New Week, New Year, New You

If there's one thing that I try and remember at the beginning of every Monday, besides my coffee intake level; it's that the beginning of the week is the start of something new. It's a chance to make it a better week than  previous ones. After the past couple of weeks, I think that I am ready for a new week.

This is the start of a new year after all, so why not make it a new you.

To help make that happen the girls of The Blogging Elite want to giveaway some pretty cool stuff.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you ready to make it an amazing new week?

Oh hey, Friday Favorites!

We all know that Friday is probably the best day of the week. This week has been ESPECIALLY long, or at least for me it has been. You ever have one of those weeks where the days go by super fast but the rest of the week seems to go by extremely slow?

Favorites of the week!

1.) Dutch Brothers Coffee: If you live on the west coast or in Arizona, you know that Dutch Brothers beats Starbucks hands down. I don't have one close enough to my house or work to go every day, but when I do get to go I cherish every moment.

2.) This String Art DIY project, more particularly the Longhorns version in the bottom right corner.

3.) This cord organization hack. I seriously have a problem with cords being all wonky and messy, like it really bothers me. This hack would be perfect for my office at work and at home. 

4.) #linstead. Squealed in delight when Linstead happened on Chicago PD. I MEAN FINALLY!!! Plus Halstead is my favorite guy on there, so I am pretty happy when good things happen for him.

5.) Gold by Imagine Dragons. I have been listening to this non stop this week because I am madly in love with it.

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Blogging Goals 2015

As you may have noticed there is really only one Blogging Goal in my Resolutions Challenges. Up until a few days ago I hadn't even thought of goals for my blog. I don't know whether it was just something that slipped my mind, or something that I just haven't felt inspired to write. But in honor of today's link up with Tiffany and Nina, I created a few goals that I know I can accomplish. 

New blog design: And by new design I mean Hire someone to do it for me. And by blog design I mean new design and all of the matching social media, banners, and business cards. I have tried to get a lot of it done by myself and through self teaching, but I honestly don't have the patience to sit in front of a computer all weekend. I already have to stare at one for 45+ hours a day. 

Get business cards: It just makes the whole thing a little more serious. Plus I plan on going to a few conferences and it would be nice to exchange cards with other bloggers. 

Take more pictures: I love photography and somehow yet I don't actually take enough pictures. I do with my phone, but not with my big girl camera. I need to get back to that and Film. 

Get pictures taken of me: I noticed a while ago that I have a lot of pictures of other people but none actually of me. I have a few but they are silly and you can tell they are totally selfies. I know a friend of my moms that I want to hire to do a photo shoot with so that I have pictures for my blog and LinkedIn which I use for work. 

Make a blogging schedule: I need to get it down on when I blog. A lot of time there is no method to this madness, and that inconsistency is really not fair for you guys. I need to create a schedule and stick to it! It will be less worry on my part and a lot more fun on yours. 

No more COMPLAINING! I feel like I complain a lot on here, and a lot of it is simple stuff that I don't need to drag you guys down with. So from now on no more complaining! You guys are more than welcome to call me out on my shit too. 

Post more directionalized posts: I post a lot of random things, granted this is a lifestyle blog, and my lifestyle is random, but I need to be a little more focused on what I am posting and not so ADHD. 

Go to a conference: I know that I mentioned going to a couple of conferences previously, but I really need to be present. I need to step outside of my social anxiety self and actually be present physically and mentally. 

Go to a Phoenix Blogger Meetup/blate: It would be awesome to meet a few other bloggers in Phoenix and pick their brains for Ideas and just be able to meet them. I know there are a ton, but it seems like they are all hiding. 

Weekend Wrap Up

So I am preparing for Season 5 of Game of Thrones the only way I know how (at least this early in the game). 

Be prepared for me to start counting down the days until April 12th. But for now let's look at my oh so exciting weekend. 

Friday: 

There is a moment that past 3:55 pm on a Friday that unless you are my boss you probably shouldn't call me. I mean it is only common courtesy not to call someone before they are literally running away to have an amazing weekend. But nope a sales guy called to ask about rates because my boss didn't email him back right away. You would think that the President of a Company wouldn't have anything better to do, right? Well he called and I was stuck on the phone for 20 minutes trying to comprehend why he was asking stupid questions. Went home to talked to one best friend via Facebook, One via text, and then one on the phone. And then my butt didn't move from the surface known as my couch. 

Saturday: 

Also known as errand day. Because who likes doing anything on a Sunday? Not me! So I went to the grocery store and bought just enough food to last me until I house sit. I must say that it was a first. I also grabbed a two movies from RedBox. 

What If

Guy meets girl during what is probably the most simple, yet adorable meet cute I have seen. Both guy and girl, Wallace and Chantry, become friends. Just friends. Well about half way through Wallace, like any well rounded character, realizes that he has in fact grown feelings for Chantry, who has a boyfriend. Chantry and Wallace fall apart after he tries to confess his love by chasing after her, then come back together in an adorable way, and eventually ride off into the sunset together. 

There really is more to the story, and I would actually recommend this one. As it turns out Daniel Radcliffe is actually pretty funny. I know that the scripts are written for the witty banter but he actually sold all of it really well. Like he wasn't a I am going to roll on the floor dying of laughter funny; it was more of an awkward, sarcasm filled, type of funny. 

The Giver

Now I would be lying if I had said that I read the book before watching this. Because not only do I own it but it is free in Kindle unlimited. So needless to say I have little room to talk about the differences. But I will say that I feel like Rosemary was probably mentioned more in the book, or maybe not mentioned but twice. The way they played the difference between color and grayscale was amazing. Lastly, I felt terrible for Alexander Skarsgards character; out of any character I felt that his was quite compassionate, but I feel like he knew a little more than they let on. I enjoyed it, but feel I would have liked it more if I had read the book.  

Sunday: 

It was a Rainy Sunday in Phoenix!! And that meant that I got to sleep in and drink coffee well into the afternoon. That also meant that I spent the morning looking for a cabin for scrapbook camp. Do you know how hard it is to find a house to rent that you can fit several 6" tables in? Improbable that I will find the right one yes,  but not impossible. I managed to also read two books, because they sucked me in and I couldn't get out! Granted you get to a certain point at midnight where you have to decide to get some sleep or just not sleep. I like sleep and I ran out of coffee creamer.

So there you have it, a full detailed report on how I tried to do as little as possible this weekend. Now onto the fun trials of Monday.

Flashback to a Pinterest Perfect Life

On January 9, 2014 I posted on what it would be like if my life were Pinterest Perfect. Let's face it, Pinterest is still as popular as it was a year ago. But a few things would change in my perfect Pinterest Life. So what would my Pinterest Perfect Life look like now, one year later?

In my Pinterest Perfect Life, my hair would look like this! Short, sassy, and a little bit on the edgy side. I would also be able to actually style it to a T. 

In my Pinterest Perfect world I would still have adorable outfits like this, but now it would involve a few more pairs of jeans than anything else. I would also have a shoe closet that would be to die for and everything would be organized in that closet perfectly. Because who really wants a closet that is disorganized? And in a Pinterest Perfect world I would have skinny calfs so that I could wear boots. 

In my Pinterest Perfect world, I would still have a well designed apartment or condo, but it would also have the most perfect kitchen in the world. AND I would have someone to clean it and all of the dishes from the yummy food I made.

In my Pinterest Perfect world, my new work office/ area would look something like this. Organized, pretty, and the envy of the office world. I would be a marketing guru and my ideas for company culture would get recognized in numerous organizations around the world.  

And in a Pinterest Perfect world, I would be a crafting goddess. Everything I made would be the envy of all. I would get book deals, thousands of fans, and my own show on HGTV, TLC or DIY. (This chalkboard clipboard is adorable fyi.) 

If this were a Pinterest Perfect world I would be simply:

What would your Pinterest Perfect world look like? 

Wednesday Confessionals

It's been a while since I have made any form of confessions, but I just need to today. It feels far too right to be wrong.

- I cannot stop listening to this song! And apparently other people can't stop either because it has over 9 million views on YouTube. I like this cover more than the real versions, sorry T. Swift.

- I was asked  to make a go to guide for how parts of my job for some trainees of our "Client" and I feel like it is 10 times better than what I did for my employee.

- I have a 14 different posts sitting in draft status right now. Partially because I am uninspired to finish them or I liked the idea at first but then started to hate it.

- I hate this whole winter darkness sh*t. It needs to be sunny when I wake up so that I will actually wake up. Here I am almost done with my first cup of coffee ready to fall back asleep!

- CAN WE MOVE OFFICES YET?!! I listen to some of the people in my office (which to clarify do not work for my company) and I want to ask for a knife to stab out my ear drums. I  have moved our office four times now, and now I am ready to move it again.

- I love Facebook Groups! I am a part of The Blogging Elite, and am already liking it more than some of the others. But I am also loving All Bloggers United. I always feel like a loser though because I don't participate in a lot of the posts.

- I am really bummed that I won't be flying away to Florida on Friday for Blogcation. The overall conference was cancelled, so my wonderful roomies and I decided to not go through with it. But I did find 2 conferences to go to and one of them is in Arizona! Looking at my calendars still sucks though because they have pictures of fabulous beaches on them.

- I think I have lost some of my damn marbles because I offered to organize our scrapbooking camp for this year. Last year was a hot mess that I did not go to because it was filled full of drama. But this is literally a tradition that my mom started and I feel like the torch needs to come back to the family.

- I am doing horribly at this yoga challenge, but then again it may all be self doubt. Pretty sure even ten minutes of yoga has got to count for something right? I mean even Ghillie tries to join in. 

- I have class in 19 days! Super excited to go to classes I am actually going to enjoy for once.

- I bought 4 books on my Kindle on Sunday and have barely started one. I think owning a Kindle is more dangerous than going into an actual bookstore with a credit card. Which is hard because I feel like bookstores are like a version of Disney Land. 

- Also, I think I am off of my Apple product crazy train. I really don't like the way any of my Apple gadgets are working these days and lately it seems like they are having more problems than upgrades. Which is pretty bad since there is a new upgrade every 2 weeks it seems. My heart is switching to Microsoft and their damn Windows 8 products. 

Happy Wednesday! 

Day 1 Of My Thirty Day Yoga Challenge: The Why and Where

GOOD MORNING!!! It's the new year, time to wake up and start the day. Ok maybe I have had two cups of coffee by now and done day one of my first Resolution. Yup I got a little yoga in this morning! Since this is still a week day I wanted to try and keep to my schedule so that I don't completely kill my work week like I did last week. Man was that rough! 

So I know you all are asking, what did you use to do yoga so early in the morning?

A dvd? An App? A Plane? 

Ok maybe not the last, but I definately watched something. Youtube Videos! I mean where would we be without YouTube videos? The stone age that's where!

First I must give you one great resource: yoga.com

They have some great free video's and information.

Check out the Video I used today to start my yoga challenge.

Yoga For Beginners with Yoga with Adriene

And then I followed up with Day One of the 30 Day Yoga Challenge with Erin Motz. 

Now that I am feeling awesome, it's time to get this new year started! 

Do you practice Yoga?