tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25350986102131375862024-03-13T14:17:22.221-07:00Confessions of a 40-ish Overworked and Underpaid Oppressed Housewife Turned School TeacherLike MY BLOG?! BUY MY BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL ONCE UPON A CARTIER AT THE LINK TO THE RIGHT.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-1743625094432323062021-08-24T20:41:00.001-07:002021-08-24T20:41:03.938-07:00Hello World<p> I haven't had time to write in about two years. My daughter said to update my thousands of followers. </p><p><br /></p><p>Hello World! It's me, Debbie. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-58819189504590945132019-05-14T07:18:00.002-07:002019-05-14T07:18:29.396-07:00A Son's PerspectiveMy son had to write about his greatest influence. It was on Mother's Day, so he chose to write about his dad ;) It was such a good essay I decided to give him his debut on my blog...<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Journal About Dad</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Intro:</b> If there has been one person in my life that has had the biggest impact on my life it would have to be my dad. He has always forced me to be a better person and be the best me that I could be. Without him I do not think that I would be the person that I am today.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>April 15th 2009:</b> I just turned 8 about 10 days ago. Today my dad is becoming a police officer! This is for sure the coolest thing that has ever happened. He is going from owning one of my grandpa’s cookie stores to patrolling the streets of Salt Lake. I am kinda sad that we are not going to be able to hangout with our cousins as much anymore. Hopefully my dad will still be able to hangout and go to Disneyland with us all fo the time! My dad and I are some of the closest people in the world! We have the same haircut he comes to all of my football games, and I hope that he will still be there after he becomes a cop.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>December 26th 2016:</b> Since my Dad has been promoted to a Detective, he has not been at the house to hangout with us. But the day that we got out of school for Christmas break, both of my parents surprised us with a trip to San Diego. I was so happy that we would be able to spend time with my dad. Life has been going pretty good since my dad got the detective job. He looks like a homeless person sometimes and the other times he looks like a biker guy. I feel like I have not really talked to my dad in a long while so it has been nice to talk to him these past few days. Today we rented some bikes for the family and we rode all around San Diego it feels like. During this bike ride I was able to get some quality moments riding through some birds with my dad, and racing him along the sidewalk back to the hotel. Well it looks like we are going out to eat! Until next time Journal!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>February 18th 2017:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This was one of the best days of my life! For Christmas, I got tickets to see my favorite band in the world, while we are here in Las Vegas for a cheer competition. Of course, I was going to go to this concert with my dad! Hopefully he liked the concert. I have never really seen this side of my dad, he is always super serious and does not show that he is having a good time. Tonight however that changed. The entire concert my dad was on his feet recording TwentyOnePilots song on his phone. He even took me before the concert to buy a shirt for him and I. This is for sure going to be a day that I will remember forever, vividly. Well I have to go to bed because I need some sleep to be able to stay awake for the nationals competition tomorrow. Until next time Journal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>April 1st 2018:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Today was terrible! We went over to my grandma’s house, and we all got in the biggest fight in the world with their entire family. I was yelled at by my uncle Nick and I finally fought back to that bully. It just got really crazy really fast and I was scared. After the whole thing happened, my dad pulled me aside and we talked about how the whole thing went down. He did not tell me that it was my fault, he did not try to shame me for what I said. What he did was ask me what I thought that I could do better and what I was going to take away from it. He told me that how I act in these situations is how I am going to act in other places and situations in my life. That moment right there is going to define how I deal with every single bad thing that happens to me. So maybe this was not the worst day ever, but the best learning day ever. I knew my Dad was proud. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>June 17th 2018:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Today is Sunday. Fathers Day. When we got home from church my dad got called out on a SWAT hit. Which is never a surprise because it happens, what feels to be too often. This SWAT hit felt different, like something was not going to be going right. Maybe because it was Father’s Day, but it felt like we should be spending it with my dad. Maybe that was not the reason. My moms phone rings so steps outside. When she comes back in, I notice she is crying. My sisters and I are very worried and she says, “You’re dad is okay, but things are going to be different for a little while. Something just happened while he was at work today”. I am not going to say what happened that Sunday, it is not my story to share, but it impacted our family in a big way that brought us closer together. It gave us a bond that can't be broken. The way that my dad has dealt with the things that happened this day have been inspirational. That has really motivated me to push through my problems and do whatever it takes to do what is right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: 400; white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Today</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Since that thing that happened that Fathers Day, my dad has become so much closer to all of us. He spends more time hanging out with us, he goes to the pool with us during the summer, and he goes to a lot of basketball games and concerts with me. My father and I have the best relationship that I think anybody in the world would be jealous. My dad has been a moral compass for me in my life. He has been the biggest mentor in my life. I hope that I continue to have him in my life and he continues to keep me going on the right path. Thanks Dad...</span></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-66305172091455070082012-10-13T14:21:00.002-07:002012-10-13T14:21:35.935-07:00Once Upon a Cartier Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s1600/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s320/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Not sure if you want to buy the most amazing book in the world, Once Upon a Cartier?! <span class="userContent"> Read the first two chapters and I bet you will be sold....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="userContent"><a href="https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1110672" target="_blank">Once Upon a Cartier Preview</a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-27220629388038284412012-10-10T15:31:00.001-07:002012-10-10T15:31:06.454-07:00It's Officially Released on Amazon: Once Upon a Cartier Kindle, Ipad or Paperback?! No problem, buy the book by clicking the link below!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Cartier-Debbie-Roberts-Cluff/dp/1480076201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349907672&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+cartier" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Purchase Once Upon a Cartier Paper back </span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s1600/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s320/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-10486608840715563642012-10-04T18:44:00.000-07:002012-10-04T18:44:10.617-07:00Utah Mommy Blogger encourages Young Adults to maintain the highest standards of morals in their relationship with the release of her fictional novel Once Upon a CartierWho is ready for Tuesday?! I know the Utah Media Is!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Salt Lake City,
Utah October 4, 2012 -- Author Debbie Roberts-Cluff has been writing a
successful G-rated mommy blog, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Confessions
of a 30ish Overworked and Underpaid Housewife,</i> since 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With her followers and her daily visits
sorrowing to new heights mainly because of her high-moral standard style of
writing and hilarious child-like humor, she decided to take her real life out
of the equation and write a wholesome, yet fabulous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>love story that would be enjoyed by all ages, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Once Upon a
Cartier, Roberts-Cluff premier novel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>questions
if only a fool confuses fate for destiny. Which is exactly what Laila Simons
must answer when she meets Julius Heldge and learns that destiny is a choice we
make despite of fate. Will Laila abandon the life predetermined by the stars in
order to capture her eternity in a Cartier ring?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Drawing from her addiction to everything in print
and her love for Romeo and Juliet, Roberts-Cluff began to write an epic love
story about two star-crossed lovers, but then took her writing a step further
and incorporated her daughters love for fantasy books into the mix. She also
wanted to install a sense of decency and morality for her characters.
Roberts-Cluff explains, “I wanted a love story my young daughters would be
proud of. A strong role model who didn’t need to throw herself at a man to gain
respect and success.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Once
Upon a Cartier</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is a story of love and deceit, secrets and betrayals, that takes us
from the mythical ruins of the Greek Gods to the backyard of the historical
city known as Pasadena. This is the love story of our decade, a bold inquiry
into destiny and Laila’s decision to pursue a path towards everlasting love and
unspeakable loss. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The story is of a
true battle of defining one’s own fate </span>, one that reminds<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2535098610213137586" name="_GoBack"></a> us what it means to feel human.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And the verdict is in, the readers are loving it. With
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i> to be released on
Tuesday, October 9<sup>th</sup>, only on Amazon, the pre-sale reviews are out.
Diana Smith, of New Orleans, Louisiana, shared, “</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I read through this book with a sense of astonishment, as each
chapter left an place in my mind—and heart—that would not easily be forgotten.
I think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i> deserves
recognition for being the most touching love story of our time.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heidi Hagen, of Gilbert, Arizona, expressed,
“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A novel of truth, faith, goodness, and
love... Debbie Roberts-Cluff writing is rare and refreshingly original, a true
art form. One of the most heartfelt novels.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Debbie Cluff is an author, educator and avid
blogger at: <i>Confessions of a 30-ish Overworked and Underpaid Housewife</i>.
She enjoys <i>most</i> of the time she spends as a mother and is a very loving,
devoted wife (don’t tell her husband, though). She has authored over a dozen
articles for online publications and a few novels for her sisters. Debbie
resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three children. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can follow her on Twitter at @debbiecluff,
or listen to her Author’s Chat LIVE Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 PM EST at
blogtalkradio.com/onceuponacartier </span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For more about the Debbie Roberts-Cluff,
see </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://tomscottitstrue.blogspot.com/"><span class="textrun"><span style="color: blue;">debbiecluff.blogspot.com</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI";"> or </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier">www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier</a>
<span class="textrun"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Once Upon a Time </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is available online at </span><a href="http://www.inglestonepublishing.com/"><span class="textrun"><span style="color: blue;">www.inglestonepublishing.com</span></span></a><span class="textrun"> or Amazon.com beginning October 9th. </span><span class="eop"><br /></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-58136250788490607352012-10-04T18:43:00.000-07:002012-10-14T19:16:41.076-07:00Utah Mommy Blogger encourages Young Adults to maintain the highest standards of morals in their relationship with the release of her fictional novel Once Upon a CartierIt got picked up in the press!!<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Salt Lake City,
Utah October 4, 2012 -- Author Debbie Roberts-Cluff has been writing a
successful G-rated mommy blog, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Confessions
of a 30ish Overworked and Underpaid Housewife,</i> since 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With her followers and her daily visits
sorrowing to new heights mainly because of her high-moral standard style of
writing and hilarious child-like humor, she decided to take her real life out
of the equation and write a wholesome, yet fabulous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>love story that would be enjoyed by all ages, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Once Upon a
Cartier, Roberts-Cluff premier novel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>questions
if only a fool confuses fate for destiny. Which is exactly what Laila Simons
must answer when she meets Julius Heldge and learns that destiny is a choice we
make despite of fate. Will Laila abandon the life predetermined by the stars in
order to capture her eternity in a Cartier ring?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Drawing from her addiction to everything in print
and her love for Romeo and Juliet, Roberts-Cluff began to write an epic love
story about two star-crossed lovers, but then took her writing a step further
and incorporated her daughters love for fantasy books into the mix. She also
wanted to install a sense of decency and morality for her characters.
Roberts-Cluff explains, “I wanted a love story my young daughters would be
proud of. A strong role model who didn’t need to throw herself at a man to gain
respect and success.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Once
Upon a Cartier</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is a story of love and deceit, secrets and betrayals, that takes us
from the mythical ruins of the Greek Gods to the backyard of the historical
city known as Pasadena. This is the love story of our decade, a bold inquiry
into destiny and Laila’s decision to pursue a path towards everlasting love and
unspeakable loss. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The story is of a
true battle of defining one’s own fate </span>, one that reminds<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2535098610213137586" name="_GoBack"></a> us what it means to feel human.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And the verdict is in, the readers are loving it. With
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i> to be released on
Tuesday, October 9<sup>th</sup>, only on Amazon, the pre-sale reviews are out.
Diana Smith, of New Orleans, Louisiana, shared, “</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I read through this book with a sense of astonishment, as each
chapter left an place in my mind—and heart—that would not easily be forgotten.
I think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once Upon a Cartier</i> deserves
recognition for being the most touching love story of our time.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heidi Hagen, of Gilbert, Arizona, expressed,
“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A novel of truth, faith, goodness, and
love... Debbie Roberts-Cluff writing is rare and refreshingly original, a true
art form. One of the most heartfelt novels.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Debbie Cluff is an author, educator and avid
blogger at: <i>Confessions of a 30-ish Overworked and Underpaid Housewife</i>.
She enjoys <i>most</i> of the time she spends as a mother and is a very loving,
devoted wife (don’t tell her husband, though). She has authored over a dozen
articles for online publications and a few novels for her sisters. Debbie
resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three children. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can follow her on Twitter at @debbiecluff,
or listen to her Author’s Chat LIVE Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 PM EST at
blogtalkradio.com/onceuponacartier </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For more about the Debbie Roberts-Cluff,
see </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://tomscottitstrue.blogspot.com/"><span class="textrun"><span style="color: blue;">debbiecluff.blogspot.com</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI";"> or </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier">www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier</a>
<span class="textrun"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Once Upon a Time </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is available online <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Cartier-Debbie-Roberts-Cluff/dp/1480076201/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350267169&sr=8-3&keywords=once+upon+a+cartier" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><span class="textrun"> or Amazon.com beginning October 9th. </span><span class="eop"><br /></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-90935417630127681472012-09-23T10:33:00.003-07:002012-09-23T10:33:33.057-07:00Are you Ready for Once Upon a Cartier?!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Who is READY!!! Let me hear a WHAT WHAT! Go and<a href="http://www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier"> LIKE us on FACEBOOK!</a></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">After
over one-hundred years on this earth, in this dimension, of being a total controlling
type-A Fairy, the last few months transcended a whirlwind of chaos and anxiety
for Laila Simons who is desperately trying to balance a thin line between fate
and destiny. The worst part? If she <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">makes
the decision to control her own destiny, her fate will change and she</span>
will not make it through another day alive. And somehow, in the midst of utter
turmoil, she falls uncharacteristically in love with a man seeking to release
the mystery of what is hidden inside her small, heart-shaped golden locket. The
only way to save those she loves and the world is to put her faith in the hands
of the one she shouldn’t trust. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Will Laila
abandon her elude the life predetermined by the stars to capture her eternity
in a Cartier ring?</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A story of love and deceit,
secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the mythical ruins of the Greek Gods
to the backyard of the historical city known as Pasadena. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once upon a Cartier</i> is the love story, a bold inquiry into destiny
and Laila’s decision to pursue a path towards everlasting love and unspeakable
loss. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/onceuponacartier" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mjZtVN1nm-o/UF9GspSGqAI/AAAAAAAAD0I/RWhTKfztFwY/s320/Debbie.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></div>
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</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://debbiecluff.blogspot.com/">Debbie Cluff </a>is an author,
educator and avid blogger at: <a href="http://twoprincessessandoneprince.blogspot.com/"><i>Confessions of a 30-ish Overworked and Underpaid Housewife</i></a>. She enjoys <i>most</i> of the time she spends as a
mother and is a very loving, devoted wife (don’t tell her husband, though).
Debbie received her bachelor's of arts from California State University and a
master's degree in elementary education from University of Phoenix. She has
authored over a dozen articles for online publications and a few novels for her
sisters. Debbie resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three
children.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-69448566605430092872012-09-17T19:38:00.000-07:002012-09-17T19:38:12.130-07:00Fate or Destiny<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s1600/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_TMlwkbxPY/UFfeRI_YDlI/AAAAAAAADzw/XbWhwcaLF2o/s320/cover+font+with+shine.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do you believe in fate or destiny? OR are you one of those that thinks they are the same thing?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />Let me know facebook.com/onceuponacartier or debbiecluff.blogspot.com</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-33313230404188385922012-09-05T14:14:00.004-07:002012-09-05T14:14:55.509-07:00<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="99" data-width="133" height="99" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTUejXnhZNe-CDLmoXPUxzldqYpZOrRoKDkxbhHiXAb27ndZscQJA" style="height: 99px; width: 133px;" width="133" /><br />
<br />
Dearest children,<br />
<br />
If I could possible have a few minutes to myself, I would be able to get done more in that time frame than in my entire day!<br />
<br />
Love,'<br />
<br />
Mom Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-77520764813876913542012-09-04T19:57:00.001-07:002012-09-04T19:57:35.124-07:00Meet the Author<a href="http://debbiecluff.blogspot.com/2012/09/meet-author.html?spref=bl">The Official Website for Debbie Cluff: Meet the Author</a>: Once Upon a Cartier Fantasy/ Contemporary YA--60,000 words Complete manuscript available upon request -Where do you write? ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-54889637355754529782012-08-15T20:13:00.004-07:002012-08-15T20:13:39.894-07:00Click over and Follow There!!!I just finished my first novel, so if you enjoyed my blog you will LOVE my book. Lol. Can you go to this site<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_859046241"><br /></a>
http://debbiecluff.blogspot.com/<a href="http://debbiecluff.blogspot.com/">http://debbiecluff.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
and click follow so I can get as many visitors to that site as well!<br />
<br />
BIG HUGS! Here is the summary<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xM3lmOpioxQ/UCxlJjexFDI/AAAAAAAADxk/va321EzqrVw/s1600/Book+Cover.jpg" /> </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Meet Laila Simons. A woman over one
hundred years old, but otherwise in the prime of her life. The non-stop
exercise she still gets through her stressful, human social worker position and
the high intensity shopping trips probably contribute to that, or the visits <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">to the local spas for Botox treatments. Laila,
of course, is a fairy who signs her death warrant over when an unexpected <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and unruly teenage fairy is placed in her
care. There was at least one small ray of sunshine in her dreary world, her obsession
with a hazel-green, sultry eyes man named Julian. Yet there are powerful forces,
who for very different reasons, want to keep Laila and Julian apart. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
story of love and deceit, secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the mythical
attempts of explaining the origins of the world to the backyard of the
historical city known as Pasadena. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Once
upon a Cartier</i> is the love story, a bold inquiry into destiny and Laila’s decision
to pursue a path towards everlasting love and unspeakable loss. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A true battle of defining what unconditional
love is and </span>in doing so, remind us what it means to be human.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-9832481429448487382012-04-25T19:25:00.002-07:002012-04-25T19:25:24.573-07:00Can I hear a AMEN....<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption">A man came home from work and found his 3 children outside, still in their pajamas<span class="ecxtext_exposed_show">,
playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn around
garden.</span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show">The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to
the house and no sign of the dog, walking in the door, he found ...an
even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, the throw rug was
against one wall, In the front room the TV was on loudly with the
cartoon channel, the family room was strewn with toys and various items
of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was
spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was
spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small
pile of sand was spread by the back door. </span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show">He quickly headed up the
stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his
wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had
happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way
out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy
soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a
heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. </span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show">As he
rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in
her pyjamas, reading a novel... She looked up at him, smiled and asked
how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened
here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you
come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all
day?...</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show"><br /> ''Yes," was his incredulous reply..</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="caption"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show"><br /> She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'</span></span></b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-44189177378287803402012-04-03T14:13:00.003-07:002012-04-03T14:18:54.396-07:00A Police Wife's Prayer<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xhEYGfV0Fms/T3tohNQG0aI/AAAAAAAADVc/ZxIAWt13-XQ/s1600/Police%2BWife.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xhEYGfV0Fms/T3tohNQG0aI/AAAAAAAADVc/ZxIAWt13-XQ/s320/Police%2BWife.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727286270833906082" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:6.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Dear God,</p><p class="MsoNormal">Give me COURAGE, for perhaps I lack it more than anything else.<br />I need COURAGE as I witness my husband's departure for duty each day.<br />I need COURAGE as I see him put on his uniform because I know the abuse that perhaps he will be subjected to before he returns home.<br />I need COURAGE in dealing with our children when he is working long hours during calls or on an investigation.<br />I need COURAGE when tensions buildup on the job and pressures at home to mount and life becomes almost too much to bear.<br />I need COURAGE to stand firm and not to succumb to the urge to run away from problems.<br />Help me to have the strength to be a COURAGEOUS and Valiant Woman, when I learn from the media that a "police officer's been hurt."<br />The next time I waver or grow faint-hearted, Help me, to be COURAGEOUS.<br />And, having found the source of strength in You, Help me to reach out to others, who may be just as scared as I.<br /><br />Amen</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Prayer given at the DC Police Wives Installation Dinner, on June 15, 1973, by Reverend R. Joseph Dooley. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-12288293060550412952011-12-03T15:02:00.001-08:002011-12-03T15:06:16.761-08:00Sub for Santa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1vLU1yfyYs/TtqrOiV6ZxI/AAAAAAAADRI/HSdeaD9f_28/s1600/present.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1vLU1yfyYs/TtqrOiV6ZxI/AAAAAAAADRI/HSdeaD9f_28/s320/present.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682042146106533650" border="0" /></a><br />Every year I put together a Sub for Santa. I ask the mother of a family to make a list of 4 things for each of their kids and place this list on Amazon. This year the family I have chosen just lost their father in July to cancer, there are 5 kids and at this time the mother isn't working. With a broken heart and a super amount of followers to my site, I am begging if anybody can afford to get something, please do. Just go to <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a> and click wish list, then click Find Someone's Wish List and type in the email address tdcluff@msn.com... the list is under Sub for Santa 2011. Just pick something and send it directly to me 1962 Woodview Drive Lehi, Utah 84043 and I will wrap it up and bring it a week before Christmas.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-64279624963683940632011-12-03T13:49:00.000-08:002011-12-03T13:53:49.189-08:00Teach the Children the True Meaning of Christmas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4JE4B8X8UM/TtqaAUrkVDI/AAAAAAAADQ8/YaiFlH7zspw/s1600/santa-and-jesus1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 338px; height: 308px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4JE4B8X8UM/TtqaAUrkVDI/AAAAAAAADQ8/YaiFlH7zspw/s400/santa-and-jesus1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682023210223424562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened...I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.<br /><br />He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone.<br /><br />Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement. "TEACH THE CHILDREN!" I was puzzled; what did he mean?<br /><br />He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten."<br /><br />Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."<br /><br />He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."<br /><br />He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness."<br /><br />Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."<br /><br />He then pulled from his bag and ornament of HIMSELF. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December."<br /><br />He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly represents the blood shed by Him."<br /><br />Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave..." "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. Teach the children that the wise men bowed before the holy babe and presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. We should always give gifts in the same spirit of the wise men."<br /><br />Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."<br /><br />He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."<br /><br />Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. "Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return."<br /><br />Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship Him, our Lord, our God." </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-48168492738692991362011-11-21T07:11:00.001-08:002011-11-21T07:12:00.887-08:00Preface of My BookI have started working with a book person to get this published. Here is the Preface. What do you think? 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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">"You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><br />- Madeleine L'Engle, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">A Wrinkle in Time</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Preface</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I never really took the time to bother with the everyday early morning runners and their monotonous daily routines. Yet, for one split moment this cold and slightly breezy early winter morning, I lost focus of who I had become. Since the mild change in climate people are wearing their slightly heavier workout attire, well heavy winter clothes for Southern California. This particular morning, I stopped and took the time to concentrate on the people running by me and what they were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Each one had very distinct thoughts and seemed to move in slow motion while passing, helping me absorb their lives much like a movie reel. I was placing myself in a vulnerable position, something I had never allowed myself to do. This was my fate.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I knew what had to be sacrificed, as a sacrifice is the highest form of everlasting love.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For a<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>split second time was standing still and I realized my choice had changed everything. I was starting to…<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>feel. I turned his way and looked into those dark hazel green eyes and finally knew who he was. I have been warned not to look into his eyes as, not to invade who he was, but the eyes are the window to ones soul and the only way I could truly find love.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Seriously,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>this was how it would end? This moment was etched into my heart, reshaped by what I saw in his eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our lives had mixed, hearts intertwined,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and souls joined. Shakespeare sweetly explained, “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Perdition</span> catch <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">my soul</span> but I do love thee.” Perdition was never a word I understood, let alone a word that would define my destiny.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>I can feel the tears falling gently down my cheeks as he puts his arm around my cold shoulder. He was warm which took a small sting out this chilly morning. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Distant traffic sounds filtered through trees: muted background music. </span>Dandelions glowed yellow from the morning sun, it was impossible not to record the role they would inevitably play in my death. He flashed me a thoughtful smile, knowing, as well, what our future would hold. There is no reason for us to grieve. He completed me.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-62172508542266460222011-11-18T10:09:00.000-08:002011-11-18T10:10:58.763-08:00Mommy Asking for a Bit of Help<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> 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</w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:6.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">As moms, we don’t ask for help. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We think we're not supposed to ask for help -- and let’s face it, we often don’t like to. “Women believe that we’re supposed to handle everything ourselves, which is often at the root of why we’re unhappy,” says Randy Kamen Gredinger, EdD, a Wayland, Mass., psychologist, life coach, and blogger specializing in women’s issues. “We do everything, and feel unappreciated, but then we don’t want to ask for help. We need to be more collaborative.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">In September I made up my mind that it was high time to stop and ask others for help. I started slowly with my husband and have to say it totally works. I remember when I was talking with a friend about how I was going to get my girls to cheer. The carpool had canceled and I had to be at Ben’s football practice and the girls cheer at the exact same time. DRAMA, a moment of wishing I could split in two. Her responds… “why don’t you ask your husband”. Seems like a big DUH to most, but for me it was such a strange responds. Ask my husband to help out with something? Then it hit me. I wouldn’t ask my kids or husband to do something without help and believe it or not I am starting to understand that asking for help can be a sign of strength and wisdom because it’s hard asking for help but a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">smart decision</b> when you know you could use some help. Not only is it a save the sanity smart decision, but it is a way to discover that others care about you.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Here is why all moms should ask for help</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Even Us Super Moms Need a Break:</b> This might come as a surprise to both your kids and husband, but really one woman cannot do it all. You don’t usually run your car on empty, so don’t run yourself. I wrote on facebook a couple of days ago, “Everyone should believe in something…. Today I believe I will have another Diet Coke”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Behind the subtle joke, I am beginning to understand that I need time to breath… become grounded. I had gotten to the point<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I couldn’t help but burst into tears in the comfort of darkness and solidarity. I thought when my kids went to school life would be a box of chocolates, but it actually got worse. Between homework, extra activities, and a clean house I had forgotten who I was. Not to worry, I am on the road to recovery and actually think I am almost there with this one.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Friends and Family want to help:</b> Though this might sound totally lame. My therapist said the best reason to ask for help is because it gives others the opportunity to help. Unless you ask, they aren’t going to help because they don’t want you to feel as if they are intruding. Therefore, when you need a helping hand, ask your friends and family. Now the interesting aspect<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have discovered through this process is the matter of true friendship. As you most know, I am a talker and <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>pretty much make it a daily habit to become “friends” with anybody and their dogs. Yet, a true friends is hard to find. I love this quote</p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1in; font-family: arial;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="color:red">A true friend is 1 who sees the 1st tear in your eyes, catches the 2nd & stops the 3<sup>rd</sup> from falling and. if a 4th one happens to come, they slap you sill and says “Knock it Off.”</span></i></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.5in; font-family: arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></b>A true friend has time for you and sits and listens to what you have to say. They ask how you are doing and what they can do to make the day a little easier. I know I am a true friend as I would raise heaven and hell to ensure that I am doing all I can to be loyal. After weeks of watching and seeing how I am treated by others. I know who my true friends are and who I want to share my life with. I also know that my dear sisters have really joined into these ranks. I am trying to wean myself from those that my therapist refers to as “laugh and lunch” friends… those that are great to go out with once in a while, but will never really care about me. I need collaboration... a give and take :)<br /></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">We Deserve a Break:</b> A few weekends ago my therapist suggested that I save some money and take my husband on a weekend get away. This was the first actually get away from our kids that we have ever taken. I know, sad! The day I was going to drop my kids off from Friday to Sunday with my sister I was having the hugest panic attacks. I had butterflies in the stomach and was freaked out to leave my kids. I had my session that day and she told me that I work hard and I deserve a reward. I find pleasure in making my kids happy, but now need to learn to make myself and my husband happy. I set the tone for my family. In other words, I am the “heart” of the family. When I am feeling tired and drained all the time, my family senses it and things don’t run as smoothly within the household. Plus, I love my husband so much more when it is just the two of us. What a way to reconnect.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.5in; font-family: arial;"> </p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">For you, my loyal readers… <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Why not start today? What is it that you can ask a friend or a family member to give you some help with? Let me know in a comment and I will see what I can do!</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-80103896267597806042011-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:002011-10-25T14:58:32.139-07:00My Price of Invulnerability<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:6.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“The moment a woman comes home to herself, the moment she knows that she has become a person of influence, an artist of her life, a sculptor of her universe, a person with rights and responsibilities who is respected and recognized, the resurrection of the world begins.” ~Joan Chittister</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It seems that for about two years I was amazing at writing blog posts. Did it at least once a week…. then last April I stopped. I tried to take some pictures of amazing crafts I made around the house, but seriously I am a writer, not a crafty picture taker of anything (No matter how amazing my craftsmanship is ;). So what happened? Where and why did I fall into this bog of eternal stench? Here let me ramble for a bit….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have a million and one ideas of what to write about and find myself writing those posts in my head, never quite making it to paper (or in this technological day, blogspot). So where have I been? This is a good question and one my therapist and I have been working on since August. Lol. Yes, I have a therapist. Have you met me?? Seriously. I am beginning to wonder how mothers make it through their weekly events without one! Moms need to take care of themselves. Haven’t you noticed that when you are lacking in sleep, the house is a mess, the damn dog has pooped in the girls room and you are huddled in a ball at the end of the stairs bawling, the kids are in a high stress level as well. Moms seem to be the center of the house, the stability that brings either the crazies in or out. Duh, like I didn’t know that growing up being the oldest of 10 kids.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I think my problems started by chance at the beginning of the year when I found out my cousin had cancer… after a really good and strong battle he passed away leaving his five kids and wife in July. I have never totally had a lack of control situation in which I couldn’t predict or take charge of the outcome. Let me tell you, it sucks. Then in March or April, a girl in my neighborhood committed suicide. I can’t say I knew her or maybe that I took the time to know her, but it was just another layer of my fears unfolding. In my defense, she was one of my top blog readers. Every time I wrote a post she would comment on it and then I just questioned what is the point, she won’t respond. To some degree I felt like a failure. Does a written word ever mean anything? What am I writing for? </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I honestly didn’t realize how much I was affected by these situations until I completely drop the 5,000 balls I usually juggle all at once (Using the term “throwing a wrench in it” makes a bit more sense now). Somehow my world was falling apart very quickly and I just froze… Totally out of character. Nothing made sense and I , for once in my life, I had no idea how to handle anything. I had stayed so busy so that the truth and pain in my life wasn’t able to catch up. So now, here I am an educated mother of 3 with absolutely no answers. I had friends family and an amazing husband, but was completely alone. I was dismissing joy because of the what if’s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Four sessions into my therapy we watched a video from Brene Brown on YouTube called “The Price of Invulnerability”. Now for any youngsters who are reading this, when I was growing up in the 90’s, we actually had to talk about our problems or write it in a note we passed during Math class. I never was taught to take my words, write them down, and post them on Twitter or Facebook. So I guess this might be a generational problem or maybe a non-techie savvy type personality. I don’t write down aspects of my life that make me vulnerable. I want people to see me being strong. While I do lack a bit of tack when it comes to speaking, oh heck, it is never enough to show I am vulnerable. I guess I can see now that I suffer from “fatality syndrome”. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was forcasting what could of, would of happened so I wouldn’t feel the hurt.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Watch the first few minutes of this video to see what I am talking about…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_UoMXF73j0c" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> I totally have always closed off the parts that make me vulnerable to others, even my husband, which in turn shut off my ability to be happy and find joy. I didn’t want to ask my friends for help – they would see that I am not perfect. I didn’t want to ask my family for help – they were already had enough problems of their own. How could I turn to my husband who saw me as a person who could handle everything? You see, I had a fatalistic response for everything. I couldn’t be vulnerable because I didn’t want to feel the pain... I had “to beat vulnerability to the punch”. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is why I stopped blogging, nobody reads what I write anyways so why bother. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">So now I have decided to be vulnerable. I am learning to love who I am and be happy just because I am happy... enjoying the moment. I am learning how to be ordinary and hopefully that will just be my extraordinary. So my posts will be weekly, because writing makes me happy and if nobody posts a comment, that is okay. I am doing something that I like to do and while this writing might not save the world, it will save me.</p><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a title="Best Mommy Blogs" href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/tmb-200x50_vote_banner.gif" alt="Visit Top Mommy Blogs To Vote For Me!" height="50" width="200" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.picketfenceblogs.com/vote/2116" target="blank"><img src="http://www.picketfenceblogs.com/button/standard/2116" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-91100625880334891332011-05-31T17:44:00.000-07:002011-06-02T19:11:56.778-07:00Teacher Gifts: Underappreciated<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ItM3oJI7MU0/Teg1LxPwaLI/AAAAAAAADCU/tGAxJdTw5JQ/s1600/apples%2B002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ItM3oJI7MU0/Teg1LxPwaLI/AAAAAAAADCU/tGAxJdTw5JQ/s400/apples%2B002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613795411831580850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />So I don't mean to rant and rave here, but I teach preschool in my basement. Key point here is, teach. While it may seem like a plush job to many, <strong> I ask you this, have you ever had one of those weekends where come Monday morning you are actually looking forward to going back to work and feel you need a break? </strong>And that’s based on spending time with your <em>own </em>child whom you love unconditionally. Now do that 3 days a week.<br /><br />To understand the life of a teacher is difficult if you haven’t done it before, but I think this quote by Donald D. Quinn says it best, “<em>If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 p</em><em>eople in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom did</em><em>n’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job.</em>”<br /><br />Yet, the end of the year came and went and on the last day I got one thank you card and a thank you present... so out of 14 kids, I got two thank yous from parents, the ratio is not very good in my favor. Not that I am complaining about not getting presents, the point is that I felt a bit like a failure. Did I suck so the parents didn't want to say thank you??<br /><br />Jenna explained that because it was "just" preschool and most of the students are the oldest that parents just don't understand that teachers need to be appreciated. She even mentioned that maybe the idea of sharing your gratitude for your child's teacher at the end of year may be a bit old fashion. Personally, I think she may be just nice to the sad giftless teacher.<br /><br />It wasn't even as though I wanted a huge giftcard to Nordstroms (though that would have made my day) it was the point that I needed the recognition that all the hours I spent planning and working with their children really did pay off... just a quick little text or note would be suffice. Any sort of gift no matter if it was free or terribly expensive is appreciated and lets teachers know the parent and the child were happy with the year together. Heck, being a teacher is far from an easy job.<br /><br />But since this is the last week of school for my kids, and not wanting to share the sorrow with another educator, I decided to do a quick DIY apple for about a buck. Here is what I did....<br /><br />I went to the $1 store and got 4 little glass jars for $1. Here are the supplies... all from the $1 store. Tissue Paper, Red Hots, little bowls, brown colored pencil.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qb_nUn0pDXA/TeWPgZhziTI/AAAAAAAADA0/A09gGK16nEE/s1600/May2011%2B037.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qb_nUn0pDXA/TeWPgZhziTI/AAAAAAAADA0/A09gGK16nEE/s400/May2011%2B037.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613050297358453042" border="0" /></a><br />On the top I took some red tissue paper and modge podged that bad boy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OBdwQYxd9cQ/TeWPyt4-16I/AAAAAAAADA8/h6Tio23Hk7k/s1600/May2011%2B040.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OBdwQYxd9cQ/TeWPyt4-16I/AAAAAAAADA8/h6Tio23Hk7k/s400/May2011%2B040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613050612062017442" border="0" /></a>I found I had to find something to let it dry on... Luckily we had a medicine bottle. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nPL6MiZFV0/TeWQF_OZJtI/AAAAAAAADBE/7n9XlMS82vU/s1600/May2011%2B039.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nPL6MiZFV0/TeWQF_OZJtI/AAAAAAAADBE/7n9XlMS82vU/s400/May2011%2B039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613050943132739282" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NTf5Y1x6ZoE/TeWWvCr-WJI/AAAAAAAADBU/kOkaGI2Jcas/s1600/apple%2B002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NTf5Y1x6ZoE/TeWWvCr-WJI/AAAAAAAADBU/kOkaGI2Jcas/s400/apple%2B002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613058245506521234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I then took the second bowl and put some red glitter (from the $1 store) added a bit of modge podge . I cut a brown colored pencil and hot glued that as the "stem". Added a tissue paper green leaf.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73Md6bf-Vhk/Teg06h8m8JI/AAAAAAAADCM/X6pUJu1yh-U/s1600/apples%2B004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73Md6bf-Vhk/Teg06h8m8JI/AAAAAAAADCM/X6pUJu1yh-U/s400/apples%2B004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613795115666960530" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-35546850440190851172011-04-21T08:25:00.001-07:002011-06-02T19:12:39.130-07:00How to Train Your Husband<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URkGEAGFxmI/TbBYd9egbPI/AAAAAAAAC9U/tRMdJhBeEOo/s1600/man-on-a-leash-5.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 235px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URkGEAGFxmI/TbBYd9egbPI/AAAAAAAAC9U/tRMdJhBeEOo/s400/man-on-a-leash-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598071608563494130" border="0" /></a><br />We got the most adorable dog named Molly a couple of months ago. She is 5 year old dachshund and when I talked to her previous owner she had no problems with kids, people, other dogs. Well flash forward 2 months and she doesn't like other dogs, goes a bit MIA fast when the door opens up, pees in the basement, likes to jump up on my 4 year old and attacks kids if they get near her. Big problem, but I am getting closer and closer to her beginning to listen. So I researched and watched shows such as "It's the Dog or Me" and have been trying to implement those findings into my every day life.<br /><br />Last week we hit our 11 years of marriage and while doing research on how to train my dog I can now see that I did not train my husband very well. In the past 11 years of our marriage I think I made SEVERAL life changing mistakes in this process and now am wondering if that saying applies to husbands.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Is it true that you can teach an old husband new tricks??</span><br /><br />My husband is a great man, he makes me laugh, keeps me sane and at the same time keeps me on my toes. He is a keeper and I wouldn't trade him in to the humane society for anything. Yet, I have set him up for failure and this impacts my lack of control in key situations of our life. I have spouts of widow abandonment during the ongoing sports sessions, he suffers from spousal deafness (yet surprisingly <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">never fails to hear me curse him under my breath from afar), doesn't like to interrupt his beauty sleep even when he gets more hours than me, and is a bit forgetful when it comes to housework and his "honey do" list.<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:1.4em;">Who knew?</span></div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:1.4em;">To teach a puppy basic obedience, you need to spend from 20 to 25 minutes training it every day for ten weeks</span></p><aside class="article-details"></aside>Attention, frustrated wives: if you want your husband to start listening to you and stop leaving his socks on the floor, all you need is a little patience and a bit of time (It took me 11 years to get in this fix and it is not going to change over night).<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Here is my basic game plan.<br /><br />1.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Teach to Listen to Simple Commands -</span>- This is a fairly common problem for both animal trainers and wives. Husbands just don't listen. We ask and ask, but there is this spousal deafness that seems to place an invisible barrier around our words. Well, we need to set our husbands up for success. </span></span>When you want something done, it should be done with a firm, decisive tone of voice. This is something I seem to forget. I ask and then I ask something else, and something else. From now on it is one thing... and not stated in a question.<br /><br />"Can you do the dishes before you go to bed?" a question. If a command is delivered weakly, your husband may perceive you're not serious about what you're saying and may not consider it worth his time to respond. This is a very common problem among wives. When we give a command our voice rises at the end which almost makes the command seem like a question rather than a statement. Practice giving your commands in a short, firm but loving <span class="StrongLink">fashion</span>. "The dishes need to get done before you go to bed". End of sentence, simple statement, walk away.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Positive Reinforcement- </span>Dogs love being praised. When your dog performs the action you're commanding, we give her positive reinforcement in the form or a treat or praise. Okay, same can go with husbands. I was talking to a friends husband yesterday about what I should get my husband for his birthday. He said "I always tell my wife she should just give me the present that is free". I am not saying that sex is a reward for your husband because that is just strange, but it does mean that husbands will work for rewards, free rewards. Whether it's cleaning the car, putting the bins out or mowing the lawn, make a real point of thanking him as soon as he does something you like.<br /><br />Though he doesn't realize it, Tyler basks in the rays of my growing appreciation. He was sitting on the coach folding clothes and I thanked him, now whenever I put the laundry on the couch he starts to fold. In fact, the more positive I am with my husband, the faster his husbandly defensiveness fades away. When I asked him to do something, he was more responsive. His spousal deafness miraculously may seem to improve, too, if implemented more.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Identifying your Roles </span>- Wow, I missed the boat here (hello, bossy wife). In a relationship it is not an alpha dog classification. We actually have to work hand in hand with our husbands and try not to take control. My problem is that I took control of everything leaving Tyler very little responsibility with the kids and the house. All I was doing was planting my flag and claiming my territory. Training you husband may also mean training yourself to stop enabling the bad behavior. When Tyler stubbornly resisted I snarled and take it VERY personally. Dog trainers warn students to guard against their deep instinct to boss another creature around, as it does not encourage a positive relationship with your pet. So I am going to take this one in baby steps. Simply command something get done, wait for it to get done and then praise him if it does.<br /><br />All in all, if none of this work, we might need assistance from an "obedience class". We did try therapy around year 7 and lasted two classes. Things did change for a year or so, but overall the therapist just picked on me. Training a man may sound harsh, but it’s actually about women training themselves to speak up at the right time, and being fair about it. It changes the status quo. It’s asking for what you want during “peace time,” not during the heat of an argument, and rewarding him every time he does the right thing.<br /><br />In the process, you rekindle the interest and passion you shared when you were first dating. Training is easy and it starts and ends with you. Let’s face it; the relationship is in your hands. Guys look to us to set the tone. If we’re happy they’re happy.<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-39507324740013042222011-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:002011-06-02T19:12:59.209-07:00The Hearts that She TouchedThis past weekend a neighbor past away in the middle of the night. She was young, 6 years younger than me, she had 4 kids. I knew her, in the sense that I saw her on occasion and had the honor of talking with her over the year she lived by me. She made me laugh, She made me smile and we talked for hours about General Hospital.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">You touched the hearts of many,<br />you presence still linger in our souls,<br />its so hard to think goodbye,<br />I question why so early in life,<br />even though you are gone,<br />you'll never be forgotten,<br />You'll be missed by many,<br />its brings tears to my eyes,<br />that this is a goodbye,<br />rest in peace,<br />we will see you in eternity.<br /></div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-59336739952600880992011-03-28T14:23:00.000-07:002011-06-02T19:13:09.140-07:00Wordless Monday?!It just is one of those days....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LnEZZnUXYB8/TZD9BhkFW4I/AAAAAAAAC7U/oDzm8fz7Q4k/s1600/foot.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LnEZZnUXYB8/TZD9BhkFW4I/AAAAAAAAC7U/oDzm8fz7Q4k/s320/foot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589245340198198146" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-4468492023495629972011-03-23T15:47:00.000-07:002011-03-23T17:45:58.642-07:00The Horrific Turmoil of Being a Mom and Drinking Diet Coke<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Dye6lgje5w/TYqIMCqLQVI/AAAAAAAAC7E/4_W2-QjW8Cc/s1600/Diet-Pepsi-slide-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Dye6lgje5w/TYqIMCqLQVI/AAAAAAAAC7E/4_W2-QjW8Cc/s320/Diet-Pepsi-slide-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587428028160098642" border="0" /></a><br />Recently, like this past Sunday, I was sitting in church. My Emma was chatting about something, my Audrey was constantly asking to use the bathroom, and my Ben was making my Emma laugh which in turned made me try to think of quick and quiet ways to get them to settle down. There is such a fine line, for me, about teaching my kids when to be quite, reverent, and self entertainment. Plus how do I teach my children to pay attention to adult speakers when I am having the same problem? I also have come to terms with how crafty my children are at knowing there is nothing that I can do besides the "SHHH" and "be quite" during this sometimes long hour. But this post isn't going to be about my bad parenting on Sunday, but the relationship of events that coincide with my bad parenting skills this day.<br /><br />So this is how my Sunday was going. I often wonder if maybe when I am older and the snacks and church bags are gone that I might actually be able to understand and follow the speakers. In between the stories about Halo Legos and how Emma hearing the speaker say the word, "Jesus" (Mom, he said Jesus, he said it again. Now he said Benjamin, King Benjamin... is Benjamin a King? I thought he was my brother....) I hear the speaker relate talking about the different hypocrisy of the members of the church. He then comments (and yes, he posted his talks on his blog so I can then cut and paste here. All in all it really is a good talk that you should read because it makes valid points), "Any public manifestation of righteous behavior should not be a mask that is taken off when in the privacy of our home" in which I chuckle... yeah, chuckle... Right... how would I ever be able to mask my hypocrisy. I own it. Seriously?! I think I spend more of my time apologizing for my kids and <span style="font-weight: bold;">MY mistakes</span> than being able to poke and prod at what anybody else is doing wrong. I swear it is always one of mine or something I said without letting the words wheel around in my head before I say them outloud (my mom told me to do that all the time).<br /><br />The speaker then said, "We are not immune from hypocrisy. It is found in the ...people who criticizes an associate who occasionally smokes marijuana but who himself has a strong Diet Coke addiction". I chuckle again, Diet Coke and the Mormon church are as controversial as the Disney Animators and the Little Mermaid or Charlie Sheen getting back on Two and a Half Men. <span id="search">Why does <em>Diet Coke</em> raise the ire of so many Mormons<span style="font-style: italic;">? </span><em><br /><br /></em></span>I then posted on my facebook, "<span class="messageBody">I think drinking diet coke was just compared to smoking cigarettes in church today".</span>.. Then I started to think about it. One of the biggest stereotypes of Mormon woman is that of having an "Addiction" to Diet Coke. It is common is circle of friends to hear, "Most Mormon Moms actually have a Diet Coke IV shoved into their veins. Drinking it takes too much time" (That is for you, Jennifer Ellis).<br /><br />But the actually addiction to diet coke, I think is a fallacy. To be more specific, I'm going to have to go with the false dilemma fallacy.... "the fallacy can also arise simply by accidental omission of additional options rather than by deliberate deception". So here is how the, naysayers see Diet Coke and all the moms talking about "Holy Crap, I need a Diet Coke" after spending the day with the kids. Others make take comments such as, "My weekly Saturday trip to the grocery store to pick up a 2-liter of “Happy Juice” for consumption after church each Sunday has become a warped act of religious devotion for me" might realm on the point of addiction if you don't find the humor behind it. Do the uneducated in the world of soda drinking even know that for most, Diet Coke is slang for a drink?? Let's go get a Coke... Sometimes, as a mom, we just got to get out and "go and get a coke". Plus, I don't even really like Diet Coke, but am more of a Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi fan. So much that is accidentally omitted in this deliberate attack on my sanity.... my need for that 15 minutes of quite where I don't have to listen to anybody fighting or asking questions. Seriously, my kids stop talking when the lady comes on the box and says, "Can I take your order?". The speaker of this talk then went to his blog and as a joke posted... "<span class="messageBody">Incidentally, I understand that she has a Diet Coke addiction". Which is somewhat the truth, but still a fallacy. </span>I am an addict -- "Hello, my name is Debbie and I am addicted to 15 minutes of just me time". So let's get the actual facts straight here...<br /><br />As a mormon mom, what do I have?? I don't social drink at parties, I don't go clubbing with the girlfriends in the wee hours of the night, I never go to Starbucks and sit, I forgo the occasional use of weed in the backyard (Yes, this happened alot with the mom that I nannied for)... I go get a Diet Coke. If you walk into a house outside of the typical mormon home you might hear, "Would you like a cup of coffee?" I found this quote that says, "When I serve the coffee and if it is one of those wonderful tasting pots of coffee, my guest and I seem to have a much better conversation. We both feel happier because the coffee is so delicious".... Diet Coke is like the Social Aspect of the Mormon Church. So while it is not breaking the word of wisdom to have anything in moderation... the poor stereotyping of mom's addiction to Diet Coke has got to stop. Sitting with my friends on the grass during the summer time sipping a 48 ouncer of Diet Coke is just delicious. I have been known to go to the drive through and bring back drinks so we can just sit and chat.<br /><br />So here's to the drink that has brought together millions of frazzled moms on a hot summer day. It's the drink that has sat in on millions of mormon mom's fridge around the world as devote followers. It's the drink that has helped millions of women overcome the daily headaches of being a mom. It's the drink that signified the official transition from wife to mother.<br /><sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy#cite_note-0"><span> </span><span></span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ff_2-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy#cite_note-ff-2"><span></span></a></sup> <sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy#cite_note-3"><span></span></a></sup>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-35905781936261445472011-03-21T14:22:00.000-07:002011-03-21T14:24:05.334-07:00From my Sista' Site: FREE GIVEAWAY!! Baby Crib Shoes and Baby WarmersThis is our FIRST GIVEWAY. We will be drawing for two different prizes from our wonderful sponsor, <a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/">Dapper and Dainty</a>. Here is what is up for grabs....<br /><br />Crib shoes come in sizes: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months and retail for $10<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 160px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Avp1w7d0PY/TYe7hfh9XfI/AAAAAAAAC68/o6a44B8TjEo/s400/crib%2Bshoes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586640046850399730" border="0" /></a><a>Dapper Leg Warmers: Your choice from the blog! Retail $12!<br /><br /></a><a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 160px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bYazS3LaHII/TYe7c59XCjI/AAAAAAAAC60/Jyu4m-f7rA4/s400/leg%2Bwarmers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586639968045304370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is what you have to do to win!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99); font-size: large;">Mandatory Entries</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twoprincessesandoneprince.blogspot.com/"><i><b>Must be</b> </i>a Follower on THIS Google to enter Giveaway.</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tell me what color leggings or which shoes you want.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99); font-size: large;">Extra Entries - Just click the line and you will be automatically sent to site.<br /><br /></span></b><span style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99); font-size: large;"><a href="http://retailbegone.blogspot.com/">Follow Retail be Gone</a></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99); font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Retail-Be-Gone/169613996419649">-Like "Retail Be Gone" on</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Retail-Be-Gone/169613996419649"> Facebook</a><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">-<a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/">Follow Dapper and Dainty </a><a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/">Here</a><a href="http://www.dapperanddainty.blogspot.com/"> (1 entry each)</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/priscilla.craven2"><br /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">-<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2#%21/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2">Like "Dapper and Dainty" on </a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2#%21/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2">Facebook</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2#%21/pages/Dapper-Dainty-Couture/169933683018710?sk=wall&filter=2"> (1 entries)</a></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><br /></b><b>This Giveaway Ends on Friday, March 25th at 8 pm PST (Sorry, I am a mom of 3, I go to bed early!!)</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2535098610213137586.post-39324513821730978202011-03-16T19:13:00.001-07:002011-03-17T07:31:16.590-07:00St. Patty's Day Hair Bows<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SSRHkO9mqH0/TYIbL-zvOjI/AAAAAAAAC6c/gpIMXrX0O50/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B001.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SSRHkO9mqH0/TYIbL-zvOjI/AAAAAAAAC6c/gpIMXrX0O50/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585056380545350194" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is my FAVORITE thing to do for St. Patty's Day. I combine my two most fav crafts -- Hair Bows and Preschool Art. What you will simply need are Head Bands which I get 5 for $1 at Family Dollar, Green Tempura Paint, and Styrofoam Cups.<br /><br />First preheat your oven to 320 and place 4 to 5 Styrofoam cups on a cookie sheet and place in oven for 3 minutes or so. You really have to watch them and take them out of the oven when they look like little hats. ALSO don't heat up the oven or they go super fast and shrink into a pile of mush. This is the shrinking process of the cups in the oven...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mPbTk1iOOFA/TYFvNJEYPAI/AAAAAAAAC5I/6yjYHN2J_8Y/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B016.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mPbTk1iOOFA/TYFvNJEYPAI/AAAAAAAAC5I/6yjYHN2J_8Y/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867284479392770" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wXxD5qDrBjk/TYFxFhKRU2I/AAAAAAAAC6I/ueNPkf4gguA/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B017.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wXxD5qDrBjk/TYFxFhKRU2I/AAAAAAAAC6I/ueNPkf4gguA/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584869352530858850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2zdJhTkvtxI/TYFvJBCc8OI/AAAAAAAAC5A/Nfc2qF-bMYY/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B017.JPG"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XInTNu2y6Jk/TYFvEjN011I/AAAAAAAAC44/EGSYlzskGQ4/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XInTNu2y6Jk/TYFvEjN011I/AAAAAAAAC44/EGSYlzskGQ4/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867136879515474" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Get the green paint out and paint the hats green like below...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5te78zpgOU/TYFvo0tMMFI/AAAAAAAAC54/OxdsvoScWpc/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5te78zpgOU/TYFvo0tMMFI/AAAAAAAAC54/OxdsvoScWpc/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867760049762386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next get some black felt and cut a square and hot glue. You can also use aluminum foil. I get my black felt for a $1 from the Dollar Store.<br /><br /><a onblur=" try=" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kSK5ymZuf48/TYFvktsWdnI/AAAAAAAAC5w/pAqfB817UoA/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B011.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kSK5ymZuf48/TYFvktsWdnI/AAAAAAAAC5w/pAqfB817UoA/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867689447716466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" here="" are="" the="" headbands="" from="" family=""></a><br /><br />Here are the headbands from the Family Dollar Store...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jhU_slt-q4I/TYFvZmim65I/AAAAAAAAC5g/FCYr8Q0lxeE/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B013.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jhU_slt-q4I/TYFvZmim65I/AAAAAAAAC5g/FCYr8Q0lxeE/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867498549242770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And the END PRODUCT! Aren't they just adorable!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sE2sbGkrYcI/TYFvVRBrCQI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/y4mcfqxsx4M/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B014.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sE2sbGkrYcI/TYFvVRBrCQI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/y4mcfqxsx4M/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867424054479106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KBZY2QVVQXs/TYFvRBSqLrI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/6jRxKnwOdVI/s1600/st%2Bpatty%2B015.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KBZY2QVVQXs/TYFvRBSqLrI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/6jRxKnwOdVI/s320/st%2Bpatty%2B015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584867351111282354" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17