beYOUtiful giveaway.

Hi girls! Oh how I am so excited about the beYOUtiful you giveaway. I am pairing up with the amazing girls below to bring you the greatest giveaway ever! 

20 prizes, 20 winners!! 

This is a giveaway you want to make sure to enter.

                     Love Me, Dani Marie                   Chloe Reese                        Electric Eel

                              Fl{h}air                High Heels and Training Wheels             Honee Bee

                          Life as a Bird                       Micky London                   The Polished Monkey

                       We and Serendipity                  Hoodwinked             All Things Unpredictable and Chic

                            Anci Decor                           Night Chayde                    The Glitter Revival

                 Love Caroline Blog                      Twist Me Pretty     A Mommys Life with A Touch Of Yellow

                                               Kali Now Living         Haircut and General Attitude 

                                                                                                                         

                                                                                 

The prizes!

Not Pictured: 

$15.00 to Michaels

1 Lage Ad Space on Honee Bee and OPI Nail Polish 

1 200x200 Ad Space on High Heels and Training Wheels

$10.00 Shop Credit on The Glitter Revival

1 Essie Nail Polish

$10.00 Gift Card to Amazon 

1 Large Ad Space on Love Caroline Blog with Introduction Post

1 Hello Wood Cut Finished Word

Red Bubble Necklace

Summer Nail Polish Set

$10.00 PayPal Cash

a Rafflecopter giveaway

just another day.

it's just another day that mr. schroeder continues to amaze me in all that he does. he has made my negatives positives. and he has truly inspired me to shrug it off...even when the world is against you. we had an amazing weekend. it's a new week. a new day. and i'm as happy as a bird with a french fry. the following quote reminded me of him. he is pretty perfect. and the perfect example of love. 

via. 

feeling sorry for myself

we all have our trials in this life. we all face something hard. nobody makes it through life without going through some sort of trial. it's silly to me. because each time i'm so sad over something, it always makes me stronger. no matter what. each time somebody is going through something hard, i always hear,

"i never thought i would be one of those people going through this." 

i've heard that about deaths in the family, not being able to have children, abuse, and so much more. when talking with my mom the other day, i found myself saying the same thing. i have never been through something so hard in my life. for a few months, all i would do was go home, crawl into bed, and cry my eyes out. then, my relationship with my Heavenly Father grew, and i realized that instead of feeling sorry for myself, i needed to steer my attention for God's children. so i did. and now, i'm back at square one. feeling sorry for myself all over again. 

i would ask for prayers. but i don't want to. at this moment in time, all i know is that i MUST get out & serve those around me. i MUST steer my thoughts away from myself. & i MUSTN'T live my life like this. this way, i can show the lord i am exercising my faith in him to heal me. or if it is in his will, to help me get through this with the most positive attitude a person can possibly have. 

sorry for the negativity around here. i promise it's not intentional. imma take a break. just for a few days.

via.

my favorite people EVER

remember that one time when i'm like, "i always like someone who many people don't know about...then they blow up & everyone loves them?" yeah. that's how these guys were. it all started out with john schmidt. years and years later, they signed with sony & are super great while being all over the internet now! so excited for them! so i've always been a little bit obsessed. but a little bit is probably an understatement. we'll leave it at that. here's a few of my favorite songs/videos:

alright. so now you got a feel for my loves. they're so awesome. i just adore them. so one day, i'm talking about how great they are & my mom texted me that they were releasing their second CD in salt lake on wednesday. well, duh. i didn't resist it. i cut all my plans & went there, in hopes that nobody knew about it. well, the line was long & even wrapped around the store a few times. dang fans. ha! long story short, i got to talk to my favorite man for a few minutes, snapped a photo with him & even got their autographs. i love them so much & think what they're doing with their music is amazing. it inspires me to do something absolutely insane with my harp. anyone play the harp? cello? piano? anyone in? let's do this.

my 1

one of my favorite quotes. i sure hope mr. schroeder knows that he is my 1 in 6 billion. that's a lot of people. and i chose him. not that he's the lucky one. because really, it's me. 

a letter to my mama's

 

 

dear mama,

 

happy mother's day. ever since i was little, i looked up to you and have strived to follow in your footsteps. people say i'm a daddy's girl. which, i sort of am. but i think i'm equally a mama's girl. i'll always remember this one time, in middle school, i lost all of my friends because they got into drugs. i didn't know how to approach the situation. because i was completely alone. i came home and just cried to you. i couldn't wait to let it all out. you took me, in the car, & we drove to a place called 'the store.' you let me pick a treat i wanted and then we went to fazoli's, where we got their famous slushes. it reminds me of taylor swift's 'best day with you' song about her mom. you have always been there for me. you have always taught me how to love and how to care for people. you have taught me how to serve others beyond any measure. you have taught me everything i've needed to know in this life. it scares me to ever think of you not being here. because, well, i call and ask for your advice on something every single day. whether it be relationship advice, recipes, or anything in between, you're always there. you know it all. it's going to be really hard trying to measure up to you as a mother for my children. i will always put them first. because that's what you taught me. i love you. and hope your day is perfect.

 

 

dear mama schroeder,

 

happy mother's day to YOU as well. whenever someone brings you up, on cue, i just start to get teary eyed. for a number of reasons, really. one of the reasons is that i can't get over how i lucked out. i don't get it. i have many friends who don't absolutely LOVE their mother in laws like their own mother. but me, oh man, i really did luck out. the other reason is for your example. you are so strong. you have been through so much & have beat it! you don't complain. i love that about you. you don't sit there & feel sorry for yourself. but instead, you trust in the lord and you always seem calm. like i said before, you have been through so much. i don't know how you do it. you are an amazing inspiration and example of faith, steadfastness & that phrase in the scriptures "enduring to the end." most days, i feel like we don't express appreciation to you as much as we should. i am so thankful you are my mother in law. i can't imagine marrying into a different family. i think it's safe to say that i wouldn't be as happy as i am right now. you're always showing you care & that you love us. i can sit here forever & talk about the many great things about you. the biggest one, is raising exceptional children. ESPECIALLY my mr. schroeder :) he is humble. he is kind. he is forgiving. you taught him well. & i can't thank you enough for preparing my future husband to meet me. i don't know what i did to deserve it. and i probably never will know. happy mother's day. please recognize your worth. and go pamper yourself every once in awhile! i know you hate these pictures below, but i think you are beautiful. and i love them.

 

 

 

 

campin & fishin

i've never really learned how to fish. while we were dating, mr. schroeder took me to a pond and i learned. i loved it. but never got super into it. this past weekend, my sister & her husband invited us to go camping with them at vernon reservoir. i would say it was a success! i would say the guys spent most of their time fishing in the pontoon boats. my sister & i fished off the side of the shore & i caught two! raise the roof! i convinced mr. schroeder to let me get my own fishing pole. then we can go together. & learn allll about how to be fisherman. ha!

 i love camping and everything but i haven't slept in a tent in i don't know how long! it was crazy. and i wasn't prepared. i thought i was going to die from being so cold the first night. it's safe to say i will be bringing a lot more blankets and a heater next time.



self-worth.

via. 

i have a lot of opinions circling in my head about self worth and loving yourself. i think it's because i learned the hard way. i've contemplated writing about my past a whole bunch because it helps me be grateful for where i am today & it also helps other people who are currently going through a rough patch. however, i write about it, then i delete it. because i'm over that phase in my life. there is something i can take & learn from, but i never want to dwell. ever ever. 

years ago, i went to a fireside where marie osmond spoke at. it helped me so much. she mentioned, "don't marry if you have low self esteem" that means more to me now than it did then. because i am married! in high school, my self esteem would never ever shake. i knew who i was. i knew who i wanted to become. and nobody could ever destroy that, or so i thought. i fell in love in high school. and it was a very long three years that sort of destroyed that self esteem i had. because i was never good enough. i had a fabulous relationship with my mother, i had friends that i adored, and i had a solid faith in the church. the three most important things to me had diminished after dating a controlling boy. who is to blame? not him. but me. it's really my own fault.

so i met mr. schroeder. and though i knew he was the one and the spirit was yelling at me, "THIS IS YOUR GUY..." i still had little self esteem. we married. and i couldn't have chosen any better human being to spend forever with. he has played a major part in helping my self esteem grow to what it never was before. i've definitely learned that you MUST love yourself FIRST before you can allow anyone else to love you with their whole heart. i know who i am. i know where i'm going.  and nobody will ever destroy that. i mean that this time. 

via.

i believe many women struggle with insecurities and self worth problems. what woman doesn't? we all go through phases where we just don't like ourselves. but i challenge everyone to quit doing what the world wants you to do. become what you dream to become. & pray often. because you can't do it yourself. 

what i'm listening to

the first days of spring: noah and the whale

the movement of the tall trees: the mixus brothers

break me out: the rescues

yours forever: generationals
brooklyn: wakey wakey
let her go: passenger

big coat: wiretree

help i'm alive: metric

this woman's work: greg laswell

fit inspiration.

there came a point in my life when i was tired of being tired from getting out of bed. after marriage, i gained weight. a lot of it. and i was tired of eating like crap. i've always been a gym rat. but losing weight and nutrition is 80% what you consume & 20% excercise.

i haven't really mentioned this much. but for the past couple of weeks (and for my future, too!) i have been doing "clean eating." i never realized how hard it was until i realized, "oh shiz. i can't have chocolate!" then, i started craving cheesecake from the cheesecake factory. randomly. mr. schroeder says, "on your birthday, on your birthday." that is a fabulous excuse. ANYWAYS, i'm not one to broadcast all of my accomplishments at the gym, but i was so impressed that i did this, i wanted to share with everyone who may need a little "umph" in getting up and going to the gym. in 40 minutes, i burned 450 calories on the treadmill doing the incline trainer. this was not easy, however, if you don't hold onto the treadmill, you will be amazed at the results!

when i need motivation, i go look at all the toned girl's all over my pinterest feed. i'll save em to my phone, and when i see a massive chocolate bar, i have to tell myself that i will never look like that until i do this. sometimes, i think it's so unfair. because i have a few friends who are so thin. they are size zero's. they eat like crap and they have only worked out a handful of times in their lives. it's kind of not fair. but then again, i posses some lovely traits that those girl's don't. mr. schroeder keeps telling me (and i know it's true), dieting and eating right is 90% attitude. yep. dang, right? here are some things i always have to think of (i found 3/4 of these pictures on pinterest).

what do you do for inspiration to work out?
are you one of those people who don't even have to work out?
if so, i envy you. :)