Marriage Monday: Fiercely Loyal

“When you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Selfishness is the great destroyer of happy family life. If you will make your first concern the comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating any personal concern to that loftier goal, you will be happy, and your marriage will go on throughout eternity.”

--Gordon B. Hinckley, April 1995

Find my other Marriage Mondays here.



Image found with Google Images.

Tell me Tuesday: 30 for 30

My 29th birthday is coming up and I've been toying with the idea of coming up with a list of

30 things before 30.

I like to think I try new things but it's always fun to get ideas from other places since I'm sure many of them would be things I haven't thought of before.

What do you say? Will you help me out? Throw out a few ideas for me in the comments and I'll try to make my list up here in the next couple of weeks.

Edit: Here's my current list of 30 Things to do before I'm 30.

Marriage Monday: Speak the Right Language

The Five Love Languages

1. Words of Affirmation-Hearing the words "I love you" are important-hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward.
2. Quality Time-Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved.
3. Receiving Gifts-If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you.
4. Acts of Service-Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.”
5. Physical Touch-Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love.

I'd highly encourage you to get a hold of this book and learn more about each love language, both for yourself and for your spouse (or others you know). You can visit the official website and take an assessment right now.

*Information on this post is from The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Find my other Marriage Mondays here.

Cranberryfries Cake Contest

Ever since my last cake contest I've been dieing to host another one but wasn't sure what book I wanted to do. Then one night it came to me (an entire year later!). And now I present to you...

Cranberryfries Cake Contest

(2nd edition)

Instructions:

• We'll have TWO categories. BOOKS & OTHER
• Decorate your cake after ANYTHING of your choosing.
• Send in a picture (or two) of your masterpiece by March 31st to cranberryfries at gmail dot com.
• Please include your name (or alias) and
• -the title/author of the book you used for inspiration OR
• -what theme your cake is (animals, kids, movies, etc)
• I'll post all the entries on my blog and the voting will open.

Grand Prize: Your pick from my book giveaway pile.

(many are SIGNED! by the author)

Chocolate Never Faileth by Annette Lyon

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs

Defensive Tactics by Steve Westover

Bumpy Landings by Donald Carey

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The Sapphire Flute by Karen Hoover

Summer In Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

The Diamonds by Ted Michael

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Those titles that are bolded are SIGNED by the author.

Runner up prize: A small version of my "favorite things" box.

Trust me, I think you'd like it!

--

Rules:
-Anyone can enter! I'd love to have a lot of fabulous ideas/creations to choose from!
-Feel free to use whatever you'd like. This isn't a taste test, so go crazy!
-All photo submissions need to be emailed to me at cranberryfries[at]gmail[dot]com by March 31st, 2011. (Feel free to email a few different angles of your cake.)
-You can submit up to three creations.
-Depending on what I get, I reserve the right to create categories of submissions. (For example, different book genres)

Extras:
-Winner(s) will be notified via email so please be sure I know how to contact you. (Sorry prizes can only be shipped in US and Canada.)
-Winner(s) will be chosen by votes from viewers.
-Winner(s) will be chosen based on how cool your cake is (not how it tastes). Have fun! Be creative!
-I reserve the right to add more prizes to the grab bag as I see fit, and allow the winner(s) to choose from such prizes.

Wordless Wednesday: Knotted Tree

(This photo was taken by me in February 2011.)

Marriage Monday: What does marriage encompass?

"Marriage is designed to satisfy this deep search for intimacy. Thus, marriage is not simply a relationship; it is an intimate relationship that encompasses all aspects of life: intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical. In a marriage relationship, a husband and wife share life with each other in the deepest possible way. They view themselves as a unified team, not as two individuals who happen to be living in close proximity."

--The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman

You can find my other Marriage Mondays here.

*Image found on Google Images.

Weekend made awesome (thanks to the dollar store)

A few weeks ago I had a few awesome finds at the dollar store. It was awesome to help entertain the kids for the weekend.

I found some little masks that came 3 in a pack (I bought 2). I was going to save this for a family night activity but figured they kids would have more fun each getting to do two. Here's a few.

They LOVE craft time, and it's always fun for me to see the cool creations they make.

This was one of my favorites because once I got them home and took off the wrapper I realized they weren't just ordinary dry erase boards but the hook in the back can help it turn into an easel type thing or it can pull all the way up so you can hang it.

Probably my most favorite are these baskets. I actually got the sponges and spray bottles at another store (but they were still $1 or under). I wish they'd had other colors but my kids LOVE these. We've had them for about a month now and it still makes me laugh how much they want (sometimes ask) to clean because that means they get to use their buckets and spray bottles.

Case in point. This is from today.

We like to dance while we clean.