Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays...however you celebrate this day, may it bring you love, peace, happiness, & joy! Love you all!

*Jolene*

Welcome December!

Greetings everyone! I'm sorry it's been a little while since I posted, just haven't thought about it. I'm such a terrible blogger. LOL! Anyway, can y'all believe it's December already!? Where the heck did 2013 go!? This year seems to have just flown by! I can't believe that in just a little over 29 days, we'll be welcoming in 2014...and hopefully I'll also be celebrating a permanent position at my job! I will actually find out this month if I get an offer or not for the new year, and I'm crossing my fingers that I do! Work's actually been going pretty well for me so far! I'm still learning new things every day, but a lot of stuff is getting easier to troubleshoot & hopefully one day down the line, I'll be able to do it without thinking at all! LOL! We'll see!

Anywho, I hope everyone had a wonderful beginning to their holiday season. I actually worked on Thanksgiving, but that's okay as it was pretty dang slow, so it was an easy shift. :) Travis & I put up our Christmas tree & decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I've been in the Christmas spirit for a couple of weeks now. I just love looking at our tree at night with it's sparkling lights & decorations & seeing our new balcony icicle lights blinking away. Makes everything just so darn peaceful. Which I'm sure we all could use at this time of the year! LOL! I actually can't wait until the first snowfall of the season, which we may actually get later this week, but I just hope I'm over my cold by then! I got hit hard with a head/chest cold the other day (seems to be going around work at the moment), so right now I'm pretty doped up on cold medicine...which might explain my babbling. LOL! :) I've also been drinking green tea w/ lemon & ginseng like nobody's business. Hoping the combo of everything will kick this cold in the butt quickly! Yesterday absolutely sucked when I was on the phone & taking calls for work, as I could hardly breathe & kept coughing or sneezing during the calls. Those poor customers had to have been so sick of hearing me sniffle in their ears. LOL! Oh well, tis the season, right!? Haha!

Well, I just wanted to come on here & post a quick little note letting y'all know I'm still here & alive & kicking, just been busy with work & planning for the holidays! I hope everyone is having a great week so far & may December be your best month yet! :) Talk to y'all soon! Take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Happy Veteran's day everyone!! I just wanted to take some time out of celebrating my birthday (yup! you read that right! I'm now officially 34 years old!) to say THANK YOU to all our armed forces veterans that have served or are serving to keep us all free! Without your bravery & sacrifices, we wouldn't be where we are today! Thank you & God Bless!!!



*Jolene*

Birthday month

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are doing well on this lovely Fall November day! :) My day's going pretty well, even though my dog decided I needed a dang workout & I had to chase him the equivalent of about 5 blocks before I was able to catch up to him. Yeah, he made a break for it (leash included) & all I have to say is OUCH!! My poor lungs were burning by the time I grabbed that leash & brought him back to the apartment. He's now chilling in the kennel & will probably be in there for another hour or so. He is just SO lucky he wasn't hit by a car on his little run! Scared the freaking crap out of me when he crossed the street from my apartment complex (luckily it wasn't the REALLY busy street)! Ugh, I love him, but sometimes!!!! GAH!

Anyway, it is November...which means it's my birthday month. As a matter of fact, we are exactly ONE week away from my 34th birthday! Not that I have too much planned for that day. I'll probably spend it watching my shows on Netflix, as my hubby has to work & with it being at the beginning of the week, all my other friends are either working or in class. Oh well! Sometimes, spending your special day alone can be a good thing...right? :) Not only is it my birthday month, but my sisters' as well! Her birthday is actually 5 days after mine, but she's 4 years older than me, & lives in Florida, so sadly I won't be able to spend it with her, but I'll definitely be thinking about her! :) I also have quite a few other friends that have birthdays or anniversarys this month, so yes, November is quite busy for me. Not only that, but it's Thanksgiving month too! :) I actually have to work on Thanksgiving, but that's okay. I don't mind! I'm just so dang excited because the holidays are really upon us now...matter of fact, just the other day, I *almost* pulled out my Christmas cd's to listen to! I know, I know...it's a bit early for that, but I'm sure in the next couple of weeks I'll probably be pulling them out! It is also NaNoWriMo month too! What is that, you may ask? It stands for: National Novel Writing Month. It is supposed to help you write a novel in a month (or at least get started on one) by giving you daily goals of how many words you should have written, as well as support from other writers. I haven't joined in, but I am working on writing a book...three of them actually. I just have so many ideas in my head, that when a story comes to me, I start to write it, even if I'm not finished with my other one(s) first! I always know I can go back to my others when I get a chance. I just feel like if I don't get the ideas/story out of my head right away, I'll lose it & you never know, that idea could be novel idea! ;) Haha! Get what I did there? Okay, yes, it was cheesy, but at least it made me chuckle! Hopefully one of these days I'll actually get one of those stories finished & can have one of my friends (who is a published author) look over it & edit it & help me make it good enough to actually send it to an editor/publisher. Guess I'll find out one day! LOL! :)

Anyhow, I hope everyone is having a good start to their November so far & I hope that it continues to treat you well! Now, I'm off to relax on our new couch & watch some "Supernatural" on Netflix! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Hiya!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to pop on & write a quick post before settling in for the night. Today is my 2nd day off for the week & I slept half of it away & then got to spend about 2 hours of it doing laundry, so I don't really feel like I've had a day off, which probably sounds weird, but that's how I look at it, especially since I have to work the next 3 days. I think it's also because my husband was home today & is spending his day at home watching "The Walking Dead" on Netflix, and I'm sorry, but I just can NOT get into that series! I can read about zombies without a problem, but actually watching them in a movie/on tv, I just can't do it. So, I'm actually trying to ignore the sounds coming from the tv that is located behind me while I write this. Kind of hard when you hear that gross squish when one of their heads gets smashed in or the sound of their "rarr rarr" as they're about to attack someone. Yeah, I'm sorry, that's just not for me. LOL!

Anyway, I hope your week has been going well so far! We are just 2 days away from Halloween, and I'm actually kind of grateful that I get to work that day, as I don't really feel like opening the door to trick or treaters (not that we get that many at the apartment complex)...plus, I have no money to buy candy with, so yeah. That is a problem. LOL! Oh well, I'll just spend my Halloween at work, troubleshooting people's problems with their modems/tv's/phones. I can't believe October is almost over though. Where in the world did this month go!? LOL! I'm happy in a way though, because it means we are one step closer to the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season & even though the holidays can be stressful, I am looking forward to them! I really can't wait to put up our Christmas tree (which we're doing the weekend after Thanksgiving) & pull out my Christmas cd's & just get into the festive mood! Christmas is my favorite holiday, if you couldn't tell. LOL! I'm also looking forward to being able to actually spend money on Christmas presents this year, even though a few of my friends are going to get semi-homemade gifts, just because I feel they are a bit more personal, & I've never done anything like that for Christmas...well, at least not since I was kid. LOL! The hubby & I are still exchanging gifts this year, but just this past Saturday, we got one of our early Christmas presents...we FINALLY got a brand new dining room table & chairs!!! Yes! After almost 3 years of living in this apartment, we finally have a table & chairs that we can actually sit down to, & eat supper at! We actually just had our first meal at the table last night. It was nice to sit down & have your food in front of you, and not below you, like it had been, when we were eating at the coffee table. LOL. I'll include a picture of the dining room set. We got it from Ashley Furniture, and it definitely  makes this apartment feel a bit more like a home now! :)

Isn't it pretty!? :)

Well readers, other than that, I can't really think of anything else to say, except have a safe Halloween/blessed Samhain!!! :) I'll write again soon! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators!

*Jolene*

Holy Disappearance, Batman!

Greetings & salutations everyone!

Wow, I can not believe that I haven't posted in almost 3 months! I'm a terrible blogger, aren't I? *lowers head in shame* I'm so sorry about that everyone. I guess I've just had so much going on in my life lately that I completely forgot about my blog. But, hopefully (cross your fingers-lol) I'll be back & blogging more!

So, today is October 15th, and it seems that Fall has FINALLY arrived in Kansas! Yay!! We had such a hot summer (not as bad as last year though), which basically made it's way into September & was still hanging around when the calendar said it was Fall. Yeah, we actually didn't get Fall-like weather (where I live in Kansas) until about a week ago. Yeah, it was literally still in the upper 80's until about a week ago. It was crazy & I was CRAVING Fall-like weather like you wouldn't believe! Fall is actually one of my favorite seasons (Spring is my other one) so when it gets to that time of the year, I get so excited! And sadly, I had to wait until just a few days ago to actually experience that happiness! But, Fall is here now, and I am LOVING it! Yesterday it was cloudy, rainy, & about 60 degrees, which I happened to love (perfect sleeping weather) and today is sunny, but only about 55 degrees out as I write this. Plus, the rest of the week is supposed to be in the 60's and a couple days in the low 70's. YES, I am seriously loving this weather!! And the leaves have finally started falling off the trees & are now crunching underfoot, and I am having to wear my hoodie when I go outside, so I am one happy girl! Plus, we are only 16 days away from Halloween & the official "start" of the holiday season (for me anyway), so I'm getting more & more excited as the days pass by! Yes, Fall is finally here! *insert happy dance*

What else has happened? Oh, well, a couple months ago I finished my training for a Billing/Sales Representative job with a company called Convergys. I was happy to have a job, but because I didn't find out until the DAY OF my "graduation" from training that I had actually passed, I had been putting my resume out in a preemptive strike (just in case I didn't make it past training). Well, it turns out that it was a good idea that I did! Even though I passed my training & started working with Convergys, I actually got a call from Cox Communications about a Tech Support/Customer Service position! Well, to say the least, I didn't pass it up, and left Convergys at the end of August & started my training for Cox on September 3rd. I have just recently graduated training and had my first official day on the floor this past Sunday! I work 10 hour days, so I get 3 days off a week which is nice, and I am slowly getting more and more comfortable with the technical support aspect of my job! :) I even have my own desk that I can decorate with knick knacks or pictures! Granted, that may change in the next 6 weeks, as there's another class that just started on Monday, and we may end up having to do desk sharing once they graduate, but I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime! Haha! The pay is great, and the hours work SO much better with my husband's work schedule, so I'm a happy camper right now!

I do have some sad news to report, though. On September 30th, my husband's father passed away at the age of 57. He had been ill for quite some time (had lung cancer that metastasized to his bones) so we knew it was going to happen, but it was still hard to get that call. My husband has actually been out of work for the last 2 weeks, but hopefully will feel up to going back to work tomorrow. He has now basically lost all the parents he's ever known. His grandparents, who were his legal guardians growing up, passed away in 2002 & 2007, and he's not really that close to his biological mom. Obviously, it's hard for anyone that loses a parent, but my hubby had actually just started having a good relationship with his father over the last couple of years, so I think the death hit him harder than anyone expected it to, especially himself. All I can really do is just be there for him & give him support, but I pray every day that he'll have the strength to overcome this!

Well readers, I hate to end this on a sad note, but I honestly can't think of anything else to write about, so I'm going to go, but hopefully I'll have something new & exciting to write about soon, because I really don't want to go another 2 months without a blog post! LOL! Anyway, I hope you all have a great day, and I'll talk to you again soon! Take care & stay safe!!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

P.S. Happy birthday to our Boxer puppy, Panzer! I can't believe he's a year old today! Boy, does time fly!! :)

Photo Challenge-Day 31

DAY 31-ERRAND

I had fun doing these. Now, onto other things. Lol! :) Until next time, take care & stay safe!!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 30

DAY 30-A GOOD THING

"Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey

Whiskey makes my baby, feel a little frisky

Back roads are boggin' up, my buddies pile up in my truck

We hunt our hunnies down, we take 'em into town

Start washin' all our worries down the drain

Rain is a good thing" (Luke Bryan)

Yes, rain IS a good thing! :) A shot of the downpour we had last night, from my balcony. Enjoy!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 29

DAY 29-LOVE/HATE

I'm having a love/hate relationship with this weather. Lol! I'm SO ready for Fall to be here!!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 28

DAY 28-NEAR

My little boy, Shiloh, resting on his favorite spot, near the door.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 27

DAY 27-FRAME

Just a little thing I saw at my friends' aunts' house. :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 26

DAY 26-3 Things

Three (3) of my cute little stuffed animals!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 25

DAY 25-BEFORE BEDTIME

Always have to make sure I have Joey (teddy bear) with me before I go to bed! :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 24

DAY 24-UP

Ceiling fan :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 23

DAY 23-SOMETIMES

Sometimes my baby girl likes to sleep on the clean laundry! Lol! She's so adorable!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 22

DAY 22-MAN MADE

Lots of man-made items over there. Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 21

DAY 21-UNDERNEATH

Underneath our bed. Lol.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 20

DAY 20-PRICE

Just put $25 in my gas tank, & even got 10¢ off a gallon thanks to my Dillons Plus Card! :)

*Jolene*

P.S. It's storming!! Yay!!!! :-D

Photo Challenge-Day 19

DAY 19-IN MY FRIDGE

Hmm...I think it's time to buy some groceries! Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 18

DAY 18-Six O'Clock

6pm on the dot :) Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 17

DAY 17-STRANGER

This gal was at the Anime Fest Wichita this past weekend. Loved her costume!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 16

DAY 16-FIRST THING YOU SEE

The lock screen on my phone, which I check every morning after my alarm goes off.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 15

DAY 15-FAVORITE

Spending the day, watching one of my favorite shows, CSI:NY, on Netflix :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 14

DAY 14-TABLE

My little portable table that I still keep by my side of the bed just because my bedside table is actually covered with stuff. Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 13

DAY 13-TOGETHER

My bestie & I at Anime Fest Wichita. She was dressed as Sailor Mars! :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 12

DAY 12-HERO

I couldn't find a good pic, so I made my own. Lol! My hero is my Mom. She's been through so much in her life & is still going strong! :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 11

DAY 11-BLACK AND WHITE

A shot of the heat shield from the Gemini capsule AFTER it reentered Earth's atmosphere. Taken at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 10

DAY 10-WEEKENDS

This happens every weekend. Hubby plays his C.O.D. game & the puppy does everything to get his attention. Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 9

DAY 9-AT NIGHT

Taken at night on the 4th of July. Love that these fireworks look like a big balloon! :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 8

DAY 8-NATURAL

An all natural, herb infused body soak I bought a few months ago & have only used once, as I don't like the fact that some of the product doesn't dissolve & will float around the bath water & stay on your skin until you rinse it off. It's a good soak for sore muscles however.

If you want to participate in Just Another Static Heart's July photo challenge, here's the list for each day!

Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 7

DAY 7-EVERY DAY

Every day, at some point, I turn these on & spend time alone in my bedroom watching a movie or DVD collection...whether I want to, or not.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 6

DAY 6-BRIGHT

One of the lights in our bedroom.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 5

DAY 5-IN MY MAILBOX

I live in an apartment complex, so no fancy mailbox for me. Lol! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 4

DAY 4-FAR AWAY

This is a picture I took back in 2011 at the Tim McGraw concert I went to...Luke Bryan was one of the opening acts, & this is a picture of his set :) I was seated in the nosebleeds.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 3

DAY 3-FATHER

This is a photo of me, my birth mom, & my birth father

Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 2

DAY 2-YOU

Self explanatory. Lol! :)

*Jolene*

July Photo Challenge

Greetings all! So, here we are with a new month and a new photo challenge by Just Another Static Heart! This one is a bit harder, but that should make it more fun! Here's the list for July, and my entry for Day 1-HIDDEN. Enjoy! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

(This nest was so well hidden, you couldn't see it until you were right underneath it!)

Photo Challenge-Day 30

DAY 30-REFLECTION

Our tea light candle mirror. Unfortunately we don't have any tea lights in there right now, but it still reflects what's around it. Lol! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Days 28 & 29

Sorry I missed yesterday. Wasn't feeling well when I got home, & I was so extremely tired (nodded off at the wheel when I was driving & almost got in an accident), that when I laid down, I passed out until almost 2am. Anyway, here's DAY 28-SWEET:

(a partly eaten Pull 'n Peel Twizzler)

And DAY 29-SIGN:

(our well worn (LOL) door sign that normally hangs on the door, but is inside since we live in an apartment)

Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 27

DAY 27-CRAFT

My partly finished latchhook project. Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Days 25 & 26

DAY 25-MACRO & DAY 26-WATER

I'm doing both days in this one post as I wasn't able to post yesterday, as my father-in-law is terminally ill & my husband & I went to visit him after I got off work, & then I fell asleep around 7:30pm. Anyway, today's picture is pretty self explanatory...it's so freakin' hot here that I downed that bottle of water in like 5 minutes! LOL! :) Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 24

DAY 24-FAVORITE THING

I absolutely love to read! :) Those shelves are 2 rows of books deep! Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 23

DAY 23-TREES

Sorry everyone. I was out running around all day with one of my best friends, so I didn't have time to snap any new pics today, so I'll have to use this older one I took back in 2007. Lol. Enjoy!! Until next time, take care & stay safe!!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUSBAND! :)

Photo Challenge-Day 22

DAY 22-SELF PORTRAIT

Taken last week.

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 21

DAY 21-EYES

This shot of his eyes makes Shiloh look devilish or like a robot! Lol! Enjoy! Until next time, take care & stay safe!

Later gators,

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 20

DAY 20-LOVE

The charm is part of a necklace that my husbands' aunt made as a present for me & I wore to our wedding, but I'm currently using the chain with a different charm. Lol! :)

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 19

DAY 19-FEET

My hubby's feet & Panzer's back paws. Lol!

*Jolene*

Photo Challenge-Day 18

DAY 18-PETS

Each one brought/brings something new to the family! :)

*Jolene*