Stephany Writes

Categories: Holidays

Holiday Week: A Holiday Giveaway For You

This is my first-ever giveaway! I have wanted to do a giveaway on my blog for the longest time but have been so indecisive about what to get. My biggest worry is that everyone will think the items I’m giving away are lame and nobody will enter.

Well, I threw all that worry out the door as I headed to Target on Friday to look for fun things to put in a little holiday giveaway. It’s not anything exciting, but I had so much fun strolling through Target, throwing things in my cart that I think my lovely blog readers would like.

I recently hit 100 followers (through Friend Connect) which is such a huge milestone for me. I love every single one of you to bits and pieces, even the lurkers. (I have lurkers! How cool!) I blogged for so long with nobody reading or commenting that the fact that I can write a blog post and know people are reading and connecting with what I say? It’s amazing.

Here’s what you can win!

1 – Greenroom small notebook, made of 70% recycled material
2 – A three-pack of Uni-Ball Fusion pens in violet, pink, and blue
3 – Nicole by OPI nail polish, in “It’s Possible!”
4 – A sparkly headband

There are multiple ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment, telling me what you’re most looking forward to this Christmas. Only you can’t say “family” or “giving gifts.” Be creative! (1 entry)
2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment saying you do. (1 entry)
3. Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the tweet. (1 entry)
4. Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the post. (3 entries)
Giveaway closes on Sunday, December 26 at 7pm EST. Winner will be announced on Monday, December 27.

I bought all of these items with my own money, I have not been compensated by Target or any of the companies mentioned above.

photo credit

Categories: Holidays

Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A day of gorging, watching football, and being with family. It’s my favorite holiday of the year. My birthday is three days following it and it’s a kick-off to the holiday season. I can’t help but get swept up in the magic of the season and I turn into a five-year-old kid on Christmas Eve, anticipating what the next day will be like.

But Thanksgiving. A day of giving thanks. I haven’t missed the many posts floating around the blogosphere of people giving thanks. This year hasn’t been my favorite, but some great things have happened:

  • My mom survived getting hit by a car
  • My grandma finished chemotherapy and is now cancer-free
  • My nephew turned two and now says things like, “Nananny, I love you.”
  • I designed a spectacular 18-page magazine
  • I grew this blog and met some of my closest friends
  • I started running and have run four races this year. (I will have completed six by the end of 2010.)
  • I began a journey of self-discovery and have learned so much about the woman I am becoming

Some horrible things have happened:

  • My. Mom. Got. Hit. By. A. Car. (I still shudder when I think how worse this could have been.)
  • My grandma got cancer again
  • I ended my relationship with my father
  • I dealt with more anxiety and fear than I ever have in my life
  • I had major meltdowns while trying to deal with school stress

A lot happened. A lot didn’t happen. But I am thankful for a lot this year. I am thankful for my family and the outpouring of support I have received. I am thankful for the relationship I have with my mom. Our close relationship is something I treasure since I know many people don’t have this type of relationship. I am thankful for being an aunt because my nephew brings me more joy and happiness than I ever thought possible. I am thankful for the pushes and shoves I have gotten from family, professors, and God to be better than I ever thought I could be. I am thankful for God. For supporting me. For loving me when I know I can be extremely unlovable. For giving me tests and challenges, knowing I can handle them. And for always believing in me and always being there for me, even when I push Him away.

This blog is going to be silent until Tuesday as I spend time with my family and friends and visit Orlando for a fun mini-vacation. I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving? Tell me in the comments!

Categories: Holidays

A Wishlist

My birthday is in 11 days, but for the first time, I’m not excited about it. Maybe because it’s on a Sunday. Maybe because I don’t have any plans, aside from a fancy dinner whenever my brother is free. Maybe because I’m turning twenty-three and I’m sorry but twenty-three feels old. Really old. I feel perpetually sixteen. Maybe because this year hasn’t been all that exciting and I feel locked into fear and anxiety.

But I’m going to try to dredge up some birthday spirit because I am a girl who loves birthdays. My birthday, your birthday, my pet’s birthday…it’s always a special day! I’m also super excited about my birthday dinner because I chose The Melting Pot this year, a fondue restaurant that I haven’t been to in years. I’m already craving it!

Onto my wishlist! And since my birthday falls less than a month before Christmas, these are also things that worked their way onto my Christmas wishlist as well.

1. Nikon Coolpix S6000 14.2MP Digital Camera
As much as I would love a DSLR, I know I don’t have the patience or time to figure out all the fancy bells and whistles. All I want is a simple point & shoot to give me decent shots. Plus, I can’t see myself spending an insane amount of money on one of those cameras when I’m pretty much a pro at forgetting my camera at home. The camera I have now has some screwed-up settings, making my pictures either too light or too dark. I haven’t been able to fix it and with a sweet crack in the screen, it’s time to upgrade. (Plus, it’s only a 7MP! Oh, the horror!)
2. Microsoft VX-5000 LifeCam Webcam
 
I’m really jealous of bloggers Skype-ing with each other and I know I need a webcam soon or else! Sadly, I bought my computer for its cheap price and it didn’t include a webcam. I bought one earlier this year, but the picture quality was horrid. This one sounds like it should work much better! And it was not too expensive!
3. A Weekend Trip to Orlando
My mom asked me if I could do anything on my birthday, what would it be? I told her a weekend trip to Orlando. (Granted, a cruise would be nice. But it’s the end of the semester. I have too much homework! Ha!) My dream would be to leave on Friday, check into the hotel and go shopping, go to Aquatica on Saturday and Sea World on Sunday. The last time we went to Orlando, I had a sprained/broken ankle so the trip wasn’t much fun and we had to leave both theme parks early because of it. My fingers are crossed that my mom can get Saturday off work to go, but the chance is very slim. (Since she took off 8 weeks due to her broken elbow and has worked only half-days for the past month.)
4. A New Planner
 
Granted, I’m terrible at remembering to use my planner but it doesn’t stop me from eyeing new ones all the time. This one, in particular, is my favorite from Etsy shop, Red Star INK
5. Garmin Forerunner 110
 
I would really like to be one of the cool kids and have a Garmin. While I’m just running to run and not timing my distances yet (I’d like to be able to run 3 miles completely first!), I think it’s such a useful tool for runners. And I’m totally jealous of my mom, who has one. Again, I don’t need any bells and whistles, just a watch to measure my distance and time and heart rate.
6. Ribbon Board
The walls of my room are suspiciously bare. I’ve lived in this apartment for over a year and still haven’t put up any pictures or wall hangings or anything. I don’t know why but this just occurred to me a few months ago and now I’m trying to find ways to add a little color to my walls. I think this would be a fun way to do that, even if it is a little college dormitory.
7. Lululemon Mesh Headwrap
I don’t own any Lululemon products and actually just heard of the company in the past few months. I would love to just buy out their store because they have some cute stuff that I know would last and feel good during a run. And I found out they have an outlet store in Orlando. If #3 works out, there is definitely a trip there in my future!

I could probably add more to my list, such as a car or a job with Shape magazine, but I’m trying to keep it in the reality zone. Somewhat.

What’s on your wishlist this year?


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Categories: Holidays

USA! USA! USA!


The Fourth of July will go down as one of my Top Five Favorite Holidays. For one, I am a proud American. For another, I get chills when I see everyone coming together to celebrate our nation’s birthday, having BBQs and picnics, and settling in for awesome fireworks shows.

In some respects, the USA doesn’t have a lot going for it. Our economy sucks, the cost of living is out of this world, we have way too many people than we know what to do with, we have no idea what to do with this immigration problem, we’re responsible for the largest oil spill in U.S. history, and we think it’s perfectly acceptable to bash the leader of our country. We’re lazy, inconsiderate, snobby, and ruthless. We always want what we can’t have and we’re never perfectly satisfied with what we’ve got. We have an obesity epidemic and an insane crime rate.

Yet I am proud to be called an American. I am proud to be a citizen of this amazing country. Our history may not be as vast and rich as other countries, but what we have done is just a little over 200 years is incredible. We have fought through the Depression, multiple world wars, presidents being murdered, terrorism attacks, recession, and slavery. Did we come here on the best terms? No. Have other nations had it worse and are still struggling more than we can ever imagine? Yes. But there is something in the American soul that breeds a conquering spirit. We are survivors, we will continue to be survivors, and we don’t need to depend on the president to do so. (My opinion on his job, and how people are reacting to him, is a whole ‘nother post.)

Our country has something for everyone. Not a fan of cold weather? Move to Florida, where we only dip into the 30’s a few weeks into the year. Love the mountains, skiing, and curling up by the fire? Move to Colorado or Virginia or Wisconsin. Love the hustle and bustle of city life? Move to NYC or Chicago. Want a more quiet, country life? We have those as well.

There are so many opportunities for advancement in this country. We have state-of-the-art schools and universities, some of the best medical centers in the world, and so many ways to make a difference. Yeah, we’re dealing with unemployment and people out of work, but I still have faith that we’re going to get through this and we’re going to get back on our feet.

We have sports. Boy, do we have sports! We are a sports-loving country, that’s for sure. We love to rally around our U.S.A. teams during the Olympics and World Cup. We have the best sport in the history of sports: football. (Real, tough, knock-you-down football.) You can’t walk too far without seeing someone wearing sports paraphernalia.

There is so much to do in this great country. There is so much to see. You could travel for ages and never really uncover everything the U.S.A. has to offer. Our country may not be the biggest in the world, but it is packed with tourist destinations, beaches, shopping malls, parks, sports stadiums, museums, amusement parks, etc.

I love our country. My heart swells with pride whenever I see our flag. I get choked up hearing the National Anthem. My palms get sweaty whenever I see one of our military men, with everything I want to say to them, all the ways I want to thank them. I get annoyed when people bash our president because the lack of respect astounds me.

We are the U.S.A. We are survivors. We are conquerors. And we are going to rise above this recession, oil spill crisis, and healthcare dilemma to show the world that you can’t keep us down for very long.

Happy birthday, America.

Categories: Holidays

Another Successful Christmas

Warning: This post is heavy on the photo’s and heavy on materialism.

I always wake up Christmas Day with an excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. These past two days, it seems as if the night has just gone on and on and on. I mean, only days before Christmas does one look at the clock and think, “It’s only 3:30?” I love the excitement and anticipation I feel around Christmastime. I saw so many tweets and Facebook statuses downplaying the excitement of Christmas, and so many people who didn’t get into the spirit. I don’t understand this, since it’s never happened to me.

If I ever lose my childlike excitement over Christmas, I don’t know what I’d do.

Therefore, I bring you Christmas! My mom outdid herself this year! (And I didn’t do too shabby myself!)

Christmas came early with presents from the two girls I work with in my classroom:

A new planner from Stephani and portable scent-maker from Brittany. I love both presents a lot!
And then came the presents from my mom. Although I didn’t get the Snuggie I wanted, I did get some very important items that I would definitely forgo the Snuggie over!


The whole series of 86 Bloomberg Place by Melody Carlson! I read the first book and I was a little taken aback at how real this series was. I found it in the Christian section but it doesn’t fit the mold of any Christian chick-lit I’ve ever read. It’s honest, raw, and real and I can’t wait to read the first book over again and the other three books.


Lots o’ movies for me to watch! I asked for the Bourne Trilogy last year and didn’t get it. This year, I did it again and got the series! I watched the first movie with my mom last night and seriously just drooled over Matt Damon. The other two movies are seriously good with serious eye candy that I’m excited to drool over as well.

Oh, dear. I hoped. I prayed. I gave lots of hints. I even shook some packages. (OK, that’s a lie. I promise, Mom!) So I was extremely surprised and excited when I opened this gift. An iPod Touch? The one thing I wanted more than anything? I’m already addicted.


Enough about me. Let’s talk about my mom. Because she did pretty good in the gift department, if I do say so myself.


A beautiful, red crockpot from my brother. He actually “bought” her one when we were in middle school and she used that thing so much. I can’t wait for her to use it again, to come home and smell a beautiful meal cooking, and to taste some delicious food. (And anyone who has delicious, healthy crockpot recipes are obligated to comment!)


(Don’t be jealous of my awesome photography skills!) I got her this nutritional scale and it really should have been to the both of us, from Santa. I think I’ll use it just as much as she will. We’ve both been wishing for a scale, especially when we eat spaghetti. (How in the heck do you measure 2 ounces of noodles? Impossible, without a scale.) It has a whole bunch of awesome features that I can’t wait to try…er, my mom can’t wait to try.

Lastly, a gift my mom wasn’t expecting at all. A brand-new iPod. She has been using a piddly iPod Shuffle for the past 3 years. Sometime this year, she accidently dropped it in water and now it will barely hold a charge for longer than a day. So she constantly has to charge her iPod at night. And I thought she should upgrade to the Nano, since it would be so helpful with her running. And she deserves it!


Alas, don’t worry. Dutch did not suffer. Mom bought him a Miami Dolphins collar. I bought him a little jacket that he looks so handsome in. And he also got some delicious gourmet treats that he’s been devouring.


My mom and I also made way too many holiday treats. I’m so scared to step on a scale. On Wednesday, I made M&M cookies. On Christmas Eve, we made a gingerbread house. And Christmas, we made and decorated sugar cookies.

Our gingerbread house.


And our gingerbread house falling apart.


And our cookies. For once, we tried to make them look “too pretty to eat.” These are much better than how we usually decorate them. I’m being serious.