Blissdom Remembered {Wrap-Up}

{The Hotel}

The Opryland Hotel was enormous and so beautiful!!

{My Roommate}

I couldn't have hand picked a better roommate. Patty from Finding Serendipty is not only beautiful, she's  "hate me" in shape, warm, so kind hearted, patient, friendly, fun, smart, humble, makes you feel at ease and has more talent than she realizes. She's a licensed physical therapist turned stay at home mom/fitness instructor/photographer & writer...in other words, she's not an axe-murderer. :) We had so many great tickle fights ha! I mean talks...I'm going through withdrawls!!

{Our Room}

The rooms were nice, and the view from our balcony was serene.

{The Perks}

To my surprise, at every turn there was some sort of fabulous giveaway. The lovelies on the right are adorable handouts from other bloggers such as necklaces, flower pins, book thongs, handmade rose earrings and homemade fudge. 

Fabulous keynote speakers: Scott Stratten and Brene Brown

Authors of: Unmarketing & The Gifts of Imperfection

{Long Time Favorites Bloggers}

Center : Edie from Life In Grace

I've been following the blogs of these talented ladies since 2008. You all know how much I love Edie, so I'll start with her...thank you so much for your friendship! Surprising me at the airport because you knew how nervous I was (in true Edie fashion). You are smart, gracious, classy, selfless, unique, brave, gifted with words and so beautiful inside and out. Thanks for incouraging me to stretch myself and step out
of my comfort zone.

 The Nester and Emily (if you don't already know), are sisters. The Nester inspires me to make my home beautiful and cozy by 'shopping the house' first as to not break the family budget.

 I relate with Emily in that she's an introvert but has her extrovert moments. She writes beautifully and incourages women to find their inner beauty and God given talents. Thank you both for being so sweet and friendly!!

{Forever Friends}

Ruthanne, Ruth, Brooke, Melissa S., Patty, Polly, Melissa M , Deanna, Shannan and Edie.



If I haven't convinced you to go to Blissdom 2012...

that's because I saved the best for last.

I had such anxiety about going, "What the heck were you thinking!?!?" went through my head more times than I can tell you. Having never met any of these bloggers in real life, I had all sorts of worries and insecurities. Besides that, I prefer to be in small groups not rooms full of five hundred plus women.

The night before I even cried out to my mommy on facebook, (which did me no good)

...she was half-way around the world!

When I got to the airport, rather than going through security, I found myself eating, shopping & wandering, 

in other words...

stalling!!

 My heart was beating out of my chest, my nose was sweating (as it does when I'm nervous), but I soon  realized, the stress eating, sleepless nights and self doubt were all for nothing!!

Most of the women there felt the exact same way,
and if they didn't,

they remembered those feelings and reached out with their motherly souls;

 calming my fears, boosting my confidence and making my
Blissdom experience unforgettable!

What I learned from Blissdom?

• Vulnerability is the key to loving with your whole heart
• When we exercise vulnerability we are courageous and brave
• Never let anybody steal your voice
• I am enough
• I can do hard things

Thank you friends for a fabulous weekend.

xoxo,

Blissdom Remembered {The Concert}

My first time at Blissdom was so blissful I'm going to have to break it down for you throughout the week, today I'll start with the
{Mat Kearney Concert}
because let's face it, that deserves a post of its own.

Blissdom was awesome, everything about it...but this was by FAR the best event. Mat Kearney (my FAVORITE songwriter/musician) and Michelle Branch (who I also really like).

I was determined to get a good seat so I pulled the old 'front row sit on the floor' trick...best seat in the house. ;)

Photo credit: Life In Grace

Apparently Edie and I not only share a love for 'all things Favre', but 'all things Kearney' too!!

It was sad really....squealing like school girls.

SO FUN!

Oh and don't think we didn't get a picture with him...cuz we did! {insert three squeals} 

Mat did not dissapoint, with lyrics like this how could he? He was funny as all get out, and SO SO nice. I think we have a date next time he's in Phoenix...

'for the singing'!!

(inside joke...I know right!!?!?!!!?). :)

*********

If all that wasn't blissful enough, I got to come home to these four lovey doves!

Stay tuned for the next Blissdom Remembered post

where I'll show you all the amazing women I met.

And because I heart you all so much and I want you to heart Mat Kearney (if you don't already), I posted a playlist of

'All Things Kearney' below.

xoxo

linking up with Snapshot Sunday and Mussings of a Housewife

Spreading My Wings...

Sophia wheeled this thing around all day.

I finally had to break it to her...

she wasn't coming to Blissdom,

new luggage and all.

So I promised when she's "this tall"

we'll make it a girls trip.

Since then she's talked about growing up non-stop,

and Kade's "stressed" about me going.

At least I know they'll miss me.

Then there's my tween Jaxon,

he's got BIG plans of staying up way too late,

playing all kinds of Xbox,

eating loads of sugar cereal, sushi and Flaming Hot Cheetos,

all in the name of

'Mom's out of town!'

*****

I feel extremely lucky to have an awesome husband

who lets me try new things

flips the bill for said 'new things',

so I can venture out

and spread my wings.

Thank you Big Papa!!

XOXO

And the winner is...

The winner of the Love Banner Giveaway is...



Congrats to Mimi from He & Me + 3....love your blog and thanks for playing. Email me your address and I'll ship it out today, enjoy the banner!

Also, I'll have more banners in the shop this next week so check back!!

Have a fabulous weekend and if you like Beth Moore (which I do), I thought you might like this funny/touching video I came across HERE. I'm going to try and listen more carefully to the promptings I receive and be a little better.

XOXO

Blissdom Bound & Setbacks

I'm getting SO excited for my trip to Nashville next week!! It's my first time going to Blissdom and there's all sorts of butterflies partying it up in my stomach.


Handouts for some of my favorite bloggers.


It's really not like me to try something like this...the crowds, the strangers, over the top estrogen levels, but this year I'm trying new things and pushing myself to grow and stretch. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the awesome woman I've been blogging with for three years now. I can't believe it's been that long. Edie's been asking me for a few years to go and be her roomie...I'd committ then chicken out forty-something times (remember how I hate committment), but I finally took the plunge and bought my tickets. I'm rooming with Patty from Finding Serendipity and maybe we'll convince Edie to stay a night, but due to her situation I'll be happy if I can just give her a big old hug!

It'll be rough leaving my laundry behind, oh and of course Big Papa and the kiddos...more specifically Sophia. Her constant shouting "Mom, where are you?" or her demands for cold pizza, her monopolizing the office computer and her public announcements that she needs to go pooh! But seriously I'm totally going to miss her little ;) winks and "I wuv you's". I trust that Patty's not an axe murderer, that I'll learn a lot while I'm there and come back with a swing in my step and a bunch of fun, new ideas.

This week bloggers all over are asking the million dollar question...

What are you wearing to Blissdom? Followed by pics of cute outfit ideas, what shoes to wear, what kind of shoes NOT to wear. I'm pretty sure my new little friend would qualify in the NOT category...

(this is where the setback comes in)

A week before Christmas I was a clutz while wearing my clogs and injured my foot. Yeah it killed and I knew I'd hurt it but I'd just started training for the Sedona 10K, so I channeled my inner Favre and powered through it. Turns out that was a dumb idea, it's progressivly gotten worse even with a 1 1/2 week running break, so I finally went in for an Xray. There was no fracture maybe tendonitis? So they sent me home with this hot little number. I'm suppossed to wear it and stay off my foot (which we all know is impossible)!

Hopefully it will feel better by next week because I'm not rockin' it at Blissdom!! 

Since I have a bazillion things to do before I leave, and I am going to need this foot for say the next 50-60 years, I'll {try} to stay off it with help from my new giant wall hanging...

fitting isn't it?

Kimball and Jaxon both asked me if we were really going to keep it right in our living room and my response was, "Heck yeah we are!"

It's pretty much my new motto...comes in handy in almost any situation.

*don't forget to enter the love banner giveaway winner is picked Friday morning!!

Broccoli Cheese Soup in a Bread Bowl

I'm a lover of soup.

I actually can't believe I don't have more soup recipe's on here, sorry about that...

but I'm pretty sure after this one you'll forgive all my shortcomings.

I came up with this recipe after looking over a few others and then adding what I had and what I thought sounded good. The best thing about soup is you can add whatever you want and it's more than likely going to be good.

I also have an unhealthy love of bread...

So this meal is pretty much like crack to me...I shouldn't even take one bite.



Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 cube butter

1/2 c. onion - diced

 3 c. chopped broccoli

 4 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. sugar 

clove garlic - minced

2 handfulls of colby jack cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Brown onions and garlic in butter

2. Add liquids and bring to a boil

3. Add sugar and broccoli, simmer 15 minutes

4. Add cheese, stir until melted.

5. Salt and pepper to taste

Soup Bowls
3 loaves Rhodes Dough (thawed, thawing takes 2 - 3 hours)

Thaw dough until soft. Cut loaf into thirds. Form each third into a ball. Place on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed. Let rise until double. Remove wrap. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; slice off top. Hollow out bread and fill with soup.

Makes 9 bowls

There you go, enjoy and hopefully you'll show a little more will power than me!

*don't forget to enter the love banner giveaway!!

this housewife is...

living in the laundry room...

widdling away at this...

hopped up on this...

decorating this...

while sporting this....

so here's my question...

are camoflage pants out?

because certain members of my family tell me they are,

and once again,

i refuse to believe it.

*****

while i'm on the subject

lemme just say...

the worst fashion fopa {in my book}

are moms {in particular}

that wear every accesory known to man...

at the same time.

you know what i mean...

the giant flower, chunky bracelets, big belt, headband, chandelier earrings, layered necklaces and a scarf,

leaving them looking like claire's boutique exploded on them!!

but who am i to judge?

 (refer to above photo)

*don't forget to enter the love banner giveaway!!

Giveaway {Love Banner}

I've got one Edie Love Banner left and I'm giving it away.

The rules are simple...

• You have to follow my blog & leave a comment.
• And or get a friend to follow, then message me letting me know who's arm you twisted who you gingerly encouraged to follow.

That's it! The winner will be drawn from a hat Friday morning.

Thanks for playing!!

XOXO

Sharpen The Saw

It had been a rough week as I mentioned in the last post, so we decided it was time to "sharpen the saw", as they teach in this book and at the boys school.

Work hard play hard!! We've definitely been working hard, so we called it a family day and went to lunch at Flancer's (an oldie but a goodie). The food was fabulous and this goat cheese bruschette was delish!

We then went bowling at Brunswick in Gilbert. It was a first going to this place (not sure why), but we loved it. It's like the Nordstrom's of bowling alley's...so try it out if you haven't. I have a feeling we'll be back soon.

This was Soph's first time bowling and she was hilarious! She loved every second of it, screaming and jumping up and down with every single pin.

Her ball went VERY slow but eventually (thanks to the bumpers) it would hit the pins and the celebrating ensued.

To be honest, my favorite part (besides watching Soph's celebrating) was the music and lights...so fun!

Too bad I was the only one in the mood for the dance party.

Oh well...

It's my duty as a parent to totally embarrass my kids.

BTW, they try to tell me it's not normal for moms to dance in the car...seriously!?!?!?!?

I refuse to believe it.