Closing out 2012!

  Okay, so yet again it's been a little while since I made a little post-y-post. :) SO HERE I AM!  I would love to complain about how busy I am, but it's a good busy.  Jake and I just got back from Mexico, and we had SO. MUCH. FUN.  We deep sea fished, and swam in the ocean and ATE ATE ATE and even held a sweet little monkey!  We stayed at a luxury resort (RIU Palace), which was interesting because there were not many people there OUR age.  6 years ago, we stayed at a regular RIU resort, and had a blast!  On that vacation, we shut down the disco every night at 3 am, slept in until noon and spent all day playing drinking games at the pool.  It's funny how much time changes things.  This time, drinking was reserved for evenings only, and at a much slower pace.  And sometimes, not at all, depending on what activities were planned for the next day!  We didn't even go across the street to the disco resort ONCE.  We were back in our room by 8 pm every night, and were up every morning by 9 am TOPS!  We didn't frequent the buffet like we did on that vacation, instead we had reservations at the "fancy" places every night.  The days were filled reading in lounge chairs at the beach.  Does that make us boring??  Because...we loved every minute!  It made us laugh comparing the two and how much things can change in such a short time!  We haven't had time to really connect like that in WAY too long.  In 2013, I hope we can make a lot more time for vacationing together - we're aiming for once a quarter.  We both love the ocean and ANYTHING outside of the country and there are so many places we still want to see!  Fingers crossed for a travel filled 2013!

Also happening in 2013........uh, lets see...We're expanding our business! (I saw "our" now because I officially made Jake a partner!)  We're even going from a lil old sole proprietorship to a corporation - how crazy is that?????  We're moving to a store-front location that's 1060 square feet!  It's big. Really BIG!  The whole thing is scary. And risky. But exciting!  We're going to do a build out and totally remake the space.  No lie, it's pretty horrid on the interior right now.  But it does have major potential!  This means I'll also be hiring more employees -- eventually 2-3 more estheticians (up to 8!), a receptionist and a salon manager.  I'm pretty excited for the eventual manager--this means I can delegate some of my responsibilities!  It's tough doing the actual services, ordering, inventory, handling client inquiries, hiring, training, phonecalls/voicemails/texts/emails, monthly profit/loss statements, payroll, advertising, taxes----okay I'll stop there - you get my drift!  There is lots of work to be done and I'll be happy to share the load.  Now, there is of course the chance that things head South and business fails.  I hope and pray that this DOESN'T happen - it would result in one thing: Bankruptcy.  That's uhh, pretty severe, right?  It is.  I'm aware of if -- Jake's aware of it.  There is that chance but we're going into this with high hopes and projections!  Wish us luck because we will certainly need it.  So that kicks off on January 2nd. :)

Pretty soon I need to think about my New Year's Resolutions!  Seems like just yesterday I was writing last year's! 

Well, unfortunately, this is all I have time for tonight... But I leave you with some of our fave pics from Mexico!!  {PS - I highly recommend staying at the RIU Palace Mexico -- It's paradise!}

Money & other worldy riches

Look at me, back again already, whaaaaat??!!  In comparison to the last 6 months, not much has transpired in the last 6 days. :)  Today Jake and I went to church somewhere different than the norm.  I L-O-V-E-D it!  We've been going to a small local church, where everyone knows everyone and the music and sermons are SUPER traditional.  Jake liked going there, but neither of us were getting much from the service which was disappointing. 

I've been suggesting this new place for a while but my stubborn hubby takes months to convince. Surprisingly, this morning it was HIS idea so I was pretty pumped!  This church  has much more contemporary music, and you're not standing the ENTIRE time. (I know, that's SO lazy of me!)  Most importantly, the message was SO much better received and really resonated with us!  I love when Jake and I can discuss the sermon afterwards and how we can apply the teachings to our everyday life.  It keeps us on track in a sense!  Jake enjoyed the WHOLE thing quite as much as I did; Since it's a campus you watch the message on projection screens. The service is longer as well, about an hour and a half.  Both make no difference to me, but were unexpected to him -- though not necessarily bad.  Today's message was about worldly goods and what our focus SHOULD be in life - which really spoke to both Jake and I as it's something we tend to struggle with.  We've got more material things than we've ever had before - though it is the result of hard work.  I really feel that we lead good honest Christian lives, but I also sometimes feel conflicted about this issue specifically.  Work has been so good, and it's easy to want to work my life away to make more and more money.  I imagine growing our family's monetary wealth so we and our children can have whatever we want, but then I think that's wrong.  Should we be making just enough to get by?  Should we stop rewarding ourselves with nice?  I get so caught up thinking: "I want to be RICH one day" but I need to remember that I already AM rich:  I'm married to an amazing man that supports and encourages me.  He loves me unconditionally and is absolutely my rock and partner in life.  We've got our health and our family's health.  We are surrounded by friends whom enrich our lives.  We have not only a roof over our head but a BEAUTIFUL home.  We've got way more than we NEED or deserve; when so many don't.  Most importantly: WE HAVE JESUS!  My goal going forward is to keep my focus where it should be and to find a good balance.  I don't want material things to define my existence or to be my purpose.  Money comes and goes, and quite frankly it won't matter in the end.  "Live in the world, but don't let the world live in you."   That doesn't mean I want to quit my job or stop moving forward with it's growth/expansion.  It doesn't mean we won't treat ourselves to nice things sometimes.  We just need to make sure that we continue to give back (doesn't giving always feel better anyway?) and keep our eyes on the REAL PRIZE. 

I'm so thankful for today's message - it was needed and received!

Don't Blink

SWEET JESUS I have not written a blog post since MAY!  How is that possible?  Where is time going?  How can I put FIVE months into one post??  Get ready for a crash course in the "Sample" life!

JUNE!
Jake turned 30!  We had a "moustasche bash," and it was a fabulous time with friends & family at the lake!  What a great weekend!  I love, love, LOVE seeing everyone but unfortunately our time is so limited and we don't get down that way NEAR as often as we like. 

JULY!
Jake and I went to CHICAGO in July!  Surprisingly, this was Jake's first domestic flight!  Chicago is absolutely one of my favorite cities.  I would love to live there if it wasn't freeeeezing cold during the winter.  This was a short trip but we got to have drinks on the 96th floor of the hancock building, we did an architecture cruise down the Chicago river (a MUST!), we walked for miles and did lots of tourest-y stuff.  We HAD to eat at RPM Italian (Bill & Giulianna Rancik's restaurant-YUM), and of course have some 'authentic' Chicago pizza at Gino's.  Once we were TIRED of walking, we were escorted everywhere via limo - how cool is that?  The food was to die for; shopping was phenomenal and just an all around great [quick!] trip.  We also went to a family reunion, which was the main purpose for our trip; it was nice seeing everyone.  It was also super cool getting to show Jake the city.  He fell in love with it too!  If you ever visit, I HIGHLY recommend staying at the Sofitel, btw!  We had a room on the top floor and wow, what a view!  I can't wait until we go visit again!

Work-wise, July was totally nuts.  Even though I took a few days off, I had record numbers.  I also hired a new girl to work with me....then decided to let her go.  That was not so fun, but a great learning experience!  I definitely got a more clear picture of what I want/need/am not willing to make concessions on.  Everything happens for a reason, so now I realize that even though it was a headache, there were bigger/brighter things down the road. {more on that later!}

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER!
I'm pretty sure August and September didn't really happen this year because I cannot think of ONE thing that happened in those two months!  Seriously.  I got nothin'.  I'm just going to go out on a limb here and assume that work was just insane for Jake AND I and we didn't get to come up for air.  *deep breath in......*

OCTOBER!
This month we went to the Bears|Cowboys game; This was our first time to the new stadium.  It was really fun!  Uh, for the Bears fans.  Jake got really sick the night before so he felt a little crappy.  The loss didn't help matters so we left when the 4th quarter started.  We're not big on crowds anyway, and I would rather watch football on the couch at home snuggled to the hubs!  I also *drumroll please* FINALLY hired a new esthetician after the world's longest most drawn out hiring process, EVER.  This is exciting stuff, let me tell you!  I've been overloaded and overwhelmed for a while, so I'm excited that once she's in the groove of things, I'll have a little less on my plate and a little more time off, without the guilt of taking off.  I've also been considering a building expansion at work -- to a storefront salon location!  This is something I assumed would take YEARS to work towards, so the fact that it could be happening soon is quite exciting and of course, another super scary risk.  This time with a LOT more money at stake a much longer commitment!  I'm definitely still in the 'discussion' part of this lengthy process so it's totally up in the air, but who knows!  I'm excited to see where it goes!

So the next few months will be filled work negotiations, and Thanksgiving and of course the HOLIDAYS!  Sounds like a few more months will be cruisin' on by!  I keep waiting for life to slow down but I swear it's just picking up momentum.  Sigh... I'm just trying to keep my head above water and ENJOY it as much as possible! ;)  I can't make any promises but I'm going to SURE TRY to keep this thang updated! 

30 Days of 30

I'm soooooooooo feeling like an over-achieving wife right now, which is a nice change from my usual adequate-but-average-wife-status.  My hubbys 30th birthday is coming up so I wanted to do something EXTRA special for him.  Lately our schedules haven't meshed well, we've each been busy with our own things and have been left missing each other like crazy.  30 is a "big" birthday ~ not because it means your old, but because it's like saying goodbye to an era!  So much happened in Jake's twenties.  We met, got married, he graduated college, we got a dog, moved, bought our first house, he started his career, we got another dog, started a business together annnnnnd the list goes on.  Thats a lot of changes, right?!  Anyway, I wanted to do something sweet to start Jake's next decade off right! Jusssst in case he's a little nervous about getting old. ;)  {I may or may not be more depressed about this than he is.}  I found this idea to do 30 days of 30 gifts or "30 days of 30".  Most of the gifts are themed around 30 in some way/shape/form.  Do you know how hard it is to think of that many presents that revolve around 30?  I'll tell you.. REALLY F*CK!NG HARD.  Most of the gifts are the epitome of cheesey/lame but I definitely sprinkled in a few things I know he'll love.  A few of them aren't 30-themed at all and are just fun gag gifts, but I tried and thats what counts.  Every day he'll get to pick a gift from the pile!  Tomorrow starts the countdown and I can hardly wait!  Here are some ideas that I came up with!  {More pictures to come soon!}

1. "Dirty 30" <--- 30 bars of soap

2. Just "short" of 30 <--- new pair of shorts (in his fave color, I might add.)

3. "Word-y" 30 <--- 1 year subscription to his 2 fave magazines

4. "Nerdy" 30 <---  A book with facts about 1982 (his birthyear..duh)

5. "Aged to perfection" <--- Bottle of wine

6. 30 "sucks" <--- Mug w 30 suckers

7. 30 "rocks" <--- Poprocks candy

8. 30 beers for 30 years <--- a 30 pack. obvi.

9. 30 "blows" <--- Jar w 30 gumballs

10. "Shirt-y" 30 <--- A new Tshirt

11. "Cheers to 30 years" <--- Bottle of Patron

12. 30 "bites" <--- Jar of 30 cookies

13. "Hitting" 30 <--- A table ping pong game

14. "Young at heart" <--- A reserved copy of a video game that releases in Nov.

15. "Grumpy old man" <--- (gag gift) A book of passive agressive parking tickets

16. 30 balloons in wrapped box. (For day 1 w| the announcement/'rules' of 30/30)

17. "Feeling Lucky?" <--- 30 Scratch of Lotto Tix

18. Start 30 with a "bang" <--- Koozie shaped like pistol

19. "Flirty" 30 - Sexy game I found at Urban Outfitters

20. 30 "Stinks <--- Axe body spray - Cologne would work, but J LOVES Axe!

21. "Old" habits die hard <--- Can of snuff.. ha! I know this will get used!

22. "Age Old" Questions <---he Bro Code book from How I met your mother.. He loves that show!

23. Gag gift (not 30-themed) but a bottle opener shaped like a police badge; He's a cop so I found it fitting.  And I was running out of ideas.

24. "Squirty" 30 <--- Water gun.  I'm sure that'll be regifted to my nephew.

25. "Alert-y" 30 <--- 5 hour energy shots (6 to equal 30 hours) (can you tell I was running out of ideas??)

Soooooo.. What are the other 5?  To be honest, I cannot remember for the life of me, so I'll have to wait until Jake opens the gifts.  I bought almost EVERYTHNG in 2 days time and had to go 6 million places and it's all pretty much a blur.  I'm HOPING to end day 30 with a surprise weekend trip/vacay to Mexico!!!!  Waiting to find out Jake's work schedule though... if that doesn't work then he's getting speakers/speaker box for his truck. 

Isn't this an awesome idea though??  I'll post pix once he opens everything.  I can't wait to see his reaction.  I'm SO impatient though..Lord knows I'll want him to open all 30 tomorrow!  Eeek!

Can you think of any ideas that I totally missed that would have been good?  I'd love to hear them!

Ain't Love Grand?

My honey is SUCH a goof.  We have entirely too much fun together and joke about the worst stuff ever.  Some of the ish that comes out of his mouth makes me SMH. (Did I use that right?)  And yes, sometimes I like to cross the line too.

The other day I reminded him that our anniversary is coming up, so he should really make reservations at the new restaurant I want to try.  He replied with "Seriously?  Why do we have to celebrate our anniversary again this year??"  He was (half)kidding so I'm going to let that one slide.

Last week we were @ the gym and there was this girl beside me at the gym with freaking GIANT boobs.  We were on the treadmills and for some reason this chick (blond, tight clothes, pretty face, barbie looking)  was wearing a MEGA low cut top with something other than a sports bra. {maybe NO bra?!} Even *I* was distracted!   JIGGLES everywhere!  So when we left the gym, I described her and asked Jake if he saw her.  He said, "No, did I miss something?"  I told him she had a GREAT bod, but then I caught a look a her stomach and it looked like she probably had a baby recently, so maybe her boobs were so 'all over the place' because she was breastfeeding..  He thought for about 3 seconds and then replied, "Well..I like milk."  <-- the way he said it had me rolling. WHAT A PERV.

But sometimes I tell him some f'd up shiz too.  I had my root canal today and I told Jake afterwards that I dressed extra slutty because I heard the dentist was hot and it's not cheating if you do it while on nitrous.  But then I was disappointed because he wasn't hot, so I hope he didn't take advantage of me while I was out.  Jake said "Unless he had a big piece, because that would make it okay right?"  Touche! 

Jake also has...odd taste in women. (I wonder what that says about me... Okay, he has odd taste in women other than me.  There.)  In all honesty, he doesn't like skanky looking women which is I guess is nice. (It's all class in our household, can't you tell?)  The other day he was listening to gangsta gangsta rap in the truck and then next song was Taylor Swift, to which he sang along to.  I told him he was the gayest husband ever because he loves Taylor Swift's music.  He said he "doesn't like her music, he just wants to see her naked".  -- Riiiiight, so listening to her music is going to bring you closer to realizing THAT goal??  Lord. 

We also like to talk (kid) very candidly about our best qualities.  Jake's all, "yeah, I mean, every girl I meet stares at my crotch.. Even all your friends - they're totally trying to gauge my package."  And "I'm such a good singer, you're soooo lucky."  We debate over who our friends like more and who has more/top quality friends.  I'm all - I have lots of people wanting to be my friend and hang out with me.  I'm just REALLY picky so that's why I hang out at home a lot, alone, on Friday nights...writing blog posts. I have impossibly high standards. I'm exclusive.  We're soooo competitive but in a super fun way!

Anyway - the INSIDE, now outside, jokes between us don't stop there.  I swear Jake and I can't be serious about anything, but that's how we roll.  We both love to laugh and keep each other cracking up.  Sooo.. the point of this story was....... uhhhh, yeah, I don't even remember.  Okay, bye.  Please disregard this post.  This is what happens when pain killers from my root canal enter my system.  Nighty-night!

Married to a Cop

It's my hubby's first night of work OUT of training and on his own!  I'm so happy for him!  He's been a Police Officer for almost 4 years now; Being in training since essentially February of this year has been a littttle bit of a beating; Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's learned a lot.  The great thing about him being on his own now is that I can actually CALL HIM every now and then and have dinner with him.  {HOORAY!}  I can't wait for him to get home in the a.m. so I can hear about allllllll about his night!

When I tell people I'm married to a cop, I get a lot of reactions and questions.. Some people DON'T like cops.  In my opinion, if you don't like the police then you're prrrrrobably a deadbeat or a criminal.  I know some lots of cops are total a-holes.  If a cop gives you a ticket because you were breaking the law, YOU'RE the a-hole, not him.   I've gotten my fair share of tickets...in fact, probably more than most people.  I don't get out of tickets JUST because I'm married to a cop..{trust me, I've tried}  I'm just as p.o.'d as the next person when I get a ticket; but how can you be mad at the police officer when he's doing his job??  That being said, if you DON'T like cops, then don't call them when you have an emergency. 

One of the questions I get most often is if I worry about my hubby's safety constantly.  In the very beginning, I'd say yes.  I think I'd be carrying around a lot of stress if I worried about what Jake was getting into.  With the things Jake tells me about his nights, it's become very evident that he is calm, cool, & collected.  He has integrity and empathy -- He's just all around a GREAT officer.  I love hearing his stories because he never ceases to amaze me.  I really am so proud of him and what a honest, hard working and dependable man he is.  He became a police officer not because he wants to write stupid (My description, not his) traffic citations to people going a mile over the speed limit, but because he wants to get "real" criminals off of the streets. He thrives on action but is so even keeled that he handles situations well.  As long has he stays proactive and doesn't get complacent, I imagine he's safe each night.. and of course I hope and pray for his well-being at all times. 

Another thing people ask if how in the world we ever see each other with him working nights and me working days.  Well, our schedules typically mesh very well.  Lucky for me, on Jake's day/nights off, he always goes to bed with me and gets on a normal person schedule.  A lot of officers can't do  that, so I'm pretty lucky there.  One of the things I love about us working opposites is that there is always someone home with the dogs.  Jake and I DO spend time together at weird times though.  He gets home about 6:15 in the morning and I always get up when he gets home so we can talk about work and he can wind down a bit.  Then we go to sleep together..even if I have to get up in an hour or so afterwards.  Every week we have one date night together. Our newest thing to do together is hitting the gym so we also try to go together 2X a week or so.  So yeah, our schedules are a little unconventional but they work for us for now.. Quite well! 

All in all, I feel bad that the media has given cops a bad rap.  As much as I respect ALL police officers and what they do, every person is bound to make a mistake.  Right or wrong, I think it's a department's job to sort that kind of thing out.  I hate when media gets involved, blows things up and then random people throw their two cents in without ALL the related information.  Luckily we haven't had to deal with this sort of thing first hand; I just hope we NEVER do!!!

I didn't mean for this to get all long and novel-like, so I'll wrap it up!  I love being married to a police officer;  I'm proud to have a husband that serves the public and keeps people safe.  It may not carry a Dr.'s salary or have the same kind of prestige attached, but I really couldn't be more proud of my hubs! 

Selfish Moment

Here's how this is going to go.. I'm going to have a total poor pitiful me moment and vent for a sec - and then I'll get over it. So here goes.

This has been a sorta craptastic week.  First, Jake found out that his work shift is flip flopping.  This is a problem for a couple of reasons.  Most selfishly, I have MY schedule worked around his so we can get lots of q-time together.  It'll take me about 2 months to slowly mold my schedule to his NEW schedule so in the mean time we won't get a whole lot of time together.  TOTAL BUMMER.  I live for our weekends off together and now it'll be a while.  *Sigh.*  For Jake, he'll have to meet a whole new shift of people and work a different area.. on top of working 60 hours/5 days straight.  This will probably end up being a good thing though because he's soooooooo  darn likable.  He'll make friends no matter which shift he's on. :)  The final thing that this whole flip-flop puts a damper on is our Chicago trip.  Now my hubs won't have the same days off, thus, we may not be able to go after all.  We're hoping to still swing it somehow, but we'll see what happens.

Next up:  I totally BROKE a tooth this past week.  Besides the 'ouch' factor lets talk cost factor!  I now absolutely positively have to have a root canal so that's a whollllle lotta pain and about 1K in cash.  Ugh, I'm cheap, so although we CAN pay for it, I really don't want to.  I'm totally worried about how much it's going to suck!  Idk how I'll keep my mouth open for an hour and a half, plus have to smell all the chemical-y smells and feel all the pressure, and needles shooting through my gums...eeeeeeek!  It IS necessary though - as I can't keep a gaping hole in my mouth.  Let's hope for minimal pain and no complications before or after.  And possibly a gold tooth, if my bff has her way..

The next happiness-suck is a weird story.  We were contacted by HGtv recently about being on one of their shows.  It came out of the blue so we were sooooooooooooooo thrilled and excited about the idea of getting to go on a once in a lifetime vacation!  I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up but I totally did.  I started redecorating/deep cleaning the whole house for filming and bought lots of new clothes/hair stuff/skin care regimens/etc. (Yes. I went overboard.)  I found out on Friday that we didn't make the cut, so that was a tough little blow.  Dang!  {Guess it's nice that my house and myself will be looking a little better.}

Buddy, our Vizsla, has a nasty virus right now.  Neither of us have a day off, so we can't get him into the vet until THURSDAY!  I asked the vet to pleeeeeeeease let us swing by and pick up the antibiotics, but No - that would be TOO simple.  They wanted to see Buddy first, which is somewhat understandable, but its very very clear he has kennel cough.  If you've ever had a dog with it, its totally unmistakable.  So for now we just have to give him over the counter cough syrup and honey.  That's a blast shoving down his throat.  My poor pup!  Every time you give him a dose (or shoot it down his throat rather) he gives you a sad 'shocked' look, like you've totally betrayed his trust.  Hopefully he feels better soon and stops throwing up all over the place. :(

So that about wraps up my yucky week.  Well, that, plus the fact that I forgot my lunch at home today.  Now I'm going to finish this post with some silver linings.  First of all, if all of the above are the 'worst' of my problems, lets face it, I have it PRETTY GOOD!  So I didn't win a free vacation.. We can easily afford one on our own.  In all honestly, there are probably a lot of people who need it deserve it a lot more than us.  And yes, I must have serious dental work - but luckily I have dental insurance that will at least cover a teensy little fraction.  Jake's work schedule throws a wrench in our day-to-day life and travel plans but it's not the end of the world.  It's an opportunity for him to have yet another fresh start and meet lots of new people;  Plus, our lack of date-time will end soon enough.  I'm very fortunate that I make my own schedule and it can BE changed. (Even if it takes a little time.)  (Absence makes the heart grow fonder?)

PHEW! ~ Now that I got that out I feel much better.  YES, I know my problems are minute (pronounced mi-nute not min-it) when compared to those of the world, but whatever.. I'm a suburban wife and it is what it is. Just like anyone, every now and then I just want to throw a little pity party for myself.  Just don't get me wrong:  I'm extremely grateful that these ARE the worst of our troubles.   Life goes on!  I'm embracing the journey; even the things that pop up that are totally out of my control!  I promise my next post will be much more upbeat!