And the winner is................

The winner of the Old El Paso  is comment number 2- Sprite's Keeper. Stop over and say hi to her! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

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Random Tuesday- How can this be?

I just had a birthday. They have this nasty habit of coming faster and faster each year. I turned 49 which in itself isn't freaking me out, it's the fact that next year I'll be 50. THAT is freaking me out. 50 just sounds so dang old. Even when I turned 40 50 sounded like old lady with a walker age, not really but kind of. The weird thing is that I don't feel old inside. I swear I still feel 28 or 32 or something and then I look into the mirror and BAM- Who's face is that??? UGHHH Hopefully buy the time next year rolls around I'll be more comfortable with the idea. Like I have a choice!

It also occurred to me this week that I am going to be a mother-in-law in 3 1/2 months. I know, I've known about the wedding for months but it just dawned on me about the mother-in-law title- a bit slow on the uptake but I catch on eventually. I hope I'm not going to be a stereotypical one!

I was working on a recipe for Coq au Vin this morning and set off the fire alarm. To show you where my priorities were, I finished photographing the flames for the recipe before calling the alarm company to call off the firemen. Priorities are important!  I'll post the recipe soon but admit it, the photo was worth capturing!

When my daughter got engaged, I bowed out of all my spring obligations in case we had lots of wedding stuff to do. The wedding is well under control, she is my daughter after all, and now I have some free time. It's been so long since I had any that I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I've cleaned almost every single cupboard, my storage room and most of the closets. I should be writing my novel in a month but I just can't seem to get started. I guess I'll figure out what to do next... Tomorrow.

Today, I'm working on a really cute baby sweater for a shower this coming weekend. I love knitting girl stuff. I got the Fan and Lace pattern for the bottom of the sweater done last night and now just have to finish the body.

I finished the hand part of the mittens I've been working on but can't decide on the pattern for the cuff. Once the sweater is done I'll figure out what I want to do.

OH MY GOSH!!!! I really am an old lady- I'm sitting here and talking about my knitting- CRAP!!!

Don't forget to enter to win the Old El Paso Tackle the Taste  Giveaway. Only one entry far,  so you have a great chance to win. Click Here to enter!

Have your own Random thoughts? Head on over to The Unmom and link up!!! You'll thank me later!

Spin Cycle- Cleaning and organizing!

I was over at Sprite's Keeper and her Spin Cycle this week is about the show Hoarders and cleaning and organizing. It got me thinking about how much I love to keep things around me organized. For instance, as you all know, I post a Monday's Household Assignment each week. I have no plan for them, I just post the tasks that I'm doing or have done that week myself. Organizing and cleaning just come naturally to me. I can't help it. I like things neat and tidy around me or I feel like my whole life is out of control. I keep my spices alphabetized, I love my labeler and have labels on all my linen closet shelves and shelves in other closets. I just like things to be organized.  The only exception to this is my desk which tend to gather a pile. Every two weeks, I muck it off and then it begins again.

After Christmas, I was so overwhelmed by all the Christmas decor that had been out, when I got it all put away, I didn't even take out all of the regular items to put back. My mantel usually has 5 candle holders, a couple of vases with grasses and stuff in them and a wooden box with seed balls on it. Right now it has one vase and 2 candle holders. I just needed super clean and pared down for a few weeks to recover. I find it soothing and calming. I  try not to be obsessive about it but it is just so dang nice  when everything is in its place. Do you like things organized or do you thrive with some chaos around you? Head over and join in on this weeks topic. 

Don't forget to enter the El Paso Giveaway that I have going this week. Click here to enter!

Monday's Household Assignments- Makeup does have an expiration date!

Last week I opened my medicine cabinet to get out everything to put my face on, when half of what was on the bottom shelf came tumbling out. Time to organize the mess. I took everything out and as I began to sort through everything, I came across some blue eye shadows and thought about how old some of my stuff was. Seriously, when you find baby blue Bonne Bell eyeshadow and you're over 16, you are long overdue for a cleaning out session!!

I got online and found that most of what I have is expired and should be thrown away. Here are the expiration dates I found.
Expiration dates — beginning from the time you first open these products

• Pressed powder cosmetics: face powder, blush and eyeshadow should be thrown out after one year. 
• Cream shadows: 12 to 18 months
• Liquid Foundation: 1 year if you use a sponge or applicator. If you use your finger ont he top of the bottle then 6 months
• Wand Applicator foundation- 6 months
• All Natural cosmetics should be discarded after 6 months because they do not contain any preservatives.
• Lipstick and lipliner: 1 year
• Mascara and eyeliners: 3 months - WHAT!!!!!
• Blue Eye Shadow- Throw away the 70's are over!
• If you get any kind of an eye infection, you should discard any eye makeup that you have used to prevent reinfecting yourself.
• Never Share Your Makeup!!!

Makeup brushes: Clean weekly using a mild detergent or shampoo
Makeup sponges: Replace weekly, or when sponge becomes soiled

When you use your makeup, you expose it to bacteria on your hands and face and this bacteria can grow and thrive in your makeup which really can be harmful, especially if used around your eyes.

Here's what I did:

I took everything out and if I couldn't remember when I bought it, I threw it away.  I then scrubbed the shelves, got a small plastic box to hold all of the small items and now, not only can I find everything, I'm not going to infect myself with bacteria and I won't be wearing any more blue eyeshadow! If only this would help with either the zits or the wrinkles that BOTH seem to be taking over my face. It's so unfair to still get zits when you are getting wrinkles at an alarming rate.
Have fun cleaning out your makeup!

Old El Paso Green Chilies and Tackle the Taste Giveaway!!!

The Superbowl is one month away on February 7th and have I got a fun giveaway for you.

I will choose one (1) of my readers to win a "Tackle the Taste” gift pack that includes two free cans of Green Chiles, a football-shaped ceramic chip and dip, a package of football-themed plates a package of matching cocktail napkins, and a football field table runner all provided and mailed directly to you by Old El Paso and Blog Sparks! 
They also sent one of these sets to me as a thank you! Of course one of my kids immediately put dibs on it and will be using it for their Super Bowl Party. It was so cute too!!

Even if you don't want to enter the giveaway, everyone can click HERE to download a $0.55 coupon good on one can of Old El Paso Green Chiles- that's a deal!

Here's how to enter: All entries must be in by January 15th so that, hopefully, you will be able to receive your gift pack by Superbowl Sunday! That's not in my control but the sooner the better, hence the one week deadline. 

Please make sure that you have your profile set to public! If you don't then I have no way of getting your email to tell you that you are a winner and get your mailing address to send off to Old El Paso. If you don't want to make yourself public, once you have entered, email me by clicking the link at the top of my page and let me know you are entering and give me your email that way. Thanks.

1. YOU MUST DO THIS FIRST or all other entries will be DELETED! Please let me know how you're going to use Old El Paso Green Chiles to spice up your favorite recipe(s)(1 entry)

BONUS ENTRIES

2. Follow Me on Blogger (1 entry) If you are a follower already, leave a separate post saying you already are a follower.

4. Follow ME on Twitter (1 entryAlready follow? Leave a post. I do check!!!

5. Leave a Tweet and the direct link to that tweet (1 entry) You can do this Daily!

6. FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES - Blog about this giveaway, including a link to my blog and come back and leave the link to your blog post. Once you have your post up- leave FIVE separate comments  here, that you've blogged about the giveaway.

7. FOR 3 EXTRA ENTRIES-Add my  BUTTON to your sidebar (leave 3 Separate comments here saying that you've done this)

8. Add Factwoman to your blogroll (using my URL), with a link back to me! (leave 1 comment here telling me you've done this)

 This giveaway is only open to U.S. entrants.

Many thanks to MyBlogSpark & Old El Paso for this Giveaway Opportunity!

No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited by law. I was provided a product or sample for this Review and Giveaway blah blah blah blah. 

Writer's Workshop Wednesday- My favorite books to read to children- and the most hated!

Kat over at Mama's Losin' It has some great prompt for Writer's Wednesday this week. Try it out. You just might like it!

2.) Book Review! What children’s book do/did you hate reading to your child?

     It's been many, many years since I read to my kids but I can still remember the ones that I hated to read aloud and the ones we all loved.
     I hated any book written by Dr. Seuss for the same reason that Kat hates Chicky Chick Chook Chook, the repetition.  His books were great to use once they just began to read because they could figure out what the next word would be but, they were awful to read aloud because they were so boring and repetitive. They were also without much of a plot or any good character development- Kidding! They were just boring as all get up and go to read over and over again. They made me grit my teeth and thankfully, these books somehow got hidden under my bed lost a lot!

     On the flip side, there were books that I read literally thousands of times and still love. Some of the books that I loved to read were: Goodnight Moon  and The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

I also love children's poetry and story collections like A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevensen and A.A. Milne's;Winnie the Pooh, The House At Pooh Corner,  Now We Are Six, and When We Were Very Young  My favorite is When We Were Very Young, especially the poem called, Disobedience- "James James Morrison Morrison Whetherby George Depree took great care of his mother though he was only three..." Bet your shocked at that. Amazon actualy has a great set with all 4 of these titles.






We also loved Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal and  Make Way for Ducklings.

If you weren't from New England, you may not have heard of these but you should get them.

Last but not least, my favorite book and my kids' favorite book, hands down, is a book called
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. 
It was given to us by my step uncle, who volunteers to this day at a preschool. I had never heard of the book until we received it, but it quickly became our must read book. After thousands of reading I'm still not tired of it.
     What are some of your favorites. most hated kids books?
It's freezing cold here today and I think after I finish my chores, I might just grab a book and read. I only wish I still had a little one at home to snuggle up with and read to! Man time flies!!!!

Random Tuesday- Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! Yes I am a bit late but this is truly the first day that I have had that is somewhat back to normal. We celebrated Christmas Eve on the 30th with all the kids home and then this Saturday my husband's family was having a get together at his brother's house. Everyone left on Sunday night and yesterday I spent the entire day taking Christmas down. I really need to cut back on what I put up. I still have to disassemble the village and take the outside lights down then it will all be put away. It took so long because I had to take everything out of the storage area and organize it before putting stuff back in there.

If you haven't done a Random Tuesday post yet, you should and this is the time to start. Head on over to The Unmom and link up a random post today!


I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to have all my kids home at the same time. It sounds strange but I don't realize how much I miss them until they get home. I sure wish the older ones lived closer. We had a blast hanging out and playing games. Mike, the fiancé, is a perfect fit not only for my daughter but for our family. God answered a lifetime of prayers in one amazing man!


We also got to meet Mike's parents. They came into town for a couple of days and stayed with us. It was such a fun time. We played games and just got to get to know each other. It's an interesting thing meeting people who will be playing such an integral part of your child's life, for the rest of their life. After meeting them, she's going to be in great hands.

The Olympics start in something like 36 days. I love the Olympics!!! I love the opening and closing ceremonies and all the different events. I must admit that I loke the winter Olympics much more than the summer ones. My older kids are going to run up to Vancouver and try to see a few events. Yep, I'm a little green over that!

I am going to have a nice slow start to the year. Because the wedding in is April, I said NO to every single thing for this spring and because they are doing almost all fo the planning themselves, I have some free time. I got a few new knitting books and some new yarn and am planning on doing a lot of knitting. I got the Magnificent Mittens & Socks book and am having so much fun. I'm knitting up a pair in Black and Hot Pink with some teal in the cuff. I'm on the second thumb and it's going pretty fast. I chose a really hard design but the mittens are really easy. You knit them from the top down eastern European style. Much faster and better than cuff up.

This is the style.

I'm thinking of holding some knitting classes for all my friends who don't kow how to knit. Anyone interested?

I've got to run and stage a house. I've missed everyone and can't wait to get all caught up on your blogs this week.

A shout out to my niece, Jenny! Love you!