Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Last HOORAH!

Today is the day.  Or should I say tonight is the night?  Either way, it is the last of the March madness giveaways.  It's hard to even think about basketball since it hasn't been on since Sunday and won't be on until Saturday.  Sad.  I can't believe it's almost over.

What can we talk about tonight?  What can you win by leaving a comment tonight?  Hmmmm.......well, since I am a total book lover, I'm going to give a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble.  I love to read.  I love to just hang out in a book store.  Of course, since I have written two novels myself (too bad nothing came out of it), I love to critique other authors.  And I LOVE to read new material!

So tell me, readers (of both this blog, and I'm sure, of good books), what are some of your favorite books?  I'm always interested in hearing what people are reading.  And I love to share some of my favorite books with others.  I  keep a book journal at the house because I have a terrible memory.  Sometimes I know I've read a book, but I can't remember what I thought about it.  In my journal, I summarize the book and give it a ranking.  Yeah, I'm kind-of a big dork.  But hey, it works!

I will start (of course) by sharing some of my favorite novels.  I love classics.  I love The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I love The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  I also love super fun chick lit books.  I love I Do But I Don't by Cara Lockwood.  And I love any book written by Sophie Kinsella.  My list could go on and on and on (you get the idea).....

Of course, the same rules of the giveaway apply!  I need ten of ya to tell me one of your favorite books.  If you feel like sharing more than one (and I kinda think you should), that would be awesome!  I will have Blake draw the winner on Saturday at 8 PM.  Good luck on this very LAST giveaway.  Forever.  And ever.  :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

It's Winnin' Time!

Saturday is the day the winner is revealed.  What's at stake?  Recipes and a $10 Panera gift card.  WOO HOO!  And we BARELY got the minimum number of comments.  By that I mean we had EXACTLY ten.  The numbers are dropping!  Boo hoo (that's the sound of me crying because people are losing interest in the giveaway).  However, it gives you readers better odds at winning.

This week I'm very happy to tell my dear friend that her luck is still in tact.  She was worried the last several weeks when her number was not picked (randomly by Blake).  Tonight, it is indeed her lucky night.  Jenny Squire, you are the winner.  Three cheers for Jenny!  Hip hip hooray!

Thank you all for sharing AWESOME recipes and for sharing your favorite restaurants.  I can't wait to try them out!

Next week will be the final March giveaway.  Come back on Tuesday (or before then, if you'd like) to find out what you could win!  Now it's time for me to get back to watchin' the game!  I still can't believe all the upsets and AWESOME games that have been on during the tournament!  I LOVE this month!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Food For Thought

It's that time of week again!  I can't believe the giveaways are almost over.  That means basketball (NCAA) is almost over for the whole season.  BOO.  That makes me super sad.  What cheers me up in times like this?  Normally, food.  I heart food.  But since I'm super "healthy" and what-not, I just run a little bit.  That takes my mind off depressing things (like waiting lots and lots of months for basketball to return)!

But let's pretend I am turning to food.  Yummmmm.....food.  Delicious.  Okay, seriously.  I know the blog I posted last week was kind-of about food.  This week, I have a different take.  First of all, let me say that I cook dinner for my family every night.  Well, one day is a "pick what you want" day.  But for the most part, I cook.  I plan a menu, I stick to a strict budget, and I try lots of new recipes.  With that being said, I like to eat out, too.  How about you?  (I can see you all nodding slowly).

Sooooo.......this week you can share a favorite recipe (which could perhaps be quite a pain), or you can tell me your favorite restaurant!  Since I'm the one running the show, I'm choosing the easy way out.  It is very hard to pick a favorite restaurant (but easier than typing a recipe).  And if you've been following my blog (as you should have been) since the beginning, you know my love for Taco Bell.  I will not choose that.  I will go a different route and say my favorite restaurant is The Cheesecake Factory.  Yup.  I picked it (and not Taco Bell).  And not only do I have to share the where but I have to share the what.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the four cheese pasta.  YUM.  My stomach might  be growling right now!  Okay it IS growling right now.

If you are going to share a restaurant, make sure you share what your favorite menu item is.  If you don't, you're in trouble!  HA!  But seriously.......

If you're going to share a recipe, knock yourself out!  I LOVE trying new things.  Hopefully it's not too hard to type one out.  But I realize some people might not go out a lot and might not want to talk about stinkin' restaurants!  So be it! I won't judge you (too much).

What will the winner receive?  Well, let me tell you.  The winner will get some recipe cards (and yes, I will share some of my favorites) and a $10 gift card to Panera Bread.  You have to have a back-up planned in case your meal fails, right?  Or if you need to satisfy your bagel craving.....you'll be set! 

The rules are the same.  I need to see ten peeps comment and I will draw the winner on Saturday night (8 PM).  Good luck, fellow eaters! :)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Me Lucky Charms!

Nope, me lucky charms are not found in a General Mills cereal box, they are found right here at home!
This is a decent photo of my "charms".....but I like this one better:

Billy looks pretty awesome with an extremely forced smile, Blake looks angry, and Lola is actually smiling!


Our St. Patrick's Day was pretty fun!  No, we aren't Irish and no, we don't drink.  But we can sure celebrate the holiday....especially when green food is an option!  And pinching people who don't wear green is also pretty cool.  I for sure noticed (as most of you did, too) that Billy wasn't wearing green.  Yes, I pinched him (at least a few times).

Blake's class at school decided to make traps in hopes of catching a leprechaun.  I thought it was a fun thing for the kidlets to do...until I found out the kidlets were bringing the traps home.  Yeah.  Home.  That means, we, the parents, had to figure out how to "trap" a leprechaun.  I got my creative juices flowing but I must have been running on empty because I couldn't come up with anything.  Well, I came up with something about five minutes before I went to bed on St. Patrick's Day Eve.  Here is a photo of the trap and the evidence that a leprechaun had indeed visited our house.
As you can see, there is a ramp for the leprechaun to climb and a rope to ensnare him.

Here is Blake posing with his trap.

Here is the note Lucky Leprechaun (aka Sarah Yadon) left Blake.

So I sprinkled some green glitter on the ramp, cut the rope that was meant to catch the leprechaun, and left the note.  We were able to deduce that a leprechaun was tempted by a picture of a pot of gold Blake had left on top of his trap.  He then got caught in the rope.  However, his knife-carrying sidekick leprechauns were able to free him.  While leaving in such a rush, the leprechauns dropped several coins from their pouches.   Oh, and if that wasn't enough, one of them left a hat behind.  Yup.  That's what happened.  For reals.  Blake had the BEST day ever because he had coinage and he caught a leprechaun (who was able to escape).  What could bring more luck than that?  He told me that night he will have good luck for the rest of his life.  Awesome.  What else can I say?

For dinner, I promised Blake brinner (our word---stolen from the TV show, Scrubs---for breakfast at dinner).  We went with green eggs and ham....except I substituted bacon for ham and I didn't dye it green.  I also made green pancakes (which looked a lot greener when cut open).  Um....yeah, it doesn't look that great but he had fun partaking!
So there ya have it.  St. Patrick's Day.....Yadon style!  And for fun, here a couple photos of Lola.  I know she's one of my lucky charms because her shirt said to kiss her for good luck.  I TOTALLY did....like A LOT! :)


Saturday, March 20, 2010

My Madness, My Winner!

Can I just say that every year my bracket finds a way to disappoint me EVEN more.  Maybe I should stop filling them out?  NEVER!  I will never give up!  Anyway, this was a year where I thought there wouldn't be quite as many upsets as in the past.  I.  Was.  Wrong.  My bracket is a disaster.  It is very obvious why they call this March madness.  It's because a.  people go completely mad when their brackets are ruined and b.  the upsets and the games themsleves are just madness.  Period.

With all that being said, I love this time of year.  But I think I've kinda made that clear in my other posts.  Just so you know, I'm not that bitter about U of L's early exit from the tourney.  I, of course, am disappointed but I didn't expect too much after such an inconsistent season.

Now I will cheer for all the underdogs.  I love cheering for the lower seeds!  Talk about crazy, right?  But once my team's out and my bracket makes as much sense as a Russian newspaper, I just have fun!  And what is more fun than watching tiny teams (like St. Mary's) beat Big East giants (like Villanova....sorry, Jay Wright, you know I love you).  Or Kansas losing to Northern Iowa?  SWEET!  I recommend you all try this.  GO GO GO all you teams with something to prove!  But seriously, while I cheer for said "tiny teams," I'm secretly hoping Syracuse wins it all.  Why?  Because in the regular season, U of L beat them.......TWICE!

In other news, I'm sure you all want to know the winner of the March madness mayhem giveaway.  After following the same "pick a winner" pattern as last week, I am happy to reveal the winner of the 1 year subscription to Fitness magazine!  It is Andra (*A*).  HOORAY!  And......since this is March madness, I had Blake draw one more name to win a 6 month subscription to ESPN the magazine.  The winner of that subscription is.....Alan Mowery!  Congrats to the winners.  :)  Sorry to the losers.  :(  Better luck next week!

**Winners need to e-mail their addresses to yadons@gmail.com.  I will take care of the rest!**

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

I'm a Big Ol' Loser?????

Let the madness continue....continue, I say!  That's right, everyone, it's Tuesday; and we all know what that means.  Yeah, American Idol and The Biggest Loser are on!  Oh, and it's also the second week of my giveaway!  Since last week was about American Idol, this week is about being a loser?  I mean, The Biggest Loser, that's what it's all about....losing losing losing.....weight weight weight!

I have been on a major health and exercise kick lately.  I mean major.  I'm gearing up for a FIVE K.  Yeah, I'm going all "runner" on you guys!  Okay, so a 5K isn't that big of a deal but it's a start, right?  I am envisioning everyone agreeing with me!  So in honor of being totally inspired by The Biggest Loser, I want you guys to reveal a few secrets (or maybe they aren't really secrets).  Let's talk about our favorite guilty pleasure and our favorite healthy pleasure!

Of course I will go first.  This is hard for me because there are about 82 million things that I would call a "guilty pleasure."  That is the main reason I'm on a super strict diet right now.  But alas, I will pick just one.  My favorite guilty pleasure would have to be...........a Paradise Bakery cookie (or ten).  My favorite healthy pleasure is easy because when I'm on a diet (which is pretty much always), I mainly eat the same thing:  a Weight Watcher Smart Ones fettucini and broccoli meal.

Now it's your turn.  I was kinda (just a tad) disappointed in the responses from last week.  The reason I say that is because a whole LOT of people were viewing the blog but not leaving a comment.  You can't win without leaving a comment.  SURPRISE!  But maybe people weren't interested in the gift card (seriously?  people don't like itunes?).  Maybe this week will be bring in a few more people.  The prize is a one year subscription to Fitness magazine.  I totally want it.  I don't have it.  But.....I can't win.  :(

The same rules apply.  Tell your neighbors.  Tell your friends.  Tell your family.  I must see AT LEAST ten comments (pertaining to a guilty and healthy pleasure) on here in order to pick a winner!  I will post the results after 8 PM on Saturday night!  For those of you who didn't read the results post from last week, Kellie Barney won!  So for this week, good luck, fellow losers (I mean people who watch The Biggest Loser)!  May the best "pleasures" win! :)

***Side note***  I hope everyone is having fun filling out the NCAA tournament bracket!  And......Happy St. Patrick's Day (tomorrow).  May the luck of the Irish be with ya (and if you have extra, send some my way)!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Springing Forward or Springing Backward????

Ahhhh, my least favorite time of year.  Or should I say least favorite DAY of the year?  I complain about this day every year.  So if you have followed my blogs for bluegrassmoms.com, you might be tired of hearing about this.  Sorry (but not really because I REALLY REALLY need to say this again and again).  But seriously, could anything mess up a child's schedule more?  Not at my house.

My complaint is valid, I think.  It was getting light earlier even before we "sprang forward."  It's true.  I have no curtains in my bedroom and the sun woke me up a lot last week.  Unfortunately the same is true for Lola.  Now her whole schedule is messed up.  I know this is only the first day of this nonsense but it's been a VERY long day and it's not even time for the hardest part:  bedtime.

Here are my arguments for why moving our clocks around a couple times a year is a...NNOYING!!

1.  It messes up Lola's schedule.
2.  It messes up Blake's schedule.
3.  It makes me VERY tired.
4.  I get irritated knowing I lost an hour of precious sleep.
5.  It is very hard to change all the clocks in the house and have them all perfectly in sync (which is a must for me).
6.  Did I mention it messes up my children's schedule?  Oh, I guess I did.....a couple times.

I will end on a positive note and say that at least this might mean the weather will consistenly be warmer.  Please, oh please, let the sun shine down on the state of Indiana.  And please, oh please, let my children go to sleep at a decent hour tonight.  Good luck to all of you, should you be experiencing the same thing!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Winner Winner....ITUNES Music At Dinner!

Drum roll please..........................................................................................thank you!  The winner of the $10 itunes gift card is.......wait for it.........a little more.........okay........the winner is Kellie Barney!!!!!  I can't believe the luckiest person I know (Jenny Squire) didn't win.  Sorry, Jenny (and everyone else) but congrats, Kellie!

I can assure you the drawing was completely random.  I entered all the comments (attached with the number in which they commented---excluding myself, of course) on a piece of paper.  I then put the papers (folded up) into a bowl.  Blake drew a piece of paper and pulled out Kellie's number!  So there ya have it.  It was easy and in no way influenced by me! :)  Oh, and by the way.....since you live so close, Kellie, and I can personally deliver the gift card.....I would really appreciate hearing you sing some Miley Cyrus!!!! ;)

Remember next Tuesday will bring another March madness mayhem post.  What will I give away?  Well, you will have to come back and see.  And really, people, I think we can do WAY better with the number of comments!  We need to get peeps, not only reading, but commenting!  Don't be scurrrrred (scared)!!!!  JUST DO IT!  Until Tuesday..............have fun watching Bracketology and filling out your very own brackets!  Hip hip hooray for the NCAA tournament!  I know you can't see me but I'm smiling, like really really smiling right now!  Oh how I love thee, basketball! :)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Madness That is March!!!!!

As most of you know, I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE (get it....HUGE?) basketball fan.  Selection Sunday is fast approaching and brackets will be filled out across the land.  People will be entering pools, entering contests online, and studying up 64 teams from around the country (65 if you count the play-in team).  I will be participating in most of the things all of the things mentioned above.  I LIVE for the month of March (and for other things, too....duh)!  So in honor of this very special time of year, I've decided to have some fun on my blog!

Starting today, even before selection Sunday takes place, I will begin a little thing I call March madness mayhem!  Every Tuesday this month, I will be blogging about something.  It will be something of the utmost importance (or total nonsense....either way, I will blog every Tuesday).  What will be your reward (yeah readers, I'm talking to you)?  Each week I will offer a different prize!  Each week (if there are at least TEN comments on my blog) I will randomly select a winner.  So how, again, do you win?  Repeat after me:  BY LEAVING A COMMENT.  One lucky reader (and commenter) will win something after I select the winner on Saturday night.  Okay, so you get it.  We shall begin......NOW!!!!

Tonight I will talk about American Idol.  Oh, and I never said my blogs have to be about basketball.  Mostly they will not be because March madness mayhem can be about whatever I want!  Sooooooo, how many of you watch American Idol?  Nod your heads if you do.  I can't see you but it's still nice to know this CAN be interactive!  And even if you don't watch the show, you can probably still participate....I guess! ;)

My friend on facebook posted a status once about what she would sing if she was on AI (props to you, Nat).  I started thinking about that....because I used to think about it a lot (even before her status was updated).  What would I sing if I were going to be performing in front of gazillions (approximately) of people?  Hmmm.......since I've been the lead singer of Lego Rock Band for a while now, I definitely have several choices.  Here are a few songs I can REALLY (and I mean REALLY) sing:

1.  The Show by Lenka (not on Lego Rock Band)
2.  Aliens Exist by Blink 182 (totally on Lego Rock Band)
3.  Need You Now  by Lady Antebellum (I TOTALLY rock that one).  I could easily make it "my own."
4.  Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas.  HA HA HA....just seeing if you were paying attention.  That song would be a disaster on American Idol.  It totally wouldn't showcase my range and it would come out really pitchy!  Do I sound like one of the judges yet?  Simon or Randy?  Okay, don't answer that.

So now that I've given you an example of what you have to do, knock yourselves out.  Tell your neighbors.  Tell your family.  Tell your friends.  I have to get at least TEN comments to select a winner!!!!  Oh, and the prize?  This week it is a $10 itunes gift card.  WOO HOO!!!!!!  Come on rock stars, let me see what you've got! :)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Lola's Photos!

I've been meaning to get Lola's one-year photos for a long time (like 2 1/2 months to be exact).  I finally got them done and I'm SUPER happy with how they turned out!  Lee Ann did an amazing job! :)  I will put a couple on here and I have all of them posted on facebook!







Thursday, March 4, 2010

Distractions

Tonight is a rough night for me.  It is a rough night for a lot of people who have to say goodbye to our friend, Lee Ann.  While it is rough for me, I wish her nothing but the best in this journey!  I'm very sad knowing that I don't have her right around the corner anymore.  I'm very sad knowing that I can't just call her and tell her I'm on my way over.  I may be very sad about a lot of things.  But I'm also happy knowing she is going back to her friends and family.....to a place where she can breathe!  Lee Ann, I will miss you like crazy.  And because this is an exceptionally hard night for me, I totally need some distractions.  I decided it was time to address some things that are currently driving me crazy (and by "currently," I mean within the last couple weeks).

1.  People who still have Christmas lights up (AND PLUGGED IN!!!!!!!).  It's time to box up the ol' Santa decos......seriously.  It's starting to make me mad.

2.  Restaurants who ONLY have caffeine free Diet Coke (Chick-fil-A, I'm talkin' to you).  I know they have Coke Zero but it's not the same.

3.  Indiana drivers who think you have to drive like Mario Andretti.  Just because I live in the Indy area, doesn't mean I'm an Indy 500 driver.  Sheesh.  If I'm already driving a bit over the speed limit, don't ride my tail!!!!!

4.  Louisville losing by over TWENTY points and probably not making it to the NCAA tournament.  Awesome (totally NOT awesome).  NIT, here we come!!!!  Seriously?  I'm not on the team.  HA HA HA!  I won't be embarassed by going to the NIT, that's all U of L!

5.  My neurotic dog.  Enough said.

So while I mourn my dear friend moving away, I can easily be distracted with these annoyances.  Yeah yeah, it doesn't exactly fill the void.  But it's a start......