Why Do I Take So Many Pictures?

I've been meaning to do several (okay a lot) catch up posts that would cover the past two weeks since I haven't posted much but I think that I'll put it all into one long post. It will be worth it I promise! So please hang in there with me till then end.

Today at lunch with my good friend Rachel (who has started a wonderful blog... The Science of Music which you need to read...but not until you finish mine) we were talking about taking pictures and what the pictures we have meant to us. Also, this past weekend I was asked by another good friend after showing her pictures on my camera, "Why do you take pictures of every little thing?". This has really gotten me to thinking about all the pictures that I do have and some of the ones that I don't.

Pictures to me are little snapshots of memories to me. Now I'm not talking about portraits that we all have had taken (even though I like those too), I'm talking about the shots that you take in the moment. Now those are memories. Even though I have these memories in my mind sometimes they are not always there...up in front. So when I look at those pictures they take me back to that time. Whether the memory is a happy one or a sad one. Like this one....

I'll never forget the day that I first met our son at his foster parents house. But when I look at the picture, which is next to my desk, I am taken back not only to that place and time but all the feelings that I had going on inside of me. Will I be a good mom, will this adoption go smoothly, what kind of child will he be, etc., etc..



Or this one...This is a picture of Sam, my Grandmother and one of my Great Aunts. Yes, this picture isn't of the best quality. Yes, I do have better ones than this particular one. But...this one is still special to me. You can see the joy on his face as he talks to his Great, Great Aunt. It was a wonderful dinner with everyone and one that I will never forget.



Let us not forget that I do take pictures of food. I like to document when I do things whether it's food or something I'm creating with my hands. These are not only memories of the actual object but what was created by my hands and how other reacted to it. Like this chicken pot pie is now a favorite of ours that I plan on making again soon. Especially now that I've looked at the picture again and am remembering the taste in my mouth.

Now on to catch you up on the past couple of weeks....

Sam has started playing soccer again. We went with a new soccer program that is held at a church that follows Christian beliefs with sports. It's based off of the same principals as Upwards but they advertised it as a more challenging sports program to give your kid the challenge that they wanted. Okay...so we signed up. At his first practice we found out that they were going to be playing on half a field, pee-wee goals, and playing 4 on 4 with no goalies. This was a 1st/2nd grade team, Sam was on a team of 10 with 2 of them being in 2nd grade. Only Sam and the other 2nd grader had ever played soccer before. Not to mention that Sam towered over them in size. During the practice they worked on how to kick the ball and the very basics. This would all be fine if Sam had never played soccer before but he's been playing since Kindergarten both in the fall and spring of each year. At the end of that first practice Sam looked at me as we were walking to the car and said, "Mom, that's not soccer." How could I disagree with him. I emailed the coordinator of the program and told him how Sam was way beyond in skill level and was very disappointed in the program. They graciously allowed Sam to move up to the 3rd/4th grade team and now Sam is loving soccer again and he is with those that are the same size as he is (he is constantly being guessed at being a 3rd or 4th grader due to his height). I didn't want this experience to ruin his perception of soccer so I'm so happy that they were so accommodating.

They have now played their first 2 games. Yes, I've taken pictures at the games and I'm going to share a few of them with you.


Two Saturday's ago we went to the Town Park in Mansfield to enjoy a wonderful concert put on by the Mansfield Wind Symphony. Rachel plays french horn and is a member there and a group of us from church went to support her and to hear some wonderful music. This concert was just the brass and percussion from the Symphony and they did an outstanding job.

The Town Park is offering "A Night on the Town". At one of the parks they are having either concerts or movies for free. All family oriented and we are having a lot of fun so far. First the concert and then this last Saturday we had a picnic with some friends from church and then watched the movie "Shrek the Third".

Again...pictures:

Sam enjoying the music at the concert before we allowed him to run off and play at the playground.


Not only did we all bring picnics to the park to enjoy before the movie but one of my friends also brought along a lot of different card games. We picked Skip-Bo to play and she then announced that she was going to win...well she did. BUMMER! Maybe next time.
Here is Sam with his "girlfriend". They are just so cute together! Here they are enjoying the movie together. Several times when I looked over they were lying side by side watching the movie. He even gave her his blanket because she was cold. Can we say, Awwwww!

Here is a picture of them together last December:

See what I mean? CUTE!

And now for the "food picture". You knew I had to throw it in here somewhere! It's weird to think that almost 2 weeks ago we had a storm that produced hail and then a week later it was in the 80s and I was making sun tea! It was my first sun tea of the year. So.....

So there you have it. I take so many pictures so that I can capture those moments in my life that I don't want to lost. So that I can pass them on to Sam. So that there are memories even after I'm gone.

I was also asked why I blog....Think I just answered that.

Goodbye To The Bloggy Giveaways....At Least For Another Quarter.

A great big congrats to Nadine over at Say Goodbye to the Pounds for winning my AVON giveaway. From what I understand she is a former rep and is very excited about her win!

This giveaway was so big over at Bloggy Giveaways that there were 919 blogs (okay, people) giving something away! Bloggy Giveaways will be doing this again this coming July so if you didn't win anything this time make sure that you head back then.

As far as my blog I was surprised to see that I had the following:

New visitors:
Monday-82, Tuesday-99, Wednesday-97, Thursday-52, Friday-61

Page hits:
Mon-107, Tue-123, Wed-109, Thu-80, Fri-81

I also found some pretty cool blogs out there that I would probably never have found otherwise. It was a lot of fun and I've already won a few things myself. I'll post about those later.

Thanks to everyone that entered my giveaway. I wish that I could give you all something. But, alas, I'm not rich. :)

Bloggy Giveaway Quarterly Carnival...It's Here!

This giveaway is now closed.

NOTICE: To see current posts....scroll down. This post will stay at the top for the whole week of the giveaway! Don't forget to enter before ready the current posts.


Welcome to The Misplaced Midwesterner! As some of you already know I'm participating in Bloggy Giveaway Quarterly Carnival this week. If you've never popped in before, I'm glad you're here. If you're on old friend, nice to see you again. I hope that all of you will stay awhile and have a look around. Please use the link above to go and look at all the other wonderful giveaways that are happening out there. The last time I looked this afternoon there were over 400 giveaways going on! WOW!

It's easy to enter! All you have to do is leave me a comment. I would ask that you leave me an actual comment and not just the usual "enter me" type comment. You don't have to be a blogger as long as you leave me an email address to contact you in case you are the winner. I will be paying for the shipping so you don't have to worry about that. You will have until Friday, April 25th, 11:30pm CST, to enter. Then I will collect all the entries, write down the comment numbers and then have the drawing.

I am going to be giving away some AVON merchandise. Here is a link to the most current catalog: AVON . You can also go to my online store!

I will be giving away a necklace/earring set (you can choose the color you want) along with the matching anklet (again, you choose which color you want)!

Along with the necklace/earring set, and matching anklet I am also giving away some wonderful Foot Works products to get your feet summer ready! Included in this set is:

Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets: Drop a tablet into foot tub for a refreshing, scented soak. 12 tablets.

Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion: Moisturizes feet with a delightful scent and with watermelon extract.

Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub Retexturizing formula containing watermelon extract and bits of watermelon seeds softens calluses and dry skin. 3.4 fl. oz.

ALSO...for this week only I will give a 15% discount on any orders placed with me. Guidelines are as follows, email me your order and mention that you are participating in my bloggy giveaway! You need to do this so that I know you were here and so I can apply the discount.

So, now that you are done reading all of this...what are you waiting for? Go, on, leave me a comment...I won't bite.

I've Been Tagged....again.

Stacey over at Jamee Forever has tagged me with 2 meme's. THANKS STACEY! LOVE YA! MEAN IT! :) So here it goes...

Meme #1

Here are the rules...

1) Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2) Open the book to page 123.
3) Find the 5th sentence.
4) Post the next 3 sentences.

5) Tag 5 people.

The book nearest me that went above 123 pages was the book Eldest by Christopher Paolini. I recently checked it out from the library but I haven't started it as of yet.

"At the gate to each tier, a guard waved them through without comment. They soon left the buildings and found themselves crossing the barren fields at Tarnag's base. Beyond those, they reached the stone quay that edged the still, gray water."

Whew...at least that didn't give anything away for me. I was afraid it would.

Now for......Meme # 2

The Rules:
1) Link whom you tagged and list these rules on you blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving a comment on their blog.Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I am 4' 11" tall but I can sit taller than my sister that is taller than me. Her legs are longer and my torso is longer. Go figure.

2. I love to do anything crafty. As if you didn't already know that. Doing things with my hands and creating is what I love to do and there is still much more out there that I still want to learn how to do.

3. I was born on my grandfather's birthday and my niece was born on my birthday the year that he passed away. So I have yet to go without sharing my birthday with a family member.

4. I come from a very close-knit family. In fact I consider myself very blessed in the fact that my parents are still together.

5. I have lived in 17 different places. Now some of these are repeat cities just different locations within those cities. So...moving is almost second nature to me but I still consider it a pain in the you know what to do.

6. My sons feet are almost as big as mine and he just turned 8! YIKES!

7. I really don't like to do the laundry as it seem to never end. Every time I think I am finally ahead it peeks its head around the corner from its hiding place and says "Boo".

Now who do I tag??? Let's see I pick:

(these tags are for both Meme's)

1. My good friend over at The Soul of Things
2. & 3. These two are sister-in-laws that also blog. Chicken Without a Head and Camera Obscura.
4. Kelly over at Kelly's Blog. Good friend and fellow cross stitcher.
5. Trish over at CrAzY Working Mom. Love her blog and have been reading it for quite some time now.
6. Cheryl over at Lady Watkins. She's been a good blogging friend that I found through one of the swaps that I participated in.
7. Petula over at It's a Woman's World! I've been reading her blog for a little while now and enjoy going over there every day.

Bloggy Giveaways!!!!

Starting Monday, April 21, I will be participating in the Bloggy Giveaway! Mark your calendars and come back here to see what I'll be giving away! It was so much fun last time I can't wait to do it again.

Friday's Feast....It's Back!

Click the picture above to participate in the feast!

Appetizer
Name a color you find soothing.

That's easy....BLUES ... Think OCEAN!

Soup
Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.

Fun with my dad teaching me how to drive in my high school parking lot.

Salad
What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?

Cotton and any other natural fiber! Especially living where it's so warm.

Main Course
Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?

I honestly don't think I would ever spend the night outside waiting for any tickets. Especially in this day and age of the Internet where I can stay up late and then sit down at the computer and purchase a ticket as soon as they go on sale.

Dessert
What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?

It's a 4-way tie. I had no idea....I have 3-r's; 3-l's; 3-n's; and 3-o's. I used my first, middle, maiden and last name.

Storm

What a storm we had tonight. Strong rain, winds gusting around 60 mph, and hail. There were also tornado warnings and our sirens went off. By the time the storm actually arrived here the sirens were off...but WOW what a storm. Here are a few pictures of the hail and rain during the storm and then I went outside afterwards to look at the hail. The video below isn't the greatest quality but you can hear the hail hitting out windows in our kitchen and back door.

Yummy!

Last night we had hamburgers for dinner. But instead of the good ole' stand bye of just hamburger on a bun I wanted flavor. I had a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix and on the back of the packet it suggested to not only add the packet but 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. I went to the fridge to get my cheddar cheese only to realize that Andy had finished it up with his lunch earlier in the day. So...back to the drawing board. I looked, no stared, into the fridge waiting for something to hit me and then it did. I ended up putting in 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese with the mix. Popped them on our George Foreman Grill and WOW! What flavor it added to our hamburgers. This is one that I will do again for sure.

How do you make your hamburgers? Please share!

Real Beauty

A dear friend of mine from Springfield, MO, sent me an email this morning. It was just a forward but with such a powerful message to all young girls and women alike.

Maybe a lot of men should watch this to so that they will know how much the image of women is changed through technology. Don't hold every woman up to the standards that you see in print or film. Maybe then we would have less young girls thinking that they need to look like the "it girl" to make someone love them. Thought I would share it with you here and urge you to go to their site. It is a video put together by Dove for their Campaign for Real Beauty.

Love yourself for who you are!

UPDATED: If you want to see the full video please go to their site and view it here. The full video is only 1 minute 15 seconds long and the one here is around 37 seconds long. I have the full video on my computer but when I uploaded the video to here the video was condensed.

Having Some Fun

Found this over at It's A Woman's World today while reading some of my favorite blogs and thought that I would share it here too. Had fun doing it. In fact I took the quiz several times and it asked different questions each time and I came up with the same answer each time. Go on over and take the quiz yourself...you know you want to!


Take the Quiz

What's In A Name?

Reading through my favorite blogs this morning and on Bubba Sis's blog she had posted about a site where you can type in your first name and it will give you a personality profile. I tried my official first name (Kimberly) and shortened name (Kim). I think that "Kim" came out more accurate than "Kimberly" did. They are both below. Try it out yourself and see what you think!

PAK Dictionary of Names


Your name of Kim contains many fine qualities: musical and artistic ability, good business judgment, and a sense of responsibility for the welfare of others. This makes you warm-hearted and understanding in your response to the needs and interests of those around you. You are always ready to help those in less fortunate circumstances. Your insistence on becoming involved in the affairs of others can cause them to regard you as interfering, even though you are only trying to help. A weakness lies in the fact that you are deeply affected through your feeling for others and could suffer through worry and disturbed thoughts over matters that you can do nothing about. While you have an appreciation for the finer things of life and could be successful along inspirational as well as business or professional lines of endeavour, there is a tendency to become involved in the needs and interests of others to the detriment of your own progress. Home and family are important to you and you desire to establish a settled home environment where you can enjoy the congenial companionship of friends and family. Mental tension could result through worrying too much over your problems or the problems of others, with an adverse effect on your nervous system.

The name Kimberly gives you a strongly independent and highly creative nature, with drive and ambition to have experiences and accomplish things out of the ordinary. You can work intently at whatever is new and holds your interest at the moment, but your interest wanes quickly when drudgery and monotony set in. Obstacles to your progress or restrictions on your freedom to act create a sense of frustration which may cause you to feel resentful and even rebellious. You can then become intolerant of others, and caustic and belittling in your expression, thereby imposing stress on your personal relationships. Although you have a clever, quick, capable mind, your progress in life is restricted by instability in your affairs and misunderstandings with people. Your impulsive nature can lead to actions which you later regret taking, or to accidents. Relaxation is elusive, and depletion due to nervous tension can develop to the point where you become subject to moods of depression and morbid thoughts. Nervous tension centres in the solar plexus, with nervous indigestion and stomach ulcers a possible result.

5K Number Two

Last Saturday Sam ran his second 5K. It was his schools 5K race and school carnival. He had a slower time than the Cowtown 5K but this time there was a couple of hills so that is what slowed him down some. Not to mention that he was running without his coach by his side. Not this Saturday but next Saturday is the Fort Worth Zoo 5K and we are looking forward to that one because they actually run through the zoo. Down side...more hills then he has ever run before. Here are some pictures from this last 5K. Remember that you can click on them to make them bigger.

Have our number and we're ready to get going.

Now he just has to wait for the 1 mile Fun Run to be over before starting the 5K.

At the starting line and ready to go!

Gun goes off and off they go!

Last stretch.... Finishing!

Bloggy Giveaways!!!!

It's Coming!!!