I'm Baaaaaack!

Hey y'all.....remember me?  The mommy behind the Super Messy blog?  Well, lately this mommy has been SUPER BUSY--and absent from the blogging world.  It's all been for a good cause though, I promise!!

Remember Brooklyn?  And the bracelets that I committed to making, selling and then donating the money to Brooklyn and her family?  Well, those bracelets have consumed my waking moments over the last few weeks.  Orders, payments, getting addresses, volunteers to make the bracelets, stressing over when the charms would arrive....and finally, MAKING them today.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining in the least.  I've enjoyed every minute of this bracelet making whirlwind.  I've loved watching the order count climb higher and higher, knowing that more money is being sent Brooklyn's way.  After multiple bracelets, knots, beads, hand cramps and FIVE HOURS LATER, all 109 Minnie Mouse bracelets are complete.   Whew. 

 

So.  For this moment, I'm caught up on bracelets.  We have no more orders coming in and the believe charms aren't here yet, so I can semi-relax other than taking payments.  Which means...I'm BACK!  With that, I'm going to do what every other blogger out there is doing today, on January 1st:  making resolutions.  A lot of people are super negative when it comes to making New Year's Resolutions.  "Who keeps them?"  "You'll make them and be back to your old ways by January 5th."  "Resolutions are a waste."  I, for one, completely disagree.  I know it's just a symbol, but the New Year is a chance to start things fresh.  I saw this completely appropriate and motivating quote on Twitter yesterday:

 

"Tomorrow (New Year's Day) is the 1st blank page in a 365 page book.  Write a good one!" 

 

New Year's is just that--a brand new year.  It's no secret....2012 wasn't the best to my family or the best year of my life.  A lot of things happened that made 2012 a year that I won't be sad to leave behind.  So, here's to starting new things and hoping that 2013 is better than 2012 even thought about being!

 

My 2013 Resolutions: 

 

1.  Be a better daughter of God.  

I LOVE my Jesus.  I love listening to WJIE and being uplifted in my faith and feeling like I can take on the world.  I love going to church and listening to the wonderful things that God has at work for my little church and little corner.  But I'm terrible about praying.  I pray when things seem helpless or when I need something.  I need to start praying whenever things are great.  Just to thank Him for another morning or another day with Marty and Avery.  I want to "pray without ceasing" (1 thessalonians 5:17).  I want to stop worrying about things and start turning them immediately over to my Father. 

 

2.  Be a better wife.

I will be the first to admit---I'm really hard on Marty.  He does more than I could ever imagine as a husband and father.  He helps me around the house, is extremely considerate, always puts me first, is an absolutely incredible father to Avery...and I still find things to nitpick.  I don't even notice I'm doing it.  I complain about things that aren't done instead of thanking him for everything that has been done.  That's why I'm going to restart my "Proverbs 31 Woman" journey again.  I want to be the kind of wife that makes Marty happy to come home to every day. 

 

3.  Start 2013 with only things I LOVE.

I'm a terrible hoarder.  I buy things I don't need in the clearance bin, I buy furniture when it's super cheap, I buy clothes because they've been marked 75% off--but I don't LOVE any of it.  Those clothes will come home and sit in my closet, never to be worn.  That piece of furniture will come home with me and hide in our storage shed because I can't find a place that it looks exactly right.  I want to start fresh and with things that I'm proud to show off and clothes that I feel great in. 

 

4.  Finish my "Hot Mama" journey. 

This holiday season has wreaked some MAJOR havoc on my diet.  I haven't stepped on a scale in weeks because I'm terrified of what it will read.  My pants are fitting a little tighter and I'm only wearing the shirts that fall loosely around my midsection.  Not anymore.  More packing my lunch, less eating out and more feeling like a Hot Mama again.

 

5.  Save money.

Here's where I've always struggled.  I don't blow money, by any stretch of the imagination.  But I do buy things here and there for $20 or under that adds up to a lot of unnecessary spending.  No more quick trips through the drive through--an extra $5 in my pocket.  STRICTLY sticking to our family budget--feeling more comfortable when it comes to paying bills and living everyday life.  It's time Marty and I start living the way Dave Ramsey taught us when we took his class. 

 

6.  Learn to sew.

Plain and simple.  I want to learn how to sew.  And sew well.

 

7.  Start crafting more.

It makes me happy.  It's my equivalent of a girl's night out.  It's a hobby that I love doing and is MY thing.  I stopped crafting and painting right before Avery was born.  I was exhausted and busy and stressed and overwhelmed and painting was the last thing on my mind.  Avery's older now and is actually sleeping well (please, can't talk about it or I'll jinx myself) and it's time I start crafting for myself again.  Make some extra money too.

 

That's it.  Sure, there's a million other things I'd love to do this year, but I know that making a ton of resolutions becomes completely unreasonable.  I feel these are things that I can do.  With encouragement and a lot of prayer, I can complete these 2013 goals.  Happy 2013 all.....can't wait to see the book you're writing this year!  

 

 

Hot Mama Mon.....err....Wednesday!

I'm a little behind.....so shoot me.  The last two nights, I've been covered in head-to-toe glitter---but more on that later.  First, a Hot MAMA update!!

Original weight:  142.5
Last week's weight:  132.8
This week's weight:

Wow.  Turrible picture.

Loss from last week:  1.4 lbs

Overall loss: 11.1 lbs

What worked:  I've cut out a ton of Cokes (actually Pepsi and Dr. Pepper) from my diet.  I've also cut wayyyyyy back on the trips to McDonalds and other various drive thrus.  There for awhile, our life was super stressful, chaotic and our pantry was pretty much empty.  I ate a drive thru meal multiple times a day....so gross.  And so unhealthy.  Instead, I've been getting up earlier so I can have breakfast at home.  I've stocked a drawer at work full of healthy(ish) snacks for when that rumbly in my tummy hits.  And I'm trying harder to make dinners more often.  Things are still stressful and Marty and I aren't always at home together at night, so it's not the easiest thing in the world to do....but I'm trying.  That's what counts, right?

Now, onto the glitter mess.  Because she's been on my mind constantly lately, no blog post would be complete without a plug for little Brooklyn  (read about Brooklyn's story here).  As most of you HOPEFULLY already know, I'm selling bracelets to help raise money for Brooklyn and her parents.  So far, I've reached 224 bracelet orders.  If we give approximately $5 from every bracelet to the family, then we've raised about $1120!  I'm so pumped about that number.  We still have plenty of bracelets to sell.  So, if you haven't bought yours already....what on earth are you waiting for??

The support for this little girl and her parents has been completely amazing so far....and she wasn't even diagnosed a month ago.  There are TONS of fundraisers going around to help raise money to cover medical expenses, travel costs, food, etc.  You can donate meals to Erin and Daniel (Brooklyn's parents) since they've hardly left her side since being admitted to Kosairs (type in Disselkamp for the last name and Brooklyn as the password).  There's a raffle for a 22 Henry rifle (I hope that's right....my gun knowledge is at a negative level) where tickets are just $5 apiece (interested? I can put you in touch with the right people).  Local restaurants are donating a percentage of their profits on specific nights to go to Brooklyn and her family.  A charity auction is in the works.  It's been a truly amazing thing to watch.  I've been humbled and in awe of the outspreading of love and concern...I can't even begin to imagine how Brooklyn's family feels!  Anyhoo!  In addition to the bracelets, I've also got another item to sell:  ornaments!  Not just any old ornament....Minnie Mouse glitter ornaments!  

A big group of us got together the past couple of nights and cranked out a ton of these little beauties.  Then we split them up and are attempting to sell them all.  I have about 30 or so ornaments in my possession.  They're $6 apiece and 100% of the money made is going directly to the family.  Buy one and put it front and center of your Christmas tree.  Then, every time you see it hanging there, it'll remind you to say a prayer for complete healing for this sweet little girl.
SO!  Who wants an ornament?!?!  (or bracelet, or raffle ticket, or tshirt.... :) )

**To keep up with Brooklyn's progress and all fundraisers or events, like Brooklyn's Believers on Facebook! 

Holy Brooklyn's Bracelets Batman!

You guys are rocking my socks off with these Bracelets 4 Brooklyn orders.  Amazing, really.  As of the time of this post, I have 120 orders.  Break it down for me fellas:  120 bracelets.  $5 from each bracelet. = SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS for Erin, Daniel and Brooklyn.  But here's the deal.  We still have A LOT more to sell.  Sarah and I ordered 200 of each charms.  If we get an order explosion (I really hope so!) and we have more bracelets wanted than that, we can always order more charms.  So order your little heart away.  Did I hear you say you want a bracelet for every person in your family?  Excellent.  :)

Because we've had so many orders, I've had quite a few questions pop up.  I thought I'd do a brand spanking new post about the bracelets and offer more information about them. 

THE BRACELETS:

image via sweet-verbena.blogspot.com

Since our charms are located in China and shipping takes just near forever for them to come over to the United States, we don't have them yet.  And we don't have pictures of completed bracelets for you to see.  But I can promise you that they're going to be really, really close to this picture.  Bracelets are $8.  $5 of each purchase will be going to Brooklyn and another $1 will go to Kosair Children's Hospital (Brooklyn's hospital).

THE CHARMS:

We have two charm options for you to choose from.  Believe (because we're Brooklyn's Believers!!) and Minnie Mouse (because Brooklyn is a huge Minnie fan....girl after my own heart).  The Believe charms ONLY COME IN THE COLOR PICTURED--BRONZE.  Minnie can be BLACK, SILVER OR BRONZE (PICTURED). 

THE COLORS:


For the "string" on your bracelet, we have MULTIPLE options to chose from.  Refer to the list below:

Pink--breast cancer               Purple--pancreatic cancer
Gray--brain cancer                Aqua--ovarian/cervical cancer
Brown--lung cancer               Orange--Leukemia
Light blue--prostate               Black--melanoma
Yellow--childhood                 Royal blue--colon
Kelly green--kidney               White--bone
Lime green--Lymphoma         Lavender--all other cancers
We also have a black cord material and brown leather material for the bracelets.

Now, just because I have the colors listed next to the cancers they represent, doesn't mean you have to choose them based on that.  If you're a UK fan and you want a royal blue color, but don't know anyone with colon cancer, go for it.  If your favorite color is kelly green, pick that one.  We're not picky.

FAQs:

1.  Our charms have been ordered, like I mentioned, from China.  We have been promised a 10 day to 2 week delivery, but you guys know how shipping is--it's never guaranteed.  Because of that, we cannot promise a bracelet for you by Christmas.  If you're buying this bracelet as a Christmas gift, shoot me an email (dpgaddie@gmail.com) and I can make you up a pretty little gift certificate or something for your recipient to let them know that they have an awesome bracelet on the way very soon.  That being said, I'm going to try my hardest to get these to you AS SOON as I get them.  That's why I'm taking pre-orders.  Anyone that has ordered a bracelet is down on a list that I keep with me.  If you've ordered a lime green believe bracelet, I have your order and your string will already be cut to size and ready for me to attach the charm when it comes in.  Pre-ordering is going to guarantee that you get your bracelet sooner.  If you wait until they come in, I may have 150 pre-orders ahead of you that's going to take priority before I can get to yours.  Moral of the story:  Pre-order peoples!!

2.  Also because our charms haven't been shipped from China, we aren't taking payments until we receive the charms in our grubby little hands.  Can you guys imagine what a headache it would be if we took all 120 of your payments and then there was an issue with the charms/shipping and we had to return ALL 120 orders back??  Shew.  So, we're going to wait.  You do have two options for payment.  We have an Etsy account set up--- http://www.etsy.com/shop/Bracelets4Brooklyn .  If you want to pay online via PayPal, please let me know whenever you order.  When your bracelet is completed, I will notify you and I will make a reserved listing for you with your specific order details and total.  I made a sample on our Etsy page so you can see what it'll look like.  The listing will say "RESERVED LISTING FOR JANE DOE."  Only click on the listing that has your name, obviously.  If you're not comfortable with paying online, we will also be accepting CASH ONLY by mail.  No checks please.  When purchasing, let me know if you want to pay cash and I will send you my address for the cash to be sent. 

3.  We can do child sized bracelets as well.  Just specify when ordering if you want this option. 

SO!  To wrap everything up......to order: send me a Facebook message, call me, text me, put a comment on this blog post, email me (dpgaddie@gmail.com), whatever is convenient for you. 
When ordering, please include the following information: 

• Which charm you would like (believe or Minnie)
• If Minnie, tell me what color (black, silver or bronze)
• What kind or color cord you want
• How many you'd like to order (50?  Great!!)
• How you plan to pay (PayPal or cash)
• Your address if you would like your bracelet to be shipped to you

I know this post was very fact-filled, but on an emotional level.....thank you.  Thank you for ordering a bracelet.  It may not be the most well-made or prettiest thing in the world.  But a big chunk of your money is going to a BABY fighting cancer.  You're showing human compassion and love for Brooklyn and her parents.  And I think that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.