these lovely bloggers and i have put together a $145 target giftcard for you to win! gift card amount is in US dollars only. giveaway will be open march 31 - april 7. best of luck to you!!
$145 Target Giveaway //
April Goals
The sky is staying light until 7 pm or later and I am one happy gal! Spring isn't always my favorite but I love that it's a little taste of summer. So today I wanted to share my April goals with you...
1. I really want to dive into the scriptures again. I'm starting The Book of Mormon over to complete my Personal Progress Virtue Value Project. I've been slacking too much and I'm trying to saturate my life with God's word.
2. Take our puppies to Petsmart puppy training. This starts on Tuesday and I'm so excited to take our 7 month old puppy and 3 year old rescue to training. Heaven knows they need it.
3. Focus on keeping our home more clean. Clean homes make my husband happy. And even though I'm content to live in piles of clutter, he's kinda not. Plus, cleanliness is next to Godliness right?
Happy April!
What I Love About CARS Land
I've been going through some Disneyland withdrawals lately. So I decided it was time to share some more of my love for Disneyland.
One of my favorite newer things at Disneyland Resort is CARS Land. CARS Land opened on June 15, 2012 in California Adventures.
Radiator Springs Racers: This ride is built the same way Test Track is in Disney World. It's similar to a dark ride at first as you travel through Radiator Springs and meet a few of the characters from the movie. Then the track splits and you meet up with another car. Doc Hudson gives you racing advice and a randomized computer system let's one of the cars win the race. It is SO fun. I think I laugh the entire time on this ride. The line is always horrendous, but if you go first thing in the morning you can get on quick, or pick up some Fast Passes early in the day to use later on.
Other Rides: Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is worth trying at least once, but it's got nothing on the E ticket ride Radiator Springs Racers. Luigi's Flying Tires was a flop. Whomp whomp. And they are re-doing the track and cars to be re-opened in early 2016.
Shopping: There's 3 different places in shop in Radiator Springs. They all have similar items to buy, but they are fun to browse through because the theming in CARS Land is incredible.
Cozy Cone Motel: You HAVE to wander over to this area to see what all they have for sale. Each cone has something different. Churros, ice cream, etc there's so many yummy things. We tried Ramone's Pair of Dice drink, it's pear flavored and so unique and yummy! There's also Red's Apple Freeze which I also highly recommend.
Flo's V8 Cafe: The portions here are hefty,the food is good, and there's tons of seating (unusual for Disney restaurants inside the park). If you're looking for a little break from the crazy, go eat at Flo's. They also have yummy milkshakes!
So if you've been to CARS Land, tell me what you love most!
Balayage is the New Black
Busy moms don't always have time to make it to the salon every 4-6 weeks. That's why I'm sooooo happy that balayage is still a thing. In fact, I think it's just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.
What is balayage? It's a type of hair highlighting that looks more natural. More of the color/lightener is applied to the ends of the hair making it look more sun-kissed. It also means no line of demarcation, which means no horrendous regrowth.
For Brielle's hair I used Paul Mitchell Synchrolift as the lightener with 40 volume developer. 40 volume?? Yes that's right, 40 volume. Because we also added Olaplex into her formula, which dilutes the developer down to a 30 volume. Her hair felt AMAZING after. This was my first time using Olaplex and I was super impressed by it, there was no breakage at all.
Take Home: Brielle took some Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo home to maintain her toned blonde pieces. She also took home some Olaplex No. 3. Olaplex rebuilds the bonds in your hair that are broken by lightening, coloring, and even heat styling your hair. The Olaplex No. 3 has the same ingredients as Step 1 & 2 which are done in the salon, just at a lower % of active ingredients. That way you can maintain your silky soft, healthy hair until the next time you're in the salon.
Fighting Povery With Donuts? CARE Knows How
I find myself reading a lot of articles about "world-changers." You know what I'm talking about. Those companies, organizations and people who are helping other people in one way or another.
Biti Rose lives in Africa. She and her husband were so poor that they had to pull their son out of school because they couldn't afford the $5 uniform. She saved her pennies every week and joined a CARE Village Savings and Loan Association in 2005. She secured a $2 loan to buy ingredients and started to sell donuts every day for just 2 cents. She began earning several dollars of profit a day, which was more than she had her entire life. She reinvested in her child's education and their family farm. They are now self-sustaining.
And it all started with an organization that gave the a $2 loan. You can learn more about their story HERE.
CARE facilitates lasting change by:
*Strengthening capacity for self-help
*Providing economic opportunity
*Delivering relief in emergencies
*Influencing policy decisions at all levels
*Addressing discrimination in all its forms
Any story about donuts gets me hooked, and I was drawn to the faith that Biti Rose had in herself. She KNEW she could do it, she knew she could sell donuts and support her family if she only had a little help.
I think that's how so many of us are in life. We believe in ourselves, but we need others to be there as our support system. Cheerleaders are absolutely essential in getting through life. We need people who believe in us. My supportive husband and family have been amazing to me as I have chased so many dreams of mine. I couldn't do life without them.
Go visit CARE's website and consider donating to their cause. You can be someone's cheerleader that gives them that $2 that will change the course of their lives.
(Many thanks to CARE for sponsoring today's post and inspiring me to learn about a great cause!)
Biti Rose lives in Africa. She and her husband were so poor that they had to pull their son out of school because they couldn't afford the $5 uniform. She saved her pennies every week and joined a CARE Village Savings and Loan Association in 2005. She secured a $2 loan to buy ingredients and started to sell donuts every day for just 2 cents. She began earning several dollars of profit a day, which was more than she had her entire life. She reinvested in her child's education and their family farm. They are now self-sustaining.
And it all started with an organization that gave the a $2 loan. You can learn more about their story HERE.
CARE facilitates lasting change by:
*Strengthening capacity for self-help
*Providing economic opportunity
*Delivering relief in emergencies
*Influencing policy decisions at all levels
*Addressing discrimination in all its forms
Any story about donuts gets me hooked, and I was drawn to the faith that Biti Rose had in herself. She KNEW she could do it, she knew she could sell donuts and support her family if she only had a little help.
I think that's how so many of us are in life. We believe in ourselves, but we need others to be there as our support system. Cheerleaders are absolutely essential in getting through life. We need people who believe in us. My supportive husband and family have been amazing to me as I have chased so many dreams of mine. I couldn't do life without them.
Go visit CARE's website and consider donating to their cause. You can be someone's cheerleader that gives them that $2 that will change the course of their lives.
(Many thanks to CARE for sponsoring today's post and inspiring me to learn about a great cause!)
Chop Chop //
My husband had last Friday off work so he took the initiative and did all the plumbing for the sink in my in home salon! I was so happy and it turned out so good.
It also meant I got to start taking real appointments in my home. The first lovely lady to be pampered was the lovely Samantha from Samantha Nishell.
She wanted to get all the dead ends off so with her permission I took a couple inches off and voila! With hardly any product or flat ironing her hair looked and felt flawless.
Doesn't she have amazing hair?
For any hair appointment inquiries you go HERE. Remember, I am working full time on top of finishing up my Associates Degree so my hair appointments are limited. Book today!
Fear of Missing Out // SUDAFFED ®
I'm kinda a home-body. Even my husband says that all the time. I just LOVE being home. But I still have the #FOMO occasionally. Yes, I'm getting to the point in my life where I had to look that up. So for all you people like me, FOMO stands for Fear of Missing Out.
When we go visit my husband's family in their small town, sometimes I get really bad sinus pain and pressure just from the area that we are in. Being the prepared wife that I am, I always carry my little pill case with me full of "in case of emergency" type medicines. I always take my little red pill with me just in case... SUDAFFED ®
There we are together on a hike in his hometown! Sinus pain and pressure free!
Do you remember when Some E-Cards became a thing? How about some sinus relief E-Cards for ya?? Click HERE to check out more!
I still think Some E-Cards are hilarious! I love seeing them pop up in my Facebook feed. Does anything your life cause #FOMO?
& a special thanks to SUDAFFED ® for sponsoring today's discussion!
One of the Last Three Women //
I read a lot. It's one of those things that I've loved for so long that I can't really remember where the love for it started. Though I suspect it came from my patient young father who let each of his 3 girls pick one book for him to read to us each night before going to bed.
I love self-help books. I love pondering personal change, and how I can improve. So I read a lot of self-help type books. They always uplift me and inspire me, and occasionally I will read something that will keep me pondering long after I finish the book.
As I was reading a book written by Sheri Dew the other day I came across a thought. If there were only 3 women left in this world with a firm testimony of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father, would you be one of them?
Would I? This question has made me sit back and wonder, would I truly stand by my testimony if everyone in the world reviled me for my beliefs? If I was persecuted physically or emotionally for what I believed and how I lived my life. Would I have the courage of Esther? The missionary power of Ammon? The trust of Moses? Or would I let what the world believed make me stray from what I knew to be true.
This question has set in motion many goals and many ideas on how to doubt-proof my testimony. What can I be doing each and every day to ensure that I would be one of them if there really were only a few people on earth who had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ? I've found my own answers & I encourage you to find yours!
This question makes me uncomfortable because I know that I'm still tossed about occasionally by what others think about me. I sometimes choose to stay quiet instead of voice my opinion. But I'm working on it. The gospel isn't about comfort. Being a disciple of Christ isn't and wasn't meant to be comfortable. I know that as life goes on, I will be faced with uncomfortable situations where I have to choose if I will be the one to stand alone.
I pray every day that my testimony will continue to grow until I can say that yes, as a matter-of-fact, I would be one of those last three women to stand up for Christ. Because ultimately being Christ's disciple is my main desire, even if it isn't always... comfortable.
What We're Up To
It's been awhile since I've done one of those "here's what we're up to" posts, so I decided to give you all a little peek into our crazy lives!
Brooklyn
I graduated cosmetology school from Paul Mitchell SLC in September. (yay!) I'm now about half way through ENGLISH 2010 via Utah State Online and I'm beyond excited to officially getting my associates degree. Then I'll be a licensed cosmetologist with a college degree, bow chicka wow wow.
In November we bought a house! It has been amazing. We had a rough first couple weeks there (hashtag all the plumbing was ruined), but since then our house has shown to be the biggest blessing ever. We have no doubt we are where we are supposed to be.
Because we bought a house we decided to wait until the new year to have me start working, which meant not going right into a salon job out of cosmetology school. When December rolled around I got hired at 2 different salons, one was booth rent and one was hourly. I loved them both. But it didn't feel right. Our house has the PERFECT room that we are now transforming into my home salon. It is so cute! Hopefully my wash sink will be getting put in this weekend. I'll make a huge announcement when my salon is up and running because as much as kitchen cuts are great, I'm excited to have my salon. Plus, I love giving deals to family and friends ;)
Obviously living in SLC I don't know that many people still. So I knew I wouldn't have enough hair appointments to make a lot of money, instead I applied for a job at the same place my husband works, Independence University. I was hired beginning of January as a junior financial planner and truly enjoy my job. The days go by fast, it's great pay, and I get to carpool with my honey!
Two weeks ago I was called at a Primary teacher for Valiant 8 and 9 and have spent just about every free moment since planning and preparing lessons. My first one last Sunday wasn't anything amazing, and I remembered just how much patience you have to have with naughty little boys, but the spirit is strong, and I love teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also get to help the Valiant 10 and 11 teacher run Achievement Days every other week, which will be a blast. I'm so excited to be serving and am growing and learning every day from it.
Colten
I'll give you a quick update on him since this post is already a million years long. He was recently promoted from an Admissions Consultant to Assistant Director of Admissions, meaning he now has his own team of 10 admissions consultants to watch over. He's loving his new job even though it is keeping him plenty busy.
He's still working on his Bachelors in Business & Accounting through Independence University. (cheers to free tuition!) And he's also very happy because we recently adopted another little puppy from a shelter. He is the cutest little one-eyed thing you ever did see! Jack our new puppy and Benson our old puppy are getting along wonderfully. We love them so much. And who would have ever thought I'd be a crazy dog mom?!?
Colten also got a calling at church but it won't be announced until this coming Sunday, so for now, I guess it's a secret.
Marriage & Relationship Goals //
We recently set new goals together and I set some seperately.
New to the Marriage & Relationship Goals Link-up? Goals help our relationships grow stronger and get better with time as well as help us to continue moving forward and avoid the "ruts" of life. This link-up was created in hopes of inspiring your relationship with your significant other no matter your chapter in life and love. We would love for you to join us in making the things we do in our relationships intentional. If you would like more information, click here.