Announcing the Winner of the Free Psychic Reading...

Andrea D. from Andrea's Thoughts was the lucky winner of the free psychic reading! I e-mailed Andrea last night after the drawing to give her the exciting news and she was thrilled! I hope that she enjoys her reading as much as I enjoyed mine and I look forward to hearing about her experience with Cynthia Ann!

This was definitely a unique and very fun opportunity for me and I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog to enter the giveaway! I truly appreciate each and every person that took the time to visit the site! I hope you enjoyed it here and stay tuned for another great giveaway coming soon!

It's Finally Here...The Free Psychic Reading Giveaway!!

I have been offered the chance to receive a free spiritual reading from Psychic Cynthia Ann in exchange for a review on my blog about the reading and my experience with her! In return, she is also offering one of my lucky readers a free 30-minute reading, as well!  

I had my reading this past Saturday morning and let me tell you how fun it was! Cynthia was great and immediately put me at ease and made me feel completely comfortable. She said that she meditates about you before she phones and then begins to read your cards and talks to you about what is revealed. I'm sure you are thinking, "Yeah right...I am almost sure that she can do this over the phone." I was thinking the same thing until she started...

She knew so much about what is going on in my life...it was unreal! Things that I have never mentioned and have never talked about on this blog — or anywhere else — where should could have found the information! Everything that she said was dead on and she knew things that nobody knows — things that I have never talked about with others! I do not want to go into details as the things we talked about were personal, but trust me...this was an awesome experience!

I felt so good after talking with her and she did say that this is the reason that she enjoys doing this for others...she stated that she is a spiritual advisor that can help guide you on your path in life and address your worries and concerns — not tell you bad things and try to scare you. She wants you to be happy and content with your life and she will let you know what she feels about current things going on with you.

Cynthia Ann is a refreshingly honest psychic counselor and intuitive guide who understands your problems and will help
you to avoid the effects of negative energy. She is direct and to the point. The following is a message from her on her website:

Greetings my friends,

In life we all would like answers - answers to the hardships we seem not to understand. We ask ourselves - why is this happening to me? The answers and the solutions are here.

I am a strongly driven intuitive advisor who has had life experiences that enable me to understand and empathize with your worries and problems.

I communicate clearly and will direct you in your journey to heal and take control - so that your life is full of positive and happily flowing energies.

I would be honored to assist you in that journey. I am a natural and I am the one who will unlock the truth. Together we have the power to create new and positive beginnings.

May God bless and Protect always.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Ann

I am so excited that I am able to give one of my lucky readers the chance to experience this, as well! As I mentioned before...I know that this is not for everyone, but it is something fun to have done and if you would like the opportunity to have a free 30-minute reading done by Cynthia Ann, here is what you need to do:


1) Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have ever had a reading done before — this does not affect your chances of winning — I'm just curious :)!

2) For an extra entry after you've left a comment...subscribe to my blog for free on the left hand side and you will receive e-mail updates whenever I add new posts (be sure to let me know that you did this in a comment, as well!

** (The winner will be chosen by random drawing at Random.org on January 25th and will be notified via e-mail) **

Good Luck!!

Meet The Rest of My Family...

I had a goal over the holiday season and it was simple — to get photos of BOTH sides of our families since I knew that ALL members of both families would be together! This may seem simple for some, but we do not all live near each other, so there is usually someone missing when I want to get a nice group picture taken. Not this time, though! I was on a mission and it was finally achieved!

First up...Thanksgiving at my sister and brother-in-law's house! Mark, myself, our three kiddos and my parents spent Thanksgiving at Amber and Steve's this past year and it was so much fun! It was nice that we were all together and able to pull it off!  So...while Amber was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, I began to set-up my "photo shoot" in their formal living room and then I realized that I had forgotten my tripod. Have no fear, though....I made one...out of aluminum foil!! I rigged the foil up like a tripod and steadied my camera on their stair's hand railing! I quickly called everyone in and 'summoned' them to their places — while the kids whined and complained about it! Mark and I 'nicely' explained..."that they better sit there and smile with the biggest grins on their face...or else!" Haha! It worked — besides having to drag Grady into it at the last minute before the shutter went off because he refused to have his picture taken! We even managed to get Steve & Amber's dog, Bruno in the picture! The only problem we have now is that my sister is pregnant with their first baby, so this picture is only good until April when we have to do this all over again with the newest member of our family (who will bring on a whole new level of difficulty)! I cannot wait!!

Here it is! My family...

Front (L-R): Eden, Bruno & Brynlie  Back (L-R): Mark, Me, Grady, My Dad (Garth), My Mom (Nancy), My Sister (Amber - With My 1st Niece or Nephew in Her Tummy), & My Brother-in-Law (Steve)     

Next up...Mark's family! Okay...so now it is Christmas and I was still on my mission of getting pictures of both sides of the family! We traveled to Mark's parent's Christmas Eve and then they were coming to our house Christmas day — along with his brothers, Ed and Ryan. I made sure I warned all of them the day before of my 'pursuit' and told them that they were going to have to sit through one of my 'photo shoots', too! Everyone was excited about it (I think) and once they got to our house on Christmas and we opened presents and ate, we did the pictures. Things definitely shouldn't have been done in that order, but can you imagine if we made the kids sit through pictures with all of the presents staring at them — just waiting to be opened?!! I still wished we would have did it sooner because the girls had already had their tights ripped off and Grady was unraveled at that point and you can tell by looking at him! Haha! He had a cute little matching tie and tore it off when I was trying to get him in the picture...haha! He has been an extremely difficult 'picture taker' for us over the past few months, so if we are lucky enough to have him anywhere near where you want him, you need to take what you can get and roll with it!

It ended-up turning out really nice! By the way...I just noticed that the girls have switched places in this picture and Mark and I are on the opposite end this time! Haha! That was not intentional, but it will look neat on the wall :) Here it is...Mark's family...

Front (L-R): Brynlie & Eden    Back (L-R): Mark's Brothers...Ed, Ryan...My Father-in-Law (Ed), My Mother-in-Law (Carolyn), Me, Grady & Mark

I Know That Many of You Were Waiting to Hear About My Reading...

I just wanted to let you know that Psychic Cynthia Ann and I had to reschedule our reading today. Don't worry...we're still doing it and the giveaway is still on! I'll have more information within the next couple of days.

My First Giveaway for the New Year Starts Tomorrow...a Free Psychic Reading!

I have been offered the chance to receive a free psychic reading from "Ask Psychic Cynthia Ann" in exchange for a review on my blog about the reading and my experience with her! In return, she is also offering one of my readers a free 30-minute reading, as well!  

I am very excited about this opportunity — I have never had a psychic reading done for me and have always wanted one! She does them over the phone and based on the testimonials on her site and from what I've learned of her, she is good and keeps people coming back for more because of her honesty and accuracy! 

My reading is at Noon tomorrow (Friday the 7th) and I will try to post my experience as soon as possible afterward.

I know that this is not for everyone, but it is something fun to have done and if you would like the opportunity to have a reading done by Cynthia Ann, stay tuned tomorrow when I post my review and let you know what she had to say! I will then tell you how you can win your free 30-minute reading right here on my site!

Happy 2011...Goodbye Gus!!!

I hope that you are all having a great start to the new year! Sorry that I haven't posted for awhile, but two days after Christmas, we had a very unwelcome visitor creep up on us in the middle of the night — we'll call him Gus Gastroenteritis.

Gus decided to visit little Grady first and it was a very long and sad night for both of us.  I felt so bad for him. By 6:00 a.m., he was in his fourth set of pajamas and there were no clean blankets or sheets left. After walking around like a zombie all day and doing loads upon loads of *soiled* linens and clothes, it was finally bedtime...ahhh. But, wait...Brynlie walks into our bedroom and says that her stomach hurts. Oh no, I thought...this can't be! I walked her back to bed to sit with her for awhile and didn't even get a chance to cover her up before Gus struck! Here we go again for the second night. By morning, she was pretty much finished ridding the "yuckies" out and I stayed hopeful that it was over. Mark and I were even joking with Eden that we had to "ban together, stay strong, and not let *him* get the 3 of us!" Haha! She was all into it and laughing and said that she definitely wouldn't get it! She was partly right because poor Grady started again on the third night! How the heck does that happen?!!

Okay...so we were on the fourth day of this crap — literally — and I still had barely slept, had not been able to leave the house to take them anywhere, and was still doing laundry! Please...I begged...throw me a bone and give me a break...it's the holidays.

Gus didn't care...he didn't care how tired I was or that it was New Year's Eve and we had plans. He didn't care that I hadn't left the house for 5 days. He decided to hitch a ride with Eden shortly after midnight as we went into the new year. Geez...thanks Gus...at least you let me watch the ball drop! We did have a good laugh with her in the morning when Mark and I teased her that we were supposed to stay strong against this beast! Haha!

Finally...it was January 1st...the start of a new year, a clean slate, and all three kids had finally rid themselves of the *ickies* and we could finally go do something, get some fresh air, and enjoy one of the last days they had left of their break from school. As we talked about what we wanted to do and how we were going to celebrate, my stomach started to rumble and I instantly got achy and feverish. You guessed it...Gus wasn't done with us yet. He decided to lay his wrath upon Mommy before he left. 

So...here we are on January 4th and everyone is wonderful and healthy and Gus hasn't been back since the 1st. Are you wondering about Mark? He never got it and feels great. Maybe Gus decided to give him a break for once since every time he has visited Mark in the past, it has been during hunting season or some other important event going that Gus managed to ruin!

Now that I am feeling better, I wanted to get back online and let everyone know that I wish you nothing but the best for 2011 and may all of your hopes and dreams come true and may we all remain safe, happy, healthy, and Gus-Free!

It Was the End of Summer in 1980....

I was five years old and walking through the doors of Wasson Avenue Elementary in DuBois, Pennsylvania, as a proud little Kindergartener! My mom assured me that I would "make lots of friends" and "love going to school." Little did I know how right she really was!

Immediately upon starting school, I met some wonderful little girls who I played with all of the time. As we continued through Elementary and Junior High School together, we grew even closer and the sleepovers, mall outings, and movie nights began!  Whatever we did, it was usually as a group. If two were going somewhere...we were all going!  

As the years passed and we entered Senior High School, different friends came into our lives, but we knew that we always had each other — even if we were not hanging out all of the time or involved in the same activities. This carried on through graduation as we went our separate ways in life.   

No matter where we have lived or what was going on in our own lives, we have still been there for each other in good times and in bad. Any one of us would drop anything we were doing to be there for another if she needed it — no matter where we live or how far away we are from each other. That says a lot about our friendships!  

We are 35 years old now and it is so unbelievable to me that we are still just as close as we were when we were 5 and 6!  We may not talk every day or see one another often, but when we do...it is like we have never left each other!  We try to get together as much as we can and we were all able to do that recently while everyone was in for Thanksgiving. 

We had this picture taken of us to capture the moment, but we only had our cell phones with us. I really wish that I would have had my camera to get some really good shots, but I'll take what I can get when it comes to these girls!

  L - R:  Krisha, Mary Beth, Me, and Dana

This is not all of us — unfortunately — there are actually a few more! The other girls were either unable to make it out that night or not able to come home for the holiday — which we missed dearly.  As I look at this picture, though, I cannot believe that we have been friends for 30 years — especially considering that I just turned 22! Figure that one out! Seriously, though...I love these girls and can't wait to see what our picture looks like in 30 more years!!

In closing — since I'm not done wrapping presents yet...haha — my wish is this:

As the holiday season approaches, the year comes to an end, and 2011 begins...I hope that all who reads this has as much joy in your life as I have...with a loving family, true friendships, and all of the wonderful blessings that each of these brings.

Boy, Have I Been Busy!

But, who isn't, right?!! Since I've posted last, Brynlie turned 9 years old — which will be a whole other post — and we have had so many things going on every night and every weekend that you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you! I love this time of year, but it definitely comes with a price — literally! Lots of money has been spent on Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and food for all of the holiday parties that we have been attending, but it's well worth it! Whenever I feel overwhelmed with all that is going on, I remind myself of how great it is that we have such incredible families and so many great friends to spend this awesome time of the year with!  


I have many pictures and wonderful stories to share that I'll be working on over the next few days, so bear with me...there is a lot more to come!

We Had a Visitor Come over Thanksgiving While We Were Gone...

I had forgot to mention in the previous post that while we were away over Thanksgiving, Santa sent down one of his "most trusted elves" to watch over the kids until Christmas Eve. Translation: I caved into the hype, spent $30, and bought an Elf on the Shelf!  For those of you who have never heard of this...it really is a neat idea that I wish I would have thought of and marketed...haha!

When you purchase it, this is what you get:

It's a cute little elf that comes in various skin tones and eye colors to match your family and also has a beautiful hard-cover book that tells the story of your elf. In my own terms, the story explains that Santa relies on these elves to be his eyes and ears to let him know if you are being bad or good. You must immediately name him or her and this will give the elf its 'magical powers'. Every night, your elf leaves and visits the North Pole to give Santa a full report of how you acted that day. When you wake-up in the morning, your elf will be in a new place in the house and this is how you will know that he had left for awhile. He leaves Christmas Eve to return to the North Pole, then comes back to your family next year!

It's a really fun idea and the kids were thrilled to have 'finally' received one — some of their friends already had one, so they knew about it. In fact, within 2 minutes of walking into the house and seeing him sitting there, my almost 9 year old blurted out, "He's not magical, my friend said that her mom got theirs at a book store!" We immediately diverted the conversation and told her that there is NO WAY her friend's mom could have bought him in a store! Haha! On top of that, I had always told them that not everyone gets an elf at the same time and that you have to wait your turn until Santa has an elf available. (Boy...can I come-up with the stories or what?!!)

I told the girls to think of a funny name for him and the first thing that they shouted was, "Clifford" — as in the Big Red Dog — of course. So, I suggested "Cliff" for short and they liked that!

We have been having a lot fun with Cliff and so far, all 3 kids seem to really believe and cannot wait to wake-up in the morning to see where he is that day! Which comes another 'little lie' of mine...I had explained to the girls that Cliff will definitely tell Santa if they get out of bed too early to try to find him! Haha!

We have had Cliff for 4 nights now and I am having just as much fun trying to find places to put him — which I can see being very difficult after about another week. There are only so many places that the little elf is able to stay and be supported by something — so that he doesn't fall and scare the crap out of them! Here is where he was yesterday morning...chilling-out on a decorative star on the wall.

Isn't that hilarious?!! I even laugh myself every time I place him in a new spot! He just looks so funny! You know what's even funnier, though...all of the dust that I have to clean off of him every night when I take him down from one of my hard-to-reach decorations or fixtures! 

Family...Turkey...Shopping...and More Eating!

Our Thanksgiving break officially kicked-off on Wednesday when the girls got out of school early and I picked them up there (which I don't normally do). They love it when they don't have to ride the bus and they were SUPER excited that we were heading to Aunt Amber and Uncle Steve's house for our Turkey Day festivities! We loaded-up the car when they got home and set-off for two nights of fun at their house (which is three long hours away when you have my children in your vehicle)!

We had a blast and ate lots of great food, then ate some more great food, then topped it off with even greater food! Yes...I can hardly button my jeans...but, it's a good 'tightness'! Amber made an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with lots and lots of side dishes that you had to go in 'rounds' in order to eat it all! She always goes over the top in making our time there special.

After we stuffed ourselves, we began looking through the Black Friday ads and mapping our route! My girls were even kind enough to make sure that we all had a copy of their wish lists before we went — that was really thoughtful of them! Before we settled down to bed, the kids got a surprise phone call from Santa and they each got to talk to him. They were all so excited afterward! Even Grady — our 2 1/2 year old — got on the phone and told Santa that he would like a 4-wheeler for Christmas...I hope that a 6-volt Fisher Price one will do! After they settled down from the phone call, we went to bed, then my mom, my sister, and I got-up at 3 a.m. and headed-out for some 'sleepy-time' shopping! We had a great time together and got lots of good deals. Once we were done — by 10 a.m. — it was time for all of us to head home and back to reality. 

We trashed their beautiful house — as usual — which I always feel so bad about, but my sister and her husband are expecting their first baby in the spring, so I'm sure that they will begin paying me back once my kids are older — and I finally have a somewhat clean house — and they come storming in with their "crew" to turn my place upside down!! By the way...I know what she is thinking right now as she reads this..."What do you mean by 'crew'?!!"  Haha! That is just my own wishful thinking that they are blessed with lots of kids and crazy happiness like I am!