"A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night."

~ Marilyn Monroe

This week has been a week where I've done a lot of reflecting upon who I am. I will admit, that I struggle sometimes with not having a "full-time" job. It has been 2.5 years since I left Corporate America, and there's been many joys, but just as many doubts. My biggest struggle is seeing my Corporate America "accomplishments" side-by-side to my current "accomplishments."

As I was reflecting upon the above this week I thought about why we, Americans, define who we are by what we do. Why is it when we meet someone new we ask, "so, what do you do?" Does someone's job really define them as a person? Does a position give one individual more significance as a person than another? I sure hope not!

So let's stop defining ourselves by what we do, and start defining ourselves by who we are!

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What have you done this week to make someone smile?

What have you done this week that you thoroughly enjoy?

Are you just a list of "to-do's"? If so, cut it out! (I love a quote one of our Pastor's has posted in his office "Activity DOES NOT equal Accomplishment!")

When was the last time you sat down with your family for a meal?

Did you take time to REALLY play with your kids this week? (No iPhones, Blackberries or computers distracting you?)

When was the last time you called your Mom or Dad? Grandma? Sister? Friend?

Have you been there for someone, to just listen? Remember, there's always someone in your life who could use a friend's hug!

Does it really matter that there are Cheerios stuck to the floor, or your car needs vacuumed, or there's a load of laundry in the washer? Does tonight really need to be the night you work late? What are you missing because of these distractions?

Have you admired the world around you today?

Have you found God in the little moments? A smile. The sun, or for today, the rain. A roof over your head. Food. Clothes on your back. Friends, we are SO blessed!

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And the next time you meet someone, try asking, "So what makes you you?" rather than that dreaded, "So, what do you do!"

Remember friends, that you are loved and who you are is more important that what you do!

Blessings,
~JAE

Picture I took at the Pella, Iowa Tulip Festival

~ May 2008
A miserably cold and rainy day, but beauty was still everywhere!

Last week, we got together with our new small group!  I will admit I am very excited to get to know these 3 families better and dig into the Bible together. 


Joseph and I have a small home (more than enough space for the two of us) and it always seems overflowing when we have lots of friends over...overflowing in a great way though! We decided to put the girls in the other room with Dora as the babysitter and the adults were in the living room trying to get to know one another better.


Only minutes later, my large red yoga ball came rolling into the room with a tiny face just barely peering over it. With large eyes, a sweet smile and her little hands hugging it for dear life, Lainie pushed out this ginormous ball and giggled over and over, "BALL...BALL...BIG BALL!" 


I've thought about that moment a bit since then, not only because our 20-month-old little friend is so adorable and the memory of her wide eyes and giggles bring a smile to my face. I've thought about it because it was such a simple moment really, yet the look on her face was like she thought it was the best thing in the world.


It's just a red rubber ball, one that I walk by every day--and keep telling myself one day I'll use it. It's just like the memory with J-man, it was truly a small moment, yet again I find myself being taught a valuable life lesson from a 2 year old.


When do we lose the excitement about the little things? When do we grow up and walk past or not even notice the small things that we use to find such joy from (and I'm not just talking about a yoga ball friends)? When do we start taking the small things for granted?


Maybe life is just too busy. Maybe we don't take the time to notice the world around us. Or maybe we are just too distracted by all the stuff we have around us to notice how blessed we are.


Try to notice something around you that you miss everyday!


Love and blessings to you my friends!

~JennMarie

I will admit, I was not one of those girls who dressed up a lot, although there were a couple times I'd put my mom's high heels on or find an old bridesmaid dress in the back of her closet and day-dream I was Cinderella. Evenso, I still loved watching movies and loved some of the pretty costumes the leading ladies got to wear.



I came across this article from Marie Claire  The 20 Greatest Movie Dresses of All Time. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait for you, and I promise you'll love almost each of the dresses.

Welcome back! :) I don't know if you think anything like me, but I definitely thought this list was lacking! Not that I didn't agree with their list (although, there were one or two I didn't particularly agree with), but I thought there definitely were some amazing dresses they forgot.

So here's my additions to their Top 20!   


I use to imagine this scene from The King and I where Debra Kerr and Yule Brenner dance across the ball room and I was the lucky girl in that gold dress! "one-two-three and one-two-three!" {photo source}


I find it very surprising the next dress wasn't on their list. Although I give them props for mentioning her dresses in My Fair Lady & Sabrina. This one is definitely a classic!

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's

{source}

Here are some of my other favorites..in no particular order of course! 

Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind

{source}

Drew Barrymore in Ever After

{source}

Julie Andrews in Sound of Music

{source}

Rosamund Pike & Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice 

{source}

Sleeping Beauty

{source}

Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz

{source}

Marilyn Monore in Seven Year Itch

{source}

These are of course just the ones that came to the top of my head, and I know I'm missing a ton! So feel free to let me know which ones you'd love to see on the Top Movie Dresses list!

I hope you each get to enjoy a bit of "make believe time" today--or at least remember that precious time of your own childhood!

~JennMarie

"A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner 

can express with his tongue in hours."  ~Anonymous

A couple weekends ago we were able to watch our "puppy niece," or that's what we call her. Bailey is such a joy to all she meets. She's a sweet yellow lab, with floppy ears, a gentle soul, and such a lovable smile!

We are always excited when her parents ask us to watch her and jump at the chance of getting our "puppy fix" (much like the "baby fix" we get from watching kids like "J-man")

Well, that weekend I was alone with Bailey one night, as my husband was out on business. We were playing fetch-which I tend to forget that Labradors can play this game for hours- and I had something heavy on my heart and was a bit down. I think Bailey sensed it, as she dropped her toy at my feet and sat down next to me, placing her chin on my knees. She looked up at me with those big brown puppy eyes that whispered, "I'm here!"

So, we had a girl-talk. She listened as I poured my heart out. She sat still (which is a huge feat for a 1-year-old lab) as I told her what I obviously needed to talk out. She sat there with her head on my knees, and as tears started to roll down my cheeks she placed one paw on one of my hands and the second atop my other. She then looked up at me and a sense of peace came over me and I knew then that everything was going to be alright.

Since my girl-night with Bailey I've been thinking about animals and empathy, specifically dogs. Can they feel what we feel? Can they sense when their owners, or in my case aunt, is sad or not feeling well? Do dogs, or animals in general, have feelings?

I'd love to hear from you!

Our niece Bailey

Blessings!

~JAE

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~Charlie Chaplin

I was in much need of some encouragement and laughs today and a coworker invited me out to a Power Lunch, hosted by Prestonwood Baptist. Each Tuesday, over the next couple months, they have guest speakers who inspire and encourage attendees. Today they had Dennis Swanberg, a Christian Comedian and former Pastor, who had us all laughing and I seriously had tears running down my cheeks! 


As my coworker and I walked out, headed back to work for the afternoon, we were both smiling and had a new twinkle in our eyes. I think we've both been giggling all afternoon since--at least I'm pretty sure I heard her chuckling in the next office!  So since I was so blessed by the gift of laughter from this man, I wanted to share some of his good clean comedy with y'all!! 

"Nip it in the Bud!"

"Bengy & the Zipper"

I wish you nothing but laughter today my friends!

~JennMarie 

"A bad neighbor is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing" ~ Hesiod 

I know it is probably not a rarity in rural America, but in a larger city I know how rare it is to know your neighbor. Especially in Dallas, where everyone parks in the back alley, 8 foot fences seclude you from view, and no one is ever in their front yards.

I, however, can thankfully admit that one of my many blessings since moving to Dallas is being able to say that I not only know my neighbor, but she is one of my Texas kindred spirits! LR and her small family live two houses down from us. We live in a very quiet neighborhood, and 2 years ago this week I met her right when I needed her the most...

My husband and I had been married for 3 months and were 500 miles away from our parents, siblings and friends. I was unemployed and learning to master the art of homemaking (still a work in progress sadly).  I was beyond lonely, spending my days with soap opera characters as friends, and after 3 months I took it up with the Lord that I needed some friends, and fast.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in March we decided to head outside to do some lawn work, when something caught my eye. A tiny lady, came walking down her front steps and was holding what appeared to be a new born. She saw us outside and came over to say hi. My heart was overjoyed and spilled over with happiness as she asked if she could stop by some time when her and her little man were out for a stroll!

And you know what? The next day my door bell rang and I opened the door to see her smiling face and her son bundled up in his stroller. We went for a walk and ended up at a nearby Starbucks for a couple hours. I have no idea what we talked about, but I can still picture us curled up in our corner chairs, sipping our coffee and green-tea, talking about our lives and cooing over her precious little one. 

Since that afternoon we've had many walks, coffee dates, lunches, tea parties, book discussions, movie nights, and laughs. We've had BBQ's, birthday parties, pool parties and celebrated so many of life's blessings together. 

Not only did we make these memories together, but LR introduced me to two of her truly amazing friends, whom I now adore and call my kindred spirits too! (Oh, and our all of our husbands are friends now too!)

And all this happened just because one woman had the courage to come over and say "hi" to another!

A trip to the Dallas Arboretum. ~Oct. 2011 
(L) Me & LR (R)

So yes, meeting your neighbors can be terrifying, at first. Yet, the blessings can be so plentiful!!

Do you know your neighbors?

~JennMarie 

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echos are truly endless."

~ Mother Teresa 

I came up the ranks, at my last company, via the dreaded Customer Service department...gasp! Looking back, it really wasn't all that bad. I learned many valuable lessons and made some life long friends along the way.


At the time though, I was miserable. I dreaded the 35 minute commute, being plugged into a phone the entire day, losing call-time for bathroom breaks (what can I say, I'm competitive and wanted to take the most calls in a day), being micro-managed, being graded on my calls, and getting yelled at by customers for things that I could not control. 


I am truly thankful for the 2 years I spent in Customer Service. (This will probably come as a complete shock to my parents) I am thankful because it gave me perspective of both sides of the phone, computer, counter or isle. It taught me patience, grace, sincerity, respect and made me think quick on my feet. It also gave me a glimpse into the life of customers and how people treat other humans.


Since those days, I've tried my hardest to give Customer Service Reps or store clerks my respect and a bit more patience, because I know the beating they can go through every day. 


Yet, I still wonder whatever happened to true Customer Service? I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who hates talking to an automated voice (who never quite understands me) or pressing buttons to get me to a department that is inevitably the wrong area. Or how about applying for a job directly through a company, and NEVER knowing what happened to your resume. No acknowledgement, not even a "Dear John." Or how about the clerk at a well known pharmacy/convenience store who responds to a question on where a product might be found, "I have no idea" and then walks away. (True story that happened to me 2 weeks ago!)


Enough of the negative though, Chara is about JOY and I want to share an article with you that I came upon today! Please take the time to read it, and scroll through a couple of the user comments below. It will hopefully brighten your day, as it did mine.  11 Best Customer Service Stories Ever


I'd like to leave you with a positive story I had last week with Blue Cross Blue Shield. I thankfully made it through the automated system to what, of course, was the wrong department, but the lady on the phone told me that she would do a warm transfer! YAY! I didn't have to go through the security questions again! She was so sweet and got me to the right area in no time. 


The second lady on the line was extremely nice and patient with me, as I had some questions about our prescription insurance. We were on the phone for probably 10 minutes talking about the plan and a certain prescription I wanted more information on. At the end of the call she told me "You seem like such a nice lady! I'm so glad you called in today!" I think my jaw dropped, and I stuttered out "Thank you! You've been so kind and so helpful!"


As I write this post today though, I wonder if she told me that I was a nice lady because I may have been the only voice on the line that day that laughed with her. That told her thank you. That appreciated her. That acknowledged that she was a human being. That made her smile.


So as you go about your day today, really look at the person behind the cash register. She may be someone who needs a smile. Truly thank the person you get on the phone after a 30 minute hold--really it's not in their control-- and he may have just gotten screamed at mere minutes ago by a disgruntled caller.


Yes, there are times we get less than adequate Customer Service, but remember we, as the customers, can only control how WE treat the people we come into contact with each day!


I wish to you all a sunny and joyful day my friend!
~JennMarie