Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Downside to Blogging

Well, I originally had something totally different planned for today, but decided to save it for later and write about something else that’s been weighing on my mind instead. 

One of my favorite bloggers posted yesterday that she found out that someone has stolen loads of her photos from her blog, has started fake Instagram and Twitter accounts, and is pretending to be her. 

This, right here, is one of my worst nightmares. 

This, right here, is precisely why I waited so long to start a blog in the first place.

This, right here, is what makes me want to stop blogging altogether. 

Because even though my world may be full of rainbows and sunshine and normal people who would never even think of doing something like that, the real world is full of crazies, losers, and a-holes who have nothing better to do with their time and energy than to terrorize innocent people. 

This whole situation has made me feel really icky, and I just don’t know what I want to do now.  Y’all know how much I absolutely adore blogging… I really think that I’ve found my passion and I really don't want to give that up.  But stuff like this really makes me think twice about it. 

I know that bloggers are a dime a dozen so the chances of it happening to me are probably pretty slim, but I am also the type of person who seems to have bad luck and fall in the minority for that kind of stuff (hello, being in the small 3% who have nerve damage after delivering a baby and hello, being in the tiny 1% who get a spinal headache after a c-section).  I always seem to defy the odds for the bad stuff and that’s a scary thing.

On the other hand, there are thousands upon thousands of successful bloggers out there with public accounts and thousands and thousands of followers.  It makes me think, if they can do it then why shouldn’t I?  Because even if I try to hide, creeps are always going to find a way to be creeps if they really want to.

For now, I have moved my copyright notice to a more prevalent spot, so there should be no question to anyone visiting what is acceptable and what is not. 

Fellow bloggers, how do you feel about this whole situation?  I would love to hear your thoughts and advice because I’m really struggling right now.

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday. 


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

A Day in the Life

I don’t know about you, but day in the life posts are always some of my favorite posts to read, and I often hear other bloggers say the same thing.  

Why is that?! 

I swear I’m not a creeper, but for some reason it’s just so interesting to see what time y’all wake up, what you eat for lunch, and how you allot your time throughout the day. 

Aaaand now I’m sounding like the creeper that I just said that I wasn’t. 

Anywho, I also like doing these posts for myself to look back on one day.  Here’s what a typical weekday looks like in the life of Lindsay in April 2016.

5:15 AM – First alarm goes off *snooze*

5:24 AM – Second alarm goes off *snooze*

5:33 AM – Third alarm goes off *snooze*

5:42 AM – Fourth alarm goes off *snooze*

5:51 AM – Fifth alarm goes off *snooze*

6:00 AM – Sixth alarm goes off *finally drag myself out of the bed and head to the bathroom where it’s shower, makeup, dress, hair.  In that order.* (And yes, I do intentionally snooze for 45 minutes every single day.  If I don’t, I can’t function.  And I actually do my best sleeping in between alarms.  There’s just something about glancing at the clock and knowing that you don’t have to get up quite yet…)

6:40 AM – Run to my office to make sure my blog post is live, share to Google+, share to Facebook, and link up with any link parties I’m participating in while listening to the sounds of Brian and Jacob butting heads about which lights to turn on downstairs while Jacob eats breakfast. 

6:45 AM – Run downstairs and flip on the lights because if Jacob’s gotten his way, the two of them will be eating their Apple Cinnamon Cheerios in complete and utter darkness.  He’s not a morning person in case you haven’t already figured that out.  However, I have to be able to see to make his lunch (and mine), so I’m usually the bad guy who comes down and floods the house with light.

7:00 AM – Run upstairs and wake Olivia (who would lounge in her crib until 9:30 every day if we’d let her) and get her dressed and ready for the day.

7:10 AM – Back downstairs to load the car, get some hugs and kisses from B and Olivia, and get Jacob into the car so we can leave by 7:15.

7:15 AM – Still waiting for Jacob to climb into the car and buckle his seatbelt…  Why oh why do kids always have to buckle their own seatbelts?  And why for heaven’s sake does it take an act of congress to get them to do it?!

7:20 AM – We are now leaving later than I like (as we do pretty much every day) but fortunately at the beginning of the school year I allowed for a little bit of extra padding, so we shouldn’t be late as long as the traffic gods are with us.

7:35 AM – Walk Jacob into school, head back to the car, and hightail it to work.

8:00 AM – Work and blah blah blah.

11:00ish AM – Leave for what is supposed to be my lunchbreak, but I will spend it grocery shopping, cleaning the house, or picking up some item/object/food item that is needed for some event/meeting/get together.  In the rare event that I don’t have any errands to run, then I’m at home catching up on my blog reading/crafting/preparing for a blog post.  And in some extremely rare instances, I might actually be eating lunch on my lunch break.  Imagine that.

12:00ish PM – Back to work where I actually get to eat lunch… usually a salad at my desk while I work.

4:30 PM – Quitting time, hallelujah!  Fly out of there like the building’s on fire, and head back to Jacob’s school to pick him up from the after school program that we are so lucky to have.

5:00ish PM – Burst through the door at home and turn into what I like to call the whirlwind of mommy – cooking, cleaning, emptying lunchboxes, looking through book bags, preparing for the next day – all the while burning a candle and listening to music... and some days enjoying a glass of wine.  Hey, might as well make it enjoyable!  Brian and Olivia arrive sometime during this hour and she and Jacob play fight as we finish dinner and get the table set.

6:00ish PM – Dinner’s on the table.  If we’re lucky it’s on the table out on the back porch with the twinkle lights turned on and a nice breeze a blowing.

6:30ish PM – B starts the dishes as I try to scrape the food off of Olivia’s shirt and out of her hair.  She’s never been a dainty eater.

6:45ish PM – Playtime in the back yard or a family walk around the neighborhood to burn off dinner if the weather’s nice or playtime in the living room if the weather’s yucky.

7:15ish PM – All four of us head upstairs.  B bathes the munchkins while I fold laundry, pick up, work on tomorrow’s blog post, etc. – somewhat similar to the whirlwind that I am when I first get home, but maybe slightly less whirlwindy.

7:30ish PM – Olivia is delivered to me all wrapped up in a towel and we immediately head into her room to grab her paci because she knows that’s the time that she’s finally allowed to have it and by golly, she will have it then.  We put on PJs, comb her wet hair, and head into Jacob’s room where Brian and Jacob are settling in to read.  She kisses and hugs them both, and she and I retreat to her bedroom for some one on one time.  We read, we say goodnight to all of her pictures, we pray, we snuggle, and I lay her down in the crib with all of her babies. 

7:55ish PM – Head into Jacob’s room – but only once Brian has turned off the light and cracked the door… that’s my cue, otherwise chaos ensues – and give him some lovin’, say prayers, and then scratch, pat, and rub his back if it’s “my turn” to do it.  Jacob has a pattern for who stays with him each night.  Right now his pattern is mommy, daddy, mommy, daddy, and so on.  Sometimes he’ll get crazy and do something like mommy, daddy, daddy, daddy, mommy, and boy is that exhausting for whoever has to be in there three nights in a row!  Whoever isn’t scratching his back that night heads outside to water the ferns.

8:30ish PM – The babies are (hopefully) asleep, so B and I meet in the living room for some “down time.”  My down time consists of working out while catching up on TV.  I do scissor kicks, calf raises, a few hip strengthening exercises, some light work with weights, and a heap of squats followed by 15-20 minutes on my abs board.    

9-9:15ish PM – I blog, catch up on social media, and sometimes enjoy a bowl of frozen yogurt or some other dessert (you know, to undo all of the calories that I just burned) all while watching TV.

10:00ish PM – Upstairs, wash face, brush teeth, PJs, etc. and collapse in the bed where I do some last minute social media catch up or reading, and then it’s lights out around 10:45ish PM. 

Then the next day I get up and do it all over again!

And there you have it, folks!  That’s my day!

And if you want to see what my day looked like around this time last year, you can see that post here.

*Linking up with Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday, Our Pretty Little Girls for Tuesday Talk, and Stang & Co. and Crown Me in Glitter for Talk About It Tuesday.



Monday, April 18, 2016

Our Weekend – A Dance, an Air Show, and a Couples’ Date Night

Well hello there, and a happy Monday to you!  We had the best of weekends and I wish we could just have one more day to relax and recover from all of the fun we had.

We kicked off the weekend with Jacob’s Mother/Son Dance at school.  It was his very first dance and I was so honored to be his first date!  The theme was mustaches, so when we walked in, we were told to grab a ‘stache and some sunglasses and head on in!  They served pizza and fruit and had an ice cream bar with all of the toppings you could ever want!  The DJ was really interactive and throughout the night we joined a conga line, we formed lines and danced through them to Uptown Funk (which is one of Jacob’s favorite songs), we did the Cupid Shuffle (which I still remember from my clubbing days – hehe), and we even Whipped and Nae Naed (seriously). 

The highlight of the night was sharing my first slow dance with my sweet boy to Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.  I’ve always adored that song and now I’ll love it even more.  If you follow me on Insta, you probably already saw this, but I thought it was worth mentioning again – it was so weird being there because I used to dance with boys from school in that very same auditorium, and Friday night I got to dance in there with my own little babe.  I have officially come full circle and I feel very old. 






Saturday morning we got up early and headed out to catch the Air Show.  But not before stopping by Panera for cinnamon crunch bagels and cinnamon rolls on the way!  Olivia sat in the booth with me (instead of a high chair) for the first time, so, of course, it had to be documented!  And she was all over the place as I suspected she would be, so back in the high chair she goes!  Haha.








The kids had a blast at the air show.  Jacob got to jump and slide in some inflatables, meet some Navy pilots, tour a Navy jet, and watch all of the amazing stunts that the airplanes did.  We had hot dogs for lunch and then let the kids climb in all of the military vehicles that were on display.  About an hour in, the clouds started clearing, the sweaters came off, and the sunscreen came out.  And my dumb self somehow got sunscreen on the camera lens, so the majority of the pictures came out blurry.  #BloggerFail  I decided to include a couple anyway, just for memory’s sake.

Olivia also had a Level 8 Code Brown while we were there, so we had to change her diaper on the tarmac behind an airplane hanger.  That was... interesting to say the least.  In the five years that we've had kids, I have to say that was the first time that I was honestly at a loss for what to do about changing a diaper.  All they had were porta potties, and I wasn't about to try and do it in there, so on the tarmac it was!  #MomLife 











After the air show, we headed back home and I had a tiny bit of time to squeeze in some tanning and reading time before heading back in to get ready for date night.  I haven’t just sat around and read during the day in months, y’all.  Months.  It was nice.



Saturday evening ended with another date night, this time with all of our friends!  We went to a new restaurant that we’ve all been wanting to try and we celebrated my birthday as well as my friend Jeannine’s birthday since we’re only 20 days apart.  It was an amazing night full of good conversation and laughter.  Oh, and more amazing food.  Holy moly, we are on a roll with the fancy dinners out! 

We all started the meal with cocktails – B and I both had Moscow Mules (I’m pretty sure that’s going to be my new favorite drink), a couple of the girls had Sangria, one of the girls had a Blackberry Basil (which was divine), and a few of the guys had whiskey.  We shared an app of crackers and two different kinds of dip, and then for my entrée, I had the filet with white truffle parmesan fries and the smoked gouda mac and cheese.  And OH EM GEE, it was another incredible meal!  After dinner, the waiter brought out desserts for the birthday girls, Rocky Road Sundaes – chocolate pound cake, Belgian dark chocolate ice cream, honey marshmallows, candied pecans, white chocolate syrup, and malted Chantilly cream.  Oh my.  Dessert on point!

I love these girls (and their hubbies) so much and this couples' date night was just what we've all been needing!

As for the matching cardigan picture below, my friend Eryn came dressed in a navy maxi dress with that floral cardigan, and it turns out that was the exact cardigan that I had gotten for Jeannine for her gift!  So crazy!  They obviously had to take a pic since they were twinning!  Too bad I didn't get one for myself as well...








Sunday Brian’s mom didn’t cook like she usually does, so we headed to Five Guys for some burgers and then we took the kids to the playground.  While we were out there, we saw a few planes flying over! 






We ended the weekend with dinner at my parents’ house where my grandmother told us all about her recent trip to England!  So jealous!  But we are oh so thankful to have her back!

Have a wonderful week, everyone! 

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending.


Friday, April 15, 2016

Five on Friday - Blogging and All That Jazz

Happy Friday!  We have another big weekend planned so I’ll be back over here on Monday recapping all of it for you!  Until then, let’s get started with my five things for this gorgeous Friday!

O N E

First and foremost, I’m very excited today because my very first guest post ever is live on Sparkles and Lattes.  If you love summer and you love cocktails, head over to Danielle’s blog and check it out.  I have officially found my favorite recipe for a DIY summer cocktail.  It’s gonna knock your socks off.


T W O

After an entire year of blogging, I finally created a button.  You may have already noticed it hanging out in my sidebar.  It’s just been sitting there, looking pretty, and getting no action for the last month or two.  Fortunately, the whole button thing came up in a conversation that I was having with my blogging buddy, Emily, the other day and she and I decided to swap.  So exciting… my first button swap!  And since I’d never swapped before, I was relieved to see that the code that I had created actually worked.  <insert bug-eyed, blushing emoji here> 

I know that a lot of bloggers don’t use buttons anymore, but if you’re one of the ones who does and you want to swap, just holler at me!  It’s free advertising for you, people!  And it’ll give you a little thrill every time you see yourself on someone else’s blog.  ;o)

T H R E E

I shared my home office space on Tuesday and I received a lot of sweet comments and emails about it.  I’m glad to know that you guys don’t think I’m some weirdo pack rat that should be on Hoarders.  ;o)  If you  missed the tour, you can see it here.


F O U R

A few ladies and I are starting a fun Instagram chat loop on Wednesday evenings… be sure to find me on Instagram and join in on the fun!  It’s a great way to meet fellow bloggers and grow your tribe.  I can’t even begin to profess my love for Insta because it brought me to so many of you and now I don’t know what I ever did without you!  I’m thankful for all of you. 

F I V E

I’ve been meaning to do an update on my New Year’s resolutions… I’ve gotten side-tracked a couple of times, but be on the lookout!  I should have the post up soon!

Well friends, I’m outta here and rolling on into the weekend like WOOOO HOOOO!  We’re heading to a mother son dance, an air show, and another DAAAATE NIIIIGHT!  I'm a little sad because we'll be missing the G-Day Game (University of Georgia's annual football scrimmage game) but we have so much other fun stuff planned that it won't even be a big deal that we're missing it!  Except for the fact the we'll be missing Ludacris performing before it... I mean, what's he even going to sing in front of all of those little kids that will be there?!  Brian said that he'll probably change the lyrics to MOVE KIDS, get out the way, get out the way, KIDS, get out the way!  Hahahaha.  Anybody else love him back in the day?  

Happy weekend!

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, Living for Naptime for BFF Friday Link-up Party,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, and Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Confessions {4.14.2016}


Confession Thursday always gets me excited because it means that we’re only one day away from the weekend!  Eeeek!

Before I start, I just want to say that I’m very excited because I’m doing my very first guest post!  You can see it over at Sparkles and Lattes bright and early tomorrow morning!  Head over and show Danielle (and me) some love! 

Ok, let’s begin…

I confess…

… that I was nervous to share my home office tour with you guys this past Tuesday because a) it’s really weird to share my personal, very private space with everyone in the world, and b) because I was worried y’all would think I was a freak for having such a crazy, cluttered space.  Now you know all my secrets.

… that I do not leave the house unless I’m in full makeup and hair.  So crazy, I know, but I just don’t feel like myself unless I’ve showered, dried and curled my hair, and put on makeup.  The works.  Foundation, powder, eyeliner, shadow, mascara, and blush. 

… that because of this, I have gotten my routine down to a fine art.  Most days it takes me about 40 minutes to get completely ready (shower included), but I can do it all in 25 if I really hurry.

… that I have literally eaten cake in some form (regular, cookie, ice cream, and pie) for the last 13 days in a row.  I’m not even exaggerating.  I started celebrating my birthday on 4/1 and the parties haven’t stopped which means – tons of leftovers! 

… that I’m pretty sure I’ve gained about 5 pounds in the last two weeks.  And if you know me, you know that I’m pretty petite, so 5 pounds is a pretty significant amount for my tiny frame.

… that I’m having yet another birthday celebration this weekend and I’m not even sorry ‘bout it!  Let the celebrations continue… and bring on more cake!

*Linking up with The Newly for Confessional Thursday and Home of Malones for Thoughts for Thursday.

 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Best Wedges for Summer

I was originally going to take today off because my office tour post from yesterday was so exhausting that I decided I needed a little break.  However, I just can’t quit this blog – or you for that matter – so I thought that I would pop in and share these wedges with all of you because they’re just so darn perfect.  I can't stop wearing them!  They go with pretty much everything, they’re super comfy, they’re soooo cute, they’re affordable, and who doesn’t love gold?!  




And if you don't like gold (you weirdo), there are some really cute other options here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Target's shoe selection is, as always, on point!

Happy shopping!

*Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I What I Wore, Life in the Green House and Taz and Belly for Wardrobe Wednesday, and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.

*This post may contain affiliate links. 


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Home Tour Tuesday - My Home Office

The wait is over!  I finally got that kick in the pants that I needed and I finished my office... well, at least enough to photograph it for the home tour.  There are still a few things that need to be done, namely filling the rest of the frames in my gallery wall, but pretty much everything else is ready.  And you have no idea how much I’m dying inside posting this with unfinished business, but if I waited until I filled those frames, it would be months as I’m trying to fill them with pieces of original art by yours truly.  That takes a lot of time, and considering all of my free time now goes to blogging, there’s not much time for art.

As I have stated several times in the past, this room is the exact opposite of minimalistic, so if clutter scares you, you should probably go ahead and avert your eyes.  I have an obscene amount of wall décor, trinkets, and, well, things in my office.  I love pretty things and my walls are covered with all of the pretty things that I love.  My office is the place where I house all of my favorite material possessions and it’s actually kind of like a museum.  I’m an extremely sentimental person, so I have tons of keepsakes from the last 34 years of my life and they’re all stored in this very room.  And since I like to be able to enjoy my keepsakes (instead of just boxing them up), I wanted a room where they could be easily accessed for when those moments of nostalgia hit.  As a matter of fact, my office is quite similar to Ariel’s secret room under the sea, but instead of hoarding all of the things that belong to others, I hoard my own stuff.  Haha. 

I also have a lot of hobbies – blogging (obviously), photography, scrapbooking (which I hardly do anymore), painting, headband making, and a plethora of other crafty things, and those hobbies also require a lot of stuff – paint brushes, paint, stickers, paper, hole punchers, scissors, glue guns, etc.  I often see pictures of other bloggers’ offices and I’m like, “Where’s all their stuff?!”  How can you function with only a computer, a bouquet of flowers, and a cup of coffee??  Where’s your stapler, your cup of pens, your paperclips, and your printer?!  I mean, hello, do people just not own printers anymore?!  If so, where the heck are they?!  Because I have yet to see a desk of a blogger hold a printer.  Maybe I’m just high maintenance?  Ok, let's don't go there.

Anywho, most of you who have been reading for a while also know that I’m an organization freak, so while there is a lot going on in this room, every single bit of it is labeled and organized to the max.  I assure you.  I can find anything that I need in about three seconds flat.

Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, without further ado, I present to you my favorite room in our entire house!  Come on in!  



The very first thing that you see when you walk in is my gallery wall of photos of some of my favorite people – Brian, the babies, my parents, my bros, and my girlfriends.  Some of my favorite pictures with my favorite peeps!




In the very center of the room is my crafting table.  It houses all of my crafting tools. 




The front left cubbies hold all of my project boxes.  I usually have about 8 billion projects going on at any given time, so it’s nice to have them housed in 12x12 boxes so they’re not all laying around everywhere and cluttering up the room.  As you can see, I have eight boxes, and all eight are currently being used.  I’m a busy, busy lady!  When I hear someone say they’re bored I’m like, “What?!”  I think if I had nothing but free time for the next 50 years, I could easily keep myself entertained.




The front right drawers contain all of my art supplies – markers, paint, glue, fabric, etc.



On top of the table, I keep my Silhouette Cameo and an organizer to store all of my frequently used crafting tools – paint brushes, scissors, ruler, glue dots, etc. as well as a few pretties to liven up the room.





On the back side of the table I keep my scrapbooking supplies – the left side has trays for all of my scrapbook paper (yes, they are all categorized) and the right side has drawers that hold all of my embellishments as well as a container for all of my duplicate pictures and enlargements that I’ve developed through the years.



On the wall by the closet hangs my favorite piece of art in the room – the very first oil painting that I ever did.  I was just five years old.  See the date that my Daddy helped me scratch into the bottom right corner?




It also holds the logo that I made for myself when I started my blog.  You can see that tutorial here.





My dream office has always consisted of wall to wall bookshelves on one wall.  I love to read, scrapbook, journal, etc. so I have a lot of books.  A couple of years ago I bought the Billy Bookcases from Ikea and they made all of my dreams come true!




The left bookcase holds all of my books, a few old childrens’ books that were mine, and a few keepsake magazines that I’m hanging onto.  Aren't books just so darn pretty?  I just can't bring myself to use a Kindle.




The two middle bookcases are dedicated to keepsakes – old diaries, scrapbooks, home videos, photo albums, and my CD collection is hiding behind those white shelf covers (tutorial here).  I also have a shelf for keepsakes from Jacob’s and Olivia’s newborn days, and I have a shelf for all of our wedding albums.






The right bookcase is for miscellaneous stuff that includes all of my planner supplies – stickers, sticky notes, special pens, stamps, etc.







The chest under the window houses our remaining wedding memorabilia – I told y’all that I save a lot of stuff!



I made the black and white curtains, and you can see that tutorial here.




To the right of the window, I have a station where I keep all of my office supplies – printer paper, tape, glue, extra notebooks, stationary, hanging folders, etc.



Above that station is a timeline gallery wall that I created about my adult life.  You can see more shots and explanations of each of the items here.




The last wall in the room holds my desk and file cabinet.  This desk is where I do all of my blogging, bill-paying, etc. and the file cabinet holds old bills, medical info, and “life paperwork” as I like to call it.  Eventually I would like to get rid of that thing and go totally paperless, but that will be a big job, and I don’t see it happening any time soon.  I actually acquired the file cabinet from work.  They were getting rid of some older furniture so I snagged one as quickly as I could!  The only problem was that it was pretty ugly and scratched up, so I bought some gold polka dot contact paper from Hobby Lobby and now it looks fabulous!  

The bulletin board above my desk is used to hold all of my current inspiration as well as some practical lists and keepsakes.  I made the board a few months back and you can see that tutorial here.  The gallery wall above the file cabinet is the unfinished portion of the room.  As you can see, several of the frames are still empty.  I really need to get on that!











Well, I hope you enjoyed my tour, and just so you can see what I have to put up with when taking my pictures, here’s a picture of my littlest photo-bomber… she always wants to be under Mommy’s feet!



I hope you enjoyed the tour!  We’re actually nearing the end of my Home Tour Tuesday series as I only have two more segments planned.  I’m hoping to be back next week to share our outdoor living space, and then I’m going to be doing a fun “how the house actually looks” post just so y’all will know that I’m not some crazy do-it-all keep-the-house-spotless mom!  Enjoy your Tuesday!