Jason & Vanessa: Living the Brady Bunch Lifestyle!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Fat Camp.... Day 1

A friend of mine has decided to go on a diet, and thought it would be a great idea to round up 20 of her closest friends to jump on the bandwagon. This is usually everyone's New Year's resolution, so with the serious need to look amazing in a white dress on June 26th, I decided to join.... and drag Theresa in it with me.

Theresa and I arrived at Celina's house at 6:32 (Theresa drove so of course we were late) to find about 18 women of various sizes waiting. We were each handed a very professional looking folder, with our names on the tab (TYPED!) and everything. I knew this chick meant business and started filling in the information sheet. Over the next hour, we were weighed, had our front and side photo taken and discussed how the program would work. The program is 12 weeks, and we will be meeting every Monday to be weighed, work out, etc. Celina is serious about holding us accountable and this could get very interesting.

My favorite part of the evening is finding out I weigh TWENTY SEVEN POINT FOUR pounds more than my lovely twin sister, and only weighed about a pound more than her at birth! :( I knew things had gotten bad, but I didn't think it was that bad! Jason did manage to lift my spirits by telling me that he weighed 8 pounds less than an airplane.... I laughed so hard I was crying! Regardless, those three inches I have on her in height don't justify the extra tubbiness, so it is on! :)

The top three ladies who lose the highest % of body weight will get a photo shoot for FREE (did I mention Celina is a professional photographer?) and the top place finisher will get professional hair and makeup, and a gorgeous photo album. Can anyone say Happy Wedding Day To Me??? :) We also decided to make it a little more interesting and have put $10 a person into the pot for the winner.

Jason and I are going to be hitting the Wii Fit hard the next few months, so I will keep you posted on our progress! I can't wait to brag on my GINORMOUS loss and to show you how fit I get (hey that rhymes!) before the wedding.

Fingers crossed, Ness

Thursday, December 31, 2009

100 Things To Do In 2010

Here is my rough list of goals to accomplish... check back to see when I cross some stuff off!!! :)

Things To Do In 2010 - Vanessa's List

1. Marry Jason.
2. Take a weekend trip with just Jason.
3. Go camping at least three times.
4. Take each kid on a date once every three months.
5. Get our garage organized.
6. Buy a house.
7. Redecorate the kids’ bedrooms.
8. Organize my kitchen.
9. Take a road trip.
10. Organize my spoon collection.
11. Blog at least once a week.
12. Take a camera class.
13. Plan a KA party, AKA my wedding.
14. Do something charitable once a month.
15. Go to the dentist, twice.
16. Use my gym membership once a week.
17. Get my will in order.
18. Use my planner/calendar.
19. Stay on top of my school work.
20. Take the kids on a great vacation.
21. Visit the Grand Canyon.
22. Get a summer job.
23. Attend church at least twice a month.
24. Get in shape.
25. Have more patience with the kids.
26. Don’t eat any fast food.
27. Wash my car once a month.
28. Get my oil changed every three months.
29. Pay my car off.
30. Build my credit score.
31. Make a budget.
32. Keep my checkbook balanced.
33. Save one month’s salary.
34. Straighten my hair once a week.
35. Go on a date with Jason twice a month.
36. Have a movie/family night once a week.
37. Spend an hour of quality time with each kid once a week.
38. Get a pedicure with Rese once a month.
39. Get my eyebrows done once a month.
40. Run a 5K.
41. Run a 10K.
42. Have a hotel campout with the kids.
43. Go to an outdoor concert.
44. Go on a boat.
45. Organize our mail/paperwork.
46. Watch some fireworks.
47. Visit Galveston.
48. Do something special with my sister.
49. Write my grandma a letter/send pictures to my grandma once a month.
50. Spend time with my goddaughter once a week.
51. Have a Wii tournament.
52. Have a top 3 placing fantasy football team.
53. Fold the socks once a month.
54. Visit Taste of Addison.
55. Wear an amazing swimsuit.
56. Buy some Reebok shape up shoes.
57. Load up my iPod.
58. Use a personal trainer.
59. Start a workout/diet plan and stick with it.
60. Cook dinner 3 times a week.
61. Go to a wine tasting.
62. Visit a casino.
63. Go to the horse races.
64. Go to a drive in.
65. Attend a group exercise class with my sister at least once a month.
66. Get dressed up once a week.
67. Have a chore chart for the kids.
68. Pay the kids an allowance.
69. Mow the yard, once.
70. Clean my car out (on the outside) once a month.
71. Put money in the kids’ savings account.
72. Get my child support in order.
73. Work on catering/event planning business.
74. Get the house cleaned once a week by a “professional”.
75. Clean out the closets and donate clothes to charity.
76. Visit the Farmers Market.
77. Ride a DART bus or train.
78. Visit a museum.
79. Teach the kids Spanish.
80. Plant a garden.
81. Have a picnic.
82. Take the kids on an adventure.
83. Buy myself something nice.
84. Do something special for Jason’s birthday.
85. Get a PO Box for the business.
86. Get my Food Service Manager license.
87. Have holiday decorations for each holiday.
88. Buy a snazzy coat.
89. Buy a new TV.
90. Kiss the kids goodnight every night we are together.
91. Volunteer at the kids’ school.
92. Do a home improvement project with Jason.
93. Do a craft project with the kids.
94. Use my photo albums.
95. Try a new recipe once a week, and blog about it.
96. Work on my recipe book.
97. Stay in a nice hotel.
98. Tell the kids one thing they did well, every day.
99. Tell Jason one reason I love him, every day.
100. Get my class binders/lesson plans organized.

Big Changes in 2010

It has been a long while since I have posted a blog, but my new year's resolution is to be more committed to blogging about our amazing life! For those of you who don't know, Jason and I are ENGAGED! :) We are super excited to get married on June 26, 2010 and have started planning the wedding, slowly but surely. I am getting ready for Semester #2 of grad school, and we will be buying a house here in the next few months. I will be linking this blog to http://www.jasonandvanessasmith.com/, as soon as my new check card comes in the mail, so you will have a different address but same sweet blog! Our business website is up and running, although it isn't completed, but you can check it out at http://www.bownanzabows.com/. Last but not least I will have one more blog going on, and it is currently linked to http://www.timerwentoff.blogspot.com/, and will soon be moving to http://www.timerwentoff.com/. This will be the link to find recipes, catering information, and more stories about the trials and tribulations that occur in my kitchen. :) Thanks for supporting my blog this year, and look forward to bigger and better blogging this year! I want to be a mommy blogger when I grow up! :)

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Follow us through Facebook!

You can now use Networked Blogs, an app on Facebook to follow us! Check the link I posted on FB, or click the Networked Blogs tab on the right column and it will give you directions to follow us through Facebook. Please and thank you! :)

P.S. Please follow The Lifestyles of Sevi on Networked Blogs while you are at it, she is one of the coolest blogger chicks I know!!! Add her quick, fast and in a hurry!! :)
XOXO, Vanessa and Jason

Friday, October 30, 2009

Texas Football 2009

Working in a Texas high school, football is big business around here, even if we don't have a winning record... Every thing is bigger in Texas as well, and the mums are no exception... it was a push to the finish, but we made 1,234,567,890 mums, in like a week! The whole family pitched in to help me, and try and grow our Bownanza Bows business. Next year will be even bigger and better, but here are a few pictures from the season, Homecoming Week and a few satisfied customers!

XOXO, Vanessa

The supplies for the "Epic 09" mum..

Every mum needs a feather boa, right?

My niece, the assistant...

Rese, my other assistant...

Jason is a great crafter...

Tada..... :)

She loved it, total surprise...

More satisfied customers...

Our favorite soccer guy!

My bestest freshman student ever... (she made me say "bestest")

My glowstick glasses for the Blackout Pep Rally...

Soccer boys with propeller hats...

Me and Little Keva...

Rese doing Future Lionettes for Homecoming with her fave, Brisa!

Rese and the mascot...

I made this cookie tin for my Adopt A Player....

Me and my favorite Bulgarian, Vasil...

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Texas State Fair

You all know we do it bigger and better in Texas, and the State Fair is no exception! After parking in our favorite parking spot, next to Two Podners BBQ, and entrusting our car to good old Ray Ray, we were off for some food, fun and mayhem. It was DISD Secondary Fair Day, which made it a little sketchy, but the cops were out in full force and we had a good time. We got some snazzy 1/2 price ride bracelets using a coupon from the radio station, so the kids got to ride a TON of rides. Overall very enjoyable experience, and I swear... either I'm getting older or that Love Bug ride's horn gets louder each year... or maybe both! :)

XOXO, Vanessa

We took a rather large group of kids to the fair...