Christmas Challenge! Are you in?

I've got a challenge for you! The question is... are you in, or are you out?

Starting Tuesday, December 1st, I will begin posting something (ANYTHING!) each day until December 25th. I'll be posting a commentary, a joke, a picture, whatever! Just something everyday until Christmas day.

I began the "25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge" back in 2007 and it's been a lot of fun for me. Some days... a true challenge... but interesting nonetheless!

So, join in the fun!

And the winner is...

And the winner of the photo greeting cards is....
KENDI!

Giveaway Reminder

Just a quick reminder that I'm giving away 30 (4x6 size) photo Christmas cards (design shown) with envelopes. All you have to do, is leave a comment on the original blog post for your chance to win. I'll draw a random winner on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25th (6:00 p.m CST) and post the results that evening.

Also, run on over to Goodwill Gal and check out my latest blog posting entitled "Ew...Shoes?" Be sure to add my new blog to your subscription!

Bathroom Complete!

I finally finished the girls' bathroom last week. I've had most of these decor' items for OVER A YEAR but never found the time to (or really... never made the time) to finish this room.

The flowers are from Hobby Lobby's garden section. I got them on clearance at the end of the season. The shower curtain and the white shelf is from Goodwill. (I still need to iron the shower curtain... sigh...)

The paint is leftover paint from Elisan's room color mixed with a darker blue. I think it turned out nice and it kept me from having to have wasted paint or another gallon to buy.

Goodwill Gal

I woke up Saturday morning with a vision... I need a blog where I can showcase my Goodwill finds in a "safe and loving" environment. Because the truth of the matter is this... not everyone can wrap their head around shopping at Goodwill (or other retail thrift stores) for anything.

But, really... Goodwill is simply a re-selling, re-homing, re-purposing store of items that people no longer have a need for. And, Goodwill "puts people to work" and who doesn't like that?

So stay tuned for Goodwill Gal to get off the ground the in the next week or so. I'm excited!

Deals, steals and unreals

This week I ordered the Estee Lauder Holiday Gift Set! It is my all-time favorite gift set and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

I wish I could say I purchase it every year, but sadly, I do not. What usually happens is that I can't justify the purchase, I forget or actually don't need the new makeup. This year, I did not forget and I do need new makeup, so it was a perfect (expensive)"treat" for me. (Hey, my birthday is coming up... that's my justification!)

In addition to the holiday gift set, EL was offering a free gift when you spend over $50.00. The free gift was 4 eyeshadows, makeup brushes, a lip gloss and small bottle of "Beautiful" perfume.

And if that wasn't enough..., I was able to select 2 free sample size gifts at check out, so I selected a eyeshadow and sample of "Sensuous" perfume. Shipping was free and I got it within 3 days! You can't beat that!

On Thursday, I joined Elisan's class for their field trip to Central Market, a division of HEB. I was awesome! I mean, y'all know I love food, so going to a grocery store on a field trip - much less a fancy one - was right up my alley! I could have spent gobs and gobs of money, but I administered restraint while I was there. Now, that's not to say I won't be making another trip again - this time by myself or with another foodie friend! (Any takers?)

One of the most intriguing items of interest was the Black Truffle. Notice the price. $199.00 per pound. Yep, that was no misprint. The lady leading the tour said that this small container of black truffles was over $6.00. Yep, I see three in there.

I'm intrigued by the truffle and wonder what makes it so pricey. Anyone ever had a dish made with truffles? I'd love to know!

Friday, Kyla had her Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. The kids were so adorable in their pilgrim and Indian costumes. It was such a sweet time. Here she is with some friends!

Finally, I am in the process of making my Christmas list. Last year, I discussed Christmas budgets. So, this year, I wanted to get some feedback regarding gift cards.

I recently read an article that stated that a quarter of gift cards received as gifts go unused. That was UNUSED MONEY! I am (and have always been) stunned by this fact. Who does not used gift cards, I always wonder?

I personally LOVE giving (and receiving) gift cards. I love giving them because it allows me to stick to my budget. If I budget $25.00 for my nephews, I spend $25.00 on a gift card. No more over spending. In addition, I love getting gift cards because I love to shop - in the store and online.

I have only ever received one gift card that I didn't spend right away and that was to iTunes. It was because I wanted to carefully select the songs I downloaded. Even now, I still have about $2.00 left on that card.

So, in light of the holiday gift giving season, participate in the poll in the right hand column. I'm interested in your answers!

Christmas Photo Card Giveaway!

My mama always told me it's better to give than to receive. And, I'm pretty sure y'all's mama said the same thing! I'd like to give away some of my time and talent to one lucky individual!

I'm giving away 30 (4x6 size) photo Christmas cards (design shown) with envelopes. All you have to do, is leave a comment on this entry for your chance to win. I'll draw a random winner on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25th (6:00 p.m CST) and post the results that evening.

Now, for the fun part... your comment!

When you enter to win, please post 5 things you are thankful for and be sure to tell your friends!

Today, I'm celebrating...

My friend Angie posted a 4K days of marriage last year! When I saw her post, I calculated my own 4K date using this tool. How many days have you been married - answer in the comment section!

Fun photo session

Each year, I make the girls individual Christmas cards to hand out to their friends. I usually attach the card to a goodie bag filled with fun Christmas treats on the last day of school before the Christmas winter break.

Saturday, I took the girls out to the university in our small town and took some pictures for our Christmas cards this year. Some of the pictures were just phenominal and truly captured their individual personalities. I'd love to share every last one of the pictures I took over the weekend, but I'm sure you'd get bored with that pretty quickly. But, here's one of my favorites. I love the colors of their shirts!


This year, I fell in love with the penguin. When I was perusing the internet for ideas for the penguin, I noted that he was most often in the snow with a crisp pale blue background. But, after watching "March of the Penguins" a week or so ago, I realized that in the deep winter, penguins experience day long darkness. So... in light of this, their penguins are dancing in the dark!

Kyla's picture turned out darkened and if I had mad photo editing skills, I could fix it, but since I don't, it will just have to remain dark. Believe me I tried, so I'll accept any help in this area!

Don't forget, I'll be posting my Christmas Photo Card giveaway this week!

It's that time again...

I'm working photo Christmas card designs and that usually means a FUN GIVEAWAY is in store!

Stay tuned!

This is the Christmas Penguin I'm going to use on the girls' Christmas goodie exchange for their classmates! Isn't he cute?

Thai Beef Salad

Thai Beef Salad is one of our favorite salads! Definitely a treat in our house, because sadly, the girls won't/can't eat it because it is too spicy. But, as far as salads go, the flavor in this salad is truly outstanding! I know some people can't get with the idea of using fish sauce in a recipe. And I'll admit, it takes some getting used to. But, if you want that "authentic" flavor, you must use fish sauce. Otherwise, you are missing out!

I'm not sure what made me go searching for a beef salad, but I'm glad I found this recipe. I adapted this Thai Beef Salad recipe from Martha Stewart's website. Here's the original if you are interested. My version is below! Enjoy!

THAI BEEF SALAD

Dressing:
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
2 1/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 fresh serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
Handful of cilantro, stems removed, finely chopped

Salad:
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 med red onion, thinly sliced into rings
1/2 cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced
5 cups mixed salad greens (or fresh spinach)

Steak:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional - if you don't have sesame oil, just use 2 tbsp of olive oil)
1 boneless sirloin steak (1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Topping:
1/2 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Prepare salad dressing, set aside. Prepare salad ingredients - greens, cucumber, green onions and red onions - place in salad bowl and toss.

Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Season steak with freshly ground pepper and coarse salt and pan fry in skillet until desired doneness. (I like ours medium.) Remove steak from pan, and let rest for 5 minutes. This ensures that the steak juices remain in the meat, rather than on the plate when you slice it up. When cooled, slice the steak into thin bite sized slices.

Top salad with sliced meat, peanuts and dressing.

Long Lost Friends

At Kyla's soccer game on Saturday, she was pushed down by a little boy on the other team. Immediately, the little boy went over the Kyla, helped her up off the ground and asked her if she was okay.

Turns out, that little boy was a former teammate from last year and he even remembered her first name. His name is Alexander.


During half-time I noticed the two of them talking and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of them as they caught up with one another... Wonder what they were talking about?

Thank you Alexander for being such a gentleman on the field!

Stuff heard 'round the house!

Yesterday, I was talking to Randy about how I thought Kyla had a very dynamic personality and how I've noticed how other kids are drawn to her.

During that conversation, Elisan asked "what does dynamic personality mean?" And in our reply to her we said that Kyla had a lot of friends and that all of the kids liked her, etc., and Elisan said, "Yeah! She's cute, smart and has a good vocabulary."

Randy and I both chuckled and then he said, "Yes, because a good vocabulary is important to most people."

Make this salad!

This salad is so yummy! A great combination of flavors too!

Citrus Salad with Bacon & Red Onion
(from the Kraft Food & Family Magazine)

• 8 cups mixed greens (for those who shop at HEB... I buy the bulk salad greens rather than buy the pre-packaged greens. Much cheaper too!)
• 1 orange, peeled, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 cup of dried cranberries (I got mine on the bulk bin aisle at HEB -bought what I needed, rather than an entire package on the dried fruit aisle)
• 1/3 cup red onion rings, thinly sliced
• 3 slices cooked crispy bacon, crumbled
• Balsamic Vinegarette (the recipe called for Kraft dressing, but I made my own version at home)

The Golden Apple

This Texas girl tries her very first Honeycrisp Apple.
Some things are better demonstrated than wrote about.

(p.s.) I just got dissed by my friend for making a video about trying an apple.

Eeek!

37 scares me...

Transformation nearly complete!

About 3 - 4 years ago, I made the terrible mistake of painting Elisan's bedroom Barbie pink. What looked like a nice muted pale pink on the paint strip was actually the worst color known to man. And, ask anyone... my favorite color is pink and even I HATED it! But, because I refused to re-paint a perfectly painted room again, I kept the putrid pink in E's room for way too long.



Mix in the fact that Elisan had mix-matched furniture... well, her room looked like the Clampett's had moved in.

I had finally had enough and I decided to begin scouring Craigslist for used bedroom furniture. But, after many, many weeks of not finding what I wanted I began to lose hope. Until one miraculous day I walked into the Salvation Army and there it was. A bedroom set fit for an 8 year old.

The furniture set came with an amoire, desk and nightstand. It is Lexington brand and is solid wood. It is in nearly perfect condition. I am not afraid to say either that we paid less than $300.00 for all of it. All I needed to do now was paint E's room.

Elisan picked the color she wanted... and I went one shade lighter. I knew better than to go brighter, since the pink that was in her room was very bright. I must say, the color looks phenomenal too! I am very pleased with this color and it reminds me of "Tiffany" blue.

I have some more decor projects I am working on and hopefully I will be sharing those soon. I'll also be on the lookout for a desk chair. In addition, I'm contemplating what to do about a headboard. I'm thinking of upholstering a headboard with a nice coordinating fabric, but I haven't decided yet.

But, until then, here's Elisan's room as it looks today.