Chocolate Giveaway Winner!

Hey guys!  Thanks to all those who entered my giveaway.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am at the response I received.  Behold...the power of CHOCOLATE!!!

picture courtesy of coupondad.net

I am pleased to announce (after fiddling with random.org for forever) that the winner of this giveaway is:

Melissa

of

Together We Have It All

And I can't think of a better winner, really.  Melissa is the reason I started blogging in the first place.  We go way back, you see.  As in high school.  Not only is she gorgeous with a beautiful family, she has a photography business that is blooming!  She does fabulous work, so go and check her blog out, or, if you live anywhere near North Carolina, have her do a nice photo shoot for ya!

Melissa...the chocolates are on the way this week!

Thanks again to all who entered.  I'll definitely be going more giveaways in the future.  I'll be in Germany for a while, so I'll definitely be making more runs to the chocolate factory!

{Thursday Five}

I'm linking up with Nicole at Flip Flops and Combat Boots again this week to bring you my five things about the week that were

Fantastic

Cool

Lovely

Special

&

Beautiful

{One} Blog Swaps are Fantastic!  I love them.  Nicole also hosted a Spring Blog Swap and I got my package from my swap partner, Jackie, over at In the Life of the Lefevres.  However, I'll be posting about this tomorrow because I got some really cool stuff with a lot of history behind it.  More to follow on that!  And thanks to Jackie!

{Two} Yesterday was Admin Professionals Day and our boss and his wife took the entire front office area, which consisted of me and our secretary (our NCO is on leave so she didn't get to go) to lunch.  Not only that...when we got to the restaurant, there were gorgeous floral arrangements and cards waiting for us.  Here is the picture of my bouquet!  Isn't it beautiful?  I can't thank the Godfreys and our deputy enough for making us feel so appeciated.

{Three} How cool is it that about 20 people have entered by Ritter Sport Chocolate Giveaway?  It's only the second giveaway I've done, but I didn't have a huge response the first time, so I'm excited.  Make sure you enter...I draw a name on Wednesday, 3 May!

{Four} It was a lovely day in Stuttgart today.  I hope the weather stays this way throughout the weekend!

{Five} This week was extra special...my parents celebrated their 36th anniversary this week. 

 I want my parents to know how inspirational they have been for Malu and I as as a young couple with many years ahead of us.  My mom and dad have triumphed through a myriad of challenges and obstacles and are still going strong.  I am moved by their love for each other, as well as their love for us and for their community.  They have hearts of gold and I don't know what I'd do without them.  They're not only the ones who gave me life, but my greatest friends.  I love you guys!

And to help them celebrate...Malu and I will be bringing them out to Germany for a visit!  We can't wait to see you guys.

And there's my five!  Thank goodness it's Friday (yup, it's past 2:00 a.m. here)!

And please keep all those affected by the tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. 

Chocolate Giveaway!

Yes, CHOCOLATE , and yes, a GIVEAWAY!

We feel so lucky to have the Ritter Sport Chocolate Factory at our disposal.  In 25 minutes, you can be over at the schokolade (chocolate) store and filling a basket chock-full of those colorful squares of chocolate-y deliciousness.  So when I was in the town of Waldenbuch for their Easter market, the factory was just a hop, skip and jump away.  I went and picked up one of their grab bags and I'm going to give ALL of it to one lucky reader!  Take a look:

So here's what you're gonna get if you win:

(3) 2.3 oz Chocolate Squares

Flavors:

(2) Dark Chocolate

(1) Hazelnut & Milk Chocolate

(12) 3.5 oz Chocolate Squares

Flavors:

(1) Milk Chocolate w/Yogurt Filling

(1) Fine Extra Dark Chocolate

(1) Milk Chocolate w/Hazelnut Caramel Filling

(2) Milk Chocolate w/Whole Hazelnuts

(1) White Chocolate w/Whole Hazelnuts

(1) Milk Chocolate covered Neopolitan Waffle

(1) Dark Chocolate w/Marzipan Filling

(1) Milk Chocolate w/Whole Almonds

(1) Milk Chocolate w/Vanilla Bourbon Filling

(2) Milk Chocolate with Almond Filling (Mandelcreme)

(1) Packet with (9) Ritter Sport Minis (various flavors)

(1) Box of Creme Filled Mini Chocolates

(1) Packet with (9) Ritter Sport Minis-Eierlikor

(Eierlikor, which translates into eggnog)

&

(1) Ritter Sport Tote

All together, this is a little over 20 euro in value, which is an absolute steal in my book, because I know for a fact that each 3.5 oz. bar is almost $3 in the States.

Tell me you don't want to win this!  And even if you don't want it, enter and give it to someone as a gift!

To enter:

• be or become a follower (1 entry)
• tell me which flavor (of the above listed) sounds the best to you (1 entry)
• blog about this giveaway (5 entries) and leave me the URL to the blog

**Leave a separate comment per entry**

Yeah, I'm trying to keep it nice and simple.  I don't usually get a lot of participants, so this might be a pick-out-of-the-hat type thing rather than a random selection from random.org.  Depending on the number of entries I get on here by the weekend, I may open the giveaway up to my peeps on Facebook so stay tuned!

I will close this on Monday, 2 May, and will announce a winner on Tuesday, 3 May!

Good Luck!

***This Giveaway Has Ended***

Winner!

I'm sorry I'm doing this a little late, but it's been a busy week.  And not so much with work, but just with getting my work-baby routine down.  Thank God that my hubby is here to watch Baby V because I don't know what I'd do.  I've been having a hard time getting my body used to waking up early in the morning and then doing PT.  Ugh.  By the time I get to work at 0900, I'm exhausted!

Anyway...I did the picking-of-the-name thing the old fashioned way instead of using random.org.  And Malu got to do the honors.

So...into the basket went all the names (and remember, I put in two entries for everyone that made a comment!)

And then he drew out the name of the lucky winner...

...only you can't read it here because of my camera's crazy flash.  So here's a close up!

So...congratulations to Maria of Personalized Sketches and Sentiments! 

First of all, you guys need to head on over to Maria's blog.  She's got great stories and she's just one of the sweetest ladies I've come across on the blogosphere. 

Second of all, you need to check out her artwork.  It is spectacular!  And you can get personalized drawings through her etsy shop. 

Maria....you should be hearing from me soon!

And thanks to everyone else that participated! I'll be looking for more giveaways to do here soon!

Reminder: $40 CSN Stores Giveaway!

Just a reminder that the last day to enter my giveaway is tomorrow, Wednesday October 13th!  I'll be giving away a $40 credit to a CSN Store of your choice!

Since I don't have too large a response right now...I'm going to give current and future (hopefully there will be some more entering) two entries just for making one comment!

So enter now!

Great Giveaways at The Ethertons

I've entered two giveaways at Laura's blog, The Ethertons and I thought I'd share them with you guys. One of them is for a Kidorable Umbrella. They have the cutest things for your little kiddies...from umbrellas, to raincoats, to backpacks. And of course, I've entered to win this one for my lil' bug. I've already decided that if I win this, I'm going to get her the raincoat, boots and backpack to match. Too cute!

The second giveaway I entered is for the "oopsie ditty" bag from Bella Tunno. The bag is designed to hold baby wipes, diapers, and other baby essentials. Bella Tunno has all kinds of trendy baby items, but this is what the "oopsie ditty" looks like and there are all kinds of other prints to tickle your fancy.

So if you'd like to enter these two giveaways, head on over to The Ethertons and get'r done! Not only will you be helping me get more entries, you can have the opportunity to win them yourself! But what's cool is Laura's got more than just these two giveaways...and her blog is da bomb too. Go check it out now!

Have a great week you guys!

Ten on Tuesday

It's late, and I'm tired as hell, but I didn't want to miss out on blogging tonight. So here goes:

1. Some of you might have seen this on my Facebook page already, but I went to the hospital for my ultrasound last night at around 11:45. I was actually seen about ten minutes early. I wasn't prepared to lay there for about half and hour though. It was tormenting, to say the least. The technician made all kinds of funny faces as she moved that wand around my tummy. It made me wonder if she was seeing something weird or something wrong altogether. As it turns out, one of the problems was that she was having a hard time seeing the little peanut. So she had me flipping and turning over in both directions and even tipped the bed over so that my head was lower than the rest of my body (I was laying diagonal). The other thing was that the little peanut (obviously as unhappy as mommy to be up at the wee hours of the morning--because it was past midnight by this time) had its arms and legs flailing up and down and everywhere that it was hard for the technician to get a clear picture. All in all, she was only able to tell me that she thinks that we're having a GIRL. She couldn't see a little wee-wee anywhere, even after we'd looked at the little peanut from it's rear end (legs dangling and all). But she said that she couldn't say with 100% certainty because it was so small and hyperactive at the moment. Just my darn luck. I have pictures, but don't have a scanner set up yet. Plus, I'm not really wanting to post them. They look kinda scary.
   
2. Because she couldn't tell me with 100% certainty that it's a girl, I finally broke down and scheduled a 3D/4D baby screening this Thursday afternoon with a place downtown. Why? Because I need to know. And I need to make baby shower invitations. It's a little over three weeks away. Yikes! It's pretty cool though. It's only $100 to have it done and they put everything on a disc, so I'll be able to send a copy to Malu.
   
3. Speaking of Malu, I emailed him as soon as I got home (which was after 1:00 am), to let him know that he may be having a little princess after all. Remember in my previous post how he remarked that it didn't matter what we were having as long as the baby is healthy? Well, this was his response: "What great news, sweetheart. But I won't believe it until they're 100% sure. Not that I don't want a girl first or anything...you know me, I just like to know for certain." Man, he cracks me up. So much for the sex of the baby not mattering :) It was just like how for years he'd been telling me that he didn't care about me having my hair cut really short. That it didn't matter how I wore it. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue, it's hey, why don't you ever grow your hair out? Men! But then, at the end of the email, he said this: "The thought of having a little princess is absolutely breathtaking. I guess she's just going to have to be a tom-boy for a few years until mommy gets a boy in about two years ;) I'm sooo excited to come home to you my darling. I love you with all my heart and soul.I was there with you all along my love, I hope you felt it." I couldn't give him too hard a time after that. I love you baby.

   Flashback Photo of Malu and Lucy
   

4. A few days ago, Tori of Tori and Chad, another cool new blog that I follow, gave me the Honest Scrap award, which is the first award I've received on our family blog. I've received some on my cooking blog (which has kinda been on hold for a while). I am so stoked. Part of accepting this award means writing 1o things about myself that other people don't know. Well, I'm too lazy to do that right now. So I'm saving that post for another day. I'll also get to pass it on to a few folks, so beware...you guys might see something from me soon! Thanks Tori for the recognition!
   
5. I've entered a few blog giveaways in the last couple weeks that I'm hoping I win at least something--which hardly ever happens. I just don't have that kind of luck. But if you have a chance, go on over to A Yummy Mummy on a Pink Park Bench to enter to win a Sony E-Reader. Last day is on the 5th! I also entered to win a "Keep Calm" print off of Lovely Yellow Ribbons' blog, which is also very cool! Last day to enter is March 7th. She has some other giveaways too, so check it out. Speaking of giveaways, I eventually want to do one myself one of these days. If I get more than 50 followers, I swear I will. I have the feeling it'll be a while!
   
6. My parents and sister will be here in just under 3 weeks! I'm so stoked. I'm so excited to have company. What's cooler is that our brigade headquarters will have a field exercise the week that they are here. Since I don't get to go to the field with them (one of the perks of being preggo in the military), I just might be able to get home at a decent hour every day to spend time with them. But when I'm at work...they'll be sightseeing with my Auntie Daisy. So it'll all work out pretty well.
   
7. I'm totally craving some Krispy Kremes right now. I might have to make a stop in the morning before going to work. Totally.
   
8. I stayed late at work because I had to go to Care Team training for the unit from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. I had already been tired from lack of sleep last night, worked all day, then had to walk into this training. I am drained. This training is designed to train volunteers to be part of a team that provides emotional and logistical support to family members of fallen or wounded Soldiers. When I think about how important this training is, it makes me feel guilty for sitting there being miserable and constantly thinking about wanting to go home. Not to mention, I probably wasn't the only one who had been working all day. Sometimes I don't realize how selfish I can be.
   
9. My boss let me leave work at 5:00 to go home and let Lucy out. Otherwise, she would have been left at home from 7:30 this morning to past 9:00 tonight. I had driven halfway out of my neighborhood with her in the car (with the intent to drop her off at Auntie Daisy's on post) until I ran into my friend Jennifer who lives just down the road. Jennifer quickly volunteered to keep her for the night, which was so convenient because I was already running late at that point. I'm so thankful to her for doing that and for being such a great friend. She and her family have been so supportive throughout my redeployment and this pregnancy, that I am forever indebted. I keep bugging her about starting a blog soon. Let's hope she does so that you can meet her someday. Thanks Jenn!





Flashback Photo of Jenn & I

10. I can't wait to get into bed! Off I go!

So, Happy Tuesday you guys...even though we're an hour away from Wednesday!

ANOTHER Sony Reader Giveaway!

All right you guys...A Yummy Mummy on a Pink Park Bench (one of the coolest blogs that I follow) is holding ANOTHER Sony Reader Giveaway. Only this time, it's open to EVERYONE!!! I am DYING to have one of these!

If you want to enter, head on over to her blog and leave a comment letting her know what download is a must if you win. This will earn you one entry that will go into a "hat" that will randomly select a winner.

There are other ways that you can get additional entries into the hat. Again, just go to her blog to see how. Heck, you can probably get entries in the double digits if you do everything she asks!

Oh, and if you do go to her blog to leave a comment, let her know that you read about this on my blog. It'll get me more points.

Good luck friends!

Sony E-Reader Giveaway!

It's a gorgeous (but windy) Saturday morning here in El Paso and I just happened to be browsing a few blogs by a few military wives and stumbled upon one that I really like and am now a follower of. It's called A Yummy Mummy on Pink Park Bench and is colorful and full of funny stories! On this blog, you have the opportunity to enter a drawing for the giveaway of the Sony E-Reader--of which I can only say three words: I WANT ONE! It's pretty easy! Click here to find out how you can enter. It's as easy as posting a comment on her blog (and there are other blogs that you can enter on as well)! You can even score additional entries by doing some other easy stuff; like Twittering about the giveaway, or posting a blog (like I'm doing for 5 additional entries), and becoming a follower of her blog! It's so easy.

However, the catch is that the giveway is being done by Borders and is for Active Duty military. Either you or your spouse has to be on Active Duty. I know I have a few friends here that fall into this category....so enter! It's a great prize and what do you have to lose?