And the Un-Birthday gift goes to....

Because there wasn't a whole lot of entries in the Un-Birthday giveaway, I went and did a double-randomization drawing whereby I first printed out a list of the entrants:

Then, I snipped the names into strips and tossed them into a heap. Without looking, I drew out names one by one and numbered them by the order in which I drew them out:

Oddly enough, #10 remained #10...

Lastly, the fun geeky part, I went to Random.org and asked the site to choose a number between 1 and 10. It picked....(click to enlarge photo)

So, that meant the prize goes to...

Woohoo!! Sylvia Liu, come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right!!

Ooops, did I just let slip how much time I spent watching that show when I was growing up? I blame my mom who watched game shows to learn English (I was rather shocked at how many of the dirty jokes she understood on Match Game!), so I had to watch them with her. ;)

I'm glad these contributor's copies

that have been sitting in my file cabinet will go to a new home. Hope you'll like them, Sylvia!

Have I been promising to tell you about the Wild, Wild Midwest SCBWI Conference I attended that first weekend in May, which now seems like forever ago? I think I mentioned it was fabulous, didn't I? Well, it really was. I thought my head was going to explode with information, and new faces and names to memorize, and trying to fight off Morpheus, the powerful god of sleep.

Some of my favorite talks were given by the one and only Lin Oliver (co-founder of SCBWI), the incomparable Jane Yolen, and the uber talented Peter Brown, of whom I am now a huge fan-girl.

It was great to connect with old friends like Alina Klein, Kristi Valiant, Cindy Kump, and my lovely critique group partner, Jo Branham. And it was equally great to meet new friends like Sheralyn Barnes and Troy Cummings, who are both fabulous illustrators (you should check out Troy's new book, Giddy-Up, Daddy!), plus fellow 12x12'ers like Lori Mozdzierz, Susan Halko, Val McCammon, and Shannon Abercrombie!

There are some gems in those talks too...but I've still not gone through my notes yet, so can't share any interesting tidbits. Maybe next time?

Hope your week is a good one; I have grand plans for an extensive Spring cleaning. Woohoo.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Guess who'll be getting squeaky-clean?

The lucky winner of the soapy giveaway, of course!  Or not, because the winner might want to frame these or put them in the dresser to make clothes smell nice. ;)

I was going to post this first thing in the day, but we had a little excitement of the hypochondriac kind at the pediatrician's office.

Sooo, here's the break down. First, I print out all the names of the people who entered - however many times per the entry rules.

Then I cut them all up and fold them in half (the funny print on the back is because I reuse paper).

To do the drawing, I use the bag that our bedsheets came in, because, really, who can toss out a turquoise, organic cotton bag? It doesn't look turquoise in bright sunlight though...

I shake up the contents and enlist my younger son's help in drawing a name. See? The bag is turquoise. ;) And, yes, that is my finger getting in the camera's way at the lower right. I also cut people's heads off when I take photos. Annie Lebowitz I ain't.

And the winner is.....

Guess I should have changed my heading to "Guess who'll be getting squid-y clean?" Heh heh.

Squid, this is your lucky day! By the way, Squid's blog My Kids Eat Squid is a really fun one to visit. :)

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest! Wish we had soaps to give to all of you. Be sure to check out Soap Sudsations' site - she has a soap for every occasion and you might just find one that you absolutely need to have!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

And the award goes to....

Since the Academy won't let us say "And the winner is..." anymore.  Oh, but this isn't the Oscars.

Sooo, today's The Day. I was supposed to spend the morning baking cookies, but instead worked on how to do the drawing for The Clean Giveaway.

I counted up all the entries: one for a comment, one for following Carrie on Twitter, one for Liking the Under The Willow Facebook page, one for each re-tweet of the giveaway. So here they are, the entries (and yes, I did get some butter on the paper...oops) - Jaime, Stace, Janet G, Michelle, Kathy x 6, Squid (for My Kids Eat Squid) x 3, KP x 4:

All cut up and ready to go in the bag:

Son2 helping me pull out a name:

And the winner is.....

Stace!! (I know you're all in awe of my fabulous iPhone photography.)

Since I know how to get a hold of Stace - I am a regular stalker of her blog - I'll go notify her now. It'll make her day; my presence has that effect on people. Hah.

Thank you to everyone who entered and played along, particularly Kathy who helped re-tweet this several times to her many followers. I urge you all to go try Carrie's products even if you didn't win!

And for those of you who are looking for a seriously hefty giveaway, check out:
http://www.theculinarylife.com/2011/win-a-le-creuset-deep-covered-saute-pan/

Have a great week!

BREAKING NEWS this just in: Stace has generously donated her prize to Kathy in the spirit of the season and because she was seriously impressed by the number of entries Kathy had. Thank you, Stace!!!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

I got style - Kiss My Style, that is!

It's always fun to win something, but it's even more delightful when you get an extra cool gift on top of what you've won. I won a set of wine glass rings from the Kiss My Style blog giveaway, and look what I got!Not only is Meg (Kiss My Style shop) a super talented and crafty lady, and an all-around wonderful person, but she is extremely thoughtful as well. She remembered that I liked to knit and sent along a set of Knit Klips, which are going to be so very handy when I make my next sweater!! You can get a set of your own at her shop. :)

And here is the sweet, sweet wine charms set (check out the other adorable ones that she sells) ~
Thanks so much, Meg! What a wonderful way to start my week!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Heidi, you spoil me!!

I wasn't going to do 3 posts in one day, but I received the most wonderful package in the mail today (besides our seeds arriving from Johnny's and Territorial). The giveaway prize I won from Heidi's Soapaholics Anonymous blog arrived!

I thought I'd just won the (big!) bottle of infused oil, but lookee, Heidi also added 3 bars of soap and a packet of tea (yummy!). Remember I was just talking about the generosity of my soaper friends?! Heidi, I so adore you!! (ok, pardon my highly wrinkled table cloth)BTW, I'm using Heidi's Plain Jane Soap at my bathroom sink and her Lemongrass Soap by the kitchen sink. Mmmmm!

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~ Johann von Goethe

Autumn Equinox/Winter Blues Giveaway winner

Random.org saves the day again! Here's what it chose (click on image to get the larger view):The winner is #5! Congratulations, Teresa! OH WAIT, that's me!

Seeing how I was too stupid to refrain from posting a comment in my own giveaway, even after reminding myself specifically not to do it this time because I did it last time (I can't yell at my kids for not listening to me), I will make everyone work by pretending like I never posted a comment, and so the real number 5 commenter is...Heidi!!

Heidi, I'll be knocking on your e-mail door...

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

And the book goes to....

(drum roll; sound of envelope being opened - since there is no actual sound in the random integer generator being run at Random.org)

You need to click to enlarge the image in order to see the number chosen, but it is "2".

Soooo, Heather, come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price Is...Oh wait, that's not this contest. ;D

And to everyone: come back tomorrow when I announce the next My Vice Giveaway!

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)