Winner of Movie Cash

Ooopsie! I am a bit late in posting the winner of the movie cash contest. I had only two people enter, but with 7 comments I still put them in a bowl and picked. The winner is Hot chica In Me!! Congratulations! Please email me your address so I can get your movie cash on the way!!!

Free Movie Cash!! Enter Here!

*In the interest of full disclosure I did not receive any monetary compensation from My Blog Spark and General Mills. *

Howdy to all there out in the blogosphere! I know I haven't been around in a while, so to make up for it, I am hosting a contest through My Blog Spark and General Mills.

Here is the information:

Starting in November, you can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of Big G cereals including Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Trix® (14.8 oz) and Reese’s Puffs® cereal (18 oz.).

After purchasing two participating cereals, visit generalmills.com/moviecash to enter the unique code found inside each box of cereal and print your free Movie Cash certificate (good for one admission of up to a $12 value at participating theatres). To find a participating theater in your area, log ontohttp://emoviecash.com/dis_locator/.

If you win, you will receive TWO boxes of General Mills cereal and FOUR free Movie Cash! Sounds like a great deal huh? All you have to do to win is

( Please leave separate comment for each entry)

MANDATORY ENTRY - How do you spend family movie night?? do you go out? bake pizza? make popcorn? Let me know!!

Additional Entries ( Good for one each):

1 - what is your favorite General Mills Cereal?

2 - friend me on Facebook

3 - follow my blog

This contest will run for one week , through Friday , December 10th at Midnight ( CST)

GOOD Luck!!

Korie

Hi everyone! It's time once again for Mama Kat's Writers Workshop!

If you don't know what this is , please go check it out. Once a week she will put up 5 prompts to get your brain in gear, then you chose one of those, write your post and link it up on Thursday morning!

You get new visitors to your blog and you in turn get to read some new posts and find blogs you may not have known about! FUN FOR ALL INVOLVED:))

Out of this weeks prompts I chose number 4 -

Write about my pets least likable trait.

Thats easy. I currently have four pets. One bird and three dogs. Most of them are mild mannered and don't give us too much grief. With one exception - Korie.

Korie is our biggest dog. We got her when she was just about 6 weeks old. Our next door neighbor has a Yellow Lab who had 8 puppies. They weren't sure who the daddy dog was because all the puppies came out black or gray, lol.

She was destined to be our daughters dog. She said she loved the other dogs in the family but they weren't 'hers'. So she picked out this particular puppy ( who at one time was running around the porch with her head stuck in a dog food can!), named her Korie and in started our waking up every three to four hours to let her out and feed her.

Just like we had had another baby. She let the entire house know she had to go potty or was hungry for her puppy milk.

I guess my daughter thought she would stay the cute little puppy that she was. Looking at the mother dog she should have gotten some clue that she wouldn't.

My daughter took her everywhere , did fun stuff with her, and cleaned up after her. It was a real love connection.

But the dog grew. And grew, and then grew some more.

She is now a 54 -lb , one year old Borador. ( We figured out the daddy was a Border Collie a few doors down...)

She is sweet and lovable to us, but watch out visitors. We took her to obedience classes and those work for her not going after food, and sitting on command and all that jazz, but I guess the protectiveness and the aggression of the Border Collie overtakes her and she will try to go after anyone that visits our house. It is sad really when Nicole has a friend spend the night that they can't play with her dog - she is usually banned to the backyard.

The trainer says it is the Border Collie tendencies coupled with the loyalty of the Labrador that kind of went haywire with her.

She is a very cute, sweet, big , lovable mound of black fur, but sometimes that loyalty gets a little skewed and she shows her ugly side. To the four of us that live in the house she is wonderful, but please let us know in advance if you plan to visit, because we will have to put Cujo, ( Whoops , I meant Korie) outside.

( I was trying to post some pictures of this lovable baby ox, but either my computer or Blogger is not cooperating.) SORRY!

Where in the World.....

did they get this idea from?

Now I'll say this - I am proud of my breasts, but never, ever EVER under ANY circumstances would I go out in public like this - even if it were to honor dear old Mickey Mouse -

Now I'm not trying to offend anyone - especially all you Mickey Mouse lovers out there, but I had to share. If you know me, you'd know that when I received this e-mail I laughed my but off! So go head and laugh!

Obviously these two were really proud of their boobs!

The Winner of the Totino's Giveaway

Wow! I had 20 entries into my latest giveaway for General Mills and Totino's Box Tops for Education through My Blog Spark.

The winner hand picked by my lovely daughter Nicole is:

lmurley 2000!!!!!

Congratulations! I will be notifying you by e-mail as well. Please have your address to me ASAP so I can get your prize pack in the mail!

Thank you to all who entered! Hope to see you entered in my next giveaway!

Writer's Workshop

Woohoo! It's time for another episode of Writer's Workshop prompted by Mama Kat. Basically you choose one of the weekly writing prompts she suggests, write your post, then link it up Thursday morning and wait for feedback!

This week she had several really good suggestions, and I liked this one - thought it would be an easy post to write - so here goes... I chose

3.) Write about what blogging means to you. Why do you blog? What purpose does it serve you and how have you benefited from sharing a piece of yourself online this way?

Hmm. How to answer that. Well, lets see. I originally started blogging about two years ago at the request of my friend Lena. I had moved away from her and so we didn't get to see much of each other so she suggested I start blogging so that we could stay in touch.

It sounded kind of fun. I always read her blog and started to get some ideas. The day I did my first post I (foolishly) thought only Lena would see it. I was shocked when I started getting comments from people that I didn't know! All of them were nice comments, welcoming me and such. So I started reading other blogs, and soon was following several and still am to this day.

I've made real life friends through the blogosphere. There are others that I talk to via Facebook and blogger but have yet to meet in person , but SO WANT TO!

The people I have met through the blogosphere have

- inspired me

- sympathized with me

- made me laugh

- made me cry

- made me go " um, wth were you thinking?"

I think you get the idea.

Some ask why I do it. I consider myself a people person. I love to meet new people. I love to hear about what others are writing, thinking, watching, or listening too. I love to talk to and hear from others who share my interests. Unfortunately I don't blog as much as I used to because I'm not home as much , but I still like posting and reading my friends posts. I may not always leave a comment, but I try to!

I don't ever worry about talking about myself via this blog - yes I share stories, but I don't give such personal details that it is dangerous or TMI!

I like it, I'll keep doing it, and I hope you'll join me in my adventures - some new ones may be happening soon!

Till then...

Back to School with Totinos!

* In the full interest of disclosure, I was provided a backpack with school supplies and coupons for FREE Totino's products through General Mills and My Blog Spark. I was given no other compensation*

Wow! Here, Nicole is entering her 4th week of school! It is so hard to believe that another school year has begun.

This fall, Totino’s is helping to support your child’s school. Totino’s Party Pizzas will now carry Box Tops for Education! Now through September 15, Totino’s is offering two Box Tops for Education on every Totino’s product. Totino’s is also giving away 10,000 Bonus Box Tops, school supplies and free Totino’s snacks to eight lucky schools through the “Make School a Better Place Sweepstakes!” To enter, visit
http://www.boxtops4education.com/Sweepstakes.aspx/Totino-s--and-Avery--Making-School-A-Better-Place/304w.

Doesn't that sound great? I know that after school Nicole likes Totinos party snacks ( the pepperoni are her favorite) and the party pizzas on Family Movie

Night.

So wouldn't you like to buy a snack that your kids love AND help out their school at the same time? To get you and your child off to a great start collecting those box tops I've been given an extra Prize Pack through General Mills and My Blog Spark!

I am unable to provide you a picture of the prize pack at this time due to my camera being weird, however, I will tell you all that you will receive:

* a backpack

* a 4-pk of highlighters

* two large glue sticks

* a clear binder

* a calculator

* two coupons for FREE Totinos products

* a certificate for 25 EXTRA Box Tops!!!

Now to win all of that heres what you must do:

MANDATORY ENTRY - Tell me the funniest thing that happened trying to get your kids back to school the first day , or maybe the few days before while you were trying to get them back on a schedule.

( the following are good for 1 extra entry each, and must be left in a seperate comment)

* be a follower of this blog

* if you follow me on FB

Good luck to all who enter. This contest will run through Wednesday, September 15, 2010. It will end at Midnight (CST) on that date.

Yoplait Giveaway Winner

The Yoplait "Keeping Cool in School" giveaway that I hosted last week ended this past Sunday at Midnight. Had a really busy day yesterday so finally got down to sorting out entries and picking a winner:

Congratulations to Ashley!

I need you to email me your information so that I can get your prize pack on its way!

I will be hosting another giveaway for fun stuff soon, so stay tuned!

It's Hotter Than A...

Finish the sentence anyway you want !


Here in Dallas ,Texas we are suffering through the third straight week of triple digit temps. You break a sweat going from the house to your car. You take the dog for a potty walk and pray that they make it a fast one.


You would like to walk around naked, but that wouldn't help and NO ONE would like to see that.


I received this via e-mail the other day and I think it is an accurate description of just how hot it is here...

Back to School Giveaway!

* In the interest of full disclosure I was provided a Keeping Cool in School gift pack and a coupon for a free Yoplait product through Yoplait and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation.*

Wow! It's that time already! Nicole starts back to school this coming Monday the 16th. We had her orientation yesterday, where we found out who her teacher will be. She didn't get the one she wanted but the one she got seems nice.

I always have a problem with what to put in Nicoles lunches for school. Very rarely does she want to eat school food and I really can't blame her there... but she is a pretty picky eater. One thing she does like is the Yoplait GoGurts. If she eats nothing else I pack for her, I can usually count on her at least eating the yogurt.

If you have never tried the Yoplait Gogurts , they are really good for school lunches. They can be eaten soft like regular yogurt, or as a frozen treat! It won't hurt to buy this and then put them in the freezer till you are ready to have a nice cool treat. They come in cool flavors that kids love too, such as Strawberry Splash and Chill-out Cherry.

So, when asked if I wanted to participate in this My Blog Spark giveaway I agreed! I received a coupon for a free Yoplait yogurt product, along with a Keeping Cool in School prize pack.

The prize pack includes an insulated lunch tote, a sandwich container, two pencils, a flexible calculator, a flower highlighter with 5 colors, a water bottle, and a fan pen ( which might come in handy here in the 100 degree Texas heat when she is going from class to class! lol).

Yoplait and My Blog Spark were nice enough to give me an extra prize pack to give away to one lucky reader! It will contain all of the above items, plus the coupon for a free Yoplait yogurt product.

1-The mandatory entry is to tell me how you handle school lunches. Do you let your kids pack their own? Do you pack them a nice nutritious lunch and hope they don't trade it? If so, what kinds of things do you pack? This might help some of us who are challenged with coming up with new ideas that our kids will eat.

The following are good for one entry each. ( Please leave a seperate comment for each! )

* Follow this blog

* Friends on Facebook

This contest will end at Midnight CST, Sunday , August 15.

Good luck and DON'T FORGET THE YOGURT!

Catch- up with Pictures

YAY!!! I'm finally able to get pictures off of my phone again! Nicole found the blue tooth key that links computer to phone!

So, here is a ton of pics that I have wanted to share with you for a while!

ENJOY:))

Here is Nicole and her favorite teacher Mrs. White on the last day of school. She was Nicole's homeroom teacher as well as her science teacher.

This is Nicole with the rest of her Battle of the Books team. They made it through the first two elimination rounds, but got beat on the third. They had to read 10 books each for this competition. They did a great job!

One of the many sets of baby booties and a hat I made last school year. Several teachers had babies. This was for a baby girl.

This is a baby blanket I made for a baby girl. It turned out really pretty.

This was another baby girl blanket I did in more traditional colors. This one actually went to Michelle of My Two Army Brats for her new baby Mackinley.

We got a ton of snow dumped on us in late January. This was Nicole all bundled up while we played outside a bit.

Korie romping through the snow - she loved it!

This pic was from when Nicole's school went to greet the troops at the airport the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Patriotic Nicole at the airport waiting to greet the troops

This picture is from my younger cousins graduation party. Mollie, on the left, will be leaving this coming Friday to go to the University of Arkansas at Monticello. On the other side of Nicole is her other cousin Kimberly, who is a sophmore this year!

This was Korie on the day of her graduation from obedience school. See the little graduation cap next to her? We tried desperately to get her to wear it, but it was a no go.

Well, I hope you enjoyed those! I've held on to them hoping I could show them off soon! I can finally delete them from my phone now that I have them on the computer.

Will write more tomorrow, hope everyone has a great day!

WINNER - Penguins of Madagascar DVD

Howdy to all out there in bloggy land:) I was planning on having this drawing this morning, but as always real life interfered a bit.

I printed out each comment that was left as an entry to this contest and Nicole drew the winner, which is...

PIXIE 13

Congratulations! If you would please e-mail me your address so I can send you your Penguins of Madagascar gift pack, I will get that right out!

Have fun, and I should have a back to school give away here pretty soon!

Happy summer!

Volleyball Camp Fun

Nicole came to my moms last Tuesday to spend the last few weeks with us before she goes back to school. The first night she was here, she went with my cousin Julie and her oldest daughter Mollie to watch Mollie work some Volleyball games that evening. She stayed on the court with Mollie for a bit, but then decided she didn't like the balls coming at her that fast, so she switched to working in the concession stand. She wound up having a great time, so Julie asked her if she wanted to attend the Volleyball camp there for the next five weeks. She decided it sounded like fun.


This past Friday night was her first time. She had played a bit of V-Ball at her school in gym, but that is nothing compared to how these girls play. They had placed her with the younger kids because she hadn't played much, so she learned how to serve and volley. She worked muscles she didn't even know she had, so she was a bit sore, but still had a lot of fun.


She can't play any sports at her school until 7th grade, but she says she likes volleyball and she wants to try it some more :) The camp is the next 4 Fridays. The next two won't be bad, but since she starts back to school on the 16th, we will have to see. We will try our hardest to get her here.


Here is the picture of her that I took when she was ready to get on the court

Isn't she getting big? She is so pretty, smart , and funny. (but shhhh, I may be just a bit prejudice)

And speaking of Volleyball, Mollie was awarded a full athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She will be a Cotton Blossom::)) She leaves for college on the 13th, so only 11 days away! ARGH!

Last Wednesday my aunt and uncle had a cookout. After all the good food was done with, Kimberly, Nicole, my mom and my aunt sat down to play Scrabble and Julie and I got into a Wii match. She kicked my butt in bowling and tennis, but then I wiped the floor with her while boxing:) Told her it was the first time ever that I'd kicked her butt. We had a lot of laughs over that for sure. ( not counting the time we were little and I beat her over the head with a Barbie doll!) I know in the past we had some problems, mainly stemming from miscommunication, but we have worked all that out.

Well, that is about enough for today. I will announce the winner of my Penguins of Madagascar DVD review tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great week:)

Revisiting the 80's

* If you haven't yet entered my Penguins of Madagascar DVD giveaway, click here! The contest will run through Wednesday*


Who would want to revisit the 80's you ask? Well I still like some of the music from then, and I did most of my growing up in the 80s, graduated highschool in '89, so I kind of like the 80s. Saturday I was on my way back to my moms and I sooo wanted to do something fun, but had no clue what to do.

I tried calling a few friends, but no one was home and just when I was about to give up for the evening I got a text from my friend Nancy inviting me to a bar for an old acquaintaces bday party. 80's style. The bar where it was , was having an 80's night , and they had even made drinks to help us remember those times. One was the Boy George ( which I was told was fruity!), and the other was the Madonna. I did one shot of the Madonna and it was GOOD!

Those who know me know I don't drink, but I had to try the Madonna shot because it sounded delish - it was cranberry juice, vodka and peach schnapps! YUM!

There were several people that came dressed up like they were stuck back in the 80's and we had soo much fun. There were several dressed as Madonna, a few from the group Poison, one or two that looked like the lead singer from Ratt, and many others. The bartender was even dressed like a contestant from the Nickolodean show Double Dare!

There was a lot of karaoke going on, and in between those songs, they played nothing but 80's music. We were waiting for someone to show up in parachute pants, but unfortunately no one did.

Nicole starts back to school in 3 weeks so this past weekend, while I was at the house Chris and I took her school shopping. We still have to get a few things, but for the most part she is set.

I have to go get ready for my day, will write more later! Hope eveyone has a great week:)

Penguins of Madagascar DVD Giveaway

*In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with one box of Trix cereal, two penguin launchers and a Penguins of Madagascar DVD from General Mills, Nickelodean and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation.*


Hi everyone! The other day while I was at home I received a package from My Blog Spark, who had teamed up with Nickelodean and General Mills to help launch the premiere Penguins of Madagascar DVD. Included with that were two penguin launchers, and a box of Trix cereal.
Even though Nicole is almost twelve, she had fun with the penguin launchers , while eating the cereal! She even found another launcher in the box of cereal, so now she has three, lol.
Since she is still enjoying her summer vacation, she was able to pop the DVD in too, which she enjoyed.

Currrently, inside specially marked boxes of General Mills cereals, you’ll “commence operations” with one of five characters from The Penguins of Madagascar; Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, Private or King Julien. Each participating cereal contains one character launcher with mission details outlined on the back of the box including:
Dive In, Soldier – Set an empty plastic cereal bowl on the table and try to pop your launcher into it. Wear a helmet or you’ll be squid bait.
Longest Propulsion Launcher – Challenge your troops to see who can launch their character the furthest. Go long or go back to the zoo.
Target Practice – Create a landing zone with a spoon and try to strategically drop your character into the sweet spot. Hit the target or go back to the drawing board.
Clear the Wall – Do you have enough projectile pop to push your launcher over the top of the box? Proceed launchin’ troops, earn those wings!

I also have another box of goodies to give away to one lucky reader! You will receive a box of Trix Cereal, penguin launchers and the Penguins of Madagascar DVD, which includes tons of fun extras, including a Rockin' music Video and sneakpeaks from Dreamworks Secret Headquarters!
It is a perfect way for your kids to spend a summer morning!

Mandatory Entry - tell me what your kids like to do during the summer in the mornings. Do they love to sleep in? do they pop out of bed ready for adventure?

( Please leave seperate comments for each entry!)

The following are good for one addition entry each

* if you follow my blog
* if you are my friend on Facebook

The contest will run today, through Midnight ( CST), Wednesday July 28th.

Howdy!

Wow, time is flying by way too fast. The school that Nicole attends goes back on August 16! So we are on the countdown for school supplies and uniforms. Hopefully my private life will be back on track by that time!

Nicole and I went to see Eclipse today and had a great time. Loved it by the way. Can't wait till Breaking Dawn comes out now. Also saw today on the previews that the last in the Harry Potter series will be coming out in two parts. The first one this coming November, the second in June of 2011. When I questioned this out loud, Nicole simply asked me if I wanted to sit through a 5 hr movie?

Ok, she has a good point, lol. My butt would go to sleep if I sat in a movie seat that long.

My mom and I didn't do much on the 4th, but we did eat hot dogs and watch a lot of good movies.

I hope everyone else had a great holiday week.

And PLEASE forgive me. I never did announce the winner of my $30 Kroger Gift Cards from My Blog Spark, General Mills and Kroger Food stores -

It is Christi, of Rant, Rave and Roll. congratulations, and I hope you try some new healthy General Mills products and have fun while eating healthy!

Hope to post again soon.

Too Early and Too HOT!

It is too early in summer to be this HOT! We are already reaching temps with a heat index of 101-105! YUCK! Just to take my moms dog for a quick walk we come back way too hot. If I want to workout, I either do it here in the house, or go to the gym here on site. I would love to get out and walk in the fresh air, but again too freaking hot.

Nicole has been here at my moms also, for the past two weeks. We have kept busy. We went to the movies, and my mom and I took her ice skating, but she was happiest because there are three pools here.

I was back at home on Wednesday, and when I was on my way back here to my moms, Yvette ( mother of Nicoles BFF Carson) called me to see when Nicole was coming back home since Carson wanted to see her. I talked to her and we decided she would bring Carson over to my moms the next morning so they could spend the day together. She wound up spending the night and they had so much fun. A couple of hours at the pool and they were pooped. Added to that, chicken for lunch, along with the peanut butter cup cookies we made and they were out by 11pm. Usually when the two of them are together they don't go to sleep much before 2 or 3 in the morning!

When we finally got them up around 830 the next morning I made Crepes and sausage for them and her dad came to get her. My mom, Nicole and I watched movies the rest of the day where we stayed cool.

Today we will round up Nicoles stuff and wrap Chris' Fathers Day presents. He will be coming here tomorrow to celebrate and we will make him lunch and go swimming, and then he is taking Nicole back home with him.

All in all it has been a good week. Hope everyone has had a good week as well.

Will write more later!

Dear Blogging Buddies

This isn't a bad note, it is an apology.

An apology for not blogging the last month or so, and being lax when I was blogging. I know all of us get in that kind of rut now and again, or real life interrupts and blogging gets put on the back burner.

I've hinted that I had a lot of stuff going on in my life right now and I wasn't kidding. Most of the stuff is quite personal and I still am not ready to reveal all. What I will say is that physically I am doing a whole lot better than I have in a long time. I've been consistently working out in one form or another and am totally loving the results! Right now, its hard for me to see the results and my friend Flea suggested that I start measuring the main parts I'm trying to whittle down and then I could see the results. That was a great suggestion and I will probably do that this week.
Emotionally I am getting to a better place too, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

Since the Sunday after Nicole and I got out of school I've been staying with my mom in Arlington. It has been so much fun. Granted I talk to her every day, sometimes twice, but I am finally getting to spend time with her. While I am here I plan on learning on how to make Noodles and Dumplings. Those are both things that my grandmothers could make from scratch, and that they taught my mom and now it is time for me to learn. It should be interesting if nothing else:)

Nicole has been here with us for the past week and we have had fun too. We've done a lot of swimming,( with SPF 50 sunscreen), and we went and saw the new Karate Kid movie on Friday. Today we all went to the mall so Nicole could ice skate after I came home from my 40 mins aerobics class.

Good times all around.

More good news on the homefront is that Chris got a new job. He liked is old job, but this one is a bit more money and we now have benefits ( read INSURANCE)! YAY!!! So hopefully things will continue to look up, and get better with time.

I'm hoping all of you out there are having a good , fun and safe summer! When I get home, or when I am able to get to the library and get on a computer I will catch up on all of your news. My mom has a computer which I'm currently using, but it is a dial up dinosaur and I am unable to load Facebook and blogs, due to the amount of time it takes to do so :P

I haven't forgotten ya'll, and I hope you haven't forgotten me:)

( oh and a side note - A big congrats goes out to our family friend Lacy, who graduated on June 8! and my younger cousin Mollie who graduated on June 4, had a party on June 5 and left on June 6 for Paris for 9 days with several of her friends. She just got back home yesterday so I haven't had a chance to talk to her, but ugh I'm just a bit jealous! lol.)

Have You Ever....

Time for another edition of Mama Kats Writers Workshop. I've been trying to do this weekly, to try my hand at writing different types of posts. She comes up with , or finds interesting prompts weekly, so if you haven't tried it ,please go check it out!

The prompt I picked this week was #4 Begin each line of your post with “have you ever”.

I chose this , and I'm not sure I can come up with a long post, but I will try to make it interesting. However, by writing this I'm NOT admitting to anything!


Have you ever wanted to pull your hair out... then thought that you would look good bald?

Have you ever wondered what planet your child hailed from because he/she acts so weird... but then realize that ALL kids that age act weird?

Have you ever gone to work having forgotten to put your make-up on... then have everyone you run into ask you if you are feeling ok?

Have you ever been trying two different shoes on with an outfit to see which looked better... then got busy, went to Church and only then realized you still had two different shoes on?

Have you ever worn a new pair of heels to an event where the floor was slippery... and then slipped on said floor in your new heels and fallen on your butt showing everyone what you had on under your skirt?

Have you ever had time alone with your spouse where he/she was trying to get romantic...and you were so tired that you fell asleep?

Have you ever laughed so hard...because your significant other farted so loud in their sleep they woke themselves up?

Have you ever been to the movies watching a serious movie...and busted out laughing instead of crying and had everyone staring at you?

Well, Have you????

Win Free Groceries

* In the interest of full disclosure, I was given a $30 gift card to Kroger's Grocery Store, provided by General Mills, Krogers, and My Blog Spark. I received no other compensation, and any opinions expressed here are strictly my own.*


Recently My Blog Spark contacted me to see if I would like help in eating healthier and losing weight. This couldn't have come at a better time, since I was starting to work out more and snack less. I knew I couldn't get swimsuit ready, but I could do something to feel better about myself.

Since Krogers is a big supporter of The Biggest Loser show, and provides a lot of the General Mills healthy products used on the show, they would provide me with a $30 gift card to try some of those products out.

When I recieved it in the mail I went shopping. There is a big selection at my local Kroger store of General Mills cereals, of which I chose Chocolate Cheerios, since they are low in fat and may help reduce my cholesteral levels. I also chose Fiber One Granola Bars, which are filling and taste great too!

As for cereal, you could also choose Total. It comes in a variety of flavors that can also help keep you on the healthy track. Those are just a small sampling of the variety of food that General Mills offers.

Now once you have decided to take off a few pounds and eat a bit healthier, you can go to the Pound for Pound Challenge website to help you even further. For every pound you pledge to lose, they will donate 14 cents to the local food bank of your choice to help those in need. I won't tell you how muchI pledged to lose, but just let me say that I feel great that my local food bank will be getting a substantial amount of food!

However I did not pledge an unreasonable amount. I kept my weight loss goal realistic, as I'm hoping you will.

General Mills, Krogers and My Blog Spark was also kind enough to provide me with another $30 gift card to Krogers for one lucky reader of my blog! Who wouldn't like free groceries??
I hope that you will buy and try the healthy General Mills products, but if you don't, we won't come get you!

Ways to Win:

1) MANDATORY - tell me what you do to stay healthy, and which General Mills product helps you with that.

the following good for one additional entry each! and they MUST BE in seperate comments!

2) follow my blog
3) blog about my giveaway, and the pound for pound challenge.

Good luck, and this contest will end at Midnight (CST) on Monday June 7, 2010.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

You Are Incurious

You are just not that interested in the world around you. You are content as is. You don't investigate much, and you're pretty reluctant to try anything new. Your world is probably quite safe, but it's also quite dull. Wake up! Pay closer attention to the world around you. It turns out that it's a pretty interesting place.

How Curious Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

So Not Good

No, things are ok here at the moment. This is another post inspired by a prompt from Mama Kat's Writers workshop.

All you have to do is head on over there , usually on Tuesday afternoon and pick a prompt from the extensive list, do a post on your blog and go back and add it to Mr Linky on Thursday so everyone can enjoy it!

The prompt I picked this week was

#2 - What was your medicine? Write about a time you remember being ill.

This particular illness took place in 2003. In December. Flu Season.

Normally I didn't get a flu shot, but always got Nicole one. At this time she had just turned 5 like two weeks before.

Chris came down with the flu around Sunday or Monday of that week and was pretty sick, with high fever, nausea, aching, and everything that goes with it. The one thing I remember him complaining about was such a horrid headache. With him suffering from migraines, if he complained of his head I knew it had to be bad.

I tried to avoid him like the plague. I made him soup and such, but he moved into the living room and stayed there till he was better. Avoiding him didn't work as that following Saturday I woke up with a headache so bad it felt like I couldn't stand up and hold my head up or it would just explode off my shoulders.

I woke him up , asked him if that was how his started , he said yes, so he got up to take care of Nicole. He had to go to work that day, so couldn't stay there. Basically I alternated between the bathroom and the bed all day. However, with a 5 yr old , I was worried about her getting sick too. She had had half a dose of the flu vaccine by this point so I just kept my fingers crossed that she would be ok.

She was such a good girl that day though. Mommy couldn't really get up and fix her lunch, so I told her what to do , which was go into the refrigerator, get a hot dog, put it on a plate and hit the number buttons I told her too and the start button. ( By this age she knew her number and letters and could do this, with me watching her from the bedroom.) Although I realized I had to get up to cut it for her, but she did so good that day.

Anyway, Chris came home from work that night and brought me Theraflu. Blech. Unsweetened Lemony nasty drink on an upset stomach didn't sit well. My fever was over a hundred and frankly I don't remember if it was that night or the next night but Chris wound up taking me to the hospital. They did a test on me to see if I was dehydrated and sure 'nuff big time. I won a hospital bed of my own for the next week.

I do remember them giving me meds for the nausea and such and I ate some graham crackers and apple juice, but it still didn't stay where it belonged for long. Chris had to go to work the next day but didn't . He had my mom call his boss since it was a long distance call from the hospital, and he actually got in trouble since he hadn't been the one to call! ( his boss was an ass). Even when my mom explained he couldn't call because I was in the hospital.

The scariest part of all this is what Chris told me after I was lucid again after like the 2nd day and my fever was gone. I normally have a low white blood count. I don't get sick often, its just when I do , I get really sick. Chris had told the doctor that so when they saw the results of the CBC they wouldn't freak. Well, the doctor did freak - he had said my WBC came back very low. When Chris peeked at the lab report it was labeled Critical.

So not only was I in the hospital for a week, but I had won myself my own isolation room - meaning anyone that came in had to wash coming in and going out, wear a mask, gown and all that jazz. It really sucked. Eventually I got better, after they gave me a shot in my stomach to boost my WBC. I was released on a Friday and my MIL came up to help Chris take care of Nicole ( who THANK GOD didn't get sick) and me while he worked that weekend. She bought me a pair of blue flannel jammies, that I just recently had to retire - they were so comfy:)

Thank goodness I've never had the flu that bad again. I get a flu shot every year in October now. I don't ever want to be that sick again, where I actually don't remember some of it.

Well. What a trip down memory lane.

On a much brighter side, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, although a faint one.

So I can keep a bit of a smile on my face at this time.

( We are on our final countdown to the end of school. Nicole gets out on the 27th, so we can't wait!)

Cluck, Cluck

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

I picked up this quiz over at Flea's Blog. thought it was cute:)

So, what kind of mother are you?

Shoes

It's time for another post linked to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop.

The prompt for this post that I chose was

Write a 20-line poem (rhyming or non-rhyming) dedicated to your favorite piece of clothing (could be a shirt, hat, shoes, etc.).

This particular prompt caught my attention because although I love shoes, I can't wear a lot of the cutsey , sweet little different kinds of shoes due to my leg braces. I thought it would be fun to do a poem about shoes, so here goes:

Lost Shoes

Oh shoes, my shoes

Where for art thou

did I lose?

With two under the couch,

one black and one red.

One in the dogs mouth

one under the bed.

Oh my blue shoe do I see?

With the cat chewing on it

so delicately?

Though no match to be

found,

shoes certainly abound.

Flip flops, mules, slides

and tennies,

cute little loafers

filled with pennies.

Oh shoes, my shoes

where for art thou

did I lose?

__________

I hope you at least got a small giggle out of that one:) I've worn these leg braces for seven years now, and admittedly when I realized I could no longer wear cute little flip flops , and sandals and such, I got angry. Actually had to grieve for the shoes I could no longer wear, although it would save me money on pedicures! I still get those from time to time, but don't like people touching my feet anymore, so it makes it a bit difficult.

Till next time...

Mothers Day

Here is to hoping that each and every mother in bloggy land had a wonderful Mothers Day.

Thank goodness my Mothers Day and birthday did not fall on the same day this year. Either way I usually get a combined present, but sweetheart that Chris is, it is usually very nice.

Friday I was off work and took Sue to her cousin Joanie's house for the weekend. I enjoyed a day of shopping and not doing much else, although I did exercise after I picked Nicole up from school. I'm back on the weight loss train, but trying to do it by eating healthier and doing mild exercise that doesn't hurt my legs and arms.

Saturday included Korie going to her 7th week of obedience school. She gets her diploma next week and a photo to go on the graduate wall, lol. This week she got diagnosed with a yeast infection in her ear, so holding her down, and muzzling her to get medicine in her ear has just been a joy - NOT!!! lots of snarling, growling and snapping goes on at those times while Chris wrestles to hold her and I put the medicine in. Thank goodness it only has to be done once a day.

As honest as I can be right now I will tell you that my life is very difficult right now. I'm stressed, upset and just trying to get through each day in turn. I am thankful that we only have a few weeks of school left and that I will be very busy during this time. It will keep me from having too much time on my hands. Time to think. Time that I would rather be doing anything else but think.

Sometimes too much thinking can get you in trouble.

I will continue to post, and honestly try to do it more. It might help me sort some thoughts out, but if I have a post that just seems like fluff a time or too, please understand:)

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and will continue to have a great week ahead. I've started trying to participate in The Writers Workshop over at Mama Kats, it has been fun and challenging, so if you'd like to give it a shot click HERE , then click on the Writers Workshop tab.

( oh and if you are wondering what I got for my present - I received Season One of Army Wives, book three of the newest quartet by Nora Roberts, and three movies in a little box that looks like a beat up highschool locker that is titled Flashback 80s Pack and includes The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science)

So, how was your mothers day?

No Ketchup for my Toesies TYVM

Another Writer's Workshop prompt from Mama Kat!

All you do is visit her site, pick a W.W prompt and do your post. then go back to the WW on Thursday and link your post so others can read it!

The prompt I picked is Write about a time when you stuck your foot in your mouth.

I'm sure I've done that plenty of times, some without even realizing it. However, this post deals with my inexplicable ability to switch the beginnings of words.

Such as the time my husband asked me what I had for lunch.

My answer?

A Churkey Ticken sandwich... a*k*a a turkey chicken sandwich. I hadn't realized what I did until he was like wha?????

or the time I was working at a doctors office and needed to call in a prescription for a patient. They wanted it called into the Eckerds pharmacy on Arkansas. Only problem with that is there were two on Arkansas at that time, one next to Minyards and one on the other side of town near Winn Dixie.

My question to the patient? " which Eckerds? the one near Winyards or Minn Dixie? "

Oh My God. Seriously???

Those two occurrences are just the beginning in a long line of unintended tongue twisters. I obviously have my tongue in front of my eye teeth and I can't see what I am saying!

Chris and Nicole think its hilarious when I do this. I've caught a few before they escaped through my lips, and I usually do it when I'm tired or in a hurry, or flustered.

What Chris thinks is really freaky is that I can also do it intentionally when I'm retelling one that I've said, lol.

me? I just think I'm a bit nuckin' futz.... :P

__________________________________________

I hope everyone is having a great week! mine is a bit laid back after a rough start. Saturday we took Nicole to the ER where she was diagnosed with Strept throat. She was one sick little girl - had such a horrid headache she just laid around for two and a half days reading her newest James Patterson book. She went back to school yesterday and will be taking her last TAKS test tomorrow.

School is over here on May 27th, then its planning time for our trip to Colorado!! WOOHOO!

Will write more on that later.

Its In the Water

I'm no longer allowed to drink the water at the school where I work.

Chris said so, as well as Sue.

It is contaminated. No, not with anything harmful, but so far since the beginning of this school year, 3 teachers have had babies. There are currently 4 more teachers due to have babies from the end of May through the first week of December!

I'm crocheting up a storm to keep up with all the baby presents, and each and every one has been happily received:)

So I've been bringing a refillable water bottle because don't dare drink the water out there, lol. Chris and I always talked about having two kids, but I don't think we could handle having to start over, when Nicole will be in the sixth grade!

I've continued to be busy, subbing, crocheting, and reading. Lately everyone has been wondering about my choice of books. I read a wide range of books on a big variety of subjects. Recently however, it seemed I was hell bent on depressing myself.

First off, Nicole's teacher suggested a good book, albeit a sad one - Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It focuses on school bullying and a kid who just couldn't take it anymore and went to school with a gun. While reading this book, occasionally I'd have to put it down and pick something else up to read.

Those other books I picked up?

A ghost story/story of self discovery called 'The Girl Who Stopped Swimming'.

then , there was a book that Nicole and I saw that was being offered by Scholastic Books called ' The Devil's Arithmetic',depicting a story of the Holocaust. It is written for young adults, but I immensley enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone!

Then I picked one up at the library the other day by James Patterson. I've mentioned I love to read his books before, but had never read this one. It was called Alex Cross's Trial.

It dealt with lynchings that took place in Mississippi, during the uprising of the KKK.

Whew! I've finished all of those books, and my brain needs some downtime, so I'm back to reading two books of the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverinni.

On a parting note, I will say it has been one week since the unexpected death of C.J. Twomey, son of John and Hallie Twomey. If you would like to give your condolences, prayers , or well wishes, please go HERE.

For Those Who Don't Know

I know a lot of us read the same blogs, and in that way we are one big family.
As recent as last Thursday, April 15, one of our family suffered a tremendous loss.

Click on this link to give your prayers and well wishes to Hallie, John and Connor Twomey,

If you don't know, Hallie writes her blog under 'The Wonderful World of Wieners'.

No one should have to bury their own child, so please go by and say hi.

Love This Song!

Sorry guys if this isn't the best video for this song, but I had to mention it as well as share it. The song is called ' History In The Making', and it is by Darius Rucker ( formerly Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish).

This is one of those songs that speaks to you. Music is a very powerful emotion catcher. Think about it. Sometimes I'll hear a song and get transported back to junior high school, or the school dance with my first real boy friend.

If you haven't heard this song, listen to the words - it is just awesome.

Hope you enjoy it and have a great week!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Nikki, who won the 'Get In Touch With your Inner Goddess" gift pack from Yoplait yogurt and My Blogspark.

She wrote

"I like to read P.C. Cast's "Goddess" series of books to get in touch with my own "inner Goddess"! They are such good reads! As for my favorite flavor, hmmm, I've always been partial to honey and vanilla, so that flavor sounds delicious! Thanks for the opportunity to win and congrats on getting picked to do this!

For as much as I read, i've never read those books - might have to give them a try soon:)

Your gift pack will be on its way soon!

Enjoy!

Sorry I've Been M I A and Coming Home

I haven't really been M I A I've been reading blogs and commenting and such, but have been running ( like always) so much, that I haven't had time to do many posts, which I've been missing.

If you have not checked out my contest - click HERE. It ends at midnight ( cst) today , Friday the 9th.

The last two days I've been trying to drum up volunteers for our spring book fair at school. I'm happy to report people have stepped up and I have only a few slots left open, so hopefully I can fill them, or Sue and I will fill in.

The part about coming home... I thought of this Easter Sunday. I will admit and please don't criticize me but I haven't been back to Church much since that fiasco when I worked there. I miss going though.

On Saturday we had an Easter Brunch at my friend Yvette's house, where there was a lot of really good food and new friends to meet. Afterwards Sue, Nicole and I went to stay with my mom for the night so we could go to church with her the next morning, although not the sunrise service.

Unfortunately Sue woke up with a sinus migraine Sunday, so just Nicole and I went with my mom. Back to the church that I grew up in, where I had my first Communion, where I was confirmed, and where both of my cousins got married. Granted it was much bigger than when I originally attended, but hearing the Pastors sermon and singing old familiar songs, I truly felt like I had come home. I truly enjoyed it. I felt great the whole day afterwards, however I feel like it would be way to expensive to drive back and forth there every Sunday for church. I wish I could find one around here that gives me that same feeling.

What is your favorite part of the Church service, if you attend one? I like the singing and the familiar recitations.

Will check back in over the weekend. we have 5 more weeks of obedience school for Korie, and so far so good.