Beauty Giveaway!

Update: This contest is closed, but I hope to have another giveaway very soon--keep checking the blog!



I love Avon's Glazewear Liquid Lip Color! So I'm going to give away two of these non-sticky glosses. Hopefully your lips will love it too. (Thanks, Karen, for suggesting the giveaway!)

Here are the rules:
1. Post a comment below. You can say whatever you want; just comment.
2. Tell your friends about this giveaway. Post it on your blog, send out e-mails, rent a billboard, whatever. When your friends enter the contest, make sure they list your name in their comment. If your friend wins, you'll get a free gloss, too.
3. In a few days, I'll randomly choose two winners. I'll give you a link so you can choose from the 16 available shades.

If you comment multiple times (because you just love commenting or because Blogger is messing up again), only your first comment will count as an entry.

If this goes over well, there will be more giveaways in the future.

Good luck!

By the way, these fabulous little glosses were recently on sale for $1.99 each, but you'll have to backorder to get that price. Here's how:

• If you don't have an Avon Rep, you can order through my grandma at her website.
  
• Click "Shop Now".
  
• Scroll down and on the left side of the page click "Shop by product line."
  
• Select "Glazewear" and check out the shades of the "Glazewear Liquid Lip Color" (3rd product in the left column).
  
• Then to get your special price, click "Shop by line #" at the top of the page.
  
• Select CAMP # 20.
  
• Search for "Glazewear Liquid Lip Color". You can then select your shade and add it to the cart.
• Use the code "FSANY" to get free shipping. And while you're at it, see if there's anything else you want--there are some good Avon deals going on right now, as always.
  

Hodge Podge: The Sequel

Another post of somewhat random tidbits. Here we go!

Backing up your computer files:

Do you back up files on your computer? Or are you like I was for years, knowing I should be backing up, but not getting around to it...and dreading the day when your hard drive goes kaput, and you lose pictures, documents, and e-mails?

You might want to check out Carbonite, an online backup service. After an initial backup, updated files are automatically saved to Carbonite's servers. It's only $50 a year. Enter offer code "Kim" or "Rush" to get a special deal. (Carbonite advertises on Kim Komando's and Rush Limbaugh's radio shows.)

A little over six months ago I signed up for the Carbonite free trial. About a week later, my computer died. I can't tell you the immense relief knowing I'd saved all those files and pictures. Restoring the files to my new computer was pretty easy.

Some people aren't comfortable using an online backup service. If that's the case with you, look into getting an external hard drive and using it for automatic backups. I like Carbonite because it's so simple, and I don't have to think about it.

Zoodle update:

Zoodle had his six month checkup today. His stats:

Weight: 17 lb. 13 oz. (Yes, Laurel, that's mighty close to 18 pounds, so I'll do the honors for you--You told me so!) 50th percentile.
Height: 17.5 inches. 75th percentile.

As a comparison, Chickie was 16 pounds at six months and 18 pounds at nine months.

Zoodle tried his first solid foods yesterday--smushed bananas. He loved the flavor but still has a strong tongue-thrust reflex, so he didn't actually swallow much of it.



Whoa, that picture makes me realize it's definitely time for me to wax my arms.

(Just kidding, that's my manly man The Engineer.)

Freecyle:

Freecycle allows members to request things they need. I found this post particularly funny:

WANTED: Large, thick, soft foam pieces (egg crate style)
I need foam, like that egg crate stuff you might put on your bed, or something similar to it. I need somewhat large pieces to lodge into my window openings, so it needs to be soft, rather than rigid. I need it to shield my neighbors as much as possible from noise I will be making.

Um...your guess on the "noise" is as good as mine.

For bloggers only...

Backing up your blog:

After my last Hodge Podge post, did you get your blog backed up? Well, thanks to a helpful comment that Megan posted, I'm using a fantastic free blog back up service, Blog Backup Online. It takes about three minutes to set up; then it will backup your entire blog, and perform daily backups. It's free. Do it. Now.

Why are you still reading? Back up that blog.

Backing up your Blogger template:

If you're on Blogger, you'll want to backup your template each time you change it. Just to go Layout-->Edit HTML-->Backup/Restore Template. Save the file somewhere you'll remember it. If your Blogger site is the victim of some bug, you can restore the template without rebuilding it.

Have a great Tuesday!

Six months old

My sweet boy, six months ago you decided to enter this big world.

Labor and delivery were painful, but intensely beautiful. That day was full of firsts--hearing your first cry, holding you for the first time, Daddy's first snuggles, that first sweet nursing session, meeting your proud big sister. Every one of those moments was part of our joyful introduction to you, our Zoodle. I knew from your first hours here that you were a perfect fit into our family.

But, oh, how you've changed! You were such a sweet little newborn, but just like all newborns, you really didn't do much. You slept a whole lot, and ate, and made sure to fill your daily diaper quota.

Now your wonderful little personality has emerged, and I am enamored with you!

I love that you respond to my singing. When you're fussy, sometimes it just takes Mama's voice singing some silly little song, to calm you down. It's adorable when you're so tired that you can't quite stop crying, but you want to laugh too, and the result is your funny giggle-sobs.

Speaking of laughing, yesterday you just let out those little baby guffaws, one after the other, as your big sister blew raspberries at you. It was a preview of the silly sibling times we'll be seeing more of as you get older.

You bring joy to the people around you, strangers and friends, when you give them your willing, sunny smile. You have no idea how happy your smiles make people.

Sometimes you really get mad, especially when you're sleepy, and especially in the evenings. You've really given Daddy some rough times lately. But even when we dull grown-ups just can't seem to figure out exactly what you need, you don't hold a grudge. You get over it, and then you're ready to smile, cuddle, or play again. We adults could learn a few lessons from you.

Little guy, you're getting less little every day. I'm aware that you may very well outgrow me before you hit your teens. But while I can, I'm going to keep holding you in my arms, enjoying the gift that is you.