~~~~~~~~~~~ {the gift guide and giveaway extravaganza} {benefiting Bead for Life} {brought to you by O My Family and yours truly} The second giveaway of the day is happening because of the generous heart of one of my favorite people~Ellie of SHINING STONES (and One Crafty Mother) If you need a unique and beautiful gift for your sister or your mom or your mom-in-law or your best friend, ETC., you’ve come to the right place. Because not only is Ellie giving one lucky winner one of these: that lucky winner will also get one of these: to go with these: Yes that’s right, friends. The Black Raspberry Pearl set (worth over $70). Thank you, Ellie. This set is made with sterling silver wire and swarovski pearls. The necklace is a sterling silver box chain. Ellie will custom size the ring for the winner to any size (1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 sizes included). All […]
{an EO and O My Family gift guide and giveaway extravaganza, benefiting bead for life} I’m so honored to tell you about today’s giveaway…well, both of them actually. Yes, it’s true. There will be another EPIC giveaway this afternoon! But for now… ~handmade~art~quilts~prints~cards~throw pillows~creative~fabric~multi-media~modern~ Just a few of the words that describe The Artist’s House,a lovely place to feast your eyes on the soul creative,thanks to Angela Flicker,creator and artist. these are a few of my favorite things… this one really needs to be on my wall. It asked. {print} You can follow The Artist’s House on Twitteror you can keep up with what’s new on Facebook. Today, Angela has been generous enough to offer TWO $25 gift certificates to her Etsy shop! Yes, that means TWO lucky winners! To enter to be one of the TWO winners, head on over to Etsy and take a peek and then come back and tell […]
All throughout this week my friend Allison from OMyFamily and I are going to rock your socks with a gift guide and giveaway event for the exposure of an organization called Bead for Life. We’ve chosen to partner with mostly handmade businesses in this endeavor, but there are a few others that we love and respect that we will also be featuring. These are companies that are new and growing, working hard to give back in an authentic and meaningful way and doing a bang-up job of it. So, let’s get this party started, shall we? The first Gifts for Life giveaway is from the lovely Paper Culture, and friends, they have been generous indeed. I don’t remember how I landed there, but when I first came across the Paper Culture website I was immediately enamored. I love the modern styles and the fact that they plant a tree with every order. I […]
Yesterday I set you up with a little teaser in which I told you about the EPIC EXTRAVAGANZA beginning on Monday here on the EO and over at OMyFamily. The inspiration behind this event is Bead for Life, an organization truly worthy of our support as it helps women support themselves and their families by making beautiful beaded jewelry from recycled paper, shea butter soap and peppermint lip balm… The story of how Bead for Life came to be is astonishing and powerful. The way this organization continues to support the women (and men) of Uganda (and other parts of the world) is nothing short of redemptive and life-changing. No, scratch that. Life-saving. The products that are a result of the hard work of these Ugandan women are beautiful hand-crafted works of art… There are numerous ways to support Bead for Life—the three that we’ll be highlighting this week are direct donations, purchasing […]
I’m like a little elf over here, tinkering away with my secret surprises. I love it. A girl’s gotta add a little joy and giving to the holiday season, no? That’s why my friend Allison from OMyFamily and I have been brewing up something to:a) give you great ideas for unique holiday gifts. b) give you a chance to win (or get great deals on) said holiday gifts.And my favorite,c) bring exposure to an organization that rocks my socks.Here’s the dealio. I struggle with the materialism of the holiday season and I don’t keep that a secret. I don’t love the mall. That’s just the truth. I have trouble getting my heart into the giving spirit when I look around and get a bit itchy over all the stuff, stuff and more stuff. So. Allison and I put our heads together and we talked about what we DO love. We love supporting small […]
I was on the other side of the glass, toasty warm. I needed to watch their joy…without putting boots on. They came in quickly and had hot cocoa. {Don’t call it hot chocolate, Asher will tell you it’s cocoa.} Last night we had our first fireplace fire of the year. We all lounged around on the floor and the couch and we told Christmas stories in the dark. Then we remembered Thanksgiving so Ryan and I told the boys about The New World and a fine feast and we figured there was a lot of corn. Asher thought Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria were hilarious names for boats. Things can change really quickly and I have friends with that kind of hard change in their lives so heavy right now. It makes me turn to look around and find thankfulness in white snow and good questions and hysterical giggles. I have no other […]
I walk with my Dad, around the track, lap one, lap two, lap three…but we don’t keep track. We get lapped by the runners and we lap the slow-walkers. One of the slow-walkers says, Good morning! like it’s the first time we’ve passed him, every time. And then sometimes he breaks into a run, his bent back and knobby knees pushing forward in short bursts, like he just can’t help himself. Like he’s racing and trying to win in the last seconds. I want to be like him. I want to be content going my own pace, surrendering to what passes me by and what I leave behind. I want to burst forth, breaking into a run every once and a while, when I have the energy, only when I can. It has taken me until age 35 to even begin to understand when to walk–when to wait and see and feel, and […]
I hear her over there and she’s saying, Well I saw that he commented on her statusand she’s not my friendbut likeI could see the updateso that’s how I knew about the job change.They stir the whipped cream through their coffeeand keep going, about updatesand the way they know things that way.I’ve been feeling scared to say hello to another stranger,she’s reading a Donald Miller book in a chair nearby.I figure we’re both probably going to hear him tonight.The conversation that’s still going makes me want to say hello to a stranger in person.So we talk a momentand we find out we know some of the same people.Her smile is the light up the room kindand I’m glad I asked about her bookand if she’s going tonight because she is.So we talk about what it is we love about Miller books.Right there in persontwo strangers connecting without a blinking cursoror a keyboardI had […]
So there I was on the TV. That was surreal. It was all a blur and then it was done and I whispered, I hope it helps. I didn’t know if it would…I’m just me, it’s just a few moments in time, but I hoped. Even if it was just one person, sitting on the other side of the screen, ready to see themselves in my story and feel less alone, I wanted something new for them. I wanted the mom or dad out there who feels stuck and alone to know that I was living it too and I didn’t believe in living in any kind of new way and today, I’m okay. I mean, I’ll always be a work in progress and this is in no way easy, but I’m okay, I’m better than okay. I am somehow living something new. I wanted that person to know that they can do […]
My addict mind has often told me that it wasn’t that bad, that maybe I don’t even really have a problem. And then something happens like the night with the wine for the cooking of the food. The way I was suddenly crying over that smell, suddenly frozen with fear and regret. Lately these surprise attacks of a clear memory of what it was like come packaged in morning sickness. I’m feeling sick (all through the day) not because I drank too much the night before, but for a much less guilt-inducing reason. The Acorn. My pregnancy. I’m so grateful for the constant nausea since it’s a good sign things are going well, growing and creating, cells and neurons zapping and popping and actual organs beginning to make their shapes. And all at the same time, even while I feel that joy, I’m frequently hit with this intense sense memory complete with every […]
There are many options for attempting to get rid of a bad case of the hiccups: Eating a spoonful of peanut butter Eating a spoonful of sugar Eating a spoonful of frozen OJ concentrate Putting a paper towel over a glass and drinking through said paper towel* Plugging your ears and nose and having someone feed you a glass of water while your hands are otherwise occupied with the plugging of orifices* Drinking a glass of water upside down-ish (Don’t ask, it’s hard to explain in writing.)* Holding your breath while swallowing three times Blowing up a balloon, especially when you don’t know how Taking the deepest breath ever and then forcing yourself to swallow when you absolutely cannot hold your breath any longer Or I suppose you could just wait, but this has become my least favorite idea. (The *’s are for the ones I had heard of before but had forgotten. […]
The Acorn has started to do that thing where if I don’t eat at least once every, oh…ten minutes or so…I want to throw up. Also. Color me exhausted. And hormonal. I even cried over a TV show I wasn’t even feeling all that touched by…I just thought it was a good time for a good cry. (No, I’m not complaining…just updating.) (The Acorn could steal my sight and maybe even one of my legs and I’d still be happy to house he or she.) (Sorry. That was gross.)~~~~~ I have something else to tell you and I can’t even stand it, it’s such good news. You may or may not know that the online magazine formerly known as BlogNosh is now Story Bleed Magazine. It has taken on a more organic, artsy, indie feel with amazing photography and continues with its goal of sharing the best writing on the web. Another beautiful […]
I love that perfect little looped curly tippy-top of a soft serve ice cream cone.Sometimes it’s even kind of hard to eat it, so I usually leave it for last.Then it can be pretty for as long as possible. I also love this picture: I love those what are we doing here careful and thoughtful looksand I love the way that Miles wanted to go home after five houses of trick or treatingbecause he thought that was quite enough candy ? I love it that sometimes, when my mom comes over,she brings her own vacuumbecause mine sucks…or does not suck, I should say. I love the way my friends in recovery know what I mean without too much explanation but let me give too much explanation anyway, just to let me get it out. I love that my dad showed up and rescued us one day by finding where that dead-something smell was […]
