Confessions of a jealous blogger

Ok, so here is the REAL reason I have not been hanging around the blogging world
{as of late}.
(By the way, I love that phrase "as of late".....it sounds so Jane Austen. ;-)

*clears throat*

Where were we? Ah, yes.....my confession.

I have been avoiding the blogging world at all costs because frankly, it stirs up jealous desires in my heart. I end up spending hours in the blog world, checking out other people's houses and photography and shopping deals and amusing diatribes--and by the time I finish, I am coveting decorations and furniture and cameras and hairstyles and wit and vacations and......
the list could go on and on.

This is not necessarily the fault of the blogging world (although I think that we as a society have become consumed with "keeping up with the Jones" in every area of life).
It is MY problem, a problem of discontentment and idolatry.
And the way that I am dealing with it right now is by avoiding blogs.

This is not to say that I will forever be (self) banished from the blogging world. But for now, I need to take a "vacation" and get my discontentment under control. I will make sure to post the occasional picture or witty anecdote, so you know I am still alive. ;) Because SOOOO many of you will be worried about that......so very many.....

{But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. – 1Timothy 6:6-7}

Hello. My name is Boring.

I am a bad blogger.

I have been too enamored with Facebook lately to blog......this is good and bad. I may write more about my thoughts on that at another time.

And because I have not been blogging, I have not been keeping up on my favorite blogs. A person misses out on a TON when you don't read the blogs of others....others who actually blog consistently. ;) Once again, good and bad comes from not reading blogs. More on that later also......

In other news, summer is in full swing in our house.

I adore summer and all that comes with it. The food, the clothes, the activities....it's all good to me. And this summer we have added a summer activity to our agenda---swimming! The condo that we bought "came with" two private community pools/hot tubs and we have been taking full advantage of them. The kids are learning to swim, they are tiring themselves out every day, and Momma is getting tan. This is a huge accomplishment (since I am NEVER tan) so I am pretty excited.
Also, we just got back from a family vacation, during which we drove through some gorgeous scenery. We were able to spend a few days with all of my mom's side of the family at a reunion. It was so fun to hang out with my cousins, just like the old days. :-)

See, these are the kind of blog posts that I avoid writing.....the rambling "update-you-on-our-boring-life" types. This is partly why I have not posted lately--there was nothing earth-shattering to share! LOL I promise the next post will be deeply thought-provoking and amazing.

Or not.

Thanks for the help.....stranger

Found another great blog......bookmarking this baby!

I NEED {inspiration}, if I am gonna make this house look like I want!

What's your favorite blog to visit for decorating inspiration?

Baby, baby, baby....oh.....

No, I won't be babbling on about Justin Beiber in this post.....I promise. Thankfully, there is NO Beiber Fever in our household. We have kept the 8-yr-old and the almost 7-yr-old in the dark about the whole thing. Big E even asked Josh about some shirt with his face on it: "WHO is THAT?!?" in an indignant tone. Score one for us.... ;-)

This post is actually about real babies.

You know, the kind that I find cute but don't really want more of myself. The kind that I love buying gifts for....gifts that I would never want for my own children. The noisy toys and the extravagant books and etc.....oh, come on--I'm (mostly) kidding!

I have been picking up gifts here and there for 3 of my family members who have or will be having babies. Baby clothes and baby items can get very pricey, so I always make sure it is really something they will use before I invest lots of money in it. I have realized after having three of my own babies, and buying gifts for many nieces, nephews and friends, that there are a few items that you almost can't strike out with.

1. Diapers and wipes....what new mother doesn't need more of these? Just make sure that the baby doesn't have any allergies before you buy a specific brand. And always get a gift receipt!

2. Gift cards....I think these should be mandated for every special occasion but that is just me. Young parents love gift cards though--there is always an item that you didn't get at any of your showers that you HAVE to have.

3. Personalized items....it is always fun to have your baby's name up in his/her room, especially if your kids have unusual names like mine. This can be a pillow, a wall hanging or an item engraved with their name. I like to make shadow boxes with the baby's initial inside, done in the nursery's colors. If you are not craft-y, check out Etsy for some fun personalized stuff.

4. Onesies and socks--if you have had a baby, you know that this is the first item to get dirty when the diaper blows! I cannot tell you how many onesies I went through with my 3 kids. It is always nice to have a supply--I like to buy plain white ones so they can be used for either gender and they match with everything. We also went through tons of socks, partially because I tried to get by with cheap ones that never stayed on. By my third kid, I discovered that the Sonoma brand from Kohls stayed on well and were a good value for the price.

5. Books....it is always fun to build a library for your baby, and books from other people are so meaningful as they get older. I always make sure that I write my name and date in it, so the child can look at it years from now and remember. I still have books that were given to me by aunts, uncles and grandparents when I was a small child. And because books are so expensive, always check Amazon or Goodwill first. I often find brand-new books at Goodwill, for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

Although it is always fun to buy that amusing bib or adorable teddy bear or crochet that fuzzy blanket, sometimes sticking with the basics can bring the most blessing to a new mother. What do you like to give as a baby gift?

The possibilities are ENDLESS

We have not broadcast this fact, but we are in the process of purchasing a condo. We intended to rent the rest of our lives, thanks to our horrible prior experience with home ownership but...

...sometimes God opens doors that we don't expect!

So we are hoping to be home (condo) owners again by the end of the month and I am trying to keep my mind on the duties at hand, like homeschooling and babysitting and cooking and PACKING....but all I can think about is the fact that this will be my chance to
redecorate my house!

I have not had the money or the guts or the vision to redo anything in the last 3 years.
But I am ready for a change....
I am trying to simplify my life and I want new decor that matches that simplification. :-)
(Soulful Sayings--Etsy)

I found this site with some good links.....

And I am pretty sure that I will be using some ideas from this blog....

I will be shopping HERE when it opens in the fall (I think about it on a daily basis ;-)

And I will be adding pages to my *inspiration binder*....


Not to mention scanning all of my favorite blogs for ideas based on their decorating styles....basically, stalking blogs and intently staring at every picture. Don't be creeped out if you are one of those bloggers. ;-)

For today, I am just drooling over Restoration Hardware's site......this room is so relaxing!

Where do you go for decorating inspiration? Please share!

Slicing and dicing helps me think

I love getting decorating magazines--reading all of the ideas and tips and recipes. And then I...

...RIP 'EM APART.

You heard me....I rip out all of the pages with cool ideas and I stick them in a big fat binder. If I don't, I will never remember all of the concepts. You see, I am kinda creatively challenged, and I will never be able to replicate the ideas without seeing the pictures (and often, the step-by-step tutorials.)

As I was perusing last month's Better Homes and Gardens, I came across this article. I fell in love with so many decorations and ideas in her house! Plus she has an adorable family....then I visited her blog and loved her even more! Her style is more elaborate than mine, but her placement and use of "found objects" is near-and-dear to my heart.
So I will be adding Pure Style Home to my blog roll, and checking it often for inspiration.

What blogs do you use to gain decorating inspiration from?

You're the Black to my Berry

Oh. My. Goodness.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am slightly in love with my Blackberry. :-)
I have tried hard not to be, but it is no use. It is just so.....loveable.
To make matters worse, my husband loves his Blackberry even more.

So when I saw this giveaway over at BooMama, I got a little giddy. I have been drooling over this new Blackberry ever since my brother-in-law pointed it out to me.

And then she tells me I could possibly get it for FREE??!! *cue angelic music*

Go check it out, enter to win, and if you aren't a Sprint customer and happen to win it.....
send it to me. ;-)

Blessed be Your name, even when......

Josh has been sick most of the week, along with Little E. And that means.....lots of laundry, lots of cleaning, lots of liquids, not much sleep......but by Thursday, I thought I could see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Then that night, Middle E came down with the same thing.

*sigh*

Everyone was in a bad mood today, and it seemed like I could not get ahead on anything because of all the laundry and cleaning I was doing. I began to feel a bit sorry for myself.....

But God brought these verses to mind, as I was cleaning up the kitchen and muttering internally.

{2 Cor. 4:17--For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.}

{James 1:2-4--Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.}

I was immediately convicted, knowing that God always has a sovereign purpose for everything that happens in my life, even if just to teach me patience and contentment.

But then, as if those Scripture passages were not enough to "put me in my place", I was catching up on my favorite blogs tonight and ran across this post (and the ones that followed.) It breaks my heart and puts me to shame that I was complaining about having to clean up after my sick little family! God is so good to me and I have nothing to complain about.....my trials are NOTHING compared to those of others around me.

I leave you with the lyrics to the song "Blessed Be Your Name".....
Every time we sing this song in church, it brings tears to my eyes as I wonder, 'Would I actually respond this way if bad things came into my life?' I hope I would, but I am humble enough to know it would probably not be a natural response.

Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful
Where your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
And blessed be your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
When there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

*Lyrics by Matt and Beth Redman*

Rabbit trail.......

Don't you just love it when you find a new blog that you *click* with?! I do.

Here is my latest........

Tales of Me and the Husband :)

Enjoy.......

(Oh and also......I just got a new camera for Christmas! I have the sweetest father-in-law in the world, and I will be sharing my (new-and-improved) pictures with you SOON!)

You had me at *Mason jar*

I was glad to read that the Pioneer Woman and I have another thing in common. Too bad we don't share the common thread of being creative enough to run a stinkin' awesome blog. That is where I seem to stray away a bit........but anyways, back to the point of this post.

She hit the nail on the head with the afore-linked-to post.

I {ADORE} Mason jars.

Canning jars, glass jars, whatever you wanna call them.....I think they are so great. I even went so far as to steal some cool star ones from my own mother's house. Shhhh. She doesn't read this blog, so its our little secret. And they look fabulous, sitting around my house with stuff in them. Much more useful than sitting on her pantry shelf, collecting dust, right??!!

Now if I could get around to using some for their original purpose.......I just might fill them with applesauce this weekend......

In the works.....

I know I have not posted in forever....several people have angrily reminded me. ;-)

I have several posts "in the works" and will be sharing them very soon!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this. I happened upon this blog, with this fun giveaway. Almost all of the clothing and accessories in this catalog are amazing......I wish I had the guts to wear most of it. lol. Check it out, so I can maybe win one of the items!

{Be back soon........}

Weekend Circle Time: School is Over Edition!!!!

We are finishing up school this weekend, and we are soooo ready for summer! Here are a few things I found this week, that I might use to occupy my free time this summer. What do you have planned for the summer?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Last spring, I discovered that my neighbor has pure gold growing in her backyard. Ok, not really, but she has rhubarb.......which to me is as good as gold. I love that stuff. And she does not. So guess who scored a jackpot?! Woo-hoo. I am gonna head over there this week to (hopefully) gather my treasures. And then come home again to make this.

2. Over on my other blog, I was pondering the ways of frosting. My long-time friend told me she had a great recipe, handed down from her mom. She even posted it on her blog, along with pictures of her sweet little chubby baby.....which makes the post even better. ;-) I am so excited to try it out!

3. It has very hot here this week, which has put me in the mood to hit our local beach. I thought this craft was a cute project to make with your kids--then they could have their own beach bag!

4. I enjoy visiting this blog frequently.....mostly because I am deeply in love with the writer. ;-) Plus I think he has some good advice--this one is great to think about.

5. I am excited to use this deal.....I missed the last one!

Enjoy your long weekend........spend it with the ones you love most!

Some people's kids......

I got nothing for you today......but my blogger friend Melissa has something that you need.

She kills me. Every post either makes me laugh til I pee or cry til I feel embarrassed. You must check out her blog......

And for starters, you can read this post. I am still chuckling about it, even thinking of it. ;-)

Enjoy....

Weekend Circle Time: Improving My Life Edition

My middle child turned 6 this week.

(That makes me feel old.)

Now I have a 7 yr. old, a 6 yr. old, and a 3 yr. old!

In light of that, I figure I should start making some healthy choices in life. :-) I mean, I am practically over the hill and my kids are just steps from being in charge of my well-being. So I ought to make sure we are taking better care of ourselves........

Here are some things I ran across this week--things that could help me lead a healthier life:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. My mother-in-law just sent me this article. We typically have about 10 of those items on hand most of the time.

2. And I found this one, which I found interesting. This could save us alot of money, and could possibly be better for us. I am going to investigate it further......

3. This post made me think of my own little sweetheart, growing up too fast. :-( Nothing to do with health really.....but it's my blog. I can do what I want.

4. I have been looking for oatmeal recipes to post over here, so this one will fit in perfectly! I can hardly wait to make them.

5. And it is too late to share any more, so I will leave you with my latest discovery: Skippy has natural peanut butter, and it is the same price as their regular stuff! (Plus it tasted great!)

~~Enjoy your weekend, spending time with those you love most!~~

Me and Queen have something in common

Every once in a (great) while, I look at blogs like this one or this one or this one and feel slightly envious and inferior.

Why, you may ask?
I know, I know....looking at my fabulous blog.....what more could one want??!!
But, as they say, the grass is always greener in someone else's blog, so envy creeps in occasionally.


And why do I feel envious?
It is because they always announce all of the great freebies and bargains!!!! I mean, a girl can't break any headlines with these people around! So, I usually do not even try. I just leave it to their fabulously successful blogs, and I continue on in my self-amusing world, rambling about potty-training and what we are going to eat for dinner.

(See, I am already over my envious feelings. I am quite content in my ToddlerWorld, with my witty anecdotes and occasional words of wisdom. Who needs thousands of readers and late-breaking opportunities for frugality?!)

Ok, so it would be fun.
But I haven't the time to keep up. Plus, I love finding out about all of those things, that I could never sniff out on my own. I love perusing their wildly successful sites, in my pjs, and finding out where I can get a free can of baby formula or dog snacks without doing any of the investigation on my own.
Bottom-line: I am lazy.

So, keep it up, fabulous deal hounds! And I will keep reading your blogs and I will keep writing pointless things on mine, and pretending like I am also changing the world. :-) And to make myself feel even better, I will occasionally post deals like this or this, to trick myself into thinking I am helping my readers.
(Even though the news was broken days ago by one of "those blogs"......)

Hello Jealousy....you are welcome here for a few minutes......

Weekend Circle Time: Friends are Friends Forever Edition

I had a nice weekend, spent with my family and good friends. In fact, the last few weeks have been spent with family and friends. I am very blessed. :-)

Before I hit the hay for the night, I wanted to share the things I have learned or been encouraged by this week.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Our littlest is completely potty trained (aside from the occasional accident)!!! No more diapers? I hope so. This potty helped us in our endeavor, and we are going to reward him with the help of Chuck and his incentives.

2. My friend Chas just started making beautiful and delicious cakes for special occasions. If you live in the Denver area and need a cake for someone special, let her know!

3. I picked up a sweet deal on a mani/pedi this week, thanks to Groupon. I get a different "daily deal" in my inbox every day. Most of them are 50% off or more!

4. This post really made me stop and think. Like Lynnae, I have been reading through the Little House series and it has made stop and think about what I think is important in life--what I "must have" to live.

~Have a good Sunday, and remember to spend time with those you love most!~

Bon-bons and soap operas

My friend shared an article (from Boundless Webzine) on Facebook this week. As I read the article, some of the other posts caught my eye. In particular, this one was very encouraging.

Often, we believe that SAHMs have it so easy. And often, they do. But not because they don't have any responsibilities.....no, it is because the world has manipulated them into thinking that staying home does not require any thought or effort or strategic planning. And that is wrong. :-(

I felt that way when I was first married. I did not have a plan. And I thought women who did were....well, frankly....."wifey". lol I had an image in my head of SAHMs being mousy and meek and mindless. But that is far from what God desires for us! Just look at the Proverbs 31 woman!

I am not here to stand on a soapbox and preach sermons we have all heard. If God desires to convict you in this area, He will. You don't need my "wisdom". ;-) But do read the article, and think over your plan for being a wife and mother!

Snowy evenings and satisfaction

I can't believe I haven't posted on here since March 4th!!! Time flies when you're......doing too much. ;-)

I don't have time to share my Weekend Circle Time this weekend (the inlaws are coming....gotta clean!). But I did want to share a few pictures of the cute superhero capes that I made this week. I found the pattern/idea over here, and used most of her instructions, with a few variations. Since I don't have a sewing machine, they were slightly more "rustic" looking than hers too. (lol) But the boys ADORE them, so all is well.

Have a fabulous weekend......we are enjoying a cozy evening, snowed in at home.

(In March? What!? Yep......)

~Remember to spend time enjoying the ones you love!~

A penny saved is a penny earned!

On my quest to be frugal, I love it when I find other women who are striving for the same thing....especially when they seem to be slightly more successful than I. ;-) It is encouraging to hear tips from others on how they are making it work in their lives!

I just stumbled across this blog last night, and enjoyed reading many of her posts. I also discovered this blog, written by a husband and wife, which I really enjoyed.

Do you read frugal/finance blogs, and if so, which ones?

Weekend Circle Time: Warm Fuzzies Edition

I didn't have time to read up on my fave blogs this week like I usually do......

So instead--I thought I would share a few of the things that I have been loving this week!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Denver has had one of its coldest winters in a long time, and that means that my hands have been SO SO VERY dry. :-(
This lotion is my guilty pleasure, but I can easily justify it. It is the only one that really works for me, without irritating my skin.

2. I have found a new favorite spice for my cooking.....
McCormick Grill Mates-Garlic and Onion Medley.
I use it in so many dishes, and it adds just the right balance of flavor. I guess it is not just for grilling. :-)


3. I subscribe to Country Living, and let me tell you--that magazine does my heart good! I just adore looking at the pictures, getting ideas for my house, reading about real estate for sale in different areas of the country, sometimes even finding a recipe or two.....
(I mean, who wouldn't want to look at this room all day?!)



4. My friend introduced me to this great coffee shop.....I have a feeling my van may "put on" some extra miles because of this place. ;-) It is a wonderful atmosphere, the coffee is so good, and the prices are non-Starbuck-ish. One can never have too many favorite coffee shops, right?



5. I discovered a really good blog--Springs Bargains.com
(thanks to another friend of mine......I have great friends. What can I say?)
She lays out all of the Colorado store deals, matched up with coupons.
I am so excited to frequent her site!

Have a wonderful weekend.....mine includes a date with my beloved, which makes me very happy. These dates are few and far between. :-)
~Remember to make time for those who matter most to you.......~