I Saw This Thing on Pinterest....

I have used those six words more times than I can count in countless conversations. My dad walks in from work. "What did you do today?"
Me: "Well I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Shopping in WalMart, lady shopping in the same aisle as me. "Oooohh I love your hair! How did you do it?!"
Me: "I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Making dinner for company. "This is delicious...what is your secret?"
Me: "Funny you ask...I saw this thing on Pinterest....."
Hanging out with friends. "Laura you are soo creative"
Me: Not really but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."
Best conversation starter. "I saw this thing on Pinterest.."
Filling out job applications. Question: Describe your accomplishments in life.
My answer. I am actually one of the top pinners on Pinterest. I hate to brag but, I saw this thing on Pinterest...."

Ok so I think you get the picture. My dad will not let me say that anymore he told me "Laura, I assume you found it on Pinterest unless you say differently." I actually believe it is my favorite six words in the whole wide world, but that is beside the point. Some people find being addicted to Pinterest a waste of time and energy, but I would like to beg to differ and prove to you that it is actually one of the best things to spend time on.

The do's and don'ts of Pinterest:
 Do have a whole board devoted to your wedding. My wedding board has 176 pins at the moment. It is full of centerpiece ideas, dresses (for both bride and bridesmaids), good photo ideas, cute and unique wedding favors, save the dates...etc. Now you may say "Laura Jane you don't even have a fiance let alone a boyfriend! Why?!" When I get engaged, I will not have to be engaged for long and I will have the least stressful wedding in the whole world. All because I started planning my wedding little by little on Pinterest. When the time comes I just have to decide which ideas I will have and which I will not.

The don'ts of your wedding board. If you are married don't have one, unless it is for a friend or family member, and even so make sure it is what they want and not what you would have done differently. Don't just pin every single random and cute thing you see....make sure you have a general plan ie. same dress types, same color zone, same type of wedding theme. If I were to pin a pretty dress that I know I would never wear for my wedding that would just be a waste because, I would go back and have way to much to sort through.

Don't pin viruses....people oh dear people these are not that hard to realize. Before pinning something glance at the website under the picture! You will normally recognize it. Or you will notice it being a blog. If a website looks like this: www.gahw9sdrjuhw4guj.com I would generally not click on it. Also there is sometimes a lock that shows you if it is safe or not. Another thing if it says something like. "The first 500 hundred people to pin this will get a $800 gift certificate to Old Navy" It is most likely a lie and you will be pinning something that you probably don't want to pin...just guessing.

Don't pin a creative idea, food, exercise, or hairstyle that you are never actually going to use or do. And if you are using Pinterest correctly you will most likely make half of the food and creative idea items you pin. (If you have time of course) I find Pinterest my go to place when I am bored, I have used to many of the ideas I have found. It is crazy helpful. Love love love it!

Do stalk on all the super good blogs that have awesome tutorials, fashion, and cooking advice. You may find yourself getting lost in a blog more often that you get lost scrolling through the actual Pinterest home page. I have always loved blogs and now there is Pinterest which just shows me all the good blogs without having to go through all the ones that are not as interesting.

Don't just pin pictures of puppies and little ducks and pigs or whatever else is little, fluffy and not human.  Alright some of them are cute agreed, but when that is all you pin I get a little bit sick of seeing these fluffy creatures. I think there should be a maximum amount of fluffy creatures you can pin in one sitting. Moderation is key people.

Now since this is probably my favorite site in the whole wide world I could keep going and going I will just show you my top 5 favorites out of 1,000.

 I did this one but, with MN instead! And the heart by Duluth, MN....I love it!

 This is your fingerprint in your grooms wedding ring! I am definitely doing this and maybe for myself as well.

 This is 20 homemade recipes for growing long and luscious hair! I use it all the time!

 I really really love this photo and am doing one like it for my graduation pictures.

And I just love this picture cus it has snow and a ski lift which I adore!

Choosing those five was really hard! Like I said 5 out of 1,000 that is to many to chose from! ;)

To Fear or Not to Fear

Now that school is again starting after a week of "fall" break I thought it high time to up-date. Allot can happen in two weeks time. Some things good, some things bad, nonetheless they are memories and images that stay with us for a lifetime. They are our story, which helps us learn and grow. So what has happened to me this past two weeks you may ask? Fear.

Fear is a very real thing in everybody's life. I will never forget in 5 grade my classmates and I went on a field trip to a rock climbing wall. I had never been on a rock wall like that before and I remember being terrified. My dad happened to be one of the chaperones who, of course insisted that I get harnessed up and ready to face my fear. Half way up the wall I froze, completely panic stricken. I remember looking down at the guy with the rope and saying "I wanna come down" than looking over at my dad who looked at the guy with the rope and told him "She cannot come down until she rings the bell at the top." I felt completely out of control and mad that my dad thought I could make it to the top and live. I, of course protested and cried, until my dad said "Laura Jane the only way you are EVER going to over come ANY fear is to do what you are afraid of." After a few more minutes I took a shaky breathe and put one foot over the other till I could reach and ring the bell. When I got to the bottom I had never been so happy in all my life; and guess what I was never afraid of climbing walls again. Today I climb rock walls in caves with no fear and no harness; I owe it to my dad who pushed me past my fear.

I am greatly blessed to have a dad who has always pushed me past my greatest fears in life. But what do we do when our greatest fears grip our minds, soul, heart, and body? What do we do when all we want to do is curl up in a little "safety" ball and hide out till all that we fear is gone? I am only just now learning how to deal with it fully, and it is a process that I know I need help in and that I know I am only just beginning to grow in. It is a process that I hope to someday master so that fear no longer reigns in my life. There are a few things I do know though that have truly helped me get on the right path.

One thing is I absolutely must learn to give up control. This has always been and probably always will be one of my biggest struggles. I am a firstborn, I am oh so very stubborn, I am a leader, I say what I am thinking, and most of all I like, no scratch that, I love being in control of my life and what is happening around me. If something slips out of my grasp and there is nothing I can do about it, I sink into a pit of fear, which than drags me down till I feel there is no escaping it. What than am I doing to cure myself of this downward spiral?! I am learning to give Jesus Christ control of my life. If I do not trust him with my very life than there is honestly no hope for me at all.

Another thing that I know is good, is facing that fear head on. I ask myself a series of questions. First, why do I feel fear? What is making me fearful? Once I figure out what I am afraid of I put it in my real life situation. What is the worst thing that could happen in this situation? What are the odds of that happening? If they are high am I going to let that fear take over my mind and body or am I going to trust that Jesus loves me and that he has my best interest at heart? Because if I believe that Christ is in control of my life and that he does actually care about and want the best for me than there will be no room for that fear to grow and take hold.

So today am I going to let fear take hold of me and rule my world or am I going to let Christ's love in to take away all fear? It is a daily choice that I know I have to face every single day. And I pray to God that I make the right choice every single day so that I no longer have to live in fear of what is to come or what has happened.

6 Random Facts

My friend once told me that I had allot of weird facts in my head, after she told me this I wrote her a whole letter of my random facts of knowledge. After I sent the letter I thought of a bunch more and thought why not share these awesome random facts that I use all of the time!

1) When using a box cake mix replace the water with milk. Your cake will taste better and will be moist! People will want to know what your cake recipe is!

           

3) Alright girls you know when your mascara is almost gone but you really really don't want to go buy a new tube. Don't! Just add a few drops of contact solution! It works I do it all the time! You can usually do it up to three times and it last much longer!

4) Don't you just hate when you accidentally get deodorant stain on your clothes?! Don't sweat it....just grab a cotton sock and gently rub the area with the deodorant with the sock it will come right off! No water needed nothing! I got deodorant on my prom dress and it came right off with the sock.

5) Alright I have read sooo many articles on how to get stains out...but I have now found something that really actually works! I have done it twice now once on a shirt that had motor oil and once on a shirt that had   meat grease on it. Just spray carpet cleaner on the affected area than just throw into the washer with soap. (We use tide) Next thing you know the stain is gone!

6) When you have a pot of boiling water on the stove throw a wooden spoon across the top and it won't boil over! It really works and has saved me a huge mess more than once!

And those are my six random facts that I love!