featured sponsor, june | meet melissa!

featured sponsor, june | meet melissa!

June 20, 2012

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hey ya'll. please say a big hello to my awesome sponsor melissa! she's an amazing girl and she sews these great little things we all love and know as camera strap covers!! so, stop by her blog, say hello and snag up a camera strap or two.

Hello! I am Melissa and I blog over at The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife. I am a not so simple girl who obsesses over a new hobby about every week or so which let me tell you comes in handy when you're looking for new blog material! I've been married for 7 years to the love of my life and have been a pastors kid almost my full 27 years of living. Exciting, I know! I also have the whole sarcasm thing down pretty well ;) I have been blogging since February of this year and it has already taken over my world. HA, I LOVE it, like seriously love it. Oh and the friends I'm making while I'm doing something I love... ya, crazy, I know.

Enough about me, today I am here to tell you about my new pride and joy, my new baby, the cheese to my macaroni, the icing to my cupcake, the pop to my tarts... Bet you are wondering what I'm talking about right about now. You guessed it! My new shop!!!!! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD! 

I am so beyond excited to introduce to you The Not So Ordinary Shop. In the shop I am selling some fabulous Camera Strap Covers. 

Why, you say? Well I bought my first DSLR about a month ago and I sewed a strapped for it because the Canon strap that it came with was totally DRAB. I first looked online everywhere for strap covers and I had a hard time finding really cute ones for under $25. I thought it doesn't seem like they should cost that much. So I started thinking about starting a shop where I could sell fabulous camera strap covers at a price everyone could afford. As soon as I told my husband he was behind me 110%, I mean he was writing notes and building equations, I was impressed. I said, if you are in, I am in... SO HERE WE ARE! 

Now who doesn't need their camera all glammed up?  The camera strap covers are easily changeable and slides over your existing camera strap! The default measurements are approximately 25" long and 2.5" wide and will fit any DSLR camera. We also do custom measurements at no extra charge.

We have a lot of different designs in the shop right now, but there are no set designs, so when you see one you like grab it because it might be the last time you will see that exact one. We will be getting new designs all the time, so keep checking back.

THE GOOD NEWS...

In the store the covers start at $10 each plus shipping, but in celebration of the grand opening you can use the code "CELEBRATE" and get them 25% off, which means some straps are only $7.50 plus shipping!!

Thanks for letting me share my new camera straps with you and don't forget to stop by my blog and/or shop and say Hi!

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FATHER'S DAY 2012

FATHER'S DAY 2012

June 17, 2012

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today was pretty awesome. we didn't get to spend all day with M. he left around 2 PM for a business trip and he'll be gone a week. but, having that in mind we decided to go out for breakfast and make happy moments with the time we did get today.
 

 

there's this restaurant on hilton head island called skillets cafe. we went there once in january with some friends who were visiting. somehow we got the same waiter today and he remembered us. from january!? it was a little weird and funny. but the food is delicious and the weather was perfect to eat on the patio. they even have a doggy menu.

afterwards we headed home. L started throwing a tantrum in the car so we stopped off at a park so she could burn off some energy. she had SO much fun. i can't believe how big she is getting! and we got to watch some turtles, fishes and an alligator from the dock. i miss NY a lot but having blue skies and palm trees year round ain't so shabby.

i feel so blessed today. so incredibly happy that i have a guy who is the most amazing husband and father. i am so proud of him and i can't wait to make more babies with him! 

happy fathers day M. you make our day, every day!

and happy fathers day to my daddy. you are always there to support and encourage us and i love you for that.

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LATELY

LATELY

June 15, 2012

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i can't believe i haven't blogged all week. it kind of makes me sad, but on the other hand - it was a nice break. i caught up on most of the laundry. really, is laundry every caught up on? i cleaned the house. got the grocery shopping out of the way. 

we had our design appointment yesterday. it went good. call me crazy, but one day i have the dream of seriously designing our own home from top to bottom. i am TOTALLY blessed and thrilled we are buying our own home. please don't get me wrong. it is just a little weird being told you have to choose from this, this and this. you know? anyways. we picked our house color, shutter colors, paint colors. chose our floors and cabinets. door handles and fireplace tile. 

and the kicker? lia didn't care that i was gone. for FIVE hours. five, people. i have never left her alone with anyone but my family before. i was prepared for a huge meltdown. we even bought her a ball on the way home as a surprise. probably mommy guilt. she loved her ball but she loved playing with my friend and her son more. i guess she is growing up. i cried just a teeny bit yesterday.

but that was good. and i had lots of fun in columbia last weekend for my thirty-one conference. other than that, we've been hanging at the library (L met Cinderella this week & learned the word "princess") or at home watching cartoons. it's kind of too hot to be out most days now. L has really been into getting her nails painted this week. and i've been slowing adding fun details to her big girl room and picking out oufits for family pictures.

it's another friday night here. M surprised me by taking the day off! but we ended up having an appointment with the bank this morning and going all the way to his work for a family BBQ with all of his co-workers. so while we got to be together, we weren't really together too much. he's at his other job now. me & L are holding down the fort. tomorrow i have another thirty-one meeting and then i am hoping we can squeeze in some family time. M leaves for a week on sunday. maybe we can squeeze in a fathers day breakfast somewhere before he leaves.

now i am off to finish laundry, rack my brain for ways to fill up our empty week and maybe read a book. maybe. because if i close my eyes, i'll probably fall asleep. being tired seems to be a theme around here lately.

happy weekending! maybe i'll be around again before next friday.

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IT'S THE WEEKEND

IT'S THE WEEKEND

June 8, 2012

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hey guys.

it's the weekend! i am so glad it's here. literally, i can feel my eyes close as i type this. i am *that* tired. i have been out of this week. i've let the dishes pile up, i've relaxed on parenting and let L destroy the house, i've barely cooked. i haven't cleaned. i haven't touched the laundry. and i really can't remember when the last time i showered was. tmi? yeah, tis the life of a mama sometimes.

i just haven't been feeling so great. and instead of trying to power through it, i just gave it and let it take over. and right now i am in a benadryl haze and fighting sleep. only an hour before i can get L in bed. on the bright side, she's been doing a lot better about sleep this week.

i hate when the house is in shambles. i can't concentrate. i can't do anything until i clean up and then i get so aggitated with all the messes, i feel like saying to hell with it all, you know? so i am thankful the weekend is here. i am thankful i have a thirty-one conference to go to tomorrow. it forces me to shower and get dressed and look like a human, and gives me some mama time. plus, L really misses her daddy and it'll be great for them to spend the day together. 

side note - i LOVE the few moments he gets with her when he stops in at home before heading to his second job. we sit down and have a quick dinner and then he runs all around the house with her, playing hide and seek. she has the time of her life and it helps wear her out so my evenings go a little bit easier. have i mentioned how much i love that man lately?

i'm also thankful that weekends mean extra hours with M. and a few extra hours for me to kick some house cleaning/grocery shopping/funk-killing booty. i can just get it all out this weekend and start monday with a fresh slate. 

we have a busy week coming up. play dates. story time and the summer reading program. another thirty-one event. and! we have the design appointment for our new house. we'll get to figure out all those details that make this new house our home. it's going to be stressful - we only get 2 hours. and i am leaving L for the first time with a non-family member. for several hours! but i am excited. we are making a dream come true. how many times in a lifetime do we that chance?

now i am off to go snuggle my munchkin. she amazes me beyond belief some days...

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feeling blessed.

feeling blessed.

June 6, 2012

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                                                                  Source: rebeccacooper.blogspot.com via kristy on Pinterest

it's 8:30 pm. i have a toddler that is wide awake, eating chocolate cereal. and a husband working hard at his second job for us. i am feeling overly grateful for everything we have. and overly tired.

dishes are strewn across the dining room table from a rushed dinner. toys are scattered across the house again. there is a trail of sticky red popsicle stains on the floor from the sofa to the computer desk. the laundry is piling up again. the toilets could use a good scrubbing. heck, the whole house could use a good scrubbing. but, i drove by the lot of our future house tonight and felt that dream spark.

i need to find time. i need to give lia more quality time with me. i need to learn to carve out some me time so i can be a better parent and wife. i need to keep a rein on my short-fused temper. i need to just focus and get control of things again.

it's weird feeling overly thankful for all the blessings i have, but not feeling like i balance them all too well at the same time. oh well, just some ramblings from a tired mama. 

l is saying "come" meaning to go lay in bed with her while she watches the cat in the hat. i have things to do, but tonight i'm saying yes. at least, to this. how can i resist those big, soulful brown eyes of hers?

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