It’s a mix of a week with tough topics and a more lighthearted giveaway. If you haven’t entered yet, please do! You have all weekend to enter daily and share with your friends. From time to time I like to share a few fun things about me or products that I particularly enjoy. By doing so, it gives you a little insight into who I am beyond my story of struggle and abuse survival. Here’s what I’m liking lately:
Charming Charlie: I may have mentioned my infatuation with Charlie before. If not, Charlie is a beautiful store, a Toys R Us for women, perhaps. It’s full of accessories. Lots and lots of accessories. Watches, earrings, rings, bracelets, shoes, hats, purses, hair jewelry, cell phone cases, scarves, evensome choice clothing pieces. It’s divine and the store is divided up into accessories by color and sometimes by category such as nautical, patriotic, and so on. There’s a beautiful section devoted to formal jewelry and headpieces for weddings or formal affairs. And that’s not even the best part: They have great prices! I got this small haul at their 75% off sale earlier this week. Oh, Charlie… (Fun fact: I got everything in that picture of my haul for just over $30).
L’Oreal Smooth Intense Products: These products are great and effective if you want smoother, sleeker hair. I use them all and if I have to use my flat-iron at all, it’s very little the days I use this product. I smooth the ends only. Smooth Intense really does help keep the straight look longer between shampoos. I received these from Influenster so I could try the products and review them and I’ve used them ever since they arrived in my mailbox. My hair feels overall healthier and shinier when I use these goodies too.
Summer TV: With the warm weather also comes the summer season of TV. Mind you, we spend a lot of time outside, reading, writing, running around during the summer. I like to be outside as much as possible and even though my teenagers give me static, I make them like it too. But there are those summer shows I enjoy. Wayward Pines is a new favorite. I’ve always liked M. Night Shyamalan. He’s unpredictable in his writing. My family complains that I ruin shows and movies and it’s true. But they’re usually so predictable! I can often tell you within the first five minutes or less exactly how the rest of the movie will play out and 95% of the time I will say the next line before the actor says it. It don’t know if it’s a quirky skill or an annoyance, but it’s fun when the writing is unpredictable and now, I simply must see what’s really going on in Wayward Pines. I don’t really think it’s far into the future, do you?
Another brand-new-to-me favorite is Daredevil, a Netflix original series. These superhero shows aren’t generally my thing, but my son has been watching it so I thought I’d be a good parent and check it out. My husband and I binge-watched three episodes last night, stopping only because he had to get to sleep. I have thought about it all day and I’m not ashamed. I can’t wait to catch a couple more episodes after the gym and dinner tonight!
Periscope: Have you heard of this revolutionary app, Persiscope?? It’s owned by Twitter and I learned about it from a writer friend this week. At first, I thought maybe I shouldn’t get involved. How much social media can I keep up with really? I love Periscope! I downloaded the app and decided to give it a chance. My friend’s video was the first I watched and I was sold. Here’s the scoop: You sign in through your Twitter account or create one and you follow people similar to Twitter, but it’s all little “broadcasts.” I can get on from anywhere with an internet connection and talk to you live. I can’t see you, but you can see me and you can live comment to which I can respond back in real-time. There’s a wealth of cool information about networking, blogging, faith given by regular folks and famous folks. And it’s fun. This quick videos allow you to connect and gain some real knowledge and follow some people worth following. You really must check it out!
Note Cards: Simple enough, yes? Note cards are really old school now, just like paper and pen lists and writing things out. I was going through some things and purging and found an unopened package of note cards, much to my delight. I’ve implemented these into our daily lives and surprisingly, these simplistic things have played a starring role in the reorganizing of our house and the scheduling of our summer. I have teenagers and they’re very capable of achieving greatness in the area of housecleaning, so every night before I lay my head upon my pillow, I make a chore list for each of them. They have chores year-round but now that it’s summer, I’ve been throwing a few extra responsibilities their way. It’s good for them, keeps them away from screen time a little longer each day, and helps me. I am thankful. I place these cards on the kitchen counter where, though they try to pretend they don’t see them, they’re clearly visible. They’ve adapted. I use them for to-do lists and grocery lists, jotting down writing ideas, and even as a bookmark in the current books I’m reading.
Have a beautiful Friday. Remember how special you are and if you’re struggling, know that you’re not alone. If someone is hurting you, it’s not your fault. You don’t deserve this and you didn’t ask for it. Find a trusted friend and get help.
Stay Beautiful,
