Five Minute Friday: “Friend”

Blessed.  That’s what I am.  Blessed for my circle of friends and the family that I am surrounded by who are the best of friends.  And I strive to be more like these beautiful women.

My baby sister is one of the bestest friends any girl could wish for.  She believes in me no matter what.  She offers the most unconditional love.  A love that is second only to my Grandma’s love.  I’m blessed to have aunts who are my friends, my role models, and the women God intended to guide me when my Grandmother would no longer be around.  And they have.  They give me more grace than I deserve.  The world’s sweetest friend is my little cousin whose calm brings warmth & peace to my heart; she knows and offers an unconditional love that matches my baby sisters.  I’m so grateful for the women in my family who are my friends.

And I’m grateful for my friends who have become my family.  My best friend.  She shares my past, believes in my future, and always reminds me of my faith.  She knows the good, the bad and above all else she knows my heart and I know hers.  She is my family.  I have an amazing friend who has been there to nanny both my boys, been to church camp with me and offers a smile and an ear that is unmatched to any other.  My real life cheerleader in Arizona who cheers for me, supports me and is 100% on my side. Always. Without fail.  We share similar parenting styles, tea, tears, and so many laughs.

I thank God for all of my mommy friends (near and far) who have shared the stages of pregnancy / birth / infancy / toddler & beyond with me.  They accept me for who I am – a momma with sleepless and scattered thoughts who loves them, appreciates them, wants good for them, and enjoys sharing their tots & this stage of life together.

I want to be the friend to each and every one of my friends that they have been to me.  A blessing.  My five minutes are up – time to post without editing (eeek).  There are so many others I’m grateful for!!  Thank you all.  You women noted above know who you are.  I love you!
-T

Note:  Five Minute Friday is where hundreds of people come together in a kind of writing flash mob.  We write for five minutes flat.  All on the same prompt that is posted by Lisa-Jo Baker, author of “surprised by motherhood” .  We connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty.  There is no extreme editing, major grammar or punctuation correction.  Just happily free writing.  Unscripted.  Unedited.  Real.  And in support of each other.  Read more “Friend” posts here.

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Calling all iPhone picture takers… it’s time to Collect!

The Collect App is a fabulous invention for iPhone users who would like a daily digital photographic journal of their memories.  A huge thank you goes to a friend of mine in Georgia for recommending this app to me. It quickly became one of my favorite apps of all time. I LOVE PICTURES.

As with a lot of apps there is a free version in the iTunes app store as well as an upgraded paid version that you can purchase via the free Collect App after you have downloaded it to your phone. The paid pro version is only $1.99 and in my opinion it is worth the two bucks. Both versions allow the user to add comments as photo titles as well as tags to easily search for later. They both also include the option of a daily push reminder if you haven’t added a photo to your timeline by evening. However, while the free Collect App keeps a beautiful calendar with a few options the upgrade will get you the awesome option of printing your photos to be framed or added to a scrapbook.

To print your Collect Photos from the Pro edition simply select the individual photos and/or month of photos you’d like to print then select “export” and follow the prompts.  You will be prompted to choose one of the three size options, card format (which is like choosing your “filter” on Instagram), print bleed, card back, and finally decide whether or not to include your verbiage recorded in the notes and then export to either your camera roll or to Dropbox.  (If you do not already have a Dropbox account, I recommend giving them a try. It is a free service that will host your photos and files via the internet giving you the ability to login from anywhere to access your files.) Once you have exported your Collect photos you can print them from either your computer or upload them to the photo lab of your choice for printing. As you become more familiar with the app try creating a collage or a video; two additional fun options that the Collect App offers. Trust me, it is easier than it sounds.
A final tip: you can at ANY time go back to previous calendar dates to add photos. There is no pressure on assigning photos every day. Just click on the date you want to add a photo to and select the photo from your iPhone camera roll taken that day.

It’s fun. It’s easy. And it’s free. Try it out and let me know what you think www.twitter.com/tagsthoughts.
– T

© 2014 All opinions are my own. www.tagsthoughts.com
I did not receive goods/funds/sponsorship to write this review.

to view more of my favorites, check out my FAVORITES PAGE

Finally… My First Post

Since 2008 I’ve imagined myself writing a blog.  I envisioned myself sitting down with a glass of iced tea or a cup of hot tea and taking a moment to share with my readers something I love.  Something like a product, a place, a thing, a simple recipe, small business, play date location, or app that they may not have otherwise been introduced to.  Sharing my favorite finds and reviewing products I can’t live without.  There would of course be times I shared reviews on something I didn’t love so much or a comparison of something I loved less and then there would be times I’d share part of my journey as a wife & mother.  Finally, after six years, I’m doing it.  I’m finally writing my first blog.  I realize I’m late to the blogging community; in November 2013 Brandon Gaille wrote an article for WPVirtuoso.com noting “a new blog is created somewhere in the world every half a second”.

Fast forward to April 2014, after six years of sitting on my bucket list, I decided (with the encouragement of my sweet little cousin) that it was time for my half a second.  In 2008 I had an 8th grader, a full-time job, was a newlywed and we had just purchased a home in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I am now the mother of a toddler and a teenager, work from home in San Diego, California and juggle a wonderful life filled with blissful chaos.  My boys keep me on my toes and keep a smile on my face.  Some days I smile because of the comedy I incur from saying things like “I’m sorry Mickey Mouse Clubhouse isn’t on TV right now, no drinking and driving and don’t do anything stupid” in the same breath.  Other days I smile because of the challenge of choosing to laugh rather than cry as my oldest is struggling with his Statistics homework frustrated with me that I didn’t share a math gene, while my youngest is crying because he can’t get his “wegos to fit” then while forcing the Lego blocks together and fighting back tears he suddenly remembers he wanted the red vitamin for breakfast, not the orange one.  Here come the tears. And why wouldn’t he cry, who wouldn’t?  Red always trumps orange.  Not to mention he woke with the plan to go to Disneyland yet the adults in the home did not plan the same agenda on a Tuesday that his parents are both working and his Bubba has college classes to attend.  Insert smile.

Thank you for being my first blog readers.  I hope you come back and I look forward to hearing from you, my readers, about all the products, people, places, and things you love (and don’t love). Contact me on Twitter.

Now… back to client work & my tea before naptime is over.
– T

to read more about me, check out my ABOUT PAGE