Giveaway(s)!

Well, here is my second post back in the blogging world and I am already making it all about me. SHOCKING. I have two giveaways that I want to give myself a second chance to win, so I am going to blog about them. However, it surely helps that these two ladies are both friends of mine, so I can sing their praises high and low.

First up? Mandy. Oh, Mandy! Well you came and you gave without taking! Can you tell I'm a fanilow (that would be a Barry Manilow fan)? I'm also a fandy (fan of Mandy-- I am KILLING it today!). Mandy is a blog friend who quickly became a real friend. We "met" (I think) through MckMama's site and I love, love, love reading her blog. She is hilarious and since we get along so famously through the Internets, I think we would get along famously in real life. I really look forward to the day when we can enjoy a pumpkin spice latte together. She is also a fantastic blog designer and I am getting pretty close to putting in an order for my own super wonderful blog design!

Mandy is giving away $50 to a bunch of online stores, so head on over to enter! Or don't, because that would give me more chances and I am selfish like that. All I know is that she is great, even though she doesn't understand my undying passion and love for Zac Efron. It's okay, we all have our downfalls.

Second up? Le! I met Le through my friend, Sally. Le is the one who gave me my sewing bug! She helped me make a placemat purse, which I'll have to do a post on-- it's SO beautiful! She is talented and kind and a wonderful mother. I love reading her blog; she inspires me everytime she writes! Her house is beautiful and so inviting, just like Le. She is giving away two monogrammed coffee mugs. I have seen these in person because Sally has one! I would love to win these and give one to my mom! If I don't win, I might just have to bribe Le into showing me how to make them. ;) I would highly recommend following Le at The Domestic Chick. You will love her!

Well, that's all for now! Go on over and enter!!

Here I am.

Whew.

I'm back.

Life has changed so very much in the short long month I've been gone. So much that it's hard to wrap my head around it. And no, I'm not pregnant. Yet. And it's okay.

We moved into our beautiful new house and I am learning to let go of my control issues in making people think I have it all together. We have had people come in and out who have seen our still unpacked boxes and messy house. And it's okay.

My life has been and continues to be turned upside down professionally and personally, for reasons I cannot and do not want to discuss. I can vouch for the fact that one day, everything is going smoothly and the next, everything is different. I am walking that road. And it's okay.

I deleted my account on Facebook because I was tired of knowing what was going on in everyone else's life and having my life put out there for the world to see. I'm not planning on joining again anytime soon. It's quite freeing, actually. And it's okay.

I have been clinging to God like my life depends on it... which it does. I have effectively been learning that He will not give me more than I can handle, even when I think I can't handle a bit more. He knows my limits, not me. He has sent women into my life lately from near and far who have built me up, prayed over me and loved me until I think my heart will burst from the combination of sadness and love. It is a bittersweet feeling and one that I have learned from like never before. I've learned that "Christ never allows the hearts of His own to be shattered without excellent reasons and eternal purposes". And it's okay.

I'm okay.

I'm thankful for this refining process, for this beautiful, terrible time of life. Terrible in the sense of what has happened and what has rocked me to the core, but beautiful in that God has been covering me so fully with His hand. I'm also thankful for my blog and for those of you I have met and connected with on a deeper level as a result of this newfangled technology.

I have really missed blogging about funny things, about mundane things, about life in general. I am thrilled to show you all our new home and to continue to share the hilarious things my students say. I'm looking forward to sharing my struggles with you and to being more real than before, but in a more constructive manner.

It's so good to be back.