The "Thank You" card

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Now when most people hear the term "Thank You" cards, weddings automatically pop into mind. But nay friends, they're not just for that!  When I was into Theater, I was taught to always send a "Thank You" card after an audition, whether I had got the part or not.  This lets the director (casting agent or whoever) see your name (and potentially face) again and reminds them that you're an easy and charming person to work with and were grateful for their time.  Though this is a much more traditional ideal where most people don't even do "Thank You" cards, I think there's even more of a reason to do it-who doesn't like getting real mail anymore?!

The "Thank You" card is one of the easiest and most genuine ways to say thank you without all of the hubbub of conversation and awkward Facebook posts.  "Thank You" notes are great for thanking guests who came to your wine-and-cheese party or who bought little Danny that great firetruck he's been wanting since Christmas.  From baby showers to Mexican fiestas to Wedding gifts, a "Thank You" note is both meaningful and quick in relaying your appreciation. My only caution is to limit to why you're sending.  Sending a "Thank You" card anytime someone babysits for you or every time you have a girls night out, will make each one more and more impersonal.

Now-check out the tips I've listed below of what make up this whole "Thank You" process!

1. Get a cute card.  Now I find this one of the most fun elements because there are thousands of templates out there and for every occasion!  Whether you're making your own or have a left over stack from some occasion long ago, make sure they match what you're thanking someone for! (i.e. no baby shower-type thank you for the awesome girls night out after your boyfriend broke up with you...that's just uncomfortable and rude).  Sites like etsy and tiny prints have some adorable templates (both personalized and non) for pretty cheap! There's no harm in getting a regular stack at your local WalMart, but just try to brighten them up with a clever stamp or ink color on the envelope.  This makes it stand out against the regular ol' junk mail and bills.

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2. Make each note personal.  If you're sending out a stack higher than the pancakes you had for breakfast, it can seem daunting and like overkill. BUT remember: you're thanking someone for something you deemed helpful, sweet, or down right awesome in some situation you both were in.  So mean it, damn it!  Making it personal should include the persons name, date you're writing it, and your signature.
3. Yet, in regards to making it personal, also make it short and to the point. Long phrases in an 5x5 card makes you not only seem desperate but also more annoying than thankful.  By this I mean-have you ever done something for someone and they've gone on and on and on about it via Facebook posts, word of mouth, and many in person thanks? Yeah...It gets a little intense and overbearing when it gets to that stage.  So simple and short.  Phrases such as "I appreciate the..." and "You helped make this experience..." and "I hope to one day return the favor..." are personal enough without being too intense.

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4. Make sure you're addressing the person as an individual AND in the appropriate setting!  If you're writing a "Thank You" to a colleague, talking about getting wasted or making crude jokes are not the way you should be thanking them, even if that's what you may be thanking them for!
5. WRITE THEM OUT. I think the best "Thank You" cards are when they are hand written. This shows that in our everyday and busy lives, someone took the time to think of YOU, to sit down, grab a colorful pen, and write to tell you just how much you [gift, time, etc.] meant to them.

Example of a well written "Thank You" note:

April 24th, 2011

     Dear Jane,

I really appreciate the time you spent hand embroidering the towels you gave us at the wedding shower.  They are so adorable and fluffy!  They help bring out me and John's personal preppy style and we can't wait to hang them in our bathroom for everyone to see. I'm so glad we got to see one another and I hope to return the favor soon when we catch up again!

Love, Jordan

See? Short, simple, and sincere.

Sites like Bridella and thank-you-note also show other ways and situations in which "Thank You" cards can be used and written.

Cheers to your thank you's-because we've always got someone/something to be thankful for  =]

Love and hugs,
J

Oklahoma is OK by me!

It's not just the musical I love, but the state and my family too! April 8th-April 11th, my mom, sister and I trekked to Oklahoma to visit my DotDot (grandmother), Dave (step-grandfather) and my Aunt Phyllis.  It was a ton of fun and it was a great time to relax and not worry about any work or school.  It is normally approximately 12 hours to Mannfod, Oklahoma (where they live) but with traffic and wrecks going there and back we had a few extra hours tagged on-a bit stressful and tiring but not too bad.  Check out my trip!

We stopped in Arkansas for lunch and a good leg stretch.

This was the wreck in Arkansas, on the way there-we were in traffic for almost 2 hours because an 18-wheeler had caught on fire! You can't see it well but it's burnt to a shell!  Traffic was so bad on teh other side (where the truck actually was) and I'd bet they sat in traffic for over 4 hours!

We made it! We're in Oklahoma, on my grandmother's property and this was the site I saw in waking up Saturday morning-bliss.

One of the beds.

We decided to take a walk through the 20 acred property to just clear our heads and enjoy the gorgeous weather.  It was so peaceful and relaxing-just what we needed!

Then later that night we were having a BBQ with my step-grandfathers family. Here Dave is making the homemade vanilla ice-cream!

Our BBQ-SO yummy.

Homemade potato salad=heaven.

Look at that! It was a bit runny because it had a hard time turning but it still tasted awesome!

The fam hanging out <3

The next day, after eating some awesome Mexican food we went to Braum's!  It's known (to my family at least) as having some of the best ice cream ever and my brother-in-law Steve is obsessed with it! There's me and Jen posing for it.

Me, my mom, and sister (Jen).  We were getting ready to start packing up and going to bed for an early start back home.

The granddaughters with the grandmother <3

All in all it was a great quick get-away for the family.  My brother couldn't come since he had to work and Der had tests that Friday but it was nice to have a girls trip!  My sister took a bunch more pics but she hasn't emailed them to me yet and I was too excited/impatient to wait on blogging, haha!

This trip was exactly what I needed to refresh my outlook and soul.  Cheers to more trips in the future!

Hairspray!

Have you ever seen something that was totally awesome and it's only until it's over that you can fully appreciate the full magnitude of it's incredibility?  Well if you haven't-shame on you.

I was fortunate enough to brave the unknown to Donelson where I saw a wonderful friend Tonya P. as the lead (Tracy Turnblad) in John Water's "Hairspray" musical.  If you haven't heard of it by now, you fail.  Made popular in the late 1980s with Rikki Lake and Divine, it sky rocketed to a cult phenomenon (like Rocky Horror and Xanadu) that is still prevalent today (especially once Travolta donned the do for Velma Turnblad).

Photo: Hatcher and Fell Photography

Kelly and I met up for Mexican (after both having a really hard time locating the theater) and caught up on the latest while unbeknown to us, the theater parking lot was filling up-we had to park across the street! Lucky for us, I we had reserved seats so we squeezed in to the theater and planted our rumps on the fold outs.  Though the STC theater was small (holding probably 100 seated-130 with standing) Kelly and I made ourselves at home reading the programs, commenting on the cast bios and the simple set design.  And then...it started!

Photo: Hatcher and Fell Photography

Photo: Hatcher and Fell Photography

Photo: Hatcher and Fell Photography

It was WONDERFUL! The entire cast could sing, dance, act, and all looked the part! I found everything convincing and genuine-hard to come by in some theater! Tonya was incredible as the optimistic big girl Tracy (she had to wear a padded suit!) with a voice to match (per usual).  It was very awesome to clap and roar when she bowed-I felt so proud of her!

You know it was a great show when you wake up singing this....

"Today's Tom Sawyer-mean, mean pride."

RUSH.

If you haven't heard of this Canadian band you've been living under a rock for the past 30 years...seriously.  Most known for their song "Tom Saywer", they've come out with enough rock to blow the mind.

(Have yourself a little listen!)

Nice jams huh? Both my mother and husband claim Rush as their FAVORITE band of all time.  Though not my favorite, I am more respectful of them and their awesomeness after seeing them live in Nashville on April 3rd, 2011.

We just parked and were getting ready to walk to the arena!

Bridgestone Arena

Our seats-the very last row! From this picture you can hardly make out the stage!

The show's about to start!

They had a huge jumbo-tron and awesome lights!

What it really looked like without zooming in on my camera, haha!

(From Left: Alex (guitar), Neil (drums), and Geddy (vocals/guitar))

They were SO good live-just like listening to a cd!  I've decided to like them a bit more for putting on an awesome show and rocking (especially since they're in their 50s) in Nashville.  I've found that of the songs played at the show, I loved "Closer to the Heart" the most-very well done!

If you haven't heard them or seen them-IT'S TIME. DO IT.

<3

Okla-homa!

I'm heading to Oklahoma tomorrow! I am SO SO SO excited to visit my grandparents, aunt, and spend some quality time with my mom and sister.

I plan on getting LOTS of reading and relaxing done-none involving school or work, haha!!

I'll post here when I'm back!  YEEEE!

Baby Sealya's Shower

The same day as The BIG Event I also had a friend's baby shower to go to-Mindy (the mother) and Sealya (the soon-to-be-baby!) She's due May 19th and she's ready to go!

Check out the pics below for details:

The party's theme colors were purple and green-Mindy's best friend Brigitte made this cool diaper cake for her!

Here was the sign in sheet for everyone to write on.

Mommy and baby loot!

The CUTEST baby cakes! The top one is a clover with "Good Luck Mindy" on it and the bottom is a baby cake that says "Welcome Sealya"! How adorable are these?

The baby shower games-diapers filled with "poop" and baby food for guessing flavors behind them!  Derrick and I sat those games out, haha!

Mindy has a really cool idea and bought a bunch of different size onesie's and we all could tye-dye or paint them! Free clothes for baby Sealya and uniqueness!

Mindy is obsessed with owls so her friend made a really cool owl onesie.

Our tye-dyes set out to dry and soak-mine is the one furthest in the back!

Baby Sealya's room-how CUTE is everything? Mindy put up these little owl wall decals all over the room-totally original!

The bedding.

The other diaper cake-this is so sweet.  This was Mindy's mother's diaper cake from when Mindy was to be born! How sweet is that? Mindy has this wonderful keepsake to pass down to Sealya <3

From the other diaper cake-sweet booties!

Mindy's big gift from her work friends-a pack n play! Owl themed-naturally, LOL.

This was also a cool idea-everyone at the party was supposed to write a card for Mindy to read while she is in the hospital.  So cool!

Mom-to-be Mindy ready to dig in some "poop"!

Opening the card from me and Derrick-we got her the purple basket and filled it with some good baby stuff: baby toothbrush, baby hair brush, baby q-tips, baby diaper cream, a 3-pack of wipes and a giraffe rattle.

More loot! She was ready to dig in.

Sentimentally reading her cards.

We had a ton of really wonderful food, cake and fun!  Only about 6 more weeks and Sealya should be here!

CONGRATULATIONS MINDY!