And The Winners Are...

Sorry if you all have been waiting on pins and needles to find out who my winners are. We had an absolutely crazy weekend (future post) and I never had a chance to do my drawing. Well, it was the very first thing I did this morning. And here are our winners:

In case you can't read that...

Brittany C.

Audrey B.

Robyn G.
Melissa C.
Brandon E.

I know you're super stoked for your homemade gift. I'm running straight to the craft store to pick out something extra special for each of you. Hopefully I'll have a chance to get it all done in the next week or two. All I ask of you is that when you get your gift, send me a picture of yourself 'enjoying' it so I can make a special post of all my fun. I'm looking forward to this!

A Gift From Me To You!

I saw this on a friend's blog, and I think it's a really fun idea. Five people to comment on this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. Everyone who posts a comment on this post on or before Friday, February 20th will be entered in a drawing to win!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)
4. You will have no clue what it is going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
6. I have to be able to reach you so leave your email so I can get your address. Or watch for the winners next week. (or email me sarah_ellsworth@msn.com)

If you'd like to play along in the fun, just copy this into your own blog. You too could be making something very special very soon for five someones you love. :)

To All You Nay Sayers

I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me after reading my blog and said, "Why on earth would anyone want to go on a sugar fast?" My face would flush and I'd stumble to come up with a good reason.

I'm pleased to say I finally have an answer. It's been 17 days since the razzleberry pie incident and I haven't had another goof-up since. Cutting out desserts, treats, and soda has been the only change I have made; and I've already lost 7 lbs. I feel great! I feel almost invincible toward the cry of sugar as it makes it's feeble attempt to entice me. It's been surprisingly easy to resist!

Now I'm thinking about all of the other benefits of living a sugar-free life. I have so much more energy. No more ups and downs based on when I had my last candy bar. And the biggest bonus of all... if I can keep this up I may avoid the fate that most women in my family seem to face. Diabetes! If I can learn to control my sugar-cravings today, I may live diabetes free tomorrow! Oh and not to mention the 7 lbs I've dropped already!

Ya... I'm feelin' pretty great about life right now! Sugar, may I continue to resist your cries!

Did We Take It a Step Too Far?

When I learned that our fun friends the Gadds & the Coons from our old ward were coming up to play Settlers with us,I was super excited. As we all know, Ryan & I love playing games. We have Settlers, Seafarers, and Citites & Knights, but we didn't have the 5&6 player expansions for any of them. I got right on it and ordered myself all of the expansions. While I was online, I noticed another new Settlers Expansion I had never heard of.

I had to have it! I also had to have the 5&6 player expansions too. (boy they're tricky)

Last night when we went to set it up we were a little overwhelmed. Our board was almost as big as our table and there was sooooo much going on. We only used 2 of the like 10 varients from the new expansion and I was still overwhelemed. I really wish I had thought to take a picture so you could see just what I'm talking about. There were lakes, rivers, fish, camels, money, trade tokens, more cards, little wooden hunch-back men, and even a old boot.... This is too much! It took us 5 hours to finish our game. Has anyone else out there tried this new expansion? Have you found the love? or did Mayfair Games just take it one step too far?

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye

So you know how when you're a kid and somehow your cats magically end up finding a wonderful new home on a farm with horses and chickens to chase; and you know they're so much happier there. You're so happy for the new-found joy that you forget how sad you are that your cat is gone? I think we may have found that same utopia for our cat Roxy. I put her up on KSL (per your great suggestions) and we found her the perfect match.

Tonight her new owner came and took her away. He is a sweet guy who lives by himself in a 5-bedroom house. No kids to chase her and pull her tail. Just one man for her to love and have all to herself. He said his cat that he had for 15 years passed away and he's been looking for a new one. It was bittersweet as we said good-bye, but I really know she'll be much happier. He even said he'd send us emails to let us know how she's liking her new home.

Now all I need to do is convince one very sad Khursten that this was indeed the right move.

Um Woops! Hope You Really Wanted Me!

The other day a friend and I were chatting via email and we were talking about all the fun stuff we would need to purchase for our trip to Hawaii. I jokingly said, "Hey, why don't I fly out to Minnesota and we can go shopping together at the Mall of America and get all the fun stuff we need?" I didn't expect it to go anywhere, but when I asked Ryan he said yes. Hooray!

Today I was checking on Priceline to see what kind of a deal I could get on a plane ticket. I don't know if you all have used Priceline before, but their website is deceptively confusing. I thought I was recommending a price that I wanted to buy my ticket for. I thought they would either say yes that price will work, or they would instead suggest a different price and we could negotiate. That however, is not how Priceline works. Once you suggest a price, if they like it price and accept it - you've just bought yourself a plane ticket. Woops! (Luckily I put in a really low price. Only $200 bucks roundtrip. That's a pretty great deal, isn't it?) I totally just put a random date in when I was pricing things out. I didn't even check with my friend to make sure it would work for her.

Fortunately she's a sweetheart and is willing to rearrange her busy schedule and squeeze me in. I don't think that's really how you're supposed to visit people. Don't you usually ask them when it would be okay to come? You don't usually just say, "Hey, I'll be here this date and you'll need to make yourself ready to expect me." So again... woops!

But needless to say, I'm ecstatic! What could be better than flying away for the weekend for a shopping spree with your favorite person at the Mall of America?

I guess I'll need to make another count-down on the side of my blog. Days until I'm in Minnesota... 31!

A Serious Moral Dilemma

I have a serious problem. We laugh about it, but it's getting to the point where it's just really not funny. This is my kitty. Her name is Roxy (AKA Roxy the Unlovable Cat) Three years ago when I was pregnant and on bedrest with Audrey I decided I really needed a cat. I wanted a sweet little kitty that I could hold on my lap and keep me company while Ryan is away at school at night. I've always loved Russian Blues and when I saw Roxy, I fell in love.

Here's where the moral dilemma begins. I probably should have thought a little harder about buying a tiny little kitten when my girls were so young. They showed her way too much love and right off the bat she developed some serious issues. I feel like we have broken our poor, sweet kitty. She is tolerant of the girls, but won't willingly approach them. She loves Ryan, but unfortunately the one person she chose to love happens to be the one person who absolutely hates cats. She has a major problem with me and I don't know why. I'm the person who feeds her, changes her litter box, and I alone have spent hours on end trying to develop a bond. She hates me. The other day I was minding my own business typing on my computer and she just jumped up and attacked me. She sunk her teeth into me and just hung there like some sort of crazy rabid animal. She has never bitten Ryan. She won't even hiss at the girls, but me... I don't know what to do.

I've been the one pushing to keep her around. Maybe because I have some serious guilt about corrupting my little kitty. But lately I'm starting to realize that she is just not a good fit for our family. I think she needs someone who just lets her be.

So here's my question. What do I do? I know if I take her to the Humane Society, she'll probably end up getting put down. No one's going to want to adopt a 3-year-old cat who is hard to bond with. I have this horrible image of her locked in a cage all alone for months waiting for someone to love her. It makes me so sad. But she makes Ryan miserable because she loves him and he doesn't love her and she follows him around like a little lost puppy; she makes the girls miserable because they want her to love them and she just isn't a sit-on-your-lap-and-purr type of cat; she makes me miserable because she attacks me like a crazy psycho. Do I keep her around out of a sense of guilt, or do I subject her to the unknown future that the Humane Society has in store for her. Please help. I'm feeling so bad. She really is a good cat. She just isn't a good fit.