PRODUCT REVIEW: creating a memory with LiveOn...

recently, i was given the opportunity to "test drive" the website a company that is dedicated to creating memories by preserving memories...

LiveOn

the idea behind LiveOn is to allow users to create an account where you can upload photos from your computer or facebook {how clever!}, create memories {aka slide shows} with ease & publish those memories to your timeline. you can even create a time capsule that will only contain the memories you wish for it to contain. honestly, i was a bit hesitant at first about reviewing LiveOn because i thought to myself, "do i really need to join another photo hosting site?"

the answer? yes!

why?

first of all, LiveOn is easy to navigate. i created an account, watched a short introductory video & created my first memory in minutes. MINUTES, y'all. i've played around with other websites & programs before and none have been as easy as LiveOn. want proof? click here to view the slide show i created. you can include text, videos & music in the slide shows, too. i was pleasantly surprised at how user friendly LiveOn's website is & creating my first memory was super easy...i can't wait to create more!

LiveOn allows you to pick & choose what to share and who to share it with. you can build what LiveOn calls a tribe. it's basically a list of followers who are viewing your timelines & memories {i've been calling them slide shows}. you can also narrate for people. this is a neat feature because it allows you to create an account for a friend or loved one who might not be able to, as LiveOn says, "tell their own stories."

i love that LiveOn also features "life questions." you'll see different questions pop up in little windows throughout the site. these "life questions" get you thinking...and you'll soon realize that this website is so much more than just creating & preserving memories. LiveOn is allowing you a place on the internet to journal, if you will, and create a keepsake that will last a lifetime.

i'm sure you're wondering...LiveOn is free. there is a paid option which grants you access to the premium features. the nice part of the paid option? you can choose it for one memory OR you can choose a monthly, yearly or lifetime option. but, don't worry about your memories...whether you are accessing LiveOn for free or paying for premium access, ALL memories stored at LiveOn are safe & secure and will be on LiveOn forever. Seriously, forever. That's LiveOn's promise to you.

even more exciting? there is an option for folks who have video tapes, film, older forms of media or physical pictures {you know, like 4x6's and polaroids} to preserve their memories, too! LiveOn Rewind is the site that handles the processing of all physical media into digital memories. your pictures, videos & other precious documents are safe & will be returned to you. if you're interested in this option, you simply choose a package to get started. {psst...and here's a 20% off code for LiveOn Rewind: cgc47}

y'all, check out LiveOn. the holidays are here. thanksgiving is tomorrow. get your camera out & take some pictures so you can get started on your own timeline at LiveOn. and, when you do, be sure to add me to your tribe so we can share our memories!


thank you to LiveOn for this sponsored opportunity to blog about storing and sharing my most important memories with those closest to me.  although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  please click here to learn more about storing and sharing your most special memories.  


i was selected for this sponsorship by clever girls collective.  all opinions expressed here are my own.

glasses filled with memories.

do you remember these glasses?

{my kids love writing messages on the chalkboard...malia's message is from the 4th of july.}

a few weeks ago, adam's mom came out of the storage shed with a box. inside the box were these glasses. she asked if we wanted them. we said yes.

i remember collecting the return of the jedi glasses when i was growing up. my favorite glass had jabba the hutt on it {i was a sick child}. most of these glasses are from mcdonald's. a couple are from burger king & arby's.

the glasses are approximately 20+ years old. they're currently sitting on the counter waiting to be washed. i have no clue where i'm going to store them. our kitchen is teeny & our storage options are even teenier. part of me wants to list these bad boys on ebay, but these glasses used to belong to my husband.

they're part of his childhood....part of his past. there's a reason my mother-in-law hung onto them for so long. perhaps she knew adam would one day want them again. and, as much as i'd rather not make room for them {because i'd rather just give them away}, i know that these glasses will not only bring my husband a little joy, but they'll also be fun for our kids.

listening to my husband talk about his childhood makes me sad. why? because his family isn't as close as it once was. he has so many good memories of how things were...how they used to be. even these glasses - as trivial as they seem to me - bring back a fond memory.

getting rid of them would be like not acknowledging my husband's childhood.
getting rid of them would mean i don't care.
getting rid of them would be a mistake.

so, this afternoon, i'll be reorganizing the cabinet & making room for our new {old} glasses.

for daddy butch.

sweet summer's daddy passed away on the 24th.  please join summer's friends as we have a day of silence to honor her father.




The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Psalm 23:1-6 NIV

11:52 a.m.

seven years ago we welcomed another beautiful soul into our lives.

malia, who was only 27 months old, was no longer an only child.  she became a big sister.

seven years have come & gone.  quickly.  

our happy-go-lucky baby is now a happy-go-lucky little boy.

happy 7th birthday to aidan.

migrants.

a few weekend's ago i decided to drive my kids by the house i grew up in.  we moved in when i was just eight years old.  i was barely in my twenties & in college when we moved out.

the magnolia tree my daddy planted was gone.  the shutters & front door were painted a different color from what i remember them being.  the lawn was definitely not the green carpet of bermuda grass my mother painstakingly cared for.  but it was still home.  my old home. 

i wanted to stop & take a picture, but i thought it might be a bit awkward considering the current owners were in the front yard.

the kids knew bits & pieces about how and why my family came to virginia.  as we drove by, malia asked me, "mom, did you guys move because cesar chavez didn't want the migrant workers to pick anymore grapes?"

i shot her a bizarre look in the rear-view mirror and replied, "no, the navy brought us here."

{at least i know malia is paying attention in school...thank you, mrs. r & mrs. h!}

THROWBACK: overworked & underpaid

**because the blogging block has hit me like a ton of bricks i've decided to resurrect old posts from time to time.**

mother's day isn't here...YET...but i still think you should click & read...

overworked & underpaid

Where in the World Wednesday

it's that time of the week again!! you know - it's time for some fun with classy in philadelphia as she hosts yet another weekly installment of where in the world wednesday.

{i'm on my lappy top & i'm too lazy to download the WITWW icon...please accept my apologies!}

you know the drill. post a pic of you anywhere in the world...whatever you consider to be traveling. tell us a lil' bit about the pic and then post the link over on this week's WITWW post at classy in philadelphia's blog.

---

this week i'm sharing a photo of me & my sweetie. we didn't travel far in this photo...we were simply a few miles up the road from our home at the virginia beach amphitheater.

the date: august 15, 2007

the concert: dave matthews band

memories of the show are kinda bittersweet {wow, my hair was really light back then!}. these were the best seats we've ever had for a dave show {and we've been going since the 1990s} - 8th row orchestra. this was also the last concert that WE saw in which musical extraordinaire, leroi moore, played with the band. he was injured in an accident & was too fragile to play with the band during 2008's summer show and, sadly, many months before the 2009 summer show rolled around, he had passed away. but, don't fret...we're all still dancing with the groogrux king.

yeah, what she said!

so, i was reading lula's latest post {get thou arse over to lulaville a.s.a.p. if you are slightly confused at this very moment} and she was discussing how time magazine said that the 2000-2009 timespan has been the worst decade ever.

seriously?

i know nothing about that time magazine article. i don't even read time magazine {but plop a southern living magazine in my lap and i'll read it cover to cover...three times}.

but, really? worst ever??

it's amazing to think that the first ten years of the y2k years have already flown by, but was it really that bad??

lula & i don't think so.

let's put all of the decade's political bullshit, socio-economic woes & wacko celebrity news to the side. i want to talk about my decade & why i consider it to be one of the best ever.

2000 - i graduated from college. on mother's day. i braved that wicked virginia humidity in a blacker than black polyester cap & gown and glided across that stage to gladly accept my diploma. {also, all within months after graduating, i started a wonderful job & found out that i was pregnant. yeah, 2000 was a pretty eventful year.}
2001 - i gave birth to the most beautiful & sassiest girl i know - my sweet, malia. and, by sassy, i mean sassy in the sweet way us girls are. really.
2002 - adam & i decided that it was probably time for us to get married considering we had been together for eight years & already started a family. i also moved & started a new job...all just a month before our wedding.
2003 - i gave birth to the most handsome & goofiest boy i know - my sweet, aidan. aidan truly is goofy...he is, afterall, his father's son.
2004 - i quit working full-time...and then quickly decided that being a stay-at-home mom wasn't "my thing." moms, if you've always worked {like i have} then you know the transition isn't an easy one.
2005 - i decided to go back to school to earn a masters degree in elementary education. i never finished, but it is still something i think about completing all of the time.
2006 - my mother announced to the family that she had breast cancer. thank God...no, no...praise God that she is absolutely healthy today.
2007 - i made the big decision to go to work with my husband {and FIL}. in other words, he became my boss in the office. working for/with family is not easy. trust me. i also turned 30.
2008 - my sister got married to a wonderful man whom i'm proud to call my brother-in-law.
2009 - i made the even bigger decision to leave my comfy, cozy job working with my husband {and FIL}. it's a decision that has affected us financially because going from two incomes to one is never any fun. but, it was the best decision i've made in a very long while. no risk, no gain.

i think it's very safe to say that my decade wasn't so bad. there were good times. there were plenty of bad times. ups, downs. highs, lows. but it definitely was not the worst decade ever. not my worst decade ever, at least. everything that happened - both positive & negative - has helped to strengthen me & continually mold me into the person i am today. things happened for a reason. there are no regrets...only rejoices {even, i might add, for the crappy stuff}.

2010. the prospect of it is exciting.

and i'm hoping that these next ten years will be even more exciting than the last.

africa & electricity.

you know that nor'easter we're currently at the mercy of? well, it's kicked up some pretty fierce winds. we've been experiencing some pretty strong & steady gusts of wind...so much so that my six year old son says this to me:

"mom, those are some pretty powerful winds outside, aren't they? they're so strong they could blow you to africa. well, maybe not to africa. that can't happen. that only happens in the movies."

our electricity is currently flickering off & on, too. well, not completely off, but just enough to make me want to make about six more cups of coffee & completely charge my cell phone {for internet access, people, not for emergency purposes...although, lack of internet access would be an emergency, right?}. well, the flickering lights triggered another anecdote from my son:

"mom, remember when i was three {it must have been a good year} and the electricity went out? it got dark and i screamed like a girl because i thought monsters were in the house?"

oh, the imagination of that boy.

i had better go brew some more coffee & charge my phone -- just in case the electricity does go out & the monsters come and the wind takes me away to africa.

it was a good year.

My son is six years old. He likes to talk {hmm...I wonder which parent he inherited that from?!}.

Here lately, he's been chattering non-stop about all of the things he's done so far. You know, "in his whole life."

Apparently, the age of three was good to him because all of his stories start off, "When I was three..." or "I did that when I was three..." or "I remember being three..." -- and, trust me, he's done a lot of reminiscing lately.

Indeed, three was a magical year in my son's eyes. Here's hoping that as he continues to grow & mature that he has many more wonderful memories of other years besides being just three.

Good Dog Logan

After a very brave fight against Lymphoma, my sister, Monica, and her husband, James, said farewell to their Golden Retriever, Logan, this morning. He was eight years old.

It's been a rough few months for them as they endured weekly chemo treatments, special food, mounting veterinarian bills & other related issues...all the while working full-time {James is a teacher & my sister is in her last year of her Pathology residency} and raising their other fur baby, Moxie, the Bernese Mountain Dog.

I haven't talked to my sister or to James yet. I can't. I am not ready to. I'm having a hard time even typing this post! I will let them have their time. Time to cherish Logan's memory, time to grieve, time to find the strength to move on.

Godspeed, Logan, you were a good dog.

{I got the pics from J & M's Facebook pages}

MIRACLES AWAIT

Please join me as I help my friend, Catrina, in celebrating the lives of two young people from Mt. Pocono, PA...

Miracles Await is a fundraiser/benefit that is being held in Lauren & Zachary's honor. Both were students at Pocono Mountain East High School and both lost their lives back in March. The purpose of the benefit is two-fold -- to establish two separate scholarships in each teen's honor and to raise awareness about the dangers of drugs.

This cause is near & dear to my friend, Catrina's, heart. Catrina's family & Lauren's family are close...so close you could say that each was like a second family to the other. Catrina has fond memories of babysitting Lauren and she has told me so much about how talented Lauren was and how much she enjoyed art.

So, here is where I turn to you - because we are a tight-knit blogging community, ya know. Catrina is asking that we help {in any way that we can} by either giving a financial donation to Miracles Await or by donating items to be included in gift baskets that will be raffled at the benefit. Anything and everything is appreciated, so please click here for more details. It is a bit of a short notice - the benefit is on July 12th - but there is still plenty of time to help this noble cause.

Miracles truly DO await for those who believe...

48 cupcakes later...

And I'm feeling a bit sick to my stomach.

I suppose it's a good 'sick to my stomach feeling' - it's quite bittersweet, actually.

My baby turns SIX tomorrow.

While we were in the car this afternoon waiting to pick up his sister, I stole a glance at him in the rear view mirror. He's so grown up looking - thinning out - his lil' boy chubby cuteness is evolving into lil' guy handsomeness.

Six. Headed into first grade next year.

He's not as independent as his sister nor is he as headstrong & demanding as she is - he still has his "baby of the family" charm.

But he's going to be six. Tomorrow.

It didn't really hit me as hard when Malia turned six. I suppose it's different now. Because now I no longer have babies...I've got children. Children who - in the blink of an eye - are growing up so fast that, just once, I wish they would slow down and let me hold them again like I did when they were infants.


A proper birthday post is to follow - tomorrow, of course - I just really needed to get his off of my (teeny) chest.

HOW BIZARRE

Isn't it funny how certain images or scents can thrust your mind back to some memory that you either look back on with fondness or regret anguish? Songs do this, too...at least they do to me. I swear I'm not the only one out there who associates songs with certain feelings or memories, right?

This morning on the way to work OMC's "How Bizarre" came on the radio. I haven't heard the song in a few years. As I was driving down the road I was quickly taken back to my very late teen years circa 1997 (I turned 20 in September of that year). That was a fun time...fun, but frustrating (now that I look back). But, I suppose the definition of fun all depends on who you ask. I could remember the people Adam and I were hanging out with, what we were doing, where we were hanging out...all of those memories came flooding back. Some were good, some were not so good. Regrets? Nah. Things happen for a reason, right? It's just crazy how that one song flooded my mind with a hodge-podge of mixed emotions and a basic flashback-like montage of how right, but so wrong my life was back then. Pretty heavy stuff for a Monday morning commute to work, huh?

OMC's "How Bizarre" is just one of many songs that "take me back." The human mind is a spectacular thing...it's amazing how much we retain and how something as simple as a song can produce such strong emotions and memories....

So, what's a song that triggers a memory in your mind? (You don't have to share the specific memory...like it says in OMC's "How Bizarre" -- 'Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights...')