Last post on this blog

ok- the JLP Blog has a new home

JLP Blog

Make sure you change any bookmarks if you want to know what's happening over here.

See ya

-j

"bono"

Courtney and me with "Bono"

I invited Courney to the ABC Meeting at the Hard Rock Hotel the other day. Wasn't it nice the Bono decided to come , too. We had to take a photo with him :)

-j

36 boxes of cereal on the wall..

oh, that's not right- well it sounded like a song :)

So- I love a bargain, they can really suck me in. The other day I saw that Albertson's had cereal on sale for 4 for $4- you had to buy 4 in order to get the deal. So I checked my coupon stash and I had some coupons for cereal- the one the was on sale. So I went to get a few boxes, well, at least 4.

OK- I ended up with like 36 boxes- and then about 8 boxes of Granola bars- for no more that $20 (it could be less).

Here's what happened:

I went in innocently with my coupons to buy 4 maybe 8 boxes. Well, come to find out there are also coupons on the aisle with the cereal boxes, so I end up buying more. Then I check out- well, out of the machine pop more coupons, coupons that will make more boxes of cereal free.

So I get more- but the more I buy the more free ($1 off) and $1.50 off 3 coupons pop out. Then I realize I have more coupons at home for cereal I did not know was on sale- again, free boxes and boxes that will end up being a quarter. I couldn't stop.

And I am also an enabler... because I called my mom and told her to get cereal, too- she ended up with at least 24- and paid around $10.

It was nuts

but I am set in case there is a cereal famine...

-j

Duck, Duck...Goose

My friend Courtney "tagged" me. So here goes..

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was moving out here. Jon was going to get his Masters at UCSD in theatre. We moved to Escondido since I got a job locally and I was starting my business out here. I was doing photography in Flagstaff and it was pretty nerve-wracking to start it up again in a "big city"- but it was great, there are so many nice wedding vendors in SD- it made the transition easy.

Things on my to-do list:

Now: (in no particular order)
1.Meet and get to know people in the wedding industry

2. Book a bunch of amazing brides for the rest of 2008 and 2009 (you know who are out there!!)
3. Adopt some kids
4.be a better wife
5.be a better friend
6.Sell more on ebay- ha, I'm an addict now!!!
7.Sign up for more free samples on the internet (this is totally addicting)

In my lifetime:
1.Be a good wife
2.Be a good mom
3.Be a good daughter
4. Go to Europe (although I dread the thought of the long trip)

5. Grow to be the person God wants me to be

Bad Habits:
1. too much internet- I have found out through personality tests that I am an "information collector"- so I love the internet. You should see my bookmarks- it's out of control.
2. this is related to the above- but I am pretty obsessive about checking my email, too.

Places I've lived:
1. Phoenix, AZ
2. Flagstaff, AZ
3. Escondido, CA

Things most people probably don't know about me:
1. I can't eat wheat, sugar, or chicken right now (dr's orders)
2. I have a music ed degree in voice.
3. Jon and I are in a band (I'm the lead singer)
4. I don't like coldstone ice cream- but I doesn't matter I can't eat it anyway

Ok- so I need to tag some people now..

Emily
Jessica
Jim
Nikky
Doug
the hubby
Red Letter Days
Events by Design

-j

Shoes for Foster Kids

Some of you know and many of you may not- but Jon and I are planning to adopt a child or children from San Diego County. We hope to adopt older children (over 3). Our paperwork just finished and we should be in the system in the next couple weeks.

It's kind of a scary and exciting process as we have been married for over 14 years and are settled in our lives with just each other. But I think we are ready- though, how many times do couples really "know" they are ready to be parents- it's pretty much always an unknown, scary process.

In order to adopt from the state you have to go through a fairly extensive process of paperwork and classes. In these classes you learn a lot- and much of it is hard to hear when you learn what many of these kids go through. So through it all we have become sensitive to these kids and when I hear about opportunities to help my ears kind of perk up.

I was watching TV this morning and saw a commercial for Sleep Train- they are doing a promotion where they are give people the opportunity to help foster kids by donating new shoes for them.

One of the things you might not know is that when kids are put into the foster system they often come with what is on their backs- which might just be pajamas. Many times they have little more than a pillowcase with all they own and are thrust into an environment that if safer but completely unknown and scary.

So something as simple as donating a new pair of shoes to them can be an amazing thing. And don't forget foster kids are all ages up to 18- not just the little ones.

So if you feel like this is something you can do, go to a local Sleep Train and give some shoes.

-j

A Platinum Wedding Extravaganza

Join us for A Platinum Wedding Extravaganza on Sunday, May 18th at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines from 10-3.

For more info visit http://www.socalplatinumweddings.com/

Romance by the Sea- La Jolla Cove Suite Wedding Event

You are cordially invited to attend La Jolla Cove Suites’ 2nd Annual “Romance by the Sea, a Wedding to Remember.” Get to know San Diego’s finest wedding professionals and enter to win your wedding and matching flower girl dresses! Enjoy an evening of gourmet food and live entertainment as the sun sets over the world famous La Jolla Cove.

When: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Where: La Jolla Cove Suites rooftop
RSVP: by April 7, 2008 is greatly appreciated sales@lajollacove.com

1155 Coast Boulevard, La Jolla, California 92037 • 858.459.2621 • www.lajollacove.com

see you there...

-j

JLP Featured Vendor- Joyful Weddings and Events

So this is my first featured vendor post. I really hope to do more because it is fun to get to get to know more people in the wedding industry- as it is kind of that water cooler thing that you don't really get when you run your own business.

So my first vendor is..

Courtney Toney (isn't she cute?), with Joyful Weddings and Events . Courtney is a really good friend of mine that has recently moved down from the OC and is transitioning her amazing wedding coordination business down here to San Diego.

She is so friendly and sweet and has very good taste- so there are no reasons why you would not want to have her as your wedding coordinator!!

I highly recommend checking out her website or her blog for recent weddings and other fun details she has to share.

Ta-ta,

-j

Waiting...

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.”- Dr Seuss

I want to get going- but have you ever experienced life in a holding pattern- it's frustrating. You wait by the phone for the expected call that never seems to come, you check your emails a million times, you wait for the life changing experience- your big break, but it just doesn't seem to come.

Hum- this year has been one of those years for Jon and I.

There are seemingly a million things I could write about (at least it seems this way) but right now the one that is most pressing is that he and I are planning to adopt a child or children from San Diego county.

We started our journey about 2 years ago and decided that we wanted to look into adoption. It seems like a wonderful way to have a family (especially for me- the girl who has never heard that ticking clock- lol) and also to met the needs of a child that desperately needed them met.

So we planned to take the classes- but life got in the way and they were postponed until last summer. We finally finished them (we spread everything out) at the end of last year and decided to take a break.

But then an opportunity arose- some friends of ours (I actually have shot 3 weddings in their family) told us they were temporarily fostering two children. Of course our ears perked up and we considered if this was an opportunity for us. We were not sure- but thought we would go ahead and finish our paperwork and fingerprinting and just see what happened.

FINGERPRINTS

Ok- I don't have any... Well, not good ones anyway and the government does not like this. So basically it took three times of being printed, 3 months and finally a name only check for me to be approved.

In that time they did not find a more permanent home for the children- so we were really hoping that we would be considered. We even met with them a few times (because we are also friends of the family) and spent some one on one time.

Jon, being the soft hearted guy that he is (one of the things I love about him)- fell hard, I think he is ready to be a dad. I can be a bit more stoic and keep a step back. But both of us really like the children and were hoping that we might provide a home for them.

So here's the hard part- their social working is probably going with a different family. Because our paperwork took so long and the approval just came last Friday- other family were already being looked at. Don't get me wrong..I'm sure they are wonderful and perfect. But they are not us.. and that is the difficult part.

It has been a rough few days.

So now we are again waiting... waiting to hear if that other family is a for sure thing.. waiting to hear what is in store for us.

I have been praying for the children.. that they would find the perfect match..even if it is not us. But that doesn't make it easier on the heart.

When times are hard I try to remind myself that "life is not always this way"- there are both good and bad days. And truly the good outweigh the bad.

I do know that the perfect family is out there for Jon and I, too- we just have to persevere.

-j

Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”- unknown

Good days- Bad days

Not all day are good- we all know that and each of us have experienced life's discomforts- on big and small levels.

Today was one of those day that leaned toward bad for me. I say leaned because truly you look around and see all the blessings that we each have- it's kind of overwhelming.

Even on most bad days- when we don't feel well, or we are doing things like tightening our proverbial belt because money has gotten tight or whatever we can almost always look around us and see the amazing overflow of gifts in our lives.

These gifts might not be money or things- but they might be a God who loves us, a great husband or significant other, a wonderful friend, a supportive church, or a loyal pet. We can even be thankful for the little stuff like a beautiful day or the lucky penny you found while taking a walk.

Life's full of treasure- even on the bad days.
-j