I'm Back!

It's been a while since my last post. Let's see if I can't get back into it.

A lot has happened over the past few years.

1. I got a new job. It's in the same building but a different office. I like it, but the work is sometimes slow; which can make my days long.

2. Josh and I got married on New Years Day! Everything went really well and only thing got messed up... and well it was fixed pretty fast and I don't think that very many people know about it so no harm done.

And well there is more but I don't want to bore you with my past few months...

Breast Cancer Awarness Month W/ Jordan Essentials

Hey everyone! I know it has been forever since I have posted. I've been really busy lately, but my goal for October is to get my Jordan Essentials business up and going. In order to do that I need to book some Spa Shows and Catalog Parties! If you would like to host one contact me and we will get a date set up and I will get all the info to you.

With October being Breast Cancer awarness month we have a few specials.

Be confident in your lipstick! No chemicals, & no petroleum products, just natural minerals that color your lips in a conditioning formula. Pink Ribbon Pink is light pink in color and comes in a moisturizing formula.

Enjoy the Pink Ribbon Pearberry scented soap and share the message of hope for a cure.

Add a Soap Sack to extend the life of your soap, too!

The first thing many cancer treatment centers will tell you is use an aluminum free deodorant. Why wait?
Choose one of our 15 fragrances, or Naturally Unscented. They work with natural vegetable proteins to block odor.

The Spa Shows are a lot of fun for a girls night in. Also, it's time to be thinking about the holidays and Jordan Essentials Products make great gifts!

Contact me today!
mcilwain.jill@yahoo.com
http://www.myjestore.com/Jill/
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Jill-McIlwain-Jordan-Essentials-Consultant/116380948385220?v=info

Host a Spa Show!

Earn free products and ½ priced hostess only products all while having a blast with your girl friends.

Contact me to schedule a Spa Show today! I still have dates available September, or I can mail you a catalog for you to flip through to place an order.

September Special:
FREE Room Spray with the purchase of a Cranberry Fall Festival Candle!
Surround your space with fragrances which are safe for your household.

Also check out my website at myjestore.com/Jill.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Mothers Day Special!

Mothers Day is just around the corner and Jordan Essentials is a great gift idea for all moms! Check out my website at https://www.myjestore.com/Jill and I'm more than positive you will be able to find something for your mom!

Mothers Day Special!

Perfect for any Mom or a great gift for a sister, a friend or anyone who is blessed to be called "Mom".

Special blended fragrance including French Lavender, Plumeria and Honeysuckle flowers. Set includes Soy Candle, 8-ounce Dead Sea Salt and Purse Size Lotion. Includes FREE pink and black gift bag.

Cost: $30.00
On Sale March 25 - May 10th

Keep Jordan Essentials in mind for birthdays, graduations, anniversary's, and more!

Jordan Essentials

I am now a Jordan Essentials Consultant! I will be hosting my first Spa Show very soon and can not wait to get started!

I'm sure you are all wondering why I choose to become a Jordan Essentials Consultant, so I will tell you. Throughout this year Josh and I are going to have lot of expenses from summer fun, traveling to Maine for Josh's brother John and Nola's wedding and of course paying for everything we need for our wedding. Becoming a Jordan Essentials Consultant will help me to make the extra cash that we will need throughout the year, but don't think I'm going to stop there... As many of you know I am always trying to plan for the future because I always want things to go smoothly... Well this is the big one and main reason why I have become a consultant. Josh and I plan to have children soon after marriage and I would love to be able to stay home with them everyday and give them the proper care that they need. Starting this in-home business will allow me to do this. This is another reason why I am starting it early. I am a what if person and so if this doesn't plan out like I would want it to then I will need time to come up with a new game plan. But enough of that; I am positive if I put my mind to it that I can do it.

If you haven't heard of Jordan Essentials check out my website at https://www.myjestore.com/12282. I will be updating it soon to make it more personal, but being that I am just getting started I've got to come up with what I'm going to put on there. You can also order online or once I get my stuff I would be more than happy to send you a catalog. Also I would be more than happy to help you book a Spa Show! It's fun and relaxing way to have a girls night in! Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would like more information!

The Funnies

A few funny things have happened recently and since I haven't posted in a while I thought this would be a good start.

• The neighbors grandson thought Josh was my dad. (Prob only funny to me, but hey it works)
• The neighbor across the road has a Zebra! I mean seriously...
• My coworker at AE decided to let us all know he takes Extenze. TMI
• We took the dogs for a walk over the weekend and Styx could hardly walk after words... he would take one step and then lay down. Poor guy

It's not much, but at least it's something. I'll try to start posting more often.

Peanut the Working Dog

Today Josh brought Peanut in to visit me at work!

She loved it and everyone loved her. She got lots of treats and lots of attention. Everything that a dog could ever love.

In case you didn't know Peanut is a cop dog. She works hard to serve our state! Josh became the K-9 keeper a few months ago when we bought our home and so she lives with us and goes to work with Josh everyday. She is a good dog and smart too!

She has been so good tonight too! She must have had all she could handle because I find it hard to believe that she listened when I told her I wasn't going to pet her tonight.

Although I love her... Styx is still my fav! Styx is our other dog that I have had for a few years now... don't worry... both of them know Styx is my favorite!

(The picture isn't very good... I will have to get a better one at a later date.)

Just so People Know

I can see where people don't realize why I'm dieting and exercising.

The thing is. I'm doing it for myself to make myself feel better and be more confident. I know I'm not over weight, but I'm not happy with how my body looks. It's a personal decision that I have made and I plan to get in better shape over the year of 2010.

I doing it in a healthy way so there is nothing to worry about. I also know what my ideal weight is and that is what I am working towards. If I don't meet it, then ok, but I want to at least try to get myself to the point where I don't find the need to where something over my swimsuit. I want to be out and have a good time and not worry about my appearance.

That's all.

I'm not trying to offend anyone so if I offend you sorry, but this is something I feel I need to do for myself.

On Going Goal

By now you have all figured out my goal of trying to get in shape by my birthday. I'm I want to lose a total of 2o pounds and I have lost 6 so far. I must say I'm pretty impressed with myself. I've never stuck with a diet or exercise program this long. I am still doing the P90X although I have gotten a little behind... I was sick for a few days and it threw me off track.

Although I'm happy that I am continually losing weight I am a little upset that I haven't seem that much of a change in my lower stomach. This is my main problem area and the part of my body that I want to change the most. I have decided that I am going to measure the around the wides part of my stomach and in a month see if I have dropped any inches.... So here we go. Ok-- well I was going to do it right now but I can't find my measuring tape so I will have to find that and do it later.

Workout Week 3

I am now on workout week 3! Which is pretty awesome, because I usually quit before I get done with week 2. I'm also pretty excited becuase next week my workout plan will change. It will be nice to have a little change.

Weigh in is tomorrow morning and I'm feeling pretty confident. After a disappointment last week when I weighed in and I have been trying harder this week so that it wont happen again. I'm trying to work harder during workouts and being sure to stay at the bottom of my calorie limit. I have been doing pretty good and I'm ready to weigh in and see if my hard work has paid off.

Although I didn't make my weigh goal last week I am still on track because the first week I surpassed my goal. I'm hoping I will surpass it again this week. That always makes me feel good!

How It's Going

Workout/Diet

It's now January 11th and I'm on my second week of dieting/working out. Things are going pretty well for now... (usually my diets last a few weeks) I've had a few slip ups here and there with my eating, but I figure I just have to jump right back in and try harder next time. I've messed up on my workouts too. Last week I missed Yoga. I kept meaning to double up on workouts and make it up, but I never did. At the end of each workout week I also get a rest/stretch day. This past week however, I took two. But then I got right back in the game after that. I'm not going to lose any just sitting around now am I? This morning was my arms and shoulders workout. I didn't get up in time though. The bed was just too warm. So now I'm going to have to do it tonight. Which kind of stinks since I have two shows that I like to watch on Mondays. Thanks god for DVR's! Anyway... I'm thinking I will go home and eat dinner (I like to eat right when I get off), chill for an hour (your supposed to wait an hour after eating before exercising), do my workout and then watch one of my shows and then I can watch my other show later this week. It's the plan, but lets see if the plan follows through! haha So that is how my workout/diet is going thus far.

Weighing In

Each week I'm going to weigh in on Fridays and last Friday was my first weigh in. I only lost one pound, but that is better than none. It was just a little disappointing because I weighed myself on the regular scale and you know you can't read them very well and it looked like I lost 2 (this was on Thurs) and so then when I did my official weigh in on the Wii (so OFFICIAL) and I saw I had only lost one; I was a little bummed. Anyway. At least I'm off to a start!

Resolutions

My New Year's Resolutions
I will not throw the cat out the window
Or put a frog in my sister's bed
I will not tie my brother's shoelaces together
Nor jump from the roof of Dad's shed
I shall remember my aunt's next birthday
And tidy my room once a week
I'll not moan at Mum's cooking (Ugh! fish fingers again!)
Nor give her any more of my cheek.
I will not pick my nose if I can help it
I shall fold up my clothes, comb my hair,
I will say please and thank you (even when I don't mean it)
And never spit or shout or even swear.
I shall write each day in my diary
Try my hardest to be helpful at school
I shall help old ladies cross roads (even if they don't want to)
And when others are rude I'll stay cool.
I'll go to bed with the owls and be up with the larks
And close every door behind me
I shall squeeze from the bottom of every toothpaste tube
And stay where trouble can't find me.
I shall start again, turn over a new leaf,
leave my bad old ways forever
shall I start them this year, or next year
shall I sometime, or .....?
Robert Fisher

As the new year approaches us many will be thinking of a new years resolution. Mine this year as it has been many years is to get back in shape. Not that I was ever "in" shape. I chose this new years resolution once again since our big day is coming up. I want to feel fit and look my best. Also with summer coming in few months it's always nice to feel more confident in your swimming suit. I am going to start off with counting my calories and add in some exercise a little at a time. I don't want to jump in full force or I'm afraid that I wont stick with it. I want to do the P90X again. It is such a hard work out, but I know it works so if I can stick with it then I would be super excited! Josh is supposed to be doing this with me, but we will see how that works out. He usually says he'll diet with me and then never really does.

A way that I am going to try to watch my calories is to cook low calorie dinners. There are lots of recipes on Sparks People.

Hopefully we are able to stick with it and meet our goals. We both have a number of pounds in mind that we would like to lose. Now all we have to do is get started and stay motivated!

Baby Emma!

On Dec. 21 at 3:54 my friend Alicia had her baby girl. She named her Emma Elizabeth-Ann Hensley! She weighed 6lb 15 oz and was 20 inches long! She is just adorable! I love her already and she's only been here a week! Here are a few pic's of her:

Emma and Family

Emma and Mom


Baby Emma

Emma and Daddy


Emma when she was 2 days old

Me feeding Emma on Christmas Eve

Baby it's Cold Outside!

These past few days she have been some cold ones! Not only is it cold outside, but it's cold in the office becuase the heat is broken! Bummer! At least one of the doctors bought us hot chocolate today! That was a plus.

Although it is cold I am hoping for some snow! I would love for there to be a white Christmas this year. It seems like it has been so long since there has actually been a good snow on the ground at Christmas time.

And speaking of Christmas I really need to get out there and start Christmas shopping. We have only bought one gift so far and it seems like our list keeps growing and growing.

I'd also like to build a snowman. I know it sounds childish, but it's fun... Hopefully I can find someone to build one with me!

Plans are coming right along...

I am super excited today! I as the pastor to marry us and booked the Church! I now officially have one item done! Feels so good. However, I think the pastor may have thought I was a little crazy to be calling so soon!

I have also found some photographers that I am pretty impressed with. I don't know how I will decide... I'm thinking I may have to meet with each of them and then make a decision. The first one is Sarah Jane Photography at http://www.sjanephotography.com/ and the other is Amber Dickey at http://www.fortressphotography.net/. Both take good pictures and have reasonable prices. So if you want to check them out and give me your opinions that would be great!

Oh! And I have a pretty good idea on the hall that we will use. They have a really good price, it comes with a bartender and they clean up for you the next day! Sounds great to me! But the lady said the hall usually has special deals at the Bridal Show in Jan. and I plan to go to that anyway so I will just wait to book it and all that until next month.

Oh and if you find a mistake in my blog... I has retard hands while trying to type today... I mean I'm just saying.

Busy and Exciting Week!

A lot has happened over the past week...

Sunday Nov. 22 was Josh and my four year anniversary. We worked around the house most of the day and then went out to red lobster for dinner. After dinner we came home and watched a little TV. It was starting to get late so we got ready for bed. Just before going to sleep Josh asked me to marry him! I was so excited! I've wanted this for a long time now. I'm sure he was sick of all my nagging too. We plan to tie the knot on January 1. 2011.

Here's how he asked me:
He gave me 3 hints. For everyone that doesn't know I asked him for hints all the time. We had talked about marriage for a while and I was ready to bring it to life.
Hint 1 was it will be sooner than you think.
Hint 2 was that he had already bought me a surprise. (the ring)
Hint 3 he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him!

Tuesday Nov. 24 I had Thanksgiving at work. The food was really good. We had a fried turkey and it was by far the best turkey I have ever had.

Wednesday Nov. 25 Josh got to bring home the cop dog! She is very sweet but not as good behaved as I expected.

Thursday Nov. 26 We had a great Thanksgiving... We got to sleep in, then we went to Josh's mom's for a few hours. Then we headed up to my step family's. We didn't eat there just visited. After we left there we went to our friend's house and played games. It was very interesting and a lot of fun.

Friday Nov. 27 I worked my first Black Friday. I was really nerves and thought it was going to be crazy busy. It was really busy but not that bad. The day past fast and I was ready for a nap by the time it was all over, but what else is new. Friday night we went to dinner with Amy and Shawn and then hung out at our new house for a while. It was nice to be able to hang out at our place for a while.

Saturday Nov. 28 We are almost all unpacked, but still have a bunch of stuff to go through out in the garage. It sure does feel good to get everything put away!

Busy Busy Bees

We sure have been busy!

As of this weekend we are finally all moved into our new house. We still have a lot of unpacking to do, but we did get a lot done this weekend. Sometimes it's hard to get everything done because there are so many other things going on this time of the year. We both had the entire weekend off so we planned to get a lot done. However, in between was my little cousins birthday party. She turned four. And our four year anniversary! I can't believe we have been together that long! ☺

Josh is already doing a good job keeping up on the house. He cleaned out the gutters! Glad it was him and not me!

Boot Camp

Well that's it. Alisha and I are joining a Boot Camp in Lynn to help us loose weight! I'm glad to have someone to do it with and someone pushing me. Having this class twice a week for a month will help a lot! I'm so excited to start, but I've heard it's really hard. We'll make it through tho!

Halloween Costumes

Our Halloween costumes are picked!

Josh and I are going to be Homer and Marge Simpson! I can't wait.

The costumes are going to be so cheap and easy to make!

Getting Started on My 5 Year Plan

As the end of the year is starting to roll around, my five year plan is starting to fall into place…

We have found a house and are waiting for everything to go through. If all goes well we will be closing on October 30. It’s pretty exciting! Josh and I can’t wait to have a place of our own. The house is a little smaller than where we are now, but it is just fine for a first home. ☺

Now if just one more thing would happen my five year plan would be even further! Hint Hint Everyone who knows me well knows that I’ve already got big plans storming around in my head and I need to get started on them! (Love you Josh!)