And the winner is...(also concert review)

Number 23: Diana! I will be contacting you shortly.

For everyone else, you can still order your own custom embroidered apron and get a 10% discount by entering the code Mrs. Organic at checkout. That's a darn cute apron with your name on it, even, for under $20. That's a steal!

In other news, we took Ty to his first concert tonight to see The Lower Lights. It was awesome. I was nervous to bring him because the facility didn't look exactly wheelchair friendly. And this is why I love Twitter.

I tweeted wondering if anyone knew if the Post Theatre was wheelchair accessible because all I could see were 10 steps leading into the entrance. The band tweeted back to me that they thought it was but if not, they would be happy to help lift him up the stairs. When we arrived, they were expecting us and showed us to our special wheelchair seating spot. These are my kind of people. And then there was the music.

This Little Light of Mine from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

Lovely, lovely music. I helped Ty to clap along to the beat. He only got stressed out (noisy) a couple of times and we just wheeled him into the foyer until it passed. They closed with his very favorite song, This Little Light of Mine. He absolutely loved it. CJane was there and I really wished they had asked her to jump up on stage and sing it with them -I love how she puts her whole heart into her singing. Afterwards I chased Mindy down and she graciously posed for a photo with Ty.


(Sidenote: He has a whopping crush on her voice and sings out whenever she's singing lead)

This is such a happy, peaceful, feel-good album you will want one for your own family. I'm really hoping they plan to come out with a Christmas CD. Below are a few sample tracks and here is a link to purchase your own copy. You will wear out your iPod with playing it, I promise.



P.S. A link to Mindy's site

Sunset

Last night I was up to my elbows in pumpkin cookies for school (I had to make 90), but the sunset was simply stunning. I couldn't pass up the chance to capture it on film.

Enter Spielberg. He totally stepped up to the plate and snapped a dozen shots. Both of these are SOOC. The one above is about 45 degrees northward from the shot below. Funny how the angle and lighting and a couple of minutes make a huge difference.


Don't forget to enter to win your free apron over on this giveaway post. And please, spread the word.

Aprons by Amy Giveaway

Hallooo! I'm very excited about this one.

Yes! It's a giveaway. I'm wearing my apron from Aprons by Amy (which I happened to win in a giveaway). I love it so much I want to give one to one of you. And the winner gets to choose the custom embroidery they would like.



Don't you love those ruffles? I also want to buy this apron for Christmas. What? A girl can't buy herself a little something something? And yes, I know that I'm so channeling Carmen Miranda in this pic, that all I need is a bowl of fruit on my head.

But anyway...

There are 5 ways to enter:

First: You need to go browse around at Aprons by Amy (just a heads up, a video auto starts when you click over) and then come back and tell me which one is your fave in the comments.

Second: Tweet about this giveaway using the hashtag #ApronsbyAmy and then link to your tweet in the comments.

Third: Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook and then come leave a comment that you did.

Fourth: You are welcome to copy this post and post it on your own blog. Just leave me a link to your post in the comments.

Fifth: Follow Positively Organic and leave me a comment saying you did (or do if you already follow me)

Up to five entries per person, leave one comment per entry. Winner get to choose the apron and embroidery they would like. Winner to be determined via random number generator on midnight MDT, Saturday, November 20th. Oo! You might even be serving up Thanksgiving dinner in a brand new apron.

***Oh, alright for a sixth bonus entry, if you do ALL five entries listed above all you have to do is tell me how lovely I am, 'cuz sometimes a girl likes to hear that.

Something you should know: a portion of the proceeds from every sale goes to benefit children with Autism. And should you wish to place your own order, Amy is giving Positively Organic readers a 10% discount and all you have to do is enter the code: MrsOrganic at checkout.

Did you know that every apron is custom embroidered with the text of your choice for FREE? How awesome is that? So head on over to Aprons by Amy and get started.

Here is just a sampling from her site. Maybe you know a little chef who would look darling in this:

Or a mom who would adore this:

And then of course, for your hip, hot self there is always this little number:

Or for your Christmas baking needs:

Technical Difficulties, Wardobe Malfunctions, The Usual

I was so excited to share this giveaway with you and then I went and blew the photos - meaning I took a bazillion and didn't realize until I was processing them that *ahem* there was a slight wardrobe, erm, complication. And then pretty much everything snowballed from there and I regret to inform you that the giveaway is rescheduled for next Monday.

But. BUT. You will love it. I promise.

And. AND. You will want to come back and enter. And enter. And enter. Because there will be multiple chances to win.

In the meantime, please to enjoy this clean eating cookie recipe review:

Almond Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate (from The Best of Clean Eating)
1 C. unsalted almond butter
3/4 c. sucanat
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
3 oz. dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Stir first five ingredients until well blended, then add chocolate chunks (I went easy on my family and used semi sweet chips) and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, transfer to rack and let cool for another 10 minutes. (It seems to keep cooking as it sits). Yield: 24 cookies.

This recipe received 4 thumbs up, and 2 "It's not my favorite" - I was one of the ones who really liked it. I ended up using salted (but definitely not sugared) organic almond butter and not adding any salt to the recipe. The sucanat gives it a nice texture and flavor. These are not fat free or low calorie by any means, but they are a pretty good option for when your sweet tooth comes calling. And if you can handle dark chocolate, they're high in anti-oxidants too.


Yum.

You're All Winners

There were 123 entries. And I must say, the odds were in her favor. It just goes to show that persistence pays off.

I'm hoping to do another quilt giveaway in time for Christmas and this time all you'll have to do is leave a comment (there will be chances for extra entries).

Winners and such

Thanks to Emma J for the tag line. I know it looks like my sis came up with the winning name, but in the interest of full disclosure, she kiped it from me.

Emma J you get first pick of the quilt tops and I will hold a drawing for the other one with all of the entries I've received. Now the question is, do I bother to change the blog url or just leave it as is? I'm thinking I'll leave it.

And one more thing - can I still refer to myself as Mrs. O? I'd rather that than Mrs. Shmo.

I'll hold a drawing for the books as well. Good luck and thanks everyone!

You Want a Piece of This?

Then play along, I need a winner.

And you can have your pick.

What I've Got So Far (giveaway update)

If you haven't played along yet, I'm asking for your help. Below are three quilts up for grabs (the first one is actually going to be bigger) and all you have to do is suggest a new blog name for me. I've also listed all the suggestions I've received so far and placed an asterisk by the ones I'm considering.

The person who comes up with the winning name gets the quilt of their choice, the rest of the entries go into a drawing and another winner will be chosen from those. So the more entries, the better your odds, eh? Go ahead and add any new suggestions you might have to this post. If I've missed any entries of yours, add them here as well. Oh! and every entry also gets entered into a drawing for some beach reads (I promise there isn't a cerebral book in the lot).

Christmas Quilt

Vintage Purples

Funky Modern Quilt

Elizabeth W - (4)
Isaac Asimov had thyroid cancer, so I'm in good company, right?
HGTV Ain't Got Nothin' On Me
Teri Garr is my Doppelganger
*Like the rest of us don't want to win, Geez!

Tebbs Family - (2)
LIVING ON THE LEDGE
Teetering on one breath at a time

Lilac A. Rugg - (1)
AAAAND TWOOOO BIIIIITS!

La Yen - (3)
Happy Hands Club
Always and Forever
Your Mom Goes to College
*Schmorganic!

Chocolate on my Cranium - (18)
My Bamboozled Noodle
Bats in the Belfry
Seventh Heaven
Open Blender, Insert Life
Happy Happy Joy Joy
It's a Beautiful Life
Cuz I Can
The Good Life
It's a Great Day to be Alive
This is my life
*That'll be the day...oh, wait it is the day
Happy as the Day is Long
Life's too Important to be Taken Seriously ~ Oscar Wilde
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
Simplicity and Truth
It Could Be Worse
Give More, Expect Less
Do Whid it?

Heffalump - (6)
Blondes DO have more fun!
How my Garden Grows
Food, Family and the Fabric of my Life
Things that distract me from my 40 before 40 list
Don't hate me because I'm Blogiful
*The Incredible Shrinking Woman (although I'd change it to The Credible Shrinking Woman)

Up in Bubbles - (26)
out here
A separate reality
between something and nothing
ways and means
just peaches and steam
a question of life
bite your lip
office of a busy woman
she bangs the drums
vapour trail
my crystal ball
Growing Up
Garden Variety
Hit and Miss
hits and misses
knots tied
stop, pause, play, rewind
play, stop, pause, rewind
Brain Leakage
Memory Storage
yummy in my tummy
The goods
Everything in between
*Positively Me
*Meta-schmorphasis
sweating it out

Annie - (4)
My Organic Life: No fillers, no falsies, just my life au naturale
It is What it Is: my organic life
Making Organic Look Good
De-(insert your name)-ating My Life

Stacy - (2)
Life in a Whirlwind
Head in a book, hands in the dough and fingers that sew, sew, sew

Shawn - (5)
Dog Tired, But Determined
Reading Wants to Be My Life
If I Could Do Anything....
A Woman Of Undetermined Talents
I Read Because I Dream, I Cook Because I Taste, and I Sew Because I Feel Naked

c-dub - (1)
*Pieces of me

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Megan of How did I get here?, she won the Organizing Bag giveaway and will receive 2 Medium Organizing Bags.

Thank you all for entering - stay tuned, I have something else fun in mind.

Oh! and please have a wonderful Mother's Day. (It's really for the kids, you know. It is not about the inadequacies you feel, it is about celebrating motherhood. So enjoy your pancakes and burnt toast and remember to hug your little ones extra tight).

Organizing Bag Giveaway

Organizing bags are what work for me, and this week you can enter Lara's giveaway (link below) and mine to possibly get some of your own for free. Keep reading and you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. If you'd like to go ahead and order some, please click on the link in my sidebar. Thanks and good luck in the giveaway-not entering is what doesn't work for me.

Lara over at The Lazy Organizer is sponsoring an organizing bag giveaway. It's very easy to enter, just head over to her site and enter your guesses to her questions (it's a baby pool), and you'll be entered to win a set of bags - one of each size. She'll draw the winner on Friday. Good Luck! I think I will join in the fun and offer 2 Medium bags for one lucky winner, also drawn on Friday. Just leave me a comment about your favorite family read aloud (the Bible doesn't count) and make sure you have a blog or email address I can contact you through if you win. This Little Bag is holding my mom essentials and goes in my car bag (what mom bag is complete without disposable toilet seat covers?) But it's also a great size for holding puzzle pieces and Polly Pockets.
This Medium-sized bag is perfect for storing a diaper, wipes and a change of clothes. It's small enough to fit in most purses and the handle makes it great to grab on the go. It's also great for bringing along a book or two - or Barbies anyone?
I'm using this Big Organizing Bag to hold supplies for my special needs son (briefs, chuk, catheter supplies, a spare g-tube and gloves), it also goes into my car bag so it's handy for emergencies. Odds are you probably won't need to use it for that but it also works great to store any of my knitting/applique/embroidery projects (the little clear pocket is perfect for storing needles or stitch markers) or for toting along a coloring book and pencils.

There's one more Really Big Bag and it's perfect for holding large quilting projects, big board puzzles, or you know, all the Littlest Pet Shop toys that are currently littering your house.

In case you'd just like to go ahead and get organized now, please click on the link in my sidebar to order any of your own bags. Mine came in two days -that's great service!