Lovin' the married life!

Anthony and I have been married for 25 days already! Where does the time go?

Ok, so I always knew I was going to love married life. But I really didn't know just how much I was going to love it. I especially didn't know if it was going to be all that different from the relationship Anthony and I had just 26 days ago.

And then I look at this picture:
This is just ONE of the many amazing pictures that our photographer, Brienne Shepard, took on our wedding day. But this one is my favorite (so far, as we haven't seen them all yet!) of just the two of us. Not only is it a great photo, but I see more than most people see when they look at it. I go straight to our smiles and our eyes. I know what those smiles mean. I know what that look says.

I can't remember a time that I was happier than I was on my wedding day. And I can't remember a time I saw Anthony happier, either. It was a wonderful day. And now that it is over and the honeymoon has come and gone, we are left with the "back to reality" feeling. It's the everyday stuff that is no where near as exciting as being surrounded by 150 people in fancy outfits and our own paparazzi. But I gotta tell ya - I love it. I love going to bed at night and saying good night to my husband, as opposed to my boyfriend. I love his kisses (which seem to be more frequent than they used to be... or maybe I'm hallucinating) and his hugs. I love cooking dinner for us. I love just hanging out with him.

Neither Anthony or I have changed as people in the last 25 days. Same old, same old. But we have become a family - an official one - and I am loving every minute. Can't wait to see what comes next!

-Jen

(And just because I love these 2 photos so much - I'm posting them too!)

New Ideas blooming!

Anyone heard of the new movie, "Julie & Julia"? If not it is a new movie - well, actually, it was a book first, about a woman (Julie) who goes page by page through one of Julia Child's cookbooks and blogs about each thing she makes.

Well, I'm going to be sort of a copy cat. But not with one of Julia's books. I'll be following a Cupcake cookbook called, "Hello Cupcakes!"


While I won't be doing one everyday, like in the story, but I will be taking the book page by page as frequently as I can. And, since Anthony and I aren't going to eat ALL of them (that is just too much sugar!) I'll take volunteer taste testers!!!

Keep watching!
-Jen

REAL LIVE QUIDDITCH!!!

My sister and her BFF are awesome people. I've known this for years. They are the type of people that have NEVER cared about what other people think of them - they do what they feel like because they are out to have a good time. And it is always good, clean fun.

Yesterday was no exception. Alyse and Lauren went all out for their friends and arranged a real, live, workable Quidditch match! (For those of you who don't know, Quidditch is a "Harry Potter" term. It is a Witch's & Wizard's game that, in the wizarding world, is played on flying brooms. We played "Muggle Quidditch," which means no magic was involved, but the rules and object of the game were the same.) We had huge Hula hoops on Pipes for goals, 2 different kinds of balls and bats, and a real moving Golden Snitch! Hehehe - LAUREN!!!


We had such a good time playing - and man was it a workout! I don't think any of us expected it to be such a physical game!


This match was Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin. Slytherin was a heavy hitting team (even with a man down!) and won 2 out of 3 games! At the end of the night, no one really cared who won or lost, we all had a great time!!! Check out our team photos!

Gryffindor:

Slytherin:
We are doing it again next saturday! I hope we'll have team shirts by then! I'll post some pictures from then too.
-Jen

101 in 1001

The following is my list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. I started this journey on 9/20/08 and have until June 18th, 2011 to complete the list. Here is to the next 2.7 years! Cheers!!!

(Black indicates: DONE!!)
In Alphabetical Order:
1 BEAT ANTHONY AT CHESS!!!
2 Become a Mentor
3 Buy a Condo or House
4 Change all the passwords on my accounts to ones that I'll actually remember
5 Compile a list of what it would take to open up my own Leadership Camp
6 Compile a team builder manual
7 Complete another DS game all by myself (Bomberman Land 2 - Summer 2009)
8 Do something totally different with my hair (July 2009)
9 Establish "One Night Out" monthly with Anthony
10 Establish the first annual "Girls Only" weekend (Sept 2009) (*$5 Savings)
11 Establish the first annual "Mario Kart Glory Tournament!" (Knowing you'll never win!)
12 Find "Jen's Signature Dessert"
13 Find a Church that caters to young families
14 Find a Hobby - BEADING!!! (9/20/08) (*$5 Savings)
15 Find a recurring activity to do together with Anthony
16 Find an organization you can do charity work for
17 Find and become a part of a Higher Education Association
18 Find and become a part of a Leadership Association
19 Find that perfect "little black dress"
20 Find the Dog Park and take pup there once a week for a month straight
21 Finish 2 scrapbooks
22 Finish putting the Rolodex together
23 Finish the "Family" picture wall (June 2009)
24 Finish the Engagement Journal
25 Get a media phone - and use it (Feb 2009) (*$5 Savings)
26 Get a Pen Pal in another country
27 Get another Promotion
28 Get Francis Family Portraits taken
29 Get involved in a Ministry at the church we find
30 Get my blood drawn (June 2009)
31 Get my MA (May 2009)
32 Get the Saturn Outlook (actually, we got a GMC Acadia, but same thing!) (June 2009)
33 Get three new letters of recommendation
34 Go camping with Elissa, Paul, Laila, Phill, Becka, and Max
35 Go on a weekend vacay with JUST Anthony
36 Go through our books and donate what we don't want to charity
37 Go though EVERY piece of clothing and give away what doesn't fit (Dec 10, 2008) (*$5 Savings)
38 Go whale watching with Anthony
39 Go with Anthony to ComiCon
40 Graduate as a member of Phi Kappa Phi (May 2009)
41 Have a "Harry Potter-Athon" with Alyse and Lauren
42 Have my teeth whitened (June 2009)
43 Host a Murder Mystery party
44 Identify 25 things I love about myself
45 Join an activity class (Pilates with Kristen! Sept. 2009)
46 Keep a house plant alive for an extended period of time! (June 2009 - Present!)
47 Learn how to play backgammon (March 2009) (*$5 Savings)
48 Learn how to play poker
49 Learn to make candles
50 Learn to Speak Arabic
51 Learn to speak Spanish
52 Learn to understand the stock market
53 Make 3 new, non-work related friends
54 Make a "Jen & Ant" website that is functional and fun!
55 Make a "Wedding time capsule" to open on our 25th wedding anniversary
56 Make a Bucket List
57 Make a Goals Journal and keep up with it
58 Make a MyPublisher Book about the Feet Pictures!!! Make it a series
59 Make contacts in the Freshman Dean's office (NSO 2008) (*$5 Savings)
60 Make Honor Roll for Graduation (May 2009)
61 Participate in the Bay Area's 3-day walk for breast cancer
62 Pay off debt to the Bank of Dad
63 Pay off the USAA credit card! (Feb 2009) (*$5 Savings)
64 Plan Ledesma Family Portraits with Bri (Sept. 2009)
65 Read "Hope, Love, and Prayer" that Mama gave you
66 Read 1 new novel a month for 3 months straight
67 Replace all of our light bulbs with CFL's
68 Re-read the Harry Potter Series
69 Research Leadership Camps
70 See Michael Buble in concert
71 Send Max something in the mail (July 2009 - PostCard from Greece)
72 Spend an entire weekend with Max
73 Start a "Dinner for 8" group
74 Start a "Francis" family tradition with Anthony
75 Start a Leadership Forum online
76 Start and maintain an effective filing system for Jen and Anthony (Oct. 2009)
77 Stray from Harry Potter *gasp* and try out this "Twilight" thing
78 Swim in an ocean, for pete's sake!
79 Take a dance class (Tap!!!)
80 Take a park and rec class with a friend
81 Take a photography class
82 Take a train ride to San Diego for the weekend
83 Take Alyse to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium
84 Take Max, Ashley, and Tay Tay to Disneyland
85 Teach a Leadership class or seminar
86 Teach pup to stay!
87 Travel out of state 3 times (Must be 3 different states!)
88 Travel to another continent (July 2009)
89 Try one new food a month for three months in a row (Oct, Nov, Dec 2008) (*$5 Savings)
90 Update the Family Recipe Book (Sept. 2009)
91 Volunteer at the Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival
92 Volunteer in my town's school system
93 Volunteer time at the University I work for.
94 VOTE!!!! And not by absentee ballott (2008 Presidential Election!) (*$5 Savings)
95 Wear my pedometer everyday for a month and monitor my steps
96 Win a non-work related award
97 Win an award at work
98 Write 2 new short stories
99 Write a children's book with Anthony
100 Put $5 in savings every time I complete a task!
101 Celebrate #101 with a Fancy Dinner out with Anthony.

New Blog!!!

Hello everyone!

So this is my new blog. Hopefully I will be better at it this time around than I was last time. And the old blog is going to make way for the new "Jen & Anthony" blog we will both be maintaining... which really means I'll be typing and Ant will be sitting next to me, making commentary.

To come soon (hopefully later today): Re-posting my 101 in 1001 list and updating it here for all of you. Also to come soon is a photo update of a few important things: 1) our honeymoon (All my favorite pics), 2) photos of our apartment. I know I usually post those right after we move, but this place has undergone so many changes in the few short months we've been here that I decided to hold off until we were finished with the decorating. and 3) THE WEDDING!!! As soon as I get the photos back from Bri, I'll be doing a full post. I can't wait!

Keep checking back! I'm excited!

-Jen