HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY Plus Tell Me When and More Coffee Please!

Peeps, this is a BIG DAY. Seriously. Big.

I posted my Battle of the Bands post on Wednesday (okay, late Tuesday for you sticklers) and wanted to give it plenty of space at the top of the heap before covering it up with something else. That meant delaying my HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post to... well, today. Friday. Remember all of that blah blah blah about it not really coming together (a creative way of saying that I lacked footage).  Well, that all changed as soon as I typed it. I have dedications coming out the wazoo. Woohoo!

So, if you didn't vote in Battle of the Bands Click Here and go vote. I will post the winner of the battle on (or near) January 21.

Today is also the TELL ME WHEN blog hop.  Stina Lindenblatt is publishing a novel with a storyline involving stalking. This hop invites anyone to share their own personal story, a story of someone they know, or really just anything that creates awareness for this serious issue. Click Here if you want to share or read contributions to this hop.  I have read quite a few heart-wrenching stories by you. If you shared, thank you! I don't have a personal stalking story. I do have a dedication for Stina (see below). Sarah McLachlan wrote and sang a song called Possession way back when on her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy album. The song was about her experience with a fan (or fans) who stalked her by mail. I understand that she even used some of the (scary, crazy) things that they wrote in the lyrics. Really gives the song a whole new flavor when you know the history. Being stalked is terrifying.

Michael Di Gesu over at  ...Michael Di Gesu...In Time is hosting a Coffee Blog Hop. Michael says this about the hop: So all you have to do is post what you love most about coffee. Let's have a good time and LAUGH over a steaming cup! The most hysterical entry will win a pound of authentic Colombian coffee.  It is not too late to join in the fun. Click Here if you want to participate or just want to read funny coffee stories.


Before I talk coffee, I want to talk Michael for just a moment. He is someone that I have "seen" in the blogosphere for a very long time. However, it wasn't until I read about his Coffee Hop that we came together. I gave him fair warning that I am a long commenter and it turns out he is, too. How awesome is that??? I love making new blog friends!!!!

Now, let's talk coffee. I actually have a coffee story (and I shared it already with Michael, but I also want to share it with YOU). My parents were coffee addicts. For many years the coffee pot started brewing first thing in the morning and they continued to refill it and drink until bedtime. I really don't think they drank anything else!!! Then, they decided it was time to cut back and even started mixing regular and decaf to cut back on the caffeine. Plus, they stopped drinking all day long. No more after dinner. That sort of thing.

My younger brother and I didn't like coffee. I was sure that the coffee gene simply skipped us. In fact, we both said that we would NEVER DRINK COFFEE EVER. How many times has someone offered me coffee and my response was, "No thanks. None for me. I don't really like coffee." My mom was always first on the "Yes please" side of that equation. Well, my dad, too. As many of you know, my father passed several years ago (a coffee drinker until he died) and my mom still drinks 4 cups every morning. She just bought a Kuerig so that she can make a cup at a time if she wants just one (or two) more.

The unthinkable happened this Christmas. She convinced me to try a cup of coffee with some mocha creamer in it. It was wonderful. Except for the eating your words part, which went down rather bitterly, I drank two cups that day. And have been drinking coffee ever since. It is what I look forward to as soon as I open my eyes. It is how I convince myself to get out of bed. I can have my coffee if I get up. It is shameful really.

I haven't told my brother yet. He still won't touch the stuff and I am afraid he might disown me.

And that's my story. 

Michael, I also have a coffee dedication for you (see below) that I think conveys how I FEEL about coffee. I hope you enjoy it!!!  I'm crossing my fingers that you'll pick lil' ol' me as your coffee winner because I've never experienced Authentic Colombian Bean, but I really want to try more new things this year:)

Whew. Let's have a drumroll please! Ba da ba da ba da boom!!! It's HERE'S TO YOU day. Finally.


If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain.  This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays.  The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:



This one is for Stina Lindenblatt:



This one is for Michael Di Gesu at ...Michael Di Gesu....In Time:



This one is for Hillary Melton-Butcher at Positive Letters...inspirational stories...:



This one is for Empty Nest Insider:



This one is for Red Shoes at Red Shoe's Chronicles (For the rest of the interview go to YouTube):


This one is for Karen Walker at author karen walker...following the whispers :



This one is for Christine at A Deliberate Life: