Category: Blogging

“I Have Failed as a Mother!”

It’s starting to become very apparent to me how much Connor is actually soaking in.  For instance, Terence and I watch the morning news while we get ready for work in the mornings.  Which is a tornado in itself. Connor is usually in our room too and I’m sure he’s been seeing all the news about the planes going down and stuff like that (let’s not even get started on the Ebola virus…which is scaring the **** out of me!!!  Maybe I should just ban myself from watching the news?  But it’s good to be in the know right? Whatevs.

So, Terence was on a business trip earlier this week and Connor saw a plane on the news and said “Did my Daddy die in an airplane?” WTH-eck?  “Of course not!” “Why would you think that?”

Seriously that scared me and I was just thinking how in the world he would have picked that up!

Then earlier this week he told me “Mom I really miss my church friends and I want to go back to Sunday school”.   Queue the MOM FAIL.  We’ve had visitors from out-of-town every weekend for the last month and are too lazy to get our bums out of bed and go to church.  But he’s noticing and that hurts my heart.  That’s like God saying “BAM!  You need a reality check Becky.”

In the words of Beverly Goldberg (My favorite TV Mom)

“I have failed as a MOTHER!”

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I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a perfect person and definitely not a perfect wife or mom.  I fail a TON.

First and foremost I want my family to feel loved and like they are my top priority.  I hope they know this.  It’s crazy how life gets in the way and all of a sudden you forget the little things that seep in the cracks.

Other thoughts:

Sure, I’d like to lose 30 lbs.  But am I willing to give up my mean chocolate habit? Uhm…………..Occasionally.

I haven’t had that “Aha” moment and I’m certainly not going to go on a cleanse or post pictures of myself half-naked on Instagram showing how fit I am or how much weight I’ve lost.  Although I am proud of these women…dang it makes me feel like poo.

Seriously how do these people exercise a bazillion hours a day and do everything else that needs to get done?  Their stories are inspiring….but I want to read about something OTHER than before and after pics and how many calories they’ve burned that day. Gah.  (That’s just myself saying boo on me)  Guilty as charged.

Because frankly, after 8+ hours of work I just want to sit on my sofa & watch The Mindy Project and drink a glass of wine.

Also, the outfit posts.  Oh the fashion blogging storm….mercy.  I like fashion just like the next chick.  I love to shop. But how in the WORLD do people post different outfits every.single.day and I’m sitting here wearing the same pants 3 days in a row?  I love the outfits, I like the fashion inspirational posts…..but again….I want to read more than what brand of jeans you are wearing that day.  And about your $3,000 shoes.  Like, what is actually in your noggin?

I’m going on a little rant here that I didn’t intend to…..

I’m feeling out loud and probably over-sharing too much….blah….blah….blah.  But I want to read about YOUR lives….as I know you want to read about mine.  (Yes I have the occasional review post because I’m NOT made of $$$ and it doesn’t grow on trees and as long as it’s something I would enjoy doing…they why not!)  DON’T JUDGE. And I don’t want to forget why I started blogging in the first place.  To read about every day challenges and have that support system.

And someone to honestly tell me what it’s like and smack me over the head and say “Get it together!”

I’m not saying to stop what you’re doing.  Just show more of yourself.  Being honest, raw, and not being ashamed of what you have to say is something in itself.

Love you peeps.  Thanks for listening and have a happy Thursday!

“Orange you glad it’s Thursday?”

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Sunshine Glaze: DFW Bloggers Girls Night Out

Last night I got together with some of my favorite local DFW bloggers for an event at Sunshine Glaze Creative Studio in Southlake. This group of girls is so much fun and it’s always great to see familiar faces and meet new ones!

We all got to pick a letter out and then we added glass mosaic on top. Now I have to grout it and I’ve never grouted so I hope it turns out okay! Sunshine Glaze was such a fun place and I’ll definitely be going back to make fun goodies with Connor.
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 Making my letter “B”.  It’s good…because it works for both my first and last name 😉
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My mosaic masterpiece! Yay!
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Beautiful DFW blogger gals…..so sweet!  Can’t wait to see you all again soon!
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Finish This Week 22: A Link Up (A Day LATE!)

Welcome to Week 22 of Finish This! This link-up is hosted by NICOLE (Three31) LISA (COASTLINED), JEN (The Arizona Russums), BECKY (The Java Mama) and I and we’re so glad you’re here. If you’ve joined us before, thanks for returning! Be sure to add your post to the link-up. If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry. Simply answer the prompts in a comment. Next week’s prompts are at the bottom of this post.

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1. I conquer fear … By praying.  There are so many scary things in this world we are living in right now.  I just want put Connor in a bubble so he won’t be exposed to all the hate and violence out there.  Unfortunately, I can’t do that.  I just have to have faith that God will take care of us and protect my family.

2. I follow my heart … I think I lead with my heart a lot.  I’m a very sensitive person in general and I care greatly for others.  My way of showing I care is by doing “service” for others and it makes me feel good to serve others.  In doing this I think you have to follow your heart 🙂

3. I feed my soul by … Praying.  Meditating in prayer, talking to God.  Quiet time and every now and then throughout the day I’ll just have a soul moment where I feel like it’s God guiding me in a way.  I feel Him throughout the day and I’m thankful I have that relationship to talk to Him whenever I want.  He’s always there and He is always listening!

4. I used to worry about ____ but then I …

I used to worry about what people think of me so much.  If they were judging me or whatever.  I have been on antidepressants since I was around 16.  It’s just something that unfortunately is in my gene pool.  I struggle with worry on a daily basis.  Thankfully my faith has helped a lot.  As I get older it’s been easier to let things roll of my back.  Over the years you sort of figure out what truly matters in life.

LINK UP & VIEW OTHERS HERE

Now it’s your turn. Answer these prompts in a post on your own blog or, if you do not have a blog, simply add your responses in a comment. Join us next Wednesday for another round of Finish This where we’ll answer the prompts below!

Prompts for WEEK 23 (June 11) are:  The best compliment I ever received … Wearing red lipstick makes me feel … The best investment I’ve made … My best childhood memory …

Also I’m doing a series on Instagram called #workingwardrobe I’d love for you all to link up!!!  Peace out LOVES! adfdf

Why I Switched From Blogger To WordPress…

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I could go into great detail on the reasons why I decided to finally make the leap from Blogger to WordPress, but I’ll give you a list of reasons why I finally did.

I’ve been blogging since 2006.  That’s almost 8 years of blogging.  This website is my journal and holds many memories.  A little over a year and a half ago I heard a lot of things were going to change on Blogger, but I still didn’t really want to mess with changing my blog over to WordPress.  I heard it was expensive and it’s a totally different platform than Blogger.  Many told me it was hard to learn and to just stick to what I knew and what was working for me.  I did for a long time….and I can’t say anything bad about Blogger.com it’s a great FREE site to host a blog!

I’ll list out a few reasons why I switched:

1.  My website is now MINE.  I own the domain and it’s self-hosted, which means if anything happens all my content, pictures, etc are backed up and accounted for.

2.  It was an investment to switch (maybe a few hundred dollars-but that’s for 2-3 years of hosting until I renew) for me I thought it was worth the investment.  I chose to go with BlueHost and they have been WONDERFUL!  Anytime I screwed something up royally or lost something on my blog they were quick to fix it for me and get me back on my feet.  The customer service from BlueHost is great!

3.  It took a couple of months to get use to a new blogging platform.  I can honestly say there is so much you can DO with WordPress that you can’t do with Blogger.  So many plugins and widgets to customize your site.

4.  A template doesn’t have to be expensive.  I found mine on Etsy.  The seller was super nice and I bought my template with Genesis framework for around $40.  I would highly recommend Genesis for anyone looking for a WordPress theme.

5.  Besides being able to customize your site exactly the way you want it, you also can really customize the SEO for your site.  This makes it easier for people to find your content when searching for a specific topic.

My content and photos are more organized in my WordPress account.  I can categorize things easily and find posts to link back to with a click of a button.  It took a while to learn about platforms, widgets, and plugins.  I would never EVER pay someone to convert my blog from Blogger to WordPress.  It’s a simple and FREE plugin that does all the work for you.  All you have to do is search for the plugin and install!  So easy.

Do your research.  Decide what you want.  Once you decide on a host they’ll set up everything for you.  It will take a few days for your host to convert everything over to your new site.  You can use the same web address too.  Nothing changes-except now I feel like my site is a bit more polished and professional.

If you are a serious blogger I would highly recommend switching.  It makes a big difference in a lot of ways.  I’m probably not even mentioning a lot right now….just know it’s a lot cleaner and organized way to blog.  If you have any questions feel free to email me or leave a comment below and I’ll do the best I can to answer.  To get started check out BlueHost and their rates are very reasonable.  From that point it’s just converting, picking a theme, and customizing.  You’ll never have to worry about losing something on your blog again and I promise you won’t regret the switch.

Happy New Year 2014

Happy New Year to you!!!

This year I have no resolutions.  Every year I try to make them I set myself up for failure.  I don’t do well in a pressure cooker.  Instead I’m just going to put it all in God’s hands knowing that everything is exactly how it should be.  Sure, I need to make a lot of changes, but I also know I’m a child of God.  I sin.  My sin has already been forgiven.

Because of HIM I can face tomorrow.

May this new year be a blessing to each and every one of you!  I look forward to journaling and following everyone’s lives.  It’s amazing looking back at blogging over 7 years later & how everyone’s lives have changed.  It’s just the best thing ever.  I hope I don’t ever lose that…..the close connection.  It’s why I started this in the first place.  Even if you don’t blog anymore, at least we had the chance to cross paths and impact each other’s lives.  It’s been the greatest & I wish everyone all the best….may all your hopes & dreams be realized….if not this coming year….in the future.

My greatest blessing wishes you a Happy New Year too 🙂D7K_3463 D7K_3456 D7K_3466 D7K_3469

I’m a sucker for photos 🙂D7K_3471 Untitled-1

Dear My Beginning Blogger Self…

Have you ever thought about what you could tell your beginning blogger self? I wrote myself a letter full of advice to my beginning blogger self.

Dear Me…

 

Welcome to the blogging world!! It is one of the most amazing things you will ever get involved in. The community, the people you meet, the experiences that come your way are going to change your world forever.

Click here to continue to Texas Women Bloggers to read the rest of the article.

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Image Source: Texas Women Bloggers

Why I’m Switching to WordPress…

First let me just say this is quite a process and if it weren’t for Sarah I’d be lost!

 

She’s amazing!

 

Also, A Royal Daughter wrote some great articles on why she switched from Blogger to WordPress.

 

I think they are great, either way your blog will do just fine….it’s a personal decision.

 

You can read her articles HERE and HERE