Desperately Seeking Gina

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OLW Brief | Week One

I’m fairly happy with the first week of One Little Word.  I didn’t start any major projects but I did begin to alter some habits in order to help this process over the long haul. 
What I accomplished this week:
-Inbox emptied and important emails responded to/filed.  I also got into the habit of deleting individual emails as they popped up on my Blackberry so they were deleted from my Yahoo account {before I would read through all emails and delete all prior items which would just erase them from my phone and leave them in my inbox online.  I’d end up never logging in and have 2-300 emails I knew I didn’t need to look at}.
-General organization around the house.  Instead of letting the dishes dry in the rack I’ve started to towel dry and put away.  I love the clean counters at the end of the night.  Also, just before bed I’ve been spending a few minutes picking up and putting away random items.
-My dryer is EMPTY.  And the top is bare.  I’ve had this TERRIBLE habit lately of drying clothes, folding and leaving them  on top of the dryer all week or hanging the clothes in the utility room instead of hanging them in the closet.  And, always, always, there were clothes {usually towels} in the dryer. 
-Thom and I sat down and made a list of things we’d both like to see happen this year regarding the house and yard.  We have the list hanging on the fridge. Now, we just need to make it happen.
So, not a lot.  But these little things will definitely help accomplish the bigger tasks at hand.
For next week I’d like to tackle:
-Computer workspace | organize bookshelves. backup 2010-2012 files {with my new dvd writer!}
-Paper sorting and filing | my own box of things from 2012 needs filing and 4 or 5 of Thom’s from storage
-Begin Craft room sorting and purging.

2013 One Little Word

Back in 2007 I came across a post by scrapbooker Ali Edwards about choosing a single word to focus on throughout the new year.  The concept was {and remains} intriguing. A word  instead of a list of resolutions that almost always gets lost before they get crossed off?  One word seems do-able.  One little word that can  and will  change my life. I’ve been participating ever since.

My very first word in ’07 was love. I knew at the beginning of the year that something big was going to happen . I had met Thom just before the new year and later in 2007 that one little word, love, brought me 800 miles to Arkansas to be with him.

You can read more of my words here:  2007 & 2008, 2009, 2010

My OLW for 2013:

Organize.  I’m talkin’ about the craft room.  I’m talkin’ the sock and undies drawer {I did that today! Score.}.  I’m talking about writing stuff down and crossing off the honey-do lists. An organized environment can only lead to an organized mind, right? That’s exactly what I need in 2013.

In a recent facebook convo I found out that a few of my ARWB friends are participating this year.  I’m so pleased to be following along with them this year:  Jackie, Sarah, Angie, Stephanie, Julie, Laurie

Happy New Year, friends.  What’s your word?

Pin it & Spin it: New Year’s Eve Edition

First off-don’t judge my New Year’s Eve shenanigans, please.  I am that girl who stays home and crafts rather than going out to celebrate the coming year.  I like to think of it as commemorating auld lang syne.

I’ve had this pin stored in my craft inspiration board since last year and I’m feeling proud that I actually remembered it.  The pin comes from the blog of scrap booker Kelli Crowe.

The pin:  A time capsule.

For now it’s just a jar with two little slips of paper in it.  Both Thom and I wrote down a few resolutions each and put them in the capsule to be revealed next New Year’s Eve. Throughout the coming year we’ll both add bits of daily ephemera we want to remember.  {Along the side where the orange squiggle is: I’ve stamped our joint One Little Word which I’ll reveal tomorrow!}

How fun will it be to randomly toss in little notes to each other that won’t be read until December 31, 2013? Meet me back here next year and I’ll share our capsule tidbits with you.

Do you have any yearly traditions or have you ever put together a time capsule?  I’d love to hear about it!

2012 Year in Review: Facebook Funnies

Confession:  Sometimes I think I’m the cleverist {is that a word? note: I didn’t say smartest}, wittiest,  funniest, smartest {note: okay, nevermind first note}, best Facebook status updater.

Here are some of my most fave Facebook statuses for 2012.  Most are from my personal FB page…I’ll try to be funnier on the blog FB page in Twenty13.















Cyber Monday does NOT mean you can send me racy instant messages!


PSA for the day: If you have a hole in the toe area of your sock DO NOT let your toe stay poked through for a long period of time-may cause indentations and cut off circulation. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Is it weird I wanted to get home early because I heard there were secret boards on Pinterest now? {I didn’t leave early, btw.} 


Sometimes, when I’m driving by a field of cows or horses and they happen to be looking my way, I wave.

Dear Mini Snickers Bar, I will never stop loving you. 


The younger of my two brothers turns 35 today. I have no idea how my younger brothers got to be older than me. Must be a Knuppenburg family trick.

Heated debate happening in this household tonight…Please weigh in with your thoughts:

When throwing away a pair of old, torn undies do you wash them first or not? I say yes, wash em. Thomas says no. Thoughts?

I grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to tame these eyebrows. Is a live-in eyebrow waxer tax deductible?

This day was made for napping and chocolate chip cookies. Tomorrow better be made for the gym.

I keep meaning to edit some pictures from the weekend but I can’t stop stalking myself. My 15 minutes of fame is almost up!

I’m rooming with two twenty-somethings. What was I thinking?

So now that I’ve gotten a hold of my parents and the video has surfaced: Thom proposed tonight at the AWBU conference in front of all my blogging friends! We’re getting married!


I must be getting old…just had to ask a kid at work what a word meant :/

30 shooting stars in an hour & a half = 30 wishes coming true??

Thom just gold medaled in guacamole-making. For reals.

No, no sir, I do not want to do a blog review of your silicone female toy on my blog. Thanks so much for asking.

Saw a picture of a banana split earlier and now I can’t stop thinking about ice cream. I wish that worked with pictures of carrots. :/

Tip of the day: Don’t read The Hunger Games right before bed. You’ll spend all night fighting for your life. Before I woke up there were three of us left…guess I’ll never know if the odds were ever in my favor!

My personal resolve to not eat anymore crack cookies lasted two weeks. I may need intervention. Please send help. Or more milk.

Why do I fall for the “close your eyes and hold out your hand” trick e v e r y single time?

You know it’s been too long between those time-consuming grooming neccessities like leg shaving & nail trimming when your significant other asks “why the sudden grooming?” Yikes!!”

I have some serious news. Shamrock Shakes are available in the 

South, y’all! Pictures to come later.

Thanks, Taco Bell guy, for the college kid discount! Apparently he thought thos grays were highlights.

So I spent the day skills testing a bunch of boys from receiving and then realized that my shirt was unbuttoned halfway down and I was showing an inordinate amount of boobage. True story. I’m not sure if their good scores indicated their undivided attention to my training or lack of interest in said boobage. hmmm

In response as to why I’ll be a few minutes late returning from lunch- I’m suctioned to the chair in the assosiate lounge. Send help.

Seriously, my office is a meat locker…I’m a frozen slab of meat! (Not the tenderloin, though)

Who invented Mondays

Ladies...we need to come together and make a stand against a serious
 issue: eyebrow plucking. If we all abandon the practice I won’t feel

 so obligated to do it and it wouldn’t matter that my brows have

 become some serious jungle brush. Thanks for your continued
 support in this matter.

Currently, my lips are on fire. I’d like to say it was from an incredible midnight New Year’s kiss…but in reality, I put some of our canned jalepenos in our omelets. Yikes. Might have to call the QFD.

2012 Year in Review: The Month by Month

2012

January:  I ventured out of my comfort zone and mingled with some Little Rock bloggers I’d never met before.  Oh, and I wore a conductor’s hat I’d never worn before.  Said hat was lost that very same day whilst shopping-fate trying to tell me something?

February: Every spare moment was spent conjuring up fun Circus themed props for a friend’s son’s 3rd birthday.

March:  Shamrock Shakes in the South y’all!!  Every year I’ve been here in Arkansas I have called every McDonalds in the area to see if they were carrying them yet.  I was a lucky leprechaun this year.

April:  I took advantage of my TJ anniversary gift and hopped on the Hunger Games trilogy bandwagon.  So glad I did.  Loved them!

May:  It was all basil, all the time, friends!  Seriously, I felt like a farmer.

June:  Some thrifty yard sale finds had me feeling giddy and guilty {for practically stealing}.

July: A trip to the hospital led to my first IV, first CAT scan, and generally feeling lucky.  Also-it was the month I said good bye to popcorn.

August:  My first blogger conference with Arkansas Women Bloggers.  AND THOM ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM.  {note:  BEST DAY OF THE YEAR!}

September: It was all wedding talk, all the time!

October:  Vintage flea market find of the year!  I’m in love with a typewriter, y’all.

November:  Coffee re-entered my life in a major way.  I couldn’t get enough coffee-especially with these tasty add-ins.

December:  Thom got a new hip as part of Operation Walk Arkansas!