Where have I been all this time?

I can not believe it has been 5 months since my last post! SO much has happened over the summer!
Over the summer, I changed the color of the shutters and front door on the house. It was tan siding with burgundy shutters and doors but it looked too stark for me. Way too much of a contrast so this time I went with a olive green and I really am pleased with the way it turned out. I actually just painted the garden shed with the same olive green so it would look nice beside the house. I will have to get some good pics to show you.

My kids also had their big birthdays this summer. My daughter, Miranda, turned the big 16. Planning a girls Sweet 16 party literally took me months for it all to come together. This is Miranda with a group of her friends. The place was so big I couldn't get them all together at one time!Miranda is the one is the front (with the Zebra print top) and that is me back there in the brown shirt (yeah, the oldest one in the picture). We are doing a line dance just goofing off. The DJ played it so we danced to it!

My son also had his 13th birthday this summer. His was a little easier. Invite a bunch of teenage boys, take them to a skate park, load them up on Gatorade and Water. Pick them up a few hours later, feed them hot dogs, they go home, SIMPLE!

I went to the beach a few times over the summer, twice with family and once was a well needed girls only trip. Needless to say, plenty of fun was had that weekend!

I am so lucky to have such amazing friends! We only went down for the weekend but I don't think we could have lasted much longer anyway!

Well, that explains why I left blogland for a few months! But I think I am back! Hopefully it won't me another 5 months until my next post!

Nicole

Amazing giveaways!

I wanted to share a couple of giveaways that are going on in blogland! First is Dani at Olde Homestead Peddler. This is her first giveaway. She is new to blogging and wanted to welcome everyone over to her blog! What wonderful items she is giving away!

The winner will be announced Monday, 10/20 so you still have plenty to time to get entered!

Look at these great grubby apple candles! I bet they yummy! I have my name in the hat so you should too! Just pop over to her blog and give her a big hearty welcome to blogging!

The next great giveaway is from Tania at Fresh From the Farm. She is celebrating her 100th post and how sweet of her to celebrate it by showering us with gifts? Her candles are amazing - 100% soy and oh so yummy! She also is giving away some handmade tarts and a wooden sunflower candle mat. Too cute!

She will be picking the winner Friday, Oct 17th so you better hurry!

I am off to work on some new projects for the Wednesday project blog. I have to have something to show you guys or else you'll think I have been slacking!

I also wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for my birthday greetings! Everyone has had such kind words and great wishes for my birthday! You really know how to make a girl feel special! I never knew I would find such great friends when I started blogging! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

What a great day for a Birthday party and my FIRST Giveaway!

Today was my birthday - and I turned 34! I came home from work today to find a big party set up in the dining room. My hubby had made my favorite dinner, Spaghetti, and also baked my all time favorite - Strawberry cake! Everything tasted amazing! The kids had decorated with Happy Birthday banners everywhere. I couldn't believe they had went to so much trouble! As soon as dinner was over, I couldn't wait to jump into the Strawberry cake! Literally! It had been sitting on the table in front of me the whole time so it seemed to be "taunting me" as I finished my spaghetti. They all sang Happy Birthday and each of the kids had their own funny card they had picked out for me. Of course, they both had something to do with being old but that was okay!

They bought me a huge bag filled with all of my favorite goodies! I got a huge bottle of bubble bath, lotions, hair accessories, and my favorite candies of all time . . . a box of Whoppers and a bag of Nerds! Do these people know me or what?! They said they bought me a bunch of stuff to pamper me since I won't take the time or money to pamper myself! It seems us moms always spend time taking care of everyone else, we put ourselves last. It was such a thoughtful gift!

After dinner, I quietly tip-toed off to the bathroom and took a very relaxing HOT bubble bath! I don't know how long I was in there but I was definately wrinkled when I got out!

As promised, I am hosting my very first blog giveaway today! I want to celebrate my birthday with all of you! I have some great fall items that I have included!

Included in this giveaway are 2 Candy Corn candles, a Autumn Blessings stitchery, and 3 prim pumpkins! A perfect Fall Gathering!

To enter my giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you will be entered once. If you would like more chances, you can post this giveaway on your blog and I will enter your name two more times. That's three chances to win!

If you do not have a blog, you can still enter . . . just leave your email address in my comments so that I can notify you if you are the winner!

I am going to keep this giveaway open for one week. I will draw the name of the winner at 8 pm (eastern time) on Monday, October 20th.

Good luck to all of you! Have a great week!

~Nicole~