I've had my blog for about 3 years now and off and on I enter various giveaways. Mosly to no avail. I don't enter them all because some things I don't have a use for and really I don't have enough time in the day to enter everything. I don't always care about winning and I don't wait by my email waiting to be notified, but there was a giveaway recently that I did want to enjoy winning as and I DID!
I follow Gluten Free Girls blog, aka Shauna & Chef Ahern. If you haven't read it you should, I mean really you should. I love the way she tells food stories. Seriously I cried when I finished her book. I find her stories engrossing and BTW, I love the recipes too. Well a couple days ago she was having a giveaway for some books, have I explained how I love books, especially food ones? Well I should sometime. But I digress. There were 3 up for grabs...Will Write for Food, Food Heros: Preserving Tradition, and Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasonal Kitchen. Tonight I hopped online just to check my email and I had a note from Shauna letting me know that I had one the book below.
It really made my weekend! At least until I go to church tomorrow. When it comes I'll totally have to take a picture...or two.
Pioneer Beauty is having another giveaway for $100 worth of Marie~Madeline products. Below are jsut a few of the items that are sooo cute. I love the bag below! Here is the link to the Pioneer Beauty giveaway. Now you have your own chance to enter when you click on it and go there.
Here is a video of Olivia singing Jesus Loves Me at church on Labor Day weekend. In a word...Precious! I hope you think so too. I can'r believe I got to hold her when she was just a day old. My how they grow!
I just found this blog and entered this giveaway for a beautifully bound edition of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.
You can enter it too by clicking on the link for Pioneer Beauty! Good luck all...even though I'd like to win. Thanks Jennifer for posting it on your blog also. If you want to enter more than once just tell them Carolyn sent you.
It's officially September 11. I'm sure that everyone remembers where they were on this day nine years ago.
I was in Sicily working out on the cross trainer and I looked up to see the strangest "movie" that I'd ever seen. Except as we all know it was no movie. It was America, under attack, by terrorists that would like nothing better than to see America destroyed.
I knew where I needed to be, and so to security I went...and the subsequently stayed until I had new orders given to me...8 months later. On top of the time I spent activated because of the USS Cole bombing I was there for a total year and a half out of my 2 year tour.
I was mad and angry at that time. Frustrated that I couldn't do anything and sad that we were now under a new "normal". My first trip back stateside was on my way through to Sacremento and as I got off the plane I sat waiting for my Dad to come to the gate and get me. It was almost 10 at night and a flight attendant saw me and asked if anything was wrong, so I told her what I was doing. She looks at me like I was crazy and when I told her that it was my first trip back to the states from overseas she had to explain the new protocol. No more walks to the gate and lounging about the airport allowed. It makes airport scenes in movies, from 10 years ago, seem antiquated.
I didn't have much to do tonight, but I felt like being creative and so I made this video on my new movie maker. I was inspired in part by the video that the VP of my CWRW club made, and by a request to post a flag picture. I had initially thought of just building a tribute around flags, but decided to use some other photos from that day, not just of the towers, but of the Pentagon as well and then realized half way through that I really wanted it to be for the heroes of that day. The Firemen and Police. The people that served during the event and after, because of it. If you're interested the song is actually called the Twin Towers Lament by Brandon Vance. I had it on a instrumental CD that I bought a while back.
It's 9-11. I'd say enjoy, but that seems a bit morbid so simply remember...And never forget.
I don't know about you all, but I LOVE a long weekend! Especially one that involves seeing friends...that have moved.
A few weeks back Nicki and I were planning on going up to visit the Waldron's and Majors families over in Okanogan. They moved back at the end of June to start a church over in Twisp and we miss them bunches!
Well as anyone who has ever made plans knows, that the best laid plans can always unravel and these ones did in a big way. Nicki got really sick the week prior to our departure, I ended up sitting with her in the ER waiting for test results last Monday, and even though we would joke about her need to get better by weeks end, my heart was not hopeful. I mean she was really bad off. Anyway, that meant that I was going up by myself, even though I was fighting off whatever was being passed around my friends lately (turns out it's been pneumonia, yuck). I ended up putting myself on a daily regimen of Emergen-C(for and immune booster) and NiteQuil (to sleep) along with anything else that I thought I might need (Echinacea anyone). However, I was able to leave on Saturday morning with no problems. The four hour drive was a bit lonely, as my mind wandered to all the potential fun conversations I would have shared with Nicki, but Alexander Scourby read the Psalms to me on my CD player and it made for a nice ride (note to all who have hid Bible on Audio CD's if you have a 4 hour drive to make, and need some way to pass the time, the Psalms will get you there with no left overs).
Finally, I arrived!!! Kali didn't even hear me ring their doorbell, but ended up walking by the door at just the right time. Whew, I would have hated to have been missed ;) She heated up some left over Pancit for me for lunch and we visited until Mags and Sharon got home, and then proceeded to watch Mags make desert for that night, flour less chocolate cake with a Mocha glaze. Seriously that girl can cook! The we ended up at the Majors for dinner (ribs, corn, potato salad & orange fluff). After we played a game of dominoes. Actually it was only half a game because we were going to have to rise early for church the next morning.
Pics of the Mountains on the way up to Okanogan
And we did. See even though our evangelistic team lives in Okanogan, they have to travel about a half an hour away to Twisp (where the work is actually going on) and set up for services (signs so that people know where to find them, chairs, sound system, hymnals, breakfast for in between SS & Morning service...etc.) But with 4 girls getting ready in the morning you know it's gonna be an early day. I mean beauty takes work people! But services were great!!! I always enjoy Chris' preaching. SS he taught lesson "C" out of the ABC's of Christian growth, which stands for church. Though I don't often speak of him or do a lot of comparisons, it really was like have Pastor Prisk teach the lesson all over again. Sigh, I miss him sometimes. But I digress.... Chris' morning message was excellent too. One thing that I like about his preaching is that he makes it easy to take notes. His message was on Daily Mana (Exodus 16:11-21). How God provides everything we need for everyday. His points were as follows 1) It's God that does the providing, 2) God provides only things that are pure and 3) Gods provision always leaves more for others. It was an awesome message. Followed by a wonderful corn chowder lunch. If you ever find yourself in the area here is the website for contact info.
After the morning we girls headed off to Winthrop. It's a touristy western town complete with wood board streets. We had a grand time complete with trying on hats and a stop at Sheri's Sweet shop. Everyone got ice cream, but me. I got a piece of rocky road and a dark chocolate covered rice krispy treat, which BTW I saved for the next day. I'm not that big of a glutton. And I'm glad I only had one piece of chocolate because that evening we went to another church and were treated out to DQ afterward by the Pastor of that church. It's fun to hang with the missionaries.
The next day was Labor day and we just relaxed. Bro. Waldron was finally feeling better and so we went on a drive up to Oroville to see what was "out there" beyond the Omak city line. Let me tell you it's not much, but it was a pretty, urrr rustic, drive. Lots of hills and open sky. We also scoped out the company where Kali had put in a resume to, which was on our route. After we got home it was time for some Man vs. Food and ironically dinner. Then for some Phase 10. Nope I didn't win this time, but there's always my next trip.
Tuesday was another 4 hour drive home, but I felt refreshed and ready to face the rest of the week. No Psalms this time, Proverb, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon & Esther got me back home safe and sound. I really wish I could have stayed. Being back in reality isn't always fun, but that's why you gotta love a long weekend. It gives you something to look forward to, like visiting with friends.
Proverbs 18:24 - A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
It really made my weekend! At least until I go to church tomorrow. When it comes I'll totally have to take a picture...or two. 
good, 