Negative Nancys Not Needed.

The other day, I received my very first negative comment here on the blog.  From what I understand, it's a "badge of honor" of sorts among bloggers.  It MUST mean I've arrived!  But it got me to thinking:  what makes people feel the need to leave negative comments?  Is it because they are "anonymous" behind their computer in their home and they feel like they can say whatever they want?  They insult people and say anything they want that they would never dream of saying to someone face-to-face?  Don't get me wrong, I didn't take it personally.  I wasn't crushed when I was reading through my comments and came up on that one.  I didn't take it to heart, by any means.  I just couldn't believe that people go through life, cutting other people down, for absolutely no reason.  Does it make them feel superior?  Does it show how intelligent they are?  I have trouble understanding where people are coming from when they leave anonymous hateful comments.  Would you ever dream of walking up to a woman in a dressing room and tell her that the new dress she's trying on looks hideous?  So what makes it any different over the Internet?  Goodness people.  Just be nice!  We have enough negative bull-hockey going on in this world, why feel the need to cut each other down? 

Here's my advice...if you feel the need to be mean to someone (Internet or otherwise) for absolutely no reason, do these things:


1.  Go to Olive Garden.  Eat a breadstick and gorge yourself on Italian. 

2.  Find a Westie puppy**.  Pet it.

**If you can't find a Westie, a Goldendoodle will do in a pinch.

3.  Go to Orange Leaf.  Get a large cup, fill it with frozen yogurt and top it with whatever your heart desires (might I suggest Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch?).  Inhale.

4.  Get in your car.  Pop "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey into your CD player.  Roll your windows down and cruise some backroads, rocking out. 

5.  Come home.  Choose a Disney movie.  Pop some popcorn (may I recommend kettle corn?  or popcorn with Buncha Crunch mixed in?).  I don't care what Disney movie you pick (except "Dinosaurs."  Please for the love of all things good, don't watch that). 

6.  Open your computer.  Get on Twitter.  Follow Kid President. 

Last but not least (and how freaking appropriate???)....

Now, feel better?  If you still feel the urge to be negative, then I guess you're just a natural meanie and the rest of us will have to deal.  Just please, try to work on it.

Hot Mess Monday...and More!

It's a Hot Mess Monday, but I have a TON of stuff to cover!!  It's been a busy weekend for the Super Messy blog!  First things first though, a Hot Mess update:

Original weight: 142.5
Last week's weight:  134.8
This week:

Difference from last week: 0.6 lbs

Overall loss:  8.3 lbs.

 

Biggest challenges this week:  Getting back in the swing of things and trying to diet after "letting myself go" and not watching what I was eating for a couple of weeks.  It was hard to pass up the drive-thrus and cut back on my Coke consumption.  But I'm doing it....slowly, but surely....

 

What worked: 

{1}  I'm using My Fitness Pal app again.  Counting the calories, avoiding the fatty stuff, making myself more aware of the food I'm eating again.

 

{2} Pinterest.  I swear, I don't know what I did without this website.  How did people lose weight/make dinner/be creative before Pinterest came along?  I've found so many health conscious and low-cal recipes from there.  I feel so much better when I'm putting healthier stuff into my body.  Check out the recipes I've found on my Hot Mess-->Hot Mama board on Pinterest.

 

I'm feeling good and I'm determined to lose those last 14.2 lbs.  Shew, that seems like so much when you figure up how much I have left....but I've already lost 8.3 lbs...I. Can. Do. This!

 

Next, and I'm SO excited about this one y'all....I participate in several blog hops and link parties throughout Blogland where I share different projects or blog posts from the Super Messy Supermommy.  I usually get some new readers from these blog hops, but this weekend, I was one of the FEATURED links over at Be Colorful!  She liked my Minnie Mouse Highchair post and put it up on her blog for everyone to see.  I mean, this is pee your pants exciting stuff here people!  Big deal for a little 'ole mommy blogger like me.  But seriously, if you're visiting from Be Colorful, welcome :)  I'm super glad you're here!

 

Last, today was the deadline for me to get 50 blog followers and 100 likes on my Facebook page.  I actually ended up with 51 blog followers and 82 likes on the Super Messy Supermommy Facebook page.  *sigh*  Maybe I'll do another challenge again soon for another giveaway....maybe a BIGGER and BETTER one??  Thanks to everyone that is a new follower of the blog or on Facebook.  I appreciate each and every single one of you.  You're rock stars. :) 

 

Happy Monday all!

Because who doesn't love FREE stuff?!?!

Alright.  The gloves are coming off.  I'm declaring war on my Followers number.  I know numbers aren't a great reflection of how many people read your blog, but 37 is just plain sad y'all!  I'm tired of looking at that number every time I log onto my blogger account.  Plus, I hate odd numbers and that's two of them in a row (3-7 *gag*)!  I'm doing something about it.  And hopefully you are too!!  If I can get 50 total followers on my blog and 100 followers on my Facebook page by October 15, I'm going to do a GIVEAWAY!  You heard that right----free stuff!!  The winner will receive one of my hand-painted personalized signs. 

 

 

 

 

 

These signs are completely customizable.  I can paint on canvas or wood.  You can pick your favorite quote, Bible verse, saying, family's name...whatever!  You can also pick the colors of your sign to match your personal decor. 

 

BUT WAIT!  Here's how this is going to work.  If I get the 50 followers and 100 Facebook fans by October 15th, I'll do another blog post telling you guys that you're amazing, that I have my followers and we'll do the giveaway.  You'll have to comment on the post saying that you follow my blog and/or my Facebook page and a random winner will be drawn on midnight of the 16th.  Clear as mud?  I'll provide more details when the actual drawing happens. 

Think we can do it?  Who's going to win their very own hand-painted sign??

 

 

Thirty for Thirty

Yesterday, I told you that I would be starting a new project today.  You might have heard of it before on Pinterest or browsing some of your favorite blogs.  I got the idea from Lauren, over at From My Grey Desk and her sister Kate, over at The Small Things Blog and The Pretty Life Anonymous (my favorite).  Starting today, I'm embarking on the "30 for 30 challenge."  Sound familiar?  No?  Let me explain. 
You can only wear 30 items for 30 days.  It sounds easy.  Read any blog of someone who's done it, they'll tell you otherwise.  Everyone has their own rules.  Here's mine:

1.  Only wear 30 items for 30 whole days.
2.  Items include: shirts, jackets, sweaters, shoes, pants, skirts, dresses.
3.  Accessories like belts, jewelry, scarves and hose aren't included.
4.  Undergarments like camis and tank tops are not included (This is necessary when you have a one year old that likes to yank your shirt down in front of a crowd of people.  Wish that was a joke.)

There's the rules.  There's the challenge.  Here's my 30:

September 1st to September 30th, this is all I get (I didn't include today's outfit because I bummed around the house all day--but I'm making up for it by wearing two outfits tomorrow).  Why, you ask?  Because I mentioned the other day that I was scared to branch out in my fashion.  I wear the same things over and over again because it's safe.  This will make me become braver with my accessories and outfit choices.  If I only get to wear 30 items for an entire month, I'm going to have to mix things up and find new ways to wear the items in my closet.  Not only that, I'll learn how to get more wear out of the things I own.  I'm really bad about only putting a shirt with a pair of pants and not adding anything else.  I wear this shirt with these jeans ONLY.  I don't know how to mix and match.  This will teach me how to wear this shirt with these jeans AND this skirt AND these dress pants.  Win-win. 

I almost forgot!  My sister, Dayna, is doing this with me.  She'll be documenting her 30 days over at the Nelson County Extension blog.  She's a Family and Consumer Sciences agent for the University of Kentucky and she'll be looking at the project from a thrifty side....save money by not buying new clothes every time you get tired of what you have.  Mix it up with other things and keep more dough in your pocket. 

It's going to be a long, but exciting 30 days.  Wanna come along for the ride?  We're more than happy to have a few fashion pioneers along with us!

High Fives for Long Weekends! {week 8}

Friday High Fives! (linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk)

{one}

I conquered my fear of eBay this week and bought myself a Minnie Mouse watch.  I've been eyeing this one over at Disneystore.com....with a price tag of $34.50. 

Not horrible, but not a necessity right now.  So I happened to be on eBay one day browsing around and found this watch.  With shipping and everything, it cost me $9.02.  I'll take it. 

 

{two} 

Next week is this HUGE Consignment Sale in the town I live in.  It's a three day event that I look forward to every year.  But this year, I've decided to get rid of a few things and be a seller instead of just a buyer.  That means I get in a day earlier than the general public to shop my little heart out.  I. Cannot. Wait.

 

{three}

Aunt Kristen is not allowed to change Avery's diapers anymore.  Disaster in the making.

{four}

I made a Facebook and Twitter page this week for my blog!  Hop on over and like my page or follow me on Twitter!

 

{five}

I'm SUPER excited about this one.  My sister and I are tackling a pretty big project starting tomorrow.  So be sure to come back to my blog TOMORROW and check out the details.  Are you adding it right now to your list of things to do this weekend??  Good.

 

 

Happy LOOOOONG Labor Day weekend friends!



Blog Follow How-to

Several of you have mentioned to me that you've tried to follow my blog and can't.  I'm hoping it's not a serious network issue being the reason you can't follow me.  So I'm going to do some step-by-steps to show you how to follow my blog and hopefully clear up any confusion.  Please let me know if this process STILL doesn't work for you and I'll be contacting Blogger to get it fixed (in my most authoritative, professional tone).

Alright.  First things first.  When you come to my home page, you should see a side bar on the RIGHT HAND side of my blog.  Scroll down until you see "It's okay to be a follower!"

When you click on the blue "Join this site" button, it'll take you to a screen that looks like this:

From here, you should be able to join by signing into your Google, Twitter or Yahoo accounts.  If you don't have any of these, you can create a new Google account.  You can create an account and not use it as your primary email.  I know people that created a Google account just for following their favorite blogs.  If that doesn't make you comfortable, you can always follow my blog by email.  You'll receive an email straight to your inbox every time I post a new update. 
Same as before, scroll down the bar on the right hand side until you see "Receive updates by email"  shown here:

Enter your email address and press "Submit."  Easy peasy.

If you don't want to do either one of those, there's one final option.  You can follow me on Bloglovin'.  It's a website where you can keep up with all your favorite blogs in one place.  Instead of getting a ton of emails from all of your favorite blogs individually, you can follow a bunch of them on Bloglovin' and get one email with weekly updates.  It's great.  You can read it all at once in one place.  So, if you wanna go that route, you can click here:

Now, go try it!  My goal is to get 50 followers.  Let me know if this doesn't work!

Most Versatile Blogger Award!

You guys.  My whole week has just been made.  Disney Girl has awarded me the Most Versatile Blogger Award!  This is real.  When I saw the comment, I was a little skeptical, but I did some snooping and it's legit!  I feel almost speechless with gratitude.  This award couldn't have come at a better time....I was really beginning to wonder if I had any really faithful followers.  I know some people glance at my blog when I post an update on Facebook, but my follower count really doesn't show it.  I worry that I don't have a blog of any substance or importance.  Do people just read my blog posts and never come back to visit?  If so, what's the point of trying so hard?  And then this award happens.  Coming from a total stranger who just likes my blog for what it is.  Suddenly, it's worth it again.  Please go to her blog and check her out. 

Now, it's my turn to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award love.  Gotta have some rules first:

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the person who presented it to you.
3. List seven random facts about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Pass the award onto seven other bloggers.
6. Inform each blogger they have won by posting a comment on their blog.

     

Here's 7 random facts about me:

 

1.  My favorite color is cerulean blue.  Not plain ole, regular blue.  Cerulean.  Now go find a Crayola box and color everything you can with it. 

 

2.  My life goal is to work at Disney World.  I may be old, lonely and retired, but I WILL work at the Disney Store on Mainstreet, USA.  Come check me out in 50 years.

 

3.  Much to my husband's dismay, I will watch Harry Potter anytime it's on TV.  It doesn't matter if it's the first movie or the eighth.  It doesn't matter if I just saw it the day before.  It doesn't matter if there's another movie on that I've never seen and been waiting to watch forever.  If Harry's on, I'm watching.     

 

4.  I love to paint.  I never get to do it anymore because I'm slowly developing arthritic fingers (yes, I'm only 26) and after my kid is in bed, I'm either a.) catching up on my mountainous piles of laundry or b.) sleeping myself.  But I love to do it.  I wish I could have one day a week to be completely by myself and do nothing but paint.  It's the ultimate stress reliever for me.

 

5.  I am a Etsy addict.  I rarely buy anything, but I could spend all day browsing through people's creativity come to life.  I hope to own a piece of art from Etsy one day.  Painted by someone other than me.

 

6.  My favorite food is my mom's lasagna.  I hate lasagna from anywhere else.  It's like my mom perfected it and everyone else is just an impostor.  Thanks for playing, Olive Garden lasagna.  You're not even close.

 

7.  I want to learn how to be a skilled sewer.  I took an introductory class with my local extension office and failed miserably.  Threading the machine intimidated the crap out of me and I asked more questions that the other 5 women in the room combined.  But I'm keeping it on my bucket list. 

 

Now, it's my turn to pass on the love.  My 7 picks for the Most Versatile Bloggers are.....*drumroll*......

1.  The Snugly Duckling

2.  Our Family of Three

3.  Domestic Imperfection

4.  Sugar Pie Farmhouse

5.  The Purple Chaise Girl

6.  From Paris With Love

7.  A Wedding Story

 

Seriously though.  Week. Made.

Put your hands up! H54F {week 6}

It's Friday...it's time for my High Fives!  But.....are you ready for this?  Put up BOTH hands, because I'm giving you a high TEN!  Seriously.  This week has r.o.c.k.e.d. 

{one}

Saw this in my Real Simple magazine.  Kids were polled and asked to finish some well-known sayings.  This one made me laugh. 

{two}

Saturday was Cecilia Days.  During the "Almost Talent Show," my dad had to go on stage for a marshmallow stuffing contest.  The first one to stuff 20 jumbo marshmallows in their mouth won.  I always knew he had a big mouth. :)

{three}

 Marty and I went to the grocery for the first time in over a month.  I won't even talk about the total cost of our trip, but I will say that I got a TON of healthy lunches and snacks to help me on my "Hot Mess" journey. 

{four}

Found this on Pinterest and I'm OBSESSED.  I will be making a version for myself soon.  I miss Lexington/college/UK.

{five}

My kid is seriously obsessed with Mickey and Minnie.  This makes the "Disney-lover" side of me very, very happy.  I'm afraid we have an addiction on our hands.  Our current Minnie/Mickey related items are: 5 Minnie dolls, 2 Mickey dolls, one Minnie pillow, one Minnie cell phone, one Mickey cell phone and numerous clothing items. 

{six}

This has been my view for the week.  Our office flooded and my boss (aka dad) took it as an opportunity to rip out our carpets and let us remodel.  We've been painting...and yesterday, they were putting brand new desks together when I left!  The before and afters are gonna amaze you.

{seven}

As a blogger, I try to support other bloggers as much as possible.  If I like your blog, I'm going to become a follower.  I know how depressing it is to blog your little heart out, dream about blog posts, join link parties and still only have 26 followers. *sigh*  Anyways.  I've found a new blog/Tumblr account that I'm in LOVE with.  Check out http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com.  She's a girl that has a passion for baking and eating healthy.  I've gotten a ton of ideas for lunches, snacks and healthier living.  Not to mention this fabulous recipe for homemade and healthier PopTarts that I WILL be trying soon!

{eight}

Since starting my weight loss journey, I try not to obsess about my weight.  It's just a number, right?  But this morning, I was feeling so good, I wanted to weigh myself and see if I'd made a difference this week.  Down another .4 pounds!  Overall loss:  6.7 lbs!  Woot woot!

{nine}

Avery rode with us in the Cecilia Days parade.  She was waving with both hands, blowing kisses to the crowd and yelling "hi!"  Apparently, Marty and I have a future politician on our hands. 

{ten}

Avery's one year pictures are done!!  I can't wait to see the entire slideshow, but here's a little sneak peek. :)  Hard to believe our petite little girl is ONE!

High TEN for Friday everyone!!

It's okay to be a follower. I promise.

I'm going to do a little bit of self-promoting.  Bear with me for one measly little blog post.

Blogging is extremely cathartic.  It's a great way to release your emotions and reflect on the things that went on during the week.  Even though I do most of the blogging for myself, it's nice to know that people are actually reading what I'm posting.  It's an ah-mazing feeling when I've written a blog post that I feel good about and I see that 94 people have read it.  Sometimes, though, it can be discouraging when I see that I have only 11 followers and one person subscribed to my blog through email {HUGE thank you to those 12 peeps}.  When I look at those numbers, I think "Should I just stop blogging?  I don't really have anyone that reads it anyway!"  Since becoming a blogger and being aware of my own follower numbers, I try to check out as many new blogs as I can...and if I love them, I become a follower.  It's just a simple way to tell the author "Hey.  I like you and I like what you're saying.  Keep doing what you're doing."  So I'm throwing out a plea....if you're a faithful follower of this blog through my Facebook account, take a second and become a follower. If you're REALLY interested in what I have to say, subscribe to email updates every time I put up a new post{the email subscription sign up and becoming a follower can both be found on the right ------>}.    If you're new to this blog, WELCOME!  I hope you'll stick around and like what you see and eventually become a follower.  Thanks from the very bottom of my bloggin-lovin' heart. :)