Puppy Love (& Cats) Photo Party and a Weekend Recap

It’s Monday, Peeps!  Had a pretty low key weekend, but spent it with my sweet boy, so no complaints from me.  Friday after school, he got an awesome haircut.  He much prefers the ultra shaggy look, but I can only handle it for so long before I am going nuts! 

Showing off the new do....much to his chagrin

Saturday started with soccer pictures and a game.  They tied 2-2, but all in all it has been a good season so far.  Zachary is taking the summer off, but will start back playing in the fall with his dad coaching.  We saw The Hunger Games again, this time in IMAX.  I must have nodded off a few times during the first one (it was the middle of the night after all), cause I caught all kind of things the second time around and I still LOVE it!  Yesterday was quiet – the normal weekend stuff….grocery, laundry and some scrapping.  Here is another peek….

I am participating in a fun link up with Becky over at Reinventing the Ordinary.  She is hosting Puppy Love (& Cats) Photo Party. 





So far it has been all about the pups, but you know me throwing a curve ball into the mix.  This guy is not a fan of the camera (which is not a great combination with me), so when I get a good one I more than eager to share!

He looks SOOOO innocent doesn't he?

Jackson (Jack for short) is our little feline hell on wheels.  He has more spunk than any cat should be allowed to have and his personality is quirky to say the least.  Never fear, he does have his super sweet moments, and let’s not ignore the fact that he is a really pretty cat….otherwise I may just have shipped him to a farm by now to be a killer barn cat….you think I’m kidding.  OK, you caught me…I am.  It would break Zach’s heart (even thought he seems to get the brunt of Jack’s naughtiness), and I have to be honest – I would miss the little jerk guy more than I care to admit.  My parent’s rescued Jack and got him neutered….and as they say…the rest is history.  Why didn’t they keep him, you ask?  They already had four at the time.  He has been living with Zach and I since Thanksgiving day 2010.

Although, sweet little Haley is not actually mine, I didn’t want to leave her out.  I guess you could call her my Fur Sister.  Haley is a rescue dog and has been with my parents since this past Thursday.

So far, she seems like a very sweet girl.  She is 18 months old and is a pit/lab mix.  Maybe for next month’s link up, I will have more to report on Haley but for now you can once again enjoy her “Glamour Shot”.  Not sure what you guys think, but I am pretty sure that pit bull and tutu should NEVER appear in the same sentence (or photo for that matter).

Haley's Glamour Shot

For those of you with fur babies of the canine or feline variety, head over to the Puppy Love (& Cats) Photo Party and link yourself up!!!  Happy Monday!

Yep....I Am All Over the Place

More likely than not this post is going to be all over the place.   Seems like a bunch is going on, but there is no rhyme or reason….further confirmation in my mind that I may suffer from adult ADD…SERIOUSLY!!! 

Zachary’s soccer team lost this past Saturday, and although I was sad to see them lose, it may just have been good for them.  The first three games were runaways, with their opponents barely scoring if at all.   I think they were starting to get that “we are invincible” mentality.  It was a good reality check for them and hopefully grounded them a bit.  Hopefully, this week will be back in the “W” column, but maybe not with such an overwhelming margin.

In my last post, I made reference to this little cutie:

DISCLAIMER: no person in my family put Haley in this tutu – nor will they EVER!!!  Haley has in fact arrived – at my parent’s house.  My dad has wanted a dog for quite awhile.  However, my parents have been cat people for as long as I can remember.   Not that they didn’t like them, they have just had cats.  They are both HUGE animal lovers.  If you are one of those people that believe in reincarnation, trust me you would want to come back as one of parents’ pets.  Any animal that sets foot in the house is going to lead a VERY GOOD LIFE!!!!  My dad has had his eye on Haley for quite a while and has finally managed to wear my mom down.  Haley comes from a rescue organization and is part Pit part Lab.  She has stolen my heart and I have yet to meet her.  Hopefully, I will have more pictures (sans the tutu) next post.  Zach and I are going to meet her tonight.

I was a little crafty last night.  Honestly, wasn’t really in the mood but it was a friend’s birthday and she is worth it.  

Kristin and I

I definitely followed the theme I was using last month when I sent out my blog giveaways.  I adore these color combinations and the Stampin’ Up Designer Series Paper.  Unfortunately, it has been discontinued for quite awhile and I am getting down to scraps…how sad! 

25 you say?  Yes, I am old enough to be her mom, but just barely ; )

 For those of you in the working world (outside the home) you probably know that yesterday was Administrative Professional’s Day.  I heard about it last week and then really didn’t think another thing about it.  Honestly, in years past the “holiday” was rarely recognized in my part of the building.  This year it has been a whole new ballgame.  Yesterday, bright and early, I got this box of Yummy from the main two guys that I work for. 

Dark chocoalte covered strawberries (HUGE) and granny smiths

I of course shared the love (too much for one person to consume), but it was great way to start the morning.  They also bought me lunch….Portobello Ravioli at Olive Garden!!!  This morning, I came into these:

Pretty, pretty!

They showed up after I had left yesterday.  I leave at 4:00 PM on Wednesdays to pick up Zachary.  This little vase of sunshine is from another guy in the office….I don’t do as much for him, but I do book his flights and do his expenses once a month.  All in all, I have to say that this APD…has ROCKED!  Oh, and I forgot to mention….tomorrow is another lunch out.  HOW LUCKY AM I????

And finally, in this all over the place post…here is the promised last glimpse of my girl’s weekend in Chicago.  As I mentioned in this post, I trusted the picture taking to my two very competent traveling partners.  They both take awesome pictures and have much better cameras than I do.  I was not disappointed!   I received Jennifer’s picture disc last week and created another collage with some of my favorites.  By the way, I love Picasa 3.  I am not a computer whiz, but this program makes these cool collages quick, easy and virtually dummy proof if I do say so myself.  ENJOY!  

Sunshine Award

How lucky am I?  Twice in a month I have been honored with a blog award.  I am not really sure where these originated, but the premise is a good one.  From everything that I can gather these awards benefit the recipients in a few of ways: for one it validates that people are out there reading what you are throwing down.  I have read blogs where people say that they blog for themselves and whether anyone is reading or not is of little consequence.  I will admit, a part of me blogs to have memories journaled for the future, but I am not going to lie…..I enjoy knowing that people are out there following.  Secondly, for those of us that are still struggling to get our blogs more widely noticed, it is bit of free advertising – and let’s face it peeps, that is never a bad thing.   The more people that visit, the greater chances that your blog will grow.  And finally, a recipient could have a plethora of followers, but I don't ever think it hurts to let someone know that you really enjoy their blog.

So….can I get a drum roll please?  Anna over at Oceannah granted me the Sunshine Award.
 

I recently found Anna’s blog and admire her choice of living – she has an organic homestead and blogs about the goings on around her land and life, not to mention she is a great writer and she loves the ocean (gotta love that).  Thank you so much, Anna for the Sunshine Award and for sharing A Beautiful Day with your readers!

As a recipient of the Sunshine Award, I am supposed to answer the following questions:

Q & A

Favorite Colors: blue, fuschia, purple

Favorite Animal: cat – but stay tuned because there may be a bit of puppy love in my future - but only from a distance

Hopefully....details to follow

Favorite Number: honestly, can’t say that I have one

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage: if I am being honest, I have to say Diet Coke(I am forever battling to permanently delete the addiction)

Prefer Facebook or Twitter: hands down Facebook –I recently joined Twitter, but I am failing miserably

My Passion: scrapbooking and doing my best to make the best of every situation – sometimes I succeed and sometimes not so much

Favorite Pattern: this is a tough one, but lately I have been drawn to bold florals, especially where scrapbooking papers are concerned

Prefer Getting or Giving Presents: I think that everyone enjoys getting a great gift, but I love gifting a great one even more

Favorite Day of the Week: I love Fridays – especially the paycheck variety, but also any day of the week when I have my Z-man

He melts my heart....photo courtesy of Jesse Leos

Favorite Flower: Star Gazer Lilly

There are a few fun facts that you may or may not know about me.  And now to complete the circle of Paying It Forward here are 10 Blogs That I Love.  The Liebster Blog Award that I received was specifically to help out new bloggers that were trying to increase their following – so I had to list five blogs with under 200 followers.  Not that I don’t love those as well, but it was a bit difficult because the blogs I read are AWESOME, and it seems that a lot of people agree with me.  I don’t believe that this Sunshine Award has that stipulation so I am just going to list ten blogs that I read religiously (in no particular order).  Do most of them REALLY need a shout out from little old me?  Nope, but that is not going to prevent me from sending you their way.   I hope that they will inspire, enlighten, educate and most importantly entertain you.  I love to take a few minutes out of my day and jump into theirs….ENJOY!!!!!

1. Cyn @ The Chunky Goddess ...as I will continue to reiterate, the chunky is no longer relavent.  I can't say enough great things about her.  This gutsy lady speaks her mind.  I am convinced she is a Rockstar and if she didn't live half way across the country, I think we might be great friends...for reals!

2. Shannon @ Life After I "Dew" ...Shannon has recently become a SAHM, she has a precious little girl and blogs about whatever strikes her fancy...she tells it like it is with no sugar coating...just the way I like it.

3. Naked Mommy @ Naked Mommy Diaries ...if you have a sense of humor about parenting and tend to be at least a tad bit warped you will appreciate Naked Mommy for the genius that she is

4. Rachel @ "R" and "R" ...Rachel is the wife of a former co-worker and we have definitely formed a blog friendship and I can only hope that one day we can actually meet in person.  Her blog is chock full of fun pictures of their life in Colorado that frequently make me long to be somewhere cooler and more beautiful

5. Megan @ Two Parts Sunshine ...Megan is a dear friend and blogs about all things sustainable, earth and animal friendly and you may occasionally get a glimpse of her decorating genius

6. Rachel and Jesse @ Starfish and Coffee ...Jesse has taken Zachary's birthday pictures for the last three years....his genius is ALL over this blog, but Jesse and Rachel are also in the process of adopting two little ones from Uganda.  Follow their journey and read about their unwavering faith in our Lord...they are true examples of putting it all in HIS  hands.

7. Ducky @ Batcrap Crazy ...I found Ducky because she commented on this scary post.  I have been following her ever since.  She is witty and has that kick of snarky that I just love.  Her blog is a blast to read!

8. Ashley @ I Love You More Than Carrots ...soon to be mother of two and seriously funny.  Her lastest post is entitled "Tiny Baby Hands in My Hoo-Ha"  - enough said...go visit!

9. Shelley @ The House of Smiths ....this lady and her husband take creativity and DIY to a whole nother level....sometimes I feel like I am not even worthy to be there...lol.  Head on over, you will not be disappointed

10. Kelly @ Enjoying the Small Things ...yes, I am aware that probably the majority of the blogging world knows about Kelle Hampton, Bloom and Enjoying the Small Things.  That does not detract from my mad love.  I love her writing...I swoon over her pictures...and I busted out Bloom in two evenings - tears streaming and all.  Will she join in these reindeer games...probably not, but you just never know.

OK, Peeps...there you have it!  Thanks for baring with me for this incredibly long post...although it was probably much longer for me to create than for you to read through.  Thank you again to Anna for the blog love, and I hope that you will take a bit and check out some of my blog loves.  Have a GREAT weekend!!!  MWAH!!!!!

Soccer Guilt and I Gotta Get My Groove Back

Happy Hump Day….we are on the downhill slide!

Zachary’s soccer team is on fire….that is the only way to describe it.  They are not just winning, they are winning BIG! There have been 10+ goals scored in all three games.  Before you gasp and think how obnoxious is that, most of these kids have seen their share of really rough seasons where trust me, we couldn’t have paid for a goal.  It is good for them to finally be on the other side….a huge confidence boost. 

I think I put an Instagram whammy on this pic....he is so not this pale!

I have to admit though, I really feel bad for the other teams!!!  We know firsthand how it feels to not just lose, but lose in a big way.  Am I wrong to feel like the coach should call the boys off once it becomes obvious that they are going to really win?  Let’s just take out of the equation the fact that I used to be married to the coach….any thoughts?

Moving on to the next dilemma:  I am having a really hard time getting back in to the swing of exercising.  Before my trip in March, I was doing so well.  I had dropped about 8 pounds and was moving right along on the Couch Potato – 5K running program.   When I got back from Chicago, I was sporting the most insane blisters that I have ever experienced (great trip, but those blisters were just plain CRAZY).  Anyway, I have just had a horrible time reengaging since then.  And no, I do not need to be reminded how long it has been since I got back.  I am not feeling very good about the situation and for lack of better words…..I seriously need my groove back.  The last week or so I have been seriously considering joining Weight Watchers.  My mom joined back a couple of months ago – even though she only had about 12 pounds or so to lose, but she is loving it and says that it is much easier than it ever was before.  Not to mentioned Cyn – the Weight Watchers Rockstar who I religiously follow at The Chunky Goddess…..ummmm… girlfriend seriously needs to change the name, cause trust me she ain’t chunky!!!!  I have tried it before, but it was literally YEARS ago so yes, I am a little apprehensive….should I do it online….should I find a meeting close by?  What to do….what to do?  I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions on WW or how in the world to get my exercise groove back.  HELP!!!!!!

Just A Moment Of Your Time...

This isn't the post that I had been planning on, but hey, sometimes things change so please bare with me.  I just found Sandi's blog a few days ago and I haven't even dropped her a comment to let her know that I am following, but when her post popped up in my email this afternoon I knew I had to do my part to spread the word about her sweet granddaughter Celeste Alena.  Please read her post below from this afternoon and take a moment (literally, that is all it will take) to vote and hopefully help this family give their precious daughter a better quality of life.

My Granddaughter Celeste Alena

Something a bit different than my Dukan diet… A story about my oldest grandchild, Celeste and a special request for my blogging community.

Celeste was born with a brain abnormality called microcephaly, which means small head, which results in a small brain. She also has agenesis of the corpus collosum. The corpus collosum is a thin, tendon like membrane that separates the two sides of the brain. In Celeste’s case this has caused severe developmental delays. She does not sit or stand on her own. She is unable to feed herself or even roll over… But she has the most amazing smile and personality of anyone you could ever meet.
Celeste will be 13 on April 25th. When she was little it was easy to move her from one place to another, put her in a carseat and buckle her in safely. This isn’t possible anymore. For starters she’s growing and is dead weight and difficult to transfer into the car. Because of her brain abnormality, her limbs are rigid and my daughter and her hubby have to use extreme caution getting her into the car without hurting her.

My daughter Jenni has signed up for a contest to win a wheelchair accessible van. This would be a God-send for them. Purchasing a van is cost prohibitive (contrary to what a lot of people think, insurance does not pay for this).

If you could take a moment of your time and click the link below, I would be so very grateful. If you’d really like to increase Celeste’s chance of winning, you can click everyday

The PROMO CODE for the first time is 873… If you use that code, she gets 5 votes from you!
http://nmeda.com/mobility-awareness-month/heroes/florida/jensen-beach/883/jenni-macmunn

Here’s a pic of my sweet girl… If she could, she’d tell you THANK YOU

Here’s a message from Celeste’s mom:

As many of you know, Chris & I really need a wheelchair van to safely transport Celeste. As she gets older & bigger, it gets more & more difficult to lift her in & out of our vehicles. The company below is being very generous by giving away 3 wheelchair accessible vehicles. It would be a huge blessing and relief for us if we were to win one of them. The winner will be selected from the top 10% that rec’d the most votes. Voting is going on now & ends on Sun., May 13th. We really need your help! Please vote for Celeste every day by searching “MacMunn” on www.nmeda.com under “Local Heros”. Right now, some people have over 3,000 votes & so we have a long way to go. Please share on your FB pages, blogs, etc. We really appreciate it. Enter promo code “873” the 1st time you vote to get 5 entries instead of 1. Thank you all so very much!

And thank you, from my WHOLE HEART!

Stories like this put into perspective for me how very fortunate I really am.  I realize that the things I think are a huge deal really don't amount to a hill of beans.  Please vote....it would mean the world to this sweet family.  Have a great weekend!

The Liebster Blog Award

I got an email yesterday morning letting me know that I had a comment on a blog post.  I love those emails....that is confirmation that somebody out there is actually reading.  Well, imagine my surprise when I read this:

You've been nominted for a Blog Award!  Please check out my latest post. : )

So yes, I am pretty darn excited!  It would have been exciting no matter who it had come from, but it came from another relatively "newbie blogger".  The award

is all about helping helping bloggers (with 200 followers or less) get some new traffic to their blog, and I am all about that!  A huge "THANK YOU" shout out to L.C over at The Brunette Bride for the nomination!

In order to keep the award rolling, here are my five nominations:

1. Rachel

2. Becky

3. Ashley

4. Danielle

5. Anna

5 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. I am vegetarian, but you will occasionally find me eating shrimp - if I could conquer my cheese addiction I could probably go vegan without much difficulty (does anyone know if there is a twelve step program for cheese addiction????)

2. I make every effort to buy my makeup, cleaning supplies and candles vegan/cruelty free and eco friendly.  There is still stuff that I am using that isn't, but I can't bring myself to just throw stuff out - I will just make better choices when I replenish.

3.  I think that I was more excited about the Hunger Games opening than my 11 year old son.  There is something seriously wrong with that isn't there???

4.  I am an only child and after 40-something years I am still not very happy about it.

5.  I would love to live near the beach....there is just something about the beach and the ocean that puts me at peace.  Ocean vacations seem to be the ones where I am never ready to come home...Sanibel Island anyone?
***********************************************************************************

If you have been nominated, here is what you do to keep it rolling:

Each Nominee Should:

1. Choose five, up and coming blogs to give the Liebster award to.  Blogs must have less than 200 followers.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites.  Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they’ve received the award.
5. Share five random facts about yourself!

Huge hugs going out to L.C. - thank you again for giving my little blog a boost!

Night Blog Peeps!

HELP!!!!!

For the love of all things holy, somebody please HELP!!!!  For the last two hours or so I have desperately been trying to follow step by step instructions on how to add a reply button to my comments so that when one of you lovelies comments I can reply right back at ya.  I love my commenters and want you to know that I am reading them. I have been following the code listed on Spice Up Your Blog, and I finally got my blog to accept the coding without error, but nothing happened.  Now if you look you are going to think that I have lost my marbles because it does say "Reply" underneath each comment, BUT when I click there, "NADA"  nothing happens.  So if anyone out there is good with html and would be willing to help a girl out....the extent of my gratitude would be without bounds (OK, this is quite an exaggeration - however I am very frustrated and very desperate at this point).

To Rachel and Anna....I will get back to you on your comments from my last post come hell or high water.  But for tonight, I am giving up - I have had it and I can't take one more frustrating minute at this damn computer!

Night, Peeps!

Simple Stuff...But I'm Loving It

I am generally behind the times on pretty much….EVERYTHING!  Remember, I just finally went Android less than a month ago – prior to that I had the most basic of phones that probably most 4 year olds could operate.  Enter my TOMS shoes fascination.  I have admired the cause and the idea ever since I heard about them years ago.  I have been reluctant to jump on the bandwagon – not because I didn’t believe in the cause, but because none of the shoes have jumped out and screamed “BUY ME”.  Maybe that is the wrong attitude to have – it is charity after all and going to a great cause, but I just couldn’t bring myself to buy something and just have it sit in my (incredibly out of control) closet.  So, they never screamed at me - until now.  These babies SCREAMED  spring to me and they insisted on coming home with me.

Spring in a shoe

Not only are they beyond cute they are also sustainable and vegan friendly – gotta love it!  I am now the proud owner of my first pair of TOMS…and yes, way late to jump on the bandwagon.

Here are a  few things I am excited about today (besides my new TOMS).  Just got notification from Amazon that the book I preordered “Bloom” by Kelle Hampton over at "Enjoying the Small Things" should be delivered tomorrow! 

If you are not familiar with the greatness that is KH, be sure to take a minute out of your day (I bet you end up staying a lot longer) and see what all the fuss is about.  Have any of you had the disappointing experience of asking a question via a blog comment – I mean a real question, that you are dying for the answer to and you are left out to dry?  Well, I have, and let me tell you it sucks it is very frustrating.  Well, the beyond AWESOME Shannon over @ Life After I "Dew" did not disappoint today.  Yesterday, she posted this most awesome Pintrest inspired wreath that she TOTALLY rocked!

Yes, it is perfectly fine to ewww and ahhh...I did!

I commented and told her so, and then today proceeded to ask her a gazillion questions about it and how I might recreate it.  She was a saint, I tell you!  I will tell you like I told her – I am not one of those gals that can just throw a dinner together.  I have to have a step by step recipe.  I am the same with new craft projects.  I need the “DEETS”.  She humored me at every turn, and now I feel totally compelled (and prepared) to make the damn wreath happen – whatever it takes, and just pray that it turns out half as good as hers did.  And finally…drumroll please….just precious hours ago INSTAGRAM was launched for Android!!!! 

As I have mentioned many times before I am a picture junkie.  I have stood by forever, longing to do something akin to a weekly photo dump on my own blog instead of just enjoying everyone else’s.  Now, as soon as I get things all figured out, I can join in the reindeer games also known as Instagram. 

For the few of you that are in the DFW area, I hope you survived the crazy storms this afternoon unscathed…they were wild weren’t they??? And to the rest of my blog peeps – Happy Tuesday!

A Bit of This and That

Happy Monday, Peeps!  Let me just say that I had EVERY intention of doing a post yesterday….I really did.  With that being said, I truly got lost in the blogosphere yesterday.  I was determined to get caught up on my “regular reads”.  I get downright cranky when I don’t get my fix, and that seems to be happening more and more frequently.  Anyway, as I was reading through my blog roll, I kept getting distracted….a lot of my regular reads do monthly sponsors, or after reading a post, I would get sidetracked on one of THEIR blog rolls….A.D.D. much?????   Needless to say, I have a few new blogs on my roll, time got away from me and before I knew it, it was way past my bedtime.

Enough of that….I had a pretty good and semi productive weekend.  Friday night Zachary and I enjoyed dinner al fresco at my parents.  They have a beautiful patio and the weather was perfect!  Friday night and Saturday morning I worked on handmade note cards for my blog giveaways. 

Two of the three cards plus the front of a gift box

Homemade gft wrap and top of the gift boc

As I'm sure you know by now....none of my projects are complete without a little help from this guy

Yeah, I know that giveaway closed like two weeks ago.  What can I say…I may have been a little over ambitious when I decided to do that smack in the middle of finishing a huge scrapbook and going on vacation.  I also had some shipping issues which were no fault of my own.  For the ladies that are waiting on their goodies…never fear….everything got done, packaged up and delivered to the post office Saturday morning….they are on their way PRIORITY MAIL.  Thank you again for your patience!

Sunday, got off to a slow start.  Zachary had a friend spend the night and they stayed up WAY too late.  We ended up at brunch at Cracker Barrel….YUMM!!!  Right after lunch time, we (one of us rather unwillingly) kicked it into high gear and started tackling tidying up Zachary’s closet.  We managed to get rid of a whole bag of unwanted “stuff”.  We also recycled a ton of books and CDs with Half Price books.  The return compared to what we dropped off was miniscule, but I felt good that someone else will get use out of them as opposed to just trashing them - not to mention all the space it freed up for me.  In case you are wondering, I am on a huge “clean and organize” kick.  There is a small chance that I will move midsummer, but more likely it will be next year and I refuse to once again move a bunch of stuff that I have no intention of ever using or needing again.  I have done this too many times to count and I don’t want to fall victim to it yet again.  It is definitely a work in progress, but as they say “slow and steady wins the race”.  Next weekend I will be tackling my own closet and believe me…it could monopolize the entire weekend – no joke.  Maybe I will be brave and share a “before and after”. *****CRINGING*****

Have a great week!