We lost. Here’s a consolation prize. {a giveaway}

Since I have nothing good to say right now for obvious, Sunday’s-big-game-was-spectacularly-craptastic reasons, this seemed like the perfect time for a giveaway. You get the goods, and I get away with not talking about the heartbreaking display of 3 turnover sucktitude. Moving right along…CSN Stores has provided me with a gift certificate for $40 to give away to one lucky reader. This credit can be used at any of their over 200 websites, where they sell everything from modern office furniture to cute cookware to chic lighting.

To enter, leave me a comment here and tell me your go-to smile guarantee. What cheers you up when you’re feeling down? Gets you out of a funk? Remedies your broken football dreams heart?

Drawing will be held on Wednesday, February 16th at 12 pm EST. One entry per comment on this blog post. If you’d like an additional entry, you can tweet about the contest (I am @hopelessnflawed on Twitter ) or post on Facebook about the giveaway, using the Facebook comment link below. Up to 3 entries per person.

Forty dollars of free shopping people – you know you want it!

* Contest open to residents of the US and Canada. Shipping not included.

The fine print:

I was not given anything to write this post. Well okay, technically I am being given a gift certificate but that’s for you, not me. I personally gained nothing but the pleasure of hosting a giveaway. And the opportunity to provide retail therapy for a disgruntled Steelers fan. If you were rooting for Green Bay…stick it.

Just kidding.

Sorta.

No not really.

————————————————————————————————————-

Update: The winner is #15 – Shel! Congratulations, and I will email you the details of the gift certificate. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Yinz won!

Thanks to everyone who entered!  The girls drew names out of a hat, and the winners are…

Grand prize – Caren – Crazy Catch

Crayon rolls – Mandy, John, and Jenny
I have emailed all of the winners requesting addresses. Caren has already responded and said that she’d like the table runner to use as a hostess gift, so I will be sending that out to her tomorrow. I will share pictures here tomorrow, too. Makeover Monday has been on hiatus for far too long.

Thanks again for entering, and Go Steelers!

Swag. I gots it. I’s giving it away.

Why yes, actually I am still alive.

The pneumonia/bronchitis/laryngitis/evil virus of destruction has [mostly] left my body and I am able to breathe and eat and walk upright the majority of the time these days.

After a near death experience, I always like to celebrate with a good giveaway. This one is going to be very short and sweet, too, because we’re in a time crunch.

As I certainly hope you know, the Super Bowl is next Sunday. And I am oh-so-ready.

Jerseys for the whole fam – check. Terrible towels all around – you bet. Menu planned – of course. TV of embarrassingly large proportions that I only appreciate on game day – ready and waiting.

The only thing that could make the big day better for me is to share the love (and decorate the cheering section in your home.)

Therefore, a giveaway.

One grand prize winner will receive an item of their choice. Options are this terrible towel applique – I can put it on a t-shirt for you or your child, a burp cloth, a bib, a place mat…whatever you’d like, within reason.

Patchwork! I can do this in a twirl skirt for your little cheerleader

Or as a table runner to beautify your game-day buffet (or to give as a hostess gift for the party you attend!)

(imagine the Steelers fabric in place of this Valentine’s pattern)

Or a pillow with your child’s name – or Steelers, or Troysus, or Earl of Gross… your choice of lettering.

In addition to this, 3 other names will be drawn to receive Steelers themed crayon rolls – something’s gotta keep the little ones quiet so you can enjoy the game, right? I even have cute Steelers coloring pages I’ll send along.

Again, you’ll just have to envision the Steelers fabric in place of the bumble bees – I’m working on a time crunch so I have to roll with the pics I have on hand.

Winners will be drawn on Sunday, 1/30 at 1 pm EST. A valid email address is required to enter this drawing, and winners will need to supply their mailing address ASAP for pre-game delivery.

Because we’re on a tight schedule, this is a very short, 2-day giveaway. I need to get these things shipped out early next week to arrive in time for the big game, and I have to make them after the winners are drawn. Therefore, please enter only if you will be able to check your email on Sunday!

Open to US residents only.

To enter: leave a comment here with your favorite Steelers memory. For additional entries, you can post on Twitter, Facebook, or your own blog about this giveaway. Please leave a separate comment for each entry, 4 possible entries per person, and provide a link showing where you posted about the giveaway.

Good luck and GO STILLERS!
Added: For easy tweeting, you can use this link http://tinyurl.com/4tn2bpz

And I am @HopelessnFlawed on Twitter

24-21 in overtime. Oh, and a book winner, too.

My apologies.  I realize now that I told you I’d announce The School of Essential Ingredients giveaway winner last night.

Obviously, I neglected to do so.

I really should have checked the tv schedule before making such a declaration, because as it turned out, there was a very important football game on at that time.  Instead of drawing a winner, I was busy cheering on my beloved Mountaineers, who remarkably managed to pull a last-minute win out of their backsides.

Good times.

At any rate, the winner has now been drawn, and that is…

Mary B!

Mary, I will be emailing you shortly for your mailing address.  I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

To everyone, thank you for entering.  I will have another fun giveaway coming up soon!

*Giveaway* The School of Essential Ingredients

I have just finished the most wonderful novel.  The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister.  Her first novel, and, in my humble opinion, an outstanding one.

This book is an easy read – in my case it took one evening.  It’s a light read – it likely won’t change your life.

But it’s also a profound read in many ways.  One of the most insightful books I’ve had the pleasure to happen upon in recent years.

I related to Lillian, who saw food as a means of healing.

I found myself in Claire, who lost herself in her children.

I longed for a love like that of Carl and Helen, who weathered a marital storm and because of that drew closer.

I ached for Tom, mourning his unthinkable loss.

I cook like Charlotte.  [garlic - hello, lover]

I am naive like Chloe.

And I have never before read a book so that so completely captured me in so many ways.  I was startled more than once to find that the exact words in my head had seemingly been snatched and copied, right there on the pages.

I was moved.

I am a foodie.  I love food from a place deep within my soul.  As far as completely personal hobbies go, I’m not sure I could name anything I do that gives me more pleasure than cooking.

And this book – oh, this book!  It so fully encapsulated the passion and sensuality of food, I am almost at a loss for words to describe it properly.

As corny as I know it sounds, this book touched something deep inside of me.  It stirred feelings that I’ve pushed aside for years.

It inspired me.

And I’d like to see if maybe it would inspire you, too.

I am giving away a copy of The School of Essential Ingredients.  If you’d like to win your very own copy, just leave me a comment with your favorite ingredient, food, recipe, family meal memory…  Whatever you’d like.  Share a foodie thought with me and you’re in!

Drawing will be held this Friday evening, September 10, at 8 pm EST.  Or whenever my kids get to bed.

And don’t be surprised to find lots of recipes here this month – I’ve been cooking up a storm.

Tea, anyone?

[Warning: Shameless self-promotion to follow]

As you may know, I (along with my parents) own a website.

And this week, we’ve got a little write-up over at Musings of a Housewife.

And a giveaway, too.

Check it out.

And don’t forget to leave a comment to enter.  Drawing Friday.

PS) At the bottom of the post, you’ll find a promo code good for 10% off.  That discount is also valid on sale items, and right now we’re having a ‘blue skies’ special – anything and everything that is blue is on sale!

Project Hope

In case you ever wondered, my blog title is a line stolen from Louisa May Alcott.  In Little Women, Jo March ponders her direction in life and says “I fear I am hopelessly flawed.” 

I love Ms. Alcott, I love Little Women, and I simply adore Jo March.  I connect with her.  As a girl, I, too, struggled with feeling I didn’t fit in anywhere, and didn’t know where I was headed.  I, too, was a tomboy.  I, too, was (am) a writer. 

And I, too, am Hopelessly Flawed.

An imperfect specimen. 

But my Redeemer is perfect, and it is through Him that I have hope.

Generally, I try to stay on neutral ground here.  I have strong beliefs, but I don’t want to alienate anyone.  I am not ashamed!  But I cannot share anything if I chase someone away, either.  So mostly I try not to put my beliefs ‘out there’ in a way that would be a turn off, but occasionally I do have to fly my Jesus flag.

Something has been on my heart for a while now, and it’s time to put my money where my mouth is.  Find a need and fill it.

You may have noticed the button to the right over there.  [Feel free to snag, please, if you'd like to help spread the word.]

The idea is simple – no pressure, no preaching, just a book.  I’m offering to send a Bible to anyone who would like one but cannot afford it. 

You can click the logo above to read more about the Project (or there is a link in my header), and if you feel led to pray for it, I would appreciate that as well.

“Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light.” Norman B. Rice

You win!

Amiee and Jenni, you are the winners of my favorite Dr. Seuss book!

I will be contacting you for your shipping information. 

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today was a great day in the history of children’s literature.  Namely, the most influential children’s author of all time, Theodor Geisel, was born on March 2, 1904. 

Celebrate the day!

 “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”

Check out this page with lots of great resources for Dr. Seuss fun, including games, crafts, and assorted printables.

Of course you’ll need to read a silly book or two.

And after the kids go to bed, you might want to keep reading.  He is, in my humble opinion, one of the best philosophers of our time.  Practical and to-the-point in a fun way, but the fluff never detracts from the weight of his message.

“It’s a troublesome world. All the people who’re in it
are troubled with troubles almost every minute.
You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot,
for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not.”

“I know up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

And of course the entire book Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

I love Dr. Seuss.

My favorite book of his was actually his first – And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  It saddens me every time I meet someone who has never read this book.  Very sadly, for some unknown reason, it never gained the broad appeal of many of his other books. 

It’s a wrong I’m going to help to right today, in my own small way.  I’m giving away 2 copies to lucky readers.  Just leave me a comment here and you’re entered!  If you’d like an additional entry (optional) you can tweet/blog/post on Facebook about this giveaway, linking back to this post.  Please leave me a separate comment if you do that so I can be sure you get credit for multiple entries.

Already have this book?  I’d be happy to buy you a different one, or you could donate to your child’s school or your local library.  In the words of a very wise man,

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for inspiring very many children to go to very many places.

A little of this, a little of that

Little bits of randomness that I’ve been thinking about, but none are worthy of long enough for their own entire post.

• That killer whale who just killed a trainer at Sea World?  Apparently he’s a serial killer.  Maybe we should stop saving the whales.
• A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway over at Cinnamon Hollow for Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce.  I’m not generally much of a sauce gal so I had my reservations.  I’d say that it tasted comparable to A-1.  Most attractive to me, however, was this statement in the company literature:  It would be nice if we could claim responsibility for the success of the company, however, credit must be given where credit is due. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” We have placed true ownership of Country Bob, Inc. in the hands of God. “Christ is our CEO” and  He is an Awesome Boss! Now that is a company I want to support!

• Despite how it must look to my readers, I do not have 42 appliance garages or a kitchen the size of a cracker box.  For some reason this just always ends up being my food snapshot locale.
• I’m on a DIY/go green kick.  To be perfectly honest, it’s more about saving money than saving the environment.  (I’m not even going to go there with my issues on saving the planet)  In that vein, I’ve been using natural products like baking soda, peroxide, and white vinegar to clean, and I’ve been making my own laundry detergent.  Do you have any other tips you could share?
• I love HGTV.  I’m a DIY kinda gal anyway, and I love real estate so I especially like the house-hunting type shows.  I find myself wanting to shake some of the buyers, though.  Why can they not see past ugly paint colors?  Why are they unwilling to put any work into a place?  Have they no imagination???  This makes me crazy.
• Chris’s company gives out bonuses at the beginning of the year.  Very sadly, this year not so much.  I, on the other hand, continue to reap bonuses from my job every day.

• I have the best job in the world.

• Girl Scout cookies.  Everywhere.  If you need some, please come to my house.  I need them to go away.
• I don’t think I ever told you this, but I did post it on Twitter/Facebook.  And I told everyone at church, too – because I’m klassy like that.  My parents bought me a leg lamp for Christmas.  You know, the leg lamp.  My husband hates it.  Because he has no sense of humor, and is easily embarrassed by me.  Nonetheless, it did hold the appropriate place of honor in our [front] living room window this past holiday season.  And because I love it so much (and I’m super klassy), it’s still in the living room, though now on a side table instead.

• When I was a kid we had a neighbor that told my mom she’d always wanted to have a room in her house for all of the things that she knows are tacky, but loves them anyway.  I feel exactly the same way.  Leg lamp would love a room like that, methinks.
• I’m frustrated with our school’s PTO.  They have zero communication (don’t even announce meetings!), overpriced fundraisers, and are not at all accessible.  I’m writing a letter to suggest some changes, but I am still in need of some GOOD fundraising ideas.  Got any for me?  Overpriced wrapping paper needs to die.

That’s all I’ve got.  It’s not that NaBloPoMo is wearing me down; quite the contrary, actually.  I’ve been surprised that it’s been easier than I anticipated.  It’s just that I am sick – again – still.  My whole body aches, as it has off and on for the last 3 months.  Spring can’t come soon enough.