Giveaways, Giveaways and even more Giveaways

There is so much going on right now but I wanted to do a quick post and let you know about some awesome giveaways.

Go check out:

• Penny Pinching Mom - is giving away a 2009 Entertainment book filled with tons of coupons.
• Boogers, Bibs, Books & Bubbles - is giving away over 250 coupons.
• Confessions of an Apron Queen - is giving away these way cool aprons... I have really gotten into aprons since I started reading her blog a few months ago. I currently only have one that my Aunt Rita made a long time ago for me. It's a Christmas one but I use it all year long. I was watching Sense & Sensibility last night with my Mom and sister and I love those old time long aprons. Maybe I can get someone to make one for me.
• Parenting Tips and Ideas - is giving away Tupperware... who doesn't love Tupperware!
• Just a mom's take on things - is giving away $15 Starbucks giftcard. Coffee, Coffee, Coffee :-)
• Chic Shopper Chick - is giving away a really cute fleece poncho.
• ...And Everything Else - is giving away Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce as well as a Soda Stream machine.
• Whimsical Creations - is giving away a set of snowflake ornaments
• Divine Calling - is giving away some beautiful handmade earrings

Perfect Timing Bloggy Giveaway

Since the holidays are quickly approaching this bloggy giveaway comes at the perfect time. Who doesn't want to win something and be able to use it as a Christmas gift. There are lots of wonderful things that are being given away this quarter at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival so be sure to check them all out.

What I’m giving Away: Ten handmade Christmas cards valued over $20
How to Enter: Post a comment. It’s that simple! You don’t have to have a blog to enter this contest, but make sure you enter a valid email address… if I can’t contact you, I can’t give you the prize! Note: All comments are moderated, I'll approve them as soon as I can!
How to Get Extra Entries: Go to my new and improved card site http://www.zizziecards.com/ and look around. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you like, don't like, or would like to see added.

Each comment counts as one entry.

The rest of the details: Submissions will be open until midnight Sunday November 2nd. The winner will be announced Monday November 3rd and the prize will be on it’s way as soon as I have your information.

My Wonderful Husband

While I am out here in Las Vegas with my Mom and sister, Mike decided to build me a shelf.

We got the idea several months ago when we helped a family from our church move to South Carolina. They had a homemade shelf unit behind the door that held tons of VHS tapes. I mentioned to Mike that I liked the idea of using the space behind the door and for me and my craft room I can use all the space I can get. So check out the shelf unit Mike made for me this past weekend.

I can't wait to get home and work on getting my craft room organized. So for now, please ignore the rest of the mess in the picture above :-)

Mike also put up the black magnetic spice organizers that I got on a great clearance sale a while ago. I will post before and after pictures of my craft room so everyone can see what a mess it was and how nice it can look organized. Give me a few weeks to get this room whipped into shape but I promise I WILL do it. It's only been on my to do list since we moved in :-)

Help Misha

Picture from HelpMisha.blogspot.com

I am sure by now if you read my blog on a somewhat regular basis you have seen my new Help Misha ChipIn! widget on the right side of my blog.

I have been trying to write a post about this for a few days now and I can't say it better than its already been said so...

Read this story about a little boy named Misha who came to the US from Russia for surgery. The sweet family currently housing him have the desire to adopt him. If your heart goes out to him as mine did, then I urge you to pray for him. If you are able to financially help with the adoption costs I know that would be greatly appreciated.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Happy Birthday Mike

Happy Birthday Sweety!

Thank you for being a wonderful husband who loves the Lord. You have grown so much spiritually and I look forward to seeing how the Lord will use you as you start another year in your life. I love you!

Menu Plan Monday

This week is a very easy week for menu planning. Mike's birthday is October 21st so he gets to pick what he wants me to fix for that day. Wednesday I fly out to Kathy's so... Mike will be eating meals out of our freezer. I have made and stuffed the freezer with lots of food for him to survive on while I am gone for 2 weeks.

Monday - Taco Salad

Tuesday

Breakfast - Stuffed french toast

Lunch - Meatball sub sandwich

Dinner - He hasn't decided yet what restaurant he wants to eat at... he was thinking about Red Robin

Scripture Sunday - Philippians 4:4-13

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men.
The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:4-13

Fireproof Your Marriage

One thing I admired of Alex Kendrick who made the movie Facing the Giants was that he didn't kiss the actress who played his wife in the movie. When I heard that the same people who made Facing the Giants were making a new movie called Fireproof, I was so excited.

I went and watched the movie the weekend it came out and I thought it was a great movie except for one scene at the end that really bothered me where Kirk Cameron kissed the actress who played his wife in the movie. I was so bummed because to me that made it like any other Hollywood movie.

Well the other day I was talking to someone about the movie and how disappointed I was in that scene and guess what they told me...Kirk Cameron actually kissed his real wife.

I went to the Fireproof website to verify and sure enough here is what I found in the Q&A section. I was so happy and relieved.

Q: What’s the deal with the kiss between Caleb and Catherine in FIREPROOF?

A: In a romantic scene in FIREPROOF, lead actor Kirk Cameron is actually kissing his wife Chelsea rather than Erin Bethea, who plays Catherine. Chelsea was flown in from Los Angeles just for that shot. The scene was filmed in silhouette and works incredibly well, with Chelsea wearing the same outfit and a wig to mirror Erin. Sherwood Pictures has upheld this standard in all their movies: actors and actresses should guard their own marriages while on screen the same way they would do in real life. That’s why you don’t see Coach Taylor (Facing the Giants) or Jay Austin (Flywheel) kissing the women playing the on-screen wives.Kirk also has long held to a principle that he would kiss no woman other than Chelsea. He was able to honor his marriage while making a movie that inspires others to do the same.

If you haven't gone to see Fireproof yet, you really need to go.

Wordless Wednesday

Ebates

With gas prices going up, this year for Christmas I am going to do more online shopping. If you are like me and want to save on gas but would be even happier saving more money than join Ebates. Ebates is awesome. It's a shopping site that gives you up to 25% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 900 stores; plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales! Check it out for yourself, sign up with Ebates today and you get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!

Menu Plan Monday

Having ideas for what to make during the week has helped me tremendously! This week I am still working on using items in my pantry/freezer since I don't plan on going shopping until Saturday. Next week is Mike's birthday so I will be buying some special things to make a day of celebration for his 42nd birthday.

Monday - Pigs in a blanket and apple sauce

Tuesday - Tuna salad sandwiches and celery sticks

Wednesday - Cheesy noodle bake

Thursday - Crockpot pork

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Out ~ going to Gold Rush Days

Sunday - Chicken noodle soup

Scripture Sunday - Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Three Chicks on a Cruise

A while ago I posted about a surprise trip my sister is taking me and my Mom at the end of this month. While we were on the cruise she told me what the trip was. We will be taking a 4 day cruise to Ensenada Mexico. Where else can you go and not have to worry about driving somewhere, fixing meals, cleaning up and cleaning your room. These are the lanyards I made for our special girls trip. How do you like them Kathy?

Family Cruise 2008

What an awesome cruise!

I could go on and on about every detail of our vacation but instead I will share some pictures and give you highlights of what I enjoyed most.

We all got into Los Angeles on Friday night so Saturday was a day to rest and get ready for a full week of cruising. Mike, Myra and I went to go see Fireproof. It was a wonderful movie and encourage all to go and watch it.

Before sailing away we have to do a drill to make sure everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency. Here we are ready for the drill.
We book our cruise a year in advance so we can get the cheapest cabins on the boat. Each boat normally has about 5 cabins that they price really low and then they encourage you to upgrade. We find that these cabins are nice enough that we don't need to spend extra money to upgrade. There is always enough space and not having a window is actually a GREAT thing at nap time :-)

This was my favorite towel animal... a little elephant with my sunglasses
We had some professional pictures taken. Carnival takes tons of pictures to try and sell to you... when you first get on the boat, at each port when you are getting off the boat and every evening on the boat they have different backgrounds. I will say they do a great job with taking pictures. We ended up buying more than what we planned because there were so many good ones.
This is my favorite picture! Mike is all dressed up and yet he looks like he is just sitting back relaxing.
This one is probably the best picture of the two of us. Doesn't Mike look so handsome in his tux.Krisanas(from Thailand) and Edy(from Peru) served us each night at the Normandie Restaurant. They did a wonderful job.
The food at dinner was the best we ever had on any of the cruises.
This cruise I decided not to order any entree. I enjoy the starters they offer and I wanted to make sure I saved room for dessert. So I got 2 starters and dessert every night. One of the great things about my family is that we all share. So I ended up trying a bite from everyone's entree.
The gorgeous view every day and night from the boat.

Mom and DadRosalyn, Rachel and Philip Rosalyn's Mom ~ Marlyn Leather has been able to join us on the last few cruises.

Paul wasn't able to come on the cruise this year. His work is being bought out and some changes were taking place the same week we had the cruise planned. We missed you Paul! The cruise was already paid for, so Kathy invited her friend Myra to join her. Myra was alot of fun. She kept us laughing the whole time.

MichaelPuerto Vallarta ~ we took a taxi to downtown shopping. There was this really nice square with tons of things to buy. We all bought some things and then because it was so hot most of us headed back to the boat. Mike decided to do some site seeing. He walked to a Walmart, Sam's and a mall with a movie theater.The cruise ship had a local Mexican Folklore show and we sat right in front. Much to our surprise they had a dancers come out into the audience and pick some people to go up and dance with them. Mike was the lucky winner in our group. I was so happy it wasn't me. We all had a good laugh (unfortunately it was at Mike's expense) Mazatlan ~ If you are looking for a good place to shop save your money for Mazatlan and remember to bargain. Don't settle for paying the first or second price quoted to you. Be willing to walk away and see the prices fall! Mike rented an ATV for 2 hours and just road around trying to find some dirt roads but never found any. Since he didn't come back very dirty he decided he would try again at the next port.

Cabo San Lucas ~ This area was full of resorts and the stores weren't very willing to negotiate with their prices.

Kathy paid for us to do a glass bottom boat ride. It was fun and we got to see fish, crabs, pelicans and sea lions. The water was a beautiful blue but being so close to the rocks you could feel every move the boat made.

A big thanks to Mike and Kathy for everything they bought for me while on this trip ~ watch, earrings, necklace, coffees, chocolate covered strawberries, pictures.

You both spoil me too much :-)

Family Gift Exchange

Christmas is just around the corner and with the end of the year always being busy for everyone I wanted to get this list ready so we aren't shopping at the last minute (unless that is how you like to shop).

Name of person - Who they buy for (remember the limit is $100)

Dad - Kathy
Mom - Lizzie
Philip - Mike
Roz - Paul
Kathy - Mom
Paul - Michael
Michael - Philip
Lizzie - Roz
Mike - Dad

We will all be getting gifts for Rachel.

Below is a list of gift ideas that I have been given so far. If you think of something to add to your list, please let me know and I will add it on here so we can all glance at this post every once in a while as we prepare to do some Christmas shopping.

Philip

• Sunglasses

Roz

• Stamp cleaner
• Scrapbook supplies

Mike

• 500 GB External Hard Drive
• Sonic gift card
• Cold Stone gift card

Lizzie

• Tea Set (doesn't need to be matching but need at least 6 cups and saucers and a teapot)
• Scor-Pal
• Subway gift card
• Michael's or Hobby Lobby gift card
• All You magazine subscription
• Canning supplies
• Shelves to organize things on
• Compact Flip Waffle maker

Rachel

• Sun catchers that she can make
• Dora castle accessories
• Board games
• Books
• Clothes
• Hair accessories
• A princess doll
• Wii

Menu Plan Monday

To help keep me organized and hopefully avoid stressful thoughts of "What's for dinner" I decided to get a menu planned out on Mondays and work on staying as close to the menu as possible. Obviously I know sometimes things will come up and we wont be able to follow the menu but I still think getting organized like this will help me immensely. So thanks to orgjunkie.com for the idea.

Since we just got back from our cruise where we ate and ate, I thought this week we could just eat some lighter meals. Also, I haven't done any grocery shopping so the meals will be from items we have in stock.

Monday - Vegetable soup

Tuesday - Chicken Fried Rice

Wednesday - Mac and Cheese

Thursday - Grilled chicken with steamed broccoli

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Chicken & Veggie quesadillas

Sunday - Baked Ziti