linky love

I am so jealous, Leah, one of my bloggy buddies got the chance to meet the Pioneer Woman this past weekend. I'm so glad that she took the opportunity to go. I think that book tour thing of hers needs to come to Canada.

Big shout out to my gal the Widney Woman, who tried to help me out with Knowing Me, Knowing You this month. You know, since I was taking forever to get a post up. Funnily enough I had my post scheduled to post the same day. Thanks for keeping on top of me for that:)

Do you remember my wonderful and amazing pal, The Mommy Project. Do y'all miss MP as much as I do... which is crazy when you consider she's right across the dang street. But I miss her. I caught a fleeting glance of her through her dining room window this evening. Maybe one day we'll be in the same room again.... tea soon MP? For reals though!! Well MP is now The Chick Pea, photog extraordinaire. Go check out the gorgeous photos she shot of my galpal Heazer's doggie, Homer. You're going to want to take him home with you.

Shockingly, my bro is still blogging. This may be a record. He's a total design snob nerd guy, so you may have to put up with the odd rant about fonts he hates, but every once in a while he throws out a line or two about his cool older sister and on those days his blog is dope..... what? That's what the kids are saying now right?

And did you know... I'm famous. Yep, I totally made it into Merry's Monday Mingle vlog. Go check it out and then tell her what a pretty voice she has. And great hair too... if mine would behave that nicely I'd go get it cut like that tomorrow.

just another random monday

After a week of lazy mornings and late bedtimes today was back to our regularly scheduled programming. Mike and I were back to work and the kids were back to the sitter's. Mike slipped out to a meeting after dinner, Maya crashed on the couch a good two hours before bedtime and Abby had a meltdown of epic proportions. I'm pretty sure the Mommy Project heard it at her place.

Speaking of the Mommy Project, she's back blogging again.Yay! I always miss her when she's gone on one of her hiatuses. She's actually blogging double. Check out her new photog blog. She's all kinds of talented.

And speaking of returning bloggers. My wicked talented bro, Uncle Dave, is taking another crack at the whole blogging thing. This time for his company, Page Design. Check him out soon, he'll probably only be blogging for the next ten minutes. Oh and if you can believe it he's twittering now too.

Movie night with the Jersey Girls this past weekend. We watched StepBrothers. I've seen it before, but it's always great to laugh a lot with your best girls. My favourite line -- Did we just become best friends? -- Classic! So very very funny.

Looks like warm, but rainy weather coming up. Hate that. Hopefully it holds off long enough for Papa and Mike to trim the tree that's blocking our satellite reception. Right now it's a question of what *can* we watch on TV, not what do we *want* to watch on TV. Treehouse wouldn't come in today which did not help Maya's sunny disposition at all.

And by the time most of you read this it will be Robin's birthday! Happy birthday to the best friend a girl can have. The Oprah to my Gayle. True sister of my heart. I love you, happy birthday!

spreading some linky love - the karaoke star jr. edition

Wynter is a semi-finalist on CMT's Karaoke Star Jr. She also happens to be the niece of one of my very best friends, Darlene of The Enchanted Heart. (Well she used to be, until that damned Yoville addiciton got ahold of her.) So if you have a few minutes to spare, pop on over and cast a few dozen votes Wynter's way!

a little bit of this.... a little bit of that

My real life best buddy, Darlene, just got herself a beautiful bloggy makeover. Auntie Dar's Life is now the Enchanted Heart with a pretty new page to go with it. I highly recommend checking her out. Now I know most of you don't know Darlene in real life, but trust me when I say this new design suits her to a tee. I am so very happy for her.



Show up at riding lessons this morning to find out that "Abby's horse" is lame and will need to take some time off. So today waiting for Abby was one of the biggest horses I've ever seen, much bigger than her regular ride. Surprisingly it didn't phase Abby one bit. To her Mom it seemed really high up for a little girl though.

Cinnamon cream cheese frosting is heaven in a mixing bowl. Watch for the recipe.

Auntie Yoli is back in town for the weekend. I am very much looking forward to catching a bite to eat with her tomorrow afternoon before she heads back home (boy it kills me to say that). I have been promised a hug of epic proportions.

There are lots of rumors floating around the internet, but I wanted you to hear the truth from me. Yes I did, in fact, confess to being at the end of my rope at work on Friday. I was actually so far at the end I came home and was in bed asleep by 7 PM. That kind of stuff never happens to me.

Watching License to Wed tonight only increased my crush on John Krasinski tenfold.

Oh and only two months til Christmas!!

spreading some linky love #31 - the dinner party edition

When I was writing my what I'm thankful for list blogging was one of the things that popped into my head right away. I truly had no idea what I was getting into when I began writing here. I had no idea I would get to "meet" people that felt so much like friends without never having laid eyes on them. Well, in the true sense. I mean, what's a blog without pictures? And that set my mind to wandering, since I have all this free time to do nothing, but daydream. Who I would invite to a bloggy meet and greet? And I know this isn't a new idea, there was a blog carnival or a meme or whatever you want to call it that someone was hosting a month or so ago. I can't remember where I came across it, but I did. So without further ado, here's who I'd love to have sit down at my table (in no particular order):

Michelle of bleeding espresso... fame. One of my first regular commenters and my very first What's cooking Wednesday participant. Which really surprised me at the time. It never occurred to me that other people would want to play along. I'm not quite sure what will be on the menu for this bloggy dinner, but for Michelle I promise that it will have cheddar, sour cream and crispy bacon! I have to give her props for moving to the other side of the world and leaving all of that behind.

Normie of The Mommy Project. My friend from across the street. We were brought together by our daughters, who appear to be headed towards "best friends for life". Although we do work opposite times from each other and it seriously gets in the way of our hang out time. I do, however, get to hang with her husband Saturday mornings at riding lessons. I have it on good authority that she makes a mean chocolate cake and bonus she's so close I could probably convince her to come early and help me get ready.

Simone, the Widney Woman a friend by way of The Mommy Project. The two of them have been friends since back in the day. And I was lucky enough to get the chance to meet her on her last trip back home to Canada. She's an incredibly crafty lady, who I'm putting in charge of the theme for the evening and I will try to live up to her example when planning it out.


Darlene of Auntie Dar's Life. A real life best friend. I'm lucky I get to spend so many hours a week with her because she is a funny lady. And she gives the best hugs! I take at least five a day from her. Bonus she'd show up early and likely be the last to leave, that's how she rolls. We could be a bottle of wine in before anybody else showed up.

Karen of Virtually There. I am embarrassed to admit I can't remember how Karen and I hooked up. Did she find me or did I find her? No matter, we connected, that's the important thing. Karen and I share a deep love for Dwight and The Office, amongst other things. Mike and I keep talking about taking a trip to Ottawa and he's been warned that meeting up with Karen is at the top of my list of things to do.

And including me, that's six, a perfect dinner party size. Really I could just keep endlessly writing this list. There are so many of you out there I love, but five it must be, but never fear I see another dinner party in my future, check your mail for the invite.

spreading the linky love #30

How is it I never knew about Skype before? I mean I've heard the word, but didn't have a clue what it was. We downloaded it yesterday at Dave's directive because whatever Dave tells me to download I do. By lunchtime we were chatting away with him in Holland. Well, to be fair, Dave was chatting. We're without a microphone. So he chatted and I typed and watched him work via his webcam! Now I have to order Auntie Yoli to download it so we can talk for free. Go on Auntie Yoli... download it now. I'll wait. Anybody else use skype?

And I finally gave in and started twittering. Is it called twittering? Tweeting? Whatever it's called I'm doing it and if you're so inclined you can follow me here.

Remember #160 I'd love to be way more organized than I am? Well I'm hoping the Organizing Junkie can help me out.

My camera is a pain in the butt. Right now it's not making me happy. There are times it behaves as it should and times when it shuts itself down for no reason or refuses to take a picture or just gives me the white screen of death. I would love to make this my new camera.

Want to know more about the Widney Woman? She's answering her reader's most pressing questions.

Did y'all know I was famous for a brief moment in time? Yep, the wonderful Michelle of bleeding espresso fame had me as her featured blogger this month. To say I was touched was an understatement of epic proportions.

spreading the linky love #28

And I can say I knew her when.... pop on over and congratulate my favourite Italian citizen, Michelle of bleeding espresso fame and her new gig writing a Guide To Law School blog for About.com.

Okay this is funny because it didn't happen to me. Although once Maya hits kindergarten you never know.

Gosh I could spend a fortune on Etsy. I love these felt ornaments. For some reason they remind me of the wooden ornaments Mom made for the Charlie Brown Christmas tree Dave and I had in my bedroom.

New blog I'm enjoying, Recipe for Success.

And that's all I got. I'm dealing with a sick kid here so I'm going to get some sleep just in case Mommy snuggles are needed in the middle of the night.

eat well save more giveaway

Not long ago I was contacted by a nice man who works for a PR firm. He was wondering if I would be interested in spreading the word on a new initiative from Loblaws. I didn't have to think about it for very long before I said yes. I realize many people see these kinds of posts as selling out, but that's not a theory I subscribe too and I'll tell you why.

Everything these days seems to be getting more expensive while my paycheque pathetically stays the same. We've seen increases in the price of gas, flour and many other everyday staples. At the same time we are being bombarded with endless promises from items on the grocery store shelf all in an effort to move some of our hard earned money from our pocket to theirs. Which is fine, I understand how business works, but it's hard to know what is a good value for your dollar. Lets take laundry detergent, for example, aren't all their commercials pretty much the same regardless of which brand you're talking about. They show identically dirty clothes one to be washed in the "other guy" one to be washed in their super fabulous detergent and the results are always the same. The "other guy's" never do come clean do they? So who can you believe when they're all promising you the same thing?

Now this is where I think this sort of thing comes in handy. Bloggers being offered opportunities to spread the word. I know when I find a great new product that does what it promises I tell everyone and their Uncle. Likewise if I stumble across a great deal. Some of you are used to my "hey they have boxes of 209 freezies on clearance for $2" type of emails. Saving money, especially at the grocery store, takes a bit of leg work so I try to spread the word around whenever I can.

Which brings me back around to the new Eat Well Save More program at Loblaws, Zehrs, Fortinos, Loblaw's Great Food, Your Independent Grocer and Loblaw's Superstore. The premise is simple, they're lowering and locking prices on items we buy regularly. They were nice enough to share with me a gift basket of summer essentials like Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail, Kraft Salad Dressing, Diana's Gourmet barbecue sauce, Jello, and Tostitos which came packaged in one of their reusable plastic shopping bins. Something I'm looking forward to using on my next shopping trip.

As of July 29th of this year Loblaw's has locked and lowered prices on over 1,000 items that we buy regularly. A quick look through the Fortinos flyer I got today has a whole page devoted to Eat Well Save More products and the savings are significant.

• Save a dollar on Glad force flex or kitchen catcher garbage bags or windex/fantastik or becel/imperial margarine or President's Choice bottled water (24X500ml).
• $1.30 on Electrasol dishwasher detergent
• $0.40 on Tetley tea
• $1.80 on Scotties tissues (6 pack)
• $0.30 on McCain French Fires
• $2.00 on McCain Slow Cooker Solutions
• $0.90 on So Good Soy beverages

Products involved in the Eat Well Save More program can be found in the store, obviously, but also by checking out your flyer. Either the paper version or you can view it online using the links above. And in addition to these great prices this weekend (Spetember 5th - 7th) they will pay the tax for even more savings. Again, all the information regarding that is available on their websites. Now the people who are experienced in the ways of frugal shopping will be combining the no tax weekend with the Eat Well Save More program and with any coupons they can for really incredible savings. Even without the coupons it's an opportunity to make a dent in the grocery bill and who doesn't like that?

Now remember that lovely gift basket I told you about? The one in the reusable shopping basket? Well they've actually given me two. One for me and one for one of you with a stipulation. This giveaway is open to only those of you living in Ontario where the Loblaws family calls home. What do you have to do to enter? Leave me a comment telling me what your grocery shopping strategy is. Mention the Eat Well Save More giveaway on your blog (and let me know about it) for an extra entry. Oh and for you folks creeping by on facebook (Hi Tracy and Heather), leave a comment over there and I'll throw your name into the hat as well. Abby will draw the winner for Monday night's linky love. So have your comments and/or links into me by Monday September 8th, 8 PM EST. Good Luck!!

spreading the linky love #26

My poor Darlene is an animal magnet who is married to an animal magnet. Every stray around knows they'll get some love at her house. Their latest rescue mission was the cutest bunny you've ever seen. If only I had room for him....

The Ride for Africycle 2.0 was a tremendous success. The team managed to raise $8500 which has allowed Africycle to purchase a new shipping container. Talks for The Ride for Africycle 3.0 are in the works.

I triple love facebook. It lets me keep in touch with so many people so easily. Not to mention all the people from my past who've popped up and the new friends I've made. Chantal over at Bread Crumbs in the Butter is asking when is an appropriate age for our kids to dive into the world of facebook? What do you think?

Oh my gosh, these are totally adorable. If I liked black olives I would definitely make them for my next party.

Tomorrow is Abby's first day of grade one. I, shockingly enough, have yet to experience one panic attack about that. In fact I've had zero back to school anxiety for the first time in my life. It's hard to be anxious when the kid is so damn happy to be going. Although after she had been in bed for a little while I heard her anxious little voice calling down the stairs for me.....

Mom! How will I know which one is the grade one room? There are so many classrooms there!

summer lovin'

Can you believe the summer is over? How on earth did that happen? There's just enough time left to enter the Summer Lovin' photo printer giveaway or at Temporarily Me with my favourite summer photo of the girls.






Happy Labour Day all!

spreading some linky love #25

Did you all enjoy the Olympics? We tuned in whenever we could, watching events here and there. I love the water events. Abby did as well. What was the deal with the Race Walk? Who knew that was an actual event? Anyway over at confusaled you can check out a smattering of previous Olympic Medal designs.

I am not able to wear my wedding rings to work because the stone is so large and heavy I can't lift my hand. HA! I'm so funny. Anyway I head to work every day ringless and it bothers me. I'd like to get myself a plain band for work, but Mike's against the idea since it wasn't the ring we used in our ceremony and therefore is meaningless. I think a wedding band on my finger means I'm married regardless of when and where I got it. In the event that I manage to win this argument I am totally in love with any one of the rings from Titanium Knights.

Why not take the Rookie Mom Challenge over at Temporarily Me? Don't worry you don't need to be a "rookie" Mom to participate. Go on. Read all about it.

And a happy first blogging anniversary to Kellan! Congrats!

spreading the linky love #25

This girl is all kinds of talented. Check out this very cool margarita cake. via cakes by kelsie

I am so a Beta Mom. How about you? And while you're over there check out the Summer Lovin' photo printer giveaway.

This home is just beautiful. Don't you just want to rest a while on that porch, cause I sure do.

Are you a mom to little girls? Have you thought about when you will give them the talk? There's an interesting discussion going on here about that very subject.

spreading some linky love #24

Looking for a good read? Check out a happier girl's latest Imaginary Book Club selections.

Speaking of the Imaginary Book Club, my IBC just finished reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Loved this book. It's kind of quirky and I hesitate to put it in any one category. It's a mystery of sorts with a bit of coming of age thrown in and told from the perspective of a boy who falls within the autism spectrum. It was one of those books that I couldn't stop reading because it was so good and yet hated to read it too quick and end the experience.

These are the kind of family pictures I'd like to have taken. I love the one of the feet with the little guy. She is incredibly talented.

Blog I'm enjoying: Confusaled. We share similar tastes in video gaming and I think we should start a two person campaign for a Guitar Hero Legends of Country game. I would kick ass at that.

Okay I'm heading out to buy myself a dishrack, because those pot lids sliding all over my cupboard make me want to scream. Why didn't I think of that myself?

I am seriously considering heading up to Ottawa to crash Emily's birthday party because it sounds very cool.

Mike and I watched Dan in Real Life this weekend. What a sweet movie. I laughed a bit, cried a bit. Who knew Steve Carrell could do sweet? And heartbreaking? Is anybody else ready for The Office to come back?

And more babies in the blogosphere. Go on over and congratulate Renae on her expanding family.

spreading the linky love #23

Just a short bit of linky love for you this week. This girl is tired y'all.

Cupcakes are the big thing right now. Specialty cupcake stores are popping up all over the place. By why drive all the way to the store when you can sit back in the comfort of your home and order them off Etsy? I'm sure for the price they must be the best tasting thing on the Earth. What's even more amazing is the nearly 5,000 orders they've sold.

New blog I am enjoying - President of her Book Club.

Hey remember that big creative project I was doing with The Mommy Project? Well we finished it and you can read all about the results over on my bud Normie's blog. And while you're there check out the very first picture of Baby K.

spreading some linky love #22

You know I how much I love to hang my clothes out on the line? It's a lot, probably more than you think. Right now I keep my clothes pins in a plastic popcorn bucket from when we saw The Simpsons movie. This would be a way more stylish way to store them. Via Etsy.

Well the Ride For Africycle 2.0 is underway. The crew left from Port Hope on Saturday morning and I have photographic proof that they made it at least as far as Picton. Keep up with Dave and the crew on the Ride For Africycle website. Even better, make a donation to this very worthy cause. Via Ride For Africycle.

Well I am happy to report that The Mommy Project has been holding up her end of the bargain and has been posting regularly since the addition of her to my blogroll. Which I still have to finish updating. (I am expecting a disgruntled email from my future Amazing Race teammate and all around best bud Suze any minute.) Anyway big things are happening over at The Mommy Project, who skipped my soggy weenie roast by the way, first a baby, then a bunny and now a pool and a new bed! Living the life of Riley they are!

I love my crockpot, but don't use it nearly enough, so this blog really grabbed my attention - A Year of Crockpotting.

I want one of these for my birthday. Seriously, it looks like so much fun. Via LifeWithTwo.

I have made and eaten my fair share of potato pancakes over the years, but never did it occur to me to add cheese. Mmmmm cheese! Via Sass Attack.

spreading the linky love #21

I think Karen (Virtually There) sums of perfectly why "the cottage" is such a desirable holiday.

I think I really want Ladder Ball. It looks like a whole lot of backyard fun!

I spent a good chunk of last night with my incredibly slow dial up internet taking care of some bloggy housekeeping (it's a work in progress, I'll finish it up one of these days). My blogroll was horrendously out of date and since I was recently called on the carpet by The Mommy Project, who I have to say was all sweet and nice when I first met her and now she's suddenly issuing me ultimatums. I guess that means we're "comfortable" with each other now. Anyway I've held up my end of the bargain, now I'm just going to sit back and hit refresh on her site until I see a new post.

I also took some time out to post some new bookmarks on Etsy. Plus I have some more crafty ideas floating around in my head that you should keep an eye out for.

And The Ride For Africycle 2.0 is set to get underway this Saturday. The Guys, including my bro Dave, will be riding 1000 km around Lake Ontario to raise funds for Africycle. Please take a moment to pop on over and make a donation to this worthy cause or just wish the guys good luck! This last weekend they collected more than 150 bikes at The Third Space church in Peterborough, you can read the article from the Peterborough Examiner here.

Oh boy do I wish I had done baby portraits like these when my girls were newborns. So beautiful.

spreading the linky love #20

Now here's a bbq that tells it like it is.

Jenny McCarthy vs Jim Carrey - Who would look better in a black one piece bathing suit?

It appears that felt play food is all the rage these days. And I can see why, this little birthday cake is so pretty I want one for myself. Oh, or this one that you can "decorate" yourself. So cute! I think Abby would love it.

Leah found out you're never too old to learn new things.

Okay so by this point if you're even a semi regular reader you are well aware that I think rainbows come out of my brother's butt. Oh and he has a social conscious bigger than most. Oh and he's planning to ride his bike 1000 km around Lake Ontario later this summer. Oh and if you happen to be in the Peterborough area this weekend (July 12 & 13) please head to the Hippy Chippy fry truck where 100% of the proceeds from "large fries" are going to support the Ride For Africycle 2.0. Read all the latest on Dave and the crew here, including an exciting Citizen of the Year announcement.

As it turns out the wonderful Widney Woman and I share the same laundry problems. Does everybody hate the folding? This afternoon instead of folding clothes like I should have been doing I made better use of my time and hung out poolside with my newest bestest bud, The Mommy Project, who hates the folding too. Apparently it's becoming an epidemic.

Ever wonder how you tell if your toddler has had a good day? This is often a very good indicator.

Before the Relay for Life I bought a can of Coppertone's Continuous Spray sunscreen and I immediately fell in love. It was so easy to apply on myself and on the kids. I couldn't shut up about how it was the greatest thing ever invented. Then I ran out. In a week. When a bottle of regular sunscreen lasts me the entire summer that's a little hard to swallow. I don't our current budget is willing to support a $12 a week sunscreen habit.

Is there a Mom out there who isn't struggling with the laundry? Check out these laundry tips from my new favourite blog Tip Nut.

Blog I'm enjoying lately: Thoughts of a Smother Mother. For the record I'm with her on the romantic getaways. They're nice, but there comes a point when I'm just ready to be back home.

Monster Sale is going on at The Children's Place. We were there today so Abby could pick out some summer gear at excellent prices. Shorts, shirts and tees were working out to $5 ish a piece. And since she's been out of school for 5 minutes it seemed like the perfect time to pick up a backpack for next year. I will give her this, the kid has style and an eye for quality. This is definitely a better constructed backpack then the Strawberry Shortcake one that I picked out for her last year. The same one that the lining ripped within the first month. Also purchased, the matching lunch bag. Please stay tuned for pictures of her new summer hat and shades!

I love this twist on fingerpainting. I'm thinking it would look really great in my "office" whenever Mike gets around to finishing up the paint job he started in here.

spreading the linky love #18

Maybe I should keep this to myself since I want to win this one, but Julie over at Abbily Ever After is having a contest and she's giving away popcorn. Maybe not a big deal to you, but popcorn is on the very short list of foods Maya is wiling to eat.

Dave is back safe and sound from playing movie maker in western Canada, but not before crossing paths with just one more bear which prompted the following funny conversation with Abby during prayer the other night......

Me: Let's say a special prayer that Uncle Dave stays safe on his trip. He's out west making a movie in the forest remember?
Abby: Yeah, I heard about that.
Me: Well he saw a bear in the forest yesterday.
Abby: Is he dead?

So Leah is off doing the guest blogging thing at my crazy castle and I highly recommend you go check out the shower cake she's blogging about over there.

Another new to me blog I've been enjoying - Two Little Feet

spreading the linky love #17

I'm forever on the look out for great ideas for the Cool Mom Campaign and this one from Widney Woman totally hits the mark. Abby would go nuts for this idea.

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas? Yes? No? Okay don't hate me, but I am already well into my holiday shopping for the year. And these little recycled pop can ornaments are so cute. Oh boy do I love Etsy!

Speaking of Etsy, I had my very first Etsy sale not long ago. The fact that it was from one of my blogging BFF's that Sassy Suzel is completely irrelevant.

My brother is still out in the Wild West of Canada playing movie maker and blogging every day. Go read about how he crossed paths with a bear yesterday.

Blog I'm loving these days: Tip Nut

I'm going to close out the linky love with a Relay For Life Update. As a part of a team, this coming Friday (June 20th) I will be walking in a 12 hour relay to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. I have set a personal fundraising goal of $250, and a team goal of $1000. To date I have raised $190 and at last check our team has raised $1510. One goal met! If you'd like to help me meet my goals, click this link to reach the Canadian Cancer Society's secure donation site, select pledge a participant and search on my name, Shannon Revill.