Musings of Jessica Marie

From September to January, there’s at least one or two football games on every single weekend. NCAA football is loved by many, tolerated by some, and hated by few. For those of you like me, you just can’t get enough of watching the sport. It’s an electric feeling seeing your favorite team run up the score on your arch rivals or upset a team in a hostile environment on the road.

There will be people out there who absolutely love the planners I create just like there will be people who hate them. The same can be said about my training sessions, postcards, video editing, and any and every other thing I create. Nothing is perfect in this life, so there’s no point in stressing over the things I can’t change or control. The most important thing is to just find your tribe that...

Overall, I don’t have any regrets getting the surgery for the dog. It was the difference between her limping around, potentially in pain, and being a carefree three year old puppy. The money spent will ultimately make its way back to us tenfold, but the peace of mind we have that Nala is healed and healthy is well worth the journey we’ve all been on.

My vision changes from time to time since I see new ideas to incorporate in the plans. I make sure to write down my ideas so when it’s time to flesh out the design and features, I won’t have to try and remember things from years past. As time passes and Kris and I identify the things that work and don’t work in our current house, we can feel confident choosing a basic structure that will work for...

There’s a lot of things they never tell you about marriage until you’re deep in the midst of a long term, committed relationship. Things like disagreements, finances, kids, pets, and even daily struggles can become landmines if there’s not a solid foundation and a mutual understanding. It’s important that two people are working towards the same goals as a team and not detracting from the overall g...

Although it’s not the blatant, in your face propaganda like we were taught in history class, it seems as time goes on, we are fed information to fit certain narratives. Companies, politicians, and other individuals absolutely produce marketing and advertising to push certain agendas to the masses. Sometimes the agendas are harmless and focus more on promoting certain products, but most of the time...

Nala and Sasha are definitely a handful, but because they bring Kris and I so much joy in our daily lives, they are well worth all the effort. They make us laugh and smile just from the immense love they have to share on a daily basis. While we can’t save and protect every dog out there, we try to give our two fur babies the best life that we possibly can each and every day.

Jury duty is both a legal and patriotic requirement that some people go their entire lives avoiding while others get chosen to decide the fate of a case by analyzing the facts and evidence presented. Stereotypically, jury duty is seen as a drag and a requirement that everyone would like to be excused from. Interestingly enough, I didn’t quite understand why until I got summoned to report for duty...

Recently, I’ve gotten an influx of new orders and sales and it brings me so much joy to fulfill them. It helps reaffirm that I’m on the right path with my designs, products, and offerings. While it definitely takes a while to get noticed, people will eventually find value in what you create. It’s important to keep going even when you don’t necessarily see the fruits of your labor yet.

Time is an interesting concept. It’s one that’s both here and gone in a second. It’s also one of the hardest resources to acquire since it’s always in motion. Time is of the essence in life threatening situations but somehow manages to stand still in certain situations. We must carefully find the balance of time that works best for our individual lifestyles and families. 

No matter what I do, I never want to make a decision that’s not in line with the plan Jesus has for my life. I know that whatever is written in my life story is designed to teach me lessons, provide me with life skills, and sometimes even test my faith just to strengthen it. With that in mind, when I’m thinking over a major life decision, it calms my nerves to just give all my trepidation, worry,...

Popular society and social media will show that plenty of people prefer the 30 inch bust down middle parts and the extra, extra long nails with super elaborate and bold designs. However, with so much expression, we have to take special care that we aren’t allowing these optional additions to define who we are. While we can adorn ourselves with the best grade human hair and the latest and greatest...

Social media is one of the most consistent forms of entertainment for the vast majority of us. We aimlessly scroll through timelines to keep up with friends, family, and even celebrities. It’s also how a good portion of people stay up to date on world events since headlines on IG posts can provide information quicker than traditional news outlets. Content creators and regular, degular people are g...

We rarely vacation to simply relax. Sitting on a beach or at the pool for hours on end, just isn’t really our thing. At most, we spend maybe an hour out there before we’re ready to move on with our day. We want to experience all the city has to offer, or at least as much as we can given the time constraint. We’re big on taking boat tours if we’re in a city located along a river or the ocean. So fa...

For those of you listening or reading this post, don’t feel like you have to go to a gym to workout. Sometimes, you don’t have the financial resources or time for a gym membership, but you can’t let that deter you from putting your health first. Don’t sleep on the effectiveness and convenience of doing at home workouts. There are so many fitness content creators out there that you’ll be able to fi...

Krissy was there to console me and I’m thankful that he’s always with me through the good times and the bad times. You never know when a typical Saturday might turn into a terrible one solely because of life’s bad news or unfortunate circumstances. I’m reminded every day that Krissy is my best friend and we’re going through life’s struggles together. Even though we’ve only been married for a year...

Excerpt: Most beauty and lifestyle influencers fall into the trap of not treating social media as a business. At the end of the day, if it’s paying your bills and allowing you to live the lifestyle you want, it’s important to do everything you can to stay relevant in the algorithm and with your audience. While it’s tricky figuring out how to do more, be more, and still make time for yourself, sett...

Excerpt: I am a Jill-of-many-trades, but one of the things that I love most is designing print products and seeing how beautiful the design comes out. I have designed about seven or eight Mary Kay planners, ample postcards, wedding invitations, business cards, and even notebooks for meal planning, business notes, and working out. I must say, now that I understand how to develop print products corr...

Excerpt: When the world shut down, companies had to adapt and change. People couldn’t physically get together in fear of sickness so developing ways to continue work remotely was very important. It opened a global market for remote work in a way that no one could’ve foreseen or predicted. And now, three years later, remote work has increasingly grown in popularity.

Excerpt: That was the day she broke out. I opened the door to the garage, and there was the big white dog standing there wagging her tail. I was flabbergasted to be completely honest. Before then, I’d always be paranoid that I forgot to completely secure their cage or that one of them would break out. Sure enough, that fear became reality real quick.

Over the past six or seven months, Krissy and I have really stepped up our knowledge surrounding black people and our struggles, politics, and tactics used by other groups to keep us down. While today is considered a major holiday by others in our society, over a hundred years ago our ancestors were lied to in a vicious game of keep away. Today is just another day for us.

Are your pimples, breakouts, and blemishes getting worse as you age? Could you see yourself getting Botox to control fine lines and wrinkles? Hear more about my ever evolving struggle to say goodbye to pesky pimples and hello to clear, confident, glowing skin!

The Power of Natural Hair: Curls, Coils, Kinks, and Strands. Over the years, my hair has gone through a whole bunch of transitions. From fully natural, to always being in braids, to having damaged, broken ends, to being completely chopped off, my hair has evolved with the various stages of life that I’ve gone through.

Unveil the Timeless Tunes with Tiny Time Capsules! “You can think of songs like tiny, personal time capsules that get released each time we press play. Every song that’s on repeat in your library is building a nostalgic feeling that you won’t experience until some years down the road.”

HOA Chronicles: Truths, Myths, and Surprises of Homeownership and Community Governance! “Personally, there are few things that I despise more than the HOA in my neighborhood. For those of you lucky to not know, most homes built in subdivisions today have a Homeowners Association that you can’t opt out of. My biggest gripe is that the HOA isn’t run by the actual homeowners, but instead run by an ou...