Merry Christmas!

It's time for me to post since I haven't done so since July. Not a detailed post now, just a Christmas greeting. This isn't our "official" Christmas card that we sent out but I love this one too.

I'll try to post an actual update soon.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Another greeting by Smilebox

Just For Fun

As I was blog hopping yesterday, I came across Krystal's blog. She had this cool little questionnaire on her blog and I just had to copy it. Enjoy getting to know more about me!

1. Who was the first person you said I Love You to today? It'll probably be the hubby but he isn't up yet.

2. Do you still talk to your first love? No

3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Vodka & Orange Juice ("Screwdriver")

4. What was the first question asked to you today? "What's wrong with you?" I was in a cranky mood when it was time to get up and the hubby asked what was wrong.

5. What was your first car? White Mercury Mystique

6. Who was the first person to text you today? No one yet

7. Who is the first person you thought of today? My husband

8. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Cecil- I LOVED her and she is one of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher.

9. Where did you go on your first airplane ride? Florida

10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with? I actually never snuck out.

11. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them? A little girl that lived down the road and no. :( She moved away.

12. Where was your first sleepover? I think it was at Kristen's house. We were good friends in 3rd grade (and in High School too).

13. Who was the first person you talked to this morning? The hubby

14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? My sister's

15. What was the first thing you thought this morning? I don't want to get up!!

16. What was the first concert you ever went to? A Christian concert that my Aunts took me to when I was either in middle school or high school

17. First tattoo & piercing? No tattoo; Ears pierced when I was a little girl

18. First foreign country you went to? The Bahamas

19. Who was your first crush? The middle boy on "Home Improvement"

20. When was your first detention? High School

21. What was the first state you lived in? North Carolina

22. Who was the first person to break your heart? I'm over it so no need to go there again. God had other things in store for me. :)

Come back soon!

I'm Boring and I Know It

Yes, I am a boring blogger. I always think I have nothing to blog about because my life is just so ordinary. Nothing exciting really happens and that is okay with me. But, that leaves me with nothing to blog about.

So, please leave a comment and let me know what you blog about, what I should blog about, or what you want to know about me. Any ideas are appreciated so I can get out of my blogging funk.

Crazy Eights

My friend, Amanda, had posted this fun little game on her blog. Since I have no motivation to do the school work I'm avoiding, I thought it would be fun to do on mine as well.
It's called "Crazy Eights." Basically, you put 8 answers down to the questions that follow.

8 TV Shows that I watch:
1. Big Bang Theory
2. Real Housewives
3. King of Queens - Reruns
4. Everybody Loves Raymond - Reruns (I only watch this because it is on TBS when I come home from work and I'm usually too lazy to change the channel. Ha ha)
5. Minute to Win It (Mat is addicted to this show.)
6. The Today Show - I watch it every single morning.
7. Saved By the Bell - on every morning while I eat breakfast and get ready for school.
8. How I Met Your Mother

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Chipotle
2. Olive Garden
3. Chick-fil-a
4. O'Charley's (but we don't have them up here :( )
5. Cheesecake Factory
6. Mike's American Grill
7. Noodles and Company
8. Starbucks (it counts as a restaurant, right?)

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Summer!!!
2. Going to NC
3. Going to Miami
4. Going to Sunset Beach
5. Being a Mommy
6. Seeing my family
7. Patsy and Jacob greeting me when I get home each day
8. Bedtime!

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Laundry
2. Took a nap
3. Made pancakes
4. Made sugar cookies
5. Worked out in our flower beds
6. Went on Facebook
7. Did some school work
8. Took a shower

8 Things I like about Winter:
1. Christmas
2. Snow
3. Being wrapped up in a warm blanket
4. Warm pjs
5. Snow days
6. Comfy sweaters
7. Sweater dresses
8. Seeing the ice sparkle on the trees
**This was a stretch because I DO NOT like Winter!**

8 Things I am Passionate about:
1. Children - in general
2. My family
3. Teaching
4. Trying to make people happy
5. Impressing other people - yes, I worry too much about what other people think
6. Being happy with myself and what God has given me
7. My students
8. Animals- especially dogs and cats

8 Words/Phrases I use often:
1. Enough talking!
2. You owe me a Banana Buck. (My students have "Banana Bucks" for their behavior. They earn them if they're good and lose them if they make a bad choice.)
3. I want you to try. I am not just going to tell you the answer because I know you know this!
4. Oh my goodness!
5. I love you
6. Jacob!
7. Patsy!
8. Would you please stop bothering your friends?!

8 Things I've learned from my past:
1. Parents try their best and don't be so hard on them.
2. God really does work in mysterious ways.
3. Most decisions are not easy.
4. I can set goals and have dreams and actually achieve them.
5. Enjoy high school and college while it lasts! It goes by sooo fast.
6. My mom was right about some things. Ha ha
7. You don't have to be related to someone biologically for them to be your closest family and friends.
8. Just when I think I have something figured out, everything changes.

8 Places I want to visit or see:
1. Miami - going in July!! :)
2. Sunset Beach (again) - going back in July! :)
3. Hawaii
4. Ireland
5. Mall of America
6. California
7. Austria - where the Sound of Music was filmed
8. New England - just seems so nice and peaceful

8 Things I need or want:
1. A massage
2. A David Yurman ring
3. Money!!
4. A vacation
5. A pedicure and manicure
6. A new wardrobe - or even just a few new outfits that actually fit
7. More hours in the day
8. An Iphone

Now you know a lot more about me than you ever wanted to know!

Things I Love

Over at Kelly's Korner, this week's topic of "Show Us Your Life" is "Things that you love/that make you happy".
How in the world can I put everything that I love in one blog post?!
I finally decided to narrow it down to just 25 things for this. These are in random order.

1. My family and friends.
2. My students.
3. My co-workers down in the lower pod (our little k-1st-2nd part of the school).
4. The beach
5. North Carolina - my home state
6. The Cheesecake Factory
7. Starbucks- especially the Java Chip Frappucino or Cafe Mocha.
8. Jewelry- I am obsessed with David Yurman right now but it his stuff so isn't in my budget!
9. Shoes
10. Purses
11. Makeup and Hair stuff
12. Shopping- I LOVE sales! I just realized that I am such a girly girl!!
13. The Internet - especially Facebook and blogs
14. My precious dogs (Patsy and Jacob)
15. PJs
16. Chocolate Covered Strawberries
17. Pink (and green too!)
18. Sonic Cherry Limeades - actually anything from Sonic!
19. Manicures and Pedicures (especially pedicures!)
20. Having my hair washed at the salon.
21. My cell phone - I do want to love a new Iphone though! Ha ha
22. Children's Books- that could be another blog post in itself
23. Vacations
24. Naps
25. Summertime!!

So, what makes you happy?

Show Us Your Life - FUTURE Children's Names

Disclaimer-- We are NOT expecting a baby!! I'm only participating in "Show Us Your Life" over at Kelly's Korner Blog. Just had to add that in so no one gets too excited. Ha ha!!

I wanted to participate in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" this week because I love baby names. I love hearing about people's children's names and how they came up with them.

Since Mat and I were dating, we've talked about children. We already have names that we love so when we decide to have kids, we are ready!

Girl Names
*Mackenzie Richmond
I think this is probably our favorite girl name. One of Mat's maternal grandfather's relatives was "McKinley". I love that name but Mat isn't too fond of it so changed it just a little to Mackenzie. Richmond is a family name on Mat's father's side of the family. I think it is such a great southern name and I love having a family name.
*Savannah James
We love the name Savannah for two reasons: 1)Savannah, GA is my favorite city in the world! 2)Back when Mat worked for the YMCA, there was a little girl there named "Savannah". Mat fell in love with the name and I think it is great too. James is Mat's father's middle name. Yes, I love it for a girl!!

Other names I love (not necessarily ones that we have talked a lot about):
*Naomi - this is my middle name and Mat's maternal grandmother's name. For the longest time I hated my middle name. Now that I'm older, I LOVE it!
*Sophie/Sophia- no particular reason I love these names. I just think they're pretty.
*Amelia - my favorite children's book character ("Amelia Bedelia")

Boy Names
*Hamilton Foard
We absolutely love this name! Hamilton is Mat's mom's maiden name. When I worked at a daycare in college, there was a little boy named "Hamilton". I came home that first day and said we had to use that name!! I love using last names as first names. Foard is Mat's middle name and a family name. We've always known that we would use it as a son's middle name.

We better not have more than one son because we can't decide on any other names. Ha ha!
These are some other boy names that I like:
*Max- another favorite children's book character ("Max" in "Where the Wild Things Are"). I also love this name because Mat's dad is "Mac", Mat is "Mat" (duh!), and a son could be "Max".

As you can tell, we like using family names and names that have a lot of meaning for us. Naming a child is such a special part of being a parent and we want to be sure that our children's names are very special and perfect! I can't wait until God blesses us as parents!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

"God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers."

Happy Birthday Mat!!

Today is my husband's 28th birthday! Wow, we're getting old!!



There are many things I'd like to thank him for on his special day!

Thank you for...
*Getting up early every morning and taking care of the dogs.
*Overlooking the fact that my shoes and clothes are everywhere in our room.
*Not minding that I'm not a neat freak or cleaning fanatic.
*Doing the dishes all the time.
*Listening to me talk about my students all the time.
*Sticking with me through good times and bad.
*Being with me the past 8 years!
There are many more things but I tend to forget things when I go to type them.

Have a wonderful birthday!!


I LOVE YOU!

Winners!!

Thank you to everyone who entered my first blog giveaway.

The 2 winners of the Satin Lips sets are:

Kristine and Aubrey!







Congratulations ladies! I will contact you to get your address. Aubrey, I don't have your email so please email me.

Also, any bloggy readers that would like to place an order for their own Satin Lips set or other Mary Kay products will get 15% off!! Just go to www.marykay.com/jessicamccarl to look at our awesome products and/or request samples.

Thanks for joining in the giveaway! Come back again for other giveaways!!

Mary Kay Cabin Fever Craziness!

**Contest is now closed. I will announce winners soon. Please visit again for more giveaways.**

I don't normally post about my Mary Kay business on our blog but I thought "Why Not?".

As some of you know, here in the D.C. area we have 25 inches of snow! We're expecting about 10 more tomorrow. So, I’m having Cabin Fever and it is making me a little bit crazy!!

I'm doing a drawing for my customers but thought I would extend it and have a little bloggy giveaway as well!

Here's how it works:

1. You will receive one entry for leaving a comment on my blog.

2. You can receive 5 extra entries for making a purchase. You can email me (jessicamccarl@yahoo.com) or shop at www.marykay.com/jessicamccarl. If you do not live in the Northern VA area, I can mail you your purchase.

3. You can receive another 5 entries if you schedule a facial, makeover, or party. Email me and we will set up a time. Only ladies in the Northern VA area please.

4. You receive 2 entries if you mention the giveaway on your blog. Please let me know you have done this.

Enter by Thursday, February 11th at 8am (EST).

I'll pick 2 winners. Each will receive a "Satin Lips" set.



I'm excited about my first giveaway!
Jessica McCarl
Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant

The Blizzard of 2010

The snow started Friday afternoon and ended at 5pm on Saturday. We were left with 25 inches! Oh, and we have MORE coming Tuesday and Wednesday!

To show all of the pictures we've taken so far, I created a slideshow. You'll see pictures of the snow as it was coming down, our trip to 7-11, us relaxing during the snowstorm, pictures once it ended, playing in the snow, and my favorite- "Bob the Blob".

Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow