A New Week! Thank Goodness!

I am SO glad it's a new week! Last week was just too much stress for me... with both kids entering new classes (P in 1st grade and WC in PreK), and work issues due to a computer software conversion we have been going through, I just had to curl up and spend some time in bed.

But it's a new week and I'm ready for it!

This pic was shot in front of some random house by where we parked to take P in to school on the first day. He's in a brand new school building this year, and drop off was CRAZY since drop off here was new for everyone. Plus they were watering the newly laid sod as everyone was walking in, so it was like giant misters were on and needless to say my hair ended up in a pony tail that day. Blech.

I purchased these Smirnoff Mixed Drinks on Saturday with plans to try them out, but didn't get around to it since I curled up in the fetal position for a bit. Anybody try them yet? I can no longer find my beloved Mike's Light Hard Cranberry Lemonade, so I am looking for a replacement. Should I dare try to find the calorie count, or just pretend like it's only 90 calories?????

Running Find: Sweaty Bands

My bloggy friend Katy at KatyShops had a post about Sweaty Bands last week and I just had to order some. (That's the shopaholic in me!)

It looked like just what I have been looking for - I have always had a hard time keeping my fine hair pulled back when I run, and since I have bangs, it's all the more complicated. I tried several of those trendy thin bands I see the college girls wearing, but they kept sliding up toward the top of my head and didn't work at all. Bobby pins and old plastic headbands work, but don't look or feel good.

I am happy to report that Sweaty Bands stay put and don't slip up at all! And they don't squeeze my head at all and are very comfortable!

I'm already planning my next order, so if you are local and want to include one with my order to save shipping, let me know.

I ordered the brown polka dot one for me, and the pink "Absolutely Dangerous" one for The Wild Child", because, well, she is!

Should I submit this to Cake Wrecks?

Should I?

I'm not crazy, right? This totally reads "Happy Will Birthday", doesn't it?

Oh, and come by my office for a slice today. No way our fam could polish off 1/2 a sheet cake....

This Cheered Me Up a Bit

The poor Politician is in bed.... not feeling well at all. His birthday party has been cancelled.... poor guy.

And our anniversary is today and we had plans for a night out, which also won't be happening.

So here I sit feeling sorry for the Sashas. What terrible timing this stomach virus is. Big picture is "This too shall pass" so I am sure we will find another day to celebrate.

And I did just get an email from ebates that my Big Fat Check is on the way. And it's $57.13 this quarter! Fab!

Surely you are an ebates member... surely! If not, head on over there and sign up, get your $5 bonus, and then refer all *your* friends to build your check even more- you get $5 for each friend who refer. I am so appreciative to all those who have signed up under me over the last few years.

Happy Birthday to The Politician!

Hard to believe, but my Politician turns 7 today! Poor guy is home feeling a bit punky today, but we are hoping he feels better for his party tomorrow.

Since he's lying around concentrating on getting better, I went ahead and pulled out one of his birthday presents this morning to keep him occupied.

Surely some of you are children of the 70s and remember the Laff-A-Lympics! I was so jazzed to find this at Target the other day, and when I popped in the DVD player this morning, it was just like I remembered!

Captain Cavemannnnnnn!!!!!!!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Better Late Than Never: Stila Palette Winner

Goodness. My Stila giveaway ended on August 4, and I'm just now getting around to selecting a winner! I am SO sorry! Life's a bit crazy....

Commenter 37 is the winner!

Kids, Canines, and Chaos said...
Oooh! I love anything makeup related!

Congrats! Please email me at barelytogether at yahoo dot com with your mailing info by Tuesday, August 17th at 10 pm CST. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll select a new winner.

Coach Poppy Fun

You know I'm a Coach girl.... and they have the coolest thing going on right now - The Poppy Project.

If you tweet this message...

Grow, Poppy! Grow! Spread #CoachPoppy love around the web and win prizes with #SashaSaysBlog www.coach.com/poppyproject

...the Poppy pattern on the side of this blog will grow, and so will your chances of spotting and winning prizes. You can even add other hashtags like #stars and #pink (of course!) to see what makes the pattern grow and change.

If you happen to spot a Coach Poppy bag in the pattern, click it! That'll win you a prize from Coach- a $100 Coach gift card.

Note: This is not an advertisement, and Coach has no clue who Sasha is, it's just a fun little Coach project that might just win us some prizes!

New Kicks

For the past few weeks, I have been running pretty much every morning at o'dark:thirty and have been having trouble with my left foot/ankle/shin/leg. That's the same leg that I had the foot injury on while training for the half in Spring 2009.

So I decided new shoes were in order, and a trip to the local running speciality store confirmed my suspicions- my shoes were shot and I definitely needed a new pair. I had no idea how many miles I had on them since my running was sporadic over the last year due to my illness last fall, but they could tell by the way I was standing in them that they weren't giving me enough support. (I'll be using Daily Mile to track the mileage on my shoes this time- just out of curiosity- and they say I should get around 400 miles out of them.)

They put me in the Adidas Supernova Adapt (LOVE the pink! I am *so* Elle Woods and pink is my signature color.) for pronation control and extra arch support. I wore them this morning and they felt great. New shoes always give me a spring in my step. And make me avoid puddles for a bit....

Another fabulous weekend at the lake

We had such a great weekend at the lake... sometimes I really hate being "city folk" and miss growing up in a smaller town and spending the weekends out in the country and at the lake. Maybe someday......

The Wild Child was dying to try skiing- is she my child???- and was very patient, listened, and tried so hard and actually got up for a bit. She loved it and wanted to try again!

And this totally blew me out of the water (pun!) but even The bashful Politician gave it a try!

The Wild Child said "P, keep your knees bent and your bottom down- those are your instructions" and we all died laughing. She tried three times and she's already an expert!

I am sad for the end of summer to be here, but we've had some great family adventures this summer.

Right Now I Am Listening To

Miranda Lambert - "Only Prettier"

"I'll keep drinkin' and you'll keep gettin' skinnier. I'm just like you, only prettier."

Love!

She's definitely my daughter

because she wanted to have her nails painted the same color as mine (Avon Mambo Melon), which totally made my heart melt.

Nevermind that she wore football jerseys to school on Tuesday and Wednesday......

Do you TWoP???

If you don't TWoP, you might have missed their Most Memorable Moments feature on The Bachelorette 6. Get over there and see it, it'll improve your mood and snap you out of an anxiety attack, promise!

Lake Report: The Sangria Was Good!

Somehow, 3 of us made sangria!

And yes, we drank it all!

Mine is the one in the middle, and the recipe is here.

Headed to the lake

Woo woo! I am headed to the lake for the annual Girls Weekend with some of my besties from college. We always have a great time!

Whether it be on a Mexican vacation

or just hanging in Dallas, I LOVE spending time with these girls!

Everybody's coming this year, all six of us, and I can't wait to see everyone and catch up!

Stila Palette Giveaway

Have you seen the darling new Stila Travel Palettes? I purchased two of the "Pretty In Paris" palettes- one for me and one for *you*! I am wearing the eye shadow today (Crepe and Jolie) and I love it.

From Sephora.com:

The second in a five-part series of collectible palettes, The Pretty in Paris palette is all you need to get pretty on the go! It features Stila's award-winning eyeshadows in four trend-setting shades: Crepe (pale pink), Cherie (reddish brown), Jolie (brownish pink) and Chocolat (brown). The palette also includes Convertible Color in "Rosebud", a limited-edition shade, and a built-in mirror for easy application and touch-ups on the go!

Giveaway will close Wednesday, Aug 4th at 9:00 pm CST and I will choose 1 winner, who needs to be from the US.

To enter, just follow Sasha Says and leave a comment with your email address!

Easy Peasy! Good luck!

Vitatops

Do you eat Vitatops? We *love* them at our house- I especially love them because they are only 1 Weight Watches point and have a great amount of fiber and keep me full all morning.

And my kids love them because they are chocolaty. They have no idea they are good for them!

But I got super-tired of paying $4.20 plus tax for a box of 4 from Target. I heard about, researched, and tried the mix they sell, and by George, it's a winner! For $15.48 (free super-saver shipping if you spend over $25 at Amazon), you get three boxes of mix, and each box makes 12 muffin tops- a total of 36 tops.

I didn't have a muffin top pan, so I ordered two of these from Amazon and have been very pleased with them- sprayed liberally with Pam, the muffin tops come right out after baking.

Some notes on using the mix: I use 3/4 cup of Eggbeaters in place of the egg and sprinkle each top with 7 chocolate chips. The baking directions on the box are a little off, so I adjust it to 350 degrees for 15 minutes and get a great result. These are easily heated in the microwave for about 20 seconds from frozen, for a quick and easy breakfast.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon referral links.

Damn

The Wild Child has great fine motor skills, due in part to the listening therapy program she started at age 2 1/2 for her Sensory Processing Disorder. It really fine-tuned her motor skills.

And she LOVES to cut. She cuts out coupons for me, cuts out her coloring pages, and even just cuts pieces of lined paper up into bits. I am forever picking up little slivers of paper off the carpet.

But this morning I found that the little slivers of paper I was picking up were her SHOT RECORD. She somehow found it in the kitchen and managed to cut it in a million pieces. Lovely.

So it looks like I need to get a locking file cabinet to store all the things I need kept in one piece.

9 Nail Polishes You Need to Branch Out and Wear Right Now

I'm relatively conservative in the way I dress and do my makeup. My day job is in corporate accounting in a relatively conservative setting.

But..... I absolutely love expressing myself through my nail polish! Why not? It's nothing permanent or in-your-face, like a visible tatoo or pink hair might be. Wearing trendy colors on your fingers is a great way to add a little pizazz by staying current but yet still presentable.

My boss has never said a word about my choice of expression- I've gotten a few raised eyebrows at some of my choices, but since I don't deal directly with the public on a daily basis, it's never been an issue.

I've put together a list of some of my favorite shades right now- a great place to start if you haven't worn trendy colors before.

1. China Glaze Midnight Mission (from Vintage Vixen collection)

2. China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald (from Vintage Vixen collection)

3. Sephora by OPI Midnight Mambo (Sephora.com online exclusive)

4. China Glaze Swing Baby (from Vintage Vixen collection)

5. Sally Hansen Sea and Be Seen (Spring 2010 collection)

6. Essie Lapis of Luxury (from Resort collection)

7. Sephora by OPI Metro Chic (from core line)

8. Sephora by OPI Leaf Him at the Altar (from Modern Flowers collection)

9. Any of the blues/greens from Sephora by OPI Havana Nights collection (one at at time, please!)

left to right

Havana Dreams (3 coats)
Caribbean Cocktail (3 coats)
Teal We Meet Again (2 coats)
Read My Palm (2 coats)

I'd love to hear from Sasha Says readers... what colors are you wearing these days? Have you tried any of these colors? Are you able to wear colors like this in your office?

Remember I always post my manis on my nail blog- Manicure Mommas. I'd love to have you visit there as well!

Did you watch The Bachelorette?

And did you swoon when Chris said "God, I love you" last night?

I sure did.......

I know, I know, I've read the spoilers on Reality Steve... but I'm pulling for Chris.

Guess Who Dressed Herself?

I laughed when she came out of her room with her boots on with shorts (so very Jessie!), but in line for the movies, I looked back and realized the teenager behind us was dressed just like that (minus the Jessie shirt!).

So I suppose it was quite in style after all.

Swatch of Fresh Sugar Plum lip balm

Fresh Sugar Plum

(product photo from Sephora)

One of my favorite lip balms, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, is now available in Plum and of course I ordered it because I am absolutely obsessed with all things plum.

I am so glad I did- it's just gorgeous! It feels so luxurious on your lips, just like the original, but it has a beautiful plum sheen. It's a bit pricey at $22.50, but it's a worthwhile luxury to me. I also have the Rose and Clear and have repurchased several times.

Big Brother Office Pool

I drew Ragan from Big Brother 12 .

Surely you knew I'd draw Mr. Bowtie in the office pool, right? I mean, I had Scarfy McScarferson last year (Kevin- who I really ended up liking!).

What's your favorite BB site? I have relied on Hamster Watch the last few seasons to get my fix. Of course, I have no time for live feeds, but I love reading the daily summaries and just started following them on Twitter.

Dad Life- Has this made it around yet?????

A friend showed the Dad Life vid to me last weekend, and Mr. Sasha kept telling me he had already emailed it to me. I'm all about social media and knew I hadn't seen it, so I remembered the subject line of the email he sent said "Swagger Wagon" and that was the Toyota vid, totally different! (And I deleted it since we've all seen Swagger Wagon...)

So this was new to me, and I die! "Hold up- is that a weed in my fescue? Ah no- Roundup to the rescue!"

Mwahhhhhh....... I might even like this better than Swagger Wagon.

Have you seen it?

Dear Marcia Cross,

I saw your commercial for Motts Medleys today.

If my kids happen to see it, I'm going to be very very upset with you.

They certainly don't need to hear about those "invisible vegetables" in there. I have them snowed over about it, and I don't need you spoiling it. Why would you do that to me?

Perception is everything, and if P finds out about those carrots, he won't be indulging anymore.

So if I see that commercial running on Disney or Sprout........... well, let's just hope I don't!

Too Faced Leopard Love Palette- Darling!

Have you ever seen anything so darling? I am loving Too Faced Cosmetics these days- their products are just too cute and call my name until I purchase them.

This palette has three separate colors- a bronzer, blush, and a highlighter. Yesterday I tried the blush and then topped it with the highlighter on top of my cheekbones and I loved the look.

I purchased this from Sephora for $30. Here's a description from Sephora:

Three naturally sexy shades offer a variety of application options: The new
Peach Leopard offers a soft and healthy naturally apricot glow, the new Candy
Leopard contains pink tones that promote a luminous, flush pop of color, and
best-selling Pink Leopard contains golden bronze and gilded pinks to brighten
any complexion. This palette provides an on-box, get-the-look face chart with
easy-to-follow steps for creating a naturally glowing complexion. Customize your
bronze or blush by mixing shades to color and contour as the formula builds
evenly for a flawless finish—from sheer and sexy to deep and dangerous.

Well, we all need that, don't we? Deep and dangerous though? Not sure about that!

Should you feel the need to order, don't forget to go thru ebates for 4% back and use a code from retailmenot- I used BRONZEME to get a small size of St. Tropez tanning lotion because I've always wanted to try it.

I Love My Flip!

We are loving our new Flip HD! My FIL is in the hospital and we've been making some videos for him to watch of the kids. P is loving baseball and wanted to share his swing. Major leaguer in the making if I do say so myself. You just plug the camera into the computer and it prompts you to do all kinds of stuff like email and load to youtube.

It's $152 on Amazon right now, and is easy-peasy to use, as the kids would say. Basically I took it out of the box and turned it on.

I also got this little tripod thinking I might do a vlog or nail tutorial. Don't get too excited, we all know how my turnaround time on new stuff that has to be planned out is. This puppy is still in the box.

But I *have* been using the case I bought and it's perfect. I'm keeping the Flip in my purse for those all-of-the-sudden, must-be-filmed moment that are sure to pop up.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon referral links, along with a darling video of my almost 6 year old hitting the ball over the fence.

Link to Amazon gift card giveaway

Check out Trainer Momma- she is giving away some Amazon giftcards! Cool!

Havaianas: Do I Need Some?

I have heard quite a bit about Havaianas, but have never seen them or tried them on. Do I need some? All they all that?

Rue La La has a Havaianas Boutique today- it looks like you can get two pair for $20-25.

Tell me about them!

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link.

Should you happen to see me running down the road

and see my dying laughing, almost tripping,

I shall be listening to Bridget Jones's Diary on my ipod.

I love music, I really do, but I am so ADD that I can't listen to music while I run. Too many opportunities for my mind to wander, and I always end up thinking about how tired I am and how much I want to stop running. And how much I'd actually prefer a beer.

But I found that if I listen to some British chick lit, my runs are glorious, much fun, and v. good.

Because of this, I've also decided to add some of Bridget's phrases into my daily speak. Beginning now, I will be saying the following:

1. Mobile (pronounced mo-bile)
2. Hurrah!
3. v. good and non v. good
4. Flat, in reference to while I live
5. Inner Poise
6. Alcohol units
7. Fancy, as in "Fancy a snack?"

Rainy Holiday

Wow! Did we ever get some rain this weekend!

The Sashas still had a fab time. We dashed up to a hotel in The Big City to enjoy an indoor waterpark during the downpoor. The kids had a ball and we drank many a beer.

We capped last night off with some frozen lemonade and although I don't know what she was saying, The Wild Child was in Little Miss Bossypants mode, which is too cute on film.

Hope you had a great holiday!

Day of Blog Silence for Cohen

Found It!

Ok guys- I have found my motivation! Last week I told you all about the contract I put on myself at http://www.stickk.com/ to lose 2 pounds per week for 13 weeks. If I don't make that goal each week, $5 will be automatically to an anti-charity (someone I would NEVER chose to give money to!).

Today was my weigh-in day, and I've lost 3 pounds! Yay!!!!! I've been mindful of my food/drink choices and have been running in the mornings before work, and it's working! I am so excited.

My Little Fancy Nancy

This was WC getting ready to go to the pool the other day. Can you tell we read a lot of Fancy Nancy in our house?

Look! My mani is featured on Sephora's blog!

How cool is that screenshot? That's my pic listed on Sephora's blog today in "The Girls of Summer Are All Rocking SEPHORA by OPI"!

I love love love social media. It's so amazing to me that a pic of my mani is now on the blog of my favorite store in the world! (and the pic links to my nail blog too- squee!)

I Just Put a Contract On Myself

My weight situation is out of hand and has been for quite some time. I can blame it on my illness last fall and my resulting low energy level, but really, I eat too much junk and drink too much beer.

So.......

I just signed up at http://www.stickk.com/ and set up a contract to lose 2 pounds per week. I have 26 pounds to lose, so my contract is 13 weeks long.

For extra incentive, there is money riding on my contract.

I will weigh in every Wednesday and log my progress into stickK and if I fail to lose 2 pounds, $5 will be donated to the anti-charity of my choice. I won't reveal who I chose, because SashaSays is not about politics, but let's just say it's something I *don't* support. StickK's list includes pro-choice and antiabortion groups, several presidential libraries (Rep and Dem) and even British soccer teams.

Anyone care to join me?

Swagbucks

If you haven't joined Swagbucks yet, it's time to jump on the bandwagon. I just redeemed points for another $5 gift card!

If you are like me, you do Google searches all the time. Why not do them through Swagbucks and earn some points? You could win Swagbucks on many of them, and get a bunch of $5 Amazon gift cards banked.

After you join, you can refer friends and family and get bucks for their searches too. Hell of a deal.

Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless

I was so excited to be chosen for the BzzAgent COVERGIRL & Olay Simply Ageless campaign. You know how much I love new makeup!

For the past few weeks, I've been trying out the Simply Ageless Foundation in shade 210- Classic Ivory. I'm quite yellow, so I was afraid this might be too neutral for me, but it actually matches my skin perfectly. I tend to be a bit oily, so I was worried that a cream foundation would be too much for me- but I was wrong! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it and found myself reaching for it day after day.

From the COVERGIRL website: This breakthrough formula with Olay Regenerist Serum and SPF 22 stays suspended over fine lines and wrinkles, unlike the leading anti-aging department store foundation that can gather in wrinkles and make skin look older. Clinically shown to provide significant improvement in skin condition in just four weeks.






However, I will tell you I don't use the sponge applicator that it comes with. Applying the foundation with the sponge gives a very heavy coverage- much too heavy for me. I instead use a damp foundation brush and love the light-to-medium coverage I get.


I totally meant to take a pic before I started using it, but yeah, that didn't happen. You can see where I've swirled my brush around- sorry about that, but hopefully you can get the idea of what the product looks like.

Up until earlier this year, I was using a mineral foundation, but I was noticing that it was settling into the fine lines around my mouth and eyes and making me look older than my 36 years. I am so glad I found this product- I have officially switched!

Disclosure: I received this product for word-of-mouth marketing purposes from BzzAgent.

Fab Deal on Stila Products

Musings of a Muse had a great post today telling us all about a great deal at Stila today- free shipping if you use code REFILL.

My suggestion: The Travel Girl Palette (four eyeshadow and a convertible color) for $10, and/or the It Girl Palette (three neutral eyeshadows, including my favorite Stila color, Kitten), also only $10.

Happy Shopping!

Two Things

My parents took the kiddos to see "Toy Story 3" this weekend, and P got a bit scared at one point and actually wanted to leave! He's a sensitive little guy, so if your child is a rough-and-tumble tough kid, you're probably fine, but do know those with gentle souls may be frightened. Mom was able to reassure him that all ends well, so they did stay, but I'd love to hear if other kids were scared too. Do tell!

Also, I have been thinking about getting an iphone, but I tried out a friend's the other day, and because of my fingernails, I had a terrible time typing- it was nearly impossible. What do others with long nails do? Am I out of luck? I currently have a Samsung Jack and type with the corners of my thumbnails.

I was getting excited about all the neat apps (Shazam!) but if I can't type on the stupid thing, I'm out.

GDA: Complete series: Friends

If you don't already have the complete Friends library, this is a fabulous deal- all 10 seasons for $100- no tax and no shipping. It's the Gold Box Deal on Amazon today- there's a limited stock, though!

Thirsty Thursday 6-16-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and I of course am joining in.

Raspberry Lemonade Sangria

Doesn't that look amazing? I was searching for a sangria recipe I had seen in a magazine that was made with white wine rather than red, and I ran across this and my mouth started watering! I definitely plan on making this- maybe Fourth of July weekend, and I can add some blueberries!

CoverGirl Blast

Recently I was asked to join the CoverGirl Blast campaign at BzzAgent and being the makeup junkie I am, I of course joined.

I received the ShadowBlast eyeshadow in Silver Sky and it's so pretty in the tube! I do a pretty natural look for work, and it looks like a bit much for me to use on a regular day, so I've been saving it for a night out. I had this grand plan of dressing up, doing a smoky eye, and just looking glamorous!

Guess what? The campaign ends today and that special occasion never materialized! I am so sad about that.... Do you think that means I need to get out more?

But I did find one really neat thing on Covergirl's site that I thought was so cool: a new section called "Find Your Match." You select from 15 different department store brands, narrow your search by category, product name, and shade, and then Covergirl suggests a comparable product in their line. Pretty cool! It's not totally complete yet (they only have one product for Stila listed) but a great idea and they say they'll be adding more.

Why having a toddler is like being at a frat party

Best blog post ever. You must go read it now.

Help! I have major under eye wrinkles!

I know that my under eye wrinkles are due to wearing contacts for 26 (!!) years, and to all those years of sunning my face, both outside and in tanning booth (I'd even search out the booths with the "extra face tanner"). But that doesn't make it any easier to look at and accept!

I ran across a really good deal for the new Aveeno Active Naturals Ageless Vitality Elasticity Recharging System, Eyes, so I am currently testing it out and shall report back.

It's a two-step system- the first is a serum and the second a cream. I've been using it for close to a week and I like it so far, although that's not really enough time to decide if my wrinkles are reduced. It doesn't sting or have an odor, and my makeup goes on nicely over it. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a win so far.

If you purchase it from www.walmart.com for $40.97 (that includes shipping, but not tax) you'll get a bonus $15 eGift Card to use later at www.walmart.com.

Then you submit your receipt along with this rebate form (must be purchased before 7-15-10) and get $20 back from Aveeno.

Net price:
$40.97 plus tax
less 15 gift card
less 20 rebate
Final price $6 plus tax

Not too shabby.

And although I myself forgot, you can go through ebates for an additional 1% off.

This little girl

hopes you have a great day!

(Notice what's in her hand? Nail polish! She takes after her momma!)

It's shaping up to be a great day. Already got my workout in (Week 1 Day 3 of Jay Johnson's Boot Camp- yes, I fell off that wagon during the Spring, but am back on track) and am fixin' to get ready for work. The fam is still sleeping by will be up soon.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

My Son, the Comedian

P spied this statue at a local museum and couldn't resist pretending to be stepped on....

Love the tongue sticking out!

Show Us Your Life: China Patterns

This week's topic at Kelly's Korner is China Patterns. The Mr. and I got married in 1999 and I had so much fun picking out my dishes.


It's a tradition on my mom's side of the family to use a Denby pattern for everyday dishes. My mom and her two sisters all have Denby. Denby is fabulous just for the fact that it is oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe. And I love the stoneware look.

I chose the Juice pattern, which, sadly, has been discontinued. Luckily I have all the pieces I need for 12 place settings. I love the mix-and-match pattern and in each piece I got 4 pieces of each of the three colors.

For my "fancy" dishes, I chose Villeroy & Boch French Garden. These are also mix-and-match, but I chose to pick a pattern for each type of plate and stick with that pattern for all 8.

Sadly, we don't entertain much and these only get used on special occasions like Christmas Eve dinner. Maybe when the kids are older we will use them more.
I'd love to see what dishes you chose. Leave me a comment if you join in on Kelly's Show Us Your Life this week.

Give

What are you doing next Monday, the 14th of June?

Would you join me in giving blood on World Blood Donor Day? My father-in-law will be entering the hospital soon to prepare for his stem cell transplant to treat his leukemia. Over the past few months, his illness has caused him to need a number of blood transfusions. I'll be giving in his name next week to help offset those costs. If you are local and would like to do the same, please email me for info about how to designate your donation specifically for him.

ABOUT THE “GIVE” DONATION INITIATIVE:

Many Americans consider giving blood to be an important act of community service, however, less than 10 percent donate on an annual basis. Incredibly, if just one percent more donated–less than four million Americans–the nation’s blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future. To help close this gap, Nexcare Brand and America ’s Blood Centers are partnering on the second annual give program, a nationwide blood donation initiative kicking off on World Blood Donor Day, Monday, June 14th, and extending through Sunday, June 20th.
With the support of hundreds of participating local blood centers, the give program inspires Americans with a message of hope, and helps them to spread the word by distributing limited-edition Nexcare Bandages marked with the word give.

World Blood Donor Day comes at an important time each year. As local blood centers face “summer shortages,” the nation’s blood supply comes under strain due to less donations because of increased vacation schedules and other seasonal distractions that tend to take place in the summer months. World Blood Donor Day reminds Americans to donate and enables them to help make a impact in reducing these shortages.

The 2010 give Bandages are inspired by both the patriotic act of giving blood as well as Flag Day, which will also be recognized on June 14, 2010. This collection of three Nexcare bandages are designed to represent the American flag signify the everyday hero in each American who commits to saving lives by donating blood.

Additionally, there’s a dedicated website, http://www.nexcaregive.com/, where visitors can share their story, get directions to our local blood center and register to receive coupons and a free sampling of bandages.

Did You Know? Facts About Blood Donation
· One pint of blood can save up to three lives
· Every two seconds, someone needs blood
· Most Americans will require a blood transfusion at some point in their lives
· Less than 10% of Americans donate blood on an annual basis
· If one percent more Americans gave blood, all national blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future
· There is no substitute for human blood
· Donors can give whole blood up to six times a year