Thirsty Thursday......

let's see who we'll meet today..........

Jumpin' Beans has some really great giveaways goin on over at her blog - definitely worth a look! Kelly over at Handcrafted By Heart has a new blog featuring her handmade cards and needs some love. and her cards are pretty fab!

so who did you meet today??

Thirsty Thursday

It's that time again!* Wow, this week really flew by! Okay, time to be social ;-) Here are a few of the blogs that caught my eye this week:

Lisa over at noodleBubble is a uk crafter, reader and a very clever girl! Stop by, say hello and enjoy ;-) I liked the Retro Housewife. Usually I try to stay away from "giveaway" sites but she's more than that. (though her giveaways look pretty cool - not the standard fare) What really didit for me is that she made me laugh. Outloud. That doesn't happen often!

I arrived at the party sorta early (#48) so there weren't a lot of sites to choose from (and I have to go pick up the little man!) Hop over and see what you can find! Maybe you'd like to share your finds with me??

Reminder: 10% OFF the "Featured Items" in my shop - just enter the code BJBLOG. And tomorrow we'll take the next step in the Etsy Holiday Bootcamp.

*quick note about my approach to memes - I'm really not a fan of those who stop by and just say "follow me!!". If you truely like my blog and what I have to say then I would expect a comment relevant to something I've posted - that's what I do when I visit these blogs - if they're my 'style'. I'm not in this for the numbers; I'm looking to increase my meaningful interactions, meet some new bloggers and learn something new.

Count your blessings.......

So often, I have a tendency to run full speed and miss some of life's most important lessons and blessings. While I'm running this race to heaven-knows-where, you might hear me moaning and complaining and sometimes that little ol' green monster rears it's ugly head: "well, we work just as hard as so and so! why do they have x, y and z and we don't?" or "my work is just as good as hers so how come she has more sales than me?" Yuck, right???

I'm now resolved to count my blessings on a regular basis and I'm going to do it publicly so that whenever I start to sound a little whiny, you all can point me back to this post! Looking back over this week...........

1. First and foremost, I am grateful that I have a God that forgives! We all make our share of mistakes and sometimes we will even deliberately mis-step, knowing that it's not what He would want us to do. He still loves us, amen!
2. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I am SOOO blessed to have such a supportive husband. Really. Seriously, I mean who's husband is just gonna say "oh, you wanna stay home and not go back to work after I've left my own successful and rewarding business to work at a sucky reliable job even though that means we live in a house that is falling down around us and NOW you've decided it's a good idea to make jewelry and sell it even though you have no experience doing so? no problem."......and actually mean it?
3. My son. All I can say is he wasn't supposed to be and he is.
4. As previously mentioned in #2, the house we live in could use some work. My father-in-law lives here also. (probably the easiest roommate anyone could ever have but technically, we're still newlyweds). We don't own this house. But. This house is family-owned with no mortgage. We pay a ridiculously unheard of amount for rent. This house allows me to stay home with my son while working at what I love.
5. Which leads me to #5. I get to do what I love - create! and..........
6. God has blessed me with many talents. My desire is to honor Him with each and every one of them!
7. I am grateful for technology. Sounds strange but technology allows me to spread the love to the far corners of the world and connect with people that, otherwise, I'd probably never meet.
8. And speaking of other people, I am blessed to have found some wonderfully talented, knowledgeable, Godly women who have been where I am, know where I'm going and have some words of wisdom or just inspiration to share (check out the new additions to my "cool blogs", specifically Gussy, V and Co., Nesting Place and The Mom Creative. And as always, Lisa Leonard! If you don't know them already, you want to! and I'm sure they'll lead me to other fabulous women so keep an eye on that sidebar!)
9. I am fabulously blessed to be a part of my church community, Faith Living Church (if you're in the CT area, drop by for a visit! If you're away from your own church or can't find one in your area, FLC had live broadcasts OR you can watch at your convenience. Yup, that's right - we're wired!)
10. Lastly, I'm so lucky to have my friends. God has connected me with some wonderful women of faith IRL (in real life) who are always available to me to lend support. I'm not sure if they're reading but Mel, Kristin, Darlene, Christie and Kate - I'm so lucky to have you all in my life! I love you guys!

So what blessings has God given you? What are you grateful for today?

"Thirsty Thursday" Blog Hop!!

Go add your blog to Mr. Linky!!

A few I hopped by: The Dirt Road Diva....she's got lots of interesting stuff going on - watch her progress on 365 days of photos. Daphne at Flip Flops & Pearls is handing out motivation for those who run (not me. not ever. not even a little bit. but if that's what floats your boat..........) and she's got a link to a handy tip for mobile bloggers. Kelly from Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler is the Martha Stewart of children's lunches!!

Go on over and find your own favorites!

"Thirsty Thursday" Blog Hop!

It's that time again! Time to hop out into the blogosphere and a make a few new aquaintances - so much fun! Let's see who we can link up with today???

(Okay, I know it's not Thursday. I wrote this yesterday, saved the draft and went blog hopping but never got back to the post. So just play along, k?)

Thirsty Thursday........

Today is a double-post day! No idea why but it is what it is.

So, I happened upon some "Thirsty Thursday" blog-hoppin' fun and decided to check it out! My plan is to check out a few of the participants each week then give them some linky-love over here! (I'm realizing I used exclamation points like it's my job - I swear, I'm not this excited when I speak! AGH - can't seem to help myself! (see!! lol)

Anyway...........without further ado, here's a few of the blogs I really liked:

Here's a cool AND useful blog all about blogging tips! Design it Chic. I need to find a few hours of quiet time so I can just sit and absorb all the helpful info.

Emily has quite the sense of humor over at City Girl Can Survive - I'm interested to see if she's able to retain that sense of humor when she has kids ;-) (no snarkiness intended, Emily! I'm just jealous because I lost mine EXACTLY four-years-one-month-and-one-day ago!)

Last but not least, I'm SOOO happy to have popped over to Southern Reflections! I had no idea there was a company that rented Leapster games!! Praise Jesus, now my son can stop saying "but this game is sooooo booooorrrrring" after having had used it all of 2 days! But even more exciting is to meet a mom of Faith. She has a beautiful family and I love what she's doing with her sponsorship!

I'm off now to check out some more of the blogs! Let me know if you decide to join up with "Thirtsy Thursday"!