The Time is Here: Ecuador, Here I Come!

Cootopaxi looming over Quito

Photo by César Viteri on Unsplash

After month of planning and preparation, the time to embark to Quito, Ecuador is here.  Tomorrow I will be travelling 14 hours (6 by van, 8 by plane) for the trip of a lifetime.

My husband and I will be gone for a week on a mission trip, along with 12 other people.  This is a first for me and Jason.  Our days will be packed with building and restoring, teaching, and feeding.  I'd like to say I'm going there to change people's lives.  But, in all reality, I'm sure they'll change mine.

I will not be posting on my blog at all during the time I am gone.  But, when I get back, be prepared to be bombarded with photos!  And, if you're the praying kind, I'd appreciate them.

Earn Rewards for Your Opinion with Opinion Outpost

This post contains an affiliate link.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.



Opinion Outpost conducts surveys because businesses, governments, public bodies, and similar organizations are interested in the views and attitudes of the people who use their products and services. The more they know about what customers and citizens think, the easier it is for them to improve and adapt what they supply. Take surveys to give your opinion and shape the future.

Rewards include get cash, Amazon gift cards, game points, donations to your favorite charities, and more. Everyone is also automatically entered to a $10,000 sweepstakes by joining and taking surveys. The minimum cash out for Paypal is $10 and only $5 for Amazon gift cards.  Sign up for free today!

Get Colorful with Paper Mate - Review and Giveaway

I received products for review from Paper Mate.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.

Most people have completed their back-to-school shopping but, if you're anything like me, you shop for supplies throughout the year.  Work meetings, decorating for PTA posters, or writing a letter to a friend are just a few reasons that you might want to consider Paper Mate's new products.  

Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pens, Flair Candy Pops, and Color Lead Mechanical Pencils are available in a wide variety of colors.  Paper Mate has been providing progressive, performance-driven pens, pencils and correction products for more many years, and their new line of writing utensils makes jotting, drawing, and doodling a little more fun.

There's not a whole lot of things I'm picky about but I'm kind of a pen snob.  It's not necessarily about the brand but it's definitely about how well it writes and how it fits in my hand.  I also want the ink to go smoothly on paper.  Also, there's the big fact that I'm a lefty.  If any of you are in the same boat, you most likely know that we write differently and ink tends to smudge on our hands or on the paper.  It's irritating as all get out. I've been using the new Paper Mate products on all sorts of things and they pass my test.  

The Paper Mate Ink Joy Gel Pens are perfect for my adult coloring books and other projects. I can get all sorts of creative with the 14 different colors.  The ink stays on the paper instead of smearing the side of my hand.  Hooray for lefties like me, the ink dries quickly enough that it doesn't smudge.  These pens feature a ergonomic comfort grip that wraps around the entire pen and comes in 0.5mm fine point and 0.7mm medium point options.

Paper Mate limited edition Candy Pop Flair Pens come in 12 vivid candy colors.  These fine felt tip pens are perfect for journaling, writing in a scrapbook, or creating small designs.  Like the gel pens, they don't smudge.

As for the Paper Mate Clearpoint Color Lead Mechanical Pencils, they're Awesomesauce!  I've always used a pencil to jot events and work schedules in my appointment book, and now the Paper Mate Clearpoint Color Lead Mechanical Pencils have become my go-to for doing just that.  My oldest son, Logan, also likes to use them when working on college homework that requires writing.     These mechanical pencils feature a clear body so you can see the 0.7mm colored lead inside.  A jumbo eraser allows you to easily erase your mistakes.  Your writing will stand out with Pink, Red, Orange, Green, Blue and Purple colored pencils. For instance, the red mechanical pencil shows up a red color on the paper.  The same goes for all the other colors too.

If you're anything like me, you'll get a kick out of taking school notes, jotting signatures, composing notes, and doodling your day away with these new Paper Mate products.

Win It!

One person will win a set of Paper Mate writing utensils that includes:

package of Paper Mate Clearpoint Color Lead Mechanical Pencils

package of Paper Mate limited edition Candy Pop Flair Pens

package of Paper Mate Ink Joy Gel Pens

*This is a Rafflecopter giveaway open to residents of the USA.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silky Smooth Savings from Silk

This post contains an affiliate link.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.



Silk has you covered—whether you’re after 0 grams of sugar,
protein & Nutmilk with 10g protein per serving, coffee creamer,
or an alternative to yogurt.  Soy Milk and Almond Milk are among two of their most popular products.

Sign up for free to get offers, recipes, life hacks, coupons, and more by email from Silk.  For U.S., ages 18+.

The Awakening of HK Derryberry - Book Review

I received book for review from Handlebar.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.

Quick Overview:

The Awakening of HK Derryberry is the inspiring story of how one man was willing to step out of his upper middle-class world into the life of a young, disabled boy with a dismal future. Little did Jim Bradford know the transformational potential of that friendship-for HK and himself.

HK Derryberry came into the world with the odds stacked heavily against him. Eventually it becomes apparent that buried beneath HK's severe disabilities is one spectacular ability. He is diagnosed with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), which involves superlative powers of recollection that enable him to remember everything that has happened to him since the age of three. Less than one hundred people have been diagnosed with HSAM, but none of them have the physical disabilities of HK Derryberry.

My Review:

HK Derryberry is a boy who's a known pickpocket....He steals people's hearts.  I may not know him personally, but he definitely stole my heart.

The Awakening of HK Derryberry is a first-person account of Jim Bradford and his forging friendship with HK.  Several years ago Jim took an unconventional turn into to a restaurant for coffee, and that day forever changed his life.  It was there that he met HK Derryberry, a young boy bent over listening to the boombox.  Jim noticed that HK was disabled and learned that the boy spent many hours at the restaurant while his grandma worked.  Jim formed a friendship with this child and, throughout the years, became his mentor and best advocate.

HK had so many odds stacked against him, yet he flourished once he found a friend who invested time in him.  HK is blind and has cerebral palsy, yet has a remarkable memory and a positive attitude. If we were to take the courage and strength of HK and blend it in with the patience and kindness of Jim, this world would be a much better place.

HK Derryberry and Jim Bradford now work together as motivational speakers.  I'd be thrilled to attend one of their events someday.  The book about the two is been amazingly uplifting.  Although it chronicles HK's struggles, it's mostly tells of a child with special needs (now an adult) who was given a chance at life and exceeded expectations.

Update on Email Subscriptions for my Blog

With many thanks to Mimi, blog owner of Woven By Words, it was brought to my attention that there may be a glitch in my email subscriptions.

I did have two ways in which you could subscribe to my blog via email - Feedburner and Mail Chimp.  For now, I am ceasing subscriptions on the latter.  For whatever reason, Mail Chimp would sometimes redirect people to my old blog domain, which happens to be owned by a semi-sorta spam site of tattoos and half-naked peeps.  So, here's the bullet point rundown:

1.  I've gotten rid of Mail Chimp.  I hope I don't lose many subscribers because of that but it's necessary.

2.  Please subscribe to my blog via Feedburner.  There's a "subscribe to my blog via email" link at the left hand side of my blog where you can do that.

3.  Don't buy your domain from GoDaddy!  That's my personal experience, at least.  They're the ones who caused me to have to buy a different domain name in the first place.  My old domain expired a couple years ago, I wasn't notified, and I was bought out by a different "parked" site.  (Which, coincidentally enough, has GoDaddy ads!)  I hope I'm wrong, but it leads me to believe that GoDaddy is super shady.

Thanks to Mimi for pointing this out.  I hope you'll subscribe to me via Feedburner.  If email isn't your thing, there's also Bloglovin and Google+.

What's your experience with GoDaddy?
Through which avenues do you follow my blog?

Precious Moments: Little Book of Bible Stories - Review and Giveaway

I received product for review from Tommy Nelson.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products or using services.  Your opinions and results may differ.

Book Overview:

Teach your little ones how they are precious in God’s sight through Precious Moments Little Book of Bible Stories. Children of all ages are sure to enjoy these sweet illustrations and simple Bible stories about our loving God.

My Review:

To me, the Precious Moments® brand represents innocence and childlike faith.  I have a couple figurines in my home and have purchased some as gifts.  I love that the Precious Moments personification is included in a Bible Storybook.  

Precious Moments:  Little Book of Bible Stories is geared toward children up to age four.  It is a board book with a soft padded cover.  The stories are short and are written in a way that children can understand.  The Precious Moments illustrations are simply adorable.  For each story, there is a Bible verse, scriptural reference, and brief words of worship or prayer.  This is a wonderful keepsake book for any young child.

Win It!

One person will win Precious Moments: Little Book of Bible Stories.

*This is a Rafflecopter giveaway open to residents of the USA.*
a Rafflecopter giveaway