Some Light Housekeeping

I've been a lotta busy lately... so rather than continue to go to bed every night with this horrible feeling that I left the stove on or the front door unlocked... I figured I'd take care of a few items and maybe -- just maybe -- this OCD feeling will go away...

1) I was recently tagged by the ever awesome Brian Carter. Brian is a competitive optimizer who married his teacher. Seriously... he is really an optimizer... Anyway, if he was an avid reader of this blog, he would know that I had already been tagged with this meme. But I figured I'd lead him to the answers to The Six Things he doesn't know about his buddy, Sugar Pants. Especially since he was nice enough to do this to me:



2) The ladies over at One 2 One Marketing, Barbara Jones (no relation) and Arianne Segerman have been so kind and generous. They are the energy behind the Seal giveaway and were the Angels that bestowed me with that awesome Epson Artisan 800 that I love so much. They were also waiting for me to review a phenomenal voice recently, and because of my lack of structure in my life of late, I missed the date. So now, two weeks late... let me tell you... I am totally enjoying this CD, The Other Side of Me, by Linda Eder. I have been listening to her music all week. The first track, Let It Rain just makes me want to dance and be joyful. Track #11, Ghost reminds me of The Indigo Girls, which if you are fans of theirs, you will likely enjoy this CD. ((Haha... turns out Ghost was a remake of The Indigo Girls' song... told ya it sounded like them!!)) When I first heard the music samplings, I thought... this is a little bit country, but not really. Tell me what you think after you've given her a listen at: www.LindaEder.com

And if you want to share your opinion with others, sign up with One 2 One. You can land there by using the link on the left hand column... go on... they don't bite!

3) This HP Giveaway is an amazing opportunity to win $6,000 worth of products, but don't forget... there are 49 other blogs who are giving the same package away. While you are only eligible to win one package, you can enter as many of the contests as you'd like. I have to leave you in suspense until I'm allowed to tell you MY start date, but there's nothing stopping you from checking out all the other sites for a chance to win their package. Many are in full swing RIGHT NOW! So check out the other 49 of the Fifty Bloggers who get to be Santa this year!

4) I'm looking for a room mate. No, not to live here, you freaks!... one to share a room at Chicks Who Click in Boulder this January. There will be lots of learning, networking, and chattering. This event is the brain child of Gwen Bell and Denise Smith and is being sponsored by Walmart, Metzger Associates PR, and Kirtsy. There will also be a day on the slopes. Although I've always stayed safely on sticks, I'm thinking I'm going to try a day of boarding this trip... we'll see... If you are considering making the trip, let me know. I'll need to know that you've never been acquitted of any kind of manslaughter-ish crimes, but other than that, I'm thinking we're good.

5) and if you are one of my friends "in real life" who is just now starting to read my blog that you used to think of as Shoog's Diary but now you're thinking "hey, I want in on this HP package..." yeah, hate to tell you but you aren't eligible. Please refer to item #3 on this list to link to the other 49 bloggers that you CAN win from. And before you start getting all like "We're not THAT good of friends, here is the deal:

If we've had a beer together, we're friends.
If I've ever held your hair while you puked, we're friends.
If I ever had to wear a ridiculous dress in your wedding, we're friends (sort of).
If I sent you or received from you a Merry Chrisma-Hannu-Kwanza card, we're friends.
If we've prayed together, laughed together, cried together, we're definitely friends.
If our husbands fly together, we're friends.
If we ever worked together, we're friends.
If you are the bastards I worked for a few years back, we are not friends, but this is my contest and you are SO not eligible...

All righty people... be well.

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The Girl Effect

I cried when I watched this... because this is where my heart is right now... I have a couple of things going on behind the scenes... and those things are very much in the spirit of this video.

My projects will involve you because changing the world is more than I can handle on my own. Changing the world? Yeah... seriously. It's not a special super power... but it is magical. Wanna help me?

Stick around.

Gratitude

There's a lot I can complain about, but that gets old. The harsh realities of life will always be around, nagging at you, telling you to come down here and have some anguish for a while... but what purpose does that serve other than to drive you stark freaking mad?

There's just too much to be happy about...

Friends - I have so many good friends that have brought me through a really difficult year. There are my virtual friends in Twitter and on the blogs, of course. Wow... some of you are just insane and awesome! I've laughed and learned so much with these "friends in my head." Then there are my churchie friends that I've reconnected and grown with. They have been so supportive to a woman who will bawl uncontrollable at the song He is Mighty To Save... And of course, this crazy group of Latin Ladies Plus One (we're all Latin except Beth, but she's brown enough, so she's cool). In this last group, I get to be as Mexican as I want to be and it has been so much fun!

Family - I could wallow here in the things that have not happened, but instead I'll celebrate what has. We have all been physically healthy... nobody has broken a bone or been in the hospital this year. {{knocking hard on wooden desk}} I'm thankful for the love of all my family, but mostly, I am just so honored and grateful to be the mom of four really cool kids. Although I haven't hugged my seventeen year old since her sixteenth birthday, I have had some limited communication with her. I miss her and look forward to the day she decides to come back for a visit. My little ones have grown so much this year. The things they say and do blow me away often. They love God. They love family. And they love learning. My City Girl will be here today to bake for us. I'm excited to see what she has accomplished in Pastry School so far... I mean, in between all the partying I see on Facebook, anyway...

Life - Every day, I live a little better. Every day, I feel a little more whole. Every day, I peel another layer of the onion back... I am so eternally thankful to the many people that helped me get to the place where I don't feel like a fragile piece of glass that will break if you tap me just once. Some very special women have come into my life and have helped me to see the magnificence in me... it is the same magnificence that is in all of us. If you look hard enough... behind the smoke and the mirrors of perfection... you will find it, too. And amazingly, if you look past the preconceptions you may have shrouded others with, you'll see it in them... the trick is just to look.

Thank you for coming here.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for your magnificence.

...

Unloading

Well, so much for Wordless Wednesday…

Unloading from Sugar Jones on Vimeo.

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Wordless Wednesday 11/26/08