Christmas Giveaway

Ugh....I can't believe how busy I get this time of year! Okay, once again, I'm behind on responding to comments. And blog visiting? I forget what that even is. I have NOT forgotten you guys and I still stand by my promise to get around to see you all as soon as I can. I really, really, really miss you all!

If you're still here reading me, first of all THANK YOU! Secondly, I have a giveaway going on that's close to my heart over at my other blog.

It's for my friend Bruce Littlefield so I'd appreciate any and all shout-outs you can give it. Not only is his latest book a blast, but Bruce himself is just the sweetest guy you'll ever meet so I really want to get the word out on this for him.

And, get this. He's offering something from his very own tree along with an autographed copy of the book! (Bruce, if you have any extra pickles, I'll take them! LOL)

All the details can be found here. Thanks and good luck in the contest! Oh and here's a video of Bruce's latest appearance on The Today Show:

I'm the Mother of an Adult Daughter!!!

This can't be real. My oldest can NOT be turning 18 today. An adult daughter? Me? No freakin' way!

Happy birthday, Amanda! I love you, big or small.

And yes, you still have a curfew. :)

(There's a YouTube video below that might take a minute to show up. As soon as I heard this song for the first time years ago, I knew I would play it on her 18th birthday. Have lots of tissues ready. I can't even swallow after watching it!)

I Got to Test Drive the New Dodge Grand Caravan!

Thanks to a connection in the DC Metro Moms Blog, I was given an opportunity to test drive the all-new Dodge Grand Caravan (the one on all the commercials and television shows like The View). Only 50 moms in the DC area were given this opportunity so I was very lucky (wooo hoo!)



From the start, I felt like I was cheating on my mini-van. I had a fling with a definite upgrade, and only came back to my van because I couldn't keep the Dodge Grand Caravan. My Chevy Venture was pretty ticked because it decided to no longer provide me heat when I drove it again (hubby's working on making it feel better and I think it might be coming around).

All those commercials that say the Caravan is a home on wheels? So true! You can eat, play board and/or card games, video games, watch television, eat on a table, watch movies, tailgate, use GPS navigation, make phone calls from a built-in dashboard phone service, and more.

The middle sweats swivel to face the back row and you can put a table up in between for games and eating. This picture is bad because there was no flash, but this is after a trip to McDonald's and my kids are eating using the table:



There are TWO...count 'em.....two pull down screens with two separate, wireless headphones. I can listen to Sirius satellite radio in the front, Matthew can play Playstation or watch a DVD in the middle, while Natalie watches Sirius Satellite television in the back (it comes with three channels....Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon).





Even the puppy enjoyed the ride. :) We took her along on a trip to my Grandma's too (an hour and a half away) and it was like packing for a newborn! But everything fit perfectly in the spacious trunk:



There was plenty of room for the dog's crate, supplies, groceries (for lunch) with room to spare.

And those back seats? With a push of a button they automatically fold down into the floor to make even more room, or you can have one side up and one down, and....my favorite setting...they fold back and down to provide tailgate seats! Again, all with just a push of a button.

There's also storage in the floorboards if I had needed more room, a feature I used when I had a few grocery bags to toss into the van (closer to me in the front and easier to get to than the trunk).

The side doors automatically open and close and the windows on the doors automatically roll down, as well. I can't tell you how many times my kids wanted the windows down in the back in my old van. I really loved this feature! There were also pull-up screens for when the sun was shining too brightly, something you usually have to purchase separately and install with an ugly suction cup on the window.

The only problem I had with the van was with the passenger-side back door. My driveway slopes uphill a bit and there was one day that I could not get the door to shut automatically. I sat outside in the cold for about twenty minutes trying to get it to close.

I finally got it to shut by hitting the button and waiting until it was almost closed, then hitting it with my butt so that it was forced close. That wasn't fun! I thought it was because of the hill but when it happened again, I pulled into the road (which was a level surface) and tried to close it there with no luck (and had to go back to the button/butt trick again).

I have heard that mine was not the only one with this problem so hopefully Dodge does something to fix it.

Despite the one flaw, I would still buy this beauty if I could. I'll take a little door trouble for all the entertainment it provided to my kids and for all the features I personally loved.

Look how perfect the van looked in my driveway:





It was totally my trophy van! We were meant to be! How could it leave me?

Devra and I were *this* close to running away in the van together but she didn't want to miss reruns of Punky Brewster. ;)

Natalie summed up my feelings pretty well with this expression the morning that it left us:

No-Slip Hair Clips Winners!

Congratulations to Paige from Superpaige's Pad who won a set of 7, no-slip hair clips! I'll be getting your clips out to you as soon as I make them.

For those who entered but didn't win, I'm offering a special deal. Normal price is $5 per clip (which includes shipping), but you can purchase 5 for $20 and 10 for $40. I'm including close ups of the patters I had posted, plus pictures of a couple of new patterns.

Orders will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and if I run out of materials for a particular pattern you are interested in, I will do my best to get more of that material to make that pattern for you. I will also be adding patterns on a constant basis, so be sure to check back.

For now, here is what I have to offer:



In honor of the Fall Y'all Giveaway, I'll call this one...."Fall Y'All!"



This is from my new collection (ha!...don't I sound so designerish?). These we'll call "Christmas Clips." You can select a floral topper, or the jingle bells (and they really do jingle!)



Okay, I'll give these names after the girls in my life. From top to bottom: "Amanda," "Natalie," and "Sophie."



From top to bottom: "Chocolate Rose," "Candy Stripe," and "Diva Dots."



These are also new and are from my "Pastel Princess" collection. You can choose a floral topper, or the sequins.

All clips feature a small piece of velcro inside of the clip that prevents slippage. Ends are heat-sealed to prevent fraying. Clips measure 3/8" wide and a 1 3/4" long. They are two-pronged alligator clips.

If you would like to order, simply email me at ablondeandherblog AT yahoo DOT com And if you would like to be put on a mailing list to be notified when new patterns are available, send me an email at that address with "mailing list" in the subject line.

Thanks!

Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway

Remember the awesome Bloggy Days of Summer giveaway this past summer, hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer? It was such a huge hit, that I wanted to take part in it again.

I have one contest going on over at my review blog, but wanted to host one here, too.

So, I'm offering a set of 7, handmade (by me), no-slip hair clips, pictured here:



The colors don't come through very well because I need a new memory stick in my camcorder, but you get the general idea.

If you don't win the contest, but are in the market for adorable AND affordable no-slip clips, you can purchase them from me for only $5 (includes shipping and handling). Just email me at: ablondeandherblog AT yahoo DOT com I will have new patterns coming soon.

To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this post. Deadline will be 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 3. Winner will be drawn at random and announced on Sunday, November 4.

Good luck!

Meet Sophie

I am in love. Meet Sophie, the new addition to our family. She is the most precious thing EVER. She's a teeny-tiny, 8-week-old Bichon Frise.

There are two things I've had little of lately...time and money. Now, I'm going to have even less of both, but oh my gosh is it worth it! She has filled a deep void in my heart that was left after Copper passed.

She is my new furbaby and I love her with all of my heart! My camera does not do this gorgeous girl justice. Not even close. I really need a new Memory Stick.

For instance, her dog bed is an adorable pink and brown but you can't tell very much with these photos.

Anyway, it's all I have to show her off to you so enjoy! She is just a little furball of love and just wants to cuddle all the time. If she's alone, she cries until she can cuddle up to you. She romps in the grass and tries to jump over the tall blades. It's hilarious.

I'll tell you all about my cell phone disaster last night and how it almost kept me from getting my sweet baby girl. Long story so I'll save it for another post.

Oh my gosh I am so in love. Here is my sweetheart, Sophie:






Can you spot the puppy in this one? LOL She's so tiny, that her stuffed animal is bigger than she is! She's buried in there so you have to look closely to see her. Even my bunny is bigger than she is!

I Heart Elizabeth Edwards

The meeting with Elizabeth Edwards (see my post below as well) went very well. As I said in my previous post, I already admired her for her strength, courage and dedication to her family.

Now? I wish I could make her my new BFF!

Everyone who reads me knows I'm a Republican (at least I think they do) but there are some things that transcend politics and this is one of them. How can you not admire a woman who is fighting such a courageous battle against cancer, and supports her husband and children all while juggling so many things at once.

Here I sit, complaining about my health problems and not having any time. How does Elizabeth do it all?! I am in awe of her energy and strength.

There was something that she said at the meeting that made me breathe a sigh of relief. And that was that if John Edwards becomes president, only those making over $200,000 would face a tax increase.

One of our family's biggest concerns is being considered "rich" and being saddled with taxes we can't afford to pay (again, click here for my previous post on this issue). Knowing that we will be considered middle class was a HUGE relief.

The cost of living in our area is so tremendous, and that added with our health care bills makes it very hard to get by these days. We are by no means "rich" despite my husband's three-figure income.

I'm glad that the Edwards campaign realizes that families like mine are struggling and will not burden us with lessening our income through taxes. And I believe her and trust her when she says this.

It (being considered middle class) was promised before by another certain Democrat *cough* Clinton *cough* and that promise was broken. And my husband's salary was WAY lower at that time. That broken promise almost caused us to lose out on buying our first home.



On a personal note, Elizabeth was SO very down-to-earth with a wonderful sense of humor and in listening to her, she was no different than your friendly, next-door-neighbor. She even had a brief memory lapse and jokingly referred to it as a mix of "chemo brain," "mom brain" and her age.

I've been having a LOT of mom-brain moments myself, so that made me laugh and nod my head vigorously.

I just loved her. She's just real. And so is her husband. No flash, no glitz, just real people.

And I can say that of all the Democratic candidates out there, I like John Edwards the best and I wouldn't want any other Democratic first lady than Elizabeth.

I so look forward to meeting her in person when she comes to visit us DC Metro Moms!