tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25887394193555955012024-03-05T23:39:33.273-05:00Heavenly HamakosEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-86531887531268719252012-06-01T17:50:00.001-04:002012-06-01T17:50:03.681-04:00my sweet mary evelyn.it's been years in the making, but i finally did it. i put my big girl panties on and agreed to go up to Pennsylvania to see my grandparents. i could not continue the emotional denial any further. we packed our family of five in the car and left last weekend for what has been avoided for the last three years. <br />
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this would be the first time i would see my grandmother since she lost the ability to recognize people. </div>
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i knew what to expect, but i didn't <i>know</i> what to expect. you know how people will say things like "she acts like a toddler now" or "she gets confused easily." it's all very different when you experience it for yourself, and probably for a thousand different reasons.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If old people had exersaucers, these would be the toys attached to my grandma's.</td></tr>
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i walked into the house at 7:30am. she had just finished eating her cereal. her hair was all over the place --- <i>boy, if she knew what she looked like, she wouldn't be sitting there like that for my husband and i to see. she was always well put together. hair and make-up always done. and here she sat before me looking like a frizzy lionness. </i> i said "good morning" to her and immediately asked her if she was done eating so i could take her bowl to the sink. she gave me a quick "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">yup</span>!" and off i went. upon returning to the table i noticed her gazing fondly at my hubby's sneakers. she said, "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">WOW! Look at those shoes! Those are NICE!</span>" and there it was... that innocence that was undeniably adorable. over the next five minutes i took over sitting with her while my hubby, kids, and grandfather went outside to look at the pool we would all be converging on to disassemble shortly. when my mom made it to town the first thing she did was to put my grandma's hair back in a french braid. she finally resembled the woman i called grandma.<br />
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i couldn't stop staring at her, remembering all the fond things she used to say to me. i sat watching her with tears in my eyes, which turned into tears down my face, which illicited much inquisition from grandma. she was so puzzled. "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">why are you clying?</span>" ... "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">or something like that</span>." she used words that were slightly wrong, but she didn't know what was wrong about them, so she couldn't fix it to say "cRying." i tried to explain that my tears were because i missed her house, this place, this life with my grandparents involved, but she didn't understand, and she stopped paying attention. she started singing "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">doodlydoodledoooooo</span>" and tapping away with a ruler on a cup. i knew deep down inside, this was still the same woman. her love of music hasn't stopped. she even started whistling. <br />
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at one point i made some silly face in a reaction to something she did --- i got the biggest laugh in return. <i>hmmmmmmmmmm she likes it. she likes crazy silly faces. MORE FACES!</i> so i pulled out all the stops, constantly making silly faces and even resorted to making silly <strike>farting</strike> noises. i had her rolling. and you know what was the best part? she told me how cute i was. i think i stopped breathing. i found myself back in tears. she is so much like the old her, but she just can't remember me. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i so love her.</td></tr>
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it was a 90 degree day in Pennsylvania that day. my grandparents don't have air conditioning, nor do they believe in opening windows to cool down. there wasn't a fan in sight and the only thing we had to cool us down was being destroyed in the backyard {the pool}. with six kids running around miserable from the heat, we found them constantly in and out of the house. their gut was to go inside to get away from the heat, but then they'd get there and realize it was hotter there than outside. <br />
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each and every time my oldest daughter would enter the house, my grandmother would stop doing whatever she was doing and she'd just stare at Emma. truth be told Emma didn't know what to say and after the first few instances of this my sweet baby girl was really bothered by the attention. my grandma would stare at her and just say "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">wowwwwwww, you are BEAUTIFUL</span>!" over and over and over and over. she was completely enamored by her, which warmed my heart to no end. i tear up just thinking of it. i'm so touched that even in her confused state, she can say such lovely things to my child. i know emma was uncomfortable, but i hope one day that will be what she remembers of her great-grandma. i'll never have my grandma tell me that i'm doing a great job with my kids, but at least i know she thinks they're beautiful. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan (9 yrs)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNKqHJnn8ExoTj06HBm85Ezt4ZkT51R1-eufP2JYoEKQUbbXVmdwyrJGSnDj4IZLSvnwr0UxJZjovgLr4Kmx7-kwUGtdP_SgY08d9CpxwRRHow9RrXtAH8m9halhu4C-voyqLF03cuva8/s1600/P5265134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNKqHJnn8ExoTj06HBm85Ezt4ZkT51R1-eufP2JYoEKQUbbXVmdwyrJGSnDj4IZLSvnwr0UxJZjovgLr4Kmx7-kwUGtdP_SgY08d9CpxwRRHow9RrXtAH8m9halhu4C-voyqLF03cuva8/s640/P5265134.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma (8 yrs)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_LyUAYDzA_UMfJxXZr-i00jwioTXbCekENR2VGYbespXNIC4koJBS1OO3yUTyPRxiWm_7lt1iuN9peA_LlAo4u0e9ZKJkHyEQ0EraQBexgWTZYuC359qkoXRukuMKCLudlblps5vJ5RZ/s1600/P5265126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_LyUAYDzA_UMfJxXZr-i00jwioTXbCekENR2VGYbespXNIC4koJBS1OO3yUTyPRxiWm_7lt1iuN9peA_LlAo4u0e9ZKJkHyEQ0EraQBexgWTZYuC359qkoXRukuMKCLudlblps5vJ5RZ/s640/P5265126.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie (6 yrs)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnEXm4g8yyauWBlx9p-R3IluainojaQoMJ3y3EoyQHNLdz_HbewGjKYhZhd3n7an5zv7VpTCGUfJi17gWM2LumcAe3id9iSZRMiFNMfVIGE_try1FA6RY4bDDCLJfFefF-1YftDfBn0wq/s1600/P5265157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnEXm4g8yyauWBlx9p-R3IluainojaQoMJ3y3EoyQHNLdz_HbewGjKYhZhd3n7an5zv7VpTCGUfJi17gWM2LumcAe3id9iSZRMiFNMfVIGE_try1FA6RY4bDDCLJfFefF-1YftDfBn0wq/s640/P5265157.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pool that all the kids and grandkids learned to swim in...that my grandma is now afraid of.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing at the bridge where all of us kids and grandkids used to feed the minnows and take a quick dip...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmY3_kC0FmgiKcsxvkWWWu3LJ4FofavrKff9tM1S0nd1SblkRAZrVd_Hw32ui7e1rMCApu0JPRHPPq3kr8L7uuYwL-051bBRJ7MpImmnJKDLx4rRRycrggoRqDmtrkCPXm2XPfXsTvIl7/s1600/P5265175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmY3_kC0FmgiKcsxvkWWWu3LJ4FofavrKff9tM1S0nd1SblkRAZrVd_Hw32ui7e1rMCApu0JPRHPPq3kr8L7uuYwL-051bBRJ7MpImmnJKDLx4rRRycrggoRqDmtrkCPXm2XPfXsTvIl7/s640/P5265175.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... now the cows reign over this land - no swimming in there anymore!</td></tr>
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After taking the kids down to the "crick," I walked back up to the house to find my hubby ready to head over to the hotel. After a day of hard work in 90 degrees he needed to get to the air conditioned hotel room. <br />
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Before I left I went inside to say goodbye to my grandma. I found her in a chair panting and exhaling a lot. I asked her if she was hot and she said "<span style="font-size: xx-small;">yes</span>." it was as if she was seeing me for the first time again. i told her i'd get her a nice cold cloth for her head {<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">why had nobody thought of this yet?</span>} -- when i returned i wiped her face and put the cold cloth on her head. she looked longingly into my eyes and said "thank you for taking care of me." i started crying. she has always been the one to take care of me. it made me really sad things aren't the same. i told her how much i loved her and she said, "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">wow you sure are birdy</span>!" and by that, based of my knowledge of things she used to say to us, i'm pretty sure she mean't "purdy" -- she followed it by saying... "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">or something like that!</span>" i gave her a big kiss on her cheek and bid her farewell until the next day. i had to leave because i had to have an enormous cry. <br />
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my grandma's name is mary evelyn. she will only answer to this name. she doesn't go by "mom" or "grandma" and if you do slip and call her that, she always asks "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">who's that</span>?" calling her mary evelyn this weekend was hard. she is my grandma but as she exists today, she has no idea i belong to her. that's a hard thing to swallow. <br />
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we spent the next day with the entire family (23 of us) at the best amusement park on the planet, <b style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="http://www.knoebels.com/" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" target="_blank">knoebel's grove</a></b>. my grandparents showed up late and left early, so we didn't get to spend much time with them there, but my kids had a great day to make up for the depressing and stifling day before. as soon as i made it back to virigina, i ordered two slim standing oscillating fans from amazon and had them two-day shipped to my grandparents house. the last thing i need to do is worry about my grandma getting heat stroke. <br />
<br />Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-68942546986892626122012-01-26T15:00:00.000-05:002012-01-26T15:00:25.085-05:001.2.3. breathe.2011 was a year i could live without doing over. such pain. and stress --- and heartache. i keep telling my kids that the only way not to hurt so bad is to never love so much. but can you honestly fathom living your life without loving with your whole heart?<br />
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i know i am not capable of loving less than that... unless i don't love you at all.<br />
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my father-in-law passed away on december 30th. after twenty months of a courageous battle against cancer, he finally is at peace once again. {<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">bitter sweet, you know?</span>}<br />
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my only adult experiences with death were those of my great-grandparents ten years ago. the funerals were in a small town in Pennsylvania. the type where it literally feels like you go back in time when you cross that township line. THAT kinda small town. i hadn't seen most my family in years... so even though i was {<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">awkwardly</span>} a pall bearer, it still felt like a fun family reunion more than a funeral. <i> </i><br />
my grammy and pappy were people we hadn't seen in years. the pain of their death wasn't as devastating. my grammy had alzheimer's... she hadn't been herself in 10 years. my pappy died shortly after she did. they say that is very common with the elderly. but given the distance of the previous decade, the loss was ultimately less painful because i hadn't spoken to him in so long.<br />
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my point is..... i never fully experienced emotional pain with death. i experienced some regret, but not full-on emotional pain.<br />
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(<i>although, i take part of that back</i>... we had to put my dog of 13 years down back in november. that certainly was some heavy emotional pain. but even then, that's dog-pain. not people-pain. and in this instance, there certainly was a difference. jiggah and i just weren't uber-close, though i definitely was sad and depressed that day he died. and for several days thereafter.)<br />
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but people-pain... yeah. not so much.<br />
<br />
my father-in-law was a fantastic man. he loved me as though i was a daughter by birth. and not only did he show me love in that way, he vocalized it to me. over these last few years, given the state of my relationship with my own dad, i definitely felt a stronger bond with my FIL. ironically, those were also the years he was much shorter with me in temperment! i felt the love. i mean.... you don't snap at the people you DON'T love, right?! <i>ain't that some shhhhhh....</i><br />
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here's something my brother-in-law wrote about my FIL:<br />
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small;">In memory of Col. Herbert Hamako, a great American and a wonderful father-in-law. He was unjustly put in an internment camp as a child during WWII, yet loved his country and went on to serve a distinguished decades-long career in the US Air Force. Herb passed away this morning surrounded by his family. I'm grateful that my daughters got to spend so much time with him. We all will miss you, Herb.</span></h6><b>ain't that some SERIOUS shhhhhhh....</b><br />
<br />
my father-in-law passed away with all of his children surrounding him. i've never experienced anything like it, yet to wonder if that happened to my own father right now, who would be there in that way? the dedication my brother and sister-in-laws have shown throughout these 20 months has been something i can only wish for all dying members of our society. the respect, the love, the faithfulness and dedication. it was beautiful, however painful it may have been, up until his very last breath. the care my sister-in-laws provided those last few nights was top-notch, and always full of love regardless of how tired they were becoming. on that last night i tried my best to get up for the hourly dispersion of medication, but i found myself only making it for every other, not even realizing there had been one in between. i don't know how the girls did it. they were amazing.<br />
<br />
that last morning with my father in law was quite peaceful. all his children and my mother-in-law sat or laid on the bed with him, holding his hand, stroking his face. and the rest of us stood around them watching. waiting.<br />
<br />
when it happened all of our hearts must have skipped a beat. i shook. my legs just couldn't stop shaking, and the pure emotional pain of the end took over me. my son put it best...<br />
<br />
<em>i don't know if i am more upset because my grandfather died or because my dad's dad died.</em><br />
<br />
sitting in that room with all of these people you love, watching them suffer the loss of their husband or father, it makes it all the worse. i cried for so many reasons that day, but mostly because i will <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">truly</span> miss him. what an awesome human being.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">*****</span></div><br />
it's been almost a month since he has passed and life certainly has slowed down. we miss him dearly and speak of him often around the house. we are all looking forward to the spring/summer when all of the family can reunite to spread his ashes, and perhaps, smoke a cigar and drink some grand marnier in his memory. <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> i think he'd like that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">i also think he'd like the fact that my work sent me a bonsai tree in his memory, which the kids aptly named "HERBIE T 'MAKO"... after their "amazing grandpa." </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTieNsD8BDzJOjVvhLKYHhPalQRnfmeWPr0hBOG3xG58Bo2JQVjAUsTZ1tg2zBb3hdei8zgxHgmkDb8Cl5PhqdGbzcZrhzsek8gv5oVyOzJLOfHBZOFHq9a8svDgcnTHC4TQSi2Jo9n6R/s1600/E+with+PopPop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTieNsD8BDzJOjVvhLKYHhPalQRnfmeWPr0hBOG3xG58Bo2JQVjAUsTZ1tg2zBb3hdei8zgxHgmkDb8Cl5PhqdGbzcZrhzsek8gv5oVyOzJLOfHBZOFHq9a8svDgcnTHC4TQSi2Jo9n6R/s400/E+with+PopPop.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-67865867086187519452012-01-26T14:41:00.000-05:002012-01-26T14:41:19.464-05:00minted madness!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">i am a sucker for good, quality christmas cards. for the past three years i've used a wonderful company called minted.com.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">they are awesome and the cards have an awesome weight to them. never been disappointed and even if i was, i know i can count on minted to help a sistah out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">ANYWAY...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">right now they are running a "refer a friend" deal... </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.minted.com/referral/landing/1wridf"><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">http://www.minted.com/referral/landing/1wridf</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">i hate to just throw that embedded link out on my blog, but click it and head on over to minted.com. you'll get $25 just for signing up! one catch... minimum purchase of $30. BUT, you can get some good quality classroom valentine's for just a little over that. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">DO IT! what are you WAITING FORRRRRRRRRR?!?!?! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">run, don't walk.... </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">by the way, they'll give YOU $25 for each referral that signs up for minted.com... up to 100 times over! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">my socks have officially been ROCKED!</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-13355709765336669042011-09-17T19:59:00.000-04:002011-09-17T19:59:09.500-04:00i am in hysterics right now. serious out loud hysterics. a total laugh out loud moment.<br />
<br />
i have sucked at blogging this summer. i know i suck, i not only can visibly see that i suck, i also <i>feel</i> i suck. but you know what <i>doesn't</i> suck? the fact that i've had a zillion blog hits this summer. i am <i>totally</i> digging that. but can i tell you why i think i've had so many??<br />
<br />
ok, FACT. i don't think this, i <i>know</i> this.<br />
<br />
crazy and amazingly awesome peeps are finding me via a google search for preying/praying mantis. LUUUUUUUUURVE this! how random that i <a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2011/08/summery-love.html">blogged</a> about it and even <i>more</i> random that people click my blog on the google search options for preying/praying mantis. it makes me giggle. more than giggle, in fact. it's just so neat, this internet world of ours. we are connected people, whether you like to think it or not --- people all over the world research the wonderful preying/praying mantis, not just the good ole U.S.A.. you never know where a "click" can take ya and where you'll find your next friend. <br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so for all you crazy awesome preying/praying mantis fans......... <b style="color: red;">W<span style="color: orange;">E</span><span style="color: yellow;">L</span><span style="color: lime;">C</span><span style="color: cyan;">O</span><span style="color: blue;">M</span><span style="color: purple;">E</span></b>! </span></span>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-32129672992233358762011-08-28T10:55:00.000-04:002011-08-28T10:55:13.305-04:00lucky girl.i have a wonderful family. i was born lucky like that. not only was i <i>born</i> lucky like that, i <i>birthed</i> lucky like that. double amazingness, i know.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AZmPTuKummFutE0N8H3-w_z1yC0sidvlo7KxELL6leoNmxCU2vJB1mPyDz9dAWizqv6zZuQvn4hr-Z0Y-sZdzQRAdgJrdRdQBJUXuRSNOi9tb-X0318rEKYgA1BoeAfy1nzBTs55VTOL/s1600/P7211461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AZmPTuKummFutE0N8H3-w_z1yC0sidvlo7KxELL6leoNmxCU2vJB1mPyDz9dAWizqv6zZuQvn4hr-Z0Y-sZdzQRAdgJrdRdQBJUXuRSNOi9tb-X0318rEKYgA1BoeAfy1nzBTs55VTOL/s400/P7211461.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
my sweet, angelic, hysterically funny first born turned 9 last week. as is common with his birthdays, he dreaded it. honestly i think this came from having an older daycare provider when he was young. she was also the funeral coordinator at the church. <i>do you realize just how many people die each week?</i> it's a sad, <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">sad</span> amount. because so many people die each day, and because she was the funeral coordinator for the church, do you want to know how much talk of DEATH there was? i never realized this until ethan got older. as loving a woman as she was, i think she scared the ever loving shit out of my son. <br />
<br />
children are inquisitive little beings. inquisitive and honest, both of which are beautiful qualities that led to emotional scarring. at least, it did in this case. <br />
<br />
as much discussion as there was about death in that daycare she always told my son that the individual died from being old.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">ding. freaking. ding.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">my son doesn't want to get old because then you die. <i>if i turn another year older, i'm closer to death.</i></div><br />
i get that logic, but damnit....................... birthdays are supposed to be happy. not morbid. every year, like clockwork my boy gets morbid. this year he cried and cried and cried saying he was going to make an effort to get up early so he could be 8 for just a little longer. he was born at 8:38am. he was bound and determined this year to be up by 7am. and damnit, he was.<br />
<br />
knowing my sweet bambino would be upset that morning, while he slept i blew up thirty balloons and scattered them all across the floor of his room so they would greet him first thing.<br />
<br />
by God it worked.<br />
<br />
he was so happy and tickled pink that it was his big day. there was no talk about the time, there was no talk about NOT wanting to turn nine. all that we saw was that angelic smile he was born with nine years ago that day. it was awesome.<br />
<br />
he's had a rough summer. his best friend (and cousin) moved to wisconsin. his grandpa got very sick again. his other grandpa got very sick again. his dog is on his last legs (and even then it's only when they aren't slipping out from underneath of him.) --- it's been an emotionally charged summer, but only in the saddest of ways possible. that entire week before and up to his birthday was nothing but one crying fest after another. <br />
<br />
and i can't say i blame him.<br />
<br />
but fast forward three days past his birthday to his actual birthday party. you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with my baby. he was happy --- and doubly happy when he saw his best friend/cousin/wisconsinion show up for his party. it was euphoric!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmfOElmM97oS-qcT1UgUbJJl9_Yuw-KwDjlE5bS6DcIG6Ztyq2YiV9RjCE0rty9KqmNJdEJCax6YSQ6s2p_IFIoKyx20RgEHFu5J6nnrd2fZwumKeHf5zgc4qdaAjuewTYHptPbZAzlvn/s1600/P8212086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmfOElmM97oS-qcT1UgUbJJl9_Yuw-KwDjlE5bS6DcIG6Ztyq2YiV9RjCE0rty9KqmNJdEJCax6YSQ6s2p_IFIoKyx20RgEHFu5J6nnrd2fZwumKeHf5zgc4qdaAjuewTYHptPbZAzlvn/s400/P8212086.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
the party only consisted of members of his football team. due to the mass amount of kids on his team, we requested no gifts. <i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">people HOUND you about that, did you know that??? </span></i> after learning lessons about true starvation this summer, ethan asked that if people insisted on bringing a gift, that it be a small cash donation so he can make his own contribution to the<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://usa.wfp.org/" style="color: blue;">World Food Program</a></span>. honestly, this was his idea.<br />
<br />
it was one of those moments in life that sorta takes your breath away from the sheer amazement of what just happened. i cried. <i> i cried, i cried, i cried.</i> what a gem.<br />
<br />
two hours of partying later and he had raised enough money to purchase 600 meals for people in Africa. SIX HUNDRED MEALS! he felt like a <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hero</span>... his exact words.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6hvB9IINW1dXM_EgGFuTYnbzuTT478xx0FsLYtpsdXCSpMCXaCluBjH__stZKbf8JkiKnEe0J93Q_PZ5GPNlV31HggmZG3MyQ4lSGIe-bHLnfXrPMA8Bg8-qHYzMfz9MhLZAuQUIjVHt/s1600/IMG_1656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6hvB9IINW1dXM_EgGFuTYnbzuTT478xx0FsLYtpsdXCSpMCXaCluBjH__stZKbf8JkiKnEe0J93Q_PZ5GPNlV31HggmZG3MyQ4lSGIe-bHLnfXrPMA8Bg8-qHYzMfz9MhLZAuQUIjVHt/s400/IMG_1656.JPG" width="298" /></a></div><br />
<br />
thinking back to the lessons of this summer, while they hurt like hell, i truly love what they taught my son. beyond what true starvation is, my son learned about the importance of supporting one another - that we can make a difference in this world through things both large and small.... and that sitting back waiting for others isn't the answer.<br />
<br />
<i>but can i share a little secret with you? </i> one of the children i was a nanny for just went off to college this year. in fact, it was just last weekend. she, too, wants to change the world, and <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i believe she's going to do it.</span> because of her belief in changing the world with education, my son realized he could help the people in Africa... it wasn't far fetched, or out of his reach. because of <i>her</i> he came up with the idea of sending birthday money to Africa. he didn't just have to think about the starvation, he knew he could take action and do something about it. After all, Paige has made two trips to Kenya since January and raised enough money to board 18 students at the Royal Kids School in Mombasa.<br />
<br />
THANK YOU PAIGE! without your hard work with<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.e3kids.com/">E3</a></span>, my son wouldn't have made that connective step to helping others. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>you</b></u> inspired him</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">. </span><br />
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for those of you reading this today, please visit her website<span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://globalpaige.com/">Global Paige</a></span> and check out how awesome my baby girl is. i've known her since she was 6 and couldn't be more proud of who she is today. she truly is changing the world and blazing a path along the way. a true inspiration!Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-34305253270094948312011-08-15T11:21:00.000-04:002011-08-15T11:21:39.936-04:00summery love<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">yesterday i sat at work and noticed a huge preying mantis on my window.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLCHzRHP52tu-5nKbdAA53cVY_WwOhtWp1FhUxUka89syc4huDVL9guTGQxk_bqL1-dcHxOA7nJRsHgKhEUk5pNT7zTV8D2zhynV5ZpCATcYZugjp0Y8NTYJiusdpDLjdr-OBan4qf4tr/s1600/preying-mantis-green-light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLCHzRHP52tu-5nKbdAA53cVY_WwOhtWp1FhUxUka89syc4huDVL9guTGQxk_bqL1-dcHxOA7nJRsHgKhEUk5pNT7zTV8D2zhynV5ZpCATcYZugjp0Y8NTYJiusdpDLjdr-OBan4qf4tr/s320/preying-mantis-green-light.jpg" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">he stayed there for 9 hours.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">how is that fun?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">how is that safe?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>don't you get hungry?</i></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">it really made me wonder what these guys do for fun.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">how do you live without <span style="color: orange; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">f<span style="color: #6aa84f;">u</span><span style="color: purple;">n</span></span></b></span>?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">i <i>can't</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">***** </span></span></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">is summer as busy in <i>your</i> neck of the woods as it is in <i>mine</i>?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">because it is doggone ridiculous how little i time i have these days.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">but catch this....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">i have seriously been <b style="color: red;">l<span style="color: #e06666;">o</span>v<span style="color: #e06666;">i</span>n<span style="color: #e06666;">g</span></b> life.</span><br />
and truly been out <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">enjoying</span> it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">life is so, <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so</span> good.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">for instance... the summer tomatoes around here have been top notch.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(and so have all the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'<span style="color: #e69138;">lopes</span></span>!)</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">time out in the sun has been enjoyable, not just for the kids, but for me, too.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">when's the last time that happened? i mean, i actually caught a <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">good</span> tan this year.</span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">five nights a week of football has been fun for all of us.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">usually it doesn't take long for my kids to burn out.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times;">but this year everyone finds something to enjoy about it.</span></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">life is <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">good</span> and <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">plentiful</span>. so plentiful that i can't take a minute to jot down my thoughts, funny things, or entries about events in our lives. it's just been <i>that</i> busy. but isn't that a <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">good</span> thing? because while i kind of love the <i>concept</i> of being able to hang out by myself on the outside of a window for nine hours, i truly can't imagine myself doing it. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i have figured out that i forget how to live a stagnant lifestyle. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;">happy august, ya'll! time sure does fly.</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-42136068455349953062011-06-30T16:55:00.001-04:002011-08-02T10:19:08.653-04:00before i forget...<div align="center">ah yes, alas there was one thing i earmarked for my return.</div><div align="center">is it fully debut-on-my-two-month-return-worthy?</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">i don't know.</div><div align="center">but it is awfully cute and easy.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">i am a fan of canvas art.</div><div align="center">particularly do-it-yourself-canvas-art.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">so riddle myself in AWE when i didn't think of <a href="http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/05/how-to-make-inexpensive-artwork.html">this</a> before:</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1Dg0zXQ5B91Ac4Q7jLFEH4bXbEpF2ga6w4ussihUDqZiw2WTvUhYBDtHG-5JAdSoFxGBY1aMdUBjUG5QB29HBxpEL5BukOVS4SgSm9GOsZ32AkWGiHk2PAThpl1TQWzNlcNu3MsOQ5_x/s1600/tissue-paper-art-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1Dg0zXQ5B91Ac4Q7jLFEH4bXbEpF2ga6w4ussihUDqZiw2WTvUhYBDtHG-5JAdSoFxGBY1aMdUBjUG5QB29HBxpEL5BukOVS4SgSm9GOsZ32AkWGiHk2PAThpl1TQWzNlcNu3MsOQ5_x/s400/tissue-paper-art-17.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://inmyownstyle.com/">In My Own Style</a></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">yes, yes, this website totally rules.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">so many amazing transformations and projects to melt into.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it's just awesome.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">over the last two months it is the ONLY blog i found that captured my attention.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">nevermind it may have been because it was the only one i had time to delve into and enjoy.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">BUT I DID and I ENJOY IT!</div><div align="center">and i suggest you run over there and enjoy it too!</div><div align="center">(the post about their trip to the NJ shore includes pics of the house they stayed in, recently built by their friends. i absolutely love, love, love that house!)</div><div align="center"><br />
</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-81778482688745254212011-06-30T16:37:00.000-04:002011-06-30T16:37:21.679-04:00shameful.<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">i have been so neglectful of you, haven't i?</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>shhhhhhh.... no need to say it out loud.</em></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">i feel enough guilt on the <em>inside</em> that hearing it on the outside might just make me <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">crumble</span>.</div><br />
do you know why i have such guilt? i have slowed my roll on the fitness trail of glory because i have sped up my roll on the sports-mama trail of glory. non-stop kiddie activities, and yet i haven't been able to fit <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">YOU</span>, my beautiful awesome readers, back into my daily/weekly schedule.<br />
<br />
while it's been a nice breather, my waistline is feeling the difference and i miss your virtual faces more than you can possibly imagine.<br />
<br />
i would love to sit here and tell you about all the awesome new blogs i have found, designs i have landed upon, steals and deals i am dying to share, but in all honesty, i haven't had a chance to check out much on this glorious-seemingly-never-ending <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">world wide web</span>. i have been in a bubble. a <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">sports</span> and <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">words-with-friends bubble</span>. living life as it's meant to be lived at that time. i mean, i firmly believe it was a decision made by higher peeps that my life was as it was over the last two months. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">bizzay</span>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">*****</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">tuesday we were blessed with a single-day visit from my little brother.</div><div style="text-align: center;">i love that little guy.</div><div style="text-align: center;">i mean... </div><div style="text-align: center;">grown adult.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZdVIcAloroSaRsRGyrJzI2S-p7Mjn_9lWr0Q2F_5MM10pz6KshyphenhyphenVqcSu7TDOHTTf3OtB8ObrN0kW-XkL4Y2AD0s2eqk_fwfQuFZDsORWg5HHWwx7rx5T8jWjtkOkikfsT13lOza6Xun3/s1600/cliff+and+em.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZdVIcAloroSaRsRGyrJzI2S-p7Mjn_9lWr0Q2F_5MM10pz6KshyphenhyphenVqcSu7TDOHTTf3OtB8ObrN0kW-XkL4Y2AD0s2eqk_fwfQuFZDsORWg5HHWwx7rx5T8jWjtkOkikfsT13lOza6Xun3/s400/cliff+and+em.JPG" width="273px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbrsC75M4Gzjl2eDCmFBXAyFbML0aTiYGSeBlZmj7GBC2llWxfUFq93THHya62bbJ2ogNaxBR856S51kPWF75fyo5we8PmVDpXoZq9M2wbe2gK2pFwPkjw9o5a3kYyW3uKhtnWoNvJBBM/s1600/cliff+soph.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbrsC75M4Gzjl2eDCmFBXAyFbML0aTiYGSeBlZmj7GBC2llWxfUFq93THHya62bbJ2ogNaxBR856S51kPWF75fyo5we8PmVDpXoZq9M2wbe2gK2pFwPkjw9o5a3kYyW3uKhtnWoNvJBBM/s400/cliff+soph.JPG" width="300px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcbKFHj4MHKThELMtNXaHx0OoUDo57LuYdRkliHLFZyjJ_hYiY8FL6p5JmIMwJr3BUUBJQyrONsSylUZ_YQPiTyriybS4bz9PcR3G76n87hU6ewkoYPkUlZFsFRvpZd_kNXZC-DUurFkZ/s1600/cliff+ben+and+jerry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcbKFHj4MHKThELMtNXaHx0OoUDo57LuYdRkliHLFZyjJ_hYiY8FL6p5JmIMwJr3BUUBJQyrONsSylUZ_YQPiTyriybS4bz9PcR3G76n87hU6ewkoYPkUlZFsFRvpZd_kNXZC-DUurFkZ/s400/cliff+ben+and+jerry.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZcvLAPiOVTY_AOl8zuV5LWD2_LTHaRShs_wd-ar8pNyXb7wwbqDXQjdNXNyhS7oC4Fk3HcN3EHxbORwHkH-iEjwQutYtbSGIY2rsNbtDwrDhtTccIEj4uoYR_CcegK-i471RBLdANnz6/s1600/cliff+dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZcvLAPiOVTY_AOl8zuV5LWD2_LTHaRShs_wd-ar8pNyXb7wwbqDXQjdNXNyhS7oC4Fk3HcN3EHxbORwHkH-iEjwQutYtbSGIY2rsNbtDwrDhtTccIEj4uoYR_CcegK-i471RBLdANnz6/s400/cliff+dinner.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwG0O__sTfT0TahV0gWRZ8yhE2j6Q4pNH6cn9PzxhYukzZ_51s02sE7o58kQdI97Gx0cqTM9CQG2J3ezUpO0EuSvc1pJUFGbVVKvm7Bt5YdkNtsTCzs3FOeCk0fbrI-IgxYgty5K6n6OGA/s1600/cliff+shin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwG0O__sTfT0TahV0gWRZ8yhE2j6Q4pNH6cn9PzxhYukzZ_51s02sE7o58kQdI97Gx0cqTM9CQG2J3ezUpO0EuSvc1pJUFGbVVKvm7Bt5YdkNtsTCzs3FOeCk0fbrI-IgxYgty5K6n6OGA/s400/cliff+shin.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_wx9MuMTJ5bviX8Ict-go8S7gSkcGHdyBk0fxWNUftROgUKyvWfN5kZOo88rh53INsWNLqT1zt13naGGyAqRpAPpn4Vysf3uQs1PQEpOA0xt4sE2H9TjLN9NjCE8jqJwG1t1dxmG6Hlm/s1600/cliff+sibs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_wx9MuMTJ5bviX8Ict-go8S7gSkcGHdyBk0fxWNUftROgUKyvWfN5kZOo88rh53INsWNLqT1zt13naGGyAqRpAPpn4Vysf3uQs1PQEpOA0xt4sE2H9TjLN9NjCE8jqJwG1t1dxmG6Hlm/s400/cliff+sibs.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">so glad we were able to spend the day together.</div><div style="text-align: center;">he so totally rocks.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">wish him luck on his 3-months in italy.</div><div style="text-align: center;">wish <em>me</em> luck on not being too jealous of his 3-months in italy.</div><div style="text-align: center;">*hmph*</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-63127343024232759172011-06-08T19:59:00.000-04:002011-06-08T19:59:38.672-04:00one month.<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">tomorrow marks one month since my last entry. it honestly feels like it was just yesterday. life is moving at the speed of light. i'm keeping up <i>this</i> time, but just not on here. my head is above water in my <u>real</u> world. my blog world, however, suffers.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">i love putting pen to paper and jotting down happenings, thoughts, and findings... but lately it hasn't felt like a priority. here's why...</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">i have given up late night blogging in exchange for 5:00am wake-up calls at the gym. and it sucks just as much as it sounds like it does. i totally swing the gym better in the evenings.... just like everyone else and their mother. at 5pm working out becomes more frustrating than i need it to be, especially since i'm still trying to ingrain physical fitness into my core being. that truly is my biggest challenge. so to alleviate this challenge as best i can, i'm working out before the sun comes up. it makes it all so much better and so much faster. BOOYAH!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">the best part of all of this robbing-paul-to-pay-peter-ish-type-of-thing-in-my-life, is that i don't have an ounce of blog guilt. it has been worth the swap out... and yes, my pants are definitely starting to fit better. it's pretty stinking awesome.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">you know what else is awesome? that i went to the grocery store, checked out with a bill of $140, and only paid about $68 after all my savings/coupons. anyone else doing the extreme couponing?</span> it's totally thrilling, exhilarating, rewarding, and a LOT of work! totally worth every bead of sweat i put into sorting through coupons and doing price matching and list making. but i'm not going to lie... these peeps make it muuuuuuch easier:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li><a href="http://coupondivas.com/">Coupon Divas </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.iamthatlady.com/">I am That Lady</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.passionforsavings.com/">Passion for Savings</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forthemommas.com/">For the Mommas</a></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;">... and i could go on and on and on. they're everywhere! </div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-29889802687018404462011-05-09T10:25:00.000-04:002011-05-09T10:25:35.985-04:00oh my word(s)<div style="text-align: justify;">Words have <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">meaning</span>. They can cut like a knife or make your heart all a-flutter. They have <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">purpose</span> and explain a lot about people. But like toothpaste, once it's out of the tube you can't put it back. Not easily, anyway.<br />
<br />
Two years ago when I was going through very troublesome times at work, I found out just how much power certain words carry. <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Discrimination</span>. <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Harrassment</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Disgusting</span>.<br />
<br />
I make a point to teach my children good communication skills. Don't call something <em>stupid</em> - tell me what the problem <em>is</em>. There are many, <em>many</em> words that just aren't allowed in our house, mainly because I want my kids to choose the <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">right</span> words. Not the <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">easy-to-reach words</span>.<br />
<br />
Just as I have worked with my children on their communication skills, I have also worked on the communication skills between my <em>husband and I</em>. We learned a lot though couple's counseling, but it has been over two years since we last went and it takes practice to keep up those good skills.<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<br />
Saturday I watched my husband receive the fruit of his on-again-off-again-collegiate-schooling that started over twenty-three years ago. He received his BLS in History and it was a moment I will never forget in all my life. My <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">children</span> couldn't have been prouder. And neither could <em>I</em>. Upon finding us after graduation my man rolled me up into a tight squeeze and whispered the following: <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">"I love you. Thank you. I will never forget this - never. Thank you so much."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
It was perfect and spoke volumes. Never over these past two and a half years did I feel I needed acknowledgment for my support, however when he said those words to me, it felt unbelievable. He loves me. <br />
He appreciates me. We did this together. It was an unbelievable realization that we met our goal. We made it to not just A goal, but a MAJOR goal in our entire family's life. God, it felt good. And I turned into a puddle. The emotions overcame me and I broke into tears. I love this man. I am proud of this man. I am so blessed to share a life with him.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6Yyzrc44_rqBwy3bSDvGw9XLilRRxm6vl76DAt0b101_WyX0LksEhyphenhyphenLO7hq-BcM_zNIS3O-0eOUBM1CIHnYk5iB_Bqw7Rgli0VdPElX3nJO5rWcSkp5XiZmjDeK-XigU6PG0P3WXBWfQ/s1600/Chris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6Yyzrc44_rqBwy3bSDvGw9XLilRRxm6vl76DAt0b101_WyX0LksEhyphenhyphenLO7hq-BcM_zNIS3O-0eOUBM1CIHnYk5iB_Bqw7Rgli0VdPElX3nJO5rWcSkp5XiZmjDeK-XigU6PG0P3WXBWfQ/s400/Chris.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">University of Mary Washington</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Class of 2011</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">100th Graduation Commencement</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0G8LXM-je5HxKJgJRqslOTWiUVruCzVYxktpPXoQsoyv-huyVNXYouV5s1Y8ORqqLlP8zYxQzHVLAL5_FvMUo8R9HTQpsGHLHv61ky_iIXPm0PVfRugNZktTVKUDHPOhSPytQlbc2y0S/s1600/Cheers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0G8LXM-je5HxKJgJRqslOTWiUVruCzVYxktpPXoQsoyv-huyVNXYouV5s1Y8ORqqLlP8zYxQzHVLAL5_FvMUo8R9HTQpsGHLHv61ky_iIXPm0PVfRugNZktTVKUDHPOhSPytQlbc2y0S/s400/Cheers.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">See that little Flip in Ethan's hand?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">You should see the video on it.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">It is apparent that my little man was cheering on his daddy.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">{The video was all over the place!} </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB81WBQPVLPbvce5LwThXaF4llC9Eaugxb9kAh9xau4QUVGJQlE9P2poCLxJKecKoTPDPjnhTfeY-CICJndVyu2gailZSSNkXuuDLBL7wdDkttQ-XkB0hIUAQC5Shbb9GwIXA2RZGCDaC/s1600/Dre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB81WBQPVLPbvce5LwThXaF4llC9Eaugxb9kAh9xau4QUVGJQlE9P2poCLxJKecKoTPDPjnhTfeY-CICJndVyu2gailZSSNkXuuDLBL7wdDkttQ-XkB0hIUAQC5Shbb9GwIXA2RZGCDaC/s400/Dre.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My sister was able to hand him his diploma.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was the first time I started to lose my ability to stay calm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Her co-worker was gracious enough to take pics from this vantage point.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love it.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQHVlo5BOQJYubZ7tbkkgf1dCqIzN9pCW5R-IyN_IL_o11oLwXu-M42j2bUlsRDyTBMKOkqZD_63U2D11Cq-4XD9GhAkrIO8gnjLurrWWrbWdCNYrg475iY0aQH9Af3N9W9YTYQVscnQK/s1600/erica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQHVlo5BOQJYubZ7tbkkgf1dCqIzN9pCW5R-IyN_IL_o11oLwXu-M42j2bUlsRDyTBMKOkqZD_63U2D11Cq-4XD9GhAkrIO8gnjLurrWWrbWdCNYrg475iY0aQH9Af3N9W9YTYQVscnQK/s400/erica.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now this is where I <em>really</em> lost it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And where my sister lost it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And where my mother-in-law lost it....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvVtRfbg1ixYjmtkCr5_V6o02_Z_GmQOaf1O1GfCwQt2uAnlDXTpEjGblm-ioJX2DsrPHeiUKa3U304wbQlCXjS1fR56zVgYoHKALo8A8sxEO4u8lK9re-Tz0j3JslqORbAV6ODfqkZ0m/s1600/ethan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvVtRfbg1ixYjmtkCr5_V6o02_Z_GmQOaf1O1GfCwQt2uAnlDXTpEjGblm-ioJX2DsrPHeiUKa3U304wbQlCXjS1fR56zVgYoHKALo8A8sxEO4u8lK9re-Tz0j3JslqORbAV6ODfqkZ0m/s400/ethan.jpg" width="300px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">... and where Ethan lost it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He was so proud of his dad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">SO PROUD.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I couldn't recover from this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My son is sensitive, but he not only cries from joy, he can communicate his joy in words.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was doubley-proud.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuxnRNL4qJgnGRLvaPi-WKh-303qULR3bHOFYFzGYOHFNDMIxwP3ZRWxUFk-bLRIE0VLVyYTQIiE3J2CA7BKVa_GvZdYwx8ebz1oLSRXhOWBAKK00aHYMd-_xZLqqjhNab5QFzON0YaKj/s1600/Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuxnRNL4qJgnGRLvaPi-WKh-303qULR3bHOFYFzGYOHFNDMIxwP3ZRWxUFk-bLRIE0VLVyYTQIiE3J2CA7BKVa_GvZdYwx8ebz1oLSRXhOWBAKK00aHYMd-_xZLqqjhNab5QFzON0YaKj/s400/Family.jpg" width="300px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Five hours in the sun later, and about five minutes of hard crying, I looked like this.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Not the best, but I couldn't care less.</div><div style="text-align: center;">It was a great day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">A <em>proud</em> day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I'm so glad to have a picture of all of us together.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I tell my kids that they need to live a proud life. </div><div style="text-align: center;">My husband is living by example.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Lead by leading.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">This is just the end of the beginning.</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">We still have another nine months of working through the next phase.</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">Regardless of that, this was a monumental day.</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">It was the day my husband felt he had completed something.</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">He taught my children more than he realizes by getting his degree. I am so grateful they are old enough to understand the pomp and circumstance of what they witnessed that day.</span></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New;">I just hope it sticks for another ten or so years!</span></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-82074250176312980172011-05-06T21:05:00.000-04:002011-05-06T21:05:50.647-04:00in the name of love....<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">two and a half years ago my husband lost his job. two and a half years ago we thought our marriage was on the brink of self-destruction. two and a half years ago we made the choice to make our life better. together.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">through a bit of couple's counseling and a lot of faith, we have landed ourselves two and a half years from that horrible time in our lives. <i>together</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">it was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but two and a half years ago we were far from happy, far from focused, and far from communicative.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">today we are strong.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">today we are communicative.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">today we are hopeful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">when chris lost his job my world felt vacant. i felt like we were going down this spiral to nothingness. i was scared, angry, and at times, complacent. complacency is a dangerous place to be. it often lead to hopelessness. we had to refocus ourselves on the positive. it felt nearly impossible, but as soon as we swung that pendulum the other direction, we really liked it there better. it never felt like we were fooling ourselves, nor did it feel like we were alone. having emotional support from your friends and family makes an entire world of difference. but because it felt so awesome staying positive, we chose to start living that way full-time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">let me take you back to a <a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2008/12/pics-of-princessor-two.html"><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">blog entry from 2008</span></b></a>.... this was emma's last day of pre-school. it was the day i broke down in front of all her friends and teachers in sobs because i felt so helpless. i was scared. i was sad. i ran to the back of the school and curled into a ball sobbing. with chris loosing his job three weeks prior, this was not just her 5th birthday celebration, it was also her last day of school. i was so devastated to take her away from all of her friends. this was the child i was so afraid to leave behind at school, yet, at school she absolutely thrived. she was confident. she was a <i>new</i> emma. i had such guilt and that day stands out as the clinching moment when i honestly felt my world was falling apart.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">but it didn't. i'm here. we're here. stronger, happier, and smarter.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">smarter?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">yes, <i>smarter</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">over these two and a half years chris has gone to University of Mary Washington to get his degree in History. and tomorrow..... he will walk across that stage to receive his degree from my <a href="http://www.umw.edu/admissions/contact/staff/default.php"><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">sister</span></b></a> {dre anthes}. i can't tell you how proud i am of this accomplishment. it feels like we are closing the chapter on this adventure. while we aren't {since he still has to go through his teaching certification}, i am at peace knowing this time away from work has made him stronger -- knowledge wise, emotionally wise, confidence wise. we chose to do something and, i feel, made lemonade from those lemons. that has been a goal of this blog since day 1. well, almost day 1. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i have so many different emotions running through me tonight, <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">pride</span></span> and <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">love</span></span> at the top of them. it hasn't always been easy, but it <i>has</i> been worth it. when he walks across that stage tomorrow i fully anticipate being in tears. i just love him so much and am prouder of this moment for him than when it was my own in 2002. so think of me tomorrow around 10:45am and hope i remembered to bring my tissues. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">also hope my three kids don't burn out and steal this moment from me - </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">you know how they roll.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbLXK9n2lgKMN0ySAXRoSYhX0N4dCoEkmn2gNBgQcz1CxT93MCh7dJfNJfRcC2b2IiCwB9EoyiHEdaztwXsZtKRu9xuAZQrTSfehRyvz7mwP4w1pQROCenaZ4QAqZVQcQaq_5_5vgH622/s1600/P7031354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbLXK9n2lgKMN0ySAXRoSYhX0N4dCoEkmn2gNBgQcz1CxT93MCh7dJfNJfRcC2b2IiCwB9EoyiHEdaztwXsZtKRu9xuAZQrTSfehRyvz7mwP4w1pQROCenaZ4QAqZVQcQaq_5_5vgH622/s400/P7031354.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">my <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mr. wonderful</span></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-76053547438794358852011-05-02T21:50:00.000-04:002011-05-02T21:50:42.116-04:00*gasp* *tear* *gulp*<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">so picture this... your youngest child, the last baby you'll ever have, the one that calls you Old Ladypants wakes up one day and by the grace of God has turned five years old. that is hard to swallow. not because you're mad-sad, but you are shocked-sad.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">how did this happen so quickly? just yesterday i nursed her to sleep. just yesterday i had to change that poo-tanky diaper. or remember all those cute lil sophie videos? be still my heart.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">{it is breaking.}</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">i found my inspiration for her</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2011/03/partyplanningcommittee.html" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">birthday party</a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">over at</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://onecharmingparty.com/2011/03/04/ice-cream-party-cake-ice-cream/" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One Charming Party</a><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">{i so love that site} - full of inspiration, motivation, and perfection. sophie's fifth birthday felt like it was off the chain.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><u>here's the proof:</u></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfKBgHSgAXfXzMAJfywNPmeHyUicISlgBBV8WGOlWw1vAZapuufpfbX7isHHxp57s_ich1bfHQcykHUjDgTC-40X2WMFf70_1xq1c3zKFLFtP66_hMYqsWqJBePNaSOpze_BK6g7qTqHi/s1600/P5019021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfKBgHSgAXfXzMAJfywNPmeHyUicISlgBBV8WGOlWw1vAZapuufpfbX7isHHxp57s_ich1bfHQcykHUjDgTC-40X2WMFf70_1xq1c3zKFLFtP66_hMYqsWqJBePNaSOpze_BK6g7qTqHi/s400/P5019021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MC02T1pHGSvcZrrtdL1bmQ1GeRvdTiMgvFPhrp96QNOU2q8oLzkJwyJInNkX-qDdmPDPkbRo6-69LGv0UGf5gbQ5uL6vPdIDOLOpmAD19r2_hg8vrDlRVUOiKefgvTGM-dS7FaNGgjrk/s1600/P5019022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MC02T1pHGSvcZrrtdL1bmQ1GeRvdTiMgvFPhrp96QNOU2q8oLzkJwyJInNkX-qDdmPDPkbRo6-69LGv0UGf5gbQ5uL6vPdIDOLOpmAD19r2_hg8vrDlRVUOiKefgvTGM-dS7FaNGgjrk/s400/P5019022.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gafZWBs5Be7n90szABZB5tFNNHKZFPhRTLRbus8GOfP-qVBXVRd3pAQr_JwykfXAchdRs_mGdcR2HanM_SY0rP6lzeRuVOAcMzCBpIhq99dHdW7VRWYDH3qlFKmDAjN35Nm8ze9gX33X/s1600/P5019024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gafZWBs5Be7n90szABZB5tFNNHKZFPhRTLRbus8GOfP-qVBXVRd3pAQr_JwykfXAchdRs_mGdcR2HanM_SY0rP6lzeRuVOAcMzCBpIhq99dHdW7VRWYDH3qlFKmDAjN35Nm8ze9gX33X/s400/P5019024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoyplV7Gmx_Lax0oEa7DXXaEujwRFZxRY82k-XLwgZaBkUQjc03C4PUWX1whyphenhyphenudIhyphenhyphen-JI06Vq6yDca5t6oabwPgQDb1h7u7KRXDzvTOyCSkMzwh74niG4v71YwifMUSu7hqA5nTC6BMlw/s1600/P5019027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoyplV7Gmx_Lax0oEa7DXXaEujwRFZxRY82k-XLwgZaBkUQjc03C4PUWX1whyphenhyphenudIhyphenhyphen-JI06Vq6yDca5t6oabwPgQDb1h7u7KRXDzvTOyCSkMzwh74niG4v71YwifMUSu7hqA5nTC6BMlw/s400/P5019027.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOm9VUMDC9DPqRLiVcmnp7UFnxWSuaA9B-guIKgy2PRS-qmRyjh9fDvCfdj1X5TGe8FxPU-L8eUSF5zm-v-aeObzg_3Qrtr3_r1t1SF72euOBSGCdRpFX0JYf5-r0JEkx1QiIqUMUi1Yj7/s1600/P5019028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOm9VUMDC9DPqRLiVcmnp7UFnxWSuaA9B-guIKgy2PRS-qmRyjh9fDvCfdj1X5TGe8FxPU-L8eUSF5zm-v-aeObzg_3Qrtr3_r1t1SF72euOBSGCdRpFX0JYf5-r0JEkx1QiIqUMUi1Yj7/s400/P5019028.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>balloons from</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bakeitpretty.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Bake It Pretty</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">one suggestion though...</div><div style="text-align: center;">rent a helium tank and bring it to YOU.</div><div style="text-align: center;">we {my sister} had quite the snafu getting these suckers home.</div><div style="text-align: center;">there are still two giant blown up blue ones at Party City if anyone has a box truck to bring them home. tell 'em i sent ya.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLXWE11hUG9iBo7RBOYDiBdlO5WsyymVqMp8WuxLMJ7brRZs1Npxh3V0WS3yuQXxfR8uE3XeeEji9zW4rt0RTBJIHCYdHCOVW7pC34wgt-fIsHmImlBbN1wxTBW8bUOSHDiy6OFMxYbsB/s1600/P5019033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLXWE11hUG9iBo7RBOYDiBdlO5WsyymVqMp8WuxLMJ7brRZs1Npxh3V0WS3yuQXxfR8uE3XeeEji9zW4rt0RTBJIHCYdHCOVW7pC34wgt-fIsHmImlBbN1wxTBW8bUOSHDiy6OFMxYbsB/s400/P5019033.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> cupcakes courtesy of...</div><div style="text-align: center;">myself.</div><div style="text-align: center;">oh yeah. i created magic this day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBB7RnO1p0J4eOQQU-k1PE9d-Xg0mRNdhsGvytQWmca1AslrQaeBvdJ7IYk-KS4VLso4FHvvp7EkRQb3eMaaZRBzYLAlDoqAj-tWc0uaBSnOdd8M1wSD3jHO1ZIos8a777L4-PleAhDhsF/s1600/P5019034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBB7RnO1p0J4eOQQU-k1PE9d-Xg0mRNdhsGvytQWmca1AslrQaeBvdJ7IYk-KS4VLso4FHvvp7EkRQb3eMaaZRBzYLAlDoqAj-tWc0uaBSnOdd8M1wSD3jHO1ZIos8a777L4-PleAhDhsF/s400/P5019034.JPG" width="286" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>adorable pedestal frames to feature the birthday girl from</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marshallsonline.com/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Marshall's</span></span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfLjejOq-Lpee9BgfT2MhB3J2j1nI8tiP5FQYjsHjHbB0_ANCFpRmGRPvwEhOvhW4Bd7ke8MLIVPgZvXv7KSuBZhwsbvQpnV8esFPaAmCymOomt4o8XSgV_V-PPCKDWeG9NgbAWyN10DY/s1600/P5019035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfLjejOq-Lpee9BgfT2MhB3J2j1nI8tiP5FQYjsHjHbB0_ANCFpRmGRPvwEhOvhW4Bd7ke8MLIVPgZvXv7KSuBZhwsbvQpnV8esFPaAmCymOomt4o8XSgV_V-PPCKDWeG9NgbAWyN10DY/s400/P5019035.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">containers from</span> <a href="http://www.thinkgarnish.com/store/shop/c/38-no-soup-for-you/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Think Garnish</span></span></a>. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: center;"><li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">labels from</span> <a href="http://onecharmingparty.com/2011/03/04/ice-cream-party-cake-ice-cream/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One Charming Party</span></span></a> {free!!}</li>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5X3xIVh4M8IOdF_uCePo3ROvZeXWXMtm-my3qV-WA6jRjDeE8M1D93FSlnv9Gnl8epAG1E7aWkrJcgSf-mhnzRhSTPCmyaGd0BN-vRfyYuyx5O9c8UWi4Vzdz-fX2NjcAWesIXScIFULI/s1600/P3207953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5X3xIVh4M8IOdF_uCePo3ROvZeXWXMtm-my3qV-WA6jRjDeE8M1D93FSlnv9Gnl8epAG1E7aWkrJcgSf-mhnzRhSTPCmyaGd0BN-vRfyYuyx5O9c8UWi4Vzdz-fX2NjcAWesIXScIFULI/s320/P3207953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>i bought this bead kit from <a href="http://www.acmoore.com/">AC Moore</a> on sale for $8.</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">it took me eight hours to make fourteen bracelets.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">and because i'm nice like this, i totally put a knot in between each and every bead.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">you know you hate it when a bracelet explodes on you.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuNkpoeZ-vhefkcSV0vC2qAYcKZzrPmE3LsAIINtQIE1QeyQlL2d_boBxq88jZLVZWeZt_10b3tfLdAieXT68On2oNPXm7oK9MVLw6Wp8iqWF_L0wV93ppaIADBhA6K4WdpwdlJhJd3CY/s1600/P3207955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuNkpoeZ-vhefkcSV0vC2qAYcKZzrPmE3LsAIINtQIE1QeyQlL2d_boBxq88jZLVZWeZt_10b3tfLdAieXT68On2oNPXm7oK9MVLw6Wp8iqWF_L0wV93ppaIADBhA6K4WdpwdlJhJd3CY/s400/P3207955.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mobFwmkfu_WBWjkZw3_AhVv-xDrbbA-uL_lkHuwGhHvKqAqyiayMH9Tp3h69ZvG4I7EP-wg-HS1ZcFF4b3qRoiJwiSwys-8aWdiP-8cTj46193CTEQGkBtBA-Q9q3qwHuCjJJCcS5guP/s1600/P3207956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mobFwmkfu_WBWjkZw3_AhVv-xDrbbA-uL_lkHuwGhHvKqAqyiayMH9Tp3h69ZvG4I7EP-wg-HS1ZcFF4b3qRoiJwiSwys-8aWdiP-8cTj46193CTEQGkBtBA-Q9q3qwHuCjJJCcS5guP/s400/P3207956.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> these are my finished products.</div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>i got the ice-cream/Popsicle charms from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/60768460/the-ice-cream-collection-6-antique?"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this</span></span></a> awesome lady over on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/?ref=so_home">etsy</a>.</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH6fuH1aWy-BKKjt9QRJpXe5YBP9X58RtT2QIEv8OoXmgpNhyMRGHjnJSJipJvpcyRi_jEcrOLXdI4ERTsntgMz73y-N3zremjIsDKGTvrs_A49_-i769B6A6aoYPcUL5a985rO9FB2Ca/s1600/P5019046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH6fuH1aWy-BKKjt9QRJpXe5YBP9X58RtT2QIEv8OoXmgpNhyMRGHjnJSJipJvpcyRi_jEcrOLXdI4ERTsntgMz73y-N3zremjIsDKGTvrs_A49_-i769B6A6aoYPcUL5a985rO9FB2Ca/s400/P5019046.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>scented ice-cream bubbles found at <a href="http://www.acmoore.com/">AC Moore</a>. </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;">but, after several trips to different places i also landed upon smaller versions of these at the <a href="http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp">Dollar Tree</a> -- a pack of 4 for a $1, vice the above version which cost $1 per piece.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9K3N6pR974kUE2yz0wxJpCS-K3onSvobRQb1aLybJd4GKEo-14d6_xTOkiLaZJaBX3zW-EZp1majAgpQZqx8RSAOturSaPfbPFsgX6PBxlnvy-WY6O0_hBBEvLoBl46bwpgilZypZX2J/s1600/P5019049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9K3N6pR974kUE2yz0wxJpCS-K3onSvobRQb1aLybJd4GKEo-14d6_xTOkiLaZJaBX3zW-EZp1majAgpQZqx8RSAOturSaPfbPFsgX6PBxlnvy-WY6O0_hBBEvLoBl46bwpgilZypZX2J/s400/P5019049.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li> i also landed upon these fabulous ice-cream marshmallows at the <a href="http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp">Dollar Tree</a>.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;">super cute and uber popular with the wee ones.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOM-DFUesJPX66DMGZ3stV5-aRVExiSATx1CwcQuhTZ2aD9agyP17sVU3ROw3Ax9rq18xIXpHeWLFZG1LH4TkjBsQfnUUYmH4yjMuODeUNLYLblnX1iX845gyY5K045yMo9sd6Qp96BoyX/s1600/P5019063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOM-DFUesJPX66DMGZ3stV5-aRVExiSATx1CwcQuhTZ2aD9agyP17sVU3ROw3Ax9rq18xIXpHeWLFZG1LH4TkjBsQfnUUYmH4yjMuODeUNLYLblnX1iX845gyY5K045yMo9sd6Qp96BoyX/s400/P5019063.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4XjOMpRxrs9-3q9hBxNVCrVo8SUXzE9qgFAPIh-R3sNBScoHVPMKtwtn_fTJkNQUBPqTOepTijEDeejVFXQqzAOQm1lY5e4dvPYNdSImBo9EoXV3N0J-nY69Lx_8VUbkfOFt7dsEdOCS/s1600/P5019067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4XjOMpRxrs9-3q9hBxNVCrVo8SUXzE9qgFAPIh-R3sNBScoHVPMKtwtn_fTJkNQUBPqTOepTijEDeejVFXQqzAOQm1lY5e4dvPYNdSImBo9EoXV3N0J-nY69Lx_8VUbkfOFt7dsEdOCS/s400/P5019067.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuNMtOmJ_xQTEUzADlwfd3by3WTDrm0BIpliwR4hXeGHtk_slrBCMGDgpUxIcJGdFnb4wN7ztrmK4_DioaV-iqcJF9iKBVYuOo45IF423F5ArN8OIC6X_-0V_BI4ZiP554Ivqt_JUZLv9/s1600/P5019073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuNMtOmJ_xQTEUzADlwfd3by3WTDrm0BIpliwR4hXeGHtk_slrBCMGDgpUxIcJGdFnb4wN7ztrmK4_DioaV-iqcJF9iKBVYuOo45IF423F5ArN8OIC6X_-0V_BI4ZiP554Ivqt_JUZLv9/s400/P5019073.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> this is the moment when i choked up just a bit.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">that smile will own my ass forever.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWoGX-kbZ_-57eoxOQNeLxEc7Q4lYtgCHFcqKsQ1xbfubwUwub9VLl_wYZUfm1u-3KaOkxr-NIpVeiQk2FiBhdA-p9pYyPZsKvg2dbQXfFcNerF-ByNvHs44BcGgIVPRFDwqhpxq9izdb/s1600/P5019079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWoGX-kbZ_-57eoxOQNeLxEc7Q4lYtgCHFcqKsQ1xbfubwUwub9VLl_wYZUfm1u-3KaOkxr-NIpVeiQk2FiBhdA-p9pYyPZsKvg2dbQXfFcNerF-ByNvHs44BcGgIVPRFDwqhpxq9izdb/s400/P5019079.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> the only thing i can suggest to you, should you ever attempt this, is to enlist the help of several others in a WAY more organized fashion to hand out the ice cream to 14 children.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">not only do you feel a bit suffocated, they rush the pants off of you.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">i'm not going to lie... i was sweating from all the pressure.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">you would too. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCryNKUm5ajRVm3nHDtJDL7NrubJcbH-ivfFYieoPAXSLRfZ5V3Bes-PWI7DO4S9r5ZXUAwBTe9L5VnUVvtt5aMDyCv9zmHNGrSyF3w4KrYWK6zTkLpH1-lHWoOlTykTOhAH5JcwkYyU6a/s1600/P5019196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCryNKUm5ajRVm3nHDtJDL7NrubJcbH-ivfFYieoPAXSLRfZ5V3Bes-PWI7DO4S9r5ZXUAwBTe9L5VnUVvtt5aMDyCv9zmHNGrSyF3w4KrYWK6zTkLpH1-lHWoOlTykTOhAH5JcwkYyU6a/s400/P5019196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">here's the birthday <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2010/06/other-night-i-was-afforded-opportunity.html" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">oldladypants</a><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">it just ain't right.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">not only is she huge, she's in love with justin bieber.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">she is way beyond her years.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and i can hear you all now...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"just you wait!"</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">happy birthday, sophers! you are so sophilicious, it kills me.</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">xoxo,</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mommy </span></span></i></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-66658584913410330282011-04-28T22:28:00.000-04:002011-04-28T22:28:16.088-04:00o, btw...<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">i am co-hosting a Royal Wedding Party tomorrow.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">eat your hearts out.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">or join me in spirit!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">it will be fabulous, i can assure you.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">if you have time on your hands and are looking to plan a party,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">head on over to </span><a href="http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">TomKat Studios</span></a> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for some free</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/freeprintablesroyalwedding/">R O Y A L W E D D I N G</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">printables.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">oh yeah baby, that's right.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">FREE.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">i printed them all and will be celebrating beginning at 5:30am EST. EDT? whatev time.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">i'm proud to announce my coworkers have agreed to meet up at work beginning at 5:30am for food and royal festivities. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">i'll be bringing the wedding cupcakes and tons of wedding excitement.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">{it's ok to be excited. i mean, it's like a real life fairytale, except for the <a href="http://celebritynewsandstyle.com/kate-middleton%E2%80%99s-dress-sells-for-over-105000-112/">see-through-dress</a> she wore. what was she thinking?}</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">i honestly am in love with this princess-to-be.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">her <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8481716/Royal-wedding-Kate-waves-farewell-to-her-life-as-a-commoner.html">hair</a> is to die for.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">*sigh*</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">and yes, that's about all it's going to take to convince me she'll be an amazing princess.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">{because fairytales <i>aren</i>'t real, it's ok for me to also be shallow.}</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">thank you </span><a href="http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/freeprintablesroyalwedding/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TomKat</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> for hookin' a sistah' up!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-53413417942765135112011-04-28T22:15:00.000-04:002011-04-28T22:15:40.305-04:00yayaaaa.<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: #741b47;">hip</span>, <span style="color: #38761d;">hip</span>, <span style="color: #b45f06;">hooray</span>!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">another great set of before/afters...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SHOCKER</span>...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">they come to us via</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Design*Sponge.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">if you know me, then you know i am a super-fan of Design*Sponge.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">totally fabu.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">t o t a l l y.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so, instead of showing you both the before <i>and</i> afters, i'm going to show you just the befores.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">you totally need to hit up DS for the afters.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">it is totally worth it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">{no matter how annoying i am with my "totally"s tonight.}</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and so we begin:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf39dKkWxx9STyR5-e65y-1Rzyun-pbHQoQbiHt53L4Axcy_qsIMh_eC2f2LSped5jxw6GgvnQyhUophf6GF-61F5rKkNKBajI3hZdMco-vlHBU_hkd6gggNButncxTv9SQx2lhE4LSSMP/s1600/alison_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf39dKkWxx9STyR5-e65y-1Rzyun-pbHQoQbiHt53L4Axcy_qsIMh_eC2f2LSped5jxw6GgvnQyhUophf6GF-61F5rKkNKBajI3hZdMco-vlHBU_hkd6gggNButncxTv9SQx2lhE4LSSMP/s400/alison_before.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPvy0-w2uUj1gs-765cgDrDFPxsBopIZPdV3eILlbNb2ESeSB5f_AvrBoTa9pX_J9AsjPsoI_h2XMnRBoHz7lIxhZyh3WoA0_a4bBqrA6xEgn3ngRho9j4_RFLsW5wy7InqThWKc8btM8/s1600/jenna_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPvy0-w2uUj1gs-765cgDrDFPxsBopIZPdV3eILlbNb2ESeSB5f_AvrBoTa9pX_J9AsjPsoI_h2XMnRBoHz7lIxhZyh3WoA0_a4bBqrA6xEgn3ngRho9j4_RFLsW5wy7InqThWKc8btM8/s400/jenna_before.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">head over <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/04/before-after-two-bedroom-makeovers.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">here</span></a> to see what they've done with the place(s)!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">{you totally won't regret it.}</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-56184349266025908722011-04-27T22:12:00.000-04:002011-04-27T22:12:07.284-04:00awesomeness. in a dorky way.so i love to blog hop. <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">constantly</span>.<br />
<br />
i have found so many new blogs lately,<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> it ain't even funny.</span> but guess <b>what</b>? they found me back.<br />
<br />
well, at least one very awesome blog did... <a href="http://www.withtwocats.com/">W I T H T W O C A T S</a> totally did a mini-feature of my sweet lil' blog. ok, so it was more of a featured-my-feature-of-someone-else's-feature, but i felt so honored!<br />
<br />
i ain't gonna lie.<br />
<br />
check it out <a href="http://www.withtwocats.com/2011/04/follower-finds.html" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">here</a>. oh, you don't see me straight off the bat? if you are a loyal follower, i think you can figure out where i am. <br />
<br />
it's the little things, right?<br />
<br />
p.s. such a great idea to feature great ideas from followers! blogging is where it's at!Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-44784414858017138982011-04-27T21:59:00.000-04:002011-04-27T21:59:41.239-04:00fooey.<div style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">you know, sometimes life just knocks the wind out of your sails. it's decidedly up to you to make what you will of the situation. it doesn't mean it doesn't suck, it just means, we need to regroup.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i opened up cjane's <a href="http://blog.cjanerun.com/2011/04/ruling-my-kingdom.html" style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">blog</a> today and found four fantastic pieces of advice:</div><br />
<i>" <b>From Bryn</b>- We are a family that works. When my children wake up they know we will be working (housework, school work, gardening, etc) and they have a choice, to work along side me or find something to do by themselves. When the work is done we play, but I don't entertain my kids all day.<br />
<br />
<b>From Sarah</b>- When life isn't pleasant there are only two things to be done, <u style="color: red; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><b>make a change or change your perspective. </b></u><br />
<br />
<b>From Sarah (again)</b>- Our children have it good. Really good. Stop worrying whether or not you are giving them enough, especially when you have to get things accomplished not involving their immediate happiness. They are extremely blessed.<br />
<br />
<b>From Kathy</b>- If the baby is crying and your kitchen is a mess, let the baby cry and clean the kitchen."</i> <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">with the wind out of my sails this past weekend, i needed to change my perspective. <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Sarah</span>, you, my <i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">unknowing</i>-friend, are brilliant. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">last week we were told my father-in-law's cancer was back. his latest pet scan revealed new undeniable growth, something we always knew would come back, however, something we didn't know would return so soon. it was Easter weekend last year that he was first hospitalized with extreme jaundice, ending in a determination that he had pancreatic cancer. it was Easter this year that he was rushed back to the hospital for two blood transfusions --- he had been loosing blood at a rapid rate, so much so that he was down three pints in the last month. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">he was very disorientated, short of breath, and agitated, all of which lead to him slipping into a bit of a depression over his state and the unknown future he was about to learn of. thankfully, two transfusions later he stopped thinking it was the very end and he started thinking he would be more open to other cancer treatments than previously decided upon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">without knowing it, we did exactly what sarah mentioned in her first point {highlighted in red} above. <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we changed our perspective</span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">we were <span style="color: #674ea7;">grateful</span>. it was an unfortunate reawakening and call to reality reminding us that we cannot take time for granted. we are on this earth for but a short time and it is up to us to make the most out of that short time. i can't do it for <i>you</i>. <i>you</i> can't do it for <i>me</i>. these are decisions you or i make. for ourselves. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i choose to change my perspective.</span> i choose to live my life being positive about my father-in-law's state of health. he didn't expect to be alive last Christmas, yet he was. not only was he <i>alive</i>, he was told there didn't appear to be any new signs of growing cancer in his body. it was a <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">miracle</span> if i ever saw one. and while yes, it did come back, every day is a gift and i am grateful that i have received far more gifts this year than any of us ever expected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">my father-in-law is a great man and today i choose to be grateful.</span></i></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-80696604011748619202011-04-19T20:35:00.000-04:002011-04-19T20:35:38.286-04:00fav-o-remod<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">i finally found it.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">my favorite remod of the week.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">{or last ten days.}</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">i have been searching and waiting... and finally... it found me.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">thank you <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">apartment therapy</span></a>. </div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">you were there on my dashboard when nobody else was.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">{i will love you forever....}</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">check out Beth Beattie's</span><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/before-and-after-beth-beatties-tiny-office-goes-glam-144617?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fmain+%28Main%29"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> tiny office remod</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">you know what's the best part?</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">she told us where to find all of the components of this room.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">for me, that's like gold at the end of the rainbow.</div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">her before:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRpa75pKhWeDiuDnMXYg9oAV-GhyphenhyphenFUZTMEWKhPFXJzykIHqubVtnAz0YDvYYVwrbmRRa9dNIRv2ZwOjALTl2K2uaiv85HDsx_aGE7Fmd5DTwX18bogJDsbbjCtuJZx6Uv3LmMmI_sUeKk/s1600/beforecomp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRpa75pKhWeDiuDnMXYg9oAV-GhyphenhyphenFUZTMEWKhPFXJzykIHqubVtnAz0YDvYYVwrbmRRa9dNIRv2ZwOjALTl2K2uaiv85HDsx_aGE7Fmd5DTwX18bogJDsbbjCtuJZx6Uv3LmMmI_sUeKk/s400/beforecomp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">and after:</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXQZSK8m7NaRFG9SHC93bpSt0Fkcd-8sB-_INgO7pH04OzYaZS8EpQ8y_t-opiGgxuVprVzBQ77IEDcNDtFLUlHBIOH8sKT4S_yg-JxC4f-0i9viVv2L5_ChsNBnWvGT1kbD6Zx1kcJEb/s1600/Beattie_006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXQZSK8m7NaRFG9SHC93bpSt0Fkcd-8sB-_INgO7pH04OzYaZS8EpQ8y_t-opiGgxuVprVzBQ77IEDcNDtFLUlHBIOH8sKT4S_yg-JxC4f-0i9viVv2L5_ChsNBnWvGT1kbD6Zx1kcJEb/s400/Beattie_006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">not only is it beautiful...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">it appears bigger.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">{i want to <i>be</i> there.}</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">go hit up <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/before-and-after-beth-beatties-tiny-office-goes-glam-144617?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fmain+%28Main%29"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">apartment therapy</span></a> for the full deets.</div><div style="text-align: center;">yummy.</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-57093221246354306352011-04-18T20:13:00.002-04:002011-04-19T10:17:41.448-04:00living like i was on t.v.<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">somedays it's a<i> cosby show</i> kinda day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">somedays it's more like the <i>office</i>. or <i>seinfeld</i>.</div><div style="text-align: center;">sometimes it's like <i>fresh prince</i><br />
{even if only because you like to rap the <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBe0VCso0qs" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">song</a></span>.}</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">{and maybe do the</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ8" style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">carlton dance</a>.}</span></div><br />
is there anything wrong with having theme days in the office? about <i>seriously</i> getting up and rapping like you were will smith while <i>DOING</i> the carlton?<br />
<br />
i love a good day at the office. i mean, i <span style="color: red; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">l<span style="color: #e06666;">u</span>u<span style="color: magenta;">u</span>u<span style="color: purple;">u</span>u<span style="color: #e06666;">u</span>u<span style="color: #a64d79;">r</span>v<span style="color: purple;">e</span></span> it.<br />
<br />
did you ever see the episode of the office that included the "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UsCHXs-wBY" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">finer things club</a>?" i <i>so</i> want a finer things club in my office. we took a poll and there are a good five of us that would be willing to sit and play <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-0045-S5-Clue/dp/B00000IWCY">CLUE</a> during our lunch hour.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">C L U FREAKING E.</span></div><br />
but i want <b style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">c<span style="color: blue;">o</span><span style="color: yellow;">s</span>t<span style="color: blue;">u</span><span style="color: yellow;">m</span>e<span style="color: blue;">s</span></span></b>. and <span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">accents</span>. and the <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">perfect</span> lighting.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">possible?</div><br />
probably not. but if i can get up in front of my coworkers and do the<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xi4O1yi6b0" style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">ELAINE</a><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>while completely sober, i guess nothing is <i>im</i>possible.<br />
<br />
these <i>good</i> days are long overdue. remember when they sucked everyday all <a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2009/01/it-does-not-define-me.html">day</a>? if performing like a monkey and laughing hysterically can create a setting in the workplace that brings people together, then by golly <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ima do it</span>. <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">ima be, ima be, ima ima ima be a fool. </span> <i>for workplace happiness.</i> my own little sacrifice for my personal universe. not martyrdom, just sheer entertainment for the masses.Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-31659774585360974982011-04-11T21:58:00.000-04:002011-04-11T21:58:11.098-04:00maybe {but not really}children are amazing little things. {<i>expecially </i>the ones in my life. but i'm not partial, or anything.} they know how to take you by surprise at any given time using any given tools or means possible. they say funny things. they eat crazy things. they do <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a w e s o m e</span> things.<br />
<br />
for the last eleven years i have had the pleasure of being an aunt to <b><span style="color: #31859b;"><a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2011/03/devastation.html" style="color: #0b5394;">this</a> </span></b>girl {<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the one that made me love myself just a bit more</span>}. she stole my heart from the first time i laid my eyes on her. her smile was always so rewarding to see. her sweet voice always brought joy to my heart. she was {and is} {and forever will be} my sweet baby niece. i love her {<span style="color: red; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">with all my heart</span>}.<br />
<br />
color me shocked when i learned she would be traveling from california to virginia on her own with 24 hours notice just to spend her spring break with our extended family. she is eleven. ELEVEN, folks. we are approximately 2,616 miles from her home and she got on a big-ass airplane by herself and flew across the mother-stinkin' country.<br />
<br />
when i was eleven i was throwing rocks at cute boys. my first trip across country? at the ripe ole' age of twenty years old. T W E N T Y, folks. {color me pathetic.}<br />
<br />
but she got here and had an exceptionally awesome week {says me!}... and now, she is home in the arms of those that made her. and i miss her. and i praise her. and i just don't know if i could muster up the courage {as a mom} to send my own little birds across the country on their own one day. i've got a few years before ethan starts begging, but i totally open-mouth-inserted-foot after we said our goodbyes, "yes ethan, when you are eleven perhaps we could do something as big as this!"<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">why do i say things like that just to get out of the moment?</div><br />
oh.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">to get out of the moment.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">damn it.</div><div style="text-align: right;"> maybe he'll forget. </div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-24665636412760557222011-04-02T08:20:00.000-04:002011-04-02T08:20:30.864-04:00party plannin' mommacitasyou <i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">know</i> i'm a sucker for a good party. over time "<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">good party</span>" has evolved from "<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">having lots of alcohol, cool people, and music</span>" to "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">crafty, beautiful, and creative.</span>" <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">amazing what a decade'll do to ya!</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/party-planning" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Circle of Moms</a> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">is currently running a contest to find the top 25 party plannin' blogs - <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">who is </span></span><i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">your</i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> favorite?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i have featured several of these blogs on here throughout the years, and i have to say... it's not going to be easy! the beauty of landing myself on</span> <a href="http://onecharmingparty.com/2011/04/02/vote-for-us/" style="color: magenta; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One Charming Party's</a> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">page this morning was not only that it linked me over to</span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/party-planning" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">CoM</a>, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">but that now i have been introduced to several other amazing party plannin' sites.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: red; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">i love it!</span></div><br />
<div style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">{there must be close to fifty nifty blogs in the running.}</div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">so if you have some time today, go find yourself some new party awesomeness! show these blogs some love and pop in for a visit. also, be sure to</span> <b style="color: red;">V<span style="color: blue;">O</span>T<span style="color: blue;">E</span></b> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">over at</span> <a href="http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/party-planning" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Circle of Moms</a>!Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-77030091224054856012011-04-01T21:26:00.000-04:002011-04-01T21:26:22.109-04:00an itch.i have this itch. this crazy, crazy itch. i just can't stop from thinking about<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><a href="http://plumlife.typepad.com/plum/2011/03/project-1004-furniture-rehab.html" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">denese's yellow paint job</a><span style="color: #0b5394;">.</span><br />
<br />
it created an itch inside of me. you see, i have this table. a dining room table. it's pine -- soft, yucky pine. i used to think about staining it and coating it with poly, but never wanted to risk it. why? i have no idea. it couldn't get any worse. i mean, it was good looking but totally not practical for a mom with three chillens. because of all the creases in it, coupled with the softness of the wood, we added a glass top to the table. but... it's glass. and i have three kids. you know how that goes.<br />
<br />
but after seeing that table... and then seeing <a href="http://www.hostessblog.com/2011/03/lets-feather-their-nest-baby-shower/"><span style="color: cyan; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">these</span></a> chairs {thank you<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><b style="color: #0b5394;"><i><a href="http://www.hostessblog.com/" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">HM</a></i></b>}, i am feeling uber-itchy. {personal problem, i know}. i am also feeling uber-risky.<br />
<br />
i am a fan of color. <b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">c<span style="color: purple;">o</span><span style="color: #e06666;">l</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">o</span><span style="color: red;">r</span></span></b> everywhere. it's just awesome. i mean i love white too, but it has to be the <i>right</i> white. <a href="http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-white-room.html" style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">anna maria horner knows what i'm talking about</span></a>. her upstairs remod is going to be off-the-hook-fantastic. but if it's not the right space with the right white, i'm all about <b style="color: #38761d;">C<span style="color: #741b47;">O</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">L</span><span style="color: orange;">O</span><span style="color: red;">R</span></b>.<br />
<br />
so here's the deal... i'll keep ya posted. no guarantees but....... wouldn't it be fun? kinda like when i blogged about this <a href="http://heavenlyhamakos.blogspot.com/2010/04/so-mod.html" style="color: yellow; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">couch</a>. hmmmmmmmmmmmm....Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-75873269161969586552011-04-01T21:09:00.000-04:002011-04-01T21:09:35.189-04:00awe. awe. i sit in awe.<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">because i am sitting here in awe</span>, i have to submit a second entry tonight.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">i have just landed upon the most <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">creative</span> and <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">awesome</span> party i've seen in a long, <i>long</i> time. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">of course, i'm going to give a shout out to my sistahs over at <a href="http://www.hostessblog.com/" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hostess with the Mostess</a>, for if they did not feature this party, i fear i never would have "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">landed</span>" upon it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">here's a small tastes of the awesomeness that existed as <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hostessblog.com/2011/04/vintage-airplane-inspired-birthday-party/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Gavin's 4th Birthday Party</span></span>:</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oeWVlUErkRnVdAi5GAtq6EfIwD_W7sNeco50oZE6ULo2I5ZkO1wvNbbvURZUbVLpVweactaiwSm7zMoxYVI5_gCdI6qtORa9ehGNowAg3Ix-4VtOv57wTSzM3nNzNBcMVIvz5B_VSnGN/s1600/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oeWVlUErkRnVdAi5GAtq6EfIwD_W7sNeco50oZE6ULo2I5ZkO1wvNbbvURZUbVLpVweactaiwSm7zMoxYVI5_gCdI6qtORa9ehGNowAg3Ix-4VtOv57wTSzM3nNzNBcMVIvz5B_VSnGN/s400/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_1.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0N2oUs22N0ZGda9gk17LQ8QctMCKRQ4EGt16uSq0HSBtSnP4VElCmPjmCuTYb93eld2Lr7MJGkekTOXWsqsHWO-2kfbBxFLhH2ntFdcDZPCInmQ98MMHrt_Pzo2ySG8xv7p30VG72NCf/s1600/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0N2oUs22N0ZGda9gk17LQ8QctMCKRQ4EGt16uSq0HSBtSnP4VElCmPjmCuTYb93eld2Lr7MJGkekTOXWsqsHWO-2kfbBxFLhH2ntFdcDZPCInmQ98MMHrt_Pzo2ySG8xv7p30VG72NCf/s400/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_2.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAURIDFxE8fHfDsKv-dVoKP1ISMaz0Weg852pgTMWX1hIfiHgVAjwPVHu3c-YmTTZZzMWUwDxdSHDGSietui7DfWbiX1d1rw5K14fh1zGFKnuw8r8gn83w8sagauTm4QfFg5seKj05_IS/s1600/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAURIDFxE8fHfDsKv-dVoKP1ISMaz0Weg852pgTMWX1hIfiHgVAjwPVHu3c-YmTTZZzMWUwDxdSHDGSietui7DfWbiX1d1rw5K14fh1zGFKnuw8r8gn83w8sagauTm4QfFg5seKj05_IS/s400/vintageairplane_birthdayparty_11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">gavin was one lucky little dude.</div><div style="text-align: center;">totally awesome and something you need to check-out <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">YESTERDAY</span>!</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-85227789245850439282011-04-01T20:49:00.000-04:002011-04-01T20:49:31.212-04:00thank you plumlife.<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">check out denese over at <a href="http://plumlife.typepad.com/plum/" style="color: purple; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">plumlife</a>.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">she shared one heckuva remod on her <a href="http://plumlife.typepad.com/plum/2011/03/project-1004-furniture-rehab.html" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">table</a>.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">before:</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYj2u84fU4Wu5-qNsNzq9Nz2JtUNajaflqFs7_eE7NTqWBsr1zmN07L7rHV9b9QRHoR9HlG_3YDeMNNeJx7FcZDjDgsZVvIIJlL4piOXDXsmP5-QJXogrxjELq1NCgqp1Lt_-jFGhyuJiN/s1600/6a0147e252fa0a970b014e6033e999970c-320wi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYj2u84fU4Wu5-qNsNzq9Nz2JtUNajaflqFs7_eE7NTqWBsr1zmN07L7rHV9b9QRHoR9HlG_3YDeMNNeJx7FcZDjDgsZVvIIJlL4piOXDXsmP5-QJXogrxjELq1NCgqp1Lt_-jFGhyuJiN/s400/6a0147e252fa0a970b014e6033e999970c-320wi.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: red; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">after:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMexgsGF0ZMiIKH2WTDDepoeBuiKRuAcJFhcVaVqcigENcOlnPvzN097QO4WBcHk-aDkM_3Tj4uzdemP9xnWWcMk8Ymzbzm_w1yEksNTBxpJ38l_3dgtmW3psy_9IvujU438dtnAJBxvc/s1600/6a0147e252fa0a970b014e6030d250970c-400wi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMexgsGF0ZMiIKH2WTDDepoeBuiKRuAcJFhcVaVqcigENcOlnPvzN097QO4WBcHk-aDkM_3Tj4uzdemP9xnWWcMk8Ymzbzm_w1yEksNTBxpJ38l_3dgtmW3psy_9IvujU438dtnAJBxvc/s400/6a0147e252fa0a970b014e6030d250970c-400wi.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">denese... i <i>totally</i> approve and am currently wiping the drool from my bottom lip. this yellow is to <i>die</i> for -- the risk completely paid off, my friend! </span></span>bravo! bravo!Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-36576830617587953452011-03-31T21:01:00.000-04:002011-03-31T21:01:25.390-04:00awesome jankericiousness.<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">do you love awesome things in life?</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">do you love awesome <i>FREE</i> things in life?</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">{oh, thank me later.}</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span> these <a href="http://ruffledblog.com/printable-alphabet-bunting/" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">suckers</a> are awesome and need you to download them <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">YESTERDAY</span>. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">check out this free printable bunting.</div><div style="text-align: center;">simply go go the link and click on any of the letters linked under the second photo.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhJ9O8tXzcqtbOGhnBBg3fj66Yd_MkfMI74sjASXuBZZaqSxWvGq9vyPi22Yg1nKI51DpyDHcAYjeJSPtevtC88FruCH1-n_mD8G4IBLFQcscN_ARWcv8YO0UuHzW3CWcN22UZkio0gWc/s1600/bunting-alphabet-letters-download-template1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhJ9O8tXzcqtbOGhnBBg3fj66Yd_MkfMI74sjASXuBZZaqSxWvGq9vyPi22Yg1nKI51DpyDHcAYjeJSPtevtC88FruCH1-n_mD8G4IBLFQcscN_ARWcv8YO0UuHzW3CWcN22UZkio0gWc/s400/bunting-alphabet-letters-download-template1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">mega-watt thanks to <a href="http://ruffledblog.com/" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Ruffled</a><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span>because this jankericiousness is off the chain. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">the free-and-awesome-gotta-tell-yo-momma-sing-it-like-the-chain-gang-chain.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">but this may be my favorite new blog of my day.</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">great inspiration for things.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">you can't put a price on that {even if it IS free!}</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">i love me some awesomeness, especially when it's free and easy to do. i figured you would too. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;"><i>*siiiiiiiiiiiiigh* </i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">booyah.</span></i></div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2588739419355595501.post-25085284159914898412011-03-26T11:12:00.000-04:002011-03-26T11:12:39.438-04:00new favorite.<div style="text-align: center;">i found a new favorite party design.</div><div style="text-align: center;">and it is AWESOME.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_Lsf0AK0U9MaQWF_Ucj50eYFKhUwgA-HWC2qYqI5JpFRUiPmibtVLGApCItIyG74CE6EYUQ-ld7Xala1ZT10iMFFoNkWLXViNxjGDbN7hGHO1IFmbn_Mpnm7QlD8oqLN29LYqTZyTixW/s1600/orangepinkbabyshowerideapartycake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_Lsf0AK0U9MaQWF_Ucj50eYFKhUwgA-HWC2qYqI5JpFRUiPmibtVLGApCItIyG74CE6EYUQ-ld7Xala1ZT10iMFFoNkWLXViNxjGDbN7hGHO1IFmbn_Mpnm7QlD8oqLN29LYqTZyTixW/s400/orangepinkbabyshowerideapartycake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">do you likey like me-e?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">head on over to <a href="http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/2011/03/orange-pink-argyle-baby-shower.html" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: magenta;">Kara's Party Ideas</span></a> quick-ly.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">{ok so that was a pathetic reach for verbal awesomeness that i don't think i actually reached.}</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wendyupdegraff.com/2010/04/lets-party-jacksonville-family.html" style="color: magenta; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Wendy Updegraff</a> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">was not only the host, but the amazing photog for the job.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">and i also believe this was the day she turned into a <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">superhero</span>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">JOB WELL DONE!</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">head on over to either <a href="http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/2011/03/orange-pink-argyle-baby-shower.html" style="color: magenta;">Kara</a> or <a href="http://www.wendyupdegraff.com/2010/04/lets-party-jacksonville-family.html" style="color: magenta;">Wendy</a>'s sites to check-check-check-it-check-it-out...</div><div style="text-align: center;">CHECK IT OUT!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">you just gotta.</div>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00683772465309191226noreply@blogger.com1