Memory Lane

It started innocently enough.  Looking for one specific photo from four Christmas' ago.  That was 2 1/2 hours ago.

I've spent the last 2 1/2 hours pouring through thousands of photos... hundreds and hundreds of them chronicling my friendship with B.  Baby showers, wedding showers, lunch breaks, study breaks, babysitting adventures, museum trips, zoo trips, shopping trips, pizza making, cookie making, salsa making, birthdays, Christmases, New Years, Valentines Days (I only know this because of the date stamp... Christopher & I share with B & Stanton a general non-acknowledgement of Valentines Day), graduations, Dia del Osos, hay rides, Skype dates, double dates, family dinners (both micro and macro), baseball games, golf trips, stats conferences, cupcake shops, and mommy bible studies.

All of that, and I'm still selfish enough to want more.  

Oh, and I didn't even find the photo. 

Product Review: Green Mountain Coffee WELLNESS Collection

Whew. We could use some WELLNESS up in here.

One of my recent product testing experiences through BzzAgent has turned into a must-have for our household.

Introducing... Green Mountain Coffee WELLNESS Collection K-Cups.  There are currently two offerings, an Anti-oxidant Blend (contains vitamins C and E) and a Focus Blend (contains L-Theanine).

They're not flavored, but they do have the dependable quality of a Green Mountain coffee. They both taste great!  This morning, as you can see, I decided to indulge in a little whipped cream and cinnamon with my FOCUS blend coffee.  Hey, it's the holidays!  Now's the time!  ;)

The results are mild-to-moderate.  I wasn't expecting supernatural focus... that would just be creepy.  But I did find myself feeling less distracted by the laundry, dishes, and dogs next door.  And that's exactly what I need on days like today when I'm working from home.  I just need a bit of extra focus to get as much work done as possible while the little PorkChop is taking his morning nap.

You should check it out!  Or, better yet, send me a note and I can share some samples and coupons with you!

A Month of Thanksgiving: Day 17

I am thankful for BEAUTIFUL FALL WEATHER.

I love living here and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.  We’re finally sneaking into winter, but it has been three months of pure, crisp bliss around here.   In 2010 and 2011, my favorite part of the day was our family walk after I got home from work.  Sometimes we all walked, and sometimes Christopher and I jogged while Caroline rode her bike.  However we chose to do it, I loved spending time outside with my handsome husband and beautiful daughter.  

See?... Beautiful!

This year, we've had fewer opportunities to take family walks because Chris has a class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and we have dinner with our housechurch on Wednesdays.  The walks we do take are pretty magical.  It's a complete joy to walk alongside Everett in the stroller and watch him take it all in.  Our handsome boy LOVES to be outdoors! 

Birthday hike at Holliday Park

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch with Denka

This baby LOVES to nap outside.

Family Photo... This may be as good as it gets for the Christmas Card.  I don't have any real expectations of a portrait that shows ALL of our faces.  =)

Halloween

My sweet LuluPants

Is there anything cuter than a baby giraffe's tail?

A Month of Thanksgiving: Day 16

Last year I posted each day for the first half of the month.  See, here are my 2011 posties:

November 1
November 2
November 3
November 4 
November 5 
November 6 
November 7 
November 8 
November 9 
November 10 
November 11 
November 12 
November 13 
November 14 
November 15 

Then, on November 15th, the queasies set in and I stopped drinking coffee.  Which meant I stopped going to  the coffee shop at work.  Which meant I lost my 20 minutes each morning that I had used for blogging.

This year, I purposely waited until November 16th to start up again because I wanted this little gem to be the CENTER of attention....

I am thankful for THE PRECIOUS CHILDREN IN MY LIFE.

Loving Caroline and Everett is one of my greatest joys, but I’m also blessed with 4 nieces and 2 nephews and the Greer babies.  LOTS of opportunities to laugh and love and reflect on God’s goodness. 

This little delight is FOUR years old today.  I can’t believe it’s been FOUR years since she made her grand appearance, with the largest waiting room crowd I’ve ever seen… including the ones you see on TV.  She is a little light… just like her mommy!

Meeting Cake for the 1st time, and crying for the next two hours out of sheer joy. 

We were able to give Cake her first Christmas present when B and Stanton stopped at our house on their way to Arkansas for the holidays.  It was a SUPER fun evening.

My favorite photo ever of Cake.  I also happen to think she looks JUST like her mommy in this shot.

B and I love to watch our sweet daughters play and laugh together.

 

I am thankful to be a part of her life, 

both today and always.

 

THIS is marketing I can get behind

I'm a tough cookie when it comes to consumerism.  Advertisers and their products have to clear a high hurdle to make their way into my home and lifestyle.  Print ads are my favorite... I love to study the magazine pages, billboards, and product labels to guess what part of their brand they want me to relate to.  If I find something particularly clever, I'll likely buy into it and try the product - sometimes even if it's not something I would typically use.  It's my way of showing appreciation that advertisers didn't underestimate me - they didn't try to flash something shiny in front of me and expect me to cave immediately.  Because I want something meaningful for my efforts, I am completely unfulfilled by most television commercials.

Until today.  

Today I saw this little ditty, and I love it. Love it enough to talk about it, love it enough to watch it again on YouTube, and love it enough to write a journal entry about it. 

Recipient of the MAMC Award for Marketing/Advertising in 2012