Headed to Market.... Take Home a Piece of Guatemala Giveaway

Yay! Today is the day we head to Antigua, Guatemala! I can't wait to see the sights of this colonial town-the architecture is supposed to be gorgeous, and we will be staying Friday through Sunday at one of the local hotels, the Casa Rustica. We've rented out 3 rooms for both nights, so that some of hubby's family could enjoy a mini vacation along with us as well. Most of them have never been in a hotel, so it will be a special treat for them too. If you want to check out Antigua yourself, visit Antigua Daily Photo on the internet, they have some great pics of where I will be heading! (somehow I have visions that hubby will spend most of his time playing pool and drinking beer at the hotel...)

In addition to meeting a couple of friends I've gotten to know over the internet (Genesis over at Expat Mom and Mark at Guateliving) I am hoping to get to the market and shop! Now, I love coupons and getting a bargain, but am just not accustomed to haggling with market vendors quite yet. That is why my mother in law is coming with us :) (see, I knew there was a good reason to take her along. Seriously though, she is very nice and has been great during our visit so far. Plus she cooks good too!)

While I am at the market, I will be picking up a gift or two for my blog readers. I don't know exactly what it will be yet, but it will be some sort of Guatemalan handicraft you can find in the market. So, to be safe I will say it is a surprise! I tend to look for colorful things, so while I'll be stimulating the local economy by buying gifts for family and friends, I will also be looking for a couple of neat things my blog readers might enjoy.

Now I won't be able to bring anything illegal back with me, or stuff that might get confiscated in customs. So no fruit trees lol... and certainly no Guatemalan men (for a couple of single friends who might need a husband lol) but I can bring back a piece of Guatemala to you. Trust me that it will NOT be food. All I need is for someone to get sick and it would be all my fault. Besides, the only food I am bringing back is by request from family...if they get sick, well, they knew the consequences.

To be safe, I will have two winners. Open to US and Canada. Giveaway starts June 25th and ends July 9th at 11:59 PM EST. June 25th would have been my dad's birthday, I can't believe it has been almost 2 years since he has been gone :( Winners will be chosen via Random.org. Winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will need to select another winner. No blog needed to enter, but you must leave a way to contact you in your comment or on your profile.

MANDATORY first entry- tell me something you would buy in the market!

You may also earn extra entries as listed below. Keep in mind that you will need to enter each comment separately, so if it says +5 you need to leave 5 SEPARATE comments.

+1 current blog follower via Google Friend connect
+1 current or new twitter follower (micaela6955)
+1 tweet about giveaway, leave a link to your tweet please! Can do this once daily.
+4 Blog about this giveaway, and leave me a link to your post.
+7 Post this on any giveaway linky and let me know where to find it. (no limit)
+5 Add my button to your sidebar
+2 Subscribe to my feed or follow me in a reader

Good luck-I'm off to go shopping now :)

DISCLAIMER: I received no compensation for this post. I am purchasing souvenirs of my trip, and would like to share them with 2 of my blog readers. The photo above shows a few things I have gotten from Guatemalan markets from hubby in the past. Excuse the dirty floor, lol, with hubby being a floor care person you'd think he would have stripped it and cleaned it good this Spring like usual, but for some reason, stripping the bathroom floor has gone to the bottom of his "honey do" list.