BC Day 19 - Nicknames I have and Why I Have Them

Nette - Many only my family calls me this one. It started when my oldest niece started calling me that since she couldn't pronounce my full name.

Nettie - A few friends started calling me that after they heard my family calling me Nette.

Jeanettie Spaghetti - Got this nickname in 4th grade. Our teacher had us give everyone nicknames and our classmates got to choose each others...and some how that's what I got.

Jean - There's actually only ever been one person to call me this on a regular basis, that's my cousin Ty.

Smitty - I all of my siblings have had this nickname at one point or another...oh it's because my maiden name is Smith.

Hon - that's just what Jeff usually calls me.

Jenatowski - I few friends in high school used to call me this...not really sure why or where they come up with it though.

Those are all the ones I can think of right now.

BC Day 18 - Plans/dreams/goals I have

Wow this could be quite the extensive post, but I'll try not to make it too long :)

-I plan to be able to travel with Jeff one day.
-I dream to be able to build/design my own house some day (the layout and the cosmetic stuff).
-My goal is to have healthy happy children who are strong and faithful.
-I plan to make the best of my situations and to learn all that I can from them.
-I dream that one day we will be comfortable financially...not necessarily rich, but comfortable.
-My goal is to go to as many temples as I can.

BC Day 17 - Someone I Would Want to Switch Lives with for One Day and Why

There are lots of people I would love to switch lives with for one day, some just for the sake of seeing what it's like to be them others for the sake of them seeing what I do every day! But someone I would really love to switch lives with for one day is one of my twins. I would love to know what they are thinking, learning and processing every day. I'd love to see the world through their pure and innocent eyes. If I could them maybe I could get a better understanding of what they're trying to communicate to me every day!

BC Day 16 - Another Picture of Myself

This picture was just taken a couple of days ago. We went down to my home town, Caliente, NV for Thanksgiving to be with my family. One of my favorite past times is "mattress surfing" down my parents stairs. Of course we weren't allowed to do it all that often, but now that it's grand kids doing it it's a different story (just kidding Mom and Dad!). Anyway, as I was watching all my nieces and nephews do it Emmalyn and Brooklyn were getting anxious and looking like they wanted to try. So up the stairs we went and down we came on the mattress...oh GOOD times!!

BC Day 15 - Put My iPod on Shuffle: First 10 Songs that Play

This is going to be a rather boring blog post...I don't have an ipod, mp3 player or anything of the sort. I wish I did, but at the moment I really don't have a serious need for one. I guess for music sake I'll list the ring tones I have on my phone:

Take it Off - Kesha
California Girls - Katy Perry
1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's
Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
You're My Best Friend - Queen
We are family - ??

And that's all I have right now.

BC Day 14 - A Picture of Me and My Family

This is actually the most recent picture taken of our family.

BC Day 13 - A Letter to Someone Who has Hurt Me Recently

Dear _____,

I do not know if you are aware of the things you have done or said or the effect that they had on me, but just know that I forgive you.

Love,
Jeanette


I'm being totally serious about this letter. There has been a lot that has happened lately that could have left me bitter, angry, and hurt. But I am learning that harboring these feelings does no good and that I just need to forgive, learn, and forget.

BC Day 12 - How I Found Out About Blogger and Why I Have One

I found out about blogger from my sisters and sister-in-law. They all had blogs and I had fun reading them. The once Jeff and I got married I thought it would be a good way to keep people updated on what was going on in our lives. Plus it was a good easy way to "journal" our experiences.

BC Day 11 - Another Picture of Me and My Friends

What better friend to put a picture on here of than one of me and my BEST friend! I couldn't have asked the Lord for a better friend/husband. He's there when I need him to be, he strengthens me, and loves me regardless of all my faults and craziness. I love Jeff so much and am so grateful that I get to spend all of time and all eternity with my best friend :)

BC Day 10 - Songs I Listen to when I'm Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

Music is awesome, whether I'm dancing to it, singing it, or just listening to it, I love it. There are songs or types of music that can brighten even the darkest of days. I really don't have any specific songs that I listen to at any given moment.

When I'm happy I can listen to any type of music.
When I'm sad I like uplifting music or really upbeat music.
When I'm bored I love music that has a really good beat, basically anything I can start dancing to.
When I'm hyped I like to listen to upbeat fun music, I usually end up singing along and/or dancing to it.
When I'm mad it's usually some type of rock music, once again something with a good beat.

Basically I can listen to music anytime no matter what mood I'm in. Mostly as long as it has a good beat to it then I can listen to it anytime. Music can make my sad, bored, and mad days turn into happy, hyped days. And music can make my happy and hyped days even better!

BC Day 9 - Something I'm Proud of in the Last Few Days

I have been very proud of Jeff, not only in the last few days but in the last few weeks. Being laid off is very disheartening and difficult to deal with, but Jeff has been strong and driven. Sure he's had his days where he's more discouraged than others, but for the most part he's been more motivated and driven. He has a real, true, strong desire to find a new and better job so that he can provide for our family. I'm so grateful to be eternally sealed to him. Even on days when I'm feeling discouraged he's been there to help lift me up and stay hopeful. He has been so strong and spiritual about everything. I love you Honeybabe!

BC Day 8 - Short Term Goals for this Month and Why

1. Start a workout group. I just can't get the motivation to do it all myself, so I'm hoping to get some ladies together and we can all help push and inspire each other.

2. Clean out all our closets and do a major "dejunking" and hopefully sell some fo the stuff. So that we can make more room and maybe have a little extra money for Christmas

3. Loose 5-10 lbs (I'm down 3-4 lbs!) trying to get down to pre-pregnancy weight, and then keep going down once I hit that :)

4. Find some good but inexpensive Christmas presents for the girls and Jeff. So we can still have somewhat of a good Christmas even with Jeff being out of work.

Those are a few of my main goals that I have right now.

BC Day 7 - A Picture of Someone/Something That has has the Biggest Impact on Me.

There are many people in this world who have been big influences in my life and have made a huge impact on me - my parents, siblings, teachers, etc - but the one person in my life who has made the biggest and continues to have the biggest impact on me is my savior Jesus Christ. He has helped me and taught me so much and I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for Him. He has guided me, directed me, and let me lead when he knew I was strong enough. He has given me strength, comfort, peace, and calmness numerous amounts of time. I could not be more grateful for His influence in my life and for all that he has blessed me with. If it wasn't for Him I wouldn't have the parents, siblings, friends, husband, children, etc. that I do.

BC Day 6 - My favorite Super Hero and Why

To be honest I really don't have a favorite super hero, at least not a fictional one anyway. I have my own personal super hero's that are real people, many my family. But I guess if I had to pick a fictional super hero I would say Superman. I choose him because he's really just a regular guy but still goes out and saves the world. I know that seems like a lame answer but that's really all I got. I've never been really big on super hero stuff. I prefer to look up to real people in my life :)

BC Day 5 - A Picture of Somewhere I've Been

As I mentioned on the first day of this challenge I love to travel, and especially love to go on cruises. So the picture I chose for today is one from our honeymoon. We took a Mexican Riviera Cruise and our first stop was Puerto Vallarta. This place had some beautiful churches and statues along the beach. Apparently they were also having a sand sculpting competition and there were some great ones! Anyway, here is my picture for the day.

BC Day 4 - A Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

I have many bad habits that I wish I didn't have. There are two main ones effect my every day life, so for today you get a two-fer :)

The first habit I wish I didn't have is the way I always doubt myself and diminish myself. I have a really hard time making big decisions because I'm always so doubtful and worried about making the wrong decision or hurting other people in my decisions. In saying this, I'm so grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who knows this weakness of mine and is almost always willing to help me in making decisions. I've gained a strong testimony in Him and his knowledge and awareness of us and our abilities, strengths and weaknesses. I'd be lost in this world if it wasn't for Him.

The second habit I wish I didn't have, and also one that Jeff really wishes I didn't have, it picking at and biting my lips. This drives Jeff crazy and can be rather painful for me sometimes. I usually only pick when I'm stressed, upset, or worried about something, which lately has been happening a lot. Jeff is good about pointing out when I'm picking and telling me to stop.

So there you have it, two of my worst habits that I wish I didn't have.

BC Day 3 - A picture of me and my friends

I have many friends that are dear to me, but there is a certain group of "friends" that are very special to me and they always will be, I like to refer to that group as my family. I love my family, they are the people who raised me and taught me how to be the person I am today. When we were all younger we didn't always get along, but now that we're all older we all get along great. I love that I have so many people that I can call and ask for advice or just to vent to if I need to. And the greatest thing about family is that it never stops growing. So here is my photo of me and my friends:

I chose this picture because it's the day that Jeff's family also officially became my family and I love them all just as much as the family I grew up with. Family is the greatest gift there is and when you're lucky enough to be able to consider your entire family your friends then I think that's even more special. Of course there's also those few friends that you become so close to that they basically are family. I love you all!!

BC Day 2 - The Meaning of our Blog Name

The meaning behind our blog name is:

See
How
Much
I
Love
You
Jeff/Jeanette

I actually have that listed on the right side of the blog. If you wanna read the story were I found SHMILY you can here. And then we added the 'J' at the end because both of our names start with that letter.

BC Day 1 - 15 Interesting Facts About Myself

15 interesting facts about myself

1 - I have a set of identical twin girls. I was originally pregnant with triplets (my identical girls and a fraternal baby), but I miscarried the triplet at 13 weeks.

2 - I get cabin fever a lot. I hate being cooped up inside all the time and love to get out and about.

3 - I grew up in a small town of about 1200 people.

4 - I went to a high school of less than 200 kids.

5 - My favorite color is orange.

6 - I love to read, and when I read I put myself into the story and try to imagine the things that are going on in the story.

7 - I love to dance, particularly ballroom dancing.

8 - My favorite animal is a polar bear...no real particular reason I just love how beautiful and white they are.

9 - I hate teeth, they are just gross to me. I could never do anything in the dental field. I don't even want to have to pull my own kids teeth, I'm hoping to leave that up to their dad.

10 - 90% of the time I prefer snacks that are salty and crunchy rather than chocolaty and sweet.

11 - My comfort food is popcorn and Orange Julius.

12 - I wish I was more crafty and creative. I have my moments when I can be, but they are usually short lived :(

13 - I love to quilt. I gained that love from watching my Grandma Smith make baby quilt after baby quilt for people she didn't always know. I still have a "quillo" (quilt that can fold into a pillow) that she made me YEARS ago.

14 - I would love to go to school and get a degree in Interior Design. I love to decorate and coordinate rooms, unfortunately we have a very limited budget and a rather small space so I can't do much of this in our current home.

15 - I love to travel, particularly on cruises. I've been on two cruises already in my life and hope/plan to go on many, many more. I also hope that one day Jeff and I can travel abroad and see the world together.

Blog Challenge

One of my cousins started doing this on her blog and I thought it would be fun and interesting to do also. I always like to learn new things about people so for those that want to learn new things about me here is your chance :) I hope you call enjoy this as much as I do. Day 1 will be tomorrow (Nov 12).

Day 1- List 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 2- The meaning behind your blog name
Day 3- A picture of you and your friends
Day 4- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 5- A picture of somewhere you've been to
Day 6- Favorite super hero and why
Day 7- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 8- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 9- Something you're proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about blogger and why you have one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have and why you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What do you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Your favorite song

Halloween 2010

This year for Halloween the girls were little ballerinas. I wanted to do something cute and inexpensive, so I looked online and got instructions to make their tutus and head-bows. Luckily Joann's was having a sale on the material for them one weekend. I was so happy about how they turned out. Our friend Angela is a photographer (Ivory Lime Photography) and was nice enough to take a few pictures of our beautiful girls. Here are a few of my favorites. Brooklyn is in the purple tutu and Emmalyn is in the pink tutu.

As far as trick-or-treating, we took the girls into my old workplace and "trick-or-treated" around the cubicles. It was fun to catch up with my friends from there. We were going to Trick-or-treat a little Saturday night, but it was raining the majority of the evening and Emmalyn blew out of her diaper pretty badly, so we gave the girls a bath and just let them hang out in their jammies for the rest of the evening.

Friday afternoon we had their 15-month check up...dang they're growing up so fast!! Here are their stats:

Emmalyn - 20.1 lbs, 29.5 in

Brooklyn - 20.9 lbs, 30 in

They're in the 10th percentile for weight and about the 30th percentile for height. Emmalyn gets more and more brave about walking around and taking more steps. Brooklyn is starting to stand on her own more but still hasn't taken any steps. Both of the girls can go up and down the stairs and love to do so any chance they get! Each girl says a few words, Emmalyn's favorite is "uh-oh", Brooklyn's is "see" which she usually says while she's pointing at what she wants. They both say hi and Brooklyn says Kitty. They LOVE reading books and climbing on things and playing with each other (although sometimes that results in fighting). They are both pretty sociable and love to be out and about. We just love them so much and love to watch them grow and learn new things every day.