Another Week, Another Set of Gems

Hi friends!  Happy Fried Food and Fatty Dips Superbowl Sunday!  

First up, if you missed it yesterday, I'm participating in a really fun Valentine's Giveaway with nine other bloggers.  We each picked a product we "love to love" and one lucky winner will get it ALL.  Check it out and enter here.

I hope you all have had a great weekend. Jeff had a guy's trip planned this weekend, so Sam and I headed north to spend some time with Aunt KK (my sister), and it has been so wonderful.  Sam has been completely spoiled, and I got to eat Mexican food, shop at Ikea and World Market, and spend Saturday night in my PJs reading tabloid magazines with my bff. (Did you know Taylor Swift's cat's name is Meredith Grey? How great is that?) It's been pretty much the best weekend.

Speaking of the best, here are some of my favorite blog posts and articles from this past week:

"4 Habits of Punctual People" at FastCompany.com

Obviously, I needed to read this.  #Imightbeinthe20percent


"The New Church Lady" from Pearls and Grace

This is beautiful.  THIS is the woman I want to be.

"Creating a Family Culture" on Catholic All Year

 

Kendra is fast becoming one of my favorite bloggers because, y'all, she has SEVEN kids and still makes dinner every night and wears cute clothes to church on Sunday, so she's pretty much an expert in the parenting department as far as I'm concerned.  This post meant a lot to me as I think about decisions Jeff and I will make for Sam and our family as he grows and begins to ask more questions etc.  We are entering the "why" stage already, and I want to have a "plan."  I really love this approach of creating and owning your own family culture and then STICKING TO IT because you are a family, and that is enough.


"Where All New Year's Resolutions Go to Die" by Kat Lee at The Art of Simple

Kat calls February the month where "where all new year's resolutions go to die" and, based on my past experiences, I have to agree with her.  BUT, not this year folks.  This post is the perfect blend of motivation and practical tips to help you carry your goals well beyond January!


"How I Lost 100 Pounds in 11 Months" from Livy Loves to Run. 

I only just recently started following Diana's blog, but I had seen her name (and picture) in the blog world for a while because of her awesome Etsy print shop.  This week, she hit her goal of losing ONE HUNDRED POUNDS after beginning to live a healthier lifestyle less than a year ago, and she has been a big inspiration to me (especially on Instagram) in my own healthy-living journey this past month.  This post just answers some frequently asked questions about her loss and how her life has changed in eleven months.

For my teacher friends (and parents with kids in schools), you must read "Share This With All the Schools."  Glennon nailed it. (Again.) Kind-of made me tear up a little.

"Let Your Husband Love You" on When at Home

This is a quick and easy read (that apparently stirred up quite a bit of controversy that I really don't understand) with a good message.  Even though I don't stay home with Sam all day every day, I could still relate to a lot of this and definitely benefited from this reminder.

Also...

I love this idea for a hostess gift from Cupcakes & Cashmere.

I'm looking forward to this movie this summer.

A pretty new desktop wallpaper for February.

I really want this for my bedroom (... on a canvas...for Valentines Day... from Jeff)

This is funny and oh so true (for m


And... I'd really like to partner with your small business as a sidebar sponsor for this place.  Check out options and buy for February here or email me (e@emyselfandi.com) for details.