10/52-18/52

So..................... I have been sorta kinda slacking on the 52 week photo project.... Lets just call this a catch up.

[Week 10] It was raining a lot that week. So we spent a lot of time at the library. Matthew was also out of town, and my sanity was starting to go missing. I decided to take Finley to see Cinderella. She really enjoyed it.

[Week 11] Matthew had surgery so we kept things simple and easy. He was getting a little stir-crazy by day 3 at home so we made a trip to Coolidge Park for our first sno-cone of the season.

[Week 12] A friend of ours was kind enough to throw an Easter Party the weekend before Easter. There were yummy treats, an egg hunt and even a balloon drop! It was legit!

[Week 13] We had another Easter Party and actual Easter to celebrate!

[Week 14] Since we are part of a church plant, doing things on Sunday's that are out of town are hard. My family also likes to put all the birthdays in April, we have 5 birthdays in one month! So this was the prefect chance for us to get together to do Easter and birthdays with our family. We also got to go to Rock City for their Fairy Tale Nights. It was a night of Princesses and fairies!

[Week 15] My birthday was this week. My only requests were to eat fancy donuts for breakfast and BBQ for dinner. Matthew and Finley helped to make my wishes come true :)

[Week 16] We had Finley's birthday lunch at a local tea room. The girls had a great time and loved the hot tea! We also made a trip to the zoo for the first time here in Chattanooga. We finished off the week with a community service project helping out a local pregnancy center.

[Week 17] We dug up the space for our garden this year. It is going to be huge and we are planting a few new things like pumpkins and corn!

[Week 18] Finley had her first violin recital. She did great! She stood still on stage and followed her instructor really well.

Now that I am all caught up hopefully I will be able to keep on top of this! I am taking pictures every week... just not posting them like I should be :)

Devastation

This morning I rolled over and picked my phone up to scroll through Facebook. One of the first post I saw was from our friends that moved there last year. His message just said "We had an earthquake. We are safe." These posts aren't uncommon to see. There have been a few natural disasters in Nepal since they moved, an avalanche and a landslide. So when I saw the post I didn't think too much about it. I mentioned it to Matthew and went about my morning.

But as the U.S. began to wake up and the news began to break on social media and the news, we began to realize that it was much worse then we thought. We have been able to get news about all our friends there. Thank God everyone is OK and none of them have been injured. Many of our friends have lost their homes and everything they own. Villages have been destroyed and the death toll keeps rising. One of the villages we had the chance to visit has been destroyed. Many of our friends, as is much of the area, are sleeping outside and have little to no food. Water is limited and foreigners aren't able to drink the local water. The hospitals are being over run. Monsoon season starts soon, and without shelter the situation is only going to get worse.

Please pray for this country.

Please donate if you are able to.

Here are a few options:

World Vision
Direct Relief

Samaritan's Purse
Asian Children's Education Fellowship (This is one of the organizations that Matthew and I have gone with.)

Five on Friday - Birthday edition

Tomorrow is mah birf-day and I am linking up for Five on Friday! So here are 5 things I am planning on doing over the weekend for my birthday.

1.) I am getting my haircut today! Finley is also getting her haircut today and her birthday is next week. So birthday haircuts for everyone!! This is what my hair currently looks like. I haven't cut it since September, so it is in desperate need of a trim.

2.) I am going to dinner with some girlfriends for my birthday tonight :) Ladies Night!! 

3.)  I told Matthew for my birthday I want to go eat fancy donuts. I also want to eat as many fancy donuts as I want without judgement.

4.) The other thing I told Matthew I wanted to do for my birthday is go eat at Thatcher's. It is a local BBQ place and is so yummy. Matthew gets to eat there pretty regularly because it is close to his work. I don't typically get to go as much because he takes customers or his employees there, so it is usually a work thing for him. I will usually pull the "If you love me you will bring me your leftovers. If you REALLY love me you will bring me my own" card :) It typically works...

So much food happening over the next few days!!

5.) We are also planning on going to the aquarium one last time before our pass expires. We wont be renewing it this year, but instead doing to the children's museum. So one last trip for the family. But I am not sure we will even be able to get down there. We have had so much rain and it is right on the river. I saw a picture this morning of Coolidge Park that is under water, which is across the river from the aquarium.  

This picture was floating around on my FB feed this morning.

There is green space under there somewhere.... O-o

So we may have to find something else to do in between food... because food. 

Happy Friday!!

I am in a perpetual Saturday + 10/52

and I'm not sure if I like it or not.....

**Side note: this will have week 10 pictures for the 52 weeks project :) #slacker**

I feel like it has been Saturday for the past week. Some might be OK with that. I would definitely be OK with that if I was on a vacation.... but I wasn't...

Last Thursday after work Matthew left for a 5 day boating trip that he goes on every year at this time. Which made Thursday feel like Friday. When I woke up Friday I kept thinking it was Saturday. It was also rainy and nasty on Friday and Saturday, which made it hard to get out of the house and do things - like go to the park to burn off energy. And you can only go to Wal-mart so many times before it starts to get old. So to the library we went....

Saturday night I messaged Matthew to ask him how much he thought a little bit of sanity cost. I was thinking it cost 2 movie tickets, 2 drinks, and some popcorn. Sunday after church Finley and I grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald's - #dontjudge. Then we headed off to see Cinderella. I didn't tell Finley what we were doing. This girl loves surprises, it is her love language. When we got to the movies she was so excited!! Once the movie started she kept asking where Cinderella was and when the movie was going to start. I think she was expecting the cartoon. Oops. I asked who her favorite character was. She said the Stepmother, that was unexpected. I would have put money down on the Fairy Godmother. But I do have to say the Stepmother was the best dressed out of everyone for the whole movie! After the movie we went to play with Kylie for a little bit. Before I knew it, it was after 7:00 and we had not had dinner. So we rushed home had a quick dinner and I put Finley to bed. I savor the nights when Matthew is gone. Not because I don't want him around, I do. But I get to watch whatever I want until whenever I want. It.is.glorious.

I feel like we did something on Monday... but I can't remember. My days are starting to run together at this point. Matthew came home Tuesday afternoon and we had a good day having family time. We went to Coolidge park and walked around. Finley and I rode the carousel and then we stopped for a sno-cone. Matthew's mom came into town that night. Matthew was having hernia surgery the next morning, so she came to stay with Finley while I took Matthew to the hospital.

We got up at 5:30 am to head to the hospital and we were home by 1:00. The surgery went well. They gave him 4 or 5 different anti-nausea meds to keep him for throwing up. He threw up a lot the last time he had surgery. This time he actually woke up hungry. Since we got home we haven't done much. Matthew has felt good and is up moving around, but he gets winded and tired easily. He is starting to get cabin fever pretty bad and suggested we go back to Coolidge park today. I had to put the kibosh on that, 1) It has been raining for the past 2 days so it is going to be muddy and 2) I know we will get down there and walk around for 15 minutes and he will say he is ready to go home. Then Finley will have a melt down because she isn't. Soooo I think we may hit up Sonic for happy hour later today :) Hopefully that will cure his restlessness for a few more days until he can go back to work.

Well, let the Saturday's continue.....

9/52

We have had some nasty weather recently. Mother Nature can't seem to make up her mind! It was cold and rainy one day. Then it was near the 80's the next. We spent the evening outside playing with chalk and ridding our bikes. Finley has started to get more comfortable on her bike and is doing everything on her own. She is able to recover if she starts to fall and can lift her bike up all by herself.

It was Kylie's birthday, so we took a fun little chalk picture for her. I've always wanted to try it, so I figured it was the prefect time to give it a shot.

My First VoxBox from Influenster

What is influenster?

It is a membership based website that you can sign up for free. You connect all your social media account to your dashboard. You then answer some questions that help them decide if you are a good fit for a campaign. They then send you an email to let you know you have been picked and you fill out another survey. Then you wait to get your box. Once you get your box, you have to check it in on their website and then post your reviews to your social media and their website. This group helps companies test their products and get honest feedback. If you have ever done a focus group, it is basically the same thing.

I signed up for influenster about a month ago. Within a week of creating my account I got my first email to notify me that I had been picked for their XO VoxBox campaign. It took about 2 weeks after I filled out the survey in the email to get my box.

What I got in my box:

Tide Pods Plue Febreze ($4.99/12 count, $9.99/26 count, $14.99/43) - I recieved a sample bag 10 pk.
When I saw this item I was kind of excited. I have always wanted to try them, but truthfully they are kind of expensive. I usually buy liquid laundry soap (100 loads) for about $15. But it has been so cold recently that all of our laundry products have been freezing (our washer/dryer is in the garage). So I am hoping that I can still use them in the freezing temps. They are super easy to use. I just toss one in the washer with my fabric softener ball and walk away. I don't have to keep up with a cup or rinse one out! They also smell great!!

Colgate Optic White Toothbrush + Built-in Whitening Pen ($14.99) 
I actually just got a new toothbrush for the dentist a few weeks ago. So I really didn't need this, But I will defiantly use it! I have very sensitive gums right now because of some medication I am on. This brush was a bit stiffer then I would like and made my gums bleed. But it did a great job cleaning and I felt it really got my teeth clean. I was curious about the whitening gel. It says to just apply and leave, you don't have to rinse or wipe it away. The gel went on well and didn't have a strong taste to it, which was nice. Then within just a few minutes it felt like the gel was gone. I have been using it for about 3 days now and haven't really noticed a big difference in the whiteness of my teeth though, but I am going to keep using it until it is gone to see if my teeth get any whiter!

Colgate Optic White Express White 3 oz. Toothpaste ($3.99-$4.99)
I have used other whitening toothpastes in the past and haven't noticed a lot of difference. Same goes with this one. I have been using it in combination with the brush and whitening gel. I would probably not but this again because I do not like the taste. I've gotten use to it, but the first time I used it I thought it was awful tasting! I probably like this item the least.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment - sample size ($9.99)
I think I am most excited about this! I have very flat hair and am always on the lookout for products that will give my hair volume. I used this the other day and when I was done blow drying my hair it was BIG! Like Texas big! It didn't stay that big for long, but I could tell my hair still had a good bit of volume and texture to it. I really liked this one!

John Frieda Beach Blonde Collection including sample size shampoo, conditioner and sea salt spray ($9.99 each)
When I saw this I was a little disappointed. I thought I wouldn't be able to use it, but the card included with the samples says it is safe for brunettes too. It has a soft mint smell and feels great while you are washing your hair. I really can't tell if it did anything special to my hair. It is suppose to be a lighter shampoo/conditioner great for the summer. I did like this though. A good smelling shampoo/conditioner is always nice!

Skinfix Hand Repair Cream (1 oz. $10.00)
I love hand lotion! I have several in my purse and car. I am constantly using them. Especially this winter! It has been so cold and dry and my hands have been showing it! I used this after I washed my hands. A little bit goes a long way, which is nice. It was creamy and smooth. It didn't have any scent, which I like. Sometimes you just don't want a smelly hand lotion. I can still feel that my skin is hydrated and soft several hours after I applied it. I have been using this one several times a day and is probably my absolute favorite out of everything!

Side note: I am really going to need a Trader Joe's to come to Chattanooga.

**I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.**

7/52 + 8/52

I am horrible at getting these up! I am taking pictures all the time now, but just not sitting down to post them.

If you follow me on instagram then you know we got some snow the last 2 weeks!

Our first snow day wasn't much, but we woke up to the ground being covered in white. Finley walked to the back door and looked out and I wish I could have caught the look on her face. It.was.magical. You would have thought she saw a fairy riding a unicorn across a rainbow. We couldn't get outside fast enough. It snowed off and on all day, but we maybe got an inch. Just enough to play in.

Yes those are Christmas PJ's. Don't hate.

Then last Wednesday "they" began to predict a big snow storm. Matthew had a guys night out planned and all the wives had a ladies night in planned. As of 4:00 plans were still on. The storm hadn't arrived yet and we all kind of thought "they" were making it up. By 5:00 the snow had started and it was coming fast! We had an inch in just over an hour! This is unheard of in the south. So our original plans were cancelled. We all got bundled up and headed out to the school down the road from us in the dark. We were out for maybe an hour. We were covered in snow and soaked through. If you look at my instagram some of the pictures look grainy, but that is just snow. We couldn't believe how fast and heavy it was coming down.

The next morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow on the ground!!! Matthew and I began to talk about the snow storms we have experienced in our past. This is the 2nd most snow we have ever seen. There was no ice and was perfect to play in. It lasted most of the morning, but started to melt by lunch time. It was fun while it lasted! 

Matthew built an igloo. It was legit.

Our dog was not such a fan of the snow. 

Since we have told Finley it was winter time she has asked when we can build a snowman. We finally got to build a few snowmen this past week. Once we were done she looked at me and ask when it was going to be pool time. So basically she is over winter and ready to move on to summer.

I don't blame her. Although I am never ready for summer, but I am always ready to welcome in spring!!