Remembering a Legend

Say what you may. I do not choose to, nor it is my style to follow the personal lives and endeavors (positive or negative) of celebrities. My conservative upbringing did not endorse following his work either. I imagine my parents thought of Michael Jackson much like their parents thought of Elvis. Nonetheless, the music of Michael Jackson could quite possibly serve as a soundtrack to my life. His music has been with me everywhere for as long as I can remember. His talent and title of the number one selling music artist of all time leaves me speechless.

Please enjoy the below video, what I believe to be one of his greatest performances ever, as a celebration of his career and my condolences to his family and loved ones.

Wordful, I've Been Warned, Wednesday

Over the past few days, a few of the writers on blogs I follow have been informed that their images and content have been stolen. Images of their children and work have been seen posted on other blogs / websites and even on Ebay to help sell things. YIKES! I keep my blog mostly for the pleasure of family and friends, as well as the therapy aspect of it for myself. It never occurred to me take precautions so that my blog is not preyed on by pirates.

I am still trying to recover from my third computer crash in 6 months (Go PC! Ahem.) so, I do not have the man power, or the dedication to go back and fix all the previously posted photos. From this point on however, all images will be low resolution, watermarked, web ready images.

So, what do you think of my little (text only) watermark on this dreamy photo I took at the park the other week?

I ♥ Faces - "Let's Hear it For the Boys!"

I can not believe the amount of work Angie and & Amy, co-founders of I ♥ Faces, have cut out for them each week. As always, there are tons of amazing entries this week. You can check them out here I ♥ Faces. My entry will be #390 (or something like that) in the kids category for Wk. 24 "Let's Hear it For the Boys!"

This photo of my little guy was taken a couple of days after he turned 8 months old. Can you believe how time flies? Clearly it slips by, right under my nose, as I have not even posted yet about our trip home or him turning 8 months. Soon, really.

He has these captivating, dark chocolate colored eyes and this brilliant caramel colored skin. I can't help but want to squeeze him all day long. I love you, my handsome little man!

For Their Dad

I found my self digging deep for some creative juices this year. I didn't feel it appropriate for me to say "Hey Papa Joe, can I have some of the money we don't have to go and buy you a gift?" I am not great at gift giving anyway, because I feel that I need to give something meaningful or nothing at all. I eventually came up with what I thought was a wonderful idea and it would only cost me some time an a couple of dollars in change. The idea was to make a print similar to those motivational posters but have the photo be of Joe and the children. One print of Joe and Cam and one of he and Boston. (I was inspired by this post by Little Birdie Secrets.) The trouble is, I did not have a photo of Joe and Boston that matched what I wanted and, well, Papa Joe will take about one picture a week if you are done in less than 10 seconds. Now that he knows what I am up to, he assures me he will cooperate at his next available free moment, that is during peak outdoor lighting time. (So I will post Boston's poster in a couple of months. hehe.) For now, here is Cambry's - click on the image to enlarge it if you like.


For the inside of his card, I decided to interview Cambry about her Papa. Here is how it turned out:

What is something Papa always says to you? – He calls me his little girl.

What makes Papa happy? - When I give him a drawing.

What is Papa really good at? - Taking care of me

What is Papa not very good at? - Jumping

Where is Papa’s favorite place to go? - Work

What to you like most about Papa? - I like his shoulders, his back, and his hair.
(Shoulders and back because she like to climb on them...just a guess)

What does Papa do for a job? - Work.
What kind of work? - He makes food and drinks too.

What is Papa’s favorite color? - Black like his hair.

How tall is Papa? - He sure is a big man guy…isn’t he.

What is your favorite thing to do with Papa? - Play. Play horsey, play hide and seek. Those are Papa’s favorite games.

What is Papa’s favorite thing on TV? - Baseball, football, and golfball.

How old is Papa? – He’s older…same as me.

What is Papa’s favorite food? – Noodles

If Papa were a cartoon character, who would he be? - He would be Scooby and I would be Shaggy. We would jump right into the TV.

How to you know Papa loves you? - He makes it like *this* with his hand.
(He signs 'I Love You' to her.)

Happy Father's Day Papa Joe! I am so blessed to have you as my partner in our walk as parents. Thanks for all you do!

For My Dad

My dad is incredible and very special to me; someone that I admire, respect and always look forward to spending time with. My dad has taught me many things throughout my life; I thought today would be a great day to share some of them here.
- Be consciously competent; work purposefully and with all your being.
- Jokes are mostly for the enjoyment of the joker.
- The health of your body is a daily, life-long dedication.
- Always act in such a way that if a person said something negative about you, no one would believe them.
- It is not ever effective or necessary to raise your voice when communicating.
- Remain consistent and dedicated even when you are not given the recognition or pay you may deserve.
- Do not excuse good ideas or goals just because they can not be accommodated today.

(Please excuse the poor quality of these scanned photos.)

Thanks for a lifetime of inspiration Dad, Happy Father's Day!

Friday Funnies - Go Ahead, Smile Out Loud

Because My Family ♥s Videos

I did create one final Mommy Madness video too. (A Final Walk Around) It is more informative and less entertaining so I didn't post it here. If you really want to see it, let me know. :)

Wordless WednesdaySchlitterbahn, Galveston Island

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*Footnotes are not tallied in the word count of the body.

[begin footnote]
Schlitterbahn, Galveston Island was a fourth and final Mommy Mission for the Mommy Madness promotion. (Thanks for all your support!) Schiltterbahn is noted as one of the top 10 waterparks in the world. We went two weeks ago just before heading up to Omaha. This was probably one of the best days we have had in TX so far! (Helps when you are in great company)
[end footnote]

Giveaways to Get in On

I have two great giveaways for you this week.


How darling are these shoes? Story of a Princess is having a great giveaway for your choice of shoes from See Kai Run. They make comfortable, flexible rubber soled shoes for babies and toddlers (both girls and boys, although I only posted pix of little guy kicks) Click the Story of a Princess link above for more information and how you can enter to win. P.S. These shoes are on the wish list for Boston's first pair of shoes. :)

Are you ready for the VIZIO Million Dollar Event? Turns out it has been going on for a few months now, and I just found out about it. So, I'm sharing with you. Here is the scoop, click the link above to enter to win a 55" VIZIO LCD HGTV worth $1999.99. (One entry per household. The sooner you enter the more chances you have.) 17 TVs will be given away each week until August 14th, 2009. (24 TVs will be given away on the last week.) We all need one of these TVs before football season right?

I ♥ Faces - "Sepia Toned"

Week 23 at I ♥ Faces is a Sepia Toned Theme. My photo editing software doesn't have the best sepia action, however I did start with a couple of photos I really liked. This is my first week to enter both the adult and kids categories. Sepia is apparently a really popular theme at I ♥ Faces. I am the 320th Kids entry and the 165th Adult entry. Wow! Stop by and check out the other entries if you like.

Kids Entry: This photo of my Cambry girl was taken just this weekend. Oh how she love to dress up. Joe commented on how much better he thought my photography has gotten since I have started participating in the I ♥ Faces challenges. *blush* (It made me really proud though.) Now if I can just get my hands on a new camera. :)


Adult Entry: This photo was taken at last month at a train event we attended. This man had such a story about his presence. I couldn't help but think of my grandpa as I watched him. The photo is not as clear as I would have liked, but I was standing quite far away.


Thanks for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow with all our trip updates. Thanks for tolerating my random comic posts while we have been out of town. Take care.

Friday Funnies - Go Ahead, Smile Out Loud

It is probably best if you not view this at work...unless everyone else is at lunch. Hilarious though! (Pretty much everything they do is great; I just heard this one for the first time last week.)

Only One Week Left

There is only one week left of the Mommy Madness Promotion! One week! Can you believe it? I am going to be so sad the day I have to return Trini. She has been a wonderful part of our family the past 7 weeks. To avoid getting all sappy about a car, let me get to the meat of the post quickly.

Vote, vote, vote - please. (You don't have to vote for me, but do vote.) lol. Each time you vote on the Mommy Madness site, you are entered to win a weekend getaway for four to Barton Creek in Austin, TX. (You have to be a TX resident to vote.) Wicked is playing in Austin in August; I've heard it's AMAZING! So there you go, a musical, spa services, golf, dinner, and quiet time. Go on, get over there an vote. I want you to win!

Oh, and don't forget, there is just one more week to test drive the Traverse for a free massage at Massage Envy. Stop by any Houston area Chevy Dealership, tell them you are driving the Traverse for the Mommy Madness promotion, and earn a gift certificate for a massage. It's that easy. :)

Enjoy! Thanks for your support. I love you all!

The Words That Drive Me

Friday Funnies - Go Ahead, Smile Out Loud

Wordless Wednesday