Writer’s block is a bunch of crap. I haven’t written a thing in a week because of writer’s block. Like I said, that’s an excuse for laziness. All it takes is to sit in front of the computer and start. Today, I choose to write instead of going out for my healthy three mile walk. I’ll do that a little later. My mind seems to be sharper after a night of rest, and morning is when I write the most.

     Right now, I’m sitting at the kitchen table with my second cup of coffee. Every once in awhile I stare out the sliding glass door to watch the early morning golfers drive by in their carts. Our back yard borders the approach to the third hole at Pebble Brook Golf Course.  This morning the sky is pure blue, and the sun is so bright it is hard on the eyes. The quiet of the desert and the songs of the birds are broken only by an occasional squadron of F-15 jets roaring over head.  Yesterday, during my walk, there were large billowy white clouds scattered all across a deep blue background.  Later in the day, they collected and turned the sky gray. Last night it rained again. This place is like Camelot, It rains at night. A normal rain in the desert is like a drizzle at home. A person can walk in the rain for an hour and not get soaked, only damp.  The way I can tell that it rained is from the water dripping from the edge of the roof. It has taken all morning for the water to run down the pitch of the roof.

     The temperature this morning is fifty-nine degrees. By this afternoon it will warm up to sixty-five.  Yesterday, I talked with a friend who is staying with her son in Fountain Hills. She is ninety-five, and lives near us at home. She asked where we were located relative to her son, I told her just a few miles to the west. She asked, “Is it warmer where you are?” Temperature is relative, or should I say relative humidity is relative. Sixty-five degrees seems warm when it’s fifteen degrees and the wind is blowing over your face. Sixty-five feels cool when you are dressed in light clothes.

     Last Saturday, Peggy and I were at Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes church. We arrived early to secure a seat.  We prayed and meditated while waiting for mass to begin. The church filled quickly with a parade of old timers. All of them looked so much older than us. The servers had gray hair, the ushers needed canes, but the priest was young. We are staying in a fifty-five and over community, I thought.  Most of the homes were built in nineteen seventy-nine through the mid eighties. A retired couple of fifty five who purchased would now be eighty-six. No wonder everyone looks old.  The priest announced that it was a special day because he was honored to bless the marriage of a couple celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary.  Back home, in Frankfort, they would have received a standing ovation. Here it seemed like  . . . eh.  

     The attitude of the people here is to have fun.  They emphasize the positive. Wrinkled skin is normal. Everyone has wrinkled skin here. What is out of place is smooth skin, young people, and babies.  Infirmities requiring canes and walkers are just part of the age. They are looked upon as a way to extend the quality of life to the next level. I don’t think I could bring myself to live full time in a community of old people. I miss seeing the youngsters, and the babies around me. Here the parking lot is filled with Lincolns, Buick sedans, and golf-cars. SUV’s and vans, are for young people.

     It occurs to me that the seniors in this community are the pioneers of the “Green” movement, but they don’t get any credit for it.  They drive golf-cars around town on errands, to church, and on the golf course too.  They do it because it is cheaper, and more practical than driving a four thousand pound car around town. Besides, the Lincoln would probably get stuck in the rough, and make grooves in the fairway. Opening the trunk each time to select a club would be a pain in the ass too.

The KoD asked me to write this post, I guess to show him he is not alone with the way he feels.

I am not a high maintenance woman (although I would love to be), but I do appreciate the occasional gift of flowers and chocolates. I have a friend whose husband buys her flowers for every Shabbat. While that is lovely – it isn’t a surprise anymore, and she comes to expect it. I don’t want that. I would like to get flowers on special occasions and occasionally just because.

Late last year I sent the KoD flowers on the anniversary of when we met. I wanted to do something nice for him, and being so far away my options were limited. I was also a little peeved that he hadn’t bought me flowers in the longest time unless I had specifically asked. I hate coming right out and saying – can you buy me flowers next Tuesday because of such and such. It takes the romance right out of it. So I ordered a lovely flower arrangement, that came with 2 mugs nestled together saying YOU and ME on them. Not too feminine at all.

He called me up, thanked me very much, and then asked me to never send him flowers again. “It’s MY job” he says “to send YOU flowers”. Exactly! Eureka! I got the reaction I wanted. So why can’t you blimmin’ well send me flowers then when it’s appropriate? Point was made. Or so I thought. Sigh. (Hey KoD, Feb 15^th is a HUGE day for us….hint hint…..snicker)

Anyway, KoD says it is not becoming of a male to enjoy receiving flowers from his woman. He posits that most men would not enjoy or appreciate their wife giving them flowers. I say this is total hogwash. So I turn it over to you, dear reader, for your opinion. Play Nice.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

If you start going through the list of anniversary gift ideas for each year, as you get to year number eight, you start to get the feeling that the people who made up these lists were already starting to run out of ideas. We’re already starting to get into multiple repeats and the ideas themselves aren’t the easiest things to shop for. In spite of this problem, we’re going to try to give you some decent ideas for your eighth anniversary gifts.

The traditional gifts for number eight are bronze and pottery. Yes, these really inspire some great ideas. But if you sit down and give it some thought, actually quite a lot of thought, you can come up with some really nice gifts to give to your husband or wife. We’re going to start off with bronze.

When most people think of bronze the first thing that comes to mind is the bronze medal that you win at the Olympics. Well, this is probably not going to be an option unless your spouse is an Olympic swimmer. And even at that, they still have to compete. However, there are a few things that are made out of bronze or contain some bronze in them. For starters, several brands of pots and pans are partially made out of bronze. It may not be the most romantic gift in the world, but it’s practical. After all, you both have to eat and in order to do that, you need something to cook in. And of course there are always those special bronze collector plates that they’re always selling on TV. Not sure if they’re really worth what they say and if they’re going to increase in value, but they do look very nice.

Pottery is a little easier. If you go to a store that specializes in types of pottery, you are bound to find something nice. Plus, there is pottery from just about every corner of the world. Some of it is quite unusual. While this kind of gift is not at all practical, pottery makes a great show piece. And if you give it some thought, you can actually make some use out of a nice piece of pottery. For example, a pottery bowl can be used as a candy dish. Certainly when guests come by and see one of these things stuffed with Hershey Kisses, they’re most certainly be surprised.

For the modern gift and this is certainly a puzzle, we revert back to the traditional gift of anniversary number three. That’s right, leather is the modern gift of anniversary number eight. If you need some quick ideas for leather, of which there are plenty to go around, a short list would be, boots, belts, handbags, wallets, jackets and shoes. Now aren’t you glad that somebody came up with the modern gift idea for each anniversary?

The anniversary gifts for number eight aren’t the easiest to come up with if you’re a traditionalist or if you already sprung for leather on number three, but with a little thought, you’ll come up with something.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Anniversary Gifts

Visit : Asports Shop 4 Toy Aircraft Shop Larissaenz

The Super Bowl is tomorrow, which can really only mean one thing – delicious snacks and hilarious ads. Oh, and I suppose a football game as well.

We have pulled pork sliders on the menu for tomorrow, complete with slowcooked brown sugar coated pork, coleslaw, bread and butter pickles and cheese all on hot rolls. Yum. I think the food is enough to make me forget that the Vikings didn’t make the Super Bowl.

Today started off with the first of many Northwest Missouri Dream Factory strategic planning meetings. I have the honor of leading the strategic planning meetings, and later writing the plan as well as the marketing plan. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help establish the objectives for this fantastic charity, and it is exciting to think what the future may hold for our organization. My main goal is to increase awareness of our group and raise our profile in Northwest Missouri. Check out our Facebook fan page here, and read about dream child Hayden here.

Tonight, my sweet husband kept me company as I worked on craft projects in the kitchen. (More on this later) He put music on his iPhone and we began to boogie across the hardwood floors. When the project was finished, we chilled on the couch and watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which has to be one of my new favorite movies. The animation is incredible, and this movie is one of those great kids movies that is written with enough intelligence to be good for adults, too. Lazy Saturdays are my favorite. We’re still just hanging on the couch, watching the Eukanuba National Championship and squealing over the cute dogs. (Come on, Cairn Terrier!)

It never ceases to amaze me how well Matt and I mesh together, despite having very different personalities. We are coming up on our 2-year anniversary, and it feels like we got married yesterday, and like we’ve been married forever at the same time. I am so thankful for my goofy husband who willingly goes to craft stores with me, who loves animated movies as much as I do, and who is always up for a spontaneous dance-off.

So , in honor of the love of my life, one of my favorite poems:

A VALEDICTION FORBIDDING MOURNING.
by John Donne

AS virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
“Now his breath goes,” and some say, “No.”

So let us melt, and make no noise,                                       5
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ;
‘Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th’ earth brings harms and fears ;
Men reckon what it did, and meant ;                              10
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers’ love
—Whose soul is sense—cannot admit
Of absence, ’cause it doth remove                                     15
The thing which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.                           20

Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so                                          25
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix’d foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th’ other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam,                                30
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th’ other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,                                    35
And makes me end where I begun.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Well, you’ve finally made it. You’re about to celebrate your milestone 20th anniversary and you’re looking for an anniversary gift that will be just right for the occasion. Fortunately, after quite a few years of no traditional gift ideas, this year we have both traditional and modern gift ideas for you to choose from. We’ll go over both of them in this article.

The traditional gift for this milestone anniversary is china. Guys, get ready to open up your wallet big time. Ladies, get the china closet cleaned out. Hopefully, by now, your husband has either built you one or at least bought you one. Either way, you’re going to have a use for it.

All kidding aside, fine china is one of the nicest gifts you can get for your wife. There’s something about china that makes it special, aside from the cost of a really nice set. Maybe it’s the old tradition of mothers passing down their old china to their daughters when they get married. Many times the china that is actually passed down came from your grandmother and not your mother. That is why it is not unheard of to go to somebody’s house and sit down to a meal served on a china set that is over 100 years old. Some traditions die hard. This is one of them.

Of course, not all china has to be something that you can eat off. If your wife already has that nice set handed down from mother, you might want to get her a nice china figurine. Figurines come in all shapes and sizes including palm trees, religious figurines, china angels and even some very strange looking china critters. More likely than not, they’ll probably just end up on a shelf somewhere forming spider webs, but they are nice to look at.

If you’d prefer to save yourself the expense of fine china, you had better think again because the modern gift idea for this anniversary is platinum. If you’ve never even seen anything made out of platinum, you may have some trouble thinking of something to get, especially when you don’t even know what things are made of platinum. No problem. We’ve got you covered.

One thing made out of platinum that your wife would absolutely love, is a platinum anniversary ring. This would probably be one of the biggest surprises you could get your wife. Oh and don’t worry guys. These rings are also made for men as well, so there is always a possibility that your wife will dig into her fun money and buy you one as well.

Of course, there are other things made of platinum besides rings. You can get all sorts of jewelry made of platinum, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, cufflinks and brooches. These items alone will give you more than enough to choose from for just that special gift.

Either way, china or platinum, this anniversary is going to cost you a pretty penny. Considering how special your 20th anniversary is, your anniversary gift should be just as special. For both of you.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Anniversary Gifts

Recommend : Tw Washington Deflector Shop http://flood.diggyblog.com/ http://bedssblog.co.cc/

Dear Jack,

This past week has been a busy one, as Mikey and I found a new place to live, and moved in.  It is a little bigger than our old place, with a nicer layout, and 300 bucks cheaper!  The rooms themselves are not as wide but we’re making do.  We have a lot of unpacking to do–mostly books which will require me fixing some of the older bookshelves that got damaged in the move (and were cheap to begin with).  A few braces and all will be fine.

I didn’t blog much in January (I don’t think at all).  That was mostly because so much was going on that I just didn’t have time or energy to do so.  The most important was securing the ability to move and a place to move.  That, as you are all aware, can be stressful especially as you have ups and downs with places you’re looking at.  Additionally, we had Queens Winter Pride which took a lot of preparation, though less on my part than Michael’s.  Still it was a lot of work, and it all happened the week before we moved!

With all the stress I was not highly inclined to celebrate my birthday this year.  Though a group of us did meet up for dinner on the night of, and another group later the week with a stop by Sissy McGinty’s.  It was not anything highly planned or exclusive–just go with the flow, low key.

Mike and I celebrated our 5th year together on the 21st.  Though with Winter Pride and the move, we’ve not yet celebrated it.  This will probably take place in some form in February as a result.

The best part of this whole moving experience has been the outpouring of support, help, and hand from our friends and family.  I have thanked them before, but will do so again (no order and includes the departure from the old place and the arrival at the new): Keri, Kris, Paul N., Jason O., Sebastian, Minardi, Daniel F., Brendan F., Esteban, Rich, Theresa, and Jun–oh and a random man who helped unload the U-haul on the second day so he could have our parking space!  Rich, Theresa, and Jun, it really really meant a lot that you all joined us in this move, and that you brought some food over for dinner the following night knowing that everything was packed up still.  Thank you.

February will be my month of gratitude and hope.

We are coming up on another anniversary.  People who know are even beginning to ask.  How long has it been now?  Two years or three? And I have to admit that even I am surprised by the answer.

Four years.

Four, as a number, seems so innocuous and small.  I have more digits on my right or left hand.  Pick one.  A four-pack of most grocery items feels like a rip-off, which is why I believe that just about everything- except tires and wieners- comes in multiples of six, instead.

Any mother will tell you, however, that the tantrum of the right four-year-old is proof of just how grand the number four can be.  Have you ever tried to argue with a really angry four-year-old?  Well, don’t.  A Terrible Two wouldn’t have a chance against one of these guys.  In the same amount of time that it takes to learn to walk and talk, graduate from high school or get a degree, families are built and torn apart.  Monsters and mistakes are made and revealed, and some lives come undone or turn around.  In terms of years, the number four can seem a lifetime.

So here we are, my husband- my No. 1[i] and only- and me- writer, care partner, part-time wardrobe stylist, and anxious mess- four years into life with Lyme disease.  Weeks of treatments have turned to years, wreaking havoc through nearly half of our decade-long marriage and turning our vibrant, active selves into something that would seem unrecognizable in contrast.

I won’t get into the start of it all today.  Our early thirties have been hell and our Lyme story, from beginning up until now, is long and complicated.  Anyone who has ever lived with or taken care of a chronically ill friend or family member will remember the patience, fear, sadness, and love that goes into every day while that person waits to get better.  Assuming better is even possible.

Suffice it to say that No. 1 was diagnosed in May of 2006 after four (There’s that number again.) months of losing our minds, not knowing.  Four.  Really.  Long.  Months.  His first symptoms hit during our Valentine’s dinner date in February that same year, and our lives have not been the same since.

Without question, all things great and small are better.  After more than 1,400 days and nights (and counting), we are luckier than many.  No. 1’s energy and mood continue to improve and the neurological symptoms to diminish, though some days there still seems a long way to go.  More tests are a given.  We spend many moments clinging to the small signs of hope that health is returning: the re-growth of hair that thinned around his scalp before he had Lyme; an honest to goodness cold (rare in our world); a few clear-headed moments (even rarer); a bold laugh, deep in his chest; an evening out with friends and without any pain; or just a smile, free of sadness.  It all matters.

Three years ago, when a lot of the world seemed lost to me, I went back to my journals and wrote.  In the darkness, I tried to find some kind of light in my day, and often it was the hours I spent with words that offered me the most comfort.  I wrote to empty myself and read to refill what was gone.  A self-proclaimed, optimistic manic-depressive, I gorged myself on stories of emotional and physical survival like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. I was awed by and grateful for the people and characters brave enough to tell their tales, bringing me into their private, painful worlds.  Throughout the more chaotic periods of my life, stories of courage in the face of solitude always had the unique ability to make me braver, make me feel that I am not always so alone.  It was this gratitude more recently that shaped my decision to stop writing only for myself and be a writer.

My life is full of stories.  My gypsy parents made sure of that.  My sister and I spent our childhoods aware that change was the only constant.  Fourteen schools across Southern California and one in Montreal, Quebec, Canada- from Kindergarten through twelfth grades- have held registration cards in my name.  I think my parents figured, should I live to tell the tale, I would have plenty to tell.  The chaos was all part of the adventure.

But here I find myself, living in the sweet, sunny foothills of the California coastline, where things have remained maddeningly the same.  Little changes are everything in the fight against Lyme, and years can be spent making miniscule adjustments to treatments- adding or removing one element at a time to be certain of what is or isn’t working.  The pace can make you crazy.

Diagnosis was tricky, too.  Somewhere in our backyard, during a yearlong retaining wall project, my engineering, hardworking husband was host to a miniscule tick that no one ever saw.  In the bite of that blood-sucking fiend, a bacterial infection ensued that no one believed could happen in this region of the country.  Doctors shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders for months while tiny, invisible dancers twirled their way into my husband’s brain.  One recommended he drink more water for his swollen lymph nodes to clear a possible sinus infection.  And, four years later, many doctors would continue being about as helpful as a chopstick in yogurt if not for a combination of research, luck, and sheer tenacity.  But then, we are reminded often of how fortunate we were to get a diagnosis for my husband at all.  Some wait decades.  Advocates for people who can’t seem to find a reason behind their deteriorated health are few and far between, and insurance companies are hardly leaping up to cover the bill.

If the medical community struggles to respond to people with chronic Lyme disease where does that leave the rest of the world?  Once a diagnosis is found, it’s hard to tell if and when things are getting better.  How should a patient plan his life when symptoms come and go and relief doesn’t exist?  Where does the joy come from when you suffer the debilitating pain of a Mack truck crushing your head and joints?  When a person can’t sleep, can they be expected to dream?

Spouses and other family and friends are left to scoop out the husks of the souls they once knew and make do.  Many relationships fade.  Without the energy to perform socially, the sick let their friendships fail without much of a fight.  Tired of having calls unreturned and invitations refused, people stop calling.  Perhaps they are disturbing the patient.  Perhaps they’re unwanted.  And not even the patient is sure because he loves you and hates you for your kind words and your life that goes on without him.

Life lived with chronic disease, if it’s bad enough, can be its own kind of purgatory.  To go back and remove the experience is impossible, and to move forward requires health.  The old saying without your health, you have nothing can seem like the only true words ever spoken to a sick person.  And the longer that remains true, the harder it is to see what you do have.  This has absolutely been the truth for No. 1 and I as we’ve clawed our way back to this level of physical, psychological, and emotional health.  Usually, while one of us is feeling low, the other has taken the reins, usually providing enough support to slingshot the other out of the resulting depression that comes with long-term illness.  But not always.  Sometimes what we go through is just hard, and we can only hope for time to pass quickly until something changes.

But if anything else is true in this world, even when it’s slow and seemingly invisible, it really is that change is the only constant.  I’m starting to see that now.  Anything that seems unchanging can only remain as such for so long.  Even the mighty, purple mountains fall, and our lives are not nearly so unmovable.  No. 1 and I will eventually heal from this mess, and our lives, through small stages of recovery, will continue to improve, however slow that may be.

But here’s the thing.  Change has been coming at much too slow a pace for far too long.  For seven years now, No. 1’s been driving the long forty-five minute commute to and from work, from Ventura to Goleta.  Four out of seven of those years, With the determination of a soldier on the march, he has shouldered Lyme like a pack he only takes off at night.  Ignoring the 100 lb. weight on his back, he keeps moving, not thinking about the strain until he can make it back to camp and rest.  Somehow, he has managed to keep us in our house and off of disability.  When all this started, we were told disability was not an option for us anyway (believe me, we asked), but it is because of him that we have all that we have.  Yes, he is amazing, I know.  And it’s high time he was cut a break.

With that in mind, I’ve been doing some research.  For the first time since we realized we were stuck living in Ventura, it may be possible to leave.  Basically, since we left, we’ve been dying to get back to our old digs in Santa Barbara (a quick ten minutes from work for No. 1).  Heaven on Earth, the American Riviera, whatever you want to call it, we’re ready to call it home again, and I’m ready to make it happen.  I would give anything to give him the extra time to rest.  It’s just a better location for us, overall.  But we have some moderate construction left to do on the house and a pages-long list of handyman-type repairs that need fixing before we can rent out our home and move.   Many times, it’s difficult for us to be motivated to do easy things on a good day.  But after discussing it, we are more determined to move than ever.  I refuse to believe (and I always have) that better is not possible, and moving to a more sustaining environment can only help to make that happen faster.  I have decided I will do whatever it takes, if it means learning how to wire electricity and hang drywall myself, to get out of here.

I mean to see the end of this war.  This is one anniversary I’d like to stop having.  Four years is long enough.  Let’s get on with this thing.

today marks four months together.

It seems like four months.

It always seemed in life that time was either flying by, or creeping along unbearably slow. Elementary school flew by, because we knew how to enjoy being kids…middle school crept by because we wanted the glory of being a “High Schooler.” In a week, the glory seemed to wear off…and then we started looking forward to college, then, getting out of college….

I have never felt like this before in my entire life…

I’m content in my life. I am with the man the Lord made for me. I don’t dread the next day. My heart is happy.

Which is why I want to be able to say “Today is my favorite day” every day.

Not that we don’t have goals. Tim wants to one day abide in places where he can help carry the yoke of the Widow and Orphan, where he can feel most alive in his compassionate heart. I want to be an intercessory missionary, and Move heaven and the hearts of men with music birthed out of a heart cultivated in the place of prayer.

We have goals. But we know that our amazing God has bigger plans, and His timing is far better than ours.

We will wait on His hand, but God, let us not be idle in our pursuits.

He knows the desires of our hearts, and we know that he will open His hand and satisfy our desires.

It seems like four months.

Because we are not trapped in seeking what the future holds, and we are not lingering in what the past held. We are happy with each other, today.

May every day together be our favorite day.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Your organization has an anniversary every year. The question is, are you using this opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition? Here are seven keys to creating a successful marketing program around your upcoming corporate anniversary.

Key One: Recognize the Marketing Value of Your Corporate or Brand Anniversary

Anniversary marketing is not about your past, nor is it “old hat” or out of date. On the contrary, it is one of the most effective marketing initiatives.

You recognize the companies and organizations that have recharged their marketing programs by focusing on their anniversaries. Companies like Ford (100) and Harley-Davidson (100) and Sports Illustrated (50) and the Principal Financial Group (125).

Many others have found the value of anniversaries that don’t round off to 25. Companies like Southwest Airlines (33), Yankee Candle (20), Old Navy (10) and Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum (155). In fact, nearly 45% of the companies we researched are celebrating “off year” company or brand anniversaries.

Recognize that your past is the strongest criterion people have to judge your future. So use your history of success to tell clients and customers about that future and, most importantly, tell them about your place in their future.

Key Two: Get Started Now

You may have heard that Harley-Davidson began planning its 100th anniversary celebration the day after its 95th anniversary!

That tells you that it’s never too soon to get started. Because the most important thing you can do to assure success is to start planning today. Don’t limit the scope of what you can accomplish waiting to put plans in place.

Also, make sure you develop and promote a “sense of urgency” within your company about your anniversary. That urgency is an important element in a successful anniversary and can carry over into other aspects of your organization.

Key Three – Know What You Want as a Return On Investment

At the end of a year of anniversary marketing, you will want to know what you accomplished, what was your Return On Investment (ROI). This is all about measurement.

Determine the measurements that matter and find out where you are now, at the beginning. Then ask yourself the question: What has to happen over the course of this year for us to declare this effort a success? What changes in attitudes and sales do we want to accomplish with our anniversary?

Then when you are done, and if necessary, during the course of the year, measure what you have accomplished and compare this with your measurements from the beginning. That is your ROI.

It is not enough to say, “We had these events for hundreds of customers and employees, and distributed thousands of brochures. And did you see our ad in the Wall Street Journal?” You must be able to measure your success.

Key Four – Involve Your Employees

When PSEG celebrated its 100th, the company asked its employees to vote on their choice for an anniversary logo. Other companies have asked for employee suggestions about how best to celebrate their anniversaries.

By asking, you are seeking to make your employees full partners in the planning and execution of your company anniversary. This is an unparalleled opportunity to build employee pride and passion and to turn your most treasured asset into true brand advocates.

Gallup recently reported that if your employees were “fully engaged,” your customers would be 70% more loyal, your turnover would drop by 70%, and your profits would jump by 40%. That’s a handsome payoff for creating a true company-employee partnership!

Key Five – Think Events and Sponsorships

You can win the hearts and minds of your constituents by using events and sponsorships that deliver your message in exciting and strongly personal ways.

Events communicate your organization in ways that matter to your audiences. They are key to reaching people and involving them. Events create bonds both emotional and practical and bring an excitement not available with traditional marketing methods.

Plan events of differing sizes at different locations and spread them throughout the year. Combine your celebration with scheduled existing events such as technical forums, consumer and trade shows. And create events that have general news media interest as well.

Polaris, a major manufacturer of snowmobiles, watercraft, ATVs, utility vehicles and Victory motorcycles, with annual sales of more than $1.6 billion, took over the state fairgrounds to celebrate their 50th. More than 25,000 riding enthusiasts and music fans showed up to help them celebrate.

Key Six – Celebrate all year long

Your anniversary marketing strategy should have a shelf life of at least a year. Don’t spend all your anniversary capital on a single event. Events and initiatives spread throughout the year, or even over 18 months, will keep interest in your company high within your various audiences, both internal and external.

Take a lead from the pages of Sports Illustrated. Partnering with Toyota, SI created a year long traveling celebration, the Toyota Presents Sports Illustrated’s 50th Anniversary Tour, a football field-size interactive site constructed state by state bringing Sports Illustrated to life for fans across the country.

Find innovative ways over the year to establish a true dialogue with your clients and customers and suppliers. Learn from them how you can help them grow and prosper, because they are the keys to your own success.

Red Hat, “The world’s most trusted provider of Linux and open source technology,” celebrated its 10th with a worldwide tour in which executives held forums and met one-on-one with customers in cities across the globe. Red Hat reported getting a greater sense of their users, their needs and wants, as well as now having more feeling and passion for their own work.

Key Seven – Get help to do it right

Accept that you can’t do it alone and get help.

A successful celebration combines many elements including planning, measurement, anniversary logo development, corporate history, public relations, event creation and management, website creation or redesign, and more.

Find someone who can assist you with the planning and strategy, but who also can implement those plans for you. Your anniversary is too important to leave to an overworked marketing department or an understaffed agency.

And make sure you get objective assistance from someone whose fee isn’t dependent upon how much you spend in certain categories, such as advertising or design or printing.

In a nutshell

The most important key to a successful company anniversary celebration is the first: Recognize that your corporate or brand anniversary has marketing value.

Ken Owens is president of Owens Marketing Group, http://OwensMarketingGroup.com and helps companies grow using the powerful marketing and branding tools of events and sports sponsorships, and aggressive public relations.

Ken is a member of the Kullberg Consulting Group (KCG) a strategic alliance of sixty entrepreneurially driven marketing and marketing communications companies, whose service, http://MarketingMilestone.com provides effective assistance to companies celebrating company or brand anniversaries. KCG, brings together the combined experience of its members working with over 585 companies, in 21 major industry groups.

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Today is a special day for me – a real Ebenezer, in fact. It’s my anniversary, but I doubt it’s the kind you think it is.

It’s the 35^th anniversary of the day I put the plug in the jug – the first step toward building the stories that will unfold here as I write my memoir.

Thirty-five years ago, I began the journey into recovery from alcoholism.

Arduous at first, it was to become a story of steps – as in two steps forward and one backwards (and sometimes even the reverse of that).

The journey’s map was also a set of steps – the Twelve Steps that I know some of you reading this are as intimately acquainted with as am I.

They work, as we say, if you work them.

But wait. I’m not going to wax eloquent about the power of the recovery movement – it is what it is, and thousands of others are already writing about it.

I’m just going to tell a few stories of what happened along the way…and how the implicit messages of those stories helped me on the journey…and, I hope, how they can help others, too.

*

I was recalling one of those stories today as I went about my business.

Economic recovery was a long time coming to me. And as I drove along today in my relatively new car, I was remembering a time when I had a “recovery-mobile,’ old, with a zillion miles on it.

R-mobiles are easily recognizable. I went to an AA meeting one night at a huge Episcopal church in the Foggy Bottom area of the District of Columbia. The parking lot just about encircled the building. There were clusters of cars at each door. The question was: through which door was my meeting? The clusters were all of fancy late model cars – except one. It was a mixture of everything from the latest Mercedes to r-mobiles. I knew that was where my meeting was, and I was right.

But I digress. Sorry.

I was recalling today one of my r-mobiles – an ancient Oldsmobile that was so on-its-last-leg that I could not even sell it for the $750 I advertised it for in the paper. Had a dozen lookers,  but no buyers.

The next day – a rainy, cold pre-Christmas day – I was resigned to taking a hundred bucks as a trade-in for the r-mobile in a “buy-here-pay-here” used car lot. That was about all I could afford to do. And my job situation at the time was – politely put – shaky.

So as I sat at a yield sign waiting for traffic to clear that dismal morning, I was a little down in the dumps about the whole car thing.

Then it hit me.

I saw stars, in fact.

I had been rear-ended by a lady in a Suburban who was late for her aerobic-dance class.

God works in mysterious ways, and this one was one of his classics.

With nary a dent on its bumper, the Suburban demolished my Olds. I got a rental from the insurance company.

Then a friend told me I ought to buy a used Volvo, one with over 100,000 miles on it. They were good deals, he said.

I found one. It was being fixed up by a guy who did that for a living – fixed up older Volvos and resold them. He wanted $2,650 for the one he was working on when we met.

An insurance company rep had estimated that I would get roughly $2,000 for my totaled r-mobile. But coming up with the difference was going to be a challenge.

When the Volvo man called a couple of days later, he said the car was ready. “Come drive it.”

I did and I loved it. The perfect care for me at the time – a time when Volvos were still very safe reliable bricks on wheels, as opposed to the over-engineered yuppyfied suburban status symbols they became.

But where was the money going to come from? I mean, I had prayed about the whole thing, and all.

The answer came that afternoon. The insurance check was in the mail. The settlement was … $2,650.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Whether you are looking for a first anniversary gift for your partner or friend you will want to find something that is a little different and special to celebrate this milestone.

Traditionally paper is the gift given to those that are celebrating their first year anniversary and this can be sent in many different ways including a newspaper from the year the marriage took place or even a pencil drawing of the couple, this type of unique first anniversary gift will become a lasting keepsake. Poetry makes a worthy choice, because not only will your gift be made out of paper, it will also contain your heartfelt messages of love, which after just one year, should be alive and well. However, they say that the first year of marriage is also the hardest, so you might need an opportunity to say ’sorry’ as well.

Roses are always associated with love and there are many companies that will supply red paper roses which are a grand romantic present that can also be personalized, this type of gift is usually given from husband to wife or wife to husband. The benefit of giving paper roses is that they will remain as a memory of the special occasion and are in keeping with the traditional theme of paper on the first year anniversary.

Because paper is traditionally given for the first anniversary you could also consider a message in a bottle, not only will the message be something personal it will be written on paper which will keep with the tradition for this year of marriage.

If you are looking for a gift for your husband or wife you really want to choose a gift that shows how much you love them and have thought about the gift they are about to receive. Whether the anniversary gift is homemade or purchased from a shop it must be something from the heart to be truly appreciated.

Many people these days, for one reason or another have simple low key weddings which take place in registry offices with only the bride and groom and witness present. If your wedding was this type and you did not celebrate by having a traditional reception it may be an idea to celebrate your first year anniversary by throwing a big party for all of your family and friends that were unable to attend your wedding.

Alternatively you may wish to celebrate such a special anniversary with just you and your loved one. A good idea would be to book a romantic night or even a weekend away together. Make sure if you if you decide to do this that you book well in advance and whilst booking why not try your luck and let the hotel know its your first year anniversary as you never know they may throw in a free bottle of champagne or a bunch of flowers at no extra cost.

Whatever you decide remember that your first year anniversary should be one that you never forget as it signifies the first year of your marriage and the start of a happy and loving relationship with your partner.

Allen Jesson writes for several sites that specialize in heartfelt First Year Anniversary Gifts and First Anniversary Gifts

Thanks To : Tw Maldives Pacapao http://panasoniceblog.co.cc/ http://skateboarding.diggyblog.com/ http://humidifier.co.cc/

Fanned the flames at this gig celebrating the 10oth (?) Anniversary of a Fire Dept. in the Allentown PA area, in Nov. Great fun, and great people!

A quite ’sobering’ experience at this gig at a New Jersey country club’s Anniversary celebration…drawing sauced up and surly folks while wearing a French beret and scarf in poor lighting, and dealing with some truly lovely and endearing personalities, all on an empty stomach, could have been a recipe for disaster and tragedy, but I used the opportunity to my advantage instead, and let the derangement flow out the Markette tip…STILL waiting to get paid for that last hour…arrgh.

1965 - 2003

This weekend I received the most beautiful gift from a friend – a crocheted doll in the image of my late husband, Kato. As I opened the package and slowly pulled out my ‘Kato doll,’ my heart skipped a beat. She captured his smile perfectly, characteristically turned up in one corner. He wore a turtleneck sweater which brought back memories of how Kato, a body builder and personal trainer, would make people laugh by individually moving his chest in a dance-like motion.

But probably the most important gift I received, as I looked and held my Kato doll for the first time, was the gift of freedom. The anniversary of my husband’s passing is fast approaching and my body always instinctively prepares for it. Reliving the moment, almost against my will, and bracing itself for that fateful day and the feelings of helplessness that come with it -just like that day six years ago. But this gift broke through the chains holding me together. My heart burst open and the tears flowed.    

Tears.

Healing.

 Peace.

 What a beautiful, beautiful gift that I will treasure forever.

Thank you Sheila for your thoughtfulness and Ronnett of Abwooli Arts for your creation.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

As you may know, women loves to talk about their relationship. Whenever my friends and I hang out, this is pretty much the main topic of the conversation, among other things. I like to learn from these stories though. One of the topics we talked about was regarding anniversary gifts. My friend Irene gave me a wonderful insight that I think is worth sharing with you.

Now, if you are like me and most women, you want a special gift for each anniversary you celebrate. I won’t even stay modest on that part. I love gifts. I like giving memorable ones and I appreciate receiving one too. But Irene made me realize that a problem may exist in this traditional anniversary celebration. Please allow me to explain.

How long have you been married, engaged, or dating your special someone? Now, every year you celebrate your anniversary and exchange gifts, right? If you look at the stuff in your jewelry box, your shelf, or credenza: can you identify the jewelry, stuff toys, etc. that you received from your anniversary? Do you remember which anniversary? Your first, second, 25th anniversary? I do not know how good your memory is, but I can not remember. There are gifts that stand out, but I do not remember when I received it.

But Irene and her husband has a very interesting arrangement for their anniversary. They set up goals for each other and reward each other with extraordinary gifts when they reached that goal. For instance, they set up a goal that they can make their marriage work five years down the line. Irene and her husband agrees what they will give each other when they reached that five year milestone. Although they celebrate their anniversary every year, the gift giving does not become mundane. And with this milestones that they set up together, they get to save enough money to buy extravagant gifts for each other.

Not only are their gift extravagant, it is loaded with sentimental value. The gift represents an accomplishment for the goals that they set up for each other. In addition, it represents a special occasion that only they two of them share, their anniversary.

So, as you can see, milestone or goal setting could increase the sentimental value of your gift. The gift can be anything. A stuff toy that you really liked, a particular jewelry, a trip, etc. Whatever it may be, by linking it to a goal, it becomes more than just any anniversary gift. It is also an accomplishment gift.

MJ Millares is a gift advisor for EmJée Designs. For more anniversary gifts please visit http://www.emjeeonline.com

     Now we come to Chapter Four of my party book:  Holiday Themes, Showers and Anniversaries.      

            For many of us, parties connote celebrations for special times.  Somehow a holiday or milestone event is made more memorable by festivities shared with friends and loved ones.  For this reason, I have dedicated this chapter to celebrations uniquely suited to holidays, showers and anniversaries.  In the party descriptions that follow, you will find a wide variety of offerings.  Some events are for family gatherings, some for teens or young single adults, others for couples.  Each party, however, can usually be adapted easily to fit any kind of group.

            Starting with Valentine’s Day, Iwill take you through a year of creative holiday parties, followed by descriptions of bridal and baby showers and wedding anniversary celebrations.  Again, I would be happy to hear from you about some of your unique, special celebrations.