tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14749265405514456092024-02-20T13:45:51.460-06:00Natural Beautism and Flappings in LifeRead My Ramblings About Everything! Life, Recipes, Diy's, Our Families Journey With Autism And MUCH MORE!Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-77768018590930033242014-10-12T14:25:00.002-05:002014-10-12T14:25:41.920-05:00How To Ground Your Kids<span style="font-size: large;">My kids have been grounded for various reasons. It is not the first time but it seems like everything we do nothing works. We will set a time limit for how long they are grounded and its our fault we usually end up forgetting and they get un-grounded and back to normal life. What does this teach the kids? Nothing really except that their parents are forgetful and if they hold out just a few days they will let us do whatever again. Not anymore! I found this idea on one of my friends facebook pages and thought it was a wonderful idea!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not time limit so I do not forget. I, of course used a few things from this list but added some of my own and I am not as generous with points. (Call me a hardass) I know I am, but sometimes that is what kids need. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I also added some tasks that have to do with kindness. For example, they have to come home from school and tell a parent about their day at school. Others are to write a nice letter (full page) to a family member, give a family member a good genuine hug, read books to their little brother, give someone in the family a compliment. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What amazes me, my kids would rather to do the manual labor to get the points that take up more time and less points than to do the nice things and get more points. (I am not sure how to change this) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not only have I done a points system but I have also kept up with another sheet on why they are grounded just so they don't forget. (in reality so I don't forget) Taking things was not working and with our oldest, taking something did not bother him. Only thing he cares about is band and if we make him miss a game his grade suffers. I had to find something else. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The points system seems very logical and well... I am getting a break. They are doing MY chores to earn points. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Go about this any way you see fit. Unfortunately, I have to put, take a shower without being told on the list. Ugh..Boys</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-8569236552822893222014-10-10T20:06:00.001-05:002014-10-10T20:06:22.492-05:00Did You Know That There Was An Eclipse?<span style="font-size: large;">Did you hear there was a lunar eclipse? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I woke up..not for this event but because of Logan being sick. I woke up to check his fever and the eclipse had began. I figured why not stay up and try to get pictures of the entire thing? That was a FAIL!! Unfortunately I was not able to get it all. I got some of it :-) came back in, chilled on the couch for a bit and went outside at peak time and it was gone!! Gone I tell you. BLACK. I walked out in my yard to see if I could find it somewhere and I barely could see it. By barely I mean I could not even find it through my camera lens because it was so dark. Now imagine this, Im outside in my yard and its pitch black!! Only light out is from my front porch light. My yard has holes everywhere (due to my husky) and I am night blind as can be! I am also freakishly afraid of snakes. I am thinking to myself I am going to step on a damn snake trying to find the moon! The neighbors dog starts barking and scares the crap out of me and almost fall and bust my butt. Thats it, I was done. I went back in the house!! I got on facebook and seen everyone else around me in my area had a lunar eclipse fail too!! Now I do not feel so bad but pretty ticked I wasted this precious time trying to find this moon and photograph it when I could have been sleeping!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways thats the only picture I got. Before that I was playing with my camera and got a few pictures of the moon before eclipse time (like before bed) and saw an awesome spider web and tried and tried to capture it clearly but failed. Oh well, its a neat picture anyways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The day after it stormed, and the sky afterwards was such a beautiful blue. This picture did not do it justice. Sucks living in the woods. We never get a clear shot of the sky. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">How did you Lunar Eclipse experience go?? Tell me in the comments :-) Have a wonderful weekend. </span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-22924817897392954542014-10-07T14:11:00.002-05:002014-10-07T14:11:20.254-05:00Hey..It's Okay Tuesday<span style="font-size: large;">I have been absent in the blogging world and you can tell! Nice to know that literally no one noticed. But its Hey....its okay Tuesday</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So its okay</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That no one missed me in the blogging world!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That I will more than likely have to have my gallbladder removed soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That my daughter does not want to spend 2 weekends in a row with us</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That while I was a tad bit intoxicated I let my Mr. Sexy get a cat, I am not a fan of feline critters. And this describes our relation perfectly!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ji-VnedLrS9qIQB1Je6stAwHt68MAv8Mecms4xn9GvHn2sWciQCvy5kS-LXNUv2dT1oAFkHKybJ4WCckDUxuxT46gzUd72q63tYZsO6dbYETYt1_BcG1M3eGZFUQx9U8e4ce3ZR8UDco/s1600/20141006_212113-kdcollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ji-VnedLrS9qIQB1Je6stAwHt68MAv8Mecms4xn9GvHn2sWciQCvy5kS-LXNUv2dT1oAFkHKybJ4WCckDUxuxT46gzUd72q63tYZsO6dbYETYt1_BcG1M3eGZFUQx9U8e4ce3ZR8UDco/s1600/20141006_212113-kdcollage.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That my blog will never be where I want it. I will never be that professional blogger pulling in tons of money. I have yet to even make $30 this year. But its okay. I do not want to put in the time and effort and especially funds into it that it calls for! Im good at taking a couple of weeks off. You can not do that if you want to be a "professional" blogger. I do not want to follow all those blogger rules and such. I am good to just go with the flow!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What are you okay with this Tuesday??</span></div>
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<a href="http://whisperingwriter.blogspot.com/" title="Airing My Dirty Laundry"><img alt="Airing My Dirty Laundry" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a196/WhisperingWriter/WhisperingWriter001/BlogButton_zps6ae717b5.jpg" style="border: none;" /></a> Link up here</div>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-65288612963672124642014-09-26T14:40:00.002-05:002014-09-26T14:40:17.076-05:00Arkansas Walk Now For Autism Speaks<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As many of you know my son is Autistic. The diagnosis became "real" June 19th 2013 when he was 2 years old. Before this he did have a preliminary diagnoses. So we have known very early on that he had autism. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have tried to do fundraising and raise money to donate to local organizations that contribute to autism. Unfortunately where I live there are not many local anythings. And we could not get much money raised at all, so we dropped it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now we are focusing on Autism Speaks and I have been reading a lot of things where people are against this organization. Everything I am reading just makes no sense. I mean why do people want to nit pick everything and cause drama over the smallest things. I even received a message from someone warning me against Autism Speaks on my facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NaturalBeautismsAndFlappingsInLife" target="_blank">Natural Beautisms and Flappings in Life</a>, but yet I was unable to respond. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I will address some of the concerns people have against Autism Speaks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1) No one on the committee is autistic- Frankly this does not bother me one bit! Why would it bother anyone else? Are people who work in schools and the therapists that help our children autistic? Probably not. I am sure the people on the committee who are NOT autistic do have experience with autistic individuals, isn't that what matters?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2) Autism Speaks pulls money away from local communities- Well there are hardly any local anything where I live. We have a few things such as Community Connections, Arkansas Autism Resource and Outreach Center. When these local communities hold an event for fundraising we will do the same for them as we do Autism Speaks. Its not Autism Speaks fault that some people focus on raising funds for them than other organizations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3) Only 4% of money raised goes to blah blah blah--Honestly how can we tell? And if this was the case wouldnt this be fraud of some sort? I have not done a lot of research on this but I will eventually. I know a lot of goes towards research and I am grateful for that! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are other accusations that I do not agree with. </span><b style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Autism Speaks’ advertising depends on offensive and outdated rhetoric</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px;"> of fear and pity, presenting the lives of autistic people as </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/20692567" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-color: rgb(108, 110, 178); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #6c6eb2; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25.602560043335px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">tragic burdens</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px;"> on our families and society. In its advertising, Autism Speaks has compared being autistic to </span><a href="http://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/autism-speaks-washington-call-action" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 100, 38); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #f06426; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25.602560043335px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">being kidnapped</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">, </span><a href="http://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/autism-speaks-washington-call-action" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-color: rgb(108, 110, 178); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #6c6eb2; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25.602560043335px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">dying of a natural disaster</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">, </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/20692567" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-color: rgb(108, 110, 178); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #6c6eb2; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 25.602560043335px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">having a fatal disease</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #575757; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">, and countless other inappropriate analogies.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">I mean come on! I have never had these thoughts cross my mind when I watch any video on autism speaks. They show the reality of autism, how it effects lives. And no this is not held true to all autistic children. None of the people are the same. What is wrong with showing the ugly side of autism? Nothing, hence the purpose of fundraising to raise awareness and donate money for research. So far I have NOTHING against autism speaks. It has been full of information that has helped me and my family learn and cope with my sons diagnoses and help us learn ways to teach him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">So with this being said there is an event coming up October 18th that we have signed up for. Arkansas Walk Now for Autism Speaks. We have never done a walk before so this is the first and we have never tried to raise money for Autism Speaks so this is the first time for that. I am asking for donations to support us in our walk for Autism. Even Logan will be walking!! Please find it in your hearts to overlook all this controversy about Autism Speaks and donate. Our goal is to raise $500 by October 18th. If you get right down to it, every organization has controversy. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 25.602560043335px;">Here is the link to our donation team, </span><a href="http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1099537&lis=0&kntae1099537=0ECED7341E4D4D14BA2A6FCF276AD5E5&supId=0&team=6162959&cj=Y" style="line-height: 25.602560043335px;" target="_blank">Logans Sidekicks</a><span style="line-height: 25.602560043335px;">! Please share this and donate!! I am thinking to everyone who donates I will send them a complimentary autism awareness para-cord bracelet. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Alegreya, Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.602560043335px;">I WALK FOR LOGAN</span></span></div>
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<br />Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-23579494781198085412014-09-20T11:38:00.005-05:002014-09-20T11:38:57.202-05:00A Day In My Life<span style="font-size: large;">A day in my life is not glamorous by any means. It is boring for the most part and a lot of people probably do not want to be in my shoes. We have everyday struggles with living pay check to pay check. I am a worry wart so I worry about everything even if it is two months ahead of time. I think I put a bunch of unnecessary stress on myself. (To much time to think about it, perhaps?)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2 boys who attend school (public) and one that attends a preschool. I guess you can say that. I am not sure what they call them. Developmental preschool. He has autism which I have mentioned several times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My morning starts off at 6:30 a.m. by waking up little man (Logan) and getting him ready for his day. Some mornings are good and others are not so good. Depends on how he slept that night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I get him off on the bus, then the two boys off on theirs and I usually try to back to sleep. I am an insomniac so sleeping in the night is something that I do not usually do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wake up from my nap and take my dogs out and start on my "chores" you know those awful things grown ups have to do? Laundry which is a never ending battle, picking up all the crap left from the night before. Our coffee table ends up being completely covered by the end of the night. Did I mention I live with 4 boys? I dust everyday. Once a week I move everything and dust under it. I vacuum everyday. I have a Siberian Husky, this must not be skipped or I will have a new dog in the house. After my chores are done I sit down in front of my computer, in "my spot" and start working on my blog or scrolling through facebook. Have I ever mentioned that I do not have a social life? My social life is behind a computer screen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the time I have had maybe an hour or two for all my blogging and things Mr. Sexy gets home from work with my little man. He has a total of maybe 20 or 30 minutes to calm down from school, get something to drink and a snack before our wonderful ABA therapist arrives to start another 4 hours of therapy with little man. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So while therapy is going on I try to participate as much as I can, Mr. Sexy will most of the times take care of dinner. I am running back and forth with therapy and taking care of the older two boys, which they have to be reminded to do their chores, take a shower and do homework. I try to call my mom everyday and do this almost towards the end of therapy during the time Logan is having books read to him. The therapist leaves around 7 p.m. then its time to get Logan settled down, eat his dinner(since he does not eat with us because he is super picky) get cleaned up, lotioned down because he has eczema so he needs his daily steroid cream rubbed on the rough spots then the lotion on after that on his entire body. He hates this so its whining the entire time and my hair getting yanked on and even sometimes being kicked. The joys of autism right? He just does not like the feel of that slimmy stuff on him. Then he gets his nightly dose of melatonin and benadryl. If no benadryl he will scratch himself until he bleeds. Then if he is allowed he will get to play his game for a bit before bedtime and of course all we do is sit and watch t.v.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So the little one goes to bed and we are soon to follow. Eric goes right to sleep of course. Men seem to be able to do that well. I sit there on my phone on instagram, pinterest, farm heroes saga, and fb for several hours before I drift off. Then wake up and start over. Not so glamorous right? Every now and then I can go to wal-mart after begging my Mr. Sexy if we can go after therapy. Who thought being in the house so much can make you go insane?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What about you? Is a day in your life glamorous or boring or just peachy?</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.braveloveblog.com/2014/08/the-blog-tember-challenge.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Brave Love Blog" border="0" src="http://i61.tinypic.com/18kxf6.jpg" /></a></div>
Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-86606100646739503932014-09-19T11:39:00.000-05:002014-09-19T11:39:36.546-05:00Lend Your Ears<span style="font-size: large;">I posted a bit of advice yesterday on my personal facebook page. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"Sometimes people do not need someone to give them advice or to talk to them, sometimes they just need someone to listen. Lend your ears to someone today. It may be the best thing you can do."</i></span><br />
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<i>"A penny saved is...not much"</i>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-74928546724382202152014-09-18T14:35:00.000-05:002014-09-18T14:40:00.201-05:00Tales of Travel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ah tales of travel. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I for one have not traveled hardly at all! We never did growing up. We never had these elaborate family vacations. We spent our time at home. Most times working. That's all my parents did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first trip I went on almost destroyed my life. That was my almost 2 years living in Denver Colorado back in 2005 I loved it there but like I said it almost destroyed everything. I came back home to go ol' Arkansas (insert sarcasm) Sorry no pics for this one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first time ever on a plane, May 2009! It was not the planned vacation. We had intended on Cancun Mexico. The swine flu broke out so that was no longer a go. (Trip was paid for by my ex's place of employment) They sent us to Miami Florida. We stayed at the <a href="http://www.fontainebleau.com/" target="_blank">Fontainebleau Hotel</a> for 5 nights. That was a bit to long to be gone from home. I was crying by day 3. Everything was ridiculously expensive but I did enjoy the sites. Yes, I do have pictures of this trip. It was a lot of firsts. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBw8rIs7ilqYfBdXgj5qXUJlfLQIduUEOj2JNfX42detz_7F_JVDErWLeonV9dlUDi6W-AamG99yNMHAQOmmM1DIhhazgyLc_oI48Jl5yvEccL0FNVA5sZCs1E5JnOyYrniuNS0CNSsiEW/s1600/4172_80101458268_5644734_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBw8rIs7ilqYfBdXgj5qXUJlfLQIduUEOj2JNfX42detz_7F_JVDErWLeonV9dlUDi6W-AamG99yNMHAQOmmM1DIhhazgyLc_oI48Jl5yvEccL0FNVA5sZCs1E5JnOyYrniuNS0CNSsiEW/s1600/4172_80101458268_5644734_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">View from our room</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXqeNHOgn9bSUnAj2M0TufTVaqznUtUVVWgQqbge-r4BFIbAp0ntnZIXzFxotQ8cGWW8auj9_fn7u7bnel3eKScEgm-xfqlVsuZLvspMfKq4vScAFMTxhz0i_ok9ZYJjHs_Ed9oGRNwFG/s1600/4172_80103088268_7120063_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXqeNHOgn9bSUnAj2M0TufTVaqznUtUVVWgQqbge-r4BFIbAp0ntnZIXzFxotQ8cGWW8auj9_fn7u7bnel3eKScEgm-xfqlVsuZLvspMfKq4vScAFMTxhz0i_ok9ZYJjHs_Ed9oGRNwFG/s1600/4172_80103088268_7120063_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">What was going on at the hotel? Regis and Kelly was being filmed all week while we were there. Celebrities, and paparazzi everywhere and security. This is when I discovered Kelly Ripa is a snob. She was surrounded by body guards and security and hardly spoke to anyone. Regis on the other hand was walking around with his wife with no security or body guards and giving everyone hugs! I have never been a fan of Kelly Ripa since then, but adore Regis!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-_TNxPzqlLAxQ0T4uFkJNObgAZqpj3mwcXAOKfjrWWPwzrf18OiNqtyyiOLeirAcMNCh0HaryGSyJl2AXSA0Owo43x3j15jjJtVXttAMvwB_2Sm77gokMeVGdWOUZHVCfl_KUoq7sc0T/s1600/4172_80101513268_6811895_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-_TNxPzqlLAxQ0T4uFkJNObgAZqpj3mwcXAOKfjrWWPwzrf18OiNqtyyiOLeirAcMNCh0HaryGSyJl2AXSA0Owo43x3j15jjJtVXttAMvwB_2Sm77gokMeVGdWOUZHVCfl_KUoq7sc0T/s1600/4172_80101513268_6811895_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Ocean</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just a part of the hotel and one of the pools</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who can visit Florida without going to Sea World or in our case we went to <a href="http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/" target="_blank">Miami Seaquarium</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The most recent trip that Mr. Sexy and I took was to the beautiful <a href="http://www.eurekasprings.com/" target="_blank">Eureka Springs Arkansas</a> in 2013. We took a weekend trip and it was around Valentines Day</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This greeted us in our room</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We visited the famous <a href="http://www.crescent-hotel.com/" target="_blank">Crecent Hotel</a> which was featured on the awesome show <a href="http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters/episodes/season/s02/episode/e213/the_crescent_hotel_and_dr_ellis" target="_blank">The Ghost Hunters</a>. At this Hotel they caught what they called the holy grail of apparitions. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is what they caught on video. This is the therma cam.<br /><br />We of course had to take the tour and take some pics of the place.<br />This was my 3rd time there, Mr. Sexy's first</span><br />
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The next day we went horseback riding! Where we stayed was a beautiful place to stay. I highly recommend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pond-Mountain-Lodge-Resort/405832820554" target="_blank">Pond Mountain Lodge</a></div>
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And you can not go to Eureka Springs without visiting <a href="http://www.turpentinecreek.org/" target="_blank">Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We have every intention on going back and actually staying at the refuge. They offer rooms right there. How awesome. Spend the night with the big cats! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There you go. My tales of travel. I have not traveled much but what I have done remains in my memories and always will. The smaller one to Eureka means more to me than the one to Miami Florida. That trip had tears involved. The one to Eureka had none. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where have you traveled?</span><br />
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-64054660729745150062014-09-17T14:36:00.000-05:002014-09-17T14:36:03.494-05:00My First and LAST "Vlog"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-81710898512825151532014-09-16T15:35:00.000-05:002014-09-16T15:35:43.146-05:00This Can't Possibly Be Me<span style="font-size: large;">I am pretty open about myself and my life so there is not many facts I "hide" from my readers. I am not fake at all and real as can be, or at least I try to be. This post is a bit more difficult to write. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most people don't know this but..............</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have 3 kids I gave birth to, and 3 baby daddys. No, I am not ashamed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am a pessimist! Hardcore. I always think something bad is going to happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have a touch of OCD--My house has to be clean. You can walk in and not be able to tell I have 4 boys occupying my house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am a wanna be crafter- I try but have no imagination so I rely on pinterest</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have a hard time with empathy--This is according to my Mr. Sexy. I think I have empathy towards certain things, just not for wussiness??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I like to think I do not like to cuddle.......Mr. Sexy says I love to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anger? I do have a quick temper. Most times (in my age) I can control it pretty easily. When it comes to my kids....Yeah you will release the spawn of satan!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What are some things we dont know about you? </span></div>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-44698400238282814412014-09-15T13:59:00.000-05:002014-09-15T13:59:09.258-05:00Halloween Fever!<span style="font-size: large;">Fall seems to have rolled around here in good ol' Arkansas and you can tell it in the stores as well. One of my most favorite time of the year. Other than winter because I love love some snow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also love Halloween! I used to decorate every year and loved it. I could not wait for it to come. I kind of got out of the habit when my life made a huge 360, I got depressed got into drinking and drugs but not anymore!! Having a blended family though and not having all the kids under my roof still had me in a depression. I have been stuck in a rut for a bit, not anymore. I am coming back out and I want to decorate and celebrate the holidays once again and to start off with we have HALLOWEEN!! My favorite!! It has to be less stressful holiday of the year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am pinning my heart out and daydreaming of all these elaborate and wonderful decor! I wish I was so creative to make this stuff myself without the help of pinterest but thankfully we have this wonderful site to help us not so creative folk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is my mood board collage! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want to see my Halloween Board? Then Click <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/mjonquil/halloween/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Check all of my pinterest boards <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/mjonquil/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What mood have you been in lately and pinning?</span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-20873161899898116232014-09-13T20:11:00.001-05:002014-09-13T20:11:05.308-05:00Married But Living With My Boyfriend<span style="font-size: large;">I have been struggling with myself on whether or not to participate in today's prompt: <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What is your relationship status?</u> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I know how people can be judgmental and in the blog world I am sure there are a lot of these type of people, or those who just do not understand. So do I really want to put myself out there for the judgment to be passed? Lose readers due to my life decisions? I guess that will be up to you, my readers. I struggled whether to post about my relationship or not afraid of the decisions people will make. Then I think, why should I care? It is my life, if I choose to let it out I will and I am..and if you choose to not follow me or continue reading my blogs that is up to you. I know I am a good person and that is what matters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My relationship status is--I'm married but yet I live with my boyfriend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you have read my <a href="http://naturalbeautism.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">About Me</a> page you will see that I am not great in the relationship field. I have been married 3 times. I was 16 when I married the 1st time. The last marriage and the one I am currently in happened in 2008 mainly for legal reasons. Its a very long story and I really do not want to get into that much detail. We had our son together, Logan who is Autistic. Some people are cut out to be special needs parents and some aren't and I hate to say it, but his father really is not that person. Things happen, marriage fell apart and there was no putting it back together, no fault of just his or just mine but fault of us both. (mostly him)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">During the troubled times and me mentioning counseling (which he refused) I met my now, boyfriend. Eric who I refer to as my (Mr. Sexy). To make an even longer story short, we live together. No I am not divorced because. 1) I can not afford it 2) he wont pay for one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I care for our son but in my eyes Logans daddy is my Mr. Sexy. Logans birth-father, the one I am currently married to has not seen his son since December. He has one time. For 3 hours. That is it. He may text once every two weeks to see how he is doing. I get how is Logan doing? I reply with Fine and that is the extent of our conversation. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One day I hope to be divorced once I save up the funds. I did try to do that one thing online where you pay like 100 for an uncontested divorce but he does not agree to my terms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways that's my relationship status, married but living with my boyfriend. He is my best friend, the one I confide in, we laugh together, we get silly, we fight, we make up, we go to bed together every night at the same time, we are a real family and he supports me. Never in my string of relationships and marriages have I ever had anyone let me be myself and love me for me and my bitchiness! I love my Mr. Sexy even if we are not married on paper. In our hearts we are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">No matter what kind of relationship it is, it always needs both sides to survive.</span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-65850177585072188072014-09-12T14:23:00.001-05:002014-09-12T14:23:12.859-05:00Our New Tradition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope everyone is doing great! I have been out for several days. A week to be exact I believe. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Here is my explanation. Firstly I try not to blog when my Mr. Sexy is home. He feels like I am ignoring him :-) Second, I ended up sick. Yes the illness came upon this house. My daughter had came to visit for her weekend time and she passed it on to us. Thank you Gabby! Eric (Mr. Sexy) ended up sick first. He took off work and slept for awhile and I will admit, I have a lack of empathy sometimes and I did not want to get sick so I tried to keep my distance from him. That did not work and I ended up with it, 2x's worse. Imagine that. Seems the further down the line an illness goes it gets worse. My step son ended up at the doctor yesterday with a minor ear infection. He is no antibiotics for a bit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This morning you could tell it was Friday. Waking the 2 kids out of 3 up to get ready for school was a bit more hard. Cory overslept and would not wake up when his older brother tried to get him up. 30 minutes later he gets up when I tell him. Shower was skipped. Logan had his covers up over his head and was not awake at all and he just wanted to stay in bed. Thank goodness its Friday so the little bits can wake up on their own tomorrow. The one thing I love about Saturday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">During the down time of trying to recover I missed out on several prompts from the Blog-Tember Challenge. That is okay I will do my best to try to make them up. If not at least get back on track again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>Day 12- Tell us about a favorite tradition, it can be any tradition and tell us what makes it so special. </u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is very hard to have traditions when you have a blended family especially around the holidays. Everyone is trying to figure out when kids will be with us or be with the other side or when we can celebrate with our families and then try to have our own. Mr. Sexy (Eric) and I have been together 2 years this month. Our relationship is new still yet so there are not many traditions set in stone. Like I said it is so hard to do the traditional traditions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While trying to type up this post and racking my brain on a tradition we have or could have, I found one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We make a yearly trip to the <a href="http://www.littlerockzoo.com/" target="_blank">Little Rock Zoo</a> every year. This started in 2013 when we heard that<a href="http://aaroc.org/" target="_blank">Arkansas Autism Resource and Outreach Center</a> hosts one day out of the year where admission is free for families who have been affected by Autism. We have attended both years so far and hope to continue this. Unfortunately, getting everyone to go and together is impossible. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">2013 All the Kids together</span><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This Year and As you can see, 2 kids are missing. One wanted to stay with a friend and the other is having issues talking to his father. Long Story</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have come to realize when you have a blended family, traditions have to be tweaked a bit. You can not always have everyone together at once to do the special thing your family does. Keep the tradition and if everyone can attend that is great if not that is fine too. We will continue to attend Zoo Day that <a href="http://aaroc.org/" target="_blank">Arkansas Autism Resource and Outreach Center</a> hosts every year! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What favorite traditions do you have? We want to hear and you can link up <a href="http://www.braveloveblog.com/" target="_blank">At Brave Love </a></span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-43484170706453637112014-09-04T02:00:00.000-05:002014-09-04T07:42:13.560-05:00Guys, Stay Away From The Skinny Jeans!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.braveloveblog.com/2014/08/the-blog-tember-challenge.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Brave Love Blog" border="0" src="http://i61.tinypic.com/18kxf6.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19.30500030517578px; text-align: justify;">Pick a fashion trend you love and a fashion trend you hate. Win us over!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19.30500030517578px; text-align: justify;">Oh what a challenge to write about for sure!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19.30500030517578px; text-align: justify;">I am not a fashion person at all. I go with what I like and what is comfortable. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19.30500030517578px; text-align: justify;">Right now I am into the Super hero t-shirt fad oh and of course the Big Bang Theory shirts! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;">So far I have Batman shirts, Wolverine and a couple of Big Bang Theory. I guess you could say I am somewhat of a geek. Oh and Yoga pants! I thought I would hate them but guess what? I love them! They are so comfortable. I am just a bit self conscious about them because of panty lines! EEk and I am not a butt floss wearer. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Got them ALL</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;">A fashion fad I do not like</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;">SKINNY JEANS</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;">Especially</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;"> on guys. Yeah this is just not right. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6a6a6a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.30500030517578px;">What makes it worse for the girls, if they are not skinny to begin with and try to fit themselves in these jeans to hip. Please don't do this. </span></span></span></div>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-41089726831961974742014-09-03T14:31:00.002-05:002014-09-03T14:31:24.359-05:00What I Want To Be When I Grow Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.braveloveblog.com/2014/08/the-blog-tember-challenge.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Brave Love Blog" border="0" src="http://i61.tinypic.com/18kxf6.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the first time that I have decided to join in on a blog challenge. It looks to be fun and it will definitely give me something to write about everyday. Or at least I hope. You can catch all the prompts and join in your own posts at <a href="http://www.braveloveblog.com/" target="_blank">Brave Love</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First off I will answer this question as I was a child then now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a child I wanted to be a lawyer. As an adult I would still love to do this, but my life and the track I took put all my childhood dreams on a complete stall. I wanted to be a lawyer, live in Australia on a huge horse ranch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was never really on the right track to head down this road because I discovered boys! This put me pregnant at 16 and married at 17 and a single mom at 19. I re-married at 20 had my second child at 21. Divorced again within 5 years then re-married again and another child at 30. (divorced again) Never take relationship advice from me! Now I am with Mr. Sexy. No more relationships for me.I am done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still I had hopes of becoming a lawyer but with my age, this was almost 10 years ago..I knew I could not make it through a 4 year college and law school. I would be old and I did not have much confidence in myself so I did what I thought was the next best thing. I got my associates degree in Paralegal Studies. But this degree does no good. No one will hire unless I have experience. I can not get experience if I am not hired. At least this is the case where I live. Small town Arkansas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On to now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I want to be the best mother to my children as possible. I have made many mistakes in my parenting. It is a very very long story. As of now I have my youngest child in my custody and 2 step children. My girls, 1 is with her dad and the other with her Aunt. I will say this much, they did not get taken from me due to neglect. I will say this........never go to court without a lawyer! You will get screwed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After this mess I was blessed with my son. Logan, he is 3 years old and he has autism. He is my inspiration! I am his advocate. I love my children and when I grow up I want to be the best mom ever! I strive for this everyday and will continue to do so until the day I pass away. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My oldest and I </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My oldest and my 2 step kids..Sean the tallest and Cory</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My middle girl. Kiya and of course Logan on my hip</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sean and Cory<br /></span><span class="bqQuoteLink" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 26px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/janedhull224522.html" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" title="view quote">At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents.</a></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;" /><div class="bq-aut" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 6px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jane_d_hull.html" style="color: #0000aa; text-decoration: none;" title="view author">Jane D. Hull</a></div>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-73803517126734064682014-09-02T13:46:00.000-05:002014-09-02T13:46:01.994-05:00It's Okay Tuesay 9/2/14<div align="center">
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<a href="http://whisperingwriter.blogspot.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Airing My Dirty Laundry"><img alt="Airing My Dirty Laundry" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a196/WhisperingWriter/WhisperingWriter001/BlogButton_zps6ae717b5.jpg" height="200" style="border: none;" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>That we did absolutely NOTHING this holiday weekend.</u> No cookouts, no shopping (the sales) no trips. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We stayed home. It was Corys 12th Birthday and he did not to go or do anything but I did make sure I got him the present he asked for which was another mp3 player. This time he better not lose it. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">He got his gift at midnight, the above is not the mp3 player in his hands, its the Duck Dynasty gummies</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>That we will leave Logan with his two older brothers while we go to the oldests' (sp) volleyball game. </u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>That it has been one rainy day! </u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways that is pretty much all for the It's Okay Tuesday, here are some pics from out boring weekend for your enjoyment :-) Not really just want to share</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL51SQrvnxaP65py5krEuWW9bDyPkxl6x4Sm-Au3iPMkVWF94P2VUR9EApvOlPXKRJ7Rh_YyxW9zi2O9CA5I7fmDkqhH2uiMMphyphenhyphenMNojoCbQaeepMH3zMmjEnhyo8SjruOO5ZOFQISb5o_/s1600/IMAG4076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL51SQrvnxaP65py5krEuWW9bDyPkxl6x4Sm-Au3iPMkVWF94P2VUR9EApvOlPXKRJ7Rh_YyxW9zi2O9CA5I7fmDkqhH2uiMMphyphenhyphenMNojoCbQaeepMH3zMmjEnhyo8SjruOO5ZOFQISb5o_/s1600/IMAG4076.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guitar hero watching Logan</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The boys holding down the furniture</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3MBePC3XL_NDI17Oh9TEGKqD7Uj255fPJ7F2SEOqVPwkr5L7O0byYJCSBnq2X8VYpABGYO4BvR2PJFFtn3O_YiCgmYUAoO5G8lTZKT_lQRnV92RxQjzZPN73JhQ06A8B4m2UH_KxRId9/s1600/IMAG4084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3MBePC3XL_NDI17Oh9TEGKqD7Uj255fPJ7F2SEOqVPwkr5L7O0byYJCSBnq2X8VYpABGYO4BvR2PJFFtn3O_YiCgmYUAoO5G8lTZKT_lQRnV92RxQjzZPN73JhQ06A8B4m2UH_KxRId9/s1600/IMAG4084.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gabby kept hiding her face but I got her this way</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gnsbU22pYwyLHNb861tvQBil0qXXFQm18lr-VVVpaDVHZPlN5qkwU2c4PqDiGN07m0Vflc0nRtFmfzh7w8cno-r7R2DFx4zmfm6agIHowUqyn2jAbQEkGIMFGWwkyx0wDvuTWJB9xYAZ/s1600/IMAG4093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gnsbU22pYwyLHNb861tvQBil0qXXFQm18lr-VVVpaDVHZPlN5qkwU2c4PqDiGN07m0Vflc0nRtFmfzh7w8cno-r7R2DFx4zmfm6agIHowUqyn2jAbQEkGIMFGWwkyx0wDvuTWJB9xYAZ/s1600/IMAG4093.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Logan and I just chillin'</span></td></tr>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-87584665412552973582014-08-29T15:40:00.000-05:002014-09-02T14:27:18.590-05:00School Events and Meltdowns<span style="font-size: large;">School events have started for this school year. Last night was the kick off pep rally! Mr. Sexy and I are going to do our best to be "good parents" and go to each event we can. Even though neither of the boys are in sports, the oldest boy (Sean) plays in the high school band. In my opinion he should be in football. He definitely has the build but oh well. I can not mold him the way I want him. The even started out well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After about 20 minutes of us sitting in the bleachers waiting, Logan started getting loud. He had his ipad and was playing a game that is very stimulating to him. He gets excited, starts jumping up and down, flapping and yelling as loud as he can. People began to gawk. Granted we were outside and everyone was talking but Logan seemed to get several octaves above everyone else. So we took his game away in hopes of quieting him down a bit. WRONG!! This led to meltdown mode. A gruesome 20 minutes of flailing, screaming, hyperventilating and a down pour in sweat. Mr. Sexy had him the first 15 minutes or so and then I took over for the rest of the event. Every time we go closer to the crowd he would scream. Logan and I just hung out on the side until the pep rally was over. We have made the decision to not take his game with us anywhere we go and try to find something less stimulating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Sexy was able to get a few pictures while i was comforting Logan. I was also able to capture the football team before I took over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sean on the trombone</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While sitting out of the crowd and somewhat by myself other than Logan I noticed a beautiful sunset. You can kind of see the pink behind Sean here but I got the following shots with my phone. Mr. Sexy had my fancy camera. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">#WordlessWednesday</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3znwofbz8AjPBCmwYjn0ibLG69EcTTn2l0Rz8KxW9ZKb3OpmdFWTSYe5k_-dkS1fLHHyigIY-YWtsCkV7xLjBCSS9GZd_fwOD-vsDQMzmKJVeI6bykmJ_Niza8O1q3Z6dor_m7DfA_-E/s1600/IMAG4074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3znwofbz8AjPBCmwYjn0ibLG69EcTTn2l0Rz8KxW9ZKb3OpmdFWTSYe5k_-dkS1fLHHyigIY-YWtsCkV7xLjBCSS9GZd_fwOD-vsDQMzmKJVeI6bykmJ_Niza8O1q3Z6dor_m7DfA_-E/s1600/IMAG4074.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Calming sight to mark an ending to a horrific meltdown!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is to a school year full of events and meltdowns! </span></div>
Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-51067364140631652652014-08-28T15:11:00.000-05:002014-08-28T15:11:57.922-05:00My Version of Smores Pie<span style="font-size: large;">Here lately I have been having a huge craving for smores. I have no idea why, I have never had one so I had no idea whether I like them or not. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(no, not pregnant)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were out grocery shopping and thought why not try them? One thing though, I did not want to mess with a campfire. After all it is summer and hot hot hot outside so why in the world would I want to sit at a fire to try something that I am not sure I will even like? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Solution</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 graham cracker crust</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 pkg of hersheys chocolate chips</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 pkg of marshmallows</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">pour half the pkg of chocolate chips on the crust, dump the desired amount of marshmallows on top. I put the oven on 300 degrees and let the marshmallows brown and melt. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB6Ciot2N9NcYCG9OJ0NCphch8Mp4fjODFlSgxDe0i5l1PupDGcxqjzZDcg2DAKHkZetuufGFX3NeCKWpVvPHlaAp428zLVUteVIn3bIS-x7bnG-Vy4FbucXna-VKxmG_W84IeXPcuD9f/s1600/IMAG4061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB6Ciot2N9NcYCG9OJ0NCphch8Mp4fjODFlSgxDe0i5l1PupDGcxqjzZDcg2DAKHkZetuufGFX3NeCKWpVvPHlaAp428zLVUteVIn3bIS-x7bnG-Vy4FbucXna-VKxmG_W84IeXPcuD9f/s1600/IMAG4061.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I let it cook just a little bit before cutting it. It will come out of the pan just like a piece of pie. You definitely want to eat this while it is warm. The chocolate will harden and the marshmallows will not be gooey. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The verdict? I liked it, I will use less chocolate next time but this was a good dessert. It satisfied my sweet tooth! The boys liked it at as well so we will make it again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-74692077983359143262014-08-26T17:50:00.000-05:002014-08-26T17:50:06.763-05:00National Dog Day--Zuri<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 32px;">“I founded National Dog Day in 2004 to honor dogs, to give them ‘a day,’ to show our deep appreciation for the historical connection of companionship with one another – for their endearing patience, unquestioning loyalty, for their work protecting our streets, homes and families as Police K-9’s, Military Working Dogs, Guide Dogs and Therapy Dogs,” (Colleen Paige)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 32px;">So in celebration of this day I introduce you to Zuri. I am sure if your a follower you have seen pictures of her throughout my blog. We got her October of 2012. She belonged to our neighbors. They decided to go on a weekend trip and just threw her outside to fend for herself. She kept crossing a busy highway to get to our house so we just kept her for the weekend until they returned. We left a note on their door telling them we had her. They returned and hours passed and they did not come to get her. I sent one of the kids over to let them know and they took her and put her in a kennel she was to big for that was soaked with urine and feces and put that kennel with her in it, in a shed outside. She was crying. One of my other kids talked them into letting us just keep her. She has been a joy to our family and would be lost without her. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 32px;">"Dogs never bite me, just humans"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 32px;">--Marilyn Monroe</span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-1662626699819191212014-08-25T15:03:00.001-05:002014-08-25T15:03:14.822-05:007 Tips To Gain and Keep Followers<span style="font-size: large;">When you are participating in blog hops, link ups or meme's, what draws you to click on certain blogs?</span><div>
<span style="font-size: large;">For me I like to see a picture. When linking up I believe being able to link up a thumbnail instead of just the title helps bring in traffic. </span><span style="font-size: large;">For me, <u><b>I like to see nice colorful pictures.</b></u> If it is a picture of you or anyone else I like to see it being creative. Not just a bland selfie. (sorry selfie lovers) This usually steers me away and I wont click on your blog. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQRBjmGVEMvbt73gHUtepRN2XcHT8DYzoTNe0fEViJJjkkBq0FiusGswPbUt4pEhHCC4VVYvpEGS31jYDKiBiJ1ITtB3d1l5YbzXpoA7G2ans0-ZThO2zKj1N9rCIH4qKvbEU1qD2_dFh/s1600/IMG_155890451064241.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQRBjmGVEMvbt73gHUtepRN2XcHT8DYzoTNe0fEViJJjkkBq0FiusGswPbUt4pEhHCC4VVYvpEGS31jYDKiBiJ1ITtB3d1l5YbzXpoA7G2ans0-ZThO2zKj1N9rCIH4qKvbEU1qD2_dFh/s1600/IMG_155890451064241.jpeg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I use this picture a lot. It is of me and my son. If I do not have a particular picture that goes with my post I go to this one, always.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now once you have clicked on the blog what makes you stay there, read the blog, click around and end up being a follower? Or what drives you away?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once I have clicked on one that has drawn my attention if it take a long time to load I will close out my window and go on. <u><b>Please make it somewhat simple, do not overload your page to where it takes forever to load. </b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When commenting, <u><b>I do not like the captcha.</b></u> Sometimes I have a hard time reading them. But not only that but when I enter in my comment and hit publish I usually click out and move on. When that captcha pops up it makes me feel like it is an inconvenience so you will be lucky if I finish up. Every blogger loves comments so make it easier for us to leave our comments. You can manually moderate the comments, so if you have tons of spam get rid of it manually or put that little check box at the bottom to check to prove they are not spam. I have never really had much spam to my comment box so what do I know? It may not be that easy. </span></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1kDz-td_SyASe00SFbFzfsWvRQSFPcZbkKlKd_xw9FoOAjTkhHw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1kDz-td_SyASe00SFbFzfsWvRQSFPcZbkKlKd_xw9FoOAjTkhHw" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If I am attracted to your blog I will browse a bit but if you blog about the same thing all the time such as fitness...I will not follow. I have read that people will follow blogs if they are about certain subjects. I just disagree. I like to read a variety of things. In my blog you will find reviews (not many though) recipes, crafts, my everyday life, photos and information about autism. Its wide and varies. I try to blog a little something about everything for everyone. Maybe this approach has not been successful. I do not seem to reach over 100 views a day. <u><b>Put a variety of subjects in your blog please. </b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have came to many blogs and have wanted to leave a comment but have a hard time finding the comment area. Usually its at the bottom of the page and it says Leave A Comment plainly. I found several over the last couple of weeks where I could not find this. So I just left :-( <u><b>Make it clear where to leave comments!</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For some reason I do not really like the content summary being somewhere else. When I click to read your blog I do not want to have to go somewhere else to read it. I want it all there. <b><u>Keep it all in one place or have page tabs that are easily accessible. </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other thing that will draw me away from your blog is if it is very very long. <b><u>Keep it short and sweet.</u></b> Now this is just most of the time. I know there will be a few times that you want to write a more lengthy post. If so make it interesting and not dry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>If I like your blog I want an easy way to follow you</b>. I still use GFC and my blogger dashboard. Maybe I am outdated but thats what I chose more times than none. Bloglovin' seems to not be so popular anymore or maybe its just mine thats not. I am still confused when it comes to twitter. I am getting used to google+. If you have any ideas that is better please let me know. I look into everything. I personally like logging onto my blogger and seeing all the blogs I follow right there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To sum up the above, in case you skipped down to the bottom of this post--7 ways to attract me and keep me coming to your blog are as follows</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Make your blog appealing to the eye</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Make sure you page loads quickly</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Get rid of captcha</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. Blog about a variety of things</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Make it clear where to leave a comment</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Keep your full post in one place</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. Make it easy to follow your blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is my opinion only. I do not speak for other bloggers. Just myself. </span></div>
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Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-27918336188489567692014-08-24T19:22:00.000-05:002014-08-24T19:22:37.803-05:00Sunday Social 8/24/14 and Weekend Recap<span style="font-size: large;">Hey what do you know, I am actually doing this post on a Sunday and not Monday!! Yay for me! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today has not been to terribly exciting. Mr. Sexy is in the process of taking down the pool. Even though we seem to be in the hottest part of the summer. No sense in keeping it up if no one will use it. No one has cleaned or it or anything. The water turned green and it had tons of dirt in the bottom. Last year I did the upkeep on the pool but I was down after my D&C so could not do it. No one else would so BAM dirty, nasty pool. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The boys went with their birth mom this weekend and still not home so I am not to happy about this. Its almost 7 p.m. and still nothing. They have homework to do. (Oh my bad they just walked in as I was typing this)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Logan got a new lead therapist today. She seems nice and knows what she is doing. I am actually looking forward to her ideas. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I tried a recipe from pinterest tonight and it was an epic fail! I'm not sure if it was my oven or the recipe or what but it was horrible! It was bland and it was dry. Poor Mans Layered Cabbage Casserole. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also woke up Saturday morning to a swollen side of the face. Not sure what happened. I still have a bump under my eye. I am pretty sure I got bit by something in my sleep. Wonderful right? This weekend has been a bore and not so great. I am hoping for a better week. Here is to hoping!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Sexy and I also rented The Amazing Spiderman 2.....I was not fond of it. I could not get into the movie. I like Marvel movies and such, Stan Lee even made an early appearance and I did like Jamie Foxx's character. One of the few times you feel sorry for the bad guy. But this movie was like a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This weeks questions:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. What are you looking most forward to this fall?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cooler weather!! The fall scene, I love the colors of the leaves and the crisp air. Oh and Halloween. One of my most favorite holidays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. What is your favorite sports team?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Used to be the Denver Broncos but most of the players I liked left so I will be loving on my Dallas Cowboys even more. I may even invite the Chicago Bears into my heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. If you could go back to college what is the one thing you would change?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Easy!! Not racking up so many student loans due to my stupidity. You can read about that <a href="http://naturalbeautism.blogspot.com/2014/08/it-okay-that-i-will-not-be-returning-to.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. What was your favorite class you ever took? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">physiology. Yes I am that type of geek </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Reach into your purse, what is the first thing you grab?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Umm nothing, I do not carry a purse. I am not your girly type. </span></div>
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<a href="http://acompletewasteofmakeup.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img alt="Sunday Social" src="http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/munchkin_land_designs/BlogDesigns/Buttons/SocialSundayNew.png" width="250px" /> </a></div>
Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-53905687660230881342014-08-23T11:26:00.000-05:002014-08-23T13:37:50.978-05:00Humming Birds, Who Can Resist? <span style="font-size: large;">Lately I have been reading about hummingbirds and their likes. I have bought stuff from the store, you know the pre-made stuff but still yet my hummingbirds do not frequent my feeders. My parents on the other hand have so many flying about they can not keep up. I had to ask my mom what she does. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1 part sugar </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and a touch of red food coloring (I have read on another site that food coloring does not matter, thats bull. My hummingbirds did not go to their clear food)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Okay this is an update to the above recipe. Seems since posting this I have caught some flack on adding red food coloring. There are NO proven studies that say this is harmful, so I am not hurting my hummers. Yes maybe my sugar to water ratio is a bit much but they do not eat from the feeders unless its this sweet. Next time I will try 1 to 3. But once again this does not harm my hummers. They use this as a source of energy, it is not a dietary supplement or their whole meals. Hummingbirds have a very very high metabolism so this ratio would not harm them anyway. Want to know where I get my sources? Here are the links</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><a href="http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/reddye.asp" target="_blank">SNOPES</a></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.hummingbirds.net/dye.html" target="_blank">Hummingbirds.net</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Those are just some, for every post that says its harmful can be met with another one that says <b><u>there is no scientific proof.</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You should clean your feeders regularly. Like for example if the sugar water sits to long it will sour. My parents do not even get a chance to do this. The birds suck this stuff down so quickly she has to fill them almost every single day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At my place I have 2 hummingbirds. 2 that frequently visit my feeder. Filling them up is not necessary. One thing though, if their feeders are empty or not there, they do come searching for me. I had one actually come flying to my window and was peeking in for awhile. Then another time I walked out my door and one about pinged me as soon as I walked out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another rule on keeping your hummingbirds happy is keep their feeders and food out there all the time. If not they will hunt you down! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHofa3wVBNiUhXhnHNQ3sJkYY-mtLBnil7ey-jjHG4bZOQ_dQ0whb9DG-yLIWlNDH9C0IbhsCJ95Z1sUGw8sDujeviCA6XkB2BH0axLPvNUQ2xKsE-ilx9Ckj8TM0fQjgvKLqknDqu3Hj/s1600/10301946_275821225929827_2182452475067375986_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHofa3wVBNiUhXhnHNQ3sJkYY-mtLBnil7ey-jjHG4bZOQ_dQ0whb9DG-yLIWlNDH9C0IbhsCJ95Z1sUGw8sDujeviCA6XkB2BH0axLPvNUQ2xKsE-ilx9Ckj8TM0fQjgvKLqknDqu3Hj/s1600/10301946_275821225929827_2182452475067375986_n.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>“If my love could be represented by a blur, it would be the beating of a hummingbird’s wings. Did you know that my love is the only love that can fly backwards? ” </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Jarod Kintz</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /><br /><img alt="Camera Critters" border="0" src="http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x169/TammyDuplessie/CameraCritters2.jpg" height="125" width="125" /></a></div>
Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-51908219375824381992014-08-22T21:21:00.000-05:002014-08-22T21:21:00.033-05:00A New Meme! What is in My Junk Drawer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">So during some random blog hopping that I do everyday I found a new meme to participate in. Over at <a href="http://www.jenerallyinformed.com/" target="_blank">Jenerally Informed</a> she hosts a Mommy Reality meme and this weeks theme she wants to know what is in our junk drawer. I was happy to share my post. So on to it...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Honestly I do not have a "drawer" I have a basket that sits on my side table by my couch. "My Spot" everyone in the house knows this is my spot. (one of my sheldon (big bang theory) tendencies. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss8aTWSLo5o5QQxzBmx9eiAs_p2plxx2rjf93prnGSrFajX0G-hRnvWNExwuq8yOL_pIJsOjfhUoexdAIfCq8PEMcETz-_rARu7TSOmYTM8SH5KJSvVZGS9eBFGGrs6J2094LQRKfe8El/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss8aTWSLo5o5QQxzBmx9eiAs_p2plxx2rjf93prnGSrFajX0G-hRnvWNExwuq8yOL_pIJsOjfhUoexdAIfCq8PEMcETz-_rARu7TSOmYTM8SH5KJSvVZGS9eBFGGrs6J2094LQRKfe8El/s1600/021.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyppiI772qMicv-R8up40KPB49mXsvlthqGzoUHt6MATosVIAgNym2WEU5_EA9j_uXh7klxc3gKvQ2ReFtIUMy2koGluw9CL4b4TBv5KOuYGostg1RgHioWrCxgWWCQ4fSb1fBV2pjkxs/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyppiI772qMicv-R8up40KPB49mXsvlthqGzoUHt6MATosVIAgNym2WEU5_EA9j_uXh7klxc3gKvQ2ReFtIUMy2koGluw9CL4b4TBv5KOuYGostg1RgHioWrCxgWWCQ4fSb1fBV2pjkxs/s1600/023.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">So there is some thread for bracelets I used to make and tacky glue, an old cell phone I got out because my moms messed up so I was going to give her this one but as you can see it just ended up in my junk basket. My ear buds, fingernail clippers, tweezers and chap stick. Nothing fancy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now on the other hand my Mr. Sexy has junk drawers everywhere. He is a hoarder of everything I swear so I decided to give you tiny glimpse into his junkiness. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTWn-DX8SUWkLtGZJjB46NzCFgALL2Afrc9200sciiDcvvJHtMSZrBPB9mgisyoXlt7AeyJgn7go3UM1eS4D3eJGs2Iw6rYen7ejySuNgm8TgrAO5TLaA1cnJPimkAcPFFChp-s9IwcC0/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTWn-DX8SUWkLtGZJjB46NzCFgALL2Afrc9200sciiDcvvJHtMSZrBPB9mgisyoXlt7AeyJgn7go3UM1eS4D3eJGs2Iw6rYen7ejySuNgm8TgrAO5TLaA1cnJPimkAcPFFChp-s9IwcC0/s1600/029.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">First drawer, some random patches from when we rode, wires, papers and I see a pill bottle there</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMST0ZlJkGmyHsV7WYjuvWmUxMxdzJIcPskv4x8jQT982ZQHwZsEtn1lbVfc8SKvvq-b8sv9fUiPsHwoAbbnzncKoNbajzSgyGsHRh6FtE6Lim9Co1jMDa8YmSms7QHhfYKfO9HMZsbMPb/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMST0ZlJkGmyHsV7WYjuvWmUxMxdzJIcPskv4x8jQT982ZQHwZsEtn1lbVfc8SKvvq-b8sv9fUiPsHwoAbbnzncKoNbajzSgyGsHRh6FtE6Lim9Co1jMDa8YmSms7QHhfYKfO9HMZsbMPb/s1600/030.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">More papers, more wires and diablo playing manuel and some pennies</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">More papers and a router/modem..two of them, bullets and guess what?? More papers and more wires<br /><br />And this is not it, low and behold he has this in the kitchen</span><br />
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<br /><br /><br />There are more around the house as well.....<br /></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.jenerallyinformed.com/" title="JENerally Informed"><img alt="Jenerally Informed" src="http://www.jenerallyinformed.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mrbuttonfinal.png" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-75734400245250145212014-08-21T08:53:00.001-05:002014-08-21T08:53:40.434-05:00The Little Things Become Favorite Things<span style="font-size: large;">Oh yes, yesterday was a long day! It will take a bit to get back in the routine that I once had. Logan's first day back to pre-school (a new one) was yesterday. He had no issues being there. Of course we have taken him there several times throughout the month. He knew the place, recognized it and was happy to be there. He did not like getting up in the morning (just like his mom). We stayed in his room until he got his food then we left. He did wonderful. His teacher even called me around noon to let me know how his day was. This week they are studying bears. Tomorrow he gets to bring a stuffed teddy bear to school. Logan is the one with the cup with a straw due to his allergy to milk. He gets soy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we were leaving my little guy, I stopped and snapped this shot outside his school. Not the best because it was done with my phone but still yet. It has been my favorite shot this week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My Mr. Sexy came home last week and surprised me with a set of wind chimes! He even got me a card a day or two later (for no reason). I woke up this morning to a nice little post on my facebook from him, wishing me a great day. That my friends is what I love. It is the small things that matter the most!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am a lover of butterflies so he knows exactly what to get me to make me smile :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Something else I am so proud of getting. Its silly but a $5 shirt on clearance! My Hero t-shirt collection is growing!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWORanxMkP2APLkDqMZd14PVRgfL8C7mscLyKZLcJLMYDMDsRDMlV7okHxKz80sb3stjrcntZQahcjFIEf1FP8nl-AE28iVrHJTCWB-pXtZcs3nbmAHEo0pt_dTUydCXPGeVNpAlM-C3Io/s1600/IMG_20140814_213530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWORanxMkP2APLkDqMZd14PVRgfL8C7mscLyKZLcJLMYDMDsRDMlV7okHxKz80sb3stjrcntZQahcjFIEf1FP8nl-AE28iVrHJTCWB-pXtZcs3nbmAHEo0pt_dTUydCXPGeVNpAlM-C3Io/s1600/IMG_20140814_213530.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I got even more of a surprise when I go to the checkout stand and it rings up at $3!! Woo Hoo! Yes I did a happy dance most of the night. Mr. Sexy thinks I am crazy. That is okay though, he still loves me and shows me with the small things that become my favorite things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you want to know where I am linking up today I can tell you :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First off I am over at <a href="http://katherinescorner.com/2014/08/20/thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop-153/" target="_blank">Katherines Corner</a> for <a href="http://katherinescorner.com/2014/08/20/thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop-153/" target="_blank">Thursday Favorite Things</a> and I am also over at <a href="http://littlebylittleblog.com/" target="_blank">Little By Little</a> for <a href="http://littlebylittleblog.com/" target="_blank">Little Things Thursday</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-49847082010151249622014-08-19T20:48:00.004-05:002014-08-19T20:48:55.097-05:00Back Home For A Birthday<span style="font-size: large;">This past weekend we went up to my parents to sort of celebrate my dads Birthday. We were all supposed to do it this coming weekend but plans changed the day of.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways since my dad does not like it to be a big deal we did not do much but hang out, cook and eat. My dad is old school so as soon as he was done eating, off to bed he went. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">35 years of marriage</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is how it is done in the country! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Glad my sis likes to cook because I do not!<br /><br />Where am I linking up? Check it out <a href="http://naturalbeautism.blogspot.com/p/blog-hops-or-link-ups.html" target="_blank">Here, Under Wednesday</a>.<br />Show me some facebook love as well, just click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NaturalBeautismsAndFlappingsInLife" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />It is always appreciated</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also I want to give my step son Cory a big shout out for being the eye behind the camera, except the sunflower picture! He did great for being 11!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBSobvIdxVaJ1I13BKyqWo6VbjRQio9WauZbxVx7xaKU0W9rE2kVQnoIk_8Gm12x8G2qqEpDqgsxTbj4IENu3TdioEUIgprYuc8yYBpfokHsIALpaU47LDPot7AWcNR9mEnxjojCz8CeZ/s1600/10304641_308577159320900_2493903099400605939_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBSobvIdxVaJ1I13BKyqWo6VbjRQio9WauZbxVx7xaKU0W9rE2kVQnoIk_8Gm12x8G2qqEpDqgsxTbj4IENu3TdioEUIgprYuc8yYBpfokHsIALpaU47LDPot7AWcNR9mEnxjojCz8CeZ/s1600/10304641_308577159320900_2493903099400605939_n.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you Kiddo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474926540551445609.post-24453494425571280812014-08-19T14:35:00.002-05:002014-08-19T14:35:24.824-05:00It' Okay That I will Not Be Returning to College<span style="font-size: large;">Where am I linking up today? That would be over at <a href="http://www.airingmylaundry.com/" target="_blank">Airing My Dirty Laundry</a> for <u>It's Okay Tuesday</u>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Its Okay......</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That I found out that I can not do my bachelors degree. I had decided to go back to college and get my bachelors in Business Administration. Not something I particularly wanted to do but it's what is in demand in the job industry around here. You can go anywhere with a BS degree. Well I already have an associates, but that degree is no good for anything and I found out I wasted tons of money doing this. I was young so therefore I screwed around, failed classes, dropped out, went back so in my being dumb and making bad choices I ran up my student loan bill. I am at $55,000! Ouch! Scary number huh? I did not know that they put a cap on student loans until a few days ago. The cap is $57,000. So that left me with $2,000 plus what I can get from a pell grant which is about $4,000. Yeah right, this will not get me my bachelors at $414 a credit! So I un-enrolled. No more college for me. Its okay though, I did not want to really go for that. I will just be a stay at home mom for a long time and figure out how to pay those crappy loans that are worthless. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Logan starts his new preschool tomorrow. I am excited about him going and its okay that I will miss him. He will be in good hands. Hopefully much better hands than his previous school. Check out this video that shows what a wonderful school/company this is. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/103525288" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/103525288">Russellville Grand Opening</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user20802951">Pediatrics Plus</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It will be all okay....My son will be in wonderful hands :-)</span>Melissa Hopperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530361123704457237noreply@blogger.com6