To blog or not to blog?!

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You may or may not have noticed that I've bean MIA from the blog for most of the summer. I could tell you all about the trials my family and I have been going through and how that didn't leave any time for projects, and therefore blogging on this supposedly project oriented blog; and I wouldn't be lying to you at all. I could tell you that I really wanted to take a break for the summer to spend more time with my family and serving others, and that wouldn't be a lie either. Whether that actually happened or not is enough for a whole new post. In reality, I really thought that I was done with this blogging thing, and since I wasn't having much success with it, why even try, right? Classic failure mentality, one that I have been guilty of giving into in many areas and endeavors of my life. Honestly, I couldn't even bring myself to write anything, even to say I won't be blogging or that I may return in the fall, because I really thought I wouldn't. 

The thing about failure is that I can't usually accept it easily in my life, which is why I continued to try to work on this blog in the past - probably because of how much I hated to admit to myself that I am failing miserably. Makes perfect sense, right? This may very well be the case, except I miss it so much, and even more than that, I miss crafting and doing projects. I miss using my creativity to make something to beautify my life and that of those around me. If it's only fear of failure, then why do I long to create?!

ANYWAY, here I am laying it all out on the inter webs, in the hopes that I'll be able to figure out a way to get rid of these self imposed limitations that have left me completely unable to do something that I love so dearly.

Hope y'all are enjoying the beginning of the beautiful fall season. Lots of hugs,

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Build Your Blog Conference Recap

If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, then you know that last weekend I was able to attend my first blogging conference.

I absolutely loved it! The speakers were amazing, the atmosphere was fun, easy going and inspirational, and the people were just awesome! I met a lot of bloggers, new and seasoned and they all had something I learned from them. 

I was so star struck when I met some of the bloggers whose blogs I already followed, such as:

Desiree from The 36th Avenue

                                           Here I am with 4 of the 6 sisters from sixsistersstuff. They were the                   

                                                             organizers and have done an amazing job.

This is Emilie from Photo By Emilie. She gave such an awesome workshop on Photography 101 and specifically how to start shooting in manual. I think my brain finally understood all that terminology and how it works. Let's see if I actually apply it! I was also the lucky winner of one of her online classes. So excited to learn more.

 

There are a lot of great things that I learned and was inspired to do. 

Stay tuned! Coming up next '7 unexpected things you learn at a Blogging Conference'

Hugs,

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I met MissMustardSeed

I am so excited to report that I was able to meet MissMustardSeed herself today. So honored! She is beyond cool. She was here in CO (about 2 hours away from where I live) promoting her new book, Inspired You, and doing some seminars about her line of milk paint. I wasn't able to attend any of the classes, but did make it just in the nick of time, before she left for the airport, to buy a book and have her sign it.

Marian is so delightful and although we talked only for a minute, as there was a line of people waiting to have their books signed, I am still happy I went. Her blog is one of the first I started following and she's been my blogging hero ever since...and to meet her in person was an awesome treat. I did manage to give her my card, so hopefully she'll be able to sop by my little blogging corner some day.

I couldn't resist, so before heading home, I stayed in my car and read some of her book. It is so awesome. Can't wait to read more of it. I highly recommend it, and the price is affordable, even for a poor cheap person like me.

So excited,

I don't meet celebrity bloggers very often,
 but I do have my own awesome projects that I share here,
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{Day 13} 30 Days to Finding your Blogging Voice

It is Day 13 of the 'Find your Blogging Voice' Challenge. For more details on how to participate, as well as to catch up on missed days, please go here and consider joining us.

Here's mine:
Name something you lost or gave away that can never be replaced.

I was 16 and on my way to my first independent journey outside the country on an airplane. My parents had to work and couldn't take me to the airport, so my mom gave me money for taxi. I decided to save that money and just take a bus with a friend of mine who said she took that bus all the time. At the bus station I went. I waited and waited. I was nervous and excited. I mean...do you remember your first plane ride? Needless to say I was flying into Prague, where I'd spend a week in a luxury hotel getting trained as a Campaing Coordinator for Amnesty International. I was young, excited and totally dumb. See...I had a suitcase, a backpack and a purse with me. As I waited for my friend, I became anxious that I may be late for my flight and went into a store right by the station to call my friend. When I came out I realized my load was lighter and remembered I had left my backpack outside.That's when I saw a group of skater teens running away with it. I was devastated. I ran after them, I freaked, I screamed, I called the police. I was really relieved when I realized I had put my ticket and passport in my purse, but somehow all my money was in the backpack.

What I lost that can never be returned is my journal. I have always been terrible at keeping journals (hence the writing prompt challenge), but that  time around I had been writing in it every day for about a year. There were so many things that happened that year and now I have no record of it. I've never really gotten over the loss of my journal and first scriptures.

I did fly to Prague that day and had to exist on a very minimal amount of money that
I had saved for not using a taxi. Ironic?
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Your turn now: Name something you lost or gave away that can never be replaced.

Miss a day? No worries! Here you can find the rest of the ways we've been working on.

Please do Pin this image, so more people can participate and get their blog writing into full gear.

Happy Blogging and Hugs,

  

Do you want to make sure you do all the prompts to find your blogging voice? 

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{Day 12} 30 Days to Finding your Blogging Voice

It is Day 12 of the 'Find your Blogging Voice' Challenge. For more details on how to participate, as well as to catch up on missed days, please go here and consider joining us.

Here's mine:
Write about the last time you ran.

I run every day - after my toddler. She is always on the move and for her safety I have to run after her all the time. But the most memorable last run I've had was my first 10K I did last weekend. I have trained for it, but as an overweight woman, it wasn't enough training for a successful race, let alone for any confidence that I was even going to finish. I was freaking out, but guess what?!?...I did it. I finished the race and I wasn't even the last one to finish. I have to say it was hard as heck. I've heard lots of people walk it or run really slow. Well... apparently that wasn't the case with this race, because when I started nice and slow, I was sort of the last one, however all those people that started really fast but weren't in the best shape of their live just like me, slowed way down a mile doown the road and I was able to pass them and keep a steady course of 4 minute runnin and 2 min walking, with a sprint at every two mile. I wanted to give up after the first two miles, as it seemed like I was going to die. I kept telling myself to literally take it one step at a a time. I ended up having some 9 min miles, mostly because I was afraid I was going to be the last one.

I finished way earlier than I thought, so none of my family was there to cheer me at the end, as I told them it would probably take me 2 hours to do it. It ended up being just a little over an hour. I now feel like I can achieve my health and weight loss goals and that my body can take more than what I give it credit and that my biggest limitation is my brain telling my body I can't go on anymore. Now I know I can.
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Your turn now: Write about the last time you ran.
Miss a day? No worries! Here you can find the rest of the ways we've been working on.

Please do Pin this image, so more people can participate and get their blog writing into full gear.

Happy Blogging and Hugs,

  

Do you want to make sure you do all the prompts to find your blogging voice? 

Please consider following or subscribing 

                   to my blog by clicking on one of the icons below:

                                                            

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If you could be any age again for a week, which would you choose? {Day 10} 30 Days to Finding your Blogging Voice

It is Day 10 of the 'Find your Blogging Voice' Challenge. For more details on how to participate, as well as to catch up on missed days, please go here and consider joining us.

Here's mine:

If you could be any age again for a week, which would you choose? This one seems like a tough one, because for some reason all I can think of, are times I had made mistakes and wish I could go back to change them. This is certainly not something I want to write about, nor is it very productive for me. Looking ahead is far more efficient than wishing I had done things differently.

So, I will write about something fun and now that I look back....pretty cute too. If I could be any age, I'd probably be in 7th grade. That is the year that so many things changed for me and really...so many of which really brought me today where I am. It is the year when I discovered Ally McBeal and decided I wanted to be a lawyer, it is the year I asked my grandma to teach me how to sew, it is the year I decided I wanted to be fluent in English...it is the year of my first date, yada yada yada.

Anyway, the reason I would choose that year is because that year (along with half the girls in my school) I had a crush on a boy from 9th grade named Ian. I, however, was not Ian material - I was a book worm and a rocker (although it had been a few years, I was still mourning Kurt Cobain's death), with long hair, flannel shirt, ripped up jeans, huge backpack and lots of metal. Ian dated girls with cute pink nail polish, wearing heels, mini skirts and tiny purses.
One day, after school as I started walking away to go home, I saw Ian out of the corner of my eye running towards my general direction. Um...somewhere close to me must be a cute girl. To my surprise, he called my name. He knew MY NAME. He wanted to walk me home and asked me on a date. To say that every girl that saw us was so upset and envious was an understatement. He walked me home after school every day that week. He said he liked me and invited me to the school Valentine's Day dance. Wha???? Seriously...I was shocked. However, the fear (and what other girls were saying) got the best of me, so the day before the dance I said I couldn't date him and that I wouldn't go to the dance with him. Surely he'll find a willing girl last minute and that he won't miss me very much. At the dance (oh...and I had to be there,'cause I was in charge of the decor, program, mc etc), I could see everyone talk about me and how Ian dumped me after one week.
So, I guess I wish that the week after the dance, I would've been courageous and not cry and hide under a rock. As an  FYI, Ian and I did date again after awhile. That is the year of my first kiss also. I feel bad that I don't even remember that boy's last name. I would totally stalk him on facebook...lol. Wouldn't you?
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Your turn now: If you could be any age again for a week, which would you choose?
Miss a day? No worries! Here you can find the rest of the ways we've been working on.

Please do Pin this image, so more people can participate and get their blog writing into full gear.

Happy Blogging and Hugs,

  

Do you want to make sure you do all the prompts to find your blogging voice? 

Please consider following or subscribing to my blog by clicking on one of the icons below:

                                                   

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