Sunday, May 18, 2008

Lots going on....

It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Northwest Arkansas, and after a great morning filled with church, our friends, and some good ol' home cookin' from Momma Dean's...it is naptime. Oh, Mark just sat up on the couch, straight from his sleep, because something exciting happened on the Cardinals game on the tube. HA!

We have had lots of fun things going on lately. Between birthdays, mother's day, graduations, weddings, etc... we haven't had much time to ourselves. So, we promised each other that this weekend would be our weekend together. Friday night we went to Stomp at the Walton Arts Center, which was lots of fun! Then, a couple of my friends from home surprised me in town, so we met up with them on Saturday for brunch. We had a fun day cruising in the Jeep (sunburned shoulders for me!), before the hard work began. I did some gardening in the front, and picking up in the back. All the while, Mark was digging a trench for the 3rd time to fix our sprinkler system that Jack had pulled up. It took him all day, so I really hope it is still buried this morning. We went out for dinner at 9:00 and quickly hit the hay when we got home.

We have 28 days until our annual vacation to the Bahamas. It turns out that Jonna isn't getting to go with us afterall, but Richard is still going to come along. The only good thing about Jonna missing out is that Mark & I get the bedroom rather than the sleeper couch! WAHOO! But, we would much rather sleep on the sofa and have Jonna there. But since she can't....

Today is my mom, uncle (her twin), cousin, and sister's mother-in-law's birthday. Happy birthday to all of you! It was also my great-grandfather's birthday. In celebration of births, I doodled some baby names in church this morning and Mark rolled his eyes at me. He said he likes Jack. I have narrowed the names down to Mary Allison or Allison Kate, all after my grandmothers. Hope we don't have a boy first. :)

I am super busy with work right now, and we just received BIG news from Mark's job on Friday. He has had a change of jobs (for the better) to be a forecaster and demand planner for Unilever. He will be doing this work on deodorants! So, keep on buying your Degree, Dove, and Axe! I am so proud of him!

Jack is doing well. He is singing in the back yard as we speak. He has an unusual talent with this. He ate Mark's sunglasses case yesterday, but thankfully the glasses made it out okay.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

What's New...

Hi everyone!

I recently realized how upset when I get on to read blogs and they haven't updated in weeks...and then I realized I haven't updated mine in MONTHS! Yikes...

Let's see, let's see. Wedding season has officially kicked in for me. My first wedding of the year this year was Lauren & Stuart's gorgeous April 5th day. It was "as close to perfect as it could be" according to the FOB. (father of the bride) Next on my list was Race for the Cure, in which I formed a team called Brides for the Cure. Together with Dale & Amy we had a team of over 60 people and raised over $2500! We finished in the TOP 10 teams out of 200 in our first year. The race was this weekend and we had a great time. Couldn't have been better weather! Coming in 2 weeks I have Lauren & Dusty's wedding, a possible NYC trip to see my good friend PB for his birthday, then the LIVE UNITED fashion show for the United Way (I got to design!), then Abby & Chris' wedding on May 24. In June I have Suzanne & Ben's wedding and VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One wedding in July and then a couple of months off!

We are so excited to head to the Bahamas again (Mark hasn't been back since our honeymoon) and this time my WHOLE family gets to go! I couldn't be happier. All 6 of us haven't been there in several years. It's going to be a blast. Now that my sister & I are both married, it's a fight over who gets the bedroom and who gets the foldout in our condo. We think mom & dad should get the fold out bed and the 2 of us couples get the bedrooms! HA!

I have to say that I do have the best hubby in the entire world. He has been so helpful and wonderful through this busy time. He had his 25th birthday a few weeks ago and I actually, for once, surprised him with his present! I was so proud, and it brought tears to my eyes. He is looking forward to a cool hunting trip in the next few weeks, and a fun summer spending weekends at the lake.

We are hoping to make a trip up to Kansas City soon, and Carthage too. We haven't seen my side of the family since Christmas and I am having withdrawals.

Jack is still crazy. He weighs 100 lbs now. I had a breakdown last night after he smacked me in the face--I started crying and decided I was done with having a dog. Mark was impressed with my serious "take down" skills as I flew across the room and tackled Jack. But then, Jack decided to apologize and I decided I loved him again. Mark completed the fence around the air conditioning unit since Jack destroyed that as well. Our backyard is (knock on wood) somewhat Jack proof now with mini-fences all around. I just have to take a deep breath when I think about Jack. I do love him, he is just a lot of work. We're reluctantly thinking about a friend/bro/sis for Jack to calm him down & so he would have a play mate. Do I want to have another huge dog on my hands? No. I want a little one that I can dress up like a human. Mark says no.

Well, I have to go and run some errands. Gotta get outside on this gorgeous day! Here is a fun pic of us at the Dave Barnes concert a few weeks ago. Thanks, Dale & Meredith, for the tickets & the invite!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

BRIDES FOR THE CURE!

J.Bailey Occasions and Benfield Photography invite you to join our team, "Brides for the Cure" on Saturday, April 19th for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! Every bride is looking for a great way to shape up for her Big Day, so why not do it for a good cause? Women everywhere are affected by breast cancer every day and we want to be a part of finding the cure! So, grab your mom, your bridesmaids, and your handsome groom and join our team for the Race!

The team member with the best race time will receive a wonderful wedding gift package from local vendors!

The Race entry fee is $20 for adults and $10 for kids under 12 years (yes, bring your flower girl too!). All team members will receive a Race for the Cure t-shirt, Race Packet, and a Brides for the Cure custom team t-shirt. There is a Fun Run/Walk for those of you who want a shorter course, a Kids for the Cure program, and you can even join our team and Sleep in for the Cure!

All registration is due back to Jenessa by March 7th. For registration info, please call 479-883-9073 or email jenessa@jbaileyoccasions.com.

We can't wait for you to be a part of our team!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Over a month?

Hi everyone.

I just realized today that I hadn't posted in forever. I took our Christmas pictures down because of the dual songs that were playing. I guess I should check the blog after I post it. Sorry for those of you it annoyed.

Let's see...January flew by. It's been a busy month for me with brides and other business. I am preparing for my parents' party on Valentines Day. Should be a lot of fun! I also participated in the NWA Bridal Showcase. It was great, and my good friend Rachel helped me out. You can see pics on my business blog site at jbaileyoccasions.blogspot.com.
My website was also launched in January as well. www.jbaileyoccasions.com

Things with business are continuing to pick up! I will ask for prayers for 3 specific brides to sign contracts with me. Please pray for SS, AS, and K to feel comfortable with me and to see the value of my services for them. If I pick up these 3 brides I will have 7 total for 2008! YAY! Also pray that those I contacted from the Bridal Fair will contact me for more info. There were a few that got away very quickly and I would love to be able to connect with them again. I would love to meet (and maybe exceed!)a goal of 10 brides I set for myself for the year. I have also interviewed a couple of girls for assistant positions. I hope that they are a strong fit for what I am looking for.

Mark has been and will be travelling for work more. He is on his way home from Jefferson City, MO today and will be going up north at the end of Feb. I am thinking about maybe joining him and spending some time in NYC. Who knows..I haven't even brought it up yet! If someone would just provide a plane ticket for me......

Well, I am off to meet up at the Razorback bball game with some folks. Thanks for checking in!