What Brings You Joy?

Kerflop.com is having a free give-away contest for essays on "What Brings You Joy". They're giving away the JOYS system which I have been drooling over for a year.

So I was thinking...what brings me joy? There are a lot of things obviously. The small wonders of life like a beautiful sunset, a good job, a vehicle that runs and air to breath. Then there are the big things like the crash I avoided by 10 seconds or the new job opportunity that presented itself when I was least expecting it. But honestly, the one thing that brings me the most joy consistently is the fact that my son and I are so close.

Although he will officially be a teenager in less than 10 days, he still thinks his mom register a respectable average on the "cool scale". I love to spend time with him in the outdoors and I thank God for putting me in such a beautiful state and giving me the opportunity to raise my son in the same "Big Sky" country. Last weekend I got to take him on his first kayaking adventure. We decided on the lake instead of the river since it would be calmer water for his first time out. He took to it like a fish in water, pun intended.

So that's what brings me JOY. Sure having everything organized at home and work is great because you save time, but spending that extra time with your family is the really nice thing that makes it all worth while.

Allergy Season Has Officially Started

For my contribution to this week's WWFM, I would like to share with you my one and only working medication for allergies. My son and I both have severe reactions to grasses, pollen, pet dander; you name it and we will probably sneeze at it.

We've both tried everything from Claritin to Zyrtec and nothing has helped. Nothing, that is, until my mom (a severe hay fever sufferer) came across WalMart's Equate brand of Chlortabs. We have been using these for a little over a year for everything including reactions to pet dander and they have yet to fail! Of course we always use our other secret weapon, PRAYER.

Equate Chlortabs from WalMart. That's what works for me! For more WWFM tips check out Shannon's blog at Rocks In My Dryer!

Win a free Dyson!

OK, as much as I would love to have a Roomba robotic vacuum, I can’t pass up something as well-made as a Dyson that is FREE!!

The gals over at 5 Minutes For Mom are giving away a Dyson Slim Vacuum to one lucky winner. If for some reason I don’t win, I want one of my readers to win so get on over there and sign-up for the drawing!

Visit 5 Minutes For Mom right now >>

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all those moms out there that know what it is to spend a few hours in the ER removing candy from various body orifices...this Valentine is for you.

Easy Heart-Shaped Cake

My, this year is going rather fast. It's kind of scary but I won't dwell on that since it will lead to my thinking about how old I am getting and that is never a good thing. :-)

Well, like I said in a previous post, I've been reading Shannon's "Rock in my Dryer" blog lately. She has a great little thing going called "What Works for me Wednesdays" and today is a Valentine's day theme so I wanted to share my idea. I wanted to share with you a little trick I learned in middle school. I've been using it every Valentine's Day since. It's a heart-shaped cake and it's soooo easy!

Since it's not valentine's day just yet, the photos I am posting are not mine. The link below will take you to the recipe and instructions from Betty Crocker. It was actually a 1990 Betty Crocker ad and instructions in a Family Circle magazine that got me started with this. Check it out. Your kids will love it and will think you are a genius!

Link to recipe -->

Project 365 - Day 18

OK, so if you read the post before you already know that I started a new project for the year taking a photo every day and posting it to this blog. You will also already know that I promptly forgot the new year's resolution after the second day and did not remember it again until today.

So, without further ado, here is my first post...

It's actually some of my son's left over Christmas candy I brought to work with me today. I was fooling around with the macro button on the new camera and I think it turned out kind of nice.

Now please remember, I am NOT a professional so if you are going to critique my work, be kind! :-)

P.S. I know that this doesn't really have anything to do with being a single christian mom. I'm just hoping that posting here will give me the kick I need to actually continue with this. Plus, you will get to see lots of interesting things in my little family life. Think about that! YIKES!

Project 365

Long before the holidays, I started to search for the best digital camera on the market for myself and my tight budget. I finally found and ordered one that would fit my style, photographic ambitions and again, small budget.

While searching for user reviews, I came across a photo-blogging website that suggested trying something for the new year called Project 365. It's basically a decision to take a new photo everyday and keep it in some sort of organized fashion so at the end of the year you can not only see how you have progressed as a photographer but you will also get to experience your past year in vivid full-color detail.

OK, so this takes some devotion or reminding but I was adamant to my son that this is what I was going to do this year. I took a great shot (see left) for January 1st and also another one for January 2nd (see below) and then, of course, January 3rd rolled around and I promptly forgot about it.

So I was thinking today, because I just remembered it, that I should use this blog to remind me. I will post a new photo everyday and that way I can hold myself accountable. :-)

P.S. The camera I finally decided on is a Canon IS S3. I used some coupons and a sale at Dell.com to get it at $125 off the retail price! Oh, and the photo to the right is of the snow plowed off of I-90 at the top of Snoqualmie Pass in WA on our way home from Seattle.

How nerdy are YOU?

So, in my travels online yesterday, I came across a blog with a post to a Nerd Test. Being a self-proclaimed Geek, I thought I would click on the link and give it a try...see how nerdy I really was.

Long story short, I RULE!! Lol, just kidding. I've been doing the whole computer thing since I was 5 so I should be good at a quiz like this but I was shocked at the results. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe this is why I can't get a date. Well, that and the fact that I don't go looking to date. :-)

Check out my score below and click the little picture. You can take the quiz yourself and gloat to someone you know if you are super-nerdy too. Or maybe being un-nerdy is the real cool factor now. Hmmm. I guess I'm in trouble then. Haha.

Read any good blogs lately?

I really don't remember quite how I stumbled onto it but I recently found a blog called "Rocks in my Dryer". I got to reading and clicking and 4 hours later, I had 20+ new friends who just happened to also be moms who like to blog.

Now, don't get me wrong. These girls have never met or spoken with me but after reading their daily lives through their archival links, I feel like they are some of my closest friends. I laughed till my new coworkers started to wonder what I was doing and I cried till my contacts literally floated right out of my eyes.

A lot of them have been blogging for years. I feel like such a newbie. Anyway, I wanted to share of my favorite blogs I found yesterday from fellow moms.

Rocks in my Dryer
Living in Grace
Everyday Mommy
Antique Mommy
Don't Try This at Home

I'm Baaacccckkkk!

OK OK, I know I said this like 8 or 9 months ago but I'm for real this time! I'm going to commit to this and really post things everyday, or every other day, or whenever I get a second. :-)

In my defense, I have been slightly preoccupied with family and friend events such as death, marriage, illness and to top it off, I applied and was offered a new job last month. Two weeks before Christmas. With training in another town. 200 miles from my son. Two weeks before Christmas. :-(

Anyway, I promise to write more. I really do. Really. Seriously. Lol, OK now you are just being mean.