Winner of the Making Memories Giveaway

Hi all!

I am going to blog soon but I wanted to let you know the winner of the Making Memories Giveaway.

The winner according to random.org is number 1! Shellie!!

I will be contacting you soon with details on how to claim your prize. :-)

Sweet Home Alabama

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE.**

I'm beginning to think that Thanksgivings with my Father here in Alabama is becoming something of a tradition.

I hadn't intended to come to Alabama this year.

In fact, I told everyone that with 2 children there was no way I was traveling this holiday season.

I figured if people wanted to see us bad enough, they could come to us.

Then my Dad got sick. He had pretty major surgery and I had no other option than to come be with him.

Luckily, my Baby Sis left her craptastic job and she was able to come with me.

The 2 day drive was actually quite enjoyable. The kids were really good and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my Baby Sis. We talked, listened to music, talked some more. It was nice.

So now we are in Alabama. Another hot state.

I don't understand why it's in the upper 70s at the end of November. Maybe I did live in Upstate NY too long.

My Dad has been helping me figure out what new computer to buy. I need one really badly. I'm currently using his HP Envy and I really like it...except I'm HATING the mouse pad. Oh. Em. GEE! It's driving me crazy.

So I either get the Envy and purchase a mouse to accompany it, or I look into something else. My problem is that I tend to get overwhelmed and if I have too many options, I shut down. Blah.

Computer suggestions??

I'm feeling pretty mad at myself today. I know that won't solve anything, but I need to get it together.

Yesterday, I did absolutely horrendous with my food intake. Seriously. I had 4 hot dogs for dinner! With chips and dip! What is wrong with me??? Why do I do this??

Also, I haven't been working with Baby N and doing his stretches. Like, not really at all. I started doing some with him this morning and it's like we are back at square one. I'm so annoyed with myself.

Anyway. The only thing I can do is work to change it. Not much else right?? Sitting here, beating myself up about it is a waste of my time.

So I'm done I guess.

But before I go, here are a couple random pictures we've taken on this trip.

Little Butt has us take the most random pictures of her. Goof ball.

I snapped this picture because Little Butt is sitting EXACTLY like her Daddy sits.

And my Baby Sis got this picture of me and Baby N just chilling after he ate.

That is all. Have a great day and a happy Thanksgiving!

Making Memories and a Giveaway

Remember when I talked about procrastination?? 

Well...one thing I can't seem to stop procrastinating on is getting crafty. 

Yes, I made a couple awesome wreaths, but I just can't get back into some of the other craft stuff I've done in the past. It's like I have trouble going backward.

I used to be really into cross stitch. I haven't touched a needle since 2006.

I taught myself to knit and made a ton of scarves. I haven't touched yarn since 2005.

I used to draw. I haven't picked up a pencil since 2009.

I also got really into scrapbooking. I haven't picked up textured scissors since 2004.

I've wanted to get back into all of these things. Especially scrapbooking.

I think it would be awesome to have beautiful and creative books full of pictures and memories for when the kids get older. But I just can't bring myself to find the time. 

When I think of scrapbooking, I start getting overwhelmed. I would have to choose which pictures to print and order. Then I would have to get out my boxes of paper, stickers, scissors, and glitter pens. 

I think of the mess and how I just don't have the time for all of that with 2 kids.

Luckily, I have discovered My Memories, a digital scrapbooking  site. You can make scrapbooking pages, videos, photo books or cards, and a ton more stuff. 

I'm actually pretty obsessed with it. Look! I even made a couple scrapbook pages!

Aren't they cute?? I'm really excited about them!

Not only did I make some scrapbook pages, I also made a new header for my food blog! Check it out: Jolts & Jollies.

I'm really excited about this next part...

The wonderful people at My Memories is offering one of my lucky readers a chance to win a copy of their My Memories Suite scrapbook software! How awesome is that?!?!?

How to Enter:

(Leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Head over to My Memories and peruse their website. Come back here and tell me which digital scrapbook layout or paper pack is your favorite. Make sure you include your email address in this comment.

Extra Entries:

2. Follow My Memories Blog

3. Like My Memories on Facebook

4. Follow My Memories on Twitter

5. Follow My Camo Colored Life through Google Friend Connect or RSS Feed

6. Follow @mannadonn on twitter

7. Tweet about this giveaway (this can be done once per day), include: a link to this post, @mymemoriessuite and @mannadonn in your tweet

This giveaway will end Monday, November, 28th at midnight (CST) and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, November, 29th. Good luck!!

So there you have it! SEVEN ways to enter to win this great product!! I have seriously had so much fun with it!

Can't wait?? My Memories is offering my readers a special discount! If you enter in this code:

STMMMS49898

at checkout and you will receive $10 off the purchase of the My Memories Suite v2 software AND a $10 coupon to the MyMemories.com store!

And since I'm in the giving spirit today, I'm doing GIVEAWAY TUESDAY! Head over to Jolts & Jollies and enter in to win a giveaway there as well! 

Let's Get Physical: A Challenge for YOU!

Guess what!!

Chicken butt!

Bahahahahaha!!!!

Just kidding. Sorry...I really needed to get that out of my system.

I'm done now. We can move on now.

But seriously...guess what!

I joined a gym this weekend!

I'm super excited about it.

Now, I have been a member of a couple different gyms in the past and I never used them. However, I know I like this particular corporation and I've been happy in the past with them at different locations. Even going into this gym, I feel absolutely comfortable and welcome. Everyone was super nice and I'm really excited to get started.

I bought 3 personal training sessions with my sign up bonus. I really wanted to buy 36 but I think The Hubble would kill me if I spent $2,000 on personal training.

Anyway. When I lost weight after Little Butt I tried many different techniques to keep me motivated.

One of those techniques was to make a vision board.

What is a vision board you ask...well let me show you mine from before:

Basically, you grab some poster board, a bunch of magazines, some scissors, and some glue. You find pictures or words that speak to you and really resonate with what you want to accomplish. Then you cut them out and glue them on your board. Post to board somewhere where you will see it every day so you can easily visualize your future.

Now, when I first read about this I thought it was the cheesiest load of crap ever. BUT I was the team leader of a challenge group on jillianmichaels.com so I had to do it. After I finished, I ended up carrying this thing with me through several different states. I loved it! I was so proud of it and inspired by it. It helped me remember my goals and it focused me. It gave me a visual reminder of my vision for myself.

So, now that I have joined the gym and am ready to get started, I think it's time for you to get started too.

So here is your challenge:

I want you to make a vision board. Gather your materials and have fun with it! Think about where you are going to place your vision board so you will see it every day.

Then, I want you to write a blog post about it and post that on December 1st. Come back here and link up to the linky I will have available on December 1st. That way, we can each jump around and help motivate one another. It will be like a virtual work out group.

We can even come up with weekly challenges if you all want.

So who is with me???

If you are feeling a little unsure, just go read THIS POST and get inspired and motivated!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Let's get the word out about this! Tell your friends, blog about it, whatever you have to do to get people on board.

If we have a good turn out for the December 1st vision board linky, I'll throw in a prize for best vision board!!

So get after it!

PS: The vision board does NOT have to be strictly fitness related. Whatever your vision or goals are, those are what you should incorporate into your vision board. Let me know if you have any questions.

Today...

I know that I'm supposed to post about Veteran's Day.

Trust me, I'm thankful for everything our Veteran's have given and still continue to give today.

However...I'm going to write about me instead. Because today has been a day.

First off, I think Baby N is going through a growth spurt. He's 3 months now and his sleep schedule is all jacked up like it was when he went through his 6 week growth spurt.

I thought it was the time change at first, but it just keeps getting worse. The first couple days after we set back the clocks, he was waking up at about 6 or 6:30am, which is normal (usually 7 or 7:30am). However, yesterday he woke up at 5am. Way early, but still doable.

Then today happened.

Today he woke up at 4am.

I told him I was not getting up at 4am. There was no way. But when he was screaming at 4:30am I figured I didn't have a choice.

I did go back to bed for about an hour after he finished eating. But I am crazy exhausted.

After we all got ready, it was time to go meet a friend for breakfast. Earlier in the week we had decided we would meet up at Denny's this morning.

I got to doing stuff on the computer and lost track of time. When I realized it was time to go, I packed me and the kids into the car then realized I needed gas. So we rush and fill the tank then jet over to the restaurant. The restaurant was crazy busy so we searched for parking. Unloaded 2 kids, diaper bag, me, locked car, walked into restaurant. I pulled out my phone and was texting my friend to see if she was there yet when she called me. She told me she was pretty sure she was in the right place. I looked up and it dawned on me...I was at IHOP. Grab kids, walk back to the car, load kids back into car, throw diaper bag back in, get me in car, jet to correct restaurant.

For all the trouble, the meal was fantastic!! They have these pumpkin pie pancakes with a pumpkin maple whip on top that are to die for! And the Christmas cookie milk shake is going to be in my dreams tonight.

By then, it was time to rush Little Butt to school then hit up the grocery store. Did that, came home, dropped off groceries, fed the baby. Grab Little Butt from school, get car washed then head to a friend's house.

When we finally made it back home for the evening it was time for Little Butt to start cleaning her room while I hung out with my Older Sister. I had just sat down when I heard Little Butt in her room crying. This was not the normal cry, this was the "I'm really hurt cry." I jump up and meet her in the hallway and she's GUSHING blood from her lip.

She had tripped over a bin and face planted it into her book shelf. I got some paper towels and my sister grabs ice and Little Butt sat crying for a while. She finally calmed down and took some Tylenol. I decided to take her to the hospital just to make sure she didn't need stitches. The doc said we could put one stitch in to reduce scarring but I opted out of that because it would be traumatic and it was not absolutely necessary.

So, now we are home and Little Butt is back to cleaning her room.

Poor Little Butt...

Wreaths, Pinterest, and Play Time with Baby N

Okay. As promised. Let me tell you about the wreaths I've made.

Oh! But before that. Can I just say how in love with Pinterest I am?? I've been on it for a while now but I never blog anymore so I haven't talked about it. I get so many ideas and inspiration from that site. I love it!!

Now on with the show! My first wreath is my Halloween wreath. I first made the wreath completely orange and I loved it. Then I made an orange and black one for my mom and I loved hers even more. I posted both on Facebook and someone told me my plain orange one looked like a muppet exploded on my door so I added some black.

Here is my Halloween wreath:

My other wreath is my Fall wreath. I am SOOO in love with how it turned out:

And that's it for the wreaths...for now. I'm a bit obsessed lately.

In other news, Little Butt was crazy obnoxious today. I wanted to sell her to the circus for most of the day.

And I think my Little Man (I think that's going to have to be his new name because Baby N doesn't flow) is going to be a mover and a shaker early.

He's 3 months as of yesterday and he's already been rolling from his tummy to his back for about a month now.

Today, we were having some floor play time.

He started getting pretty annoyed and he decided he wanted to try to roll over. He tried the right side.

That didn't quite work out so he tried the left side.

He has completely different techniques for trying to accomplish his goal on each side. It's pretty funny to watch. Anyway. I helped him roll over onto his tummy.

Things were good for a while...then...

He decided he was done.

And there you have it people. The boy is a stinker.

Procrastination Station

I have been feeling pretty inspired lately.

I don't even know why.

I hate that I tend to procrastinate a ton.

Like, I know what I want to do...I just don't do it.

Take this blog for instance. I know I want to post. But I don't.

I've been working on this lately though.

I've decided that this year I am going to send out Christmas cards. I say this every year. And one year I did give them out. I'm really close this year. I have the cards. I got a ton of addresses (if you want a card just send me your address) and today I went and bought stamps. Now I just have to do it.

I got this far with my baby shower thank you cards and never went any further. Of course...I still owe thank you cards for my wedding showers. It's only been 10 years...

Anyway. So I've been working on not procrastinating so much. I want to do things so I need to get them done. I'm tired of just talking about things. I want to DO!

My most recent things I've done is that I've started selling The Pampered Chef. I'm really loving it so far! I had no idea I would love it as much as I do. I'm really looking forward to building my team. But I have to find someone who wants to join me. If you are interested in learning more let me know! LOL!

I've been feeling crafty lately too. I've been working on completing the projects that I purchase supplies for. I made a Halloween wreath last month and today I finished my Fall wreath. They are both gorgeous!! I'm SO happy with my Fall wreath. I just tried to take pictures but because it's so dark they didn't turn out well. I'll have to wait and take more pictures tomorrow while the sun is out.

I want to do the Project 365. Have you heard of it? Basically, you take a picture (or more) that represents your day and you post it somewhere. I've seen some people do it on Facebook, others on Flickr or Photobucket, Tumblr, and I've seen some blog about it. I want to blog my project 365. Especially now that The Hubble is deployed. He specifically asked me to blog more so he can keep up with us. Are you interested in doing a Project 365 with me? I'm thinking about starting either December 1st or January 1st.

I've also decided that I want to join a gym. My Older Sister and I are going to go look at the Gold's Gym here in the area. I used to go to Gold's in NY and I loved it. Sadly my friend Tammy won't be with me here but she will be with me in spirit.

Okay. I feel like this post has become pointless. Not that writing it is pointless but that it has lost its point. Get it??

Anyway. I think I'm going to go to bed now. I still haven't figured out how to set back Baby N so my mornings have been pretty early.

And So It Begins...Again

"Your call will end in 30 seconds."

We all know those words don't we?

How you rush through with the "I love you", the "give my love to the kids", and "can you call my parents and let them know?"

I talked to The Hubble about an hour or so ago.

He made it safely over to...wherever.

I honestly have no idea where he is or what he's doing. What's funny is neither does he. He won't know where he's going to be or what his assignment will be until he gets "there."

Who knows.

All I know is that boots are on the ground.

The countdown begins now.

365 days.

1 year.

And yes, I know there will be an R&R in there somewhere. But I have no idea when.

I have not one clue when I will see my beloved again.

All I know is that every time someone unexpected comes to my door, my heart will nose dive into my toes as I shakily walk toward the door.

I was looking through the pictures of our recent time together. Wouldn't you know that they are all of the kids. We have no pictures of The Hubble with the kiddos.

The most recent picture I have of him is this self portrait I found on the camera.

I guess that will have to do for now.