The Fabulous Four

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I did this… But today, I want to celebrate some of my friends. If you’ve been with me awhile—and I do mean awhile—you might remember The Magnificent Seven or The Terrific Three. But today, in memory of my beloved March Madness and in honor of The Final Four (if you know basketball, you know what I’m talking about), I’m going to celebrate The Fabulous Four. This is just my way of being thankful for the people I love and giving some of you a chance to get to know them, too.

ONE-

Since her birthday is this week (April 6^th) I’m gonna start with her – Sarah Bee. She was one of my first three friends on Twitter. We hit it off immediately and we’ve grown so close I consider her the twin sister I never had. I mean, c’mon y’all, we even share a name!

Over a year ago now, I was lamenting my horrendous skin problems on my hands. (I have psoriasis and dermatitis on my hands.) Sarah Bee mentioned that her 7-year-old has terrible skin problems and that Sarah Bee makes her own soaps. The soaps have been really good for her daughter’s skin, would I be interested in trying some? I said yes and she sent me two bars and y’all, I have been a believer ever since. Literally, the only soap I use in my house is Sarah Bee Creations’ soap. Everything else got tossed out! In fact, I love her stuff so much that I’ve bought gifts from her for Mother’s Day, birthdays, and Christmas. Plus, she’s custom-built gift baskets for me to give to girlfriends “just because.” I love Sarah Bee… but I also love her products!

Her birthday is on the 6^th, but today, she launched a brand-new blog with a giveaway. Seriously, if you don’t go by and try to win her free gift basket, you are really missing out!

TWO-

In February, on my birthday trip to the Pacific Northwest, I got to spend an entire day riding and hiking in the Columbia River Gorge with my friend, Cari of Wahkeena Exposures Photography. Online, I’ve seen her phenomenally gorgeous photos of her corner of the world and I was so excited to go see it for myself. So excited that I’m going back this summer… But I digress. You have to see her pictures for yourself! And she writes a blog, telling about the little adventures she has on her hikes. I love living vicariously through her! (Especially since I get to go out there this summer for another adventure with her!) So, go check her out, okay?

THREE-

A few months ago, I was invited to be a part of something very special. I was asked to be a regular contributor at my friend Jason’s new site, Everyday Testimony. Jason started this site with the goal and purpose of cultivating thankfulness. How many of us each day (including me) spend so much of our time focusing on all of the drudgery of the day? How tired we are? How sick the kids have been? How grumpy our spouse or our boss was? How terrible traffic is?

 It’s important to vent those things sometimes, but when the negative things are our focus instead of the positive things, it pulls us into a cycle of negativity and we forget how to be thankful. So, I invite you to come by. There’s a short post up each day, but the major focus is on each of us leaving in the comments something we’re thankful for. And in case you want to see one of my posts, here’s the last one I posted. But really, all of the contributors are excellent. And again, it’s all about getting you to tell what you are thankful for.

FOUR-

And that brings me to number four, which is you. I’m thankful for you. You guys come by and read and bless me. Some of you leave comments here. Some of you drop me a note on Facebook or a DM on Twitter. And you remind me that I’m not just talking to myself. There are people out there who are like me, who struggle with the same things that I do. And so, I’m not alone. You are there. And I thank you. And so, if you’d like to leave a link in the comments so that the others can come meet you, please feel free. Or if you’d like to share a link to someone else who you enjoy and are thankful for, please feel free to do that, too.

 As we say here in Eastern North Carolina: I ‘ppreciate ya!