fun with the Pippit App

There's a new social media/blogging app out there called Pippit and I'm just loving it so far! It was created through collaboration by Joy from Oh Joy! blog and Naomi & Josh at Love Taza blog. It's only available on iPhone (find it in the app store, here) and is in it's beta stage but it's obvious that it's going to be a very popular app. Take some time today to check it out, and be sure to follow along with me there [lifealaskanstyle].

cleaning day and free cleaning checklist printables

Everyday is pretty much cleaning day in my house. Between having a dog and a toddler I usually vacuum every day and I try to tidy up every evening before Steve gets home. But after the weekend with Steve home and lots of activities, Mondays are pretty-much always my deep cleaning day.

I might be slightly crazy, but I actually enjoy a good cleaning. And it's even more enjoyable when you have a good list to check off after you accomplish each task. I saw a cute [free!] weekly cleaning checklist printable over on Shayla's blog, Moons & Junes, and thought I'd share it here too. (click on the image above to link over to the original source for the downloadable file)

After finding the checklist above, I started thinking it would be nice to find something a little more customizable. So I began searching for customizable cleaning printables and found a great resource over at this blog. Head over and check it out if you're interested!

This amazing resource includes daily, weekly and monthly cleaning checklists that are fully customizable to fit your needs. They're also really cute, and as the author of the blog suggests, would look great printed out, framed and used with a dry-erase marker each day/week/month as you check off your finished cleaning.

Happy Monday everyone!

guest post on LIVE TEACH ALASKA blog

I was so excited when Natalie over at LIVE TEACH ALASKA invited me to answer a few questions about life in Alaska for her readers. I have loved reading Natalie's blog since before she and her husband even moved to Alaska (from Korea!) to teach kindergarten in Bush Alaska. I definitely recommend you click over and make yourself comfortable in her space and get to know her a little bit. 

five friday favorites

It's Friday yay! I don't know why I just typed 'yay' since a) I don't technically have a 'weekend' and b) Steve's working Saturday. There's just always something about a Friday...including my five Friday favorites and two linky parties!

ONE | FAVORITE PHOTO

How on earth did my baby grow so fast? He still feels like my little baby, no matter how big he gets.

 But when I see photos like this one, I can't deny that there's just not much baby left in my big boy. 

I miss that little thumb sucker!

TWO | FAVORITE RECIPE

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

I made these earlier this week for Steve to share at work and they were divine.

They were also gone in one day - time to make some more!

THREE | FAVORITE DIY

chalkboard wordfind pumpkin

how adorable are these? definitely the best pumpkin decoration I've ever seen.

They look like a lot of work but maybe worth it for a harvest party?

FOUR | FAVORITE POST

I love Restoration Hardware baby stuff. I can't help it. And I don't think all of their items are

necessarily outrageously priced - I would definitely purchase something from them if it was in our budget. 

This post is somewhat negative towards them and towards people who would purchase their stuff, and

 that I don't love. But I couldn't help laughing out loud (literally - Steve thought I was crazy) when I read it. 

The captions for the photos are sooo funny!

If you read this one definitely let me know what you think in the comments!

FIVE | FAVORITE FUNNY

I pinned this a while ago but every single time I see it I die. That babies expression is just too funny

and the caption...do you really think our sweet little angels would do that to us?

Sometimes I wonder...

Mom-Lovin Blog Hop #20

This week I am so excited be guest-hosting the Mom-lovin' blog hop along with Hannah, Lena and Andrea. One of my most favorite things about blogging is the community and I find that link ups and blog hops are a great way to meet other bloggers and find the little pocket of the blogging world that you feel most comfortable in.

So, here's what you do.

1 | link up all your blogs social media accounts here
2 | go visit the blogs of other ladies who have linked up their accounts and leave some love!

Our Guest Co-Host this week is one of my favorite gals! 

Whitney blogs at Life Alaskan Style and is a wife, mother, who loves Jesus.  Her family resides in Alaska- I get lost in the photos she shares of their life in that beautiful state.

Our Featured Mama of the Week: Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom 

Carrie writes a life style blog. Her most recent post is a fall home tour- super fun! Another recent post is a collection of photos on how to wear a blazer. I don't know about you but blazers sort of intimidate me... Maybe that is just me... It's probably just me. 

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.rootandblossom.com" title="Root and Blossom " target="_blank"><img src="http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y532/Hannah_Terpstra/67ddaa98-6359-42d4-bb84-92ae21b49af6_zps84f1f0e6.jpg" alt="Joyful Life " style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please, if you are new to the hop or have been here but haven't left a comment, please let us know on our own respected blogs that you are a new follower so we can be sure to follow you back! 

Also, If you are interested in co-hosting FOR FREE shoot Hannah an email at hannahsjoyfullife (at) gmail.com to get on the list, growing your followers couldn't be easier! 

guest posting and new way to comment

I'm so very excited to be guest posting over at Moons and Junes today! Shayla is off getting married and invited a few blogging friends to fill in for her while she's gone. I shared my fall picks for USA mom-made fashion for toddlers - check it out!

| just a little sampler of items I included |

In other news, I finally made the switch to Disqus commenting. I'm excited for the change, mostly because of the ease of replying and actually getting notifications when someone replies to me. Right now I'm not loving the fact that my old comments still haven't imported over, so if I haven't replied to your recent comment, that's why and I'm very sad about it! I love each and every comment and try my best to reply to every one of them as quickly as possible.

Happy hump day!!

fall means baking: Neja's Baked Apples

I know I've talked about this before, but one of my most favorite things about blogging is the community. I just love 'meeting' new people and getting to know them through their blogs. It's truly amazing to have friends in in other states, and sometimes even in other countries.

Today I want to introduce you to a new friend, Neja, who is lovely, sweet, inspiring, amazing, and seriously gifted in the kitchen. This girl can cook! If you're not following her already, you want to be! Her recipes are amazing, and her pictures are truly divine.

She graciously agreed to come on over to my blog today and share a yummy fall-inspired recipe with us. What I've posted here is just a tiny snippet of how amazing Neja is, so once your done reading this post, click on over to her blog to see what it's all about and follow along. 

.............................................................................................................................................

My name is Neja, a Slovenian girl behind the blog You CAN have your cake and eat it too. I am a girl, who can turn wearing an apron into something cool. Food is my passion. I love to eat it, talk about it, photograph it! I cry when the recipe doesn't work! I am a passionate rambler, outloud thinker and a seeker of positive, beautiful things. I believe you CAN have your cake & eat it too!

The blog: I explore and try out recipes from other blogs, cooking sites and cooking books. My blog is mainly about food, but that's not all. I have a category named Neja's Milkshake, where I share my thoughts, videos, pics from trips and everything that's beautiful and positive.

 Baked Apples 

Ingredients
6 apples
2/4 cup chopped different nuts and raisins
6 teaspoon oatmeal
5 tablespoon maple syrup (+more for topping)
4 teaspoon coconut oil (melted)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon flax seeds

The process
Peel apples, core the middle out (leave the bottom).
Mix all ingredients together.
Fill apples with the filling.
Drizzle maple syrup on top of apples.
Bake for 45 min at 350°F.
It's really delicious if you serve them with a scoop of ice cream. Bon appetite!

featured on Pig & Dac this morning

Every Wednesday I link up with Jessica over at Pig & Dac for the blogger's digest link up. It's a great way to 'meet' other bloggers and follow them on their various social media sites. This week I was so excited to see that Jessica had featured my post, 5 toddler lunch ideas, as one of last weeks highlights. Thank you Jessica!

Head over and check it out, and be sure to link up your blog and visit some of the other featured posts from last week.

Carnival of Natural Mothering: what 'natural birth' means to me

Welcome to the October 2013 Carnival of Natural Mothering! This article is part of the Carnival of Natural Mothering hosted by GrowingSlower, Every Breath I Take, I Thought I Knew Mama, African Babies Don't Cry, and Adventures of Captain Destructo. This month's topic is Natural Birth Choices. Be sure to check out all of the participants' posts through the links at the bottom of this page.

When I hear the term 'natural birth', I think of a woman giving birth without unnecessary medical intervention. I think of a mother going into labor on her own, progressing on her own, and delivering the baby using only her body and the emotional support of those around her. I think of the body doing what it was designed to do, on its own terms, in its own time. 

From the beginning of my pregnancy, I knew I wanted to have a 'natural birth.' My mom did with me. My older sister did. And I just knew that I could too, and that I would. I don't know how to describe it really, but for me there just wasn't another option. I didn't even consider the idea of getting an epidural, and I thought about a c-section with dread. I knew it wouldn't be the end of the world, and I was thankful the option existed in case of an emergency. But man, the thought of it scared me.  

If I were to list out the specific reasons why I wanted to give birth naturally, it would look like this:

1. because breastfeeding was very important to me, and avoiding pain medication results in baby being born more alert and active.
2. because the idea of getting an epidural was scarier than the idea of not getting one (that needle. a catheter  scary stuff to me!)
3. because I wanted to avoid a c-section at all costs, unless it was truly a medical emergency
4. but most of all, because I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to feel the contractions, to feel my baby moving down the birth canal and closer to being in my arms. I wanted to know how bad it really was. And no matter how bad it was, I wanted to conquer it.

When I think of my own experience giving birth, I feel so very blessed. I truly cannot look back and say that I would change a single thing. In the end, it was both harder and easier that I thought it would be. It wasn't as painful as I imagined it to be, I never once thought that I wanted an epidural, or anything to relieve the pain. But it was emotionally harder than I realized it would be.

It was the beginning of labor that was hardest for me, since my contractions were very strong and close together from the very beginning, and since my sister had labored for over 24 hours with each of her kids, I just thought I would too. I didn't handle the contractions very well because I didn't imagine how they could get worse. But once I realized that I had to stop worrying and just be in the moment, my experience changed immediately. 

I felt my body doing what it was meant to do, and it felt good. I felt empowered, and it gave me the strength to continue on and reach my goal of giving birth naturally. You can read my complete story here. I found that reading natural birth stories and watching videos was very inspiring during my pregnancy and I encourage any pregnant woman reading this to do the same. Read about the experiences of other women and feel empowered through their success stories. Watch videos of natural births. Trust your body. And after all is said and done, even if your birth doesn't go how you envisioned it, accept your experience, learn from it and be proud of whatever you were able to accomplish. 

Bloggers, visit GrowingSlower to sign up to be a part of next month's carnival.

We hope you enjoy visiting all of the posts in the Carnival!

1.	Storkologie	14.	Charise @ I Thought I Knew Mama
2.	Kelly @ Hiccups and Sunshine	15.	Bianca
3.	Born Unique Baby Guide	16.	Gillian from The Haas Machine
4.	Baby's Own Room Blog	17.	Amanda @ My Show
5.	Nanny to Mommy	18.	Kristel
6.	Anjanette @ Raising the Barrs	19.	Elizabeth @ Pirate Prerogative
7.	Maria	20.	Momma Jorje
8.	Adventures with Captain Destructo	21.	DD’s birth story, Part 1
9.	Anktangle	22.	Whitney // Life Alaskan Style
10.	Andrea @Hand and the Heart	23.	Martine @ Whey Beyond the Naked Truth
11.	Urban Times in Michigan	24.	Green Idea Reviews
12.	GrowingSlower	25.	Krystyna Bowman, AAHCC
13.	Christine @ African Babies Don't Cry

(Collection closed)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Featured on Hand and the Heart blog today!

Last week my friend Andrea from Hand and the Heart blog asked me to answer a few questions for a feature post she was working on. I was more than happy to oblige and excited to be invited to visit her space! 

Today her post went live, and I'm telling you, you need to click over to her blog and get acquainted with five other lovely ladies she featured! Great way to 'meet' new bloggers and to find amazing, long-distance friends :)

Sponsored - College, Text Books, and Being Poor...

All three of those things just seem to go together. When I was in college, text books were so expensive and I was always trying to find a way to save money somehow when buying them. I especially hated shelling out the money for the books that I just knew I'd never pick up again after college, especially since the 'buy-back' prices were always so pathetic compared to what I had just purchased them for a few months before. 

I don't know about you, but the idea of renting text books sounds so much better to me! I was approached recently by Campus Book Rentals to help spread the word about their company, and after reviewing everything they were about, I agreed wholeheartedly. 

Instead of purchasing book from your bookstore, you can rent them for 40-90% off of bookstore prices! And if that's not incentive enough, here are some of the other perks:

*free shipping both ways

*highlighting in your textbook is acceptable

*flexible renting periods

*great website that's easy to navigate

In addition, Campus Book Rentals makes a donation to Operation Smile with each textbook rented on their website. In their ongoing partnership with Operation Smile, they've donated over 1,000 cleft lip surgeries this year to children in need. What an awesome way to make a difference!

Already own some textbooks that you'd love to get rid of? They also have a program called Rent Back where you can rent text books you already own out to other students through their website. You will make two to four times what you would make selling them back to your bookstore at the end of the term. How cool is that?! 

And here's the really good news: if you are a college student with a blog, write a post about their awesome company and they'll give you $50 towards your textbook rental on their website! Just leave a comment with your email and I'll forward you the information...couldn't be easier!

This post brought to you by Campus Book Rentals.

Featured on The Active Mum blog!

Tuesdays Aanie over at The Active Mum blog hosts the Active Life Link Up as a space for bloggers to inspire each other to stay active. In her words:

I started this link up because I'm passionate about raising awareness of the importance of an active lifestyle.  It is so important to give our children opportunities to be active, and hopefully when they are old enough to make their own lifestyle decisions, they too will choose a healthy active lifestyle.  Being active doesn't mean strenuous exercise, it can be as simple as a leisurely walk or playing in the garden with your children.  I'd love to see how you stay active!

This week I was excited to see that she chose me to be her featured blogger! Thank you Aanie! Head over to her blog to join the link up and be sure to add her blog to your reading list. You'll find great resources for staying healthy and active from recipes to fashionable activewear...so fun!

11 things about me you may not have known

me: 1989

I was nominated for a Liebster Award (again) by Emily over at Sweet Summer Smiles, thanks Emily! I've already been nominated two other times (here and here), so I'm not going to follow all the steps this time. But I did want to go ahead and answer Emily's questions for me.

EMILY'S QUESTIONS

1. How would you describe your personality? This question: so hard. I took a cheesy personality test and these were my results: "The Loyal Friend: others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expects the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken." I think that's a pretty fair description that's pretty close to right on. For those of you who know me well, what do you think? How would you describe my personality?
2. Why did you start blogging? My sister had a blog and I wanted to join the club. I'm much more serious about it and regular ever since I had Riggs. It's so fun to be part of the blogging community!
3. What is your favorite snack? Right now I'd have to say Dark Chocolate Acai Blueberry bites from Costco (see this post).
4. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be and why? Right now it's blueberry picking season so I'd probably be across the bay from Homer at Steve's childhood home with Steve and Riggs spending all day outside together exploring.
5. What is your favorite activity outside of health and fitness? Taking pictures, editing them, and sharing them.
6. What is the food you eat most often? Winter: soup. Summer: fresh, local veggies.
7. What makes you happy? Other than the big obvious things (God, Steve, Riggs), right now it would have to be my tumblr page, On Walden Road.
8. What quality do you find most attractive in others? Confidence.
9. What is your guilty pleasure? Technology. I feel strongly about the benefits of being present in the moment and getting outside as much as possible and as a result find it important to try to be unwired as much as I can be. BUT zoning out on my phone (or laptop) is definitely my biggest guilty pleasure.
10. What is your favorite book and TV show? I am such a big reader, I don't think I could ever pick one book as my all time favorite. Maybe, if I had to choose, it might be Anne of Green Gables. I've read it too many times to count and it never gets old. As far as TV goes, we don't have cable, just an antenna, so probably the show we watch on the air the most is The Voice.
11. What is your favorite lyric from a song? Right now my favorite favorite lyrics are from Josh Garrels' version of Farther Along: "tempted and tried, I wondered why//the good man died, the bad man thrives//and Jesus cries, 'cause he loves 'em both//we're all castaways in need of rope"

featured on the mom-lovin blog hop at Joyful Life!

Today I was featured on the mom-lovin' blog hop hosted by Hannah at Joyful Life and co-hosted by Lina at Root and Blossom. How exciting!

The mom-lovin' blog hop is a great way to meet other mama-bloggers and to get more involved in the blogging community. Head over and check it out!

Liebster Award Questions Answered!

Saturday my friend Melissa over at Fawn Over Baby nominated me for a Liebster Award*! Since I was already nominated last year and participated then, I'm not going to do the whole 'shebang' again and nominate other people, but I thought it'd be fun to share 11 random facts about myself and to answer Melissa's questions :)

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

| 1 |

I believe in God and prayer and the Bible

My favorite verses right now are found in Colossians chapter 3, verses 12-17.

| 2 |

I love living out in 'the country'

| 3 |

I was born in Anchorage, Alaska 

and have lived in Alaska all the 26 years of my life

| 4 |

Like Melissa I grow more and more fearful of flying the older I get

which is weird, since I used to love taking trips

| 5 |

I want to travel around Canada and the lower-48 states in a camper with Steve 

and see lots of National Parks and historical monuments

this would seriously be my dream vacation

| 6 |

I love traditional gospel hymns

| 7 |

I also love country music

| 8 |

I refuse to eat shrimp 

| 9 |

We were going to name Riggs 'Rowan' up until about a week before he was born

We even have Rowan in our maternity pictures

and I made a stocking for him with Rowan on it...but man he is just such a Riggs!

| 10 |

The only other places I've lived other than Anchorage are 

Homer, where Steve grew up, and Palmer, where we live now (and love!)

| 11 |

Becoming a mother has changed my life in ways I never imagined 

and I thank God every single day for the precious gift that is our son

QUESTIONS FROM MELISSA

1. What inspires you the most these days? Summer and leaves and blue sky and sunshine.
2. What are your hopes and dreams for your blog? I want to have a record of our lives during Riggs' early childhood and I want to enjoy writing and keeping it. I also love connecting with other people that I would never have 'met' if it weren't for blogging. 
3. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? Right where I am now. Second choice: Author living in a sweet little house somewhere writing bestselling novels.
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right where I live now, Palmer, Alaska. Other choices would probably be certain parts of Canada, or Ireland. Or Scotland. Or England. 
5. Where were you born and where do you currently live now? Born in Anchorage, AK. Live in Palmer, AK.
6. What is your favorite comfort food? French toast with warm maple syrup.
7. What is your favorite indulgence? Going out to eat with just Steve somewhere fancy, and not worrying about Riggs the whole time.
8. Who is your favorite author and why? L. M. Montgomery. Every single one of her books is so full of feeling and the characters so believable and lovable and the descriptions so real and beautiful. They're like old friends to me.
9. If you could have a celebrity best friend, who would it be? Prince Harry? I've always wanted to be friends with him, he seems really fun and princely. Maybe Kate Middleton too. Yes, I'm a little obsessed with British royals...
10. Where is your "Go-to" place to shop online? To be honest, I hate to shop online. I guess Amazon would be where I have purchased the most items online. College books, and baby stuff and camera accessories. For clothing, probably J.Crew, but I think Lululemon might be on it's way to being my new favorite.
11. Do you have a DIY project that you are most proud of? ( share link if available) Probably some of my sewing projects are what I'm most proud of. Last year I made a quilt for my nieces birthday and I just loved how it turned out. Click here to see all my posts labeled sewing. 

*The word Liebster is German and means dearest or lovely. The award is given to newer blogs with 200 or less actual followers and provides a nice way for fellow bloggers to meet and publicize their site to the general public. If you would like to know more just give it a Google. While it isn't an actual award, it is still so nice to be recognized.

why it's been a little quiet around here

mowing the lawn is much sweeter with a little tag-a-long

Blogging is such an ebb and flow. Sometimes I have so many things to blog about that I never get to them all, even when posting every day or some days twice a day. Then there's weeks like this, where I'm just too busy just being to actually sit down and blog. 

Sometimes, I have no urge to even open my computer. Like yesterday. I was not on the computer once all day. I didn't even think about it. I like days like that. I thought I'd feel like being on the computer a little bit more today, since I 'missed out' yesterday. But no, I had to force myself to open it tonight after dinner to finish a few blogs for Mitch and write a little something here. 

I had no idea what to write about, so I thought I'd just go ahead and address the lack of interest in being online and blogging. It sort of fits into a little self-improvement project I've been working on. This includes being a better house-keeper and scheduling in cleaning times each week and better at reading books. It includes spending less time surfing the web/window shopping* for things that I don't even need or really even want. 

I truly love blogging, and I love reading other people's blog, so I'm not really trying to cut back on that. But I do want to spend less time being A.D.D. on the computer when I get on to 'blog' and end up spending and hour (or two!!!!!) browsing and not even knowing what I looked at the whole time. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this? I always feel so bad afterward because it's such a useless waste of time - and I could have spent that time so much more responsibly! 

That's where I'm at tonight, and I can't stop thinking about my book (although I've read it many times, it never gets old) so I'm off to settle in, get comfortable and read.

*window shopping: online browsing which includes adding everything I wish I could buy to my cart and sadly closing the tab when I see the ridiculous amount of money it would cost to actually buy it all. 

Taproot Print Shop

I don't know if you are familiar with the Soule family blog, SouleMama, or any of their books.  If you aren't, you really should be!  I just love Amanda's blog and her photos are just filled with peace and beauty that is sometimes just what I need after a busy or stressful day. One of her  projects is a periodical called Taproot, which I absolutely love.  And now they've set up a print shop (here is Amanda's post about it) with such lovely, whimsical prints that I decided to share today because I just couldn't stop thinking about them.

"Our hope is to create affordable quality artwork for our homes, and to support our community of artists by releasing a new piece or two with each magazine issue that we make." - Amanda on Taproot Print Shop

I think I'm going to order one or two of the prints by artist Pheobe Wahl for our living room and kitchen area, and maybe one for Riggs' room.  Here are my favorites:

Source: taprootmag.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: taprootmag.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: taprootmag.com via Whitney on Pinterest

[I was not paid or compensated for this post in any way.  I just love these prints and the SouleMama blog so much I wanted to share them with everybody!]

featured on the Browse

Today my blog was featured by Taylor on her blogging society blog, the Browse.  I am so excited about this and wanted to thank her for putting so much time and effort into creating a space where it's easy to find lots of great blogs in one place!

Liebster Award

Guess what everyone?  I won an award!  For blogging!  Yay!  <-- as you can tell I'm pretty excited.  It's called the Liebster Award, and it's giving to up and coming blogs that have less than 200 followers.

Sam at Life as Mrs. B is the sweet soul that nominated my blog, thank you Sam!  I guess there are a few rules I should mention:

RULES

:: post 11 random facts about yourself ::

:: answer the questions the blogger who nominated set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to ::

:: choose 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post ::

:: go to their page and tell them about the award ::

:: no tag backs! ::

And now for the fun part, 11 random facts about me!  Oh wait, didn't I just post 26 random facts about me on my birthday 5 days ago?  So if you're dying to know lots of weird random things about me you can head over to that post and get your fill.

::Questions::

from Mrs. B

1.  Do you believe in love at first sight?  Okay I might sound completely cynical here but I don't.  I want to, believe me!  But I just don't think it's possible to truly love someone at first sight, in that first moment you lay eyes on them.  After a couple of hours actually spent together, getting to know each other, maybe.  However, when it comes to babies everything changes!  That first moment I felt my sons warm, squishy little body and saw his big eyes looking up at me, I definitely fell very deeply in love with him.  So in that case, I would say yes, I do believe in love at first sight.
2.  What is your most embarrassing moment?  Oh man I don't even want to share this one.  I keep debating, should I?  No I definitely shouldn't.  But, wait, it is my most embarrassing moment and I have to be honest on my blog...Ugh, ok here goes.  When Steve and I were first together he lived in Homer during the summer when he was not going to college in Anchorage (where I lived).  He lived in a teeny cabin at his brothers house that didn't have indoor plumbing, so you had to walk quite aways down this scary (to me, I'm scared of everything) trail to use this really scary (see previous note) outhouse.  I've been to this same place many times since then and it doesn't seem that scary at all, but trust me, it was then!  It was dark and the trees are thick there and I was nervous.  Anyway,  when I first got there I had to pee so, so bad and Steve told me, "Oh, you just have to go out to the outhouse.  Back there." and pointed off, into the woods.  Now I was born and raised in Alaska my whole life, and have spent a lot of time camping and spending time outdoors in the woods.  But people, there are big moose and bears all around this state and no matter how used to it I am they are still scary!  My sister was with me, but she had gone over to Steve's brothers house to say hello and so I couldn't make her go with me.  So I did what anyone would do, and grabbed some kleenex from my car, stuffed it in my pocket and went to the nearest tree to do my thing, rather than taking the long, scary walk back to the outhouse.  My heart was pounding like crazy and seconds seemed like minutes because I was so worried that someone would come along and see me.  But no one did.  I was so happy!  It wasn't as bad as I thought!  Yay! The thing is, I was wearing overalls (yeah that's another story).  And overalls have straps, that hang down, behind you.  And guess what?  I had totally just peed on one of my overall straps.  Yes, I really had.  I was frozen for a moment, in shock, with no idea what to do.  I was still really close to my car, and decided to just strip down from my overalls, throw them in a trash bag in my car, and drive away as fast as I could, cheeks flaming with mortification.  Except I actually didn't drive away.  But I really, really, REALLY wanted to.  Goodness sakes people, it was horrible!  So I'm in my car, with no pants on, trying to get some shorts out of my bag in the back seat, and then struggling to put them on in the drivers seat of my car, when Steve comes back out, probably worried about what happened to me.  Of course I did not tell him what happened until years later when we were married, but I'm sure he thought I was really weird for changing into shorts, in my car, when I was supposed to be using the creepy outhouse.  Let's just say it was a fail from the very beginning.
3.  How old were you when you had your first kiss?  I was 14 and that's all I'm going to say about that!
4.  What was your favorite TGIF show growing up?  I hate to break it to you but we didn't have TV (like cable) for most of the time we were growing up.  I couldn't even name one TGIF show if I tried.
5.  If you were a Disney princess who would you be?  I think I would be Belle...hello library?!!!  I've also thought about being Pocahontas, but I would have chosen Kocoum.
6.  If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?  The British Isles.  That is the first area I have to explore if I leave North America.
7.  What would be number one on your bucket list?  I have no idea.  Maybe to meet Kate Middleton or spend the day with the British royal family and not have it be really weird and awkward because I'm a total stranger who is obsessed with them? lol I'm not really a 'bucket list' type of person.  I really love my life and am not that into doing extreme things like sky diving and swimming with sharks.
8.  How many times a day do you check Facebook?  {or twitter, instagram, blog...} Probably at least 8.3 times a day for Facebook, or whenever I'm bored.  Unfortunately it never really seems to help that much with boredom.  I never look at twitter, and I look at instagram either when I'm really bored, like when I'm in a waiting room and I've already scrolled through facebook and pinterest.  But I always scroll through everyone's pictures if I'm uploading my own.  For some reason I just always forget about instagram...I don't really 'check' my blog because I get email notifications.  I check other peoples blogs at night after I've put Riggs to bed, either lounging on the couch or in bed myself.
9.  What would your favorite date night be?  A night in?  Or a night on the town?  At this moment, after not yet venturing out together without our son (he's almost 10 months old) I'd have to say a night on the town, but without worrying about our little guy.  Which means it will still probably be a few months before that happens.  I'm hoping to go on a trip to celebrate Steve topping out (reaching journeyman status as a lineman) next summer or fall.  It will really depend on Steve's work schedule, of course, but I'm thinking Vegas, kid free, for about 4 or 5 days.
10.  What was the best gift you ever received?  It's so hard to decide so I'm just going to cop out (and tell the truth) that the best gift I've received is from God in the form of our son, Riggs.  We love him so much, more than words could ever describe and best of all, he lights up our lives every single day.
11.  What is your biggest weakness?  My biggest weakness is definately letting myself get stressed about things.  The littlest thing can become a big deal in my mind if I think about it too much and worry, worry, worry!

::Questions::

for the bloggers I nominate

1.  Head back to about the year 2000.  Backstreet boys or *Nsync?
2.  What is your dream job?  Like literally if you could do anything to make money, what would it be?
3.  What's your favorite holiday? Why?
4.  What is your favorite childhood memory?
5.  Dogs, cats, or both?
6.  Where would you live if you could choose?
7.  What is your biggest pet peeve?
8.  If you had to be stuck inside a Disney movie, which one would you choose?
9.  What is your go-to beauty product at the moment that you can't live without?
10.  Gold or Silver?
11.  Have you ever been to Alaska?  Would you visit if you could?

Okay, now it's time for the blogs I've chosen! Okay, I broke the rules a little here, because I only nominated 9 blogs.  But there's a reason!  I didn't want to just search the web for random blogs to nominate, I actually wanted to nominate blogs that I would actually recommend and that I actually read.  So here you go:

1.  The Life We Love
2.  Sweet Life of a Southern Wife
3.  Meet the Barringtons
4.  Hooah and Hiccups
5.  Gracefully Made
6.  Sisters - Sharing Each Others Journey
7.  Georgia Peach
8.  DK Everyday
9.  New England Charm