wiener, winner ... same thing

I was notified awhile ago but it seems I had to wait for it to come in the mail to believe it ... I won a blog giveaway!  whoo hoo!


$100 gift card to Dicks ... which we don't have here in my NorCal town.  the closest one is 2+ hours away.  but who cares?!  I won!


can't remember why I entered ... blogs that do giveaways want you to enter a bazillion times - follow me here, like me there, comment 500 times for 600 entries ... I can't keep up.  in fact, I've quit.  its just not fun anymore.


BUT ...
you can't win if you don't play!!  that I am thoroughly convinced of.
and ... I won!!  I won!!

thanks to VodkaMom!!!

which by the way, I love this blog.
you are a great writer.  I enjoy your sense of humor.  and I like that you reveal some of the real you on your blog.


(my 2 cents for bloggers ... all business is no fun.  if that's all you do, you must be a robot.  and boo to that.)

Blog #3?!

Yes, I'm going to do ANOTHER blog.  3 blogs.  am I crazy?  I have a hard enough time with just this one, but here are my thoughts on this ...

• its the new me.  I can will do it.
• I can refer my Avon clients to my Avon blog.  This should will get me more online business.
• I can refer my Home Staging/Redesign clients to my Design blog.  This also should will get me more business.

In my opinion, word of mouth is still the best advertisement out there, but I have to say, online availability is a very close second.  Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, on and on ... dare I say, "everybody's doing it!"

Understandably not everyone wants to read my personal ramblings, but if you do, wonderful.  I have some doosies for you coming up, but please join my other blogs so you can see what else I'm about.

In order of their "birth" ...

blog #1 My Learning Curve - where you are, in my day to day

blog #2 Your Avon Lady - Anything and Everything to do with Avon ... 5 posts already people!

blog #3 Renew the View - the beginning to my Home Staging/Redesign business ... just birthed this evening, but will begin asap!

Be excited, because I am excited.  whoo hoo!

around the world, literally

you love to travel?
you enjoy working and/or volunteering?
like meeting new people?
do you know other languages? or want to learn?

in college, I loved the idea of all the internships that were offered. to go wherever and live in another culture, but you had to make it a part of your major somehow, and usually you could.
coming to this point in my college career where I could begin to take the necessary steps to do this, Matt and I were surprised with becoming pregnant, which pretty much burst that bubble. God had a different adventure in mind for us. :)

so what I found is similar to what colleges do, but for anyone willing. all you have to pay for is getting there, then you work for your room and board. they say 5 hours of work a day will pay for your room and board for the day.
there are ALL kinds of work available; there is babysitting, housework, ranching/farming, special projects ... all kinds of stuff. AND this is worldwide!! check it out!

I saw this and instantly thought how cool to do this for a vacation instead of paying a bazillion dollars at Disneyland or wherever ... and I say that probably because I've been to Disneyland a hundred times, but what I mean going somewhere touristy. in my opinion, what a great way to show the world to your family, give back, learn & live in other cultures, and have experiences you'd never forget. right?!
it says there is no age minimum or maximum, but it does want you to register as an individual or as a team of 2, friends or husband & wife.
not that I really thought Elliott would get much work done! but definitely when my boys are older and can do some actual work, I will be signing us up. I'm already excited!

aloha

I'll be here for the week if you need me.

Aloha!

c'mon 32

so my hubby can't keep a secret to save his life. his anticipation and excitement builds up too much and he simply can't stand it. he tries to make it so I pry it out of him, but this is how it really went down -

"so do you want to know?"

"no I can wait until Christmas"

"want to play 20 questions?"

"no, I'll wait"

"oh, but you'll need a few months to prepare"

"yea right"

"no really. don't you want to know?!"

"you're pathetic. alright, what is it?"

so for Christmas, he is taking us to HAWAII during my birthday!! so on my 32nd birthday, we will be up in a helicopter getting a birds eye view of the islands!

for one entire day, we'll be at a luau. 10 hours of eating, drinking, belly dancing ... and whatever else they do.

he also found a VIP pass that will be good for museums, parks, spas, and a whole bunch of other extras for the entire trip.

us = him and I ... NO KIDS

my birthday isn't until February, but the whole idea is to leave 3 feet of snow behind us. right now in December, we have snow but not tons and tons of it. by February we'll be so sick of snow, it'll be great timing.

now he hasn't actually purchased the tickets yet, but he definitely knows better than to play with my emotions like that!

anyone know - will prices be better after the new year when holiday travel is over?

I've wanted a getaway with my hubby for what seems like forever. of course I love my kids, but mama & papa have to come first sometimes. whoo hoo! I'm soooooo excited!

got any insider tips for me? I'm all ears!