Good times and Free Stuff!

First and foremost I must announce the winner of my Simply Bags giveaway!

The Doll from Shepdogg: One P, Double G 

you will soon be the proud owner of your very own personalized, insulated lunch bag! I will contact you soon with additional information.

Thank you to everyone that participated and for showing your love to Simply Bags. I have a feeling they'll be getting some of my money very soon!! I'm still eying some of these bags! 

I hope you all had a great weekend. I know I did. Kevin finally had a full weekend home from the evil field! I wish he wouldn't have come in at 130 Friday AM though... I didn't sleep right with him in the bed... sharing is not a strong suit for me especially when it comes to the bed/pillows! 

All the same we kicked the weekend off with Fort Carson's Run/Walk for the Fallen. This the second year in a row we participated. We went last year a short 4 days after Kevin's redeployment. This year was a big more emotional for me. I saw a few faces and names I recognized. It was very sad. On Memorial Day I blogged about Sgt Matthew Ingram and his widow, my friend Holly. I spent a lot of time thinking about their family Saturday. You see not only had I known them and saw Matt's picture at the Walk, Saturday (8.21) just happened to be one year since Matt died in Afghanistan. Holly was with family on Saturday and that's probably the most anyone in her shoes could hope for. 

Still it was moving to be apart of it for another year:

Lots of people

Soldier running for all of 2-12 Fallen;
In the Tan is the Post Commanding General

Brody getting some love from Walk kids!

We really did have a great time and were so glad to be there participating!

Thankfully after such a somber event our day took a much brighter turn. Kevin and I planned a night away. We headed toward Denver, after a stop at the Outlet Mall in Castle Rock (and scoring an amazing new pair of Under Armour flip flops) we made it to Denver and finally I reunited with my beloved Pinkberry! I've blogged about my love affair with Pinkberry many times. When we were in San Diego for the 4th of July we went to Pinkberry (you know, because it's a HUGE deal out there) and they didn't have my FAV Pomegranate flavor. Jerks! They had the gall to tell me it was "Seasonal". Ppsshh! Well my new favorite Pinkberry had my Pomegranate with Capt'n Crunch for me in the middle of August! I love it, it was amazing. YUMM. Kevin laughed, at me. I'm ok with that though. It was that good!

We finally made our way to our hotel relaxed poolside in a hammock for a while then headed out for the night. We stopped at Lila B's for a quick drink where we had a great bartender, who somehow (I may have indirectly, possibly dared them into it... but who really knows) wound up giving us free shots to prove he was better at making them than his bartender buddy (from upstairs, Thomas). After the drinks at the bar we had an amazing dinner at Lucy's and headed to Comedy Works for our main event! We saw Greg Giraldo, from The Last Comic Standing. He was hilarious. 

The Hubbin and I had a great time. It was so great to get out of town even for just a night. Sorry I don't have pictures but like the crazy lady I am I forgot our new Camera! BOO! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend just as I did and that some of you (unlike me) found the time to bake yourself some Red Velvet Cupcakes! Get to it ladies! Can't wait to hear what you think of the recipe. I'll get mine knocked out this week!! 

Another Try, Shall we?

Ok, people. I'm going to give this giveaway business another shot!!!! This time we have a sponsored Giveaway.
First and foremost go check out Simply Bags.

Here are a few of my favs:

LARGE TOTE

Laptop Bag

Large Damask Tote
{great for the Beach!}

Aren't they great? I have a feeling a travel bag/overnight bag/Lap Top bag could be in my future. You know with all of the traveling ahead. EEEK! (excitement)

So here's the deal. I will be hosting a giveaway for an Insulated Lunch Bag (value of $19.99).

Here's how it is going to work (some of the same entry rules as the last failedgiveaway):

1) Follow ME on Twitter: SamS_live
2) Tweet this giveway
3) Blog/Post about this giveway (including a link to Simply Bags)
4) Follow Simply Bags on Twitter (they have many of their own giveaways from Twitter also)

So you have four possible chances for entries! Each entry must have a separate comment on this post including links, where applicable.
This giveaway will close one week from today on, Sunday August 22 2010. All entries must be received by Midnight. Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced ASAP (hopefully Monday 8.23.10)! 

Lets see if another sponsored giveaway does the trick!! :) 

Winner!

The winner of my most recent giveaway, of $15 to CSNstores.com goes to Erin! This may come as a surprise to those who know that Erin and I are actual-in-real-life-friends. Well, Erin was chosen by random.org after all entries were put into an Excel spreadsheet.
Somehow I doubt anyone will care, truly and honestly. Because there was a whopping 10 entries to my giveaway. All the same, lets congratulate Erin on her win.
---
More later readers... <3

Mil-News

I don't know about all of you guys but I pay extra attention to the news about all things military; and Army, more specifically.
Did you hear that July is now recorded as the deadliest month since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, 8 years ago? Total reported US casualties for July is 66.

Photos like these break my heart:

{source: LA Times}

{source: MSN}

{source: AolNews}

It's just heart-wrenching to see. It's reality, obviously but so moving when you're smacked in the face with the headlines on just about every major news website out there. On the flip side I'm happy to see this making headlines versus Season 2 of the Jersey Shore (in Miami... yea, doesn't make sense to be either).

In other Mil-related-news, the deadline is approaching for your stipend if you or your solder were "stop lossed". Military.com reports that "an estimated 145,000 service members are eligible for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay, a stipend of $500 for each full or partial month served in stop-loss status." 
Click Here to find out more information.

The DOD reports that, "The rate of soldier suicides has risen in each of the past five years. In fiscal 2009, 160 soldiers took their own lives, while there more than 1,700 attempts. Meanwhile, soldiers without deployment experience or with one deployment account for 79 percent of Army suicides." What's the Army doing about this, you ask? A few notable changes are: the creation of 72 additional positions for chaplains, and "the number of recruiting waivers in 2009 is down almost 50 percent from 2007. Such waivers allow recruits with certain medical conditions and minor criminal offenses to enlist, helping the Army to meet recruiting goals. Some of these soldiers, Chiarelli acknowledged, are considered a higher risk for suicide than others" These are all good signs that the powers-at-be are taking note of this difficult and troubling issue. For some, it is too little, too late. I know that change takes time and especially within the Army culture, change is always difficult. So I am happy to see this being given more attention than once again revamping the various service uniforms. To MultiCam, or not to MultiCam? To beret, or not to beret?

In non-military related news, you MUST enter my giveaway, like NOW-ish. I know you like free stuff as much as I do. So just do it already! :)

It's BaaaaCCKk!

Hey MilSpouses, I received the following email from MYCAA this morning:

MyCAA Update

DoD will resume the MyCAA program. The Department of Defense has completed the program review and will be making the necessary adjustments to resume the MyCAA program beginning in October 2010.

Starting 8 a.m. (EDT) Monday October 25, 2010, Military OneSource career and education counselors will have a much more active role in supporting military spouses. In addition to understanding resources available via DoD's financial aid support, they will provide support and assistance to identify and gain access to other federal, state, and local programs. All military spouses of active duty service members will be eligible for career counseling and support.

New financial assistance guidelines. With a focus on the original intent of the program, the Defense Department's financial assistance program will:

Be available to spouses of active duty service members in pay grades E1-E5, W1-W2, and O1-O2

Offer a maximum financial benefit of $4,000 with a fiscal year cap of $2,000. Waivers will be available for spouses pursuing licensure or certification up to the total maximum assistance of $4,000

Require military spouses to finish their program of study within three years from the start date of the first course

Be limited to associate degrees, certifications, and licensures

These new guidelines reflect a return to the original purpose of the program - to assist spouses of service members in achieving portable careers. These changes also align the program with responsible fiscal planning by the Defense Department to help sustain the program. Additional program details will be posted on the Military OneSource Web site when they become available. We encourage you to check the site often.

Spouses who currently have an active account will be allowed to request financial assistance until Thursday, October 21, 2010. Beginning September 1, 2010, spouses may request financial assistance for classes that have a start date up to January 15, 2011. To ensure adequate time to plan for courses, no career plans will be accepted after August 31, 2010. All currently approved financial assistance documents will be honored.

Additionally, the review revealed that National Guard and Reserve members must be on active duty for their spouses to receive the MyCAA benefit. Spouses may no longer use the MyCAA benefit when the service member is in an alert or demobilization period. The new eligibility rule takes effect immediately.

The program will be closed from Friday, October 22 to Monday, October 25, 2010, so that we may ensure the infrastructure is in place to implement the new program.

Military spouses are the backbone for military families, displaying strength of character to be admired by this nation. The Department of Defense remains committed to investing in military families, and appreciates the sacrifice of those who also serve.

~~~

So, it's less than it once was, but it's progress and a step in the right direction. Lets just try to see the best in it before we all go off and tear "them" (the decision makers and such) to shreds. Let us also remember we do have the Post 9-11 GI Bill as an option also!

 

Thanks to everyone who entered my GIVEAWAY so far. I love all the ideas!

Anyone who is still interested in $15 gift card to CSN Stores please pop over and enter!

C'mon people...

if you haven't entered my giveaway then you NEED to! 

I need your assistance with my new bloggy title and lets face it you'll get something free out of the deal also so basically it's a win-win deal!

So c'mon help a girl out.

In other news, we're making headway in a lot of areas lately. 

We have someone interested in renting the house for at least a year and possibly interested in buying. I'm really hoping they lean toward the BUY option then the house will be out of my hair and I won't have to worry about it anymore! 

Also have some ideas lined up for our car situation but I'm not really sure how it will play out. 

Only thing... I'm still very torn about Brody. I want to do what is best for him and everyone that I've spoken to at Baumholder says that large dogs are miserable there. Does that make me a bad owner to know this going in and take him anyway because I want him with us?

The thought of him not coming with us makes me really sad. 

But part of being his owner is knowing what is best for him and doing that. 

Now I'm depressed and can't come up with anything else to talk about. 

What a crappy post. 

Enter the giveaway.  =)

Free Stuff

I love free stuff.

Do you love free stuff?

If you don't, that's just strange and you should!

For those who do,  you should read on:

As previously mentioned I won a bloggy make-over from Mrs. Muffins. We should be getting started very soon and I'm very excited!! I've been wanting to change the name of my blog for quite some time now, but I can't come up with anything clever and fun and interesting, that describes me and that I like! I've come up with things that are clever but don't describe me. And things that I like but aren't so clever. So this is where the give away comes in people. I've been blogging for 1 year and 5 months and some of you know me pretty well. So I want to you're help with my new blog title!

Here's how it works:

Entries:

You can have as many entries as your little heart desires.

But keep the goal in mind:

1 brand-spanking new Blog Title for lil' ol' me which must be clever, fun, interesting and most importantly describe me and what my readers will find here!

Winner:

If I choose your suggestion as my new blog title you will be the winner.

(nope nothing from random.org today people)

The lucky person out there will receive a $15 gift certificate to CSN Stores. You will be able to choose anything from any of their 200+ shopping sites which include home decor, electronics, kitchen accessories, bedroom vanity, furniture for you home and many, many more.

This give away will close next Friday, 23 July 2010 at Midnight (MST) and winner will be announced Saturday the 24th!

Good luck and I can't wait to hear all of your suggestions!

Give-a-way's Galore!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... everyone loves free shit stuff. 

Somehow I never seem to win any of these bloggy-Give-a-ways. :( What's up with that? 

No worries... I'm not bitter or anything.. 

*Sigh*

My bud over at The Getts Times is hosting a bloggy-make-over-give-a-way.

and

Our Guamazing Adventure also has a give-a-way going down. 

I guess Spring is making folks feel generous. Well spread it this way I love free shit stuff. 

Beyond that... I'm having a bit of an issue peeps. 

So lemme know what you think!

And this is very serious so don't go acting all silly... crackin' jokes and such. 

Because we all know Rpatz/Twilight/New Moon is serious business right?

Well I told everyone yesterday about how my newly purchased BluRay of New Moon doesn't work on my downstairs/living room, much newer/nicer BluRay player. But it does work upstairs on my older/junky BluRay player. So here's my issue.. problem... conundrum... bugaboo...predicament... QUANDARY: 

Do I return it or no?

Seriously... it works on one player but not the other? 

it's very confusing. 

=(

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I know everyone is anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winner of this lil' beauty:

But I feel like pullin' a "Ryan Seacrest" and dragging it out.  SO I'll tell  you about my evening!

So I've told the world about Nikki, my neighbor dozens of times. She's awesome. We love Nikki. Something you should know about Nikki though is that she likes to party. Good for her though! She's not hurting anyone on most occasions, so let her enjoy herself right?! RIGHT! Well, Nikki has herself this fella- she fell for a soldier (don't we all eventually? JK for my Navy wife readers ;) much love) it's cool her man is is good people! Anywho, her fella and mine were in conspiring this past week (behind our backs!!) to get Nikki's fella out here to surprise her!! (awww I love surprises!) Anywho, so Nikki's Fella got into town Friday AM and is staying until early Monday AM. (:

Last night these characters FORCED ME against my will to go out boozin' it up with them! I am really not in the habit of doing this. I'm more of a drink-with-dinner, wine-in-the-evening type gal. But we really did have a good time. Minus the fact that drunk boys like to fight outside the club at 2 AM. Oiy... not our boys, but others. But still drunk-fighting-boys are hilarious!

Me and the hubs!

Nikki and her Fella

Does that look like Mikey Mouse to ANYONE else?

Well up-side-down, of course...?

Anywho, we all had a fantastic time!

Without further ado, a BIG HUGE thanks to BORDERS and Random.org our winner and proud owner of a new Sony Touch E-reader is

LOLA!

I would post a link to her blog but she VERY recently retired her very entertaining and intelligent blog after her hubby returned home from Afghanistan. I know I miss your blog, as I'm sure other do too!

Thanks for keeping in touch though.

I'll email you with further details!

Thanks to all of my followers for participating.

Maybe we'll have another sponsored giveaway very soon?

HOPEFULLY!

Final Day to Enter Giveaway

Today is the final day to enter my giveaway for your very own Sony Touch Reader:

Find the Rules and enter here:

I know a couple of my favorite girlies haven't entered yet! I also know they'd love this. I will be picking a winner (well Random.org will actually be doing it) first thing tomorrow and I'll post ASAP who he/she is!

~~~

So I started reading The Shack (as previously reported) and I'm really questioning why....

This book is a Best Seller. I know. Everyone knows. But really I'm just thinking it's about all of the darkest and ugliest things a father/parent/person can possibly go through. Why do I want that when I read?

Do you know anyone who's started this book- and NOT finished it?

Would I be the first?

Should I just finish it and in the end it'd all come together for me???

I Want it.... Wednesday

Since we got a new mattress we moved our other one into our spare room... which shall be known as the "guest room". It's not only spare now it has a purpose!

I want...

one of these... as end tables in the guest room. What do you think?

Bedding is all white with black lines around the edges. So either would work. The pedistal table is great but the black has more storage. Which may or may not be a good thing.

I'll have to hit up the Goodwill and see what I can find.

I want.... YOU to enter yesterday's giveaway!

C 'mon who doesn't want one of these?:

I want... to lose 20 lbs in 4 weeks like Kloe Kardashian did.

Rich people make me angry.

Maybe I'll call her and she'll sponsor my weight loss, because I'm poor?

You think?

Prolly not. lol