When The World Says Give Up . . .

Hi, I am so happy that you decided to pay me a visit.

No need to grab a coffee today. This is a quickie. 

Not too long ago I wrote a post about my granddaughters' perseverance when learning a new skill. 

I asked this question, "What could we accomplish in life if we still had that kind of determination?"

If you missed it, you can read it HERE.

Anyways, I thought it might be nice to make a printable that expresses the kind of determination and perseverance that a child possesses.

I am hoping that this quote can inspire and remind us all that we can achieve the unbelievable as long as we remain steadfast in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement.

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I have been featured. Yahooo! I am so happy and honored to be chosen.

A special thanks to the lovely hosts at the Four Seasons Blog Hop.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, Stacey from Along Came Life chose to feature my post, When The World Says Give Up . . . 

This is what she had to say, “This is so true, sometimes we parents have so much that weighs us down, that we might be quicker to just give up or not do something. When maybe if we tried that one more time to achieve our goals, because perseverance pays off. My kids have proven it so many times, while trying to master, even something as simple as a video game, they learn that if they keep trying they will eventually master that level.”

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Well thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. 

And don't forget to stop by my Etsy Shop, Little Shop of Treasures or check out a few other posts.

I would love for you subscribe and follow along! 

You can also find me:  Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. See you there.

I look forward to reading your comments. Make my day and leave one!

Have a wonderful week!

Happiness is . . . Shopping?

Who loves to shop?

I do. I do. 

HAPPINESS IS SHOPPING!

Okay, I'm sure there are a few out there that just dread going into a store but hey, I bet you're not one of them.

Oh what a happy day it is when I have some money in my pocket and nothing in particular to buy. No time limits, no kids distracting me or spouse asking me if I'm done yet. Just shopping for the sheer pleasure of it. Perfection.

So that's the ultimate shopping experience for me. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, I feel a little bounce in my step. What about you?

I also love finding a bargain. Time and a bit of perseverance and I find that perfect item at an unbelievable price. Now that's something that can make me smile for years.

That kind of happiness I need to share. So I am teaching my granddaughters at an early age the joy of shopping. LOL

Thrift Shopping

My girls love garage sales and thrift shopping. 

Talk about a bounce in your step. The girls literally run and skip through the doors with huge smiles on their faces.

They grab their baskets and race to the toy section with my Mom and me taking up the rear.

The girls fill up their shopping baskets with all kinds of stuff. Toys, books, shoes.

But the main fun for them is playing with all the toys.

Honey Bunny is wearing her favorite high heel shoes. They click when she walks.

We bought those at Value Village in the summer for $3.99. 

She still loves those shoes and wears them every chance she gets.

The girls sure love their shoes. And dresses.

Check out Honey Bunny's favorite dress. She feels like a princess when she wears it. 

In fact Baby Cakes loved this dress too. They took turns wearing it up until it was too stained and scary. They would still be wearing it if I didn't hide it.

I bought that dress at the Salvation Army for maybe six dollars.

Once I've had a chance to look through the store I call my Mom and the girls over to the shoe area which is also the same place that the purses hang out.

Dress up time!

So many shoes, so little time.

I sometimes think my granddaughters love the shoes and purses more than the toys.

Can't you image the conversation taking place here?

"I found this gorgeous purple purse with black feathers and now this awesome purple sparkly wallet to go with it!


"Cool! Check out this cute little wallet that I found."

"Oh my gosh! I love these boots! They have my name on them."

"Look at those black boot. I have to try those on."

"I feel good in these boots."

"Ta Daa!"

Happiness is Having Fun. Living in the Moment.

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Can I get a high five? Look! This post has been featured at Meandering Mondays!

"This Momma’s Meanderer’s from last week, and boy oh boy it was a difficult choice! Don’t forget to grab your “I Was Featured” badge of honor! Congratulations to you all!"

Mrs Tee from Love Life and Laughter choose this post as her favorite.

Saying, “I loved this post because I am in a place where I myself am learning to find happiness in even the smallest moments and I think this post was a great example of that!”

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Well thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. 

And don't forget to stop by my Etsy Shop, Little Shop of Treasures or check out a few other posts.

To receive my blog updates - please subscribe via email or follow through one of the other social medias. And don't forget to share the love.  :)

I look forward to reading your comments. Make my day and leave one!

HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!

7 Things I Look For On Your Blog?

One of the things that I love most about blogging is visiting my fellow bloggers and checking out their amazing posts.

Of course when I find something particularly interesting I want to share it. I want to know more about the blogger and I want to be able to follow them. 

Sometimes it can be so frustrating. But more importantly, that blogger is missing out - missing out on the sharing and following. Not that I am a super star blogger but every bit helps right.

7 Things I Look For When I Visit Your Blog

1. Awesome Images

No matter where I start from, whether it is a Linky Party, Pinterest, Google Plus, what ever, I am first and always attracted to your post by the image you have on display.

Everyone knows that. But did you know a tree in the forest does make a sound when it falls and no one is around to hear it? And that is something I am definitely working on. 

I started off with my regular digital camera but have upgraded to a Nikon DX. Mind you I love taking photographs and I wanted a better camera anyway. But holy cow, what a huge difference! I'm going to eventually go back and put better pictures on my older posts.

Many bloggers use IStockPhoto, or Flickr for images and that's great if it works for them but it doesn't for me. I wasted so much time looking for pictures just to be disappointed.

Oh ya, an awesome image isn't necessarily a professionally taken photograph. An awesome image is one that shouts out for attention.

There are many different ways to attract attention, like through colour, lack of colour or just something plain fun. 

2. Sharing

Sharing is caring! When I read something good, I want to share it. The easier you make it for me to share the better. If I have to work too hard at it I'll just skip it and move to another blog.

I like Pinning. As soon as I realize that I like your post, I want to PIN it. And the easiest way for me to do that is to click on the Pinterest icon that appears right on your pictures when I hover over it. I don`t have to search for it or strain my eyes to see it. 

(There are all kinds of places on the net to get instructions for putting the Pinterest hover button. This is just one. Click HERE.)

Done and move on. It has to be that simple.

If you make it easy for me, I`ll even share your post on Twitter and Stumble. I`ll like your Facebook page. Make me search for those sharing buttons and I`ll likely just skip it.

This is where I got my share buttons. Click HERE. It's free and easy. 

3. Showing Off Your Best

So I`m on your blog and I`ve shared your post. Now what?

I want to see more. What else do you got? Anything interesting?

Try showing off your popular post in your side bar.

Or put "You Might Also Like" at the end of a blog post. Click HERE to add it to your blog.

Either way, you'll keep me on your blog longer while I bebop from post to post.

4. Your Picture

I don`t know about you, but I love seeing a picture of the blogger. It`s you that I can relate to. It`s you I want to follow. And it`s your writing I want to read. Plus I tend to remember you face more than a blog title. 

To me, your face is like your business logo. Memorable.

5. Your About Me Page

Everyone likes to feel like they fit in. 

It`s a good feeling when I get to read more about you and find we have something in common. This alone could be the reason I follow you and share your posts. Is this true for you too?

6. Follow Me Buttons

Once I decide to follow you please make it easy for me to do it. 

There`s nothing more disappointing to really like a blogger but can't follow them because you can`t seem to figure out where the follow me buttons are.

I just changed my buttons. They were spread out but now they are grouped together. We'll see if it makes a difference.

This is where I got my follow me buttons. Click HERE. It's free and easy.

7. Subscribe by Email

It`s all about the list. Well, that`s what everyone is saying. So make sure that is an option for me. 

Besides, lately I`ve noticed that I prefer to subscribe by email. Sure it means  loads of mail but I find it a challenge to get my email back down to zero. I scan emails, reading and deleting as I go.

I actually just moved this box to the top of my right panel and I already got more email subscriptions in this last couple of weeks than I did in the last year. Bonus.

I use FeedBurner. Click HERE. Or if you prefer MailChimp, click HERE.

To be honest, I don't know what the difference is and I can't remember why I choose FeedBurner. It works.

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I'm jumping up and down with joy. I can't thank you enough ladies. 

This mother and daughter dual, Debi and Charly featured this post on their fabulous blog Adorned From Above.

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This is too exciting. 

I would like to thank the hosts of the blog hop for featuring this post. I am honored.

To see the other featured posts and meet the hosts, please click HERE.

Terri Henkels publicly sent out this invitation, "Stop by and see the post Features of the week by some creative and great bloggers." 

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I'm doing a happy dance now! 

This post has been featured on the Blog Strut as the most clicked.

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I'm dancing again.

Thank you Carol and Linda for featuring my post at your party.

Check out the smiles on these lovely ladies.

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Well thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. 

And don't forget to stop by my Etsy Shop, Little Shop of Treasures or check out a few other posts.

To receive my blog updates - please subscribe via email or follow through one of the other social medias. And don't forget to share the love.  :)

I look forward to reading your comments. Make my day and leave one!