And the winner is...............

 

Sydney!!!

Congratulations, Sydney, for winning the Krispy Kreme

Donut Give Away ~ One yummy deal!

 

 

**Just wanted to give a quick update:  The Krispy Kreme in Farragut will officially open on April 9 Tuesday, at 6 a.m. And for the brave, the first 100 customers will receive free donuts for a year and a commemorative T-shirt.  Not sure how many donuts are included in the "year's worth."  But if someone is up for the challenge, bring your sleeping bag and park outside the new Farragut Store.

Guess who's coming to town?

 

That’s right.  Krispy Kreme is on its way to being two miles from my front door to its front door.  If you’re ready for some Krispy Kreme donuts, enter this giveaway.  This is open to adults, children, and even your pets – if they like Krispy Kreme.  Contest ends March 17^th—St. Patrick’s Day at 10 p.m. EST.  Gift card will be mailed out to the winner on March 18.  May the luck of the Irish be with you.

 

Future Krispy Kreme

More give away winners!

Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats!  They are the champs.  We had three people guess they would win, so three Target gift cards are being sent to:

Sydney

Lisa

Joel

Congratulations to all the winners, and may your favorite team win next year.  (In case you missed it, Lisa won the grand prize from the give away drawing)

WINNER of the March Madness Give Away!!

Drum roll, please………………….and the winner is Lisa!  Here’s Lisa’s comment: 

“Actually that was Sydney who posted...But she knows basketball pretty well so I'll agree with her and say Kentucky.
Mom, the kids loved having you guys come to so many of their games. It's my favorite kid sport to watch too!” 

Congratulations to Lisa.  Your Papa John’s gift card will be delivered soon.  I decided to add a 2^nd part to this giveaway.  I will send out a small gift to anyone who guessed correctly the National Championship team.  For those who put down more than one team, the first team you listed is the one I will use. You’ll know if you win or not after Monday’s game, but I’ll list it here anyway.  Good luck!

March Madness

At our home, it’s been a little bit different kind of March Madness.  I know you’re thinking NCAA and NIT.  But I’m going to talk about the CLS. Yes, CLS = Cruze/Langford/Sexton.  During the month of March Russ and I found ourselves attending a bunch, a bunch of grandchildren basketball games.  Josh Cruze played in the Westside Y league---first year. Tanner Sexton played on the LDS team in the intra-church league, along with Carter and Jared Langford.  Then Sydney played in the Presbyterian basketball league.  Jared and Carter also played on a second team(s) in the Presbyterian league. And finally Allie played on the LDS team in the intra-church league.  Whew!  That’s a lot of games each week.  We could possibly go to a game on Tuesday night, Thursday night, and three games on Saturday.  Russ had some conflicts, but I would go without him, as this is my favorite sport to watch the grandchildren play. They all did great with Allie’s team winning the tournament, and the other teams doing almost as well in their league play.  Those games have come to an end, but it’s been a fun ride.  I wish I had taken more pictures, but I do have one of the oldest grandchild and youngest grandchild playing here in Knoxville.

Josh  is ready to play ball!

Attending Allie's basketball game







Now, in honor of our grandchildren’s stellar basketball season, I’m having a giveaway.  Do kids like anything better than pizza?  The winner of this giveaway will receive a gift certificate to Papa John’s Pizza.  However, if you win and don’t have a Papa John’s, then I’ll substitute a Domino’s, etc.— something equivalent. 

This contest ends on March 30, Friday, at 11 p.m. Eastern Time -- before the Final Four starts.  Leave a comment telling me who you think will win the NCAA. BTW, all children who played on a basketball team this winter are welcome to enter, too.

Lori's Etsy Shop Give Away and November Roses

Lori has a great give away from her Etsy Shop, and I’m trying to enter every way I can for a better chance at winning, but you can do the same.  Click here or below to enter and see what a great selection the winner gets to choose from.

http://ammeandneb.blogspot.com/ 

I meant to post these pictures while it was still November, but somehow November slipped away from me. Don’t you just love having roses in November? Mine bloomed right up to the very end of the month and still have a bloom or two---even with freezing temps in the night and snow right around the corner.

Tennessee November Roses - Picture taken the end of November, 2011

Give away pie winner............

Sharlene's Cranberry-Apple Pie

Our winner in the Pie Give Away is Lisa. Congratulations and may you enjoy every last crumb.

After reading the comments, it struck me that none of my own children mentioned the Cranberry-Apple Pie being their favorite. Hmmmmm. I’ve been making that pie for 43 years. I guess it’s just me and my hubby that love it. As promised, however, I’m giving you the recipe. Try it, you might just love it.

Also, I found it very interesting that most people liked “homemade” pies. Lisa, if you’d prefer a homemade pie, I’m glad to do that or you can choose your favorite pie store and choose from their wonderful selection.

Sharlene’s Cranberry-Apple Pie

Makes one 9” pie

First: make pie crust of your choice

Next: prepare the filling:

Cook: 4 cups (1 pound) fresh cranberries in 1/3 cup water over low heat until berries burst (about 7-10 minutes) Stir several times

Combine: 2 ½ cups Sugar and 1/3 flour; blend into cranberries

Add: 2 cups chopped apples (about 2 medium to large apples)

Heat: to boiling stirring and mixing

Turn: hot filling into pie shell; sprinkle ½ cup blanched almonds, if desired; then criss-cross strips of pie dough for a lattice on top

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Enjoy!

Pies----give away!

Did anyone see the “Parade” article (Nov. 13) on pies?!  My mouth has been watering ever since.  I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving pies.  I love pies---all kinds.  My mind went floating back to eating Blackberry –White Nectarine pie from Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco.  I wonder if they'd deliver one of those to TN? Traditionally I make a Cranberry-Apple Pie and Pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  But pies of all sorts and flavors arrive to our house on Thanksgiving Day.  It seems one of the daughters always makes a chocolate pie.  In celebration of pies, today’s giveaway is a gift certificate to be used to buy your favorite pie.  And if you don’t like pie, why not buy one for someone else? Or, hey, you could even buy a cake.  Go here and here and here to wet your appetite.

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite kind of pie.  The winner will be announced on Thanksgiving Day—in celebration of pies. Oh, when I announce the winner, I’ll also include my recipe for Cranberry-Apple Pie.

The winner is........................

Congratulations to Lydia who has won our give away.  I thought it was quite ironic that someone going to school for the very first time (kindergarten) won the back to school give away.  And as a thank you to all those wonderful comments from the rest of you, I’m sending each of you a little something.  We loved reading all the comments. They were so telling into the personality of each child.  Happy School Days! Here's that Target commercial one more time.  I could watch it every day. 

Note: Lydia is even wearing her school T-shirt.

Congratulations, Lydia!



 

School Daze Give Away

Joel’s comment on my last post reminded me that it is probably time for another give away. But, sorry, Joel—it won’t be an air fare and football tickets—no can do. However, September always reminds me of the beginning of school, even though most kids start in August now a day. So in honor of all those cuties going back to school, this give away is for kids. Any child up to the age of 18 may enter. If you don’t have a blog account, ask your parents to enter you in the contest listing your name. If I don’t know where you live, leave me a contact (e-mail, phone, address, etc.) in case you win.


In entering, please list what your favorite part of school is this year. If you’re a pre-schooler and just learning to talk, that’s fine, just let Mom or Dad know what you like best about pre-school and they'll do the rest.

From a random drawing, the winner will receive a $30 gift card for Target. I LOVE their back to school commercials. This one is my favorite.

Contest ends FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 at 6 pm EST. Oh, I'll also throw in some Silly Bandz.

Here are some “school-daze” first-day-of-school pictures from our family archives:

1973 - Troy's first day of Kindergarten

    






1975 - Lisa's first day of Kindergarten



 



 



 



 1976 Joel and Julie join Lisa and Troy for their First Day of School Picture

1977 - Joel joins Julie- first day of Kindergarten; Troy 4th grade; Lisa 2nd grade

Getting off the bus: Julie had a good first day

1976 - First Day for Lisa and Troy

1979 -First day of School....Troy in 6th, Lisa in 4th, Julie in 2nd, Joel in Kindergarten - I love that Brad and Lori are in the stroller being part of this photo shoot. I also loved that I had four children all attending the same school: Bancroft Elemnetary. You have to look closely, but Lori is in that stroller--about 4 months old

  

1981 - Lisa, Joel, and Julie on the First Day

                              

  In 1982 we moved to Knoxville and Brad started Kindergarten - First Day pix - Five in School

1984 - Lori's first day of Kindergarten; Brad & Joel

1986 - Joel - First Day of School

1986 - Brad & Lori's First Day of School

1987 - Brad and Lori's First Day of School

1988 - Joel & Brad - First Day

1988 - Julie and Chester - First Day

1989 - First Day: Lori, Brad, Joel, and Julie 



GIVE AWAY WINNER

Drum roll……………… Soni Levenseller is our winner. Congratulations to Soni and also congratulations on living in one of the skinnier states. Her comment:

"Here in Oregon our favorite- darnright horrible, but OHHH so delicious!- unhealthy treat is Red Robin french fries dipped in ranch dressing!!!Yummmmm....... "

Thought this cartoon in our local paper was too good not to include. May none of us move to the front of this line.

Weighing in..........

“Obesity rate above 20% in 49 states” – that was the headline in our local paper today. And what makes me really sad is my own beloved state of Tennessee is listed 4th in the ranking for the most obese adults. I must confess: although I’m not officially obese, I am not slender and could always lose a few more pounds it seems. So I’m part of the problem.

Top 10 Sates in percentage of obese adults:
1. Mississippi 34.4
2. Alabama 32.3
3. W. Virginia 32.2
4. Tennessee 31.9
5. Louisiana 31.6
6. Kentucky 31.5
7. Oklahoma 31.4
8. S. Carolina 30.9
9. Arkansas 30.6
10. Michigan 30.5

Bob Greene, health and exercise guru, said:

“Stop comforting yourself by stuffing down your feelings of sadness, regret, fear, and frustration with cheeseburgers, pizza, pie, and potato chips.”

With that in mind, I’ve got my next giveaway. How about a healthy choice? How about a $30 gift certificate to Subway? And if you live in a state that is NOT in the top 10 most obese states, then let’s make it $40.

From a random drawing, the winner will be announced on Saturday, July 16 at approximately 9 p.m. Eastern time. Good luck and watch those calories. To enter, leave a comment telling what state you live in and your favorite unhealthy treat.

Spring give away WINNER!

Congratulations to Shahara—our winner. Your Spring bulbs will be sent to you this week. Thanks to everyone for naming your favorite spring flowers. I was surprised to see so many different “favorites.” They all make Spring perfectly beautiful!!

Our Daffodils after the storm.

Edit: I found this cartoon a few days after I posted the giveaway, and it just seemed to fit perfectly with my theme, so I'm sharing it now.

Spring is almost here give away

OK, it’s officially still winter, but tell that to my Daffodils! They’ve had just enough warmth to spring out of the ground and give me encouragement. Spring is just around the corner. To celebrate a new season (coming soon), the winner of this give away will receive a nice assortment of spring bulbs—a nice mix of Daffodils, Tulips and perhaps some Hyacinths. Some can actually be planted now and others may need to wait until fall. Make a comment and tell me your favorite spring flower. Give away ends Saturday, March 5th at midnight (EST).

These pictures were taken during a thunderstorm with a tornado warning.

Nothing is going to stop Spring from arriving.

And the winner is.................

ALLIE SEXTON has won the drawing for an item of her choice at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ammeandneb

Congratulations, Allie.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment---a thankful one, a funny one, a thoughtful one, a clever one. They were all great. And a big thank you to those who posted on your Facebook.

I'm grateful to all of you and hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day.

Allie with her cousin, Sam

It's your choice..........

All month, I’ve been reading blogs where people are talking about all the stuff they are thankful for. As I read, I admit, I get a little choked up and say to myself: “me, too.” I think of myself as a naturally grateful person. I don’t take anything for granted. My THANKFUL list is endless.

So I’m having a giveaway to show my gratitude for all my blessings. I think I’ve come up with a great giveaway and something a little unique.

Whoever wins this drawing gets to pick one item from my daughter, Lori's shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ammeandneb as their gift from me. Go to the shop and chose the item you’d like. Purchase it from the site and let me know what you’ve chosen. (The shop owner will let me know, too.) I will immediately put a check in the mail to you (or if I see you on a regular basis, I’ll give you cash). Items in that Etsy shop range in price from $5.00 to $39.00. So “it’s your choice.” If you don’t see anything there that you like, perhaps you’ll see something that would make a great Christmas gift to give this year. The drawing ends at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 27.

To enter, please leave a comment. If you also mention this on your Facebook, your name will be entered twice. If I don’t have your address, please leave your e-mail address so I can communicate with you if you win. The check will be in the mail as soon as you’ve chosen your gift. Here's are some things the owner of the shop made for me:

Here are some cute pictures of the shop owner from her younger years:

Lori's older sisters were thrilled to have a baby sister after three brothers.

Always the center of attention

Days of California living

Photo-shoot for free

Will, baby Lincoln, and Cara

I've been thinking it's time for a giveaway and I'm still thinking about that. Meanwhile, my 'lil sis has one going on here: http://dahlquistphotography.blogspot.com/

I want to spread the word so one of you might be the recipient of her talent. If you don't live in Utah, you can use it as a gift for someone who does. Christmas is right around the corner.

The give away is for a one hour photo shoot and includes a quality CD with a minimum of 15 images. I've seen her work, and she is really good and works well with children.

Here's two really old pictures of Cara. She's not a mermaid, but I love this picture of her and Will in costume. The other picture was taken way back in 2004 when Cara was just 16 years old. She and my niece, Brandy came for a summer visit.

In mermaid costume--------In the Smokey Mountains with Russ, me, and Brandy

$40 Target Gift winner announced

Susan Krueger-Barber is the winner of our back to SCHOOL give a way. Her comment:

“A history lesson in honor of my husband and SCHOOLhouse Rock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvH7ySQi37E”

Congratulations and may you enjoy every shopping moment at Target. A gift card for $40 is being mailed to Susan today.

Thanks to all of you who participated. Loved all the comments! All were very clever. :)