Apparently, I've been living under a rock.

Okay, I just found out today that Bloggy Giveaways was closed indefinitely as of April 6. I didn't pop in there often, but did find the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival to be great fun. The next one was scheduled for this next week. I just popped in to double check on the specifics. The specifics were that she was done, wasn't finding it fun anymore and wanted to go back to her passion.

I get that, but I'm going to miss it. I was able to meet fun people and win cool stuff!

So sad.

Bloggy Giveaway Love: Double Dipped Sweets and The Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic

I received my box of Bloggy Giveaway goodies on Valentine's Day. Oh, look at what I won. (No Jamie, I'm not eating it all myself! :) )My wonderful prize pack from Double Dipped Sweets included more than I even thought! Oh, and they made it Valentine's themed, too!
K- with her requested Gummy Worm apple. Now before you go ACK!, it was most delicious. I've eaten it two nights in a row for dinner. (And Jamie, what was that you were asking about how my eating was going? I promise! I've been good up until this weekend of cheating!)
I'm taking this one to work and sharing with the girls. It was so big that it didn't fit in the cellophane bag that she had for the apple!

The package also included 6 dipped pretzel rods (sharing some with my mother-in-law who is a dipped pretzel junkie), 12 dipped oreos (I think that I counted those right! I'm sharing those with my dad, who is an oreo junkie.) There were also two bags of flavored drizzly/dip popcorn. Such a delight to come home and find a box of goodies waiting for me! Thank you for sharing your homemade goodness! Hey, don't forget to drop by and see what Double Dipped Sweets has that you might want to blow your diet on!

Jawan at The McGinnis Message sent me a Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic kit. How great! Now, I have to admit that I got it all put together, turned it around and accidentally sprayed myself right in the face with it. Duh! So, if you get one of those, watch where you put your handies when you are flipping it around. It smells good in the air, but the taste isn't as pleasant!
Thank you so much ladies! I've enjoyed winning your lovely bloggy giveaway prizes!

Bloggy Giveaway Love: The WMF Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

I'd like to thank Cyndi at Busy Family Meals for giving away such a rockin' neat new pressure cooker. Thank you to Cooking.com for sponsoring this giveaway. Cyndi is a reviewer, so they were kind enough to provide this $219.00 stainless steel pressure cooker to her as a giveaway. Look what is living in my house now:
From Cyndi: "Everyone’s busy these days, and nothing will trim time off your preparations like a good pressure cooker, reducing cooking time up to 70%. And this one is a beauty! Made in Germany, this 3-qt. pressure cooker is ideal for making a ham and lentil soup or pork chops with caramelized onions. As your food cooks, it is being infused with the flavors and aromas from your seasoning and its own juices. Shorter cooking times and the tight seal cooking method preserve precious vitamins and minerals from escaping your food. The Perfect Plus pressure cooker provides efficient heat conductivity. The TransTherm sandwich base evenly transfers heat over the entire bottom of the cooker which makes for faster heating and better heat retention. With a Perfect Plus pressure cooker, your cooking is healthy, saving both time and energy and reducing cooking time up to 70 percent."

I grew up with my mom using a pressure cooker on almost a daily basis. I remember writing about it in the comments on the bloggy giveaway. I'm going to sit down, read directions, get a bit of a crash course from Mom and be on my way to pressure cooking.

Thanks again to Cyndi at Busy Family Meals and Cooking.com. I love my new pressure cooker! See, all that time spent entering giveaways on that snow day was worth it! I never win anything and this time I won three different things.

Bloggy Giveaways: And The Winner Is--

But first, I bring you something that happens so rarely in Ohio this time of year:
That yellow ball? That blue up above? That would be the sun and BLUE SKY WITHOUT MASSIVE CLOUDS AND SNOW! Oh, drink it in my friends. Enjoy the fair amount of snow we have. See that driveway? I've shoveled that puppy by hand several times this week. How do you think that I've been able to maintain that lovely plateau of a 5 pound weight loss with nothing else gone over the last few weeks?

Anyhow, our grand prize winner of the lovely Bow B's bow organizing board, soon to be illegal for sale on the open market is:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:4
Timestamp: 2009-01-31 01:01:23 UTC

AmandaSue said...
Very cute bow organizer! I read your post on "Vacation Revalations" your list was funny and the pictures were pretty, looks like a nice place to camp. Thanks for entering me. unforgetable_dreamer_always AT hotmail DOT com

Congratulations, Amanda Sue! You're e-mail will be out as soon as I hit publish and post the link.

Hey, thanks all for stopping in, loving on the blog and the bow board. Come back next time! Heck, check back anytime! I have no idea what I'll have to offer the next go-around, but it'll be something. I'm thinking a potpourri of handcrafted goodness from the gallery. I don't know. But until next time, stay well, stay safe and stay warm!

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival: Hair Bow Organizer

Hey! Welcome to Bailey's Leaf! We'll be giving away a handcrafted hair bow organizer that I made. I call them Bow B's. I'm planning on getting an Etsy store going, but I'm on hold for finalization of CPSIA guidelines so that I know what I can and cannot do.

In the meantime, I have this for you:

I've made the board and bows. I'll be including saw tooth hangers so that you can either hang the board up with those on a wall, in a cabinet or on a door. You could always do what I did with K-'s. I hung it up with a push pin. Klassy, I know. Hey, it works!

So here are the rules:
1. Please leave a comment at the end of this post. Throw me a bone. Pull up a post and give a comment HERE about it. I don't care which one. I don't care how old it is. Just know that if your comment is "Enter me" or something to that affect, it will be deleted. A little effort is all we ask!

Please note: I've had to play deletion police and tossed several entries. If your entry was deleted, it was because you didn't leave a previous post comment. Please try again. I would love to keep you in the drawing!

AND FOR THE LOVE OF PETE and Pete's brother Pete (a statement of frustration in our home), PLEASE! leave contact info. I've had to ditch entries that were anonymous with no way to contact. I'm lovin' the love, but would love to contact you if you would actually win!

2. This giveaway will close on Friday at 8 PM. Any comments received after that will be loved, but won't count as an entry.
3. US only. Sorry. We do love y'all in all the other countries, though!
4. The winner will be notified on Friday night and your prize should be going out sometime next week via UPS. A valid street address is needed, please. No PO Boxes.
5. Don't forget to go to Bloggy Giveways and check out all the other giveways. Love on the other bloggers. They're giving away cool stuff, too! But, don't forget to get to know a few people that you may not know.
6. Please no debate on CPSIA regulations. Let's all make this fun and not stress about that right now.

Thanks!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. THANK YOU!

The Giveaway Winner and random questions answered

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:57
Timestamp: 2008-11-01 01:51:20 UTC

And the winner is:

jenny said...
i need my coffee if i dont have it i'm not all that happy and please enter me in to your giveaway i love to win this thanks
October 28, 2008 12:11 AM

Congratulations, Jenny! I'll be e-mailing you right after this and hopefully we can get the school supply package right out to you!

Thank you to everyone who participated! I was amazed at the number of questions that y'all came up with. Allow me to try to elaborate on them just a little. I'll try to hit the highlights.

5. I got my driver's license the day I started college. I had to hitch a ride there and back.

This one bugged a few people. I didn't get my license earlier because I didn't really need to. I wasn't incredibly popular, so I didn't have many social engagements. I did work, but either my parents took me or my aunt who worked at the grocery would take me. The rule in our house was that if you wanted to drive, you pay the maintenance bills, insurance and gas. I was busy saving for college, so I just hopped a ride when I could.

6. My first car was a 1979 Chevy Berlinetta Camaro that my dad purchased for 50.00 from a guy that he worked with. The guy had just won the lottery and ordered himself a brand spankin' new car.

You know, I don't recall what the car was that he bought, but no one in the shop took the guy seriously at first. At lunch, my dad asked if he was serious, he said that he was and my dad said he'd bring the money in the next day. We were not wealthy by any stretch, so it was pretty neat to score a really cool car for cheap. Should I add that it had an 8 cylinder in it (350), so that is probably where my heavy right foot comes from. Boy, could she move.

7. I eat one thing on my plate at a time. All the potatoes, all the meat, all the other whatever stuff. I'm not a mixer flavorer.

Either you guys do it or you don't. This one bugged a lot of people out. Especially one who went by Mannequin that suggested a bite, a sip, a bite, a sip. I have come to the conclusion that I eat all of each thing at a time to let each flavor come to it's fullest, then move on. I'll often start with my least favorite and finish with my favorite. That way, the flavor that I have last is the one that I keep the longest. I also don't really drink anything as I eat. My husband doesn't understand it, but I'm perfectly fine to have a meal without a drink.

8. I don't drink coffee. Love the smell, though.

Coffee just tastes gross. It's not to say that I don't have an intake of caffeine. I'm pretty high energy anyhow, so caffeine is often not necessary. Caffeine is available in plenty of other sources, though.

9. My husband says that I can go into a store that I've never been in before, an invisible antennae pops out of my head, twirls around and directs me straight to the clearance rack.

Yes, Target is my favorite! I know the clearance rack location in each store and have developed a pattern through each store so as to hit all of them. I get it from my Grandpa. The man could sniff out a deal.

10. I start Christmas shopping on December 26, the year previous to that the gifts are due.

I have 27 children or so to purchase for. I run with a $5.00-6.00 limit for each and by running clearance racks throughout the year, the cost is spread throughout the year and I'm capable of finding groovy stuff for the little that I have to spend. I've gotten things for as much as 90% off-- great toys and whatnot-- for gifts. The kids don't know and don't care!

11. I love Birkenstocks. They are granola, but way comfy.

eBay. I've gotten new ones w/shipping for between $15.00-30.00. My feet have never been happier.

12. I love jeans.

'Nuff said.

16. I only take baths. God never intended women to stand and shave their legs.

I was surprised that not more than one person mentioned the "lying in my own filth" thing about baths. I do not find showers relaxing. I run full speed all day. I can come home, take a relaxing and extremely hot bath and be re-energized yet relaxed. It's hard to explain.

17. I hate to have my eyelashes wet.

This one caused the most comments. Here's the deal. I have long eyelashes. Yes, I do wash my face. Yes, my eyelashes do get wet, I just hate them to be wet. I must wipe my face immediately. The long wet eyelashes are like sopping dust mops hanging off my eyelids. I don't find it comfortable. Ugh.

22. I use an electric blanket to heat up my sheets even in the summer.

I just don't find cold sheets that comfy. Cold sheets make me shiver. Cold sheets are almost painful. I don't particularly care for being cold. In the summer, I only use it to warm the sheets. In the winter, I use it for it's longer all night use.

23. While skiing, I blew my ACL and now have titanium and teflon holding my knee together.

We went to Peek & Peak in New York. We were skiing in a snow storm and Friar Tuck (the run) bit me in the butt. I hit a steeper part of the hill that wasn't packed. I tried to slow down by cutting across the hill. I was going fast towards a big set of pines. I tried to cut upwards toward the hill to stop, over-corrected and shot myself straight up the hill. My ski's got crossed and I ended up sliding down the hill backwards. The bindings didn't let loose, regardless of how far I leaned over. I gave one final lean, my knee popped, then the binding let loose. A little too late. Ugh. Surgery and 3 months of physical therapy later, I'm good to go now.

24. I like to do Mork from Ork fingers.

Oh my. So many of you were born much later than me! Mork and Mindy was a TV show on in the late 1970's. I know that you wanted photographic proof, but I'm too tired. Mork from Ork fingers is when you can successfully split your fingers into a V. (On the right hand, your index and middle fingers are on the left side of the V, ring and pinkie on the right side of the V.) I know plenty of people who can't do it. Look it up! I wonder if Mork and Mindy is on Nick at Night!

28. I love to bake and can. I like to cook, too. I'm just more creative with the baking and canning thing.

The Ball Blue Book of Canning, Preserving and Dehydration (I believe that I got it right) is what will teach you everything that you need to know.

I'm officially tired now. Little girl and I are going to sleep in tomorrow. We're going to try our hand at making a pumpkin pie from scratch. I also scored an awesome sounding Chicken Corn Chowder recipe from Boo Mama's Souptacular Crockpotalooza. I believe that we'll tackle that, too. We want to do some fall crafts. We want to play with Play Doh. We want to watch a movie and enjoy the crunchy leaves. We want to see what things we can eat from the Halloween stash.

If you don't mind, I'll be taking a few bloggy days off. See you on Monday.

Bloggy Giveaway Time!

I have to tell you that there have been occasions that I was a Bloggy Giveaway entrant junkie. Y'all have given away so much cool stuff! I figured that since I'm new at this blog thing, I'd dip my toes into the bloggy waters by giving y'all some goodies too.

Do you want to know what they are? SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Lots of them, actually! Let's face it, school supplies don't expire. You always need them, even at the weirdest of times. Buying school supplies in the middle of the year is the pits and these could be stocking stuffers if you are in the need! Let me tell you what will be included:

1- 24 box of crayons
5- Pocket folders

1- 10 pk markers

1- Pencil sharpener

1- Pkg colored pencils

1- Pencil case

2- 10 pks pens (1 black and 1 blue)

1- 1" binder

1- Spiral notebook

1- Red pen

2- Pks of pencils (1 pkg yellow/1 pkg sparkly)

1- Pkg glue sticks

1- Bottle of liquid Elmer's white school glue

1- Pkg pencil cap erasers

1- Pair of scissors

1- Pkg of highlighters

1- Pkg of mechanical pencils

1- Denim tote bag from Eeboo (I love their stuff!)

So how is it that I have amassed so many BRAND NEW school supplies? Well, I'm a school supply junkie. When the school year is about to begin, stores like Office Max and Staples will offer promotional school supplies at no cost or for 1 cent each. If I'm within a mile of the store, I'll stop in and stock up. The smell of a new box of crayons is rather intoxicating! Weird, I know. Chalk it up to the category of "Oh, she's an artist." Everyone else does.

So, this brings me to the bloggy public (and those of you who aren't bloggers are welcome to enter!) Only one entry, please. If you aren't a blogger, please make certain that you put your e-mail address in your entry so that I can contact you. If there is no way to contact you, I will have to dump your entry. United States, only. Sorry. Since it will be going via UPS, a valid physical street address will need to be provided. I'll contact you by e-mail to get your mailing information. The prize pack will be going out early on in the week and should be in your hands by the end of the week. Just don't forget to look in your e-mail to see if you have won! If you don't respond, I'll be forced to choose someone else and I hate the thought of that.

Now for the entry portion. I'm going to require you to do something other than "enter me" or "sign me up." That requires no work and here at Bailey's Leaf, we like a little effort. So, if you want to be entered, read my post from 10/26 about my list of 35 things. Which of the 35 things do you find particularly weird, do you do, or you would like to hear more about? That's it! The giveaway will end on Friday, October 31 at 6:00 PM. Since we will be handing candy out to all the children in the neighborhood and of the greater city area, we will be drawing via ye ole random number generator either the evening of 10/31 or the morning of 11/1. It depends upon how much of a sugar buzz that I'm flying from.

Thank you again for coming to visit my new blog. I hope that you'll consider returning! Hopefully, I'll win one of those fancy new layouts that people are always giving away and I'll look all spiffy and new shortly! :) Good luck, all! There are generally over 1000 chances to win, so get clickin' on Bloggy Giveaways!

Now if I can only figure out that permalink thing . . .

This giveaway is officially closed.

Thank you for entering!