1. Seeing as many websites and blogs host their giveaways on Friday, I often include links to a giveaway or two on the FFF. Today there are some great ones: awesome prizes for an awesome cause: first up, from Today’s Mama: they are giving away an 21.5″ iMac with iPhoto and iMovie and iWantToWinIt! The great news is, all you need to do to enter the contest is show support for JustAsk, a group that advocates early screening tests for your personal potential risk for developing breast cancer. Check out the post on Today’s Mama for all the info. Another giveaway connected to Just Ask is from Tip Junkie – who is giving away a Canon Rebel SLR camera!!! I want one of these like you have no idea – even though my idol, PW, prefers Nikon, I like Canon better.
2. On the topic of breast cancer, a dear friend of mine has decided to participate in the 3Day walk in Arizona and is collecting donations. I know it’s hard to give to everyone and everything, but if you feel so inclined, here is a link to her donation page. Every little bit helps! She is now more than half way to her goal, and mentioned she was trying to think of ways to raise more money. I told her to dress her big ol’ dog Gus up in a pink bikini and take him door to door asking for change – she asked me how much wine I was drinking these days.
3. Back here in the MidWest, I have several friends who participate in the Chicago 3Day. Every summer before the walk one of the girls hosts a Bunco night to raise a few extra bucks. Bunco for Boobies! It’s a wonderful way to hang out with friends while raising money for a great cause. Last summer we each got these adorable hand painted wine glasses as a thank-you gift:
4. For my friend in #2, I was able to donate a bit more than I had planned because I saved a load of cash another way, proving that unless the question involves your ass and a pair of pants, it never hurts to ask. Case in point, last Saturday I took the husband on a hot date – we went to Best Buy to shop in peace without the usual screaming and chasing involved when taking our girls to a store. I got myself a sweet new wireless all-in-one printer. Kodak was offering a special deal – bring in any old printer (any brand) to be recycled, and take $50 off the purchase of a new Kodak printer (and that is on top of any weekly sale price). With a deal this great, of course the printers were not in stock and I had to have mine shipped out. Before I left to pick it up mid-week, I checked the BB website for ink deals and hey-o, the price on the printer I had just purchased had dropped another $30! Many stores offer a price match guarantee if a price changes within a certain amount of time from the purchase date, but I was a bit worried that with the recycling discount I had also received they would say “Are you kidding me? No way lady, get your cheap ass out of my store!” But, like I said – it doesn’t hurt to ask. And go me – because I walked out of there with my printer and a $30 gift card! If you’re shopping for a new printer, the Kodak recycling credit ended this week – I think – but I believe HP is running a similar offer.
5. And finally, because I know you have to be wondering just from the title of this blog post…Lil’ G and the poop in her pop. A few weeks ago I was at the drive-up window at the bank where the very nice tellers are always sure to include a treat for the girls in the canister (it might have something to do with the fact that on more than one occasion Miss A has leaned out the window and shouted at the top of her lungs into the teller speaker thingie, asking if they have any red lollipops.) This particular trip the teller gave the girls Tootsie Roll pops. Lil’ G had yet to encounter such a thing. Which is why, a few miles down the road, I hear from the back seat, “Poop!” Let me tell you, that word, shrieked by a two year old, strikes terror into a mother’s heart – especially when that mother is doing 55 and has no way of launching a fecal seek and destroy mission. Cringing, I ask her “What poop? Where’s poop?” Please, don’t faint from the eloquence of my speech. Lil G’s repsonse was “Poop in my lollipop!” Which really freaked me out til I looked in the rear view mirror to see her holding up her tootsie pop, with the fudgy center exposed – looking for all the world, like, well…poop. “Oh no, honey, that’s not poop – that’s candy.”
There is a lot to be said for the kind of trust children have at this age. “Oh, candy?” she asked me, eying the sucker for just a moment more before popping it back in her mouth.
Hopefully, the “Not poop/candy” issue won’t come back to haunt me in some horrible way. Don’t laugh: we’ve recently launched potty training and the danger is very real.
Melonie Johnson 