Happy Birthday to ME!

(It's not a party w/o some cheetos! OR a giveaway...listed at bottom)

May 14th will be 2 years.
2 years since I started this blog.
2 years since I went from missing my friends I had moved away from to being connected almost daily.
I ♥ my blog. I ♥ your blogs. Thanks for coming back day after day, leaving comment love, and supporting my addictions. Thank you for your blogs, for sharing your moments, your thoughts, your pictures and ideas. I have so many ideas saved in my internet bookmarks that I have developed a great system, complete with labels and folders. Need an idea for cupcakes? Just ask and I might be able to find you the perfect ones. Want the perfect teacher appreciation gift? Got that bookmarked, too.
I started tracking visitors sometime last year, via sitemeter.com, and I have had 13, 766 visits and 20, 937 page views...if somebody wants to explain the difference, feel free!
I have written 596 posts, meaning by the end of the week, I will have reached 600 posts. I told you I was addicted.
So, thank you.
Thank you for being my cyber friend.
Thank you for coming back.

And...to thank you...and to make it a PARTY...I will have giveaways throughout the month. Maybe I will list them all today, maybe I will spread them out. We will have to wait and see.

Yesterday I listed a blog design makeover by Subjective Beauty. Sara did my blog and I love it. She was very patient, even though I asked a ton of questions and she was quick, too. Go ahead...enter the contest. You know you want to.

And today...today I am giving away another one of Bart's aunt's handmade candles. (vanilla pear...I want to eat it!) Picture to come...I have been going back and forth about whether to call this party a birthday or an anniversary, and I think I will call it a birthday. I mean, this blog is like a fourth child, to be cared for, looked after, disciplined when needed.
Every birthday needs cake and candles. Today you can win a candle. Next week, you can win a cake. (Well, a DVD teaching you how to decorate a cake by my mom! Right, Mama...I get to give one away, don't I?)

To win, you must do one thing, and one thing only. Tell me WHO YOU ARE. If I already know you, tell me something fun that is happening this weekend (or something crappy). If you are one of those who don't share personal info...that is fine, just tell me about your best birthday ever (or worst!). You can come back and tell me things every day. The only comments that won't count are those that say, "Pick me" or something so impersonal like that. If you want to follow, go ahead, and leave a seperate comment letting me know.

So, here's to the next year. Hope it brings us all peace, happiness, and JOY!

Subjective Beauty Blog Design Giveaway, CLOSED

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED: PARDON MY FRENCH WON!

Like what you are seeing right now? My pretty new blog design? You know why? Because Sara of Subjective Beauty made it. A good friend had just designed my header and Sara took the header and used it for all the colors and designs you see here.
Sara is so sweet that not only does she answer all my random questions I occasionally email or leave as blog comments (example: How do you make a heart shape? Answer: Hold down ALT and the # 3 on your keypad at the same time.) she is also giving away a custom blog design to one lucky winner. There is just one catch...this is for BLOGSPOT users only.
See Sara's fantastic work in her portfolio or on her main page.

To enter to win you must Visit SubjectiveBeauty.com, browse Sara's work, then comment here which design of Sara's you like best. (If you don't do this first, I will delete all your other fabulous entries. Sorry)

Extra entry qualifications into the giveaway (leave separate comments):

1. Blog about the giveaway at your blog (must leave the link to your blog entry in comment).
2. Twitter about the giveaway (must leave the link to your Twitter in comment).
3. Follow Subjective Beauty through Blogger.
4. Subscribe to Subjective Beauty in reader (here).
5. Add Subjective Beauty's 150x150 button to sidebar/blogroll.
6. Follow Sarah (@sarabonds) on Twitter.
7. Join Subjective Beauty on Ning
8. Follow ME! Button on the left sidebar.

Giveaway ends May 18th at midnight.

This song was played at the end of Scrubs. As in, the last episode EVER (I think). I really like this song. Maybe it should be Bart and my's "song"...the one Bart says is "our song" is not one I like. Some Chicago song...yes, I know I'm inspiring, but that doesn't make me love it.
Bart and I have been watching this show for years. We own almost every season and watch the old shows from time to time.
Seeing this show end, with it's "what might happen in the future, it's up to you to imagine", was very sad, but I thought the writers/producers did a great job of ending it.

Yet another thing to END. As it is, I am getting all worked up over Brennan finishing up his first year of school...kindergarten has come and gone. (Well, in a few days it is gone). He is less a little boy today then he was even six months ago. I know my babies have to grow up, but come on, Ethan's already talking (mamamamamamamababababababaababababababa), Jackson is getting more vocal in his wants and less clumsy, and now Brennan is graduating. (I always think of "The Incredibles" when Mr. I gets all worked up over Dash's graduation. I agree, it's not a big deal, but it will be fun and a great thing to scrapbook...I'm always thinking ahead, see?)

Life is going on full force. I'm glad I have you along for the ride, to listen to me rant and complain, brag and beam with pride. Why don't you leave a comment, especially if you never have before. Tell me if you and your special someone have "a song" (we don't really, though whenever Bart hears the Chicago song, he claims we do), is life coming at your fast, or what shows you have loved that have ended and if you were satisfied with the end???

Could You Be Just A LITTLE Bit More Inconsiderate?

Today I was actually early/on time (depends on whose point of view you see it from) dropping Brennan off at school.
I did what every parent who drives their kid to Brennan's school does.

1. Drive past the school heading east, wish the school had some sort of drive thru loop.
2. Pull in the swimming pool parking lot across the street from school so you can get back on the road you were just on, but face west.
3. Parallel park on the side of the road by the school.
4. Tell your little one to have a nice day and then send him running up the steps to school. (Brennan got to walk because the first bell was about to ring, where usually the second bell is dying down when we get there. Good thing there are THREE bells!)
   
5. Merge back into little to no traffic to return home.

I did all five steps, except for the no traffic part. There were a few cars, so I waited to get back on the street. When I did, three cars were in front of me. One pulled over to the side, like a normal person. Two cars left.
The first car, obviously being driven by an escapee from the local crazy house a rushed mother (we were early, remember? NO reason to be rushed) stopped beside a line of five or so cars, two of which had on their blinkers to get back into traffic.
This a*$hat mother of the year blocked ALL FIVE cars in, because instead of driving about ten feet further up the street, pulling over (no need to even parallel park!) and letting her spoiled brat adorable second grader get out, she sat there blocking all traffic, while her daughter slowly unhooked her seat belt, gathered her school things and placed them in a backpack, put on said backpack, and gave every person in the car an affectionate hug and kiss, before slowly opening the car, twiddling her thumbs, as she slowly walked up the steps to school.
That's not what got me, though.
What really PISSED ME OFF is when this winner pulls over by the school AFTER her daughter is walking up the stairs! Remember, ten more feet and she could have parked already, thus allowing everyone to continue on their journeys, idiot free. Well, I guess she finally figured out she was being a jerk thought better of her selfish ways...however she did not pull all the way in, thus causing the mile long line of angry parentscourteous drivers behind her to have to swerve around her to continue on their journeys AND causing the cars that had been waiting to merge into traffic (remember, they were the good guys, caught in the fire of this woman's stupidity) to have to continue to wait.
I was very, very tempted to park my car, get out of the car, and go tell her what a turd she had been.
BUT, I had on my p.j's (still do, truth be told), had morning breath (still do), and was too tired to save the world, one stupid driver at a time.
Now I feel I must share my story with all of you, my loyal readers, so as to help me purge this evil from my system and to warn you to avoid being the thoughtless one when driving.
Okay...I think it is time to get out of my p.j's.

Maybe...

Maybe having TIVO or DVR would not be so bad...

:)