Mel's Box of Chocolates

This looked fun when I saw it over at Run, Eat, Date, Sleep and decided to play. So here it is... The ABC Game A. Age: 33. If I remember correctly. B. Bed size: Queen. We had a King, but switched it out for a bed my parents were getting rid of because it was a newer mattress.  Our king is greatly missed and I'm sure will be coming home sooner than later. C. Chore you hate:   Putting away laundry, and folding it, and washing it.  I just don't like laundry.  D. Dogs: We said goodbye to our beloved dog Mako a few years ago and now Max is part of our family . E. Essential start to your day: My Keurig brewing me a hot mug of coffee and if I'm going to work a hot shower! F. Favorite color: If I had to pick just one I would probably say orange, but to be honest I like anything bright...greens, blues, pinks.  I just like color! G. Gold or silver: Silver H. Height: 5’3” is what I would usually say, but at my last doctors appointment I dis...

Blog Summer Camp - Day 2 What were you like in high school? What extracurricular activities, if any, did you take part in during high school? Did you consider yourself a writer? My high school experiences are probably way different than most high school experiences considering I was the only student enrolled during the four three years I attended.   This would be because I was homeschooled from second grade through graduation.  Kind of puts a damper on the socialization for sure, but my education was most definitely the focus of my high school days.  I would hang out with friends at church, Tuesday night teen night at a local Christian Camp, and on some sport teams at the local rec center, but school was for learning. Being homeschooled taught me responsibility.  I was very organized and pretty much self-taught myself as I planned out my lessons and chapters and activities that I needed to complete.  During my junior year I attended the loc...

On the side of the console of our boat there is this little door. If you bend over and take a peek inside you will undoubtedly find all the life jackets, our boat bag, and some fishing tackle. or you may also discover this Guess this little nook is also the perfect place to curl up for a nap while enjoying a day on the boat. For more Wordless Wednesday pictures be sure to visit 5minutesformom For more WordFUL Wednesday pictures and stories be sure to visit parenting BY dummies 

OMgosh, just realized that this never posted last Monday!!  Here I was so busy planning the darn event and then enjoying it this weekend that I never even looked at my blog.  Well the post was written so it's gonna be published by golly.  By the way, I think the event turned out great and I'll have lots to share...right after I sleep for the next week!!   Last week, or maybe even the week before, I forget, I was talking about how I'm spinning in circles with lots of things on the horizon. Well one of those things is happening this week!! I have FINALLY had my hope of creating a Delaware blogging event happen.  Through the power of Twitter I was able to connect with @VisitSouthDel who saw my tweet begging for local businesses to allow me to use my social media connections to promote them. As you may, or maybe not, know last spring I started a hyper-local blog, Delaware Beach Families .  I have enjoyed blogging there and sharing tips and tricks to "...

After running for a year {NEVER thought I'd ever be saying that} I've learned many things that I like about it and a few that I don't.  After running my longest distance this past weekend I thought this would be a perfect time to share.  About running. I've learned, that I really like... the sound of my feet hitting the pavement the sound of my shoes running on soft gravel that a mile doesn't seem nearly as far now feeling my pony tail swinging behind me watching my shadow run beside me feeling stronger with every run watching my pace time get better and better being part of a running community running 5K's but I've also learned, that I could live without all the sweating {I hate sweat} the last mile taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. running in humidity running next to or behind runners who look so graceful, while I'm more of a plodder myself not having something carry water and my cell with me {I must remedy this soon...any suggestions?} oh a...

When I visited Gifts From the Heart the other day I was touched by Alli's post on how Everybody's Different .  The great thing about the blogosphere is, just as Alli says, that we are all different.  When you take time to read a variety of blogs you become exposed to different lifestyles, beliefs, religions, politics, parenting styles...the list can go on and on.  While I read many blogs whose author's lives and beliefs are very similiar to mine, I really enjoy reading those whose are so different. They are the ones that often challenge my thinking and allow me to see something in new a light.  I like that! After reading Alli's post {you really must read it for yourself} and reading those of the links she shared {yes, you must follow her links too} I was inspired to share with you some of the things you may see if you were to come visit me. In our house... you will find two working parents, one child in a public school and another at full time daycare. Our day...

The other day I saw this post from Michele at Scraps of my Geek Life about her finding her favorite color {which happens to be orange - what I would say is MY favorite color}.  How did she find it you asked?  Well go read her story to hear the whole thing, but the gist of it is that she used this awesome site Colorstology. Now I always am intrigued by things like this so of course I had to go find my own favorite color.   When I first went to the site I was mesmerized by the intro {yeah, it doesn't take much}.  It had the coolest music with  After coming out of the intro trance I entered my birth month first.  I discovered that my birth month color is Aspen Gold, which is supposed to be radiant, uplifting, and intellectually energizing.  Oh and it was pretty too!  Then I went on to find my personal birthday color profile. I went into the Aspen Gold world then chose my day of birth.  With a click of a button I discovered that m...

I did it. I attended my first ever blogging conference. Saturday, I attended Bloggy Boot Camp hosted by SITS in Baltimore, MD.   From what I gathered from the conference veterans, bloggy boot camp is different from other conferences because of its intimate size.  There was probably 100 people or less.  My absolute favorite part of the conference was that you never had to worry about where to sit and you were forced (in a good way) to meet as many people as possible.  When you picked up your name tag it had a string of numbers underneath your name that told you where to sit during each session and even lunch.  Awesome. I'm still working on gathering my thoughts, notes, pictures, and trying to put together a recap post, but I did learn a few tips that I thought would be perfect to share for "What I LearnedThis Week."   What I Learned From Bloggy BootCamp Top Ten Tips Make sure you have an "About Me" page easily accessible on your blog ....

On Saturday the kids and I headed up to Philly along with Shannon and her two boys for a Picnic with a Purpose, hosted by Hebrew National and The Motherhood . Photo Credit: Sarah It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Perfect for the picnic. It took us a couple hours to get to the park where it was being held, but there wasn't any traffic and the kids were pretty darn good for such a long car ride so it was tolerable all around. Of course when we got there we made our entrance as Dylan opened the back of the Tahoe and everything in the trunk landed on the parking lot. Elizabeth , of course was right next to the truck when it all went down and got a kick out of it! Here we pull up and within minutes have strollers, kids toys, our donations, and who knows what else spread on the asphalt...hello Philly friends! We got there early so I was able to help Jo-Lynne , Shannon , Sarah , and Melissa set up. Jo-Lynne was our hostess for the night and has been a busy bee getting ever...

**Update - My walk is this Saturday and I would really like to be able to meet my goal. Please consider sponsoring me as I walk in hope that "one day... all babies will be born healthy." Any little bit will help and be much appreciated!! As a mom, one of my biggest fears is something happening to my children. I am very blessed that both Dylan and Zoe were born full-term and healthy as can be. They have remained this way throughout their childhood so far and other than routine well-check appointments we seldom have to visit our pediatrician. However, I know for some other families this is not the case. My dear old (in years we've known each other, not age, of course!!) friend had twins prematurely in 2005, but sadly only took Abraham home. Her angel Moses, instead went to live with his Father in Heaven. Last year, Beth was pregnant one minute and the next discovered that she lost her twins, James and Jake . I imagine that they are now making many people laugh as...

Julie over at A Day in Our Life tagged me for a short meme and today seemed like the perfect day to play along. The rules are: 1. Mention the person that tagged you. 2. Complete the lists of 8's. 3. Tag 8 other bloggers. 4. Tell them that they have been tagged. 8 Things I Look Forward To Summer vacation (only 19 more school days) The month of December - I like decorating/shopping/baking all month and then ending with Christmas and of course winter vacation Family vacation over spring break The weekends My birthday Seeing my kids and husband at the end of the day Girls night out Beach days 8 Things I Did Yesterday Had Muffins for Mom at Zoe's daycare Taught 19 3rd graders Attended a meeting for a special education student Cooked fish tacos for dinner - my first time making and eating them! Got mad when my new HDtv receiver stopped working which means all my recorded shows are now GONE Was somewhat happy again when the nice lady at DirectTv said they would send me a new one pron...

I've been hopping around the blogosphere, leaving little posts here and there. Here are a few of my latests. Over on the Leapfrog Community you can see how the Tag was a lifesaver on Dr. Seuss day . Watch out cause I get serious and a bit political over at Philly Moms where I talk about the importance of actually ((gasp)) failing ! Then I talk about Eyeslices over at Chic-Critique . You have to check out this spa treat for your home. I'm even hosting a giveaway !! Subscribe in a reader Follow me on Twitter

I've been blogging for about two years now, although really didn't begin consistently blogging until this past summer. I enjoy writing, sharing pictures and stories about my family, talking about my Weight Loss, reviewing products, hosting giveaways...I pretty much like everything there is about blogging. Most importantly I enjoy the community of bloggers. I have "met" so many great people throughout the blogosphere and like to visit them to see what's happening in their lives. I have even had the pleasure of meeting some bloggers in real life, which was such a fun experience. As I blog more and more, I can't help but want to learn about how to become a better blogger. There are so many successful bloggers out there and by successful, I mean wonderful writers who have loyal readers and commenters. Who doesn't want to have a fan club and comments galore on their posts? As I read peoples blogging tips, one thing that always jumps out at me is that most of th...

In case you didn't know today is the last day of 2008. *actually now that this post is finally ready to be published there are less than 4 hours until the new year. Anyways. Another year. Gone. I remember thinking how crazy my parents were when they always talked about how fast time went by when to me, as a child, it seemed to drag on forever. Now that I am (ahem) older I find myself complaining of the same thing. You blink and the day, week, year, is over. For our family 2008 was a pretty good year. I decided to follow the blog back in time to remember the memories we created this past year. Here are a few of my blog highlights... January: I Started the year with some new goals of course losing weight was at the top of the list. I worked my butt off tackling my National Boards , but with a new style February: I went on my first teacher conference to sunny Florida without the kids, came back to enjoy a family night out at Disney on Ice , and learned that "E" does not sta...

I decided to participate in BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes this year and instead of just posting some pictures thought it would make a great vlog post. So grab a Peppermint Mocha Latte and help yourself to some chocolate while I take you on a tour of my home and share with you some of my Christmas decorations. Thanks for visiting!! Don't forget to visit BooMama to find more houses you can peek in and see some their Christmas decorations. Subscribe in a reader Follow me on Twitter

Julie was great enough to organize an ornament swap with some bloggers and look what I got in the mail last Friday... Theresa sent me this beautiful box filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies. There were two of cutest little angels in the box and they look quite adorable on my desk at school. She also included two snowman ornaments, one for Dyl and one for Zoe. The kids were delighted and Zoe just couldn't get over thinking somebody from my blog sent her something. Oh and do you see all those kisses overflowing from the box? I'd like to tell you that they are all still resting there, but that, of course, would be a lie. You all know me and chocolate!! I may be able to find a handful if I look hard enough. Thanks bunches Theresa for treating me and my family to a box of Christmas surprises!! Oh and thanks to Julie for organizing the swap! Subscribe in a reader Follow me on Twitter