Cara Box Exchange and Influenster Gifts

Recently I joined a Cara Box gift exchange over at Wifessionals.  I love doing these exchanges it's so much fun!  I get to pick heartfelt gifts for a new friend and I also receive so many surprises in the mail.  

My Cara Box new friend was Katie over at Woman in a mans world.  She has the most adorable baby and her blog is fun and full of new discoveries.  You can see what I got her via her latest blog post:-) I then received a beautiful sparkly package from Emily and Carolynn!  So sweet, I loved all the pink and purple wrapping.  My favorite word was on her card, LOVE! <3  And I really enjoyed the sparkle nail polish!  Super for the holidays! Can't wait to participate in the next Blog Gift exchange!

The next day I received a package from Influenster, it was the Holiday VoxBox!  I had no idea what was included but was super excited to see all the cool things to test and enjoy.

The box included...
NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine, so beautiful and smooth!  Love it!
(@nycnewyorkcolor / #LiquidLipshine),
Kiss Nail Dress (@KissProducts / #KissNailDress),
Goddy Quikstyle Brush (@GoodyHair / #QuikStyle),
Quaker Real Medley Oatmeal+ (@Quaker / #RealMedleys),
SoleSociety(@solesociety / #PerfectPair),
EBOOST (@EBOOST / #naturalenergy)

My daughter immediately asked if I would put on the new nail art and I customized it to fit her tiny fingers.  

So happy and thankful for these gifts this Holiday Season and the new friends that I have made!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

www.TheHeartbeatMagazine.com

http://bit.ly/SubscribetoHeartbeatMagazineNews

Check out this months Giveaway!

Heartbeat Magazine December 2012 Cover

I just finished uploading my lastest issue of The Heartbeat Magazine.  The family on the cover is actually my parents and their 10 grandkids.  My friend Melinda Nagy Photography provided so many great photos and this was the one that captured my heart.  So grateful for my family, my parents had all of their grandkids together for the holidays!

Wishing everyone a Beautiful Holiday & Happy New Year.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

www.TheHeartbeatMagazine.com

http://bit.ly/SubscribetoHeartbeatMagazineNews

Check out this months Giveaway!

 Join me  for this Weeks Blog Hop, if you have a blog leave your link...

Colortime Craft Recycle Tote Bag Giveaway

This Months Heartbeat Magazine Giveaway...1 "Recycle" tote bag and 3 markers from Colortime. (US only.) 

Also enjoy an exciting coupon, free shipping coupon code, and on-going Facebook giveaway that Colortime is offering.

 

The coupon: 15% off online retail purchases.

Use coupon code 15for30C when you check out at colortime.com. Coupon must be entered at the time of purchase. Offer not valid on sale items and may not be combined with other offers or discounts.

 

Offer expires on May 12, 2013.

 

The Free Shipping:  Free ground shipping on orders over $60. In the continental US. Only for retail, web-based orders, placed on our website. Not to be combined with any other offers and discounts.

To get the free shipping, use code FRSH11W.

The giveaway: Colortime is doing a giveaway via our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/colortimecrafts). It is a weekly fan giveaway. Here are the instructions:

Each week Colortime Crafts and Markers will randomly draw 3 lucky FANS who will receive a special craft package, which includes a Colortime color-your-own "Recycle Tote Bag" and three special permanent Colortime FABRIC MARKERS. All you have to do to be eligible is to "like" and become a fan of Colortime Crafts and Markers on Facebook.

The winners' Facebook name will be posted each Monday on the Colortime Crafts and Markers Facebook page. We will send you a message on Facebook informing you that you won. Look for it, and if your name is a winner, you can also send us an email message to info@colortime.com with your full name and address and in either case we will ship your prize within 2 weeks.

Rules:
1) You must be a fan of Colortime Crafts and Markers (www.facebook.com/colortimecrafts) Facebook page.
2) Once you win a prize, you are not eligible for additional prizes for this promotion for 12 months after the prize has been awarded.
3) Prizes not claimed within 2 weeks will be forfeited.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear back from you at your earliest convenience.

Colortime Crafts & Markers
800-500-0770
516-377-8675(f)
http://www.colortime.com
info@Colortime.com

http://www.twitter.com/colortimecrafts

Enter below with Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

www.TheHeartbeatMagazine.com

http://bit.ly/SubscribetoHeartbeatMagazineNews

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Marriage of the Heart by Kelly Long book review for WW

I recently finished reading A Marriage of the Heart. Of course, I fell in love with the name of the book! There were three stories included, all about Amish couples and their struggles in their lives.  I really enjoy a good romance and found myself wanting to know how things were going to work out for them.  It's fun when I find a great book that pulls me in and it feels like I'm in another world.  

The first story, A Perfect Secret, is about two lifelong friends that we're happy with each other but Rose wondered if their was more adventure somewhere else and if she was just settling for normalcy.  There is some secrets going on that Rose didn't know about with her friend and she finds herself involved in a way that is surprising and exciting.

The second story, Christmas Cradles, was my favorite.  I once thought about becoming a Midwife but didn't want the full responsibilities involved with bringing a new life into this world.  I also love anything medical with me being a Nurse.  The story is about Anna Stolis who is a Midwife, her Aunt goes on a vacation and she works for her while she is away. The winter weather has brought a big storm to complicate the possible deliveries that Anna has to attend to.  An Amish man was assigned to help her drive the buggy to the three women that were in need.  During these trips, they have challenges and adventures that draw them closer together and they learn things about themselves that they didn't know before.

The third story, A Marriage of the Heart, starts out with a lie from Abigail about Joseph and his inappropriate advances.  This causes her father to request that Joseph marry his daughter or leave the community.  Joseph decides to marry her and then they have to work on figuring out their real relationship. There is many ups and downs but the whole story is full of true love and commitment.

Quote of the week
"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken

Here are a few pictures from this weekend...

Christmas Tree Lights and Ornaments

Delicious Cookies from the Cookie Exchange!  Yum

Have a fun rest of the week and if you participate in Wordless Wednesday be sure to leave a link to your blog as I can't wait to visit!  

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

www.TheHeartbeatMagazine.com

http://bit.ly/SubscribetoHeartbeatMagazineNews

Gingerbread House and Holiday Cookies, so many Decorating Decisions?

My parents have 10 grandkids and this holiday was the first time they had all of them together.  We had an early celebration on friday and even had professional photos taken.  This months cover will be a photo of them with their 10 grandkids.  Can't wait to share soon!  After the photo shoot, I took my niece and my kids over to my in-laws and the kids made a Gingerbread house and we made 12 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange.  There are so many choices when it comes to creating your Gingerbread House masterpiece.  How do you decide?  With the cookies we made a mix of cookies, and each one was so different and delicious.  It made for a wonderful afternoon and evening with family!  Heartfelt memories for my kids and for me!  That's my favorite part of the Holiday season.

Building the Gingerbread House, so many steps.

         

Cousins enjoy the finished results!

                                             

Grandma & Grandson making the cookies.

                                              Oh so delicious!!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

www.TheHeartbeatMagazine.com

http://bit.ly/SubscribetoHeartbeatMagazineNews

Being Outrageous is essential to life!

Are you looking for a Special Holiday Gift?

If you know someone that loves hearts, look no further.

Included in each month's issue a special heart gift!

What's your 70th Blog post? WW entry

Do you keep track of your blog posts?  I've seen some people give an update on their blogs for whatever special event they are hosting, it could be a Wordless Wednesday, a Weekend Blog hop, or a Giveaway.  I think it's a fun way to keep track of how the blog is progressing. This is officially my 70th Blog post!  My next goal will be to reach my 100th Blog post.  That will be exciting:-)

Did you get any Christmas shopping done yet?  We went to a Christmas Holiday event with our church and bought two kids presents that they wanted on their list.  My kids got to help select the gifts we were going to give them.  It was fun to see the happiness on my families faces and to remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas.

We officially have some presents under our Christmas tree, we are counting down the days till Christmas eve when the kids get to open one present.  Have you visited Santa Claus Naughty or Nice List online?  My daughter loves the website.  I also like the the Santa Claus Countdown website.

My son has been singing in the chorus this year and yesterday he had a Toys for Tots Christmas Show. I wasn't able to make it but my husband went and took some great pictures and videos.  I'll be sure to post the videos soon.  Here is a picture from the show...

Then yesterday we received our craft in the mail from Colortime.  My daughter was so excited and we began working on the project right away.  The fat coloring pens were easy to use and she was fascinated by the ability to combine the colors together to get a new color.  She saw that when you combine red with yellow, you get orange, and blue with yellow, you get green.  It was so much fun!  Here are the results...

That's my not so wordless, Wordless Wednesday in pictures.  If you participate in Wordless Wednesdays please leave your link as I look forward to blog hopping later today!

PS.  Be sure to visit the Giveaway section, can't wait to pick the Starbucks Gift Basket winner soon, only 3 days left.

Need a gift idea?  Or do you have one that is amazing and would like to share, I'd love to hear about it.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+

How do you Decorate Your Christmas Tree? WW entry

There are so many ways to decorate a Christmas tree. A simple design with just a few colors or a mixture of family ornaments that have been passed down from generation to generation.  A few days after Thanksgiving my daughter begged us to put up the Christmas tree.  She had so much fun looking at all the cute and pretty ornaments that we have collected over the years.  I enjoyed watching her Holiday excitement. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?   Here are some ideas on decorating your Christmas tree for the holidays on Pinterest and a search on Google.

New Ornament from my Cara Box gift exchange, so cute!

Kids were so happy to have decorated our Christmas Tree!

Lastly, since it's National Cookie Day, I found this awesome recipe via Pinterest!  Yummy!

Have an amazing week.  If you participate in Wordless Wednesday, please be sure to leave your blog link, looking forward to reading your posts.  Also, only 10 days left on the Starbucks Giveaway:)

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest