Tune in Tuesday

Today's Tune in Tuesday is pretty old as it is from 2007. It is an American Idol performance from Blake Lewis. I have watched almost every season of American Idol and this is BY FAR one of my favorite American Idol performances. 

Favorite Friday

If anyone knows me at all, they know that my all time favorite soda is Vanilla Coke.  It came out in 2002 and I've been obsessed ever since. 

In 2006 Coke decided to "shelf" Vanilla Coke so to speak. They came out with Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and while it was nowhere near how magical Vanilla Coke was, I was forced to buy it if I wanted any version of Vanilla Coke.

Once Coke realized that they couldn't replace such a marvelous beverage, they reintroduced Vanilla Coke in 2007. It is now marketed as Coca-Cola Vanilla. They can call it whatever they want but it will always be Vanilla Coke to me.

Seven x Seven

I've been absent for the past few days as Chase came down with some kind of sickness last Tuesday. We took him to the doctor on Monday where we found out that he had a double ear infection. He also had to have some chest x-rays to see if he had pneumonia, which, thankfully, he didn't. However, this poor boy has a super runny nose, a horrible cough, and has just plain been grouchy since he came down with it. Olivia has only had a runny nose so far. Hopefully she'll be able to miss out completely. I got a sore throat last Friday and have now also come down with the chest cough and runny nose. I haven't felt this horrible in who knows how long.

Moving on: Tuesday, Kate Bro at Discover.Create.Live awarded me the Seven x Seven award.

So here's how it works:

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you
• Share 7 facts about yourself
• Share 7 blog posts that fit into 7 categories
• Nominate 7 award-worthy blogs/bloggers, and leave them a message letting them know!

7 Facts:

1. I got married directly out of high school to my high school sweetheart. <3

2. My favorite music artist by far is TobyMac. I've had a ridiculous crush on him since Jr High and I'm okay with that. My newest favorite music artist is Michael Buble. I just can't get enough of either one.

3. Volleyball is my all-time favorite sport. After playing it for 7 years I've been given the opportunity to coach it for the past 3 years both at the high school and Jr High level and USA club.

4. I'm an avid reader. My favorite authors are Gilbert Morris and Karen Kingsbury but I'll read almost anything. 

5. I've never broken any bones, not even a finger. I have had 2 x-rays though, one for my thumb (sprained) and one for my ankle (probably just sprained as well). 

6. I have horrible eyes. My contact prescription is a -9. I also have to use Restasis as they are super dry. I've also worn glasses since Kindergarten.

7. I've had the same best friend since Kindergarten. And now we're next door neighbors. :)

7 Blog Posts:

1. Most Controversial - What Not to Wear Wednesday: Muffin Tops

2. Most Personal - Feeling Nostalgic

3. Most Animals - Favorite Friday

4. Most Rears - What Not to Wear Wednesday

5. Most Laughs - Tune In Tuesday

6. Most Helpful - Thankful Thursday

7. Most Information - Catch Up

7 Blogs

1. Amy @ The Idea Room

2. Jen @ Simply Living

3. Shelley @ The House of Smiths

4. C Mae @ Happiness is...

5. Danette @ A Day in the Life

6. g*rated

7. Julie @ Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss

Favorite Friday

Friday's will be the days that I post different things that I love. This will be like a "get to know you" day, but hopefully without all the words and awkwardness. ;)

I'm going to start with my most favorite animal in the world: the giraffe.

Aren't they magnificent?

How could you not love that face?

I mean, seriously? LOVE! <3

I think that giraffe loves me, too!

My favorite daughter was even a giraffe for Halloween. (Yes, that is an adorable monkey, too)

They even make a giraffe pillowpet. Someone must buy me this.

Danette even bought Chase a giraffe shirt. :) (Sidenote, I can't believe how big he is)

Photo: Cassidy VanMaanen

I fed this bad boy at the zoo! And yes, it was one of the best days of my life. :D

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for something that I never thought I'd actually be thankful for: our van. 

This is obviously not a picture of our actual van. I only have two photos of our van and they just show the damage from hitting that stupid deer. 

While our Expedition had plenty of room, the Town and Country allows us to move from the front seat to the middle/back seats without having to do all the acrobatics that we had to do in the Expedition. Keep in mind that I loved that Expedition, but our plan was to drive it 'til it died, which we did manage to do. 

We had a few deal-breakers. We wanted a van with leather seats, a sunroof, dvd player, navigation, and power everything (including 3rd row seating). We were so blessed to find this van not too long after beginning our search. Our van meets all of our requirements and even added one that I'm sure will be important as our children get older...

Dual DVD players. This will allow both children the option to watch two different movies. I'm not sure how long it will take Chase to tire of watching Disney Princess movies, but I know that at some point he will want to watch Cars and other movies that Olivia might not want to watch. (I do wish to mention that Olivia REALLY loves Cars 2 right now, but I know that there will be times when they will fight just to drive me crazy.)

We were also able to give Olivia the one requirement that she wanted in a new vehicle: we found a "purple" one. Technically, it's probably a burgundy, but I don't have a problem referring to it as purple. :)

What Not to Wear Wednesday

It's time for the second edition of What Not to Wear Wednesday. Lest you think that women are the only ones who occasionally dress inappropriately or immodestly, let's take a look at one of the biggest offenders in men's fashion.

I hardly even know where to begin. Perhaps I'll begin with a little song. "Pants on the ground, pants on the ground. Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground." (This is part of a song written by General Larry Platt. He sang this on American Idol in 2010. Click here to see his audition.)

When your pants are hanging off your rear they do NOT fit appropriately. If you have to hold your crotch area while walking in order to ensure that they stay up, well, that's just inappropriate. I feel inappropriate having to even point that out. If you're wearing a belt just to keep your pants at that spot right underneath your rear, do I really need to tell you that those pants don't fit? Apparently so. 

Another thing, if you're a teenage celebrity that most pre-teen and teenage girls scream over whenever they merely think of you, don't you  think you should dress without fear of your pants falling down? Or so that these same pre-teen and teenage girls aren't constantly staring at your crotch or rear in hopes that these pants fall down? Don't you have enough money to buy jeans that fit? I'm pretty sure that you do. 

This, my friends, is Justin Bieber, teenage heartthrob. I'm not going to talk about anything other than his pants, even though there are other things that annoy me about this boy.  In the first photo, Justin is holding his pants up by the crotch. Very classy, might I add. The second and third photos go together as the third is making sure that you know that the second photo is, in fact, the same kid. Why the belt if you're just going to wear your pants off your rear. Why?

These photos represent how men's jeans should fit. They're not skinny jeans (trust me, there'll be a post on that as well) and they're not so baggy that your pants are falling down. These men have jeans that are covering their rears and they could run around without fear of them falling down.

Take notice, men. Please don't wear jeans like Justin Bieber; rather, wear jeans that fit you. And trust me, those jeans are easy to find. Your size may not be easy to find but every store sells jeans that real men, rather then little boys, should wear.

Tune in Tuesday

I've decided to use Tuesday's to post Youtube videos that I find interesting.

Today's Youtube clip is part of Kristen Bell's interview on Ellen. Now, before you decide not to watch it just because it was on The Ellen Show, you should realize that this is about the funniest clip about sloth's that will ever be made. I laughed. I cried. I was jealous; though for myself, I would prefer a giraffe, of course. ;) 

Turn up your volume and enjoy! :)




Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown

(This is an actual photo from the clip. Doesn't she look excited?)

Feeling Nostalgic

The other day my mom gave me a box of a while bunch of things that she had saved for me throughout the years. There were tests, pictures I had colored or drawn, and other odds and ends. One of the things I stumbled upon was given to me sometime in middle school. I can't remember if one of my teachers gave it to me or if it was one of my friends, but I remembered how much I loved it and I just wanted to share it today. 

(As a side note because a lot of people do not know this about me, I am, in fact, adopted. It's not something that I am ashamed of. It has been a very instrumental part of my life and has helped shaped me and the decisions that I make)

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?
Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love.

- Unknown

Thankful Thursday

It's very easy to take things for granted and as I don't want to do that, I thought it would be a great idea to post at least one thing per week that I am thankful for.

Today I am very thankful for the Bissel Steam and Sweep mop. It is by far the best thing I've ever used on our ceramic tile. We have the tile in our kitchen/dining room, entry way, laundry room, and both bathrooms. I love how it sweeps up the crumbs in the kitchen and then with a quick press of a button I can mop the area up as well. Chase is notorious for making messes at our house and this mop makes it so much easier to clean up after he eats.

A super big thank you to my parents for getting it for me for Christmas. It's definitely one of the best gifts that I have received. 

 

What Not to Wear Wednesday

Yes. This is happening. I'm just so tired of seeing people wearing things that either don't fit them or don't go together or are just plain ridiculous. Someone must stop the madness. 

I am so tired of seeing women wearing clothing like this. If you want to wear low rise jeans, fine. But please, for the sake of everyone, wear a loose fitting shirt. This does NOT, in any way, shape or form, make you look thin. All it does is make you look bigger than you actually are. As a side note, even if you are wearing higher cut jeans, please wear a looser fitting shirt. As you can tell, even from these small photos, you can see what color skin each girl has through the shirt. That's not attractive. 

Here are a few tips:

Buy a size larger shirt than you would normally buy if you want a "tight" shirt.

Wear a belly band.

Buy higher waisted bottoms. Notice I didn't say high waisted. You don't want "mom jeans".

Layer your clothing. Wear a camisole under or a cardigan or jacket over the top.

Look for prints and textures.

Wear dresses. Especially ones with an empire waist or front or side ruching.

Look for shirts with ruching.