Wednesday, December 30, 2009

CELEBRATING MY FIRST SALE...GIVEAWAY! - CLOSED


This Giveaway is Now CLOSED- Come back for more soon, and in the meantime...take a look around.

That's right Peeps, Little Purple Room is officially in business. And now that I have made not ONE but TWO sales...I'm all riled up to give something away.

A 15.00 GC to use in my shop.
By the time this giveaway ends,there will be even more in there to choose from.





So in order to enter, you must complete the Mandatory entry...
Then AFTER that is all done, you can pick and choose whatever else you may want to do to have extra chances.

Mandatory : Go to Little Purple Room and let me know what you might choose if you win. This is not written in stone and you can change your mind if you win.

Extra Entries: *Follow this here blog- 2 extra entries- leave 2 extra comments for these. Like "follow #1" then "follow#2" If you already follow, leave 2 posts saying the same.

**Blog about this giveaway-5 extra entries- yep, leave 5 separate "I blogged #1"...Blogged #2...Blogged #3 and leave your link to the blog post.

Giveaway ends at Midnight est on Thursday Jan 7th. Open to US and Canada. Age 18+

I've Been Featured on a Blog . Larry agrees I am famous now.


Photo is property of CherChic


One of the sweet commentors in my last giveaway has a shop on Etsy and I checked her out. The coolest eye glass case, complete with a nekid white monkey on the front was waiting for me.
I bought that sucker, and I LOVE IT. I have these huge sun glasses I got when my eye was messed up, they wrap around the whole front of my face and would not fit in any case I have. But they fit in the nekid white monkey. It is fleece inside so no scratchies. Very tough material too so I know it will last for years.
So the other day I saw that I had a convo on Etsy and when I went to check it out, it said Go to http://cherchiccreations.blogspot.com
so, one to usually follow directions, I went there. Oh WOW, Claudia made a collage of my jewelry and wrote such nice things.


Claudia makes the cutest stuffed kitties and pumpkins. This is Wylie. What a sweet face.


Photo is property of CherChic


Claudia also makes some way cool eye glass cases with muscle classic cars on them.


Photo is property of CherChic
Her prices are great and you should check her out. I love her avatar. You can feel the joy.

You ROCK Sista !!! You made me feel so special. I love feeling Etsy love.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Somebody IS Listening Out There




When I was a little girl we ate a lot of oatmeal. I still do. I love oatmeal. Larry thinks it's peculiar when I eat it for dinner. Sometimes it's just all I want.

But other times I want cereal. I really enjoy it with yogurt. A bowl of some thick Greek style yogurt with a couple of handfuls of cereal crunched over top, a few walnuts, and some fruit....Heaven in a bowl.
We eat this quite a bit for our bedtime snack.
Cereal with vanilla soy milk is a favorite too, 2/3 cereal to 1/3 milk. I do not like soggy cereal.
Larry is the freaky one when it comes to cereal...he puts ice cubes in his.

You really should not skip breakfast. It can lead to overeating later in the day. Studies also show that everyone, especially children, perform better when they have had a good balanced breakfast.

As my kids were growing, they were allowed to have certain cereals for breakfast.
But I refused to buy most of the ones that were on Saturday morning cartoons. Simply put...they had WAY TOO MUCH sugar in them.
Any cereal with "cookie" in their name just about would set my hair on fire.
And then in the commercial they would have the sugary cereal in the bowl and right there, right next to that cereal would be THE SUGAR BOWL ! AACCKK!!!!

So I am very pleased to announce that General Mills has taken it upon themselves to listen to what smart mothers have been saying for years...."I'd buy more cereal if it didn't have so much sugar in it".
Face it, moms are busy and cereal is way handy. One of my kids first finger foods was cereal. It's fun too. You can learn to count with it, tease the dog with it, throw it on the floor and watch mom bend over and pick it up, over and over and over...

Okay getting back to General Mills, Cheerios have always been a favorite. I'm a Honey Nutter and Larry, bless his heart, is a plain. (with ice cubes)
Cheerios have always been one of the lower amount of sugar cereals.

But GM is making a commitment to lower the sugar content of all its' cereals marketed to children under the age of 12, down to the single digits per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

So if a bowl of that "Cookie Crisp" ever shows up at our house, I won't have to grab the fire extinguisher to put out my hair.

To check the sugar content of all General Mills cereal so you don't have to clog up the aisle at the store reading all the labels. click here...

To check out an awesome Cheerios BIG breakfast cookie recipe click here


To print a coupon for 1$ off a box of selected General Mills cereals click here


Also, I do so love a company that puts it's money were a mouth is....

10 Ways General Mills Nourished Communities in 2009
General Mills Ends Year with Renewed Commitment to Alleviating Hunger in the U.S. and Africa
12/24/2009

General Mills donated a record $91 million in contributions across the U.S. and abroad in fiscal 2009 to ease hunger, advance nutrition wellness, and support K-12 education. The company donated $16 million of food to Feeding America. In the past decade, General Mills product donations have exceeded $168 million dollars. Each year, the company contributes five percent of company pretax profits to communities. In addition, 82 percent of employees volunteer -- leveraging the company's financial contributions. Read more....

General Mills provided my family with 4 coupons for cereal through MyBlogSpark TM, however all opinions, likes and dislikes are from my own big mouth.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Acts of Kindness and Snowballs that Wet the Bed.



"Snowkiss" by Diane W.
___________________________________________________________________________________


One of my favorite poems by a favorite author.

I Made Myself A Snowball

I made myself a snowball,
As perfect as could be,
I thought I'd keep it as a pet,
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas,
And a pillow for its head,
Then last night it ran away,
But first - it wet the bed!
(Poet - Shel Silverstein)




I love books. I will probably never own a 'Kindle'. Heck, I have never even talked on a cell phone. I've never held one. Until a week ago I didn't know what "STFU" meant.

I find a lot of joy in the simpler things in life.
I like when a very simple thing comes along and it is embraced whole heartedly among so many.
Easy and effective. I really appreciate that.

I came across a story on Fox News that featured Jason Wright, author of 'Christmas Jars', and I found myself smiling because I was watching someone who understood about a simple, easy act of kindness that could literally change someone's life. Something that so many could do.
Filling a jar, bit by bit, with your change at the end of the day.

I went to the 'Christmas Jars' website and read some of the stories, some by those who had left jars for others, some by those who had received jars..I shed a few tears.
Going on over to Amazon to read a few reviews of the book. I was surpised to find some negative reviews. I read them and they revealed that it is a very short book, 122 pages. One of the 1 star reviewers was disappointed that the characters were not well developed, that it was "short on plot"... said " there is no mention of God", I thought about this.

I think no matter what you call it, there is an inner spirit in all of us. When we nurture it, revere it and let it guide us, we are in the light.
When we ignore it, detest it, and go against it, we are not. There is darkness, a black cloud, negativity takes hold.

Although I have not read the book, I felt that spirit, when I saw the interview and when I went to the web site. I felt enough of the spirit to want to find out more.
I thought about just READING the written word versus FEELING the written word.

Seems to me that any story, any kind act, any example by one that can move so many into positive action is a Holy Spirit, no matter what you do or don't call It.

Maybe the author just hopes everyone who is filled with the true spirit of the book, will be writing their own chapters to 'Christmas Jars'.

Larry and I have started a Christmas Jar, a pickle jar actually, and we talked about not counting it when it is full, just giving it, anonymously. Because the amount does not matter.

We talked about how even a tank of gas, can be a blessing. A month of heat, a birthday cake for a child that would not have one otherwise. And hopefully, when the recipient can, they will refill the jar and pass it on.

And this to me, is the true Spirit. Or whatever you might call It.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

We have a WINNER !!




Winner of the earring giveaway is 409cope. Congratulations, I will be contacting you in a few minutes. Because of the date, winner will have 1 week to get back to me.

Thank you to everyone who entered. I will be having my next one very soon, because I made A SALE !!!!!


Random Numbers*
11
* This table of 1 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 68. Duplicate numbers were not allowed.

Number was chosen by this Random Number Generator.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Closed-A New Shop on the Block GIVEAWAY !

(This giveaway is now closed. Winner will be announced Wedensday Dec. 23. Come back soon for another chance to win.)

Well I threatened to, and that eye infection tried to keep me from it, but "It" has happened Internet....I opened "Little Purple Room". So see it's NOT just ALL in my head.

Sooo what? Another shop on Etsy, you've seen a million of them you say?
Well how many have These....to give away?



And there's only 8 items in the shop (I have more to list though)it's madness.
I am so not overly dramatic in real life so I get off on it here...

These earrings consist of Amethyst Czech glass rondelles with silver vines and surgical steel ear wires. They are about 2" long.

Ok I know you want to go have a peek, so do it. And come back and....

Mandatory entry:
Tell me if you like anything in the shop so far and leave a link to your shop if you have one.

Extra entries:
--Follow this here blog. Leave 2 additional comments saying you follow.
--Post about this giveaway on your facebook, leave me a link,2 additional entries
--leave a comment on another post of mine and comment on which one you left it on. 2 additional entries.

This giveaway will end at midnight est on Dec. 22nd. US and Canada 18+ I figure it might be pretty great to get a little gift in the mail after all the Christmas celebrating is over.
(I made these earrings myself and received no outside compensation from anyone or myself for posting this giveaway)

And to give you a little Holiday cheer...just look at this face.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I won a big box of CRUNCH !

(I am finally back to blogging after a nasty eye infection. All better now. I will be opening my Etsy shop in a few days and having a nice giveaway right here on this here blog. Thank you to those of you who sent emails and comments wishing me well)

I entered a nice Giveaway a few weeks ago over at Erin's site , Snafood and I won a selection of snacks from Good Health Natural Products. Erin has some great recipes on her site. She posts about her successful outcomes and her "snafood's". On Monday UPS pulled up my drive and out came the man in brown with a big box. SNACKS ! Oh yes, the husband carried them in, I clapped my hands, the dogs did their crazy dance they do anytime I am excited about something or someone breaks our quiet solitude here. The UPS man coming around is a joyous occasion indeed.

Oh what crunchy goodness awaits. These snacks are all made from natural ingredients.
There is a bag each of;
Popcorn
Baked Hummus chips
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Veggie Stix
Veggie chips
Cracked pepper and sea salt chips
Chilein lime chips cooked in Avocado oil
Sweet potato chips
Polenta BBQ corn chips
Cinnamon Apple crisps



Very generous prize.
We have tried a couple of them and WOW, so good. I do not buy a lot of pre-made snacks. Too much, fat and too many things on the labels I can't pronounce. These are a wonderful, tasty and far healthier alternative when you just gotta get your crunch on.

A little blurb from their website that I found interesting
"Good Health® Natural Products has developed a reputation for healthy living and creativity that has always resulted in products that are beyond ordinary! The company began with Veggie Stix® pioneering the veggie snack category of consumer foods. Next came the revolutionary Good Health® Natural Products Olive Oil Potato Chips (another first of its kind) providing the consumer a delicious source of mono and polyunsaturated fats. The Olive Oil Potato Chips definitely made a name for itself as it was recognized on the “Oprah” and “Rachel Ray” Shows. Other recent kudos include GHNP’s Half Naked Popcorn listed as the healthiest popcorn snack in the latest edition of the book, “Eat This Not That,” published by the editor of Men’s Health Magazine."

I like that "Eat this,Not that" book. (checked it out of the library)

Also right now they are giving a code for 33% off case prices and free shipping on orders over 30 bucks. And for all natural snacks their prices are really good ( I was kind of surprised, I'm used to seeing organic snacks way higher in the stores)

Thanks Erin for the great giveaway and thank you Good Health, you both made my families day.

So see internet, people do win these giveaways. It's a fun way to try new things, save money and meet new friends.