Flowers for Leontien

~Prayers and best wishes for Leontien~

To learn more, or to participate go here:

C-O-N-N-E-C-T

Last weekend, I had the great opportunity to

CONNECT

With some awesome women.

So glad I didn't chicken out and turn the car around!

It was great to meet some new blogging friends~

And to get to know other blogging friends a little better.

Back Row: Left to Right

Kazzy's Ponderings

Me

Notes About Music Notes & Mailbox Moments

An Old Fashioned Girl

Diaries of a Grateful Grumpy Mom

Front Row: Left to Right

Faith, Trust & a Little Pixie Dust

Living A Big Story

Hands Full and  Loving It

Women In the Scriptures

Thanks to Hands Full Mom for the photo.

I still haven't located the USB cord to my camera, but I'm sure it's around here somewhere...

Still in a box!

Breakfast and Blogging

What do blogging and breakfast have in common?

Well...this:

Julie, Valerie, Lesa, Kendra, Cheryl & me

This was my first time attending a blogger "event".

I almost chickened out at the last minute...

But I'm so glad I went! It was marvelous.  ;)

I learned a few new things & got to meet some wonderful ladies.

It was a great morning~ thanks gals!

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

Well...

Maybe not the Academy.

But I would like to thank Cherie and Keely for being good sports and not banning me from blogging after my last post!

Keely is so awesome, she made me my own word strip for my "word of the year".

She spelled it right and everything!

(Do you think she was tempted to spell it wrong, just to see if I would notice?)

Bloggers are the awesomest, don't ya think?

Sharing a Favorite

I found this blog a while back, through my friend Gail's blog...
I love this blog~ she has so many fantastic ideas to share!  (With lots of free printables!)
Check it out, you won't be sorry.
Prepared NOT Scared

1...2...3...4...

Having computer issues.
5...6...7...8...
Looks like I'm down for the count.
9...10...
(I'll be back, eventually!)

p.s. I forgot it was St. Patrick's Day today. I sent my 3rd grader to school with no green! What kind of mother am I???!!!

Celebrity Sightings

Celebrities are common, every day folk...just like us!
As proof, guess who I saw recently at our local WalMart?

Google Images

I know, I know... Why was he shopping at a Utah WalMart? Stranger things have occured. Maybe he was here a bit early for the Sundance Film Festival?

In all seriousness, it was not really Willie Nelson, but a mighty uncanny resemblance, that's for sure! I think I made the poor guy a little uncomfortable because I couldn't quit staring! :)

I have actually run into a few real celebrities...

Footloose was filmed at my High School when I was a Junior~ so I saw Kevin Bacon...in real life!

I sat a knee's length across from Donny Osmond at the Dr.'s office.

Gary Coleman (aka "Mr. Brody") was in the hospital the same time Curtis was...I have a few funny stories about that. Let's just say his reputation is well deserved and leave it at that.

He was also in the room next to Curtis in the rehab unit...and my dad saved his life! It's true...He insisted on keeping his door closed, for privacy~ which is not always a good idea in a rehab unit! One Sunday afternoon we heard a loud thud coming from the room next door...we waited for a few moments...nothing happened. So, my dad went to the nurse's station and asked them to check the room. Sure enough, he had passed out and fallen in the bathroom, that was the thud we heard. So, we joke that my dad saved his life. Too bad he can't stay out of trouble (Gary Coleman, not my dad).

And for all my joking about Celebrity Sightings at WalMart (read more Here), I did get to meet a "Celebrity Blogger" at WalMart! It was fun and unexpected, and a great treat for me to meet Camille from Make It Work Mom, and Sassy Scoops.

See, WalMart really does meet your needs for one stop shopping! (If only their doughnuts were as good as the ones at Maceys...on second thought, probably a good thing that they are not!)

Honestly...

Connie at I Started Out As A Child, was kind enough to pass this award along to me. Supposedly, it is for blogs that are "Encouraging, Inspiring, or Brilliant". I'm pretty sure it was the Jell-O post that caught her attention! :)

Kidding aside, Thanks, Connie, I think you are Awesome (as well as Encouraging, Inspiring & Brilliant!)

I'm supposed to share 10 Honest things about myself...

So, without further ado...here are 10 wonderful, captivating, essential things you never knew you never knew...about me!

*1. I am not a “morning person”…Not. A. Morning. Person. Don’t get me wrong, I love morning, I just wish it came a lot little later in the day. It is not unusual for me to go back to bed after I get the kids off to school. A bad habit I am kinda trying to break. I also really like naps! I guess I just like to sleep!!!

*2. I love glazed doughnuts! Love them! I was having a little obsession with cupcakes (love those too), but once I bit into that lovely, gooey, sugary doughnut…oh baby! My absolute favorites are from Maceys Grocery store. I haven't had these for 4 years...I was so happy when I finally bit into one! Pretty sure there will be glazed doughnuts (from Maceys) in Heaven.

*3. I can’t swim. I can do a pathetic doggy paddle or a frog kick…but that’s it! I also hate water on my face (even in the shower!)

*4. I don’t really like to wear shoes. Not sure why. I prefer barefoot, or sandals or flipflops. I really don't like "tie" shoes, I prefer ones I can slip on and off easily.

*5. I am a bit of a germ-o-phobe. My middle name should be “use sanitizer!” The whole swine flu thing has been a little stressful for me! Enough so that I am just ready to find a nice family that is sick & go give them all a great big hug! Or get the shot…whichever comes first. I can get a little uptight when my kids are sick! I'm fine when they are little and need to be held and loved on...but when they are older, yeah~ they better not be breathing and coughing on me!!! :) My family loves to make fun of me about this...but when they get sick, suddenly the handwashing and sanitizing doesn't seem so silly!

*6. Speaking of which, when I was in 3rd grade, I kissed my friend’s little brother so I could get the chicken pox. Pretty sure I didn’t have a germ phobia then!

*7. I love magazines. I could buy a magazine every time I go to the store! I don’t read the “tabloid” type (except for People, once in a while). I do like cooking, crafting or decorating magazines. I have read Good Housekeeping since I was a teenager! Reader’s Digest, Prevention…I pretty much read them all…I have put a moratorium on cooking magazines, for the time being…I have way too many of those!

*8. When I was in Middle School (7th Grade) I won a Halloween Writing Contest. Everyone who wanted to, wrote a story and submitted it to our English teacher, Mr. Houghton. He read the stories in class and we all voted for our favorite. My story was the favorite! I think I won $20.00. I have no clue what happened to the story. I wish I knew what I had done with it! It would probably be hilarious to read. I still can remember a little bit about it. I remember working on it a lot! I wrote it in one of those old, brown school notebooks (the ones that came in all different sizes…anyone remember those?). The title of my story was “The House on the Hill”.

*9. I am a bit of a pessimist. Yes, I am a “glass half empty” kinda gal. My sil says I’m a “realist”. That’s a much better sounding term!

*10. I’ve already confessed my inability to make Jell-O…but in addition to that (as if that weren’t bad enough) I can’t make gravy. Yes, that’s right. I Cannot Make Gravy. Thankfully, Rick can…so we are good!

Now, I am supposed to pass this award on to 7 other awesome bloggers...and so far, all of the blogs I've read have recently been awarded too (this award is getting around!). So, as others have done, I'll just encourage you to take a look at some of the blogs I love (over on the right side) and maybe you'll find someone new!

P.S. Can anyone clue me in as to how the spacing works on blogger? It's driving me nuts! I always have problems when I am trying to leave a space between paragraphs/sections...Then I have to go through endless edits trying to get it right! GRRRR!

A Rose, By Any Other Name

Now I have all these blog post ideas rolling around in my head. Its starting to freak me out!

What's in a name?

I’ve already established that I am kind of an analytical person. And I wanted the name of my blog to have some sort of significance to me. So I spent a lot of time (and I mean A LOT) thinking and pondering about this. I have a whole list of blog names that I came up with, but this one seemed to fit for me! And it does have meaning to me. I like the whole idea of themes, and have some visions in my mind about what I want this blog to be…so we’ll see where this new adventure takes me.
I love MINDY Gledhill. She’s my favorite right now! I recently bought her new CD “Feather in the Wind” and I love, Love, LOVE it! The name of my blog is inspired by the title song of that CD.

“...I’m a reflection in the glass,
‘Cus I can’t keep from looking back
And all the pieces that I lack
Are stuck inside a broken past
But things are never what they appear to be
So I’ll dig a little deeper than what the eye can see
And if anybody asks, I’m making friends at last
With my reflection in the glass...

...No things are never what they appear to be

'Cus so many different pieces make up the whole of me..."

Go ahead, check her out! She is awesome. Did I mention I ♥ this CD? Well, I do!

To Blog or Not to Blog, That IS the Question

So many people (2) have casually mentioned in passing encouraged me to start a blog, that I thought I would succumb to the immense social pressure and join the blogging world. Yes, I realize there is a Family Home Evening lesson in there, somewhere.
Blogging fascinates me. I admit that at first it was sort of a sick fascination. I couldn’t get my head around the whole thing, and was slightly troubled by the amount of (incredibly) personal information some people are willing to put out there for all the world to read, and then seemingly become outraged when someone (usually someone they have spoken ill about) happens upon their very public blog!
Still, there are some blogs that really have me hooked, and reading blogs has become my newest way to waste time on the computer light-hearted escape from the drudgery of life. Some blogs make me laugh, some make me think, some inspire me, some provide new recipes, or tips on photography, still others provide a glimpse into the life of family or friends. Yet, despite my strange fascination with reading blogs, I had still held myself at arm’s length, when it came to creating one of my own.
Until now. Two of my sisters-in-law started blogs and invited me to read. I had to sign up for an account and then every time I signed in, there it was, taunting me. Daring me to take the plunge! “Create Your Own Blog”! I spent a lot of time pondering and thinking about this…I am not prone to being spontaneous or impulsive! (That is an understatement, by the way). I am thoughtful, organized, and analytical to a fault…And after a recent discussion in Relief Society about all the ways we have to waste time nowadays…I had decided that blogging was not for me. Not now, not no way! Then. Then, in a wild moment of uncharacteristic impulsivity, I tossed caution to the wind and before I knew it, I was the proud new owner of one blank, fresh, BlogSpot.
So, what do I hope to accomplish with my newfound interest? Well, maybe nothing. I don’t purport myself to be the next Pioneer Woman, or the next NieNie. I like to write, but don’t fancy myself a writer. But I do somehow hope for what I write to be relevant in some way. Even if it’s just relevant to me. I do have some very clear ideas about what my blog will be and for that matter, what it won’t be. And it definitely will be a work in progress.
Mostly, it will be just what the name says. Pieces of Me. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. A glimpse here, a glimpse there…And I hope that as time goes on, it will take on some of the characteristics of all the other blogs I enjoy. But for now, it is just a start, and that is all I expect. Something or nothing. Either way, fine by me.
And as for my justification in becoming a blogger? (You knew I would need one, right?)
One is to learn something new, I’ve already mastered using “strike-out” and the clickable word links thing…But my best justification came to me the other day…and I really, really like this one!

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, spoke in the General Relief Society Meeting last fall, and part of his talk titled; Happiness, Your Heritage, focused on Creativity. So, to learn something new, and to express creativity are part of my goals (better word than justification, right?) for this blog. At least for today.