Hide N Seek Woodland Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

This is a beautiful dress being given away on a blog called Shabby Apple. As I want to learn to sew someday, the blog intrigues me. This little dress is just magical, in my opinion. Check it out: Hide N Seek Woodland Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

A Favorite Blog

One of the blogs I love to check on a regular basis is Second Sister Suaviloquy. I found this blog through the Etsy shop Second Sister Jewelry, when I was searching for jewelry related to adoption. As it turns out, this family is waiting to adopt a daughter from China, too! Second Sister Suaviloquy is hosting a ten-day giveaway that you might want to check out. The fun starts on December 5...and check out the Etsy shop, too, for great jewelry at reasonable prices!

Just for Fun...

Some of you know I love to enter giveaways in the blogosphere, and I have won quite a few fun prizes along the way. I also love purses, so when I saw this giveaway, I thought I should let you all in on it. Handbag Planet is a new website launch that will be selling designer-inspired handbags at a fraction of the cost. Their handbags will cost between $30 and $80 when they launch. To get the word out, they are having a 24 hour giveaway on October 15, their launch date. You can sign up for free here and choose the handbag you would like to try and win. It's as simple as that! So if you like handbags, and are feeling a bit lucky, check it out!

My First Blog Award!

Thanks to my dear friend Beth, at Red Yarn, I have been nominated for my first blog award, and fittingly, it is in Spanish! Here are the rules for this award:


1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.
6. Write an acceptance speech in the style of the Academy Awards, thanking everybody's mother, father, sister, brother, aunties and uncles and kitchen staff at your favorite restaurant!



So, here is my Academy Awards style award acceptance speech (you'll have to imagine the tears of happiness and gorgeous gown!)...

A year or so ago, I barely knew what a blog was, but thanks to my youngest sister, Steph, and my dear friend, Beth, I was quickly bit by the blogging bug and began to read various blogs quite faithfully. It wasn't until this past January that I decided to write a blog as a personal journaling venue--and now I'm hooked! I wish to thank my dear husband, Dave, for working second shift so that I have nothing better to do late at night than read and write blogs...just kidding (well, sort of!)...and for supporting me on this endeavor. I would thank my kids, but I don't think they have a clue about this blog...maybe I should thank them for that! And I wish to thank my faithful blog readers, many of whom are now new friends via cyberspace because of this blog and the blogs of others. You encourage me and inspire me in so many ways--thank you for being there--wherever there is!

And now for my nominations for the Brillante Weblog Award...may I have the envelope please?
(I'm afraid I won't have seven, though...I don't know that many other bloggers who haven't already been nominated!)


My sister, Stephanie, at Garcias2Chile...for a glimpse of life with three small children in a foreign country, check out her blog! She's also adopting two babies from Haiti...you can see that blog here.

My long time friend, Ricardo, at Sudaca Americano...we go way back to my high school days in Chile, and he is just starting his blog after some encouragement as a way to keep in touch with family and friends in the US and Chile. I hope my nomination encourages him to keep going with his blog!

A friend and homeschooling mother of (almost!) eight, Lisa, at A Second Generation of Homeschooling...her ability to juggle teacher, mom, and wife amazes me!

Another homeschooling mom of seven, Laura, at Laura Williams' Musings...she has great money saving tips, links to contests, and just glimpses into her family's life that are neat to read!

A fellow adoptive mom and blogger, Angie, at The Downtown Boutique...her blog has information on all kinds of goodies, but I especially like how she highlights various Etsy shops and also has giveaways each week for homemade items!

And now the orchestra is playing and I'm supposed to stop talking...have a great week everyone!

Easy Come, Easy Go

I have been spending WAY too much time on-line entering contests, but today it paid off...sort of. I won a book from 24/7 Moms that I will read, review, and post for them. Should be fun. I also won a really great bag from a style site...but found out about it when I got an e-mail today saying I never responded to the e-mail about winning, so they had to choose someone else! This bag was awesome...$115.00 retail awesome...and I won it! But I never got the e -mail! I don't have a junk mail folder, and I checked my deleted folder...no original e-mail. So, chalk it up to God wanting me to have a book and not a bag...did I mention the title of the book? It's called Children Change a Marriage...who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

St. "iPodtrick's" Day Giveaway!

Over at iMommies, another one of my favorite sites, they are hosting a St. Patrick's Day giveaway...two green iPod shuffles! Click here to see how to enter this entertaining--and educational--giveaway.

When we were in Florida in January, we visited a very unique eatery on Paradise Island in Downtown Disney called Raglan Road. It is a totally Irish pub and restaurant specializing in such Irish cuisine as (real!) shepherd's pie (they call it "Keen Eye for the Shepherds Pie") and "Traditional Guinness and Onion Banger". There is a great kid's menu, too, and nightly entertainment for the young and old alike. The building was actually built in Ireland, disassembled, shipped to the U.S., and reassembled where it now stands. You can read more about this unique restaurant and peruse its menu here and its interactive website.

Now why do I mention this? Well, according to www.St-Patricks-Day.com, "without any doubt pubs are the main places for socializing in Ireland especially in the small towns (which are numerous in Ireland). You can drink there (a few pints...), eat there, dance there, join in a sing-song or listen to a group of musicians. Food in pubs, known as "pub grub" is generally good and the prices are reasonable. The young and not so young enjoy themselves in a relaxed atmosphere. They are generally comfortable and cordial places. The official closing time for the pubs is midnight!" So the next time you want a taste, very literally, of Ireland, and you are in the greater Orlando area, check out Raglan Road, Irish Pub and Restaurant, in Downtown Disney!