Spill It! | Ladies Learn

Because we love you and we love Ladies Learn so much, we strive to do all we can to educate ourselves and improve this site so that ultimately, you can get more out of it! And us too of course!

The Ladies Learn Team sent me up to good old Utah for the 2010 Casual Blogger Conference. I met a lot of really great bloggers, and learned some really great information on how to enhance and improve Ladies Learn! Woo hoo!

Here are some highlights from the weekend…

I finally learned how to make these awesome fabric rosettes!! They are so super easy and require a skill set of glue-gunning. Sa-weet! Yep there is a post coming about them… look for it…

There were some really awesome speakers, who taught me a lot! My brain is on super-over load! This is Shannon Johnson from SeagullFountain. I loved all the preggos! There were lots of them! You go girls!

HUGE HIGHLIGHT: MINDY GLEDHILL PERFORMED!!! I love her! If you’ve never heard of her, your life in incomplete. Get up from your computer right now and go buy her CD. What the freak am I saying?!?! Don’t get up! Just download it on iTunes (duh). She performed all (I think?) of the songs from her recently completed, but not released album, due out August 4th. It’s simply amazing! Okay, I know this post is about the conference, but i just have to post this video of Mindy’s new song, because it’s just the best. Also check out her other songs on YouTube (especially ‘All About Your Heart’)

Here’s Mindy tweeting about performing at CBC—in the middle of her performance. It was so funny! She’s just the best!

Thanks for letting me act like a crazed fan and come and give you a hug Mindy! You have inspired me beyond measure!

What could possibly go better with the sweet sugary sounds of Mindy Gledhill than mounds of candy? This one is for you Lacey…what a delightful candy bar this was. Think I’m going to put one permanently in my house…

The giveaways… yes that is an iPad in the center. If I had won it, this post would not be on the CBC conference, but rather how amazing my new iPad is. But as life would have it, I was actually the winner right AFTER the iPad winner…which means if she wasn’t there…this would be a post on how amazing my new iPad is. As happy as I am for that sweet girl, I am not so happy that this is not a post about how amazing my new iPad is. I won’t tell you what I won, because it wasn’t my amazing new iPad. But thank you CBC sponsors for the white string bikini, it’s awesome. I’ll pretend it’s an iPad, I have a killer imagination.

(if you think I’m joking about the white string bikini, just dare me to take a picture of it…because I will…)

CBC was awesome, I loved it! I met so many awesome people and had a blast. Thank you all! Here are some of the great bloggers I met…check them out, but promise not to love them more than me…I’m a jealous person.

Vanessa Brown from http://www.INeverGrewUp.net –awesome blogging guru

Monica the Mighty from In Plain English http://monicathemighty.blogspot.com/ –what an AWESOME AWESOME mother and woman!

Amy Sanford from Family Trifecta http://www.TheFamilyTrifecta.com –Amy, I’m very picky about business cards, yours takes the cake!

Sarah Johnson from Red Head Recipes http://RHRecipes.blogspot.com –yeah go “H’s!”

Candis Ellis from http://HeirloomPaperie.com –Candis your business cards rock too!

Hannah Cramer from http://sherbertblossom.blogspot.com –another cute business card, loving it

Melissa Bastow from http://BecauseIReallyCantGetEnoughOfMyself.blogspot.com –read her blog, you will laugh your head off

Mrs. R from http://TheRHouse.blogspot.com –oh my heck you have to check out her Etsy shop, SUPER cute jewlery!

Marie LeBaron from http://www.MakeAndTakes.com –oh how I wish I spent more time talking with you Marie, your site rocks my world

Missy Karding from http://SoYouThinkYoureCrafty.com –the ultimate crafting competition…hmmm think I might be interested in that one…

Mari Sweeten from http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com –another cute crafting site

Kami Bigler from http://www.nobiggie.net -super fun site, you gotta watch the iPad + Velco video, I think I may cry I want one so bad

I’m doing a giveaway for CBC attendees (or for anyone who wants to participate really…) if you write a post, tweet, or do a Facebook status ABOUT Ladies Learn, or talk about Ladies Learn, you will be entered to win one of 5 of my custom made camera strap covers. Yes they’re the bomb, you’ll never let your camera go naked again.

I gotta go to bed…been up for about 22 hours.

Sending lots of bloggin’ love…

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's | Tagged blogging, casual blogging conference, conference, mindy gledhill | Comments (3)

After the birth of my son, I experienced severe sciatic nerve pain. The pain would come and go, but would sometime be so intense, I literally could not move my legs. I would have to yell for my husband and he would pick me up, and place me on the bed. I would have to just lay there with my legs as straight as possible (it hurt to move them at all) until the pain subsided. I chalked it up to just not exercising for a while and pregnancy.

When I did start exercising, about 3 months post-partum, I experienced less of the ‘freeze’ episodes and was glad it was getting better.

At about 5 month post-partum, I decided to start running. I’ve always wanted to be a runner, and it was a great way to lose the extra baby weight.

After about 6 weeks of running every other day, my sciatic nerve pain came back, almost instantly in the middle of one of my runs. I could barely walk home.

I rested for the next few days and hoped I just had a ‘cramp’ or was just sore. However, it did not go away and I had a difficult time walking for almost two weeks.

I went to a sports medicine doctor and he explained to me that the muscles around my sciatic nerve were cramping it, causing my pain. The only way to help alleviate it and release the tension was 3 weeks of physical therapy, three times a week.

After some research, I found out that the average cost of physical therapy is between $150-$250 per session. Yikes!

My Dad recommended to me reflexology. I had never heard of it before, but had seen some places around town. I looked into it and decided to give it a try, as it was only about $30 a session.

After 4 sessions over the course of about 2 weeks, I was totally pain free! I ran a 5k a few days later, and have been running without any sciatic pain ever since.

What is Reflexology?

Reflexology is an alternative medicine method used to invoke a physical change in the body by applying pressure to the feet and hands with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques. While the effectiveness of reflexology is highly disputed, and is an alterative form of healing, it worked for me and I would recommend it to anyone with any type of pain.

Although the reflexologist concentrates on your foot and hands, they do also massage other areas of your body, so it was a relaxing, peaceful ‘massage’ type of a treatment.

Read more about Reflexology here.

Below is an example of a reflexology chart displaying different pressure points on the foot which correspond to areas of the body.

If you’re in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend QC Reflexology. To find a reflexologist in your area, perform a Google search or ask friends and family.

Try it out, see what you think, and report back!

Hope it helps you with whatever is ailing you!!

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's | Tagged alternative medicine, how to allieveate sciatic nerve pain, pain, reflexology, running, sciatic nerve, what is reflexology | Comments (0)

No I’m not on a photo-shoot!

No, I’m not out here all alone having a Zen moment.

Hey there! This is our secret family beach spot! Ok, I’m sure people know about it, but we like to think it is a secret.

We are hanging out on the side of this beautiful cliff! I’m not showing the pictures of the kids, cause it looks very unsafe, although I assure you they are all fine.

We drive out the road on a sunny day and then hike to our favorite spot. Kites, snacks and games make it fun and special not to mention the beautiful scenery and wildlife.

We stop and look at all the sea creatures.

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We run and play.

Most beaches here don’t have sand, they are rocky so we have to watch our step.

Let’s go fly a kite…

Find a special place to call your own. Maybe it’s a corner of your house or your yard that you like to curl up in and read books or play games. Or a favorite place to hike or picnic. Your family will always remember going to “Our Special Family Place.”

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This is our beach, Shh!

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brookstag

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By Brooks | Also posted in Brooks' Spill It's | Tagged Alaska's beaches, beach ideas, Family Fun | Comments (1)

As women we are built with natural tendencies to take care of others.

We come into this world with the ability to be nurturing and loving.

Because women are built to do this so well, for many years women were taught to put everyone else before themselves. As a woman, it was selfish or taboo to take care of yourself, to take time for yourself or to say, “No, I can’t help you right now.” Consequently many women become run down, ill, depleted and too tired to do anything. They suffer physically, emotionally and spiritually. Their families suffer, their marriages suffer and life becomes very unhappy. As a result the constant giving they had done for so many years catches up with them and comes to a halt. They can no longer give anymore and who is there to take care of them?

You have to take care of yourself. This is not a luxury or something you will get to when you have crossed off all the other things on your list. We make lists for everything; things to get at the store, people we need to call, things we need to do, places we need to go, things we need to pack. I even make lists of the lists I need to make. Where are you on your list? Are you on your list? Put yourself on the list! Not at the bottom, at the top, where it will do you some good! How can you give from your well of wisdom, love, and strength, when your well is constantly empty? You need to fill your well. This will take time, balance and consistency.

My whole thought about sharing this with you is that, yes there are times in our lives when we will be asked to sacrifice what we want and even need in order to help the greater good. I do not regret giving everything I had to my children or my husband in times when I was not getting all that I needed, but a person can not do that forever. I do not think the Lord wants us to give and give until we are broken and can no longer enjoy life. He wants us to give and give until we have no more to give then go back to that sacred place within ourselves and replenish what we have spent. Because then we can give and give again. This requires a large amount of faith and self discipline on ones part. Life is to be enjoyed! He gave us this life filled with trials and hardships to see and experience happiness, even if it is a glimpse. If we are too busy with our personal hardships we will miss the smallest and even worse, the largest moments of happiness in this life.

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By Brooks | Also posted in Brooks' Spill It's | Tagged putting yourself on the list, taking care of yourself | Comments (1)

It’s me! Yesterday was my 25th birthday. And although I feel old (half-way to 50!) I also feel incredibly young. How is it that this little girl…

is now the mother of this little boy…

??

Yeah that’s just weird.

On the one hand, I feel like I’ve been married for eternity and a mother all my life. But on the other, I feel like I just finished my ACT’s, let along graduated from college. It seems just yesterday that I was celebrating my sixteenth birthday…

(my sincerest apologies to all innocent parties involved in this picture)

And to my mother, it probably just seems like I was celebrating my first…

I may be a day older, maybe a tiny bit wiser, but as each year passes, I am blessed more and more. The Lord has blessed me immeasurable and for that, I am so very grateful.

Thank you to all those who make and have made me who I am, you know who are. I love you.

Now, as a birthday gift to me, please erase from your memory the embarrassing photos I just shared with you.

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's | Comments (1)