It's My Party: The Aftermath Day 5

"Don't listen to those who would give you reasons why you can't succeed. You're a child of God and with credentials like that, you can do anything!" ~ Linda Lee Elrod

(Words found on my favorite mug given to me by a wise man on my 20th birthday who told me you should never work on your birthday. So I didn't!)

I guess I have acted a bit like the Birthday Queen this week. Thank you to all for allowing me to be this self-indulgent. This is more posts than I ever do in one week (and fair warning that I won't be able to keep up daily posts after this!).

Wow.

Who knew that you all had that much to say?

And just when I was about ready to chuck Facebook out the door, they threw a virtual party over there. I think that everyone deserves a standing ovation, and that Facebook love comes pretty close.

Remember this post? I know that you were all dying to see me in the dress from the reunion (can you believe that there really is not one photo of me with my husband from this shindig? We were having a good time but on opposite sides of the room!) Thought you would like to see how that all panned out. And since it is all about the things I love this week {;-) I have to say that I LOVE everything about this dress and those shoes. And the foundation garment underneath it all! The way they made me feel was priceless! But more than that, to have the most popular guy in high school, the guy who teased you mercilessly for 4++ years, to have him compliment you on how good you looked? Well, that was enough for me.

There has to be another occasion to wear this ensemble. I need to go to the grocery store on Saturday... ;-)

I can't believe that I forgot some people in my love fest from yesterday. I think that after midnight my mind wanders. (Fair warning: it is well after midnight now, peeps!)

Who did I forget? My sweet sister, of course!

Easter 1976 with my little sister Kelly in all her cuteness! I am STYLIN' in that ensemble, don't you think? Of course she is adorable! And that gap toothed grin goes so well with the doily on my head. AWEsome!

Tailgating at the Iowa-Wisconsin game in 1994 with my sister Kelly, mom Gail and me.

Kelly is all kinds of supportive to me. She is a beautiful soul. She encourages me to be a dreamer and then blows a gentle breeze at my back to encourage me to fly. I love her so! (I think we need a more up to date photo!)

And the other is really the entire community that is being built with each post, each comment, each email. It is YOU dear reader, that give me the most awesome strength! I always say that I would continue to write even without comments, but let's face it. Comments are like crack to a blogger. If you are a lurker (and thanks for some of you for picking this week to surface! Such a great gift!), whether here, there or anywhere, try the commenting on for size. I agree that it is fun to sit back and watch all the great inspiration that is written and photographed and created each day on the blogosphere, but to truly optimize your experience, to really LIVE this community, you have to be a good citizen. And the best way I know how is to be a good neighbor. Start small if you like, but soon you will find that you are having whole conversations with someone halfway around the world (hi Stefanie! hi Rebecca!) and you will wonder not only where your time went, but it is a bit like having a bit of your heart walking around with that friend from far away. Try it. It is a great gift you give the blogger, but your heart will swell with this connection as well. I guarantee it.

Since you all asked, it was a most blessed and lovely day. For my birthday I... made the biggest pot of coffee... did NOT go to work... got sun on my face and watched the clouds drift by... left my Tiny Dancer at the Point Tap Festival where she started a three day intensive with world renowned tap instructors from Broadway... enjoyed a Revive shake at my favorite wellness shop... stopped into the Gallery Q to chat and see the new displays... school shopped for what seemed like hours...and then Lynna and I went to see the movie The Help with my mom and sister for a girls night out. I saw most of it (long story, that one) but I can tell you that it was awesome! I would pay to go see it again, or to rent it. I took Tiny Dancer with even though she is only 10 (PG-13) but I knew that it was such a great story, and a way to experience that time in history in a way that would be most accessible. She loved it as well. Especially the "terrible awful" part (and if you don't know what that means you will have to see the movie or read the book to find out!). There are some parts that are not as true to the book, but I felt that what they did actually made the story better.

So...what to do for this final giveaway (are you sick of them yet, peeps? ;-)?

One of my favorite things is to lose myself in a good movie (that is all that Paul and I ever did for the first five years we were dating, since there wasn't a lot to do in this town before you turn 21!). I don't get to do it often enough. And for me to go to the theater it has to be good.

I have yet to see Harry Potter 7 part 2 (still have to watch part 1).  But there are some awesome ones on the way! Sherlock Holmes 2, A Dolphin's Tale, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Hugo (one of the BEST books ever, The Invention of Hugo Cabret) and even a new Muppet movie! I think that this winter will be spent in the cool dark comfort of a movie theater!

For this giveaway I have an assortment of movie-time goodies: popcorn containers, microwave popcorn, movie candy like Sour Jacks, chewy Lemonheads (oh so good!), sour strings, Air Heads and M&Ms. All you need to do is add your favorite movie!

Ready to win? All you need to do to enter is answer one of the following questions. Winner will be chosen at random from all comments on this post through Saturday, August 13th.You MUST have your email turned on in your profile to win, or provide your email in your comment. (A good way to know if you are entered is if I reply to you by email. I make a point of answering every comment ;-)Winner will be announced next week.

What is your favorite movie of all time and why? 
What movie are you most looking forward to seeing this year?  


Thank you for playing! All the giveaways this week will be open through Saturday, August 13th at midnight EST. And for one extra day to play, come on over to the Art Bead Scene for my Studio Saturday on August 13th for one more giveaway!