You Capture / White

I was leaving school today and remembered that You Capture is on Monday and the subject was white.  Lucky for me, I always carry a point and shoot in my purse and there were some pretty white flowers to help me with the assignment.  Enjoy!

I'm sure there is lots of white over at Beth's.

Just Write

There has been one thought going round and round in my head for several weeks now.  I keep thinking about what I thought blogging would be.  I guess I should say what I hoped it would be.

Three years ago,  I kind of backed into blogging with a little prodding from a friend.  She said if I didn't like it, I could just delete it.  Deleting it has never crossed my mind since I started until maybe now.

I was amazed by the friends I have made by blogging.  People from all corners of the country and even out of the country.  It has been an awesome journey that I truly love.  I can't imagine my life without it.

But...when I started blogging, I thought that it was going to be my place to speak freely about me and my life and my thoughts.  It was for awhile.  Then, it started to change. 

I didn't go out and tell lots of people that I was blogging.  It was my thing, not theirs.  But, people found out.  They began to scrutinize what I was writing and it became not so much mine anymore.

I have come to the point in my writing where I feel like I have to censor my thoughts and hold back what I am thinking.  It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Now, I find myself wondering what I should do.  More and more, I'm not writing here.  I spend more time on Facebook and my picture blog. 

The thought of not writing on this blog breaks my heart, but the thought of writing trivial junk isn't the answer either.  I need to find an answer.

This was my first entry in Just Write.  I hope this is what it was supposed to be.  I did "just write". 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

And We Have A Winner!

With the help of random.org, we have a winner in the My Memories digital scrapbooking giveaway.  It is #11 Thea!!  Congratulations!  Please email me and we'll get your prize out to you.  Thank you all for entering.

My Memories Scrapbooking Software / Review & Giveaway

Over the last year, I've been trying to be a little more crafty. I learned how to crochet. I've gotten back to sewing a little. I even bought a Cricut. With the Cricut came the idea to get into scrap booking. I have made a couple as gifts for other people and found I really enjoyed it.

Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Liz at My Memories, the digital scrap booking company asking if I would like to do a review and giveaway of their scrap booking software. The answer to that question was a no brainer. "Yes, please" was my answer, of course.

I didn't have any experience with scrap booking software, so I didn't really know what to expect. What I didn't expect was to be blown away by all the things you can do with this software. I am amazed by all the choices you have. There are templates you can use, but you can create your own with ease.

Below are pictures of two pages that I made when I was playing with the program. It was fun to look through all the things the program has to offer. There are all kinds of background papers, word art designers, embellishments and shapes to name a few.

This is just a small sampling of what you can do with My Memories software.  I can't wait to really get into it and start a real scrapbook.  So far, I have just been playing around.  The real fun will start when I get serious with the program.  Believe it or not, you can even make photo books, cards, videos, you name it!

Now comes the fun for all of you.  Liz has offered to give one of you a chance to win your very own My Memories digital scrap booking software kit. 

Mandatory entry will be to go to My Memories and check out the site.  Then come back and leave me a comment telling me your favorite paper pack or layout.

Extra entries will be as follows........
1.  Follow the My Memories blog.
2.  Follow My Memories on Facebook.
3.  Follow My Memories on Twitter.
4.  Follow my blog Bacardi Mama. (see the sidebar)
5.  Follow my Facebook page.
6.  Follow me on Twitter.
7.  Tweet about this giveaway,
Please leave a seperate comment for each entry.

Now, you have eight ways to enter.  But....if you can't wait to see if you win, Liz has a great offer for you.  As a special for all of my readers, Liz gave you your very own Share the Memories code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the My Memories.com store - $20 value!  Your promo code is STMMMS47642.   Just go to My Memories and use the code.

I will pick a random winner on February 13th.  Good luck everyone!      

30 Day Blog Challenge / Day 27

Today’s assignment at the 30 Day Blog Challenge is to put your iPod on shuffle and then list the first 10 songs.  This should be fun because I have a very wide range of songs on my iPod.

 1.  Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen
 2.  Forget You by Cee Lo Green
 3.  Secret of Life by James Taylor
 4.  The Man Song by Rodney Carrington
 5.  Sherry Darlin by Bruce Springsteen
 6.  Roll to Me by Del Amitri
 7.  Firework by Katy Perry
 8.  Angry All the Time by Tim McGraw
 9.  Growing Older But Not Up by Jimmy Buffett
10. Horizontal Bop by Bob Seger

Wish I could keep going.  There is some good stuff on there.  We never even got to Frank Sinatra or lady Gaga.  The challenge is almost over, but there is still time to join in.

30 Day Blog Challenge / Day 23 / 20 Facts

Today's 30 Day Blog Challenge assignment is to list 20 facts about myself that you may not know. 

 1.  I am afraid of deep water.
 2.  Because of fact 1, I cannot swim.
 3.  I think the best vacation for anyone is to go to Disney World.  If I could afford it, I would go every year.  As it stands now, I have only been there three times.
 4.  I am 57 years old and have only lived in two houses in my whole life.
 5.  I have lived in the same town my whole life.
 6.  I love photography.
 7.  I am a contributing writer for the website The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.
 8.  I work best under pressure.
 9.  I fell in love and married my high school sweetheart.  He is the only man I have ever loved.  We have been together for 41 years.
10. If I could have a pet again, it would be another golden retriever.  I loved our dog Jack so much. 
11. If you are my family or friend, I will fight to the death for you.  You can mess with me, but don't mess with my people.
12. I entered my first photography contest.  I didn't win any ribbons, but I tried and I'm proud of that.
13. I work at a preschool and I love it.  I have no plans to retire.
14. After numerous attempts to like it, I have decided that I hate running.  I will not be trying it again.
15. I love to read.  My goal for 2012 is no less than a book a week.
16. Although I love to blog and be on Facebook and Twitter, I am not technologically inclined.  I don't have an ipad or Nook or Kindle or any of the other things that are so popular right now.  I just got my first laptop (used) at Christmas this year from my nephew.
17. I have three beautiful grand kids.  If you visit here at all, you have seen them.
18. I have met James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Dom Deluise, Ali Vincent and Allison Sweeney.  I even got to interview Ali Vincent for the Sisterhood.
19. I enjoy walking and hiking.
20. I have four beautiful daughters that I was once accused of making on a Xerox machine.  They look that much alike.

Those are my 20 facts.  Sorry they couldn't be more interesting. 

30 Day Blog Challenge / Day 16

Todays 30 Day Blog Challenge post is to post a picture of yourself and your family.

Here we are!

I am blessed to have a large family that will still be growing as the years go on. Dick and I have been married for 38 1/2 years. We have four lovely daughters. Cindy just turned 37 and is married to Ryan. She is a school teacher. Kate and Sarah are 28 and are twins. Kate is a bank teller and is married to Mark. Sarah is a stay at home mom of three after working as a cosmetologist. She is married to Nick. Abby is 24 and also a school teacher. She and Myles have been together for six years. Marriage isn't too far down the road.

I have three of the most adorable grand kids that you will ever meet. Natalie is five and in preschool. Lizzy is three and mommy's little helper. Our only grandson Jack will be 2 in April. Having a boy in the family after all these girls is a whole new experience.

So that is my family and I. We are a pretty special group of 13 and not an unlucky one in the bunch.

30 Day Blog Challenge / Day 14

Today's assignment at the 30 Day Blog Challenge was to name your favorite television addiction and why. I watch very little TV, so it was pretty easy to pick. The one show that I make a point of seeing each week is.........

GREY'S ANATOMY

I started watching Grey's Anatomy very early on. I just sicked me in and kept me there. I admit that some of the story lines are kind of stupid, but some of the moments are awesome.

I think my very favorite is the two hour episode with the shooter who was after the chief, but shooting others as he looked for him. I knew it was a television show, but I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. I was also impressed with this past week's episode with the accident with the ambulance. I admit that it hadn't been on for so many weeks that I forgot how it ended, but it only took seconds to remember.

I used to watch it with friends every Thursday night, but we haven't been doing that this year. I'm not quite sure why. I'll have to check into that. Grey's Anatomy is great show. It has suspense, humor, love and heart stopping moments. You will laugh just as easily as you cry at this show. I love it. Pure and simple.

30 Day Blog Challenge / Day 13

Today's blog prompt from the 30 Day Blog Challenge is to name your favorite musician and why he is. Piece of cake, folks.

I love Bob Seger. I have loved him since I was a teenager. Everyone who knows me knows that I love Bob Seger. I love his voice. I love his music. I have seen him more times in concert than I can count. Isn't he beautiful!?!?
The last time I saw him in concert was May of 2011. Two daughters, a son-in-law, a brother-in-law, a hubby and I made the trip into Chicago to see him and hear him and the Silver Bullet Band. As always, it was an amazing concert. His voice is still clear and strong and sexy. That in itself is amazing because he is 67 years old now.

There is a running joke in my family that Bob is the father of my children. My husband takes this well and even joins in the fun. When we were planning the wedding of of our first daughter to get married and the bills started to come in, my husband told her that it was time to call her real dad.
Bob never changes. He still has the same two signature moves on stage. He can belt out a tune like nobody else. To quote one of his song titles, he's "Still the Same".

Well....kind of!