What a beautiful day....

It was a great day today. Do you ever have days when it all goes right? It reminds of the song, "what if it all goes right, what if the stars line up" - this was the kind of day I had. I was off and running today getting donations from local businesses for the teachers at my daughter's school. Every business I went to today was willing to help us out so next week should be a fun and exciting time for our teachers with all of our fun prizes and donations. This is only a portion of what we got today, Laura and Stacy with our PTA were off and running the other direction today. Did I say we have an awesome PTA and our board is so dedicated to the teachers and our children.

Here are a list of companies and restaurants willing to help out, I want to give them a shout out for always willing to help us out once a year!

1. Mr C's Hardware - thanks Jeff and Mark!

2. Half Price Books

3. Apple Annies

4. Antonio's Restaurant - he gave us a gift certificate and then coupon for almost 500 kids to have a free meal. Then he gave me over 75 coupons for a Free Appetizer and or 5.00 off - perfect for anything on the menu . I am so appreciative and humbled by his generiosity.

5. Gerald's garage - free oil changes for 2 - thanks Gerald!

6. Stroud's gym - 2 free memberships - thanks Kirk and Samm!

7. Mi Haciendas - 2 free meals

8. Sonic - free combo's for all the teachers - thanks Mary! - thanks Rich!

9. Chick Fil A - free meal and Rich donates a fruit tray every year

10. Bronco's Restaurant - thanks Ron!

I am probably leaving someone off but again thanks everyone for your continued support of our PTA and our teacher's luncheon every year!! It is wonderful to live in a loving community.

Also I was able to sell enough tickets today/tomorrow to pay for Demi's church camp this summer. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket. Good luck in winning the 1956 Chevy Bel Air this weekend!!

And the icing on my cake today was a huge box from Julie aka lalscrap with what I thought was going to be a book called The Shack and low and behold, my dear friend threw in a bunch of paper from Cosmo Cricket, hambly and my fav, Sassafras - since we don't have a LSS anymore it is so hard to find these so you can imagine how surprised I was to be holding all of it today. Not only that but there was the cutest trim, pink with ruffles, some heidi swapp and flowers. Julie I have said this before but you are such a loving and giving friend and I feel so blessed to know you! Thank you again from the inside of my heart!

PS - I will pay it forward!!

Now if my 2 interviews will go well, that would be so awesome! They are both great candidates and my client is the nicest man. So I hope for all of them that it goes well and that he wants to hire at least one of them if not both. I would take prayers...thanks in advance!

Hope everyone else had a great day,

Diana

Thankful for the gift of life today...

I hope everyone had a great day full of God's blessings and a day filled with laughter and fun even on a Wednesday. I think that laughing is so good for the soul and mind. I spent some of the day doing research for my new blog and I have to admit I am so so excited. I am so passionate about Paying It Forward and have found it takes so little to brighten someone else's day. Smile and share a hug, it will take you places that you didn't know were possible. I envision providing a home where women can find love and support as well as resources to make life easier and less stressful. As simple as cleaning supplies that work great and make cleaning less time consuming so you will have time to enjoy other things in life. It will also provide great books, great blogs to read, scrapbooking inspiration, parenting resources and many other things that we deal with as moms and women. I will also try to provide services for single moms because the journey for them is much different as I speak from experience. I found out 11 years ago how precious life is when I lost my dad to cancer. It truly is a gift to wake up everyday and I have realized that this journey has brought me to a new place of hope and a new dream of helping others on a daily basis.

Today I am thankful for/that....
1. God's blessings and His protection
2. My faith, family and friends
3. Our neighbors whom we love so much and consider family - God knew when he planted us here almost 9 years ago.
4. Time...
5. The ability to think
6. Type A personality
7. Being a survivor
8. Rain...
9. The colors of spring along with the noises
10.That the state testing is over -
11. POTD - almost 5 months worth and I am still loving it
12. Project 365 - it really does make you look at life differently -
13. My mom and the example she has been for all of us...she is a remarkable woman and just keeps getting more beautiful...everyday is a blessing with her. Her grandkids are so blessed to have her as well!
14. Home filled with love and forgiveness...thank goodness because I am constantly seeking it from above and my dd - parenting is a work in progress :-)
15. Love, laughter and our good health

I am off to put all my pictures in my Project 365 from Becky Higgins. Until tomorrow and more tutorials on blinging my blog,have a good night's rest and sweet dreams!

Hugs and blessings,
Diana

If Mama is Happy, everyone is happy!!!

I hope everyone has had a great day! I am happy for 2 reasons this evening.

First, my dd took her last TAKs test today for 3rd grade. This is the mandatory testing for grades 3rd and above, you know, President Bush's leave no children behind. I am relieved and hopeful that she did well and will be commended which is 90 and above. We will know in about 3 weeks.

Secondly, one of my clients has finally set up 2 interviews for Friday in CA. I love being busy and miss the adrenaline from setting up interviews and making placements. For those of you who don't know, I assist military personnel in finding new careers but with the economy everything has really slowed down. It so reminds me of 9/11. Back then I barely kept the roof over our head. I was a new mom back then and really felt the stress of not having any money.

I am in such a different place now. Even though I haven't made any money in 5 months or so, I am at peace with where I am. It is hard to tell my dd that we don't have money, they just don't understand and think that mom always has money and the bank cards always work? Kids are cute aren't they?

I am including a video here from our pastor at Centerpoint Church about being faithful and not to worry. I needed to hear this today and it was great timing.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ae1a61ea87847329f7e0

So as I am ending my day, mama is happy and that means everyone is happy around here. Okay so it is just me and Demi but I love ending my day on a good note and with some positive feelings about the rest of the week. I feel motivated to keep working smart and to hang in there!

PS - Happy 18th Birthday to my niece Shannon yesterday!! Devin I hope your chocolate milk was good :-).

One more thing, on SIStv or http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/, I ran across this blog from snickerdoodle and Shalene giving away some vinyl letters for her 600 post. How cool is that? Here is the link to her site, http://sjbowlby.blogspot.com/ and her new site is http://www.adheringwords.com/. Go and check it out! Shalene, I love your blogs too.

Love and hugs and until tomorrow enjoy the rest of your evening!!

Diana

Random Act of Kindness and Paying It Forward today

Good Morning,

Since it is Monday morning, I thought it would be a great day and time to go and do something nice for someone else today. What better way to start the week then by paying it forward and trying to make the world a better place to live today ONE PERSON AT A TIME!!

So here are some ideas:
1. Pick up your neighbors paper and actually hand it to them
2. Have a cup of coffee with an elderly neighbor for some companionship
3. Do something special for your own kids - write on the bathroom mirrors
4. Make chocolate chip pancakes for them with some fresh starwberries...just to say I love you!
5. Write 5 people a note as to why you admire them and what they mean to you.
6. Make someone dinner tonight - maybe they have been sick...maybe a teacher...someone who could use a break.
7. Take some cookies to your favorite fast food restaurant to let them know you appreciate them.
8. Take some supplies/extra scrappy goods to your ds/dd school -
9. Take magazines to your local school or retirement home
10. Donate some clothes after you clean out your closet or dd's closet today
11. Take drinks/drinks to the local school - I do this one often because I know they love it and appreciate it so much - the office and my dd's grade from Sonic
12. Offer to babysit someone's kids - everyone is looking to save money if they can even afford to go out - maybe they could just some down time.

If you have some other great ideas please come back here and share them with us today. I would also love to hear if you found time today to do something nice for someone else.

Did I tell you that I am eagerly waiting for a book that Julie aka lalscrap is sending me. The Shack, have you read it? What did you think?

I will be back shortly to post my Free Shopping layout.

Now go and make it a great day!! Remember to take a few minutes to start or end your day with a list of things and people you are thankful for today. It really does make a positive impact on how you look at your day.

Thought for Today"Being fully present automatically lifts your spirits. Clears your mind of distractions. Brings clarity. Even some joy."
—Oprah

Blessings,
Diana


Diana

A Message of Hope

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Today's message at church was about HOPE, the hope that is reachable and attainable. The real HOPE - that God is always there for us if we just reach out to him like the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. She was healed instantly when she touched Jesus' robe. She believed and so do I. I so love my weekends and I almost hate to admit it but I stayed in bed for a good portion of it resting and filling up my cup. I so needed it and the message today at church today. I am hopeful this week will be the one where my clients are ready to start interviewing and hiring. I did create this layout today for The New Creative Type - Coffee in Bed and loved how it turned out. At some point I will go back and post all my 16 weeks of Project 365 which I have kept up with everyday. I am a creature of habit for sure. I am loving documenting our lives daily and enjoy looking at others as well. PS - I am surprised that I figured out how to upload this layout and am excited about the other options here on my blog. I want to leave by listing my thankful list for today and the weekend: Life and the gift to live, my faith, my family, my friends, my neighbors, being a mom, being an aunt, a daughter, a friend, our home, our dog, my business, the fact that I am still in business despite the odds, peaceful feelings, HOPE and a new week filled with JOY and everday activities. Have a great weekend friends!

Saturday April 25, 2009 Blessed but bushed...

I decided to start my blog today with several attempts in the past. Here is what I posted on SIStv today. I was being sarscastic and funny all while trying to see who else feels this way today. I would love to hear what you think while I try to figure out some things here...like a header, the blinkies, the music....I would think of myself as with it and pretty hip if I get all that conquered today...I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday and weekend!!

ALL THE UNDERAPPRECIATED, OVERWORKED, UNDERPAID, HORMONAL and NEVER HAVE ENOUGH TIME OR ENERGY TO SCRAP LADIES...ALL THESE LADIES...(I have that song all the single ladies....) okay anyway....wanna start a new club today?So how many of you feel this way??? (are you over 15, over 20, over 30, over 40, over 50, at the beautiful of 60 plus?) Do you work a job outside the home and then come home to another fulltime job? Are you a stay at home mom who scraps all day, watches movies and eats bon bons? Are you single and just want a different life - whose would you choose? Are you accomplishing the goals you had when you were 20, 30 even 40? I say what dreams? haha Do you work and wish you could you be a SAHM. Are you a SAHM mom and wish you had a job to go to? Is it the maternal thing in us that drives us to be overachievers, to always say YES when we really mean no and to keep up day after day when we should stay in bed to sleep 48 hours?Do you have days when you look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself is the life you imagined or dreamed of?? haha I mean afterall we are entitled to think this one day out of 365 arent we?Have you been tempted to drop your children off like that mom did up north? Have you been so frustrated you are ready to pack your bags and go..where...I dont know to a local hotel for a day of nothing and some rest? I HAVENT THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND DONT RECOMMEND THIS BUT I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT PACKING MY DD'S BAGS WITH A NOTE AND DROPPING HER OFF AT A LOVED ONE .So what about you...where are you today? Been to any of these places? Do you take on too much? Do you let others know when you have had to much? Do you take a nap just because? Stay in bed all day on Sat because you feel like and make your families fend for themselves? I wanna hear what you do, how you handle your life - maybe your way would help me...maybe you take some supplements prescribed by the RX and can share with us? Just sayin....I hope I dont offend anyone with this post...just wanna know if anyone feels this way evah!Love and hugs,BiT**I am blessed but HUMAN and like you (or maybe this is never you...YET) have days when I have to take on second at a time so I can manage through a day...I will tell you that I have been in bed since 11am yesterday and would still be sleeping if dd hadnt come home from a sleepover..I may go back to bed today too - you know TO FILL UP MY CUP, GETS MUCH NEEDED BEAUTY REST SO MY CELLULITE WILL DISAPPEAR TOO, WRITE MY THANKFUL LIST AND JUST TAKE CARE OF ME!!!

Hugs,
Diana aka BiT