Bloggiversary and Friday Confession

So, today is my Bloggiversary. I don't know why, but I've been procrastinating writing today's post. I guess I was waiting for something profound or clever to pop into my head, but that's apparently not going to happen. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep or the distractingly beautiful sunshine coming through my office window. Regardless, today marks my one year on Blogger. I love this place. I love all of you who read my blog and whose blogs I read. I think everyone should blog. It's so enriching and enlightening...and of course, entertaining! Blog hopping is one of my favorite things to do. As I'm randomly going through blogs, I often read about people's lives, talents, loves, dreams, and sometimes misadventures. Thank you to everyone who shares their thoughts so freely. This truly is a unique community of people that makes the whole world feel more accessible.

Last week, I wrote a preemptive post about my bloggiversary. I knew I wanted to do something different with this milestone. There are always opportunities for giveaways and contests, so this time I wanted to do something bigger. If you read my post from last week and already commented, THANK YOU! If you haven't read my post from last week and would like to COMMENT FOR A CAUSE, please follow THIS link. (Thank you in advance) Commenting is open on that post until June 15th.

In honor of my bloggiversary, I would like to make a few "blogging" confessions...

• I originally started this blog because a "friend" from Cafemom moved her journaling over here. Turns out she is crazy, but I'm glad I followed her over here and found all of you.
• My first blog post was lame. It took me a while to find my niche...I still feel like that's a work in progress.
• My second blog post was a little better. I remember being ecstatic because I had 2 comments, which came from my 1 follower (Lisa) and Melissa.
• My 14th blog post was my 1st Friday Confessions post. Which also leads me to the fact that it took me from May 29th to October 3 to make 14 posts! So, it was a little slow-going at first. However, in October, I managed to bust out 42 posts! That was a record number in my blogging world.
• Speaking of blogging world, is it weird that my level of happiness stems from comments on my blog? I know it may sound crazy, but comments make me happy...like really happy.

Thanks you to everyone who visits my blog...and thank you for your wonderful comments...that make me really happy.

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap...SWAPPED!

It's finally here...

The time has FINALLY come for Mamarazzi's Favorite Things swap packages to be...swapped! If you participated in this event, I think you probably share my excitement. If you did not participate in this event (well, you should have!) and you may not share my excitement...but think about the thrill of getting something sent to you in the mail from someone you've never met and know practically nothing about. You may think, "What could they send me that I would want?...or...What if I don't like anything they send?" Ok, so I thought that too. I actually had many small anxiety attacks while deciding what I was going to send to Rebecca. I realize it is MY FAVORITE THINGS, but I wanted her to LOVE them too! You see the stress involved here? However, let me assure you, the end results are so super fabulous that you would never doubt a "favorite things swap" again...ever. Are you pumped? Do you want to see what I got?

First of all, isn't this the cutest wrapping?! Cute wrapping impresses me...I was impressed.

Rebecca spent so much time on details. She wrapped each of my gifts individually and attached these adorable cards on the outside of each gift and tucked a "follow up" card on the inside of each gift! Is that adorable or what?! For instance, the outside card would say something like "making organization cute" (a favorite thing) and the inside card would say "makes bill paying more fun" and the gift was some cutsie file folders w/ polka dots! One of my other favorite cards was "having a cupcake picnic at the Georgetown waterfront" and the inside card read "Georgetown waterfront not included". The gift was a box full of everything needed to make some cupcakes with cupcake papers, mix, icing, sprinkles, cute picks...the whole nine yards! She is so clever!



I'm telling you, this package was loaded! Oo ooo, I almost forgot about these until I just saw them in my picture. She sent me those way cool disposable toothbrushes made by Colgate or Crest or one of those toothpaste people...Wisps. I LOVE THESE!!! I've been wanting to try them, but had never remembered to look for them! Thanks, Rebecca...and all the people at work will thank you too the next time we have Bogies Hamburgers for lunch, so good, but those onions do a number on your breath.



As you can tell in the pic above, she also included her FAVORITE rainy day comfort food - Kraft Mac and Cheese (me too Rebecca!), all the things to make a delicious nutritious bowl of yummy oatmeal (bowl included), and these handy-dandy one serving almond butter packets (you have no idea how perfect this is for me...I have issues with portion control on many things...peanut butter, or almond butter in this case, being the #1).

Some things you can't see (but they're there) are...

• glitter glue pens (because things are just better with glitter)
• purple pens (for doting the i's and crossing the t's w/ style)
• a "J" notepad (I love my initial too, Rebecca :)
• cutsie colored paper clips
• awesome lip gloss(es)...(for keeping lips soft and kissable)

last, but not least

• Lindt truffles...can I get a "woot woot" for some yummy chocolate!

Thanks to Mamarazzi for hosting a FABULOUS swap! (You can go to her page and click on the Mr. Linky to read post about all the other swap packages!)

I can't wait until the next one! I also can't wait to see what everyone else got...so, hurry up and post some pics already!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Friend Making Monday

How did you and your significant other meet? and if you don't have a significant other at the moment then what would be your dream way to meet him?

I met Michael in October 1996. I was a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. He was a local. I think at the time, he was actually going to Oklahoma Baptist University, maybe...I can't really remember. It's been a while. A girl has slept since then! I was really close to one of his good friends, Jess, which gave me an upper hand. It's always good to have connections. ☺ We all went to church together and that made seeing him convenient. I had my eye on him long before he even knew I existed. He would come to our campus Chi-Alpha meetings. I remember one night he offered to give me a ride back to my dorm, but if I'm not mistaken I think I told him no. What was I thinking? I guess maybe I was trying to play it cool. It was hard to do that when he was around. He had this adorable smile and a charmer's way of winking when he did. It was totally irresistible! I definitely had a crush on him way before the love set in. I have ways of getting what I want though and soon we were going out to eat and hanging out at his apartment. I can't really say how it all happened. It was fast and I fell...hard. We weren't even "official" until December or maybe even January. However, by August of 1997 we were engaged. I remember my mom saying that she sent me to college to get an education not a husband, but I got both. We went on a walk around campus one evening and came to stop at the clock tower, a beautiful spot at OU especially at night. We were deep in conversation and the next thing I knew he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. The rest is history. We were married 11 years ago this past Saturday. It's been bliss every since. Ok, I lie. It hasn't all been bliss, but there have been many blissful moments. Those are the moments that matter the most, and the reason I still love him today more than ever.

Go to Kelsey's blog at All That Is Good and join in on Friend Making Mondays!

11 Years

Not only am I getting ready to have my first bloggiversary, but today I'm celebrating my 11th wedding anniversary! So many celebrations, so little time. Eleven years ago today I married my sweetheart. I remember that day so vividly. There was the missing iron, and then the missing best man who was supposed to have went and found the said iron. I later found out that my mom and aunt dropped two cheese trays and salvaged the cheese cubes that were "on top", so if you ate cheese at my wedding reception, don't worry...I'm pretty sure they followed the 5 second rule. Thanks to one of my lovely servers, who was also the star goalie on our HS soccer team, my cake was saved from hitting the floor...well, some of the cake. It was a mess, but fortunately we got some nice pics, had more in the back, and got a free cake out of the deal. Ah, yes...those are things that come to mind when I think back to that day. More importantly, I think about the 11 years between then and now. I think about the love that Michael and I share. I think about Isaiah and how he is a product of our love for each other. I think about the home that we've built. I mean, we technically built a home and did not get divorced. Although there were a few days that were touch and go. If you want to try your marriage, build a house...and live with your in-laws for 6 months while you're in the process. I will pitch a tent and pee in a can before I do that again. Our life may not be exactly the way we thought it would be this far down the road and every moment has not been perfect, but I wouldn't have it any other way. There is not a trial or valley or mountain or even a little hill that I would take back. Each one has put us on a this path and kept us moving along life's journey. I'm just glad that I'm on this journey with Michael. I love him so much and I'm glad he's my husband.

Here's a few pics from our big day (circa 1998):

Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day Weekend!

Please take a chance and follow this link and Comment for a Cause!

Friday Confessions

I don't have much time, but I couldn't let another week go by without confessing something...Lord knows that I haven't been a saint.

• Well, for starters I should confess that I have been a HORRIBLE blogger the last couple of weeks. I'm hoping to redeem myself over the long weekend. If I had done Thursday Thankfuls, that would have made the list...one extra day off work! WOOHOO! This is the best kind of Friday.
• This isn't a confession, just an update. I wanted to let you all know that the Biore print on my forehead was not permanent. By mid afternoon, it had disappeared. Until then, I just kept my head down.
• Due to my busyness and lack 'o sleep, I fell off the Once-A-Week-Starbucks Wagon. Oh, and that nifty insulated cup they came out with hasn't helped either. It's so cool...makes me want to go there just so I can use the cup. It looks like a regular clear Starbucks cup, but it's insulated and re-usable. I'm all about things that are re-usable. I've sorta went overboard with the re-usable shopping bags from Target. Have you seen them? They are ADORABLE...that's the Target style. All things cute and adorable are found there. I love that place. It's like my mother ship.

I hope you all have had a FABULOUS FRIDAY!! Don't forget to go to THIS POST and COMMENT FOR A CAUSE (tell your friends)!

Bloggiversary and Commenting for a Cause!

Don't count me absent...I'm here! Sorry for the MIA status. The past week and a half has been busy, but nothing more than that. No drama to report here. Nothing exciting. There have been no catastrophes. I didn't over use the Biore strips. I didn't over dose on coffee. Edward didn't come and carry me away in his shiney volvo. I didn't run away. Yes, I'm still blogging. No, I didn't forget about you. I wish I had something more thrilling to tell you...

Oh, well there are a couple of little things I've been meaning to blog about.

My bloggiversary is coming up on May 29th. I can't believe it's almost been a whole year since I started blogging...then on the other hand I feel like I've been doing this forever. None the less, I would like to celebrate!! I thought about a giveaway, but that wasn't exactly what I wanted. I've been mulling it over for a week or so and it finally came to me the other night while laying in bed. (Most of my great thoughts come to me while laying in bed or while sitting in the bathroom.) I would like to use this opportunity to draw attention to something that is near and dear to my heart. Something I've spent a lot of hours supporting and raising money for. Something I feel we all should support. So, I'm going to give you a chance to make a difference. The 'something' I'm talking about is Relay For Life. If you don't know what Relay For Life is, where have you been? Just kidding. It is an organization that raises money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. The yearly relays celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those who have lost the battle, and helps to fight back against this terrible disease. I know for a fact that we have all been affected by this disease in one way or another. Maybe you are a survivor yourself. Maybe a loved one is currently fighting this disease. Maybe you hold dear the memory of someone who has passed away due to this disease. Whatever your connection, you know that this is a senseless disease that MUST BE STOPPED. So, for my bloggiversary, I would like to donate $1 for every person who comments on this post. I always participate in my local RFL, and I plan on doing so this year, but the money that I donate from this post will go to Melissa (The Crazy Daisy/my bff). She is the biggest advocate for RFL and ACS that I know. She inspires me to do more. To read more about her passion for this cause go HERE. (but don't click over before you comment) On Melissa's page, she also has a link where YOU can donate if you would like. Just remember that no amount is too small. Every little bit helps. This post will be open for comments for donations until June 15th. The first 25 people (maybe more) who comment on this post will also receive in the mail (free of cost) a token of my appreciation for taking the time to comment for such a worthy cause. Tell your friends! I don't have a limit on the comments. If I need to, I'm prepared to call in backup ("MOM!").

Have a wonderful Wednesday and don't forget to comment (and tell your friends)!

p.s. I promise I'll be making my rounds to all of your wonderful blogs asap. I've missed you guys and have a lot of catching up to do!

Friday Confessions

It is Friday. I have confessions. Therefore, let's proceed to Friday Confessions.

• I'm starting this Friday Confessions post in the wee hours of Friday morning. I can not sleep! I've been to bed 3 times and Mr. Sandman has not found me yet. I can't stand to just lay in bed wide awake...drives me nuts-O. So, what better thing to do at 1:00 am in the morning than use Biore strips. You know, when I was a teenager, I never had bad skin...EVER. God was saving it for my 30's. I know He has a purpose for everything, but I plan on having a talk with him right after I finish this blog post, because I'm not seeing the purpose in this. My face looks like a pimple land mine. It's like the face of a teenager going through puberty. Anyway, so I put some Biore strips on my nose and forehead, but I'm thinking about going back in the bathroom and covering my whole face with them. I'm desperate. Wanna see a pic? I just snapped it with my phone.

Is there something wrong with wearing a snowman nightgown in May? I should wear my hair like that to work. It's hott.

• I think what lured me out of bed was the insatiable desire to check on my crops. I'm a farmer now...well, virtually. Anybody else play Farm Town on Crackbook...er, I mean Facebook? Holy moley, this game is so addicting...it's straight gangsta mack. I have no idea what that means, but Digital Underground says it. You guys know how I am about going overboard. I have issues. I know. My therapist is on speed dial. Anyhoo, if you don't play, you should. It's crazy fun. You plow fields, plant crops, grow crops, harvest crops...you get the idea. I've been having dreams at night about planting potatoes and sometimes it's more of a nightmare than a dream, because I dream that my crops go to waste...that's the worst! I'm thinking of getting me a pair of overalls and putting my hair up into pigtails. I'm serious. Look how cute my virtual JennyKate farmer is...

She's cute, right?

• See, the dealio is that I "accidentally" planted some crops at 9:30 PM and they were crops that need to be harvest in 4 hours. Well, any person who does good math, knows that equates to crops ready to be harvested at 1:30 AM...note time on computer. To be a good farmer, you can't let your crops go to waste, even if that means sacrificing a few hours of beauty sleep.

Speaking of beauty, hold on a sec. I sorta forgot about my Biore strips...

Ok, so this could potentially be a problem. I'm pretty sure Biore strips are only supposed to be left on for 10 to 15 minutes. Seems as though I left mine on approximately 45 minutes passed the 'suggested' time.

Notice the nice little red splotch on the center of my forehead...in the shape of a Biore strip.
Hope that fades by morning...well, later THIS morning.

• You guys don't even know this, but I took about a 4 hour blogging break and completed about 50 Know-It-All Quizes on Facebook. See, I have issues. Nothing in moderation. I learned a few things about myself. I'm not smarter than a 4th, 5th, or 6th grader. I would just barely pass to get my US citizenship. My high school spanish class did NOT stick with me. I'm a fantastic speller. I know my 80's tv shows. I'm proficient on all Twilight quizzes. I know more about chemistry than I do about our US Presidents. I'm about 50/50 on geography and capitals. I kicked booty in NBA Nicknames and College Mascot quizzes. I got 8/11 right on the Starbucks quiz...I'm convinced the three I missed were a miss with the mouse.



• It's 6:00 in the morning and I've had no sleep.

Hold on another sec while I yell at Michael to turn the alarm off.

Hope everyone has a happy Friday!

Thursday Thankfuls

Funny thing. I thought today was Wednesday. However, I'm very glad to announce that it's Thursday (in case any of you were thinking the same thing)...and one day closer to the weekend! Can't I get a 'hallelujah'?! I have lots to be thankful for and some of them more important than what is on the following list, but these are the things I am recently thankful for...

• I am thankful for the sun finally shining after 10 LONG days of gloomy weather here in the great state of Oklahoma. Thank you Lord!
• I am thankful for the longer days and the nice breeze that blew through my windows last night.
• I am thankful for this grande iced americano from Starbucks I am sipping while typing this. The old saying is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Oh, how I have missed you little clear cup with a green straw full of espresso goodness with a hint of half and half.

Hope everyone is having a LOVELY week!

Tuesdays at the Table

I thought and thought...and then thought some more. Racking my brain. Trying to come up with SOMETHING to post about that was food related, so I could play along with Andrea at My Chihuahua Bites and her Tuesdays at the Table. Today as I was visiting Andrea and dropping off a few comments. I thought of something. She always says that it doesn't have to be a recipe that we share, but that it can be a new food product, or something we've tried, or just anything food related. As I was leaving Andrea a comment, and letting her know she wasn't alone in her "loss of words...or recipe" for Tuesdays at the Table, I thought of something food related that I would like to share!

Many of you have probably already seen theses, read them, and love them.

My favorite one (ok, one of my favorites because I have several) is the 5 Ingredients or Less! Who doesn't love a meal that only calls for 5 ingredients? The fabulous thing about this cookbook is that it is split up into seasons. So, there are some specific recipes that are Spring related or Summer related, and go right along with the season we are in. There are always neat little tidbits at the bottom of each page. Sometimes it's a tip for preparing the meal, or an idea on how to make your home more "springy" or "summery" or whatever season it is. The Christmas one is great too, it has so many ideas for the holidays...how-tos on recipes, drinks, gifts, and ornaments.

Here is a sample of what the inside of the cookbook looks like...

Each week on their website (http://www1.gooseberrypatch.com/) they post a recipe of the week and a tip of the week. This weeks recipe is Onion French Bread from their Almost Homemade Cookbook (my kind of cookbook).

Onion French Bread

1 loaf French bread, sliced in half lengthwise1 c. mayonnaise1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Garnish: paprika
Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet and set aside. Mix mayonnaise, onion and cheese; spread over cut side of bread. Sprinkle with paprika; broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden. Slice and serve warm. Serves 6 to 8.

Most of the cookbooks sell for less that $20. They have a tons of cutsie things on their website, not just cookbooks!

For more food related posts go check out Andrea's Tuesday at the Table.

Friend Making Monday

This week's Friend Making Mondays is being hosted by {ae filkins}. She has a really cute blog! Go to her page to link up and to read more FMM posts!

Today's Topic: Name 5 toys that remind you of your childhood.

I was a Barbie girl, living in a Barbie world. For me, Barbie and the Rockers were the coolest. I loved them...sang their songs, dressed up like them for Halloween, and watched the mini-series.

Who didn't love the sweet smell of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends? I loved her so much that she adorned my bedroom for a decade!

Do you remember this one? Simon.
This was one of the most fun toys I ever had. My mom ended up buying 3 of these things. One broke or wore out, one was stolen from our car at the mall (it was devastating), and one is probably still in my mom and dad's attic.


I wish I still had one of these. Pogo Balls rock!




Annie was another all-time favorite. Favorite doll. Favorite movie. Annie was the first movie I ever saw at a theater. I asked my mom if I could change my name to Annie...well, Annie or Butterfly. It's still one of my favorite movies and I'm wanting to see the musical in the WORST way!

This was so much fun!!

Hope everyone has a marvelous Monday!

Friday Confessions

As I was going through and reading some of your fabulous blogs. (I am still so behind.) I noticed that I confess a lot of things in my comments to you on your page. It's like you just pull it out of me. Rebeckah at Life with Kaishon is so good at posing questions that really get you to thinking. Like the other day her post was about some of her beautiful friends. She talked about how she's always had pretty friends. Then she asked if we had "pretty friends" and if we thought our friend were prettier than us. LOL. Great question, huh? Rebeckah is such an open and inviting person. It makes it so easy to just spill your guts to her. Here are a few of the things that I have confessed to Rebeckah this week that I thought I would share with you.

• On Tuesday, Rebeckah and I had a conversation via e-mail about the ashy-white-unshaven legs that I talked about in my FCs from last Friday. She said that she thought we should just quit work and start tanning. My confession to her was that I CAN'T tan. Seriously. Not at all. I'm the whitest white girl you have ever met. You need shades to look at my legs. When I try to tan, I just burn and peel and burn and peel. I do have freckles and there is a period during the summer that these freckles multiply and when close enough together resemble a tan...that's as close as I can get. I asked her if she thought we could rent a tanning bed for a nap.


• Yesterday is when I read the post on Rebeckah's page about "pretty friends". She said that she's always had friends that are prettier than she is. (Whatever, Rebeckah! You're beautiful.) She then asked us to be honest and tell her if we thought our friends were prettier than us. So, in my most honest-to-goodness words I told her...

and I quote...

"I'm sooo prettier than ALL my friends...and I LIE...a LOT. Whatever! My friends are all kick butt gorgeous (that's better than just being gorgeous...'kick butt' adds a whole new spectrum of gorgeous) and WAY prettier than me. I've never thought of myself as "pretty" and definitely not "gorgeous"...no way in heck could I ever be categorized as "exotic" (that makes me laugh just to write it) or "sexy" (I don't have any of the right parts for that)...cute, maybe.

Have you ever thought about this before?

• This isn't something I confessed to Rebeckah, but it's something that is WEIGHING on my mind. I'm pretty sure my boobs are starting to sag. I asked Michael, but he just gave me a "you-are-so-weird-why-did-you-just-ask-me-that" kind of look. I think he even asked me if that is a bad thing. (Uh, yeah. Hello.) There was a Playtex commercial on the other night while we were watching American Idol and it portrayed all of these different women and their complaints about their boobs and basically how Playtex bras were miracle workers. So, it really got me thinking that maybe my boobs are sagging too. I mean I did find a few grey hairs recently and I think I'm possibly getting some of those "laugh lines" and "crows feet" that my mom and granny have always talked about. I'm pretty sure that sagging boobs goes right along with all that stuff. I have done some evaluating and it's hard to say. Since I'm totally opposed to any type of voluntary cosmetic surgery, I guess I'm going to buy me a Playtex bra, or maybe I can hope that the time machine Isaiah has been working on gets up and running.
  

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Attitude of Gratitude

I have been tagged for this particular award several times. Sorry to those who have tagged me and I haven't re-posted. I know the one of the bloggers who recently tagged me was Vivienne at The V Spot. Have you guys read her blog? Oh.My.Gosh. She is so funny. Her blog is an easy read. The way she puts things out there and is so real...it's captivating...and funny...did I mention funny? Rhonda at Down Memory Lane is another one who recently gave me this one as well. She's a new blogger buddy who I am looking forward to getting to know better. I know she always has such nice things to say when she comments and her blog is a joy to read!

So, I'm supposed to tell how I've come to have an attitude of gratitude. I can't think of one particular event in my life that made me want to be grateful. That's really just how I was raised. Knowing God and knowing that He was in control, has been my anchor my whole life. I've always been grateful for that. I also think being grateful is something that is often passed down. My mom has always been such a good example. She has never taken anything for granted and she has always been willing to give praise where praise was due. I've learned a lot from watching her.

I have a story I'd like to share. It's a little lengthy, so I'm warning you in advance.

My life took a drastic turn when I was about 8 years old. My mom remarried for starters. I did not want my mom to get married. I just couldn't understand what was wrong with the way things were. Why did we need a man around? What did he have to offer US? He put a kink in our Saturday shopping trips and weekends spent at a hotel. Our weekends turned into "family time"...movies, dinner out, ice skating...it was horrible! Ok, maybe not horrible, but in the eyes of an 8 year old little girl who loved nothing more than her mom and the time she spent with her...it was the worst. He took up space, he took up time, he took up residence, and he took up the comfy recliner in the living room. Not only did my mom marry some strange guy, despite my many protests (which could be another blog in itself), she also started a long battle with illness.

In 1985, my mom got married. The next year she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. So, at the ripe age of 27, my mom had a complete hysterectomy. What she thought was the end of being sick, was only the beginning. During the next year or so, she started losing weight due to an inability to keep her food down after eating. She went through tests until there was nothing left to test and every outpatient procedure you can think of. Results of some of the tests showed an abnormality in her esophagus area and also down through her GI tract. She was referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where they continued to do tests and diagnosed her with colon cancer. Due to the fact that she was so young and had so much life to live. They took every necessary step to make sure that she would beat cancer yet again. Many prayers were prayed and our attention turned to God. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He was the one who had carried us through hard times before. My mom always made a point to focus on the good and make me see that we had things to be grateful for. I remember lots of things from that time in our life, but one thing I don't remember is every forgetting my blessings. My mom would remind me that she was still here, God was not finished with her, and He was still in control. So, that's where I would stand. That was my "happy place". Just a short while later, they removed my mom's colon and did a brand new procedure that rerouted her intestines and reconnected 'things', which meant no colostomy bag...one more thing to be grateful for. Her recovery from this second surgery was long, and the chemo was awful, but eventually she did recover. One more thing to be grateful for.

By this time, I was about 13 years old. I was past my mom's new husband being a nuisance and I had fully embraced him as my dad. He was a rock. He was someone I knew I could always lean on through good times and bad. Again, one more thing to be grateful for. During all of these procedures, my mom's issue with not being able to keep food down never got better. She had been diagnosed with everything from eating disorders to mental disorders. While the doctors tried to decide what she had and who to send her to next, she was withering away to nothing. By the time they decided what exactly was wrong with her and what they were going to do about it, she weighed 87 pounds. The conclusion they came to was that she had a congenital defect in her esophagus, one that stemmed from her being a twin. Basically, the muscle at the end of her esophagus, the sphincter muscle, was paralyzed. It would not do it's job of opening to allow food to pass through and then closing to keep the food down. Hence, the getting sick after eating and extreme weight loss. Soooo, in 1995, when I was a Junior in high school, my mom had another surgery. They did a thoracic surgery (kinda like open heart surgery) and went in and basically cut the sphincter muscle so that it would stay open and allow food to pass through. That wasn't necessarily the end to my mom's battles, but it was the end to the most of it...and we were grateful.

She is alive and well today. Something I am VERY grateful for! I know I didn't have to tell you all of this to prove my point, but I just wanted you to see that God has always been in control. Also, when things seem to be at their worst, if we will just remember ALL the things that we have to be grateful for, it allows us to believe things will get better. Going through all of that makes it easy for me to see all the little and big things that I am grateful for.

So there are a few rules to this award:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post...check!
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post...check!
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award...check!
6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude...check!

I know a lot of you have done this already, so I'm not sure who to tag.

Here are a few people that I find are always grateful and counting their blessings.

1. Katie at Blessed by 3 Miracles
2. Renee at My Glimpse of Life
3. Melissa at The Crazy Daisy (I think you've already done this before, but you could do it again.:)
4. Rebeckah at Life with Kaishon

Friday Confessions

No introduction needed.

1. I haven't had Starbucks since last Friday. They may revoke my Gold Card.
2. I have an abnormal phobia of arachnids. I can't write the 's' word on my blog... *shudders* I seriously want to cry sometimes. You want to see me strip down naked in broad daylight. Put one of the previously mentioned eight-legged creatures down any article of clothing and it's coming off. I'm not even playin'.
3. Going without my favorite foods make me cranky.
4. Since today is my "cheat day", I may hit Starbucks two times.
5. I wore capris to work the other day. While I was leaning down to file something away, I caught a glimpse of my chalky-white unshaven legs. Note to self: shave legs before putting on another pair of pants that comes above the ankle...and get a tan. Geez.
6. I downloaded Scramble to my iPhone. Don't do it. I'm addicted. I played that stupid game so long last night that I had toothpicks holding my eyelids open. Then I dreamed about letters and words, and words and letters. I even woke up and was ticked off because I had been dreaming about spelling words. I drifted back to sleep trying to dream about something more pleasant like Twilight or Edward. Not a chance. The next thing I knew I was trying to make a word out of 'a-n-t-o-r-i-d'...it should be a word, people. Perhaps it is in Arabic.

Hope you have a HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Mommy Of The Year...

Mom of the Year...phsshhh...not even close, but thanks Tanielle for giving me this award!

The rules of this award are....

• Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

Wow, hmmm. I definitely have my fair share of bad mommy moments. There are mornings that I drop Isaiah off at school wondering if he's going to rat me out for being so crazy. I'm afraid he's going to recount the morning's conversations to his teacher or worse his friends...that will later go home and tell their parents. You get my drift.

I have an extremely cranky boss, and when I start thinking about being late to work and enduring a morning of crankiness...well, it makes me cranky. It's a vicious cycle.

It often starts out something like this...

"WHERE are YOUR shoes? You just wore them yesterday, they can't walk out of here on their own!"

"You're making momma late! Do you know what happens when momma's late? Mr. J will fire me. Do you know what happens if mommy gets fired? No money...no money for food, no Disney Channel, no blueberry muffins, especially no Hot Wheels!"

Sometimes, Isaiah likes to give me a hard time about wanting to stay home. He'll say, "MOMM-AH, I could just stay home with Belle Girl! I wouldn't mess anything up. I'll be fine until you get home." I say, "do you know what happens if the police find out that momma let you stay home by yourself?" He reminds me that Belle Girl would be with him, and I remind him that a dog is not a sufficient baby sitter. I continue to explain that the police could throw momma in jail for not taking him to school and for leaving him alone with Belle Girl. He decides that he doesn't want me to go to jail, because I make the best spaghetti-Os.

So, there are a few things that I feel the worst about:

1. Crazy mornings. I try to make the mornings as pleasant as possible, but some circumstances are beyond my control.

2. Crazy mommy. Those moments when I have an "out-of-body-experience" and feel like my head is about to pop off of my shoulders.

3. Not being able to stay at home with Isaiah. I know that me working is best for our family, but at the same time I wish I could be home with him more.

• Remind yourself you are a good mom, list seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you.These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you Rock!

I LOVE Isaiah's sense of humor.

I love seeing the world through his eyes.

I love his hugs and kisses...and his laugh is contagious.

I love to read books with him and hear his imagination soar.

We love to play pretend...our floor becomes hot lava and the stairs are the volcano...and our only chance of escape is to ride it out on our lava-proof boat (aka the couch).

Isaiah's favorite day is Saturday, also known as "Stay At Home With Mommy Day". Love that.

One of our favorite things to do is tell each other how far we love each other..."I love you to _____ and back."

• Send this to five other Mom's of the year that deserve credit for being great moms and remind them that they are the best moms they can be!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you.

1. Melissa at The Crazy Daisy
2. Renee at My Glimpse of Life
3. Rebekah at Life with Kaishon
4. Katie at Blessed By 3 Miracles
5. Shilo at My Place of Peace

Tanielle over at The Polka Dot Daisy gave me this award. How sweet is she?! Go check out her FANTABULOUS blog!

Have a great Wednesday!!

Friend Making Monday! YAY!

Today, Andrea is hosting FMMs. I love Andrea! You all know her blog, right? My Chihuahua Bites. It's fab. If you want to join in, go to My Chihuahua Bites for the guidelines and Mr. Linky.

Today's FMM challenge (not):

Who are your top five celebrity crushes?

What celebrities make you drool?

(Andrea, next time could you please choose a more challenging topic. I kid.)

Numero Uno

You know this spot has to go to Edward. Fictional to some. I realize that. You can't ignore the fact that he's handsome, chivalrous, and thoughtful. Not to mention, indestructible. That's gotta count for something. I'm not going to lie. He makes me swoon.

He dazzles...frequently.

Number Two

Come on, Ladies. Props have got to be given to Matthew McConnoughey. He's HOTT and he has southern charm oozing from his pores. That smile. Those dimples. Have you seen him without a shirt? Hello! (My only qualm with Mr. McConnoughey is that he is a Texas Longhorns fan. I'm an OU Sooner fan, so that poses a problem.)

Number Three Joey....ahhh, just saying his name brings a smile to my face. This crush is long term. I've loved Joey since 1990. He has the cutest smile and his eyes twinkle. Oh, and he's always had great hair.

He has the 'right stuff, baby'!

Number FourPaul Walker. Fast and Furious. Bad boy. Dreamy eyes. Nice Smile. 'Nuff said.

Number Five

Maksim from Dancing with the Stars is such a hottie on the dance floor. He's so passionate about dancing. When his partner is eliminated, my interest goes down about 10 notches. I would learn to polka if Maksim was my teacher.

Nice way to get distracted from the fact that it's Monday.

Hope everyone has a great day!

For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously

Payne Stewart once said, "If you can't laugh at yourself, then how can you laugh at anybody else? I think people see the human side of you when you do that." I think he was right. I think we should never take ourselves too seriously. While looking for a certain quote about taking yourself too seriously, I ran across this composed list for those who do - (Hint: Not meant to be taken seriously.).

For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Books Fiction Career-ResumeCV Politics-Humor

The Bible says:

Proverbs 14:30 says, “A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life.”

Proverbs 15:13 "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. "

Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap!

Thanks to Tanielle, I stumbled upon Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap this morning and I am stoked! (I like using that word to annoy my husband. It's the little things that let him know I love him). If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I did my first swap with Julie back around Valentine's Day and had the MOST fun!! Besides, the title of the swap makes me think of Oprah and her famous giveaway to her fans...so, only good things can come from this. I can't wait to participate in Mamarrazi's Favorite Things Swap. If you want to join in the fun, HURRY! She only accepts 100 participants and Mr. Linky is filling up!! Speaking of, I better run.

Hope everyone is have a wonderful weekend!

JennyKate out! (channeling Ryan Seacrest)

Friday Confessions and a Game/Giveaway!

It's time for Friday Confessions! I'm going to try to keep these short and sweet. I have a little game I would like to play at the end of my post, so that means you have to read the entire post...or jump to the end, but IF you do that it would be considered cheating, and you would need to confess that. I'm just sayin'.

First let me start off by saying that I'm a very passionate person. This is not a confession, it's just a factual statement about me, but sometimes my passions can lead to obsessions and confessions. I'm not one to do things half-heartedly or half-way. I'm usually a full-steam ahead, gung ho kind of person. This week instead of just telling you my confessions, I would like to show you my confessions.

• I'm passionate about books, which is not bad. However, my passion often turns to obsession. For example...these books I purchased THIS week. I'm also a little obsessed passionate about vampire books. I have no idea why.


• I'm passionate about chocolate, which is not bad...what? It's not. However, once again my passion turns to obsession...as seen below.

(Please note that I purchased this chocolate from a child of a co-worker. So, I'm pretty sure that counts as a good deed.)


• I'm also very obsessed passionate about all things Twilight.

Here is where my little game comes into play. I would like you to compare my pictures from this weeks confessions to my pictures of the same things from a couple of weeks ago. See if you can tell me the newly acquired Twilight paraphernalia. The first person to tell me the exact newly acquired items wins a small Twilight something and a Starbucks gift card! (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them and make it easier to find the new items.)

Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday!!

Join in Friday Confessions! Add your post to Mr. Linky!