PLEASE Vote for my Design!

As part of a promotional contest going on this month, I entered a design and I'm asking YOU to vote for it! (Click HERE to vote!) 😀 You see, recently I learned about this company "Basepaws" that offers a DNA test for your cats--and if I can get enough votes on my design, then we will win one of these DNA tests and I can test one of my feline furbabies! SO PLEASE VOTE! 😀

All you have to do is click the Facebook "like" button above the design, and you're done!

Vote for Hearo Van Gogh!

Please vote for our kitty in the Mountain America Credit Union Pet Photo Contest, he only needs 50 votes to make it to the semi-finals! He is a rescue kitten named Hearo Van Gogh (hence the missing ear), and seriously the SWEETEST thing on the planet--please vote for him so the whole world can see how adorable he is!! ;)

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!

For My Uncle Jim

My dear Uncle Jim suffered an accident last week while on vacation with his family and is in need of help. He and his family are my favorite people--Uncle Jim taught me to eat my vegetables, to treat everyone you meet as a friend, and that there is always something in life to be enjoyed, no matter how hard things are. The Andersen family are truly the sweetest, kindest, most genuine people you will ever meet, and they honestly would help anyone with anything. This is a huge change Jim and his family are going through. If you are in a position to give, I know my family would be very appreciative. Prayers and support welcome. Thank you all.

Click Here to Support the Andersen Family!

On April 7th, while on vacation with his family in St George, UT Jim Andersen suffered a serious fall. As a result, Jim and his family are facing significant unexpected medical expenses, and need some support to get back on track.

Jim makes everyone he meets laugh. He has always been the guy that jumps to help anyone in need. His generosity and warmth to others have been felt by all who know him. He is a much loved and admired father, favorite uncle, brother, neighbor and friend. Jim is a hard worker, and was just getting ready to start a new job on his return from vacation. Jim will be unable to work now, while he is rehabilitating after the fall. 

Jim's wife, Jeanmarie, has been teaching children in the school district for 12 years now. She is going to be stepping away from her classroom duties for a time to support Jim in his recovery.

This wonderful family really needs our help so that they can focus on recovery without the worry of financial difficulties that will come with this life changing accident. Your donation is of crucial importance to this family's peace of mind.

There is no way to know exactly what the medical expenses are going to be at this time, but they will be significant. If there are funds left over, they will be paid forward to another family facing a medical challenge. Thank you for your generosity.

Baby Seal Goes Surfing

My dad showed me this video today--totally want a GoPro Camera, but anyhow... this is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Standing up for Beauty

I absolutely LOVE this! I think Colbie Caillat is BEAUTIFUL--and yet even SHE has to be photoshopped to fit society's standard of "beautiful." I'm so glad that someone in the Hollywood scene is finally standing up for being beautiful--not this distorted and unrealistic junk we see everywhere, but real and true beautiful.

This video is so interesting to watch--not just for the message, but to see just how much they do to change people for a photo op.

Sunday Sweets: Happy Ice Cream Day!

I so agree! :) Did you know that we have a National Ice Cream Day?? How awesome is that?? and it's TODAY!!!! :) So, Happy Ice Cream Day everyone!

If you sign up for Cold Stone's email list/My Cold Stone Membership (it's free, don't worry), you can get a coupon this week to buy one get one free on ice cream--ice cream is my favorite dessert, and right now I have a small (okay, maybe not so small) obsession with Cold Stone's Oreo Filling Ice Cream--oh my goodness, it's the best! So you know where I'll be going this week. ;)

Welcome to My Home

I love decorating and making things "homey," but sometimes that costs A LOT more money than we can afford as "starving college students." I have seen these monogram wreaths all over lately, and really wanted one to make our apartment more welcoming--but it was far outside of our budget. However, as with anything in life, being told no has never stopped me. ;) 

My parents happen to have just pruned their grape vines one week when I stopped by for a visit, so I grabbed an armful and went to work shaping them into a nice round wreath. Next, I used my Cricut to cut out various shapes, sizes, and colors of flowers:

I also used my Cricut to cut out a giant monogram "M" (also to celebrate that I finally "officially" changed my last name--two years later...). I traced my "M" on a piece of cardboard for a more dimensional effect, and cut it out with an exacto knife. I put it all together, and I must say that for something that was so ridiculously inexpensive (aka FREE!), I am extremely pleased with the result:

MUCH more homey and welcoming than just a generic dark apartment door. :)

What I Found While Watering the Flowers

While we live in a beautiful area up on the mountain and thus enjoy all the natural wonders around us--we also live on the third floor of an apartment complex, and so there isn't always a lot of natural flora and fauna to experience while in the apartment. My husband has been very helpful in building planter boxes for our porch, so I am able to entertain my own albeit little flower garden--that is as much of a garden as one can create on a third floor balcony. ;) I am quite proud of my little balcony garden actually, and quite enjoy spending time out with my little baby flowers.

Every morning I take a few minutes to check on my flowers--watering as needed, pruning, etc.--just as part of my daily routine. It is during this time I can hear the little hungry baby birdies crying for their breakfast (there is a hidden little black bird nest somewhere above our patio, deep in a crevice of the building, so you can't see it). I believe this is the second or third batch of birds this summer, and this past week they have sounded as if they are almost nearly old enough to leave the nest. 

However, a few days ago I took down a hanging flower basket outside from our patio in order to water it, and found something I definitely was NOT expecting...

This little guy just chillin' among my petunias--Well Good Morning indeed! I'm surprised, not just because it's not something I tend to find every day (I haven't really had many run-ins with snakes), but also because we are three stories off the ground in an apartment complex. Poor little guy must have been rather startled as well, because as soon as I saw him I dropped the basket and he crashed to the patio. 

Once my heart started beating again I suddenly began to realize that I couldn't hear the birds chirping as I generally do during my morning routine, and as my new little snake friend began to slink away I saw that he appeared to have recently eaten... which made me feel much less bad when I trapped him in a bucket to examine and determine his species (Gopher Snake by the way--for being named after a burrowing animal, it sure is good at scaling tall buildings) and show my husband.

Hopefully no more reptiles will be frequenting my flowers.

Rufus the Hawk

This time of year makes my hsuband VERY antsy--it's the time of year when several species of baby hawks are fleding, and time for us to begin our falconry season. I have always LOVED animals, but will admit that I never thought I could call myself a "falconer"--yet, thanks to an amazingly talented husband, last year we both received Falconry Licenses so now I can add falconry to my list of hobbies!

Knowing how much we love falconry, my dad showed me an interesting Wimbleton fact the other day that I bet you didn't know:  Rufus the Harris Hawk. The famous Wimbleton courts are carefully maintained within the millimeter with perennial ryegrass, a delicious treat that attracts numerous pigeon visitors--who understandably disrupt games and cause problems. What to do with so many pesky birds? That's where Rufus comes in.

Rufus is an absolutely gorgeous Harris Hawk who has been on pigeon control at Wimbleton since 2000. Read about him on KSL or just Google Rufus and Wimbleton--he is so awesome!

My favorite part about Rufus is this commercial--very entertaining in my opinion:

Sunday Sweets: Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad in the whole wide world! <3 p="">