Jenny and Mike Crocker...

We are both going to change our last name to Crocker.

Seriously.

We decided to bake some goodies for the lady who gave us the 'wedding' bubbles...(as stated in my previous post)

First, we made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Mmmm...


While were we letting the cupcakes cool...we started on the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Here they are right before we put them on the cookie sheet to bake..


And here they are right out of the oven.


Our house smelled heavenly.....

We took a small break to say Hi!

Then on to the cream cheese frosting....

Here it is all ready to get put on the cupcakes...


Finished product..cooling.


And I bought this cute little basket to put the cookies and cupcakes in! I'm going to be delivering them to her tomorrow. I hope she likes them!

One of our favorite things is to cook/bake together. We have so much fun...and our finished product is always delicious. (Even though I can't have any.....I still 'taste tasted'!!) We have this passion for cooking. I can't explain it. We just Love. It.

If you want any of the recipes just comment me..and I'll give it to you!

(Mike HIGHLY recommends the cookies!)

a Rock Star and a Princess

Our town had trick or treating this past Saturday....(I think it's dumb not to have it on Halloween..but that's a whole other post)... I only got 2 little trick or treaters! I think it's because we live on a busy street. But anyhow here they are...


The Rock Star is Morgan and the Princess is Valerie. They are the beautiful daughters of my good friends Steve and Rachael.

Aren't they SO cute!!!!?? I wish I got a better picture of Morgan...she had the cutest striped tights on! I wanted to get me a pair!!

I let them take my whole bowl of candy..since I can't eat it. They devoured it. In Seconds.

Happy Halloween girls!!!

30 Day Shred

Buy this: HERE

Has been kicking my ass.

Oh.
My.
God.

I started it on Monday. And I could barely move yesterday. I've been working out regularly for 2 months now...and I didn't imagine that I could feel THIS sore. Wow.

I'm better today. And I plan on kicking it's ass tonight. I have a good feeling this wonderful little video will push me over my plateau..that I'm struggling with. (Well..I have my fingers crossed) I'm stuck at my 17lbs loss. It's extremely annoying. But I have to be grateful I've lost 17....

Buy this. You really should. I can feel a huge difference in only 1 day...that's just amazing. There are 3 different phases. I can't wait to show you my results!

Oh. My. GOD.

The concert WAS AMAZING!!!!

First off, I have to give a BIG ASS THANK YOU to my friend April. She got us these tickets. And the seats were unbelievable. I screamed as I walked into our row... "ARE WE REALLY THIS CLOSE??!!!"

Here we are waiting outside...

Look how close we were!!!!

I'm still on cloud friggin 9!

They put on the best show I've ever seen. It was fucking awesome.

They had 2 opening acts. First, Tami-Chynn from Kingston, Jamaica. She was SO cute! And really good! Second, was Natasha Bedingfield. She was also amazing! She has got the cutest accent!!

Then..THEY came on stage. I almost fainted. And I'm seriously not kidding. I jumped up and down and screamed so damn loud throughout the whole entire show. April mentioned at some point that she has NEVER seen me THIS happy. I danced ALL night long and screamed and sang...It was pure bliss! I was very surprised that the show was SO GOOD. They did so many nice things throughout the show too. They mentioned that 1 of the tank tops that they were selling...all the proceeds were going to Breast Cancer Research. Aw! And they played a short video in remembrance to the ones we've lost...Ailyiah, Left Eye, 2-Pac, Biggie, Donny's grandpa, Danny's Mom (from Breast Cancer)...it was so sad. I actually had a few tears swelling up! They are really a great group of guys.

My 2 favs of the night were Donny and Joey. I was always a DIE HARD Joey fan. But there is something about Donny these days.. that does BAD things to me! I think both of them looked at me a few times!

I may be the biggest dork. Ever. But there were a LOT of other girls screaming and acting more crazy than me. Ha. So..there. And I totally appreciate their music SO much more now. They are such good performers.

They also said Chicago was the BEST crowd! And had the most GORGEOUS woman! Woot Woot!

I was kinda mad because there were signs all over NO CAMERAS. So, we were afraid if we brought ours in we would have to take them all the back to the car... But I got some pictures from my camera phone..

Let me grace you with some pictures..(my apologies for the crappy pix)

The 1st 2 pictures are from their encore...Hangin' Tough. You should have seen it..everyone had their one arm in the air...waving side to side. It was sooo damn awesome!!!!!!!!!

I swear Joey was serenading me...

When Jordan took his shirt off..April pulled me so hard I thought I was gonna fall OVER!

I'm so glad I got to see them! I never thought I would ever see them in concert...I was too little when they first came out.

It was an absolute BLAST!

I'm gonna be Hangin' Tough with April tonight!

Yes...my girly April and I are going to see the New Kids On the Block tonight!!

Woot Woot!

I'm so damn excited. I can't contain myself... I am blasting their old albums. right. now.

"Step by step...Oooohh Baaaabbyy....gonna get to you Guurrlll..."

I will post some pix tomorrow..for those who care.
But I will leave you with this..



Check out those moves!!

HOT!


Just kidding.

I heart Peonies

My knot checklist is telling me I should decide on floral scheme and choose my flowers. Most brides already KNOW what flowers they want at the beginning of their engagement. But mine have changed a few times. At first I had to have Calla lilies....

Photo credit: the knot

But then decided they were too modern. And I just didn't love them...

Then I remembered that my Grandparents use to have a peony garden on the side of their house...and when I started seeing pictures of peonies...I instantly fell in love. So, I have made my final decision. I want my bouquet to be a bundle of peonies. Aren't they just beautiful?! My personal favorite is the bottom row-middle.

Photo credits: theknot

I definitely want all white/cream peonies for my bouquet. But I think I want my girls to carry cream and blush peonies. They will be wearing this dress....(I can't show you my dress-Mikey reads my blog!)

Photo credit: The Dessy Group

But I have one problem...what will the boutonnieres be? Peonies are too big to be a boutonniere...Aren't they? So, then do I add some ranunculuses to our bouquets? (See above boutonniere is a ranunculus)

I really had my heart set on an ALL peony bouquet....and Mike doesn't really care about flowers. I need your help!

What do you think??

My Something Old

We went on a few excursions today...

1st-we went 'shopping' for a tux. And we found a few we liked. And we have chosen the company we are going with.....

Savvi Formalwear. The people there were so nice and so informative. The 2nd place we checked out didn't seem to care if we rented a tux from them or not. And told us is if we get another guy in our wedding party he would give us 1 free. Wtf...we already have 12 guys needing a tux. (Sorry but I won't give out names...I don't need the company coming after me!) We will make our final tux decision in a few weeks...or the next weekend we have time to do it.

2nd-we went to visit my Auntie (Fairy God-mother)...she gave me more baby pictures for my project. (a project I can't tell you about. It's a secret!!) But she also gave me this...

(sorry for the crapping photography...my camera has taken a shit.)

She told me it was made by a friend of my Grandmother's and my Grandma held it on her wedding day....AND my Aunt used it as her Something Old. So..now it gets passed down to me! I didn't even know about this handkerchief!

Now I have my Something Old...

Isn't it beautiful? I'm a sucker for old things.

Shout out to Bella!

Bella, Thank you so much for designing me a custom blogger header!!!

I LOVE IT!!!!



PS. I just bought you a birthday present and it's coming from Europe! I really hope you like it. (Because I can't return it! hehe!)

OXOXO

Bubbles!

Yesterday, I got a call from a co-worker from one of our other buildings. She asked me if I bought bubbles yet. I was thinking...I haven't even THOUGHT about bubbles! She went on by saying her daughters got married a year ago..and they forgot about their 'bubble girl' and the bubbles. And they have been sitting in her closet ever since! So, she wants to donate them to me! How sweet! She went on by asking me my colors....and even offered to take off the pink ribbons and put my sage ribbon on them! Now I think she is CRAZY! I told her I would NOT let her do that. Giving the bubbles to me is too much already!

She surprised me later in the day....by stopping by my office and dropping them off!!! They were even in a cute little basket!


And she gave me some tulle! I swear you it's hard to find nice people like this anymore...

Then she offered to let me use her Cricut machine! I squealed! I have a center project that the cricut would really come in handy!!!

She wouldn't take money. She said it would hurt her feelings if I gave her anything. But I have to do something for her.

Got any ideas on what I could do for her?????

It's not a stencil

At work someone gave me a pumpkin to put on my desk as decoration. And it sat there for couple weeks and everyone kept telling me to paint something on it. But what they don't understand is...I can barely draw a stick figure! So..I decided to bring it home and let the artist draw something. We went to Michael's and got some acrylic paint..and he went to town of this pumpkin!



How awesome is that witch!!??

Well, I brought it back into work and everyone who walked in flocked to the pumpkin and complimented on how awesome it was. Except..the person who gave it to me. She didn't believe me that it WAS NOT a STENCIL. This kinda irritated me...

People he did this free hand.

Isn't it awesome!?

My fiance is the Shiiizzzznit!

Today Mike emailed me asking me what our 3rd choice was for our rehearsal dinner. When I told him, I was a bit puzzled as to why he was asking....during working hours. He informed me that he was trying to do some research on the top 3 restaurants we chose. Hmmmm...how nice I thought! But here is the kicker....He actually sent an email to (our 1st choice) and asked for more information regarding prices and menu options! Whoa! I'm super impressed!!! Isn't he the BEST?! It seems like such a minor task. However, when you have a billion minor tasks they all seem huge! And he is taking this one on himself! How sweet!!! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

And to set the record straight....Mike helps a LOT. He has made every decision with me...from the venues to our centerpieces. I just didn't expect him to do any more than say 'yes' or 'no'...I just feel so lucky he isn't sitting on the couch like a lazy bum. And I'm so happy he is so involved.

Is/Was your fiance this involved?!

The Countdown Begins!

And I'm not talking about a wedding countdown!!1 week from today I will be going to meet my first love.....
That's right ladies! Joey McIntyre! I am going to look him in those beautiful big blues and tell him that it's his last chance. If he wants to be with me..he has to choose now.

Because is 6 months (yes only 6 months!!) I will be marrying someone else.....(who also happens to have beautiful big blues..)




Ok ok...I'm just kidding! I love Mikey and I wouldn't trade him for the world. And I CANNOT wait to marry him!!

But seriously....I will be going to see New Kids On The Block 1 week from today!

I'm soooo excited!

I think I might pee my pants. (Not joking.)

Week 6: weigh in

So..I'm down a steady 15lbs. I stopped fluctuating. Yay! I've really been working out good this week - I can really feel it! I have been really sore....but I kinda like it. You know that tightness in your tummy...as much as it hurts....you can tell your slimming down? What a great feeling!

I feel pretty icky today. It's been a emotional roller coaster today. I wish I could post more about it...but I can't. I promised I wouldn't.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Tomorrow is Friday! Woo Hoo!

Mike and I plan to go Tux 'shopping' this weekend. We have a few more weeks before we have to do it. However, things are hectic these days. I have a concert coming up, and I've scheduled some hair appointments (gotta make some extra dough!), and some DIY projects, and wedding projects....Oh ya and I will be in Iowa for 5 days in the beginning on November. Busy Busy!!

I can't wait to see Mikey in a Tux!

Went to the beach...in October!

Yesterday we were on our way to visit Mike's Dad and look for baby pictures of Mike....and we stopped at the beach.

Who knew on October 12th it would 76 degrees?!! It was beautiful! We walked around and just soaked up the last 'hot' day of the year.

It looks like fall....yet it felt like spring.

As beautiful (and warm) as it was. I can't wait for Fall weather. I love wearing sweaters and curling up on the couch with a soft blanket. And look at those colors. I love when the leaves turn colors...it is the most beautiful thing in the world.


This is an elderly couple, just sitting and chatting on the beach. I had to capture this moment. In a weird way it reminded me of Mike and I. I hope we are still riding our bikes at that age....and doing things as a couple. They were so soaked up in each other..they didn't even notice we were there. It was the cutest thing!

Happy Columbus Day!

I have the day off. Not sure what I'm doing today....maybe clean the house....watch daytime TV....Ya gotta love Christopher Columbus!

Date night!

After our shopping adventure..Mike took me to see a movie. Not just a movie...the movie I've been dying to see! Nights in Rodanthe. I am obsessed with Nicholas Sparks (as I state in a previous post)

It was fabulous. I laughed, I cried. It was a great movie-and they followed the book really well! Even Mike liked it! I was surprised!

Richard Gere...swooooooonn!

After the movie-I dried up my tears..And went to Friday's to have a couple drinks, and wind down for the night. I wanted to have my fav the Tropical Berry Mojito Shaker, but they were all out of mint leaves! Damn! But I tried their Ultimate Jacobs Creek Sangria- YUM-O!!!! Mike had jsut a plain ol' Margartia.

Then we went home and crashed!!! It was a long-but happily eventful day!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Saturday shopping adventure!

After Bella left, Mike and I decided to go shopping. He needed some new jeans and I wanted to look for some black shoes.

And guess what?! I found my shoes! And they were on SALE!!! What a lucky girl I was! Only $26.99! Ya gotta love Kohl's!

They are pretty high...3-1/4in heel. But they are so comfortable! And the best thing about them-is I get to use them for Jeff and Kelly's wedding, too...with this dress.

What do you think?? Do you like them?

Hair Day!

Yesterday Bella came over and we had a hair day! She had a rough time getting to my house because our local high school was having a homecoming parade on our main road! She finally arrived and surprised me with this lovely gift she made for me! I just LOVE it! How sweet is she?!

I highlighted her hair...and while she was processing she curled my hair. I wanted to experiment and see how my hair would look curled. I am trying to figure out how I want my hair for the wedding and I have a few ideas. The end result was so cute! However...I think I need to give myself some more height-my face looks so chubby! Yuck! AND my hair needs to GROW! It looks super short! I want it another 3 inches longer-and then I think it will be perfect. I have 6 months to go...I hope I can do it!

What is this gray area? Need new camera ASAP!

Here is a back view..

After Bella was done processing I gave her a light trim...And I did her practice updo! And she LOVED IT!!! (Sorry no pics! Has to be kept a surprise!) I was sooo happy she liked it. It was simple but so elegant. Just like her! She loved it so much she asked me to do it on her wedding day!!!!! I feel so honored. I mean seriously....how many people have the chance to do their best friend's hair for their wedding?? I am just so happy! Her wedding is coming up quick! Just a little over 3 months. (I have to find my mannequin heads...and start perfecting it!!!!)

Next up....shopping and date night!

My page has gone wacky..

I've noticed that my blog layout has gone a little crazy. I am going to fix it I promise... But the bad thing about blogger is that all the widgets go away when you change the layout. And I need time to do all that-and right now..I don't have time!

I will get to it soon.

The way I see it

The way we get to live forever is through memories stored in the hearts and souls of those whose lives we touch. That's our soul print. It's our comfort, our emotional nourishment at the end of the day and the end of a life. How wonderful that they are called up at will and savored randomly. It seems to me we should spend our lives in a conscious state of creating these meaningful moments that live on. Memories matter. -Author Unknown

Dear Santa...

I know I'm too old to write wish lists. But I only have one request.

Can we please cancel presents this year?

Please.

You see I'm really broke this year. I can barely afford to put gas in my car or make my car insurance payment. We may have to build a fire pit in our house, so we don't have to pay our gas company....

Ok I'm exaggerating.

You see..there are a lot of weddings this year. Lots of expenses. Like buying presents, putting money in cards, shoes. (Yes, shoes!) Coordinating showers..bachelorette parties. Wedding supplies. Mike's wedding ring (the most important). My veil. And I can't forget another pair of shoes (my bridal shoes). Oh and hair accessories. Various dress alterations. Gas to and from Chicago to meet with Uncle Fr. Bart. I could keep going...but I think you get the picture........

I am by NO MEANS complaining. I am sooo excited to buy these things and attend/stand up in these weddings. Especially my own. Weddings only come around once in a while. They are once in a lifetime affairs. My friends and I will never have another....

However, Christmas comes around EVERY year. So, what's the harm in canceling presents just this one time???

Please?

Your loyal believer,
Jenny

Week 5: weigh in

Hello again...I've made it to week 5. And I'm down 15lbs! I've been fluctuating a little....between 13-15lbs. But that's ok!

I have been watching what I eat and trying to do 30-60 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. This week I'm going to start crunches and toning. I'm going to attempt push ups, however I'm a little nervous! But I've seen great results on your arms...so it's worth a try. I love doing Pilates to tone up. It works the best for me.

Some days are harder than others...But I feel so much better. My constant headaches are slowly going away, and I have much more energy. Little by little I'm getting healthier! By no means do I think I'm 'fat' but you have to do what you think is best for you-right?! I want to get healthier..and feel more comfortable in the skin I'm in! (that is from my bestie Bella!)

Good Luck to any of you who are trying to get in shape!

You can DO it!!!!!!

11-8-08

1 month from tomorrow.....Mike's brother Jeff and his fiance, Kelly are tying the knot! We will be traveling to Iowa for their wedding. I can't wait to see all the details...and practice dancing my booty off!!

WE FOUND IT!

Our first dance song!!!!

WOO HOO!

We've been searching and searching....

And it's perfect.




But I can't tell you!

Facebook rocks!

For any of you who don't have a Facebook account...you should get one! You can upload your blog to it..and gives your friends an easier way to read your blog. There are fun features too...you can comment, email, instant message...poke people..join different clubs. Like Bears Fans, etc.

I love it! I don't have very many friends yet....but that's why I'm telling you to join! It's fun! I've been able to talk to a lot of friends I haven't seen in a long time..that I have missed so very much!

Sign up NOW!