A Fabulously Flawed Life

I'll never forget one Christmas we were having the hardest time getting Dylan to tell us what he wanted from Santa.  He finally asked me, "If I don't tell Santa what I want, will I get it?"  I had to restrain my myself as I was at the brink of frustration with him and I said, "No! You won't.  If you don't tell people what you want -  you'll never get it."  I'm quite sure everyone in the Santa line could see the huge light-bulb over my head at that very moment.  I finally got it myself.  I have to ask for what I want otherwise I'll get just that - nothing.  I had the best conversation with a dear friend about getting what you want out of life. That conversation has been so eye opening to me.  She recently went to the Mighty Summit which was a small get together of power women in social media. The entire weekend was about their Life List and making those things happen for each other. What a profound experience to be in a ro...

Chevy Malibu is Perfecft for my Techy Family from Laurie Turk on Vimeo . This is the last video that I did for Chevy.  Honestly, I had SO much fun making them.  I'm no Spielberg or anything but man it's fun to make fun of yourself!  {{evil laugh}} As I get closer to 40 I find that I'm really quite ridiculous and I think it's hysterical! I was supposed to show off the USB port for your iPod but um... I thought it would be more fun to poke fun at how techy my family is and how we utilize ALL FOUR of the charging stations in the car.  I mean, really what other family would use all of them at once.  {{bwaahaa!}} So I hope you enjoy my little white and nerdy video .  This was all done in one take as the boys did a great job playing along.

A Little Obsessed from Laurie Turk on Vimeo . Here's a fun video I did for Chevy.  I'm making fun of my love of Diet Coke by showcasing how many cup-holders the Chevy Malibu has.  It has 6 cup-holders!  Which is as many as my minivan.  I thought that was pretty impressive. I included an inside joke I have with a few of my blogging friends.  You might notice "Rachael's Recycling".  It's from a conversation we had at Mom 2.0 Summit about recycling.  {{giggle}} I swear I'm such a bweeb but maybe it will help you start your Monday with a laugh.  I'll take one for the team - no problem!  {{giggle}}

For my birthday, Lisa organized a girls weekend and shopping in Canton. Whoohoo!  Seriously, I could not have asked for a better birthday present. It was two days and one night of roaring laughter, a lot of great finds, and surrounded by beautiful things. The past month I've been completely overwhelmed with gratitude.  Gratitude for the women in my life who are so easy to be friends with, who are so caring and genuine, and who see me as I truly am and not how they want or perceive me to be. The older I get, the more I realize how vital these kinds of friendships are. Life is way more fun when you get to let your hair down and just laugh and be yourself. These women have the uncanny ability to bring out the best of myself.  It's what my sister calls "Fun Laurie".  {{bwaahaa!}}  So a huge huge huge huge thanks to Lisa, Cali, Chanda, and Melissa for making 34 so much freakin' fun!

Dylan is now in the double digits as he turned 10 years old! To my dismay, he wanted his friend party at Main Event.  I guess good-bye are the days of home parties with decorations, props, and handmade goodie bags.  {{drat!}} The kids had a blast at laser tag, bowling, and arcade games. It's just what 12 boys want to do for a party.  They were in dude heaven. To set the party up for success, I made sure that both Davis and Drake had a friend to entrain them. Lisa and Billy came and I'm pretty sure they had just as much fun as the boys did. Main Event took care of everything.  So it was absolutely the easiest party I've ever thrown, although the ugliest.  {{shhh - don't tell Dylan}} Davis is a natural bowler and did an amazing job. Jason bowled with the little boys.  He says he was a great bowler until he took a bowling class in college.  HA!  I guess he lost his natural talent and hasn't scored as high since. ...

To celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary Jason and I went to St. Augustine, Florida for an adventure.  It's the oldest city in the United States and has a lot of rich history. One of our favorite things to do is be cheesy tourists and discover new cities. St. Augustine is perfect for us because it's right on the beach yet it has a lot of things to do and see. We did it all!  Rode the trolley tours, toured the forts, and enjoyed the time together. We even made it up all the stairs to the top of the lighthouse! Ripley's Believe it or Not! was a lot of fun with some cool photo ops. It was just a cool weekend with a lot of yummy food and quality time together. On our way to the airport we decided to take a leisurely drive along the coast and made a lunch stop quick stop in Daytona Beach. My goodness I cannot believe that it's already been 15 years that I've been married to the most wonderful man.  It seems like just yesterda...

Sadly, Drake's preschool teachers last year were not the best fit. They were a little rigid and weren't as loving and accepting as his personality requires. {{snicker}} This year we are delighted at Drake's teachers as they are scheduled yet loving, firm yet accepting.  They seem to be working with his stubborn personality appropriately and enjoying his little quirks. He looks forward to school three times a week and is learning to be flexible and to follow direction.  I can tell a huge difference in him already. Drake is more agreeable at home, at karate, at soccer, and at school.  It just goes to show that when you love and accept someone for who they are - they thrive!

After 20 months, Dylan has finally finished his ortho requirement and got his braces off. Whoohoo!! My goodness he's such a handsome young man.