Wrapping up 2011

So I haven't been a very good girl and spent any time keeping up on blogging lately :( Sorry. We have just been very busy and when we do get time at home Ky loves to be a computer hog. Thankfully I have had the day off today and he has some things to do in the shop tonight, so I can sit down and get to it. So hold on and get yourself a comfy seat (and maybe even a snack-haha) because this is going to be a long one!

Where to start blogging???

OCTOBER

-Pageant Weekend-
The beginning of October is the Miss Iowa USA Pageant. This years pageant was held in Newton, Iowa, which Ill have to say was not as fun as Ames. Newton to me was just not as exciting of a town and the facilities weren't as nice either. But we did still manage to have a lot of fun and of course loved watching all of the beautiful girls compete. Ash did great again this year and she made all of us who mede the trip up to see her so proud. Its so neat to see her in that environment, she really comes out of her shell at these things and I could not have been more proud. We went up on Friday, so we could have some time to run to Des Moines early Saturday and shop, well I shopped with my cousin Jami while Dad & Kyle ventured off to a Honda dealership to scope out 4-wheelers. Then the pageant was Saturday night (preliminaries) and Sunday night (finals). Ashley did great and looked absolutely stunning!!! A big thanks to Traci and Kristen--best hair dressers ever at New Attitude!!!

Ash, Jami & I after the pageant.


-Mall of America Trip-
Then the next weekend a couple of girls I work with and Ash & I ventured up to Minneapolis for a weekend at the Mall of America. It was such a fun weekend, but boy was it a workout! That mall is huge! So many stores & of course we didnt want to miss a single one, so 14 hours later we finally tackled the entire mall. 4 stories of shopping, good food, and just about something for everyone! We drove up on Friday night, shopped IKEA that night, then spent all day Saturday at the mall, and came home Sunday. I had so much fun! I got some really neat gifts for Christmas and of course did some shopping for myself as well. The mall has a Nordstrom with tons of makeup counters, an entire MAC store, and a Sephora so I was in heaven. I treated myself to some makeup but also got some neat things un-beauty related.

Ash & I at dinner at the MOA.


My new favorite perfume, one of the beauty products I treated myself to.


Neat faabric I found at IKEA, that Jane made into curtains for my kitchen.



NOVEMBER

-Craft Sale-
November was equally busy for us. The first weekend Jane and I went to a huge craft sale in Coralville. There were tons of neat things and over 200 vendors. We spent the morning there, did lunch and then went shopping. I had alot of fun, and really enjoyed my mother-in-law/daughter-in-law time. While at the craft sale I kept seeing everyone walking around with these big barn ladders and was kind of making a joke to Jane about how wierd they were & then what do you know I come home with one. I love it and when I got to the display & saw how the lady had them decorated I had to have one.

How I have it displayed right now at home, love the rustic look of it! Mirror was a Christmas gift from a friend, as was the neat Janecek sign from my sister!


-Anniversary Weekend-
And then a couple weeks later it was time to celebrate our 1 year anniversary already! Wow how time flies. It was a wonderful weekend! We had got a gift card to the casino in Riverside as a wedding gift (Thanks, Kel) and saved it for our anniversary weekend. They say the first year is one of the hardest, and we made it! We had a pretty amazing first year as husband and wife, and pray for many more happy years togethor!

DECEMBER

-Christmas Decor-
Now December is here (and almost gone). November/December is my favorite time of year! I love decorating my house for the holidays and love just about everything holiday inspired! I have some good scents burning in my scentsy right now too. But my favorite for this time of year is Embers-love it! Another thing I have been loving is a Christmas gift I got a few weeks before Christmas actually. It was kind of a Christmas present to myself, I had thoguht it was going to be from Ky, but then he suprised me on Chrismas with another gift so I guess this one was just from me to me! If you remember in my past blog I showed you the NAKED pallet, well Urban Decay just released the sequel, NAKED2!!!!!! It was release a couple weeks ago and with only 5000 available the first day it sold out within the first 2 1/2 hours. The crazy makeup lover in me got it that day! I LOVE IT!!! Since then they have had a couple more shipment dates, but those have sold out as well, so keep checking if you are interested it, according to Urban Decay it should be more readily available after the first of the year.

My new love!




I also snapped a few pics of my Christmas decor before I took it down today!










Now I am trying to get some things done tonight around the house, before it's back to work tomorrow, but only 3 days this week then another long holiday weekend! We have 2 more Christmas celebrations, one this weekend and one in mid-January so we are still in the holiday spirit! I will leave you with a picture of my sister and I from the Lighted Christmas parade, and some of my current loves!



Yummy scent-Wal-Mart Cupcake


Favorite nail color of the moment-OPI You dont know Jaques



Favorite hair spray-Kenra


Amazing lip gloss I got for Christmas-Bare Escentruals Buxom Lip Polish

Fall Update

Loooooooong time no blog! I cant believe how fast time goes, I really hope I get more time to blog more than once per season! We have been really busy and it seems like every weekend from now until Thanksgiving we have something on our calendar.

I just wanted to blog quick with a quick update on us and I will try to post a couple of blogs over the next few weeks as we have some fun things planned.

Update #1: Jessica Janecek, RHIT

At the end of august I took my credentialing exam, which was a tough tough exam. I studied my little heart out and almost made myself sick studying, but finally all my hard work paid off and I PASSED!!!!! The exam was 3 hours, and what seemed like a million questions long. After the exam is over the lady handed me a little sheet of paper that held the results. Kyle had brought me up to take the exam and waited patiently in the car while I took it, so I grabbed the paper, folded it in half and sprinted to the car. I handed Ky the paper and told him he had to tell me my results. Thinking about it now, that was probably alot to put on him, if I hadnt passed, but oh well thats what husbands are for right?!?! He gave me a little suspense once he had read the results himself, but ultimately told me the good news! SO SO happy to be done with everything and now I can just focus and put all of that enercy into my work!

Update #2: Bailing season is OVER!!!

Thats really all that needs to be said, the dreadfulness of all of the bailing we did this summer is over!!! I dont have to ride a rack or help with anything involved with that for atleast 6 months and I am soooo thankful its fall!!!

Update #3: Animals

The critters are doing great! Goats are about ready to move back home from the pasture for the winter, sheep are growing, chickens are producing tons of eggs, and the dogs are ornery as ever!

Chickens are really growing!



Lady loving the cooler weather



Update #4: Birthday Weekend

I celebrated my golden birthday on the 22nd of last month, and Ky went all out this year. I had a great first birthday as a married woman, he suprised me with some great gifts on the day of my birthday, but then the big suprise was a shopping spree at Ulta the day after, and I was like a kid in a candy store. Ky patiently waited in the car while I shopped for nearly an hour, which was pretty fast considering! But I did get some great things!!!
Here are some of my favorites I got!

Urban Decay Naked Pallet, great eye shaddow pallet with alot of key colors to alot of great looks.



Ulta Professional Nail Lacquer in twilight, beautiflul color and great sparkle for fall!



Update #5: Crops are OUT

My in-laws got their crops out this weekend, and Ky and I had so much fun helping with the harvest! I love love love this time of year, and love seeing combines in the field.

Ky picking corn by our house.



Some other tings Ive been loving lately:

Fall decor, I love this great flower arrangement that soo reminds me of fall!



I got this neat arrangement at Gordmans a few months ago and thought it would be great for fall, it just reminds me of a harvest cornfield, with all of the dried out leaves and fall colors!



My fall table arrangement! I found the bowl at Stuff Etc for $2 and got the placemats at Wal-Mart last fall for $1 each on clearance, sooo cheap and so cute!



My new star outside our door, I love these stars, and had a small one I got in a garden center once, but have always wanted a BIG one in the same burgandy color I had. I found this one at Gordmans a few weeks ago, and couldnt pass it up! It's huge and only $15.00!!!



Here's another star I have hanging in our front entryway that I love, the pattern is so neat, and this was another Stuff Etc. steal!



Another fall favorite for me this year is a scent!!! I have scentsy burners all over my house, and love filling the house with wonderful scents! I love many of the Scentsy scents, but recently discovered this one from a co-worker of mine, and you can get it at Wal-Mart for $2.



We are busy trying to get stuff done around the house and outside before it starts to get really cold and before our schedules get even busier this fall, so I will do my best to keep posting quick blogs when I get time! I will leave you with a couple pictures of some beautiful scenery from my front yard, even without rain for months now, everything seems to still be beautiful!
xo, Jess