How big is your heart? Guest blogger: Jothan

Hi guys. Remember last year when I guest blogged for my mom?

Well, I came home again last Friday from school, and I begged, and begged, and begged my mom to let me jump rope for the American Heart Association. Last year I raised well over my goal and this year I hope to raise at least $100 for the American Heart Association.

I need your help.

Let me tell you a little bit about my little friend Parker.

(His blog is really cute and I like to look at his photos. You should check it out sometime. He sat behind me at church yesterday and I felt pretty lucky and thankful that he was healthy and able to come to church and be my friend.)

Parker has a special heart. When he was inside his mom the doctors discovered his special heart. It didn't beat as fast as my heart beats. In fact, it beat really. really. really. slowly.

My heart beats like this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

While Parker's heart beat like this - - - - -

His heart should have beat more like this.............................

Parker almost had to be born REALLY early to help save his life.

Parker is really strong and he held on super tight to his mom, and he was born healthy.

When he was ONLY two days old, he had heart surgery on his special heart.

He now has a pacemaker attached to his heart. His pacemaker is in his tummy.

Here is a photograph my mom took of Parker when he was 3 weeks old:

He is getting bigger and stronger every day. Except he is still smaller than my baby sister was when she was born. He is that tiny.

I want to jump rope for Parker and for other kids with special hearts.

I have until Friday, February 4, 2011 to raise $100 for the American Heart Association.

Will you help me?

You can donate here:

American Heart Association

Thank you so much for helping me achieve my goal. I learned some cool things about the American Heart Association and wanted to tell you about them. Sometimes it helps to know what you are donating to, and why your donations are so important.

Thank the American Heart Association Research if:

A loved one has had a successful heart bypass

Someone you know has recovered from a heart attack.

You had open heart surgery and slept through the whole thing.

You take medicine to treat your hight cholesterol.

CPR saved your life or the life of a loved one.

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) saved your uncle's life.

Someone you know has a new heart valve.

You take medicine to regulate your hight blood pressure.

If pacemaker regulates your son's heart rhythm. (Like Parker's.)

Clot-busting drugs helped reduce the severity of a loved one's stroke.

You are one of the one million survivors of a heart attack this year.

You were able to return to work after having a stroke.

A friend or family member received a heart transplant.

For more information please visit:

www.americanheart.org

We Love Jenny Auction and a Giveaway

A few weeks ago I was on facebook when a dear friend of mine posted a link to an online auction in honor of Jenny.

I, of course clicked and began to read. With tears streaming down my face I knew I had to act. I emailed the donation form and donated what I could. I got a prompt response back from my dear friend Emily (the one who had shared the link on facebook). I was surprised (but not so really because Em is amazing, in fact you can read about her amazingness here.) that she was in charge of such an enormously beautiful act of love and service to her friend.

Through the course of the last two weeks, I have watched this auction grow from a few items to nearly 50. I have seen it start with items for the D.C. area, and move into Utah and across the country. I have had people write on my facebook wall, "Hey Kim! I know Jenny, we went to college together, how can I help?"

Well, do you want to know how you can help? You can donate, bid on February 14, 2011, share the word on facebook, twitter, your own blogs. You can pray for Jenny and her family. There is so much you can do, so that is what this post is about. Just by doing that and I will give you the chance to win one of Emily's Little Claire de Lune: Lullabies on Harp CD's. This beautiful CD is guaranteed to help me be sleepy and to take my stress level from 10 to 0 by the time it is finished. The good thing about this opportunity? If you don't happen to win the giveaway, you can purchase one here for a STEAL and help benefit orphans in Bulgaria.

So, how can you enter:

1) Leave a comment here if you plan to donate OR bid on Jenny's auction on February 14, 2011.

2) Facebook a link about Jenny's Auction: http://welovejennyauction.blogspot.com/

3) Tweet about Jenny's Auction: http://welovejennyauction.blogspot.com/

4) Post to your blog about Jenny's auction, then leave a link to your post in the comment.

5) Share about this post anywhere, facebook, twitter, blogging.

That is up to 5 chances to win this beautiful harp CD. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

I will choose a winner Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. MST.

***Disclaimer: I was not asked to, nor given anything for posting this blog post or giveaway. We should all do good things for others, I am just giving people the opportunity to do so. xoxo***

The Rubied Apple Wallet Winners

And the winners of the wallets via www.random.org are:

Commenter number 6:

CaryManda said...

Easy Peasy. Rubied APple half apron.
ADORABLE.
Love the wallets :)

Commenter number 55:

Kate said...

I really like the Bowling Balls Mini Wallet from The Rubied Apple store.
kate.obrien219@gmail.com

Finally, Commenter number 75:

Tipper said...

I love her Gren and Blue Patterned Emmeline Reversible Apron with Pockets. Too CUTE!!!

sparkofutterance(at)hotmail(dot)com

Thanks so much for all of the entries! Wasn't this a fun one? Also, thank you to Nakia at The Rubied Apple for supplying our winners with these delightful wallets.

Come back tomorrow afternoon for the second giveaway of birthday week.

Cheers.

~Kim

That first of two giveaways, remember?

Sigh.

Deepest apologies.

I got a migraine.

For. Two. Days.

Today was a wee bit better.

So, on to those giveaways, to celebrate my birthday, I wanted to give you guys presents, feel the love?

First off, we have three, YES, THREE lovely little wallets from The Rubied Apple.

I contacted Nakia, the owner and master designer behind The Rubied Apple about purchasing one of her adorable wallets to give away to my readers. She was so excited she donated ALL. THREE. WALLETS. to you!

Let me tell you, The Rubied Apple is more than wallets. They are sexy, sophisticated, back to your roots, high heels in the kitchen, APRON wearing kind of days. That is how I would describe The Rubied Apple. One meal wearing these aprons will bring back the whimsy and excitement of days gone by, and may put more home cooked meals on the table (and your bedroom). (Zumm, zumm.)

The Rubied Apple recently started carrying the most adorable baby bibs as well. Makes me long for another slobbery baby to put them on. Oh well, there are always massive amounts of baby showers in Utah. They are on the gift list for sure.

Anyway, onto the giveaway:

So, how do you win?
Easy.

Leave a comment here telling me which product in Nakia's shop is your favorite. Simple, easy, fun.

I will give one additional entry if you "Like" The Rubied Apple on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rubied-Apple-Aprons/118227098204285

And another one, if you decide you "Like" my new photography page on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-Orlandini-Photography/167210249989237

Lastly, if you want on last chance, either twitter or facebook this entry to your friends.

Please be sure to leave an additional comment per entry.

Giveaway ends Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. I will try to be a good girl and choose the three different winners Wednesday evening.

Have a good weekend friends. Happy Birthday to all of you this year. May it be one of your best and most fulfilling, as I hope mine is for me.

***Disclaimer. I received no compensation for this giveaway, besides the three wallets that Nakia gave to me for this giveaway. She was so kind and dear to give me one of my favorite wallets as a thank you present. This in no way influences my opinion of her shop, because this here is my blog and my opinion has always and will always trump any form of compensation. I just like to have a good time and share the love with others. -Insert giant grin here-***

Yearbook 2010: March

The past week and a half has been crazy. Apologies for not blogging. I have wanted to, but by the end of the days I am beat and hitting the sack. Today? Battling a migraine, but I had some work I had to get done before I lay back down for another nap.

The following photos are from March of last year. Wow, almost a year ago. The last year just flew by in a blink. I cannot believe it.

Some of my favorite photos are in true black and white. I can't get enough of true black and white film. The depth is incredible.

A fun little vacation we took spur of the moment last year. We hit WPPI in Vegas and then spent a few days in St. George. Man, if I could afford a house and could have enough work to sustain me in southern Utah, I would move there in an instant.

A rarity. I have a handful of photos of me with all of my babies. So rare in fact, I should sell a copy of it on eBay.

One that Joth took. A little blurry, but again, a rarity around here.

eau

My grandparents were married here. If I could, I would go back in time and this is the temple I would be sealed in. No ifs, ands or buts. Truly, I would elope and just go.

Such a beautiful place.

There is no need to tell you how rare this is either. Love that I have it. Love.

Okay, so remember two Sundays ago it was my birthday? Well, the plan was to do some giveaways on my birthday week. Then some people died and all of that got thrown out the window. Stay tuned tomorrow (crossies) as I have one of two beautiful giveaways for you. You won't want to miss out on the fun.

In the mean time...tell me about your favorite 'last minute' vacation you took with your family. I'd love some ideas because spring is almost here and I am itching to get out of this place.

xo

Of Moosh's, Mozzi's, and amazing friends.

Dear Casey,

8 years ago. Can you believe it has been that long?

It all started with you taking over being Princess of Ladies Tops while I was downgraded to Wench of Men's Tops. I would have much rather fondled the male bottoms all day, then I wouldn't have had to look over and wonder, "Who is that new girl?" I would ask around, "So who is this Casey girl? What was the name of that bundle handler? Oh, you know the older one with longish hair and nails for days, my mind escapes me. She was my source of info. You were loved and adored, and somehow I had to get in on it.

Then, oh! One day a treat, it was a late summer treat in the break room. Orangesicles, and fudgesicles. You took the last orange. I was obviously pregnant and on a rage, and opened my big mouth! "Way to go and take the last orangesicle, Casey!"

That was it. We have been friends ever since. This is how most of my amazing friendships start, and I am thankful you were no stranger to my tremendously odd ways of, "Oh my goodness, I could NEVER be friends with her." *giggle*

I have watched you become a mother once, and happily, now twice. I know the journey has been long and stressful and one full of tears. Sadly, I know that journey too. My heart has ached with yours, when I found out much too late about some of your bouts with depression while pregnant with Moosh, and now with Mozzi. It doesn't help that I am so far away from you that there isn't much I can do but check up on you through email, text, and phone calls. It just isn't the same. Please know massive amounts of thoughts (ALL good now) and prayers are coming from this home all across the country on your behalf. The Big Man loves you tremendously, tremendously.

So today, today my gift is all about you. It is about the strength and ability to keep our cool, keep our heads in the heat of the battle, in the depths of depression. It is about recognizing our strengths in the turmoil of our weaknesses. YOU are strong. You are fighting the battle...and winning. You are going to be an amazing new mother to this Mozzi girl. (Gift is in the mail, you should have gotten it with STRICT instructions not to open it until today. I don't know if I could have waited, but I hope you did, it will make it funner. Sorry it isn't raw bacon.)

That is what we BFFs do. We stick together and fight, with the occasional hard words to be said and chocolate cake, sausages, and vacations along the way.

Love you to the moon and back and onto Pluto. Enjoy the next 15 weeks of Mozzi love.

Mwah.

xoxo,

Kim

Follow along on Twitter, hashtag #mozzi.

Blue Lemon

Be still my heart. The Blue Lemon is one of my favorite places to eat. It has been since I was happily introduced to them two years ago. Until now, the only way for me to enjoy it was to hop in my car and drive an hour and a half to get there. Believe me, their tomato bisque soup was worth every second of that car ride, and then this week I discovered there is one just 12 minutes from me.

12. Minutes. That is: 720 Seconds until I can have my mouth on some soup, or sweet potato fries, or the steak griller.

Do you understand the beauty of this?

To make my life even better, this past week I, along with a handful of other Utah bloggers, was invited to come and tour and taste, and be treated to the beauty that is their new downtown Salt Lake City, City Creek Location.

Their first restaurant is beautiful, but this time they may have outdone themselves.

(In the craziness of my week, I completely walked out the door without my camera, or my stack of business cards. The following photos are courtesy of Lindsey, Vanessa and Stephanie. Thank you for sharing guys.)

Me, deciding what to eat. This is hard in that EVERYTHING is good. I am being 100% truthful when I say you cannot order something bad off of this menu. If my tummy was big enough I would eat it all.

Me in awe over the 'not quite pebble' ice. Yummy.

Me, being silly inside the walk in refrigerator. Loved being able to see the 'behind the scenes'. Everything is so clean and organized and fresh. Just what you like to see when you go out to eat.

Me, sitting next to Lindsey devouring my favorite dish on the menu.

Tomato Bisque Soup.

Stephanie and I both ordered the Blue Lemon Steak Griller. Bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, garlic mashed potatoes.

Heaven. Divinity. I am not sure what else I can say, other than I ate every bite. AMAZING.

The portion sizes are generous, yet not over the top.

I felt like I could finish my entire meal guilt free. I like that in a restaurant.

The lovely ladies from the evening. Me, with everyone's hands on my shoulder. I am truly loved. :)

The Blue Lemon folks have been generous enough to offer a coupon to my readers for the next week only! Be sure to copy the coupon now, as next Saturday it will be gone, gone, gone. (Only one per blog reader please. Let's be nice.)

All I ask for you to do is to like the Blue Lemon on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Lemon/118845631471495

Then leave a comment letting me know that you did so. Then you may copy and print off the following coupon.

***Coupon has been removed.***

Good at this location:

Salt Lake City:

801.328.BLUE (2583)
55 W South Temple, SLC, UT 84111

Yearbook 2010: February

February looks super lame. I took 5 photos that month? They were all digital? Sad, sad times. (Okay, so I may have taken more, which I am almost POSITIVE I did, proof may be in the stack of 5 or so discs I just found from Walgreen's.) I'll check them out and let you know, but for now...

Yep. That's it. Not even a photo of Joth. BOO.

Anyway. I'll share another one of my resolutions. Take time each day to hug each of my kids, look them in the eye, and do SOMEthing that THEY want to do. Today, I took time to help Memms write a story. She REALLY likes writing stories and drawing pictures to go with them. Actually, she draws the pictures and then we write the story together. Afterwards I kissed her ginormous cheeks repeatedly. She is the sweetest girl I know.

Millz? Well, I held her on my lap for what seemed like two hours while I worked. That is what she seemed to want to do, so I let her. I also gave her some of my leftover birthday cake from The Cheesecake Factory. She really liked that.

Joth? He has been at school all day, but I plan on taking him with me to run a few errands before we are off to our cousin Lance's funeral. Jobby tends to get super tired and crabby after school, so I hope to tickle him and be silly with him and let him pick a treat from the store. Possibly I'll give into the Hot Wheels car he always tries to get me to buy.

Yep, these are the days, and they are quickly speeding past us. This week I lost two family members. Lance, and my Great Grandma Thurgood. Tears well up when I think of all the times I let the 'other stuff' get in the way of the right now.

Trying super hard to remember this each and every day.

Hope your days are full of as much joy as I am trying to find in mine.

xoxo

Yearbook 2010

Where in the world has she been? You are possibly saying. The answer? A LOT. This week was so crazy busy, just trying to get a few things squared away as I have a HUGE personal photography project in the works. Not, quite ready to debut it, or share it, suffice it to say that it will end in a big party. I can't wait.

New years resolutions are a hard thing for me. I hate to even make them, knowing full well, I more than likely will not keep them. Sad isn't it? You know that old adage that if you write down a goal, it is more likely to become possible? Do any of you actually believe that? For me, I have to live that goal every single day of my life. I have to be slapped in the face with it over and over and over again until is it right there staring me in the face each day. This year, I have big plans. BIG. HUGE. Lots of them also. Being someone that suffers from depression, this is a huge undertaking. I have been hit with depression multiple times this week. It has been a constant struggle to literally talk myself out of the muck and get back on track each day.

I. am. doing. it. My goals that is. One week down, 51 more to go to reach my goals, and I am doing it. I am anxious for day 26 when supposedly things become habit. I would love for all of my things to become habit, and easier in the sense that it is going to be how I live my life. I await the day when I can add a few more things and ease my mind a bit instead of being super concerned that I am not achieving my hoped for goals each day. I am also hyper aware that if I am not perfect in this, that I cannot be allowed to berate myself, instead, I need to learn to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start over again the next day...anew.

These are the thoughts.

I'll share the goals throughout the next few weeks and months. I'll start with this one.

Yearbook 2010.

Editing ALL of my personal photos from 2010 by the end of January. Guess what? I am already to August. YEP. AUGUST. So, I hope to share a BUNCH of personal work in the next few weeks, and as I move into editing 2009 (I have given myself TWO months to do 2009) I will share those as well.

We'll start with January 2010. The month I made the commitment to start the process of switching back to film 100%. It began with shooting a few rolls of pure b&w film. (All the color images in this month are digital, except for 'yoga master'. Can you tell I did not even take the time to edit my digital nicely? I hate it that much.) Happy looking.

What are your goals for 2011, and what are you doing to achieve them? Ready? SHARE!