why not make yourself some almond butter...

I guess it's safe to say I'm sort of on this homemade nut butter kick. Well not "sort of", more like "totally, most definitely". In fact, I'm full blown in love with making my own nut butters!

There I said it. 

I'm now at the point where I cannot walk down the nut aisle in the grocery store without saying softly out loud, "I can make you into butter...ooooo and you- you'd be so tasty! MmmmMmm oh yes, and you too. You would most definitely be delicious made into a smooth creamy spread..." and so on.

|B.You| how to add a search bar and why you should...

Search Bars! Search Boxes! What the heck are those and why on earth would I want one on my blog?! Aww friend, I am SO glad you asked! Let me tell you all about this fun lil thing.

Search Bars/Boxes- What are they?

Simply put, a search box/bar works the same as any other search engine would (Ahem...Google, anyone?) except it's on YOUR BLOG and searches through YOUR STUFF! Wheeeeeeeeee! We like that.

For any Blogger users out there, this is in the form of a "Gadget", and is something we can SIMPLY add to our blog to give it a bit more blinggy-bling. 

Why Should I Have One on My Blog?

Well, there's a couple of reasons! For one, functionality! This little Gadget-O-Love adds a lot of functionality to your blog. It enables readers to search through all of your hard work and find exactly what they are looking for.

Why is that important? Because if any readers out there are ANYTHING like me, they don't have a lot of time to scroll through each and every post you've ever written until they find what they're looking for. They'll most likely give up along the way and go somewhere else (GASP!) to get their info. We definitely don't want that.

So, by adding a Search Bar/Box you are saying to your devoted readers, "Hey, I get it...time is money. Why not type in exactly what you're looking for and be on your merry way?"

That's exactly what it does. It creates a little internal search engine within your blog! So now, anytime you've tagged a post (I hope you're making precise tags within each blog post you publish) those tags get stored in your search engine. So let's say Sally loves your blog, is trying to do something she knows she's seen posted before, but can't remember when. By having a Search Bar/Box all she needs to do is kind of know what it is she's looking for (maybe..."fun fonts for free"), type those words into your bar, and hit enter. Your internal search engine will now do the work for her! It will search through each and every post you've written, and then bring up a nice little tidy list of previous blog posts that has something to do with her key words!

So instead of 700 posts, she now only has to go through a couple. Usually the search engine is so smart and precise, that it narrows it down to only 3-4. Badda Bing, Badda Boom. 

In essence, a Search Bar/Box makes your blog work the way it should, as well as making it engaging and helpful. This keeps your readers coming back time and again.

So now, How Do I Add One to My Blogger Blog?

Easy Peasy! Just head on over to B.You where I show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to EASILY add one to your blog! :)

See you there!!!

bloglovin' blog hop Thursday...

<center> <a href="http://byourownblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/byou-bloglovin-blog-hop-1.html" target="_blank"><img alt="BLOGHOP" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8402/8617324975_966612e7c2_n.jpg"/></a></center>

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week!! Lets help this bloglovin' blog hop grow by sharing with your friends, followers, and adding the button to your sidebar!

Grab the button above and put it in your linky list or sidebar.

Please make sure you follow your host, co-hosts, and guest host on bloglovin'! Leave a comment that you're a new follower so we can all come and check you out!

Link up your bloglovin' URL only. We had several people that submitted their blogs URL, but this is a bloglovin' hop so only link up your bloglovin' account, please!

Hop around and visit some of the other blogs that linked up and give them a follow. This is all about making new friends and finding new reads, not just linking up and expecting everyone to follow you.

Pin, Tweet, Facebook, blog this link up! The more exposure it gets, the more potential followers for you! 

Your Host:

B.You Blog

Your Co-Hosts:

Ashley @ Chevron Stitches

Torrie @ Fox + Hazel

Christina @ Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe
Natalee @ Eat Nap Play
Ashley @ Modernette

Guest Host:

Stephanie @ The New Mrs Adventures

**If you are interested in being a guest host, please email us at b.you.blog [at] gmail [dot] com

give me Jesus...

With all that's been happening lately, I feel myself clinging more and more and more to my Heavenly Father. I just can't get enough. I feel like I just want to curl up into a ball, at His feet, and like...rest there for eternity. I don't want to deal with all that's swirling on around me, anymore. 

Although that's not His will for me at this point- to be with Him in heaven, I know it's not a bad desire to have. 

and now, a little comic relief...

You guys, seriously. Ser-E-Us-Ly. How cute is this comic? 

Proud wifey moment. 

a little update...

Image source here. 

Today my friend Stephanie is getting admitted into the hospital. 

She will be in there a minimum of 53 days, the doctors said. Because the state her immune system will be in, she can only be visited by healthy adults. Needless to say, she will have no contact from her kids other than Skype, the entire stay. So today friends, I ask you to join me in lifting her up to the Great Physician. Prayers that this bone marrow transplant surgery is a complete success and that however long she is in the hospital, goes by incredibly fast. Prayers for comfort for her, the husband, and their family. She's nervous this morning will be the last time she sees her kids- so we're praying its not! His glory and honor and will be done! In Christ alone our hope is found. He will sustain us all.

homemade chocolate peanut butter "larabars"...

I don't know if your husband is anything like my husband, but if he could, he would bankrupt us with his love of the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars.

Like a kid in a candy store, whenever we walk an isle with the sweet treats he immediately "needs one" because he's all of a sudden "really hungry" and "needs a snack". Haha. I mean, whatever- it's not like I'm not totally wishing I had one as well at that exact moment. Even if we may or may not have JUST finished lunch before our entry into such a store. So we oblige each other's "hunger pains" and usually walk out with like 4 bars. (More for later, of course. We're not THAT crazy.)

bloglovin' blog hop...

<center> <a href="http://byourownblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/byou-bloglovin-blog-hop-1.html" target="_blank"><img alt="BLOGHOP" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8402/8617324975_966612e7c2_n.jpg"/></a></center>

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week!! Lets help this bloglovin' blog hop grow by sharing with your friends, followers, and adding the button to your sidebar!

Grab the button above and put it in your linky list or sidebar.

Please make sure you follow your host, co-hosts, and guest host on bloglovin' before submitting your link. Leave a comment that you're a new follower so we can all come and check you out!

Link up your bloglovin' URL only. We had several people that submitted their blogs URL, but this is a bloglovin' hop so only link up your bloglovin' account, please!

Hop around and visit some of the other blogs that linked up and give them a follow. This is all about making new friends and finding new reads, not just linking up and expecting everyone to follow you.

Pin, Tweet, Facebook, blog this link up! The more exposure it gets, the more potential followers for you! 

Your Host:

B.You Blog

Your Co-Hosts:

Ashley @ A Fox & A Wolf & Chevron Stitches

Torrie @ Fox + Hazel

Christina @ Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe

Guest Host:

Nicole @ Designs By Nicolina

**If you are interested in being a guest host, please email us at b.you.blog [at] gmail [dot] com

remember that time we painted spiderman decorations till our eyes bled?...

Pretty much that's the true story of these delightful decorations.

We received this custom order, squealed with delight, and then 34097689679648 hours (and 4 bleeding eyes) later, we were done. Who knew Spider Man could be so intricately designed?!?!

Hahahaha.

BOOM! peanut butter, from scratch...

I've been a fan of homemade peanut butter for some time now. 

I actually prefer it over store bought! But honestly, I'm ashamed to say, I haven't been making my own for a long time. Ugh! Whyyyyyy? Why Christina?!?!?!? No clue! I used to! I used to like, ALL.THE.TIME. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with laziness. Because in reality- all things I should do, don't happen because of my extreme love for laziness. 

I think it's about time I change this nonsense and bring back the homemade PB stat!

You guys! Laziness shouldn't even be a factor when homemade peanut butter is involved. I mean this stuff IS SO SIMPLE TO MAKE! You could make your own batch of yummy, amazingly nutty, peanut buttery goodness, faster than I could tell you a super lame knock-knock joke. And believe me, I have some to tell!

Like the one about the interrupting cow?

"Interrupting cow, wh----"

MOOOOOOOO!

Anyway.