Just Say Julie

One thing I don't normally do on this blog is prompt myself or goods that I am trying to sell or anything like.  However, the time has come for a little shameless self promotion of sorts. I would like you to meet Clay.  Clay is my big brother (the younger of the two big brothers) and he is participating in the HEB Slimdown Showdown this year.  For those of you who are Texans, HEB is a Texas grocery store chain that is based out of San Antonio. Each year they host the Slimdown Showdown as a way to prompt healthy living in the new year.  The contestants are put through a Fit Camp at the start of the program and given tools to help them be more physically active and eat healthier. They are asked to blog about their experience through the contest and talk about how their habits are changing and how the program is helping them. That is where you come in. Clay needs people to check out his blog. To comment. To share it on social media. To do all those fun th...

Tell us a *memory* of  watching a specific tv show/movie during your childhood. My favorite TV memory from my childhood was watching the movies they made a television event. You know back before VCRs and DVDs when Mary Poppins and Wizard of Oz came one once per year.  It was a special occasion. My mom would get TV dinners (that had to be cooked in the oven because we didn't have a microwave then) and we got to eat in the family room in front of the TV. This was a rare treat since I grew up in a house where family dinners were a nightly thing. We all sat at the table and ate together. The one that stands out the most was the year they showed (or I should say tried to show) King Kong in 3D. They sent the 3D glasses out in the local newspaper so everyone would have them for the movie. However, the 3D didn't really work so we ended up ditching the glasses and just watching movie without. But it was so much fun to have nights with my family in front of the TV all watching the ...

The number 1 thing on my 2015 to do list was buy a new house. We have been in a rental since we sold our house in 2013. While there is nothing wrong with our current living situation, this house always felt temporary. The house met our needs when we had three weeks to move but now more than a year and a half later, I can see the faults in it.  Chris finally agreed with me around Christmas after looking at a picture I took of the Christmas tree where he declared, "This is not our house."  Since then, he has been a man on a mission to find "our house."  We started the house hunt at the beginning of January. For three weeks, we spent hours touring houses and attending open houses.  We found houses we liked only to have them go under contract before we could see them or put in an offer ourselves. I was printing novels from the MLS and making notes like crazy. Our preapproval was in process. Everything was heading down the path to home ownership.  We just had to find...

What’s something about you today that would totally shock 10 year old you? Why the change?      At career day in 5th grade, ten year old me dressed up in a hot pink unitard and stated that I wanted to be a dance teacher and open my own dance studio. Ten year old me would be shocked that I don't dance anymore.  Mom put me in dance at age 5 because I need an activity to get my energy out. For the next 12 years, Gale's Studio of Dance was my second home. I would do dance camp in the summers. I would do my homework in the dressing room between classes. It was my life until high school. In high school, I started to branch out and get involved in school activities.  I was in band, a cheerleader, on dance team, and in clubs.  I also started to realize that I wasn't as good of a dancer as others around me and the idea of making dance my life wasn't realistic.  I quit dance half way through my junior year in high school. I was recovering from the chicke...

So I'm late to the game but I think 2014 is a year that definitely needed to be reviewed. So much happened, both good and bad, that I want to remember it. Plus I wasn't very good at documenting the events of the year. 1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before? Rode in an ambulance and a police car. Had an organ removed. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't really do resolutions but I did do much better on my to do list than I thought I did. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I don't think so but I don't really remember. 4. Did anyone close to you die? Both Chris's grandmother and uncle passed away within less than a month of each other. Then Chris's shift mate died in the line of duty when her patrol car was swept away in flood waters. 5. What countries did you visit? None and this answer probably won't change anytime soon. 6. What woul...

You would think it would be easy to come up with things you want to accomplish during a year but I'm struggling this year.  My focus is on buying a house and moving right now so everything else seems secondary and feels like it will change as soon as that happens. But after reading through a few other 2015 to do lists, I have finally come up with a decent list for myself for this year.   1. Buy a house. 2. Finish my JLA Provisional year in May. 3. Start my community placement in the fall. 4. Get Jackson involved in some sort of activity. 5. Get the boys back into swim lessons.  6. Take a vacation.  7. Celebrate our 5th anniversary in June.  8. Welcome my newest nephew in April. 9. See Alabama play in the Cowboys Classic in September.  10. Work on a Budget and stick to it. 11. Do something about my weight. 12. Celebrate Jackson's 4th birthday in July. 13. Volunteer at VBS. 14. Make time to read. 15. Buy a new bed for Jackson to replace the toddler bed. 16. S...

Take a trip that doesn't include visiting my parents or any other family. - Done: Chris and I took Jackson to Sea World for our anniversary in June. It was a fun little get away. Pay off a couple of credit cards and keep them paid off. - Done: We were able to utilize some extra money to make this happen.  Go on at least 1 date a month with Chris. - Not Exactly: We did go out quite a bit thanks to our Y membership and the cheap childcare they offer on the weekends but then things got busy and we didn't have time to go out. Take the boys to Disney World. - Ha! Nope. Read 24 books that are being turned into movies. - Not even close. I think I read 11 books and it has been months since I read anything. Spend an entire weekend kid free. - Two if you count my trips to Alabama for my Judson board meetings. See Alabama play in Bryant-Denny Stadium. - A girl can dream, can't she? Participate in NaBloPoMo. - Haha this didn't even cross my mind. Complete the 52 Week Money Challeng...