Relay for Life 2013

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I thought I’d try my hand at a slideshow. (You can watch it or click to flip from one slide to the next…)

I had a lot of pictures of Baby Sam, now 1.5 years old, from the Relay For Life, a cancer research and awareness event that was held in June 2013. I made a video of her, too. You might have missed it, so I included it below. It’s inspiring, and Sam even says “Good Girl” (her version of it) in it, repeating me, as she was walking her lap! She’s so awesome; you gotta love this little trooper! But now she’s not really a baby anymore… *weeping*…  She’s now “Sam” or “Sammi” and is beginning to learn how to talk. She says “tuck” for truck, “dink” for drink, and “Bub” for Bubble Guppies. She’s adorable! 🙂 Read More

How to Add Images to Your Sidebar

This is a screenshot of the backend of my blog, and shows you the things you need to do to display images on your blog's sidebar.

This is a screenshot of the backend of my blog, and shows you the things you need to do to display images on your blog’s sidebar.

Adding images to your sidebar is not as easy as 1, 2. 3. But it can be! Just remember to customize and edit your images with a good photo editor, such as Colorcinch (aff link)!

Please read this post first, then enlarge your screen and watch the video. (Instructions are given on how to make your screen bigger, too, so don’t worry!)

The above screenshot shows you the basics, but not how to adjust the size. For that, you’ll have to watch the video!

The video will tell you how to add images to your sidebar. Images include the awards that new bloggers receive, and so I am posting this for them! Lately, many people have been clicking on my award posts, mainly for The Liebster Award (it is currently number one in the search engines!), and since these bloggers are newbies (like I was, months ago!), I decided to answer a question one blogger had (ironically, the person who tagged me as IT) about how to add images to your sidebar.

Adding them is not that difficult, but requires a few steps. I explain these in this the video below, and show you how to do it at the same time. Unfortunately, Read More

Do You Love or Fear the Number 13?

number 13

Today is Friday the 13th. It’s the first one of this year!

In this post, I’ll talk about 3 things: why I love the number 13, why people fear this number, and other phobias, including blogophobia!

Why I Love The Number 13

 

First of all, I love the number 13. I think it’s much luckier than the number 7.

My Nana Kay was born on January 13.

My grandfather was born in 1913.

I moved back to my hometown on Friday the 13th.

This number has popped up in my life over and over throughout the years, and I have come to love it.

One of my friends was also born on January 13.

I am not really superstitious, and so I don’t have any reason to fear this number. However, I have had a weird experience on one of these famed Fridays.

When I was living with one of my exes, our fridge stopped working one Friday. Yes, it was on a Friday the 13th. I don’t know why, or what happened, exactly, but a few hours later it began working again, and worked just fine from that moment on. It was very weird, indeed.

I have also had experiences with the number 23, but those are stories for another day! (My other grandma was born on April 23rd, Shakespeare’s birth- and death-day!)

13/13/13

My Nana Kay is no longer with us, but her next birthday would be 13/13/13, if such a day were to exist. If December is the 12th month, it would stand to reason that the 13th month could be January, and so, following this reasoning, January 13, 2014 would be 13/13/13. At 13 seconds after 1:13 pm on this day, using military time, it would be 13:13:13 on 13/13/13.

Yes, I am getting carried away here, but I am looking forward to that moment!

Have you ever had strange things happen on Friday the 13th? Share your stories in the comment section, please!

Triskaidekaphobia

Are you superstitious? Do you have triskaidekaphobia? This is an abnormal fear of the number 13. Read More

How Re-Uniting With My Son Impacted My Life

Last week, I told you my true story about how I nearly died last summer. I am now going to tell you how reuniting with my son, J, has impacted my life for the better.

Re-uniting with him has literally changed my life!

This is a picture of the book that changed my life after re-uniting with my son.

This is a picture of the book that changed my life after re-uniting with my son.

Once We Re-united

One phone call led to another and we began talking on a regular basis.

Not arguing, but talking.

It was wonderful! Slowly, J let me back into his life.

We talked, we laughed, we cried.

I had always tried to be a good mother to him, and I must have done something right, since J is a non-smoker (I smoke), a drug-free person (he experimented a few times, with a few things, and so did I), a health and fitness nut who watches what he eats and works out all the time (my idea of working out is typing, and I love eating, as noted in my guest post on Hunger for Happiness), and a rare drinker (this he got from me; I am not big on booze).

J also is a positive person who somehow motivates me to want better things for our future. He truly is amazing.

He’s also tall, dark and handsome, since he’s half Spanish (I am a white, Canadian girl with Czech roots… so basically I am a white, Canadian girl!) and he’s pretty muscular, too, from hitting the gym on a constant basis. He won’t let me post a picture of him; he is a private person (I’ve mentioned this before). Anyway, when December rolled around, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. I’m his mom; I wanted to buy him a gift. (I like giving presents!)

He told me that he didn’t want anything. Huh? Nothing?

Nope. He told me to save my money.

What My Son Wanted for Me

When I pressed him, he told me that he didn’t need anything, but that it was nice that I wanted to get him something. Instead, he said, it would mean more to him if I bought myself something that I needed. That’s what he wanted for Christmas – for me to buy myself something! Read More

Apparently, I’m Now “It”!

I have been tagged. So now I am “it”, whatever that means. I guess I’m “all that, and a bag of chips”! (Do any of you recognize this saying?) 🙂

it

Felicia tagged me, and from what I can see, this is kind of like an award. I’m getting a bit tired of these awards, to be honest with you, even though they provide a good way to meet other bloggers. However, I have never seen Felicia before, nor have I read any of her posts, and I am pretty sure she has never read any of mine.

So, for this game, I’m making a mockery of things.  I’ll answer her questions, but I’m not going to tag any others. I don’t want to tick them off! I hope you find my answers hilarious!  Read More