Layout

Dagnabbit! Just realized that the cool new layout I'd chosen completely annihilated the Etsy gadget as well as the Follow Me on twitter/fb/pinterest etc links. Gah. So here it is. Another layout!
This wouldn't really be an issue, but I don't really like clicking on websites and always having to find my way around them all over again. Maybe a back ground image change once in awhile? Sure. But total layout redo? Nope.

Buy hey! Here's a pick of me paddling yesterday on my new SUP! We celebrated our 16th anniversary by buying a 2nd board so we could paddle together. Awwww. ♥

(Don't be jealous of the booties.)

Oh. Snap.

I love my family. I really do. And my sisters especially! Check this out:

I can see some vlogs in my very near future. So much better to just say it and get it out rather than typing! And the emotion - such an important part. Very hard to capture sarcasm in writing, you know. Thanks Kace!!!

I just got some really cool eyeshadow for my 3rd eye.

New Year = New Knowlege, New Gym, New New New

So here it is - the first official post after the last post 2 minutes ago...

If you didn't read it, it was a short blurb about how I want my blog to be more entertaining (at least to me) in the coming year. And how I'm going to add pics etc. And what did I do? I posted it with NO PHOTOS. Geez louise. I just hit post and moved on. So let me do better!

Here is a link to a recently posted painting. I painted it a few months ago, but it was hanging in the house we are currently selling, and was therefore difficult to photograph.

I have a lot of fun with this style. It seems to be the fastest way to get an image down when I just need to get it out of my brain. Ever have that feeling, fellow artistic types? You know when you just. have to. get it. out. Whether it's a painting onto a canvas (or upcycled, light weight composite panel in this case) or photographing that perfect angle, or perfecting a new recipe you've been working on - whatever your medium of choice.

On a related note, Culinary School starts in just over a week. I'm excited! I have all of my books already and scurried off to orientation yesterday. So after 2 hours of needless orientation, I finally escaped with my parking pass in hand (the true reason I had to go to orientation.) I will be getting my Associates in Culinary - but since I already have my BFA the process will be pretty painless. 10 culinary classes and I'm done! I'll be gathering all my local peeps to use as guinea pigs throughout the 2 years of training (only going 1/2 time so I can keep teaching!)

Speaking of teaching, I've moved from the RH YMCA to the Yon Tybee Island GA. And instead of teaching yoga/power yoga/TRX I'm teaching Pilates. I'm currently teaching 2 classes, but next week I'll add another 7am class and a Senior Chair Pilates class which should be interesting. Tybee is a totally different world -but not in a better or worse way. Just completely different. For example, my current students are generally retired, and there's not a New Year's rush expected. But around Spring/Summer all of the tourists will come in and replace our Snow Birds. This is normally the time of year it starts to taper off for a while. I'm looking forward to meeting all of the new gym folk. And it's not too shabby that I'll get to head to the beach for a stroll between classes on Wednesdays!

Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary. We will be celebrating today by buying a 2nd paddle board and going for a paddle together. :) Up until now we've had to take turns. Should be fun exploring the waters around our snugly little condo. And we get to go right our our back door when the tide is in! Here's a shot of our Christmas Day paddle from our back door:

Happy almost New Year!

Ah, here it comes. A New year. As you can see, if you've been here before, I've changed the layout again. Hopefully for the last time - but we'll see ;) This one lets you, the reader, be interactive with what you are viewing, so let me know if you like using the tabs along the top to flip through the various views.

This new, somewhat drab layout also forces me to add pictures to keep it from being dull and colorless. I have to admit that the last several posts look pretty sad now, as they don't have photos inserted. So here's to my New Year's mission - to make this blog more entertaining! (for me at least...)

Happy Happy December! Aka: Things I'm Grateful For

Happy December to everyone! Yes, I know November was the month for giving thanks, but shouldn't we do that every month? Every day? So. Here I am, after ages of not posting, listing things I'm thankful for.

1. My family/husband/friends - all are fabulous! (so many snide comments could/would normally be added here, but I'm going to keep this one straightforward and non-sarcastic. That's a true challenge for me!)

2. The fact that my scarves are flying off the Etsy and Red Clover shelves, thus keeping my Yoga Teacher Training on track!

3. My above-mentioned honey's seriously-great job that allows me to teach yoga/pilates/trx, create art, take care of my family, and (in January) go back to school to get my Culinary degree. :)

4. That same honey's fondness for my cooking, etc that reminds him why it's good for me to be out of a cubicle!

5. Oh! The fact that I no longer spend 40+ hours in a cubicle. That will forever be on my Thankful For list.

6. My health.

7. My body that, while it never seems to shrink, continues to grow stronger with every work out.

8. My new condo that is so much easier to clean - and in such a fun location - halfway between downtown Savannah and Tybee Island.

9. My camera.

10. My cuddly wiener dogs. Even when they make me walk them in the cold, wet grass and scoop their poop. (ew. Downside to condo living.)

11. My paid for car.

12. The family that will soon be buying my house! (whoever/wherever they are...)

13. Miniature Dark Chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (ironic that this one ended up as naughty number 13)

14. TRX straps on my porch.

15. Travel - and the fact that we can!

16. Silk wholesalers.

17. Pinterest - my new way to track fun stuff/trends/recipes/dreams!

18. Speaking of dreams - my honey that continues to dream with me the ever-evolving, soon to develop dream.

19. Even with the cruddy economy - our country. It's pretty fabulous, really. And the more we all travel to other countries, the more we all realize just how special it is here.

20. Our soldiers (and their families!) that keep this country safe.

21. The fact that this list is over!

Sure, sure - everyone on FB was posting one for each day of November and I only made it to 21. But that sarcasm ban proved more difficult than I imagined.

What are you thankful for? Let's all take a minute - every day, or even every hour - to be grateful for something. Something huge. Something tiny. Just be grateful for what we have. This is the secret to bringing more of those fabulous things to us! Really. Give it a shot. When we focus on the good, the good continues to grow. (this is true for negative as well, so be sure to push those negative thoughts away.)

Have a wonderful December! ♥ And thank you for reading!

It's the condo life for me. And my honey. And the pups.

Ok. We've done it. We officially moved into a condo. Still waiting on the house to sell. (Feel free to click and purchase) We ended up in a 2 bed/2 bath first floor condo on the Bull River. And we LOVE it. Of course, it will be more cozy when we sell the house and bring all of our furniture over... Chose to leave the bigger pieces in order to stage for a quicker sale.

In the meantime, I've discovered many pluses: Electric bill for 1st month? $39. Yes - 29 days and our bill is $39. That's ONE TENTH of our summer bills at the house. I realize the weather has been fabulous and the windows/glass doors have been open non-stop to take in those creek-front breezes, but still. I've NEVER had a bill remotely close to that in the house. Happy dance. :)

Another plus? We met more neighbors in our first week here than we did in 10 years at the house.

#3 - ten minutes 10 MINUTES from the beach. We've been in Savannah for 13 years and we FINALLY are close to the beach. Have we visited yet? Well, now that's a different story.

Numero Quatro in the plus column: it's much quieter than we thought it would be. I occasionally have the stompy neighbor upstairs - but it's rare that I actually even hear that.

#5: still close to Target, Home Depot, Jalapeno's - everything I need within 15 minutes. I can even ride my bike to Kroger. :)

To sum it up, we love it. Is it perfect yet? No. Does it have potential to be? Well, of course. Everything in life has the potential to be perfect - life is what we make it. Choose to be happy here and now.

PS. Negatives? Yep. Loudest laundry closet/washer/dryer set up EVER. But we're working on that. Walking the easily distracted wieners in the dark, cold mornings? Also sucky - but doable. Leaving my comfortable, friendly gym? Ick. But on the prowl for a new place to teach. Lack of storage? Uh huh. But that is part of "The Plan" and so I might need to move that to the Plus list...

Happy November everybody!

The winds they are a' changin'

We are currently prepping our lovely home of 10 years for sale. We love this house. We've put so much work into it. The back yard is our oasis. The living room is our go-to when we just want to chill. The puppies have their own little utopia - perfect for when we travel.

And what are we doing? Cleaning out the cobwebs, clearing out the packrat-like piles of "stuff" we've accumulated over this past decade. Most likely moving into a 2 bed/2 bath condo. Taking the puppies from their cozy, comfortable routine of being able to come and go as they want and plopping them in a 2nd floor condo, surrounded by neighbors and placing them completely under my control of their poop schedule. Not to mention the stairs. Stairs and wieners don't always mix...

So why are we doing this? I can't really say. Not because I don't know. But because I can't say. Very mysterious, huh? Let me just leave it at this: we are taking the 1st, albeit huge, step in our __ year plan to new adventures. Yes. __ years. Also a mystery. But don't worry. We have a plan. We always have a plan. :)

Stay tuned. One day I will be able to spill the beans. And what fabulous beans the are!

Ahoy, maties!

Gearing up for the July 4th weekend. We tagged along on Lori's yearly expedition to Dale Hollow last year, and we had so much fun we're going again! I've even made tshirts for everyone to commemorate the event. Seriously. They have a theme each year, and this year is Cowboys and Indians. You may or may not see photos of this event. The shenanigans promise to be abundant.

In the meantime, I'm gearing up for a Premier Jewelry party tonight - hosting it for a friend who's just started selling. I ♥ me some sparklies. :) And who doesn't love a good Girls' Night?

On the real estate front, I was working pretty fervently on a home in downtown Savannah that was built in 1900. It has every single thing we're looking for - except the ideal location. It's a bit further south than we were looking for. But after a few weeks of nonstop quotes and financing hooplah, someone got a contract on the sucker before we could get our offer in. Just so happens we love our current house and were both a bit relieved that the deal fell through. It would've been about 2 years of remodels - that would admittedly result in a GORGEOUS house, and we're a bit tired. So - as a result, we can now pick back up on our plans for numerous road trips throughout the year to explore our fabulous country. Now to pick the first destination... In this heat, I have to say that water/mountains are calling.

Quicky Update!

As much as I hate to announce this, I have officially deleted the Boobie Brigade. :(

I signed up for the 3 Days for the Cure, and received a couple of donations (THANKS LADIES!!!), but have not even begun to come close to the $2300 requirement. And I can't walk without that. So, looks like my registration fee will just have to be a donation - and I'm good with that. The whole point was to raise money for breast cancer.

Other news: seems to be calming down here, but I have a feeling it's the calm before the storm. (I like storms). Will try to update more regularly during this lull. What are you up to?

Happy St Patrick's Day! and other random thoughts...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

One of my all time favorite holidays. I have to admit, it's slipped down the list past Thanksgiving, where I get to eat and visit with family - but a day just to celebrate is hard to beat. Just hanging out with friends and having fun. And if you want to celebrate St. Pat's, I've gotta say that Savannah, GA is the place to do it!

Ok, now to admit it: I'm not going downtown today. I'm staying in my cozy home/back yard enjoying the peace and quiet and catching up on things that need to be caught up on. Something tells me that when I head to Tybee this weekend, the festivities will still be going strong. I'll play catchup with the ladies. ;)

Yesterday was THE BIG DAY! My very most favorite day of the year. I admit it's a selfish day. But that's why I love it. I will always and forever admit that I am selfish. I got up and cooked a lovely, full breakfast then headed off to teach my Yoga class. I threw in some hard stuff - just because I can. And honestly, the ladies like the hard stuff. *snicker* (you can always count on me to keep it classy here)

I also hung out by the pool/in the back yard for a couple of hours. What a great way to welcome Spring/my 38th year! I did a few things around the house that needed to be done, then got all dolled up for dinner with my honey. He got me a new Nano - and it's perfect! My Shuffle has seen better days, and I just can't get as much music/have as much control of that music as I'd like. AND the Nano has a pedometer and other gadgets that are so cool. Since I've been learning to run (to make that 3 Days for the Cure 60 miles go a little faster in December...) the pedometer/sport gadgets will be great for tracking my improvements.

AND I got 2 books from Bulgaria! Ok, so Beulah called the Savannah Barnes and Noble and had them hold them at the front desk, and they are not Bulgarian in any way, but it's still exciting that I have presents from sistergirl in BG.

I did a bit of work in the studio this week and posted a painting. I was ALSO in the AASU Alumni show and BOTH of my paintings sold before they could get on the wall! So exciting. In fact, I need to get that new Nano loaded, go for a run and then get back to the studio! I can hear it calling from the back yard... "Jennnnnifer, oh Jennnnnnifer, come and paint with meeeee." It's a little creepy. But you must always listen to the voices...

It's that time again...

BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! Wooooot!

Can you tell I love my birthday? I love all birthdays, but mine is my favorite for some reason. Anyway. Yay for spring! Loving the warm weather. Also loving that I got to sit in the sun yesterday. And that our 2nd rental is just about move-in ready. Time to get back in the studio. :)

Watching a Miley Cirus movie. Trying to clear movies off of my Netflix list. Sadly, this is not the worst one that was on the list. But is the worst one that I've made it this far into. The others got deleted much earlier in the viewing process. Maybe I can finish this one...

So. What's up with you?

The Boobie Brigade is off and... walking?

And a Team is born...

I've officially created the Boobie Brigade for the 2011 Susan G. Komen 3 Days for the Cure walk/run in Atlanta in October. Wanna join? Come on! Wanna donate? PLEASE DO!

Here's the deal - I have until October 21st to raise $2300 AND train to walk 20 miles per day for 3 days. Yes. 60 miles in 3 days. You can join my team and/or donate to me by using the links in this post or visiting my page on Facebook (which will just take you right back to the Susan G Komen sight.) You can search for my name, Jennifer Prince, to make a donation. Or search for my team, Boobie Bridage, to join in the fun. Each team member will be responsible for raising $2300 before the walk.

Does 60 miles in 3 days sound like too much? Sounds like a lot to me as well. Good news! They have vans/buses/some sort of wheeled contraptions that can pick us up along the way if we just can't go any further.

So why do I plan to do this? Well, there's a lot of breast cancer out there. Several in my family have already been diagnosed and treated. And I have 4 sisters, a step daughter, and a niece. We need to cure this before it goes any further. Huge strides have already been made in early diagnosis and treatment. It's no longer a death sentence, and my family is, thankfully, living proof. Let's take it a step further. Help me raise the money - donate whatever you can afford, and we'll do all we can to cover ALL SIXTY MILES in THREE days!

Please help. There are several things you can do to make a difference. Share a link to this blog, my Facebook page, or the Susan G. Komen 3 Day site. Donate. Anything helps. Join the team and raise $2300 to contribute. Have any thoughts or ideas to share for fundraising, etc? Just let me know with a comment here!

Thanks again. Will update soon!

PS - be sure to click LIKE below to get updates on training, reaching our goals, team info, etc!

Lawdy, lawdy, lawd.

I did it. I signed up for the 3 Days for the Cure walk in Atlanta in October. That's SIXTY miles in THREE days. I'm starting a team, but still need a name. And a team... So far, it's just two or three of us, but I feel certain that others will decide to play along! Since the walk is in Atlanta, I'm thinking people from Birmingham and maybe even Chattanooga (not so subtle hint) can join me! There's a 24 week training program, so I'll be getting info on that before long. The goal is to both finish the 60 miles AND raise $2300 for Susan G. Komen.

For those of you that might not know, Mom was diagnosed several years ago, treated, and is now doing fabulously. Both of her sisters have since been diagnosed and treated, and are still being monitored. That's 3 for 3 in that family. I have 4 sisters. Can you see why I'm doing the walk? I think it's pretty clear. Gotta cure this mess so that it doesn't reach the next generation! I have nieces (and nephews - you boys aren't safe!) and a step-daughter that I want to save from the tedious, seemingly never-ending mammograms/ultrasounds/poking/proding, etc. that I started when I was 27. (that reminds me, I should probably go have another...)

So here's the deal - I need to train, train, train AND raise $2300 before October 21, 2011. I need HELP! I need a team, a team name, and Moolah. I'll put a widget, links, etc on the blog. I'll also update here for anyone following along.

Here's to a happy, healthy New Year to all of you!

PS. 1 person gets diagnosed with breast cancer every 3 minutes...