A Shout Out to Shutterfly

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Shutterfly offering a free product, with just only paying shipping.  I decided I was going to take them up on the offer and ordered myself a new mouse pad for my desk at work.

 

 

I am so thrilled with the quality that it turned out to be.  The material is thick and feels nice to work on during the day.  I would definitely say that if you want to make your work space feel more at home, this is the way to go!  

 

And no, this was not a sponsored post.  I just genuinely like the product and wanted to let my readers know of a good deal when I find one!


***
Now on a separate note, I'm participating in the Mingle Monday with Life of Meg.  Want you come join in too?

 

 

 

Fish Flops {Review}

I was given Fish Flops as compensation for an honest review.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted and offered to review the brand FishFlops sandals.  

I was surprised to open the package and find TWO great pairs included.  I must admit, I love shoes and when it comes to flip flops, I'm all in.  So this was music to my ears! 

Here is a shot of my shoes I received. 

Now you can see why I was so excited, right? Totally cute shoes.  And to make this post even better, I have an opportunity who those of you interested to meet with Madison Robinson.  

·         Madison is an uncharacteristic entrepreneur, who founded FishFlops at just 8 years old. The sandals are inspired by sea creatures and select styles feature embedded LED lights that light up when worn. Quickly finding a home in the marketplace, the company has rocketed to success. Through her can-do attitude and entrepreneurial successes at a very young age, Madison has become a source of inspiration for many kids and adults alike.

·         As Madison was preparing to launch her latest line, she was thrust into a very adult situation when her best friend Shayli (age 16) was diagnosed with having a 3 cm hole in her heart. It was thankfully caught through a special heart health screening program at Shayli’s school, and she underwent life-saving open heart surgery just last month. That is why Madison’s visit to the Flip Flop Shops in Biloxi is an extra special one – heart health and heart disease is a cause near and dear to both Madison and Flip Flop Shops. Flip Flop Shops co-founder, Brian Curin, himself underwent emergency open heart surgery two years ago at age 38, and the company has since had a keen focus on raising funds and awareness for heart disease and heart healthy living.

Now, isn't she someone you would love to meet? Well, guess what?  You can! 

**Photo Opp Media Alert**

Inspiring Young Entrepreneur Heads to Biloxi in

Name of Flip Flops and Heart Health

FishFlops ® designer and creator Madison Nicole Robinson to meet fans

June 28 at Edgewater Mall Flip Flop Shops

What:              Flip Flop Shops invites fans and young entrepreneurs to come meet 16-year-old FishFlops founder Madison Nicole Robinson on Saturday, June 28. The inspirational Madison Nicole will be celebrating the launch of her next generation FishFlops collection for kids and adults, complete with music, fun activities and giveaways for the crowd.

FishFlops will donate a portion of all sales that day to the American Heart Association. The heart health cause is near and dear to Madison, as her best friend recently underwent lifesaving open heart surgery at age 16. She shares this commitment to the cause with Flip Flop Shops, whose “the Heart To Sole: Creating a Stress Free America” program raises funds for the American Heart Association year round. 

Who:                   Madison Nicole Robinson is a 16 year old designer best known as the creator of FishFlops, a popular line of footwear for kids and young adults. She was born on Galveston Island, Texas and spent many days on Galveston beaches with her family. Inspired by her surroundings, Madison created a series of charming sea characters brought to life in her drawings and the idea for FishFlops was born in 2006, at the age of 8 when she drew an outline of a flip flop on paper and added her sea characters and called them "fish flops."

Madison's message is be creative, work hard, give back, keep a positive attitude, and have fun with a smile and believes that one can be successful if you have a good idea and you have a "never quit attitude". Madison strives to inspire others to pursue their dreams and to believe they are achievable. To date, Madison has donated more than 20,000 pairs of FishFlops to various charities all over the world. For more information visit www.FishFlops.com.

Cost:               FREE and open to the public

Where:            Flip Flop Shops at Edgewater Mall, 2600 Beach Blvd. #87, Biloxi, MS

When:             Saturday, June 28, 2014 from 1 - 3 p.m.

More:              For more information visit www.flipflopshops.com or call the Flip Flop Shops Edgewater Mall (228) 388-1940 or visit its Facebook Page athttps://www.facebook.com/FlipFlopShops.Biloxi.MS.          

Media Contact:   Kelsey Richards, Duo PR for Flip Flop Shops l 206-445-1498 l kelsey@duopr.com

“Flip Flop Shops is inviting fans and young entrepreneurs to come meet 16-year-old FishFlops founder Madison Nicole Robinson on Saturday, June 28. The inspirational Madison Nicole will be celebrating the launch of her next generation FishFlops collection for kids and adults, complete with music, fun activities and giveaways for the crowd.FishFlops will donate a portion of all sales that day to the American Heart Association. The heart health cause is near and dear to Madison, as her best friend recently underwent lifesaving open heart surgery at age 16. She shares this commitment to the cause with Flip Flop Shops, whose “the Heart To Sole: Creating a Stress Free America” program raises funds for the American Heart Association year round.” 

Please look up for more information: Flip Flop Shops  /  Facebook I am so excited that I got the opportunity to show you all about this event. And it's FREE.  How many times are great events FREE? And guess what else is free?  One lucky reader of mine is going to win their very own pair of FishFlops!  You will need to enter with the Rafflecopter below.  Once a winner is chosen, your information will be passed on to the company and they will contact you with the arragements.  You will be able to choose from a women's or kids pair.  Here are some examples of their wonderful products.

Don't want any longer, enter to win NOW!  Thank you, Fish Flops for allowing me to have this opportunity to spread the word!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOU KNOW IT'S A GOOD DAY

Today I'm linking up with two of my favorite gals to read, Rachel and Brittany, for their link up....

 

 

SO let's get started, shall we?

 

-- I get to sleep past the usual 6:45!

 

-- I discover it's a really good hair day, with no extra efforts!

 

-- I finish a REALLY good book and it's everything I wanted it to be.

 

-- Getting a new book and the excitement that goes along with that.

 

-- My legs are shaved and have that extra silky smooth feeling.

 

-- I get to have a date night with my husband.

 

-- Brian cooks me my favorite meal.

 

-- A good cup of coffee just starts off the day right.

 

-- You hear a sermon and just KNOW it was meant for YOU that day.

 

-- Getting to have a wonderful conversation with my husband with no outside interruptions.

 

-- Sleeping in the middle of the bed after my husband leaves for work.

 

-- When I find great friends and link-ups via this wonderful blogging community.  Thanks for hosting, girls!

   

Upcoming: Beth Moore

You know her.

"The bigger the hair, the closer to God!" - Beth Moore

You love her.

You can see her, live.

Beth Moore is a woman with a heart for God.  She founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994. She wanted to teach women how to love and live on God's Word.

For those ladies in Mississippi (or near!) I want to especially reach out to you.  Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries is making a stop in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum on August 22-23, 2014. 

I am making plans to attend, and would love to see you there as well!

Come out and have a great women's event to worship our God. 

For more information, please click here.

 

eShakti {Review}

I received an eShakti dress as a form of compensation for my honest review. 
Blogging has some major perks.  Reviewing great products is one of those perks for us bloggers.  

I am grateful that the fine folks at eShakti thought of me and my little blog when they allowed me to pick from their site and order a dress to review for you today.  

After looking, and looking, I finally decided upon this Floral Vine Print Maxi dress.  But I have to admit, there were so many cute items that I had a HARD time deciding!

The order process was so simple and hassle-free that I would recommend you taking a look on their site and ordering you something that's sure to make your closet a little happier.

source

source

The flow of this dress is so comfortable.  You don't find yourself pulling or tugging at any area. That's a win in my book.  I received several compliments on this dress today and was glad to tell them about eShakti and their line of clothing.

source

If you've never been to their website, get on over there today.  If you register today you will get a $25 gift coupon!   That's a fantastic deal! Check out them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.   

Use the coupon code kmissipes for a 10% off discount! This offer is valid 6/23/14 to 7/23/14

Personalized Cutting Board {Giveaway!}

I am so excited to bring you all another giveaway with the help of some amazing contributors! Make sure to check out all of these girls' blogs because they are quite something!

Madison @ Wetherills Say I Do // Jenna @ Dearest Love // Rachel @ Oh, Simple Thoughts // Sarah @ Seriously, Sarah? //  Kaitlin @ Sew My Soul // Teresa @ Crafty Wife // Aleshea @ Glitz and Grits // Lauren @ Sunshine Sweet Tea // Kayla @ Mississippi Mrs // Madaline @ Pretty Thing & Co // Alli @ An Alli Event

Enter to win a personalized cutting board designed by the Mr. & Mrs. behind Oh, Simple Thoughts! These would be a perfect gift for a wedding or bridal shower, or just an addition to any home! Winner will also win a $30 giftcard to Pier 1 (or another home-goods store of your choice). 

Enter to win below, as always all entries will be verified! Open to all US residents older than 18 years. Good luck! The giveaway will run until July 1st at 12 AM. Winner must claim their prize within 48 hours of being emailed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Community Brew {Vol.1}

YA'LL! I am so excited about this today.  When Madison and Rachel started this link-up, I found myself so encouraged by all the women who participated.  I love the idea of this virtual coffee date and getting to know one another, even if we are miles and miles apart!

 

The girls renamed the link-up to Community Brew and it will now be a more regular link-up.  I love knowing there are other Christian women who want to share their faith and gain new friendships via this blogging world, like myself.

This link-up is created for bloggers to be open, honest, and vulnerable, and to build community with others.

Topic:

Community

Bible Verse:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Brainstorming Questions:

What does community mean to you?

Why is it hard to pursue community or open up to others?

What does it look like to "live in a community" with other believers and non believers?

Why is community important to you?

What does it look like to love your neighbor?

To me, the idea of community is honestly scary.  I have never done real well "in crowds" and I sure am not very comfortable letting just anyone and everyone inside my thoughts and fears. But that's what community needs to be.  We need a community of believers who can lean on each other and offer a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen when times get less than great. 

I'm a very private person, by nature.  I don't let anyone in very easily and I sure have my guard up in any new relationship I plunge into in life.  That's purely the fact that the old me was too trustworthy and it got me in bad relationships and caused a lot of hurt feelings. 

I believe for this very reason, it is hard for people to commit to being part of a community.  Sometimes the word "community" itself can come across leaving a bad taste in your mouth.  I am from a small town and I have seen/heard things from those who "lead our community."  Over the years, I've agreed and disagreed with movements and choices, but as I've aged, I've figured out my grumbling does nothing FOR the community.  I need to stand up and be a part of things and show my own talents and suggestions.

Growing a town and growing religion in that said town is an even harder task.  There will always be non believers around every corner to try and pull you down and steer you from showing just how wonderful God is to our lives.  This is when we need a community the most. 

My hope and prayer is for a community stand to show our love and gratitude toward God.  I want non believers to see us and have to re-think THEIR lives instead of trying to change our views.  The Lord works in mysterious ways and I think sometimes in the most uncomfortable settings.

While Brian and I were dating, we were attending two separate churches.  I knew this was something I wanted us to fix ASAP in our marriage.  He had responsibilities to his church by operating their sound booth so he and I didn't get to start attending church together until a month before our wedding.  We bounced around to a few churches in hopes of finding "our" church home together. 

While I LOVED my church pastor and his messages, Brian just simply wasn't comfortable in that church.  It is the largest church in town and a drastic change from where he was attending.  I knew this was God's way of showing me marriage was a compromise from the very beginning.  We ended up settling at his home church.  While at first that may sound "unfair" that I left mine and we now attend one of his choice, let me assure you it was my decision.

Walking into that church is a sense of community for me.  Like I said, I've never been the center of attention or a crowd seeker, but when I walk in this church and people fling their arms around your neck and ask things other than "how are you?" then it changes my outlook.  I feel at home at our church.  I feel a part of the community.

Brian's membership was still at this particular church, so there was no process for him to join.  I began to pray that the Lord would put it upon my heart to join this church if this is where Brian and I were supposed to worship.  I'll be completely honest, there were a few times I felt like God was talking to me, but I turned my ear until this one particular Sunday night.  God was pushing me to that altar and begging me to trust Him.  And I did.  The tears on my husband's face was worth every ounce of insecurity it took for me to stand before that church body.  (Remember, I don't like all eyes on me.)  It's a memory I hope to last a lifetime.

So I encourage you to BE a community yourself.  Invite friends over.  Put yourself out there. Trust in the Lord.

And speaking of community, I am so blessed and thankful for my fellow blog ladies who I really feel "a part of the community" with when I e-mail and text and read their blogs.  Communities aren't always those physically near you.  It can be those you don't even know in real life.  But your worth in their eyes is one in the same. 

   

#9TO5TOTALSOCIAL

I'm so excited to be back for another #TOTALSOCIAL with Helene.  Today's topic is your "9 to 5" and what that means for you.

 

So, here is where I spend my 8-4:30 (ha!) since I don't work 9-5!

 

 

Looks glamorous, right?

 

So, I work at a bank if you haven't figured that out by now.  I'm the drive-thru teller and I work as a back up CSR for new accounts/CD/IRA/etc. 

Most days, I have a really easy job.  I am one of "those" tellers who has my daily customers that I baby and know what they want to do even before they drive up.  I love working where I get a view of the world outside (even though my view pretty much stinks!)

It may not pay the most, or be the most rewarding job.  BUT I like it and have been here for almost seven years, so something must be right about it. :)

I can't wait to see what the rest of you do every day. 

 

Fault in Our Stars {Book / Movie Review}

I've been on a reading frenzy lately.  Sometimes I feel like I can't read enough in one day.  What can I say, I'm a nerd and proud of it.

 

So today, I want to share another book review with you.  And this one happens to include a movie review as well.

Amazon
 



At 16, Hazel Grace Lancaster, a three-year stage IV–cancer survivor, is clinically depressed. To help her deal with this, her doctor sends her to a weekly support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer survivor, and the two fall in love. Both kids are preternaturally intelligent, and Hazel is fascinated with a novel about cancer called An Imperial Affliction. Most particularly, she longs to know what happened to its characters after an ambiguous ending. To find out, the enterprising Augustus makes it possible for them to travel to Amsterdam, where Imperial’s author, an expatriate American, lives. What happens when they meet him must be left to readers to discover. Suffice it to say, it is significant. Writing about kids with cancer is an invitation to sentimentality and pathos—or worse, in unskilled hands, bathos.



 

BOOK:

I'm probably going to shock a lot of you right now who have read this book and loved it.  Because I, didn't.  Sure, it's a good book but it's not something I would have picked up outside the frenzy that is surrounding it's popularity right now.

The book was a good, fast, read.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  I was not left with the feeling that I HAD to pass it on, or even talk about it much.  This is so out of the ordinary for me because this is typically by kind of book I dwell in once it's over.

MOVIE:

As if my review of the book wasn't shocking enough, let me just really hit you hard with another shocker- I loved the movie.

I'm the first one to tell you that books are ALWAYS better than the movie, and I still stand beside that.  However, this movie definitely was better than the book to me for some reason. I think the characters were portrayed well and pretty accurate. 

This makes the second book I will pick the movie over the book.  My first being Nights in Rodanthe.  (Talk about a TEAR jerker!)

What did YOU think of the movie/book?

 

 

Life Break : Blogging

It almost feels weird to be back staring at this blank page.  I have been MIA from the blogging scene and this time I actually won't apologize for it.  You see, I had gotten to the point that I was feeling like blogging was just another thing on my to do that I had to check off.  And that's not how I want to feel about this blog. 

 

I started blogging to be an outlet for myself, to write for me, to document the memories that I may one day forget, and to keep anyone who wants to read up to date on my life. 

 

Blogging was never meant to be a chore, and I let it become that.  And I exhausted myself.

 

I think our bodies have a way of telling us to SLOW down and I had one of those moments about a week ago.  Brian and I had been on the go for what felt like weeks.  He and I are very much homebodies and don't like to always be somewhere.  In fact, I've come to really love my recliner at home.  Now, had you asked me this ten years ago, I would have laughed (a lot!) at you for thinking I wanted to be at home.  Now, it's the place I want to be most.

 

So, Brian and I had been dealing with a full schedule and I felt my body just desperately seeking more sleep, but I never had the time for the sleep.  So, my body shut down. 

 

 

Last Wednesday, we took Ben (Brian's little brother) to the airport to drop him off.  He is currently gone on a month long training session to Fort Knox.  We had to leave our home at 3:30 AM in order to get him there for his flight.  I don't regret going at all, but I should have listened to my body a little more.  I had a pounding headache and was sick feeling the entire trip there and back.  When we got back to town, I went on in to work.  Mistake.

 

I ended up having to leave at 1:00 that day and just go home and sleep.  My body was done.  Exhausted past it's limit.  That day's sleep made me feel a lot better, but I can still tell I'm not 100% caught up yet. 

 

I know this also goes hand in hand with the fact that I need to get up and be more active.  I've gained weight since our wedding and I think the excess weight on my body is making it tire out quicker as well.

 

So, that's where I've been lately.  I'm coming back this week, but I'm going to allow myself to ease back into this blogging world.  I'm in no competition with anyone and don't want to feel like I have to slave to prove myself here. 

 

I started this blog for me.  I will write when I want in this blog, for me.

 

 

Thanks for understanding! And to those of you who have text/email me to check up on me- You are SO SWEET!  And that is exactly the reason I love this blogging community.

 

Have a great week, friends!

 

 

Zzzzz...

 

 

I know, I know.  I've kind of been MIA lately.  But ya'll, I'm SO tired that I haven't even had the energy to READ blogs, but much less write one.  Last week was jammed back for me, so I took an abrupt blogging vacation.  After a good night's rest, I'm hoping to start pumping out some more material. 

 

Stay tuned....please.

 

June {Goals}

Before we jump head first into June, let's take a look back at May and see how I did on my goals for the month.

MAY GOALS:

-Finish: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Review coming soon! 

-Mail three snail mail letters

-Pick up flowers to decorate my front porch.

-Wake up earlier to work out.

-Purchase Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes.

-Spend more time with Him.

-Drink more water, and less soda.

-Finish my blog calendar for May/June.

While I didn't do as well as I had hoped, I am okay with the progress.  It was a busy month for Brian and I.

JUNE GOALS:

-Remaining May Goals
-Start printing wedding pictures.  Yes, I'm late.
-Make a packing list for our beach trip in July.
-Join in more link-ups with my bloggy friends.
-Get my nails done.