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Me and Joseph celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary via Skype this year. It was actually a 2 day celebration because of the massive time difference between us. First day of the celebration he surprised me with the most thoughtful gift ever.
Here's a little back-story. I went to Janel's back in March and fell in love with a painting at her house. SO GORGEOUS. Janel was looking to sell it recently and I casually mentioned it to Joseph. I was going to buy it with any money I made from shop updates. Little did I know he messaged Janel and had this little plan worked out and bought the painting from under me :P Him, Janel and my Mom came up with this little scheme to get it to me without me knowing. Lots of trickery was involved!!!
When the postman delivered it to me I was like what is this??? Then I saw this note on the back of the box from Janel :)
Needless to say it was a great surprise!!! I had my own little trick up my sleeve as well!!! I presented (on a piece of paper) that we were going to take a little trip to North Carolina to see his friends and family later this year when he got back from deployment!!!
Now on to Day 2, it didn't quite go as planned, there was a small hitch in the present department. But, I was surprised with flowers and chocolates :)
Day 3 (yes.. I'm aware I said it was 2 days, it was extended..again), the present I had custom made arrived!! YAY!!! I had commissioned Elsie to make this gorgeous piece for us to hang in the bedroom. We love it sooo much. From the AC DC shirt to the NC State hat...to the panda hat and red hair with black undertones, it matched us perfectly!!! It's HUGE too!!! IN LOVE!!! I'll post pictures when they are all hung up in the bedroom :)
All in all, it was a great anniversary. I can't wait until next year when we will actually be able to spend it together.
I love you so much Joseph!! You are my heart, my soul, my everything. I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together. You and Me together, we can do anything. I miss you terribly and can't wait until the day I'm in your arms again. I love you times a million!
xoxo,
Lindsay
P.S. Shop update on Sunday, Aug 1st!!!!! SO EXCITED!!! Lots of new badges, including the first 2 Limited Edition badges in the collection! I will also be including a painting series that I've been working on for weeks!!!
Kindness, don't you just love that word? I have been thinking about it a lot lately. From receiving it, to giving it, kindness validates that this world DOES have good people in it. I asked a few friends and loved ones what they felt Kindness meant to them, as well as if they had any stories to share about Kindness touching their lives or the lives of others. Here are some of their answers.
"Kindness can be as intricate as volunteering your life to a homeless coalition project or as simple as an inspiring blog comment. It should be initiated, followed, and passed on." -Amy Lapi
"Kindness to me means when you show love without wanting anything in return. A simple phone call or a visit to check up on the person is made from kindness." -Gina Stutz
"To me, kindness means helping others with no expectations in return, giving from your heart. It can be a stranger, a close friend, a spouse, a child, a family member. I think when we all extend kindness, the blessing that we get in return is so much greater than anything we could give, no matter how great or small. Brightening others' days is a huge deal to me. I know that I love the feeling that I get from doing it. Tho it doesn't hurt to be the recipient either! =)
I'm amazed every day by the kindness within this blog world. People will do anything to help somebody that they've never even met in person before! It's truly an amazing thing and I feel honored to be a part of this community. When I first got sick (before being diagnosed with MS) nearly 2 years ago, the people who were there for me the most were the people I've met through my blog. I received cards to cheer me up, money to help out with expenses, little gifts to brighten my day and emails just to check on me to see how I was doing. It was incredible! People I didn't even know were reaching out to me to spread a little kindness. I'm a huge believer in "paying it forward" and I only hope to be a blessing to others like I've received. Kindness Rocks!" -Jamie Habermaas
"To me, kindness is an understanding of one another that at any given time, any given day we could be in someone else's shoes. we can all lose things or people, feel hurt or sad, or be on the short end of the stick. kindness is human connection at it's deepest level.
I wanted to share that as a hospice social worker all of the patients and families I work with are facing terminal illness and death. I see kindness happen everyday. to me this is very hopeful.
There was one man I worked with who was dying of cancer--his last wish was to see his favorite beach for one last time. he was bed-bound and needed a patient transport company and stretcher to do this--which was really expensive. the family could not afford it. I decided to put it out there and see what happens. I left an office voicemail asking for small donations. left an envelope in the lunchroom and by the end of the day had made $300 toward his last ride to the beach!!! that is kindness!!! talk about human connection." -Joanne Nishimitsu
Here is my favorite quote on kindness by one of my most favorite people:
"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -Martin Luther King Jr.
-Janel Maclean
"Right now Kindness to me means...sweet words in the time of sadness, opening a door for a stranger and not expecting a thank you, talking to a someone even if they don't know that you are there, letting go of someone you love for the sake of their happiness and so they don't feel anymore pain!" -Meg Cantrell
"Kindness is doing something for a friend without expecting anything in return except maybe a thank you. Kindness is sincerely wanting your friend to succeed so much that you go out of your way to help them. Kindness is being gentle and warm towards someone who doesn't reciprocate the same feelings. Kill em with kindness... Kindness is finding a toy that you love from your childhood, knowing your best friend collects these toys, she goes out of her way to surprise me with that specific toy. Kindness is making people smile just because." -Kristie Wendland
"Kindness to me is doing something for someone when no one is looking." -Carrie Mewborn
"Kindness to me is going back to the "Golden Rule" we all learned in kindergarten, treat others the way you want to be treated. It's also people going out of their way to help others. One story that shines kindness to me, is one I read about Denzel Washington. One time he took a trip to an Army base is Texas. The base serves as a hospital for soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, mostly burn victims. The hospital is full and so are the houses the Army has built to house the spouses of the soldiers. There is a long waiting list to get in one of these houses. On his visit to the hospital Mr. Washington asked the commander how much it cost to build one of these houses. When the commander told him he pulled out his checkbook and wrote him a check for enough money to build 4 houses. Its stories like these that remind me that this world IS full of kind people willing to do good deeds regardless of reward or recognition." -Joseph Ellington
So I wanna know..
What is kindness to YOU?
I would love if you had any stories to share of kindness in your life or in others :)
xoxo,
Lindsay
P.S. Today is me and the hubby's 2 year anniversary :) Happy Anniversary Joseph!! You and me baby, we can do anything. I love you!!!!
Then head on over to Justine's Blog!!! She is giving away one of the cutie Fox Moleskine journals I made, along with a Bring Home Pita badge!!
CLICK HERE!!!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Post, it's going to be a MUST READ!! :)
xoxo,
Lindsay
I have been a total slacker with my Happy Mail posts and I haven't been sticking to my usual blog schedule either!! Which is fine by me!! I will be blogging a lot more than usual this week, I have so much to share.
Today I got a HUGE HUGE HUGE surprise that my Hubby, BFF and Mom put together. I will be posting this Friday, you'll see why later. Tomorrow I'll be posting about another surprise that benefits YOU!!! I'm also writing a special blog post on Wednesday, with some help from my friends that is going to be a MUST READ!!!
And Guess what?? I've been working on new badge designs that will be coming out the first week in August!!! :) yay!!!!
so back to Happy Mail, here are some amazing things that have graced my mailbox :)
I got my Happy Mail from my July partner and friend Laura :) Boy did she spoil me rotten!!!! pandas, scrap paper, stamps, rub-ons, stickers, journals, stationary, markers.... HEAVEN!! :) love love love!! Thank you so much Laura!!!
This wonderful SURPRISE Happy Mail came from Molly!!! A sweet care package since the hubby has been gone to brighten my day!!! All of my favorite things!!! Thank you so much Molly!!! In Love!!!!
I also won a super cute giveaway over on Claire's blog awhile back. That hand-painted fox journal has my heart!!!! So much cuteness!!!! Thank you Claire, I love all the adorable goodies!! You should all check out her blog, full of crafty posts!! One of my favorites!!
So I have been amazed at the amount of pen pal letters I have gotten in the past 2 weeks. I, myself have written over 65 letters!!!! So many amazing, sweet ladies I have met through the Pen Pal project. Makes my heart super happy!! I write letters every night before I got to bed. love :)
You can sign up to be a part of Happy Mail HERE
and
The Pen Pal Project HERE
xoxo,
Lindsay
I haven't posted Journal pages in awhile.... and in preparation of Janel's journal class, me and my mom have been art journaling together (via Skype). Getting those creative juices flowing. We came up with these prompts together and would give each other 3 materials we had to incorporate into our pages. We would then show our pages to each other after we finished. It was pretty neat to see how we both interpreted our prompts and see how we used the materials. This first page is about my favorite color. It is by far my most favorite page I have ever done!!! So much pink!!!!
This one is about what Forgiveness means to me. The pic is kinda hard to read so here is what it says.
"Forgiveness is a very difficult subject for me. I tend to hold grudges and I definitely find it hard to forget. I know in my heart I should give people second chances, but unless it's family, it's hard for me to do. It's something I work really hard in doing. I know it only harms me to hold onto negative feelings. Forgive and Forget...easier said than done."
This is the last page that concludes my journal. I made a collage of sorts to bring it all together. I used most of the materials in this one page, that I used throughout my journal. I mentioned several times I wanted to open an Etsy shop and since I have one now, I put my business card at the top to show I accomplished one of my goals.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
On another note I wanted to share something amazing!! My great friend Jamie is having an amazing raffle on her blog for MS. There are lots of amazing prizes, along with a cute plushie I made just for this!!
Here is a quote directly from her blog!
"It's a blog raffle to benefit M.S.!
As you know, I was diagnosed with MS in January, 2009. It's my goal this year to raise money & awareness for this disease.
For each dollar that you donate to our Team Inspired for our local MS Walk, you will be entered to win! This will be my only fundraiser, other than my Shrinking for a Cure, that I'll be doing for M.S. this year. Let's make a difference for those fighting this incredibly unpredictable, painful & crippling disease. For more information about Multiple Sclerosis, please visit the National MS Society here. Each and every dollar matters."
So go check out her blog for more details!!!! Be a part of something amazing and show your support!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!! I'll be back on Monday to share lots of awesome mail and maybe some exciting news :)
xoxo,
Lindsay
Welcome to my crafty little corner! Feel free to comment and follow me on my path to creativity. I love meeting new people, so don't be shy! Scrapbooking, journaling, making felt plushies, embroidery, painting, photography, blogging, organizing, reading, and sewing are some of my most favorite things.
