What IS love?

I've read these so many times and yet never tire of them. I hope you enjoy the true innocence of love and prayerfully you will find this in your life as well....

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

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'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

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'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

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'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

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'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

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'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

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'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

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'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

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'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

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'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

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'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

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'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

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'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

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'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

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'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7

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'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4

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'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

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'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7

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'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

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'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

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And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

That time of year...

Awesome menu, awesome fun, awesome period!!

Is a Taser a great gift? .. you be the judge.

I read this story in 2005 and forwarded to everyone I knew. Can I tell you how much this made me laugh? So I researched it and found it again. Enjoy!! Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....

'WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home.

I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.

AWESOME!!!

Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another.

The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, "no possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best... I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it master," reasoning that a one- second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and ..

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again.

I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs.

The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "Do it again, stupid, do it again!"

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself!

You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.

A three-second burst would be considered conservative.

SON-OF-A-... That hurt like **%!!! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get up there??? My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I'm still looking for my testicles! I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!! Still in shock!

P. S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!

Last minute gift

Here a little last minute gift idea for that special you know who. I saw this at one of the 50 stores I was at last night so I can't tell you where she came from. I do know it's a Hallmark Gift book.... and can you believe I can't find one dang link for it? It's a tiny little book with "stuck on you love notes" one side is called Sweet and Spicy and the other side is called Spicy and Sweet. The pink, sweet side are notes to your lovie that are just sweet... like, here's one: You were just the right person at just the right time. And you still are. Here's one of the red ones from the spicy side: You're a total knockout... let's have another round. ... I would add there... humana, humana. I bought the little book initially to give it to my beau then realized that I need to keep it and give him one of the notes every so often. Makes life interesting. Try it on for size!

Coupons

In time for the shopping on-line. Some of these coupons are for sales, percentages off and/or free shipping. Take advantage of them... I have! Couponcabin.com Ebates.com Couponchief.com Currentcodes.com Naughytcodes.com Couponheaven.com Retailmenot.com Shopping-bargains.com Couponcodes4u.com

Please let me know if you use these and how it works out.

I'm blessed!

A colleague was complaining about being in a rut. Turns out the blogging rut-bug has hit the best of us. Here at Perfect Settings we are in the midst of event season. Between weddings, baby showers (cold summer?), birthday parties... you name it; we've been booked. It takes me until Tuesday to regroup and we're only halfway through... At any rate, it was suggested to blog about Thanksgiving so that's what I'll do since I have a ton to be thankful for. It used to be that when you asked a Christian; "how are you?" they would say "blessed!" but the saying has become cliche and now everyone is saying they're blessed. For crying out loud, Madonna said in this morning's paper that she's sad about her divorce but she's blessed - no, I'm not linking that one. I'm not suggesting people aren't blessed. I'm suggesting that you take stock in the word. I used to say it all of the time - actually I still do - so when my sister gifted me a ring for my 40th Birthday that says "Blessed" on it I realized how much it was that I said it. So now when people ask "how's business?" or "how are the kids" or "how's Columbia" or "how have you really been, Daisy?" I pause for a moment and consciously say "Well, when you work for yourself business can always be better but I'm truly blessed. My phone is still ringing" or "my kids have graduated and are out in the working world. They've been blessed" or "Columbia is coming along... we've been blessed with all of the special events going on" or "Daisy's good. Truly. I've been blessed... I'm in an industry where we celebrate love and life. We all have our health and I'm married to a fabulous guy." So as we all sit around the dinner table this Thursday and go around telling what we're thankful for - my kids are cringing right about now... - take stock in what way God has blessed you and be thankful. I mean really thankful. I encourage you to go into this Christmas Season without the commercial hustle and be mindful that life is full and abundant. I guarantee that Christmas will be more meaningful and you'll be better for it. Do I hear an amen?

*post script: The picture above is from a dinner party way back in May. I was supposed to blog about that in May. Better late than never. We had a blast - actually, that's where I'm going for Thanksgiving!

Murder Mystery Dinner

Check out the FABULOUS Murder Mystery Dinner poster! Yolanda rocks - talk about talented!!Mark your calendar people... 12/31, 1/2 + 1/3... that's it. For all of you that have been looking, waiting and checking in... we're on! This play takes place on a dirigible... I had to look it up too... a blimp... anyway, it's a murder that takes place on New Year's Eve so this play will take you right into New Year's. Let's face it, you're not doing anything this year that you haven't done before (is the hang over worth it?... if so, BYOB!) so come join us... reserve a table of 8 if you want, for those people that you normally spend NY's with. It's going to be spectacular. It's being put on by the same production company that was commissioned last time... they are the same company that puts on the Haunted Lantern Tour here in Columbia - which by the way starts this Saturday. There's no expense spared for putting on these shows and I was very impressed last year - if you know me you know that it takes a lot for someone to rock my world (however, it's the smallest things in life that bring me real joy).... all I'm saying is that you're missing a good thing if you miss this!

BTW... did you notice I put that baby in the margin without shutting down my whole site? Yeah, baby!

Happy Anniversary!!

I have a few anniversaries coming up. It's awesome to feel a sense of accomplishment of another year of marriage. We focus on weddings so much that we tend to forget the anniversaries and anniversary parties. It doesn't need to be lush or lavish... just appreciative.I found this really cool web site totally dedicated to wedding anniversaries. How you like them apples? This week their focus is on parties. What I didn't like (them apples!!) was that you can't find an anniversary gift pertaining to your particular year of anniversary. So I guess I don't get a 22nd anniversary gift. I did find this site that helps with anniversary gifts. - they dedicated a whole site to gifts... I'm in the wrong business. BUT still no 22nd anniversary gift - even there. *sigh* Off the hook again!! HOWEVER.... upon further investigating... Sue used to call me Colombo ... there's this really, really cool site called Memory Lane that does a personalized art print of your life (or lives) together. Awesome and encouraging... maybe I will get something for my anniversary this year. Ok... confession; my hubby is really GOOD about milestone dates. He's never forgotten our anniversary... except for last year. Here's a pic of an anniversary party done last year. 50 years... whew!... now that's a honkin' milestone.

Being MIA

No one really has to tell me that I've been MIA... check!, got it. Truth be told... I've been struggling with one of my book club friends and her diagnosis for the last 6 weeks. She had palliative surgery on Monday trying to buy her time and all of my book club friends were banking on her having that time to spend with her boys - and selfishly, us. She passed last evening. It's God awful.I've had some very beautiful feed back from clients/friends (no matter how hard you try to stay professional, people grow on you.) and colleagues... had to share this because life really is short and your presence and legacy live with people that don't even know you and that to me is amazing...

From one of my officiant and blessed colleague: “Father God, grief is the atmosphere right now. Please fulfill the words of Jesus who said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. We asked for your kingdom to come and Your will to be done. We prayed believing and the result is different than that which we would have preferred. However, we trust today it was more important for Jill to be in heaven than here on earth. Our logic argues with a “faith statement” such as this because of the love ones and friends that are left to pick up the pieces. I am asking that today and the days to follow that you will release peace and comfort in tangible ways to everyone grieving this loss. I pray that wisdom will come in measures that make each new decision easy. I pray that the enemy will not be able to touch any family member or friend as they step into this new season without Jill. God, it is hard to trust when things go wrong and I am glad that you understand that. Please forgive us for any unbelief and strengthen us through the Holy Spirit. You are God and Your ways are always upright. Amen”

“Cast all your cares upon our Lord and He will care for you” I Peter 5:7

From my last client of the year:

In her heart there was no quit that 's something we all know. And though we would love to hold her tight we have to let her go.

For her life on earth with us was through her journey had to end. But her memory forever lives on that you can depend.

There are few things left here on earth as precious as was she. So bow your head, say your goodbyes for God's angels set her free.

KAF 10.09.2008

Thank you to all of you who have rallied around my mental well being. Dase

7 years

It's been 7 years since September 11th... let's give homage to those who have lost their lives.The following came from an email that my niece sent me. I have since received it a few more times but for those who haven't seen it: 'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK..I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

God

Oh-Bama, Mama!

So on a day that I have to run and get some vet meds for my dog... I miss Obama. As someone who is STILL undecided about decision 2008... what a shame!My girlfriend runs the Columbia Markethouse... She gave me the following account: The morning of market there were two guys in the market... trust me she would know. This is a town of 10,000 - she knows everyone. The two guys weren't together but they were suspicious to her nonetheless. She had never seen them before. Then she noticed a woman at the front of the markethouse and she had been standing there for quite a while. My girlfriend thought that maybe she was lost so she approached her to ask her if she could help her with anything. The woman noticed her and turned her back and pretended she was on the cell. My girlfriend made her way inside... then suddenly there was a screeching of tires and people were everywhere. She went outside and demanded to know what was going on... a gentleman jumps from the black vehicle and turns to her and says one word .... "OBAMA" ... to hear her tell it is HILARIOUS!! Well she starts to bawl. They locked down the joint and Obama finally made his entrance and gave her a kiss.

Picture of Obama at Columbia Markethouse.

Video of Obama in Columbia.

All that commotion and I missed it. Anyone that knows anything about me knows that Thursdays (and now Fridays!!, baby!) are for market. How I missed this was beyond me! Dumb dog. And so... I start working again on Monday morning back to the same old boring Columbia PA. Oh, the travesty.

You're beautiful.

You ARE beautiful and it begins with you believing that.I started this entry to talk about cosmetic surgery and how I'm no advocate of getting it done less than 6 months before your event. HOWEVER, when I went to research some of the pictures... ugh... they were awful and the people writing the blogs about them were so mean!! Sure surgery can go south quickly but that's not the norm. I simply wanted to say if you want a nose job either wait until after the wedding or push your date back so that you have a least 9 months of recovery. I do understand that you may have a complex about a particular of your body and you will be the center of attention on your wedding day... that's normal - however, you really need to think this through. Interestingly, I learned that plastic surgery dates back to 700 BC! Talk about a bustier in a peasant's dress... geez. Lastly, don't "suggest" that any of your bridesmaids have any sort of surgery. They will never forgive you for it no matter how caring you put it to them.

PS I think Janet Jackson is beautiful. People are just haters.

Everyone loves a monkey

Or so I thought... my order was canceled yet AGAIN with not so much as a courtesy call.What's all the fuss about?

Adorable... don't you think?

Stamps

People hire me to bring something new to the table of ideas. I recently had a situation where my client asked for her 50th birthday party to be about her... she does for so many people all of the time on various boards that this time it was going to be about her. Point taken. The w/e after meeting with them I proposed to revolve the party around her life and the things she likes to do. Each table would be themed after a time of her life. For starters I suggested that the invite and postage stamps be pictures of her when she was just a little girl. I asked her husband about her life and he enlightened me on a spectacular detail; her father raised exotic animals when she was growing up. One thing led to another and he provided me a picture of her and her sister sitting on a carpet with two chimpanzees between them. One of the chimps is "reading a book" - or so it seems. It is ADORABLE. Welllll..... I propose that we use this image as the postage stamp. He loved it. I submit the stamp.Never heard a peep. Then I got to thinking... hey, what happened to the stamps? I go on-line to check my order and it's been canceled. I do more researching and I'm told that the image was inappropriate. Inappropriate to whom?... I want to know. I go on-line looking for someone to talk to. Guess what? There's no one to talk to. Not a single phone number on the site. I submit an on-line email stating my qualm and get a form letter response asking for the information that I had already put in my email. I resubmit my information and get the SAME form letter. I'm seething at this point. I email back... same form letter. So I decide to reorder the stamps... with a note on my order... there's NOTHING wrong with the image and it fits their criteria. You guessed it ... canceled again. Reminder: without my knowledge. Can I tell you how furious I am at this point? Soooo... I email them yet again b/c God forbid there be a contact number to call. Yep, same form letter. I send respond to their email and am told pretty much "sorry, please order again" I respond pretty inappropriately and I'm told: We apologize for the trouble you are experiencing. In order to resolve your issue in the quickest and most effective manner possible, we will need you to speak with one of our customer service representatives.

Please call us toll-free at 1-888-434-0055. Our hours of operation are from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST, Monday through Friday.

Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and thank you for visiting PhotoStamps.

NOTE TO Everyone: pick up the phone and call their top secret phone number right now and tell them they're jerks!!

Anywaaayyy... I call them. She tells me that I need to reorder the stamp... lucky for me I did that the night before! I give her the new order number... she tells me the image is in the "inspection" area and she adds "it will most likely be rejected again" "WHY?!!" I ask... she's not sure... no one can give me a straight answer. So she emails me an Affirmation of Rights Form ... what-freakin-ever!! I sign the form and I get the same email back telling me to reorder. You're probably wondering if I'll use them again... well, yeah, it's a division of the United States Postal Service... do I have a choice?

121

That's how many days of shopping we have until Christmas...Just thought I'd throw that out there while you're busy planning your event!

Murder Mystery

Mark your calendars... the next Murder Mystery Dinner Theater will be on December 31, 2008... yep, New Year's Eve.More details to follow.

Hope you can make it!

Stay-cation

Hello there! I've been gone for some time for a multitude of reasons. However, I've listened to all of you that have dropped me a line to say that my blog has been stagnant. So sorry!Along with everyone else that I know, we decided to take a stay-cation that was close to home but far away enough from the business. We spent a week in Mt. Gretna and I can't tell you how spectacular it was. (I can't find any real good links - that's the reason it's so untapped, I guess) I can tell you that there was no cell coverage there... NONE. At any rate, with such a busy wedding and celebration season I hadn't gotten a chance to read through the business journals, business magazines and Oprahs that I had been accumulating... I took a stack about 2 ft high and.... unfortunately, brought them all back. *sigh* My time at Mt. Gretna was to relax and by God Almighty, I was going to relax. There's a section in the forest that has a little fairy garden in it. It's soooo charming - to say the least. It doesn't matter what time of the day you go you are sure to find little girls (and sometimes boys) sitting there having tea with the fairies - or the boys who call it tea with the gnomes. There's a journal on one of the benches that they keep in a plastic container and little people leave notes to the fairies... it was too darn cute. If you look closely at the first picture in the second set, there's a little girl there reading one of the journals. I think people come from all over to bring little tea cups to the fairies. I was at the Jigger Shoppe (an ice cream shop built in the 1800's) and I hear this little girl, of about 5, say to her dad; "Oh, Daddy, we must go see the fairy garden right now!" and he said "well, I'm not sure if I know where it's at" - obviously deviling her. She said "it's along this path right here" and Tony turns to me and says "that's why I can't have little girls, I'm no good at standing up to that tiny voice"... of course that Daddy was taking his little girl right away. Enjoy...

The last set of pics are Mt. Gretna living. The residency there is 50-50 of people that live there year-round and people that only have vacation homes there. Take a look at the community library. Talk about nostalgic. This whole little community puts you in mind of the the village or town where the movie Dirty Dancing takes place... remember that? The back woods, the foot trails, the play house, community room (where they show B&W movies!), ice cream shop... even the lake. It's all there at Gretna. What a great stay-cation!

Competition

"Competition is good for you... it makes you better" Gordon Ramsey Hell's Kitchen

Morons

They come in every shape and color.... I'm no exception. Turns out that I ruined my blog - some weeks ago - and I've been panicked ever since to even touch it. So easy does it... I'll be posting pics here but as for my showcase and slideshow... I have to get over the anxiety. Trust me when I tell you that not everything can be fixed as they tell you in school.

This is one of my favorite pics with the gobo shining on my couple.

How cute is this one?

Love this one... sooo nostalgic.

This one is a carefully executed theme... nailed right on the head.

Business Mixer

Along with Wedding Season, Perfect Settings continues to push forward in the business community. Last evening we hosted a Business Mixer that was a huge success. I forgot to take pictures beforehand but managed to get a few shots before tear down. I'll be adding more of these shots to the slide show. I know, I know... I need to update that slide show. Wait no longer!!