Snow Day Giveaway

I like nothing more than spend my day either playing on my computer (online shopping), cooking, or reading on a good snow day. Today we had one of those such days. I got to spend plenty of time with my kiddos, fold tons of laundry, and of course- play on my computer! It was a delight.


However, I am starting to look forward to Spring. I love celebrating Easter with my family. In fact, I started making those plans today. If you too are looking forward to Easter, you will like these neat graphic tees from Family Christian!  I have one that I love. Its purple and it say " I am the Resurrection and the Life." There are several more designs as well, and they are only $7.97 until 4/23. Since you are probably snowed in like me, you can check them out online- here!

 If you love several of them and cant decide, perhaps this giveaway will help! Since its so nice and snowy and I LOVE snow, you can share what you enjoy doing on a snow day and get an entry to this giveaway for $10 to spend at Family Christian (on these cool shirts or on something else you've had your eye on!) Hurry! This giveaway is only open a few days!
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Thinking of Christmas

I wont lie, I've kind of been consumed with thinking about Christmas over the past week or so. I have plans to post a gift giving guide this month. I am also hoping to share my guide to making it an awesome Christmas with kids. I also want to write a post on teaching contentment over the holidays! I have already started to listen to Christmas music. Its pretty crazy.

I was recently given Guy Penrod's Christmas CD for review and I love it. As I listened to it, it brings back tons of great memories of my childhood. I have always loved the holiday season. I love the sights. I love the sounds. Its a whole experience for me. I really feel like this CD gives me these feelings again. It has a great variety of classic Christmas songs. The range of musical styles make for an enjoyable listening experience. I definitely recommend this one! I would love for you to have a chance to listen to it too. Here's your chance! If you just cant wait, you can check it out on familychristian.com

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Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You

I often find that when I am in the midst of a time of self examination, I write more. Perhaps this is because that has always been my way of dealing with things. I have always enjoyed the art of journaling. Anne Frank's Dairy always fascinated and scared me for that reason. I always imagined someone finding my words. I was in fear of what finding out what the real me looked like would mean. At a very young age I began to write poetry, which was an acceptable way to get my words to readers. I went from poetry to some prose and eventually onto the wonderful world of blogging.

source

Apparently writing has helped me discover, cope, and celebrate my entire life. I am blessed that along with my love for it, I also got a measure of talent as well. However, I don't think its a requirement for one to have superb writing skills in order to express their feelings through journaling. I really feel like writing is a lot like music; if you love to do it, who cares what others think.

I have recently been reading the book Becoming Myself: Embracing God's Dream of You which I received from Family Christian Stores. In this book the author Stasi Elderdge does a lot of what I consider to be "journaling". She relives some of her memories in a very real way. She also shares the stories of others. She shares all this for the purpose of helping the reader to start embracing who they truly are- what God sees them as. No matter where you are in your life journey, you have been through a time of self doubt. We all have. This book is really helping me see those times in a new light.

source

So far I can say that I recommend the book. You can buy it in stores or online at www.familychristian.com.  Its hitting close to home in many ways for me. I also always recommend taking the time to write. I really think journaling is for everyone. To prove it, I have a very special giveaway.

Please feel free to enter it and join me in the writing journey!





 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope is on its Way

Its interesting how sometimes when it rains, it pours. At this moment in my life, this is how I feel. I sure many of you (if not all of you) can relate to that. Although there is always light at the end of a storm, it can be so hard to remember that as you hear the thunder, see all the lightning and are soaking wet.

I am here to tell you today, that it will turn out. It will get better. I am not promising a quick fix or some speedy resolution. I am just reminding you that in the end, it all comes around. I want to just spread a little hope today. Perhaps I just need a little bit myself!

On a whole different topic, on Missionary Manda's Musings I am having a neat little giveaway going on! Please feel free to enter!

Goodie Bag Giveaway

I love to do giveaways of my favorite things. In fact, my favorite theme for giveaways is "A few of my favorite things," where I send a mystery box to the winner packed full of all the things I am into right now. Its a fun box to fill!

Anyway, we got one going on right now!!!

The Giveaway Ends at 8 pm Eastern time on September 6th 2014.

Here is how to Enter:

1. Like or follow either my Twitter or Facebook pages (or both):

2. Follow me via Google+, Blogger, or email

3. Comment Below with what  you did.

EXTRA ENTRY: Tweet about my blog and tag me @dolcedellavita
(Please include that you did that in your comment with you username!)

Be on the look out on Twitter and Facebook for the winner!

For full rules please see my Contests and Giveaways page.

Spring Break Giveaway

This upcoming week is my spring break and I am sooooo excited!

Since I'll be out of town, I cant do any posts. So, I figured no better time for a giveaway! This will be an easy enter giveaway!

-Follow my Blog
-"Like" me on Facebook
-Comment below

That is it. Simple.

Here's what you will get:

Above is my "Spring Break" reading selection. I'm taking a copy of it along with me and I am looking forward to reading it. The second item is a cute little grass planter. Two fun little things to celebrate the much needed break!
 This ends May 1st 2014

Hello April, How Are You?

So happy it is finally April. I started working on planting my patio garden. The weather is finally warmer. Spring break is on its way. Im just really pleased its Spring. If you know me well enough, this is unusual. I typically like fall and winter and avoid all forms of warm weather, but I can't stay cooped up any longer.

Anyway, the month of April brings a few new things on here as well. We are starting a new theme. This month I will be doing a series on Amazing Women. There are so many fantastic ladies in both the past and present that inspire me.

I will take a few posts to focus on one of these women each. I hope to highlight the traits that beckon me to grow as a person.

Although no one person is perfect, I believe that each person has qualities we can learn from. During this month, I will not focus on the areas in which I disagree with each woman, but only those traits I mentioned earlier.

I look forward to sharing all this with you. I also look forward to hearing your feedback and comments. Please feel free to share the women that inspire you. Whether living or gone, I want to know!

Oh, I almost forgot. I hit over 100 likes on my Facebook fan page, so I will be announcing another giveaway this month!

Dear Heather and Food Lion

Today's letter is actually two fold, but before I start I must share my recent adventure. As I mentioned at the end of October, I was invited to join Food Lion's 2013 Frugal Cook Off. This took place on November 6th. It was a blast! I was put on a team with one other blogger and asked to cook a meal for five with a surprise cut of beef and a 15 dollar budget. My partner, John from The Hungry Asian, was fantastic. We made an awesome team. He was fun and talented. We got second place in the very close competition. Our surprise cut of meat was beef sirloin kabob meat. We decided to go with that and make sweet teriyaki kabobs with rice and cucumber salad. Let's just say, I wish I was the one who got to eat it, not the judges. One of the judges even told us that they would gladly order our dishes at a restaurant.

Our Dish- Thanks to John

Although my team didn't win, I was blessed with gift cards, Food Lion brand foods, and an embroidered apron with my blog name on it! This leads me to my next topic- GIVEAWAY! One of my gift cards were for you my readers! Would you like a $100 giftcard to Food Lion?! Well, here's how to enter:

1. Follow Me via Facebook and/or Blogger
2. Like Food Lion on Facebook
3. Comment below that you did!

That's it! You know you want to, so go a head and enter!If you would like more information and pictures from the Cook Off, check out Food Lion's Facebook and Twitter! The final date for entries is 11-20-13. I will announce the winner on my blog and Facebook!

You can also check out a tid bit about it on this video!
WSLS 10 NBC in Roanoke/Lynchburg Va
 
Also, please check out some of my fellow bloggers who competed.

Heather from Desperately Seeking Sanity

Raki from Outside the Box Mom

Alicia from Fun Reviews and Giveaways

John (@HungryAsianRke)

Paula from Virginia Sweetpea

Elizabeth from  E, Myself, and I

Speaking of fellow bloggers, that leads me to my letters of thanks! My first one is to Heather from Desperately Seeking Sanity.

Dear Heather,
Thank you so much for befriending me from the start! It has been awesome to know a fellow blogger in our area. I am learning a little more from you each day. I look forward to planning blogger events with you at some point.

Secondly, I thank you for getting me involved with the The Food Lion Frugal Cook Off! It was a blast and I never would have had that opportunity without you. I know you made the difference in so many bloggers lives. I pray that you will blessed as much as and more than you ever imagined!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Food Lion,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to compete in your Frugal Cook Off! It was one of the highlights of my blogging career. It was so much fun and it gave me the chance to meet so many other bloggers in my area! I hope I get the opportunity to partner with you again in the future.

Also, thank you for the gift cards. Both my reader and I are so thankful! I know it will be extra useful with the holiday season around the corner. Keep up all the good work!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Heather, the blogger behind Desperately Seeking Sanity. She won the giveaway for the Soft Lips lip gloss!

Thank you for all my entries this time!

As many of you know, Sundays are church and family days. If you want to have a glimpse of my day, please read my recent post over at Missionary Manda's Musings.

Lately: Story time and VBS

My apologies for the low number of post this week. I believe that I mentioned that we have Benjamin in VBS this week and it throws off our whole nightly groove. In fact, I haven't posted my devotions at all this week on my other blog. Sunday, after announcing the winner to my giveaway, things should get back to normal again.

However, I do want to share a little bit of what you are missing. So, I have brought some pictures to share!

Story time at the Library

Vacation Bible School

Review: Lifeway Kefir

I recently received my very first item from Influenster! I was so excited when my coupon for one free Lifeway Kefir product came in the mail. Of course I had to go use the coupon the same say and get started tasting and sharing my experience.

First off, let me say that I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. It was completely free to me. I was also sent a coupon for a future purchase, which I used at the same time as getting my free product so I could taste more flavors. On to my review...

I tried both the blueberry and raspberry flavors of low fat Kefir from Lifeway. On their label they refer to themselves as the "tart cousin of yogurt," and I must agree. My first sip was a bit of a surprise to me. It was a refreshing, lightly sweet and fruity flavor. The texture was smoother than yogurt, but also more tart. Actually, I rather enjoyed the tartness. Don't get me wrong, I love yogurt. I especially like the sweet flavors, but my tastes range and I can enjoy many.

I think that these Kefir smoothies will make a great quick morning, run and go breakfast. This is useful for me during the school year because I am usually in a rush. I also think it would be an awesome base for adding fruit and making a fuller smoothie drink. The raspberry came off a little more tart than the blueberry. I am looking forward to trying their other flavors as well. They also have frozen Kefir (much like frozen yogurt), that I had hoped to try. The store I stopped at didn't carry it.

All that being said, I would definitely purchase it again, but only for myself. I shared some with both my husband and my two year old. My husband agreed that it was a lot like Greek yogurt in some ways. However it was less dry, thinner in texture, and smoother. He loves Greek yogurt; I am not a fan. That made this more up my alley than his. My two year old made a crazy face because, like I said, its tart. Still, he labeled it "yogurt," which means he would at least attempt to try it again.

However, I think everyone in my family is up to try the frozen version! I can imagine it would make a delicious frozen treat. I have to keep my eye out for it now. I'll update you when I do try it.

Just a reminder, I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. Thank you Influenster and Lifeway Kefir for the oppurtunity!

Remember!

Tomorrow is the last full day to enter the giveaway! Please make sure you check it out and enter to win some Soft Lips lip gloss!

I want it delivered.

Did you know that you can have just about anything delivered to your door? Even better, you can have monthly subscriptions to have things delivered?! I think its amazing. As you know, I am apart of a few such websites. However, there are so many. I can't afford to be apart of them all at this point, but I feel like sharing. Below is just a few that are super cool that I have found.

Grab Bag Love. Delivers grab bags of all sorts of things! I mean really?! I want one. Around $25 each
Julep. Delivers trendy nail polish and other skin related products. Approximately $20 a month
Love With Food. Delivers gourmet samples. Approximately $10 a month
Citrus Lane. Delivers children's items based on age. Starting at $21 a month
Mynt Box. Delivers fashion costume jewelry. Prices range but you can get two pieces for $20 a month.
Ipsy. Delivers 4-5 full or travel size samples a month in a makeup bag. I am a part of this one and love it! Only $10 a month.
Gwynnie Bee- Like Netflicks for plus size clothing. If you are a size 10 plus, you must check it out. Try it for 30 days free!

These are just a few. You can order all sorts of other things online too. From diapers to shampoo! Have you found anything interesting you can have delivered? If I could have (or afford) my way, I'd get something awesome on the mail daily!

Thank you to my new followers from the Bloggy Moms July Blog Hop! I look forward to more visiting and visits!

All week my oldest son is in VBS, so I get home late. I apologize for late or lacking posts! I will do my best to keep up.

Be sure to check out my giveaway! Its easy... just do it!

100th Post!

How lucky is this?! My 100th post falls in my birthday month! I'm so excited that I am not even sure how we should celebrate this fact. I'd have a party and invite you all, but that's a little impossible. So here is what I did do today! I used something from my recently arrived Glam Bag to pretty up my tootsies!

Speaking of the Glam Bag, if you are interested in joining in on the beauty product fun, you can join on ipsy. For ten bucks a month you get 4-5 awesome beauty products in a cool little makeup bag. They are usually full or travel size. I promise its worth it. I LOVE getting stuff in the mail. Here is what my recent selection looked like.

I love the lip crayon and nail polish. They are such fun colors! I have also used the COOLA sunblock as well. It was great as well. I look forward to giving the eyeshadow and hairspray a try!

Other than looking glam-tastic today with my new products, I also got to show off some Gwynnie Bee over the past few days. Here is a little glimpse!

 I'm sure you are very aware by now how much I love this company. They have spectacular costumer service and they keep new clothes coming in all the time! Let's just say I have over 90 things in my virtual closet at this point. I will have to be with Gwynnie Bee for a lifetime and I would still not get to try everything I love.

 If you are size 10 plus, I would highly recommend it. Still on the fence? The first 30 days are completely FREE. However, once you try, you will get hooked!




Now, on to how we shall celebrate this 100th post. I'm up for ideas. This is the week of the hundredth post, so lets make it a week of celebration and fun. I mean, its still my birthday month too! Let's party!

My husband suggested I do a GIVEAWAY! I think that is a fabulous idea! How would you like to receive lip gloss from one of my all-time favorite brands for lip-balm? Soft Lips now has a pearl gloss. It still has the same great 10 spf, but it has lovely, pink, sheer coverage. Here is how to grab it!

1. Follow my blog. If you already do, you have a head start! Comment below that have. (1 entry)
2. Like me on Facebook. Comment below that you have. (1 entry)
3. Come up with one creative way you think we can celebrate my birthday month and/or 100th post and tell me in a comment. (1 entry) If I use your idea you get 2 entries!

Good luck everyone! Remember to include your email address so I can notify the winner. This giveaway will be randomly drawn on Sunday, July 21! Have fun!

Farewell June, Hello July

Tomorrow starts the month you all have been looking forward to! So much of me...I know you can barely contain yourselves! Kidding... kidding. However, you will get to know me so much better next month. I have so much to share. But that will have to wait until tomorrow! Now for some business.

Congratulation to Brittany from Facebook. She won the pair of dangle earrings. We had no entries via the blog, so one random "liker" was drawn and she was it!

As you may have noticed, I have spent the last few days creating blog buttons, joining networking groups, and starting my sister blog: Missionary Manda's Musings. On that blog you will be able to read interesting devotionals, see my travels as a missionary, and get to know the love of Jesus Christ. I do hope you will stop by and visit.

 Until tomorrow, be blessed and get excited!

Day 22: Nothing Special

First off, to my unnamed reader friend: You have encouraged me. You have lifted my spirits and gave me hope that there are people out there who read and even enjoy my daily rambling and unusual tidbits. Thank you for being who you are!

Second, do you know what today is? No, well let me tell you. Today makes only 12 days left until the day we celebrate that Gorgeousness was born (that's me). Haha. It hit me today how very close my birthday is. Over the past few years I have had several birthday fails, so I have high hopes of this year. Still, I believe I am grounded because I will be teaching children's church and making a few hour trip that day. I can only expect so much out of the day!

My Day

We did very little today. Grocery shopping, movies, a little playing... the usual. It was supposed to be craft day, but things got in a tangle and that never really happened. We did however build a Lego train and have a great time doing that.

We also watched a Lego a movie... Mommy is all Lego'd out!

Looking Forward

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for everyone in my family. We have an appointment in the morning, we going bowling in the afternoon, and I am going out with friends in the evening. I will be lucky if I get to post tomorrow.

Remember to enter for the great earring giveaway- here.  You can find all the rules and information you need there. I love doing these giveaways, but you have to enter to win!

Day 21: Three Day Catch Up and Contest Winner?!

Should I be offended? Not one person entered my contest. My heart is just a tad broken. However, I am going to over look it and assume everyone was on vacation and try this again! Are you interested in winning a brand-new pair of handmade earrings! Specially picked for you, by me at a local festival!? If you are...

Here are the rules this time:
1. Like Casseruola Dolce Della Vita on Facebook.
2. Share that you entered my contest on either Twitter or Facebook. (make sure to tell them @dolcedellavita) Make sure you give them a link so they can enter too!
3. Comment that you did all three! Be sure to include your email so I can let you know if you won!


The contest ends Sunday, June 30th. You get a week to get in to win these lovely dangle earrings!

Catching Up

Now, we have had a very eventful past three days! Wait to you see how much fun we had!

Fun in the Sun: Friday=Water

The schedule I created to help keep summer boredom away said that Friday's mean water play. We didn't have any plans to GO somewhere so we made our own water fun.

Although my oldest got a bit more sun than I would have liked (even with sunblock), he had a blast! When I made them go in for lunch, Benjamin was really disappointed.

Playland and Catch Up

We took advantage of the playland later that day to get together with a family friend. In the end, Benjamin just ended up pulling them into playing with him and very little adult conversation was allowed. Oh the joys and woes of having munchkins. 

Burger King has $0.50 ice-cream cones of cups all summer, so we got dessert for less than 4 bucks! Add that to play time, we got way more than our monies worth.

Moonlight Delight

My oldest son has suddenly taken a liking to the moon. So we took a few minutes when we got home to look at the moon. He also loved the fact that I let him sit on top of my car. He thought he was hott stuff. After our moon adventure we went on a search for lightening bugs. It was the first time he had ever seen one.

Saturday Surprise Party

On Saturday we went to a surprise party for my dad. Because we celebrated earlier in the week he was so clueless of the very special plans we had made for his 50th birthday. Benjamin and Henry especially like the balloons and watermelon that came with the party!

My mother made my dad a dirt cake because she said that he is now "older than dirt". I attempted to have Ben ask "what were the dinosaurs like?", be couldn't remember it long enough to ask. Grandpa was very surprised. We parked all the cars in a church parking lot and shuttled people over, so even when he arrived there was no evidence. We had plenty of fun, food, and music!

Sunday: A Day At the Park

Today we spent some time with our church family River Church at the park. We did service there and did a huge potluck/BBQ afterward. Benjamin and Henry played their heart out. Everyone ate their heart out. And we pray that others were reached by our hearts being "out".

After church and the events surrounding it, we went to a little event full of local businesses. It was really more of a networking event for my job with Growing Up in the Valley, but it was fun having the family along. Benjamin was very helpful and handed out my card to every booth. I had the chance to sign up for some prizes and get some contacts, so all was good. When we got home we were all wiped out from a day of outdoors and hot weather. (Nowhere we went today was air-conditioned.) At home we cooled down and relaxed until dinner. After dinner the usual bath-time, bed-time craziness ensued.

That leads me to where I am now. All my kids in bed, my husband at the movies and the bed to myself for a while. If I new my youngest Henry wasn't about to wake again in a half hour I might have just hit the sack and left you hanging yet another night. So, you have my sleepless child to thank for a fun post of pictures today!

I've actually missed writing. Its part of what keeps me sane, but then again, so does sleep.

I hope to see lots of entries in the giveaway above! Until tomorrow, I pray that you sleep better than I surely will!

Day 18: Story Time & a Birthday Party

We started our day with a fun preschool story time for the boys at the local library. We danced, listened to a story and "finger painted" with yogurt. My kids had a blast and I was thankful we brought wipes!

 We also wished Grandpa (my dad) a happy 50th birthday. It was fun to give him a hard time about being "old". I told Benjamin to ask him "What were the dinosaurs like?", but he didn't.

Henry LOVED trying the cake. He also like putting it on his toes!

Looking Forward

Remember, the handmade earring Giveaway comes to an end on Monday the 24th. So make sure to check out the entry requirements here! Tomorrow is water day... I'm not really sure what I plan to do for it yet. If nothing else we will jump in the kiddie pool. We will also get to see a very good friend of mine, in fact my kids call him uncle. So, it will be another fun summer day!

Day 15: Star Adventures

We had a fun day at a local attraction, The Star. It was also craft day! We made a paper plate clam inspired by this photo.

Here is how ours turned out!

The Star was the highlight of my oldest son's day.

 After The Star we went to the playground near by and had a picnic. Benjamin did a lot more playing than eating.

After that we came home and the children took naps while I did some phone calls for work. After everyone was up and at it again we stopped by the library and got a movie. A Lego movie to be exact. My son has been asking for one for days.

Looking Forward

Don't forget to check out my latest giveaway! It ends on June 24th, so get to it!

Day 13: The Gnome's Adventures

So much has happened over the past few days, there is no way I could share it all. So, in my attempt to explain.
Thursday- The Library to sign up for the summer reading program
Friday- The Lake
Saturday- The Color Run

Here is that all again in photo form!
 Introducing my bathing suit!

My babies at the lake.

THE COLOR RUN!

So, you will forgive me that I have not posted much, but we have been BUSY!

I will make up for my absence with a GIVEAWAY! You know how I ADORE handmade things. So, today's giveaway will be for a pair of handmade dangle earrings. I got these at a local craft festival and I must say, they are lovely.A winner will be drawn Monday, June 24th!

So, here's the details! To Enter:
1. Like Casseruola Dolce Della Vita on Facebook.
2. Share that you entered my contest on either Twitter or Facebook. (make sure to tell them @dolcedellavita)
3. Comment that you did all three! 

Have Fun!!!

Day Thirteen: Updates and Announcements

As I stated in the title, I have several updates and announcement to cover today. Because of this there will  be a slight change of plans. There will be no "basics" listed today. They will of course resume tomorrow through the end of the week. The next list of basics will be health and beauty. So, be looking forward to that. Now onto my monthly theme today!

My Outfit

My first announcements come with this section! Im sure you are aware that I am no photographer and neither are the friendly people who help me take my photos. I recruited some help. My younger sister has a good eye for photography and she accepted the position of helping me bring you my fashion! Now, the food and often other pictures will still be taken by me and willing hands. Kailee did a great job today helping me give you a little better look at my wardrobe. You can follow Kailee on Twitter.

From the top: Blue dangle earrings, green lace camisole, flowing sheer shirt, black leggings, boots

I also realized that I haven't been sharing how you can get my style for yourself! What good is seeing fashion you cant steal?! From now on I will be revealing my secrets, and helping you get the same great look. Unfortunately not everything in my wardrobe is still available. I try to buy pieces I love and keep them for as many seasons as possible. All I can promise is basic idea and a little inspiration.

 The shirt is so old I cant even remember where I purchased it. You can usually find similar looks at Marshall's and Ross. The leggings are Lane Bryant, but I would suggest taking a more affordable route and buying those at Wal-mart.

The earrings are one of a kind. I bought these handmade earrings at a craft fair. Craft shows make a great plan to buy statement pieces that no one else will have!

The boots bellow are wide calf boots from Lane Bryant. Another good location to buy wide shoes and wide calf boots is Roaman's.






My Lunch
Im starting to see a pattern here. I need to eat healthier dinners so my lunches will be better! This high carb lunch is courtesy of fast food for dinner. I promise tomorrow's and Friday's will be better!

Don't do as I do, do as I wish. My hopes are to make a few special recipes I have posted on Pinterest. Check it out and help me do better by sharing your fast and tasty ideas below.

I look forward to sharing more basics with you tomorrow. I also hope to be sending out my giveaway at the end of the month. We are 19 followers away from posting the contest rules!