Thoughtful Thursdays: Christian the Lion

My great friend, Lori, (who has donated a giveaway prize in the weeks to come!) emailed me this video yesterday. It is such a loving story! It's from an acutal documentary in the 70's of two men who raised this lion, returned him to the wild in Africa, and one day are reunited. I hope it warms your heart as much as it did mine, and reminds you of God's great love for us, and that He will never leave us or foresake us!

Hilarities: Smiles

Its a rainy, gloomy Wednesday here at The Pink Potpourri headquarters...the heat is picking up as August rolls around, school is about to start back up, and the rain is causing major frizz damage to many hair coifs today. What can turn a frown upside down? SMILES!! Smiles are very contageous, so I've brought in just the right reinforcements:

See? How can you not be smiling now? They all smiled at you. So next time you pass someone in the aisle, glance at someone sitting next to you at the stoplight, or open the door for someone, make sure to smile at them! It may brighten their day!

Trendy Tuesday - Keds

When I was growing up, the basic white Keds were totally cool. Everyone knew if you had the "real deal" or not, cause the real ones had that little blue "keds" sign on them that the knock offs didn't. Over the years, Ked's has tried to keep up with the flow of fashion, which is fine, but I was stunned the other day to see these Do-Si-Do Linen Wedges:

I LOVE wedges, but the thought of mixing that look with Keds just doesn't appeal to me. It would be like Reebok hightops adding a wedge...

Anyways, although I'm not a huge fan of the big wedge, Ked's does make these super cute mini wedges that I think I might have to try out:

Monday Mayhem - Back Porch

Based on the design, layout and content of The Pink Potpourri, most would peg me as a girlie, feminine, sophisticated woman interested and skilled in homemaking, shopping and creative ideas. Not construction projects...

Shocking as it may seem, I got down and dirty this weekend helping the husband crumble our back porch concrete slab. Over the next few weeks, we'll be building a deck! So husband thought that last night would be a good time to get this process rolling. Watch out world, the husband handed me a sledge hammer!!!

Look at that form! It's totally wrong. And I'm pretty sure I'm breaking some sort of city code or law, manuvering a sledge hammer in flip flops, no shin guards and no helmet...

Ladies and Gents, I present the WRONG way to break concrete:

Good thing this part didn't make it onto the video...I'm pretty sure my #1 reader, Mom, would have fallen out of her chair...I HIT MYSELF in the ankle with the sledge hammer! See, that's why there's city codes. Don't worry...it wasn't a hard hit...but here's the dust mark:

Here's the correct, manly, professional Husband Concrete Breaking. Such the manly man :)

After we wore our little selves out, we collapsed on the chairs, trying to gain enough strength to make it to the showers. While we were recooperating, Fez felt it necessary to investigate and inspect our work. He seemed to approve our accomplishment.

Oh Fez. He is a hoot. He steered clear of the "construction site" finding a great place to work on his stick he found in the front yard. He's the best dog ever.

FGF - Picture Frame

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Random.org picked Comment #44

Congratulations to William and Megan!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:44
Timestamp: 2008-07-28 12:37:33 UTC

Soooo....we have TONS of really great gifts being donated for the upcoming Free Giveaway Fridays, so be sure to check them out over the next few weeks!

If you have something you make, sell, or want to share as a giveaway with free promotion to your business, we'd love to feature you on a Free Giveaway Friday!

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It's FREE GIVEAWAY FRIDAY!

my favorite day of the week :)

In case you can't tell from my blog, I love pictures. I have at least one on every post. Our home is full of pictures of people who are important to us. They make our home look beautiful!

This week's giveaway is a Beautiful, Cute Picture Frame!

Thank you, Callie for this wonderful prize that one lucky person will inherit this week! Black goes with everything, and according to the top interior decorators, you should always have at least one black piece in every room, no matter what the room colors are.

Wanna win?

Of course you do :)

Rules:
1) Leave me a comment answering the question below. One comment per person, please!

2) Please mention my giveaway and blog link on your blog!!! If you do so, you may leave ONE more comment on my page for an extra chance to win!!

3) Winner will be posted Monday morning at 9 am. You have until 8 am Monday morning to enter to win! I will use random.org to pick a comment number winner.

4) Tell alllllll your lovely friends to enter for a chance to win! Who doesn't want to win an awesome gift like this?

Question:

What is your favorite household cleaning tip?

Thoughtful Thursdays: Praying for your Husband

I love my hubby. He's the most incredible man in the whole world. Everyday, I strive to do things special for him, and be the best wife for him that I can be.

One of the best things I can do for him is to pray for him daily. I recently found this helpful list of how I can pray for him. I hope this can benefit you as much as it has me!

How to Pray for my Husband
Head to Toe!

His Head –That he will look to You as Lord of his life. (1 Corinthians 11:13)

His Mind - That he will have the mind of Christ and think as the Holy Spirit would lead him and not the flesh. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

His Eyes –That You will keep his eyes from temptation and that he will turn his eyes from sin. (Matthew 6:13, Mark 9:47)

His Ears - That he will hear Your still small voice instructing him. (1 Kings 19:12, Psalm 32:8)

His Mouth – That his words will be pleasing to You. (Proverbs 19:14)

His Neck –That he will humble himself before You and be strong, courageous, and careful to do everything written in Your Word so that he will be prosperous and successful. (James 4:10, Joshua 1:8-9)

His Heart-That he will love and trust You with his whole heart. (Deuteronomy 6;5, Proverbs 3:5)

His Arms-That You will be his strength. (Psalm 73:26)

His Hands-That he will enjoy the work of his hands and see it as a gift from You. (Ecclesiastes 3:13, 5:19)

His feet – That You will order his steps and that he will walk in Your truth. (Proverbs 4:25, Psalm 26:3)

Hilarities: Pivot!

I took dance for about 13 years. Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Point and the dance team in high school. Pivot was a common word. We used it in many routines for recitals, competitions and performances. But the meaning for me has sense changed...

One of my favorite scenes from FRIENDS is the couch pivot. It doesn't matter how many times I watch it, Ross cracks me up with his Pivot! directions. So, for today's funny, here's an ode to the Pivot clip...

Tee Hee :) Happy Wednesday! If "Pivot!" can't get you to Friday, what can? :)

Trendy Tuesday - Wooden Cell Phone

Unless you live under a rock, or have been at summer camp and in your own bubble from any communication with society, you're probably familiar with the newest cell phone trend, the iPhone. Well, today's trendy tuesday item is the extreme opposite...

It's a Wooden Cell Phone.

This phone was carved from apple tree wood. Everything from the framing, antenna, and sim card holder were all intricately carved.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think there will be lines 5 miles long around the Apple stores for this one. But, I must admit, it doesn't look too bad. I can almost smell the wood. I could see it as being a new trendy item for those who prefer this look, but I'm pretty sure its going the other direction from thin, light and sleek :)

What do you think about this? Would you use one?

ps...in other non-trendy tuesday news, we made another change to our home! can you tell a difference in these two pictures?

If you said "Brand new front door!" you're right! If you said, "Brand new Landscaping!" that's right too, but that wasn't this year, and that wasn't what I was featuring today :) But don't worry, you're still smart.

Ta Da! We splurged and bought this unique, one of a kind, original door from Home Depot...where you can get things for your home that no one else has... :)

Monday Mayhem - Cincy Trip

Well, its has been a Monday Mayhem here...hence the late post.

Zack and I had a wonderful celebratory 3 year anniversary weekend! Friday we headed up to Cincinnati to watch the Reds vs. Mets game. We arrived about an hour late, but were able to get two tickets for $10 (total!) and some fairly great seats! We watched the Reds win, and then a BEAUTIFUL fireworks show! We were standing so close to the shoot off, that we were covered with scraps and ashes afterwards (and a neck cramp from looking straight up so long!)

Saturday we slept in, in our king size, junior suite hotel room (which we scored a MEGA great deal from priceline.com...i highly recommend that to anyone traveling). We found the closest starbucks on zack's iphone, and hurried over for some breakfast. we had a relaxing breakfast on the street corner, people watching and eating.

Next, we toured Cincy, and crossed the river back to KY over to this little town. We traveled down their Main Street, window shopping, and stopping at a local diner for a snack and a game of cards. Then, Zack got hit by a car....

Oh yes, that's right. You read it correctly. He got hit by a car!

So we have the right of way to cross the street, and this guy in this jeep has a red light, but he wants to make a right hand turn. He's looking left to see if any cars are coming, and accelerates forward without looking forward, where Zack and I were walking. He hits zack, who is banging his hands on the hood of the car to stop, and looks at us. We frantically run past him and he drives away! Dont' worry, Zack wasn't hurt...just startled!

Saturday evening, we headed back Louisville, collected Fez, took him to Dog Hill to play, and then down to Bardstown Road to a restaurant we'd wanted to try forever. We used our anniversary gift from the G's to get a scrumptious, delicious pizza dinner! We enjoyed a sunset dinner on the town, people watching, and Reds/Mets watching, as Fez was on Crumb Control :)

It was a fantastic weekend! We even checked out Homearama here in L-ville on Sunday. These houses were incredible. No wonder they start in the $800,000 price range...

Anyways, for all of my avid readers out there...if you noticed something different on this post...NO PICTURES, its because the blonde girl here forgot her camera this weekend :( i know, LOSER that I am...I thought of you all this weekend in Cincy, as I realized today's post wouldn't be as good as usual. I'll see what I can scrap up from Zack's phone, and maybe post something later!

FGF - Handmade Stationary

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Comment #24

Gramma 2 Many!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:24
Timestamp: 2008-07-21 12:58:15 UTC

Thanks to all who entered. Come back again Friday to enter for the next prize!

And if you have, make, bake, or sell anything you'd like to donate, or get free publicity for donating for a giveaway, let me know!

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ITS FREE GIVEAWAY FRIDAY!!!
time to give something away...for free :)

But, before I reveal the giveaway, check out this beautiful gift from my husband for our anniversary! You didn't think he wasn't going to do something special for me, did you? (ps, if you haven't stopped by here this week, scroll down and watch our Wedding Video!)

Now, onto the GIVEAWAY! This week's prize is a set of 10 T-E-N handmade, unique, cards! That's right, my own personal stationary set, with handmade envelopes! Here they are:

Wanna win??? Of course you do :)

Rules:
1) Leave me a comment answering the question below. One comment per person, please!

2) Please mention my giveaway and blog link on your blog!!! If you do so, you may leave ONE more comment on my page for an extra chance to win!!

3) Winner will be posted Monday morning at 9 am. You have until 8 am Monday morning to enter to win! I will use random.org to pick a comment number winner.

4) Tell alllllll your lovely friends to enter for a chance to win! Who doesn't want to win an awesome gift like this?

Question:
What is your all time favorite car game when you're traveling?

Thoughtful Thursdays: Perfect Timing

Timing is a big deal in our lives. Even if we don't realize it, everything we do each day is based on time. What time an appointment is, what time you need to leave to get there, how much time something is going to take to accomplish, what time something is due...It can sometimes be stressful!

As I thought about which "Perfect Timing" personal story I should use for this post, it took me a few minutes to pick just one. But this is one of my favorites...

Two summers ago when Zack and I felt called to move to L-ville and start seminary, we had one weekend to come down here and find a place to live. I had spent weeks online, looking at different apartment locations, prices, availabilities, etc. We had 1 1/2 days to find a place. We spent half of Friday driving around looking at these places, finding nothing that was available, safe, or close to the school.

We had made dinner plans with a friend that already was going to school here, and as we exhaustedly sat down at the table, we began our meal together. Half way through dinner, she says, "Well, you should come see my place. I'm moving out in two weeks." Which happened to be when we were moving down...

It was PERFECT. We walked inside, took a look, and knew it was perfect for us. Perfect location. Perfect amount of space. Perfect for us. We had no idea she was leaving. Everything happened in God's perfect timing! Our search was over!

God has everything timed out perfectly. I'm always reminded during one of my greatest struggles, that when I am running late for something, God may have found a way to hold me back to save me from an accident on the roads. Or just because I'm ready for a change in my life and want to change it now, I may be missing a great blessing that God has for me in the way things currently are.

God even perfectly timed the arrival of His Son on earth...Galatians 4:4-5 says, "But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law."

I just want to encourage you today to look deeper into what God might be trying to do in your life with His Perfect Timing!

3 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Today Zack and I have been married 3 wonderful, memorable, romantic years! So today's post is going to be dedicated to our celebration!!!

Love Story

Zack and I first met in college at my sorority's christmas formal. He came with my sister as her blind date. We were aquaintances until my senior year of college. During the fall semester, we became best friends. We did everything together. And by Thanksgiving break, we realized that we had more than just "friends" feelings for each other.

Zack was not like any other guy I had met. He showed me what true friendship ment. I cherished that so much, that I did not want to take any chances of a dating relationship to ruin our friendship. But the feelings were so overwhelming, that I had to spend a lot of time in prayer, asking God to take these special feelings away if it was not His will for us to be together. The feelings got stronger...

A year and a half later, Zack proposed :) And one year and two days later, we got married! I could not be more blessed to have this incredible man in my life. Zack was my first kiss, first love, and best friend. God truely put the perfect man for me in my life. I even still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure that this marriage is not a dream!

Here is a video of our wedding! I hope you all enjoy!

(Turn up the Volume! For a bigger version, click Here)

In case you were worried and frazzled, the regularly scheduled Hump Day Hilarities will resume next Wednesday!

Trendy Tuesday - Invisible Appliances

Now, I'm a HUGE fan of Pottery Barn, Better Homes & Gardens, Good House Keeping, and Martha Stewart. I loooove them. And all of the many hours I've spent drooling over their furniture, wall papers, home decor, and immaculate appliances, never once have I seen these.

But apparently it is the new invention in the appliance world. Maybe it is because none of these publications are into the "futuristic" look, or America is just slower than other parts of the world on grasping onto this trend, but this is the first time I've ever seen anything like these:

I'm not sure it would be safe for me to have one of these in my house...I don't want the world to know what I really eat. Don't judge me because my freezer is crammed with Chunky Monkey Ben & Jerrys! Or 5 boxes of Little Ceasar's Pizza!

Now, this one is kind of cool, I think. I already have the front load, stackable washer/dryer set, and I love it. Who doesn't want to be mezmorized for hours by their laundry rotating in this glow in the dark machine? I would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame...

For more info, check out New Transparent Household Electronics.

So, what do you think of these new applicances? Tell us what you really think...

Monday Mayhem - Chicago Trip

We had a fabulous time in Chicago this weekend! My mom, sisters and I spent two days in Chicago, shopping Michigan Avenue, eating dinner at Lawry's, sleeping at the Ritz Carlton, and eating breakfast in their Cafe! It was incredible. We had a relaxing, productive, memorable time! It was short, but sweet! Here are some pictures of what we did...

View from our hotel room

Walking down to start our afternoon shopping on Michigan Avenue

Our fabulous dinner at Lawry's! We had their famous spin salad, prime rib, mashed potatoes, whipped horseradish, and yorkshire pudding. Y-U-M!!!

When you order your meal, you just say you want Prime Rib. Then when the Chef arrives with his cart, you tell him what cut and how done you want it

Our Sunday Morning breakfast at the Ritz Carlton Cafe! The G's treated us to this wonderful meal

The Bento Box breakfast I ordered...a little bit of everything! I bet you can't tell, but the muffin the lower right hand corner was tofu ;)

The big, huge, comfy king size bed that three of us ladies shared. Kendall got the cot...

FGF - Flower Painting

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congratulations to comment #39

Garnetta!

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Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:39
Timestamp: 2008-07-14 12:52:54 UTC

***

Thanks for stopping by and entering...Be sure to visit everyday, and come back and enter again next weekend!!!

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IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

TGIF!!

I am so excited about this week's giveaway. It is donated by one of my MOST favorite artists, Kelly Smith. She is so talented and artistic, and was so generous to donate this piece as a giveaway this week! Kelly does business with her murals and dog paintings on the side, so please leave her a note on her blog if you're interested in her work!



This abstract flower arrangement is on a 16x20 canvas. It's a beautiful combination of yellow, red and greens. Be sure to visit Kelly's blog and leave her a comment!
Here are a few other pieces she's done. She also does murals on walls!








Rules:
1) Leave me a comment answering the question below. One comment per person, please!

2) Please mention my giveaway and blog link on your blog!!! If you do so, you may leave ONE more comment on my page for an extra chance to win!!

3) Winner will be posted Monday morning at 9 am. You have until 8 am Monday morning to enter to win! I will use random.org to pick a comment number winner!

4) Tell alllllll your lovely friends to enter for a chance to win! Who doesn't want to win an awesome gift like this?

Question:
If you could have a mural painted in your house, what would it be?

Thoughtful Thursdays: Do Something Nice

I love to do little special things for Zack. So much so, that it might be close to addiction. Whether it is making a pitcher of his favorite tea when he comes home, buying him a shirt I find on sale, or sticking a post-it note on his dashboard in the car. I just want him to know I'm thinking of him that day.

Last week we were talking to a new pastor at our church who said he had been married 10 years. Anyone who has been married longer than me, I always ask what their one piece of advice for a great marriage is. He happens to also do marriage counseling besides his preaching ministry, so we had a wonderful conversation on ideas to do!

Some ideas...

-make sure you ALWAYS make time for a date. Big or small, expensive or no cost at all, take time once a week, every two weeks or at least once a month to invest in your relationship with your spouse.

-Teddy Bear: find a small cheap bear of some sort and put a love note on it and hide it for your spouse. Whenever he/she finds it, its their turn to put a note on it and hide it. It only takes a few moments, but it can mean a lot to the receiver of the note!

-Date Scrolls: write down some ideas of things for the two of you to do together and roll them up and put them in a jar. When some free time comes around, have your spouse draw one out, and do the event together. it could be getting some ice cream, renting a movie, making some cookies, fishing, etc. Whatever the two of you enjoy doing!

-Take a Responsiblity: if your spouse normally does the dishes after dinner, volunteer to do it tonight. If they take out the trash, do it for them. If its their turn to bathe the kids, let them relax tonight and take the responsiblity. Make sure they know you're doing it to show love, not to use as a tally in the future!

-52 Weeks of Romance: This one is probably my favorite. you can purchase these at certain locations. There are 52 cards in the bag, half for the man, half for the woman. Each week, one spouse draws a card and has a week to complete the special something for the other. Zack and I did this the first year we were married, and loved it! They're small, meaningful creative ideas that sometimes are hard to come up with on your own. And its fun to surprise your spouse!



I just want to encourage you this week to do something special for your spouse. Anything. Just something to show them how much you love, appreciate and cherish them. And if you're not married, do something speical for a friend! Send them a note of encouragement, or "just wanted to say hey!". Or set up a lunch date, bring them a cup or coffee, or offer to babysit their kids.

Do something Nice for Someone today!

I would LOVE to hear some of your ideas or things that you've done! We could all benefit and learn from each other!

Hilarities: Family Photo Fun

While we were waiting for the orchestra to play at Symphony on the Prairie this past holiday weekend, a few of us decided to check out the fun features that our camera has. We discovered that it has this thing where it takes several pictures within a few seconds, so you can do action shots. So we decided to try it out and be goofey...

Here's what we created...just scroll down quickly to make it look like we're actually moving!

Look at what a good blogger I am...putting myself on the line as this week's Hump Day Hilarities! I hope you all enjoyed your laugh at my awesome hand motions and facial expressions. Now, for the more professional entertainers...probably the one and only time in life you'll see my sis punch our Dad in the face...