Today has not been the greatest, which follows up a not-so-wonderful weekend. I just didn't want you guys to think I had forgotten about you. Today I am working on a re-organization of my closet and bedroom, so I will post before and after pictures as well as tips and deals I found for useful tools. Hope you are having a wonderful Monday afternoon!
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I came across this great gallery by CollegeCandy.com of before/after photo comparisons of celebrities (view it here) and I just wanted to share it. I have been working on my self-esteem a lot lately, focusing more on being happy with myself versus trying to fit into what society says I should look like. Our culture is slowly but surely coming around to the same perspective and calling out all the photoshopping that goes into the media images projected upon us all. If you like this type of thing, check out a couple of my favorite songs that support this movement. They may or may not be your style, but they are all supporting being yourself and being happy with what that means. I am sitting here writing the post while watching some DVR'd TV shows to get caught up. I feel like I am behind on quite a bit right now. I want to update you so you know where we stand right now and then I will work on some posts for the things I have done recently. To make it more fun, I am including pictures of these times.
Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some photos from our summer so far. We have had some fun adventures so far and have some more plans up our sleeve that we will share photos from as they happen. For now, here are some of the favorites.
I am sure most know about this awesome list of goals one can make but I have been building on mine and I feel like I have finally finished it. I am setting my goal to have accomplished all of these by the time I am 35. There are some at the bottom that I know I won't be able to do until long after that (hopefully) but they are going on the tail end of the list as by the time I die instead of 35.
Okay, so I have been baking since I was young. . . like really young. I have always LOVED to cook and especially baking, anything from cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies. As an adult, I have really honed in that hobby and turned it into a skill. I get many compliments on the foods I make, and it makes my heart smile. . . not to mention the part about licking the spoon afterward!!!
SO. . . With me being currently unemployed and having quite a bit more time on my hands, I have been trying out new recipes, tweaking them, and sending out lots of baked goodies for all sorts of occasions. I have joked about the idea of starting a bakery business since I absolutely love to bake. Then I could (hopefully) stay at home, while still earning an income by running the design business and also the baking business. That is the goal right now. To reach my goal, I am taking the first (couple of) steps. I have been baking like a mad woman lately to test out new recipes and sending them out to start my networking. Now I am officially opening a small baking business out of our home. I have another website to spread the word as well as a Facebook page. My business is named Pretty Pink Whisk, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would go to our Fb page and "like" it to help me spread the word. Check out the great logo I created for PPW! Isn't it lovely?!?! You guys are so awesome and I hope you will join me on my new venture! Our family is currently planning our Christmas trip to Iowa to visit my husband's side of the family. Because we have a large family, we have decided to make this a road trip to save some money on the traveling. We have estimated taking this method versus flying should help us save roughly $1500 - $1800. That is a whole other trip or in our case, extra funds to help pay off some debt and make some repairs on our family vehicle without affecting our Christmas experience. Now last summer (2012), the hubs and I took our oldest & youngest two kiddos on a road trip to Iowa and tried to be tough and drive straight through.
While it did work out, I do not recommend making a trip that long in such a short period of time. I remember Little Man was less than a year old and Gracie was about to turn 8 years old. She was a great helper during the drive while they were awake, helping to keep Little Man entertained and give us eyes in the back seat better than any baby mirror. We did a lot of driving while they were sleeping so as to not be as noticeable for them and made sure to make plenty of stops along the way. After that trip, we agreed to not do it again in such a short time span. So this time, we will be driving over 2 1/2 days each way with several days in between. We will also have all four kiddos with us so we will have to get a van to make sure we have plenty of room for our family as well as the luggage we will be hauling. Other than that, here is how we are organizing our trip plans to (hopefully) have a smoother ride. This is all based on the MANY road trips I have taken with the kids, using the failures & successes as well as adding in some other ideas we have come across & come up with to make it better. I know you have all seen those articles floating around boasting the miracle way to potty train in 24 hours or a few days or a week, and whatnot... I too was a skeptic, thinking it was just a gimmick to get you to read their stuff. Not anymore, because I actually did it!
Here is a collection of ideas for you to use to make your own "DIY" gift for that special dad in your life, whether it be a sweet treat, handy tool, or sentimental note. Browse below for your choices and pictures of examples. If you see one you would like more info on, click on the pink name, which is a link to the original link. There you will find a full set of instructions on how to make it.
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