Gifts For Giving

Looking for some original non sugary but sweet gift ideas?  Look no further!  Ringing in at less than $5 and only minutes to put together these are sure to brighten anyone's day whether they're wrapped under a tree or doorbell ditched!  There's something for every wallet, busy schedule and friend in your life.  The work's been done so you don't have to!  Just print, cut, and enjoy the happiness that only giving can bring!  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas friends!  Enjoy!

Each of the printables has been formatted to print on a 8.5 X 11" piece of paper.  From your computer you can just click and print, from a mobile device just hold the image and when it prompts you save the image, then print it!  Simple, thoughtful and something everyone can use!   If you're looking for more fun life hacks on how to simplify yours; check out www.naptimereviewer.com!

Merry Christmas Friends!

Watch Me Whip...

Help your little people get into the spirit of Christmas this season and have a few chuckles while you're at it!  I've added lots of fun ideas and printables over the years: just search the blog for the word elfia or go to Instagram and look under the hashtag #elfiaupdike or follow my children's mommy @shavonneupdike for daily ideas till Christmas!  Your elves are sure to find lots of inspiration for quick & fun morning surprises!  Wishing you a Merry Christmas filled with lots of sleep!

Love, Elfia Updike ❤️

These images have been formatted and are ready to print onto 8.5 X 11 paper or cardstock.  To print on a mobile device just save the image first or if you're on a computer just click and print!  This is a quick one friends!

13 IMAGES THAT SPEAK TO PARIS AND THE WORLD

What do you say in a moment like this?  In case you've also been in a quandary grasping for words to say in light of our world's current events,  here's a collection of photos that SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.  I'm posting them with the hope that at least one of them may speak to you as well.  Though we're thousands of miles away this was a small way I thought we could help spread love around our world, albeit digitally. These are a compilation of photos I've adjusted or put together from things I've found, though I do not claim ownership of them, as the quoted authors & artists are listed on each.  The updikeupdates watermark is simply there so that others may be able to more easily grab the higher resolution copies right here to share them, for as we all know copies of copies end up becoming contorted and hard to read. :)  Love to you all.  ❤️

"GENUINE GOODNESS IS THREATENING TO THOSE AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM."

-CHARLES SPENCER

"BLESSED ARE YE WHEN MEN SHALL REVILE YOU, PERSECUTE YOU, AND FALSELY SAY ALL KINDS OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY, FOR MY SAKE."

-MATTHEW 5:11

"THE MAN WHO CRIES OUT AGAINST EVIL MEN, BUT DOES NOT PRAY FOR THEM WILL NEVER KNOW THE GRACE OF GOD."

-ST. SILOUAN THE ANTHONITE

"RESOLVE TO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT TO COMBAT EVIL WITH GOOD." -POPE FRANCIS

"IF YOU THINK YOU ARE TOO SMALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, TRY SLEEPING IN A CLOSED ROOM WITH A MOSQUITO."  -AFRICAN PROVERB

"KNEEL DOWN TO PRAY.

STEP UP TO SERVE.

REACH OUT TO RESCUE."

-THOMAS S. MONSON

HE SAID, "ABOVE ALL WATCH WITH GLITTERING EYES THE WHOLE WORLD AROUND YOU BECAUSE THE GREATEST SECRETS ARE ALWAYS HIDDEN IN THE MOST UNLIKELY PLACES.  THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN MAGIC WILL NEVER FIND IT."

-ROALD DAHL

"NO CONCERN OF OURS IS TOO SMALL OR INSIGNIFICANT.  THE LORD IS IN THE DETAILS OF OUR LIVES." --THOMAS S. MONSON

"WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP.

WE NUST NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED.

WE NUST NEVER SURRENDER TO THE FORCES OF EVIL... IF IT MEANS STANDING ALONE, WE MUST DO IT.  BUT WE SHALL NOT BE ALONE."

-GORDON B. HINKLEY

"WHEN EVIL MEN PLOT, GOOD MEN MUST PLAN.

WHEN EVIL MEN BURN AND BOMB, GOOD MEN MUST BUILD AND BIND.

WHEN EVIL MEN SHOUT WORDS UGLY WORDS OF HATRED,

GOOD MEN MUST COMMIT THEMSELVES TO THE GLORIES OF LOVE."

-MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

"THOUGH MY SOUL 

MAY SIT IN DARKNESS

IT WILL RISE IN 

HIS PERFECT LIGHT

I HAVE LOVED THE STARS TOO FONDLY

TO BE FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT."

-SARAH WILLIAMS

potty like a rock star

All you need buy are these 3 things: 

Fabric- I got my mine from here it's a durable duck cloth and was $10/yard.

Tension Rods- you can get them anywhere from Amazon, target to walmart.  They're spring tensioned so they'll fit to whatever width you're trying to cover, just be sure to measure your width and to get the right one as they come in size ranges. Since they're hardly visible I got the least expensive ones I could find. I think they were around $4 a piece.

Fray Check - this is the easiest way to ensure the edge of your fabric stay put and won't come apart over time.  Just follow the instructions on the bottle.

I measured the distance between the two walls added a half an inch on either side and hot glued both sides under so that it looked finished.  I then hot glued it to the top rod, figured out the placement for the bottom one and then hot glued that into place as well.  This by far has been the quickest, cheapest, and easiest room transformation.  The simple awning balance completely changed the look and added so much character to their little bathroom!  This can all be done in under 25 min and under $25 bucks!  Simple, affordable, and fun!  Can't wait to see how cute yours turns out!

The Struggle Is Real

You are more than your failures just as I am more than my millions of FAILed moments, countless FAILed pregnancy tests, hundreds of FAILed unfinished projects and at least a dozen FAILed diets.  For those who assume I don't keep it real on social media... I would agree to disagree.  This is my backup memory, and as we all know memories are selective.  So why not be SELECTIVE on something so personal yet so public?  Oh I have documented my failures 😂 but that's not where my heart wants to stay.  Sad moments are often much harder to forget than than happy ones are to remember.  So as I remember selective bits and pieces I want to look back here and see a whole reel of highlights.  I believe there is wisdom in putting your best foot forward especially in front of the world.  I believe in seeking light, shining, and then rekindling that light in those around us.  You attract what you reflect and I choose brighter, sunnier, baby filled days that I hope are in our future.  So until then I'm going to try to pick up a mess behind my kids before I post a photo and wipe the food off our faces before we smile for one... At least most of the time. 😜  Not because I'm trying to be someone I'm not but because I'm trying to be who I feel I should be.  Call me old fashioned but I believe there is no greater title than that of womanhood, and 

• I don't believe it suits us to put ourselves down in order to be likable or real. I

believe w

• e are all stronger than the struggles we face, the comparisons we make, and standards we set for ourselves based on our society, circle of friends, or news feeds.  So next time a

friend posts a picture of the creative bento box meal, the amazing party she threw, or how put together her family is... remember that what took her hours you may have haphazardly thrown together in two minutes.  Neither of your accomplishments are better or worse than the other's, they're just different.  Beautifully different.  Neither is a rose prettier than a tulip.  If blooming next to one another I doubt either flower would compare itself to the other, they would just bloom right where they are, as unique as they are, in the space they were given.  Those who spend time on things that we wouldn't don't have more time than we do, it just means they prioritize their time and show their love differently.  We are all doing the best we can with what we have.  Join with me, @todaysthebestday & other real women as we acknowledge our need to stop conforming to society's pressures and celebrate our differences.  I appreciate and marvel at every post I see of yours.  May we choose optimism over comparison.  We are enough.  💛

Come uplift and inspire the women you know, the struggle is real, but we're all in this together.  Grab your printable below:

Back To School Printable

These little printables would be cute attached to any bagged cookies!  No I did not make these gorgeous ones... and now that we have a Kneader's close by I didn't even attempt to!  For all my domestic friends with time you can make them, but if you're running short on time and domesticness as of late like me :) you can even get a yummy one at Chickfila, Panara Bread, or Subway too!  Their teachers loved them and I'm sure your kids' would too!  Happy New School Year Friends!  Wishing you and your little a fun start on the right foot!  🍎📚✏️

They see me Rollin'... they Apron - GIVEAWAY

Just because you guys are the sweetest family & friends ever... all you have to do is leave a comment here naming a single item you'd like from www.crazydogtshirts.com and you can earn an extra entry to win one of these aprons!  I love mine and haven't a doubt you, your friends and family will get a kick out of it too!  See my Instagram for all the deets!  Good luck friends! 

follow in His footsteps

Heat a ceramic bowl or dish in oven or microwave on high for 1 min.  The heat will last & melt undersides of the mini Charlie Chews perfectly!

Hold just long enough till the bottom is melted and stick it right on the cookie!

Press the "buckle" balls right in!  

Tada!  Easy peasy.   There you have your very own Birkenstock sandals cookies!  

I made these as handouts to coincide with today's lesson in church found here. I placed several paintings depicting Christ's life around the room with descriptions of what He did over them (ie: learning carpentry from his father Joseph, healing the sick, raising the dead, telling truthful stories/parables, feeding the hungry, leading by example, rebuking sin, comforting the weary, being baptized, atoning for ours sins, etc.)  You can spread out lots of different types of shoes which they'll walk by on their way to choosing which picture they want to stand under.  I then walked around the room pointing to each and asking how we may find ourselves in "shoes" similar to those He wore by being in similar situations.  Whether helping those in need, being baptized, being teachable, leading by example, telling the truth or standing up for what's right, we can always emulate and follow in the footsteps of our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ.  Even though we often times fall short, by putting ourselves in other people's shoes we can better understand the perspective of others and love them more fully.  

I then pointed out the different types of shoes there were; most were for everyday purposes, some were for work, others had been worn on perilous persuits, others were more glamorous, athletic or just down right unfortunate looking and looked like they'd perceived by some to be better suited for the trash.  I told them the importance of not judging unrighteously even if you've walked a mile in someone else's shoes.  I explained that throughout our lives we will need to figuratively wear many people's shoes, some of which may require hard work, effort, humility, stature, humor or patience.  

"If we follow in [the Savior’s] footsteps, we can live by faith rather than by fear. If we can share his perspective about people, we can love them, serve them, and reach out to them—rather than feeling anxious and threatened by others." Spencer W Kimball

The following image has been formatted to print on a standard sheet of paper.