Hi all… I am writing this post because its about a project that I find both intriguing and a wonderful challenge in a sense…¬†¬†It is the ¬†brainchild of my new found¬†friend Bill… someone I just met through his wife Nancy¬†in the wonderful world of bloglandia … now normally I would give you her blog address….¬† however… knowing Nancy she would want this to be about her husband not her… she would want this to be his time to shine …his claim to fame… so in honor of that… I am going to fill you in …

Bill has started a new¬†blog where he writes about his life with Nancy… it is both funny and loving … with stories that will either make you laugh or cry….¬†what a lucky woman¬†she is to have such a sweet husband….¬† Now on this blog he also has a project in the works¬†and that is where I come in…¬†¬† I am so fascinated about this that I am devoting this post entirely to this¬†in an effort¬†to try and help him get the “stories” he needs…

Below is the post from his blog in which he explains what he is trying to do…
Hello, blogger friends! Thank you so much for visiting. I want to tell you about a writing project I’m working on that I think will interest you. I’m gathering a collection of Thank You Stories. A Thank You Story is a thank you letter written to someone who’s had a life-changing impact on you. The letter tells the story of how your life has developed because of that impact.

I plan to publish the Thank You Stories in a book, titled I Never Got to Thank You. And I would love to include your letters.

I can assure you, this will be one of the easiest things you’ll ever write. First of all, you don’t need to create a story: it’s already written. You’re living it right now. Secondly, it’s not an essay or a work of literature. It’s a personal letter. And everyone can write a letter. A Thank You Story doesn’t show off writing skills, it re-connects one heart to another with a Thank You. It’s about sharing your story, in your words, in your way.

I’d also like to tell you about my real vision for this project. I see this book as the beginning of an on-going effort, called Gathering for Giving. In the book’s final section, I’ll ask our readers to send me their own Thank You Stories. I’ll gather them into themed collections, such as letters to teachers, or neighbors, or strangers. Each collection will then become its own book. And the money raised from each book will be donated to a related organization. For example, the proceeds from a book about crisis counselors would be donated to a network of crisis centers. It seems fitting to me that a collection of Thank You Stories should result in an outpouring of life-changing resources as well as life-changing words.

So please join me! I can’t wait to read your letters. And if you have more than one, feel free to send them all. You can use my email link in the upper right corner, billburnsthanks@yahoo.com.

In addition to my regular Loving Her Beautiful entries, I’ll post actual Thank You Stories and other writings periodically on this page, as well as project updates. So please continue to visit!

Finally, please feel free to send a link from this page to family and close friends, anyone you’re comfortable sharing this project with. And please tell them to feel free to do the same.

Blessings,
BILL

P.S. Remember, your letter is not directed to me: it’s directed to the person who had a life-changing impact on you. And it doesn’t have to be dramatic, just meaningful to you. For example, a letter to your 3rd grade gym teacher might read something like this:

“Dear Mrs. Thompson,
You may not remember my name, but I’ll never forget what you did for me . . . and that’s what’s going on in my life now, because of what you did. Thank you so much for believing in me.
With gratitude, Jane Student”

Last of all, be sure to read my previous post, The Visitor, for a look at the impact your Thank You Story can have on someone. Then be sure to look through the posts above this one for sample Stories and other writings . . . Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you soon. ~ BILL

Isnt this exciting?? 

Now I know I have many friends who LOVE to write… love challenges …¬†¬†and who might want¬†to¬†see what they have written in a¬†book…¬† I am appealing to all of you to get the word out about this to your friends… Bill needs 100 letters by March 31st… that is only a month away… Right now he only has five… six if I send one of the few I am writing ..

How about it my friends?¬† I am sure there is someone who made a huge difference in your life… perhaps they are gone and you didnt get to thank them… or¬†perhaps you lost touch with someone and they may one day pick up this book and see that you wrote about them… how beautiful would that be to know that what they did for you was appreciated in such a way… what a fantastic way to “Pay It Forward”… Those of you who know me well¬†… know how I feel about that…

I know you all will not let me down

His blog address is: www.Lovingherbeautiful.blogspot.com  and his email address to send your letters to is billburnsthanks@yahoo.com 

I am leaving this post up for at least a week and I will refer to it on additional posts until Bill gets the letters he needs

COMING¬†ATTRACTIONS….. SOON…. Post for Barbara J!!¬† I promised this one a while back… and I have been tagged twice …so more random strange weirdo little things about myself¬† hehe¬† I will have an announcement to be making soon too….¬† those of you who havent signed up for my newsletter go to my boutique www.NeereAnDearCreations.com¬†¬†¬†¬†…the link¬†is ¬†at the top of the page under mailing list

HUGS BLESSINGS AND LOVE TO ALL MY SWEET BUDDIES

JO

I know I have been a bad blogger lately so if whupping me with a wet noodle works for you … have at it!!

Ok … so I have been promising to post some of the pics that I took on my tip South…. while the¬†ride down wasnt so fabulous¬†(as I mentioned in another post) ¬†….¬†¬† the photos made up for all of it…

First up… the one and only who seemed to enjoy herself¬†in the car… Ms PJ

Now we ended up staying two hours away from¬†the¬†city¬†where I had business to take care of …. and I know that sounds a bit crazy but as you read on you will see why….

Let me tell you a bit about this¬†tiny town¬†…. it is a little key off the Gulf Side of Florida… a sleepy fishing village… rich in history and quaint shops… though some of it has become a bit more touristy a lot has remained the same since my first visit in ’99…¬† It is¬† filled with local artists galore…. and I promise a whole post on that subject alone because you will be amazed at their work…¬† As a matter of fact because I took so many photos and because many of them are too gorgeous to let slip by … I will do a series so you can enjoy…. as we did…. the fabulous beauty and tranquility of it all…

The name of it is called …. Cedar Key…

Next¬†….the outside of our condo…we had a two bedroom loft..

PJ checking out the view from the balcony

A local teasing her from above…

After all that hard work¬†she decided to make herself¬†right at home…

The loft bedroom….

 

And the second bedroom down the hallway from the kitchen and to the right…

A view from the balcony should always include a sunrise…¬† I thought these were amazing…though I have more … I will share these for now mainly because¬†a few of them¬†almost look like watercolor paintings… not sure if my camera lens did something strange or what… but I love how they turned out…

 

Lets walk down to the beach…

The shrimp boats headed out to gather their catch for the day…

Old seafood building …now the office for our condos…

Siesta time…

One of the locals posing for his picture….

Our condo neighbor…. out for some kayaking

Next the market…. The side¬†wall was painted by a local… I couldn’t get the whole thing in the picture but you get the general idea….

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST ……COMING ATTRACTIONS…

¬†One more thing before I go …

Diane gave me this¬†Blessing Candle…

   

I am supposed to pass it on to three¬†others but you see that is impossible…. because this¬†should go to all the wonderful people who kept Diane and Andrea in¬†their thoughts and prayers…. she is finally at home but is having a bit of a rough go at it….¬†¬† for updates you can go to http://www.petticoatjunction.typepad.com/¬† … she will need strength¬†for the¬†long hard road¬†she has ahead¬†of her…. thank you all for your continued kindness… YOU ARE THE BEST!!

Til next time …¬† I wish you…

Hugs…Blessings… Love

CIAO

JO

Ok ladies… so I thought my computer had crashed….well it didnt… at least … not exactly….¬†good news you say?….. read on to find out something that we should all be aware of….¬†

The screen on my computer went blue with all this weird writing and then crashed…I was having some trouble with a power cord…so¬†I thought that might have been the¬†culprit and got a new one… I was lucky in a sense because my machine came back on….I wrote to my programmer and asked what the problem could be…¬†Derry¬†at www.gloderworks.com … he¬†is …the best……always there when I need an answer or an update on my web site…¬†so¬†the computer itself didnt crash.. however microsoft did…. huh?

It is called the “Blue Screen of Death” !!¬† Sounds awful doesn’t it?¬†¬† Well in a way it is….¬† it is caused by an error with memory or some other mishap on your machine…¬† you¬†CAN lose your data….. I was lucky in that respect…¬†¬† I thought I had …but I was using my daughters computer so my data wouldnt show up anyhow…. computer literate I am not… as you can see…

Derry¬†provided a link which I am passing on to you…. it¬†gives you¬†an explanation¬†about this ominous sounding little fact that I had no clue about…..

Take the time to scroll down and read the whole article¬† ladies because it affects¬†certain programs in windows¬†¬†… XP being one of many…¬† as well as others including mac

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death 

That being said….¬† I am still working on a few projects….¬† close to being finished…. then I will post the pictures I promised… along with pics of the goodies I have made…..¬† I will try to visit and catch up as best I can….however…. today it is in the 60′s … bright and sunny…so I am taking my white chocolate mudslide coffee … a few magazines… my paints and brushes …. and my silly little puppy PJ…. who makes me laugh every single day…outdoors… and I am going to sit on my deck at my wrought iron table and relax and simply do my thing…¬† computers can get to the best of us… besides its going to get cold again within the next few days… so I am taking advantage of this great weather while I still can… groundhog says there is still more cold to come

And because I am so thrilled still… if you havent read my feature article on the Bliss Guild blog…. please do…¬† www.BlissGuild.com¬†

Can you tell I am as proud as a peacock?   

HUGS TO ALL

CIAO!!

JO

Hi all …. I am at my daughters house….¬†¬†¬† my computer has crashed …..¬†¬† I have lost all addresses and all my work…¬†¬†from what I can tell so far…

So if you would please email me …. so that I can get my address book back….

If anyone needs me …. you can also send an email … or write to my programmer…¬† leave a phone number or what ever… and I will contact you when I can as I will be checking email here every few days until I can figure out a solution to the problem

HUGS

JO

Hi everyone this is going to be a very short post…¬† I have taken a bit of a blog posting break to work on a few projects and then I will be back… I have some great pics of the trip I went on a few weeks ago that I still have to show everyone …. remember I took 575 of them?¬† ok …. I promise I won’t show you that many …¬†¬†only 574¬† ….¬† hehehe

For those of you who have been asking about Diane and her daughter Andrea… all updates are¬†at the end¬†of the post titled “For Diane”…¬†with most recent at the top of each update…..¬†miracles do happen … thank you to everyone for your continued support and/or prayers for the two of them … your kindness simply says what¬†loving…caring… good¬†people you are

Anyone who has not had a chance please check out my feature on the Bliss Guild Blog as I am so proud¬† … it will be running for at least a few more weeks…¬†¬† that is the post below this or you can click on the link….¬†¬†¬† www.Blissguild.com¬†¬† …

And my bliss siter Roxi of www.Roxidesigns.com is having a 50% off sale until the end of February so do go and visit her and tell her I sent you….

HUGS

JO