I am sure that my "little" bug was no where near what pregnancy entails. Yes, I am fully aware that I will be ZERO fun if I ever get pregnant.

• I am very thankful that Trey and I have found a church here. We loved our church in Chattanooga and had a very difficult time finding one when we first moved here. We are meeting new people and starting a bible study in July. I am super pumped. We also found out that our next door neighbors go to the same church.

• I am thankful for these two crazies.

Y'all don't even know(well, some may understand) how hard it is to live away from these two. They are so fun. So crazy, but so fun. I love them as if they were my own. I also have a tendency to break out my teacher voice and "I will never let my kids do that" attitude when I am around them. Then my loving sister kindly reminds me that I am not a mother yet and she also sweetly throws in "I can't wait until you have kids" speech everytime. I still love them with all my heart and I am eternally grateful for them in my life.

Well, I think that is all for today, folks. I hope you are having a fabulous week. Only 1 more day until the weekend : ) Peace.

Lazy Sunday in a Hammock and a little VOL

Since moving to the Sunshine State, I have come to appreciate being outdoors. With this being said, I do not love when it is 10840953957923 degrees outside. Usually in Florida, that is the exact temperature during the summer months. Just in case you were wondering : )

So, in order to not have a heatstroke every day of the week, we must find something to give us shade from the big hot star in the sky. A couple years ago, my sweet father-in-law gave us a hammock. Of course, we really couldn't use it until now because we have never really had a yard. I don't count our yard in C-ville because it was the size of my bed. Like for real, no lie. Well, we finally decided to hook up the hammock today and try that baby out. It was great. It is a two person hammock and it is somewhat comfortable if you like feeling like a human pretzel being close to the one you love : )

                        

           

 Also for your viewing pleasure and because I am getting these pictures off of Trey's phone, check out the picture his dad sent to him the other day. Seriously, for one, my husband was adorable and two, he was born a VOLS fan. Love it.

     Hope you all had a restful and wonderful weekend. I hope you have a wonderful Monday : )

No more Frat Parties on Saturday, you will find me at Home Depot?!?

I know that I am not as young as I used to be. I know this. Yet, I am not sure when I became such an adult. Maybe it was when I accepted my first "real" job, got married, or when we bought our house, but I have now realized I am an adult. 

I guess being an adult means having adult-like days. This is what I had today. The Lloyds started off with housework. I hate housework. I love having clean laundry, a clean house, and my yard looking like HGTV stopped by in Orlando, but I do not enjoy it. Well, we did it all. And by that statement, I mean Trey did most of it. So, I know I brag on him a lot, but he really is the best. Along with all the yardwork, he also cleaned my new house project. You see, I have been wanting to put up old windows as picture frames in our house forever. I wanted to do in Chatt and that didn't happen, and it has taken us 10 months to actually buy the windows in Orlando. Well ladies and gents, we now have old windows and they will be going up very soon. I just have to find some pictures to occupy them : )

After our crazy, exciting day, we decided we needed to sweat a little at the Y. We love going together, but most of the time we go separately because I like to work out in the morning and Trey likes to in the evening. Anyway, we had a nice little workout and then proceeded to go out to dinner. After dinner, we decided we should go to the place I hate most in this world-Home Depot. I really despise Home Depot. Don't get me wrong, it has great things and I am appreciative of that, but I think I would rather eat a worm than step foot in there. I don't like to make choices and you have to make so many choices in Home Depot. Also, you go in for one thing and come out with fifty. Target is also like this for me except that I like Target and I don't like power tools. Another thing, my husband loves Home Depot. He could stay in there for days. He informed me tonight that his dad used to take him there for fun. Fun?!? He doesn't like Disney but he will wander around Home Depot. He also shared that he used to wear a tool belt everywhere he went when he was a kid. Even to church. Bahaha I would love to see a picture of that .

The below pictures accurately explain our feelings for this place.

P.S. in the above picture, I am wearing my new favorite boots. Not because they are super cute and very comfortable, but because it rains everyday in Florida. Not very long, but it rains everyday. At least my yard is pretty, I can't say the same for my hair. Yikes.

After our trip to my unhappy place, we visited my favorite place, Publix. I could stay in there forever. Love it. We needed some groceries for the week, so it was a quick trip. Yet, I did get my new favorite treat. If you haven't tried the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, you are missing out. They are only 140 to 150 calories and they taste like heaven. I absolutely could eat all six in one sitting. Don't worry, I didn't, but I totally could. 

So, even though I am not hanging out at the Sigma Chi house on my Saturday night like I did in college, I love my sweet Saturdays in adult world, except for the whole Home Depot part. I could totally never go back there and be completely okay. Hope your Saturday has been delightful and your Sunday is even better : )

Thankful Thursday

As one of my New Year's Resolutions, I decided to blog more. Well, I haven't been very great at this, but I am trying. Now that it is summer and I am not working as much, I am going to "try" and blog more. With the whole blogging more thing, I am going to try and do a Thankful Thursday every week. Hopefully this will not be the only week of Thankful Thursday.

I am a very blessed person. I have a wonderful husband, loving family, sweet friends, a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, a house, my health, and many, many more things. I will admit though that I do not appreciate all of my blessings on a regular basis. I know that is not good, hence why I am trying to be more thankful everyday, not just on Thursdays.

So, here is my little list of things I am thankful for today:

•  My health. I should thank God everyday for the ability to get out of bed, exercise, and just be able to function normally. I know that there are so many people who would love to be able to use their two legs. I hope I never take this for granted because I know I am incredibly fortunate.
•  Rain. I know this is a weird one. Trust me, I used to hate rainy days. Like detest them. Yet, since living in FL, I have come to appreciate and even like rain. It makes my yard beautiful and it is delightful to listen to when I am in the house.
•  Sweet time with my husband. After Trey took over the FL territory last year, we pretty much lived apart for a good four months. Let me tell you, it was hard. Period. I was still in school and he traveled every week, so we didn't spend a lot of time together. Those months were some of the hardest. Since moving, I have come to appreciate our sweet time together. Since I don't have a full-time job, we can spend more time together and it is awesome. I really do treasure this time with him.
•  My grandparents. I grew up living next door to my grandparents on my mom's side. My dad's parents were only a twenty minute drive away, so I was blessed to be close to all my grandparents. My mom's parents are still living and I am extremely close to them. I love talking with them and spending time with them. Also, they are the best at phone calls, in fact, they called me yesterday and sang me "Happy Anniversary" to the tune of "Happy Birthday." It was precious.

There are so many things that I am thankful and these are just a few. Have a wonderful Thursday and hopefully you can find a few things to be thankful for today!!!

What?!? Tree Trimming isn't the gift you give for the third Wedding Anniversary?

Three years ago today, I married my best friend. On June 6, 2009, I became Mrs. Jennifer Lloyd. Hands down, the best day of my life.

In 2005, Trey and I met through a mutual friend and we started dating. We dated for three years before becoming engaged. We had a super short engagement and were married six months after our engagement.

                        Our First Date to Sigma Chi Christmas Date Party

We married June 6, 2009 at Oaklawn Plantation. We had a beautiful ceremony and reception. I can truly say that it was the perfect day.

                                                 Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
In the three years we have been married, we have had our ups and downs, tears and laughter, and multiple moves. Yes, we have moved three times in three years, I have had three jobs, and we bought our first house. It has been an experience, but one experience I would do over and over with him. I have never thought I could love and appreciate someone so much. He is my best friend, my confidant, my supporter, my family.

Tonight we celebrated with dinner at a seafood place in Winter Park. It was super yummy. We also celebrated with getting our palm trees trimmed. Woo hoo. I know you are all jealous. We do it big for anniversaries. hehe : )  We are continuing celebrating with our anniversary tradition by watching our wedding video. It still makes me think fondly of that day and its sweetness. I love watching it.

                                           Happy Anniversary my love!

Trey, I love you more today than I ever thought I could. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being the best husband. Thank you for being you! Here's to many many more!!!

Panchos, FIshy Dance, and lots of fun

I love living in Florida. I really enjoy the weather, the people, living with my husband in our bungalow.

With that being said, I miss Tennessee. I miss the weather, the people (especially my family), living with my husband in our sweet, downtown apartment in Chatt.

Well, this past week, I was able to travel back to the promised land. I was so excited to go back to spend time with family, soak up the weather, and just be in my favorite place.

I arrived on Wednesday to two excited littles. My niece and nephew are the absolute best. They can make you feel super special. When my plane landed, they were waiting outside. When I opened the door, you would have thought that I was the Queen of England. I loved it. 

Anyway, we had a blast the entire weekend. We went swimming, had dinner at my beloved Panchos with best friends, went to the park, and Care had her very first dance recital. I may be a little bias, but she could have quite possibly been the cutest ballerina. Not the most graceful, but definitely the cutest : )

 I loved every moment of my time in Tennessee, but I was really excited to get back to my cutie husband!

                      My sweet sister. Miss her everyday. Move to FL? okay.

                 Sweet baby Judson. Gosh, I love this little boy so very much.

                        Care doing her fishy dance. Could she be any cuter?

         Not the best picture, but she was so excited so she wouldn't stand still.

                                    Cousins, best friends, tiny dancers.

      Love these two ladies more than they will every know. Miss living near them.

Sorry for the delay, but back in May, this little guy graduated from Pre-K. Really, is he old enough to go to Kindergarten?

Will Will, Aunt Jen and Uncle Trey are so proud of you. We love you so very much and know that you are going to do great things!!!