Guest Blog Post- Find the joy...

Today I have a guest blog post from an amazing and strong woman - Momma ST.J. She has had many a things to deal with in her daily life but also she has had to deal with the news her Father is dying. In her post she is frank and explains how she manages to stay happy. Personally, I find her inspiring and hope you can take something away from her strength and braveness too.

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Let me start off by saying thank you to the beautiful Missy, for allowing me to step into her blogging world for a day.

My name is Erin, better known as MommaStJ,
and I write over at Momma St.J Says.

Today I want to share with you something my mother always says to me whenever I'm being a Debbie Downer-

"life sucks, then you die."
(weren't expecting that were you?)

It always make me stop and think.

Walking around with a Life Sucks attitude isn't good for anyone,

Especially when life does really suck.

No matter what sucky situation I am put in I am a firm believer in finding the Joy.

And I will be the first person to tell you,

It ain't easy!

First instinct tells me to run to the nearest Walmart, spend my paycheck on carbs and he-done-her-wrong flicks, and waste my life away in a cocoon of self pity.

You know what I mean? yes, you do.

To be honest, that's exactly how I handled any bad time in my life up until Christmas 2008.

Macncheese, PS I Love you, and zero conversation with my husband.

I will never forget the day that my parents sat me down and told me that my father was going to die.

He told me matter-of-factly that his muscles were going to waste away, he would lose his ability to speak and eat, and if the doctors were right, within 5 years he would be dead.

He was 47 at the time.

ALS, Lou Gherigs Disease, which has no treatment, no cure, was going to kill my father.

The emotions I went through the weeks following his diagnosis were radical.

I was up, down, left, right, crazy, subdued.

Ultimately I came back to

Life sucks, then you die.

and decided that the only way to get through this journey was to
find the Joy. every. single. day.

When I look back on how I reacted to the petty things that were so trivial,

I am embarrassed.

It took death to shake me from my immaturity and say

Hey, I'm ALIVE and there is JOY to be found!

There is Joy in the fact that my dad was able to be here for the birth of his first grandchild;

He is still able to communicate to us using text to speech programs on his MAC;

He was able to celebrate 25 years married to my mom;

He has the most positive outlook on his situation, and is at peace with where he is.

I won't lie to you and say the past 3 years have been easy.

I won't tell you that it doesn't break my heart that I haven't heard my dads voice in almost two years.

I won't tell you I didn't hate God when my dad made whatever grunts he could when he was holding my newborn daughter, his first grandbaby, as though he was talking to her. 

I won't tell you its easy eating in front of a man who is fed by a tube.

I won't tell you that learning how to care for my dad as he is now on a ventilator and is nearly bedridden is something I can do with strength.

I'm not superhuman.
The life-sucks-then-you-die bug is constantly flying around my head.

These are a few things that help me wave that flyswatter...

• Reality TV. Not so much reality, but so mindless it's comforting.

• Frugal Finds.
  This is my ultimate drug. $7 clearance Gap jeans? I'm flying high for at least 3 days.
• Ben and Jerry's American Dream.
  Do I finish off a pint in one sitting? Yes. No. But I don't lock myself in my bedroom while diving in.
  I sit with my husband and tell him how much I'm going to regret it in the morning.
• Planning Events.
  Surprise parties, 5Ks, birthday parties, showers. I can't think back to a time since I was married that I wasn't waist deep in decorations and menus.

Sometimes it's just the little things.

Here's what I want you to take away from this debbie-downer-on-happy-pills post,

There is Joy to be found everywhere you look.

Our finances are in shambles, but guess what,
I just got a free coupon for shampoo!
I put on 5lbs and my pants don’t fit,
but I get to go shopping!
I can’t make it to my best friends wedding,
but I can send her a box full of gifts and things to make her smile!
I didn’t get into that college,
looks like that campus just wasn’t good enough for me!
My dad is dying from ALS, but he ISN’T dead YET! 

I encourage you to Find the Joy in every situation in your life where you want to curl up and disappear from the world.
Hold your fly swatter high and come down on the life-sucks-then-you-die bug with force!

Come visit me at Momma St.J Says every Friday, to see how I am Finding the Joy.


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Don't forget, if you would like to guest blog please feel free to email me at:

takeallchances {at} gmail {dot} com

Tell me what you would like to share with my readers and I am sure we can organise a post.

Guest Blog: I am happy when...

Today I'd like to introduce guest blogger Kristina. Enjoy her post and I hope you will stop by her blog to see the rest of her fabulous writing!!

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Hello Hello! 

First off - Thank You to Missy for having me come spend the lovely day with you! 

I'm Kristina!  My little area of the blog world is A Perfect Dose of Life.

I share this little space of the Internet with my husband, our 2 dogs and 3 cats.

I'm a wife, entrepreneur, Taurus, business fanatic,  twitter lover, etsy shop owner, and a lover of life.

My blog is pretty much exactly as the little describes.  Life and all that surrounds it - life, love, business, lessons, adventures, my weekly quote of the week.

Life at my blog is pretty simple really, and it's really quite a lot of fun! :) 

Today I am going to share with you - what makes me happy :)

Who doesn't love being happy?!

When Missy suggested the topic to me, I thought it was a fabulous idea.

And I got to thinking... there are all kinds of superficial easy things that make me happy.

Like, playing ball with my dogs, a cold glass of ice tea {unsweetened of course} on a hot summer day, a lovely coffee from Starbucks (white chocolate mocha or my absolute seasonal favorite - pumpkin spice latte), having friends of family over for dinner, surprises {the good kind!}, going to business networking business meetings with other business owners, making connections & helping one another, etc.

But what are things that really make me happy, outside of those basic things?

How about having fresh cut, vibrant colored flowers, where the light beams off of them in the kitchen window.

Or,

The moment my husband walks into the door from a long day of work with the look of defeat thanks to traffic and work stress, then he sees me, and that look loosens.

So, I kept going with this thought process, and came up with a bit more, deeper things:

- The days I wake up, set an entire day of goals, that long dreaded list and really no real desire to get it all done, and a hint of doubt that I really can - then that sense of accomplishment when it's completed.

- Hot days, when the warm rain blankets my skin, without the shock of the cold, but that warm embracing rain.

- Hiking that long mountain trail to reach the top, where you can see for miles, of the endless beauty of this world.

-The evenings where I take the dogs out before bed, and the sky is clear, all the stars shining down, then I take those next moments to be still, just soak up the world, and be still.

- Autumn. My favorite season of the year, the vibrant colors of the season the oranges and yellows, the crunching of the leaves, and the need for just a light jacket.

And when it's the end of the day, and I creep over to my husband, tucking myself under his left arm, into the groove of his arm and his body, where I fit perfectly.

These are some of the things that make me happy.

What makes YOU Happy?  

I'd love to hear! :)
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Thank you Kristina

What makes me happy? When my nieces and nephews smile! 

Guest Blog: Wedding fun...

Today is the first of some guest bloggers while I am away. I thought it would be nice to give you readers a chance to share your style and blog with others. After all, there are so many amazing blogs out there you never know when you'll find a new favourite?

My first guest post is from Joanna at Dance and Dream 4 Ever

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Hey Y'all!

My name is Joanna Noel and I'm guest posting over here on this amazingly cute blog today! My blog home is over at Dance and Dream 4 Ever! If you want please stop by, snag a cup of coffee, and stay for a while!

Let me tell you a bit about me! 

I live in the amazing state of Oklahoma and I'm an hour south of Oklahoma City! I live with my parents and my 2 younger siblings. I am adopted and have had the privilege of meeting my birth mother and my 3 half siblings!

On June 25th 2011, my sister ( birth mothers daughter) Kelsey got married and I was her maid of honor! I cant wait to show y'all pictures and tell you all about the special day.

 

This is me (on left) and my sister Kelsey! Don't you just love her wedding colors?

I got to PA (were she lives and where the wedding was) that Monday and the wedding was Saturday! We jumped right into craziness! Below is a picture of me and my sister putting the favor boxes together and making 300 chocolate covered pretzels to stuff them with!

On Wednesday we went and got our nails done! Here is the bride waiting to get her French Manicure!

That Wednesday evening I, as the MOH, hosted a Personal Shower for Kelsey! I don't want to share allot of pictures from that, but here is one that will tell you what it was all about!

FINALLY the big day was here! It was so super exciting!

Here is me (on the right) and the 2 Bridesmaids on the Left!

Isle time for me...

HERE COMES THE BRIDE!

Here they are!

My sister Kelsey and my Brother In Law Ryan!

Thank you all for letting me share these fun pictures- I have more up over at my blog as well as some rehearsal dinner photos too hopefully.

Joanna Noel

xoxo

Thank you for sharing such a special day Joanna!

You all looked fab!

Guest bloggers...

{Via}

As I mentioned earlier in the week I am looking for some fellow bloggers to keep 'If it's not ok...' ticking along while I am away. I have already had some offers which is great! Thank you!! I am still taking offers and if you aren't featured while I am away I will definitely be sharing you on my blog in the upcoming future! I have some more ideas to spruce up my blog! 

If you are interested email me and we can discuss topics.

email: takeallchances (at) gmail (dot) com

Introducing Guest Blogger - Miss Faux Fur...

So today I am being even more lazy than yesterday but for a good reason...I want to introduce a 'fab friend' of mine in my everyday life. It's Miss Faux Fur, when I told her about the blog she was very excited and so naturally I asked her to blog for you all. I'm hoping she'll do a blog every Friday but today she's going to introduce herself. Anyway, I'm off to paint my face (not with actual paint of course) and get sorted for a night out! After all I think I derserve and need a drink after this week...hope you enjoy and just to let you know, she will read the comments and no I haven't paid her to say nice things about me!! 

Over to you Miss Faux Fur...

Why Faux Fur ...because faking it never looked so good!! Saying that it's now spring so the faux fur will have to go back into the cupboard till next year. Oh no!!

It's such a bizarre feeling to be referred to as a guest blogger. I prefer to use the 'guest star'. Why? Because I could be famous and you'd never know. Missy is such a character she's bound to know some famous folk. My only hesitation in using the term 'guest star' is the fact that guest stars (in sitcoms shall we say) tend to appear for one or two episodes if they are lucky. Some are even killed off ...aargh!! I need to rethink this blog. What if I get attached and don't want to leave. What if the blog doesn't work and I'm fired after a couple of paragraphs. Does that mean that Missy and Miss Faux Fur can no longer remain friends?

Well to start off I best explain the type of friendship I have with Missy. She's my energetic ball of fire ...and trust me we have photographic evidence to prove it*!! She's the type of friend that makes you smile when no one else can. She always knows how to say the right thing ...if fact I'd go as far to say she'd make a pretty great boyfriend!! She constantly has me in stitches with her crazy antics. But more importantly she allows me to be myself ... an aging fool who refuses to grow up!! 

* Photographic evidence...

Apparently Miss Faux Fur is a 'healer' or so I've been told from a rather intense psychic in NYC. If this is true then I can I totally understand why Missy and Miss Faux Fur have a great friendship. Maybe she needs my 'healing' ability to keep her right ...and calm her down. Be still Missy ... be still!! We definitely balance each other and sometimes that's difficult to find. 

If we evaluate all the friendships we've ever experienced ...what did we gain from them all?

Hey just because I wear Faux Fur doesn't mean I'm fake :) I just secretly like to pretend I'm a fluffy animal!!

Yes...this is what I look like first thing in the morning...cute eh?