LLT

Hello! And welcome to.....Linky Love Thursday!

Editor's Note:  I finished this a little late last week so it's coming to you a little tardy, but it's all still true!


Just a little peek into some things I've enjoyed looking at this week:


a lovely illustrator/artist/blogger    via....lisa rupp

my montly desktop calendar download          via...lisarupp

a lovely & inspiring bouquet   link via..... lisa rupp

two lovely food blogs      via..... andrea & her sister!

another (old favorite) illustrator     via....natasha rosenberg

an awesome giveaway!  enter for me? :)  it's for a letterpress!

katie daisy.      nuff said.

a guilty pleasure is starting back up again :)  .....army wives  via.....lifetime

oh! and another guilty pleasure started a few weeks ago!   via.....white collar

a fun collection of etsy finds   via.....vintage junky

an inspiring new blog  via.....vintage junky

a crochet rose pattern         via.....crochet rosebuds       (still looking for a good infinity scarf pattern)

cookies I want to make soo badly                via.....withstyle&grace

and then there are, oh, three more recipes I've got to try from ws&g's source   via.....here, here, & here

and speaking of smores, I saw a tip somewhere last week to add a little bit of peanut butter &/or banana to your smore before smooshing the marshmallow & top graham on.
and, oh. my.  this needs to be in my mouth, STAT!

a cookie pie I want to make just as badly    via.....marigold road

a tutorial on how to make a button for your blog    via.....mandipidy

this makes me wish I had some green yarn     via......skip to my lou

an inspiring craft (embroidery hoop)  & wreath (ooh! those flowers! via.....marigold road)

a set of mugs that are simply lovely!  ......................the-four-seasons-cup-set

And lastly, isn't this just so fun?!    via....hello teef

the end of the trio

For context, read these posts about blogging and commenting first.

After all the madness that actually commenting on my favorite/newfound blogs brought, I decided to actually enter some giveaways.

Because, well.....Why wouldn't  random.org pick me?!

And you know what??

It did!

And my name + comment(s) were mentioned in a post on the blogs! eep!
see here  and   here

I was very thankful of the bloggers see sparkle power! and our humble abowed.
And also of the gifters. Here and here.

And since they weren't things I specifically requested to have -but were instead purely fun things to win, I immediately thought of gifting my new giveaway prizes to friends & family.

The little hat is going to this friend, the booties will be saved for a future baby shower, and the magnets are going to reside on my yellow-loving sis & I's fridge.


And
Here's a follow up on my commenting shpiel:
Here's an awesome post about the true nature of blogging and what it should be fostering in women : Don't let insecurities be your drive for writing/reading blogs. Instead, Be encouragers!

Favorite lines from said post:
"...a woman's insecurities only get amplified in the blogging world. we have great imaginations...so we fill in the blanks between people's snapshots and stories they choose to put on the "intranet" that day."

"so ya, in not-so-many words, secret stalkers don't make friends. come out of the bushes and say hi."

please do as she says, and come say hi.

As I said before, it feels awesome to discover a comment.
Either from new or old friends.
Proof from the Girl Scouts: "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
and no, I wasn't a GS- just a satisfied cookie customer :)



And that, my dear is the end of this trio of posting.
Beep.

Apparently, I'm a slow learner

Here is the first part of this little trio of posts.
The third part will pop up in a little while.

Also, awhile back, I finally started commenting.

Just here.

And there.

Slowly, I was letting people know that I was actually reading about their lives/passions/talents.

And you know what??

People, like, commented back!   (ugh. I am Not that valley girl in real life. Just a literary device that shows I'm human.)

It was weird.And fun.And cool.And AWESOME!

And not the same weird that I felt when my Dad told me his friend read my blog last year.
That was strange.

Kinda like letting the air out of my balloon.

What?? People (read: Strangers .....you know, the people you DON'T TAKE CANDY FROM)
actually read the stuff I write on this here blogger.com thing?
People other than me choose to read it?
People other than the four people I told about it read it?
Those same People who don't even know me have thoughts on what I say?            okay, enough questions

Big anticlimactic answer: Yes.
People write. People care. People have many of the same motivations I have for writing&reading blogs that I do.
Go figure that they would then respond after I reach out to them.  (even in my teeny, tiny gesture)
I know.
DUH, right? :)                 Yes, I'll admit, I'm a slow learner sometimes.

Another thing I should note:
I feel particularly giddy when I receive comments.
As I told my friend the other day, I feel all yummy inside. Like after I have really awesome ice cream. Or mashed potatoes. (my other true love :)
Ha- this is what I said to my friend: "Man, it's weird being in this place in life! Having friends getting engaged every other weekend, meeting friends-of-friends, and getting involved in blogs & actually getting feedback (read: comments -they're like a big "brown paper packages tied up with string" super yummy feeling) from all the nice girls I read about."


And let's leave this post at that.

How would you describe how you feel after receiving comments?

Last Chance Blogging

*I wanted to write about commenting, blogging, and giveaways a few weeks ago.
Instead, I wrote a quick note and left it sit in my draft folder for a long time.Here's what I've come up with followed by a related post from an awesome chica.
To spare you time, I'll break this up over a few posts.*

Since I recently came upon having a ton of free time, I've taken blogging to the.Next.LEVEL! a la Last Chance Workout style via: Last Chance Blogging.
Here's a weird little tale, beginning with the cycle........

I go through phases when it comes to blogging.

I read a ton,

then write a ton,

and then find tons of new blogs that I stalk uh... visit quite obsessively for awhile.


It's kind of a vicious cycle.
As in, I have no balance.

I either go blog-reading-crazy or blog-writing-crazy.

And then I joined up on bloglovin and this cycle became crazy-slanted towards the reading-other-blogs-obsessively side.
Like when you put a huge load of laundry in the washing machine and it gets super lopsided and makes crashing-whopping-faLUMPing! sounds when it gets off-kilter.

In my efforts to keep up with an insane amount of blogs, and then new blogs on top of my old blogs, while forgetting about oldies-but-goodies, I became a little overwhelmed and stopped enjoying reading for my original pleasures.
I wasn't reading blogs simply because they spoke to me about faith, being a woman, family, creating, or writing.
I was just reading out of pure insanity. Trying to stay on top. (Like I could.)


So, I started to calm things down.

I slowed down.

Frankly, I ran out of time, wasn't enjoying it as much, and felt overwhelmed by all. the. posts!


And since those things happened,
I tried (for reals this time,) to evaluate this frustrating cycle so I could stop the madness!

I realized, that I need to spend my time (if any), only reading things that are honest, uplift, teach, or encourage.

And that, my dear, rules out a lot of things.

For me, blogs can take on those various roles in different ways.

.Sharing a diy tutorial is an uplifting, teaching, and encouraging thing for me.
.Sharing the mundane details/facts of the day is honest and can easily be uplifting.
.Sharing daily outfits (if even of dirty hair or sweats) is an honest and encouraging thing.
.Sharing verses, passages, books, and inspirations is very encouraging, teaching, and uplifting.
.Sharing real. life. stories. is an incredibly honest and encouraging thing.
.Sharing when the hm-hm hits the fan is honest and encourages me to do the same.
.Sharing joys, fears, happiness, sadness, mistakes, success, grief, guilt, remorse, depression, and worries is very honest and also encourages me to do the same.

Doing all of those things basically encourages me to do the same.

Also, I realized that I really only want to post those types of things.
In the end, I want to spend my time now to help remember truly meaningful things in the future.
If I experience something worth remembering two years from now, I'll share it here. If not, it's just a waste of my time here, in the present.

Therefore, I'm going to purge.

I'm going to stop reading things that do not meet my ideas of a good blog & I'll 'unfollow' them if I need to.

No hard feelings.

I just want to take my life back again- in the best way possible :)


But wait, there's more! Check out these for thoughts on commenting and giveaways.

Here are some fun blogs I've come across recently:

Fun girl, great talent, awesome love story guest posts!   @ Take Heart
for just the love story posts   go here

Crazy, cool love story!   @ itsahuntlife

Awesome story of marriage, life, and kids   @ From the Natos

Crazy cool fashion tumblr  (with fashion inspirations!  eep!) @  From Me - To You



And in the words of little-girl Rosie Thomas,
"I'm done."

I decided to quit while I was ahead since I misspelled a word four times before finally getting it right.
That post will be for another day.
:)
Bam.
Posted.

aye

*warning: proceed with caution!
treasures & landmines ahead! (tons of links)* 

i love going to the dentist

i lock my knees whenever I put on my makeup

i sit on my legs funny whenever I sit at my computer on my desk. I look like I'm crumping when I get up.

yes, i just used the word 'crumping.'

i tend to go for long stretches of time in the winter without shaving my legs.

i just found out you're supposed to change your toothbrush every month. since i have not............eww!

i made these carrot cake bars with awesome frosting! last week. cake didn't turn out so good. frosting, once again, awesome!

i would appreciate this for another early birthday gift.

i dislike the sense of entitlement I've attained.

i went to a power team event one time at a church. i was not very enthused  -more like "huh??"

i love, love, love having two! sisters that love to cook. cooking is very draining for me.

i like to wear my thin socks my mom got me from alaska under my boots. they have bears, fish, and 'Alaska' on them :)
i would like a blog design makeover from this girl, or this girl

i found this cool store!

i taught myself how to play guitar. but haven't played in over a year. just waiting for it to feel right. ?

i want to re-teach myself how to play the clarinet. my little E-flat woodwind was fun once upon a time.

i never fantasized too much about my wedding when I was little. However, I did have my roommate from college's wedding all planned out fairly quickly  just in my head :)  lilies, white, green, & yellows, a simple, satin-y dress, and a curly up-do.

i love to read. when I was younger, I would read literally anything. labels, packaging, signs, books, pamphlets, anything.

i used to go camping with my sister in our closet.
i don't even know how we fit in there.

i tend to hide certain shoes/food from a certain person I live with so said certain person won't wear/eat them.
it's a lost cause. she does anyway. i'm okay with that. sometimes

i used to be very addicted to tv.    not as much anymore. thank God!

i am most definitely a night owl.

i don't have very strong willpower over going to bed early.

i couple the above two things far too frequently, staying up waay too late and missing out on a lot of the next day.

i like long, hot showers.

i do not know how to dance.

i am glad 2 + 2 does not equal chair.
i have never been to a bar/club. don't worry, i'm good.

i don't know what else to say.

oh yeah, i'm usually a stickler for proper spelling/typing so not capitalizing all those 'i's was really hard!

i
am

done.

A recipe for a blog

In light of some goals&dreams, I have decided to make some changes here in my blog & in my life.

*warning, this becomes a sort of "this is the house that Jack built" post in how it builds on ideas
please bear with me :)*

First, let me tell you something: I love stories.
The reason why I first started reading blogs was because I loved to follow along with someone's life, see where they were & where they were going.
Then, I started writing things on my own blog because, well, I like stories. I like to remember where I came from, where I'm at, and where I might end up. I like seeing and knowing history, whether in my life, in the things in my life, or in things in general.
When I read blogs, it isn't always what a blog looks like that draws me in, but what it actually says. If someone has a nice layout and a muted background, but talks about things I do not stand for or am completely uninterested in, I will quickly click away from that blog & move on.
The same goes with spelling. If you can't spell, edit, or even take the time to proofread, maybe use more pictures or links to express yourself :)

Also, I'm sentimental, which contributes a lot to me being a pack rat. Liking stories & being sentimental about them equals a never-throw-anything-away Grace. But that is for another time & place.

Anyways, because I like stories, I also like pictures.
Pictures show a visual story of someone's life and very clearly demonstrates with great visual acuity the past & present of someone.

Also, because I like stories, am sentimental, and like pictures, I also like videos.
I do not like to simply read/learn about someone, become familiar with their life, and recognize their face, it's also helpful to hear their voice. Hearing someone's voice can come from their own personal videos, but most often it comes the way they write, include pictures, how honest they are, and what type of personal information they share. A good example I can think of is: . On her blog, Molly uses just the right amount of words to explain herself, she shares things that are important to her, and she develops her literary voice by using different fonts, font sizes, and colors.

After addressing some main things, here is one last thing: I like blogs that spark creativity.
For me, some blogs are purely fore inspiring in that they lack written stories in favor of visual stories.
I also like good mixes in a blog. Blogs that inspire, have a clear voice, share stories, and pictures take the cake for me. These are the ones I click back to over time.

In the end, some of the changes I want to make:
.being honest.
I want to reason in writing why I understand/like/dislike/love/hate/am intrigued by certain things.

.share more stories.
Big or small, if it's important enough for me to want to remember in 2 months, I'll share it!

.share more pictures
(Which means I need to actually take some.)

.create a clear voice.
I think I'm on track for this, but need to bump things up visually/design-wise. Not to worry, things are in the works.

.expand my blog-iverse
By commenting on favorite blogs, sharing on other blogs, and sharing myself with others, and sharing my blog with family/friends.

.share more & often!