Just so you know, my blog is usually MUCH cuter than this. However, it would seem that my photobucket account has been compromised, and the photobucket site has been HACKED.

Speaking of Hacked, that would describe me right about now. 🙂

I apologize for the rant, but I just felt I needed to say something so any new visitors to this blog would know that as a designer, I’m apalled, to say the least.

Thank you that is all.

Karen

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Just a couple of weeks ago, I asked for some help – and y’all delivered in a mighty big way. I thank ye kindly. 🙂

Now, one of my blogging friends needs some help – the coolest thing has happened – she has had three of her photos chosen to be included in a gallery for Nikon. Even BETTER is the fact that she could win a prize for click-throughs!

So I’m asking from one blogger to another – can we help a sister out, here? She’s an awesome person – if you’ve never “met” Robin, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Head over to her place to see what all the hoopla is about and let’s get her a prize, shall we?

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Has this week just flown by at mock speed or is it just me? It’s already the middle of June and I haven’t accomplished one thing around my house that I said I was going to do – I’ve got sewing projects galore, scrapbooking items strewn from one end of my house to the other, a painting project for one of the kid’s rooms, I need to finish texturizing my hall and finish painting it as well. I’m thinking I might just continue to procrastinate on it until July – I work so much better under pressure. 🙂

A couple of things to let you know about – I’m all about the lists (have one right here on my desk with about 42 kajillion items on it!):

1. The winner of yesterday’s Mystery Photo was Stephanie from Adventures in Babywearing! Congrats, Steph! You get no prize with-a just-a one-a meat-aball. Er…what I meant to say was – there’s no prize for this, just my heartfelt thanks for playing along and a hefty congratulations for being the first to correctly guess the actual item! Oh, you mean you’d like to know what it was? It was a conveyor belt with bubble gum strips on it waiting to be cut and packaged. Dubble Bubble, to be exact.

2. On that note, I need some thoughts about Mystery photo Saturday…do y’all even LIKE it? Is it worth my time to try and find crazy mysterious things for you to guess? If you DO like it, do you like trying to figure out the pixelated versions better or would you rather have something like the bubblegum? I’m just curious, because, you know — the only reason I do it is because I care about you. And I have this overwhelming urge to entertain you and stretch your minds – and scientific studies have proven that 78.2% of people will stare at the photo for at least 2 minutes before giving up and moving on, thus increasing my stats for the week…oh not true…it’s because the this is really easiest thing for me to do on Saturdays. (keepin’ it real) SO TELL me what I should do – give me your opinions in the comments.

3. If you haven’t ever visited Lora and Vita Familiae, can I just tell you that you are missing out on an adorable family and shame on you? Lora is hosting a really fun series entitled “Met-My-Mate-Mondays” (how’s that for alliteration!) and it starts…well, Monday! Head on over to her blog to get the details…and I even got to design her little button! (you can grab the code over at her blog if you’re participating).

4. And am I the last person on the face of the earth to watch “Becoming Jane Austen”? Oh my GOODNESS…that was a good movie. My husband rented it last night for us to watch after the kids were in bed (with NO prompting from me, thank you very much – he just has excellent taste). Of course, when my son saw it, he wasn’t about to be left out because he couldn’t stand the idea of there being a movie in the house without him being included so he asked his dad…”What’s that movie, dad?” To which my husband replied, “Oh…it’s just a mush-movie that I got for me and mom to watch later” and my son, never one for being left out of anything stated, “Well, I want to watch the mush-movie too!” So we all piled on the couch and watched it. The kids fell asleep within the first 30 minutes, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the movie. So good. Highly recommend it if you haven’t watched it. Get from the Redbox – it’s only a $1 – what have you got to lose if you don’t like it?

5. I have not had time this week to read any blogs. My blog reader is now up to 571 and I’ve developed a slight twitch in my neck from the thought of having to go through that many entries. In case you didn’t know, I’m also running a design business and with SheSpeaks and Blogher coming up, I’ve been frantically making cards for some of the bloggers going. It’s been a blast, but has been a major time eater.

6. And finally…(for an itemized list, this IS rather long, huh?)My husband backed over a stray cat a few days ago that kinda/sorta lived around/under our house and I may or may not have been feeding it on occasion (but it IS a stray), but after he hit it, it dragged itself up under the side of our house before he could get out and catch it. Where it promptly died. Oh my STINKIN’ HECK. I know that’s not a very nice phrase, but have you ever smelled 3 day old dead bloated cat? In the summer? GAH! Thank goodness for Bath & Bodyworks candles, room sprays and wall-plug-ins. But they really aren’t getting rid of the death odor that has permeated our entire house. Can’t see the cat from the edge of the house, so I’m imagining he crawled waaay up under there. Nice huh? So give me your best home freshener ideas until he dries up – otherwise it’s going to be a looong summer, with no company.

P.S. Oh yes, the monthly giveaway? Don’t forget to enter that if you’ve not done so!

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This morning I was browsing through my drafts folder and realized I start alot of entries that I never finish. I have the best of intentions – I plan on finishing them…but for whatever reason I don’t. The longer the draft sits, the harder it is for me to complete it. Part of the reason is that I am a forgetful soul and the prompt “New pool blues” just isn’t enough of a hint for me to remember exactly what it was that I was planning on writing about.

Oh, I’m sure it was something deep and theological (not), but the fact that I have at least 22 drafts sitting unfinished is slightly disturbing to me. I mean, you’d think I could at least finish one of them, right? Here are some examples:

1. Chuck and his tomato plants. How everything grows twice the size in Alaska due to the sun. The desire to grow things and yourself should never stop. With age comes the desire to create new life and nurture it.

Now, I’m sure that was going to be a good one, but I have forgotten how I was going to segue from one thought to the other…what I do remember is at the time I wrote it, I was on the phone talking to a friend and the idea came to me because we were talking about aging and how it affects people differently. Some become mean and some, like my stepdad (Chuck) become feeble and sweeter in their old age. I’ll have to think on it a bit more, but I’m pretty sure that one’s filed away so far back in the old memory banks that I’ll never find it.

2.Patience is the number one quality in maturity. The leader should be the most mature person in the group. Leadership is influence.

I can tell you right now why this one was never finished…it was about patience…something I am finding I lack sorely and it was just too painful to finish. I am supposed to be more mature than my kids, but sadly, sometimes it is me who is throwing the biggest fit in the bunch. (I’m all about keeping it real here, folks) I may come back to that one in about 42 years when I’ve matured enough to write about it. Or my kids are out of the house. Whichever comes first.

3. Take care – Big brother is watching. I have a link to share that may disturb you. It disturbed me.

If only I would have SAVED THE LINK. (rolling eyes) It might have been something good…but I have no clue.

4. Open Letter to My Body – (nothing written…just the title)

Does it surprise me that I wanted to jump on the BlogHer train and write an open letter to my body? No. Does it surprise me that I never finished it? No. I’m also the one that swore I was going to participate in Chic Critique’s “naked blogger” roundup, but somehow, I just never quite made that leap. (okay, it wasn’t a naked blogger roundup – you were supposed to blog your makeup routine, starting with a bare face – “naked blogger” just sounded more sensational, don’t you think?)

5. Fun Google Search Strings (yep. empty again.)

Well, this is one I could still do. Just from today, I have the following:

4 25.00% parenting in today’s world
3 18.75% dininginthesky.com
2 12.50% amusing blogs
1 6.25% single at 31
1 6.25% symptoms that cancer has spread to spin
1 6.25% post sunburn severely itching skin new freckles
1 6.25% pepe noodle
1 6.25% timeline of skin cancer
1 6.25% utube the pea
1 6.25% how many sunburns does it take to get skin cancer

Hmm…maybe that’s why I didn’t do it…nothing all that interesting except for the person who was looking for “utube the pea“. What’s that? I’m assuming the parenting in today’s world entry I wrote wasn’t much of a hit because it only received one comment, but it still gets the most traffic, week to week. I must needs improve my writing skillz, people.

However, I am happy to see 4 searches today regarding sunburn and cancer – it’s a topic close to my heart and that’s why I did the Cancer Series – you can find it on the side bar to the left.

On the brighter side – I am going to finish this post, and in just a moment I’ll hit the “publish” key and it will be sent out into the webiverse for someone to read.

But before I do that, I need to remind you that the time? It is running out, people! No, I’m not talking about the end of the world as we know it (I’m saving that for November) – I’m talking about my June giveaway! Have you entered??? Get your name in that hat! What are you waiting for?

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“What starts out as a hobby for some can end up permeating their lives and minds. Some of the diarists post repeatedly throughout the day, juggle several blogs and feel anxious if they don’t write. Most dedicated bloggers say the endeavor has enriched their lives, but some worry about finding balance and keeping their obsession in check.”

I don’t want this to ever be me…so I’m taking the day off to enjoy with my daughter, who is coming home from camp today. I’m seeking some serious balance – my brain is fried from all the design work and WordPress studying I’m doing.

Y’all have a terrific Friday and I’ll see you back here Saturday, bright and early! And guess what? I might just have that giveaway to announce…who knows?

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Four of my six brothers served in a branch of the military – three in the Navy and one in the Army. None of them were harmed. Some men and women don’t make it back home. Today is the day set aside for honoring them. Have you ever read the history of Memorial Day?

Every man and woman that is serving our country is somebody’s brother, sister, aunt, uncle, son, daughter, mom, or dad. If you know someone who has served or is currently serving, please take a moment today and thank them for staying awake on their watch so we can sleep in peace.

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