THANK YOU and Friend Making Monday

I just want to start by thanking everyone that stopped by my blog over the last weekend from the Scrapbook Steals blog hop. I had seriously never received so much positive feedback and it felt good to know that people were actually seeing what I had created. So THANK YOU!!!

Now on to Friend Making Monday! If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at All the Weigh so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. 

I've said it 100 times before, but I seriously LOVE Mondays just because of Friend Making Monday. Here are my responses to this week's topic.

 Almost Spring

1. What do you love most about Spring?  I’ve never really been one to have a preference of one season over another, but I am really appreciating spring this year. It has been so cold this year where I live and I’m just looking forward to milder temperatures.

2. If you’re lucky enough to have a Spring Break, what will you do to enjoy it?  Working in a middle school there is always the countdown to different breaks and the countdown to spring break is on! Last year I went to Paris and Italy. I don’t think anything can top that right now (until next year when I go to Dublin, London and Paris!!!). I’m just taking it easy this year – heading up to visit my family that is about five hours from here. Then I am going to just relax at home.

3. What is your favorite flower?  I love carnations. I’m not sure why, but I think they are just pretty. I like how you can change the color of the flower too by adding food coloring to water. Reminds me of being a kid.

4. Do you have a garden?  If so, what do you grow?  I tried to have a garden a couple of years ago and it was growing, but nothing came from it. I was disappointed. I don’t think the soil here is very good for gardening.

5. Share one thing that you hope to accomplish during Spring.  I hope to accomplish some spring cleaning and just getting myself more organized. I have lots of projects I want to work on, I just need to find the time.

6. Do you do Spring cleaning?  We have never officially done spring cleaning, but I am constantly trying to get my house cleaner than it is. It’s difficult having two kids who haven’t mastered cleaning up after themselves. This morning LD cleaned the cat box though so it’s a start and we will continue working on it.

7. What is your weather *really* like right now? {Just b/c it’s almost Spring, doesn’t mean that it feels like it for some of you.}  It is absolutely perfect right now. Over the weekend it reached the mid-70s. I think it is supposed to be in the 60s today. It rained overnight and smelled wonderful this morning when I got up.

8. Share one photo that you’ve taken during the month of March.  I finally went to City Creek up in Salt Lake over the weekend. We were pretty much just in and out (just bought some things at Forever 21), but it was still neat to see how much they’ve really revitalized SL.

You can't really see it, but this is EM in the above ground walkway and in the background is the Salt Lake LDS temple. It is really beautiful!

This is me, EM and my mom in the same spot.

9. What’s your favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon?  I’m not sure. I feel like I spend so much time indoors. I definitely need to get outside more.

10. If you could spend the day doing anything in your city, what would you do?  I would like to do more hiking. There are so many cool places in southern Utah that I haven’t experienced and I am determined to do so. There is a spot called Fat Man’s Misery that I want to try to see if I can fit through it.

Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop

I am so happy and excited for today's blog post! I am honored to be part of the Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop! Scrapbook Steals is my favorite scrapbooking ideas blog and web site! I love to grab some great deals and participating in mid week mojo is a fun way to get some new inspiration for layouts.

I had the opportunity to work with Love My Tapes washi tapes and I can honestly tell you that I really do LOVE them! They are super easy to work with and the uses for them are absolutely endless. 

I had never used washi tape before so when they arrived in the mail I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first. But then the ideas just started coming and I couldn't wait to start adding washi tape to every project.

The first project I made was this tile. I went to Home Depot and bought a piece of tile for a $1 and then grabbed some paper from my stash and the fabulous washi tape. I decided to pull out the spray adhesive for this project so that I would know that the paper would stay down. I really love how the washi tape looks under the varsity letters DIXIE. The color is absolutely perfect and looks like it was just part of the paper. The blue washi tape at the bottom added a fun extra touch.

My next project I decided to wrap some washi tape around pencils. This was definitely an experience of trial and error. I had seen pencils wrapped in washi tape on Pinterest and wanted to give it a try, but I didn't see any tutorials that gave  me a critical piece of information -- how to wrap the tape.

The first time I did it I tried wrapping the tape around the pencil kind of in a spinning motion. It was really hard to get the pattern to line up and I would get about halfway down the pencil and then it would start to bunch up. 

The next time I tried it I did small strips around the pencil and that just became too much hassle.

The way that I actually found for it to work was to do long strips the length of the pencil (about three pieces).  This was also crucial for the sharpening of the pencil. The other ways were eaten up in the pencil sharpener and just didn't work.

Because the washi tape is somewhat thin if you don't want any of the pencil color to show through either do a couple of layers or use a pencil that is the same color pencil as your tape.

My final project was a card for St. Patrick's Day. I just ran the washi tape along the top of the card under the word "lucky." I love how the embossed paper underneath gave the same texture to the tape. Super easy project and I love the awesome little pop of umph to the card.

 Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! Feel free to become a follower and come back in the future. 

Make sure you check out Deborah's blog for your next stop on the blog hop :) and don't forget to go back to the Scrapbook Steals blog to enter to win an awesome prize!

If you've gotten lost along the way here is the whole line up for the blog hop:

scrapbooksteals.com

Creating with paper and more

YOU ARE HERE!

GO HERE NEXT!!!

Li'l Buck's Creations

Becci's handmade collection

It's about the paper

Errant scraps

What I Wore Wednesday

This is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week! I need to run to the restroom (for the full-length mirror) and snap a photo of what I wore today, but here is my outfit from Monday -- minus my boots I had already taken off.

My "skinny" jeans are from Old Navy. I told DC that when I get to my 20 pound goal I want to go buy another pair of "skinny" jeans from there. I love them and could wear them every day of the week!

My cardigan is from Old Navy. I wish it was a little longer, but it works.

My shirt is from Forever 21 -- size large! Yes, I bought something from Forever 21 and it was a size large. In fact, everything I tried on from that store was a size large and fit well. I got so many compliments on my shirt at school and one of the other teachers (someone who I totally admire their style) said she had the same shirt. Made me feel cool for a minute.

You can't see it, but I'm wearing a super cute necklace I also bought at Forever 21 for a $1.98. I'll try to take a picture of it later.

***UPDATED***

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but I loved my outfit today. I was wearing skinny jeans from Maurices (I could really use a size smaller!), a red top from Old Navy that is a few years old, a cardigan from Target from last spring and a DownEast basics shirt underneath. My shoes are from Sugar and I bought them a few years ago at Famous Footwear. 

I really need to get better lighting to take these photos!

Golf, anyone?

I'm loving that people are actually reading my blog -- especially my husband!

When I woke up this morning I got this super sweet e-mail from DC after he had read my Friend Making Monday post yesterday:

My cute little bunny heart ... this sentence here made me chuckle: It’s neat to see her star struck like during her interview with George Stephanopoulos when Jack Nicklaus surprised her.

Jack Nicklaus, as in the Golden Bear, the greatest golfer to ever live? :P

You were probably wanting to put Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), who is a Laker fanatic.

I love you bunny!

My mistake! When I was typing up my post I started to type and then wasn't sure how to spell his last name. Nicklaus was the first one who came up so I thought I was good to go.

Just for visual clarification here are photos of the two men:

Golfer

Actor.

Here is a link to the interaction between Jennifer Lawrence and Jack Nicholson that I was talking about :)

Friend Making Monday -- Questions and Answers

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! I really love Friend Making Monday and I can’t thank Kenlie enough for coming up with such interesting and thought-provoking questions! Go check out her blog and make sure to leave a comment here so I know who is reading this :)

Friend Making Monday –

Questions and Answers

1. Did you watch the Oscars? If so, who did you enjoy seeing most?  Yes, we had the Oscars on, but I wasn’t sitting down the whole time. Actually the only time I was sitting down was during the opening sequence and the in memory part. I really enjoyed Seth McFarlane as the host. He was very easy on the eyes. I didn’t really know who he was before the Oscars and I don’t know that I’m necessarily a fan now, but I don’t mind looking at him. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence. I know it’s kind of cliché and I haven’t seen Silver Linings Playbook yet (but I want to). I just think she handles herself with such class and she is absolutely beautiful and confident. It’s neat to see her star struck like during her interview with George Stephanopoulos when Jack Nicklaus surprised her.

2. Do you drink meal replacement shakes, smoothies, etc?  I don’t. I really like to eat my calories, not drink them so a meal replacement just leaves me wanting more. I used to drink Slim Fast for breakfast/morning snack when I was in high school, but I remember it being kind of chalky. I do want to get into juicing and use protein powder in that, but I’m not into replacing a meal with a drink.

3. Share one thing you have done to help someone in the last week? I wish I had some big awesome story, but I don’t. The thing I have been working on is saying no to other people because I’m so overloaded right now. I had the opportunity to help a couple of different people at work last week, but I said no because I knew it would stress me out more and I couldn’t handle that. One thing I did do was be there (I think) for a friend on Saturday night. I noticed some messages on her Facebook page so I contacted her to see what was going on and we ended up having a good conversation. I hope just talking helped her a little and took her mind off of some things. I have plans of sending her a little something in the mail this week, I just need to stop by Starbucks and pick it up.

4. What is the tastiest thing you ate last week?  On Saturday night for dinner I made some whole grain rice and turkey meatballs (from Costco). I poured some BBQ sauce on the meatballs and they are definitely some of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten! We also had green beans with the meal and some crescent rolls.

5. Think of one fun thing that you could do this week without spending any money to do it.  I really need to pull out the Wii and so some stepping on it. I always have fun doing that and I just haven’t (in a really long time). I also think playing bowling and Just Dance on the Wii with the kids (or at least LD) would be a lot of fun.

6. Share one place that you’ve been to and would like to visit again.  I really want to go back to Paris (which I am in 2014) so I would have to say that I would like to go back to Venice and this time take my hubby. I had a blast going with one of my BFFs, Jami, but I would definitely like to experience the romantic side of the city.

7. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?  I don’t really have an option on this one because I only have Facebook. I recently got rid of my Twitter and Instagram accounts because of some issues at work. I don’t really miss it and sometimes I wish I didn’t even have Facebook. It’s a valuable tool, I just think it is a major time sucker.

8. What is your favorite vegetable? I really love green beans! They are delicious. We are having some squash as a side for dinner tonight so I’ll have to come back and let you know how that goes.  

9. Share a goal that you have for the month of March.  I would really like to get to my goal of 20 pounds lost which is my 10% goal. I know that I can do it and I’m excited to know how it will feel to accomplish something I’ve been working toward for a long time. I am also signed up for a half marathon on March 16 and I would like to see an improvement on my time. I don’t really care what my time is, I just want an improvement from the last time I ran.

10. Share a quote that inspires you.  “If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. ” by Anthony Robbins.

What I Wore Wednesday

Another week and another photo of me! I took this one in my daughter's room again. How come she has a full length mirror and I don't?! I guess I do (in the hallway) but it doesn't work well for taking a self-portrait.

With this outfit I was kind of experimenting and I actually like how it turned out. I've been wearing my skinny jeans (can they be called skinny if they are size 18?!) a lot lately, but always with my boots. I know that as we turn to spring I won't want to be wearing my boots anymore so I thought I would try the jeans rolled up a little with some flats.

The green skinny jeans are from Target (I got them on clearance, of course!) and the cardigan is from Old Navy. The flats are Bobs that I bought from shesteals.com and the belt I found on clearance at Maurices. It is actually too big now so I probably need to punch another hole in it.

The floral printed top is from Dress Barn. Yes, you  heard me right -- I bought something from a store called Dress Barn. I always hesitated going in there because I thought, "who wants to buy clothes from a barn?!" but I actually found some really cute stuff there -- including my favorite earrings!

I know the picture is hard to tell, but I'm wearing a new necklace from Forever 21 ($1.98!) and cute earrings from there as well. I also have on a bow ring that DC "bought" me from Kohl's last year for Christmas. And by "bought" I mean I picked it out and paid for it and he gave it to me as a present. :)

Friend Making Monday -- Blogger to Blogger

Thanks for stopping by and checking out Friend Making Monday. If this is the first time you've seen it then go to Kenlie's blog and see what it is all about!

 1.  Does your blog have one overwhelming theme? I think the theme of my blog is just me. It’s about my journey to finding a healthier me, my crafty side and my adventures of being a mom and wife.

2. How did you come up with the theme(s) for your blog? Was it intentional? I initially had three different blogs – a family one, a scrapbooking one and a weight loss one. I stunk at keeping up with doing any of them. I’ve been so much better since I started this one and I’m really happy with it.

3.  Share something cool that has happened in your life as a result of blogging. I don’t know that anything cool has really happened. It has made me re-examine what I’m putting on Facebook and I’ve thought about why I’m really doing a blog. It is for me and if other people read it that is great, but at the end of the day it is kind of like my journal.

4. How much time to do spend reading blogs everyday? I actually use to spend a lot more, but with the two kids now and a million other things going on I just don’t read blogs as much. If they are linked through Facebook, though, I am more likely to check it out.

5.  Do you blog on the weekends? I don’t, but I should. I mostly blog during some of my free moments at work. Shhh … don’t tell the boss! It’s almost like my little getaway for a moment from the craziness of everything going on around me.

6.  Do you keep track of your stats?  Do they matter to you? I don’t think the stats matter to me, like I said before – I’m just blogging for me, but it does make me smile when I see that others are actually checking out my blog and even more so when they leave comments. It makes me feel loved (so leave a stinkin’ comment … will ya?!).

7. How do you decide how much to share about your personal life? I don’t really mind sharing about my personal life, but I’ve made up nicknames for everyone just because the Internet kind of scares me with how much access a person can gain about you. I probably should watermark my photos, but I don’t know how to do that. I’m sure it’s simple and I should look it up, I just haven’t gotten to that yet.

8. Do you aspire to be a writer, or did blogging happen for some other reason? I have a journalism degree so deep down I do love writing. I don’t always think I’m very good, but it is something I enjoy doing. Beyond simple blogging I don’t really have any ambitions of writing a book or anything huge like that.

9. As a blogger, do you think it’s more important to write for yourself, or for your readers? I guess it is my theme for the day – I definitely write for myself, but I do keep the reader in mind, making sure to share necessarily background information if it applies. I write for myself, but having others read it and if I can inspire or help someone else out that is just an added bonus.

10.  What kind of plans do you have for the future of your blog? I would like to just keep my blog going. I would love to have more followers (I think I have two right now!), but I’ll continue to post and just see what happens from here.