Winners of the Celtic Woman giveaway!

I still have no clue how to clip & post from the random generator (for some reason .. it's not working!)

... but the winners are #13 & 16!!!

#13 will get the DVD
and #16 will get the CD!!

Congratulations Shelly & RSK ..... :)  I will be emailing you shortly for your addresses!!

Thanks for participating everyone!

Katie's birthday party brought to you in black & white...

If you are reading this blog post and have yet to enter in the Celtic Woman giveaway .. hurry up and enter!

Katie's birthday party was last weekend -- almost 2 weeks after she turned the big 1-4! 


She was dying for a skating party. 

She's also a klutz.

She also always manages to get hurt... no matter what she does.  But still, we went ahead w/ the party.  So much for bowling... no one gets hurt in bowling! 


She invited five friends.. but only three were able to come.  Cotillion was also that night, and Katie didn't want to attend... but her other friends did, and so they were busy getting ready for that big night!

Katie and her BFF Madison ....  unfortunately four years ago she broke her wrist skating.. and guess what?  She fell on her elbow and got hurt again.  Thankfully after a day, her elbow "popped" and last I heard it was feeling much better... 

Now this friend is Nina... she is wearing the helmet and all the wrist guards.  She was at the mall when she passed out, and she hit her head, so her parents wanted her to wear a helmet when skating.  This is her first time skating, and she fell many many times... good thing she was wearing a helmet!  Those are good to have!

Katie & her friends:  Madison, Nina, & Missy

for some unknown... stupid reason... the concession stand offers shots of pickle juice for .50 cents each.  They all (mostly all.. Madison wasn't that thrilled) wanted to try a shot.  So I gave them two bucks and they all chugged those suckers down.  These were the expressions: 

Katie is a lover of pickles.... this stuff didn't faze her.  Not one bit...

Madison on the other hand....  had to force it to go down.  Poor girl.  I understand her agony in the moment.  That is some pretty nasty stuff!

And Nina?  ... "gasp!"

I took cupcakes with us, and left them in the car.  We ended up leaving early and headed home (in part to some injuries and about a million little kids all skating around) -- when we got home, the cupcakes were tossed to and fro -- someone --I won't name any names..... took the cupcake carrier (it's old, and doesn't have "places" to put the cupcakes, but it's still a carrier!) and just did circles with it.  So, they were all messed up and all just... over the place!  So much for that!

Celtic Woman giveaway!

Imagine my excitement last week when I get an email from a rep from the group of Celtic Woman asking me if I'd like to sponsor a giveaway for them on behalf of Celtic Woman.

YES!!!!

I love Celtic Woman.  I have loved them since they came out years ago debuting their first album.  Their voices truly sound so angelic sounding.  So soothing, so relaxing, so uplifting.

The giveaway is for a SIGNED copy of their newest CD, Believe, as well as a SIGNED copy of the Believe DVD, which was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia. 

I have watched the DVD and listened to the CD.  The music have moved me to tears... literally.  Madison & I both share a love for this group -- and boy do we have our favorite songs (and performers!).    They perform classic Irish songs, as well as timeless classics for all to enjoy (Ave Maria, Bridge Over Troubled Water, You'll Never Walk Alone).

From February until the end of April, Celtic Woman is touring the United States.  Check to see if they are coming to a city near you....

In the meantime, check out their YouTube channel ...

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Want a chance to win a signed CD or DVD of their newest hit called Believe?  (two winners!) Here are a few ways:

1)  Leave me a comment!  Tell me if you love Celtic Woman and what is your favorite song of theirs!

2)  Follow me on my blog!  Leave me another comment telling me you are a follower!

3)  Blog, Twitter or Facebook about this giveaway!  You can earn more entries by doing this!

Giveaway will end on Sunday night, February 12th, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.

Please, leave me your email address so I can get in contact with you for your address.  If after 48 hours after I contact the winners, and no response, I will draw a new winner. 

Many thanks to the rep from the group for sponsoring this giveaway!

When spellcheck is needed....

Well, Maddie did it again....

She made a newsletter today and she was SO stinking proud of it.

I was too.  I was laughing as well.

Here is the picture of part of her newsletter.  A background first:  Maddie is in the class that has the deaf/hard of hearing kids in her grade.  She loves learning sign language as well, and there are assistants & interpreters that come with the teacher everywhere they go. 

Read on ..

See her lovely ... "ass-tint" and "inter-puter".  That's assistant and interpreter.  Not to mention that "Are" that should've been "our"...

Baby rag quilt blankets....

I've made a few rag quilts in my life.  Each time I remind myself why I don't make them, but sometimes life is just funny and a new baby comes around in my family and I feel the need to make another quilt.

Here is the latest rag quilt creation.. it was MUCH easier doing it this way rather than the squares, so should I ever lose my mind again and decide to make another rag quilt, this is the way I'll be doing it. :)

The baby blanket is for my cousin's first soon to be born baby ...  a little boy.

I'm so grateful for Katie and her fingers.  She is the one who did about 80% of the snipping on this baby after I sewed it all together.  Whew!  At least she didn't cut through the thread!

Highland Dancing at the Burns Dinner

Every last Saturday in January the Scottish Society (I assume all over the world..) holds a very fancy dinner on behalf of Robert Burns .... a Scottish poet.  He is the poet who wrote "Auld Lang Syne" among other poems.  He is also referred to as "Scotlands favorite son". 

So, it is typical for Highland Dancers to dance at this dinner that is held every year.  {However this year and last year the Irish Dancers here have been dancing at the Burns dinner... taking up even more time than we're given -- they got 30 minutes, we got 12!! .... so it doesn't really make any sense why they're there since Burns was Scottish....  it's never happened at ANY of the other Burns dinners that the girls have danced at .... strange!} Since Katie has been dancing for 8 years now, Maddie for 6 years -- the Burns dinner is something we look forward to every year.

Now that we have moved down to San Antonio, the girls no longer compete in competitions (you can read more about a previous competition in that link).  We found the Scottish Society and they joined the dance group there.  The teacher, Miss Annette, is wonderful, and the girls have really enjoyed their time with this group.  Miss Annette teaches and puts together wonderful choreographed dances.  Since Katie & Maddie do know quite a few of the traditional dances that you would find Scottish dancers dancing at competitions, they do and have done solo dances at events as well.

On this particular night, Miss Annette managed to make all 8 costumes for the girls (and herself).  She did an AMAZING job.  They debuted their new costumes for this dinner.
In this particular picture, Miss Annette is giving the final instructions before they head out on the stage.  They are only given 12 minutes to perform, which really is hardly ANY time at all b/c some of these girls know a lot of dances and many enjoy watching their beautiful style that emerges through the dances.  It is so refreshing to see that all the traditional dances that are done, and are all symbolic or created from a story in the Scottish history.

Lined up before they head out  ... a group picture.

Walking out to the stage...

For this blog post, I am just adding pictures from the dances that my girls danced.  Here Katie is dancing the Seann Triubhas --

Katie and Miss Annette are dancing a choreographed dance...

Miss Maddie danced another choreographed dance with two other girls..

Finally the dance of the evening.... a group dance for 8 people, all dancing different steps.  It was beautiful to watch.

Scottish Highland Dance is a very vigorous sport.  I call it a sport because it is recognized in Scotland as a sport.  The dancers dance on the ball of their feet (except for 4 dances).  It takes a massive amount of stamina for the arms, hands & legs to dance these dances.  I should know because I had to learn the sword dance and teach it to Katie... I was exhausted after doing it once! 

If you would like to read more about the history & general information about Highland Dance, you can click here.  To see past dances that my girls have done, you can check out my Youtube channel here ... (it's under the user name twocuteblondies if you can't link it right).

You can also find Highland Dancers at any Highland Games that are generally found in the spring, summer and fall times of the year.  The San Antonio Highland Games are coming up on the weekend of March 31 & April 1st in Helotes.  There is generally so much more to see at the games other than dancers.  There are competitions for Bagpipers, Scottish heavy athletics (you can see people throw logs-- also called caber toss!  Pitch hay bales, hammer throw, herding dog trials).  Not to mention, this is the one place where you will most likely see men wearing their kilts.  Of course, Highland Games come enrich in history as well.

It took me awhile to get used to hearing the sound of bagpipes.  I was always amazed at how my girls could listen for the melody and know when to dance, when to do what at certain points in the song -- but now I think bagpipe music is beautiful and not a bunch of noise.

So, I encourage you to attend a nearby Highland Games.  It really is a lot of fun, full of culture & heritage and you do learn a LOT of interesting, fun things about the Scottish culture. 

Building a cabin ... part 9

Mike went up last week for a quick weekend w/ his dad & his brother.  They came down from Missouri for a visit with Mike.  Unfortunately they had to leave early to head back home, so Mike had some time to work on the bathroom!! 

He managed to get the bathroom tiled!!  Wahoo!  HELLO SHOWER!  {I'm totally not a bath girl.. I love my showers}

We (remember... HE) needs to finish caulking around some of the edges, so he'll do that the next time we go up.  Also, need to change out the part where the water comes out b/c it kind of splashes water a bit when it comes out (it's too small) -- we need a longer ... thing.  Whatever it's called.  Faucet?

The final stop in the bathroom is putting the floor down and a few other knick knacks.. and then the bathroom will be DONE! 

February Menu

Here is a C&P of our February dinner menu!!

For the record, we did pretty good in January!  Some nights we had leftovers... but for the most part our eating out was minimized GREATLY!  That was what I was aiming for, and we did accomplish that!  I changed a few things around b/c Wednesdays are now my busiest day, but that should end at the end of the month! 
Click here if you want to print it out (OK, I'm hoping it works.. if it doesn't work, then email me at amybeccaz at hotmail dot com and I will send it out to you.  You can also click on the title up above and it will take you to the place to print it out.

The links to the recipes that I do have on my recipe blog are in gray.

february 2012 dinner menu

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
			1 Spaghetti Salad Bread	2 Crockpot Meal: Shredded Salsa Chicken over Salad or tortilla	3 Chicken Nuggets Mashed Potato Corn Salad	4 Baked Potato Bar
5 Hamburgers Hot Dogs Break/Fast Dinner	6 Crockpot Meal: Beans Fritos/Tortilla	7 Chicken Stir fry Rice Egg Rolls Fruit Salad	8 Tortellini Salad/Veggie Bread	9 Saucy Parmesan Chicken Broccoli/Cheese Rice Veggie	10 Homemade Pizza	11 RODEO
12 Baked Ziti Salad Bread	13 Crockpot Meal: Chicken & Potatoes Cottage Cheese Salad	14 Fettuccini Alfredo Salad or Veggies Bread	15 SUBWAY $5 Footlong	16 Chicken Patty Sandwiches Tater Tots Veggies & fruit	17 Chicken Enchilada Cornbread Cottage Cheese	18 BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad
19 Crockpot Meal: Roast Beef Potatoes & Carrots Cottage Cheese Rolls	20 Crockpot Meal: Shredded Salsa Chicken over Salad or tortilla	21 Sesame Chicken Rice Egg Rolls	22 Sloppy Joes Fries Veggies & fruit	23 Cheddar Chowder Salad Rolls	24 Grilled Chicken Baked Potato Veggies	25 Hot Dogs Pasta Salad Fruit/Veggies
26 Mexican: Fajitas or Tostados Guac & chips	27 BBQ Chicken in oven Baked Potatoes Veggies	28 Chicken Stirfry Rice Egg Rolls Fruit	29 Grilled Cheese & Soup		Ideas in a pinch: Burritos Canned Soup Sandwiches Tortellini Homemade Pizza	Chicken nuggets Hot Dogs

Photoshoot time!

Since Katie got bangs for her birthday.... she wanted a photoshoot done. It had been almost a year since her last shoot (I take my girls out to practice on them, and they are more than happy to pose for me!), so I figured it was time!

Here is a collage of her pictures, and then some bigger pictures that we (she) loves!

The birthday girls day ....

Katie had a GREAT birthday yesterday!!  On Monday night, I took her to Ulta for a haircut... for her birthday she wanted bangs.  So, we went with a picture of Hillary Duff & her amazing hair style, and had some beautiful long layers added, and BANGS!!  She is still getting used to her bangs, but so far everyone at school LOVED her bangs... and now some of them want the same style.  She was on cloud nine.  She said everyone at school wished her happy birthday.

We had steak, mashed potatoes & green beans for dinner (her request).  I added Martinelli sparkling cider to the table, her dad added in Coca-Cola to the table.... so we had both.

We had several visitors that night, and that completely put her over the top in happiness.  Her former Young Woman's leader dropped by with a little gift ... and her current YW leaders & best friend Madison dropped by w/ a balloon & a little gift.  They stayed and had cake & ice cream with us. 

Then right before bed, another dear friend dropped by with her mom's (and hers!) famous cupcake that all ladies in our church get on their birthday. These cakes are to DIE for.  You can see the bigger version of the cake that I get on my birthday at the bottom.  I seriously love the cupcake though!

She got money from both sets of grandparents (money is what she loves!), a movie from her aunt & uncle (which we've watched several times now.. it's "She's Out of Control" w/ Tony Danza), and she has a gift coming in the mail from another aunt & uncle.  So, she's pretty happy.