Crappy Bloggers Unite!

I am a crappy blogger.  Have you noticed?  I come and go as I please.  I post what I want, what interests me, what I feel like sharing.  Somedays I want to blog and I roll through numerous blog posts in my head and rarely find the time to actually write them down.  I also find myself wishing that there was an app for life - a SNAPSHOT app! 

Have you ever been in the midst of something, camera-less, and just wished you could speak the words to have a photo taken?  I sure do.  Like the other day when I was mixing the new vat of blue glaze at the studio...oh what a sight!  I had my jean capris rolled a bit higher.  My pink toenails against my tan feet and sparkly brown flip-flops.  Jiffy mixer in hand and I was attacking that glaze.  Well...it attacked back.  In a flash splash, I was covered with blue.  Slippery, wet, blue.  There was a monster of a puddle at my feet and the coolest, abstract splash marks up my legs and even grazing the cuffs of those jean capris.  It was funny to me. I didn't see a mess.  I saw art.  I'm a little twisted like that. I could have cursed and threw my hands up, but instead I wish I would have been able to use my snapshot app to capture this mess...this silly, messy, beautiful blue mess.

Do you ever have moments like that?  Moments beyond the usual "I forgot my camera" moments.

Free Stuff AND A Great Blog

What could be better, folks?  You get a great new blog to stalk AND she is always giving away free stuff.  I love this girl and I love her blog.  I know ya'll will do.

So what if she is giving away a gift certificate to my store.  I'm not biased!  Lol!  Check it out...you'll be happy you did.

http://www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com/2010/04/200-followers-giveaway.html

Every Monday Matters - Wk 6

GET RID OF JUNK MAIL!

That is the "action" for this week. I am going to link you directly to the site because there are some great links to follow from there to take action. Before I do that though...some interesting facts...
**Junk-mail deliveries surpass the U.S. Postal Service 1st class mail—over 100 billion pieces of junk mail are sent annually.
**Even though 44% of all junk mail is discarded without being opened, people will still spend 8 months of their lives opening junk mail.
**Only 2% of junk mail gets a response.

**Over $350 million taxpayer dollars are spent annually to dispose of junk mail that does not get recycled.

**100 million trees are needed to produce the annual supply of bulk mail—that’s the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.

**5.8 million tons of catalogs and other direct-mail advertisements end up in landfills annually.

**The average person receives only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail—over 500 pieces of junk mail per person per year.

**Paper is predicted to take up 48% of our landfills by 2010.
Read more about how junk mail affects our lives: http://everymondaymatters.com/6/

Every Monday Matters - Wk 5

Week 5 - EAT HEALTHY!

Read all about it here: http://www.mygreatretreat.com/showthread.php?tid=4897

What are you going to do to live a healthier life? 

For myself, this is something I have been working on for what seems like my entire 29 years on earth.  I am the one who does the grocery shopping and also the one who does the majority of the cooking.  Therefore, I need to vow to prepare only healthy meals.  There are many delicious and healthy meals out there and I will make it my goal to prepare them.

Every Monday Matters - Wk4

Prepare for an emergency!
FACTS
* On average, 1,300 tornadoes are reported annually in the U.S.
* The average twister path is 660 feet wide and can be as long as 50 miles.
* 40 states are considered at risk of an earthquake.
* More deaths occur due to extreme heat and cold than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined.
* Because of contamination, clean water is harder to find than food after a flood.
* A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when the speed of its winds reaches 74 mph.
* 91% of people surveyed agree that it is important to be prepared for emergencies, but only 55% said that they had taken any steps to prepare.
* September 11, 2001 will always remind us of the reality of terrorist attacks and the damage they can cause.

TAKE ACTION TODAY
* Develop a family communication plan by selecting a person outside your local area for everyone to call in case of an emergency. Carry it in your wallet.
* Ensure every member of your family knows the phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card for calling the emergency contact. Cell phones often get jammed due to high call volume during disasters.
* Designate a primary and secondary meeting location.
* Create an emergency supply kit with a 3-day supply of basic items such as: fresh water, food, first aid, towelettes, garbage bags, a flashlight with extra batteries, local maps, a whistle, dust masks, tools, a can opener, and cash. Check and rotate supplies every 6 months.
* Prepare a plan for your pets during an emergency.

YOU MATTER
Disasters are never planned, but they will happen. They are inevitable. Being prepared is the only thing you can do. Having proper supplies and a well thought-out plan can make all the difference in your survival. Readiness will also reduce fear, anxiety, and potential losses. Prepare today … for any kind of tomorrow.

Every Monday Matters - Wk 3

Monday #3 Challenge
(Facts and text taken from the book)

FACTS

• AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response” and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered.
•  76% of abducted children who are murdered are dead within 3 hours of the abduction, 88.5% are dead within 24 hours, and 99% are dead within 7 days.
• 443 children have been reunited with their families because of AMBER Alerts.
• Nearly 100% of cell phones are eligible to receive Wireless AMBER Alerts as text messages.
• 100% of computers can have the AMBER Alert ticker downloaded onto them.
• AMBER Alerts are active in all 50 states.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

• Pay attention to AMBER Alert signs on the freeway or on TV.
• Sign-up to receive AMBER Alert text messaging on your cell phone.
• Download the AMBER Alert Ticker onto your computer.
• If you see or receive an AMBER Alert, don’t take it lightly. The perpetrator might be closer than you think.

YOU MATTER
Protecting children from abduction and locating those who have been abducted is the twofold purpose of AMBER Alerts. They increase the number of people who can help locate an abducted child or deter predators, and they have caused perpetrators to release the abducted child after hearing or seeing the AMBER Alert. Remember, those first three hours are everything to that child and his or her family. Your eyes and action could mean the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

__________________________________________________________

It's a heartbreaking reality.  Children go missing.  Bad people are out there. Watch your children.  Please. I've added the ticker to my blog, and like the EMM book said, it only took a minute to do.  I encourage you to do the same.

Every Monday Matters - Wk 2

Monday #2 Challenge
(Facts and text taken from the book.)

FACTS
* 99% of all homes in the U.S. have at least one TV—50% have three or more.
* 68% of all 8- to 18-year olds have a TV in their bedroom and 49% have a video game player there as well.
* A person watches TV an average of 40 days per year.
* Children spend nearly 2,000 hours a year in front of a TV, playing on the computer, and playing video games, compared to 900 hours in school.
* 200,000 violent acts, including 16,000 murders, will be seen on TV by a child before their 18th birthday.
* Roughly 70% of all shows include some sexual content, with an average of five sexual scenes per hour.
* 57% of parents admit to having some degree of difficulty in getting their teens involved in meaningful conversations; and, 74% of parents are not sure their teens are even listening when they talk.

TAKE ACTION
* Turn off your TV today. Tape the “No TV” sign to all TV screens so that you don’t turn it on out of habit.
* Designate certain TV-free times throughout the week to reduce viewing hours.
* Remove TVs from bedrooms, the kitchen, etc.
* Make a list of activities to do besides watching TV―activities like reading, biking, swimming, walking, gardening, or socializing with friends. Then start doing them.
* Avoid using TV as a reward―this only increases its power.
* Be more selective about programming―choose history, travel, cooking, home repair/design, and other educational themes.

YOU MATTER
70% of people say that no matter how hard they try, they never seem to have enough time to do everything they need to do. Are you part of that 70%? If you gave up TV for just one day a week, you could exercise the recommended weekly amount necessary for healthy living, read over 20 books a year, or spend more time with your loved ones. Instead of watching reruns of Friends, go make some.

___________________________________________

I turned off the TV today.  The same TV that only gets left on in the daytime for background noise.  Yep, that's right.  I only did it to save electricity.  TV is not my vice.  Sadly, it's the computer.  I tried hard to turn that off today too.  I succeeded.  I failed.  I succeeded. I failed.  This is something that I have to work at daily.  I am glad though that I don't have the TV  AND the computer as issues in our house.

Every Monday Matters

I love Mondays! I know that many of you do not feel the way I do.  I saw this great little book while perusing a shop with J last weekend.  Yes, our proposal weekend.  Oooh!  Okay, I am done.  Back to the original point of this...  Every Monday Matters!  It can and it does.  Follow me on this little journey (and join in) as I take small steps to make a big difference.

Excerpt taken from the book
FACTS
The average person spends:

• 100 hours a year commuting to work, compared to 80 hours of vacation time.
• 91 hours a week at work for dual-career couples with kids under 18.
• 1.8 hours a day doing household activities.
• 2.6 hours a day watching TV.
• 8.6 hours a day sleeping.

Time is a non-renewable resource. Once it’s used up, you can’t get it back.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

• Stop and think … then make a list of What Matters Most to you.
• Create a list of how you currently spend your time each week.
• Organize your list of weekly activities and identify activities that are required and those that are optional or waste time.
• Take steps to rearrange your schedule or reduce the optional activities so you can spend time doing What Matters Most.

YOU MATTER
What really matters most to you? Your relationships with family, friends, and children? Helping others? Passions? Faith? Security? Health? At the end of each year, don’t you want to look back and see that you made a difference? That you matter? Today is the start of a new year. Start it off by making a difference in you, your life, and the lives of those you love. This is your opportunity. Time spent on What Matters Most is never wasted time.
____________________________________________

My List of What Matters Most

- my relationship with the Lord
- my relationship with J
- my relationship with my family
- my friendships
- my job
- my health

* Create a list of how you currently spend your time each week.
- working and commuting: 45 hours
- exercising: 6 hours
- sleeping: 50 hours
- cleaning: 10 hours
- on the computer: 25 hours
- building relationships: 15 hours

* Organize your list of weekly activities and identify activities that are required and those that are optional or waste time.

I need to devote time to reading my bible and being in devotion with the Lord. This is the most important thing to me, yet I seem to let it slip and slide all over the place. I need to spend less time on the computer. I need to adjust the way I spend my time building relationships.

Friday, sweet Friday!

I can't begin to explain how this past week has been.  I've had emotions I've never felt.  I've viewed certain things in a completely different light.  I've laughed in places I shouldn't have.  I smile more. 

I sat at my desk at work and listened to this song over and over...staring at my engagement ring with a smile. 

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees, I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful
And the water is risin' quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side, no I can't leave your side

I felt the warmth of the sun through the glass door.  I couldn't help but lean against it.  It felt so good that I pressed my face, my hands, and then my entire body against it.  I wanted to be bathed in that warmth...just like my old Amy cat.  She would lay in the sunny spots on the carpet and seem so peaceful.  I had a bit of that peace and warmth today too.  If there would have been  more time before I had to unlock that door I would have grabbed the pink body pillow and curled up on the window ledge in the front party room.  Ahh, goals for another day.

I hesitated before changing my Facebook status today.  I like that it announced our engagement, even if all of those Facebook friends of mine already know.  I liked seeing it and reliving that moment that I.SAID.YES!!  At this point, I don't care if this lovey dovey crap is annoying ya'll.  It is mine.  It is J's.  It is OURS and I plan on enjoying it for as long as possible.  If you know us in the slightest, you know that we are not lovey dovey.  There is nothing "ooey gooey" about our love.  We are not usually this sticky sweet couple.  So, please, be patient.  Let me enjoy it for now.


Today I am looking forward to just a peaceful, normal Friday. I was reading another blog today and came across this quote. It spoke to me. I loved it, and now I'll share it with you.

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day, I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return."
I'm so looking forward to this normal day!

Our Engagement Weekend - an Ooey Gooey Lovefest!

December 2004
J and I have been friends for about 7 months now.  We act like a couple, but I am not ready for another relationship. 

January 2005
I fit nicely in his arms.  He makes me happy.  We have a lot of fun together.  Okay, he can be my boyfriend now...but I'm not asking.

February 13, 2005
We take a little trip to Frankenmuth.  We plan to stay the weekend.  On this day he asks me to be his girlfriend.  I say yes.  I like him.

We carry on about our life together...as boyfriend and girlfriend.  A year passes.  Then two, three, four and five.  Wow.  Five years.  We act like a married couple, but he's not ready for a wife, I guess.

February 13, 2010
We take a little trip to Frankenmuth.  We plan to stay the weekend.  It's our 5 year anniversary and J surprises me and takes me back to where we first started dating.  He asks me to be his wife.  I say yes.  I LOVE HIM. 

Here is how it all went down....

We are just leaving our hotel to walk around Frankenmuth.  Aren't we cute?  I take a lot of photo's of us this way.

We walked and talked.  I mentioned the horses.  J mentioned the horses.  What girl doesn't want to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride?  We kept walking and talking. He brings up the horses again and I say that I want to go for a ride.  I wanted a white horse.  Oh please can we have a white horse?!  They have to go in order and to my delight, a white horse was next in line.  J is oftly chatty, asking one of the attendants about pictures and stuff.  I figured he was just being sweet, since this is our five-year anniversary and all.  We get in and the girl offers to take a couple pictures.

We're riding along, up a river-lined road.  I've never been on this quaint little road in all the times I've been to Frankenmuth.  I bet I'll visit it quite a few times in the future.  I'm happy and J seems happy.  I snap another photo of us.  It looks very similar to the first one in this post except our eyes are a bit glossier and our noses are red.  I lean in and tell J that I feel like a princess.

Our driver introduces himself (and also the horse, Ernie) and tells us to ask any questions along the way.  J  asked if we could stop along the way for a photo.  Our driver happily obliged.  As J exited the carriage I heard him whisper to the driver.  I was oblivious but hopeful...do you know what I mean?  He stopped me from exiting the carriage and he knelt down on the step.  He put his hands on me and I froze.  (I have tears typing this out.)  He looked me in the eyes and said....

"First of all, I love you...very much." .... insert tears...he pulls a little black box from somewhere..."Will you marry me?"

I can't even tell you what I felt.  It was such an amazing feeling.  I want to relive it a thousand times over.  I think every little girl dreams of this moment.  No matter how old we are, we all have a bit of that "little girl" inside.  I really did feel like a princess.

As you know, I said YES!  To be exact, I said "Of course! Are you kidding me? Oh my gosh, YES!!"  Then I said "let me out of here!"  I was still inside the carriage and he was outside.  This moment was followed by a lot of laughter and tears.  We hugged and cried and kissed and laughed.  Ernie (the horse) peed.  HILARIOUS.  That is our life.  I debated whether or not to include this, but yeah, it's our life.  We roll with it.  Our driver congratulated us and we carried on for the remainder of our ride.  I wanted to take it all in and enjoy the moment.  We snuggled.  We laughed.  We shouted out to this family walking by and waving to us -  "We just got engaged!!" 

At the time it felt like the longest horse-drawn carriage ride ever.  I wanted to enjoy it, but I also wanted to call my momma and my sister.  J knew that so he encouraged me to call.  I did.  "Momma, I'm ENGAGED!"  *sob* *sob* *sob*  She knew.  J had talked to both her and my dad prior so they knew that phone call was coming.  We enjoyed the last few minutes of our ride.  When we got back one of the attendants greeted us right away.  She knew too.  J told her before we left.  She was ready to snap some pics for us.

Our first pic as an engaged couple!

And our second!

 

Talk about giddy.  I could not stop smiling.  This was the case for the majority of...well... it continues.  Still smiling!  Before I even crossed the street I was dialing my sister.  I needed to tell my Beckey.  I stopped in the middle of the street and told her.  When something so great happens in life, you want to share it with the people who mean the most to you.  I was doing that.  I even talked to my niece and nephew. You know...the people that mean the most! My sweet 10 year old niece said "so..did you say yes?" Yes, Lovey Girl, I did! "Well, that's exciting!" Awe. Love her so! Here is the conversation between my 6 year old nephew and I.

Me: Hi buddy! Guess what?
Him: What?
Me: Uncle J asked me to marry him today!
Him: Okay
Me: You don't really care, do you?
Him: Nope..not at all. So, how many days can we spend at your house over summer vacation? 17?? 100??

Man, I love that kid!

We shared the news with some more friends and family. We squee'd and jumped up and down together, over the phone.  We called, we texted, we facebooked.  Okay, well, I did all that.  J shared it with a few and plans to tell people in person.  Um, I.could.not.wait.  We went back to the hotel and we continued to share the news.  We relaxed a bit before going back to town.    He pulled out the ring bag.  I thought it was silly, odd, cute that he had it all with him, until I realized the reason, and then I cried again.  He knows how I feel about diamonds.  Due to the conflicts in Africa and blood diamonds, I am not a fan.  I would have been happy with Moissanite or even Cubic Zirconia.  Instead, he sought out a conflict-free diamond.  He read me the certified guarantee and gave me a copy for safe-keeping.  That is love, my friends.  That is love!

The ring!

Here are some pictures of our night. At one point I felt like everything was worthy of a photo.  Believe it or not, I've spared you a few.

\

Love was all around us, popping up everywhere to say hello!  J said it was because it was Valentine's weekend.  Um...it was because it was our ENGAGEMENT weekend...obviously!

So freakin' sweet.  Seriously. 

Day Two...

The Cheese Haus and the mouse statue are a special thing between us.  The two ladies that were taking our pics were so in love with our love.  It was such a joyful moment.  That's why I kept the second pic...even though my eyes are closed.

Even the taffy kisses!

What's a trip to Frankenmuth without a stop for fudge.  We sweeten up the entire family with fudgey goodness.

Are you sick of us yet? 

In one of the shops they had a shop kitty.  Her name was Diamond.  Fitting, huh?!  She loved J.  J loves animals and they love him.  However, when I tried to pet her, she scurried away.  Nice.

We ended our visit with a visit to the St. Julian Winery.  We tasted lots of samples, took a little tour, and had a special bottle made up just for us.  It was the perfect ending  to our weekend.

To Be Continued...