Wow, not a huge response but that only made the odds higher for the entries! The winner is Jane! Jane has good luck round these parts, it is the second giveaway she has won at My Many Colored Days! Jane, look for an email from me. :) :) :)
12 July 2010
08 July 2010
Bella Sara Giveaway!
You may have seen Bella Sara™ products make their debut last month at stores like Target and WalMart. Their marketing manager, Johanna, contacted me about reviewing one of their products - the Moonfairies card series. Each card pack includes a secret code, that when activated at BellaSara.com, unlocks magical adventures for you to play.
Since I have an 11 year old daughter who loves this fantasy world type stuff as well as horses, I jumped right on it. Adriana's review was that it was user friendly. She thought the online game was "cool". She liked being able to take care of her horse - brush it's mane, feed it. And as I watched her play I thought back to the unicorns and pegasuses I was obsessed with when I was 8-10 years old. And I would have LOVED this kind of thing! Also, for what it is worth, it is a "safe" virtual environment for your child. I worry about games where there are chat options and that kind of thing because anybody can pose as a kid on those sites and prey on your children. We did not notice, or that at least was not a prevailing feature of the game.
More About Bella Sara™ (from the manufacturer)
Bella Sara™ is a magical world of horses where girls can expand their imaginations through play. Originally launched in Denmark by Gitte Odder Braendgaard, Bella Sara inspires and empowers girls with positive messages and the magic of North of North. First introduced to the North American market in 2007 by Hidden City Entertainment, Inc., Bella Sara quickly expanded into an international entertainment property. Since its introduction, Bella Sara has broadened its family of products from trading cards and a virtual world (BellaSara.com) to DVDs, toys, books, video games, arts and crafts, games and puzzles, apparel, and back-to-school items in the North American and international markets. Select Bella Sara products include secret codes that expand girls’ imaginations with play while unlocking a magical experience into the world of North of North. By entering secret codes at BellaSara.com, girls can discover the world through fun games, adventures, and adopting their own horse.
Bella Sara has given me one card pack to give away. If you have a little girl that is into anything like this - Free Realms, the Warrior Cats book series (both of which my daughter also enjoys) - all you have to do is leave me a comment below and you will be entered to win one of these fun card packs!
Winner will be announced Monday, July 12!
05 July 2010
Pirate Birthday Party
Jonah is 8! And this year's request was for a pirate party. I've seen so many awesome ideas for this theme, so I was really excited to plan one of our own. And the birthday boy and his friends had a blast!
Here is what the invitations looked like:
To make this simple message-in-a-bottle you will need plastic coke bottles, sand, jolly roger flag clip art (the image I used was found on google images - there are several varieties to choose from), scrap paper, raffia, a burning candle and either old document looking paper or just plain white paper. Assembly is pretty simple... the invitation, which is rolled up inside of the bottle, looks like this:
I singed the edges with the flame from a candle. The advantage to using a candle is no thumb cramps or burned fingers. :) Roll up your invitation and secure with raffia (I used black). Place in side of bottle - it should fit just right. Then pour in a little sand. Peel the coke label off the outside of the bottle and replace with your own.
Decorations were pretty simple. This party was more about the action! But I made a simple birthday banner using white cardstock and twine, and hung one of many jolly roger flags:
Here's the cake table. My cake was so freaking cute and then it began to fall apart! Before I'd even gotten a picture. :( I think it was too moist because it just collapsed in the middle. Anyway, I used whoppers for cannonballs, piroulines as a cannon and to border the top of the deck, a sugar wafer for the plank, bamboo skewers as flag posts and left over labels from the invitations as flags. Around the base of the cake I poured gold and silver wrapped candy such as Hershey's treasures, rolos and gold wrapped dinner mints I found at Party City. I added a plastic palm tree (which kept swaying to one side) and some crushed graham crackers to look like sand. Other snacks were gold fish and gummy worms.
I added a pirate map to the centerpiece, a leftover invitation, some red and white striped napkins and solid black and red plates, and taped simple streamers and a balloon to the back of each kids' chair. Black balloons also scattered the floor. Outside the periscopes were decorated on a table draped with a fisherman's net, and all their periscopes and supplies were in a cauldron.
I got the boys lined up with their finished product, though!
Next we all came back inside for pirate make-overs. The boys got to choose whether they wanted a goatee or mustache (or both). They also got eye patches, hoop earrings (both found in the $1 section at WalMart) and tattoos (matched the stickers from Party City). Once they looked the part we taught them to act the part. Big sister Adriana instructed them in Pirate-ese. I printed this list of common translations off the Internet from www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com:
Ahoy, me hearties (Hello, my friends)
Thar she blows! (whale sighting)
Heave ho (give it some strength and muscle)
Buccaneer (a pirate)
Bucko (friend)
Swab the deck (clean the deck)
Savvy? (do you understand?)
Blow me down/Shiver me timbers! (expression of shock, disbelief or surprise)
Dead men tell no tales (leave no survivors)
Sea-dog (an experienced sea-man)
Avast! (Hey!)
Aye (yes)
Me (substitute for my)
Lookout (someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for signs of land or other ships)
Shark bait (enemies)
Grog (a pirate's drink of choice)
Grub (food)
Cap'n (short for "captain")
Sail ho! (I see a ship!)
Shipshape (well organized)
Booty (treasure or loot)
Jolly Roger (A pirate's flag, indicated by skull and crossbones)
Yo-ho-ho (just an expression)
Fair winds (goodbye or good luck)
The birthday boy:
Tattoos (purchased from Party City):
Now that the boys were all set in their roles as true pirates, it was time for a treasure hunt. I got the ideas for the wording directly from a map I bought at Party City.
They started at the Stormy Seas, which was actually a wading pool they all had to walk through.
They arrived at Sea Dog City once they'd made their way through the pool, and found a clue that said:
"Seek out the shade of the Hall of 7 Fountains. There you'll find which way to go to get the Broken Skull Mountains."
The Hall of 7 Fountains was just silly Daddy with a hose. ;)
They all ran under the spray and screamed with delight. Then they saw a big arrow telling them which way to go to get to Broken Skull Mountains. I wish I had a collection of halloween skulls to set out here. It would have been fun for them to have to walk through. Alas, I did not. Skulls aren't my thing, but maybe this year I'll buy a couple for when and if I do this party theme again.
Next they came to a sign that said "Beware of savage scalliwags!" At which point I was going to have some parents hang back and toss black water balloons at the kids from the porch. I didn't get around to filling the water balloons, nor did any parents stay to help! Lol! But it would have been such a nice touch! So if you use this idea, stay up and extra hour for me and pull this one off. M'kay?
Beyond Broken Skull Mountains came the Valley of Eternal Rest, which was a just few sleeping bags lying on the ground. One of them had an old skeleton key hidden in it, and here was the clue as to why:
"Through the Broken Skull Mountains is the Valley of Eternal Rest. You must find the key to open the chest."
Jonah posing in a sleeping bag:
Drew finds the key!
After finding the key the boys came to a sign that said (and this is so you can see what the signs looked like - they were inked around the edges with a black ink pad... I got tired of burning paper and setting off my fire alarms!):
The Dead Man's Bluffs was our big trampoline. So the kids had to walk the perimeter of it.
Next came a sign that read:
"When you reach the Isle of Plenty your journey's almost done... Take 40 paces north and face the setting sun. You'll be close to a treasure once forgotten, now you're getting hot... this be the place where "X" marks the spot!" And the treasure chest was hidden in a black garbage bag back in the corner of our yard. Under the snack table or in our case the table where they decorated their periscopes would have been better, but that is not where Daddy put it. ;)
Inside the treasure chest, which was a styrofoam cooler covered in kraft paper and decorated to look like wood, was a goody bag for each friend that had a few gold plastic coins, a shark shaped water gun and compass inside.
The boys held onto their goody bags (which display a jolly roger flag on a toothpick!) and continued on to a pinata, where they then got to fill their bags with candy.
I got the pinata from Target. I think it is so cute!
When you are an 8 year old boy, you tend to move quickly. So - believe it or not - we got through all of this in about an hour. *I* couldn't believe it. I had planned for it to take up at least an hour and a half. But it was just as well, because it began to rain shortly after we finished, and if we hadn't gone so quickly they'd have missed out on something for sure. Blessing is disguise I suppose! Because I'd have been a little miffed after putting in all the prep time I did just to accomplish half of what I'd planned for.
So we came inside after it started raining and sang happy birthday and blew out candles on the cake and all that, and turned on "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the remaining 30 minutes or so left over while Jonah opened his gifts. They were totally happy with that so it all worked out fine! Can't wait to do this one again!!!
This party has been linked up at C.R.A.F.T.'s MMM!
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Stay tuned for a give away in the next few days!!!
24 June 2010
Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay 2010
Year 2 of the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay did not disappoint. Our team's name this year was “Here are some who like to run.” - a play on a line from Dr. Seuss's “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” which reads “Here are some. Who like to run. They run all day long. In the hot, hot sun.” I put together a simple design of Things 1-12 and we had them printed on white tanks. We also decked out our vans with tall striped Seuss-like hats, red bow ties and long black cat tails.
About half of our team were members returning from last year's team(s): myself, Sheree, Melodee, Shelah, Lyn, Marinda and Stacy. We had to use 5 alternates, which were new to the team this year. And they were one of Stacy's friends - Janee, one of my old college roomates - Erin, her little sister – Lindsey, Erin's friend - Brooke, and one of my friends from here in Austin – Christy. Melodee, Christy, Sheree, Stacy, Janee and I were in van 1 together, and we had a lot of fun. There was little drama and a lot of determination to do well. Everyone pitched in to drive and offer support to the other runners , load/unload the car, get meals together for each other. I think the quick comraderie that develops is what I love most about this race. There is no “every man for himself” when you have to work together to reach your goal.
This year I was runner 3. My 3 legs totalled 18.5 miles – about the same as last year – but involving a lot more hills! My first leg was 5.6 miles through Hyrum. Pretty easy leg with a gentle climb towards the end. And some beautiful areas in between. Because it was my first leg, I was a tad nervous. So I was pretty inward and focused on just trying to keep a steady pace. I handled the altitude very well! That was my biggest concern. Last year I had about 4 days to get accustomed to the altitude before the race. And I was also able to run in the high altitude a couple times before the actual race. This year I flew out with only 2 days to spare, and I had trained pretty hard here in TX. So I didn't get the same chance to become acclimated to the elevation that I had last year. However, I felt good. I felt real good. I maintained my goal pace and I finished strong. Remarkably stronger than last year, particularly on my first leg when emotions are running high.
I don't remember much about my second leg. Because all I could think about was how lucky we were to get there for it! We 'd pulled into our 1st major exchange and changed clothes, ate lunch, and caught a short nap while the other van ran all their first legs. When the time came for us to run these second legs, our first runner (Sheree) went ahead to start her 8.5 mile nonsupport leg while we snoozed a little longer. We got back in the van when she was about halfway done, and … dun, dun, dun... it wouldn't start. We all about died. So we asked for a jump from a nearby van of guys. They didn't think it was the battery, because we were getting lights and sounds ok. But we had no manual and it was all we could think to do. That or stand there scratching our heads! The indicators flashed “theft” and “check engine” at us. No help, whatsoever! Our next runner hopped into a van with another team to get to the beginning of her leg, which bought us some more time. After much debate we called Sheree (who thankfully runs with her cell phone), who also happened to be the owner of the vehicle we were driving but was blissfully unaware of our situation. We just wanted to see if there were any tricks to starting her car that we didn't know about. Haha. She was sufficiently freaked out, calling her husband and trying to think of a way to get us another car. All while running down a huge mountain! Bless her heart. She didn't have any advice for us, nor did her husband. I was super stressed, thinking we'd have to forfeit or something. Then I had a hunch to ask one of the guys to start the car. I hated doing it (I am so NOT a fan of the damsel in distress scenario). But the theory in my house, at least, is that if a man touches it, it will work. And I was right. I was right, dadgummit! He gave the lever a nudge first to make sure it was all the way in park, and it started. Relief washed over us and we rushed me to the beginning of my leg. It was 4.9 miles through a residential area in Morgan Valley. This was also a fairly easy leg, but I felt a little depleted going into it (for obvious reasons).
My third leg was a difficult, hilly 7.9 mile route that went by the Jordanelle Reservoire. Pretty, but dang it was hard to get through on 3 hours of restless sleep! That's right – 3 hours of sleep on cold wet grass near a busy parking lot of teams coming and going all night long. I'll stop the pouting right there since we got 2 more hours of sleep than van #2. But I was feeling a bit like a zombie. I hated that my hardest leg was my last leg, but what are you going to do? Drink some caffeine, take a multi-vitamin, down a PB&J and a few shot bloks, that's what I did! And it ended up being my most memorable leg. First of all, I am a beast on the downhills. I know, I know – everyone is faster going down. But I have a little trick that always, always gives me an edge. I run toe first, just like the ballerina I used to be, and I killed (passed) 6 people no problem. While their quads became jello from running uncontrollably, heel first. Of course, shortly following the downhill came the uphill. I wasn't feeling so speedy then. But neither was anyone else! I found a couple people to chat with as we all trudged our way up, about 1.5 miles straight at one point, before levelling off again. Those people helped me keep my mind off the fatigue that was setting in. I have to admit though, I gave up a little after that first hill. It just looked so daunting coming upon it that it was hard to keep my heart from sinking when I slowly began my way up it, and it just kept going. And going. The sad thing is, it paled in comparison to what some of my team mates had run. But I did have to walk a bit. It's always harder to begin running again once you stop. Your legs get heavy and your muscles begin to burn and your body resists you starting back up again. So I made little goals as I tried to regain my previous pace. Get to the bend in the road and take a short break. Get to the next cone and take a short break. And before long I wasn't taking breaks anymore. Not even on the final ascent to my exchange. In fact, I was able to finish strong and pass a couple more people!
After my final leg I took some time to stretch really well. I was feeling the first signs of soreness, especially on the right side of my knee. But we had 3 more runners to go so I hopped back in the car and began to massage the rest of the way. After the next 3 runners finished their legs van 2 began their final legs. We hit another exchange and I got in line for a free (bless them) chiropractic adjustment. I told the guy about my knee and he said my IT band was rather tight. He was able to make a small adjustment that he said would help loosen it up. After that, and more massage, I felt better. Momentarily, at least. We got showered and ate lunch and prepared to meet van 2 at the finish line so we could all run across it together. It was then – as we crossed the finish line (not 100 meters) – that I felt excruciating pain in that right knee. I have no idea what had hit me, but I'd done something very, very wrong. And we were a long way from our car (getting to the finish line was so difficult – lots and lots of people coming and going – in fact, only half our team was there to meet the last runner on our team because the lines to get into the parking lot were so ridiculous). But I limped and held back the tears. It made for a very emotional ending to the race, however, and I blubbered as I said goodbye to my old college roomate, Erin. I was so upset, thinking I'd be out of commission for a few weeks at the least. Not something you want to consider after such a high, such a taste of success, such an accomplishment!
We took some final team pictures and parted ways to change into street clothes and meet back up for dinner (which ended up being only 1/3 of us). I got an ice pack, took some ibuprofen, and began to feel better again. I enjoyed a real meal (and a delicious one at that) with Lyn, Stacy and Sheree at Cafe Trio. And that definitely made everything better. *smile*
Within a couple days the IT pain was gone. I still haven't run on it but it's only been 4 days. I think I will take the rest of the week off just for good measure. But I am really hopeful that it was just a strain! And that I simply needed to stay off of it for a bit. Or at least take a break from the 30 mile weeks. ;) Sat. I'll test it out on what will hopefully feel like an easy, breezy, FLAT 4 mile run! Ha!
Our team placed 29th out of 127 women's teams, 17 in our division! I am so pleased with that! Our finish time for almost 190 miles was 30 hrs. and 51 min. Woot! I see another relay race in my future, for sure. It's where I seem to perform my overall best!
Want to see pictures? Ok then.
Our van:
Don't you love the hat and cat whiskers? So creative. :P
Sheree:
Stacy:
Melodee:
Christy:
Our van (minus me) with the final runner who's poor van was still in line for a parking spot. That's Janee (Stacy's friend) on the right end and my college roomie Erin on the left:
Moi:
The whole team:
02 June 2010
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