Hello Again!

Wow! This "being without the internet" way of life is NOT the life for me...lol! My oh my how I've missed you guys! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I had a great time with My Man...otherwise known as Keith...now known as The-Reason-For-All-My-Dietary-Problems! lol! Keith has yet to be convinced of the benefits of the 30 day wellness challenge and he did his best to convince me life is way more fun "his way". Bacon biscuits for breakfast, donuts and ice cream for lunch, hamburgers and fries for dinner with sugar laden snacks in between...sounds like fun...NOT!!! Look up sugar addict in the dictionary and the only thing you will find is a picture of My Man's handsome mug. Despite his urging, I stood strong the first day. Day two, Harriet the Hormone Hellion paid me a visit and I must confess, I succumbed to her wily ways. Every time she pays me a visit my world gets turned upside down. What is it about that monthly moment that takes hold of you and turns you into something you have no desire or inclination to be? It is THE ultimate out of body experience. Cravings and mood swings become larger than life. You sit back and helplessly watch as your will power cowers to the raging beast that is stirred to action. Anything and everything is fodder for your insatiable hunger. Over the years I've attempted to give Harriet the ol' heave ho but she is a stubborn ol' cuss. She barges in, firmly plants herself for a few days and then she's off to harass another poor unsuspecting soul, leaving me with a marred complexion and a 5 pound weight gain. I spend the remaining 23 days of a 28 day cycle un-doing the damage she's done...just in time for her to visit again. A vicious cycle. A vicious, vicious cycle. But such is the life of being female. ***sigh***

Now that I've TOTALLY digressed to the point of being POINTless, How ARE You GUYS? I'm almost giddy with anticipation of what I will find when I finish this post and finally get to visit you all! I'm hoping to hear stories of family time, BBQ's, outdoor adventures and maybe even a little craftiness. Most importantly, I'm sure to find words of tribute for the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day. One very touching, bring tears to your eyes, such tribute can be found on Stephanie Howell's blog. I'm sure most of you follow her blog, but just in case you missed it, I want to include the link HERE. Her story, her life, opens my eyes to what sacrifices are paid on a daily basis for the freedom I so often take for granted. This one will surely touch your heart.

Now for a few shout outs. Over the last couple of weeks I have received some "happy" mail. The first package I received was a total surprise from a super special friend, Amy. Have you ever happened upon those people who are just giving, caring, loving people and you know it the minute you meet them? Well, Amy is one of those people. She is always sharing her special finds with her blog friends, spreading love and sunshine with each gift. This is the contents of my envelope of happiness.



While the gift is thoughtful enough in and of itself, Amy personalized the gift even further. Notice the wish token in the photo? This is what Amy wrote about it in an email to me:

"I bought the wish token that said you are not alone because you often spoke of that in your posts.....Then read your blog post about your kids coming home and filling up the house again. Funny how things work out.....
The reason I got that actually has nothing to do with your children.... Even in our darkest hour when we feel like everything is so crazy and we feel so alone in the daily grind.....God is always there. To lift us up when we are down....You are never alone."

These words were a gift beyond measure. A reminder of how blessed I am to never be alone. What a wonderfully comforting thought. Take the time to visit Ms. Amy. You are sure to find her posts uplifting and inspirational. And her photography skills are INCREDIBLE! I soooo want to be her when I grow up.

As if that was not enough, I received more happy mail today. Mandy sent these fabulous treasures.



I'm not sure how I met Mandy. I found her? She found me? Either way, I'm so glad we met! Mandy has two blogs. One where she shares her day to day happenings as well as her fabulous crafty creations and the other focuses on the story of her son, Mav. This site, Mad4Mav, is an incredible tale of a heroic little boy and his mom. It is a documentary of the life of an autistic child and the trials and triumphs he and his mom go through. Please take some time to stop in, read their story and leave a comment of support. I know how much Mandy will appreciate it.

I have one more thing to share. Last week I also received this award from Joanie.



While I am more than honored to have received this award, I am actually more humbled by it. You see, Joanie is the type of person that inspires me. So I guess it would be far more fitting that the gifting of this award be in the reverse. In a recent post, Joanie describes herself as a "Personal Assistant" to Shayla. Shayla has a rare fatal disease called Mytocondrial and seizure disorder and Joanie's love for Shayla radiates in the pictures of them together. I am in awe of her! Not to mention she is oh so talented in the scrapping arena AND she is totally "full of bolognie"...the title of her blog. Pay her a visit...it will certainly put a smile on your face.

The rules of Joanie's award state that I must pass this to 6 other bloggers. Gosh, how I hate to narrow things down to only a select few. But this time I will play by the rules. Here are my 6:

1. Amy M..
2. Mandy
3. "Tornado" Terri
4. Kelli
5. Ellen
6. Lucy

That's it for tonight. I will be back in a couple of days to post some pics from this weekend. G'night.

P.S. I forgot to thank you for all the awesome links. I can't wait to check out all the kit clubs and challenge blogs! I knew you guys wouldn't steer me wrong! ***HUGS***