I’m giving myself permission (i.e., I’m forcing myself) to step away from the computer a little this week.  I’m in need of more real life inspiration.  I’ll still be doing some blog work…it just won’t be visible from your end.  At least, not immediately.  Don’t worry.  I’ll drop a few blog posts this week, but it probably won’t be as many as usual.  I promise to be back in full force next week.  Freshly reinvigorated!  I just wanted to give you a lil’ heads up, so you don’t think I’m dropping off the face of the web earth.  I’m not!

{That’s not my blogging spot, by the way.  Although, I wouldn’t mind at all if it was.}

As such, I encourage you to take a little breather yourself.  Use the 5 minutes that you normally spend reading House*Tweaking to do something inspirational:  read a few pages in a book or magazine, write a friendly note or email to a friend you haven’t seen in ages, hug your babies {big, small, or furry}, enjoy the budding scenery, take some deep breaths, treat yourself to a favorite goody {mine is chocolate-covered raisins}, make a brief but sincere “Thankful For…” list, or maybe just go to bed 5 minutes early.  Whatever you do, do it with enthusiasm and just revel in the moment.  Isn’t life a series of little moments anyway?

Next on today’s agenda…the Scentsy Free-For-All winner.  Thanks to everyone who participated!  You all made this H*T’s most popular giveaway to date.  I know giveaways aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I really do like to pass on great products to my readers in the form of a prize just to let you know how much I appreciate the time you take to check in on H*T.  It’s my very small way of saying “Thank you!”  Congratulations to SARAH DUTY.  I hope you enjoy your Scentsy warmer and bars as much as I do mine.

And since you all were so great to share your fire escapades with me, let me share mine.  Unfortunately, I have a few!  Ahh! 

First, there was the time I was about 10 years old and my younger, curious Boy Scout brother decided to see if he could start a fire with a battery, wire, and pile of dry leaves.  He discovered he could, in fact, ignite a fire.  After the initial excitement, he realized the fire was spreading rapidly up the hillside towards our home {this was during a drought in August in Ohio}.  I looked out the window just in time to see my brother running up the hill toward the house screaming, with flames chasing him from behind.  My mom called 9-1-1, the fire trucks came, the whole shebang.  Need I say that my brother got into deep trouble?  Thankfully, no one was hurt.  And honestly, I think my Dad was a little proud of his resourceful son.  Although I think he had visions of my brother attaining this feat on a deserted island somewhere in pure survival mode…not a few hundred yards away from our house unattended.

Another fire incident came during my high school years in chemisty lab.  It involved a bunsen burner, my 90’s perm + hairspray ‘do, and a strange smell that I couldn’t place.  Until my lab partner exclaimed, “Your hair’s on fire!”  Oddly enough, I went on to endure many, many, many years of chem lab throughout my high school and college years with my hair unharmed.  I learned my lesson.

My {hopefully!} final fire trouble came shortly after my first son, Layne, was born.  In a state of pure exhaustion, I was giving Layne a newborn sponge bath with the hope of calming him down.  {He was an extremely colicky baby.}  Being the caring, tired, naive first-time mom that I was, I thought it would be a good idea to throw his infant terrycloth robe into the microwave to ‘warm it up.’  Well, that turned out to be an awful idea.  The baby robe caught on fire, the smoke alarm went off, Handy Hubby was in a laughing fit, Layne was even more inconsolable than he’d been before his bath, and I was feeling unfit to raise a child.  I eventually got past all that…and Layne started sleeping a few months later.  I’ve haven’t put anymore baby clothes in the microwave.  Layne evolved into a wonderful sleeper and I turned out to be an okay mom.  I think.  But Handy Hubby still likes to remind me of the mini charred duck robe that he pulled out of the microwave that sleepless night.  Gotta love first-time mom stories.  Do you have any?  Pet moms count too!

FYI – The Free-For-All Scentsy winner was chosen randomly via Random.org

images:  1) Nina Holst for Stylizimo  2) our pantry ‘thankful for…’ door