~Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day! A heartfelt thanks of gratitude to the veterans of this great country of ours. If it wasn't for their sacrifices we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today. God bless every serviceman who has served this country and their loved ones who have stood by them and God bless every serviceman who is currently serving our country. You have and will always have made this world a better place.

[photo courtesy of Pixabella]

~Happy Halloween

Best wishes for a fabulously wonderful and safe Halloween.

~Operation Shower

Taking a quick minute to catch up on reading blogs, I discovered this post by Amy at Stem about Operation Shower that she is involved with and I couldn't resist sharing with you. The following is a copy of Amy's post.

{So most of you here probably know I'm the Chief Event Planner for Operation Shower. Operation Shower is a 501(c)3 charity that provides "baby showers in a box" to expectant moms who have spouses deployed in the military.

You also all know what a tragic week it has been for our military and the numerous losses of life we've had this month. So, so sad.

In the midst of worry and sadness, Operation Shower tries to bring joy to military families that are separated at a very special time in their lives. Imagine being pregnant while your husband is overseas defending our country. It's not political. It's human.
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So, as we approach Thanksgiving, please take one moment and check out my post on the Operation Shower blog here. I'd be so thankful for it.

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I'd also love it if my fellow bloggers could link to the Operation Shower post. Amazing things happen with the power of the internet. I know we can all make a difference. Please, leave me a comment if you post so I can thank you personally.

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Have a safe Halloween and a blessed holiday season.

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Ever grateful,

Ames

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P.S. You can also click on our website for an opportunity to donate.}

~Sweet 16 Sweet Shoppe~

Happy Belated Sweet 16 Ashley ~ I finally am taking a day to catch up on some long overdue things, like sharing some of our recent events that I haven't had time to go through the pictures before now. This is a photo and below a collage of the very Sweet candy bar for Ashleys Sweet 16. The candy bar was delightful and so was the decor, but the decor will have to wait for another post. One thing at a time..........

The adorable "Sweet Shoppe" sign was made by Party Decorations by Marlyss who creates wonderful decor. Ashley's Mom created this Sweet candy bar and I just helped a little I was there to do the ceiling decor but couldn't resist having fun with the candy bar as well. There were so many special touches to this party I can't wait to share them all with you.
{how funny is life, Ashley's Mom just phoned to tell me she was sending the photos from the photographer, so I will leave this as a quick post and when I get the professional photos I will post those}

Until then Enjoy.................

Giving Back~One Child at a time

Aldabella Scarpa............is giving back to American Children in need. For every pair of shoes you buy they will donate one pair to an

American Child in need.

With the holidays coming it is time to buy those little ones holiday dresses and of course adorable shoes to match. Before you go looking any further for those adorable shoes check out aldabellascarpa.com. They have the most wonderful and whimsical collection of shoes all made from Italian leather in adorable color and pattern combinations. I discovered them this past week at the LA County Fair and was wishing I had a little one to buy shoes for. As a mother I was always very picky about the quality of shoes that I bought for my children and if my children were still little I would be their new biggest fan. Their product pictures do not do them justice, too cute! Not only do they offer a great product but they are paying it forward to American children, and anytime I find a charity that is working for the benefit of Americans I become a FAN!

~Thank You for sharing

For me this blogging thing is not always easy, I don't have a lot of time to create wonderful photo collages (my skills are lacking there), not always sure what to say, sometimes I feel like my posting about what I do is bragging (not that I think at all that I am better than anyone) it just goes back to my upbringing of keeping things personal and not sharing every little detail with everyone, I haven't learned yet how to thank someone for posting and I could go on and on. But the one thing blogging has brought me is new friends and the chance to see that I am not alone with my trials and tribulations of being a female business owner, a women with high expectations, a wife and a mother.

I am sitting here looking at a very busy schedule, a full calender, an upcoming week full of employee interviews, looking at paint samples taped and painted on walls, homework, bills to be paid, out my front window a garden that needs some tlc and a manicure that went south after one day of getting it done, a stack of custom job folders that I need to work on, a faithful pet who is on her last leg and so much more...........

Then I look around at my favorite blogs and see women exhausted, giving of themselves for a charity or a friend in need, taking care of their life, working on their business, struggling with financial issues and so much more. And yet they have time to help a friend, create a wonderful blog post, plan an amazing party, take care of their families and their business and so much more.

I think women are truly AMAZING and they are stepping up and getting it done and knocking themselves out to do a great job! I think that the current economy has created the opportunity for women to be aggressive and go after their dreams in order to get it done! It just blows my mind to see so many women who maybe were once stay at home moms now stepping up and creating their passion and I am proud to be part of such a group. I see husbands who are supportive of their wives efforts who might not have been so supportive a few years ago.

How we are doing it is different for everyone, but we are doing it and all you have to do is look around the internet to see great products, services and businesses that are women owned. I feel like I am sometimes sacrificing little bits of myself as my business grows and I see it and struggle with how to keep the balance, how to let my children know I love them, give my time to my husband and my friends, make the client happy, talk to my parents each day and just try to get everything checked off my to do list, but then that is just one more thing to worry about. But thanks to blogs I realize I am not alone and that helps, it helps me know that I am not just going crazy. So thank you for sharing and while I might not always have the time to post a comment or commiserate for me it means something. So please keep on sharing.