Life on the Road

This is the first in a series of “Photo Game” themes being posted as part of a contest over at Two Moms in a Blog (go check it out!), with today’s episode Guest Hosted over at The Day of a Mom.

This is a Photo Scavenger Hunt - here’s my collection:

- something cold:  Ice cream
- something hot:  Hot peppers (hiding there behind the temple piece of the sunglasses)
- something soft:  Guinea Pig, the fluffy cat
- something hard:  Fossils (2 of them, back by the dumbell)
- something heavy:  Dumbell
- something light:  Feather
- something dark:  The XBox game is “Gauntlet: Dark Legacy”
- something bright:  Flashlight
- something crafty:  Nick’s recent photo project
- something tasty:  Leftover Halloween candy (still tasty since it hasn’t gotten totally stale yet!)
- something sweet:  Miss Jewel!
- something cool:  Nick’s cool shades

 What do you say?  Fair interpretations, right?

This is the first in a series of “Photo Project” themes being posted as part of a contest over at Two Moms in a Blog (go check it out!).  All of them are based on projects from the Kodak Ideas Gallery.

Today’s project is the Holiday Accordion Book with Pockets:

I decided to turn Nick (13) loose on this one, to make Christmas gifts for the family.  In fact I had just gone to pick up our family photos from this year’s venture, and Nick had school pictures done from the school where he has his band classes, and Iwas trying to think of a unique way to give them to my mom, my sister, etc.  Perfect!

For simplicity of construction, and since I don’t have any little frou-frou to put in them anyway, we went for a “pocketless” version.  For the transition to a kids’ project, we used construction paper for the accordion as well as the picture trim, with largely hand-made and hand-drawn decorations.

Thanks for the motivation to get some things checked off my Christmas shopping list!  (Good thing they don’t read my blog, eh?  LOL) 

Sure, I’m a sucker for the “sign up for our newsletter and be entered to win…” shtick on websites.  Who knew I might actually win something?!

I got an email from Beloved Embroidery telling me that I had won their recent drawing! 

     I got two very cute Candy Cane Holders, a polar bear (above), and St. Nicholas (or Santa, for those of you inclined that way) (below).  They’re really adorable in person - I was actually surprised how substantial and well-made they are.

Thanks, Nancy!  What a lovely way to begin my holiday decorating … I haven’t even found the boxes of my decorations yet, in the chaos of bringing everything from storage! 

There was also another vendor who offered some graphic design as an additional prize, but I haven’t heard back from her.  I’ll keep you posted… 

Man, those Two Moms in a Blog get the good stuff to give away!  This month (coming up) it’s a Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-In-One Printer - a $200 Value!

They are actually having 14 “projects” throughout the month, each of which earns you a chance to win this bad boy (and other cool prizes along the way!).  Check out their Contest Page for the schedule, and links to each project as they are posted.

If you win, remember that you heard it from me, okay? 

From the book’s publishers:

Have you struggled to reconcile God’s vision of virtuous womanhood with worldly myths that marginalize and mock the role of the homemaker? Do you wrestle with cultural messages that demean the homemaker’s calling and exalt instead the emotionally androgynous power-woman — the wife whose worth is measured only by the degree of her ambition, the shape of her body, or her money-making skills? Such is the image of the “desperate housewife” that the modern media, culture, and feminism are promoting with great energy.

In a delightfully fresh and honest way, this book addresses these issues head-on and provides fresh vision for the hopeful homemaker. Hear a former “Christian” feminist share how she went from a die-hard homemaker-in-training to a dedicated career woman and then back again — after God gripped her heart. See the hollow counterfeit of whitewashed feminism and “me-ology” destroyed. And consider the beautiful picture painted in Scripture of the truly fulfilled homemaker who glories in the hopeful calling God created for her.

Pull up a chair, dust off the cookie crumbs, and join Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald as they lay aside stereotypes like the “Stepford wife” and dispel such myths as the 1950s “perfect homemaker.” Laughter and tears will flow, and hopefully you will be infused with a renewed vision for victory as a wife and mother. Discover what it means to be a passionate housewife “desperate” for God alone!

Sounds like a must-read  - I’m putting it on my TheThingsIWant.com wish list for Christmas…  

But you can also enter to win one of 10 copies that Crystal is giving away over that the Biblical Womanhood Blog.  Just leave a comment on her post to be entered!

I could use a $100 cotume shopping spree, couldn’t you?

This contest is sponsored by Two Moms in a Blog, with the prize from Halloween Mart.

And if I win?

Jewel’s current-size Wonder Woman costume - as you might guess from my earlier post on the subject.

 (last year)

And they even have some great accessories for Nick’s proposed Captain Kirk costume (getting harder to find, since “old” Star Trek is not the “in thing” right now…)

Go check it out…  Totally free to enter, of course! 

Those crazy “Two Moms in a Blog” have done it again.  A quick signup and you can enter to win fun party goodies:

• A fabulous make your own stuffed animal kit from FunOnTheArk.com valued at $20.00
• 3 month gift subscription to Menu Planning Central $60 value
• A gorgeous leatherette photo book that you make from your digital birthday photos compliments of photomemoriesalive.com valued at $50.00
• 10 handmade thank you notes provided by FunEvents4Girls.com valued at $20.00

That’s over $150 worth of prizes!  PLUS, everyone who officially enters the contest will receive a $5 coupon code toward a free animal from funontheark.com

To enter, just visit The Birthday Blog.