Sleeping Beauty

This movie is a childhood classic, although I watch it now, and its so not as good as Beauty & the Beast!

Do you ever have a hard time waking up? Or are you a morning person? 

Well I am a night owl.. As a child and teen, my mom and friends would nickname me "Sleeping Beauty" haha.

here's me asleep as a youngin.

Anyways, as I've become older, I have become a lot better at waking up on time. Through out most of college, I struggled severely with oversleeping and missing or being late to class. I've been tested in sleep studies and everything.. & I'm perfectly healthy.

I've learned so much.. here are a few things that help me to wake up early:

1. Go to sleep at a decent time. That means by 10pm or 11pm, I should be headin' to bed. I haven't seen midnight in a while-- its what I have to do. If one of my favorite show comes on at 10pm (Rookie Blue)-- I have to brush my teeth and get ready for bed on the commercials so that as soon as its over-- Bed time. 11pm is late for me.. Usually I try to be in bed by 10:30pm so that I can be awake at 7:00am the next morning. That gives me 30 minutes to get to sleep and 8 hours of refreshing sleepy goodness.

2. Keep to a strict schedule. If I have to wake up at 7am during the week, I try to wake up at 7am on the weekends too. The more you keep to a schedule, your body becomes accustomed to waking up at 7am and you might not even need an alarm clock eventually.

3. No Napping during the day. NO NAPPING. I find this difficult when I lack a busy schedule on some days.. The key is to stay busy. If you take a nap, take a 20minute nap and no longer than that.. 

4. Exercise. It really helps with sleeping issues. I need to do this more often because it really does make a difference for me. 

5. No eating before bedtime. I always drink water.. but if you eat it should be at least an hour or more before sleep time.

6.No stimulating activity before bedtime. For me, this means not even a shower before bed. I have to shower right after dinner because showers wake me up. If I shower at 10pm before I go to bed, I become super awake. That may not be the case for you but its just something to keep in mind and pay attention to for yourself. Some people like showering in the morning.. that might help too.. but I shower at night.. just not right before bed.

Here is a great song to listen to before bed.. Lullaby by Priscilla Ahn. Btw, I love this song! The video is kinda weird.. but good song!

Hope this post helps those of you tired night wanderers like me get some Sweet Dreams!

And remember:

There is always someone who dreams of your smile and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile. so whenever you're lonely, remember it's true that someone, somewhere is thinking of you.

His name is Jesus.

Love, Jen

Linkin' here:

Flashback Friday @ 525,600 Minutes

Ok, so I wanted to take part in Flashback Friday today over at 525,600 Minutes but I don't have any kids.. haha. So I've been scanning pictures for Noland & I's wedding slideshow and I found some cute pictures of us as kids.. haha.. or at least I think so... So Enjoy!

I was probably 4 or 5 here.. I loved playing with barbies & dress up! Oh man, those were the days.

He's so cute!  I hope we have adorable kids that look just like him! :) He was interested in Ninja turtles, Marvel, Xmen, Orioles Baseball and he still likes all of those things..

Thanks for stoppin' by everyone! & Happy Friday! & Leave a comment!

Tennessee Aquarium - Chattanooga, TN

Hey Everyone! Today we have a guest post! My nephew and sister-in-law, Ashley went to the Tennessee aquarium in Chattanooga, TN a week or so ago. They took pictures and wanted to share their review! Check it out!

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As part of our “summer get-away,” my son and I toured the Tennessee Aquarium, located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.  We had heard wonderful things about this aquarium, as it is on the top ten list of animal attractions in the United States.  Let’s just say we were not disappointed, as it lived up to everything we had heard and then some. 

Tickets are reasonably priced (adults $25 and kiddos a little less).  I will tell you that it is well worth the additional $6 per person for the IMAX Theatre, which plays 45 minute films that are somewhat like animal documentaries.  ­­­The films are rotated out, and we watched a documentary on orphan orangutans and elephants called Born to be Wild. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman, and in addition it is 3D, both adults and kids alike were completely entertained. My son is 4 years old, and never took his eyes off the screen.  If you have children, that should tell you something!

The aquarium is appropriately located next to a river, which can be seen from each floor of the 2 aquarium building.   The first building is named the River Journey, while the second is the Ocean Journey.

There are no tour guides; however, the areas are easy to navigate through, making it nice to wonder around at your own pace. You can easily spend all day watching the animals swim, fly, and play, or you can scoot though the exhibits within a couple of hours. 

We started in the Ocean Journey.  The first exhibit contains penguins.  We watched them eat and then dive like torpedoes for the longest time. While on land, they stand extremely still, and at first glance, it appears they are statues.

Penguin diving in the water

From there, we moved to the stingray tanks, where an aquarium employee tells you interesting facts above these animals.  My son loved this exhibit because it was hands on. You are allowed to touch the stingrays as they circle around and around.  Fantastic!!

The butterfly atrium was by far, one of the most interesting exhibits in the entire aquarium.  Butterflies flutter all around you.  Some are ordinary, however, some are extraordinary!  My son wanted desperately to hold a butterfly, so from the minute we walked into the atrium, he walked around with one little finger held straight-up, trying his hardest to attract a butterfly.  After several disappointing minutes, and still no butterfly perched on his little finger, we were ready to give up.  On the way out of the atrium, I spotted what appeared to be an ordinary monarch butterfly.  I quietly motioned for Jase, not wanted any other children to notice that this butterfly was so low to the ground.  I placed his little finger right in front of the butterfly, and amazingly, the butterfly crawled right on.  Score!!!!  Other children crowded around to watch.  When it was time to move to the next exhibit, Jase gently placed the butterfly onto another little boy’s finger.  The butterfly latched right on…..extraordinary!!!!

I could ramble on and on, however, I suggest you venture to southern Tennessee and check it out for yourself.  You will not be disappointed.  The drive is beautiful and it’s about 6 degrees cooler (with less humidity than Florida).  Gotta love that!

And Here are a few more pictures:

A beautiful Sting ray

Some beautiful fish

Really cool picture of a turtle

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Thanks for stoppin by everyone!

♥ jen

Pinterest #3 - Yummy Foods

You can follow me/check out my Pintrest boards here!

Here are some yummy foods and possible recipes I would like to make for the future yet I am trying to eat more healthy so probably not until the Holidays! :) 

Orange Chicken pinned here

NY Times best cookie recipe pinned here

Lettuce in jars pinned here

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Butter Cream... Oh man.. so yummy... pinned here

Crock Pot baby back ribs pinned here

Chocolate Covered Bananas pinned here

Make your own Goldfish pinned here

Tomato Bread wish I had some of this right now.. pinned here

Well, that's all for now.. I'm going to go get some chores done.. Grad School starts tomorrow--Yikes. I'll be back here later today! Leave some love on all yummy food.. 

To follow my blog-- Click follow on the Left or Top of the page! 

To follow me on Pintrest go here

My Disposal isn't draining..

So the other day, I was cooking dinner and peeling potatoes...

You know, the usual. Well I put the peels down the disposal.. 

Sure enough, the disposal would not drain when I turned the switch...

It looked like a whirl pool of water that simply would NOT DRAIN.

I yelled to Noland to google the problem...

Has this ever happened to you?!

Don't Panic! I have the solution!

All you need is: 

Vinegar

Baking Soda

Boiling Water

Here's the Fix: 

Put 1/2 cup vinegar in there, follow with 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Now boil water pour a bit down at a time. this clears your drains naturally and is eco friendly..

Comments: Mine did not drain right away.. I let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes and it was still full of water.. then I flicked the disposal switch.. & sure enough, Problem solved! Thanks to Noland's Googling abilities, the sink drained right away. I thought I would share my solution in hopes to help someone else! I'm back to enjoying my unclogged dish disposal! :)

Happy Tuesday!

Homemade Birthday Cake Ice Cream (NO machine)

So, you HAVE to try this. Both my bro & my fiance Noland LOVE it. They both have said, "it was the best ice cream I've ever had!" So here we go: 

Main Ingredients: 

2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream

1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

3 tablespoons of butter, melted

Directions: 

1. Whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream until its very thick like whipped cream or cool whip

2. Add the can of sweetened condensed milk and the 3 tablespoons of butter - mix well. 

3. At this point, you can add whatever ingredients you would like to make your particular flavor ice cream but here's what I added to make Birthday Cake Ice Cream: 

1 teaspoon of Vanilla

Rainbow Sprinkles

Chunks of Homemade Icing

4. Mix all together and put in the freezer to freeze for about 6 hours...

...Hours Later... 

YUMMY GOODNESS

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I learned the main ice cream from kevinandamanda.com. You can find their ice cream recipes here. Last time, I made the Cinnamon version which was very yummy! Enjoy! :] 

Michael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25

Michael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

This book was just released on August 9, 2011. I ordered it via Amazon and received it on Tuesday of this week. I've been looking for a good read for about a month ago when I finished The Mortal Instruments Series. I started reading this book on Wednesday and finished it on Thursday. I ate it up. I LOVED every minute of this story. It starts out a little slow in the first few chapters but once it picks up, it moves quickly and shares more and more amazingly detailed information about the story that I don't want to give away! I think I'll call this book a MUST READ. I mean its already set to debut #1 on the NY Times Best Seller List - just one week after debut. 

Here is the Synopsis from Glenn Beck's Site: To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers. Michael thinks he’s unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive.

Opinion: Like I stated earlier, I loved this book! I have yet to post about a book I didn't like but this one was just INCREDIBLE. My fiance was amazed at how quickly I read it! I honestly can't wait for the next one to come out.
Michael Vey is just a sweet character who genuinely has a good heart and want be kind to others. He is always picked on at school because he's not the most popular, he's just kind of average-- except not. This book is great for kids too because it teaches wonderful values without being "annoying" and "obvious". It shows that we should care for others. There are just so many wonderful lessons that you can get out of this book.

More than you want to know: Teachers can use this book.. here is a clip of their educator's testimonial:

Opinion Again: I just think this book is the next Harry Potter or Twilight.. Its just sooo good. Please Check it out and Let me know what you think! 

Strawberry Shortcake

So, I was craving something sweet again.. Luckily, we had strawberries and eggs and Bisquick.. and all the ingredients to make Strawberry Shortcake.. Hurray! And the recipe is from the back of the Bisquick box!

Ingredients: 

4 cups of fresh strawberries

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/3 cups of Original Bisquick mix

2/3 cup of milk

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Mix strawberries and sugar really well until it looks like this.. yum - Set aside, Heat oven to 425 degrees

2. In a new bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 Tbsp of sugar, and butter until soft.

Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 10-12 mins of until golden brown. Split warm shortcakes, fill and top with strawberries and whipped topping if you want.

Comments: I topped mine with some left over Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Yummy. Enjoy!

The Hunger Games

The Hunger games series is AMAZING! Its considered a "young adult" book which could lead you astray. I mean I liked Harry Potter and I did love Twilight although the more popular the movies becomes, the less intrigued I am... 

[Side Note: I just feel that the Twilight movies are so Hollywood-ized.. that it takes away from the story. You know, like Bella is bleeding and Jacob is like "Oh, let me take my shirt off for you to wipe off the blood" type thing. but anyways back to the Hunger Games]

Hunger Games is a story with love, war, death, joy, happiness.. It truly covers every emotion. At the end of the story, I know it sounds odd but I cried because I truly was going to miss the characters. Haha. 

So whats the story about without giving the whole plot away? Well basically it takes place in a post Apocalyptic futuristic America that is now be governed in 12 different districts with the Capitol being the head-state and richest of all the districts. The main character is Katniss Everdeen, a member of district 12. The tyranny of the Capitol holds its annual event called "The Hunger Games".. The games consist of competitors called "tributes" (one boy and one girl from each district) fighting each other to the death while enduring the tough surroundings that the Capitol has built to make the game difficult. On top of that, the Capitol televises the event into all the districts in order to keep the residents rebellions in check. This year is a very special year because it seems the tributes have their own agenda.. 

I'm pretty sure I read all three of these books in a week. I loved them! Like I said earlier, the book really encompasses all emotions. Suzanne Collins really creates a world to escape to the point where you feel like you are in the story and developing relationships with the characters! Its just great. So, they are talking about making movies for the books -- I just hope they are better than the Twilight movies.. 

Here is a clip where Elizabeth Banks tells us that "the fans will not be disappointed by the Hunger Games movie". 

And here are some pictures that were released of Katniss & Peeta.. Check it out! So Excited!

The movie is said to be released on March 23, 2012.. Ok, so is it March yet?! 

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Have you read this book? Its a great read! I read it in a day and a half and that was while I was working so I mostly read it at night. My fiance would pick on me because he said I ignored him when he was talking to me.. haha but luckily for him, I finished this quickly. My wonderful friend Shannon recommended it to me-- She blogs and writes a wonderful story here.

Plot: Impossible's main character is Lucy, who is seventeen. She discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations and are forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or fall into madness upon their child’s birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won’t be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents and her childhood friend Zach beside her. Can they break the curse?

Review: Like I stated earlier, I loved this book. Its definitely a teen novel but the story was very interesting and made me want to look into the "Scarborough Fair" song. You'll understand if you read the book. This book truly demonstrates how people can come together, although this story is a fairy tale. I would give it a 4 out of 5 good read. So what did I not like about it? It definitely has a magical essence to the story which I didn't expect but I still enjoyed it alot. As Lucy battles whether or not to accept the truth to the curse upon her family, I was also battling whether she should believe it or not.

Thats all for now! More coming soon! Leave a comment or some love!

Gone Bananas!

So I was craving some sweet the other night and I felt like I was going to "go bananas!" so I looked through the pantry and we happened to have 2 bananas that were getting old... Like a lightbulb going off, I thought, "banana bread!" Then I looked in the fridge.. no eggs...

I got on google and sure enough I found:

Easy No Egg Required Banana Bread!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of shortening or canola oil or butter etc.

1 cup white sugar (you can cut back to 3/4 cup if you want)

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 very ripe mashed bananas ( I only used 2)

1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla

chocolate chips (if you have them, I didn't)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 loaf pan!

2. In a large bowl, mix shortening, sugar and vanilla.

3. Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt. Blend in the mashed bananas. Stir in chocolate chips (optional).

4. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until it tests done with a fork or toothpick.

Comments: I sprinkled some brown sugar on top to add a little kick.. and I just love brown sugar! Enjoy! Yummy!

The National Aquarium

The National Aquarium

Baltimore, Maryland

This is the entrance to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. Its located on the beautiful inner harbor:

It was really a cute area and we went to some stores near by after visiting the aquarium! But as for the aquarium, I'll begin my review!

Date of Visit: July 4, 2011

Highlights: It had different levels which you could catch a glimpse of the lower levels from above which was really cool although most of the time, I feared dropping my camera in the water. They had a lot of unique animals like puffins, which you don't see on the regular. The shark exhibit was really cool! There were so many of them and they were so large. The stingrays were also very large and in the largest tank. Also, they had a massive sea turtle which hid most of the time but when we finally got a glimpse of him, he was pretty cool! They also had piranhas, which my fiance enjoyed - but they were difficult to capture a picture of. I loved seeing the dolphins too (- although the day we went there was no dolphin show)! Lastly, I love the jellyfish! I know, they sting and it hurts but they are just so beautiful! They have an awesome jelly area.

Pictures:

This was at the entry of the aquarium so of course, we were being silly. RAWR.

i love the tropical colors!

here is the large tank that holds the huge sting rays, the sea turtle and some sharks!

jellies. i love them although I would never want to touch them!

 more

so pretty! 

baby jellyfish! jellies!

shark from the large tank

another shark from the shark tank area! 

there were so many but it as difficult to get a picture because the tank was very dark.

so pretty

eel- looking straight at me.. almost a little creepy.

snakes- i don't like them but this one is pretty! 

gator

 and my personal favorite- DOLPHINS.

 they are so flirtatious with zoo visitors - coming up to the window. It was cute.

Disappointments: The biggest disappointment with our visit the the Baltimore aquarium was the lack of a dolphin show. I think we would have given this a 5 out of 5 rating except for the lack of a dolphin show. Luckily, they usually have a dolphin show, so maybe if you go, you can catch it! We got through the whole aquarium in a few hours. 

It was really great though! I loved it and I think you would enjoy it as well!

4 out of 5 elephant review!

That's all for now! Hope you all are having a great summer!

signing off  ♥ jen