This and That

THE RED SCARF PROJECT

Craft Hope partnered with The Orphan Foundation of America and Vickie Howell (who donated a pattern) to provide college bound teens with a hand knitted or crocheted red scarf.

 

I hope whoever receives my scarf feels the love in every stitch as it warms them.

I only wish I'd had time to knit a few more.

Details:

Pattern: Vickie Howell's Star Stitch Pattern

Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Cranberry

Needles: Clover Takumi Bamboo Knitting Needles - size 9 5.5mm

Note: pattern amended slightly to account for different needles and yarn. I cast on 33 stitches and instead of counting rows, I continued pattern until the scarf reached 60" long.

OXFAM AMERICA UNWRAPPED

Oxfam is a organization my family and I have stood behind for many years.  My brother competes in Marathons, Triathlons and who knows what else (let's just say he's a fitness freak) and one in particular that he has done over the years is the Oxfam Trailwalker which is a 100km trek (run/walk) through Australian bush in under 48 hours with 4 participants to a team.  Each team commits to raising at least $1,000 to support Oxfam's work in 28 countries including Australia (my home country). I have always donated to not only support his team but also to raise money for a worthy cause.

Last year you may remember my Gifts That Give Back post which has a lot of ideas on how your gifts can give back to so many.  Oxfam America Unwrapped was one of the ideas I mentioned.

This year I was given the opportunity to participate in a blogging campaign for Oxfam America Unwrapped.

In honor of my brother being the one who introduced me to Oxfam, his gift this holiday season is to Irrigate a farmer's land for two months.

There are many, many ways Oxfam America Unwrapped gifts can give back this holiday season.  Here are just a few of the gifts you could give:

• Blankets for $18
• HIV testing and education for $35
• Field of organic cotton for $40
• A Goat for $50
• Support Indigenous Craftswomen for $90
• Train a midwife for $150
  
• Plant 500 trees for $250
• Rebuild a primary school for $1500

*Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Oxfam America Unwrapped and received a credit for a gift on the Oxfam site - a gift of a dozen chicks will be going to my sister.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOURS?

With 3 children and living in a large community filled with children we had Halloween candy overload in our house from Trick or Treating.  Not to forget the leftovers from what we handed out too.  So we decided that we needed to pare down the amount quite considerably, otherwise, let's face it, I'd be the one dipping my handing into the candy jar repeatedly.

We decided to donate our leftover candy to Operation: Care and Comfort.  It's an organization who support the Troops.  They are collecting Halloween candy to be delivered over the holiday season.

If you would like some other ideas on what to do with your excess candy check out these links:

Parenting: 25 Things to Do With All That Halloween Candy

5 Minutes for Parenting: The Grinch Meets The Great Pumpkin

Check in your local area to see if their is a Dentist buying back candy.  The kids may love the little bit of cash more than the candy.

SITScation

I spent the past few days in Las Vegas at The Venetian on what I refer to as my 'girls weekend away' aka SITScation. 

I had the pleasure of spending my weekend throwing myself at hugging, talking to and learning from amazing women, eating delicious food, wearing nice clothes AND high heels, and dancing the night away - okay I only danced one night away and then showed my age on the 2nd evening by spending it curled up in bed before 8pm watching a CSI re-run, eating what remained of a block of chocolate and nursing a congested head and frequent bouts of asthma.

From left to right (above) the amazing Heather and Tiffany from SITS, Laurie from Tip Junkie and Margaret from Nanny Goats in Panties.

My in real life (as opposed to bloggers I stalk) friend Sharlene from Double The Adventure was my room-mate, airport cabbie and partner in the 'mothers who finally get a giant bed to themselves but can't sleep' movement.

I listened to inspiring speakers such as Alli Worthington, Jessica Gottlieb, Jen Hinton, Laurie Turk, Sugar Jones, Angie, Mama Kat, Renee Ross, Mayhem & Moxie, Lula, Meaghan (Spirit Jump) and of course Heather and Tiffany .

And I had the opportunity to meet some of the fantastic bloggers who I have admired from afar and catch up with those who I have met at previous events.

One thing we can all be extremely proud of this weekend is banding together and raising $900 for Spirit Jump.  Great job girls. {round of applause}

And yes, there was swag.  Fabulous swag.  I want to highlight these two items in particular.  A bookmark from Tip Junkie and a Twisted Silver bracelet.  Gorgeous.

 

and my new baby, perfect for Halloween

Vampire Poken from StartPoken

A full list of SITScation sponsors can be found here.

I may or may not have ended up at Kim Kardashian's birthday party at TAO too.  I will not confirm or deny reports - unless there's photographic evidence other than what I took that I was there.

"Just Create" - Laurie Turk

NATIONAL MOM ’S NIGHT OUT

Last night was National Mom’s Night Out.

The amazing women San Diego Momma, Mel A Dramatic Mommy and Virtue IMC put on a great night for all the mom’s who attended.  There was swag, food, $5 beverages and many, many wonderful items raffled off with the proceeds going to March of Dimes

Photo 1: Sugar Jones, moi, Sondra of Happy Healthy Hip Parenting

Photo 2: Christina of Little Moos and Mommy Too

Photo 3: Me (again), Anissa and Ali

Photo 4: Bridget of Family Adventure Guidebooks and yes, me again.

Photo 5: sick of seeing me yet?, Anissa and Jen of Mommy of Many

Photo 6: Mel of Mel, A Dramatic Mommy

Photo 7: Now you may be wondering why there is a picture of a shoe … a very sexy shoe at that.  You see, I was trying to get a photo of the beautiful Deb aka San Diego Momma, but alas, she decided to pull a face (yes she posted it on her blog) so instead I posted one of the very sexy shoes she was wearing last night.

We definitely seemed to have the winning table last night with many, many prizes being won. 

I was lucky enough to win a beautiful glass pendant courtesy of Kan Yo Fuse, a voucher for Pat & Oscars and a giant box of Shari’s berries – you can see my post here about these.

Then while tweeting from the event I discovered that I had also won this amazing prize at Momlogic’s Mom’s Night Out event.

Now, when my girlfriend and I arrived at the event we did happen to notice that NBC San Diego were there filming, however they left shortly after we arrived.  Unbeknown to me, as I was heading over to chat to a couple of fabulous ladies, the camera was rolling.  Now I don’t allow my profile to be taken.  Under any circumstances. Ever.  Mainly because I look 4 months pregnant, have a flat head, a pointy nose and need to drop say about 20 lbs.  But there I was my 5 seconds of fame in full on profile.  Brilliant.  Even better was turning up at a birthday party this morning and 3 friends letting me know that they saw me.  Rock on!  It’s also probably very wrong that after I told Jay, he leapt out of bed at the speed of light to re-wind the news report and I took out my video camera and recorded it.  Good grief.

FOR YEHU

 

You have probably heard me mention this fundraiser once or twice and seen me tweeting with funky little hashtags like #12for12k.  Well, to give you a run-down.  This is a fundraising effort by Mom It Forward and 12for12k to benefit Yehu.  I could talk at length and quote so many fabulous people in trying to explain exactly how and why this fundraiser will benefit women in Kenya, but if you want it straight from the horse’s mouth, then please visit here.

Here are some of the wonderful things I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in:

BASA BODY

I was lucky enough to be one of the recipients of Basa Body products to review.

Natural Coconut Oil Lotion, Mint Truffle Soaps, The Basa Body Stick and  Cherry Chocolate Soap.

I have to tell you that these products are fabulous.  When I opened the box the other night there was a fabulous scent of mint wafting through the room in seconds.  Jay came running over and quickly claimed the Mint Truffle Soap as his own, but I managed to latch onto the other products before they were taken too.

The soaps are just divine and so absolutely luxurious.  Perfect for a soak in the tub.  The Natural Coconut Oil Lotion feels wonderful on, it’s not greasy and leaves the faintest scent that makes you feel and smell fresh.  As for the Basa Body Stick, I can’t say enough wonderful things about it, except that I’ve thrown out the emery board I was using on my elbows, heels and knees (whenever I remembered) and replaced it with the body stick as part of my (hope to be) daily routine.

All Basa Body products are made from 100% fresh and natural ingredients.  There is nothing artificial included and the coconut oil used is organic.

By purchasing Basa Body products you are making a difference and helping the families of Coast Coconut Farms in Kenya achieve self-reliance.

Don’t forget that this product makes a fabulous Mother’s Day gift.  They have a wonderful Kiss Me Pack containing all of the items pictured above for a sale price of $29.99.  As an added bonus if anyone purchases any Basa Body or Coast Coconut Farms product or makes a $20 (or larger) donation between now and May 12, they will automatically be entered to win one of three prizes: 1) a $250 Disney gift card, 2) $150 amazon.com gift card, or 3) $100 Target gift card.

LIVE EVENT

I had the opportunity to attend the Live 12for12k San Diego event at the Hard Rock Hotel last night. 

 

left-right: Cheri (Blog This Mom), me,  Deb (San Diego Momma)

There were lots of laughs, yummy food and signature blueberry martinis (to benefit the fundraiser and were delicious)

The fabulous women I had a chance to meet last night were San Diego Momma, Katy Did Not, Blog This Mom, Sugar Jones,  iGrandmaTV, Mel A Dramatic Mommy, Virtue IMC and Six Figure Moms Club

Also if you would like to view the Ustream videos that were done live throughout the event last night by iGrandmaTV, you can view them here.  Scroll down to iGrandmaTV’s Video Clips and there are 3 (?) video’s there. 

DONATE

I have made a donation.  All donations over $20 are tax deductible and will automatically go into a drawing to win one of three prizes: a $250 Disney gift card, a $150 amazon.com giftcard, or a $100 target giftcard.  The drawing will take place on Tuesday, May 12.  Please use the chip-in widget below, or the one in my sidebar if you would like to make a donation.

GNO

There have been #GNO (girls nights out) on Twitter -  if you use Tweet Deck, Tweet Grid or Tweet Chat, please check out these rooms #gno, #12for12k, #inspire, #12for12ksd … there are many more, but this is a great starting point.  Feel free to join in on the conversations.

PAJAMA PARTY

A pajama party via Ustream with My Mommy Manual … of which I found out that I won a gorgeous pair of Sweetpeazz jeans for Marisol.

We realize that times are tough right now and if you aren’t able to ‘chip-in’ then please click here for a list of ways you can still help that won’t cost you anything. 

MADDIE

Why must so many beautiful young lives be taken so early.  On April 7th Madeline Alice Spohr unexpectedly passed away.

If you would like to support the Spohr family and March of Dimes, please visit the March for Maddie site.  I also have a button on my right sidebar to make donations.

You may have noticed around the blogosphere recently that people have changed their blogs and twitter avatars to purple.  This was all to support Maddie and the Spohr family.

Also, Sarcastic Mom, Undomestic Diva, Temporarily Me and A Mom to Two Boys have a plethora of links and information up including codes to place buttons on your blogs and information about walks that will be taking place across the country.   There is even a flickr group set up to include photos.

The service for Madeline is being held right now (2:30pm PST) at Old North Church, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.  

WEDNESDAY RAMBLINGS

I was tagged.  I avoided this tag for days.  You see my friend Dana emailed me a few days ago asking me to visit her blog *DING DING DING* the alarm bells sounded.  I thought I’d in fact avoid her blog for fear of what she may have me do ha ha.  Then I saw it on another friend’s blog that she had been tagged by Dana to take a photo of herself.  Uh-oh.  Avoid at all cost until I’m wearing make-up.  But then I was on yet another friends blog late last night and she’d mentioned Dana being part of the Pay it Forward challenge.  Without even thinking, off I went a clicking.  It was too late.  I was there.

The result:

So yes, this was me (and my friend Baileys) at 10:45pm last night. Scary. 

Here's the deal: You have to, right now, at this very moment, stop what you are doing and take a picture of yourself. Doesn't matter if you just rolled out of bed. Do it RIGHT now! And then post that picture and tag 5 others.

I am tagging........ Erin, Erin and Erin …. seriously :)

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For those who are part of Mom It Forward and Twitter #GNO you may already know that my entry won the Park City Mountain Resort Giveaway.  I’m absolutely thrilled.

I couldn’t wait to call Jess at Go Blog Yourself last night and tell her that she and her family had won a much needed vacation.  She was so happy.  Enjoy, you totally deserve it.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS DAY

Today is ‘Support Our Troops Day’.  You may have noticed the banner on my right sidebar for the past week.

Please visit

Mimi's Rose Chenille Boutique Blog

as she is hosting today’s special tribute to the troops.

With Randy having left 2 days ago, this day holds a special place in my heart.  I hope you will visit Mimi’s blog, she has some wonderful links up and ideas on how you can support our troops and send care packages to them.

Here is Miss M helping her daddy pack a few days ago.

On this day I would like to direct you to a wonderful cause ‘Operation Shower’ which organizes baby showers for pregnant military personnel and dependants.   If you know anybody who can help with this, please forward their details onto Amy … a link to her site is on the blog post.  Thank you.

Also if you know a deployed military member who has children at home, you must check out Daddy Dolls.  Our twins each have one.  They sleep with them every night and there is a special recorded message from their daddy that they can listen to whenever they need to hear his voice.   Please consider passing this information onto any military families you know or purchase one of these as a gift for a child who’s mummy or daddy is deployed.

pampered princess

Today I was a pampered princess.

It’s our wedding anniversary this coming Sunday.

My wonderful husband gave me a day at the spa. 

A day free from the kiddo’s.

A day free from responsibility.

It was fabulous.

It started with a European pedicure, my fingernails being done and waxing at my regular salon.

I moved onto Gaia Day Spa for 3 amazing hours for their Organic Renewal Synergy.

It began with a little down time in the relaxation room sipping herbal tea.  I was then taken to the sauna where I had cool towels spritzed with lavender, peppermint and tea tree oil placed around my face and replenished every few minutes.  Then it was onto a table for a full body scrub and into a warm shower to rinse off (their vichy chamber wasn’t working unfortunately).  I then had the most wonderful swedish massage and a fabulous facial.

I think the facial put me to sleep though, because I’m sure I woke myself up snoring ha ha, but not before having to stifle giggles at the girl doing the facial.  She really had a lot of passion for her work.  She was squeezing pimples and pores galore and with every one she’d say “yes, yes, yes, YES … good job … I got it” and she had quite an accent so it was absolutely hysterical.

This day spa was absolutely fantastic.   It was all the little things that they did which made it the best spa I have ever been to.  The light misting over my face every now an then to refresh me, the natural products, the aromatherapy oils, the warming of the shower before I got in, the tea and water replenished and keeping my bathrobe warm for whenever I needed to wear it. 

Thanks hubby.  I love you.

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I’m a little behind in blog posts right now so I’ll catch up over the next few days.  To start with, here are some photos of our day at Cardiff by the Sea yesterday.  As you can see it was a little cold, but we had a great time nonetheless.

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This morning before my pampering session I headed up to Carlsbad where the wonderful Bridget of Family Adventure Guidebooks was hosting a Will Play For Food event.  Thank you so much Bridget.  It was great meeting you, Jared and Destiny.

You can find out more about Will Play For Food and how to host your own event on my friend Jessica’s blog.