Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Thank you to those who entered the giveaway for the 5 Love Languages book! 

The lucky winner is...

Congrats Madeline! I'm sending ya an email!

Photo Challenge, Days 1-something

Remember how I told you that my bloggy buddy Lesley is doing a photo challenge? Somehow I missed her post on Monday. Stoopid Google Reader. 

The first challenge? Days 1-5.

 

Today you can link up one, all or a few of the following:

1. Favorite food

2. Smile

3. Happiness

4. Leaves

5. Morning sky

Day Uno, favorite food. 

That would be Sea Salt and Vinegar chips. Most specifically, the Miss Vickie's brand. Lays (NOT the kettle cooked ones, bleh) come in a close second. I got hooked on these when Ava was in the NICU all of those long months. But I love these so much that I can't buy them. I'll go through an entire big bag in one sitting. My Heaven involves Sea Salt & Vinegar chips, and Cherry Cokes. 

Day Two - Smile

This smile completely brightens my day. I know all parents love their kids, but after seeing all we've been thru with Ava, with her 7 surgeries, I'm just so much more thankful every time I see her smile. 

Day Three. Happiness. 

I'm going to be generic and say my family. But it's more than that. I, of course, love my husband, and he treats me like no one ever has before. But he's such an awesome daddy to my three girls. My two older girls are from a previous marriage, but he treats them like his own. There is no difference to him between my older two and Ava. There is no "step" children and "real" children. I know he'd walk through fire for every single one of those girls. 

Day four, leaves

The great thing about this challenge? You can interpret it any way you want. Like this pic, it's not exactly a picture of leaves. But there are leaves in the pic. This is my front yard as it sat yesterday. My dad and mom have been kicking butt on getting it done. Hubby and my father in law also got in on the action. I'm so excited to see it finished, and it's such a wonderful feeling to know that all of these people are working so hard, for free, to make your home beautiful. 

Day 5, Morning Sky. 

Yeah, I don't have anything. :( I'll be better prepared next week. 

So there you have it. Go check out Lesley's blog, cause she's awesome. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader! May your day be filled with love, laughter, and someone else doing the clean up.

Zenni Optical? Yeah, your prices rock.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zenni Optical. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've needed glasses or contacts since I was in sixth grade. Back then, I had some huge black frames with super thick lenses (thanks to my horrible eyesight). That, combined with my frizzy poodle hair and glasses? Yes, it's as tragic as it sounds, people.

I've finally figured out the whole looks thing. Got those braces off, chopped off the hair. I'm a strict contacts wearer, but with the prices and styles at Zenni Optical, I'd be willing to change my mind. 

They have glasses starting at $6.95. Yeah, you read that right. And all the cheap eyeglasses (even the $6.95 ones) come with

• FREE Anti-scratch coating
• FREE Full UV protection
• FREE protective case
• FREE microfiber cleaning cloth

And they have some great upgrades that you can add to your selection

• $4.95 Premium Anti-Glare Coating
• $4.95 Sunglass lens tint

And shipping is super cheap! $4.95 for your entire USA order, or $9.95 for your entire international order. And they're offering free shipping if you spend over $50.

I love that when you click on the frame, it gives you a ton of information. Everything from lens width, frame width, frame weight, etc.

And my favorite part? You can upload a pic of your face, and "try on" the glasses. Saves me the trouble of trying to imagine what the glasses would look like.

The glasses I have right now cost me over $300 a few years ago. I wish I would have known about Zenni Optical back then. Would have saved me a ton of money, and these frames are so much cuter.

Wouldn't you love to save money too? The way the economy has been, I know we're all looking to save every penny we can. For me? That saved money would be going towards Christmas presents for my girls.

Wanna see my favorite eyeglasses? It's these bad boys. I would rock these, think geek chic.

  

A photo challenge? I accept.

So, my bloggy buddy Lesley is, like, the coolest chick I know. Totally witty, so pretty that I want to punch her in the face, and does the coolest wing eye liner thing that I'm STILL waiting for a tutorial for (ahem, Lesley). 

So, like me, she's been going thru a crafty slump lately. I'm catching up on Etsy stuff, being a mom, stuff like that. I haven't had the motivation to craft lately. 

And while some bloggers will do a whole post like "Hey, I stuck a pumpkin on my mantle! Isn't it great? Aren't I a genius?" and then post 20 different pics of said pumpkin from 20 different angles, that just ain't my thang. 


But, my dear Lesley called me out on her facebook, and challenged me to her photo challenge. And me, I can't back down from a challenge. So here ya go. 

There are going to be 30 themes. But no, I'm not going to harass you with one pic a day. She's going to group 5 themes, and do one post a week for 6 weeks. But she's starting us out with baby steps, so today's theme is "animal". 


We adopted Titan after we had to put Jasper to sleep. He's been a great addition to the family. The shelter didn't know anything about him except he was found in a mall parking lot. They said he's about a year and a half old, and probably a chihuahua/terrier mix. 

I took him to the vet on Tuesday. The vet told Titan "Titan, you just won the dog lottery with her as your owner". Talk about a feel good moment. I was on such a high. Well, until we got finished with his shots, exam, meds and I got handed a $93 bill. Dog better get a job. 

He's been so good for my heart, and while he doesn't replace Jasper, it's been a welcome addition to the house. And yes, he sleeps in the goofiest positions.

Giveaway! 5 Love Languages book

So, for you long time followers, you've heard me talk about the book, The 5 Love Languages before. I swear by this book, I heart it. They always talk about it at the "Marriages That Last" seminar that we go to every year. At first, I was like, "Why are they pushing this book so much?". But after reading it, I totally get it.

In my last post, I told you how my love language is touch, followed closely by gifts. Hubby's is acts of service, followed closely by words of affirmation. 

Do you know what yours is? How would you like to have your own copy?

Required entry

• become a follower of my blog, or tell me that you already are cause you're awesome. That's one super simple entry

Entra entries

• Like me on Facebook, the button is over there on the right. That gives you one more entry. 

Bam. That's it, folks. Giveaway ends next Thursday the 24th at midnight. Contest open to US residents, and heck, I'll even ship to Canada.

Highs and Lows 11-15 edition

Ugh. Another week that I didn't post crap. I'll be better this week. I have a giveaway planned for tomorrow (if I'm not going to entice you with my witty repartee, I can at least bribe you with something).

So here we are again. Time for Highs and Lows. Pretty simple. Share the highs and lows of your week.

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Lows

• Yes, this was my status last week. The two older girls got their report cards, and they were both great, so we took them to Cici's. Ava was such a snot. Screaming, refusing to be in the seat. Ugh. I don't know what happened to my super sweet girl? She's been throwing temper tantrums for the past couple of weeks. Although she had a really great day yesterday, so I'm thankful for those nice days. 

Highs 

• I'm super excited about this one. I've hated the front of our house for, forever. We bought those cheap brick thingies to put around our flowerbed, just to have something there. Well, my dad has a hook up at a paver company. He does work on their security cameras for free, and return, gets his choice of any of the left over pavers (sometimes it's a full pallet or two, not just a few pavers). I went over with him to pick out one I liked, he brought them to our house, and we (meaning him and my mom) got started on it on Saturday. We spent a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday, leveling the ground. We'll start the mortar process next Sunday when he gets back in town. Of course, we will have to buy the mortar, but we're looking at under $100 when it's all finished. Not bad, considering the neighbors were quoted $1200 for the same thing.

• I officially finished week 1 of Turbo Fire. Seriously, it's the BEST FREAKING workout I've ever done. I'm the type who can't do work out videos in the house, cause I get bored and it's too easy to skip ahead (or, ahem, turn it off). But this one keeps me motivated and pumped. Seriously, I heart Chalene Johnson (the instructor). She's so spunky, I want to put her in my pocket.

• You know how on the side of Facebook, it'll show you old pics of yours? A pic from when Ava was in the NICU popped up, so I put it next to a current pic of hers. Amazing what a change 14 months can bring. 

• My etsy sales are slowly picking up. I had a sadly neglected Etsy shop that I started before my blog, so they didn't match. So I shut that one down and started a new one.

• Had a great lunch with my mom and hubby at Applebee's. Nice to just relax and have good conversation with two of my favorite people. 

So there ya go.

Highs and Lows 11-6

So, I was lazy and didn't do Highs and Lows last week. Bad blogger! Let's see what I can remember from the past two weeks.




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Lows

• Signed up to be a foster for the local animal rescue (the same ones we adopted Titan from). They called, and had a blind 10 year old pomeranian, so went and picked him up. SUPER sweet dog. Unfortunately, Titan did NOT agree with having another dog in the house. Whined, barked, threw a fit if he could see me pet the other dog. So I guess I'm not meant to be a foster. I can't fault Titan though, it's his home first, and I have to respect every family member's feelings about the matter, dog included.

• We aren't going to be able to go up to St Louis this week like we had been planning. It was my choice, and hubby said we'd make it work. But with Ava's last surgery, it just wasn't the right time to drop $300 on gas/food. I'd rather my kids have a great Christmas than for Mommy and Daddy to have a weekend jaunt off to Missouri.

• Ava, my precious sweet girl, has figured out, literally over night, how to throw a temper tantrum. Oh. My. Goodness. Face turned away from you, throws herself on the floor, screaming. What the crap.

Highs

• Had a fabulous Halloween and visit with my father in law.

• Remember how I told you we had to put my dog, Jasper, down? I got this in the mail last week. Hubby surprised me with it. Came with a stake so I can put it in the backyard.

• So, before Halloween, I was talking to one of my best friends about our kids Halloween costumes, and I knew her son wanted to be Mario (from the video game). But due to time, budget, and lack of sewing knowledge, buying a $25 costume for one night just wasn't an option. So I had a free day, hit up Goodwill and found some blue overalls for $2, and spent $2 on red fleece, and I made him a Mario hat. After dinner, we drove over there and dropped it off. He loved it, and I knew Candace appreciated it. Just made my heart feel good. And after I got home that night, I found this on facebook. Talk about melt your heart, I love my friends.

• I couldn't have found a better dog to adopt, minus his being jealous. He's such a lover, always wants to be in my lap. And he sleeps in the silliest positions.

• Had a shoot a couple of weeks ago with one of my favorite photographers, and one of my favorite make up artists. He actually did one of my first photo shoots 3 years ago. We went down town to Deep Ellum and did the shoot there. It was super quick, and I love the pics. 

• I finished withe kettlebell challenge I was doing. I've been wanting to try a new workout called Turbo Fire by Chalean Johnson. I've been doing her Turbo Jam for forever, and really wanted to mix it up. So hubby surprised me with it. I did one this morning, and yesterday, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. 

• Lotsa great lunches and dinners with friends. Most Sunday nights, when the older girls are at Awana, hubby and I go with another couple friend of ours to FreeBirds (remember when hubby camped out in front of Freebirds for two nights before it opened, so he could be part of the "First 25 eat free for a year", the guy of the couple we go with was number one in line). It's always a great time. Last night, another couple joined us (her husband was also part of the first 25). Woot for cheap, free food.

• I got a scarf to review from Stacie at Scarves.net that I'm super excited about. She's the lovely lady who guest posted on my blog last week. I picked the Ashlynn Leopard Scarf, and I BIG FAT HEART it. I just need to find a day this week to get gussied up, figure out a way to tie it (which will be easy with their 37 Ways to Tie a Scarf tutorial)

I think that's it. It's been a long couple of weeks. Bad blogger. 

Halloween recap

Did everyone have a great Halloween? We did. It was a great weekend over all. Scare on the Square on Saturday (it's where all the businesses downtown hand out candy), pumpkin carving on Sunday, trick or treating on Monday. As much as I want to strangle my kids at times, seeing them so excited makes me want to kill them, ya know, a little less. 

I'm the Cat in the Hat, kinda. It was too cold for the dress. Ava is a pumpkin, we got the costume last year on clearance for $2. Jasmin is a mermaid, and Arielle is a zombie.

Jake is a dead pirate. $3 sword + $4 thrift store shirt + craft paint = dead pirate. I cut the sword in half and attached it to him with wires and cardboard. He got a LOT of compliments on it, which was cool. He said that starting next year, I have to make everyone's costumes. I'll take that as a compliment.


Ava was PRECIOUS. It took her a few houses to get it figured it, but after a bit, when we would carry her up to the house, she would start to bounce and squeal, so excited about the candy.





I hope everyone had a great Halloween!