Santa, Maybe?

So I know I said I would post this last night but let’s face it, I’m never on time for anything…y’all should know that by now. Shame on you.

As most of you know, I have separated from my husband.

This year will be my first Christmas without D1 since ohhh 2006… LOL

It’s funny to think that I’m only 25, yet I spent 8 Christmases with him. That’s like a third of my life.

A lot of you also know that I’m writing a book.

This book is not going to focus too much on my past relationship. I will give you a little insight as to my thought process leading up to the separation but I want to respect D1’s privacy (as we are still friends and he knows where I live lol) so no real details and events will be shared.

I don’t want to give away too much because you need to read the book to hear all the ridiculousnesses I got my ridiculous self into after D1 moved out but I cannnn tellllll you some insider info… Santa dropped off an extra special gift a little early this year.

10 Things A 20 Something Divorcee Wants For Christmas:

1)     An instantaneous hot bod  

2)     Okay, fine…a gym membership or P90X work out kit OR better yet, if you have $129713487 laying around, some cool sculpting

3)    Or, a meal plan from some rando instagrammer #fitfam #cleaneating #nofilter 

4)     The continuous and growing drive and motivation to be the biggest, bestest, boss babe she has ever been

5)      If not… Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso is motivation in pretty prink packaging

6)    Or, some big girl panties from Victoria Secret 

7)      Kim Kardashian's wardrobe (but Kanye wardrobe thanks ✋🏼)

8)    No? Fine a $100 gift card to H&M will do 

9)    Or, a $1000 since their Balmain collection is like $102719729 per thread

10)  Lastly, to quote the great Ertha Kitt, "Santa honey, one little thing I really need...The deed... to a platinum mine" 🙏🏻

Don't have a divorced 20 something or the deed to a platinum mine? Fine 😑 without further adieu, here is my real Christmas List this year:

Saying Goodbye (Part 1)

Dear: New Home Owners,

Although this house is coming to you as a result of a failed marriage, I want you to know that love lived here.

Once upon a time, a young couple stumbled upon a foreign land called Brookswood. They fell in love with the tall, old, oak trees, the friendly neighbors, and the unique and charming houses.
The house was dark, dingy, dusty, and frankly dirty. It did not look like it was taken care of. It did not look happy. It did not look loved. The couple decided to take a chance and buy the place.

They rented a uhaul and hired some movers. It was a blazing HOT summer and their puppy Baloo was very unhappy about moving from their brand new townhouse. But his mom and dad reassured him that an even better, more exciting, and beautiful adventure awaited their family. So they packed their things, kissed their first home goodbye, and off they went.

  

They were nervous but excited! This was going to be their greatest adventure yet!
They spent 1 year checking things off their home sweet honey do list and finally, this fixer upper of a house became their home.
Each and every piece and element was chosen to suit their needs and taste. They poured their blood, sweat, and tears into it and the result was a home they thought they would live in forever. It would be their forever home.

So, new home owners, when you put your feet up on your coffee table after a long day, you might think to yourselves, "why didn't they install built ins" or "why is the light fixture off center"? You might find a few scratches on our floors and a few holes in our walls. You might attempt to Febreeze "our smell" out of your home.

But know, after a long day of work, that this living room hosted a lot of Netflix marathons.
It saw countless hours of girls' nights where we would spend hours chit chatting not moving from the couch. It survived countless hours of boys' nights where D1 would spend hours, days, centuries even.. playing Call of Duty with friends. It saw a lot of "beaches" what we called bringing a mattress out into the living room and fort building. It housed our Christmas tree in the winter and the sliding doors let in a cool breeze in the summer.

If there's a glare on your TV, turn out the lights in the kitchen. We found having a lamp near the fireplace was the perfect amount of lighting for a cozy, movie night in.
Don't look too closely at the curtain rod, it's beginning to sag in the middle.
And good luck figuring out how the wires all tuck into the box under the TV. Make sure you guys take the time to pick your DVD player and TV with absolute certainty because it will be a b*tch and a half to rewire.
Don't stop building forts and if you put your Christmas tree in the same spot we used to, every morning when you peek out from your bedroom, you'll see it glowing at the end of the hall.




















It is my hope that you cherish this living room as much as our family did. May it bring you many good nights entertaining friends, many cuddles on the couch with loved ones, many silly games and funny movies with lots of buttery popcorn and junk food.

But most importantly, may the frames you hang above your TV, not be crooked like mine were the entire 2 years we lived there.

Enjoy.
Love,
J

Secret's Out!

Well, it’s been 3 months.

3 months, 1 week, and 1 day to be exact.

And I’ve finally discovered the worst part of getting divorced.

The separation has actually been a lot easier than I had expected it to be. We still talk from time to time and it’s actually the same way we used to talk; minus the “babe” and “love you”s I guess…

Sometimes I think about him. It used to be a the most frequent right before bed. I figured it was because your bed represents settling down, safety, comfort, ..home. When you go to bed every night with the same person for five years, it doesn’t feel like home when they’re gone. It doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. It feels empty.

I could have been fine all day but as I crawled into bed at night, that alone-ness seemed to be amplified. Like my neighbors could see my lone shadow climbing into bed like the pathetic divorcee I had become. I was surprised I didn’t start to grow a hump, hang a large bell in my clock tower, and groan loudly in the middle of the nights…oh- that’s a different story… sorry for the melodramatics.   

Telling my neighbors, friends, and family was hard. Not that it was a shock to anyone really. I mean, I supposed it was a shock that we actually manned up and pulled the plug but it wasn’t a shock that we weren’t working. D1 and I (D1 is the ex) were highschool sweethearts. We loved like highschool sweethearts and fought like highschool sweethearts. I will never deny that there is a pureness about marrying young. I will never regret the decision I made to get married at 21. I loved D1 and he loved me. We had a great run. We just ran into a burning building, sorry no, we ran into a building where we set fire to the bottom floor and then kept climbing the stairs to escape the heat. 

It was exhilarating the higher we went. It was a crazy adventure full of highs but the flames would spread, they would rise. We would climb another floor. We would do it hand in hand. Sometimes he carried me. Sometimes I was dragging him. It would feel like our relationship was getting stronger but it was still a building burning from the bottom up. When we finally realized that climbing higher and higher was only a temporary solution and that one day we would have to jump because the bottom was just too burnt to save, we knew that climbing another floor would only make jumping off harder.

Jumping was hard. We had to strategically do it. We weren’t rash people. I mean, our building had started burning all the way back in March 2014 for God’s sake. We tried jumping in January of 2015 but we chickened out. Now we were 6 floors higher and we wanted out. The smoke was getting to us and we knew we were only a few floors away from dying. It was official, the smoke and heat was too much to handle. It was worse than our fear of jumping. We weren’t scared to jump anymore. We just wanted out.  

I pitched the idea of jumping again. He agreed. I retracted. He coaxed me onto the ledge. I hesitated. It was high. It was very very very high. Look at everyone watching. They’re all going to watch us jump. What if I die when we get to the bottom? What if I pass out or check out half way through the fall and never get back up? Maybe I didn’t want to do it! Maybe just one more level… NO. It had to be done! I couldn’t breathe. I was choking. Here goes nothing!

The fall was hard. We had to clear the smoke. It was thick. At some point, I couldn’t see him anymore. Did D1 jump? Did I jump alone? Was he still up in the building watching me fall. Did he regret coaxing me to jump? Or was he ahead? Maybe he was enjoying it! Maybe it’s like a rush for him! It was hard not seeing him. I was concerned. I didn’t want him to crash and burn. I hoped he had landed safely. WAIT! Why was I thinking about him?! Son of a b*tch set my building on fire!

When I finally cleared the smoke and could see the ground. I saw them. My friends and my family holding a giant net. They were ready to catch me. I knew they were heartbroken but I also knew they were trying to be strong for me. It broke my heart to see their weary smiles and tender, tear pricked eyes. I saw my puppy, Baloo, wagging his tail. He was waiting for daddy to fall out of the sky into the net too!

When I finally reached the bottom. I sank into the net. Just me. Alone. It absorbed me and braced my fall. It all felt like it was in slow motion so I didn’t feel the sting of the fall until I had gotten up. It felt like I was watching someone else. I could see them climbing the building. Higher and higher. I could see the flames spreading and the base burning to nothing. I kept screaming at the couple climbing higher and higher to just jump. I saw how scared they were but I knew if they just did it, they might live. They could have a second chance. If they stayed, they’ll go up in flames. I could see them climbing onto the ledge. I could see the fear in their eyes and hear the quickening of their hearts beating. I saw them reach to hold one another’s hands. They gave them one last squeeze, closed their eyes, and jumped. My breath hitched the moment their feet left the edge. I saw my own body suspended in air. I felt stuck but free all at the same time. I was helpless but relieved. I had relinquished all control. I had made an conscious, thought through, oxymoron of a decision to give up and blindly go where my subconscious had been luring me to venture to for the last year.

As I walk, by myself, in complete silence, down the aisle 10, looking for bin 51, I realized… this is it. This is officially the hardest, worst part of getting a divorce. I’ve found it. 3 months, 1 week, and 1 day later. The worst part of getting a divorce, the absolute worst part.. is having to push this d*mn Ikea shopping cart by myself!
Why do the back wheels not lock?!? Like is this an actual, purposeful design?! For what? For me to slide my way around the corners of this place?

Get your sh*t together Ikea! Like a freakin ab work out over here. 
Am I shopping or doing P90X?! FML!

Hi friends!

If you’re reading this, you’ll be scratching your heads, mouths agap. This is not a drill.

This is not a joke. It’s a true story. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine. Just Kidding….it’s about me LOL!

I laugh because what else is there to do? I'm so sorry this is not a baby announcement. Mom, I'm sorry...

JK! My mom knows LOL I would not tell her via blog...

This all started in March of 2014. The divorce “began” January of 2015. As a form of therapy, I started my Instagram account, @homesweethoneydolist. I can safely say, it, as well as the people I have met through Instagram, saved me. I was headed down a very dark path and- well…this is a story for another time. 

Right now, all you need to know is that I am okay! 

I am happy. 

D1 is happy. 

We are both still friends and both still happy but not together. 

I want to say thank you to all my followers for your patience with me. If I haven’t been the bubbly J that you all know and love, this has been why but I am back now and with more ridiculous stories than ever to tell you!

In fact…I am on chapter 6 of MY BOOK (that’s right people…I’m writing a book) If you want to know WTF happened and WTF I did after divorcing my highschool sweetheart, stay tuned. I hope to have it ready by spring of 2016. I promise lots of laughs, tears, attitude, and emojis (yes, my book with have emojis!)

Love you all!

Can’t wait to share what a crazy adventure these last few months have been for me!

Xoxo, J

The Last House on The Left: The Plan

So now that the house is purchased and backing out is officially not an option... the reality is that I better start moving if I don't want to lose any money. After all, time is money and it's no exception when it comes to renovating and real estate.

When I look for a house, the number one thing (besides area and price) is the layout. I look for a very specific layout and this will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. In my neighborhood, basements are almost non existent. Most of the houses were built in the 60's and 70's which mean that they are only two stories or ranchers. 

The demographics of this neighborhood tell me that the market I need to target are families or retired couples looking for a rancher or a two level with a rental suite. One of the biggest obstacles is finding the right house that can cater to both of those markets. 

In order to do so, I need a house that is big enough to have a small 1 bedroom suite that will take up 1/4 of the house. This will generate rental income plus allow the family to still have access to 3/4 of the house. This is especially important if I am trying to cater to young families that will be looking for "room to grow".

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After a lot of hmming and ha-ing. This is the floorplan that I came up with for The Last House on The Left:

Since I have taken possession of the house, my contractor has demo'd the floors, kitchens, and bathrooms. We have stripped the walls of their drywall and left only their frames where we want certain walls removed or moved. 

Now we have a clean slate...sort of....

The most expensive part of this reno will be adding a full bath to the downstairs and a half bath to the upstairs.  I anticipate the full bath will run me about $12,000 and the half about $5000. 

Stay tuned to see how wrong I am on those guestimates =P

Home Sweet Honey Do List- TAKE 2

Sooo yeah....

 

 

This happened...

One fine day, I was driving along, minding my own business...when BAM a for sale sign basically smacked me in the face. Okay- it was a very small, discrete, only visible from the very far corner of my peripheral kind of sign, but BAM ... I bought it.

Was it love at first sight?

Absolutely.

Not.

 But yeah...I bought it. 

So, if you need a good laugh. 

Check these bad boys out:

 

 

Stay tuned to see what kind of messes I get myself into. And pray for me. Please. I will need it LOL.

 

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I have the biggest sweet tooth in the entire world!
Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration but it's pretty darn big! So giving up sugar was pretty much impossible. So I went on a hunt for some toned down sugary snacks. I found a couple recipes and after a little experimenting and improvising, this is what I ended up with:

These delicious, no bake treats are low in sugar, flourless, and pack full of protein.
Here is the recipe:


INGREDIENTS:

For the cookie:
-2.5 cups of quick oats
-3 tablespoons of vanilla protein powder
-1 cup of dates
-2 cups of boiling water

For the topping:
-1/2 cup of peanut butter
-2 tablespoons of vanilla protein powder
-1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

For the cookie:
1) With a food processor, magic bullet, or whatever grinding contraption you can dig up, grind the oats into a flour
2) Mix in the protein powder (if you don't eat protein powder, you can substitue for any kind of flour. ex. almond, coconut, etc)
3) Set dry ingredients aside
4) Blend together dates and hot water
5) Mix together dry and wet ingredients
6) Spoon onto parchment paper and set in freezer to harden

For the topping:
1) Mix peanut butter with protein powder (if you don't eat protein powder, you can just stick with the peanut butter by itself)
2) Spread peanut mixture on top of frozen cookie
3) Melt chocolate and drizzle on top of peanut mixture
4) Set in freezer to harden for at least 1 hour

Lastly, thaw for 30 seconds before eating your heart out!

Mapletree Close House Stage

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