Mosaic Monday - Giveaway Treasures

Back at the end of September I entered a giveaway hosted by Paula at Sweet Pea.

Paula has a great blog on which she shares decorating ideas, recipes and her life in general. She enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes. She loves to garden, read, and sew. Her very favorite thing to do is to sweat, either running, biking, playing tennis, or hitting the weight room. In fact...just this weekend she ran in a 13 mile marathon! Wow! Please head over and tell her hi and enjoy her blog.

So in September she held a giveaway to say thanks to her many readers. She was giving away some cute towels, napkins and a spreader she picked up at a local shop. I entered and I won! So today I want to share photos and I put together some mosaics for you. These things are so darn cute!

Aren't they perfect for both the Halloween and Thanksgiving Season? She included a very sweet note as well. I bet she made the card too! That little wooden spreader that's shown in the top photo, isn't that pretty?

There's a red towel that my niece Clarissa said would look pretty on my kitchen table. So we put that one down and took some pictures of a necklace and earrings I won from another giveaway. You can see those pictures here. I've since changed it out and put the one that's all pumpkins on the table. The green one has a pumpkin border and I've hung that one on my kitchen stove. They make everything so much more cheerful!

I especially love the paper napkins with all the owls. Perfect colors for fall! Thank you so much Paula and congratulations of finishing that marathon!

I'm linking up to Mary from Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Please head over there and see what else everyone is sharing today.

Also!!! Remember that today is the last day to enter my First Ever Giveaway for a $65 Gift Certificate to CSN stores. A great jump start for your Holiday Shopping. Just click HERE for details on how to enter and Good Luck! Have a great week everyone!

Sunday Favorites - A Repeat of the Special Spoons

Had a great Saturday today. Went thrifting with my mom and then we did our grocery shopping. It's always fun spending time with my mom. I want to remind everyone to enter my giveaway for a $65.00 gift certificate to CSN Stores. Click HERE for details and good luck!

It's time for Sunday Favorites again. A day when we share a favorite post from the past. I hope you enjoy this post from March 6, 2009.

 A Favorite Post

from

March 6, 2009

The other day my daughter April and I went to dinner and shopping after work on a Friday. We went to one of our favorite places, Jake's Tex Mex. She had Tri-Tip and I had the Salad Lite, which is so Un-lite it's not even funny. You have to go through a cafeteria line at Jake's and you pick and choose what you want on your salad. I started out with their wonderful shredded chicken. They put this chicken which is all white meat into a bowl and it's a lot of chicken, let me tell you. Then you tell them what you want in your salad. You can have either Pasta salad or Broccoli salad plus the lettuce and stuff. I wanted Pasta. Their pasta is awesome, it's made with these little round noodles. So then you have chicken and pasta salad and lettuce in the bowl and I picked ranch dressing, sunflower seeds and tortilla strips. They hand toss them over and over and over again in a bowl til it's all mixed together and tasty and then they toss shredded Parmesan cheese in. It's totally enough to feed two people! I ate half and brought half home which my son devoured when he got home from work.


So then we went to Marshalls and we looked around and I picked up some stuff and then would put it back, then pick up something else, then put it back. Finally I picked up these spoons, and there is a story behind these spoons. (Oh, by the way...if you click on the spoons and wait for the picture to open up to normal size you will see ME reflected in the spoons...thats what the pink dot on the spoons is, it's me!)




So the story is that right after Christmas, my mom and I went shopping at TJ Maxx after getting our nails done. I found these spoons and fell in love with them. And my mom just didn't see what the big deal with these spoons was. She said they were totally impractical! And I told her, "But mom, look at how beautiful and precious they are. Don't you just want to get up every morning to have your morning coffee knowing you can stir it with these beautiful little spoons?" She just didn't see it. :o(


So I put them back and we wandered around some more. Then I thought, "No dammit, I deserve to have happy mornings! I ask for so little in life, just pretty little nothings!" So I told her I had to have those spoons and she laughed at me and I went back to go get them and THEY WERE GONE! I was devastated! I came back and told my mom and she said, "No way!" I think what she really meant was, "Is there someone else as ridiculous as you in this world that can't get through the morning without stirring their coffee with ridiculously jeweled spoons?" I guess there is someone like that out there and dammit! they took my spoons.

So that day that my daughter and I were at Marshalls and I found the spoons I knew it was "kismet"...it was meant to be! So I bought them and they came home with me. Along with this beautiful Jasmine scented Reed Diffuser...



and this lovely Butterfly plate

that I hung up on the empty wall on my bathroom.

My bathroom has sort of a butterfly motif thanks to this picture...
that I stole from my daughter and this shower curtain...
which I've had forever and I love cause when I take my shower in the morning it's like a spring rain in a field full of butterflies...(hey, whatever I need to make it through the day ok?)

And I wanted to show off one more "pretty". A salsa bowl that my daughter brought back from the beach for me. I love it! I can't wait til spring so we can sit out on the patio with some Margaritas and Chips & Salsa. Yummy!

Over 100 Followers, Dinner Out, Veterans Day and reminder on my Giveaway

First Happy Veteran's Day. I know it's kind of towards the tail end of the day itself but I remembered to text my brothers, both ex-Marines with good wishes and gratitude for serving their country. I also sent a thank you to my dear friend Charles who served in Korea and worked with me at the funeral home. He's an embalmer and has a birthday coming up this Saturday, I believe he'll be 69! He always regaled us with many stories of his military life and for that I will be eternally grateful to him.

I met up with my sister after work today. She had the day off and had lots of appointments, including one to get her hair cut, in Bakersfield so she was still around when I got off work and we went to JC Penneys at the Mall. I had originally planned to buy myself something pretty but I was pretty tired and not really in the mood to shop.

But we went and had a very nice dinner at Coco's Restaurant. We tried their Fried Green Bean appetizer and they were almost as good as the one's at PF Changs. They just needed the spicy sauce PF Changs serves with them. I had the Chicken Tortilla Soup with a Green Salad and my sissy-poo had their Asian Chicken Salad. The food was great and the company was even better. Thanks Sis!

Today also was a thrilling day because I finally hit 100 Followers!!! Thank you all my followers. I appreciate each and every one of you! I'm humbled by your interest in my humble little blog :-)

I also want to remind everyone that hasn't already entered that I'm having my First Ever Giveaway. Please go and enter for an opportunity to win a $65.00 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores! It's a great way to get your Holiday Shopping going. Just click HERE to get the details!

Now I'm going to settle in for the night and watch The Big Bang Theory or as we call them, The Nerdy Boys; then "Bleep" My Dad Says and finally Greys Anatomy. Thursday is my biggest TV night!

I know this is kind of a Random Post but it's been an exciting, random kinda day for me.

I'm content and sometimes that's even better than being happy!

Iwanna Wednesday - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered plus a Giveaway!

Wow! I do believe that's the longest title ever!

So do you understand the title? Many of you might not realize that's a song...well the Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered part is a song. Here's a short video with Ella Fitzgerald singing the song. It's a little bit staticky (I don't believe thats a word, but you'll know what I mean when you hear the video) but well worth the listen...such a beautiful voice and such a beautiful lady.




So what does this song and Ella Fitzgerald and a Giveaway have to do with Iwanna Wednesday? A day when I get to want anything my little heart desires because my family says I want everything I see or hear about...hence my nickname Iwanna? Glad you asked!

Iwanna my childhood back! The song has a clue to what Iwanna, Ella just happens to have sang it/sung it beautifully and the Giveaway, well I'll save that for the end.

Any idea? Any guesses? Ok...well what Iwanna today is my favorite childhood toy. My Bewitched Doll or as I called it, my Samantha Doll.

Isn't she beautiful? My parents bought me one when I was a little girl. Not sure why they didn't just buy me a Barbie Doll, but they didn't. I think it's pretty cool that I had a Samantha doll from the Bewitched Show . Do you guys remember Samantha? She used to wiggle her nose for her witches magical powers? I used to love to watch the show. As much as I loved Samantha, I always wanted to be her mother, Endora. I think it was the makeup Endora wore...I've always loved makeup.

I don't know what ever happened to my Samantha doll. I know we moved a lot during my childhood and I'm sure somewhere along the way it got left behind and I've never gotten over it!

The Samantha Doll above can be purchased at Trojan Horse Antiques and Collectibles for $60 plus $12 shipping. Affordable don't you think?

And since I didn't know these next two dolls existed...but because I am Iwanna and Iwanna everything I see, Iwanna these two. An I Dream of Jeannie Doll and an Elly May Doll from the Beverly Hillbillies Show! Are these not something even you might wanna??? (See Jeannie's tiny little bottle barely peaking out at the bottom?)

You can get more info on Jeannie and Elly May at The Fashion Doll Review. These were displayed at Comic-Con. Now Iwanna go to Comic-Con!!! (It will be held in San Diego, CA which is totally do'able. Anyone wanna go?) This is why my family calls me Iwanna!

I guess we all have favorite toys from our childhood. I know my sister had a monkey she loved. What was your favorite childhood toy?

And before I forget, please click HERE to get the details on my $65 CSN Stores giveaway. Easy to enter, go find out how and enter because Iwanna YOU to win! Good Luck and may all your Iwanna Wishes come true!

Come Enter my FIRST EVER Giveaway!

I'm working on a really great Iwanna Wednesday post but I wanted to make sure everyone hears about my giveaway. $65 gift certificate to CSN Stores! Perfect for that early online Christmas Shopping right?

Want details? Click HERE to go to the Giveaway Page. Good Luck!

It's my FIRST GIVEAWAY ever!!

Do you realize Thanksgiving is almost here? Do you usually wait for Black Friday to get started with your Christmas Shopping? Well this year everyone seems to be starting much earlier...so I thought I'd help you get the ball rolling by doing my first ever giveaway! How does a $65.00 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores sound? Uh huh, yep...I thought you'd say yes.

Is anyone heading over the river and through the woods to someone else's house this year? Then maybe you might want to use the Gift Certificate to buy a new suitcase for your holiday travel! They have some really cute ones. I fell in love with this one right away. It's so pink and perfect!

But CSN has ton's of stuff...you don't have to get a suitcase. Just head over to CSN (by clicking on the word suitcase above) and see what catches your eye.


Entering the giveaway is super simple.


1. Leave a comment telling me what you plan to do for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.


2. Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment letting me know you are now following me.

3. If you are already a follower...then just leave me a comment letting me know you're already following me.

That's it...see, told you it was super simple!


Deadline to enter is Sunday, November 14th and I'll announce the winner on Monday, November 15th.

Good luck to everyone!

Sunday Favorites - Getting to Know Me...Getting to Know all about Me!

Welcome to a Sunday Favorites post. Sunday Favorites is a meme hosted by Chari from Happy to Design. I love Sunday Favorites because as Chari says, "Sunday Favorites offers a solution for getting a post out on the weekend without having to spend a lot of time doing so...weekends are just a busy time for most of us! Copying and pasting a previous post is so quick and easy. Not only is this a quick and easy solution to the busy weekends, but it's also an opportunity to dig back into our blog archives and share a favorite "past" post once again! Many of us spend a lot of time and effort creating a post and it just seems a shame that it is viewed only once and then forgotten about!"

Totally agree with you Chari because I forgot I had ever posted the one I'm going to share today. I answered several questions that were floating around in 2008. Hope you enjoy my blast from the past today and that you learn just a wee bit more about me! Happy Sunday!

A Favorite Post

from

September 28, 2008

There's this little questionnaire going around right now on several of the blogs I read and it's a series of questions you have to answer about your husband. Well since I don't have one of those, and I didn't want to be left out of anything current going on in the blogosphere I thought I would address the questions to me and answer them. I mean who knows me better than me?

Ok, here we go.

1. Alicia is sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen?
The truth is that it's off, just a blank screen. I don't have cable and there's nothing to watch on Sundays. I did just finish watching Monk on HULU.com though.

2. You're out to eat what kind of dressing does Alicia get on her salad?
I like ranch, but it does depend on what kind of salad. If it's like a Chinese chicken salad, then I like the Chinese chicken salad type of dressing. If it's like a taco salad, then usually salsa is the dressing, although sometimes you can get a really good cilantro-lime dressing as well.

3. What's one food Alicia doesn't like?
That would have to be mushrooms. I can't stand the way they smell or the texture. I've even tried stuffed mushrooms and you just can't hide that disgusting taste. The strange thing is that my mom who dislikes pretty much all veggies just loves mushrooms, go figure.

4. You go out to the bar, what does Alicia order?
Usually a Corona Beer with lime in a salted glass, kinda like a poor women's margarita. But it does depend on what I'm eating and/or doing. If I'm having Mexican food, I do enjoy a margarita, but if I need to get my rhythm going before dancing, then definitely a Long Island Ice tea with a shot!

5. Where did Alicia go to high school?
I went to Calipatria High School in Calipatria, California. Go HORNETS!

6. What size shoe does Alicia wear?
A size 6 1/2, really. But I love that line in Steel Magnolia's where Truvy says, "I usually wear a 6, but a 7 feels so good, I'll buy an 8."

7. If Alicia was to collect anything, what would it be?
A few years back I did start collecting bears, all kinds of bears, ceramic, cloth, pictures, dishes, etc. I'm just waiting for spring so I can have a huge yard sale. I really don't have one particular thing I want to collect because pretty much I just want EVERYTHING. In fact I have an "IWANNA" post coming up here in the near future.

8. What is Alicia's favorite type of sandwich?
I really love my fried ham sandwiches with avocado, but my tuna with minced jalapeno is pretty good too.

9. What would Alicia eat every day if she could?
What else? Chips and Salsa, Chips and Salsa!

10. What is Alicia's favorite cereal?
I'm a simple woman of simple tastes, I love Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, they're Grrrrreeeaaaatttttttt!!!!!!!!

11. What would Alicia never wear?
Probably a Halloween costume in the workplace. That one comes to mind because my current coworkers want to dress up this year and I've never dressed up and never wanted too.

12. What is Alicia's favorite sports team?
Dallas Cowboy's Baby!!! Oh Yeah! Even though they did lose today :-(

13. Who will Alicia vote for?
I'm a Republican and I am really for the McCain-Palin ticket! No one is perfect I know, but McCain's war record and love of his country speaks volumes to me.

14. Who is Alicia's best friend?
You've heard the saying, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family". Well the best thing is when your best friend is also family...my beautiful, wonderful, generous, loving, funny, bighearted sister Lisa!

15. What is something you do that you wish you wouldn't do?
I guess it would be speaking without thinking...and that's not really true because I do think about what I'm going to say, it's just that some things are better left unsaid, but by then I've already said them!

16. How many states has Alicia lived in?
Arizona and California only.

17. What is Alicia's heritage?
Mexican American, although I prefer American Mexican.

18. You bake Alicia a cake for her birthday; what kind of cake?
Again, I'm a simple woman with simple tastes. My fav cake is white with white frosting. But I do love me some Carrot cake, mmmmmmm.

19. Did Alicia play sports in high school?
Funny but I was just talking to my cousin Robert about this today. I played Volleyball, Softball and a little Tennis.

20. What could Alicia spend hours doing?
Besides talking? Just kidding. I guess it would either be sleeping or online reading blogs.

Days of the Week

My sister in law sent me this email and I just wanted to share. 

Hope it makes you smile!

Iwanna Wednesday - Staying Warm in Style part Deux

Last week for Iwanna Wednesday I posted about scarves, shawls, wraps, pashminas and faux fur wraps. I still haven't brought up to my mom my brilliant idea of buying a faux fur throw and cutting it in order to make a faux fur wrap like the one Kourtney Kardashian has...but I will, oh yes, I will!

Lots of you commented on the post:
Monica with Happy Nester said she liked the butterfly scarf.
Marty from A Stroll Thru Life said she loves shawls and scarves and just hopes it gets cold enough to start wearing them.
Jarilyn from Write Place! Write Chick! said she loved the dreadlocks shawl and she made her own Iwanna wish by saying "Iwanna catch up on all my blog reading."
The Queen of Fifty Cents said she has an old cashmere sweater she's felted that she loves to wear around the house.
Kathryn of From the Inside...Out said she loved the jewel toned pashminas, but was unsure about the half-sweater look!
Amanda from Serenity Now-A Mommy's Solution to Staying Sane just came to say there was an exciting announcement on her site (and it was exciting...more on that in another post).
Debbie from Confessions of a Plate Addict also wished for cooler weather because she loved the pashminas!
And last but never least...Anny from RandomAnny.com said "I've never been able to properly wear one of these. It will be perfect in the mirror but as soon as I step away and start moving I look like a cat tried to climb my body grabbing unto the scarf "

I was really happy to have so many people comment. Thank you all so much. You're all wonderful writers/bloggers and you know how much comments mean :-)

So onward to part Deux (Debbie from Confessions of a Plate Addict will appreciate my French...she's a "prof en retraite"...a retired French teacher).

I have a secret to share. C'mon...come in real close. I don't want the whole world to hear, that's why! Ok...ready? Promise to take this secret to your grave? Ok...during the winter, under my pants; I, ummm...I wear leg warmers. Uh huh...leg warmers. And you know why? Well because they keep my legs warm...duh!

The first leg warmers I remember seeing were worn by Jane Fonda in her workout videos...remember those?
I actually have a pair exactly like those and they work so well because no one knows they are there. Unfortunately I only have the one pair and Iwanna more, so let's go see what I was able to find when I let my fingers do the walking this week!
.

I was amazed at how many different styles and types of leg warmers are available! First of all some normal looking ones. I love the sparkliness of these. Of course I'm not going to wear them with those shoes cause of that darn Sciatica!

I thought these were adorable, almost too pretty to hide under pants but I don't wear dresses or skirts very much anymore.

I love the little pom-poms on these don't you?

These next three seem pretty normal too. Iwanna some more like these because they would fit just right underneath pants and they're not too bulky but they're warm and pretty!

Now get a load of these....I never even knew anything like these existed! But I LOVE them. I don't know that I would ever wear them; or better yet where I would ever wear them, but Iwanna at least one like these! Aren't they too much!

I think these are just pieces of fur that are wrapped around the leg and tied with bows to keep them up. Not true leg warmers, but I just thought these were so adorable!

And these are pretty darned adorable too. I love the flowers on them and the bright colors. Even if no one can see them, it's nice to know you're wearing something so cute isn't it? So much green! My fav color!

And these next two are just so sweet, especially the peach colored ones with the lace trim that are really just ankle warmers. Don'tcha love them?

And you know...leg warmers aren't just for mature, elegant, fashionista's like Moi! They're great for babies and pets too!

And that's it for Iwanna Wednesday this week. Which ones do you like? Do you wear them, have you ever thought about it? Cause trust me they work great! What do you Iwanna this Wednesday cause you know Iwanna all of your Iwanna wishes to come true!

Why can't we all be like Anne of Avonlea?

I've always aspired to read all the Classics, but I have to admit, other than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the ones I was forced to read in school I've not made a very big dent in them.

But I've found this website called Page by Page Books! You can actually read many of the Classics page by page from anywhere you can login. I've been reading them from my cell phone.

Of course, the first one I chose to read isn't even one of the Classics. I read Anne of Green Gables. The actual Classic is The House of the Seven Gables...oops! But that's ok cause Anne of Green Gables was really a nice little story. So nice in fact I decided to read Anne 2, the Sequel or more commonly known as Anne of Avonlea.

What I like about Anne is that she has a unique way of looking at things and explaining them to others. For instance today I read a chapter where Anne is speaking to a neighbor that's a bit of a curmudgeon. He's the type of person that believes in "telling the truth to everybody" at the expense of their feelings.

Anne brings up a beautiful point when he tells her that He will try not to mention again to her that she has red hair because she's so sensitive. He tells her she must excuse him, he's got a habit of being outspoken and folks musn't mind it.

I don't know how many times I've used that line myself. "That's just the way I am, I don't mean any harm, I'm just honest". But then Anne says to the curmudgeon, "But they can't help minding it. And I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles into people and saying, `Excuse me, you mustn't mind it. . .it's just a habit I've got.' You'd think he was crazy, wouldn't you?"

And CLICK!
The light bulb went on in my head! Being honest and saying what's on my mind whether it's to make a point, or a joke and then saying, "Don't mind me. That's just the way I am, that's my personality, I'm just sarcastic like that"; is just like Anne says, like running around sticking a pin or needle into someone and then telling them not to take it personally...that's just the way I am. Regardless of whether it's words or a needle, it hurts the person it's aimed at.


No one has ever phrased it like that to me. Only Anne was able to put it into words that even I could understand...and I like to think I'm pretty good with words!

I can tell you...I'm going to think twice before speaking my mind from now on!