trying to make a comeback

Once you stop blogging, man, it's soooo hard to start again. I think this may be a false start, as I only have about 5 mins before our goal bedtime. But it's at least SOMETHING, as opposed to the many NOTHINGS I've been NOT writing the past few weeks. Our latest quick list:

-- we bought a new camera, a Canon Elph. we love it. we hope we don't lose it as quickly as the last three.

-- we celebrated my mom's and grandma's birthdays, and I made a most amazing lasagna.

-- I started taking a yoga class 2-3 times a week. Three weeks in, and my abs are still sore, not to mention my legs and arms. Tomorrow I'm trying pilates, just to spice things up a bit.

-- Spencer started using consonants... ba, da, ka, ga. This is big new, in the speech department.

-- He also stood up by himself three times yesterday, and once today. I feel walking is on the way (fingers crossed for this timid little guy!)

-- We're planting a family garden at Brian's parents' house this year. This means I get to be out in the sun, in the country, in the dirt. These are all good things, trust me.

I'm sure there's more to say, but I'm out of time, unfortunately. So, I'll leave you with a few lovely pictures from today and yesterday. Nothing like an Idaho Sunset, for me.

A strange butte (below), called Lizard Rock, because it looks like a lizard, climbing up the hillside. This is about 20 mins drive from our house. I love it.
Sunset at Lake Lowell, about 10 mins from our house.
Bridge on the Snake River, in Marsing.

Drain ditch on the farm at Brian's parents, at sunset.
Across the street from Brian's parents, the little private pond of their neighbor who has yet to build anything on his lovely little plot...
Watching conference at Grandma's.

Smiling, striking a pose for the camera. He loves the attention!
Sammie helping Grandma and Grandpa in the garden.
Yes, I'm verrrrry happy it's finally spring here.

Pick-ups, etc.

Some quick cute things Samantha said this week...

• "I need a drink because I have pick-ups." (hiccups)
  
• To the ref at Brian's BBall game who jokingly said he'd like to keep Spencer. "No, you can't keep him. He has to stay at MY house. He's MY brother." (very defensively)
  
• After I told her she could either wear her black shoes or her brown shoes with the frilly dress: "Well Mom, apparently I like my Princess light-up shoes best, because that's what I'm wearing!" (yes, she said apparently. It was darling. And yes, she wore her pink princess light-up shoes with the dress. And looked cute.)
  
• "I will never have a wet pull-up EVER again!" (Said multiple mornings after multiple wet pull-ups, of course.)
  
• When I was encouraging her to pray over her breakfast: "Mom, can't we just call Jesus on the phone?"
  
• When Spencer got all those shots, I forgot to mention Sammie's cute observation, right after the nurse walked out and Spencer was still screaming dramatically. She said, "It looks like Spencer didn't love those shots too much." (So observant.)
  
• When I found her pouring out the brand new bottle of kids shampoo that we just bought (that she's soooo excited about), she said "I just had to show it to Emma and wash her hair a little bit." (Emma is her bald doll with a plastic head.)
  
• "I LOVE Basagna!" (lasagna)

That's all for now, folks. I love my kidders.

Five Shots

So, I'm probably the last one to know that they give FIVE shots at the one-year check up visit. Right? Poor little Spencer boy was so unsuspecting when I took him in today. It was his nap time, so he was cranky, but he put up with all the initial probing and poking without too much fussing. Then the nurse came in with TONS of syringes. 

When we did Sam's one-year visit in London way back when, they combined three of the shots in one needle, and two in the other. I guess they don't do that over here, for some reason. So, Spencer and I were both in for a big shock with soooo many needles. OUCH!! He sure can yell and hollar when he needs to. I felt bad Sammie had to witness that, but she got a lolly and two stickers out of it, so I guess she's not too distraught. Plus the doctor "checked" her eyes (just so she felt special, too) lucky girl. Spencer got a lolly too, which appeased him somewhat, thank goodness. Here are some cute picts of our little guy from the last few weeks...
His favorite place to be... in/on/next to the dishwasher.
He got his first real hair cut on Saturday night. Here he sort of models for an "after" shot. Sooo handsome!
He LOVES sitting on the bottom stair these days. And he REALLLLLLY loves that green silky blanket he's holding. Too late, I realized I was nurturing an attachment to it. Now, he needs it with every nap and bottle. It's kinda cute, the way he holds it and sucks that finger so contentedly.
Of course, Sammie needs a little picture while I'm posting. She's been a little sick this week, with fever and coughing. But she's not one to slow down much. Yesterday she did opt for a little nap on the couch, without any convincing from me. I found her curled up with her coat and gloves on, under two blankets. Maybe she had a little chill?
Anyway, one cute incident with Sammie was this past Saturday. We went to see a little ballet production of Peter and the Wolf at our library. When I first told Sam we were going, she said, "I don't want to see a wolf at the library. I don't think I'll go, thanks." I had to talk her into it and tell her the wolf wouldn't be very scary. Actually, it was really cute, with little kids dressed up as Peter, the Bird, the Duck, the Cat, and the Wolf. Samantha sat on the front row with two little friends from church. We sat with Spence a few rows behind her. She LOVED watching the bird and duck dance around in their little frilly costumes. But then, the wolf came out. It was just an 7-8 year-0ld girl dressed with a black leotard, ears, bandit mask and some long, furry gloves. Well, as soon as Samantha saw the wolf, she started edging back a bit, turning her face away and looking down with a big frown. The wolf danced right to the front of the group, reaching out her long furry gloves toward the children as the dark music played. Samantha scooted further back and scowled some more. Then she turned around, looking for us. As soon as she made eye contact with me, she just melted into tears. We could hear several parents throughout the audience chuckling, obviously watching her. I went and got her, and she sat safely on my lap for the rest of the performance. Afterward, she confidently told her daddy, "I was just a little bit scared." We thought it was darling. (Wish we would have brought our camera.)

Bye for now. Wish us luck for our sad, wounded, new-shotted boy this evening!

Random wonderings

Monday, Monday! I seem to have a hard time with Mondays, today being no exception. Not that anything bad happened. I just didn't seem to get into my "groove" very early in the day. But I did do laundry, so I at least feel like I accomplished something on "the list."

Today I've been wondering about the idea of spending more quality time with my children. Like most good mothers, I'm usually feeling torn between all my different responsibilities -- keeping a clean and comfortable home, fixing healthy and tasty meals, and loving, teaching and enjoying my children -- to name a few. And I'm usually setting goals to do better at enjoying and loving my children. I begin again each week with the idea that I'm going to play with them more, read more stories, go on more walks, just enjoy being with them.

So today again I started out with ambitions of really having some quality kid time. We read some stories, Sammie sat on my lap while I browsed blogs and checked emails (and don't tell me that's NOT quality time! It's a great sacrifice on my part, so of COURSE it's quality! ha!), I took extra time doing her hair and helping her dress -- even though she's perfectly capable of dressing herself. And I spent time with Spencer, too; I cuddled him in a blanket for an extra five minutes after he finished his bottle this morning. I played with him and gave him full attention until Samantha woke up. After his nap, I did more cuddling with him, etc. We even went on a walk this afternoon (albeit a very short one because it started snowing on us in our spring jackets, brr!!)

The tricky part about all this quality time is that the more time I spend with them, the more time they EXPECT me to spend with them. Because I was so friendly and cuddly with Spencer in the morning and after his nap, he was on my heels ALL afternoon, under my feet, tugging at my pant leg, wanting to be held. Because we read some stories together before lunch, Sammie wanted MORE stories later. She wanted a LONGER walk when we were coming back from our freeezing cold walk. She whined and complained and whimpered and told me her feelings were very sad when I asked her NOT to sit on my lap while I typed a quick 2-minute email response before signing off the computer (even after she'd been sitting there for 15 mins).

"The more you do, the more you're asked to do." I learned that on my mission, and I'm gathering that it must apply to motherhood too? But there's got to be a balance somewhere, right? I mean, I DO want my kids to know I'm there for them and that I really, really enjoy being with them. But I also want them to know how to entertain themselves and be a little bit autonomous, I think? Therefore, it troubles me that when I do really try to do a little extra and show a little more love and patience, I end up with more demanding kids.  And then I feel even MORE torn with all those other "house-y" responsibilities. 

The classic example is the kid who cries and throws a fit when it's time to leave the neighbor's birthday party. That's my kid... literally. Most of the time when we try to do something fun, something out of the normal routine, Samantha has a wonderful time, enjoys every second, but then gets soooo sad and whiney at the end that I vow NEVER AGAIN! 

Hmmm... No solutions to this just yet. Right now I'm just puzzling my dilemma. Anyone else been through similar stuff? I imagine it's a common situation with parenting. We'll get there, eventually. For now, goodbye, Monday! 

Good Reads

My cousin, Leslie posted this on her blog, which she stole from our mutual friend, Jeanna's, blog. It is BBC's list of the top 100 books (according to them.) Jeanna quotes the BBC as estimating that on average, most people will have likely read about six of these works. I copied Leslie's idea and put the titles I've read in bold. I also added some comments where I felt necessary, in italics. (I give a lot of credit to College Prep English in HS). I thought this makes a good list for when I might need a good read. How many have YOU read??

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (BY FAR my all-time favorite.)
The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien  (only read parts, too sing-song story-telling style for me, thanks.) 
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Bible (never all the way through, but most of it)
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (started, but not finished... it's on my list for this year)
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Complete Works of Shakespeare (I've read several, but not all)
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (lame-o schmame-o!)
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (started, but never finished. I'd like to revisit this one.)
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (I've read three of them, at least)
Emma - Jane Austen
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (started, but in Spanish. Very hard to read at my level of Spanish.)
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (Loved it. Very cleverly written.)
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Atonement - Ian McEwan (Started, but just couldn't get into it.)
Life of Pi - Yann Martel (Read parts, but someone told me the ending and I lost interest.)
Dune - Frank Herbert
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (I read the abridged version, twice. does that count?)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (Weird and slightly disturbing.)
Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Dracula - Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
Ulysses - James Joyce
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
Germinal - Emile Zola
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession - AS Byatt
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (Skimmed it. Once she was sleeping around, I lost interest. But I skipped to the end to get "closure.")
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte’s Web - EB White
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (again, some but not all)
The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (Twice!)
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (Great fable. Used to be an all-time favorite, but lost some appeal after the 4th or 5th read.)
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Watership Down - Richard Adams (I started this one about 10 times. Never got into it, but I guess it's supposed to be really symbollic?)
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (I read the abridged, 450 pg., version)

What I did today

Nothing monumental to report right now. I have a few back-logged posts I'd like to write sometime. But right now I just thought I'd do one of those every-day posts that are sometimes lacking from my blog. So, my title: What I did today...

I'm really tired tonight, because my morning started at 5ish. I was having a disturbing dream about driving with my cousins for hours on a not-so-fun road trip. All of sudden from the deepest reaches of my subconscious, I could hear a whimpering Sammie outside our bedroom door. This is common, and I usually rouse myself to herd her back to bed and redistribute her blankets (the main reason for her night waking seems to be that her blankets get in a tangle. sigh.) But this morning, I just laid there and tried to continue my annoying dream. Poor Brian dealt with Sammie, while I listened from afar. He came back to bed and gave me the report, and then of course I was wide awake and couldn't fall asleep again for 15 mins.

Just as I drifted off, the whimpering started again (sooo frustrating). This time I took my turn, and convinced her for the second time in half an hour that she did NOT want to sleep upstairs. She fussed a lot about it and eventually woke up Spencer. Once I got her back to sleep, I soothed him again and checked to make sure he didn't need more medicine for his fever (he's teething and has a cough). Back to sleep for 20 mins until Brian's alarm went off at six. I winced again, wishing I had gone to bed before midnight. Why do I torture myself with these late nights (like now?!)

After several minutes of tossing and turning, I did manage to sleep again, until 7:29, when Spencer REALLY woke up, with some loud screeching and poopy pants. I wish sleep wasn't so important to me. I wish I didn't spend time calculating in my head how much sleep I DIDN'T get. (Note to those with newborns and babies-who-refuse-to-sleep-through-the-night: I do not compare my suffering to yours.) After a good change, Spencer seemed content to cuddle and suck his finger, so I laid with him for awhile, then put him back in bed. I tried to go back to sleep, but never really succeeded. Oh well.

Samantha was in a rage this morning. She said she wanted Raisen Bran, because I was having Raisen Bran for breakfast. But I know she never eats it, so I offered her every other kind of cereal under the sun. She settled on Fruit Loops (oh-so-healthy). I then started cutting a banana into my Raisen Bran. She acted interested so I offered her some. No thanks, Mom. But when I came to sit beside her and eat my banana-laiden Raisen Bran, she changed her mind and wanted banana in her Fruit Loops. Okay, I just took a spoonful of my bananas and scooped them into her bowl. (The spoon was clean, I hadn't eated any yet.) Whoah!! You'd think I'd tried to cut off her left pinky finger. She proceeded to throw one of those fits that I wish I'd never witnessed in my entire life. She didn't want some of MY banana. She wanted her OWN banana. Goodness! If she hadn't been so out of control, I might have obliged. Instead, she got in two big time outs, and eventually ended up with her Fruit Loops in the garbage. We started over with oatmeal an hour later, and she was more cooperative.

We went to the library this morning for Story Time. I rarely make it there, and have yet to make it there on time. I was close today, but of course, as I reached for Spence to put him in the car and go, I could smell an extra 5-minute diaper change that made us late again. No big deal; Sammie still enjoyed "If you're happy and you know it" and got a dinosaur sticker. She was especially thrilled that her friend Madison was there. They played in the kids section while I picked out books for her and me. We ran a few more errands after the library, and got home in time for a late lunch and a verrry late nap for Spence, poor baby.

I started making dinner for the missionaries -- a last-minute thing because their original appt ended up with sick kids today. Then my visiting teachers came and talked about how important it is to keep our families strong. It was a good lesson and chat, though I got a bit worried about time because we talked so long and that dinner wasn't about to cook itself! Samantha was loving the lengthy visit, because one of the ladies brought her two daughters who played Princess with Sam. Lucky! I was informed by the older girl that Sammie did NOT share her wand. A selfish princess, indeed.

After they left, I made delicious chicken-corn chowder (bacon is the delicious secret, as it turns out), and rolls, salad and veggies. The missionaries arrived for an early dinner at 5pm, since we had a bball game for Brian at 6 (church ball tournament). Unfortunately, Brian was still gone to his afternoon newspaper meeting, so they had to wait in their car for 15 mins until he got home. Oh well. Dinner was good, even if the salad was from a bag, the rolls were Rhodes freezer bake, and the brownies were from a mix; the soup was authentic. ha!

We all went over to the church to watch Brian play ball for an hour. Actually, Sam played with Madison & co. in one of the rooms on the stage, while I talked with other moms and tried to keep Spencer from crawling off the stage or eating anything off the floor. Afterward, we came home and put Spencer to bed and finally got to read those fun library books (all SIX of them!) with Sammie before getting her off to bed.

Brian went back to the church for another ball game, and I organized our closet (finally!!) and then worked out while watching whatever was on TV (I could write another post this very second about the valueless, meaningless, moral-less stuff on nighttime TV). Then I practiced some piano -- I'm working on playing in different keys besides my two staple "easy" keys. Sounded pretty good in B flat tonight.

Now it's bedtime, people. I still have ambitions of reading some scripture, having some meaningful prayer, and maybe peeking at the novel I brought home... all before sleeping. I bet Brian will talk me out of the third option, and the lights will hopefully be out before midnight. Signing out...
That's what I did today.

Hawaii -- Part III, Grand Finale

If I wait any longer to post these photos, it will be summer-time hot here, and nobody will even need the "sunshine" break! So, to wrap up our long-overdue holiday memories posts, here's the last round of Hawaii pictures, showcasing our three-day trip over to Oahu. Yay!

Swap meet

We started with the swap meet. Soooo fun! We actually went back twice, so we could fully enjoy the wares and goods on offer.
For those who haven't been, I have to tell you, you've never seen so much fun, cheap Hawaiian stuff in one place... necklaces, dresses, carved turtle wood, Aloha shirts, hats, ukuleles (Sam and Allie call theirs Hukalaeles, so cute!), key chains, etc. There are vendors' stalls wrapped entirely around the outside of the football stadium. Fascinating!
 Below, Samantha and Allie compare purchases...

Luau

That afternoon, we made the gorgeous drive out to the Polynesian Cultural Center, arriving just in time for a special luau and dance program. It was great! The luau was different... lots of interesting food. Samantha was glued by the music and the little performance on the stage. 

Hawaiian Dancers

The dance show was really well done. All the performers were so full of energy and life (and you know they've done it 100+ times before). Things I liked best:

-- the Tahitian hip-swingin' hula dancers. Wow!! How do they DO that!?

-- the fire baton thrower guys. Wow!! WHY do they do that?!

-- the delicious tropical fruit ice cream cup served during intermission (best $5 we spent there!)

-- the fact that Spencer slept on Grandma's lap almost the entire time! 

Church

The next day was Sunday. We went to church at one of the most unique-looking LDS chapels I've ever been inside. It had a gorgeous mosaic of the Savior on the entire front wall of the building. Brian got some beautiful pictures (he always does!)...

Our little family, standing next to the gorgeous pool and fountain...
Our whole group, next to the mosaic. Isn't it just beautiful, and so different? I love it.
Pearl Harbor

We went to Pearl Harbor Sunday afternoon, a sobering experience. We visited the USS Arizona Memorial and museum, so sad and shocking to think about the realities of war in such a serene and beautiful place.
Here's our group, waiting for the boat to take us out to the memorial...
Inside the memorial, the list of all the men who died on board...

In less than two minutes, Samantha made friends with a group of local children outside the museum.  She thoroughly enjoyed their game of ring-around-the-roses (until one of the wilder boys singled her out for a one-on-one "swinging" round, that left her flying across the floor on skinned knees. ouch! what was THAT all about!? meanie boy!)
Pineapple Plantation

Next day, first stop for us was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Here's our cute little pineapple collection...

We didn't stay long enough to pay for a guided tour. But we walked through their sample pineapple gardens and got some great shots of little baby pineapples growing...
I didn't have any idea how pineapples grow. Did you know they grow in the middle of huge plants that look like overgrown spider plants with little thorns? And the pineapple grows up on a stem, about 1-2 inches thick. They just sit there precariously perched in a way that looks like they could topple with the weight at any given moment. Amazing! 
I got a little bit artsy with some of the pineapple shots... from the top, looking down...

A barely budding pineapple of a different variety than I've ever seen...
Did you know that they use the tops of the pineapples to plant a new pineapple plant? Maybe I should save the top next time I buy one, and see if I can grow it indoors or something. Wouldn't that be so fun to grow your own pineapple?! One more artsy one from the top...
LDS Temple

Next stop, the Hawaii temple. It was closed for winter cleaning while we were there. But we got to walk around the grounds and check out their newly-renovated visitors center.
Samantha, smelling the flowers at the temple...
Samantha started a funny little habit that she did several days in a row on our trip. She would start singing the nursery rhyme for "Jack and Jill," and every time she got to the part where "Jack fell down and broke his crown," she would stop wherever she was, put her head on the pavement and finish out the rhyme while upside-down. I finally caught a picture of her being "Jack" as we toured the temple grounds...

Inside the gorgeous visitors center...

More Polynesian Fun

We went back to the Polynesian Cultural Center to go through all the villages and see some of the day-time shows. Samantha and Allie show off their flower crowns and their new fake tattoos (Samantha's signifies she is a princess, and Allie chose to get the "chief" tattoo)...
Brian, in front of one of the Fiji worship buildings, I think. (Actually, I could totally be making that up, it was so long ago I really don't remember.)
Samantha, inside one of the chief's houses, with all the cool artifacts behind her. I tried to get her to smile about 10 different times in a row, and this was the best we got (she's going through that really "cheesy" smiling phase.)
Hanauma Bay and Blowhole

We parted ways with Janice and Jay (and Sammie, who stayed with them) that afternoon, and Brian and I took his parents to the airport (they left a day before we did). Then, we tried to go over to Hanauma Bay to snorkel and swim. It was just closing, so we didn't get to go in. But it looks soooo gorgeous! Next time... 
Instead, we went and saw the famous blowhole nearby, that was performing at high tide for us...
We opted for a quick swim at the beach near the blow hole, so we could continue to watch the show while we swam...
It was also high tide on the beach, so we did more running from the monster waves than actual swimming. But it was nice to get in the water one more time. Here's me, running from a BIG one...
And me with Spence, sharing a banana while Brian took a turn in the water...
Goodbye, Hawaiian Sunshine

Home again, home again, jiggety jig! We had a blast, packed it all in, and were tired and ready to come back to the Mainland when it was time, though not quite ready to say goodbye to the sunshine. Oh well, here are the last shots on the flight home...
Ah yes, the joys of travelling with children. That, of course, deserves a whole chaotic post of its own. Some other time. 
Goodbye, Hawaii. Until next time...

Copy and Paste -- a Giveaway!

Okay so I entered a giveaway on my friend, Lisa's blog, and the "catch" was that I had to do this same giveaway on my own blog... so here you go! (AND, I'm way too lazy to write up my own cute little instructions, so I just copied Lisa's and her sister, Marci's. thanks. )

My First Blog Giveaway...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you. (I know...a little scary, but maybe fun, huh?)

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like it .
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done by the end of March. 
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a loaf of homemade bread. It may be a bag, a card, an apron. It may be a book, a scarf, a poem. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! 

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did it will then win a Fabulous homemade something made by me! Ready, Set,....
GO!!!