Just An FYI

This is for all of my followers, but especially the new ones (welcome, by the way ;)).  

I don't blog every day.  There are times I will have two posts in one day, times where I write three or four days in a row, and then there are times when there are several days in between posts.  I also do a lot of link-ups.  I think they are fun and it is a great way to meet other bloggers.  I've seen plenty of people out in blog land who don't consider link-ups to be "quality" posts, and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  But I happen to enjoy doing them :)  

I feel the need to put this out there for you all because I've noticed a pattern.  Every time I go a few days without posting, I lose followers.  Usually only one.  Sometimes two.  But one time I noticed a 4-5 follower drop.  It hurt my feelings at first, but I'm working on not letting it bother me.  

I don't want to feel pressured to write.  I blog because I enjoy it.  If I start to feel pressured, it is going to take the fun out of it for me, and I'm going to want to quit. 

 I'm a busy mom of two busy little boys.  Most of my blogging is done in the mornings when the boys are at school or late at night when they are in bed.  But sometimes I have a lot to do during the day and blogging goes on the back burner.  Sometimes I'm so tired at night from being a referee, taxi, cook, nurse, maid, and all the other mommy duties I have, all I want to do is watch TV for a little while and then go to bed.  

I won't always have a new post up every day, or even a "quality" one, but I'll always be here.  Because I enjoy blogging.  I'm here to stay and I hope you all will stay with me.  :)

Have a great week!  

Four Books

Here we are for another week of the 10 Day You Challenge.  I'm pretty excited about this week.  This weeks topic will cover books.  

Here are 4 book series that I really enjoyed reading.  

{one}  Harry Potter Series

This is one of my very favorite series to read.  I've read all 7 books several times.  My sons are huge fans of the movies, so I'm going to hold onto the books so they can read them when they get older.  

{two}  Twilight Saga

I know, I knoooooow.  A lot of people can't stand the Twilight books or movies, but I happen to like them both.  :)


{three}  Hunger Games Trilogy

This is one of my favorite favorites ;).  These.books.were.awesome!  A lot of people I knew were reading them and I just didn't understand what all the hype could possibly be about.  I decided to read them myself and see.  I got sucked in quickly!  These 3 books kept my attention and kept me wanting more the entire time.  


{four}  Shopaholic series

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella is definitely a great series to read if you like to laugh.  The main character Becky Bloomwood is so lovable, even if she makes you want to bang your head against the desk or wall every once in a while ;) 

What are some of your favorite books to read?

New Blog Design, Button Swaps

Hi everyone!  I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend so far.  

For those of you who haven't noticed yet, my blog got a makeover :D  I'm loving the new look.  The design is by Kelly over at Kelly's Avenue Designs.  She is so friendly and very easy to work with.  I definitely recommend going to her if you'd like a new look for your blog.  

I'm also offering button swaps.  If you would like to swap buttons with me, just send me an email at jnolan05@embarqmail.com.  

Once my blog grows a little more I will start offering sponsor spots, so stay tuned for that.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  

Ahoy, matey. Arrrrr.

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day and participating Krispy Kreme locations are offering a dozen free donuts to anyone who dresses up and talks like a pirate.  If you don't want to dress up as a pirate, talking like one will earn you one free donut.  

Logan has a Jack Sparrow costume so I asked him if he wanted to dress up and talk like a pirate to get some donuts.  

Krispy Kreme wasn't as busy as I thought it would be.  We parked next to this car with two grown men.  They looked like they were contemplating going inside or not.  Finally they both put on a bandana and eye patch and walked inside.  They looked a little embarrassed though :)  

 Logan walked in and said, "Ahoy, matey.  Arrrr." and walked out with a dozen donuts ;)  He thought that was pretty cool.  We don't get donuts very often so that was a nice little treat for us.  

My little pirate

Five Foods

I am now officially halfway through the 10 Day You Challenge!  Woohoo!  This week is about five foods.

Here are five foods that I love:

{one}  any kind of pasta dish

{two}  chicken that has been cooking in the crock pot all day.  yummmmm

{three}  cookies n cream ice cream

{four}  pork chops

{five}  cheesecake

Five Question Friday

1. How long did it take you to find your wedding dress? Wedding dress pics, anyone?
Once I actually started looking for one, I was able to find a dress within a week or two.  I don't remember how long it took exactly.  That was a long time ago ;) 

This is the only picture I have on my computer of me in my wedding dress.  



2. Someone in your general vicinity releases a nasty smelling fart. Do you say anything or blow it off? 

If it is Eric or one of the boys that does it, I will say something to them jokingly.  Otherwise, I don't say anything.  


3. What is the scariest thing that happened to you or scared you recently?

My most recent scare was a couple weeks ago when Eric's car broke down.  It broke down on the interstate, so while Eric was at work one day, my dad and I went to the spot it stopped at and tried to get it back to my house.  Dad was driving Eric's car and I was following behind him in my van.  Everything was going fine for a few miles and then all of a sudden there was this *loud* BOOM and then there was smoke everywhere.  There was so much of it I couldn't see where I was going and I just knew I was going to run into the back of him.  Thankfully I didn't though.  So that was pretty scary.  

4. Favorite brand & flavor of ice cream.

I don't really have a favorite brand, although I don't care for Pet ice cream.  I'll eat anything but that.  My favorite flavors are neapolitan, butter pecan, and cookies and cream.  Yum! :)

5. Are you able to sleep well in hotels? 

Thankfully, I haven't had to stay in a hotel very often, because when I do, I sleep horribly.  I don't know what it is but I end up tossing and turning all night and waking up every couple hours.  I definitely prefer to sleep in my own bed.   

Meeting Nicholas Sparks

Last week, my best friend Abby and I got to meet Nicholas Sparks.  

Nicholas was going to be appearing at our local college for a question and answer session as part of their Visiting Writer's series.  He was also scheduled for a book signing at our local library from 4-5:30 that day.  

I knew there was going to be a long line, so I thought I'd arrive about half an hour early.  That's the earliest I could get there since I have to pick the boys up from school.  

I don't think *anybody*, even the library, anticipated just how many people would actually be there.  I could tell it was going to be bad before I even got to the library, because there were cars lining up alongside the entire city block.  I drove around for at least 15 minutes before I finally wedged my van in between the cars in one part of the parking lot and the sidewalk.  

The line went all through the library, out into the library parking lot, curved around again, and went all the way back to the Science Center next to the library.  

We waited in line for almost two hours, but it was totally worth it.  

Originally, you were supposed to be able to get 2 books signed, but because of the amount of people that showed up, it was changed to 1 book at the last minute. 

The meeting was a little impersonal, but I guess that's just the way it goes when you have so many people.  A library worker took your book before you even got up to Nicholas and had it lined up on a table with the books of the other people in line.  Nicholas was just signing book after book and pausing for a few seconds in between to take a picture.  

Abby and I were so afraid that we would end up not being able to meet him since he was supposed to leave at 5:30 since he had the session at the college to do after the signing.  Luckily though we made it up to him right at 5:30.  I heard that he stayed until 6:30 signing books :).

Nicholas was really nice and I'm so glad I got the chance to meet him!  

this is just a small part of the line.  The line in front of me
goes up, around, and then down into the library

in line, almost in the library now.  It was sooo hot outside

inside the library
after we went around the first corner, we could catch a glimpse of him ;)

my best friend Abby and I

a little bit of Peeta eye-candy while we waited ;)

signing my book <3

Nicholas and I

finally made it out of there with my signed book!

this is a picture that Abby took
what a great smile, don't you think?  :)

Oh, How Pinteresting

Today I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for oh, how pinteresting Wednesday.  

If you'd like, you can:

Here are some things I've pinned recently.

isn't that the truth?  ;)

this is so true!  One time, for an appointment for one of the boys,
we waited for almost 2 hours!

aren't they just lovely? <3 

I do this all the time.  You don't want to leave right
away and seem rude, but if you stay too long they
might think you are avoiding them :-/  haha

this is such a cute idea.  pick a movie
and a "menu" to go with it

I really want to do the "elf on the shelf" with the boys this year.
I love seeing what other people have done with it.

Put your child's graduation year on a t-shirt
and put it on them at the beginning of each
school year to see how they've grown

I so need this.  I'm always forgetting my passwords.

Six Places

This week, as the next installment of the 10 day YOU challenge, I'm going to be listing 6 places that I would like to visit someday.  

{one}  Disneyland

This is like the ultimate family vacation spot.  I've never been and neither have the boys, so I would absolutely LOVE to have the opportunity to take them sometime.  I know they would enjoy it a lot.  

{two}  New York City

I don't know what it is about the place, but I have always wanted to visit New York..... NYC specifically.  I think it would be *awesome* to be at Times Square on New Years Eve.  

{three}  Italy

Italy is one of my top dream travel places.  If I could ever get over my fear of flying, maybe I'll be able to make it happen one day.  :)  Isn't it just beautiful?  

{four}  Ireland

I have always wanted to travel to Ireland also.  

{five}  Paris

What girl wouldn't want to visit the "city of love"?  ;)

{six}  London

London is another place I would like to visit someday.  This may be lame, but I always thought it'd be cool to ride on one of those double decker buses :D

Play That Funky Music

Today I'm linking up for Monday Listicles.  This week's list is really fun so I couldn't resist participating.  It's 10 songs.  

I'm going to do a little bit of a mix, so first off, here are 6 songs that you just can't help dancing to.  

1.  Jump On It

 2. C'mon n Ride It (The Train)
 



3. Cupid Shuffle



 4. Cha Cha Slide
 



5. Sexy and I Know It



6. Boyfriend
 




Now I'm going to list 4 of my favorite religious songs.


 7. Your Love Never Fails
 



8. Beautiful Things



9. Our God
 



 10. Here I Am To Worship