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D’oh! Social Media Wizard I am Not

I just called all my Instagram Followers an a hole. D’oh!  {bwaahaa!}

Tip Junkie Instagram Thank You Free Sign

I seriously can’t stop laughing.

So… it’s been a while since I’ve blogged.  I’ve been hiding behind excuses like seasonal depression living in Ohio with no sun.  Too busy with the move back to Texas.  Raising teenage boys.  And pretty much every other excuse not to go start blogging again.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being a Tip Junkie and am honored to do what I enjoy.  However, not being involved in social media for many, many years… has made this chick a little clueless.  Starting again after so long has made me feel like quite the noob.

Case in point, I called my 11,000 Instagram followers today A HOLEs.  {see above cropped image}

Instagram cropped my image and that’s pretty much what anyone will see when they check my Insta-feed. I would never have noticed it.  Angie text me because she and her girls were laughing so hard they were crying.

Free Donut Appreciation Sign Feature by TipJunkie

My friend Shelly asked me to make a Donut You Know We Appreciate You sign for her teacher appreciation breakfast and I thought it would be nice to add it as a free printable on Tip Junkie.  Cute, right?!?  Feel free to head on over and download it for free.  You can use it for Teachers, Father’s Day, or really any event.

Of course I then went overboard and made three different versions each with three sizes you can frame for your convince. Cuz I’m O.T.T. like that.  I then tried to teach myself typography {which I quickly realized I am terrible at}.  So I’m learning some tricks of the trade from my amazing friend Amy and trying figure out all the latest trends.

Welcome back to blogging Laurie, you ahole. {bwaahaa!}

I can’t believe this is my first post since 2011.
A lot has changed.
Yet I still feel like the same person… just trying to do my best with what I’ve got.

Blogger · Business Owner

CHA: Craft & Hobby Association ROCKS!

I had the coolest experience at CHA {The Craft and Hobby Association Expo} and even though it was months ago, I just couldn’t resist telling you all about it. It’s so beautiful and there are craft supplies everywhere you look.  It’s a crafters dream!

* I must apologize for my terrible pictures.  I just got a new camera so I am so excited to learn how to use it and take amazing photos for you fab gals. {wink}

I flew directly from Blissdom {a blogging conference} to CHA in LA with Jen, Marie, Beckie, and Kami.  It was awesome to get to know these amazing women so much better. I’m always amazed when I find other women who have the same passions and insterests that I do.  {snicker}
 
CindyJenKami HeatherMarieMeBeckieAmy

We weren’t the only bloggers there!  We met up with so many others who also share our addiction to paper,  products, and things that glitter.

CHA is an expo where stores buy their products direct from the maunfaturer and some serious business goes down.  You’re talking major transactions where all of the newest inventions and products are demonstrated and purchased.

And then there was me…  I had the best time taking photo ops, meeting cool and important people, and simply doing my thing.

All of the booths were seriously so impressive and beautiful!

My favorite was the DCWV booth as they made a runway of paper dresses that were to die for!  
DCWV had several parties all set up and paper flowers everywhere.  I just loved it.

Everywhere you looked people where getting their craft on.  Seriously, you could have spent the entire weekend just making projects using the latest and greatest gadgets.  {amazing!}

I learned so much about the craft industry and met business owners, PR directors, and other seriously cool people that I hope to work with in the near future.  It’s an expo that I’ll attend every year for sure!

  Comfort Joshua – me – Twitch



Hands down the most fun we had at CHA the Provo Craft party. They had the stars of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ (Season 4) as the entertainment. We danced, sang, took some crazy pictures, made a flip book, and really enjoyed the night.



Kami made this fabulous recap video of the Provo Craft Party as they were celebrating their 5th year of the Cricut.  It was seriously so much fun.  They know how to par-tay!

Blogger · Girly Girl

What Do You Want?

I’ll never forget one Christmas we were having the hardest time getting Dylan to tell us what he wanted from Santa.  He finally asked me, “If I don’t tell Santa what I want, will I get it?”  I had to restrain my myself as I was at the brink of frustration with him and I said, “No! You won’t.  If you don’t tell people what you want –  you’ll never get it.” 

I’m quite sure everyone in the Santa line could see the huge light-bulb over my head at that very moment.  I finally got it myself.  I have to ask for what I want otherwise I’ll get just that – nothing.

 I had the best conversation with a dear friend about getting what you want out of life. That conversation has been so eye opening to me.  She recently went to the Mighty Summit which was a small get together of power women in social media. The entire weekend was about their Life List and making those things happen for each other.

What a profound experience to be in a room full of influential women who are reading the top 5 things they want to do in life and having someone sitting next to you say, “You want to write a book? I just published a book and can help you get in touch with the right people.”  {{jawdropping}}

Needless to say, Allison has convinced me once again that I have to know what I want and then ask for it.  So I’ll be taking the next week to write down my life list.  The problem that I’m facing is that I have a very limited imagination.  HA!

What’s on your life list?  I need some suggestions. {{giggle}}

Blogger · Mother of Boys

A Peek at My Techy Family


Chevy Malibu is Perfecft for my Techy Family from Laurie Turk on Vimeo.

This is the last video that I did for Chevy.  Honestly, I had SO much fun making them.  I’m no Spielberg or anything but man it’s fun to make fun of yourself!  {{evil laugh}}

As I get closer to 40 I find that I’m really quite ridiculous and I think it’s hysterical!

I was supposed to show off the USB port for your iPod but um… I thought it would be more fun to poke fun at how techy my family is and how we utilize ALL FOUR of the charging stations in the car.  I mean, really what other family would use all of them at once.  {{bwaahaa!}}

So I hope you enjoy my little white and nerdy video.  This was all done in one take as the boys did a great job playing along.

Blogger

A Little Obsessed


A Little Obsessed from Laurie Turk on Vimeo.

Here’s a fun video I did for Chevy.  I’m making fun of my love of Diet Coke by showcasing how many cup-holders the Chevy Malibu has.  It has 6 cup-holders!  Which is as many as my minivan.  I thought that was pretty impressive.


I included an inside joke I have with a few of my blogging friends.  You might notice “Rachael’s Recycling”.  It’s from a conversation we had at Mom 2.0 Summit about recycling.  {{giggle}}

I swear I’m such a bweeb but maybe it will help you start your Monday with a laugh.  I’ll take one for the team – no problem!  {{giggle}}

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New Endorcement Deal – I’m a Chevy Girl

I have some exciting news, I just signed a month long endorsement deal with Chevy. Yep, I’m a Chevy Girl.  Therefore, for my birthday month of September, I’ll be going on missions and bringing you my adventures via blog posts and video.

Chevy will be featuring my posts and videos on their sites:
Gotta Love Chevy Houston
Gotta Love Chevy DFW
Gotta Love Chevy Neo

I’ve also got to thank Lynn Smith Chevrolet for the loaner car.

I’m honored and excited about this next month and giving you an insiders peek into the Chevy Malibu.  It’s extremely tech savvy.

We threw our fabulous new Chevy a Welcome Home Party and celebrated Turk style.




The kids are so excited about the:

A/c adapter to charge their iTouch
Automatic passenger seat airbag shut off so they can finally sit in the front seat
USB port so they can play their iPod music

It has some crazy fun features that you’ll learn more about!  {{squeal in delight}}

GottaLoveChevyDFW is hosting a few giveaways during the month of September.

  • Girlfriend Getaway to Chicago: Who doesn’t love getting away with their girlfriends for a relaxing weekend?  Beginning September 2nd, you can register to win a Girlfriend Getaway  for two to Chicago, IL.  The package includes a $2,500 JNR Incorporated travel voucher.  The travel voucher is redeemable for travel services from JNR Incorporated and is valid from one year from the date it is received and has no value upon expiration.  The voucher is good for the winner and one guest.
  • Pick Your Purse Sweepstakes: This giveaway involves free purses. Expensive free purses. Can I get an “Amen”?   Beginning September 2nd, you can register to win a $1,000 American Express gift certificate to purchase a designer purse of your choice by registering on the DFW Facebook Fan page, www.facebook.com/gottalovechevydfw.

Be sure to visit GottaLoveChevyDFW to enter both of these amazing giveaways!

Blogger · Family Cruise Director

Wildside Bloggers in Sea World at San Antonio

We were invited to join the Wildside Bloggers Reunion at SeaWorld San Antonio.

We absolutely love SeaWorld and I have an obsession with fellow bloggers. So we jumped in the car and headed out for all the festivities.

We were greeted with cake and ice cream and photo ops with Shamu.

Fabulous new friends were made and I got to see several of my Twitter friends again.  It was completely delightful.

We didn’t get a suit this time because we were staying at the hotel with all the bloggers.  This caused a sleeping arragment delima.  Where was the 3rd child going to sleep?  I tried to get Drake to sleep in the bathtub full of pillows, but unfortuantely it was a no-go.  We ended up making a bed on the floor for Davis. 

Not to self:
Do yourself a favor and be sure we have a suit at all costs!  Must have 2 beds and a couch.  Must have a door so the kids can fall to sleep while Jason and I watch a movie alone.  Must set up family for success. 🙂  Live and learn.

SeaWorld welcomed us with open arms!  We were given a special show, got to pet several cool animals from their Animal Connection, had a wonderful brunch, and got to feed the dolphins.

They boys loved every minute of it!

They even had the penguins out for a limbo contest. HA!

It was a fun day with Quick Queue passes, all day dining passes, and special treatment to meet the cast of Azul. 

Azul is my favorite show bar none!

This time we made sure that we were able to see the ski show.  During it, Dylan turned to me and said, “I want to date one of those girls!”. HA! Holy cow it was so funny.  So I made sure he got to pick one to meet and get a photo op.  He was so excited!

We spent time everywhere!  We had a blast at the Lost Lagoon, rode a crazy number of rides since we got to cut to the front with our Quick Queue passes, and ate until we were so full we rolled into the car.

  Life is Sweet as a blogger!