Heaven for Your Feet (a Nature's Sleep Giveaway)

Not too long ago, I got the opportunity to receive a pair of Memory Foam Slippers from Nature's Sleep in return for doing a review and a giveaway. I jumped at the opportunity. I decided to be a really nice mom and get the slippers for Marty since (at the time) he had been dealing with a horrible migraine.

Since the slippers were going to be for Marty, I let him select which ones he wanted. Marty picked the Open Toe Terry Slippers with Memory Foam in mocha. The ones he picked are just like that white one to the right but in a fabulous chocolatey brown. I tried to get a picture of his slippers but the only time he's had them off his feet since he got them was when he was in bed and, frankly, I didn't think you wanted a picture of his hairy legs sticking out of the slippers.

The Nature's Sleep web site describes the slippers as having "visco-elastic memory foam in the bottom of the footbed [that] contours and cradles your foot for luxurious comfort and support". All I know is Marty has said they are incredibly comfortable and I know they don't have any noticeable wear and tear on them even after he's worn them day in and day out.

As a mom, I like that the slippers have a nice sturdy sole that will stand up to a trip down the driveway with the garbage can or a run down to the mail box. Also, the Memory Foam in these slippers withstands a lot of wear without getting permanently compressed which means they will provide better support for Marty's feet on the days he refuses to wear regular shoes.

The fabulous people at Nature's Sleep have offered me the opportunity to give one of my readers a pair of these fabulous slippers. The lucky winner will get to chose between the Open Toe Terry Slippers with Memory Foam up above or the Closed To Terry Slippers with Memory Foam in the color of their choice. All you have to do is use the rafflecopter form below to enter. And, while you are waiting to find out if you won these fab slippers, go check out the super memory foam mattresses and pillows at the Nature's Sleep website. If you find something you have to have, use the code BEARS50 to get 50% off your purchase.

The Best in Business Cards from UPrinting

Y'all, I first ran across UPrinting almost 3 yrs ago when I won a fabulous wall print from them in a blog giveaway. Then, 2 years ago when I first started thinking about going to BlogHer, UPrinting was the first company I thought of for business cards. My first set of business cards were traditional rectangle cards and,last year, I found their simply divine, die-cut business cards.

I simply couldn't wait to get some of my own. With UPrinting's easy online design interface, I was able to use my blog header to design these cards...

Now, I'm joining up with UPrinting to offer you the opportunity to get your very own set of these fabulous business cards. UPrinting is offering 1 lucky winner a set of 250 die-cut business cards. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

E is for Eden

My life has had a lot of not so happy stuff going down lately...mainly the never ending migraine my oldest has been dealing with and I'm just so tired of blogging and thinking about such a depressing topic. So, for today, I'm swearing off sad, frustrating, and depressing. Instead, I want to talk about things that make you feel sexy.

EdenFantasys is my go to location when I want or need something to help me feel sexy. And, y'all, I'm not just talking about their mid boggling array of sex toys. Unlike many stores, EdenFantasys acknowledges that plus size women want and need to get their sexy on too. Yes, that's right. You can find beautiful plus size lingerie (up through 4X) at very reasonable prices at EdenFantasys. You can also find a wide selection of body and beauty products at EdenFantasys and what woman doesn't like to look good and feel good.

Truthfully, there is so much more to feeling sexy than sexy lingerie, pretty make up, or even fabulous massage products. Feeling sexy starts with being comfortable in your own skin whether you are a size 2 or a size 20. Feeling sexy can come from that certain look in your lover's eyes or a caress as you walk by. Feeling sexy can come from making your partner feel sexy. There's no bigger turn on than the knowledge that you did that to your partner.

To celebrate feeling sexy, I'm giving away a $60 EdenFantasys gift card. Just click on the more link below and enter via the Rafflecopter form.

Win a signed copy of The Story of Beautiful Girl

One of the things I love best about blogging is getting to share my passions with you. Reading has been and always will be a true passion and there is one particular book that I am truly passionate about. That book is The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. I've talked about this book here on my blog (go read it if you haven't already), I've run my mouth about it on Goodreads and Amazon, and I've told everybody who will listen how amazing this book is. Now, I want to share The Story of Beautiful Girl with one of you. When my mom and I went to hear Rachel talk about her book, I bought a copy of the book to give away and had her sign it but, I have to confess that I would have bought a copy for each and every one of you if money wasn't an issue. I can't wait to give this book away to one of you so click on the more link below and enter using the Rafflecopter form.

Get started on Christmas...

Hey y'all, in addition to my Mr.Popper's Penguins giveaway, there is another fabulous giveaway you MUST NOT enter. Check ‘n Go and Creating Motherhood have teamed up and have a $500 gift card up for grabs. This giveaway will make one of Dresden's readers (me,me,me,me,me,me,me) a very happy person. So, go enter the $500 gift card giveaway (just don't win because I need to win).

Mr. Popper's Penguins DVD Giveaway

I know there are a lot of you out there who are disturbingly organized and plan way, way ahead and that means you're already ready for Christmas. For the rest of us normal people, I have a great giveaway for you. Y'all, it's time to enter to win a copy of the fabulously funny movie, Mr. Popper's Penguins,

and a super cool Popper's Penguins ice cube tray.

 

These would be really great family gifts or even stocking stuffers depending on your family's preferences. I already told y'all how much my entire family loved the movie but I have to admit I am really excited about the ice cube tray. I'm not planning on making ice cubes though. I found out that you can use the ice cube trays and similar candy molds to make your own shaped crayons. The only rub is that you can't use the ice cube trays for ice or the candy molds for candy after making crayons in them. If you gather up all the broken pieces parts of crayons and put them in the molds, you can then microwave them and melt the crayons into the shapes (click here to find complete instructions). You can either make solid colored crayons or multi-hued crayons. I can't wait to make some penguin crayons. They're going to be so cute.

Mr. Popper's Penguins becomes available on DVD on Dec. 6th, my birthday, and I thought I'd celebrate by ending my giveaway on that day. All you have to do is click the read more like and enter through the Rafflecopter form. And, just because I love crafty ideas and using things in unintended ways (like the ice trays and candy molds), I'll give you 4 entries if you comment and tell me your favorite crafty repurposing of a household object.

Friday Night Leftovers: a post Thanksgiving edition

It's time for Friday Night Leftovers hosted by the fabulous Danifred of Sippy Cups Are Not For Starbucks...

• I discovered Pinterest on a holiday is a very, very dangerous place to be. I've gained 7 boards and almost 300 pins since we last talked.
• Thanks to Pinterest I now know exactly why I love Betty White. It's this quote..."Why do people say grow some balls?  Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding."
• The other thing I found that I loved was a picture of the Kardashian girls on Kim's wedding day with the caption...Kim Kardashian made $17 million off her wedding, divorced 72 days later, and they're worried about gays ruining the sanctity of marriage?
• When Vic and I went out for our anniversary last weekend, we went to a great little Irish restaurant called The Hibernian. Can anyone explain to me why an Irish restaurant has a Toucan as their symbol? Seriously, click on the link and see.
• One week and counting until the double birthday party. That's right, Gabe and T are having their parties together. Please pray for good weather and no more than half the kids showing up.
• Shit...only one week. I have to get my ass in gear and get the presents done.
• The Mr. Popper's Penguins giveaway will go up tomorrow (Saturday). Make sure you stop by to enter.
• Saturday is the last day to enter my EdenFantasys giveaway. Don't miss out. There are 2 gift cards up for grabs.
• A good friend has a second interview on Monday for what seems to be a great job. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for him.

Head on over to Danifred's and check out the rest of the leftovers. Y'all have anything you want to share with us?

Popping In For The Holidays

Thanks to the folks at 20th Century Fox and ThinkJam, there was a Mr.Popper's Penguins viewing party at my house this weekend. The movie follows Jim Carrey's Mr. Popper as he inherits 6 penguins. As Mr. Popper gets to know the penguins, chaos that ensues, his life seems to fall apart, and Mr. Popper ultimately learns some important life lessons.. Oh hell, I don't know why I'm summarizing it, I'm sure y'all have seen the trailers for this movie and have a clue as to the basic story.

If you haven't seen the movie, what y'all may not know is that Jim Carrey is pure comedic gold in this movie and that the adults will enjoy the movie as much as the kids do.  Sure, the kiddos will laugh at a whole different series of jokes than the adults do but there are jokes for EVERYONE. Thanks to Jim Carrey's comedic abilities, the story and it's lessons never get too heavy handed.  Mr. Popper's Penguins is definitely worth the watch.

BTW, 20th Century Fox has also put out some penguin themed activity sheets that your kids might like. Hell, who am I kidding? I had fun with the activity sheets. Yeah, I have to confess. I drew a penguin and conquered the maze. My kids have been swamped with school work and, while Joey did have me print out copies of the activity sheets for him, I don't think they'll get a chance to do them until Thanksgiving break. If you need a break from the holiday hubbub, click on each of the activity sheets below and it will take you to a large, printable copy.

PS...once you click on the pic of the activity sheet and your computer opens the larger pic in a new window, click on the pic in the new window to enlarge it to it's maximum sise.

PPS...tune in later this week for a Mr. Popper giveaway.

Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree (GIVEAWAY)

"Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight"

While a sable under the tree isn't likely, I've come up with a list of equally fun and pretty romantic things that Santa could slip under my tree. Tonight,Vic and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. Sure, it was a few days early but you have to seize the moment to escape the kids when it presents itself. And, since it was a romantic outing, I started thinking...wouldn't it be nice if I got something from Santa that would give a little boost to our love life? I think someone must have been listening because I came home to find an EdenFantasys email in my inbox.

While EdenFantasys does sell sex toys, it was like someone was catering to me with all the products mentioned in the latest email. EdenFantasys is now carrying a line of beauty and body products, makeup, sexy holiday outfits, and even club wear. I was especially enticed by some of the massage kits. The first item that caught my eye was the Sweet Heart chocolate box sensual kit...

Doesn't that look divine? That box looks like a high end box of delicious chocolate and the creme brulee massage cream sounds amazing.

For you heathens that don't like chocolate (yeah, I can't believe it either, but they do exist), EdenFantasys has the Sweet Heart strawberry box sensual kit...

The strawberry box is just as beautiful as the chocolate box and I think they would be fabulous in tandem.

I also wouldn't mind seeing the Earthly delights gift set. It offers you massage oils and honey dust in a variety of flavors - almond, honey, and mint.

This fabulous kit comes in a really cool decorative tin. It might just work well to story some of your sex toys when you are done using the kit.

Now y'all, it wouldn't be very nice of me to talk about all these goodies I want to see under my tree without sharing the wealth with you. In celebration of the holiday spirit, I'm giving away not just one but two EdenFantasys gift cards...one for $55 and one for $25.

To All My Fellow Geeks

Congrats to Matt who won with his comment (#9) I follow you on Twitter @poorisaquality2

I have the coolest thing to tell you about. Y'all know that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment just released Star Wars the Complete Saga on a 9 disc Blu-ray collection, right? Well, they did and, if y'all are good little geeks, you've probably already rushed out to buy your own copy of the Star Wars the Complete Saga collection for yourselves.

What you probably don't know is that General Mills Big G cereal has produced 3 collectable cereal boxes with truly fab Star Wars good vs. evil pics on the back of these boxes. If you put the pics on the boxes side by side, you get a panoramic picture. I think I might have to cut them out and mount them on a piece of mounting board...might make a good present for my own little Star Wars freak. These collectible boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, and Lucky Charms® are available exclusively at your local Wal-Mart.

Now, the lovely people at MyBlogSpark and General Mills arranged for me to get these three yummy boxes of cereal (with the FAB Star Wars pictures on them) and a $25 Wal-Mart gift card. Let me tell you, I'm not sure what was a bigger hit in my house...the HUGE boxes of yummy cereal or the Star Wars pictures on the boxes. Best of all, I get to pass on the same prize pack to y'all. That's right...one lucky reader of Dragondreamer's Lair is going to get the three collectible boxes and a $25 Wal-Mart gift card too.Here's how you can enter...

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite character or moment from all of Star Wars. (REQUIRED)
• Follow me on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did this and your twitter name. (2 entries)
• Follow General Mills on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did this and your twitter name. (2 entries)
•  Follow Wal-Mart on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did this and your twitter name. (2 entries)
• Follow me through Google Friends Connect and leave a comment telling me you did it (and your GFC name if different). (2 entries)
• Like Dragondreamer's Lair on Facebook and leave a comment with your facebook name letting me know you did this. (3 entries)
• Tweet the following: Win 3 Star Wars themed boxes of cereal & a $25 @Walmart gift card from @GeneralMills, @dragondream, #MyBlogSpark  http://bit.ly/oP7WCX You may tweet once a day for (1 entry). Come back and comment with a link to your tweet.

The giveaway starts RIGHT NOW and ends at 11:59 pm on 10/7/11. Remember, 1 comment for each entry and make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. Spread the word and good luck.

Disclosure: The cereal, gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Head to IndieBizChicks to win

IndieBizChicks.com has partnered with CashierLive.com to give away a $500 gift card. Only a few hours left to enter.

“I’m posting this to enter a contest offered by Cashier Live, a point of sale software company, at Indie Biz Chicks. Enter to win here!”

Inspire from Amsterdam Giveaway

Congrats to Tillie from A Nuttier Life for winning the contest!

with comment number 35 (excluding my responses)

Hey y'all, I've got something really cool to offer you. Amsterdam Printing is giving me the opportunity to offer you 50 of their most popular promotional pens, the Inspire pen, worth almost $150. What is so incredibly cool about these pens is that you can personalize them with not one, not two, not even three, but with five lines of text. The Inspire Pens are available in 8 different barrel colors and two ink colors. These pens would be a fabulous way to promote your company, your non-profit, your website, or even for a birthday party.

The giveaway starts right now and ends at 11:59 pm on October 1st and is open to US residents only. The winner will be notified via email and announced on my blog on Oct. 2nd. Here's how you enter...

• Leave a comment telling me what you want to promote on your pens. (REQUIRED)
• Follow me on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did this and your twitter name. (2 entries)
• Follow Amsterdam Printing on Twitter. Leave a comment telling me you did this and your twitter name. (2 entries)
• Follow me through Google Friends Connect and leave a comment telling me you did it (and your GFC name if different). (2 entries)
• Like Dragondreamer's Lair on Facebook and leave a comment with your facebook name letting me know you did this. (3 entries)
• Tweet the following: Win 50 personalized Inspire pens from @AmsterdamPrint and @dragondream valued at almost $150 http://bit.ly/oRr2wy  #giveaway ends 10/1/11 You may tweet once a day for (1 entry). Come back and comment with a link to your tweet.

Remember, 1 comment for each entry and make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. Spread the word and good luck.

EdenFantasys BlogHer '11 Party Post & Giveaway - NSFW

***Congrats to Cindy aka @normawatson!***

She's the lucky winner of a bunch of new toys with comment #32.

You know, I just realized that I never finished all my BlogHer '11 posts and one of the most important posts I hadn't put up is this one right here...a giveaway and the story of the EdenFantasys BlogHer '11 party. The EdenFantasys party is truly unique. Yes, there was one other adult toy company that hosted a party at BlogHer but the EdenFantasys party was the only party that offered arts and crafts with adult toys. Yup, that's right. At the EdenFantasys party you got to decorate a dildo (or 2). If you've never decorated adult toys, you are truly missing out on a hella good time.

Random Observations and Other Shit...

After the sadness of yesterday and today (Full Circle Mel's husband's funeral was today), I need something lighter, not so serious. This is all I've got...

You know you are in serious trouble when your 5 yr old not only figures out that 1 + 1 + 1 +  1 = 4 but that means that 100 + 100 + 100 + 100 = 400. Holy shit, his teachers aren't going to know what hit them.

You know you live in a house full of males when you get mustard on the *bottom hem of your shirt and no one points it out to you. Hell, they probably didn't notice.

You also know you live in a house full of males when they let you leave the house in said mustard bedecked shirt and go to the store.

You know your teenage son has been folding laundry when every single thing except your bras and underwear are folded. He might get contaminated with cooties if he folds them.

Is it normal that my teenager is reading Nelson Mandela's memoirs and Poorer Richard's America: What would Ben say? without a teacher or adult forcing him?

Does Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba remind anyone else of a giant walking talking dildo? I mean he is the one eyed wonder.

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I'm opening the floor for any and all questions...personal, factual, deep and introspective, or fluffy and light. I'll be posting answers later this week.

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I have an EdenFantasys post and giveaway coming up. I will be giving away a $55 gift card and some EdenFantasys swag from BlogHer '11

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*in my defense, I have really big boobs and don't see the lower half of my shirt unless I make an effort to see it

Winners of the Summer Block Party

First of all, I have to humbly apologize for being so late in posting this. I should have had it up earlier. I have no excuse except for the fact that I was sort of distracted by this little bitty thing called BlogHer '11.

A drum roll please.... the moment you've all been waiting for! The winners of the Summer Block Party!

First, the technical stuff. All the valid entries from all the participating blogs were put into a spreadsheet that assigned a unique number to each one. There were a total of 156 valid entries. Then Random.org was used to find the winners. And the winners are:

Winner of a year's subscription to AboutOne: Valerie Stayton @ My-2-Cents, who said "I am a Google RSS feed subscriber, Valerie Stayton, my_2_cents at hotmail dot com"

Winner of a year's subscription to AboutOne: Kim, who said " And because I really, really want to win a b-day onesie: Bonus Entry No. 2: Your birthday is June 2. Melissa is also part of the trio. I generally remember because mine is the 3rd :)"

Winner of a year's subscription to AboutOne: Lisa, who said "I like being able to track medical information on AboutOne."

Winner of a year's subscription to AboutOne: StacyT, who said "I have signed up for my free trial."

Winner of a year's subscription to AboutOne: Cassie, who said "You prefer to read!"

Winner of the Amazon Gift Card: Maria D., who said "I signed up for the Free trial!"

Winner of the Blog Bling Button: JJ, who said "I'm cooool and subscribe to your blog with Google Reader"

Winner of the Cookies: Seussgirl, who said "Hmm..favorite summer song...right now, I'm loving "Knee Deep" by the Zac Brown Band. I also love "Redneck Yaught Club". Apparently, I go country when it gets hot. :)"

Winner of the Birthday Shirt: Tasha, who said "I follow you through my Blogger feed."

Winner of the Necklace: Geek by Marriage, who said "Following as GeekByMarriage "

Congratulations, winners! If you won a prize, get in touch with Jen by using the contact form on her blog and she will either get you your prize or get you in touch with the person who will get you your prize. If we don't hear from you this week, we have a list of alternates who will get your prize!

What I Like About Me

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a lot of beautiful women being angsty. They're worrying about what to wear and will what they wear be good enough and "OMG, what if I get there and don't fit in with anyone" and what if I don't get an invite to the party. What it all boils down to is they are wondering "What if I'm not good enough?" I think watching all these fabulous women stress over an event (BlogHer '11) that's suppose to be fun is what has made me want to participate Ciao Mom's Things I Like About Me even though I'm sneaking in just under the wire.

So, while you are reading my list of things I like about me, I'm going to challenge each and everyone of you to think of at least 2 things you can truly and genuinely say you like about yourself. Women tend to be far to harsh on themselves. It's time to stop that and time to start celebrating the fabulousness of us.

1) I like my fabulously curly hair. There was a time in my life that I didn't like it. In fact, I could safely say I hated it when I was younger. I desperately wanted hair like everyone else. Now, I love that I have a head full of ringlet curls that never ever go away. They curl, they twine, they bounce, and I love them no matter what color they happen to be.

2) I like that I'm secure enough in myself to have fun with my hair. I no longer limit myself to normal colors. Manic Panic is my friend.

3) I love that I can talk to anyone. I've struck up conversations in some of the unlikeliest locations and some of those people are friends to this day.

4) I love that I look and sound like my mother. Until a few years back, I wasn't aware how alike we look. Now, I can't see how I missed it. I think I am very lucky because at 66, she can pass for someone much younger.

5) I love that not only do I look like my mom but I've inherited her wonderfully witty sense of humor, her brains, and her desire to help anyone she can help. I was raised by an incredible woman and, if I grow up to be even half as wonderful, I'll be in good shape indeed.

6) I love that I am honest and open about how I feel. You will never doubt where you stand with me.

7) I love that I can tell someone to go to hell in such a manner that they don't even realize what they've been told and gladly do it.

8) I love that I see the good in people. I give my love and loyalty freely and I will bend over backwards to do something for someone I care about.

9) I love my eyes, my lips and my boobs. Yup, I have a pretty fabulous rack and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

10) I love that my artist's eye can pick color combinations that may seem unlikely at first but look fabulous once put together.

11) I love my artistic nature. I've never met a craft I don't like or one I can't at least become competent at. There are quite a few crafty things I excel at and a host of things I'm at least passably good at.

It's amazing how hard it is to be complimentary to yourself. I found myself questioning and second guessing my words. Will I sound like I'm bragging? Will I sound obnoxious about it? But, damn does it make you feel good when you finally put those words on the screen...These are the things I like and love about myself.

Take a moment and spread the love...share the warm fuzzies. Tell me my dear friends, what do you like about yourself? I challenge each of you who read this post to chime in in the comment section with something you genuinely like or love about yourself.

Since it will probably be too late for you to join in CiaoMom's wonderful event (entries close the night of the 18th), I'm going to offer a prize of some sort...created by my crafty fingers...to one of the brave women who step forward and tell me what she likes about herself.


Thanks to my dear friend Kir for bringing this to my attention.

Welcome To The Summer Block Party

Welcome, welcome, pull your chair up to the barbeque and let me tell you about the best damned opportunity in our little corner of the blogosphere. Before we start, grab a cold beer from the cooler or maybe a mojito from the pitcher on the table. It's too hot to be without refreshments. Now, y'all have to agree that the best parties have door prizes, right? Well, this fabulous party has some truly amazing door prizes for y'all to win. See, this little block party here is sponsored by 6 amazing bloggers and one of the coolest companies I've heard about, AboutOne.

Let me tell you a little about AboutOne. When you have an account with AboutOne, it's like you have a cross between the most amazingly stupendous file cabinet you could ever have and the sharpest, most savvy personal assistant anyone could ever want. AboutOne allows you to keep everything important in one location. Let me repeat that, IT ALLOWS YOU TO KEEP EVERYTHING IMPORTANT IN ONE LOCATION. Seriously guys, for those of you still dealing with infertility hell, you can scan all your medical records in and have them available any time, anywhere. You could use the calender to track all your doctor's appointments and even your medicine schedule. And, for those of you with children, the advantages of AboutOne just multiply. You can track anything you want, growth, medical records, shot records, scan in artwork, upload videos, and more. The thing I am most excited about is being able to track everything about my oldest son's high school years. Marty is starting high school in the fall and AboutOne will let me track his grades, his extra-curricular activities, any volunteer activities, and test scores. I can also scan in copies of any awards he receives and keep track of the starting and ending dates for all these activities. I truly wish something like this had existed 14 years ago when Marty was born because I suck at writing down all the milestones in a book but I totally ROCK at keeping things updated online. Just imagine what a boon an AboutOne account can be to all of you. What's more my dear friends, AboutOne is also PERFECT for childfree couples or couples whose kids have grown up and moved out. You can keep copies of all receipts and tax info in your AboutOne account and track job opportunities or recognition in addition to all the other features mentioned. I am truly amazed at the platform they have developed over at AboutOne and I can't wait to use it as they continue to expand what it does.

Now, what you've all been waiting for. Here's the scoop on the amazing prizes and how to enter.

THE PRIZES:

• 5 winners: will receive a one year subscription to AboutOne
• 1 winner: $25 Gift Card to Amazon.com compliments of AboutOne
• 1 winner: custom 125 x125 "blog bling button" from the blog loving world of Plaid House Designs (check out the gorgeous buttons at the bottom of this post)
• 1 winner: one dozen {OMG I WANT THEM RIGHT NOW!!!} Frank's Big Ones cookies
• 1 winner: adorable custom embroidered print shirt from Little Star Shop 
• 1 winner: custom designed and made necklace from I'm Not that Pregnant

The giveaway is open to US residents only and you must provide a valid e-mail address. The giveaway starts right now and runs through July 31st. Each winner will have 72 hours to respond. If you win the cookies, don't worry about sending me an address. I'll eat them for you.


HOW TO ENTER:

• MANDATORY ENTRY: Check out AboutOne's site and leave a comment telling us what feature looks the most interesting to you

1 BONUS ENTRY:
• Follow me on Google Friend's Connect and leave a comment telling me the name that shows up with you on GFC

1 Bonus Entry: answer one and only one of these questions in the comments (try looking in the personal trivia category)

1. What celebrity do I have a mad crush on?
2. Where was I born?
3. What happened to me only 1 week after I got my driver's license?
4. Name one thing I collect...
5. What Greek organization was/am I a member of?

2 BONUS ENTRIES:
• Sign up for AboutOne's totally free trial using this link and leave a comment letting us know you signed up. You will be making a huge, huge mistake if you don't at least try out this fantabulous service.

Now let's get this party started!!

You can increase your chances of winning by going to the other Summer Block Party Neighbor Blogs and playing along there too!





I was given a free subscription to AboutOne in exchange for reviewing their product. Any and all opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone.

A Fabulous Giveaway from uPrinting *Updated with WINNER

*The winner of the uPrinting Brochure Giveaway is OnceAMother *

Hey y'all! I am thrilled to be working with uPrinting, a fabulous online printing company again this month.

This time uPrinting is giving away a 50 piece brochure printing to the winner. These fabulous brochures are fully customizable through the use of uPrinting's brochure templates. I mean seriously, how great is this. These brochures can be used to promote any organization you belong to or they could be used as a great addition to a holiday gift (how's that for thinking ahead) by printing family recipes or stories on it. The uses are literally endless.

Since blogger rebelled and didn't post my scheduled posts this week (this was suppose to go up 3 days ago), this is going to be a quick and simple giveaway (my favorite kind since there is no wondering if you won). Entries start IMMEDIATELY and end at 10 pm east coast time on the 27th. Here are the giveaway specs...

Giveaway Prize: 50 pcs Brochure printing for each winner

• 8.5" x 11" 100 lb paper gloss
• With Folding (Half Fold, Trifold/Letterfold, Z-Fold, Roll Fold, Accordion Fold)
• outside and inside printing
• 2 business day turnaround on your order

Shipping: Free Shipping
Eligibility: Limited to US Residents,18 yrs old or older.

Entering this giveaway is simple but remember that EACH CHANCE REQUIRES A SEPARATE RESPONSE. What do you have to do to enter...

1. REQUIRED: tell me what you would use the brochures for 1 entry
2. Comment on any post from this week. Leave a comment with url or name of the post (yes, comments you made earlier this week count 1 entry for each post commented on
3. Comment on the guest post my son wrote for 5 entries
4. Tweet (or share on facebook) this giveaway and provide me the link to your tweet (tweet or facebook once a day for 5 entries) - Win 50 custom brochures from @dragondream , @uPrinting , and @Giveaway_blogs http://bit.ly/lYleP5 Entries close at 10 pm on 6/27 #giveaway

* This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, an online printing company. I will receive the same prize as the winner.

Help Me Win

Hey y'all...this post is just going up to get me the extra 10 entries in the iPad2 giveaway from Cecily over at Uppercase Woman and the amazing people at Buy More Contacts. So, you don't have to read this post and you certainly don't have to go over to Cecily's blog and enter the contest because the farther away you stay from this, the more chance I have of winning.

Operation Summer has begun...

A post in bullets because OMG am I ever tired.

• We are going to go down to my parents' house the last week in July. Gabe is going to be part of one of my mom's swimming classes and Joey will be helping out with swimming. I will take Marty down to Wilmington mid-week to join his church youth group on their service trip. I am thrilled that he wants to take an active roll in the youth group this year.
• I drove 5 1/2 hours yesterday. Marty's beach camp started yesterday so I drove from my parents' house to the beach (slightly over 2 hours), back to my parents' house (a little over 2 hours again), and after dinner we headed home (an hour and 15 minutes).
• Woke up today with an wanna be migraine (not debilitating but has the potential to be ugly if I don't baby it)...am going to have to get off the 'puter soon because the screen refresh rate aggravates my migraines.
• My friend Maven is celebrating 20 years of sobriety. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to a most awesome woman!
• My friend Monica is doing incredible work with Team Sizzle. They had a short film in the Cannes Film Festival and they are currently shooting their first feature film. Remember these names because they are going to take the movie industry by storm. I fully expect to hear her say "I'd like to thank the academy..." someday.
• The final Harry Potter film premieres July 15th and OurKidsMom is hosting an awesome giveaway in honor of this. Go enter and you could win Harry Potter Ultimate Editions Year 5 & 6 on DVD.
• For those who asked about how Vic handled our kids births after I wrote the last post about the keystone cops birth story, this is the scoop. Vic knew he had to be in the delivery room. Before we had kids I told him that I didn't care how he reacted that I expected him to be there...he helped make them, he could damned well be there when the arrived. He was magnificent both before and during the deliveries. He never once complained when I nearly broke his hand by squeezing it when I had contractions when in labor with Marty. He was incredible and held the puke bucket when labor made me sick. He even sat with me behind the surgical drape when I ended up needing a c-section. And, he was so sweet singing to Marty after he was born. Vic was equally great during the c-sections for each of the other boys. I didn't find out until recently that as soon as the boys were born and I was settled after delivery that he would find the nearest bathroom and puke his guts out. Vic just doesn't handle childbirth well but, for me, he did it.