The end of an era

I'm saying goodbye to Sweet Surrender. In so many ways I've changed as a person and now that I have a family of my own that's where my focus needs to be.

I'll continue to blog when I can but it'll be here where I've created something based on my family and not just myself. The days of just "Hollie" are long gone, I'm part of a little group of my own now. :)

It's been fun and who knows maybe you'll catch me ranting here again one day. Until then check up on us at Love of a Lifetime if you're interested.

Later skater,
Hollie

Pocket Perfect Calendar

I've been struggling with being an organized house wife. Either I get home from work and can't possibly dream up what to have for dinner so we end up with take out, or when the weekend gets here I realize I haven't vacuumed the carpet all week. My poor house feels neglected, not to mention my husband's stomach. He does the majority of the cooking, he is so awesome at it and I think he thoroughly enjoys it. That doesn't mean that I want him to be the only cook in the house, I need to step up and take charge.

So here's where this idea came in. I wanted to create a calendar small enough for the fridge that could hold our meals for the week as well as chores that need to be done on a weekly basis. I spent an afternoon (at work) typing up our favorite meals, must be done chores, as well as each month and numbers.

Here is the outcome:

Things you'll need:

Cardboard (backing)

Scrapbook paper

Card Stock

A computer/ printer

Mod Podge

Paper clips

Foam brush

Your imagination ;)

Magnets

Glue Gun

Needle & Thread

Tape

I typed up several meals that Jon and I love to have as well as a few cute things like: Kiss your husband/wife, Dinner out!, and Do something sweet!....I also typed up various chores we have around the house as well as a few extras: ...Organize something, Pick weeds (spring/summer based of course), etc. At the beginning of each week I will choose what meals we'll have and what chores need to be done and place them in the appropriate day's pocket. That way I know what meals we're having when I get home from work, I can make sure ahead of time that we have what we need in order to make this meal, and the house will keep clean! I also thought of the idea to have Jon and I take turns picking what's out of the pocket..that way I'm not always the one cooking (more like neither is he HaHa) and I'm not always the one doing chores.

I'm really excited about this.

Wishing for Something More

I'm just not feeling it today. I feel so sad inside.

I am grateful for my life, but I want more out of it.

Monogramming it up

Lately I've had a monogram fetish; I don't know what it is, but I'm not apologizing. Last summer up at Swiss Days in Midway there was a booth designated for just that with cute initials that had super cute vintage designs on them. Last weekend I painted a distressed 'B', but I've already got plans to come up with a better 'B'. (B for Bingham, yay!) So on Monday evening I was messing around with a sweet 'H' that I got at Joann's; my intentions were just to paint it an espresso brown but then I came up with another idea.
Take a look:

What do you think? Obivously the idea isn't for everyone, but I'd love some feedback. Do you think anyone would like one for Christmas?

Hit me up yo.

Love,
Hollie

Thanks to G.D.N. (Girl's Date Night)

I wanted to thank the girls who have been spending G.D.N with me! I've had so much fun getting to know all of you, there's never a dull moment. It's really great having a group of people that you can count on and especially ones you really enjoy spending time with.

So far we've enjoyed:

 To come...December 3rd! I can't wait!

Let's keep this going! I really enjoy it. :)

Love,

Hollie

Hypocrisy and me

Jon brought to my attention last weekend that my having a blog is hypocritical of me when I talk about the uselessness of Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. I understand the similarity between sharing my thoughts and some photographs on Blogspot and those of you who chose to do so on a social network. I understand the similiarity but my opinion is totally different. I don't have 500 friends on here and I'm not checking status updates every two hours. I use my blog as a channel for my energy and thoughts, that's about it. I am grateful for it because I have my own personal journal that won't ever be erased; I'm just not much for handwriting anymore. I wouldn't fret if I lost my three readers (Sarah, Tasi, & Krysten.. I love you) because in a lot of ways this is for me. I go back and read my posts a lot, it's just as theraputic as when I write them.
I have several family members and friends who are attached to a networking account and I don't think any less of them. My opinion of the situation is just that, an opinion. I'm not trying to force anyone else to agree with me or to see my way.
This post is to extend an apology to anyone I may have offended by my previous post. Don't be upset by my opinion. I don't care if somebody finds my having a blog and hating Facebook hypocritical, neither should you.

Love,
me

The Pollution of Privacy

I realize that 90% of our population is now involved, so please don't take this as a personal attack. I read something last week that hit a nerve. Although related in a minor way it got me thinking about our society and what we have become.

• I'm driving down the street and while passing the Moore's Family BBQ & Seafood Restaurant I notice their billboard says "Visit us on Facebook".
• I'm settling in to watch an episode of Sons of Anarchy when a Macy's ad appears and at the end of it they tell me to visit them on Facebook and Twitter.
• My father-in-law's wife runs into me at Wal-Mart and informs me of the family Halloween party coming up; she then tells me I would have known sooner if only I had a Facebook account, then she could have sent me an invite.

I've made it abundantly clear what these three topics have in common. It seems like within the past year, maybe two (I could be mistaken) we have been bombarded publicly with "status updates", "tweets", and the little thumbs up icons asking us if we "like this".


I'm gonna go ahead & dislike this.

It amazes me how quickly we've adapted to social networking; not only are adults spending their lives on the site, now companies are creating profiles and using it as a marketing tool. Look how quickly we began depending on something that was created by a 20 year old college freshman. Are we that senseless and insecure?


Facebook may be free, but I promise you everything comes with a price. Which is where I begin the second topic of this post.


Last week while I was reading the news I came across a story about a young, college going man on the east coast. This man was openly homosexual and had asked his roommate to give him some privacy while he spent time with his partner. He was unaware that his roommate had set up a web cam and was going to broadcast whatever relation the two males were going to engage in. He (being our roommate) then turned to our lovely convenient social networks and broad casted what he was doing and told everyone where they could watch. This happened not once, but twice. Due to technology and our society's sick idea of "acceptance" this young man jumped off the George Washington Bridge on September 23rd and ended his life. I am not positive, but 85% sure that throughout his short life he had to of encountered several acts of ridicule and torment, this act did not stand alone in forcing his suicide but it's probably what pushed him over the edge.


It angers me that this technology has created a disadvantage for many of us. As a society we have lost all sense of privacy and most importantly our younger generations have not learned how to warrant the privacy of others because they have been taught that it is normal to know what your colleagues are doing every minute of the day. That is not normal. In Entertainment Weekly it was written, "How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?" Has it really come to this? We have caved to the desire to intrude and even worse we allow intrusion. I graduated high school in 2004, Facebook was created that very year; somehow I was able to maintain a healthy adolescence without the convenience of the Internet. We communicated. I didn't even have a cell phone until I was 17 (only because my mother insisted since I started driving), now my 12 year old nephew has one nestled in his pocket. I fear for the future because of what we have already lost.


Save some face, you've only got one. And ask yourself this, how important is your privacy to you? Better yet, how important is it when it comes to the ones you care about the most. For the family of the unfortunate young man who took his life, I'm sure they are feeling how very important their son's privacy should have been right now.

With a bonny, bonny bone that I'll burry for me own...

...in my bonny, bonny bank in the backyard.


So...let me do my very best to explain; this one is going to be hard to put into words. A few weekends ago I was playing games with my siblings and their spouses while the kids watched a movie. The movie they chose was, suprise, Lady and the Tramp. I had not seen this movie since I was somewhere between 0 and 10; I was pleasantly suprised by the thoughts that were present in me as a result of seeing it again. It was taxing to take my eyes away from the television to continue kicking ass in the game, but I was settled once I asked Melanie (my sister) if I could borrow it and she said yes.
Because I had been so young the last time I saw old Jock burrying bones in his backyard upon seeing it again my memory only had one place to take me...my childhood. Memories of my childhood rushed my mind with a vengeance. I can't possibly relive those experiences with you, but what I can tell you is how incredible my young life was. Before I was somewhat grown and had the ability to mess up the innocence my parents had bestowed on me, I was just a little girl who depended on her family. The home my mother and father so delicately crafted for their children won't ever come close to being forgotten. I know that I haven't thanked them enough for the things they have given me. Holidays were always a big deal (and so special),...accomplishments or interests never went unnoticed, numerous vacations together, love surrounded us daily; I can't think of one moment where I didn't feel protected or safe in their presence. I never wanted for anything, a goal I'm positive wasn't easy to reach. In my eyes mom and dad appeared to do this effortlessly. Nothing is ever perfection; I'm not trying to paint an unrealistic picture but who are we kidding, compared to wonderful the tough times are much easier to erase.

It isn't everyday that something so perfectly triggers moments in your life that made you extremely happy. It's not that it had so much to do with Lady and the Tramp, but that was my trigger. I watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it, Jim dear. ;) One day I will own a bloodhound just like Trusty and so help me I will name him Old Reliable. I would love to know where my avid love for animals (dogs especially) came from. It was very theraputic and emotional for me to go through the experience of seeing a childhood favorite Disney of mine. If you are aware of something that can trigger a happy time in your life for you, go for it. If you've yet to find that trigger I hope you do someday soon.
It got me thinking about the children I may have someday and how I want their lives to be. There is nothing I want more than to grant my children the life I was so successfully given. I hope that I can be present the way my mother was and even the loving provider my father was. I am so grateful to learn from two amazing examples. In a way this is a tribute to you, mom and dad, for everything you blessed me with. I love you more than you will ever ever imagine. I could not have picked better parents than the ones God chose me for. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have such a tight grasp on family and nothing will ever loosen that grip.
Jon has given me the enlightenment of a new family, one I created and I am forever indebted to him as well. We are just two peas in a pod, exactly; our life is not on a leash. Look there’s a great big hunk of world down there with no fence around it where two dogs can find adventure and excitement, and beyond those distant hills who knows what wonderful experiences. And it’s all ours for the taking, Pige. It’s all ours. I couldn't have said it better myself. Jon and I are our very own version of a Lady and a Tramp. (no pun intended Jonny)

I can't express something I hold so dear, but for your sake I hope that you, darling, can at least relate to whatever I was able to describe.

Love,
Hollie Katina