Crafty and not so crafty giveaways!

I love giveaways, because free is for me. I enter contests constantly, and never win anything. Well, that is not entirely true, because I accidentally entered and won a book contest a few months ago. I got a copy of a Christian book called Daily Worships in the Name of Christ Our Lord and Savior To Keep You From Burning in Hell. If you know me, you can probably figure out what I did with it. Some of the best giveaways are on crafty blogs and mommy blogs, because I guess, mom's and crafty people like and need free things. I've heard that babies are expensive with all of those diapers and rash creams and such.

Here are some fun ones for you to waste a day off work entering:
Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!
Free books!
Visit Mommy Bits for free baby stuff and Christmas gifts perhaps?
Free boots at An Island Life
And you can get the same ones here!

After you have filled out all of these entries, get off your lazy behind and GO VOTE!

Hangin' mit zee Germans

So fine, I am a crappy blogger... It's just that occasionally, this thing that I have called a life actually gets hectic and requires my full attention. It's the new job really, which is thrilling since I was so terribly afraid I'd have to return to the old one in September! Honestly, almost any job would have been an improvement over Nameless Academy of Insanity, but the new one is even better than that! No more unprofessional staff, fraudulent business people, or bus drivers who sit you down in meetings to demand that silent reading be stricken from their children's language arts class. I love my new job!

That said, I am incredibly busy with it, but there has still been a wee bit of time for fun times. Eric and I hosted our first tailgate a few weeks ago, when U of M took on Michigan State. We did it right. Eric was up at the golf course setting up at 9 AM, with our backyard grill, an immense pot of chili, and a stuffed car. There was so much food it was a little ridiculous. At least 30 people showed up, and we still had leftovers. The chili was a bit hit by the way, so you should check out the recipe for your next football party! And p.s., that game we simply call "bean bags" back home? Yeah well, they call it "cornhole" in Michigan. Cornhole. For real. Didn't anyone out here watch Beavis and Butthead?

And of course, since I am crazy about dressing up for Halloween, here is another gratuitous costume shot. Eric's lederhosen were actually our wedding gift from his friend Gunther. They arrived months ago, after a lot of emailing, hinting, and confusion. We thought we were getting a case of wine, then the pants showed up on our doorstep. Somehow, they fit Eric like a glove. I suspect late night drinking and secret measuring may have occurred. I knew right away they'd have to make a public appearance, and our Halloween costumes were born: Dieter und Katja Julia Stefi von Dukenstein. His name was chosen because he bought me a stein with "Dieter" painted on it as a joke one year, and he could use it to accessorize. My name comes from the fact that 90% of the German girls we know are named Katja, Julia, or Stefi. Eric bought me the dyrndl when he was on a business trip last month, so we were 100& authentic. This is the first costume I have ever worn that didn't require any crafting at all, but I'm ok with it since it was not pre-fab and in a plastic sleeve! Eric's hat came from Target and his scarf is mine, but the rest is all bought in Germany, even the mini stein he has on his belt. We planned on using them for shots of Jager, but then we remembered I don't do shots of Jager. We still partied hard enough to make our namesakes proud, arriving home at 3 AM with Eric's favorite thing besides bacon, free Taco Bell. Mmm...