OK, now that the contest entry dates have passed, I can share with you my next big thing.
I have entered an essay contest to win a fabulous get-away for me and 11 of my closest friends/family....but I didn't want to tell you until the entry dates had passed because I'm real competitive like that, you see? I didn't want you to come along and snap it out from underneath me with a bigger, better essay.
I was perusing the latest Land's End catalogue (a personal favorite) when I came upon a discreet page in the middle announcing an enormous grand prize. A trip for 12 to Paw's Up Montana. Outfitted in complete Land's End gear. Wilderness adventures. Surely there's a spa and a massage involved in this somewhere. Surely.
So....I answered the question in exactly 300 words: "what was your best family get together?" I took the posting I wrote here several months ago ("Vacation? What Vacation?") and polished it up a bit, adding an extra tug at the ol' heartstrings, prayed over it and hit "submit."
AND I'M A NERVOUS WRECK!!! I want to win it so bad. It's a package valued at over $30,000. How great is that?!?
December 1 is when we'll know. You can bet I'll post the results here...
2nd & 3rd prizes aren't so bad either. The Land's End Cashmere collection for 2nd prize and the Land's End Fleece outerwear collection for 3rd.
The best part is, if I win this, I will SO be off the hook for Christmas shopping for 11 people. And that, my friends, is what Christmas is all about.
Well, not really, but it would be pretty rockin'.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Christmas Miracle
Please, please, tell me you kept the receipt and can take back whatever you got me for Christmas. I received my Christmas miracle this morning when my children all slept until.....drumroll please....
6:30 A.M.
That's all I really want.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Reason #93: Why I hate the time change
John and Will have been up since 4:30 a.m.
Unfortunately, I think that has less to do with the time change and more to do with the stomach bug John has contracted. Lovely.
P.S. Maddy would like to say "Graduations to O'Bracka" upon becoming the President-Elect, even though she is quick to tell you that she voted for John McCain in her school's mock election.
(Translation: "Congratulations to Barack Obama")
Unfortunately, I think that has less to do with the time change and more to do with the stomach bug John has contracted. Lovely.
P.S. Maddy would like to say "Graduations to O'Bracka" upon becoming the President-Elect, even though she is quick to tell you that she voted for John McCain in her school's mock election.
(Translation: "Congratulations to Barack Obama")
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Happy Election Day!
If you haven't already done so, make sure you get out and perform your duty as a citizen of this great nation and VOTE! In Tennessee, they have early voting, so I've been there/done that already this year, but it's still very exciting to wake up today knowing that we'll have a new leader elected by the end of the day.
I grew up in Kentucky politics--the year I was born, my dad ran for the state legislature. He retired the year I graduated from high school, so it was really all I ever knew growing up. Thankfully, most years, he ran uncontested, but there were a few campaigns that I've lived to tell about.
Dad's campaigning strategy involved going DOOR-TO-DOOR--as in EVERY DOOR of our hometown. This was his version of "Get out the vote." A group of friends and family would gather at our home around 5:00 each night of the week during the campaign and we'd map out our route for that night. We'd try to cover a precinct each night if it was small enough or we'd stretch it out over a few nights if we couldn't get all the houses. Dad would assign everybody a couple of streets, arm us with brochures and stickers and off we'd go! My BFF Andee and I partnered together most of the time [total aside--can you imagine letting 2 pre-teen girls go around to houses asking people to vote for a certain candidate these days!!! My, how the times have changed!]
Here's our script:
[ring doorbell. wait for someone to answer door. pray that they were fully clothed and they had no mangy attack dogs.]
"Hi. My name is Ellen and this is my friend Andee. My dad is running for state representative and we wanted to see if we could count on your vote....."
Oh, the stories we could tell (and actually do tell) about those days. There was the time that a precinct walker got bit by a dog. And, of course, there were houses that Andee and I would skip. SHHHHH!!!!! Don't tell anybody! We always felt guilty about this, but the houses with grass up to your waist and a Harley parked in the front yard next to the chained up bulldog...well, we just weren't sure we needed their vote. But, we still felt this enormous responsibility...."what if dad loses by 1 vote and it's all because we weren't brave enough to face the heavily tattoo'd, shirtless man on that one front porch..."
All the precinct walkers were fed a good meal afterwards. At Wendy's. Yes, at Wendy's. This was back in the days when Wendy's had the SuperBar. (Remember that?) So, it was a good deal. When I got a little older and too cool to walk the precincts, I'd show up just for the Wendy's portion of the festivities and my Uncle Don would tease me, "No walk, No eat." I think that's in the Bible.
Thankfully, dad never did lose and served about 18 years in the House of Representatives. He was the kind of man that Frankfort, KY hated to lose--he stood up for what was right. He was the same behind closed doors as he was in front of the House or the media. He taught me much about the political process, but most of all, he passed onto me the love of his country. He is such a patriotic man! He taught me the importance of letting your voice be heard on election day and all year around.
So, what are you waiting for? To the polls!!!
I grew up in Kentucky politics--the year I was born, my dad ran for the state legislature. He retired the year I graduated from high school, so it was really all I ever knew growing up. Thankfully, most years, he ran uncontested, but there were a few campaigns that I've lived to tell about.
Dad's campaigning strategy involved going DOOR-TO-DOOR--as in EVERY DOOR of our hometown. This was his version of "Get out the vote." A group of friends and family would gather at our home around 5:00 each night of the week during the campaign and we'd map out our route for that night. We'd try to cover a precinct each night if it was small enough or we'd stretch it out over a few nights if we couldn't get all the houses. Dad would assign everybody a couple of streets, arm us with brochures and stickers and off we'd go! My BFF Andee and I partnered together most of the time [total aside--can you imagine letting 2 pre-teen girls go around to houses asking people to vote for a certain candidate these days!!! My, how the times have changed!]
Here's our script:
[ring doorbell. wait for someone to answer door. pray that they were fully clothed and they had no mangy attack dogs.]
"Hi. My name is Ellen and this is my friend Andee. My dad is running for state representative and we wanted to see if we could count on your vote....."
Oh, the stories we could tell (and actually do tell) about those days. There was the time that a precinct walker got bit by a dog. And, of course, there were houses that Andee and I would skip. SHHHHH!!!!! Don't tell anybody! We always felt guilty about this, but the houses with grass up to your waist and a Harley parked in the front yard next to the chained up bulldog...well, we just weren't sure we needed their vote. But, we still felt this enormous responsibility...."what if dad loses by 1 vote and it's all because we weren't brave enough to face the heavily tattoo'd, shirtless man on that one front porch..."
All the precinct walkers were fed a good meal afterwards. At Wendy's. Yes, at Wendy's. This was back in the days when Wendy's had the SuperBar. (Remember that?) So, it was a good deal. When I got a little older and too cool to walk the precincts, I'd show up just for the Wendy's portion of the festivities and my Uncle Don would tease me, "No walk, No eat." I think that's in the Bible.
Thankfully, dad never did lose and served about 18 years in the House of Representatives. He was the kind of man that Frankfort, KY hated to lose--he stood up for what was right. He was the same behind closed doors as he was in front of the House or the media. He taught me much about the political process, but most of all, he passed onto me the love of his country. He is such a patriotic man! He taught me the importance of letting your voice be heard on election day and all year around.
So, what are you waiting for? To the polls!!!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Weekend Discoveries
A few things I learned over the past few days:
1. Daylight Savings Time. The whole "you get an extra hour of sleep" thing is a myth. If you have children, you know what I mean. The only people who get an extra hour of sleep are people without kids. Our offspring were rising and shining at 5:00 a.m. (Don't try to console me by saying it's really the old 6:00...it's still early.) We've eaten breakfast, bathed, dressed for church, watched a movie and we still had a couple hours to spare.
2. Nestle Crunch has made some really awesome new versions. The traditional Nestle Crunch Bar is just fine. However, the new "caramel" version is AMAZING, as is the Nestle Crunch Crisp bar, which is basically the marriage of a Nestle Crunch and a Kit Kat. Check it out.
3. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Marginal, at best. I ordered it "Comcast On Demand" last night to keep the kids up a little later in order to make them sleep later this morning (backfired, see Item 1 above). Veggietales has had a great run, but I'm wondering if their time is up?
1. Daylight Savings Time. The whole "you get an extra hour of sleep" thing is a myth. If you have children, you know what I mean. The only people who get an extra hour of sleep are people without kids. Our offspring were rising and shining at 5:00 a.m. (Don't try to console me by saying it's really the old 6:00...it's still early.) We've eaten breakfast, bathed, dressed for church, watched a movie and we still had a couple hours to spare.
2. Nestle Crunch has made some really awesome new versions. The traditional Nestle Crunch Bar is just fine. However, the new "caramel" version is AMAZING, as is the Nestle Crunch Crisp bar, which is basically the marriage of a Nestle Crunch and a Kit Kat. Check it out.
3. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Marginal, at best. I ordered it "Comcast On Demand" last night to keep the kids up a little later in order to make them sleep later this morning (backfired, see Item 1 above). Veggietales has had a great run, but I'm wondering if their time is up?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)