You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

Out with the old…

In with the new…

Thanks to …

I can not brag enough about Shannon. She’s quick, creative, and so easy to work with. Shannon has a knack for getting to know her clients likes and dislikes and is able to design accordingly. I had no idea what I wanted in the design and look what she came up with!

I think it’s so beautiful, unique, and reflects my personality. This new design is my reward for 1 year of blogging. I’ve wanted a new look for a while now, and I knew that if I waited any longer, Shannon would be in demand and I’d have to get in line. Thank goodness she’s quick – this design took only one day!

Thank you Shannon, you are truly a delight to work with and seriously so talented!

Farewell Party ’05 – Many new bloggers in pic

It’s time to update my Blog Roll. Many of my friends in real life have joined our little hobby of blogging. {{a.k.a. obsession}} I rarely update my sidebar anymore because I use Bloglines to keep updated on all my favorite blogs. It’s way overdue for new entries.

So please welcome all these fabulous ladies properly by leaving a welcome comment on their newly designed blogs:

Cecilia – my sister-in-law
Heather – we grew up together
Melissa – amazing longtime friend (has twins)
Colette – my BFF growing up’s sister (has twins)
Jeanette – my BFF growing up’s sister
Lynette – my BFF growing up’s sister
Tami – amazing friend (2 sets of twins)
Emily – card swap friend
Nicole – married a childhood friend
Tatiana – threw me a surprise baby shower w/ Drake
Kristi – is my local vinyl source and friend
Carrie – friend from church
Mimi – friend from church
Amber – friend from BYU

**Update: JaNae – friend from BYU who drops off the face of the earth and pops up at random times. Currently living in Italy.

If I’ve forgotten you, it wasn’t intentional. Shoot me over an e-mail and I’ll welcome you properly.

I found something totally cool on Celia’s blog today. It’s a ‘Top Commenter Widget’ which displays the top 10 commenter on your blog. What a great way to reward your regular commenter!

It’s really easy if you use Blogger. Just type in your blog name as per the instructions, press Customize, then press the Add to Blog button.

It puts it directly into your layout! Drag it to the position you prefer and press Save. Presto!

I knew Are You Serious! would be #1 on the list. She’s such a great commenter and I can always count on her to brighten my day. Thanks girl!

I’ve also got to give an honorable mention to Julie because she’s been one of my favorite bloggers since this crazy ride began one year ago. Thanks CrazyMamaof6 – you totally rock!

I can’t believe it, as of Tuesday, I have been blogging for one year! On the outside not much has changed: I have 3 boys, live in the same house, my man has the same job, and I still go to Mavens, book club, and dinner club with the same fab friends.

But in reality a lot has changed:

* Davis has braces
* Davis is now medicated
* Dylan has been diagnosed with ADHD and is now medicated {{a hit to my ego}}
* Finished Mommy & Me gymnastics with Drake
* Drake is talking a little
* Drake is in a big boy bed – although still not sleeping through the night
* Jason’s going to school to get his MBA
* Executive Homemaker which took over a year to design and 5 years as a concept is 15 months old and has 2,333 members and growing at a rate of 300+ new members every month.
* Executive Homemaker’s online store has grown from three to 26 Mom-prenuers!
* Tip Junkie is 11 months old
* My house is a little prettier and more organized
* My Dad is divorced
* My brother Scott came home from his mission
* We’ve realized our family is complete
* We won our battle with the school district
* Helped my sister, Lisa, move into her first house

Throughout the past year, I have completed a total of 588 posts between my personal blog and Tip Junkie! Hopefully you’ve found them inspiring, uplifting, and worth the read.

Both this blog (personal) and Tip Junkie have grown so much, with a combined total of 688 regular subscribers. I’m so grateful for all of you! As of right now my personal blog has had 50,700 visitors and Tip Junkie has 116,300 visitors. WOW! Thank you so much for taking an interest in what I’m interested in. Thank you for validating my need to share and be heard.

Blogging has given each one of us a voice and that voice matters and is powerful. I feel honored to be apart of it.

I’ve been completely surprised and amazed at the impact blogging has had on my life. Some of the things I’ve learned are:

* Technical stuff like: downloading pictures from my camera, how to upload pictures to my blog, how to link in a post, etc.
* I’ve also learned how to make my own headers and buttons
* A little about html code
* How to use Photobucket to get a direct link for pictures and buttons
* Bloglines and Google Reader to make reading blogs more efficient instead of going to each blog individually to see if they’ve been updated.
* How to have new comments go to my e-mail so I can delete the spam comments that get posted on older posts and so I don’t have to check my blog directly to see if any new comments where posted.
* To use Flickr to find a picture for a post

Fun blog things I’ve participated in:

* Tons of meme’s and blogthings
* Participated in a Travel Swap & Witch Switch
* Picked Cherish as my word of 2008
* Had a blog crush
* Started the Great Tip Award which has now been changed to “I was Featured” on Tip Junkie
* Been featured on Today’s Creative Blog and have developed a friendship with Kim
* I’ve met bloggers in real life (MIRL) at Blogapalooza 2008, Jill’s 3rd Annual Blog party, and for lunch.

Most importantly, I’ve made some real connections and have been really inspired by other bloggers. I have felt more accepted and appreciated this past year than I ever have before. I’m making a Blurb book and therefore I feel like I have something to show what I’ve done this past year, which is important to me.

Memories that would normally be lost, I have record here to laugh at, reflect, and be grateful for. Even though this has been a difficult year for me personally, I’ve been able to focus on the positive, and stay grateful thanks to blogging.

Thanks for the journey Ladies! I’ve enjoyed every moment of it and am looking forward to another fabulous year!

Lisa only gets her hair done when we are in Utah and now she is a completely loyal customer to Liesl. She works miracles on Lisa’s hair.

Here’s Lisa before (no make up)

Here’s Lisa after (with my make up Bare Minerals). She’s all ready to Par-Tay at Blogapalooza tonight.

Blogapalooza was more fun than I imagined it would be. Denae, Paige, Celia, and Jessica really out did themselves! It was so well planned with tons of fun games. I don’t think anyone felt awkward or out of place because it was so organized.

The girls had gone the extra mile and printed out each of our blog headers on photo paper and made into these cute place cards! They really came in handy when I was trying to familiarize myself with the other bloggers. I may not have recognize their face – but I’d know their header. 😉

My favorite was these fun green and teal name tags. The girls were so brilliant to include our profile pic on the name tag! It made it so easy to recognize the people who frequently comment.

Doesn’t Martha look so amazing pregnant! It was so great to see her again.

We started out the evening with a great get to know you game. The questionnaire had questions where you found the person that fit the fill-in-the-blank description. The winner was the one who figured out the most. It was such a fun ice-breaker.

The next game incorporated the door prizes we brought. Each person presented their door prize and why they brought it and then picked a name out of a bag who then received the gift.

I got Holly’s Saturday Splurge box filled with yummy candy. {{perfect for my sweet tooth}} It was meant to be as Holly and I hit it off immediately!

Here’s Sally (no blog but professional commentor) who got Denae’s gift. It turns out Sally and I were in the same Church Ward while at BYU. She knows the Shanks (who were also in our Ward at BYU) who just moved 5 min from me in Texas! Crazy small world.

I talked Lisa into bringing Cow Pee and a Rocky Mountain Apple. It wasn’t really Cow Pee just lemonade. It was so funny and yes, we’re still laughing about it!!

Celia brought her marriage mat. She demonstrated and it was hysterical!

Here’s Lisa and me with Mique and Diane. I was really looking forward to meeting Mique as we have tons in common. She is such a sweet heart and doesn’t she look great in that green jacket. Diane and Lisa totally bonded over swear words and church stories!

The last thing we did was split into tables and discuss Blogging Issues. My table picked me to represent and give an overview of what we discussed.

Paige was fabulous as one of the hostesses!!

Here’s Kara (my Witch Switch partner), Annemarie (who I met last time I was in UT), and Holly. All super fab girls I really enjoyed meeting. We totally bonded!

Two things that really made the evening flow so well was the Google Group that the girls set up and invited each of us to participate in. It was so great to talk to people via the group and make plans and throw out ideas. The member list and the profiles really helped me.

I think what helped us get to know each other best before the party was Celia took the time to list everyone and link their blog on her side bar. We were then able to take the initiative to familiarize ourselves with each other before the party. I’m so grateful for the extra effort the girls put into the party. It was completely worth it – there wasn’t a dull moment or person in the group.

Blogapalooza was such an fun evening. I felt honored to be amongst such incredible women. Big thanks to Denae for the picture!

More to come…

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

Out with the old.

In with the new!

I am so excited to tell you guys first, that Shannon over at EightCrazyDesigns has made me such an amazing new design for Tip Junkie! {{squeal with delight!}}

It only took 4 days from start to finish! I am so impressed with Shannon’s talent. I really was clueless as to what specifically I wanted and what she designed is so beautiful and so “me”. It’s completely different than anything I’ve seen. Shannon listened to everything I suggested and incorporated them beautifully. I’m so glad that I hired her!

(I had hired someone else in December and needless to say it didn’t go as seamless.)

If you’re looking for a blog designer I would highly recommend Shannon! She was so easy to work with, her rates are very reasonable, and she incorporated everything I said I wanted and MORE!

She took the liberty of changing the Tip Junkie girl’s dress and I absolutely loved it! Then I asked her to make a jacket for her and she came up with this seriously so cute wrap.

For all of you waiting for Tip Junkie to convert and become a modest lady – here’s her debut! I really have been working on getting her a jacket for MONTHS! Who knew Shannon would handle it in minutes. {{whew!}}

The new design should be up on Tip Junkie shortly. I hope you love the new design as much as I do. Well that may not be possible, so if you love it half as much I’ll be happy. {{wink}}

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life – a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.