What would I do without the internet?

My husband calls us two peas in a pod, the internet and me. =) I do love the internet and am thankful for all the ways that it completes me. =) I use the internet for so many purposes - I keep in touch with friends and family through email and facebook. I consider myself an expert online shopper and love to hunt for bargains out in cyberspace. I maintain my own little blog on an occasional basis and have come to love the blog world. There are so many amazing, funny, and inspirational bloggers out there! I'm learning to enjoy cooking and look to the internet for new and tasty recipes. So, here are a few of the things I've enjoyed on the internet lately:

I read the birth story of Nella Cordelia, a precious baby girl with Down's Syndrome. I literally wept. It's so beautifully written. Wow.

Lindsey Cheney at The Pleated Poppy has an unbelievable eye for CUTE. She makes these adorable posy hair clips and pins that I've been drooling over for months. She also redecorated her son's room and I love it! She's having a Valentine's Sale right now and anything you buy from her blog you can get for 25% off with code LOVE!!!

I enjoy browsing Etsy, and BriarClair is one of my favorite sellers!!! She makes the most adorable hair clips, hats and headbands. Her shop is closed until Thursday, but I can't wait to see what she lists next.

BooMama continues to be one of my favorite bloggers. Some days she has me laughing out loud. She has a way with words and is just plain funny. I particularly enjoyed this recent post. And this is one of my all time favorites. I read it out loud to my husband and my mother and couldn't get through it without giggling.

The Pioneer Woman and her recipes are an absolute inspiration! She's the real deal and I'd love to have her cookbook! I made her Restaurant Style Salsa (also highly recommended by both BigMama and BooMama) and I can easily say it is the best salsa I've ever had. Word! It was maybe a little "hot" for me - I'd call it "medium with an attitude" - so next time I'll probably leave more of the jalapeno seeds out, but other than that it's so good. I also recently made these Perfect Potatoes au Gratin and everybody in my family loved them! If you know the picky eaters that I have to feed on a daily basis, you know what a delight it is for me when they eat what's on their plates without a complaint!!!

I recently discovered Eat At Home and these amazing Way to a Man's Heart Cookies!!! This gal is a busy mom of four and I feel like her recipes are really practical. She also uses very economical (not organic) ingredients, so I use her recipes as a base and then modify according to my preferences.

I ordered this book and it should be here any day. It's been a rough few days emotionally for me. I've really been humbled as I've dealt with my anger issues (sin). I feel like I've let myself get into some bad habits/patterns and I want to nip it in the bud ASAP! I'm thankful for God's faithfulness in my life and that He has pointed out my sin to me now, and has given me the opportunity to work on it while my kids are still little. I want them to remember a mom who was cheerful, positive, patient, kind and loving. This book has also been recommended to me and it's next on my wish list!

I love Amazon and I love my Amazon Gift Cards earned through Swagbucks!!! My recent purchase from Amazon totaled $29 and because I used $25 in free gift cards I only had to pay $4!!! I do all my online searching through Swagbucks and earn bucks randomly/periodically just for the searches that I would normally do. I have earned hundreds of Swagbucks over the last year or so and have earned numerous gift cards as a result. That means FREE stuff! =) I can't urge you strongly enough to use Swagbucks. If you click on the link that I keep giving to you repeatedly I'll earn a few bucks too! Thanks a bunch!

So there you have it - a few of my recent Online Loves.