September So Far...

Since I returned from my Nuun Hood to Coast Relay adventure (you can find the postings here), life has been very full. Not that it isn't usually rather full, but with a brief family vacation (to be blogged about at a not-too-distant future date) sandwiched directly in between the Nuun trip and my husband going out of town for a bit ...and then school starting for all four of my kids within days of his return... see what I mean? Oh, right...and my oldest child became a teenager!

Here is a bulleted summary of September so far...

• Big G became a teenager on Labor Day. The weekend was fraught with him pissing and moaning about not having his birthday party right then...he likes things the way he likes them and when he likes them. But his friends all had plans that weekend, so he had to wait. We celebrated as a family with an egg-free, gluten-free, dairy-free cake that I nicknamed "Leadbelly" because the thing was so freakin' heavy...and flat. It did not rise one millimeter. It tasted good, though...sort of like solid vanilla pudding. We had to improvise with the candles... 8 plus (fire hydrant) 5 = 13. Thank goodness we had that fire hydrant or you might've thought the poor kid was turning 85.

• The following weekend I hosted a sleepover party for five 13-year old boys. They ate pizza and played Munchkin (yeah, better click that link because it's probably not what you're thinking). Then they ate "Son of Leadbelly" cake and watched Zoolander (they went to our local video rental place and selected this one...so interesting seeing the variations in tastes amongst 13-year old boys...one wanted to get Tomb Raider but another said, "No...they're not big enough," a comment that was lost on my innocent and somewhat immature son). I am kind of a bitch-mom when it comes to sleepovers...I enforce a bedtime. For these guys it was midnight. At 11:30, I told them it was time for lights out, cell phones away, and voices lowered. They didn't really follow that directive until I announced it was 11:50 and started singing "Kumbaya". For real, I did. This led to a chill moment in which a brain among them had the opportunity to come up with a brilliant idea...

Hey, guys!!! Let's go run around the block in our underwear...at midnight!!!!

Genius.

Did I let them? You betcha. Our neighborhood is very safe (remember: The Gate) and the block is very small (4 houses on a side). They were instructed to be quiet(ish) and to wear shoes. It took them all of 3 minutes. Big G did not participate. He gave the whole idea the stink-eye. And as the other boys ran out the door, G exclaimed...

Where's the camera?  

And yes, he got it all on video. Including a mooning. And no, the video will not ever be published. Unless one of the boys decides to run for office as an adult ;-)

The good news: they were exhausted by the excitement and rigorous exercise and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

• Working out...

Running 3 days a week... short/short/long...2.25 mi/2.25 mi/6 mi the first week and 4.2 Moeser miles/2.25 mi/8.64 hilly trail miles (with the lovely Roserunner) the second week. I have done nothing this week. Nada.

Elliptical happened 4 times in those two weeks and not at all this week. Between 30 and 50 minutes at HR z2 for the longer sessions and z3-4 for the short ones. 

Climbing was extra special :)  I had the opportunity to go into the climbing gym before hours with my instructor/friend and we were the only ones there. It was so fun to just take our time and climb without ever waiting for a route to free up. All was quiet except for our personal conversation...without wondering if anyone was eavesdropping ;-) I had taken a break from climbing leading up to Hood to Coast because sometimes it tweaks my alignment and I didn't want to risk anything before the relay. Starting back up has been challenging due to the busyness of life the past two to three weeks, but finding the school-starting-again groove will definitely get it happening again...and I can't wait.

A killer two-and-a-half-day migraine has put a little damper on exercise things this week. It's almost over so hopefully tomorrow will see some sweaty action. 

• I posted a giveaway. I love my Endorphin Warrior bracelet and am fortunate enough to be able to offer one to a lucky winner of a random drawing. Enter here to win your very own with a keyword or phrase that speaks to you.

And that concludes the initial September So Far summation.

Stay tuned for more random bullets in addition to a post on what I found to be a successful nutrition/fueling plan for the relay, a compilation and review of the products I received and used during the relay, and a post giving more details on my elliptical training. Who knows when I'll get around to any of it...but it is coming. 

Endorphin Warrior Training Bracelet Giveaway

For a long time, I had my eye on the Endorphin Warrior Training Bracelets.

I'd enter every giveaway I came across, trying to win one. I'd go to the website and put one in a cart...and then be told that money was tight that day and to hold off...and then I'd let it go.

This year, Endorphin Warrior so generously offered a bracelet to each of the Team Nuun Hood to Coast Relay participants. This was seriously like the cherry on top of a super fantastic experience! I had always thought I'd choose to put 'RELENTLESS' on the bracelet when I finally got one, but when it came time to put in my order, I knew that wasn't what I needed. I realized that I am, by nature, already relentless. I mulled over the question, "Of what do I need to be reminded?"

see...i am old...lizardy old lady skin proves it ;-)

I wore this bracelet from the moment I took it out of the bag. I loved wearing it while running in that race...and while reflecting in the van. And now that the race is over, I wear it all the time. It is a strong, beautiful (and comfortable) reminder to keep faith...in myself, in others, in 'the process,' in life. To believe.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to pass along an Endorphin Warrior Training Bracelet with keyword or phrase of choice to a lucky winner whose name will be chosen at random by the random number generator at random.org on Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. and announced on Monday, September 17th...whatever time I manage after staying up so late the night before waiting for last minute entries ;-)

To enter, please visit the Endorphin Warrior website and let me know in a comment what keyword or phrase speaks to you.

Bonus entries given for:

• following this blog on GFC (click on sidebar) or Twitter
• Liking Taking It On on Facebook
• Liking Endorphin Warrior on Facebook
• following Endorphin Warrior on Twitter
• blogging, tweeting, facebooking about this giveaway

That is a total of 6 bonus entries to take advantage of! Please do leave a separate comment for each entry you submit. And don't lie. (Yes, people do). Keep your karma clean :)

You gotta play to win...and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Disclosures: I was gifted a bracelet for myself and one to giveaway. The opinions expressed are my own. No money has changed hands regarding this post or giveaway. You must be a US resident to win. And if you aren't lucky this time around, Endorphin Warrior does periodic giveaways on their website and is running a haiku contest through October 31, 2012.

Counting down...

One month... I will have completed my next race and seen the nudie booties. The San Francisco Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12K takes place on Sunday, May 20. My A+ goal is to finish it while loving and enjoying the process. I've decided that is my new A+ goal in every race. Any sort of spectacular time in anything is just gravy :)

Two weeks... I will have celebrated the day of my birth. The one after this one has a zero at the end of it...so excited! I am going to take charge of the day and make myself a cake and give myself a present.

One day... I will announce the winner(s) of Taking It On's most recent giveaway! If you want to win it, you gotta be in it :) Click here to enter...you have until tomorrow (Wednesday) at noon!

One hour... Nuun will announce their 2012 Hood to Coast Relay team in less than an hour! Some people will be elated and others will be sad. I wonder in which category I will land? Did you see my application? It was killer!

**update:  I made the Nuun team...to see the full list and their official announcement, click HERE!


And go click on that pink badge in my sidebar and vote for this blog in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Outdoorsy Mom Blogs contest....'cuz I am waaaaayyyyyyy outdoorsy ;-)

Workout Week in Review 4/16-4/22...and giveaway!

Monday...70 min. elliptical

Tuesday...off

Wednesday...90 min. total cardio = 20/20/20/20/10 alternating elliptical and running. The running 2x20 minutes totaled 4.4 miles.

Thursday...off (unless you count my 3 hour nap...which I guess you don't)

Friday...20 min. bike ride quickie (not much but counts for more than a nap)

Saturday...60 min. elliptical (1st gym visit of the day) + 25 min. of 'power' bouldering (I got there 25 minutes before closing on my second trip in and did as many bouldering routes as I could manage in that amount of time. It ended up being a semi-cardio workout and managed to rip me out of a 4-day funk).

Sunday...10+ miles. This was my first double-digit run since the Las Vegas Half-Marathon in early December, I think. It was really hard. And slow (over 105 minutes). And hilly. But beautiful. Made me realize that A) I miss long runs...a lot...even when they hurt and I have to go to the bathroom really badly, and B) the elliptical is NO substitute for running. You're thinking "Duh!" I know.

The weather this morning was trippy.

It was super sunny but a bit breezy at my house, and since it was boiling hot yesterday,

I dressed in short shorts and a tank. 

As I turned onto the highway facing my destination 10 minutes away in the hills,

I was scared by a dense, dark fogbank.

Since I was a little late as usual, I just forged onward, figuring I would pay the price of underdressing.

It turned out to be gorgeous...fully sunny but with the huge fogbank on the west side of the ridge trail.

I was so bummed I hadn't brought my camera on the way out...

but really glad I wasn't toting it on the way back :P

I hope to get more running in next week. And more climbing.

In other news... this Tuesday, April 24th is The Big Reveal...Nuun will be announcing their 2012 Hood to Coast Relay selections from the over 60 entries they received. Run Zoë Run has a list of links to many of the applications, so if you are interested in seeing what sorts of cool, creative applications people submitted you should click here to go check it out. I'm starting to feel nervous. I loved my application, but I know it was pretty 'out there' :P Whether Nuun selects me or not (and I really hope they do!), I am very proud of my submission. I did my best.

I was thinking it would be fun to do a selection pool giveaway and have people comment on who they think would be on the team and whoever got the most right would win something, but with over 30 individuals being chosen, those would be some really long comments.

Instead, let's just have a giveaway :)

Leave a comment by noon on Wednesday 4/25 if you're interested in winning a tube of Nuun, an assortment of fueling products (like Gus, Hammer gels, Clif shots, Honey Stingers, etc.), and whatever other workout-related trinkets my pocketbook can supply at the moment. Winner(s) will be chosen at random after that time on that day. The number of winners will depend on my mood and the fatness of my wallet at the moment...but there will be at least ONE winner :)

It would be awesome if you were a follower either on GFC, Twitter or Facebook (see sidebar), but it isn't necessary. Taking It On does not discriminate. All you need to do is leave a comment... nothing mean ...got it?

You gotta be in it to win it!

Oh, and you can leave a comment if you don't want to win anything, too. I won't force you to take free stuff :)

The Hundred Dollar Sweatshirt... and other stuff

As I sit here in my hundred dollar sweatshirt thinking about Christmas and how little prep work I've done so far, I am not nervous. I am not stressed. It is what it is. I'm letting go and finding balance. And I have a hundred dollar sweatshirt...so I am alllllll set.

It would be funny if I were to tell you that I had gone to Costco today with the sole purpose of picking up a sweatshirt. And walked out with a 30-pack of Northern Quilted toilet paper, a Brita water filter, two dozen Duracell AA batteries, an 8-lb. block of Kraft American Cheese Singles, and one of those double-packs of Honey Nut Cheerios in addition to a Gloria Vanderbilt sweatshirt. Seriously, who hasn't done that?

Or what if I said that I had gone into the local Goodwill to grab a sweatshirt but had gotten waylaid by all the awesome VHS tapes they were selling three for a dollar (who wouldn't love copies of He Said, She Said, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Field of Dreams?) and the myriad of kitchen tools just begging to become a Granny's Gadgets feature? If I went on to tell you that after finding the sweatshirt, selecting a fine assortment of 80's and 90's entertainment, unearthing THE Ginsu (!) and escaping for under twenty bucks with all that loot, I went outside to find my car with a $78 parking ticket tucked neatly under the windshield wiper...in it's o-so-cheery neon green envelope :)...that would be kind of funny, right?

While both of those scenarios would have resulted in a "hundred dollar" sweatshirt complete with a laugh and some good commiseration, this is not a funny story. And my hundred dollar sweatshirt gets no quotation marks.

I have a hard time fathoming how someone could spend so much on a #@*ing sweatshirt...but people do. They don't even wait for them to go on sale...they plunk down full retail for these suckers. Having worked in retail for years and years, I have a really hard time doing that :P

Now being in possession of a hundred dollar sweatshirt (I am wearing it right at this moment...and if you are reading this pretty much anytime in the next five years, I will probably be wearing it right at the moment you are actually reading this), I must say it is really, really nice. But I probably wouldn't spend real money on one. I won mine...remember that Soyjoy Workout Wardrobe Make-over Contest?

I've gone from this:

To this:

Notice how I look a lot more comfortable in the tattered, 'vintage' outfit?

it might be the clothing... 

but it might be the fact that the fancy sweatshirt picture was taken in the kitchen.

I had a little of my winnings left over. It's been converted to a gift card that will be part of the Jingle Bell Hell 2011 Grand Prize. Click that link to see details of the real and virtual races this weekend.

All runners who submit a race recap linking back to Taking It On will be entered in a drawing for various running-related prizes...Nuun, Gu, reflective stickers, a race-number belt, those sorts of things... and my favorite write-up (can be a blog post, a facebook update, an email to me that I can post on my blog, or a photo representing your hellacious fun) will win a $10 iTunes gift card and a $30 Lululemon gift card (that'll get you a headband or a pair of socks...or roughly 30% off on a pair of running tights...and they do have stuff for guys).

Please understand the write-up winner selection is entirely subjective. Big Hint: I am looking to laugh. 

But honestly, it's not about the prizes...it's about having fun.

Disclaimers: Do I need disclaimers? Some of the stuff in the giveaway I won, some I bought and some was given to me in exchange for nothing. Except the Nuun... some might say I sold my soul for that one.  But Hood to Coast was worth it.

Rewarding the Faithful...

One year ago, I wrote a post.

One person commented.

Emz.

The Great Lady of the Treadmill was my first introduction to "fitness" blogging. I didn't know there were genres back then. She was one of my first followers...I have NO idea how she found me. The post was simply that I was super excited about closing in on 1000 pageviews. Woo hoo, right? :P

Fast-forward to today, I have held onto 500+ followers for a little over a week. Surprisingly. I'll be the first to admit I have a weird blog. One day it's pictures of my kids at the zoo watching the otters at feeding time, another day it's about running up some insane hill, and then there was the day we played the boobs-to-bloggers matching game. So, yeah... it's weird. But that's me :D

The parenting/mommy bloggers get bored by my running posts, and the runners get bored by my parenting/mommy posts, and the boob fiends...well, they quickly realize that the boobs featured on my blog are fully covered (except the scary boob-scarves) and go on their merry way.

Back the the 'reward' part of this post...the point of it...

I mentioned a few weeks ago that when I hit 500 followers, I would have a super weird cool giveaway. (note: the word order is important...not a super cool weird giveaway). I've decided that Emz gets a prize for being around and regularly commenting (even though she has not been lately... a-hem...but ummmm... living in the glass house, I don't get to throw stones) for pretty much the whole time I've been at this.

Everyone else who is interested can enter to win the prize.

What is the prize?

It's a mood-lifter, an ego-stroker, a reassurance-giver...

Who wouldn't want one of these?

I have one. It's at the top of my stairs. I wanted to bring it to Long Beach and whack it after every mile of that half-marathon...but I thought "nah...that'd be really obnoxious." Then I found out the Dead Jocks Van 2 had one at the Hood to Coast Relay...so definitely obnoxious but also cool :)

The buttondude's semihuman/robotic voice puts me at ease every time I whack the button. The most stressful and difficult of situations suddenly becomes, if not easy, at least relaxed. There is something about being calmly informed,

That was easy

that makes those words feel true.

So Emz gets an Easy Button. She can put it on her treadmill, and when she hits 20 miles, she can give that sucker a whack.

CONTEST and RULES of ENGAGEMENT

The rest of you awesome people will be competing to win your very own Easy Button, as well as a brand-new Nuun water bottle, a tube of Nuun (you can pick the flavor from my selection), a $25 Foot Locker gift card, and a $10 iTunes gift card (not pictured).

This part will not be a random drawing. The contest winner will be chosen subjectively by me based on responses to the following question:

Where would you likely be using your Easy Button?

That's the contest part.

Here's the giveaway part...

• If you don't want to get creative and all you're interested in is 'easy'...simply leave a comment saying "That was easy" to let me know you're interested in winning just an Easy Button. 
• These lazy easy people will be pooled with those who didn't win the contest, and one person from this pool will be chosen at random to win an Easy Button. There might be some extra goodies thrown in, too :)

Are we understanding this? There are two things ... a contest and a giveaway...you can enter one or both. Got it?


You needn't be a follower to enter either the contest or the giveaway.


Contest ends and entries for giveaway close Friday, November 18, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PST.


Good luck to all!!!! And thanks for following :)


Disclaimer: the Nuun was a gift from those awesome people :) and the rest of the prizes are provided by me as a way of thanking all of you! And if you really want 'easy,' you can go buy yourself an Easy Button right now at Staples for $5.99+ tax.

Moving Comfort Bra Giveaway...with video replay!

It all began with my Running Bra Report, in which I expounded upon the virtues, or rather, necessities of being adequately supported. I shared with you my double-containment support method.

Then I got my super cool new running bra... the Seven Wonders of the Boob World... anyway, that's what they call it at Title Nine. It is, in reality, Moving Comfort's Juno Bra. And at long last, I finally could run in just one!

This bra is so fantastic! All of my chestier friends love it, too. Remember Jess from Boobs I Follow? Loves it.  I was going on and on and on about this thing, and some people thought I was kind of nuts... sports bra-related...not in general. I realized I had to show you why I love it so much... so I made this video...

okay, maybe I am a little nuts but...as part of a product review post that you can read here if you haven't already. It is a great review (if I do say so myself) and includes a little history about the sports bra.

Anyway... I am not one of those bloggers who has people contacting her left and right (or at all), giving her stuff to review and give away. Initially, I had bought my own bra to try out and loved it so much that I contacted Moving Comfort and asked them to give me one so that I could give it to one of my readers. They so awesomely agreed :)

To enter this giveaway, two things are required...

• Be a GFC follower of Taking It On... you can click the 'join this site' rectangle in the sidebar if you haven't already done so :)
• Visit Moving Comfort's Sport Bras page on their website, peruse their offerings and let me know in a comment what strikes your fancy and/or looks like it may fit your support needs.

One single comment for these two things will be ideal :)

Increase your chances of winning by doing any or all of the following:

• Like Moving Comfort on Facebook and let them know Taking It On sent you,
• Follow Moving Comfort on Twitter,
• Follow me on Twitter,
• Like Taking It On on Facebook,
• Link this giveaway on your blog or Facebook, or tweet the giveaway's link and the message "win a free @movingcomfort bra from @xlmic" to your tweeps... remember to include the link! (each action good for one entry).

Please leave a separate comment for each entry :)

Remember the Taking It On giveaway mantra:  You've gotta play to win!!!!

Entries will be accepted until midnight on Friday October 28, 2011. The winner will be announced at some point on Saturday the 29th. 

Disclaimer:  Moving Comfort very generously donated a sports bra to each member of the Nuun Platuun Hood to Coast Relay team...and I was one of those lucky recipients. I had already purchased 2 of them prior to this gifting. Because I love my Moving Comfort Juno bra so much, I solicited one of their bras to give to a reader chosen at random (the specific bra to be chosen by the winner). I received no monetary compensation, no additional freebies, no promotional television spots (even though my video review was totally kick-ass), etc. in conjunction with this giveaway.   

Announcements...

I want to thank all seven people who participated in my giveaway... you all rock and know a good deal when you see one ;-)

The winner of Catch Me If You Can is danny who blogs over at A Quest for Running Perfection. Congrats to you, danny... the smartest running blogger in my blogroll. And the only one who had a really good law-breaking life-experience... that he was willing to share ;-) If you have never visited his blog, you ought to ... he puts such a different twist on things. Going from my blog to his is like going from Twinkies to brown rice and grilled fish with a side of spinach. Go there and you'll see what I mean.

The runner-up prize of that Baby-Ruth-in-the-swimming-pool classic, Caddyshack, goes to Jennifer from Chase-ing the Dream. She is a super smart mom who even reads books!  Someday I will read a book again, too.

So that was the first announcement.

The second one is this...

I want to thank the people at Nuun for realizing that a nun running at noon really needed to be on their team. Yes, I was selected (the crowd cheers), along with a slew of other amazing women bloggers. You can check out the whole list here....

just click on it...

While I am very excited, I am also very nervous. Not so much about the running but about the whole rest of it... What if they hate me? I'm not kidding. You like me... that's why you're here reading this... theoretically. But there really are people who don't like me. I am abrasive and obnoxious. What you get here is a miniscule glimpse into how I am in real life. Scary, right? Soooo... nervous and a little anxious.

The third thing I want to announce is a parent thing... a stay-at-home-parent thing... only they will probably get the magnitude of this announcement.

I just signed my 3 older kids up for camp for two weeks!  Starting Monday! Woooo hooooo! and during their second week, my 2-year old will start preschool two mornings a week!  Woooooo HOOOOOOO!!!!  I know parents always say this... and we mean it.... I love my kids, but I am so looking forward to a little break :)

It'll be like Moms Gone Wild for three and half hours on both July 5th and 7th. Please give me some suggestions of what to do... it has been so long. I am worried that I will just sit in the minivan outside of the preschool, speechless and immobilized by the overwhelming feeling of freedom. And by the time I snap out of it, it'll be too late to do something.

I am thinking... running in the daytime.... oooooooo......

Granny's Gadgets #17... and a giveaway!

This one is probably the most useful gadget to date...

and so easy to use :)

aaaannnnnndddddd.....   drumroll, please...  


It's up for grabs!

The way I found out what this weird thing happens to be is pretty funny. This past Christmas, my stepdad gave us a hot pink one, demonstrated it and went on and on and on about it and how much he LOVED it. After one time using it on our own, we were totally sold. We were so excited to have this little, pliable, rubbery gadget!

Imagine my surprise when going through my Granny's Gadgets stash this week! In the bin was this same gadget... only older and brown... not stylishly hot pink ;-)  At that moment I remembered seeing it in there several years before, back when I received the Gadget stash. And I remembered wondering, "what the....? hmmmmm...." and tossing it back in and never trying to figure it out.

What that means is.... I have TWO!  And one can be YOURS!  It really is an amazing helper. If you use a lot of garlic... or any garlic... you will be so pleased and amazed at how easy and fast this thing works.

To enter this giveaway:

• Be an official Taking It On follower and let me know in a comment that you are one  (this is mandatory this time) 
• Tell me how you currently peel garlic... in another comment  for an extra entry
• Let me know what you think of a Gadget Challenge in which readers post a gadget video of their own and we link them up on Mondays, or people send me their own gadget video and I post it along with mine... or something like that... in yet another comment  for an extra entry
• blog or Facebook link to this giveaway... and let me know in another comment  for an extra entry

That means a separate comment for each attempt at winning. And I will throw in a $15 Target gift card on the side for the winner :)

You may enter up until 12:01 a.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011. I will hold the drawing on Friday in honor of .... my birthday!  Woooo hooooo!  I find giving to be lots of fun :)

Best of luck to all who play!

Granny's Gadgets – Quarterly Review and Giveaway!

Don't be alarmed!

I am not out of gadgets! There are still many more to come :)

This little change-up is to give us all a bit of a breather, have a chance to see what we've learned, digest the information and talk about which are winners and which are ... not. I know you can go to my tabbed page "Granny's Gadgets" and check out what we've seen so far, but how many people do that? So I am putting it all together into this one post, so we can easily compare.

And there is a lil' giveaway attached to this whole shebang!

The Meat Pounder started the gadget game... it was a mystery. And in its post, how I came to be in possession of Granny's Gadgets is explained. Mandatory reading for any GG lover :)

Over the past 12 weeks, we've seen 4 gadgets that are egg-related.  There was the super cool egg topper, the nostalgic egg slicer, the bizarre contraceptive-device-esque egg peeler, and the nearly-unanimously-agreed-as-unnecessary egg separator.

There were three items that relate directly to baking... the very handy pie-slice-lifter-outter thing, the well-loved and oft-used apple corer, and the super birthday gadget... the cake tester!

We pondered seemingly-broken utensils... our grapefruit tools :P

And rounded things out with our Valentine's Day-appropriate spurtle (who doesn't love saying that?) and attempted to take fancy presentation to famous-restaurant-standards with the butter stamp mold thingamajig.

This brings us to the giveaway part...

To help you start (or continue) your own gadget collection, you can win a...

$20 gift card 

to
Williams-Sonoma!

There are several ways to win this amazing jumpstart toward your own heirloom Granny's Gadgets set. Here's how you can enter:

1. Mandatory!(only this first one is mandatory)  write a comment telling which was your favorite gadget video to date and why (gets you 1 entry), then you can also...
2. leave a comment about which gadget you wish you had (1 more entry) OR
3. post a comment detailing which gadget you felt was a dud and why (2 entries!) OR
4. go to the Taking It On Facebook page and click "like" (another 2 entries) OR
5. link this giveaway on your blog or Facebook (worth 2 entries) OR
6. tell me what kind of gadget do you hope to see in the future! (1 more entry)

You get a brownie point for being a public, official follower of Taking It On... but you needn't follow if you don't like to read my stuff :P And do let me know in the comment that you are a follower. If you add it all up, that's TEN possible ways to win! WOW! I know!


You don't need a google account to leave a comment... anyone can leave a comment :)
And you don't need to leave a separate comment for each entry if you don't want to, just maybe put the corresponding 'ways to enter' number in front of each entry within a single comment... I can add them all up and sort it all out.  


The entries will close Monday April 4, 2011 at 8 a.m. I will announce the winner in that day's Granny's Gadgets post.


Good luck to all who choose to play!  And remember...


you've gotta play to win ;-)


(And don't forget to vote in the photo contest in the sidebar!!!)


Disclaimer:  Williams-Sonoma had nothing to do with this giveaway, other than selling me the gift card ;-)  This giveaway is solely a way of thanking gadget-lovers, followers and "likers" for supporting my blog... and trying to find out if anyone is actually paying attention to this mess :P 

Looking for a great giveaway?

Well, I'm steering you over to Lady Brain's awesome giveaway featuring this blanket.

Lady Brain is a hilarious and very candid radio program co-hosted by a friend of mine.  She is one of those fun, funny, smart, pretty AND nice women most of us aspire to be like.  And when you are around her you usually walk away feeling more fun, funnier, smarter, prettier and nicer than you used to feel because her energy is contagious!

So I encourage you to check out Lady Brain's website/blog and Facebook page.  Their topics tend to be not for the weak-kneed or faint-of-heart... these chicks are ballsy, in your face, asking the questions we all want to ask... or at least want to know the answers to ;-)  Although there have been some topics that have been way over my provincial head...

Anyway... these Ladies are a gas.  See for yourself!

Love Actually is....

going home with...

PAMELA!!!!!

winner by virtue of the DVD method... except I didn't use Disney this time.  Each person was assigned a series and had the same number of that series DVDs tossed into the box as s/he had entries.  Pamela was Diego... "Magical Missions" was the lucky draw!

Congratulations, Pamela!!!!  Happy watching!

And Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

All you cool cats in blogland, thanks for entering!

Pamela, let me know where this feel-good is going by emailing me at the(underscore)missus(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.

The Three Dancin' Machines will be...

... as selected at random using the Scrabble method...

are...

Shooting Stars Mag!!!!!

and

Shelley!!!!!

and

Catey, again...

What is UP with that?  lol

Well, she did say she was feelin' lucky...  guess she meant it.

Congrats to you all!  Please let me know where this fabulous item will be going by emailing me at:  the(underscore)missus(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.

And thank you, everyone, who participated!  You all make it so much fun!  Thanks for sharing your musical movers with me, too!

Winning the Tree of Life Necklace...

Due to the large number of entries for this giveaway, I had to resort to my very first random-selection method... the two decks of cards.  (Click that if you need clarification).  This time was made even more random by my spilling the entire bag of cards while shaking them up!  (yes, I did retrieve them all!)

And the winner of this lovely necklace that was given to me by the insulting ex-boyfriend is....

Getrealmommy!!!!!

Judging from her blog, extra congratulations are in order ;-)  So here's to you... *chin, chin* ... best wishes and thanks so much for giving my giveaway a go!  Enjoy!

And many thanks to all for playing!

Winner of the Lapis and Larimar Jewelry

is.....

asl  (Audrey) !!!

again, using the Scrabble technique ;-)

Audrey was the letter "I" and that's what came out of the bag.

Congratulations, Audrey!

Give this set the life it deserves... one free of destructive toddler paws, one where it will be SEEN!  Enjoy!

Many, many thanks to all who participated!!!

Giveaway Finale! Holiday Feel-Good...

Alright, so the finale isn't really all that climactic.  It isn't grandiose.  It isn't worth a lot of money.  It isn't pretty.  It isn't useful.  It isn't award-winning.  But it is something that always makes me feel good, and life is soooooo much better when you're feeling good!

It is a "holiday" movie.  Silly me, I didn't even realize it was a holiday movie until a friend was asking about favorite holiday movies and someone mentioned this one.

This is not the best movie I have ever seen, but it does make me feel better than any movie I've ever seen!

Here's your opportunity to FEEL GOOD!!!!  Each of the following will gain you entry into this game of chance:

1. Follow me!  OR
2. Give a lil' ol' link on your blog or website  OR
3. Share with us YOUR feel-good fave and/or your holiday fave (worth two chances if you put two!)

Four ways to play!  EVERYone wants to feel good, right!  Try them all and share the love!

"Love actually IS all around."

Enter before midnight Tuesday November 23rd.  Winning isn't everything, but you gotta play if you you're looking to win.

Thanks to everyone who plays!  And even if you decide not to, I sincerely wish you all great love in your lives!

(Disclaimer:  I have not been nor will I be compensated in any way by or for conducting this giveaway.  I am in possession of this DVD because I bought it specifically to giveaway to one of my special readers!  That is how much I love this movie and how much I enjoy blogging :-)  )

Giveaway that should have been yesterday :P ~ $10 iTunes gift card (3 winners!)

It was bound to happen... I have punctuality issues :(

I didn't have time to look around the house for something to give away that people would actually want.  I DID find an awful, screechy, ugly, annoying Funky Chicken toy.  And I still have that set of pieces that can turn your average cake into a Pirate Cake!  But I didn't really think anyone would be all that interested in those.  

Then I was digging around in a drawer, trying to find a thick, black, permanent-ink pen to use to address a big box of baby clothes and ... VOILA!  I found a fun and desirable giveaway item!  Three of them, actually.

Times 3.

So it's time to juice up your iPod... or some such thing... 

If you are in the market for some new tunes, this is just the ticket!  If I had an iPod or an iPhone, I know what I'd be putting on.  Sure wish I had one....maybe I'll win that giveaway in my sidebar...  $10 can set you up for a good half-hour plus workout mix.

Three lucky people can get the jazzin'est jazz, the rockin'est beats, the mellowest jello... whatever.... that ten smackers worth of iTunes can provide!  

Ready for the rules?  You bet!

1. "Get up on THIS" by being a follower   OR...
2. Link this "Thriller" of a giveaway on your blog or website  OR...
3. Share with us all what tune or tunes help you to "Push It" when you really don't want to!

Three terrific opportunities for three readers to win one of three gift cards!  So time to "get jiggy wit it" and PLAY!  'Cuz y'all know that's how to win it.  I'll tell you the deadline for entering so you can "Beat It".... Monday night, November 22, 2010.  

Best of luck to all!  And thanks for playing!

(Disclaimer:  I have not been nor will I be compensated in any way by or for conducting this giveaway.  I am in possession of these gift cards by legal and above-board means... no bad things happened surrounding their existence or ownership... scout's honor).

And the winner is....

envelope, please...

Cinderella II  !!!!!

This time there were a total of 17 possible winning entries.  Some people only had one; someone had 4.  The randomness was provided by Disney this time.  I took 17 identical-feeling (in size, shape, texture, etc.) DVDs and assigned a DVD to each entry... just went down the list of entries in chronological order and paired each up with a Disney DVD from my already-OCD-alphabetically-arranged selection from "Aladdin" to "Incredibles."  I put them all in an enormous box w/ a lid and shook 'em up really, really well.  Then I closed my eyes, thrust my hand into the darkness and pulled out "Cinderella II" who lined up to be...

Catey!  Again.

Sometimes randomness is sooooo random.  But she did hedge her bets and increase her chances with 4 possible ways to win.

Congrats to Catey!

Living proof that it pays to play.  lol

Thanks go out to everyone who participated!  There will be many more opportunities in the future :-)

Giveaway of the Day – Lovely Silver Necklace w/ Amethyst and Garnet

Whew!  Almost forgot about today's giveaway.  Not too sure what jogged my memory, but so glad it happened!

Today's entrants will be commenting for a really lovely necklace... "The Tree of Life".  It is sterling silver with a little brass (I think it's brass, but for all I know it might be gold)  tree springing up from an amethyst and a little garnet above.  The pendant is about an inch and a half across by an inch and a quarter and hangs from a 16" sterling silver chain, 4-sided chain.

Here is a pic (blurry-ish again... I really need to figure out the macro feature on my doo-doo camera):

and this is how it sits on a real person...

Here's how the game goes:

1. Follow my blog, let me know that you are following and you get a chance  OR...
2. Tell me your birthstone and you get a chance  OR...
3. Link this giveaway on your blog or website and you get a chance  OR...
4. Comment saying something like "Oooo, pretty!"  and you get a chance.

FOUR easy ways to win!  Try one or try them all!  Or maybe just two or three ;-)  And you have until Sunday night... that's right... November 21st at midnight.  Winner to be announced Monday morning.

Share the news!  Invite your friends!  The more the merrier!  

All together now.... You gotta play to win!!!

Many, many thanks to all who chose to play!

(Disclaimer:  I have not been nor will I be compensated in any way by or for conducting this giveaway.  I am in possession of this jewelry by legal and above-board means... ages ago I dated a guy who gave me this, and not only did he say something really insulting to me but now I can't wear necklaces because my toddler will rip them off of me and I never go out, so you can have a chance to give this jewelry the nightlife it deserves and in a 'baggage-free' environment!).

The X-treem-ly Cool Bibs go to....

The White Peg!!!!


This time it was 3 red Battleship pegs for Catey and 2 white Battleship pegs for Laurie, put 'em in a camera pouch and shook 'em up and pulled one out... which means that

LAURIE is THE WINNER!!!

Congrats to Laurie!


Please let me know where these bibs are going by emailing me at:  the (underscore) missus (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.


Thanks, ladies, playing my game of chance!