quick note

Hey friends!!

Announcing that my blog will be getting a NEW NAME & a NEW DESIGN (same url though)!! which means that my blog will be under construction for the next week or so.

I am excited to revamp things around here with a refreshed look & name that will be revealed soon enough!

I've been wanting to do this for months as me & my blog have grown this last year. With Springtime here (or near), what  better time for this project.  Life, flowers blooming, gardens growing, blog makeover, ya know, the pretty things!

I won't be blogging this week but you can keep up with me on twitter or email !I have a feeling taking a break from blogging might do me well. Shoot, this will give me time to read & comment on YOUR blogs and answer emails! :)

Have a great mid-march week!
Hugs!

the spirit of the Irish day

Happy St. Patrick's day!!

I am not Irish, but today everyone can be!

The only "st. paddy's day" thing I did was wear green. I don't drink green beer or any beer for that matter and I do not like corned beef & cabbage...so yehhhh.

Oh and I am really starting to like the name Patrick. Maybe a middle name for a baby boy??

Here are some pictures of me today. 
and Look I caught a HUGE THREE LEAF CLOVER! WOW!

top o' the evenin to ya

kiss me?

I know there's the saying of something like, "let the luck of the Irish be with you", but I don't really believe in luck. I like blessed to be the meaning of what lucky is.

You know when people are about to go take an important test, or go to a job interview, I really hesitate on saying, "good luck." I mean to wish them the best and all good fortune or good energy for those things lol.

From one little leprechaun to another,  I  leave you with a prayer of blessings, courtesy of my aunt nancie:

May your thoughts be as glad as the SHAMROCKS, may your ♥ be as Light as the song, may each day bring you bright "HAPPY HOURS" that stay witb you all year long. 

Interpret it as you wish :)

Be Blessed.
Rainbows & pots of gold.
-B

week run-down

yeh yeh, I haven't posted since monday.

I just didn't make time. You know how I was talking about my anxiety and not sleeping? 

Well, last week, I delightfully did sleep better, but on monday night it went downhill and this whole week minus last night, was not fun. I would lie in my bed, wide awake for hours! Most of the time, no anxiety, thank God! But sprinkled throughout. it's just frustrating.

I had such a positive response to THAT post and my heart was overwhelmed with love. I want to thank those who left me comments and gave me encouragement and support! It means alot and who knew that strangers could be united over such things!?

I also want to say HELLO & welcome to all of my new followers! I am sure you've heard GFC is going away in July, but do not fret, you can still follow me by subscribing by email or on bloglovin---there's a little button on the right there :) yeh, right there.

I am energized and feeling good & pretty today.

I'll give you a run-down of how my week went, besides the usual checking and responding to emails & reading/commenting on blogs:

Tuesday
cardmaking

Wednesday
visit w/the grandparents
go to my nurse sandy's parents SURPRISE 60th wedding anniversary party!!

It was such a fun event and i was so happy to be able to be there to celebrate Jackie & Russ's anniversary. They are such a good example of making family & each other a priority. I hope that when I enter a marriage that it's for 60 years and forever. 

Russ told me, "The first 60 years was hard. The next 60 will be easier." lol.

Obviously, sense of humor is key!


Thursday
meeting w/case manager
hang out with one bestie Hayne (she's on spring break!)

Friday
Got my toes did
made important phone calls
put together 2 packages

annnddddd, one night this week, I read Woman's Day magazine given to me from nana. While reading, there was a pretty quote that made me smile and brought warm fuzzies, especially now that Spring is upon us!

let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom---marcel proust

What are you looking forward to? Are you ready for Spring? How was your week?

makeup & movies monday

happy monday! 

My day has been off with a slow start. feeling sleepy..*yawn*! 

I've been getting distracted watching makeup tutorials on youtube hehe. I love the Pixiwoo sisters, which i just got the Real Techniques travel size brush set from Christmas,(THANKS MOM!) that Samantha Chapman (one half of pixiwoo) designed! I feel almost professional now! and Kandee Johnson is so lively and cute. I just love seeing how other women: self-taught or professional create different looks and what products they use.

So, how are you today? the weekend was spent mostly lounging around watching movies: argo &  playing for keeps. Arizona had some down pour of rain, grey skies that left me feeling a bit gloomy saturday. my attitude needing adjusting or maybe just some sleep? lol watching movies was relaxing enough.

Argo: 4.5/5 stars!

Ben Affleck is a genius and made this movie as real as possible. My whole body was tensing up during this movie. I was rooting for his character Tony and the six Americans who escaped the overtaken U.S. Embassy and were in hiding from the Iranian government! I am really happy that Argo won Best Picture at the Oscars. He and his whole team did a great job.

Playing for Keeps: 3/5 stars!

This was a good slightly fluff comedic/romantic/drama. I really like Jessica Biel. Gerard Butler? how could i say no to him.  hubba!! I was sort of getting tired of the all the women throwing themselves at him, aka repeat offenders (mainly Catherine Zeta-Jones's character as well as Judy Greer's character) but the last 30 minutes was redeeming and Gerard/George finally got his act together.

With it being monday and talking about makeup tutorials above, let's continue the lightness. I'll share a couple new makeup products I've gotten recently.

You might have remembered me mentioning the Flower color play cream shadow by Drew Barrymore that i wore in an outfit post recently? Well, i loved it so much I ended up getting two more shades.

Here is awesome blossom and good on mari-gold.

swatches: good on mari-gold on top// awesome-blossom on botton

pretty jars

I've tried them both but have failed to snap pictures. I am thinking they will both be well for upcoming summer. The marigold is definitely gilded and I like it!

Plus, I have SOME FUN news for ya! I am taking part of an awesome giveaway that  the lovely Pamela of Pamela's Heavenly Treats, (maybe you know her and the scrumptious recipes she makes?) and some other Fabulous ladies have contributed to!

Do you love to craft? Do you love to scrapbook ? Then this is PERFECT for you!

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$50.00 Michael's Gift Card

You can buy a lot of scrapbook paper, yarn, washi tape, baking supplies oh how I LOVE this store!  Since I am a baker, its like Baker's Heaven!

Special THANK YOU to my wonderful lovelies for being apart of this fabulous giveaway

HOST ~ Pamela's Heavenly Treats

The Taylor House / The Pretty Bee / Big Apple Mami 

 Bee Little Queen / Pretty Living PDX  / Cooking on the Front Burner 

 Persnickety Plates / Delightful Deets / Eventually Cottage 

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  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions of Giveaway

This giveaway is not sponsored by MICHAEL's Stores. You must live in the USA to win giveaway! Make sure you are honest, I will be checking each entry! Winner will have 48 hours to get back to me to claim there prize if not another winner will be picked! This giveaway was made possible by bloggers and shop owners! 

we have the guts and glory

it started as a poem...

some days are a struggle and the days go by.
some days are energetic and i do not cry.

i may not cry saltwater tears, but i cry inside at the fear and worry I carry.
i imagine my little heart slowly dripping droplets one by one. drop. drop.
the thought sometimes crosses my mind, "am i able to bear this?"

we all go through hardships and trials. 
they all come at different times in our lives.

it seems the light is far off in the distance as you struggle to stand and get any slight glimpse of that bright light.

the light that brings hope. that brings reassurance that everything is going to be ok. that you are not alone, ever.

i understand that most of the sweet people that read my blog are women, and not to disregard men, but the following is addressed more to women:

we as women are emotional creatures. you know, all those hormones and all!

it's ok to cry. it's ok confide in others about your problems or things that you keep and build inside.

it's ok to ask for help. it's ok to worry, because that usually means you care.
  
however, we must remember that we are not alone. God is there. He never leaves our side and though we cannot see Him, he may be there in the form of a dear friend, a kind stranger or a baked goodie left on your doorstep.

we will move forward through the fears and tears.

we could be free-er if we allowed ourselves to let go and let God. Give up your burdens and weight to the Lord and he shall sustain you (Psalms 55:22)


we must realize that we have the guts and glory to overcome any trial. 
Faith will see you through.

 Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

these past few weeks have been heavy for me. emotionally. spiritually. so much so, that my sleep routine has worsened from the usual disruptive pattern i've lived for over 7 years.

my anxiety has increased. after talking with my primary dr. a couple weeks ago, we upped the dosage on my anti-anxiety pill. (the dosage I was taking was VERY low to begin with.)

I am not ashamed of this. I get a little crazy. Truth is, life gets a little crazy.

Who cares!?

Some people who don't deal with anxiety or who simply do not understand would counter, "why take a pill? that's just another pill for another problem. what's next?, if you're a woman of faith, why don't you just pray to God to make you better?" so on and so on....

I am not saying this is you, it's just what I imagine naysayers to say or think...I shouldn't care and I don't because I do believe that this med does help me when the going gets tough, (especially at 1 or 2 in the morning): 

when I get ansy and frustrated and HAVE TO MOVE or shake my legs. 
When I feel my heart beating faster. 
When I have a fluttering feeling in my chest and upper abdominals that nags. 

This pill doesn't cure me of my problem and I don't credit it for helping 100% because the other major source of my help comes from Christ!

I never feel closer to my Savior than when I pray or read scriptures. These past 2-3 weeks have been filled with quiet time with Him, prayer, pleading, tears and doubts (yes, i have doubts sometimes.)

Psalms 31:24 

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

i tell myself negative things (the dark one's forces, the dark shadows) and remind myself that doubt and fear is NOT of God! My anxiety will not rule over me!

Psalms 62:1-2

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

I've looked to Psalms 62 many a time lately, thanks to one of my best friends who recommended this chapter to me.

I can honestly share that my weeks are improving. I have been able to sleep MUCH better the past couple of nights. It feels so relieving to actually be rested. I thank God for this improvement. Being more restful leads to more energy which in turn has shifted my crabbiness and has allowed me to WANT to do things that I normally found happiness in, such as blogging. Alelulia!

It feels so good to be back blogging more regularly. To be somewhat organized lol and to see the sunny side of life.

WIW: green & yellow + perla style

Another Wednesday is here which means another edition of what i wore! 

Also, if you don't remember,  Perla is my grandparent's dog. Nana had Perla all dressed up in a new dress complete with ruffles today hence; Perla style was born!

As with every mid-week visit with my grandparents {i am so blessed}, my grandpa, perla and I take a stroll in my neighborhood. I always enjoy these walks with my grandpa as we typically chat about family, movies or tv shows and things happening in the world. Of course, Perla enjoys them as well as she gets to sniff the fresh air and grassy weeds as she re-marks her territories! haha

While out and about this afternoon, I snapped some pics of Perla and grandpa kindly snapped these photos of me.

perla's dress//walmart

Dress//Target, earrings// Target, ribbon//my own

I can't believe how quickly March is passing already. 

I sometimes get overwhelmed at how much I want to do and what seems like not enough time in my day.

somebody needs to color her hair!

Procrastination is no stranger to me. 

"oh i will do that tomorrow."

"later."

"i just don't want to think about it."

 

Tomorrow becomes the day after tomorrow.

I feel good about myself when I make some progress, even if that means I get coupons clipped or an email composed in 15 minutes! Small steps my friends, small steps.

We can do one thing at a time. We can't do everything at once.

my ghetto armrest!

So my point of the story is: I love to soak up the time I get to spend taking walks with my grandpa and perla. Pleasant conversation. Watching cute Perla. Vitamin D and sunshine (usually). A nice, relaxing breathe of fresh air to easy my mind and fill my soul.

What do you do to relax or to take a breather?

dating disasters

When I saw this link up being promoted on Tales of a Twenty-something, i just knew i wanted to join Allie and Bold Baby Butter for a walk down memory lane in talking about some of our dating disasters.

One perfect storm one came to mind. 

This was about 4 years ago when I was on an on-line dating service. You may have heard of it, Plenty of Fish?

omg, i THOUGHT that I was talking to this cool guy. We'll call him D. we had corresponded online for about a month before we decided we'd like to meet in person for our first so-called date.

he made me laugh. he was dark blonde with hazel eyes, i think? lol. he was Christian. he called me darling. We were close in age.

I started to like him even though he was kinda dorky and he told me he loved brunettes. hello! we both enjoyed talking on the phone with each other.

because I can't go anywhere alone due to my medical situation, my caregiver Sofia went w/me to meet D for coffee. we decided we'd just pick up some starbucks and then find a place to sit & chat, and while us 2 were sitting together, sofia sat at another table some distance from us to give us privacy.

Well, we of course arrive early (i don't like to be late) and he called lost & running a little late.I told him where we were and he'd be there in a few minutes. I keep my eyes peeled for him and what I think he looks like (according to his profile pics). I was weaving my gaze through the people approaching and I spot him!

I mumbled, OH NO! I see him. I can't believe this, that's him! I said to sofia, OMG this is not going to work! hahaha..I was like what the hell!? (i know, i might sound conceited, but this was a preview of the date)

As he walked closer to the door, he dawdled like how shaggy walks from the cartoon Scooby doo, which made me chuckle. Plus he looked like he just rolled outta bed! His shirt had stains on it and not tucked into his shirt or anything. He wore dirty tennis shoes, his hair a mess.

Oh geez. 

SO I smiled and greeted him. I was nervous already and more so when I already knew I was probably gonna have to let him down.

We got into line for coffee and made small talk. He first went in front of me in line and just paid for his drink. He didn't offer to pay for mine! Sofia met my eyes as she couldn't believe that and that he was not so gentlman-ly. We both smirked.

So we get our drinks and go find a table to talk.

I put alot of effort into looking cute for this first "coffee date" and I was pretty bummed to see him in person without making any effort.

Maybe I was being too harsh, i thought?
Maybe my expectations were too high?
How shallow was I to be making fun (in my head) of how he carried himself?

I said No way especially in the first 15 minutes of sitting there talking with him because I was getting this weird vibe from him.

My guts did not give me a 100% comfortable feeling being in his presence.

To me, that was the sign from the Spirit telling me this dude was a no-go!

I ended our supposed-to-be-an-hour meeting a bit early and made the excuse that Sofia wanted to go check out this store before we left the shopping area and that i had to go.

I called him later that evening or he called me, I can't remember. But i just told him, I am sorry, this isn't going work.

Oh D, I am really sorry I hurt your feelings.

Sorry i had to break your heart.

It sucks because I've been broken-hearted and the heart-breaker.

That's what happens in the realm of love.

Never again have I met a guy in person from on-line! lol.

mani monday

Hey lovelies!!

I am joining Heather of Glitter and Gloss for Mani Monday!

I am usually more into the makeup side of beauty but I've been getting into polishing my nails more lately and thought i'd be fun to do this!

Now, I am no nail art fanatic, though there are some really cute, creative & snazzy nails shown by women. I like to keep my nails more plain with just an all over color.

This past weekend while at walmart with my mom, I saw these smaller bottles of nail color by Rimmel for $1.50 each.

I got the London look in more than 60 seconds.hahaha. 
I needed to roll the bottle in my palms to mix up the polish so it wasn't so thick and to avoid bubbles on my nail beds.

mintilicious and blue eyed girl

 I am slightly obsessed with mint and coral right now, but i thought these two would look good together.

I am glad the sun is shining and I tend to gravitate toward bright colors..or at least that's my mood lately.

 are you sporting any certain colors on your nails right now? what are your fave color combo's now?

 

the newest member of the e-reader club

Hi.

My name is Brittany and I am the newest member of the e-reader club.

If you didn't know, I am pretty old-fashioned.

My mama has been trying to convince me to get an e-reader for years. She's even offered to generously gift me a Kindle or Nook  for the past 3 Christmases and or for my birthday! Each time I pleasantly declined.

I didn't want to give into the trend. I didn't want to "have to" get used to a new technological thing.

I felt in some way that if I got an e-reader, I was saying goodbye to actual books. 
I felt that I was helping make printed materials extinct and that really scares me as SO much reading material is on the web now; from newspapers to magazines and of course, books.

About two weeks ago, I justified my purchase of a Nook Simple Touch thanks to birthday money.

My physical being is progressively declining. that's the nature of my muscle disease, SMA-Spinal Muscle Atrophy.

I have a noticed my arms becoming weaker, especially in the last year and the last 5 months I haven't been able to wash the right side of my face, thus needing someone to do it for me.

Because of my arms weakening, I decided to get the Nook, BUT i will still purchase and read physical, thinner paperbacks, like Safe Haven!

Here is the beauty!

Most covers for the Nook are around $30, psshh yeh right, this girl needed  something cheaper.

I then saw online one day shortly after purchasing my Nook that Sew Beastly was offering a coupon code and I totally had to snatch one up! They are just so darling and whimsical. I was a bit concerned with the measurements and if the Nook would fit, but after comparing both, I knew it would. I thought that the wristlet would be able to happily hold & protect my Nook!

When I got Citlalli's pretty package, I put my Nook in there, along with a micro-fibre cloth to clean the screen and they both fit, but just barely. I mean, I CAN zip it up, so that's all that matters.

I could  just tell how much love & care that Citlalli puts into her packaging and product! I love it! I also recently learned from her website that her products contain, "batting/interfacing made from recycled plastic bottles." 
Nice to the environment too? ah :)

I ended up getting this pretty purple & yellow ruffled wristlet. I was contemplating this one too.

I'll mainly use the Nook (for now) for books that are on my running list that  are heavier or only in hardcover. I am really hoping I can keep this system going for years. Transitioning to ALL of my books on the Nook, IF i can no longer hold a book up while laying down will sadden me terribly! BUT i won't dwell on what hasn't even happened.

You see,  97% of the time I read books and magazines at night. Reading at night is so enjoyable to me. There are less distractions and i feel cozy laying in  bed with my 12 pillows surrounding me as I quietly read, either letting my mind be taught and expanded or mindlessly being entertained.

As of now, I have 2 books downloaded: 
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin( currently reading) and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

If anyone wants to get me a Barnes & Noble giftcard for Christmas, I'd love it! haha 

Ok, seriously though, if any of you have a Nook, let me know, because i hear that we can borrow books from each other somehow? Not sure how that works, but I'd definitely be interested!