Do You Ever Think About What You Post on Your Blog May Mean to Those Who Read It?

Do you ever think about what you post on your Blog means to others?

I want to tell you a little story ..........

Something that profoundly effected me and lifted my spirits greatly.

Shortly before Christmas, I was very sad and depressed over the passing of my friend , Rose Marie, and my friend, Lisa, moving away to another state.

Rose Marie

Lisa

I was wondering if all the decorating that I do for Christmas ( 17 trees) was really worth it and if my time would not be better spent doing something else.

I then received an email from Lynn, who found my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas, online.
I am going to share parts of this email with all of you, with Lynn's permission. I want all of you who Blog and put yourself " out there" to know that what we say and do on our Blogs are not only for us personally.

And PLEASE, do not think that I am doing this to "pat myself on the back" or "sing my own praises" .

In fact, Lynn's words humbled me so and reduced me to tears....

Debbie,

I came across your home on the Christmas Tour of Homes.....and I have spent the entire afternoon just on your beautiful home. I am in absolute awe and cannot get enough of it. I wasn’t even in the Christmas spirit this year. I lost both my Grandparents this year and its been very hard for me. I was in doubts of even celebrating Christmas this year but you have lifted my spirits and put a smile on my face, which hasn’t been there in several months.

I cannot get enough of your home! I am putting all of my decorations up tomorrow! You are such an influence to all of us!

As I mentioned before, I was questioning myself as to why I put myself through all that I do to decorate our home for Christmas and other Holidays.
Lynn's beautiful words lifted my spirits and made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I am meant to do this.

I did email Lynn back Thanking her and shortly after Christmas, I received another Email:

Hi Debbie,

I sent you an email back before Christmas thanking you for sharing your Debbie-Dabble Christmas blog, as well as your life. If you recall, I was going through a very emotional time due to the loss of both my Grandparents. Before I found your blog I had no intentions of celebrating Christmas at all. But, as I told you in the previous email, you changed my life. You gave me inspiration and hope. During the month of December I watched your blog every single day. Often, several times each day. I mustered up the energy and dragged out all my decorations and got my house in order. Although my Grandparents weren`t physically here this Christmas, I know they were spiritually right beside me the entire time. I even went to their home, which is a mobile home and is exactly twenty feet from my front porch, and got some of their decorations that have been around my entire life. I moved back to this area to take care of them and my Grandpa helped me build a small 800 sq ft house, right behind their mobile home. My house is small, but it works for me. Like you, I am pretty much wall-to-wall décor. I call my style Country-Victorian-Cottage. It`s somewhat a collection of all three styles, leaning more towards the cottage side.

With Christmas being over, I have been spending all my spare time reading both your blogs. I think I have watched everything you have ever posted. It’s a lot! LOL....I have loved every minute of it! I now feel like I know you and your family on a personal level. Isn`t it strange how someone we have never met can feel so close and so much a part of ones family?

My hobbie is going to yard sales, thrift stores, Goodwill and all of those wonderful places. Since I have started watching you, I have really been racking up! I have now done something I have never done before. I have decorated for Valentines Day! Mind you my decorating is no where close to being as beautiful and extravagant as yours, but I am working on it. Valentines Day is also my birthday, so I get to celebrate twice

I spent most of this afternoon looking at your "back yard" blog. I am so excited now for spring to get here so I can start buying flowers and yard ornaments. I keep having to remind myself you probably didn’t get everything you have overnight. Im sure its been years in the making. But, I want my home to look as wonderful as yours and I want it NOW.....lol

How many times have all of us been inspired by something we saw on someone else's Blog and we have tried to duplicate it in our own homes because we fell in love with it.

Imitation is the greatest form of Flattery in my book!

Again, I was brought to tears by Lynn's email. She had so touched my heart......

Shortly afterward, I received a package in the mail.

Lynn had decided to part with and gift to me some of her precious Grandmother's handmade items, along with some other treasures that made her think of me while she was out Thrifting.

Lynn's Grandmother's Embroidered Pillow Cases.....

So pretty....


Straw Berry curtains that her grandmother sewed herself....

Lynn knows that I do not have a kitchen widow and has granted me permission to recreate them into something else......


Lynn had pictures of this darling dresser scarf on her Grandmother's dresser from 1957 !!!!

Don't you just love this?????

And some treasures that she found that she said reminded her of me.....





I cried when I read her letter and realized that Lynn gifted to me some precious items that were her Grandmother's because reading my Blogs helped her through a " most difficult time in her life " and she felt that her "Grandmother would want me to have them."

I am sure that all of you can imagine how touched I was by this one gesture of kindness by a woman that I have never met.

Lynn, beautiful person both inside and out.....

Lynn and I have emailed each other back and forth and have become online friends.....

If you ever doubt the Power of Blogging........

If you ever think that no one is paying attention to what you say and do.......

If you ever think that you are going unheard and your thoughts are meaningless......

If you ever question the amount of time spent on your computer Blogging....

PLEASE remember this story that I have just shared with you.

Lynn feels that I have helped her and inspired her but what I want Lynn to know is that her very kind words have changed MY life as well.

When I was so depressed and saddened during the Christmas season , I actually thought that maybe I would stop decorating our home for the Holidays the way I do.

Lynn's words changed my mind and made me feel that maybe there was another purpose to my decorating insanity!! And maybe in the grand scheme of things, I am supposed to continue to do this.
So I will continue to decorate my home like the crazy woman that I am until I can no longer physically do it anymore.

If you are reading this and have been inspired by someone's Blog, PLEASE take the time to let them know it. You may change their lives as well!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, LYNN!!!!!

On a different note, I did go to the GI Dr. and he thinks all the problems that I have been experiencing is Irritable Bowel Syndrome brought on by a virus. An intestinal virus can irritate the lining of the bowel so much that it can bring on IBS. So I am on medication and I have to watch what I eat:
No coffee, chocolate, Caffiene, fatty fried foods, some fruits and vegetables, soda and some dairy products.
I have lost 8 pounds and with this type of dietary restrictions, I should be able to lose more. That is a good thing as I am grossly overweight and truly need to lose weight . Of course, I do wish that there was another reason as to why I am losing weight.

I am feeling better but still not myself .......

So I have been a little slow on getting things done. Watch for my Blog Anniversary Giveaway coming soon and when I decide the perfect places to display the treasures that I recieved from Lynn, I will share that with all of you also.

Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers!
It means the world to me!

I also want to Thank Cindy for featuring me this week over @ her It's a Woman Thing Link Party!
It is truly an honor, Cindy!

I am linking up to these great parties because I want other Bloggers to realize the impact they have on others:

Masterpiece Monday

Show and Tell Monday

Blue Monday

Mod Vintage Mix Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Cozy Home Party Tuesday

Home Decor and Organizing Link Party

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Open House Party Thursday

Homemaking Link Up Party

Home Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Tickled Pink Friday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie

DINNER FOR 2 & HEARTS AT WORK!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Even though I do decorate like a crazy woman, we really don't make a big deal out of celebrating Valentine's Day. Usually we are working so a nice meal at home is what we like.

I did a simple little tablescape........

You can see that I used one of my yard sale finds, a vintage tablecloth with red roses......

See my Dining Room Valentine Tree in the background......

A simple setting for two.....

Red chargers from the Christmas Tree Shop along with white dinner plates with a gold rim. These were also bought at the Christmas Tree Shop at 90% Clearance for 10 cents a piece!!!!
Yep! you read that right..... 10 cents a piece!!

The red heart plates are from Target on Clearance , of course!


The flowers , mercury glass votives and little cherub are items I pulled from the Living Room Valentine Decorations.....

A candy box that I embellished......

Vintage napkins.....








One of our favorite Italian Eateries is locally owned and called Leggio's. We usually call in an order and Joe picks it up on his way home from work.

You definitely get your money's worth.

This is Joe's favorite ........
Veal Parmigiana with a side of spaghetti and a salad......


Do you see the size of that piece of veal???? And yes, Joe ate the whole thing.......

An order of garlic bites is included.....

And this is half of my Chicken Parmigiana with a side of spaghetti......


Here is the other half with 2 garlic bites left over and I did not eat my salad. Another meal for me....

All this for a mere $31.00!!!

You can't beat it!!
The owner is right from Italy so the food is superb!

And now I want to show you how I decorated the Rehab Department in which I work for Valentine's Day.

Ever since I did the decorations for Christmas, I have been elected to do the decorations for other Holidays....

When you step off the elevator , you see the wreaths that I made....


Grapevine wreaths with a white rose garland wired in and red velvet roses and hearts from the Dollar Tree added to it....


I made the bows using 2 different ribbons....


I left up 2 of the little trees that we had in our Nurse's Station...
You know me with trees!!

Here is the little tree that I decorated for Valentine's Day using roses and red heart lights......

I left some of the snow men out because it is still winter....


And this tree is inside the Nurse's station and is still decorated for Winter with some silver balls and snowflakes and a snow man at the base. I just added a bow made out of Valentine Ribbon on the top.....

And I hung some cupids from another Dollar store ( pack of 6 for a buck) around!!


I will leave these decorations up for about another week at work since Feb. is Heart Month and then I will decorate for St. Patrick's Day......

Our patients and staff like the decorations and it makes things a bit more festive.......

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

I am linking up to these parties:

Home Decor and Organizing Link Party

Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Tablescape Thursday

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Open House Party Thursday

Homemaking Link Up Party

Home Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Tickled Pink Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best

Woman Thing, the Link Party

Masterpiece Monday

Mod Vintage Mix Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

The Valentine's Day Party

Valentine Par-Tay with Laurie

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie

DRESS FORMS and MINI TEA CUPS and TEA POTS!

Dress Forms......

I think we all pretty much love them, don't we? So much so that Carol over at
The Polka Dot Closet decided to have a Dress Form Party!!

What a grand idea!!

I have a few.......

This is Minerva.......

She is a wicker dress form that I bought several years ago in a Consignment Shop.

I had recently purchased a lace dress at a Costume Shop on clearance for a mere $5.00 and I knew the wicker dress form would be perfect for the dress....

After Christmas, I tea dyed this beautiful lace dress because it was stark white. I wanted to give it a more aged look. I think that I will again try tea dying it to change the color to a more beige....

I made the hat and OOOPS!!
You can see the styrofoam ball I use as a head.....

The darling little tea cup pin was given to me by Martha of Martha's Favorites when I won one of her giveaways.....

The black bow was actually a hair barrett.....

I bought the parasol on Ebay....

I used peach accessories because Minerva usually lives in my peach Living Room except at Christmas time....

And at night, there is an uplight underneath her......


My second dress form is a seamstress one that I bought at a yard sale for a mere $1.00!

I have this one in my bedroom with my wedding gown displayed on it....


I did not want my wedding gown to look like a wedding gown so I sort of disguised it a bit by adding a hat, a shawl and a pink scarf....



The pink scarf was a yard sale find....

The pretty flower pin was gifted to me by my friend, Rose Marie, who passed away before Christmas.

I also displayed some other pins on this dress form....



And gloves and a fan of course....

The ruffle at the bottom of the gown....

I think it beats having my wedding dress stuck in a bag up in the attic, don't you?

I have a few other smaller dress forms in my bedroom also.....

This is a paper mache dress form that I bought in a Thrift shop and decoupaged wrapping paper over ....

And then added a vintage bracelet as a necklace....

And I also have a dress form jewelry stand in my Bedroom.....

I have displayed one of Joe's Grandmother 's vintage beaded collars on it....

And I do have another dress form jewelry stand in the Guest room.....



Well, that is all of my dress forms.....

Please be sure to visit and maybe join in on The Dress Form Party over at The Polka Dot Closet!!

Soon to some mini tea cups and teapots.....

In my last post, I showed you my Den Valentine's Day tree.....

Among the toile hearts are also some transferware mini tea cup and tea pot ornaments.....



Don't you just love the cupid on this one???



And I also want to share this flea market find that i paid $1.00 for with you.....

I just love mini Tea Sets....

Isn't this one so cute with the red cardinals in it???

I thought it would be a perfect match for my Winter Bird House tree in my kitchen....

And we celebrated my Birthday on Sunday with a pizza and wings party....

That is Danielle and Jim....

Joe and Joey......


Can you tell that my Joey loves to get his picture taken???
Can't really say that for Joe now, can I??? LOL!

Having all of my family with me is ALWAYS the best Birthday gift anyone could give me!

Thanks so much to everyone who wished me well. I am feeling okay but still not myself and I still get that pain and bloating after eating. As I mentioned before, I see a Gastroenterologist on the 16th so I am just waiting.....

I do need to apologize to those I Follow if you do not see your blog on my Blog Roll. I am having trouble updating it and then I thought starting over would help . But I could not list any names on my Blog Roll after i deleted it. I was able to list some this morning but then Blogger stopped letting me do that. I am still trying to list the remaining names...... Does anyone know anything about this???

I am linking up to these great parties:

Cozy Home Party Tuesday

Home Decor and Organizing Link Party

Knick of Time Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tabletop Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Open House Party Thursday

Homemaking Link Up Party

Home Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best

Woman Thing, the Link Party
Masterpiece Monday

Mod Vintage Mix Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie