New Things Happening

If you haven't noticed yet, there are some big changes around here, a new blog design and now new advertising! 

I've been working on this new design for awhile now and I am so happy with the results! Over the next week I will be tweaking it here and there, but for the most part here it is! Much more simpler and colorful. 

What do you think? 

I am also trying something new with advertising this month. I have decided to switch to passionfruit (it's an ever popular decision). Now there will be paid for ads, including one feature ad a month! I am still offering ad swaps under the small ads. There are only 10 spots each month, so use the  promo code SWAP if you are interested in swapping. Also, for the month of July I am offering 30% off all ads with the promo code SUMMERTIME. For more details, check out my advertising page here.

I am so looking forward to July and what the future brings for this little blog. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Taking Off Like Wildfire..

Literally! Wednesday afternoon while volunteering at our church day camp, it was brought to my attention the wild fires in Colorado, in particular Colorado Springs. I had no idea the severity of these fires.

32,000 people were evacuated from their homes

346 homes were destroyed

18, 500 acres burned

1, 200 firefighters working

15% contained

cost of the fire 3.2 million

How heart wrenching to see those numbers and these photos

 photo credit CNN

This fire brings much sadness to me, as just last summer we were living just south of this area. We visited the springs often, so it's hard to believe such a beautiful area is going up in flames and so many people are being affected.

I pray, pray for the people who have lost their homes, the people who were evacuated and are await faith of their homes, I pray for the firefighters who are working so hard to get a hold on the fire, for the officers who are helping keep people out of harms way, for the state as this was the largest fire in it's history. I also want to pray for all of the people and fires going on in the west coast.

Will you also keep these people in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.

What I Wore: Coral & Blue + 7 Random Facts

Dress, necklace, sandals: Target

I love What I Wore post, but to be honest I always find them a bit odd when it comes to writing something to go along with them. Usually the photos are self explanatory and the last thing I want to do is go on and on about an outfit. 

So... I thought it would be fun to write some random facts to go with today's outfit! It would be a great way to get to know me and learn some of my quirky traits. Alright, here we go!

1. I am a poultritarian, that is I do no eat beef or pork. Only turkey and chicken for this girl!

2. I have a fear of worms! Yes, worms! They freak me out and I can't stand the sight of them.

3. My family moved from California to Wisconsin when I was 11.

4. Growing up, I always wished I had a sister (I have two brothers) to share clothes with, play barbies and be bff's. 

5. I am a total night owl and find it difficult (nearly impossible) to wake up early.

6. Jasmine Star is my favorite photographer. I can only dream about having her photog skills.

7. I haven't had my hair cut or colored by a professional in over a year and a half. Yikes!

Okay, so tell me something quirky about you!

Linking up here and here

Weekly Snippets: photo overload

John Deere, flower garden, flag boy, play date

Don't these images just scream summer!? As you can see, we are very much enjoying it! 

farm fields, pool time, blowing bubbles, grilling out

Trophy for 5k run, hurt toe that kept me from running most last week, car that isn't running well, and my little smiling buddy that accompanied me on my run Friday. 

My morning view, my afternoon view, my bedhead little boy, my Dad's little helper

Biggest cherries I've ever seen, cutest honey face I've ever seen, big boy bike rides, Vintage Wanna Bee

And that's a wrap! Two weeks of instagram photos.
Follow along @lisa_mommasmetime

Linking up here

Running Motivators

Staying motivated to do anything for a long period of time can create quite a challenge. I've been running since 2010, and although I absolutely love running, I find that sometimes it is hard to stay motivated. I've gone through my fair share of unmotivated moments which I'm still paying for with 5 pounds.

So what do you do when you find yourself in a running rut?

Here are three things that have helped get me get motivated in the last couple months!

Not only do I find motivation from my #workoutbuddies on twitter, but I find it most motivating to have a running partner.
Lucky for me, my running partner is my hubby :) I always have to push him to get on his running shoes, but once we are out running, I find he pushes me to run faster. Plus, he takes the stroller half the time ;)

Running is a lot more fun when you have someone with you to talk to and to motivate you to go faster!

 When I started running in 2010, I never intended to start running races. As matter of fact it wasn't until last month that I attended my first race. It was a relay marathon, however the race got canceled before it was our turn to run, you can read more about that here. Even though we didn't run, I was so motivated by the running environment that I knew I wanted to participate in more races in the future.

Last Saturday we ran our first 5k! It was a race against racism. I even got a trophy for 5th place in my age division!

 It is such motivation to be surrounded by so many other runners and to run for a great cause.

 I get bored really easily with repetitive things, so it's no surprise that running at the same place again and again, gets super boring to me and inevitably I wind up losing interest.

To get things more interesting try running at a new location.


 
We tried two new locations in the past couple weeks and it truly did spark up my love for running again! The hubs and I went on a run date. We took E over to spend time with GG, while we got to spend sometime together running a new trail. It was fun and refreshing to run without the jogging stroller and on a new trail I've never been to before. After our run, I told my husband we have to try to go on run dates at least once a month!
 We also headed out to our local park that has a track around the whole thing. One time around is about 1 mile, which made it really easy to do 3 laps around before letting E play.

So there you have it, three running motivators that help me! I hope you find them useful and they help you lace up your shoes and head on a run today!

Need more motivation? Check out this post HERE. And leave me a comment with what gets you most motivated!

 

What I Wore: in or out?

swimming pools. bubbles. fresh fruit. dinner on the grill. barefoot. bike rides. flowers. garage sales. tractors. family time. painting projects. my boys. 

Just some of the things I've been enjoying this summer :) 

What I'm also enjoying, is playing with summer style

Button up blouse: Old Navy. Shorts: Aeropostale. Necklace: Wal-greens.



So what would you say,

in or out?

Linking up here & here

A Man of God

This Father's day at church, our Pastor asked all the men of the church to stand up and take an oath. To make the decision to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and in obedience come under God's authority. To declare

 "... I now live by faith, look to Him daily, lean on His presence, walk by His Word, and labor in His power. I am prayed up, trained up, and built up. I am devoted to Christ and called to forgive, honor, accept, admonish, greet, encourage, bear with, build up, and serve others. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of my enemy, ponder in the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity....

 I am a man of God and I will live my life in such a way that others will know that I have enlisted in God's army. I will come under God's authority in all areas of my life and I will obey His directives without questions."

I have seen my husband take many oaths before,

to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,

to love for better or for worst, for richer or for poor, in sickness and in health,

to serve, protect and improve the quality of life.

Of all the oaths he has chosen to take in his life, 

I find to be a Man of God to be the most honorable of them all.

That is what we were celebrating this Father's day.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me

Galatians 2:20 

 

What I Wore: Stripes and Maxi

Maxi dress: TJ Maxx. Necklace & belt: Target. Sandals: AE (gifted) 

To be honest, I didn't have an outfit post ready for today.
So.... at the last minute, I shuffled through my iPhone photos and came up with this outfit, I wore last weekend.

 I've found that since owning my iPhone I've abandoned my dslr camera my poor baby. The convenience of the iPhone and my love affair with instagram have played a role in the disappearance of my dslr.
BUT
My passion for real photography is still there, so I'm making a promise to myself (and all you lovely readers) to break out my camera, brush up on my photog skills, and show my baby some lovin.

After all, I didn't convince my husband we didn't pay all that money to have it sitting in a case.

I'm curious, which type of camera do you take your outfit photos with?
 

Linking up here & here.

Weekly Snippets + One Lucky Winner

After working a long six days and struggling to get use to a new schedule, it was nice to get three whole days to spend together as a family. You bet we took advantage of every minute together! Nothing is better than quality time with my boys and getting projects complete around our house. 

Here's some snippets of our week:

1. We took little man mini-golfing and he had a blast hitting the ball around the course
2. E loves animals and hanging out at Nana and Papa's ranch, but he was actually scared of petting Tilly that day
3. Got his work boots on and ready to work on some landscaping
4. E & me at the mini-golf course

1. Finally get some decorations out of storage. The photos in this frame are from 2 years ago! I can't believe how fast time fly's and how big E is growing
2. New picture frames I am obsessed with...now to get some updated photos in it
3. Going on a run date with the hubs, while GG watched E for us. It's nice to get a little time together outdoors :)
4. It was 9pm at night and this guy was suppose to be sleeping, instead he was doing this...

1. First maxi dress. The rumors are true, it is the comfiest piece of clothing!
2. Who knew this could be so entertaining?
3. At the garden center, 2 mins before he fell and scraped his knees...again :(
4. Egg rolls for dinner, why not!


Now for the one lucky winner of the Lisa Leonard Designs giveaway!

And the winner is.....
Julie Marie of The Funny Thing Of It Is
Congrats girl! I will be emailing you soon!


Happy Monday!

Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend, my friend and I took the kids for their first summer visit to the zoo! This zoo is great because it's not too far of a drive and it's free!

The kids had more fun riding the train and playing on the playground than they did checking out the animals. We left before we got to finish seeing all the animals, our belly's were hungry, but that just means we will be making many more trips there this summer!

It's so fun to watch these three interact together. They get along so well!
E loves to watch the relationship between Ky and Hunt, as brother and sister. As if he hasn't already longed for a baby sister, spending time with them makes him long for one more!

& maybe me too ;)

**Don't forget to enter the Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway here! Winner will be announced Sunday
 

What I Wore: Summer Style

Summer is officially here!

Schools out for summer. The weather is amazing. The sun doesn't go down until after 8:30pm. Gardens are being planted. Pools are being set up. BBQ's are happening everywhere.
Yes, my friends, it is summertime!

Shorts, tee, & belt: American Eagle. Necklace: Kohl's. Sandals: Target. 

This is my classic summer style. 

Shorts, comfy tee, sandals, and cute accessories. 
Enough said.

As promised last WIW post, a Lisa Leonard Design giveaway. Enter here if you please.

Linking up here & here.

Schedules + Weekly Snippets

This last week has been a rough one at our home, particularly for a certain 3 year old. Which explains why I haven't posted recently. As I mentioned here, a week and a half ago my husband finished his academy's. He is now onto training. Nevertheless, his schedule has changed which has caused a little stir in our normal day-to-day activities.

-Just mommy and E time, hanging out on the porch

-E was missing Daddy so he decided to make him a painting

During his training he will be working each shift 1st, 2nd, 3rd (not in that order) for a couple weeks. So our schedule will continue to be disrupted until mid July. Then he will work his normal shift. Which isn't exactly the ideal shift, and that alone will take a lot of time to get use to.

-E's painting, I'd say he is a pretty good artist :)

-Family pic before heading into church

To say E has been affect by the change is an understatement. He's having a hard time understanding it.
 He often asks where daddy is and when he's going to be home.
He clings to Daddy when he is home and needs his undivided attention.
He even plans Daddy's days off which consist of: playing inside, playing outside, and going to the park (solid plan there buddy).

-Daddy was putting E down for a nap and when I walked in this is what I found. So peaceful :)

-I love me some Culver's custard with M&M's.. guilty please...

 This certainly isn't the first time my husband has worked crazy different shifts. He was in the Marine Corps for 4 years, meaning he worked at all sorts of times. After getting out of the Marines, he had a job where he worked 13 hr shifts, that rotated days and nights every 7 weeks. My point being, we have adjusted to even odder schedules, but it always seems the first few weeks are the hardest.

-Morning. June photo a day, which I already failed at completing, eh there's always next month

-E just hanging with his friends

Getting use to the schedule change seems so minor when I remind myself how fortunate we are. I am so lucky to have a man who works hard for his family. He's willing to work any hours of the day or night, in some of the most honorable dangerous jobs, to provide for us. As hard has these shifts are for our family, I am grateful to be able to stay home with E, providing stability and comfort in his world. 

My Me Time with Impractical Composition

Prevyet MMT readers, prevyette means 'hi' in Russian. Look at me I think I'm all that because I know Russian... eh, I was really just trying to grab your attention and make you think I'm cool!! I am trying to learn Russian though (; Anyhoo, I'm Alyssa and I blog over at Impractical Composition, a little blog about my life and the things that take place in the life of an average somebody. I like to blog about being positive because I know negativity never gets anyone anywhere and it's always best to stay positive! I want to talk to you about my me time, what it is and why I love it so!

What do you do for your “me” time?
 There are so many hobbies that I have it is hard for me to chose just one so I'm going to share a few! One of my favorite me time activities is crocheting. In my me time I really like to crochet while watching Teen Mom or The Office. I'm a multitask and yes I can crochet without looking!! I'm a pro - haha! I also like to rock-climb, read and hold babies, (this sounds weird-let me clarify... I don't have any kids of my own but I love babies!! Let me know if you need a babysitter!)

Do you take part in activities or hobbies for your “me” time? 
During most of my me time I crochet, I find that there is nothing better than watching one of my favorite shows and creating something special for someone! I just love it!!

What do these activities/hobbies mean to you?
I love to crochet because my nana taught me, so my nana crochets, my great grandma crocheted, and all the women before me did as well, so I guess for me it's a tradition that I don't want to stop with me!

What do you do to ensure that you get your “me” time? i.e. do you wake up early or stay up late?
For me my me time happens when I'm home by myself with no homework or chores to finish. During the school year it is hard to find my me time but I have recently found out that summers rock and I find a very sufficient amount of me time! (:

How much does it mean to you to get time to yourself?
I love getting time to myself especially when it's crocheting. This may sound weird but, it's a pretty good stress reliever. I can just sit and think about things while having fun! (No, I'm not a grandma!)

How often do you get your “me” time?
As of May 24th I've gotten my me time quite often. Actually before I got a new job I hardly ever got my me time and was pretty stressed out.

Why do you think it is important for women to have that time to invest in something they enjoy?
It is so important to get your me time! SO SO important! Even if it's for a few minutes a day. Me time is important because its a huge stress reliever. There are so many things women deal with day to day and we all need a break from reality to refresh our selves!!
****
Thank you Alyssa for sharing you me time with us. I think crocheting is totally cool and I love that it's a tradition in your family!

Want to share your me time with us in June? 
Email me at mommasmetime@gmail.com

Also, remember to enter to win a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs!