Not even gonna bore you....

with excuses as to why I haven't been around. Been thinking aboutcha, though. And I am also not going to talk about why the last couple of posts on the blog have been about my daughter's both using their anatomically correct verbal skills. Coincidence? Nope. One entry jogged the memory of another. simple.

Now, lots has gone on in the past ohhhhhh 2 months. But, again, not gonna bore you with reasons and excuses as to why I haven't been able to get words on el blogo, you people deserve more.

So...*KABLAM POW* the new year comes around and I'm wanting to get back onto blogging. We also now have much faster internet and I am not so frustrated waiting around for a picture or video to load.

So, I will blog again this year. Not because I have to, but, because I want to.

And, I am reinstating TWT (Thousand Word Thursday) because I loved it.

Be back after these messages from our sponsors..........

Nuttin' Honey

I knew that this would happen. I just didn't think this early on. I have been wanting to blog regularly now, but life hasn't allowed me my guilty pleasure. Argh.

Look at the list I had in my head......

I want to resurrect TWT (thousand word thursdays) cause that was just plain ol' fun, I want to give y'all updates on so many things including mommy dates (apparently I am a whore.....who knew?), more on the road recipes like this one, what ever happened to this job, update on the ol' post baby bod , new foods and fruits that I've tried, how these conversations have gotten a LITTLE better, many many more athena-isms and this one, and one of my favorites...this one.

I also have awards waiting in the wings from some of the coolest bloggy brethren.

Anyhow, I just wanted to touch base and let you know that I intend on coming back here very very soon!!!!!!!!

Sweet 16

I have been so silly busy these days. I know I sort of alluded to it in the previous post, but really, been busy.

How busy have you been??????

Sooooo busy that I am dove tailing erin's blog post about the two girls I heart. How do you like that for la. zee.?

Not just any ol' person's blog.....but the coolest, etsy shop owner in all the land. She is actually cooler than all of the cool stuff in her etsy store....and blog....and tweeter...

she does live in Pittsburg though.......

oh well, it doesn't matter..... ;)

Go and check out her blog, her post and more importantly her art!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blowing Barbie

Ok, well, 35 is well on it's way. Here I am *wishing* that I was a better blogger.

Oooops, shouldn't have told you that. Damn.

Back from Bloggy staycation and "More Consistent Blogger" coming to a theater near you.

Blogging Hiatus

Sorry for the reprieve, but, between busy holiday weekends, my j.o.b., and lack of bloggy mojo, I have been away. I hope all of you are great (we are doing awesomely). I will begin to catch up with my bloggy friends soon and catch y'all up on the BAMS and the girls I heart.

I also want to say that the winner of the super cutey shoes(using random.org and applying the "credits" to each of you accordingly) is ........................

BECCA at Deatons in Hong Kong

Go visit her and tell her how happy you are that she won these great little shoes ;) These shoes will potentially be walking all over hong kong and the coolness that is that city!

Bec, I will be contacting you with the Bugaloo contact information.

Now, back to your regularlly scheduled blogging......

Spring Fling Winner?

"Lucky" Official Video With Colbie Caillat

Hi there everyone!!!!!!! In honor of St. Patrick's day tomorrow, I posted one of my favorite songs as of late!!! And of course this song cleverly ties into the Spring Fling Winner of the 12 glorious pieces of GODiva chocolate box.

I have soooooooooo enjoyed reading all of your comments and I didn't realize how many of you adored chocolate. I wish I had more chocolate to give away. Srsly. The good thing is that now I know that this is a stellar idea for giveaways which will happen often! They are so much fun.

Are you feeling lucky?

After tabulating all of the entries. Putting it in a spreadsheet. Cutting up the papers into little strips. Placing the strips into my cowboy hat (Texan much?). I pulled out our winner. I was going to youtube all of this (like I did the mami skin care post) but quickly realized y'all didn't really give a damn how it was done, just that it was you or wasn't you. Know that this technique was followed by the letter of the law and no animals were harmed during the picking of this winner (now children are a different story).

Without Further Freakin' Ado......

That Godiva Chocolate Box Winner is.......

nikkicrumpet at Blah, Blah, Blah, blog. Please go and find her and let her know you're *happy* for her ;)

No really, now that I have the part time at the joint, I will having many more giveaways for you! I am excited.

Anyhow y'all, thanks for playing and happy blogging!

Thousand Word Thursday (TWT)

First of all...whew. Spring has flung at SITS and I am exhausted. What great fun it was. I am loving all of the new blogs that I have gotten to read and I love that there were so many awesome visitors to mine.

I also wanted to add that I will be choosing (by old school random.org fashion.....you know, putting everyone's names on strips of paper and pulling out of a hat) this Monday (the 16th) to give people an opportunity to enter and to become a lemming.....er...drink the kool aid....er....follow :)

Task at hand...TWT. This is something I came up with to , well, entertain myself really. It is a game where you tell me what the subjects were thinking or saying.

Examples are here, here, here and here. It is my favorite day of the week.

Have fun :) I know I will.

Spring Fling!!!!

The sits girls are at it again with their awesomeness. If you don't know who the sits girls are shame on you. Srsly.

This time they have gotten all interactive and stuff. Not only are they giving away a prize every hour!!!!! but, they have encouraged and linked up members to do the same!!! So what that means is that if you check out all of the links posted on their site, chances are you'll win something or at least be introduced to some stellar blogs. And yes, the girls I heart will be neglected today. All in the name of giveways :)

What is my contribution you ask?????????????

My giveaway (as supermommy called it) is a godiva truffles box (this one..the 12 piecer). Yep, you read right...GODiva. Oh and to my avid readers....yes, I got the part time job. Yay for me :)

Back to the task at hand, How do you get a chance to win you ask?????????

Leave Comment, 1 entry
Follow this blog, 3 entries

Easy Peasy.

Have fun and I hope you enjoy all of the possible winnings and all of the new blogs.

Hip Hip Hooray for SITS.

And the winner of the giveaway is.........

Well, I would be telling you right now except I am busy putting all of the names in an excel spreadsheet (actually Michael is) and then I will be cutting them and putting them into a "hat" and then picking the winner of the MaMi Skincare set!!!!!!!!! Yes, I know, very scientific. Only the best for my bloggy audience.

I have now just decided to video myself picking the names...I thought it would be fun and interactive. Well, at least from my end.

Here goes....

Secret Ornament Swap...no not the new Fox Show

Julie at Abbily Ever After had an idea for a blogger secret ornamnet swap....I was all over that.
I love surprises (giving and getting). I cannot wait to show you what I recieved from MY secret blogger....

Doesn't this look exactly like the girls I heart?

Doesn't his look like moi? (yes, I rented "buns of steel" from the library)

Doesn't this look like what we don't get here in Houston? Thank God! btw, it is an irredescent glass ornament filled with snow).

Finally, isn't this the sweetest letter written by a fellow awesome blogger ;)

Kristen at Our Army Life was a great secret ornament swapper. She put a lot of thought into her gift and I really appreciate it. It brought a smile to my face to open up the box yesterday. They are very pretty and the penguins really do resemble the girls! Thank you very much, and I will hang these ornaments up as sooon as I get a tree this weekend!

Thanks Julie for initiating the swap and thank you so much Kristen for participating...this was a lot of fun!

"Where there's a will, there an A"

Remember that infomercial?

Anyhow, it is time to play a game. My blog bud Aubrey at Fam Five tagged me to play this game (actually I think I volunteered) along with her. RULES-She randomly assigns me one of the magnificient 26 letters of the alphabet and I have to then post TEN of my favorite things/words that start with that letter. I was secretly hoping for an X or Q so I could use my grey matter but then I realized that I don't really favor Quills, Quolls, or Quails, or Xrays, Xanax (wait....), or Xavier for that matter so then I sighed relief when I recieved the Flagship letter A!!!!!!!!!!

Here goes....

1. alive, being it is pretty nice ;)
2. attraction to Michael
3. affability (am I making up words)
4. aspirations
5. areolas, mine, glad to have them back after nursing
6. awesomeness (who doesn't?)
7. A1 sauce
8. amazon.com
9. Athena
10. Another perfect daughter :)

If you want to play let me know and I will assign you a letter too!!!!!!!

Merry SITSmas

That's right, the reason for the season...of blogging and commenting that is. These girls out at Secret is in the Sauce are doing it again! They are having a give away every. freakin'. hour. today. I have carpal tunnel just from going onto their site so much today (shhhhh, don't tell the bacon maker that I have done nothing else today).

They have awesome and cool sponsors that are helping a sitsta out ;)

My 100th post

So much anxiety has built up on my hundredth post that I think this might just be it. Writing about my feelings about my 100th post. Sorry if you were hoping for a meme, or a giveaway (we already have one of those), or something to that extent.

All over the blogosphere 100th posts are celebrated, revered, marked as special. All I can say about it is that I can't believe that I have written 100 entries about......? BUT I do plan on writing about......? a lot more.

Thanks for reading, I love sharing. I love your comments and the way that all of you share too. I do hope however that someone (not me or anyone I know) will invent a way to print out blogs or be able to make them into hard copies or something so that when I am old(er) and gray(er) I can keep it. My old arse gets anxious thinking that one day (since everyone is blogging) that the computers will come crashing and my online journal so to speak will go down with it. I guess anxiety is the word of the day...the day of my 100th post ;)

Whew. Glad that's over.

MaMi Skincare GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!

First off I would like to say that this is my blog and I use it for what I want and how I want to :)

One of my very good friends, Lee, is launching her new website and business TODAY!!!! When I first heard that she and her husband were going to attempt to go into the skincare business I was excited . I knew how smart, savvy, and selective they were. I listened with open ears. After 1.5 years of research, product testing, website development, focus groups, etc. etc. etc........

MaMi Skincare is open for business! I have used the products and LOVE them and that is all I will use now. I absolutely love the way they make my skin look and feel, who the company represents, and how they operate. I am ecstatic about this and hope you visit their website and take a look for yourself.

In her own words......

With me being a new mom, we developed our business around mom’s unique skin care needs. Thanks to all my mom friends who contributed their thoughts and opinions via the surveys and focus groups - your feedback helped shape our core values.

~We wanted to use natural ingredients that are effective for achieving healthy, youthful looking skin without any harmful additives.
~We wanted concentrated, active ingredients without fillers
~We wanted a simple line with easy application to respect mom’s lack of time and sometimes even lack of hands
~We wanted an environmentally-conscious company that used containers that are recyclable

Our companies’ philosophy is firmly grounded in a belief that purity is essential to our skin’s health. Just as clean air, water and natural nutrition optimize the health of your whole body, your skin thrives on pure natural elements to nourish it inside and out. With this in mind, we created a completely safe and natural line of products that are paraben-free and toxin-free. We did extensive ingredient research and eliminated any ingredients that had potential negative side effects. To make sure our products were both safe AND effective, we partnered with the skin care company my Dad helps to operate, that produces skin care for dermatolists, spas, and beauty experts.

To Mark The Occasion.....

If you go to MaMi Skincare, you can get a 20% discount off our regular pricing when you purchase before December 31 2008. Just enter “Mamilaunch” as the special offer/discount coupon code.

*****Most importantly*****What is a Blog Post without a giveaway????????? That is right, I am giving away a Cleanser and Moisturizer Set to the lucky winner. The only rules to the giveaway is to

1. comment on here for 1 entry,

2.go to the website, browse around and choose your favorite product...come back here and tell us about it, 2 entries.

3. a link back to here on your blog gets you 3 entries, and

4. if you visit MaMi Skincare and buy something I will give you 5 entries.

I will do the random drawing on Dec 15th (just in time for the holidays). I can have these AWESOME products delivered to you or you can have them sent to someone as a gift!!!!!!

Good Luck!

Get This...

I wake up this morning and go to my inbox and I see One. Hundred. and TwentySeven emails. I was like "wuh"? I had to look again and then I thought....ugh, I hate "reply to all" replies. Here I'll have to go sifting through "yeah" and "sure I'll be there", or "Johnny has the flu, won't be able to make the zoo". I soon realized that it was not that at all...but comments on the ol' blog.

Could this be true, could I be the featured blogger for Nov 4th...Election Day no less? Yes....I WAS!!! How freakin' fun. I have to let you in on a little secret though. My children (y' know, the two that I heart) yeah (in office space boss voice), neglected. Completely. I have gotten carpal tunnel just reading all of the great blog comment love. Refresh, refresh, refresh. Oh how fun!

I am so sorry I didn't get a chance to clean up, get coffee brewing or go to the grocery store and get snacks for y'all. Feel free to mosey about and peruse the only creative outlet I have, besides raising two exceptional rays of sunshine.

Hope you enjoyed a sliver of our little life. I love SITS and enjoy reading other's blogs very very much.

*See* y'all around :)

PDA

Nope, not that kind.

Nope, not the computer kind either.

I am talking about the old school, personal desktop assistant. I have one now courtesy of Michael's job (a little white collar crime never hurt anyone). I am so happy with it. I was actually really stoked to put it up. Michael asked me to please not put it up in the house. I guess I have to agree, it is really ugly, white and looks like the plain ones they give you at your office for your desk. I am so thrilled with it though.

I like to SEE what my day/week/month has lying in store for me. I have tried the leather bound calendars, the dollar store jobbies, the computer ones, microsoft outlook, all of them and I don't seem to get organized. I always seem to be missing some activity, event, birthday, deadline etc.

I actually dream of a big board with dry erase markers where I can put all of our names (think car dealership or nurses station) and what we got going on for the week. It is difficult to manage a household and the appts, birthdays, anniversaries, parties, playgroups etc. With this new calendar I can feel the organization and timeliness oozing out of me. Yay.

Now what was on my agenda for today? Oh yeah, "BLOGGING"- check

The Blogathon

When I started blogging a mere 4 months ago, there was nary a commenter on my blog. I just thought that the blog was supposed to be for family and friends to get a "birdeye" view of my little life. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, blogs are everybody's business and everybody wants it that way :) I got on to The Secret is in the Sauce and voila I had the vessel in which to visit others blogs (people who wanted perfect strangers to laugh, cry, chuckle, grimace along with them) and vice versa. This site is a group of bloggers who show comment love. The idea brilliant, the membership growing, and the blogs delightful. I have found many of my morning reads here and have visited blogs on days when I was just destined to see what this person wrote about or a comment that someone left.

As part of the blogathon, we are supposed to link 5 bloggers to this post. I have many many blogs that I enjoy immensely. I could only pick 5.

In no particular order.....1, .....love maegan, this is a girl who lives far away from me geographically and her daily life couldn't be more different. She lives in LA and comments on fashion and her dogs and her life working at an art gallery. She rocks. Met her through SITS or an indirect meeting.

2.Happy Meals and Happy Hour, comical, quick witted and on the proverbial ball. Anyone who references the movie "The Jerk" can be my friend. I truly enjoy her posts and she doesn't even know me. Incredible this blogosphere.

3.Kathmandu Mom, no really, she lives there. The stories of her urban life left for this colorful, foreign, beautiful, sad town is awesome. I enjoy her pictures and the comparisons she makes between life in the states and in Kathmandu. Too cool. Would never had found her had it not been for SITS.

4.SuperMommy, just met her and I already know I am going to love her. Has three boys and has a great blog with bad assed graphics! Yep, met her through SITS.

5. And lastly, gourmet mom, fun ideas and family friendly recipes and crafts. I have yet to do one of them, but I still like to read them ;)

I love checking in on the SITS girls and seeing what they have cooked up for the day. I also love to look at the links they have on their blogroll. Overall, it has been a wonderful experience thusfar. Continued success SITS!!!!!!!!!!.

Build it and they will come......

Just a quick message to let you all know that I have installed the "followers" section so that you can keep current on the BAMS (even though M stories seem to be scarce....I'll have to fix that) and the such.

Just press on "follow this blog" on the left and you will be privy to when I write a new entry (I know you are all waiting on baited breath as it is). By signing up, you will get coupons in the mail and have the opportunity for early blogger shopping days. Free shipping and gift wrapping for followers too.

Don't wait, Join now.........

So behind, I don't even know where to start.

I haven't really blogged since before the hurricane and I don't know where to start. Do I bore you with my little house on the prairie days back at the ranch (after Ike), or do I tell you about our trip to NC to visit the grandparents, neither, both?

We'll see, I'll surprise you. I am not fully back. I feel like I have taken a vacation day from work and I need to go to the office to pick up something I forgot (in my shorts and tee shirt).

I think I am going to catch myself up in your lives first.

Ok, see you soon,

I would like to thank all of the little people ;)

I received a bloggy award this morning! I was thrilled to receive it from Betty at http://emptynesters3.blogspot.com/ !!!! I told you I didn't know how to link. I am honored and you have no idea how much I enjoy blogging. I love the blogosphere and all of its inhabitants. Being a blogger and a bloggee provides me with a creative outlet and a way to learn about so many different people with similar and dissimilar lives :)

With this award comes responsibility though....


And these are the official blog award rules:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate up to 6 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

I would like to give an award to *drumroll please*

1.Gerry @ http://www.gerry-jillian.blogspot.com/ -for being so good about posting pictures and stories about JGG!

2.Katy @ http://anothermommieblog.blogspot.com/ -for getting me excited about blogging, and for being another sassafras mom ;), also for commenting back ;)

3.Maegan @ http://www.lovemaegan.com/ -for living in LA and not being another mommie blogger ;)

4.Nancy @ http://montrealaise-en-californie.blogspot.com/ -for being a decoratin' fool, and always making me think when you post about redo'ing this or that.

5.Carrie @ http://oikology101.blogspot.com/ -for being a funny, smart, witty, newest addition to my blogroll.

6. Shannon @ http://shannonlittrellphoto.blogspot.com/ -for being a bad assed photog and for always being plentiful with comment love.

Someone please tell me how to link :S