FRIDAY FUZZY!

I just found the cutest site EVER!



Lots of great stuff!

Lots of great links!

Lots of great discounts!

Lots of great prizes as they celebrate their birthday!

And I am getting lots of great ideas!

Go enjoy!!

Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZY!

I have the privilege of knowing my next recepient personally! Our kids go to school together and this family has been a great blessing to our little school.

I wish each of you could know them in real life because they are both smart, kind, and passionate about many important things!

I only recently learned of Marnie's talents and wanted to share her story and her works with you!

You can go here to get started at her site.

You can go straight here to read her story.

Maybe one day you can hear the longer version in real life, because I promise it will give you goosebumps!

And as an added bonus, go check out Free Market Foundation. They are active with this organization and I have long loved its purpose!!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

Circus Act!

Since my life feels like a circus right now, you have the privilege of receiving my thoughts in merry-go-round fashion!

I hope you are not prone to motion sickness!

* Friday Fuzzies will be periodic until I can my act together and organize a few posts with new people to visit!

* L recovered from his fever last week. It took about two days of come and go fever, but otherwise, no other symptoms. PTL! Seriously! Thanks for all your good thoughts!

* At work, several therapists were out sick for a few days last week. Many children have either been gone due to illness or they have graciously come to therapy and shared! We finally re-emphasized to all the parents our guidelines for children being sick and therapy.

* And yes, I felt mine own version coming on Wednesday night in nasal form. I am always fearful of the dreaded sinus infection, so I got to work Thursday morning to stop it in its tracks! I did the always-glamourous neti pot and added a little colloidal silver just for safe measure! So far, after 2 days, I still feel some pressure but I think I am on the right track to not getting full-blown sick!

* I really can't afford to be sick because I have serious business to take care of this weekend. My girls and I are headed out of town to join many other ladies from church for our Winter Ladies Retreat!! It is always planned around Canton weekend (huge indoor/outdoor flea market!) and free time is specifically planned so those that want to can head over to do a little shopping! The best part...my girls and I are headed out a bit early today to catch some shopping on Friday afternoon before the retreat starts. Most of them are doing the cattle drive on Saturday which limits our shopping time tomorrow.

* But just so you know, we really do go to retreat and spend time wrapping ourselves in God's grace as we remember why we are here. This is always the best retreat of the year and our coordinator will start planning the day after this one is over. She always does! I will give you a post-retreat review upon my return!

* Just one more thing about shopping :) If you live in the DFW area, than you probably know of the wonderfulness of Canton! I love it and used to go much more frequently than I do now since having two kids. I am the outdoor "junk" gal. I love to look indoors at all the vendors, but my favorite part is finding great treasures outside that I can make beautiful for cheap! We are expecting decent weather which thrills me! Rain and Canton stink!

* Shopping aside :), I am totally sacrificing for God this weekend since finding out he will be performing in town Saturday night! Ok, just kidding about the sacrifice thing, but I would so love to have gone to the concert! And on another note, I am about to make this my theme song to my family!

* Ok, now about the Bloggy Giveaway-Winter 2008! I think after 5 days, I have done all I can do in hopes of winning something. There are 900+ giveaways and it wouldn't surprise me if I managed to enter at least 700+ of them!! If you look at all the giveaways/carnivals I have done since last March, I am probably 50/50 on winning something. After the dust has settled on this one, I am going to take inventory and let everyone know the results for me!

* If you were one of the 300+ people who entered my giveaway of this, wow, you have made my job of picking ONE winner very, very difficult! It always pains me to pick whether it is one winner or multiple winners. Which is exactly why I usually add more surprise prizes when I announce! I guess we will see for this time! Since I will be out of town until Sunday afternoon, feel free to enter until I get back! I will work on the winner announcement Sunday evening and it will probably be posted after 10 pm. Sorry to be vague, but I am sure being gone all weekend will find me with lots of love to give when I get back. To the family and the house!

* Now for something a little more interesting, and spicey, go here! (the post is not up yet, but it will be soon and you won't want to miss it!)

Have a wonderful weekend!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZY! Long, but worth it!

I am so excited to share this with you!

As you read, if you think you or someone you know would be interested in attending the conference, feel free to contact me with questions. While I am not directly involved in setting up the conference, I will be present and assisting as I am needed. If I don't know the answer, I will find out for you!

Many of you know that I am an occupational therapist. My main focus for over 10 years has been children. Over the years, I have worked with many wonderful professionals, children, and families. My place of employment has been consistent for those 10 years as well.

Hard to believe in a world of constant change, especially with jobs!

I came to my job as a young and eager therapist. I knew my passion was for children. I just needed a chance. God's hands were solely responsible for me finding this place and I consider it an honor and a blessing to be associated with it. I will always refer here and in other correspondence to my employer as my "boss", but you need to know that it is way more than that. This place, my "boss" have been a strong force in my life all these years. It is about loyalty, respect, and friendship for me as well. I say that now for several reasons, most of which are not the purpose of this post today. The reason that it is important right now is so that you will know that where I work is a small private practice. One that looks to empower children and families. One that values families, both our clients and our own. We don't toot our horns with claims of being more than what we are. We simply do what is best for our kids.

Here is my proof. Over the 10 years, I have gone from full-time to 2 days a week, in order to accommodate my family. I was fully supported in that decision by my boss. I have lived 5 minutes away, then 30, now 45 if all the moons line up and there is no traffic! I "quit" for a year to have my first baby, coming back periodically to help when I could. I did it again to have my son. As long as I live in this area, I won't even attempt to work at another pediatric practice closer to home.

Ok! Enough about me! Really I just wanted to give you a little background so you might understand my excitement over an event that is a first for us!!

At our office, we work with children and families dealing with many different things such as cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and torticollis. However, many of the children that come to see us for either occupational therapy or speech therapy fall into a few main categories; Sensory Integration dysfunction (this has many sub-categories I won't mention here!), Autism, Asperger's, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, Dyspraxia, visual-perceptual issues, and language/speech or auditory disorders.

We use many strategies to work with these children. Not one way is the right way every time. Like magicians, you must be ready with a variety of tricks in your bag. And although there are some treatment strategies or cures out there that we don't particularly endorse for most of our children, we understand that parents need to make choices that they feel is right at the time. Our job is to educate them the best that we can. I won't speak for "we" (although, I believe I am not the only one in our office who has embraced more of this thinking over time.), but I personally have stretched as a professional over the these last few years in terms of the impact that diet, nutrition, and environment have on our children. And while I do not believe these are cures, I do sincerely believe that changes in these areas can have a significant positive impact on our children. I hope you will respect that as my opinion because it is not my wish at this time to create an atmosphere of debate with this post. Discussion maybe, but not debate.

I really do have a single purpose with this post!!

In February, our office is hosting an incredible conference in the Dallas area. This is a wonderful opportunity for both professionals and parents to learn some amazing tools to work with their children. I believe this is the first time these speakers have come to this area. It will allow many who can't make it to the coastal sides of the US a chance to come and learn closer to home.

If you have not heard of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders, I encourage you to get started with a little background.

Here is some great information about the DIR/Floortime Model that they developed. We not only embrace and endorse it, but we have seen what it can do for children and their families.

You can read more about Floortime at the website dedicated to it.

To read more about the particular conference we are hosting, go here, then click to see the full brochure regarding the Dallas conference.

Thank you for enduring such a long post! Thank you for allowing me to feel comfortable in using my place as a forum for getting good things out to as many people as possible.

And I was thinking, if you are interested, I would be happy to start sharing information and ideas periodically that may be helpful to families that are dealing with special circumstances and their children. I had never really intended to use this site as a platform for what I do professionally, but it might be nice to share from time to time in a public service type way!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

Welcome to Friday Fuzzies 2008!

I have been working on my list in hopes of sharing some great new sites for your reading enjoyment! It was a killer trying to clean out and organize my computer's favorites section. Many sites got scooted over to Google Reader. I have not updated my Blogroll yet. I always like to wait until I present their FF to them.

I am only doing two today, so this will be easy!

The Bargain Shopper Lady
I rediscovered her in the midst of my clean sweep and I am so glad I did! I can't even tell you how many deals I have checked out thanks to her! She has a great site where she rounds up sales, deals, and coupons for you. It is almost like having a personal shopper! She also shares some great sites for low-cost items and coupons. I will be checking all those out as well! I so have to get back on my coupon kick. Go over and find a bargain. Tell her "hi" while you are there!

*********************************************

And in honor of my own little matey who thinks these guys are the next best thing since peanut butter.

Oh wait, he doesn't like peanut butter!

....since broccoli!

Yes, he prefers broccoli!

Speaking of vegetables that are good for us, I would like to introduce you to next recipient of Friday Fuzzy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado....

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
My kids are big fans of VeggieTales and their first big screen movie Jonah was no exception. We have the storybook of Jonah (the movie) and I love reading it with my son as he finishes the storylines. Three year old word tweaking is always entertaining!

When I learned the movie was coming out, I couldn't wait to start talking it up to him. Just this morning as he played some games on their website, he bopped along to the catchy tunes. He has the best facial expressions when he is singing!

The movie is out in theaters TODAY! I hope you will go enjoy it as a family. We need to make sure we are supporting these types of kid-friendly movies.

And don't forget to check out their website where you can win stuff or join their fan club.

And I know you won't want to miss THIS! My kids looked at me a little strange as I jerked my head around to the music. If they only knew!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

MeckMom
Maria has a nice little place where her organizational talents clearly show! Her place is clean, easy on the eye, and a snap to use! She has lots of nice ideas to share and share she does! Just the other day, I downloaded her Christmas organizational tools. Oh hush, I know it is already December 7th! There is lots of great organizational talent out there, but Maria is my gal for today!! Go visit her!

Frugal Hacks
The title says it all! I love visiting places like this. I have a lot to learn and I certainly fail miserably in the frugal department A LOT, but at least I know where to go for advice. And here, there is also a nice list of all the other frugal hackers if I need more help! If I were you, I would add this one to your feed. We will all need it come January!

Reuseable Bags
I see this site as about conserving both our earth and our money (again with the frugal thing!). I enjoy this site. I added some Bento boxes and water bottles from here to the kids' Christmas list this year. And although I forgot to add it to my wish list, I sure do love their shopping bags! Hint, hint!!

Online Sweepstakes
I don't know why, but I figured this was sorta along the same lines as frugal if you could win something versus pay for it. Right? I used this site pretty regularly for about 2 weeks. But I got tired of typing in my info EVERY.TIME. Someone mentioned once there was a way to do it without the repeated typing, but I don't know how. HELP if you know how!! Especially since there always awesome things to win. At the point I was using it, I only entered the "one time entry" contests. I just couldn't see myself doing all of them. Let me know if you start doing this AND you win something!

Sweepstakes Advantage
I have never used this site, but added it for the same reason as above.

Happy Friday Fuzzy to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZY!

Today is a special day. And since I have so much to say about this one person, I figured I would only give out one FF today instead of my standard five.

The favoritism might have been too obvious.

This whole affair started out sooo innocent. The conversation went something like this a couple of weeks ago.

Friend (and you know who you are!): "So Stace, what are some of your favorite blogs to read?"

Me: "Oh, I try to keep them listed on my sidebar, but I really enjoy reading X and X and X."

Friend: "Do you read Pioneer Woman?"

Me: "Uh, not really. I know who she is and I looked at it a couple of times, but no, not really." (Me thinking: "I need substance and a chance to be nosey, but all I ever saw were pictures when I would stop by.")

Friend: "I love looking at her pictures and she has some really great recipes."

End of conversation.

Let me go ahead and apologize right now. To those whose sidebars held this greatness that I so casually ignored. To you, PW, for ever engaging the notion that there was not any substance. Shame, shame on me!!

Now, if any of you already read Pioneer Woman's blog, then you totally know where this whole thing is leading.

If you don't, then let me go on and tell you more.

So just this Monday, as I was over visiting another blog, I decided, what the heck, why not click on Pioneer Woman and take a stroll around.

And around.

And around.

I won't share with you exactly what I emailed to my friend, but suffice it to say, she knew exactly what I was talking about.

PW hooked me with a few good ranch life stories, then totally reeled me in with love.

And just to make it easier on you, you can find the epic here and continued here and ongoing here. Just go to her home page for the latest chapter.

And can I just say PTL for chapter books!

No, really, you need to go there!

For a girl that read Harlequin romance novels in junior high (don't go there!), thus beginning a life long search for love with my head crammed in the clouds, THIS is way better. And it is real!

Oh yea, there is more!!

Not only does she make you feel all gushy inside with her tales of Marlbaro Man, but the food!

And then those pictures! Since I just purchased my first digital 10X optical zoom camera, I will try not to covet her Nikon too much. Just aspire!

And who can resist her cute "punks"!

However, I would advise you to pass on any stories related to "calf nuts". Um, there are usually pictures involved.

Want to know the other best parts?

She hails from my native land, we share the same birthday month, and we both love Starbucks!

That makes us practically BFF's, right?

Now if I could just figure out exactly where she is....

Oh, hi Ree! Who me? Stalking you? Oh no, I would never do that!

Who am I kidding, they would spot me a mile away as I made my way to the house!

So here's to you Pioneer Woman!

Your very own Friday Fuzzy!

Now I have to go get back to her archives! I am only to March 2007 and want to catch up before we ring in the new year!

Stacey

p.s. Thanks for making our "hineys tingle" with all your great stories!

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

Um, it is still Friday, isn't it?

Just a brief synopsis so you won't think I have lost my mind. Or maybe I have! I prepped this post on Thursday evening before heading out for my much-needed GNO. Although it was actually a girls' night in, we had a glorious time! So.....got home around midnight (that would be friday morning!) and went to bed in order to rise at 6 am the "next" day. Friday included a vendor show until 11:30 am, packing up and driving home, managing kids and house, taking dtr to birthday party, going to dinner with husband and son, picking up dtr and getting kids to bed, AND falling asleep while putting kids to bed! Saturday included working at a hospital, coming home, changing clothes, taking kids to coop, out and about with husband during coop hours, putting kids to bed AND falling asleep while doing so!

So........here we are on Sunday morning with your latest addition of FRIDAY FUZZIES!

I am nothing if not efficient and timely!

Actually, I am, but it was just one of those weeks!!!!

However, these ladies deserve some kuddos, so we are all just going to pretend that it is still Friday!

The FlipFlop Mamma
She is young and hip. Yes, there are tattoos involved, but I will let you read about those yourself! She has 3 gorgeous kids and is striving to live a healthy life. She also supports her husband in his role as a pastor. Go check out her cute site!

BonBon Boutique
Christy is a work of art. Or is it that she does great works of art? Both! She has a cute site where you can learn about her and ALL the super cool stuff she creates! Don't miss out!!

A Mei Mei for Mallory
Adele's site is such a wonderful online "scrapbook" about her life and her beautiful daughter. You will feel happiness and love the minute you arrive. You can tell how dedicated she is to her family and we can all pray for next addition they will have one day. Warning-if you have a young daughter, you might pray now for God to suppress your desire to covet super cute outfits with matching bows! Go enjoy!

Rose Cottage Lane
"Grace" found me during the giveaway and I am looking forward to learning more about her through her archives. She has a beautiful old-charm site and I was so happy to learn about her love of shabby chic on a budget. Maybe I can get some more great ideas for my home decor file folder! And my new friend lives in Oklahoma, so maybe I can sneak in a visit some day when I am back home!

Black Friday Ads
And in preparation for next Friday, be sure to check out this site for a head-start with all your holiday shopping. Plus, sign-up for their email list so you can learn about the great deals faster!

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

Ok gals, let's get right to it!

From Under the Clutter
She has a sweet and easy-to-read site with lots of good stuff waiting for you! There is variety, so you never know what you will be enjoying that day. I have gotten behind and really need to spend more time there myself so I can soak up all the goodness. One of my favorite things is her other site, Being Frugal. I recommend you visit her there too!

Broom Huggers
I found Kathy by chance during my webquest for better living. I love that she has created this business which only cleans your home with what is pure and good for your family. Her site is full of such good information, resources, and even stories! Go see her. And if you live in the Atlanta area, use her company to clean your home!

Antique Mommy
I used to visit here from time to time early on in my blog life, but somehow she got lost on my favorites list. Gotta clean that thing out now that I have a lot of them on my sidebar! She tells lovely stories of her life as an "older" mom to a precious little boy! Very funny and very sweet stories! She is definitely worth the stop!

The Big Yellow House
Martie is a very special lady. She will tell you that what she does is no big deal, but I would disagree! She runs a happy-and busy!-household with 9 kids while her husband serves in Iraq. I have really enjoyed getting to know her through the stories she shares about her family and her life. Please go visit her and maybe send her some extra encouragement!

Anita Renfroe's Site
Ok, maybe this is cheating a bit, but this gal is funny. And true, this is her website and not her blog, but a great resource worth some fuzzies! You can read about her, watch her videos, and find out how to see her in person. I love the Mom Song, of course! And I have so been wanting to read The Purse Driven Life!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!

Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

Well.......

here is the deal!

Thanks to the last few weeks of T-it-T and WFMW and NOW the big carnival this week, I have a HUGE new list of people to get to know better!

But that is the problem. I want to get to know them better before I share them with you. I want it to have a little meaning and substance! And since I am a tad busy trying to win free stuff for myself, I have not had a lot of time to get to know these other awesome gals!

So, after today, I will go back and spend the next week getting to know a few people better so I can share with you next Friday!

However, as to not leave you with nothing, go get to know a few great gals that I know both through their blogs AND in real life!! They are all great!

Look at my sidebar over there------->and click on Jenna, Jennifer, Jennifer O, and Staci. Jenna has 4 precious boys, leads a very active life because of them, always seems to be creating some incredible memories with them, and shares them via great pics all the time! Jennifer is a dear girlfriend of mine and I am so thankful for her friendship. She is truly supermom right now as she teaches full-time, is going to grad school (with straight A's), runs around after two cute kids (well, ok, one is still only a crawler!). Jennifer O is another busy mom of two boys who always shares the fun activities she does with the boys. While there, go check out her new site about creating a healthier home for her family (Saving My Family)! Staci does not post frequently, but when she does, you get to see so many cute pics of her kids! And who knows, you may find someone at her place you want to visit as well. I love her friend that runs Stockston Photography!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

I love doing this!

The only problem is there are so many of you out there to love!

My sidebar over there is getting crazy long! I played with the idea of creating a separate page (seriously, i don't even know if i can do that with blogger!), but hate the idea of having to click twice to get to someone you want to visit. Remember, if I give you a fuzzy, you end up on my sidebar in the near future. I am devoted that way!

The Diaper Diaries
I have had her on my computer favs list for a long time and I read there from time to time. Because my list is so long, I just didn't get there as often as I would have liked. Until now! In order to bestow her a FF, I checked out a few more entries and read through "About" and "100 Things". She is a SAHM now, but a former pediatric physical therapist!! (Remember, I am a pediatric OT.) AND, she lives in a town in Iowa where I think some old friends of mine live or lived previously. I can't wait to have her investigate for me! About her blog....I love it so far. I love how clean and organized it is. It is so easy to read and always full of good ideas and thoughts! I think I will be checking out her archives! Go say hi!!

The Preachers Wife
Lisa runs a beautiful site that encourages and blesses those that stop in there. Many participate in her online bible study as well. I hope you will go visit her and refresh your spirit!

Angela's Daily Struggle
Angela stopped by here long ago. Then, I feel in love with reading about her. She takes a break from writing now and then, but you can always enjoy her archives and her old site! She is married with a very cute daughter and....another babe on the way! She takes great pics too!! Reading some of her posts and seeing the pics, my guess is that life is not dull around them!! Go have yourself a visit!

Holding the Mirror up to My Soul
"Kelli" is a new blog friend. Best part is we could actually meet face-to-face if we tried! I have a lot more reading to do to catch up on her and know her better, but I like what I have read so far. I do know she stays busy because she runs a daycare besides all the other things she does. I hope you will go get to know her too!

My Tiny Kingdom
MUST.GO.READ! All of it! SERIOUSLY! I am just warning you now. Once you go there, you will have to put yourself on a schedule because you will want to go back and back and back to read more! I can't believe I just now found her! This is what got me started. And if you don't link over and read this, well, you will have no else to blame for your bad day but yourself! Just a warning, though. You might want to sit on a towel and not be drinking anything while you read it! Today is serious though. She is sharing the anniversary of her mom's passing with us along with ways to help others. Go now. You won't regret your time there.

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

Joy in the Journey
Joy is a wife and mother of 5. And next to her commitment to Him, it is easy to tell that her priorities are embedded in her family! They are currently working in Indonesia where her husband flies for the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). You can read more about it at her site. Joy shares about her faith, her family, her passions. Spend some time getting to know her and praying for her family!

Mommy Zabs
I have mentioned Elizabeth before when talking about Not China Made, but good grief, this girl is even busier than I originally thought! And more talent in the tips of her typing fingers than I could ever hope for! She writes at a technical blog (sorry Elizabeth, I can't find it at this moment!), her personal blog (this one), her China blog, and probably contributes to many more! Then, she and some of her friends decided to create MusicMamas (i have a feeling these are some cool chicks!). And just recently, she unveiled CardMyChristmas.com. She is sweet, funny, insightful, and encouraging. And she calls her son "Lukey" just like me! That's my girl!

An Iowa Mom
Hang on tight! Stopping by just once will have you coming back over and over! First and foremost, she is crack-up funny! The kid stories are just hilarious, but she is not afraid to tell on herself too! She has helpful ideas, makes cute little girl socks, and is the creator of Mom's Turn (where a mom can go to blow off some anonymous steam!) on my sidebar. She is also the one to introduce me to Designhergals.com, and for that, I am so grateful!

Lizzie's Home
Lizzie has not received my attention as much as I would like, so I can't go on and on about her. So many times, I am reading blogs late at night which means I usually just read the day's entry and move on. But Lizzie has SO MUCH neat stuff listed on her sidebar that I must get to!! You will see why I did not want to pass her by just because I couldn't tell you much myself! I am hoping we can become "friends" so I will have another person to visit when I go to Australia again! Someday!

Mama's on a Playdate
I found Jenny after linking here, then there one night. It was hard not to be quickly drawn into her stories of her precious Allie. I would encourage you to learn more about Allie and her story. Now Jenny shares passionately about life with her husband, a busy 2-year old Maggie, and Heroes for Children!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

Fill 'er up!

I was getting concerned last Friday because my list for Friday Fuzzies was running dangerously low. If I continued at my current pace of 5 each Friday, I would be scrambling in 2 weeks!

Now, THAT, was about the silliest thing I have ever worried about! Give me a few good reads about Tackles and WFMW's and my list is sufficiently refueled! Not to mention my excitement about upcoming new contests floating around the blogosphere, as well as learning about fun sites to get cool stuff!

One of the new sites I found today is both informative AND generous!

Noelle at Live Your Healthiest Life has done tons of "legwork" to give her visitors so much incredible information on living healthier! And as an added bonus, her weekly featured products, are offered to her readers as prizes just for entering!

Do you like whip cream on your hot cocoa? Me too! Noelle's "whip cream" is her referral program which allows you to earn a FREE product of your choice when your name is posted by someone else in the "message" section of an entry form. Each time your name (Stacey Willmon!) is provided, you get a point. 5 points = Free product! That is her way of thanking you for getting the word out about her site and her mission!

And since Random Generator refuses to be my friend anymore with all the other contests I have been entering, this seems like a piece of cake for winning something!

Would you mind getting me a piece of cake?

And then go tell your friends so we can eat it together!

Stacey

Friday Fuzzies!

And Miles To Go Before We Sleep
Bridget's (ok, I never really know anymore if people are using their real names, so I am just assuming for now!) is all full of goodness. She has a nice variety of posts. And people, the recipes! Who needs a cookbook when you have her recipe roll! And, YES, she did supply me with the Banana Pumpkin Smoothie recipe! But you should really go back for the Cheesy Beer Bread!! She has 5 little ones, but somehow seems still intact mentally :) Go over there for a stroll!

A Chelsea Morning
If you look closely, you can probably find Barb on a wholotta blog rolls! Maybe she won't mind one more! She is so stinkin' crafty, can OCD clean with the best of us, seems full of life, inspires us, and takes care of her precious grandson. If you don't know her, please go and introduce yourself!

Baby Bangs
Amanda is a tough one to introduce, mainly because I really do want you to know her for who SHE is. And it is not anywhere close to like she is my BFF, but she just oozes those same qualities as her mom that make you feel like it is just you and her having a convo. We live on opposite ends of our big city, but I am always on the lookout for that time we will cross paths and I can say, "Oh, I just loved your post the other day about crock pots!". And then, as I walk off, casually throw out, "Oh, and tell your mom hi for me!". She is funny, devoted, and has a hunka precious son! You can find her in two places, but I will let you figure it out for yourself!

Chronicles of a Night Owl
Jennifer's blog name caught my eyes first. My bleary, blog-reading, getting stuff done eyes! She is just now back in the swing since battling not feeling well for weeks, so I can't wait to know her more. She also does cute cards on another site you can link to from this one. Stop by her place soon!

Fruitful Vines
I first "met" Julie-Anne because she was the winner of the first blog party I ever participated in :) She is from Canada and precious. You can just tell her heart is in every post. She added another sweet babe to their family in August and has been a little busy since then as she homeschools the other 3 while being a wife, mommy, doula, and childbirth instructor. She has so much to offer, which is why I was sad to read the other day that she is thinking about shutting down her blog. I would love for each of you to pay her a visit and don't leave before giving her a word of encouragement. Check out some of her informative posts and you will see what I mean!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

p.s. I will be gone several days soaking up some girl time this w.e. with our church ladies' retreat followed by an extra night at the hotel with my dear girl friends! I look forward to catching up with everyone when I return!

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

More gals for you to enjoy!

Sorta Crunchy
Megan just had another sweet baby girl, so she will tell you how little time she can devote to writing right now. But I would tell you to go over there anyway. She has a lot to offer and keeps a good sense of humor! She has a very informative sidebar with my particular favorite being the info on organic foods.

The Simple Life at Home
Lori always provides something good to read. She shares the humor and the struggles. I have really enjoyed her "book reports" from The Overload Syndrome; you should go read them. And her new thoughts on Beth Moore's Daniel study are great. I saw the videos but really need to dive back into the study I never finished. Anyway, a good place to visit!

The Wooden Porch
The scenary is always good when you "walk" up to her porch. You will learn why she enjoys where she lives and get to hear some of the crazy stories that go along with it. Always a good pic or two to enjoy as well!

Looking Towards Heaven
YEA, I am so glad to have finally arrived here! I hated that Karla was not closer to the top of my list, but I got to her, so that is what counts. Sweet Karla shares her life with you, and while it does seem pretty crazy at times, it is also full of grace, faith, and the hope that she is making a difference through her life. They added a new boy to their family and she is not holding back; good stories, sweet pics! And do be sure to visit her business Fruition Designs!

Natural Family Living Blog
This is such a great place to visit if you want to start making some earth-friendly changes and need ideas. Now certainly, you may not be ready to take it to the level she does, but still a top spot for ideas. Her last few posts have been very good reads, including changing your dairy and how to create better school lunches for your kids. And many more you will just have to go back and read for yourself.

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

It may take me forever to get down my list, but I really just want you to savor a few goodies each Friday in case you want to soak up all the goodness each has to offer. If I did more than five, you might just get lost! I am being strict with myself and actually going straight down my favs list as they appear on my pop up. If I don't and skip around, I will just forget to go back and tell you about someone!

Here is my third revealing of Friday Fuzzies!


The Lazy Organizer
I love Lara and her site! She is practical with her tips and funny. And she has a mean trigger finger with a power tool! Seriously, she has done some amazing work as far as building things for their home. They have taken on a serious house project as far as I can tell, but she does not seem overwhelmed. At least to me! Go get lots of great ideas from her and be sure to read about her organizing bags that you can purchase. It is such a deal! And don't forget to tell her congratulations on her growing belly!

The Wilson Six
Jen has a cute site where she shares about her life, her family and all her cute ideas. Just the other day, I saved an old wreath that had seen its better day because of this idea. Don't forget to go check out her business, J Designs. She has cute calling cards, aprons, clipboards, marble magnets, and much more!

will blog for shoes
UnBeelievable! I think we might be buds if we lived closer. And actually knowing each other always helps! I am learning she was likely cool and fun in her pre-mom life (like me), loves being a mom (like me), might occasionally suffer from a post-mom identity crisis or two (like me), tries to do things herself (like me), but has good taste and knows when the real thing counts (like me). Who knows if I am all those things I think I am, but I sure do love reading about Bee's life, her wee Wog, and her funny stories and insights. She is sweet, go say hi!

Our Seven Qtpies
Again, another perfect example of why blogging has been good for me. My initial thought is to be honest and say, I am not really sure if we would be friends in "real life". I might think we are too different, our lives are too different. I am so glad I know her this way first, so I will not miss out on all she has to offer. With many kids, comes many hoot hollerin' stories and she has them. I love when she shares the everyday stuff, her heart, her ideas. It is all good. Maybe our "real life" paths will cross one day!

Smockity Frocks
Connie just seems to ooze sweetness to me, but she is not afraid to share her mom moments. She has a precious family with one on the way. She, like many others I have come to know, has humbled me as I watch her efforts to live with less and have more. She has good stories, good ideas, and makes the cutest darn aprons! And just now, as I was scrolling through her archives, I learned she got this close to Bob Barker on Price Is Right. Lucky! Gotta go find out more! Head over there yourself!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

Friday Fuzzies!

This is so exciting! I loved doing this for the first time last Friday! Today, I am handing out 5 more Friday Fuzzies!

Lots of Scotts
OH.MY! What a precious family! This sweet mom is living a very busy life with 3-year old triplets, but she manages to share her real struggles along with very real inspirations. I have spent time reading through many of her past posts just to learn more about her and her family. She has made it so easy, but putting into categories the stories of how her life began with her husband, her family. Of course, I found her just out of curiosity after clicking on her link from someone else. She happens to be linked in several locations, so I would love to know who really knows her! Don't miss out on this place! She is a joy to read and her kid stories are so cute!

My Quotidian Mysteries
I always enjoy "visiting" different places, and here, you will get to travel far, far away! I don't visit often because for some reason her site gets stuck frequently when trying to open for me. But when I do, I love to read her stories of her life with a young family in a distant land!

Rocks In My Dryer
This is probably a no-brainer for many of you, but I still wanted to share for several reasons. Shannon is a good story teller, she is always doing fun stuff for the bloggy community, and how could I not tell you about a gal who lives in Oklahoma! I really wanted to say "from Oklahoma" but when I went back for my research, I discovered her origination is from Arkansas ;) Anyhoo, maybe I can meet her one day when I am home visiting my family. And be sure to visit RocksReviews on a weekly basis. I keep it linked under "Contest" on my sidebar. She hosts cool give-aways every.single.week! Go enjoy!


FriedOkra
I first found Megan when someone linked to her hilarious story about this. And you MUST read that story!! After that story, adding her to my favs list went without saying. She seems like the cool, easy-going chick we all love to hang out with. She is funny and dedicated to supporting others. I love always seeing her pop up in the comment section of so many blogs. Go have fun learning more about her!

Sugarphotography
Jennifer is a local photographer in our area and a friend of several other blogs I read. She is so popular that she has people driving to her from out-of-state! She truly does inspiring work! If I ever decided to pursue photography professionally, she would be a fun mentor. She shares precious photos and stories of those she works with. I love going here and peeking into the lives of her families! Go get inspired!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey

FRIDAY FUZZIES!

You know, when I started this whole thing, I just enjoyed reading about a few people's lives and sharing now and then about mine.

NO.BIG.DEAL!

Right?

WRONG!

You would NOT believe my "favorites" list on my computer at this moment! You guys have GOT to STOP making new friends. Or at least stop telling me about them :)

There are so many cute sites, funny people, good storytellers, and inspirational offerings out there that I can't keep up. Almost everyday, I have to check in on everyone, comment here and there, learn new things, LAUGH, CRY, then add a little contribution on my end.

SO! In honor of YOU, here is what I have decided to do. Every Friday, I am going to give out Friday Fuzzies..

I am going to start working down my list of "favorites" on my computer, sharing you with everyone else that stops by here. It may be about your whole blog site or it may be about a particular post I loved. It will take some time, so be sure to check back often cuz you never know when YOU will be next! I also hope to add many of you to my sidebar. That may happen slower, so bear with me. Because I am sure my "favs" list will grow, I want to figure out how to do this without overwhelming my sidebar!

Also, I just quickly found a clip art to use for this. I like it, but it is a little large, so I need to work on it. I tried to find a picture of a fuzzy heart (how cute, huh?), but no luck with my quick search!

The first recipients of Friday Fuzzies are:

Diann's Full Life
There are so many things to say here! She is cute, her personality shines through her site, she is so stinkin' talented, she makes you feel like you could be talented too, and she is an incredible encourager! I love that she shows us how to make such neat things and simplifies the "how to" part. I was shocked when I discovered she had only been blogging since June, but how great for you! I encourage you to go back and see all her neat projects or hear her stories. A couple of my recent favorites are this and this. OH, and don't forget about her business! Remember when I won this! Love ya, Diann!

Diary of a Shoe Addict
Kristen likes to talk and likes to tell you what she thinks! However, she also really likes to know what you think! So be prepared...she will ask questions! She has a cute site (love the new header!) that will offer you quite a variety. She loves fashion, products, pop stars, oh and LSU :) Sometimes she is light and airy, but other times she really wants to have a serious conversation. You know where this girl stands on things! The other great thing is that she loves to pray for you! Isn't that neat! Go catch a glimpse of her life! I am glad I found her!

Facipiers and Stinky Toes
This is a busy lady! She has four kids and writes great stories about her life. You can also find her here and here and here. You will love her in all locations! She probably does more that I don't even know about! She tells some funny ones about those cute kids of hers and strives to help us all be a little bit more frugal!

Green Bean
I enjoy visiting here because I feel calmer just opening her site! She is a young mommy who lives in Montana with her husband and daughter (who just turned 1!). We have different lives in so many ways right now, but I love reading her stories, seeing all the neat things she makes, and getting her take on things. You should also check out her store.

I'm an Organizing Junkie!
Run, don't walk to check out Laura's site! I can't even tell you where to begin, so just read the whole thing! I think we are kindred spirits, but she is way ahead in the organizing game of life! Her site is cute and she has so many great ideas at not a lot of cost. She has great options on her sidebar if you want to get started yourself on that organizing thing! She is about to start answering the bazillon questions sent her recently (at her request), so this would be a great time to get to know her!

Happy Friday Fuzzies to all!
Stacey