Is Social Media Consuming Your Life?

Whether it's blogging, tweeting, facebook-ing, stumbling, pinning... is it consuming you? 

Source: tumblr.thedailywh.at via Kylee on Pinterest

Here's some signs (from my personal perspective) that you may want to slow your roll for a bit with the media stuff:


1) You found out your best friend from high school is pregnant over Facebook.


2) You have a hard time buying ANYTHING because you think you can find it online for cheaper.
"Oh my gosh! Bananas are so overpriced! I betcha I can get them in bulk online... with a coupon..."


3) You haven't done laundry in 3 weeks, but you saw an AWESOME tutorial for folding your shirts on Stumbleupon.com.


4) You put make up on and dress yourself in the morning because you know you may be in some pictures for your blog that day.

Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Kylee on Pinterest

5) You spent 4 hours on Pinterest, you pinned 34 pins onto the "organization" board, and yet your socks are mismatched and you don't remember where you put your toothbrush.

Source: jojofam.blogspot.com via Kylee on Pinterest

6) You tweet about a bowel movement. (I'm a little ashamed that this is true). 




     If you can relate to any of these statements, here's a couple of suggestions:


1) TAKE A VACATION from your media. Seriously, turn off your phones/computers/tvs and enjoy some legit creativity and conversations. Think of something you've never seen online... DREAM!

Source: imgfave.com via Kylee on Pinterest

2) Punch yourself in the leg. Do it, right now!
(HAHA, I'm joking. Don't punch yourself-- you're far too cute to do that).


I hope this post finds you well. Have a wonderful week!


Sincerely,
Kylee

Country Halloween

I'm linking up on the "Fall Follower Fest", so if you're new here please take some time and look around. Leave me a comment and I would LOVE to see your parts of the blogosphere! 

Why yes, I did make this costume! Basia (the Vampire) didn't want a tutu, she wanted to be a "Vampire Queen".

Winner! There has been a Winner!

Congrats, Megan! We will be emailing you... so watch out! ;-)

Thoughts on expanding... a little

Lately I have been praying for a "purpose". 

I know God isn't like a vending machine, so I'm okay with waiting for answers. 

Being diligent in praying hasn't been my strong suit. 

I'm VERY impatient. 

But lately, my impatience has been weighing on me. 

I've been getting attacked, and I'm attacking myself. 

My biggest weakness is not feeling "good enough" 

Here's my thought process: 

"I suck today, what's my deal?" 

--> (Me answering my own thoughts: "well you always suck, this isn't a surprise"

"Yea... but maybe if I just..."

---> "Just what? Just nothing. You will fail at anything you're trying to do." 

"ARRRRGGHH!"

I've been afraid to really harness my talents lately.

You see, I'm a perfectionist. (I KNOW SHOCKER RIGHT!) 

So when I think about pursuing a new idea, I will stop and think if I can't do it to my best ability-- then why do it at all? 

It's this crap that keeps me from really being a powerhouse at anything. 

I learn what I can about a lot of things and stay away from being "awesome" at one thing. 

I've been thinking about expanding my blog stuff to include some design stuff. 

Not like blog design-- because I just "wing it" in that department. 

But newsletter, advertisement, and button design. 

Here's an example of a newsletter I've done recently: 

Where I work, I design a lot of newspaper ads. But I know how to design just about any type of ad you can think of! Here's and example:

Do you think I'm thinking about pursuing something useless? What are your experiences with doubt and "taking the plunge" into expansion?

Any advice is welcome! 

Have you met Lyssa?

Lyssa just started her current blog not too long ago. She's an AMAZING writer! Right now she's documenting her way through the wedding planning process, along with more fun stuff. If you haven't checked her out yet, you should.

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Visit her Blog here

Update: Our Puppies!

Meet the 2 week old sweet little puppies.

SEO for YouTube--ARGH!

I'm not going to lie, I hate SEO. SEO= Search Engine Optimization. 

It can help/hinder any website or online venture. 

You have to be found and search engines are a way to find and be found by someone searching for your content. 

Here's a site that I just found via Google about SEO for YouTube videos. haha. 

http://dailyseotip.com/youtube-seo-%E2%80%93-how-to-optimize-youtube-videos-for-seo/786/

Considering YouTube and Google are basically the same entity-- you have to learn how to use this. 

What I got from this is do your research ahead of time. Go to google and research what your keywords/tags. See if you can narrow it down. Less competition=more hits. :D 

Do work, my friends. Do work. 

Guest Post: Sarah from "Life on Walnut Street".

Hi everyone! I'm Sarah and I blog over at Life on Walnut Street. 

Snapshot of my life - recent camera phone pictures!

I'm so excited to be able to guest post today over here on Kylee's blog (don't you just love her!?) Most of the time my blog is filled with everything from crafts, to cooking. I'm a graphic designer, so I showcase projects that I am currently working on, DIY projects...all kinds of stuff, really. Today I'd like to talk about Faith, more specifically Christian Faith and Halloween and since my guest post was scheduled for the last week in October I thought it was pretty stinkin' good timing. 


Now, before I start I realize I'm defiantly in the minority on this issue, BUT we are not big fans of Halloween here in the Yoder house. I love fall but not to crazy for Halloween...pumpkins but not jack o'lanterns, you get the idea! A few gross big reasons are that I don't much care for these: 

or these...

 or these... in my house at any time of the year, 

even all dressed up as Halloween decor!

Okay, so...(just)maybe that was a little dramatic, (my apologies for anyone with serious phobias) but hang with me. October 31st is pretty nationally known as Halloween. Would you be surprised to learn that Halloween is now the most celebrated holiday of the year in our public schools (since Christmas and Easter are now BIG no-no’s).  

BUT did you ALSO know that October 31st is the anniversary date of the day that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Thesis  to the church doors in Germany in 1517. I am a Christian, have been since I was a little girl and I worked in full time Christian Ministry... I'll be honest that until a few years ago I had no idea what date the Reformation began! 

Okay, so don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't celebrate Halloween. I'm certainly not here to condemn if you do. I trick-or-treated as a kid and turned out okay (well, for the most part, okay!) What's my point to all this...Well, I'm glad you asked! It is simple. All American children know what day Halloween is celebrated on...but most (even the ones who attend Sunday School and Church) I'm sure have no idea what ELSE happened on this date in history. I just wanted to offer up a little something to really think about as we say goodbye to October and look, just around the corner, toward the Christmas Season...a little something to remind us of what is really important! 

If you are interested in more information about what it means to be a Christian you can look HERE or contact me at sarahlyoder@gmail.com

And for the record...most of my posts are not nearly this SERIOUS! I'd love for you to come by and visit me over at Life on Walnut Street sometime!

Thanks again to sweet Kylee for having me visit! 

Be Blessed, 

Sarah 

Welcome Caroline from "Everybody Behave Naturally"

1)   

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

 Well as stated above, I LOVE Jesus, am a full time student and work in the library. I am kinda strange, weird, and very awkward. But not awkward as in socially awkward, more like the fact that I can cause and do experience A LOT of awkward moments. ADDICTED TO COFFEE. Nuff said right there.

2)   Why do you blog?

It all started after I saw The Perfect Man with Heather Locklear and Hilary Duff. Duff’s character blogged and I thought to my self “oh hey. That looks like fun.” So in 2009, when I was 16, I started my blog. But please, don’t go and read those posts. That’s embarrassing. Now I see how fun blogging can be and how successful people can get with them, so I would like to reach that point doing something I enjoy!

3)   What do you do when you aren’t working on your blog? 

School work and work work. Drink coffee. Jam to tunes, ya know…the usual.

4)   Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why? 

Um….definately muchlove-illy.blogspot.com- she is someone I have know for a really long time and she is so entertaining to read. My friend/ person I look up to @ grantandgraceanna.blogspot.com- also have known her since I was little and I am constantly encouraged by what she writes about.

5)   Everyone has a favorite/least favorite post. Name yours and why? 

My least favorite post would probably be whatever some of my first posts where. I sound like a total retard and like I don’t know how to write, which trust me folks, I DO KNOW HOW TO WRITE. My favorite post would be any onf the posts that are labeled awkward and awesome, just plain awkward. I laugh at my self. J

6)   Rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 on how weird you are, and why you rated yourself that number.

10…REALLY  weird. I can’t explain exactly why. You should ask my friends that question. hahahaha

7)   What’s your ultimate goal for your blog? 

Don’t really have an ultimate goal, expect to be encouraging, entertaining with what I write.

8)   Who do you relate most to on Friends?

I don’t ever watch friends. I’m more of a Smallville kind of person I guess.

9)   Can you give us the link to your most popular post? http://agraciousdemeanor.blogspot.com/2011/08/last-friday-night.html

10)                   Why do you think it’s so popular? It’s possibly because I used a katy perry song to title it…..otherwise, I have no idea. 

Live Blog- The Results Of Dancing with the Stars!

Guest Post and GIVEAWAY! {Useful Tips on Spiffin' Up Your Blog} from Royal Daughter Designs

Hey y'all! I'm Amanda, nice to meet you. Of course, we haven't really met until you've introduced yourself. So head on over to my blog and say hi!

First of all...how awesome is Kylee? Her smile totally lights up her blog, no? And it makes. my. day. when I click on over to Sincerely Kylee and see that smiling face! I'm truly honored to be here today!

Today I'm going to teach you two blogging tricks that will help spiffy up the look of your blog. And if you're extra nice, I'll throw in a little prize at the end.

1. Remove the shadow around your images
There's just something about the shadow around images that bugs me. I don't know what it is. Sometimes it really detracts from the image - you know the ones: there's a great photograph (you kind of wonder if the bought it on istockphoto or somewhere) and boom! Right around that image is the tacky little shadow that surrounds all your other pictures. 


Don't be offended, y'all. I've never stopped following a blog because they have shadows around their images. Really. I just personally feel that when you remove the shadow around your images, your blog takes on a whole new sophisticated, chic, and professional look.

So who's with me? Here's what you do.

Log in to blogger.
Click Design

Click Template Designer.

Under Advanced scroll all the way down to Add CSS. Don't worry - just 'cause it says "advanced" doesn't mean you've gotta be a rocket scientist when it comes to blogging. :)

Add the following code:

.post-body img
{
padding: 0px;
border: 0px;
-moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);
-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);
box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);
}

And click "apply to blog."


That's it! You're done!

2. Center your blog buttons.

Whether they are sponsor buttons or places to party buttons – if they’re on your blog's side bar they can easily be centered, giving your blog a more polished and sophisticated look.

First of all, did you know you can put all those buttons in one gadget? That will save you a bit of space, so you might want to do that.  Either way, to center your buttons click on the HTML gadget so you can edit the coding. Enter the following code immediately prior to any other coding:

<center>

Enter the following code immediately after the code:

</center>

Click save. Now isn't that just way too simple? To give your blog an even more polished look, group your buttons together in like-sizes.

So do you want a bonus trick? Well of course you do!

5.      3. Fix Your GFC Box

We all know it happens. You find a new blog that you l.o.v.e. and you decide to follow. (Secretly hoping they’ll follow you back, right? I know that’s not just me!) You glance over their page for the “follow me” button, but it is nowhere to be found. *Refresh Page*. Ah, there it is. Stupid blogger.

Well, that annoying little quirk can be fixed with just a simple code addition to your blog template. In the interest of full disclosure, I learned this trick from Abbie at Five Days Five Ways. So go show her some love and tell her I sent you!

Log into your blogger dashboard and click design.

Select edit HTML

Search for this code:

</title>

Immediately after </title> insert the following code:

<script src='https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js' type='text/javascript'/>

Click Save Template

There you have it! You shouldn’t have any more problems with your GFC followers disappearing! 

Well, that's all I've got for you folks! If you have any questions you're welcome to e-mail me at royaldaughterdesigns@yahoo.com. I'd love for y'all to connect with me online as well:

Now since y'all were so well behaved, I've got a little goody for you! One lucky winner will win a $25 design credit to Royal Daughter Designs! With that you can:

Get a free Pre-made Design
Get a Premium Pre-made Design for $20
Get a Custom Design for $30-$100

Or use the credit for a la carte items! To enter:

Mandatory:
Be a public follower of Sincerely Kylee & Royal Daughter Designs via GFC (one entry)

Bonus Entries:
Follow Sincerely Kylee and Royal Daughter Designs on twitter (one entry)
Like Sincerely Kylee and Royal Daughter Designs on facebook (one entry)
Be a public follower of my personal blog: DAES of Our Lives (one entry)
Tweet | Facebook | Blog about this giveaway - one entry each (be sure to tag us)
Leave a comment telling us your favorite design (one entry)

That's up to eight ways to enter!!

Who We Live For- My Testimony

---But Jesus said, "No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been." Mark 5:19---

I'm going to share my testimony. 

This, for some reason, is not easy for me. 

I believe that I should go and spread the truth and love of Christ, but I have a hard time talking about something so so very close to my heart. So, here it goes. 

I am most likely not the first to tell you that I am a screw up. 

But I believed that I've screwed up in the best imaginable way. When I was in grade school I was the "weird" kid that was starting all of the sweet clubs, take the grasshopper club for instance. We would put grasshoppers in our pockets to see who could have one make it out alive at 3:15. (which rarely happened for the story's sake)
I had an awesome grade school experience. i found ways to get in trouble but i still found ways to be pure at heart. (everyone is around that age). I found God when i was 8. I was in a tent that had been used in Africa on a Mission trip with my Miss Vickie. I remember is so vaugely that it upsets me. But so much like every one else, I lost myself not long after that.

I went through about a 7 year haze. I thought that being what every one wanted was what i was supposed to be. I changed, I didnt pray or even think about the most amazing things that God was doing for me! It was that during that grey phase I was Kylee, the partier. Or Kylee, that one girl. Or Kylee, she's all over the place. I was never Kylee the good person who loves any one but herself.
I was sinking so fast that I couldn't tell that i had lost my Purity and my faith.

You know those "control freaks" that think they have their life all figured out? I was one. Control over anything is now humorous. God controls everything.
I moved to college this past July. I felt like i was alone.. and i was. after about 3 weeks of bordom during the summer i had to get a job.


 Little did i know! I met Ashley, and she had this ora about her, it was so awesome. I WANTED to know her, there was a feeling that i couldnt ignore that i had to know her more than just a co worker. I went to her house and I met her younger brother, austin. I had so much fun and these people were unlike i have EVER known.


They asked me what my story was. at that moment, everything came to me. OH NO! i dont even know myself. i told them the concrete basics and that was all.
After meeting them, everything started to make sense, and i underwent a complete makeover. a Melt-up, if you will.

 A fire was in my heart, that had not been there before.
Faith for me has come sortof naturally. As soon as I saw grace and mercy for the second time, it was easy to give my life and my faith to Jesus. 

Then-- I met my husband. 

We say sometimes that we would be incompatible if it weren't for our shared love of Christ. We know that the only way our marriage will succeed is because our God is an incredibly powerful God. He heals broken people. He reveals love in ways that you can't imagine. My marriage is for and because of Christ. 

Right now, I've been in a state of preparation. I feel like God is preparing me for something BIG! I've been praying for a purpose lately, and I can't wait until that purpose is revealed. 

Some days I can't get over how much love I have in my heart 

And I know the only reason it's there is because of Him. 

My love is for Jesus Christ. 

I am saved and loved. 

Guest Post: {Motherhood} from Vivian from "A Dance for Five"

I'm so happy to be able to post here today in Kylee's blog. Isn't she awesome? My name is Vivian and I blog over at Dance for 5. This post is more about what it's like to be a mom of three little ones, and as hard as it may seem, if you think my hands are FULL, you should see my heart.



***



Can’t even tell you how many tries it took to get this picture. Mami NEVER wants anything in return. How can it be so much to ask for just one simple thing? I want ONE descent family picture of all of us! I’m so tired of sharing the same 2010 family picture: the last time we were all HAPPILY looking at the camera. 

Looks like we finally made it!

I gotta give credit to my girls. They aren’t the ones who make this task difficult. They love each other, they have a ton of fun with each other, and it shows. They are such naturals.

Even “Baby” has been trained very well.

The cause of my “affliction” it’s the little stinker: my son, who is a NO when it comes to pictures. And I mean a  BIG NO! See my hand under his chin? I’m trying so hard! You can’t tell by my smile but I’m totally faking it that I’m about to lose it. This is about attempt #10. I don’t dare posting publicly the extent of the bribery so that we could finally get just.one.good.picture.  

My life as a mom is not easy, but it’s FULL of love, fun and the unexpected. For example, on a typical day, you will hear lines coming out of my kid’s mouths similar to these ( so you can get a remote idea on what their “crazy” personalities are like:

Kati: 7-yr-old girl  Toto: 5- yrd-old boy  Baby: 2-year-old-girl

"I think it's against the law to date before you're 16" –Kati (Whatever it takes to keep her focused, right? HA!)



"We're all in this TOGETHER!"  --Toto after demanding he was to be the LEADER in the corn maze



"I LOVE Paris! They have the best clothes there!" –Kati (Yes, she’s been there and her world revolves around fashion, and yes I know I’m in trouble, she is only 7)



"Mom, mom, look!" --Baby (she used to call me MAMI, the Spanish way, and the way she’s been taught and the way my other children call me. But now she calls her English grandma: Mami and her Colombian mom: MOM. Think they poor thing is confused? Poor bilingual kids (HA!)



"Don't drive fast, or we'll all go to JAIL" -- (Kati to her uncle when they got on the freeway) Hmmm, wonder who’s been telling them such things? As well as going to jail when you don’t buckle up, etc. What can I say? Sometimes there is no gray area for children, it’s all either black or white…



"Do you like Manchester or Barcelona?" --Toto (he knows more about soccer than our entire extended family together)



"Let's play truth or dare. Ok, Truth or dare?” Answer: “Dare.” “Ok, now you dare me to do something." –Kati (she loves playing 'dare' and the rules are ALWAYS different, ha ha)



If you chose “Dare” something like this will unfold: "I dare you to go to the store and buy me something!" --Kati as you are passing Target (Yes, her life revolves around shopping, too. Once again I’m in trouble!)

I just LOVE being a mom and I highly recommend it! (Seriously!)