my bloggy giveaway prize has arrived...

and reminded me that i did not mail my giveaway prize to the winner yet. oh, no! that's on my list of things to do this week.

anyway, when i opened the door to check the mail this afternoon, there was a nice box sitting on my porch. i immediately knew what it was, and dragged baby bear back inside so i could open it (leaving the rest of the mail waiting safely in the mailbox).

i immediately saw that the colors gretchen chose were PERFECT...

i LOVE it! so does baby bear... she thinks it's a new blanket for herself...





i toyed with the idea of keeping it on the piano...

but the size is perfect for my scratch-covered drum table!

Thank you, Gretchen!!!

happy birthday to me....

...and merry christmas, happy anniversary, valentine's, etc... for a while

(my birthdday's not til friday.) i "really" think my hubby was so excited about my blogiversary that i let slip by the week before we went on vacation that he decided to get me a new camera. to take pictures for my blogs, of course. we ordered this with some professional consultation from our family photographers, caslon and photo guy. i wanted something user friendly with better zoom and image stability than i have now (my current zoom on my olympus hand-me-down from my dad is good, the noise (fuzziness) is not so great....) i didn't want to go to a super-compact tiny thing, but i am not experienced enough for a true DSLR camera. this thing should give me plenty of opportunity for improving my photographic skills without being overwhelming. it's not here yet, but will be soon. followed shortly afterward by a soft case for it along with my copies of Mommy, Teach Me! & Sacred Marriage.

thanks, hubby! te amo... MUCHO!!!!!

bec and comic guy gave me some pretty papers and stickers for scrapbooking. i really have to go through my pics on my computers and order some prints so i can get back to work on that...

neat site for toddler activities ... (thanks to someone on a babycenter board)

toddlertoddler.com

5 minutes for Mom is quite the contest headquarters!

Are you sick of using a vacuum that barely sucks? Is your current vacuum effective but hard to lug up and down the stairs? Are you tired of remembering to change bags and filters?

We've heard about the uber-expensive Dyson vacuum cleaners. Their commercials make them sound like Kirby, Electrolux or Oreck were in their day. When it came time to purchase a new vacuum, hubby and I (after having Tech Mom consult consumer reports) decided not to splurge on a fancy new Dyson. After all, our basic Oreck XL had seemed like a great deal until something cracked the tube and it stopped sucking 6 years later. Anyway, just because I can't afford the newest and "best" does not mean I would not want one. It just means it wasn't in my budget, and the less expensive bagless imitations didn't have the ratings behind them.

Well, there's an all new slim version of the Dyson that the company wants us to know about, and they are sponsoring a contest. Maybe one of us will win... go enter at 5 minutes for Mom!