It's not a phase, it's a lifestyle....

First off I would like to apologize for being quite possibly the worlds worst blogger. I decide to post as many big events as I could so Lauren DeFrehn will stop harassing me :) Let me start by at least trying to offer up some type of an excuse...I am a sucker for over-committing myself. And it only took me 28 years to realize this. I found myself always saying..."wow this is a busy month" and about 8 months ago I realized that it was not a phase but instead, it has become my lifestyle. 90 to nothing, full throttle, chicken with it's head cut off...call it what you want but I have started to just call it my life.

This past weekend we were in Oxford for a wedding and while I was there we met with the owner of Miss Punkins Gift Shop- they will be the first official retailer of the Shannon Jex artwork line! It was the neatest store carrying everything from pottery, wedding registries, baby gifts, Ole Miss stuff...you name it. I am now in the process of building up inventory and getting stuff ready to retail. This coming Monday is the beginning of a 3 month work assignment where I will be living in Jackson 4-5 days a week and I will commute to Natchez for the weekends. I know it is not the ideal situation but Zach and I did it once when he was commuting to Houston so being just 2 hours away should be a breeze. I am looking forward to having more time to work on artwork in the evening and seeing all my Jackson friends.

And on to some big news!!! Zach had an in-person meeting here in Natchez with one of the Directors for the Mississippi Technology Alliance and a conference call with their Entrepreneurial Team in Jackson about Gameday Map. They have been helping him flesh out options regarding further development and most importantly deciding on a revenue model. The MTA then put him in touch with Dream Logic, a young company in Jackson, MS who develops web applications along with iPhone and Droid applications. They are experienced enough to work with large companies in Jackson but young enough to know what Gameday Map needs. Then they pitched it to another company in Jackson and received and unbelievable response. They want to partner with Wyatt's Torch, Zach's LLC, and aid in development and marketing of the product! They plan to come to Natchez to present Zach with the plans and if we decide to move forward they would like to have something to market by Football season...WHOA! We were elated to hear it could be a real possibility to see it become an iPhone app and android app sometime this year. All this good news came to us last week on our way to Oxford, ironically enough.

I hope this is somewhat of an excuse or explanation as to why I had such a long blog-cation. I remember the days when summer meant sleeping late, relaxing, swimming, and occasional errand here or there. Instead, our days seem to be go-go-go from the moment our head leaves the pillow until the moment it returns.

One final note: While we were in Oxford this weekend for a wedding, a law school friend of Zach's told me she keeps up with us on facebook and was wondering exactly how many businesses we work for and/or have started between the two of us. So I counted them up and the answer.....7.

Wedding Planning!

us having a blast at the florist of all places! She is fun anywhere!

Wedding planning is underway for my brother and my awesome new sister-in-law. Alicia and her mom came down to Natchez in June to visit and we had the best time getting to know them better! After the visit I am even more excited that she will be joining the family! We had such a productive weekend and nailed down the dress, band, venue, menu, flowers, cake, rehearsal dinner, bridal brunch, and all the little details in between. I was so proud of my dad for tagging along and being such a good sport even during all the girly stuff! We are so excited to have Country Fried out of New Orleans coming to play for the reception. They cover Johnny cash, Willie, etc...could there be a better fit for my brother?

We couldn't let them leave without a trip to Mammy's Cupboard for a yummy lunch and Pig Out Inn for some southern BBQ!

Jackson's Arrival, June 16, 2010

1-2-4-3-7!!
You are probably thinking right about now that I am numerically challenged and cannot count. Although I am challenged by many things in life, counting is not one of them...I count how many minutes are left until 5pm on almost a daily basis!

Let me fill you in on my numbers
One best friend is in a serious relationship
Two best friends are engaged
Four best friends are married
Three best friends now have babies! And may I say Elle, Hunter, and Jackson are the cutest babies ever..besides my niece of course!! (can't deny those Jexes have good genes!)
Seven best friends are about 7 times more blessings than I girl could ever ask for!!

So congratulations to Laura and Matt on the arrival of Jackson on 6-16-10. As soon as I heard Laura had him I jumped into the car and headed to Jackson to see Jackson. He is so teeny tiny. I guess I am not around babies enough to appreciate how small and perfect every little detail is from their tiny little fingernails to the legs the size of a single Twix. He is so cute and I have actually had the pleasure of meeting him on his birthday and a few weeks later. He looked a tad bigger but his legs were still the cutest little Twix bars I have ever seen. I am really looking forward to living in Jackson for the next 3 months so that I can get to know little peanut even better! Although I think he has already warmed up to Aunt Shay because the 2nd time I visited, he blew out his diaper right in front of me like I was part of the family!

The Honeymooners!

Presidente Resort, Cozumel, Mexico



Shannon Relaxing on the beach- this is the day I got my worst sunburn ever


On our private patio!


Our Pool!

The fabulous food- Fresh Tuna Salad and Fish Tacos YUMMYY!


Our outdoor patio rain shower!

About to leave for the airport, SAD!

We cannot even sum up in this blog what a fabulous time we had in Mexico. The weather stayed true to the forecast and was beautiful the entire time we were there. We stayed in probably the nicest place I have ever stayed (Julia Roberts stayed there if it tells you anything), we ate so much amazing food (I have the additional lbs. to prove it) and we actually relaxed for the first time in a long time. I think it was a blessing that we didn't realize our private beach picked up wi-fi until the last day. I think the fact that we were totally disconnected from the outside world really helped us cut loose and forget about the real world for a while. Just my wonderful husband, a fabulous resort, and a few iguanas!

If you ever decide you want to vacation in Mexico, please call me and let me tell you about the Presidente. I think it might be the only place in Cozumel I would return to because most of the other areas we saw were very touristy. But this resort had so much to do and was so beautiful you really had no reason to leave it. In fact out of all the places we ate on the island, the beach front restaurant at the resort was our favorite.

On our way home from Mexico we stopped for a night in New Orleans to celebrate our official 2 year anniversary. Due to flight delays we didn't make it back and out to dinner until midnight but that didn't seem to matter in the city that never sleeps. We had a great Cajun dinner and night on the town and then hit the french quarter the next morning. Hopefully we will make this trip an annual tradition!

Dinner in NOLA on our anniversary 12am to be exact!