Embracing the Moments

I've been following Katie at Heading Home for a while now because of my curiosity about Five Minute Friday and I LOVE her last name. I have no idea whether I pronounce it correctly or not but it's a cool last name. Yes, I know my mind errs on the side of lunacy.

Anyway... Five Minute Friday seems like fun. Katie gives a prompt, you set a timer and write on the prompt for 5 minutes. The reason I've been so hesitant to join in is because some of the participants write beautifully and I did that comparison thing and fell short as I always do when I compare myself which is why I should never do that and just be happy with what I do. You can find a link to Five Minute Friday on the right sidebar over there. →

This week's prompt is: EMBRACE

Here we go:

Every single moment that passes does so at warp speed. My girls were born and then, the next day, they were all grown up and out on their own.

I feel I failed to EMBRACE those moments.

Or maybe I just couldn't keep up with the warp speed.

Or maybe that's just the way life is.

Now, I'm trying my best to EMBRACE each moment with this little bug.

Who is already changing and growing at warp speed.

No longer a baby but looking more like a little girl.

In a week or so, I'll be looking back at my time with her as a little bitty thing while sitting at her college graduation.

EMBRACE each moment because they don't last longer than a nanosecond.

But the journey, however fast, is well worth it.

Remember, y'all, there's a giveaway of NuNaturals stevia!
FOUR lucky winners will each get THESE:

So, here's the deal:

• There will be FOUR winners
• Each winner will receive one bottle of Vanilla NuStevia Liquid, one bottle of New Sugarfree cocoa syrup, a package of new cocoa powder, and a 50 packet box of the NuStevia no-carbs Stevia Packets, PLUS a FREE BONUS item. 
• Winner's will receive package directly from NuNaturals.
• Giveaway is open worldwide.
•  They cannot ship to PO BOXES.
• If you want to purchase from NuNaturals you can get a 15% discount by entering BLG0617 through June 30, 2017. Also, shipping is free when orders exceeding $35 (this is just to CONTINENTAL US)

 All y'all have to do is leave a comment here, on my FB page, Instagram, or Twitter that you would like to be entered to win! IF I see a comment on my social media, I'll give you 5 extra entries per comment. AND you can comment every single day if you'd like!

Now, if you'd like TEN extra entries, go and 'LIKE' NuNatruals FB page. Please let me know if you do this so I can give the 10 extra entries! FYI: They have tons of recipes over there.

I'll keep this giveaway open through next Thursday (March 30) and announce the winners on Friday, March 31.

Please visit my Etsy Shop!

All items are HANDMADE with love! 

Holy Crap

I've been MIA...more commonly known as 'BacktoschoolHell.'

When you have the position I have, your job is based on funding. Every. Single. Year. What that means is, I never know from one year to the next whether or not I will be teaching anything to anyone.

Yeah, it does kind of suck.

BUT- thanks to the county AND our most wonderful PTA--I am teaching again this year. So are several others.

The first few weeks have been nothing less than completely CRAZY. Though all seems to be falling into place now. Whew.

I could have thrown a few posts together I suppose. But I'm one of those who puts on her blinders when preparing for classes. What can I say- the kids come first.

I just wanted to pop on here today and send a huge "HELLO" to everyone! And to let y'all know that I'm still alive! :)

Hopefully I will soon find my groove and be back to a more normal blogging habit.

Meanwhile- FOOTBALL SEASON IS UNDERWAY! I've been working in front of the television this weekend. College ball is back and the NFL preseason is almost over. This is otherwise known as HEAVEN! Pure HEAVEN!

I also need to catch y'all up on the wedding plans since they decided against London. They booked a venue that I recommended a couple of months ago. When will they learn that mom knows best? LOL

I've MISSED y'all! Back soon!!!

Love and hugs all around!

A-Z Challenge Sign-Up!

The crazy thing is that April is only two months away! The great thing is that it's time to sign up for the A-Z Challenge for April 2012!

Just click on the banner above to sign up! It's that simple!

And then we have two months to go ahead and work on posts for letters like q, x, z...those were the most difficult for me last year.

If you have questions you can contact one of the hosts and they will be more than happy to help you out!

The A to Z Challenge Blog hosts are: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller,Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. 

Will you be joining in the A-Z challenge this year? 

Inspirational

I have noticed, while watching the morning news, that the weather dudes have a catch phrase that they repeat- over and over and over to the point of hilarity (or annoyance)- every day.  It might be "by the time you go out this morning" over and over and over again in 60 seconds.  Or something like "more than likely" over and over and over again in 60 seconds.  Or "could possibly be" over and over and over again...in 60 seconds.  That very thing happened to me today while reading blog posts.  My catch phrase was a catch word, INSPIRATIONAL.  There were so many inspirational posts in the last couple of days and they are worth mentioning.

Chele at Discoveries shared her refusal to seek solace in a self-inflicted isolation but to, instead, get out there and live her life.  INSPIRATIONAL.  Julie at The Going to be New Me and Engine 3-The Life of Riley has been going through the weight loss process and has not given up one single time.  She has also decided that instead of giving up something for Lent she will give 10 minutes every day to prayerful meditation in an effort to "Be still and know that I am God."  INSPIRATIONAL.   Barb at This and That (As I Bounce Thru Life) is going through as tough a time as I have seen in quite a while and yet, she continues to reach out to others and show us how to be determined and to find the humor in the midst of confusion and despair.  INSPIRATIONAL.  The wonderfully funny Aunt Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka has shared her issue of anxiety with us and, instead of hiding away, has shown us that reaching out for help is the best way to go all the while, keeping us laughing.  INSPIRATIONAL.  Michele at Bodacious Boomer has been in a business sort of chaos that hasn't been as great as she had hoped and yet, she continues to get out there and do her best while uplifting our spirits with laughter.  INSPIRATIONAL.  Shawn at The Becker's (Shawn and Bill) not only has "live well, love much, laugh often" written on her header, she lives the example of just that and it comes shining forth through her posts.  INSPIRATIONAL.  Betty at A glimpse into midlife shared that she is questioning many things right now and wonders if anyone else is experiencing this- a woman who puts it out there in hopes of not only finding answers from other women but to also let us know we are not alone.  INSPIRATIONAL.  Eva at Wrestling with Retirement and Carol at Facing 50 with Humor who are always thinking of others and make sure that we are uplifted through humor because laughter IS the best medicine.  INSPIRATIONAL. Judy at Cranberry Morning always has something going on that will inspire you to create or to dream of travel or just bring a smile to your face.  INSPIRATIONAL.  And Patrice at Everyday Ruralty who reaches out to other farmers' wives in an effort to spread awareness about such a vital community, and who cares enough about women's issues of weight that she devotes a weekly HOP just for support.  INSPIRATIONAL. 

I know that I have only covered a few of these inspirational women.  And that doesn't mean that others are not worth mentioning.  These are just the ones that in the last 48 hours or so have really made the INSPIRATIONAL flag fly high. 

Whose INSPIRATIONAL flags have you seen flying around?




Today is the ^10th day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) for the month of March.  Our theme for the month is: in a word.  I am using the word 'INSPIRATIONAL' today because I am inspired by others to do so. 

Blogging Thanks

I wasn't sure what blogging was all about at first and, to be honest, I'm still confused on several levels.  Nevertheless, I am enjoying the writing, the sharing, and, especially, the comments.  If I had to pick one thing that I like best about blogging, however, it would have to be getting to know the wonderful women behind the blogs I've been reading.  I have found you all to be nothing less than completely encouraging, supportive, empathetic, caring, kind, intelligent, humorous, clever, open and honest.  Your blogs range from teaching a 'how-to' and sharing your joys of reading or crafting to wanting to make sure others feel good about themselves inside and out or sharing a fun/difficult/frustrating/miraculous day/event/journey in ways that inspire motivation, thought, laughter...I thought that I would find some sort of release in the writing of a blog and maybe some direction in figuring out how to live in this empty nest of ours.  And, to some extent, it really has helped.  But I have found so much more than that.  I never realized that I would be filling some of the empty nest hours with such amazing women as y'all.   

So, on this TGIF, I wanted to take a minute and be thankful for all of you!  Thank you for the from-the-gut laughter; the clever crafting ideas; the telling and showing of your 'how-to's'; the heartfelt sharing of your experiences and memories; your wonderful photographs; your amazing ideas; your encouragement and motivation to help others improve themselves; your honest reviews; your willingness to put yourselves out there; your inspirational thoughts; your encouragement and your support.  Thank you all!

Please take a minute and check out the list of blogs I read (and the buttons).  I'm certain it will be worth the time- it certainly has been for me!