[life] Hello Friends

 

In the past week or so, I have gained a new amount of "followers" via a blog community on Facebook called The Blog Love Project. It's a group of women who support each other in their blog posts, Facebook pages, tweets, Instas, and pins. It really is a great community! If you haven't found a blogging community yet, I suggest heading over there!

Because of this new following, I want to give an overview of who I am, and who "Everyday with the Jays" is all about! If you have been around here before, most of this will be the same as usual. So to all of my new friends, I say welcome! If you're from The Blog Love Project, let me know in the comments so I can come say hello to you too!

I'm Chrissy, he's Nate. We have been a two-some since our marriage in June 2009. We met in college: he was the cute boy leading worship at a college retreat and I thought, "Oh yes, he WILL be mine." A month later and he was my boyfriend! After a year and a half of dating, he proposed in the most memorable way. He gifted me a Bible with my married name on the front cover. He is such a blessing to me and I can't thank God enough for him. He leads our household to love and fear the Lord and to follow His commandments. He treats me like a princess and comforts me. He keeps me safe and I feel secure in his presence. Love this fella!

We have no children, but have two fur-babies who we treat as such. Anyone else? Chloe is the spunky Jack Russell Terrier pictured below. We got her three months after we were married, so she's been with us since the beginning. She loves adventure, the outdoors, and likes to bark at cats. She keeps us on her toes: she's extremely smart AND stubborn! We adopted Oliver, a Shih-Tzu/Lhasa Apso (not sure) almost a year later. He is kind, tender-hearted, and loves Nate fiercely. He has grown to be a snuggler and always gives us a laugh with his goofy hair.

Nate is the Lead Pastor at our church. He has such a heart for God and His people. It is a true joy to hear him preach each Sunday! He also leads the worship music: Nate sings (amazingly well), plays guitar, and piano. Sometimes I will share snippets of his singing, seen below!

I also work part-time at the church: I am Nate's ministry assistant! I do basic office duties, and also create media publications for the church (weekly bulletins, monthly newsletters, website updates). I maintain communication with our small groups and accountant, and also plan church-wide events. I really enjoy my flexible schedule and working alongside Nate. I'm able to be creative and plan/organize events, but also work on my own in a quiet environment. We have our own work spaces, so we aren't all up in each other 24/7, but just across the hall from one another.

We love to travel: our favorite way to travel is by CRUISE SHIP. We have been on six cruises together (I traveled on two before we were married, and he traveled on one, so my total is eight and his is seven). We love to experience the culture, shopping, and food of the places we visit. We also love photography and capturing moments that we can treasure for a lifetime, but we also understand the importance of living IN the moment and soak it up as much as we can.

We were both born and raised Texans and still live here to this day. I was born/raised in Dallas, while he was born/raised in East Texas (Tyler region). Like I said, we met in college at Dallas Baptist University. We both loved our time there, but unfortunately DBU does not have a football program... so we are both STRONG University of Texas supporters. I was accepted there, but my brother (who graduated from UT) strongly encouraged me to attend DBU instead because he felt UT was too big for me. Boy was he right! But- we love our Longhorns! Hook 'em!

On the blog, you will see oodles of our everyday life (hence, "EVERYDAY" with the Jays). I don't blog everyday, but my schedule will (hopefully) continue to be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I enjoy sharing about our life and travels (seen above), but I love me a good craft, party, or recipe! Plus, fashion and beauty are things I am beginning to dip my toe into, so you will see bits of that as well!

I am so so SO glad you have decided to join us on our blog journey! Thank you for reading (AND getting to this point, ha! #longpost) and I hope you stick around with us! Leave me a comment sharing where you blog and I can stop by to say hello back! Have a great week!

[blog] The Rut...

Since I began working part-time in December, I have felt the desire to start blogging more. It isn't a secret that I haven't maintained the blog consistently for the 4+ years that I have been writing. Needless to say, I have more time on my hands now and would like to establish a routine.

I texted with my dear, sweet college roommate this evening, Laura, who blogs over at Pretty Little House. Seriously, go check her out. She has the cutest/classiest style for the home! Anyhoo, she said I should be a fashion blogger due to my Instagram posts and Pinterest pins. I thought that was such a sweet compliment! However, I don't feel ::called:: to be solely a fashion blogger. I enjoy blogging about family life, our travels, home/diy decor, and things of the like. She then suggested I could call myself a "lifestyle" blogger because "that is a thing"! Ha! Love her.

So consider me a "lifestyle" blogger. I believe the blog name "Everyday with the Jays" creates the perfect groundwork for a lifestyle blog. However, I most definitely do NOT blog every day! In the coming week(s), I hope to establish a schedule (I'm thinking of posting MWF) with post ideas already planned week(s) in advance. Here's to hoping!

So for today, I would like to know:

Who reads this blog?
What are your stats (age/status/season of life)?
What do you enjoy reading about?

It says I have 210 followers, but I'm sure many of those don't read the blog. I follow my fave bloggers through "Bloglovin", so if you'd like to keep up with me there, here's the link.

Here are my answers:

I'm Chrissy at Everyday with the Jays
I am 28. I am married. We have no kids but are enjoying life as a twosome with two pups.
I enjoy reading about Christ, fashion, easy DIYs, thriftiness, and travel.

Do share, and let me know who reads! Expect some blog layout changes in the coming week(s) as well. Thanks Laura for giving me a push: love you boo!

And we're back!

Hello dear friends who are still around!

I took a 6-month hiatus from blogging: I mean, I didn't post, I didn't even read your lovely blogs. I'm the worst. BUT if I follow you on Instagram, I was involved in that sense! Sometimes, you just need to step away for a minute. School was getting hectic, and along with some personal things happening, I was just TOO TIRED. I needed to stop something. So blogging got the boot.

But I've since had a rejuvenation in spirit on the ol' blog and I'm excited to ::hopefully:: get up and running again. You will continue to see everyday in the life posts about Nate and I, along with our adorable pups. You will hear all about the trips and travels we go on, both near and far. And of COURSE, there will be crafts and DIY and all things home.

Stay tuned!

[blog] Testing...

Hello, hello! Contrary to the popular belief, no I have not fallen off the planet: after VBS, I was thrown into full school-prep mode and now we have just started our 4th week of school. Crazy! In other news...

 I am BLOGGING from my iPhone. What?! 

This may be old news to some of you, but for the first (to me) time, I am attempting to blog from this instead of my computer. Y'all have got to understand... I am lay-zee. Really. And 9/10 of the pics on the blog are from my iPhone. Sorry, blogging is not my professional job (I already have one of those) so I will not spend extra time uploading, cropping, and/or editing pics unless I have the energy and/or time. End rant. 

SO this is a test to see how this post turns out, appearance-wise. Can you read it? Can you see the photo below of the cutest niece and nephew?

Let a lady know! I hope you all are having a great start to your week! 

[chrissy]

[blog] Moveee Over to Bloglovin', etc.

Hey there! Happy weekend-almost to everyone! Nate and I are visiting family this weekend, which I am completely excited about, but today we are here to talk b.u.s.i.n.e.s.s.

The buzz around the blogosphere is that Google Reader is going away on July 1st. That is five days, y'all. That means if you "follow" my blog to get my posts, you will no longer receive them. Bummer! I guess I will need to replace my 1,000 follower goal on my 30 before 30 list to something different! Anyways, if you want to keep up with Everyday with the Jays, there are a few options for you!

1. Bloglovin': easiest way to keep up with all of your blogs that you currently enjoy. You can even import all of your blogs you already follow! It is EASY. Just go here to get the steps :) Other two sites that Bloglovin' recommends... here and here.

2. Facebook: here is the link to our FB page, where you can "like" us and then you will be updated with each post that goes up here :)

3. Twitter: I'm not much of a Twitter-er, I only post my blog posts... if I remember. Yep, I'm bad. I'm more of a Facebook-er, so you can definitely follow me there, but you won't see much action.

So there you have it! I think your best bet will be to follow through Bloglovin' for all of your blogging needs: I think that's what the majority of bloggers are doing, so at least all of your favorites will be in the same area! So, if you have any questions, visit the Bloglovin' website!

Happy Thursday!

"Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever." Psalm 145: 2

[love] Featured Post

Just popping in to say that I hope everyone has had a fabulous week!

Head on over to Katie's blog at ...for Lauren and Lauren, where she is featuring my blog along with two other fabulous bloggers! Katie is one of my absolute favorite bloggers and someone who I know I would be friends with in real life if she didn't live so far away! Stop by and tell her helloooo for me!

Have a great weekend! Only FIVE MORE SCHOOL DAYS until SUMMER BREAK! I can't wait.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9

[blog] Bloglovin'

Okay, you can pretty much call me GFC/HTML/blog data illiterate. All I know is posting blog entries, updating my blog, and the number of followers a blog has via that little blue button that says "Follow" or "Join This Site" on the sidebar of a blog, which is through Google Friend Connect.... ? Right, or no? That is the epitome of blog "stardom", right? How many followers you have? I don't know. I aspire to have 1,000 one day. I mean, that is one of my 30 before 30 goals. I'm slowly creeping along, but I'm sure I'll get there someday!

Anyhoo, all that to say that apparently that GFC box is going away this summer... from what I understand. So to follow my blog, I would love for you to click HERE and go to Bloglovin' so you can follow my posts there. I am loving the iPhone app for Bloglovin' as well: it's neat and easy to read (AND TO POST COMMENTS!!!!) from my phone, which is where I read all of your blog posts 9 out of 10 times. I'm a lady on the go... okay, not really. But it is convenient.

So, a short and sweet post for you today. Go HERE. Follow me there. Let me know if you are on there as well so I can keep up with you! I've already added a few of my favorites... but then I got sleepy :)

Happy Wednesday!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

***Update: So actually it's the Google Reader going away... I use the Blogger Dashboard to read posts, so I don't know if the change will affect me... Regardless, go follow my blog on Bloglovin', just in case!

[life] Blog Inspiration

Hello!

I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend. I haven't posted in a while, but please know that I am still reading your blog posts. I usually read them from my phone, but I haven't figured out how to comment from my phone yet... I'll figure it out someday!

As we get into the second semester of school, my posting may be less frequent, like it has been these past couple of weeks. Hopefully by the time summer comes around, I won't be as busy or exhausted during my days/evenings, and I can get back to home and craft posting, as well as life posting too! And I want to share more teaching posts, but I just forget to take pictures during the school day of our projects. Nate is gone fishing today, so I may jump ahead on some posting and schedule some posts for this week. We will see!

I will leave you with a picture of what may give me some inspiration for more home and craft posts... Nate ordered me the Young House Love book from a book store in John and Sherry's home state of Virginia (where they had pre-autographed a bunch of books): I am SO excited to get ideas: I've perused it a bit and it is wonderful!

 "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

[new.blog] Journey to Mrs. Caudle

Hello friends! Just wanted to pop in and let you know that my friend Holly started a blog!

She is such a sweetheart: a 1st grade teacher, crafter, and currently wedding planning for her upcoming nuptials! Head to her blog, Journey to Mrs. Caudle, and follow her! You will love reading all about her classroom, crafts, and wedding things!

Happy weekend!

[make] A Blogging Schedule: Ringing in 2013

Happy New Year's Eve to all! I can't wait to read all about the fabulous things you did this evening. What are the Johnson's doing? Sitting at home, with our bellies full of home cooked food, playing video games (Nate) and blogging/crafting/organizing (me). As long as we have each other, that's all we need! And plus, we had late nights every single evening last week due to the holidays, so a night at home is perfect for us.

In "New Year's resolution" style, I have decided (for the three hundredth time) to attempt to use a blogging schedule. I really do enjoy blogging: writing, uploading pictures (although they are mostly, if not all, iPhone photos... I'll get Photo Shop one day!), sharing with others. One goal for this new year is to get over my laziness. I think I'm partially narcoleptic because I feel like I could take a nap at any point in the day... but that just may happen because I'm a human. Who isn't tired? All of the time?

ANYWAYS, back to my point. I have decided to make a blogging schedule, write it down, color-code it (I mean business, y'all) in hopes of me keeping to it so I know I will have something to share each day **fingers crossed**.

The topics?

Monday: Make (Anything craft, food, home related that involved me creating something.)

Tuesday: Teach (I know I have many teacher readers, so this day is for you! It could be Kindergarten or church/children's ministry related.)

Wednesday: What I Wore (WIWW: where I will link up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy, after of course I have used my #hashtag #yesimwearingthis on Instagram, thanks to Faith at Life, Love, and Marriage!)

Thursday: Dwell (All things home: organization, storage, layout, could sync up with Make Mondays if applicable.)

Friday: Love (All things family, home, church, pups, life.)

My parents stuck one of these personal calendars for the year in my stocking:

I have deemed it my blogging calendar and have already color-coded it for the year:

Make: Orange (Mondays)
Teach: Purple (Tuesdays)
WIWW: Yellow (Wednesdays)
Dwell: Pink (Thursdays)
Love: Green (Fridays)

Now, I simply must follow it! Good luck to me. What resolutions or goals are you trying to conquer this year?

"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11

[love] New Blog Layout!

Isn't she pretty?

Gorgeous colors, beautiful font, a touch of leopard print (of course)!

I am adoring my brand spankin' new blog layout. I knew I wanted to have something one of a kind, so I referred to my dear friend Savannah. You may have heard of her. She blogs at OH SO PRETTY: the DIARIES with Casey. I know, I have famous friends :)

Anyways, I told Savannah my vision and she created this gorgeousness you see! Didn't she do a great job?! TELL YOUR FRIENDS. She's so easy to work with and totally cool about making corrections or editing something. She is one of the most creative people I know and she will do great work for you! She has a design website too where you can check out all of her info, pricing, portfolio work, etc.

Let's go over some new tidbits, shall we?

My new header is above, obviously displaying the blog name. Here is my button where you can add it to YOUR blog and share the love.

 

Here are all of the ways you can keep up with me and this ol' blog via the web. Bloglovin' (another way to follow blogs), Facebook (for post updates), Follow (via Google Reader, I believe, which is how I follow all of my blogs: super easy!), Instagram (where you can see extra photos from my everyday), Pinterest (so you can see what I'm stalking), and Twitter (to read my random tweets and thoughts about nothing). Click away- located on the right hand side of the blog!

New labels! "To Dwell" will contain all of my posts having to do with my house, our dwelling place if you will.

"To Love" will have posts pertaining to my life: things I am loving at the moment... basically, everything else that doesn't fit in the other categories given :)

"To Make" of course will hold my crafts and DIY endeavors, along with sewing projects!

"To Teach" will be all about KINDERGARTEN! And school in general :)

And you know I have to have a "Photo a Day" button! No one has joined my party yet... maybe because I haven't offered a "link" party option, but we comment to one another, ladies! You can use this button to share your photos from everyday and I will feature you!

So there you have it: a new glimpse into the brand new "Everyday with the Jays". Professional, fun, sleek, and classic. Love it!

Happy Tuesday! My orientation at school went AMAZINGLY last night and I'm so excited to teach and begin the year with my new babies!

"We are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. So Heaven meets Earth like an unforeseen kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves." -David Crowder