Monday, April 16, 2012

**Guest Post** Brittany

Today we have Brittany from Bee Little Queen Posting :)

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[I do not intend to hurt anyone's feelings and apologize if i offend anyone. Even if you have had a boob job or whatever, i say good for you and still love who you are!  No judgment here. :)]

I've been struggling for days on how to approach writing this post. I wanted to talk about being brave enough to be who you are, to embrace who you are. Now that I think of it, this post is turning into slightly something else that I've never written about; how i went from being shallow to a little more hallow. In our world today, there is an undeniable competition between women in their appearance or 'status'. Some choose to participate and 'one up' the other by having a boob job, botox or the newest Coach purse. I, on the other hand, could care less about what you look like or what purse you carry in order to be your friend or like you. I am concerned about you, the kind of person you are, the heart that is in you. With shame, I used to kinda be one of those girls who really cared about labels and what clothes I was wearing. I wanted to be one of the popular girls at the university who looked so pretty, had tons of friends and got guys's attention. Besides shelling money on outfits and wasting hours of time at the mall, I was disconnecting with who I was and what I really cared about. Around this time, I was deeply invested in 'searching' for my place in this world spiritually. I started feeling guilty because I was acting shallow and neglecting my family and those closest to me. With this behavior, how could i really be serving others when I was consumed with myself? Would God be proud of me for these habits? Caring about materialistic things and my outward appearance was making me feel icky and I imagined the good that I could do or bring to those who had [SO] much less than me. I wanted to bless others and be kinder to my loved ones.
                                                                          Source: etsy.com via Brittany on Pinterest

My health started declining and i was 'forced' to be at home more. I literally had no energy to go out and wasn't a good idea anyways because the air quality was poor = no bueno for my asthmatic lungs & allergies. With this 'house arrest', i started seeing it as a blessing in disguise from God. He was telling me that I needed to slow down and prioritize what really mattered. Did it really matter that I got that cute tee at american eagle? No! Now, this transformation didn't take overnight, in fact it probably took a good year and within that year ALOT of major changes happened but won't go into all that. I am so thankful for the course that my life has gone and how God took the bad & the ugly and made it beautiful and good. He molded me into the person i am today who has learned to embrace the uniqueness and beauty each one of us holds, especially women. We truly are a sisterhood, understanding the highs and lows we go through. We certainly are emotional creatures and that is ok! I am not saying that I don't love shopping and getting new clothes & makeup, because I certainly do, but now I am much more 'wise' and frugal with my money and have not let that activity take over my life in a negative way. i am much closer to my immediate loved ones now than when i was going through this shallow phase. 
                                                                  Source: Uploaded by user via Brittany on Pinterest

I actually know some girls who think that their worth comes from their physical beauty or being 'loved' by a loser guy! And this knowledge makes me sick and hurts my heart. I want women to know that they are beautiful people and that they deserve all the goodness they can imagine! When you dream, why dream little? To me, it's important to establish strong friendships where we can encourage & uplift one another rather than 'competing' and tearing each other down. I believe we all have a divine mission on this earth and I think one of my duties is to serve, love & encourage and perhaps inspire others. I found out that no one, no guy can love me as much as my God does [well prob my mom is a really close 2nd! lol] and that i shouldn't seek my worth from others. Only God can fulfill this self-worth in me as I identify myself as his amazing daughter. By keeping a tender heart, God can shape us into the women we are destined to be. I desire more of the supernatural rather than the superficial. Realness comes from authenticity and humbleness. Let us continue to embrace our true, wonderful selves. Let us celebrate ourselves & our flaws and even if we are short, tall, thin or curvy, because those things are only describing the shell of what holds our spirit- who we are. Radiant from the inside out, we shine and sparkle.

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Thanks so much Brittany! This post has the wheels turning in my head to write one similar! So powerful <3

xoxo Meghan

Sunday, April 15, 2012

SingSong Sunday #2

I know the title is kinda lame, but I really do love my Sundays :)
I have such a wide variety of music, and like some smaller bands, I wanted to share with you!


This is Jay Brannan,
if you have never heard of him, you are seriously missing out.

He is gay,
but he sure doesn't let that define him.

He writes the best songs, and so many speak to me, I have a feeling they would speak to you too!

Normally I would not write so much about one artist, but I have personally met Jay,
every time he comes to Columbus my ex and I go and sell his merch and spend a little time with him.


He really cares about his fans, and spends hours signing autographs and taking pictures after the show.
How awesome is that?

[I wanted to add in, the pictures above, I had just been released from the ICU after a week of getting my gall bladder removed and dealing with pancreatitis...can we say trooper? haha]


So please check him out and leave him some love!
That video will lead you to his youtube, but he has facebook and twitter as well!


xoxo Meghan

P.S. A button is coming soon for this, and if I get enough good feed back, still thinking of a linky :)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sponsor Spotlight!


This is my first post introducing my lovely sponsors for this month :)
I will have one every Saturday so you can learn a little about the ladies on my sidebar!
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Meet Cassie from Live Laugh L0ve!
She was the first blogger who contacted me after winning my first giveaway.
I was sooo excited about winning and getting my prizes(laaame!).
I creeper her blog forever, because we all know I am a creep :)
She has a cute little shop, right now it is closed but I cannot wait until she opens it back up!


Your favorite post YOU have written? http://www.livelaughl0ve.com/2012/03/time-on-my-heart.html
Favorite blogger? Casey Leigh If i have to choose just one it's her. But I have a couple of others that are my favorite.Skye and Digger
Why you blog? I blog to share our journey through this crazy beautiful thing called life. I blog in hopes that one day I will get my blog printed out and my boys will reader when they are older. I blog because I have always loved to write.
If you saw/experienced something that made you pee your pants, what would it be? Lol ummm If i saw an actual dinosaur - I think I would pee my pants. Good thing they don't exist. ;)

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This is Meghan from They call her Meghan!
Oh gosh, this girl! I love her to death already!
For starters, we are the same age, same name, our lives are oddly similar!
We both love Tenth Avenue North- woohoo!
And we text and tweet, I am so blessed to call her my friend!


Favorite Post You've written?
This one right hurr...Smalltown USA!


Favorite Blogger? 
I have to pick just one? I love your blog for sure, I love Meghan over @ Shine On



Why do you blog?
I blog because I want somewhere to keep my thoughts in a semi-organized manner and because my sister slash best friend sometimes just doesn't care to hear what I have to say!  



If you saw/experienced something that made you pee your pants, what would it be?
 If I peed my pants, it probably would be because Mady said something that made me laugh so hard I'm crying, and then the next step is laughing so hard I cry AND pee my pants.  #truestory.  



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Meet Brooke from Covered in Grace!
She is a new bloggy buddy!
She has been so supportive and uplifting through the tough times, and she even featured me on her blog for a Monday Meet-Up! 




Your favorite post YOU have written?
This is tough. I'm gravitating toward a few and feel like I should name off some of my faith posts. 
But really, I think my ultimate favorite is a post called
It has this warm, memory lane, nostalgic feel to it. Every time I think of it I start singing "everybody's free...to feel good..." 

Favorite blogger?
Meghan! This one is too hard! Haha.
Ok... if I have to name ONE today, I'll just name one OF my favorite bloggers. 
Lately I am really loving all the posts coming out of The Hollie Rogue
Andi is the lady behind the blog there and she writes with such conviction and authenticity.
Her heart for the Lord is beautiful and open. Definitely check her out.  

Why you blog?
I first began my blog to develop an everyday writing habit. I figured that it was a good way to keep my brain wrapped up  in the writing process. It has evolved and grown like crazy and now I feel situated {for the most part} in my faith writing and photos and such. I still blog to keep up the habit, but now I am focused on writing for God and his purposes and fellowshipping with other faith bloggers! My About Me page covers this a bit more.  

If you saw/experienced something that made you pee your pants, what would it be?
Haha! Ok...I have a few. Yuck, right? A couple of them had to do with passing out after cutting my finger & passing out just after donating blood. Total pee pants when you pass out.. But the good one, the funny one that I'll share, just had to do with me being a scaredy cat. 
 When I was 13, I was playing hide and go seek with my brothers and sisters and a couple of my friends. It was dark {pitch black} outside. And my DAD was IT. Yikes. So all 9 of us were huddled on the side of the house up against the fence. We were trying to be so quiet. All of a sudden there was an awful, horrible monster roaring and shaking the fence as he was climbing over it to get us all. I'm sure the neighbors thought there was some sort of massacre happening in our backyard. You've never heard screams like that before. I was so freaked out that yes... I peed my pants.

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This is Hailey from Baby Baker Love!
I just recently started reading her blog and talking to her!
She has been so nice and her son is ADORABLE!

Your favorite post YOU have written?
My favorite post I have ever written was my son's birth story: http://babybakerlove.blogspot.com/2012/01/birth-story.html

Favorite Blogger?
Nat The Fat Rat & The Wiegand's

Why you blog?
I started my blog while I was pregnant with my baby boy and have had so much fun chronicling our life events and the craziness that is motherhood! I'm usually blogging about new mommy mishaps and such, but I like to throw in other random ramblings as life brings them up along the way! I enjoy writing about our days together and love having these little family memories stored away.

If you saw/experienced something that made you pee your pants, what would it be?
Almost anything when I was pregnant!

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Thank you to all my sponsors and to you, the readers!
Please go check them out and give them some love!

xoxo Meghan


Friday, April 13, 2012

**GUEST POST** Mandi



In order to be the change you want to see in yourself (or the world), you have to take a chance. You have to take a leap of faith in yourself and believe you can. Change can be scary and hard, it can also be exciting and promising, but most of all it is constant. 

In the past 7 months I have undergone and taken on several new changes. I had my second daughter 7 months ago. I started training for a 12k (which I am running April 15th). I started a blog. I decided to take the leap and finally open up an Etsy shop (opening June 1st). All of this is in addition to going to school full time and being a stay at home mommy. It may seem impossible to accomplish everything on your current plate let alone add more to it, but for most it is possible to make some changes. It may seem difficult, but if you break it down I spend about 1 hour working out + 4  hours of homework + 3 hours of class lecture + 1/2 hour for my blog + the rest of time going to children, husband and housecleaning. Weekends consist of 2-3 hour workouts, study time, time with family and crafts. Some days I do wonder if the day will ever end but most of the time I am satisfied by remembering why it is important to me. These are my ambitions, some dreams and goals and they are here before me, ready to be achieved. 

With out change your dreams stay dreams. With out change, we grow little and we go through each day just trying to get through it. With change we can see promise beyond the hurdles. A future we want to see our self in, can be in our reach.

I encourage you to think about your dreams and ambitions. I encourage you to take faith in yourself, and make a change. Be it small or big, make a change. Become the change you want to be (see). 

This is me, this is what my blog {Debonair Bandit} is about. Changing my life for the better, overcoming hurdles, inspiring others, creating beautiful things and most of all, sharing my love for this one life I have. 

Thank you so much Meghan, for have me over on your lovely blog! I am truly honored, and so excited to be part of this blogging world meeting all of these wonderful, kind and talented women like YOU.  



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Thanks so much for this post Mandi!
I love it more than I can say, you have a powerful voice and I hope you use it just as you imagine <3
Thanks so much for guest posting today!

xoxo Meghan