Comments Please!

My "blogiversary" is coming up. July 16th will be one year since my first post. This is post #257. WOW!! 257 posts! That's crazy! But do you want to know what is even MORE CRAZY than that? (it's Tirade time people!!) What's MORE CRAZY is that out of 256 previous posts the most comments any ONE person has ever left me is a total of 37 (Kelli is the current highest ranked commenter....she just surpassed my sister) C'MON PEOPLE! SERIOUSLY!

Where is the comment love? I try to be a good blogger! I try to be consistent. I post often. Am I asking to much when I ask for some comment love? There are two categories of non-commenters out there...the ones I know and love...and the LURKERS as they are called in blogland. The secretly look at your blog but never let you know. I WANNA KNOW! And I wanna know what you think. If you agree with my Tuesday Tirades...let me know! If you don't...shout about it! On Monday Masterpiece....a little..."those are great" would do. Wordless Wednesday...does not apply to comments!!! Thinking Back Thursday....hey, it takes time to think back and come up with those...comment about what it makes you remember...tell me I'm a dork....I DON'T CARE! JUST SAY SOMETHING!! I'm not kiddin' here people!! I'm on a TIRADE and I'm not kiddin'!!

Now, DON'T YOU DARE NOT COMMENT!!
Thanks to those of you who comment and comment often! I will say that I almost always leave a comment when I visit a blog! So I tend to practice what I preach here!
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oh, and on a completely different note:
my MIL is doing a giveaway for an item of her fabulous jewelry! The giveaway starts July 1st! Go HERE for details!


***I changed the comment feature on my blog. I think it deleted all my past comments though. Not sure. I hope I didn't totally screw something up here! We shall see! I did it in hopes to be able to email responses directly back to the commenter if I so choose. (instead of the good old fashioned blogger way of clicking on the profile...then going to their blog and leaving a comment) Go forth and comment!

Getting SAUCY....and some new pre-designs

It's finally here! Those SITS girls have done it again with another "featured blogger" style site. This time it will be highlighting blog posts about food recipes, household (cleaning) recipes, craft "recipes"....you name it! Kind of a GREAT IDEAS kind of thing! So head on over there are check out SAUCY EATS....they are going to start featuring bloggers in the next couple days!


Then I have some new pre-designed looks that are for sale. I'll let ya'll in on a little secret. Sometimes my predesigned looks acutally are inspired by custom designs that I work on. Sometimes, like these, they were the beginnings of the first idea I came up with for the client, but ultimately it wasn't a fit for them. Hopefully it will be a fit for someone else!

As always, you can see all my pre-designed looks for sale, and my entire portfolio at www.eightcrazydesignportfolio.blogspot.com

This one I'm calling "Green with Envy"


This one is "Bewitched" (like the TV show)

The Wonder Years......Just because!

I LOVE the show The Wonder Years!! It's my favorite show of ALL TIME! When the series ended I was so mad at how they played the ending out that I LITERALLY KICKED THE TV (ya know back when TV screens were hard!) I suppose this could almost be a Thinking Back Thursday post, but oh well....here it goes!

So this is just my "Ode to The Wonder Years" post!!

This is the narrator (Kevin - the main character, but as a grown up) speaking from the very end of the series finale (my thoughts as I watched it are in RED) A video of this is below!

“Once upon a time there was a girl I knew, who lived across the street. Brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled. When she cried, I cried. Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way had to do with her. (My heart was melting) That day Winnie and I promised each other that no matter what, that we'd always be together. It was a promise full of passion and truth and wisdom. It was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young. (I was thinking that the producers of the show just might have gotten it right! They would really end up being together forever! I was so excited!) The next day Winnie and I came home. Back to where we'd started. It was the 4th of July in that little suburban town. Somehow though, things were different. Our past was here, but our future was somewhere else. And we both knew, sooner or later, we had to go. It was the last July I ever spent in that town. The next year, after graduation, I was on my way. So was Paul. He went to Harvard, of course. Studied law. He's still allergic to everything. As for my father...well...we patched things up. Hey, we were family. For better or worse. One for all...and all for one. Karen's son was born in that September. I gotta say, I think he looks like me. Poor kid. Mom, she did well: business woman, board chairman, grandmother...cooker of mashed potatoes. The Wayner stayed on in furniture. Wood seemed to suit him. In fact he took over the factory two years later....when dad passed away. (seriously...it's tv people...why did they have to kill the DAD..I want HAPPY endings on TV!) Winnie left the next summer to study art history in Paris. Still we never forgot our promise. (oh I was GIDDY at this point...on the edge of my seat!) We wrote to each other once a week for the next eight years. (my heart was pounding...we were gonna get the happy ending we wanted! together forever!!) I was there to meet her, when she came home, (I could hear their wedding bells!!) with my wife and my first son, eight months old. Like I said, things never turn out exactly the way you planned. (This is where I kicked the TV!!) Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers; next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place...a town...a house like a lot of other houses... A yard like a lot of other yards...on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is...after all these years, I still look back...with wonder.” [credits roll, with voiceover] Young boy's voice: Hey Dad, wanta play catch? [Narrator (Kevin)]: I'll be right there."

The First Kiss


Scene from Final Episode


The Last Kiss


The Finale

20 Day giveaway coming up on Tip Junkie!!

Tip Junkie is celebrating her blogiversary with a 20 day giveaway! It's June 30th - July 28th Monday - Friday. *EightCrazy Designs will be participating in the giveaway on July 3rd!!



GO CHECK IT OUT!!

Bus Rides

In today's Thinking Back Thursday I'm going to share random memories about bus rides.....

When I was in Kindergarten and First grade my parents did not attend church. But there was a little local church that had a bus that went around through the neighborhoods and picked kids up and took them to church. Every Sunday my parents would put my sister and I on that bus and we would go to church by ourselves. I even remember times when I would spend the night at my Aunt Judy's house and I would take the bus from there too. It's strange to think about that today....can you imagine doing that with your children? Times were different then though. In second grade we started going to church as a family...and we haven't stopped!

There was another random bus that came through the neighborhoods....but this one took you to the strawberry fields in the summer. So when I was in like 5th, 6th, 7th grade I would take that bus at times during the summer and head out to the strawberry field to earn money by picking flats of berries. I don't remember how much we made per flat though. I think the most money I would even make in a day was like $10 or something like that.....again....can you imagine doing that today?

The only time I ever rode the bus to school was in the 6th grade. It was bus number 52....yes I have a weird and random memory! That bus driver was so sweet and nice. If it was your birthday she would make you this small little personalized birthday cake. It was probably like a 4-6 inch cake. On my birthday she had made it, but forgot it at home. So I stayed on the bus until she had dropped everybody off and then she drove the bus to her house, got me my cake, and took me home. Once again....can you imagine? A bus driver would get FIRED for taking someone to their house today. I didn't go in the house. I just waited on the bus while she got the cake. I didn't think it was wierd or anything, I thought it was pretty cool!

Of course there are lots of bus ride stories that include boys...but seriously...like ya'll want my post to go on forever and ever! I'll just go with most memorable: pretending to fall asleep so that I could slump over and fall asleep on the shoulder of the boy sitting next to me! CLASSIC!

Summer Fun & House Details

More Nature Walks!

Emily's Bathroom Shower

My work/craft studio awaits!

My Doors! I love my doors!

The ceiling in the family room

Kitchen Ceiling

The view from the entry. You see the family room and the look through to the kitchen as well as the walk through to the kitchen nook and the french doors to the back patio

From light hearted to deep!

I remember LOVING summer vacation!
Don't you remember absolutely LOVING summer vacation! I DO! Apparently my kids don't share the same feelings. We were on day two of summer break and my kids were standing in the doorway trying to come inside as I'm TELLING them to GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!! They are constantly trying to come up with a plan and "can I call...." stuff like that. Here is the response they got from me...."It's day two of summer! You better figure out something to do and go do it because there are like 60 more days of summer left!" Their response..."WHAT? 60 more days. Seriously?" Who are these children and why do they look like me?

My house:
I have to go pick out all my light fixtures this week. I'M SO DONE WITH ALL OF THIS! Seriously. I don't want to pick anything else out! I just want someone else to do it and I want to walk in the house and have it all be done and say, "wow, it looks fabulous!"

Thoughts on Faith:
I think that too many of us are looking for answers outside of God's word. I think that too many of us are reading books filled with doctrinal theories written by a man and accepting what those men have to say as truth. Even some fictional books with heavy faith issues seem to be the source of some peoples inspiration as of late. I'm not saying that we can't learn and be inspired by these things. I know that can happen, and I know that not all the doctrinal theory books out there are "bad." I just think that there are definitely some things out there right now that are off, but what is off about it is being mixed in between some truth and because of that we as a christian culture are letting it slide and letting it seep into our lives. I heard the statement recently..."don't throw the baby out with the bath water." I love the person who said this to me dearly and we had a REALLY good discussion about it. But in the end I still disagreed with the premise of the statement. The problem is, we may be "throwing out the bathwater" but sometimes the bathwater has already contaminated the baby before it gets thrown out. We need to be more careful with what we are putting in the tub...that's all I'm saying!

WOW! Ok, I got a little deep today! Lucky for ya'll tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday!

Productive week!

I had a really productive week last week! The first thing I'm excited to share with you is the new addition of my design portfolio. I created a blog that is linked to EightCrazy Design that highlights all the designs I've done as well as which pre-designed looks I currently have for sale. I feel like this has really streamlined things and made it easier and quicker for people to get a glimpse of my work. Along with the new blog is my new widget. You can see the widget right now on my right sidebar at the top. The widget displays my pre-designed looks for sale as well as a few porfolio designs. You are welcome to click on "get widget" and add it to YOUR BLOG to stay posted on my lastest creations! (it updates automatically) So hop on over to EightCrazy Design Portfolio and check it out! While you are there you will get to see my latest pre-designed look that I'm calling "Fashionable Vintage" Enjoy!

This week was kind of a Pre-designed week. I've recently sold a few of those and wanted to share the final products with ya'll.
This first one was originally titled "Corkboard Notes" but now it found it's home at "Buried with Children"

I sold my original design titled "Chic Lines" to Nicole who is a wedding and party planner. She is using the blog as sort of a "Event Planner's Diary"


This little baby was originally called "Little Touch of French" Now, here is the best part....someone who lives in France bought it!! How great is that! Her blog is set to private right now, so you can't jump over to look, but I still just wanted to share the design with ya'll.

Another crazy Giveaway from the SITS Girls!

ok, seriously people. Now the SITS girls are giving away a bounce house!! A BOUNCE HOUSE YA'LL!! That's crazy! These girls know how to do a giveaway!!

You gotta check it out! Oh and if you go to SITS, grab their button code and add it to your blog...then go back to SITS and leave a comment and mention me....I get extra entries (only if you are new to SITS because of this though)!

I really want this for the church so we can use it at VBS and the church picnic! Wouldn't that be awesome!!

Scattered Memories....

For today's Thinking Back Thursday I thought I'd share a few little scattered memories instead of a big long story.....

If my elementary school hadn't been torn down and rebuilt....I could take you to the exact spot I was standing when I had the thought......

"Oh I can't wait until I can pick out my own clothes!"
(4th grade...standing right in front of the classroom door....wearing navy blue slacks and a sweater with matching socks....thanks mom!)

"I am sooo old (as in grown up) now!"
(2nd grade....standing outside in front of Mrs. Huson's door)

I was a "champion" over the years.....

In 5th grade I was the reigning tether ball champion

In 3rd grade I was the reigning "snowball" champion (a snowball was when you bent over the bar, wrapped you arms around your legs and propelled yourself in a circle.....I could do over 100 in a row!)

In 7th grade I was the reigning foosball champion

Random things I participated in over the years.....

I took square dancing for about 4-5 years

In 4th grade I did tininkiling. What? You don't know what tininkiling is? Check out this video (it's not of me...I just got it off the web!) Oh and the video is kinda long...you don't need to watch the whole thing!

Tininkiling anyone?

The house is coming along.....looking like an August Finish!

garage doors went in

side and back patio concrete has been poored

the valley that surrounds us

the path to adventure is near

AAAAHHHHHHHH!

Hey my fellow SITStas! Every Tuesday I do this Tirade Tuesday thing and tell ya'll what is on my mind. On Mondays I feature my blog designs with Masterpiece Monday, Tuesday is Tirade Tuesday....Wednesday is Wordless Wednesday and Thursday is Thinking Back Thursday where I share stories from my past (like this). Enjoy! I'm excited about all the SITSta comment love that is on its way!! If you get a chance don't forget to visit my blog design portfolio at www.eightcrazydesignportfolio.blogspot.com

Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway today at Tip Junkie that is featuring an EightCrazy Designs giveaway for a $28 gift card towards a blog design!!


First things first....don't you ever just need to SCREAM!!! I won't get into why, because I can't think of a way to say it and not upset some people, but this is me SCREAMING!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH! All I will say is, sometimes it's hard to watch people make the choices they make.

ok, moving on....
Young boys/men of today:
I've been taking my son to the skate park lately so he can have fun learning and doing "cool tricks" on his scooter and skate board. Have you been to one of these? It's full of young boys and they don't look AT ALL like young boys did...well..when I was youngER! The long hair, the jeans that don't fit to the point that they have to walk funny just to keep them up. The UNDERWEAR that should just be called OUTERWEAR! (seriously...why do I need to see their underwear?!) Them showing their underwear is no more appropriate than a girl's g-string showing...in my opinion!! PLEASE PULL YOUR PANTS UP BOYS!

Conspiracy Theory:
Do any of you ever get sent by your hubby to run an errand for him? An errand where he gives you specific details and instructions on what to get. Then you get there and tell the guy at the store and he just stares at you like you are a complete IDIOT? This seems to happen to me almost every time my guy sends me out. Now, I know he really loves me enough NOT to do this, but in that moment when I'm being looked at by the guy at Home Depot like I've lost my mind.....I think to myself, "Does he do this on purpose? Is it like a joke that husbands like to play on their wives and then laugh about it with their buddies?" Like I said, I know he doesn't, but seriously, do any of ya'll ever feel that way?

Gas Prices:
Today is the last day of school. Looks like I'll be staying home even more than I already have been! This is crazy people! I used to go to Target, Kohls, Ross, etc at least once a week. I had to go to Target this weekend to get Father's day gifts, and I couldn't even remember the last time I had been there! I'm totally stickin' close to home these days! I've always taken my daughter to school and picked her up from school most days as well. This last month we've totally switched to school bus both ways. Times are tight people! Are you feelin' it? What's changed in your life due to gas prices? The ridiculous part about it all is how we could be completely independent from foreign oil if we wanted to be....but instead we will just be GREEN and BROKE! Oh and I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies will end up benefiting from this as well because more people will end up on anti-depressants because of the stress of finances and loneliness from never going anywhere!

take it or leave it.......that's what's on my mind today!

only if you want too.....

Ok, you don't have to if you don't want to....but I wouldn't mind if you decided to choose one of the blogs I've designed and nominate it for "Best Blog Design" at the Blogger's Choice Awards! If you do, let me know about it! (I know....it's kind of shameless!)

It's Monday! Time to show you what I've been up to for the last week with my designs:
First was the challenge of creating a look that captured the fact that motherhood is a job! Take a look at the full design for www.24hours7daysaweek.blogspot.com


Next it was working with the bright fun colors that this gal loved on a purse she saw. She's got boys and is living the life of a Queen of Kings!


Last but not least is my latest pre-designed look. I'm calling it Cowgirl Fabulous!

EK Inspired

I've got a friend who is doing a giveaway!!! See what she is giving away......

Click here to enter!

Exciting News!!

ok, first off...I know I didn't post on Friday, so ya'll will just have to wait to see what I decided! In the meantime I have some exciting news!!! Remember the vote for "best looking" blog....MY DESIGN WON!!!



Click here to see the winning design!

Puppy Love....

First I just gotta tell ya'll that I'm having fun with thinking back thursday! ya'll should do it! Now onto the story...."Puppy Love"

My kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Frazier. She was an older teacher who was just really sweet. I have lots of memories from kindergarten. I remember making candles, dressing up like pilgrims, my grandparents walking me to school on the first day....good times. The memory that stands out to me the MOST though is the memory of one certain classmate, Brent McCormick. I don't remember "the moment" we met or anything like that. I just remember that he is who I played with at recess on the tire swing everyday. Believe it or not there were many days that we would come home from school and talk to each other on the phone. He was also the ONLY boy that was at my birthday party. He got me skateboard Barbie. It was puppy love for sure!

The summer after kindergarten I went on a trip to California to visit my Nanny and Papa (my grandparents). I ended up having so much fun that I kept asking to stay longer and I think I was there for like 5 weeks or something (I'm not exagerating either). I've got great memories from that summer too. My Nanny and Papa managed an apartment complex and so there were always lots of interesting people to meet and talk to. Every morning I would wake up, go downstairs and there would be a tv tray sitting in front of the couch with my breakfast on it. My Nanny and I always watched "Alice" together and our favorite saying was, "kiss my grits." I remember going fishing with my Papa and being scared because I had a dream about a shark the night before. Oh, and atari. I played donkey kong! I will always remember sitting close to the TV and starring in AWE as I watched Princess Diana get married in that LOOOONG wedding dress. Last but not least...I'll spare you the details from the memory of the night I was an "unexpected guest" in my grandparents bedroom (if you know what I mean!)
During those weeks I would of course talk to my parents and my mom would often tell me that Brent had called again. Hey, this was back when long distance was expensive and cell phones didn't exist so there was no way I could talk to him. I missed him though.

After all those weeks of fun it was time to head home. My Aunt and Uncle took me on the long drive home. I'm sure I was only home for a day or two when I called Brent. No answer. Each day I would call and each day...no answer. School finally started and Brent was not in my class but during roll call the teacher called out his twin brother's name. But his brother wasn't there. Out at recess I looked for Brent but couldn't find him. Each day went by and there was no sign of him. Finally I found out that he and his family had moved away, but nobody knew where they had moved to. He was gone and I had no way to reach him. It hit me that all those phone calls he kept making he was trying to reach me....he wanted to let me know he was leaving, but he never got to tell me. I never saw him again.

Oh Brent McCormick from Eisenhower Elementary....where did you go? Are you out there? Is your wife out there in blogland reading this? I'm rather curious... Where did you move to? What's going on in your life? I guess as always, it will continue to remain a mystery.

my kiddos

feeding the duckies

playing around the house

look how cute they were!!!

What's on my mind today in regards to:

blogland: I'm totally excited about the "best looking" nomination. Did you vote yet? (read two posts ago)
oh, have you been reading the real life story that mindless junque is telling? OHHH my goodness! It's the story of how she met her husband, but she started the story from when she was a teenager. She's broken it up into parts. She is on part Ten right now. She leaves you hanging each time and I find myself checking...checking...checking for the next installment!
If you want to read it click here!

the house: I'm actually kind of freaking out a little bit. There's always that stage where you freak and wonder if it's all going to come together in the end and be cohesive. Once flooring starts going down I'll probably start freaking even a little bit more. I'm not like TOTALLY freaking out right now....it's just this quiet concern inside every time I go over to the house. This too shall pass.

designing: I'm learning that I'm going to have to set boundaries and look at this as more of an actual job where I have "work hours" Otherwise I'm going to sit in this chair way too much and my behind will just get bigger and bigger.

Television: I'm still a little mad at the writers for striking! I WANT MY PRISON BREAK and I don't want to have to wait until the fall to get it! But I do!
LOST: what a perfect name for that show, because even though I watch each week...I'm still LOST! Seriously, they MOVED the island! What the heck? This is one trippy show. I hope the final ending someday isn't as disappointing as the final ALIAS was.


Politics: So Hillary stepped down and endorsed Obama. I really thought she would take it to the convention. For all you people out there who want them both on the ticket...I don't think that's gonna happen. Maybe if she would've won the nomination. But this way won't work. The Clinton's have way too much influence. Frankly it doesn't matter to me. I don't want either of them to be president. Not that I really WANT McCain either, but there just aren't ANY good choices this go around...as far as I'm concerned anyway.

Celebrityville: Susan Sarandon came out and said that if McCain won she was moving out of the USA. Ummmm......I believe you said that last time about Bush sweetie, and you are still here!


There you have it...take it or leave it...those are my thoughts today! Well, not my ONLY thoughts, but some of them anyway!

O'hana....Cottage Cafe.....Purple Diva

So this is my first OFFICIAL "Masterpiece Monday" Each Monday I will be featuring my latest blog designs! Come back tomorrow for "Tirade Tuesday" where I will be sharing "what's on my mind"

Now onto the designs.....

This first design is precious to me. I designed it for my LONG TIME friend Allison. We have known each other since we were in Kindergarten and played on a soccer team together called "the Lil' Stinkers" How prophetic was that!? Someday I will share some stories about the two of us on a "thinking back thursday."
Allison and her family are just such great people! It has been such an honor to watch her grow in her love for the Lord over the years! Her family strives diligently to love and honor God and they do it while truly enjoying life and each other. I wish she lived closer, because I could learn a lot from this girl! Love ya Big Al! Now go and check out her new blog! (She's a newbie to blogland!)




My next design install was for Kim. She was looking for something shabby and chic! She asked me to incorporate a butterfly as well to honor the memory of her daughter. This was a precious honor to me. I enjoyed creating this new look for her and she said it was like christmas morning when she was waiting for the page to load with the new look! Head on over to the Cottage Cafe and check out her little present!


My final design for the week is actually one of my pre-designed blog looks that is currently for SALE! I think most women have JUST A LITTLE bit of Diva in them. So click your way to EightCrazy Designs and check out the Purple Diva