Secret Announcement Update

Well, I know I said I'd hold the contest open until today at Noon. Ish. Can I be very liberal with the ish? I'd like to keep it open a few more days because, well...I don't know who the winner is yet!

So, here's a reminder. You're guessing what my secret is. The prize will be something related to my secret, so I can't tell you what it is. Feel free to guess that, too, if you want, but please try to guess my secret, too! To sweeten the pot, I will throw in a $20 Babies R' Us gift card.

So, guess away, friends! If you already know, tell a friend to come check me out, and they can guess, too! I'll announce when the contest will close a day or so before I decide to close it--I'd like to get several guesses before I close!

Guess, guess, guess--and tell your friends!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

I actually like rainy, cloudy days. I always have. I like the feel of comfy jeans and a sweater against the wind. I like having a cup of tea while the rain patters on the window. It makes me want to bake, which I won't do. I still have a batch of blueberry tarts that didn't get eaten at last night's worship team rehearsal. I don't understand it--what could be better than your very own mini blueberry pie? Not to mention the crumb topping. But alas, only a few were enjoyed. Oh well--more for me and my family!

Do you know what else is good on a cool, cloudy fall day? Homemade bread. Now that I may have to bake. There is nothing like a slice of homemade bread, fresh from the oven, with some jam. Not to mention the delicious smell that permeates the whole house. I may bake some for the smell factor alone. Between that and the lingering blueberry tart smells, I may eradicate the odeur de burnt garlic bread from my sister-in-law's tragedy with our ridiculous oven Sunday night.

Just a reminder--you can still submit guesses for my Secret Announcement contest here. Just leave a comment on yesterday's post with your guess as to what my Secret Announcement is. I won't post comments that have guesses in them--so no one can steal your guess! Feel free to submit more than one guess--I'll pick the first person to get the closest. The contest closes Wednesday sometime around noon. Ish.

The Not Me! Mondays...

It's Monday morning. There's frost on the ground, and I'm writing this BEFORE MckMama's Not Me! Monday post! Check her out though, she'll have it up soon, I'm sure. Probably by the time I'm done writing mine! So here they are, my weekly confessions. Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for some secret-announcement contest information!

This week:

*I did not let my work outs slip because I've been feeling blarghy.

*I did not refuse to move the dead mole that Chloe killed and proudly left outside our door. It is not still sitting there as I type. I have not been walking around it all week.

*I do not let Wiggle Man play with a spatula. He, in turn, does not prefer it to his toys. The ones we spent money on.

* Speaking of the Wiggle Man, I did not let him sit in his crib for 20 minutes after he woke up because I didn't want to get up yet. Even though he slept in later than usual.

*I did not institute "Pajama Day" on Saturday because I felt to gross to even get dressed, and decided to try and make a fun day out of it for Wiggle Man. We did not stay in our jammies all day, and we did not have breakfast for dinner.

*I did not stay up until 2 am one night waiting for Hubba Hubba to call because he was out of town.

*I did not buy a bag of caramels at the farmer's market this weekend. I did not eat them all in two days.

*I am not having difficulty thinking of more Not Me!s because I want to get breakfast. Which I'll do in just a minute, but first....


Secret-Announcement-Contest Information!!!!!!!

It's almost time for me to share my secret with you. But first, I thought I'd have some fun with it. So, I want to hear your guesses on what my secret is. You can check old posts for what it's not, if you need to. If you know (and you know who you are...) please don't guess! I'm going to moderate the comments and won't post contest-related comments until the contest ends, so your guess will remain a secret from other contestants. (So much secrecy going on...)

Leave a comment with your best guess at what my secret is. I'll leave the contest open until Wednesday at noonish. The first person who gets it right, or comes closest by Wednesday will get a prize that relates somehow to my secret! So, start guessing!

Pay It Forward

Dee dee dee dee! (Imagine trumpet fanfare, if you would.)



It's my first giveaway! I'm going to pretend it's because my hit counter just hit 100. Really, it's because Sky had this Pay It Forward giveaway on her fabulous blog, and I wanted to play along. It was a giveaway I could win!

So now I pass the fun along to you. Here's how we'll do it: The first three people to leave a comment on this post will WIN! Just make sure you include your email address somewhere in your comment. I'll send a little surprise your way. The Pay It Forward part is that you then get to host your very own Pay It Forward giveaway. The prizes don't have to be big and fancy--something small enough to fit in a regular or manila envelope.

So, friends, it's in your hands. I know you're out there. I see the hits on my counter. I see the dots on my map. One little comment is all it takes to WIN! (And we all like to win, don't we?)