Bloggers 411

Today I am linking up with Becky who blogs over at From Mrs. to Mama for Bloggers 411 because I have met so many new ladies lately on here and I thought it might be nice if we got to know each other better!! Be sure to link up too!

How long have you been blogging? Has your blog changed?

I have been blogging since 2008 but didn't know about the whole "blogging community" until 2009.

What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?

Being ignored, looking forward to something and then it not happening (like plans), rude/mean people.

What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?

Blog (which is what I am doing with my "me time" right now), paint my nails, watch TV, read, take a shower (haha), go shopping!

Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.

I used to laugh so hard I peed my pants. I'll leave it at that!!

What day would you love to relive again?

My wedding day, of course!

If your life was turned into a movie... what actess would play you?

Amanda Seyfried. I think she is a really good actress and she even has a good voice (Mama Mia). Plus, we've both got blonde hair and big blue eyes.

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What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?

Where haven't I worked? Basically babysitting, Dairy Queen, a dance studio, a couple private schools, and a few offices. My favorite was when I worked in LA at the shiney building on the right.

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Show us a picture from high school or college.

This is a picture from high school. My friend Sheri and I stayed up all night at a park and her house, took a bunch of pictures, and the next day I went on a roadtrip with my family. It was such a fun night. Sheri and I are still good friends even though now we are both married and she doesn't live here.

Where do you see your life 5 years from now?

In five years it will be days before my 30th birthday. Crazy! I will still be happily married, hopefully have another kid or two, have an SUV (since we can't fit another carseat in our cars), and maybe be moved back to Orange County to be closer to family.

Sunday Social

Favorite TV show of the past...

I was obsessed with Full House as a kid. I wished I had big sisters like DJ and Stephanie and Michelle (the Olsens) were my age.

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Favorite TV show as an adult is probably Friends! I own all the seasons and have watched the whole thing several times and never get sick of it.

Favorite TV show currently...

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Oh gosh that is a hard question. I love a bunch of shows. Greys Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries are probably my favorites right now.

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Which Reality Show would you NEVER do?

There are a lot of them I would never do. Most of them are entertaining but are not something I would want to be a part of myself!

By the way, someone on Twitter said to me that if you watch reality tv you are probably an idiot. That really made me angry. It's called entertainment!


Which Reality Show would you LOVE to do?

If I was single? The Bachelorette! ;)

TV personality/character that you feel is most like you?

I've been watching a lot of Greys Anatomy reruns and I think I am a lot like Izzy. Michael says I am a combination of the girls of Friends.

TV character you'd want to date?

Avery from Greys Anatomy. Can you tell I have been watching it a lot? Or...Jim from The Office. Or Matt, Damon, or Stephen from Vampire Diaries. I dunno, there are a lot of good guy characters on TV!

Sunday Social

I missed out on participating in Sunday Social last week so I had to be sure I did it this week!!

What is your favorite store to shop at?

I looove shopping at Target. I seriously can't help buying more than I went in for every time I go. It's afforadable and they have everything! I'm instilling this in Emily early on. ;)

If you could afford anything and everything, which designer brand would you covet?

I admit that I am pretty clueless when it comes to brands and labels. I've been raised to have the mindset of getting more bang for your buck so that's why I love Target. I wouldn't know what to do if I had to buy from expensive designers! For example: The most expensive jeans I get are from The Gap. And we have a Gap Outlet here. :)

Must have closet staple?

Hm...jeans, skirts, and tshirts!

Favorite kind of shoes? (brand or type)

Converse!

Best clothing deal you've ever gotten? (sale or amazing find)

We live by an Outlet Mall so I find deals all the time. Joppa has some really cheap things. I bought a ton of tops there for like $3.50 each.

Style you'd love to try?

I've been afraid to try the skinny jeans look but I think they look cute tucked in boots with sweaters in the fall and with flats or heels too. I just hate wearing clothes that are too tight but if you have a brand you recommend I would be willing to try it!

I heard something the other day that was funny. "You shouldn't wear skinny jeans if you don't have skinny genes." Lol! I'm a nerd.

Sunday Social

I don't usually blog on the weekends and I haven't participated in many linkups lately so I thought I would try this new linkup hosted by Neely and Ashley!

(For some reason the spacing keeps showing up all out of wack. Sorry about that!)

How did you come up with your blog name?

The answer to that is on this page but basically holding hands is something my husband and I have always done without even thinking about it. I also find it kind of symbolic. We are always going to be there for each other to hold each others hand through the good and the bad.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I love that I can use blogging as a journal (I have been making books from my blog) but I also love to blog about random things like recipe's I've made , tv shows I watch, things I bought or want to buy, etc. I also love getting to know other bloggers. I have made so many friends from blogging and I wish I could hang out with them in person!
What is one thing you have discovered because of blogging and now can't live without?

I'm going to have to go with Pinterest. It took me a while to get on the bandwagon because I didn't know why everyone was so obsessed with it but now I love to go on there and browse random recipes, photos, styles, etc.

Facebook or Twitter? and why?

I like both of them for different reasons. I like keeping up with people I know on facebook because you see pictures and not as many status updates. Twitter can be a little TMI sometimes but I like it because I feel more free to vent or say things I wouldn't say to people I know in person. Twitter conversations are fun and I would be emberassed to talk about some things (like the Bachelorette) on facebook. Then again some Twitter people spoil shows so I can't go on Twitter if I haven't seen an episode of something yet!
If one celeb read your blog who would you want it to be?

I've always loved Shania Twain, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Reese Witherspoon. However I can't imagine them even getting online, lol! So for the younger celebs... I really like Emma Stone! It would be cool if she read my blog. Or Taylor Swift. I can't pick just one!

What is something you want people to know about your blog?
I am an honest person and so whatever I write on my blog is just ME. I try and stay true to myself and so oftentimes I will just write about my daughter. She is, after all, my whole world!

True Life: I'm a General Blogger!

Hey, guys! Welcome to my blog! I'm linking up to try to meet some new bloggers and hopefully make some more bloggy friends!

A little bit about me:

My name is Shelley and I've been married to my wonderful husband, Michael, for almost 4 years!

About a year and a half ago we adopted our Chihuahua mix, Jexibelle, and she is pretty much the sweetest pup in the world.

She is loved to pieces by us both (which was surprising since Michael never wanted a dog).

Then, we bought our first home last year.

 Soon after that, we got pregnant! I'm due with our first baby (girl) in September!

We are very excited!

Click here for a list of blog highlights and get to know me better!

Leave a comment and I will be sure to visit your blog and return the favor!

Happy Friday!

Learn A Little Somethin' About Us!

Mrs. G over at My Life In The Making filled this survey out and it looked like fun. Plus, sometimes it's cool to learn new things about your friends so here are some questions I filled out about Michael and me!

1. What are your middle names? My middle name is Rebecca and his is James.

2. How long have you been together? Married for 3 years on December 7th!

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? We knew who each other were for about 5 years before we started dating. He was friends with my brother in high school. Here's a picture of before we dated...

4. Who asked who out? I believe I text him and asked if he wanted to hang out since we were both doing nothing on a weekend night...we count that as our first date even though it really wasn't a date to us at the time. It was just the first time we hung out alone. I wrote a post about that once.

5. How old are each of you? I turned 23 in July and Michael will be 26 in December. Weird!

6. Did you go to the same school? Yep!

7. Are you from the same home town? Practically, yes.

8. Who is the smartest? He is. I'm not going to lie, there are things I do better (haha) but he is still the brains.

9. Who majored in what? I was majoring in English and he majored in Anthropologie.

10. Who is the most sensitive? That one is up for debate!

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Our honeymoon to Orlando, Fl. is the furthest we have gone as a couple.

12. Who has the worst temper? Me

13. How many children do you want? He wants four and I want three. We will just have to see what happens!

14. Who does the cooking? Ha! Well....ok, he does most of the time. I'm supposed to be doing it now since I am a 'housewife'. I've been meaning to, I promise!

15. Who is more social? I am, for sure. I don't really like huge groups of people but I love hanging out in small groups. He wouldn't mind if we never went out with friends. It's just how he is!

16. Who is the neat freak? I am more of a neat freak than he is. He tends to leave stuff laying around the house...
17. Who is the most stubborn? That is another one up for debate.
18. Who wakes up earlier? I do, considering he works the night shift.
19. Where was your first date? Covered this question already. See the post attached to question number four.

20. Who has the bigger family? Extended family? Me. But we both have three siblings. Actually, now if you count inlaws I guess he has the bigger 'immediate' family.

22. How do you spend the holidays? We are fortunate enough to live close to both sides of the family. This means we can usually pull off balancing the two. When we have our own kids, we might make them come to us though. :-)
23. Who is more jealous? Good question...I don't know! Probably me, but he doesn't give me any reason to be.
24. How long did it take to get serious? Not long at all. It was a matter of weeks.
25. Who eats more? I think I do...I get mad at him if he doesn't eat as much as me, lol.
26. What do you do for a living? Me? Raising babies is the next job I will have most likely. He is a police officer.
27. Who does the laundry? I do most of it. He's good about helping, though.
28. Who's better with the computer? He might be.
29. Who drives when you are together? He does most of the time, even though I would rather do it myself. :-). He still opens the car door for me!
30. What is your song? We don't have one!

I've Been Tagged- Again!

Mrs. G from My Life in the Making tagged me to answer some more questions! Her questions are:

1. What are you being for Halloween? Do you have trick-or-treaters or go out trick-or-treating?

Nothing this year, I think. We aren't going to any parties and Michael will be working that night. I think the last time we dressed up was a couple years ago...but I do like to decorate for it!

2. How many kids do you want?

I want 2 or 3 and Michael wants 4. It will be interesting to see what happens!

3. What are you asking for Christmas this year?

It's a secret!

4. Were you named after anyone, or how did your name come about?

Well, my LEGAL name is Michelle and I have always gone by Shelley. I think my parents just liked the names..

5. Do you remember your dreams?

Most of the time, yes. I have very detailed dreams too. Sometimes it's a blessing but other times I wish I could forget!

6. If you could live in any other city/town, where would it be?

I'd live closer to the beach. We live in the desert now and it's too hot in the summer. We don't even have a pool or anything to help!

7. Do you like your naturally straight/curly/wavy/etc hair? Would you change it permanently if you could?

I have very straight hair naturally and it holds curls pretty well so I don't think I would change it. I don't have to worry about blow drying it or straightening it. I just curl it if I want something different.

8. What’s your favorite thing in your living room?

That would be either our new couches or our new tv!

Q&A Tag and Some Questions For You!

Star from Star's Pink World tagged me to answer her 8 questions and then I make up 8 more questions. Here it goes! If you don't want to read all my answers, I'd still like you to comment with your own answers to the questions I am asking!

1. What is your favorite Fall dessert?


I think my favorite fall dessert would be....pumpkin pie with cool whip on top. That's the first thing that came to mind and it is so delicious! Michael doesn't like pumpkin pie. Crazy!

2. What TV show do you wish hadn't been canceled?

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Friends!! I have all 10 seasons on DVD and I have watched them all several times and never get tired of them. Michael and I both quote them pretty often. I've probably quoted some on here and you wouldn't know it unless you are a true fan like me :-).
3. What is your favorite store to shop?

I'm going to have to go to Target. I don't think I have ever gone to Target without coming out with at least one thing I didn't know I "needed" until I saw it. Also, they have some fun stuff in the dollar section. We just bought a couple Halloween decorations from it!
4. What is the best movie you've watched this year?

Heck if I know! I can't remember all the movies I have seen this year. We recently saw Easy A and I liked it. That's my kind of movie!

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5. What is your favorite book?

I don't like to pick favorites. I have read so many great books. I finished the Hunger Games series a couple months ago and those were really great. Easy reads so they go by fast plus they are so good you don't want to put them down.
6. What is your favorite weekend activity.

I really enjoy date nights that are simple like going out to dinner. We really enjoy having friends over for BBQ's or a movie. We are really laid back. I like going shopping when I have money. If we had access to a pool I would do that too.

Oh and P.S- every day is a weekend for me. Ha! It would be more fun if I had friends out here, Michael never had to work, and we had an overabundance of income to spend however we liked. :-)
7. What is the best vacation you've been on?

Best vacation ever? Sheesh.
Well, my parents were good about taking us on a lot of trips when I was a kid. We did a lot of camping and we went to Disneyworld once...I remember the Gulf of Mexico was warm and wonderful.

Um...I went with some friends to Lake Powell when I was like 17 or 18 and that was really fun. I love doing the whole speedboat and jetski thing.

After marriage? Probably either our honeymoon to Orlando or our cruise with friends last summer to Catalina/Mexico (even though we didn't actually get to dock in Mexico due to the swin flu).
8. Do you have any pets?

Do I ever!! I have the best dog in the world! Jexibelle is the sweetest chihuahua mix. She hardly ever barks or chews on things and she was housetrained when we got her. Best. dog. ever. All she wants in life is to be loved and that's what we do! We love her!
Now here are my questions for 8 more people....

1. Who was your best friend as a kid and are you still friends with them now?

2. Do you like to cook? If so, share your favorite recipe!

3. What do you think about boob jobs?

4. Toilet paper rolled over or under?

5. If you were to be on a deserted island with just three people besides your family (from the past or present), who would they be?

6. Do you still enjoy blogging as much as you used to?

7. Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life?

8. Chocolate or vanilla?

And since I am curious to see what your answers are, I'd like all of you to do this! You don't need to create your own post, you can just answer me in a comment!

Gorgeous Blogger?! / Exciting News!

Krystal gave me an award! Wow, this is my third award! Is it sad how excited I am?? Thank you Krystal!!

The Rules:

•Accept and thank the person who gave it to you!

•List 10 things about yourself

•List 5 additional things you DON'T like

•Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to!

 

 

10 Things About Me...

1. 
   
   I have this weird thing where I have to use lotion right after I wash my hands. I hate the feeling if I don't. I also lotion everything after I shower every day. I love lotion!
2. 
   
   I'm a planner/list maker.
3. 
   
   I'm a dog lover without a dog! I can't wait until we can get one or two!
4. 
   
   
   I love the trail mix from Target. I can eat it all day.
5. 
   
   I had braces in junior high and now wear a retainer almost every night to keep my teeth straight! I have nightmares sometimes that my teeth are falling out. Or that my retainer is breaking into tiny pieces and I can't get them out of my mouth. Gross.
6. 
   
   I'm a bit shy but it's conditional. I am not shy online, but if I were put in a room of people I don't know then I would sit/stand there uncomfortably until someone approaches me and makes conversation.
7. 
   
    Sometimes I write random poetry. Just for fun :-)
8. 
   
   I also get baby crazy sometimes.
9. 
   
   I worked at Dairy Queen in high school. Best. Job. Ever. just because of all the "free" treats! I had a friend who worked at Hollywood video and another friend who worked at Wood Ranch so on the weekends after we all got off work, we would have free movies, ice cream, and food! Good times.
10. 
    
    Considering getting breast implants. Maybe not any time soon, but someday. Don't hate me. (Grandpa, I'm sorry you had to read that!)

5 Things I Don't Like...

1. Long lines...anywhere.
2. Dumb drivers/Traffic
3. Nightmares. I have them way more than I should!
4. Spiders, of course.
5. Not having a regular schedule with Michael. I wish we were like most couples and that we got to see each other every night and on the weekends!

 

I'm Passing This Award On To...

1. Jessica from Domesticated Bliss.
2. April from Dot..Dot...Dot...
3. Kayla from Sense of Style is Eternal.
4. Ashley from For The Love of Shoes and a Baby Too.
5. Hotpants from Handbags & Handguns. (She just wrote a post about something you should all know about, as bloggers! It makes me replying to your comments a whole lot easier!)
6. Kinsey from Kinsey Michaels.
7. Katie from Life in the Fulmer Lane.
8. Bella from Life with Mr. and Mrs. Z.
9. Annie from Our Little Family.
10. Brittany from Unexpected Surprises.

And can I just say how glad I am that today is Friday?! Man, this was a rough week!

Oh. And Blogger has been acting kinda weird lately. It won't show me all the blogs I follow and it sometimes doesn't let me add comments when I am moderating! Sad!

I have some great news!! Michael told me last night after I cried that I have to wait for everything I want that if we get an apartment with enough space and a back patio, then we can FINALLY get a doggy! I'm so excited! I'm also being a little cautious though because it seems like every time I get excited and my hopes up, they are false hopes! But the fact that he finally caved and is letting me loose on the doggy hunt...it makes me a very happy gal!!

Have a great weekend! I know I will!!

I Won! / Another Blog Award!

First off, thank you so much for all the sweet comments from my last post about having a full plate! I love how blogging is not only a way for me to keep up with friends I have in real life. I just discovered in the last few months that it can also be a support system of women who lift you up or make you laugh. So, thank you for sticking with me and forgive me for the stressful posts I put up! I try to be positive most of the time but you know how it is when sometimes you just need to let it out!!

Okay, it's time for a more upbeat blog post from me, right?! Here it goes!

I won a giveway over at Life with Mr. and Mrs.Z!! Check it out!

And I also won another blog award! This one is from Star's Pink World!

The Rules:

1) Click on the above button and paste onto your blog/website
2) Answer the below questions.
3) Pass onto 10 bloggers that you Love, go to their blog and let them know they’ve been tagged


Here we go!

1. Who is your style icon?

I don't necessarily have a style icon. I like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon's layed back kind of looks because they always look comfortable but cute when they aren't on the red carpet.

2. What is your favorite socialite lit book?
I don't think I've ever read a socialite lit book before. Should I?

3. Favorite party theme?

I like when parties have a color theme.

4. Go to Halloween costume?
Clown outfits my mom made for her and my dad before I was even born. So funny!

5. Extravagance you cannot live without?

I do get the occasionaly mani/pedi and I love them so much! I used to color my hair more often but that got to be too expensive to keep up. I also have gotten in the bad habit of online shopping. When I see a good deal too good to pass up...I don't pass it up.

6. Living person you admire?
Oh gosh. SO MANY! I have a lot of great role models in my life. Mostly family members like my parents, in laws, grandparents...I'm lucky to have so many people to admire.

7. Greatest Fear?
Losing someone I love. I'm terrified of someone I love passing away. I always pray for my loved ones health, safety, and happiness.

8. Trait you deplore in yourself?
How I can't just "let things go". I stress way too much. Michael always tells me things will be okay but I just can't seem to get down the whole easy going attitude he has.
 
9. Which talent would you most like to have?
Well, I love to sing. And I am alright at it. But I would love to have one of those "goosebump" kind of voices that gives everyone the chills. I would be able to have more fun with singing than I do now.
 
10. Greatest Achievement?

I believe my greatest achievement would be getting married to Michael in the temple!

 

And since last time I handed out an award and most of them didn't care or know what an award was, I will be giving this out to anyone who would like it! Let me know if you took it and did it so I can check out the answers to your questions!