It’s a Mother’s Day CONTEST!!!!

Come one.  Come all.  Step right up and enter to win a GRAND PRIZE for you or a mother dear to your heart this Mother’s Day.

What would every mother want?  A diamond ring?  No. (Could get lost while playing in the sand at the park!) A new MiniVan!  No. (Take it from my experience, after you hit someone in a minivan, they are not that great any more!)  A dozen roses! No (They wilt in no time, especially if you bought them at Walmart!)

Maybe something to bring joy to her heart.  Something to make her laugh…. and snort… and laugh some more!  Yes, you guessed it!  A Book!  YES!

Yes, a FREE autographed copy of my book Laughing in the Midst of Mothering!  Every mother you know needs a laugh!  This book can be yours (for your mom if you aren’t a mom) by merely entering your name in the comments section of this blog.

You have until May 5th midnight to enter.  On May 6th, after I sleep in, I will randomly draw one name from the list and announce the winner here on MSJ.  I will blast the name for all to see.  The winner will have 24 hours to contact me with an address for where to ship the book.  If person #1 doesn’t contact me, I will draw another name on May 7th.  :o)

We Have a Winner!!!

Forthwith the results are in from the amazing third blog-a-versary of My Sister’s Jar Free Book Drawing conducted with the utmost officiousness right here in my family room.  Hence, a photo-journal of the event found itself necessary.  Here are the entries for the drawing:

For anonymity, they were folded with care…. EXACTLY the same:

Next they were placed in the snowman bucket with care:

The movie UP! was interrupted so the Colombian princess could come out from under her cheetah print blankie and draw the winning name…..

And the winner of Laughing in the Midst of Mothering and Laughing in the Midst of Marriage is………….

……………COURTENAY!!!  Whooo Hooooo!  Congratulations, Courtenay!  I will contact you to get your address!

Thanks for playing, ladies!  It was fun!

FREE Give-Away! It’s my Blog-a-versary!

Yes, My Sister’s Jar has been filling up the pages of the internet for three long years now.  Wow!  And for ONE of my faithful readers, including anyone new who happens to find MJS today, I’m giving away a copy of each of my books: Laughing in the Midst of Mothering and Laughing in the Midst of Marriage.  Both books are guaranteed to make you grin, if not/and/or loudly guffaw while holding your belly while tears stream from your eyes from the hilarity of the stories.  Really.  I’m not just saying it because I lived through them either.

Yes, you read that right… TWO FREE books!  Wow!  Generosity is seeping from my pores today. Here’s how it works.  Leave a comment with your name in the comment section below.  I painstakingly copy all the names onto paper, carefully cut them into strips, fold them so there’s no cheating, drop them into a light blue snowman bucket, and then….. drumroll please….. one of my darling children reaches in and picks out a name.  I broadcast the winning name on this blog in the comment section, as well as the next blog.  So you have to be okay with your name being broadcast. Well, you could use a fake name, and then simply notify me before I mail the books as to your truthful name.  I privately email you for your mailing address, which is NOT broadcast for all the world to see.  Free contest starts now and ends at Feb. 2, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. (Members of my family are not eligible, nor people from Guam or Madagascar…. just kidding….. not kidding about my family!)

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for being faithful readers to this overworked homeschool mom/author.  It does my heart good each night as I check the blog stats and drift off to sleep with happy thoughts that I just might have made someone smile today with these words I type.  You guys ROCK!

Happy Three-Year Blog-a-versary!

And my sweet husband adds, “You can buy the books at www.cbd.com.”   I’m not a saleswoman… I’m a mom!

Dilly Bars

In the van on the way home after the fireworks display on the 4th, our daughter says, “The only thing that would make this night better is if we had Dilly Bars!”  These are fine delicacies from Dairy Queen, in case you haven’t tasted the ambrosia offered on a stick at DQ.  I immediately pulled out the handy-dandy yellow pages that I keep under my seat in the van.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my glasses with me and could not read a blinkin’ word on the page.  Larisa came to the rescue and started listing the addresses for DQs. Thankfully she came across one that was four blocks from where we were!  Sweet victory!

Dairy Queen on 27th Avenue and Camelback Rd. is not in the nicer part of our fine city, Phoenix.  As we pulled into the driveway, my brave husband spouted, “Let’s go in!”  Three of the four of us simultaneously responded, “NO!”  To match the neighborhood, the drive-through speaker is not of the best quality at the aforementioned DQ either.  We gave up and drove to the window to order our Dilly bars.

Dilly Bars are $1.29 plus tax….. OR six for $6.00 plus tax.  Yes, there are only five Crosbys at the present time.  Yes, that was a steal-of-a-deal to which my dear husband succumbed.  We were happily devouring our Dilly Bars when one of our sons asked who got the sixth stick of ice cream dipped in chocolate?????  And thus began the Dilly Bar Quest for Gold.  “Here’s the rules!” my husband declared.  “I’ll put it in the freezer right in front on the middle shelf.  The first person who wakes up after 3:00 a.m. without an alarm can go to the freezer and move the Dilly Bar to a hidden freezer location.  This way, they can save it for later. If you go down and the bar is moved, DO NOT EAT IT! or you will owe $5 to the winner of the Dilly Bar Quest for Gold!  Remember, you have to sleep first!” The scheming began.

One son said he would eat it all right when he won at 6:30 a.m., our early riser.  The other son said he would save it to eat in front of the rest of us losers.  (How nice!)  Our daughter just sighed, as she is a hard sleeper and late waker.  I thought I stood a good chance as I awake every morning at 5:00 a.m., just to look at the clock and go back to sleep. Just my luck, it didn’t happen last night.

The next morning, at 9:30 a.m. I came out of my bedroom to hear my sons arguing…… “You set your alarm!”  “No, I didn’t!”  “How could you wake up right at 3 a.m. then?”  “I just did!”  “I dreamed of ice cream, but I didn’t wake up!”  and on and on and on it went.  So, the son who wanted to eat the golden Dilly Bar in front of us, did so at breakfast.  Congratulations!

It’s In the Mail!

Today we sent off Larisa’s entry for the prom dress contest.  I still am having a hard time believing that the first prize is $50,000 for college and a $1,000 gift card for JoAnn’s stores.  $50,000….. that’s a lot of money to win when you’re between the ages of 14 and 18!   OK, that’s a lot of money to win when you’re 44 too!  We spent a total of $60 for everything including the supplies to make the mask.  So if the total prizes awarded are $74,450, and if the average girl spent the same as us (however, we got off easy with sales and coupons) there would need to be 1,240 entries …. and that’s not even breaking even if you count the actual cost to JoAnn’s for the materials.  On the JoAnn’s site it stated that there were hundreds of entries last year….. only HUNDREDS… not thousands.

 The twenty finalists that have to send in their dress and the accessory the created are notified on or about July 2nd.  Thirty-two days and counting.

The contest is judged on workmanship/skill level, originality and level of detail shown in the photographs.  Not that I’m the mom, or biased, or anything like that, but I really believe Larisa stands a good chance of being a finalist.  Of course, I haven’t seen any of the other hundreds of entries, but my girl did a fabulous job, especially with the hand-beading in her own design on the waistband.

This is the photo we submitted for the shot of the accessory…..because we needed a closer view of her fuchsia design on the waistband. 

Here is last year’s winner:  http://joannfabricandcraftstores.blogspot.com/2009/10/florida-student-wins-jo-ann-prom.html They have really upped the prizes since last year.  Wow!

Breaking Headline News

Yes, I’ve been absent from MSJ for a week!  Eeeegads!  I do declare that I’ve been a tad on the occupied side.  Here are the latest headlines that should shed light on my week:

Forty-Four Year Old is Elated with Chair.  This, of course, makes my fantastic, new, green, down-wrapped reading chair sound fuddy-duddy-ish, but it’s not!  It even came with an ottoman…. and it matches my bedspread perfectly.  If you know me at all, or even slightly, you may be aware that I am a reading fiend…. a book hound… honestly, I have a wanderlust for literature.  Up to ten tomes can be found on and under my bedside table at all times.  Topics range from Christian Historical Fiction to Adoption to Devotionals for Women to homeschooling to encyclopedias to Arizona History and even Strunk and White Elements of Style.  All that to say…. I can hardly believe that I waited until my 44th birthday to request a reading chair for my bedroom.  It is a little green slice of heaven for me sitting there in my room!

Sixteen-Year-Old Sews Up $50K!  This is a prophetic headline, as my daughter finishes hand-beading and sewing her prom dress that she is entering in the JoAnn’s Prom Dress Contest.  I knew this kid had talent…. but seriously, she can sew straighter lines than I can…. and I’ve been sewing for 127 years!  And Beading!  Be still my bead-loving-heart!  The contest prizes are almost unbelievable!  $50,000 + $1,000 JoAnn’s gift card for first place!  WOW!  Can you say C O L L E G E?  Second place: $20,000 + $500 gift card.  Can you say C A R?  Third place: $10,000 + $250 gift card.  Can you say A W E S O M E   V A C A T I O N    W I T H    M O M?  Ten runner-up prizes of $1,000 + $100 gift card EACH!  Can you say S A V I N G S   A C C O U N T?  The winner is not announced until July or August, but when Larisa wins one of these fantastic prizes, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be broadcasted live here!  A sneak peek:

Children Dragged Through Museum.  This, again, sounds harsh and un-fun.  But no.  Yes, it was my birthday yesterday.  You usually get to do things you love on the day celebrating your birth, right?  Well, I’m a closet history buff who stores trivial historical knowledge in my head.  Take me to a museum and I start to salivate.  Drop me off in an old cemetary with simply a canteen and I’ll be overjoyed.  It was my husband’s idea too, not mine.  When he suggested we tour a Native American museum on the day celebrating his wife’s birth, I was all for it.  A lively, minute docent leeched onto our family and was thrilled that I asked questions and needed detailed information about all the fascinating items on display.  My family slowly distanced themselves from me and my new friend.  Off in the corner I heard my husband tell our children while nodding toward the tour guide, “THERE is your mom when she’s 63!”  Grief!  And on my birthday!

There’s more… but I’ll save some for tomorrow!

FREE Christmas Book Drawing!

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad!  In the spirit of giving and Christmas, I’m giving away a copy of my new book, Laughing in the Midst of Marriage: Finding Joy in Being a Wife!  Whooo HOoo!  It is a devotional for wives of all ages, full of true life stories to inspire you and make you thankful for your husband.  To enter just LEAVE YOUR NAME in the comments section.  My contest committee will hand write them… hand cut them… hand them into a bucket… and hand select a winner from the pile.  This is all done quite officially, really.  The winner will be chosen on Dec. 18th late at night.  So that makes the official cut-off time “when I get home on Friday night.”  Good luck!!  and God be with you!!

Side note:  this will be the only post this week until the winner is announced…. because for my Christmas present, my sweet hubby is taking me away for five days…. without children.  Am I excited?  YES!!!  So, pass the word about the free draw and I’ll be back on Friday night.

If you’re one of those people who never wins anything, you can buy the book at www.cbd.com and probably be reading it before the winner!

Mother’s Day Contest!!!! {free}

In honor of mothers on Mother’s Day 2009, I decided to share the love and give away one of my books Laughing in the Midst of Mothering: Finding Joy in Being a Mom.  (A quicker title choice would have been MOM – JOY!)  All you need to do to enter is put your name in the comment section of this blog.  I’ll put them all in a hat and draw one on Monday.  My panel of qualified homeschooling judges will verify the security of the ballots and the non-biased choice of the winning ticket.

Laughing in the Midst of Mothering is a devotional for moms of all ages (and dads have found it amusing as well) and a compilation of stories that have actually occurred in my home.  If you think your children are interesting, wait ’til you read about mine.  If you need to verify the contents of the book as truly joy-bringing you can check it out at:  www.LindaCrosby.com, www.cbd.com, www.amazon.com, etc., or wherever fine books are sold on the net.

Mother’s Day is nine days away so here’s the deal.  I need mailing time, so the deadline for this thrilling contest is Monday, May 4, 2009 at 9:00 pm, AZ time.  (I think we are on Pacific time at the moment…. we never move our clocks down here in AZ.  The rest of you confuse me on this deal.)

If your name is not chosen and you think this is still a fabulous Mother’s Day gift, order one for your mom, your friends, your aunties and your neighbors. It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to the most prune-ish face.  Again, www.LindaCrosby.com.  For a discount on mailing more than one book, please send me a note and I’ll hook you up.

Happy May Day!  And good luck!

Chip off the Ol’ Block

Here they are: The Block and the Chip.

Tonight at the dinner table, Keeve picked up a Bible Quiz card and read, “Why were Moses’ arms held up during the battle against the Amalekites?”  We all slapped the table and made the Bible Quiz buzzer noise.  (We have never participated in Bible Quiz, but we have good imaginations.)  Four of us answered at the same time, because we are a bit competitive.  The answer was: so the Israelites would win the war.  When Moses’ arms went down, the battle turned against the Israelites.

The story brought on questions.  How long did he hold his arms up before they figured out he needed help?  How do you think he held them up… straight up or in front?  How long can you hold your arms up? And thus the Crosby Competitive Spirit arose and the arm-holding-up contest began.  Five of us started… in 5 minutes, there were only two competitors left, Rick and Larisa.  After 15 minutes, Rick didn’t want to play anymore but wouldn’t put his arms down and lose.  He kept telling Larisa how stupid the game was and that she should just put her arms down.

“No!  I’m not a quitter!  YOU taught me that! Crosby’s aren’t quitters!” she emphatically answered, aiming her arms to the ceiling.

“But this is a stupid game.  It doesn’t matter if you quit stupid games,” Rick (arms in the air) tried to convince her.

“Then put your arms down,” she flatly stated, limbs pointed skyward.

“YOU put your arms down,” the mature father replied without relenting.

Rick kept complaining to me, because the game was my bright idea.  Whatever!  I put my arms down after five minutes because it was a stupid game.  Every time he complained, I answered, “Then put your arms down.”  He couldn’t do it.  My mother told me that women should let their men win at games once in a while… for their ego.  Obviously, I need to teach that truth to my daughter. 

Finally after a half hour, Rick snuck up behind Larisa and pushed her arms down, so his could go down too.  We declared Larisa the winner of the Holding Your Arms Up Contest.  And another successful family dinner goes down in the Crosby family history books.

Garage Sale gone Global, aka: Craig’s List

Singlehandedly, I have uncovered a scheme for lonely people to interact with the outside world: post a FREE SILK TREE on Craig’s List.  The response is truly unbelievable.  Why do people need a “dusty silk tree with purple silk flowers glued in… could be removed without evidence”?  The answer is beyond my understanding. 

You may be wondering how I happened to have such a specimen.  (Don’t tell, but I HAD two.)  My husband brought them home to me, yes, from a garage sale, for our new house.  At that point they weren’t dusty.  They were just silk trees with purple flowers.  It was a good idea at the time.  But our “movin’ on up to the big house” plan didn’t materialize, and since then, our garage has been graced with their presence. 

Anyway, I was alone a few nights back and decided to post the garage trees for free on Craig’s List.  Within nanoseconds, I began receiving multiple emails from a broad cross-section of society who wanted my trees.  I simply responded to the first person.  Little did I realize that I could have made it a contest for “Best Reason for Wanting Silk Trees.”  The stories were amazing and amusing: a lady needed a non-faded tree for her patio because company was coming from out of state.  Another lady had an iguana sanctuary and the iguanas had grown so large that they were toppling their current silk trees.  A gent sent a heartfelt message about how his wife would just love the trees, and since he didn’t get a chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day, due to her illness, he would be grateful for the trees.  I was quite enjoying all the reasons people wanted them.  Their schedules were also a predominant response, caringly letting me know when they could come get the trees:  “I’ll be there at 8 a.m.” (OK, I’m not ready for social calls at 8 a.m.), or “My husband is off at 3 and he works just up the street from you”, or “I’ll be there when I can get a car”… and on and on.

The sad part was, after the 18th request for the silk trees, I decided to pull the ad, to stop the onslaught.  Well, for some unknown reason, my ad never posted to my account, so I couldn’t remove it.  I imagined hundreds of requests for purple-flowered silk trees flooding my email box.  I resorted to asking the kind tree-hungry people to tag my ad as “spam” for me.  After about two hours, thankfully it was removed.

But the interaction that occurred during those two hours was highly engaging.  One guy even sent an email in ALL CAPS that said, “I’LL GIVE YOU $20 FOR THE FREE TREES.”  :o)  I accepted.  The next morning I received another ALL CAPS email that he had experienced a “family tragedy” and was no longer able to pick up the trees.  NEXT!  The trees drove away with a lovely, elderly lady at 1:00 the next afternoon. 

If you are ever a bit bored and long to read personal emails, post a silk tree on Craig’s List.  Please send me the hilarious responses, so I can enjoy the experience again.  Heck, I might post the same picture, just to talk to my fellow neighbors again. (Don’t tell.)