Christmas Eve in West Virginia

Let the holiday recaps begin! If you follow me on instagram, twitter or facebook then you know that I was able to go home for the holidays!

My journey home began with a red eye on Saturday, December 22nd. I didn't get home until the afternoon of the 23rd but hey... that's what red eyes are all about. Once I landed it was time to wrap all of those Christmas gifts I had been getting shipped to WV for three months. 60 presents later and only one causality.

 

Once the wrapping was finally finished we were able to relax and watch some of our favorite holiday movies. The jet lag started to set in and I passed out. I woke up on Christmas Eve and started the day off right with a Santa pancake.

Plus Santa had to go out and get one last present for Josh's son....

 

 

Every year I set up my grandma's Christmas tree for her and this year was no different. Since I was coming into town so close to Christmas, I figured she would set it up early but she totally waited for me! I made my way up to her house and got it all set up! 

 

opened presents I headed back to spend Christmas eve with my mom. We took ugly Christmas sweater photos...

We went and looked at Christmas lights...

And then we opened up our one present. It's a tradition that we exchange one gift on Christmas eve and then get ready for Santa to visit. Well don't worry too much guys... I was a good girl this year and Santa brought me presents!!

Grass Roots Elvis

In 2012, Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) held a contest to find a co-host for Elvis Week. I made a video , submitted it and sadly didn't win. Elvis Week came and went and I wasn't able to go (I had went the previous year in 2011). It also happened to be the same week that I had to move from West Virginia to California. When I found out that I wasn't going to win, I was sad. I invested a lot of time and had my friends back me up in making the video. It took our time, our efforts and we had put a lot of thought into it. I thought we did pretty good. 

Now most people would just take their rejection and walk away. That's not me. 

You see, I'm one of those people who when they get rejected wants it even more. It doesn't matter how badly I wanted it the first time, now I want to co-host more than anything! You see, I'm not just an Elvis fan. I'm the Elvis fan. I've been a fan since I was a little girl. One Christmas all of my gifts were Elvis related. I got the 3D Graceland puzzle, vintage concert buttons, his movies, stand ups etc. Not to mention every Christmas since then I still get tons of new Elvis gifts. Growing up we would go to Pigeon Forge and watch the tribute artists perform, hang out with Charlie Hodge (one of Elvis' closest friends) and then go through the local Elvis Museum there. My love continued to grow. So naturally I started going to Graceland. Then finally I was able to go to Elvis Week. Plus I'm determined, smart and realllllly want it. 

The fact that the possibility of co-hosting is out there in the world makes me so excited. Just the thought of it makes me come alive with excitement. Now... I don't know if EPE is going to do it again this year for Elvis Week 2013 but I'm here now starting a #grassrootselvis plan to be apart of Elvis week in some way. I'll co-host events, I'll run errands if that's what they want. I'll basically do whatever they want from me as long as I can be apart of it in some official way. How am I going to do that? Well that's where you come in...

I need help! Get out there and start watching the video . Tell your friends, blog about it, tweet about it (tag me @jmomiller), hashtag about it (#grassrootselvis, #jennifermillerelvis), facebook it, instagram (tag me @jmomiller) it or like my posts about it. DO ANYTHING to get the word out there. Cause if there's one thing I've learned is that social media has a huge power and us bloggers are loyal. So help me succeed! I'm smart, I'm witty, well spoken and would love this opportunity. So there you have it. My campaign has began. I'm totally going grass roots. Plus the video is entertaining! 

You can find the link to all of my social media sites on the left hand column. You can also find the video on Youtube here . Spread the word friends! #grassrootselvis !!!! Just think of the updates and posts that could come from co-hosting this amazing event! 

2013 Goals

As Kit once said in the movie Pretty Woman, "You Gotta Have Goals!"

It's a new year and that means a few new goals. The last couple of years I've been setting a few each time the calendar gets flipped over and this year will be no different. Last years goals got a little off track with the big move so I'm giving myself a pass on those. The goals for this year are a MAJOR priority though. As you'll see some won't take too long but others will take the entire year to complete. 

1. To read at least 50 books. The past two years, I have come sooo close to this. Last year I read 36 books and in 2011, I read 44 books. I think this could be my year! 

2. To pay off debt. The past two years, I've said I was going to do this. This year I'm making my goal more feasible. I'm going to focus on one specific card and my car loan. Once I get those two done, I'll focus on my other credit card. I'll be able to see the results faster than spreading myself to thin over all of the debts. 

3. To save money. I had been doing so well with this for the past three years. I had saved enough money to pay a down payment for a home. In 2012 I did just that so now it's time to start building my savings back up. Yes, it's hard to do while paying off debt but that's why I have to keep my eye on the prize. 

4. To get out there. Since moving to California in August of 2012, I haven't really explored the town. They've got a huge casino within a 20 minute driving distance. There's the redwood forrest. Reno, San Jose... etc. The list could go on and on. So I'm going to make a point of getting out there. I'd love to head up to Lake Tahoe and snowboard before the winter is out so I'm going to try to do that soon. 

5. Send real mail. Last year I made this a goal and succeeded! I sent cards out for Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter, Summer, Halloween and Christmas. This year I'm going to try to keep up the card giving. I feel it brightens people's day to get a real letter in the mail! If you received one of the cards from me, Did you enjoy it? 

6. Focus on the now. Lately, I've been having a really big problem with focusing on the future and worrying about tomorrow and the next day, etc. I need to try to just focus on the day to day and what makes me happy. I can only control myself. I can't control others or anything else that goes on. So it's time that I focus on me, my happiness and my day to day. 

Will some of these goals be hard? For sure! But can I accomplish all of them? Well of course! It's just going to have to take hard work, will power and determination! I'm sure I'll ask myself a few times over the course of the next year, "Do I really want those new shoes?" "Do I really need the name brand dish cleaner?" But when the end of the year comes, it's going to be worth it.