Where's Entirely Emily been?

Hey y'all!  It's been a long while. For some reason or another I lost the urge to blog three times a week and then it was hard to do 2 times and then  even one time was just too much.I flat out just didn't' feel like it. My kids seemed to need me more and when I heard the little voice in my head saying " You HAVE to go blog about something."  I told it to shut the hell up and go away.

I love blogging but something had to give and it was the one thing I didn't HAVE to do.  I just don;t know what changed and why I didn't feel the urge as much but it was good to get away for while but....

I really started to miss you guys.  I miss my blog friends and  the conversations we would have. I feel like I don't even know what's going on in the blog-o-sphere anymore.

I have been busy getting out there and taking photos for friends and family to start a photo business. But again,  kids come first and I can't even get as into that as I would like. I see some of you doing it all and I wonder why I can't?   Maybe I'm not built that way. I want to be but maybe I just can't handle it.

I have so many ideas and things I want to blog  about  and SO not enough time in which to do it. This isn't something I should get stressed about but I was.  I want to be at the same level as some of you but have come to realize that I can't...just not right now.  When my kids are in school more often, I feel like then I will rock this shiz-nit! But for now, I will  blog and then I will break  and then I will blog and find a good place for me to be.

I have lost some of my followers but I hope there are some of you out there that will stick with me.  I always appreciate your comments and your friendship even if I go missing for a few days/weeks from my blog.

I know you understand and I hope you're still there  listening to my ramblings.


Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now


Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff
Cheerios and Lattes

I love mail!

When I saw that  Kim (Pink, Pearls, Polkadots) and Haley (Haley's World)over at and were having a postcards swap, I had to sign up. I love swaps and getting REAL mail...especially when it's not a bill!

I got matched up with Tori from over at Lil Mrs.Tori. She has the sweetest little family of boys, that I can't get enough of. Maybe it's because I have all girls :) It's fun to hear the stories from the other side of mommyhood.

Tori lives in  California and she is currently getting ready to move to LA.  With her husband in the military, she moves alot and I don't know how she does it.  I can't imagine how hard that is.  Here's the postcard she sent me of  Avila Beach, CA . I hope I can make it back to Cali some day( I went once to San Francisco for a few days).  Sun all of the time and warm,  what's better than that?

Tori  is a crafty momma doing stuff like this baby blanket.

And this awesome nightstand redo.

Tori  also hosts some cool linky parties:



A party where you can link up what you have been up to in the bloggy world.


And the Instafriends party to show off all those cool photos that you have taken on your smart phone. Now that I have a smart phone ( ya, I know, I'm behind the times) I can finally join in the fun.

I'm so glad I got to meet Tori and follow another cool blogger.  Check her out!

Linking up with Pink, Pearls, and Polkadots

Linky Party Organizer ( Printable and Downloadable)

Long Long ago..... you know, March or April of this year, I started really participating in linky parties.  I had linked up to some before attending Bloggy Boot Camp-Saint Louis.  After being there and meeting some great ladies and hearing all of the advice,  I really ramped up my involvement.  So involved that I didn't know which projects had been shared with which linky parties. Oops!

I decided to make a Excel spreadsheet with the days of the week, linky parties I participated in, and  which projects I shared.  I've been using this form ever since.  It didn't dawn on me until talking to a friend, that not everybody knows how to use Excel or make spreadsheets. So I thought I would share mine with you. I'm by no means an expert. But I can be quite dangerous looking up how to do things on Google.

                                                       Click  here to download

It's not super fancy or cute but it works and helps me remember ( you know that mommy brain) what I linked up and who I linked up with. I type in the name of  the post I am linking up in the column with the date on it.  If for some reason I didn't link up that week, people don't have the party that week, it's not up  in the morning, or I'm sick... I will type an x in the space. See in the green circle,vacation.

I've already set up the dates for you on  the top to be every seven days depending on the day of the week. And the far right column that has the linky party names is frozen so you can move the dates over and not have to scroll off the page. Try it. It's fun. (1) To unfreeze it go up to View, Freeze Panes, Un Freeze Panes. (2) Easy as that.

 Your tabs will be on the bottom for the different days. (3) I left  the linky parties that I  like and link up to in there. You should check them out. They are all great ladies who throw great parties. If you don't need any more parties, then you can  start fresh and type in your own over mine.(1) I don't have any on Sundays right now. It's just too busy for me.

I've also made a more user friendly option for those that want to print something out and put it in a binder, which I may do myself...someday. You know, when I start on that to-do list.

 There is a vertical list and a horizontal list. I will say that the horizontal list gives you way more space for linky parties and columns to type in.  These were all done in Excel. I can always figure out how to make them into blank forms if people want. Or PDFs.  I'm still learning this printable thing.

                                                              Vertical - Horizontal

I couldn't figure out how to make the border go all the way around. So if you know, let me know, and  I'll fix it for everyone else.   I hope this can help someone else stay as organized as it has helped me.

On a side note- it took all day ( in between mommy stuff)  to figure out how to get this to you guys.  I normally use Google Docs for my downloadable stuff but it took my Excel file and did wonky things with them. So this time I am using Drop Box.  You get 2.5 GB free. That's a pretty good amount.

Again, if something isn't working , let me know. I want help you, not confuse or frustrate you. :)

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
DIY Shop - Lines Across My Face -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday
How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Debbie Does Creations - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
- Junk in Their Trunk  - Southern Lovely  -SNAP

Thursday
 Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life - The Shabby Cottage
The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Here Comes the Sun

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff
Cheerios and Lattes
Natasha in Oz -Say G'Day

I'm a Newbie!

I was super excited when Gina from Random thoughts of an incoherant mind  contacted me and said I was the Newbie spotlight of the week. Ever since I started linking up to Debbie Doos' Newbie Party every Monday, I was always thinking....Man, I wonder if I'll ever get the Newbie Spotlight. And here I am and I can't believe it. You really made this girl/mom/woman feel special.



If you are a newbie, it's a great place to meet others like us and also some other very creative ladies who aren't newbies but are here to share with us, encourage us and help us grow.

Shannon and Fox Hollow Cottage

Gina from Random thoughts from an incoherent mind

Debbie from Refresh Restyle

Wow...bloggy friends are awesome!

 I couldn't believe it when I got a message from Sheila at Blissfully Shabby that she nominated me for a  Versatile Blogger Award.  After getting the Kreativ Blogger, and Sunshine Award,  I  was humbled enough.

I love to blog. It has shown me that there is a bigger world of kind and positive people.  I am so glad you are out there.  Blogging has been something that has brought me so much joy and fun since I started. I can't wait to see where it takes me next. I do what I do to share with everybody.

 Here are the rules for this award:

 1. Thank the Blogger who nominated you.

 2. Include a link to their site.

 3. Include the award image in your post.

 4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

 5. Nominate 15 other Bloggers for the award.

 6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

 7. Let other Bloggers know they have been nominated.

Thank you so much , Sheila @ Blissfully Shabby.   I love her repurposing of things. It looks so effortless. And she has way more than that. Check her out!

 Now for the seven random facts..hmmm... It's hard to keep coming up with stuff. I'll never need an about me page because you all will know everything already.

1. The only surgery I've had was to extract my four wisdom teeth and I was so doped up that I was singing  Christmas songs before I went to sleep.

2. If  I could go back in time, I would meet my great grandparents and tell them where to buy property and some stocks to buy so they could have an easier life. (and maybe their descendants too)

3. I wear contacts/glasses.  I can't see more than  a foot from my face without them. Sigh.


4. I have seasonal allergies so the beginnings of spring and fall suck big time.

5. I think I've had the same haircut for 11 years at least but I love it and it works for me.  I may keep it until I'm too old to brush it myself.

6. I have 368  fonts on my computer and growing... I have a font problem. Is there a group for that?

7. I  cry more than anyone I know.  You name it....commercials, songs, movies, and  just life sometimes.


And here are, in no particular order and not that I don't love you all because I do, the 15 blogs I want to nominate for the award:

Natasha  @ Natasha in Oz
   
Simoney @ GreatFun 4Kids

Rhiannon @ being ( mom) me

Brooke @ Crazy Mama Drama


Ann @ Horse Country Chic
Laura  @ Cookies, Crusts, and Sawdust

Melissa @ Loving this Crazy Life

Randi @ Dukes and Duchesses

Rob, Megan, Wynn, Amy and Chris @ Our Pinteresting Family

Evelyn @ My turn for Us

Janice @ Janice's Footsteps

Marilyn @ 4 You with Love


Mackenzie @  Cheerios and Lattes

Trish@  3 Kids and a breakdown

Debbie @ Debbie does Creations


( and if any of you ladies has received this award already, please don't feel as if you need to do it again)

I'd like to thank the academy....uh... I mean Janice

Say what?

Janice over at Janice's Footsteps was kind enough to nominate me for the  Kreativ Blogger Award. Yippee. How cool is that? My first bloggy award. I'm pretty excited about that. Thank you so much, Janice. You are always reading and always leaving me great comments. I'm happy to pay it forward.(1)Thank You

According to the Kreativ blogger rules, accepting the award includes the following:

1. Thanking the blogger who nominated me to receive the award and providing a link back to their blog
2. Sharing 10 things about yourself that bloggers might find interesting!

3. Nominate 6 other bloggers to receive the award and inform them.


(2) 10 Things about me
So...wow... 10 things. I haven't even gotten my about me page up yet so I'll have to leave some things for that ( wink wink). I can give out all the good stuff, right?

So here are ten random things about me:

1. I'm pretty lactose intolerant. But I still eat ice cream because I love it. It's a very one sided relationship.

2. My favorite day of the week is Saturday. But Thursday is Friday-eve ( right, Tasha?) so it's a close second.

3. I can not play any musical instrument. But I wish I could play the guitar, ukelele,piano or violin.  I'll be softly pushing my daughters towards one  of those.

4. I've never been on TV that I know of and I'm not sure if I want to be.

5. I'm a night owl but I love the early morning. go figure.

6. I used to have two ear piercing per ear in high school and college. Man, I'm glad I didn't do more.

7. I've never really had a nickname except Em. Not real exciting.

8. Never smoked  a thing ( except second hand, yucky)

9. I'm not too much into hard rock. There are a few I like but not many.

10. I wouldn't mind seeing a ghost but it has to be a friendly, not ugly or scary one.

(3) 6 Great/Creative Blogs

Now I get to nominate 6 other blogging ladies who blogs I enjoy...how do I choose? ( I would also like to say that I lllloooooovvveeee all of my new bloggy friends and followers. Please don't be mad {timidly}.)

Erin @ My Very Educated Mother - always cooking, crafting, blogging, teaching , being a mom. She's a one woman do-everythinger.  Did I mention she's  has a degree in writing? So I'm not sure if that last word will bother her or not  :)

Megan @ Life, Love, and Lily at the Pendleton House -with her 40 before 40, she is accomplishing everything she wants to while creating, blogging and being a wife and mom.

Michelle @ Callia's Corner - She has so many great tips that are real and easy to do. And she just seems like a good friend to have around. We go to the library and  farmer's markets together ( ok not really but  we could)

Melanie @ Whimiscal Creations - Her clay sculptures are to die for. Every single one of them is cute.  I'm about ready to commission my whole family in clay.

Katie @ Katie Evans Photography - She has a clean  vibrant style of photography that speaks to me. And she pays it forward by helping the rest of us take better pictures. Meeting her is now on my to do list.

Katie @ Quality Cheap Home - She is so sweet and talented. She hosts a great linky party. She also has such a wide variety of craft, DIY, and transformations that there is something for everybody and you can't get bored.

I  hope everyone has a great weekend and if you want to pass this award on, I hope you do. It's really fun to tell each other  what a good job we are doing.