Lunch Pails & Lipstick

Isn't that the cutest name?  Lunch Pails & Lipstick.  That completely describes stylish motherhood, doesn't it?

I have a friend Summer Thacker.  She is rad.  She's adorable, funny, and ridiculously stylish on a budget.  I've known her since Junior High, and we both moved back home after college so we run into each other around town all the time.  Especially at Cafe Rio or the mall.  She has styled people like David Archuleta and Carmen Rasmussen of American Idol fame, and has worked on catalog shoots for Lime Ricki.

Summer and a couple of her friends have started a new blog, and I'm so excited about it.  I have been trying to get her to blog for years.  Lunch Pails & Lipstick is awesome.  My favorite thing about it is that there are three friends contributing, and they all live in different parts of the country, with different life situations, so there's a great diversity of information.

Today there is a posting by Summer about her friend Lindsey's son's Pumpkin Patch Party.  Um... did you know that you can mail a pumpkin?  Check out what I mean by reading the post.  I'm totally thinking I'm going to do this to invite my family to Thanksgiving Dinner.  I love it.

Lunch Pails & Lipstick also has a Pinterest page that is just completely chalk full of radness. 

Like these cute Halloween ideas:

 

Source: marthastewart.com via Lunchpailsandlipstick on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Lunchpailsandlipstick on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Lunchpailsandlipstick on Pinterest

Don't take my word for it though.  Go check out Lunch Pails & Lipstick yourself.  You'll have a new style go-to.  Leave some love and tell Summer I sent you!

Sorry, but my sister is better than your sister.

My friend Mique, the Queen behind The Queen Bee Market is having an awesome contest. It's called "Bee a Queen for the Day", and one lucky winner is going to get a prize package worth over $1000! To nominate a person, you have to write a post about why the deserve to win.

So here I am {of course on the last possible day, because I am the queen of procrastinating}, telling you why my sister should win this contest.

My sister, Molly Garibaldi, is so many things: an amazing wife, the best mother {way better than me}, a great big sister, a giving friend, and a business owner whose "business" is actually a ministry that serves so many.

Molly is the kind of mom that gets down on the floor and plays with her kids, even when there are a million things to be done. She is creative and brilliant, so she comes up with super fun things for the kids to do that don't cost a lot of money. One year for Christmas she gave my son a restaurant kit that included stuff like guest check pads, menus, and an apron.

She is the first one to volunteer to help with her friends kids, or to bring someone a meal, or to just be there to offer support and encouragement to a friend in need.

Molly and her husband are amazingly disciplined with their money. They sacrifice a lot so that they can live on a Private School Teacher's income. Every single time I meet someone from my brother-in-laws school, they go on and on about how much they love him. {Frankly, I would have nominated Kevin for this prize too, but I wasn't sure he would appreciate being called a queen for a day.} He is where he is called to be, but that means that he and my sister have to be very careful with their budget.

My sister rarely buys stuff for herself. Lucky for her, I am getting fatter by the second, so her skinny little butt gets all my hand-me-downs. But Molly basically waits for Christmas and birthdays to get anything she needs.

Being the Queen for the Day would be such a blessing for her, and I would love to get to make that happen. Because on top of all those other things, Molly is the best big sister any girl could ever ask for!

I am blessed.

Choose Joy Tickets *NOW ON SALE*

I have metioned before that I am putting together a one day, faith-based conference for women experiencing infertility or desiring to grow their family through adoption.

Please help me spread the word about this event!  If you know anyone that could benefit from attending, email them a link to the site {www.choosejoyevent.com}.  Blog, Facebook, tweet, Instagram the photo above.

God is working in this event... it's going to be a great day.

Exciting News from a Friend

Have you ever heard of Lisa Leonard?

Lisa is a designer, blogger, wife, and mom.  She is also one of the most amazing women that I have ever met.  She is kind, wise, generous, fun, and absolutely beautiful inside and out.  I had the privilege of meeting Lisa when my business was just taking off and she shared so much with me about the highs and lows of owning your own small business.  I still think about her advice often.

Anyway, Lisa just shared a huge secret on her blog... her family is working on a reality TV show.  Check it out the trailer:


I cannot think of a more perfect person to represent the light of Christ on TV.  It's a position I don't envy, but I know she can handle it. 

Please pray for my sweet friend to be protected from certain attacks and nastiness that will be headed her family's way as they place themselves out there.

Congratulations Leonard family!

Operation Take my Life Back

Today was supposed to mark a huge milestone for me in Operation Take my Life Back. 

Today is the first day of fall bible study at my church.  We are going to be studying James along with Beth Moore.  I'm so looking forward to a. being back with Beth... she is one of my very favorite teachers, and b. being back in a regular women's bible study.  It has been a couple of years because for a couple of years my mornings have been dedicated to making calendars.

Except this morning my sweet baby girl decided to wake up at 6:30am.  She usually wakes up closer to 8.  It was already going to be a challenge to get her through to 11 o'clock {when bible study ends} without a nap. 

She was super cranky.

I tried to put her down for a nap.  But then she vomited all over me.  I mean a lot.

So she got a long bath and then finally fell asleep.  At 10:30am. 

So instead of being at bible study this morning I am still in my pajamas, with dye in my hair, writing this blog.

But I'm okay with that.  Because you know what?  This morning turned out to be a milestone in Operation Take my Life Back after all.  Because I got to sit in my pajamas and rock my baby girl that is not feeling well until she finally fell asleep.  And I didn't have to worry about all the work that was waiting for me or the packages that needed to get out. {Oh though there is still work to be done and packages to be sent, but a weight has been lifted.}  Operation Take my Life Back... in full effect.

It's Time

Today on my business blog I am announcing that I am taking a break from my business.

I'm sure this will not shock any of my regular readers. 

I am tired. 

I miss my friends and family.

I want my life back. 

The bottom line is that I have spent the last four years building this business. I have sacrificed time with my family and friends, a clean house, folded laundry, and my sanity for the sake of this business.  

I love my business, but I love my family more.  My whole life I knew that when I grew up I was going to be a Stay at Home Mom. It was what Nathan and I had always planned for our family. But being a Work at Home Mom is nothing like being a Stay at Home Mom.  And I just remembered that I want to be a Stay at Home Mom.  

I also am very much looking forward to the Choose Joy event that I am putting together, and I want to be able to give it my full attention this fall.

It's hard to walk away from a growing, successful business.  Very hard.  But I definitely feel God calling me out at this time.

So thank you so much for all your support and encouragement these last few years. I am excited to have more time to spend here with you in the coming months!

Impossibly Possible

Last week was rough. One of the roughest I've had in a while.

I'm overwhelmed.

I'm tired.

I'm weary.

{It didn't help that I saw The Odd Life of Timothy Green. If you have ever experienced infertility, DON'T see this movie in a theater. My emotional outburst was embarrassing.}

It's no secret on this blog that I have had many moments of doubt with my business. I love what I do, but it is hard. Sometimes it is too hard.

Lately I have been feeling like nothing in my life is getting 100%. My house is a constant disaster. Laundry is never put away. I haven't done anything fun with my kids this summer. I'm way overdue on goals I had for the Choose Joy event. And my to do list is never even close to done.

I am a person that likes to be busy, and is not easily overwhelmed, but this season of my life is testing that.

This morning at church we sang a worship song with a line that says, "Nothing is impossible with God, He holds my world in His hands."

As happens often to me with the worship at our church, this song spoke straight to my heart. I pray for and about my business often. From day one I have placed this business in God's hands, and I have confidently followed when I have felt Him leading. He has blessed my business far beyond what I could have asked for, and He has confirmed for me time and time again that He has me right here for a reason.

In this season I've been feeling like peace is impossible, but this morning my sweet Lord reminded me that nothing is impossible for Him. So once again, I am placing my business in His tender, loving hands and asking for His wisdom. And the good news for me is that this is not my first rodeo with Lord. When you have walked with the Lord for a while, you have the advantage of having seen His faithfulness along the way. I am trusting that God will reveal His will for Much Ado About You, and give me the strength to follow that will.

I said the other day, it would be so much easier to quit my business if it was failing, but to walk away simply because I can't keep up with its success would be so difficult.

But here it is... I'm saying this out loud so that you can all hold me accountable: if the Lord asks me to walk away, I'm ready.

I trust Him.

I want peace.

So I'm ready.

But I'm also ready to suck it up, take a deep breath, and push past this rough season if this is where the Lord wants me, because I know that the peace that feels impossible is possible with Him.

Are you in a rough season? Are you overextended and feeling like you have nothing left to give? Are you just tired? Will you do something for me??? Will you join me and trust God to be faithful in your life too? Let's walk this road together and be encouraged by each other's sweet victories as the Lord brings us our impossible peace. And remember that if it seems impossible, that is the best time for God to reveal Himself in our lives.