Living in Love: a book review

I guess it's kinda like this, you choose love. It doesn't just happen. Living in Love helps you choose and feel love for your partner, daily. Reading this book is like sitting down and talking with an old friend about marriage. James and Betty Robinson do an amazing job of bringing truth to the table without making you fell like you are being preached at. My favorite part of this book was the section on baggage that we bring to any committed relationship. It's amazing the things you find out about yourself when you read someone elses story.If you want a book that gives you secret tips and tricks to make you fall in love and stay in love with your spouse, this is the book for you.

An Interview

An Interview with Mark Cuban

There are many mommies out there that dream of creating their own business but haven't a clue where to start. What advice do you have for them?

Find something you love to do, can do on your own and doesn’t require any more capital than you can afford to lose personally. The most valuable asset you have is your time, talents and ability to communicate. Focus on those strengths and what you can do rather than what you can’t do.

There are many young moms who are just beginning their lives and can relate to you when you said you were sharing a small apartment with 6 people and sleeping on the floor. How can someone keep their eye on the prize when they’re living on Ramen noodles?

Who cares how you are living today? I loved every minute of living in that dump. The low rent and utilities and eating Mac n’ Cheese all the time allowed me to afford the startup of my business. Instead of paying myself much, I could put it in to my business.

One part in your book I loved and my heart sank at is when your fiance lost your $7500 ring. What's your advice for those moms out there who are distracted by a relationship? How do you balance a real life with your dreams?

I never was able to balance. Each person has to make their own decisions. But remember, your competitors aren’t sitting by idly waiting for you to have a nice dinner with your significant other. They are trying to kick your ass. So choose wisely.

You encourage entrepreneurs not to hire a public relations firm, Mark. How did you get the word out about your eBook? I tweeted, posted on Facebook, [used] Google Plus and responded to emails. Nothing more.

Where can we get a copy of your eBook, How to Win at the Sport of Business? Anywhere eBooks are sold: Amazon, BN.com, and sites that support independent bookstores too.

Thank you Mark, I am sure that my readers are more than excited to get their hands on your book.

until next time. . .

I Heart Faces: Tickled Pink

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, I Heart Faces is sponsoring a "pink" photo challenge. Although I do not have a touching survivor story for you, I do have a pretty cute little face to share. She is the future and we must endeavor to stop breast cancer for her. Now please, head on over to I Heart Faces and show your support for breast cancer awareness!

{The Adventures of Smitty} An Interview

Please welcome Anne Deskins to the blog today! I am excited to get to know her, and I hope you all are too!

Hello Anna-

Your children's book, The Adventures of Smitty looks magically. Tell us about it.

It's the story of a magical island of little creatures called Smilies and the mischievous little main character, Smitty. He's such a naughty boy. Haha! All the moms and kids I've shared it with have been giving me such a wonderful reaction. I cannot believe it. I have to tell you how excited I am to finally have a life-long dream come true. Writing The Adventures of Smitty was really about finding a story that I would want to read to my children at night. It has to be exciting but not scary so that my two daughters can go to sleep. Basically, I was looking for that perfect blend to read to my kids at night and decided, "Why not try writing my own?"

We've had a lot of changes in our life recently, so I want to make sure that when I put my daughters to sleep that they feel safe. I have short chapters because I know how busy we moms are but if you can just sacrifice 5 minutes at night reading to your kids, it makes a world of difference. Your kids will never forget it. And although we're running around the whirlwind of life, our kids grow up so fast, and that time that we'd rather finish watching what happened in our favorite soap opera instead of reading to our kids will never come again. I hope that The Adventures of Smitty and books like it help moms do exactly that.

And it's only 99 cents this week. That's what I love about it. Now, You are recently divorced. How have you been able to continue writing when going through such a change?

Yes, it is by far one of the most challenging points in my life. To see a marriage you thought would last forever to not last forever was difficult for the two of us. I really learned a lot about myself and most importantly, it's brought me closer to my daughters. I think that's what really motivated me to finish this children's book no matter what. When you're going through changes in your life like this, you need something to hold on to. There's a part of you that wants to prove that you can make it, that you will be a success even if it's not with the partner you originally imagined building a life with. I had to keep writing, for my kids. I want to show them that they have to keep strong, no matter what.

We as women, as moms really need to stick together to support each other and our dreams. We're living in an age when I think we're finally realizing, although we want love, the men in our life aren't the answer to everything. We have to stand up on our own two feet and keep going. True love will happen, but until then, we have to keep moving forward. Our children depend on us and we depend on us.

In addition to being a children's book author, you're also a small business owner. How do you juggle taking care of two daughters and at the same time running a business?

Yes, I am a fashion designer and have a retail store. Any type of creativity is what I'm passionate about. That's why writing The Adventures of Smitty was so important to me. Let me tell you, running a small business in today's economy isn't easy especially when raising two girls at the same time. But somehow, it seems someone's watching over me because my dreams are coming true no matter what. To have that many moms glowing about my children's book, means so much to me. And I know my girls are proud.

When do you ever have time to write?

You mean, in between laundry, running a business, chasing my girls around the house, cleaning the house, and flying back and forth fromMiami to New York? Haha? That's one thing I've learned, when you really want to do something, you find a way. Things fall into place if you just go for it and that's what I want to encourage all the moms who are reading this right now. Whatever your goal is, you can do it. Don't let the challenges in your personal life stop you from going for your dreams. Just go for it and it's almost magical how things fall into place.

Where can we get a copy of "The Adventures of Smitty"?

Right now, it's available online by going to: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94655 You can also visit my website:http://www.AnnaDeskins.com where you can read more about my writing process, my recommendations for other books and my own adventures in Mommyhood.

I'm so grateful for your support and the support I'm getting from so many wonderful moms who dream of writing children's books one day too. Writing The Adventures of Smitty has been such an emotional experience for me, a true journey as I was going through so many changes while writing it. It's truly been a blessing in my life. It, along with my daughters, and that guy upstairs have really pulled me through a challenging time.

Thanks for the interview, Anna. And let's go out and support a fellow mom by getting a copy of The Adventures of Smitty today. I know I will!

The on thing no on ever tells you about sex. . .

The on thing no on ever tells you about sex. . . In What are you Waiting for? Dannah Gresh gets down to brass tacks about how our culture has made a deprave thing out of something God designed to be beautiful. She discusses the hottest topics of most teens in the 21st century, masturbation, lesbianism, and how far is too far. This book is a wonderful insight into God's love for us, and His divine plan for the marriage bed. I highly recommend that if you have a teenage daughter, you run out right now and not only buy What are you Waiting for? but also And the Bride Wore White.

{Love at Last Sight} a book review

Even if your marriage is not currently in termoil, it is always in harms way. There are so many outside influences that can change the way that you feel about your spouse at any given moment. "Love at Last Sight" is a daily devotional designed to keep your mind and heart focused on God and the relationship with your spouce. The sole purpose of the book is to aide you in loving your spouse for who they are, not who you think they should be.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Marriage is Work: A review of Love and War Devotional for Couples

 

The Love and War Devotional for Couples by John and Stasi Eldrege is simply amazing. The book starts out with "We probably ought to just start here: marriage is fabulously hard." Any married couple and appreciate and agree with these words whether they are newly married or have been for decades.

Marriage is work; plain and simple.

This devotional is broken down into 18 weeks, 5 days per each week. Each day gives a scripture, application, and prayer. At the end of each week there is an exercises designed to stimulate conversation which will in turn inspire closer intimacy with your spouse, there by improving your marriage.

The nice thing about this devotional is it's doable for any couple. Short daily texts with real life application.

John and Stassi Eldredge are not afraid to touch on the difficult issues. Emphasizing the fact that we can not look to each other for love and fulfillment which we can only attain from Christ. These powerful opinions are broken down into short devotionals that easily fit into any schedule. Pick up this devotional, go through it with your spouse. I promise you it will not disappoint, and you never know, you just might learn something about them you didn't know before.

A perfect compliment to their book Love and War or by itself this devotional is a promising help to any marriage.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Eight Months

A lot can happen in eight months. In the last eight months we have had a lot of exciting things going on. Babies grow up way too fast around here. Little Peanut is 8 months old. Can you believe that?

Two weeks ago Little Peanut would have needed the boppy behind him:

Now he can sit up unassisted. He’s still a little wobbly so I stay close, but I don’t have to prop him up anymore.

He changes so much everyday. Just yesterday he was only able to roll over on direction. Today, he is scooting himself all over the living room.

He wasn’t baby babbling much last week, this week, he babbles up a storm. 

The more he grows, the fonder I grow of him. He is such a happy little man. Full of wonder and amazement. He loves his brothers. He wants to do everything with them. I  can already tell he will be following them around in no time.

This little man who is eight months old is why I have been absent from the bloggy world. I spend all my spare time with him. I’m completely smitten. I hope you can all forgive me.

I Heart Faces: Wonder

 

Wow it’s been a long time since I have entered an I heart faces challenge. I have not had a lot of time to spend with my camera in the last few months. We are building a house and homeschooling Little Fire Chief, working part-time, and running a successful photography business. Sorry I Heart Faces, but duty called.

I decided that this weeks challenge was the best one to get me back in gear. Peanut is 7 months old and full of wonder.  I captured him looking up at me from his car seat just yesterday. His eyes full of wonder.

Head over to I Heart Faces to see more beautiful photos of wonder. 

Everything Christmas: A Book Review

Everything Christmas by David Bordon is an advent calendar in a book. Our family enjoyed reading the stories, poems, songs and history in this book. We read a story every evening in the month of December leading up to Christmas. This will be a family tradition for years to come. I highly recommend this book to any family. Christmas is such a magical time for families. It is especially magical for families with children. The days leading up to Christmas are filled with wonder and awe.

It is very important to our family to recognize Christ's birth while also celebrating His coming return. Reading stories from Everyday Christmas helped us to accomplish that goal this year and will continue to do so for years and years to come.This book would also make a great Christmas present!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Photo Story Friday: Philo Apple Farm

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli  

I had the great pleasure of shooting a maternity session for a friend on Wednesday. We decided to take a trip to the Philo Apple Farm in Philo,California.  God smiled on us with a beautiful sunny fall day. The colors were unimaginable.  I won’t describe them, I’ll let you see for yourself. Here are my favorite shots from our excursion. Please click on the View Full Album link to see all the photos.

View Full Album

 

Head on over to Better in Bulk and show us what you’ve been doing this week.

Sisters

I had the privilege of photographing three beautiful young ladies this week. Here are a couple from our shoot.

I also have been busily editing wedding photos. more on that in another post.

We Picture {this} Natural Frames

 

 

I Heart Faces: Constructive Feedback Friday

I Heart Faces is  taking a break from Fix-It Friday this week instead hosting a special Constructive Feedback Friday for those of us who would like to fix up one of our own photos and get advice on how to make it look even better!

So here it goes.

I just love this photo of the girls but it’s leaving something to be desired. Can you help me?

{Love that Shot} Faces

I found a new link-up that I want to start participating in. Love your Shot Link-Up is a blog hop that allows photographers to share their photos. The link-up is live every Thursday and runs until Monday.  Ordinarily there is no theme, but occasionally there is a guest judge and theme. This weeks theme is “Show Us Your Favorite Faces” and guess who is guest judging?!? You guessed it I Heart Faces!

So today, I’m sharing a photo that I took during a family session this week.  This little cutie stole my heart, and I’m sure she will steal yours too!

This photo was taken with my Nikon D90 at a focal length of 40 mm, F4.2, shutter speed 1/1500, and ISO 320 in raw format. I recently starting shoot with back button focus. It has helped my photography immensely. It helps me keep the focus on my clients face and be able to recompose. I recommend finding out how to do this on your camera.

Seriously head over to Love Your Shot and participate this week. Angie and Amy would be most grateful!

My Father’s Day Shutterfly Experience

Shutterfly sent me a promotion for 10 free holiday post cards and they gave me three to giveaway to all of you. keep reading to find out how you can win one.

I don’t know if you noticed lately but I love photos. I love looking at photos. I love taking photos. I dream about photos. I just love photos THAT much.  It is very important to me when I print photos to hang on my wall or put into one of my scrapbook albums that they are the best quality they can be. 

I recently purchased a photo book for my step-father from Shutterfly. It was filled from cover to cover with photos of he and his grandsons. It was fairly inexpensive and the quality was amazing. The book is leather-bound, the colors are beautiful and it looked exactly the way I thought it would while I was designing it online.

I’m looking forward to purchasing some Christmas Photo Cards from Shutteryfly this holiday season.  In fact we have a family session set up for Tuesday afternoon for this very purpose.

Shutterfly offers many different products to share or display your precious memories. They carry Birthday Invitations, Thank You Cards, party invitations, and many many other things.

I hope that you will head over to Shutterfly and check it out.

To enter the giveaway to receive a promo code, simply write your own review of Shutterfly on your blog and come back here and give me the link in the comments below. I will randomly choose three winners.

*I received free products from shutterfly.com for posting this review.

I Heart Faces: Smirk

The theme over at I Heart Faces this week is Smirk. A smirk refers to a smile evoking insolence, scorn, or offensive smugness.  Check out these brothers!

 

I mean if those are smirks, I don’t know what is! 

Head over to I Heart Faces and see all the other beautiful entries, and maybe even enter one of your own.

Sweet Shot Tuesdays

This will be my first time linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesdays. I’m excited to start a journey to better photography. 

This past weekend I had the privilege of photographing a Quinceanera for a beautiful young girl. I had never been invited to one before, so being asked to photograph one was a real treat.  I have a couple of favorites from the Mass I would like to share with you.

  

I was honored to be part of this wonderfully religious ceremony. I will be sharing more photos from the day throughout the week. Please feel free to offer up constructive criticism, I really do appreciate it.

What have you been photographing lately?

I Heart Faces: Vroom Vroom

Every year on Labor Day weekend our  small logging town celebrates Paul Bunyan Days. In patriotic holiday fashion we also have a parade.  The Shriners Clowns and Keystone Cops always participate. This particular photo is of the Keystone Cops. I just love parades, but more than that, I love people who support our local children and give back to the community!

We Picture {this} Laughter

click on the button above to participate in this months challenge!