Friday, May 29, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things -- May 29


It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of ViklitCelebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful bloghop!


This week I'm celebrating:
  • air conditioning...how some people live without this is unimaginable to me  #firstworldproblems
  • having nice neighbors.  We recently got new neighbors just a few months ago and I'm so happy that they are normal people (I've had some not-so-normal ones in the past!).  They are a married couple with three kids, and they just got a dog this past weekend...he's so cute!  The kids named him Olaf :)  I'm hoping Olaf and Emmie will be best doggie friends one day.
  • flowers!  My hubs planted some annuals last weekend and they really perk up the house.  I especially love my flowers in the sun porch...something about them really makes me happy.

I apologize to everyone who left me comments last week...I was MIA last weekend and by the time I got a minute to hop on my pc this week, it just seemed to make more sense to wait to Friday and hop around and return comments.  Thanks for understanding!



What are you celebrating?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit my wonderful co-host:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge



Friday, May 22, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things -- May 22


It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of ViklitCelebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful bloghop!

Between the on and off rain killing my bones, and my therapist being harder on me, I've had a tough week.  Even so, there is always something to celebrate.

This week I'm celebrating:
  • Twix bars...life is always better with chocolate!
  • Online shopping.  Since I'm not really up to shopping like most normal people do, I really appreciate shopping from the comfort of my own bed.  This week I received a nail polish collection that I ordered from eBay.  Can't wait to try one on this weekend...mint green or grape purple first???
  • Emmie's vet and their staff.  These people are great...they love Emmie and Emmie seems to love everyone who works in their office.  I wish I could bring my kids to them...I like them better than my kids' pediatricians!
  • Emmie's yogurt face...think milk moustache...except in reverse... and with yogurt LOL

Emmie's yogurt face...can you see it on her chin?


What are you celebrating?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit my wonderful co-host:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge



Friday, May 15, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things -- May 15


It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of ViklitCelebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful bloghop!

This week I'm celebrating:
  • How sweet it is when my children snuggle up to Emmie and tell me how much they love "their puppy" :)
  • Driving!  I drove two towns away to go to acupuncture this week!  I tried driving with my ankle brace on with my sneaker, but that was so uncomfortable...I'm not a fan of the ankle brace.  So on the way back it was driving in my sock again...and it felt really good!
  • On my way back from acupuncture I went to the Starbucks drive thru and picked up a mocha latte...yummo!
  • Saw a rainbow, just washed in the clouds, yesterday afternoon.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the rainbow was a big surprise.  I was lucky to have my daughter with me to see it.

What are you celebrating?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit my wonderful co-host:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge



Friday, May 8, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things -- May 8


It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of ViklitCelebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful bloghop!

This week I'm celebrating:
  • having company over last weekend.  We had my best friend and his family, and Jason's best friend and his family over for a barbeque.  The little ones had fun making messes on the screen porch, and Emmie had fun licking chips off the floor!
  • my physical therapist didn't totally kill me on Monday.  Either it was because she was being nice, or (and this is more likely) maybe because it was my first visit back and she didn't want to go full-on-evil-torture on day one.  We shall see, because I have PT again today.  Wish me luck!
  • I went joy riding!  I took my boot off and drove with just my sock on!  Which was very weird btw...but it worked...and there wasn't any pain!  I just looked like a looney bin putting the boot back on after I parked so I could get out and walk my son into his orthodontist appointment.  Seriously, I think I could do without the boot...but I'm listening to my doc's protocol and will have it on for another 5 weeks.  At least I can shower like a normal person, right?

What are you celebrating?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit my wonderful co-host:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
 

Monday, May 4, 2015

A to Z 2015 Reflections Post

Congratulations to everyone who conquered the A to Z Challenge!

Here we go! My thoughts on the 2015 A to Z Challenge...

My Own Personal Preferences

  • Some themes/posts are self explanatory by their title, but when they aren't, I really appreciated when people put just a short blurb at the top, or beginning of their post, explaining what their A to Z focused on. Having it done this way made it easier for me to just dive in. 
  •  I find that I definitely prefer shorter posts. Unless it's a topic that I LOVE, or a person that has commented on my blog and I'm trying to return the comment, I usually leave the page if it's more than a few paragraphs. 
  • Midway through the month, I went back to my routine and replied back to comments on my blog only after visiting and commenting on the original posters blog. Initially I started the challenge by not responding to comments on my blog, thinking this would save me some time, but it just caused me confusion since this was not the way I usually handle things. I'm a creature of habit!
  • I really, really, REALLY appreciate when a visitor just leaves me a direct link to their blog in the comments. When I click on a visitors name and it brings me to blogger...not too bad. But when it brings me to Google+, I pretty much want to slam my head into a wall. I fucking hate trying to navigate Google+...there's just too much clicking involved. This is a blog hop that involves over 1500 people. Please make it easy!

Recommendations/Improvements that I think can be made with the Challenge itself (the first two are the same thoughts that I had last year)

  • A registering system where you can fill in your blog topic instead of having to pick from pre-made ones.
  • All the blog topics would be sorted alphabetically. This recommendation is a direct result of my OCD.
  • The A to Z team could include a tutorial on how to include a direct link to your blog when you comment (using HTML fancy language). This would eliminate the Google+ head banging feeling that many of us get.
  • I love the new idea for the A-Z Challenge themed t-shirts. You know what I'd like better than a t-shirt? An A to Z bandana! I can put it on Emmie :)

Now that I'm done complaining... here are some A to Z bloggers that I enjoyed:

  • Heather @Waiting is the HardestPart--Heather shared with us how much of an impact the show, The X-Files, made on her life. Her theme makes me want to do a rewatch...like Right.Now. I enjoyed her point of view on her topics as well as the funny commentary by Stormy, her sidekick, at the end of the posts. Plus, she has a blow up alien doll...and that's cool.
  • Roslyn @Fangirl Stitches--She shared geek themed cross-stitch posts. Geeky mixed with art...I'm all over that!
  • Tyrean @Everyday Writer, TyreanMartinson--Tyrean focused her theme on featuring other bloggers. Not only did I think that this was extremely generous of her, but it shed some light on some new bloggers that I found to be really interesting.

Overall, I'm happy that I accepted the challenge for a second year. If I do it again next year, I think I'll do something similar as this year and keep it really simple and short. Who knows...maybe Emmie will help me out again :)

Many thanks to everyone who visited my blog and left comments...it was most appreciated!


What are your thoughts? Are you glad you took the challenge?



Friday, May 1, 2015

Celebrate The Small Things -- May 1


It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of ViklitCelebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful bloghop!

This week I'm celebrating:
  • I got my cast off!!!  Hell to the fucking yeah!  I have a boot for another 6 weeks, but who cares?  I can scratch to my hearts content and don't have to worry about preparing myself every time I step into the shower.  It truly is the little things...
  • the end of the A to Z!!!  I'm ready for a nap :)  Thanks to everyone who visited and left comments.  If you'd like to catch up on any posts you missed, check out the new tab above or click here.  Be sure to stay tuned for my A to Z Reflections post on May 4th.
  • some sunshiney days...Emmie enjoyed them too.



What are you celebrating?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit my wonderful co-host:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge