A Giveaway! The Flu has Flown and Spring has Sprung!

So I had these great plans to share a couple of adventures but was swiftly sidelined almost died from the flu. That wasn't official, and I am pretty sure there wasn't an eulogy in the works, just a description of how it felt. Man, it was brutal.  It is making it's way through the family as we speak, or I may just have someone playing hooky claiming a sore throat.   It has just been a rough couple of months, we had harsh weather here, and multiple issues with my youngest, and I just couldn't be happier to see beautiful weather 2-3 days in a row.  Sure enough I looked up this morning and the trees are budding!  

 Today is just optimal weather.  Started off little foggy and 57 this am and is  expected to be around 75 today and mostly sunny.  For those in colder climates never fear, spring *IS* really on the way.   I bring you promises of spring and summer to come.  Of swinging on wood swing sets,  drinking lemonade, games of tag played out on fresh cut grass, and wonderful memories with family and friends.

So, to celebrate the little buds that appeared on my tree this am,  I am hosting a giveaway, compliments of CSN Stores for a gift certificate for 35.00.  ( disclaimer: I was offered a chance to do a review or host a giveaway, and giveaways are just  so much more fun. So at their request, please mosey on over to the link listed above and check out their wonderful selections of swing sets.  Having a newly turned 15 year old who's habit is growing out of clothes before I can finish checking out is prohibitive to my giveaway budget, I hope you understand.)

So, just like before,  or otherwise known as, since i am still under the effects of cold medicine and there is no telling what I would /could come up with,  I reserve the right to copy and paste from my last contest.

If you are not aware of CSN STORES, you are missing out they are a great website with a collection of over 200 stores - from swing sets to .... umm.... umm.... OK people, they seriously have everything! Take a look. Cold medicine + me = thrilling writing?not so much.

So as you peruse CSN Stores you will see there are some wonderful items and one lucky reader will receive a 35.00gift card to spend there.


How to enter: There are five chances to win listed below. For each method you use please include the method in each entry. For example: Bonnie - I tweeted about it - include the link.


Just leave a comment on this blog with the item you would most like by Friday, March 11Th pm at midnight. Don't forget to include your email address. This is good for one entry.

Follow my blog - for one more entry- don't forget to leave a comment if you do. " hey, I followed" is fine.

Post about this giveaway and link back to it- one entry -leave a comment with the link to your blog.

Facebook or Tweet about this contest- worth one entry each - hey if you do both you get 2 additional entries - leave a comment after doing so for the additional entry into the contest.

That is an opportunity to enter up to five times! Don't forget to include your email in your entry- if I can contact you through your blog that is fine. This contest is open until Friday, March 11, 2011 to the residents of the US and Canada.

Note the gray share button below to make it easier for everyone- good luck everyone !

Well....

I  have been meaning to post, I really have.  I have had a sick kiddo since Christmas and  in the month following  we made 4 trips to the er - two from the camp he attended out of town the week between Christmas and New Years and he was hospitalized once.... so  I have been a little busy with doctors appointments and tests and scans and etc. He had a GI scope which was a party mostly due to the anesthesia - let me tell you.  I will post on that later.  I will just say I am so glad I wasn't alone with the boy in recovery.  For all intents and purposes he is 6'5 and wasn't too intent on staying in the bed, but couldn't master sitting up straight or anything else for awhile.

We had the " ice storm " here in the Houston area, which didn't materialize quite the way it was prophesied by the Meteorologist. We had another round of cold weather aka ARTIC BLAST - but picture those words the way they are displayed on TV  in  ALL CAPS complete  ith icicles hanging off of them  - that presents  a much more dramatic effect.  Cause All CAPS ice blue lettering just doent give the full effect of the impending doom that is the ARTIC WINDS set to invade Texas and prettymuch end all life as we know it...   At 2pm yesterday,  it was 24 degrees according to my vehicle, which is pretty smart. We were without power from 3pm until after 8pm? I am not exactly sure when power was restored.  Cold, dark and hungry, I decided to hibernate and I slept thru the return of  glorious electricity.  When I got up this am  it was 24 degrees with windchill feeling like 15 degrees.  I have a friend in the Netherlands and it is warmer there ...  it is suppose to get into the 40's today.  I just checked  at noaa.gov.  The high is suppose to be 42, this afternoon and tonight 21. Humm, means probably no power this evening due to the agency in charge of buying power for Texas.

South East Texas is just not suppose to be that cold y'all...

Maybe if I have power  later I will post about The almost fire at  The Walmarts later.

 it will be worth a return trip, I promise.

 

Cooking experiment underway

I have a bottle of hot wing sauce.  It is not being used on chicken wings.  I am so unpredictable like that y'all.  Actually, I am predictable.  It just makes me feel a little better to say that.

There is a turkey in my oven right now, thoroughly coated in butter getting his tan on.  Um mm-hum.  Just waiting to be smothered in orang-ey hot wing sauce goodness. 

Mmmmm!

A Mid Winters Night Dream....

I wake up with remembering something my dad told me once.  

if you spell S O C K S  it has  meaning in Spanish.   I ask, what does it mean...?   He tells me to ask my  Spanish teacher...   She said It didn't mean anything. 

So after waking up to the memory I take to Google.
I find  it isnt literally translated but it means something like :

 

Eso si que es means "That's what it is"

 

There is a old joke I found online.

A Spanish-speaker with no knowledge of English goes into a clothing store. He looks like he needs help so a lady who's working goes up and asks if she can help him with anything. He says "No English" but the nice lady wants to help him anyways, so she leads him to the mens' clothing section. Holds up a shirt and asks if it's what he needs. "No, eso no. Necesito calcetines." he says trying to explain with gestures. She brings him to the trousers. "Is this what you need?" "No, eso no. Calcetines." he repeats again trying to gesture better so she will understand. Finally, the lady thinks she's got it. She leads him to the socks. "Socks? S - O - C - K - S? Is *this* what you need?" And the man happily replies, "¡Eso sí que es!"

Come on down..

hey , just thought I would share this with you.  there is a giveaway at Fiddledeedee  courtesy of Blogher and Welches.  visit her blog.

Cooking Canuck is also hosting the same giveaway - stop by.

BooMamas post about Welchs can be found here

Stop by and visit  Home to Three Duncan Boys  and enter

This Womans Work has a chance to enter also!

Home Grown Reviews are also participating

Slip over to Six in the City for another entry or Cheaper than Therapy to enter also and read how they combine Christmans and Hannukah

You can enter at Super Healty Kids  and also over at  My Happy Crazy Life - there are some funny comments here.

LoraLees Looney Tunes has another chance to enter along with a great idea of how to celebrate.

Good luck!

Deal on Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanillas at One Kings Lane

Just saw this vanilla posted on   The Pioneer Woman  and it comes highly reccomended.  I was just looking on  One Kings Lane today and they have this set for  22.00 plus shipping.  The Good news is that if you signed up a month or so ago with someones link, like I did, they were offering a $15.00 credit, which makes this awesome set  $14.95 shipped. 

They may still be offering that special,- I tried it today and it appears to be working, but try at your own risk. If you use my referral, I would receive a 25.00 credit after your first purchase, and you will have the same opportunity. If interested, here is the link.  If not you can find this set at onekingslane.com for 22.00. The orders dont ship for a couple of weeks, so it should arrive the middle of December and I can't wait to use it.