NoMoNaBloPoMo

Wow...I'd like to say I actually completed NaBloPoMo, but alas, no. My brain's still a bit fried from our little Turkey Day Vacay, so I promise I'll be back with more tomorrow.

December 1st.

Gah.

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!***

Fireplace Fun (and an awful lot of parentheticals)

Last year during some weird windstorm (yeah, we live near Chicago...go figure!), the top thingy on our chimney (love my technical terms?) blew off. You know, the top thingy that makes sure that winged creatures don't build nests in your chimney?

Yeah, that.

Well, since we were missing a top thingy, we didn't use our fireplace at all last winter. This year (after the bird family had moved out), we had the chimney swept (by a man who, disappointingly, bore NO resemblance at all to Dick Van Dyke), and the top thingy replaced.

Even though he looked at me like I had four heads when I asked if he danced and sang, he did the job efficiently, and soon our chimney was ready to serve more than a decorative purpose.

We held the inaugural fire this weekend and I'm pretty sure that we'll be doing a lot of burning throughout the winter. Sweet Son #1 was so excited that he convinced Diva Papa to pick up some marshmallows and we roasted them. The Manimal enjoyed more than his share of the sweet stickiness (both roasted and not), but was a bit disturbed by the fire that he couldn't blow out.

You see, he's at that "routine" age. The boy who loves to create chaos for all of us, is EXTREMELY bothered by things like burning candles, open doors, etc. He blows them out, closes them, anything to restore the order he expects.

Which is kind of ironic from our perspective.

At any rate, it took a little time to convince him that he didn't need to (and really shouldn't try to) blow out the fire.

Now if only I could convince him to apply a little of that routine to picking up toys and the like.

Cuisine du Jour

This weekend, we're hosting Diva Nana and Diva Papa. Since Diva Husband doesn't have the most adventurous palate, I take these opportunities to practice my culinary creativity.

On the menu tonight at Chez Diva...

Sweet & Spicy Nuts: Lovely recipe I found on The Boastful Baker. Thanks Melissa!

Make-Ahead Caesar Salad: Leesie has a soft spot in her heart for Junior League Cookbooks. This recipe comes from "Causing a Stir", courtesy of the Junior League of Dayton.

Yields 4-6 servings

1 head romaine lettuce

1 tsp dry mustard (I actually use Grey Poupon Coarse Ground Mustard)

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping

*The entire salad may be assembled and refrigerated, covered tightly, one day ahead.*

Wash, dry and tear lettuce. Mash mustard into garlic. Mix in pepper, salt, lemon juice, oil and cheese. Place dressing mixture in bottom of salad bowl. Place lettuce on top of dressing, cover tightly, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, toss lettuce with dressing. Sprinkle with extra cheese to taste. Add croutons or anchovies as desired.

Horseradish Crusted Pork Loin: No real recipe, just some direction provided by our amazing Executive Chef.

Roll pork loin in egg white wash, then roll in freshly shredded horseradish. Sear in a super hot skillet just to crisp the crust, then roast in a 350 degree oven. Be sure to use a rack in the roasting pan.

Fresh Green Beans, steamed with sea salt

Wild Rice

We love a good wine, and I served this with a Riesling.

Dear Sir or Madam

Today is "Open Letter Friday" over at SITS.

We've all done it, haven't we? Written those letters that will never be sent? Here's my offering, and don't forget to check out the rest of the SITStas' letters!

Happy Friday! Let's start with a nice one, shall we?

Dear Fellow Patient at My Doctor's Office:

I just wanted to thank you so very much for giving up your appointment time for me. I know this is the prime cold/flu season and my hopes of "slipping in" to see the doctor (on a Monday of all days) were just plain silly. Allowing me to take your appointment time so I could pick up SS#1 and The Manimal on time was just plain sweet. I hope you're feeling better!

It only goes downhill from here, so don't get too excited!

Dear Fellow Shopper at Wal-Mart:

I was going to apologize for my child throwing an out-and-out fit in your presence, but the look you gave me when I spanked his diaper-padded, blue jean-covered bottom because he was being disobedient made me want to tell you to MYODB*. I chose instead to smile saccharinely and go on my (not so) merry way.

For the record, MYODB is "mind your own darn (not really darn, but this is a family show) business".

Dear Gillette, Schick and Any Other Companies Who Manufacture Razors:

You are evil. I'm pretty sure that you are in cahoots together just trying to dream up new products that will require use of your specific replacement blade. I don't so much mind that Gillette products won't fit Schick and vice versa, but let's get real. If I have a Gilette Venus handle, but the Gillette Mach 3 blades are on sale, I shouldn't have to buy the new handle. I'm just saying.

It's enough to make a girl wanna go fuzzy natural.

Dear Huggies:

I was a faithful Huggies mom with Sweet Son #1. Your diapers protected the world from the sheer volume of liquid that seemed to leak out of his body at any given moment. When you came out with Huggies Overnites, I nearly cried at the possibility of not having to change his crib sheets every.single.night.

Although The Manimal's body seemed better suited to one of your competitor's products, I was still a faithful user of the Overnites. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, you introduced a Size 6 in the Overnites. Bless You.

Then one day, they were gone. Gone from Wal-Mart. Gone from Target. Gone from KMart. Gone even from my standby bargain location for Huggies, Family Dollar. I went to the Huggies website and noticed that my most-shopped discount stores were GONE from the "Look for Huggies Overnites Here" section.

Gone.

Now, I do love your diapers, but not the prices, and barring some superior sales, I don't buy diapers at grocery stores or drugstores. And just the THOUGHT of even walking NEAR a Toys R Us or Babies R Us gives me an anxiety attack.

Why, oh why did you part company with my local discount retailers? I'm one sad, sad mommy.

Who now has to do a lot more laundry, thanks to Huggies.

It's a cleansing, freeing experience, writing these letters. Can't wait to read some of the others over at SITS!

Oh, and don't forget to visit me again starting on MONDAY for my fabulous giveaways!

Slump Day

Well, here we are on the twentieth day of NaBloPoMo, and I've officially hit the slump. You other participants know what I'm talking about. Heck, any blogger who posts with even vague regularity is probably intimately acquainted with the slump of which I speak.

Of course, when you're doing something that has you committed (even if for honor only) to post every.single.day.of.the.month, the slump seems that much more enormous.

So to celebrate "Slump Day", I give you the following mishmash of randomness:

Blogs to Visit

I have a whole list (I'm ashamed to tell you that the number is creeping ever closer to 200) of blogs that I (try to) visit every day. If I gave you all of them here, you'd never get anything done. Here are a few to tempt your bloggy taste.

The Green Queen & The Salt Fiend--My friends Heather and Nicole have hatched this joint blog idea and it's absolutely hysterical. You MUST go visit. Like right now. Then come back here.

Life With a Little One and More--Jenners just started following my blog and I LOVE visiting hers. She, like me, has--uhm--a bit more life experience than a lot of other moms of young children and she loves to write. She also has just recently started a sort of online book club which is very cool for us readers in the bunch!

Preserved By a Promise--Beth is fairly new to the blogosphere and this is her journey "out of the Pit and onto the Rock". She writes about her faith journey so very eloquently (and she's an amazing photographer as well!). As with Heather and Nicole, Beth is a former student of mine, and it's so cool to have experienced life with all of them at different stages.

Christmas

Is coming. Quickly. As in 35 days. Quick, someone grab the smelling salts...

Phew. Crisis averted for the moment.

I need some suggestions. I'm making vanilla extract and a rosemary-garlic olive oil to include in my homemade gift baskets (DivaMom, you'd better act surprised!). I'm desperate for suggestions on where to get bottles (not jars) that can somehow be sealed (only for transport), either with wax or a screw top. I've checked The Container Store, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Etc. Did I mention I don't want to spend a fortune on said bottles?

Happy Birthday

To my baby brother. He's 36 today.

How'd Ya Like Them Apples?

I love apples. Always have. And when it comes to nutrition, I consider myself relatively middle-of-the-road. I'm pretty knowledgeable on the topic, and try to cook healthy meals for my family. I try to curb fast food consumption for my kids (with limited success, thankyouverymuch Happy Meal Toys), and avoid processed, packaged foods as much as possible.

My friends are all over the spectrum when it comes to nutrition. Two of my friends in particular pretty much represent polar opposites. My friend Heather is, by her own accounting, a whole food junkie. She is a former vegetarian, and takes her family's nutrition very seriously, grinding her own wheat for baking, incorporating vegetables and fruits at every turn, and limiting meat intake. Heather is married with three children and works from home.

Then there is Nicole, who is, uhm, less concerned with what she puts into her body. She's a swingin' single with a fabulous job as the Media/Communications Director for USA Judo. She does love a good workout, but travels extensively for her job, so she doesn't always get to eat, let alone eat healthy.

So what do these two have in common? Well, aside from being old high school and college friends (and having the same fabulous, if a bit naive, high school band director *insert cheesy grin here*), they both want to lose that last 20-25 lbs. Since they both already work out and Nicole is willing to try the food log approach, they did what any young, twenty-first century woman would do.

They started a joint blog.

You absolutely MUST go now and visit my friends The Green Queen and the Salt Fiend.

OneTwoThree GO!

Have you ever played "Hide and Seek" with a young seeker? One who REALLY likes to count, but doesn't really get it?

I am SO with Jenni on this one. My life hasn't been as busy as hers, but sometimes I feel I'm just starting to get the hang of life in general, and suddenly, time is like a three year-old just learning to count "OneTwoThree Go! Found you!"

Check out her post from yesterday and tell me that you don't know EXACTLY what she's talking about!

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!!

...Wii, Wii, Wii All the Way Home!

So Diva Nana and Diva Papa have entered the wonderful world of video games. Somewhat under pretense of "getting it for the boys", they have purchased a Wii console and Wii Fit system. They played on one at a friend's son's house and loved it.

Keep in mind that their last experience with a video game system was, oh, I don't know, 28 years ago when they searched for an ENTIRE DAY to find an Atari system for brother lawyer and me. And now they're fully entrenched in the latest craze once again.

I'd love to have one, but can't justify the expense, as the Diva boys (DH included) are more XBox creatures. Which is why I was so excited to come across La Petite Chic's Wii GIVEAWAY!

Wish me luck, and Diva Nana and I may just be Wii-fitting together (virtually, at least!) soon! :)

The Nose Knows

It has been said that fragrances bring up vivid memories. It's true. Have you ever been somewhere and caught a whiff of perfume, food, or some other odor that immediately transported you back in time?

Yesterday I had one of those moments.

You may think it was the smell of leaves and crisp air bringing back some fond childhood memory of leaping into a pile of crackling leaves.

Maybe it was catching a whiff of my newest vanilla home scent and practically tasting my Mom's homemade cookies.

Or perhaps it was sniffing The Manimal's freshly bathed head and remembering when he was just a wee little, well-behaved baby.

Nope. It was none of those things. I have two words for you.

Diesel fuel.

Yep. Whenever I smell diesel fuel (it was the armored truck pulling up at Target, btw), I am immediately back in high school, during marching band season. More specifically, the parking lot of the now demolished Hoosier Dome (that's the RCA Dome for you young 'uns out there) in Indianapolis.

This weekend, hundreds of buses and trucks will be parked in the parking lot of the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Music for All/Bands of America Grand National Championships. By the finals tonight, nearly 10,000 kids will have played, marched, spun, danced and twirled their hearts out, some (as seniors) for the last time in their lives.

Marching band had a profound impact on my life. I joined in 1983 because the band was going to perform in the Orange Bowl Parade and I wanted to go to Florida. I stayed because I loved the activity, the music, the friendships. I learned about pride and working hard, how to be a team player, how to manage my time, how to set goals and work for them, and oh yeah, how to play music with my whole heart.

I eventually went on to study music education in college and was a high school band director for five years. My band wasn't huge, but they had heart. They had spirit. They had class. I hope that maybe, some of them have the same vivid memories of band that I do. That even 25 years later, maybe, when they smell the diesel fuel, they will be transported back in time, with wonderful memories, to a place where they learned about life through band.

Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mild

Must be tasty as well. Yes, dear friends, my dog has now eaten a full two-thirds of the Holy Family (and some of the livestock). I swear to you that I'm taking measures to avoid these results, but I'm pretty sure that The Manimal WANTS her to eat his toys.

I've learned three things from these acts of dog eats (plastic) man.

1. I need to buy some more serious rawhide chews.
2. The Manimal understands the gift part of Christmas better than I give his little nearly three year old mind credit.
3. Clearly the Little People Nativity means more to me than the boys!

Photo Finish!

Well, I'm back in the land of the living, finally! You know how when you're sick and you really just want your mom, but then you remember that you ARE the mom?

Yeah.

Anyway, my mom called me yesterday to ask if I'd watched Oprah while I was home DYING. Well, not dying, maybe, but feeling really icky. The answer was no, since I was sleeping (for four blissful hours, uninterrupted by children, husband, or dog).

Apparently they were discussing de-cluttering. Which, as an aside, I need to do DESPERATELY, but surprisingly enough, that's not really why Mom called.

If you are like I, and LOVE to take pictures, but suffer from a severe case of digitalphotograveyarditis (where your photos reside for perpetuity on your computer or worse yet, in your camera), then this offer is for you!

Go now to Oprah's site and get your FREE (well, $6.99 shipping and handling) 20 Page Snapfish Custom Photo Book. This is a-freaking-mazing. It's a $30 value and you can create a hardcover photo album. Even if you're like my friend Heather, who claims her creativity stops at her wrist (love ya chica!), you can make a fabulous keepsake.

There is a catch. You have to be quick. You only have until tomorrow sometime (it was 48 hours from when the show ran, which was Wednesday) to claim it, and must redeem it by November 16th. You also have to create or have a Snapfish account, but that's free (and a great way to print those digital photos, btw!).

I created mine last night and will probably do a second, which isn't free, but because I already got one free, it's still a good buy at $30 plus shipping. It would make a great Christmas gift for those of you doing Christmas on a budget!

Oh, and if you're actually DOING the de-cluttering now, she's also got an offer for 20% off of your Container Store purchase HERE. It's good for in-store, online and phone purchases! I *heart* The Container Store, but they're not exactly fruGAL friendly, so this 20% coupon could be a great bonus!

Bleah

Sick stinks. On the plus side, my coffee came today!

Thank You

Last weekend the boys and I went to Wal-Mart. Outside, a few VFW men were selling Buddy Poppies, and we purchased a couple of them. They are a sweet little reminder of the sacrifices made by so many.

In Flander's Field (Col. John McCrae)

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead.

Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved and now we lie,

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw,

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields.

You know you're in trouble...

On Friday, I realized that I hadn't seen hide nor hair of The Manimal for a few minutes. Worse yet, I hadn't HEARD from him.

"Manimal, what are you doing?"

"I not drawing on nuffing, Mommy!"