InstLife July 15-28th

I'm a little behind on showing pictures of my life. The last two weeks have been pretty busy!

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1. Adam wrote a letter to the Western Recorder and it got published!

2. I love free samples in the mail! And, heavens, are these good samples! P&G has a wonderful customer appreciation program.

3. I've really slacked on my Photo A Day July project. But this is day 20 which I actually took on day 19 (I didn't realize it was the 19th)...

4. Friday we took a day trip to see Adam's parents. The church my father-in-law is a pastor at has just built a huge gym/family center. I forgot to take pictures of it. Sad.

5. While we were at the church a terrible accident happened and if you look closely you can see the down motorcycle. My FIL found out that CSI was investigating the scene! Super exciting about CSI being within blocks of me but sad about the person who died from the accident.

6. Two samples within two weeks! Life is good! These are brew over ice k-cups from Green Mountain Coffee. I love their coffee so I was super excited about some freebies!

7. I think it was the following day when I tried it....and it needed some cream and sugar for sure!

8. One night I decided I wanted something sweet so I made peach cobbler with 1 can of peaches and about a cup of pancake mix. It was pretty good for being a "Poor Man's Cobbler"!

9. I am in the process of re-arranging the house. Yes, the entire house. For starters, most of our musical instruments are now in the living room to promote more playing of said instruments. (it's working because every time Adam walks past the djembe he has to play it just a little bit!).

Favorite Pinterest Ideas: Wedding of Mars

Pinterest has allowed me to "plan" my baby sister's wedding! She is not dating, she is not engaged, nothing! I just want to plan her wedding! Hahaha! Here are some of my favorite wedding ideas (yes, a lot are clothes, but she's a fashionista! what do you expect me to do?!)!

For the Bride:

Source: rstyle.me via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: net-a-porter.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: profreshstyle.com via Lydia on Pinterest

For the Bridemaids:

Source: jarviestudios.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Wedding Decor:

Source: hayseedhomemakin.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: moooi.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: onewed.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: weddingbycolor.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Photography:

Source: weddingphotography.com.ph via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: everylastdetailblog.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Kat's Eye Photography

My running partner, Katie, is a pretty amazing photographer. She does weddings, senior pictures, family sessions, etc, but I know newborns are her favorites. And when she has a newborn session I get to help!

Check out Baby Landon. He is the first newborn session I helped with and he is soo precious!

Here is her website and Facebook.

The Mentalist

I have become obsessed with this show. It's got all my favs: murder, mystery, enough humor to make it funny, and little to no gory stuff. If you need a little preview: http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_mentalist/

Favorite Pinterst Ideas

For my hubby and me!

Pinterest is a great place to find some fantastic ideas for dates (relatively cheap as well!) for you and your hubster! Here are a few of my favs!

Source: shannonbrown.typepad.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: momgenerations.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: ohhellofriendblog.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: thedatingdivas.com via Lydia on Pinterest

InstaLife: July 8-14

1. My brothers 17th birthday with his favorite Key Lime Cheesecake

2. We tried to take him to a Drive-In theatre for his birthday but we got rained out! So to the regular theatre we went!

3. One of my favorite places to be: church.

Favorite Pinterest Ideas

July and August: summer's pride and glory. It's hot and what in the world is better than a slice of watermelon (sprinkled with a tad of salt!) on a hot summer day?! Nothing, my friend, absolutely nothing!

Here are a few of my favorite watermelon ideas floating around Pinterest:

Source: luxirare.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: food.tipjunkie.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Home Tips: Washing Dishes

I hate washing dishes. I always have and I always will. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to make messes in the kitchen! I love to cook and bake but when it comes to cleaning what I have made dirty I am less than enthused. And to top it off I don't have an dish-washer machine. Oh, wait! I am the dish-washing machine!

So if you are like me and hate washing dishes, well, I have a tip for you. Fill your sink with the hottest possible water (don't forget the soap!), let your dishes soak until the water is at the point where you can put your hands in it (for me this is about 15-20 minutes). While your dishes are soaking read a book, watch tv, put on a load of laundry, anything. Then come back to the kitchen sink, wash your dishes, TA DA! Done!

I don't know why but spreading out the chore of dish washing makes it much more bearable for me.

Social Media Tips

A recent pin on Pinterest had this written beneath it:

"Pin now, look later"

Sorry, friends! This is *not* how Pinterest is supposed to work.

There are amazingly crafty people in the world with amazing ideas and they should receive credit for those ideas! So PLEASE! Look NOW, pin now!

It is so simple and quick to verify a pin. If it opens to an actual website (blog or site) with directions, etc, (not just pictures), then you're good to go! Pin away. If it opens to a tumbler, a single picture (or blog) without giving credit to the creator then just stop and don't repin it.

I admit, there are times I get so excited about pins I see on Pinterest that I forget to verify (we aren't perfect!) but I do my best to be very mindful of everything I pin.

So be kind and give credit where credit is due!

Look now, Pin now! and.be.happy!

Swagbucks

I have recently joined Swagbucks. I've been reading about it on the various blogs I follow and curious as ever I decided to sign up!

The basic idea is to earn "swagbucks" by completing surveys, watching videos, searching via their search bar, etc, etc. By doing so you can then redeem your swagbucks for items in the Swag store for things like giftcards, baby products, lots of digital items, etc.

I have yet to redeem my swagbucks because I'm saving my bucks for something special! If you want sign up, please send me your email so I can invite you and then earn matching bucks! You can in turn do the same with your friends!

InstaLife

I have to give credit to my sister, Bethany, for this idea of showcasing your week/life through pictures (mostly from Instagram). But ever since her first post doing it I haven't been able to get it out of my head. So here goes! My week via Instagram:

1. Dumpster diving with my brothers was very exciting and fruitful! Six beautiful pallets for my little DIY heart!

2. My giveaway win from Papercuts by Dmytro and Iuliia hosted by Created by Laurie

3. My youngest brothers came to visit for the week. Last Sunday we went to Copper River Grill and they downed "Bigfoot's Mother-in-law". Spank even finished all of his fries! But Micah did eat TWO tomatoes and he HATES tomatoes!

4. Micah got Facebook! Finally! :)

5. In the midst of dumpster diving Spank found his dream car!

6. and 7. Adam trying to tie a cherry stem into a knot in his mouth. It took him a while but he finally did it!

Favorite Pinterest Ideas

For the Home:

Lately, I've been obsessed with pallets, crates, old/vintage wood, etc. And to further my obsession there is Pinterest with soo many amazing things you can do with old crates or pallets. I'm seriously in love with each of the following ideas:

Source: diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Source: frenchbydesign.blogspot.com via Lydia on Pinterest

First 5K Run!

Wednesday I completed my first ever 5k! My time was 45.38 and that includes a bit of walking in there but I don't care! I am so pleased with myself and with my body. Four months ago I would have never dreamed I'd be able to run so much.

I started the Couch to 5K program with my friend, Katie, from church in preparation of the Color Run (coming up at the end of this month!) a couple months ago. We started off barely able to run 45 seconds! But we pushed on and look at us now! We finished.

My goal is to push harder and to build up my strength to that I can finish the Color Run with better time. I am a competitive person by nature so I want more. I want to be faster. I want to be stronger.

*picture taken by Adam on Katie's phone! :)

Home Tips

Do you love the taste of fresh cilantro or parsley? I sure do! But if I don't use the whole bunch within a week it tends to go bad. Ever had that happen? Well, never worry about that again!

After washing your cilantro and patting it dry, split into 3 or 4 smaller bunches, and then put in freezer bags. Freeze until needed. Your cilantro or parsley will be a snap to chop and it will taste as fresh as ever!

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