Conglomeration

I have a number of fairly unrelated things that I wanted to share all at once.

First, my sister-in-law Sarah's sister-in-law (say that five times fast!) is having a giveaway on her blog for a bunch of random fabric scraps along with a yard of their favorite designer fabric.  If you're at all into sewing, you should check it out at their blog Made On Maple!  I know I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  I love pretty fabrics, but don't often get more than what I need for a specific project.  Getting a bunch of random pretty fabrics would be so much fun to play with!

Second, I have a new favorite song:  "Anchor" by Mindy Gledhill.  You MUST listen to it!  It's so lovely.  And easy to sing over and over and over again.  I actually bought the mp3 album just because I love the song so much, and I actually love the whole album!  It's difficult to not feel happy listening to it.  :)  So, really... listen to this song!!!


Third, Jesse realized just a couple days ago that it was officially one year from the day he lost his job out in Maryland.  I could probably write an entire post just on my thoughts about that (a whole year unemployed?!??!!!), but my thoughts on it are generally pretty muddled.  Suffice it to say that we've been very blessed with having unemployment compensation all this time, and that our expenses have been small enough that we've only had to dip into savings a handful of times.  Jesse had to re-apply for unemployment, as our state-funded payments have run out, but we still have up to 31 weeks left of federally-funded unemployment, as long as Congress doesn't opt to get rid of such extended benefits.  Of course, we both sincerely hope that Jesse gets a job long, long, long before those benefits would expire.  One year without a job is far more than enough.  If I'm being completely honest, I need Jesse to get a job just to get him out of the house!!  (Sorry, honey!!)  I love him to death, and I love having him around so much, especially when it comes to errands and juggling kids and doing chores.... but having him around so much for a whole year is a little exhausting.  I just don't function the same when he's around all the time.  My brain and body go into vacation mode (even after all this time!), and it's difficult for me to do things with the kids that I would do if he weren't around, like trips to the playground, or craft time, or even sitting down to read books.  I suppose it might be a glimpse into the life of retirees?  It's awesome having your husband at your disposal almost whenever you want him.  On the other hand, it's not.  He needs a job.  ;)  Plus, I have an unhealthy addiction to browsing realty websites and fantasizing about buying houses.  Maybe if he had a job I could put that fantasizing to practical use!!  Wouldn't that be fun?  Anyway, bottom line is that this job hunting thing has been extremely frustrating.  Since his one-and-only interview months ago, we've heard pretty much squat from every employer he's applied to.  We've got a couple decent leads right now, with personal connections, and he continues to find jobs to apply for.  But the black hole is often very discouraging.  Still, we remain confident that the Lord prompted us to return to Colorado for a good reason.  We'll just continue to hang on as long as we can.

Fourth on the docket:  Wildfires in Colorado.  We've had a very wet winter and spring here this year, but once mid-August hit, we got into a dry spell.  Combined with the hot temperatures, things dried out quickly.  And after all that precipitation, there was a lot of growth with things like grasses and brush.  Translated: Easy tinder is abundant.  We went to the city of Louisville's annual Labor Day Parade on Labor Day last week (and got waaaaay too much candy tossed our way! But it was fun!), and as we left, we looked up, where half of the sky was completely covered in a thick plume of brownish smoke.  We went to the highest hill in Louisville, got out of our car, and looked out at the mountains.  Not only us, but a whole crowd of people.  There was definitely a big wildfire out there.  We later found out that it was in the Fourmile Canyon area, just west of Boulder in the mountains.  It quickly got out of hand with the high winds we had that day, and eventually burned more than 160 homes to the ground.  It is just now, a little over a week later, finally seems pretty much contained, and residents are being let back into the area.  It is the most destructive fire in Colorado history, and happened practically on our doorsteps.  It's been sobering.  A couple of the staff at our elementary school are even affected.


View Boulder Fire Area in a larger map

We had plans to go on a hike that day at Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  The fire was north and slightly west of that point, and the wind was carrying most of the smoke away from the area, so we went ahead with our plans.  Well, it was a vastly more difficult hike than I anticipated, because of the constant rather steep uphill, on top of carrying an approximately 30-lb. Alex on my back. I had to keep reminding myself, "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger!"  I want to get into better shape.  How better to do it than tote around a heavy toddler??  Anyway, this was the first time I had hiked Chautauqua.  It was a beautiful area!  I can see why it's so very popular.  And the kids did great, especially Jacob, who could barely manage a short, flat, easy walk on Memorial Day without complaining that he was going to fall over and die if someone didn't carry him.  He not only kept himself from complaining, but he was running ahead of me, up the steep hill!!  I was very proud of him.  Anyway, here are a few pictures from our hike:

View of the famous Flatirons from Chautauqua Park.  A bit of smoke haze in the foreground.

Isn't this gorgeous??  Melinda, Jacob, and Jesse pose on the trail heading uphill towards the Flatirons.  Melinda and Jacob are carrying American flags they got from the Labor Day Parade.

One of the cool things about mountains in Colorado is all the neat boulders and cracked rocks and mountainsides.  We spotted this little stack of boulders on the way back down, and had to take a picture with them. 

The plume of smoke darkening the sky over Boulder on Labor Day (1st day of burning), just northwest of where we were hiking.

It was more than a little shocking when, on our way to Grandma and Grandpa Newson's house this past Sunday (just less than a week after the Fourmile Fire started), we saw another plume of wildfire smoke to the north.  Turns out it started out in the area about halfway between Estes Park and Loveland.  Someone burned a "slash pile" (branches and other yard waste), and it got out of control.  Honestly, what are people thinking, burning fires outside when the ground is bone dry and there's a wildfire not fully contained right in plain sight??  They're lucky that there were already federal firefighting resources nearby working on the other fire, so they could get a head start on containing that fire.  But they still have a ways to go.  We've been praying for rain and moisture.  And Jesse helped volunteer at a Boulder County emergency resources collection center, accepting and sorting through donations.  Wish we could do more... but hopefully the dry summer is well on it's way out.  For all we know, we could have snow in a few more weeks!

Pay it Forward

Obvious confession time: I've been severely behind in my blogging for months now. I've been putting off this post with the idea that I should catch up with my "real" blogging, first, but I give up. I need to do this. If I eventually manage to catch up with the other stuff, great.... but I'm not going to force this to wait anymore.

Back in March, I accepted a gift from Allyson with the requirement to Pay it Forward. It was an awesome gift - something like 20 beautiful hand-made cards, each as lovely and useful as could be! I've already used a few, and feel so happy sending them out to friends and family. Now, all I have to do, is share something with three more people. It's been a long time coming, huh? (Hello, July... where on earth did you come from?!?)

Please please please comment here and agree to take a gift from me! All you have to do is pay it forward yourself. I don't care if you give away 3 more things to bloggers or to real-life friends, or even if you only give away one thing to one other person. I'll be honest and say that I feel QUITE guilty that it's taken me this long to put up this post, especially when I've had 3 things just hanging around waiting to be given away!

If you win, I either have to be able to mail the item to you, or give it to you in person. So, be prepared to let me have your name and address, if I don't have it already!

I have three beautiful hand-made items from Etsy for you to choose from.

Number 1, a fun and practical palm tree bag, made by Kennedy Grace boutique on Etsy. I'm sorry that I'm not going to drag out my ruler for you, but this bag is as tall as the length of my forearm, a bit wider than that across, and about 2-3 inches deep. Definitely roomy! It's got 4 outside pockets, 2 inside pockets, and a little ribbon loop for attaching things like your keys. The handles are a lightweight bamboo, it's got an attached black ribbon accent, and the bag can stand up on its own. Feels very sturdy and durable, and looks perfect for summertime!! I'm just not much of a purse person, so I'm passing it along. It's brand new and unused.

Number 2, a lovely sea-green and blue paisley diaper and wipes pouch made by Shut the Front Door at Etsy. It has a velcro closure and will definitely fit plenty of diapers and wipes. Love this concept - it makes grabbing a diaper and wipes to throw in your bag such an easy chore! And I personally think the fabric is so stylish. :)



Number 3 is a set of beaded french hook earrings with silver findings by dedesbeads at Etsy. I completely wish I could use these. I ordered a gorgeous beaded necklace several months ago, and the seller was so excited that she ran out and made a free pair of earrings to send to me as a gift. It was so unexpected and thrillnig! But I don't have pierced ears... and I think this is the first time I've ever regeretted it!! I think I'd wear them every day, if I could... they're just such a gorgeous shade of blue. They are even more impressive in person... when I haven't taken a picture with poor lighting at 10pm, that sort of thing. I'm almost certain that there are two swarovski crystals on each earring- they are vibrant, shiny, and match the shape of the swarovski crystals I worked with during jewelry-making fun on vacation in Colorado. :) They're also made with .925 silver, so they'll be good for those of you with sensitive ears!

So all you have to do is comment here, and in about a week's time, I'll randomly choose 3 winners to receive a gift! Go ahead and state your order of preference for a prize in your comment, but if things don't work out automatically, prize winner #1 will get first choice, followed by prize winner #2 getting second choice, etc. And remember - if you win a prize, you need to be prepared to pass a gift on to another person! Your choice of gift type, gift recipient, and method of giving. Just Pay it Forward, simple as that. And feel free to tell other people about this little giveaway! I know I've been blogging so infrequently, that my readership is languishing a little bit. Of course, I'm happy to just give things away to my family, but if you want to make it more fun, I might even throw in one of my recently read books for fun, you know? ;)

Also, just a quick disclaimer: I'm only willing to ship within the continental U.S. With Jesse's job being very likely gone in the near future, I don't want to spend a fortune on shipping.

(Phew! Now I can get along with catch-up blogging guilt free, now that I've finally taken care of this Pay it Forward thing!)

New Etsy Shop Giveaway

My blogging friend Laughadaisy just announced the Grand Opening of her new shop!

Allyson is an awesome gal, and she's put together a shop full of handmade cards, bookmarks, and knitted items. And she's giving away a bunch of stuff right now!!


I'm sure you don't want to miss out. And I sure would love it if you supported her! Go on over and check it out!

Also, keep an eye out here on my blog in the next few days... I've been very very slow about it, but I have a few things I need to give away, also! Not to mention, if I have the time, I'll be posting a bunch of pictures from Colorado and everything. So keep your eyes peeled!

Win a Laptop!

I know.  I haven't had a real post in several weeks.  Maybe even a month?  I'm not sure.  I've lost track, it's been *that* long.  And I should totally do a real blog post.  Instead, I'm going to give you a heads up about an awesome giveaway through one of the blogs I am subscribed to.

Win a laptop, complete with a laptop bag, at MetropolitanMama.net!!
http://metropolitanmama.net/2009/05/mothers-day-giveaway-extravaganza-win-a-laptop/

You have until May 22nd to enter....but I won't hate you if you don't enter, because then my chances of winning would be better!  ;)

But seriously... a laptop would be sooooo nice.

Book & Cocoa Winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated! I knew I was getting a lot of entrants by the number of emails I was reading, but I didn't know the total until this morning. 105! This was a lot of fun. I wish I had a copy of this book to share with everyone, I really do.

However, a single winner had to be selected. Random.org's Random Integer Generator provided me with the number 75. The corresponding comment was Jodi from Michigan! Congratulations, Jodi! You've been sent an email with instructions to get back to me with your mailing address by Sunday evening.

To the rest of you: If for whatever reason, Jodi doesn't get back to me, I will be selecting another winner. But I do hope all of you will read Shannon Hale's "Book of a Thousand Days". I'm sure that you will love it!

Again, thank you for coming by and participating in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I had so much fun, and I hope you all did, too!

Bloggy Carnival: A couple of my favorites

I had a lot of fun earlier this year when I participated in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I won a few prizes. I spent far too much time browsing a thousand new blogs and drooling over fun prizes. So, this time around, I'm participating by hosting a giveaway of my own. Fun fun! I love to give things away!

I realize I'll have a lot of new visitors by participating. Hello! I'm glad you came by, and I hope you're having fun.

I wasn't sure what I might give away, at first. I don't have a ton of time to do something handmade right now. I didn't want to just do a generic gift card or something. But, as it happens, I just got finished reading an absolutely wonderful book - the first to go on my list of absolute favorites in quite a while! And as soon as I put it down, I immediately wanted to tell everyone about it, so they could enjoy it, too! So, it's perfect timing. Why not? I'll give the book away for the carnival!

Item #1, a treat for your heart: Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale
What can I say? I absolutely devoured this book. It was a quick, easy read - it took only about 5 hours to read, with interruptions. But more importantly, it was such a beautiful and magical story.

There are so many reviewers out there who will do it more justice than I can. But I'll try. The book is written in the voice of Dashti, an orphaned mucker who trades her last horse to gain employment. When it is discovered that she has a gift with healing songs, she is taught to be a lady's maid, and to read and write. Just after Dashti swears an oath to serve Lady Saren, she learns that her lady is to be locked in a tower for seven years for refusing to marry the man of her father's choice. Dashti feels something for Lady Saren, and agrees to be locked in the tower along with her.

Book of a Thousand Days is written as Dashti's journal, numbered by the days they began their life in the tower. You would think that perhaps the story of two lone girls locked in a dark tower would be dull and unexciting, but it actually feels rather exciting and magical, as they deal with problems, visitors (friendly and not), and the emotions of isolation. The story follows the two of them through their adventure in the tower, and their adventure out of the tower, once they break free.

This story is based on the Grimm Brother's fairy tale "Maid Maleen", which I have to admit I've never heard of before now. But it truly does read like a fairy tale, with the commoner girl being full of bravery, spirit and honor. Set in an invented land with a medieval Mongolia background, you get a lot of cultural influence into the story, which serves only to absolutely beautify it. The language is simple to read, but absolutely lyrical, almost like music on the page. Dashti is full of hope and faith, wonder of the beauty in the world, as well as profound gratitude at the merest blessings. She is an uplifting, beautiful soul, and you just want to keep reading and never stop. In contrast, Lady Saren sees her life as tragic, and often sulks and cries like a little child. Dashti is overwhelmingly gracious about it the majority of the time, and the contrast between their reactions to their situation further propels the wonder of the book.

As with many fairy tales, there is a wonderful ending. The growth of the character of Lady Saren and her relationship with Dashti, as well as the influence of people who learn to love Dashti's gifts and beautiful soul, help to bring about happy circumstances despite the laws of the culture.

It was simply one of the most magical, beautiful stories I've ever read, and so easy to get caught up in, just flowing from one entry to the next. Dashti even occasionally sketches within her book, which makes it even easier to envision the Asian influences and characters. Dashti's attitude about life is so contagious, and this story is absolutely well worth the read. I don't doubt you'll want to tell someone else about the book as soon as you're finished reading it!

Item #2, a treat for your body: Trader Joe's Natural Mint Cocoa
If you're not familiar with Trader Joe's, let me introduce you! And if you're not near one, I'm so sorry! This is a fun, quirky store full of natural groceries. There is always something to sample. There are always balloons and stickers for the kids. And everything I've ever purchased from Trader Joes is absolutley yummy and to-die-for. The Natural Mint Cocoa is no exception. Here is a partial description of the product:

Our mix has been created using only all natural ingredients, like pure vanilla extract and all natural peppermint oil, so its fresh, inviting flavor will fill your mug with invigorating chocolate warmth morning, noon or night. And it’s as delicious as it is easy to prepare. For a rich, creamy cocoa, simply mix in warmed milk.

The peppermint oil really adds a unique kick to the cocoa. If you find it a bit overpowering, it's easy to mix it half-and-half with another hot cocoa mix for a more subtle effect.

I may or may not throw in some of my favorite classical music along with these things, to make a nice rounded package. A book that will warm your heart, some hot cocoa to relax your body, and music to soothe your mind. I haven't quite made up my mind if I want to spend the extra money on the music or not. At the very least, the winner will definitely get a copy of the book and a container of the mint cocoa.

All you have to do in order to enter the giveaway is leave a comment on this post. No requirements. But I would surely appreciate something a little more fun to read than, "Thanks for the giveaway!". Because I read all my comments, I really do! I get so excited by them! But a couple hundred "Thanks for the giveaway!" comments won't be all that fun for me to wade through. Still... no pressure. But I do enjoy meaningful comments. : ) Extra warm-fuzzy/brownie points if you've been a regular lurker at my blog but have never commented before. I will love you forever if you come out and say hi!

Important notes:

1. When entering, make sure you leave an email address or at least have an email available in your profile. If I can't contact you via email if you win, I'm going to have to pick someone else.
2. Please note that the winner will be selected at random.
3. I'm sorry, but this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents! I can't afford to mail a package out of country.
4. You must be willing to provide your address if you win, so I can send the prize!
   
5. I know at least some of my family reads but doesn't comment. You don't have to have a profile in order to comment. But if you can't figure out how, and want to participate, please feel free to email me and I'll add an entry for you.
6. Contest will officially end on October 31st at midnight! I will be sure to announce and contact the winner on November 1st.
   

Many, many more giveaways can be found all this week back at the Bloggy Carnival!

Book Giveaway

Summer at Summer's Nook is having a book giveaway!

Now, you probably know by now that I just love a giveaway. But I really do only enter giveaways when the item is truly something I'm interested in. And you know from a previous post that I am currently entertaining an obsession with new books. You should also realize by now that my favorite genre is Fantasy. Well, then, it was easy to get excited about this giveaway.

The book up for grabs is called Far World - Water Keep. I've never heard of it or the author (J. Scott Savage) before. But, it's fantasy, and it's Young Adult. I don't need to read YA books, but since I liked Harry Potter (YA), and I liked the Twilight series (also YA), is there any reason I wouldn't like this one, too? I'm always up for an easy, entertaining read - especially when it's set in a fantasy world.

Summer has posted more information about the book, including a Q&A with the author, over at her blog, along with the giveaway. If you're looking for something new to read, check it out here!
http://summersnook.com/2008/09/far-world-water-keep/

bumGenius Diaper Giveaway!

Baby Cheapskate is giving away TWELVE Bum Genius 3.0 cloth diapers!! I had used (and loved) FuzziBunz cloth diapers on Jacob, but I have to say that unfortunately, as much as I loved them, they didn't hold up. The elastic went bad before he had grown out of a single size. The PUL (the lamination that made them leak-proof) deteriorated to the point where you could see that it wasn't going to hold in liquid. And by the time I gave up because he was (well, I thought so at the time) close to potty training, I was regularly changing his pants along with his diapers. But I bought a few bumGenius 3.0's, and I have to tell you, they are obviously more nicely made diapers. I fully believe that they'll hold up as Alex grows bigger. And because they're 1-size, they will fit from infancy through toddlerhood! I was a little skeptical of the 1-size mechanism...I thought it would be too bulky. I was wrong, wrong, wrong!! They're just as trim on the smaller snap settings, and that makes me happy! I'm not a big fan of trying to fit clothes around big bulky diapers.

And no, I'm still not cloth-diapering full time. As much as I'd like to. Personally, I hope that *I* win, because I like these diapers a lot, and I'd be able to go full-time with cloth if I did win, without any extra effort or money spent on my part. BUT, if you've ever thought about cloth diapering, or trying bumGenius, I won't hate you if you enter the contest, too. Because really, I think if more people gave cloth diapering a chance, they'd find out that it's actually pretty fun. And *so* much cuter than disposables! And did I mention the added bonus of not filling up the dumps with piles and piles of throw-away diapers? So if you're interested, head over to enter the contest!

Summer's Bloggy Birthday

If you hung around here a couple months ago, you probably noticed my giveaway that had a whopping two entrants. I was excited to give away some free, fun stuff, and hardly anyone participated (okay, some people had good reasons, but still....). My friend Summer is having a Birthday Bash on Friday the 27th - all day long!!! - and I don't want the same thing to happen to her! She wants a lot of people to come celebrate with her. It's her Blog Anniversary, after all!

So mark your calendars and head over to Summer's Nook on Friday the 27th and get in on a chance to win a lot of fun prizes, mmkay?



And, because she wants plenty of people to come out and play, she's starting the giveaways early: Spread the news of her Birthday Bash by following the directions here, and you could win your choice of $10 to either Amazon.com or Target!

Win it: New Rachel Ray Cookbook

Need more easy, healthy recipes to use with your family? Have young kids that want to be involved in cooking? Need more encouragement and ideas for getting your kids involved? Want some extra ideas for breakfast, lunches and snacks, to break out of your routines? Head over to this giveaway at 5 Minutes for Mom to have a chance to win Rachel Ray's new Yum-O: The Family Cookbook. I know I am!!

And the winner is...

... Jacy!

Boy, do randomizers love Jacy this morning! There were all of two entries, Jacy and Summer. I assigned Jacy to be 1, and Summer to be 2, since that is the order they entered my giveaway. Here are the results:
And just for fun, since it was a 50/50 chance, I tried a couple other random generators. And this is why I say the randomizers love Jacy this morning!

In a random list, Jacy is still the winner.

And in a random coin flip, Jacy heads and Summer tails, Jacy is still the winner!
So congratulations, Jacy, you get a custom phone skin from mytego.com! Just get in contact with me and tell me whether you'll want 1 face or 2 (based on your phone type), and then I'll email you a virtual gift card. And please do share once you pick your skin! I'd love to know what you choose. :)

In two more days...

...My giveaway is ending, whether or not my sister Jacy is the only one to enter!! :) Apparently, I think these phone skins are a lot more fun than the rest of you do! But that's alright. I'm perfectly happy to share it with my sister!

I was talking to my other sister, Melissa, and she asked a question I thought I should clarify for everyone. These phone skins are not something you can just pick up in a Verizon or T-Mobile store. They're not hard clip-on cases or anything like that. They're basically nice flexible stickers, similar to bumper stickers, as well as being durable and waterproof. But they're easily removable and leave no icky residue. They don't void your phone's warranty because they don't make you do anything to your phone (like heating it, or taking pieces off). And if you actually go to myTego.com you can see what in-stock designs they have by picking a phone model and starting the process of designing. There's things to choose from such as pictures, funky designs (like polka dots or colorful line art), artwork, space photos, nature photos, and much more. You can alternatively choose your own pictures to upload and use.

They have a huge range of devices and models that they make skins for. If you think it might be fun to try out, please feel free to enter my giveaway, okay? :)

A Giveaway

Last week there were almost 1,000 Blogs participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival. I hate to admit that I wasted far too much of my time and probably entered around 800 of those giveaways. I actually won 2 items! A code for a free box of personalized Fruit Roll Ups, and a Phillipine Cookbook. It was a lot of fun to participate, and even more exciting to actually win something!

I had thought about hosting my own giveaway during that time for a product I was really excited about, but I held off, because I hadn't actually received it in the mail yet.

But guess what? It came today! And I *love* it! It's a phone skin from mytego.com.
See how cool my phone looks now?

I love it, because now I can tell my phone apart from Jesse's phone. We both upgraded our phones just after Alex was born, and decided to get the same one. And we've been confusing them ever since, since they look exactly the same. We tried using different screensavers on the little mini screen, but once it hasn't been used in a while, it's dark enough that you can't tell which phone is which with a quick glance. So I started hunting for skins I could use for my phone, and ran into mytego.com. I had a lot of fun playing around with the customization of my skin. I ended up using one of their stock designs, instead of using my own images (I thought about putting pictures of my kids on there, or uploading pictures of their artwork, but ultimately decided to go with something "prettier" - and besides, my kids love "Nemo" fishes!!).

Long story short, I had so much fun with it, I want to give one away! So here it is, my very first Blog giveaway. One winner will receive a virtual gift card to mytego.com where they can design a skin of their choice. The amount will be dependent on the item the winner chooses to skin, but it will be either $13 or $21, enough to cover either 1 or 2 faces of a mobile phone, MP3 player, or PDA, as well as the shipping.

All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post! Of course I would very much love a personalized comment, something more than a simple "I want it! Please choose me!", and more along the lines of how cool I am (hehe) and what you think about my blog, especially if you're new here, but it won't be required. ;) You do need to make sure I have contact information for you, however - either leave an email address in your comment, or make sure your profile has your email included in it. This giveaway is open to anyone: My friends, family, or complete strangers, as long as you provide contact information.

The Giveaway will end one week from now, May 5th, Cinco de Mayo! I'll accept comments up through midnight of May 5th, and announce the winner on May 6th. The winner, by the way, will be selected randomly.

Please feel free to spread the word if you want to, with a link back to this post!