Of course! We'll have contests and giveaways later this month!
What am I waiting for?
Beats me... If it's the evening of August 8th, you should be there right now! (If you go there before the 8th, you will see a blog under construction... so no early birds ;)
What if I get lost?
Just bookmark me! ThatGirl wouldn't want you to have to pull over and find a map, lawd knows. She spends enough time doing that herself...
Are you still on Twitter?
Girl, you know I am!! twitter/thatgirlblogs, natch!
Well That Girl is on her vacay so this girl is here instead! I'm Amanda from This Crazy Miracle Called Lifeand I have the honor of guest blogging today. My assignment was simply to write about anything I wanted. My audience? Mostly women averaging a decade older than myself. Hmm.... what would they want to hear about?? Now I've been told I have an "old soul," but seriously? I'll be 21 in a few days. I'm taking 3 summer courses, trying to plan my wedding, going through some chaotic health issues, trying to stay sane, wishing I had a fairy to clean my closet (or maybe just a really good bridge so I could at least enter it - ha!)..... there are times when I don't even think my head is on my body anymore. All the hectic days have put me into a little bit of a blogging rut, I guess you could say, but I was not about to let that come between a promise to one of my blogger friends. So, left with two choices, I had to decide: Should I 1) muster up something I'd write about on my own blog and hope you'd all enjoy it, or 2) think really hard of something that would be interesting to women of all ages on a blog I have not been frequenting until somewhat recently, to be honest? I went with the 2nd option because in my opinion, if you wanted to see something about me, you could just go over to my blog. But THIS is That Girl's blog. You're her dedicated readers so why would I bombard you with ramblings about my friends and family, the ups and downs in the life of a student nurse, bore you with hobbies that really may not be your hobbies.... whatever strikes MY fancy?? You came HERE so I thought, how could I bring a little of me into a little of what you love from That Girl? Well, I know you all love her really cool links, and they seem to cover the whole spectrum, don't they? So my idea was, we are all different, but if you're anything like me, some days you want to read something interesting, and others, you just need to laugh. So here is just a little smorgasbord of links and tips and videos and whatever :) that I have compiled to entertain you until your regular Bloggess returns. And let me say again, I loved putting it together and I'd love to send That Girl amazing-vacay vibes and thank her again for allowing me to share my voice on her blog. :)
* How to do those to-dos The first tip is from yours truly. :) It changed my life so I'm excited to share. The hardest thing is remembering to do this every day, but every morning, take a few minutes to sit down and ask yourself, what are FIVE things I ABSOLUTELY must get done today? If you actually designate them, you'd be surprised how much easier it is to get them done. It's harder to go through the day just thinking, "What did I have to do today? I thought there was something," or just choose random items off of your to-do list. Sometimes I'll pick 5 goals for the day and if I'm feeling overly ambitious, even 5 overall goals for the week. I write them down and make myself accountable. Something in taking a few seconds to just prioritize really does work magic.
* Life Laundry Day This sounded kind of funny, but take a few seconds to think about it... I know I dont have a whole day, but I have embraced the habit of spendign a few hours every week for "life laundry" and it really does work out. Check out the article on Zen Habits.
* One word: Bakerella Do I really need to say more? The word "Bake" made into a cute little blog name. Just don't go there if you're hungry. Or not hungry. Or on a diet. Or don't ever want to go on a diet. :)
* For all you mommies .....had a bad day? It could be worse!! (I hope the mother of this child is not reading this blog!!)
*Shopping! The site's called I Heart Luxe and they call themselves a "daily women's shopping magazine"... Need I say more?
* Free legal forms + business templates People post and share thousands of professional legal and business forms here at DocStoc - this is perfect for you WAHMs who need contracts/agreements, photography releases, financial forms, letters, all areas of legal documents (remember, it would probably still be a good idea to clear them with your real attorney before actual use)....
* Blog Coach: More Blogging Guidance from Really Good Blogs This is a must-read for all bloggers or all of you contemplating getting into blogging. This particular post has links to hot blogging advice posts on other sites, but there is TONS of fabulous tips and tricks covering Blog Coach as well!
* Still bored? Just in case you haven't heard of it, Kirtsy is THE place to find out what's hot online right now. The links can keep you online for hours and hours - don't say I didn't warn you! * Puppies And come on, if you're still not loving this? Meet my puppy Haylie. Everyone loves puppies!!! :)
Well, thanks for chilling with me, and don't forget to pop up on my blog just to say hi! I have a few big things coming in the next couple months - an entire redesign, a new etsy feature, the addition of a quotations database blog (there's nothing like it on the entire internet, or at least I haven't found it yet!)... lots of excitement!! And lastly, That Girl and I would love to hear from you! Regulars, lurkers, come on, what are YOU loving?? Step right up and be a "commenting guest blogger" right here... add your LOVE of the day/week/whatev because who doesn't need another web addiction, tip, quote, story, or hey, if your 4 year old has a new knock knock joke, those are good, too! :) And of course, leave That Girl some welcome-home love!
Going on hiatus, officially. See you on August 11th. I should have a new blog design when I return, if all goes well! Moving to WordPress with the help of Caffeinated Elf Designs.
My adoptionsites are in the right column, I will update those when I can. Thanks to all who have contributed to the Ethiopia Experimentas well -- we'll have our progress posted here.
Here's a little inspiration for you on a beautiful weekend:
OK, forget the old brown and blue stripe of yore, I chose this funky floral from Pottery Barn for The Great Bedroom Redo of 2008. The pattern has a little blue in it, so I ordered the throw and shams in blue instead of orange. They look like this:
That blue is called "porcelain," which reminds ThatGirl of the word, "toilet." But I trust Pottery Barn. They seem to have this whole merchandising thing down. I think that little mom-and-pop-shop is gonna make it, by golly!
The scary part about the catalogs I'm getting in general? I see a BIG 1970's influence. No. No, no, no. Must not have "pod" furniture and lucite. Maybe I'm thinking of the 60's. It's all a little too groovy.
The paint color for the room will be "Sand 4" from Laura Ashley, available at Lowe's. In case you wanted to have a "ThatGirl" room in your home. You know you want to. I chose sand (glorified beige) because I tend to change my mind. You know, "once in awhile." Oh, shush your mouth.
This is my cousin's new business, shaBangs. She's in her 20s and is always thinking of the next big idea. Here's her video on YouTube, and the site is http://www.shabangs.org. Enjoy this shameless promotion for my loved ones.
Isaiah 6:8 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
If we raise the application fee for our adoption agency, I'll take it as God's stamp of approval to go to Ethiopia. I made the deadline my birthday, August 8th. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I have to at least try, I am tossing/turning over this every night. I'm at peace with whichever way things turn out.
PS - No, Carla, you cannot donate again! Save your money for Miss Rylea's adoption!!
Thank You to our contributors: Gail, Daleea, Rachael and Carla! Your money will be 100% refunded via PayPal on August 9th if we fall short of our goal.
I don't want to make fun of celebs, I really don't... but they make it so easy sometimes!
Nicole Kidman escaped Scientology, found a cuter (and taller) new husband, finally got pregnant after years of yearning, had a healthy baby girl, and named her...
Sunday.
No, she didn't name her on Sunday. She NAMED her Sunday. To be specific? Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. In case you weren't sure who both of her parents are. Shared billing. Her monogram is SRKU. Or, I guess the actual "monogram" would be SKUR (first/last/middle). And if I may say, "SKUR" sounds like the next messiah of Scientology. Or a new Star Trek character.
"For the most part I am not scared or angry. I do not fear death in any way. My sadness and tears flow when I think of my children growing up without me. But I trust the Lord and His perfect plan. Years from now many of you will know my children and all they have accomplished. Maybe you will be able to make sense of why God chose this for me and them. Maybe in heaven God will heal my broken heart and I will not wonder for long." -- Punk Rock Mommy
On this date in 2008 we were at the Scottish Games, and Littlest was still in China! Here are The Tween, Little, and The Boy with two Scottish Bagpipers.
I think we met in the Church's Kid Choir for the first time, but we didn't become best friends until Jr. High Group. We spent hours on the phone and went on four mission trips to Mexico together. After High School, you went on to get a Master's Degree while I worked. You were there the night I met the Mayor, and you stood by me at my wedding. We have more stories than I can even remember anymore. You are my oldest-bestest.
Good Morning! I think you'd really enjoy Kim's blog, Life in a Shoe -- she has (ready for it?) 10 children. This is her new addition, Bethany, and you can read all about her and her siblings on their website.
New babies are my favorite sight in the morning. Especially when I'm not the one breast feeding them...
As I write, Littlest is falling asleep after a long day. He was in his first 4th of July parade, riding in the car with TheMayor and the rest of the kids this morning:
After the parade, we went to a barbecue and lit fireworks at the neighbors' house.
It's so funny to get the kids all charged up on fireworks. They had smoke bombs, sparklers and worms. Remember when WE were kids? Everything was legal. You could light your hair on fire, nobody worried. Your Dad would stand out there in the street with a bucket of water just in case... In case of what, dehydration? If you burned yourself you just hopped around, flailing your arms. Really, it was a free-for-all.
So, Littlest saw us lighting fireworks and immediately started worrying that the fire truck was coming. He wanted to stay, but he was scared --torn between fear of fire and a very STRONG desire to see a real fire fighter on our street. He didn't know what to do, the kid turned into Rain Man. I convinced him we were safe, but we came inside and he's fighting sleep at the moment, to the boom... boom... boom of fireworks in the distance.
We're all so afraid of everything these days. Will his kids light eco-friendly, carbon footprint-reducing, vegetarian, fat free, nonpartisan fireworks? I mean, that's the direction we're moving in, right?
Let me end by saying how sad I am that the country is at war, how PROUD I am of our military men and women who are protecting our freedom, and how HOPEFUL I am that we will all vote for change in November.
You are every girl's sister, every child's teacher, friend to the friendless -- I want to be you if I ever grow up. Your common sense ways and open heart make me want to trust people the way you do.
We met in China. You were so reserved at first, but once we got to know you, we saw still waters were running deep! You are an amazing Mom to eight kids, and I learn something from you just about every day. There's a special place in heaven for you.
There's a new item on my sidebar called, "Daily Accountability." I have been eating terribly this Summer -- one day I binge, the next I fast, the next I eat nothing but junk food... all days I power down buckets of coffee... It's ridiculous. I mean, I'm almost 40 and I eat like I'm twelve. Well, twelve with a coffee addiction.
Anyway, I figure -- no one's watching, so... why not? Then I realized if I put it up on the blog, I'd know lots of people were watching. So there it is for all to see. I'll update it each night. Not so much for you, as for me... but I'll bet it makes you feel better about yourself, so consider that my sacrifice.
I had the biggest crush on you Freshman year but we were just friends. Sigh. You lived with your dad (a real estate mogul-type), and had a lot of freedom. We used to go for rides in his BMW up Skyline Road and look down at the city. All I can remember is your perfect hair and the stench of Polo cologne. I let you cheat off of my Pre-Algebra test and we got caught. When I walked out of the classroom, Mr. Rhea looked at me and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself. You would do that for a boy's attentions?" Um, Mr. Rhea? Have you looked at him?
Only 1 Day Left to purchase a raffle ticket for the D40 Nikon camera!!
The proceeds will go toward helping us to bring our daughter home from Vietnam.
A huge THANK YOU to those of you who have written us notes of encouragement, posted our raffle on their blogs, purchased tickets and generally supported our efforts to bring Rylea Faith home. We will be forever grateful. We will draw the winning ticket early Tuesday and notify and post the winner immediately. With any luck, we will have it to show on video ;-).
We became best friends Freshman year and you're still someone I would call in the middle of the night if everything went pear shaped. When you married your boyfriend of eight years, you were so nervous I pushed you down the aisle. A few months later, you separated... after coming out of the closet. You are so happy now. We'll always be friends.
You were the first boy I ever kissed who had braces. It was disgusting. You used to chew tobacco, also. I remember that round circle permanently etched in your back jean pocket from the Skoal can. You had an obsession with the Oakland Raiders and VanHalen. We continued an odd little friendship until you graduated from High School. I think you're a cop now.
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