Not Everyone's Mama

Kelly is the winner of The Waughdrobe giveaway! I’ll be contacting you and you have 48 hours to respond.  Congrats and thank you to everyone who entered!

Oh ladies do I have another Etsy treat today!  I came across The Waughdrobe’s Etsy shop and FELL.IN.LOVE.  Seriously.

Kimberly’s jewelry and hats are so gorgeous.  Lots of steampunk, lots of big beads, gorgeous chains. The hats.  Oh the hats.  I’ve never been a huge hat person, I now want to own hats.

Let me show you some of my faves in her store then I’ll show you what she sent to me.

Chocolate Brown Leather Look, Spring,Summer, Cloche, The Edie

Told you, I need a hat.

Pale Green Daisy Flower and Ribbon Fascinator

Large Cream Pearl and Aubergine Cha Cha Bracelet

Can you not see wearing that with an off-white wedding gown that is simple?

20′s Bride’s Cuff,Antiqued Silver, Charm Bracelet

Crystal Cluster, Cocktail Ring

16 pages for you to drool over!

(I mentioned the bracelet with a wedding gown, so many of her gorgeous pieces would be stunning on your wedding day or at your reception, with your traveling outfit.  I wish I knew her when I got married.  I could see some things that would have been perfect with my dress.)

My favorite though?  Just happens to be what she sent me!

I know, my picture is not nearly as good as hers, but is that not gorgeous?  I love it!  The chunkiness, the picture, the clock face, it’s all to die for.  It’s put together so well too.  It’s just perfect.  When I held it in my hands I felt like I had gone to jewelry lovers’ heaven.

I went out tonight and that was my main accessory.  The necklace and a pair of silver hoop earrings.  At all 3 places I went all 3 of the ladies who waited on me oooh’d and ah’d and where did you get that necklace’d me.  It’s such a bold striking piece.  It’s gorgeous.  I’m in love with my necklace.

Is The Waughdrobe’s Etsy shop not fabulous?  If you check out her necklace category, she has more necklaces that have pictures in them like mine does.  This one for example -

Mirror, Mirror,Neo Classical Glass Art Pendant with Turquoise and Brass

You want something don’t you?  I know you do.  I can see you lusting after it from here!  Well, Kimberly of The Waughdrobe has offered up any item of your choosing up to $25 to one of my readers!  Awesome huh?  Don’t buy the earrings I want.  I’m waiting to talk my husband into the fact that I need more jewelry.

How can you win this?

MAIN ENTRY:

Go over to The Waughdrobe’s Etsy shop, browse through all those glorious pages and tell me what you would choose if you won the $25 to her store.

MAKE SURE YOU DO THE MAIN ENTRY BEFORE ANY OF THE EXTRA ENTRIES! THANKS!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

• - Heart The Waughdrobe’s Etsy shop
• - Favorite the item that you love the most (and tell me what it is w/URL – 1 extra entry)
• - Subscribe to The Waughdrobe’s Etsy Shop feed
• - Become a fan of The Waughdrobe on Facebook
• - Subscribe to my blog via email or reader
• - Follow @thewaughdrobe on Twitter
• - Follow me on Twitter (either @HeatherM74 or @GiveawayChick – you’ll get all the giveaways from other bloggers that I enter on @GiveawayChick, either one is fine.)
• - Tweet this giveaway (1X/day)

Enter to win $25 to @thewaughdrobe Etsy store from #HeatherM74 http://bit.ly/b4LKX3 ends 4/22 please RT! #Giveaway GORGEOUS jewelry & Hats

• - Follow me via Google Friend connect
• - add my button to your blog (the 24/7 mom one on the right side)
• - comment on one of my other posts
• - blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post.
• - Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social networking bookmark this giveaway.  (Not my site, the post.) There are links after each post.
• - NEW! Add this giveaway to ANY giveaway site (prizey, online sweeps, a Mr linky) where you are allowed to 3 entries! (Enter each separately! IE: Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3)
• - NEW! Enter any of my other giveaways! (1 extra entry total for this giveaway)

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Giveaway ends on 4/22/10 at 11:59 PM CST. Only US entries. Winners will be chosen by random number generator. Winners will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or an alternate winner will be chosen.

Thank you to to Kimberly, the wonderfully talented lady behind The Waughdrobe for sending me the necklace to review and for hosting a giveaway!  I will be back!

Popularity: 15% [?]

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The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back by Kevin Salwen and Hannah Salwen

It all started when 14-year old Hannah Salwen, idealistic but troubled by a growing sense of injustice in the world, had a eureka moment when a homeless man in her neighborhood was juxtaposed against a glistening Mercedes coupe. "You know, Dad," she said, pointing, "If that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal."

This glaring disparity led the Salwen family of four, caught up like so many other Americans in this age of consumption and waste, to follow Hannah’s urge to do something, to finally just do something. And so they embarked on an incredible journey together from which there would be no turning back. They decided to sell their Atlanta mansion, downsize to a house half its size, and give half of their profits to a worthy charity. At first it was an outlandish scheme. "What, are you crazy? No way!" Then it was a challenge. "We are TOTALLY doing this." Each week they met over dinner to discuss their plan. It would transport them across the globe and well out of their comfort zone. Along the way they would inspire so many others wrestling with the same questions: Do I give enough? How much is enough? How can I make an impact in the world? In the end the Salwens’ journey would bring them closer as a family, as they discovered, together, that half could be so much more.

Warm, funny, deeply moving and wholly uplifting, The Power of Half is the story of how one family slammed the door on the status quo and threw away the key.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

This book is amazing.  Actually, the family behind the book is amazing.  To think this all started with the 14 year old girl Hannah Salwen.  When I was 14, I don’t know about you guys, but I didn’t really think beyond my own little world and how things affected me me me.  This girl was worried about people around her, outside of her own world, the people she was with daily. 

They sold their house.  A mansion in Atlanta.  THEIR HOUSE.  They then donated half of that to a country in Africa.  But they didn’t just donate it.  They went there.  They wanted to be a part of the process.  A part of helping people.  They didn’t just want to write the check and have that be the end of their job.

I love their theory behind their donation.  It’s just like the old fish analogy. 

Give a man a fish and you feed him for the day.  Teach the man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

They explain all of the money that has been donated to Africa and why hunger and poverty still hasn’t been alleviated for them.  We go in with the western attitude of we’ll fix this for you. You have to teach them to fix it themselves.  They have to be able to take care of themselves.  Have the resources to continue the process when you are gone.

I loved this book, if you can’t tell.  I was discussing it with a friend of mine, actually I’ve discussed it with a lot of people, but this particular friend said, you know, this is what makes me mad.  There are people in the United States hungry.  The Salwen’s touch on that in the book.  They chose Africa because there are a lot of places that American’s can go for a meal at least.  In some of these impoverished countries there are no food banks, no homeless shelters, no where to turn. 

The Sawlen’s ended up donating enough money, $800,000, to build to epicenters in Ghana.  A center that helps make these villages self-sufficient.  They have visited Africa once at the time of the publishing of the book and plan to go back to support the people who are building their epicenters.  They want to see this through, not just write a check.

That this idea came from a teenager is what impressed me the most.  That her brother, after a little convincing, was in it to help too.  He was willing to give up his home, downsize to something half the size of what he was used to, to help someone else.  I have to say, though they gave up their mansion and downsized to a smaller home, I’m going to guess we have less square feet in our apartment with 4 kids.    Just something I was thinking of as I was thinking how we could help.  Obviously, we don’t have a house to sell.  And even if we did, it would be hard to downsize from something we could afford to something half that size we could fit into.

That idea is out.

Hannah gives lots of tips, suggestions, things to do, ways to reflect throughout the book as her father tells the rest of the story.  She is very well spoken, again, so impressed!

Joe got involved also in this project with his mom, dad, and sister.  He made this video and ended up winning a contest with it:

So impressed with this family.  After I finished reading the book I started telling my own kids about it.  Then I told my husband about it.  We, ourselves, don’t have a lot of money, but we donate what we can to charities that we love, but I wanted to do something similar to this.

We have decided on the first days off Pato has when the kids get out of school (so we can do it as a family), we are going to go through our house, room by room, and get rid of half of our clothes, half of our toys, etc.  Pato and I have so many clothes we can’t hang them in the double closet.  The kids have the same problems.  Christiano’s clothes take up the whole crib (since Alyce’s clothes take up 2 dressers plus part of Kat’s closet, we don’t have room for another dresser anywhere, and it’s not like he uses his crib).  We have all decided that we want to take everything down to women’s and homeless shelters. 

Then we got thinking some more.  I’m on the computer so much and the rest of them are all on their other toys a lot.  We should take some of that time and go do something as a family to help.  We haven’t decided what, whether it be cleaning a park, donating time to a shelter, what.  We’ll decide it as a family.

I could go on and on about how inspiring this book was, but this post would never end.  It was excellent.  I highly recommend it!  Especially if you have kids that are part of this “me” generation we seem to be raising anymore.  Show them about how they can reach out and make a difference.  Even if you are like us, don’t have a lot of money to give, that there are other ways you can help.

The Power Of Half website

The Power Of Half on Facebook

The Power of Half on Amazon

Thank you to FSBMedia for providing me with a copy of  The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back.  Amazing book! Amazing family!

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Congrats to phxbne! Thanks to everyone who entered!

I got to try YoPlait light yogurt thanks to MyBlogSpark.  I have to say that I was already a huge YoPlait fan.  It wasn’t hard to get involved with this one.  I did try some new flavors when I went shopping this last time.  I still have quite a few in my fridge, but so far I have tried -

Apple Turnover – Boston Cream Pie – Red Velvet Cake – Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My favorite of the 4?  Apple Turnover, but the Pineapple Upside Down Cake comes in a very very close 2nd.  I liked the other 2, but they tasted a like to me.  Good, but not a big difference in taste.  The 2 fruit ones taste just like what they say.  I was pretty amazed.  Usually when I buy yogurt I stick with the old standbys for me:  strawberry cheesecake, cherry vanilla, black cherry, all the old favorites.  I’m so glad I tried these flavors.  I will definitely be getting my 2 favorites again.  Plus, I still have quite a few other ones in the fridge to try.

YoPlait and MyBlogSpark have a Yoplait Light “Outsmarting Temptation” gift pack, which includes an insulated gourmet lunch tote, a food journal and a travel utensil set.  I got the same gift pack and the lunch tote and travel utensil set are so cute!!  Katiana stole it from me for her cold lunches at school.  (They keep stealing my yogurt as well, I had to hide the rest in the refrigerator.)

HOW TO WIN!

Leave a comment here about what your favorite flavor of YoPlait Light would be!

Giveaway ends – April 1, 2010 @ 11:59 PM CST

Thank you to YoPlait and MyBlogSpark for providing me with a coupon for a free YoPlait light and the Yoplait Light “Outsmarting Temptation” gift pack!

For myself – tweet is Win a YoPlait light Outsmarting Temptation gift pack with insulated gourmet lunch tote! http://bit.ly/9ZAQfA ends 4/1

Do you use a paid web directory? Is that like a phone book?  Or like Google?  I have no idea.

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Ok, not all of them.  Mine specifically.  You know he can be so wonderful.  Except when he’s sleeping.  Yeah, same song.  Sing it with me?

Alyce slept in her own bed most of the night but crawled in with us early in the morning.  I woke up squished with Nano on one side, and Alyce under my back on the other.

Pato.  Pato.  Pato.  Pato.

Mmmmmm?

Can you move Alyce, she’s under my back, I can’t move to move her.

Mmmmmm.

Pato?  Pato.  Pato.  PAAAAATTTTTOOOOO.

Mmmmmm?

Can you move Alyce?

I can move mommy.

Thanks Leecy.

Then the alarm goes off.  Nano wakes up.

Pato.  Pato.  Pato.  Pato.

Mmmm?
Can you take Nano and put him back to sleep before he wakes up all the way?

Mmmmmmm.

Pato!  Can you get Nano and put him back to sleep???

Crickets chirping.

PATO!  Can you please take your son and put him back to sleep????

Banging the alarm clock on the end table.

Everyone is officially awake.

Pato sits up and falls asleep sitting up.  Dude, now you can get the kids in the shower.  You could have just put the baby back to sleep, but now he wants to nurse.

He grumbles and complains and stomps around and bathes the kids.

Then I couldn’t find something.  I can’t even remember what it was.  I told Kat to have her dad look for it because I spent 20 minutes looking for it.  Oh, it was tennis shoes for school.  He throws them wherever when they take them off wherever.

He said, nope.  I bathed them.

I said, good for you, I gave birth to them.  Top that.

He’s been getting dagger eyes all morning from me.

He’s a wonderful father.  When he’s awake.

I’m pouring water over his head next time.

Makes me so happy when I start my day that way.

Have a great day!

P.S.  Update – still nursing.  Can’t use weight loss pills.  How selfish of me is it to want to wean for that reason?  I feel blah.

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