Nations Outfitters Giveaway

26 August 2010 by

I’m still completely carried away with the adorable, feminine and modest clothes from a company called Nations Outfitters. I did a giveaway for Nations this past spring, and your response was so incredible that they asked if we could do another giveaway with their new fall line.

Um, that would be a YES. I should also mention that I’m deeply in love with the shirt in the first picture. Not that you asked, of course.

Anyway, if you’d like to win a $100 gift certificate from Nations, just click on over. I think you’ll be glad you did!

Filed Under: Giveaways

New Plateaus Of Mediocrity

25 August 2010 by

I mentioned yesterday that I’m an English nerd. And it’s true. My favorite class in graduate school was called Transformational English Grammar, and every single day – for the entire class – we would put sentences on the board and diagram every single word. Sometimes we would put paragraphs on the board and diagram every single word. And for about two years after that class, I couldn’t read a single page in a book without silently labeling the parts of speech in my head (“article adjective noun adverb verb infinitive…” – you get the idea), and it didn’t even bother me. Because I love words. Words are my friends. Except when I’m playing Words With Friends. But that’s another story entirely.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that yesterday’s post was no doubt a disappointment to English nerds everywhere (or at least the six to eight English nerds who read here). I don’t know when I’ve ever been more off my game. I misspelled words. I attached the wrong links. I got my information wrong. I made corrections – and then the corrections weren’t correct. So basically what I did was to provide the internet with a blog post that any social media expert could use as an example of WHAT NOT TO DO.

See? It’s like it was a public service.

Anyway, to make up for my carelessness (not to mention my complete failure to proofread), I thought that the least I could do was to share a deeply moving video with you. And fortunately, sharing this video doesn’t require any sort of typing on my part. So there’s no way I can ruin it.

It really was a golden era, my friends. The choreography makes my heart sing, and OH MY WORD LOOK AT THEIR HAIR.

Please know that while you were watching, I was sitting here practicing my spelling.

Fare thee well.

Filed Under: The Interweb

Daily Linky Interwebby BIG TIME CATCH-UP

24 August 2010 by

I didn’t post many links this summer because, well, I just didn’t. I actually don’t have a single valid reason. However, as always, I’m happy to blame my lack of consistency on the heat. THE HEAT RUINS EVERYTHING.

But today there is a slight hint of fall in the air (a hint that will no doubt be obliterated by the BLAZING HOT SUN within the next few hours), and I’m feeling motivated to do a linky catch-up of sorts. No doubt your sense of ambivalence is PALPABLE.

Giddy up.

– Okay. So our pastor, David Platt, has written a book called Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, and I think it’s safe to say that God has used Radical to hit sort of a collective cultural nerve. And also, from a personal standpoint, to STEP ALL OVER MY TOES.

In a couple of weeks my bloggy friend Marla (edited to add: I just corrected ANOTHER mistake) :-) is hosting a Radical read-along. It’ll last for about nine weeks-ish, and all you need to participate is a copy of the book and a willingness to share what you’re learning.

I haven’t talked to anyone who’s walked away from this book unchanged. And if you really, really want to read it but just can’t afford it right now, let me know via email at boomama205@gmail.com. Just put “Radical Book” in the subject line.

– I loved Jon’s post about making horrible trades. And as an English nerd, I was sixty-four kinds of happy when I saw how he tied the post together at the end. So good.

– My new Kellogg’s $100 Visa gift card giveaway is up and running and waiting for your comments! (edited to add: comments are working now)

– If you’re a blogger, my friend Mary needs your help getting the word out about something – and you might make a little bit of extra money in the process. Here are the details.

– When I read this poem that Priscilla posted, I thought, “Oh. I am totally printing that out and putting it on my refrigerator.”

– For mindless entertainment, you can’t really beat MadMenYourself. Because whether you watch the show or not, you’ll enjoy sporting a kicky flip hairdo with your pointy eyeglasses.

– Ever thought about the pop culture divide between you and this year’s college freshmen? Take a look at the Beloit College Mindset List for the class of 2014. It made me feel old. REAL old. (via Throwing Things)

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

Kellogg’s Love Your Cereal – Post 3

24 August 2010 by

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kelloggs.

So I know it may be a little strange, but I’m sort of endlessly fascinated by cereals.

Seriously.

I LOVE THEM. I’ve even written blog posts about them before.

And while I’d like to think that my cereal tastes show how I’ve grown and matured as a person, I pretty much like all the same cereals that I did when I was a kid.

Frosted Flakes? Yes ma’am. Brings back fond memories of staying up until 10 o’clock to watch “Charlie’s Angels” re-runs on a station out of Chicago. Frosted Flakes was always my go-to late-night snack.

Frosted Mini-Wheats? Please and thank you. It was hands-down my favorite cereal for the mornings. Not too sweet – and when the milk starts to change the texture of the wheat wafers just a little bit so that they’re slightly mushy but not soggy? That’s what cereal-eating will be like in heaven.

Apple Jacks? Why, I believe I will. They always remind me of spending the night with my friend Laura and playing endless rounds of Trivial Pursuit with her parents. I really have no idea why I associate those things with each other; I can only assume that I chose cereal as my snack food during our games.

However, recently my loyalties have shifted to a new cereal that my little boy discovered earlier this summer. He saw it one day in the cereal aisle, asked if we could PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE add it to our breakfast rotation, and since I am always a proponent of refining our cereal-related palates, I agreed.

You may have noticed that we are very fancy in our house. Very fancy indeed.

What I could have never known, of course, is that while the little guy would try and like this cereal, I would try it and LOVE IT. Except that I’m not really that sure that “love” is a strong enough word.

Oh my goodness, people. This stuff is divine. It’s different from other cereals in the cinnamon-sugar vein because it’s actually much more cinnamon-y than sugar-y. For that reason, it’s not too sweet for the mornings, but more than anything else, it is PERFECT for dessert. And as I’ve said before, if you are not familiar with the cereal-as-dessert-option, then clearly I have overshared. I do apologize.

So what about you? What are your favorite Kellogg’s breakfast cereals? Or do you have a favorite from when you were younger? Leave a comment with your answer, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card (and come back next week to enter again – because these giveaways will continue for the next 9 weeks).

And be sure to visit the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page – you have 24 other chances to win $100 every single week that this program is running!

Mom’s Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids’ cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.

This giveaway is now closed.

Filed Under: BlogHer Reviews

Don’t Forget About The Fabulous Prizes

23 August 2010 by

1) The Laughing Cow giveaway #2 is still going strong. Chime in with a funny cooking story, and you could win a $150 Visa gift card.

2) Today is the last day to enter the second Kellogg’s Love Your Cereal giveaway (with a $100 Visa gift card prize). I’ll post a new Kellogg’s giveaway tomorrow (another $100 Visa gift card).

3) The McDonald’s Family Time giveaway ends tomorrow.

4) The Smuckers Kidvitations giveaway also ends tomorrow ($200 Visa gift card).

5) It doesn’t end tomorrow, but you don’t want to miss your chance to enter the Juicy Juice giveaway ($100 Visa gift card).

Hope y’all are having a great Monday!

Filed Under: Giveaways

It Was, Quite Simply, A Revelation

22 August 2010 by

About a month ago a new restaurant opened here in Birmingham.

Yes, Texans. I just heard you squeal.

And listen. We couldn’t wait to try the Chuy’s. I feel like I’ve heard people talking about the Chuy-liciousness (GET IT?) for a sweet forever, and I originally had every intention of being there opening weekend and knocking on the door until they let me in and agreed to pour cheese dip into a glass so that I could drink it through a straw.

But things have been a little cuckoo around here with our various and sundry end-of-summer funtime activities, and our inaugural trip to Chuy’s kept getting pushed farther down the list. But this past Friday night we agreed that Chuy’s was a must-do for Saturday lunch, and then we held a solemn candlelight ceremony so that we could affirm our love for homemade tortillas and really good pico de gallo.

Or maybe we just fell asleep watching TV. Regardless, it was a terribly exciting evening.

So Saturday morning we pulled into a parking spot at Chuy’s at 10:55 IN THE A.M. because we wanted to beat the crowd. And it’s a good thing that we did, because I’ll have you know that by 11:20 that place was packed.

I’ll also have you know that by 11:20, we were in the midst of a serious Tex-Mex blessing.

Because oh my goodness. The salsa. And the jalapeno ranch. And the deluxe tomatillo sauce. And the everything. It was just. divine. And the little man was so fascinated by the tortilla-making that was going on next to our table that the sweet ladies behind the counter gave him his own little piece of tortilla dough.

Sorry for the glare. But I wanted to capture the fact that the tortilla dough seemed to make him thoughtful. Analytical. Consumed by tortilla-related possibilities.

We had a great lunch, and I’m sure we’ll go back an embarrassing number of times. Because in addition to the food being great, there are two other decided benefits to Chuy’s: 1) it’s next door to Charming Charlie, and 2) OH MY WORD THE VIEW.

I’m actually considering moving to Chuy’s patio this fall. Just so I can sit there all day long and look at the pretty leaves.

Welcome to Birmingham, Chuy’s.

We’re mighty glad you’re here.

Filed Under: Family Fun
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