I'm Thankful! And Soon, You'll Be Thankful Too

Back in August I attended the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference. Myself and 70+ women joined together for a weekend of fun, laughter, learning and boots!!

When I was planning to attended the conference I had no idea what to expect. I knew I was going to be 3 hours from home with 70+ women, most of which I had never met, and we were staying in a state park.

Sounds fun right? (It was a freaking blast!)

I went in fearing the unknown but, I didn't go alone. I manged to drag my girl Heather along for the ride and together we dragged another Shannon along with us.

Our road trip there was awesome!

We sang, we talked about how Okies drive 90+ mph till we hit a curve then drop to 25 mph, and we debated the oxford comma.


We also had some really nasty McDonald's because we waited to long to stop and eat and ran out of choices.

Even the register at McDonald's was taunting us.

The AWB hosted several "twitter parties' to give each of us attending a way to connect with each other prior to packing up and heading down.

During one of the twitter parties Country Outfitter joined us.

That was a dang good twitter party!

By the end of it, I had a sponsor paying my way, an invitation to pick out any pair of boots I wanted, up to $150 value), and a gift for you!

Now, I know you're all distracted by the whole "gift for you" and don't worry I'll get to that.

First though, let me tell you about these BOOTS! Hey it is my blog ;) I should get to brag a little.

Look at these beauties!

 

 



I LOVE THEM!

I took roughly 2 weeks deciding which pair of boots I wanted. And I couldn't be more pleased!

I picked a pair by Justin. The Justin Women's Burnished Tan Boot to be exact!

They have survived hospital stays, mid terms, and divorce court. (Not mine! I'm a legal secretary, remember.)

Last week my giveaway was suppose to "go live". It didn't.

It didn't because last week I was in the hospital with my baby girl.

She was at her dad's for the weekend and while there she suffered a seizure like episode. We met up at the ER and after 5 hours of worry filled testing we were admitted.

Here is where the thankful part comes in.

While I was waiting with my daughter in the hospital some of the lovely women I've met through AWB were calling, texting, emailing etc. They were asking what they could do to make things easier.

They were sending positive vibes, and lots of prayers. They offered me dinner, or laundry, entertainment, or a shoulder to cry on. They just wanted us to know we weren't alone.

They cared!

Today as I type this I want to say I am thankful for my daughter's recovery.

I am thankful for my sweet Daniel's support.

I am thankful for Heather, Jasmine, Stephanie, Logan(who isn't a woman, but is a great Arkansas blogger), Kim, and so many others.

I am also thankful for good boots! They make the days easier sometimes.

Last but not least, I am thankful for you!

And, thanks to Country Outfitter you can be thankful for good boots too! (Yep, here's where that gift for you comes in.)

Country Outfitter would like to give one of my readers the gift of good boots (up to $150 value).

And, we've made it pretty simple for you.

1. Click HERE and submit your email address. (You may receive additional emails or offers from Country Outfitter it's totally worth it though! )

2. Leave a comment here on the blog telling me what you're thankful for and that you've submitted your email address.

A random winner will be selected in two weeks, November 29, 2012, after 9 p.m.

(DISCLOSURE: Country Outfitter, a retailer of Justin's Women's Boots gave me these Justin Women's Burnished Tan Boot to review, and as you can tell, I love them!)

 

 

Bragging Rights

I've got to give the Dad and myself a few pats on the back. It seems that throughout the craziness that is our life of wrangling 5 children, we must be doing something right.

Last month I told you all about Daughter 1 being asked to prom, the week of prom, by a senior boy who found himself without his previous date.

Daughter 1 was excited but cautiously hopeful in her preparation. (We aren't raising naive children around here.) In fact she was so cautiously hopeful that she didn't allow herself to get excited till 9 am the morning of the prom as I sat to do her manicure.

Don't worry, she didn't get stood up or anything. She went and had a good time and more importantly followed all the rules we had laid out.

In preparation for the big event we had the boy over for dinner. We expressed our concern with the timing of things and how it might be perceived and where that would fall on our daughter. He assured her, and us that things weren't exactly friendly with his ex-girlfriend/prom date but, that things were definitely done and in an ok place. So we allowed her to go and have since  kept a close eye on the friendship/high school relationship.

So here's were the bragging and patting on the backs begin.

Today, Daughter 1 sent me a string of text messages:

Text 1. "He's not over her."

Text 2. "Don't worry I'm not sad or anything. I'm mad."

Text 3. "I deserve better than that."

Text 4. "So does she."

Text 5. "By the way I got a 94% on my Biology semester test."

As I read my daughter's first message my heart began to hurt for her but, before I could text her back and say something mommy-like she sends the second and then the third.

By the third message I was smiling. "I deserve better than that."

She had been listening. She had been hearing us as we told her nightly we loved her and she deserved the world. She knows it's the truth.

As a Momma there are countless dreams and hopes I have for my children. Self respect and awareness is problem on the top of the list. To witness my 16 year old little girl define her worth is amazing. She is wise. She is kind. She is beautiful. She is loved. And, she knows it.

SHE KNOWS IT!!

Points for the Momma and the Dad we ARE doing something right.