The almost finished product

Since I saw this picture last week I have been really excited to get home so I can make one.  I was a little nervous about it being really expensive because I had seen really pricey canvases before.  However, Hobby Lobby saves the day, once again.  You can get 2 canvases for $7.99!!!!  Anyway, so I went there yesterday and got all of the supplies and once I got home there was no stopping the creative magic that was happening.  Everytime Gary walked by I would ask him what he thought.  His answer, of course, was always the same, "Looks good!"  I had so much fun making it!  I was really sad when I was finished and had to put the paint away.  However, I think this might be my new favorite thing to make for baby showers (so friends get ready!!).

I was going to go ahead and put the date of the scheduled C-section, but it would have been my luck that he isn't born on that day, so I'll fill it in later.  Also, Melvin and Laura haven't decided on a middle name, so that too will be filled in later along with his weight.  I might add inches on the cloth as well and I think after the date I'm going to add the time.  I already have it wrapped up for her shower on Sunday, but I will have a black sharpie with me when he is born to fill in the empty spots.  I really think it turned out great.  I already had a lot of the supplies, so I think it ended up being about $15.  Oh and I have another canvas and all of the paints, so really it was that much for more than one!!! 

I have all of her presents already wrapped and in the living room waiting for Sunday and I might just go check her registry again and grab a couple more things :).  This is already starting to get out of control!!

Happy Painting,

Kimberly



A little overview

I have to get a cord to connect to the computer from the cameras we took with us this weekend.  Our camera decided not to work and thankfully I thought about grabbing Gary's parent's cameras before we left.  I'll give you just a quick overview of how it all went down...

I got home on Thursday afternoon and Gary's parents were already at the house.  I forgot to tell them that I hadn't told him yet where we were going.  Well, at this point he still thought we were driving and the fact that they were there was kind of confusing him.  However, they did have to drop their cameras off and then they were just hanging around.  Well, right before we left, I gave him his final clue.  I took pictures as he opened it to get his reaction because someone had suggested I do that, but I forgot that I married a man with no emotion, so the pictures just look like he looking at a piece of paper (HAHA).  The boarding pass was in the last envelope.  At this point, he realizes why his parents are there.  We stopped by Waffle House for dinner and hit the airport.  We were on time and had plenty of time to spare.  However, our plane was not showing up.  Come to find out our plane was coming from Baltimore and they had really bad weather, which meant that our plane was delayed about 2 hours.  Good thing I didn't have anything planned for that night.  We got to our hotel about midnight.  I spoil the whole weekend yet because I have lots of pictures to go along with it, but here a few just to get you interested.  These pictures were taken with my phone so they aren't great quality, but Gary's dad's camera has some great shots on them and I can't wait to show you!!

The Chicago Theater

YUMMY YUMMY Chicago style deap dish pizza!!  MMMHHHHMMMM

Gary isn't much of the poser for the camera so I had to try really hard to get a good shot of him eating it.  We loved it and on our last night we got some delivered to our room :).

I'll update you more later with lots more pictures!!

Happy Day,

Kimberly



WE'RE IN CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!

I had a couple of Pictures to load onto here, but our internet connection is not good.  We hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend!!!!!

From Chicago,
Kimberly

Rough Draft

So, Remember how I have a new nephew coming in August?  Well, Laura's shower is next Sunday and Aunt Kimberly is definitly showering her with some gifts.  I saw this post from my friend Ashley a while back and knew that I had to make something like for Benjamin.  I would keep it a complete surprise, but I don't think Laura reads my blog much because they don't have internet at their house.  However, if she did see it I would still be ok with it since I hope to have it finished in a week. 

I actually saw this on a friends facebook from the baby she just had in April.  So, I drew a quick sketch and took a picture so that I could remember how it looked once I get the canvas and paint colors and also to see if I could even draw it! 

The original

My sketch

I think I can do it.  Yes, we already know when he is going to be born because Laura has to have a C-Section.  I've already asked off work and have my seat saved in the waiting room (ok jk about the waiting room)!  I want him to grow inside his mommy's tummy so he will be a beautiful healthy baby, but I"M SOOOOOO READY TO HOLD HIM AND SQUEEZE HIM AND KISS HIM!!!!  Aunt Kimberly loves you Benjamin!!!

Happy spoiling,

Kimberly

Clue #10

Can you believe today is the day????  We leave tonight for our trip I have been planning for over a month now.  I'm so excited!!!!  Today is the final clue...

The slogan of 105.9, the classic rock radio station in this city: 'Of all the radio stations in ______... we're one of them!

Isn't that hilarious!!!  I just thought it was funny!!! 

In the last envelope I will even reveal where we are going and this is how...

Once he opens this folded paper he will know where we are headed!  He still won't have any idea what we are doing once we get there, but I'll probably be so excited I won't be able to contain it and I'll let him know what all I've got planned, which really isn't that much, but I'm excited!!! 

I hope you all have had fun playing the game with Gary.  I think he has had fun with it!  I honestly think he knows where we are going, but he is playing along really well!

I know some of you are dying to know, so maybe once we get there tonight I'll reveal it to all of you!!  If you want to see all of the previous clues click here and see if you can guess it!!!!

Happy Guessing,

Kimberly

Suprise Destination Forecast!!!!!

We leave tomorrow night and come back home on Monday.  Check out the weather we'll be working with!!!

Clues #8 & 9

Since I started this clue giving last Wednesday if I only did 1 clue a day I would have ended up with 9 clues, but I didn't want to end up with 9.  So, today ON OUR ANNIVERSARY is double clue day!!!!!  YAY!!! 

In 1905, this city's baseball president filed charges against a fan in the bleachers for catching a fly ball and keeping it.

The game of 16-inch softball, which is played without gloves, was invented in this city.

Today was sporty facts!!  Even though Gary is not necessarily the most into sports guy out there, I have to keep some of my roots and include some facts about sports!  So, this gives him a double chance today to figure out where we are going on our anniversary trip!  Tomorrow is the last and final clue and the day we hit the road or the air (he doesn't even know if we are flying or driving :) ).

If you need to catch up here all the other clues:

• Clue #1
• Clue #2
• Clue #3
• Clue #4
• Clue #5
• Clue #6
• Clue #7

Happy Guessing,

Kimberly

2 years and counting

Today is the actual day of our anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHOOO HOOO!!!  We are going strong!  We are in love and I can't wait to continue this life, love, and happily ever after with Gary!!  He has taught me so much and I know that I have made him loosen up a bit :).  Happy 2 Year Anniversary Gar!!  If you want to re-read the poem I wrote for our 1 year anniversary you can find it here!

Happy Loving,
Kimberly

Donating

In case you haven't seen me in a while, I have not gotten a 'real' haircut in a while!!!  I think the last time I chopped it off was the summer between my junior/senior year in college, which was 5 years ago??!!!??  I have been living off trims and no haircuts for that long.  So, need less to say, the mop was getting a little out of control and even when I went to Makin' Music at Freed in April a few people did call me rapunzel.  As much as I loved tangled I never intended my hair to be long enough to climb a tower with.  I have always wanted to donate my hair, but I never let it grow long enough or it wasn't healthy enough.  I have extremely dry hair so straightening and constant ponytailing breaks off the ends worse than someone with oily hair (at least that's what I tell myself).  However, since the tips were almost to the top of my tail bone, I figured I would have enough healthy parts to get away with giving it away.  So, Saturday morning I slept in, cleaned up around the house, took a shower, and for the last time straightened and curled the wild mess of heep that graced my head.  I wanted to get the before and after pictures at the salon and I didn't want the before ones to look horrible, so that's why I fixed it.

these pictures were taken via camera phone because the digital camera I took with me decided not to work. 

Of course most of the curl had fallen out with the less than 10 minutes that I spent in the humidity, but oh well.

I knew I wanted to go about chin length.  I had taken a picture into Chloe, but I knew with my hair being thicker it wouldn't turn out exactly the same and plus the picture was a girl with blonde hair :).  I used to color my hair a lot when I was in college and lived with Deanna, the aspiring hairstylist that came to Freed for Makin' Music :), but not much since then and never did I go blonde.  Just a few highlights here and there and maybe a red all over color, nothing too crazy.  Chloe and I agreed that going blonde was out of the question, but highlights were definitly a must!

Me with the 10.5 inches (roughly) I was able to donate.

I'll be honest, everytime I get my hair cut I think it's the end of the world.  I started freaking out on my way home and even texted Chloe that I needed it shorter, however, once I started playing around with it I really liked it.  I still want to go shorter next time, but I think I need to get used to fixing this style first. 

This is with the ends a little more straight.  I also wore it curly today, but I'm not sure it's my favorite.  I know people with curly hair always want straight and vice versa, but I truly believe that straight hair is prettier (at least on me).  This statement, however, does not mean I won't ever wear it curly because, after all, I'm a tomboy at heart and the easier the better :).

I hope you enjoyed the before and after pics and if you want to donate your hair you can find Chloe's facebook page here!!  If you aren't on facebook but would like to contact her just let me know and I'll hook you up!!  Or if you just need a good hairstylest in the Rutherford County, TN area (she doesn't only do hair donation :) ).

Happy donating,

Kimberly

Clue #7

Good Morning!!  We are almost to Thursday, which is the day we leave for the big trip!!  We are now on clue #7...

This city has the only post office in the world you can drive a car through.

Do you think that means there is a drive-through or it's just big enough to drive-through??  Well, I think it means there's a drive-through, which explains my statement at the bottom of the page :).

There are some people who read my blog...hmm hmm...that just don't have the patience to play along and I have had to tell them where we are going.  That's perfectly fine with me, but please don't tell Gary.  So, if you are one of those people that just isn't having fun with this and just wants to know now, I don't mind telling you just email or facebook me and I'll let you in on the secret!!

In case you have missed the previous clues check here.

Happy Guessing,

Kimberly

Lost in the mail

Have you ever sent someone something that never reached them?  Well, on January 4, 2011 (that's the date on the check) I gave a letter and a check to the hotel concierge at the Sheraton and with the address to my sister's house in Arab, AL on the envelope I trusted that within a week or two she would receive the mail.  Well, weeks came and went and we discussed the check not arriving several times when we talked on the phone, but then after time went on we both kind of forgot about it.

This morning, Jonathan, the other guy that was in Malaysia with us, came by my desk and handed me an envelope with my sister's address on it and stamps from Malaysia gracing the front. 

I looked at it and back at him and then back at the envelope.  He said, "Do you remember Roy from Malaysia?"  I said, "Yes."  He replied, "Well, he gave this to me."  I just non-chalantly said, "Oh ok" and then turned back toward my computer and then stopped and said, "Wait, did you go to Malaysia?"  He chuckled and said, "No, Roy is here and this got sent back to the office over there so he brought it with him."  "OOOOHHHHHH!!!"  I replied.

It was kind of fun to see a letter that I had written while I was there.  Of course since this was in January it was towards the end of our stay, which meant I was a getting a little homesick.  The letter is really funny!  I talked to my sister, if not everyday, every-other-day.  So, there were not many things that I didn't tell her.  However, in this letter you can tell that I'm a little upset about one event that happened...

I know you can't read this so I'll tell you what it says.  Towards the beginning of the second paragraph, yes I write my letters in paragraphs (dork right?), it says that I'm missing the little comforts from home...for example...we went to Burger King yesterday and I really wanted some onion ring sauce, but they don't have it here.  Then I rambled about how places like that should be the same no matter where you are.  Then I remembered when we were in India for Christmas and went to McDonalds that they only had chicken burgers on their menu because of the Hindu population.  The P.S. is another favorite part of mine.  It says, "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls by TLC just came on my grooveshark :)."  Gotta love that returned mail that reminds you of what you were experiencing right then and there!

In case you were wondering, I did put my parents address as the return address, but since I didn't put USA on either address I'm guessing it never made it out of Malaysia.  I used a Service Source Malaysia envelope that had their address on it so that's why it was returned there instead of the return address.

Happy memories,

Kimberly



Clue #6

Good Monday Morning!!!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We sure did, it was busy, but good!  In case this is your first time seeing the clues and you would like to catch up please click on the links below to find the first 5 clues:

• Clue #1
• Clue #2
• Clue #3
• Clue #4
• Clue #5

Now for today's clue.  In case you forgot, yesterday was the last state given clue and today starts the first city clue.

The first animal purchased for this city zoo was a bear cub, bought for $10 on June 1, 1874.

While living in Malaysia, Gary and I watched a lot of Discovery Channel and they have shows about people who have been attacked by wild animals.  Well, while staying a Gary's grandparents a couple of weeks ago we had access to the Discovery Channel again and while we got ready for Gary's graduation there was a show on about bear attacks.  I have seen black bears several times while in Gatlinburg or other places, but have never felt threatened by them.  On this show they showed a black bear attack and they made sure to let the viewing audience know that black bear attacks are rare, but they do happen.  When attacked by a grizzly bear, most people know, that the best way to end the attack is to play dead, however, with black bears the only hope you have is to fight back.  Man-oh-man does that scare me to death!!!  Not that I plan on seeing any bears anytime soon out in the wild, but Gary and his friends go camping a lot and I fear that they might run up on a bear at some point, so on the bottom of this clue I put the fighting stratgies for each bear!!  Now, all of you readers know in case you are ever faced with this danger!

Sorry to be so serious about this for a minute, but it scares me!!  Anyway, I thought this was a super interesting fact because of how cheap the bear was.  I have no idea how much zoos pay for animals today, but I'm sure it's more than $10.

If you know the answer or have a guess feel free to email or facebook me!!! 

Happy Guessing,

Kimberly

Clue #5

I gave Gary his 5th and final state clue this morning on the way to church.  Once again, he said this one does not help him to figure out where in the round world we are going :).  I'm a lot better at this than I thought!

In this state, Michael is the top name chosen for boys and Emily is the top girl choice.  

We are constantly talking about baby names and I'm always giving him names to think about.  This fact just only seemed relevant to add since we already talk about these things anyway.

From now until Thursday (the day we live for our trip) the clues will be facts about the actual city we are going to!  

Like I have said for the last 4 clues here, here, here, and here please don't post your guesses on here, but email or facebook me personally and I'll let you know if you are correct.  My uncle has already guessed it :).

Happy guessing, 

Kimberly

Clue #4

Happy Saturday!!  We have a full day ahead of us...I have a hair appointment (more on that later :) ), nephews b-day party, VBS taping, and another birthday get-together for a friend's birthday tonight.  Busy busy busy!!  However, I didn't want to leave anyone hanging who might be a weekend blog reader.  I'll be honest I'm usually just a 'during the week blog reader and poster,' but this guessing game I have going on calls for a little out of the norm posting.  So, I forgot to give Gary clue #3 until this morning, so I just bunched it with clue #4...

Square dancing is this state's state dance

This may give it away for some of you, but once again if you think you know, please don't post your answers on here (even though I have the ability to let it be seen or not since you have to get my approval, but it still scares me like he might see it something).  I don't want to give Gary any more help than he is already getting.  I'll tell you Gary's first reaction when he read this was, 'Is it North Carolina?'  I smiled and said, 'I don't know?' 

Happy guessing, 

Kimberly

I love living in Nashville

Friday's are a little hard to focus at work...ok ok...everyday is a little hard to focus at work, but the guy that sits behind me usually takes walks around the block a couple of times during the day to get outside and away from his desk for a bit.  It only makes sense when you aren't a smoker to go outside and get some UV Rays every now and then.  Who says you have to be smoker to take 'smoke breaks?'  Well, today's 'smoke break' consisted of a little more than a walk.  The normal 'Cam Route' (Campbell is the guy that sits behind me, Cam for short) is down church street, turn right onto...well let's just see a map

You might have click on it to make it larger, but you can maybe see that our work is on the corner of 4th and church.  So, he goes right out of our building onto church, right on 6th, right on union, then right on 4th, until he comes back the side entrance on church. 

I have taken this a walk a few times with him and some others, but nothing has happened like today.  Everytime we pass the Hermitage Hotel (see map below)

I always talk about how beautiful it is.  Well, today there was some action going on over there.  There were girls in matching dresses with bouquets (clearly bridesmaids), men with digital and video cameras, and once we reached the front door of the hotel the bride comes walking out.  She was tall skinny, blonde, and beautiful.  Nothing too uncommon had happened thus far until Katie (a girl that was on the walk) says, "Hey let's go down and turn behind TPAC today."  As we are about to cross the street (still on 6th) I notice that the camera man that's across the street isn't a hired wedding videographer, but a Fox 17 news guy.  Then the wondering begins.  There were a few people standing there taking pictures where we were and they informed us that Seal and Heidi Klum were at this wedding.  Excuse me?!  What?!  "Yeah!" the girl said, "They are doing a reality show where they help people who weren't able to have weddings 'the right way' the first time renew their vows with a big shabang.  This couple wasn't able to have their wedding because of the flood last year.  Seal and Heidi are renewing their vows with them."  HOLY COW!!!  What a time to take a 'smoke break!'  You can read more about all of this exciting news here, here, and here.

Since our new route consisted of walking around TPAC we passed the Plaza, where the ceremony was being held.  Since I'm completely obsessed with weddings, of course we had to walk over to see what was going on.  We climbed the stars and this is what we saw...

Yes, I know this is not the greatest picture, but I had left my camera/phone at my desk, so I was relying on Cam to take the picture.  I already gave him a hard time about how you can't see anything, but click on it to make it bigger :).  There were people all dressed up walking by going to the wedding.  It made me all giddy inside and excited for this happy couple!!

I am now IN LOVE with Seal and Heidi!  I love what they are doing for people! 

Happy stalking,

Kimberly

P.S. We might take another trip around the block in just a few minutes :).

Clue #3

Welcome back to day #3 of the 'Guess where you're going on your anniversary trip' game.  In case this is the first day you are reading this please catch up here and here.

This state has 102 counties.

Kind of a boring fact, but a fact nonetheless.

Have you figured it out yet??  Facebook or email me your guesses, but don't post on here just in case the husband decides to show up today :).

Happy Guessing,
Kimberly

Clue #2

I know that you all have been anxiously awaiting today's clue for the anniversary trip I am planning for Gary.  But first, let's talk about clue #1.  Last night while we were making dinner I gave him his first envelope...

*please excuse the absolute mess on our countertops.  We still have party supplies invading our house from Gary's graduation party (that I still haven't blogged about).* 

Do you remember what clue #1 was?  This state has a Metropolis, the home of Superman really does exist!  Well, Gary had some pretty good guesses and if he really does know he is hiding it pretty good from me.  We are placing them all on the fridge so on next Thursday he can see all of his clues together. 

Now for your next clue... 

This state is the home of the 1st McDonalds. 

At the bottom I put some silly things just to cover up the page a little more and add character.  Gary has a name for just about every fast food resturant out there.  When we are wanting to eat fast he always gives me the fast food options using his names...McDonalds is 'make me take a dump in a hour.'  Krystal is 'gut grenades.' Hardees is 'Farties.'  Taco Bell is 'diarrhea in a tortilla.'  Well, I guess you get it :).  His other favorite thing is to eat cheap.  I mean HELLO you are already at the fast food restaurant, which I might say have gotten a little more expensive, but he still wants to go for the cheapest thing on the menu and freaks out if I get a meal.  So, the $1 menu is a big must in our house!

Once again, if you know what it is or want to guess please don't post it on here (or my facebook page...Bethany :)).  Feel free to email me (kimberlywasher@gmail.com) or send me a private message on facebook.  Not that Gary stalks me or anything, but you just never know with him. 

Happy Guessing,

Kimberly

In case you were wondering

Remember this and this?  Well, I went to the radio station yesterday to pick up my tickets.  The lady at the front desk was rather..ummm...not friendly.  I get it that people come in all day long telling you they won things and I'm sure some of them are not telling the truth, but seriously I was so excited when I came in and overly friendly, did you really have to look at me like that?  Anyway, so I filled out the paperwork in order to retrieve my tickets.  I wasn't exactly sure if they were going to be passes for the whole weekend or if they were going to be for one night.  I had posted this picture

on my sisters facebook page and asked her if she had to pick a night, which one would she pick.  She said it didn't matter to her, but Friday night looked like a lot of fun!  So, I went in knowing that if I had a choice I would pick Friday night.  Well, no choice was given and we didn't get Friday night, but Thursday night!!!!  The very first time I talked to my sister about wanting to go it was about who was going to be there on Thursday night, so secretly in the back my mind I always wanted to go that night.  Well Hello, Jason, Easton, Sara, Brad, Zac Brown and band, and 2 special guests Alan and Kelly!!  I'll TAKE IT!!  I just wanted to also thank everyone again who voted.  So, if you are going to be at the fest on Thursday night  you might hear my sister and me screaming at the top of our lungs.  I think I might need to go buy some cowgirl boots for these festivities! 

Happy festing,

Kimberly

I love this!!

I love when guys get creative with their wedding proposals!!  It just says so much about him!  Even though Gary didn't do anything this spectacular, the way he proposed was perfect for him and I'll never forget it.  However, this is one of the best and most creative proposals I have ever seen!! 



Thanks Rachel for sharing this :)!
Be Creative,
Kimberly

I love him!

Next Wednesday will be 2 years, to the day, that we said, "I Do!"  Everyday I thank God for you and the wonderful man that He blessed me with!  You are handsome, loving, funny, and so many more things.  You make me laugh so incredibly hard and I think about you constantly when I'm not with you.  The past 2 years have been amazing and I can't wait for the next 2 and the 2 after that and the 2 after that...  You have shown me what true love is and I love experiencing it with you everyday! 

I LOVE YOU GAR!!

Not only does this start the countdown to our anniversary, but also to the surprise trip that I am planning for Gary.  I guess it was a couple months ago or so that I asked him if it was in our budget (he's the money man) to plan a surprise trip.  I told him how much I wanted to spend, not counting food and transportation, and he said to go ahead.  Starting today I will give him a clue everyday until the day we leave (next Thursday May 26th).  I hope these clues cause him to think and get confused about the location all at the same time. 

For the first day I wrote him a letter, what I wrote at the beginning of this post, and directions for the game.  Since this picture was taken I have added that there is no googling or any search engine allowed.  Gary doesn't use Google, but GoodSearch so I had to make sure to put the 'no search engine.'  The last note is the fact for the day.  Today's fact is 'This state has a Metropolis, the home of Superman really does exist.'  I hope that's not too easy!  I'm horrible at facts and current events so he'll probably figure this out in no time. 

They will be in an envelope labeled with the date he is supposed to open it.  Nothing too fancy really :).

Ok, so you guys can play along, but just in case he looks at my blog don't put your guesses or final answers down.  Once I reveal what the location is you can fill me in on whether you knew or not.  If I have already told you then you don't get to play...SORRY!!

Happy Guessing,
Kimberly

Where Dreams Come True

As I was sitting and sipping my wonderful coffee that my wonderful husband made for me this morning, I couldn't help but notice which travel mug I was drinking from.  My regular to-go coffee mug was accidently left at work, so we had to reach way back into the cabinet this morning to find one with a matching top so another and completely horrible accident didn't happen on my drive into work.  I couldn't get over how wonderful the coffee was tasting, but on top of that I was viewing friends pictures on facebook and noticing how much fun they were having on their dream vacations!  Yes, that's right Disney World ladies and gents!!!  My sister and I went after I graduated college and it was truly a dream come true.  I once heard a girl tell her husband that he will never really know her fully until he experiences her at Disney World, it was actually this couple right here.  Her husband ended up surprising her with a vacation for one of their anniversaries, I think.  There used to be a video out there of him telling her, but alas it's gone.  Anyway, I just wanted to dream about and reminence on my 2007 Dream Vacation!!!  I think I'm going to agree with Tera on this one, that Gary will never fully know me until he experiences me at Disney World.  We did go to Universal Studios on our Anniversary, but that's not the same as Disney World, where the magic happens!!

The morning coffee mug that brought about all this dreaming!!

Sadly, this is the only mometo I have from our trip at this moment.  I searched for pictures of our trip, but I couldn't find any.  Just imagine being there and you will know what I'm talking about.

Happy Dreaming,

Kimberly



AND THE WINNER IS.....

US!!!!!!!  Thank you to everyone who was able to get on facebook yesterday and vote!  My sister and I are going to CMA Fest!!!  We are so excited and just wanted to say...

P.S. We won with 52 votes!!!!!!!!!

Kimberly

CMA Fest

So, when I found out who was going to be at CMA fest this year I called my sister immediatly and asked if she wanted to go.  Well, with all of the tornado stuff going on, we have kind of put getting tickets on the back burner.  However, I have been trying to win some on the radio.  I really wanted to be able to get three tickets because her husband is a big country music fan as well, but most of the radio stations are just giving away sets of two.  I have thought if we can win two than we can all just pitch in for the other one!!  Anyway, I have never been to CMA and I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go.  I know I am friends with a lot of my readers on facebook and 103 WKDF, the station I listen to most, just posted this on their facebook page this morning...

Bring Your Friend To Facebook Day......Have your friends give us a like,and post your name here today! The person that has the most name mentions from different people wins CMA music fest tix!

I put a link on my facebook page to let my friends know how to do it and I have 2 votes so far!!!  Which doesn't sound like a lot, but I am only 1 behind the leader!  I thought if I could get all of my blog friends who are on facebook as well to vote for me I might be able to get in the lead.  I wish that I could say that I would take you with me, but I just can't.  However, I can tell you that if you ever need me to vote for something for you I will be happy to do so.  Just please make sure you let me know. 

So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to the KDF Morning Drive facebook page, like it, and then comment on the above post with my name!!!  I do promise to take pictures and post them if I win :).



Happy Voting,

Tour

Since we had the stats update this week, I thought today I would give you a tour of my blog.  Some of you may not know what everything means, neither do I :).  I am still learning everyday and when I look at other people's blogs I find things I want to put on mine.  So, lets start at the bottom and work clockwise...

• 'Home' - will bring you back to the most recent page of blog posts. 
• 'Older posts' - will take you to the most recent posts that aren't on the first page.  This will appear at the bottom until you have reached the very first post on this blog back in Feb. 2010.  Wow, I didn't know I have had this blog for over a year!!  Happy late Birthday, Blog!! 
• 'Subscribe to posts' - says this...'When you subscribe to a feed, it is added to the Common Feed List. Updated information from the feed is automatically downloaded to your computer and can be viewed in Internet Explorer and other programs.'  I'm not exactly sure what all of that means, but you can click there and research it a little more if you would like to find out :).

Moving on around up the left side of the page...

• My Blog list - A list of a few people that I follow.  Everytime they update their blogs their name moves to the top and shows how long ago they updated and the name of their most recent post.  Even though I have a dashboard when I log in, this blog roll might be useful to readers who don't have a blog with a dashboard.  They can come to my blog and see if some of their other favorite blogs have been updated recently!

Above that we have Archives...

• The archives- this keeps all of my posts together with the year and month they were posted.  So, if you want to look back at an old post rather than scrolling to the bottom and hitting the older post button until you come to the page you are looking for, you can search for the post title in the archives.  Take note that when you click on a different month or year than you are currently in, it will reload the page so you will have to scroll back down to the archives in order to see the section you chose.

The next picture features 2...

• At the bottom is a Widget I added.  Everyday the Quotes Change.  I love quotes!  I even have a quote book :).
• Above that is a little snip-it of my profile.  Just so my readers can get to know me a little better.

Up we go...

• Feedjit (Live Traffic Feed) - I saw this on a this blog and I knew I just had to have to it.  I love knowing where people are from who come to my blog.  This is probably one of my favorite things on my blog!
• Search this Blog - You can type in a topic or if you can remember the whole title you can type that in too, but this will bring up all of the related posts on that topic.  This is the newest feature of my blog and I saw it first here.

Now we are to the very top...

• Go Into All the World - That is what I decided to name my blog when I heard we were going to live in Malaysia for 6 months.  The top left is a picture of Gary, while we were in India, he had the priviledge to assist in 6 baptizms.  No, Gary is not wearing a skirt.  It's called a lungi (loon-g-ee) and Indian men wear these.  The middle picture is also from India.  The little girl I'm holding was a neighbor of the family we were staying with and she was 'my girl' while we were there.  Her name was Pandu and she was sooooo cute!  By the last night I finally got her laughing and interacting with me, since we couldn't understand each other we used a lot of hand movements and grunts :).  The top right is, once again, in India.  While I was teaching a class inside the church building to the ladies, Gary was outside praying with the men.  The man to the right of Gary is Prabhu Doss, his translator, and the guy kneeling in front of Gary is the preacher of the congregation we were at that day.  They are praying for the boy standing up.  The big picture on the bottom is of some of our church family in Malaysia.  This was actually taken when Gary had first gotten there.  I was in Malaysia a whole month without him, but once he got there is when the college students started coming back from break.  This picture was taken at the homecoming party the church threw for them. 

Around to the right...

• I put the KL time on my page when I saw it on this blog.  Everytime I talked to someone from America I had to explain the time difference or vice versa when speaking with someone in Malaysia.  I keep it there now just because I like it and it reminds of that fun time we had while overseas!
• SFT Awareness - This is the ministry my husband, Gary, works with.  I wanted to make sure that anyone who may stumble upon my blog not only can read about me, but also my husband.  He has come such a long way at such a young age.  He inspires me everyday and I know he has done a lot for so many people.  There is a link to the website and if you would like more information about what this ministry is and does.

The last picture...

• Daily Bible Verse - I added this gadget the same day I added the quote of the day gadget.  I honestly thought I would read both of these more than I do, but I don't look at my own blog very much.  I see the posting page, the dashboard, the stats page, but I end up spending more time on other people's blog pages than my own, so this Daily Bible Verse is for you, readers.  I hope that you have gained something from the verses that have gone across this screen!
• Followers - Another one of my favorite parts!  I love my followers!  I love to just click and see who all follows me every once in a while.  I notice when I get new followers!  You guys are the best and if any of you have a blog that I have not found please let me know what it is.  I would love to return the favor of following. 

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my blog and you understand why I have what I do on here.  Some for me, and some for you!  Let me know what you think and what your favorite gadget is on here.  Also, for you fellow bloggers, what are your favorite things about your blog?  What would you recommend me putting on mine?

Happy Touring,
Kimberly

Stats, Stats, Stats!!!

I just finished ordering internet for our house...YAY!!!  Before we went to Malaysia we were able to use borrow access internet through other avenues.  When we returned from Malaysia we no longer had this ability.  We have planned since we were married to get our own internet and on Monday, May 16th we will have internet in the boro!!  So, do you know what this means?  I can update you all on the many many many things that we have done the past 1 2 3 4 months.  I know you are sooooooo excited!!!  Until then I will continue the randomness I have been posting.  Which brings us to today's post...

My Stats:
As of today I have 31 followers!  Hey followers!!  Love y'all!

This next stat is something I'm proud of because in the past when I have started a blog and I haven't seen comments I would stop blogging...I posted 40 posts in a row without anyone commenting and it didn't slow me down!!  Congrats to me and because of that I now have several followers and comments on almost every post!

Posts with the Most Comments:

3rd Place - a 3 way tie:

• I'm Completely Obsessed - 6 comments
• Cappuccino and Fudge - 6 comments
• Time to Shave December  - 6 comments

2nd Place -

Different Cultures - 7 comments

And the winner is...

The Lady in the Flowerdy Shirt - 8 comments

Most Viewed Posts:

3rd Place - Wet Bathroom Floors are my Favorite - 130 views

2nd Place - From the Gardens to the Sheraton - 144 views

And the winner is...

Service Source International - 367 views (I truly believe that this has nothing to do with people researching our company and my blog popping up. HA!)

Referring URL's:

This is the website the person was on before they came to my site.  Of course there is the search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc.  But according to my stats page I get the most referrals from other blog pages:

• Becky Welch - Becky is friend from Henderson, TN.  She was a Phi Kappa sponser when I was in school.  She has two kids and I love keeping up with the Welches through her blog!  She is so good at posting pictures and story telling along with them.  She also does book reviews and Bible related topics. 
• Terry Lea - Terry is a friend from church.  She is so funny and I love reading her blog.  She posts a lot of yummy recipes.  I have only used this one and it was while I was in Malaysia.  You can read about my experience here.  They were delicious, none-the-less!!  My favorite thing to do is just ask her to make whatever the recipe is for me :).  I got some nut-free banana bread last night at church!  If you just want the recipes, I just now saw her cool recipe box!
• Ashley Rutledge - Ashley is a great friend I made while I was at Freed!  She is a soon-to-be mommy and I love reading updates about Gracie!!  She and I were Makin' Music directors together.  Check out these two videos here and here.  Those sure were the good ol' days!

Referring Sites:

This is very similar to referring URLs and actually I don't really know the difference, but my top site referral was FACEBOOK!!!  So, just for those of you who might not do facebook, I'm here to tell you it will up your readers very quickly.  I have gotten to where I'll post on my facebook wall whenever I have a new blog post.  That entices them in :). 

Search Keywords:

Just like some of the other options there are the common search keywords you would expect:

kimberly washer, kimberly washer blog, etc. 

However, there were a few I found quite interesting:

• Service Source Malaysia - which is why Service Source International has such a high view volume :).
• church of Christ Narsapuram - which will link up to my India posts.
• This last one is by far my FAVORITE!!!!!

Justin Beiber cute pics. 

Yes, the beibs made an apperance on my blog right here.  Hopefully he has done his charming magic and made some of his fans returning readers of my blog.

Lastly, I just want to say HELLO to all my readers around the world: (yes they are in a particular order, from greatest to least)

United States, Malaysia, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Ukraine, Australia, and Indonesia!

Thanks for stopping by and if you want click that little white button on the right hand side that says 'follow' so I can thank you personally go right ahead, nobody stopping you!!  As always, comments are welcomed and loved!!

I hope you enjoyed this edition of STATS, STATS, STATS!!!  Keep tuning in for several more updates, especially after May 16th ;).

Peace, Love, and Stats,

Kimberly