Win It Wednesday...just a reminder

OK, I see no one has entered the very first ever Win It Wednesday contest. What's going on, ladies? Do you not like the bracelet? Is Mister Linky confusing? Or are ya just too busy? See that little link for comments? Use it...let me know what's up! I'm extending the deadline to enter the contest to next Wednesday. After that I'm naming the bracelets myself and they both go up on Etsy...and you'll have to wait til July for my next super awesome Win It Wednesday giveaway!

In other news...did ya see my last post? I'm not one for praying but little Stellan is certainly in my thoughts and if any of you feel like praying go ahead. MckMama hasn't updated her blog since yesterday evening...they say no news is good news but in this case I'm not so sure that's true.

Baby Stellan

Hey all, I don't know if any of you follow MckMama's blog but her little son Stellan has a serious heart condition and is back in the hospital so please keep him in your thoughts and, if it's your kind of thing, your prayers. I know MckMama and her family would appreciate it.

A day of gardening...

...sure can wear a girl out!!!

As you can see, lil' J had lots of fun planting flowers with my mother today!

Win It Wednesday

OK loyal readers, here it is, the moment I know you've all been waiting for...the first ever Win It Wednesday!!! (insert wild applause here...)

So, what exactly am I going to win? Glad you asked. See, I have this brand spanking new bracelet.

Nice, huh? Well, actually I have two of them.

One is going up for sale on Etsy. But before I can list it, I need a nice catchy name for it. OK, need is a strong word. I could always list it as "super awesome orange and silver Swarovski crystal beaded bracelet," but that's just a bit too wordy, don't ya think? So here is where you ladies come in. What I need you to do is come up with a cute, catchy name. Name it after your kid. Your favorite song. A flower. Your neighbor's cat. I don't care, just come up with something. Then, post a picture of the bracelet, the Win It Wednesday picture, a link to my blog, and your name suggestion on your blog. Last but not least, come back here and use my friend Mister Linky. (Which hopefully will work, it's my first time trying it out.) Put in your name (your real name, a nickname, the name of your blog, whatever works for you, I'm not picky) and a permalink to your blog post with the pictures and your contest entry. I know you're all super busy, so I'm gonna give you until Saturday to do this. Then on Saturday night when I'm dead tired from work I'm gonna come home and you're all gonna put a big smile on my face with your clever, creative suggestions and I'll pick the one that I think best fits the bracelet and the person who came up with it will be our first ever Win It Wednesday winner! YAY!!! So, put your thinking caps (or a Yankees hat, that's fine too) on and get crackin'!

Wanna buy some ?

shiny, sparkly things...

Well, I already have an online store on Etsy ( http://thelaughinggirl.etsy.com/ ) but if I had a real store, it would be pretty much the same. I'd sell the jewelry that I make. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces, anklets...pretty much everything. And I'd probably sell the hand-stamped greeting cards that I make as well. I love creating things and I love to see the look on someone's face when they receive a one-of-a-kind gift made just for them.

I Heart Faces

Here are my entries for this week's "Sepia" theme at I ♥ Faces.

This is for the Kids category. I've been babysitting lil' J since she was 6 months old...she's now 5 1/2. As I was going through some old photos a few weeks ago I found this one. I can't believe how little she was! One thing hasn't changed, though...her love of gardening! She gets so excited when I bring her to do some gardening with my mom.

This is my entry for the adults category. That handsome lad is Ian Byrne, from my favorite band The Elders. For the past 2 years they've performed at an Irish festival that is held in my hometown. Great music, great fun...not so great for taking pictures. The stages are very small so it's crowded with 6 guys on stage. It's nearly impossible to get a good picture without mic stands obstructing the view, or audio/lighting equipment cluttering the background. And Ian? That fella doesn't stand still for more than a second! I can't tell you how many pictures I have of his tight Irish arse and the back of his head because by the time my crappy point-and-shoot finally takes the pic, he's off. Needless to say, I was thrilled to get this clear shot of him! Don't you just love the mischievous glint in his eyes?

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

To begin with, I did not start out the week in an absolute panic because I thought it was Father's Day and I didn't have a gift (have a card, but no gift! EEK!) for my dad. I was not incredibly relieved to realize that NEXT Sunday is actually Father's Day. Phew!

OK, for one thing, I was not left in charge of lil' J for 3 days while mommy and daddy went to Colorado for a film festival. I definitely did not let her stay up past bedtime so we could have a little film festival of our own.

And for sure I did not let her eat 3/4's of a bag of microwave popcorn (which wasn't Extra Butter), peanut butter cups, gummi candy and kool aid because mommy's a health food nut and she wouldn't like that. The Mountain Dew Game Fuel? Not mine. Don't touch the stuff.

And I certainly did not create photographic evidence of any of this.

And later in the week, I did not download the Bolt soundtrack and blatantly lie to my sister when she asked "Are you listening to Miley Cyrus?"

I did not cut off a chunk of skin (and part of my thumbnail) half the size of a dime on the cold cut slicer at work. I've worked there 9 years. I know better than that. Didn't swear when it happened (or didn't happen...) either. And I most certainly did not refuse a trip to the ER and instead slap a few (3, 4...maybe 5) band aids over it and get on with business as usual.

I did not steal MckMama's idea and attempt to take a few self-portraits for my blog. And they didn't come out cheezy and terrible. And I did not end up making funny faces at the camera. Nope. Wouldn't do that.

I did not laugh hysterically as lil' J learned to use her new roller skates. Who would laugh at a 5-year-old flailing around like a spaz and falling every 2 minutes?

Last but not least, I did not rush to make a ton of new jewelry for the bracelet showcase on Etsy today (check it out to see my featured item!) only to be too lazy to take pics and list the stuff.