I've been looking forward to joining this party of all parties!

The first thing that went through my mind was "what should I tell everyone?"; not far behind came "what would make someone want to come back?''.  I began to piece together the answers to the first question in my mind but decided that the 2nd one was not mine to answer right now. I long to have a "productive" and "fun-for-all" blog one day, but at this time in our lives, there are too many obstacles to overcome. I know that when the time is right, God will put it all together. And I will smile. Inside and out.

My name is actually Kellie... not Sue. The title for my blog came about because my husband used to tell me that my best attribute was my smile. He said that I had a "sunny" personality. Then one day at church, one of the older men (not old, just 20 yrs. older than me) that I did volunteer work for, and truly respected, told me that I lit up a room when I walked in with my smile. He was like a father figure and it meant the world to me. Well, hubby was there and heard his compliment as well, and Sunny Sue was born.

I am a mother to 2 teen girls who have grown faster than I could ever imagine. I remember big bows and picking out clothes. Now we are beginning to search for colleges and taking ACTs and SATs. I am proud of who they have become and the days when I long for their presence are fast approaching.

Hubby and I celebrated our 20th anniversary this year and have lived in 4 different states throughout our marriage. We began in Texas and are back "home" again. I love being a Texan but I use the term "home" a bit loosely. We are not sure where that is exactly anymore. Our family is going through the biggest struggle of our lives right now. Jobless for 9 months. I won't linger there because we know that God has a plan for us and we are trying our darnedest to hang in there and stay positive.

My blog is mostly about family and stuff I love. I love to scrapbook and plan to share more of some of my favorite things. I like to share about tips I learn, books I read, and blogs I love. I hope you will hang around and get to know me better.

For now, join the party and meet some new bloggers!

My Blogoversary & A New Party

Yes, it is true. It has been one year since I first started this blog. It has transformed and stalled (due to very limited internet) all within a year. There have been many blogs that I would like to imitate. There are many bloggers that I would like to be like. I would put cute little links in here for them, but today I am just short on time.

There are a few weird things going on with this blog as of late... commentors receiving e-mails that their comment was rejected and not being able to post certain pics with their links (such as the button I speak about below). Hopefully I will get it all resolved soon! Anyway...

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY TO ME!

I have been seeing this cute little button (below) on some of the blogs I frequent. I have not been a consistent blogger because of our current situation, I only have a handful of followers, and I have a whole lot to learn about this blogging community. But, there is so much that I want to do with it!

My problem...
                     I want to know it all and do it all RIGHT NOW!


For today, I have decided to join this blog party. It seems like a fitting way to celebrate by letting you get to know me a bit better.


 

What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life?
George Strait, Matthew McConaughey, Beth Moore :-)

Who is your favorite blogger? Why?
Big Mama- F.U.N.N.Y.
Carissa - honest, real, and relatable

What is your comfort food/drink?
Dr. Pepper is my drink. Kind of wish I could stop drinking it to be more healthy. Kind of.
Ice Cream. Oh, ice cream. Blue Bell, of course. I am a Texan, you know.

Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.
I am a bit of a germaphobe. Love me some Clorox wipes and Germ-X.

Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?
Work in a scrapbook store and/or create digital scrapbook papers and elements.

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?
Definitely Romantic Comedies like Sweet Home Alabama and Pretty Woman 
Dramas based on true stories like Remember the Titans and The Blind Side

 Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?
Christian Fiction... Karen Kingsbury is my fave. Seems like the largest % of Christian Fiction writers like to write about the Amish or living in the Old West. Karen is current and so life applicable.
Would love any recommendations if any of you have any. :-)


Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types?
We used to call it Contemporary Christian. Now, it gets many names. Faves are hillsong united, MercyMe, Casting Crowns, etc, etc, etc. Way too many to name.
However, my overwhelming favorite would be if I could get our old church in Tulsa - Church on the Move to put out a worship CD. Andy Chrisman (4Him) and Kenneth Weston and the rest of their crew just make me want shout from the mountain tops.

I also like a little country like The King of country... George Strait, Keith Urban, Sugarland, and Lady Antebellum, etc. Too many for this list, too.

If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
10% to the church, pay for my girls' college, buy a new house, take a vacation with my family (We have only been on one real one that wasn't to visit family and it was still in Texas!)

Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).
How about 2?
Scrapbook paper - I am a collector. I have a great desire to put it all to use someday!
Magazines - Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc., Real Simple, and All You - LOVE THEM!

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
I really don't have a clue. A medium sized town with 4 seasons.


What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).
Helping people. I love to open the door for someone, carry something for somebody that needs help, push someone in a wheel chair. Things like that.

What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?
A fresh watermelon or cucumber
A Bird of Paradise Circle E candle

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?
Definitely less.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in?
Pottery Barn, Coldwater Creek, North Style (catalog)

What is your greatest fear or strange phobia?
Losing family or me not being able to see our girls grow up and have their own families.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Our girls

What are your favorite animals?
Dogs, dogs, dogs

I think that is enough revealing for today! If you want to join in, you still have a few more days over at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground . I look forward to getting to know more about you, too!

Nothing too profound

Over the past few days, I have taken the time to "catch up" online a bit. What that means actually is that I have made it a priority to read some blogs from "old friends". They are those that have been so supportive through this experience we are going through and I have relied heavily on their encouragement. It has been so refreshing. It is like new life has been breathed into my soul. Connecting with you all has been such a blessing. You know when you are so excited about something that you just want to shout it from the mountaintops? It has been that kind of feeling.

There are many blogs that I haven't gotten to yet, but I will. I won't ever be able to go back and catch up with all of the happenings I have missed. Just to be a part of your lives again fulfills me. It is strange - this blogging world. One day I hope to meet many of you in person. Because to me, you are such an important part of my life.

I am glad to be back. 

Sunny Saturday

The sun was shining brightly this morning... at 6:30 a.m.! I know that it is summertime and the days are getting longer, but I didn't realize that Mr. Sun arose so early. I was obviously oblivious :-) during those last days of school when we stumbled to our feet at 5:00 a.m.

My struggle this morning was focusing on God. This is what my brain was like during my prayer time:

"Good Morning, God. Thank you so much for the beautiful sun this morning. (Thoughts that interrupted prayer... Boy, I wish it wasn't going to get so hot today, though. I am going to be sweating-something-fierce going through and getting rid of stuff before our move. Oh poo. I have to clean up and go to the library today. When would be the best time for that?)
Forgive me, God, for being so distracted. I do want to ask for your forgiveness of my sins. (Let's see... did I overeat yesterday? Oh yeah. I had too many cookies.)  Forgive me for allowing fear, anxiety, and worry overcome me. I know that You are here for me and that You will take care of me and my family. (Now which verses was I going to remember for today? I wish that dog would quit scratching. I sure am sleepy.)"

And so it went. Until I woke up enough to realize that I was WAY TOO distracted and needed a "do-over".  Please, somebody tell me that you have done the same thing!

Anyway, after a bit more focus and quiet time, I made my way upstairs to catch up on a few blogs before the crew woke up. First, I checked in on Amber at Stolen Moments to see what she had been creating lately. Guess what? I am mentioned on her Friday post. Actually, she was giving examples of her blog designs. Still... too fun! (Thanks again, Amber!)

Jumping around to look for inspiration, I stopped by to visit at All Thingz Related. Bridgette and Rebekah always have fun ideas to share and get me excited about creating something. They just did their 9th Anything Related post this past Tuesday and there are over 90 ideas that people sent in just this week alone. Ladies, this will get your creative juices flowing! You must go by and check them out and hop around from there. Let me know if you find something or a new blog you love.
Let the creativity begin!

New and Improved

Ta Da! 
How do you like it? I have had so much fun working with my blog gal, Amber. Boy, has she been patient with me! I have asked loads of questions and have given her a ton of suggestions. She hung in there with me though, and I am so very pleased she did. If you are ever in need of a blogover :-), she just might be your gal too. She is also a digital scrapbooking designer for ScrapMatters.com. All of the paper and accessories you see on this blog are her designs. Aren't they great?! You must stop by and see all of her goodies. 

I still have a few touch ups to do, but for now I must go to bed! Feeling sleep deprived. Until tomorrow. Actually it is already tomorrow. Good grief. Good night.

Thanks again Amber!

Brain Blip

It is already Thursday and just last night I realized that Tips Tuesday slipped right by me. I didn't even think about it. Wow. Where have I been? Actually, I know what I've been up to... working on my new blog design with my design gal. :-) I will introduce you to her when she gets it up and running. Soon. Very soon.

In my search of a gazillion (yes, that's a word, I don't care who you are) blogs, looking for things I wanted to copy, I came across the CUTEST idea for a birthday party. You must check out this bumble bee party over at Design Dazzle and from there connect to the birthday girl's mom's blog for even more pics. I don't think I have ever seen such a fab celebration for a 3 year old.

Short post for today as I am off to finish the details that I need to send in to my design gal! ;-)

I have found her!

Ok, I know that I said that I was "Done for now", but it was so not true. I have been a bit absent from the blogging world because I just wasn't settled. Even though I LOVE the paper I chose from Summertime Designs which was made into a background by Simply Blog It Backgrounds, it just didn't seem to fit my "name". (By the way, the young ladies at these 2 blogs were Oh. So. Kind. to me and very prompt in their replies to e-mails I sent their way!) Anyway, I wanted to bling out my blog a bit. :-) I was spending WAY TOO MUCH time learning how to rewrite codes, etc. to get what I was wanting and I wasn't spending any time writing. 

So, without further ado (on National Scrapbook Day, yesterday) I found her. The one who will put me at ease. The one who is going to design my blog the way I wish I could. She designs exclusively for Scrap Matters.com.  I am so excited! Literally. I feel as if I have been set free. What a feeling! That may sound weird, but so true. 

It will take a few days to get it complete, but now I feel there is hope. :-) I can now devote my hours of internet search to writing. And cleaning. And laundry. Oh joy. 

My new favorite thing...

Before I can post anything else, I must tell you about my new fave. B-l-o-g-g-i-n-g. More specifically... making blogging friends. Just yesterday I commented on a blog, expecting nothing in return. Not only did I get something in return... but 2 sweet somethings! Words of encouragement from 2 wise women that I may have never met in person but that have blessed me beyond measure.

Let me begin with the first one. This beautiful woman is wise beyond her years. Her love of Jesus is contagious and her gift of words is both encouraging and inspiring.  I look forward to reading about her "lowercase letters" each day. What a blessing she is. Living her life for Jesus.

The next words of encouragement came from another beautiful woman with a smile that must light up Texas. I have talked about her perspective before because she has challenged me on more than one occasion to see things differently. To celebrate and cherish our time with family. In the little things. Those things that are gifts from God.

So, I say "Thank you, ladies" for taking the time to encourage me and enrich my life. May God bless you both tenfold.

Done for now.

I have messed around with this blog way too much over the past few days.  It is not quite how I want it but decided it will just be this way for now.  I am struggling with having a blog that looks "scrapbookish" because that is one thing that I dearly love, or being more contemporary and "hip" because I like the look of the blogs that I visit with that appeal. I also struggle with monetizing. I have had a dear friend offer to do a website for me and "hook me up" to bring in some moolah. It would certainly be beneficial but right now I am just in overwhelm mode. So, I shall just leave it for now and move on to more important things. Maybe I will revisit this offer a little later.

We still have changes brewing with our family and as soon as I am able, I will fill you in. Waiting is not my favorite thing. I am not good at it. I continue to work on it, though. Also working on not saying that I am not good at something. Hubby's orders. :-) I shall not pray for the p-word while we wait. (Can you tell that I am talking sternly to myself?) I don't want to be given something that will teach me how. I'll just wait... and trust God to be in control. Ugh. So hard sometimes.

Changes brewing...

This title speaks about more than one aspect of our lives, but right now I will just talk about the blog changes. Hang in there with me. I am in the middle of redesigning it and this is by no means the finished product. It is pre-addition of a new header and buttons. Hopefully later today I can get Tips Tuesday posted and I will work on getting this whole thing updated and completed by the end of the week. Stayed tuned...