A Happy Mother's Day!!

A very happy day to all the moms out there! Our little family spent time at Mother Darling's working on their gifts. This year, the kids decorated flower pots for Mother's yard and took them to her. Then, each one took turns potting plants with their Nana.

Mother Darling was also treated to working on a framed project with my niece,  Big Sis. A poem I think, about her Grandma and pics of her and Lil Sis.

 

Lil Sis. in the meantime, helped the kids decorate a birdbath for Mother Darling's yard...

 

A dash of driveway b-ball and the day is complete!

Good deeds are a-brewin'

Today's team on what I fondly think of as "Team up Tuesday" is a Kiva lending team in good spirits...literally. Team Beer Goggles never Lie...Much loan because "We love a beer, and we love to loan. Coincidence? I think not!" Most of their loans go to the agricultural sector and the team has loaned a whopping  total of $171,525! They've got 115 members but you know what they say; the more the merrier! Right?

Beginning of the End

While it's true that today is the first day of the rest of my life, it's the first of a few other things. You see, the times they are a-changin'...well at least I am, I'm a changin'.

For one, it's the first day of  my Advocare "24 Day Challenge". My darling hubby, Daddy McD, went out and got me and the Advocare 24 day package, bundle, what ever you call it.

So, Today is day 1. I gotta tell ya, so far it doesn't seem like much of a challenge. I'm just doing what I already do (watch what I eat and excercise) and taking the supplements in the package. Chief very reluctantly helped with my measurements this morning. I also weighed myself today and found that I've lost ONE pound since I returned to excercising 5 WEEKS AGO. I just love being 40 (but I'm 26 on the inside).

The other first is that this is the first day of my last month at work. My job ends on May 31 as the company I work for is moving to another city. So, amid the packing and the cleaning and the moving of files, I'm trying to work out in my head what comes next. In a few days, I'll have time to get to that big ol' To-Do list. It's a new thing for me, I've never not been employed. Wonder if stay-at-home-moms know how fortunate they are to give their families a much as they do? Trust me, I do!

Handmade Help

Whether you shop Esty or sell on Etsy or just peruse Esty, you gotta love the heart that goes into the handmade goodies! Well they apparently have some overflow of heart. This week's Kiva team is Team Etsy.com Handmade. With 157 members, Team Etsy has given over $20,000!  Team Etsy gives because: "we want to help other micro-entrepreneurs & because so many of us understand the struggles one must face when trying to get a small business off the ground". It's great to help someone else get their dream started, don't you agree?

Knights who loan

And now for something completley different...
This week's Kiva team is obsessed with "swallows, 42, and three questions". You got it, Team Knights Who Say Ni. Now, they currently have 3 members but I KNOW there are way more Monty Python fans out there...especially ones who say "Ni". Join your brethren who give because: "We would like to help out mankind, and repay karma for saying Ni to old ladies." They given $100 so far and I'm sure you can give them a leg up.

We CAN all get along...to loan

When fighting something big like poverty, it takes a concerted effort. We gotta set aside differences to accomplish a big goal. This week's Kiva team does that. Team Atheist/Christian Alliance was "...brought together by a podcast that seeks to find common ground and understanding". I think we all can agree that empowering and impacting impoverished communities by supporting entrepreneurs matters. Team Atheist/Christian Alliance gives because: "We care, despite our differences". They have 28 members and have loaned over $5000. Join the team and join the conversation over at http://www.achristianandanatheist.com/

Team Over-exposed

Well, it had to be. I mean there's no escaping it and Pickles will get tickles. This week's Kiva Team is dedicated to everyone's favorite teen bloodsucker. Yes, it's Team Edward. With 11 members, Team Edward has loaned just over $2000. Team Edward gives because: "...we love protecting those we love (in our case everyone) as much as Edward does, we have foreseen great and good change in the world as we loan..." There you have it, lovers of progressive vampires unite.