The Spunky Diva

Are you ready for St. Patrick's Day?  How about to get free stuff?   March 17th to 20th we are having a Giveaway Mega Blog Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer  and Books Complete Me .   With over 200 bloggers signed up to have giveaways on their sites running from 12:01 AM March 17th until 11:59 PM March 20th.  The Lucky Leprechaun Hop is a fun way to hop around the blogsphere and enter some fantastic giveaways. What will The Spunky Diva be giving away???? My review copies of City On Our Knees , Loves First Bloom , Vigilante's Bride , and a super-secret surprise!   

Ms. Diva is growing and is such an outgoing toddler now {not to mention a comlpete ham}.  Here is a post dedicated to her.  She is just over 16- months -old.  Loves... desert, to say "yes" and "no", shut doors, say "night-night", wave good-bye, thump on the cat, ride the puppy-dogs, exercise her lungs with high-pitched shrieks, and of course to dance with 'wild' abandon to anything that could constitute as music.

Gail, over at My Repurposed Life, is hosting a Silhouette Giveaway .  Plus, she has a deal on purchasing the same bundle she is giving away!  Here are the details of the giveaway. One winner will receive the following:   Silhouette SD 1 roll black premium vinyl 1 roll frosted vinyl 1 roll transfer paper Home Décor CD If you can’t wait for the giveaway, or if you don’t win, you can receive the very same bundle as above for only $225 (retail $375+) !!! Or, if you already have a Silhouette SD and would like some vinyl, you can save on that too. Silhouette is offering  25% off of premium vinyl. To get either of these  deals, use the code REPURPOSED   through March 1, 2011.

Check out this review and giveaway over at Craft Gossip for a copy of ReSew by Jenny Wilding Cardon.   Who doesn't like the idea of transforming their thrift store finds {or those hidden garments at the back of the closet} into something you can use today?  This book will help show you how to do this.  Hop on over there to enter to win your very own copy!  

Here are my favorite places to party.   There are a variety of parties here {craft, blog hops, book reviews, etc.} that I love to check out each week.  Send me an e-mail at SpunkyDiva@live.com  if you have a party you would like to add! Monday Parties Making the World Cuter Monday  at Making the World Cuter {crafts} Making Mondays Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. {crafts} Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple {crafts} Tuesday Parties Post-It Note Tuesdays at One Parent Chronicles {ramblings} Take A Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee-Craft Edition Wednesday Parties Wordless Wednesday at Wordless Wednesday {photos} Thursday Parties Thirst For Comments Thursday at Acting Balanced {blog hop} Show Off Your Stuff at FireFlies and JellyBeans {crafts} Friday Parties Five Question Fridays at My Little Life {personal trivia questions} Friday Fragments at Half Past Kissin Time {vent about your week posts} Macro Friday at Blogging from Bolivia{photos} Fantabulous...

1. Can you drive a stick shift? I sure can.  My first two cars were both manuals, and then my beater car that I had before the Tahoe {which I absolutly adore, just FYI} was also a manual.  I do think they are 'funner' to drive {yes I do realize that 'funner' isn't a word, but... it is funner to say funner, LOL} .  As a mom though, the automatic is much easier with the kiddos in the backset. 2. What are two foods you just can't eat? Anything creepy... like weird creepy.  This includes snails and fish eggs.  Other than that I am pretty equal opportunity on food.  Mr. SD has introduced me to lots of foods I didn't eat, and most of them are just fine.  Though I have yet to appreciate Milk Toast .  I guess Milk Toast is a food I would really rather not eat. 3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind? I typically don't buy them anymore since they have become sooooooo expensive.  Thin Mints are my all time favorite, and then th...

Check out this new item that will be arriving in the Spunky Diva store soon: Travel Tissue Cases! These fun fabric cases protect your tissues from the wreckage caused by other items in your purse over time. Keeping your tissues fresh and ready for when you need them. I use a variety of fabrics to create a unique and useful accessory. Some of the fabrics are brand spanking new, while other fabrics used have been upcycled from a previous life {typically no longer used clothing}. All fabrics are washed and dried prior to construction to insure that if the need arises you can through it in the wash and not worry about shrinkage. Here are some more photos of the Fresh Cherries Tissue Case.   

Instead of using the on-line program to generate this week's sticky note, I have a real life sticky note for you this week.  I have stuck this reminder on my computer monitor to remind me that just one soda a day is 15 pounds in a year.  {So far it hasn't been a very effective deterrent though, LOL}

Are you a wonder whiz at collecting codes for rewards programs?    {Hint: like the Pampers and Huggies variety.} I will fully admit that I have no follow through where these types of things.  I have codes for both Huggies and Pampers that I would like to forward onto someone who will use them.  I forward all my Coke Rewards codes to my best friend that has redeemed them {along with hers} for some great prizes. Post a comment with your e-mail, which rewards program you use, what item you have used your points for, and I will send you some codes. PS - this is kinda like a double confession... not only am I admitting to not taking advantage to one of these programs, I am also admitting that I don't use cloth diapers, LOL!

It's been awhile since I have gotten a Weekend Wrap posted, and this is another sign that life is starting to settle down with the newest addition.  Last night Ms. T slept from 10:30pm to 1:30am; was back to sleep by 2:30am; woke up with daddy at 5:30 am;  we got up together at 5:30am and drained a bottle.   I feel like I slept amazing last night!  Then surprisingly Ms. T went back to sleep again, and I was able to put her back in the bassinet.  Which makes this the 2nd day since bringing her home from the hospital that I got my morning to-do list complete and have time to blog! My sewing project for this weekend was to finally get a diaper clutch finished for Ms. Diva's diaper bag.  With the new baby the big diaper bag stays in the sanctuary with us during service, and Ms. Diva's super-cute backpack goes with her to the nursery.  Unfortunately this super-cute backpack does not have interior pockets to stuff things in, and her diapers k...

City on Our Knees , by TobyMac {published by Bethany House Publishers} As this book is tied into one of my favorite Toby Mac songs; City On Our Knees , I was very excited to read it and bring it your attention. This book did not disappoint in any way! It was a quick read, with well laid out chapters/sections. I definitely recommend this book as an addition to any library. I really enjoyed the motivational/inspirational stories Toby Mac shared in this book. I read the book in December over the holidays, and it motivated me to make some changes this year (still waiting to see if I will continue following through with these changes). One change I was inspired to make was increasing my prayer time. Toby Mac included stories on the strength of prayer that I had not heard before. This is an area I would like to improve on in my own life. And the stories of how specific people handled their prayer time, and the answers they saw were amazing. It gave me a few new ideas that I can put into ...

www.Sew4Home.com is one of my favorite sewing sites to check out new fabrics, get sewing inspiration, and read their reviews of various sewing products.  They did a review of the Janome DC5100 recently and are giving away the machine they received to perform the review with! You can enter to win this giveaway at Janome Sew4Home Giveaway .  Entries close Feb. 28th at midnight.  All you have to do is post a comment on why you love to sew!

1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row?   Definitely... if clean, and only worn for a couple hours.  I.E. I wore something to church, and then wear it to work the next day.  This definitely doesn't happen now, LOL!  Have two kiddos under two means that I am 'decorated' within five minutes of putting any outfit on.  I specialize in wearing machine wash and dry clothes now. 2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?   London.  I hate big cities so I might as well be living somewhere completely different, right?  London/England is somewhere I have always wanted to explore.  I did a day trip into London when we had an 8-hour layover, and it was a lot of fun but left me wanting to spend more time there. 3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?   Either.  I think road trips are a necessary part of growing up.  And even though they seem to last forever... they do eventually end....

Do you hate the idea of having your photos ending up on someone else's site?  Or an entire tutorial magically appearing without your permission somewhere in blogland? Check out Design It Chic's post on how to disable the right-click function on your blog . Very simple to add to your blog, and the benefit is that your blog is less welcoming to those that want to use your content. PS ~ if you tend to copy and paste your own photos from your blog... this will affect your ability to do this.  {I had this relization after putting the html into effect, LOL} PSS ~ if they open up a photo in a different screen{by clicking the photo} they can then save the image.

Who wouldn't want to have this cute bathroom toy container ?  Who wants to spend the money on it?  {Not me!} Here is how I created a perfectly cute, usable, and cheap toy storage basket to use.  I got two baskets for a buck, and so I used one for this project, and the other is in the kiddos room.  So the project cost is just 50 cents! Not as cute as the frog with suction cups , but very cost effective, LOL!  And as an added bonus... if you use your shower/bath for adults and kiddos... this option keeps the kiddo level of cuteness in control. Linking up with... Sew Cute Thursdays at Between U and Me Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple Thrifty Thursday at Saved By Love Creations Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty 101

A Parents Heart © Ann T. Tran When you feel like breaking down or crashing in, Who do you turn to, to forgive your sin? When you cried your lonely tears, Who will be there to fight your fears? And when it feels like no one would understand, Who was there to hold your hand? There are people whom you can't replace, They’re the ones who gave you your face. They'll love you through thick and thin, They show you the light from deep within. And if by chance, you happen to die, They’ll be the ones who will really cry. You see, my friend, there's no one who can love you more, Then your very own parents, that's for sure. Always remember that this is true, That wherever you go, your parents will be there for you.

Set of accent pillows to add that special touch to the bedroom. Font is Twilight from 8 Claws and A Paw. Linking up with: Making the World Cuter

1. Would you rather be on ABC's Extreme Home MakeOver or TLC's What not to Wear? Let's see... New home or clothes?  Definitely the new home!!!  Plus I adore Ty, and would love to meet him.  And a new house?  Sign me up! I would love to be on almost any HGTV show too.  I am not picky, LOL! 2. Do you have any tattoos?  Nope.  I have a thing against self-imposed pain.  I had a hard enough time getting my years pierced, LOL.  Though I have contemplated a small butterfly before, but wussed out before going through with it.  Plus, I couldn't see spending $80 on something that would be a painful experience. 3. Do you tell your kids about things you did growing up?   Not really.  It is hard to tell a 16-month-old and a 3-week-old life stories, LOL.  I most likely will as they get older though. 4. If the traffic signal turns yellow, do you stop or speed up?   If I am far away enough to stop, I will stop.  I a...

We are EXPECTING AGAIN! I know, I know, it's crazy isn't it? I can't believe it myself. I wasn't going to put it on here yet, but decided to make it official. I mean who would have guessed that we are expecting AGAIN!! Yup, it's official... We are expecting freezing temps today and AGAIN tomorrow!! Hopefully, we will not get more of this...

 Here is the completed Curtain Valance for Grandpa's room.  We used the tan and blue fabric Mom found at Fabric.com.  This is the same fabric I used for his Christmas Gift . . Here is a picture of the pillowcase. We are going to change out the fabric behind these doors and make a leg rest cover for his recliner. To create the valance, we did a 2" ruffle at the top, and 3.5" gap for the curtain rod, and then double stitched along the bottom of the rod space.  The red line is the top of the fabric where it is folded.  {The fabric above that is just extra fabric I had the valance laid on top of for the photo.}