Veteran's Day Done Right...

Veteran's Day means something different to everyone. I've met so many people over the years who have a personal connection to the different branches of our armed services. A couple of months ago, our good friend, Ryan, got deployed. 

This is one of MAYBE 3 pictures that Ryan isn't making a face...
So this is what we're putting up! :) 

We miss Ryan's sarcastic sense of humor, his hatred of my cat and his "drop anything for a friend" attitude. To show him this, our group of friends banded together to send Ryan a care package. 

We got a list of things Ryan and his company might want or need: 

• Toilet Paper (the nice stuff)
• Games
• Disposable Razors
• Baby Wipes
• Facial Wipes
• Soap
• Shampoo 
• Face Wash
• Reading Materials 
• Trail Mix
• Snacks
• Football

Make sure that, if you're making a military care package, you don't include any alcohol, anything flammable or any potentially offensive material!

I thought we'd have enough stuff for one neat little package...

I was wrong!

Overwhelmed by everyone's donations!

Nice toilet paper...a MUST!

In case the Army forgets to feed him...

In case he needs to take a "baby wipe" shower...

Get clean, Ryan! Erin might hug you even if you're stinky,
but the rest of us want you so fresh and so clean, clean! 

For once, though, I am so happy I was! We had so much stuff to send to Ryan that we ended up filling up 7 boxes to send to Ryan and his company! 

If anyone knows the best way to package and ship Monopoly,
please let me know! 

I have to say a special thank you to everyone who helped out:

Melissa, Joe, Sam, Michael, Jenny, Victoria, Andy, Evan, Ms Judy and Ms Lynn (two of my residents) and Mr. and Mrs. Camac! 

Thank you all so much for dropping off goods, supplies and boxes and helping us pack everything up! We'll be sending things out soon, and we're not so sure how much shipping will be, so we'd love any donations to the "We Care about Ryan" Postage Fund!

Ask me how to help us ship these packages to Ryan! :) 

I'd also like to say a huge Thank You to Ryan's amazing girlfriend, Erin, who has been keeping us updated on Ryan's well being! Erin, we are so glad Ryan has found someone like you to love him and look after him, even when he isn't here! I honestly can't imagine how hard it is for you and the rest of Ryan's family during this time! Our thoughts and prayers are with you all! 

Erin and Ryan (at our wedding, actually...they're so cute together!)

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our Service Men and Women, past and present! 

And, to make everyone who knows/loves Ryan as much as we do, here's an awesome picture I made one day at work night at home:

That's Ryan as "Grumpy" Bear. So true...

It's House Party Time!

I love parties! I love it when my friends come over to my parties...but this time was even more awesome than the others...

There's this awesome little site I love. It's called House Party. 

Why do I love it? Well, it allows me to host awesome parties so that my friends and I can try cool products or services!

This was the second House Party I've thrown. I was particularly excited about this one because it was sponsored by Shutterfly! As many of you know, E and I just got married (well, 7 months ago, I mean, I've still got some times to send those Thank You notes, right?) and we've got a TON of awesome pictures (thanks to my fantastic brother/photographer) that I've been wanting to put into a photo book! 

Evan looking at our photo book. :) It's awesome!

Well, with this House Party, I was able to make my photo book (which I haven't actually gotten yet--but only because of myself. I have to pay the shipping and handling and I am waiting for payday...don't act like you've never done it)! Not only did I get to make a photo book, but I was able to give my 15 closest friends a free photo book of their own! 

But that's not all folks...not even a little bit! Everyone who attended got a voucher for a free photo book, 10 free holiday cards and 101 free prints if they sent a promo code to 5 of their friends! That's right, my guests got MORE free stuff for sending their friends free stuff!!! I mean, really...that's just too much awesomeness!

Holiday Cards...

and photo books...

and balloons...OH MY!

So, anyway, I had all my guests load their photos up on their accounts and when they got to my place, I helped some of them organize their books! We played some "get to know you" games (2 truths and a lie...best game ever!) and a game where made up a title for the book of their lives. Andy won this game with his book, "Stop Interrupting Me." He got an "emergency" card pack with a birthday card and a thank you card. He was very happy as he never remembers to buy cards until it's too late. His girlfriend memorized them in case he tries to give them to her sometime in the future...

I'm so grateful for everyone who came! :) It was a really fun party! And thanks to House Party and Shutterfly for letting us host! Can't wait til we get to host another one!!

I had work friends, girlfriends and hubby friends who joined the party!

These fancy pants used a tablet...

Andy and Victoria looking at their book! 

Wish I could say we were watching the video, but we weren't. It was the GA game...GO DAWGS!

Look, Andy is ACTUALLY reading the catalog! 

These cupcakes were a fail. I didn't have the patience or attention span to follow the directions.
It was my fault, but they were not at all what they were supposed to be. 

Phyllis made this apple bundt cake. I had it for breakfast, it was so good. 

Evan made this buffalo dip. It was awesome.