Jacqui Writes

Getting My Tubes Tied At 25

2013-06-17T00:20:36Z

I thought I would talk deciding to get my tubes ties (tubal ligation) at such a young age. I actually wanted to have them done at 19 but since Bradley was born 10 weeks early my Dr. made me wait until he came home from the hospital. When Bradley finally came home (3 months later) I visited the Dr. and we talked about birth control. I still wanted to get my tubes tied but the Dr. suggested that I “sleep” on it and I think about it more. I went on Mirena (IUD) for 5 years and at the end of the 5 years I still wanted to get my tubes tied.

I don’t want any more kids, actually me and my husband both don’t want any more kids. I have a hard time with pregnancy, it’s not that I can’t get pregnant it’s that I can’t stay pregnant long enough for the baby to cook! Benjamin was born 5 weeks early and Bradley was born 10 weeks early, both pregnancies I had issues with preterm labors starting at 25 weeks and cervix issues starting at 20 weeks. I didn’t want to put my life or another baby’s life in danger if I ever got pregnant again; I have 2 kids to think about as well. If I got pregnant again it would take a year away from my boys since I’m 100% sure that I would be put on bed rest right away, it would take focus away from them if the baby does come early since I would be at the hospital daily trying to get the baby healthy enough to come home. Bradley was a miracle baby and we are blessed that he survived being born 10 weeks early and that there is no serious on going issues with him now but I (or the Dr.’s) can’t guarantee that if another baby went through that we would have the same result.

When it was time for my IUD to expire I went to my Dr. to tell him I was ready to make it permanent and was ready to schedule the surgery. Of course he explained to me that it was permanent and I was ready! I am glad that I did this I did it for me, my family and our future.

Thank you for reading my story.

Please Pin =D Thanks

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

HI! My name is Jacqui and I’m 25 years old. I am a blog designer and I own Wacky Jacqui’s Designs. I love designing blogs; it has really become my passion over the past year. I currently live in Las Vegas and I love it. I live in a sub city of Vegas called Centennial Hills. I am married an amazing man and have 2 children. I love being a mom and wife.

Wordless Wednesday: Bath Time

2013-06-12T23:43:03Z

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

Wordless Wednesday: Last Day Of School

2013-06-06T03:05:24Z

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

Energizer Work Headlight – My Hands Free Remodel #LightMyWay

2013-06-08T15:03:42Z

Do you have any house projects that you need to get finished soon? Are you crawling in a dark attic or in a space that there really isn’t a lot of light? Luckily, Energizer has a new headlight to light our way that’s hands free lighting precisely where I needed it! The Energizer Bunny has always been reliable to me and my family so I knew that these bright headlights would last through all my project needs.

Last July we bought a house and as we all know when buying a house along come projects that you want to do to fix it up and make it your own. We replaced the floor recently downstairs but we needed just one little project to mark it off our to-do list, we needed to add silicone caulking around the edges to seal the floors and protect the under lining from any water or moisture that would cause mildew.

I picked up this Energizer headlight to use on a different home improvement project that I was going to do this weekend but my husband had another idea for it. I had it opened sitting on the kitchen counter, since I was playing with it earlier. While he was doing the project on the floors he got to the pantry area and was having a very hard time seeing where he needed to put the silicone caulking. He sees the Energizer headlight sitting on the counter throws it on and is able to complete the project in that area with ease. The funny thing is he didn’t even know I had bought it earlier that day but was happy that I did.

My Husband Using The Energizer Work Headlight

I found these in the camping section but they can be used for so much more than camping. In addition to camping, you could use these for running, finding things in a dark attic or basement, when you’ve got to turn the power off for an electrical project or during a bad storm and your power goes out. I will be picking up 3 more of these to put in my emergency kit for when disasters hit.

Make sure you check out my shopping trip on Google+. Interested in finding out more about these bright headlights, you can follow Energizer on Twitter and Facebook. Did you know that the Energizer Bunny is on Twitter too!

What would you use an Energizer Headlight for? Leave a comment and let me know.

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

Tips and Tricks Every Blogger Should Know

2013-06-03T05:31:01Z

What are some tips and tricks every blogger should know? How often should you blog? Or what are the do’s and don’ts in the blogging world! So here are a few tips and tricks that will help you when you’re trying to build your blogs traffic and your readership.

How often should you blog?

Blog at least three times per week; yup that’s it! Your posts can be about anything you want it to be, you can divide it up among as many post as want (if it’s a story type of post), and you can blog more often than that if you want to. The idea is to increase your blog readership and views by doing one thing and that one thing creating CONTENT! You need to be creating meaningful content targeted to YOUR specific audience, discussing the topics that are key for the people you want to find your blog AND staying on topic to keep that readership coming back to read more.

Build a relationship with the readers

It doesn’t matter if you just started blogging, or have been doing it for years. Creating relationships with your readers is the most important part of your online presence, and will impact your success more than numbers will. Knowing your target audience will help you form more meaningful online relationships. Once know who you’re talking to you can figure out how to connect with them, how to bring them into your site and what you can write to help them out. Whether it’s to make them laugh, bring them new recipes, DIY/Craft projects or tutorials. Are they staying at home moms, working moms, business owners or business men? Do you want to connect with them via Facebook or Twitter? Are you sharing on those platforms too?

Be prepared and have a plan!

Be ready for whenever inspiration strikes! It will happen when you least expect it and when it does write it down. Have your phone, a notepad, a napkin, or email/text yourself… anything that will allow you to write down ideas as you get them. It doesn’t matter if its post ideas, DIY ideas, recipe ideas or anything you think that’s worth writing down JUST write them down, you never know when you will need an idea and when you’re ready the ideas will be ready for you. Never have writers block ever again. Take those ideas, and form a blogging plan or blogging schedule.

Let’s talk pictures!

Make it visual, every post should have at least ONE image. Pinterest gives us more motivation to make these images outstanding; I will talk about this more in a bit! Just remember the more visual, the better. People usually judge a post from its pictures before actually reading the content. Just remember to follow the rules. Never take an image from another blog or website without permission first. When you get permission always give the proper credit back to the owner. Every site has their own guidelines, so the model solution is to take your own pictures, create your own images.

Watermark your images, some people don’t respect the rules and take what is not theirs to take. Watermarking images help protect your pictures from anyone else trying to claim them as their own. You can you free programs as Gimp, PhotoScape or Pixlr.com for adding your own personal watermark.

Resize the image before uploading it to your post; you can do this with the programs mentioned above. Images between 500 pixels wide are perfect and will help upload time on your site!

Save your images with a search engine friendly title, this helps with SEO. Instead of PNG01258.jpg, use a name that will help people find both the image, and your site. People use images to search what they are looking for, especially when searching recipe related inquires this will help them find your site easier and faster. Ex: brownies-for-a-crowd.png

Make it sharable!

If someone likes what you post has to say they are more likely to share it with their twitter followers, Facebook friends/fans, or on Pinterest. Readers should be able to easily share your content on all social media platforms, so make it available for them to.

Give life to an old post!

Are you a recipe/foodie blogger Or a DIY blogger? Have old post that you would love to get more traffic? Why not revamp it? Make a new image for it so it’s more “pin-able” Pinterest is the new thing right now and has the potential to bring you a lot of traffic. How to make an image pin-able you ask? Make sure the post, recipe, or DIY title is on the image… having a recipe that only used 5 ingredients to make the perfect pesto? Add that blurb on the image “5 ingredient pesto”. Maybe you have a craft project that only used 7 steps? Add that on the image! You want to intrigue the person who is searching, so capture their attention.

Be consistent with branding.

Have colors, logos and links match on your social profiles that are connected to your site. This will help the reader identify your brand.

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

My 10 Summer Must Haves

2013-05-27T05:43:55Z

Summer is almost here, I can’t believe it! I thought I would talk about my top 10 favorite things to have in the summer. What are my 10 summer must haves? I wrote a list down and will tell you a little bit about why I choose these as my must haves for summer, other than A/C of course, because that’s on everyone’s list I would believe… especially here in our 110+ degree summer days in Las Vegas.

Tank tops: I love tank tops, I actually wearing them all year round but in the summer they are a must. With tank tops I can still get a nice tan and not look like I was working on a farm (aka farmers tan), they are light weight and perfect when you would rather be still at home with just a sports bra.
Sandals/Flip Flops: I hate shoes, but I hate having to wear socks AND shoes in 110+ degree even more so I wear my favorite flip flops everywhere.
Sunblock: Sunblock is a must in Las Vegas, I’m pretty sure it’s a must everywhere as well but in Vegas a sun burn happens quick. I make sure the boys and I are both lathered up before we leave the house and I even carry around a travel sized bottle around with me in my purse just in case I need to reapply while I’m out and about.
Nearby park or pool: With kids a nearby park or pool is a must in the summer EXCEPT the only thing different is that we have to go very early in the morning before it starts to get really hot. Most days we hit the park between 6am-8am to avoid the heat. If the park has a pool or splash pad I’ll take the kids around 10-ish but I make sure that I have a shady area to sit, stocked up water and watch them play.
Road trips: I love road tips so this was a must on my top 5 of this list. Even if the road trip is a 30 minute drive to the lake, a long drive to Lake Havesu to see my grandma or a mini vacation to Laughlin I am up for it! I love the adventure, the road and not knowing what I will find along the way. I also love going on food adventures too, let the food be the guide to our next destination.
Sun Glasses: I have light colored eyes and when you have light eyes you NEED to have sunglasses on. You should definitely wear sunglasses all year around, but in this sun it’s a must. I’m on the hunt for some blacked out sunglasses but I really haven’t found any that are cute, usually they look old lady-ish and that I am not. HA
Tinted Moisturizer: In the summer I kick the heavy foundation to the curb (well to the bottom of the makeup bag) and wear tinted moisturizer. It’s lighter and doesn’t make you feel like your makeup is caked on and you can’t breathe. I also love that it usually SPF already in it so I don’t have to apply sunblock beforehand.
Ice Cold Drinks & Food: Whether its ice cold water, iced tea or a margarita there’s nothing better than an iced cold drink on a really hot summer day or night! I don’t leave the house without ice cold water bottles and on some of the really hot days I bring an ice chest full of ice to keep in the car just so the water will stay as cold as possible. With food, who really wants to eat a scorching hot bowl of soup or have to turn on the oven when it’s 110+ degrees outside? Summers are ideal for salads and cold sandwiches, or a day filled with grilling.
BBQ: The BBQ replaces my stove in the summer; I’m always grilling or finding an excuse to grill. I grill more in the summer but to me the BBQ is something that calls out to me year round.
Beach/Lake: Some days it’s just nice to escape the hot weather to run away to the beach or lake and have fun.

These are my 10 summer must haves… what are yours?

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

Wordless Wednesday: My Own Personal Nurse

2013-05-22T18:19:52Z

I know this is supposed to be a wordless post but I kinda want to explain what’s been going on in my life lately. I had a surgery last Tuesday to get my tubes tied (will post that story later) and of course I had one of the best nurses in the world! My oldest son Benjamin of course!

Before I left the hospital I knew to get the boys a few pairs gloves because well you know they would love it and keep them busy while I was on bed rest.

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

5 Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Web or Blog Designer

2013-05-20T01:00:04Z

So you want a new website? Great! Whether if it’s your 1st time or it’s a redesign, doing some of these things before you contact a web or blog designer can considerably decrease strain on both sides of the project. This will help you narrow down what you should know before you start contacting designers for your project.

1. Direction: What you want out of your website?

You want a new design, but why? Is it because you don’t like the look of it? Don’t like how it functions? Want to go in a whole new direction? Does your brand need an update? These are just a couple of questions you should be ready to answer when you contact designers.

2. Color/Style/Elements/Fonts: How do you want it to look?

When I talk to a potential client, one of the first things I like to ask them is; what websites or blogs they like? This will help you narrow down what you like and don’t like right now, it helps if you keep notes of what you like and dislike on the sites your seeing. What did you like about these sites? The color, the layout, fonts or any elements they used? Do you want a landing/home page? If you a business site are you wanting a blog attached? Do you want a custom character or design element? Do you want a professional looking site or a fun and bright looking site? What did you dislike about these sites you were looking at? What things do you not want on your future site? This will help the entire design process right from the start. Your future designer will need your help to find out who you are and what you are looking as an outcome for this project. So ask yourself, just that question. Who I am? What is my blog/business about? What do I want to convey through my website/blog? You are a big part of the design team! So get prepared to answer all kinds of questions!

Here are some sites that might help

Design-seeds (color schemes) : http://design-seeds.com/
Dafont (fonts) : http://www.dafont.com/
Etsy (clip art and design element) : http://www.etsy.com/
Veer (vectors/stock photos and illustrations/fonts) : http://www.veer.com/
iStock (stock photos and illustrations) : http://www.istockphoto.com/
Pixel Paper Prints (clip art and digital papers) : http://www.etsy.com/shop/pixelpaperprints
Lovelytocu (custom characters/avatars) : http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lovelytocu
JW Illustrations (clip art) : http://www.jessicaweible.com/
My Grafico (clip art) : http://www.mygrafico.com/

3. Budget: What is your budget for this project?

Have an overall idea of the budget you are willing to spend for your website/blog. This is the most important part of what you need to know before contacting a designer for any of your design needs. Having a budget beforehand is important to the entire process. It will save a lot of time on both end of the conversation. What’s included in your budget? Is it just for the web design or does it include to have business cards, flyers and other printable elements that might be needed for your blog or website. So sit down and see what you can afford!

4. Navigation: How do you want your site menus?

How many menu bars do you want? Do you want drop down menus? What do you want on the menus? Example pages for a blogger site who post recipes are About, Contact, Recipes, etc. on a top menu and then would list recipe categories in a second menu (desserts, main dish, breakfast, chicken…). Example pages for a business website are About, Contact, Services, Blog, etc. If you have a larger site, you may find it easier to outline your site and divide it up into sections.

5. Time frame: When do you want this site launched?

What time frame do you have or would like this project to have? Do you want it launched within a week; Or in a few months? This is important; almost as important as setting your budget for the project, so you can find the right designer that has the time to help you. Make sure the designer is able to fit your project needs.

These are some of the things to consider before contacting a web/blog designer. Once you have this information ready, you will then be able to contact designers and start the process of requesting quotes for your site. Whoever you choose to go with will appreciate that done some of your homework and research beforehand.

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

Wordless Wednesday: A Day At The Park

2013-05-08T15:31:50Z

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs

What I know

2013-05-07T21:28:14Z

So what do I know?

I know… That I have an eye for design; designing blogs/websites at least. I also know that I don’t have an eye for home décor though! I want a website or a store that I can just go here are my colors and these are my dimensions PLEASE put it all together for me. I’m pretty sure that is someone called an interior decorator but they are expansive and I can’t afford that right now at least.

I know… That I love, summer thunderstorms that come to Las Vegas. It makes the 115+ degree days totally worth it in my eyes. I actually look forward to it, mainly because they are insanely awesome. The clouds and scenery are my summer eye candy.

I know… That I really enjoy sushi; I could eat it every day if I could. There is a place across the street that I should own by now with all the business I give it.

I know… That I enjoy a really good movie, well I enjoy any movie actually. I’m really not into the girly kind of movie BUT I will watch anything once and give it a try. My first love, movie wise, was horror and always will be.

I know… that I am awesome… enough said right lol.

I know… that some people are cray-cray and seriously need some professional help. I also know that every people are different and everyone doesn’t have to get along, even in the same social circle. If you have to be around someone you don’t like just put on your happy face and deal with whatever BS they are throwing around at everyone else that will believe every word they say.

This post about what I know is brought to you by a writing prompt courtesy of a bloggy friend Cat of He Married Me for My Cooking.

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Jacqui

Owner at Wacky Jacqui's Designs