Before the stroke of midnight:

Says the fairy godfather to her...

Follow your heart. Trust your "little voice". Tell people what they need to hear, not what you think they want to hear.

Belated

Tis the year to end having endured a vast many trials and tribulations. Farewell to a friend, Farewell to a loved one and eternal gratefulness for the miraculous gift of time for a father. A belated "Happy Christmas" to all near and far and may the new year bring upon you tidings of great joy for all your hard labors.

Erica

Commercial Free:

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. ~Janice Maeditere

The FULL Story

aka: Erica Talluah Fredrico Saundrina Georgette Louise Schwarting

Special Holiday Notice:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD: If you know you have bad credit, please do not fill out the application for the store credit card that you already know you are NOT going to get simply in an attempt to save 10%. IT HOLDS UP THE LINES DAMIT!

Thank you and Happy Holidays.

For Kim on Thanksgiving Eve:

I was just sitting here working, thinking of Thanksgivings tomorrow and I was reminded of how thankful I am to have you as my sister. I am thankful for all the wonderful times we have shared and for all the many memories we are yet to create. So on the eve of this year’s Thanksgiving, the first of which you will be shaking and baking as THE Mrs. Yarbrough…need I remind you, I send you all the love my heart has to give and wish you and your family many, many Thanksgiving blessings this year.

Lots of love to the moon and back,
Erica

Some of the many birthday wishes from my FACEBOOK family and friends:

From Rob Daves: Happy Birthday my beautiful and brilliant friend! Witty, urbane, charming, creative, the adjectives just keep a'comin! Hope you have a wonderful wonderful day! With exclamation points even!

From Mr. Jason Alexander: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STRANGE WOMAN I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY MET YET, BUT WHO KEEPS ME ENTERTAINED WITH HER STATUSES AND COMMENTS!!!

From John Rotan: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERICA!!! The world is a better place with you in it! Hope you're having a great day!

From Kirk Schwarting: Now you can make some Noise!! ...Happppy Birfdaayyy :D

From Cornell Collins: Happy birthday my dearest Erica. Wishing you the best this world has to offer. "Welcome to my box." : )

From Anita: Happy birthday in...oh wait, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOW!!! Rock on my dear friend!

From Betsy: Happy Birthday My Friend!!!!! A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip!!!!

From Zach: Happy Birthday from the future! Spoooky

From Thomas Cole: Happy day of birth. E-Schwing!

From Michele: Tried to wait till midnight to wish you a Happy Birthday, but this old lady is fading fast....love ya girl....have a blast on your birthday!!!!

From Mark Pellatt: Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!

From Uncle Chris: Happy Birthday. Try and have a good time even if you are now older than dirt.

From April: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABBA E! So does turning 35 feel any different to you? Didn't me! Have a wonderful day! Love Ya!

From Scott Childers: 35 and getting better all the time! Hope you have the BEST day ever! Much Love, Scott

From Lorrie Parlier: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL FUNFILLED DAY!!!

From Wendy: Happy happy happy birthday! Hope you get to do something great!

From Tina: Happy Birthday lady!

From Neal Lail: Happy Birthday!!!

From Garth Phoebus: Happy Birthday! I hope its a good one.

From Al Smith: Happy Birthday Erica

From Becky Arndt-Brown: 35 will be good! You just watch! Happy Birthday!!!!!

From Kendra Guthrie Flores: Girl Happy Birthday!! Hope you had a great one..

AND MANY, MANY MORE :-)

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY (...it's also Friday the 13th - YIKES)

So it's Friday the 13th today...also my birthday. Tallas says I need to dress like a princess. Hummm...this means "girly". Oh no...I don't speak "girly" very well. So I figure go for a REALLY big red dress (you can't see the bottom, but trust...everyone and their mother watching me walk around today can), throw on a white cotton t underneath, my Paper Denim and Cloth jacket, vintage flower belt (totally says girly yes?), some chunky brown Frye boots and TADA! Short of a crown...I'm thinkin' give a girl(y) a lift to the ball!! LOLOL!!!! Love ya Tallas (my one true princess :-)

Sex in the City and turning 35...

Miranda & Samantha decide to fill the application out for Carrie. They check off the 30 to 34 age box when Charlotte reminds them that Carrie's turning 35 next week. Miranda checks off 35 to 44 and with a wink Samantha purrs, "Honey, welcome to my box."

Badge for their bad sick days policy!

The New York Times says that, "At Wal-Mart, when employees miss one or more days because of illness or other reasons, they generally get a demerit point. Once employees obtain four points over a six-month period, they begin receiving warnings that can lead to dismissal." That's right, calling in sick gets you a demerit at Wal-Mart.
We think the real demerits should go to Wal-Mart for their sick days policy: It's bad for their employees, customers, and for public health.

ELECTION DAY

It is Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 12:53 pm and I am officially calling my predicition. SWAT all the way baby!! Your VOTE is your VOICE...always be prepared to speak and be heard. You don't do your homework, you fail the test.

Anything short of it and you are not doing your part as a citizen of your community, of America, of the world.

VOTE.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

When a man loves a woman, periodically he needs to pull away before he can get closer.

CS Lewis

“You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”

Read, Process, Engage...

"The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous and enduring and thus more intelligent, even competitive." - Paul Hawken

HELL NO I do NOT support the "Christmas in July" act!

Email Quote:

If I EVER and I mean EVER come to your house and see Christmas decorations up (inside OR out OR any other holiday for that matter) in July...I will de-dong your husband to be!!! We “Yankees” don’t play that southern ghetto mess! That’s just tired and lazy...NOT good time management!!

Article: MomsRising

Did you know that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is formulated differently for countries in Europe than for the U.S.? I didn't either until I read The Unhealthy Truth, a book about the toxicity of America's food supply.

The fact is, that in 2008, Kraft removed artificial colorings, like yellow #5, and chemical sweeteners, like aspartame, from the products that they distribute in Europe, Australia, and other developed countries due to consumer concern over scientific studies that link these synthetic ingredients to hyperactivity and asthma in children. But, they haven't done the same thing here in the U.S.! Our voices are needed to make that change here too.

We'd love to have you join us in writing to the Kraft CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, a mother of two herself, requesting that Kraft remove these same ingredients from their products here in the U.S.

http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27297
Kraft took these chemicals and additives out of their European products. If we want Kraft to do this for us in the U.S., then Kraft needs to hear from us!

Join us in sending Kraft CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, a letter asking that Kraft value the health of our children as highly as they value the children in other countries. And please then share this email with friends and family so that they too can send a letter.

The vast majority of American homes have Kraft products. Together, we can affect change and have these ingredients removed from the products that Kraft distributes here in the U.S.

Here's that link again to sign on to the letter in case you need it:
http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27297

With great appreciation for your time!

If I've ever forgotten my purpose in life...now I know.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

July 22, 2009

We're bringing the sexy back!

Fairy Godfathers

The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one's life. The works of one's fairy godfather ain't half bad either...

You have saved us on more than one occasion and I will be forever grateful.

Your Cinderella

Notes on me

You only like me because you don't know me. If you knew me, you'd either love me or hate me.

YOU Show has been canceled. Now showing? The ME Show

Barnes and Noble + Starbucks = Self Help

Today I begin To heal, Life is not the way it's suppose to be. It is the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.....

Starbucks Anyone? Everyone??

Nonfat grande decaf mocha no whip please.

Hi, My name is Erica and I am an Addict.

"It's like crack cocaine." – Rosario Dawson, on getting Twilight fever after reading the series' first book.

Coming of Age

Sounds. Forgein or forgein?

The "ex" factor...

may day...may day....my inner spirit's been compromised! I repeat. My inner spirit's been compromised!!

Couture in a recession: Fantasy vs. reality

"We had too much stuff, too much red carpet, too much bling-bling, too much of everything, and it was like having an upset stomach from eating too many good things," Lagerfeld said about the bubble years that preceded the downturn.

"So then you have to have a big cleanse. It's a refined purge," he told Reuters after the show, wearing a sharp black suit, sunglasses and his trademark studded leather gloves.

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living. - Gail Sheehy

This one is definitely worth sharing as it reminds me how blessed I am to have each of you in my life. I have NEVER, EVER had anyone in my life before who supported me and gave me strength until each of you came into my life. I will never be able to fully express the value you have in my life and the place you hold in my heart. Each of you, in your own very special way, has brought so much to my life and I love you forever. Both of you do the very things that are stated above and for that, I thank you. I thank you for all that you do and for loving me.


Email sent: Fri 5/1/2009 10:38 AM

Apparently Brad Pitt and I share the same view on divorce...

"The thing I don't understand is looking at this as a failure. It's talked about like it failed, I guess because it wasn't flawless. Me, I embrace the messiness of life. I find it so beautiful, actually".

Notes from The Art of Conversation by Milton Wright:

The ability to talk well can be cultivated.

Interest can lie primarily in the subject or person, the latter being by far the surer ingredient for success.

To chatter is easy; to talk resultfully with the hostile, suspicious, indifferent or even friendly is an art.

To really become a good conversationalist over the long term it is necessary to acquire the habit of conscientiously stocking your mind with facts and information and then forming opinions on the basis of that knowledge.

The secret of giving advice successfully is to mix it up with something that implies a real consciousness of the adviser's own defects, and as much as possible of an acknowledgment of the other party's merits.

A monologue is not a conversation.

Silence plays an important part in effective conversation just as it does in music.

Fathers

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~Ruth E. Renkel

Remember...

Inherent in the nature of humans is the desire to improve and better ourselves. This process of going beyond our current limitations is often referred to as “self transcendence.” Self Transcendence can apply to any aspect of our being; the physical self transcendence of running faster; the mental self transcendence of going beyond our purely egoistic thinking.
However at the heart of self transcendence is a spiritual concept that we are growing into a more illumining nature and gaining a wider perspective of our true self.
Self transcendence is not competing with others. Self transcendence is a personal journey of self discovery. To practise self transcendence we need personal effort, willingness to change. However self transcendence needs to involve an awareness that our success doesn’t just involve our “little I”, but also the universal self (or bigger “I”).
Spiritual seekers have experienced self transcendence as the grace that allows them to be aware of the infinite consciousness of inner delight. In this spiritual self transcendence the different religions and spiritual practises converge on the common teaching of going beyond the limitations of the ego and being aware of our higher Source. This Higher Self is called by many different names, but ultimately is beyond any metaphysical concept.
The practise of Self transcendence is not limited to those who are overtly religious. Any human being who strives for greater perfection and a higher perspective is practising a form of self transcendence, and it is this self transcendence that gives us joy.

Today

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life. and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

2 Week Hemiplegic Episode

Superman's not brave. You can't be brave if you're indestructible. It's every day people, like you and me, that are brave knowing we could easily be defeated but still continue forward.

I only WISH this were an April Fool's joke

I was planning to take the world by storm, but I have spent the past 3 days partically paralized on my right side. I guess the world will have to wait...

How SHOULD you eat?

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

Body Shopping

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!
THIS BODY IS PERFECT FOR YOU!!!
Did you see her swimsuit pics??
HOLY SHIT!! She has your build!!! And look what she did with it!!

(original email sent: 12/2/08 @ 11:02 am)

The new version of ROAD RAGE = DRESS RAGE.

The title of this email was lightly, quietly, simply: Your "Special" Order Has Arrived

How magical right?

The bride to be's email to the maid of honor in regards to it:

12 weeks my a$$!!!! That rotten ole hag told me it would take 12 weeks for it to come in. What the heck? It’s already here!!!!

The maid of honors internal response:

Giggle, Giggle, Giggle...

Gotta love my sister ;-)

Can you really forecast a "rainy day"?

“The shortest period of time lies between the minute you put some money away for a rainy day and the unexpected arrival of rain.” Jane Bryant Quinn

George Bernard Shaw

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing".

Don't RECYCLE for a minute, make it a part of your daily life ~ And here's WHY:

Aluminum Recycling Facts:

A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That's closed loop recycling at its finest!

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.

We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year.

There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.

Paper Recycling Facts:

To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.

Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees.

If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year.

Plastic Recycling Facts:

Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!

Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year!

Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam coffee cups every year.

Glass Recycling Facts:

Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!

A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.

The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.

Solid Waste and Landfills:

Every year, each American throws out about 1,200 pounds of organic garbage that can be composted.

Out of every $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.

The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world's people generate 40% of the world's waste.

Miscellaneous Recycling Facts:

A typical family consumes 182 gallons of soda, 29 gallons of juice, 104 gallons of milk, and 26 gallons of bottled water a year. That's a lot of containers -- make sure they're recycled!

A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute!

On average, each one of us produces 4.4 pounds of solid waste each day. This adds up to almost a ton of trash per person, per year.


For even more information and additional recycling facts, please visit: The National Recycling Coalition


"Happy Recycling"

Love,
Erica & Tallas

For my sister, for Saturday, from THE god of bridal couture: VERA WANG

The Traditionalist:

This bride looks beyond fashion to style. Everything she wears conveys a distinct message of confidence and an unyielding devotion to style. Style icons like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy characterized a timeless beauty, poise and nonchalance that are still being emulated today.

The Modernist:

Her daring sense of style is always implied. Her frame of reference definitely represents an acquired taste, and one that arises from visualizing shapes in ever-changing contexts. Often rigorous or highly exaggerated, it also indicates a style of dress that requires thought.

The Individualist:

A desire for self-expression transcends all other considerations. This bride will go to any length to make a deliberate fashion statement. Unlike many brides who embrace convention, the Individualist prefers to follow her own dictates, whether that translates into the choice of an unusual color or a more unexpected silhouette.

The Romanticist:

Passion guides her beyond the world around her. She considers life an adventure and revels in the opportunity to realize her deepest emotions. The Romanticist is transported by a dress. For her, fantasy is always a reality. Her innate femininity and love of beauty can inspire a gown of enchantment.

The Minimalist:

For the confident bride who favors a spare aesthetic, a minimal wedding gown can be utter perfection. A Minimalist adores any version of clean, straightforward design with little or no excess. While her clothes may often appear deceivingly simple, they are frequently anything but. True minimalism requires a certain complexity of design and detail.

...wait, better include this one as well. Also part of my processing for today.

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Fitting for my time and place in life...

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change ~ Charles Darwin

It was one of THESE days today...

William Shakespeare from Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's Day
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.

It's "MOVING DAY"

So today it seems a bit surreal, but tomorrow my sister is officially moving. Ok, yeah so it's not like she's moving to Iceland, Peru, Namibia or Timbuktu; but the move will be huge in more ways then one nonetheless. She will be moving in to her new home with her new husband and family to be. It's an amazing thing because it seems like just yesterday we had closed one chapter of life and had begun a new one (which consisted of many afternoons playing teenage dress up in the mirror and of laying out in the sun drinking lemonade, feeling fine and fancy free). But tomorrow will begin the official transition portal from this chapter into the next. A wonderful life awaits her and I am certain there will still be time created for dress up & lemonade.

So why the surrealness?

Because I think it is making me aware of the fact that once again time moves on, we get older (and wiser of course) and that life waits for no one...so we must all keep livin' each moment, moment to moment.

More Love, Peace & Goodwill awaits us on the otherside my sister. Just wait and see!

Cheers,
E

February 6, 2009 ~ Our BIBLE is released

The secret to the long marriage....

"You've got to keep the fights clean and the sex dirty!"

Slacker in the Hood

Public Service Announcement Numero Dos:

This posting is OFFICIALLY to see how long it takes my overworked sister to "BLOG IN". So please feel free to note the date again: Friday, January 23, 2009. Let's see precisely how long it takes. I promise everyone that I will not say a word.

Ready? BEGIN...

Some people are so cool they require a language ALL their own.

"I gotta get me one of those." ;-)

Cinderella Moment

Congratulations to my glorious sister Kimmie on her most cinematic engagement to the world's most fabulously romantic & gentlemen of gentlemen of men. I give you both my soulful and sisterly blessing and wish you one hell of a glorious "happily ever after".

PS - As the official groovy chick of honor, if I end up with photos of myself in some '80's pink taffeta number I will hunt you both down and pelt you with toad poo! Hee hee hee.

All my love,
Erica