Hey Ya'll....It's GIVEAWAY Time!

I was given the opportunity to check out some websites this week that I had never been to before, but that I found all kinds of great deals at.

I found really nice kids bedding that I know my nieces and nephews would love, really neat kitchen stuff, like pots and pans, picnic baskets, aprons, and cookbooks, and very cool modern home accessories, such as artwork and office accessories that I want for my house.

For you, my lovely readers, I wanted to giveaway something that I would love to receive. So I am giving away, not just one, but two Paula Deen Kitchen Wisdom Cookbook and Recipe Journals. That's right, 2 of you will win this book!

What I love about this book is that it includes Paula Deen's recipes, which we all know are awesome, but in addition to that she shares some really neat tips such as what to do if your cake gets dry in the oven or you have people on their way over for dinner and your kitchen is full of smoke. And we all know that in this NewlyWife life, there are plenty of kitchen mishaps! There are even blank pages for you to write your own recipes!

To enter:

1 entry for either telling me you are already a follower or becoming a follower.

1 entry for delurking and asking me a question on my last post.

2 entries for blogging about my giveaway.

That's a total of 4 possible entries (you know in case you couldn't do 2+1+1 on your own). Don't forget, two people will be winning. Please leave a seperate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using random.org on Thursday, March 4. That's one week from today.

Let's Get To Know Each Other, Shall We?

I am totally lacking blog motivation lately. So to combat that, here's what we're gonna do. First of all, I want to "meet" my readers. Hello out there, yes you, I can see you, what's your name? How ya doin? De-lurk guys! Introduce yourselves. I'd like to know who you are. I think I read most of my follower's blogs, but if I don't, I'd like to check you out. One of the best parts of blogging is all the great people you get to know. So, do it! Say hi.

And while you're at it, I'm taking questions. Ask me anything. Really, anything. It can be totally random or it can be more deep. Whatever you want to know, ask. I know these have been happening a lot in our little blog world and usually I'm not a follower, but I think it's a great idea. I've never done one before and I have almost 50 followers now, so I'm sure some of you have questions. Or even if you don't, think of one. You know, to make me feel good. I will answer them a week from today.

And since I just gave you guys assignments, I'll let you in on a little something. There's going to be a giveaway happening soon! Get excited!

That of Which We Should Not Speak

I had planned to start a new weekly post today entitled "My Faves Friday." I am going to start this weekly post where I tell ya what I've been into that week, whether it be blogs, tv shows, food, drinks, clothing, etc. However, something has been on my mind that I just have to talk about so My Faves Friday will have to start next week.

Yes, people, I'm talking politics on the blog today. I tend to keep my politics out of this blog and still will for the most part. Honestly, this post isn't really political, anyway, it just deals with politics. I will let you know where I stand. I am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. What that means is that when something has to do with economics and policies like that, I tend to side more with Republicans. When it has to do with social policies, such as gay marriage, etc, I tend to side more with the Democrats. Yes, this does make it hard for me when it comes time to vote. I was raised by incredibly liberal Democrats and married a pretty conservative Republican.

Now to get to what pissed me off enough that I had to blog about it. I don't understand why some individual's cannot get over political differences. Case in point, I know a Republican who judges people just based on their political beliefs. This person even made a comment to the effect of "I just found out so and so is a Democrat. I thought I liked him." Why does knowing someone's political beliefs differ from yours change the way you feel about them as a person? My husband and I disagree a lot in election year November's. But it doesn't mean I don't love him or like him as a person. He has certain opinions that I don't understand and I'm sure I have certain political opinions that he just doesn't get, but does that mean we can't get along?

It's like the age old question, "Can men and women just be friends." I'm asking "Can Republicans and Democrats get along?" I certainly think so, but apparently this friend of mine does not. If we all had the same opinions on things, wouldn't the world be boring? Now I will admit that there are certain things that I feel so strongly about that if you feel strongly in the other direction, I question how we can be good friends. But these are very very few and they are things that directly affect my family. I will not judge you based on what political party you are registered with.

I'd love to hear your opinions on this.

Half Year Anniversary!

A day late...oops. Well anyway, yesterday was our 6 monthaverssary. We've made it half a year, people! And I'm lovin it. Sooo today, I have decided to showcase the reception. Enjoy!

Walking into the reception

Our First Dance (You Move Me by Garth Brooks)

Lemon filled wedding cake

Grooms Cake (Chocolate Ganache)

Me asking everyone if I should smash cake in his face

Toasts

Dancin. We honeymooned in Mexico, so the groomsmen surprised us with sombreros and maracas

Gettin low...low...low...low...low

Last Dance (Don't Stop Believin by Journey)

And the NewlyHusband and I at the end of the reception

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

Story Time!

Story 1: I get home from work the other night and the neighbors cat is in the driveway. Such a sweet cat. I tell her hello and then go into the garage, where my wonderful husband is waiting for me. He goes to shut the garage and I said "Noo! You're gonna squish the kitty!" He says "Tara the cat is smart enough to run back onto the driveway."
Fast forward to the next morning. I open the door from our house to the garage and what is the first thing that catches my eye? That cat sitting right in front of the door. "Meow....Meow..." I felt so bad! She was stuck in our garage over night- no food, no water, no litter, no nothing. She ran out as soon as I opened the garage for her.


Story 2: I have my own cat, but she lives with my mom because the NewlyHusband is allergic to all things furry. My mom just got this awesome new kitchen. I mean she completely ripped out her old kitchen, walls and all, and had it redone. It's gorgeous. Included in this new kitchen is one of those flat top stoves that is kind of flush with the counter. Well my poor cat (Pepper is her name) must not have understood that it was a stove. After cooking dinner the other night, the freaking cat walked across the hot stove! She has been walking around for a few days now with the one burnt paw held up in the air. It's so pathetic and adorable. Guess she won't be walking across the stove anymore.


Story 3: As you all know, house hunting was had yesterday. The area we're looking to buy is a good half an hour-50 minutes away from the area we're in now. So I meet our realtor at a Starbucks about half an hour away. I did that yesterday and then rode with the realtor. The NewlyHusband met us later on to see the two I really liked, so of course I rode with the NewlyHusband to finish the house hunt. The NH and I went out to dinner afterwards and then came home. We start pulling in the driveway and NH says "Damn it!" I'm like "What?! What?! What's the matter- is a door open, did the house get broken into?" Nope, none of that. He had just realized that we completely forgot my car was still at that Starbucks. Yeah, we're doofuses like that. So we were up bright and early this a.m. to go get my car before NH headed to work. Oops!

Anddd a random nugget to leave you with. The realtor's GPS, when telling him to get on the highway, says "Turn right onto the motorway." Seriously, who the hell calls it a motorway?! Do you?

House Hunting

I am going house hunting for the third time today. I am excited because there are some really promising prospects to look at today for really great prices and I think we may find the house for us. However, I'm also super nervous. We are planning on putting our house on the market next week. Yes, you heard that right, our house isn't even for sale yet.

Originally we were planning on waiting until after I graduated to buy a new house. Then, they extended the home buyers credit and made it available to repeat home buyers, and who are we to say no to an extra $65o0. So we decided to go ahead and try to buy a house before April.

However, I realize it is not a seller's market right now. What if we can't sell our house? What if I find the perfect house today and we want to put an offer in and our house just doesn't sell? I'll be so upset. I know, we probably should not have started looking for houses before our house sold, but house hunting is so much fun and the prices are phenomenal! One of the houses I am going to look at today is a 5 bedroom, 2 bath, 2810 sq ft home in a great area of town for $175,000.

If ya'll could just out some positive thoughts, prayers, whatever floats your boat, out there that we can sell our house and quickly, that would be awesome. Thanks!

My Random Taste In Music

I saw this on Vanessaings and thought it would be cool to do and to show you how incredibly varied my taste in music is. Let's see what pops up!

So, here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question type the song that’s playing.
5. When you go to a new question press the next button.

Here goes!

Opening Credits: "Just Lose It" -Eminem

Waking Up: "Kissing You" -Romeo and Juliet Love Theme Instrumental

Falling In Love: "Butterfly" -Crazy Town

Fight Song: "Praise You With The Dance" -Casting Crowns (soo not perfect for a fight song haha)

Breaking Up: "Heart in a Blender" -Eve 6

Make-up: "Girl at the Rock Show" -Blink 182

Life’s Okay: "American Dream" -Casting Crowns

Mental Breakdown: "The Bad Touch" -Bloodhound Gang

Driving: "Stupid Girls" -Pink

Flashback: "Wife and Kids" -Kenny Chesney

Happy Dance: "Brand New Girlfriend" -Steve Holy

Regretting: "She's Country" -Jason Aldean

Final Battle: "A Few More Days" -Matthew West

Death Scene: "Life of My Own" -3 Doors Down

Make-Out Scene: "Standing on the Promises" -Alan Jackson (again soo not appropriate)

Ending Credits: "Blister in the Sun" -Violent Femmes

So there ya have it, some of my incredibly random ITunes. And yes with 2 blog posts in one day, I am procrastinating on my homework. So what? Ok, ok I'm getting off the computer now and am going to read about the Sociology of Work. Don't miss me too much, mmkay?

Making A Difference: It Starts With Us

Nate from It Starts With Us has posted an awesome 2009 Year In Review of various missions It Starts With Us did in 2009. Even if you don't have time to read the whole thing, just scroll through and see some of the great things the people at It Starts With Us have done. I am still very new to ISWU and have only participated in a couple missions so far, but I am so excited to be a part of this group in 2010.

An example of the last mission I participated in: A blogger was having a hard time. He had just gone to see his dying mom. The mission was just to leave a nice comment on his blog post and, as Nate said, "drop an massive love bomb" on him. You can see his blog post here. It's things like this- things that seem small and are usually pretty easy to do, but that really make a difference in people's lives that It Starts With Us is all about.

Check out the link above and see how easy and how little time it takes to make a difference. A smile may be all you have to give but a smile be all someone needs.