The Secret Is Out- Blogger Secret Santa Reveal

Best Candy EVER!

Merry Christmas Friends of the internet. I am writing this post on Christmas Eve,full of excitement with a glass of wine in my hand. 

My Blogger Secret Santa was Sara Magnolia at Saramagnolia.com , her instagram is beautiful too.  Anyway, after receiving these gifts and reading her about page. I am pretty sure we should be friends. Now onto the gifts..


My obsession with Target dollar spot items continues, with all these super fun stationary items. I definitely will get my use out of them. First stop is to laminate my folders and add them to my collection. I love the fancy manila folders so much and can't wait to fill these up and use them regularly. I'm also pencil obsessed so there is that too. And I can't forget to mention how cute those binder clips are,this planner girl is in love!!!

I am also super glad to have gotten this really fun lip kit! The shade is lovely and I can't wait to wear it out! The best part is that it has an exfoliate for those cold winter days with dry lips #bonus.

Thank you so much Sara and I am so glad to be able to connect with you :) 

~Amber Lynn~

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Photo A Day (Week 6)

Hey Internet Pals,
                            Since it has been a while since I have posted I thought I would share a quick step into my week. These posts are one of my favorites to write and share, and I hope you enjoy them too. Let's get into it!!

Sunday 

I spent some time making my planner look nice for the week and I feel pretty good about it. 

Monday

This little Lady Bug Landed on my shoe and stayed for quite a while. I know that it really isn't a big deal,but I enjoyed that moment.

Tuesday

I love keeping my Tuesday nights free to enjoy Dance Moms. The Season Finale is getting intense! 

Plus I got to visit my BFF this day and it was nice to be able to see him twice a week instead of once a week. 

Wednesday

We had out first snowfall. I don't really love snow when I have to drive or walk in it, however I do like admiring it from out the Window. 

Thursday 

I taught this song to one of the kids I work with and I wish I took a video of how loud he was singing it down the hall at school today. It was absolutely wonderful. 

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Dear,

Hello Friends of the internet. I keep seeing these Dear letters on facebook and decided that I would write my own.


Dear self,
                You're doing the best you can right now. 


Dear Mom,
                   I love you and will always be grateful for you. 

Dear Dad, 
                                                               Hey you weirdo, thank you for                                                                        believing in me. 
Dear Best Friend,
                      Thank you for all that you do for me, you make my life so special. I love you. 

 Dear School,
                      Though my academic career is almost over. #classof2017 I am so beyond thrilled to in school my whole life. 

Dear future me,
                           Change the world, or something like that. 

Dear celebrity crush,
                              Hey Hot stuff! ;)
Dear future child,
                             I already know how much I'm going to love you. 

Dear people I love,
                                Thank you. 
 Dear life,
                I guess you're pretty great. 

                                                                Love, 
                                                                          Amber 

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Photo A Day (Week 5)

Hey Friends! Can I just start by saying these Photo A Day posts are my favorite. I love finding 1 or 2 things from a day that were really great. Side note: I also love photo collages that turn more than one photo into 1 photo. Sometimes I have a hard time just picking one. Let's get into it,shall we.

Sunday-I went to the museum with my best friend, and it was a lot of fun. 

Monday- Free Toothbrush Day! Aka going to the dentist. These teeth are happy.

Tuesday- Started out with a large iced coffee and ended with a Panda Express Daddy Daughter date and playing with the new petmoji app. 

Wednesday- Alex  from Alex In the Kitchen and I made 27 PB&J sandwiches for the homeless for a Random Act of Kindness. It was so fun to chat and make sandwiches knowing that we were going to make some people very happy. 

Thursday- I am dog sitting this cute puppy this weekend and he was great to come home to after work. #puppyloveforthewin

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Summer 2016 Playlist

Hey friends! Today I want to share some summer music (though it can be listened to all year round). There are a few songs that I have recently discovered that are seriously the perfect beat for cruising with sunglasses on and a big glass of water. Anyway, let's get to the good stuff. 

1.  Shut Up & Fish- Maddie and Tae
2. Can't Stop the Feeling- Justin Timberlake 
3. Night's on Fire- David Nail 
4. Cake By the Ocean- DNCE
5. Stop Drop & Roll- Dan + Shay 
6. Any song by Sam Hunt- Especially this one 

These are just a few of the songs I am enjoying right now. What songs are on your summer playlist? 

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I Heart Summer! (Tag 2016)

Hey friends, today officially marks the first day of summer and I thought I would do a Summer Q&A Tag for fun and to allow you to get to know me better. The Tag questions found here  at the Mama's Losin' It Blog. 

1. Your dream summer vacation.

My dream summer vacation would be to Hawaii. I have never gone, but my family has and the pictures they have sent me are gorgeous. One day I will go and explore the Sea Turtles. 

2. Favorite summer drink.
Iced tea, lemonade, or iced tea mixed with lemonade. Go Starbucks for getting me hooked on the tea lemonade combo.

3. S’mores or ice cream?
I want to say both,but I also want to say neither because frozen yogurt tops all summer treats. I love going into the frozen yogurt shop and making my own mix. Who else is with me?

4. Pool or Beach?
I want to say Beach,but I live in Utah and the closest thing we have to the beach is the Great Salt Lake which I love, but the water is not for swimming. 

The lake photographs well, but don't let the nature of the camera fool you. There are brine shrimp in the sand, I promise. Oh, and it's kind of smelly. 

5. Would you rather spend a summer day outside in the pool or inside watching Netflix?
How about Netflix outside? I have never tried it, but it would be nice to grab a blanket and and the ipad,lay in the grass,and enjoy the sun and a show. #tryingitthissummer

6. Your most fun summer memory?
Every summer as a kid I would go to a summer camp and we would go on field trips everyday which I loved. I also loved the annual Bear Lake trip my family used to take every year. 

7. Favorite summer nail polish?

In the summer, well mostly all year I go with bright colors. My favorite polish is OPI Pink Flamenco. 

8. Sunglasses or hats?
Sunglasses for sure!

9. Favorite summer scent?
Anything tropical! Most likely Pina Colada. #Yum

10. Favorite BBQ food?
Pasta Salads hands down!

11. Bikinis, tankinis, or one pieces?
I like tankinis that cover the whole belly. Much easier to manage. 

12. Summertime Book recommendations
Not sure on this one I am not really a reader for fun. 

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Photo A Day (Week 4)

This week was a fun one! Here are the highlights in photo form!

Sunday

I watched two cute kids and they kicked my butt at tetherball. 

Monday

Source

A day off to watch TV and catch up on rest was just what I needed. 

Tuesday

I tried these Macarons for the first time ever. They did not disappoint. 

Wednesday

I received a postcard from a friend who went on vacation! 

Thursday

Hanging out with mama.
Veggies taste better with Hummus! 

Friday

Summer has hit and night views of the city are my favorite.

Saturday 

Source

Totally okay with almost finishing a season in one night! Such a good show! 

Sunday

Spent the afternoon making some signs to display in the garden for my mom.

Do you have a favorite photo from last week? If not hope you can collect some photos for this week. 

~Amber~

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On Repeat (1)

Hey friends! Today I thought I would share with you a song that has been on repeat for the last few days because it's just that good. This song is called Break Up In A Small Town by Sam Hunt. No, this song has no relevance to my life at all. However, I am in awe of the gruff talking/singing/country/rock. If you take a listen I'm sure you will like it too. 

Let me know what you think. 

~Amber~

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Back & Ready to stay!

Hello internet, I have neglected you for a while #fulltimecollegestudent. However, I am back to my little corner on the net and I am quite excited. 

When I first started this blog almost 3 years ago it was intended for me to share awkward stories of my life,when I realized my life isn't as awkward as I thought (still awkward at times) I thought I would change things up a little bit,but I still want to be consistent with my original plans of this blog sharing stories, quotes,and music. 


I started out with the goal to share a positive quote every Tuesday, because when I started this blog Tuesday always felt worse than Monday and it was a way for me to feel some hope to make it through the day and the rest of my week. Needless to say Q for You Tuesday will be a thing that continues. I also plan on continuing with posting about music on Thursdays because I believe that music can be powerful and allow a lot of emotions to be explored. Other days Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's will be filled with other fun stuff (lifestyle related) 
I am so excited to be back and posting weekly. 

~Amber~

P.S. If you would like to see what else I'm up to feel free to check twitter or Instagram. 

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Currently

Hey friends of the internet, 2016 is here and I  officially have one year left of school then I have my Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. I am super excited! I also want to take 2016 to new blogging heights. For the first post of 2016 I thought I would play catch up with a currently list. 


Currently I'm:

Watching

Source

This is an old show, but I have been obsessed with it on Netflix. Every episode ties you in and twists the mind. 


Reading

I need to start reading a few books for school. I am not a big reader so, this has been difficult. 

Listening

I have been listening to a lot of county I enjoy the Dan&Shay Radio station on Pandora. 

Take a listen

Making

Lately I have been making a ton of brussel sprouts and cauliflower and art

Feeling

Happy and excited for 2016.

Planning
For a new semester 

~Amber~

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Insane In the Membrane

My friend Becky of Flawed Perfectly posted this picture on her instagram and I saw it and suddenly remembered how INSANE I used to be and how insane I still am. I know I have posted before about how last year 2014 I got on this insane get healthy and do Zumba everyday kick, which don't get me wrong Zumba is still a great fun activity. However, the downfall is.. I didn't get healthy one bit.  

I was insane. I did Zumba faithfully from January to about September of 2014. It was fun and I lost a few inches maybe, but I am pretty convinced that instead of losing weight I gained it. How sad is that? However, I came to terms that I was fat and that I will always be fat forever and that was okay because I have family and friends that love me no matter how much I weigh. I took huge pride in being a "Big Beautiful Girl". Well this big beautiful girl under the surface came to terms with the fact that being big and beautiful was not okay healthwise. When my dear Papa lost his foot to diabetes last September, I knew for a fact that in a few years I could be a "Big Beautiful DIABETES Girl". I had been told my whole life "Amber, if you eat like that you are going to get diabetes." "Amber, watch what you eat." "Amber, that is more than one serving." "Amber, that is not something you eat for a snack. Next time get an apple." on and on with the watch your food sayings. You think I would have listened,but eventually I did. After seeing my dad like that I knew I needed a change I just didn't know what just yet. I didn't have time for exercise at all with starting a new school and just being a busy adult. I had lost hope and thought well, I am fat and severely unhealthy and there is nothing that I could do about it because I just did not have the time for that 30 minute Zumba DVD. 

Fast forward two months of thinking and praying for something to come into my life and help me. In November 2014 I found hope in a family member who had gone 7 months without flour and sugar and lost 70 pounds or so. Who would have thought that by not eating flour and sugar something that incredible could happen. I wanted that, and I wanted it bad. So on November 4, 2014 (about 9 months ago) I jumped on the bandwagon and never looked back. 

November 23,2014 at 378 Pounds 

July 23,2015 at 285 Pounds 

Though I have already seen such a huge difference in my body size and my health I still have a long way to go and a lot of hope that I can get there. And I have a lot of gratitude for the strength that God has given me to change my life one day at a time. 

Source 

~Amber

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Summer Is Over...

It's always bittersweet when summer ends and school is back in session. Up in the morning and off to school time, but before I go to school I thought I would go through that bucket list and see how much of it I accomplished this summer. Welcome to the adult life when a lot of summer vacation is working, and studying for tests. #Praxis2Boo 

Summer Bucket List:

Go Hiking Often 


Sadly I only went on one hike this summer, but it was lovely. I hope to go on a couple more this fall 

Get Back into bike riding 

Yeah this didn't happen,maybe next year ;)

Swim

I went once and it was a blast I want to go at least one more time before September hits. 

Go to the lake 
The Lake was my Jam this summer  

Go to the zoo

Do at least 3 DIY's.

Summer in a photo. 

I did a few things (mainly painting). 

Pinewood Derby Cars! Mine is the Paris one! #Doesa7yearoldpaintbetterthanme? 

Go on picnics

I went on two with my dad.


Movie Dates 

I went and saw Pitch Perfect 2 and Inside Out and they were both great! 

Though I didn't Complete everything on my list I am happy about how summer turned out. Hello and Goodbye Lake hope to see you soon! 

~Amber

P.S. What was your favorite thing this summer, did you complete your bucket list? 

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Motivational Monday (2)

Is it really Monday? Even a 3 day weekend went by too fast. Here is onto conquering the second week in July!

This quote really stood out to me this week (any week) I think it is important to just clear your mind and be yourself,but also be willing to try new things and step outside of your comfort zone. 

The Pin

I also want to motivate you to realize all the things that make you happy throughout the week because it will make a difference.

This quote just makes sense, and I know it is one that is often heard and repeated. But looking for at least that one thing that made the day pretty okay will be a great motivator this week.  My friend Becky of Flawed Perfectly  does a great job in explaining the happiness in gratitude and really cherishing those few things that make us happy. 

What motivates you each day? 

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#RandomLoveLetter June

When  Sara Shotts( Instagram  Blog ) posted about a random love letter challenge I was all in. If you know me, you should know that handwritten letters are my jam despite how bad my handwriting can get. I had a blast this month leaving these notes around town, and might do it on my own next month. 

Here are the notes I left

I left this one on a table at a place that I have meetings at. 

Update, two weeks later it is still on that same table to be read. 

I left this note on the stairs that lead up to the dentist office. 

I think that this note definitely applied to a XL candy bar. 

I left this note on a folder at the Dollar Tree.

This note was left in on a random page in a random book. 

I feel that this note is definitely applicable to someone about to take a test. 

I left this at the doctors on a magazine. 

This was left on a clipboard at the coffee shop drive through. 

This was suitable to sit among the candles. 

I invited my friend Alex to do it and she delivered. 

Here are her notes and where she left them. Thanks Alex for joining me. 

For more #RandomeLoveLetters click here. 

I encourage you to leave a random letter if you want :) 

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