What's the deal with #Afflink?

I alluded to the writing of this post on Facebook, so I wanted to make sure it was written.

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliates Program, and if you haven't already seen my first post after signing up, you can read it here. It was pretty poorly written, but it was my first experience with being an Amazon Affiliate, so I wanted to make sure I covered the required/default disclaimer. 

I also wanted to be as transparent as possible when I share products with affiliate links on Facebook, so I've been using the #afflink. Well, that backfired on me. I never explained what I meant, and I've had several people private message me or ask on a comment what I meant by #afflink. 

#Afflink is especially common on Twitter, where character count is limited, but it's a shortened way to tag affiliate links on social media. Based on a few tutorials I read, it seems to be a way to limit the full disclaimer on short posts, especially Twitter, but it also occurs on Facebook, Instagram, and, occasionally, YouTube descriptions. 

I don't ALWAYS share my affiliate link, when I share products on social media, so I have tried to distinguish between the ones I may earn a commission on, and other posts and/or products by adding the hashtag. Whether it's a post I earn a commission on or not, I only share posts I am genuinely interested in. Usually, I try to keep my affiliate posts for things I've actually used and liked; however, that's not always the case. 

I would always appreciate purchases through one of my links. It doesn't cost anything extra for you, but every purchase provides a little supplemental income to save for a minivan and finish paying off Mario's student loans.

Each time you click an affiliate link, that click is good for 24 hours. If you would like to keep supporting us, we simply ask that you refer back to this or other #afflink posts to ensure the link is active each time you make a purchase.

Thanks for whatever support you're willing to provide for us. You can shop all of Amazon.com,  Amazon Prime Music,  Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Kindle Reader and  Audible,  and even Amazon Gift Cards and Amazon Trade-ins. I also just discovered that Amazon offers Amazon Cell Phones & Service Plans.


Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review, and all thoughs are my unbiased, honest opinion, but this post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission on purchases. For more information, see my Disclosures page

Personal Statement: This post contains affiliate links; however, I have received no compensation for my review. Everything here is my honest opinion of a product we purchased.

"Alexa" the Amazon Echo

Here's our "Alexa" unit as part of our Family

I wasn't going to share this, because I thought it was tacky, but of all the Amazon purchases we've made in the last year, I think the Amazon Echo, "Alexa" has been my favorite. When we purchased it, back in November or December (It was Mario's big Christmas present to himself) I thought it was a frivolous waste of money, and quite honestly, it was a frivolous purchase.

HOWEVER! It has made grocery shopping SO much easier. I am notorious for making a list (even whole menu plans) and leaving the list at home when shopping, and "Alexa" has made it so that I actually take the list with me, since it syncs to an app on my phone. I've tried other shopping apps--and even the Reminders app that comes standard on iOS devices--but for whatever reason, I don't input the item to the list right when I think of it. Because the Echo is voice activated, I simply say, "Alexa, add ______ to the shopping list," and she adds it right then and there. The app syncs nearly instantaneously, and wallah! Forgotten grocery items are nearly non-existent! Plus, since I know my grocery list is a lot more accurate, I'm confident that I've listed everything I actually need;  I am a lot less prone to impulse buys, which equates to $$$ that stays in our pockets. (I haven't done the math, but I would guess that the money saved from fewer impulse buys either completely or nearly paid for the Echo.)

The other big feature of "Alexa" that I use, is the voice activated bluetooth speaker. She (yes, we have personified the Echo in our home) is linked to Amazon Prime Music (here's a 30-day Free Trial,) which has a lot of free music for Amazon Prime members. (Did you know that students get 6mo Prime Student free with a .edu email account, and then half off on Amazon Prime after that? Check out Prime Student) Mario started saving a lot of his favorite music on when we were first married, plus all the free music already in the cloud, there's very little that's not available through "Alexa." I never really had music going until after we purchased "Alexa," but now I can say, "Alexa, play 'Eye of the Tiger'" anytime Big Sister asks.

There are lots of other skills and features (here's the Alexa Skills Guide) that Mario uses (especially the ability to add events to his Google Calendar,) but other than the shopping list and music, the only other skills I regularly use are the voice activated timer and weather, and occasionally I'll use the 7 Minute workout skill. For a little while, we had the Amazon Shop feature enabled, so we could just have "Alexa, order _____ from Amazon," but after Big Sister almost ordered a second Echo unit, we disabled that feature.

Overall, I would recommend the Amazon Echo to anyone who likes voice activated devices or who are a bit scatterbrained, like me. It is a little expensive, so I can't wholeheartedly say "Everyone needs one!" It's definitely a want, but now that we have it, it would be hard to go back as it really has made grocery shopping much more effective. So, if you like to listen to music regularly (or you would like to more easily) and/or you would like a little help with remembering your shopping list, then I think the Echo is definitely something that would benefit you.



Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review, and all thoughts are my unbiased, honest opinion, but this post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission on purchases. For more information, see my Disclosures page

Personal Statement: This post contains affiliate links; however, I have received no compensation for my review. Everything here is my honest opinion of a product we purchased.

"A Soft Answer Turneth Away Wrath"

“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger”

-Proverbs 15:1

Normally, I try to pick Ponderize scriptures that stand out to me from my personal scripture study, but this one was quoted in an article that was shared on one of the Facebook groups I'm in; the article is entitled "Is Not Yelling Even A Thing?" I started reading the article because I've noticed a feeling of dissonance in our home, a lack of peace, and I've felt like I've been yelling a lot more lately than I wanted. 

When I came across this scripture, I didn't even finish reading the article. It shook me to my core. How often do I react to my daughters in a state of frustration, anger and yelling? How often do I react angrily towards Mario? It never ends well.  When I act on whatever caused my indignation in anger, there's a ripple effect of anger and frustration from whomever I've directed it at/ In contrast, when I am able to respond calmly, anger seems to face away. Which is why I chose the image I chose for my picture quote: the ripples protrude from the center, but as it the water begins to calm, the flower becomes more visible. Should I choose to agitate the water, the flower would disappear. 

That symbolism--the beauty of life, and the ease of it hiding from realization in anger--was a very poignant reminder to me, that I need to focus on my ability to calm and collect my thoughts before reacting.

Amazon Affiliate Member

I have several friends and family members who are Amazon Affiliate members, and one of them suggested that I sign up as an Amazon Affiliate. So I signed up, under the impression that Mario's orders would count for the commission, but it doesn't look like that's the case. That would be nice if I'm mistaken, but probably not worth the possibility of violating the Program Participation Requirements.

If anyone is feeling especially generous, we'd love if you ordered through my Amazon  "Thank You" Affiliate Link. It won't change your price, but it will earn me a very small commission, which, would always be appreciated. I'll even provide a handy link to a Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial and an Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial,

If you do choose to help me earn that small commission, I'd love if you came back to this post, or others that may have links. Since the click is only good for 24 hours, I don't think bookmarking a link would be sufficient.

Update: I forgot to add what the commission would be used for. It will be used to supplement Mario's living stipend, and hopefully help us save for a minivan.

Amazon Default Disclaimer/Disclosure: Michaela is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Mandatory Conference

With Mario being a PhD student, we knew he'd have to go to at least a handful of travel research conferences, conventions and/or colloquia, but for some reason I assumed that they would all be ones he got to choose. In retrospect, that is a very unfounded assumption, but, regardless, it persisted, until he was told by his research lab he was going to a mandatory conference at a military base in Pennsylvania 1 week ago. 

He left yesterday at noon to attend a training conference through the Army, who is the primary funding agency on his lab's grant. Today's meetings lasted from 8-8, and tomorrow they're from 8-3, with a 5:00 flight home. Unfortunately, with the layover, they won't be back until 11p tomorrow.

So here's us girls "rulin' the roost." 😉

Ps: it's getting progressively MORE difficult to take selfies with them. For some reason, I thought it would get easier. 

"Unto him that receiveth I will give more"

After the last Ponderize scripture, and my realization of the things I'm learning "line upon line," I thought it apt to ponderize 2 Nephi 28:30. This tine, however, the phrase "unto him that receiveth I will give more" stood out to me.

We're always learning; whether it be formal or informal, secular or spiritual, we are always gaining knowledge and understanding. As long as we receive and utilize the knowledge we have received, this scripture promises that we will be given more. As we strive to "learn wisdom in our youth" we will be given more wisdom as we listen to and act upon what we have already received. (And I am willing to venture that we could all say we are in our youth, no matter our mortal age, because this is such a small portion of eternity.) 

What a wonderful promise! A simple desire to learn, and acting upon--or actively receiving--that learning, and we can gain more.

It reminds me of a photo of the Sistine Chapel that a friend shared on Facebook recently:

"The Creation of Adam"

Depicted here is a section called "The Creation of Adam," where God is giving Adam life.I have always thought it interesting that Michelangelo chose to portray this moment in history this way: God stretches as far as possible to reach Adam, but Adam won't quite reach back. All Adam has to do is straighten his arm, or just sit up a little bit, but he remains reclined. To me it's always been a reminder that we as mortals miss out on so much knowledge, wisdom, understanding and support because we simply don't reach out for it. 

But according to 2 Nephi 28:30, we not only miss out on light and understanding we COULD have received, if we "shall say, we have enough," we will have that light and knowledge we have already received, taken from us. 

And, while not a spiritual example, I definitely have seen this loss of knowledge in my life as I have stopped taking and using the skills and knowledge from my math classes, I just can't remember most of it anymore! While forgetting math is frustrating sometimes, it is so much more important to continue the study and review and share knowledge and testimony we have gained through our time on this life!! Missing math may affect my life now, but these truths will affect me for eternity! I want to be able to stand before the Judgement Bar, and not just watch my life and know of what I once knew, I want to be able stand before Him and say, "I know thou art my God! I have lived my life to its fullest, and I have followed and retained the truth I have received." 

I think that someday, if we continue through this life, always using that perfect, infinite gift of the Atonement, we each will have that opportunity. For I know we have a loving, merciful God--our Father--who loves us and has provided a way for us to improved and return to His presence through the sacrifice of His Son, our Savior. I know that as we strive to come unto Him, His hands truly are outstretched to us, and we may be lifted from wherever we may stand. I know that this truth was once on the earth, but was lost to the wickedness of men; but I also know that it was Restored by the power of God, through the question of a 14-year-old boy Joseph, until it was fully Restored to this earth. I know that Christ walked this earth, having been born of Mary, and I know that He will one day walk this earth again; this time as a Resurrected Being, in His full glory. I know that part of the Restored Gospel included modern revelation, both to Prophets and Apostles on a global scale, but also the ability for each of us as an individual to gain revelation, directly from God, for our personal enrichment. 

If you are struggling with truths you once knew, bow down before God. Pour out your thought and concerns to Him, and He will guide you. Let Him take those hurting, broken pieces of your heart and bind them together to make you stronger. Let Him love you; and most importantly, let yourself be loved--for that is damnation: stopping your progress towards and ability to be loved by your Savior and Father in Heaven.

Past Ponderize

I realized I stopped sharing my ponderize scriptures, so here's at least a collection of the ones I've used/made up to now.

Menstruation, what's the big deal?

Yesterday there was a post on one of the groups I'm part of on Facebook asking advice of how to make a daughter's first period a pleasant, special experience. I appreciated some of the more traditional celebrations of womanhood and "coming of age" type responses, but I was SHOCKED at how many moms in the group were still trying to get over what could nearly be called trauma of their first period.

For me, menstruation was just a normal part of life that would occur whenever my body was ready to grow/nourish children. It was a necessary, special and sucky part of life. (Seriously? Who could enjoy cramps and the inconvenience of bleeding for up to a week once each month?) I knew of the purpose of menstruation since I was at oldest 8 (my parents followed the "we'll answer whatever questions you have" philosophy, and I was very persistent with the "where do babies come from, and how are they made?") type questions. I still remember the day they took me on a walk and gave me a essentially an human sexuality talk with this cute picture book that walked it through in a really good, sacred way. My mom was also very open about when she was on her cycle, and I often grabbed pads for her from storage if she ran out in the bathroom. The only thing that was hard for me to figure out was tampons, since she got really severe TSS and almost never used them.

Apparently the moms who had bad experiences were all people who's moms never talked about menstruation. Many felt it was something to be ashamed of. 

While I understand wanting to be private and/or avoiding inconveniencing family members, I think it served me well to live in a household where menstruation was normal, obnoxious, maybe, but normal, because let's face it, menstruation IS a normal, biological  part of female life. While it may be an uncomfortable topic for some, I just want to thank my mom (and dad, because dads and brothers still have to deal with the PMS and such as well) for making it no big deal. And, while I've never been accused of beating around the bush--in fact I'm often told I'm too blunt, or provide TMI, I hope that the girls, know what to expect when their cycles start, and I hope they feel support from both me and dad. 

I also hope that if we have any boys, they will be comfortable with it too, because, seriously, how obnoxious would it be for their sisters, and even more importantly their future girlfriends/wives if they get squeamish every month. Now, I'm not saying they will necessarily be nice about it to their sisters--I OFTEN got teased from my brothers--but they were sympathetic and helpful in other ways, and I hope that will be the case for the girls if we have any sons, and for their future boyfriends/husbands, if we don't.

Don't Give Up

Having battled postpartum depression with Big Sister, this has been such an important thing for me. I have been trying to be proactive to prevent ppd with Baby Sister, and I think I'm doing ok right now, but this is my motto for the foreseeable future. 

I also wanted to share this for anyone who is silently suffering. Whether it be any invisible physical, emotional or spiritual pain and/or illness, know that you are loved. DON'T GIVE UP! There are those that look up to you, that love you, that need you in their lives. 

And one thing that I've learnt for myself: there is always someone who knows with excruciating detail and perfect understanding EXACTLY how you feel. Your Savior, and mine, has felt EVERYTHING that you feel or have ever felt, thought or done. 

When I was at my worst, and I felt like there was no one to turn to, no one who would understand my anguish, I read a scripture relating to the Atonement, and finally just opened up my heart to my Savior. I cried. I prayed. I cried some more. But eventually, once I had let go of everything I had worried about, I was able to feel His loving embrace. 

Now, this didn't mean that I was all better. I still ended up needing medical intervention. Just because I had a major spiritual moment didn't mean that I was "all better." But it did allow me to move in the right direction. 

Get the help you need, but if all else fails, at least follow this counsel:

"Don't you give up. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. It will all be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good thing to come"

-Jeffrey R Holland

Even if all you can do is believe and hope, just keep taking one more step. 

Please know that I love you; those around you, love you; and, most importantly, your Savior and your Father in Heaven love you.  

Lesson I learnt while coloring

To the unsuspecting eye, this is a rather unremarkable picture, but to me, it's an important lesson I needed to be reminded of.

Today has been just "one of those days" where nothing seemed quite right. Sure, I was actually productive--I even got the laundry folded AND put away, a miracle, I know--but I was just feeling off, so when this Mandala Coloring Book was a free Kindle Download, I jumped on it! I have always liked coloring and have had reservations about getting the "adult coloring books," but after coloring in Big Sister's Christmas Coloring Book, I was looking forward to having a more sophisticated coloring option. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to print the pages from my phone, so I wasted 30-45 minutes trying to do so, until I finally logged on the computer and downloaded and printed from there. 

By this point, I was a little frustrated, but I was still looking forward to coloring the page while Big Sister colored one of her coloring pages. I had decided to color with highlighters, since it was just small enough that I didn't think I would be successful with crayons. But, in true 2yo fashion, as soon as I started using the markers, Big Sister was no longer satisfied with her crayons. Knowing that I had a set of markers that had already been "loved" (read that as the tips had been mangled) by Big Sister, I went to get those.

I came back to find Big Sister standing on my chair scribbling on my page, and I FLIPPED! I slammed the pencil bag of markers on the table, pick Big Sister off the chair and (more roughly than I intended) set her on the floor. 

Almost as soon as I set her down, she started crying, and it was only after my overreaction that I registered that she was trying to say, "Look Mommy!" She was so happy to show me that she helped me color my picture, and I had dashed that enthusiasm. I picked her back up and apologized for hurting and scaring her (I'm not sure which she was saying through her tears) and we cuddled for a minute while I reiterated my apology and that it wasn't ok for me to act like that. After her intense crying had calmed down, I told her "thank you for helping me color. Do you want to sit on my lap and help me finish?" To which she brightened and calmed the remainder of the way down. 

We "finished" coloring a picture with scribbles, a hole in the page, and me not even staying in the lines, but I also learnt that the picture isn't as important as the time spent with my daughter. Some day she will get older and not want to sit and color with me, if I don't take advantage of these opportunities now, I may not be included in other, more important aspects of her life later, especially when she's a teenager. 

The worst part is, my frustration was due to scribbles on a picture that I have saved on the computer; I can LITERALLY print the exact same picture again. But I only have so many opportunities to impact my daughter(s) life(ves). This overreaction could potentially leave a lasting negative impact on my young daughter, over what? A stupid, replaceable coloring page. 

While I think my realization and apology was soon enough to minimize the lasting damage, I learnt, or rather, was reminded of, a very valuable lesson: don't give up what matters most for things without worth. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn advertising fees from purchases through the links. See my full Disclosure page, for more information.