Sunday, July 31, 2011

Summer Giveaway Hop - $10 Amazon Gift Card


I am participating in another book-themed giveaway hop - yay!

This giveaway hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Forever Young (adult).  There are currently 314 blogs participating!!!  The giveaway hop goes through August 7th so you have a few days to enter.

I am giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card (sent electronically).  After you enter my giveaway, be sure to check out the linky below and enter all of the other giveaways!

Please please please only enter using Rafflecopter.  Blog comments will not count.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Kroger Cart Buster - $25 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway


Kroger (Ralphs locally) is one of my favorite stores to shop at.  They always have good prices and a great selection of food.

Have you heard? The Cart Buster Savings Event is back at the Kroger Co. Family of Stores, beginning July 31st with storewide savings in almost every department! During the savings event, summer deals are just getting started. Browse the aisles and load up your cart with everyday items from brands you already love.
  • From July 31st through August 17th save on tons of brands across more than 100 categories from General Mills, PepsiCo, Unilever, Heinz, Mars, Wrigley and Kimberly Clark.
  • Look for some of your favorite participating products like, Honey Nut Cheerios, Yoplait , Pillsbury Pepsi, Doritos, Gatorade, Smart Ones, Ore-Ida, Cottonelle, Viva, Breyer´s Ice Cream, Axe , Snickers, Pedigree and Orbit.
  • Look for big savings storewide at the Kroger Family of Stores, which includes Kroger, Ralphs, King Scoopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith´s, Fry´s, QFC, Baker´s, Owen´s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Food4Less, Fred Meyer, Pay Less Supermarkets and Scott´s food & Pharmacy.
Don´t let the savings stop there! Make sure to follow the Cartbuster "Deal of the Day" beginning August 3rd and running through August 16th.* Download exclusive offers, on more of your favorite brands, directly to your shopper card, by visiting www.cartbuster.com, beginning Wednesday, August 3rd.

Remember, www.cartbuster.com is your link to all of the details, savings and the special "Deal of the Day" offers for the Cart Buster Savings Event, exclusively at the Kroger Co. Family of Stores. The Cart Buster Savings event beginning July 31st. "Deal of the Day" offers begin August 3rd.

*Please be sure to check your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores for participating dates and deals. The Deal of the Day promotion is not valid at: Fred Meyer or Food 4 Less.

Thanks to the folks at Kroger, General Mills and MyBlogSpark, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Kroger Gift Card!


To enter Rafflecopter giveaways, read the directions for each task, do each task and click "I did this" after completing each one.  Blog comments do not count as entries.


Friday, July 29, 2011

Six Word Saturday - #26


Show my Face blog hosts Six Word Saturday each week. I love this meme, because it is so simple yet can tell so much.  I hope to start participating every week again!

Here's what you do: Describe your life (or something) in just six words.

Seeing an old friend and grandparents.


Today is going to be an awesome day of family and friends :)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Aloha Friday #38 - Teeth



Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog . Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Have you ever had braces/Invisalign?


I have had Invisalign for a week now!


Be sure to enter my Christmas in July giveaway while you are here.

What I've Been Eating

My mom has decided to start blogging again over at Audrey's Spot for Recipe Tips & Hints.  She is being very supportive of me and doing mostly non-dairy recipes since I am now lactose intolerant.  Recently she has put up a recipe for apricot chicken, spinach casserole (my favorite) and oatmeal chicken.  So if you've been wondering where my food posts are, they are over on her blog!  Go check it out and get some delicious ideas! :)

The spinach casserole

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Invisalign - 1st Week

So I had my Invisalign put on a week ago.  I thought it would be nice to blog about it for two reasons.
  1. I want to track my progress, pain level, etc.
  2. I want anyone wondering about Invisalign to be able to come to my blog and have a true idea of how treatment might go
Day 1 - I had my Invisalign put on Wednesday afternoon.  They put some tooth-colored bumps on my teeth to help hold the aligners in place.  I was in the office for about 90 minutes today.  When I left the office, the Invisalign was a bit snug, but that's about it.  I ate dinner early and put my Invisalign back in - no problem.  My teeth started to get a bit sore over the next few hours.  When I took out my aligners to eat a snack, it kinda hurt.  Not intense pain or anything, but it hurt more to take them off than it did to wear them.  I took some Advil, ate relatively easily, and put the aligners back in - which caused some discomfort.  Now they are on, a bit snug, and a bit uncomfortable.  Day 1 hasn't been so bad.

Day 2 - Taking out my Invisalign for breakfast was kinda painful, so I took some Advil with my cereal.  By lunch a few hours later - I was feeling better than I had at breakfast time.  By the time I got to work it was kind of uncomfortable but not awful.  By dinner time, my top aligner was feeling a bit looser and I was able to take it out with my hands.  My bottom aligner is still very snug and I still have to use a tool to pull it out.

Day 3 - I think my pain/uncomfortable level has started to plateau.  My top aligner is coming out easier but my bottom one is still very tight.  I did take 6 Advil today, but I think that has also plateaued.  The good thing now is that I don't snack anymore because it is a hassle to take the aligners in and out (and brush).

Day 4 - I decided the Advil wasn't helping much so I quit taking it.  I am faster at taking the aligners in and out and the discomfort level is still plateaued.

Day 5 - Same as Day 4.  Still trying to eat softish foods.

Day 6 - I tried corn on the cob tonight....it wasn't that awful.  I think the Invisalign is becoming more a normal part of my mouth.  The spots that were bugging me are okay now and I am pretty sure I can see some improvement...although I'm sure it's in my imagination LOL

Day 7 - Sorry if this is gross, but I just finished flossing and I noticed a significant change in how easy it was.  The floss went in my bottom teeth way easier!  Yay, I think it's working :)

Be sure to enter my Christmas in July giveaway while you are here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lego Rock Band

Yay, I finally did something I don't do every day that is kinda fun to blog about!  A friend of mine bought Lego Rock Band for Xbox 360 and I had the privilege of playing for a few hours!  It's super cute!


We played the story mode.  You get to name your band (you can name it yourself or they can assign random silly names).  You then pick your band members, name them, and design avatars.


You then go through a goofy story, acquire the Village People, occasionally play as a cover band, buy various modes of transportation, and most importantly, play songs!  I chose to play guitar, and my friends did bass guitar and drums.  No one was brave enough to sing!  I started on easy (which is 1 level harder than Super Easy) but it was actually too easy for me and I got to play on Medium!  That was pretty exciting for me since I am generally not too good at video games.


So if you are looking for a fun, silly game to spend some time on, I would definitely recommend Lego Rock Band!

Be sure to enter my Christmas in July giveaway while you are here.

This is just a fun post that I am posting.  My friend bought this game on his birthday and I wanted to talk about it.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Christmas in July Giveaway Hop




This giveaway hop is hosted by Just Married with Coupons, Matter of Cents and Money $aving Michele.  The giveaway hop goes through July 31 so you have through the weekend to enter!  There are currently over 100 blogs participating!

The prizes are:

1) 1 Plug-in Warmer and 3 Scentsy Bars courtesy of Trista

This is my favorite plug-in warmer!

2) Bloggy Makeover - Classic Medium Package sponsored by Margaret at The World As I See It.  The bloggy makeover is worth $50!


3) Photo Calendar from Expressionables.com

Corkboard Calendar
An example of a calendar I like

After you enter my giveaway, be sure to check out the linky below and enter all of the other giveaways!

To enter Rafflecopter giveaways, read the directions for each task, do each task and click "I did this" after completing each one.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters Giveaway

Gonna try Rafflecopter again for this giveaway.  Feel free to let me know if you like it...or don't.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters

Nearly everyone thinks their own family is "nutty" or has at least one or two nuts. With 101 stories of wacky yet lovable relatives, funny foibles, and holiday meltdowns along with more serious stories about abuse and outbursts, this book is usually hilarious and occasionally poignant. Readers will feel comforted, amused, and encouraged by these unforgettable stories about "nutty" families just like their own. This book shows readers that we all have the same family matters and what really matters is families. It is a quirky and fun holiday book, and a great bridal shower or wedding gift!

The book is divided into 10 sections, including Relatively Embarrassing, Happily Ever Laughter, The Serious Side, and more.  Surprise, Surprise, is a hilarious story about a surprise party!  Cops and Robbers is a touching story about a large family.  The Brisket Fairies intrigued me because I loved my nana's brisket as a kid.  It is a sweet story about Chanukah!

I am pleased to offer a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters - 101 Unforgettable Stories about Our Nutty but Lovable Families to 3 winners.


To enter Rafflecopter giveaways, read the directions for each task, do each task and click "I did this" after completing each one.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Six Word Saturday - #25


Show my Face blog hosts Six Word Saturday each week. I love this meme, because it is so simple yet can tell so much.  I hope to start participating every week again!

Here's what you do: Describe your life (or something) in just six words.

Day 3 of Invisalign, it hurts!


I have a whole post waiting to go up after my first full week on Invisalign.  The end result will be worth it, but I am in a constant state of uncomfortableness.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Fun Pet Post

I just don't have anything to say today...so I thought I would share some sweet pictures of my pets.

This picture is proof that Hunter is super cute when he is asleep.

Southern California doggy...out getting a tan :)

"Why are you taking a picture of me while I tan????"

"Maybe I can close my eyes and pretend you aren't there"

My little Chip

And Dale...the outside of his cage is dirty!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hampstead Village

With my little cousin in town, we are trying to get out and do more things.  Last Sunday, we took my cousin and her friend to downtown Santa Barbara.  Our downtown is very tourist-y and has tons of great, non-chain stores.  One store that I have been wanting to check out for a long time is Hampstead Village.  It is owned by the mom of someone I grew up with, and it carries British items. Since my trip to Europe over 10 years ago, I have been in love with British chocolate and food!  So needless to say, I was very excited to finally visit this shop.

My mom picked out these cookies because she thought she had eaten them before.  It turns out they aren't the right ones, but they sure are delicious!  To my untrained taste buds, they are basically oatmeal cookies dipped in chocolate.  Yum!

The other item in the above picture is Maltesers.  I think these are my favorite candy!  The closest American candy I can compare them to is Whoppers, except Maltesers have a honeycomb center.  And of course, the chocolate is way better than American chocolate!

Lastly, we bought this can of drinking chocolate.  I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I am sure it will be delicious.  I love drinking chocolate!  It is so much more chocolate-y than hot chocolate!

I was completely impressed by Angela's selection of goods.  She had books, tea, jams, socks, cookbooks and more.  Everything was also very reasonably priced.  I can't wait to go back and buy more items!

I am only posting about this store because I want to help promote it.  I wasn't compensated or discounted or anything.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Another Spider

Because I know you all love the creepy crawlies I find in this house, I took this picture of a spider the other day just for you!




I have never seen as many different spiders in my life as I have since moving into this house a little less than 2 years ago.  If anyone knows anything about this one, I'd love to know (hopefully it isn't poisonous!)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Silly Haiku Wednesday - #18

3 weeks in a row...I deserve a medal or something! LOL

Join the fun!

The basics:
Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Scent (your favourite scent, etc.)

I love Vanilla
Cranberry and Cinnamon
Delight my senses

Harry Potter

Harry Potter....it's all anyone can talk about nowadays!  A friend of mine just posted her Hebrew Harry Potter book, and I thought I would share that cover and some others with you.  I think they're cool!

Hebrew

Garri Potter i filosofskii kamen / Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Russian Edition)
Russian

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Simplified Chinese Text) (Chinese Edition)
Chinese

German

I think it would be kind of cool to own one of these, even though I would never be able to understand a word!

And....I can't wait to see the last movie in the next few weeks!

Monday, July 18, 2011

How To: Enter a Rafflecopter Giveaway

As I always do, I asked my mom to check my latest giveaway for errors, clarity, etc.  This is my first giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget.  My mom is not someone who enters many giveaways, and she was completely lost.  For her and anyone like her, here are some tips on how to enter giveaways via Rafflecopter.

Many blogs have 1 or 2 mandatory entries you must complete on Rafflecopter before you can do the optional extra entries.  At first, only the mandatory entry/ies will let you click the green "I did this" button.  Once you complete any/all mandatory entries, the optional entries will know let you click the green "I did this" button.

Make sure to "click for instructions" for each entry.  Different blogs do things slightly differently, so it's worth the few extra seconds to make sure you don't invalidate your entry.

Here is a numbered break down of my entries, but remember that all blogs are different:

1) Mandatory entry - Leave a Blog Post Comment - The instructions direct you to a website to find a book.  You then have to leave a blog comment with the book you select.

2) Optional entry - Follow via GFC - GFC stands for google friend connect.  This is a little widget on my right sidebar.  On all blogs, you must follow publicly for this to count.

3) Optional entry - Subscribe via eMail - Again, this is a little widget on my right sidebar.  On all blogs, you must verify your subscription via an eMail you get (mine is from Feedburner).

4) Optional entry - Blog about the giveaway - This is pretty self-explanatory.  Write a blog post about my giveaway and leave the URL in the 3rd box.

5) Optional entry - Post the Giveaway on Facebook - This is also fairly self-explanatory.  Write a line or two about my giveaway on your facebook status and leave the URL in the 3rd box.

6) Optional entry - Add my Button to Your Sidebar - On my right sidebar is a little box with some code in it.  Add this code to your blog sidebar and in the 3rd box, leave your blog URL.

7) Optional entry - Follow my Other Blog on GFC - The instructions contain a link to my other blog, where on the right sidebar you can follow via gfc (google friend connect).

8) Optional entry - Follow @sbshortie on Twitter - Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter username in the 3rd box.

9) Optional entry - Become my Facebook Friend - The instructions contain a link to my facebook page.  Leave your facebook name in the 3rd box.

10) Optional DAILY entry - Tweet About the Giveaway - Instead of instructions, the box says "Click Here". When you click, a tweet button will come up, click it to tweet, then leave the URL of your tweet in the 3rd box.

I hope these instructions helped you to better understand how to enter Rafflecopter giveaways.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic giveaway

This is my first Rafflecopter giveaway, woohoo!


I am hosting a Christmas in July giveaway in a week - so now is a perfect time to give this book away!

Christmas is a magical time of year — a time of family, friends, and traditions. And all the joys, blessings, and excitement of the season are captured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic with its 101 new holiday stories covering everything from finding the perfect Christmas tree, being with family, and seeing the wonder in a child's eyes to goodwill, love, and the true meaning of Christmas. This book will delight every reader, from the young to the young at heart, and bring back the magic of the holiday season. "Santa-safe" for kids!

The book is divided into 11 sections, including Health Deck the Halls, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and more.  The Cookie Party is a cute story about a mom who can't bake!  The Post Office is a touching story about a woman's first Christmas without her husband.  The Butterscotch Bear intrigued me with its title.  It is a sweet story about a special teddy bear!

I am pleased to offer a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic - 101 Holiday Tales of Inspiration, Love, and Wonder to 3 winners.


To enter Rafflecopter giveaways, do each task and click "I did this" after completing each one.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

My Trip To Denver...Continued

We kept pretty busy while we were in Denver.  In addition to all of the food we ate, we visited many places.

We went to the Denver Mint, but they don't allow a single picture.  If you take a picture, they escort you off of the tour.

Another place we visited was the Capitol Building in Denver.  You can do anything you want there as long as you aren't too noisy.  They have tons of beautiful quilts hanging all over the building.  Below are a few of my favorites.


Here is a fun view looking all the way up to the top of the capitol building:


I got a great shot of the Senate Chamber:


Our main reason for being there was my cousin's 8th grade graduation.  Below is a picture of her little class:


My favorite part of the trip was definitely the Wild Animal Sanctuary. They rescue captured exotic and endangered carnivores.  While they are rehabilitating the animals, they live in small-ish areas.  Once they are "tamed", they move to huge open spaces.  I learned that there are more tigers in backyards in Texas than there are left in the world.  It is an awesome place and you should definitely visit if you ever find yourself in Colorado with some free time!

Oh yeah, they also rescue dogs.  That is a humongous dog with my cousin, Tanya.

Above is a tiger in its cage.

Above is a tiger in one of the bigger cages.

We must have come right after feeding time because the lions had a ton of meat!

Above is a male lion hanging out.  He never looked up and I couldn't get any closer! :(



Tigers sure do sleep a lot!

I love this picture.  Big cats are so gorgeous!

I'm really impressed that I fit my whole trip into just two blog posts.  I hope you enjoyed them!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Six Word Saturday - #24


Show my Face blog hosts Six Word Saturday each week. I love this meme, because it is so simple yet can tell so much.  I hope to start participating every week again!

Here's what you do: Describe your life (or something) in just six words.

Dog got skunked again last night.


My dog was begging to go out last night so I figured he had to pee.....instead he decided to go after a skunk that was in the backyard.  The skunk won!  Dawn dishwashing soap on its own is amazing at helping to get rid of the smell.  I also Febreezed everywhere.  The groomer this morning said I did a good job of washing him with the Dawn.  Sigh!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Aloha Friday #37 - Travelling



Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog . Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

What is the longest road trip you have ever taken?  If you have never taken one, what is the longest time you have traveled for?


I am going to Idaho next month and it is about a 16 hour drive each way.  It gets pretty boring!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Hotmail vs. Gmail

I have a BIG dilemma.  This week, I received my second email of the month saying that I had won something and not returned the sender's email within the allotted time.  The first person said they blamed their yahoo mail, but by the second time, I started thinking it might be my hotmail.  So now I am thinking I should start switching everything over to gmail....

My accounts are fairly linked already.  Because my gmail is currently my secondary account, I have my gmail coming into my hotmail account.  I know the option exists to flip that though.

Have any of you bloggers out there ever switched email addresses?  Did you resubscribe to everything at once or did you do it gradually?  I am an email subscriber of a ton of blogs and the thought of switching them all at once is beyond overwhelming!

I need advice...help!!!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Silly Haiku Wednesday - #17

Yay, 2 weeks in a row!

Join the fun!

The basics:
Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Wish(es)

I wish for a lot
Money, Happiness and Health
For friends and family

Monday, July 11, 2011

Weird Food Combinations

I am laughing so hard right now.  My mom just ate green olives stuffed with pimientos followed immediately by a mini chocolate bar...and made herself nauseous.


What is the weirdest food combination you have ever eaten?

I like a few uncommon things, but nothing too weird.  I love cheddar cheese on apple slices and peanut butter on my pancakes!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Cars 2

A few days ago, I finally got around to seeing Cars 2.  I had read tons of reviews from people saying not to waste my time, but I have to experience things for myself!  And just to warn you...this post does have some spoiler-ish comments.


While it was a bit slow at times, I mostly really enjoyed it!  I LOVED the Toy Story short before the movie.  It was almost like getting 2 movies for the price of 1!  The movie itself was cute and funny.  The animation was great, I loved the jokes, and the characters were magnificent!


Larry the Cable Guy was great again as Tow Mater.  My heart broke for him in this movie...but I did love all of his various paint jobs!


Holly Shiftwell was probably my favorite character in the whole movie.  I loved that she was a girl spy car, I loved her British accent, and I loved what she contributed to the movie!

So, I have to disagree with all of the negative reviews I read.  I would recommend this movie.  While it probably wasn't the best movie I will see in 2011, I sure am glad I took the time to watch it!