on the radio

right after new years, we had a speaker in church talking about new years resolutions.
of course i dont remember all of it,  but one thing that stuck out to me was

if you feel like you are better than or
worse than another person
that should raise a red flag
and we should re-evaluate our lives
because we are ALL sons and daughters of god
& life shouldn't be spent comparing ourselves to others


i thought about that a lot
still do, in fact.
because i try not to, but i always compare myself to others.
and i'm almost always judging myself as not as good
never good enough
i'm not as slim as her
i'm don't have as followers on my blog as her
her hair is so much prettier than mine
my house is a mess
she's a better mother than i am
the list goes on & on


so the words to On the Radio by Regina Spektor really spoke to me

so, my goal is to try take be more accepting of myself.
to try to be the best person that i can be.  to love myself.
so that i can help my children grow up loving themselves.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysugarblossom.blogspot.com/search/label/music mondays"> <img src="http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l534/sugarblossomboutique/musicmondayswithsbb-1.jpg" /></a>

Self-Portrait Saturday

Bam!
I did it again!
linking up with Dana for Self-Portrait Saturday.
Aren't you proud?
No, of course you're not...
why would you be?

I really like to read Dana's advice for how to take better self-portraits.  If you click on over there you can see her advice....like what kind of lenses make dreamy/foggy photos.. Maybe next time, I might actually take her advice...maybe even pull out the tripod...then you'll be so proud, right?

Pass it Forward Project

I'm excited to share with you something very exciting from Ashley @ The Shine Project
Her new, inspired idea is called Pass It Forward
The idea behind it is to serve others.
The exciting new twist behind it is that you get to see where it goes! :)
It starts with a card like this, and after doing a small service
you pass the card along to the next person!

I think Ashley, herself says it best:

Pass It Forward was designed to get people to do little things, everyday, that makes an impact on the community around them. Pass it Forward is designed around a card. Each card is given a unique ID number. Lets say we're at McDonalds, and I decide to pay for the person behind me in the drive through. I'd give the cashier the card, and tell them to pass it along to the next car when the give them the food that has been paid for. I then go home and log into the website that was on the card, and find my unique ID number. I log into it, and add my information... My first name, city, and a description of what I did....

If the person behind me was you, you would pass it forward to someone else, 

and then would go home and do the same thing.

From the very beginning, you will be able to track where your card goes, and how many people you affect just by doing one simple act of kindness.

(www.spreadtheshine.com)

I'm so excited about this project!
I think it's such an awesome addition to be able to see where your card ends up!
As of right now, you can get a pack of 10 cards HERE for $2.50....
or, you can just wait around and see if a card ends up in your fingertips....
but which one sounds like more FUN?!

"Service changes people. 

It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective, 

and brings out the best in each one of us. 

It gets us looking outward instead of inward. 

Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed."
--Derek A. Cuthbert,

 Ashley will be featuring each Friday on her blog stories of people who have shared their card.
Are you going to be one of them?

sofa loaf

me and sofia

we go together like
peanuts and paydays
marley and reggae

oh wait, maybe not quite like that
more like this:

or maybe we watch too many re-runs, i don't know
but the point is, she is my baby and we spend lots of time together!

I want to share with you Sofia's latest art creations.  Her daddy is an artist, so she's very passionate about her artwork. 

first off, she drew Gary from Spongebob

next, she drew the man, himself, Spongebob jellyfishing

and, last {my fave} Plankton

now, you can start to see why I'm head over heels for my little Sofa Loaf!

Great Minds Think Alike...

Funny thing happened the other day...
and by the other day I mean Christmas morning.

Jeremy sat a big, heavy present on my lap and told me
"this is a two-part present"

I opened it and it was a warehouse-club-size supply of Diet Dr. Pepper {my fave}

and, the 2nd part of the present...

cherry syrup! 

which was super thoughtful because I always order Diet Dr. Pepper with cherry syrup anytime we go out (happy hour at Sonic, anyone?? :)

So, the funny thing is I had a two part present for Jeremy, too.

First Part:
a fridge pack of Diet Dr. Pepper (did I fail to mention, this is his favorite drink, too)

and the Second Part:
this adorable print from Livy Love Designs

it reads: I love you more than Diet Dr. Pepper

isn't that sweet?!

I've hung it up in our bedroom like so:

 (I also gave him another print that hangs with it...I'll share that with you another time...that is, if the suspense doesn't kill you first)

Diana of Livy Love Designs can customize her adorable I love you more than Diet Coke print.  I got to tweak what it said, and also pick the colors, how fun is that?!

Here's the original version:

Her entire etsy shop is so adorable! I asked Diana to participate in my 20 questions series so we could get to know her better!

1. do you have children?   2 kids! Olivia is 18 months and harrison is almost 3 months.  Needless to say, my hands are full, but its super fun have 2 under 2!

2. what one word would you use to describe yourself? go getter.  I am always trying new things, learning new things and wanting to get stuff done!

3.  what's your favorite color? I love Pink.  I am a true girly girl!

4. which do you prefer hot chocolate or coffee? Hot Chocolate...I don't drink coffee.  Yes I survived newborns with NO coffee! I should get an award.

5. if you could have a super power what would it be?  I would love to be invisible.  Would be so cool to do so much without being seen.

6. what one word would you use to describe your business? Colorful.  I love colors and patterns and I try to incorporate that into my designs.

7. which do you prefer the beach or the mountains? Definitely the mountains.  I have lived by both and I like the beach, but I love the mountains.

8. favorite season? Fall.  The leaves changing, the cold weather, plus Halloween is my favorite and thats when that happens.

9. favorite pizza toppings? I'm plain, love pepperoni.

10. night owl or early bird? night owl.  I could stay up REAL late!

11. favorite TV show or movie? I love the bachelor right now!

12. what is your guilty pleasure? Teen Mom, the girls are sometimes really lame, but I just can't stop watching it.

13. what is your favorite phone app? Instagram! Follow me (dianasmith)

14. what is your most embarassing moment? Nothing too bad has happened to me!! I am grateful for that...knock on wood.

15. what's your favorite ice cream flavor? chocolate ... again I am super plain!

16. how did you meet your spouse? We met through friends when I was 18 and he was 21.

17. what's one food you can't live without? Chocolate...so good!

18. what was the happiest day of your life? my babies being born.  Nothing feels better than holding them AND not being pregnant anymore haha

19. favorite sport? I don't really like sports, but probably baseball.

20. name one item on your bucket list I would love to be my own boss and have a really successful company.

It's been so much fun to get to know Diana better!  She is so kind to offer my readers 25% off her etsy shop when you use code etsylove THANKS Diana!

Here are a few of my other favorite items from her shop

Be sure to go check it out for yourself!

shop

blog

twitter

facebook

and, if you're a blogger or shop owner and would like to participate in my 20 questions series, let me know!  I'd love to have you :)

hooray, hooray

I thought, in honor of President's Day,  I might feature a song from The Presidents of the United States of America (remember them??) but, i'm 100% sure no one wants any songs about millions of peaches stuck in their head...instead, i'll share the 2 songs that really have been stuck in my head all week.

I've been kinda obsessed with these two songs this week.  These ladies have such beautiful voices.  I love both of these songs partly because of the range of voice the singers have to have in order to sing them.  They both go real high, and quite low.

First off, it's Taylor Swift's new song, with The Civil Wars.  I love that it's not too country, because I'm not a huge country fan.  This song is eerily beautiful, and so is the video.



Next, Jenny Lewis' beautiful voice.  She was the lead sing of Rilo Kiley.  She is so talented! It's so pretty, I don't think I could ever hit the high notes at the end of this song.  I've tried, in the shower.



(for the official video, click HERE)

about Music Mondays

Each Monday I'd like to share with you a song/songs that I enjoy.

It's a way for me to share what music I'm listening to and, if you have a song or artist you're interested in you can share with me, too!

You can join in with me if you'd like, it's quite fun :)

There are two ways to join me:

1.  Add a Music post to your blog and link up.  Please include the Music Monday button (on the right side of the blog) Link up tools are at the bottom of this post

2. or, just leave a comment here letting me know what music you've been listening to lately, do you have a song stuck in your head?

oh, hey, it's just me...

i should be doing laundry.
but, i thought i'd pop in for a second and join in on the self-portrait saturday

so, here it goes....

and, if you don't know me...please, know this...i have 3 children.  so, i've earned every last one of those wrinkles ;)

bow chicka wow wow

broke my glasses playing naughty librarian, haha,jk
but i am getting new glasses
whattaya think?

yes, i made my hubby go glasses shopping. on valentines day. i'm nice like that.

and jeremy knows the way to my heart is through shopping and food

so he took me to lunch with sofia

she's head over heels for her daddy

 I know the way to jeremy's heart is to go climbing, so we stopped and took a little climb after lunch.

sofia's first time at the climbing gym

I tell ya, nothing's hotter than a guy that cares about his family!!

so, we went out to lunch...and out to dinner...and out for dessert, too. (spoiled)
and dinner was at cafe rio (mmm, sweet pork salad, my fave!)
and dessert at another restaurant where they have ginormous hot cookies with ice cream and chocolate and caramel syrup on top.
He's so good to me.
Also! If you are Kelly-Marie you won the necklace giveaway from Pretty Little Me! Email me asap :)

Change is in the air

This morning Ingrid remarked "mom, you look different"
after a little prying..is it my hair? what is it?
she said "you look really tired"
ha! isn't that nice :/
of course, it's very true, but whatevs.

I grateful to all those that follow me on facebook and participated in my impromptu question/giveaway last week.  I asked what your fave spring colors are and the winner gets a new headband.  Now, I've  got a whole pile of beautiful spring colored fabric to work with, so pretty!!

now, it's time for me to get started sewing!

I haven't shaved my legs in 2 months

but I think i will today.
maybe.
jeremy bought me some beautiful pink, red and white carnations last week,
aren't they pretty?!

and while we were sitting around the table at lunch on saturday
he and the kids started making up silly poems
here are a few of my favorites





























FROM JEREMY:

FROM SWEDE:

FROM INGRID:

and last but not least, FROM SOFIA:

I  hope you are surrounded by lovely people today :)
and if you are Runner For Life   you are the winner of the necklace from Pretty Little Me, congrats!
please email me within 48 hours to claim your prize or another winner will be chosen.
Happy Valentines Day!