Better Life Blog

last minutes items (and a sneak peek)...

2012-02-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

Hey BLB readers,

Just a quick one tonight to remind you a few things:

1. The Pick Your Plum giveaway winner was announced. Was it you?

2. One more day to enter the Pinterest Challenge! 110 entries so far, and voting opens up Monday at midnight.

3. Thursday, Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy showed off her adorable Pinterest piece... it's something soft and adorable for her little one. And yesterday, Kara showed off hers... it's something I've been pinned everywhere on Pinterest with lots of different variations. Maybe you've already made one?

4. I have something SUPER FUN in the works. A new blogging initiative of sorts... here's a sneak peek:

Any guesses?

Pick Your Plum Giveaway {48 hour giveaway}

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to enter your Pinterest Projects into the Challenge! Link Party closes Sunday at midnight then voting opens for the awesome prize package.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you all heard of Pick Your Plum? It's an incredible website that offers seriously sweet stuff at a major discount.

And it's something new EVERY DAY. But the trick is to "get it before your neighbor does". Don't hesistate because they often have a limited supply. And once it's gone, it's gone!

Some days it's something to wear like this necklace of those leg/boot warmers.

The next day might be something crafty like baker's twine or fun tags.

Another day might be something personalized like this ribbon.

Every day is something new and something totally cute. And guess what? One of YOU are going to win $55 worth of Pick Your Plum awesomeness. It's a surprise at what's actually going to be in the box, but with those images above as possibilities, you KNOW it's gonna be good!

Need to have a US shipping address to enter. Giveaway will close Saturday morning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quick, Cheap Valentine Gifts

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to enter your Pinterest Projects into the Challenge! Link Party closes Sunday at midnight then voting opens for the awesome prize package.

Also, check out Bev's amazing pinterest project she posted yesterday. This girl can embroider! And Amanda is sharing her big reveal today! Leave them some Better Life Love in the form of comments and followers!

Now... on to today's post...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coming up with fun, creative Valentines for my sweetie are always fun for me. And now, with Pinterest, it's even easier! Over Christmas, I pinned this mustache mug to make as a gift. I never got around to it, but remembered it last week and thought adding a sweet set of red lips would make the perfect pair!

Thanks to my Silhouette, it was super easy! Just purchased an image and cut it out of black and red vinyl. We've had a blast using them!

A few years ago I made this for my hubby for Valentine's Day. It was perfect because he LOVE Swedish Fish and I LOVE him. We unfortunately ate all three pounds of Swedish Fish in a matter of a few days. Whoops.

It's super easy to make. I had this fish bowl shaped candy dish on hand, but it might be even more fun to go buy a NEW fishbowl at the pet store!

I dumped a large box of Nerd in the bottom to resemble fish gravel and then piled up the Swedish Fish!

The stickers were from Target's dollar sticker section (near the school supplies), so this all made for a cheap Valentine gift that my hubby LOVED.

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest so you can see all the cool ideas and crafts I'm posting to my "Love Your Husband" board! Great inspiration in there as well as book suggestions you all gave me on the Facebook page last week.

BLB of the day:

Changing Pads

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

pinterest challenge round 5

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! I've been waiting all month to announce Pinterest Challenge Round FIVE!

If this is your first time playing along, click here to read about how The Pinterest Challenge got started.

The party starts here this month! At the bottom of this post will be your link party to link up your Pinterest inspired projects! But, we will be partying all week long. Just check out the sneak peeks from our Pinheads:

And did you see who the Guest Pinhead is this month?!

Bev from Flamingo Toes! This girl totally rocks. Seriously. She has an amazing link party of her own on Sundays, has over 1200 pins on Pinterest, and was just featured in a real life magazine - TWICE. And wait until you see the project she completed for the Pinterest Challenge.

Here's the schedule for the week:
Today: Start linking up your Pinterest Inspired Projects (link party will be open until midnight on Sunday).
Tuesday: Check out our Guest Pinhead, Bev @ Flamingo Toes and see her Pinterest Piece!
Wednesday: Visit Amanda @ Ninth Street Notions and see her big reveal.
Thursday: Ashlee @ I'm Topsy Turvy shows us what she worked on.
Friday: Check out Kara @ Happy Go Lucky for her project.
the weekend: spray paint, link up, sew, link up, cook, link up (just get those projects linked up!)
Monday - Wednesday: VOTE for your favorite Pinterest Challenge piece and see what I created in honor of Pinterest Challenge Week!
Thursday: Winner announced!

Want to see what the winner will win?
{PS - the votes are going to be hidden this time around. So you won't know how many votes you have until Thursday when the winner is announced. Much more anticipation that way!}

A custom yarn wreath from Chrissy @ Simply Created.

I have one of her custom wreaths and it is simply stunning.

A thirty-one mirror compact from thirty-one consultant, Beth Walls.

A fun stain-glass necklace from her jewelry shop!

And a $20 Gift Certificate to Elle Dee Designs {to be used within 30 days}.

Now for the Party Rules:
1. Link up ANY Pinterest Inspired project you completed in the last 4 weeks (and giving credit to the original Pinterest source is just good etiquette).
2. You can link up to 5 different projects. (If you don't have a blog, email a Pinhead your pictures and a description and she will send you back a link to link up)
3. Please go back and edit your posts to include the Pinterest Challenge button on each entry.

<center><a href="http://www.pinterestchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="The Pinterest Challenge" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vlq8MLbcmI/TvP4Dszq61I/AAAAAAAABWs/Ds9KNjOirC4/s1600/Do+you+pin+button.jpg" /></a></center>

4. Have fun!
5. We have the right to delete any link that doesn't follow the rules {especially if you don't do rule #4}.

it's coming!!!

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

You know what this means, right??

Yep! It's coming!!!

Round 5 will be here with more details on Monday.

And I can't wait to share who the Guest Pinhead will be!

the time he didn't propose

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Below is another article I wrote for Radiant Magazine (the discontinued sister mag to Relevant Magazine).

It's written about an extremely painful time in my life. When my boyfriend (now husband) decided NOT to propose. In light of Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I'd sit on the side of the single ladies and share this article. No, not every Valentine's Day was spent in joyful bliss. Sometimes it was just painful.

It hurts, but God wants to teach us in our pain.

Here we go...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{via Summer 2006}

For the first time in my life, I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no idea what my life looks like after my internship is up on August 1^st. No idea what state I’ll be living in, where I will be worshiping on Sundays, how I’ll be financing my unidentified apartment or who my unknown best friends will be.

To make matters worse, everyone keeps asking me what I’m going to do come August. After explaining my oh-so-ambiguous plans, they look at me with big eyes, an enormous smile and positively exclaim,

“That’s SO exciting! Not knowing what you’re doing. It’s like a big adventure with God!”

I nod quickly, thankful for their encouragement, and then exit the conversation and perimeter as fast as I can before the tears inevitably start to fall.

The plans of my life weren’t always so unclear. In fact, three weeks ago I was helping my boyfriend pick out my engagement ring and hearing him describe his plans of asking my dad for my hand in marriage and proposing to me on a family vacation that ended last week.

Most people would be appalled that I knew when my proposal was going to happen, but I’ve never been very good at surprises. I always knew what I was getting at Christmas way before the morning of. Not knowing all the details of something big that is coming drives me crazy. It’s a control issue God is currently breaking me of, but being aware of everything that is going to happen gives me satisfaction that my life is on track. Or maybe just the assurance that it’s on a track at all.

According to my plans and the expectations I had been given, I should be writing this article with a diamond ring sparkling on my left finger. Each tap of the “S” key should be resulting in some bling from a .75 carat Princess cut solitaire.

But, things didn’t quite go as I had expected them to. Two days before my boyfriend was to fly with our engagement ring to southern California for a beach vacation with my family, he pulled some surprising news.

He said that while he still wanted to marry me and loved me whole-heartedly, he felt convicted that he hadn’t given God enough say in whether this was the right time to propose to me. My life seemed to crash around me as I listened to him describe his desire to have God control the timing of his life and our relationship. I should’ve been thrilled that my boyfriend was seeking God in one of the most important decisions of our lives, but instead the only thoughts surfacing were those of disappointment and confusion. I was suddenly out of control… things were not going as planned.

God has shown me through all this that I have no right to have any expectations for my life. Who am I to tell Him where I want to be next year? Who am I to tell Him how my life should turn out? I have to keep reminding myself that I don’t have the whole picture. I can’t see my life’s future like God can. I can’t see which plan of mine will succeed the best. And I definitely can’t have expectations for what my life will look like in two years when I don’t have any control over the days in between.

There is something I CAN do, though. I can surrender my expectations and control of my life over to the One who is truly in control - to the One who sees the future and designed my life with His perfect plan. I can count on Him to surprise me and take me places I never thought I could go while teaching me more about His unfailing and undying love for me.

For some reason, God is not allowing me to know my future right now. And after a period of rebellion and frustration, I am finally coming to terms with that. This is a good place to be. It forces me to completely trust in the Jesus I confess to have faith in.

Sadly, I think my life so far has made God closterphobic. I have been so committed to seeing my plans succeed and banking on the expectations I had coming true, God has had no room to move. He’s been walled in by my expectation to be engaged last week. He’s been caged in with my plan to be married by next summer. And He’s been tied up because of my desire to orchestrate the details of my life.

My heart is screaming to break Him free, and I must listen and obey it. I must untie him and give him the space to run and dance and move in my life – no matter what that looks like for “my plans”.

Proverbs 19:21 makes it clear that trading in my plans for God’s has to be the best plan I’ve yet to make; “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”. The Lord’s purpose will prevail in spite of my plans, but how much better to surrender those plans upfront to the Lord to do with what He will.

It’s scary. It’s uncertain. It’s exciting.

Tonight, my boyfriend and I decided on a mission statement for our new lives of surrender to God’s plans. We want to recklessly abandon our lives for the cause of Christ. That means not having any idea of what a future looks like, but knowing that God is going to take us on a real adventure with Him and He’ll really be able to use us because we’re available, willing, and have no previous plans.

The first step is to free up my life planner. Good thing I wrote in pencil.

Interested in reading more? Read one I've already shared here. And another one here.

Linking to 504 Main, Casey Leigh, and Serenity Now today.

some things are a-changin'

2012-02-02T14:23:00.001-05:00

I am currently getting a NEW WEBSITE ready for Better Life Bags. No more ETSY, but you all are going to love the new website. It's clean, simple, and easier to order than ever!

Here's a sneak peek:

I'm also making some changes to the bags I'm offering. We will be slowly transitioning to Better Life Bag designs only! While most of the bags are designed by me, I definitely use some patterns {with permission, of course} from others. Not any more.

I will be hiring some designers to design just for Better Life Bags! Do you love to design bags? Have tons of ideas floating around but no where to sell them? If you are interested in testing out YOUR design ideas to be turned into a BLB, email me with your sketches or for more information {betterlifebags@gmail.com}. I'd love to help you get your products from your head to a bag! I will pay a one time fee for the rights to the pattern and THEN a commission on each bag of your design that sells!

Also, some bag styles are going to be retiring. Like any of these?

Changing pads, The Elizabeth, The Beverly, The Rachel, burp cloths, and The Carla

Grab them now as they will not be there in a few weeks. I'm also running low on some fabrics {#1, #2, #3, #15, #16, #20} - so if those are some of your favorites, act now. I can't guarantee I'll get them back in stock.

There are lots more changes coming with the new website {new bag styles, new fabrics, some ready to ship bags, and well as some bags made from re-purposed materials}. It's going to be exciting.

Hang tight (unless your favorite bag or fabric is retiring, of course). Only a few more weeks.

5 things i'm loving right now {about my kids}

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's that time again. You saw it in January. And now that it's officially February, it's time for me to brag about how wonderful my children are and expose everything I love about them right now! So, here we go:

1. Jonah is potty trained!

That's right! We traded the diapers for Thomas the Train unders and it was all his idea. Couldn't have been simpler.

2. She turned 1.

My Little Love is no longer a baby. She is understanding so much... giving open mouthed kisses on command and finding her blankie when asked. She is finally sleeping through the night - thank goodness... although we had to lower her crib after she jumped ship.

And her birthday party was sure fun to get to prepare for.

As well as watching her smash her cake in the most delicate way possible.

3. No more nursing.

This was a bitter sweet moment for me. I shed some tears thinking about how she no longer would snuggle up to me morning, noon, and night. Thankfully, she has become even more of a snuggle bug since quitting. I think she misses it, too.

finally enjoying a glass of wine without worry.

4. Brother/sister games.

Not only do they enjoy laughing at each other while buckled into their car seats, they love playing together at home, too {most of the time}. Lately, their favorite game has been "Fetch" - where we pretend they are dogs and ask them to fetch toys.

5. Jonah's comments.

Here is a rundown of my favorite this month {via my Facebook Status updates}.

Jonah while cleaning up his mess: "it's hard to obey"

Me: "Jonah, tell Mr. Toby welcome to Hamtramck!"
Jonah: "Welcome to Hamchicken!" ;)

Jonah looks at his poops floating in the water as he sits on the toilet and says,
"Hey! I got fish poopies! I got dolphin poopies!"
Daddy: "oh! Do you have any whale or shark poopies?!"
Jonah: {grunting} "... no, I don't have no whale poopies."

Jonah looking at a horse:
"oh! Forsey is having naked time!"

Clara bumps into Jonah's "booty".
Jonah: "hey! That' my booty. I have a NIIIICE booty. I LOOVE my booty."

Jonah hiding:
Daddy: "oh no! Where is Jonah?"
Jonah: "in my pants!"

Jonah: {pulling a book off the shelf} It's a book! Wanna read it, Daddy?
Daddy: sure! What does it say?
Jonah: Jesus loves you!

Scene: Jonah's foot is stuck in a jar (don't ask how).
Jonah: "Help Mommy! My foot is stuck!"
Me: {pulls foot out}
Jonah: "Thank you, Fire Mommy!"

Everything we lay Jonah down for his nap he says (between yawns)... "but I woke up this morning!"

Whenever Jonah passes gas, he says, "I popped poopies!"

BLB of the day:

The Maggie

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

this changed my life {and my sanity}

2012-01-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

I seriously cannot tell you all enough how much I love E-mealz. I has revolutionized my life! I don't endorse or talk about many other companies on this blog... so you know it has to be good. Please give me five minutes to convince you, too.

I love to be organized and efficient with everything I do. But I had never gotten the hang of meal planning, grocery shopping, then actually cooking the meals I planned. It took too much energy and too much time.

Until I discovered e-mealz! {No one from the company has asked me to write a blog post, I just love it that much. I'm pretty confident you will at least want to TRY it after reading what I have to say.}

The program is simple. You can sign up for a 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month subscription. (of course, you save the most with the 12 month). Then, you choose the plan that works for you:

Regular
Low Fat
Low Carb
Portion Control
Vegetarian
Gluten Free
or Natural & Organic

There is a plan for everyone. After paying {which is on the cheap... between $5 - $7 per month}, you can download your menu sheet and shopping list every Sunday.

Here is a sample of the menu sheet:

And the shopping lsit:

I went shopping with my list for the first time last week and it was so easy to follow. Everything is sorted by section in the store AND since you choose the store you shop at most, E-mealz will plan your menu based on the sales that week!! This is like couponing on steroids {but without the side effects and absolutely no cutting, clipping, or printing}.

And can I just tell you about the meals? I've cooked three so far. And each time my husband has literally praised me for how delicious they taste. Every meal has taken me less than 45 minutes to prep and prepare including the suggested side dishes to go with each one. We've had a delicious peach salsa chicken, creamy chicken pasta, and white chicken chili... all to die for. With the exception of the chili, we always had leftovers for lunch the next day. And, the site claims they do not rotate recipes frequently, so this gives a lot of variety to my weekly menu.

My only qualm is that I can't pick the meals I want to eat each week, but there is something nice about not having to think. And if a meal doesn't look good {which hasn't happened yet}, my plan is to just swap it with a previous meal we've had and LOVED. The shopping list items are numbered to correspond with each meal, so deleting or changing one is easy.

When it comes time to prepare the meals, I have everything I need to make it happen. No clunky cookbook and no open laptop with the latest Pinterest meal recipe - just one sheet of paper hanging on my fridge with simple instructions.

The best part? My family is eating healthy AND AROUND THE SAME TABLE. I don't have to scrounge around to find something to cook. I know exactly what is for dinner each night {with absolutely no work outside of pushing print to get a menu together} and my life feels so much more in control. Know what I mean?

Dave Ramsey endorses the program, for heaven's sake! So you know it has to be good for your budget, too. Plus, I found a coupon code (NEWYOU) that got me 20% off my subscription.

What are you waiting for? Make your evenings enjoyable and delicious. Go sign up! I'm hooked after one week and will never be going back to another system again.

heaven has celebrity magazines

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

The bigger this blog gets, the more I struggle with basking in the fame. And I'm getting pretty sick of my attitude. I don't want to care about "followers". I don't want my heart to do leaps and dances each time the number of my "fans" goes up. And I don't want to have this sinking feeling when someone unsubscribes. In fact, it would just be easier if I could delete the following terms from my mind and conversation:

~ fans
~ followers
~ subscribers
~ readers
~ and stats

I don't want you to read that and think I don't care about YOU. YOU, the one with blonde hair who sits each morning at her computer with her coffee to catch up on Better Life. Or YOU, the one with seven adorable kids that clamor for your attention all day long. Or YOU, the one that comments and emails and encourages. I KNOW that behind each of these posts are thousands of eyes.

Eyes that belong to people.

And honestly, that makes it all worth it. If I can encourage your heart and soul for the five minutes it takes to read a Better Life blog post, then I will keep on keeping on.

But I've got to get it out of my mind that I NEED you here. To build me up. To encourage me. To tell me I'm a great person. I can't/shouldn't get that from all of you. I can only get that from Him. Enter my memory verse for the week. John 12:43...

Remember this post? I'm so embarrassed I started that lovely, giveaway post off by complaining about lack of comments. And that I ran that Facebook promotion to get more fans. Forgive me for seeking your praise above God's.

What do I want to be famous for anyway? The "reach" of my blog? My 3,000th follower? The 400th bag sale? no. I can't take any of that with me when I die.

I want to be famous for loving. For encouraging. For inspiring other to love God more and love people more. This blog may have thousands of readers, but I only blog FOR one. Him.

He must become greater; I must become less. {John 3:30}

{help me remember that.}

So...
I've deleted the little box on my blog that shows how many fans and followers I have. It seems that Google Friend Connect is going away anyway on March 1st and who knows what Google is going to do to all you lovely readers. If you want to be sure to get my updates after March 1st, the best way would be to subscribe to the newsletter which will deliver the blog posts to your email. {But, I'll try not to care if you unsubscribe}.

And I'd delete my Facebook fan number if I could, but you can guarantee there will be no more "I'm only 5 fans away from ...." {usually someone deletes themselves immediately after I post that, anyway - Murphy's Law}.

It's funny... as I was writing this post I was reminded of a certain vice I had in college... celebrity gossip magazines. You know the kind. I'd go to the bookstore to "study" and find my self hidden behind piles of them. I went on a fast from them once I realized it was out of control. It was then that God shared something with me.

Heaven has celebrity magazines that are all the rage. Except, instead of Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson covering every page, there are pictures and articles about us. Us... people who are doing good. People who are loving with all their heart. People who are giving when it seems they have nothing left to give. People who are doing it all for God and His Glory.

And we are famous.

Linking to Journey of Faith Friday.

quiet book page swap

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have been recently admiring Quiet Books. You know, the soft, interactive, cloth books that promise to make your child sit quietly and be occupied? (just kidding on that last part!)

I'm determined to make two for my kiddos in the month of February. But, I in NO WAY want to sit for hours upon end making 10-15 DIFFERENT interactive pages out of felt. As fun as it would be, I just don't have the time to spend on it.

So... I thought it might be fun to do a...

Basically, we would work in groups and each make 10-15 copies of ONE page from a quiet book. Then, you would ship all of your pages to me by a certain date, I would compile them all and ship a complete Quiet Book back to you with 10-15 different pages!

What do you think?

Here are the requirements if you want to take place (please be sure you can complete it).
1. Make 10-15 copies of one page of a quiet book and have it shipped to me by Monday, February 27th WITH $5 for shipping costs.
2. Page material should be made of the thick, non-fusible Pellon from your local Joann's (I can get you the actual number this week).
3. Pages will measure 11" x 9" (to maximize the use of one yard of Pellon)
4. Nothing can be glued... everything must be sewn on to the page for long lasting results.
5. Use hard felt or cotton for pockets. The softer felt can easily stretch over time.
6. Leave 1/2" margin on the right and left of the page for binding.
7. Detachable pieces must be sturdy and durable (use stiff felt or double up the soft felt with interfacing in-between)
8. Use sew on velcro instead of sticker kind.
9. Page must be interactive (search Pinterest for "quiet book" or see my board for ideas.)
10. Sew velcro with the soft side on the page to prevent sticking to the opposite side.
11. (optional, but nice and professional... use matching thread when sewing. This hides mistakes, too!)
12. If you live outside the United States, you MAY participate, but please be aware that shipping costs may be more than $5. I will email you the estimated shipping cost if you need.

You will be binding your own books after you get the pages. I thought this would be the simplest way to do it. So, you will essentially be sent 10-15 loose quiet book pages to bind together in the manner that works for you. (also lots of tutorials on Pinterest on how to bind Quiet Books).

In case you STILL aren't convinced that you want a Quiet Book, check out the cute, interactive pages! Many of these sites actually offer the templates for the page to download. So the work is very minimal!

From my "Quiet Book" board on Pinterest.

Ready to sign up? If you want to participate in the Quiet Book Page Swap, leave a comment below with your email address. I will take the first 15 people who comment. (If there is a BIG interest, I will consider making two swap groups... so go ahead and comment if you want to be considered!)

You have until January 30th (one week from today) to decide which Quiet Book Page you want to make (it will be one 1st come, 1st serve basis, so have a couple pages picked out when you email me in case your idea is already taken).

I'm SO excited! Aren't you?

PS... if you have TWO kids and want TWO Quiet Books, leave TWO comments below. Remember, though, you will have to make 10-15 copies of TWO different pages... double the work!

simple embroidery tutorial

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am participating in a Journal Swap this week. It's been really fun to dream up a journal cover to make for my partner (maybe it's you!). After creating the cover (which I can't show you until the big link party over at Aleks Handmade), I decided it needed a little embellishing in the form of hand stitched embroidery.

I picked one of my favorite Bible verses and went to town.

Embroidering is so simple and the results are so cute. I've seen so many cute tea towels, wall hangings, and more on Pinterest using embroidery.

Want to know how to do it? I can't speak for all those more intricate designs, but "writing" something with embroidery is fairly easy. Here's how:

For this project I used three strands of embroidery thread and a regular needle. {I think the standard needlepoint and embroidery projects use 2 strands of thread. My material was just a little plush and I wanted it to stand out.}

1. Thread the needle and knot the end. Using a pencil, lightly write the word/saying you want to embroider. {the picture below says "plans" right next to the pencil tip}

2. Using your threaded needle, make one stitch along your pencil mark. {see the "l" below}. Then, for the second stitch {and everyone after that}, come up the back side a little further from the last stitch.

3. Put your needle back down through the fabric at the point where your last stitch ended. This is called a "backstitch" because you are essentially stitching backward!

Do the same "backstitch" while you follow along your pencil marks. Eventually you will end up with a sweet saying written in thread! And the fact that my stitching isn't perfect {a little wonky actually} just gives the finished product more of a handmade feel!

Seriously... get on Pinterest and search for "embroidery" {after you pin THIS tutorial to your boards, of course}. There are some INCREDIBLE pieces out there.

I think I may have a new obsession. Watch out tea towels!

ps - I'm on twitter now. Yes, I joined the group of tweet-freaks. Follow me? @betterlifebags

Linking this to Think Pink Sundays.

a tip worth pinning

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

We spent this past weekend in St. Louis - and were able to see quite a few family members.

My mother in law is a great cook and she made spaghetti for us one night. Except she didn't use the same kind of pot that I would have used to boil my noodles. And I never will again.

Goodbye normal 5-quart pot.

Hello wide, shallow stir fry pan!

Seriously, how did I not think of this before? I always hate that half of my spaghetti gets cooked before it starts to sink slowly down into the boiling water. Now, all my spaghetti will get evenly cooked.

Really, sometimes it's the littlest things in life.

{and I couldn't very well hide this new little tip from all of you, could I?}

is your marriage dusty?

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was doing some deep cleaning the other day and pulled this out from under my dresser.

Yikes. This used to be a picture that I cherished. Our first kiss as husband and wife. And now, I find it buried under dust and debris - hidden away?!

What has happened to my marriage? Have I treated my husband just like I treated this picture? Once cherished, now forgotten?

Lots of things have happened since that wedding day. Babies... moving... deaths... more babies... new ministry... new jobs. Lots of important things, but nothing so important that my marriage would become dusty and left untouched.

Our marriage is surviving at this stage. But, had I focused energy into it over the last few years, it could be thriving. And what would happen if I just let things continue coasting for the next ten years? twenty years?

I'm committing myself to INTENTIONALLY thinking about loving my husband this year. Cherishing him, supporting him, listening to him. Want to join me?

If you're like me, you need resources and ideas to get you started and motivated. So, I've put together a whole "Love Your Husband" Pinterest board dedicated to my new resolution. {isn't Pinterest the BEST?!}

It's full of books, prayers, date ideas, websites, and gift ideas. All focused on our husbands and how to show them how much we love them.

You can guarantee I'll be adding lots of things here as I come across them. And of course, blogging about it and chatting up with you all about how it's going. I'd love for you to join me.

this week's bags (plus an extra)

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week was my first week back to work after the holidays. It proved to be fun!

Alicia bag WITH an adjustable handle/strap.

Maggie bag with two inside pockets.

3 Large flat-bottomed reusable snack bags.

2 Point and Shoot Camera Cases - the Lana.

A checkbook cover.

The Tracey Clutch.

And the surprise... a special custom-order table runner made form Amy Butler material. This was a fun change from bags this week!

All bags can be found here - in the shop!

Voting is LIVE!

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to go vote for your favorite Pinterest Challenge piece! I don't know how you'll decide since there are so many awesome ones! {Be sure to click the vote star ABOVE the image of the project you want to win}

My Pinterest boards got much fuller after this Round, didn't yours? And I discovered some incredible blogs and crafty people.

I just love this Challenge!

Voting will be open until midnight tomorrow, but don't wait (or you'll forget)!

give when they can't give back

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago I posted this about my neighbor across the street. The old, lonely woman who has no family and no visitors.

Well, since that post, I have failed to keep visiting her. Every now and then I'd see someone come to her door and take her somewhere. So, I assumed she was being taken care of.

I was wrong.

Last week, I was enjoying this nice Fall weather we are having in January with my kids. She came to her door and yelled my name. (well, she calls me "Bunny"... not sure why). Slightly annoyed, I carried my toddler and my infant across the street (when all Jonah wanted to do was ride his bike), up her steps and into a house where they could touch nothing.

When I got to the door, she was crying. Tears. I come in to find out that she missed her appointment to get her food stamps renewed. She handed me a letter ONE MONTH old stating her appointment was in November. She has had no food for over a month.

She goes on to explain that she can't read and has no telephone to call the office. And suddenly, this interesting feeling starts to come over me - a compassionate "I'll take care of you" attitude coupled with a "this is going to interfere with my life" feeling.

The next morning, I take her down to the welfare office. I promise to drop her off and pick her up when everything was set. But, as I help her walk into the building, I realize that this woman needs more than a ride to the office... She needs someone to stand up for her.

So, I sit with her for two hours before we were told that the woman we need to see hasn't even arrived yet.

We leave.

And another week goes by of me calling DAILY to talk to someone at the office. Another week with no food for my neighbor. We brought a meager batch of groceries over to help curb her appetite until we could figure out this situation.

She finally has her benefits back and my husband and I have a new tradition of bringing coffee over to her every morning. Those 15 minutes may be all the people interaction she gets all day.

I like helping my neighbors. It's why we moved here - and it's nice to see some progress being made in the "loving people arena".

Which brings me to a new thought.

I've recently been convicted that the money we (as a Better Life Bag community) give to Kiva.org isn't enough. The money that I donate from 10% of your bag purchases eventually gets returned to me (since the process is a micro-loan). And I think God would rather me give the money to people and things that can't repay me.

So, I'm going to start being obedient to that leading. I'm going to start giving the money from your Better Life Bag orders to people and things that can't give back. Are you ok with that?

I have a few ideas up my sleeve of needs in our little neighborhood, but for now, I think I'll start with my neighbor.

I told Neil that she could be our "family project." He responded, "No. She IS our family."

BLB of the day:

The Rachel

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

***linking up to Click.Pray.Love***

my pinterest challenge piece revealed!

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Did anyone guess what project I had done from the Pinhead graphic?

Well, here it is:

Clara's 1st birthday party is coming up at the end of the month. Last year, I did cupcakes instead of a cake. And a large cupcake for the birthday boy to devour. It worked out so well that I want to do it again. And when I saw this chandelier makeover at I Heart Naptime, I knew I had to do it!

She has a great tutorial, so I won't repeat it here. The hardest part of this was getting the wires cut. But thanks to hubby's tool box, a pair of wire cutters did the trick!

It only took a trip to the Habitat for Humanity Restore (for the chandelier) and a trip to Joann's (for the wood plates and spray paint) to get it done. I'm excited because I think I'll re-spray paint it different colors for different parties. I wish I could show you the final product of it at work at her party, but I guess you'll just have to wait a few more weeks! Until then, you can see a sneak peek on my Pinterest Board for her party. Isn't Pinterest great?!

And in case this is your first time visiting, let me introduce myself. I'm Rebecca. You can read about what Better Life Bags is all about here.

Thanks for joining us for this Pinterest Challenge! We LOVE having the accountability to get some things off our boards, too! Good luck to everyone who entered! And I'd be so honored if you'd follow my blog or join us for games and conversation on Facebook!

BLB of the day:

The Emily

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

pinterest challenge round 4 reminder

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Remember: Go link up your Pinterest Challenge projects at Kara's Blog!

And today, Ashlee at I'm Topsy Turvy has something lacey to show off for her Pinterest Challenge Piece. Lace is one of my favorite fabrics to craft with lately!

BLB of the day:

The Lunch Bag

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

your favorite blog posts of 2011

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Reminder: Link up your Pinterest Challenge pieces over at Kara's blog!
Then go check out the Pinterest piece that Amanda made - the preview picture makes it look like something delicious to eat!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did it in 2010, so why not repeat the tradition? It's kinda fun to remember all the posts I did throughout the year, and to see the ones that you all like the best! So here it is:

{Click on each title or picture to be taken to that post}

#11 My mom's famous Turkey Cookies

#10 The day I stumbled across Ann Voskamp's blog
Still don't regret that day!

#9 My Showcase on TOMS Shoes
Not sure why this page is so popular, but it was written up last year during my "Gifts that Give Back" series.

#8 Easy Baby Blanket Tutorial
Thanks to my Grandma who first made these and to my mom who taught me how!

#7 Spray Painted Baskets
Thanks to Young House Love who pinned this on Pinterest, it's had incredible amounts of views. Such an easy and fun makeover for a blank wall.

#6 DIY Shoe Socks
These are still my favorite socks to put on her!

#5 Baby Tag Blanket
Made originally for Jonah when he was a baby. Ditty wants nothing to do with it. Oh well.

#4 The First Round of the Pinterest Challenge!
Wow, that was fun. We were the first to start these challenges back in early July. Young House Love picked up the idea shortly after. Here's to another year full of Pinterest Challenge Link Parties!

#3 Create Your Own Subway Art

#2 Upcycled Shirts to Baby Bibs
{technically from Nov 2010, but Pinterest keeps it alive!}

#1 Homemade Photo Flip Book
I think I've given out over 3,000 sets of these prayer cards!

Here's to another fun year of crafts, games, inspirational stories, prayer cards, and Better Life Bags!

BLB of the day:

The Maggie

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

top 11 pictures of 2011

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Remember: Go link up your Pinterest Challenge projects at Kara's Blog!
Then, our special Guest Pinhead {Holly} is showing off her amazing creation at 504 Main. All I can say is, that from the preview, it looks vintage... it looks lovely... and it might either be something you wear or something you hang on the wall. Hard to tell - you'll have to go see for yourself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amber at Click. Pray. Love. is hosting a fun link party where you choose your top 11 photos for the year. You don't have to be a professional photographer to enter, either! The goal is just to take pictures all year long of your precious kids (or animals) and share them with each other. There is a prize package for the winner (chosen by Random.org) and I'm giving a $25 gift certificate to Better Life Bags as part of the prize package! You have until Wednesday to enter {sorry I'm so late at getting the word out on this}.

{in no particular order}

He used to LOVE to color. And those eyes... beautiful, right?

This picture was taken the day this happened. The tractor and all that dirt... he was in heaven.

We added a new family member to our little Smith clan in January. Here JoJo is reading up on what it's going to be like. Love his little piggies in the corner of the shot!

Little sister is here! While he probably isn't, I love that it looks like he's reading to her.

Isn't she beautiful? Clara, you are a precious addition to our family.

This is her 9 month shot. That finger in her mouth... man, she has wrapped around that finger!

Her 6 month picture. That bow just kills me. And those eyes... just like her brother.

When Clara was first around, Jonah loved to go stand at her crib and peek in at her sleeping. I love that I caught that moment on camera.

Just a lazy day watching cartoons... upside down!

The beaches of California. Love that this shot shows their footprints.

Jonah and his Bampa in the corn fields of Illinois. Precious.

I'd love to see your favorite pictures from 2011, too! Go link up at Click.Pray.Love! Who knows... you might win the gift certificate to my shop!

BLB of the day:

The Lunch Bag

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

pinterest challenge round 4 is here!

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to January! And WELCOME to the first Pinterest Challenge of 2012! It's definitely not our first round {Round 4 to be exact}, but it's sure to be the best one yet. Here's why:

First of all - we have gotten rid of the categories. You are FREE! Free to do anything you pinned from Pinterest. So, that awesome outfit you copied the other day? Snap a picture and link it up to the party! Those cute cookies that look like melting snowmen you made for the holiday party? Write up a blog post and link it up! Anything goes!

Secondly - you can link up up to FIVE projects. Just make sure they were done within the last 4 weeks. Honesty here people, honesty. This means five chances to win to grand prize package!

Yep, there are still prizes. And yep, there are still Pinheads. But, we are adding a special GUEST PINHEAD to each round. See below to find out who our special guest is this month.

Last - the link party will be hosted on ONE Pinhead's blog. You'll have to tune in the first Monday of each month to discover where the party is going to start. The voting will all happen there, too. So you'll want to make yourself real familiar with that Pinhead during the challenge!

Ok, enough of the details. Now to find out how to play!

We {the Pinheads} have been busy working on our Pinterest Projects, too! Here's a sneak peek at them. See if you can tell what each project is. The full versions will be revealed each day during the Challenge!

Here's the party schedule for the week:
Today: Head over to Kara's blog and start linking up your Pinterest Challenge pieces! (link party will be open until midnight on Sunday).
Tuesday: Check out our Guest Pinhead, Holly @ 504 Main and see her Pinterest Piece!
Wednesday: Visit Amanda @ Ninth Street Notions and see her big reveal.
Thursday: Ashlee @ I'm Topsy Turvy shows us what she worked on.
Friday: I'll reveal my Pinterest Challenge piece right here!
the weekend: spray paint, link up, sew, link up, cook, link up (just get those projects linked up!)
Monday - Wednesday: VOTE for your favorite Pinterest Challenge piece!
Thursday: Winner announced!

Ready for some Pinterest fun?! Start linking up! Or just go check out the awesome prize package that one of you will win!

And grab a button if you play along!

<center><a href="http://www.pinterestchallenge.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="The Pinterest Challenge" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vlq8MLbcmI/TvP4Dszq61I/AAAAAAAABWs/Ds9KNjOirC4/s1600/Do+you+pin+button.jpg" /></a></center>

BLB of the day:

The Rachel

Save 10% with BAGOFTHEDAY {good only on this bag until midnight on date of blog post}

5 things i'm loving right now

2012-01-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

I love this new link party idea over at Chesterrific: 5 Things I'm Loving Right Now. It's a chance to document the here and now. I think I'll take a little different spin on it and document the 5 things I'm loving about my kids right now {so I can have this as documentation for later}

1. Music Time

One day, JoJo just decided that we all should have "music time". Ditty loves blowing her whistle now that she figured out how to do it!

2. Dare Devil Ditty

Ditty has the heart of an adventurer. She loves to climb on anything and everything. I often look back to see her on top of the child size table, or balancing herself on her brother's ride-on airplane. She has no fear.

And she loves anything with a thrill.

You'd never guess it just by looking at her!

3. Imaginative Play

JoJo has really stepped it up in imaginative play. His favorite "game" is "Dinosaur {or dragon} is coming!" He often plays the role of the fireman and swoops in to save Mommy or Ditty. If he comes up to me as says, "What's wrong, Mommy?" - I know he wants me to say, "Oh no! There's a dragon!"

The other day, he was playing "Santa". He rode around on his airplane with these sunglasses on, pushing a wagon in front of him saying, "ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"

His toys go on such magical adventures around the house! I'd love to be one of JoJo's toys. His favorite toys right now are Super Duck (a duck with a cape on), his train set, and his firehouse.

4. Her snuggles after nap

While she is STILL not sleeping through the night, she takes a good nap during the day. When she wakes up, and if Daddy is around, she'll snuggle into his chest for a few minutes. Just Daddy, though. So precious.

5. His comments

This kid is full of funny {and sweet} sayings. Here is a rundown of my favorite this month {via my Facebook Status updates}.

Scene: Reading Jonah his "Goodnight Construction Site" book that Uncle Tyler got him for Christmas.
Jonah: "Waz dat?"
Mommy: "That's an excavator!"
Jonah: "is an esssssecccc... {pause} it's a tractor!"

Jonah is apparently disappointed that there are child labor laws. Today he said "Help I need to go to work!"

"Dora is beautiful!" ~ Jonah

Scene: Jonah is saying goodbye.
Neil - "Say see ya later alligator."
Jonah - "See ya late {pause} ... you're not an alligator - you're mommy! Bye Bye Mommy!"
Jonah to Neil - "Mommy's NOT an alligator!"

I quickly changed into my sweats and a green t-shirt when we got home. I walk out and Jonah stops in his tracks, put his hand on my shirt and says, "Mommy - your shirt is BUTIFUL!" (guess he likes the color green).

Jonah has started to become afraid of things (dinosaurs, monsters, dragons), so we've been showing him how to rebuke things in Jesus' name! "Go away monster, in JESUS NAME!"
Tonight I was explaining to him that we say that because Jesus is powerful. And he responds with "Super Why is powerful!" Oh dear... lots of training left to go. :)

Jonah: "merry Christmas!!!! I'm Santa! Ho ho ho! I got you a present, daddy!".
He looks around...
"hey, I need reindeer!"

Jonah has already figured it out. I pointed to a Christmas decoration and said "who is this? is it Santa" He said "Yeeaah... Dad is Santa" Hopefully he doesn't ruin it for to many other kids ;)

It's snowing outside and Jonah's first reaction is, "Is Santa out there?!"

Mommy: "Jonah, who is this?"
Jonah: "It's Mommy! PRINCESS Mommy!"

it's coming...

2011-12-29T14:18:00.000-05:00

are you ready?

Details announced on Monday!

Get excited people!

merry christmas

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.