Bachelorette Party...Yeah I did it!

This past weekend, I attended my future daughter-in-law's bachelorette party. YES! I was invited...Me...the soon to be 60 year old mother of the groom. I was over the moon excited that she included me.

We all met in the fabulous Texas Hill Country town of Fredericksburg and from the moment we arrived at our house, called '1 Big House', I knew we were in for an amazing weekend. The bride-to-be and her friends are  such wonderful women. The mother of the bride is a dear, dear friend and I'm elated that our 2 children united  and will marry. (We set our kids up by the way.....)

For those of you who haven't been to Fredericksburg,TX... I encourage you to put this on your list of places to visit! The wineries in the Texas Hill Country are amazing! We did the wineries, the tastings and the fellowship of the young ladies in the wedding party, along with the MOG and MOB (aka, Mother of the Groom and Mother of the Bride) was beyond words.

I WILL confess that there were NO strippers, no clubbing and no wild antics. The wildest thing I did was apply a temporary tattoo that said " I belong to Andra's bachelorette party...if I'm lost please buy me a drink"

We had a wonderful weekend grazing on a smorgasbord of snacks, a plethora of wine selections and incredible "girl talk"...scavenging the wineries donned in our #TeamBride tshirts...enjoying the down time. My own daughter, who is a bridesmaid was there and it is times like these...when your own are grown and functioning members of society that you  enjoy sitting down and having a glass of wine...adult to adult. No longer do you have to worry if they're drinking underage (which I KNOW my kids did).

I've not been to a bachelorette party in ...I can't even remember when, but I totally cast this weekend up as one of my favorites...the memories are sealed in my brain and I can't wait for the wedding!

Color #TeamBride and the fabulous Hill Country Texas Bachelorette weekend a HUGE success!

The Power of Two Words, Forty Two Friends (and Facebook)

Yesterday, I typed two words in a post on my Facebook page:

Ben & Andra.

I then asked my Facebook friends to contribute two words only per post and to help me write a story for my son and his fiance, that I will make into a book to give them at their wedding. Within seconds after the post went up, I was overwhelmed with joy at the response. Over forty friends contributed! We finished the story today (I'm leaving it exactly as it was written - some thoughts got ahead of others, but I like it that way and did not want to change a thing!

It is with great pleasure and pride that I present to you:

The Power of Two Words

A Collection of Inspirational Advice and Thoughts for a Happy Marriage

Ben & Andra

Adore cuddles. Who can handle the hardest and the toughest obstacles; whatever life brings to them. Love, many blessings and lots of grandchildren.

May you find peace, enjoy your marriage and Heavenly joy will surround you both.

With love and abundance , with God's blessings

And when you walk holding hands, just remember two words; respect and compromise.

Love deeply. You are very loved for eternity. Times will - don't forget

And if there are troubles, you work on your vows. To remember to love each other no matter what life throws you. Cherish your....

Just be happy together.

Your parents love you! Love, honor and respect each other.

Never go to bed angry or mad at each other. Be patient, be kind and cherish every moment.

Talk with each other, not at each other and kiss & hug as much as you can.

Respect your differences as much as you cherish your similarities.

Your children will be precious gifts. Hope you both will teach them to love and respect.....and kindness

Don't forget that laughter makes life much sweeter and much more fun.

And when life seems unbelievably complicated, pray together.

And for overwhelming one another - stay honest.

As parents, always together and always be caring.

In closing, my wish for you is love beyond measure - beyond words.

Best Friends.

God will guide you, so listen in quiet moments between the respect.

And in closing, my wish for the two of you is for many, many years of love,

happiness and happy memories...

THE END

(Awesome)

I now would like to acknowledge the amazing authors of this incredible story: (in order of their posts)

Samantha Atkin, Jennifer Bryan Yarbrough, Lyn Croft, Marie Hegman-Hill, Stephanie Sakry, Deborah C. Adams, Michelle Frankiewicz Meade, Judith Hari Wuntch, Janice Richardson, Nicole Garcia, Pamela Collins, Kim Wonacott, Tammy Skaggs, Brian Lane, Anne Duellman, Jayne Hyatt, Cindy Smith, Nancy Reichart, Melanie James, Angie Wright, Andrea Wood, Jessica Watts, Mary Williams, Patti Van Kerrebroeck Richoux, Teri Riggs, Annette Holland, Colleen Walker Stavinoha, Robyn Konopka, Donna Spell, Karen Acker Dunlap, Heather Leah, L.E. Love, Cheryl Ourada Allen, Marilyn Mason Blakely, Christine McCoy Duncan, Cherime MacFarlane, Terri Hubbard Carle, Nancy Gonzalez Baugher, Billye Rose Davis Cotton, Stephanie Boyd Whitehurst, Marjorie Boyd-Springer, and Mary Pizzuto

Story Time...

 

 

 

 



With my son's wedding fast approaching, I got an incredible idea today... I saw a post on Facebook - it was a picture of two penguins hugging and it asked for each participant to add two words and make a story. (Coincidentally, my son's fiance looooves pengins)

I thought to myself, 'just how cool would it be to create a story for them right here from this post; starting out with a picture of these two hugging penguins, the first two words 'Ben & Andra', penned by me in the comments then ask my Facebook friends to add to two words and keep it going.

I posted it and in a matter of seconds, people started posting. I was stunned! Post after post fed off the previous post and this is turning out to be a beautiful heart rending little story. No one has posted anything 'off color', but rather they have each listed  their own words of wisdom. From time to time, I'll go in and add two words to keep us going.

The amazing thing about this is the number of people who are posting their 'two words worth'. There are new friends, folks I don't really know at all, and dear old friends. When I see an old friend who I've not had contact with in over a year, I've got to tell you, my heart smiles.

Life and the paths we are on keep us from staying in touch with our friends on a regular basis, so seeing their profile pics and posts into the thread just made me think how epic this could be to incorporate this into a real story - one that I could put into print, with pictures of the happy couple and present it to them on their wedding day, from me and about 100+ of my Facebook friends!

I'll keep you posted and will definitely post a picture of my finished product. I just need to come up with a title. Maybe some of you can take this idea and run with it....

Have an awesome week filled with love and friendship:)

Dianne Harman weighs in on the 'What if?'......

This is a blog post by friend and best selling author Dianne Harman. She and I - along with a several other female authors have taken the question 'What if?' and asked some of our characters to weigh in...it's a fun take on the question. Enjoy!

By the way, I've read Dianne's books and I highly recommend them!

From Dianne Harman's blog:

I've featured a couple of authors on this blog who have done "What If?" posts on their books. It occurred to me that I'd be remiss if I didn't do one on the Coyote Series, so here goes! This is from Maria's point of view - one of the main protagonists in all three books in the series: Blue Coyote Motel, Coyote in Provence, and Cornered Coyote.

"What If I'd never applied to Moore Pharmaceutical Labs for a job? What if I hadn't taken the anti-aging hormone my brilliant scientific husband-to-be, Jeffrey, offered me? What if we hadn't bought the Blue Coyote Motel in the desert after he was fired for giving it to me? What if I hadn't taken Freedom, the anti-depressant/anti-aging drug Jeffrey formulated? What if I hadn't killed him when he became insane?

"What if I hadn't gone to Provence? What if I hadn't met Jordan, a Los Angeles Art Theft Detective who was in Provence looking for stolen art, when I was a chef at a Michelin restaurant in Provence restaurant?  What if I hadn't discovered the formulas for the drugs on an old computer I'd taken to Provence when I hurriedly left the United States? What if Jordan and I hadn't discovered the little Afghanistan girls in Pierre's parents' barn? What if I hadn't met Darya and told her about the formulas? What if Jordan had stayed in Provence with me?

"What if I hadn't come back to the United States to live with Jordan? What if I hadn't been arrested for Jeffrey's death? What if the guests at the Blue Coyote Motel hadn't become addicted to the drug Jeffrey piped into the air-conditioning? What if Slade Kelly hadn't been able to get the Mexican Mafia to protect me while I was in prison? What if Slade hadn't helped me during the trial? What if Jordan had left me? What if...?"

Enjoy! Here's some sites where you can find the books.

Amazon: http://ow.ly/CrIek

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/CrIzW

Kobo:http://ow.ly/CrJ2X

Dianne Harman, Author

Contributor: Huffington Post

Amazon: http://ow.ly/s6pN5 

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/u4Fb2

 Web Site http://www.DianneHarman.com

Blog: http://dianneharman.com/blog/

 Twitter: @DianneDHarman

 

The Lost Art of Cursive Writing.....A Thing of the Past? SAY IT AIN'T SO!

Can you believe that cursive writing is no longer being taught in our schools?  That truly saddens me. I mean REALLY saddens me.

I recently asked the granddaughter of a co-worker if she could write her name in long hand (she's 10) She looked at me puzzzled and replied,

"You mean cursive? No, they don't teach that."

How in the world can something as unique as a signature become obsolete? How are legislative bills going to be signed into being? Printed name??? GAWWWW! This scares the hell out of me!

What if everyone's printing looks alike?

Future generations will miss the beauty of a signature. It's something that belongs to you...your signature becomes your identity. So love letters (which I suppose are also a thing of the past) will be printed? How totally unromantic and absurd!

And how in the world do you sign a check? They stipulation "Signature Required" has no validity; unless of course we all resort to the ever present God of technology, 'electronic signature'

And how will celebrities and sports legends sign autographs and sports memorabilia???? By printing their names?????? YIKES! #scary and #sad

Call me old fashioned, but I'm just dumbfounded and my heart is heavy as I realize that the Boomers and GenX are probably the last of the mohicans who have learned the art of cursive writing....

If you were to get a 'signed' book from an author, which would you prefer???

Just some food for thought ;)

 

CONTEST TIME! Enter today to win!

As some of you already know,

I have a HUGE crush on Adam Levine!

But enough about me, what about you...

Who is your fan crush and Why?

Answer that one question and you could win

 

Your choice of some Swagalicious Swag!

And TWO lucky winners will receive winner's choice e-book format - of my books

Out of the Box Awakening

 OR

Out of the Box Regifted!

 

Just leave your answer to... "Who is your fan crush and Why?"

In the comment box below.

U.S.A. or APO/FPO delivery only.

I will choose the winners based on what I feel are the best answers to my question... So convince me why your fan crush is the BEST and throw up a picture of him if you dare.  You gotta PERSUADE me ;)

(Don't forget to add your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you're the winner:)

I can't wait to read who YOUR fan crush will be:)

Hurry! Contest ends 8pm tonight!

I Want to get married again....

We spent last evening with my son and his fiance at their new house. They closed Tuesday on their new home and have been 'moving in' by taking their many shower gifts to the house. They will marry in November and while that's over a month away, they have gotten so many nice things! Watching them put them all up, I said to my husband, "I think want to get married again." He laughed and replied, "You go right ahead. I'm done with that stuff. Been there, done that"

I look at the array of beautiful, shiny new things on the kitchen counter amazed at how technology and design has gotten so much better over the years. For example, the knife set she received is sleek and space saving; unlike the humongous thing that sits on my counter. They have had the entire house repainted and have made it 'their own' by selecting their own colors and it is fabulous!

I smile with pride and hug this wonderful woman who is about to become my son's wife...a true God send and one of the best gifts God can give our family...

I'm richly blessed with the amazing women that my sons have chosen for their soul mates....my daughter has also chosen wisely and it is now that I reflect and realize how truly blessed I am.

I will never doubt the seemingly unanswered prayers I have prayed for over the years. You just have to trust and have faith that God WILL provide.  A mother can only hope and wish for God's blessing on her family and I've received just that. I'm not worthy by any means, but I've been #blessedbeyondwords !