Christmas in the Fall?

I know I have told you that some days it feels like Christmas around here. Well I am sharing my joy and luck with you again.  This last week I was so happy to see packages arrive for reviews and giveaway for you. 
And those are all things to come.  But I had a few other surprises in the batch.  One was that I had won a giveaway over at Is there a Bathroom on this Ship?    I love all the fun giveaways that are hosted there.  Here are her current giveaways if you want to go and get some goodies for yourself.
* Tropical Traditions Glass and Surface Cleaner (1 winner, ends 10/4/10)
* Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (trade paperback) (3 winners, ends 10/9/10)

* Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (2 winners, ends 10/9/10)
I had won in the Faber Castell- Creativity for Kids giveaway.  So it is now going to be fun around here.  Princess Emma will get to color in the coloring and ARTivity book with triangular color pencils.  And College Girl has already laid claims to the watercolor ecopencils for her design projects in theater.  It is always so nice to have extra art supplies around, don't you agree?  But on top of that I also had such a nice lil personal note from the Public Relations Manager, Lisa Bowdy of Faber-Castell letting me know this was my winning package.  Such nice manners and a personal touch.  She also invited me to check out Creativity for Kids. (Hint...go check it out!)  The have online activities, discounts, craft of the month and featured products each month.

My next snail mail goodie was from the Texas Beef Council.  Remember when I went to the Appetite for Inspiration cooking event this month?  Well they were so kind to send me a thank you note.  Again, manners are so wonderful.  Well that is enough to make me smile.  But she included a H*E*B $25.00 gift card so I could make one of those wonderful meals we were taught.  I think instead I am going to make the Orange Glazed Short Ribs that are on the Texas Beef Councils web site.  It is a crock pot meal and perfect with fall weather hitting.  You may want to pop it on for a Sunday Night Football dinner?
Now for surprise #3!  Yeah, three of them so far.  This last weekend we were at our local fair, the Comanche County Pow Wow.  Well so many companies and organizations have booths set up there.  I bought raffle tickets and picked up freebies of shopping bags and the such.  Well one of the places I entered was with a local Mary Kay lady.  This was something I was happy with.  I wear Mary Kay and did not have a local lady.  As a matter of fact I have been using Jana Leonard online, a fellow blogger at Life with the Leonards.  But, still nice to have local.  Well I now have a delightful lil card from Hitoni Bergmark here.  You see it, another nice note.  I am loving all the manners.  She let me know I won $20.00 of free products.  And a complimentary custom makeover!  I am going to use it one day that I have a hot date with Dear Hubby!  Great gift for me to feel so so so pretty.  I think I am going for the TimeWise® Age-Fighting Moisturizer (normal to oily) for my gift certificate.

This has been an amazing mail call, right?  Well, I am not done!  Nope.  Next still......(see I told you it was Christmas here today!)  I also had a package from Regina from Cottonfield Farm.   She has an adorable etsy shop too!  I had ordered a special necklace for my mom and Regina had gone way out of her way to make it for me.  In the game Hand n' Foot that Granny M is addicted too, a book of 7 sevens is worth 3000 points.  Well I asked for a tile necklace of that winning hand.  Regina did not have enough tiles of 7 cards.  So she went looking til she found more.  She ordered them and made my necklace.  Isn't that really going the extra step?  I also ordered a special necklace for my College Girl.  It is a glass tile necklace of a Morning Glory necklace.  That is our special wake up call.  My mom used it on me and I did the same with my girl.  Now we even have Morning Glories growing in our front flower beds.  It is a tradition for the ladies in our family now. 

The next item in the box was a cute lil purse mirror for me with a retro coffee cup on it.  I loved it!  Just right, coffee and the 50's feel to it too!  Perfect.  Well Regina, being the lady she is, sent me a lil note.  Oh all of this love is too much!  But she was so happy to sent me a second cup of coffee to share with a friend.  Yeah!  She gave me two of these lovely purse mirrors. Wow!  So since she said I could share one....I am going to do just that.  Yeah, I am going to give the second one to one of you!  Just leave me a comment with an email attached.  Tell me something that made you smile today.  Anything that put that warm feeling in your heart.  Or that twinkle in your eye.  And I will pick a winner, SOON!  So hurry....now....yeah, get going and leave me a comment.....I AM LOOKING!

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Welcome's and Tidbits

Hey our friendly family of bloggers.

Image by Martin LaBar via Flickr

I wanted to take the time to introduce three new blogs that have made it on the blogsphere.

So if you get the chance please pop in and say a how-de-do to these new folks.

Jayde's Little Corner
Terzula's World
Hmmm

I also thought I might share some info that has come my way too.

Tidbit #1--Gift Card Granny is the most recent member of The Frugals, which is a family of frugal living sites. Coupon Sherpa, Mr. Free Stuff and Mrs. Sweepstakes are the others. Gift Card Granny serves as the most comprehensive listing of discount gift cards on the Internet. Gift cards are not only ideal to purchase for someone else, but you can save money on everyday items by purchasing them, and then combining them with a coupon code from a website like CouponSherpa.com.

Image by _ES via Flickr

Tibit #2--A new announcement from MedSafe, which has just entered a partnership with D.A.R.E. to help keep our children safe from the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. As part of the partnership, the MedSafe’s cost, which is normally $59.95, has been reduced to $39.95, for a limited time. I did a review of MedSafe not too long ago and was quite please with this product and the safety if ensures.

Tibit #3--I would like to extend to you a special coupon code from Piggy Paint . The code of THANKYOU15L will take 15% off EVERYTHING on the site, including Sale Items that would run through Valentine’s Day 2010 so that all Big & Little Girls can have beautiful and fun Piggies!

Tibit #4--The results are in which means election season is officially over. It’s time to take those campaign signs off the front lawn but instead of throwing them away, why not put them to good use! Disney Family Fun magazine recommends turning those old campaign signs into special birthday signs for your children. Just prime and paint them “Happy Birthday Ryan!” and reposition them in the front yard for a very special birthday surprise. Your kids will love this new tradition and the signs can be repainted and stored for years to come!

Tidbit #5--CouponMap.com is an online resource which allows users to search by zip code, address, geographical landmark or attraction to view a map of local coupons from nearby merchants that are redeemable offline. PricePlease.com is an online shopping resource that conveniently informs consumers about price drops on recent purchases or ‘wish list’ items. SeatCity.com is an online ticket aggregator that allows users to compare ticket prices for concerts, sporting events, theatre productions, cultural events and more.

Dot Com Here They Come

I still feel like most of the stuff online is all greek to me. I am never sure what works with what program. Or how to make your web site work? Mostly I rely on Nessa to help me. Honest.

She does so much to help me with my blog. I have had so much advice on how to set things up. And when she moved over to a dot com site I was just as excited as she was. Of course how she set it up and moved everything is back to that "greek" language to me.

Now there is help online. Well, that is where I find most of my help. You can find information on
web hosting with a click of your mouse. It is so handy to have a site that will lead you on that journey. It gives you a list of free domains, like here on blogger. It also has information on how to make money web hosting. And for those of y'all who are trying to stay "green". There is even "green" web hosting. Honest! These hosts use alternative and renewable energy, plant trees, recycling waste and purchase RECs to power their data centers. That is a great thing to keep in mind.

So when your ready for that big move to a dot com site, then pop over to find your best budget deal or one that will give back to our earth. Let me know so I can show up with all the balloons and food for the party. We will have a great kick off. And if you have trouble just call on Nessa. Remember she is my go to girl for all things internet.

Strong Women Series

I have done 4 post in the last week about some very strong women. I would like to feature them all together today. Why? Well I feel they help incorporate the many facets of the women we all are. How? I will connect the dots.

First I want to highlight Nessa. Her post was called "Just My Opinon on Nessa". She is the mom in so many of us. Caring for hearth and home with the little reserves that come her way. As so many of the moms before us have done. Quietly and with a strong will these moms (Nessa included) have toiled to make a nest for us to grow up in. Where we remember the times of nestling in our mommies laps, the comfort of being tucked in and the reassurance that they will always be there. This is very hard work that so many women do daily with little thanks. I want to tell Nessa, my own mom, you, others and even myself--Thank you for caring for all of us!

Second we see Soojung Cho with "Quiet Art". Here is the beauty and grace that women hold. This that we do by nature and can quicken a man's heart and loins so easily. Soojung conveys that same tranquil quality in her art work. When viewed nature takes us and transports the image into a feeling that can touch our very core. Every woman has this same ability in the arch of her back, the line down her leg or the wisps of hair escaping her carefully done up hair. And while we so often do not notice this in ourselves, others will. Then for that quiet moment they stop and take it in with appreciation. Thank you Soojung for allowing your talent to be shared that we all may have those moments of appreciation for the subtle things.

Next there is the independent woman who conquers the world. In "Quite a Lady" Laura Diaz displays the strength that ladies everywhere draw upon. Laura takes the bull by the horns and goes out to achieve greatness in her life. Should we all take this same trip. Well we do. But in other venues. Rhea of Texas Word Tangle makes light of the quirkiness within each of us. Do we have aliens living with us or are they just our children? Juls herding up "Every Day is a Crazee Day" has pointed out that a successful marriage has more to do with working toward a common goal then just Prince Charming sweeping us off our feet. (Big Daddy we do know your the Prince!) And those amazing ladies, Heather and Tiffany, from SITS shows us every day that we all can make great things happen when we pull together.

Now last, and for a purpose, there is Annie Kelleher of Writers, Witches and Words...Oh My! with "Two Thumbs Up for Silver's Lure". Why last. Well it not due to age for sure even though she claims the title of Grannie Annie. No Annie shares with all of us our spirit. That indestructible thread of love, guidance and purpose that weaves our lives. Annie my own very personal thanks to you. You have made changes in my life by sharing yours. Ladies also hold tight to your own gifts within for a little while. Enough to get the joy out of them too! Then let your spirit fly, spreading your wings, gliding on the wind and DANCING in every twirling circles among those around you.

So I know this has been long. But we are all strong women. We are the moms, artist, independent women and free spirits that make up this community. And there lies the beauty that is share. I wish you a wonderful weekend. Open your doors and let Spring in. Open your hearts and let love flow. And most of all, know that the Awards of life are yours to keep.