One Mom's Perfect Imperfections

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One Mom's Perfect Imperfection: February 2010

One Mom's Perfect Imperfection

One mom's journey through life and her hodgepodge of hobbies.

25 February 2010

Uplifting

Good morning to you all! First, you may have noticed a few new options on my blog. I am learning as I go so be patient with all of my experiments. I am hoping to add more fun things to it in the near future. Please feel free to click around but remember it's still a work in progress as am I.


Next.... I am terribly excited to be going home this weekend to visit my family in Kentucky as well as two of my oldest and dearest friends. It has been too long since I've been able to sit down with girlfriends who really know me and love me just the same. I have been friends with these women since we were second graders. Thirty-five years young, that seems an eternity ago. It is very uplifting to know I will be in the presence of such true friends. I have missed them more than I realized. We all have children of our own now and it will be wonderful to see friendships between them develop. I sure wish we all lived closer. But such is life. For now, we try to plan our trips back home at the same time just to capture a few hours together to catch up. I hope to get some great pics of us and our children. I'm also going to experiment with my camera a bit and try for some great inspirational shots to share. I have pulled out the user guide to my camera to learn more and work with what I have until the time comes to purchase my dream camera (more on that later). Where was I? Oh yes, friendship. Spring has come early for me. I'm off to bask in the sunlight of true friends. I will try to blog while in Kentucky, but if you don't hear from me for a few days, don't worry. I'll be back to rattle off some more nonsense as soon as I can. I hope my excitement inspires you to call up some old friends this weekend.

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24 February 2010

My Improved Creative Space

Good morning! I'm very excited to give you a little preview of what I've been working on for the last week or so. My 1/3 of the office started to feel very cramped and unorganized so I decided it was time to spruce it up a bit. I wanted something functional, organized and a bit on the girly and creative side. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money - I enjoy being married. I am not quite finished but finished enough to show it off a bit. Here is my desk. This is the first thing you see walking into our office. I tried to make the pictures bigger so you could get a better view but I somehow distorted them. Sorry. Just click on the images to get the bigger picture. I would love to eventually replace the lamp with something more artistic and girly but haven't found the right one yet.

The desk came from Pier One as well as the hutch that would normally sit on the desk. The hubs mounted it on the wall to give me more desk space. We've had these desks for a while now so I'm not sure you can still get them. But they've been great pieces to have. Hubs has a matching one on his side of the office (that space has yet to be tackled).

Here's a better look at the hutch. I LOVE my vintage cameras and hope to add more to my collection. The camera on the far left is a Brownie Hawkeye and was actually my great-grandmother's camera. This was the first in my small collection.

The baskets within the hutch came from Old Time Pottery a while back. They fit perfectly and conceal and organize a lot of my scrapbooking tools.



These letters are actually chipboard and came from Hobby Lobby. I painted them with acrylic paint and covered them with scrapbook paper. Then, of course, EMBELLISH! I'm very pleased with the result and how they immediately catch your eye the minute you walk into the room. This little project rekindled my love/hate relationship with my glue gun.


Excuse my impatience but I posted these pictures a little prematurely. These organizational shelves from Michaels will eventually be painted black. However, I didn't want to wait a minute longer. These shelves are nothing fancy but they are affordable, easy to assemble and I love the little baskets within to conceal those things that might not be so cutesy. They are pretty deep and hold much more than I ever anticipated.


This is the area to the left of my desk. I found the shelf on sale at Michaels. I added some pictures of my kiddos and another vintage camera. Just some things to girly it up a bit.


This spin organizer came from Hobby Lobby and I was so excited to find one in black rather than white. Why is most scrapbook furniture white? Anyhow, I've been continually impressed with it since the purchase. It holds all of my scissors, all of my sharpies and other pens & markers, as well as tons of other things. It fits nicely on my desk within arm's reach.



A peak inside my baskets on my hutch. Again, from Old Time Pottery.


These little "paint cans" came from Michaels as well. They are great for ribbon...


and stamps. They have larger ones as well.

These are the bookshelves. The one on the left is filled with scrapbooking supplies and the one on the right complete with the kids' TV (now showing: "Horton Hears a Who"), movies and a collection of books. Office supplies (paper, photo paper, USB cords, envelopes, CDs, etc.) are concealed in the baskets purchased from Old Time Pottery. I'm not terribly satisfied with these shelves and will probably find a better way to organize them in the future. But it works for now.

This is a better look at the top of the bookshelves. There are two cameras - my first ever digital cameras. The paintbrushes were my grandmother's. She was a great painter, something I did not inherit. Because they were so important to her, they are important to me and I wanted to display them somehow. The box underneath the pot of brushes was her art box - chalks, charcoals, etc. It's as she left it. I hope to one day pass it on to one of my kids to use.


I hope you enjoyed your tour of my creative space. As I add things and improve it, I'll be sure to post new pictures. I would LOVE to hear any suggestions you might have for improvement - the more creative the better. Next on my list is to spruce up the kids' little area of the office. Then, on to the manly side. Any suggestions for that would also be appreciated.

Happy Hump Day!


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23 February 2010

Anticipation

This is our family dog, Lucy. She is a seven year old miniature dachshund that my husband got for me right before we got married. A very sweet dog in nature, she is a bit of a spaz sometimes. She still gets terribly excited when people come over and pees in the floor. She still chases her tail. She barks like mad when she hears the garage door go up, the doorbell ring or a knock of any kind. Lucy still gets bored and will upon occasion wreak havoc on one of the kids' toys much to their demise. She is starting to show signs of aging; gray around her face, moving a little slower most days, having accidents in the house. For the latter, I have threatened to give her away on more than one occasion. But she is the epitome of a lap dog and loves nothing more than to snuggle under a blanket with someone - anyone. She is wonderful with our small children, allowing them to learn respect for all animals beginning with her and she is very tolerant of them. And my kids truly love her. And for all these reasons, Lucy is still & forever will be part of our family.

I honestly don't know how families with small children and no dog keep their floors clean. A service I am eternally grateful for, Lucy provides it with eager willingness. She can be found under the table between the kids' chairs during every meal without fail. I have no idea why I was inspired to snap this picture but seeing her under the table anticipating the next bite she'd snag made me reach for the camera, point & shoot.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce you to Lucy. She would be tickled pink over the attention. Have a great day!


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22 February 2010

A Little Monday Inspiration

First, I wanted to point out that I've had some awesome comments the last few days from new and old friends and I just wanted to say thank you. It's very exciting to see people stopping by my blog for a bit & the comments are truly wonderful.

I have lots to do today but had a very strong urge to be inspired by something before running off to tackle my Monday chores. It's cold and raining here in Memphis and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting started. I stumbled across this picture and just thought it truly amazing - the peacefulness of the woods, the sun peaking through the trees, and can't you just hear the birds chirping all around and smell a lake or pond nearby? This photo just stimulates all of my senses when I look at it. So I wanted to share it with you. Hope it brings you a little inspiration on this Monday morning.






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21 February 2010

For My Sanity....

I woke up this morning with a billion thoughts in my head. I've been trying to narrow down my blogging thoughts and hone in on just one subject that might be of some sort of interest to my frequent readers. But even a good, strong cup of coffee has not allowed me to make any sense of the noise in my head. So this post might be a big mumble jumble of nonsense. Feel free to check out now. This is mostly for MY sanity since there seems to be a lack thereof today.

My first thoughts were of my grandmother, God rest her soul. She passed away back in August rather unexpectedly. I was very close to her and not a day goes by that I do not think of her. I am saddened by the thoughts of my kids only remembering her through pictures and stories because they are so young, especially my daughter who was not quite one at the time of her passing. Presley is so much like her. Frequently, I have snapped pictures of my sweet girl with an expression on her little face reminding me of her great-grandmother. I find myself all choked up even now knowing how much alike they are and that they'll never truly know one another. My son, bless his heart, still prays for her. God, please make Mar Mar well. Only three when she died, he doesn't fully grasp the concept of death. He knows Mommy gets sad sometimes and he'll say, you miss Mar Mar, Mommy? Me too. He knows that Mar Mar (short for Martha) went to live with Jesus. But what four year old really understands what that means? Had I known her death would have come when it did, I would have taken my kids to see her more often, spent more time with her, shown her just how much she was loved. Don't we all say that when death affects us personally? We think we have all the time in the world. However, I do find myself very convicted some days that I didn't make more of an effort. I can't help my children's ages and the lack of memory, but my grandmother would have been overjoyed at the opportunity to spend more time with her grandchildren & great grandchildren. Enter conviction. Today, I find myself wanting to pick up the phone and talk with her so badly. But I cannot. And so with a heavy heart, I move on to my next random though.....

I am SO READY for spring. I long for sunshine, for warm weather, for blooming flowers and green grass. The older I get the less tolerant I find myself of the colder months. Living in Memphis, we usually don't have a long winter; however, this winter we've had our share of cold weather including snow and I am ready for it to go. I am looking ahead to our family vacation to the coast - the beach, the ocean, the sand. Better than Calgon.

This weekend I have taken on the task of revamping our office space. It's been feeling very claustrophobic in here for quite sometime. We've managed to cram 2 full-size desks, a kids table & chairs, and art easel, 2 book shelves and all of my scrapbooking paraphernalia into this tiny space. I've been searching for better organization ideas to which you may have seen my previous post. Some women manage to have a WHOLE room to themselves to bring life to their many creations while I have about 1/3 of a room. So I set out to achieve a more girly, organized space of my own, however tiny that space might be. I have enjoyed the last day and hope to wrap it all up today. I think it's coming along nicely, though I may have to tweak a few original ideas to make it a bit more practical. The hubs just might have a heart attack if I don't quit making trips to Hobby Lobby & Michaels. I have close, personal relationships with these stores. They know me well. I hope to post pics of my finished project early in the week.

So with that, I shall leave you - drained, I'm sure, after reading all my craziness. But I thank you for allowing me to clear my head a little so that I may now focus on finishing my weekend project.

Praise God for this beautiful day and allowing me to breathe it all in.

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20 February 2010

Your Saturday Morning Funnies...

19 February 2010

A Little Friday Funny...

This was too funny not to share. The song starts very differently than it ends. Give it a chance before thinking it's a typical Christian song about doing the right thing. This song might give all those angry female songs a run for their money. Enjoy!






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Feature Friday

First thing's first.... TGIF!!!

Now, down to my Friday business. I want to introduce you to a new crafty momma. Her name is Jessica and she just happens to be my cousin. A little about Jessica...... She is a mom of a sweet little girl, Anna and is currently expecting a little boy in the very near future. She's a very talented music teacher and in her spare time she enjoys crocheting. Jessica recently started her own little side business in her craft, sweet whatKnots. While an Etsy shop may be in her future, she is currently getting started with a blog which you can visit here. If you love handmade, you must visit her blog and check out her creations. You'll find some of the cutest little hats ever! I'm currently anticipating the arrival of my kids' new hats myself. She also makes baby blankets as well as sweaters for your little four legged kids. These all make great gifts as well, especially baby gifts. What better way to gift than handmade? Her blog is currently under construction so be patient - she'll have lots more information and sweet whatKnots to share very soon. In the meantime, you can click the "contact me" button on her blog to receive more information about her products.

Show Jessica some love and stop by her blog for a visit. Give a little encouragement and let her know you stopped by - leave a comment for her.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!




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18 February 2010

Thoughts on Thursday

While browsing this morning, I stumbled across this question?

Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life, we could simply press Ctrl Alt Delete and start all over?

I have found myself saying "shoulda, coulda, woulda" more than once lately. Don't get me wrong - I don't really consider my life "messed up". I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom and a wife that is still completely in love with her husband. I would never change anything about the outcome of my family life. And I pray I never have to go back to and 8 to 5 job. However, I wish I had chosen a different major in college. I think I chose something that came pretty easy to me and was very interesting; however, I didn't truly have a passion for psychology/criminology. It intrigued me nonetheless and I think I mistook that intrigue for passion. If I'd only known then what I know now.

Fast forward several years, a husband and 2 kids later.....

I am discovering a passion for photography and even dabbling in a little graphic design for which I am also finding myself head over heals. I also love to cook. To sum it all up, I should have chosen something in the way of creativity. Yet, my personal creativity did not surface until my late 20's, early 30's. Go figure. And I'm still paying student loans for that psychology/criminology major. Boo.

It's never too late, right?!?! I'm thinking seriously about taking a few classes once my kids are in school. And let's face it - that time comes much sooner than any mother is ready for it. So for now, my focus will be on my children, my family and I'll dabble in my new passions. Then we'll see if this old dog can learn a few new tricks.

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17 February 2010

Wordless Wednesday - 2010 Olympics, Hanna Kearney

16 February 2010

Oh, To be Organized....

I admit that I'm a bit of an anal retentive person when it comes to my house and my space. I'm constantly rearranging the kids' rooms to accommodate for toys as well as space. My scrapbooking area (or our office) is a room that seems to be a constant thorn in my side. I hate walking into a room and feeling overcrowded and right now, our office is just that. We have somehow managed to shove 2 desks (one for the hubs and one for myself), a little art table for the kids, and art easel (for the kids), 2 book shelves filled from top to bottom and 2 bean bags for the kids to sit and enjoy a movie while I scrapbook or the hubs and I just browse online. I feel claustrophobic just typing all that. And here I sit in the middle of my chaos.

I'm always on the search for a better way to organize my scrapbooking materials or to organize the kids' art supplies. I ran across this blog a while back that I have thoroughly enjoyed following these last few weeks. The blog is Crafty Storage and you can visit them here. Crafty Storage is a team of women that are always on the lookout for new storage ideas as well as accepting readers photos of their own spaces. That's what I really enjoy - seeing other readers' spaces. Some of them are truly amazing and I dream of having a room of my own that is completely organized just for me. Here are a few rooms that have caught my attention.


This is Robyn's Pink Loft and you can see more pictures of it here.

This is Kerry's craft room and you can see more pictures of her space here.

This is Bendichte's studio and you can see more pictures of it here.


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15 February 2010

What to Blog About?

As I sit here going through my morning routine I have been racking my brain trying to decide what would be a good blog topic this Monday morning. I am coming up short. Maybe because it's Monday. Maybe I haven't had enough coffee just yet. Maybe I should start blogging about one subject in particular in order to narrow my scope of possibilities. I'm not sure what the answer is.

I ran across a blog giving a few tips and ideas on how to come up with blogging topics. One of the suggestions was good, old fashion ranting. I guess for some it does make for interesting reading. Then I thought, reading someone else's rants could also take your mind off of your own problems, stresses, struggles, etc. Ranting posts could send a "you're not alone" message to some readers.

Don't worry, I'm not going to rant and rave about anything in particular this cold Monday morning. Or in my previous paragraph's conclusion, sorry to let you down. Just thinking out loud which is, I guess, what my blog is for - at the moment anyway.

My blog is my creative outlet, my sounding board, my five minutes to myself. It's mostly for me, but I wouldn't mind entertaining people either. I would love to hear from the frequent readers and get some blogging ideas for future posts. Feel free to leave comments or email me.
I hope everyone has a fabulous Monday!


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14 February 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!


I'm not a skeptic. I'm happily married and more in love with my husband now than the day I married him. But I did think this was a little funny. Hope you all have a day filled with love!

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13 February 2010

Saturday Morning Comedy

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12 February 2010

Valentine's Day Treats

When a holiday rolls around, I usually (with my 4 year old's help) make some sort of treat for my husband to take to his office to share with his sales team, coworkers, etc. My son is on a cookie kick these days. I think it's because he enjoys decorating the cookies so much with frosting and sprinkles. So here are our Valentine's Day cookies from start to finish.


We started with just the classic sugar cookie recipe.

We dipped half the cookie in melted chocolate and put them on wax paper to harden.


We then just used a bottle of Wilton's icing and just went a little crazy making swirl patters on the cookies. It was fun and easy for my son and I thought it looked very cool.

The combination of the chocolate and the icing was very yummy - not overpowering and not too sweet. Hope everyone has a sweet day and a fabulous weekend!

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11 February 2010

Thoughts on Thursday


I have recently had the pleasure of getting back in touch with an old friend. I absolutely love catching up with old friends. So to be back in touch with her gave me the warm & fuzzies all over. Though it's been a very long time, we picked right back up where we'd left off as if no time had passed. I didn't realized how much I missed some of my old friends. New friends are great and can make some of the best. But there's really nothing like a friend from the past that knows your history, knows you at your best and your worst and still loves you just the same.

My warm & fuzzies were quickly replaced with feelings of sorrow and sympathy as I learned this old, dear friend was experiencing a divorce. With small children, she is desperately trying to hold it all together for them, for herself and just really needed a friend. I was touched deeply that she thought of me to lean on during this difficult time but sad that there was a need. Having not gone through a divorce myself, I can't empathize with the emotions she is abiding at present. I think I probably told her some things she didn't want to hear. That was arduous, but I didn't feel as if I'd be doing the word "friend" justice if I didn't say these things to her. I believe the words needed to be heard in order to start the healing process for herself as well as for her children. But still, a very difficult task when saying them to someone you care for and love. I know God has a plan for her and shared these same thoughts, but I'm not sure what her relationship is with God at present and definitely don't want to appear a bible thumper. I will pray for her and hope she puts her trust in God as well. While I am thrilled to have my friend back in my life, my heart is heavy. I pray that I, myself, will be a good friend to her. I pray that God will give me the right words.

Sunday is Valentine's Day. The holiday of love. Maybe a good time to reach out to an old friend and reconnect - feel those warm and fuzzies.

To ALL my friends, old and new, I love you deeply and would not be the person I am today without each of you.

BLESSINGS!

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10 February 2010

A Wordless Wednesday - Haiti

09 February 2010

Tackle It Tuesday

Tackle It Tuesday Meme

I ran across a blog today with this banner and thought it perfect for me and other moms sharing my struggle with trying to fit housework into our already crazy lives. You can visit this blog and learn more about Tackle It Tuesday - even join - by clicking on the banner above. I haven't delved into this blog much yet but it seems to be right up my alley - "5 Minutes for Mom". I've added it to my "blogs to follow" list and have high hopes it will become a favorite while sipping my morning coffee.

Happy tackling!

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Wannabe

I consider myself a wannabe when it comes to the latest fashion. I really wannabe up to date on the latest fashion trends and many of the looks I'd love to adopt into my own wardrobe. However, I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 small children and I sometimes have to remind myself to brush my teeth before noon. I'm all about comfort rather than style and sometimes I wish it were the opposite. But we are a single income family and I don't tend to spend a lot of money on clothes - at least not for myself. Still, I enjoy looking at the latest trends and it seems that many of Spring 2010 looks are much more practical than in the past.

One blog I follow, Scoutie Girl, has a blogger in residence posting occasionally and this particular guest blogger posted a new look she calls the "lunch date". I gotta say that I really like this look - the jeans, the really feminine blouse, the bag and the trench coat. I could totally see myself wearing this look. But I'm not sold on the flats craze. I'm all about comfort, but these just ruin the look for me. Am I the only flat snob out there? I just can't get into them. Now again, I realize my own shoe collection is probably lacking because I enjoy spending my money on my kids rather than my feet. My closet could definitely use some upgrading, so to speak. But still, I just can't get into the flats. I think if I were to go shoe shopping, I would pass on the flats.

You can check out Scoutie Girl's blogger in residence's post here. The blog itself is a great blog to follow. She posts about everything - very inspiring and a good read.

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08 February 2010

When All Else Fails....

... post a recipe. Right? I have been sitting here for a bit now trying to decide what to blog about this morning. We woke up to a few inches of snow which was very unexpected and for some reason snow puts me in the mood to bake. I have no idea why. So I've been thinking of baking and decided to post one of my favorite recipes. It was passed to me by a family member so I'm not sure of it's origin. It is, however, delish!

Happy Baking!



Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 c vegetable oil

1 (15 ounce) can of pure pumpkin puree

2 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Icing

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)

½ c butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c sifted confectioners’ sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350

2) In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.

3) Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 10x15 inch jellyroll pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting

4) To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of cooled bars. Cut into squares

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07 February 2010

In Honor of Superbowl Sunday...

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06 February 2010

A Thought to Ponder....

...for your Saturday morning while you sip your coffee.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with,
never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've every had.



Hope you all have a great day!

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05 February 2010

A Change to Come

At least I hope so. I'm hoping to spruce up the blog a bit and add some new things. So I've gone back to plain and simple for now. Hopefully, this is temporary. I just ordered some great software that I hope will allow me to be more creative with my blog. After all, this blog is meant to inspire creativity, right? Well, it's a blog about everything that pops in my head. Anyhow, I'm trying to avoid moving my blog now that it's seeing some traffic. So bear with me and I hope to bring the blog back to life very soon!

Have a great weekend!

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OkGo - This Too Shall Pass

My husband is a big YouTube fan. He'll often sit and browse YouTube finding funny videos or snippets of shows for the kids to watch. One day he stumbled across OkGo's new video. If you aren't familiar with OkGo, they are the band that provided us with the oh so popular treadmill video. Still not familiar? Click here to see it. Pretty incredible.

OkGo's new video is pretty unique as well. We discovered that our one year old daughter will sit and watch this video from start to finish, over and over. She even throws in a few dance lessons for free. As soon as she hears the drums, she'll stop what she's doing and focus all of her attention on this video. Funny little thing, she is. For us band nerds, it's pretty exciting to see her get into it. Maybe band nerdness (did I just make up a new word?) runs in the family. Click here to see the video. Sorry, they will not let you embed the video for whatever reason. But it's worth taking a trip over to YouTube to see it. Extremely different, a little weird, but it has a great message - "This Too Shall Pass".

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04 February 2010

Do You Text While Driving?

The smart phone. A blessing and a curse at the same time. We're all aware of how much easier our lives are because of the smart phone. We're able to stay in touch with our loved ones, our business associates, our kids, etc. It allows us to stay on top of email and Twitter & Facebook all day long without ever sitting down in front of a real computer. It's a wonderful device. I, personally, have an iPhone and I don't know how I managed before adopting it into my family. I'd be lost without it. And I don't even have a full-time job! But I keep my grocery list on it, keep track of my calorie intake each day as well as my weight, all of my appointments as well as the rest of my families' appointments are in iCal, I stay on top of emails, etc. Forgot your camera? No problem. Pull out the smart phone and snap some pictures. Wanna grab that new song you're hearing on the radio? No problem. Download it from iTunes on your smart phone.

The real question is this.... are you doing all these things while driving?

I record all the new Oprah shows and usually sort through them after the kids go to bed. I keep the ones that interest me and delete the ones that don't. Her recent show about texting while driving was one that I was on the fence about. I figured it would be beneficial to watch but I had heard it all before. Don't use your cell phone at all while driving. However, something made me keep that show and I just recently watched this episode. I have to say that I had an epiphany as I was watching. I am guilty. I am SO guilty of trying to read & send emails, texts, answer phone calls, etc. all while driving - with my kids in the car. So I'm watching and realize that the casualties related to texting while driving are much higher than I ever thought. My heart ached for all the families affected by texting while driving and I thought, this could just as easily be me. What a senseless reason for dying.

Science tells us that our brains do not work the way we want them to while we're operating a vehicle and operating a smart phone at the same time. It is more than just a distraction. There is no way your eyes can be on the road 100% of the time if you are tweeting. And is tweeting really that it important while you are driving? Keep in mind that many of us have our children in the car with us. Wouldn't we do whatever it takes to protect our children? If you don't have children, or simply have complete disregard for your own safety, think of all the other vehicles on the road around you that could possibly have children in the car. It only takes taking your eyes off the road for one second. That's all.

Oprah has a No Phone Zone pledge. You can sign her pledge here. I signed it and will be encouraging others to sign it as well. Whether you are an Oprah fan or not, understand that this is very important we should all take it very seriously. There's valuable information on her website and you can watch the full episode of Oprah here and have your own epiphany. Oprah.com also has several links to learn more about the research being done on this subject as well as a quiz and several videos.

If you must answer a call, send an email or text or tweeting just can't wait, pull the car over and do so. Don't make calls or answer your cell phone if it's not an emergency. Don't call someone if you know they are in the car and it's not an absolute emergency. Sign the pledge and encourage others to do the same. Spread the word.

I'll leave you with this bumper sticker that Holly Robinson Peet and her daughter made up after watching the Oprah episode and signing the pledge:

Honk if you love Jesus.
Text if you want to meet Him.


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03 February 2010

Update

Last week, I blogged about my struggles as a wife, a mother and just trying to fit it all in and find some sort of balance in my life. I told you I was going to pray and hand it over to God. Having done just that, I have learned some amazing things! God is teaching me daily. It's been a very short time but I have realized so much about myself and what truly matters. See what happens when you dust off your bible and get back into His word?

A couple of years ago, I purchased a book of devotions, "Devotions for Women on the Go" by Stephen Arterburn and Pam Farrel. I thought it would help me stay on track and motivate me to read my bible. Each daily devotion is one page along with a few verses from the bible. Simple, right? So I was diligent about my devotions and feeling really good. Then I skipped one day. Then another. And soon another. The book of devotions and my bible ended up in the drawer next to my bed for quite some time. Last week the book of devotions resurfaced with my bible. And wouldn't you know, the devotions seemed to be written just for me over the last week. Coincidence?

One devotion spoke of keeping focus, identify distractions, ask for help. Sometimes, we as women pride ourselves in being able to do so much ourselves that we forget that it's okay to ask for help sometimes. I read something once that said something like pride is tasteless, odorless and colorless; yet, it is the hardest thing to swallow. How true. Women don't like asking for help. But sometimes we need to do just that. Also, learn what can wait. You are to ask yourself, Do I really need to do this now? This is probably my biggest hurdle to jump because I start thinking of all the chores that need to be done, exercise, the kids' needs, etc. and I start to feel overwhelmed. I want it all done right now. Having a clean house might be somewhat important, but it's not the MOST important thing. The Superwoman persona will have to be put to rest.

I learned that God will provide what I need when I need it and not a minute sooner. A good suggested prayer, "Lord, help me not feel the need, until it is a need." Refer to Matthew 6:25-34.

2 Peter 1:3 says, "As we know Jesus better, His divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life." God created each of us with tools to overcome anything. So I can overcome each of my struggles, if I just rely on Him. The book asks us to consider His gifts:

  • A brain to learn new tools
  • A heart to feel pain - but also peace, joy, and hope
  • An ability to give and receive affection and affirmation
  • Power stronger than your own through your relationship with Him
It goes on to say that the choice is ours: let the gifts sit unwrapped and unused - or use His gifts to go on and go forward. Pray: "God, show me what you have already given me that will help me move forward."

Finally, Matthew 9:29 - "Because of your faith, it will happen."

Need I say more?


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02 February 2010

Medical journal retracts study linking autism to vaccine!

I know I've already posted a couple of times today but this is too exciting to not post about. FINALLY, CNN has reported that the medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday retracted a controversial 1998 paper that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism. You can read the full article and watch the video here. This is a MUST READ for parents. Please spread the word and get your children vaccinated!

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Groundhog Day 2010 Prediction

It's official. The results are in. Six more weeks of winter.

Whether you buy into this phenomena or not, you have to admit that waiting to see if a rodent will or will not see it's shadow predicting our weather forecast for the next several weeks is kind of.... well, quite weird. It's interesting to note that in the last ten years, Punxsutawney Phil has only predicted an early spring once. According to this myth that dates back centuries ago, if the groundhog spots it's shadow on this day, it will return to it's den indicating six more weeks of winter. However, if the groundhog leaves it's den, an early spring is on it's way.

Surprisingly, there are a great many towns that celebrate Groundhog Day with many activities planned for the day. According to many rejoicing this holiday, Punxsutawney Phil's predictions are about 90% accurate. But don't chop more firewood just yet. Studies have shown this strange prediction to only be about 39% correct.

So more winter weather to come or is spring right around the corner? We'll all just have to wait and see if Punxsutawney Phil's weather forecast rings true. I pray not.


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Tickle Me Tuesday


Saw this browsing this morning while wondering what to blog about. Thought it kinda funny being a scrapbooker.


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01 February 2010

The Ice is Pretty But...

we sure are ready for it to move on out. Us southerners aren't used to all this winter weather. I posted some pictures of our winter storm here in the Memphis, TN area as it was happening. Here are some additional photos. The ice sure did make for some pretty pictures. I thought the pine trees were the coolest. Check 'em out!











Happy Monday!

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