the GIVEAWAY of the CENTURY {maybe}

Now that Christmas has come and gone, it's time for people to start sending out thank you notes for all the many wonderful things they received.  

So, to encourage people to do this, and in conjunction with my latest INSTAGRAM wednesday post, I am hosting my very first giveaway.

The prize:  EIGHT THANK YOU NOTES

FOUR designed by yours truly

and FOUR from my own store bought collection

Entering is EXTREMELY easy.  The only requirement is that you leave a comment telling me who you will write a thank you note to should you win this giveaway.

This one and only requirement for my CURRENT followers is worth 3 entries.

{This is Sarah.  I love your blog, as usual, and was a follower as of Thursday, January 12th at midnight.  I will send a thank you note to my dad = Sarah +3 entries}

But, wait, there's more!

You can earn additional entries by referring your friends, family, and fellow bloggers to my blog.  If they leave a comment telling me YOU referred them, you will receive an additional entry.

{Hi, my name is Megan.  I was referred to your blog by Sarah = Sarah +1 entry}

But, wait, there's more!

If your referrals FOLLOW ME, you will receive an additional entry.

{Megan is a new follower = Sarah +1 entry}

Now, for any REFERRALS/NEW FOLLOWERS 

You are eligible for the prize too!  If you leave a comment telling me who would you send a thank you note to, you will receive 2 entries.

{My name is Megan.  I am a new follower thanks to Sarah.  I will send a note to my mom = Megan +2 entries}

If you refer people to my blog and they leave a comment telling me YOU referred them, you will receive an additional entry.

{My name is Laney.  I was referred to your blog by Megan = Megan +1 entry}

If your referrals FOLLOW ME, you will receive an additional entry.

{Laney is a new follower.  Megan +1 entry}

And then Laney can enter herself by telling me who she'd send a thank you note to, she can send referrals, and so on and so on and so on.

Pretty simple, right?

The giveaway closes on Saturday, January 21st at 11:59p.

Whoever receives THE MOST ENTRIES will be the winner. 

I will announce the winner on Monday, January 23rd.

Good luck and enjoy!

{p.s. coordinating envelopes included}

INSTAGRAM wednesdays: many THANKS

My mom always taught me to write thank you notes.

why we SKIPPED CHURCH {and loved it}

The last two weeks have been pretty busy for Dustin at work.  Even though both were only 4-day weeks, we're pretty sure he worked 50+ hours each week.  He also worked when he got home and received quite a few late night phone calls from employees that needed help.

That didn't leave much time for us as a family to be together. 

On Saturday, I had the weird thought that we shouldn't go to church on Sunday.  Instead, we should just spend the day together.  I thought it was kind of weird to feel so good about skipping church, but I really did.

I thought, if we didn't go to church we would miss so many things... 

We would miss the usual tantrum of getting our daughter out of her PJs and into a dress. 

 We would miss the short, but always frustrating, walk to the church because the little one refuses to hold our hands.  

We would miss not sitting in the chapel during sacrament meeting and finding our usual spot in the foyer. 

We would miss trying to keep our full of energy sweet pea quiet and from running around the building during what always promises to be the longest 70 minutes of my week.  

We would miss the usual fight going to nursery, and (because if there is an opportunity to be difficult, why not be?) the usual fight leaving nursery.  

And, last, but not least, we'd miss the fun walk home because, again, our lovely bundle of joy won't hold our hands and insists on walking every and anywhere but the sidewalk.

After weighing my options and thinking about all the things we'd miss by not going to church, what to do ended up being a pretty painless dilemma.

We totally and utterly and shamelessly skipped church.

And it was probably the best Sabbath day I've had in a long time.

ART {or something}

Is this art

or

what happens when my daughter is playing with my camera?

You decide.

P.S. A giveaway is in the near future

MUSIC mondays: TORI AMOS

Some of you may wonder what happened to "What the..." Mondays.  I'm discontinuing it because I'd rather focus my posts on things that I love rather than things that bother me.

No worries, I'll definitely still post about things that drive me nuts, but more on a sporadic basis, not a weekly one.

With that, I introduce MUSIC mondays.  These posts will range from giving a shout out to a favorite artist, song, album, etc., or sharing a story from my life that involves music.  

I also hope these posts will inspire people to share their favorite music with me.  I'm always in the market for new tunes to sync to my iPod.

Today I'm going to talk about one of my all-time favorite artists:  TORI AMOS.

I first discovered Tori when I was in junior high, so mid-nineties.  I didn't know many people my age that liked her music, but I listened to her anyway.  I bought as many of her albums as I possibly could and listened to her all through high school and into college.  Her music just made me feel good.

One such experience was when Tori released a new album called Scarlet's Walk.  I was at home doing the dishes and listening to the radio when all of the sudden the song came on.  The DJ introduced it as Tori's new single, and I quickly pressed the record button on my stereo.  I kept an empty tape in my cassette player for just these type of situations.  The song was called A Sorta Fairytale.

As I listened to this song, I fell in love with it.  When I heard the chorus, chills literally went all over my body.  It was such a beautiful song.  I remember just standing still in my kitchen, listening to the song and enjoying it so much.

I'll never forget that night.

And I hope you take some time to check out Tori's music.  She is one amazing artist.

2012 = IMPROVEMENT

It was January 2010.  I had just welcomed in the new year and had put together a fun list of 65 things to do in 365 days.  I was looking forward to my list.  It included minor things like organizing the photos on my computer to seeing a play or going to a baseball game.

Then February came, and Dustin and I decided to put our house on the market.  Our plan was to pack up our house and move to a different state so we could be closer to family.

And my list basically went out the window.  Suddenly, I found myself more concerned with the condition of my house and making sure it was "sellable" than doing much of anything else.

I spent my days making sure our house was presentable at {almost} all times just in case a realtor called wanting to show it.

What felt like an eternity in reality was only five months, and we found ourselves accepting an offer.  The next month was spent packing, moving, settling.  With a sudden change in jobs {after just one month of being hired}, we found ourselves packing, moving and settling again the following month.

I learned during 2010 that no matter what I planned on, things could change in an instance.  Sure, I had a lot to do with all the change that took place in my life that year, but despite that, ever since I've sort of lost interest in resolutions.  Part of me feels like it was pointless to do my 65 in 365 list when, just a few weeks after I put it together {and, trust me, it was not easy coming up with 65 things to do} a lot of my priorities changed.

Most of 2011 was spent recovering from 2010.  Both were pretty tough years on so many levels.  Now that we're a week into 2012, I'm still up in the air about making any resolutions.  Karen does an awesome 52 Project that is such a great idea.  Then there's making just a few, big resolutions.  

Then there's the idea of just being better.  Improving.  Be it a better mom, a better wife, or a better neighbor.  I think improving and striving to be better fits my lifestyle the most.  This way, as things come up, when life throws me a sudden curveball, I can still maintain my general goal of improvement.

Works for me!

the MOTHER of the YEAR AWARD goes to...

It was a typical day.  My "something-month" old daughter and I were at home while Dustin was at work. It was bath time for my little one, so I turned on the water in the bathtub while I gathered up the soap, towels and, of course, my baby.

I gently began putting my daughter in the water.  Her back touched what was in the tub and the water that was still running from the faucet.  All of the sudden, she screamed.  It was a scream I had never heard before.  It was loud and I could tell by the look on her face she was frightened and in pain.

I quickly lifted her from the tub.  I looked at the faucet and realized I had forgotten to check the water.  The water that touched my child's body was hot.  Extremely hot. 

I wrapped a towel around my daughter's shaking body.  Despite what I had just done, all she wanted was for me to hold her.  I held on tight to my little one, holding back my tears and being so grateful that she was not more seriously harmed.  By this time, I'd noticed her back was free from any burn mark.

We skipped the bath that day.  

I'll never forget the sound of my sweet daughter's voice and the look of terror on her little face.  I felt like not only a horrible mother, but a horrible person in that moment.  

But, at the same time, I felt grateful that in her moment of need and fear, my daughter held onto me with all her might.  I knew that day that she trusted me and knew I would care for her.

As my daughter grows and matures and ventures off on her own, I hope she will always remember that I am here for her.  I hope she knows that she can hold onto me when she is frightened or sad.

I'm not exactly sure how to make sure she knows I'm always here for her other than just always being there for her.  So, hopefully that works.

I am so grateful to be a mother.