Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I Love to Laugh - I Hate to Lose

Last night was hubby's night to fix dinner. So on our way to the restaurant he still hasn't decided where we are going to eat. He solution? "Let's play rock, paper, scissors. If I win we go to Panera; if you win we go to Senor Fox." (Those were both his choices; I was indifferent.)

I kindly remind him that this game never works for us, because we ALWAYS pick the same thing. Flipping a coin would be much faster. However, I humor him (and myself). How many rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors in a row can you and your partner pick the same thing? Well last night we kept it up for 8 rounds.

That is one heck of a streak. I laughed so hard; I cried. Each round made me laugh harder. This happens everytime we play the game against one another. I think for date night this week you should try to beat out record without cheating. And try not to laugh too hard.

In case you were wondering; he won. :( But that was okay. Dinner was great, and I got a good laugh out of the experience. I guess we both won. (I will keep telling myself that anyhow.)

Monday, June 29, 2009

You Can Do It Too! (With a lot of Link Ups)

"You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Dove PROMISES Message (yes i quoted my chocolate).

I have won few things in the last few months and a lot of people I talked to seem SHOCKED that I have won giveaways online. I have talked about these blogs I love for months, I blog and facebook the giveaways, heck I even tell random people I meet just because I'm so excited and I forget that if more people enter I have less chance of winning. Regardless of all of my excitement, these people still don't think they can do it.

I also recently made myself a maxi dress (it is like a maxi pad but a dress instead. okay maybe not). The people look at it and are amazed that I've made something. (I am not sure if I should be offended or complimented. Are they saying they thought me incapable cutting on a line and following directions, or are they jealous of my beautiful style?) Again, I try to convince them that they too can sew a dress as long as they can cut on the lines and follow directions. I still don't think I have gotten through to them. So below I am going to post some of the things I have won and let them see once and for all that they can do it too. But first a picture of my maxi dress (not pad).

For my last post (and hopefully all the other ones too) Jordan of Mean Mommy Academy awarded me The Creative Mom Blogger Award. I am VERY grateful and accept it greedily.




I am sharing the love and passing it along to 5 fellow mom bloggers. There rules of acceptance are :
* Take your award and put the logo on your post.
* Link the person who awarded you.
* Put your own blog title and link.
* Nominate at least five deserving moms

My nominations (which I highly recommend you visit their blogs ) in no particular order are:

Amy of The Lawsons did Dallas (If you need a pregnant Hero this is your woman)
Kristina Queen of the Snuggie of Pulsipher Predilections (you will pee your panting laughing from laughing so hard.)
Melanie J of Write Stuff (She isn't the only one in her family with talent check out her son's artwork).
Motherboard of Crazyland (You will feel like home reading her blog, but you may not what to move in because her cable internet provider is a jagged pill.)


As if seeing my smiling face wasn't reason enough to post this picture, I actually wanted you to check out the necklace I'm wearing. I won that from entering a contest on Mean Mommy University to get some amazing jewelry of your own visit Moonlilly's Treasures buy up the whole store, all of it is great.





Here I have caught up in the prize I won over at Mary Olsen's awesome Crafter's Guru site. It is an amazing book signed by the author. How cool is that? Too Cool for School. Believe me the book is great no matter what your age, if you don't own it buy it.



And on the HUGE monthly (yes that is write monthly) of Mormon Mommy Blogs I won a pedi party kit from Cultures Salon. I have not gotten to have my party yet because hubby has been out of town. But he is back and you better believe the party is own. I will keep you updated. I can already tell you now though the stuff smells good enough to eat. I can't wait.




Now I hope I didn't sound too super braggy. But I wanted to let you know you should be super jealous of all my loot. But if you want to be like me (and quite frankly who wouldn't) you should just do it. Read the quote from my chocolate at the top of the blog. That milk chocolate has a lot going for it and it knows that if you don't take a chance you don't get far.

I hope next time I have a giveaway I will have a ton of entries.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Bachelor: A Fairy Tale Story

Meet Prince Charming (or boy as my little girl calls him). He has it all a castle, a carriage, a horse, and most importantly an star role on my post today.

Meet the princesses. Anyone familiar with Disney princess can quickly tell these girls are pretending to be someone else. They haven't quite got their acts together. And they don't even know which fairy tale they belong to.

The Prince smiles to cover up the akwardness of being the only guy around. Girls can get pretty petty when they feel competition.


Belle on the other hand can't seem to take her eyes off of the horse. (I guess that makes sense she will eventually fall in love with a beast.)

What is this?? Are they trying to hold hands? Could it be the blossoming of love?

Woah that was fast.... didn't you guys just meet? Well, when you know you know. Prince has decided to forgo faking being in love with every girl in town and is following his true heart's desire. You go Prince.


True loves kiss on a starry night. How romantical. I get all twitterpatted just watching.

It is good to see that the pretenses are up and the girls have learned more of themselves. And Cinderella's double doesn't look all together happy that she wasn't the one to get the Prince. Oh well better luck next time.

And there you have it. A true fairy tale. Cinderella has her Prince. They look like they may want some privacy. So until next time.

No princess pollies were harmed in the photographing of this short story. Although Aurora's hair was recently pulled off by my niece, she is recovering quite nicely.


Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wednesday French Inspiration

Impressionist painting in MuseƩ D'Orsay

When I was younger I used to like getting really really close to the television and see all the tiny dots of red, yellow and blue, that when viewed from a decent distance created the picture of the program I was watching at any given time. (Judging from my close proximity to the television it was probably MacGuyver, Doogie Howser, or Charles in Charge of which I had crushes on all of the stars and viewed as my own personal boyfriends.) But I was amazed how these small individual dots could create such an elaborate scene.

My television experience was my first experience in the Impressionist theory. But in truth a lot of life has similar issues. When you are in the midst of trials everything can seem muddled and makes little sense. But when you take a step back and take a look at the big picture things come together in a way you could have never imagined.

I hope all the small confusing experiences in your life are just a small part of the beautiful artwork you will see when you step back.

yetkisj642

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Number of the Day

I had 3 entries into my fun Friday giveaway and all of them had me laughing. Because I enjoyed each entry and I am an indecisive person, I left it up to Random.org to pick the winner. The video displays the number of the lucky winner.



Congratulations L.T. Elliot you are the lucky winner who wrote:
My telephone sprouted wings, sloughing off its depression when I presented it with a bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos. Sadly, the bag was electric and my telephone had a shockingly short life.
If you email me at amberlynae (at) gmail (dot) com with favorite flavor and contact information you will have some non-electric Doritos to share with your telephone.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Her Daddy is Her Favorite Pal

Happy Father's Day!

Each night my little girl wants a story read and some songs sung. The stories vary, and some of the songs as well. But EVERY night there is one song that MUST be sung by her request.

You're the end of the rainbow,
My pot of gold;
You're Daddy's little girl
To have and to hold
A precious gem is what you are;
You're mommy's bright and shining star.

You're the spirit of Christmas;
My star on the tree.
You're the Easter Bunny
To Daddy and me.

You're sugar. You're spice.
You're everything nice;
And you're Daddy's Little Girl.


I have sung this to her since she was born, and now I see her fill the role of the lyrics. She adores her dad about as much as he adores her.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

You Can't Take It with You



Last Sunday, my princess and I went to visit my hubby's grandad at a beach house in Avon, NC (beautiful area). And all Saturday I knew I should gather up the things I would need for our short beach trip. Instead I stayed up until all hours of the night looking at mapquest determining the best route... which should be read as avoiding packing. Yeah I know I'm one of those people. A procrastinator of the worst kind. My mom once wrote a description of me that says she is absolutely certain that I was incapable of getting ready until one minute before the time I am supposed to leave. I know that this trait of mine always annoyed her...however I digress. I wanted to talk about my feelings about packing. I HATE IT. LOL.... That seems such a childish statement as I read it. I hate trying to figure out what I need and what I can stand to leave behind. I have accumulated my belongs because they are things I felt I could not live without. And I keep everything. I'm a hoarder. So it pains me to be separated from my belongings, even for a short duration.

I hope that you realize there is some exaggeration to this... yet sadly I must say there is some truth as well. Every time I go somewhere I always end up packing things I know I don't use, and most likely will not use while I'm gone. Unfortunately, there is an irrational voice in my mind that comes up with millions of scenarios that convince me that I do need to bring every item I own. And it is possible that I will miraculously lose inches off my thighs and fit into those pants that I haven't fit into since high school. Maybe I should just pack my box of hair things just in case my hair grows out from my chin length bob and I need my hair pulled up. And having one of anything is never enough when you pack because you never know what might happen to the first one.

In the end I am certain that our car looked something like the one above for our over night getaway. Is anyone else a packaholic?

Friday, June 19, 2009

Fun Friday Giveaway (EXPIRED)

JUMP AND SHOUT

After read Rachelle Gardner's Blog Party post I decided to host my very first giveaway. I have been wanting to have a giveaway on my blog and decided this was a perfect chance. The prize is bag of your favorite flavor of Doritos (because that is about my favorite chip). The rules are simple as well.

To be eligible for this simple irresistible prize all you have to do is this: Leave a comment on this post that successfully incorporates the word DORITOS and four of the following words.

Telephone
Wings
Depression
Gas
Electric
Supermodel

There's a two sentence maximum, the comment that makes me laugh the hardest wins or impresses me the most (sounds fair to me because I love laughing), and the contest ends Monday night at 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

I do not take credit for the format of the contest. I have seen a couple similar giveaways with different words the past week and enjoyed reading the results.


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Fake Fasination For Fears



When I reflect on my childhood, I cannot recall a memory of my mother ever showing any fear. Whenever a thunderstorm would freak us kids out she would seem so relaxed even somewhat fasinated with the lightening. Still to this day I am doubtful that my mom fears anything. She is my Superhero. Yet now that I am a mother myself I find myself laughing off the thunder that still rocks my nerves. And casually slaying the spiders that cause me to shudder inwardly. In the presence of my daughter I try to down play any of my distress. I watch out the window at the storm as if I only see the beauty, but I'm really worrying about weather the tornado or the strikes of lightening are close enough to cause damage. I tell her the spider, bugs, ants are no big deal , but oblige her by killing any of the ones that are in the house (outside spiders can keep their lives if they remain a safe distance). Although when a spider gets on me I have been know to completely freak out -- even to the point of yanking my shirt off to make sure it was no longer on me. I did not however react this way in front of my daughter. I HATE bees very much as well and react similarly.

Do you hide your fears from your kids? Is it just part of adulthood to ignore those natural reactions that have not faded? Or do most people actually move past this fears? When my daughter thinks of me will I be in her mind fearless, or does she see through my act?


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wednesday French Inspiration

Statue of Charlemagne outside of Notre Dame

History has NEVER been my subject. The issues always seem so distant and unimportant to me. However, there is something about France that inspires me to know of its history. Paris itself holds historic reminders around every corner, and somehow the history comes alive and awakens a desire for me to know more. Instead of the struggling to make it through the hour of talking about people and places that seem so distant, you are standing in places that history has made and carved. I love Paris for many reasons, one of those many reasons is its history. It is this history that gives it its beauty and wonder. So as I looked at the statue of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) I think of this.

On a more personal level, I apply this same reasoning to why the people in our daily life as beautiful to us. The more we know about how and why a person has become who they are; the more we are able to see their beauty. I have always been the one of my siblings to ask my parents the stories of their youth, and how they met and fell in love. I have enjoyed asking my grandmother similar questions. I love hearing these stories and understanding these people who have so much meaning in my life.

So history may not be my subject, but I've learned that I do not hate history when I can experience it. When reading words that lack a personal knowledge and connection history is a bore, but when I am connected i want to know more. Just like a good book, it draws you in.

Friday, June 12, 2009

My House is a Danger Zone

While I can not boast that my house is a particularly neat house, I have never been too worried about my safety with in my home. But today that has changed. I have a mysterious bug that bit my little girl. While I was gathering up the laundry to be washed she rushed in sad because a bug has bit her. She told me so. I asked her to show me the bite. A picture is below ... Can you tell me what kind of horrible bug could have done this to such an innocent and honest girl.




I told her I should take a picture to consult others about the origin of this mysterious bite. When I returned I was confronted with the following scene.




Does anyone need a biting bug in your house? I'm a little fightened that I might be the next victim





Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wednesday French Inspiration

I typed a whole lot about this photo and blogger ate it. It must have been good because it was gone quickly, much like the cookies I made over the weekend. So instead of trying to recreate my very tasty post. I will give you this picture and change my message to this...

Live life in a way that you stand out. So that when people look at you they want to know more. Be open to new opportunities. And most importantly, when you need a break from it all... eat chocolate. :)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Chasing the Dream

Chase the Impossible Dream
(You just might catch it.)
I don't know if I have blogged about my goal to write a novel or not. I don't feel like I have. I have commented with others about this goal but I don't recall saying it on my own blog. So yeah that is my dream... my goal, my obsession at the moment. I know my characters, I know their story, yet part of me is hesitant to put finger to key and type it out. I'm afraid to fail. But if you don't chase the dream it will definitely get away. At least making an effort means I have a chance. So here is to chasing the dream.

How Sweet It Is

3 cups of Strawberries
+ 1 Tablespoon sugar

TURNS


1 Sweet Girl Into


The Strawberry Gremlin

(Strawberries may have been consumed by more than the above gremlin... or not.... she was pretty scary looking if you got too close. LOL)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Wednesday French Inspiration

Today's Post is on Comfort Zones


You are experiencing the beauty of some ruins in the french country side, like those in Les Baux. You've been drinking a lot of water to wash down the madelines with nutella, and chocolate with noissettes you have been feasting on. You have enjoyed the shops and atmosphere, but now you have got to go use the toilet.

You walk into the restroom open the stall and realize there is something missing, namely the toilet. Or at least what you as an American girl expects to find in the stall. Instead you see something very similar to the picture above. Good Luck!!!! I hope you have been working out those thighs. You are now wishing you hadn't skipped those squats at the gym.

They say the french don't get fat, it is because they are constantly exercising, by walking to school and work, taking stairs to their 5 story walk up, and yes, they squat while they good.


Not every public restroom is like this, but it was a shock the first time I encountered one. I actually moved to the next stall because I didn't know what I was supposed to do. LOL I am a spoiled american. But I stepped out of my comfort zone when I couldn't hold it. It was not my favorite thing, but it was helpful in my situation.

Getting out of your comfort zone doesn't always have to be so unpleasant, sometimes it leads to the best friendships, or a new favorite hobby. I hope you are always willing to try something new.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Laughing Makes Me Happy

As requested by an anonymous commenter on my previous post. I was asked to post here on my blog a copy of a joke posted on Rachelle Gardner's blog. If you want to read some other good jokes go read the comments left on her LOL post.

Below was my choice of joke. Read every line beginning to end. I have to format the text to hopefully make it more easily comprehended in case blogger messes up the format.

Bob Smith, my assistant programmer, can always be found
hard at work in his cubicle. Bob works independently, without
wasting company time talking to colleagues. Bob never
thinks twice about assisting fellow employees, and he always
finishes given assignments on time. Often, Bob takes extended
measures to complete his work, sometimes skipping coffee
breaks. Bob is an individual who has absolutely no
vanity in spite of his high accomplishments and profound
knowledge in his field. I firmly believe that Bob can be
classified as a high-caliber employee, the type that cannot be
dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Bob be
promoted to executive management, and a proposal will be
executed as soon as possible.

Regards,
Project Leader

KEEP READING...

Shortly thereafter, the HR department received the following memo from the Project Leader:

Sorry, but that idiot was reading over my shoulder while I wrote the report sent to you earlier today. Kindly read only the odd numbered lines for my assessment. (Found in bold)