Welcome to Gold Star Friday! It's time to announce our second Star of the Week!
When I first got the idea to present a Star of Week award, it had a two-fold purpose. First, I wanted to offer a fun forum for readers to have the opportunity to publicly appreciate someone important in their lives – a friend, a family member, or even themselves. Winners in the US also receive a free gift, which I thought would be a nice added bonus!
Second, I hoped that the Star of the Week award would inspire and motivate readers to offer their own gold star awards to the people they care about, separate and apart from this website. You can give gold stars to family members, friends, a neighbor, your pet sitter, a grocery store employee, or someone you know in the medical community. The possibilities are endless!
To help you do that, I have created a line of Gold star products** that you can use to show people how much you appreciate them! I'm including a couple of pics below to give you an idea of what's available. Giving something as small as a sticker, a magnet, or a card is an easy thing to do that could really make someone's day. Of course, a hug or some loving words of recognition and appreciation can work just as well. The point is to appreciate the people we care about openly and often!
Since we are at the beginning of this project, I will be the one nominating our Friday Star of the Week until the time when nominations from readers start to roll in. I'm guessing that I will be the nominator for the first month or so.
Nominating someone for the Star of the Week award definitely requires some contemplation and a little bit of writing, so I completely understand that it might take you a little bit of time to get the juices flowing. But I encourage all of you to send in your nominations, please! See the link at the end of this post for more details regarding the nomination process.
For our second star of the week, there is no way that I could nominate anyone other than the most important person in my life – my husband Tom!
Even though I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania and Tom grew up in northern Minnesota, we managed to meet when we were both 12 or 13 years old. Neither one of us can remember exactly what year it was.
We didn’t become a couple until many years later. We have been together for 21 years now, but it took us quite a bit of time to officially get married. We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this past May.
What is it that I want you to know most about Tom? There are so many reasons why I think he deserves a gold star!
As I mentioned last week, I am a silly person, and it is extremely important for me to be with someone who makes me laugh. Tom fits the bill – he is also very silly and super funny, and he makes me laugh on a daily basis!
My husband is a smart, independent thinker who is curious about so many things. He is constantly reading articles, books, etc. to increase his knowledge on a variety of topics. It is one of the qualities that I admire most about him.
Tom had the courage to leave a unsatisfying job, and he is now much happier working for himself as a stock photographer. His willingness to take a leap of faith by quitting that job is something that I will always be grateful for.
Tom is extremely passionate about basketball – playing it, watching it on TV, reading about it. His enthusiasm for this topic is contagious! 🏀 Luckily, I played a little bit of basketball in my younger days, so I am enthusiastic about being able to share his passion with him!
He takes care of all sorts of tasks that I don’t want to do, like yard work, car maintenance, and computer repair. I’m not sure that he realizes how grateful I am that he is willing to handle all of these things that need to be done.
Tom gave me the best present I have ever received in my life – my engagement/wedding ring. Knowing that I wasn't a diamond kind of a gal, he gave me a ring from Sundance (I LOVE that catalog even though I can't afford the things in it!) with purple stones and the words "Eternal Love" inscribed on the inside. You may remember that last week I mentioned that purple is my favorite color. Giving me that ring demonstrated his thoughtfulness and just how well he knows me. It was an absolutely perfect gift, and it still makes me smile every time I look at it.
Finally, I want you to know how supportive my husband has been of all of my entrepreneurial endeavors throughout the years. I have not had a traditional career path by any means. I have attempted to do many different things since we have been together, and if Tom ever had any doubts about my ability to accomplish what I set out to do, he kept them to himself. Not once has he criticized me when I said I wanted to pursue a particular path. And he also never made me feel bad when many of those past projects failed. It’s wonderful to be with someone who respects your choices and your ability to make your own decisions.
For all of these reasons, I am thrilled to honor Tom as our second Star of the Week! Congratulations sweetheart!
Would you like to nominate yourself or someone you care about to be our next Star of the Week? To read the rules about the nomination process and get more information about the free gift that winners will receive, please click here. Then submit the Nomination Form!
Please join me in congratulating Tom as our second star of the week!
**If you click through any of the links on this page and make a purchase from Zazzle, I will receive two separate commissions: one for being the designer of the product and another for referring the sale to Zazzle.