April Giveaway!!

So it's that time again! Time for another giveway and this time it is a book! I have two copies of this book and would love to share one of my copies with one lucky winner.

This is one of my favorite books that I have read continuously since muscleman and I were married 4 years ago.

One of my favorite lines from this book is "Shut up and pray." It's a lesson I continue to learn! Nagging doesn't work. Criticizing doesn't work. Sometimes, just plain talking doesn't work either. Prayer is the only thing that always works, and there's a built-in safeguard! You have to go through God to do it, and God works on the "pray-ers" as well as the "pray-ees" in the process! I believe God has done as much to help me grow in His grace through reading this book as He has my husband. It's a GOOD thing, a God-thing.

One lucky winner will receive the Power of a Praying Wife book. To enter leave a comment telling me what you love most about springtime! A second entry is available to blog followers. You do not have to have a google account to enter. Just be sure to leave a valid email address for notification purposes. Good Luck! (Up to two entries per person)

This giveaway will close on April 5th at midnight, CST. So be sure to enter before then! One lucky winner will be announced Monday morning, April 6th!

Good luck!!

Okay...okay

So I have been slacking on posting...I know.

Here are the top 5 reasons why....

1. My sister unexpectedly showed up at our house on Saturday and we played I Love Lucy trivia all night long!

2. I have been busy with getting parties ready for my April parties!

3. Muscleman's great grandma passed away and we thought we might be leaving town for a few days.

4. I have been spending time spring cleaning ( I cleaned our closet on Sunday night and it took almost 2 hours!) and when I am not cleaning I am doing laundry and baking!

5. I am trying to figure out what color to paint our downstairs family, dining and kitchen area....hubby has agreed to do a different color than what we have now!

6...okay there is a 6th...I just haven't felt like it. But now I have so much to share!

As you can see from my blog, I have posted all kinds of info. Be sure and check it all out! I have info about the new 31 Kids line that comes out tomorrow, info about the expo I will be participating in May, the great offer that 31 is offering to anyone interested in making some extra income, more recipes coming tonight...and an update on my love dare!

I don't have a lot of pictures right now to post....I have not been taking my camera around. I will get back into that.

Also...later on tonight I have a giveaway to start....hint...it's a book. I wanted to do give it last time...and I couldn't find it.

One more thing...my sister and I spent some great quality time on Saturday afternoon and evening. I think we both needed it. Even muscleman kept busy and hibernated upstairs to give us time together. We haven't had a lot of time just the two of us since little "I" arrived...not that I am complaining...because I am not....but it was so great to hang out and talk, watch I Love Lucy, Father of the Bride, play I Love Lucy trivia, eat homemade granola, enchiladas, our favorite chinese, and she even helped me cut out fabric for a new project I have started! I love
my sissie! Thanks for a great weekend and wonderful surprise!

Until later...Auntie D

31 Kids Line has arrived!!

Well it is here!

The new 31 kids line!

I just received catalogs today!

Like to see a catalog? Leave a comment and let me know.

Mystery Hostess party online coming soon...

More details to come!

Just For Her Expo

Buy your tickets early!

hercityguide.com is THRILLED to be co-hosting Kansas City's first JUST FOR HER Expo in May!

They have partnered with HER LIFE Magazine, radio stations: Mix 93.3 , Star 102, KFKF and Q104 to bring the women of Kansas City a premier Expo "just for her". Save the date and don't miss out on over 135 booths of shopping, beauty, wellness, fitness, health, home services, food tastings & more!

The Expo will feature stage presentations from keynote speakers, a performance by Drew 6 and Beth Foraker (David Cook's Mom) will speak about the American Idol experience last year as well as showcase the hottest summer fashion trends in the JUST FOR HER Fashion Shows, featuring 9 local KC boutiques!

Even though there's still 8 weeks of waiting for the summer's biggest event, tickets are on sale NOW! You can buy tickets in over 40 local stores for $6 each or online. A Girlfriends Pack of 4 is only $20 ($5 each) online. Tickets will be available at the door for $10 so buy them ahead and use that savings for $1 raffle tickets for a chance to win over $7500 in prizes!

Check out our incredible sponsors, exhibitors and all the details at justforherexpo.com and don't forget to enter the $10,000 JUST FOR HER Giveaway!For 20% off ticket prices through April 15th, enter the coupon code "HCG"!

And....I will have Thirty-One products for sale in one of the exhibit booths near the stage! It is sure to be a fun time!! Mark your calendars ladies~!

April showers bring May...Parties!

Thirty-One is showering you with opportunities!

Now is a great time to sign up for Thirty-One! You can sign up for only $25! Yes, $25!

The details: $25 will buy you 25 catalogs, order forms, invitations and training paperwork PLUS your own free business website.

Please read on for all the details and then read the attached flyer, call or email me with questions

Why Thirty-One? Why Now?
-Thirty-One is not affected by the economy! Thirty-One is thriving with record sales & recruiting

-No obligations….just try it and see if this will work for you for only $25!

-You are not committed to having a certain number of parties a month
-Make 25% commission on everything you sell
-April 1st & 2nd you can order from the newly released 31 kid catalog for 40% off (Consultants only can take advantage of this awesome special!)
-In April, if you turn in $500 in sales, you will receive 25 Direction catalog. Direction is a new teen line that will be released mid-May (Consultants can begin selling from Direction June 1st)
-If you sell $400 within your first 30 days, you can upgrade to the $99 kit. $74 plus shipping and tax ($99 - $25 = $74)
-In April, hostesses can earn DOUBLE hostess rewards! You will book shows with our awesome hostess special and the release of the 31 kid catalog
-Host your own catalog party, earn the commission AND the double hostess rewards! (party sales must be $500 to earn double hostess rewards)

More details:
· You can buy the paperwork kit for $25, try it out by hosting your catalog party or online party. If you are local, you can borrow my kit and have a home party! A party is $200 in sales, so if you have 1 party and it is a minimum of $200 in sales, you will make $50 in commission! So you make back your $25 investment and make $25 for your pocket or save to upgrade to the $99 kit!
· In addition to all of the wonderful things already mentioned, you can earn more by meeting start swell levels (see the attached flyer)
· You can sell out of the Thirty-One spring & summer catalog and the 31 kid catalog
· I will support you every step of the way! I am here to answer your questions, help you enter your first party, and train you to be successful!
· Thirty-One can help you with your bills….car payment, groceries, medical bills, credit card bills, private school, vacation….the list goes on and on!

Winter Storm Warning

For those of you living in the northwest corner of the state and are enjoying sunshine at the moment.....take another look at what is happening just to the south of you!

My sister insisted on taking close up shots of the trees with ice to show her hubby...so here I am all bundled up to take Bella for a potty break and take a few snapshots...yes...I know...I look like my mother.....my sister got a big kick out of it! Yes....my sister is here and stranded at our house....slumber party tonight...poor muscleman.....he has to put up with us both!

My day with Little "I"

Check out my new bucket Grandma!!

I want to watch Sesame Street...but I also want to climb my couch!

Ready for the big game tonight! Go Tigers!!

Somebody is happy his pants are off!

So today I spent the day babysitting my little "I" I tried to capture a few videos of him dancing and chatting and the one above is the best one I could get. Enjoy Grandpa and Grandma!!

We had lots of fun! And Auntie D is worn out! But I wouldn't have traded it for the world!!

Hope you all are preparing for the winter storm if you live in the area. I could really do without it. Hoping and praying it doesn't end up being near as much as what they have been predicting.

I love new handbags!

Look what I have been sorting through!!

I now have my weekend bag!! Ready for my girls weekend in Jersey~

Of course I picked up a few other items too!!

And I absolutely LOVE this large thermal container..I can't wait to keep it in my car!

I haven't had a chance to see this basket in person before...but it is huge!!!

And I love the buckets!!

As you can see...I have been having lots of fun and keeping busy with orders!!!

Signs of Spring

Today for lunch I decided to take a drive...on my way back to my office I spotted a few signs of spring and just happened to have my camera with me!

Now if the weather would only stay warm and cooperate....snow this weekend?? Oh how I hope not!

There is even a touch of spring on our dining table.....I love roses! Nope...not real.....but gorgeous~

Have you noticed any signs???

Weekend Project

This past weekend was packed full of projects for muscleman and I. Friday night we decided to just hang out together and eat some yummy oysters!

Saturday, we spent the day doing all kinds of misc. projects and I had another Thirty-One party on Saturday night. We had a great turn out and lots of fun!

Sunday...you will see that muscleman began another project in our garage. It is so filthy from this past winter and he decided to begin tackling it on Sunday.

He painted part of the garage and hopes to finish this coming weekend.....


He also worked on the stairs that lead into our home...he is putting up a new railing and we are covering the wood stairs to help prevent dust and dirt....at least that is our hope...below is a picture of what we plan to put down...it looks like tile..but it isn't...just peel off the back and stick. They still need to be cut into the right size...but you get the idea....


Hubby also decided that my shoe rack on the floor needed to go and wanted to put up some shelving....so he took care of that....

And he has begun painting the trim too.....still a lot to do...not even half the garage is done...but it will be great when it is finished!

It's SPRING!!

What did you do last night???

I will tell you what I did! I got myself in the mood for spring!!

I decided to make flower pens last night to use at all of my Thirty-One parties! That way I can take a pretty container full of flowers and hopefully be able to not lose track of all my pens! I think they turned out pretty cute!

Makes a great little display~ You would never know they are pens!!

I also decided to add a little splash of spring to our front door. I am ready for some color in our neighborhood! I got this idea from the Happy Homebody blog. I stopped by Michaels on my way home last night and picked up a brown metal planter, some tulips, and some ivory spray paint. And...the result is below....

Now I will have to work on the spring decor inside our home next....Happy 1st day of Spring!!

Why I love being Auntie D

Oh the joys of being an Auntie. I am not sure what I expected when I found out my sister was having a baby almost 2 years ago. The thought of being an Auntie was exciting to me, but I never knew it would be this great!

There is nothing better than having my nephew run up to me smiling and giggling and ready to sit on my lap. He has changed so much in the past month. And he is SO talkative!

Reasons why I love being his Auntie D:
He tries to say my name or say anything that I say.
He gives hugs and kisses.
He likes to snuggle.
He wants to eat everything that I eat.
He likes to sing and dance.
He twists and turns his head for no reason at all...I could watch him for hours.
He knows how to make the sounds of a horse, cow, dog, monkey, chicken and tiger and even points the animals out while reading his books.
His squeals and jibber jabber melt my haert.
He tries to catch bubbles in his mouth while his arms are open wide.

So much going on...

I have been so busy lately and not been keeping up with my blogs…that’s what I get for having a full time job, part time job, and being a wife and homemaker…right! Ha!

I have been busy keeping the laundry caught up, working on parties that I have this weekend and in two weeks, and trying to get back into a good routine of working out.

Bella and I have been walking nightly after I get off of work and it’s been so nice out that it is hard for me to sit down and just work on the computer because I would rather be outside.

Hubby and I are doing fine…he hasn’t been sleeping very well lately. I think the stress of the home being built next to ours is stressing him out. Every day we come home and find new things going on in and around our property. I can’t wait till it’s finished!

Tonight I get to baby-sit my little “I”. I can’t wait! I haven't seen him in almost a month!! I have bought him a couple of special treats…one being a stuffed Tiger that I can’t wait to give to him and hear him growl and the other is a bubbles! I thought it would be fun to take him outside this evening and watch him play with some bubbles!! We’ll see how it goes…we may have to do the bubbles inside…. I can't wait to see him!! He just jabbers away while I am on the phone with my sister. You know I will be taking plenty of pictures too!

I wanted to keep you all posted that we are here..just busy. I promise new pictures soon!

Please keep my grandpa and Muscleman’s great grandma in your prayers. My grandpa is in the hospital and being taken care of very well by the doctors and nurses there. He apparently is low on salt and they are trying to get that under control. We found out this morning that Muscleman’s great grandma is not doing well and at this point the doctors and nurses are just trying to keep her as comfortable as possible. (She stopped eating a couple of weeks ago) Please pray for comfort and strength for both of our families.

Thanks to you all! We have so much to be thankful for!!

For you Jersey Girl......

My friend Griffin has been wanting to see the aprons that I sell with Thirty-One....here are a couple of pictures for you!!

Fabric Patterns

Which will she choose?????

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

A Grand New Day

This past weekend I spent all day Friday and Saturday with my sister, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. We attended a Women of Faith conference. I am not sure if any of you have been to one before, but I highly recommend it to all of you!

There is nothing quite like gathering with 6000 women in a huge arena to worship our Lord and Savior and hear amazing speakers and singers. This year the speakers and singers included special guests such as Lisa Welchel (from the Facts of Life), Lisa Harper (she was so funny!), Mandisa (from American Idol), Sandi Patty, and Steven Curtis Chapman.

As my sister put in her blog, there really are no words to describe the event. And I am not sure that I can put it into words either, but I will try to sum it up as best I can.

The theme of this year’s event was A Grand New Day. When I was in high school, I can remember going to church one Sunday and being so upset about something that had happened (and I know I was probably being over dramatic..but to me at that moment it was a big deal) that I was crying. I will never forget getting a pat on my shoulder and turning around to the person behind me ( I am not sure if she even remembers this) and she looked me straight in the eye and told me… It’s okay…tomorrow will be a better day. I have never forgotten that statement and every time things seem to be bad…I think back to that moment and remind myself that tomorrow will be better…it will be a Grand New Day.

I don’t know everyone’s circumstances. I don’t know what all you are going through. What I do know is that you are not alone in any of it and that it can be a Grand New Day for you. I am so confident of God’s promises to us and I know without a doubt that without him and the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for me I would not be here in this place and at this moment typing this blog. God’s plan may seem unclear at times, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t with you. He is listening to your prayers. It's okay to vent, feel upset and frustrated at times. We all have to deal with things in our own way. But once you have vented...LET IT GO....give it to God...he will take it from you and carry you forward. I don't know how he does it, but he does and he wants to do it for us.

Mandisa is an amazing singer who was kind of enough to sell her newest CD that isn’t available in stores yet at this event. I just had to buy one as I knew I would LOVE it. I have been listening to it since Saturday evening and there is one song that I think might just some up what kind of encouragement we received during the event.

He’s With You

There’s a time to live
And a time to die
There’s a time to laugh
And a time to cry
There’s a time for war
And a time for peace
There’s a hand to hold
In the worst of these

He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can’t even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby’s gone
And your house is still,
and your heart’s a stone
Cryin’ God, what’d You do that for
He is with you

There’s a time for yes
And a time for no
There’s a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There’s a time to run
And a time to face it
There is love to see you
Through all of this
He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don’t know you anymore
He is with you in the ICU
When the doctors don’t know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you

We may weep for a time
But joy will come in the morning
The morning light

He is with you when your kids are grown
When there’s too much space
And you feel alone
And you’re worried if you
Got it right or wrong
Yes he is with you
When you’ve given up on ever finding
Your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left
And you take your final breath
He is with you.

May each of you today be reminded that you are not alone in whatever circumstances are taking place in your life. He is with you always.

If you have a moment...please lift up Shawndra Turner's family in your prayers. She passed away with her family by her side yesterday afternoon. I have followed her blog since she began it over 2 years ago and she fought a tremendous and courageous battle with cancer. She leaves behind her husband and 3 year old daughter.

Auntie D

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Rae Rae!!! You have won the cookbook!!! Out of a whopping 13 entries....thank you to all who participated..I threw all your names in the bowl and muscleman drew the winner this morning!

I will get the cookbook to you this Saturday!

Happy Monday all!

I will post more later about my weekend at Women of Faith! I can't wait to share with you all!

My favorite cookbook giveaway

Happy Friday the 13th~~

It's time for a giveaway! I wanted to giveaway something this time that was different than my normal handbags and thought and thought what would be best.

After a lot of pondering, I decided to giveaway the cookbook that I worked on for my family for Christmas. My mom, aunt and myself ordered extra copies and have been giving them out to some of our extended family members and friends and I thought that this was the perfect giveaway prize.

For those of you who are new to my blog, Welcome! I have had A LOT of hits on my blog the last few days. Thanks for visiting me from Kelly's Korner! I really appreciate it! And I also see that I have a couple of new followers which I am really excited about!

Let me tell you all a little bit about this cookbook. It is called Our Family Cookbook and it is all of my Grandma's recipe collections that she had saved over the years. This cookbook means a lot to my family and I as we miss our Grandma/Mom so much! She was an amazing homemaker who was always baking and cooking in the kitchen.

As my muscleman best put it, "all the ladies in your family are awesome at cooking and baking". And I know that we all inherited our trait from Grandma B.

So here it is...the prize. I hope that whoever wins will enjoy having a copy as much as the rest of us!

Each person can enter up to THREE times during the contest.

For one entry leave a comment letting me know the name of your favorite recipe and your email address/name. Please know that you do not have to have a google account in order to comment!

For a second entry, I invite you to become a follower of my website. If you are already a follower, you do not need to do anything. You will be entered. To follow click on the follow link on the lower right hand side of my blog page.

For a third entry, blog about my giveaway on your blog (make sure and tell me in your comment) and you will be entered a third chance!

The winner of the cookbook will be announced Monday, March 15th!

Good luck!!

Cable frustration

So last night when I got home, I knew we were having leftovers for dinner so I decided to catch up on the latest Biggest Loser episode that I dvr'd. I must say..I really enjoyed it! Did you see it??

After the show was over, I began to do some chores around the house and the cable FROZE on our tv. I tried rebooting, I tried unplugging, I tried it all and finally called the company. After an hour on the phone with them, they still did not know why our internet and cable were down. So we are having a technician out to our house later this afternoon to hopefully fix the problem!

No big deal though, as we finally finished painting our Master Bathroom!! Woo hoo!! Now the fun part of decorating!! Pink and Brown are going to be the colors. I can't wait to put it all together! Muscleman is touching up a few spots tonight and then on Sunday I hope to make it look beautiful!

I also took a couple of pictures to show you all what is happening right next to our house! The empty lot is gone...the hole is dug and the basement is in the beginning stages. This cul-de-sac sure has changed since last May!! We were one of three homes on the block and now there are four more that have been built in just a few months! I can't wait to find out who will be moving into them all!

Happy Thursday!!

Wishing it was warmer here! I think we are in need of a giveaway!! Let's add a little cheer to this cold weather!! So look out....one coming your way tomorrow morning!!