bareMinerals - Mother's Day Giveaway!

Mother’s Day is fast approaching so I’m teaming up with Caryna over at Becoming Mrs. Carter for a Hot Mama’s Giveaway!!!

Being a mom is a tough job! Whether you work full time or are a SAHM it’s rare that you get a lot of time to yourself. We wanted to focus this giveaway on all of the hard working mamas out there.

The Prize:

Bare Minerals: One Hot Mama gift set

Set includes:

Mini Well-Rested Face & Eye Brightener (0.02 fl. oz.)

Glee All-Over Face Color (sheer rosy blush) (0.05 oz.)

Mini Flawless Application Face Brush

Flawless Definition Mascara in Black (0.33 fl. oz.)

Mini Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Smooth Talker (golden pink)

The rules are simple:

1.       Follow both of your host’s blogs (bloglovin’ or google+ works!)

2.       Interact with us! We want to hear what makeup item makes you feel like a Hot Mama! Comment on this post with your favorite “on the go” beauty product

3.       Earn some extra points by following us on twitter/pinterest

Contest begins at 12:00pm EST

USA entrants only. Ends at 1200 (noon) on 05/06/2014. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hrs to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hrs a new winner will be chosen.

These days I am all about the lips, adding a little color works wonders! How easy is it to apply your favorite lip balm? That's why the Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain is my new must!! It goes on smooth and feels great while giving you tons of colors to choose from at an affordable price. I have four in my purse right now! The next time your at the grocery store stroll down the cosmetics aisle and make this purchase. I promise you will not regret it.

My heart goes out

It seems like yesterday that disaster hit in a town called, Joplin. Which is why it did not seem real when I thought my family was going to have to live it once again this past Sunday. On May 11th 2011 the deadliest tornado since 1947 touched down in my hometown where my family and dearest friends reside. My mom and my little brother lived in the path the deadly tornado choose to take that day. Although my mom did loose her home it did not matter because she lived through this horrible experience when too many others did not. So when a tornado touched down in the Midwest on April 27th my heart began to race. Not only for my own family, but for every single family taking shelter that day. So many of us can relate to dealing with natural disasters. I want to send my love to every family who experienced a loss that day almost 3 years ago and I want to send my prayers to anyone who is dealing with yesterday's casualties in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Hey You

Dear a$$hole who goes out to dinner and is rude to their server,

If you snap your fingers to get your server's attention, find the smallest things to complain about, or believe you are self entitled, this is for you. Where along the lines did you get the idea you are better than someone because they work in customer service? We are choosing to serve you... And oh by the way many of us bartenders and servers make just as much as you do sitting at your desk job. But this is besides the point, I was raised to treat people equally it doesn't matter if your speaking to your the trash man or the president we all deserve the same respect. If I see one more person turn their nose up to their server over their petty problems or hurt their servers feelings to make themselves feel better I'm going to lose it. At the end of the day I will continue to kill you with kindness because I feel sorry for you. Think twice the next time you wanna take your bad day out on the person who enjoys to serve you your dinner. 

Sincerely, 

Your waitress 

yay or nay?

I personally love Kourtney's look in the picture below as she went swimming in Las Vegas. For a woman who just turned 35 and a mama of two I absolutely love to see her show off her assets with confidence!! I know some of you may not be a fan, but I think she's stepping out for all of us mom's who still want to feel sexy. Even if you wouldn't wear it you must admit she looks good. What do you think?

Photo of the day

Happy Earth Day!!! 

An idea for your mama on her special day

Mother's day is coming up so I wanted to give y'all a fun idea that I want to try and would love to receive. Here is the link I found of this cool/ idea that gives you a step-by-step how to. http://makestudiokimpinches.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/project-blooming-monogram/

Any Thoughts?

  This morning while grocery shopping it was time to re up on cleaning products. I automatically reach for all the Clorox products assuming that they can get my house the cleanest. But while putting them away in my cabinets I couldn't help, but think of a recent debate I had with a friend that got me questioning..... am I buying the best product for my family while actually getting surfaces clean? My friend recently convinced me that Apple cider vinegar will clean your counter tops just as well as your leading Clorox brand while leaving your family safe of the chemicals that come along with it.
  As we discussed this common debate we realized maybe it is all in your head. We all associate the smell of bleach and chemicals with clean, but in reality this may not necessarily be true. Even though I did come to agree with my girlfriend, I still continue to reach for the Clorox. Thinking when I drop it the cart nothing will get my house cleaner. Do any of you out there clean with apple cider vinegar that can vouch for a clean house for your family? I want the best for my daughter and husband, but am still skeptical of the switch to my cleaning routine.

No Regrets

Be Happy

Happy Easter!!!!
I hope your all surrounded by loved ones and rooms filled with laughter.

Fabulous even while enjoying dessert

I enjoy ladies night more than ever now that I have a daughter. I usually save my nights to go out for special occasions, but this Saturday was one of those nights. It was my girlfriends birthday, but sadly this time around I could not attend. So instead I decided to make her a special treat. I wanted to share these because they are perfect for any girly event and are a lot easier to make then you think. The way to everyone woman's heart..... High heel cupcakes.   

Here is a picture of the necessities needed, depending on your budget you can add candy pearls, bows, and many other sassy decorations.  

To begin you bake your cupcakes the same way you always do and let them cool all the way before any decorations. 

My only problem I came across in this step is not being able to resist this...

After your cupcakes have cooled you cut a slit in the middle of the cupcake to slide the Milano cookie into at an angle. 

Then you cut your cream filled wafer stick in half these will be the heel to your shoe. 

You will use your icing as paste to attach your heel to the bottom of the cookie. 

Once you know you have assembled a sturdy shoe, it's time for the fun part! Designing your pair of not only tasty, but fabulous shoes!
Here is my finished project I'm pretty proud of these since they are my first try. 

Trust me if I can do it you can too! I had a blast making these and will def practice perfecting my skills on the next occasion for the ladies!!!! 

Iris Michelle

 Today is a special day that I hold dear to my heart because it is my dear friends birthday. She is someone who will forever be in my heart because she was my very first friend when I moved to Virgina from Missouri. I do not know if any of you reading have ever made a drastic move in your life, but it changes everything and you find your self, more than ever needing someone to lean on. Iris was that someone for me, she made me feel alive again after leaving everything I knew and feeling empty.
  Now more than ten years later I look back at are wild ride together and I appreciate Iris more than ever. At this point in my life I am searching for ways to express my inner self, that I do not get the chance to show often enough (hints why I choose the name of my blog). I have always been able to express myself and be comfortable showing any side of who I am to Iris. I know she believes in me as I believe in her. I value our friendship. Thank you for always understanding who I am and who I wanna be.
From the bottom of my heart, I love you Miss Walker.
Happy Birthday!!

If any of you have that friendship that means the world to you, that you feel has made a difference in your life... make sure they know it. What better day to express it than today.

Win a trip for your Disney Princess!

My daughter is a huge fan of Disney Junior and while watching this morning there was a sweepstakes I wanted to share with you. It is as simple as sending a text message. We all know we are professionals at that. :)
So win a unforgettable trip for three to California for your special little girl by texting pets to 347639
Check out the page below for more details

http://rulespage.com

Photo of the day

Water is calming. 

By K.M.G. 

I am officially a Lovatic

Most of us do not have to deal with what comes along with being a celebrity which is the bad feed back along with the good. For every fan who loves them there is a fan that loves to hate them. Social media is the perfect place for these fans to express how they feel. After Demi tweeted what I talked about below she followed with retweeting one of her followers tweets "fatty," along with her response "you are beautiful." I love how Miss Lovato backs her words up with actions it says a lot about the type of person she is.

Push Postive

 I can not begin to understand why people insist on vandalizing, stealing, or anything to hurt someone they do not know. Yesterday I dealt with one of these issues first hand and today I am still shocked. My husband works a lot and we look forward to our Wednesday's together as a family. So you can imagine how we felt when we go to place our daughter in the car and find that it  had been keyed. Not only did someone run their key all the way down the passenger side they wrote a nice message on the spoiler... F*c* you. After a police report was made they seemed to think it was a random act... I immediately think why me?! I try to believe in giving out positive vibes and you will receive them in return. Kind of like how they say a smile will go a long way, but when things like this happen its hard to stay positive.
So even though things like this feels like a smack in the face it is just a bump in the road. I decided instead of getting angry I would put my anger into making my friend cupcakes for her birthday because I do not wanna give out a negative for receiving a negative. I think we should all try to work together to make each day a happier one(even though I know its hard when NOTHING is going your way). But a smile, holding the door open, or any nice gesture goes along way for those of us receiving the negative out there for the day(it could be you tomorrow).
 Which leads me to someone who brought these feelings out in me this week. I found in article about Demi Lovatos response to people out there bullying her about her weight. When the tweets starting rolling into Miss Lovatos inbox she responded with "Dear haters, you don't have to like me cause I love you . Everyone's equal, everyone has a soul and everyone deserves to be loved.(heart emoji)"
"Dear Lovatics, for every hater tweet-don't respond with hate but love and positivity.. Try love instead of combat." As much as it can be hard to kill meanness with kindness it only benefits you. I am going to try and live each day with a brighter out look and deal with the negative differently. Like Demi said, "don't respond with hate but love" and I think we can all change our daily vibes, even if we have gotten the short end of the stick for the day.

Photo of the day

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." Henri Matisse 

Photo of the day

My view today 

Photo of the day

Fresh air is key 

Taken by K.M.G. 

The nature in all of us

 Our dreams are only as big as we allow them to be and we all choose are own paths. But the question is what inside of us forces some of us to reach for dreams that are too big for others to even picture? Why do some of us have drive that can't be stopped, while the other percentage of us struggle to roll out of bed each morning? This leads me to an ongoing debate....nature versus nurture.
 This is a debate I find myself having more often than not. Somewhere down the line by my mother or Midwest mentality I was taught that my dreams would come true when I found my prince, got married, and started a family. Now that I have an amazing husband and my wonderful mini me, I could not be more thankful. But I do realize now my family is a blessing that I was lucky enough to be given, not a dream that I chased and conquered.
To me our dreams are something you have to fight for, a competition to be the best of something you are passionate about, and to make a living while doing something you love. I do not think that type of dedication is something you can be taught, but your nature to fight and strive for more.
I think that each of us struggle with what we were taught is the cookie cutter right way to be and the person inside of us that we wish we could be. Lately, Ive been trying to tap into what my dreams are really made of and I think you should too. Whatever it may be let's all try and strive for something that we have always wanted to do, but always thought was too big. Because who ever convinced you that it was..... is wrong.

Do you have a bucket list?

   Today I read an article about a 21 year old girl, Kristina Chesterman that was killed by a drunk driver. No one ever wants to hear about a young girl or boy losing their life before they could live it. But in Kristina's case there is an inspiring story underneath the tragedy. Kristina was an organ donor and because of this she saved the life of a 64 year old Susan Vieria who was suffering from congestive heart failure. Kristina was a nursing student who had big dreams she hoped to complete.                    

   Kristina had a bucket list that now Susan swears to complete as if it was her own. We all say life is too short, but how many of us live each day to the fullest? After hearing this story I too want to create and complete my own bucket list. The world is a mysterious beautiful place, why not explore it.

My Beginning to "My Bucket list"
1. Visit Ireland during the week of Saint Patrick's day for the sole purpose of going to the Jameson distillery.
2. Swim in the blue waters of the Fiji island
3. Make a life changing difference in someones life
4. Publish a book

To be continued.....

safe kids

Here Drew Barrymore and Ciara are not only looking stunning, but supporting the Safe kids day in Los Angeles. They both our within weeks of giving birth and are still on there feet glowing while volunteering their time.

The safe kids campaign works to raise awareness of ways to stop preventable accidents. On their website they tell us "preventable accidents are the number one killer of kids in the U.S. and each year a million families around the world lose a child to these accidents." What a great cause my heart and prayers go out to all the families that are dealing with a loss of their child
www.safekids.org/skd/

Pregnant never looked soo good

Lately every where I look there is talk about a new celebrity pregnancy, but more importantly what eye catching maternity wear will they step out in next. I look at pictures of when my mom was pregnant and woman had a choice of baggy t-shirts or dresses that looked like hospital gowns. I then think about my pregnancy which was only 2 short years ago and how much maternity clothes have evolved even since then.
The clothes we wear are the best way of expressing ourselves and one thing that I can not stand is how people seem to think you lose all of who you are when you have a child. I only gained one more title (yes it is the most important title of my life)... mom. Now that my daughter is now about to turn 2 we are ready for baby number two. But I immediately start to panic when I think about the weight gain and once again feeling like I've lost a piece of me when none of my wardrobe fits me anymore.
This time around I Will make sure it is different and you can too. Women in the public eye have made this possible for us. Thank you Kim K for getting designers to see pregnant women want to look sexy too. Mama's and mama's to be don't lose yourself. Tomorrow morning wake up and get dolled up! We are more than sweat pants and baggy t shirts.

Photo of the day

I had to repost these pictures taken by a photographer named Nick Meek. I am postive you have never seen something this magical and beyond stunning. He collected 8 million flower petals to complete his job for Sony. Whoever was the creative mind behind this is genius. 

The petals were placed in this volcano, when they erupted it was an astonishing sight to see!! The vibrant colors rained over a close by town. I would have done anything to walk those streets and experience this unusual sight to see. 

Photo of the day

You have a choice

life gives you lemons make lemonade

Every single person that you encounter on your day to day routine has their own problems to deal with. What is strange is how each of us choose to approach them. I don't understand how some people choose to give up. Your life can be anything you want to be with hard work and determination. It's never over. Why not you?
Which leads me to an amazing woman who in 5 years went from poverty to a multi millionaire, Joanne Rowling. A friend showed me a quote yesterday from J.K. Rowling and I was immediately intrigued. We know her from her amazing Harry Potter series, but I know I had no idea about her struggles to get where she is today.
"I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized and I still had my daughter, who I adored, I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom become a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." Here she talks about her reasoning behind the beginning, a dream bigger than just herself, but her ability to care for her daughter. She experienced ups and downs before getting to her current self. She was an English teacher who got my married and then started a family. But in a blink of an eye things can change Joanne Rowling did not let her divorce and fear of taking care of her daughter stop her from making her dream a reality. I admire her will and ability to transform her talent into a life changing part of her story.
We all go through different chapters good and bad, but remember to change the page. You write the book for your path, change it how you wish. There's always room for a better you.

Photo of the day

Today's photo makes me smile from ear to ear. A dedicated mother who is teaching her son to be as persistent as she is. Here you can see him greeting her with flowers to congratulate her for accomplishing her degree. 

Please help

There is a terrifying word with just 6 letters that way too many of us have experienced amongst our families.....Cancer. Many of us have done whatever it takes to be the support our loved ones need through out the fight. In my case before I knew it the rolls were reversed. It is astonishing how our sick loved ones hold their heads high and end up being the strength that hold the family together.

Every loss is a heartbreak, but recently it has been brought to my attention just how many children are having to be that strength. Something that no family should ever have to fight through is the loss of a child. So after doing some research the numbers were mind blowing. Over 10,000 children were diagnosed with cancer a year making this the leading cause for death in children through disease. There are ways to help in this fight which leads to my inspiration today Evelyn Smallwood.

Evelyn watched first hand when her best friends daughter, Sydney passed away from blood cancer at just 2 years old. After being by her friends side for one of lives biggest hurdles Evelyn decided to make a difference. She is taking on the challenge of running for Man and woman of the year in the DC area. A short period of 10 weeks where she will try and raise over $200,000 for children with leukemia. My heart reaches out to Evelyn for her passion to be that support system and take the time out of her busy life to fight to make a difference. She cant do it alone. Please help donate over the next ten weeks, I believe in Evelyn and the cause. Help spread the word!!!!

That someone who uses her hours in every day better than Queen B herself

It seems like every article I open through my social media is a new heart wrenching, life ending story. I wanna write about the people who inspire us to be better. People who motivate us to reach for dreams that seem unreachable. We all have something or someone inside of us that is dying to be that story of the person who made a difference.
So today my inspiration comes from the heart. Instead of someone I read about on a blog or Facebook page, watched on a documentary, or heard about on the radio, but it is one of my closest friends. In the ten years plus I have known her I have never crossed a more hard working vibrant individual. I have always envied her for her ability to use her "Beyonce hours"!! I don't know about you, but I have never had the discipline to get up at 6 am for my morning run, then work my two jobs, and oh by the way I think I will go to school full time while I'm at it. But at the end of the day my love for KG had nothing to do with her work effort. It was the person she has remained even with so much on her plate.
I think the world needs more people like my friend KG. People that no matter what find the time. She always finds the time to reach out to those in need and truly care about her loved ones problems. In these crazy lives we live, we all tend to get caught up and forget about what is going on in the world around us. She has always been willing to wake up that extra hour knowing it will make a difference. Anyone who knows me knows I am a dreamer and believe anything is possible. I've gotten a lot laughs and doubtful looks, but Kristin only ever motivates me to be the very best in whatever my next big idea may be. She believes in me before I believe in myself.
So today I reach out to my dear friend to say from day one you have inspired me. Promise me you will never lose that sparkle and your ability to make others believe in themselves again. I hope we can all take a lesson from B and KG and take an hour to reach out to someone that has fallen and needs an old friend to pick them up.