UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for joining!
I told you I’d do a giveaway, remember? And I keep most of my promises; this one was fun.
There is no reason for it otherwise – except that I like you and I like when you talk to me. So thank you. And enjoy.
To find a good gift for you, I went downtown to The Market House, which is an early-Meadville building with vendor space for makers and crafters. I like local flavor, so everything I chose was produced here, or at least in Pennsylvania. I bought four things I would be pleased to have. I hope you like them too. ❤
1. Happy Mug Coffee
My local people love Happy Mug. (If you’re local, I hope you join this giveaway. It would be fun to hand deliver to a friend.) This is 12 ounces of Guatemala coffee beans, roasted in Edinboro, PA, near me. I like the Renegade guy on the front and how grumpy-cool he looks, that’s why I bought this one. Roasted on 5/19/2022.
2. Skirted Soldier Tea
Twelve servings of hand-blended, loose-leaf artisan tea. This one is called Sailor’s Sunrise, with tropical fruity notes. Best served iced. The Skirted Soldier tea maker is headquartered in south central PA.
“Does not contain ammo”? Nice.
3. Wooden Sign
I thought it was great.
4. Pottery Bowl
This is a rough-made bowl, created by Froglegs Pottery, of which I cannot find even a whiff online. There were multiple lovely and whimsical and weird pieces by Froglegs in The Market House… I can only assume they are made by a very local artist who is shy. And scatterbrained. I love his or her lopsided, layered work. It would be a fun bowl to keep hair accessories in, or soap, or candy.
So here’s how we’re going to do it.
I’m going to choose two winners. The first gets three items, and the runner-up gets to pick either the coffee or the tea, their choice.
To join this giveaway, drop a comment below to tell me one thing about you that not many people know.
I’m not asking for deep personal secrets. RELAX, people. I’m talking about little things like your first kiss, a teenage mistake, a secret wish, small stuff like that. Wait, what? Okay, fine… Or the last thing you drank, or your favorite piece of clothing, or the next book you want to buy, or how you used to comb your hair when you were seventeen, or one of the baby names you liked but didn’t use, or the coolest place you visited long ago, or your dream job.
Anything you want. Easy as pie.
Enjoy!
This giveaway is open only to folks with a US mailing address. Sorry. Both winners will be chosen by random.org so I have someone to blame. Giveaway will be open one week, closing at midnight on Thursday, June 9.
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for joining!
When I was a kid, my dads pet name for me was ‘sis’.
My dad used to call me T-Bone when I was a little girl.
I wanted to use Allegra for a girl name but.. my husband’s neighbors had a dog named Allegra and we could hardly name a daughter after a dog, could we?! ????
And I wanted to name a girl Cecilia, since it’s a derivative of my name–but my husband liked Allegra.
my first born’s dad wanted to name him Ian…Ian was the name of my friend’s dog. NOPE
The last think I drank was a glass of homemade cold brew over ice, with caramel drizzle and a splash of french vanilla creamer. ????
How I combed my hair as a teenager?? The higher you could get the “puff” the better….
I always wanted to use the name George…but my husband was skeptical…now our 5th child (2yr) insists that his name is Georgie…so I got my George after all????
I dreamed of growing up and taking nurses’ training. That didn’t materialize so I love “doctoring” my children and reading all kinds of medical related books!
I love being organized! The reason most people don’t know it, is because my house rarely looks it!! I never have enough time to do it “perfectly”, so too often I let things slide:(
I hate to brush my teeth…it gives me the shivers. Don’t worry, I do still do it in spite of the discomfort.????
Passed a semi on crest of a hill and barely escaped being hit head on by a coming car!
My mother had a still-born baby sister named Edith. I was born on her birthday, November 26th, but my parents didn’t think about it until my birth certificate was finalized and they couldn’t change it. Otherwise, my name would be Edith! Instead, I have a younger cousin who was also born in November who is honored with bearing the name Edith.
For some odd reason as a teenager I chose ‘the troll’ as my signature on my text msgs. ????
I have fainted several times on long-haul flights. Not the funnest thing to happen to me=) Am also getting married in 70 days=)
I dream of vacationing to Ireland for our 5th anniversary this fall.
A week and a half ago we were blessed with a baby boy… and the part that most people don’t know… he had a knot in his cord.
I used to really squeamish n got light headed n sick on my stomach reading the 1st chapter of Your Pregnancy Week By Week. That abruptly changed for me n most people in my life would never guess it now cuz blood, caring for a deep cut, etc doesn’t phase me anymore.
Let’s see…
I wanted to use the name Joel for a son.
I am terribly insecure a lot of the time.
I failed my driver’s test the first time.
I scored multiple 99th percentile on standardized school tests.
I want to buy/read “Embodied.”
I am have no self control around chocolate chip cookies.
I loved the smoothies in Vietnam and Cambodia.
I wanted to use the name Joel for my son, also, and so I did. ????
Joel Christian was born in the van on the way to the hospital 23 years ago!! ♥️♥️
I love the name April but my last four have been boys, so tough luck.
Today is national donut day and I’m tempted to stop everywhere that offers free donuts and get myself some ????
I am currently attempting to potty train my almost 3-year-old. The last thing I did was start a load of laundry, and the last thing I drank was a strong cup of coffee.
My best antidepressant is lifting weights. But, it’s not something I can freely discuss with many Anabaptist women.????
I lift weights!!! And I used to be Anabaptist.
The last thing I drank was a large glass of iced meadow tea. I am somewhat of a perfectionist, yet I have a hard time attaining my high standards, so therefore my house doesn’t look it!????
I can identify! I don’t usually bother complaining to my mom and sisters anymore when my house is a mess because they say, “What are you talking about? What mess?” ????
When I was a young teen, hair “poofs” were all the rage, but my fine hair didn’t appreciate being asked to stand tall. So I used a plastic hair band to push it forward, and tons of hair spray to keep it poofy after I removed the hairband.????♀️ So much work for vanity’s sake.
Also, I fully intended to never get married, to travel the world, and to be a full time missionary. Three strikes…????
Minimalism inspires me! Getting rid of things feels so freeing.
The last thing I drank was a cup of coffee! Most people don’t know this as I’ve worked hard to overcome it but I’m naturally shy especially around people I don’t know! If I’m standing in corner in a crowd it’s because I’m trying to hide! ???? Baby names ohh quite a few but only because someone else took them ????
This is one of my two “must read” blogs, and this morning I decided I must go see Barbados before I die, and I have an obsession with safety and comfort which is not conducive to foreign travel.
We had our first daughter’s name picked out, then someone else took the name. So we changed it. With some difficulty:) Then that name got taken! Help! So we thought and thought and came up with another name. A week before she was born, that name got taken too. Blah! We had no energy and no ideas left at that point, so we decided to go with the name we had wanted in the first place:) Amy Brianna
It’s interesting how people and situations move and change. We haven’t seen the other Amy in many years…
I used to despise houseplants! Now, they make me so happy, and I keep wanting more????
Me too!
One thing in parenting that I haven’t second-guessed or changed my mind about is the names we chose. ???? In my worse moments I comfort myself that at least we did well there.
I get this. 🙂
I am almost 38 weeks pregnant…baby boy has the essentials except a name …we call him “Bob” since all our kids first pets where named Bob…the fish, the several cats that died or vanished….we need to buckle down and decide or at least pick a middle name that goes well with “Bob”……That 17 yr old hairsyle…slicked back, part in the middle , slight poof at the front.. classic for my age group then lol……now I wonder, would my husband notice if I tried my 17 yr old hair syle tomorrow?
I have tried my 17 yr old hairstyle (straight up from ears into large puff) and my husband did not like it! But I thought it made me look much younger????
My girls are fighting over two identical fishing rods and I’m stuffing my face with chips and salsa while reading this. The fishing rod dilemma and salsa inhalation may be slightly connected. ????
I always liked the name Gideon. We have 5 sons, no Gideon. Why? Because the Dad didn’t like that name. ????. Oh well, I didn’t like the name Clara. And we have 5 girls.
None is named Clara. ????
When I was in 4th grade, I sliced open the inside of my bottom lip and got 20 some stitches. No visible evidence on the outside, but there are lots of little pockets left on the inside. And that little “blip” you have in the middle? Mine is missing. Oh, and I’m missing a 12 year molar as well as all wisdom teeth. So my mouth is abnormal.
I want a book on all the weird places shopping carts have been abandoned. But the cheapest one I’ve found is $80. Tears.
This is very funny to me! Now I’m going to Google it and add it to my list. 🙂
This give-away looks everything happy!
I dreamed of visiting Switzerland ever since I was big enough to know anything about it but knew that was “unattainable” on my bucket list. The opportunity came & I went in 2017 and it was everything I imagined & more!
I am drinking a Celestial Seasonings herbal tea named Bengal Spice out of a mug that says Mama needs some coffee. Blue skies here in MN – it’s a lovely day!
Someday I want to write and publish a kid’s book, but even though I have taught many people to draw, I don’t particularly want to illustrate it.
I wish I could go to Switzerland.
I hadn’t been to the dentist for about six years, until I went this morning. It was as unpleasant as I remembered.
I would ALMOST rather give birth than go to the dentist. So traumatic! ????
As a little girl we lived in the North. There was a lovely marsh and a tiny floating island (that island was probably about 15 ft diameter and boasted a tree). It meandered its way around the pond in a few days time, depending upon the wind.
I ate almost a whole pan of pecan bars last week BY MYSELF. When one can’t normally eat baked goods because of a gluten & egg intolerance, its hard to have self control when you make something for yourself. ????
An unknown fact about me is that after finding your blog a couple years ago I binge read all your old posts. ???? I live by myself so there was no need to explain sudden laughter or wet eyes.
At 36 years old, I just listened to/read the Chronicles of Narnia and thoroughly enjoyed it!
What most people don’t know is l will attempt to hit a groundhog, opposum, etc. on the road while my husband will dodge to avoid hitting them! I call it righteous indignation because they ate my garden plants in the past! I’m a tender hearted person caring for injured animals generally and could never shoot an animal. ????
This morning I tried something new. My girls love anything coffee. And I love cold coffee drinks. Made cold brew coffee. Then blended coffee, milk, ice, avacado, vanilla, and maple syrup. So tasty n creamy!
Last drink I had was homemade iced coffee – taking sips in between customers going thru my register line at the grocery store.
Loved the personal touch from my dad years ago when I’d bring home my report card. A – awful; B – bad; C – careless; E – excellent; F – fine. He’d mix them all up – most of mine were awful and bad. His way of showing his love. ❤️
I have 2 irrational fears: getting shocked and being in a parking garage during an earthquake. I don’t generally do electricians work and neither do we live in an earthquake zone. ????
Just putting my little son Flint to bed at the moment. In about 10 weeks we are looking forward to another little boy joining our crew. We are excited to have two boys next to each other. Good buddies some day we hope!
I obviously would love to win as for the next few months I actually have a stateside address;) I loved choosing our children’s names and I still humbly think ours are the best;) I love too how their middle names show the progression of our lives from Pa to Alberta to China. And when we chose the name Cheyenne for our daughter I didn’t hear it anywhere in our circles but now I hear of many girls a bit younger with that name and I smugly think it’s because we started the trend;)
I do the same with Ezra’s name. It wasn’t even on the charts when we picked it but by the time we were looking for names for our next son (2 years later) it was near the top
A name I liked that my husband didnt agree on for our first son was Andre! probably to many of our ‘dutchified’ family would say it wrong! Our one car garage is to full of stuff to park our minivan inside!!
When I was a young girl in school, my classmates called me Queen Esther. I didn’t like it, but tried not to let them know. ????