Toyota Troubles

This week Jonathan called my during camps to tell me that he was having some car problems.  The steering wheel was shaking vigorously when slowing down from high speeds, hard to brake, would not go over 35-40 MPH, and the list continues.  After getting home from camps we towed the car to Gullo Toyota in Conroe (about 1 1/2 miles from the apartment).  We talked to Kenny and he told us that they would look at the car and give us an estimate of repairs (if any).

We received a call from Kenny today saying that the mechanics did not finish looking at the car yet.  They did give it a test drive and had no problems getting it to high speeds.  They are going to continue to look at it on Monday (they are closed on Sunday) and let us know.

Updates to come!!

This One Time at Band Camp....

....well, not a whole lot!!

I just got done with the first week of SHSU Summer Music Camps.  This week was JH Band Camp.  These students range in ages from 10-13.  There were approximately 150 students separated into 3 different bands.  The kids were really well behaved and mannered.  There were a couple of incidents but nothing major.

Tomorrow I go back to Huntsville for the second week of camps: JH Orchestra Camp.  Hopefully everything will go as smoothly as planned!!

Our New Couch & Chair

This is a look at our new living room furniture!!

We bought it from Rooms to Go.  We went because they were having a special for rooms under $1000 and no interest until January 2013.  He had to pay just a little bit more because of the furniture lifetime warranty and sleeper sofa.  We purchased this furniture in an espresso finish.  The pictures look a little green-ish but it is brown in real-life.  The couch has a queen sleeper sofa included so that our guests may have the opportunity to sleep over.  The couch also has a chaise included (aka...Jonathan's spot).  I get the rest of the couch and lounge my feet on top of Jonathan.  The chair is over-sized and completes the set.  We were a little worried about it fitting in the living room but it fits great with our space.  We will now be accepting reservations for visitors, FREE OF CHARGE....continental breakfast included!!

My New Job!

Well I've made it through my first week as Instrument Technician at Weatherford Labs in The Woodlands! I've already learned a lot and am having a ton of fun too.

As part of the Instruments Department, I build machines that analyze the chemical composition of rock and oil samples. One reason I love my job so far is that it's so hands-on. Building these machines requires everything from soldering of electrical components to assembly of power supplies. Once I gain more experience, I'll be able to travel to customers to troubleshoot equipment.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for me during this new chapter in my life! I look forward to keeping you updated as my job progresses.

A New Goal

 
Well, it's about time that I faced the music on this.  I am not at a weight that I would call beautiful right now, and I would love for that to change.  I have found that over the past 3 years since my sophomore year I have gained over 60 pounds.  I mostly blame it on my thyroid disease, but I mostly have to blame myself for not doing anything about it.  I have just over a year before the wedding and I would love to not be a "chunky monkey".  I calculated my BMI today and I am considered in the Obese category now.  That is really motivating me to shed this weight.

I have started my new weight loss goal today.  I plan on losing 50 pounds by December 1st.  This is approximately a little over 2 pounds a week.  I weight 185 right now, and would love to be 135.  I am now watching my calories and exercising everyday.  Thanks to Mom, she let me take her Wii with me to Conroe and I can work out with Wii Fit and My Fitness Coach.  It is also a plus that I have access to the apartment's fitness center 24 hours a day.

I am also using a website calorie counter called Spark People that helps me track my calorie intake, add fitness/cardio credits for exercise, and give myself goals.  My motivation is in competition with Mom.  We are making a "friendly wager" in our weight loss journey.  I told her that I would like to do something like volunteer at a food pantry or donate some money to Feeding America.  So, watch out Mom, I'm coming with a force!!  :-)

I hope that you all will help me be accountable, as I hope to be accountable to all of you in your life goals as well.

Registered!

You can now find the Jacklyn Kuklenz & Jonathan Kiefer
wedding registries at Kohl's and Target!

We've Got Mail

Today we received our first pieces of mail.  It was over half junk mail, but there were a couple of coupons for local businesses and our State Farm insurance policies.

It also included our first bill from State Farm to pay for our Renter's Insurance and Jonathan's auto insurance.

Welcome Home!

Jonathan and I moved into our new apartment this weekend. 
We live in Conroe as it is about half way in between Jonathan's work and SHSU for Jackie.

Here are some pics of our apartment!

Jackie Kuklenz & Jonathan Kiefer

901 Wilson Road  APT 224

Conroe, TX 77301

Office desk

Dining Room

Living Room

Shoe Rack

Kitchen

Bathroom

Laundry Room

Bedroom

Jonathan's Closet

 Jackie's Closet

Here is a picture of Jonathan before leaving for his first day of work on Monday.  We went to Walmart to buy some steel-toed boots.  He also gets the pleasure of wearing comfortable clothes to work!

MN Trip - Part 2

Part 2 of our trip included staying with my Jenny, Dwight, and Makayla.  We enjoyed waking up in the morning to send Makayla off to school and picking her up at the bus stop.  It is interesting to hear the school stories of Kindergarten

Our other adventures included:
1) having a "Juicy Lucy" at Matt's Bar & Grill
2) taking engagement pics with Jenny
3) visited my growing up neighborhood houses and family friends Gary, Luanna, and Gracie Luke
4) riding the rides and touring the Sea Life Aquarium inside MOA
5) a trip to the ER at 5 AM in the morning
6) having lunch with MK at school
7) creating our wedding registries at Target and Kohl's


A special thanks to Jenny for taking me to the hospital, and helping take care of me!!