Archive for April, 2010

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Gratitude {reflection and giveaway}


2010
04.29

Posted in About Me | 10 Comments »

As of yesterday, I have been a blogger for FIVE YEARS!  Yes, yes, I know . . . I haven’t been the most dedicated blogger on the planet — but I do enjoy having this spot to record my thoughts when the urge strikes!

When I think back to 2005 . . . I realize that a LOT has changed in my life since then.  A whole lot.  And in a good way.  I’m much more at ease with myself and my life than I was back than.  I’m much more content, happy, calm, and centered.  My relationships are stronger, my heart more open, my attitude much (MUCH!) better.  Yay for progress!

I just spent a few minutes perusing my blog’s archives . . . chuckling at some of the family stories I documented.  (Like Meghan asking me if my leg had fallen asleep, because when she rubbed it, it felt prickly. LOL. No, honey, Mommy just needs to shave!)  Meg wasn’t even in kindergarten yet when I started blogging!!  Yikes!  Look how tiny both of my kids were:


Wow!  Where did the time go?!  But when I look back on how much they’ve grown and changed, I realize what good children I have.  How, in those 5 short (and fast!) years, they’ve matured into such amazing big kids.  They’re smart, funny, caring kids . . . that love their Mommy very much, and show her every single day.  It makes me realize that even though I’ve made mistakes with them, that I’ve also done somethings right! How blessed am I??

Then there’s this guy:


Wow.  My relationship with him and my feelings about him have changed dramatically in the past 5 years, as well.  We are on solid ground.  Best friends.  Teammates.  After a lot of hard work, all of my dreams for my marriage have come true.  I’ve got the best husband in the world — and he adores me as much as I do him.  Again, blessed.

And one last thing that has changed dramatically from 5 years ago . . . are my friendships.  Perhaps it was because the rest of my life hadn’t quite fallen into place yet, but true and lasting friendships were something mostly missing from my existence.  But now that I have them, it’s like the icing on the cake.

These two ladies, especially,  have  become indispensable to me.  Priceless.  My Saving Graces. I must have done something right to have God gently place them into my life when He did . . . and I thank Him everyday for that gift!

So, I guess that the point of this reflection is how GRATEFUL I am for the blessings that have come my way in the years that have passed since I started this blog.  Some things required hard work and energy, and others snuck in when I least expected them to.  But the operative word is GRATEFUL.  I have so much to be grateful for — and feel that I need to be more aware on a daily basis of the good things in my life.

Now . . . bonus points for you if you haven’t already hit the little “X” in the corner of your browser . . . because this is the part of my sappy little reflection where I give stuff away!  Woot!!  In honor of my 5 year blogiversary . . . and because one of my 41@41 goals is to have a blog giveaway . . . I would like to offer up these lovely gifts to one of my readers:

First,  is this lovely print from Vol. 25, ready to be framed and hung up somewhere to remind you to be grateful every single day: 
And, this awesome journal from Compendium Inc., so you can record YOUR daily gratitudes:


How do you enter?

Leave me a comment.  Tell me what you’re grateful for today!

Bonus Entry #1: Twitter the giveaway.  (Please leave me a comment with a link to your Tweet.)

Bonus Entry #2:  Facebook the giveaway. (Please come back and leave another comment!)

Bonus Entry #3: Blog about the giveaway. (Please leave me a comment with a link to your post.)

The fine print:  The deadline to enter is Wednesday, May 5th, 11:59pm CST.   Be sure that I can contact you via your comment entry. Giveaway open to US (edited: and Canadian) Residents only. (Sorry!) Winner will be drawn using Random.org.

**Comments closed!  Stay tuned for a winner!**

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My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself: a book review


2010
04.07

Posted in Life, in General | 3 Comments »

I wish I could remember how I found Susanna Foth Aughtmon’s blog.  (If you could see my Google Reader, you’d understand.)  But I’m sure it had something to do with it’s title:  Confessions of a Tired Supergirl.  I’m know for certain that the name alone grabbed my attention right away, because — hey, *I* am a tired supergirl!  And once I started reading the content of the blog, I was hooked.  This supergirl knows her stuff!  Bonus!

I love Sue’s description of a tired supergirl from her blog’s “About Me” page:

“To be more than…
To be unique…
To be excellent in some way….
Able to leap tall laundry in a single bound….
Able to wipe out the forces of evil and keep my house clean…
Able to become the person God created me to be compared to the person I actually am….”

So with that, I became a fan.  Because, really . . . that sums up my life’s To Do list — right down to that mountain of laundry!  Susanna’s writing is honest and vulnerable and FUNNY.  When you read her words, it’s like having a face to face conversation with one of your best friends.   In light of that fact, I was even more delighted to discover that this fellow tired supergirl was also a published author of not one, but two books!

Susanna’s second book, My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself, has just hit the shelves . . . and I am honored to be a part of her Blog Tour!!  (Does that make me a groupie?  A roadie? A stalker??  Call me what you will — I’m still super excited to be able to participate!)

When the book arrived on my doorstep, all you-know-what was just starting to break loose around here.  I *almost* wrote Susanna an email telling her that I wouldn’t be able to participate.  But over the weekend, in the thick of my father-in-law’s funeral services — when I felt drained and empty and sad and defeated and overextended (and did you SEE that pile of laundry in my basement?!), I curled up on the couch and read the whole book.  It was as if one of my besties stopped in and said, “You look like you need to talk.”

My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself was that conversation.  All of my doubts and perceived shortcomings refuted by Susanna’s clearly written, humorous and Bible-backed truths.  The Liar is busy polluting my thoughts and notions, but have no fear, God is here!

“Looking at the raw material God has to work with in my life, I’m not sure that God could really use me.  I know myself too well.  I am overflowing with mediocrity,” writes Susanna.   Yes!  Yes!!!  That’s me!!!  Wait, what??  God doesn’t mind that I’m imperfect?  Majorly flawed?  And he still has a use for me?  I just need to be ready and willing?  Well, huh. [Truth #6]

“We tired supergirls feel things all the time.  We feel sad.  We feel lonely.  We feel underappreciated.  We feel stressed out.  We feel hurt.  We feel angry.  We feel misunderstood.  Sometimes life seems to layer itself so heavily that we can’ get out from all these feelings,” Susanna says, as if she’s hiding behind the curtains, spying on me.  Amen, sister!  No one but us tired supergirls can possibly understand that!  Oh . . . yeah . . . God sent his Son to earth to experience all of those things, and I can, at any time, give up every one of those feelings to Him and He will take that burden from me.  [Truth #13]

“In case you haven’t noticed, we tired supergirls are a bit worn out from serving.  We serve on committees.  We serve our bosses who needed those reports yesterday.  We serve our kids’ teachers by driving second graders on class field trips.  We serve our children breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not to mention snacks, and then we serve them by washing their plates.  A whole lot of serving is going on, except for the part where people serve us.” Susanna took the words right out of my mouth!  I’m just going to go crawl into bed and wait for someone to bring me a hot cup of coffee, a doily-covered dish of dark chocolate truffles, and a big stack of magazines.  Maybe I’ll resurface after a long nap.  Ugh . . . that’s not how it works, is it? “When we serve our friends, our coworkers, and our families, we are showing them the extent of Jesus’ love — a Creator God humbling himself to serve his creation,” Susanna gently reminds me.  Serve with joy, Leslie . . . serve with joy! [Truth #19]

I love this book so much.  In fact, I am going to read it again, starting tonight, to make sure it all truly sinks in.  I am going to highlight, flag, note, and bookmark it’s contents — and I know it is going to be heavily marked up because so much of it spoke to me!  Thanks, Susanna, for sitting down and speaking  those truths to me when I really needed them!

My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself is available now at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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A new list: 41@41


2010
04.06

Posted in About Me | 4 Comments »

In the midst of my Father-in-Law’s sickness and passing, I quietly had a birthday.  We were all so wrapped up in the details of his care that it didn’t seem fitting (nor was I in the mood) to celebrate.  (I was, however, remembered by my besties Tracie and Heather, and I am so grateful for their love and attention!)   The only reason I mention my birthday at all is that it marks the beginning of a new list!

When I turned 40 last year, I made a list of 40 things I wanted to accomplish in the next year. I enjoyed the attempt to conquer the list for the past 12 months, although I must admit, I was not 100% successful.  I realize that part of the reason for my lack of completion was because my goals weren’t always quantifiable.  I couldn’t mark them “done” because they were more “work in progress” type activities.   I kept that in mind when I created a list for my 41st year.

For a short time, I contemplated creating a list of 101 things to complete in 1001 days, called the Day Zero Project.    However, I ultimately decided to stick with my yearly format for several reasons.  First, my birthday is a “New Year” for me, and having “resolutions” for the next year of Leslie keeps me relevant.  Second, my interests change like the wind . . . . so being able to make a new list every year will keep things fresh.  If I don’t get bored with my list, I’m more likely to stick with it, right?

Without further adieu . . . my 41@41 list:

Status: in progress: italic / completed: bold

  1. Learn to crochet.
  2. Read the entire Bible.
  3. Go to (at least) one concert. [KaiserCartel 6/18]
  4. Clean out the laundry room.
  5. Print important digital photos and put in albums.
  6. Read (at least) one book per month. [3/12]
  7. Complete 30 consecutive days of the 30 Day Shred [4/30] Had some physical issues with this one, so I’ve abandoned it!
  8. Create a hallway photo gallery.
  9. Go on 12 (or more) dates with my husband. [2/12]
  10. Lose 10 lbs. [2/10]
  11. Try one new food I’m not sure I’d like.
  12. Do the 29 Days of Giving Challenge.
  13. Participate in (at least) one walk/run for a cause. [MS Walk:  {stier}ing for a cure 4/18]
  14. Eat at 6 new restaurants. [0/6]
  15. Buy a pair of red shoes.
  16. Learn to make soldered jewelry.
  17. Have family portraits taken by TSJ. [7/27]
  18. Scrapbook (at least) once a month. [0/12]
  19. Completely furnish and decorate the sunroom.
  20. Get passports for the kids.
  21. Complete the Love Dare.
  22. Keep a Gratitude Journal.
  23. Learn to embroider (with Meghan.) [8/1]
  24. Complete 3 sewing projects. [0/3]
  25. Create and follow a healthy living plan for me and my family.
  26. Back up photos to an external hard drive and store it offsite.
  27. Get a facial and a massage.
  28. Say “Yes” to something I’d normally say “No” to.
  29. Have a Mom’s Day out with Tracie & Heather.
  30. Learn to speak a little French.
  31. Do a giveaway on my blog.
  32. Do the hula hoop every day for a month. [0/30]
  33. Spend an entire day thrifting/antiquing. [7/24]
  34. Try one new recipe per month. [1/12]
  35. Travel somewhere I’ve never been. [Washington DC, 4/15 - 4/18]
  36. Take the kids to Door County.
  37. Discover 10 (or more) geocaches. [4/10]
  38. Do the 200 Sit-Up Challenge.
  39. Take a photography class or workshop.
  40. Clean out my email inboxes.
  41. Stop cussing.  For good.
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