Top Ten of 2010

Honestly, I've been complaining a lot lately. Not so much complaints to other people, but just to myself or during my quiet time. At some point I stopped blabbering enough to actually hear from the Lord, and realized I needed a change of attitude. What better way to beat the grumble monster than to make a list of what I am most thankful for!

Here we go, my Top Ten of 2010:

1. God's unbelievable provision and faithfulness

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of

those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose."

2. A hard working, loving, fun, and crazy awesome husband

3. Amazing and supportive friends and family

4. A big hairy dog that makes me laugh every single day

5. A lovely home in the same city as all my favorite people in the whole wide world

6. Antique Malls (one of my favorite things to do this past year)

7. Popcorn (I'm loving it more than ever lately)

8. Fun jobs like commercial shoots and developing a new boy's clothing brand.

9. Hot Tea (I have it every morning!)

10. The Bed Intruder Song (duh, who doesn't love it?!)

Hope you all have a fantastic New Year...I'm planning to :)

FIFTY!

That's right! You guys knocked it out of the park this year!!!! We doubled the total from last year's Cans for Comments food drive :) Thanks to all who took some time these last two weeks to comment, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank will receive 50 canned goods for hungry families in Central Ohio.

I just have to say a huge

{THANK YOU}

for all your wonderful comments

that made these donations possible!!

You guys ROCK!

And please don't forget, Food banks need donations year-round, so this doesn't have to be just a holiday thing! You can learn find your local food bank and learn about Feeding America here.

Ralf Turns Four

Today is Ralf's 4th birthday!

I know he's just a dog, but I love him as if he were my child, and he brings so much joy and laughter to our lives that I just have to celebrate. I thank God on a regular basis for the loyal loving giant He gave us.

What a blessing dogs can be in the lives of the people who care for them! What's your favorite thing about your pets?

**Don't forget about Cans for Comments! There's a little over 24 hours left, so make sure you get your comment in ASAP! Every comment means food for hungry folks in Central Ohio!**

Bunny Treasures

A lovely fellow Etsy-ite featured me in her treasury!
I'm honored :)

You can check it out here.



And don't forget about Cans for Comments! We're at 17 total canned goods for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank right now with 3 more days to go! Let's knock it out of the park these next few days and get a little crazy with those comments!! Each one you leave equals one canned good-so go ahead and leave a couple!

Let it Snow!

I just love the snow this time of year! I'm pretty sure yesterday's snow fall was the first significant accumulation we've had so far this year, and I can't remember getting this kind of snow before Christmas in years. In fact, it seems like my last memory of snow like this around Christmas was when I was probably 7 years old. Snow during the Christmas season always makes the holiday feel so much more magical and wondrous.

I had a wonderful weekend! Caught up with my lovely friend Keli at IKEA, and then we got crazy and went to the mall. It was ridiculously crowded, but we're pretty much done with all our Christmas shopping now AND had a great time with Keli so it was a very successful day :)

Sunday after a good portion of the snow came down, Andy and I took Ralf to the park for a walk. He really loves the snow and so we knew he needed to go out and play. I really enjoyed the quiet that a winter snow brings to the park. Things are so peaceful, and there aren't many people there, so it's as if the whole park belongs to you. Walking Ralf in the snow is one of my very favorite winter-time activities.

What's your favorite thing about winter?

**Don't forget, your comments equal food for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank!!**

Hope

Back in October we hired our good friend Carl to take some photos.

He is amazingly talented and he did an incredible job.

I've had these pictures for over a month, but have only viewed them for the first time this week. I was apprehensive about seeing them because the day they were taken was the happiest day of my life (aside from the day I married Andy), and knowing where. Although Carl is amazing and provided us with perfect pictures of just the two of us, we actually hired him to document our announcement to our families that we were pregnant. Two days later we would have our first ultrasound and learn of the empty gestational sac, and ultimately miscarry at 12 weeks. So you can see why it took me so long to take a look at these beautiful images. I was afraid...Afraid that seeing these photographs would make me sad, that I would get depressed thinking back on this day, and that I would never want to remember.

I was nervous when I sat down with Andy at the computer. He put the disc in and the images opened up and I was overwhelmed with amazement and gratitude. Grateful for Carl's talent, but even more grateful that we had this beautiful day with our families that I will remember forever. And even with all that has happened, it is still the most fun and exciting day of my life. And even though we aren't going to have a baby right now, these pictures didn't make me sad or depressed....they made me hopeful. I see these images of the hugs, the tears, the laughter and celebration and I hear that still, small voice of the Lord whisper to my heart, "You will have this day of celebration again." And all I can feel is happy that I got to preview the excitement, joy, love and jubilee that is ahead for us some day when we get to announce this wonderful news all over again.

To see more of Carl's work, click here.

I'm dreaming of...

One of the biggest dreams I have is actually quite simple: to host a regular meal with many friends and family, all sitting at one very large, rectangular dining table. I picture us laughing, passing serving dishes full of delicious dishes, and just sharing life with each other.

Sometimes I do some dream shopping online. I found this Vintage Farm Tool Rectangular Dining Table from Restoration Hardware recently, and I absolutely LOVE it. It's definitely out of my price range, but some day I hope to stumble upon one on Craigslist or something, haha!

What are you dreaming of? What do you hope for the future?

*Also, don't forget about the Cans for Comments food drive running until December 18th!*

My favorite time of year!

The Christmas season is my very favorite time of year. I'm one of those freaks who sneaks listening to Christmas music in late September (total geek--I KNOW!). If I had the funds to decorate them all, I'd have a Christmas tree in every room of the house. I love setting out our beautiful nativity that Andy's mom got us a few years back, shopping for our fresh cut tree, pulling out all our ornaments, watching holiday movies, and just having a legit excuse to give the people I love gifts. I love Christmas so much, I even had to redecorate my little blog (even though she just got a lovely face lift last month!)

And with that it is with great joy that I announce the start of the second annual Christmas Cans for Comments food drive here at Get Reale. Last year I had the honor of donating a total of 25 canned goods to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank--I hope you guys will triple that amount this year!

Here's how it works:

For every comment you leave on any of my blog posts between December 4th, 2010 and December 18th, 2010 I will donate one canned food item to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

You may leave as many comments as your little heart desires--THEY ALL COUNT!

Your comments always mean a lot to me,

but now they will mean a lot to someone else too!

Fun with a gift card

{Recently I was provided a $25.00 gift card from BlogHer and HomeGoods}

Andy was kind enough to go with me on a little excursion to HomeGoods, and he even found a little something for himself next door at Marshalls :) I was surprised at how many cool items HomeGoods had priced under $25, and found several items I was considering buying with the gift card. Finally I discovered these:

I'm sure a candle or some lovely pine cones will look perfect inside each of them!