BACK TO A HOLIDAY BLOG

This blog will be going back to a HOLIDAY BLOG THIS WEEK.  I am going to have some GREAT GIVEAWAYS, SOME GUEST BLOGGERS, and hopefully ENCOURAGE FALL to ARRIVE. My tree schedule is just about FULL.  I am sorting ornaments, organizing ribbon, and trying to get MYSELF into the mood to START WORKING.  Maybe this week I will bring out the Christmas music and hope that  HELPS. 
I have had several bloggers that have said they would like to do a holiday post.  If you would like to, email me at annah99@aol.com.  Look for an ORNAMENT GIVEAWAY soon...

WINNERS and MAYBE a SMILE

There was so much sadness on my MAIN BLOG this past week, that I decided to post all the winners from both blogs here. I could not bring myself to celebrate on a week that so many of my friends are hurting. Last night we went out to dinner with Micah, Amanda and Jack and then came home to a night of cards. Jack decided he was coming home with Grammy and Pop to spend the night...Parker is in Dallas at a Rangers game...so he had Parkers room all to himself and LOVED IT. He slept 11 hours on PARKER BIG BED and was SO PROUD of himself. Thought I would show you how I found Jack dressed this morning. This was how he dressed himself. And to top off his outfit he put on BRIGHT GREEN FROG RAIN BOOTS....on the wrong feet. He would NOT let me get a picture of them...but TRUST ME, THEY DID NOT MATCH!

Early this morning my phone went off and I dreaded to look at it....a text telling me Will had just passed away. You can read his story on Grammy Girlfriend. This has been a day filled with sadness and heart break for so many our friends. Please remember the Mathews family in your prayers.

Here are the WINNERS of the CELEBRATION PRIZES from last week. A Box filled with goodies goes to Pam at THE PONDERING PRINCESS
The CUPCAKE book goes to PARTIAL EMPTYNESTER The BETH MOORE book goes to LISA at LETTERS TO MY GRANDBABY

IN A HEART BEAT and ROBIN MCGRAWS BOOK GO TO FLIP FLOPS and PEARLS

The SALAD COOKBOOK goes to Tanya at THE SWEET SEASONS..THE CHURCH SUPPERS COOKBOOK goes to LEA at

CICI'S CORNER! I think we drew for everything.....I need all winners to send their information and I will get your prizes shipped to you...

NEXT WEEK I AM GOING TO GIVE AWAY SOME NEW CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS, so STOP BY!

GIFTS, GIFTS and MORE GIFTS

I love Carissa's Miscellany Mondays, as RANDOM is my middle NAME. She just makes it easy for me to be RANDOM. Plus I find the greatest post on this HOP every Monday...and I am warning you this is going to be ULTRA RANDOM! You can comment on both blogs and on Sunday, PARKER will draw. We will combine all the comments from each of the two posts, if that makes any sense....Takes NOTHING more than a COMMENT...no jumping through hoops, no blogging about it, no telling 100 friends, just say HI!

I looked at my dashboard this morning thinking I was getting ready to write a post about date night with Jack (AKA Woody) and realized that on my two blogs I had 275 posts and over 1150 followers in just 16 months. I know to many of you that is not a lot, but to this girl that thought one post would be the end, it seems like a MILLION. I thought about waiting until I reached the 300th post, but I will be so busy getting ready for the tree season, that I decided I would show my thanks NOW to all of you who have befriended me in the blog world. So on both blogs for the next few days I think we NEED to CELEBRATE..as in give a FEW THINGS AWAY. I am already drawing for a copy of IN A HEARTBEAT! I am adding to that some more prizes on EACH BLOG...so you will have to check both out. This post will stay up all week (because I have to start working on getting Christmas out of storage and staying away from the computer so much)! On SUNDAY NIGHT, PARKER will draw for all the prizes....So you have two chances to win Leigh Ann and Sean's book In A HEARTBEAT! (Are you getting that I LOVE this book? I think this is the 8th copy I have given away.) I love Robin McGraw,so I am including her book, What's Age Got To Do With It? . Then there are two new cookbooks, 500 SALADS and The Gooseberry Patch CHURCH SUPPERS COOKBOOK. It only takes a comment...and you can comment on both blogs...Just a little token to say thanks for reading ME.

There will be a few different giveaways on this blog, but I will combine the comments on the posts on each blog and draw for all the goodies together....if that makes sense...FRIDAY is the DAY!

AFTER this post I will start putting CHRISTMAS back in and this blog will go back to a REAL HOLIDAY BLOG. I will be going back to market in September and October and believe it or NOT, we are starting houses in LATE OCTOBER. I have some GUEST POSTERS, some NEW ornaments to show you, some new wreath ideas that you can make, and on and on. My number one elf, Terri at Ninnys Notes, is going on a cruise..(yes that would be 10 days at Disney and a Cruise all within a few months) but MAN does she deserve it. She is a NINNY (grandmother) in every sense of the WORD!

For a few more random thoughts...if you do not read NIENIE DAIALOGUES, you should. What a beautiful HEART, what an amazing STORY.. I have read her for years and never grow tired of her journey. Another rather new friend in the blog world is CATHY at THE STYLISH HOUSE. PLEASE put her girl, Heather's name or picture on your fridge or in your BIBLE to remember to pray for her everyday. I have a girl just about her age and my heart breaks for this family as they bravely approach her liver transplant. If you would like to send her a card of encouragement, email me at annah99@aol.com and I will get you an address. YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT SNAIL MAIL. And don't miss this post.. KINDRED SPIRITS...Enough said on that subject. A few other prizes that are not on the other blog are this new CUPCAKE COOKBOOK!

AND THIS PRETTY BOX WILL HAVE SOME SURPRISES IN IT...THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST GIVEAWAY of ALL of THEM. NOW, on to my DATE last night with Jack AKA WOODY. It was so much fun that I am thinking of going out with him again. I am just hoping that he will ask me. We mostly played Woody, Buzz, Jessy, you get the picture. Jack does all the talking and the only RULE is I AM NOT TO TOUCH WOODY. WOODY BELONGS to JACK ! PERIOD...no sharing..no need to ask! WOODY had to sit in TIME OUT several times and I have no idea what he did wrong. One time I think he lost his hat. One time his head turned to the back and JACK HATES that. And we did go TO INFINITY and EOND (that's beyond, you say it with a long E and you say it really loud) about 100 times! He did come to me about 11 last night and said, "MAMMY (still working on the GR)I WITE" I ask where and he opened his little fist and he had autographed his hand with a blue marker. I asked where the marker was and he went straight to the ottoman, got on his knees and pulled it out from under it. He had hidden his pen for later use. A BOY never knows when he will need to sign something.

Though this is not a great picture from Amanda's phone, this was DATE NIGHT for Jack's Mom and DAD. I think they LIKE each other.There are more pictures of our date on GRAMMY GIRLFRIEND! Plus more prizes...so check them out. All the prizes will go into one drawing and I REALLY WANT YOU TO WIN ONE ! Have a GREAT WEEK.

ONE RANDOM PS...and this is JUST A QUESTION...I am one of THOSE who has been DETERMINED to stay away from taking HORMONES. About two years ago I had about 3 months of HOT FLASHES and they just disappeared.. Thought I had the easiest menopause EVER. WRONG! Still had a few symptoms....but the HOT FLASHES were what I could not deal with. I am hot natured anyway but this was the REAL DEAL. Guess what? They are BACK..out of the blue..for the last 2 months. I may have to RECONSIDER the HORMONES..but BEFORE I DO, if you have any natural remedies, any views on bio identical hormones, pros and cons of your experience on the subject. Maybe there is someone else out there that would benefit from your answers and I know this ONE would love to get some answers. If you ask five doctors you get five different answers and to me that is FRUSTRATING!

TWO WINNERS

We are out of town on our annual mini vacation with Parker.....always right before school starts...Just a few days of anything Parker wants, anything Parker wants to do and anything Parker wants to EAT. Tonight that means renting movies at a NICE hotel and room service... after a swim. His life is ROUGH.

I have no clue where the summer went. Tomorrow a few hours at market..then to check out some GAME STOPS. He loves it that Dallas is the headquarters for GS. He brought some of his old games to trade in and I think he is pretty sure what that does not cover, he knows someone that will.
Then off to see some movies at the theater along with a stop at the Cheesecake Factory (his favorite)! We also have a special ritual going to CENTRAL MARKET and WHOLE FOODS and maybe SPRINKLES. This is only funny because we are not even the real healthy kind of eaters....Going to those two stores is not grocery shopping, its an EXPERIENCE. We love seeing what other people have in their carts. We are nosey like that. I wish I could bottle these special times with him. At eleven and a tween, it is not going to be cool to travel with Grammy and Pop many more years.

He just drew for the two BOOK WINNERS. He IS my OFFICIAL BLOG assistant.

The first BUNCH goes to LISA at KSSNNIKKEL

The second BUNCH goes to Georgie at Decisionally Challenged

Check out GRAMMY GIRLFRIEND to see the WINNER of IN A HEARTBEAT!

Hopefully I will be showing you some Christmas previews in the next week or so, plus I am going to have some guest posters. If you LOVE CHRISTMAS and would like to do a post and showcase your blog, leave me a note in the comments.