Saturday, September 21, 2013

Ordinary People, Extraordinary God | Psalm 103:11-12

Hello again darlings!

The other day I posted about being a lamp. How I felt that God was calling me to shine in this world. I know that we are all called to shine, sometimes it just takes some of us longer to figure out how than it does for others.

The same day I wrote that post I had gotten up and gone to work at 7, around 10 that morning, a woman came in to ship a package. She had been visiting my town (I think her mother is in a nursing home here,) and was getting ready to fly home to Arizona. The nursing home had a book sale while she was here and she didn't have enough room in her bag to send what she bought home, so she came to ship the box back to her house. As I packaged up her box she had complimented me on a necklace I was wearing and I giggled and said it was from Forever21 and was probably about $5. She explained that she usually didn't spend a lot of money on jewelry or purses either but shoes were a different story, she told me she had worn heels in her younger years and that her feet had a high arch and were very narrow. I explained that I love heels but I only ever wear them to church because I work on my feet all day. She perked up pretty quick and asked about where I go to church and if I was raised in a Christian home. I told her that my home was not a Christian based home and she asked when and how I had become saved. I told her about high school and how I came to know Christ and in return she told me a little of her story. She had been married and divorced twice and both of her husbands had different viewpoints on Christianity, they were both Christians, but she just never felt right about it. She explained after her first husband had betrayed her with his secretary, she was just like I was in high school. All over the place and drank a lot. However, she had a strong Lutheran background. Then she told me that she was slowly trying to get back into her faith but she just hadn't found "the perfect church." Her story truly touched my heart and I could see that she was encouraged as she left. It gave me joy to know that my ordinary story touched someone so deeply.

This woman was probably in her late 60's or early 70's, it really reinstated for me that it is never to late to turn back to God. It's never too late to grab ahold of His hand and become a light for Him. I had explained to her that when the person who introduced me to Jesus was explaining salvation to me, I kept telling him that I was "too far gone" for God. I could tell she felt this way too.

Let me just say that we are never too far gone for God. There is no where that He cannot go. No depths He cannot reach. No darkness that He cannot bring light to. His love stretches over each and every one of us.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions."
-Psalm 103:11-12

So wherever you are, whatever you're going through...just know that God is right there. Call upon Him if you need strength or love or just to cry. He is holding you in the palm of His hand. Also remember that you don't have to have a PhD to share your testimony, you can be an ordinary person goin throughout your day and an opportunity to help change someone's life can be placed right in front of you. Just introduce yourself and let God do the rest. 

Here is a picture I did just to help remind me of Psalm 103...feel free to use it as a background on your phone or whatever you wish! Love to all y'all!


Photobucket

Friday, September 20, 2013

I Am a Lamp.

Hello darlings. I haven't wrote a blog post in months. I don't know why I am feeling called to blog today, but I know that God has put it on my heart to blog today. Maybe even more than just today. I hate to be that girl who is so sporadic, the one you can't depend on; but at the same time, what's the point in sharing your life and your feelings with the world if you aren't feelin' it?

Let me first say that over the last few months, God has done work in my life. Major work. Now, I was saved four years ago this December so I'm not saying He hasn't been working for all four years. But I have pushed away from Him, tried to hide in the darkness from His light. It doesn't work y'all. But these past few months have been phenomenal. I don't usually want to share my feelings and pour my emotions all over the internet, but I just feel like He is calling me to be vulnerable, to be bold. My thought process on this is that even if no one reads this post, it's out there. If someone comes searching, they might just find what they have been searching for.

I can't even explain the timeline of my life the last few months, I've bought a house, failed two classes, gone through a breakup, been betrayed, been lied to, been heartbroken, been used, gone back to church, dove in head first helping out with the youth, drank bottles of wine by myself, cried myself to sleep, but the most important thing that has happened since the beginning of 2013 is that I have found God again. I have rekindled the fire that burns in my heart, that fire that drives me to be as Christlike as possible. I have found that and I have vowed to never, ever let it go out again. My little light is going to shine.

I don't know when I will post, or what it will always be about. But I can tell you that I am a single girl, I'm a single Christian girl in a world of girls who are having babies at 16 and getting married at 19. In a world where girls lose every ounce of innocence they have before they ever step foot in high school. I am a Christian lady who was not raised in a Christian home. I am a Christian lady in a place full of evil, fleshy desires. And for the rest of you Christian girls out there, it's us against the world. So although I can't promise you when or how much I plan on blogging. I can promise that my light is going to shine. I am going to make every. single. day. worthwhile. And I am going to wholeheartedly serve each and every human being that I can, because Christ died so that I could truly live.
Photobucket

Saturday, March 23, 2013

What I'm Doing Now!

Hi darlings! I have many, many things to share with you!!

1) I bought a house, WHAT?! Yes, about a week ago I signed my life away to the wonderful world of homeownership. Prepare yourselves for tons of DIY and renovation project pictures.

2) I've been struggling/slaving at school. Trying to get through this semester is like digging a hole to China, impossible.

3) I've been trying to cut down on social media and spend more time with The King. With Passover coming up I really need and want to get closer to Him. Isn't it funny how your walk with God is ALWAYS hard work, no matter how long you've been "walking?"

4) I signed up to be a Scentsy consultant. I'm really passionate about Scentsy and I LOVE my house to smell good. Seriously, I am a wax cube, Slatkin & Co., room spray HOARDER. Its disgusting, but then again, at least I don't hoard 17,215,261,164.45 bunny rabbits or somthing, that justifies it, right?! So anyways, if you would like some Scentsy products you can order directly from me here. Also, I wanted to point out that I love getting samples of things to test out, I will have an ongoing contact list and send you a sample of the scent of the month with a flyer if you would like. Just email me at aimeeguise@gmail.com and I will add you to my list!
P.S. Until March 31 you can get any of the Campus Warmers for 40% off...making them $21.00 +tax. Some teams are sold out but go check the website to see if your favorite is still in stock!

5) I'm seriously (for real) going to try to start blogging more. Even if it is only once a week or something. I need to document my life y'all!

I love y'all. Let me know if I can pray for you in anyway. XOXO
Photobucket

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Literary Junkies Link Up #4

Hi my loves! I've been super MIA lately, again. School started and that has been a crazy house. Also, I'm in the process of purchasing a home. Lordy, that is some crazy stressful stuff to deal with. When I get the house I will for sure be doing before & after of the house since it is super outdated! I'm so excited.

Okay, on to the real business, today is Tuesday which means it's Literary Junkies day! I'm linking up with Taylor and Lesley for the monthly Literary Junkies link up. If you like to read you really need to join us! We read a new book every month :)
Pink Heels Pink Truck
Okay...here are this month's questions...

1) What are you reading right now? Tell us about it.
I'm reading a couple of books right now. The first one is When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric & Leslie Ludy. This book is all about handing the pen over to God instead of following your own plan. Yes, it is about finding love but it also is about just handing the pen over to God in general. I've only got maybe three or four chapters in but I'm trying to absorb what I'm reading rather than rush through it. I really like it and I would definitely recommend it for any singles out there or if you have high school aged kids, I feel like my generation could greatly benefit from this.

The second book I'm reading is part of the Bridal Quartet by Nora Roberts, I'm on book two which is, Bed of Roses. I've only got through a few pages on this book. The first book from the quartet, Vision in White, I flew through but I haven't had any time to read lately! It's depressing.

2) Give us the recipe for a good book.
This is actually kinda tough to answer! I feel like all the books I read are all along the same lines. Most of what I read is for fun so it's all chick-lit. Other than that you can pretty much forget me reading a book!

3) Tell us things you've learned from a book recently. Did you learn anything about history? Did you take away a deep and profound realization about the world around you? Or maybe even a beauty tip?
The most recent thing I've learned has probably come from When God Writes Your Love Story. It really opens your eyes to the kind of relationships God can provide, romantically or not. It's very encouraging to strengthen the relationships in your life that struggle.

4) What was your favorite book as a child? 
My favorite book as a kid was probably The Old Black Witch. I made my grandma read this to me all the time! So cute. My copy that I have was my Mom's when she was little so it's literally falling apart and has been duct taped together!

Hope y'all enjoyed this! What was your favorite book as a child?
Photobucket

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Testimony Tuesday #1

Hey y'all! I'm really excited today because I'm re-sharing my testimony of faith with you. I posted this a few months ago but I'm hoping you will join me in this journey! I would really love to start a series on this blog with testimonies from any of my Christian friends who want to share how they started their walk with God (and how their walk is going of course.) You don't have to have a blog to be a part of Testimony Tuesday, just email me and I will post it. I'm really hoping that this will inspire people who are down and uplift people who are struggling. Everyone deserves to know their Saviour loves them!

---------------------------------------------

On to my personal testimony....(Repost from August 5, 2012)

Weeeeell, I hope you have some coffee, a glass of wine, or my personal recommendation some sweet tea cause you're in for a long post.

I can remember when I was young going to church with my mama every so often. I never remember us having a set church or a real church family. We never went to church on Christmas, but usually went on Easter. Our family never had big dinners after church on Sunday. We never read the Bible together. I never knew what exactly God's love was. I had absolutely no idea what prayer was and why we used it.

When I got to high school I started partying, the usual. Then my junior year something terrible happened, to this day only a select few of my very closest friends know what happened. So I drank. Drank to forget, drank to have fun, drank to get through the day. I was 17 and drunk at school. My senior year came and I of course was still drinking. My best friend had moved in with me and found me at home in my bed after work, drinking tequila. This was a frequent happening. I would take alcohol to school in water bottles and drink during class. My parents never knew. I never got caught. Richard and I had just started talking and he was NOT havin' that habit. I remember we weren't even dating and he would yell at me to stop, tell me not to drive home. He wasn't being mean, even though I thought he was, he was just protecting me from myself. Then one day just after Christmas break had started a kid on the newspaper staff messaged me on facebook. I was the editor-in-chief of the yearbook my senior year so we had worked together a lot. He asked my why I was always drinking. He asked why I was in fact drinking that night. He asked how long of life I wanted to live. He asked where I thought I was going when I died. And then he told me something that shocked me, he said, "You drink so much you don't know if tomorrow will be here or not. You could kill someone driving. You could get alcohol poisoning. If you die, do you want to go to Hell?" Shoot, I didn't even believe in heaven and hell then. I thought that was a joke and that everyone went to Heaven. I was almost 18 years old and I didn't realize Heaven and Hell were real!

We continued this conversation well into the morning, probably until four or so. He told me at the end of the conversation that I should ask forgiveness for all my sins. I told him that would be impossible. How was I supposed to remember everything I supposedly did bad and ask God to forgive me? God didn't even want to forgive me. I was a drinking, slutty, 18-year-old, who didn't really care where life took me. Now why on earth would He want me to go to heaven when I died? Was this kid joking? I ended up telling him that I wasn't asking forgiveness, I wasn't wasting God's time when He should save room for people who really matter. Yeah, I was obviously not in a good place that year. Then he said, "Okay," and gave me a prayer to pray if I felt the need to change my mind. Yeah right, that wasn't going to happen in a million years. I was going to Hell.

Sure enough, I stayed sober the next couple days and really thought about what he said. Maybe there was enough room up there for one more sinner. Maybe I still had a shot. A couple days before Christmas I decided to tell him that I was ready. I wanted to ask for forgiveness.
So, I messaged my friend and told him I was ready. He told me the things I needed to say, guided me through the life changing prayer and I was re-born. I cannot explain exactly how I felt after I prayed. All I can tell you is that my life felt much less heavy. I didn't feel like I was a failure. I didn't feel so weighed down with emotions and pain. I felt new. Then he told me I needed to try out some churches and recommended the church that he (and many other friends I went to school with) went to. I freaked out. Oh no, I can't go to church. Everyone is going to think I'm worthless and dirty. Then I'm just going to end up back at square one. Here we go, I thought, I'm just a sinner again, waiting to go to Hell. The pastor from his church came to my house on Christmas Eve, introduced himself to my family, and gave me a Bible he wrote some advice in. It was the prettiest Bible I've ever seen. I thought all Bibles had to be brown and boring, but this one was so pretty and new.

At the time I was working at the hospital in the food service department delivering food to sick patients and new moms. A girl I worked with was the step-daughter of a pastor and had been a believer all her life. Her life was based around Christ. I told her what I had done and that I couldn't go to church. I was terrified to be judged. More terrified than dying and going to Hell. She convinced me after a very long talk that I should come to church with her the first Sunday after the new year. I told her I had nothing to wear but short dresses. So we took a trip to the mall so I'd feel more comfortable in a longer dress. I headed off to church that Sunday and then we had lunch at our favorite restaurant after. It wasn't so bad, there were a lot of older people instead of so many young kids. The next week I decided I would go to the other church.

So, that next Sunday I got up, got dressed, and headed to church. Let me tell you this church is GIGANTIC. Not an understatement. I was terrified. I had no idea where to go. Finally, the pastor asked me if I was coming to the youth room and told him yes. I found a seat and settled in. That day I felt like the message (it was about New Year's Revolutions instead of New Year's Resolutions,) really spoke to me. However, after church got out the drinking didn't stop. I still had the urge to drink.

For the next few months I continued going to church most Sundays. Then our pastor mentioned the bi-annual baptisms were coming up. Oh lanta, when was all this church stuff gonna stop. How much do I have to do here? Of course, they talked me into it. I went to a little meeting about what baptism means, blah blah blah. The morning of my baptism I was just different. I felt different. We had to write our testimony out for the assistant pastor to read before we got baptized and I remember all my family being there. Most of my friends came too. The pastor asked a couple questions and then dipped me underwater. I have never felt so clean and new in my life.

The guy that helped me come to see Jesus actually had his parents video tape us being baptized one after the other and they gave me a copy. I cry every time I watch it. I would never change anything I've gone through, although I know I've made plenty of mistakes, it all led me right here. Being able to share this all with you, in hopes I will inspire someone to take that leap of faith. I look back and see that my life is no where near perfect today but at least I don't have to be scared of where I'm going on judgement day. I love being in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you've made it through I really want to thank you for reading my whole testimony. I hope we can become siblings in Christ! If there is anything you need prayer for feel free to leave a comment or email me, I would absolutely love to have you as part of this amazing family! Literally, if you need ANYTHING please don't hesitate to email me at aimeeguise@gmail.com I want to hear from you, I want to pray for you, I want to talk to you about where God is leading you. It inspires me to continue pouring my life out to uplift others.

If you'd like your testimony posted (I would love to have you!) just email it to me at aimeeguise@gmail.com you can include a photo and any social media, your email address, blog, etc. where someone can find you and encourage you if you'd like, if not I can just post your name and keep it as simple as that. I really hope that I can have a continuous amount of testimonies to help people so spread the word!

Thank you again for reading!
Photobucket

Monday, January 21, 2013

My Memories Suite {Giveaway}

Hey lovelies, today I'm bringing you a pretty awesome review & giveaway. This is for all of you creative dolls out there, especially if you like to preserve your memories through scrapbooks and photo books!

Now, as a student who works full time there is no way I have the time to scrapbook. I LOVE scrapbooks because they are so personalized and it's such a nice way to preserve memories and milestones. I hope when I have my own babies I have the time because I just love them! My Memories Suite makes it SO easy to put scrapbooks and memory books together! Everything is digitalized which means it is literally so easy to make a gorgeous book! They have pre-designed templates and calendars or you can download individual papers, embellishments, frames, and word art to personalize your own pages. When you download the individualized files you can also print one photo with a pretty paper background and just frame it instead of a scrap booked page. This software is SO versatile.

Here is a page I created in under an hour, yes, under an hour! It's really plain and doesn't have too much detail but I really like the look of this page if you just wanted something to frame rather than create an entire book.
This is a senior picture of mine so I just added the Senior 2010 text with Prima Ballerina at the top. I could easily print this off for my family for a gift or for myself to put out as a decoration. 

My Memories has an amazing array of templates and packages to choose from. They have a TON of free sets and most of the other sets & embellishments are going to be between $0.75 and $4.99. Seriously amazing. 
In honor of Valentine's Day coming up here is an example of an entire set, including, paper and embellishments, for $2.99. As you can see there are words, hearts, bows, and papers (20 to be exact!)

This is honestly the best scrapbooking software I have ever come accross. I would gladly create my own photo books and layouts to have professionally printed. I'm actually really excited to be able to start creating layouts and actually doing something with my pictures from high school and some of my adventures! Especially when I start having my own babies!

I'm so excited to make some more layouts and share them with you. In the mean time you can enter the giveaway to win a full version of My Memories Suite software (a $39.97 value!) Please just follow the rafflecopter below for all the possible entries.

**If you would like to purchase the software you can use the code STMMMS30182 for $10 off the software and a $10 coupon to the MyMemories.com store. Go here to get your very own digital download. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway Photobucket

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by MyMemories.com.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Literary Junkies #3

Hey darlins! This post is two days late, eeeek. But I have an excuse, my birthday was Tuesday so I didn't put a post together, oops. Annnnd the celebrations continued through, well, right now?...Ha!

Anywho, I'm linking up with Taylor and Lesley for our third Literary Junkies party. If you're into reading you should really check out the party and book club. Go to Taylor's blog for more information! it's super fun, we even have twitter parties!

Pink Heels Pink Truck

1. Which book could you read over and over? Why?
I adore all the Emily Griffin books. My favorite is probably Something Borrowed just because it's the first one and leads to so many other books. I love her style of writing and how everything is fiction but it could also happen in real life. I also love that almost all of her books are intertwined somehow. I don't like books that are fantasy and sci-fi. I actually think they are the most ridiculous things in the world, not to offend anyone who loves them! 

2. If you could be any character from any book you've read, who would you be?
I probably can't even answer this question but I'll try ha! I haven't read a whole lot of books just because I often don't get into them. I'm one of those people who if I'm not hooked by the tenth page you might as well forget it. If I had to choose though, I would probably be someone out of a Nicholas Sparks book. I'm a hopeless romantic and I adore all of his books! 

3. Do you ever put a book down because you just can't get into it? Or do you stick it out to the bitter end? Any examples?
As I just mentioned, I will put a book down ASAP if it doesn't appeal to me. Especially if I feel like I've read quite a bit and it's just dragging out. The one I have most recently put down was our Bookclub book for this month, The Casual Vacancy. I read the first 95 pages and it was draaaaaagging. I finally gave up and decided to put it down. J.K. Rowling has never appealed to me. I don't like Harry Potter but I figured I would like this book because it was a totally different direction. I'm just not a fan of her work unfortunately. 

4. Show us your book shelves! Do you have one designated spot in your house for all your books? Do you scatter them around?
I don't have my own house so I have limited space for books. I keep most of them in my small entertainment center with my DVDs and VHS tapes. All my other "to be read" books are in my closet and I swap them out as I wish. I really like Paperbackswap.com for swapping books because I usually don't hold on to a book that didn't really appeal to me or I don't think I will read again. It allows me to continue reading new books without having the old ones lay around! 
I also get some books on my kindle, this semester I actually bought a couple of textbooks on my Kindle so I didn't have to make space for the huge things! 

Thanks for stoppin' by y'all! Have an amazing day/weekend. Tomorrow is FRIDAY! 

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to enter my CampusBookRentals giveaway! 
Photobucket

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Low Cost College Textbooks {Giveaway}

Hey y'all!

Today I have a really exciting post for all my fellow students out there. If you have gone to college lately or are currently enrolled we don't even need to talk about the cost of a textbook. It seems like each semester I'm in school and add up how much my books are going to be the cost just goes up and up. Sometimes I cringe thinking if I didn't have to pay for all those books I could probably put a down payment on a decent used car!

My other pet peeve with textbooks is the fact that if you buy your books (especially from the bookstore) you've got a good 600 page book at the end of the semester that is going to collect dust. I have never actually used a book after semester ended, but I'm a bad student and usually never use them during school anyways!

Well, lately a lot of rental sites have been popping up and I have been loving them. You get a book in really good condition for a term and then you can send it back for a fraction of the cost to buy it! We all know you aren't gonna get half of what you paid for that book back out of it, especially if you're a highlighter.

One of my personal favorite websites to rent from is CampusBookRentals. I rented my French textbook (click here for the link to the French textbook) from them last semester and it was so easy. SO. EASY. I literally ordered the book, had it shipped to my door, they give you a bubble mailer AND return label, and when you're done you ship it back. Along with being literally the easiest rental site I have ever used, they allow you to highlight the text. Now, I'm not a highlighter but some people are definitely visual!
This is the price I would have paid if I would have got the book from my bookstore.

This is what it costs to rent the book from Campus Book Rentals. Obviously it's over $100 cheaper to even rent it from the bookstore! 

What are some other perks you ask? Well, if at any point you need to extend your rental you can just log in to your account and voila, there is a little button and you type the due back date you'd like, pay for the extension, and you're done. If you honestly would like to buy the book because you think you'll use it in the future, you can pay them the difference and it's yours, free and clear! If for some reason you need to return your book they will let you return it for a full refund within 30 days. Like seriously, can it get any better?

Whenever you do rent a textbook from them, a portion of the sales gets donated to Operation Smile, which is an organization that does cleft reconstructive surgeries. I find this amazing considering my cousin has had 22 years of cleft lip and palate surgeries. That topic really hits home with me!


And guess what I have for y'all today?! A giveaway! CampusBookRentals so graciously offered to giveaway a $25 gift code to one of you lucky ducks to put towards your books! Follow the rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Photobucket

Thursday, January 3, 2013

MIA Much?

Hey y'all! I know, long time, no blog. I'm a loser. Anyways, I had a free moment to blog and I seriously did not notice how bad I missed blogging. I feel like y'all are my best of friends and I'm being reunited after six years or something. Wow.

I'm really hoping when school starts this semester I won't have such a hard time adjusting and I'll be able to blog way more often. It's a goal I have for the New Year: be able to blog regularly!

Speaking of goals for this year I have a few that I wanted to share with you. I asked on twitter the other day if anyone has everyone "monthly resolutions" as opposed to a New Year's resolution and if that was easier to accomplish than doing an entire year of a resolution. I think I'm going to try doing something along those lines. So for instance my "goal/resolution/no-buy" for the month is not eating any fast food! Yes, that will be tough, I always turn to McDonald's in a time of doubt, not any longer! Plus, think of how much money I'm saving.

At the beginning of the week I started TurboFire, which is a program similar to P90X, Insanity, ChaLean Extreme, etc. It's one of the Beachbody workouts and I've tried it before but I just wasn't into it and the DVD's have been sitting around for about two years now. I figured since I paid over $100 for them I should at least either use them or sell them and I decided I would try them again, I have to say in the week I've been doing it I'm actually having a lot of fun. The workouts are really intense because the workouts are mostly based around high intensity interval training. I'm tellin' you my booty, legs, abs, arms, ribcage, thighs, everything hurts. It hurts to hand people their clothes at work and even to sit down!


So, I have a few questions/requests for y'all!
1) Do you have any link-ups/accountability parties on your blogs (or do you know of any) relating to eating clean and getting fit? If you personally host one on your blog I would LOVE to check it out! Leave the link in the comment section or you can e-mail me if that's easier.
aimeeguise {at} gmail {dot} com
2) Do you have a board on Pinterest that is based on healthy recipes and getting fit. I think the exercises on Pinterest are some of the best and most effective for doing at home and I find new ones all the time!

If you have any other information to pass along I'd love to hear it. Also, if your goal for the year is to get fit let me know so I can come see your progress and encourage you! Thanks for stoppin' by and have a fabulous day :)
Photobucket

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

I Feel Like a Hamster

Hey y'all. Long time no blog! Whoa, I don't think I've posted anything during the month of November at all. Worst Blogger Award.

If you wanna know what I've been up to this month I've spent most of my time at the hospital with my grandmothers. I think they run a competition to see who can beat the other at everything they do! One was in the hospital for two weeks and a few days later the other went to the hospital. What a mess I tell ya.

Okay anyways, other than that I really feel like my life is chaos. I feel like I'm on one of those hamster wheels and it just keeps spinning faster and faster. Blahhhh!

My sanity right now comes from books. I have found a new love of reading. Right now I'm buried in 66 Love Letters. If you're a Christian you NEED to read this book. I want to do a review on it when I'm finished but I''m trying not to rush through it. I want to read it slowly so I can really think on it. I've also joined a book club, Literary Junkies, which is real cool. I'm going to pick up probably on the next book. I joined a little late and then things went chaos so I had to miss out on their first book.

Goings on in Texas

Anyways, I'm going to probably continue being a bad blogger for a while. If you haven't noticed I don't have my sponsor page up and I'm trying not to make any blogging commitments for a while so I can get back to normal. Hopefully over Christmas break things will settle down! I appreciate everyone who has been praying and uplifting me. It really does help more than you'll ever know! Love y'all!
 Photobucket

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Blog Angels Octoberrrrr

Hey y'all! Ahhh, I think I've literally posted like five times this month. Holy cow. Why must I be so busy?!

Anywho, I've got to let y'all know about this month's Blog Angels experience...

As I told y'all during the middle of the month (the reveal post) I was Angel to Kim. She is such a sweetheart and I feel awful. I'm going to try doing some "angel" activities through November because I didn't do a whole heck of a lot for her in October. If I would have known I was going to be THIS busy all month I wouldn't have signed up.

I know I said in the reveal post that I really liked praying for the blogger I was working with and this month I definitely did extra of that. Kim lives in New York so I've been trying to keep in touch with her and pray for her safety. As far as I know she is safe and sound but it sounds like a lot of NYC is just a mess. I cannot imagine.

A few of the other things I did this month for Kim was putting her button on my sidebar, tweeting one of her giveaways, entering her giveaways, commenting on her blog, and tweeting at her a few times. I feel like I've done an okay job at helping her out but I definitely want to extend my hand out to her this next month and get to know her more! She has been so sweet all month.

I didn't think I would like the "reveal" being mid-month but I actually think I like it better, if we wouldn't have done the reveal I think I would have struggled so much more than what I am right now. Plus, I liked finding out who my angel was so early on. My lovely angel was Jessica, the biggest sweetheart around. She went above and beyond being my angel, bless her heart. I hope we can continue staying in touch in blogland! Thank you for all you've done and if there is anything I can do for you let me know!

P.S. Jessica has a Pinterest link up on Thursdays that you should go join! Her most recent Pinterest post was all about Halloween, check it out here! She is a pin hoarder like me :)


Singledou[b]t
Photobucket

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Pinterest Crushes {Halloween Edition}

Hey y'all! I seriously cannot believe Halloween is three days away! Where did October go!? Since it's so close and I didn't even decorate my dang house this year (obviously slacking over here!) I decided to link up with my girl Jessica for her Pinterest Thursdays. I know I'm like three days late but better late than never!

Jessica is my blog angel for the month and I'm so happy for everything she's done! She is such a doll :)

Okay so...I'm not even dressing up this year. I didn't decorate. The most I've done is change my Scentsy scents for fall and I plan on wearing a black shirt and orange scarf Wednesday. I've never really been into Halloween to be totally honest. When I was about four I told my parents I did not want to go trick or treating and I made my mom go buy color crayons and coloring books and we delivered them to the kids in the hospital. And I'm pretty sure I was a witch for like eight years in a row...because my favorite movie is Hocus Pocus, duh!

If I ever do get the chance to dress up here are some things I want to be...

If I wasn't a ginger and a princess I would be Ursula. I think this costume is legit. Source.
Which means I obviously have to be Ariel. Duh. I don't think I could ever just wear a bra though... Source.
Believe me I want to gag because Kim K. went as Poison Ivy but this was the most unique costume I found on Pinterest. If I ever am her I'll make my own for sure. Source.

Some decorations I really like include...

I think this subway inspired sign would be so cute with some hay bales and pumpkins on the porch! Source.
This is so cute for when you have kids and a two story house! Source.
Cutest way to line the driveway! Inexpensive and could be a project with the whole family! 
I adore this. I believe you can purchase one similar on Etsy if you don't have time/aren't creative enough to make it! Source.

Well, there ya have it! All the most adorable Halloween ideas that I'll probably never make. I'm such a pin hoarder. I honestly have made probably less than five things I've ever pinned! One day....one day. Kiss kiss loves!

P.S. GO check out Jessica's blog. It's darling and she is the SWEETEST!
Photobucket

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall Swap Reveal

Hey y'all! I am so excited to share some goodies with you :)

A few weeks ago I signed up for a Fall Swap with NeelyErin, and Tracy. My swap ended up being a little wonky because my first partner was in the middle of some moving and didn't get back to me right away so I emailed Neely and asked what I should do. They assigned me a new partner and then my first partner got back to me. I was lucky to have two amazing swap buddies!

It actually worked out perfectly too because they both asked for basically the same things but with different style. I got each of them a scarf, three mini candles from Bath & Body Works, and a candle sleeve. Their scarves were so different but both were gorgeous! I actually went out and bought one for myself afterwards because they were beautiful. I was truly blessed.

On to my goodies....

My original partner was Christy. Girlfriend is like a running fanatic, too bad I detest running. BUUUUT she sent me some amazing things!
First, she sent me candles. Oh how I love candles. I believe these are from Target (and let me tell you I ADORE Target candles!) They are Autumn Harvest and the one in the candle sleeve is Heritage Pumpkin, which is currently being burned in my bathroom. They are such cozy scents and I really like how scented Target's candles are. I have a few of the large ones from summer. 

She also got me an ELF beauty book which has the cute snake print all over the outside. I love ELF products and this book of shadows is perfect for travel. There is such an array of colors including matte, shimmer, satin, and full on glitter finishes. The picture really washes out the colors, they are much more pigmented that what they show on camera. I'm really excited for the purple and royal/navy blue toned shadows for the next few months! 
Girlfriend also sent me an ELF nail polish. I haven't had the chance to use it and I've never used an ELF polish before so I'm not sure what it'll be like but it is a beautiful fall color! I'm loving neutral nails for the season.
My second swap partner was Jessica who was a total doll. I am in love with everything she sent :) 

First up she sent me this adorable mug. I'm so into coffee now that I have to get up at 5:45 in the morning and this will make my day every morning. It says "You Go Girl." Definitely the encouragement I needed! 
She also got me a gorgeous scarf. It's definitely not something I would have picked out for myself considering I have red hair and I never thought this color would look good with my hair but it's perfect for fall! It's like a burnt orange color and has gorgeous fringe! She also sent a cute little note and two adorable Halloween signs to set out! This "Boo" one is perfect, Boo is my nickname! The other sign reads "Beware" with a cute little bat! 
I absolutely adore everything my lovely partners sent me! I'm sorry it took so long to get my reveal post up! I hope everyone has a happy fall!

Photobucket

Monday, October 15, 2012

Blog Angels: Halfway Point!

Hey loves! I've been MIA again....

Anyways, it's October 15 and that means it's the halfway link up for Blog Angels! This month there was 100 blogs and it is a little different. Usually halfway through, we still are secret blog helpers! But this month Rosie at Craftbotic Q decided that we should reveal who we were at the halfway mark.

I feel really awful about how I've been for Blog Angels this month. I've been so super busy and I cannot believe it's already the 15th! I really kept thinking "I'll have plenty done by the 15!" Uhh, hello where has this month gone?!

Singledou[b]t
Anyways, the blogger I've been helping is Kim from Singledou[b]t. I've commented a few times and her button is in my sponsor part of my sidebar. I will be doing a "sponsor post" here shortly before the end of the month but other than that I've sucked :( Sorry Kim! To be totally honest I haven't even been able to make it over to her blog everyday. But I know now that we have revealed ourselves I should be able to help her a little more!

What I really love about Blog Angels is being able to connect with someone and focus totally on uplifting them and helping them out. I pray for the blogger I'm helping each month to find wisdom and reach out to other bloggers. I feel like I can help on more than just the strict blogger level. In the future I plan to do some shoutouts for Kim and help with anything else she needs on her blog!

I feel really bad that I haven't provided anything for my Blog Angel to work with, I'm excited to find out who she is and give her some material to work with :)
Photobucket