Happy New Year + A Giveaway!!

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Hello 2014!! I can’t believe we’re already starting a new year. I keep thinking we haven’t even had our wedding anniversary or Lucas’ birthday yet this year. Time flies when you’re having fun, isn’t that what they say?

Watching Lucas grow through 2013 has been such a blessing, but boy do I wish I had a pause button. He started giggling, crawling, playing with toys, standing, laughing, walking, playing peek a boo, blowing kisses, saying bye bye, and just recently giving the sweetest little baby kisses — sometimes with puckered lips and sometimes with a tongue sticking out. This Mama enjoys both 😉

Clint and I have made tremendous progress on the Finance front this year. (I won’t be posting December’s recap until Friday to give all our transactions time to clear so my numbers are right.) Clint has become so much more involved in our finances and budgeting and I am very grateful for that. Having all of the responsibility of the budget on my shoulders is daunting. Clint never actually “budgets” but he does look at the budget, usually on his phone using the YNAB app and helps to keep us reigned in. And I plan to tell you guys a little more about YNAB in the coming weeks too, as I’ve had lots of questions about it lately. If you’re ready to go ahead and get it now though, here’s the link for the $6 off. I’m excited to see how much more we can get paid down in 2014 and can’t wait to be #debtfree!

In September, I started Not Your Mainstream Mama and sharing my life with all of you. I really enjoy it– gives me the chance to get out all of my opinionated thoughts without shoving them down anyone’s throat. Haha! It is very time consuming though so I’m thinking about dropping down to 2 posts a week in 2014. I haven’t completely decided yet.

Last, but not least, I started Aqua Anchor Designs at the end of November and have REALLY enjoyed making things and sharing them with people. I got my first repeat customer this week and I was so excited about it. As far as Etsy shops go, I believe I had a really good first 30 days and can’t wait to see what this year will look like. I have garnet crystals (January birthstone) in stock that look great in shotgun shell earrings, by the way 😉 I have several ideas of things to add to my store throughout the year so keep your eyes peeled.

Speaking of Aqua Anchor Designs, what better time than now to do a giveaway!! I am about to start carrying scarves so I couldn’t decide if I wanted to give away a scarf or a pair of earrings, so I decided to just let you decide. It’s your choice between the earrings OR scarf pictured. I hope that you will share it across all of your social media networks for more entries. The more traffic this creates for Aqua Anchor Designs, the more likely I am to do more giveaways in the future. 😉 The winner will be announced next Wednesday here at Not Your Mainstream Mama and on my Instagram, Facebook page, and Twitter.

Which one would YOU like to win in this giveaway?

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