I KNEW I forgot to do something! Winner Announcement

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Timestamp: 2009-05-01 01:44:52 UTC

Better late than never! I used random to pick just now... and it chose lucky #2 who is Michele! (hmmm...love the way she spells her name!)

I just cannot believe that I forgot to do this, what the heck is up with that? But I guess it happens to the best of us, so I am sure plenty of you can relate! So, Michele big congrats-- I am off to contact you now and hopefully doing another giveaway very soon!

Swine Flu in my County/State!

Well, I guess my paranoia in buying face masks at Home Depot paid off. 3 confirmed cases in my state this afternoon... all 3 are adults and two are in my own county. No city has been revealed-hoping it will be soon. Stay well folks! Because this flu virus doesn't have a vaccine yet it is quite worrisome. And who wants the flu? Certainly not me! Now just waiting to see if it has spread to the kids-schools might be closed soon if there are more cases. Luckily hubby works nights, I am home on layoff and don't need to make arrangements! Sending positive thoughts out to all of you during these next few weeks!

Time out for the Circus...

I took some time off from blogging and the internet to enjoy the great week of weather we have had here in Central Maine. And also to go to the circus with Deja and Jose... we went on Saturday and had lots of fun. Deja had never been to a circus, so she was pretty excited to see the lion and tigers. And of course I had to send daddy down for a closer pic...

I wanted to get in the reserved seating section, where the photos would have been much better. But once Jose saw tigers and a lion he stated that there was no way he was sitting that close to the floor. I asked why, and he said all he could think of was if one of them got loose. So he proceeded to lead us up to the second level---near an exit door mind you. Normally, that would be me that would be the paranoid one-but he wasn't having anything to do with those big cats. So then, I sent him down to take a better photo of them in their cages waiting for their turn in the ring. Nothing like a little torture to make him really uneasy, huh? He was not very happy with me, but did get a few photos to shut me up. Until the lion started roaring of course, then he walked-quickly-up the stairs, handed me the camera, and started eating his cotton candy while nervously eyeing those cages.

The circus was lots of fun and I have spent the last few days playing Bejeweled 2 on the PC. Checking emails once in awhile, but taking some time off for relaxation. (When actually, I should be cleaning the house.) Oh, and of course buying N95 face masks at Home Depot (enough to outfit my entire street) after watching about this Swine flu scare. See, now THAT was ME being paranoid! But it was easily justified, hubby got a fix up car that he will be repainting, so those masks will be used to keep out those fumes and of course I can use them with my dust and dander allergies (and FOUR cats!) and pollen allergies. It was kind of funny to see the clerk at Home Depot looking at our purchases-- $135 of face masks, and seeing my Hispanic husband and putting two and two together. I bet she went and washed her hands and sanitized the register after we left...lol. But seriously, this flu is very scary and I do hope for everyone's sake it doesn't get worse.

I am headed to bed-my waterbed is beckoning and tomorrow morning will sure come early when I have to wake up my son for school. Pleasant dreams everyone!

Giveaway-Handmade Earrings

GIVEAWAY OVER!

Back in February, I went to the Chocolate Festival and got some yummy fudge, and earrings! They had a vendor there selling some pretty handmade earrings-they weren't super expensive either-so I ended up buying SEVERAL pairs. Now, they are not gold filled or sterling silver but look good just the same. Since I am partial to BLUE, I ended up getting lots of blue ones-and I would like to share with my readers. Up for grabs is the pair above, perfect for an evening out, or even to wear with jeans...

I would have posted this earlier, but I had two hungry children begging for food and I needed to go grocery shopping first, so the giveaway had to wait! Below please find the specifics:

Giveaway starts today, Tuesday April 14th and ends at 11:59 pm EST Tuesday, April 21st. Please leave email in your profile or in your comment so I can reach you. Because the item is light, I can ship internationally-so open to ALL.

I am going to make this one super easy-just leave ONE comment, telling me your favorite color or colors.

Mine are blue and pink, the shades I love the most are fuschia/hot pink and turquoise... I had tons of clothes in those colors in the 80's!

Because everyone is leaving one comment, everyone has an equal chance of winning this one! Good luck!

What is with SciFi Channel Ads nowadays?!!

Ok, this is a slight vent here. First, I want to say I LOVE the SciFi channel. The programming is right up my alley, and I love their original movies.

However, lately I have heard more and more ads for Extenze, Enzyte and OnlineBootyCall.com during daytime hours as well as early evening when my daughter is still watching. Now I am no prude, and if they want to advertise these products later in the evening and into the early mornings when adults are watching, that is fine. I realize they have to have paid advertisers in order to continue their programming that I so enjoy.

But how the heck do you explain what "natural male enhancement" is to a 7 year old? And when she asks about "Smilin' Bob" in the Enzyte commercials and why is he so happy what the heck do I say? First it was just Bob, now it is the other couple who go on about how he can perform better, has increased size and how it just "might be fun" with the happy wife agreeing profusely. Um, what do I tell Deja is getting bigger? Obviously seeing the smiling happy wife she has figured out that it isn't the size of his nose (a la Pinocchio) although the wife would probably be happy with that as well, for other obvious reasons, lol. I just about choked on my pizza this past weekend when she asked if I was going to get a happy pill for daddy. She seems to figure that if he's grumpy he can take one of these pills and become a "Smilin' Bob". (and that would make mommy happy too-just like the commercial)

Now, we have OnlineBootyCall where the poor sap who is on an eHarmony date has a somewhat prudish woman asking about his core values while genuinely trying to get to know him, and another dude in the same bar who has some skanky looking woman all over him. Guess who keeps the guy? What is that telling my daughter anyways? That if she would just skip the talk, make out, she gets the guy instead of attempting to really try to get to know someone? I am not prudish, nor as open as some-but I respect their values and let them live their own lives the way they want to. I have had friends who are virgins or abstinent and others that sleep with multiple partners daily. I myself am not an angel by any means-as many of my close friends can vouch for- but kids form opinions early, and TV DOES influence them. What I really want to know is: If the SciFi channel can edit the swear words in movies for showing on TV, why can't they keep their adult ads on during adult times when kids are not likely to be watching?

Getting Ready for Fun in the Kitchen

Awhile back I had ordered some Pampered Chef goodies from a girl who works with me. I was amazed at the tons of stuff they had, but knowing layoff was just around the corner, I decided to get some gadgets that would make life in the kitchen much easier.

First, I got the can strainer. I'd had ones I had gotten from the dollar stores, but this one is made so much better! It is a nice hard plastic, and the holes are just the right size to drain the juice or water from your canned fruits and veggies. The ones at the dollar stores tend to be a very lightweight plastic, and hole size can vary-either too small or too big has usually been the case for me.
Next, I got hubby the avocado peeler. He is a big avocado eater, and this is a very well made and durable peeler.
I wanted to get adventurous, and decided on the Cut N Seal. I figured I could make sandwiches for the kiddos sans crust, pastries or even venture into homemade pupusa type sandwiches. Pupusas are basically masa formed into tortillas with something in the middle-cheese, bacon, a combination of both-and they are yummy. There usually is a red salsa and cabbage topping as well... We usually have to travel about 80 miles or so each way to hit up the favorite Salvadoran restaurant called Tu Casa in Portland for them, so I am willing to try to make my own! Granted, the Cut N Seal is quite a bit smaller than pupusas usually are, but I am thinking of making the mini type as appetizers.
Finally, I decided on Mix N Chop, a handy tool when you are cooking taco meat and need to chop up the hamburger but also have to mix the seasonings and other ingredients you are cooking with it. This will get lots of use in my house for sure, since we love Tacos!

Finally, I got a huge package in the mail today and was pleased to see that it was a blog win from Whole Foods! SXSW Austin 360 had a really cool party for food bloggers back in March, and one of the sponsors, Whole Foods decided to give away one of their swag bags on their blog! When we lived close to Providence, I loved going to Whole Foods. The store was clean, well lit and I was able to educate myself about health and proper nutrition by checking out their many informational folders, trying out new recipes, and talking to store personnel. The closest store to me is in Portland, about 70-80 miles away, and I get down there once every couple of months. Getting this package in the mail will definitely tide me over until I get to Providence on May 16th, lol! I usually have to head south to get the ethnic ingredients I want, or specialty foods that I need to cook hubby his fave Guatemalan dishes. With 2 freezers in the basement I stock up on Carne para Asar (meat to BBQ)and many other specialty cuts that we don't have around here, because we don't have the large Hispanic community like other places.

Back to the package-there was of course some info and pamphlets to read about the event, a nice Tee which hubby claimed immediately, a reuseable bag and wine cooler bag, a travel size and regular size lotion, sea salt pita chips, CHOCOLATE (need I say more?), a lemonade tea, caramels, and OMIGOD the most delicious pralines I have ever tasted! I can confess between hubby and I half the can is already gone. I had to seriously control myself with these, and I am getting visions of french vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and these pralines on top of my homemade sundae! I want to send Winnie at Whole Foods Market a big thank you for such an awesome package! I am going to try everything, and I will have my grocery list ready when I go shopping next month at Whole Foods in RI. For those that have a Whole Foods Market near you, you are lucky. I am a bargain shopper, and by saving money on some things with coupons, refunds and rebates I am able to splurge and get some great stuff at Whole Foods while staying pretty much in the same budget, so it all works out well for us. Go check out the website http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ or the blog http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/ there are some great recipes and many interesting articles-I know I have learned a lot from their sites, and I can tell that helping consumers stay healthy, providing good nutrition and protecting our environment are all top priorities at Whole Foods Market. Thanks Whole Foods for such a great package and for showing us that you care!

Win a Years worth of Fiji Water-Hurry!

In my quest to better health, I have pledged to drink more water. And what couldn't be better than winning a year's worth of Fiji water delivered directly to your home?!

Over at An Apple A Day, that is exactly what they are giving away-a case a month, for a total of 12 cases of wonderful Fiji water! But you need to hurry to get those entries in-it ends on the 22nd! Good luck!

http://blueskyworld.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/air-water-life-giveaway/