Pea of Sweetness

  • Home
  • My Shop
  • About Us
    • About Emilee & Pea of Sweetness
    • Awards
    • Contact Us
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Work with Me
    • PR Information & Media Kit
    • Sponsor/Advertising Info
    • Sponsorship Opportunties
  • Proudly Part Of
  • Blogs I Enjoy
  • Faith
  • Family
    • Parenting
      • Parenting Special Needs Children
    • Pets
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Reviews
      • Preschool Reviews
    • Homeschooling Special Needs Children
    • 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents
  • Homemaking
    • Meal Planning
    • Recipes
  • Special Needs
    • Autism
    • Sensory Processing Disorder
    • Cancer
  • Natural/Eco-friendly Living
    • Natural/Eco-friendly products
  • Health & Fitness
    • Health and Fitness
    • Wellness Wednesday
  • Reviews & Giveaways
    • Current Giveaways
    • Giveaway Linky
    • Reviews
    • Winners
    • Blogger Opps
  • Travel
    • Ohio Attractions
    • Ohio Events

Weekly Wrap-Up

March 23, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Affiliate

Weekly Wrap-Up

This week started off with some excitement! Monday we had our new living room set delivered and the landlord finally sent the people to cut down the tree branches. There was one branch in particular our neighbors needed us to cut down due to it being right over their roof. On days where we get interrupted like that, though, it’s hard to stay on task! So I took advantage of the new living room furniture and lounged with the kids on the new couch! Wow, what a blessing! I actually had avoided sitting on the sectional we had. It was the type of sectional that requires pillows on the back, and the pillows were now gone. The cushions have had holes in the bottom for the past 3 years, and now springs were actually sticking out. It was beyond a reupholstering job at this point and so uncomfortable it actually made me sore to get on and off it.
The other addition we picked up yesterday. We bought a package deal with the furniture that included a nice TV. We haven’t had a TV in a while. We were using a projector and big screen, but our projector broke during the move. We were blessed with a used TV from my aunt that we have been using, but it did have some pixelation issues, and they were getting worse. The TV arrived yesterday, so we picked it up and got it set up! Wow, what a difference! It’s a “smart TV,” so I hope to play around with it and see what all it can do, too! I’m thinking we can make use of it for homeschooling during the day besides the educational videos! We’ll see!
Living room
Wrap up!

Highlights in Our Life:

  • I just feel like we’re finally getting somewhere with the house now! The boys’ room has space now, the living room is done now (mostly) and ready for my “before and current” post, and we’ve started our gardening for the Spring!
  • We got a new cage for the gerbils and will be converting our BioBubble into a fish tank now!
  • I’ve decided since my current method of organization isn’t going so well, I’m going to hit it with every angle. I’m going to keep up with my To-Do list and Evernote, but I’m also going to use physical planners and binders as well. I’m not sure how much this will help since my biggest problem is actually the fact that I don’t check these things every day, but I’m hoping, if anything, I will at least get into a good routine. I’m DESPERATE for a good routine. If anything, I think using all of them may help me to better streamline what I’m doing with my “paperless” version, and I will be able to go back to that but have better organization with it. We shall see! Maybe I’ll figure out such a great method, I’ll create my own ultimate organizer! 😉 I have so many resources to which I have access, though, I get so frustrated that I can’t “get it all together.”

Homeschool Highlights:

  • The kids have really been glad to be back on track with Ooka Island again. I’ll be sharing another review and giveaway soon, so stay tuned! Our preschooler has also been really involved this time! He asks to get on it every day! I’m so excited that he’s so on board with learning this year!
  • We’ve been trucking along in the other subjects and didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary this week. Boring, I know!

Blog Highlights:

  • I finally feel like I’m caught up! Now I just hope to stay that way! I still have quite a bit on my editorial calendar and need to set dates for a lot of things, but everything I was behind on is now finished except one, which I hope to finish tomorrow. Phew!
  • I have a TON of blogger opps coming up this week! Woo hoo!
  • I am hoping to get back on track with the planners and in Evernote so this doesn’t happen again and have started keeping better notes for things I would like to see happen on Pea of Sweetness so when I have free moments here and there I can work on those things!
  • I switched my comment form from Disqus to CommentLuv Premium for a couple of reasons – you don’t have to sign in, and if you’re a blogger, you can also leave a link so it will show up. I love to support other bloggers, and I think it’s a great way to do so. I did have Guest options set up for Disqus, but I don’t think many people know that, so I’m hoping this will encourage more comments as well. I got a few other plug-ins included with the Premium package that I haven’t had time to play with yet, so I’ll have to see what they’re all about! I am annoyed that my theme doesn’t display boxes, though. If you click, it’s there, though!
  • I had many requests this week for people that basically expect me to work for free. This isn’t only insulting, but it hurts me, too. I work so hard at what I do. I work into the wee hours of the night until I feel sick sometimes just to get things done. With my husband not being able to get a job as a Disabled Veteran yet still fighting with Social Security still, our family depends on me and what I do. It’s upsetting that others cannot understand that. I also have had people requesting me to post things that are unethical like paid posts without disclosures or with “do follow” links. I clearly ask them multiple times to read my advertising page and Terms and Conditions which clearly states there WILL be a Disclosure and “nofollow” links, and yet we get to the final stage (after they have been asked to read it at least two times), and they then say no, they can’t do that. It’s disappointing that people cannot respect my time and waste theirs as well. Those days I have to remember what I’m working for. I have to remember God called me to this for a purpose – that it helps our family, helps others, and it’s worth it to keep going. I’ve had to remind myself of that a lot this week because sometimes it feels like it’s not worth it, but I know it is.

Goals This Week:

  • Work out my editorial calendar for upcoming posts.
  • Put my housekeeping organizer to use.
  • Still figure out how to make it possible to post and participate in Wordless Wednesday linkies in a way that isn’t too time consuming. I wasn’t successful this past week either!
  • Share the updates on the house!

So tell me what you’ve been up to! How do you stay organized?

Weekly Wrap-Up

March 16, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Weekly Wrap-Up

Well it was definitely another busy, FULL week! I am finally catching up but had to take a couple days off this week due to my overwhelming fatigue. I’m still working on that. We did a lot of physical stuff at the end of the week – a full day of shopping on Friday, gun show yesterday, and a party today to celebrate all the birthdays and anniversaries in my family in Spring. There are quite a few! It’s been fun, but wow, I’m tired!
Weekly Wrap-up
Wrap up!

Highlights in Our Life:

  • We are finally able to get the ball rolling on getting our house in order. We got bunk beds for the boys thanks to a friend, so there is actually space in their room! We couldn’t even walk in beyond three feet because of the beds side by side (and our youngest son’s was a hard-side waterbed, so it was bigger than a regular twin bed!). Plus we found a living room set we love so we can finally replace the sectional that has springs sticking out and no longer has pillows (it was the kind of sectional that required pillows along the back, so it’s been pretty awful). It gets delivered tomorrow!
  • The racoon that loves to get in our trash is now trying to get in our window! It’s been tearing at our screen and freaked out our cat. It has led to many adventures. *Sigh*

Homeschool Highlights:

  • It was really a “basic” week. We did get more into CTC Math, which I will be sharing our review of in a few weeks. We did a lot of hands-on science. We otherwise had a pretty “typical week.” There just isn’t anything that really stands out. We were out and about a lot, so we just stuck to the basics I guess!

Blog Highlights:

  • I’m busy. LOL I’m finally starting to catch up! Phew!
  • I have a few more blogger opps coming up this week! Woo hoo!
  • I finally got my blog planner going! I found out the one I spent (quite a bit) of money on was not helpful for me, which is a huge bummer. I guess I’ll be sticking to free ones or making my own!

Goals This Week:

  • Thin out my editorial calendar.
  • Put my housekeeping organizer to use.
  • Still figure out how to make it possible to post and participate in Wordless Wednesday linkies in a way that isn’t too time consuming. I wasn’t successful this past week!
  • Start Weekly Wrap-ups on Deals of Sweetness. Yep, still on the list. :/ I have quite a list of things to accomplish on there still!
  • Share the updates on the house since we’ll finally be able to get somewhere!

So tell me what you’ve been up to!

Weekly Wrap-Up – SO Behind!

March 9, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Weekly Wrap-Up

Wow, wow, wow! (I totally just thought of Wubbzy!) It has been yet another busy, FULL week! I am still SO behind on a lot of things, and it really started to get to me this week. Not only because I’m behind on posts, but because I also feel like I’ll never get unpacked, and we’re going on four months! I think it’s time to cut back a bit – but I have to catch up first! Cut back on what, though? I don’t know. I’m so ambitious to do so much, but my body isn’t so ambitious as my chronic fatigue is still plaguing me. I still have to make a doctor appointment, too. I’m not very good about that! :/
On a positive note when it comes to health, I have been using essential oils for our health now as well! I had been using them in cleaning and bath and body products for some time, and I decided to take the plunge. I joined Young Living Essential Oils as a Distributor (Distributor #1662385), and I’ve already seen some great results. When we were having the sniffles last week, they helped out A LOT, which I briefly mentioned last week! I’m excited to see continued improvements!
In addition, I also joined FG Xpress because the Power Strips, which are natural pain strips, have been making a remarkable difference for my headaches! They also helped when I was having bad pain from my endometriosis. I’m SO happy to have something natural that works!
I know, so much for no more direct sales, right? haha I’m excited for these new journeys, though, and improving our health naturally with both!
My priority is still here, though, but not feeling so great has been making that hard. Now that I have found ways to help, I feel like everything else will start to get better as well! I’m going to look more into what essential oils may help with the chronic fatigue. I’m sure there is something that will! I feel great about the possibility of feeling better. Yes, I will still go to my doctor because I do feel I need to explain everything that has been going on and possibly see a rheumatologist. I have suspected for a while I have more than “just” Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and now that I’m able to see civilian doctors again, I feel like I have a better chance of getting more answers. I am praying for positive experiences!
I’m also praying I catch up on everything soon and praying for grace from others in the meantime.
As a means of feeling better, I have also been getting back into a regular fitness routine and joined in the Shazzy Fitness 7 Day Challenge. I’ve been posting all my updates on Deals of Sweetness, so head over and check them out!
Fitness Challenge
OK, let’s wrap up!

Highlights in Our Life:

  • We’ve been getting out of the house more and visiting with people regularly, which has been nice. I’ve been finding myself getting pretty “down” about not having a lot of friends to hang out with regularly. I’m hoping when I’m less busy I can also start forging relationships more, too!
  • We started practicing Tee Ball with the kids! So fun!
  • My husband helped out with the church BBQ Cook-off, and he took the grill over as well. He really enjoyed it, and I’m so glad we’re part of such a wonderful church!

Homeschool Highlights:

  • We really got into Supercharged Science this week and are definitely looking forward to another week of it! Hands on experiences are always a blast! I can’t wait to share our review in a few weeks!
  • We did a nice mix of hands-on Math and computer-based Math this week.
  • Both of our older kids are starting to read short, basic stories (Level 1). I am SO excited! Reading is so challenging for them, and I’m so proud of the progress they’re making!

Blog Highlights:

  • I’m participating in more local (Houston) events, and I LOVE it! I hope to continue to do more.
  • I have a few more blogger opps coming up this week! I fell behind on my giveaway posts, too, but I finally got caught up on them! Phew!
  • (I’m copying a lot of this sentence from last week’s update because a lot of it still applies!) I am still behind on some reviews. I really hope to be caught up again by the end of this week. *Sigh* (Hopefully, since last week it didn’t happen!) I also hope to continue to make that shift to Deals of Sweetness for reviews that aren’t *as* good of a fit to my key focus topics. Some of this has been going well! Some of it is still gray area. I’m going to start being more selective, though, because I really don’t want to make more than two posts in a day, but if I have two reviews to post that day, I can’t post content posts, which are KEY. On Deals of Sweetness I also want to add more content as well, but a lot of the content on there IS product reviews as that IS one of the key focus topics. I also feel multiple posts per day aren’t a deterrent on there, either, as it’s almost expected. I’ve been having quite a blast growing it, and I hope to get more of the pages done and definitely start adding more regular content on there as well!

Goals This Week:

  • Adjust my editorial calendar and then complete all posts and projects on or before their new due date. (I need to do this again.)
  • Put my blog planners and new housekeeping organizer to use. (I still need to do this, too. *Sigh*)
  • Still figure out how to make it possible to post and participate in Wordless Wednesday linkies in a way that isn’t too time consuming.
  • Start Weekly Wrap-ups on Deals of Sweetness. I know this has been on my goals list for a while, so I do hope to make it a reality soon!

How was your week?

Weekly Wrap-Up – My Husband's 30th Birthday

March 2, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Weekly Wrap-Up

What an exciting weekend! Although I was still bound to my iPad for a couple of hours over the weekend while the others enjoyed some fishing, I did get to go up to my grandparents’ lake house this weekend nonetheless where we celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday! What a blessing! As he often states he didn’t know if he would live to see 27. So although many feel a little reluctant about admitting they’re entering their 30’s, he was excited to celebrate this milestone – as were we! He was 26 when his cancer came back and he started chemotherapy, and the prognosis was definitely questionable. The chemotherapy was brutal, and his body started shutting down. It was scary, and we are so grateful he’s been cancer free for 3 years now!
Yesterday was such a beautiful day, too. (Of course, it went right back to being NOT so beautiful today, but at least we had the beautiful day! My husband took each of the kids for a little ride on the jet ski. Then when his mom and her husband came up to celebrate with us as well, we all got out on the boat and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. We went down one of the side paths off the lake. It was so peaceful. After dinner and cake they went fishing from the dock while I, unfortunately, had to do some work as I mentioned. I really tried to get everything done before we left, but I’m still behind on some things, so I just wasn’t able to. I miss going fishing! Hopefully next time I’ll be able to enjoy some fishing, too!
I know some say I shouldn’t have been working, but I think it’s easy to forget that it’s my “job.” It would be like not going to work on Monday because I’d rather go fishing. Though people may do this on occasion, most of the time, it’s generally not a good idea. Not completing my jobs in the same way is also not a good idea. With good planning I can go a day without having any “jobs,” but since I have been behind, I just couldn’t make that happen.
Weekly Wrap Up
OK, let’s wrap up!

Highlights in Our Life:

  • My husband turned 30! Woo hoo!
  • Everybody in the house had a cold – including myself. I was able to minimize the symptoms with the essential oils I got in my Young Living Kit, though, so I was grateful for the timing!
  • We finally got our taxes done! Cross that off the list for this year! Phew!
  • We decided to get local phone numbers for our cell phones. Now to figure out where all I need to change that information… I’m pretty sure there are still places I have failed to update my address, too. I guess I can update them together, then, if I find such a place! lol

Homeschool Highlights:

  • There was a lot of resistance this week due to the kids not feeling well. I was fairly resistant myself! We kind of “took it easy” while not completely taking a week off. For example, in Science4Us.com where we usually do 2-3 lessons per day we only did one, and only two math lessons/worksheets versus 4 or 5 and so on. I played it by ear and listened to their needs because if they’re really feeling awful they’re not going to be soaking in what they’re learning either. Cutting back a little each day helped us to make it through without feeling overwhelmed and still get plenty of extra rest, which we all needed!
  • We got an intro to a new science program we will be doing, and we’re going to really get into it this week!

Blog Highlights:

  • I was nominated for and made the list for Top 25 Product Review Blogs on Skinny Scoop! Thank-you to all who voted! I always appreciate your support SO much!
  • I posted my first two reviews of the Schoolhouse Review Crew Year! I shared my reviews for Science4Us.com and KinderBach this week, so be sure to check them out as well as what other members from the Schoolhouse Review Crew think!
  • I posted 6 new Blogger Opps! 4 of them are still open (and they are free opps, of course!), so check them out! More are coming this week!
  • I fell behind on other reviews. I really hope to be caught up again by the end of this week. *Sigh* I also hope to continue to make that shift to Deals of Sweetness for reviews that aren’t *as* good of a fit to my key focus topics. Some of this has been going well! Some of it is still gray area. I’m going to start being more selective, though, because I really don’t want to make more than two posts in a day, but if I have two reviews to post that day, I can’t post content posts, which are KEY. On Deals of Sweetness I also want to add more content as well, but a lot of the content on there IS product reviews as that IS one of the key focus topics. I also feel multiple posts per day aren’t a deterrent on there, either, as it’s almost expected. I’ve been having quite a blast growing it, and I hope to get more of the pages done and definitely start adding more regular content on there as well!

Goals This Week:

  • Adjust my editorial calendar and then complete all posts and projects on or before their new due date.
  • Put my blog planners and new housekeeping organizer to use.
  • Post a Wordless Wednesday again this week and figure out a way to make it easier to schedule and prepare so it’s not always a last minute “I can’t fit it in” type post.
  • Start Weekly Wrap-ups on Deals of Sweetness.

How was your week?

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Top Posts & Pages

  • ABeCeDarian Review
  • What are Cervicogenic Headaches?
  • Castaway Bay Getaway for Family Fun
  • October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
  • Homeschooling Special Needs Children - It IS possible! Our Story
  • L'BRI Review
  • Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}

Recent Posts

  • Under Construction
  • How to Manage (and Use) all Those Pictures of Your Kids
  • Castaway Bay Getaway for Family Fun
  • 5 Winner Utzy Naturals Allurtica Seasonal Relief Giveaway! $262 TRV Giveaway!
  • Spend the Day at Castaway Bay {Enter to Win 4 Day Passes!}

Recent Comments

  • catofashions coupons on Affordable Women's Fashion and Accessories
  • Happy Hiller on Keep Your Home Connected with Netgear Arlo Smart Home from Best Buy
  • Pencil Sketch Drawing on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • fast apps apk on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • strobe light on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}

Archive

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in