Be Thankful...

A little reminder of what all this hub-bub is all about lest we forget the important factor behind today's celebration.

Be thankful for what you have, for whom you have in your life, and for what you have been given.  The gift of love surrounds you as you and your loved ones come together to give thanks to each other for being a part of each others' lives.  In all reality, it's not about the turkey, the dressings, and the pies or anything else that people focus so much on.  

It's about what you are truly thankful for in your life, right? Let those important to you know this. Share your thoughts and love in abundance.  Don't hold back for you know with certainty that you have this moment, this one moment in time...Live your today with thanks.  Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Best bang for your buck!!! Bonus gift cards...

Gift cards are easily available nowadays in retail places such as CVS and Publix.  But you can also buy them online AND get free bonus gift cards and products! Yeah, baby!  And...Don't forget to check www.eBates.com as well to get additional cash back!  Check out this list compiled by Mashup Mom!

Be sure to review the fine print for expiration dates and etc!

• AMC — Buy $30 in gift cards, get a $5.00 concessions card.
• Applebee’s — In-store only: Purchase $50 in gift cards, get a $10 bonus card.
• Barnes & Noble — Free $10 eGift card when you buy $100 in gift cards.
• Ben & Jerry’s — Free scoop of ice cream when you buy $10 or more in gift cards.
• Benihana — Buy $50 in gift cards, get a $10 promotional card.
• Best Western — Buy a $100 travel card, get a bonus $10 gift card. Choose from Best Western, Amazon, Best Buy, Darden, or Walmart.
• Black Angus — Get $5.00 in bonus bucks for every $50 in gift cards you purchase.
• Bonefish Grill — Buy $100 in gift cards, get a $20 bonus card + a sweepstakes entry.
• Boston Market — Buy a $25 gift card, get a $5.00 bonus card. Advertised in SmartSource, but don’t see it online, so check in store.
• Brunswick — Buy a $25 gift card, get a $5 bonus certificate.
• California Pizza Kitchen — Buy $100 in gift cards, get a $20 rewards card.
• Carl’s Jr. – Free Six Dollar burger with purchase of a $20 gift card.
• Carraba’s — Buy $100 in gift cards, get a $20 bonus gift card + a sweepstakes entry.
• Cheeseburger in Paradise — Get a $10 bonus card for every $50 in gift cards purchased.
• The Children’s Place — Get a $10 e-gift card for every $40 you spend on e-gift cards.
• Chili’s — Not a bonus per se, but save 10% when you buy $100 or more in Chili’s gift cards.
• CiCi’s Pizza — free buffet with purchase of a $20 gift card.
• Claim Jumper — Buy $500 (!) in gift cards, get 10% back in bonus gift cards. This one only runs through 11/30.
• Culver’s — Get a free double deluxe value basket for every $25 in gift cards you buy.
• Dairy Queen — Free mini blizzard when you buy a $10 gift card. In email, may not be all stores — check with yours.
• Denny’s — Buy $25 in gift cards, get a $5.00 coupon. Advertised in RedPlum.
• ExxonMobil — Buy $100 in gift cards at an Exxon or Mobile Station, register them online, and get a $10 ExxonMobil gift card by mail.
• Flat Top Grill/Stir Crazy – Buy $100 in gift cards, get a $25 bonus card.
• Fuddruckers — Spend $25 on gift cards, get a $5 bonus card.
• Gap/Old Navy — 10% off gift cards when you use your Gap credit card to purchase and use coupon.
• Half Price Books — get a $5 coupon with each $25 gift card you purchase.
• Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille — Get a $30 bonus gift card when you buy $100 in gift cards.
• IHOP — Give a $25 IHOP gift card, get $5.00 off your next visit.
• Joe’s Crab Shack — Buy $25 in gift cards, get $5.00 bonus bucks.
• Maggiano’s — Buy $100 in e-gift cards, get a $20 bonus card plus a free subscription to Food & Wine magazine.
• Marriott — Buy a Marriott gift card here by 1/7 and get an extra 10% applied to it with code MMF.
• Max & Erma’s — Get a $5 bonus card when you buy $25 in gift cards.
• Morton’s — Buy $500 in gift cards, get a $100 bonus card. Buy $300 in gift cards, get a $50 bonus card.
• Noodles & Co. — Buy $25 in gift cards, get a card for a free sandwich duo.
• Old Spaghetti Factory — Buy a $25 gift card, get a $5.00 bonus certificate.
• Outback Steakhouse — Buy a $100 gift card, get a $20 bonus gift card.
• Panda Express — Get a free two-entree plate with purchase of a $25 gift card. Exclusions apply; some locations it’s $30, read fine print.
• Pappadeux – Buy $50 in gift cards, get a $10 bonus card.
• Romano’s Macaroni Grill — Get a $5.00 bonus card with every $25 in gift cards.
• Ruby Tuesday — Buy $50 in gift cards get free ground shipping plus a $15 bonus card.
• Ruth’s Chris — Buy $250 in gift cards, get 10% off.
• Steak & Shake – Bonus $5.00 when you buy $20 in gift cards. Several people sent this one in — I can’t find it online, only last year’s promo, so verify in store.
• Sunda Chicago — Buy a $100 gift card, get a $25 gift card.
• Sweet Tomatoes — Spend $50 on gift cards, get a complimentary meal pass.
• Taco Bell — Buy a $20 gift card in store, get a free taco flatbread sandwich combo.
• TGI Friday’s — Spend $25 on gift cards, get a $5 bonus card.
• Uno Chicago Grill — Buy a $25 gift card, get a $5 bonus voucher.
• Walker Bros. Pancake House — Buy a $100 gift card, get a $20 gift card free. (Looks like at the restaurant only.)

 

Call me a hater, too!

From the blackest of black holes came the Kardashians.  And honestly, I'm not even sure why the family has risen to it's current "celebrity" status because I'm still trying to find that needle in the haystack called TALENT. As most of us are aware, The most famous family member is Kim, who catapulted to fame by her sex tape...umm...sure....  

Ironically enough if any one in the family is a celebrity, my bet would be on her step-father, Bruce Jenner, a world renowned Olympian Gold Decathlon Medalist (10 events), motivational speaker, Hall of Fame inductee, Athlete of the Year award recipient, world record place holder, and overall is given credit for changing the definition of "training" for future Olympics athletes.  Hrmmm...guess he should have made a sex tape, too, and perhaps he'd still be talked about in the media? lol!

But back to what this blog post is really about...KK... What I find interesting is that she has a very clear cut separation of followers.  Her "fans", either love her or they have a strong dislike for her (let's call them the KK-Haters for the purpose of this discussion). I think her celebrity status grew because of the wedding, reality show, clothing and shoe lines but more so because of the KK Haters.

Case in point, as of the news reports this morning, over 100,000 KK Haters have signed a petition to boycott the Kardashians reality show. I wonder if the KK Haters actually watch the show to begin with...so why boycott?  Why not target the network instead? I suppose the ratings would be affected some if the KK Haters boycotted the show and Nielsen Media would be able to show this but wouldn't the network be affected more if people boycotted their network? Hrmmm...just something to think about.

In any case, if you're wondering where I stand, I'd be perfectly pleased with one less reality show, especially one that promotes bratty, spoiled behavior showing a grown woman crying because she doesn't get her way.  And do I think KK has talent? Sure!  She's great at teaching young impressionable girls and women that you should pout, act like a bubble brain, and be a spoiled brat to get ahead in life. Point taken? :) 

Oh...And for the record, Bruce Jenner is THE celebrity in THAT family. 
 

Ebates.com: So why aren't you using this?

For those of you who have yet to actually sign up AND leverage this money saver, let me give you a few reasons why you SHOULD! Oh...and this gal was NOT compensated for this post...just wanted to share the love!

1. Free money back on items you often purchase online (i.e. eBay, department stores, clothing, and etc)

2. Free money back on grocery/drugstore items you use daily (beauty & hair care, household, and yes, even paper goods)

3. You can have the money paid to your PayPal account if preferred.

4. You don't pay a thing...not one penny. (except for whatever you buy of course)

5. No driving required so you save gas AND build up a little extra cash...you can't lose!

So far I've built up a little kitty of cash from buying these types of products:
gift cards
sewing machine
the monster machine AKA the serger
fabric and sewing accessories
shampoos and other hair care products
medicines of all kinds
household cleaning products
electronics

birthday gifts
baby gifts
toys
shoes and clothing for the kids
school uniforms
school supplies
doggie stuff
music from iTunes
Halloween candy and party stuff, and much much more.  

C'mon people!  If you're NOT doing this...WHY THE HECK NOT???? The Holidays are coming up and I KNOW many of you will be shopping online!!!

DIY: The Fashionable Cape

If you haven't been paying attention to the national media, Erica from P.S. - I Made This is stirring up some major publicity everywhere.  She's captured the hearts of DIYers at home to couture designers across the globe and is now considered one of the most popular DIY bloggers and fashionistas around town.  The Wall Street Journal has even featured her!  

So...in any case...why bring her up?  I've had this desire to create the perfect cape and have been searching patterns all over the internet but most of the instructions were more bothersome than I wanted to deal with.  Now...after seeing her post and the final product, let's just say she gave me the final kick-in-the-butt-kind-of-inspiration I've been looking for to actually take the plunge, buy fabric, and save myself a few hundred smackaroos!

What's the beauty of this?  Her pattern for this cape (Click here for DIY Tutorial for Cape) on her site was so simple I about fell off the chair. Grab a pair of scissors and cut, cut, cut, tie, and you're done?  Unbelievable!  No need for finishing hems, using interfacing, and etc.  Ummm...are you kidding me?  How many of these should I make?

So call me crazy but I found some high quality expensive wools on discount, and I've placed an order of 24 lbs of amazing wool fabrics...some plaid, some not, for a total cost of $93 (retail total cost approx $400-500).  And I'm so excited because the 21 yards of fabric should arrive later today (estimate approx 10 capes and matching skirts lol!). Here are a few pics of the fabrics I ordered and please note that I'm going outside the box a bit on the plaids simply because I don't normally wear a ton of plaid...but the purple/taupe and navy/chocolate brown plaids?  Ummm...let's just say those are so delish!!! And yes...I will post pics in a follow up post as my capes are completed! 

Navy & Chocolate

   

Purple and Taupe

Tan, butter cream, antique pearl (this is a present for my mom...shhhhhh!!!)

Black, Navy, and Red

Be sure you purchase fabrics that don't unravel or you will need to finish the hems!  Now...go make one for yourself or your favorite gal.  A message to all the guys and gals that don't sew...It's way too easy to NOT do this!  Just think how amazing your gal will look wearing one of these this winter!  Just think how surprised she'll be! 

So...what are you waiting for?  

Lost in translation...

From that camera-touting tourist's mouth to the largest global companies' advertisements, language translations continually prove challenging to accurately convey the correct message.  Even more challenging is catching the mistake...take a look at this pic gallery for some examples of signs where the translations became lost due to one nuance or another... :)  Which one made you laugh the most?

Lost in Translations picture gallery 

Saturday Outing

By: Stephanie

Yesterday I was in a dilemma about how to spend my Saturday afternoon. I'd received an invite a few days earlier from a few friends to join them for a bite to eat, to catch up, etc. I really wanted to go because I haven't seen them in years. But I was hesitant because I live so far away from the chosen destination.

I went back and forth in my mind, and decided it was definately worth the trip. So, I picked out what to wear, showered, got all dolled up. By the time I was in my car and on my merry way, I got more excited to see everyone! It's about an hour one way, but the weather was beautiful. I rolled down the windows and cranked me some tunes. I arrive about 20 minutes late (as my previous blogs explain about me). No worries, because they "know" if I were to show up on time, they'd all pass out!

Here's where my story takes a few turns, that would probably make a heck of a SNL sketch. First of all, my friends told me the wrong name of the restaurant. It was close, but no cigar. I did find it. I get out, go to one of the front doors, and it's locked. Walk over to the second door, and it swings wide open. I go busting in looking for my buddies, and there's no one there but the manager, chef, and servers having a meeting. (I guess they forgot to lock the door.) I apologize and go back out to my car.

Now, if you were to leave home and travel an hour south to meet your friends, don't ya think it's wise to have their phone numbers saved on your cell? Not me, I guess. What do I do now? Obviously I feel like a complete idiot! I come up with the bright idea that I could track 'em down on Facebook from my phone. (That is rediculous, because they're supposed to be meeting up with me.) I can't get my FB to launch. So, I call another friend at home to get her to pull up HER Facebook, hoping to catch one of them online so I can see what's going on. (This friend I'm calling has NO idea who my other friends are. LOL)

She does a search for me and finds them all. She sends a message to each of them "from her" to call me. (And, of course THEY don't know who SHE is.) Lordy...Finally one of them calls me. I said what are you doing, and where are you? He says, "I'm at home getting ready for a party, where are you?"I said I'm at the place I was supposed to meet ya'll." He said really? I said, YES. He said, you mean on Saturday, December 3rd??? (The conversation went a little south from there..Ha!)

This is probably the kind of story that doesn't seem as funny unless you were there. But I stayed light hearted on my weekend outing. After all, I did bother to take my shower, get dolled up and don my rarely worn high heels. I hit the grocery store just in time to get the freebie food samples. They weren't the restaurant food I was looking forward to, but those chunks of deli ham were "fer sure" tasty!

As I started to head home, I realized that I didn't get that Cafe experience from the grocery store samples. I looked to my right, and low and behold were the golden arches. With total happiness, I left the drive through with my mocha frappe in hand, windows down, and once again; tunes a crankin'!

Until Monday, Blog On!

A good reminder about respect and honor

I had the opportunity to attend my daughter's school's Veterans Ceremony this past Thursday and here are some of my observations and conclusions.  

The ceremony lasted almost two hours.  The opening ceremony consisted of a standing ovation for all the attending veterans {sadly enough the students had to be reminded THREE times as to how to honor them...literally, the VP of the school had to tell them to stand up and applause right before the veterans walked in.  Sad, huh?}

The principal delivered a somewhat shaky, ho-hum typical welcome statement to all which was followed by the local high school ROTC raising the flags...and then...finally all attending recited the Pledge of Allegiance. This is the only time during the school year where the Pledge of Allegiance is recited and honored...unfortunately! :(
 

The band (which my daughter is a member, hence my reason for being present) played God Bless America...wonderfully in fact,  :)  and the school chorus sang their round of patriotic songs between the school orchestra and band's musical pieces while students sat restlessly in the stands. 

The ceremony continued as the Master of Ceremonies swiftly moved through each section of the speakers, and etc but here's where it really got interesting.  The Master of Ceremonies played a PowerPoint presentation in honor of our local military members who lost their lives within the past few years.  

Dimitri A. Del Castillo KIA June 25, 2011

Christophe Marquis (joined Army at age of 39) KIA Sept 7, 2011 

 Read Christophe's Story

This presentation was accompanied by Toby Keith's song, "American Soldier" and yes, the my eyes teared up while watching this. 

It was at the end of this presentation when I noticed a small group of kids sitting across the aisle next to me.  Giggling, a bit disruptive, and all around annoying. The ceremony then progressed on to honoring the attending veterans and currently active military personnel from MacDill AFB. What an amazing sight to see this large of a group of around 100 veterans!  Amazing!


Deservingly so, each veteran and active duty serviceman/woman was announced and stood up to accept his/her applause. Granted it took some time to complete this process and more and more students grew increasingly unruly and disruptive. School officials kept asking them to keep it down and or behave but at this point, I was honestly ready to lean across the aisle and cuff one of them on the back of the head and tell them to be thankful for our veterans.  Especially when this small group of kids mocked a specials needs class as the class recited a poem in honor of the veterans attending the ceremony.

Now these aren't young kids who aren't old enough to know how to show respect.  They were ages 13-14, and I'm astounded that they didn't have the courtesy to behave. Far be it that they didn't or couldn't show they even understood the importance of honoring OUR veterans or the success achieved by a specials need class performing at a school ceremony...all I could think about what that these kids should be extremely ecstatic that they aren't MY kids nor are they MY students! I would definitely given them a lesson on respect they'd never forget!


Well, enough of the observations so here are my conclusions drawn from this 2 hour experience:


1. Apparently our kids could benefit from learning a heck of a lot more about the value of our military forces and their sacrifices for our freedoms.

2. Perhaps school and home lessons on etiquette would prove useful...Ms. Manners, where are you?

3. Three school officials at my daughter's middle school could use some lessons in managing disruptive children.  Perhaps they are too worried about liability and legal issues??? Who knows.

4. The Pledge of Allegiance should mean something.  Students should be able to recite this.  Wait...I should say that U.S. Citizens should be able to recite the Pledge, any time, any where.  Not once a year at a Veteran's Ceremony.
5. As I grow older, I realize that I gain a better understanding and respect of those who serve our country.  I'm continuously surprised how emotional I become thinking about their sacrifices for me, for us.  
6. I question if we non-military folks do enough for our vets.  Do we forget them throughout the year only to remember them once a year on a national holiday?  I know I'm grateful for the freedoms I have, given to us by their sacrifices, but I honestly don't feel I honor them enough.  It's time I do and much more often, don't you think? What about you?

Yes Please! I need MORE clutter in my life!

Clutter.  And I'm not talking about the clutter in my bathroom (which thankfully is hidden by the cabinets).  I'm talking about all the rest of the clutter that quickly transformed a once easy to understand informational communication channel into a more chaotic communication channel of dump sites...yes...trash dump sites for the sole purpose of generating ad revenue. For example, think about the changes in the Internet over the past few years.


Without getting too detailed about why companies need to increase advertising and marketing efforts, offset costs and generate revenue, think about how the Internet websites used to look way back when before all the craziness exploded!  


Ahhh...the beautiful world of the information highway...what an amazing highway it was...Simple layouts, easy to find navigation links, content was useful and separated from all that miscellaneous advertising trash...until one day the two married...all that awesome white space on websites became filled with ad space, banners, pop ups, and other online billboards of blah blah blah!  


Does all this clutter really help sellers sell and buyers buy or does this only serve the purpose of confusing potential site visitors/potential buyers and inevitably...drive them away?  Do consumers and Internet visitors want to be completely overwhelmed by constant flashing ads or pop up windows that move as you scroll down the page? Isn't it fun to click on the ad instead of the X-Close box?  Grrrrrrr..........


And here's my biggest concern and annoyance...new online integrated marketing strategies and tactics to markets goods and services using identifiers otherwise known as "personalization"...Another new reality of online navigation where companies track your online whereabouts and prior visits to pages seem to haunt you as you open up new browser windows or simply navigate to other unrelated websites...yes...just another money making avenue for the website hosts to enjoy...at our expense of course!  


It's especially awesome (notice the sarcasm) when you've viewed lingerie and then close out without purchasing it only to see that awesome teddy or bra/panty set show up when your younger daughter later opens up the web browser and the home page is set to CNN or FoxNews...and guess what shows up once again on the right side of the webpage???  Yup!  You got it!  That slinky teddy or sexy nightie...nice, huh? Thankfully I wasn't looking at anything rated higher than Rated R!!!  Phew! ;)

***Sigh*** Apparently Firefox doesn't get rid of ALL cookies or whatever it is that ties these sites together.  Hrmmm...I wonder if some webmaster or marketing genius somewhere approves of my lingerie selections? {insert evil grin here}


So enough digressing and ranting...but I think you get the point. I used to enjoy my downtime perusing the Internet...especially websites that feature news, fashion, and general information but now even the most sacred of things (i.e. online shopping haha!) has been corrupted.  I have to draw a line somewhere...right?


I miss the simple websites, those that felt relaxing and I didn't feel like companies are stalking consumers or potential consumers, where I could find what I wanted without having to click 20 times or stare at the screen for more than a few minutes just to figure out where I need to go to navigate to my final destination.  Alas! The solace I once felt is no longer my reality. 

The Forgotten Minnow

On the side of patio, just under the roof, sits this plastic thingy that looks like a container of swamp water.  It's green, filled with algae, and contains a lonely minnow my younger daughter caught in a nearby retention pond.  This tiny minnow held my daughter's attention for nearly a week and then quickly dwindled down as days and weeks passed.  Ultimately, this poor minnow was quickly "adopted" by yours truly. 

To be honest, I'd even completely forgotten about this poor lonely minnow.  I don't even know if it's alive, and I certainly dread walking over to the container to look.  It's been there since the Halloween party and yeah, became an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of thing.  Oops!!!! So...like any good Director of Pet Management would do, I took the plunge and checked it out.


 {Please hold while I put my "hat of courage" on and verify if Mr. Minnow has coded or not...}


OK, gross.  The water is more than green.  I can see algae bits floating everywhere and am completely amazed that this once itsy bitsy teeny weenie minnow is not only alive and kicking (no need to scream out CODE BLUE!)...it is now twice it's size.  Que??? Not sure how, but this little thing has flourished in a completely disgusting and neglected environment...better than any other "pet" in our capture and forget, um...I mean capture and release program.  :)  Hrmmm...this mom is wondering how well this would work on her kids...lol!!!  (Uh, no need to call Child Services, people, I'm just kidding!)

Mr. Minnow

Me & Mr. P

Those who know me would agree I’ve been in a long standing relationship with Mr. P.  I’m loyal to a fault, there’s no substitute, and nothing even comes close to what we share.  He and I will never part because Jose, while popular, just doesn’t seem to do it for me.  And while men may come and go and regardless of how I treat him, Mr. P will always stay by my side.  What a lucky gal I am! 

 Now…here’s the best part of our relationship.  Mr. P could be compared to a hooker, I can always find him on almost any street corner and in any city around the world!  He makes himself available to me at my beck and call and would never ever think to play hard to get.  And because I’m his mistress, the choice becomes mine as to when and where I get to take advantage of him. He’s mine for the taking, gals! Wink, wink!

 

He’ll never leave me high and dry nor will he neglect me.  He knows me well, so well in fact that he minds my wishes, does my bidding, and would never ever dare to disagree.  He understands my insecurities and ensures we have those extra special intimate moments.  I’m wanted, loved, and would never be put aside.  He remembers our anniversaries, special memories and more importantly helps me conveniently forget those god-forsaken awful memories one never wants to be reminded of.  

And yes, I’ve learned to become more of a risk-taker, less of a wallflower since knowing Mr. P.  He’s added an indescribable amount of color to my life.  So much in fact that I can now say it’s truly because of him that I spent a night as a bar dancer at Coyote Ugly.    

And while he deals with my craziness and annoying habits, he, my friends, still loves me in the morning, brings me a breakfast tray complete with ibuprofen and pickle juice (the best hangover remedy ever), and gets into bed to snuggle. How could this girl ask for more?

And now may I introduce my darling Mr. P…  :)

www.patrontequila.com

Blogger of the Day…

I never understood the idea of blogging. It’s been around for a good while, and I’d hear about this blog or that blog but this communication method never seemed to resonate and hit the mark with me…Seriously folks, why the heck did people spend so much time online, documenting certain aspects of their lives, if not all of it including things I’d consider too much information (tmi)?  Did these bloggers really think people cared, that we’d follow their daily postings about what they wear, who they talk to, and what kind of dog they have? So they like a certain clothing store or music genre or taking trips to find amazing vintage clothing, furniture, and etc…big whoop.  Or at least I thought so!   I admit it…I had this certain opinion of bloggers, the know-it-alls, the share-it-alls, and the ego kings and queens.  You know the type…

Well, it’s confession time…Read below and feel free to chuckle at how wrong I was with my prior opinion about bloggers…and yes…let me say for the record that I’m eating crow with a good amount of ranch dressing on the side right about now for being so opinionated and ignorant before I came to my new-found insight… oh go for it and LAUGH your butt off at me…it’s really ok! Ha! Ha!  

Overall, I believe that self improvement is a good thing…and I’ve had way too much time on my hands lately so I figured why not find something I’ve always wanted to improve and just go do it!   Well THAT decision was easy…the hard part was deciding what to do especially since my life recently has taken so many twists and turns and I’ve managed to lose touch with myself during the past couple of years (long story for another couch session!).  And that was my problem…I lost myself, my identity outside of being a mom, and definitely my overall sparkle for life.  And I’m the type where I look like I feel and trust me…I was really starting to not care about what I put on in the mornings…yuck! I wouldn’t even want to hang out with myself!  Problem. BIG problem!  So…looking frumpy, dressed in a way that said I didn’t care at all was definitely NOT me and needed to change if I wanted to help myself get into a better mindset.  So this was it…I knew what I needed to do.  Research...information...but where? The Internet of course!

I came across this blog by accident.  I was searching the Internet for do-it-yourself projects, fashion ideas, and style and http://www.lovemaegan.com/ popped up in the results…so I clicked on it and started reading…There was just something that seemed to captivate me and this site became a crazy secret obsession of mine for some time (I think I spent two to three hours nightly checking out her blog archives and her links to her other favorite blogs).  Needless to say I was hooked.   So while my kids and their dad thought I was on Facebook or chat sessions with friends (haha!), I'd check out her blog, what her past and current outfits of the day were, and even go as far as saving pictures for future "outfit" references.  I’d quietly read her articles after the kids went to sleep, reviewed her fashion comments, blog postings, and mentally think about how I could incorporate some of these new ideas into my own fashion sense…if it was even possible since we had differences in our styles.

After the kids went to school and as embarrassing as this seems, I would remember one of her many creative “looks”"and see if I could manage to create something similar from my many closets and tubs filled with clothing and accessories I've never worn because I could never figure out what to do with them.   At first I felt like an idiot, reading a blog, dressing up with nowhere exciting to go except on errands, to the grocery store, or to my kids’ schools…exciting huh? But then my girls started commenting on new outfits I created and how I was looking that I started feeling better. I even learned how to get my hair to hold curls for more than 30 minutes no joke…yes I know that sounds trivial but I’ve been trying to master this unsuccessfully for 20 years and one tiny little blog post answered my prayers to this enigma and gave me a head full of awesome curls that could manage to outlast the Florida humidity!  Better yet, I didn’t have to use curling irons, hot rollers, or anything except a headband to do this and sleep! That in itself was enough to win me over! Lol!

So…LoveMaegan, the blogging diva, the first blogger to completely convert my way of thinking about bloggers and the value they can provide, is the one who unknowingly helped me take a few necessary steps towards feeling better about myself.  Someone who is my complete opposite, someone so unexpected, someone who appeared to have it figured out shared some of her jewels of information and wisdom with me via her blog.  Let me simply say that while the crow didn’t taste so yummy, I’m certainly glad I happened to come across her site! A heartfelt Thanks to LoveMaegan!

Sometimes you just have to roll your eyes, heave a big sigh, say *#*% and smile…

…When you realize that special outfit you selected for this one special occasion won’t work…and it's the last minute.

…When your dog barks at midnight and needs to be taken for a quick walk and your “regular dog walkers” are sleeping.

…When you’re finally arriving at your destination and your child pipes up and says she left something important on the kitchen counter.

...When the lights go out, you grab a flashlight, and the batteries are deader than Elvis.

…When you expect a nice soothing hot shower and you get hit by an icy shower.

…When there’s one piece of bacon left on the plate and the only logical thing to do is eat it.

…When you post something on Facebook and people take you completely out of context and decide to read you the riot act or write a dissertation on this or that.

…When you’re running late and your gas tank empty light keeps blinking…and you know there isn’t a chance you’ll make it.

…When a costume you make for a darling little girl’s recital and part of it is too small and you have to re-do it.

…When you find yourself talking to a wall and it’s made out of brick and cement and doesn’t budge.

…When you really want a delicious adult beverage and you forgot to replenish your stock.

…You’re grocery shopping for a large party and three local grocery stores don’t carry what you need.

…When you’re having a great phone conversation but you’re doing the potty dance and can’t get a word in to end the conversation.

…When you get yourself all snuggled up in bed but forgot to turn off the light.

…When your crazy day is FINALLY over and then you realize that it will start all over again in 4-5 hours. Ugh!