Sealed With A Smile

What are you waiting for??

2012-01-23T22:04:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a humongous blessing and miracle happened.
We were speechless.

I (no surprise) cried.
After I gathered my composure, I apologized for crying and said (with all positivity!),
"that's what I'm going to work on in 2012 ~ to NOT get emotional and cry like this!"

Mike said, "honey, don't say that! That's one thing that I love about you, your beautiful heart!"

In all my life, it has always been difficult to share my heart without crying.
It is something I am sometimes embarrassed about,

but,

It's part of who I am.

When I was a child, I remember crying while watching Dumbo.

I used to cry at the end of each episode of the Incredible Hulk
when David Banner was walking down the road all by himself, in his post-Hulk clothing.
I remember watching a show on television about orphans in Russia.
I will never forget bawling my eyes out after seeing the children who lived in the orphanages.
The children rarely received attention.
Some were 4 and 5 years old and didn't even know how to walk because
there wasn't anyone in the orphanage who cared about them.
They were still in cribs because the muscles in their legs weren't strong enough for them to walk.
Some of the cribbed children would purposely hurt themselves
(to the point of breaking their own arms or legs)
JUST so a person would come to their temporary rescue and pick them up.

They wanted to feel LOVE.

Last night we watched the movie Soul Surfer. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it for the entire family!

It's an EXCELLENT movie of persistence, bravery, faith, love, inspiration, and family.

Bethany Hamilton is a pure example of drive, possibility, and positivity! A couple of years after the shark attack, she went to Thailand on a mission trip with her youth group (after the 2004 Tsunami).

While she was there, she witnessed the devastation, chaos, orphaned children, and despair.
She was overwhelmed.

She began to cry.

(I was thinking, "oh my gosh!!!, that's TOTALLY me right there!")

She acted embarrassed, almost ashamed that she was the only one crying.
She didn't know how to process what she was seeing and experiencing.
She apologized for it.

One of the leaders of the group said to her,

"Compassion can drive us to do amazing things and give us perspective."

That made COMPLETE sense to me!

In the movie, Bethany had compassion for the children in Thailand.

That compassion drove her to do amazing things and put things in perspective.

She only has one arm, but she
was able to teach some of children how to surf,
brought smiles to faces that had not smiled in a while,

brought love into their lives,
and

taught them that no matter what the circumstances are, they could all make a difference!

During the trip, she said,

"I could never have embraced this many people with two arms."

If she wasn't attacked by that shark, she would have never been in Thailand,
making a difference in these precious lives!

Your calling in life may not be mine.

My calling in life may not be yours.

You will touch different people in your life than I will.

I will touch different people in my life than you will.

You may believe differently than I do.

I may believe differently than you do.

You may have a different outlook on life than I do.

I may have a different outlook on life than you do.

You may be moved by things that don't move me.

I may be moved by things that don't move you.
You may have different challenges in life than I do.

I may have different challenges in life than you do.
We are all unique.
Created by the Master of the Universe.

No matter your circumstances, experiences, skill level, talents, or location,

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!

What are you waiting for?

Make it happen!!!!!
XOXOXOXOXOOOOOO

I think I can, I think I can!!!

2011-11-04T18:14:00.001-04:00

What could you do if you didn't listen to those little voices in your head that were telling you lies??!!!!
You know, these lies.....

That's TOO big of a project, you'll NEVER be able to finish.

You can't do that, you don't have enough money.

Well, you can do that, but NOBODY will ever see it or notice it or even like it.

You might make a little bit of money, but you won't get RICH from it.

There are more people out there who have more exposure than you do, this will NEVER fly.

Out of all of the fish in the sea, do you think anyone will give you the time of day?!

Guess what??!!!!
Those are words that I have heard in my head! They make you feel like you can't do anything.
I'm naturally a positive person who usually wears a smile, but these thoughts creep into my head sometimes too! If you listen to those thoughts too long, you will go crazy!
I'm here to tell you that if you have ever thought any of those things, you are not alone!!!

Get MAD at that negative voice!!!

YOU

CAN

THOSE

THINGS

THAT

YOUR

HEART

WANTS

DO!!!!!!!!!

STOP

listening to those horrible little voices!

IF IT IS A DREAM IN YOUR HEART, IT WILL FLY!!!!!

Who else is going to do this with me?

WE. CAN. DO. THIS.

2011-05-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

Hello world!

...Seriously, if any of you can tell me how to adjust my header graphic size, PLEASE let me know....if I make it smaller, it goes off to the left and is tiny....I just want it to be a normal size AND centered! :)

Okay...now....where have I been?
At home.
Busy.
Enjoying life.

Taking some online e-courses.....
Soul Restoration by my beautiful friends over at Brave Girls Club, Melody Ross and Kathy Wilkins.
She Art Workshop by the lovely and always making me smile Christy Tomlinson.

Started a business. I've never considered myself a businesswoman. Ever. I have never had aspirations of owning a business. I have always supported my husband in different business ventures that peaked his interest, but when I heard about Norwex, I couldn't help but jump in!!!!!! Have you heard of it???? This is something in life that I am truly passionate about!!!! The products are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The main products are the antibacterial microfiber enviro-cloths. What is different about our products versus ones you can buy in the stores?? Our microfiber cloth has a silver agent woven in that reduces 99.9% of bacteria! For example, you can wipe up raw poultry juice(gross, I know) from your countertop with these cloths, and it will pick up 99.9% of that bacteria in the cloth. Within 24 hours, 99.9% of the bacteria will be destroyed in the cloth!!! Yes!!! The cloth basically cleans itself, so to speak. There are videos on Youtube of the test swabbing done that prove the product works! I will post more about these products later. If you do not like using harmful chemicals in your home, stay tuned for my next post!!!!!!! You will NOT be disappointed. I promise. :)

Nurturing friendships at home. I cherish every single friendship I have in this life!!! There is just something about having a close-knit group of friends in your own home town. Friends you can visit with, have lunch or dinner with, laugh with, go shopping with, have movie night with, spend time with their families, etc. There's nothing like it. I'm SO THANKFUL and blessed to have finally been led on a path in life that has brought these beautiful friends and their families into our lives!!!!! MUCH needed and refreshing for both myself and my husband!

Of course, I've been keeping up with the day to day activities in life, too! ....cooking, cleaning, working, laundry, etc....

What have YOU been up to???

CAN'T WAIT to hear from you!!!!! :)

slacker!

2011-05-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!!!!

Obviously. I've been a slacker. I CANNOT believe I have not posted since last year!!!!! So sorry!

I'm putting forth effort this week to let everyone know what's been going on in my life.

one of my friends posted this today. it's so true.

.....IF NOTHING CHANGES, THEN NOTHING WILL CHANGE......

i think it's time to make some changes, friends. :)

see you all very soon!!!!

happy tuesday!!!!!

Tired and Weary???

2010-12-30T19:43:00.000-05:00

Has 2010 left you tired and weary?? How about starting 2011 off with some restoration for your SOUL???!!! You (and your family) will be SO HAPPY you did!!!! It's NOT too late to enroll in the 6 week online course!!!! The best part about it is you will be joining women around the GLOBE on the same journey!!!! I mean, HOW MUCH FUN is this going to be??!!! Seriously, click on the box below and see what is in store.

who is with me??

2010-12-07T22:43:00.001-05:00

Are you joining me on this 100 Joys journey???? It's only the 7th of December. That means YOU still have time and can join me too. On this fun journey of finding JOY during the month of December. Don't let it stop after December is over. Let it make you more aware of pure and simple JOYS in life. every day.

12. "Do you want a tent?" Those are the words that perk those ears up, that make her neck go back and forth like an egyptian (which makes us smile) and that make her peek under the blanket. Yep. I admit it. I make her a tent with a fleece blanket on the couch waaaaaaay too often. I think she likes it because it makes her feel safe and keeps her extra warm and toasty.

13. The first day of Winter hasn't even arrived and I'm ready for this scenery already! I don't miss the extreme heat and humidity, but I do miss being out on the water and seeing every shade of green you can imagine!!!

14. Did you know that I find JOY in EVERY SINGLE SHADE of the color GREEN????????!!!!!! Really. I can't get enough of it!!!!!

15. During the hot summer sun, I guess I enjoy a 'tent' from time to time too.

I'm going to work on taking some photos tomorrow. No promises, but I'm definitely going to try!!!!! ;)
humongous love to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxooooo

the christmas jar

2010-12-06T21:27:00.001-05:00

Okay. I'm trying to make it to 100. On my December 31st post, I might have 40 pictures to add. haha.

11. We didn't put up a tree this year. We DO, however, have our festive "Christmas Jar". Sparkly white mini-lights along with mini glass ball ornaments in a vase make a beautiful Christmas tree alternative. It definitely puts a smile on my face just like that glass of Oliver Red Wine. ;)

Weekend JOYs

2010-12-04T23:58:00.001-05:00

7. There are so many favorites in this photo. When they all come together, it is PURE JOY!!!!!!

8. I have this fascination with barns. I LOVE them!!! From what I hear, living on a farm is really hard work, but when I see a barn it puts me at ease. It makes me feel like I'm home ~ I don't understand it because I've never lived on a farm or know much about farming. It just makes me feel like I can run free.....that brings me JOY.

9. There is no picture for this one, but something that also brings JOY is re-connecting with old friends. Mike and I were out and about this evening and we ran into an old friend. It was so great talking, reminiscing, and catching up. I hope we can continue to rekindle our friendship in 2011.

10. Another JOYous moment may seem ridiculous to you, but I think it's fun. You know when you're putting away the dreaded laundry? Make it fun! I love it when I'm sitting on our bed, matching up socks, rolling/folding them up, and acting like I'm a basketball star!! I aim the rolled up sock balls to the open sock drawer. When I make a "basket", I enthusiastically say "SCORE!!!!!" It definitely makes putting those socks away more fun!

I hope you're finding your JOY this weekend!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoooo

Janet!

Friday JOYS.

2010-12-03T23:26:00.003-05:00

Did you check out Sarah Markley's challenge yet? It's not too late!!!!! The green ~100 joys~ box on the right side of this page will take you right to the challenge.

3. Today I wore my Brave Girl bracelet. This has unexpectedly become one of my favorite pieces of jewelry. I never thought I was a 'chunky jewelry' kind of girl..........until I wore this bracelet for the very first time!!!!!! The beautiful soul behind this bracelet is my friend Maria over at Chickadee Bead Art. She is so talented and ALL of her creations bring JOY to my heart and a smile to my face.

4. Before Brave Girl Camp, we were all asked to send in a photo of our feet. Yes, a photo of our feet.....we were all curious too.....wondering what would be done with these photos. This lovely little pendant (with the photo of our feet) was hanging from our individual Brave Girl tote bags. The other side has our name on it. Whenever I use my tote bag and see the pendant, I feel JOY. Seriously. She did it anyway.....faced that difficult situation, enjoyed that wonderful day, got through the tough day, loved the incredible experiences, survived the difficult ones, cherished happy moments and made it through the sad ones. She did it anyway.

5. Hey, have you ever heard of Brave Girls Club??? haha. The community of women from BGC are uniquely amazing!!!! If you haven't visited yet, check out ALL of the great stuff that's going on over there! I promise it will bring happiness and lots of JOY to your life! Oh, you should also check out the Soul Restoration 6-week online course that is going on over there too!!!!! It's going to be INCREDIBLE.

6. My day today wasn't exciting. Normally I'm in a mood to conquer the world. Today - not so much. Just kind of blah. Nothing was wrong, I was just having one of those days. On my list of things to pick up at Target was a bag of M&M's. I wasn't planning on picking up the big (resealable) bag, but when it was cheaper than 2 small bags........ So, this evening we opened up the bag. When Mike handed it back to me, I sat it down on the (edge of) table and this is what happened. Jaw-dropped, I looked at him and said, "look what you did! (snickering) uhhhhh.......you didn't close the bag??!!!!" His eyes were wide eyed and said, "I didn't drop it, you did." "I may have dropped it, but youuuuuuuu didn't seal it back!" We both just started laughing so hard!!!!!!! As we were picking up the JOYous mess, I had to get my camera to capture this hilarious moment!!!!! Believe it or not, this little incident made my day.....it was SO worth it! (that's mike in the background picking up those little pieces of chocolate) We picked them up off the floor and put them on the table. Mike said, "what are you going to do with those?" I just looked at him and smiled.
......if any of you come over to our house.....don't worry.....we blew all the carpet fibers off with canned air......[laughing SO LOUD]

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Find JOY!

100 joys.

2010-12-02T21:38:00.004-05:00

If you haven't heard about Sarah Markley, you really should check out her blog!!!! She is SUPER TALENTED and honest and inspirational and beautiful and enlightening and pretty amazing! I have been following her blog for quite some time. Recently, I have been limiting my time online so I can focus on some personal growth, so my younger sister actually told me about this!!! Check out the details for yourself by clicking on the box below.

Today, I have found joy in a couple of simple, simple things.

1. Yes, heat. Last winter about this time we had NO heat. This winter, we are finding COMPLETE JOY in relaxing in our home without wearing layers and layers and layers of clothes and blankets!!!! It is such a true blessing and HUMONGOUS JOY to have heat in our home.

2. Listening to the sounds of music in our home. My husband is an excellent musician and I find JOY in listening to him play his acoustic guitar - it's so soothing and relaxing. Now that the holidays are here, he's playing Christmas music and that makes my heart especially happy.

That's all I have been able to photograph this evening. I hope you will find inspiration in the 100Joys project, and will join in the fun!!!! It will teach us to savor every moment this holiday season, to pay attention to the simple things, to be present and enjoy each day, and open our eyes to what is important.

Joy to you all!!!!!
Janet! :)

freedom is calling.

2010-11-15T22:51:00.002-05:00

about month or so ago i was on my way home from work on a 1/2 day friday.
i enjoy my drives home because they're usually stress free, peaceful, and full of beauty.
the scenic route is a road worth taking.
try it sometime.

the scenic route is worth taking because it's relaxing.
it gives me time to think.
it also gives me time to listen to music.
music is pretty much my favorite part about the drive home.
it awakens so much in my soul.

on my way home on this particular day, i was listening to Isa & Nina.
the CD i mentioned yesterday is currently my favorite.
song #3, freedom reigns, was playing.
{the word freedom is in my spirit SO STRONG these days}

part of the song powerfully says -
♫so let the shackles fall
and let the bondage go
let liberty prevail
BRING YOUR FREEDOM, GOD.
freedom reigns in this place
showers of mercy and grace
falling on every face
there is freedom.

...all you have to do is say yes......
LET victory prevail.
HE'S. YOUR. FREEDOM. ♪ ♪

while that song was playing,
i felt something i haven't felt in a REALLY long time.
it was such a gentle, calming, peaceful, sweet, intimate moment.
i heard the following words, "seek my face. seek my face. seek my face!!!"

all of that brings me to this point.
i'm speaking of personal experience.
in recent days and weeks and months and years,
i have spent so much time on things that do not matter.
so much time has been spent being useless.

it breaks my heart when i think about how much time i have wasted.
time that has been wasted on -
watching tv
surfing the internet
being glued to facebook
running "errands" that weren't even important
sleeping
being consumed by things on my to-do list
but, being too overwhelmed by things on my to-do list to do anything about it.

i spoke yesterday about being free.
today i'm going to let you know how i'm going to do that.
i'm going to get serious about spending time with God.
the creator of the universe and everything in it.
i'm going to get to know him again.

it means i'm going to have to take a break from the things i've wasted so much time on.
this is a HUMONGOUS challenge for me.

i feel like this is the RIGHT thing for me to do right now.
at this time.
i'm setting some personal rules and goals for myself.
it's going to be SO GREAT for so many different reasons!!!!

if you want to get in touch with me, email or text me.
if you don't have those 2 things, let me know. :)

.....FREEDOM is calling......

(who knows.....i might be blogging more than before with this challenge....)

HUMONGOUS LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JANET! :)

Free

2010-11-14T21:50:00.001-05:00

my heart is overwhelmed with goodness and gratefulness and thankfulness.
words can't describe what i've been feeling inside.
i've had the opportunity to be in the company of some amazing, AMAZING people recently.
being in the presence of these amazing souls has been a humbling experience for me.

one particular experience was with a small group of friends.
one of those people i had just met that day.
we started talking about one thing, which led to another, which led to conversations of God.
it was very intimate and eye opening and personal.

during our time together, the "new person", had some specific words.
i'll just call them 'words of wisdom'.
the words we heard were words of freedom in SO MANY ways!!!
after the words were spoken, we listened to a song while we journaled.
after the song was over, we were given the opportunity to share what we journaled about.

i'm not one for easily sharing my heart in front of a group of people.
the only reason for this is because i usually start crying.
if it's something 'deep' and personal, i prefer to cry while i WRITE.
this particular day, i shared my heart....through a few tears.
i was stronger than i thought i was that day.

i read a few thoughts i had written down and then i read
the lyrics to this song we listened to (the first time i've ever heard this song).
it speaks to me in a million ways every time i hear it.
if there was a song that describes my heart,
THIS. IS. THE. SONG.

Free by Isa Couvertier

i'm so tired of living a lie
of picking up the pieces
the pieces of my life
of my life, of my life

im finding out
that i'm the one
who thinks i've got it
figured out
i'm finding out
that i'm running fast
and going nowhere
i'm going nowhere

and i played the fool
i played the mystery
at knowing who i am
at knowing who i am

i played the fool
i played the mystery
at knowing who i am
at knowing who i am

i want to be free

i'm finding out that i'm the one
who thinks i've got it
figured out
i'm finding out
that i'm running fast
and going nowhere
i'm going nowhere.

and i played the fool
i played the mystery
at knowing who i am
at knowing who i am
i played the fool
i played the mystery
at knowing who i am
at knowing who i am

i wanna be FREE
i wanna be ME
i wanna be ALL
ALL THAT I'M MEANT TO BE
i wanna be FREE
i wanna be ME
i wanna be ALL
ALL THAT I'M MEANT TO BE

i wanna RUN
i wanna FLY
to be the one that REACHES HIGH
i wanna RUN
i wanna FLY
to be the one that REACHES HIGH

i wanna be free...

help me be free
help me be me
help me be all that i'm meant to be.

*If you want to download it, you can find it at Amazon.
the song is from - Isa & Nina : Live at First Steps to Success (song #2)

i hope that you'll walk in freedom this week.
BE ALL that you're meant to be!!!!!!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOOoooooooo

my brave girl journey. part TWO.

2010-11-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

i've tried and tried and tried and tried and tried.
the words aren't flowing.
part of my plan for this post was to go into more details about brave girls.
the words aren't coming.
i've come to the conclusion that you really can't put brave girl camp into words.
it's more of an experience.
we can share and share and share about it, but until you experience it, you can't understand it.
this is the ONLY thing i can come up with.
Brave Girl Camp: The Experience. :)

i DO want to share my favorite project from BGC.
okay, okay, so it's the ONLY project that i completed. {sue me.}
it's my art journal.
it is so meaningful.
the best part about it is that i can write in it, create in it, doodle in it, paint in it, journal in it.
whatever i want to do in it, i can do.

i was asked this question - for you, what does it mean to be brave?
my response was, "for me, being brave means being free!!"
being free from all of the baggage that we have carried around with us our entire lives.
having the freedom to LIVE in the moment.
being free from insecurities that plague us as women.
having the freedom to EMBRACE our individual uniqueness and gorgeousness.
being free from junk that has happened in the past.
having the freedom to WALK in newness.
being free from those naughty little voices that breathe lies to us.
having the freedom to HEAR truth!
all of that baggage - get rid of it!!!!
say goodbye to it!!!
be free from it!!
DON'T pick up that bag again.

BE BRAVE.
take it to the nasty, smelly dump and leave it there!!!!

YOU. CAN. DO. IT.

BEING BRAVE means BEING FREE.

i'm back. my brave girl journey. part ONE.

2010-10-24T20:28:00.001-04:00

guess what??!!!! i'm BAAAAAAACK!!!!!! sorry i haven't posted in forever. you better sit down and relax because this is going to be a LONG, HAPPY POST. (by the way, i hope you'll keep reading even though i'm not using proper punctuation and capitalization today.) :)

the only punctuation i'll be using has been provided by my lovely friend, Maria!!!!

why haven't i been blogging? what have i been doing lately?! i can't even answer that question b/c i don't have a good answer. i guess i've just been busy with the day to day fun that life seems to bring. BUT, the MOST exciting thing i want to talk about is my trip to the ever-so-in-demand, SOLD OUT (waiting list only), and magical Brave Girl Camp that was started by sisters melody ross and kathy wilkins!!!!!

melody and kathy at "practice camp" in 2009.

this whole trip was a dream. really. strange as it may seem (or not so strange these days....), i became friends with melody online. i began reading her blog a few years ago. i remember thinking about how much alike we were in our way of thinking. i ALWAYS enjoy someone who can see the blessings and miracles in tough times, and use those stories to help others. everytime i read a blog post, my heart was overwhelmed. i would just cry. well, okay, i'd sob and sob and sob and sob and sob. she writes with such wisdom, conviction, and openness, and that just spoke to my heart. i haven't been through all of the trials that she has been through, but i understood what she was saying. i got it. i felt like she was a long lost sister. 2009 was the first time we met in person and it was such a wonderful time....a time i will never forget. months before my trip she had been telling me about a dream that was in her heart. a dream to start brave girls club and brave girl camp. while i was visiting, we had the official "practice brave girl camp" to test things out.

this was our art room at practice BGC.....cozy and fun....kathy, camielle, alison, and melody.

October 2010 (one year and a couple of months later), i was attending the one year anniversary of brave girl camp in mccall, idaho. like i said earlier, brave girls club started with a humongous dream from my beautiful, dear, precious, sweet, soul sister, Melody Ross and her equally as gorgeous, talented, kind, and genuine sister, Kathy Wilkins. their goal was to start a community for women who want to do BIG things with their lives, who need to overcome difficult obstacles that have been thrown at them, who NEED a safe, kind, loving, environment....no walls, no shame, no egos, no backstabbing, no attitudes, and no "mean girls" allowed. just a place for you to be YOU. to find encouragement. to cultivate dreams. to give love. to learn. to find yourself again. to receive love. to conquer fears. to be pampered. to form new lifelong friendships. to be lovingly accepted. to be brave. to get back on that path of finding beauty in yourself again.

this photo reminds me of that bright pathway.....

the one year anniversary of brave girl camp! woooohoooooo. i was invited to attend as a staff member. this was a complete honor. as part of the staff, i knew i was going to be working hard, serving, and happily catering to anyone and everyone's needs. that meant one thing....i wouldn't have time for art projects, or so i was thinking. that made me happy because i'll be the first to admit that i have to WORK at being artsy. it doesn't come naturally for me all of the time. i have to be in a certain frame of mind. my workspace has to be organized precisely. the "stars" have to be aligned perfectly for me to create. i'm laughing as i write this, but it's actually THE truth.

a sneak peek into the art room before our special guests arrived.

as part of the staff, we had work time and free time. my "free time" allowed me to participate in the first project/lesson for the week. that had me all freaked out. i came to terms with it....realizing i couldn't run from it. after sitting in my cozy spot for a while and staring at my BLANK project and EVERY art supply imaginable, it was too overwhelming. i escaped away to a quiet place and just wrote in my journal. THAT was perfect for me....it's what i needed....it was relaxing.....and comforting....and allowed me to gather my thoughts and to embrace the moment. while i didn't finish the first project, i understood it, and it was so freeing and so enlightening. {and, i'm not telling what it was because i don't want to ruin it for any future friends that will attend.....if that lesson and project is used again} believe it or not, that first project opened up ALL of our hearts for the remaining projects for the week........


....and, that first project ALSO helped us open up our wings.....

i'm figuring out right now that Brave Girl Camp cannot be crammed into one post....i'll have to post more about it this week.....i don't want to leave out any important details....i want you to understand the beauty of this wonderful community of women!!!!!!

HUMONGOUS LOVE to you ALL!!!!!!
EXPECT miracles this week!!!
xoxoxooooo
JANET! :)

wow.

2010-09-12T12:39:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!
I can't believe it has been SO LONG since I've posted. I'm really sorry. I've been a busy girl this summer. Looking forward to posting about a few things soon.

Today is cleaning day. If I have energy, I'll post later.

Tomorrow I start the Beth Moore Bible study on Daniel. I've been looking forward to this for a while, I think it's going to be terrific!!!

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!
Maybe I'll talk to you guys later. :)

♫ ♫ When summer comes around ♪ ♪

2010-07-28T20:16:00.002-04:00

I can't help it. I HAD to share this post with you all! I posted this on my photo blog tonight, and wanted to share it with you too! It's just SO summery!!!!! :)

Don't you love that Keith Urban song?!
It's SUCH a snapshot of summer!

When I look at these photos, they remind me of.....
...summer...and vacation...and cold fruity drinks....
...and swimsuits...and the beach...and pony tails...
...and sleeping in...and flip flops...and feeling free...

...and no plans...and swimtrunks...
...and fresh air...and cherry limeades...
...and evening drives with the all the windows down...
...and messy hair...and being alive.

What's YOUR idea of summer?

*Beautiful Things winners

2010-07-16T17:40:00.001-04:00

I wish more of my blog readers would have entered this one! This CD is AMAZING! Maybe I'll do another giveaway in the fall when people aren't on vacation.

CONGRATULATIONS to the 2 winners!!!!!!

Sarah Jones and Laurel, please email me your addresses so we can get these in the mail to you!!!!
I'm trusting you will enjoy Gungor's music!! They're fabulous! You will NOT be disappointed! :)

Beautiful Things giveaway

2010-07-11T18:28:00.001-04:00

Hello beautiful blog friends!!!!!

I am so sorry I had to put this contest off for a few days. I had a family member in the hospital and they were released today!!! YAAAAY!!!! So, hopefully life will be back to normal this week!

Now for the contest.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The simplest things can be the most beautiful. I think every single one of my blog friends are beautiful....THUS, the Beautiful Things giveaway!!!! To enter the Beautiful Things giveaway, leave a comment and tell me.......What do YOU think is beautiful? or What makes you smile?

The winner will receive the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW Gungor: Beautiful Things cd. I have never heard of Gungor until about a month ago when my sister let me borrow her cd. It is AMAZING. I like it because it's refreshingly different and uplifting! It's not like every other song you hear on the radio. I hope you will love it as much as I do!!

Leave a comment by 11:59pm on Thursday, July 15th. I will announce the winner on Friday, July 16th. (Will you do me a favor and tell your friends too??? Post the link for this contest on your blog and facebook pages. wink, wink - I might be able to give more than just 1 cd away......)

Let the fun begin!!!!!!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week!!!!!

Contest!!!

2010-07-08T06:33:00.000-04:00

is on hold for the day. A family member has landed unexpectedly in the hospital and I won't be able to post details later. I will post them on Friday! So sorry!!!!

Giveaway!!!!

2010-07-07T20:04:00.001-04:00

I am SOOOO excited about something!!!!

I am having my

very FIRST

contest/giveaway

on my blog!!!!!

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow evening I'll give the details......

Renovations.

2010-06-15T22:19:00.002-04:00

It seems there normally comes a time in life when you just get fed up with things. You have a light bulb go off that makes you realize you're not the person that you used to be. You may have had it ALL together at one time, but little by little, so subtly, that started to fade. Before you knew it, you've let things or people inside your, once beautiful, home. They've come in and trashed it and now it's just a cold, nasty, old, trashed out house. This happened without you even realizing it.

It's time to RENOVATE! Get rid of the nastiness, the dirt, the junk and the grime that has consumed your house! Make it your HOME again!!!

The first step is closing that front door.

Then, it's time to change the locks on those doors, change those grimy handles, replace that worn out frame. Let everyone know that your home is going to be a safe place, a place of refuge.

This is the most difficult part: you have to hang up that CLOSED sign. Turn off the lights. Don't worry, it's just temporary. It's time to work on YOU. Get your self-esteem back, your value back, rekindle your most precious relationships, and get that gorgeous smile back on that beautiful face!!!!! Read some inspirational books, do a study, read your Bible (Proverbs is a GREAT book with SO MUCH wisdom!). Dig deep.

Keep that sign on that front door. If anyone knocks, it's okay to check to see who it is. Only let in those people who are safe; those people who are going to encourage you, inspire you, cheer you on, stand up for you, love you, and those who will not steal your dreams.

You shouldn't feel guilt for keeping that sign on the door as long as needed . It's YOUR house. YOU have the key. YOU have control over who you let in. YOU decide how quickly or slowly the renovations take place.

When the time is right, all of the renovations will be complete. You'll KNOW when it's time to gently open that door again. Everyone will be able to see that light in your eyes again. They will be able to see that new beauty radiating. The view inside that front door will be breathtaking. You'll be able to share your renovation story with everyone who knocks on your front door. Pour them a glass of lemonade, sit out on that front porch and share that story.

It's your newly renovated property. YOU decide who comes in, and YOU decide who stays on that front porch.

Enjoy life again!!!!!!
XOXOXOOOOO

You Have Me

2010-06-06T19:47:00.003-04:00

As I was driving home from work the other day, I had a new CD playing. My sister let me borrow it. Gungor, Beautiful Things. It's different and I LOVE that. I'm a fan of being unique and different, and I think that's why I love this CD so much!

Anyway, song 5, You Have Me, was playing. My heart was so full and so overwhelmed with joy. Listening to the beautiful music and lyrics to this song, teary eyed, thankful that God is ALWAYS there, ALWAYS faithful, ALWAYS good, no matter what circumstances look like.

As I was driving along, I looked up. {Do you realize how many times we probably miss blessings in our lives because we don't look up?!} Well, I looked up and saw three birds flying around in the air in one spot. It was different, though. When I saw them, I felt like they were performing a song just for me. They were there for me to see. Nobody else. The song that was playing, along with the way the birds were slowly dancing, slowly swaying, slowly gliding, slowly intertwining with each other....it was magical. I don't know another word to describe it. It was one of those moments in life that I can say I was TRULY CAPTIVATED.

(While out and about in Destin, FL, on our recent vacation, I looked up and spotted these lovlies!)

It was beautiful. My heart is happy and I can still see those birds putting on a show for me while listening to this song.......

You Have Me
out on the farthest edge
there in the silence
you were there

My faith was torn to shreds
heart in the balance
but you were there

always faithful
always good
you have still have my
you still have my heart

I thought I had seen the end
everything broken
but you were there

I've wandered heaven's gates
I've made my bed in hell
You were there still

You have me
You have my heart completely

THAT'S gonna leave a mark!!!

2010-04-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

So, we were treated out to dinner Saturday night. To a nice restaurant on the lake. Reservations were made, requesting a prime spot on the patio since it was such a beautiful evening. We were looking forward to it since we had never been there before.

The place was PACKED!!! Even though our name was on the list, we still had to get a little buzzer. Not knowing how long our wait was going to be, the 6 of us decided to have a seat just past the patio. That meant walking through the jam packed patio! Jam packed, meaning, there were probably 20 tables with at least 5-6 people at each table.

Enter the 6 of us. 2 of the girls in front of me, 3 of the guys behind me (my husband at the very back of the line).

The patio was the shiny concrete = SLICK. I'm sure you can figure out where this is going.

My feet started wobbling (and as I'm telling this, imagine the sound you hear when The Flinstones start driving their cars) and I think I'm going to lose it. Somehow, I played the wobbling off, thinking I was safe for a mere second. Nope, make that MILLI-second. I had my new camera bag on my arm with my new-ish camera in the bag....keeping that in my conscious mind....if I drop it, it SHOULD be safe, but I'd rather not test it out.

(By the way, aren't these sandals so cute?! and so spring-y!!!)

Well......it went a little something like this...........
wobble wobble wobble! oh no! grasp for that empty chair! push it into the empty table for 2! wobble wobble! oh well, that chair didn't help much, it's laying on its side now! OH SCHNIKEEeeeeeeS!!! EVERYBODY sees me!! don't fall! don't fall! please don't let me fall! please don't let me fall! skid. skid. skid. watch out for that stone column RIGHT in front of me!!!! women getting up out of their chairs, running over to try to block the column because they see what's coming! gasps from the crowd!! which way do I go?! which way do I go?! don't drop your bag! your camera is in there!!! don't drop your bag!! BAM! OUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!! THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!!!! EVERYONE was silent!! Everyone!!!!

The ladies started asking questions. "Are you okay, honey?!" "Are you hurt?!!" "Ohhhhhhhh, sweetie, what can I do????"

Laughter starts rolling out of me. Embarrassed. Trying to play this off, which literally CANNOT be played off. Everyone saw it. PRAYING there was NOBODY I knew sitting on that patio!!!! I stood up, tried gathering my composure.....what was left.......through my laughter. "I'm fine. I'm okay, thank you."

We made it to our table (on ANOTHER patio on the other side of the restaurant, thank goodness) and were chatting about the happenings. One of the guys with our party, walking directly behind me, said he saw it coming, but since he was behind me, the only thing he could think of to do was to grab my rear, and, well, that wouldn't have helped. haha My husband was at the very back of the line......he didn't even know I was the one who fell, until I stood up. He told me I should have stood up, straightened up my shirt, and said, "I was supposed to do that." So funny!! More good news - the guys behind me said I didn't drop my Epiphanie camera bag!!! HAHAHA. I didn't drop my bag....it was safe and cozy! HOW in the world is that even possible??!!!

I was thinking about it, and I'm a jokester. A SERIOUS jokester. I laugh at just about anything. I think it's hysterical when people fall......that obviously includes when it happens to myself. If I saw myself fall on that patio, I would have laughed. THANK YOU to the people on the patio for NOT laughing at me and for offering as much help as you could. Good news - I did NOT hit my face on the column, thank you God!!!!
I've never had anything embarrassing happen to me, ever. Really. THIS, my friends, was THE most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me. EVER. And, I'm here to say, that I laughed through it! That's the ONLY thing that kept me from crying. What isn't funny is my swollen knee. The picture does not do the damage justice.....and I didn't feel like getting "that perfect shot" to prove it. :)

I hope this made you laugh....it made me laugh again, recalling everything. This really happened. And my knee is REALLY REALLY sore!!! So are my back and shoulders....probably from showing off my push-up sorta moves.....

I hope everyone else had an accident free Saturday night.
xoxoxooo

Toss it in!!!!

2010-04-05T23:00:00.000-04:00

I posted this on my photo blog today and thought I'd share it here, also!
It was not my intention for this to be my picture of the day, but I feel like it needs to be. I'm listening to that small voice inside.

Do you have junk in your life that is keeping you down in the dumps? What about a bad habit that you want to kick? Maybe it's a light-as-a-feather bit of anger that keeps getting heavier? That tiny insecurity that keeps growing by the second? Maybe it's a slight bit of jealousy? What about that worry that is consuming your every thought?

Whatever it is, dump it in the bucket. Get rid of it. Toss it in there and give it to the One who is in control. You may not always feel His presence. You may not think He hears your faintest whisper. You may not realize he is catching each and every tear.

Understand one thing, my sweet, wonderful, beautiful, caring, honest, hilarious, artistic friends. No matter what you have done or where you have been..........He, the Master of the entire Universe, is not mad at you, He's mad ABOUT YOU!!!!!

XOXOXXOOoooooo
I'm trusting you are going to have a fabUlous week!

Strong foundation!

2010-04-04T21:51:00.002-04:00

We went out exploring today, on this Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. We passed by a church with this in the front yard and I had to get a picture. As I was resizing and doing a little editing, a few things were brought to mind.
As Christ Followers, we should keep some things in mind on a daily basis.

Each experience in our lives are stepping stones.
We should be diligent in climbing up to the next step to be closer to Him.
Remember that He is the vine, we are the branches (if we're from the same tree, others should see Him in us).
Our foundations should be strong and be built on the rock.
We are supposed to carry His light to the world, for HE IS RISEN!!!!!

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and spent some time reflecting on what this weekend is really about.
XOXOXOXOXOOOOO

Janet! :)

Epiphanie!!!!!!

2010-03-31T21:27:00.001-04:00

Hello friends!!!! I am so excited - I have to tell you all something.
See this bag??????? Well, it's not just ANY bag! This is my EPIPHANIE camera bag!!!! Isn't it awesome?!! It's MORE awesome in person, I promise! I love it!!!!!

I am entering a contest! The grand prize is a brand spanking new Canon 5D MarkII or 2500.00 in a Southwest Airline Gift Certificate! I want to win the GRAND prize so bad!!! My sisters and I would love to start a photography business and this would be the perfect way to start it off. You can see some of my other photos HERE.

In the meantime........................

Yep, I had an Epiphanie!!!!! Don't you wish Epiphanie bags grew on trees?????? MEEEE toooooo!!!! Don't you wish Canon 5D Mark II cameras grew on trees?????? MEEEEEE TOOOOOOOO, but they don't. :( That's why I'm entering this contest......so I can win one! I don't think I've ever won anything except for 100.00 last year playing Powerball.

She's Country.

2010-03-19T21:26:00.002-04:00

♫ ♪ ♫ Country.

From her cowboy boots to her down home roots.

She's country.

From the songs she plays to the prayers she prays.

That's the way she was born and raised.

She ain't afraid to stay, country. ♫ ♪ ♪

(She's Country by Jason Aldean)

This is the post I put on my 365 photo blog and HAD to put it here. Can't help it. I LOVE it!!!!! :)

I will be the FIRST to say that I NEVER used to like country music. I hated it, actually. It made me cringe. Living in the south gives you an appreciation for it, somehow. I NEVER thought I would ever say something like that, ever.

Country music is something I love. It's the music of the South. It makes me: feel at home, want to put my boots on, want to take a long deep breath of fresh country air, want to walk through an open field, want to go down to a farm and work really really hard, want to ride a plow through a humongous field and get all dusty and dirty, happy to have the freedom to be MYSELF.

Salty.

2010-02-23T21:38:00.001-05:00

This was my photo of the day on my 365 blog and I liked it so much, I'm posting it here. I'm just crazy like that!
I was trying to find something to take a photo of tonight. I was looking through the kitchen and saw the salt - PERFECT! As Christ followers, we are supposed to be the salt of the earth. {Salt makes people thirsty} Are you living your life so that others are thirsty for what YOU have?

Yeah, yeah, they're the same picture, but I couldn't decide if I liked texture or no texture the best. Again, I'm just crazy like that.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.
BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!!!

Words of wisdom.

2010-02-10T23:02:00.004-05:00

Well, at least that's what I like to call them.

Monday night I went to bed and felt like I was asleep forever, but woke up 30 minutes later. Doesn't that drive you crazy when that happens? What drives me even more crazy is the fact that I could not fall back asleep. I was fidgety and squirmy.....so much so that I woke up my prince sleeping next to me. I decided to get a drink of water, hop back in bed and play a game of Tetris (I'm known in my family as the Tetris QUEEN - 249 lines is my high score!). 1 1/2 hours and a few games later, I was finally tired enough to fall asleep.

During my Tetris time, I was saying extra prayers, asking for extra guidance and wisdom for me and Mike, praying about our future....you know, the magnified kind of stuff that you think of when you can't sleep. All of the sudden, some words popped into my mind. Once, twice, three times, four, five, six, seven, eight.......I lost count. I couldn't keep up with the amount of times this ran through my head.

PROTECT YOUR DREAMS.

Like an umbrella protects us from the rain, we should be protecting our dreams. We should be keeping them safe from the elements that sprinkle on us each day. It is so important to protect those dreams inside of us.

I was talking to a close friend the other day and I confided in this person that they were the ONLY person I was telling because I basically wanted to keep it "safe" right now. They agreed that they were doing the same thing with what they were telling me because there are so many people that would enjoy seeing these dreams shattered.

Then I got to thinking. There are so many people in this life that do not want to see you do better than them. They want to keep you down. They want you to doubt yourself. They want you to think your dreams are insane. They want you to fear the future. They want you to stay in that rut. They don't want to see you truly happy. They want you to think your dreams aren't possible. They want you to be insecure. They want you to think that your dreams are TOO far out of reach. They're "just being realistic". They try to destroy that dream that is inside of you. To these type of people, it would be pure joy if your dreams crumbled around your feet.

Those are the kind of people you need to protect your dreams from. It's hard sometimes, though. You just get SO EXCITED about the future and about dreams that are right on your fingertips and you want to shout it to the world!!! From personal experience, I know this all too well.

I have learned some things about dreams. Write your dreams down. Put them on a vision board. Share your dreams with one or two people who you consider to be a positive influence in your life. Someone who is going to cheer you on. Someone who is going to tell you - keep going. Someone who is going to tell you - you can do it! Someone who is going to tell you - believe in miracles. Someone who is going to support your dreams no matter how crazy and insane they may seem!!! Someone who will help you cultivate those dreams. Someone who will keep your dreams protected. Someone who believes in your dreams more than you do. You know who those people are in your life.....they are valuable and priceless!

GUARD YOUR HEART.

It's SO important to guard your heart also. We should guard our hearts more than we protect our dreams. Give and receive love into those hearts. Be selective with what and WHO you let into your heart. Keep bitterness OUT of those beautiful hearts. Keep envy out of those hearts. Keep jealousy out of those hearts. Keep anger out of those hearts. Keep judgment out of those hearts. There are so many unbelievable truths packed into Proverbs 2 and 4! Proverbs 4: 23 says - "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." Did you read that?!! It says to guard your heart "above ALL that you guard"!!!! Our hearts are fragile and precious and so beautiful.

The phenomenal part to this story is this - I subscribe to Brave Girls Club daily truths. Tuesday evening after I made the props for this blog, and before I went to bed, I checked my emails, and this beautiful truth was waiting for me in my inbox!!! I couldn't stop crying. It was a confirmation to me. It could not have come at a more perfect time! That daily truth was meant for me Tuesday!!!!!!

I just want to encourage you to protect your dreams and guard your hearts. You have one heart and bunches of dreams - do everything you can to protect them. When the right time comes along, you will know in your heart that you can share them with the world!!!!!! Dream HUMONGOUS dreams! Believe in miracles!!!! You. CAN. do. it.

Simply inspired.

2010-01-10T22:29:00.007-05:00

A few nights ago Mike and I went out to pick up some household supplies. While we were out, I ran across these.

Of course, if you know me, you know I am obsessed with the color green!!!!! Anything green, any shade of it, more than likely, I will love it!!! I wanted the green coffee mug because of the obvious - the color. But, I LOVED what the yellow one said! I was torn on which one to get, so I got both of them. They were on clearance too, so I really couldn't pass them up!!

I've been doing a photo challenge. Taking one photo a day. Reading one page in my camera manual a day. And visiting professional photography sites each day. The challenge is to improve my photography skills by 300% in one year. I even started a photography blog for this very reason. When I got the coffee mugs home, the photo shoot began. I was so excited about it. These mugs were beautiful and so photogenic. :) I was happy with most of the photos I took, such as this one.

I was happy with the boxed photos until I opened up the box!!! I was so excited! Yes, they're coffee mugs and I had a photo shoot with them. I've never even been a coffee drinker until a few weeks ago. We were trying some new coffee in the office and I had to taste it - Chocolate Donut Coffee! It was pretty tasty, but I'm NOW addicted to Caribou Columbian coffee. Made fresh from the Keurig coffee machine.

Back to the story. So, I opened up the boxes, and my heart skipped a beat and it also smiled. There was a surprise.

First, in the rim of the B mug, it said "I believe in miracles"!! Anyone who knows me also knows that this has been kind of my theme in life. I make cards and invitations in my spare time, and "believe in miracles" is the quote that I put on the back of EVERY. SINGLE. CARD. It's been my trademark, I guess you could say. So, when I opened up that box and saw that in the rim of the mug, I was beside myself.

The "L" mug surprised me with "It's a wonderful life!" My favorite Christmas movie of all time. And, it had an exclamation point at the end of the saying!!!! Once again, anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE using exclamation points!!!! NOT because I'm yelling, but because I'm sharing my excitement! {If you ever get an email from me and I'm using a thousand exclamation points, I'm not mad, I'm just EXCITED!!!!}

As an added bonus, the boxes were wrapped with chocolate brown ribbon that said "simply inspired". I thought it was cool because I ALWAYS welcome being inspired. I love being around inspiring people, sharing inspirational thoughts, and reading inspirational blogs and books.....I don't think anyone can have too many inspiring people in their life!!!!! Inspiration ROCKS and so does this ribbon......

I was trying to be creative using the ribbon. I wrapped it around our photo just for something different. As I'm sitting here writing this blog, something just hit me!!!! I want simplicity, inspiration and God to fill our cups to overflowing! To pour over us so we can share and bless others!!!!

I like this picture because the dark ribbon reminds me of a cup of dark coffee (even though I prefer lots of cream) or a cup of hot chocolate. :)

I just wanted to share this with you. I want you to be inspired. I want you to remember that you can be tied up with a bow of inspiration. You can stay stuck in your box with your pretty bow. Imagine how many people need that inspiration and surprise that is INSIDE that pretty little box!!! The only way to share that beauty and surprise inside that box is to open it up and share it with the world!

Has anyone told you that what is inside you is beautiful and inspiring? Listen to them. They're telling the truth!

Inspiration, you are welcome in my life!!!!!

xoxoxxoooooo

I NOW present to you.....2010!

2010-01-02T19:26:00.008-05:00

I think 2010 is going to have LOTS & LOTS of amazing miracles and blessings! These are just some of the things I want to accomplish in the new year!

Here are some of my top resolutions. And, actually, I'm not going to call them resolutions this year, I'm calling them resolves! I was going to call them promises because I don't like the word resolution, but I just read this blog post, and I'm calling them resolves from here on. To sum it up......

Resolution: noun. a formal expression of opinion or intention made.

Resolve: verb. to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something)

1. Lose weight and be healthy. What else would be #1, right?! I know losing weight doesn't always = healthy, but I'm going to lose weight the healthy way with Body For Life. It's a great program. I want to be healthy, feel better about myself, and feel attractive for my husband again. I feel like I've gotten out of control and I do NOT like that feeling. I want to lose some weight before we have a baby....yeah, yeah, sounds weird, but I want to be IN SHAPE first. Another reason is a little selfish. I want to wear cute clothes again! I want to wear girlie things like this and look SUPER CUTE in them!

or a cute little top like this one along with some super cute, great fitting jeans.

and, can't forget these......

it's not a matter of having these THINGS, it's a matter of feeling good about myself again and WANTING to look cute and be able to FIT into these things. ....okay, the boots....they're an added bonus, I don't need to lose weight to fit into those beauties, i just want them. really bad. size 9 please.

2. Which, should actually be #1. To be closer to God.....to not only pray continually, but to read His word, study it, learn it, and apply it to my daily life. I love the peace of mind that comes along with this also. My heart is so hungry for God, but the day to day life has gotten in the way too often in 2009, and I'm resolving to change that in 2010. For starters, I'm jumping into 2010 by starting the Beth Moore study on Esther. I've heard so many great things about this study. I'm attending this with women I don't even know and that's even more exciting to me - meeting new people who will possibly be some great friends too.

3. Become the wife that my husband NEEDS me to be. I think I do an okay job at this right now, but I want to be better. I have my faults, trust me. We all do. But, my promise to my husband for 2010 is to strive to be EVERYTHING he needs me to be. Wives, we're supposed to help our husbands, be their best friends and their MOST enthusiastic cheerleaders. That's what I want to be and MORE! I stumbled upon this blog the other day. I was browsing through the posts and the post titled The Role of a Wife caught my eye. It is wonderful and I love her perspective! I am going to work toward being a wife like this in 2010.

4. Devote time each week to guitar lessons. I have a beautiful guitar that not only looks great, but sounds great too. I want to put it to use, once and for all. That guitar has a purpose and it hasn't been fulfilling that purpose thanks to its owner. Starting in 2010, I will have a weekly schedule of practicing. I really wanted to get Mike to take a cool picture of me WITH my guitar, but honestly, I haven't had a shower today. Nothing would look cool with me right now. seriously. With that being said......official Martin picture is below. :)

5. Create. I'm going to work on a project at least every other month - something creative and artsy. I'm stepping out on a limb on this one because I don't feel creative all the times. The mood has to strike me in order to be creative. I guess I'll pray that the mood strikes at least every other month. ;)

6. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go to Brave Girl Camp! Melody and Kathy are the amazing women behind BGC! To sum it up, they are INCREDIBLE women! Their hearts are 1000% into this and if YOU go, you will NOT be disappointed!!!!! I attended practice BGC in September 2009 and it was incredible. In 2010, I really want to attend the official Brave Girl Camp....as bad as I want those boots!

7. Photography. I want to spend time each week getting to know my camera, and learning how to use it to its fullest potential. I heard about this challenge, and I really want to give it a try. Take at least one photo a day. Read at least one page in your camera manual a day. View other professional images every day. You can sign up at this link to join in the challenge. The most difficult part of photography for me, is editing. I'm just not a fan of it. I know it's supposed to be one of the most fun and rewarding parts of photography, but it is the most time consuming and annoying to me. I am going to try to embrace editing this year (or find someone to do it for me.....).

If you're still reading this, THANK YOU. I know it was long, but I had to put this out there for accountability. Because, now that this is out there, I have to do it. I have to!!! This is going to be a fun, amazing, incredible and miraculous year! Celebrate 2010 with me!!!!!

O Come Let us Adore HIM.

2009-12-25T11:40:00.004-05:00

Yes, another blog post about Christmas. I can't help it. I'm going to get right to the point.

I don't like singing Christmas songs at church.

Weird, isn't it?! The reason we go to church is because of Christmas! Singing Christmas songs at church....I just don't like it. I know, I know, it's ridiculous. That is why I was SO happy when one of my sisters told me the other day, out of the blue, "I don't like singing Christmas songs at church." I said, "oh my gosh!!!! Meeeeeeeeee neither!!! I thought I was the ONLY one!!!" It was good to know that I was not alone in my thinking.......although I suppose it could run in the family..... ;)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago at church we sang O Come All Ye Faithful. Nice, classic tune. I was REALLY focusing on the lyrics, which is what I do most of the time when I sing a song. I like to be aware and mean what I'm saying. The lyrics hit me. So hard. I was doing all I could to hold back the tears.

O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
COME AND BEHOLD HIM,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Do you ever think about the different perspectives of people at the nativity? Think about how Joseph felt....the girl he was with was pregnant, not by him, but by a miraculous act of God. The baby was going to be the Saviour of the world. They were traveling. Trying to find a place to stay. Going here and there. Looking for a vacancy. It was cold. It was dark. Every place they went - no room. Mary was in labor. In pain. Suffering. Imagine Joseph tired and weary from traveling and chaos from not being able to find a place to stay. He knew that this was part of the plan, but after things seem to NOT be working out, was he wondering, and shouting out to God? "THIS is your plan??? God of ALL creation, This is YOUR plan?!! Why are you letting her suffer?! This is supposed to be the King of the world! This is supposed to be a happy moment! She isn't supposed to be in all of this pain! Help her! You say you're in control! DO SOMETHING!!!" "I AM."

Sometimes we forget that He is in control of everything. We don't think He is working on our behalf. We don't feel like He is there. We feel like we're alone and He isn't listening to us and hearing our cries. We blame Him for things that happen in our lives, when things go wrong, when bad things happen, when tradgedy strikes....He's the first one most of us get mad at. Things don't work out as we all have planned. They don't turn out the way we all would like them to turn out. Things don't happen in our timing. He knows what is best. Things always work out no matter what things look like on the outside. The next time I get irritated and aggravated and annoyed and question why He isn't moving, I always want to hear Him saying, "I am".

O Come let us adore him!

I was imagining myself there. At the miraculous birth of Jesus. What would I do? What gift would I bring? How close would I be able to get to the King? What would I be feeling? What would I see? What would I say? What would I smell? What What would it be like to be there??? What would MY perspective be?

I hope everyone is having the most wonderful Christmas ever!!!!

♪ ♫.....Christmas time is here....♪ ♪

2009-12-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

...and this year it has been really difficult to get in the Christmas spirit. It's been strange. I mean, I'm thankful for so much and enjoy this time of the year, but just have not been "feeling it" this year. It's even sad to admit it, but we didn't even put a Christmas tree up....time escaped. And, having no heat made us not want to do anything.

A few weeks ago we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. It's one of our favorite Christmas cartoons. One of my favorite parts is when they decorate the tree. All of their arms go up in the air around the tree and just move from left to right really fast, and bam!, it's decorated. The tree was so pitiful, and they made it beautiful. Mike said something like, "we didn't even get a tree this year." Then it hit me, "hold that thought", I said.

A minute later, THIS was our tree.

Last week as we were sitting in the living room, Mike and I were talking about Christmas trees again. Talking about how we wish we would have put one up, but it was too late to get one, and we wouldn't have time to enjoy it. So Mike said, "well, I guess I'll we'll just have to enjoy our Christmas Jar!" We laughed so hard. He plugged it up, and enjoyed our Christmas Jar and a glass of wine.

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see

Such spirit through the year...

Baby it's cold outside....and inside.

2009-12-23T00:10:00.006-05:00

We are so blessed. Sometimes I think that is a cliche' that is over used. It is used so often that I think most people don't even realize what it means anymore.

This year has been kinda crazy for us. So many things have happened. Good and not so good. But, Mike and I have grown so much this year in so many ways. We have been tested in so many things....too many to write about in one post. In all of our trials and triumphs this year we have learned one HUGE lesson.

Pray. Believe. Receive.

AND

God answers our prayers through others.

The most recent events can be understood from this picture. Mike will probably not be thrilled with me for posting this, but it's what I saw every night for almost 2 months straight. And, I didn't get any pictures of myself during this. (I love you, honey.)

Our heat went out. We had our trusty heat/air guy come out and look at the unit. Yep. It was basically dead. Had a mind of its own. If the heat was turned on, FREEZING cold air was blowing out of the vents. The cost of repairs? More than we could ever think of having in our account. We kept praying for God to make a way for us because as time was ticking the weather kept getting colder and colder.

It was NO fun being in our house for more than 15 minutes because it was so stinkin' cold. We had 2 space heaters - 1 new & 1 old - borrowed from family. The sad thing is we could only use one of them (the new one). The old one blew the circuit (that's another story in itself) when we used it. During the day and evening, the space heater was in the living room. At night, we moved it to our bedroom and kept the door closed to stay as cozy as possible. Sounds nice, right?!

Well, there were about 5 nights that it got REALLY REALLY COLD. God performed a miracle. Our heat came on 4 of those really really cold nights! That was the ONLY time the heat worked in the past couple months. No joke. During this time, full gear was worn chillin' in the living room......sweat pants, 3 pair of socks, 1 short sleeve t-shirt, 1 long sleeve t-shirt, a polar fleece hoodie, and a scarf. Mike normally wore his coat, 3 t-shirts, sweats, and socks and shoes. Again, no joke. It was flippin' cold! Seriously, I even considered purchasing a Snuggie.......okay, NOT REALLY........ Every night, laying in bed, praying to God, through the tears, to hear our prayers and perform a miracle. PLUS, I was getting really tired of heating up my toilet seat with the hair dryer! I was so thankful for that hair dryer though - it heated up my clothes before I put them on every day, and some nights even heated up the sheets.

Heck, even our CATS were freezing!

Blossom sitting in front of the heater that blew the circuit.

Biscuit even welcomed some covers on the couch.

We kept believing that God was going to do something. We weren't sure what, but 2 weeks ago we received an email that said the check was in the mail. We were blown away! Seriously?! Yes! A miracle! Sent from Heaven above from someone who is so kind, so giving, so selfless, so obedient, so angelic, so beautiful, so dear, so loving, so miraculous, and SO MANY MORE THINGS!!!! You know who you are, and we CANNOT say THANK YOU enough!!!! Thank you for being our answered prayer!!!! We love you so so so much!!! xoxoxoxooooo

We are SO BLESSED.

and

SO WARM.

Refine me

2009-11-16T23:04:00.001-05:00

I've had this song on my heart all day. I can't seem to escape it.

I come into this place
Burning to receive your peace

I come with my own chains
From wars I've fought for my own selfish gain
You're my God and my Father
I've accepted your Son
But my soul feels so empty now
What have I become?

Lord, come with your fire,
Burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Refine me

My heart can't see
When I only look at me
My soul can't hear
When I only think of my own fears
They are gone in a moment
You're forever the SAME
Why did I look away from You
How can I speak Your name?

Lord, come with Your fire,
burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Come rescue this child
For I long to be reconciled to You

It's all I can do
To give my heart and soul to You
And pray, and pray, oh I will pray

Lord, come with Your fire,
burn my desires; refine me
Lord, my will has deceived me
Please come and free me
Come rescue this child
For I long to be reconciled to You

Refine me, refine me
Refine me, refine me

Does your soul feel empty? I'm being completely honest and open......I've felt like that. I've tried figuring things out on my own. I've tried to do things MY way - even when I've heard that voice telling me "let Me handle this". Why don't we listen to that voice? Why has our LAST resort sometimes been God? Why hasn't He been the first choice?

The words in this song hit home with me - WHY did I look AWAY from YOU? HOW can I speak YOUR name???!!!! After trying things out my way and usually failing, how can I even speak His name? How can I even go running back to God? It always makes me feel so unworthy, but.......

It's all I can do, To give my heart and soul to You, And pray, and pray, oh I will pray. Refine me.

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!

2009-11-10T21:47:00.002-05:00

If you all know me, you know I am SO fond of Bradley's! It's one of my favorite shops in town. Every year, one of the big events for the shop is their Christmas Open House. It is always amazing! Each year, Joy finds more and more incredible items for her friends. I call the customers her friends because she becomes friends with everyone who enters the quaint little shop. She is such a sweet, genuine, beautiful woman who values every person who steps foot through her door. Joy is just that. A pure joy! You won't feel like just another number walking through the door. If Joy isn't there (which is rare), you will still be welcomed and valued in the same way.

The images below are a couple of the pictures found on Bradley's Facebook page.
Look at this cuteness in the storefront window!!!!!

I was so happy to see she was able to purchase more of these ornaments again. I bought several of them last year, and will definitely be purchasing more again this year!! (This is one of the ornaments on my tree last year) They're simple, but the messages are so beautiful! They could also be used as adornments on your beautifully wrapped Christmas presents.

Check out the fun stuff on www.shopbradleys.com. Did you know that you can order some of Bradley's DELICIOUS chocolates in all different shapes, sizes, letters, etc.? For ANY occassion? Just give them a couple days notice, and they'll take care of it for you! (I recommend the dark chocolate.)

I'm not promoting Bradley's today because of any kickbacks.....there aren't any in it for me. I'm promoting Bradley's today because: 1. It's a great little shop that is FABULOUS! 2. I want to see them have more success than they already have. 3. They're local. 4. It's an incredible treasure. 5. Brad and Joy have values and integrity and it shows in everything they do! 6. When you walk out of Bradley's with a bag of treats, you just feel good about it! 7. And they have LOTS and LOTS of chocolate!!!

If you enjoy blogs, you should check out Joy's blog!!!! You'll enjoy it, I promise!

It was a graveyard smash.

2009-11-01T12:05:00.001-05:00

The leaves are GORGEOUS here right now. Today or tomorrow I'm planning on getting out of the house and taking more pictures. I'm SO excited about that!

Yesterday it was nasty and rainy and chilly. My sweet husband was so accommodating in taking me to a couple locations so I could snap some shots. This is one of the locations. I think this picture is so cool.

It's obviously at a graveyard AND it was Halloween, which made it more cool.

I hope you all have a great day! My best friend is coming to town today and I can't wait to see her! Yay!

New do!

2009-10-30T21:43:00.006-04:00

Okay, so it's actually about two weeks old. I was getting a little tired of my long curly hair. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the hair I've got. Thankful I've FINALLY figured out how to tame it after all these years. But, I needed to do something with these scraggly ends.

I totally trust my friend and what she does to my hair. I went in and told her I'd like to chop a lot of it off, and that I trusted her to do what she thought would look good on me.
After the first snip, I felt some weight drop. I got a LITTLE nervous, but there was no turning back.....it will grow back, right?! This is what I look like now.

I must say, I liked it at first. I liked it a lot, but what would Mike think about it? Oh no.....my heart was beating when I walked out of the salon. When he saw me, he said he liked it. Later that day, he said he liked it even more. The next day, he was hooked! He said he loved it! Every single time he saw me that first week, he'd say, "honey, I REEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLY love your hair! I think it looks great!" He STILL loves my new do, and I must admit, I do too!

**Sad news, though, I cannot fix it curly right now. I knew that was going to be part of the deal. Just for fun, I fixed it curly......JUST to see what it looked like. Yep. I was right. Freaking Carrot Top. NO THANKS. I'll flat iron it for a few more months, thank you.**

I'm hoping to post more often. Stay tuned.
My next post is going to hopefully be about my trip to Idaho! It was a BLAST! It was so much fun! And it was definitely a memorable trip! That post is LONG overdue, but I can't help but share it with you! :)

Surprise!

2009-09-03T20:30:00.011-04:00

Today on my way home from work I called Mike. He told me he had 2 surprises for me. One was my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were coming over. WITH dinner(which was great, by the way). :) The second one he said he couldn't tell me....I'd have to wait until I got home. I was begging him to tell me. The only thing he told me was that I got a package in the mail today. He wouldn't tell me who it was from, and every guess I took, he gave the same reply, "I'm not telling."

Doesn't everyone love surprises?! The suspense was ridiculous. I wasn't expecting a package from anyone......who could it be?

I got home, and there was the package sitting there with the mail from the day. It was a bubble-wrap envelope from..............my sweet sweet Grandma!!!! I could hardly wait to open it. I had no idea what she would send to me. I opened up the envelope and this is what I found.

A letter along with some booklets. What were the booklets? My Grandma went to the horse races in July and again last weekend. These are the booklets she got from the park. There are so many things about this that are cute. She circled the dates on the front. Circled the category of race that she was betting on.

The letter she sent was so sweet, and to anyone who knows ME, KNOWS that I read the greeting out loud, in HER voice. "Hiiiiiiiiii Mike and Jaaaaaanet." That is what made this so cute. As well as the fact that when I picked up the booklets, all of the tickets from the horses she bet on fell out. As I looked through the books, I saw she also circled more races she bet on.

One of my favorite parts of this, is how she ended the sweet letter. "See you in November. Love, Grandma. Say hello to everybody." She has a hard time writing because of arthritis, but it didn't stop her from sharing the excitement of the horse races!

This is my sweet Grandma. This picture was taken in April when she came down to visit for a week. We had a birthday party for her, for her 87th birthday! Doesn't she look FABULOUS?! She was so excited about having a birthday party, and later told me that this was only the 2nd birthday party she has ever had! Knowing THAT made it even more special!!! And made me even more thankful we planned this! I love this precious lady!!!!!!!
XOXOXOOOOO

Private eyes are watching you.

2009-08-27T21:00:00.003-04:00

Last week I met a lady who is a private investigator. She gave a business card to each of the girls I was with so we could check out her site if we ever needed a P.I. No big deal. Stuck it in my bag.

Well, Wednesday night Mike couldn't sleep. He got out of bed and decided he'd watch some tv. That's when he remembered the Powerball drawing was a few hours earlier. His curiosity got the best of him and went to look for the ticket in my purse (that was in my bag).

He came back to bed as I was rolling over to get comfortable. He laid down on the bed and he said, "I can't sleep. I was going to check the Powerball numbers but I didn't know exactly where the tickets were." I said, "they're in my wallet where they always are." He said, "well, I opened your bag and found.......a card.....for a private investigator......" I burst out in laughter!!!! I couldn't stop laughing!!!

He said, "well, I'm glad YOU think this is funny because I don't." Before I was able to get any words out, he said, "Did you hire a private investigator to watch me? Do you think I'm cheating? If you do, I want you to know that I have never been so in love with you as I am now. I am not cheating on you." I said, "oh boy!!! This scenario couldn't have played out any more perfectly than it just did!!! I told the girls it would be funny if this happend!" He said, "I don't know what is so funny."

Then I told him that we "met this lady who gave us each a business card, told us she was a P.I. and if we ever needed someone, to give her a call. I don't think you're cheating. End of story. As soon as I put that card in my bag, I told the girls it would be just my luck if Mike found this card AND it would be SOOOO HILARIOUS!" He still didn't find it as HILARIOUS as I did.

The next morning, as I was leaving for work, I walked in the dining room and saw that business card neatly placed on the edge of the table. I just busted out laughing. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week! It's almost Friday!!!!

The Search is Over.

2009-06-19T20:22:00.004-04:00

Hello blog world! I can't believe it has been so long since my last post.

Several of you have been asking about my camera search. Well, first, I am EXTREMELY happy to say that the Office Max customer service people are awesome. After I sent an email to them telling them my story, someone called me a couple of days later. They cancelled the giftcard and sent me a check for the entire balance!!!! I was overjoyed.

As far as the camera search goes....I have not made a purchase yet. I had my decision made, I wanted the Nikon D60....UNTIL I started talking to some photographers and doing research online. One of my friends told me about www.dpreview.com, which has been very helpful. It has TONS of information about practically ANY camera imaginable. My main goal is to find a camera that I am going to enjoy using for a very long time. I have come to a completely different decision in my search.

I want a Canon! I can't believe I'm saying that since my heart was set on Nikon. One of the main reasons I'm going with Canon is b/c of lens compatability. (Granted, I really know nothing about lenses yet, but I'm sure that will be my next area of interest/study.) Seems as if most, if not all, Canon lenses fit all the Canon bodies. NOT true with Nikon - there are only certain lenses available for specific bodies. I don't want go 5 years down the road only to find out all of the lenses for my camera body are discontinued. That won't happen with Canon.

This is a HUGE purchase for me, so I want to make sure, 100%, that I am making the right decision. After all of my research, I've decided that this is going to be mine.....

Ladies and gentlemen: meet the Canon Rebel T1i (picture courtesy of Canon, of course).

Once I decided on Canon, I was planning on going with the Rebel XSi, and I was confident in that. Until I heard about the T1i. The main difference between these two is the T1i records HD video. The last camera I had included video recording, and I used it often. I'm going to spend a little bit more to get HD video on my new camera since I'm going to have it for a LONG time.

......Now, will someone PLEASE put this camera on sale?......... :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!!!!!

The Happy AND the Sad.

2009-05-18T20:06:00.012-04:00

How has everyone been doing? I must say, I've missed being away, but haven't been motivated to blog. By the time I get home from work, I've been tired and not in the mood to share my feelings with the world. Until today.

Many of you know I enjoy taking pictures. I take my camera with me almost everywhere I go, hoping to get some great shots. I don't know that much about photography, settings, effects, etc, but I love taking pictures. Well, the camera that I've had for about 2 years messed up on me. I bought it at Office Max, and purchased the Max Assurance to go along with it. By purchasing the Max Assurance it guarantees that if/when your purchases tears up, you send it back and get the FULL purchase price PLUS sales tax on an O/M giftcard. So, I sent my old camera back. I've had my eye on this camera.

The Nikon D60. It is basically a dream. I was going to have to add some of my own money along with the giftcard to make the purchase. I didn't mind though b/c I've been wanting this for a while.

I decided that tonight was the night. I was going to purchase this D60. I go to www.officemax.com to make the purchase. When I added it to my cart, a pop up window asked for my zipcode. After I put that bad-boy in there, a window popped up that said the camera was DISCONTINUED in my area!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!!??!!!!!
I did a couple other things to make sure. Nope. Discontinued. Why would officemax.com keep this on the site??? So, I called the customer service # b/c, well, I want this camera. I talked to someone who was kind of giving me some hope, then she said "oh, this is an online only product, i can't help you." ARRRRRGH. Seriously??? I told her that this giftcard was useless now, and I had NO use for it.
As a customer service person would, she said, "now don't say that, they never expire, and you can use it on future purchases." This does NOT solve my problem. I am 1. Camera-LESS right now 2. not planning on making any large purchases from office max except for this camera. YADA YADA YADA YADA YADA....... I sent an email to online customer service, asking for some serious assistance.

I'm crushed. Yes, I can be a little over-exaggerative at times, but I am crushed. I felt like my dream was stomped on by the jolly green giant, but he wasn't jolly.

....On to the next story.
Yesterday I was doing laundry. A normal weekend project for everyone. Right before we started a movie, I threw a load of laundry in the dryer. About 30 minutes into the movie, Mike, the "sound police", said "what is that in the dryer?????!!!!" I said, "I don't know, probably your cargo shorts." Nothing else was said about it.

Tonight I turned the dryer back on tonight with those same clothes in it. Fluff them up, get the wrinkles out, and fold them. After the dryer stopped, I opened it up, and noticed a nice minty fragrance (and it wasn't the Downey Simple Pleasures Lavender and Vanilla). I wondered for a split second what the aroma was, then thought, "well, I HAVE been missing my Burt's Bees chapstick for about a week". And, THERE it was! Yep! This is what was left. ***This was taken with the camera on my phone...since I'm CAMERA-LESS right now***

Needless to say, after a heartbreaking moment, there was a hilarious one! I'm STILL wondering what my lesson is in all of this. Especially about my DREAM camera!!!!

Any thoughts? Anyone? I'm sure the reason will come to me soon, but I'm REALLY REALLY sad right now. REALLY.

Let the sun shine in.

2009-04-23T20:45:00.002-04:00

This weekend we're supposed to have INCREDIBLE weather! Tomorrow it's supposed to be 86! It's April and it's going to feel like summer, and I can't wait. I'm not sure what the weekend will bring, but I'm sure at least one day Mike and I will go out for a drive. I'll be taking my camera, of course. Seems I'm a little obsessed with taking pictures of trees lately. Not sure what all that is about, but yet I do. I'm hoping to do a blog about trees soon. It's going to be a great one.

Have a great weekend everyone!

busy, shmbusy.

2009-04-20T18:41:00.002-04:00

Okay, so that's NOT the best title. haha.
So, I've been getting messages to post more blogs. I must admit, it makes me smile. I'm glad there are people out there who enjoy reading what I've got to say.... Another big entry is in the works. I've been busy recently with different things, some of which I will talk about very soon.
Stay tuned.......
Wishing everyone a FANTASTIC week!
Janet! :)

I'm so excited.

2009-04-06T20:54:00.005-04:00

And I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control..............

So, there are SO MANY things I'm excited about! (To all of you who know everything about me, no, I'm not pregnant. YET. That I know of.)

There are tons of things going on in the next week or so that I am so excited about. I can't tell you what it is yet.

Ok, well, I can tell you ONE thing. Faith Promise Church! Easter Sunday! At the Coliseum! 10:30am! COME AS YOU ARE! NO dressing up required! Leave the easter suits and dresses at home, or at the stores on the racks, for that matter. UNLESS, of course, you'd just like to dress up, then that's fine too. Come as you are, dressed in denim, shorts, khakis, board shorts, flip flops, tanks, skirts, dressses, whatever. God doesn't care what you wear. It's not about the outside, it's AAAAAALLLLLLLLLL about the inside! It's going to be incredible! The first time in about 10 years (that's what I'm told) that the ENTIRE church will be together all at once! Doors open at 9:30am! Get ready to ROCK!!!!!!

I'll post more soon! You all have an incredible week!

AND, as this being the week leading up to Easter, watch the below video, crank up the speakers, and listen to the words to the song. THIS is what Easter is ALL about! (For those of you who watch the first 10 seconds and think it's going to be generic, forward to about 1:10 and start from there)

Survey says!

2009-03-16T19:44:00.002-04:00

Mike and I were at Target a few weekends ago breezing up and down the aisles. We heard 2 employees chatting it up. We had to stop and "shop" the dairy section just to eavesdrop on this hilarious conversation.

There were 2 guys talking. The older grey haired guy said to the younger guy, "hey, let me tell you one last story then I'll let you go." The younger guy hung around for a minute, but you could tell he was eager to get back to what he was doing.

Older guy: Let me tell you what I've been doing. You know those surveys you get in the mail that companies want you to fill out?
Younger guy: Yeah.
Older guy (in a sneaky, whisper-ish, secretive way): Well, where it asks how much money you make, I always check $250,000.00 or more.
Younger guy (amused): Really???
Older guy: Yeah, man. I also check off that I drive a Mercedes. I also check that I use ALL top of the line products.
Younger guy: Are you serious? What's the point of doing that?
Older guy (in a serious and excited tone): Man! The junk mail you get is SO MUCH BETTER!!!! I got junk mail a couple days ago with a 10.00 gift card for Ruby Tuesday!
Younger guy: But you're not telling the truth.
Older guy: Hey, they don't ask if you're telling the truth on those things. It's helping ME out.

Mike and I thought it was hilarious. It made us laugh, and the expression on their faces were unforgettable.

Don't judge a book...

2009-02-18T19:47:00.002-05:00

A couple days ago Mike and I were at, you guessed it, Target. We walked in behind an older gentleman. From looking at him I made a quick decision about him - he was a cranky old man who seemed to be beaten down by the world.

We did our shopping and got in line. Guess who was in front of us? The old man. In front of him was a dad and his two young daughters. The girls were around 7-9 years old. The oldest one bought something first and paid with her own money. The old man was standing there watching them and smiling. The youngest girl was SO excited about her purchase, anyone could see it in her eyes and by the smile on her face. She took her crumpled $11.00 out of her little purse and set it on the counter before she even saw her total...smiling the whole time. The cashier said "that will be $12.01." You could see slight panic on the little girl's face. She was $1.01 short.

The youngest girl was trying to get her dad's attention, "dad, dad....". He was busy talking to the older girl and didn't realize what was going on. The old man already had his wallet in hand, ready to pay for his purchase. He saw the frightened little girl trying to get her dad's attention to get a dollar from him. The old man dug deep into his pockets and pulled out a penny and gave it to the little girl. Then he opened up his wallet to pull out a dollar to give to her. The dad finally realized what was going on. He told the old man "thank you," (for the gesture) but pulled a dollar out of his wallet and gave it to his daughter.

The old man couldn't stop smiling. He said something like, "Oh, I thought I'd do a good deed today. You know, some people still do things like that." Then he went on to tell the dad, "I have a granddaughter who is 4 and I spoil her as much as I can, and I just thought, 'it's only a dollar'." Once again, the dad thanked the old man, and they went on their way. The old man was still smiling.

Mike turned to me with a smile on his face and whispered, "awwww, did you just see that?" I saw it all too well. I was smiling as I nodded my head, but was holding back tears. It was so sweet. So genuine. So nice. So heart-warming. So unheard of these days. It made me wish that times were simple again. It made me wish that MORE people were STILL like that.

I also must say I was also quickly put in my place about the opinion I formed about him. We all make mistakes, right? :)

I hope you all are having a FANTASTIC week!
JANET! :)

Happy Valentine's Day.

2009-02-14T14:44:00.002-05:00

Just a little note to all of my blog friends....wishing you all a nice Valentine's Day. I do think it's overrated. When people ask me what our Valentine's plans are, my reply is a cheesy, BUT true, statement: Valentine's day is just like any other day to us. Mike and I celebrate our love every day of the year.

It's true, though. We both agree we have something very special. Mike and I were friends for about a year before we started dating. We were best friends. We only dated 2 months before we got engaged, and then married 6 months later. We've been married for almost 15 years!

Every day is not picture perfect, but it's perfect because that's the way life is supposed to be. And, I spend each day with the person I enjoy being around THE MOST. Not only do we still love each other, but we still LIKE each other.

I'll hopefully be posting a new blog this weekend.......
XOXOOO
JANET! :)

What talent?

2009-01-17T23:49:00.002-05:00

The picture below says so much. It actually says SO MUCH, that I don't even feel like I need to write anything else after you see the picture (although I probably will). :) See for yourself.

This is another FAVORITE I purchased from Bradley's . I couldn't resist. THE SECOND I laid my eyes on it, I KNEW it was going to be mine on that visit! It could not have spoken to me more powerfully than it did that day. When I read it, I had to hold back the tears because I knew I was guilty of not using everything that has been given to me.

It made me question myself and I hope it makes you do the same. Are you USING EVERY talent you have been given? If not, why aren't you? You were given those talents for a reason. Are you one of those people who THINK they have NO talents? I USED to be one of those people until recently. I used to think I wasn't given an ounce of talent (well, besides making people laugh). I'm gradually discovering what my talents are and I hope you will begin the journey doing the same thing.

When all is said and done, I don't want to be one of the people saying "what talents?!" I want to use every talent I've been given. What about you?

Hope you all are having a great weekend!
JANET! :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-01-10T16:00:00.005-05:00

There are so many things I'd like to discuss today. I'm sure I won't have time to discuss everything. I am STILL planning on blogging about the New Year and my goals and everything. But, it seems like there are so many more things I need to talk about right now.

I was going to write about the MANY friends I have that are still employed by my former company, Goody's. How it stinks, really bad, to see what the company has turned into. It was once a GREAT place to work, but after the owners sold, it gradually went downhill. Well, I can't even say it gradually went downhill because it took a huge nosedive, actually. I have been thinking about what each and everyone of them are going through. I was in that same position 6 months ago. They will be fine. They will survive. They will get through this. They will all be better off in the long run.

As I've been thinking about the situation and praying for all of them for quite some time, guess what? Mike was laid off this week! Yep, from another company in town. Rumors had been circulating for a while, but there weren't exact details of when layoffs would happen. The layoffs started this week. It's crazy. Mike and I have both been praying about it...realizing that he could be one of them that were cut.

He called me at work Wednesday afternoon. When I picked up he said, "are you ready?" I was said, "ready for what?" (I was absolutely clueless) He said, "I just got laid off." "Oh, okay" was kind of my reaction. We both have a strange peace about the situation. It's not the end of the world. Yes, unemployment doesn't offer the greatest pay or benefits, but at least it's SOMETHING, right?! We made it through my unemployment for a little over 3 months this summer, we can make it through this.

I was going through old emails earlier and came across one that I sent my very good friend, Mishael, during the time that I was unemployed. I wrote the following words: "so, we're really not stressing. it's such a weird, unexplainable feeling. we both feel a peace about EVERYTHING. not to sound too crazy, but you hear the saying that god has you in the palm of his hand. that is how i LITERALLY feel. i've never felt anything like it before, but the other day i was sitting, thinking about what is going on in our lives, how we SHOULD be freaked out, and SHOULD be nervous, and SHOULD be stressing b/c as we look at it, the future is uncertain. BUT, as i was getting ready to sit down the other day, i just literally felt like i was sitting down in the palm of god's hand, legs hanging over the edge of his fingers...he's holding us up, protecting us from all of the elements.......like a bird protects her babies, spreading her wings out over them, not letting any harm come to them. it's a sweet, precious thing that i can say i have never ever ever ever felt before. it's pretty amazing!"

Like I said, we've both been praying and seeking God more than we ever have in our lives. It's a nice, peaceful feeling KNOWING that He is watching over us and is in control of our situation. If he watches over the little birds making sure they have food and shelter, how much more will he watch over us???

P.S. This is a picture I took while I was laid off and looking out my back window one morning.

Maybe I'll try to write more later.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
JANET! :)

Lunchity!

2009-01-03T22:49:00.005-05:00

Today Mike and I had lunch with two of my great friends! It was totally spur of the moment, and it worked out that everyone was able to meet up at last minute. They told me to ask Mike to come along also. He wasn't going to go at first b/c he didn't want to be the only guy. But, they wanted me to assure him that he was MORE than welcome to join us. We're glad he did b/c he was able to take our picture. hahahaaaaa. Of course that isn't the ONLY reason we're glad he joined us....he's their friend, and MY ALL TIME best friend. :)

We had so much fun - catching up, good food, hilarious stories, lots of laughs, great conversation, and the list goes on. It was fun catching up after the holidays and before we all have to go back to work next week. We had a GREAT time! You girls are the best! xoxoxoxooooo

Oh, and I TOTALLY stole the title of this blog from the bestie in the middle. haha.

Happy New Year!!!!
JANET!

Counting Sheep.

2009-01-02T01:14:00.002-05:00

That's what I'm going to be doing in about 10 minutes. Okay, so, I might only be able to count about 30-ish sheep b/c i'm exhausted. Exhausted from doing absolutely NOTHING today! I was planning on blogging about the New Year, but I'll be hopefully doing that tomorrow (or later on today.....like, 12-15 hours later today). :)
Chat with you soon!
JANET!

(I hope you all had) A Holly Jolly Christmas!

2008-12-26T15:08:00.034-05:00

This is late, I know. I've been pretty busy lately, and have had no time to post. And, to be perfectly honest, I haven't had much to say. I do have lots of pictures to share, though.

I know I posted a blog once about our Christmas tree, but I can't help it. Mike and I BOTH love this tree! It's perfect! It has the perfect shape. It has filled our home with its WONDERFUL fragrance. It has the best ornaments. It also has great lights. The best part about it is that we picked it out ourselves, cut it down, and brought it home. Our favorite tree ever.

I absolutely LOVE these ornaments that we have all around the top of the tree. I found these at Bradley's. They are classic, simple, sparkly, and the sentiments on them are perfect! Not to mention, Joy and the whole staff at Bradley's are SUPER great and just genuinely fabulous people! :)

These are just a couple of favorite pictures that I took. (The ONLY way to take a BAD picture with a digital camera is to not take enough pictures! I'm not wasting film or money, so I have learned to snap, snap, snap.....I'm bound to get a few great shots!

These two are pics of ornaments my mom got us for Christmas a couple of years ago. She picked them up when her and my dad visited Biltmore in NC. I thought they were cute!

Here is a picture of Blossom sitting in front of the tree. I tried and tried and tried to get one of Biscuit in front of the tree, JUST to post on here, but it just didn't happen. Biscuit does love wrapping paper, so I snapped this one while I was wrapping a few gifts.

It doesn't stop there. I want to share some pics of festivities leading up to Christmas.
The weekend before Christmas, I made some cracker candy. This stuff is DE-LISH! If you love sweet and salty together, THIS is the candy for you! If you're interested, email me and I'll send the recipe! It's SUPER simple to make too! ALSO in one of the pictures below is a sampling of the Christmas cards I made this year. To those of you who received one, I hope the rhinestones weren't peeking out of the envelope like they were on my sisters. OOPSIE.

The Monday before Christmas, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was in town! If you have NEVER seen them, I HIGHLY recommend purchasing tickets for next year! This was the first time we have ever seen them. The musicians were the best we have EVER seen! Literally! The light show was out of this world! The music (which I guess could be considered part of the musician comment) was extraordinary! The show was phenomenal!!!! WELL worth the money! Heck, it was worth FAR MORE than the ticket price, that is for sure!

There was also an added bonus for this show! My friend Ronnie (okay, now that we're grown-up's he prefers being called Ron), that I have known since I was 5 years old was on this tour. He's a drum tech and was honored to be chosen to go on tour with this fabulous group of musicians! Sooooo, added bonus, I got to meet up with him before the show for a little bit. It was so great to see him! It was fun catching up, and it was even better seeing what a great job he does for TSO! Here's a picture of us.

After the show, I snapped this of downtown.

Wednesday was here before I knew it. I had TONS of work to do. And the ONLY picture I took of anything in the kitchen were the lemon drops I made. Before icing. After icing. They were SO YUMMY! Thanks to JoAnne and Mary for letting me borrow their mini-muffin pans!!!!

I was so tired by the time dinner was finished, that I completely forgot to take pictures of the final dinner results! :( I did, however, take a picture of the dining room, ready for the guests to arrive. **Note - It was SOOOO warm out Wednesday, that we opened up all the windows. :)

After dinner, we opened up all the presents that were under the tree (there were more under there once the family arrived, but this is the only picture I took of the tree on Christmas Eve night). The only present that would have made this night TRUELY complete was if my mom was able to come! She has not been feeling well lately, and it was pretty sad not having her with us on Christmas Eve. We were able to spend Christmas Day with her, at my parents house, which was REALLY special and nice!
It was a GREAT evening spent with family, reflecting on great times throughout the year and years past, and remembering THE reason for Christmas, Jesus!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!!!
XOXOXOOO
JANET!

Another oopsie! I just realized I didn't post any pics of Mike on here! :( Maybe I'll do that later. Sorry, honey.

Headache!

2008-12-17T20:27:00.001-05:00

Well, I was going to post something tonight, but I have a major headache! :( I will try tomorrow.....Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season.

Christmas Cards.

2008-12-14T21:28:00.001-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in over a week. We've been super busy. I am THISCLOSE to getting our Christmas cards finished. That has been consuming most of my time. I really don't mind, though. I'm having fun putting them together. We should FINALLY get them in the mail this week. Yaay!

KA-Ching$$$

2008-12-05T20:00:00.004-05:00

...one hundred one...one hundred two...one hundred three! yes, you read it correctly. one hundred three. dollars, that is.

we went to our friday afternoon spot to pick up lotto plus tickets. i usually take in my old slips from the previous week and have the nice people check to see if i won anything. it's usually "not a winner", or 3 whopping dollars. TODAY, the machine went "woo-hoo! woo-hoo! woo-hoo!" i thought it was strange, but didn't really think much about it. the lady was looking at me with huge eyes and said "do you know what that means???" i didn't. i said, "no." she said, "look at how much you won". something was rolling quickly on the digital display, but i was so confused and caught off guard, that i didn't see what i was supposed to. she said, "you just won $103.00!!!!"

so, YAAAAAAY!!!!!!! i won 103.00! i couldn't believe it. it couldn't have come at a better time. who DOESN'T need money at christmas, right?! i'm still trying to decide what to do with it. there are numerous things i'd like to do with it. actually, if it was the jackpot, i'd REALLY be able to do the things i'd like to do....and i (well, we=mike+i) would NOT keep it all for myself. there would be LOTS of people in need getting nice blessings!!! and lots of my closest friends (and family, of course) being blessed in huge ways, too! if WE win, our BESTIES win. :)

i just had to post the below picture. just because it's so dorky. it's just so dramatic. it's just SO.....me. cheesy. silly. fun. hilarious. look at the crazy look in my eyes. it cracks me up. and, people were telling me how great my hair looked today. haha. (nothing like a great hair day, right?! i fixed it straight today, something that takes a little more effort than just letting it be natually curly...) to my friends who know the story....i'm sure the below look on my face ALSO said "HIIIIII, BOB!", a couple days ago. hahahahaaaaaaaaa.

also, i must say that i met one of my VERY best friends for lunch today. it was SOOOOOO SOOOOOOO GREAT to see her!!!!! she looks great and it has been far too long since we've seen each other! she just got engaged too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm SO flippin' excited and happy for her. probably more happy and excited than she is. i just get so excited for my close friends like that. her ring is gorgeous! absolutely gorgeous. we shared a couple of happy tears together when she told me how her VERY special guy proposed. love those two! we had a nice time catching up. at the end of the hour, it felt like we had only spent 10 minutes together. it went by entirely too fast. we need to do that more often.

that's it for now. i'll try to write more tomorrow.
love ya!
JANET! :)

WHO am I????

2008-12-04T20:22:00.006-05:00

This is going to be a pretty simple blog. Simple, yet complex. I'm sure I'll get a little emotional while writing it. Mike is sitting next to me on the couch right now. ...I'm sure in a few minutes he'll hear me sniffling and ask me if I'm okay. And, to that I'll reply by nodding my head yes, and wipe some tears away. I'm a serious jokester, which is the side of me that most people see. But I have a 'deep' side to me, which is part of the reason I started this blog. So people can get to know the real me, and be inspired. :)

I just want to talk about one of my recent favorite songs. Music is a huge part of my life. Pretty much always has been. I love it. It speaks to me like nothing else can. It's one of the most amazing things in life. This song has been around for a few years. Every time I hear it, I find myself getting teary eyed and introspective. The words are CRAZY PERSONAL and just make me think of so many things. I'm typing it in kind of a different way below.....a way that will make you think about it, rather than just read a poem or lyrics.

Who am I, that the Lord of ALL THE EARTH would CARE to know MY name, would CARE to feel MY hurt?
Who am I that THE bright and morning star WOULD CHOOSE to light the way, for MY EVER WANDERING HEART?

NOT because of WHO I am, but BECAUSE of what YOU'VE DONE.
NOT because of WHAT I've done, but BECAUSE of who YOU ARE.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind.
STILL YOU hear me when I'm calling, Lord, you catch me when I'm falling, and you've told me who I am: I am YOURS, I am YOURS.

Who am I that the EYES that see my sin WOULD look on me WITH LOVE AND WATCH me rise AGAIN?
Who am I that THE VOICE THAT CALMED THE SEA, would call out through the rain, and calm the storm in ME?

NOT because of WHO I am, but BECAUSE of what YOU'VE DONE.
NOT because of WHAT I've done, but BECAUSE of who YOU ARE.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind.
STILL YOU hear me when I'm calling, Lord, you catch me when I'm falling, and you've told me who I am: I am YOURS, I am YOURS.

NOT because of WHO I am, but BECAUSE of what YOU'VE DONE.
NOT because of WHAT I've done, but BECAUSE of who YOU ARE.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind.
STILL YOU hear me when I'm calling, Lord, you catch me when I'm falling, and you've told me who I am: I am YOURS, I am YOURS.

I am yours.

WHOM shall I fear? WHOM shall I fear? 'Cause I am yours.
I AM YOURS.

Do you understand what this means? Every. Time. I hear this song, it amazes me. It doesn't matter what I have done. It doesn't matter where I've been. It doesn't matter what has happened in my life....
The CREATOR of ALL THE EARTH: cares to know my name. cares to feel my hurt. he still CHOOSES to shine (yes, he chooses to do it!) the way for my EVER WANDERING heart. No matter how far away I wander, he ALWAYS welcomes me back, with arms open wider than the east is from the west, with the hugest bear-hug ever, NO MATTER how far away I wander!!!! it doesn't matter. he sees me every second. he sees me mess up. he sees me do right. he sees me do wrong. he still looks on me with complete LOVE in his heart, no matter what i've done. he's there to watch me rise up and get on my feet again. he's the one who calmed the raging seas, literally. THAT VERY VOICE who calmed the raging seas thousands of years ago, is the VERY ONE who calls out to me THROUGH the rain and storms in my life and WANTS to calm them, right now, in 2008.

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind. STILL YOU hear me when I'm calling, Lord, you catch me when I'm falling, and YOU'VE TOLD ME WHO I AM: I am YOURS, I am YOURS.

I'm the apple of his eye, and I think that's pretty special!!!!

I'm sure I did absolutely NO justice explaining what the song says to me. There are so many things I feel when I listen to the song, and just can't explain them on paper. Strange, yet cool, huh?! Well, If I think of more that I want to add to this, I will definitely update it. :)

I hope everyone is getting ready for a ROCKIN' weekend!
JANET!

I didn't say never

2008-12-01T20:07:00.020-05:00

This is an update on my AWESOME Thanksgiving weekend. Mike and I had a great time! And, you're getting ready to read about all the fun we had. If you don't like to have fun, you may want to skip reading this entry...because, we-had-fun!

On BLACK Friday we were planning on getting an earlier start to the day, but we ended up sleeping in longer than we anticipated. No problem, though, we had no appointments, we were just taking the day as it came. Our first stop of the day was to get gas. It was nice to see the prices this low, and EVEN more nice to fill our vehicle up for under $30.00!!!!!

Our next stop, which I was dreading, was....

Let me add that I was only dreading going here b/c of the crowds. I was pleasantly surprised, though. The crowds must have been there when they first opened b/c it was not that busy. I did say I was not going shopping on Black Friday, but I didn't say I would would never go. haha. I wasn't planning on it, I promise, but we forgot to get a tree stand Wednesday night when we went running around. We HAD to get one since were were getting a real tree this year. (And we snagged some great deals on some movies while we were here too!)

After Target, we stopped and grabbed a bite to eat. We were planning on going to Cracker Barrel, but we didn't really feel like going once we woke up. I should add that by the time we actually were going to eat breakfast, it was almost lunch......AND, the nice people here cooked some fresh chicken tenders for me, since they weren't serving them yet. Our brunch was great.

The place we were most excited about was the next stop. Something we've never done before. A tradition we wanted to start.

We had so much fun here, walking through the farm looking for OUR PERFECT tree! We got to pick WHATEVER tree we wanted. We also got to cut it down ourselves, too! (how cool is that?!!) These are just a couple of the pictures we took. The pictures show only a small portion of the tree farm. The owners were super nice and we were sad to find out that this is the last year for the tree farm! The city bought the land and the owners are singing "sweet retirement". We will be finding another tree farm, unfortunately.

They had apple cider, hot chocolate and some sweets to finish the experience. Needless to say, based on the temperature Friday, we didn't need anything warm to drink.....

Next stop, back home to set up the tree.

We quickly realized that if we were going to decorate, we needed a few more things. We found most of them at Target (again), but had to add another stop to our list for the day.

While we were out having a great time, we had to add just ONE more stop to the day. Nothing like some sweet tea with lemon, yummy chilli nachos (no black olives), and a french dip.

I must admit, when we got home from all of the running around, we were exhausted! We just relaxed for the rest of the evening. We were going to put the decorations and lights on the tree Saturday night, but we didn't feel like it. We DID end up decorating the tree Sunday evening, the perfect night for staying in. It was pouring rain, we saw a few flashes of lighting and even heard a couple rumbles of thunder, but we were warm and cozy inside.

With the WONDERFUL aroma of the Christmas tree, we put on some of our Christmas cd's and decorated the tree. In between hanging some decorations, a little slow dance was snuck in there. So sweet and romantic, isn't it?! Speaking of slow dances, FIFTEEN years ago, we had just finished decorating the tree at Mike's apartment, and while we were slow dancing, he got down on one knee and proposed to me!!!! We've been married for fourteen years, already! Not only do we STILL love each other, but we still LIKE each other and enjoy each others company!

Anyway, this is the finished product.

I'm going to be posting MORE Christmas tree pics later, but for now, this is it. I'm going to be doing a special blog about our tree. I know it sounds silly, but, trust me, it's going to be a good one! ;)

tomorrow, tomorrow.

2008-11-30T20:10:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be posting a huge blog tomorrow!!! It's going to be huge b/c of all the pics I'm going to add. It's about this weekend. It's gonna be all of the following things....Festive. Warm. Yummy. Fun. Christmas-y. Probably enlightening and who knows what else. Check back late tomorrow night or Tuesday. I'm picking out pictures right now.

Oh!!! I came up with a design for my Christmas cards yesterday! They are TOTAL CUTE-NESS! As busy as this weekend was, I am almost done with them, believe it or not. I'm making about 50, so if you're one of my peeps in the address book, you will probably be receiving one! I don't want to give anything away. I'll post pics once I actually send out the Christmas cheer...DON'T want to ruin the surprise for anyone. :)

Okay, I'm going to finish watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Which means one thing - I'm going to have a "great cry" before the night is over.

Oops, one more thing. I'm trying to figure out how to add a subscription section to this blog. I'm sure it's pretty easy, but haven't taken time out to figure it out yet.

Have a great week!
JANET!

Happy Thanksgiving and all of that fun stuff.

2008-11-27T19:20:00.004-05:00

I'm trusting everyone had a nice Thanksgiving today.

Our Thanksgiving was nice. We went to Jennifer's (one of my sisters) house this year. We had the traditional Turkey dinner with all of the "fixin's". EVERYTHING was yummy! I attempted the Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole, which actually ended up being VERY tasty. I was going to make 2 homemade apple pies, but to my dismay, ALL of the green apples were bruised and nasty looking yesterday. Yes, I did, however, wait until the last minute to pick up all of the supplies, so it was my fault. In a (shhhhh.) secretive kind of way, I'm glad I couldn't find any good green apples....I didn't want to make the apple pies, anyway. I'll make them for Christmas. ;)

When we got to my sister's, I saw that my mom wasn't there. Dad said she wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home. It was sad. He said she got ready and everything, but before they were getting ready to leave, she wasn't feeling good. It was pretty weird not having her there. She's not in the greatest health and I understand why she wasn't there, but it's ALWAYS nice to have the WHOLE family together.

How many of you are going out shopping tomorrow on Black Friday?? I will let everyone know that I will NOT be one of the people you will see tomorrow. I think people that DO go shopping on BF are crazy! This is actually the first time in SEVENTEEN years that I have NOT had to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving (thanks to retail). I finally have the opportunity to go shopping tomorrow, but NO THANKS. I would rather pay 20.00-30.00 more for an item than being stuck in the middle of congested shopping areas, being pushed around, feeling claustrophobic, and vying for parking places.

Also, I need to confess something. The company that I used to work for was open today. On Thanksgiving. Mike and I ran out to see if we could find a tree stand from, of all places, Walmart (a place I do NOT enjoy going to). On our way there, we passed by a retail store for my "previous company". There were MAYBE ten cars in the parking lot. Can I tell you how HAPPY I was to see SO FEW cars in their parking lot?!!??? That sounds awful, doesn't it?? I still have friends who work for the company and I should want the company to succeed, but I don't. I'm so thankful I was laid off from that insane place. They are so greedy. They think being open on Thanksgiving will give them an upper hand in sales.....I think their #'s from today will prove themselves WRONG. ;)

Now, onto what I was ORIGINALLY going to talk about. Our Christmas cards for this year. I was planning on trying to work on those tonight. I still MIGHT, I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm just having a really hard time trying to think of a design. The only thing I am 100% sure of is the color scheme I'm using this year. I'm really excited about the colors, but I seem to be having "designers block" right now. Boo hoo.

I made the COOLEST cards a couple of years ago. Below are a couple of pictures.

One of the reasons I loved these cards so much was: they were original. My own idea. My own design. My own color scheme. My own everything. How many BLACK Christmas cards do you get in the mail??? That was one reason I loved these. We were hoping to be pregnant by the time these were sent out, also, which was going to be another reason I loved these. (We're still not pregnant, but I KNOW we will be, soon.) My Grandma actually called me after she got this card in the mail and was beside herself because she "just knew" what it meant....it was not fun telling her otherwise. :( Anyway, these cards were made soon after I realized that I had talent for making cards and BEFORE I ever heard of adhesive for vellum (hence the black strip above the verse on the inside of the card). I SHOULD have used ribbon to attach the vellum. Oh well, that's in the past, right?

I hope everyone had a nice day today, and I hope everyone has a festive and blessed Christmas season.

Celebrate good times!

2008-11-24T19:34:00.007-05:00

Over the weekend we went out to dinner with our best friends, Dave and Cristina. We always have tons of fun together. Dave is ABSOLUTELY hilarious! Cristina is such a genuinely nice person that anyone would enjoy being around her. Mike met both of them at work, and I'm thankful that we've all become the best of friends. Here's a picture of the four of us on vacation this summer. We had a BLAST!

So, this weekend we all went out for dinner at our ALL TIME FAVORITE mexican restaurant, El Mezcal. It was DE-lish, as always!! Afterward, we took a trip to Target, ALWAYS a "fan-fave"! Cristina found out recently that she is pregnant. With twins. Make that, twin BOYS. How exciting is that?!?? Well, Cristina and I were roaming around the baby section at Target and as we rounded the corner, we ran into a rather HILARIOUS situation!

(I am NOT kidding, this REALLY happened! And, the guys were REALLY serious!)

Cristina and I rounded the corner and in the aisle we heard the following conversation between Dave and Mike (holding some type of brush for cleaning...we were unaware of what it was until the following conversation took place).
Mike and Dave: Nipple brush?! What in the heck is this???
Mike: What?!!?? I didn't know you had to clean the baby's nipples. I've NEVER heard of that!
Dave: No, Mike!! It's not for the baby's nipples, it's for the mom's nipples after she's done breastfeeding!!!
They BOTH saw the wire-ish brush on the end and both said "Damn! That's GOT TO hurt!!!"

So, this is a re-creation of what we saw when we rounded the corner. It was a nipple brush, something that is used for cleaning baby bottles. There is a suction cup at one end, to stand the brush up on a countertop. Dave was trying to figure out what to do with it.
Cristina and I were laughing our butts off! Cristina's first words were "boy, do you BOTH have a lot to learn about having babies!!!" This was DEFINITELY a story that HAD to be re-told. It was truly a one of a kind moment with our best friends! Good times.
Hope you all find this as funny as we all did!
JANET!

Polk Salad Annie.

2008-11-19T20:35:00.009-05:00

I was looking through an ad this week for a major retail store. To my surprise, they were advertising a brand. spanking. new. ELVIS cd! A Christmas DUETS cd! A duets cd?? Yes. There are various country singers who went into the studio and laid some tracks down. Then, the producers added the voices to some favorite Christmas classics from Elvis.

How cool is this, you ask? Cooler than cool. How awesome is this? Awesomer than awesome. How festive is this? Festiver than festive.

It is.....all of the above for one very simple reason. Elvis was a HUGE part of growing up. My parents adored Elvis. They had all of his records. They watched concerts of him on TV anytime one came on. AND, MYYYY DAAAADDDDD used to impersonate Elvis!!!! Ha-ha! No joke. Don't believe me? I've got some pictures to prove it.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis.

How cool is it that my mom was practically an EXPERT at making things?!?? She could put anything together! SHE is the one who designed and made the jumpsuits for my dad!! I'm sure my dad had SOME kind of say in the matter, but whether my mom took his "loving" advice was probably another story. Haha! Check out the cape on this one!!! I am going to try to find pictures of the back of this cape! It was adorned with a sequined eagle (maybe similar to the one above our fireplace, haha) I remeber the cape was removeable, so during a 'concert', he could take it off.

I have NO idea whose house this picture was taken at, below. Maybe a neighbor's house or something. I have no idea. What I DO know, however, is how much Elvis was part of OUR household. I remember being sent off with my sisters and brother to Grandma's house a couple of times because mom and dad were going to: 1. have a party or 2. go to a party. They weren't just any kind of party, though. Elvis was going to be there, as well as some cold beverages.

The picture below was probably taken during the opening song, See See Rider. I say that because I see Elvis, uh, I mean, my dad, STILL has the scarf wrapped around his neck. A couple of songs into a show, he'd dab his sweat and throw it out to one of the lucky ladies in the audience. My mom would lovingly bring him a couple more, a little later, for more lucky ladies.

I'd have to go back and look, but I think most of these were taken in 1978-1979. I was 7 or 8 years old. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I have TONS of great memories of being a kid, and wouldn't change my life for anything! Not everyone can say their dad used to impersonate Elvis, right?!

Oh, the concerts only lasted a few years. Here's my dad now. I love him to pieces! Basically, the coolest, FUNNIEST, most easy going, comical, loving, caring, tender hearted, most fun person to be around! EVER. If you're ever having a bad day, give my dad a call, he'll be sure to turn that frown upside down! To sum it all up, he's the GREATEST guy I've ever known. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week!
Chat soon!
JANET!

Sorry I've been slacking.

2008-11-18T20:55:00.002-05:00

I've been kind of busy, so I haven't had a chance to blog in a couple days. I am planning on posting more tomorrow evening. As of this moment, it will probably be a hilarious blog. Then again, once tomorrow gets here and the mood strikes, it could be serious. ?!?! I hope everyone is having a grand week!!!!

Special. So special.

2008-11-15T00:26:00.005-05:00

Right after school started this year, one of my favorite little buddies was sad everyday they went to school. Being the mother hen-ish type, I did NOT like hearing about this. I don't like seeing anyone sad, especially my closest buddies!! So, one weekend, I had them go shopping with me to pick up supplies to make a very special bracelet.

This bracelet was going to help them to not be so sad. Whenever they saw it on their arm, they were going to think about all of their closest family members, and the fun and happy times they have together.

We spent extra time on it and made sure it was arranged perfectly. Perfectly! After we finished it, there were smiles ALL over the place! And, I mean all over the place. They wore that bracelet EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And, it got rid of all the yucky sadness that comes along with missing someone.

Well, Friday afternoon I answered the phone and heard my little buddy say, "Janet?" Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle, cry. I said, "what's wrong?" They said (through the sniffles and tears), "um, I was playing with one of my friends and they pulled on my bracelet and it broke." I said, "don't you worry about that, it's okay!" They said, through the tears, "no, it's not okay. It's broken. I don't have all the pieces. I can't get it back. It was just so special!!!!" So, I said, "we can make another one, don't you be upset about it. It was an accident and I'm sure your friend didn't mean for it to happen. What do you say we just make another one? A BETTER one?!" I heard that smile coming back on my little buddy's face and said, "Ooooookkkaaaaaaaay, but it will have to be EXACTLY like the other one, so I will forget about the other one getting broken."

To be honest, I didn't think much about this call at all. Until a little while ago. I was thinking about the little words of a child. They just struck me as being SO entirely powerful. Coming straight from the heart. "No, it's not okay. It's broken. I don't have all the pieces. I can't get it back. It was just so special." How many times, as adults, do we let simple, innocent moments fly right past us and not think twice? How many times do we think that when something is broken, it cannot be fixed and we cannot get it back? Are you "okay" with the broken things in your life? Do you feel hopeless? Why not gather up the millions of broken pieces that you can find and give it to the one who can fix it? The creator of the universe, the creator of everything, the creator of YOU. Try it. Just once, you might be surprised.

Do you know what the cool lesson is I've learned from this? Even a child recognizes the importance and value of the simple things. It was NOT the BRACELET that mattered, but it was the PURPOSE of the bracelet. Think about it.........

Fun project!

2008-11-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know me. I make cards, invitations, and other fun stuff on the side. I had so much fun working on this project.

I was hired to make the baby shower invitations for a very good friend of mine's baby shower. I loved the black and white theme with the accents of tiffany blue and hot pink. My friend has funky-fresh style and these fit her personality as well as the baby's room, PERFECTLY!

I saw a site online where I got the idea for the little gift bag, below. It was super easy to make, and when I find the site again, I'll post the link for you (if any of you would like to make one for yourself). So, I cannot take credit for the design, but I did add my own little flair to it, which turned out super cute.

I made thank you cards for her to send out to all of the guests after the baby shower. They, of course, matched the invitations. I thought they were super cute. These are the cards that went into the cute gift bag pictured above.

Part of her gift was one of my favorite things to make - a blessing box. You can see a little bit of it in the picture below.

This is the hat box of fun things that was my gift to her. It ended up all fitting together nicely.

And, last but not least, this is the card I made to go along with the whole ensemble.

So, that's my fun post for the day. Like I said, I had tons of fun with this one. And, it was for one of my favorite people, Ashley! And, I cannot wait to meet Layla!

Something.

2008-11-12T21:50:00.002-05:00

I'm working on a post. I will most def post it tomorrow. It's taking a little longer than expected. My awesome husband got home from guitar lessons and he filled me in on how great his lesson was.
And, I've also been pretty distracted with watching the CMA's!!!! Isn't Carrie Underwood so gorgeous?! Brad Paisley is so funny. Taylor Swift is a cutie! Jason Aldean rocked. George Strait is soooooo handsome and has the cutest smile. Kelli Pickler is growing on me. I'm lovin' Lady Antebellum!!!! Keith Urban (that's all I need to say about him). I want to stay up to see Kenny Chesney perform, but I'm tired and I have to get up early. Plus, I'm sure they will replay this a million times (or two) on CMT and GAC. Ah, Keith Urban, again.
Talk to you tomorrow.
JANET!

Coordinator is spelled with a C, not a Qu! haha.

2008-11-11T20:43:00.003-05:00

Well, I said I was going to try to blog everyday. Unfortunately (for you guys, haha), I am so darn exhausted. I just cannot even think right now. I had several enlightening moments today that I was planning on writing about tonight, but I am waaaaay too tired.
I guess I'm exhausted b/c I didn't sleep well last night. Not to mention, I started my workouts again this week. I've been getting up one hour earlier than normal. So, yes, I'm tired.
I'm planning on writing tomorrow about something that I've been thinking about for a long time. But, you know, when tomorrow gets here, I could possibly change my mind. What do you expect though?! That's just part of me and my randomness.
Chat with you tomorrow!
JANET!
Oh, see, I'm already possibly changing my mind about what I'm going to blog about tomorrow. I COULD possibly be changing my mind and be blogging about the fabulous new Taylor Swift cd! And, heck, next week, I could very well be blogging about the LONG awaited David Cook cd!!!! But, I WILL try to guarantee one thing: to post a few pictures tomorrow night. Well, it depends what my blog is about...... ;)

Don't know what you got til it's gone...

2008-11-10T20:09:00.002-05:00

Yes, the title is the name of a song from the 80's. A song by Cinderella, if you're wondering. I heard this song earlier today and it had me thinking about one of my all time besties!
We used to work together what seems like ages ago. She was the only thing that got me through some of my days at that insane place. We clicked practically right from the beginning. We have the same sense of humor. We like a lot of the same things. We just "got" each other. When she was having bad days, she usually wanted to be left alone, but I was SURE to make her laugh a MILLION times before the day was over. When I was having bad days, she knew exactly what to say to make things always seem better. When we were both having quiet days, we could just go to lunch together and literally just say absolutely NOTHING....and be 1,000,000% fine with that! When we were having good days, well, they were pretty freaking great! So many hilarious inside 'secrets', that whenever we even just SAW each other, we'd bust out in laughter.
Well, not to go into too much detail, but I got an email out of the blue from her today. I haven't talked to her in f-o-r-e-v-e-r!!!! Like, really, forever. It basically said something like this: all i know is that i miss you like crazy and didn't realize how much my bestest buddy really helped me through some tough times....your fab attitude, wonderful wisdom, and extreme support are dearly missed right now.
Can I just say, first of all, how crazy it is that we were both thinking about each other today?! Both missing each other's company. These are just some of the things I'm missing (and I'm sure she'd say the same): hanging out with each other, lunches, laughs, tears, moods, emails, fun times, boring times, emails, serious talks, frustrations, emails, worries, triumphs, HILARIOUS emails, the list goes on. :)
Little things like the song I heard or the email I received today, have made me realize, once again, how much I cherish the friendship I have with my friend and how special she truely is!!! She's the bestest!!!!! ....you know who you are....love you TONS! i mean, tons. XOXOXOOO.

Hello everyone!

2008-11-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

Well, I have finally decided I'm going to attempt this whole blog thing. I LOVE to write, it's just a matter of sitting down to do so. I find inspiration in situations almost every day....okay, not ALMOST every day, but EVERY DAY. There are SO many things in my life that give me that desire to blog. I'm sitting here right now trying to decide what my first major blog is going to be about - I have so many things to choose from!
*Oh, and I use A LOT of !!!!!!!!! and CAPITAL LETTERS! It doesn't mean I'm yelling, necessarily. I'm just super excitable. I want everyone to try to share in the enthusiasm that I am experiencing.
So, I'm looking forward to sharing ALL kinds of things with you and hope you will bookmark my page. Come back and visit frequently. Tell your friends about it. And, just come here to hang out, relax, and have fun. Oh, did I mention to also stop by for ideas, inspiration and smiles????
You will find yourself smiling, I will almost guarantee that. That's why I'm calling my site Sealed With A Smile!
I hope you all have a fabulous week!
Janet!