The UN-birthday

My bloggy AND (I'm happy to say) real life friend over at Rainy Day In May is hosting a giveaway in honor of her birthday! You should go check it out because it is for her 29th birthday {again}! The super cool thing about her giveaway is that the more people that enter her giveaway the bigger the prize gets... how totally cool is that??

So head over HERE to check out the giveaway! If you enter the giveaway, please let her know you heard about it here!!!

And the winner is...

The winner, which was chosen using Random.org, of the Rachel Ray cookware is...

Ruby Red Slippers

Thanks to all of you that participated!

Final Day to enter the Rachel Ray cookware giveaway

The giveaway ends tonight so please click here to enter to win this beauty! Winner will be announced sometime tomorrow.

Weekend Recap

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY GIVEAWAY! Click here to enter!
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Last Friday Lady Bug woke up with a rash. It started on her face and within an hour of being awake she was covered. I kept her out of school, but had to go to work for a little bit. By the time we left my office at noon ... no rash. It was gone. Weirdest thing. So she and I ran errands. We got home the same time that Mr. Man and the boys got home, about 3:00 pm. The boys brought home report cards and both did excellent so we decided to reward them. We rode our bikes to Dairy Queen for a small ice cream cone. Then we went home, while the kids played outside for a little bit, Mr. Man and I raked leaves (the never ending leaves!!). We called my Mother and Father-in-law and decided to meet them downtown at the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. That was SO much fun! What a treat!

Saturday we went downtown again for the Veterans Day Parade. After that we headed home for lunch and more outside play time for the kids and more raking for us! Saturday night we watched movies and ate popcorn.

Sunday was mostly cleaning and attempting to fix the leaking washing machine, more raking, more cleaning! Spirit had a friend come over for a couple hours and Lady Bug and Lefty went next door to play with the new dog our neighbor got!

Overall a wonderful weekend, we had 78 - 80 degree weather all weekend! It was wonderful. Now it is time to go back to fall/winter and we may get a a storm or two this week. It was chilly and windy this morning!

RACHEL RAY COOKWARE GIVEAWAY

When I was contacted to host a giveaway for Rachel Ray cookware...how could I say NO??? I mean, seriously!?!? I think I might have even squealed with delight - fairly loudly!

I can't tell you how long I spent looking around at all the stuff I wish I had. Like the Egg Buddy.... how stinkin' cute is the name of this??? Or this oh-so-purdy 12 oz casserole dish. Please click here to view all the Rachel Ray cookware.

Now on to the giveaway.... just in time for the holidays... guess what I get the privilege of offering to you all? I can hardly contain my excitement...

Drum roll please...

This very awesome and very beautiful 4.25 Qt. oval covered casserole dish in the oh-so- fun yellow!

To enter to win I am not going to ask you to become a follower (you can if you want to) or subscribe or any of that, nope this is a super easy giveaway (that's what I'm about don't ya know) all I need you to do is click on one or all of the above links and look around. THEN, come back here and tell me how you would use the casserole dish over the holidays if you were to win it.

Good luck and happy cooking!

The giveaway is open until November 15, 2009 at 5:00 pm (Mountain time). Please be sure you leave an email for me to contact you at (so I can get a hold of you should you win!) Winner will be chosen randomly and announced sometime on Monday November 16th.

**YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A BLOG TO ENTER. JUST BE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU SHOULD WIN!**

Winner!

Congratulations to The Fam Five for winning my birthday / summer survival book giveaway!

Thanks for everyone who played along!

GIVEAWAY

I am going to be doing a giveaway as sort of a reward for surviving the summer with the kids and in honor of my birthday coming up! My kids have 11 weeks summer vacation and we are on our 5th week so far! No major injuries, no major problems or complications! It has been great! So here's to another problem-free 6 weeks of summer break! So whether your kids are nearing the end of summer break or still have a long way to go, here's to us all surviving the remainder of summer and here's to me growing OLDER!!! (boooo that last part!)

I will be giving away 2 books by Emily Giffin. They are easy reads and very entertaining. I really enjoyed these books and highly recommend them!

The first book, is Something Borrowed and the follow-up to that book is Something Blue. The winner of this giveaway will get both books!

Something Borrowed is about a young attorney named Rachel. Rachel has always been the good girl, always following the rules and doing the right thing. Her best friend from elementary school, Darcy, throws her a party for her 30th birthday! That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiancé. After she realizes Darcy doesn't have a clue what happened between the two of them, she decides she needs to put it all behind her and move on. But, she has genuine feelings for the guy and discovers he feels the same way. As her best friend's wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. She begins to justify her actions, realizing her best friend hasn't always been that great to her and so on. She discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness.

Something Blue is the follow-up to Something Borrowed and this book is told from Darcy's point of view. This book takes you into some serious soul-searching. Darcy has to do a lot of soul searching in this book and I found that I was doing some of that myself right along with her. Follow her as she discovers what a true friend is and how she has some changing to do!


To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment (any ol' comment will do!) here before midnight this Friday, July 17th. I will draw a winner using Random Number Generator sometime over the weekend and will announce the winner Monday morning (July 20th).

Good luck!!!

Very cool winnings

Remember the SITS girls' Spring Fling? Well I won something from over here. I won a T-shirt like this one. I also won a purse from this Etsy seller.


I got my totally cute t-shirt first and let me just tell you -- it is the funnest shirt to wear! People comment on it everywhere! I wore it to pick up the boys from school one day and the teachers all just thought it was a hoot! My neighbor wants one really bad too! So go here to IUsedToBeCool.com and check out all their stuff! I'm telling you it is a fun website to play around on!


I also won a very cute bag. When I got my package I was surprised to see that I got the cutest bag ever - and it has a cute little makeup bag inside. She also sent me some handmade coasters. All of it was way to cute for words --- AND GUESS WHAT..... I can't get my pictures to download right now! UGH!!! So, I guess #1: You'll have to take my word for it and #2: You'll need to head over to her Etsy shop and check out her goodies! I will post the pictures later, after I'm done kicking things around a bit- because I'm sure THAT will make the pictures download! LOL!

Book giveaway

My dear friend over at Rainy Day in May is hosting a giveaway for a very cute book called The Perfect Baby Handbook. This book sounds like a great book to use in your baby gift package for a new mom!

Go check out her post about the book. Misty does book and movie reviews - and she is an overall awesome person (go read this post for more on Misty and her absolutely fabulous family {we love them!})

YAY! The Giveaway is finally here - Girly-girl Fun gift pack

THE WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY (chosen by random number generator) IS MEG OF FaithandGasoline

I am participating in a carnival over at The Secret Is In The Sauce (better known as SITS). They are giving things away every hour on their blog, BUT they have also asked us to give something away too!


SO, I am giving away a fun pack for girls which will include:


~ a 4-pack of some cute pens
~ some mini Robin Egg candy
~ Rose bud Pink lip gloss
~ Peppermint Patty Pink nail color
~ Ms. Pedicure 7-piece pedicure set
~ a small pink spiral notebook
~ 2 books by the Love Inspired Series -* Four Little Blessings and * A Match Made in Dry Creek



All you have to do enter to WIN this wonderful gift pack is to leave a me a comment. Anything will do. Comments will be open until midnight (MST) tonight. Then I will use a random number generator to pick a winner tomorrow! Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you should win. {You do NOT have to have a blog to enter just leave your email address so I can contact you should you win}

What's your sign?

I was reading a book to the kids the other day and it mentioned astrological signs and I said:

"My sign is Cancer."

3 minutes go by and Spirit, evidently not fully listening, jumps up from his seat and looks me in the eye and says:

"YOU HAVE SINUS CANCER?!?"

Me: "No. I do not have sinus Cancer. I have an astrological sign, just like you do, and mine is Cancer. Your sign is Capricorn."

Spirit: "oh. Phew."


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REMEMBER TO CHECK IN HERE TOMORROW FOR A FUN GIVEAWAY!

REMINDER!!!

DON'T FORGET to check back in with me on Tuesday -- there is a giveaway a happenin' here!

Raspberry Cream Tarts and a giveaway

These little tarts are cute and fun and a great Spring time dessert. Using tortillas to make these cute, crispy little tarts and then fill them with a yummy cream cheese mixture. The recipe calls to top them with raspberries, but I have also used strawberries for an equally delicious tart!

I just had a thought that would make Pampered Chef proud - I wonder if you could use crescent rolls instead of the tortillas? Hmm, I may have to try that next time!

I know many people are still suffering through cold and snow and I am sorry for that, but where I am we have had great weather lately and I have even started some yard work which got me thinking about these wonderful little treats! {I just got word that we may get some snow tomorrow!}

Raspberry Cream Tarts (makes about 16)
INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 flour tortillas (8 inches)
Warm water
1 package (8 oz) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup fresh raspberries

In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. Cut tortillas with a 3 and a 1/2 inch biscuit cutter; discard tortillas scraps. Brush both sides of tortilla rounds with warm water the spray tops with cooking spray; sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Press into ungreased muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, milk and almond extract; mix well. Spoon into tortilla shells; top with raspberries. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

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THE GIVEAWAY
Be sure to come back here on Tuesday for a really fun giveaway! I am so excited! I can hardly stand to wait...

It is going to be a fun giveaway so be sure to come check it out!

Paying it Forward

This is how it works... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and post about this on your own blog will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what it will be is a big surprise!!


BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (that means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, rush over to your blog, post this and then come back here and leave me a comment! The first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones!


Good luck!

Check out this...

I totally need to win this! Remember my wish list for Christmas? Well, I didn't get a coffee maker so now is my chance to win one!

The SITSa's are hosting this giveaway... go check it out!

Check out this giveaway!

Go check out this cool giveaway at The Pink Potpourri