True Colors Swap Results (Updated with Pictures)

Hey, sorry about my absence. My computer that has access to my camera hasn't been connecting to the internet all week, so no pictures going up. However, I did get my fabulous package from kibbygirl for the True Colors Swap! She's from Canada so I was expecting bacon, a Mountie hat, and maybe a goose or a hockey puck. Instead, I got a box of awesomeness. But I can't post a picture yet so you'll just have to use your imaginations until my computer genius of a husband finishes watching college football and figures out what went wrong with my hookup.

Can you tell my favorite color?


There was so much in this box, I hope I don't forget anything:

• Dishtowel with flower details
• Martha Grimes book about the publishing industry (goes with the whole "wannabe writer" thing as well as my bookworm-ness.)
• Polka dot picture frame
• Glass perfume bottle (Love this!)
• Handmade journal (I'm about three pages away from needing a new one so perfect timing.)
• Small bag (Very cute!)
• Coasters (Almost too pretty to use...now I have to teach my kids what "coasters" are.)
• Box of Japanese art-inspired notecards (Just lovely!)
  
• 3 decorative flowers (Thinking I'm gonna attach these to a headband.)
• Pretzel M&Ms (Blue and chocolate? She read my mind.)
• Fuzzy socks (With the chilly weather setting, these are great for those nights when the Man isn't around to warm my feet on his legs.)
• Napkins (I guess we'll have to stop using paper towels...we're getting fancy around here!)
• Crafted box full of handmade tags (Gorgeous! She has all different styles and occasions, all with blue. This girl is so talented!)

But here's my favorite thing:

It's tiny; only about a inch. Found it in the bottom of the box after I took the picture of everything else. I need to find a good place for this so I can see it daily. It makes me smile.

Let's share the goodness! If you participated in my swap, please use the Mr Linky below to connect us to your post about the package (please link directly to that post and not your main page). It's fun to see what everyone else received as well as getting ideas for the next time around.

I also have pictures from two Halloween swaps I did (because I am a crazy person) to show you! Betcha can't wait, eh?

Chocolate-Covered Winner!

Okay, time to pick a winner for the scrumptious "Chocolate Never Faileth" by the equally as tempting, Annette Lyon.

As usual, Random.org helped me out.

And the winner is...

Comment #29: Cheryl!

Cheryl said...

I follow you on Cake Cow already

October 19, 2010 10:40 AM

Congrats, my friend!

Giveaways are fun. I need to do another one soon...any suggestions on what you'd want to win? Jewelry is always fun. Maybe another cookbook? Gift certificate to The Chocolate? What do you think?

Boo Hoo

Sometimes, I take things a little too personally. A random comment (or lack of comment) can leave me deflated for days. Perhaps the person totally did not mean it that way; it's just my low self-esteem filling in the blanks. I'll mope around, eat a little too much chocolate, and just generally feel sorry for myself and the wretch that I've become, while the person - or as I like to refer to them, the super big meanie dummy head - had no clue that anything is other than as it should be.

Anyway...

Our family moved to this lovely community seven years ago. The following autumn, I started a fun little game. You might have heard of it. It's call a Boo. Or a Halloween Phantom. I'd print up a cutesy poem explaining that they had just been "boo'd" and now it was their turn to find another family to give anonymous treats to, thereby spreading the fun and calories around. The first year, I really made an effort. I got a trick-or-treating bucket, filled it with candy, homemade cookies, and a couple decorations. I cackled with glee every time I passed that house and saw the little ghost in the window, indicating that the house had already been boo'd. More of those little ghosts began to haunt the neighborhood! It was really cool to see my game spread. However, I couldn't help but notice, when skeletons were reburied in storage and the sugar buzz wore off, we didn't get a ghost.

The next year, I sent around two buckets, slightly toned down, as it might be intimidating to continue my awesomeness. Our neighborhood was growing and there were more people to share in my game. Same poem, same picture. Same results. Nobody boo'd us.

I carried on the tradition for two more years, always secretly hoping that every after-dark ring of the door bell would bring a ghost bearing a plate of goodies. It gets hard. The rejection starts to get personal when it happens so many years in a row. I wondered why we were never picked (was I too short? maybe too awesome? were we really part of some form of the Truman Show and my little game wasn't figured into the script and no one was allowed to contact us?). So I stopped. The past two years, I didn't try. I saw ghosts going up in windows so I knew someone else had picked up the torch, but they didn't pick us.

Tuesday night, it came: an almost-bedtime ring of the doorbell. A tinfoil covered plate of love sitting on our steps, with instructions on how to continue the game. I tried not to cry. It was finally my turn, like being asked to sit with the cool kids at lunch. Such a small thing, really. Nothing that would ruffle anyone else's feathers but to me...that ghost in my window is like a seal of approval that I've applied for year after year and was denied. But not this year.

Cookbook Giveaway!

Since I haven't been posting, I figured it was going to take some serious bribery to get you back here to my blog. So here it is:

The scrumptious cookbook from Annette Lyon! "Chocolate Never Faileth." I've had my copy for a week now and can't stop drooling over it...

Sure, it's a chocolate cookbook - which is completely awesome - but for someone not as chocolate obsessed as myself, what's so great about it? Well, let me tell ya!

• Lots of chocolate quotes and anecdotes! Every recipe has one. Makes my chocolate quote calendar unnecessary.
• Annette doesn't just give you the "what" for a recipe but also the "why." This is one of the reason why I love Alton Brown's Good Eats, because it explains the reasons behind doing things a certain way, not just bossing me around and leaving me uninformed.
• There are the classic recipes (like a basic chocolate cake - several, actually) but some new twists on old favorites (I'm dying to try to chocolate pavlova).
• Not only are you getting over 125 recipes to recreate heaven on earth, but the one I'm giving away is signed by the author. 'Cuz we're, like, totally tight and stuff. Seriously, we are! I've even been to her house (of course, I bribed my way in the door with cupcakes...).

Are you chomping at the bit now, dying to win this cookbook? Well, you should be! Here's how to enter:

1. Leave me a comment here saying something about chocolate. Anything. Except that you hate the stuff because then I'll have to block your access to my blog and blot your name out of the records.
2. Visit Annette's blog and tell her I sent you (I will verify this because I'm all about promoting me).
3. Follow me (or let me know that you already do).
4. Follow The Cake Cow.
5. Share this giveaway on Facebook (helps if you're also my friend so I can verify this).
6. Blog about my giveaway with a link here.

Now, you must leave an additional comment for EACH entry. Doesn't count as multiples when ya lump 'em all together. I will leave it to Random.org to pick the winner next Sunday at...let's say 8 pm MDT. Sound good? Okay, then, leave me some comments, people!

AND IF YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN MY TRUE COLORS SWAP...How is everything going? Are you finding some good items to send to your partner? Need any suggestions or tips? Shoot me an email. Deadline is this weekend!

Breaking News

I've been hosting my very own pity party for the past week so haven't been posting...or reading blogs...or cleaning my house...

But this week is looking better so I gotta get back in the saddle.

First up, the package from my Guilty Pleasures Swap partner, Amy from WannaBeAmy.

OOooo...getting this box really made my day! How can you not get addicted to swaps? (If you want to see what I sent her, go here.) Lookit!

Semi-Homemade Magazine - I admit that I've watched her show and she's got some great ideas.

Movie - I haven't seen this one since college!

Candy Pumpkins - These have been the main source of bribery for the kids around here.

Bracelet - Really cute for Halloween! I love Halloween.

Baseball Cards - Sadly, I've never heard of most of the athletes on these cards but Baby sure loves to play with them.

Ghiradelli - Amy and I are going to be BFFs. And yes, I had to reclose the bag so I could take this picture. Yummy!

Hot Chocolate - Amy prefers coffee but since I don't drink it, she sent me the next best thing.

Dish Towels - Love these! They're already hanging on the oven.

And remember this cutie?

Well, the Co-ed got a new accessory...

The Co-ed is getting married!

We are so excited for her! Her fiance has been enduring Sunday dinners with us for a while. He's a good guy and the Boy's best friend. And I have to keep reminding myself that I DO NOT make wedding cakes so I don't offer to make her's. I would love to make her cake, though.

Find the Boy

The Boy is a good kid, but can be a little on the sensitive side. Luckily for him, he knows when a situation might get quickly out of hand and tries to prepare for it (like attempting to smuggle the mee mee into church or getting a second package of fruit snacks so he doesn't have to share with his little sister). When it was time to watch a new movie, the Boy got everything ready, just in case things got scary: mee mee, his stuffed dog, and a nice safe place to peek out from.

The movie was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Boo is reading the books and as a reward when she finishes one, she gets to watch the movie version. So far? She's not impressed with what the script writers did to the books. Aren't we all, though? (I'm tempted to have them watch The Never-ending Story or Dark Crystal, 'cuz I'm mean.)

Also, I've extended the sign-up date on the True Colors swap until Friday, October 8th. We're currently at an odd number so hopefully we can even things out a bit. Encourage your friends to sign up!