5 Question Friday! 3/30/12

Happy weekend, friends!  Enjoy the sun, the warmth, your families and be grateful for it all!  As always, you can answer these 5 questions and link up here!

1. What giveaway would you like to do on your blog?

I'd love to do a car seat giveaway for a GOOD extended rear-facing car seat.  I'm a huge advocate of extended rear-facing and an accommodating car seat only makes it easier to do that!  Any companies wanna hit me up?  :-)

2. If you had to choose between natural artistic ability and natural athletic ability, which would it be?
 

Hmmm, I feel like I have some of both.  I can play sports just fine and I can paint or create just fine as well.  But, I think in the end, the artistic ability wins out.  You can just do more and bless more people with it.  

3. Do you ditch the coat the minute it becomes "spring" or are you a holdout for more cool temps?

I get rid of whatever clothing, whenever I can.  But I am a baby about cold, so I will keep a coat near at all times.

4. What would you do if you won the mega millions lotto of 1/2 billion dollars?

This is a very interesting question.  Well, we strive to give 15-20% of our income away and save at least 10%, so this would be no exception.  After that, a nice house, fully paid off would be at the top of the list, followed by a couple of newer cars (no, I WOULD not buy brand new).  I'd want to make sure my husband had a nicer motorcycle.  After that, the rest would be invested.   Once our kids were older, I'd take them on an around the world tour, because that is some of the best education they could ever experience.  There's no reason we'd have to live in luxury and I'm sure we would be better off blessing others than buying tons for ourselves.  Oh, but I would plan a LONG trip to Afghanistan! 

5. You are at a hotel by yourself...what do you do?
 

Blog.  That's what I do whenever I get alone time.  And then, I'd do my favorite thing: fall asleep with the TV on!  

Do you know you're prayed for?

I bet you didn't know that I pray for you.  I have hundreds of readers from all over the world, and I don't know most of you, but I pray that all who read my blog would be encouraged, uplifted, challenged and know they are loved and important. 

But sometimes, as I'm led, I do pray specific prayers for you.  Yes, YOU.  The one behind the screen of their desktop, with kid's snotty fingerprints all over it, the one I don't know. 

You.

The one with the back problems, or the chronic fatigue syndrome.  I pray for you, the one who feels guilt or a parenting decision and you, the one who feels bad about yelling at her kids today. 

I pray for you, the one who just lost her job and wonders how she will make rent.  I pray for you, who wonders if you even have enough gas money to get you to school.

I pray for the one who can't stop crying because something hurts and the one who can't stop smiling, trying to hide that everything hurts.

I think and pray for you the one whose fears and anxieties control every aspect of your life.  I pray for you who can't muster up the courage to pursue your dream.

You.

I'm praying for you, the one who just found out her parent has cancer and you, the one whose husband just said he's addicted to porn. 

The one whose child is not progressing as they should and the one whose child is spewing hate towards you.  I pray for you whose child is no longer earthside.  I pray for you as you make difficult parenting decisions regarding your teenager.  I pray for you who longs for a child to hold.

I pray for you, the one who feels ugly all the time, the one who hates her forehead and the one who believes her life isn't worthwhile unless she can fit into 'that dress' and get rid of 'those hips'. 

I pray for you as your grapple with the aftermath of abuse.  I pray for you, the one whose life is riddled with anger, yelling, raised voices and violence. 

I pray for the one who greets her husband with a torrent of critical words every night and the one who sends arrows of jealousy as you look in envy at your neighbor's perfect life.

You.

To you who thinks God hates you, He's distant, He's forgotten you; I pray for you.

I pray for you, who still feels the pang of your abortion, you who drowns in the guilt of the secet affair you had, and I pray for you who holds a dark secret that you just can't bring to light.

I pray for you whose husband who ignores you with a busy work schedule.  And you, the one with no husband at all.  I pray for you, with the husband on the couch, uninvolved.

I pray for you as your husband criticizes your cooking, your cleaning, your mothering skills and critques your physical body.  I pray for you, the one who is sure she's 'fallen out of love with her husband' and found her true love instead.

I pray for the one who looks like she has all her shit together, but really masks the pain with an addiction.  And you who contemplates if life is worthwhile.

You.

I pray for you who is overcome with depression and you, the one who feels worthless and you, the one who wonders just exactly how you will end your own life. 

I pray for you who lurks in the shadows of shame, you who hides behind the mask of pretension and you who covers her eyes and wishes the pain to go away.

I don't pray for you because I think I'm better than you.
I don't pray for you because I know the right answer.
I don't pray for you because my life is peachy.

I pray for you because I care about you, love you and want the best for your life.  I pray for you because I've been there.  Because I AM THERE.
 
So, from ME, the one who doesn't know you, the one who doesn't have it all together and has dealt with many of the above issues....and ME, the one who doesn't know how and why prayer works, but knows that God loves you and cares for you and has the best plans for your life....I'm praying for YOU! 

And I mean that.

Photo courtesy of thereformation.net

Weekend Reading: Stuff you don't want to miss!

Happy Friday, everyone!  Enjoy your weekend!

Of interest:

Want to see what 5,000 disposable diapers look like?  Click here.

Tiffany shares the best decision she ever made as a professional blogger.

Christie asks if 'Tummy Time' is unnecessary and cruel?

Another Tiffany shares on the overuse and dangers of antibacterial products.

I'm unplugging from the world today, again

About two months ago, I posted this post about unplugging from the world.  I'm sure many of you thought I was giving up on life, but no, I wasn't, I was just going to go and enjoy myself - get my hair did, a massage, do a little shopping - all courtesy of the baby contest India won. 

It was a great day!  Busy, but great.


One thing that happened on that day that I forgot to tell you all about though was when I went to get my hair did, I went to the wrong place.  Yep.  The wrong place, with my gift certificate.

But it wasn't my fault.  They had put the correct salon's name on the gift certificate, but with the wrong address and PHONE NUMBER, so when I called to make my appointment, I called the wrong salon.  When I put the salon's address into Google Maps, I got the wrong location and ended up at the wrong salon.

Of course, I didn't find this out until after my hair was done and I presented the gift certificate.  They acknowledged it was an honest mistake (although I was willing to pay for my services), but they declined, and told me my gift certificate was still valid and I could get my hair done at the original salon. 

So, it you're tracking with me, that means I get my hair done two times, with minimal effort on my half.  I normally get my hair done two, maybe three times a year (yes, I have horrible roots), so it's a real treat that I'm going to get my hair done again today!  Yay!!!

This time my agenda isn't as full, but I still have to get back in time for my little nursling and I don't like to use up my stash of liquid gold.  Of course, I'll still be sitting in random parking lots, taking breaks to pump.  I always think that's a little funny... 

Last time, I unplugged from all things technical just to get away and be refreshed and focused on the blessings I was receiving.  Today I'm unplugged because my phone quit working almost two days ago.  PAIN.IN.THE.BUTT.

But I have got a lot more done.

And I'm not always checking the time, reading emails, 'liking' a status on Facebook or answering a text. 

I feel really weird driving an hour away, spending most of the day in this other town, then driving home for an hour, all without my phone.  My phone is my purse.  If I go somewhere, my phone is always with.  Well, mostly.  I do have a bad habit of ignoring notifications on my phone for hours, sometimes days, bypassing them just to write an email, or google something.

Anyways, I have no idea what I will do today.  I probably need to do some clothes shopping, since I'm still wearing clothes that I wore in high school. Blah, I HATE my thighs in the fluorescent lights of a changing room.  At home, my thighs are fine.  But put me in a little room, with gargantuan mirrors and lights detailing every imperfection, and all that equals one crabby Genevieve.  I normally remedy that with some Cold Stone ice cream. :)

Honestly though, I'd rather spend money on India.  I guess that's why moms look frumpy sometimes, because they spend their money on their kids. 

I just hope I don't become too frumpy. 

Maybe this cut would keep away the frumpiness...

And I won't even mention my love for this style...

Or this one either...

Can you tell I love short, minimal maintenance, bed-headish? :)  I used to have me some.  I loved it.

But without a doubt, I will come home tomorrow with my long, blond, wavy locks, because I lack courage, and I am proud of my long locks.  The better to dread in the future, right? ;)

I'm unplugging from the world today

I am.  I'm unplugging today.

Remember when I begged you all to vote for my baby girl in a baby contest?  I won some really rad things, thanks to many of you who voted for my baby girl (sorry to those of you that developed carpal tunnel because of it)!  Some of the prizes that we won include a massage, a hair cut and color and some jewelry!  My wonderful husband and father of my child, took the day off of work so I can go to a nearby town and redeem some of the gifts!

I've also been a little crafty, making some knock-off boutique baby items (no photos, I'm not so confident in my work), so I will also be buying some more supplies for that with some gift certificates.

It is a huge thing for me to spend time on myself, because I could never justify buying a massage for myself or jewelry and I've been known to add a little lemon juice to my hair to make the blond last just a wee bit longer! 

Celebrating this way today really could not have come at a better time, as yesterday I reached my 100th post on this blog!!  Considering that most of those posts have come in less than 5 months, and I'm a pretty wordy blogger, well, I'm pleased.  For your enjoyment, I'm going to share my top five blog posts with you today!

A blog is a lot of work (I'm realizing this more and more every day as this really has become a part time job) and 100 posts, now 101, is a lot of hours (days, really) of writing and researching and editing photos and fact checking and missed meals! 

I am LOVING every minute of blogging and sharing my life with you all and I hope you all are enjoying life with me! 

When I write a blog post, I have no idea how read it will be.  I NEVER would have guessed that three of these posts would make it to the top (hello, lactation cookies?).  I just write what is on my mind or about what I am knowledgeable in, but it always surprises me about what people want to read about. 

So, while I'm relaxing, unplugging and celebrating today, I thought I would share my Top 5 posts with you.

Enjoy, and hopefully I'll be back soon with some new ideas!

1. India Josephine's birth story
2. Shame on you, John Piper
3. This ain't your average milk & cookies (lactation cookies)
4. Are breastfeeding mothers being obscene?
5. Yes! I do wear my baby!