8 things...

My main girl Christina, tagged me in this fun little "about me" blog post, and I just couldn't resist. I know, right... you're so thrilled to get this sneak peek into all that is me? I knew it. Without further adieu... 8 random/weird facts about myself.

circa June 2011

1. my biggest fear is sneezing while driving, followed by the dark, the dentist (haven't been in aprox. 10+ years) , & crabs.  (it's the way they walk. eeek!)

2.  I once had a bunny named Pancakes and if you know where that came from I invite you to be my best friend. ;)

3. I listen to an array of different music. When I say I like everything, I really do like everything. As long as it's not completely vulgar. That being said, my favorite band is New Found Glory. still.

4. Right after I graduated High School, I moved to Lubbock, Texas for a 9 month bible college course, which led me to move to New Zealand for 18 months to work with a church. I loved and hated it, and I grew more in my faith in that 18 months than I had in my entire life as a christian. It was hard. I cried a lot.

5. In High School I was known as "LuLu Rotten", had pink hair, wore fishnets and a belt made of bullets, read poetry and watched anime, liked loud music, and was a cheerleader.

6. I. DO. NOT. WATCH. SEQUALS.  (usually). The exception being if a movie is made to have a sequal.( ie: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Ender's Game, Lord of the Rings.) If a movie has "2" at the end of the title- you can forget it. (with two exceptions to this rule: Toy Story 2 & 3, which were admittedly incredible-- and the Back to the Future movies, which are my husbands FAVORITES so I had to watch them. didn't hate them, but I could've lived with only seeing the first. (don't tell him I said that)

7. I am an "INFJ" personality type.(myers briggs) Less than 1% of the US population are "INFJ". It is me to a T.  You can read more about what that means here.

8. The only trivia I am good at is Disney Trivia. ... and I'm really good. I literally do not know anything, about any other section of life. In hindsight of this post, I feel I need to expand my horizons a little bit this year.

circa2009

circa 2008

circa2010

I tag YOU! I don't know who has and hasn't done this yet, but if you'd like to- do it! and then let me know, so I can read it. I love weird facts <3

Happy Anniversary to The Ashcraft Bunch! ::giveaway::

I've teamed up with some other lovely bloggers to throw The Ashcraft Bunch a fun little Birthday Party! 2 years of blogging is no small feat. I've had somewhere in the area of 5 blogs in the last 6 years... math will clearly tell you that never have I made it to 2 years. This is a great achievement for my friend Kenzie, and it's readers like you that encourage us, as bloggers, to keep on keepin' on. So to celebrate, We're having a giveaway! 2 Gift cards! Ya'll.

The ladies you see below are all the sweet ladies who are hosting this awesome giveaway! We love Kenzie and her blog so much that we're helping her throw this party! So much fun!

 

This year we are giving away 1 $60 Gift Card to Target AND 1 $50 Card to Erin Condren! (I know you know how much I love planners) and what a great thing to win to help organize your new year! Please enter the Rafflecopter below honestly.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will end at midnight on January 15th and one winner will be announced on Kenzie's blog as well as emailed.

Good luck!

Now hop on over and wish Kenzie a happy 2 year blogiversary!

We're breaking up...

A couple weeks ago I was reading my sister-in-law's blog post about slowing down. One thing in particular that really resonated with me, was a particular challenge she gave herself at the end of the post. That challenge was "No phone in the front seat of my car – I don’t need to check it at every stoplight or when traffic is at a standstill." It hit me that I do this ALL the time, and it never even occurred to me that I could be spending my time better in the front seat, having good conversation with my husband.. who is just sitting there driving. How rude of me!

With that in mind, the next time Tristan & I went for a drive, I put my phone in the little slot in the door handle so It wasn't sitting there in my hands tempting me. Let me tell you, I didn't even know I had failed my own test until I was putting it back down again. SERIOUSLY. Did I seriously just pick up my phone, to refresh my instagram feed? Were those 2 new photos from people I don't even know so important that I had to see them immediately? I probably didn't even "like" them. I couldn't tell you, because I don't even remember what they were. It happened that fast.  That's when I knew I had a problem. 

Ladies and Gentlemen... The universe, the technology gods, God himself... whoever you feel should have the credit.. has been nagging at me ever since to break up with my cell phone.Lately Fern has been crawling into my lap everytime I'm on my phone and grabbing my face and kissing it. It's a clear call for attention that's being given in the wrong direction. Last night my friend Sara posted this awesome article about a man "divorcing his cell phone".  So good, together Sara and I made a resolution (but not a new years resolution, because I don't do those) to together, make the effort to break up with our cell phones. Then, this morning, I saw this incredibly and painfully accurate video about not living in the moment... due to cell phones of course. OR how about this post titled "why you're destined to fall in love with bots"   hellllllll no. 

Social media is such a big part of blogging, not to mention I have an entire shop of gently used kids clothes being sold on instagram. I'm not saying throw your phone in the trash and get off the grid Ron Swanson style. I would LOVE to get rid of my iphone, and go back to a simple phone.. one that isn't "smart". I'd love to use it for calls and texting and that's it. I'd love to have a small ipad, for recipes, and catching up on blogs, and instagram. Well I don't have an ipad, and I don't have a free upgrade right now, so I'm making do with what I have. 

I've delted all social networks, games, whatever other time wasters I may have from my phone. I'm keeping instagram, for above stated purposes, but I'm simply signing out. I realized, it's out of habit that I refresh my feed on instagram, not because I NEED to see new photos ASAP! I just do. muscle memory or something, I don't know. So I've signed out. When I need to post a new photo, I'll sign in. and then sign right back out again. This will be done during naptime, and when Fern is at MDO. I won't be on social media when my husband is home. He deserves my attention. I won't be on social media at the dinner table, or out with friends. THEY DESERVE MY ATTENTION. Truth be told, any human being to cross my path, be it the mayor of Oklahoma City ;) or a homeless man looking for change, they ALL deserve my complete attention before any phone does. 

My phone is a tool. I'll use it to call my mother, to text my friends, to figure out how to get from point A to point B. But my phone is not my friend. I refuse to allow it to take attention away from people I care about. I also refuse to fall in love with a bot.. soo...

This is my "not new years resolution. "

See you all at nap-time! 

The Great Christmas Exchange!

There's just something so fun about being able to (uncreepily) stalk somebody you've never met, and send them something you know (or hope) they'll love based on your findings.
I had Amanda, of Keeping up with the Jayneses. She was so fun to buy for! If you visit her blog it's obvious she's a foodie (girl after my own heart) This girl has some fantastic recipes on her blog. I saw that she also loves Anthropologie (who doesn't?) So I got her this beautiful cookbook for small gatherings from Anthro, and threw in a family recipe of my own! Along with a little card to say hello!

There's just something about GOLD glitter tape, am I right?  It's irresistible.

THEN!!! I got this beautiful package from Gini!

She's pretty much the GREATEST stalker ever. She got this sweet little anthro chalkboard canister (directly from my pinterest wishlist board), A Gold monogram (how did she know of my GOLD OBSESSION!?), some sweet little homemade gift tags- which I totally used Christmas day and they look magnificent taped on with some washi tape. holy cuteness. Not to mention the sweetest handmade watercolor card, which I adore. (Gini has her own etsy where she sells her beautiful art)


I've been so blessed to be part of this great Exchange, and get to know these sweet girls a little bit better. I hope we keep in touch. I can't wait for next year's exchange!!

Sponsorship in 2014

I'm fairly new at this whole sponsoring thing. Since starting the ads on my sidebar, and being part of other people's sidebars, I've learned so much! I want to do a little more this year for my sponsors, and really get them involved with the blog.

Currently, depending on the ad space you purchase, you get a blog post pimpin' out you and your brand, or social media mentions. That's pretty much it. That was just a starting point for me. I didn't really know how to do the sponsorships, so I just kind of .. dipped my toes in. This year- we're going all in.

What you'll get in 2014:

++ Group Posts : once a month I'll email a question in the form of advice, trivia, or a little about yourself, for you to answer. Your answer, picture of choice, and 3 links of your choice will be posted as the content in this "group post". 


++You can find these sponsor options available at any time, along with blog stats (updated monthly) via the "advertise" tab at the top of the page. 


HAPPY NEW YEAR!