i’ve said for the last year, that  i wanted to take a silent retreat. i think i just might be getting one!

last wednesday, i went to bed with a sore throat. it was sore for a couple of days, and then i began to lose my voice on saturday. i had friends in town this past weekend, so i definitely didn’t stop talking! by sunday morning, my voice was shot. i made a couple of squeaky calls to my mom, dave & bill. but other than those calls, i was pretty much silent for the day.

it’s the oddest thing not having a voice. especially when you use your voice for a living! the whiteboard has become my new best friend.  abbey & i have kinda made a game out of it. i start writing on the whiteboard and she predicts what i will write faster than i can write it.  most times she’s spot on! it’s definitely weirding her out a little bit, tho! she says: “i know you can hear me. i know you can understand me. you just can’t talk back to me. it’s weird!” i’m doing a lot of snapping and pointing too. hahaha.

always be JOYful

no doubt it’s inconvenient not having a voice, but i’ve enjoyed the quiet too. i sat in silence for most of the day today. i opened my bible reading this afternoon and this was the scripture. pretty timely, don’t ya think? but then again, God’s word always is.  it is alive. the bible says He holds it all together by His very word. Hebrews 1:3.

i go to the Dr. tomorrow at 1:30. so, we’ll see how long this “silent retreat” is going to last. the crazy thing is that i don’t feel sick. i just can’t talk! so so crazy!

just out of curiosity, have you ever had laryngitis? how long did it last? do you know what caused it? i’ve only had it 2 other times, but NOTHING like this.

I love love LOVE candles! Rarely do you walk into my house or my office without a candle burning. My partner Dave doesn’t much care for candles. He thinks they all smell the same. On the contrary!! haha. I am very particular about my candles. I do not, repeat … do NOT like fru-fru smelling candles…floral, heavily perfumed, or certain food items. I love “spicy” candles at the holidays.

My favorite candles are Archipelago’s Pineapple Ginger, Candle Delirium’s Royal Amber (my all time fav & now have Bill & Krispy hooked on this scent!), Voluspa’s Goji & Tarrocco Orange (thank you, Becca!) and Yankee Candle’s Vanilla Lavendar. So, as you can see …. I like my scents!

I will never quit burning candles, but I’ve absolutely fallen head over heels in love with my Scentsy Warmers. I was given a Thanksgiving warmer last year. I brought it home and plugged it in. I sat it on the bar area in my kitchen. The funny this is…it didn’t take long for Pete to add turning on the warmer, to be added as part of his morning routine (second to making coffee). He said one Saturday as we were sharing a cup of coffee, “I’ve never been into candles much, but I like this thing.” LOL! By the time March rolled around, I figured it’d be fun to replace our “Thanksgiving” warmer with an everyday one. I eventually added one to Abbey’s bathroom, and I get Haley one for her dorm.  I also bought one for the studio that we turn on every single day!

They truly make the BEST gifts! I’ve given as housewarming gifts this year, as well as birthday gifts.  You have to purchase from a distributor. And I know two very good ones!

Caron Rivera
email: caronsscents@verizon.net
website: http://www.caronsscents.scentsy.us

A HUGE thanks to Caron for giving us some to give to YOU!

or

Andrea Reece
email: andreajanereece@hotmail.com
website: http://www.scentsy.com/zesty

I’ve worked with both of these women and can vouch for both of ‘em.

Here’s a pic of the one we use everyday:

my everyday Scentsy Warmer

and my Christmas warmer:

love that the Nativity lights up!

I have several to give away tomorrow, but for my blog friends (that means YOU!), I’m giving YOU the chance to win the Nativity warmer! It’ll be different ones on the show tomorrow.  (Thanks again, Caron!) Like the last few days, register in the comment section with your name and email address. I will have Krispy randomly choose one of the entries and we will mail to you this week. We will draw a winner at 10 a.m. tomorrow, December 13, 2011.

One last thing you need to know: French Kiss is my favorite scent. Hey, I didn’t pick the names. But it is my FAV!

Lisa Williams!

We randomly chose (not me! because it’s too hard for me to pick!) a winner for the Tarina Tarantinos.  We’ve notified Lisa and will be mailing new earrings to her this week.  THANK YOU all for registering for the earrings. And THANK YOU for all the sweet comments! I love you all SO SO much, and wish I could send every single one of you a pair. Please know that is my heart! 

If you’d still love a pair of Tarinas (and if those close to you are asking you what you want for Christmas), here is your hook up for my favorite earrings:

Rusty Crickett’s
615 15th Street West
Bradenton, Florida
941-745-3131
http://www.rustycricketts.com/

Ask for Charlie or Terri. They are PRECIOUS!!! And they will SO take care of you! Of course, you could always get a pair as a Christmas present to yourself. I’m not kidding when I say I wear mine ALL THE TIME!

Also, for those of you asking about the fashionABLE scarves, Rusty Crickett’s has them now, too….

I hope “Carmen’s Favorite Things” is helpig you with your Christmas list. I’ve enjoyed reading all of your FB comments, emails, etc. of the things that you’ve gotten. I think the Table Topics cube is the front runner right now!  I’d love to hear about any unique things you’ve stumbled upon, or enjoy giving to your loved ones! Let me know about ‘em, and I’ll share with everybody here. 

I’m kinda liking this registering on the blog thing, so I will have something else for you to win later today!

Merry Christmas!
carnen

This giveaway is going to be for my blog friends only!

Meaning, I’m not gonna mention on the air that I’m giving away a pair of Tarina Tarantino earrings tomorrow by 10 a.m! Thanks to my friend Charlie at Rusty Crickett’s, I have a pair to giveaway here, FOR YOU!! Cause we all know every woman needs a pair of Tarina’s. I’ve got my whole family hooked on ‘em!

As you know Tarina Tarantino are my favorite earrings.  They’re sparkly and fun to wear! And I love that you can dress them up or down. I wear mine with cocktail dresses, jean skirts; actually any kind of jeans, jogging suits, and anything in between.

If you’d like a pair of crystal Tarina Tarantino’s, register your full name and email address in the comments section. I will randomly select a winner at 10 am. tomorrow and notify you!

Tarina Tarantino's

my girlfriend Tammi told me about Emi-Jay hair ties earlier this year. I love ‘em!! They are my FAVORITE hair ties. They come in all different colors. I got some of the ones that have a bit of a shimmer to them. Wearing my hair in a ponytail quite a bit, these hair ties make me feel like I’m a little more “dressed up.”  I also got a few with a bead, and they feel really dressy.

I ordered online here, but I’ve seen them in Learning Express too.

They make a great stocking stuffer!

the ones I bought from Emi Jay

with a shimmer!

i love all the colors!

Day 3 of my favorite things.

fashionABLE. Hands down, may favorite scarf!  I make no secret about the fact that I love cooler temps. It’s rough on a girl who lives in Florida, where it’s summer. and more summer. 8 months outta the year it’s just hot. BUT…we do get a few months when we can wear our boots and scarves. You can bet when it drops below 70, I’m breaking ‘em out!

I don’t really remember how I first heard of fashionABLE, but I do remember sitting in the control room November, a year ago ordering the Bezuayhu (say that 3 times in a row!) and the gray Etanesh for myself and a few girlfriends for Christmas. I’ve worn both of them as much as a Florida girl can the past year.

Much like Hello Somebody, fashionABLE is an organization WORTH supporting! Every time you purchase a scarf,  you are helping support SUSTAINABLE businesses for women in Africa.  I could tell you their stories here on my blog, but you should really visit fashionABLE, and read their stories here.

Having traveled out of the country the last 4 years, I have seen the cycle of abuse and poverty. While many stand in judgement, I can tell you first-hand that MOST of these women (heck, they’re really children!) are victims of their circumstance. Many are orphaned, while others are sold. Some go willingly, feeling it’s the only way out of their current abuse. Regardless, they all end up sharing the same sentence:  Trafficking.  Prostitution. And once they’ve lived a life being sold from the time they’re 7 or 8 until they 15, 16, 17, 18 years old …. prostitution is all they know. Even the few who are rescued, sometimes go back to the lie.  They believe the lie that they can’t do anything else to support themselves. They’re convinced they are destined to their life.

But it’s such a lie!
Straight from the pit as far as I am concerned.

These women need rescued.
They need education.
They need to learn a trade.
They need to feel loved.
They need healing.
They need to KNOW this isn’t the plan God has for their life.

As you can see, it’s really not about the scarves at all for me. Though I do LOVE them!! Seriously love them!

But it’s more about offering hope. It’s about helping them regain their self-respect. It’s about saying: “you matter.” or “you can make a different choice.”

So I say to you JOY Fam, if we are ABLE to help do this, by all means….let’s! Who’s with me?

Bezuayhu

Table Topics

It’s Day 2 of my favorite things….

This past Memorial Day, I was at a cook-out at a friend’s house in Nashville, when another friend showed up with an acrylic cube called Table Topics. We immediately gathered around the table and started asking questions. In about 10 minutes, we were doubled over laughing so hard our stomachs hurt!  I can still remember some of the things said that afternoon and the “discoveries” that were made.  It was a fun day!  So many great memories and community we’ll share for a long long time to come. You can truly never have enough of these moments in life.

When I got home, I immediately bought a cube to have at the house. On several different occasions now, I’ve pulled out my Table Topics and I have not been disappointed!  The questions have initiated meaningful, thought-provoking, and every-thing-in-between conversations. I’m talking deep, emotive, revealing and transparent discussions to surprised “I had NO idea!” to pee-in-your pants funny!! Sorry. But it’s true!

Since the summer, I’ve gotten a few different categories.  We’ve enjoyed them all. The conversation around the table just this past Thanksgiving is some of the best discussions my family has had in a while.  And it kept us sitting at the table longer, too. I liked that!

You can order Table Topics online. I also saw them at Pottery Barn the other day.  I’ve seen them priced between $20-$25. This is a great gift for a co-worker, a neighborhood gift exchange, a small group or bible study party, or a hostess gift for the Christmas parties you may be attending this year. It’d also be a great gift for any family member!  Or you could be like me, and gift it to yourself!

Yep, Christmas is here.  Each year on the show, I offer gift ideas and share some of my favorite things or “finds” from the year.  I’m always drawn to things that support other things. I also love watches. Fashionable watches. Not the super fancy, “dripping in diamonds” ones. I’m a very casual person. I wear watches as an accessory, and like to mix them up regularly.  So when I was introduced to Hello Somebody earlier this year, it was a beautiful thing!

Hello Somebody watches

But as much as I love Hello Somebody watches- and they are indeed one of my favorite things this year – I love the organization more!  Hello Somebody was established after a mission trip to Honduras. And of course, we all know how I feel about Honduras and the incredibly special place it has in my heart. (Read previous posts from September to get the story.)

Like many organizations, Hello Somebody exists to FEED children. But their ultimate goal is to provide education; working towards ending the cycle of poverty. The last 4 years I’ve held lots of hungry children. And not just hungry for food. They’re hungry for the basic necessities of life. Hungry to feel they matter. Hungry to not be left in the margins. Hungry for love.

When you purchase a Hello Somebody watch ($25), you are supporting an organization that is feeding children. I will always always ALWAYS get behind that. Not only do I have 3 of their watches. I also have 3 of their T-shirts and I love love LOVE my Hello Somebody hoodie!

So….my first gift idea for Christmas 2011 is Hello Somebody watches. I’ve bought 3 throughout the year!

Merry Christmas!
carmen

my 3 colors:

my fav colors...

What do you need to believe God for?

I need to believe God for quite a few things.  Whenever I doubt, I always go to Abraham.

I don’t particularly struggle with “if God can”; I struggle with “if He will.”

I was reading in Galatians Chapter 3 this morning. In verse 6, it says: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  If you’re not familiar with Abraham, we are introduced to “Abram” (later, God re-named him Abraham) in Genesis. God told Abram to leave his native country and family and go to a land that He (the Lord) would show him. God promised Abraham that He would bless him and make him a great nation. (Genesis 12).  At one point, God had Abram look up into the night sky and said, “count the stars if you can, that’s how many descendants you will have!”

It would’ve been easy for Abraham to not believe God regarding descendants. His wife Sarah was well-past child bearing years, and Abraham was very old himself. And they had NO children. But as he grew older, his faith only grew stronger because Abraham knew that God kept His promises. He also knew that God was very capable of doing what He said He could do.

At 100 years old, (yes, 100 years old!) God gave Abraham & Sarah a son.

I love the scripture in Romans (4:17) when Paul is referencing Abraham. It says: “Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and creates new things out of nothing.”

Don’t you want faith like Abraham?

What do you need to believe God for today?

Is there anything crazier than believing that God is still going to make you a great nation, when you’re 99 years old, with no children, and a wife who is too old to have children?

I want faith like that!

Maybe you’re like me….We know God can. We just need to believe He will.

I don’t know why I still struggle with this. If I could sit with you over a cup of coffee and detail my life for you, many of you’d think I was talking about someone else.  Trust me when I tell you, it ain’t been all roses. Far from it!! God has saved me from my own selfishness and rebellious patterns time and time again. Another translation of Romans 4:17 is: “God calls things that are not as though they were.”

Even when I was “not”; He called me as though I was.

Because I was something to Him.

You are too.

Believe Him.

We believe, Lord. Help our unbelief.

He came to set the captives free!

I received a letter from Edie a few days ago. You don’t know Edie, but I want to introduce you to her.

Edie is a listener of The JOY FM and will be running with us in February.  I read Edie’s note and it completely stopped me in my tracks.  While I’ve heard from many of you who are inspired to run for human trafficking, Edie’s was the first letter I received from someone who has actually been trafficked.  With her permission, I am posting the email I received from Edie. Since this note, she has sent me the letter that she wrote to her mom as part of her healing process.  Whoa. She described in detail the abuse. I felt many conflicting emotions. In short, it’s simply just unimaginable.

Here are Edie’s exact words when I asked if I could share with you:

And truly, Carmen, the Lord has placed it on my heart to tell my story, and if it helps one woman I have been blessed.

Meet Princess Edie…..

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that you and a few others are running for Freedom. My heart jumped for joy. Knowing that people are speaking out for Human Trafficking and women that don’t have a voice.  You see, from the age of 10 to 17, I was tracfficked. My mom’s boyfriend sold me to over 150 men. The effects from the abuse just about killed me.

BUT…I found the Lord and He healed me. The beatiful thing is at the end of my mom’s boyfriends life, I was able to go and share the gospel with him. He committed his life to the Lord.

I have never ran a marthon before and I am not a runner, but this coming February 26,2012, I wil be running for “Team Freedom” …. running for women that dont have a voice. Because I know first hand what they have lived through and are stilling living through.

Thank you for this opportunity to run.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

If this doesn’t inspire you, nothing will. I ran 4 miles today. I thought of Edie the whole time.

Edie, your strength, your courage to tell your story & your faith in Jesus Christ, our ultimate Healer inspires me. I canNOT wait to meet you in person.