College & Textbooks

When I first started college, I had no idea how much my parents were providing for me. 

Tuition? Pretty obvious. 

But there are so many other added expenses that went along with it. 

Rent. Food. Gas. Laptops (if you're as clumsy talented as me, you went through multiple in your college career).

And good old fashioned school supplies. 

Except when you get to college, your school supplies jump from the $1.99 spiral notebook from Staples, to the $300 math textbook from the school book store. 

Say whaaat?

Mom and Dad may have covered the bill for the majority of my years in school, but by my last few quarters, they started teaching this girl some financial responsibility. 

AKA: I was on my own, and not super stoked about it. 

Clearly I didn't want to fork up all of my savings to books that I'd only be using for a few months, so I needed to get creative. 

This is where online shopping skills came in handy! And here you thought it was just a dangerous habit.   

CampusBookRentals.com is a company that lets you order your books online for a much better deal, like what I did!

With free shipping, there's not much to lose except for that dent in your savings account that would be there had you not gone online. 

And I think we can all agree that we're better off without that dent, anyhow!

CampusBookRentals.com even has an additional site where you can go to rent your books out to other students, and while you're at it, make some extra cash!

I think my favorite part about this company, is the fact that they have a giving heart. This year, they are donating over 1,000 life saving cleft lip surgeries through their partnership with Operation Smile. 

And you can read all about their Making a Difference movement here.

For my readers who are still in school, I would absolutely recommend saving yourself some money with CampusBookRentals.com. 

Or even making yourself some money with RentBack.com!

Happy Saturday, friends!

I'm home in Sweet Home San Diego for my 10K! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, 

& can't wait to be back on Monday to share all about the race!

Spreading more L-O-V-E!

Earlier this week, I expressed my love for blogger gift swaps. I love them so much, that I did 2 this Valentine's season!

Twice the love, ladies! I'm one lucky gal :)

The wonderful Erin and Megan organized the Spread the Love swap:

I loved how they organized this, each person was assigned another blogger to shop for, but it wasn't necessarily the person shopping for you. So you got to meet two bloggers instead of just one!

Again, double the love, people. I'm a big fan!

I was fortunate enough to have one of the lovely hosts assigned to me, Mrs. Megan who blogs over at Table for Three.

It has been so fun getting to know her, and her family. They have the most adorable little daughter, Olivia. Head on over and check them out, will ya?

Megan definitely did her research, and sent me some of my favorite things!

Everything was packaged in a giant white box, isn't it fun getting big packages delivered to your door?

I loved the wrapping paper, unwrapping something always adds to the excitement of a gift. And I was so excited to see my favorite treats in there. Nuts, trail mix, and strawberry gummies? Not sure I've ever seen a more perfect snack collection. 

All of the snacks were in an adorable heart shaped bowl that I know will be coming in handy!

And love the nail polish color, can't wait to try it out!

Thank you so much, Megan! I absolutely love the gift!!

Happy Friday, friends!

If you've got a sec, stop by Ashley's blog to say hello and see what goodies I sent her!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Guys, I'm warning you. I think a serious case of word vomit is about to happen. 

Does saying the word "vomit" on Valentine's Day totally ruin the mood? My bad. 

Anywho. 

I have a confession to make. 

I love you guys. 

Phew, glad to get that out in the open. 

Yupp, I really really love you guys. You make my days brighter. All of you.

My friends in real life that read this blog? You make my life better. 

Whether I see you every single day, or maybe facebook has turned into the main way that we keep in touch. Regardless, I am so thankful to have you in my life. 

Whether it's your face that brightens my day, or your facebook status update. Thank you.

And my blog friends that I have yet to meet in real life? You make my life better.

Those that consistently come visit every day to see what significant or insignificant thing my heart wanted to post on? Thank you. 

Thank you for showing me so much love through your encouraging comments. 

And those that have stopped by once or twice? Yes, you make my life better, too!

That was the kind of reader that I was in the beginning. And heck, I don't think I knew how to leave a comment even if I wanted to. But I read, and the words spoke to my heart.

So even if you're not commenting or making your presence known, thank you for taking the time to read. 

So I feel pretty darn lucky today, because I don't have one Valentine. 

I have all of you!

Yupp, you thought your hubby was your Valentine? Ha, surprise!

But in all honesty, let me say it one more time. 

Thank you.

Thank you for being a part of my life, and showing me Christ's love through your incredible friendships. 

He Took our Shame

Shame [sheym]

Noun

1. The painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another. She was overcome by shame.

2. Susceptibility to this feeling: to be without shame.

3. Disgrace; ignominy: His actions brought shame upon his parents. 

{According to Dictionary.com)

February 8th, 2013

7:00AM

I learned this week how important it is that you removed our shame. You removed our shame not so that we can continue sinning, but so that we can be healed. Without shame, we are free to share our weaknesses and struggles, and that is when we open our hearts to you. By making ourselves vulnerable, we allow your healing hand into our burdened hearts. 

By removing our shame, you made it so we can learn from each other. Our weaknesses and struggles gain purpose when they point others to you. 

We are also able to form true and lasting friendships when we are able to look at our brothers and sisters and say "Here is my heart, stains and all."

When we present our stains, you are ready with open arms to cleanse our hearts. 

I wanted to share that excerpt from my journal.

Lately, I've been feeling incredibly thankful that Jesus came and removed our shame. 

The shame that will tempt me to keep my struggles hidden. The shame that tries to convince me that I will never live up to God's expectations, and therefore am unworthy of His love. The shame that Satan uses to taint my view of myself, a child created in the image of God.

Do you ever feel that shame? 

Well, if you do, I have good news.

Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. 

The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more, 

for your Creator will be your husband.

The Lord Almighty is His name!

He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 54: 4-5

That is truth, my friends. 

So let's walk in that today, shall we? We are redeemed by the Lord Almighty. And we are free to walk in His love, rather than our shame. 

Goodbye shame. You will not be missed. 

Valentine Blogging Party!

Blogger gift exchanges are the best, aren't they? You get to know another blogger, get to have fun shopping for them, and get a lovely package delivered to your door? 

There's just nothing better than snail mail. 

Last year, I signed up for the 2012 Blogging Party and was paired with Kelly, who has since gone on to have the most adorable baby boy. (If you could use some more cuteness on your Instagram feed, check out @kellymann). 

When I saw that the party was continuing this year with the Valentine Blogging Party, I knew I had to join in the fun. 

Thanks Alycia, Casey, Nicole, Lauren and Ashlee for hosting! And for pairing me up with this wonderful lady: 

Sarah is a wife and a mommy to a cute little one, and blogs over at Random Thoughts & Feelings. She happens to live just south of me, so I know exactly what she's talking about with that 405 traffic. 

And not to mention, she picks out great gifts!

I love everything! And I know it will all be immediately put to good use. 

Especially the envelope clutch which she made! Girl is crafty too!

And her birthday was on Sunday, so head on over and wish her a Happy Belated Birthday, will ya? 

Love you guys! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

So What's a Flex Day?

If we're pals on Instagram (@sweethomesb), then you might have noticed that I got a little hashtag happy with #tgiflexday yesterday. 

What is a flex day, you ask? 

Well when I switched jobs, I got to switch to a pretty sweet schedule. I work 9 hour days, and get every other Friday off. For a girl who likes to do some major adventuring on weekends, those 3 day weekends are wonderful. 

So I'm gonna keep this hashtag biznass up to keep track of how I spend these glorious days!

And yesterday, my friends, was perfect. 

Oh, and caught up on Grey's Anatomy. 

All before 8AM! Getting woken up early aint too bad.

This work out was awesome, guys. 

Only about a half hour, and boy was I sweating!

(PS: Check out Tab's blog here. Love having besties in real life who blog, too!)

Ashlee being my future roomie (as of March 1st!). 

And guess what, she blogs too. 

Then went thrifting with my good friend Claire!

This one doesn't have a blog yet, but she wants to start one! Just got engaged to her British fiance currently living in England. And they met, get this, on a missions trip in Africa! Ya'll would totally read a blog about that love story, right? 

Little brother and Dad were in town for a few hours, so scurried over to meet them while I could!

Then went home to relax for a few hours. Did some reading and caught up on New Girl. 

And that's all I have to say about that. 

Oh except that I love this show and if you don't watch it you might want to start :)

Like I said, best day ever. 

Feeling pretty darn blessed right about now. 

Love you all! Go have yourselves a wonderful Saturday!