Quick Before I Get Sidetrack'd

The Dog Days of Summer Giveaway that Shannon is hosting has been lots of fun. I can’t believe the number of bloggers participating!

So here are the details on my second giveaway this week (look here for the first giveaway):

This time around one random commenter will win a copy of Robin Jones Gunn’s book Sisterchicks do the Hula! This is a used copy (read at least 3 times); the corners are a bit dinged, but all the pages are intact.

I read this book a few weeks ago; it was fun and light reading – just the right kind for the Dog Days of Summer! Although it was an easy read it does carry a message; about friendship, motherhood, and a relationship with God. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Now to the nitty-gritty: To be eligible to win please leave a comment on this post. One comment per participant, please; duplicate comments will be deleted. Make sure that there is a way I can reach you (either via e-mail or your blog) if you win. On Friday, at 4:30 pm central time, I will use an online random number generator to choose a winner. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses only, my apologies to any overseas readers.

To my few “regulars” here at Sidetrack’d: I will be back soon with a real post; I just finished Harry Potter which has consumed much of my normal blogging time this week.

Welcome to those of you who are visiting from Rocks in My Dryer. I’m glad to see you at Sidetrack’d and hope you will stop by again sometime.

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a super fun blog carnival this week rounding up all kinds of bloggy giveaways. At this point there are 250 participants and more giveaways will be added throughout the course of the week! Click on the cute little doggy button above to check out the host of bloggers who have joined the fun.

So I don’t miss out on all of the excitement, I’m hosting my first ever giveaway!

A randomly selected commenter will be the recipient of the darling little angel pictured below. This is the Angel of September from a collection of figurines known as Gnomy’s Diaries. The Gnomy’s figurines include the Angel of the Month series as well as a line known as The Legend of the Fortune Fairies (which I collect). I really like these figurines because of the child-like qualities in the design; they just have the sweetest little faces.

To be eligible to win please leave a comment on this post and tell me what you collect; if you don’t have a collection, no problem, just tell me that. One comment per participant, please; duplicate comments will be deleted. Make sure that there is a way I can reach you (either via e-mail or your blog) if you win. On Friday, at 4:30 pm central time, I will use an online random number generator to choose a winner. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses only, my apologies to any overseas readers.

Head over to the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway headquarters and see what else you might win! I plan to have at least one more giveaway this week, so check back Wednesday (look here for giveaway #2).

Okay, I’m running a bit behind today and I totally blame it on the copy of The Deathly Hallows staring up at me from the desk!

Here’s our menu for this week:

Monday – clean out the fridge/fend for yourselves

Tuesday – Papa John’s pizza

Wednesday – meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, fried green tomatoes (roll over from last week)

Thursday – leftovers of meatloaf

Friday – pasta with tomatoes and garlic, bread

Saturday – lunch: egg salad sandwiches / dinner: pasta leftovers

Sunday – lunch: eat out / dinner: Life Group meeting

Hope your week is filled with good eats!

I’m so excited; yesterday I was able to get a Monk & Neagle CD via BooMama’s great CD Extravaganza! It should arrive in 10 days or so, and I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it after I’ve listened once or thirty times.

Click on the button above or the one in the sidebar to hear some of their music.

Mary at Owlhaven is hosting a blog carnival today challenging us to write about our childhood homes. If you are interested in playing along or if you would like to read about others’ memories of their childhood homes, click on the cute picture at the top of this post.

I lived in one house my entire childhood; I came home from the hospital to the house and, 22 years later, left when Matt and I married. My parents still live there.

Our house was a two story traditional style home. All of the living space was on the upper level (bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, etc), but we had a finished basement that served as a den/family room. The basement is the backdrop for many of my childhood and teenage memories – dancing with my brother to “Eye of the Tiger”, playing school with my baby dolls and stuffed animals, playing “house” with my cousins, hanging out with friends watching television and playing games. That room was (and still is) the center of much of our family activity.

There was always a pool in the backyard and it saw many pool parties, water fights, and strange and dangerous feats performed by teenage boys. I learned to swim there, and my brother fell through the ice one year “ice skating”.

And the Christmas memories, these are a big part of my childhood memories. We always had two Christmas trees in our house, one on each level, and each served a different purpose. The upstairs tree was our “formal” tree and presents that went to other people (extended family, friends, etc) went under that tree. Our downstairs tree was the family tree. It was always decorated with the “ornaments” that my brother and I made, paper chain garlands, colored lights, and lots of tinsel icicles. Coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to a tree brimming with gifts from Santa and parents and stockings hung by the chimney with care is the epitomy of childhood Christmas.

One of the great things about my childhood home was the proximity to our extended family. We lived within a few miles of both sets of my grandparents, several aunts and uncles, and a bevy of cousins. This allowed for numerous family get togethers and a childhood filled with the warmth and love of family. My cousins and brother were my best friends throughout my childhood.

My childhood home is filled with memories – the bad along with the good – but most of the the ones I hang onto are good. I hope Little has memories her childhood home as good as the ones that I have.