This is the song that never ends...

And a great big hearty "you're welcome" for putting that song into your heads this Monday morning!

Just a few things that never seem to end...

This nasty cold. Thanks to The Manimal, we're now on Round 2!

Turkey. Nuff said.

The 300th Post! Who knew that a 300th post extravaganza held over Thanksgiving would be such craziness?! That being said, let's recap the winners of our Fabulous 300th Post Giveaways!

Original Lava Lamp Party Kit Monday: Miss Cindy Fig--still haven't received your addy, girlfriend, so zip me an email!

Sandra Lee-d Ornament Tuesday: A big Woo-Hoo to Tommie--another addy missing, btw!

Starbucks Love Wednesday: Yay for Jenners--headed your way today, lady!

Thanksgiving Thursday: Georgie is getting this one--headed out today too!

And...drum roll please! For Fabulous 300th Post Friday (which didn't happen until Saturday, but oh well): Sweet Sandra from Add Humor & Faith! Send me your addy, Miss Sandra and I'll send you that $25 Target Gift Card.

I've mentioned before that I love to give presents, and it seems so appropriate to add a bonus to this week of giveaways. Soooo...I took the names of all of my wonderful readers who entered but didn't win, assigned numbers to them, and let my randomizer go to work!

Congrats to Suburban Prep! Send me your addy and I'll send off your special Fabulous 300th Post Gift!

Thanks to all who participated in my week of giveaways! Hard to believe that I've hit that magic number of 300. As Jenners commented, if I were a TV show, I'd be in syndication by now! :)

Winners

A big Thanksgiving Woo-Hoo to the following fabulous bloggy friends!

To JENNERS, you can buy your fave Starbucks CD (or at least pay for most of it!) with your SBX Gift Card! Email me your addy and I'll send it out.

And for the Gratitude Package, GEORGIE! Send me yours too! :)

300th Post...

really screws with your brain!

Or maybe it's just the fact that I went away over the Thanksgiving holiday and SOMEHOW forgot to set a post for Friday. Of all days to miss my NaBloPoMo post, it HAD to be my 300th!

So of course, I have to extend the deadline for the fabulous final giveaway!

Leave me a comment by midnight tomorrow (November 30th) and you'll be entered into the drawing for a $25 Target Gift Card and a little bonus!

Tell me what crazy thing you did or didn't do when your brain was full.

:)

Thankful Memories

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." Albert Schweitzer

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." Cicero

"Every good gift and every perfect giftis from above..." James 1:17 KJV

Today, most of us are probably enjoying time and a meal with family and friends. Some will watch football, parades, holiday movies and the like.

I, for one, am grateful to God.

For friends, for family, for love, for life.

Today's 300th Post Giveaway celebrates gratitude. It is two parts--one is a lovely journal. Yes, an actual pen and paper journal. Odd, I know, but there is still something about physically WRITING one's thoughts. The second part is a long-lost art as well--stationery. Specifically, some beautiful thank you notes from English Tea Paperie. I won them in a silent auction we had, and I already have loads of Chloe's stationery, so I thought I'd include these in our giveaway.

Leave a comment telling what YOU are grateful for! Today's giveaway will merge into tomorrow's, and we'll be picking TWO winners after midnight on Friday!

I'm grateful for you, all of my bloggy friends! Happy Thanksgiving!

Java Jive

I love Starbucks.

Yes, I know they're horribly overpriced, but to me they represent peace. As in, no children, time for myself. Peace. Ah.

Maybe you like them, maybe you don't, but you've gotta admit, even with their recent market downturn, they're marketing geniuses. Who else could've taken a neighborhood coffee shop and made it popular enough that there could be four opportunities in four miles in my little town?

And if you're faced with stress in the upcoming holiday season, you're gonna want some sustenance. Who wouldn't love some of the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate? Or a Tall Peppermint Mocha? Or a fabulous scone or cookie?

It is with those things in mind that I present today's 300th Post Giveaway...

A $15 Starbucks Card! Yum! If you're really against Starbucks, I'm sure you can find a stocking to stuff! For today, leave a comment with your fave holiday treat. Linking to your blog gets an additional entry!

I'll Get You, My Pretties!

I love to decorate for Christmas. Growing up, we never had a super-formal tree. We had some store bought ornaments, but a majority of our tree decor was handmade. Whether it was the toilet paper Santa that my brother made in grade school, or the styrofoam/felt/sequin concoction that I made in kindergarten, each piece had and still has so many memories.

Our tree is much the same. I have a lot of store-bought ornaments that I've collected over the years, but my favorites are the handmade ones. Like the now beakless and eyeless styrofoam snowbird that my Great Aunt Aggie made for me when I was seven. Or the manila paper angel with the torn wings that I made at some point in grade school.

I'm also attracted to what I call the "Sandra Lee" method of Christmas decorating. That's where you take store bought decor, and add your own personal touch.

Which brings us to today's giveaway! One of the words I sometimes use to define my personal sense of style is "preppy". This word means many different things to many different people. One of the common elements, however, seems to be the attraction of all things monogrammed. I mean, who doesn't like to see their name in lights?

Well, maybe not in lights, but today's giveaway is a glass ball ornament, Sandra Lee-d by yours truly! You can choose the name/initial of the recipient, and I'll send it off to you! I apologize in advance for the photos--taken by my very preppy little hot pink phone! Does the job, but certainly not the quality I'd like. The winner's bauble will also be accented by a lovely little ribbon. The ornament is a lovely lime-y green and the writing is hot pink. Great fun for girlfriends or the little princess in your life, or better yet, YOU! :)

Gonna Party Like It's...1969?

Well here it is...my 300th post week! I'm so excited, and to celebrate, I'm having a week of giveaways, leading up to my 300th post, on Friday!

I can remember as a child my mom had a lava lamp. I was so enthralled watching the fluid globs of...well, lava, I suppose (not really, I know!). I'm not sure exactly what happened to that piece of kitsch, but let's just say that it wouldn't really go with their decor now!

Today's gift is a little way to celebrate that unique piece of Americana, and well, just celebrate (with or without alcohol, as far as I'm concerned)!

It's "The Original Lava Party Kit"! In case you can't exactly see from the picture, it includes 2 color phasing, lava lamp shaped LED shot glasses, 1 color phasing, lava lamp shaped bottle opener and four different colored, light up ice cubes. The lava shot glass is 6" high and 2" wide. The bottle opener 5.5" high and 1.5" wide. Each cube is 1-1/2 high and 1-1/2 wide.

Now, even if you don't enjoy "the hard stuff", rest assured that even kiddos will get a kick out of this. On our Disney trip last year, the kids got one of these color light up ice cubes in their fruit punch and you'd've thought they'd been served by Mickey himself!

So how can you win this first gift in the Fabulous 300th Post Giveaway? Easy-Peasy! Just leave a comment here, telling me one decorative item you remember from your childhood, and you'll get one entry. Want a bonus entry? Link to me from your blog and I'll enter you twice! It'll be a random drawing, certified by my very own randomizer, SS#1. Deadline is 8:30 pm (Central Time...sorry folks, you'll have to do the math depending on where you are!) tonight (11/24/08). Winner will be announced tomorrow!

And if you're not chosen, no worries! We've got a whole week of fun giveaways! Tomorrow will be a pretty little decorating bauble, especially for all you preppy friends out there!

And don't forget to check the button on my sidebar for Ruby & Roja's fun Christmas giveaway!

***EDITED TO ADD: I've decided to extend the deadline each night to Midnight (because I know there are some night owls out there!), and will post the winner the next morning. Spread the word--the more, the merrier!***

There's No Place Like Home

Even though it's a far cry from Winnipeg, Annapolis may just come close! Maybe he clicked his heels three times, maybe the Monkey-napper finally got it together, or maybe our Monkey is a LOT more adept than we give him credit for!

Monkey is back on his trip.

And if that weren't exciting enough, Lisagh says we should all be sure and visit the Garage today for some REALLY big news!

***EDITED TO ADD: Don't forget about my big 300th Post Week of Giveaways starting a week from today, 11/27!!

A Week of Giveaways!

So I was checking out my blogging history and realized that this month I'll hit the big three-oh-oh. That's right, I'll soon hit 300 posts.

Because it's NaBloPoMo, I know that I'll hit that big blog-a-versary on Friday, November 28th. For me, that's a pretty cool milestone, and I've decided to celebrate my fellow bloggy friends with a week of giveaways! Nothing huge, but a few gifts of thanks.

Monday, November 24th--Party Hearty with this gift that will remind you of the 70's!
Tuesday, November 25th--Get ready to Deck the Halls with this pretty, preppy giveaway!
Wednesday, November 26th--Enjoy some Pumpkin Spice or Peppermint flavors with today's giveaway!
Thursday, November 27th--Give thanks for all of your blessings with today's well-versed giveaway!
Friday, November 28th--No special reason for this one, it's just fun!

Stay tuned for specifics, but be sure to come back for the Big 300 Giveaway!