I'm 100: Tiny Task Tuesday: 1st giveaway

So todays' post is going to be three posts in one. I am a few days behind with being a single mom right now and having all the kids home on spring break last week.

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TINY TASK TUESDAY

This is my own little way of trying to help America get back to the generous, Happy, and friendly place it was 20 years ago.

What did you do this week to help someone or something out?

Did you take in a stray? Did you watch someones' kids? Did you make a friend or neighbor a garden? How about pick up the trash that was laying all over the street after the trash men came by?

These are all simple or tiny tasks that can be done by you and your spouse and children. Very easy with no money involved, so don't use that as an excuse.

I will share one task that I did this week to help someone. My neighbors across the street had to leave there house around 9:30pm one night due to a gas leak. The firemen were in taking care of it and they were standing on their front porch with a 2 year old and a 4 year old freezing. I hollered across the street and through all the commotion to them to come over to my house. It was silly for them all to be standing outside with the wind blowing and it being cold, even if they did not have the children. So they stayed at my house for the rest of the time the firefighters were taking care of their house. Simple, easy, no money involved just the love in my heart and desire to help someone else out in need.

Its your turn, just one task a week. What can you do to make a difference? You do not have to adopt a child here. I am not asking you to run up 6 flights of stairs in a burning building. I am asking you to step up and do something good for someone and do it once or more a week. Try it!! It is a nice feeling when you see that clean street or that smiling child.

Also, say a little Prayer for my good Internet friend MckMama and baby Stellan. He is need of lots of prayers.

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This week is the National Cherry Blossom festival here in D.C. All the beautiful trees surrounding the tidal basin, or water around the Jefferson Memorial are in bloom. They are quite gorgeous. Since we moved here I have been taking the kids down there and having a little photo shoot with them. I love to take pictures of them and what a perfect place to do it. Here are a few of the shots I got. I will go take a few more tomorrow. I love Spring, all the flowers beginning to bloom, the cool crisp air and the beginning of new life. Fantabulous!!!

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Heck Yeah, I made it to 100 today! Aren't yall totally excited about this? Oh I am so going to kick it up a notch. ARE YOU READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is going to start my very first giveaway. BLOG CANDY ANYONE??? In keeping with my blog birthday today I am going to give yall until this Thursday night at 8pm EST to leave me comments in order to win. I will do a random drawing for the winner. It's that easy.

What is the prize you ask?

Oh its good. I am going to make with your colors a beautiful Dusty Diaper cake, to be shipped anywhere in the Continental U.S. I know you are stoked right! So go ahead start leaving those comments and tell all your friends about this giveaway. This will be a one of a kind Diaper cake for you or a loved one. Perfect for a Baby shower or gift for that new baby. Here is another Dusty Diaper cake. This one I made for my sister in law. Below is a picture of the very first one I made with all the bells and whistle for a dear friend.

Here's one I made for a friend who then gave it to another friend.

So what are you waiting for get out there and start commenting. Thanks for being a part of my life's journey. I am glad you are around. I love blogging just as much as I know you love reading.

Who's it gonna be Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

Scat Now!!!

Family and Friends Friday 4th Ed.

Today as I tried desperately to score White House Easter Egg Roll tickets online I thought about who would be the next recipient. There are 3 names that came to mind as I lay in the bed waiting for the next alarm to go off to get up and check the computer again. Then one person stuck and the words started filling my little head. It was then that I realized who would be the next recipient. So here's to you H. C. you are the winner.

What an incredible friend you have been to me for the past 3 years. You have only been in a life for a short while but you have made such an impact on my family. I want you to know just how wonderful it was to rely on you ALWAYS to watch the kids when I was in a pickle. You never told me no. That is true friendship or maybe pure craziness, I'm not sure but whatever it is I appreciated it. I am so grateful to you for always having an open mind when I needed relationship advice or mothering advice. I trust your opinion and that is not easy to do.

I want you to know just how wonderful it is that you walked into my life that beautiful summer night. Oh yes, how we met was quite special. You know, who leaves a nice, rideable, bike on the curb for the trash man? Oh yeah, that would be Zeus. But I must be thankful to him today because that is the thing that brought us together.

I want to thank you for all those wonderful plates of food. Man, you are some cook girlfriend. YUMMMMM!!!! H.C. I want you to know that you are so beautiful. Your personality is contagious. You always seem to have a water slide type attitude. Doesn't matter, its gonna flow and you just jump on and ride it down. Thank you for that. You are true inspiration in my times of uncertainty. I knew I could talk to you and everything would feel better. You know, when I am doing these things(FFF) I try to imagine myself at a funeral standing in front of a podium addressing the bereaved. It sounds morbid but then again that is usually when all the best things are said of people. For you, I just picture myself on your couch chatting to everyone in the room with plates full of wings, salads, bulgogi meat, hotdogs, meatballs, fruit kabobs and all those other famous H.C foods. That is what I loved most. Just hanging out in your back yard roasting marshmallows over the Chimenea. Fabulous fun. Plus, you have got to be the best partylite Hostess I have ever had. You are so persistent and always had HUGE shows. Man I miss those paychecks, hahaha. Thank you!

I love the fact that you are such a great Mom to those gorgeous girls. You threw great parties for them and took such good care of them. I thank you for allowing me to be a part of their lives and look forward to lots of pictures of them as the grow. I hope one day along our lives journey we find each other again. I miss you bunches. We will visit you soon. H.C., I hope you realize how special you are and what a difference you made in my life. I will never look at Bleach the same way again. Actually every time I smell it or see it I get a big smile on my face.

You and I have created great memories together and those will forever be on my mind. WOW, It was awesome to get to experience meeting the President together with you. How lucky were we? That was so cool. I was so happy to have had a buddy to go with that gorgeous May morning. It was special but MAN spending it with you was awesome. Plus, your husband watched all them kids!!! He's a keeper. I want you to know that you sealed your friendship in the most simple way. Do you remember those 2 days that you slaved in the kitchen to make me a birthday cake because Zeus was out of town and you wanted me to have a proper birthday. For heavens sake, you baked a cake in a hotel room. Now that spells love. Not just once but twice. Two seperate years. On top of that you planed a surprise birthday getaway. WOW, that was so awesome. I was spellbound by yalls determination to make it an absolutely unforgettable day. Oh how it was. Thank you so much. You have been an incredible friend these past 3 years and I am so blessed. H.C, God Bless you and our family as it grows. I hope someone will be as kind and sweet and generous with you as you have been to me. I don't say this much to my friends but I say it to you today, I love you, I appreciate you and I Thank you. You have been such a bright light in my life and I look forward to the many more days we get to talk.

Happy Birthday, BTW!!!

CONGRATULATIONS H.C.

What do you do when?

IT IS COLD AND RAINY?

Well, I'm not sure what you do. But, what I can do is tell you what my 4 babies do. They get very creative. This past week we had a day where it was just miserable outside and the energy was spuing out of them. Zulu decided to create his own version of a train. Perfect.

What do you think? Would you ride? It looks safe, look at the seat belts!!!

Very Creative kids. This train went to Alaska, Peru, Hawaii, NYC, Georgia, Indonesia, White House, Capitol, Turkey and many other stops.

Can I ride that train please. Seriously, NYC and Turkey. That's pretty cool.

What will they come up with next?

Not ME! Monday

Today is definitely a not me Monday. We have been dreading this day for a few weeks now. Zeus took off today. I certainly did not cry right along with my 4 babies as he hugged and kissed each one of us telling us each something special. He is only leaving for a month why in the world would I get quite this upset.

The past couple weeks have been difficult and I absolutely did not want to crawl under a rock and hibernate for a long time. That is not like me, I mean not me.

I did not lay on the floor at my friends house taking pictures of them while they were playing Rock Band. That is what photographers do, not me.

I did not let the laundry pile up to the size of a mountain for the last 2 weeks only doing what was necessary to get through the next day. No I love to do the laundry.

I was not a super nice wife and let Zeus do ALL of the mountain of laundry while I tended to children. It was only about 20 loads. Definitely not Me!! Zeus really wanted to, or so I thought.

I did not get totally fed up with a group of adults I'm associated with when they cried and whined worse than my 3 year old. Seriously, I do not need 5 more children right now. That is totally not me, I love to listen and solve everyones problem and make all people's happy.

I did not jump up and down on Saturday afternoon when we finished Basketball season. Coaches need to be sad when the season is over, right. Mom's should be sad they their children will not have 4 nights of practice a week right? Nope Not Me.

Good Luck and I hope your Not Me's aren't quite so negative.

Come Back soon.

Family and Friends Friday 3rd edit.

Its Friday. Aren't you super excited? I am slightly. I have picked the next recipient of the FFF award. Who do you think it is? OH, what? You don't know what I am doing. Read this and it will explain my biggest agenda these days, expressing my true feelings.

This week was not hard for me.

Congratulations F.D.

You are one exceptional lady. Yes, I am talking about you Red! Where do I begin? I must say, I admire your mothering. The ability to love your kids whatever they become, whatever they do, and whoever they choose. You still love them. You still accept them. You stand behind them. Not a single one of those 4 children have been abandoned. Thank you. I appreciate having a beautiful role model. I know they appreciate you immensely too. I will talk to them about showing it a little more. :) I want you to know how blessed I am to be able to talk to you almost everyday. Even though I live so stinking far away, talking to you about daily life makes me feel right at home. Thank you. I am so proud that you have stood by your husband all these years. WOW, that truly is amazing. From a brain tumor to war, to 4 children and even loss of parents. You never strayed. I thank you for restoring my hope in marriage. Allowing me to vent about my marriage and receive such amazing encouragement from you is so refreshing. Your true devotion to Jesus Christ has helped me through the years. Through all the adversity you continue to read your bible and talk to me and others about the ways of the lord. I want you to know this has been so helpful to me. You have been inspirational in my life. I appreciate your views and love your positive outlook. If anybody is praying, its you. I can count on you for that. Always. We appreciate that. I love you for standing up for Jesus. I love you for accepting all of us in this family. I know it has not been easier to watch us love and get hurt and watch us mess up here and there, but what a pillar you are. I always said when you die, we will fall about. You are our King post. Thank you so much. Words will never express my true love, adoration, inspiration and great thanks to you for the woman you are.

I remember sitting in your lap as a little girl and you gently sliding my silky white socks on. You were so soft and gentle with me. I remember you combing my hair. You always made it look just right. Those memories are engraved right there in my mind. I remember sitting down with you and playing Dr. Mario. You would kick my butt and anybody else who challenged you. It was wild to say my grandmother played Nintendo better than all the boys. Cool!!! You can kill anybody who challenges you to scrabble. I am baffled at your vocabulary knowledge. I will never be there. But I appreciate you always being so patient with me when I did brave the game. I thank you for being an "involved" grandmother. You always made it to the cousins ball games. You were sitting right there on the sidelines cheering them on. That was so awesome. I know I loved it when you were in the stands at Pennington when we had U.I.L. competitions and games. How proud I was to have you watching little ole me out there on that great big football field. Thank you so much. I love how you always have food. Smorgasbord as I call it. Nope, it was never just sandwiches. It was several different choices and you were right there fixing it for us. Thank you!!! You just stood there on the other side of the bar while we unloaded whatever crap had built up that day. Even today. I bet someone came in and talked to you about some problem. Thanks for always having an ear to listen and an open mind. You responded when asked but never told us how it was or how it was going to be. You let us be us. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I want you to know that I look forward to going to church because I know you will be sitting right there in row 7. Yes, I remember. I loved going with you and seeing the smile on your face when we sang. It is so nice to see you moving with the times. You are not some ole granny still listening to Loretta Lynn. You can listen to the new up and coming artist. WOW, that is so awesome. Thank you for being so generous with your money, what little you have. You lend to everyone like it's the Red Bank. Thank you. That is really nice of you and amazing to see someone share like that. You taught me to open my heart to others. You taught me acceptance. You taught me bible verses. You help me become the woman I am today. You care about my feelings. One thing that I do carry on that growing up I always appreciated was seeing all our pictures all over your house. How awesome was it to see your whole family all over your walls. I cherish those memories so much and I thank you for making us so important. Thank you for coming to see me in GA and DC.

Both those trips were not easy but you did it and it made me proud to show you how far I have come. I know you have touched so many lives. I do not think you realize the abundance of love flowing in our world that you gave freely. My hat goes off to you. I hope you hang around a few more years to see what my children become. Maybe if I am lucky you will see her first child. Life will definitely change when you are gone but don't you think for one minute that you will be forgotten. OH NO, You will forever be remembered. I will forever strive to reach as high as you have. I want to have the happening house. I want to be the grand central station like you. We always know you will be there. Thank you. I love you and I want you to know how special and dear you are to me. I will hold you close as I travel through life every twist and turn I will think what you would do in that situation. Thank you for all your guidance through the years. You are one very special lady that deserves so much more than what we can give you. I will try but will always fall short. Blessings to you for a long and healthy life. I love you and miss you everyday. Thank you for being my Grandmother and loving me for me.

Congratulations F.D, you are one incredible lady

Creative Wives Club

Happy Wednesday!!!!

The last couple months a few friends and I have gotten together to make these super cute wreaths.

It all started around Christmas time when my good friend C found a cute little wreath made out of cut strips of fabric. She asked a few of us if we wanted to join in and do it together. We agreed. But that was the last I heard of it. I had it on my mind for awhile but had to come up with a plan.

C's husband was deployed to the desert in Jan. She seemed really bummed and really down. As we all get when our spouses leave for any amount of time. I guess that's part of being in the military or married to the military. I was talking with another friend and thought we could "Surprise" C with the project.

So the gears in my head starting turning faster then I could keep up with. I checked with the group on a date, doled out tasks and did my best to keep it a secret. Yeah, that's hard when you talk to the girl everyday. And if you know me, I like to talk. Secrets sometimes come out accidentally. Whoops. I struggled with this one. So I bought the fabric and went through all the hours of cutting and measuring it all just for her.

We showed up and surprised her. The 4 of us had an awesome time. We decided that we wanted to do it again for Easter.

This time we invited one other friend that was banging the door down to join us. We had lots of snacks and drinks and used our imaginations to make just the right wreath for us. We made 5 fabric wreaths and 4 egg wreaths. They were simple and lots of fun and a great way to get together with my sweet amazing military spouses.

We decided to come up with a name. So I picked Nana's brain and used lots of adjectives to make up about 30 cute names. We all voted. And can you believe it, the name I loved the most that I came up with all on my own was chosen. YES!!!! Creative Wives Club it is. We all decided we would meet once a month and make a craft together. The last 2 times we made wreaths but C has LOTS of ideas in her head that she wants to make. So we will make several different things to decorate our houses with. So much fun.

Next months towels should be tons of fun. It is great to hang with all you girls. The best part is I get to use my creative mind and love of crafts.

Blessings and come back soon

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to MckMama's glorious idea of being brutally honest.

I did not cry at the vet's office after I was told my doggie would not be having puppies. She lost them along the past week. Super sad but glad we did not lose her. Now we are left to deal with infections and heart murmurs. Yippeee!!!

I did not convince Zeus "to stop by" our friends house after dinner on Saturday night only to have stayed for several hours. He can be a sucker sometimes, but definitely a nice sucker this time.

I did not completely melt when a complete stranger walked up to me at the restaurant on Sat. to tell me how well behaved my 4 beauties had been. She then told me she was mother to 4 teens and the teens are actually the ones who noticed the kids good behavior.

I did not just want to deck someone Thursday night after they told me my children were not behaving and I needed to "Control them". URGGG, I was not one furious Momma by this point. WOW, sitting in a chair playing a leapster is misbehaving. Someone has not seen very many children. For heavens sake.

I did not fill 50 years old this week after starting volleyball season all over again. WOW, I forgot I had those muscles. Whoops, now I must pay to use them, if you know what I mean.

I did not convince my children that working for pay was not the coolest thing since Nintendo. They were working harder than slaves. I definitely was not totally thrilled to not have to ask them to help here and there.

I did not tell my close friend to stay away from my house since her sweet child had developed Pink eye in both eyes. I do not want that in my house, because if one gets it WE all get it. Not what I call fun.

Now's your turn, what do you have to confess or get honest with this week. I am thankful that today is Monday and we are at it again.

Blessings,

Come back soon to another story in Haskins Land

Friends and Family Friday

Welcome back!!

This is my living tribute to someone close to me. This week is not as clear cut/ straight forward as last weeks. No, I did not have any bad dreams. But this one person stands out above all in stepping up and making a huge difference in my life.

Congratulations N.J.

I just wanted you to know how wonderful it was to look over in the stands as a 7th-8th grader to see you sitting there cheering on my volleyball team, my basketball team and my track team. You were always there. I never worried about you not being there. Someone saw me score or shoot or win the 1600 meter relay. YOU DID!!! Even when we were at another school you made sure you knew where it was. So special to me. You will never know what that meant to me.

I remember you taking me to my counseling and stopping by that cute little restaurant to have pie. YUMMY!! Thank you, I needed that after talking to people about terrible things in life, a slice of pie was so refreshing and allowed me to come back to being a kid again.

Grandma, There is always that distinct time of year you and I did lots of cooking. Oh how wonderful it was to hurry home from school after getting out early and get myself in the kitchen with you. I miss those days far too often. I hate that we are so far apart. But just know how wonderful and special it was to cook and bake with you. You always let me do it. You were in a way my asst. . How cool to be a young girl and be treated as if I had my own kitchen.

You always made sure my bath water was run in the morning before you woke me up. That was so nice, definitely not something you had to do. You always came in my room and tucked me in at night. EVERY single night. Even if you were out you made sure you came in and checked on me. WOW, for a grandmother to do all these things for me is just super amazing.

I will always remember sitting down with you and you taking the time to roll my hair into tiny rollers so that it would be nice and curly for picture day or whatever ceremony was happening. That is engraved in my brain.

There was always that special time of shopping with you. I loved getting new shoes or a pretty new dress. You always made sure I had cute socks and nice clothes that I liked. You did all this out of the gracious of your heart. Thank you.

I can never say Thank you enough to you for all those late talks, phone calls and even Ally McBeal.

You know, I am not sure I ever said it enough. You bought me a car soon after high school. That was so nice. I loved Gumby. She was a beauty and was my first NEW car. I wish she was still around. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for being a huge part of my life. I know this road has not been easy but you have stayed the course.

I Thank you for allowing me to be me. I know you have not agreed with a lot of things but you never stopped loving me. You never left me. I always had your support. There is never enough. I want you to know today that I love you. From all the trips to New Mexico, Colorado, South Texas, to shopping in Dallas, to running the shop in the stockyards, to making my outfits for the Pawnee Bill Wild West show, to camping I want to thank you. I remember them all. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for caring and wanting me to have memories.

I could go on forever on all the thing you are good at. You have an astonishing way of manipulating words to get them just so. You always have an idea for the garden. You are great.

I thank you for coming out to my house each and every time a new baby arrived to help out here and there. To see you with my own babies is so special. That was a wonderful thing to have you around to hold them while I did something else here in there. Thank you! Grandma, I love you and I want you to know you will always be with me as I travel through life. I will tell lots of stories of you when you leave. Thank you!!!

I love your creativity. You have so many great ideas in your mind. I love to pick at them. I love your amazing cooking ideas. You are so clever and always making something. I am so glad you are here in my life. I am grateful for all you have done for me through the years and I look forward to you being by me when sweet Zero has her first baby. I will need your support.

I appreciate each and every act you have done for me. I Love you, I want you to know just how wonderful it was to have you fight for me. It was not easy but you made sure I was taken care of properly.

Now go eat something really special. I know you love that Ice Cream. Enjoy a cup of soft Frozen chocolate yogurt.

CONGRATULATIONS N.J. I LOVE YOU

Tiny Task Tuesday

Welcome to Tiny task Tuesday.

This week I have been looking for others additions and have not found THE one yet. So that will have to wait until next weeks edition.

A few simple task that were done this week.

1. I volunteered for an hour at the oldest kids school for playground duty and ended up being a cafeteria monitor. I must say those people really do a fine job keeping ALL those children to behave and eat. I am most grateful.

2. I took a friend to an appointment since she was on pain killers and did not have her car. It was on my way to another appt. so it worked out great.

3. A friend watched my son for me twice this week with little to no notice either. What a great girl.

Here it is again another chance for you to start making a difference in your own neighborhood. Help out a neighbor, a friend, a stranger by giving of your time and strength and you will see a small change that will grow with time. Lets do it America! Lets get this place back to caring and sharing starting with us.

Blessings and see you tomorrow for another adventure in the Haskins House.

Not ME! Monday

I did not inadvertently mess up a friends get together with my own get together. That is definitely not what friends do. Zeus' idea, I just had to jump on it while I had the chance.

I did not boycott the laundry this week to see if anyone else would touch it. No, I am a good laundress who never lets it get backed up and never lets anyone else touch it.

I did not wish I was not at Basketball practice to escape the little boy that never listens. No, I am always so happy to be there and spend time with these amazing little beings.

I did not get completely enthralled in my teams basketball game after they stole the ball from the other team more than once. I never condone stealing things. That would be teaching bad habits.

I absolutely did not secretly want to stay home from my pokeno game this week when I had just gotten my newly fixed camera, new lenses and new laptop screen all at the same time. Who wants to play with their camera. Nope, not me.

I definitely did not secretly wonder what my life would be like with only one child, Zero. That would be shameful. I would never want that or even dream of it.

I am not completely jealous of my husbands life, job and look. I do not wonder what he does all day and how he gets to be a Dad, a Airman, a college graduate and a husband. I have my own life. That would be super silly. I am proud of my life, Really I am.

I did not completely go off the handle when my husband put the kids on the bus after more than 6 inches of snow had fallen. That would be ridiculous or a little selfish. Heck, they get several feet in the frozen tundra and still go to school.

I then did not get in my car and drive through the treacherous roads to pick my kids up from school when they should have been there. Definitely not me. Who plays in the snow these days.

And what mother does not want her kids to get an education. Oh, so not this one.

Thanks for joining me this week for Not Me! Monday. Hop on over to MckMama's blog to see her always hilarious NMM. She is the originator of this fun project.

Family and Friends Friday 1st edit.

Just what you have been waiting for, right?

Yes, today is the day I shall begin expressing my sincere thanks and extreme gratitude for my family members. If you want the full rundown check here.

The choice today was very simple and actually quite easy. Honestly, I did not choose this person. Take one guess who did.

Got it!

Well, if you don't

then I'll help you. The almighty God.

After going to bed last night I had this absolutely dreadful dream. It was very disturbing and felt so real. I woke up several times thinking if I got up and used the bathroom I could think of something else and get to sleep, peacefully. Not so!! Every time I crawled back into my super warm bed and closed my eyes it was like I had just hit pause on the DVD player. Absurd. So I woke up and thought I should call this person and check on them. Then I looked at the clock and thought, ummmm, 2:30 am, they are not going to be happy with me waking them up to ask if they are OK. I reluctantly went back to sleep and well, finished this terrible dream.

God would not let me get this person out of my mind. I realized this morning that this is the person I must thank, because he may not be here tomorrow he might be laying flat underneath a bright yellow school bus somewhere.

Today it is you W.D. God was completely behind this decision and I will follow his lead. First I want to start out by thanking God for your presence on Earth today. That bus accident would have really been rough to take. You have been really amazing to watch over the past 16 years. God brought you in my life at an early age in rocky times but you always pressed on.

I will never forget the Ballzack. Yes, that was the very first gift you gave me. It was a gracious offering on your part. I thank you for standing by her, P, for all these years. She has needed someone to keep her busy and you provided that to her and I am so very grateful to you. Oh and to love her too. I almost got in trouble there. HUH. I want you to know that I am very glad you gave me my space. It was needed in order to let you in. You are so important to my babies. They love riding the motorcycle. What fun that was! I even enjoyed it no matter how terrified I was every time you turned a corner. Every time I see French onion dip your face pops in my mind. I loved sharing that yummy dip with you. You built me a room for heavens sake. That was showing so much love to a very standoffish young girl. I never thanked you enough for that. I loved that room. It was so big and so me. Another time you were out and about and you brought me this white Unicorn made out of paper mache. It was so beautiful, standing in such a majestic pose. What a generous thought and sweet gift. It wasn't even my birthday either. Just an ordinary day. Thank you for your gentleness. That is the one thing that sticks in my mind the most. Your ability to sit back and watch and let me do it my way. I am grateful for the days on camping trips. You are so adventurous. I loved climbing on the house and decorating for Christmas with you. Not many would let a little girl help out on the roof, you did. Not only have you saved me with paint issues here and there, you even painted several rooms in my house for nothing. SCORE!!!! Thanks a million. I am so blessed to have you around and I pray you stay for another 40 years. You have made some amazing strides. Your growth in life and along the lonely rode have been tremendous and you should be congratulated. You have been such a great friend to so many. You have been a teacher to several lost souls. They secretly thank you but I will help them by doing it publicly. Thanks for always putting the lunch money on the table everyday, even when you had to go to the store to get the cash. I never had to worry that you would forget, it was just always there. I know I have not been the easiest to talk to but please know that I feel like you have become another amazing parent in my life. I have learned tons of lessons from your mistakes and I want to give you a big hug for that. I was able to see the consequences you suffered and never wanted to go through that myself. So it was not completely a bad thing.

I am proud of the person you are today. You are not perfect and never will be, but the best part of that is, you know that and accept that. AWESOME. Keep doing what you are doing. People are learning from you. People are watching you. People are thanking you. People want to know you. People want what you have. Doesn't that make you feel good. Its really cool. Congratulations on all the accomplishments you have made along the way. I pray God gives you many more days to make tons more accomplishments and I pray he allows you to touch so many more people in your life. Thank you for being you. Thank you for accepting me. Thank you for supporting me even though you did not have to. Pat yourself on the back. Job well done. You deserve to wallow in a little happiness for once. Now's the time. Go eat a great big ole Lobster with lots of butter for me and add a giant baked potato to that. Be indulgent!! You better do it, I'm gonna ask. There will never be enough Thank yous to give. I want you to know I admire you and love you just like a father. They do not know what they are missing out on. I do and Hey, that's just more for my family. We'll take it!!! Best wishes to you. Huge hugs. and always know those simple things mean so very much. The Lord blessed us with you and I am so grateful you have found him today. I love you for you and I hope this just shows you my deep gratitude for all the things you have done for me all these years. Have a great weekend.

THANK YOU W.D.

My new mission

Tuesday while in the shower something came to me. Do you wanna know what it is?
Too bad I am going to tell you anyways.

Really!!! Do you ever wonder why we wait until someone dies to speak kindly of them and tell how much we loved them and all those great things in public? Well I do. Here's why, they are already dead. They can't hear you. They can't thank you. They can't reap the benefits of that either. I think this is really silly, to be honest with you.

I don't want this to turn into a discussion of religion and all that life after death and ghosts. I just think that we should show our appreciation for people while they are still here. That's all.

This is why I am starting Family and Friends Friday. Each Friday I will choose one person be it a friend or family member and express my love and gratitude publicly as if at a funeral but while they are still living and can read and understand what is inside my little body.(yes its my blog and If want to dream of a little body I can.) And well, to just know what they mean to me. I don't want them to never know what they meant to me or what they did for me.

Who will it be? Who should it be? What do you think? Come back tomorrow and find out the first recipient of the F.F.F. or triple F.

ITs T.T.T time again

Looks like today is Tuesday and time for another edition for Tiny Task Tuesday.

If you are new let me give you a brief rundown. I started this little campaign in Jan. to motivate others and myself to help in Changing America. We all want change, right? But it seemed to me everyone was leaving it to everyone else. Lets make ourselves accountable. Lets stop putting all the weight on the Presidents shoulders or Congress' back and then complain when it is not done the way we wanted. Here is your chance. All you have to do is step up and do a tiny, little task once a week. Simple. It requires no money, just your time and energy.

This week I am going to highlight a few things I have seen from others.

Recently, a new neighbor moved in across the street from me and were very unfamiliar with the area and did not own a car and needed furniture and other things. I shared their story with a close friend who in turn shared it with another friend. This other friend just happened to buy new furniture this past week and wanted to find a home for the old furniture. They called my close friend and then she called me. I called the N.N and a new home was found. So a simple, " hey I have new neighbors so keep eye out for household goods." can really turn out to help someone out tremendously.

Another neighbor allowed the new neighbor to borrow their car. Simply handed them the keys and said this is how you use the GPS. WOW, brave!! Yes, but very, very generous.

A lady at the grocery store was struggling to get 2 buggies separated. She really looked like she needed a hand. Before I could get to her a fine gentlemen walked up, pulled the two buggies apart and absolutely just made her day. She smiled and thanked him.

I was watching a segment on one of the news channels last week and a woman made it her priority one day to go around all day and help people out. She tried to help carry groceries, assist a family that was moving, help an elderly person to their car and several other things that day. The funny thing is, most people looked at her funny and told her no they did not need any help, when they obviously could have used it. This struck me as it did her. It is foreign to them. Why is that? Could it be because it has been lost somewhere along the way. Probably! This makes me very sad. One, because as a child I remember very fondly going to the nursing homes to read to g-parents, I remember my Dad helping out the neighbors with their cars for not one dime. I remember helping the elderly woman at church navigate her wheelchair and many more. These seemed so minor and everyday. But they were lost to much selfishness and greed. It was instilled in me as a child and if we do not instill it into our own child/ren it could be lost forever. Forget what you are going to get out of it. Share with them that it is all about gratitude.

Use your imagination. You too can help restore the generosity that Americans once held so invaluably. Lets go back to the time where we all wanted to make sure our neighbors and co-workers were doing alright.

Thank you for joining me for this latest edition of Tiny Task Tuesday.