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Fact or Fiction?
**Please note: This giveaway is now closed to new entries.
Another giveaway. Can you stand it? Are you sick of free stuff yet? Can you ever be sick of free stuff?
I was debating about whether or not to do this, but after reading this wonderful news I decided that I needed to do something to celebrate. You will need to do two things to be eligible to win.
(You know my giveaways can never be easy. I always make you work for your entry and I can already hear you cussing me out under your breath. At least I’m giving you fair warning.)
- First, I thought it would be fun to play a little game of Fact or Fiction. Below you will find 10 statements that may or may not describe me. All of them are lies except for one. It is your job to try to figure out which one is the truth.
- In addition to giving your answer to the game, please leave me the title of the best book you’ve ever read (Fiction or Non-Fiction). I’m always looking for some good recommendations so I thought why not ask you all for some good picks.
I will do a random drawing and if the person is correct with their guesses to the game, they will win the prize.
Oh, did I forget to mention the prize? I guess that is kind of an important little piece of information.
It is a $10 gift card from Barnes and Nobles.
Here is an example of what your comment should look like:
I think #1 is true. (This is not necessarily the right answer, just an example.)
The Lovely Bones is my favorite book.
This contest will be open until Monday, August 4th at 10pm EST. You do not need a blog to enter, but I am disqualifying all of my family and real-life friends from this contest. You all know me too well, so it won’t be fair. Sorry.
FACT OR FICTION?
1. One of my favorite fruits is the cantaloupe and one of my least favorites is the pear.
2. My favorite show is General Hospital. I tivo it and watch it almost every night before going to bed.
3. If I was given the choice to live in the middle of the city or the middle of the country, I would choose the country.
4. My least favorite household chore is unloading the dishwasher.
5. If I were to win the lottery, the first place I would go would be England.
6. I had open heart surgery as a child.
7. I have seen every Ryan Gosling movie ever made.
8. I got pregnant with my son on a trip to Vegas.
9. Jack Johnson is my favorite singer.
10. I wake up everyday around 6:30am. Mornings are my favorite time of the day.
Remember there is only 1 true statement in the bunch. If you think you know what it is, leave me a comment with the number and also the title of the best book you’ve ever read (Fiction or Non-Fiction). Come back next Monday night to find out the truth and who our winner is. Good luck!
Click here to get back to Bloggy Giveaways.
Rachel and Ryan Together Again??!!!
Did you hear the news?!! It is big huge MONUMENTAL news!!
For the first time in almost a year and a half, Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling have been photographed together!!!!!!!!!! They were trying to be all sneaky by going out the back door of the Green Door Lounge in LA last night when the pesky paparazzi caught them.
Let’s all jump up and down and rejoice together!
I know this picture really doesn’t mean that they are back together. Sure, Rachel could have just been there as a friend going to support her ex as he made his debut as a DJ (This is peculiar news alone, but I have no time to worry about minor plot details like this. Ryan likes playing with music. That’s nice, but we have bigger fish to fry here people.)
Anyway, a normal person wouldn’t jump to conclusions. A normal person wouldn’t think that there was a secret wedding being planned. A normal person wouldn’t look at the way Rachel is holding her purse over her belly and think that maybe she is trying to conceal a baby bump. No, normal people don’t have these thoughts.
I am choosing not to be normal. I’m choosing to believe in true love and happily ever after. I’m choosing to believe that this is just the beginning of many more good things to come. Who’s with me?!!
Note: This is not a recent picture, but just one of my old favorites of the two of them back when all was right with the world.
Photo Credits: Ryan Gosling Online
Disney Giveaway
**Please note: This giveaway is now closed to new entries.
I’m feeling extra generous today, so I am going to offer another giveaway. This one has two purposes.
1. I am a comment junkie and love to hear from my readers (Did you see the cute little sunflower I just added to try to encourage more comments?)
2. I like to talk about myself.
When I’m not giving my kids reasons they will need therapy and stalking Ryan Gosling online, I am a professional travel planner.
I have been doing this for over 2 years and I absolutely LOVE it.
While I have experience with planning honeymoons, all-inclusive getaways, cruises and more, I spend most of my time helping families with their vacation plans. My specialty and absolute first love is Walt Disney World.
(The photo below is of me receiving my diploma at the Disney College of Knowledge Graduation Ceremony in January of this past year. Can you tell how excited I am?!)
It is such a great job because planning vacations is almost as much fun as taking them. I can help my clients with choosing their hotel, activities, dining reservations and itinerary. It is like I am vicariously planning my own vacation and it doesn’t get much better than that!! Plus, I get to stay home with my kids which is an added bonus.
Most of my travel clients are local and I try to provide them with the absolute highest level of service. I’ll meet with them to give them tips and tricks to make sure that their vacation will be one they remember forever.
I guess that is why I’m still a little leery of marketing my business online to strangers (although many of you I now consider new friends). I’m not sure how this personalized service that I am used to giving would translate to the internet, but I guess I can figure that out as I go along.
This is my passion (behind my family, friends and Ryan Gosling, of course).
If you are in the market for a vacation or think you may be in the next couple of years, please consider bookmarking my website and utilizing my services. The best part is that it is totally FREE to work with a travel agent. I charge no fees because I am paid directly from the supplier (Disney, Apple, Carnival, etc…)
What on earth does all of this have to do with a giveaway? Well, I have decided to offer an amazing prize to you today.
A $50 Disney gift card
I use the word amazing because to me anything related to Disney is amazing, but I’m biased since they pay me. This really is a pretty cool card because you have your choice of so many places to use it–the Disney Store at the mall, the Disney theme parks, the Disney cruiseline and Disney Shopping online.
Here is what you need to do to enter to win:
1. Leave me a comment telling me your favorite ride or other attraction at Disney World or why you love the place as much as me (if you have never been to Disney World, just leave me a comment telling me your favorite Disney character).
2. For a second chance at winning, leave me a comment letting me know that you would like to be signed up for my travel newsletter. Please only ask to be signed up if you are interested in receiving occasional special offer emails. I send them out usually about once a month, but absolutely no more than once a week. ****Please leave me another comment letting me know so you will be entered a second time.
3. For those of you with a blog, you can earn another entry by posting about this contest on your blog. Just make sure you leave me another comment with a link to your post so I know that did this and you will be entered again.
This contest is open to anyone (non-bloggers too) and the last entry must be received no later than Monday, August 4th at 10pm EST. I will pick only one winner for the gift card.
Good luck!
Project ADD and a Contest
Edited to add: This contest is now closed to new entries. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.
Do you remember the bathroom redo project that I blogged about a few weeks ago. Well, I didn’t get too far with it.
I searched high and low (that means the big 3–Target, Linens n Things, and Bed, Bath and Beyond plus some other random stores) for a shower curtain and just couldn’t find anything that I loved. I know that I shouldn’t be this picky but I just wanted to see something that I instantly knew that I couldn’t live another day until it was hanging in my bathroom.
My husband says I’m crazy when it comes to stuff like this. “It’s just a shower curtain,” he says. But really, is it? I mean we have to look at it numerous times a day. That is our main bathroom. Shouldn’t it be something that brightens our mood a little every time we see it or is this an unrealistic expectation for a shower curtain?
I’ve found a few that I know I don’t want:
While cute, I really don’t want a panda looking at me when I pee. The same goes for penguins, polar bears and sea creatures.
Here’s where the contest comes in. I’m looking for a personal shopper to hunt the internet for a shower curtain that you think will be “the one”. I know this isn’t the standard easy “just leave a comment” giveaway, but I am desperate here. My kids are so sick of looking at shower curtains and I’m sick of them too.
If I end up choosing your pick, you will get a $10 Starbuck’s Gift Card. Contest open until Thursday, July 31st at 4pm EST.
Edited to add: If there are duplicate links I will pick the person who left the comment first.
You do not have to be a blogger to enter this contest but you do need to leave me a comment with a link if you want to enter.
Just to give you an idea of what you are working with, here is a picture of the current bathroom: (I’m totally over the purple and green and floral look):
I was originally trying to find something beachy and maybe in the blue/brown family, but at this point I’m open to anything. I’m willing to paint the wall above the wainscoting.
Please don’t send me anything with shells or dolphins or lighthouses. I’m looking for understated beachy, and not something that screams, “Look at me. I love the beach.”
Moving right along…so I have this problem. I get easily sidetracked when it comes to home problems. A perfect example is the bathroom. I was totally gung-ho about it until one day I wasn’t. Then I decided that it was time to buy new living room furniture.
I mean, do I really need to remind you of the sad state of affairs in this room? For those that missed that post, let me introduce you to the most pathetic chair in the history of chairs:
The furniture is 11 years old and as you can see trying to make it new again by putting a slipcover on it just ended up being more of a disaster.
I optimistically trudged (Is it actually possible to trudge optimistically?) off to the stores to look for some new living room furniture. It only had to meet a few qualifications. It had to be durable (for the monkeys children that would be climbing all over it), hide stains (again, because of the monkeys children) and brighten our day when we see it (I’m big on my household items brightening our day if you haven’t noticed).
Most importantly, it could not cost a small fortune.
Well, let me just tell you that there are no sofas in the whole state of Maryland the world the universe that fit this description. I should have known that if I was unable to decide on a $40 shower curtain that picking out furniture was going to be 5 billion times harder.
After a few weeks of shopping, I have pretty much given up all hope of finding anything and this project has now gone by the wayside.
Are you noticing a pattern?
The living room redo project has now been replaced with ”Backyard Landscape ’08″. I’ve spent hours looking at garden websites, books, etc. We have drawn up plans (and by plans I mean ridiculous, not to scale pictures of how we want it to look).
We have driven all over town looking at stones, mulch, plants, fountains, lights and whatever else you could possibly think of that could fit in our tiny yard.
Then we did the unthinkable. We had a truckload of pea gravel delivered to our house. It sits in our driveway taunting us to actually finish the project.
“Get your shovel. Move me. I’m here. You need to put me somewhere,” I hear the pea gravel whispering when I go out to get the mail.
This is my project for today. There will be wheelbarrows, shovels and lots of sweat involved.
Please cheer me on so that I can for once see something through to the end. Please tell me I’m not the only one who is a little ADD when it comes to home projects.
I’ll post some before and after shots when we finish. We will finish.
In the meantime, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom to check out what other bloggers are working on today.
Make a Difference Monday
Before I start my Make a Difference Monday post (go here to read more about this) I want to take just a quick minute to answer a few questions that have been asked about this feature.
My husband asks:
Aren’t you afraid of sounding preachy and condescending? People don’t come to your blog for a sermon.
Yes, I am a little worried about this, but I assure you that I am in no way trying to come off this way. I only talk like that to my husband (probably why he asked the question). The other thing that I don’t want is for this to be political, religious or controversial in any way. My hope is that it is just a fun way to share ideas about making a difference in the world.
Marie says:
I have to admit that when I go blog shopping, I’m turned off by the serious make-a-difference ones. I like your blog BECAUSE of the Gosling stuff, and I’m not even a fan of the guy. I guess I enjoy PerezHilton for the same reason, because it’s NOT news or anything important.
Not a fan of Ryan Gosling!! That’s just crazy talk. Anyway, I totally know what you mean. This kind of goes along with my husband’s question. I think it is funny that you bring up Perez because I can’t stand his “A Good Cause” posts. I think it is because the guy can go from drawing gross things all over celebrity faces and then try to be all innocent. I’ve never drawn things on my pictures (Although I would have liked to on Ryan’s girlfriend, but I have some decency. It may also have something to do with the fact that I don’t have Photoshop, but I’m going with the decency thing.)
Amy asks:
Will you be doing this every Monday?
I’m not sure. I would like to do this weekly but I will have to just wait and see how many people are interested in participating.
Jen asks:
Where’s the cute little banner for us to grab to put on our blog?
That is such a good question, Jen. I would love to have a cute banner for this. If there are any Photoshop Fairy Godmothers out there who would like to wave their magic wand and create one for me I would be forever grateful.
Until then, just link back to me if you decide to participate. Thanks!
Let’s get started. Sign the Mister Linky here if you wrote up a post on your blog:
Making Leo Proud
A few weeks ago I brought in the mail and sat it on the table to be sorted and filed ignored until I felt like dealing with it later. I really didn’t pay much attention to it, but I happened to glance at one of the envelopes and the return address.
Of course I tore it open like a maniac (I think there was squealing and jumping up and down, but I can’t say for sure). I guess I was expecting to find something unbelievably great like an invitation to a movie premiere or an opportunity to interview him for my blog.
Sadly, it was just a very depressing letter about the fate of the polar bears. According to Leo, they are in big trouble because the polar ice caps are melting due to global warming.
So now, not only was I disappointed for not receiving a real letter from Leo, I was also depressed about the polar bears.
We’ve been trying to do our part to help the environment. There is no doubt in my mind that we could be doing more, but I have to say that we are trying.
Here are a couple of things we did this week to make a difference:
I bought this new Eco line of dish detergent from Palmolive that is phosphate free. Now, I’m not sure if this will help polar bears but it will supposedly help to keep the ponds, streams, lakes and rivers around me less polluted.
Another similar purchase was this Arm & Hammer Essentials laundry detergent. It is made with 100% naturally derived surfactants, biodegradable plant-based soaps, and is free of dyes, phosphates, bleaches and petroleum-based cleaners. It comes in a smaller bottle, so it produces less waste.
The great thing about both of these products is that they are very affordable. I’ve seen other eco-friendly lines that I would love to buy, but with me not working we are on a VERY strict budget. I have to cut corners where I can and sometimes that means just buying the cheapest brand and whatever I have a coupon for at the time.
I’ve used both and I’m happy to report that they do work!
Lastly, I repurchased the Brita fridge water dispenser. I say repurchased because we owned one when we first got married but sold it at a yard sale because we weren’t using it very often. We started drinking bottled water. Even though we recycled, they are still using lots of energy and making pollution to make the bottles (not good for the polar bears, I’m sure). Since I’m no longer drinking my Coke Zero (I slipped off the wagon this weekend and had two, sshhh.) and drinking more water, I thought we could do our part to reduce this extra waste. It is also better for our wallet because even though you have to replace the filter, it is much less expensive than constantly buying the bottles.
I know it isn’t much but it feels good to do a little something. Hopefully this will make Leo proud and maybe just maybe, the next letter that I get from him will be something really spectacular.
In the meantime, if you feel compelled to help the polar bears click here.
Creating Balance
This post is brought to you by the Libra in me wanting to create a little balance on my blog.
(Note: I went looking for pictures of the Libra scale and I saw this one and couldn’t resist. That is not me pictured left. If it were me, I wouldn’t need a chicken cutlet bra, now would I? I’m not a big fan of tattoos but I’m even a tad bit impressed by this one.)
Anyway, back to the balance thing. (Stop looking at her boobs!) When I originally started my blog, I really had every intention of writing about things that would be meaningful, relevant and inspiring to other people.
It seems I have gone far away from my original goal and am blabbing on and on about him:
(He looks mad at me. Doesn’t he look sexy when he’s mad? Oops, I’m doing it again. It’s a disease.)
Not that there’s anything wrong with talking about him, but I think Ryan is best in moderation. Since my Gos Stalking has gotten completely out of hand and I feel that I need to do something to redeem myself I am going to start a new feature on my blog called:
Make a Difference Monday
I interrupt this post with a song from John Mayer about trying to make changes in the world. I thought it would make good mood music for the rest of this post. So push play and then keep reading.
Make a Difference Monday is going to be a place for me to talk about the things I’m doing in my life or plan to do this week to make the world a better place. Or just the causes that I feel are worth talking about.
I just feel like it is the small steps that we take that can make a big difference and if even one person reads a post and gets inspired to take action then I will have felt like I am doing my part.
As Gandhi says,
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
(Isn’t that a great quote? Why can’t I come up with clever little phrases like this? Probably because I eat too much junk food.)
I’m pretty lazy so it really will be small steps. I doubt I will be holding any rallies for world peace or anything like that, but I do hope to cover a wide variety of topics and ideas on how we can be the change.
I would also love to hear what you are doing in your own life (remember we’re talking about little things). I know if we put our heads together we will inspire each other.
Many of us are busy with the most important job in the world, raising the future (our children, in case you didn’t get that Whitney reference). Parenting is our calling, our mission, our life’s purpose. That is why I’m totally fine with that being one of the topics of discussion. Also, if you can get your kids involved in some sort of cause, that is double points (not that there will be points).
If you are interested in joining me but aren’t sure where to begin, I suggest taking a look at the Every Monday Matters website. They have 52 weeks of great ideas. Their vision is to create a collective action of ordinary people - a national movement - making a difference that benefits our society.
I can get behind that. How about you? Are you in?
Plus this will give me the opportunity to put a Linky on my site. Ever since I successfully figured out how to put a Mister Linky on my blog (and let me tell you that it was no small feat) I have been dying to wield my Linky powers.
I know I have the Movie Madness Carnival coming up on August 5th, but that just seems like forever away when I have the power of the Linky at my fingertips right HERE, right NOW!!
I hope you’ll join in. If so, leave me a comment and let me know. I’ll only put the Linky up if I get at least a few responses. There’s nothing more sad to me than a lonely Linky. Ok, so starving children in Africa is way more sad, but you know what I mean.
So let me know if you will join me on Monday. Then get your post ready and come back here to link up. Ryan and I will be waiting.
A Glimmer of Hope
There is an interesting twist in the Ryan Gosling and his mysterious new girlfriend story . Are you ready for this?
SHE’S MARRIED!!!!
According to the (insert sarcastic tone here) very reputable Star Magazine, her name is Angel Picard-Ami, and she was an extra on his upcoming drama, All Good Things.
When Star contacted the 23-year-old, she insisted the two were just friends. “He’s an amazing person, but he’s not my boyfriend. I’m married.”
Um, how many of you walk down the street holding hands with your guy friends? Did she need help crossing the street? Was he worried that he would get lost? I don’t know about you, but I’m not buying it.
Well, at least there is one positive thing to come out of this very bizarre story. I now know that Ryan will hold hands with a married woman.
Now that’s what I call progress. I will sleep better tonight knowing that I still have a chance with him.
Friday Eye Candy: Amy’s Picks
Happy Friday! This week’s list comes from Amy of My Friend Amy. Her list has a theme…men from across the pond.
She says, “It’s those darn sexy Irish/Scottish/English accents….sigh. With the one and only exception of my true love forever Brad Pitt.”
She also thanked me for hosting our lists because she has quite a few heterosexual male readers that she didn’t want to scare off forever.
Speaking of heterosexual male readers, I received a request to post a list from Blake. I’m thinking that, in all fairness, I need to put his list (of women) up in a few weeks. What do you think? Will that ruin Friday Eye Candy forever or can you appreciate the beauty of the female form?
I always thought that my husband would be the first guy’s list to go up, but since he doesn’t show any interest in reading my blog I figure why bother. His loss. Our gain. :)
I actually showed him the dream date post and he had me laughing hysterically because he asked me if I had fun playing with my Colorforms (do you remember those??). So, in case you are wondering, he couldn’t care less about Friday Eye Candy and my obsession with The Gos. If he did, I would never post this stuff.
Enjoy Amy’s List and leave a comment here to tell her who’s your favorite guy on her list. Then go over to her blog to say hi. She has all sorts of fun things going on from the Lost Book Challenge to lots of great giveaways. (I just won a book–hooray!!)
Ok, enough talk… bring on the guys:
Brad Pitt
Jude Law
Alex O’Loughlin
Stuart Townsend
Naveen Andrews
Ed Westwick
I think I’m booked through August for Friday Eye Candy, but if you would like to see your list go up sometime in the fall, email me at dailymishmash (at) gmail (dot) com. I love to see who you all choose!
Dream Date
I’d like to thank Jen for introducing me to the wonderful world of Polyvore. This is a website where you can put together outfits complete with all the matching accessories. (My friend Kate will LOVE this!!)
When I first started playing around with it, I made up a few outfits and then got bored with that. So, the logical next step was to begin to fantasize about what I might wear on a date with Ryan Gosling.
Well, don’t even really bother looking at the outfit because I lost interest in that real quick (Clothes are not my thing at all. Do you believe that skirt retails for almost $1800!!! CRAZY!!). So, I began adding other “elements” to my scene.
Here is how I see our date unfolding:
He picks me up and takes me back to his place in NYC. Of course there are flowers waiting for me. He cooks me dinner and it is the most delicious meal that I have ever eaten in my entire life. Naturally, there is lots of wine and chocolate. After dinner he reads some poetry to me and then we go up to his rooftop loft (remember it is NYC) where we dance the night away. Yes, it starts raining. So, of course there is lots of kissing. In the rain. On the roof. And that is where I will leave this fantasy.
So, I’m tagging anyone else who would like to play along. How would your dream date go? What would you wear? Where would you go? What would you do? Go over to Polyvore and make up a fantasy of your own. Have fun, but don’t include Ryan because he’s mine all mine (trying hard to forget about his new girlfriend). Don’t forget to come back here to let me know if you played along.
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The Challenge
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Credits
