Punkin Pie Reviews

dollars for doma

2010-11-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

{Donation site here! Ends November 20th, 2010}

Thank you so much for stopping by to help a wonderful, wonderful cause!! I know it's not the Susan G. Komen Foundation or the American Heart Association. But I ~~urge~~ beg you to read more about doma. They are doing awesome things in Russia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ukraine and right here in the U.S. In short, "doma’s mission is to intervene early and to prevent future crisis in the lives of children worldwide who are abandoned, abused, and neglected."

My sister-in-law, Amber, is the medical director for Doma. She travels to Ethiopia several times a year and takes medical teams to work in rural Ethiopia where people have no access to medical care. Because of this lack of medical care, women die in child birth and children die young. Families are ravaged by death and illness - all because of a lack of basic prenatal and postnatal medical care. Amber is in the process of planning, building, and running a medical clinic in Bora, a rural mountain village where rates of infant and maternal mortality and illness are heart-breakingly high.

On her last trip this summer she went and met with the village elders to talk about plans for a prenatal medical center in their area. One of the village elders, a wise and elderly man for whom infant and maternal mortality has always been a part of life, stood up and said to Amber, "Thank you for the work you are doing here. What you have done is brought hope to our people. You are an answer to our prayers."

READ MORE ABOUT THEM IN ETHOPIA HERE AND HERE AND HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Please take a moment to read about them and find out about how you can support.... and win some awesome prizes!!

Here's how it works... for every $1 you donate you will receive one entry into the chance drawing. If you donate $20, you will receive an additional 5 entries.
$40 gets you 10 extra entries.
$60 gets you 15 extra entries.
$80 gets you 20 extra entries.
And $100 gets you an addition 25 extra entries!

So, you wanna see what the prizes are??? I bet you do!! So, without further ado.... {make sure you check out all the prizes, cuz the grand daddy of 'em all is awesome!!}

Prize #1: a $75 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl (yeow! I love Vintage Pearl)

Prize #2: A gift box of items from Faith Baby (exact prize TBD)

Prize #3: Colorful Essentials Combo from Mabel's Labels ($48 value)

Prize #4: Your choice from State Head Shirts

Prize #5 and #6: The book "Confessions of a Not-So-Supermodel" by Brooklyn Lindsey (that's right- 2 winners!)

Prize #7: The book "Petunia Pepper's Picture Day"signed by the illustrator Christian Elden

Prize #8: A framed landscape photo from TK Photography (I wanna be THERE!)

Prize #10: A spa gift basket and gift card from Mary Kay. (Gift basket includes Red Tea and Fig shower gel, body scrub and deo-body spritzer, Lotus and Bamboo shower gel, body scrub and deo-body spritzer, Honeysuckle shower gel, body lotion and fragrance, 2 body sponges and a $20 gift certificate. Over $160 value!)

Prize #11: 5 beautiful photo edits from MckMama (your photos!)

Prize #12: A set of 2 white butterfly hairclips from Whimsical Fairytales.

Prize #13: Two purse pouches from Waterfall Crafts. One is Hawaiian floral and has a wrist strap. Great for those quick trips to the store. The animal print is a checkbook cover!

Prize #14: Two handmade purse pouches from Waterfall Crafts. One is stars and fireworks- has large slot for coupons, receipts or even a checkbook and 10 small slots for chapstick, lipgloss, etc. The yellow floral pouch is a change purse or eyeglass/sunglasses case.

Prize #15: A fresh-made cookie box from Inspired Occasions (choose your own cookie!)

And... the grand prize.............

A brand new Slide HD Flip Video camera!!! ($250 value!!)

{This item was donated by some wonderful wonderful ladies!!}

All you have to do now is go to the donation page and donate for your entry into this amazing chance drawing!! (When you get there, just click "Sponsor Me!") You will enter your name and email, but can list the donation as "anonymous". Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. (workwifemomlife at gmail dot com)

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All winners will be drawn randomly. We have a goal of $1000, so please consider donating in increments of $5. All donations go directly to doma... the money does not cross my hands at all. Even if you cannot donate, please spread the word by tweeting, facebooking and emailing your friends! Runs until November 20, 2010.

**To get a free entry, please send an email to workwifemomlife at gmail dot com with "Free Entry" as the subject. Please include your name and organization you typically like to support!**

a teaser

2010-10-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Got an awesome AWESOME fundraiser/giveaway that I know you'll want to be a part of!!

Check out the sponsors on the right hand side for a sneak preview!

Donate here.

Got Milk? {Giveaway!}

2010-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

I admit. I'm not much of a straight-up milk drinker. I try to add diary to my diet, but I'm not sure ice cream qualifies.

So when I was asked to partner with the Midwest Dairy Council to bring you June Dairy Month, I jumped on board so I could learn more.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D (“The Sunshine Vitamin”) promotes calcium absorption and helps strengthen bones. Milk is one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D and just one 8-ounce glass provides 25% of your recommended daily value.
Protein: Protein builds and repairs muscle tissue while giving you a boost of energy! The protein in milk, cheese and yogurt builds and repairs muscle tissue and can help you feel full.
Potassium: Did you know that milk and yogurt contain as much potassium as a banana? Potassium regulates the body’s fluid balance and helps maintain normal blood pressure.
Vitamin B12: Milk and yogurt are also excellent sources of B12, which helps maintain healthy red blood cells and nerve tissue.

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Now for the giveaway! This giveaway includes...

o One Cuisinart hand blender

o Dairy Makes Sense recipe cards with new tasty recipes to try out with your family

o Dairy Makes Sense apron

o Hot pad

o Cheese knife

o Grocery pad

o Refrigerator magnet

To ENTER - leave me a comment! Any happy comment will do!

For MORE ENTRIES -

*Be a follower of my main blog
*"Like" my blog on Facebook
*Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet this giveaway!

Win a Cuisinart hand mixer and more from @julialadewski http://bit.ly/91trvf

*Vote for me on Picket Fence blogs! (You can vote once per day. Leave a comment for each time you vote!)

You can visit Dairy Makes Sense for more recipes and information.

(Make sure you leave a separate comment for each additional entry. Giveaway is open until Thursday, July 15th at 11:59pm CST. A winner will be announced using random.org.)

(I was not paid for this review. I was, however, compensated with the same prize pack as listed above.)

-Julia-

a phone call away... and a giveaway!

2010-04-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

It was about 9pm on a Monday night and I was laying in a hospital bed. I had just got prepped to be induced to deliver my first child. My husband had left for the evening to get a good night's rest because we knew that D-day (delivery day) would be long and exhausting.
The next morning, he strolled in around 7:30, sat beside me as we started the induction... and the waiting game. He played music on the laptop, we watched a bit of TV and even some movies. At the time, I didn't have facebook (or twitter) yet. So, we kept busy by chatting, surfing the web, and napping. Once the contractions really started, it was game on.

Once my sweet daughter Hannah arrived, Hubby stepped out into the hallway to make a few phone calls to our immediate family members to let them know they were officially a grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle.

Phone call by phone call, we eventually got the word out.

Now, there's a cool new service that will do the calling for you! I know, one less thing to worry about when you're exhausted, tired, trying to nurse, stuffing your face and just plain ol' recovering. Baby's First Phone Call is a service that allows you to record a message that automatically gets sent out to the family members of your choice. You might say something like:
"She's here! Sarah Jane arrived at 5:00am on January 1st and weighed a whopping 10lbs. 5 oz. She is so beautiful and we can't wait for you to meet her!"
Of course, you'll still probably want to call Grandma and Grandpa personally, but what about all those aunts and uncles and cousins and high school friends and neighbors who said, "Let us know when the baby arrives!" This is a great way.

Now, contrary to some of the comments left on yesterday's post regarding my need for a 3rd baby name, we are not pregnant (trust me... I'm crampy and bloated thanks to my monthly little friend). Therefore, I have not had the opportunity to try this out. But I will when baby #3 is on the way....

Soooooo... I have TWO $50 gift cards to giveaway to you readers!! Yes, 2 of you will get $50 to Baby's First Phone Call. And $50 will get you their biggest package of unlimited people on your phone list! That's right, rack up the numbers and call everyone you know!!

To get in on this giveaway you have a few ways of entering:

#1- comment on this post telling me why you want this gift card! (are you pregnant? Is your sister pregnant? Friend?)

#2- Be a follower of my main blog

#3- Be a RSS subscriber or an email subscriber to my main blog

(#4- you don't get an entry for this, but I would be forever grateful if you would fan my facebook page!!)

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Contest is open for 1 week until Friday, April 9th 11:59pm CST. Please make sure your email address is in your comment or accessible on your profile. I was not compensated for this giveaway.)

The K. Kurse - and a $200 giveaway!

2009-12-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!! WINNER WILL BE POSTED SOON!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Sprint

Visit the BlogHer.com special offers page - you've got 9 chances to win a $200 Visa Gift Card!

It's that time of year again. Our annual trip to a family reunion. We've been doing this for years and this year it was in St. Louis. It always proves to be an awesome time catching up with family that we only see once a year. And while seeing these people are always so much fun, the time I cherish the most is the 5 hours spent in the car. 5 hours. Each way.

I know what you're thinking. 5 hours can't be that bad. I'm sure you had iPods, portable DVD players, cell phones for texting and all that, right? Wrong! This is 1999, folks. Nothing but an AM/FM radio, 4 grown siblings, 2 parents. All crammed in an '82 Chevy Caprise. 3 kids (ages 21, 20, and 19) smashed so close to each other in the backseat you had to sit sideways. The youngest, 14, in the front seat* sitting between Mom and Dad.

*I'm fairly certain that is not a safe seat to sit in, despite there being a seat belt.

No room for carry-ons or personal bags. Barely any room for snacks. Knees pressed up against the bench-style front seat and shoulders squeezed together so hard I could barely move my arms. Of course me, being the shortest, got stuck in the middle. You know, the dreaded middle seat. Slightly humped with the divider down by my feet. I know you know what I'm talking about.

So there you have it. 4 grown kids, Mom and Dad, driving down the lonely highway on a hot July day. Life was good.

Oh, but it can't be that good. We're the K's. We have this thing called "The K. Kurse." (K being our last name, but to protect those in this story, I will keep it abbreviated.) The K. Kurse delivers such things, particularly related to car trouble, like car air conditioners not working on a 100 degree day, review mirrors falling off and random bloody noses and log-sized splinters on what was supposed to be a quiet hike at Turkey Run.

Ah yes, The Kurse. Just ask anyone around us.

Maybe once, just once, The Kurse would be lifted. And so, the road trip started with picking up my 20 year old brother from a camp that he worked at that summer. He was a camp counselor to young kids at an awesome Christian summer camp that we happened to go to when we were kids. We picked him up and headed on down the road to St. Louis.

A short while into the trip, we smell something funky. It smells like, like.... dead bodies.... and rotten meat.... and sewage. My word, what IS that smell? Everyone's checking their shoes, their armpits, their pants. I think I'm about to puke. My sister is getting nauseus.

It's my brother's shoes. After spending the week at camp, wading through the creek and the woods, his shoes reeked of death. Not kidding. We put up with it for the next few hours, but the shoes didn't make it the whole way. It was imperative that they get thrown out. For the health and safety of others.

As we continued our drive, I reached for a can of pop to drink. Not just any old can of pop. Generic store brand red pop.

Bad idea. Me and food items that stain do not go together. Not to mention this can of pop was possessed. I swear. I'm not into things like The Exorcist or freaky devil stuff like that. But this can of pop was out of control. I did the ol' tap on the top to make sure the fizz went down. I carefully, slowly opened the pop top to let all the carbonation out.

Phew. We're good.

A few minutes later.... fizzing.... overflow. Red pop everywhere. It would not stop fizzing. Sucking the fizz and nearly choking on it, I was not fast enough. Luckily the car was a piece of junk* or I think I might've been kicked out of the car in the middle of nowhere.

*Sorry, Mom and Dad, it was a piece of junk.

My hands are sticky and the only thing I could think to do was to throw the can out the window. I'm not one for littering, but it was my only option. I think I even remember yelling at the pop to please stop fizzing. Pleading and praying didn't seem to work.

We finally reached St. Louis. As we pulled into the driveway of my uncle's house, my Dad noticed something leaking from the hood. Green antifreeze all over the driveway. Dad hitched a ride up to the auto store to get some AlumaSeal to temporarily fix the leak. Found it. Success. No more leaks.

After a fun-filled weekend of euchre and pinochle, we made our journey back to Indiana. Perhaps our Kurses were done for the weekend.

One rule you should know by now if you're a "K" kid.... Don't fall asleep in the presence of your siblings. HUGE no-no! My older brother decided to chance it. With the old school discman playing his favorite tunes, he dozed off in the warm summer sun.

No, J, you shouldn't have. With his head lay back and his arms folded nicely, my sister, E, and I conveniently placed twizzlers and granola bars in his hand and took blackmale pictures. (Mind you, this was back in the day when we didn't have digital cameras, so the pictures were good ol' 35 mm prints.)

We snatched the snacks back up after taking the pictures so he would have no clue of our mischieveous activity. Upon his awakening, we giggle to the side as to not let on what we did while he napped.

"Hey sis," he calls out. "Can you hand me a granola bar?"

In as serious a tone as I can muster, "I think you've had enough, mister."

E can't hold it in any longer and bursts into tears and laughter. It wasn't until a week later after the pictures were developed that he knew what took place during that fateful nap. Your fault, J, your fault.

Never again, he vowed.

As we reach our final destination - home - we are thankful to be there. While the trip was fun, we laughed, we sang, we told stories, we were so glad to be out of the car and into our own beds. But I couldn't leave you with a happy ending. No, siree, that's not how we roll. The Kurse was not done wrecking havoc on our family.

As we pull into the driveway - literally, as my Dad turns the car into the drive - he hears a funny sound. He turns the car off, gets out, starts to walk to the front....

KA-BOOM!!

Opens the hood and there's antifreeze spraying everywhere. Green, hot antifreeze. He slams the hood shut, thanks God we made it home safely, and shrugs it off as just another run of our "K. Kurse."

Please share your most funny road trip story with me for a chance to win a $200 Visa Gift Card!!
To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite funny holiday road trip story or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9 am and will end Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 5:00 pm. Make sure your email address is connected to your profile or leave your email address with your comment.

Remember, you have 9 chances to win a $200 Visa Gift Card!! Visit the BlogHer.com special offers page now for more chances!

Rules:

* No duplicate comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
* This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* Please see the official rules here: Official rules

Welcome!

2009-11-24T07:20:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my review blog! Here I'll be doing all kinds of reviews and maybe even some giveaways!!