Good news.

Today we turn a corner and share the good news that the move is a mere 15 days away. Cue paper bag.

In semi-related news, remember that one time I posted all about my friend Sarah and her fabulous, crafty wares and then linked you to her etsy store and she was on vacation? Yeah, that. Sorry. Anyway, she's BACK! Click here to fall in love and shop 'til you drop.

And for a fun sneak peek into my crafting days of yore, here's two projects Sarah and I completed a few weekends ago...

I bought this jankety old mirrored tray for $3.99. A blast of yellow spray paint and some Windex and voila! A super adorbs tray to keep all my sparkles and shiny things.

Sarah found this old mirror for (I think) $20. She flipped the mirror and painted the backside with chalkboard paint (hello, versatility!) and added a pop of color. The perfect menu board for her kitchen that can also go back to a mirror with a simple flip.

I'm SO excited to do a virtual home tour once we get settled so you can see my other totally random crafting slash gluing slash duct taping projects. I'm actually quite concerned that the mix of everything I've been hoarding for a year is going to be nothing short of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, but whatever. FIFTEEN DAYS.

P.S. - Not to ignore the obvious but thank you to everyone who sent an email or commented on that last, awful blog post. It means more than you know.

Social media 'R us.

Hiya, peeps! Long time no chat, eh? I was in Vegas last week and have FINALLY recovered. While I'm bizzy organizing my ridiculous set of cell phone pix to share with you, I thought I would give you a little homework.

One of my work peeps needs a little help to build his self esteem. One of his trade show booths is nominated for some big, fancy award and he needs to win said award to prove his self-worth. It might actually help him stop drinking. And smoking. And sucking his thumb at night. So do it for the kids, will ya?

Anyway, if you have a spare moment in your day, please click here and vote! You will get a confirmation email to click and actually register your vote & be entered in a drawing for an iPad2. So really, do it for the iPad.


As always, thank you for your love, support, and beer. Send more beer.

Vote for Momma T!

Last time Mom visited Kelli in the state that shall not be named, she gave her a makeover for an upcoming Mary Kay contest. Voting has officially started, so I'm counting on all my ABM3 readers to help my Mom win a trip to NYC. Because guess who she will take with her, duh??!?!?

And this isn't one of those horrible contests where you have to register, donate a pint of blood and provide your social security number to vote. Just go to the site, find my Mom, and enter your email address. It's super easy! You can enter up to 5 times a day, so please use all five votes! And if you happen to have more than one email address, I'm not about to stop you.

1. Click HERE

2. Type "Joette" in the search field
(I know, my Mom's name is so cool)

3. VOTE FOR HER!!!!

I'll remind you every day until voting stops, so GO DO IT.

From the core of who I am, thank you.

It seems so insignificant to simply say thank you...or to somehow find the words to express my gratitude for the outpouring of love and support that came from this post. And for someone who NEVER is at a loss for words, I'm not so sure what to do next.

I wrote the post about our tWIPs for me. It wasn't for you. It wasn't for families suffering similar losses, or for other mothers who have lost babies. It wasn't even for Joey. It was totally, selifshly for me. It was for me to let it out, speak my mind and begin to heal.

But then I published it, and it did so much more than I ever thought possible. Over the last week, I've received more emails, texts, Facebook posts and notes than I could probably count, and each one was so significant. So impactful. So needed.

The Internet is a crazy, creepy place. But it's also an amazing place. A place where perfect strangers hidden behind an IP address and what may or may not actually be your real profile picture can band together in solidatarity. United in pain, happiness, fear, joy, pride, love...and motherhood.

So as simple and insignificant as it may seem, I thank all of you. Those I know, those I don't know and those who don't know me.The tWIPs and I are better and stronger because you exist.

Support local businesses!

Well, this particular reference is "local" to like, 2% of you - but still. Stick with me, mmkay?

The newspaper from my hometown is running its annual "Five Star Favorites" campaign and I need YOU to help one of MY fave local businesses win. The business is called "Tri City Furniture," and its (duh) a family-owned furniture and interior design store. Kathy and Lee, the owners, have been long-time family friends and I want to help them win!

Click the image above (or here) and go to the "Nominate Here" tab. Enter all your info and then in the list, type "Tri City Furniture" in the "Furniture Store" AND the "Interior Design Store" categories under "Goods and Services." Oh, and if you're feeling frisky, enter "La Pizza" in the "Pizza" category. Yum!

You can vote once a day through Sept. 15, but even if you can only do it today that will help!

Cycle It Forward.

This is a gratuitous post for my incredible baby brother, Kyle. Soon, he'll suit up and ride 50 miles (on a bike--crazy boy!) in an event called 'Cycle the Campus,' which raises money and awareness for His House Christian Fellowship at Saginaw Valley State University.

I can't even begin to tell you what HHCF means to me, personally...and I wasn't even a part of it! Kyle became involved as a wee freshman at SVSU and as a part of the program and its ministry he developed into an amazing man with such a passion for life, love and faith. The friends, mentors and families that he met while he was involved with HHCF remain a cornerstone in his life and are just so awesome that I can hardly stand myself when they're around. Amazing people, truly.

Honestly, I would be proud of Kyle if he ate grass (which he did when he was little, for what it's worth), but to watch him grow into the incredible man of integrity that he is today consistently blows me away. And I firmly believe with all my heart that part of his awesomeness was molded by HHCF. I don't think I tell him often enough, but he's one of the most special men in my life, and I'm so proud to call him my brother.

So why the sappy moment and the weird story about riding bikes?

I'm calling on my internet peeps to help a brotha (literally) out. Please make a (tax deductible!) pledge to support the 'Cycle the Campus' HHCS fundraiser! I don't care what it is ... $1, $5, $78,456,789 ... whatever you can afford or are moved to give. I promise to post pictures of Kyle in naughty spandex and a silly bike helmet for every dollar raised!

Click here to make a donation. Select that your donation goes a rider and choose 'Kyle Talicska' from the list of names (sorta near the bottom). Oh, and to make it easier, there's a friendly little link to PayPal, too!

And if you are not able to support with greenbacks, please keep Kyle and his rump in your prayers...I'm pretty sure 50 miles on a bike isn't really friendly on the manbits, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Dear Readers: YOU KICK ASS.

Imagine my extreme delight when I opened up my g-g-g-gmail and saw the following love note:

Hi Kristi,

Congratulations! TheBump.com is happy to announce that your blog has been selected as a finalist for “The Bump Mommy Blog Awards” in the "Working Mom" category. Starting today, readers will be able to vote for their favorite blog finalists here.

Voting ends on Monday, October 19, so if you haven’t already, please be sure to spread the word to your blog fans via email, a blog post, Twitter and Facebook!

Best of Luck!

Ok, first of all, I don't know who actually voted for me, but THANK YOU! I just sort of quietly put the button on the right nav one day, thinking maybe one or two of you might go out and nominate me. But to be a finalist?!? Never in a million years did I think...Wow. And the prizes RULE --> one grand prize of $1,000 and 15 runners-up will get $100 gift certificates to Pottery Barn Kids. KICK. ASS.

Let's rock this out all the way to the FINALS, shall we? Click here to vote for "...and baby makes three!" (Scroll to the bottom of the page...and maybe refresh the page to vote a few hundred times? You can vote as often as you want...no login required!!)