Monday Smiles: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

This sort of goes along with last week's post, but I came across this verse this morning and it super encouraged me so I wanted to share. Enjoy!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

High Five for Friday: Because It Is In Fact Friday.

I had no idea today was Friday. Hence the delay on this post.

I blame my new work schedule. And also my sleep deprivation.

I've been having some trouble sleeping lately, and it's starting to affect my sanity.

The other day I was driving down the highway, and -- I kid you not -- I saw a giant gray monkey climbing over the railing, like some real life version of Planet of the Apes. Or King Kong.

As it turns out, it was just a plastic bag, but it seriously gave me a mini heart attack and I almost wrecked my car.

That same day I also almost ran a red light because I imagined it turning green.

I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the elevator nightmares.

When I wasn't hallucinating/making up my own reality, I actually did a few really fun things that aren't as funny but definitely worth mentioning.

Birchbox vs. Ipsy: June.

It's always a good day when I receive my month's beauty boxes. I received both last week, so here is my June Birchbox vs. Ipsy review!

(If you're new to the idea of Birchbox and/or Ipsy, click here to read my past reviews and learn more about the two services.)

Kayla's Creations: Icing Cupcakes Like A Pro.

I've been into baking for like, six years now. But until recently, I was terrible with icing.

I had never really made cupcakes until about a year ago. Weird, right? I'm just not a big cake/cupcake person. Cookies are more my thing. I love cookies.

Anyway. I came across this recipe for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and they were just SO CUTE. So I decided to make them as refreshments for my Growth Group at church.

I made the cupcakes and the little cookies to top them with and everything was going just as expected and I was so excited to see my little cupcake creations. I followed the directions for the icing and whipped up two batches (I was making a double recipe).

What happened next is now referred to as the Frosting Fiasco of 2013.

Monday Smiles: Accidental Joy.

Sometimes, mistakes turn out to be pretty awesome, don't they?

I've found that some of my favorite moments came to be completely on accident. As someone who makes a lot of mistakes, it's become second nature to me to make the most of them. Here are some examples:

Back in the day (2008), I was running around outside with a camera and accidentally took the above selfie. It's a little creepy, but I've always really liked the picture for some reason.

 

High Five for Friday: Cupcakes...But What Else Is New?

Okay, so I may have lied last week when I talked about the big things I had planned for the blog this week. I actually meant next week. (For real this time.)

This week I started a new work schedule, so instead of working Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I work Monday - Wednesday and have a four day weekend. I am not at all opposed to this.

Most of the week, I've been busy working and trying to get my car fixed. I have been having some car troubles, and Friday after work my battery was completely dead. I had to have a friend of mine take me to get a new one so I could get home. But, now that I have a new battery AND a new alternator, I shouldn't be having anymore issues (hopefully).

Needless to say, my car issues are not making my high five for the week. Thankfully, plenty of other good things happened to make up for it.

Monday Smiles: MY Day.

A little Monday encouragement for you:

High Five for Fridays: A Distraction From My New Phobia.

Does anyone else ever have nightmares about elevators?

I'm talking broken elevators, hanging on by a thread, going super fast to the wrong floor and people falling down elevator shafts.

No? I'm the only one?

I have them ALL. THE. TIME. I swear, I'm one bad elevator dream away from never setting foot on one again. I'm really starting to develop an elevator phobia. (Side note: Did you know there's no official name for the fear of elevators? How do they have a name for "fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth" [arachibutyrophobia] but not for elevators???)

Anyway, enough about how awfully terrifying and risky elevators are. Let's talk about something happy, shall we?

Monday Smiles: Childhood Memories.

Did anyone watch the Miss USA pageant last night?

I love watching pageants. I grew up with them. My dad is a photographer, and when I was little we traveled to Florida every year for a pageant that he shot.

I loved it.

It was a children's pageant, and there were two age groups -- petites and pre-teens. At the time, I would have fit into the petite age group, but I thought the pre-teens were the coolest people ever. I was so heartbroken that my dad worked for the pageant, which made me ineligible to participate. I SO wanted to be a contestant.

Watching the pageant last night brought back so many pleasant memories of my "pageant days." In fact, many of my favorite childhood memories involve this pageant.

High Five For Friday: This Post Might Make You Hungry.

Hopefully next week I'll be back to posting these first thing in the morning, but I knew that I was getting my haircut this afternoon and I wanted to be able to share that today, so I waited. 

That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

This week was mostly fabulous. A lot has happened since last Friday, my friends. I honestly don't yet know which five moments are going to make the list. Let's find out, shall we?

1. Saturday, I went to a wedding, and then I came home and made this giant double chocolate cookie.

Monday Smiles.

Okay, so here's the deal with the Lessons Learned From series.

I hated it.

I mean, I didn't hate the idea behind it or the actual posts. It was just too specific and I had a hard time coming up with a post for it every week, so it turned into more of a chore. And chores aren't fun.

The whole point of Lessons Learned From was to bring a little happiness to Mondays and encourage people to find joy in everything. But I felt like there was a better way to do that without having to always learn something. Not everyone likes learning.

SO. I'm revamping my Monday series.

Same idea. New name. Less rules.

Normally I'm all for having rules, but not with writing. 

Anyway.

Welcome to my new and improved Monday series: Monday Smiles.

There's only one rule for this series: write about something that makes me happy.

This opens the door for so many new posts. It could be something like what I would post about in Lessons Learned From, but it could also be a fun moment from my week, an entry from my happiness journal, or an encouraging verse or quote.

Whatever it is, I hope it brings a smile to your face.

I'm going to keep today's short since I've already bored you with a long explanation. So I'll just leave you with this quote in honor of the late Maya Angelou:

Via.