Look what I found in the produce section

I follow the blog http://writteninc.blogspot.com/ and each week Carmi comes up with a theme for the week.  Anyone can participate simply by leaving a comment on his site with a link to a past or present post relating to the theme.  I have found many interesting sites by going to these sites to take a peek at their interpretation of the theme.  This weeks theme is SHOPPING.

So when I stopped by Wal-Mart; having forgotten that this was Labor day weekend and hence the race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway; I was surprised to see this car in the produce section.

We are just down the road from the Speedway and the races are a BIG deal here.  Lots of to do about the races; lots of people, lots of opportunities to meet the drivers and see the cars up-close.  This is an actual car that will be driven in the race.

There is also lots of hype and advertising.  Racing runs on advertising all you have to do is look at the cars and drivers to tell that.  Our local Wal-Mart joins in that advertising frenzy.  This is just a quick sample of the cars and photos I was able to take.  There will be more posted later today.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Give away #2 Creative Awakenings

This is the book to be given away

I received this book for my birthday and it is wonderful.  Soooo I decided to share it with my friends,  for my second give away.  This last birthday was the big double nickel and with all the changes and challenges of late; I am feeling a little at a loss as to what direction to take my life.  When I was younger I wanted to go into psychology and become a therapist.  This developed into wanting to do art therapy with abused children.  I have always had a creative bent, but with raising six kids; time and money were at a premium so my dreams got put on hold.  It literally took years of birthdays and Christmas's to gather brushes, paints and canvases for my first paintings.  I did sew and quilt for my family which did give me a creative outlet, but the kids always came first.  I had plenty of plans for when I became an empty nester.  Unfortunately as an empty nester my health severely limits what I can do.  I'm learning not to put my dreams on hold anymore; especially after Emily has been so sick, I realized nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow to make their dreams come true.  My problem is what direction do I want to take my life.  I know it will involve blogging as I have come to love this form of self expression and the friendships I have gained.  I can't do everything that I want to do; my body just won't allow that any more, so this book is perfect for where I am right now. Hopefully to give some direction to my endeavors.   I have read Creative Awakenings                                                                                                                        pretty well all the way through and what it does is take you through the process of discovering yourself and your dreams through art and words.  Once a month you do a piece of art and everyday you look at it and contemplate what it is trying to tell you.  You can add to the art as the month goes by changing and considering.  I will be posting this once a month and would like anyone out there to join me in my new encounter with myself and maybe discover some things about yourself in the process.  All you need is this book, a 9x12 sketchbook (mine is one for Mixed Media) and art supplies of your choice.           I am able to offer this as I have become an Amazon Associate and this prize will be sent to the winner by Amazon.  I chose Amazon as an income choice for several reasons  1-I can choose just exactly what is advertised; only those things that I fully recommend as I have found what is advertised has brought help or pleasure into my life. 2-All it takes to help me out is to click on the advertised items or if you order from Amazon for other items you can help me out by going to the Amazon box in the top right of my blog and fill out your category or just hit GO and it takes you to Amazon.  I then get credit for your sales without it costing you anything but an extra mouse click to get to my site.  Please remember me anytime you order from Amazon as this is how I can get my art supplies, instructive books, give aways and other wishes.  3-Amazon has great prices, quite often cheaper than Wal-Mart, excellent service and an amazing selection of merchandise.  4-Amazon has a great wish list policy. Everyone can create a wish list, anyone can order for you as a gift and Amazon will ship it without giving your address to the sender.  Cool, huh. I have several wish lists on Amazon and that is how I received my book.  All these reasons are why I am using Amazon as my giveaway provider.

Rules

1-  Going through my website; click on the Amazon box on upper right, set up a wish list with Creative Awakenings on it, or if you choose to buy the book now and join me in starting to use it, just choose another item of the same price.

2- Leave a comment letting me know that you have a wish list and then preferably let me know what you like about my blog or how I can improve it.  You could also let me know by sending me an e-mail at johninayoung@yahoo.com.  Any comment left after I have received a comment on your wish list; will count as an additional entry.

3- This time I am going to try a random number generator so I don't have to worry about making sure I have mixed the entries enough or any other worries about it being fair.
4- Deadline is September 15

Good luck

and

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

And the winner is...

First I would like to thank all those who participated in my give away.  I have met some wonderful people in the last few weeks and have seen and felt the support of my longtime Internet friends.  This give away came at both a good time and a bad time.  It was good in that while I was under trying times; I felt the support along the way.  It was bad in that I was not able to comment back or keep track of my friends.  I do want you to know that that the support and new friends are very much appreciated.

The winner turned out to be Lolit.  She was only entered once which just goes to show the luck involved; she is however a long time Internet friend of mine and we communicate over several sites.  Facebook & My Shutter Space

Congratulations Lolit

I'll be contacting you soon

I've also decided to do another give away; there will be details tomorrow

Have a great day!!!

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Making the most of mistakes

 
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“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.”

Pablo Picasso quote Today while I was going out the door to take some pictures I accidently took a photo as I was turning to go out.  I didn't realize I had done it until I downloaded my photos of the day. I liked the movement in the photos so I just played with them.  As you can see my mistakes became artistic renderings.  I was pleased; what do you think?

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺
PS remember the giveaway mail art will be awarded later this morning

Ding, Dong the glitch is gone...

 the wicked glitch is gone.  I've got my computer back and it is working so much better.  Hooray! for the Geek Squad.  Just in case you don't recognize the parody in the title; your really need to get hold of the Wizard of Oz DVD.  One of the all time greatest classic movies ever.
Anyway my computer's working better.  My new programs are installed and I have two new editing programs to play with.  I'm so excited.
Emily is going great.  The doctor is very pleased with her recovery.  She spent last week learning how to teach freshman English.  She said that instead of sprinkling them with knowledge; they used a fire hose.  This week she starts working on her Masters degree and teaching freshman English class on her own.  Well, sort of on her own; BYU provides plenty of support and their attitude is you are here to get your Master's degree and teaching comes second.  She has also found a study buddy who is doing the same thing and they have agreed to help each other.  Good deal for her.

I have recovered from the stress of the last couple of weeks.  Due to the fact that I have Addison's disease; it takes me a long time to recoup.  Having Addison's means my body does not make the hormones necessary to cope with stress be it good or bad.  It has caused my electrolytes to go kind of haywire, my blood pressure to drop dramatically and just those two things can make anybody so weak that walking more than a few steps makes them feel like they are going to fall on their  face.  There is so much more to what the stress hormones do that sometimes I do get discouraged.  Even with all my varied health problems this is the worst and makes the stress of my other problems so very much more complicated.  This is an orphan disease which means there are not enough people with it to warrant research.  It's the pits.
However I am learning to deal with it better and better.  Not near as many hospital visits as I am learning to deal with it at home and I have a PA who is helping me through the process of learning to deal.  How grateful I am for modern medicine. 
Between Emily and I we have truly learned the miracle of modern medicine and a miracle it has been in our lives lately.  Add to that the prayers and support from those around us and our lives have been so very richly blessed.
We are both alive and able to continue to see the beauty in this world in which we live.

 Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

PS remember to come back tomorrow for the drawing of my mail art giveaway- there is still time to enter- see the post Giveaway #1 Mail art

Bright new day

Hoping for a bright new day.  I just got home from taking my computer down to the Geek Squad at Best Buy.  When I got home the first priority was to walk the dog and when I looked up this is the sky I saw.  I love it when the sun shines through the clouds like this,  It always cheers me up.  I always really dislike leaving my computer but it was not allowing me to download my new photo-editing program that I received for my birthday sooo since I have the insurance that covers such things to the Geek Squad I went.  Since my computer was also running slow again they suggested a complete check-up.  My insurance also covers this, love insurance, love the Geek Squad and Best Buy.  Between Emily and I the insurance has more than paid for itself.  I still hate leaving my computer though because all my pictures are on my computer.  However I had not erased my pics from my camera so I still had 475 photos on my card in my camera.  Went to download the program that allows me download my photos only to find that the CD was cracked.  I went to http://www.canon.com/ to see if there was anything I could do.  I fully expected to have to leave an E-mail and hope for an E-mail back.  Surprise, surprise they have a toll-free number with real people, really helpful people and the person I talked to patiently walked me through the process of getting my photos downloaded.  I was even more impressed when I found out the are headquartered in Virginia in the path of the hurricane and they were still quick and patient and helpful.  Certainly improved my opinion of Canon.  All in all this is the best experience I've had when my computer has been down and out, so I will still be able to post.  Maybe when my computer comes back it will work better and I will indeed have a bright new day. 

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Soul survivor

I read many wonderful blogs and have moved my list to the bottom of my blog to give more room and info on the blogs that I follow.
I just read a post that touched my soul deeply
http://chrisalba-enchantedoak.blogspot.com/2011/08/war-wounds.html
Read it but keep the kleenex nearby.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥