A friend of mine sent me this link this past week with two videos (thanks Amy). I couldn’t think of what to title this post, so took the title that they used on the original blog post. It’s a story of a man named Zac Smith who died of cancer. Zac made a video before he died (first video) and the following video is from his widow one year later. It’s remarkable and I guarantee you won’t be able to watch either of these videos without having tears in your eyes.

Life is what we make of it. Will you choose to be happy and take things as they come or live in a dire world that weighs you down?

The Story of Zac Smith (New Score) from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

A Story | Tears of Hope from Adam Kring on Vimeo.

Recent photo of us a few months back.

Today marks 15-years since Jason and I had our first date. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. I remember it like it was yesterday. We went to Olive Garden, then back to my parents house to watch a movie (Apollo 13). I think you just know when there’s something special. I did something with Jason that I had NEVER done with another guy on a date (I’ve got you intrigued now, don’t I?).

I changed into sweat pants, put my glasses on (I wore contacts back then), threw my hair up, and (ready for this), washed my face so I had ZERO make-up on. How bold was that? And, I must have made a decent impression since he stuck around. I guess I threw all of my cards out on the table early on so he knew what he was getting into (well, appearance wise anyway). LOL!  He stayed until 6am that next morning and we talked the whole time.  Nine months later, he proposed and we married five months after that.

Happy 15-years Jason! Thanks for my last first date.

As many of you know, my current favorite Starbucks concoction is the Caramel Brulee, which is seasonal and not currently in season at this time.

I love our Starbucks for many reasons, but my top reason is that they are adventurous and willing to try anything.  They’ll create whatever I want them to and if I don’t like it, they’ll make me something else for free (even when it’s my idea for the bad concoction).  For the record, I have never had a bad one, but to know that they’re willing to remake me something is very cool.

They also are full of suggestions.  For instance, I went inside this past week to ask them a question (as it just didn’t seem worth asking in the drive-thru).  LOL!  I asked them if they had anything similar to the Caramel Brulee and lo and behold, someone came up with a concoction that is almost dead on in taste.  They even wrote it down for me before I left.  Score!

So, if you’re a fan of the Caramel Brulee or hadn’t taken time to try it and wish you had, have your Barista make a Grande with 2 pumps of white mocha, 1 pump of caramel, and 1 pump of toffee nut.  Perfection!!!

Ok, so for my challenge for you all…(and I don’t mean to be tooting my own horn as it seems to sound like that now that I’m rereading what I wrote, but necessary to explain my challenge to you):

I went through the drive-thru the other day and I often times pay for the person behind me.  This particular visit, the thought crossed my mind to pay for the person behind me, but immediately, I told myself “no” because if I did, then that’s one less visit I’ll get to make this month (how selfish am I?).  As I get up to the window and waiting for them to make my drink, I look in my rear view mirror and see a lady with a look of stress on her face or she was flustered because she had a lot on her plate (or whatever) and then notice the infant car seat in the back seat of her vehicle (yes, I could see this all in my rear view mirror).  Again, the thought pops into my mind to pay for this lady behind me.  I wasn’t going to let this thought pass me by again (maybe even a God prompting to bless this lady in turmoil behind me).  I decided to follow this possible God prompting, giving up my selfish thinking (wanting to hoard it for myself).

Every time I choose to do this, the Barista always asks me if I know the person behind me.  I had never thought about that (that I might pay for the person behind me because I know them).  I guess I never think it’s possible to be in a Starbucks drive-thru with someone I know right behind me.  Anyway, I say, “no” and the Barista always seems to be impressed.  I then think how I’m not only blessing this person behind me, but also “speaking” to this Barista who gets to experience my generosity toward a stranger and get to see the look on the persons face behind me that gets the surprise that her order had just been paid for by someone she’ll never meet.

Today something interesting happened when the Barista asked if I knew the person behind me.  He mentioned that sometimes this starts a chain reaction.  The person behind me decides to pay for the person behind her and so on.  I had never thought of that happening.  By me choosing to bless someone behind me, they may make the choice to bless the person behind them and so on.  It’s a blessing that keeps on giving and it wasn’t even planned or thought through.  And even if the person doesn’t decide to pass it on, they’ll remember what I did for them throughout the day, go home and tell their loved one or a friend, and possibly one day do the same for someone else because they remember how it felt to be blessed out of the blue by a stranger. It’s something so simple and it isn’t expensive to do. 

My Challenge To You:
I challenge you to go throughout your next week or two and bless a stranger in some way, then come back here and leave a comment telling us what you did (and you can choose to do the exact same thing I did).  I can’t wait to hear the stories!  Have fun and know that this could be just what this person needs to set their day on a great path.

Happy Valentine’s Day to my sweetheart.  I can’t imagine anyone I would rather go through this life journey with.  I love you with all of my heart!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  Have you got your significant other a card yet?  If not (and your significant other has a good sense of humor), head on over to mmmcrafts blog and print out her free Valentine card printable.  When I saw it, I just had to laugh.

I know…Kroger…really?

I NEVER use to shop at Kroger…NEVER (not that anything is wrong with it, I just always thought they were higher priced, although I’m finding that they really aren’t)! Why did I start? For one, my personal trainer started asking me to get specific name brands of food that only Kroger had. Another reason…it’s right around the corner (yes, I said it Sis) from my house and is SO convenient with a toddler to just make a quick trip and be done.

What I’ve learned about Kroger that I never knew before…

• They send you coupons periodically for things you already buy.  There’s always at least four (I got six last time) coupons for FREE items.
• The coupons that print out at the register are always for something I already buy (Gerber snacks, cheese, etc…).  Occasionally you’ll receive the questionable coupon for something you would never buy like hearing aid batteries.  LOL!
• If you have a nearby Shell station (and I’ve never been a fan of Shell before either until now), you can use your Kroger Plus card there to get 10 cents off per gallon (and I’ve heard sometimes more).  That’s a decent savings if you’re already needing gas anyway.  You earn “points” to use toward gas from purchases made at Kroger.  And, not all Shell station participate in this, although I’m finding that not all advertise that they participate and  you don’t know until you’re buying gas that they do (you’ll be prompted to slide your Kroger Plus card through their machine).  If you look online to check which Shell stations participate, not all are listed.  I just found out that the nearby (again…right around the corner) Shell station participates, but was not listed as being one that did (and they don’t advertise it).
• BONUS – They give your kids balloons (at least my kid).  I’ve never asked for one, but I think they notice Brody saying “eh eh eh eh (times infinity) and want to make him shut up.  LOL!  We’ve also found a great friend there (Miss Jennifer).  Brody LOVES seeing her (as do I) and she just loves Brody (she calls him “her boy”).

Just some pluses about Kroger that I wanted to point out in case they are of interest to anyone.  Things I didn’t know until I started going there.  The gas discount I just found out about a week ago.

I thought it would be fun to list a few of my favorite Super Bowl commercials (since that’s about the only reason I watch the Super Bowl…for the commercials).

My Favorite:

A Close Second: Check out the racing stripes on the back of the beetle. LOL!

Most creative:

The most disturbing, but funny:
<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&#038;brand=foxsports&#038;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:8a69ecae-1bfb-49a9-9e3d-5679464c5fda&#038;showPlaylist=true&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&#038;fg=RAMP" target="_new" title="Doritos: Best for last">Video: Doritos: Best for last</a>

All I could think of was, “I wonder how many “takes” they had to do of this first scene” and then, “who would I rather be…the guy licking the finger or the one having my finger licked”. Ew!

And, I have to put Brody’s favorite. I was out getting some last minute food for the game last night and Jason said that Brody laughed at this one (he loves dogs):

How funny that my top three happen to be commercials for cars.

Tomorrow, I am throwing a small Valentine’s Day Party at my house for seven of Brody’s friends.  We’re involved in an every other Friday playgroup and this just happens to be the Friday that I host, so I decided to make it a Valentine’s party.  Brody has a shirt to wear on Valentine’s Day, so I figured this would give him a chance to get more use out of it.

I found this super easy tutorial for decorating a mailbox.  This mailbox can be found in the dollar bins at Target.  I will say that they’re pretty small.  I thought they would be much bigger than they are.  They are still cute and would still fit most Valentine’s that kids hand out.  Target had a few colors on hand too (white, red, and pink).  The tutorial is called, Target Mailbox Tutorial.  Check it out if you’re interested in making one for yourself.

I also made Brody’s Valentine’s cards to hand out to his friends.  Boogie Wipes are a big thing here, so I found the “knock, knock” joke about the sneeze (see photo above to see the knock knock joke) and thought a Boogie Wipe would be perfect to go with it.  Cheesy, but somewhat creative, right?  LOL!

I also made some labels for the water bottles (just to dress them up a bit).  I found the “saying” online and just resized it to fit the water bottle label.  Some of it is printed in light pink and the flash on my phone made it “white out” so it looks like there are some blank lines.  The lines that are missing say “February 14th” and “Be Mine, Be Mine”.

I have so much fun being creative and just wish I would take more time to do so.  I still have Brody’s onesie quilt that hasn’t moved an inch since I last took a photo of it and blogged about it.  *sigh*

Me in my slippers standing on the parking space line outside the car. *sigh*

It’s been one of those days today for me.  I feel awful!  Stupid head cold.  Brody and I have had so much going on today and I’m having a hard time keeping up.

Brody has had something to do during every single “awake” time today.  This morning he had a free-for-all play at a gymnastic place, this afternoon he had his 15-month well check visit and tonight we both had a Chiropractor appointment.

So…my “unthinkable” happened today (key word “think”).  I clearly wasn’t thinking when I left the house for the Chiropractor.  As I get out of the car in the parking lot of the Chiropractor’s office, I realize (right away) that I’m still wearing my slippers.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  AGH!  There was nothing I could do but laugh.  Still laughing and shaking my head.  Just one of those days.