Thursday Thirteen

13 Giveaways You Might be Interested In.

1.  Beautiful Pearl Earrings from Hidden Valley Simplicity.  Ends July 10.
2.  A Dozen Cravory Cookies from Mimilovesall8.  Ends July 14.
3.  $50 Frigidaire Gift Code from Leslie Loves Veggies.  Ends July 12.
4.  Cars2 Prize Pack from Saving in Akron.  Ends July 1.
5.  Balloon Time 30 Helium Balloon Kit ($40 value) from The Life of Rylie...& Bryce, too. Ends July 9.
6.  NordicTrac Apparel ($90 value) from Run Reviews. Ends July s0.
7.  $25 Walmart Gift Card and four packs of WhoNu Cookies from Thanks, Mail Carrier.  Ends July 20.
8.  $10 Gift Card to Book Store of Your Choice from When Pen Met Paper.  Ends July 15.
9. $25 Target Gift Card from Amber Page Writes.  Ends July 6.
10. Fandago Movie Tickets from A Year with Mom and Dad.  Ends July 9.
11. Skullcandy Headphones (2 winners) from Two Savvy Sisters.  Ends July 4.
12. Green Tea Plus with natural weight loss supplement from A Frugal Life.  Ends July 4.
13. Glass Food Storage Containers made by Rubbermaid from Mom Vs. the Boys.  Ends July 4.

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Wordless Wednesday

Forgetfulone and 3 Sides of Crazy

Friends in Real Life because of blogging!

Can you guess where we're having lunch?
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Monday Movie Meme

The Bumbles hosts The Monday Movie Meme.

This week's topic - epic battle scenes.

The Patriot (2000) - This is one of my favorite movies EVER!  The final scene when Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) grabs the flag and charges on British troops in the fight for independence may not be completely factual, but it is truly epic.

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) - The battle of good and evil is dramatic as humans and animals take on (and defeat) the Evil White Witch.

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The Gift of Life

15 years ago today, I received the greatest gift of all… my children.

 I gave them life, and they, in turn give me unexplainable joy.

Oh, I admit, they give me fits of exasperation as well. They ARE teenagers, after all.

But I am so grateful for them. They were a gift from God… my little miracles. And I would give anything, including my own life, for their safety and happiness. Happy birthday my darling gifts!

The Sunday Scribblings prompt today was give/gave/gift.

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Camera Critters

Texas Longhorn at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, March, 2011.

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George Foreman Grill - Knock Out the Fat

I love my new George Foreman GRP 4B Next Grilleration Removable Plate Grill. I've never had a George Foreman grill before, but I've always wanted one. My mom has one, and she loves it.

As soon as it arrived, my husband wanted to get it open and use it immediately. He cooked a grilled cheese in it. Cooking takes less time than on the stove since the grill heats on both sides. There is no need to turn your food over to cook. The grilled cheese came out like a panini, and he enjoyed it very much.

I wanted to do hamburgers right away. Cooking on the grill outside is fine, but here in Texas, it is so hot that no one wants to stand over a hot grill. You can get the same effect from the George Foreman grill while enjoying your air conditioning!

The Next Grilleration has a patented slope design that ensures that the meat retains flavor while allowing up to 42% of the fat to drain off. That means your burger has about 89 fewer calories (using 80/20 ground chuck). The fat drips into a tray for easy clean up.

We made three extra-large hamburger patties. Our burgers cooked in about 8 minutes (I will not eat a burger if there is any red inside). We opened the grill and put some cheese on them, and it melted quickly since the patties were hot. They tasted great!

Cleanup was easy as well. I used the included nylon spatula to scrape the plates, then a warm, sponge with a little bit of dishwashing detergent. Then I wiped them with a wet paper towel and dried them. If I had wanted to, I could have removed the nonstick plates and put them in the dishwasher, but cleaning them with the sponge was a breeze.

You can check out George Foreman Cooking on Facebook. Right now there is a burger recipe contest going on. You can go vote for your favorite recipe.

So, do you have a George Foreman grill, and do you love it as much as I do?

This post was written as part of a campaign for Family Review Network and George Foreman Grills who provided the product for review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Wordless Wednesday

Ouch!
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Tackle it Tuesday

My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary, and I wanted to get him a candy bouquet or basket.  I asked my co-worker where a good place would be to buy one, and she asked why I didn't just make it myself?  She is so creative.  But I decided, after looking on the web, that I would give it a try.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought my supplies:  A bucket, foam, craft sticks, florist's sticks, a small balloon, and some shredded filler to conceal the foam.  I got the candy from Walgreens.  In all, I spent about $25.00.

The first thing I did was put the foam in the bucket.  I had to break one of the squares into smaller pieces since the container was round and the foam was square.  I also spray painted the craft sticks gold (we already had the paint) so they would blend in better with the candy.

I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like.  I taped some of the craft sticks together so that I ended up with three different lengths of sticks.   I hot glued the Ghiradeli pieces to the craft sticks and began to put them in the foam.  I should have started with the center and worked my way out, so that was one lesson learned. 

I taped some Lindt dark chocolate candies to the florist's sticks and put them around the outside edges.  I put the shredded filler in, put the balloon in the middle, and I was finished.  It didn't turn out as pretty as the vision in my head, but it was made with lots of love, and my husband really liked it.

Not the best picture in the world, but you get the idea.  And yes, that's a globe and Homer Simpson (my son painted it) in the background.  LOL!

What are you tackling today?  Tackle it Tuesday is hosted at 5 Minutes for Mom.

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Sunday Scrappin'

Here are the birthday cards for my kiddoes.

This week I hope to have time to start sorting through my stash.  I have lots of stuff, but it needs to be organized, and I need to go through it to see what I really do have.  I'd like to make some page kits for myself so I can use what I have before I buy anything else.

What crafty thing are you doing this week?  Come join us at Sunday Scrappin'!

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Keep Your Relationship Fresh

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TwoOfUs for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Chances are, if you’re in a relationship, you’ve experienced peaks and valleys…  you know, times when everything is going great, and times when things are, shall we say, less than perfect.  It’s a normal thing, but not always an easy thing to deal with.

How do you keep your relationship fresh?  Who do you turn to for relationship advice?  Your girlfriends?  They will usually take your side or tell you what you want to hear.  Your family?  Usually not a good idea.  They will never forget anything you tell them that might be less than desirable about your partner, and this could lead to hurt feelings in the future.

My husband and I have explored several ways to keep our marriage fresh including seminars conducted at our church, weekend getaways, and books.  But now we also have a place to go online for tips on keeping your relationship fresh,  It is called Two Of Us and it is sponsored by the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center.

When you first visit the site, you will notice tabs along the top for a variety of categories including “dating,” “exclusive,”  “engaged,” “married,” and “parents.”  For each category, a wide variety of articles, Q & A’s, videos, and podcasts are available.  One of the articles I read under the “parent” category was titled “Being the Best Step-Parent Possible.”  What great advice!  I wish I had read it before I became a step-parent, but it’s still got plenty of information I can use.

I also read an article called “How Stress Affects a Relationship” which had a very common-sense approach to handling tough times in a marriage.  It also included signs to watch for that indicate a marriage might need additional help through classes or counseling. 

One of the videos I watched was an interview with Dr. Rozario Slack and CSI NY actor Hill Harper (who is also a best-selling author) discussing how to throw a “conversation party.” It’s a concept I had never thought about, but made a lot of sense.  We are so immersed in technology in our society, we often forget that face-to-face communication can be so beneficial.

There are also plenty of articles on romance and sex including how to rekindle the flame, romance on a budget, and dating ideas.  There really is something for everyone!  Whether you’ve been dating a few weeks or have been married for many years, Two of Us has something for you!  like them on Facebook to keep up with all the latest relationship news and advice.

What are your most common relationship questions?  I’d love for you to leave a comment here.  Thanks!

Friday Confessional

It's that time again!  Time to get all of your confessions off your chest with Mamarazzi.

Isn't her new button the cutest!?

I confess...

I couldn't find the Apple TV remote control yesterday.  Me!  I'm the "finder" in this household.  My daughter is the one who wanted it, so she and I searched for at least half an hour (which included some crawling around on the floor with a flashlight).  I hurt my shoulder and got a couple of bruises reaching under the couches and in little crevices.  And I couldn't find it.  I gave up.  That is sooo not me!  Imagine my surprise when my husband looked for it for all of two minutes and came out the winner.  That is NOT supposed to happen!

I confess...

I have not been eating right AT ALL this last week.  I also haven't been cooking at home, either.  With the twins about to leave for a week of leadership training then going to visit their dad for 5 weeks the day after they get back, we have been treating them and celebrating their birthday early with different family members.  We went out for steak, Italian food, and some country cookin'.  We've also had chocolate cake in the house which I can't resist!  Sunday begins the road back to healthy eating.

I confess...

I'm a Harry Potter fan!  Yesterday, my daughter and I purchased our tickets for the midnight movie on July 14/15.  We are both so excited!

Come confess with us!

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Organizing the Extra Closet

Oh, the dreaded closet in the extra bedroom, aka my craft room.  It's not a super-large closet, but I have a small bookshelf in there as well as boxes for files, clothes, games, and an assortment of items that have no other home. Not to mention that 11 months of paperwork that needed filing was staked on the floor.

I had to re-do this closet in bits and pieces over the course of a few days.

I started by moving everything from the floor out of the closet.  Then, I did the bookshelf, which I thought was the easiest part.  Next, I went through the clothes.  There were costumes, jackets, clothes my mom had given me, and our daughters' formal dresses.  The costumes and extra clothes from my mom had to go.  The formal dresses and jackets got to stay.

The most dreaded chore was organizing all that paperwork, but I did it!  And I purged a lot of it, too.  Then I had to put the warranties, tax info, bank statements, bills, etc. in their own file boxes and organize the contents of each of the boxes.  I also keep all of my gift wrapping in a box on top of the book case, so I straightened that.  Last, I tried to do something with the items on the shelves at the top of the closet.  There wasn't a whole lot I could do with it, but I tried to straighten things up a bit.

In the end, I think it's a big improvement.  I can find anything I need quickly, and I'm no longer afraid to open that door.

Thanks for visiting my attempt at 52 Weeks of Organizing with I'm an Organizing Junkie.

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Where Do You Go on the Web?

Here are the 13 web sites that you will most often find me.

 

1.  Facebook.  I probably spend more time here than anywhere because I'm addicted to Frontierville.  I know.  It's sad.

2.  Yahoo.  It's where I check my email.

3.  Blogger.  I'm here now.

4.  Google Reader.  Gotta keep up with my favorite blogs.

5.  Goodreads.  I love keeping up with my books, recommendations, reviews.

6.  Our local ABC affiliate.

7.  Our local newspaper.

8.  My favorite talk radio station.

9.  IMDB.  More movie information than you'll ever need.

10. Web MD.  They have great articles.

11. My bank's website.  Gotta check my balance and pay bills.

12. Amazon.  Great place when I want to do some "window shopping."

13. Allrecipes.  This is my favorite cooking/recipe web site.

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Organizing the Bathroom Drawer

I have been organizing a lot around here lately.  This is my bathroom drawer project (makeup, hair clips, nail files, etc.).  I took everything out of the drawer, purged, and tried to put like items with like items in a way that will make it easy for me to use each day and easy to keep neat.

Here's all the stuff I started with.

And here's what it looks like in the drawer now.

This is part of my effort at 52 Weeks of Organizing with I'm an Organizing Junkie as well as Tackle it Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom.

Friday Confessional

It's Friday again.  Time to Confess.

Link up with Mamarazzi and Bare your Soul.

I confess...

I am NOT a morning person.  It's not that I'm grumpy in the morning, and I'm not the kind of person who has to have their coffee before you speak to them.  I don't even drink coffee!  I just don't like mornings. I prefer staying up late, and I would love it if I could sleep till 9 or 10 every day, but the real world won't let me.  Case in point:  It's the first week of summer, and I had to have my daughter at practice at 7AM this week.  I am so tired.

I confess...

Something strange happened Wednesday night.  I was laying in bed alone reading, and I was very drowsy.  Out of nowhere, I heard a female voice say my name.   Adrenaline shot through me, and I was no longer drowsy.  I turned around to see who had called my name thinking maybe it was one of my daughters (but why would they use my name and not "mom"), but no one was there.  You might think I'm crazy, but I swear someone called my name.  Kind of spooky.

And I confess...

I tried to visit as many vlogs as I could this week.  But... here's the confession... I have to admit that when a vlog runs long, I start to lose interest.  In fact, there were some long ones (over 4 minutes) that I didn't watch all the way through.  I'm sorry!  I guess I just have a short attention span.  Or maybe I'm just impatient.  Or both.

Well, there it is.  I put it all out there for everyone.  The good thing about confession is, you get it off your chest, and you're forgiven, right?  I hope so!

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