Friday, January 30, 2015

joy



I absolutely love being a mor (aka mom)! I always wanted to be a mother, but you never know what the experience is truly like until you are doing it. And I love it! Esther is such a joy to be around. She loves to smile. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, but I see this smiling face all day long:) She is obviously a baby and has needs that a baby has and my body aches and I am sleep deprived ... but when I look into her eyes and see her smile (or even when she cries  ... does any one else find baby cries adorable?) it is all so worth it! I have a Type A personality for the most part and I have been surprised how it hasn't really bothered me that my house isn't picked up and that there are millions of  things on my to do list ... I mean I would love to get those things done, but if it is between getting those things done and spending time with sweet little Esther (even if she is fussy) - I choose Esther every time. I am so thankful for this little girl. I feel so privileged to be able to be her mor. I know that I may be in the honeymoon phase and some days are harder than others ... but I truly believe that I am doing what I feel called to do. I just love our little family and I am so thankful for the sacrifice of so many that has allowed this incredible blessing of God. God has been so faithful and it has filled my heart with so much joy!

Thursday, January 29, 2015

diy thursday: birthday freebies


It was my birthday earlier this month and I got to enjoy some birthday freebies:) I love a good deal and FREE food qualifies for that ... and it is even better at restaurants you like eating at even when it's not free:) This year it looked a little different since we had a newborn baby in tow - but we made a few adjustments and still got to enjoy most of the free meals we usually get.

I have had several people ask me about my list of birthday freebies so I thought I would list some of my favorites.


I will start with the ones that require an ID - meaning you have to eat there on your actual birthday and prove it with your ID. We live in Arizona in the East Valley so we can enjoy what my husband refers to as the triple threat: Liberty Market, Joe's Farm Grill and Joe's BBQ. They all give you $10 towards your meal - which is pretty much a free meal at these places. YUM!

Another two places I usually visit on my birthday because they require ID is Firehouse Subs (free medium sub) and Dutch Bros (free large drink) ... yes Dutch Bros is a must! Chompies also offers a free breakfast and so does Denny's on your actual birthday, but I usually don't take advantage of those - just not enough space in my stomach.

There are lots of places you can sign up for email updates that will send you a coupon for a free meal/snack/drink on your birthday. Some of my favorites are The Keg ($25 towards an entree),Grimaldi's Pizza (free large pizza one topping up to $18), Which Which (free small sub), Jason's Deli ($5 towards meal), Mellow Mushroom ($5 towards meal), Genghis Grill (free regular bowl), Schlotzsky's (free small sandwich), Rubios (free entree), Starbucks (free drink), Dunkin Donuts (free medium drink), Krispy Kreme (free doughnut and coffee), Sprinkles Cupcakes (free cupcake), Culvers (free ice cream)

There are also lots of places that will send you coupons for BOGO type of offers such as Benihana, Zoes Kitchen, Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Bruegger's Bagles, Johnny Rockets or lots of places that offer a free dessert if you buy an entree. I don't love these offers because they are really not giving you much free since you end up spending money on a meal when you otherwise wouldn't have gone to that restaurants. Places I will take advantage of this kind of deal are places like Fox Restaurant Concepts (free dessert with entree purchase) or Postino (free dessert with entree purchase) - because those restaurants are just so yummy and any excuse to go .... right?:)

There are also lots of places you can get free items or money if you are on their email list such as Ulta, Sephora, World Market etc.

Enjoy!

PS. I am sorry I didn't include links to all of these places, but with a newborn I opted for not spending the time adding the links ... I will try to do that soon. In the meantime a simple Google search should do the job if you aren't familiar with the restaurant URL:)


Thursday, January 1, 2015

happy new year!




happy new year from THIS girl and her parents:) we look forward to seeing what 2015 has in store.