Thursday, November 1, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was Camdyn's first Halloween! She dressed up as a black kitty cat - too cute!


Cami and my mom


We went over to my parent's house to sit in the front yard, eat pizza, and hand out candy. I made sure we left by 8ish so we could get Camdyn home for bed. Speaking of...

She has not been sleeping AT ALL at night lately. This makes for a very cranky me. I've always been a very light sleeper, so when she wakes up every two hours, I have just barely fallen asleep before she's up again. John's been incredible, though. He's been helping me get up with her at night even though he's been working a ton, and yesterday he surprised me with a card and some gift cards. Best husband ever :)

Sleep is a funny thing - you don't really "miss" it until it's gone. For those of you who don't have kids yet, take advantage of sleeping! If you feel like sleeping til noon on a Saturday, DO IT! I'm thinking sleeping in won't happen again until Camdyn's moved out, and by that point John and I will be old and probably getting up at 5am willingly, haha.

So since I haven't posted in awhile here are some more photos of what we've been up to (pictures explain it best, in my opinion):

Romantic dinner from John (i've been spoiled lately)

John after work...he doesn't normally dress like this lol :)

LOVE this pic of us!


During the day Halloween outfit

Camdyn sleeping, it's a miracle!!

I also baked a delicious apple pie the other day.  It was my first one so I was kinda nervous, but it turned out amazing! I'll share the recipe soon :)

Now it's off to cleaning and working. I took on another freelance job (now I have THREE! Woo-hoo!) so that explains the lack of blog posts. Hope everyone's having a good day!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Life lately and my love language

Things have been very busy around here! Cami and I have had errands to run every day this week, so between that and working I haven't had time to blog :( Trust me, I'm desperately trying to get into the habit of blogging 5-6 times per week.  For those of you that are able to do that (plus work FT as I know most of you do)...I totally admire you! Blogging is so much fun, but it definitely takes time!

what i've been up to at work:

SheKnows.com: 10 Best ski resorts for the upcoming season
                        Holidays and breaking bread with Soleil Moon Frye
                        How to be a successful business owner

Rant Finance: The cost of having a baby
                    Halloween on a budget
                    Earn money from home
                    Is a joint checking account for you?

what i've been up to at home:

Nothing too interesting...cooking, cleaning, playing with Cami, etc. John and I got Mad Med season 5 in the mail through Netflix! So that's exciting. Mad Med is one of my all-time favorite shows. It's so witty and the characters are great. 

John and I started reading "The 5 Languages of Love." Has anyone read that? It's great, and I recommend it for all couples even though we're only on chapter 3. You first take a quiz to determine what your "love language" is, and then the book goes over how to meet the needs of your spouse's love language, which ultimately leads to a happier, healthier marriage. My love language is quality time, which didn't surprise me in the least. Quality time to me, though, isn't watching a movie together, it's more about actually talking to each other and having his full attention (no sports allowed during quality time!!). Anyways, it's a great book and I'm excited to dive further in.

And Camdyn is crying...so I leave you with some photos:

love this little bald chic!

oh ya know, just relaxin'

"mom, quit blinding me with the flash"


Cami LOVES her daddy!

Friday, October 19, 2012

To my high school friends...

The weekend is here - boy, this week sure flew by. Tonight for dinner I'm making bread and pasta, and John and I will probably just watch a movie. Tomorrow, I'm going to a high school friends baby shower!  She's having a little girl and I'm just so excited for her and her husband!

I was thinking yesterday just how lucky I am to still be good friends with a great group of girls I went to high school with. Kendra is one of my besties - we met in 9th grade and have been best friends ever since (that's like 13 years...ay ay ay we're getting old!). I'm also MOH in her wedding! The other's in the group are Michelle, Megan, Vanessa, and Holly. Michelle, Megan and I all live close, so we try and hang out every now and then. Vanessa is the one who's baby shower I'm attending - she lives in California along with Holly and we want them back!! haha :)

We always said in high school how we'd be friends for life. No matter where we ended up, our friendship would remain (we actually compared this to a rubber band stretching as far as we went, but never breaking, lol). It makes me cry thinking that this has remained true for us. Though we may not all see each other often (the group gets together about once a year), we are always there for each other. Knowing that God has blessed me with such amazing friendships makes me so thankful, and I hope these ladies know just how much they mean to me.


Megan, Michelle, Kendra, and pregnant me. This was at Vanessa's wedding back in March. Can't wait to see you girls tomorrow!! :)


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Wedded Bliss Wednesdays


Linking up with Kay and Allie

If you could give one piece of advice to any married (or soon to be married) couple, what would it be?
The obvious one is to communicate, but that's probably the most common answer (it's THAT important). My husband wants to meet my needs, and me his, but unless we tell each other what they are they most likely are not going to get met since neither of us are mind readers! Another good piece of advice is to always give each other your best. Husbands go all day giving their employees, coworkers, clients, friends, etc their best, and come home wiped out.  Same for wives - we give our jobs or our kids our best all day and feel there's nothing left for our husbands. Don't do this!! When you were dating you always gave each other your best, so keep that up. Make a conscious decision to do this and you will have a MUCH better relationship - trust me!!

What is an absolute MUST for any marriage/relationship?
To be best friends and have fun together. My husband and I do get into fights, but at the end of the day (or end of the fight which is sometimes more than a day haha) it boils down to us being each others absolute best friends. We like to go on walks every night and we catch up on each other's days, our goals, weekend plans, and just life in general. John is my best friend beyond a shadow of a doubt.

What is the #1 no-no in a marriage?
I would have to say cheating. That is the ultimate form of breaking your spouses' trust, and once that trust is gone it's extremely hard if not impossible to gain it back. Just don't do it!! We all have different definitions of "cheating" - emotional cheating? flirting? hanging out with opposite sex one on one? strip clubs? physical cheating only? - discuss these boundaries with your partner and be respectful to each other's wishes. *btw for me and John all of the above would not be ok!

What is the biggest lesson you have learned from marriage?
That some days it's a LOT harder than I expected, but most days it's better than I ever could have imagined. I guess I never thought marriage could be so fun and loving. It's the little things - yesterday we got a chocolate dipped cone from McDonald's (as always), walked Camdyn around with my mom, and watched a movie - simple, yet loving and the best part of all of this was having John by my side. I can't imagine not sharing my life with him.  Love you, John! *assuming you're reading this, haha :)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Big news, and some recipes

I have some big news to share with everyone: My baby girl is eating. Specifically, she's eating sweet potatoes, and I have the pictures to prove it:



Messy messy baby

She's in sweet potato heaven here

I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it means my baby girl is growing up. I want her to stay a baby forever!! Seriously.

I'm a pretty tidy person - I hate germs and clean obsessively, actually - but Camdyn and the sweet potatoes win every time. I always thought I would never let my child eat messily and get food everywhere. HA! There's no such thing. She flails her arms like a crazy person and spits her food out more than she takes it in. Last time I fed her, I found sweet potatoes in her hair

In other news, John and I have been eating pretty good around here (in other words, I've actually been cooking).  Easy recipes, of course.  The crock pot is my new best friend.

Last night, I made spicy mexican shredded chicken tacos. So simple.

Spicy Mexican Shredded Tacos
  • Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or not frozen lol)
  • 1 packet taco seasoning (I used the spicy kind)
  • 1 can of Rotel
Place in crock pot and cook on low for about 4 hours.  Shred and continue cooking another hour (it will be a little watery looking from the Rotel but if you cook it more after shredding, the chicken will absorb most of this).  Serve in soft or hard tacos with cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa etc.  I also made mexican rice from a box to go with this. 

Frozen chicken, seasoning and Rotel

Voila! Delicious spicy, shredded chicken

I LOVE making meals in the crock pot because it's so easy and always tastes so good. Plus, I'm never sure when John's going to be home so it's nice that we can eat a home-cooked meal whenever he arrives :)

Tonight for dinner I made pasta salad. I got this recipe from some family friends. It doesn't involve the crock pot, but it's really easy nonetheless.

Basil Tomato Pasta Salad
  • 1 box bowties pasta (I used mini bowties)
  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • fresh basil, cut thinly
  • olive oil
  • shredded mozzerella cheese (I used finely shredded)
  • salt and pepper
Make pasta according to package. Rinse with cold water. Add in diced tomatoes, basil, some olive oil, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix well and refrigerate a few hours. Delicious!


That's all for today. I'll leave you with some more photos of Camdyn and my most recent finance blog: Is a joint checking account for you?








Friday, October 12, 2012

Work lately

I've been really busy with work lately, and I love it!  Camdyn's been taking a morning and an afternoon nap so it's allowed me plenty of time to get everything done that I've needed to.

I love reading about other peoples' jobs on blogs, so I'd like to share some of the stuff I've been up to recently:

Rant Finance Blog: Dining out versus eating in

SheKnows Articles: How to make a silhouette painting
                            In a pickle: What to do with overripe bananas
                            What to do in Helen, Georgia

I'm so blessed to be able to work from home and share my work with my readers! I have a lot of fun with my job, and love that every day provides something different and challenges me in a different way.

I recently interviewed Soleil Moon Frye.  That article should be live soon, so I'll make sure to post the link once it's up!  Soleil is SO sweet, and really loves her two daughters, Poet and Jagger.  I was really nervous since I've never interviewed before, but am happy to have that under my belt.  I've always been one to ask way too many questions, so interviewing is seriously right up my alley and I love it! 

Speaking of interviewing, guess who I get to do next?!  Country singer Trisha Yearwood! I almost had a heart attack when I found that out.  I'm a huge country fan and Trisha Yearwood has always been a favorite of mine (her song "She's in love with the boy" is my fave!).  She has two cookbooks and a cooking show (new season premieres on Oct 20th on Food Network), so it'll be great to ask her about some of her cooking secrets!

Hope everyone is having a good Friday!  The weekend is upon us - woo hoo!  John and I are playing Bingo tomorrow and I'm super excited.  We used to play all the time before having Cami, so we like to go every few months or so as a date night!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Homemade bread... sort of

Tomorrow I'm interviewing Soleil Moon Frye, otherwise known as Punky Brewster!  She also was on Sabrina the Teenage Witch for a few years and guest-starred on Friends (a favorite show of mine).  

She's promoting Fleischmann's Simply Homemade No Knead Bread, so I figured I'd try this out tonight for dinner.  


I've never made bread before, so I was excited to try this out.  I made the Italian Herb flavor and it is amazing.  I've already consumed almost half the loaf!  *Don't worry John, I'm saving the rest for you :)

As an inexperienced bread maker, I did run into one problem:  the directions say to place on a baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 25 minutes.  They didn't say what to cover it with, though.  I flipped the bowl I mixed everything in over and used that, haha.  About halfway through it's "rising", a friend of mine texted me that normally you cover bread with a damp towel...oops!  I quickly switched out the bowl for the towel, in hopes my error wouldn't ruin my bread.

It didn't - the bread turned out perfectly!  It's easy to make and at only $2.69 per box, it's cheaper than a regular loaf of bread.  This is definitely something I'll be baking more often (tonight's dinner - bread and spicy sausage spaghetti).  I'm a huge fan of any dinner items I can make quickly and, even better, in advance.  I never know if Camdyn will be fussy when I cook, so I try and plan easy meals that I can make anytime during the day when she's napping (mostly crock pot meals lately).

Seriously, mom's or anyone out there with no time to cook should give this a try. Another bonus is you just need the box and 1 cup of warm tap water.  

You're welcome in advance :)

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I'm bad at blogging

I officially suck as a blogger, haha.  My "31 days of love and inspiration" came to a halt at day 4 and I haven't even posted anything since last week.  Life sometimes gets in the way of blogging, and you know what?  That's OK :)

Lately I've been working a LOT and doing a LOT of walking around with Camdyn.  Add in cleaning the house and hanging out with John and my days have been flying by.  It's good though.  John is in a super-busy time at work (as am I) so we can play catch-up and save some money.  

So let's see...tomorrow is Camdyn's 5 month birthday!  I seriously cannot believe I have a 5 month old.  Time needs to slow down.  She crawled backwards two nights ago...soo precious!  I'm scared for when that kid's mobile, though!  I will need to pretty much move upstairs during the day as downstairs is all hardwood and tile.  

Here's a few photos of lately:






Hope everyone's enjoying their Tuesday.  I'm headed to do a little walking around outside - the weather finally permits open windows and enjoying the outdoors!  Ya!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Day 4 of love and inspiration


This goes with the whole theme of my "31 Days" challenge - which is staying positive and focusing on the good.  Life is good; my life is good; your life is good. Yes, things do go wrong and not everything goes our way, but overall we all have a lot to love and be thankful for.  

I know I sometimes get caught up in thinking that life will be better when...
Camdyn starts sleeping through the night
John and I are making more money
My home office is complete
The weather cools down
etc etc etc
If I focus on that, I'll not only miss out on today's moments but also probably drag myself into a world of wanting more.  My goal is to be happy with what I have, and to enjoy this life that God has given specifically to me.

a thankful list
a happy, beautiful baby who brings me joy each and every day
the ability to stay home with her while working part-time
a house to call our own
my two work-from-home jobs
the wonderful friends i've made through blogging - you guys have become my main form of socialization lol :)
a husband who loves me through thick and thin
my family that lives close by and always makes me laugh
my bestest friends who are always there for me, and me for them

My mom has been telling me to make one of these for awhile, and I'm glad I did.  Hope everyone is having a nice day :)

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Day 3 of love and inspiration


I've always tried to "live in the moment," but it's also important to do things today that will benefit your future.  Whether it be staying late for work in hopes of getting that promotion, saving $50 extra per month instead of buying Starbucks everyday (speaking to myself here...though I don't see this happening anytime soon), or going for a jog each night so you can meet your goal weight next month.

Along these lines, only a little backwards, I wrote a blog post for Rant Finance (the new job) entitled "Advice to my younger self."  Is there any advice (not just financial) that you would give to your younger self?  

New job! New job!

Last week I applied to be a financial blogger for Rant Finance.  Basically, you start your own blog on the site and can blog about anything that's related to finance.  I really wanted this job - as blogging about finance and money is (strangely) something I've always wanted to do.  I considered making this blog about finance, but ultimately decided against it as I'd rather have it be a document of my life.

Sooo guess what?!  I GOT IT!!  You can find my blog here.  It's titled "A Family Affair" since my theme is going to be family finance.  You can read more about that in my first post, "What is "A Family Affair?""

The job's pretty flexible - I can post as little or as often as I'd like.  I'm going to aim for 4 days per week, since I still have my SheKnows work and of course Camdyn.  I already have a ton of ideas and can't wait to get started!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Day 2: Gary Allan-spiration

Most of you know I'm a bit obsessed with Gary Allan.  I actually just found out he's playing in Vegas for New Years Eve.  Oh how I would LOVE to go!!  Why do hotels have to be $300/night on New Years?! :(

For today, my inspiration comes from his latest single, "Every Storm."  All of his songs are incredible to me, but I just so happen to love songs with depressing and meaningful lyrics, haha.  
"Every Storm" is about knowing that everything is going to be ok in the end.  Time heals all, and all things (good or bad) will come to an end.  Here's a copy of the lyrics:

I saw you standing in the middle of the thunder and lightning
I know you're feeling like you just can't win, but you're trying
It's hard to keep on keepin' on, when you're being pushed around
Don't even know which way is up, just keep spinning down, 'round, down…

Every storm runs, runs out of rain
Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

So hold your head up and tell yourself that there's something more
Walk out that door
Go find a new rose, don't be afraid of the thorns
'Cause we all have thorns
Just put your feet up to the edge, put your face in the wind
And when you fall back down, keep on rememberin'

Every storm runs, runs out of rain
Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

It's gonna run out of pain
It's gonna run out of sting
It's gonna leave you alone
It's gonna set you free
Set you free

Every storm runs, runs out of rain
Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain

It's gonna set you free,
It's gonna run out of pain,
It's gonna set you free

Listen to this song here.

Monday, October 1, 2012

31 days of love and inspiration: Day 1

I'm joining in on the "31 days" challenge hosted by The Nester.  So far, there are over 800 bloggers joining in on this!  How awesome!  It looks like there are a lot of great topics out there.  I'm looking forward to following along!

My topic is: 31 days of love and inspiration.  I wanted something simple that wouldn't take me forever to write a post on.  My days just seem to fly by lately.  I have been doing a lot of work from home (an exciting announcement to come soon!!) and of course taking care of Camdyn and trying to maintain a clean house!  

For Day 1 I have a simple quote on life:


How true is this?  Things go wrong in life so we learn to recognize and appreciate the good.  Life is so short, and I want mine to be wonderful.  Expecting perfection will only lead to disappointment.  Instead, learn to see the good in every situation and every person.  Focus on that.  

I'm reading a book "Change your Words, Change your Life" by Joyce Meyer, and it's all about training your brain (with tons of references to the Bible, because God is the only one that can actually change us) to think positively.  Thinking positively and speaking only good will force you to believe it.  If you wake up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, chances are, you will.  Wake up and decide that it's going to be a good day and find something positive in what lies ahead.

So here's to love and inspiration!  Make sure to come back daily for more.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

31 Days

Happy Saturday, everyone!!

So I saw on The Nester blog that she's hosting a "31 Days" blog series for the month of October.  This is her 2nd year doing this - first year it was her and seven other bloggers; last year it was her and 700 other bloggers!  Who knows how many it will be this year, but I'm going to be one of them :)

Basically, you choose a "mini-series" to blog about for 31 days (everyday in October).  It can be anything...31 days of living by faith, 31 days of baking, 31 days of being a better blogger, 31 days of making your kids happier, 31 days to being more productive at work, etc.  You want to choose a topic that's broad enough that you can write about it for 31 days.

Anyone want to join me??!  You have to create a blog button for this series, which is pretty easy.  I used this tutorial for mine, and I'm assuming you link up on Monday, which is Day 1!

Looking forward to this challenge.  It's going to be a very busy weekend, to say the least.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday's Letters

Photobucket 
 Linking up with Ashley over at Adventures of Newlyweds today
 
Dear Husband, thank your for working so hard so I'm able to stay home with our crazy baby.  Dear SheKnows, so happy to be working for you!  You're a great company and I'm blessed to be able to bring in a little extra income from home.  Dear Fall, I'm happy you're finally here, but AZ...please start cooling down!  Dear Scale, I was very happy with the number you showed me this morning.  I was scared you'd be a lot higher due to me eating an entire pumpkin cake in two days.  Dear Sister, I'm currently waiting on you to finish getting ready so we can go to the mall.  It's been well over an hour.  Hurry up already!!  Dear Dad, thanks for ordering a pizza for us for lunch while I wait!  Dear Weekend, super excited for you!  I get to see a bunch of awesome friends tomorrow for lunch, followed by wedding dress shopping with my bestie Kendra
 
 

Simply Right Formula

 

Camdyn had Simply Right gentle formula (pictured above) all day yesterday.  If you recall, this was the formula that I found for $15.99 for 48 oz (or 87 4 oz bottles!) at the consignment store.  I knew it was risky, but I figured it was worth it to see if she liked it.

Guess what?

She loved it!

Phew.

No fussiness, no problems drinking it, no spitting up (which is amazing since normally she does spit up), no gas.

This is a huge blessing for John and I.  Originally, we were spending $25 every 3-4 days on formula, then I found it discounted so it was $15 every 3-4 days.  Now, it will be $15.99 every 8-10 days.  HUGE savings here people!!

Of course, it's only been one day so this could backfire, in which case I'll put her back on the Enfamil, but for now...we like it :)

Happy Friday, everyone!


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Best Pumpkin Cake...Ever

Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Cake 
with Apple Cider Glaze

credit goes to big red kitchen and my bestie, Christina


pic credit to the noble pig

For the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix (I used spice cake mix - highly recommend this)
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree

Preheat over to 350 degrees
Mix cake mix and pumpkin puree until well blended
Bake in 13 x 9 inch pan for 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean

For the glaze:
Powdered sugar
Apple juice
Cinnamon

Pour powdered sugar into a bowl (roughly 1 1/2 cups)
Add in a few tablespoons apple juice
Sprinkle in some cinnamon
Mix well (add more or less sugar/juice until it's the consistency you want)

Pour glaze over cake and voila!  Best pumpkin cake...ever.

You're welcome :)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Iced Caramel Vanilla Lattes and Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Fall is now in full-force.  Everywhere except in Arizona, that is.  Just because it's still 100 degrees out doesn't mean I'm not going to partake in my favorite fall activities - things like decorating, lighting pumpkin-scented candles, making stew (it's in the crock pot now), and wearing scarves and boots (ok...scratch that last one).

As most of you know, I'm obsessed with Starbucks.  I go there every day, even though we're on a budget.  I'm able to justify it in my mind since it's my breakfast and lunch (bad, I know).  Normally I get an iced venti iced coffee sweetened with cream (yes, you do say "iced" twice), but today I tried something new.  Something delicious.  Something that blew my mind.

Ready?

An iced grande skinny salted caramel vanilla latte.

You read that right.  It's even better than it sounds, if you can believe it.  Credit goes to one of my besties, Shelley, over at Courtepointe Amour.  This is now "my drink", even though it is a bit pricier than the iced coffee.


This isn't actually mine, as I drank mine in 5 seconds flat before having a chance to photograph it, but you get the idea.

Now, on to the second part of my post:

Iced Pumpkin Cookies


I am by no means a food photographer, so don't let this picture scare you.  These cookies are more like a cake.  They're soft, fluffly, pumpkin-y, and topped with a sweet, subtle glaze.  I averaged about 5 per day until they were gone.  

I'd post the recipe, but it's easier for me if you just click here.

The only thing I did differently was add cinnamon to the glaze to make them more pretty.  

Hope everyone's having a great day!  Happy fall!

Monday, September 24, 2012

What I've learned about formula

As most of you know, Camdyn is now a formula-only baby.  I breastfed solely for the first two months, then slowly started incorporating formula.  By 3 1/2 months, she was weaned from breast milk completely.

Knowing what I know now, for our next baby I am going to try and breastfeed longer. Formula is SO expensive, and breast milk is so much better for the baby.

I wanted to give a breakdown of my experience with formula so far:

  • Similac - $25 for 23 oz.  Camdyn was a little gassy with this, but overall she liked it.  
  • Enfamil - $24 for 23 oz.  This is our favorite.  No fussiness, no gas.  She takes this very well and has only had a positive reaction to this.  I discovered a second hand store that sells 23 oz for $15, brand new of course.  GREAT deal.  
  • Parents Choice - $14 for 23 oz.  I tried this before finding my discounted Enfamil.  It said it was comparable to Similac, so I figured I'd give it a try to see if she liked it.  She did NOT.  It gave her horrible cramps and gas.  She would eat it (I've come to the realization that she'll eat anything), but would cry for a long time afterwards in pain.  Needless to say, after a few bottles I threw it out.
Parent's Choice - Advantage Infant Powder Formula, 23.2oz
  • Simply Right - $16 for 48 oz.  Yup, that's right.  This is half the price of the discounted Enfamil for double the amount.  It's the Sam's Club brand of Enfamil, essentially.  I compared ingredients and vitamins, and it looks exactly the same as Enfamil.  I haven't tried this yet - but will definitely provide an update after a few days of her eating this.  To me, it was worth the investment.  If she loves it and reacts well to it, than I'm looking at hundreds of dollars being saved.  If not?  I'll take the loss and go back to Enfamil.  No big deal.

Any moms out there have a favorite brand of formula?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below!  Would love to hear from you!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Social

Sunday Social
Happy Sunday, everyone!  Today John and I went to church for the first time in longer than I'd care to admit, and really enjoyed it.  We had lunch at Jimmy John's, went to Home Goods, and are now spending the remainder of our day relaxing.

1. What is something you have wanted to do but are afraid of?

My husband said "decide on home decor" lol.  This is actually probably true.  I can't make decisions regarding paint colors, art work, what to do with certain rooms, rugs, or general decor AT ALL.  There are WAY too many options!  It also doesn't help that I'm cheap and hate buying all that stuff.

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Still living in our same house or about to upgrade, 2-3 kids, a more developed and experienced writer, and just enjoying life

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2012?

A few of my friends will have their babies!!  And more friends babies to come at the beginning of 2013!  Can't wait!

4. What are your hopes for your blog?

That I'm persistent about writing.  I hope to meet people and grow my blog.  I can't wait for my kids to look back at this - it's such a great way to document and cherish memories :)

5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?

For awhile at least.  My husband works for himself and has established himself here in AZ.  If we move, it won't be until we're both retired.  Ideally, we'll live here and have a few vacation homes :)

6. What is your morning routine?

Wake up with Cami sometime between 5:30-7:00am, feed her and play with her, goof off online, laundry, give Cami a bath, and start working.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

I Believe In...

Linking up with Erin today!


I believe in honesty. Always.

I believe in love, though I do not believe that love is perfect.

I believe in Starbucks iced coffee, everyday.


I believe in hard work.

I believe I have the prettiest baby girl.


I believe happiness is a choice.

I believe that I'm good enough.

I believe in long walks with my husband and daughter.

I believe in date nights.



I believe in God.

I believe in alone time, and feel it's good for the soul.

I believe best friends make everything better.

I believe in living everyday to it's fullest.

I believe in flowers making everything ok again.



I believe in waking up early and going to bed late.

I believe in eating dessert first.

I believe in my husband.

I believe in Tresemme's new dry shampoo.


But also believe I still need to wash my hair after three days max.

I believe in wearing makeup every. single. day.

I believe in cleaning every. single. day.

I believe in being responsible with money.

I believe in saving money.

I believe in fighting for what you believe in.

I believe in myself.