WINNER for Harrah's BEST Weekend EVER!

And the winner is!! (by random drawing...)

William Meznarich said...

PS: I am actually cooking gumbo, for the saints game of course, as I am writing my comment. Retweeted! - TexasWineGuy

December 13, 2009 9:46 AM

Congrats William!
e-mail me at Dana@homesteadinghousewife to claim your prize!

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The GREATEST Week-End EVER!

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

This girl lived on a farm surrounded by stinky, muddy animals, and loud energetic children.

She spent her days battling dust bunnies and trying to reach the summit of Mt. Laundry.

She also dabbled with writing online.
She started a blog about her life on the farm,
Then she started a blog about cooking and her comfort food recipes,
Then she started a blog about stuff her Grandma made,
Then she started a blog about her battle with weight and new shiny new Lap Band.

She typed and wrote silly stories, yummy recipes, old fashioned tricks and tips...
And she was happy...

One day she got an e-mail inviting her to come visit New Orleans.
Harrah's Casino & Hotel in New Orleans, as a matter of fact.

They were inviting her and some other bloggers to come and enjoy the
Greatest Weekend Ever.

This weekend was geared towards people who love food from the Houston area.

She was surprised,
She was intrigued,
She was excited!

Obviously, there had been some sort of mistake...
They MUST have meant to invite another blogger from her area.
One who was interesting...
One who was popular...
One who occasionally left their homes...

She decided she couldn't pass up such a great sounding adventure.
Now she finds herself in the incredibly welcoming and charming town of New Orleans.

She finds herself staying in an amazingly beautiful hotel room.
She finds herself taking a bath in a tub thats bigger than her whole bathroom back on the farm.

Everywhere she goes she finds new and exciting things to see hear smell and taste,
She has found herself surrounded with an amazing group of people.

Together, they ate at famous restaurants in New Orleans,
They had amazing conversations,
And the food? On My Goodness the FOOD!

One thing that she noticed, that convinced her for sure that there had been a mistake made when she was invited is...
These other bloggers?
They are SERIOUS foodies!

She felt like a fraud.
She felt like she didn't belong with such knowledgeable people.
But she fell in love with each of them anyway.
She is learning from them.
She is thrilled to be in their company.

They are used to the fancy schmancy foods...
They have never made "Prison Wine"
They are used to the "good stuff".

She finds herself giggling as she eats dinner... Trying to imagine how her family back on the farm would react if she served them a platter of prosciutto wrapped figs for dinner.

She knows that they will figure out that they have made a mistake....
She knows it's just a matter of time before they toss her out on her big 'ol redneck butt.
But before they do...
She is gonna give YOU the opportunity to come and experience New Orleans like she is.

Win a FREE 2-night stay at Harrah's Casino & Hotel!

How to enter...

1. Leave me a comment telling me why YOU want to come have Your Own "Greatest Weekend EVER" At Harrah's NOLA.
2. Tweet this about giveaway using the Hashtag #HarrahsNOLA
3. Blog about this giveaway on YOUR Blog/Facebook page/ Myspace page etc...

Please use a separate comment here for each Tweet/post/etc... Make sure I know your Twitter name and/or leave a link to your post. Enter as many times as you'd like.

The winner will be chosen on Sunday 12/13/2009 by a random drawing.

Disclaimer.... yadda yadda yadda...

• The winner will receive a 2-night stay at Harrah's Casino & Hotel in New Orleans.
• Prize does NOT include travel, entertainment, meals etc...
• The winner much be a US resident.
• The free 2 night stay must be used before 12/30/2010

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Vrrooooom! A GIVEAWAY!!

This week-end we got the chance to try out a totally AMAZING store to visit with your kids!
It's called Ridemakerz.
Think 'Build-a-Bear' but with Super-Cool Remote Control Cars!!!

This is a FANTASTIC idea for boys and girls! (and parents too!)
My 16 yr old boys had just as much fun as my 9 yr old!
My 5 year old Daughter said it was "Awesome!".
And the Man-of-My-Dreams finally got a chance to design and build his dream car.

We all did!
Oh BOY! You should see my Big Girl Truck!!

I'm giving a $100 gift certificate on my other blog, Mom in Time-Out.
Come enter!
(Don't worry, you can even use the $100 online if you don't have a Ridemakerz storefront near you!)

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(oopdoo)hug WINNER!!!

WOW!

Thanks so much for making my first give-away such a success!

The winner of the (oopdoo)hug is......

Missy!! from "There's No Place Like Home"
Who said, "Hug in Bloom is my favorite.
This is a really neat idea.
I have never seen these before!"

CONGRATS Missy!!

Please contact me at
Dana@homesteadingHousewife.com

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Make it All Better. ((GIVE-AWAY))

The Little-Foreman-in-Pink had a difficult day.

• It started when she walked into the door frame on her way out of her bedroom.
• It continued when she spilled her bowl of Captain Crunch cereal all over the floor.
• Then Gus the Pug Puppy scratched her on the cheek.
• And the afternoon ended with a minor surgical procedure to remove a 2 & 1/2 inch long chunk of wood out of the bottom of her tender foot.
  

Out of all of my children, she is by far the LEAST accident-prone, today being the exception.

One thing that I have noticed with 5 children is the healing power of a mother's kiss.
The bump on the head, *kiss* all better.
The tears over spilled milk, *kiss* all is well.

But there is something even MORE powerful for my youngest two.
A single adhesive bandage!

• A scratch? No problem, stick a bandage on it and the tears instantly dry.
• A scrape? Bandage it up and it magically transforms from a life-threatening wound to a really cool battle badge of honor!

My short people have taken it to another level.

One minute they are writhing around in pain from an ear infection.
Stick a bandage across the ear... and *Poof* the throbbing stops!

I have tried to use this bandage obsession to my advantage.
But... I've slapped them on upset tummies, to no avail.
I've tried placing a bandage on the forehead to ease a headache, didn't work.
Bummer!

Just as I was learning to accept the fact that the magical power of the bandage was wearing thin, I found the (oopdoo)hug!

The (oopdoo)hug is an incredibly genius invention "inspired by a child's belief in the healing power of a bandage..."
Basically, it's a very schmooshy, blanket-soft, fleece blanket that looks just like an adhesive bandage!

That alone is a super-cool idea.
But what takes it over the top is the white square in the middle.
It's a pocket!
Perfect for an ice pack, heating pad, water bottle, coloring book, etc. etc. etc.

This makes it a bandage that really CAN help those tummy aches! And other boo boos that can't benefit from a "real" bandage.
The (oopdoo)hug comes in several colors and prints.
I got the "brown sugar" (oopdoo)hug, because it looks more like a traditional bandage.

You want one! I know you do!
OK... I'm gonna give you the chance to win one of your very own!

Here's How....


TIMES UP!! check above for the announcement of the winner!

1. Go to the (oopdoo)hug web site. Click HERE
   
2. Choose which color/style (oopdoo)hug your child would love most.
3. Leave me a comment here telling me which (oopdoo)hug you want to win. (please be sure you include your e-mail address or something so I can contact you!)
4. Monday April 6th, at 5pm CST a random winner will be chosen and posted.

That's It!
Easy, Huh??
Good Luck!!

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