tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458242413940083122024-02-20T02:58:54.930-07:00bee and roseDawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-15705083751997819222015-03-02T22:35:00.002-07:002015-03-02T22:36:30.253-07:00A Mighty Heart<br />
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Hi Friends! It's been a long while since I've been in the Land of Blogger, but I wanted to share a very special story with you about a lovely young lady with a mighty heart. That young lady is my sweet daughter, who some of you may know as "Irish Dancer Girl" from my past writings. She is now just our darling Catherine and I hope you will read her story. I am so very, very proud to be her mama. Her daddy is smiling from heaven so delighted at all she has accomplished. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read her story :)<br />
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<a href="https://silverliningstoryteller.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/a-mighty-heart/">https://silverliningstoryteller.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/a-mighty-heart/</a><br />
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-25174594439487275432014-12-08T12:19:00.002-07:002014-12-08T12:21:56.007-07:00Silver Linings, Storytelling and Man-deer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well hello there! It's been a little while, but I've been a busy lady this year what with my international romance and all. (more on that to come...insert wink wink here please!) For the moment, I cordially invite you to scooty on over to my new place <a href="http://silverliningstoryteller.com/" target="_blank">www.silverliningstoryteller.com !</a><br />
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I am spinning my usual tales of sarcasm (aka ramblings, mutterings and confusion) over there and would love for you to stop in for a visit:) I just babbled a bit about my merry tale of how my <a href="http://silverliningstoryteller.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/a-lost-claus/" target="_blank">Holiday Meltdown 2014</a>
was averted. If you feel one of those coming on yourself, please feel free to wander over for sympathy. May you all
navigate the coming weeks with candy canes, cocoa and Man-deer (a real thing, not an urban legend...I promise! I saw one!) And since "You Know Who" (no, not Voldemort) is watching, you better be good for goodness sakes!<br />
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xoxo,<br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-46464830204004664782014-04-03T05:24:00.000-07:002014-04-03T05:49:05.088-07:00For Gigi ... A Letter to Heaven<div align="center">
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Today there is a happy celebration in Heaven as it would be my beautiful grandmother Gigi's birthday. Gigi was definitely the most important influence on my life and it became crystal clear to me how deeply when I was asked to write the eulogy for her memorial service a few years back. I decided to send a letter directly to God explaining what amazing treasure was on it's way. It is a letter meant to bring smiles and giggles. Thanks in advance for allowing me to share that special letter with you today as we honor her memory:)<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">On the day I was born, you bestowed upon me a truly precious gift...my
grandmother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gigi, Mimi, Gram,
Grandma...she had many names, but one heart overflowing with love for her
family. There's not a day that goes by that Gigi doesn't influence me in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009278.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes it’s the crocheted potholders I use when getting Catherine's
pizza out of the oven. Some days, it's watching Catherine put on her lip gloss
and earrings to start her day because Gigi always told her that's what ladies
do...(sorry, Gigi...I haven't been able to convince her about the bed making
thing yet! I'll keep working on it!) Or it could be Connor wanting to take us
all down in a game of Monopoly...Gigi turned Connor into a total Monopoly
addict!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to mention, she turned the
entire family into a bunch of card sharks!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes, it's playing "Riddly Riddly I Dee Dee" with the kids
or finding pictures in the clouds...Steph and I have learned the value of a
good Word Find puzzle or a game of Solitaire from Gigi...You could always count
on Gigi to have a great Word Find book laying around!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Every morning I see Gigi when I fold the pink and white blanket she made
for Catherine as a gift on the day she was born. That is an heirloom that
Catherine will treasure forever. And there hasn't been a single Christmas in my
adult life that my Christmas tree hasn't been covered in crocheted snowflakes
compliments of Gigi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Every time I drive my car, I have Gigi to thank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She took me out for driving lessons in her
green Maverick when I was 16.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had some
good times in that green machine even if she did pull a few Starsky and Hutch
moves across route 23 on more than one occasion!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">And of course, there is the infamous Poptart incident....I can thank Gigi for making
sure that I will never eat a piece of bologna EVER...I walked in the kitchen
one sunny day to find Gigi enjoying a strawberry Poptart and bologna
sandwich!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gross!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But put a lima bean in her face or a glass of
water with ice and you'd have thought you were trying to torture her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr3zIrdUahqUanAN1SuS4PnhwRlONa79LlwR5ZqHcpKGN894xDMho_bp_dRX77SykYHD230BZsrcwELbENXu-HVJdKWgdG0IBaYOa5fbHQMptNNOuc5W6FJxCee-LwW72eysy9gbbg3c/s1600-h/Copy+of+cats+bday+dvd+171a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr3zIrdUahqUanAN1SuS4PnhwRlONa79LlwR5ZqHcpKGN894xDMho_bp_dRX77SykYHD230BZsrcwELbENXu-HVJdKWgdG0IBaYOa5fbHQMptNNOuc5W6FJxCee-LwW72eysy9gbbg3c/s320/Copy+of+cats+bday+dvd+171a.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320484874822425586" style="height: 320px; width: 238px;" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I can't count the times we dressed her up and she patiently donned whatever
costume or hat was requested...she always did it with good humor...even if it
required wearing fake boobs with tattoos!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Which leads me to a few things you need to know, God...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Although Gigi seemed to be very sweet and innocent, she could be quite
ornery on occasion! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the time I
spent the night with her and she woke up at 2 am giggling like crazy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She fell asleep with her dentures in and they
fell out into the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After searching
around the covers, we discovered the wayward dentures...attached to my
leg!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a bad case of the giggles
for the rest of the night and I slept on the couch after that!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Or how about that time when she paid a stripper to dance for me! What in
the world!!! Hello! I'm the modest grand-daughter! Oh, and let's not forget,
tossing back a few shots of Jack Daniels with Clay and Stephanie!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I cannot even count the times she put
"bunny ears" behind me when the kids were around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was also that game of late night Ring
Around the Rosie out in my parent's front yard that still remains legendary to this
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good times are coming to Heaven,
God!</span></div>
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009273.jpg" height="200" width="181" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">But the most important thing for you to know about Gigi is how much she
loved children. When she worked at the hospital, she used to hold the newborns
up to the windows so Steph and I could see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Connor was born, I called her the Baby
Whisperer because she could calm his marathon crying episodes in a matter of minutes. She had no
problem playing GI Joe with the boys, dolls and dress up with the girls or
board games with both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She even ate a
heart-shaped cookie made out of Playdoh because Catherine "baked" it
for her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No joke...took a bite and told
her it was delicious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is truly the
best grandmother in all of your creation.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietxq0VzJC-PVlMUmPrpovm2oilqkHWRYv3wZdm1JjJgViQ0mlyuw8UevkygpZaCDPz-61boz93y7g3A1a82BqjYsWPGgKtkgpK5dNG4GuIMtjDyy6nUs74lSWBUunaMM6hWbLa-nYayo/s1600-h/january+2009+283.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietxq0VzJC-PVlMUmPrpovm2oilqkHWRYv3wZdm1JjJgViQ0mlyuw8UevkygpZaCDPz-61boz93y7g3A1a82BqjYsWPGgKtkgpK5dNG4GuIMtjDyy6nUs74lSWBUunaMM6hWbLa-nYayo/s320/january+2009+283.jpg" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320482179635825698" style="height: 320px; width: 215px;" width="134" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> I can't imagine what my life will be without her...she has been my
confidant and my sweet best friend...and I will miss her every day for the rest
of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed recently that I
can see the shape of her hands in my own...Thank you, God for giving me her
hands...may they give the same deep love to my family that hers gave to me...I
will honor her memory by using my hands to bring happiness to those I love just
like Gigi did...Her hands were busy hands...holding those she loved, helping
with chores, making good food, a healing touch when a loved one wasn't well,
writing cards for all occasions, making beautiful things, and of course, putting
on the lipstick and earrings. She was a class act and you’re really lucky to be welcoming her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Treasure her, God....she touched so many
lives here on this Earth with her generous heart and her smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure she has her "shows" up
there...I know All My Children might be cancelled down here, but I'm sure
you've got some pull on that side, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Give her some Poptarts and bologna, some baby angels to love on, and
she'll spread the love up there as well. Thank you for loving me so much, Lord, that you gave Effie Eunice Lauerman
to me as my grandmother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will wrap
myself in her memories for the rest of my life...that is the blanket that she
made for me....</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Love, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Dawn </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Fun Facts about Gigi</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">She liked to shake her booty</span></div>
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009287.jpg" height="320" style="height: 387px; width: 338px;" width="279" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">She loved babies (she was a baby nurse!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYoBqU7as0IqXq0kEG-Wve7Ck-RBtkS569v4oykHGgfjLmMfChh_DyTV9fdDDKVwvkU5Hj_nsEHeJBaekTuH-CK3_4hf00dA4sAq5JcnJz19s0sJLWolIoo3HbCLvJptX1IGzMYncF7U/s1600-h/scan0041a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYoBqU7as0IqXq0kEG-Wve7Ck-RBtkS569v4oykHGgfjLmMfChh_DyTV9fdDDKVwvkU5Hj_nsEHeJBaekTuH-CK3_4hf00dA4sAq5JcnJz19s0sJLWolIoo3HbCLvJptX1IGzMYncF7U/s320/scan0041a.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320482900757707554" style="height: 241px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"> (Gigi , Connor and Cat)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">When Gigi was born, she was so tiny she could fit inside a teacup!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">She made cool stuff like blankies, snowflakes and awesome noodles (that are illegal in many states!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">She liked to play with us, get her groove on to some funky music and dress up in fancy costumes</span><br />
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009270-3.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/gigiblog001-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Is this lady cool or what????</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 180%;">****<span style="color: #3366ff;">WARM FUZZIES</span>****</span></div>
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<div align="center">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Gigi was always good for a fit of giggles!</span><br />
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009267.jpg" /></a><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009279.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 78%;">(my awesome nephew, gigi and pre-tween caveboy) (gigi and pre-tween caveboy)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">She was always a snappy dresser! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;">(Check out her fabulous polka dots!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWuEi0fM6eWmkVWtHnK3b0-YnAZrMpK9DYIAQVUmfHR8bEaiqRbhOjiIXWbFnaFwqqZZPLMRKtmBI1H_OCRfyJ9sxpd8guj5XMR4StDNq3Zn4DgFMcfthVzGcZI8YaSvffktjTI1iFjs/s1600-h/a+mommy+003a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWuEi0fM6eWmkVWtHnK3b0-YnAZrMpK9DYIAQVUmfHR8bEaiqRbhOjiIXWbFnaFwqqZZPLMRKtmBI1H_OCRfyJ9sxpd8guj5XMR4StDNq3Zn4DgFMcfthVzGcZI8YaSvffktjTI1iFjs/s320/a+mommy+003a.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320485786026695618" style="cursor: hand; height: 281px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you asked her nicely, she'd wear all kinds of hats</span> </div>
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009268.jpg" /></a><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009269.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009280.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She LOVEd to be a goofball!</span></div>
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<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009271.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtonry10t8bwXUVkhCaj5XwJB3pmR20dOY0uTZE5vrpWqbr-igEaB0jsxvhty6LtTkmaX4-sb7oR6zNEDm1DCq_bPSTE1JvYeWHVzAHHy08xqGeQc6OGILZus422JpqZwy1S4cZA8kwf0/s1600-h/Race+22a.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtonry10t8bwXUVkhCaj5XwJB3pmR20dOY0uTZE5vrpWqbr-igEaB0jsxvhty6LtTkmaX4-sb7oR6zNEDm1DCq_bPSTE1JvYeWHVzAHHy08xqGeQc6OGILZus422JpqZwy1S4cZA8kwf0/s320/Race+22a.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320486261623445186" style="cursor: hand; height: 315px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="font-size: large;">She's a true Princess in my book</span> </span></div>
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<div align="center">
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/dawnsmith8/january2009272.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;">(Gigi with Catherine on her 1st birthday)</span><br />
<br />
We miss you so much, Gigi each and every day!</div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday in Heaven, Gigi! Love you!</div>
Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-14216970736081493292014-03-17T10:30:00.000-07:002014-03-17T10:57:30.679-07:00A Wee Drop of Irish (or Cloudy With a Chance of B*tchy Part 2)<div align="center">
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<span style="color: #33cc00; font-size: 180%;">Happy St. Patrick's Day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How about a wee stroll down memory lane? Thank you to everyone who messaged me about sharing this blast from the past again this year:) (yes, Maureen...I do read your emails too!) Even though it was originally posted in 2009, not too much has changed (says Dawn in her <strike>"I can't believe I have PMS every single year at this same time"</strike> happy (think Pharrell singing "Happy") voice. So grab a cup of Irish coffee, Jameson whiskey, Guinness or whatever suits your fancy on this fine St. Patrick's Day and let me share a tale of whimsy with you. (and may the luck of the Irish be with you if you come my way today! Don't say I didn't warn you!) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTD0LBIVVApX_x0rCsJtIom7jcq9WtXkqBjardpfVDpWRNfRj9vmyTRUKuS5chsvQ5c8OStzC4RL9AwS4X3w771OEBcJwjNvhJ_NZ8CZUNRLESilestXCVFc3FgNN8XcQfzqf_eUIYP4/s1600-h/2007-PMSDuck.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTD0LBIVVApX_x0rCsJtIom7jcq9WtXkqBjardpfVDpWRNfRj9vmyTRUKuS5chsvQ5c8OStzC4RL9AwS4X3w771OEBcJwjNvhJ_NZ8CZUNRLESilestXCVFc3FgNN8XcQfzqf_eUIYP4/s200/2007-PMSDuck.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313942226719197122" style="height: 200px; width: 169px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oops! What's she doing here again? Wasn't she just here a month ago? UGH! The nerve! We had so much "fun" last time she was here, didn't we? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, since I have a full day of <span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>Irish</strong></span> activities planned, I guess I better be gettin' my <span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>Irish</strong></span> on....hmm...let's see...maybe I'll go drink some breakfast. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQbG-nObEOCBA7Eh8Gmd3PYsqk0yVrMLg2SYWwk4M9jUfGlQC7dXbiax4WfaYpxmtDeW73NckoT8c1JMYyZs4NAHt1m0Ahl-A_lrBj2NXTLbPx6AfkNzX5Oka6N1n13UwGycP1mvL8hM/s1600-h/k_Irish-coffee.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQbG-nObEOCBA7Eh8Gmd3PYsqk0yVrMLg2SYWwk4M9jUfGlQC7dXbiax4WfaYpxmtDeW73NckoT8c1JMYyZs4NAHt1m0Ahl-A_lrBj2NXTLbPx6AfkNzX5Oka6N1n13UwGycP1mvL8hM/s200/k_Irish-coffee.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314106425328655170" style="height: 200px; width: 151px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQGekbZss47bOdzaLWMm800CJdn4McFKkQ4LatNEiKSJJC4jdzEsDxhX8yHYfpUPw6lNqkpBNVYxNmyFmZXsV7bBh7h1m4fJzkaSpq-ihxrhaJyRenAd0a7aHnVCpNXRw2wZ0wGMcxS0/s1600-h/171.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQGekbZss47bOdzaLWMm800CJdn4McFKkQ4LatNEiKSJJC4jdzEsDxhX8yHYfpUPw6lNqkpBNVYxNmyFmZXsV7bBh7h1m4fJzkaSpq-ihxrhaJyRenAd0a7aHnVCpNXRw2wZ0wGMcxS0/s200/171.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313942461470412898" style="height: 200px; width: 145px;" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitj4n7PxWuC2HugH3fsn-ZI86ghVOaeb46-Js9jHrwAKJC2d3sge_WCrt3HxM-lSgvc4oO2idAX_gqBZy2pF4QZ7X1Jjy5p41KXR_FSUUmYD_JhmGOkO-T9FMZ4u5aH1RXaiL0NCL2jpw/s1600-h/BaileysIrishCreamCup.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitj4n7PxWuC2HugH3fsn-ZI86ghVOaeb46-Js9jHrwAKJC2d3sge_WCrt3HxM-lSgvc4oO2idAX_gqBZy2pF4QZ7X1Jjy5p41KXR_FSUUmYD_JhmGOkO-T9FMZ4u5aH1RXaiL0NCL2jpw/s200/BaileysIrishCreamCup.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313942744214865538" style="height: 142px; width: 200px;" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(That's right, Mr. Bailey's <strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Irish</span></strong> Cream Cup...It <em>is</em> delicious!) And while we're at it, a traditional Irish breakfast sounds just lovely! (what?? Chocolate cupcakes with green frosting isn't <span style="color: lime;"><b>Irish</b></span> enough for you??? Did you see the duck at the top of this post???)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cUm9isnxjD1oTFC2K0Vxm3nWrmUioLvQfFwLuPEBLygpRne2DyNlH8hMQrGM3c3p3zgSmZ5sKC-5Nq3aDiCa-P-jHtumMh9VH87kqoW1BLLvuOYU8d6gKvbkdhvfWlAILGE2Jc6obbA/s1600-h/426689067_8707357ad0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cUm9isnxjD1oTFC2K0Vxm3nWrmUioLvQfFwLuPEBLygpRne2DyNlH8hMQrGM3c3p3zgSmZ5sKC-5Nq3aDiCa-P-jHtumMh9VH87kqoW1BLLvuOYU8d6gKvbkdhvfWlAILGE2Jc6obbA/s200/426689067_8707357ad0.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314106664993132514" style="height: 133px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok! Time to get dressed for the day! (she says, wiping crumbs and frosting from her mouth) What? Not appropriate attire for a mom?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGKd3HpO1hvmDv7ODzPxUcPdBDcHz4TZ8TPmq97gCy-IJwuPL2l3Mi7nMV4KNLWCSQofkHMjDXXlqXTxLsWKQ7WH9bprPqLCgyru7Xa2cL6SsILAhh98PHwKbPAbR6feP9aeBzOKBbU8/s1600-h/St-Patricks-Day-tee.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGKd3HpO1hvmDv7ODzPxUcPdBDcHz4TZ8TPmq97gCy-IJwuPL2l3Mi7nMV4KNLWCSQofkHMjDXXlqXTxLsWKQ7WH9bprPqLCgyru7Xa2cL6SsILAhh98PHwKbPAbR6feP9aeBzOKBbU8/s200/St-Patricks-Day-tee.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313943821143311314" style="height: 200px; width: 162px;" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't get your shamrocks in a wad...I'll probably really wear my yoga pants with this top....(Kim, I know you want one of these...)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6vX9zJM0a_YOgAecwvdRIobzybdal7oD3eW8Z3oTwmDpCRN6kAcdwAfwT8Xb_oNuGE9ckE5l3J_2b64TX1XQEUxrZrGcd9vTmoz-r6fxjatxVYP8rEAectY2jjteucYphpp5vlhLSw/s1600/581281908_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6vX9zJM0a_YOgAecwvdRIobzybdal7oD3eW8Z3oTwmDpCRN6kAcdwAfwT8Xb_oNuGE9ckE5l3J_2b64TX1XQEUxrZrGcd9vTmoz-r6fxjatxVYP8rEAectY2jjteucYphpp5vlhLSw/s1600/581281908_o.jpg" height="200" width="171" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now that we're dressed, we can freshen up a bit with our mouth spray just for this occasion! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIso63AroVcFBLZYJIwiumLV4S5t98jRNjaGEYG7RoGlijLX3ar8M9mLd-5PAnyLP4a_Xztagc_MX11JLPPPnvis_cVu1v_nJ5qAD8c0nWrZovtNkxBz5AMVD8uALnl3Tzd3mbpv4G8o/s1600-h/125837295_l.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIso63AroVcFBLZYJIwiumLV4S5t98jRNjaGEYG7RoGlijLX3ar8M9mLd-5PAnyLP4a_Xztagc_MX11JLPPPnvis_cVu1v_nJ5qAD8c0nWrZovtNkxBz5AMVD8uALnl3Tzd3mbpv4G8o/s320/125837295_l.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313945197326113922" style="height: 320px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok family & friends..I know what you're thinking right now...(for good reason!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VmJuraZYD07plY1OpvzDxxCKGXL288V8ezcDDObEsRc4GI2u8IjNaIzD41-NYuNrznHuro0UKR9evZ3bO5Qn1aVDkroEJaD2YsD6Z3WISrmm66kHIxOJZ_5UNaxjqkFW_A1xEKdY3Q/s1600/if-i-had-a-british-accent-id-never-shut-up-7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VmJuraZYD07plY1OpvzDxxCKGXL288V8ezcDDObEsRc4GI2u8IjNaIzD41-NYuNrznHuro0UKR9evZ3bO5Qn1aVDkroEJaD2YsD6Z3WISrmm66kHIxOJZ_5UNaxjqkFW_A1xEKdY3Q/s1600/if-i-had-a-british-accent-id-never-shut-up-7.png" height="200" width="171" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I guess ya'll are lucky it's Irish day and I may have a few quiet moments (unless that mouth spray really kicks in good...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time to get the kids and head out for some <span style="color: #33cc00; font-weight: bold;">Irish </span>fun<span style="color: #33cc00; font-weight: bold;"> </span><strike>activities </strike></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strike>that I don't feel like doing because all I want to do is eat chocolate and watch rom-com chick flicks </strike> (....not my fault...again, please refer to duck at the top of the post..)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExr490K-o598IsdVmgWpDgI4a1ySpwXDH1stynGRHoK4qTQxFWhGcuJdQuRBJoOCrYuxnkHXdJilvuB1RxxgfZynGlqmRUOX4ZzsMOP4P6NkqlRS3zMi8xCSRnkk-cNVpIsl01Mc8NLY/s1600-h/rotten.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExr490K-o598IsdVmgWpDgI4a1ySpwXDH1stynGRHoK4qTQxFWhGcuJdQuRBJoOCrYuxnkHXdJilvuB1RxxgfZynGlqmRUOX4ZzsMOP4P6NkqlRS3zMi8xCSRnkk-cNVpIsl01Mc8NLY/s320/rotten.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313946076783863506" style="height: 164px; width: 236px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Is it hot in here?...cause I'm thinking it's really hot in here...can someone turn on the *$%#! air conditioner?!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GWkK84v9dZU9Yoh9HP255emEzqkE-lupq71ZyM-VIlF7-cENLfUpW_zr9ZH_DYVnayEKQQX8AnN8WQZHfXa0k57ZNJJWN2uKlTkw2hIN1yo_YA0O2Vz9rvPQ87Lu__PaLLtcCEgM43I/s1600-h/2cynwb4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GWkK84v9dZU9Yoh9HP255emEzqkE-lupq71ZyM-VIlF7-cENLfUpW_zr9ZH_DYVnayEKQQX8AnN8WQZHfXa0k57ZNJJWN2uKlTkw2hIN1yo_YA0O2Vz9rvPQ87Lu__PaLLtcCEgM43I/s200/2cynwb4.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314107078932194466" style="height: 143px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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(especially this one...)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMXL-j_k3e1iU7TTFJQCvjgTBKdvVe4HtAzEwEF6l5SPskZEXG8BJM0E4ZHZyzLYLP2uLfbTy6nw4ge_-9aN4PJznXZ2M160OopVY66MRgBhXZoGhar7RfcH3VRG5961BoKJ084XF6OE/s1600-h/Bono.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMXL-j_k3e1iU7TTFJQCvjgTBKdvVe4HtAzEwEF6l5SPskZEXG8BJM0E4ZHZyzLYLP2uLfbTy6nw4ge_-9aN4PJznXZ2M160OopVY66MRgBhXZoGhar7RfcH3VRG5961BoKJ084XF6OE/s200/Bono.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314107267597897698" style="height: 200px; width: 158px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh...sorry...hormones got carried away there for a second. Oopsy!! ...what I really mean is this...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2x465wMgsPw8ENCDYjLEV-Mymg3_S7DRW9erPSkXsNpkX8ZR3FVOsJNM0O9g6gBd7U5WjYuWJyaek5-EXnZnc3H7BSZpG8pFChFvgWVUE6Pk0b3uqvmp4ozLDVS57-hoyAMYcXwvUjQ/s1600/77600f57631241a93c957dfbda9a3b2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2x465wMgsPw8ENCDYjLEV-Mymg3_S7DRW9erPSkXsNpkX8ZR3FVOsJNM0O9g6gBd7U5WjYuWJyaek5-EXnZnc3H7BSZpG8pFChFvgWVUE6Pk0b3uqvmp4ozLDVS57-hoyAMYcXwvUjQ/s1600/77600f57631241a93c957dfbda9a3b2a.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A gorgeous British fellow stole my heart, you know...sorry Bono, gotta say good-bye this St. Patty's Day...my heart belongs to my British guy:) (insert bluebirds of happiness, romantic music and fluttering hearts here please)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time to pack a lunch since we'll be travelin' to <span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>Irish</strong></span> dance performances and there's no time to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strike>drink</strike> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">eat before we leave!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihfwrPzGGrCrZjYuhxarEaacKZfCZpVk5dzCHOGrf5hQONnuN5oIXm1jNMJ6I1pKsgmULIuIpjVYabipj5c8uby1psbTuZNc2JuJ2sVozGr_W-Y0Pe-JyOnEmAdLDNsyfvCDFaKnb0S8/s1600-h/1207867452-81136_full.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihfwrPzGGrCrZjYuhxarEaacKZfCZpVk5dzCHOGrf5hQONnuN5oIXm1jNMJ6I1pKsgmULIuIpjVYabipj5c8uby1psbTuZNc2JuJ2sVozGr_W-Y0Pe-JyOnEmAdLDNsyfvCDFaKnb0S8/s200/1207867452-81136_full.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313947653832532034" style="height: 200px; width: 116px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVALms-YBgNxsNNhFjcp3YbSTO36Quh4uLzahOAaMdZ9sTgFRw2oPddJHY_aKeXEohTRhT0tNMWRjyIU9HhmAcLbK1tbFMlPDtRqFuHUwj-MzQj9ijLPcbmaFh6bGORnBsYbus-SQG6Fg/s1600-h/074570650880.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVALms-YBgNxsNNhFjcp3YbSTO36Quh4uLzahOAaMdZ9sTgFRw2oPddJHY_aKeXEohTRhT0tNMWRjyIU9HhmAcLbK1tbFMlPDtRqFuHUwj-MzQj9ijLPcbmaFh6bGORnBsYbus-SQG6Fg/s200/074570650880.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313947768311538402" style="height: 200px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Don't worry....Nana's driving...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh! Can't forget my gum! You know me...I stress chew when that stupid duck up there comes to visit...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh0FfugECAw8mcSZh56i3Nq7FYbdOrtv4xJrNcBV38ltZ0TMLNz6OdT2js2dAagJO7WKvKGL1_Uj6gh5-zZnf1WA_lr7gKAzKRahVw8TdqipzmTBLDoMnR1p6-uzuShCe0788fyZxkxA/s1600-h/125837785_m.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh0FfugECAw8mcSZh56i3Nq7FYbdOrtv4xJrNcBV38ltZ0TMLNz6OdT2js2dAagJO7WKvKGL1_Uj6gh5-zZnf1WA_lr7gKAzKRahVw8TdqipzmTBLDoMnR1p6-uzuShCe0788fyZxkxA/s320/125837785_m.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314108313172442722" style="height: 300px; width: 300px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, that's about it! We are off for the last of our <span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>Irish </strong></span>dance performances! March Madness is coming to an end! Let's do a jig to celebrate!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a little St. Patty's day sentiment from me to you...</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.wishafriend.com/graphics/" target="new"><img alt="Myspace Graphics" border="0" src="http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg294/wafpaf/graphics/stpatricksday/stpatricksday39.gif" /></a> </div>
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<strong><span style="color: #33cc00;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">And from the bottom of my wee drop of Irish heart, I really mean that! </span>A<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ccording to my dear Irish friend Pam, a "wee drop is all ya' need!" Here's to you, Pam! Happy St. Pats!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!</span><br />
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p.s. No, family members, I have not taken up drinking as a new hobby. (Family members know I don't drink...well, not very often anyway...hee hee hee..) Just having a little fun on St. Patty's Day...cause that dumb duck is about to ruin my next week....which may actually force me into taking up drinking...who the heck knows? Quite frankly, I'm surprised I haven't become a super lush after the week I've had! Love you all!<br />
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<br />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-42029068258823897152014-03-10T08:32:00.000-07:002014-03-10T10:57:32.096-07:00The Tragic Tale of the Irish Dancer & Her Incontinent MotherMarch Madness has officially descended up on our world as we are just days away from St. Patrick's Day. Irish Dancer Girl will be shamrockin' all over the city of Tucson (Irish Dance style) for the next week to spread leprechaun love amongst the citizens. While going over the performance list this morning, my mind wandered back to a time in the not so distant past where my sweet girl gave me a lovely surprise just before her very first St. Patrick's Day March Madness performance. Thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane with ya'll and give you some giggles. Sit a spell while I weave a tragic tale of the six year old Irish dancer and her incontinent mother.<br />
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One fine March day in 2009, Cat and I began our school morning cutting out shapes and chatting it up like two old ladies at bingo night. I had to (ahem) “use the little ladies room” for the 400th time in 20 minutes, and in the interest of safety, (because I’m one of those annoying over-protective “old” moms) I made Cat come with me...again. She hung out in her room across the hall until I had completed “my mission.” (Sorry, I’m trying to be delicate about this!) I complete "said mission" quickly (less than 3 minutes tops) and start across the hall to get Cat and resume our schoolwork. Her back is to me and she quickly calls out, <span style="font-size: 100%;">“Don’t look in here, Mama! I have a surprise for you!” I sing out, “Yay, I love your surprises!” "Close your eyes!" she calls out excitedly!<br /><br />After a few minutes, Cat meets me in the hall with her surprise. And yeah, to call it a surprise would be a mild understatement. My daughter is sporting some awesome Mia Farrow Frankenbangs! Did you catch that? Frankenbangs…Mia Farrow style…. This is Mia Farrow...</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFmqft7fy2DdxvidIchqXK-2i5M4LQhBKNNefFGcPY-sbssHuxitoK9T9HCGMJdZ5dclPrFj9dKdiqH4_W6JdJv4crAshW6owC9DPD3rsMTi3zq_u4dWFl0YBfW3h9uxyDv0aESOqEHw/s320/mia+farrow.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312174663527306386" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 256px;" /><br />
This is me upon seeing her “surprise.”<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2q2ELYLc4uwh01-SLneYIVwY-_tw54Ghyphenhyphen4g25ZbhQ2FCHZdV9RdSb-Fc93Pu_6EZwZwH8j5bRT-i4aWJiFXO7SM4r5WVt8KqsdD6YA_O6d_6wQfkNgGaxlPKEgDntHf8MiWewpRlo1gw/s320/HorrifiedWoman.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312174829786253298" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 226px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 192px;" /><br />
Typically, her surprises involve artistic drawings of me, maybe a tea party, or her wearing some shiny lipgloss, hooker style…not freshly cut Frankenbangs! <span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Once I recovered from my shock and horror, (and made sure she still had her eyeballs,) I smiled and said “Wow! Look at you!” I clapped my hands (so I wouldn’t strangle myself) and grinned (while trying not to yank out my own hair)</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">, “How in the world did you manage that?” She holds up the blunt tip scissors we had been using earlier…the scissors that should still be in the classroom…the reason I made Cat come with me in the first place.<br /><br />“I snuck the scissors with me!” She is so stinkin’ proud of herself. “I know you’re really busy and I wanted to help you so I cut</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> my bangs!” Oh…now I remember…I had casually mentioned during breakfast that I needed to trim her bangs that afternoon so they would be out of her eyes for her dance performances the following day and this weekend.<br /><br />Oh, did I forget to mention that my daughter has 4 IRISH DANCE PERFORMANCES OVER THE NEXT 6 DAYS ALONE!!!!! (sorry for the hysteria….) How the heck am I going to fix this little "franken-bump" in the road!!!!???<br /><br />She must have watched me fast track it to the crazy train because her eyes started to fill with tears and her chin began quivering. “I’m sorry, Mama. I just wanted to surprise you.” Aw heck! How can I be upset with that? Her intention was clearly to “help a sister out.” She knew I was overwhelmed and wanted to ease my load. It was actually an act of kindness. I scooped her up and gave her a huge hug. “I love your bangs!” I smothered her with smoochies. ( I also did the whole “no scissors on your own hair, or anyone else’s hair either” lecture.)<br /><br />What to do? I didn’t have any “Grow” potion like Alice in Wonderland, and Edward Scissorhands wasn’t in the neighborhood for a fast fix. I spent the rest of my day (and I mean, the ENTIRE day) searching the city of Tucson for black and white headbands to fit her small head, and tiny bobby pins so Irish dancer girl could rock a new look at her performances. Let me show what we were dealing with here...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">BEFORE "do it yourself" bangs makeover....</span><br />
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AFTER...sporting her new look... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPlxMcxUf6vPT1hyphenhyphenFA6t-Qxpd_NLmNFYQmDcxpTsWe_xecKzwSmYOw72ASGiw_UQUliPhg0t-B0NUKXkA3o4NFNEIZmVAHkJITLl-BrFlbXbIIauOM3kGy4mItP4lTFrH3aczqVlAJg/s1600/march+2009+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPlxMcxUf6vPT1hyphenhyphenFA6t-Qxpd_NLmNFYQmDcxpTsWe_xecKzwSmYOw72ASGiw_UQUliPhg0t-B0NUKXkA3o4NFNEIZmVAHkJITLl-BrFlbXbIIauOM3kGy4mItP4lTFrH3aczqVlAJg/s1600/march+2009+003.jpg" /></a></div>
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PERFORMANCE LOOK after "the makeover"<br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Yep, it's a bit "pageant" hair in it's look and her forehead looks like a watermelon, but she's still adorable! Oh, those were the days! My wee dancer girl now looks like this...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gJRb6zZaoAxtGi5DfW1LYpMQkmPinrWHecNI7RNBe7m-nBKf-ngN3usKLAJMnmr9r1vkrLUFLqrL1ul1iFGjL6nZXAclWWp_OphbW-SzW0N4s9vqh-p11PTCqVLf4mQcwoz_w1Rblg/s1600/Dawn+366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gJRb6zZaoAxtGi5DfW1LYpMQkmPinrWHecNI7RNBe7m-nBKf-ngN3usKLAJMnmr9r1vkrLUFLqrL1ul1iFGjL6nZXAclWWp_OphbW-SzW0N4s9vqh-p11PTCqVLf4mQcwoz_w1Rblg/s1600/Dawn+366.JPG" height="320" width="202" /></a></div>
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Fortunately, she has steered clear of the scissors and lets a professional manage her hairstyle these days.<span style="font-size: 100%;"> Now, I used to be one of those mom’s that would read something like this and think, “What the heck is wrong with that person! That would never happen in my house! Hmpf!" Well, let me tell you, people, it DID happen and I’ve been forever humbled by the experience! I am no longer a Judgmental Janie! No way, no how!<br /><br />I have decided to honor this occasion with an award…that I created myself…because I was a complete idiot (Hugh, I know you are truly appreciating this…) </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2b6D0V8bIsOdsfBk1JTS0fUIn-Nm9rTIMxd1YEfe2tyUYPq9_BJwrs1Fl5ES7aJ2IT9kdmNUCubEqf1p46kKGYr2b7_oQfvRheCpjq-TARJsc7_EGpAGEufqtR8C67A5LkCQtCdl7Js/s320/hall+of+shame+award+Bee+and+Rose.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312176440558572370" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" />The<b> Hall of Shame Parenting Award</b> goes to……..Dawn, for her shameful parenting skills, her inability to keep track of a pair of blunt tip scissors, and for her lack of bladder control for more than 5 minutes at a time. You are the winner, Dawn! Congratulations on your award!<br /><br />I am even going to create another award here! The <b>Snip-Snip, Oopsy! Clip</b> <b>Award</b>! This is awarded for haircuts gone bad, self inflicted bang trauma, etc. I graciously accept this one too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfX9nq60juZrVcRMIJPVBCQ1IXNq0h6gJCIXa1lDU7OyxYH8vr4wHUOWpzyk8qL8V40Dmti0usX9YLgaicSph5fomzraYISUldaiPlYsf_4g6K3sasEUOfcTnnkwpd_cPr0-htykw0od4/s320/march+2009+006a.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312179225656568674" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" />The above hack job was committed on this doll by <b>yours truly</b> when I was young and innocent. Sorry, Mom! At least I didn't cut my sister's hair!<br /><br />Now…I need some moral support here. It would really give me a lift if you can share a really good hair hacking story with me. Or even a really embarrassing parenting moment! That would work too! I’ll take anything…I’m desperate to see I’m not the only fool in town!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Fingers crossed that March Madness this year will be filled with Irish fun and no horrible hair trauma. (at least until it's time to put on the curly wig...don't even get me started...that's a horror story in itself...Irish dance moms will totally feel the pain of that one...) Hope you can get out to enjoy the Irish fun in your neighborhood! Happy St. Patrick's Day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-19917487301760380222014-02-16T10:26:00.003-07:002014-02-16T10:28:40.843-07:00With Love, Jane and Mary (aka The Romantic Tale of a British Boy & an American Girl)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes it's the little things in life that have the most incredible impact. Sometimes it's when you are so frustrated that you want to give up, but decide to persevere that life can completely surprise you in ways you never imagined. For example, see this little photo?
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This little charmer was a source of major frustration for me back in 2010. It was just a little photo that I wanted to edit to add some fun to this <a href="http://beeandrose.blogspot.com/2010/08/practically-perfect-monday.html" target="_blank"><b>blog post</b></a>. A simple process, right? Ummm, not even. It took me many attempts and hours to work this to my satisfaction. I nearly chucked my laptop across the room because I was so frustrated. However, my inner voice kept encouraging me to move ahead and on January 20, 2014 I was enormously rewarded for my effort</span>s!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is the day that a very important person came into my world all because of Mary Poppins and her magical measuring tape. Miss Jane Austen also played a part in this matchmaking business:) You see, a lovely British chap happened upon my blog post by searching for an image. He noticed this photo and also noticed the little Jane Austen quiz linky on the sidebar. He emailed me very kind compliments about my blog and shared with me that during the bike portion of training for a triathalon, he had traveled to and from Miss Jane's home in Chawton every Sunday. That email was the beginning of a flurry of correspondence, online chatting and phone conversations that led to the lovely British chap hopping on a plane and crossing the pond!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What my sweet Brit didn't know was that "behind the scenes" lots of clues were being dropped on this girl by Miss Jane and Mary that her life was about to change in a way she never imagined. (more to come on that in a future post...) The moment he stepped off the plane and I saw those big brown eyes, I knew that something amazing was about to happen. It was like we had known each other forever. A romance blossomed and a new adventure lies ahead for us:)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have done a lot of reflecting about what would have happened had I given up on that photo back in 2010. Would he have found me some other way? Was that little voice Cupid trying to encourage me not to give up that day because the reward would be so wonderful? All I do know is that I am really glad I did not toss the laptop into the garbage when that photo editing became so frustrating and that even though it seemed like a small and insignificant thing at the time, it really was life changing in a very big way:) Yes, it is a bit of a whirlwind, but the heart knows what is true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, thank you from the bottom of my heart to the matchmakers Mary Poppins and Jane Austen (and Cupid, of course!) Thank you for gently nudging us toward each other behind the scenes. I will be eternally grateful for this wonderful new adventure that lies ahead with my charming British beau, Hugh because....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and he truly is....(insert romantic sigh here please...) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-60982801406377952352014-02-04T11:23:00.000-07:002014-02-04T11:23:27.477-07:00The Story of My Life and It's One Direction<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being the mother of a female tween, I knew the odds of getting my daughter past the whole "boy band romance" thing were not in my favor. For a while it seemed we might just squeak by and then a guest at Cat's 10th birthday party last year changed everything. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meet the party guest...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudvG-RrQTX-xjiAPZcGTbENzsOAcw8dQ8Od-ne0FIBgftlYbpTMFtNYXGkYUKs2YT0u2WRna2eJxkK9zAx60CELeOsb3u2gaxcLVniQy0wb5Rw7Py9WspCJb2A1TgJ5E9WYgDlo91jA/s1600/dance+073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudvG-RrQTX-xjiAPZcGTbENzsOAcw8dQ8Od-ne0FIBgftlYbpTMFtNYXGkYUKs2YT0u2WRna2eJxkK9zAx60CELeOsb3u2gaxcLVniQy0wb5Rw7Py9WspCJb2A1TgJ5E9WYgDlo91jA/s1600/dance+073.JPG" height="400" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Allow me to introduce you to Niall Horan, member of the wildly popular group "One Direction." (please excuse the lip prints on Niall...Cat and the party guests went a little bonkers when they saw him...) This should have been a red flag that Irish Dancer Girl was about to be swooning over the five fellas in the band, but I kept thinking my girl was far too smart to fall for all of that hype and marketing. I clearly was not prepared for the power of Directioners (yes, this is what they call themselves) and their love and devotion for these lads. Oh boy, she was swooning just looking at the poster. Fast forward to the dance part of the party. Big brother and friend have taken on the disc jockey duties and are dutifully playing 1D (One Direction) songs for the crowd...until "Kiss You" starts to play from the playlist. Then all dancing screeches to a halt....because the music has suddenly stopped and big brother is frantically trying to find another song. Why? Because there's no way those lyrics are going to be in his sister's head...EVER. I don't know about you, but you don't mess with a tween and her boy band. I will save the sordid details for another day, but let me assure you two teen disc jockeys are no match for a gaggle of angry tween Directioners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we approached late summer last year, Cat was still trying to convince me to share her love of her boy band....especially her love for Louis (the one in the middle up there)...she goes absolutely mad when Louis appears anywhere. I, on the other hand, can totally get why Taylor Swift wrote a song called "Trouble" about Harry Styles. (the one on the right up there...who would be my pick if I were a tween with his bad boy ways and all...did I just type that out loud? No worries, Cat...Harry is 20 years old so it's not totally creepy...) One fine afternoon, we make plans with friends to meet up for the 1D boys new movie called "This Is Us". I'm in my "you better appreciate how much I love you to sit through this nightmare" mood as we take our seats and settle in. Cat and her friend are decked out in their One Direction finery as are all the other girls (and some moms!) in the theater. Movie begins...and dare I say it? I am completely enthralled! I left that movie with a complete change of heart about those fellas! They are a hardworking group of young men who really understand that they employ an army of folks, love their families deeply, truly appreciate their fans...and they are HUMBLE. Well played, my adorable tween...well played. Honestly, I should have known that I was becoming a Directioner long before the movie though. I know every lyric to their songs and always win when Cat and I play the One Direction Trivia Game. (yes, I just admitted that...I have no shame...) I also went bonkers at Macys when I came upon "Our Moment" the perfume "created by One Direction for their fans. In my defense, I didn't know that's what it was when the perfume lady sprayed me down with it. I just thought it was a lovely fragrance for grown-ups until my daughter squealed with delight with she saw it. (I know...pathetic...especially since I really wanted to buy it for <strike>myself</strike> her....one of these days...it is a bit pricey...as in "grown up" pricey...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was thinking back to the boy bands of my youth (the 70's) and we had the Osmonds, the Partridge Family and the DeFranco Family...all sugary sweet types. My gal pals would swoon over Donny Osmond and David Cassidy. I was a little bit of a boy band rebel. I had a thing for Aerosmith and Queen. (Steven Tyler was totally my jam...I know, I was a weird kid..) I suffered through the 90's boy band era with my wicked step-daughter and the madness of N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys. I guess it's just a tween / early teen right of passage to get your boy band on:)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm pretty sure we still have a long way to go with these One Direction lads. This is what I walked in to find in this morning in tween girl's room. (hey, I'm happy that she made an attempt at making her bed before school...just a little weirded out that Louis -see poster and small heart pillow- found his way next to her pillow during the night. Don't remember seeing him there when I tucked her in.) And may I add that those sheets were requested by the tween because "they are sooo soft, not because they're 1D." (uh huh...sure....) So I have decided to embrace my inner tween and just join the ranks of Directioners in support of my wee girl. (probably for the best since Steven Tyler is now 66 years old...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy February, friends!</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-60708176267636037772014-01-29T22:46:00.000-07:002014-01-31T10:03:31.539-07:00Please Step Away From My Cool Beans and Awesomesauce...Thank you very much:)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the duties of motherhood is to keep a fabulous "slang-cabulary" so that you can actually understand what your tweens and teens are saying to you. Tweens and Teens love their slang. (and apparently, so do I because it was brought to my attention by my daughter that I use the words "fabulous" and "super fab" way too much.) Believe me, I clearly have a problem. According to Nickmom.com, I am way too old to be saying the slang terms listed below because "no mom should say this stuff." Pfft! You're not the boss of me, Nickmom.com. It seems that there are words that are not fit for "mom use" and I'm only finding this out today. Heavens! Think of the horrible embarrassment I have been causing my children over the years! (like I care...causing horrible embarrassment to my children is the fun part of being a mom...) Let's do a run down on a few of the "Naughty Words" from the list, shall we?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"<i>COOL BEANS</i>" (a personal favorite that I have used for YEARS and I refuse to stop saying it...heck, I might change it up and say "Cool Beanie Weenies", so there! My friends would be very confused if they didn't hear Cool Beans pop out of my mouth at least once a day or see it in a text message. Can't have that now, can we? And by the way, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed my entertaining description of the meaning of cool beans ...so you can shove it, Nickmom.com) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>WORD / WORD UP / WORD TO YOUR MOTHER</i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">" (ok...the 90's are long gone...I get that one...I still like throwing those around though especially when you add a gangsta hand gesture with it..) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"<i>TRU-DAT"</i> (don't really use this one too much, but it has been known to slip out of these lips on a rare occasion...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"<i>CRAY CRAY</i>" (this one just makes me laugh...I'm not even cray cray enough to use that one...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*<i>"S'up?" </i>(I will admit that I do use this one when I'm feeling lazy or feel like annoying my son when his friends are around...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"AWESOMESAUCE" </i><b> </b>(I just think this word is super cute so it will stay in my slang-cabulary...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honestly, I was just tickled that I did NOT see on that silly list any of the words I use that REALLY drive my kids crazy like Shenanigans, Tomfoolery, Wicked Awesome, Fabulous, For Reals (ok...even I annoy myself with that one), Holy (whatever fits) Batman! and the list goes on:) And just for the record, my kids have no trouble telling me what I should or should not be saying. Believe me, I get the smack down if "Tots Adorbs" even sounds like a whisper leaving my lips. Same goes for "Amaze-balls". My kids should just be grateful that I'm not throwing around 80's Spicoli slang from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. (for those old enough to remember...Tasty Waves, Stoked, Tubular, Bitchin' and the classic, Bogus....ahhh....those were the days...) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until my wee ones have flown the nest, I will keep my little book of slang-cabulary close at hand. I will do my best to only throw out assorted slang words that create minimum embarrassment publicly. At home, all bets are off and I will sling the slang around at my own whim. Just please stay away from my cool beans and awesomesauce:) </span></div>
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-38555383332830103072014-01-28T10:05:00.000-07:002014-01-31T10:13:45.735-07:00Old Moms Open a Can of Whoop A** at the Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi...I know you may be a bit frightened by the title of this post. Not to worry! While I can put my "bad-a$$" panties on for certain occasions, most of the time I'm a pretty docile creature:) However, there is a skeleton in my closet that a friend of mine reminded me about recently and insisted that I share it with the world...more specifically, the old moms of the world. Now when I say old, I mean old like me...(I was turning 43 at the time)...not elderly...although since hitting my 40's, I feel elderly when I get up in the morning, but that's another post! It happened a few years back when I ran into a close friend who had recently turned 39. Looking back, it is actually pretty funny! So let's get cozy and ready for my ramble...or maybe I should say rumble (wink!)<br />
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My friend and I took our kids out to a local park one fine fall day. We were dressed in typical "old" mom attire...jeans, cute t-shirts, banana clips and shades. (Yes, I wear my Marcia Brady stick straight hair in a banana clip on outings to the park. I don't enjoy eating my hair every time I open my mouth to speak when the wind blows, so banana clip it is.)<br />
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There was a "young" mom (mid 20's) with her kids that found her way over to us. She sat down and began to chat. There was another group of moms across the way at some picnic tables setting up for a party. My friend and I knew the other group of moms and had said our hellos upon arriving at the park. Young Mom was not familiar with them. Young Mom pipes up in her squeaky Valley Girl voice, "Don'cha just hate to see old moms with really young kids? I mean, like, do they think kids are the new fountain of youth or something? Look at those ladies over there! I mean, all the kids here are under 5! Unless maybe it's Grandparent's Day!" She laughs hysterically. Now, I happen to know that every one of those mothers over there is at least 10 years younger than me. Yes, Young Mom was fooled by my fabulous genes. I win the age game at every carnival or amusement park we go to. My husband loved to outwit the carnies whenever possible. The funny thing is that Smitty was 3 years younger than me (go ahead...call me a cougar or a cradle robber, take your pick), but once a waitress asked him if he had his Senior Citizen discount card! LOL!<br />
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Young Mom continues her old mom bashing. "Why would any kid want an old wrinkled hag for a mom? Old moms are so annoying with their know-it-all attitudes and their really bad fashion." (Wow...obviously, she can't hear my brain exploding or at least smell the smoke from the fire of my brain exploding over here..bad fashion?? Seriously? I worked really hard to pull out just the right t-shirt to hide all food stains that I might incur while I was gracing the public with my presence. Bad fashion...humpf!)<br />
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I am not a happy camper. I am silently observing Young Mom trying to determine my next move. Do I want to let her in on my little secret or do I just want to see how far she'll go before I go ninja on her perfectly coiffed little head in the parking lot. (oops...did I type that out loud?) (and yeah, she was NOT wearing a banana clip...now who's got bad fashion? Yep, Young Mom, that's who...)<br />
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My friend, who knows what lengths I will go to in order to protect the innocent, is watching me carefully. She pipes up, "How about we get the kids and hit the walk trail?" She raises her eyebrows at me. I nod and gather up the wee girl and the stroller. Young Mom says, "That sounds good! That's a good energy boost! At least we don't have to figure out how to push a stroller while shuffling along with our walker too! Snorty snort snort!" <br />
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Now. It's. On. I can no longer hide the fact that I'm wearing my bad-a$$ panties today. "Why do you have such a negative attitude about older mothers?" I ask gritting my teeth into a very fake smile. She smirks, "They're just irritating. They always have their stupid first aid kits in a baggy, juice boxes strapped to their hips. I just think they over do it." Steam is pouring out of my ears. The juice boxes on my hips are beginning to vibrate. She's about to find out how lucky she is that I happen to have my first aid kit in a baggy handy because I'll be using it to mop up her blood about 30 seconds after I sock her in the mouth!<br />
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My adorable and very peace loving friend goes to gather up the young'uns. She's been at this rodeo before and knows the bull is on the loose. Young Mom laughs and points at one of my "old" mom friends as she is struggling with some of the party decor. "See what I mean?" She continues to laugh and point. I whirl around to unleash my fury when Young Mom in her fit of laughter trips, falls and busts her lip on the sidewalk. She starts bawling like a big old baby. She touches her lip and finds it's very bloody. "My foof is foose!" she cries. "Oh frap! My foof is fawing out!" What a pitiful creature she is, that Young Mom. "Here, let me help you." I reach down and yank her to her feet. "Ouf!" she huffs. "Fat huwt!" Her lips are the size of Cincinnati. I really want to crack a collagen joke at this point, but bite my own lips instead. <br />
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I reach into my bag and whip out some handi wipes. (ok..I know these are going to burn her lips like fire, but it's all I have and Karma is a b*tch!) I help her dab the loose pebbles and blood away from her mouth. My friend jogs over with an unopened bottle of water to help wash away the rest. We get her patched up and feeling better. She realizes something is weird. I notice her checking out my First Aid in a Baggy. She humbly thanks us and goes to gather her kiddos. My friend asks me if I shared my secret with her. I shook my head. "I didn't have a chance because she did a face plant before I could say anything." We laughed. "Those crazy young moms!" my friend giggles. We notice that Young Mom is heading back from the parking lot toward us. Oh yuck...<br />
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"Just wanted to say thanks for helping me. That was so embarrassing!" She flutters her hands all around. We just smile at her and move on. One of my other friends from the party yells over to me, "Happy Birthday, Dawn!" I smile and wave. Young Mom says, "Oh, it's your birthday?" I nod. "It's actually next week." We continue shuffling the kids toward the car. "That's so cool! How old are you going to be?" she says with her big busted lip smile. I stop and turn toward her. "I will be 43." The look on her face was all the justice I needed. She just turned and walked away with her head down. "That's right! I'm an OLD MOM!!!!" I yelled after her. "Bet you're glad this old mom had her first aid in a baggy, aren't ya!" (Juvenile, I completely agree, not even remotely one of my best parenting moments, but darn it, it sure did feel good!) My friend (who is normally very shy and not verbally aggressive on any level) yells out, "Yeah, old moms kick butt! Don't you ever forget it!" We high-fived and laughed like hyenas all the way to our mini-vans. Last we heard, Young Mom was still struggling to get her stroller into her BMW. <br />
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A final note...I have lots of friends that are young moms! Lots of them! They are all fantastic mothers and friends! Please know that I am not bashing young moms with this post. Just sharing a story about a young mom bashing old moms! I love all my young mom friends!!!!<br />
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Thanks for listening to my ramble and remember, Old Moms need love too!<br />
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-74324062082475850382014-01-27T11:12:00.000-07:002014-01-31T20:48:42.894-07:00Eleven Candles on the Cake! <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eleven years ago today, I was beautifully blessed with this darling baby girl, Miss Hi-Yah...also known as Catherine Renee Grace Smith. She has grown into a lovely young lady who is kind, caring, super smart and an incredibly talented Irish dancer! As I reflect on this day, I realized that we are moving away from dolls and dress up and are now heading into new horizons. These days, it's about books, music, dance and friends...oh! and of course, ONE DIRECTION. How could I forget that? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Birthday, my darling girl! I love you to the moon and back times infinity:) So proud to be your mom!</span></div>
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-87575076266768298202014-01-27T00:35:00.001-07:002014-01-27T00:37:00.276-07:00Bucket List 2014<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wistful mood has encouraged me to finish up this year's Bucket List. After some reflection, I discovered that I have a great deal on this list for 2014! Very different from 2013 which was basically, just get through each day the best I could. This year I feel excited about what life is bringing us. Let's see how many things I can check off this list by year's end!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Attend Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Buble concerts </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Purchase VHS to DVD converter and get all of my family videos transferred</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Purchase new bicycle and assorted gear / train w Lisa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Hike Seven Falls in Sabino Canyon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Family Portraits</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Visit the Pumpkin Festival in my hometown in Ohio in October</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Finish book trilogy (so my publisher will be a happy camper!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Get new story ideas onto paper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Read, Read, Read</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Travel to far away places:)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Learn Irish dance (no laughing, family members...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Take Catherine to Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Disneyland (Halloween???)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Check out Boston with Connor for college</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*More time for volunteer projects</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*More time with Friends</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So Miss Good Fortune, it's time to work your magic and help me do this!</span></div>
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-71270531167191008202014-01-26T23:13:00.003-07:002014-01-27T00:36:41.322-07:00If You're Happy and You Know It, Shout Hurray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have been a very busy bunch here at the Smith casa! It's been a whirlwind of activities and I finally found a moment to sit a moment to take it all in. Last weekend we traveled to the Valley of the Sun for the first Irish dance competition of the year. Cat had a wonderful day! Loved seeing her in that number 2 spot on the podium! She looks so poised and adorable. I am a very proud momma. Lots of school activities, dance, my bi-annual volunteering for the JBF sale as well as book club, parties and more all taking up any free time that may have been hanging around. Connor was doing lots of sound production this week for local concerts and is currently prepping the sound for the Young Frankenstein musical at school. Lots of travel involved in getting these kids to and from their various activities. In the midst of this craziness, I just needed to take a true moment of stillness to be grateful for all of our blessings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the stillness I remembered that I am a very lucky lady. I am blessed with my children, an incredible family and tons of loving friendships, old and new. If this is any indication of what 2014 is going to be like, I say bring it on! I'm ready for you 2014. You owe me big time and it looks like you are going to deliver me an awesome year:)</span><br />
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-34892332407913263702014-01-24T22:31:00.003-07:002014-01-26T02:04:49.153-07:00A Little Brit of This and A Little Brit of That...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A very dear friend informed me the other day that (EUREKA!) she had discovered my dirty little secret and was going to expose it to my children in an effort to help them understand me better. (clearly a huge undertaking, but I digress...) Actually, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">her intentions sounded a little terrifying as I have lots of dirty little secrets and no brain power to sort out which one I would have to inform Scotland Yard to bury deeper. I decided to go with the "whatever are you talking about?" sipping my coffee and looking calm, but confused approach. "I've got your number, missy," she cackled. "You walk around like Miss Rosy Posy Happy Pants, but I know when you are faking it." She leaned back and smiled like the Cheshire Cat. She waited for my next move. When I just stared at her intently (which actually means I was daydreaming about what was coming up next on Downton Abbey) she hollered out, "HA! You are completely bamboozled! You have no idea what I'm talking about!" "Wow, you got me," I smiled, sipping my coffee while continuing to </span><strike style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fantasize about life at Downton Abbey </strike><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> give her the </span><strike style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blank </strike><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stare down. "Spill it, if it's such a big deal then." I gave her my best smirk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She leaned forward and said with snark-itude, "You go all British crazy when you are in a mopey mood. You pull out "Love Actually" and watch it over and over again. You make Catherine watch every single episode of Doctor Who with you and quiz her on Whovian facts. For goodness sake, your ringtone is the sound of the TARDIS! You walk around and talk in your British accent, which your kids say is an insult to the Crown, by the way. You may want to work on that...just sayin...Oh, and don't even get me started on your deep infatuation with the wizarding world of Harry Potter!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Pfft...I do no such thing," I said as I calmly removed the fez from my head and clip on bow tie (yes, fellow Whovians, I love David Tennant, but Matt Smith has the one thing that always steals this girl's heart...humor...(insert romantic sigh here...) "You are one crazy Muggle," I told her. She shook her head. "Noooo, you actually told me the other night you were laughing it up with your pals, Graham Norton and Robbie Williams, and I quote "could you please ring me up later?" She continued, "When you're really wallowing in sadness and self pity, you wrap yourself up in a blanket, have tea and biscuits and get your Jane Austen film festival on. That's when I know Miss Happy Pants is really Miss Sappy Pants." She slapped her hand on the table and said "Ba-bam, sister! Just own it! Just say it loud and proud that you wish you were British!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sighed. Where are the Weeping Angels when you need them? Clearly, I had been outed. I don't know when my love affair with the U.K. began, only that it had started when I was a wee girl. I mean, for goodness sake, I read Oliver Twist when I was six years old! I'm sure Mary Poppins is partly responsible as well. I am deeply committed in this foreign affair. To be fair, it was this "love affair" that helped pull me through a very dark time after Smitty passed. I love the castles, the countryside, the architecture, Jane Austen, the music, just love it all. It appears that Irish Dancer Girl has the same love affair brewing. She is a HUGE 1D (One Direction) fan and wants to go across the pond as soon as it's humanly possible. She says it's really because she wants to see the World Irish Dance Competition being held in London this spring, but I think she's hoping to run into Louis from 1D or Matt Smith (even though he has since "retired" from his time on the TARDIS.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there, I own it. I wear my Union Jack loud and proud! I will Keep Calm and Carry On! I am a Gryffindor! One of these days, we may venture across the Atlantic to soak it all in, but until then, I have Downton Abbey every Sunday evening:) </span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px currentColor;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-13925964348423054802014-01-02T19:04:00.001-07:002014-01-02T19:19:20.058-07:00A Widow Bit of This and a Widow Bit of That<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, my friends, this is my obligatory post about what life is like in the "hood"...widow-hood, that is. I promise it won't be depressing...you may actually have a giggle now and again. For those of you who know me well, I wouldn't walk this "widow's walk" without my very good friend "Humor." Plus, I have discovered a great deal about myself that is actually a bit surprising!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For starters, I've learned that I <i>can</i> be "that" girl who wanders aimlessly in the same clothing for FOUR DAYS not realizing that FOUR DAYS have come and gone. A huge thank you to my sister who kindly pointed out that my black top and yoga pants were great widow's attire on the first day I wore them, but she was pretty sure the odor emanating from my attire was not my perfume. When she realized that FOUR DAYS had passed since my last apparel change, she kindly suggested a new outfit would look nice and a shower might make me feel better. (ok, she really just said, "Seriously? Four days in the same clothes?" and promptly dragged me to the bathroom and turned on the shower.) And yes, I did actually trot myself out in public like this...yikes! For the record, I did continue brushing my teeth twice a day and even remembered to floss...just sayin'. It made me realize how much my kids love me to just accept me as I am even when I'm really awful looking and smelly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also learned that I can laugh hysterically at a funeral home when handed my husband's cremains. Oh, did I mention they were given to me by the funeral director in a box that was inside a shopping bag? Yes, you read that right...a shopping bag. I just burst out into a monster fit of giggles right there because I knew that Smitty would find that rather amusing. Not to worry! I got the stare down from the "Behavior Un-Becoming of a Widow" police in the funeral foyer. Did it stop me from giggling? Nope. I also became quite the queen of comedy in the parking lot when I asked my mother if I was required to strap the seat belt across the bag since my husband was in it. God bless her, she just laughed right along with me, all the while thinking that her daughter had lost her marbles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite moments <i>(said with lots of sarcasm)</i> was when a "friend" approached me at Target by calling out "Here's the Merry Widow!" Huh??? Wait, did she really just call me "the Merry Widow?" In my <b>mind</b>, I told my daughter to hold my hoops while I kicked Ms. No Manners in the shins and said "are you "bleeping" kidding me? What kind of sicko are you?" In <b>real life</b>, I put on my big girl panties and just regressed to high school behavior that resulted in name calling...well, only one name, but it was a mean one. I promise. Once Ms. No Manners spun on her heels and left, I apologized to my daughter for my immature behavior. My daughter actually gave me a high five and fist bump right there in the shampoo aisle. I love that kid. Seriously, people can be so clueless. There isn't anything "merry" about being a widow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few other tidbits from my widow's walk over this past year. My Christmas tree stayed up until March. (I would have left it up longer but the leprechauns weren't having any Christmas take up their holiday real estate.) Here's another good one...One of my husband's doctor's offices called to confirm his appointment and when I told them he was deceased, the lady said, "then he won't be making the appointment?" My first reaction was to say "that would be a big NO unless he re-animates because of the Zombie Apocalypse." Some people...ugh. Umm, what else? Oh! I was also told I was too happy to be grieving. (guess they didn't get the memo about my massive amounts of tears shed every morning on the way home from school drop off or the hiding in the bathroom crying that commences every day at some point. Apparently, I needed to be more wounded emotionally, carry more Kleenex and sob hysterically in public. I wasn't behaving like a "normal" grieving person except for the fact that I wear a lot of black...but I've been sporting that color for years so still not a "normal" widow. I was told by another "friend" that maybe now I could finally lose weight since I was no longer a caregiver to my terminally ill husband and could no longer use that as an excuse! lol! (yeah...she's no longer a friend...) A personal favorite was the lady who asked me if I was still Mrs. Smith...this came just two weeks after my husband died. HA! Fooled you, lady! I am still Mrs. Smith! Sadly, it seems that too many of us are so disconnected in life that we don't know how to react to those who are experiencing grief. That really breaks my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, for all of those difficult and challenging moments, even more moments were beautiful and sacred. One of the most amazing moments was the incredible amount of support that my daughter received for the Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser where she collected nearly $2300 and made the nightly news broadcast. She discovered that even in her own grief, she could do good for others. I am beyond proud of her. I also was completely overcome with emotion and pride when my son escorted his sister to the school's "Father / Daughter dance just a few weeks after their dad died. I'm sure Smitty was smiling down on them the entire time. We also met many amazing and wonderful new friends over this past year who just gathered us up and loved us to pieces. We were always surrounded by family and friends who stepped in and helped us walk this path when we weren't sure what we were supposed to do. I learned that I am much stronger in spirit than I gave myself credit for and can forge on even when I didn't know what lie ahead. Smitty never once complained during the entire time of his long illness. If he could walk his journey strong in faith, then so can I. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A bittersweet moment came for me when I was cleaning out my books over the summer. Smitty had hidden a card for me inside one of them. In it was a lovely letter sharing how much he loved us and wanted us to carry on with joy after he was gone. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He wanted Catherine to keep dancing and for Connor to continue playing his music. He wanted me to keep writing and find joy in celebrating the holidays. He didn't want his death to be the reason that we stopped being who our souls came here to be. He didn't want us to become so wrapped up in grieving for him that we lost who we are in the process. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So while we miss Smitty each and every day, we honor his memory by </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">living </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as he asked us to in his letter. The letter was dated December 24, 2012. He had written it just three days before he died.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there's one thing I've learned this past year, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to grieve. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So even though I have taken up residence in the "Widow-hood", I </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">choose</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to spend my time here with happy memories and finding the funny in every day </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">knowing that Smitty wouldn't want it any other way. </span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-39552759837117180972013-12-31T16:05:00.000-07:002013-12-31T16:44:27.465-07:00A New Dawn for Bee and Rose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems like only a blink of an eye has passed since I began my little bloggy back in 2009. My early days of blogging were filled with giggles and goofy stories about my family. I love the friendships that I built across the miles and truly enjoyed all my visits to the Land of Blog. I loved the feeling of community that blogging offers and of course, I'm a huge fan of any crafting tutorial as well. But then along came some Life Lessons and my visits to Blog Land became less frequent. More of my time was spent in hospitals and doctors offices. As many of you know, one of the main "characters" in my blog stories is no longer with us. Sadly, my sweet husband, William passed away at the end of 2012 after a long bout with terminal illness...which brings me to this post and back to the Land of Blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was reflecting this morning on what I was doing this time last year. I always spend time every New Year's Eve being grateful for the past year and saying "buh-bye" to the not so great stuff. It suddenly occurred to me that this time last year I was actually planning my husband's Celebration of Life service as he had passed just days before on December 27. I was trying to sort out how we could bring in 2013 with any joy at all. It was a not a great day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fast forward to today...New Year's Eve...about to welcome in 2014. I found my daughter this morning reading my blog. She has done this on many occasions throughout this past year, but it didn't dawn on me until today why. She said she finds peace in the stories that I wrote when our family was whole. She loves reading the goofy things her daddy did when he alive. She said it helps her remember how much fun we all had together. She was sad that I stopped writing for so long. It was in that moment that I realized why blogging is such a valuable resource, especially for families. All of those stories that I wrote back in the day not only made Smitty laugh during his trials with terminal illness, but they were now bringing joy to my daughter during her time of grief. The written word is powerful and I am so glad that I wrote every single post over those years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So one of my New Years "Intentions" (because I don't do "Resolutions") is that I am "picking up the pen" again, so to speak and getting my blog on. It's a New Dawn around here and so while I cherish my bloggy title "Bee and Rose", it's time to bid that a fond farewell. Over the next few weeks, I will be changing it up around here and that means a new name too. I will still be "Bee and Rose" for a short bit, but will move on to "A New Dawn" soon. All that will change is my blog title...my new address will hopefully re-direct my trusty followers back over here to my Bee and Rose blog (with a new name of course.) I hope you will come along for the ride:) I have some saucy tales to spin and can't wait to catch up with the citizens of the Land of Blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just to give you a giggle before you go...here's a linky to a funny Christmas post from 2010...let's just say it involves a very naughty Gingerbread gal and is titled "Ho Ho! The Great Big Ho!" Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://beeandrose.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html">http://beeandrose.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wishing you all a very blessed and abundant 2014!</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-45020877939007017092013-03-08T09:51:00.002-07:002013-03-08T09:51:29.009-07:00A Grateful Heart ~ The Story of a Heart Hero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A Grateful Heart - The Story of a Heart Hero</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so overwhelmed with gratitude to all my bloggy friends and their support of my sweet daughter's efforts with Jump Rope for Heart. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This video is her story and requires a warning....TISSUES may be needed! I couldn't be more proud of her!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Love and Blessings,</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-84457405383115789372013-02-07T08:56:00.001-07:002013-02-07T08:56:44.971-07:00Bless Our Hearts and Hope to Fly!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi Family and Friends!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My sweet daughter, Catherine (aka Irish Dancer Girl) is happy to announce that she will be participating in Jump Rope for the Heart </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in honor of her father who passed away on December 27, 2012</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. She has created her own webpage to graciously accept donations for the American Heart Association, which happened to be her father's favorite charity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This wonderful event is helping my girl turn her grieving into blessings. She is so excited to be helping others as a way to cherish her father's memory. If you can spare a bit, she would be forever grateful for your kindness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a link to her webpage: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://jumpwsa.kintera.org/wsa/cat">Catherine Smith's Jump Rope for the Heart Event to Honor Her Father, William Smith</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you in advance for any support you can give. We are slowly, but surely moving forward with our happy memories. We miss him deeply every single day. It makes my heart so happy to know my daughter finally sees some light during this difficult time. I am grateful for your kindness to my darling girl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With Love and Blessings</span><br />
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<br />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-82729509106445109002012-12-30T03:39:00.001-07:002012-12-30T03:39:46.524-07:00My Inappropriate Angel...Rest in Peace, My Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Darling Husband passed away on Thursday evening, December 27, 2012. Many of you are familiar with Mr. Smith (aka Chilly, Smitty, and other assorted monikers) as I have shared our journey over the last three years. He fought a very long and courageous battle with multiple organ failures and a diagnosis of a very rare, deadly disease called Amyloidosis. He passed away peacefully in his sleep from a fatal heart arrhythmia. <br />
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Even though we knew that this would eventually happen, we were completely shocked that it occured this way. He was hospitalized the day after Christmas for internal bleeding and pneumonia. By Thursday morning, they felt they had stabilized him and with antibiotics and additional dialysis, he would be ready to go home on Friday morning. I spent all day Thursday with him and at 4 pm went home to check on our very sick daughter. Before I left, I hugged and kissed him...said "I love you"...he said "love you" back and curled up for a nap. On the way out the door, I told him to behave himself while I was gone and blew him another kiss. <br />
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I called the hospital at 6:30 pm to check on him. He was having a little bit of a coughing episode, but not unexpected since he had pneumonia. He told me to just get some rest at home and hang with our girl. He wanted me to return to the hospital in the morning to take him home after his dialysis treatment. You can imagine my complete shock when the doctor called at 8:15 pm to tell me that I needed to return to the hospital immediately as William had experienced a "heart event" and they were doing chest compressions that were not successful. I felt like my own heart had been completely torn from my body. <br />
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My best friend, Kristin and my sister took me to the hospital where upon my arrival I was told that William had died. I already knew this because when we drove up to the hospital, his light was off in his room. He never had the light off in his room...ever. The doctors were exceptionally compassionate and treated me with tender care. They escorted me to say my goodbyes. I was still just completely in shock because I had just left him in such good spirits.<br />
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Telling my children was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I cannot even find words to express the deep grief that we are feeling. It is just deeply painful.<br />
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My sweet Catherine, who is almost 10, finally curled up in my lap later for some cuddles. She looked at me and said, "Daddy is an Angel now, right?" I nodded. "Yes, my sweet...he is an Angel." She giggled and said, "He's a comedian Angel"....I laughed and agreed that, yes, I was sure he was making all of Heaven laugh. And then she said in a low voice, "He's an<em> inappropriate</em> comedian Angel." Hilarious! There's my darling girl...always trying to find the silver lining even in the darkest of clouds. She had heard me admonish her father on many occassions about jokes that were "inappropriate" for tiny ears. So now, Chilly...you are our Inappropriate Angel...another unique moniker to add to your list of others. Leave it to our beautiful child to come up with that clever name:)<br />
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The irony in all of this is that on Dec.7 & 8, William suffered two massive coronaries that nearly killed him. He pulled through those and it really appeared that he was on the mend. He was home in time for Christmas. Christmas was the last day and night that he spent with us at home. <br />
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I am grateful that William is no longer suffering in the body that had become a prison to him. He is finally free to go home to his beautiful liquid sunrise. <br />
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Good~bye, my courageous, bad-ass husband...I will love you more...always....<br />
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Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-6108275560610711642012-03-23T14:21:00.000-07:002012-03-23T14:21:31.994-07:00Dear So and So...Braid, Birds and BoobTube Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Dear So and So..." src="http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm61/badassgeek/3BB/dearsoandso_button.jpg" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRXdGPtAomkkxEQEOS2SfoBO1rHzT7znYCcXv-C_eZZIuHRD2-j6BukaOHBEr4prU0h6IJlZ7yawNfCMa_-nn59dFSQ-fI-umdlx1_pWlF1gaJWY67QlT6rkvO_UAH6OSgo_JEdaq9Q/s1600/KatnissBraidCloseUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRXdGPtAomkkxEQEOS2SfoBO1rHzT7znYCcXv-C_eZZIuHRD2-j6BukaOHBEr4prU0h6IJlZ7yawNfCMa_-nn59dFSQ-fI-umdlx1_pWlF1gaJWY67QlT6rkvO_UAH6OSgo_JEdaq9Q/s1600/KatnissBraidCloseUp.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Katniss Everdeen Diagonal Braid;</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</b></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow! You've just made my life easier! Thank you for inspiring my daughter to actually let me brush her hair without a major freak out attack. My Cat~niss has been wearing French braids, Dutch braids and Fishbone braids for days now all thanks to you. Cat no longer runs and hides at the sight of a comb and brush. She actually welcomes them with open arms. Hopefully, my dear<b> Katniss Braid</b>, you can convince your friend, <b>Irish Dance Curly Wig</b> to do the same. Maybe you can bring Curly Wig for a play-date soon? That would be awesome!</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Dear St. Patrick's Day Parade Mini Hat;</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We did it! We fooled EVERYONE at the parade! HAHA! No one ever guessed that you were a glittery black soda can cozy and some sequin scrap! And, by the luck of the Irish, you stayed firmly on Miss Cat's head throughout the entire parade with winds in excess of 100 mph! (ok...so maybe a few gusts of 20 mph winds, but it felt like 100 mph...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm so wearing you in next year's parade,</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Ginormous Peregrine Falcons That Are Hanging Out In My Tree...</b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I appreciate your beauty and am in awe of your mighty talons that I know can rip my scalp off (or possibly carry off my daughter to unknown lands)...However, <i>must</i> you hiss at our family every time we pass under the tree? Is it really necessary to swoop and screech at us every time we walk through our courtyard? I realize we look like a tasty bunch and you are trying to figure out which delicious morsel you want to rip apart first. That being said, your bird bullying needs to stop, or I will introduce you to our friends at the Game and Fish Department. They will gladly remove you from our lovely home. (or you may remember those wacky bobcats that like to hang out on our roof? They owe us a favor...just sayin....)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Holding Out the Olive Branch,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I LOVE YOU...enough said.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Once Upon a Time, The River, Dance Moms and Big Bang Theory;</b></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for bringing me back to the boob-tube. It no longer sits in the family room sad and lonely...begging for attention. Thanks to you, I actually know what day of the week it is now. (and how can anyone resist Mr. Gold???)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nice to see you again, my friendly boob-tube...</span><br />
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<a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img align="left" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Have a wonderful weekend, folks! </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>ps...Cat's parade photo was taken by Mike Stirrat. Thanks, Mike!</b></span><br />
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</b>Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-70805118776236879072012-03-19T20:50:00.001-07:002012-03-20T06:31:31.909-07:00Saddle Up! It's Time to Ride!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpQS9zEPD6_bKCXhSFrWJuCOX1YI0EkTWo2CzBKV-yVX2ZULr9VWnRfphC7sQigLnvBkDRMJUfXl45TxeiCATIIHWfKO_Dy_-OMTdzVzpdMEPB9Dzu2bentQpR3bu_K49IJyHbWgkyA/s1600/cowgirl_on_white_horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpQS9zEPD6_bKCXhSFrWJuCOX1YI0EkTWo2CzBKV-yVX2ZULr9VWnRfphC7sQigLnvBkDRMJUfXl45TxeiCATIIHWfKO_Dy_-OMTdzVzpdMEPB9Dzu2bentQpR3bu_K49IJyHbWgkyA/s320/cowgirl_on_white_horse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Saddle up, folks! I'm back and ready to ride! I can't believe it's been over a year since I've posted. Time has flown by out here in the wild west. So much has happened...where to begin???</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I could just say that outlaws came to my casa and wrangled me out of my voice. There is truth in that even if it sounds like a tall tale. In reality, I had become a proud member of the "IF YOU CAN"T SAY ANYTHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL" Club. As some of you may know, my husband's previous employer had taken away his health insurance without warning (yes, it's illegal) and then did not pay him over a period of months. I was so angry at the damage that this did not only to my husband, but to the financial stability of our family. Without going into the dreadful details, I'll just say it's been a challenge. Fortunately, a new job arrived and we are slowly picking up the pieces. However, my anger at the "outlaws" (aka previous employer) stopped me from blogging. It stopped me from enjoying many things in my life over the last year...and then a trip to the park turned it all around for me...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It all started with a scraped knee and an angel...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCcAiF6FKBCnRIlIaaj7yNNKHWtMVtN8wu3XObWdDbPysTEIgugtHP0IhUfXoizwK5m4aDCdCyl7IJlzIo2UFkQi-tWu9Ww9gVhjzLP1RiqYj5FSwbkdIDCxhoR-qaaUIPOWXDnetjw/s1600/cat+angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCcAiF6FKBCnRIlIaaj7yNNKHWtMVtN8wu3XObWdDbPysTEIgugtHP0IhUfXoizwK5m4aDCdCyl7IJlzIo2UFkQi-tWu9Ww9gVhjzLP1RiqYj5FSwbkdIDCxhoR-qaaUIPOWXDnetjw/s400/cat+angel.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">I was feeling enormously overwhelmed by it all especially since the hubster's health is in serious decline. I decided</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 18px;"> to take my pity party (and my kids) to the park to get some fresh air and sun. Pity party and I were enjoying our time together at the park when Irish Dancer Girl Catherine fell while playing soccer. We (Cat, Pity Party and myself) decided to take a short walk to calm things down. She found a rock to sit on near an angel. She felt this angel would make her feel better. I thought that was a fine idea. I noticed that the angel looked so beautiful against the bright blue sky so I took a picture of Cat with the angel. It was at that moment that I realized who this angel was made to honor. This is the angel created in memory of Christina Taylor Green. I was completely humbled in that moment. At the base of the angel is a card handwritten from her parents and other family members. It is filled with so much love that you can literally feel it in your hands. In that moment I realized that while things have been really challenging for us, I was lucky enough to be with my sweet daughter at the park on this lovely day. All of my frustration (and lost voice) vanished in that moment. I made a vow that I would never allow anyone to take my "voice" again. </span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Thank you, God (and sweet angel, Christina) for reminding me that my life is truly filled more blessings than I can possibly count. (and by the way, I cancelled my membership in the "if you can't say anything nice" club...I will never again allow my disappointment and frustration in the actions of others to stop me from pursuing my passions...two of which are writing and talking...alot...I know, Chilly...I see your eyes rolling and hear your heavy sighs all the way across the house...) </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Thanks for listening to my tale, friends! It's good to be home!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Also, thank you so deeply for the kind emails about Chilly's health over the last year. He is still with us, thankfully. He has slowed down a great deal and is weak most days. However, he still makes the most of each day and keeps on going...fingers crossed that he is with us for a long time to come...) </span></div><br />
<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-17668412403444354202011-03-30T11:29:00.000-07:002011-03-30T11:29:29.021-07:00The Four G's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIz-g59tGhGsHlEOLdRKu96VJX078dRtKr9fshYgUDbK0D5qbCbYAf9TiAR2DXBXFneMnadjgfbCBO_FidbCKSAkP7QV6gXTEZWGfhOLvxQlSslEmrSbFd9Vz2SyzUrHisI-anTtjMw/s1600/lego+minotaur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIz-g59tGhGsHlEOLdRKu96VJX078dRtKr9fshYgUDbK0D5qbCbYAf9TiAR2DXBXFneMnadjgfbCBO_FidbCKSAkP7QV6gXTEZWGfhOLvxQlSslEmrSbFd9Vz2SyzUrHisI-anTtjMw/s1600/lego+minotaur.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See that Lego game up there? It's not as innocent as it seems, my friends. The tv commercial for this game is clearly harmful to grown women with teenage sons. It has reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. How on earth can this seemingly child friendly game cause so much heartache and distress? Allow me to weave my tale of woe for you....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few days ago, I saw this commercial and immediately said to Irish Dancer Girl, "Your brother (aka Teen Caveboy) would love this game...He's such a Lego freak!" She looked at me like I had just told her aliens had invaded the neighborhood. "Uh, Mom...he doesn't play with toys anymore, remember?" She was edging toward me slowly. "He stopped playing with toys back when I was a little girl." (she's 8 years old...) The truth in her words smacked me in the heart like the Karate Kid hitting me with a five finger death punch. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was a blubbering fool in all of 30 seconds. Irish Dancer Girl threw her arms around me and said, "It's ok, Mommy. I still have lots of toys for you to play with." I hugged her tightly and then went to distract myself from my breakdown with the laundry.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Later that day, I went into Teen Caveboy's room to put away some clean clothing. I looked around and realized his life is now all about "<b>The Four G's"...Guitars, Grub, Games (video) and ahem...Girls.</b> I looked at the guitar picks and sheet music scattered on the floor, the XBox games strewn about and realized my wee baby boy is growing up. Not a toy in sight...sigh....I leaned against the wall and tried not to cry <i>again</i>. Time really does fly by in the blink of an eye. It seems like just moments ago that I was cleaning up Legos and stepping on Hot Wheels in his room. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero....not playing a "real" electric guitar like the talented musician he's become, for goodness sakes? And is he really going to be old enough to drive a car next summer???</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heavy sigh...I hung up the clothes in his closet and turned to leave. But wait! What do I spy with my wandering eyes up high??? Let me show you....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Toys! I found toys! Sure, they're scary glow in the dark zombies attacking some plastic army guys, and of course, they're purely for room decoration, but they're still TOYS! My heart was filled with joy! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is still some of the "boy" in my amazing young man. So while I'm not a fan of this <b>G</b> word term...<b>Growing Up</b>...I'm <b>Grateful </b>that I still have a bit of my wee baby boy hiding out in plain sight in Teen Caveboy's room.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 17px;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"> - George Bernard Shaw</span></em></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a wonderful Wednesday!</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-62907386117545529812011-03-20T13:41:00.000-07:002011-03-20T13:41:15.590-07:00Shakin' Our Shamrocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nsEQvI3mWiQ_R95tcARy1B2NLE2wBRNZz83_0ANnrGAHyBVvTWmLnf80LmjHWuB8cVaI6YxufWeJVcw0DNk_N3FyXQKtph1j9tHZc4HhuowKtpb7scNocxt6H9HQQgeYGl-tJACb5w/s1600/March+2011+227b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nsEQvI3mWiQ_R95tcARy1B2NLE2wBRNZz83_0ANnrGAHyBVvTWmLnf80LmjHWuB8cVaI6YxufWeJVcw0DNk_N3FyXQKtph1j9tHZc4HhuowKtpb7scNocxt6H9HQQgeYGl-tJACb5w/s320/March+2011+227b.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Look at that awesome toe point on Irish dancer girl! We are finally finished with what we lovingly refer to in Irish dance as "March Madness"! Whew! As you might imagine, Irish dancers are pretty popular come March. We've just completed our two week tour of performances all over Tucson. We wrapped up the season yesterday with a viewing of the movie "Lord of the Dance 3D". </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a little peek at what we've been doing!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9rrfPkn3QK2lClawb_lOHdi5dVQMrQSgtjx62hhQo9YZypVVjloAaN0HFU9xyZGIEOjUrZcntT5jBHNkcKqgcA62e0mfB8_iOciSujqyeWXtgYIMigKWgfIbUI9mVg74aHVkdl7NfA/s1600/March+2011+217a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9rrfPkn3QK2lClawb_lOHdi5dVQMrQSgtjx62hhQo9YZypVVjloAaN0HFU9xyZGIEOjUrZcntT5jBHNkcKqgcA62e0mfB8_iOciSujqyeWXtgYIMigKWgfIbUI9mVg74aHVkdl7NfA/s320/March+2011+217a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cat with Brandon Mull, author of the fabulous "Fablehaven" series of books! We met him after her performance at the Festival of Books! What a nice guy! (and if you haven't read this series, do it! It's fantastic!)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPTo4APX3lGDDqQjcLEnQokn0AFwu06-bjF_sK7CzWZyu0Z8i_UrD7tYb6NMVio0Pwmz5hvBqAsQAzfiaN4c2zFSkzdyexm8a3z5eAOWip5L6cuNaEypHcI_72F22_dvpRClIZiMN4Q/s1600/March+2011+114a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPTo4APX3lGDDqQjcLEnQokn0AFwu06-bjF_sK7CzWZyu0Z8i_UrD7tYb6NMVio0Pwmz5hvBqAsQAzfiaN4c2zFSkzdyexm8a3z5eAOWip5L6cuNaEypHcI_72F22_dvpRClIZiMN4Q/s400/March+2011+114a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parade Prep on the firetruck for the St. Patrick's Day Festival and Parade...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLJRzA8EUgmh2lHVIwTwLZCPl69s6T1mQc-dI9PfLWjj0RDG9SNELQ1vvV-vvbPQ9qGoHdWKPIJ2BaCoHMMvL3fTmL0XTtVe7gUFgF3CtBPMKCmkskODGnU1pUOvfcUI_3Lqn-2zRSQ/s1600/March+2011+126a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLJRzA8EUgmh2lHVIwTwLZCPl69s6T1mQc-dI9PfLWjj0RDG9SNELQ1vvV-vvbPQ9qGoHdWKPIJ2BaCoHMMvL3fTmL0XTtVe7gUFgF3CtBPMKCmkskODGnU1pUOvfcUI_3Lqn-2zRSQ/s320/March+2011+126a.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY0k3ltHW55JDG9gl0RLr9FB30aiPpa7CzJy9kVKW27YFmVRlE4ALXkAgO91oDFvO8nYyyGqCBoz8r7j1PcGalHU-tgdF6Gsugh06qIF7eX8Pqruz0LarrA6PuP04UUnxvILN7v2T2g/s1600/March+2011+235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY0k3ltHW55JDG9gl0RLr9FB30aiPpa7CzJy9kVKW27YFmVRlE4ALXkAgO91oDFvO8nYyyGqCBoz8r7j1PcGalHU-tgdF6Gsugh06qIF7eX8Pqruz0LarrA6PuP04UUnxvILN7v2T2g/s400/March+2011+235.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRY0k3ltHW55JDG9gl0RLr9FB30aiPpa7CzJy9kVKW27YFmVRlE4ALXkAgO91oDFvO8nYyyGqCBoz8r7j1PcGalHU-tgdF6Gsugh06qIF7eX8Pqruz0LarrA6PuP04UUnxvILN7v2T2g/s1600/March+2011+235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MDratEpezbqHRIasze6lGIvwnL2lhQ4ZkhEGqmf4xIwaDVLfYMHD9Sc_DKnLk4xHi-a0VgRckua6KXNKDNinPGWSQlKibGzuyoFLgPJA4m9gJ3nskON0vt5LHNYvb5eWTUgKNZ7GTA/s1600/March+2011+161a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MDratEpezbqHRIasze6lGIvwnL2lhQ4ZkhEGqmf4xIwaDVLfYMHD9Sc_DKnLk4xHi-a0VgRckua6KXNKDNinPGWSQlKibGzuyoFLgPJA4m9gJ3nskON0vt5LHNYvb5eWTUgKNZ7GTA/s320/March+2011+161a.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiD5PaZz2hS_PPErwyO_zrrVdyi21pB1vMmjMMVPIVXF-JVmbePb1PK3wMyIOF7XecboLflv0IQk73GW-BDpsITpJPXTtajAXb1M9vv9hZmGN_1j-J9efuH936tCQEt2bk4X8dqsL4A/s1600/St+Pats+Pima+College+2011+006a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiD5PaZz2hS_PPErwyO_zrrVdyi21pB1vMmjMMVPIVXF-JVmbePb1PK3wMyIOF7XecboLflv0IQk73GW-BDpsITpJPXTtajAXb1M9vv9hZmGN_1j-J9efuH936tCQEt2bk4X8dqsL4A/s320/St+Pats+Pima+College+2011+006a.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking a bow at Pima College's St. Patrick's Day celebration...</span><br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4KTSaTqBY_g/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4KTSaTqBY_g?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4KTSaTqBY_g?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here's a little video of Irish dancer girl in action! The stage floor was super slippery, but she still managed to knock out some great dancing! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a wonderful week!</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border: 0;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-7964511818333912512011-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:002011-03-14T14:03:20.504-07:00The Lost and Found<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_2101619350"></span><span id="goog_2101619351"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0V7F72F2gPso_x8rqtEw7FjcMlw0O0fEpjznun5n848_vc8kTyhUffqA1Bxy0TpCNPbE6C-pvsQVbsPbwkdan1ZXNzALrkCfm4b4NZTEx1GekBgaYWXgVkkqR7qIcYtIYX6db3hLOVA/s1600/Keep-Calm-Carry-On-Pink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0V7F72F2gPso_x8rqtEw7FjcMlw0O0fEpjznun5n848_vc8kTyhUffqA1Bxy0TpCNPbE6C-pvsQVbsPbwkdan1ZXNzALrkCfm4b4NZTEx1GekBgaYWXgVkkqR7qIcYtIYX6db3hLOVA/s320/Keep-Calm-Carry-On-Pink.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See that big pink sign up there? That's my daily mantra. Well, it was until life around here went seriously in the dumper over the last several months...Where should I begin? With the loss of health insurance for my terminally ill husband? Hmm...oh! How about the very long delay of multiple paychecks for said terminally ill husband which still haven't been paid in full (umm, yeah, my children would like for their father to live for a bit longer so being able to purchase his medications would be lovely..just sayin')...or how about the time our tires (all flippin' four of them) went bad on the car...yep, good times. Oh! Oh! Even better! The gas leak that kept us without heat for the two coldest weeks in the winter! Then came the pneumonia, the sinus infections that would not leave and so much more fun. Yeah baby, those were the days! But even in the darkest of days, I would still awake to those encouraging words "<b>Keep Calm and Carry On</b>." The gas leak however, completely sent me over the edge. A new mantra was needed. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, realizing that we could have been blown to smithereens at any moment, I quickly thought this should be my new mantra...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj060GOYkvAySR5Qb1e0e72ajuaCuB3fRLAm0ABLe610A7kFJPAYH8bZmMlidIV6NqRi-JedScLgvg85Sx0DhILXPf_hilGFR1p890ewRKpql1-kynYqePcPEOPgm-fyS_AoUrKZkpR9g/s1600/81472_1_468.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj060GOYkvAySR5Qb1e0e72ajuaCuB3fRLAm0ABLe610A7kFJPAYH8bZmMlidIV6NqRi-JedScLgvg85Sx0DhILXPf_hilGFR1p890ewRKpql1-kynYqePcPEOPgm-fyS_AoUrKZkpR9g/s320/81472_1_468.jpeg" width="224" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I mean, seriously, who better to rescue us from a huge explosion caused by the lighting of my daughter's birthday cake candles? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I found this....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5p3ydrtGrY4-v3gT7vxC9LIi5rVRa09ecSzOY1bWPrUPpXkj5oSZMTg5TA5wCRfO2SVMVytPleKkk6FmJVFh6JOjvxsgquumZje1EcocES-Htl1lyaHmR8k6U7UqPUZh4k-_TQAP_w/s1600/panic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5p3ydrtGrY4-v3gT7vxC9LIi5rVRa09ecSzOY1bWPrUPpXkj5oSZMTg5TA5wCRfO2SVMVytPleKkk6FmJVFh6JOjvxsgquumZje1EcocES-Htl1lyaHmR8k6U7UqPUZh4k-_TQAP_w/s320/panic.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's great advice...Exactly what I was thinking!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Connor aka Teen Caveboy, however, had this sage advice for me...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilC80aodidhzsXvPcZXR43lsPR1vM5ycFTe8qh8uULk9pG9-4YgtTH1HyJtjyOyF9XPfy3IWLauGoaFylHI9QmTNqoD_tbBN0av1VUwyviAODdhf1EXOXHu9rehbZNTtiblh6_1TRZFw/s1600/keep_calm_phone_blk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilC80aodidhzsXvPcZXR43lsPR1vM5ycFTe8qh8uULk9pG9-4YgtTH1HyJtjyOyF9XPfy3IWLauGoaFylHI9QmTNqoD_tbBN0av1VUwyviAODdhf1EXOXHu9rehbZNTtiblh6_1TRZFw/s320/keep_calm_phone_blk.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(metal horns in the air)...I hear ya, son...music is the great healer of all things.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cat's advice (which is truly perfect) was this...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEbuS0RasvPNUkE3JyisNbuC8CnstSdrPHIOcTIfJGMLjF16dO_8UdzDUDbGf9seKjL3rX3_f0c9JRu1pZ-iXn5848BlSySQpT8twhBL8HdBxkUH3zMhhzM3RiAO6vtd284besbCdPA/s1600/4399661954_0390c75c66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEbuS0RasvPNUkE3JyisNbuC8CnstSdrPHIOcTIfJGMLjF16dO_8UdzDUDbGf9seKjL3rX3_f0c9JRu1pZ-iXn5848BlSySQpT8twhBL8HdBxkUH3zMhhzM3RiAO6vtd284besbCdPA/s320/4399661954_0390c75c66.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I mean really...what makes you feel better than a delicious cupcake?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I still hadn't found just the right mantra so I decided to call in the big guns...I called Harry Potter and he suggested this...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9V-ii_sdvFS_SssbPecyAccxOObnK7-Kd5E077E7Q29-gjqEWqtMK01xSKl1hCmzyA_kHYF8VPGXB5mvaNtejNYlCnz7-5eV6DWxBjzywQuDcrunnRYsbMcTRsYiiKPG9xp-E1tv1og/s1600/eKRWRNZloqo47lzb0ukYE2Izo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9V-ii_sdvFS_SssbPecyAccxOObnK7-Kd5E077E7Q29-gjqEWqtMK01xSKl1hCmzyA_kHYF8VPGXB5mvaNtejNYlCnz7-5eV6DWxBjzywQuDcrunnRYsbMcTRsYiiKPG9xp-E1tv1og/s320/eKRWRNZloqo47lzb0ukYE2Izo1_500.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and of course, I checked in with my favorite witch...Samantha Stevens who clearly had fabulous advice...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbhqD6babHymfOUmvgdWwmYnJfX4FnzDxmlmMxeISBE4IYTz2yLaE5ODY6Lx6DSr6TXfh2hxLoXBoJQXv9UytjRwtHYXHom64fbQUmwy6viLs-1JOz5FVcQk91NiyFR6SNH5p1jm83Q/s1600/tumblr_letu83Iwe81qb64xdo1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbhqD6babHymfOUmvgdWwmYnJfX4FnzDxmlmMxeISBE4IYTz2yLaE5ODY6Lx6DSr6TXfh2hxLoXBoJQXv9UytjRwtHYXHom64fbQUmwy6viLs-1JOz5FVcQk91NiyFR6SNH5p1jm83Q/s320/tumblr_letu83Iwe81qb64xdo1_400.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I even tried this mantra for a while after watching "House of Anubis" with my daughter 3500 times....</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-KceRxoSIv4JpJ8xgMNHn-0D2snFkuHRaeX28qBT_a1Y7IeMG5sMGDsMh7fdhQbeFoqMBjaRMPAP8Pvu3W-NTC5Zjh6TjOIGuji3HceBjLsK0ShzTVCO3J1e6QlP_qaoKFjfp0EmEw/s1600/81472_8_468.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-KceRxoSIv4JpJ8xgMNHn-0D2snFkuHRaeX28qBT_a1Y7IeMG5sMGDsMh7fdhQbeFoqMBjaRMPAP8Pvu3W-NTC5Zjh6TjOIGuji3HceBjLsK0ShzTVCO3J1e6QlP_qaoKFjfp0EmEw/s320/81472_8_468.jpeg" width="255" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was quickly put in my place by my kids who thought my fake British accent was an insult to all British people. Sigh.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So...what to do? By George, I think I've got it!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdRrYFKTMLd3YwUO8tg4rsBdoYeJK3h6rCmsf9LHeSbjMornrB4n21xzeHHvY5YT1DU5YCMa_D9sqQyqPZJaOa2EAQ_70w-Lj7vsJ4ebrrYJHuMYuJN-OSzR8wBSRI7SXoGtdZSfBKw/s1600/keepcalmblogon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdRrYFKTMLd3YwUO8tg4rsBdoYeJK3h6rCmsf9LHeSbjMornrB4n21xzeHHvY5YT1DU5YCMa_D9sqQyqPZJaOa2EAQ_70w-Lj7vsJ4ebrrYJHuMYuJN-OSzR8wBSRI7SXoGtdZSfBKw/s320/keepcalmblogon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think that's the ticket! I've missed sitting at the computer with my cuppa joe and visiting my bloggy buddies. I've missed the inspirational stories, the home decorating ideas, the craft and baking projects and even the giveaways! But most of all, I've missed the community and spirit of love that abounds here. (I don't know why I didn't think to do this much sooner!) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking forward to seeing you all again!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">XoXo,</span><br />
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<img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-7463983672956788392011-01-31T17:18:00.000-07:002011-01-31T17:18:28.165-07:00Freaky Just Got Fabulous!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a bit of a hiatus created by a series of <i>very</i> unfortunate events, Bee is back and ready to blog! What better way to conquer the frustrations of life than to have a party!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Miss Catherine turned 8 last week and we celebrated over the weekend with a <b>Monster High </b>themed bash at Pump It Up! P</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ump It Up is an inflatable play arena...we had the whole arena filled with jumping castles, obstacle courses, and giant slides reserved just for our party guests! It was a blast!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xbac8B9eQA3YeXXLFOQvS6u_LGPtXVtV_gLKeaCBegs33YBgaR0hF4LMEjv3_fzJtG1N4qUJXuslynoIKYWjfutiCJeqOiT-0h2WisH_zEVb3uzfRgQN7nuId1FigeNx0xe_dzHPiA/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+173a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xbac8B9eQA3YeXXLFOQvS6u_LGPtXVtV_gLKeaCBegs33YBgaR0hF4LMEjv3_fzJtG1N4qUJXuslynoIKYWjfutiCJeqOiT-0h2WisH_zEVb3uzfRgQN7nuId1FigeNx0xe_dzHPiA/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+173a.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coming down the ginormous slide!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_a4codVBQJ5NKRxM23lum7a3yIv9gT0AMWYhjouMz-WxC0wbkKShqOtWV94cart2d7wjmGANXMMou5CIKOlFoWX3n3RMM_sNPjVa6hJ4nHierukJM7bfsLN1KAgRPLFu0UITV0La6Q/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_a4codVBQJ5NKRxM23lum7a3yIv9gT0AMWYhjouMz-WxC0wbkKShqOtWV94cart2d7wjmGANXMMou5CIKOlFoWX3n3RMM_sNPjVa6hJ4nHierukJM7bfsLN1KAgRPLFu0UITV0La6Q/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+153.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(I made personalized student ID party favors for each of the guests!)</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUDLBztUQdHGD973VPzfUX8gc-6qvr2T5ABbG-QymyTTiSR-dXzg7BKNVevGgaeJnL13_U0J-Oys-aAdCOJw8Vi2SEHVmNGiZ34iJgSimKG7cKP7U5Teh1WTH3uuk8Oi9wWcLl7PppQ/s1600/Countess+Catherine+de+Creep+ID.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUDLBztUQdHGD973VPzfUX8gc-6qvr2T5ABbG-QymyTTiSR-dXzg7BKNVevGgaeJnL13_U0J-Oys-aAdCOJw8Vi2SEHVmNGiZ34iJgSimKG7cKP7U5Teh1WTH3uuk8Oi9wWcLl7PppQ/s400/Countess+Catherine+de+Creep+ID.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After an hour of crazy bouncing fun, we headed into to the <b>"Creepeteria" </b>for pizza and cupcakes!</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYXe9PLKX2jmU0Urf1Pn5aL98n-Iy2JY5FFsEedGWfzTU1dhhB1QEWHrSujEb3XHvm59sYwBRKpku7BxLrw4f6rdDnI2WoOF39OGYruQ_yxXyj_iXK4ptoWCqhLJ9Rh8S_dc6-hzUxg/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+162a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYXe9PLKX2jmU0Urf1Pn5aL98n-Iy2JY5FFsEedGWfzTU1dhhB1QEWHrSujEb3XHvm59sYwBRKpku7BxLrw4f6rdDnI2WoOF39OGYruQ_yxXyj_iXK4ptoWCqhLJ9Rh8S_dc6-hzUxg/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+162a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPomuSFZ6T_2dxAGypSvz18l4H1mKvuY2An3S9O2zRTQlGX008enyrKciTTGApAGxX0IZZIZGw7HOdItpc1lHWsMjkpgTLqXy41nqHin_NLZpA6LAoq0hGxQ0S8gvDPw8xS7vY3E_OOA/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+165bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPomuSFZ6T_2dxAGypSvz18l4H1mKvuY2An3S9O2zRTQlGX008enyrKciTTGApAGxX0IZZIZGw7HOdItpc1lHWsMjkpgTLqXy41nqHin_NLZpA6LAoq0hGxQ0S8gvDPw8xS7vY3E_OOA/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+165bc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFv3phsOY132oSDVoFb4so_c7AGFVxYJVjpTMxaXyVmwHZuRvjMtAlLRydhw0_WC5IW-MJpuqtPW9AF_rXTdw8wZL4PRbgeSvKZ6liw-IvYItQJ1Jx6JDrKR8TJ1Rp35ZnFRMxKoAFQ/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+193a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFv3phsOY132oSDVoFb4so_c7AGFVxYJVjpTMxaXyVmwHZuRvjMtAlLRydhw0_WC5IW-MJpuqtPW9AF_rXTdw8wZL4PRbgeSvKZ6liw-IvYItQJ1Jx6JDrKR8TJ1Rp35ZnFRMxKoAFQ/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+193a.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACjjd_NX8JsG12ZRbPysmZmdwmLL-fX1V1uHf3vaAD2zMu001zOgqmXv3O2dQhyefyXGjsSk1cGZl3rSnLSV_rU2hjAO9pq-vk_IJaSPIa5PrZaooZsPk6Igk-AWFrsASG2is_Q5ovg/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+169b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACjjd_NX8JsG12ZRbPysmZmdwmLL-fX1V1uHf3vaAD2zMu001zOgqmXv3O2dQhyefyXGjsSk1cGZl3rSnLSV_rU2hjAO9pq-vk_IJaSPIa5PrZaooZsPk6Igk-AWFrsASG2is_Q5ovg/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+169b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgun88CelvNjUNLIdG8JctS5Pmg1Qepd1BBTExmmITqE_ndRh29f7JOwAxP00iTqQwZvV6kmRyxj7IpTJQrgUJhUv9u2niDMaE_vnJhSCsj_ORwVJ4SYUu2aRO03RuXuovySfYMQIa0sQ/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+172a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgun88CelvNjUNLIdG8JctS5Pmg1Qepd1BBTExmmITqE_ndRh29f7JOwAxP00iTqQwZvV6kmRyxj7IpTJQrgUJhUv9u2niDMaE_vnJhSCsj_ORwVJ4SYUu2aRO03RuXuovySfYMQIa0sQ/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+172a.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My new favorite cupcake topper...the candy crown cupcake pick</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These little tasty beauties were made by yours truly!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3qHAIGOj8tibbEDQFgAetuTQhuWlL6nEoO91KnNiT4Mq5mJRILuJMlr-yCWwNrN71VpMXnu1b4YRp1OUeWMatBWFZ4aXOKPTnoK8Byv2J7iTNp0vA76Xc8y2Ov-lxG3ks_qNj6XxmA/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+171ab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3qHAIGOj8tibbEDQFgAetuTQhuWlL6nEoO91KnNiT4Mq5mJRILuJMlr-yCWwNrN71VpMXnu1b4YRp1OUeWMatBWFZ4aXOKPTnoK8Byv2J7iTNp0vA76Xc8y2Ov-lxG3ks_qNj6XxmA/s320/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+171ab.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monster High student "Lagoona Blue", daughter of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">came by to visit our birthday girl and her guests!</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRB02KkWkxKtJP5adAlZQsfKF-JSTD4zuNbj0FDDoUiOL2O2vBVCHGAwck_sgef1OtfXlFR6JpZAeXV3XIPvcdBm0EORYvOQeOuQAOtClLiOnYxz7QAPKE8y3YDo6FqObH4F2v94nnYw/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+177b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRB02KkWkxKtJP5adAlZQsfKF-JSTD4zuNbj0FDDoUiOL2O2vBVCHGAwck_sgef1OtfXlFR6JpZAeXV3XIPvcdBm0EORYvOQeOuQAOtClLiOnYxz7QAPKE8y3YDo6FqObH4F2v94nnYw/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+177b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We set up a birthday wishes photo matte for party guests to sign! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just purchased a blank matte from Michaels, added a few of my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">own decorations and voila! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll add a photo of Catherine with her guests, frame and hang in her </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">room as a keepsake!</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4alMYlPDwZOMgkXCMZqAcRb5rMlOOPwdpT99IydIjArj9sHACVFaIdybQJcIco1yYC4KBZg4ge6_e_232hM7ZT9UqZfbMQrHVPTtYZHHzwrS4rIsECy1fMrysDIfb-IRQGgZYJxIxA/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+168a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4alMYlPDwZOMgkXCMZqAcRb5rMlOOPwdpT99IydIjArj9sHACVFaIdybQJcIco1yYC4KBZg4ge6_e_232hM7ZT9UqZfbMQrHVPTtYZHHzwrS4rIsECy1fMrysDIfb-IRQGgZYJxIxA/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+168a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k6AQC_15TC8si3wrnPvNptU6FcH9NAeqVCwXYqx82Jm2x62rsxfI83ZNZZ2inOCYjYYhhTXS-wkVc_1eEgvXtG5oENgNjaCcrmFkmjTVhPpuqjXRFcObYoHCgqm1sR1ndSTtqk7dTg/s1600/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+132a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k6AQC_15TC8si3wrnPvNptU6FcH9NAeqVCwXYqx82Jm2x62rsxfI83ZNZZ2inOCYjYYhhTXS-wkVc_1eEgvXtG5oENgNjaCcrmFkmjTVhPpuqjXRFcObYoHCgqm1sR1ndSTtqk7dTg/s400/Cat%2527s+Monster+High+Birthday+Party+132a.jpg" width="368" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was an amazing day filled with loving family and friends! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><img align="left" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd23/digiscrapper219/Designer%20Blogs/Dawn%20Smith/sig5copy.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" />Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45824241394008312.post-59146524744286659232011-01-08T15:55:00.000-07:002011-01-08T15:55:11.453-07:00I Turned Right...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning upon leaving my home to run errands, I turned right instead of left....At first I was mad at myself for going the wrong way, but sighed and continued on in the opposite direction of my original destination. I've been on "overwhelm" lately and just figured my "old age" was kicking in and my internal GPS was off kilter. Why does it even matter that I made a wrong turn?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I would have turned left and made it to my destination at that time, I would have been in the parking lot of the Safeway store where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and many Tucson citizens were shot this morning. I had planned to go to Safeway to check out their cupcake selection for my daughter's upcoming 8th birthday party. Had I turned <i>left </i>like I'd intended instead of<i> right</i> onto Oracle Road, I would have been there when this tragedy took place. This Safeway store is less than a mile from my home and one that I often frequent. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard about the shooting when I was on my way back home from other errands. I was completely in shock. I'm devastated for the families of the victims, the injured and absolutely sickened that a child's life was taken in this senseless tragedy.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I immediately came in the house and grabbed my son tightly. He'd tried to get a job at this very Safeway store a few weeks back. I am so grateful that he didn't get this job. He would have most likely been in the parking lot gathering carts or at the very least in the store when this occurred. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I thank God for pointing me in a different direction. My prayers are with the families involved in this horrible tragedy.</span><br />
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</span>Dawn Parsons Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889046641523000211noreply@blogger.com24