Bumpdate. Weeners. Lurve.

How far along are you? 14.5 weeks

How big is Baby? 3.5 inches long and 1.5 oz. The size of a lemon! 

Weight Gain? Well, see... my doctor thinks it's almost 10 lbs, but my "pre-pregnancy" weight is my weight without clothes on. According to my scale, though, I've gained between 5-6 lbs. 

 Gender? We don't know yet - we find out Dec. 21st. 

Maternity Clothes? Nope - my normal clothes are snug, but they still fit. 

Stretch Marks? Nope!

Sleep? I'm finally sleeping through the night. 

Symptoms? Still the mood swings, occasional migraines, and pain in my lower back.  

Movement? None that I can feel, but I know the little rascal is probably kicking away. 

Food Cravings? SUGAR. Seriously - candy has been my downfall.  

Labor Signs? None. 

Belly Button in or out? In. 

 What I miss? My body. 

What I am looking forward to? Having a belly that doesn't look like just chub! 

Best moment of the week? Hearing baby's heartbeat - a good 160 bpm.

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So there's the bumpdate. And now I have some weeners for you... Four, to be exact. In case your mind is in the gutter, that's funny accent for "winners." If your name is on here, you better email me by Sunday, or else... I pick a new winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

And finally. You guys are amazing. I lurve you all - really, I do. I love that you don't judge me (or if you do, you keep it to yourselves), that you're there to offer me kind words and virtual hugs when I need them. I love this little community that we have, and I love that we can be so honest and open. I love that we are friends. Thank you.

Blah. Blah. Blah.

Blah. 


That's kind of how I'm feeling. If you want to read a non-blah post, you can find one of my guest posts here. You can also find my BBN post on Bad Words in Blogging over here. You may wanna keep this window open and read to the end, though... just sayin. :)

I'm giving away a custom business card design here.

Now that I'm working full time, I don't really have time to answer every single comment that you guys leave and visit all of your blogs.

Basically, I'm choosing to only respond to important comments, but still make the effort to come visit your blogs, because, let's face it - reading your blogs is a heck of a lot more enjoyable than answering emails. So... if I don't reply to every comment you leave, please know that I still appreciate them, and I lurve you all.

In other news, thanks for all of the well-wishes yesterday! Let me tell ya - orientation was sooo exciting. I mean, those 80s videos just really got me excited. How could this hair not give you the warm and fuzzies?

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On a serious note, I'm pretty sure I'll really enjoy my job. And that's the last you'll hear about that, unless I have stupid funny stories (which I'm sure I will, so scratch that last statement.

In other news, I'm planning on doing my little home tour vlog on Thursday. Wooo!! It's finally at a point where I feel that it's presentable enough.

If your name is Amanda C., you won this giveaway. Contact me to claim your prize, yo!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And... finally, I have a little end of the month treat for you guys!

I know it's almost time for school to start, and a lot of people are either students or teachers. What better way to celebrate going back than with a $25 gift card to Starbucks and a gift basket to Bath and Body works? I mean, I'm not a student or a teacher, and I'd love to have both. But alas, I cannot have them. You're in luck, though, because Libby is giving away both of the aforementioned things, and you can enter!

Use rafflecopter to enter below!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Favorite Things Friday

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! 


First of all, thank you for all of the good luck wishes... we think we may have found "the house." I'll keep you posted if/as things work out. 


Second of all, I'm guest posting over at Hannah's blog about part of my childhood in Germany! Looking at the pictures from way back when, I guess I have just always stood like I have to pee.


So... as per usual... it's time for

I'm finally going to let you guys in on all those giveaway prizes that I've won lately (okay, all the non-clothing items. Those will be saved for WIWW).  So I guess you could call this Favorite Things Friday: Giveaway Prizes Edition. 


1. The Mary Kay products that Kristen sent me. Ummm holy balls. Do I even have to explain myself?? This girl is amazing, and so generous. 

2. These awesome sunglasses from Abbi. I didn't get to try them on, but I love them. If you don't... you're lame. I don't know Abbi very well, but she definitely seems like a sweetheart and has such a fun blog! The sunglasses are from here.

3. This face wash from Georgina. I can't read it because it's in another language, but it feels awesome. I'm pretty in love with it! I've really enjoyed getting to know Georgina over the past few months - she is great and so dedicated!

4. This tote bag FULL of goodies from Kaitlyn. This tote bag is so fun, and it was full of yummy candy and even had a cute little photo album! Kaitlyn is super sweet, and I love the time that went into this prize!

5. These awesome wall decals from Ashley. I can't wait to finally have a house so that we can hang them up in our room!! Ashley is so hard-working and so dedicated, and so nice! I love her! These decals are from her shop. 

Have you won any giveaways lately?? If your name is Erynn, you have! Congrats, you are the winner of Part 2 of the 500 follower giveaway!!


I've actually won a few more, but you all know how I am about lists of five, so I'll stop here.

PS: I'm going to the lake this weekend, so I'm clearing my inbox of emails without responding (unless it was a question or something), and I'm probably not going to be looking at blogs.


Don't hate me! Haha, I feel so guilty for completely unplugging, but it's going to be good for me, and I promise I'll be back at it by the end of the weekend! Lurve you guys!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

WIWW. Seven. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

Linking up here.

shirt & sunglasses: Walmart pants: Alloy shoes: Target watch: Fossil bracelet: JoAnn's Fabric

Hey guys!!


Hope everyone's week is going well! We're still loving being back in the states, but I'm missing Germany a little bit.

Anyway. I finally got myself some colored pants (I actually ordered them in like, March but got them about a week before I got home), and wasn't brave enough to wear them with anything other than a white shirt. So sue me - I'm an uncreative clothes-wearer.


I'm kind of in a blogging rut and really don't have much to say, so I turned to Gentri Lee's 7 Questions for some inspiration. 


1. What do you do when you're sick?
I tend to think I get pretty needy when I'm sick. All I want to do is lay around and let someone take care of me. 


2. What do you do to find motivation when you feel you've lost it?
Ummmm. That's a really good question. I guess I go on a wild goose chase until I find it.

3. Do you wish time away or do you savor every moment?
I guess it depends on the day and what I'm doing. If I'm working, I'm probably wishing time away. 


4. If you could be any mythological creature, what would you be, and why?
Definitely a pegasus. I could fly and gallop. How awesome would that be? 


5. What is your current biggest weakness and are you working on fixing it?
My arms. Oh, right. you mean non-physical weakness. I guess I'd have to say that I have trouble setting my pride aside. Ya know, apologizing just to fix things even if something isn't my fault. That's really hard for me.

6. How do you greet someone when meeting them for the first time?
Handshake. 


7. How do you grocery shop?
I just... go. Since being in Germany where shopping bags cost at the store, we've gotten in the habit of using our own bags, and I want to try to keep that up (at least till we need trash bags again).


And... the mandatory ridiculous photo: 

PS: I've won like, 5,000 giveaways lately, so if I won one on your blog, I promise that a feature is coming, I just have to get my lazy butt up and get pictures of everything. 


Hey, speaking of giveaways, remember this one? You have less than a day to enter!

Favorite Things Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!
Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've done a Favorite Things Friday post, but here I am, on a Friday, with a post all ready to go! Be amazed. 

1. Midwestern sunsets. You can hate on the hills and prairies all you want, but I promise that the midwest has some of the best sunsets I have ever seen. Hands down. 

2. White Collar. Holy balls. I LOVE this show. And no, it is not only because Neal Caffrey  (aka Matt Bomer) is dead freaking sexy. It's an interesting show with a great story. But... just for you, here is a picture of Mr. Sexy-face himself. And no, I don't care about that stupid 50 shades of gray book, so don't comment about how he'd make the perfect guy character.

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3. Finding old pictures of me strangling my cat. Mike got his iPhone fixed and we went through pictures and found this gem. It looks like I'm strangling my cat, but I promise I wasn't. He liked the cuddles.

4. Fresh salads. This one has a raspberry vinaigrette and poppyseed dressing, grilled chicken, strawberries, craisins, lettuce, and feta cheese. So. Good.

5. Awesome blogs. I love awesome blogs. And I have a bunch over there on my sidebar. I want to introduce you to some today! Of course I give you a little bit of background info on each blog (written by myself).

I found Alex's blog when we were both living in Germany, and have read it ever since! She's awesome, and I'm really sad that I didn't get to meet her while I lived there. She just got back from a trip to Turkey, and it looks like it was such a blast!

blog//twitter//facebook

I've been following Ashley at her blog After Nine to Five for a loonnnng time, so I was really excited when she told me she and her husband were starting a blog. They do all sorts of fun features, and I love their "Things I'm Grateful for Friday."

blog//shop//twitter//facebook//instagram 

I found Lori's blog a few months ago, and am so glad I did! She lives in Georgia, and I'm thinking she needs to do a vlog, because I really want to hear her accent. Anyway, she's absolutely adorable, has a great sense of style, and is such a sweetheart!

blog//pinterest

Bri is awesome (just like her blog). She used to work for Nascar in North Carolina, but just made the move back to Texas. She has the most adorable dog (who likes to go for the occasional swim and sit by the pool while sipping margaritas - she's a posh puppy) and is such a sweetheart! I've loved getting to know her!

blog//twitter//Instagram

What are some of your favorite things this week? 


PS: IF YOUR NAME IS AMY M., You won the giveaway. Email me within 48 hours, or I'll have to pick a new winner. 

On Dreams. And a winner

No, not the Susan Boyle or Les Miserables kind of dreams - the what the heck does my subconscious actually think about when I'm not listening kind of dreams.

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Lately I have been having some really freaky dreams. Really weird stuff is happening in them. Case in point: 



1. Witnessing a bunch of people get beheaded. This one had me up in a cold sweat.



2. Vampire bunnies. I've talked about that already.

3. Going to Walmart. And buying pretty much everything in the store, including red lipstick. I took this as a hint that I needed to purchase some myself in real life, and will be debuting my clown-face tomorrow or Wednesday. Stay tuned for that.

4. Driving a car through the mountains. And driving right off the side of a cliff. My car was sailing through the air with me in it, and I woke up right before it crashed into a bunch of trees.

via

5. Trying to catch a "panda bird" in a jar. I had this one last night. You may be thinking, What the eff is a panda bird? I have a picture of it in my mind, and when I googled it, this is a picture I found that resembles the bird most:

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So anyway, I was teaching my 13th graders, then all of a sudden, the teacher asked me to go catch the panda bird in a jar that she gave me so that we could do a lesson on it. I went outside and tried to catch it, but no luck. I'd just gotten the bird to put its head in the jar when I heard "Play That Funky Music" telling me to wake up. Dream Interpretations welcome.


And just for fun - what's the craziest dream you've ever had? I would like to know that I'm not the only one... 


PS: Jessica was the winner of the German candy! Congrats! Send me an email by tomorrow evening, and I'll get you your prize!

March Madness [Sponsor Edition] Pt. 3 (Is Your Name Rondah Stepp?)

Oh, hey there! 


So I realized today that I never heard from one of the giveaway winners. If your name is Rondah Stepp, congratulations! You're the new winner, and you've won a new blog header from Erin!! Shoot me an email and we'll get you all set up! 


PS: I've noticed that Germans really like pantyhose. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to dedicate a blog post just to this phenomenon. 


PPS: Don't forget about my HUNGER GAMES MOVIE REVIEW LINK-UP on Monday, and my SUNDAY CONFESSIONS LINK-UP tomorrow! 


Anyway. It's a beautiful day outside, and in honor of the beautiful weather, I thought I'd introduce you to some of my beautiful sponsors and their blogs.

 blog.

 blog || twitter || etsy

blog.

So. go check these ladies out - you won't be sorry that you did! 

Weekend in Review & Giveaway Winners

Hey there, hi there, ho there! 

We had a pretty chillaxed weekend around these parts. Mainly just enjoyed the beautiful weather, played in the forest, and rebelled by not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day (although I'm sure no one noticed, because I don't think St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in Germany). I don't really feel like writing much right now, so here are some goodies for your viewing pleasure. 


In case you're wondering why I was running around with a stick like a fool in that video... I was Katniss and that was my bow. Yes, I know we're freaks. 

 I know this is out of focus... I wanted it that way. 

AND.... Giveaway winners are (the order of names matches the order of prizes, contact me within 48 hours to receive your prize. If you have not contacted me by Wednesday evening, I will draw new winners): 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIWW, Giveaway Winners, and Another Giveaway.

 shirt: Vanity sweatshirt: F21 jeans: Piper's Closet for Alloy Shoes: TOMS watch: Fossil

linking up with The Pleated Poppy. 

Aloha! We finally saw some sunshine and warmer weather today. It helped my mood drastically, so 1,000,000 points for God for knowing just what I needed. 

In other news... one of my students said something hilarious today, and I meant to write it down, but then I forgot, and so this is really a pointless story - I just wanted you all to know that I did have a funny story for you guys at one point. 

In even more other news... I want some colored pants. I saw some in a store window today and they were beautiful. And beautifully out of my budget. 

And... the moment you've all been waiting for, the giveaway winners are posted here. Hint: If your name is Courtney you won the necklace, and if your name is Alana you won the mascara (Alana - it was fate).

And now I bring you the wonderful Kassi from Truly Lovely with another giveaway!! 

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How about some FREE Scentsy!!!

The winner of this giveaway will receive THREE Scentsy Scent Circles from Kassi's Scentsy inventory! 

Kassi blogs over at Truly Lovely, FYI... :)

Scent Circles are a lovely smelling Scentsy logo with an elastic cord, to hang in your car, closet, lockers...

Pretty much anywhere you'd like to smell nice!

Scent Circles

TO ENTER the GIVEAWAY:

Fill in the Rafflecopter form below. 

Sorry peeps, only open to U.S. residents. 

If you can't wait and want to order some Scentsy ASAP please visit Kassi's Scentsy website here to place an order. 

They ship anywhere in the U.S! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway