~Friday Blog Hops~

Hi to all you hopping bloggers out there! Welcome to The Simple Jocabell Life!

~Talkative Thursday Blog Hop~

Join in on the new Talkative Thursday Blog Hop!

 

Talkative Thursday's is hosted by Mommy of One.

RULES:

• Follow the blog in the #1 spot
• Grab the Talkative Thursday's button, and make a post on your blog, with the button so new follower's know where to submit comments.
• Submit your URL to the linky, please have it go to your new blog post with the button.
• Follow as many blog's as you want!!

You must follow Mommy of One in order to participate. If your a new follower, you can leave a comment on the post letting her know, and she will follow back.

Happy Hopping!

~Pour Your Heart Out~

Again, just a brief reminder that everyone linking is pouring their hearts out and we should all be respectful in our comments. ;)

It's been two years since I last went to work everyday... I miss it. After the birth of our second daughter, the cost of daycare would have eaten up my whole check. What was the point of going back if it wasn't going to pay enough. My hubby makes enough for us to get by, but that means not being able to as do as much things with the kids and the house does not have one room that is finished.

I started working when I was 16 about a month after my birthday. As far back as I can remember I wanted to work. I worked as much as I was allowed by law for a teenager. In fact my senior year of high school I did Co-Op, which was I went to school in the morning and then went to work at noon. Working gave me so much satisfaction. You could have called me a workaholic and you would have been right. I did decide a few years later that I needed to get a degree, so I went back to school. I managed to receive my Associates in Marketing and Management. I got a job in my field not too long after graduation. About 6 months after I started working I found out I was pregnant with our second. Half way thorough this one I had so many issues that I had to quit working. At this point I became severely depressed and was put on medication. Then our second baby girl was born. The cost of daycare was just to much for me to even consider me going back to work.

Before I started blogging I was very depressed and life just didn't matter. Don't get me wrong I love my girls so much! I have even talked to my mom about this and I just don't think she gets it. She tells me you do have a job, working for the girls. It's allot different having a real job. But just the thought of going back to work makes me giddy. Going from being a Workaholic to Nothing..... That's why now that I have discovered blogging, this is my new job!

~budanArt~

Housewarmings - Feature and Giveaway: budanArt

Mandy Budan at budanArt is an abstract artist that creates the most beautiful pictures! Broken Teepee is sponsoring a giveaway of one of Mandy's prints! You can go check out some of budanArt work on her Etsy site! This is my favorite one!

Last Rose of Summer

Isn't it just beautiful!

~Getting to know You~ 7/25

1. Thong or Granny Panties?

Thongs

2. If you see a guy with his fly down, do you tell him?

Only if I know him other wise no.

3. Spanx or no Spanx?

No Spanx

4. Do you sleep in your sheets?

Yes

5. What is your favorite Disney character?

Eeyore

6. Dream vacation spot?

Tahiti

7. What is your dream job?

Owning my own business

8. Who is your hero and why?

My hubby. He is always there to give me great ideas and he keeps me going.

~Friday Blog Hops~

Hi to all you hopping bloggers out there! Welcome to The Simple Jocabell Life!

The Man from my Dreams

When I was a child I would dream dreams that would sometimes come true. Sometimes they were simple dreams... I would be in a place in my dream, a place that I had never been. Then days or weeks later I would be in that place that I dreamed. One dream that I had was meeting my real mother...and also that I had had a sister and a half brother and sister.... I was about 8 or so when I had this dream and it is still so fresh in my mind all these years later. I have yet to meet my real mother, but I do have a sister and a half brother and sister...

The sounds of the wind echoed in my ear and blew my soft white flowing gown, as I stood on the wrap around porch. The house was not massive, but also not small had it had a simple country feel to it. I was standing atop of the steps when he comes up them. He sweeps me up into his arms. He has almost jet black hair that is wavy and flowing in the wind. He is tall and handsome with beautifully sculpted muscles. His eyes are also dark. He takes me to the right side of the house where there are beautiful French doors and nudges them open with his foot. Carrying me, he walks into the most beautiful room I have ever seen. Almost a Victorian style, but very simple and elegant is the room. Towards the center right is a beautiful poster style bed that is covered in the most beautiful white quilt. He walks me over and gently places me on the bed. He kisses me..... This is where the dream always ends.....

I had that dream many times as a child, and always everything was the same. I fell in love with that man in my dreams... Years later I was dating this boy that was a few years older than I was and he introduced me to his best friend.... At that moment I realized that was him from my dreams... We were both dating other people at the time and lost touch for a few years until I moved to the same town that He lived and by chance He was out working on my now X's car. I stopped to see them and the rest was history.... We fell in love with each other and as the days go by that love gets stronger and stronger.

Some other strange things that we later came to find out was: His cell phone # and my moms home # had the same last four digits. His moms now old phone # and my mom old phone number also had the same last four digits. Girls that I had grown up with boarded their horses at his moms house for awhile. We also had many other coincidences between each other.

Have you ever had your dreams come true?

Pay attention to your dreams - God's angels often speak directly to our hearts when we are asleep. ~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

Pour Your Heart Out~The Simple Times.....

Where did the SIMPLE times with family go?Is it me or are we all loosing touch with our families as the year go by? Have we just gotten selfish and put our families aside?

When I speak of family I mean grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that come together as a family... Not so long ago I remember those times, the simple times when we were all kids... Without a care in the world, but our family always close at hand. Have these simple times died with the past generation?

I remember a time when my entire family would gather for Christmas. Family would come from near and far just to be with the family for Christmas. In fact my uncle and his family lived in Japan for most of my younger life and they always tried their hardest to make it home for Christmas. Whoever was hosting, whether it be my grandmother or her brother or sister, would be preparing food days in advance. The WOMEN would all pitch in to help prepare the meal, all the while the MEN would be watching the football games and all enjoying each others company... The house would fill with laughter of silly jokes and children playing.

When the meal was ready the adults would sit at the BIG table while the children would be sitting at the kiddie table. I can remember how it was an honor to sit at the BIG table as you got older. My Uncle would always say the blessing, he is very well spoken and has a beautiful deep voice that just touches your heart, in fact I asked him to say the blessing at my wedding. Food filled the tables and stuffed every ones bellies. Heartfelt home cooked food that was made from the heart of everyone that was there.

After eating we would all proceed to the living room to open presents under the most beautiful tree... Presents that we thought all year about what to get for them. Unlike some families we would pull a single name out of a hat the previous year and just shop for one person and not everyone, that would have blown every ones budget.

When all the excitement of the presents dwindled down, the men would continue watching the game and the women would prepare the desert. I come from a family that loves pies.... My Great Grandmother baked the most divine pies in the world. She started making them when she was just a teenager working at Conneaut Lake Park in the 1930's. If you would ask her for a recipe she would say "Oh you just put in this and that with a pinch of this and a hint of that." If you asked her how much of something to put in meaning cups or tablespoons, she couldn't tell you because she eye balled everything and never went by a recipe card. I miss her and her wonderful pies that would fill the house with the most wonderful aromas. Of course my favorite was her cherry pie! mmmm

The women would all pitch in to help with the clean up while the children played with new toys and the men would still be watching some kind of sport. After the dishes were done and the left overs were dived up came cards! This was my favorite part of the day! We usually played Hawaiian Rummy(it's similar to Phase 10). Sometimes this one game would last for hours on end. In Hawaiian Rummy on the last Phase per say you have to have a straight run with NO discard. Then as night fell everyone would start to head home, with the hope that next Christmas will be just as good.

So, what happened to those days? I miss those days with a passion! After my Great Grandmother went to a nursing home is when these times ended. Now, its just my grandparents, parents and my husbands parents that gather for Christmas...

My husband and I have also talked about these days gone by and we both miss them... How could we all just let these wonderful SIMPLE times just slip away from us and not have the opportunity to pass it on to the next generation.

Where did those simple times go........

Follow Me Back Tuesday- 7/20

Follow Me Back Tuesday is another day of the week that you can gain more followers and find other great blogs to follow on a weekly basis. Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted by Survey Junkie, Little Yaya's, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies & A Blog.

Each week we will choose a random number every week from the blogs linked and add the random blog to the #5 spot to link to the following week ...

This weeks guest host for the #5 spot is Sanity is Overrated.

1.Follow the 5 hosts, #1 – 5, ( leave us a comment & we will follow you back- only leave a comment if you follow please ).
2.Create a blog post about FMBT (you may copy this post if you wish).
3.Follow as many blogs as you would like ( Leave a comment so they can follow you back).
4.When you receive a comment from a new follower return the favor & follow them back.
***Please link directly to your Follow Me Back Tuesday Post. Links that lead directly to your personal blog hop will not be accepted and will be deleted.***

The code will be available every Tuesday at 12:00 a.m (EST) on all 4 hostesses blogs.

This Week

Go check out my new post on my NEW blog Simply Fitting Into Life...and my old jeans

I have been trying to get my new blog up for the last week and in that time frame my computer got a nasty bug! I had to erase my computer in order to get rid of it and in the process lost all of my book marks. Then I was playing around with different templates and backgrounds, well in the process of this I acidently applied the settings to this blog and not my new one!! So this has been a crazy week of disasters.

On the plus side I am now apart of the Mamavation™ Sistahood! I am so excited!! These girls are really wonderful and so supportive! I love my new Sistas!!!

Mamavation Monday~The Beginning

As you have learned from my last posts I am going to be taking part in Mamavation to help loose some weight and hopefully get back down to where I was before I had my girls! 

The Goal

• 
  
  Get back down to 120 lbs
• 
  
  Exercise at least 4 times a week
• 
  
  Drink More Water
• 
  
  Eat better

The Verdict:

• 
  
  Loose 52 lbs!

Friday night I went out and bought a scale and I do have to say though that I wasn't as bad as what I thought I weighed. I figured I was about 180-190, so that was somewhat of a pleasant surprise.

I had Joc take these pics so they aren't that great, but not to bad...

I have decided on a name for my new blog!!! Drum roll Please...........

~Simply Fitting Into Life...and my old jeans~

I was hoping to have my new blog done by today, but that's not gonna happen for a few more days at least. I am also working on "My Story" of my weight journey, so stay tuned into The Simple Jocabell Life!!

By the way if you haven't voted today for the next Mamavation Moms TODAY is the last day to vote and the winners will be announced at the twitter party TONIGHT @ 8-10pm EST. So go get your vote in and join us tonight!!

New Fitness Blog Name

If you read my previous post I am going to start a new fitness blog to track my weight loss progress. I need some help with a name.... Here are a few ideas that I have come up with so far......

1. The Simply Fit Jocabell Life
2. Living the Simply Fit Life
3. Simply Fitting Life
4. Simply Fit Living
5. The Simple Fit Life

Do you like any of these? Any ideas other ideas or suggestions PLEASE let me know!!

ADDED 7/10
So here is another one that my mom suggested and I think I like this one the best!

• Simply Fitting into Life

Mamavation!

I was just blog hopping, and you never know where that is gonna take you. I came across The Maniacal Matron blog. I have been needing to loose some weight and just have not had the motivation to do it. Since our wedding last August 8th I have packed on some weight(about 30Ibs), but track back 2 years before that I was 125. Now I am only 5'4" so being 125 was about ideal, but having another baby and the emotional let down of not being able to work any longer has me up to 180 last time I checked!

Well, I think this is the motivation that I need and have been looking for! Scarlett Black from The Maniacal Matron has been participating in a weight loss campaign at  Mamavation! I am now Officially Pledging to become apart of the Mamavation™ Sistahood! It's pretty simple:

•  Interact with others in the group on twitter
• Create a Mamavation Monday post
• Link up your Monday post on Bookieboo.com
• Go to Mingle Media TV Network at 7pm PST/10pm EST
• Email bookieboo78@gmail.com to let her know you are interested

In giving this alot of thought I am going to be creating a new blog to track my progress and a place where I can also give support to all the other Sista's out there!

So, I need some help on a name for my blog!! Any ideas are welcome!!!

Blog Hop Friday

Hi to all you hopping bloggers out there! Welcome to The Simple Jocabell Life!

Pour Your Heart Out: My Fear......

I just came across a post from Just Another Mom of 2. Ashley participates in Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Can't Say and she did a post of The Fear of Playgroups. I was inspired by her post and decided to also write one as well.

~First, as Shell says: Again, just a brief reminder that everyone linking is pouring their hearts out and we should all be respectful in our comments.~

My Fear: What do you call a fear? A fear for water, heights, airplanes, spiders(this is also one of mine), or dogs? I don't have many fears, but when it come to trusting........walls spring up everywhere....The only person I can really count on and trust is myself and my husband(he has never let me down).

My fear goes back I guess to my birth, yet not knowing then as a baby you would call it a fear. I was adopted when I was just a few weeks old by my very loving parents who were unable to have children. I was the center of their world and love them with all my heart. From the start my parents were always open with me about being adopted, but deep down I always felt that I was somewhat unwanted, an outcast, different...... Don't get me wrong I did not feel this way towards my parents it was just something that was inside of me.

As the years went on I began to question who I was as a person and where I came from. When I was 13 *a rebellious teenager* my mom told me that my real mother was only 16 or so when she had me and what her name was. I was somewhat satisfied with that, but there was that emptiness that still resided hidden.

At 16 I was walking around our local mall before I went to work and this woman comes up to me, I have never seen her before and I am somewhat unsure of her. She proceeds to ask me "Were you adopted?" My mouth dropped to my toes, how does this woman know that I was adopted, I don't know her. I manage to push out a "yeah". The woman proceeds to tell me "I was married to your father and you have an older sister." I am totally dumb founded, head circling, in shock. No words come to me, but the woman goes on...She tells me her name and that I have an older sister that looks almost identical to me, that we could pass as twins! She goes on that I look like my father and that I have a younger half brother and sister from my mom. I am just so dumb founded that this woman would tell me all of this. In the matter of 5 minutes I got more information about who and where I came from than I had my entire life. At this point I think the woman realized that I was just in utter shock that she asked for my phone number to talk with my parents.

I proceed to work in total shock and astonishment. The woman calls and talks with my mom and they decide to set up a meeting with my sister. We all( me, my mom, the woman, and my Sister) meet at a local restaurant. The moment I see my sister tears fill my eyes and yes we could pass as twins, all the while we were both going to the same school and lived in the same town. I found out that "our" mother had kept my sister and gave me up....Some how I felt like I was so unwanted in many ways, the one thing I wanted to know was WHY! Being young and not realizing the entire situation, I didn't ask. Although, they would not have know why either...only "our" mother could give me the real answer to why.....

So, now some 10 years later I have yet to ask why....I almost could easily find her, but something inside of me just keeps holding me back...Is it fear of finding the real truth? Is it fear of rejection? My heart has always had this void from not knowing who I am, and yet I am scared to the core to truly know.......

BlogHer 2010

Join the Double Duty Divas as they get ready to hit the Big Apple for BlogHer 2010 for a Twitter party on Tuesday, July 13th at 9:00 p.m. EST. With prizes exclusively for mom such as Verso's Cellulite Removal Massage System and Moody Mama's Capsule Collection for fashionable moms-to-be, it will be a fun-filled hour of chatting about BlogHer primping and parties and consolation for all those not able to attend. Just use hashtag #DDDivas and follow @DoubleDutyDivas, @coolbabykid, @BridgetteLA, @marybeauty @MoodyMamas and join us on July 13th. Feel free to check out the Double Duty Diva and sponsor sites Verso (Facebook Page) and Moody Mamas (Facebook Page) to get acquainted beforehand.

Blog Hop Friday

Hi to all you hopping bloggers out there! Welcome to The Simple Jocabell Life!

Montana Destiny by R.C. Ryan

They're the McCords...three rugged, sexy cowboy cousins who'll inherit the family range--if they seek the treasure hidden on it. But even more precious are the women who can tame their wild hearts...

Emergency medic Marilee Trainor likes her freedom and lives for trouble. But when she stumbles upon a clue to the legendary McCord gold, she 's suddenly in a mysterious killer's sights--and the arms of irresistible playboy Wyatt McCord. This McCord cousin has been everywhere, yet the ranch is the only place he feels at home. Now Marilee's courage and independence make him want to protect her, win her heart, and finally settle down. But trust is the one thing Wyatt and Marilee can't easily give. And their survival and everything they cherish depends on whether they can surrender to each other--to fight for their...

This is the second book in the Montana series by R.C. Ryan. I also reviewed Montana Legacy awhile ago.

Montana Destiny follows the "irresistible playboy" Wyatt McCord in another adventure on the Lost Nugget Ranch. Wyatt, being the dare devil risk taker that he is shows off to the towns emergency medic Marilee. While not very impressed with his actions Marilee starts falling for his humor and not to mention his amazing looks.

Soon Wyatt and Marilee become quite the couple with a few spats here and there. Marilee has always fought for her independence, but now with Wyatt in her life she is torn between the two.

Not soon after the pair become known to the town of their relationship, things mysteriously start to happen to Marilee. At fist they crack it up to just little flukes, but soon they realize that someone is out for them.

My thoughts.....

Ok, I had a very hard time trying to finish reading this one. The first book was an ok book, but not quite up my alley. It has almost the same story line as in the first book, but with different main characters. After the first few chapters I knew "who done it" and had a really hard time finishing it.

On the plus side it had a really good morale to the hole love story part of it.
"If you love someone let them go, if they come back to you their yours and if they don't they never were .. "

I was given the opportunity to review this product because of my membership at The Product Review Place. I received this book Hachette Book Group and was not compensated in any way.