One of my resolutions this year was to stay on top of sending out birthday cards to family and close friends. I was pretty good about it when I was younger, but definitely haven't done so well in the past few years. I would often remember birthdays but wait too long to buy a card (and was too embarrassed to mail one late!). I, however, love getting real mail and thus love sending cards as they are a nice little pick-me-up.




I thought about the best course of action to make this work. Should I just go card shopping on the first of each month and have the cards ready to mail? That can get pricy. Buy boxes of cards in bulk so I always have something on hand? I was seriously exploring this route, but I often discover that these cards rarely say what I'd like them to.

Finally, I remembered a resource - the one I was hinting at earlier this week. Thanks to a BNI connection, I had become familiar with a new-ish company called Send Out Cards. Basically, you can customize and mail cards right from your computer at the right time! This company uses the network marketing model (like Arbonne), so you will have to find a rep to sign up through (or I will happily refer you to mine because she i super sweet!)... this rep and the resources they share will be a godsend because the software does have a bit of a learning curve. I figured many things out on my own, but I watch the tutorial vids whenever I have time as it makes my experience so much simpler!

Here's how it works: each card costs a certain number of "credits," which you can buy a la carte or via a monthly plan. I chose a $10/month plan which allows me enough credits for the cards I need (and so far, I've had leftovers- thankfully they do roll over!) At first I wrestled with if I wanted to pay that for cards, but have you shopped the card aisle lately? Some of them are nearly $10 each! Yikes!

Plenty of images and styles to choose from.

The credits correspond with what you choose and how much customization you do - fewer credits for a simple postcard, more credits for adding your own photos or choosing larger cards. January was crazy for me, so I sent postcards because it was all I had time to fully figure out once I'd imported my contacts. By February, I had a few tutorials under my belt and felt comfortable creating traditional 2-panel cards.

You can customize pretty much anything.

I love that I can make each card unique, but my favorite part is what makes this work for me - the shipping. You put extra funds in your account for postage and tell SOC approximately when to mail the card. So, if it's the first of the month, I would have them mail a card today if their special day was within the next week, but if it isn't til later in the month, I can specify another ship date so they receive the card at an appropriate time. No buying stamps or forgetting to drop the card in the mailbox! The only thing I have to do is remember the birthdays! I keep this simple by writing them all in my planner - each month I just see who is when and take care of business!

I sent out four cards for February birthdays and three friends texted me immediately to say thanks and give good feedback - I customized one and chose generic covers for the others. The site is full of templates, clip art, and fonts to choose from...or, upload your own photo! Once you get the hang of things, your membership is a huge asset!

Plus, I'm thinking....with all these leftover points, maybe I'll have enough snowballed to do all my Christmas cards through them! ;)




PS- I had zero incentive whatsoever to write this. I'm just grateful that it has worked out so well for me!

February is ending this week - that means we've had two months to work on our resolutions. How are you doing? Are you plugging away or have you left them by the wayside?

In upcoming posts, I'll be sharing some resources that have helped me accomplish my re•solves for 2014. In the meantime, I thought I'd share an update on where I am:

1. Not Settle. Professionally, this is a win. I landed my "dream job" earlier this month and couldn't be happier. Now I'll be applying that principle as Sean and I search for a new place - the commute is awful and prices are high, but we need to not take the first affordable thing that comes around just to avoid the commute if the place really isn't right for us. Also, as we start paying off all the fun events of last year, it's time to start enjoying life again and making time to do things together.

You can actually see my new office in this pic - taken on a day I went to check out a new place on my lunch break :)

2. Send Birthday Cards. January was a success. I signed up for a resource that I will be discussing in a later post that has made this a manageable goal for me. I almost forgot in February, but I got it done, even if a few people did get their cards a day or two late. Yikes! I better get to work on March this week to keep that from happening.

I also wanted to keep up with my 2013 lifestyle changes. I'm still vegetarian, Sean is still eating less meat, and I started using a new resource to bring some diversity into the kitchen - more on that later!

Seeing one of these boxes on my doorstep always makes my day.

We're also still using clean products. Arbonne is still a huge passion of mine and while I'm not focusing highly on growing the business right now, I continue to love and endorse the products and am always available to help. Be on the lookout for some skincare posts in the future!

I believe that the only thing better than promotion for your blog is free promotion for your blog, so each month, I give away just that!

The lovely February winners

Five lucky bloggers will have their 250x250 button on my sidebar for the month of March plus plenty of promotion from yours truly- I tweet and share your posts often, and give you access for the month to my sponsors-only Pinterest board where you can promote your posts to my audience of nearly 1,000!

What are you waiting for? Enter for your chance below! Check out details and what previous winners have had to say about their experience with me here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

While I don't talk fitness much here, I do exercise whenever possible. Classes work the best for me personally as I feel more accountable in a group. I've tried it all: spin, step, zumba....but my long-time favorite is Yoga. Even if it doesn't melt the pounds away, I can tell the difference in my body in terms of balance, flexibility, and lack of tension when I practice regularly.

My yoga mat. Kindness is universal.

Admittedly, my favorite part of Yoga is the end - if you've ever taken a class, you know what I'm talking about - that five minute delicious nap before moving along with your day. Relaxation and meditation are just as much a part of yoga as the poses themselves.

Growing up Christian, the "meditation" word quickly makes people uneasy. I've seen the look of concern from other believers when they hear I enjoy yoga - the word evokes visions of chanting and other taboo activities in many people's heads. The Bible encourages us to meditate on things that are true, noble, pure...but bring up meditation from another culture, and you can see people start to squirm.

I can understand. The unfamiliar can certainly be outside of one's comfort zone. But meditation comes in many forms and some of them are certainly worth your time for your physical and psychological well-being. I see no harm in lying on the floor and picturing myself on a sunny beach or physically releasing the tension from head to toe. In fact, I enjoy it and feel refreshed at the end.

The bottom line is, explore where you are comfortable. I haven't personally experienced the "scary" meditation many minds jump to when yoga is pictured. So, when I was contacted about a holistic wellness siminar with meditation guru Deepak Chopra, I was intrigued.

via

What would it be like? Is this what they were talking about? I decided to give it a shot since it was completely web-based and I could decide what I did and didn't participate in.

Screenshot taken from Siminar.

I knocked out the first course of the Siminar one Saturday and quickly found that I had nothing to be concerned about. The principles presented were ones that most humans acknowledge regardless of religious belief. As a "crunchy" person, most of the ideas presented were ones I completely agreed with.

I won't spoil too much content-wise, but the course was easy to complete. Each section felt brief and the modules combined audio, video, and images/quizzes addressing both mind and body health:

Screenshot taken from Siminar

Oh, and the meditation? 3 minutes of exactly what happens at the end of a yoga class: "breathe in, breathe out, pause...." Not so scary at all. The course could have taken longer had I participated more thoroughly in certain exercises assigned, but as a 20-something familiar with the concepts presented, I didn't feel the need to engage.

image taken from screenshot from Siminar

If you've been reading long, you know I love participating in Kaitlyn's Cara Box exchange. I had to take a round off when I wasn't working, but I was thrilled to jump back in on the most recent round, especially since she was pairing girls up by state of residence; it's very rare that I come across another Maryland blogger!

Today's post is dedicated to one Maryland blogger in particular - Elisabeth over at My Cup of Sparkle. Ironically, I saw a past Cara Box reveal post of hers, and the Old Bay in the picture was a dead giveaway that she was from (or at least living in) Maryland. I was paired up with her this round as well as Jen, an awesome non-blogger!

Elisabeth did an awesome job - everything she sent really demonstrated that she understood my "crunchy" factor - from natural lip balm and gloss to homemade bath salts and body scrubs...I loved every last thing.


 AND - being a fellow bunny owner, she even sent over a little something for Zoot!




On top of this, she was sweet enough to nominate me for The Liebster Award. As I've been nominated before, I'm not going to go through the whole process, rather just answer the questions she submitted to me and the other nominees :)



1. Who is your idol?
Being raised  a good church girl, I'm not a big fan of the word "idol." I'll play it safe here and say Jesus (you know, the whole "Have no other gods before Me" thing? I don't always act that way, but I should!)
2. How did you get into blogging?
I was itching to write and I had things to say! Really - I wasn't using my journalism degree, and all the changes I was making in my life offered a perfect opportunity to write if even just for myself. After following a few select blogs, I was sure I could do it too :)
3. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
To eat all the carbs, cheese, and dessert I want without gaining any weight!
4. What's your favorite TV show?
I don't watch often, but on Hulu I follow Hart of Dixie and Beauty & The Beast...Sean and I have also been watching My Name is Earl together - we're almost done!
5. What would your dream job be?
I'm starting it today! I want to use my communications skills for good which is exactly what I'll be doing at this non-profit.
6. If you could go back in time and do one thing differently, would you? And what would it be?
If I did that, I wouldn't have Sean...so, nothing. I don't believe in coincidence.
7. What's your favorite social media platform? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Pinterest?
Facebook and instagram for the most part - I'm a people watcher. Though I do love reading live tweets of major events - so funny!
8. Do you prefer cats or dogs or neither?
DOGS - all the way! We are dying to have one. Plus I have a (not so) lovely story from a cat owning friend of mine that reminds me cats aren't for me.
9. Whose blog is one of your favorite daily reads? 
Carolina Charm is a favorite of mine as is Hyperbole and a Half, although sadly we all know her posts are few and far between these days.
10. Do you have a "hidden" talent? What is it?
I love to sing but I have horrible stage fright so I guess it's hidden in a way.
11. Would you rather be be blind or deaf? Why?
I'm already half deaf, and it's annoying but sometimes convenient so I'll stick with that. I'm horribly nearsighted which is always a pain, and I would love nothing more than some LASIK.

Two months ago, I got a call from a temp agency I had submitted my info to about an opportunity in my town. I tried not to laugh in his face when he said it was a job with a construction company, and while it was temporary, it had the potential to become permanent.

Construction? Me? No way could I be the right person for that. The money was low, but ultimately I decided to give it a whirl as it was literally 5 minutes from my home and the "temporary" part of the equation lined up perfectly with a job opportunity I had been pursing and was really hoping for.

I filled small gift bags with each colleague's favorite candy and attached a personalized "thank you" tag.

The first few weeks I still felt the job wasn't for me - the people were the nicest I'd ever worked with, but the work part was missing. I was often walking from office to office asking for work to do. I can't put my finger on when, but ultimately I found myself in a place where I was content - the work was available and enough.

Then the e-mail came. The offer I'd been waiting for since before Thanksgiving was mine - the "career" I'd been seeking in my field since I graduated college three years prior. I was ecstatic yet actually sad to take the job and report to my newfound work family that I couldn't stay.

I'm a "goodbye and good riddance" kinda girl - being reliable/responsible seems to be a curse as people are quick to take advantage of you and even quicker to screw you over. In the past I've left jobs when the timing is appropriate or when that happens or when timing dictated I needed to change.



So, for the first time, I said a bittersweet goodbye to a company and group of people I've come to love. The kind of people who stop what they're doing to help. The kind who say "we want you to stay but we understand and we're excited for you." The kind who work hard and still have fun doing it. The kind who do this on your last day:

I am so excited to share this great giveaway with all of you! To celebrate hitting a major blog milestone, Chelsee decided to celebrate this month with an extra special giveaway. Today I am teaming up with some lovely ladies to giveaway 2 Urban Decay Naked Palettes! There will be two winners drawn! Remember the more entries you complete, the higher the chance is that you will win! 
Leslie//Niki//Bekah//Suzanna Betsy//Brooke//Christina//Tiffany Justine//Tori//Rachel//Chelsee a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions: Open to US Residents only. Winner will be contacted within 3 days of the Giveaway ending. Winner will be verified. If the winner cannot be verified, a new one will be selected. The winner has 48 hours to claim their prize after the notifying email has been sent out. If they do not respond to the email within the 48 hours a new winner will be selected.
Don't miss your chance on winning one of these amazing palettes! Good Luck!  

While this year's contests I've entered have an easy "share your love story" theme, last year I won a contest by sharing why I love Sean. Again, it was a great time of reflection. It was also a reminder and realization not to forget the details - it was so sad to see other entries from people who'd been together for years who couldn't name specifics beyond "he is nice, he loves me, etc."

So, this is my exercise in not forgetting. Sean deserves appreciation for his awesomeness. And even though this year I didn't have the opportunity to list his qualities in a contest, Brianna has an awesome monthly link up that does the job...so, here are the ten things I love about Sean (#7-10 being the exact entries I wrote for the contest I won last year!)

10. Sean is tuned into me, even in sleep; I have woken up to find him scratching my back, and if I say something to him, he answers (even if he doesn't know it).

9. He has proven himself true in his vow of "in sickness and in health" to the point of washing my hair for me with a plastic cup (toddler-style!) when I couldn't do it myself because of an ear surgery. On that note, he woke up every four hours despite his own work schedule to make sure I stayed on my medication schedule.

8, While many people don't support my decision to pursue an Arbonne business part time, he buys flowers for me for each event I host as a way to say "good luck."

7. After two and a half years of marriage and nearly eight years together (in February!) he still greets me with a hug and kiss at the end of the day.

I'm pretty sure everyone reading this knows what my favorite product line is, so there should be no surprise when you see what I'm giving away below.

But - even better, I'm just one of ten bloggers giving away something I love!

ONE lucky winner wins all! The entire giveaway is valued at $245!