Sponsor my blog!

So this is something NEW to my blog. I have never had sponsors before on here, but I think it might be time to offer up some prime real estate on my blog. Normally I wouldn't do this because I am all about spreading the love for free. However, with money being tight due to taxes that will be due, a baby on the way and a big move, it was about time I started making my blog a little more useful around here. Which means I will also be spending more time on here spiffying it up and writing more posts. (yay!) I can feel less guilty spending lots of more time blogging if it is helping our family financially as well.

 Anyway, I am throwing this opportunity out there for any of you who want to get more exposure for you blog or Etsy shop (or whatever else you want to showcase).

What you will get: 

-You will get a 150 x150 pixel space to put a button up on the right hand column ---->

- You will get a post featuring your blog/shop with whatever you want to say to my readers. This post will include a picture and links to your blog/shop/twitter/facebook/website

-Your add will be up for a full month (beginning to end) and will be rotated regularly so everyone gets a change to be on top!

My Blog Stats:

- My blog was started in May 2009

- I have almost 200 readers

- My average page views: 160/day, 4800/month

- I have mainly female viewers and many of them are moms

- I blog about daily life and whatever suits my fancy. DIY projects, home, fashion, family, and mommy blogging

These Sponserships will start on February 1st- February 29, 2012

I have never done this before so if there is any information that I am leaving out that you may need to know or any Questions you may have, let me know!

If you are interested in Sponsoring my blog, contact me at  SHESAIDBLOG(AT)GMAIL.COM

Baby E... He or She?

Before and after

So here are the before and after pics of our headboards.

I think the new one is fun! now we need to buy some new solid colored bedding.

I am thinking mustard yellow! Or Turquoise with Red.

(geeze I need to start taking better pictures, and take them during the day)

Chloe is learning to walk!

James and i are trying to get chloe to walk. We sit across from each other and coax her to go back and forth. Sorry for the blurry video, but I couldn't get my phone to focus in time to capture her walking to me.

I Got an Award! And now 5 others do too!

Sweet Jaime from Spunky Sister kindly awarded me with an Leibster Award.

So kind of her to think that my little ol' blog deserved some type of recognition.  You should definitely check out Jaime's blog. She is sweet, funny, down to earth and adorable!

So, here's how it works:

This award is given to blogs with less then 200 followers that you think deserve a little bit more recognition.

Here are the rules:

1) Show your thanks by linking the sweet person who nominated you.

2) Leave links to 5 of your top blogs and leave a comment letting them know!

3) Post the award on your blog.

4) Enjoy the Love :)

There are so many amazing blogs out there, here are just 5 of the many I LOVE. Seriously, These ladies and there blogs are such an inspiration to me. They are just the sweetest people who have kindly opened up about there lives and fun adventures along the way. It makes me smile to read their post. You should definitely check these ladies blogs out, you will not be disappointed!

Crystal from These Happy Michie's

Breanne from My World Resting On Your Love

Haley from For Everything There Is a Season

Rebecca from Even If, No Matter What

Betsy from Three.20

and I wanted to mention another friend of my Sandee from Her and the Boys who just started blogging this week! Yay Sandee! Go over to her blog and show her some love!

Thank you Jaime again and hope you find some new blogs to subscribe too!

10 more facts

This is going to take me a while to think of 100 facts about me, so these will be slow coming.I am really hoping I don't have any repeats.


51. I don't like to drink water. I could go days without drinking water. I think it just taste funny. I know water taste different from wherever its from, but I haven't really had any great tasting water that has stood out to me. It is bad now because I really need to get to drinking more water for the pregnancy.


52. I want to skydive. Even though I am deathly afraid of heights, I want to skydive so badly! I think it would be fun and exhilarating. That is definitely on my bucket list.


53. I love Birds, Owls especially. I have an owl tattoo and I have tons of them in our home. And I have tons of owl necklaces too. I don't know why I love them, I just do. Which is special because my grandmother loves them too. It's so sweet because people will randomly see something owl and get it for me because it reminds them of me.

54. I would love to be a cosmetologist. I would like to know how to do hair and make up on myself and to do on my family and friends. I think I would love the job. I would totally go for that as my career  if only I didn't have to work nights or weekends (which is highly unlikely).

55. I love cream cheese. I could eat it on anything. Seriously. The more the better. Oh and James' family makes a  fruit dip that is made of cream cheese and marshmallow cream is the best EVER.

56. My favorite season is Fall. Even though San Diego really doesn't have a fall here, I love what fall is supposed to be. The red, orange and yellow leaves. The cold brisk air. The warmer seasonal drinks. The warmer clothes and layers to wear. I can't wait to live in a place that actually has a fall.

57. I was the token white girl for many years with my friends. I grew up and went to school with mostly people of Mexican, Philippino and African American decent and Caucasian was a minority. My best friends were always Mexican and I was very immersed in there culture.  That could be why I love Mexican food, was in Ballet Folklorico and took Spanish for so many years. I even had a teacher who would call me "guerra"  (pronounced Wedda, meaning white girl or blonde white girl) as my name. When I would go to other parts of San Diego where Caucasian was the majority, I felt so weird and it took me a long time to get use to it. 

58. I am thinking about being a CPA. I really love accounting and number pushing and finances. I even like doing our taxes. I think this would be a great fit for me... if only I could find the time and motivate myself to go back to school again.

59. I come from a small family. It was my sisters and Mom most of my life. I grew up with knowing 1 aunt, her 2 daughters, 1 uncle and my grandma. They all lived in Arizona and we didn't see them very much, So our family felt pretty small. Now that I have a relationship with my dad I have added on to that a little more, but we are still a relatively small family. Now James family, that is another story. His family is HUGE. 

60. I love to DIY everything. (see headboard below) James and I like to try re purposing furniture, home decor etc... I see something I like in a store and then tell myself "I can make that". I have the intentions to make it, but then I never get around to it.

$30 DIY headboard

James and I have been wanting a new headboard for a while now. However, the lack of funds has held us back. However, we got the brilliant idea to substitute some of the materials needed to make a headboard with things we already had.

List of materials we used: ($30 total)

- cardboard ($0)

- 2 yards of quilt batting ($8)

- tape, packing or duct

- staple gun

- 2 yards of fabric ($12)

So here is our process to our very low budget headboard:

1. Take huge pieces of cardboard. This was just lying around our warehouse at work.

2. Tape pieces of cardboard together. It would be best if you could find 1 piece of cardboard that was the right size instead of using 2 separate pieces like we had to.

3. Measure ideal size of headboard and cut cardboard to appropriate size.

4. Cut out a design or shape for top of headboard. James used different sized bowls to trace and make the round cuts. Using a box cutter would be best for this step.

5. Lay cardboard shape over quilt batting and cut a 2 inch perimeter around cardboard.

6. Fold batting around cardboard edge and Tape batting around the cardboard. Less tension means fluffier headboard.

7. Take your fabric and iron out any creases you may have in it. (I usually skip this step when using material and always regret it in the end.)

8. Then lay headboard on fabric and cut 2 inch perimeter of fabric around headboard.

9. Fold over fabric around edge of headboard. pulling tight and using a staple gun, staple fabric through batting and cardboard. The starting points would be the top and bottom centers and working outward. 

Then your done! Now, normally I would suggest using plywood instead of cardboard, but when that is all you have, you just have to improvise... :)  I will have to add a picture soon of it mounted behind our bed.

 

If you try this or if you have made a DIY headboard, I would love to see it! Post a link to share it!

I officially have an IPHONE!

YAY!!!! James and I didn't get anything for each other for Christmas because we didn't have enough money. So when we received a Christmas bonus and we saw that iphone 4s were only $99 we jumped at the chance to get that for our Christmas presents! I got the white and James got the black. We were not on a contract with our old telephone service (t mobile, loved them! but they didn't offer the iphone) so we hopped on James' moms family plan and got the new phones and the monthly plan is actually cheaper than our old plan that never even included internet. score!
The best part is that we both have face time so while I am traveling a lot during the next 2 months for work I can still see hubby and Chloe all the time!

So anyone have any good apps they want to share? I have been looking for good shopping/coupon apps especially and some photography apps as well so I can start taking more photos of our little one. 


oh and if you have any tips and tricks with using the iphone, I would love that too as I am sort of technologically challenged.

finding out... mixed emotions...

I am so undecided whether I want to find out Baby E's gender or not.(I need to make up my mind soon, the ultra sound is this Thursday!) I want this pregnancy to be as special as my pregnancy with Chloe and I want to do some things a little different this time around as I am hoping this is my last pregnancy. I think it would be fun not knowing the gender of Baby E and then being surprised when he/she is born and having that super special moment with my newest little one.


I was pretty set on not finding out, however, James is dead set on knowing. At first we decided that James would know and I wouldn't and he would keep it a secret from everyone (because someone is bound to slip in front of me). But then I know that it will kill me that he knows and I don't. So we decided we would know and keep it a secret from everyone else so that the birth would be extra special and waited on with extra anticipation. When we told our family of our decision, some of them got REALLY upset about it. Which then made it not fun for me anymore. (which is another issue in itself, it really bothers me how some people don't take into account our feelings on the situation.) Anyway, So now it comes down to either we don't know at all that way no one can get mad at us that they don't know, since we don't know. Or we find out and tell everyone, but try to find an extra special way of letting them know.

A positive of me knowing is that I really don't feel as connected to this pregnancy as I did when I was prego with Chloe. It could be that it was different because it was my first time and this is all "been there done that" now or if it is because of my crazy hormonal emotions. Maybe finding out will help me feel more connected? That would be great too....


I think I am just gonna give it up to God. If He wants me to know, then the baby will be proudly showing off his/her goodies. If He wants me to wait, then the baby will be "shy" as can be and keep the legs crossed and that will be that, I won't push it further. I won't go in for the extra ultrasound or 4-d ultrasound, we will just have to wait it out. haha. In case we do find out, anyone know of any good ideas for letting family know of the baby's gender? Our family is too big and too spread out throughout the country to do anything together like a gender party, so we need something we can do for everyone.




oh and just because I don't want to know quite yet doesn't mean I don't want to have fun guessing at what Baby E is... anyone have any good wives tails to figure out the baby gender?