Madison Sanders Writes

How do you like my new look? I love it. For those who don't have bigger screens, click here to see a better picture of the whole layout. Louise at Louise Franks Designs (formerly Adori Graphics) is responsible for this awesome look. She is one in a million. She does blog makeovers for free.(Right now she's doing all of them for free because of the economy) Due to some changes, she's charging for some things, but she's still the best deal around, in my opinion, for blog design(this includes buttons, headers, and everything in between). She also does free makeovers for anyone struggling with a long term illness, has lost a child, or someone who uses blogging as a way to deal with their grief. Her philosophy is that if you have a fabulous blog, you'll be motivated to blog more. The best part about it is that this look is completely custom to me. No premade template here, baby. Louise was so easy to work with; she answered all of my questions until we achieved

My grandparents first house was in a little neighborhood where everybody knew everybody. One thing that set my grandparents apart was that they had a garden that had everything you could imagine: Bright red tomatoes, Green beans, Squash, watermelon, and corn. I still remember how that corn tasted, even today. It took awhile for the corn to grow, so my brother and I made the corn patch our secret playground. When I wanted to get away after a long day at school I went to the corn patch. One day my brother said, "Wanna go to the corn patch?" He didn't have to ask me twice. I was off in a flash. As I pushed back those bright green leaves, semi darkness enveloped me. My cheeks were flustered from running, so I stop to take in the cool breeze. My brother called out, "Wanna race?" "Sure," I said, "but where are you?" "It doesn't matter" he called out, "just run." I raced to the end of the corn patch, looking left and right. I

I've changed my URL to http://dropletsonajournal.blogspot.com/ I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to come up with a good URL since I changed my blog name awhile back. Please update your blog lists. If you're a follower, it will still take you to my blog. No worries. (If my followers have any trouble, just remove me from your blogs you follow, then add me back with the new URL). I have another exciting change so be sure to check back later this week! P.S. If anyone needs to email me, here's my email address. If you want to do a giveaway, I am open to that as well. I will promise to give my honest and thoughtful opinions.  Click on the picture to make it larger if needed. I'm doing it this way because I don't want to be spammed.

School started last week. As you can imagine, I've been busy with homework, reading, etc. This means I'll have less free time. I'll still be posting Memories Rewind each week, so make sure to stop by if you're in need of a laugh or just want to read a good story. I just won't have as much time for posting other things like I did during the summer. It takes me a few weeks to get adjusted to going back. Last week was a little difficult because pf the sitting. Even though I'd been doing things that involved sitting, it's not the same as sitting stationary at school writing and other things. I don't know why, but it isn't. So, I'm in transition again. If you think of me during the week, say a prayer for me. If you don't pray, just send good thoughts my way. That's all I've got for now. I've done some homework and now my brain(and body) needs a break. What's something that you have to get used to again, even though you've done

Here are the answers to the which one is true post. Although no one guessed that I know of, I'm sure you all want to know. Not one to disappoint, here they are. Which one is true? I love to act or I love to sing--True Which one is true? My closet is organized by color--True Things are so much easier to find when they're organized! or I’m so disorganized that I spend ten minutes looking for lip gloss Which one is true? I was named after a movie--True I'm not joking. Maybe I'll share the story sometime. or I was named after a city Which one is true? I would rather read than watch TV--True I love to read. There's not much left on TV that's worth watching. I will occasionally watch TV in the summer though. or Are you crazy? My room is designed around my TV Which one is true? I love to find a great deal--True I love a great deal or I can’t resist the latest fashions, no matter the price Hope you enjoyed this! What's a fun fact about you?

Thanks for everyone who participated in my first giveaway. I drew names to pick the winner because I wanted to make sure it was fair for everyone. Drum roll please........... The winner is Heather! Congrats, I'll email you to get your information. That pillow will look great in your master bedroom! For those of you that didn't win, don't give up. I will have other giveaways. *I've emailed the winner, but if she doesn't contact me within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.* Come back tomorrow to see my answers to the which one is true post!

My mom bought me a doll for Christmas one year. This wasn't just any doll. This doll was a doll that took annoying to a whole new level. As soon as I took her out of the box, I saw a lilac purple jumper with a purple striped long sleeve shirt. Her blonde pigtails captured that childlike innocence in a doll. I wanted to see her in action, so Mama put in the batteries. "Hello, she cooed, my name is Allie." In a few minutes she said, "B C A...A B C." Then she laughed at her mix up. Did Allie think I was her personal counselor there to calm her fears about learning the alphabet? I was more like her worst nightmare (sometimes). Don't worry, the feelings were mutual. I was trying to get used to playing with her when I heard, "Kiss me, Kiss me." I gave her a peck on the cheek because if I didn't do what she said, she would keep repeating herself. "Does this doll ever be quiet"? I thought. Evidently she wasn't capable of being quiet beca

Mama and I went to Kohl's because we had some coupons and it was tax free weekend. I went in looking for a cardigan but no such luck. They will have a better selection in the winter anyway. We browsed the racks instead. I spotted a camisole that I liked, but Mama needed to try something on first. So we headed to the fitting room. As I waited outside, I spotted a sales associate. A woman approached her and asked her thoughts on wearing white after Labor Day. She replied, "I wouldn't care when it is, if I liked it I would wear it." The woman still wasn't convinced so she held up her white blazer and black skirt with white flowers. "You would would wear this?", the woman asked. She still said yes. I thought, "This woman must be a competent sales woman." I wanted to go back and look at those camisoles, but I couldn't remember where they were. We stopped to ask that same sales lady. "Do you know where the Jockey camisoles would be? It was g

This is my version of the classic true false game. To round out the blogoversary week, I wanted to do something fun. Which one do you think is true? I’ll reveal the answers soon. Which one is true? I love to act or I love to sing Which one is true? My closet is organized by color or I’m so disorganized that I spend ten minutes looking for lip gloss Which one is true? I was named after a movie or I was named after a city Which one is true? I would rather read than watch TV or Are you crazy? My room is designed around my TV Which one is true? I love to find a great deal or I can’t resist the latest fashions, no matter the price Good luck! P.S. I'm going to be changing my URL soon. It will be http://makingmymark.blogspot.com/ I just wanted to give you a heads up. I think it makes more sense to change it to match my blog title.

Thanks for all of your sweet comments on my About Me Series. That means a lot. I said that I was going to talk more about my 100 th post today. Here it goes. I thought it would take forever to get to 100 posts, but time has flown by. I've shared my life and had fun reading about others. Today marks my blogoversary . I guess in a way I have two, though. I started blogging in August of 2006. It hadn't really caught on, so I was basically writing to myself. No one else was there to read it. I didn't get any enjoyment out of it, so I took a break. I'm glad I wasn't gone forever because now I look forward to writing posts. Sometimes I remember things that happened years ago, and think, "That would make a great post!" I love reading other blogs too. It's neat to get a glimpse into their lives. I read cooking blogs, decorating blogs, and family blogs. There are some cute kids out in blog land. This blog wouldn't be what it is today without my fabulous re

I wasn't home free when I was discharged from the hospital. I had a lot of challenges ahead of me. The doctors thought it would be best that I start physical therapy as early as possible. I started physical therapy at six months old, but my life has been anything but normal (although my mom believed firmly in treating me no different than my brother. I'm so grateful for that). I've had lots of surgeries, so I plan to do a brief overview of each one. 1998: I had this one at 9 years old. They broke both of my hips and put in hardware because the cerebral palsy made my feet turn in to the point of tripping. 2004: I had to have new hardware put in my left hip because my leg was starting to turn in again. The doctor also moved a muscle from my quads to help my leg bend better. 2006: I had both sets of hardware taken out of my hips. Little did I know, the hardware wasn't supposed to be left in that long. A hip replacement would have been in my future had I not had th

Since we were born early, chaos ensued. I had to be hooked up to a ventilator right away. Minutes after birth, both of my lungs collapsed a total of four times. To correct this, I was hooked up to a ventilator. The doctors tried this for a day or so, but weren't seeing results. I was a very sick baby. Mama knew the jet ventilator could cause a brain bleed, but she had to let them put me on it. There were no other options. I was then put on a jet ventilator which beat four hundred times per minute. This was a lot on my little body, so I had a brain bleed on the right side. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, let me explain. When a brain bleed happens, it affects the opposite side of the brain. The entire left side of my body is weaker than the right side. The brain bleed is why I have cerebral palsy. My brother also faced his share of obstacles as an infant. While he didn't have cerebral palsy, he did have to be hooked up to an oxygen tank. I was hooked up to so

I want to thank you for all waiting so patiently for this post. I think the time has come for you to know more about me, and since my blogoversary is coming up I wanted to mix it up this week. I'm not talking about the standard ice breaker questions either. I'm going to be transparent with you. There are a few reasons why I didn't share everything about myself to begin with. I didn't want people to read my blog because they felt sorry for me. I wanted genuine readers that read because they wanted to. One thing I'm sure you are all wondering is why I go to so many doctor appointments. You will know after these posts. Since my story is detailed, I'm going to break it up in three posts so that I can explain it. After all, what good is my writing if my readers can't understand it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Race Against Time Part 1 My mom was six months pregnant with twins. She went to work lik

I want to wish a Happy Birthday to a very special person--my granny. She is a simple woman who doesn't want much, although she does love an occasional yard sale. She loves her family with all her heart and takes pride in hard work. Thank you for all that you do. Your laugh is so unique. I could pick it out of a crowd. You have to have a sense of humor to be married to a jokester like Papa! So, Granny, I hope you have a fabulous birthday, and I can't wait to see what next year brings!

I was a girly girl growing up, but that didn't mean I couldn't hang with the boys. I loved it all-the frilly dresses, bows, and shoes. What I really loved was jewelry. My Mama has a picture of me from Christmas wearing a teal blue sweater, jeans, a bracelet, and necklace. After all, no look is complete without accessories. I loved Sunday mornings, not just for going to church, but also because it gave me a chance to dress up. I distinctly remember a blush pink dress with a white collar that had dainty pink roses on it. I would finger the roses while admiring myself in the mirror. I twirled in front of the mirror, letting my dress flow freely. I sat down, slowly slipping on my white tights. I then put on my black patent Mary Janes. Mama appeared to fix my hair. I could feel the brush against my head, leaving behind hair as smooth as silk. She didn't want it to fall, so she wrapped the elastic around several times. She finished it off with a blush pink bow. I felt like a prin

I finished up the last dose of the new medicine this morning. I woke up on Saturday with NO pain. I actually felt like myself. My mom and I went to a few stores. It went pretty well, but at the end I was hurting. I was so happy to be able to enjoy myself without constantly wondering "How long am I going to be able to stay out?" I can tell a little bit of difference, but I am not naive enough to think it was going to go away in a day. When you've hurt like I've hurt, just to have some relief is worth its weight in gold. We are playing it by ear right now. I'm not going to go crazy and quit taking my pain medicines tomorrow--I know better than that. I might not be able to come off of them right now, but that is a long term goal. One day, my drawer isn't going to be filled with medicine. It will be so normal; I'm sure that will be strange. I start back to school in a few weeks, so I won't be blogging as much. I'm excited because a new school year br

I saw a video recently that got me thinking. Bill Gates is planning on doing a hands free version of the Wii. He porobably wants to test it out on a gaming system before he makes the switch to computers. See, that's why he makes the billions and I don't. Through the years technology has changed so much. When I was born, they didn't have the sophisticated 3-D ultrasounds that are around today. We can talk to people with a flick of a button. It almost makes email seem old fashioned. With new ideas comes growth and change, but what kind of change and at what cost? MySpace and Facebook fool some people into thinking they have "relationships" with people just because they send them a message every now an then. Let me tell you, that is not a relationship. The virtual world is getting a little out of hand. I heard people were having virtual marriages through video games. How weird is that? While it would be cool to have a hands free computer, it would also take some ti