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Autumn

Today was one of those days that started dreary and cloudy, then as the day progressed it cleared up just enough for the sun to peek through the clouds.

My boys found a pallet and began taking it apart in order to make something new. My girls played in the woods behind our house, running through the leaves and enjoying the cooler air. My oldest daughter asked to borrow my camera, because it was just a perfect day to take pictures.

I think someone might want to borrow the camera more often.

For more Autumn photos visit You Capture, hosted each week by I Should be Folding Laundry.

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Fabulous Five Days of Giveaways ~ The Winners’ Circle

The winner of my Goldilocks Crocs:

Here are your random numbers:

7

Timestamp: 2009-10-13 18:33:12 UTC

Molly!

The winner of the Cake Decorating DVD from Teaching Good Things:

Here are your random numbers:

33

Timestamp: 2009-10-13 18:36:24 UTC

Tabitha!

The winners of the coupons are:

Here are your random numbers:

173	50	93

Timestamp: 2009-10-13 18:40:08 UTC

Christy

Betty

Leslie

The winner of the free will from LegalZoom:

Here are your random numbers:

103

Timestamp: 2009-10-13 18:46:11 UTC

Erin!

The winners of the book Real Moms Real Jesus:

Here are your random numbers:

58	40	104

Timestamp: 2009-10-13 18:52:40 UTC

Ashley

Julie

Tina

by admin -

Fall

Growing up in Florida, fall consisted of the two days you needed to wear your jacket to the bus stop. Now that I live further north I love fall.

Crisp mornings, long sleeve shirts, roasting marshmallows by the fire, changing leaves and cheap apples. It is nice when your favorite fruit is in season :).

What is your favorite thing about fall?

This post is linking to Things I Love Thursday. This weeks You Capture challenge is Red.

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Lose-A-Palooza ~ Help the Fight Against Hunger

Lose_A_Palooza_Logo

Today you have a chance to make a difference, and all you need to do is tweet, sign on Facebook, or write a blog post!

Weight Watchers is donating $1 Million Dollars to help fight hunger. The donation will be split between Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger.  Last year, the campaign impacted more than 250,000 children and families domestically and actually represented the difference between life and death for more than 6,000 malnourished children abroad.

You have the opportunity to increase the donation by $25,000!

Lose-A-Palooza is a one-day online social networking event taking place on September 15, 2009 to help raise awareness for the Lose For Good™ campaign! For every accepted mention or acknowledgment of “Lose For Good” made on September 15 via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, Weight Watchers will make an additional donation – up to $25,000* – for just one day of social media activity.  This donation is on top of the $1 million Weight Watchers is hoping to donate to Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger as part of the 2009 Lose For Good campaign!

Here is how you can help:

Twitter

  • Tweet #LoseForGood: Share how you are supporting the good with all your Twitter followers. Tweet about the way you’re helping the fight against hunger and be sure to include #LoseForGood.
  • Multiply the good: Follow @sharestrength or @acfusa to fill your Twitter stream with good, and then retweet.
  • That’s right, each #LoseForGood Tweet and follow to @sharestrength and @acfusa on September 15 provides $1!

Facebook

  • Become a fan of the NEW and official Weight Watchers page! And don’t forget our Weight Watchers Supermarket Foods page.
  • If you’re already a fan, just post a “Lose For Good” related comment OR “Like” the updates that we’ll post throughout the day.
  • Become a fan of our awesome charitable partners – Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger!
  • It’s that easy. Join fan pages, comment on our statuses and walls, or simply ‘Like’ updates to our fan pages and you’ll
    be participating in Lose-a-Palooza and helping fight hunger!

Blog It

  • Write a blog post about Lose For Good, including the phrase “Lose For Good” and encourage your readers to get involved by visiting www.LoseForGood.com.
  • Comment on a blog post about Lose For Good! Be sure to have your friends show their support by commenting on your post –
    every comment relating to “Lose For Good” helps Weight Watchers donate $1!
  • In our new Weight Watchers Community, write a blog post about Lose for Good and we’ll make a contribution to the
    fight against hunger.  Remember to use the words “Lose for Good!”

One of my favorite things about blogging is that it brings people together and can impact others in a far reaching way. If you have a minute, please join me today and help the fight against hunger.

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by admin -

Julie and Julia ~ Left me Hungry for More…

I am not a movie critic, in fact I rarely watch movies. I cannot remember the last movie I watched, but I think it was Enchanted, which strangely enough starred Amy Adams, who is also the star of Julie and Julia.

Since the movie Julie and Julia has the blog world buzzing, I decided to post my thoughts on the movie in case you were deciding whether to spend the big bucks and hit the theatre this weekend.

This movie is based on two true stories, the life of Julia Child and Julie Powell. I think everyone has heard of Julia Child, and every blogger dreams of becoming Julie Powell – a blogger who gets a book deal… and then a movie deal, and then is played in the movie by an absolutely adorable actress, Amy Adams. Well, actually I think I should be played by Angelina Jolie, ( I mean she does have a boatload of kids, just like me).

Back to the movie, since I don’t really know how to write a movie review I’ll break in down into bullets, my specialty.

Good Points:

  • Great acting: Seriously, Meryl Streep plays an amazing Julia Child, the voice, the mannerisms, so believable. Whoever plays Julia’s sister is perfect too. Great casting for this movie.
  • Great relationships: The love between Julia and her husband Paul is so real on screen. There is great chemistry between Meryl and Stanley Tucci. The relationship between Julie and her husband Eric draws you in as well. It was difficult to remember that these were actors.
  • Food: Do not go to this movie hungry. Within the first 15 minutes you will be starving. The food photography is excellent and everything looks so good you can almost taste it.
  • True to Life: The ups and downs of blogging is laid out for everyone to see. When Julie gets here first comment there are high fives and cheers. There is a constant wondering of who is reading her blog. Eventually the blog starts to take over her life… (cough, cough, not that I would know anything about that)

Bad Points:

  • Potty Mouth: While there is not a ton of profanity, there is some, and it is so unnecessary. Not that it is ever necessary, but this movie would have been better had the nasty language been left out. A quick glance at Julie Powell’s blog made me realize that they toned down the language for this movie…
  • Disappointing ending: I do not want to spoil the ending, but let’s just say the movie didn’t feel over when it ended. I left wanting more, wanting closure, and I didn’t get it.

Wrap Up

I liked the movie, but really wished there was no foul language. The acting, story and cinematography were excellent. It was a technical masterpiece, but left me wanting something more. While I was watching it, I didn’t want it to end, but when it ended I felt I needed 5 more minutes. Almost like a book that was missing the last three pages. All in all, I liked the movie and don’t regret spending the $17 (gulp) on a date night with my husband.

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by admin -

The Happy Housewife Community

I am so excited about some recent changes to the site. You might have noticed that I installed The Blog Frog widget to my side bar. The really fun thing about this widget is that it has created a forum for the site. This is a great way for readers to chat with each other, and it might help me better answer reader questions. I know many readers do not have blogs of their own, so this is a great way for them to voice their opinion on various topics.

I started the first thread with an easy question, Where is your favorite Thrift Store? All you need to do is click on the bottom of the widget and leave your answer in the thread.

You are welcome to start your own thread too.

And as an extra special bonus, for the next week anyone who starts a discussion (or replies to one) is automatically entered to win a $25 Target Gift Card.  All you have to do is start your own discussion or reply to one, and The Blog Frog will take care of the rest.  A great place to start is by introducing yourself. I introduced myself already, although you already know a lot about me, I couldn’t help but join in the discussion.

If you visit my community page you can read my twitter updates, visit my readers’ blogs, and participate in forum discussions.

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by admin -

I’ve Been Betrayed…

My children are aware of this blog. Some of them love of the blog and you will see them in many of the pictures. My other kids aren’t as appreciative of my work here. They don’t seem to like photographing every moment of our life, trying new recipes, and often say things like, “Is this going to be on the blog???”

My older two children have blogs of their own. My daughter writes about her life without popcorn, and my son started his blog to write about falconry, but now uses it to show off his home movies.

And even though I try to write about and encourage my readers to eat healthier foods, my children aren’t always fond of our newer way of eating. This became clear to me when I was catching up on my son’s blog last night and came across this video. It seems that over the past few years he has photographed every piece of junk food that has come into our home, and has now made a movie about it!

Ahh,  I can only hope that one day he will make movies about kefir smoothies and whole grain bread, but for now I am just happy he is learning some computer skills!

How about you?  Have made changes in your lifestyle over the past few years? Are your kids willing participants or do they long for the ways of old?  I think my kids are much happier with the frugal changes we have made, but are less than thrilled with the banning of Little Debbies in our home. 🙂

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