Blog Roll Monday: 3 Peas Photography

Blog Roll Monday- I read about 40 some blogs a week, and I'm always finding more blogs I love to read and add them to my list. This is where I feature 1 blog off my list and tell you why I love it, and why you should start reading too!

3 Peas Photography

I came across this blog a few weeks ago. Based in Minneapolis, MN 3 Peas specializes in children's and baby photography. I really love her fresh perspective on taking children's photographs. I really am learning a ton from her images. She takes some awesome shots of babies, children and families. She has the most adorable children in her photos. It inspires me to do something different, out of the box, and timeless with my own photographs. If you haven't seen her work I urge you to check it out.

Worley House LOVE!

Just a little LOVE from us; to you!

I SAY....

....... it's ok if you want to paint your nails red at 11:59 PM and then go to bed.

....... it's ok if you spend the whole evening on the couch flipping back and forth between two movies.... you've already seen.

...... it's ok, if your Hubby stays up all night long watching March Madness...he's the one that has to get up early.

..... that if getting a new haircut makes you feel like a new Woman, do it! And often.

..... that it's ok to save for BIG purchases and pay it off right away... the pay off is much sweeter than going into debt... who has time for that!?!

..... that it's ok not to have a dinner plan everyday, for every week. You're Husband and marriage will survive.

..... it's ok to take a leap, explore the possibilities, even if they are unknown!

Kisses & Disses

KISSES & DISSES, is a weekly feature where I hi light my 5 favorite things (KISSES) and 5 DISSES from the week!

KISSES, to Mr. Mailman for bringing me not 1 but 2 lenses this week!
KISSES, to my wonderful Hubby for his little notes he left me around the house today!
KISSES, to my Grandma for her wonderful phone call this week, I need that!
KISSES, to my BF Sara who is going to have her 2nd baby this weekend! Love you! Can't wait to meet her!
KISSES, the possibilities that await Hubby and I in the future. I'm excited about them.

***

DISSES, to this nasty weather we are having in MN. I thought I was Spring?!
DISSES, to Mr. Bentley for throwing up on me this morning..... seriously is was sick!
DISSES, our garage door that is broken again, and to the Association who refuses to fix it for us.
DISSES, my computer... you know I do not like you right now when you crash on me.
DISSES, overwhelming bills on my desk! Please go away!

Fantastic Friday- On this day....

Fantastic Friday- is a weekly feature on entertainment and fashion! These are just for fun! They do not pertain to Hubby, Marriage or Family!

Today's feature is a little article I found on msn.com, that tells you all about the things or people who were born on your birthday. Naturally this intrigued me, so I went to the article to find out more.

October 18th- My day!

Here's a few things that happen on my birthday.

October 18, 1767- The Mason-Dixon line is established (if you don't know that this is, look it up and don't tell anyone.)

October 18, 1867- The U.S. officially takes ownership of the territory Alaska! Hello, Sara Palin!

October 18, 1873- Reps from Princeton, Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers Universities formulate the rules for football! Yeah, Go Hawks!!

October 18, 1898- American troops raised the U.S. flag over Puerto Rico.

Nothing cool happened after the 1800's...except for me being born of coarse!!

When I was in high school I shared my birthday with about 10 other students also born on my day. Here's a few cool celebs born on my day:

Chuck Berry and Mike Ditka

And just for fun, I checked out Hubby's Birthday. Wow, he is way cooler than me. He had 2 Presidents born on his birthday, and an American explorer. And, a few more cooler things happened on his day Nov. 2nd!

Signature Soirées

I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, and decided to just go for and start! I love being creative in many ways. There's a few things in life I'm passionate about, and love getting creative with. My top three are;

1. My writing

2. My photography

3. My events

I love planning events, not only did I have the time of my life planning my own wedding but I've really enjoyed planning parties, birthday parties and showers as well. There's something about making people feel honored and special that really excites me! I've decided to start a blog writing about all my event planning and ideas. I made my first post this morning, and more will come this week. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

http://signaturesoirees.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy it as much and I know I'll have writing it!

Happy Reading!

Love from Mr. Mailman X2!

At around 10 am this morning, Bentley started barking like a crazy protective pup that he is...at Mr. Mailman! I however, was excited for him! I love getting mail, I love going to by mailbox and getting a awesome letter (like people used to write), and card, a glossy magazine or two, and even the bills! But today, it meant that my second lens had arrived! Yipee!! Today, I received my 75-300mm 4-5.6 lens! All shiny and new! I got it out of the box and hooked it up to my Rebel and thought, "boy, this thing is heavy." None the less I was playing already like a girl who just got a new toy!If you want to know what makes this one so sweet, jump on over to my photography blog and I'll explain more!

Happy Wednesday!

Thank You Mr. Mailman

It's here! My sweet lens came in the mail today. I've been anticipating it's arrival for a couple days, and today it's here! Thank you Mr. Mailman, I can stop stocking you now (well, at least for now till my other new lens gets here.) It's the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, which probably means nothing to most of you...but to me it means magic! Hubby likes to call it "my money making" lens.

{my new lens}

On a side note: Mrs. B at {She's Star Crossed} has a weekly feature on her blog called; "In Real Life." And this week I was the comment winner! I thought I was pretty clever too, Thank you Mrs. B for having such a wonderful blog for me to read each week! Go check out her blog!

Crossing Over

If you've been reading my blog lately you know I've been having terrible computer problems. Well, I've been thinking about starting to save for a new computer.

What do I need?

And what do I want?

In my thinking, I've decided that I am going to cross over from being a PC user my whole life,
to now buying a Mac.

This is HUGE for me because for the longest time I've not been a Mac enthusiast, they are more expensive, and I know nothing about buying one.

But alas, I am seeing the value of having one of these fine machines.

Does anyone have any good tips on buying a Macbook?

If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and where the best deals are.

Right now, I'm looking at buying something refurbished.

Thoughts?

Blog Roll Monday: Pink Coffee Photoart

Blog Roll Monday- I read about 40 some blogs a week, and I'm always finding more blogs I love to read and add them to my list. This is where I feature 1 blog off my list and tell you why I love it, and why you should start reading too!

Pink Coffee Photoart

I read a few photography blogs that keep me fresh and on my toes, and this is one of my favorite photo blogs. Pink Coffee Photoart is a blog from Lyndsay who lives in Florida. She has a passion for life, and she loves the Lord. That is reflective in her photography. What I really love about her style is her bright colors, and boldness in her shots. She's also very creative with a camera and a lens. I've learned a lot from her blogging. I really like her fresh, vibrant take on things.

If you love fun expression, I think you too will love this blog. Happy Reading.

(click the above link to view her blog)

Next week: 3 Peas Photography

Cookies & Coffee

Saturday evening while Hubby was enjoying March Madness I was in the kitchen baking. I felt really inspired by this new blog I'm reading to up my game! So, I ventured into the kitchen to make cookies for Me and Hubby! Bentley wanted to help too!

So I confess, I had a little help from Betty.

See, made with love already!

I prefer to hand roll them, and then place them on cookie sheets. Pampered Chef heavy duty cookie sheets, they are my fave. One of the best investments I've made in my kitchen!

You have to have the criss cross marks or they aren't peanut butter cookies!

Can't wait to eat these!

Yum! Hubby and I sat and sipped coffee and ate warm cookies. Ps- these awesome red mugs were a steal I found at Goodwill a couple years ago!

Some of my favorite things to bake are cookies & cupcakes! I love being creative with decorations, frosting and sprinkles.

What's your favorite thing to bake?

KISSES & DISSES

KISSES & DISSES, is a weekley feature where I hi light my 5 favorite things (KISSES) and 5 DISSES from the week!

Kisses, to saving $30 on my grocery bill this week (ask me how I did it later.)

Kisses, to Friday date night with Hubby! ;)

Kisses, ordering new photog equipment! I am excited for it to arrive in the mail. Thank you Amazon.com

Kisses, to my Grandma for sending me the most thoughtful card this week! Love you!

Kisses, all the very sweet comments that have been left on my blog this week!

***

Disses, to the nasty letter we got in the mail from our Association. They nit pick everything.

Disses, my computer for kicking me off and crashing more than once this week!

Disses, the 5 loads of laundry I did today! Yes, 5!

Disses, to Bentley waking me up early this morning.... very early.

Disses, to snow on the first day of Spring!

Weekly Features: *Coming Soon*

I've decided to add a few weekly features to my blog, every week you will now find these weekly blogs & tidbits!

Mondays:

Blog Roll Monday- I read about 40 some blogs a week, and I'm always finding more blogs I love to read and add them to my list. Coming this Monday, I'll feature 1 blog off my list and tell you why I love it, and why you should start reading too!

Wednesdays:

I SAY- is just a random list of thoughts that I have about life, and whatever else comes to mind that day!

Fridays:

Friday Frills- Is my weekly feature on entertainment and fashion! These are just for fun! They do not pertain to Hubby, Marriage or Family!

KISSES & DISSES- My weekly feature about 5 things I LOVE and 5 things I'm dissing this week!

She Speaks 2009

She Speaks Conference 2009 is a conference hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries. It's a conference for women who are speakers, writers, women in ministry to learn more about the gifts that God has placed on their heart, and to learn how to use them.

I found out about a contest from one of the blogs I read on a daily basis, The Nesting Place. I'm super excited about this contest! Click here, for a chance to win a FREE registration to this exciting event, and how you can be apart!

I've never been to this event, but it looks like a really cool event and conference to be apart of. I'd love to have the chance to go to learn more about writing, and blogging and how to better connect the two, and all of you my readers. Who join me, in my life, and adventures.

How can I effectively communicate what I feel like God has placed on my heart? Also, I am a wife, and one of a Pastor. My Hubby and I do ministry together, and while although it looks a lot different than we thought it would while in school, we are still in the place God has us. How can I be there for my Husband, and the women and teen girls that I minister to daily? Am I being effective. These types of conferences are especially great because they get us away from our daily lives, to-do lists, and other distractions in hopes that God would speak to us in a unique way. Who doesn't want to be apart of that?

Fantastic Friday; Fashion!

Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with Hubby, Marriage, Family, it's just for fun!

Last week's post was about the news, and my entertainment recap, this week it's all about fashion.

If you are a fan of The City, then you already know that star Whitney is coming out with her very own line. I am a fan, and so I decided to take a look at some of her collection. It's fun, flirty, and girlie, all things I love. Now, if I just had the right kind of money in my pockets I could afford Miss Whitney's line. But, maybe some of you can so let's take a peak: Here are some of my favs!

for a Spring day....

I love that everything is pink and girlie!

to the Office.....
To a Baby Shower.....
Just for fun, a day in the park or walking downtown!
For a night out on the town with your best girls!

PS- It's the first day of Spring, and it snows here in Minneapolis! Priceless..wouldn't you say!

Photo Contest

I'm sponsoring a photo contest! Jump on over to my photography blog and read the {It's a LOVE Thing} post to enter the contest!

Happy reading, and happy story telling!

I SAY....

... it's okay if you talk to your puppy all day long, on a daily basis.
... it's okay if your only reading material is your daily blog roll.
... it's alright if you want to wear your flip flops at the first sign of nice weather.
... you can have breakfast for dinner.
... you can stay in your jammies all day if you want.

Currently Reading: Next Up!

Next up on my reading list; 'It's all About You Jesus' by Fawn Parish. So here's the deal.... are you one of those people who has an accumulating bookshelf of books you've never read? Well, I have a few on my shelf that I got for reference, or for ministry purposes, that I thought "one day I will need this book." I have a few that I haven't even read since I got them.

I got this particular book from my Grandma, a few years ago... like back when I was still in college years ago! :) She actually had some of her friends who were traveling in their RV passing through Minneapolis drop this book off to me at school. Isn't that an amazing Grandma? Well, that's a whole other blog post. Anyway, I started reading this right away and then got distracted with text books, or something else and never finished it. So, I decided since I am to cheap to buy more books right now that it's a perfect time to start reading those that I haven't or need to finish in this case.

The tag line for this book is; "A fresh call to an undistracted life." Seriously, who doesn't need that? I feel like that's the season I've been in for the last few months. So distracted by all the circumstances happening to me, or around me that I've missed somethings in the middle I know God wants to teach me, and wants me to grow from this experience or season in life I'm going through.

I know this book is good, cause I've read half of it! :) So today, I am starting over reading it cover to cover! My review is coming soon!

A Book Review: Multiple Blessings!

I got this book for Christmas, as most of you know I love their show; Jon & Kate plus 8! My hubby got this book for me, and I started reading it on the plane ride to Vegas and finished it this past weekend at the cabin. It's not a long book by any means, I am just slow at reading books. :) I read more blogs, than books these days. Does that count?

Anyway, back to the book.

I was excited to start reading this book, as I am very intrigued by their story, and wanted to know more about this family. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, I had no clue was it was going to talk about, other than what I read on the book jacket.

While I am not a parent yet, I believe every parent, or expecting parent should read this book whether you have 1 kid or 8 kids I think you should read it. I found this book to be very inspiring to me, not only as a future parent, but as a believer too. As I read, I could only imagine the struggles they have faced in the short 10 years they have been married, in all they have faced.

They talk a ton about their fears, trials, and struggles to have children, then becoming pregnant, and finding out about the fantastic 6! I also found out that Jon a few months after the 6 were born was laid off from his job. I really felt like I could identify with this family, feeling much of their same fears and trials. I too, have a lot of the same things against me, when it comes to fertility.

I was really inspired by their story of faith, and trust in God through all of it. At the end of the book Kate, reveals 6 lessons that she's learned throughout all this. I really feel like those 6 lessons are worth the whole book. Every chapter of the book has a scripture theme surrounding it. This is just one thing I really loved about reading this book. I probably could go on, and on about this book more, I would highly suggest picking it up and reading it. I loved it a lot, and can't wait to read more about this family in the future.

A Family Weekend!

It's 10 PM on Sunday evening, and I am pooped! I'm seriously so tired, but I wanted to share with you about our AMAZING weekend away with the family. Friday morning, Hubby and I headed down to Eastern Iowa for a weekend at Backbone State Park. My family had rented a cabin for all of us to stay in for the weekend, and when I say all of us... I mean everyone! Let me break this down for those of you that don't know, there are 7 kids in my family, plus 2 spouses, plus 2 fiances, 3 grand kids, and My parents! That's a lot of people! I have 2 brothers who are recently engaged, so it was awesome to catch up and hear all about it!

Anyway, we all stayed in this glorious cabin that my parents rented for the weekend.

Friday, we got there about 1 PM, and just chilled before the guys headed off for fishing, and the ladies stayed back and chatted. We made dinner together, and then had a HUGE bon fire with smores!

Saturday, we got up early had breakfast (you don't sleep in) on family outings! Saturday afternoon we all went canoeing down the river together, and then later that evening we had a fish fry, and another bon fire! Came back and some of them played an arousing game of Farmopoly, yes that is correct!

Sunday, yet again an early rise! We had to be out of the cabin by 11 am! We packed up our stuff, cleaned and got out of there. Then we headed off to go hiking.... 5 hours later we made it. If someone would have told me that we were going on a 3 hour hike I probably would have backed out, so maybe it's a good thing. It was long, it was icy, it was tiring, and it was wet. By the time we arrived at our destination for lunch we were all muddy, and wet. But, I must say Bentley loved every minute of it.

It was a fun weekend, the weather was perfect! Orion and I kept saying that this was one of the funnest weekends we've spent with my family. Everything about it was just so great!

PS- I will be making my 7th trip down the aisle as a bridesmaid in my brothers wedding on 7.10.2010! Can't wait!

A family weekend.....

<---- we will be staying here!
We haven't seen my family, nor been home since Christmas. Most of you that know me know, that this is a BIG deal! It's been quite a while, and with so much happening since then I am excited that THIS weekend we're having a family weekend. O and I are driving to Iowa tomorrow early morning to Backbone State Park to spend the weekend with the whole family! I'm pretty excited that all or most of my family will be there!



It's going to be a fun filled weekend of hiking, probably fishing, relaxation, girl talk, and bonding together. I'm even going to throw in a family photo shoot since we didn't all get a picture together at Christmas!

We leave tomorrow at 8 AM, it's a 4 and a half hour drive to Iowa where the park is, and I can't wait!! Have a great weekend! See you Monday!

{It's a LOVE Thing}- Contest!

Jump on over to my photography blog to read all about and enter this month's contest!

You have till April 11th!

Happy Reading & Happy posting!!!

The House That Mercy Built!

Mercy Ministries was started and founded by Nancy Alcorn, originally started as a place for unwed, pregnant mothers to go where they could find love, restoration, and healing and a figure out a plan for their unborn babies to either keep them or give them up for adoption. A place where they could find the love and support they needed during this time. Over the years Mercy Ministries has helped thousands and thousands of young women find their place in God's House of Mercy. It has now expanded into a place for eating disorder recovery, and helps girls all over the world.

I have been passionate about this cause since I was a teen myself, and have long supported this ministry financially too. I believe in this cause so much, and believe that the heart of a young woman is not defined by the things she has done, it doesn't make her who she is. But, the love of Christ in her is what defines her.

Some of my favorite Christian artists support this ministry too. Recently Natalie Grant visited the Mercy Ministries house in Nashville (it's home base) for a chapel service. I love what she has to say to the ladies:

To find out more about this ministry and how you can help visit: www.mercyministries.org

Monday Nights are Good Again!

If ever there was a show that I wanted to be on, it would be Dancing with the Stars! LOVE it! Last night it premiered with 13 new couples, and lots of fan favorites! After the Bachelor drama, ABC now has their Monday nights back, and I am looking forward to watching every Monday! They have their 1st real life couple with Pro dancer Julianne and her boyfriend Chuck Wicks dancing together, the shows 1st engaged couple dancing against each other in Pro dancers Maks & Korina. I think there is going to be a lot of sizzle this season. Two people have already bowed out of the competition due to injury; Jewel and Nancy O'dell. Who were replaced by celebs Holly Madison and Melissa from The Bachelor!

I'm already loving this season, here's a list of why:

Tony & Melissa: Yes, that's Melissa from The Bachelor. She's back and I am so excited to watch her this season. So glad she's doing well, and decided last minute to do the show! I can't wait to watch more and more of her. All those that watched, you know the audience cheered and stood on their feet for her! YEAH MELISSA!

Shawn & Mark: Shawn Johnson is an Olympic gold medalist, and she's from Iowa! Obviously I love her already. She's the youngest they have had on the show yet! I'm super excited to watch what she does, I already things she's great!









Cheryl & Gilles: Cheryl Burke is my fave pro dancer. I don't care, who she dances with each season I still love her, even if her partner is bad. She can do no wrong. She's amazing.

Weekend Round Up:

This weekend was crazy, nuts, but fun!

As you know, Friday I headed out to RLC for a girls' event! It was a ton of fun, I got to be the "event" photographer and help out. It was a really great night pouring into the lives of young ladies. Stacie McBride Cox, did an amazing job as the coordinator of the event. Can't wait to come back next year! BIG thanks and CONGRATS go to Stacie and her team who put the entire thing together!

Saturday, I got up early and headed to Perham, MN on a little road trip to meet with a dress designer with with the lovely Tricia! It was a fun day, or chatter, coffee, road trippin'! Saturday night was spent with Hubby, after not seeing each other since Friday morning we were ready to chill and do nothing together!

Sunday, was filled with church and working on LMC stuff from home. I'm excited that I got it all done for the BIG presentation on Tuesday! We're 1 step closer and that's a good feeling.

Tomorrow, I'll be headed to Blaine, MN for a school appearance with Sara (Miss Capital City) it should be a great day!

Now, it's off to finish the website updates for her and then bed! Good night! Hope you had an amazing weekend as well!

Fantastic Friday!

Friday, is the day for randomness and nothingness! A day where anything goes, a day for fun! This Friday morning, I am catching up on news.....here's a few articles I found interesting; maybe you will too!

America's Top 10 Most affordable Burbs (I am not looking to move, but I found this interesting)- West Des Moines, Iowa made the list! Yeah! I'd live there.

5 Ways to get the Job You Want, In any Economy (I obviously need to read this!) It says the average America will have 11 different full time jobs, in 5 different career fields in their lifetime! Gosh, I hope that's not true! :( Still, a very interesting article.

Pig-Odor Study (only in Iowa) Where the number of pigs outweigh the actual population, only in Iowa people. Yes, it's true...can this be news? If you don't believe me, read for yourself. People all across Iowa annoyed by the smell, and what to do about it. I say, c'mon people.... did you just wake up a realize that you were living in Iowa? Seriously?!? Anyway, GOP debates on what to do about this issue. I say as the #1 pork distributor in the Nation...deal with it people!

all articles brought to you by www.msn.com

In Entertainment News,
Britney's Circus Tour kicked off this week, The Bachelor's Jason & Molly are enjoying their 15 minutes of shame as they make the press rounds this week, and American Idol tries to regain fans and interest by adding "the wild card" round in last night's episode. Note to self: AI is sooo over, nothing is going to bring it back. Just like the Bachelor, I think it's time they call it quits!

What are you up to this weekend?
Well, tonight I will be heading over to RLC, to help out with their 2nd Annual Royal Experience event for young girls. It's going to be a fun night. Pictures to come. And Saturday, I will be heading up North to Perham, MN with Tricia...as we meet the designer of her dress and talk all things pageants in hopes for a good outcome. Busy, busy.... but that's the way uh, huh, uh, huh I like it!! :)

The *Death* of Myspace!

I've been toying with the idea of deleting my Myspace account for some time now. The truth is that I hadn't logged in for months, I wasn't using it, I didn't have Internet at my house and couldn't log on anyway. So it sat, and sat for months, and life has been fine without it.

Here's my issues with Myspace; creepy, dirty and scary adds turn me off! The content is a little touch and go sometimes, you never know what people are going to post! And lastly, they say "Myspace is a place for friends" well, you know what else it's a place for? Viruses!! yes, that's right people..... the last time I logged into Myspace which was about a week ago my computer got a horrible virus on it. And just tonight when I logged in, that same virus came out again. I didn't make the connection last week, since I was only logged on for about 5 minutes. But tonight I was logged in and it happened again. I thought something fishy was going on.

At the risk of not being able to get in touch with my girls in Arizona I mulled over this for a while. So, I deleted my Myspace account for good, for once and for all! It's gone, never to be logged in on again, and hopefully I won't get anymore pesky viruses. My computer is dying, but Myspace had to go first.

So now, you will only be able to find me on Facebook! Which, I like it a lot better anyway!

Have a great weekend!!

I'll be Watching!

Since I am boycotting all things Bachelor related from now on, I am excited though to watch Jillian as the next Bachelorette! She's such a breath of fresh air for this show, she doesn't take herself to seriously, and I like that about her. I hope we find her lucky in love with 1 guy only when the season is over. And, I hope she ends up seriously, deliriously happy! Wouldn't that be sweet?!!

Someone needs to restore America's faith in this craziness, besides (of coarse) Trista & Ryan!

Tune in May 18th to watch and see!

And just you are in need of something to replace Monday nights with the Bachelor, I highly suggest Dancing with the Stars! The new season starts next Monday!

Weekend Wrap-Up!

Wow! That's all I have to say about this weekend! It's late Sunday night right now, and I am feeling tired from it all. It was a crazy, busy, but fun weekend in the Worley house!

Friday, my BFF, her Hubby, baby girl, and sister all showed up on my door step at 10:30 am. I was so happy to have them here for the weekend. Glad, they showed up early. More time for me to spend with them. Friday night, Orion and I hosted a birthday party for my friend Becky. It was a great night, we had a great turn out. So glad we all could be there together, and I'm pretty sure Becky felt loved by it all! Friday night all of our Husbands left and us girls had a sleepover that night, it was just like college all over again! We stayed up really late, ate junk, talked till the wee hours, and had a blast!

Saturday morning, we all got up and started to get ready for the day. Saturday afternoon Becky and I were throwing a baby shower for our 2 very preggo friends Sara & Eunice. They are both due in April about a week apart, and having girls!! It's been so awesome having two of our friends go through this experience together. So it was only fitting to have a double baby shower. Now, I've never been to a double baby shower but I think it went quite well. We had a great turn out again, the food was great, and it was awesome to honor them this way. This will be Sara's 2nd baby girl, and this is Eunice's 1st child! The room was full of everything pink for the day!

It was such a great weekend, and I feel really blessed to have had all my best girls around me this weekend. We've been through it all together, and after so many years we're still all there. Next BESA reunion we'll have 2 new babies to add to the mix. That will bring us up to 4 kids! (I am a little behind the curve)

Hope you had as great a weekend as I did!

Next weekend: I'll be helping out at a girls event at a church, and making a road trip to Crookston, MN. The adventures continue! :)