Thursday, December 20, 2012

SPD Christmas presents :)


So this year I decided I wanted to make all of my gifts for my family.

So I scowered pinterest forever until I found the perfect ideas :)

For my MIL she always wants candles.
Well instead of going to buy her a generic candle from the store I headed on over to Hobby Lobby
and found just what I needed to make her one!


Original Pin:


Here is what you will need:
Epsom salt
jingle bells
tea light candles (in the glass jar)
mason jars
ribbon

Fill the jars about half way with epsom salt.
Then just sit the candles inside :)
(when lit they reflect off of the salt making it look like snow!)

Then just tie the ribbon around the jar to make it look like a bow.
Then I tied ribbon to the bells then tied to ribbon to the bow and voila!

Finished Product:


Today you're going to get a two-for-one tutorial!

For my grandmother and aunt I wanted to do a little something.
Just kind of like a thought gift.
Since they both love ornaments so much I made them one :)
(These ornaments worked especially well since my grandmother has a "santa tree" decorated in all things santa!)




What you will need:
Red card stock cut into small strips.
*I didn't measure mine just kind of cut whatever i thought looked right
painter's tape
puffy paint in black and white
scissors
clear ornaments (I used plastic, but you can use glass)

Take the top off of the ornaments
Roll the strips of card stock around a pencil as tight as you can
then just put them into the ornament.
leave them rolled up though!
Then mark off your "belt" with painter's tape.

Paint the black "belt" with the puffy paint.
*make sure to follow the instructions on the bottle.
Then remove the painter's tape.


Then just free hand paint on the "belt buckle"
and let dry!

Then just put the tops back on!
You can add ribbon or ornament hooks to hang :)
I used some red ribbon.

And there ya go! Now go link up with Stephanie and Katie and check out all of the other cool DIY projects!




Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Silence for a purpose.






Monday, December 17, 2012

Weekend Review + blogging for a cause.

So the hubs had to sleep this weekend.
So I spent my last weekend with my best friend before she gets super busy with wedding planning festivities.

We spent Friday night eating pizza and playing catch phrase with Josh's family.
no pics sorry :(

Then Saturday our day was spent baking and swapping cookies and goodies with my family.

There is a neighborhood right down the street from my house that has a Christmas light show every year.
The whole neighborhood gets really into it.
The whole thing is free but donations are accepted.
They donate everything to toys for tots :)


Sunday was spent just relaxing and watching Christmas movies.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

*************************************************************************

As I'm sure everyone has heard, last Friday a horror struck our nation. Over 20 people, mostly children, lost their lives in CT. This breaks my heart so much. It is just so sad that innocent people/children had their lives ripped away from them so suddenly for no reason.
Please, take time to continue praying for those hurting.

Tomorrow I'm going to be participating in a day of silence to remember the lives that were taken last Friday in Newtown. Please read below and strongly consider joining in//donating//praying//etc. If you would like to, copy-paste and re-post any part of this, please do. Share on. 

***
To the Blog World and Anyone Else who Wants to Help,

Last Friday, tragedy struck so many of us in ways we did not foresee. An elementary school and small town in Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting. We knew we wanted to help and we came up with this:



On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence.
We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is calledThe Newtown Youth And Family Services.
Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to:

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."

Please visit this page to donate.

We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

Love,
The Blog World

Friday, December 14, 2012

Praying

Right now my heart is breaking.
This morning a fatal shooting happened at an elementary school in CT.
It is confirmed as of right now that 18 school children have been killed.

You can read the article here.

How someone could be so sick in the head and think it is okay to harm anyone especially children is just beyond me.
I pray that God has mercy on that shooters soul.

But I am especially praying for the families and children affected by all of this.
It is just the worst thing I have ever heard.
It is being called "The worst mass killings in US history"

Please everyone, go home and kiss your loved ones.
Hug on them and make sure they know how much you love them.
Tomorrow is not promised.


I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Operation "Get Fit" commences

Anyone who follows along on my Twitter or Instagram
know that I am attempting to "Get Fit".

My best friend is a personal trainer.
She said some words that hit a little close to home for me.
"It's harder for women to get pregnant when they are over weight"

um... scuse me?
I definitely don't want to get to this point and I DEFINITELY
don't want to make things harder on myself when it comes time for Josh and I to start trying for a baby.

So what am I doing?
Working out and eating better, duh.

I've been going to the gym every other day
(stairmaster = friend)
Cardio + weights = lean muscle.
I know a lot of women are scared of weights because they don't want to bulk up.
But weights are our friends!
Low weight/high rep can help build lean muscle which helps burn fat throughout the day when we aren't working out :)

Anyways,
I've been looking through Pinterest to find some examples of what my goal is
and I figured I would share it with you all!






her legs... I die.



that back... yes please!



^^^ this butt .... I would kill for



And the quotes that run through my head when my brain tells me to quit.
My heart tells me to push through it.
Sore today = Strong tomorrow












As far as eating healthy
I'm practicing portion control.
I cut out fast food and cut wayyyyyyyyyy back on fried foods at home.
I use whole grain instead of white.
I have organic fat free milk
and my cheese is 2%.
I use leaner meats like turkey and deer meat.
I eat a lot of grilled/baked chicken.
(PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN)
egg whites are a must.
And I make sure I get things that are "no sugar added" and organic as much as possible.
Lower sodium and I don't use salt at all.
I cut out my sweets completely.
And the killer... no soda.
I drink water water water.
Also if I have to I have coffee with no sugar and fat free creamer.

I can already feel my body changing.
And I feel a lot better since I'm not eating all of that waste.

I hope this helps some of you :)
You don't have to kill yourself to look good.
Just make a few changes and see the results :)

You'll feel better if you do I promise!

Ps. Strong is the new skinny


Monday, December 10, 2012

Appologies

So sorry I'm a slacker today
but you know how Monday goes.


Anyways I'm super busy so I won't be able to do a post like I had planned
but I promise to be back tomorrow :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas Cards :)

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY?!?!?!?!
look who is attempting to get better at this bloggy thing :)

I just couldn't contain my excitement until Monday
so.....

We got our Christmas Cards in the mail!


Front


Back


And these are our original pictures
courtesy of the fabulous
She is amazing and so great to work with!
If you live in the area I highly suggest looking her up and using her for any of your photography needs!






And these two lover bugs are my fur children :)

Meet Lizzie

And my newest baby Korie :)



Have you guys ordered your Christmas Cards yet? I'd love to see them!

Have a good weekend loves <3


A Little Help?

To all my new followers...
Hey!!
So glad you chose to follow :)
I'm excited to get to know everyone and share this crazy journey we call life with yall!

Anywho...
I am a girl in need of some SERIOUS help here.

As you can tell, my layout is pretty but it needs a little more of me in it.
I need to add my personality more to my blog design.
The only problem with this is so many designers charge a fortune for their work.
And ya girl is a broke broke (*cue Kanye!)

So I need some suggestions!
Anyone know of a good designer who will give me a reasonable price and work with me to get this blog more like me?


Thanks ladies!
oh and by the way...

IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY, GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!

okay I'm done :)

TGIF yall 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Apple Spice Pancakes SPD link up!

One of my absolute favorite blogs is from a super sweet girl

And of course I might be a little biased since she is local ;)

Anywho, she always posts these yummy recipes that I'm dying to try.
I finally maned up and did one of them.
Talk about a hit!

Apple Spice Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pancake mix.
(she used Trader Joe's which I'm sure is better. I just used what I had)
1 cup of water
1 egg
1/2 cup of applesauce
(I used the no sugar added)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
Syrup!
(mine is the Light-reduced calorie)

She also uses pumpkin dip to top hers.
I just sprinkled some powdered sugar on them and called it a day :)

Mix all of your ingredients... except the syrup (obviously)


Cook on a griddle
(I have mine on Medium heat)

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top
and then put generous amounts of syrup (if you want)
allllllllllll overrrrrrrr
*Bonus: I always heat my syrup up. It just tastes better that way! Don't ask why haha

usually yields around 11-12 small pancakes.
*I make mine medium size and ended up with about 8-9

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

**tip: put finished pancakes on a plate and cover with a paper towel and keep them in the microwave until all of the pancakes are done. It keeps the heat from escaping!

Linking up with Steph and Katie for
Saw it. Pinned it. Did it.