Sharing some photo love . .

These are two separate photos that almost work as one. I didn't even realize till I uploaded them here!

..my favorite kitty, Millie, who we got the year we were married, so showing this one only seems right, eh? :c) She's been a part of our marriage the entire time. Wow. I mean, meow. ;)

Playin' around.

What we're seeing lots of. Ewww. They are pretty colors and they're here for a reason, but unfortunately they're not too kind to the flowers and plants they land on, and they are all over my sunflowers!

Noah got his first big-boy bike a few weeks ago. He loves it. It won't be long until the training wheels come off. Then I'll really probably cry. The kids growing up is happening way too fast...

A cute picture of Erin. She made some killer martinis that night! :) I miss you, Erin!!

A couple favorite shots from my second-to-last wedding.

This one deserves a spot on Wordless Wednesday, and it is Wednesday, but it just can't be "wordless". The explanation is this... Sometimes Maia likes to read by herself after we read to her. The other night my husband said, "you have to see this", and I asked him if I needed my camera and he said "probably". (I knew that meant "yes".) This is what we found (Erin was with me). We could NOT stop laughing! Definitely a Kodak moment :c)

Happy 4th of July!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Measure of a Man

A quickie. . .

My dearest, Erin, and her sweet hubby, Jer, are here, and it's so so great. It's their 2nd (and last *sob*) night here before heading to Pennsylvania tomorrow. I'm doing everything in my power to try and keep them here or at least convince them to come back through Illinois on their way home. I don't think it's working, but I'll keep trying until they (and Penny) leave. It's been the best time ever. I love her (Jer, too) like she's been a best friend always. Thankfully we have the rest of our lives to be those kind of friends :c)

Macs, Erin, Lisa. . . and a job offer?!

Been a while, eh?

My life goes on crazy turns sometimes. (Don't all of ours?) Unbelievably enough, I'm without my new laptop now. It's definitely not me, but something that was wrong before I even received the new computer. On start-up, it takes 5 minutes to load, whereas it should take 20 seconds or around there. It shouldn't take that long. So I took it in to the mac people and they weren't sure what was wrong either, so they sent it into Apple. It was suppose to arrive back for me to pick up this afternoon, but I got a call today in which the guy said "I have bad news, it got lost in transit and we won't have it now till Monday". I think he was surprised of my reaction because I said "that's okay, I'll be in there Monday. I'm just glad you know where it is." I think he expected me to yell at him or something. (It wasn't his fault and really, I was glad it was okay and not lost-lost.) So all week, my laptop has been away. Mac just doesn't appear to like me.

But Mac not liking me is a good thing this week because it's forced me to do other things. Like not blog and not read others' blogs but get myself ready for my big wedding this weekend in Chicago. In Chicago! I haven't had a wedding in Chicago since Johanna's wedding, and I think that's been 2 or 3 years. Jo? This one is at a Frank Lloyd Wright church. A photographer's DREAM. I mean, just look at this place! Just amazing fabulous FAMOUS architecture. Breathtaking. I look forward to the moment of walking into it for the first time. If you have an appreciation for architecture and history, you'll understand my feelings.


(Frank himself!)


We aren't leaving for the wedding until tomorrow morning. Then we're staying up there Saturday night coming back Sunday evening where we'll be meeting ERIN and her hubby, JER, at MY HOUSE! They're visiting us for two days before their drive out east to an outdoor Christian concert. I cannot wait to see my dear Erin again. I can't even explain how neat this is to be able to see her twice in a year's time. I feel very very lucky. :c)

And then when they are on their merry way, we are going to get yet another visitor. Well, visitors, plural! My friends, Lisa and Matt (another graphic designer who will have his mac with him and he and I will talk geeky computer like we tend to do!), along with their 3 children, are coming to stay with us Thursday night. They will be starting their journey from their home in Richmond, Virginia, to good ol' Illinois. They're staying over here till they're off again to a family gathering in Minnesota. Last time I saw them, Maegan was a year old? (Noah, too.) And now they have two more babies, Wils and Mia, whom I've never met and cannot wait to meet these two precious little people. (And we have Maia!) Long story short, I met Lisa 8 years ago on a pregnancy support board (the same place I met Alexis, actually!). It's really neat how God has brought the most amazing people into my life through the Internet. I am quite thankful for the Internet being invented in my lifetime just for those reasons alone. (Corny stuff, but all very true.)

In the meantime, I've been personally struggling a little with something that has been thrown out of left field at me.

Almost a week ago I was asked if I would be interested in teaching art. Yes, TEACHING. At Noah's school. At one point in my life I actually wanted to become a teacher. An art teacher, to be exact. My life, from the beginning, has revolved around art. I remember my favorite gift ever when I was like 8, being a small suitcase filled with child artist's dream --- pens, paper, paint, paint brushes, everything. I can still remember opening it. In college I changed my major to teaching for a day. And then realized that my introverted part of me couldn't handle being in front of people, even kids. So I changed back to graphic art. Now, after having shot zillions of photographs in front of zillions of people, not caring who was looking at me, I tend to wonder if I could actually do it now? I think when you have a passion for something, being introverted or not, it doesn't seem to matter anymore. I love children and love art. But that doesn't mean I can TEACH children. It's a completely different thing. And that is what is holding me back.

I don't have a teaching certificate, but in the private school you don't have to have one. I also would only be teaching 2 or 3 days (I would set my own schedule), for a total of 8 hours all week. I'd be teaching grades kindergarten through 8th grade. The plus to it all is that it's 8 hours and that I can make my own schedule (I could do it all in one day if I wanted or split it into 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 days). And, the classes are extremely small. My largest class would be kindergarten which is 10-15 kids (depending on how many sign up this fall). My smallest would be 8th grade which is about 3 or 4 kids. PERFECT for me.

What's not perfect for me is that I'm not sure what I would do with Maia. I know they would allow me to bring her with me. She loves art, too, so I know I could keep her busy. I don't think she would interrupt what I was doing. If she did, I am sure I could find a place to take her. My friend, Lindsay, already said she could watch her (she is a stay-at-home mom).

The other not-so-perfect thing is the fact, again, that I don't have a teaching certificate, and while that doesn't matter to the principal (he is the one who asked me), it does to me. I don't know how to teach. I don't know curriculum. I wouldn't know where to even begin. And that scares me. I have a lot of sources. My grandmother was a teacher and I kept ALL of her art teaching books when she passed away. I have never even looked at them, but I kept them for whatever reason. (Maybe for this???) And my sister-in-law is a teacher, my dear friend, Katie, is a teacher, my sister-in-law's sister-in-law, Missy, is a teacher, my friend, Leann, is a teacher, and I have a friend who actually is an art teacher at a high school near here. I have so many sources. But again, it would me teaching, not them, and the thought overwhelms me a bit.

The other problem is time. While it's only 8 hours a week, I still have to have time to focus on those 8 hours outside of class. Do I really want to focus on teaching my classes or my photography? Deep down, I want to say photography. That is my passion. I think the absolute hardest thing in all this for me is that 4 of the other teachers have found out about this and are really encouraging me to do it. They think I'm a "perfect fit". They say I'll love it. One even told me that she thinks I'm being called by God because she knows my background, she knows how I have all these teaching books at home, etc. and I came around right at the perfect time of them needing an art teacher. That makes it hard. It's a lot of pressure when they all are so excited but when I just am not sure I can be excited with them.

The day after I was asked this, I read this piece of scripture in a devotional book I read:

"Measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you . . . God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best."

-- Romans 12:3, 6-8, CEV

That scripture spoke volumes to me; that I'm probably doing something right by following my passion. But I'm not sure about teaching.

Then I read this, too.

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

-- John Wooden

It's hard and I have to think and pray about it a lot more. Pray for me, please, too, if you remember to.

Ketchup chip fans, unite!

Even though I love Erin very much, I also really really really don't like her. She forced me into an addiction called "I-Love-Ketchup-Chips-And-Can't-Stop-Eating-Them". Right now my tongue is feeling raw from eating an entire bag of those so very vinegary red chips that are impossible to put down. *grrrrr* Can you tell that I am just kinda mad at myself right now because I really did eat an entire bag and now I feel a tiny bit guilty because of it? But not guilty enought to say "Erin, will you send me more . . . please?! I am sorry I said that I don't like you. I really didn't meant it. You know I love you and that you are like the most influential person on me in the entire world, right?!"



You know what drives me nuts about such a perfect invention of chips?! It's nearly impossible to find them here in the States. I just don't get that either. How could you not offer something that is THAT good? Believe me, it's not just me that likes them. I (very givingly) opened up a bag at my Halloween party and shared. I didn't have one person that said they didn't like them. I really think we need to start a petition. Really.

Look what I found online . . . see, I'm so not alone in this!

posted at google answers:

What?!? You don't have any ketchup chips in the USA???

I truly do feel sorry for you... I had no idea that Ketchup Chips were
Canadian and that I have been taking them for granted all my life! I
was amazed at the number of people looking for how to get their hands
on a bag or two of ketchup chips online! It also appears that they are
more of a “Western Canadian” thing than Canadian. Here are the results
of my research:

"Q: I really need to get some ketchup chips, but I can't find any in
my area. How can I get some?

A: The best solution would be to move to Canada, where ketchup chips
are readily available just about everywhere. (Most current residents
of Canada moved there in order to have easier access to ketchup
chips.) The next best thing would be to take a vacation there. If you
can't do that, get some regular potato chips and dip them in ketchup."
Source: http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?page_code=6

Unfortunately, I cannot move to Canada!

"Trail Mix" part 2

{I guess I have a lot of updating to do since I have been without frequent updating for so long . . . ha!}

• This weekend we put up a gallery on our wall coming up the stairs. It looks cool. I'm really happy with it. I uploaded pics to flickr. Tell me what you think! (Erin, did we do okay?)

• We also cleaned out the garage this weekend. First time doing so. And when I say clean, I mean we literally took everything out and scrubbed the floor. Looks like sparkly perfection. (Not really, but tons tons better than it did a week ago.)

• Two days ago I got really frustrated with how scraggly Maia's hair looked and since she has only had 1 haircut ever, guess what I did?! I cut her hair myself and I have to say, it looks pretty good for my first time. It's still piggy-tail doable, don't worry!(More also on flickr.)
  

• Earlier in the summer I went to my "adopted" grandmother's estate sale. As you know, I won (yay!) one of her beautiful old upholstered chairs. I also won an antique "brownie" camera. Then I bid on some other boxes . . . where i wasn't sure exactly what was in them, but I knew I wanted them. And so I took a few pictures of my finds. I'm so excited about it all because they were things of hers, but also because I think some of things are pretty rare. For instance, there was a Newsweek from when Reagan was shot, a copy of "The Grapes of Wrath" from the early 1900's, and then some storybooks which were of some ladies from my hometown who could have been grandmothers to Marie (my adopted grandma), so they date from the middle 1800's. I also have Marie's Home Economics textbook which has recipes in it and little notes in her handwriting. She doodled all through it and would write notes like "very good", etc. beside favorite recipes. There are also pictures of women cooking in this book over old stoves probably in the 30's? I'm so excited I have these things. I have a few showcased in my dining room hutch. Check out the pictures which I uploaded to flickr. There aren't a lot of pics, but a few.

• While Erin was here we went shopping. I mean, how could we not?! We adore all the same things, dress alike, decorate alike . . . and she came across some fabulous ceramic vases which she just knew would look great in my (still being transformed into) VWC "presentation room". So I bought them. 3 of them. Plus a little suitcase thingie and she bought me a bowl. Looks awesome! I have some pictures of Erin "Vanna White-ing" off our finds on flickr which you must go see (if you haven't gone there yet).

• An old friend and I just got reconnected through facebook.com (I love that place and it's sooo addicting!). Right about when her daughter was born, she started up an online scrap booking store. It's really awesome and I'm very proud of her. I know how hard it is to keep a small business going, so I wanted to give her a little plug. Please check it out. She has some really cool things (even though I don't scrapbook) and I looked on her sale page and from what I know about scrapping, her sales are a must to check out!

• I forgot to mention last week that the first day Erin was here, she gave me a fun "thanks for having me gift". Which I think was more of a "R&R" gift for after the day full of parties. Inside the cute paisley turquoise bag were some coasters that she made herself (she's very creative, ya know? -- I love them!), a candle, body cream, leg gel (for my tired legs), lots of yummy Canadian chocolate that we don't have here (which is better than most chocolate we have here!), and my very favorite . . . TWO bags of ketchup chips. Oh my gosh, I love those things!!! (Unfortunately, so do my kids. Thankfully, Neil does not, which means I get his portions.)

• We did trick-or-treating tonight and the kids had a blast! Maia was way way more into than Noah EVER was at this age. And Noah had a really great time. He went on his own up to houses and said "trick or treat" which is really big for him; he's really really shy. Anyway, O'ma came over to see the kids and walk around with us. Then we went to dinner. It was nice. We had a really good time. I'll post pics another day. Happy Halloween!!!

Purple Valley "trail mix", part 1

I'm going to call these kinds of posts, "trail mix" posts because trail mix is comprised of lots of bits and pieces of stuff, some of it yummy and some of it not-so-good (at least in my opinion). That's basically what my "bits and pieces" or "random thoughts" are, but "trail mix" is just so much cuter.

Today's trail mix thoughts . . .

• My children like to be naked. Even when it's 35 degrees outside. And I let them. (Is this just a kid thing or are mine messed up?)
• (Parenting brag) Maia told me she needed to poop today and she then pooped on the potty again. If only she'd tell us when she had to pee-pee. Arg. She did tell me later today that she wanted to wear "big boy underwear". Is that funny or what?!
• I still haven't called my last client. I'm too nervous. (I need some encouragment! It's the lady in town who owns the fancy restaurant and it just sorta makes me really really realllly nervous)
• (Parenting help) Noah is starting to talk back a lot. Isn't it too young for talking back? How do you put a stop to it?
• We got new beds delivered last Friday. They were birthday gifts to my son and husband. What's so nice is, I get to take advantage of this super duper great gift of Neil's! We went from a full to a king, and man, is it fabulous. I have slept the best I have slept in probably 20 years. Thanks, Martha and Bill! Noah really thanks you, too. He's been wanting to go to bed early just so he can sleep in his new big boy bed. He loves it. (And we love that, also!)
• I got to visit my friend, Lindsday, Sunday night. She and the new baby are doing so well. Caelin Scott (they call him "Cael") was born on Neil's birthday, October 22nd. He is so adorable and just the best baby! And guess what?! My losing of her maternity pictures has inspired her to maybe possibly try for baby #4 just so she can get the maternity pictures that she's never had. Oh!, and hopefully, maybe, also give her the chance to be a mommy to a baby girl! Check out how cute Lindsay and Cael are.
  And . . . do you remember the pregnant hick who was at my halloween party with tattoos and cigarettes? This is her! Isn't she pretty?! So many people asked me what she looked like in real life and when I told that to Lindsay, she laughed. I don't think she'd mind my posting her pictures for you to see her "before" and "after". Actually, she'd probably appreciate my showing you ;)
  Hehe . . .she SO played it up! She was awesome!!
  
• Please keep my friend, Erin, and her family in your prayers. Her father had surgery yesterday to remove part of his jaw due to a cancerous area. He made it through but will have a long recovery (Thinking of you, Erin dearest.)

Erin Erin Erin, oh how I miss my Erin

Oh my goodness, we had such a great time. I loved every moment, well, except finding out I was going to miss my friend's water birth. But that's okay. It was NOT Erin's fault because I would have missed it anyhow since it went soooo fast. I just felt so bad that I wasn't there. (Congrats, Lindsay!!! Lindsay was the one with the orange belly at my party and who was dressed as a . . . oh, I'm not even sure of the right word for her! Her costume . . . so super and so NOT Lindsay at ALL! She won for funniest costume.)

Anyway, Erin, she is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, funniest (SO FUNNY!!!), most loving, spunkiest, prettiest girl I have ever met. We are so alike (not that I am any of the above), it's not even funny. I know it's not a good thing to feel this way, but I do. I am so jealous of her in-real-life friends who get to see her and spend time with her whenever they want. How blessed you all are!! I am happy to say that she and I are just 14 hours apart which is not bad at all considering she is in Canada, and a really positive thing is, there are gizillions of places we could "meet in the middle" at. (Yay!)

I wish our time together had been longer, but I'm thankful it was as long as it was (5 days!). We were up till at least midnight every night and I'm sure that will continue as we blog & email till all hours of the night every day in the future.

I got to show her the farm I grew up on, the town of 900 people that I am from, the house Neil grew up in, the hill we use to go sledding down, the house I just moved from in D-town (my first time back, I couldn't even look at the house . . . it was really hard), our wonderfully historic neighborhood that we moved from, my favorite shopping block in town which houses my favorite restaurant, Robbie's. I was able to take her to mom's house, to Allerton park, to Champaign (where the University of Illinois is), to some of my favorite shopping places in Champaign, to Starbucks (why of course -- that is one of our differences -- she doesn't drink anything coffee, not even Fraps!), to my mother-in-laws, to our mall, and to one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Champaign (Radio Maria).

She helped me put our party together -- she worked her booty off, too! -- she met all my friends and really bonded with a few -- Johanna and Heather. She got to know my kids (who happen to be the SAME ages as hers!), she got to know Neil (who is very similar to Jer -- same height even!). And she got to know me better. (I hope that's a good thing.)

She got to see how disorganized I am. She got to see how emotional I can be. She even got to pat my non-tooshie toosh. (Yes, people, I know, I do NOT have a bum.) She got to see how much I love ketchup and how much I love coffee. She got to decorate my home with her amazing interior mind's eye.

We got to do so many of our favorite things TOGETHER. In person! Face-to-face!

When we first saw each other in the airport, we didn't hesitate in hugging. We gabbed the entire way to Illinois (I picked her up in Indiana.) We knew right away that we had a million things in common. (A post to come later.) I mean, I can't even tell you how fabulous it was to meet such a special blogging friend and spend TIME with her. Lots of it. To get to know someone like her. SUCH a blessing. She was just incredible.

When I talked to Neil on the way home, I asked him a question. I said "What did you think of Erin?". Neil responded, "She was just like you, only she talked a lot more". I thought that was so funny. She does like to talk, but I love that. That's part of what makes her Erin. She makes up for my lack-of. And I love Neil's answer because I take it that that means he could almost marry her ;c)

God sent me this wonderful woman to be my friend. . . for life. We already have plans to get together again. I just cannot explain how blessed I feel.


Miss you, friend, and thank you for everything.

Erin's digi pics

"My" Erin sent me some pictures that she took while here. There are some cute ones of my kids jumping on the bed in Erin's "room" (a.k.a. Val's office -- ha!) and then some during our visit to one of my favorite places in the entire world, Allerton Park, which is just literally 5 minutes from my door step. I can't believe I live by such an extraordinary place. She fell in love with it. She said it reminded her of Europe. Now you know why I take almost all my photo subjects out there. It's just an amazing place to land your feet and take your camera :c)

Here ya go. Thanks, Erin!

Oh. And I added more to the party pics that Johanna took on her camera. I think they are at the end of the batch.

My gorgeous subject named Erin

I can't not share these with you. A teeny tiny peek into pictures I shot of Erin. See, this is the sort of thing you get if you come visit me. A free sitting, with images on a CD. Tell me it can't get any better than that?! We had fun and she wasn't sure she was going to look good, but I kept telling her she was because what I was seeing was a beautiful girl. (Seriously, she is gorgeous! You should see her lips in person! And her hair . . . I could go on and on.) So, here's 2 of the many. Isn't she the prettiest?!


We had so much fun. Remember to check out the Halloween pictures below. She was a wench, I was a witch, and we are just the cutest together. No joke. Nothing cuter than us. :c)

Halloween party was spectacular!!!

Not until more people comment, will I show pictures from our very awesome, very hysterical party. So comment please so I can show you pictures because YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO SEE THEM!! (Erin says "yeah, that's right! . . . we're bringing sexy back!")

Erin . . .

is REAL! And she is sitting right here next to me drinking wine and making food for the party tomorrow! She has great hanging picture skills and burying bones (not hers) and we've had an amazingly swell time so far. We are so much alike it's a little freaky. Our husbands are *exactly* alike. I'm so excited for the rest of the weekend :c) Alexis, I won't tell you what we're doing on Monday. ;c)


Jer, see, she's ok! :c)

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Happy Birthday to my friend, Erin, who turned 27 yesterday! (I'm a bit behind, Erin, as you know --- sorry!)

I hope I am her best birthday present ever. (I know, that sounds so egotistical!) But, you know why I say that?! Because she is flying HERE from CANADA to spend a weekend with ME one week from TODAY! Yippeeee! So she must like me a little bit?! I am so excited! We're going to have so much fun!

Have a great dinner tonight, Erin!! I know you like to extend your birthdays, so we'll celebrate all weekend long and we'll even sing to you at Noah and Maia's birthday party :):)

Happy Birthday, Friend!!

M.I.A. @ VWC

I decided tonight, while working late, with screaming going off in my head because my hard drive keeps saying "disk space full", meaning my hard drive is completely full of 'stuff' (a.k.a. wedding photos, other photos, people's lives!) and cannot hold one more single thing. Wait, okay, so back to the thought.

I decided tonight that I cannot waste a single moment this week on the internet, on my blog, or reading other blogs (even though I enjoy those things immensely), because I have have have have to clear things off my computer and make room for all the dozens of jobs and orders sitting in front of me, and then do those orders.

The only way I am going to allow myself to blog and read blogs is, if I can clear my head of all my work stressors. The only way to clear my head of all my work stressors is to GET CAUGHT UP. So that is my plan, Stan, and I'm sticking to it. Get all my work orders done even if that means staying up till 1 or 2 a.m. (like I'm doing now) to get them done. (Man, I'm going to be tired, but thought of greener grass on the other is quite intriguing.)

Pretend I don't have any work to do and I still have a feeling this week is going to be nutty.

The Farm Progress Show is here this week. Yes, I live in Illinois, yes I am a farm girl, and yes I like tractors. My dad and hubby both are working at the show, so we are going to head over there one day for the kids to see all the tractors with grandpa. Wednesday I do a big shoot for a well-known name in a neighboring town, then Thursday my client, Jen, is getting induced for the birth that I get to photograph! So, sometime Thursday I will probably be in a birthing room (happy 'eek!').

Wow this week is going to go by fast and I'm sure going to miss you. But I have to do this. Have to.

Oh, and a tiny bit of exciting news. My very good friend (blogging bud), Erin, is coming to visit me in October for FOUR days all the way from our neighboring country, Canada! We were just chit-chattin' away the other night on the computer and I mentioned the Halloween/Housewarming party that we are having in October and she was like 'I so wish I could come!' and then she thought about it and thought about (actually only thought about for a few minutes!) and said she was going to look at flights 'just to see'. And suddenly she's like 'I'm going to do it, I'm going to come see you!' and next thing I know, she buys the ticket! How cool is that?! I'm so excited. SO EXCITED!! I still cannot believe she is coming!

So that's it from me this evening. Err, um, well, morning, technically. I seriously am going to stay away for a week. I know you don't think I will, but I'm making it a rule for myself until I get caught up. I cannot not email though because of my clients, so if you need me, want to talk to me, want to say hi, want to see if my eyes haven't fallen out from staring at the computer screen too long from tweaking photos, please email me.

Adios, my friends!

5 Question Interview by Erin

Erin had a new kind of meme at her blog and so she interviewed me for my blog just like she was interviewed for hers. Here are the rules and below the rules are my 5 answers:

1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

She made me think deep into Val! :c)

1. Where is your favorite place to go when you want to be alone and what do you do there?

My favorite place is either out walking alone at night or sitting in a coffee shop (as though I have no where to be) like Starbucks. In the summer I like to take a blanket and lay it under a big shade tree and read. That rarely happens anymore since I have children, but when it does happen, I milk it for all it's worth. What do I do when I'm alone like this? Read or write. When I say write, I mean, either notes to myself or letters to friends. Oh, and drinking coffee. Of course I don't drink coffee while I'm walking, silly. (I probably would if I could, though!) I wish I still did yoga regularly, because that would probably be my answer - doing yoga - another thing I wish I had more time for.

2. What is the best bargain or deal you’ve ever found?

This is a hard one. Probably my best bargains have been in antique stores or flea markets. Usually it's little things like a vintage vase or linen but I have found Bascal glasses once really super cheap and then we got an old wardrobe cabinet for $50 that had been painted white, but underneath all the paint lies cherry wood. We have yet to strip it, but one day we will! It's beautiful.

3. If you could be invisible for a day what would you do?

This is really silly, but I would probably help myself inside Martha Stewart's home in the Hamptons {editing later . . . she sold it!} or New York City (or anywhere else she resides!), but of course she must be home so I could spend time with her. I'd just sit there all day and watch her do whatever she does and take notes on her decor inside her home and her gardens outside her home. I'd love to be like Martha Stewart, but I would never want to be her. The gifts she's been given as a human being (minus the illegal business stuff she's done!) I really admire.

4. If you could eliminate one weakness or limitation in your life what would it be?

My biggest weakness is not standing up for myself, for letting others "walk all over me" at times. So often I don't express what I'm feeling/thinking in the moment, and as I'm getting older (and hopefully wiser) I see that it is important to be yourself, to voice your opinions, to not hide behind a facade. That it's important to do what you feel your heart tells you to do from the start because almost always those feelings are right. I only have one chance at this life, and I'm learning as I go.

On the not-so-serious of this question, my answer would have to be ice cream. If it's in my freezer, I eat it. All the time. I love love love ice cream. And it has to have chocolate in it. And while frozen yogurt is good, it's still nothing like ice cream or custard . . . yummm. And again, I'm only living this life once, so even though it is a weakness for me, I will not stop eating it unless cows go extinct.

5. What has caused the greatest spiritual growth in your life?

My grandma's death in 2000. She was in the hospital in ICU for over a month, an hour away from my home. And while I stayed there a couple times a week, I drove over there every day that I didn't stay. So I had a lot of time to think, and cry, and pray. I'll never forget that time. It's times of weakness that we get closest to God and I think that is exactly why He hands us times of pain and sorrow. To seek Him out and get to know Him better, and learn just what this life (and our life to come) is truly all about.

My dandy surprise(s)

The house? Yeah right. I'm not even holding my breath for that one. We're just sitting back for a while and seeing what happens . . . trying not to freak out. We talked about it tonight and know it will happen in all the right timing. Not our timing, but the right timing . . . we know it.

Anyway, my surprise is . . . the book I won a few weeks ago from Erin . . . I got it today! And I should not have been so surprised when there were additional treats in the box, but I totally was! It absolutely made my day sparkle. She is the greatest person.

Let me take you through my neat-o package . . .

First I see my package and knew it was from her because of all the cool Canadian stamps and stickers! Noah kept asking me "What's that?" "What's in there, mommy?"
And first, in there was a package of Canadian KETCHUP chips . . . isn't she the sweetest most thoughtful person ever?! She knows Val!
And then staring at me saying "eat me, eat me" were 3 yummy chocolate bars, none of which we have in the states. Well, we have Kit-Kats but not in this packaging or as big as this one!
And there, underneath the candy lay the book I won! I was so excited over the sweet little "extras" that I forgot to take a picture of the book by itself in all it's glory! But trust me, it's there and it's looks absolutely fabulous! Erin said we could have any book we wanted, and she had just bought a handful of parenting books for herself soon before the contest started, so I asked her to just pick me out her favorite! I love to read self-help books (this one is on Parenting and listening to your child) as crazy as that sounds! It looks really really good and I hope to start it this weekend! (Note the word "hope"!!)

Then, my favorite thing of all . . .

The prettiest, most creatively made bookmark for me.

I know she had to have made it because she's artsy like moi :c) She even picked out some of my favorite colors and hand wrote a beautiful little note that said "Val, Thanks for the sunshine you bring to my life! Erin"

I just have to say, 1) there's nothing in this world quite like a hand written note. I love love love them and cherish 'em every time I receive them, and 2) there's nothing like something hand made just for you and 3) there's nothing like a friend that you meet coincidently (but remember, there are no coincidences and I believe this 110%!!) online who you feel like you've known forever . . . who helps you remember just what life is all about.

Thank you, Erin :c) xo