Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Here is our winner of the $10 Target gift card and the Scentsy car candle. Thanks again to everyone who played along with session 3!

Please email me your mailing address and I will get it right out to you!

* Hopefully this video works...It was my first time trying to upload a video to the blog. I'm not as funny as Mama Kat, but hopefully I can participate in some of her video blogs now that I have my fancy new Flip camera that I won on her blog!!

Friday Shot of the Day

Thank you to everyone who participated in the My Life. In Pictures. challenge this week. I always enjoy looking at what everyone shares.

The winner of the Friday Shot of the Day is ..... Kristie at Kristie's Notes. Her husband gave her some beautiful roses that used to show us the sense of "smell". Great job, Kristie and Happy Anniversary!

I will tally up all of the entries and announce our winner tomorrow! I have to work up the nerve to use my new Flip camera to post the winner with a video for ya'll!

Two side notes.... Curly Muse commented yesterday that all of our winners were pictures of/ with children- I had not noticed that- how interesting!

And ...this week Dorinda showed us her beautiful yellow frilled canary and I commented about our bird.... and our poor Henry bird died this afternoon. So sad... we had had him for over 2 years. boohoo.

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 5

Our Shot of the Day winner from "taste" on Thursday is Krystal. She showed us a beautiful picture (even though her hubby took it) of her and the boys enjoying a snack after a hike.

Our final day of the My Life. In Pictures. Session 3 challenge is focusing on the sense of smell.


A few months ago I signed up with a company called Scentsy. Scentsy offers safe, clean, wickless candles, room sprays, travel tins, and car candles. I can do home parties in open house or presentation style, basket parties, or fairs and events.


I really have been enjoying my new little "job" because it gives me something to look forward to doing on my own with "grown-ups" in the evenings or weekends. I can set whatever schedule I want so I only have to do as much or as little as I would like as well. I enjoy putting on nice clothes, make up, and doing my hair when I have a party to go to. It's quite different from the day to day daycare routine!


Every few days I receive a shipment of boxes that customers have ordered. The first thing I do is take everything out and label it with my name and contact info on stickers. My husband and son have been helping me with getting the stickers put on each item.


As soon as we open one of the boxes, the smell fills the room from all of the Scentsy bars in the box. When we were working on this latest shipment, I thought that this would be a great picture for the sense of smell day!




If you haven't heard of Scentsy products, be sure to check out my website and take a look around!

I am also going to include a free car candle with the winner of our $10 gift card!

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 4

Our Wednesday Shot of the Day goes to Patti. She was the first one to enter for Wed. and I loved the picture right away! It goes perfect with the sense of touch. I also love the shadow and sunlight in the picture. Great job- and you earned an extra entry for the Target gift card!



Can I also tell you that all of you who participate make it very difficult for me to pick one photo for the Shot of the Day. Several times during these last three sessions of My Life. In Pictures I have had to narrow it down and call in my hubby for back up to make the decision. It is so fun to get a peak into each one of your lives.


For Thursday, the challenge is "taste". I'm really stretching here on this one... but I didn't just want to take a picture of something I was eating today!



Here is my turkey... ready for Thanksgiving- made out of M & M's. We are potty training here at the daycare and these are used for "potty treats" so we have a huge bag of M & M's.



The picture is nothing special and I was feeling like a big dork as I sat at the table trying to make a turkey out of candies. I went a little wack-o on the editing, using my favorite site Picnik.



Who doesn't love the taste of plain ol' M & M's?


Tomorrow is our last day for the Session 3 of the My Life. In Pictures. challenge. Stop back and check out what everyone has for "smell" on Friday and this weekend I will give it a shot to use my Flip camera to let you know who are winner is!





Yea!

Tuesday's Shot of the Day & a few reminders

The Shot of the Day for Tuesday goes to Giggly Girls. If you have not checked out this picture- make sure you stop over and look at it. It makes me laugh (or should I say giggle?) because it is always funny to see someone else's kid screaming or throwing a fit. All of us that are parents have all been there and it makes us feel a little better to see that everyone else has kids that act up too (you do, right??? It's not just me is it???)

With a very active almost 5 year old and a house full of daycare kids- this is actually exactly what I picture when you ask me what do I think of when I think of "hearing". It is always so loud here at my house!

Great job, Giggly Girls- you have earned an extra entry for our Target gift card!

I also wanted to give you a few reminders as well:

Please be sure that when you are linking your post up to Mr. Linky that you use the URL to your entry POST, not the URL to your blog. Here is what the difference looks like:

my blog URL:
http://www.everythingexceptthegrill.blogspot.com/

and here is the URL to an exact post: ( you can find this by clicking on the title of the post you want to link up and then highlighting everything that is in your browser)
http://everythingexceptthegrill.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-life-in-pictures-session-3-day-1.html

That way when people want to click to see your pictures, they will be directed right to the entry for that day and don't have to search through your whole blog.

**********
Speaking of visiting other blogs.... be sure to visit the blogs of those who are playing along and leave them some comment love on their pictures they are submitting to My Life. In Pictures- everyone wants to be loved.

That's it- enjoy the rest of your day and don't forget to link up your picture for TOUCH!

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 3

The challenge for Wednesday is to show something that represents the sense of "touch". I knew right away what I wanted to show for this. Last week, I went to a craft fair in Omaha. I fell in love with one of the booths, Bebe Bella Designs. They had the cutest things in the minky chenille material.... so soft to touch. If I had a girl, I could have easily got several things for her. But, since I don't- I had to settle for finding something for myself. I was torn between the scarf (oh, you know how I love scarves) and the pillowcase. We walked around a bit and I decided to go with the pillowcase. There was only 3 or 4 colors to choose from at the booth, and none of them really matched my bedroom, so I went with baby pink of course! So girly! And all for me! I didn't plan on sharing!

It is so soft. I love the lay my cheek on it when I am going to bed. It feels like sleeping on velvety bubble wrap. I know you are probably thinking that sleeping on all of those little bumps would not be great- but I love it!

Which, speaking of my pillow.... What the heck! It is after 1 AM and I need to get to bed! I am telling myself it is okay to not post the SOTD right now for Tuesday. I will do it first thing in the am!

Goodnight, don't be jealous that I get to go sleep on that soft, cozy, pink pillow now you hear?

My Life In Pictures- Session 3/ Day 2

Our SHOT OF THE DAY....goes to....Annie! I love the detail of the photo of her son watching the rocket lift off... how many of you noticed the reflection in his eye when you first looked at the photo?

Congrats Annie- you earned an extra entry for our drawing on Friday!!! Everyone who enters gets one entry per day that they enter and our SOTD winner will get an extra entry for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Target. (whoa, hold back the excitement...a big 10 bucks, but hey, it's all I got!)

Today we are looking at pictures from our life that show us the sense of "hearing". As I am putting this post together for Tuesday (Monday night) I was sitting in the kitchen listening to the sounds I heard around me. I decided to go with the sound I hear from B's room as he is trying to go to sleep. He is listening to the cd from bible school this summer on a cd player/ clock radio that sits on his dresser. It has a cool blue glow to it. The time however is not 2:2o. It happens to get unpluged frequently, so the time is usually not set correctly. The picture showes up much cooler if I took it with no flash so you could see the glow of the light. When I took the photo with the flash, it looked like an ordinary cd player on top of a dresser owned by a 4 year old.



When we lived in our old house, B used to listen to the music in his room almost every night. He would holler for us when the cd would get finished and we would have to go in and start it again for him. He hasn't had a cd player in his room for a while now, but this October we purchased a KidsBop Halloween cd that we played (a little too) frequently out in our kitchen on this cd player. All the daycare kids would jam out to dancing and singing to songs like the witch doctor and monster mash....about a million and seven times a day. When Halloween has happily over I packed the cd away until the torture I will put myself through next year and moved the cd player into B's room. He has been enjoying music again at bedtime since then again.

Monday night at book club at a friends house, I listened to the crackling of the fireplace and the wind and rain on the windows while we were warm and cozy inside. I heard the sounds of our three doggies barking and rolling around with each other all day. Earlier, there was cartoons and laughter while the house was full of daycare kids (but not much tattling today) I heard water dripping in the shower stall in the basement when I went in to put in a load of laundry....our senses are always busy.... but how often do we take the time to realize what we are surrounded by?

Join us as we look at:
Wednesday- touch
Thursday- taste
Friday- smell

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 1

This week in the My Life. In Pictures. photo challenge we are looking at "The 5 Senses". You are welcome to join in all 5 days or just one of them- click here for more info on this challenge! We are looking forward to what you can show us about your life!

Today the challenge is "Sight". One of the great things about the midwest is all of the beautiful trees we have in the fall that change color and drop their leaves. This is our first fall in our new house and our neighbors had some beautiful colored leaves that were so pretty to see. If you remember from our first photo challenge, I really enjoy looking out our front doors at the world.

The schedule for the week is:

Monday: Sight

Tuesday: Hearing

Wednesday: Touch

Thursday: Taste

Friday: Smell

* Be sure to use Mr. Linky to visit the blogs of all the others and take a peek at their life!

Our neighbor directly east across from our house had two full trees that filled his yard with beautiful yellow leaves. I know that tons of leaves in a yard like this are sort of a pain, but when I see a yard blanketed in leaves, it just looks so full of possibility. Leaf fights, leaf piles to jump in, and leaves to kick with your feet as you walk through them.

I enjoyed looking our our front door and living room windows each day at the colors right in front of me!

My Life. In Pictures- Session 3

The purpose of this photo challenge project is to encourage you to pick up your camera and start capturing details of your life. This project should also serve as a way to look at what others are finding to shoot and will hopefully keep you inspired to look for more moments in your life you wouldn't always think to capture with your camera.

My Life. In Pictures #3 challenge will start on November 16 and run through November 20.

The assignment will be: The five senses!

Thanks to Naomi at Delhi Bound for suggesting it. I have been so busy and didn’t feel the energy to come up with some great topics. If you have not been to her blog, please take some time to check it out. She has the coolest experiences and I love reading about her life in India. I think we can have so much with this! It will be fun to see how everyone interprets this and what you find to share.

Monday: Sight
Tuesday: Hearing
Wednesday: Touch
Thursday: Taste
Friday: Smell

New on Challenge #3… I’m trying to mix it up a little bit here, and will be giving away a prize at then end of the week. Now, I’m not rich- so it’s not much! I just wanted to be able to make it fun and have a little incentive for playing along with us. Each day you enter I will count as one entry. At the end of the week I will count all of our entries and choose a random winner for a $10 gift card to Target- my other love.

The other day I won a flip camera on Mama Kat’s blog. I don’t know how long it will take me to get the camera in the mail, but if I have it by then, I might even get the nerve to break it in and create my first vlog entry when announcing the winner!!! How fun would that be???

The point is... be creative! You can interpret these "assignments" any way that works with you! I want you to have fun and enjoy looking at Your Life. In Pictures.

Here are a few details, but please feel free to email me with any more questions you might have!

* How does the challenge work?
I will post the challenge "assignments" for the week and you pick up your camera to capture a photo that meets the assignment. Post the picture on your blog (or Flikr) . You are welcome to write a story with your photo or just include the photo if you would like. There will be a Mr. Linky for you to to fill out with your name and the URL from that assignment's post. (Mr. Linky is a link hosting program for websites. It allows blogs to host all of the links to participants in the challenge. Your job is to sign the Mr. Linky each day you participate so we can all view your post and photo. )

* Who can participate?
Everyone! You can be a beginner or a professional. It will be interesting to see all the different styles of photography.

* Do I have to have a blog to participate?
No. You can use your Flickr account and post a link to a picture from your account. Remember- you can get a Flickr account for free!

* Do I have to participate every day of the week?
No. You can participate all 5 days or just one. It is up to you.

* Does my photo have to be edited?
No, but you are welcome to edit it if you like. If you are interested in some free editing sites, check out Picasa or Picnik. They are lots of fun to play around with your photos, and did I mention FREE?

* Can I link to your blog?
Yes- please do! If you are participating in My Life. In Pictures. please help us spread the word. The more people who know about this and participate, the more photos we will have to inspire us and the more fun it will be for all of us! You can place the button in your side bar or post it in your blog. Share the love!

* What next?
You are encouraged to use the Mr. Linky and visit the blogs of all the participants and see Their Life- In Pictures!

Be sure to check back through the label archives to see how much fun we had with Challenge 1 & 2!

See you Monday!!!

My Life In Pictures- Session 3

Apparently I said that we were going to do round 3 of My Life. In Pictures. in October. Well here it is November and I am a little late.

So without further ado......next week...starting Monday November 16-20 we will run My Life. In Pictures. Photo Challenge!!!

Check back this week for a list of what the catergories will be (and this time leave a comment on this post if you have any suggestions for a catergory!)

HOORAY!! We always have so much fun!

Feel free to use the button if you are going to play and invite your friends along.

Are you in?

Selah & Stalker Sunday!!!

Last month, on a Sunday afternoon, I wasn't feeling to well. I was sitting in the chair thinking about calling off work the next day. I had not taken a shower all day, just laid on the couch due to not feeling well.

B was in his room taking a nap.

Hubby was at practice.

My friend Ashley called and told me about a tweet she had just recieved.

Selah was going to be in concert in LaVista which was only about 25 minutes away. Avalon was going to be performing with them.

Todd Smith, husband of Angie Smith happens to be a vocalist with Selah.

Angie was going to be at the show.

Yeah, seriously.

Holy wow!

2 problems. Show was in 45 minutes and I wasn't feeling well.

Problem solved: throw a little hairspray, perfume, and make-up- ready to go in 20 minutes & suck it up- how could I have lived with missing the chance!

Ashley picks me up and we bust it to LaVista. Tickets were only $15 and online it told us that tickets should be available at the door. We arrive only about 5 minutes late and as we drive by the doors I notice the signs hanging on the door.

sold.

out.

um...that was not going to work for us. not. one. bit.

We turn back around and the parking lot security guy asks us if he can help us...

I launch into sob story mode and tell him....

we just found out about the concert...

we busted our behinds to get here...

I was sick all day...

I didn't even shower...

we live in Iowa....

the computer said tickets should be available at doors....

we don't have any tickets...

we have to get in....

and on and on

he was so nice and told us that they had a few tickets left of some no shows and that we should go in and ask.

I jumped out of Ashley's burb and continue the sob story inside that WE NEED two tickets and $30 later they magically appear.

Holy yeah, baby.

We were going to see Selah, Todd Smith, Avalon, and ANGIE SMITH.

The show was awesome and the church was a beautiful location for the concert. Very intimate. The sound was amazing. Shortly after we sat in our seats (great seats by the way) Todd introduced his wife who was sitting in the audience.

During the intermission we went stalker mode and made a beeline against the traffic for our chance of a lifetime to meet Angie.

And we did.

And she had her own little line waitng to see her.

A whole little group of Sundays.

It was awesome.

So worth it.

And yes, I did work the next day.

Hell yeah, I'm a WINNER!

Okay... so excited here to announce that I am a WINNER! I am super pumped to share the news with you that I got lucky last week and won a Flip Ultra HD video camera from one of my very favorite bloggers... Mama Kat at Mama's Losin' It. I was so excited to see that I had won! Feel free to click on over and watch me win again and again if you want. I do. I tried all week by entering to win one of four being given away at Mama's Losin' It, Better in Bulk, Mayhem and Moxie, and 7 Clown Circus. It was the perfect ending of the contest to find out I had won at Mama Kat's. No one better to win from, since we are practically bff's and all. Don't you agree Mama Kat? That we are almost bff's I mean? I know you do. That is why we are such good friends.

The thing is... I had gotten myself so excited about hoping that I win, I started to think realistically. Maybe I wasn't going to win. I know lots of people were entering each day. There only was 4 cameras to be given away.

We need a new camera to capture some of these moments we have been missing in the life of our almost 5 year old.

I said to hubby... "Hubby, we need a new video camera. We have missed this whole past year because the one we have is crap. Maybe we should get a new one."

He agreed. Partly because he is Mr. Right and I am Mrs. Always Right.

Well, lo and behold, guess what was in 3 of the Sunday ads this past weekend? Just the Flip cameras. And if we bought one at Target, my other love, we could get a $20 gift card. So, I poured over the ads, looking for the best deal on a Flip. I stayed up late looking at the Flip website trying to figure out which one would be best.

I decided that we needed to go buy ourselves a Flip because chances of me winning were slim. If Mama Kat loves her Flip, I would love one too, after all we are almost bff's.

Monday I had plans to haul the daycare kids to Target and get a closer look at this Flip business.

HOLY CRAPOLA... I got a comment on the blog from Za that said, "congrats u got the Flip". I couldn't believe it!

I rushed to my google reader and saw that a few of the winners had been posted. I watched one announcement and it wasn't me. I watched the second one and HELL YEAH- it was me.

So what am I going to do when I get my FLIP? I'm going to get really excited and open the box right away. I promised I would do a vlog... never had the nerve to get one done and I also said I wouldn't know how to get it to the computer if I did. Now, it is supposed to be easy-peasy to fix that!

Thanks Mama Kat, my bff, for choosing me to be a WINNER!!!

Blog Roll

I have just spent over an hour updating my google reader and Blog roll here. I had several listed in both places that were deleted, moved, etc. I also added a few new ones that I have been enjoying.

Grab some of that Halloween candy you have sitting around, something to drink, and take some time to check some of them out. You might find a few favorites for youself.

If you have a few you would like to recommend, leave me a comment!

Thanks!

Halloween fun - 2009

Every year we take a photo out on the porch by our carved pumpkins. We have done this since hubby and I started dating when we just had dog children. We have a cute scrapbook that I put the picture in each year and it is fun to look back each year and see the changes and watch B grow.

This year he was Superman. We had a great night for Trick or Treat!

Rainbow cake day

A while back I fell in love with this cake that MckMama posted about. I had the perfect reason to try the recipe out today when we celebrate two of the daycare kids 3rd birthday. Since they are a girl and a boy, I needed something easy to decorate that worked for both. We chose an ABC theme since we are always working on our letters.

MckMama's friend Amanda is the wonderful creator of this recipe. She also told her friends the day she brought it to their gathering that she was bringing "a little something" and that it was "really easy to make."

Well... easy, yes.

Time consuming, yes.

Well worth it, YES!

I loved the results and we had so many leftovers (daycare is just 5 little mouths and myself after all!) that I had to take a plate of this beautiful cake to several friends so their children could enjoy it! (Okay, just thought I maybe shouldn't post this part because what if someone reads this who I didn't take some too?? Sorry!)

I was so happy and excited about how this cake turned out! It tasted absolutly delicious but even more was SO super cool looking!