"Erin" my "Rae" of sunshine "Anderson"

My lil sis informed me the other day that my blog was cheesy.... aka she was pretty much making fun of me for the things I write in here.

But hey!...I rarely write in it...I am pretty sure I could count on both hands the number of people who read my blog...and this blog is more of a way to document the journey of Jimmy & Leslie. A way to remember and look back as the years go on. A way to remember our firsts! "Our 1st Christmas" "Our 1st Anniversary" ect.

I will work on the cheesiness Erin!

Jimmy is def. the better writer...maybe he will write a blog or two? doubtful!
So Erin you might just be stuck with my cheesiness, but you know you love it!

Whos the Cheesy one now?!?

Our 2nd Christmas!

We Celebrated Christmas with each other early(like always...we can never keep secrets from each other and are usually to excited to hide our gifts from each other)
So we ate left over pizza, opened presents, and went to see "Yes Man"....
Here are some pictures of our Chirstmas... I got Jimmy an ipod and some slippers! and he got me cowboy boots! (excuse the picture of me...it looks as if I have no neck haha)

Celebrating our One Year! cont.

Here are a few pictures from our anniversary.... December 1st

We celebrating by going to Mexico the week before, but on our actual anniversary we spent the night together cooking & watching our wedding video! Such a fun night! Jimmy helped with the cooking so I had to take pictures!(Jimmy cooking is rare! and I mean very very rare) Charlie helped with the dishes!

"Locks of Love"

Ok after much debate on "if" and "how" I should cut my hair I have decided to keep it long and grow it out for Locks of Love!! Such an amazing organization!
I have about 4 to 5 inches to go to get a good cut out of it...

This is where I am now...






and this is the cut I am wanting to go to...(alittle blurry picture)


Jimmy doesnt exactly like my hair this short but I do?!? Any other opinons?
Lets hope I can stick with my plan...Long hair is just plain annoying most mornings! :)

"Baby its cold outside"

Christmas is right around the corner and I am excited about the following...

-Christmas Shopping is DONE
-Spending the holiday in Waco
-Our 2nd Christmas
-Cold Weather
-Time off of work
-New Years
-Christmas Lights
-Christmas Music
-Celebrating Jesus' Birthday

Just to wrap it up Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday for many reasons! I just love this time of year.
I was tagged for a Christmas Survey so join in and fill out one yourself...its fun!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping…I am getting better and better as the years go

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial...I have never had a real tree…my Dad was highly allergic when I was growing up and now that I am married Jimmy and I decided on artificial…I think when I have kids and fingers crossed no one is allergic I would like to have a real tree and have the tradition of going as a family to pick out a tree and bringing it home…

3. When do you put up the tree? Well if I had a tree I would put it up the weekend after thanksgiving….(we don’t have room in our tiny little apartment for a tree so we just have a tiny 3 ft tree that someone from work let me borrow b/c of course I cant go without having a tree)

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years

5. Do you like eggnog? No…I don’t think I have ever tried it..but if it taste similar to milk I prefer not to ever try it

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh my I don’t think I could name one….

7. Hardest person to buy for? Probably my Dad or Grandma

8. Easiest person to buy for? Probably my Mom or Sister

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Actually I do not…I need to get one

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail…I am still working on sending those out

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don’t think I have a worst gift…

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle of 34th Street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually like to have it done early…I hate crowds..and I avoid malls if possible

14. Have you ever re-gifted a Christmas present? Haha no how sad

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My grandmas pies

16. Lights on the tree? Yes! White

17. Favorite Christmas song? “Baby its cold outside”

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to Waco

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure can...Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph!!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I currently have neither but I would like both

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve which is usually PJs and the rest Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Rude people…come on its Christmas

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Jimmy and I’s tradition is to collect Christmas ornaments from all the places we have traveled..not that we have been many places but one day I want to have a tree filled with places we have been but then I also want a decorative tree…maroon and gold would be the theme/color

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? The whole shebang!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Hmmm I am pretty easy… nothing I am dying to have but Cowboy Boots, jewelry(of course), anything decorative, and the rest of my China would just be a couple of things.

Happy 1 Year! (Picture from Mexico)

Cute Pic...


Dressed up for Dinner


Out by the Beach


The View from Out Balcony! Beautiful


View of our resort!

Happy Thanksgiving

I have been really really bad at updating this thing.... I have sat down numerous times and just had no idea what to type considering so much has been going on.... and the fact that I never have time..

so just a small update

Jimmy and I just got back from the Rivera Mayan- Cancum Mexcio! We went there to celebrate our 1 year anniversary(well technically our 1 year is December 1st but we went a week early). It was soooo much fun. A very quick trip but very relaxing and we were pampered the whole weekend. We stayed at the Secrect Silversands Resort and I would def. recommend it! Very nice! We had such a great time just relaxing with each other in love!!!! haha so cheesy....I will post pics as soon as I get them uploaded!

Oh my lanta I cant believe its already been a year...It literally flew by!! I am kinda excited to see how our cake taste and really excited about watching our wedding video! Jimmy is pumped as well haha



we are excited about thanksgiving coming up! we will be celebrating thanksgiving with Jimmys family on Thursday and mine on Saturday! We are truly thankful for so much in our lives! we are blessed!



Ok so it seems I have been tagged! My first to be tagged so I figured I would play along haha



7 Things I want to do before I die...

1. Travel to Europe w/ Jimmy
2. Be the wife, mom, daughter, sister and woman that I know God wants me to be!
3. Take both our families on a trip somewhere
4. Learn to Cook like my Grandma!
5. Volunteer with Special Needs Children
6. Be a Mommy!
7. Find a hobby...I don't think I have one yet...but I am determined to find it before I die :)



7 Things I can do...

1. Laugh at everything...my Husband is a nerd
2. Shop...I love it! really I need to find a money tree somewhere
3. Eat a whole bag of flaming hott cheetos with no water...literally I love them!
4. Sleep till noon on the weekends...
5. Eat chips & salsa everyday
6. Talk on the phone for hours
7. watch the HGTV channel all day long...weird I know

7 Things I can not do...

1. Decorate although I wish I had the talent...I sure to try but it never seems to look as good as I wish
2. Clean...call me dirty but I hate to clean, do laundry ect. I only do it b/c I have too!
3. Sing although I wish I could
4. Run...I hate it and although Jimmy thinks I am just making excuses..it hurts me :)
5. Make a quick decision...I am very indecisive
6. Pack lightly...when I travel I tend to way over pack!!
7. Find my way around Houston...I need a Garmin(hint hint Jimmy)


7 Things that attracted me to my Hubby...

1. His since of humor... He is such a jokester... he loves loves loves to embarrass me
2. His beautiful eyes
3. His laugh when he thinks something is really funny...
4. His tender heart
5. His passion for life
6. The fact that he would do anything for me
7. The love he has for his family and mine

7 Things I say most often...

1. Oh my lanta
2 Shoot a duck
3. Sweetheart
4. Babe
5. Charlie
6. Love you
7. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network...(I am on the phone all day long talking about it)

7 people I am tagging...

I don't even know 7 people that blog haha so I will do three...
1. The Davis Family
2. The Maxwell Family
3. The Slabic Family.


Everyone have a happy thanksgiving and I will post our anniversary pics soon!

It's October Already?

I honestly can't believe that it is already October! The year is almost over, Christmas(my fav) is just around the corner, and that means Jimmy and I are getting ready to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!
I can't believe Jimmy and I have been married for 10 months and in 2 months we will no longer be newlyweds. Although I believe we will still be Newlyweds for at least 5 years. I just love being married to my very best friend!

So much has been going on....

Well we survived IKE...definitely an experience... we were without power/water for several days, but thankful for great friends/family who let us come crash with them in the AC.
Jimmy and I did "rough" it for 3 days without power and we got very creative making mac and cheese on the grill!
It definitely was a crazy couple of weeks and things are finally back to normal. We are very thankful...

I have been traveling for the past two weeks...lots of recruiting and learning, but I am very glad to be back home! I missed my Hubby! (this was the first time we were away from each other for this long cheesy I know!)

This weekend I am looking forward to doing NOTHING and relaxing all day just Jimmy, Charlie, and I!

Summer is over already?

It surprises me that the Summer is already over, it went by so fast! I wish I could go back in time and spend more time being lazy by the pool because now life is getting a little crazy, but crazy in a good way!
My job is starting to pick up, it went from being slow the first three months to me not finding enough time in my day to get everything I need to get done. School has started and in the next two weeks campus recruiting will begin full force! and it seems I might be living out of a suitcase for the second half of September. My September will be filled with career fairs, meeting profs, and finding the right person that will be perfect for this amazing career I recruit for. I will be at SHSU, UofH, and of course A&M all in September followed by a trip to Milwaukee for training.
Jimmy's business is also doing great and with school being back in gear, things are picking up for him as well.

Our Labor Day weekend was good. We went to Lorena to visit with family and we had a great time! Now this weekend we are going to stay in and get our house cleaned up and take Charlie to the vet. ah the joys of chores!

We have however spent the past two months watching "Friends" all 1o seasons. Jimmy and I never watched it when it was on TV and all of our friends love it and constantly joke about it. Well we wanted to be part of the jokes so we literally watch it every night and all weekend. We are finally on season 10 and hate to admit this but we are going to be sad when it is over. But after this weekend we will so be up for a game of "friends" trivia!!

Well that is all to my randomness... Hope everyone is having an amazing week!

Loves

Here are some very late pictures from our adventures this summer...


Jimmy and I took a trip with my little sister and her boyfriend Hunter to San Antonio in June! We went to Fiesta Texas and hung out at the riverwalk. We had a lot of fun! Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend..for some reason I didn't take many pictures on my camera?

Jimmy and I spend our July 4th being lazy at home... with Charlie of course :) We took Charlie with us to go and watch fireworks later that night!

A picture from a date night we had back in July... Mike gave us a pair of tickets to a play in downtown Houston...we ended the night by going to Howl at the Moon(a dueling piano bar)..alone! turns out we have a lot of fun by ourselves!
And last is a couple of pictures from our work Softball game this past week! I think we got 3rd? Hey I thought we did pretty good!

"I"

i am: Leslie Ann Siegel
i dream: not to often
i think: that I am truly blessed!
i know: that I am completely in love with my Husband
i want: to be successful in everything that I do
i have: the most amazing life
i wish: that my family was a little closer to me
i hate: laundry
i miss: Aggieland!
i fear: spiders, snakes and anything creepy crawly
i feel: frustrated because my contact keeps fogging up! gr
i hear: not much my office door is closed!
i smell: Cheez-it because I am smacking on some…even though I just ate lunch…they are soo yummy
i crave: flaming hot cheetos….like all the time
i search: for homes online everyday!
i wonder: what the softball game will be like tonight?
i regret: my decision on getting vanilla ice cream instead of strawberry cheesecake ice cream today at our ice cream social at work…strange I know
i ache: in the morning when my alarm clock goes off so dang early
i care: deeply about the ones I love!
i always: try and live life to the fullest everyday!
i love: lazy weekends spent with my husband
i am not: one who hides my feelings well…
i believe: in Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior
i dance: whenever I feel like it…I love to dance
i sing: out loud to songs I love
i cry: when I am happy, sad, mad, angry…pretty much at the drop of a hat…i don’t always:
i fight: only when I know I am right…which is always haha
i write: seldom…I am trying really hard to start…hence the reason for the blog… I want to be document Jimmy and I’s marriage!
i lose: weight hopefully!
i can usually be found: at work at home hanging out with the hubby
i need: sleep
i am happy about: my life
i desire: to travel more…there are so many places Jimmy and I want to go…
i hope: that I am a wonderful wife, sister, daughter, friend, and one day a mom

Summertime :)

I knew this would happen....life gets crazy and I forget to slow down and take a minute to actually sit down and reflect. Its been forever since I have updated and since then I feel I have been going 90 to nothing... but yet we haven't really done much? So this is a quick update on our lives...
We just got back from a week long trip to Milwaukee w/ our company. Every July is Northwestern Mutuals Annual meeting...so roughly 10,000 of us head to Milwaukee and take over downtown. Lots of learning! Especially for me and my new position of Director of Recruiting & Selection! Jimmy learned a lot as well and he is fired up about his business! We work for such a great company, with such amazing people and for that we are thankful!
We have dabbled in the whole house hunting extravaganza, however, nothing we would jump into right away. We are just looking at our options...and of course we are excited! Our lease is up in October so we will see what happens...aka.. we will see what plans God has for us. I would just love a bigger place where people can actually come visit and stay the night, not on a couch/floor..hint hint ;)
That is pretty much it around the Siegel house. Jimmy and I are both doing well and Charlie is still as hyper as ever! We are hoping to get to Waco soon and visit family!

Continuously Amazed

I am continuously amazed each day as I sit and ponder all the amazing things God has provided me with. It was only 6 months ago that Jimmy & I were married and to me it seems like so much longer... but since that time God has provided us with so much. So much has changed... we went from college grads to newlyweds within months and were pushed out into the real world left to figure out things on our own. And begin our lives together as a married couple And for being on our own and starting this new life together...we are doing pretty good and I am quite proud! I am happy that we have found a church close to home that fills our hearts and minds with the word of God. I am filled with joy in my heart that Jimmy has found what he was meant to do in life. He is becoming so successful with his career and for that we are blessed. I too and very happy with my career, but only God knows what he has in store for me in the future. I am not quite sure if I have found my niche like Jimmy has, but I am blessed to be the loving and supportive wife to my husband. Jimmy or what I like to say Mr. Wonderful is such an amzing husband and so suportive to me. Life has been handed to us on a silver platter and I know God has great things for us in our future. I just can't wait to find out!

On another note this past weekend we had a blast and it was so nice to get away. Jimmy and I went with my lil sister and her boyfriend to San Antonio. We went to fiesta texas which was hot! and spent time on the river walk. We had a great time...i need to upload pictures...which i will do tonight and add them...
Then on saturday night I went to see Carrie Underwood in concert with the girls. We had a great time and an adventourous dirve to the small town of beaumont texas! I am always up for a girls night!!

Much Thanks

A great big thank you to everyone who has had Jimmy and I in your prayers this past week. Jimmys back is better not 100% yet but hopefully with a little more TLC he will get back to normal. I am feeling 100% better and I actually have a voice now! and My dad just got out of surgery today and everything went great! They were able to remove all the cancer and we are just very grateful! Thanks for all your prayers and concerns! They mean so much!

Celebrations!

The end of May was full of celebrations... Graduations, 50th Birthdays, and Goodbye Partys and Jimmy and I had so much fun hanging out with family during thoughs times.

Jimmys Step Mom turned 50 this month and of course we had to celebrate so we had a surprise dinner for Cinda at Johnny Carinos to help her celebrate. It was a lot of fun and it was a rare occasion that all siblings were able to make it. Tommy was still in town and Kyle was in from Hawaii

That weekend we headed Waco to watch Erin and Jeremy graduated from High School....I still can't believe that my lil sister has graduated from High School! Exciting but I feel like it was just yesterday she was the annoying little punk that I wouldn't even let come in my room when we were younger. Now she is my best friend and I am so excited for her to begin the next chapter in her life...college!! and I am so proud that she will soon become an aggie!! I am so proud of her!
My cousin Jeremy also graduated from high school the same weekend. I am starting to get that feeling I am getting old...



Below are pictures from the Graduations, Birthday Partys ect.

Life is Wonderful!

I know it has been forever since I have updated and I knew this would happen! My life as simple as it seems has been insanely busy this May. May 1-3 Jimmy and I were in Bastrop, Texas with work for a meeting/conference. We stayed at the Hyatt Heights in Bastrop and it was absolutely gorgeous! I will have to agree with people and say that Austin really is beautiful. Jimmy and I will definitely be going back there one day to have a nice weekend. There is so much to do at the resort...swim, golf, horseback riding, canoe, fish, raft, spa, ect. I was sad we didn't get to spend more time there, but that's the reason Jimmy and I want to go back one day.

The next weekend was Mothers Day and I was sad that I couldn't make it down to Waco to see my Mom, but I sent her a book "The Last Lecture" and I am sure she will enjoy it! Love you Mom! Jimmy spent that week study for his investment test he took on Monday, which I am proud to say HE PASSED! and is now ready to be the investment King! Great Job Hubby!

This past weekend was the big welcome home party for Jimmy's brother Tommy. Tommy is in the Navy and he is home finally after being gone a year for a 4 week leave before he is sent over to Iraq for a year. It has been really great for Jimmy to be able to spend these past few weeks with him before he leaves. Here are some pictures from the party and pictures from the Astros game Jimmy went to with his brothers and Dad.

It was a great party and we had a lot of fun! We sure are going to miss Tommy when he leaves for Iraq, but know he will be back soon! and he is doing such an amazing thing for our country!

Now of course I cant leave without throwing in some pictures of my Lil sister. Her senior prom was this past weekend! Doesn't she look beautiful?!!

This weekend will be busy also! I am going to Waco for Erins Graduation Party on Saturday! I am excited! I cant believe she is about to Graduate from High School!!!