ENGAGED

I knew he loved me when he popped the question on his favorite holiday!
I'm so excited for our date tonight! A fabulous 8 years!
Happy Halloween everyone.

Freebie Friday : Sprout Shell

It's getting cold out there! Do you know a little person who'd like to be bundled up? Do you want to keep your kiddos from touching those nasty grocery carts? Do you know a mom who could really use one of these? Do you want a unique and awesome baby shower gift?

Today I'm having a contest for a fab product called Sprout Shell.

Here are a few ways it can be used:
*Infant car seat carrier cover
*Nursing cover
*Shopping cart cover
*Highchair cover (dining out anyone?)

They even come in a fabulous array of patterns so you can find the style that fits you and your little person the best.



To Enter (to win the style pictured above): Do any of the following you choose.

~Tweet the giveaway (you can even copy/paste this: Win a @SproutShell from http://cranberryfries.blogspot.comm ends 11/5 ) =1 entry daily
~Friend me on facebook Debbie Cranberryfries = 3 entires
~Become a fan of Sprout Shell on Facebook=1 entry
~Follow @Cranberryfries on Twitter=1 entry
~Follow Sprout Shell on Twitter=1 entry
~Follow/subscribe to my blog =1 entry
~Use my button (over there on the left) on your blog = 3 entries
~Email at least 3 friends about this awesome giveaway (please include links). CC me in the email w/ the email cranberryfries(at)gmail(dot)com.=3 entries



*Contest will end Nov 5th at 11:59PM MST. A winner will be chosen and posted on my blog the following day or shortly there after.

I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just like to share great products that I believe in, with my friends.

Random Ramblings

I have never ever waited this long to come up with a Halloween costume. Seriously. My family is all about Haloween and in years past my Hubby has started us working on our costumes in July. Literally yesterday I went out to the shed and pulled out our costume boxes and found an oldie but goodie. Then at 10:30 last night I called my mom and asked her if I could borrow something I had in mind. We'll see if it turns out ok tonight.

*****
I spent a good 2 hours last night finding, printing, cutting, and gluing a kagillion of these. I know it doesnt seem like it should take 2 hours but I had a few interruptions from kiddos who were supposed to be in bed. Are you wondering what the heck I'm doing? A giant cake walk my friends. I hope it works ok.

******
The Mommy-Files is hosting Christmas Swap. Sorta like the Halloween swap I just participated in. If you're interested go check it out. I think the deadline is Nov 10th or before so she can have it all ready by then.

I've done two blog swaps (the one above and a 4th of July one) before and they're really a lot of fun. You swap emails/blog info with another person and then you go out shopping (usually there's a $20ish limit) and then you ship your goodies and share with everyone. Plus then you can go back and check out the McLinky and see what everyone else did too. I think they're WAY fun.

*****

Saw my kids being cute. They're playing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". This came after the "I'm the mom and I'll drive you to the doctors" game I saw them playing on the stairs because my daughter found a keyring of keys. I love watching their imaginations play! I guess today was transportation day.

Pretty Postcards

The winner of the postcards from Uprinting is

The Royal Family


Check it out peeps. It pays to enter a lot. Congratulations. Look for an email from me.

Wordless Wednesday: Your Title?

What would you title my photo?

(This was taken by me in Fall 2008 traveling somwhere above the great United States.)

Tell Me: About You

What are three random facts about you?


Here are a few of mine:

1) I love the number 10.
2) I enjoy driving.
3) In high school I kept a running list on my bedroom desk of my favorite things (a few items it included were green gum, softball, boys, and my birthday).

Lucky Ducky

A while back I won a rockin' package on Give Away Today from an Uh-MAY-zing! photographer, Emilie. I asked her if I could use it for my extended family shoot that we've been wanting to do this year and she said yes. She was SUPER great to work with (even while being super busy with her own wedding last month) and we met up this last weekend near Salt Lake City, Utah to take some pictures. This girls on fire, and already posted a few sneak peaks on her blog!

She was so fun, so kind, so personable and so good with the kids (who of course being kids were ready to be done after the first shot). If you're looking for a good photographer, seriously people, Photo by Emilie is a great place to get your pictures taken. (If you're interested in photography, she also sells a workbook with tips, instructions, hints and examples. Scroll to the bottom of that post.)




*Other than the initial prize of winning a photography package by random selection, I was not compensated for this post. I really really just think you should all check out the amazing work of this talented girl!

Halloween Blog or Treat

I participated in a Halloween swap over at The Mommy-Files. It was a new twist on how I'd done a swap before. The last time everyone was paired up and would send each other stuff. This time you got someone and someone different got you. So Kami was assigned to send me a package and I was assigned to send Christine a package.

I told Kami our family loves the creepy, crawly, spooky, sorta decorations for Halloween and she found us this totally rockin' spider and spiders web to add to our collection of cool stuff. We totally love it! Even my kids. It was so funny because I got it out last night and had it sitting on the kitchen table this morning. The first thing I heard was, "Oh! That's so coool!"

I took two pictuers because my flash was acting up. Also I had to throw a water bottle in there so you could get some persepective on how awesomely big this dude is.

Thanks so much Kami!!! We love it!

Winner Winner Sticker Dinner

With only six lovely comments the chances of winning were pretty good. The winner of the sticker contest is

Rachel Sue!

Congratulations you lucky duck. Thanks to all those who played and remember to check in every week for a fun new prize!

Random Ramblings

My 3 y/o and 2 y/o were wrestling over some toy. Full on wrestling like pushing the other against the wall and throwing down to the ground. When my 3 year old came out victorious she said in the sweetest little voice, "Thank you" and my son replied just as sweetly, "welcome sister".

*****
We've had our turn with sicknesses this week, darn colds. We all got it but my oldest daughter who is actually around a million people a day (aka attending elementary school). She must be a carrier. I almost let her skip school today just so we could all sleep in. Then the responsible mother in me took over.

Anywho we're all doing better but my son has this lingering cough. Which means I've had to cancel quite a few of my normal appointments/plans because I didnt want to be one of those I'm always shaking my head at who takes their sick kid out to share the bugs with the world. I know it was the right decision to practically cancel my whole week but I hope those I cancled on appreciate the reasons why and dont think I'm flaky.

*****
I have some way fun things sitting on my bookshelf waiting for their turn to be given away on my blog. I'm talking fun books, cool prizes, author signed novels. Good stuff people. I'm thinking I'll do a weekly prize giveaway. Today's the last day to enter to win the stickers.

*****
I'm jealous of my daughters eyelashes. It's not fair that hers are long and dark and beautiful. Even after I apply mascara mine don't look that good.

*****
Ok I really need to hit up the grocery store. We haven't had fresh fruit in our house for almost 3 days now and I just feel kinda dirty about the whole thing. Ciao.

*****
Edited to add: If you catch this post today and want to enter to win $20 in Childrens Books go enter at Mandy's site.

WIN 100 Customized Postcards

Giveaway Prize: 100 Postcards for One Lucky Winner
Size: 4x6; Paper: 14pt Cardstock Gloss; Printing: Full color both sides
Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the US (Canadian residents pay shipping and taxes. Offer not available to residents outside of the US and Canada)

Wouldn't it be so fun to have a family photo postcard to sent out this Christmas? Or possibly your childs artwork to write those love notes on to give to hubby or grandparents! You can get your custom postcards printed at Uprinting! Or if you or someone you know owns a business think of this as a giant business card/advertisement to pass out to potential clients. The possibilites are great!


To Enter:
Please leave a comment telling me how you'd like to use the postcards. (mandatory entry)

Additional entries:
~Tweet the giveaway (you can even copy/paste this: I just entered to win 100 postcards from @cranberryfries and @Uprinting! #Uprinting #contest #giveaway http://cranberryfries.blogspot.com ) =1 entry daily
~Friend me on facebook Debbie Cranberryfries =3 entires
~Become a fan of facebook.com/Uprinting =1 entry
~Follow @Cranberryfries =1 entry
~Follow @Uprinting =1 entry
~Follow/subscribe to my blog =1 entry
~Use my button (over there on the left) on your blog = 5 entries


Contest closes at midnight on Oct 28th and announced on my blog the next day. Uprinting will then contact the winners on or around November 6 with further information.

*I will be recieving 100 postcards for hosting this giveaway. Thank you Uprinting!

Wordless Wednesday: Gone Forever

(This photo taken by me early January 2008. BYU Deseret Towers Destruction.)

Tell Me: Favorite TV

There are only a few shows I keep up with these days.

It got me thinking of all those good ol' shows that I used to watch as a kid.

In no particular order I present theme songs from my past.

(Clicking on these titles will take you to youtube to hear the theme song.)

Coach
Golden Girls
Family Ties
Punky Brewster (later was on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, college days)
Hogan Family (Jason Bateman , (aka Arrested Development) I totally forgot he was on this show!)
Whos the Boss
Mad About You
Gummi Bears
Alf
Growing Pains (one of many of Alan Thicke theme song)
Mr Belvader
Silver Spoons
Perfect Strangers and of course the dance of joy.
Charles in Charge
Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers
Tale Spin
Duck Tales
Out of This World (I got to see them film an episode!)
Small Wonder
Saved by the Bell
Night Court
Cheers
Empty Nest (do you remember this one?? I always watched it after Golden Girls.)

Of course the TGIF classics
Full House
Boy Meets World (my fav show ever)
Step by Step
Family Matters
-Dinosaurs (uhm?)

What did you think? What were your favorites or memories?? Anything you had forgotten about??

Business Card WINNERS

The winners of the costum business cards from Uprinting.com are:

Rachel Sue
&
Sihui

Congrats friends! I'm so excited to get to share this fun prize with you. I just got mine printed up this week and I'll be posting the final product when I get them in a few days.

*If you didn't win...and would like another shot, you could head over to this blog and enter three times.

Freebie Friday: 250 Custom Sticker/Label Giveaway

What you can win:
250 Custom Stickers/Labels for one (1) lucky winner, printed by Uprinting
Sizes: 2” x 3.5”, 2” x 4”, or 3” x 3”
Paper: 70 lb Label Matte
Specifications: Full color front, blank back; 4 Business Day printing

To sweeten the pot, Upriting is offering FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the USA (Canadian residents need to pay shipping and taxes). Offer is not available to residents outside the US and Canada.

Why I'm excited:
**We love stickers at our house! All three of my kids have a sticker chart and for every ten stickers they get to pick out any 1 item from the dollar store (this is a huge hit right now with my kids). The wheels are turning in my head for something awesomely personal stickers I can create for them.

To enter: (mandatory) Tell me, what would you use the stickers for?
(I will use random.org to pick the winners of this prize. Please leave a separate comment for each entry for optimal chances to win.)

Extra entries:
~Post it on Facebook (1 entry)
~Friend me on Facebook, Debbie Cranberryfries (5 entries)
~Follow @Cranberryfries on Twitter (1 entry)
~Tweet about the give away (1 entry daily)

• (RT 250 custom sticker/label giveaway http://cranberryfries.blogspot.com @cranberryfries @Uprinting #giveaway #contest )

~Follow or subscribe to my blog (1 entry)
~Blog about this giveaway (link back to Cranberry Fries & Upriting please) (5 entries)


Contest will close Oct 23 and the winner will be announced on my blog the next day (or close to it). Uprinting will then contact you via email around Nov 6th.


*I will receive 250 stickers from Uprinting for hosting this giveaway. However that in no way effects my honest reviews or how cool their products are.

Wordless Wednesday: Welcome Fall!

(Photo taken by me in Virginia on the way to James Monroe's house which was just a few miles away from Monticello (Thomas Jefferesons house), Fall 2008)

Tell Me: Rooms

What's your favorite room in your house and why?

My favorite room is the living room. Most of the stuff that happens in our house happens here because, well there just isn't anywhere else in our small place. It's the center of our home and I love being with my family! Plus we have a fun tv so hubby and I can watch all our fun movies and feel like we're in our own theater.

Secret stash in my car

I wanted to share a little secret with you.

These are some of the best things I keep in my car!

They come in handy when we're on long car trips and decide to grab a bite to eat.

They're also fabulous for those random picnics. (We grabbed a slice of pizza, drink and churro at Costco for like $3.28 and split it all between 3 of us! However there weren't enough seats inside so we drove over to a bit of grass nearby and had a picnic.)

I've had these lunch trays for a few years now but we just put them in our car about 1.5 years ago. I keep them under the seat in my minivan so they're not in the way but we always have 'em with us.

Speaking of secret stashes....

I also keep a bag of these under the driver seat in my minivan.

Honestly I don't pull them out often, but they come in handy when we're in the middle of the store and my kids start whining or getting antsy. I'll tell them if they can be good until we leave, I'll give them a surprise when we get to the car. It works quite often! (The tricky part is I have to buckle them in before I pull out the Dum Dum suckers because then I pretend like I pull them out of my pocket. They still have no idea there is a stash in the car.)

------------
P.S. A huge thank you to Von for tagging me so I could enter a fun contest. Looky what I won! I think I might have squealed. Anyone have one of these Cricut machines? Any suggestions on which cartridges I should look out for?

Five, Fivers, 5, Pha-ive

Jenni came up with a fun tag and invited me to play along.

5 Things I Don’t Leave the House Without
1. Keys
2. Money
3. Cell Phone
4. Earings
5. Kids (usually)

5 Cartoons I Watched When I was Younger
1. Chip & Dales Rescue Rangers
2. Duck Tales (& Tale Spin)
3. Anamaniacs
4. Gummy Bears
5. Rainbow Brite

5 Things that Terrify Me
1. Creepy noises after I finish a scary show/book
2. Earwigs
3. Evil
4. Forces of nature (that obviously can't be controlled)
5. Danger to my family

5 Things I Hate that Everyone Else Seems to Like
1. Watching sports on tv (I stole this from Jenni. I don't really hate it, I just dont enjoy it unless I'm with a crowd-aka being social).
2. Exotic food
3. Fashion
4. Hiking (although I do like the outdoors)
5. Most action movies

5 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
1. Enjoy my children's lives (watch them get married, have babies, etc)
2. Tour the USA
3. Something spectacular
4. Take my family on a long vacation where we worry about nothing but enjoy time with each other (no work, no money, no problems, etc).
5. Add stuff to my bucket list ;-)

5 Friends I'll Tag
1. Brie
2. Barbaloot
3. Von
4. Amber Lynae
5. Shelle

Freebie Friday: Buisness Card Giveaway from Uprinting

Giveaway Prize: 250 business cards for TWO awesome readers of Cranberry Fries! (Free UPS Ground Shipping in USA)

You get to choose:
Sizes: 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.5 x 3.5” (skinny card)
Paper: 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock
Specifications: Full Color Both Sides; Offset Press; 3 Business Day Printing
-
Restriction:
Free UPS Ground Shipping in the USA. Canadian Residents must Pay Shipping and Taxes. Residents of other countries are not eligible.


To enter:
~Tell me how you'd use the business cards if you won. (Mandatory entry)

Additional entries:
~Tweet this giveaway (and link to @Uprinting if you'd like).
~Follow me on Twitter. (@cranberryfries)
~Tell your facebook friends.
~Blog about this giveaway.
~Follow my blog.


---I needed some awesome business cards and I can't wait to see how they turned out!! I've recently hired a designer to create a new image to go along with my website (you might have seen my sneaky sneak peak recently). I'm getting some Cranberry Fries Blog business cards to go along with it to pass out to my fellow bloggers and friends. So be on the lookout when I unveil my newly designed blog header and my business cards printed from Uprinting!---

(Don't have a business? Don't know someone else who could use them? Are you sure you wouldn't like them? I was even thinking it'd be fun to do a Playdate Card idea. Jane-y Lou Who, Mom to: It, Thing and Flower. Cute right?)

Contest ends: Oct 16th and will be announced on my blog (and emailed if you have it activated). Winner will be emailed by UPrinting on or around October 23, 2009 with your prize confirmation. Good luck!


*I have received 250 Free Business Cards from UPrinting.com as part of this giveaway post.

Wordless Wednesday

(I took this image at the Hoh Rainforest in WA in July '08)

Tell Me: Warehouse

I love a good warehouse store. 

I'm a Costco shopper myself but I'm sure Sams Club is just as awesome.

I stopped by last week and bought some diapers. At almost $50 a box I almost peed my pants but I was ok after I realized there were 1,023,446 diapers in that box and it came with a complimentary SUV and a Diet Coke. Phew.

Tell me:

When you go to a Warehouse store....

what's your favorite thing to buy?
what can't you live without (or would really rather not to)?

what do you usually end up buying even though you weren't planning on it?
Do you love 'em or hate 'em?
Lets chat.


(I got this image off of google images. Wouldn't this gigantic cart make your shopping day more fun?)

Random Ramblings

The UPS man drives down my street at least 3 times a week. I live on a dead end street. That seems like a lot, but I dont mind cause sometimes it's for me.

*****
I saw a spider as small as an ant yesterday on the paper I was reading. I squished it with my finger. I had the itchy, heebie, jeebies for a solid hour afterward.

*****
Last weekend I went out to lunch (at the Olive Garden...mmmmm) with some awesome girls. I forgot to take a picture but it looked like this--->(yes I drew that just for you). I ordered Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I took half of it home. The other girls left theirs because they said it wasn't as good reheated. I had an epiphany. The next day I warmed it up in a pan on my stove with about 1/3 cup of milk. It was divine. (Not quite as fantastic without the warm bread sticks or salad this time but still I'm so glad I took it home!)

*****
I think I'm pretty close to being down with my Christmas shopping for my kids. Now it's on to my immediate family, the name we drew for my hubbys family and my hubby. Great, those always seem to be the hardest to buy for. It seems I'm always buying my dad books or movies.

The End.