The Thanks I Get: In Honor of Thanksgiving
Written by AWB Blogger of the Month, Miss November 2012, Angie Albright of A Growing Season. 

We often say or hear, “Well, that’s the thanks I get for doing ______________.” We are usually saying it in a sarcastic way that shows we haven’t been fully repaid for whatever kindness or good deed we have done.

I have had the pleasure of having the exact opposite experience, and recently a couple of genuine expressions of gratitude for things I have done actually meant more to me than those people could have imagined at a time in my life when I was feeling pretty lost and not so sure what my role on this planet was supposed to be.

I taught college English for many, many years and I have thousands of former students running around Northwest Arkansas. I run into them frequently and I usually remember either their name, face, or something else about them. A few weeks ago I was coming out of a movie with a group of friends and a young man approached me and said, “You probably don’t know who I am.” It took me about two seconds to pull up his name. I remember him well.

I gave him a hug, and he introduced me to his wife. Then he said, “Being in your class made me want to be an English teacher.” I wanted to hug him again for saying that. In fact, he IS an English teacher with at-risk students and is a youth minister as well. He was thanking me but I wanted to thank him. He reminded me that I had made a difference and that I was a good teacher.

After I left teaching, I was the executive director of a women’s shelter that housed domestic violence and sexual assault programs. My job involved doing presentations to lots of different types of groups—big, small, professional, informal, factory workers, law enforcement—name a group or population, and I probably spoke with them about our services and domestic violence in general. Almost without exception, after a presentation I would have someone approach me, usually after others had left or walked away. This person, usually a woman, would look me in the eye—hard, like she was trying to burn a message into me—and shake my hand and say, “Thank you for what you do.” Every word would be heavy with that meaning. She and I understood without having to say it out loud that either she had used our shelter or something like it, that someone she loved had, or simply that she knew the horrors of domestic violence and was happy to know people were working on behalf of victims. This encounter usually brought tears to both of our eyes.

I recently ran into a former client of the shelter at a local retail store. I didn’t always know all of our clients, but this one I had spent a great deal of time with and had watched her succeed in ways we could only wish for everyone who went through our program. I looked at her name tag and knew I should know her. She called me by name. When I heard her voice I then recognized her. Her hair was done and she was wearing makeup. She looked professional and happy. We spoke briefly about her situation currently and how far she had come, how good she was at her job. She then did that thank you thing. She looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you for everything you did for me.” We both started to tear up. I went around the counter to give her a hug and told her how proud I was of her.

Just as with the student, I was reminded that I had made a difference to someone else. I was also reminded that even though I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing in terms of an actual day-to-day job, I was quite certain I was put on this planet to make a difference for other people. It sounds so grand, but it is actually very simple. I just knew I was supposed to be doing things that make this world a better place.

I wish I knew how to thank those people who thanked me beyond just a handshake or a hug. They made a difference to me when I needed it. They returned to me just as much as what I had given them in the first place. What a beautiful transaction this business of thanks giving is.

Angie Albright writes A Growing Season.  Check out her wonderfully told stories. You won’t regret it! You can also find her at twitter using the handles @AngieAlbright and @AGrowingSeason.

That’s French for “do you want to share?”  and we really hope you will!

Each Sunday we will be posting a LinkyTool for you to share your favorite post from the previous week!

Stop by every Sunday and leave a link for your favorite post from the previous week! While you are here, please visit the two AWB girls who linked up before you and leave comments on their blogs!  Our hope is that you will read some great content, find a new favorite blog and start cultivating friendships with each other!

The LinkyTool will be open for 24 hours.  If you miss it, you can join us again the next week!

Voulez-vous partager?

Written by AWB October 2012 Blogger of the Month, Leslyn Jacks of Leslyn’s Lovely Life.

I can’t believe that October is already over with. It’s probably my #1 favorite month of the year. You just can’t beat that nip in the air, the return of pumpkin spice lattes, being able to wear scarves every day (although I tend to do this in the summer), and busting out your favorite pair of boots. It’s glorious, really.

October is kind of a big deal for me for another reason. Let me give you the back story.

In early 2009, I was in my third year of college, and I was chosen to be a Tiger Tunes host at my school (for those of you who aren’t OBU-ers, it’s basically where you get to perform in front of several thousand people during OBU’s homecoming, and the program is somewhat like Baylor Sing). I had dreamed of being a host since my oldest cousin, Jason, was a host in 1994. I had wished to become a hostess for 15 years, and my dream finally came true. As I glanced at the list of my fellow “ho-ho’s” (hosts and hostesses…. don’t know how this became the name), there was one name that I had never seen before… DJ Jacks. Obviously, I had to go look him up on facebook and creep for a while. A few days later, I saw him and introduced myself, and apparently, he knew who I was. All of the ho-ho’s got together once a week for the rest of the school year to start planning, and we all parted during the summer.

The following school year, we moved in a week early for rehearsals, and we practiced every night leading up to homecoming. I wasn’t looking for a relationship at all. I had just gotten out of a string of unsuccessful relationships, and I was tired of dating the wrong guys. But I vividly remember watching DJ sing one of his solos, and thinking to myself: “Wow, whoever gets to marry this guy is so lucky.” A few weeks later, Tiger Tunes came and went, and I cried after the final curtain call (it was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever done).  After the shows, I figured that DJ and some of the other ho-ho’s would kind of fall off the face of the earth. But somehow, he didn’t.

DJ would randomly text me to ask me a question that really wasn’t too important, or he would call me to ask me a question about TV shows that I was certain he didn’t watch. And then, as I was talking to a freshman after class one day, I got a text message from him. “Hey, what are you doing this weekend?”  “Oh, nothing. I’m just going to stay in town.” “Well, I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me this Friday night.”

At this point, I started jumping up and down. The freshman thought I was nuts! In my heart of hearts, I wanted to type YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AWRPGHO B@I#T WPOeu aQITNq wpoghI#TNQH TQT (me freaking out on a keyboard). But of course, I had to chill a little bit, so I wrote “Yeah, I think that would be fun.” (obviously, a much cooler reaction than the one that I wanted to give). 

It was three years ago today that I went on my first date with my husband, DJ. I remember him holding my hand for the first time, us sitting in Starbucks, eating at Genghis Grill, standing in line for 2 hours at a Haunted House that we never even went to, him kissing me outside of my dorm building, and having butterflies the whole time. I remember it all like it was yesterday. And after all of this time, the butterflies still haven’t fluttered away.

xoxo

Les

Can you believe this week is already coming to an end?  And what a week it has been!  You ladies have amazed us with your response to the daily prompts and are thrilled that so many of you have been playing along!  Don’t worry though because the fun doesn’t end here!  We have several things up our sleeves!  In November we will have another Blogging Challenge for you, in December we will be featuring some of out fabulous crafters and chefs to bring you lots of ideas for handmade gift giving and delicious treats.  In January we will have another blog challenge that is geared specifically towards helping you make improvements to the look, feel, focus and function of your blog.

BUT…before we get too far ahead of ourselves we have one more day left of BLOGtober Fest!

BLOGtober Fest Day 5: {Foodie Friday} Favorite Fall Recipes

Fridays at AWB are {Foodie Friday’s}!  We LOVE food and love to share yummy food related content with you!  But today, we want you to share your favorite fall recipes with us. Tell us about you great-grandmothers famous dressing, tell us about your secret recipe for pecan pie, share something that will totally knock our socks off!  Not a food blogger? No problem!  If you don’t want to share your own recipe then link to some recipes of you favorite bloggers or answer today’s prompt in a totally unique way!

Share Your Post and Share the Love

Thanks for playing along! Leave the link to your post below.  Then, don’t forget to visit 2-3 other blogs and leave a comment!  Share the love!  LinkyTools will close Monday, October 22nd at 11:59 pm.

From Amy James at Everyday Dinners 

Dear Bloggers,

As many of you have heard,  wife, mother, friend, and fellow blogger, Julee, lost her husband, news anchor Matt Turner, in a  car accident this past Saturday.  We want to tell you about something awesome some bloggers (who I don’t think even know Julee in real life, they are bloggers taking care of their own!) are doing to support sweet Julee and their baby, Preslee Bell.   Next week, let’s all go shopping and BID BIG to donate to baby Preslee’s college fund!  If you have something to donate, contact the bloggers.

Next week, October 15th through the 19th, these bloggers (Life in the Green House, Life Sweet Life, Knee-Deep in Munchkin Land, The Getts Times, SheShe Made) will be conducting a silent auction with all proceeds going to Julee and Preslee.

To Donate an Item:
Create a post detailing the item up for auction. Include a description and/or picture.
On Monday, October 15th visit any of the above blogs and list your item. Make sure to use the direct link to that specific post.
Once the auction ends on Friday, October 19th, we’ll have you email us with the winner’s name, email address, and the amount of the winning bid. We’ll invoice the winner.

To Bid on an Item:
On Monday, October 15th, visit any of the above blogs to view the list of donated items.
If an item interests you, click on the link to read more information.
To place a bid, leave a comment on that blog’s post leaving your email address and your bid. Be sure to check the list often as new items will be added throughout the week.

We are participating in a day of blogging and social media silence in honor of Matt Turner.  His wife Julee is a fellow blogger and we want to surround her and their daughter Preslee with love and support at this time.  Please consider doing the same on your blog.  Information regarding how you can further help the family of Matt Turner will be coming on Thursday.

Healthy Families was honored to sponsor the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged (#AWBU) 2012 conference.  The weekend conference provided a time of camaraderie for Arkansas women storytellers, and gave us a peak into the blogging world.  We loved what we saw, and the experience gave us a sense of shared mission and enthusiasm.  The atmosphere was infused with women power, Arkansas pride and tips and tricks for the modern day storyteller.

The famous (or infamous) live storyteller Mary Gillihan with the Ozark Folk Center spent an evening with the ladies teaching them how to bring the words in their blogs to life.  Her entertaining presentation had the audience laughing, singing and nodding their heads in agreement.  Mary’s words of wisdom and inspiration were highly valued and respected, and reminded us that no matter our background or income level, we all have amazing stories to tell.

Healthy Families also found a common bond with the women we met – women who care about their families with more love and gusto than one can imagine. When we spoke to the attendees about Healthy Families resources and specific initiatives such as early learning, online promotions were brainstormed, tweeted and posted on individual blogs. For that we thank you.

Thank you for telling Healthy Families’ story in a way that means the most to you.

Thank you for posting the Healthy Families badge on your blog.

Thank you for taking interest in Healthy Families.

Thank you for being your communities’ ambassadors.

Thank you.

This lovely guest post was provided by the team at Healthy Families.  We are humbled and honored by their kind words and at this sort of fantastic relationship with a sponsor.  Join Arkansas Women Bloggers in one last “virtual round of applause!”

Wow!  What a weekend we had in the mountains at the Ozark Folk Center for the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged 2012 conference!  We couldn’t possibly capture all of the awesome that occurred.  So, would y’all be so kind as to place your AWBU blog posts here?  That way, we can all creep on one another’s memories with ease, and it will be that much simpler for us to help convince everybody not to miss AWBU 2013!

Thank you for all that you shared and for all the ways you jumped into AWBU with gusto!

Share your AWBU post below – be sure to link directly to the post rather than your homepage!  (You can put your blog name in parentheses after your name)

First Impressions
Written by Karen Weido, August Blogger of the Month

I have never been good with the whole “first impressions” thing.  I tend to be a little shy; I keep to myself until someone makes the effort to include me.  Until I really get to know someone, I tend to just keep my mouth shut.  It’s not something I do intentionally, it just happens to be who I am.

I think one of the reasons I tend to keep quiet and I usually feel like the teeny-tiny fish in the big pond.  My first thought goes to my first time to attend my sorority’s national convention.  I was representing a chapter with less than 30 members; my roommate was representing her chapter of over 200. I immediately felt out of my league with nothing to contribute.

I also notice it in organizations I am part of throughout the state.  I often represent my company at meetings.  My company is very small compared to some of our counter-parts across the state.  I can never compete with them on an equal level, so I just sit back and listen.

With the AR Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference coming up this weekend, first impressions are definitely on my mind.  I read several blogs from women across our great state.  These blogs are huge.  A single post often gets more comments than my blog gets visitors in a month!  In the blog world, these women are celebrities – celebrities that I am about to meet, eeek.

So what’s the point here?  The point is that one thing I’ve learned over the years is that the first impression that you give off is important.  Just because you are small does not mean you don’t have something amazing to contribute.  Everyone who is big once started off small.  Those of us with “little” blogs are about to be given an opportunity to learn from the best; we will be given the opportunity to gather ideas and get the advice that just might make us the “big” we aspire to become.

If nothing else, just having the confidence to walk up to someone and say ‘hi’ may be the beginning of a new friendship that makes your life complete.  So this weekend I am excited about having the opportunity to venture out and do something that would otherwise make me a nervous wreck.  I’m looking forward to new friends and a multitude of first impressions.

About 75 women will converge at the Ozark Folk Center this weekend for the second annual Arkansas Woman Bloggers Unplugged Conference.  If you cant join us you can follow the conference hashtag #AWBU on twitter!