A lovely madness

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband

2009-10-11T14:24:00.005-04:00

You're the Bee's Knee's

I have miracles in my life.
I love you Larry. I always have.
We are golden.

About 1970....

Remember penny candy?

2009-10-04T23:34:00.004-04:00

Today these sweet munchkins will never know the joy of having a shiny quarter and going to the corner store and picking out a TON of penny candy, well maybe not a TON, but at least enough to fill up a crinkly little brown paper bag and sitting on the curb and feeling like you are just about the richest little kid in the whole wide world...sigh...
BUT WAIT!
You can still have some of those old favorites. Thats right Shauna over at Trying to Stay Calm has a review and a Giveaway for a whole gallon can of Nostalgia from The Blair Candy Company. MMMmmm.
Wow, I'm thinkin'....

Chunky, Good n Plenty, Mason Dots, Milk Duds, Necco Wafers,Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddy, Candy Necklace, Hot Tamales, Lemon Heads, and Peanut Chews, Chiclets Peppermint, Teaberry Gum, B B Bats, Atomic Fireballs, Caramel Creams, Chic-o-Stick, Jaw Breakers, Mary Janes, Nut Zipper, Sixlets, Dubble Bubble Gum,Rootbeer Barrels and bit-o-honey.
Giveaway ends on Tues. Oct. 13th, 2009.

NOT rubbing it in but.....I WON !!!

2009-07-03T13:51:00.005-04:00

Are you getting sick of my posts being titled...I WON?
Well, chalk it up to late night quiet time, a husband who likes to watch TV in bed, and the fact that I really would much rather be entering giveaways than watching "48 Hours" or "Parking Wars".
I enter about 10 giveaways a night, sometimes more. And have been winning about 1 item a week.
I do "optional extra entries" but not all of them since I cannot figure out how to "tweet" about a giveaway even though I joined Twitter. I joined facebook too and can't figure out how to do that. But I am working on it.
I do love handmade, being the frugal tight fist that I am. And find that most handmade items are made so well and have some love poured in. I really do heart Etsy and will be opening up my shop in the fall/winter this year. And will be doing giveaways of my own...YAY!!
Right now one of my favorite blogs is.....Fabulously Funky written by a delightfully light hearted handmade lover named Jody.
She posts the coolest items she finds around the internet that are handmade. She also has an ArtFire shop and an Etsy shop. Plus she's an art teacher...such a cool profession. I won one of her necklaces this past week through a giveaway on her blog. I love it, the color green in the necklace is very fluid. It reminds me of the ocean that I miss so much, having moved up here from the Norfolk/Va. Beach area. Plus I'm a Cancer and us crabs do hang out in the water you know.
So check out her blog and her shops and remember handmade items are so much more meaningful and made by people who love what they are doing. Here is a picture of my lovely necklace, Thank you Jody, you know you ROCK!

I WON!!

2009-06-29T21:51:00.002-04:00

Well it seems this winning thing is turning into a weekly thing. I do love giveaways and being the tightwad that I am...nothing is more frugal than getting something for free.
This little sack is from envirosax.com and I love it. Very roomy. Great for the grocery or the library. The really neat thing about it is that there are snaps on two little tabs on the bottom and you fold the empty baginto a strip, then roll it into a ..well a roll. Then the tabs go around and you snap then stuff it into your purse or pocket or sock till you need it. So handy. I signed up for this giveaway over at Thrifty and Chic Mom, Ellen has some great reviews and giveaways.

I WON!!!

2009-06-29T21:37:00.003-04:00

Yes, AGAIN!! I'm loving this whole giveaway thing.
We don't buy much pre-packaged food, as I love to cook and bake from scratch but I am happy to have won these Curious Cookies. And Larry is happy because we won the Oatmeal Raisin, his favorite cookie. Made from all natural and organic ingredients. Shannon over at The Mommy-files has some of the best reviews and giveaways. Check her out, especially if you have little ones, there are always reviews of great companies that carry infant and toddler clothes, toys and upkeep items.

Sweet little giveaway...

2009-06-25T23:27:00.003-04:00

For her 200 followers showing her the love, MamaBearMills over at

is sponsoring her own giveaway. It came to her at the checkout line and has some items you would find around you while in a stores checkout line including: (but may not be limited to depending on her mood)
*Car Scents Coronado Cherry (a fave of hers that she uses in her house even though it's for the car)
*Bodycology Vanilla soap, lotion & mist sample
*King size SNICKER bar
*Vegas Playing cards
*Cobalt 5 gum peppermint
*Summer desserts recipe book
*Pillsbury Best Ever Chicken recipe book
*$15 Smiths (Kroger) Gift Card
*$25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
*ChapStick SPF15 lip balm
*Altoids Chewing Gum peppermint
*Maybelline Great Lash very black
So head on over to toomuchsugar4u and follow the rules to enter. (I really want to win that king size Snickers bar). Do it by July 3rd or you just can't win.

Cool fused glass necklace giveaway...

2009-06-20T17:06:00.005-04:00

Bang,Bang,Shoot,Shoot...Happiness is a warm gun...
Yes showing my age a bit with that old Beatles tune.
But this is the pendant I would choose if I win a sweet giveaway over at sweeter than me

Winner wins their choice from many different designs like flowers, birds, bikes, cars, and much more.
Just head on over to sweeter than me and follow the rules.
Contest ends at midnight June 23rd.

Self reliance and shelf reliance

2009-06-17T20:41:00.004-04:00

With the way the economy is these days ( and for the past 15 or so years) investing in your pantry is one good way to come out on top. It seems every time we go to the store the bill is higher for the same cart full of items.
Stocking up when there is a good sale, growing our own veggies, buying in bulk, canning, dehydrating, the list goes on of ways to preserve what we are growing or buying today.
But where are ya gonna put it all?
Enter the Cansolidator Pantry. A shelf unit designed to keep a natural rotation of using your canned goods in the order in which they were put up.

I hate digging through the pantry, cans fall over, its dark and I can't see if I have something or if I have run out. I need about 10 of these. BUT I'd be happy to win just one and I and YOU have a few chances at doing just that over at The mommy files. The giveaway for the Cansolidator Pantry ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, June 29th, 2009.

ORRRR...I need this one.

And right now I or YOU could actually win this big bad boy...WHAT? You say. WIN IT? yep, just click on over to Shelf Reliance's blog and follow the rules to be entered. Could you imagine, storing all your canned goods right there and have them roll right out eager to replace the one you just removed....it's type A personality heaven. And pretty doggone neat for the rest of us.

BIG Birthday Bash Giveaway

2009-06-12T14:22:00.003-04:00

Katie over at The-giveawayhas been celebrating the sites Birthday all week with her readers. There have been games and prizes galore.
Today is the giveaway of the LIVE GRAND PRIZE And a huge grand prize it is. All kinds of great stuff. So click right on over and try to be the 10,000 commentor for the BIG Kahuna Swagjust follow the rules for a tremendous amount of entries, also there will be a random drawing from the entries for a great doorprize.

I WON !!!

2009-06-11T00:58:00.004-04:00

For the second time in about a week, I've won an online giveaway.
Omaha Steaks "Fire up the Grill Package" was reviewed on The Mommy Files Shannon is a sweetheart, I don't know her personally, but she does some videos on her reviews and she just is. I can tell these things. She also had a giveaway for this package.

In the Fire Up the Grill Package from Omaha Steaks, you receive the following items:
- 2 (6 oz.) Filet Mignons
- 2 (6 oz.) Top Sirloins
- 4 (4 oz. approx.) Boneless Chicken Breasts
- 4 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers
- 4 (4 oz.) Boneless Pork Chops
- 4 (5.75 oz.) Stuffed Baked Potatoes
- 1 (6 in.) Chocolate Lover's Cake

Larry and I have not eaten beef in almost 10 years but there's some yummy looking chicken in there. And we may invite our beef eating friends over for a Fathers day cookout.

An easier Green...

2009-06-10T00:11:00.002-04:00

It kinda irks me that "going green" is all the rage, when a lot of us old throwbacks to the 60's have pretty much been oblivious that there was any other way to be.
Eating organically, growing our own food, supporting local businesses, riding our bikes, shopping in thrift stores, recycling, repurposing, cutting back on consumption...are just a part of life to us.
And although it should not be looked at as a trend, none of us knows it all and could always learn a trick or two.
That's where, The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living steps in.
So if you want to include more ways to "be green" in your daily life, but think it all seems overwhelming go on over to Short Pump Preppy and sign up to enter the giveaway. Not only do you recieve a copy of the book, but a Brita water pitcher, and a Nalgene water bottle!Contest will end June 14, 2009 at 8pm et. and is open to US residents only.

So Crafty for Crafters...

2009-06-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

Or collectors, or for viewing mementos or photos.
It can be used on any desk, coffee table, card table, even the floor. Just set the desktop on a flat surface and it's ready to go. You can make your furniture organized and beautiful by adding the EZ View Desktop!

One of the newest products at The Original Scrapbox is the EZ View Desktop.

The EZ View Desktop is designed with a clear, glass-like top and three drawers with built in partitions for easy organizing on any home project. The desk is 36 ½ inches wide by 25 inches and it stands about 3 ½ inches high.

The EZ View Desktop is now available with FREE Shipping to the contiguous United States and is only $195.00, but how would you like one for FREE? Of course you would, so click on over to Rachelle's Writing Spot and follow the rules (they're easy rules). All entries must be received by 11:59pm June 11th.

Casio Camera review and giveaway

2009-06-09T00:30:00.001-04:00

Over at The Mommy FilesA great giveaway is in the works. If you're in need of a Fathers day gift this might just do it.
The Casio Exilim EX-FS10 is a card-sized camera that is just 3.8" wide x 2.3" high x .64" thin. a 9MP camera with 3x optical image stabilized zoom and 2.5 inch LCD. It has a 9.1 megapixel resolution. Contest ends 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, June 19th, 2009. So it might be a good time to get on over there and follow some rules to win.

Win an ORECK HALO VACUUM

2009-06-08T23:14:00.000-04:00

What a great giveaway. This vacuum has proprietary UV-C technology - the same technology that
safely and effectively disinfects drinking water and sterilizes operating rooms
- to eliminate many of the harmful things you can`t see.

A high-powered UV-C bulb is housed in a patented light chamber with a durable
quartz glass exterior, and independent tests prove this UV-C light kills more
than 99 percent of many common germs it comes in contact with.

Now who in the world would not want a vacuum like this?
Head on over to Short pump preppy and follow the rules to sign up for this awesome vacuum. Contest ends Saturday July 4, 8pm est.