Catch up again....

Well, I've unfortunately gotten waaaaaay behind on blogging. So much so that I'm not sure what all to 'report' on. I go on March 8th to get my other ear activated, and I'm counting down the days. I guess because I know I have it, and what I'm missing out on, I'm VERY ready for it to be on. I'm very curious to see how much better certain things sound.

I'm not sure if I posted anything about it yet or not, but I went on Anderson Cooper a few weeks ago. It aired a couple of weeks ago. That was a very fun trip. Anderson is a very nice guy........and he's even more gorgeous in real life. Perfect skin, perfect hair, and those crystal blue eyes that just look into you. Much the same as Ellen's eyes actually! Lol. After taping, Ami came up to me and we chatted for a while. Got a hug from him and he asked to see my ink since it's healed. Said it looked great. (Of course it does.....it's Tim Hendricks work! Lol) I actually set up an appointment with my tattoo artist friend here locally to do a couple of things for me on Monday. I have tons of people ask me all the time "Who does your work?" Well, it's a friend of ours named Tyson Meyer. He currently works at a shop called Lost Highway in Crowley, Texas. If you are in the area and wanting a tattoo, hit him up and tell him I sent ya :) Anyway, I got him to draw me up a colorful child-like owl for Elise. She loves birds, and I realize she may not always love birds, but I want the tattoo to symbolize this time in her life and to remember her as a child. Easily entertained and able to find joy in simple things. Adults could learn a lot from that.......The other tattoo is going to be some lyrics from the song "Beautiful Things". I'll post the song here in case some of you have never heard it. It's a great song and touches me every time I hear it. Here it is:

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust


You are making me new
You make me new,
You are making me new

In other news, I'm still moving forward on my book. The publishing company sent over a contract and we are currently having our lawyers look it over. I'm itching to get started.......just not sure on the format. What do folks want to hear about? What do they want to read? I'm praying that it will just flow from me and be a good experience. Speaking of good experiences, I was introduced to an organization called "Project Endeavor". They help hearing impaired/deaf people get computers, laptops, phones, I Pads, Internet, etc. at a discounted rate. They are a really great group of folks. I sent over an application not sure if I would qualify, and I did! I ordered my I Pad and Sprint Overdrive Hot Spot and they are arriving on Monday. I'm very excited. I'm not much of a 'gadget person', but I may come over to the dark side before long. Lol.

Today is Friday, the weekend is here, and I'm wondering what Sloan and I and the kids will get into this weekend. I hope this post finds you all doing well and that you all have a great weekend!

Blessings,
Sarah

New York, round 3 with Anderson Cooper!

Ok, so New York was great :) We had a great flight there and Tuesday we just spent the day walking all around taking in the sights and eating everything I could get my hands on. Lol. Tuesday night we went and saw "Stomp". It was really good! I just sat and took it all in, the sounds of the people stomping, beating on tubs, etc. It was a great experience. Wednesday morning the producer took us over... to the set of "Anderson Cooper" where I was sent directly to 'hair and makeup'. I tell ya.....there is just nothing better than sitting down and having a team of people do ya up! Makes you feel so good. Lol. I was SO nervous thinking about what to say, how to say it, meeting Anderson and Ami, etc. They went over the questions with me, asked me all about the Esteem, all about my experience on NY Ink, etc. When it was time to go on, they placed me in a 'special audience spot' and the cameras rolled. Anderson was a very nice man, I spoke with him briefly before we taped and a briefly after we taped. He's even prettier in real life ;) Perfect hair, perfect skin, and those piercing blue eyes (much like Ellen's eyes!). Hearing him and Ami talk about my experience was cool.

Before I left, I was asked several things by many of you ladies. Here are the top 3 questions I was asked to find out:

1. Is Anderson short? Not really....but he's not tall at all. Who needs to be tall though when you're that handsome :)

2. Did Anderson smell good? I didn't smell any cologne....but who needs cologne when you're Anderson Cooper ;)

3. Can you tell him I think he's gorgeous? I have to admit ladies, I failed you all there....I was too nervous and forgot to let him know. Lol. I did however at one point make a joke about his age....you'll have to watch the show, it was hysterical complete with Anderson falling on the ground in mock horror. Ha.

After we were done taping that segment, Ami came up to me and was like "Hey Babe, how are ya?" I have to admit......I giggled. LOL. He smelled wonderful and was very sweet. He had me show him my tattoo so he could see it 'healed' and we chatted a lil more before I was swept away back to the dressing room. Basically, all in all, it was a good experience and I enjoyed meeting all the people on the set, etc. They will let me know soon when the episode will air and I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for praying for a good trip!

Random question....

Does anyone have a way to get a discount on an Ipad or laptop? I'm in need of one and they are SO expensive! I didn't own a computer until I was 24 years old, and that was because a family member gave us one when we moved to China to keep in touch with family. That laptop was a refurb and it is now dead. Lol. I have some money saved up, but want to buy the best thing I can. I realize this is a stab in the dark, but hey, God does amazing things :) Everyone have a great weekend <3

Sound Discovery- Interview with The Story on NPR

Here's the interview I did with The Story on NPR.

Sound Discovery

:)

Sound Discovery

Sound Discovery

Twas' a great Friday!

Spent the day and evening getting ready for my youngest daughter's 2nd birthday party tomorrow! Whew, I'm tired. Cleaned house, got the guest bedroom ready for family coming in, cooked tons of food, and even managed to bake a 3 tiered cake :) I cannot believe that Ms. Elise An will be 2 years old :( I still remember the morning she was born in our living room. One of the best memories of my life for sure! She has enriched my life in so many ways. She was born 3 weeks after my FIL passed away suddenly, and she has done an excellent job of turning our sorrow into joy.

Today was an exciting day in many ways. It started off by me receiving a DVD from UFC fighter Matt Hamil in the mail. It's a copy of his movie called "The Hammer". Really great story! Another highlight of my day was finding out that we are indeed going to New York next week for the Anderson Cooper Show! The producer called and set our plane tickets up and got us taken care of. I'm so excited to be visiting NY again! I'll be on the show with Ami James and talking about tattoos and what mine means to me. Sloan and I decided to splurge, and we bought tickets to see "Stomp" on Broadway while in NY. VERY excited to go see that and actually hear and appreciate it! I'll be sure to blog about that :) And for the MOST exciting thing that happened today.........I got to hear a heart beat!!!!! Not just any heart beat, but the ones of my little girls. I sat on the kitchen floor with my ear up against Elise's chest and crying. She said "What's wrong Mommy? You okay?" I did not realize that you could hear a person's heartbeat without a stethoscope! Someone mentioned it to me and I excitedly made my girls and even my hubby pull their shirts up so I could listen. I was absolutely amazed and astounded! Sloan's heart beat is very slow, but Elise's is very fast. Olivia's is in the middle. Best thing I've heard so far for sure.

Well, it's late and I have a big day tomorrow. Pray that the weather holds up and we don't get any rain. I rented a bounce house for the kiddos :)

Blessings,

Sarah