Project 52 Date #39

So this weeks date was to teach my husband something he didn't know around the house, so I chose to teach my hubby how to be Type A. I found out early in our marriage that I am very type A and my husband is type A/B, but even more so that his type B'ness drives me to be more type A.

The Type A personality generally lives at a higher stress level. This is driven by

They enjoy achievement of goals, with greater enjoyment in achieving of more difficult goals. They are thus constantly working hard to achieve these.
They find it difficult to stop, even when they have achieved goals.
They feel the pressure of time, constantly working flat out.
They are highly competitive and will, if necessary create competition.
They hate failure and will work hard to avoid it.
They are generally pretty fit and often well-educated (a result of their anxiety).

The Type B personality generally lives at a lower stress level and are typically:

They work steadily, enjoying achievements but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved.
When faced with competition, they do not mind losing and either enjoy the game or back down.
They may be creative and enjoy exploring ideas and concepts.
They are often reflective, thinking about the outer and inner worlds.

So I decided to take on one area that I knew would help him out... the family calender. A while back I bought a huge office desk calendar and 4 markers and started filling it in. We each have a color, a color for together events and a color for Jocelyn's things. The purpose was to put EVERYTHING on there so we knew when we would need a babysitter and so Jonathan wouldn't forget things or be late to things. Also we use this calendar to make sure that we have a date night once as week as well. It was amazing to see how quickly our calendar got filled in but I think it put a reality check into Jonathan's mindset of how busy we are and where I need his help.

The calendar now hangs in the closet and we are committed to filling it a little more so that we can keep up with our busy lives and make sure to schedule in OUR time first :)


He says:

I suppose that I've been accused of being Type B often enough that i should believe it. The truth is Mia is infinitely more organized and structured than I am. So this was a good learning thing. It's not like I don't know how to keep a schedule and mark things on the calender. But having a giant wall calendar in the closet where its constantly seen helps curb most of my absent minded fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-caused snafu's! We are insanely busy pretty much every day between both of us working, having an almost 2 yr old and another on the way, and attempting to keep a social life, and sneak in time with each other and maybe if we're lucky a little solitude as well. You get the idea, we're busy. Anyways, a shared calendar is pretty basic really. But it's definitely helping make life more streamlined for us. Good Job Baby!

Love is . . . A Community Serving Others (Week 39)

Thank you to Mia for giving me opportunity to share something near and dear to my heart today in her Love Is . . . series. My name is Alene and I post over at Positively Alene.

Serving others is a passion of mine and I will be taking on the challenge in October to blog about 31 Days of Living with Purpose, which by the way I totally see our purpose as serving others. I hope you’ll stop by and join me on the journey – hey I’ll even encourage you to take the challenge with me.



As God has given me a new look at serving, I’m learning that He truly does work in miraculous ways when His people in community come together to serve others.



I’ve been involved with Head-2-Toe, which is an event where our church and community come together to help others in need. It truly is the one of the best days at the Bay Area Fellowship Westside Campus! This annual event is held in August and blesses children from the community with shoes, shirts, and back-to-school haircuts all for FREE. Partnering with many businesses and community services we are also able to offer free eye exams and connect people to job opportunities.



The first Head-2-Toe was in 2010. It was a huge success with 1800 people being blessed. 2011 was even bigger with a total of 220 volunteers blessing 2000 plus children with free shirts, shoes, haircuts, and eye exams.



I was in charge of the volunteers this year and I can truly say I saw God work in mysterious ways through His people. We had volunteers show up from all over south Texas to serve. We even had people that were homeless or living in shelters serve in the beating down hot Texas sun all day. His love was everywhere, despite any heat index.



When I arrived at 5am to begin getting set up for the event that would kick-off at 7am, I was surprised to see families already in line.



Our volunteers were the best. They worked long hours out in the heat and never complained. They registered people, delivered water, helped give out shoes and shirts, and many other things to make this day a success. As a matter of fact, it was so successful many businesses are already making plans to be a part of this event again next year. Now, that is awesome!



The children of this community were blessed. Many who had never had a brand new pair of shoes, not only left with huge smiles on their faces, but with a NEW pair of shoes in hand, and new haircuts. They were ready for their first day of school.



Now that is what love is all about . . . serving others!

Project 52 Date #38

Bring on the comedy,
So last night I turned in our living room into a little comedy club! We had already had family dinner out, put Jocelyn to bed so our date night was a go to start! I set up our little chairs filled with a favorite beverages or snacks and had already pre-recorded a comedy show that I thought we would both enjoy!
It was really simple and alot of fun to laugh out loud for an entire hour! Like I said, super simple but great fun!

He says: Date nite! Mexican food, laughter, and junk food The End! Just kidding...so we went out to dinner which we haven't done in awhile. One of our favs is La Playa, gotta love that green salsa, so we had a nice dinner out just the three 1/2 of us(haha, sorry crack myself up sometimes).(That's a full belly of quesadillas not me being fat in the picture...) After that it was time for the main event. Mia set the living room up as our little mini booth for a comedy show and had a Comedy Central Roast dvr'd for us. Not gonna say who's it was but lets just say it was really funny, if a bit off color at times. Anyways, sweet treats and tasty beverages rounded the package deal out and we had a good time. And laughed alot, alot. Small on prep, big on fun factor! Good Job Babe!

Love is...serving the servers! (Week 38)

This past Christmas, our church put on this amazing Christmas production which required alot of volunteers. The church decided to do a potluck and my mom volunteered to help organize the food and keep it hot. For those of you that know me personally, I work at the church in the finance department so whenever there is a big event I am usually working. This go around I decided to work and volunteer! Since we were all hands on deck, I was able to get my work done and then help volunteer. It was so awesome to be able to work with my mom, and of course Jocelyn was there too.

It was great to serve all the people that were there to serve with their talents and give there time. What was really great was seeing everyone chip in, in different ways! There was a single dad with three kids that dropped off a bucket of KFC chicken. He knew that he didn't have time to cook but he wanted to do his part, so he did what he could.

Another volunteer had a pizza warming cabinet and brought it up filled with pizza. They used what they already had in there home in and put in a little extra money and wala it was done. HOW AWESOME WAS THAT! How great would it be if we all had that type of attitude.... I know I can't go over the top but I know that I can do something that can make a difference so here it is! Every little bit helps... so what can you do today to make a difference and show someone your love??

20 Weeks - Half way there!

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week:

How Far Along: 20 weeks :)


Fruit/Veggie:

10 1/2 ounces now and 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel

Baby changes: (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, Baby is measured from head to toe.) Baby is swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

Best Moment this week: Getting to see another peek of the baby last week :) It always make me smile to have pics and video! Also I love hearing peoples predictions because Jocelyn having a little brother just makes me smile from ear to ear and the thought of her having a little sister just makes me squeal! Oh and she still thinks the baby's name is Wha Wha, its a baby girl but this time when we ask if she wants a baby brother or a baby sister, its a baby brother :) So who knows!

Movement: Tons of kicks and he/she loves is when I go bike riding and is like having a little cheerleader with me!

Food Cravings: I have moved on from Tin Roof ice cream (mostly because it has become scarce) and embraced nutella!

What I am looking forward to: Starting to plan Jocelyn's big girl room and the playroom for the two of them! Also began looking at fabrics to make some sheets and I'm getting really excited at all the beautiful stuff out there!!!

Symptoms: Blessed, the only symptoms I have is movement to let me know that he/she is there!

Sleep : Getting plenty of it with lots of little wake ups, but I guess that is just getting me ready for the future!

Project 52 Date #37

This date night was to do a pub crawl. Yeah kinda hard to do by one's self cuz you're wife is pregnant and can't join in...so we adjusted accordingly. First stop was a place I've heard great things about lately but just haven't gotten around to checking out for whatever reason. It's called Harrison's Landing and it's a little joint down on the water downtown. They have live music and it's an outdoors setup. I was a little curious what tonights tunes would be like and ended up pleasantly surprised. The food is good but nothing to rave about, it's the atmosphere that makes this place rock. It's pretty much a porch with a roof over head right on the water. The nights music was a little bit of everything by a guy with a crazy beard and a guitar. His voice definitely didn't match his image and he really did put on a good set. We loved this place soo much that we actually never made it anywhere else. After dinner and several songs later we took a stroll down the pier to walk our meal off a bit and to enjoy the cool breeze. We finished the night off by stopping at Marble Slab for a cool treat on our way home. Good night, great music, and we might just make Harrison's our new fav downtown spot.

She says: This place was so cute and I've been dying to try it out but just haven't gotten around to it. I loved it and it was a great night of food, music and chit chat! Great job hon!

Love is ... feeding the need (Week 37)

Hi, my name is Christina and I post over at Cookie Louise Pleaze. My little corner of the internet is about vintage, fashion, food and Jesus!

First of all I would like to say thank you to Mia for allowing me to guest post this week on her Love Is series.

Love Is… Feeding The Need

My husband and I lead the food truck outreach ministry at our church which we lovingly call “Feed the Need”. Once a month we work with the Salvation Army and take their canteen truck out to local shelters to feed the homeless. Not only do we provide those in need with a warm meal but clothing and hygiene products as well.

Needless to say it is a very eye opening experience every time and we feel so honored to be just a little part of what God is doing in our city. Even though our program may seem as though the goal is feeding the homeless it really isn’t about that at all. We want to offer these people something eternal and feed their souls with the bread of life. Not just telling people about Jesus and His love for us but actually showing them that love…openly. We model this love by praying with the hurting and just doing life together. Something I always remind myself when I am out there is that if not for the grace of the Lord there go I.



Over time God has totally changed my heart for the people of this city and it swells for them and the love they deserve. I’m sure that most days these children of God are shooed away and told to get lost and that is where the love comes in. To reach out with open arms and welcome them into a love so big we can’t bear to keep it to ourselves! Find a need and fill it…that’s what love is to me.

Project 52 Date #36

JT says: This date brought back some childhood board game memories! Subs n Submarines which translates to sub sandwiches and Battleship! I highly recommend the Chicken n Bacon Ranch from Subway cuz thats what I had and it was really good. When I was a kid I played a fair amount of Battleship and as decent at it so I was curious to see if I still had any naval warfare skills. I do, just so you know. Our first game I drew first blood and sunk Mia's patrol boat almost right away. After that it was game on! It turned out to be a pretty close game but I won. Game two proved much more challenging so luckily I put some thought into my fleet placement. At one point I'm getting totally killed by Mia and she drops what she thinks is the last shot on what she thinks is my biggest ship and then I say "hit" and go about my next move(cuz I had some slick surface warfare setup going on of course). She looks at me and says "don't you have something to say?" I say yeah "B7" and she looks at me like I'm nuts and then explains that she she sunk my ship. I say "no way Jose" and after much mischief and protest on her part we continue on. Turns out to be a really close game and it comes down to one move away from losing but I pull it together and manage to win just barely. I had fun playing an old childhood favorite and trying out a new sandwich too!

She says: This was great fun! we actually had to switch date plans but it kinda shows that you can make a great date in just 30 minutes or less of planning so thats kinda great to know! He did or course beat me at both games but we had alot of fun while I was losing! I take a little comfort in knowing that in the picture we took, he looks like a TRex, big head and little arms <3 br="">

Love Is... serving, no matter how small (Week 36)

So this months love is... is going to be a little different! It's going to be all about serving others but different aspects. I have some awesome ladies lined up to write about where they serve and the difference it has made and I can't wait for you to read them! So I am going to kick us off with an example of serving!
This past month, the students ministry at our church had a large event, called AWAKEN, to where they invited students all over the city to our church. I knew right away I wanted to be involved but I also knew that my time was limited. The student staff did an amazing job and put so much work into everything that everything was great and the event was amazing. I told them that my mom, Jocelyn and I would be there to serve in whatever capacity they needed. So when I got to the event, students were just starting to arrive on campus from the buses. They had food and drinks set up outside but it was Texas HOT to say the least. So we noticed that the drinks would need constant attention of refill and ice. The kitchen and where the drinks were at were on opposite side of the church, so we made it our mission to handle the drinks.
It was a small small part of the event, but someone needed to do it. With every great event that happens there are alot of little pieces that need to happen as well to make it work without a hitch. My point being... serve! No matter in what capacity it makes a difference, it can be as small as refilling lemonade for people or being the main speaker at an event, you each had a part in it. I luckily had a very small role in 350 students deciding to make a change in my life and all it took was a couple hours for 2 nights! It was definitely worth my time and it was so easy! So everyone, get up and serve... big or small, just do it!

Project 52 Date #35

This date turned out to be a hilarious disaster! The date was to draw each other, yep like a portrait. So I gather up the art supplies and I've got colored pencils, crayons, art paper, and even some artsy markers. We sit down across the table from each other and, with chosen medium in hand, start our masterpieces. I choose to go way old school with crayons while Mia goes refined and uses pencil. This turned out to be much shorter date than I thought. Probably because lousy artists draw fast....Anyways our pictures were so bad that we chose not to post pictures of them(taking a cue from Hollywood and not putting our dirt out on the internet). Lets just say Mia's drawing of me kinda looks like a police sketch of criminal(or maybe I just have beady eyes) and mine of her kinda looks like a hot zombie with huge lips...We never claimed to be artists people. Anyways we had quite the laugh when we showed each other our drawings. And my drawing of Mia might have been accused of having lips lips like Joker from Batman, but we had fun and laughed a lot looking at how silly our portraits turned out.

Mia says: This was a real short date because of the master artists that we are :) It was alot of fun laughing about them after but I think my favorite moment would be when Jonathan looked up to look at my face and I would look up at the same time too, but it was a moment of studying face and then back to drawing! Too much fun!

17 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week:

How Far Along: 17 and a half Weeks - each week seems to just fly by

Fruit/Veggie: A sweet little onion (Around 5.1 inches and about 5.9 ounces)


Baby changes: Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. Those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Best Moment this week: Well it was this past weekend and it was completely a 5K and passing up a few people while doing it!

Movement: Yes but since its so early, only I get to feel it so far, something just for me :) Kinda special

Food Cravings: Exact opposite, breakfast and lunch are enough for me recently!

What I am looking forward to: Another glimpse of the baby in a few weeks at our 20 week sono

Symptoms: Ligament pain, oh the joys of getting big again <3 and of course emotions all over the place, but thats probably half me and half the baby!

Sleep : Just fine but not on my belly anymore :( I kinda miss that!


Here's a pic to compare T2 and Jocelyn: So what is your prediction?