Tonight I watched the season finale of Survi or, as many did. And I must say I am glad to see the rotten way of playing didn't pay off. Congrats to Natalie!

Future Friday

There are just so many things I want to do... so many crafts to create!

Back on Black Friday I found some material that is black with white polka dots (for a fantastic price!). I plan on making this ruffle skirt from sewmamasew.com! Only I plan to make it with the black with white polka dots as the main piece then the ruffle will be a shiny pink material I found! I am super excited for this project! Who knows I may just keep making skirts for all the girls I know!!!

Wishful Wednesday

I think many who know me know there is one wish that I have that I hope will come true some time in 2012! I know that may seem a ways off... but that's when I would love to have our third and final child. But what I wish for is a sweet baby girl. I love having my boys and I am SO glad that the older kids in our family are boys... but I absolutely LOVE to make things for little girls. There are just SO many cute things for them! So... until then I will have to be satisfied with having a niece and spoiling her... and any cute little girl's of my friends. Thanks for letting me spoil your girl's since I don't have one!

Do you have a wish for a baby girl too, or do you want a boy... and WHY!?!?!

Next Few Weeks

If I posts seem sparse over the next couple weeks its only because I am REALLY enjoying my time with family! But, I should be back to my regular posts... in January... sometime! We're moving at the end of this month/beginning of next month, so I'm not sure when I'll have computer access or what will be happening!

Miss You

It kind of stinks that now that my husband is finally done with school we're not going to be together because he works in retail and can't take time off around Christmas... so I will be spending time with our boys and our extended family... missing my love all the while. He will join us again in time for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities, but for some reason that seems like forever away! But for now I will enjoy the time I have with him today, then I'll just take one day at a time.

Future Friday

There are so many things I want to do in the future... among many of the things I like to do... crafts is something I really enjoy! I just finished this project:

Thanks to Ashley at Make it and Love it!

After we move and get settled (maybe as a gift for TG my oldest son, currently 2 1/2), I would like to take on the Cozy Car Caddy over at homemade by Jill. I probably will make 3 of them... that way he can line them up and have a really LONG road! And it will actually hold all the cars he has. I might even try to do one that will hold his train and it's tracks and just make it look like scenery for the tracks... we'll see!

Do you have any projects you have seen and are on your to do list for someday?

Together

I am so thrilled that today is the last day my husband has school!!! Which means more together time! As of right now he's not planning on doing any more... which means we should be at the end of him working full-time AND going to school full-time! HOORAY!!! We finally reached the light at the end of one tunnel! Yes, that is right we reached the end of one tunnel only to realize we are standing in another tunnel. Isn't that just how life works though? We can only hope that he passed the big test he took this last Saturday... and hopefully he will find a new job quickly!!! He has his first interview on Monday... my fingers are crossed, I'm saying prayers and I'm thinking I should consider looking for a clover or a rabbits foot!

Wishful Wednesday

Another wish I have, in regards to photography, is that some day I will have a studio... I would prefer something that is attached to our home. I would have all those fun props where I can take those adorable photos of babies in those giant baskets... or a nice white sofa there for the sole purpose of taking photos! Oh someday... I would LOVE to be able to have the financial means to do photography the way I want...
Please share some of your wishes.... I would love to hear them!!!

So Much Giving Going Around!

As you know I think it's wonderful when others are able to give something to those who might not be able to afford it... Well, the other day I came across this wonderful project called:

Photographers are uniting to give away photo packages. This year the goal is ONE MILLION!!! Right now they are at $275,066. What's really cool is you can go to their website and find a photographer near you that is participating!

CHECK IT OUT!!!

By the way, I would be participating if I knew where we would be come a couple months from now!!! So, I will wait until next year, but I will definitely get in on this!!!

Looking for Hope

I was browsing the web... looking for inspiration on what to write when I came across this website with "Wisdom and Inspiration You Can Read In One Minute". The topic I stumbled upon was "Looking For Hope". I feel this is something that most people struggle with, where to look for inspirations of hope. I liked the Wisdom in the thought this site presented:

"The most important choice people make in their lives is the choice of where they look for hope. People either look for hope outside of themselves or inside of themselves. Where you look for hope determines the image and outcome of your hope. Make no mistake about it. Vast fortunes, incredible fame, and untold power have been accumulated by people who apply certain principles related to making external hopes and dreams come true. However there are consequences to all actions. Indeed, you may come to possess every external hope or material thing, but you may later come to regret what you possess. Quite often, the realization of external hope brings inner death... the inner death that comes with realizing we are empty inside when all we possess are external fortunes, external fame, and external power."

I started this site with the feeling that so many people, including myself, are trying to find the best places to look for hope. There really is so much out there and within ourselves, but I think the thing we must remember is there are many good things we can hope for or look to for hope. What we need to focus on are the best things. These things probably are not be things such as a large home or that big screen tv, but are things such as hoping for good relationships, both friends and family or hoping for joy not only for us but for those we care about.

What are you hopeful for? Where or who do you look to for hope?

Hope {for a favorable outcome}

My husband has been preparing to take a major test and soon it will all be over! Our biggest hope is that he will pass and this may be a HUGE change for us. I have learned as he has been preparing for this test how little people know about this test and how much of a difference it can make. I didn't know anything about the test until he signed up to take it. Now I realize that this has the potential to change our lives (for the better). He is only taking the first level of three right now, but even passing this first level will make him SO much more appealing when applying to companies... which means he'd be ten times more likely to find a new job that would make it so we could be miles closer to fulfilling our dream of owning a home. So I'm crossing my fingers, toes, and anything else I can cross! He's been studying and working so hard for this... please oh please let him do well... we won't find out until mid-January... so we'll see!!!

A Glimmer of Hope

I don't know about everyone else and how they are doing with finding jobs... but we have been struggling. My husband is done with school in just a little over a week and still no job. Today was the FIRST glimmer of hope we've had in months of applications being sent out.

He got his first interview!!!

We are SO excited for this small step in the right direction and it has given us SO much hope for the future. On top of all this it is near our family (well, my in-laws and my dad and step mom)! It still won't give us the most comfortable lifestyle we would like... BUT it gives my wonderful husband the experience that seems to be required for practically every stinking job!

Along with this comes some exciting news for anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento area! I will be spending some time up in these areas and am taking a limited number of photo shoots. So if you're in the areas check out my photo blog for details and email me!
My sessions start at just $50, it's a DEAL!!!

Wishful Wednesday

Today I would like to begin my wishes in regards to Photography.

Where to start when it comes for my wishes with Photography items???

In all honesty my first wish is that I could actually take a class on Photography or go to a workshop (like this one that Melissa Koehler Photography does). I know I have lots to learn... and so far I think I have done a fair job at learning on my own. But I sure would love to take a class or workshop and I think it would be most beneficial... mainly I think it would boost my learning curve, which in turn I think would help me with produce an even better product with clients!

Make Wishes

So, lately I've been considering opening an Etsy Shop. The hardest thing for me is deciding what to make! But I love to make things for little girls, since I only have boys! Things for girls are just SO cute. ANYWAYS as soon as I make a decision as to what exactly I'll sell and all that you can bet I will be announcing my Grand Opening here on this blog!!! Most likely it will be after our family moves. Oh yeah, did I mention that? I still have no idea where we will be moving to seeing as finding a place in San Diego for under $1000 is a joke! Ridiculous. And we get kicked out of student housing in January... yep, that's only like 6 weeks away and we will have to get out and go... who knows where!

We're hoping something will work out.

Thanksgiveaway

A friend of mine who was my inspiration to follow my love of photography is doing a giveaway!

Mariah Baddas is giving away an all-inclusive session, what's cooler than a giveaway!?!?! Well, I love the way she is doing the giveaway... email her a nomination of someone who you think really deserves this, maybe this has been a rough year and they just would not otherwise be getting pictures done. Regardless of the reasons tell her the reason you think someone deserves this session and she will be choosing one through random.org... AND giving the person who nominates a FREE session... could it get better? YOU BET!!! She will travel ANYWHERE in the Continental US to meet the family nominated!!! Are you interested yet?!?!?! Check out her blog here for details on who to email... do it soon because this wonderful giveaway ends Christmas Day!!!!

Black Friday

As Black Friday is coming to a close I just want to say I LOVE good deals!!!! As I have said before I get a glimmer of hope from getting a bang for my buck! Today I got some sweet deals as I'm sure did any one who went out today! My FAVORITE thing was that my husband and I got to go out together, it was our "date" for the week... well, maybe even for the month! Then at Sports Authority, they were giving out "bonus bucks" ranging from $10-500 and my husband and I each got $25! So, I got the Chargers Jersey I have been wanting for a LONG time! What's even better is that it was also one of the door busters, 30% off! So, I got a $60 Chargers jersey for only $17! HOORAY!!!!

The Greatest Gift

A while back something happened in my life and I thought I lost a friend forever, and I didn't know what I did. I was devastated. The friendship base that I thought I had built was suddenly pulled out from under me and I felt as though I had fallen on my rear, and hard! After months of lots of tears and doing all I could think of doing I asked for forgiveness for whatever I had done. I was told that it was nothing... so I decided I really had done all I could and decided to just live my life as best I could and forge friendships with new people. For over a year that friend and I had barely even said, "Hello." Silly... yes I know... but I didn't know what else I could do to fix whatever happened.

I recently received an email from her... I can't even tell you how much it warmed my heart to have her say that she wants to be friends and keep in touch even after we move. Tears came to my eyes as I felt an incredible weight on my shoulders be lifted. I tell you this story not for you to think more of me or my friend, but to remind you and me that even when a relationship is strained for any reason, no matter how silly, there is always hope that the relationship can be rebuilt. And that is the greatest gift I have received in a long time. She will always be someone who I admire and have so much respect for and I am just SO happy that I can call her "my friend."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Wishful Wednesday

I found my dream watch!!!

Isn't it beautiful?!?!? This is the first watch I have ever been really excited about... usually I see watches and I think... eh... why bother? I have the time on my cell phone, that's good enough for me!

But when I saw this watch I couldn't help but think, "Now THAT is a watch I would wear!"

It almost looks like a gorgeous bracelet! I like that... a watch that doesn't look like a watch!

So... here's to today's Wishful Wednesday. Someday I will get this watch!

Hope and Happiness

I've been trying to decide what to write about ALL day today! Finally I was reading through some quotes and found this one (I think it's part of a toast from a wedding or something, I couldn't find who specifically said it):

"May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy."

With this I started to think about what brings happiness into my life... so here are three things that bring me happiness and help me keep hoping for something better:

1.  My husband, the greatest man ever who works harder than anyone could ever imagine was possible. He can always make me laugh, even when I feel the deepest of sorrow. I find great joy in thinking of spending all of eternity with such a wonderful man!

2.  My boys (at least when they aren't driving me crazy) I think I needed to write about happiness because my toddler was driving me crazy earlier! I have so much hope for the future of my boys and our family. I hope the above quote is true for us that we will have just enough trials to make us strong!

3.  My religion, this is where I find the majority of my hope. I like the idea of there being more to life than just the years we are here on earth.

What are three things that bring you happiness... or keep you hoping for something better?

Hope {for a favorable outcome}

What favorable outcome am I hoping for today... the same thing I've hoped for for as long as I can remember!
A more fit body!
I would love to get down to a size 8! That is my ultimate goal which is still a few sizes away and is why I started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred about a week and a half ago. There is no joking about it, Jillian is a killer trainer, but as she says, "when you start feeling it burn that's when you're making the big changes to your body." And that is exactly what I want. So I push through and at least it's just 20 minutes to endure!
(And what sane woman would not want a body like Jillian?)

It is also the reason I am excited about this giveaway over at Mormon Mommy Blogs. They are giving away Jillian Michaels' new fitness game for the Wii AND a Wii Fit Plus Board! (That's worth about $200 in prizes!)

I don't currently own a Wii, but I think we would get our hands on one some how if I won these!!! But if not I'll just try to keep up with Jillian on the 30 Day Shred!

(p.s. By the way I've already lost about 3 pounds, hopefully I can be good with the Holidays!!!)

Dream {a cherished aspiration}

I would like to share with you a current dream I have! I don't care to ever become a "famous photographer". I don't need to have my photographs published in a magazine or anything like that. With photography my biggest dream is that people will be very excited to book appointments with me... and that I would have my "regular" clients... the other aspect of this is we need to stay in the same place!
Right now we don't know what will be happening come January. My husband will be done with school in December... and we don't even have a place to live come January (that's when we get kicked out of student housing). I know something will work out... it's just a little nerve wracking! Anyways, I look forward to some day being really established with photography and having all the supplies that I dream of having. Some day this dream WILL be mine!

Hope {believe in a positive outcome}

I was blog browsing the other day and came across this post that is just wonderful! I am a member of this projects called 5000 Moms. If you're interested check out the site here.

I love the list of Five Actions To Maintain Hope which is given at the end.

1. Keep a list of miracles so you can remember how things of the past have worked themselves out.

2. Remember gratitude. A thankful heart is a hopeful heart.

3. God is in charge so you don't have to be. If your shoulders are feeling weighted down remember you don't have to carry it all.

4. Playtime. Make sure you are scheduling time to laugh and have fun. Put on your favorite dance music and take a mini-holiday with a twirl around the living room.

5. Give Service. Hope can be renewed when we give of ourselves. When we see the struggles of others we step out of our own troubles.

Wishful Wednesday

So, to go along with the bed that I wished for last week, I'll finish off the bedroom set that I wish for which means a dresser and nightstands!

First I LOVE this Dresser:

 The Metropolitan Arched Landscape Mirror and the Metropolitan 12-Drawer Dresser from Macy's, priced at about $1600.

Then for the nightstand I like this little guy:

The Metropolitan 3-Drawer Nightstand priced at about $500.

Oh yes, someday I WILL have such a lovely bedroom, with such wonderful furniture... can't you just picture it!

No more your and mine, just OURS

My husband and I have been married for over 3 years now and last week we finally bought OUR first car! When we got married we each had our own car, then since we were a little strapped for cash we got rid of my husband's car and kept mine (since mine was paid off). Last week we sold my baby... yes that was the first car that I bought. It's kind of bittersweet letting go... but it had to be done! That car needed a couple thousand dollars worth of work, and I am planning on driving up to Sacramento for my little sister's graduation from Sacramento State, so we wanted to make sure whatever I was driving would get me there safely! And now we have a car that will save us on gas too!

It's a 2005 Hyundai Sonata and can I just say I feel so grown up with having this kind of car? It looks so professional... I LOVE it! But what I love the most is that we no longer have the car my husband brought into the marriage or the car I brought into the marriage... just OUR car! I thought it would be a lot longer until we had a nice car like this... but what can I say it worked out and Dreams do come true... you just never know when it will happen!

Hope {good will happen}

Last week I went to the grocery store and was determined to save as much money as I possibly could! I took a few coupons that I had received in the mail and bought things on sale... I spent about $38 and saved $31!!! I saved 45%!!! I was SO excited! I guess this is just my little way of saying that you can still get a bang for your buck you just have to shop smart!!!
Part of keeping your hope alive means you have to make an effort. Despair is easy to sink into, you simply have to do nothing!
One thing I heard once was, "God can't steer a parked car." In other words you can't expect something for nothing. Keep plugging away my friends!

Ultimate crafters giveaway

I am in LOVE with this giveaway... not only do they have the Madsen Bike's (which I think would be fun to have), but they have all kinds of fun crafting items such as the Yudu screen-printing machine, a Cricut Machine, a Book binder... and TONS more! A total of more than $3800 in gifts!!!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? 
    Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, Lowepro Beltpack Camera Bag Accessory Kit, wide angle 17-40mm f/4USM lens, Women's chargers jersey White, Thick Waist Belt
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? 
     a hooter hider! (I'm sure there are other handmade gifts that I love just as much, I'm just having a brain fart... so if you gave me something and I didn't put it as my favorite, I'm sorry!)
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? 
    A car seat cover
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? 
    When I was really young I was given a Nutcracker by our adopted Grandparents, after that it became tradition to get me a nutcracker (whether it was an ornament or an actual nutcracker it was something along those lines)
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? 
     A Bike, anything with wheels, coloring supplies, books
6. What is your favorite holiday food? 
    Candied Yams
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
    I don't know if I should tell you all that I am hand-crafting... but I am making a few iSpy Bags!
8. What is your favorite holiday movie? 
    White Christmas
9. Favorite holiday song?
    The Christmas Song
10. Favorite holiday pastime? 
  One Christmas we spent with my dad's mom and my siblings and I stayed outside Christmas Eve playing in the snow until 1am! That was great!

Becoming Something More

Have you ever sat down and thought how we are always becoming something more... more than we thought we would? Yes, there are ways that life isn't quite what we dreamed it would be, but would you change it? I wouldn't! I love my life with my husband and my two boys. I do still feel that there is a little girl that is suppose to be a part of our family. Whether she is my next baby or the child we adopt... there is a little girl who is suppose to be in our family! I often wonder is there any one else who gets that kind of feeling?

Dream {a cherished aspiration}

Do you have a dream that you had as a child, but you are now so far from? I did. When I was in Elementary school I drew pictures ALL the time and I remember telling people, "I am going to be an artist for Disney some day." What's funny is if you asked the majority of friend's that I have now (that I have known since I got married, about 3 years) if I can even draw... well, they most likely would say, "I don't know." I do still love to draw, but I just don't do it as much as I once did. Some how that dream I had as a child has just slipped away. But there are new dreams that have taken it's place!

I love being a mom and my dreams have now changed to be dreams of how my children will change the world!

What dreams did you have as a child?

Wishful Wednesday

Have you ever gone to a friend's home and seen how they have the perfect matching furniture, all the frames to their pictures are perfect and match... and it just looks like their home could have come straight out of a magazine? Someday I would LOVE to have that. Right now our financial situation just does NOT allow for much leeway when it comes to these "luxury" items. Lately I have found myself dreaming of how some day we'll have a house and how it will be decorated... or even how someday we'll have a table with a full set of chairs (my toddler has knocked over several of our chairs so many times that he has broken many of them). Anyways, I have decided that once a week I'll put a picture here of something that I've been dreaming of having in my someday! Today I'm actually going to start with a bed... yes I dream of having a Queen or King size bed! That's right, my husband and I both squeeze onto a double! So, with this there are actually two that I really like the design of. This first one I think would look so nice with taking photos.

from laylagrayce.com/ and costs about $2000.

This second one is more what I would love to have in my bedroom:

(Sorry I can't get a bigger picture)

This one is the Metropolitan Platform Bed from Macy's and is also about $2000.

I do like the look of the dark furniture, it just looks so classy (in my opinion).

But, for now our little double bed with the simple free bed frame that it came with works for us until we can afford the luxury of having a nice bed frame... oh some day I hope you come before my kids are all grown!

Hope {good will happen}

One thing that gives me hope, the kind of hope where you believe good will happen, is every Sunday night my husband and I turn on the television and watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I love that my husband will watch it with me! The thing that gives me hope from watching this show is every week you see another family that makes a difference for good in the world... and even better... these wonderful people are given something that they just could not manage to do for themselves. And usually the reason they can't do it for themselves is because they are so busy doing things for others!

Every week I watch this show and feel the desire to find something I care about and make it a focus of my life through service in that area.

Welcome!

I have created this site as one to share things to hope for, things we wish for, and the dreams we dare to dream. I believe there is much to hope for in life and that sometimes with all the bad that is going on it is difficult to see those things unless we focus on seeing them. That is what this blog is about. The second thing this blog is about is the wishes we have. Every Wednesday I will have what will be called Wishful Wednesday. I may share a wish of mine or wishes of others that I know or have heard about. I would encourage you to share your wishes in the comments as well! Isn't it fun to share them, but with someone you don't even know! I think it is, but I love to share with anyone! Finally the last part of the blog... dare to dream! Often in life you will have people who will stand in the way of your dreams, sometimes intentionally sometimes unintentionally. I am here to encourage you dream and reach for the stars!

If you would like to share this blog with others feel free to link here, or even grab my button:

<a href="http://hopingwishesdream.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Mommy's Idea" src="http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk95/lw4photos/button.jpg"/></a>

YouData

This is another legitimate site is one where you can make a little money each week. I've been signed up for this one for about a month and have received about $1.50. I realize that doesn't sound like anything, but just think how that $1.50 in one month maybe took 5 minutes of my time and over a year that's an easy $18 per year just for clicking on some links. That's enough for me to go on a cheap date night with my husband! For that I will take it! If you're interested in signing up click below:

Oh AND they do not ask for your address or social security number or anything like that, you are however required to have a PayPal account through which you receive payments.

Have you heard of SWAGBUCKS!!!!

Have you heard of Swagbucks? If not, you should check it out! This is one of the easiest ways to win prizes. All you do is search the web and you win points (randomly).

I've only been signed up for about a month and already was able to cash in on a $5 gift card to Amazon.com (which is among my favorite sites). Now with the holidays coming I know you are all starting to think about Christmas gifts... and just think if you'd been doing this for the past 12 months and lets say you happen to be able to cash in on the $5 gift card once a month... you would have $60 to spend on Amazon.com, now wouldn't that be worth just doing a few searches through swagbucks.com?

OH and a quick tip... I've found that if you do just a couple of searches in the morning and a couple in the evening you are pretty likely to get a "swagbuck" at those times! At least that's how it seems to have worked for me.

Stroller Giveaway!

If you have more than one child you should check out this giveaway! I would LOVE to have this stroller (as our every day stroller). Don't get me wrong, I really like my BOB stroller. But for going to the grocery store and other errands this stroller would be nice!

Click on the image above and check it out, get entered! And who knows maybe you'll WIN!!!!

Holiday Giveaways

A couple sites with special holiday giveaways:The 2009 Holiday Gift guide starts November 1st and goes into December (that's just around the corner)!
Fabulous Fun Finds special Peppermint Giveaways is November 2nd through the 6th.Make sure to check them out and you just might be able to win something you can give someone for Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate)!

Party Hosting

Today I was reading a post on this site:

and I got really excited at the possibility of hosting a Betty Crocker Cookie Mix House Party!!!! I have submitted an application to HouseParty to see if I might be able to participate in this even on December 5th. If I happen to get the opportunity to play hostess for this I'll definitely be posting pictures and let you all know how it goes! I think it's so cool that I might be able to host a cookie party and (if my application is approved) we can get a whole slew of things to be able to give people. For this particular party if you are selected as a host you will receive:

• 2 Betty Crocker^® Cookie Mix pouches

• A gift card for $15 to purchase baking items for the party

• Betty Crocker napkins, cups and plates

• 15 Betty Crocker spoons

• 1 Betty Crocker apron for the hostess

• 15 Recipe booklets

• 15 Grocery list pads

• 1 Christmas cookie magazine

How cool is that! Now I have my fingers crossed... hopefully I'll get selected!!!

Don't Text and Drive... and WIN!!!!

You can win by pledging not to text and drive! How cool is that!?! It's already illegal here in California to text while driving, but I still see people do it as well as talking on the phone. I also admit that I have on occasion tried to send a quick text while at a stop light, but I don't do it while I'm driving... hello... SO not safe! Anyways, now you're probably wondering "So... you said something about winning?" Yes, I did... check it out:

You have all the way until November 2, 2009 to get entered to win $50 from Amazon.com! How cool is that!!!!

Site Spotlight

Anybody out there that knows me knows that I am one of the biggest penny pinchers (an area where my husband and I are very different). So, would it surprise any of you that when I found this site:

I was  THRILLED!!!! She has giveaways, coupons, and tips on everything from grocery shopping to good ways to earn a little extra income. What more could a penny pinching stay at home mom want!?!? I am very excited to try out some of those extra income tips. Thank you Frugal Friend!

The Original Scrapbox

Amazing giveaway!!!! You can enter to win this Workbox

 from The Original Scrapbox company.
There are a total of 10 (yes TEN) blogs that are participating. 
This workbox (valued at $1295.00) is the Grand Prize,
but ten winners will get their choice of a 
ScrapMaBob or a Ribbon Box.

Here are the blogs:

Make It and Love It

Rachelle Writes

Vanilla Joy

Priscilla Styles

My Life as Lou

My Organized Chaos

The Mommy Files

Auntie Thesis

Capadia Designs

Cricut Christmas

What an amazing chance to get organized!
If you are interested in just purchasing from 
The Original Scrapbox 
make sure you use the promo code:100Writes 
it will save you $100 off your shipping!
Take a look at the blogs and enter away... and get organized! 
One thing I feel that helps put me in a better mood 
is organizing my home and finding a place for everything. 
Because when something doesn't have a place to go
it ends up causing clutter!

No Painting

I saw a clip from Rachael Ray's show today and she had Libby Landon on and she was giving tips on how to decorate walls when you aren't allowed to paintor leaveany permanent damage. If we weren't moving at the end of the year I'd be SO excited to try out some of these! One of the ideas that I liked was to draw on the wall with chalk, it comes off with Magic Eraser or with wipes. The other idea that I REALLY liked was to mix cornstarch and water, dip cotton fabric inside the mix and put the fabric on the wall it's like wall paper, but it comes off without damaging the paint. And if it ever starts to come off you can just dab some more water cornstarch mix on there and put it back on! If we rent again for awhile I know how I'll be decorating!!!!

Need a Pick me UP????

This is a blog that one of my friend's from my college days. I have really enjoyed the messages that she posts. She is absolutely adorable and as beautiful as can be inside and out!!!

The other day I was feeling like I should be doing for our family, both spiritually and financially. I read the post Q&A: Stay At Home Mom, it was just along the lines of some feelings I had been having. I decided to read through some of the comments one of which referred to a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. If you want to read the whole thing click here. I just wanted to touch on part of it, that part which touched my heart, but there may be another part that will touch your heart so feel free to take the time to read the whole thing.

"Some years ago President Benson delivered a message to the women of the Church. He encouraged them to leave their employment and give their individual time to their children. I sustain the position which he took.

Nevertheless, I recognize, as he recognized, that there are some women (it has become very many in fact) who have to work to provide for the needs of their families. To you I say, do the very best you can. I hope that if you are employed full-time you are doing it to ensure that basic needs are met and not simply to indulge a taste for an elaborate home, fancy cars, and other luxuries. The greatest job that any mother will ever do will be in nurturing, teaching, lifting, encouraging, and rearing her children in righteousness and truth. None other can adequately take her place.

It is well-nigh impossible to be a full-time homemaker and a full-time employee. I know how some of you struggle with decisions concerning this matter. I repeat, do the very best you can. You know your circumstances, and I know that you are deeply concerned for the welfare of your children....

To the mothers of this Church, every mother who is here today, I want to say that as the years pass, you will become increasingly grateful for that which you did in molding the lives of your children in the direction of righteousness and goodness, integrity and faith. That is most likely to happen if you can spend adequate time with them.

For you who are single parents, I say that many hands stand ready to help you. The Lord is not unmindful of you. Neither is His Church.

May He bless you, my beloved sisters who find yourselves in the situation of single parenthood. May you have health, strength, vitality to carry the heavy burden that is yours. May you have loving friends and associates to bear you up in your times of trial. You know the power of prayer as perhaps few others do. Many of you spend much time on your knees speaking with your Father in Heaven, with tears running down your cheeks. Please know that we also pray for you."

I had been having the feeling that I wasn't doing enough (which I think is common), yet to have the reminder that what I am doing is of the utmost importance, the full-time job of being a mom. My boys mean the world to me, but just like any mom there are some days when I get overwhelmed with all my responsibilities. Like the days where T is running through the house like a tornado displacing everything he can get his hands on and my little B is crying and spitting up and I'm not sure what else to do to try to help him... and then I consider pulling my hair out because that would at least be something I would have control over! And yet when T and B give me those angelic little smiles I melt and the world seems right again. I am so grateful to have a husband who works so hard to try to make it so I can stay at home with these sweet boys.

Giveaways

One of my favorite types of blogs to find are the ones that do giveaways... here are a few that I watch.  Sometimes I just like being able to see the REALLY cute things they have, but sometimes I am really excited about their really cool giveaways!


Give Away Today, daily giveaways (Monday-Friday)

Fabulous Fun Finds, daily giveaways (Monday- Friday)

San Diego Bargain Mama, occasional giveaways but great resource for deals or discounts to stores, attractions, and events in the San Diego area

Riding with No Hands, occasional giveaways

Seventh Smith, Giveaways on Fridays

Another place I go to for giveaways is radio stations... many radio stations are starting to do things where you can earn points just for clicking on websites and then you can either bid on items or get entered in a raffle. Check out your local radio stations to see what they do. Here are two of my favorites, but there are more in San Diego, if you want to know of them let me know and I'll point you in their direction.

Star 94.1

New Country 95.7

Leave a comment with a website or blog that you frequent for good deals or giveaways!

Your Happiness Box

Today I went to a WONDERFUL seminar, presented by a Psychologist from LDS Family Services. Even if you are not religious this is a great bit of advice for relationships. I wanted to share some of what she said with all of you because it really hit home for me. 

Imagine that happiness is symbolized by a box, she did a demonstration with a woman and gave her a tissue box to hold. Now you probably worry about your spouse's happiness, so now you have another box to hold on to. If you have children or grandchildren, you now have their boxes. If you have siblings, you have boxes for them. Then if your parents are alive you have boxes for them... and if you have friends that you worry about their happiness you now have boxes that you are holding for them! By the time she was done listing off people this other woman may have in her life that she worries about their happiness she had a HUGE stack of tissue boxes that she was holding! 

She does this activity with clients she sees and will then tell them they have to carry all these boxes around with them everywhere for the next week. If you're cooking dinner, or doing dishes they have to be on your back, like a back pack, if you're in the shower you have to put them in a bag and take them with you, when you drive somewhere you have to have them all on your lap. Now can you imagine trying to drive around with a bunch of tissue boxes stacked up to your chin? So, how do we handle our happiness box and the happiness boxes of others to have good relationships?

Well, just so you know where this woman was coming from she lost her father in a car accident when she was 12, had 5 siblings. Her mom was pregnant and lost the child and was critically injured in the accident (and didn't even know her husband was dead until awhile later, she didn't even get to go to her husband's funeral). Her father's siblings were also in the car and later her mom married a brother-in-law whose wife was killed in the accident. Talk about crazy family dynamics! This amazing woman had cousins who then became her step siblings and then they shared a half sibling, and on top of that her uncle became her step-father! 

Later on this amazing woman got married (I think she said she was 23 at that time), at this point she said that when she got married she gave her husband her happiness box to carry, and he did, happily! She would say, "I think I'd be happier if you made more money," and he would just say, "okay, I can work on that." She had a husband that would do anything for her happiness. A few months after getting married her husband's doctor diagnosed him with Brain Cancer, however told her that it would be best not to tell him because he only had a few months to live and since he was so young (I think 25) it would be too hard for him to handle. So, she didn't and knew this secret for a few years before he died. Before he passed away they had a daughter together. After he passed away she felt as thou her happiness box fell to the ground and when this happens that's when a person starts feeling depressed. She realized that all her happiness was dependent on her husband. As a widow she went to live with her mom whose second husband had since passed away (as she put it, her mom was "an expert widow"). She began to pick up her happiness box and find satisfaction in her own accomplishments.
Then she decided to start dating again. When she did she said that the first guy she started dating she tried to hand him her happiness box to hold, but then he did what her husband never had done, he handed her his box! If he was expected to keep her happy, then she was expected to keep him happy! This was so different from what she had known and eventually her relationship with that guy ended and she met another guy who was younger and more handsome, but he did the same thing when she tried to give him her box! That relationship eventually ended as well and she felt her box drop.
She thought she was doing everything right, why wasn't God giving her the blessings she deserved? Why wouldn't God hold her box of happiness since she was doing everything she should! Well, she eventually had the idea that God does things out of love not out of control, and that is what we should do too. She was doing the "right" things expecting to get things in return (this would be control) and when we do this our happiness box can easily drop. So, she realized that God won't carry our happiness box for us, just like we shouldn't carry anyone else's happiness box. God will however support us through love and help us carry our happiness box! This is how we should go about in our relationships, we too should help others with carrying their boxes, through acts of love. We do have to be careful in the process of helping support others happiness boxes make sure they don't just hand us the whole thing! Sometimes people need to go through the challenge they are facing to help them grow. However this doesn't mean that we should just leave everyone to just deal on their own, we just need to be careful not to take on too much of the responsibility. At the same time we should not be giving our box of happiness to someone else and expect them to do things to make us happy! As parents the best thing we can do is make sure our children know we love and support them, but teach them how to be responsible for their own happiness!

I hope my thoughts from all of this make sense and can help someone, sorry if it's not very clear. Please feel free to leave your thoughts or comments! I'd love to hear what you have to say! In honor of this seminar and being responsible for our own happiness I found this great 6 day activity to create your own happiness box to help you reflect on the positive things in your life. Click here if you're interested in making your own happiness box!