How To End Christmas Gift Drama Before It Starts.

Hey guys, I am very excited. I interviewed one of my favorite people (my brother in law, Dave), about one of my favorite holiday products. Which happens to be free.

This might just change your life.
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Hey Dave, sorry this took so long to set up. Also, sorry my questions are so boring. Feel free to spice them up if you want!

Hmmm... spice them up. Should I sprinkle in suggestive pictures of myself after each question?

YES. Wait, no. My inlaws might read this.  

What is the Wishlist Factory?

WishlistFactory is a free website that lets you share wishlists with groups of people, such as your family, your in-laws, close friends, etc. It's great for any holiday or celebration and it makes keeping track of what gifts everyone wants easy. This can be especially helpful during Christmas, when it's hard to keep track of who wants what, and who has already bought a certain gift for someone so you don't end up buying the same thing (duplicate gifts are usually a bad thing, unless it's money). WishlistFactory keeps track of all that stuff for you.  

Why did you create it?

I originally made the website for my wife, who is very very into Christmas. You could even say it's an obsession, but you didn't hear it from me. She loved buying gifts for everyone, but this usually involved calling everyone to find out what they wanted, which resulted in answers like "Uhh... I don't know... a snuggie?". Even worse, she'd find out later that someone else already bought that person a snuggie! This made my wife unhappy, and when my wife is unhappy, guess who has to be unhappy? Me. Really I made the website for myself, but that sounds selfish, so the official answer is "to make the holidays a little easier on my wife".  

What are your favorite features?

There's a lot of features that make sharing gifts with others easier, but I particularly like being able to claim gifts, so other people know to think twice about putting their grubby mitts on a gift I'm giving someone. You can also print out shopping lists for people, so you can remember what someone wants when you go to the store. I also like being able to sort gifts by price when I'm feeling cheap. That's nice too.

Of course WishlistFactory has all those other necessary features, such as uploading pictures of gifts from your computer or the web. You can also include a link with a gift so you people know exactly where to buy it online. But these features really aren't worth mentioning.  

What is Surprise Protection?

Let's say you want someone to get some lingerie for your grandma, a spunky gal. You can add the lingerie to her wishlist and she won't be able to see that you added it. Your Grandpa checks her wishlist and excitedly buys the slinky surprise and marks it as Purchased on her wishlist. Now everyone know what she's getting, and your grandma's none the wiser. That's surprise protection.  

How about the Desire Meter?

The Desire Meter is a fun little slider bar that lets you tell everyone in your groups how badly you want a certain gift. For instance, my 16-year-old brother-in-law has 60 gifts on his wishlist. Normally, I wouldn't know what to get him, but luckily he set the desire meter to 10 out of 10 on some gifts, so I know which gifts will be a hit. Now if I can only think of a way to come up with three hundred bucks for a leather trenchcoat...

Adding a Gift

What if I find something not on Kurt's list? How do I make sure no one else buys the same thing?

You can add gifts to other people's wishlists, and they'll never be able to see the gift, even though they can add gifts to their own wishlists. Then, you can set the gift's status at any time. You have several choices from Purchased(I bought the gift), Claimed(I'm going to get the gift, don't even think about it!), Too Expensive(I'm a cheapskate), and much more. Other group members can see these statuses so they know what's up.

Some gifts, of course, shouldn't be shared, Helena. For instance, that prescription strength deodorant you were planning on getting Kurt would fall under this category. I wouldn't worry about anyone else getting that for him, except for those who hang out with you, naturally.  

What if I have multiple groups using it- my family, and Kurt's family? How does that work?

You can belong to multiple groups, so you can have one for your family, and one for your in-laws. Anyone in a group you belong to is allowed to look at your wishlists. I'm thinking about adding more options, such as Secret Wishlists that only people of your choosing can access, but I haven't implemented that yet. Once I do, I think people will feel a little more comfortable showing off gifts that they might not want their in-laws to see. You know what I'm talking about.

Yeah. I think we all do.

Thanks Dave, for sharing your masterpiece! Which you can all check out at wishlistfactory.com.

Happy Thanksgiving you guys! I hope this makes your holidays a little bit easier.






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Homeschooled kids are SO WEIRD.

When most people think about homeschooling, they think about this:


(or click here)

Am I right?

(although, with some of the stories I've shared on here, it might not be that far off target...)

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The deadline has been set, KURT.

As I left for the airport on Monday, my sweet, little, newly-Mormon Grandma pulled me close, and whispered in my ear:

"Next time you come, you should bring a baby with you."

Then she stared me down. My eyes widened in surprise.

"...Um, someday Grandma. But not yet."

"Well, just don't wait until you are 40. I've been thinking about it, and 40 is just too old for you to start having babies."

Well, I can't argue that one.

"Ok. Before I'm 40. I promise."

So that's it, Kurt. Your deadline is set. 14 years from now, we are having a baby.

OR ELSE.

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My Grandma got Baptized.

I stared at my sister through the computer screen, my jaw hanging open.

"What??"

"Yeah, you hadn't heard? It's next weekend, and she is really excited. She asked David to baptize her."

I hadn't heard. But this was awesome news.

My Grandma moved out to my Dad's house a few months ago. Yup, this grandma.

I knew she was going to church with them on Sundays, but I thought it was just for the social aspect.

I really didn't see it coming.

But I did see it happen.

Before joining my church, you have to sit down with the missionaries, and learn all about it. The history, the principles, the way it's organized, etc.

And then they quiz you on it.

"What is the Law of Chastity?"

My Grandma stared nervously at the young missionaries sitting across the table.

"Um...don't drink coffee?"

They looked uncomfortably at my dad. "Uh, no. It's...Well, Brother Kaiser, do you want to take this one?"

My dad leaned in and whispered loudly "It's sex Mom. SEX."

The 19 year old missionaries blushed bright red, desperately avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, right! No illiterate sex." She smiled proudly.

Yup. That's right. If you can't read, you won't be getting any from my Grandma.

Later, after they left, she realized what she had said.

"Oh, shoot! It's no pre-marital sex. Should we have them come back?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Mom. They knew what you meant."

She had asked David (who is 16) to baptize her, and my Dad helped. And they didn't drop her or anything.

(that was her main fear)

We all did something. Amber gave a talk, and Chantel and I gave the opening and closing prayers. Jimmy confirmed her, and Mike and Dave were witnesses.

And Annie? Annie helped her change out of her wet clothes, and blow dried her hair.

"Thank you Annie, for helping me."

"Of course Grandma! I wouldn't miss it."

"...But I know you just wanted to see me naked."

"Yup, you caught me...".

(I swear I'm not orange in real life)

My Grandma cried a lot that day, but they were tears of happiness. Her decision to join my church was a big one, and it meant a lot to my family. But I think it meant even more to her.

"I never knew." She told me. "I never did. Just wait until I get to tell your Grandpa."

I hope that conversation is still years in the future. We're not ready to say goodbye to her yet.

I Love you, Grandma Bea.


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Some Grandmas Knit and Bake...

A few months ago, my Grandma came out to live with my Dad.

I think it's been good for her.

She is so hardcore.

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Homeschooling: My side of the story.

Everybody has something they are afraid of. Kurt is afraid of debt. Chantel is afraid of feet (which is NOT my fault). I am afraid of spiders, guest posting, and people breaking into my apartment and peeing in my trash can.

My mother was afraid of homeschooling.

I was in third grade when we moved into a terrible school system. After exhausting every available option, mom realized that homeschooling was the only thing that made sense for our family.

And so she started teaching all four of us at home.

And then a few years later, when she had another baby? He joined in as well.

That's right. 5 kids, all home, all the time.

And It.Was.Awesome.

Back in the 90's, homeschooling was not exactly popular. Especially not with my grandmother.

Everybody worried constantly about, well, the same things that they worry about today:

"How will your children socialize?"

"How are you qualified to teach?"

"What about standardized testing?"

"Will they ever get into college?"

"Will they ever shower??" <---that one was mostly aimed at me.

"Will they end up living in a cave, afraid of human contact, only going out at night to drink the blood of stray bats?"



(....let's not talk about this one)

This was back before the internet. Before The Pioneer Woman. Before educational tools and curriculum were available at the click of your mouse.

Sometimes it was a struggle to get us to focus. Sometimes she would cry in frustration, and give up for the day. Or the week. Or even the month.

And yet, we turned out just fine.

More than fine. I'd say we turned out awesome.

When we weren't learning, we were helping each other learn. And when we weren't fighting, we were becoming best friends.

We are still best friends.

I'd say I turned out pretty normal (stop laughing).

Most people would never guess that I didn't spend my pre-adolescence dressing like a felony and picking on my classmates (or maybe hiding in the bathroom, praying the mean girls didn't find me).

I think it helps that I started showering regularly.

Most of us went to college. Most of us are married. All of us have good jobs. None of us have kids yet, but since we are all younger than 26, I'd say that's pretty normal.

Despite my Grandmother's dire predictions, all of us are happy.


(see?)

I guess the moral of this story is, not all homeschooled kids are weird.

Or maybe, if it's right for your family, go for it.



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This post was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Loralee, who recently decided to homeschool her son.
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Guess what I'm giving away? Here's a hint: Best. Mullet. Ever. (closed)

The flowy mullet, the incredible eye make-up, the tight, tight pants.

I am talking about my childhood dream hunk, David Bowie.


Obviously.

I used to dance around the house, singing the theme song to his greatest movie at the top of my lungs.

"Dance magic!" "Dance magic!" "Dance magic!" "Dance magic!!!"

Chantel and Amber knew to run when they heard this. I took the lyrics as instructions, and liked to incorporate them into my dance moves.

As Chantel mentioned in this post, my favorite babysitter introduced me to The Labyrinth at an early age.

It was creepy and weird and strangely seductive.

Everything a 6 year old could want in a movie.

(Fun fact: this movie came out in 1986, 1 year after I was born. But I didn't see it until 5 years later. Because my parents hate art.)

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Since it's October, the perfect month for creepy movies, I am going to do a giveaway.

Right now.

For this movie:



Or this version:



(you pick)

How to enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you love/hate about this movie. Or maybe a memory about watching it.

That's it.

.....Well, ok. I'll give you some more options.

For additional entries, follow me somewhere, or share this giveaway somehow. I'll leave those details up to you.

If you are entering multiple times, be sure and leave separate comments for each entry. That way I won't miss any.

This giveaway will end on Sunday, October 10, at midnight.

And it's open to US residents only (not because I'm a hater, but because I will be using my amazon super saver shipping, and I want that part to be free).

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We have a winner! thank you all for participating, and for having such sophisticated taste in movies and music.

To see who won this giveaway, and to check out my Goblin King inspired hairdo, check out the post And the winner is...


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And there wasn't even a tornado that time.

(I'm scheduling this post ahead of time, because today I'm heading over to Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom for an interview. Which you will not want to miss)

YES! The leaves are starting to change. Pretty soon there are going to be piles of crunchy leaves on the ground, just waiting to be raked up and jumped in.

(photo by michaelaw)

When I lived on the blueberry farm in Michigan, we had a really flat yard (except for the bomb shelter in the back), with a lot of trees. And our yard was HUGE. We're talking thousands and thousands of leaves.

I loved jumping in the piles. And then picking bits and pieces out of my hair for the next three days (I didn't shower very often back then).

(the yard was similar to this one, by mossholder)

You know what else we had? Giant wind storms. The kind that would knock the power out for a whole week.

This one time we had a crazy windstorm, and when we went outside the next day, all of our beautiful, crunchy leaves were gone.

We looked across the street, and our neighbors house was covered.

You couldn't even see the front windows.

It was the biggest pile we had ever seen.

We felt kind of bad, and thought about mentioning it to our parents...

...but then we realized that they would make us clean it up.

You guys, these weren't even our nice neighbors.

So we pretended we didn't notice.

(these are actual photographs from our childhood. We had an awesome camera.)

In that same crazy storm, the wind picked up our trampoline, and wrapped it around a tree.

No really, that happened.

It was pretty intense.

(David really liked soccer)

And there wasn't even a tornado that time.

It really did knock out our power for a week. My mom got pretty stressed out. But I didn't really mind. It's not like I would have showered anyway.

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I'm not sure what the moral of this story is. Maybe...go jump in some leaves? Or possibly... Chantel loves Cats.

What do you love about fall?

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I probably have hundreds of ghosts all up in my nose hair.

When I was little, somebody told me that if you didn't hold your breath when you passed by a cemetery, something bad would happen.

I assumed ghosts would fly in through your nose, because why else would it matter?



I told my sisters, and it became our favorite superstition. We never worried about black cats, ladders, or throwing salt over our shoulders. But whenever we drove by a cemetery, we made a point of holding our breath, and crossing our fingers.

(No, crossing your fingers wasn't part of the original superstition. But we figured it couldn't hurt.)

My dad caught on, and sometimes he would slow to a crawl when we drove by the tombstones. Our little faces would turn bright red, and we would start bouncing up and down anxiously.

Clearly, he had a terrible sense of humor.

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Sometimes when I had friends in the car, I would try to do it subtly. Not because I was embarrassed, but because there simply wasn't time to explain. I would slouch down in my seat, and quietly hold my breath.

"Why are you crossing your arms like that?"

Because crossing your fingers once is good luck, and twice is bad luck. Obviously. Since I wanted both hands involved, I needed to counter-act the bad luck by crossing my arms, too.

I would have explained, but my dad was slowing down again, and I had to focus on holding my breath.



By the time we were teenagers, we had it down to a science. If you saw headstones in the distance, you would nudge the person sitting next to you, and gesture with your eyes in an effort to keep dad from noticing. Then you would wait until the last possible second, and take a big gulp of air.

"I can see your eyes are crossed. Maybe I should slow down, and let you catch your breath."

Like I said, terrible sense of humor.

(yes, crossing our eyes WOULD have ruined it, but we crossed our legs, too.)

I haven't done this in years, mostly because trying to steer with your fingers, arms, eyes, and legs all crossed is a lot more difficult than it sounds.

Yeah. I probably have hundreds of ghosts all up in my nose hair.

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It's been years since I've thought about this superstition. Amber reminded me of it when she was here, and when I explained it to Kurt, he didn't seem surprised.

He probably already knew about it, actually, since I am so predictable (jerk).

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I don't really have any superstitions anymore. I check the doors before going to sleep, I glance in the back seat before getting in the car, and I try not to park next to big white vans when I'm at the grocery store. But those are just practical things.

Then again, most superstitions probably seem practical to the people who believe them.

For example: We've all heard stories of people who park next to big, windowless vans. They get dragged inside, and are never heard from again.

But a few hundred years ago if someone witnessed an abduction, and noticed a black cat watching from a nearby windowsill, they would have made the obvious connection.

Black cat = YOU WILL BE KIDNAPPED.

(It's how that one started. Probably.)



I wonder if anything we do right now will be considered a superstition by our grandchildren.

Things like....

....huh. I can't think of anything. Except for brushing your teeth and putting on deodorant. I'm not sure why those things came to mind right away. Maybe because I forgot both today?

Hopefully those don't go out of style.

I'll let you guys know if I think of any more.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go look up superstitions on the internet.

Do you have any favorites?

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And the Best Sister Award goes to....

Yes!!!

My sister came to visit!

(This sister)

I've been waiting and waiting for my family to come. I would watch my friends Nicole and Tiffany as their families flew in to stay with them again and again. And I was happy for them.

(Ok, that's a lie. I was jealous. Completely jealous. Like, I wanted to hit them over their heads with their trendy clothes and yummy recipes. I didn't though. BECAUSE I'M A GOOD FRIEND).

It's not that my family doesn't miss me (I think). It's just that they are busy, and they don't have a lot of extra money right now, and they prefer reading about my life to actually being in my life.

But then Amber called me one day and said "Dave and I want to come visit! How does next week sound?"

"Um, it sounds AWESOME."

And it was.

We saw the sights, ate yummy food, and made them sleep on the Foam (because we are terrible hosts).

(We took lots of pictures, but they are all on her camera, and she hasn't shared them yet. So for now, you'll have to use your imagination.)

She made me promise not to mention anything about her trip to you guys until after she got home. Something about security, and privacy, and not wanting creepy stalkers to know their house was empty and practically begging to get robbed (I'm paraphrasing).

We made desserts, and went on long walks, and laughed until we cried.

I really missed her.

Also, when I made the mistake of telling her about my exercise goal for the week, she made me stick to it. Because she is a jerk.

But I forgave her because the 30 Day Shred is so much more fun when you aren't the only one cussing out Jillian Michaels.


She and Dave stayed for 6 days, but I swear it felt more like 2. Time just flew.


And when I dropped them off at the airport yesterday (at 5:30am), I wasn't worried anymore. I know they will come back to visit. Because we are THAT MUCH FUN.

(And also? I stole a bunch of stuff out of her suitcase. That's right Amber- if you want it back, you can come and get it)

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I didn't know Skittles weren't chocolate until I got to college. I just figured they were brightly colored M&M's. THAT was a surprise...

My family didn't eat refined sugar when I was growing up. ever. Not even at birthday parties.

Turns out the sugar used in candy bars and marshmallow cereal is bad for you. And since diabetes runs in my family, my parents weren't taking any chances.

(this is my adorable little grandma, who has diabetes)

We practically lived at the health food store, and everyone thought we were crazy.

We were way ahead of our time.

I hated it. I mean, I loved being different, and this definitely made me stand out. But I hated missing out on the candy and chocolate and doughnuts that I saw at my friends houses.

I hated going to an ice cream shop, and being limited to the "sugar-free" options- usually just plain vanilla, or chocolate if we got lucky.

I hated that juicy fruit was never an option.

And I hated going trick-or-treating, and then giving all of my candy away.

So I would sneak it, every change I got.

(Why yes, I did identify with Claudia the most).

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At the bank, when I was sure my mom wasn't looking, I'd snag a fistful of DumDum's from the dish.

Was that a tootsie roll on the sidewalk? Score.

And that one time, when the mall Santa was in a real life-size gingerbread house? I took a bite. Out of the wall.

I wish I was kidding.

Late at night, when I was devising my elaborate candy schemes, I would think to myself "Someday, when I'm all grown up, I'm going to try everything."

And I did.

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Here are a few things I've learned:

Sugar headaches hurt.

One Oreo is never enough.

They aren't called "fireballs" because of their color...

And if there is a dessert table at the party, you know where to find me.

Yup, I've made up for lost time. But it's not really a good thing.

I have no control when it comes to sweet stuff. I don't know if it's the taste or the guilty thrill that makes it so delicious.

Unfortunately, every time I go sugar-crazy, I gain more weight. I'm starting to think the two are related...

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Kurt and I have talked about this a lot. And here is what I've we've decided.

I don't think I'm going to forbid my children to eat sugar (it becomes a million times more tempting when it's off limits), but I am going to monitor it, and make sure we eat it in moderation.

But first, I have to work on that for myself.

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How about you guys? Do you have a special diet, or know someone who does? How do you feel about it? I want to hear about your experiences.

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My Awesome Brother In Law (this might change your life)

Hey guys, Have you checked out my Sponsors? They are all there for a reason. BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME.

Do you see the one in the middle of the top row? Here, it looks like this:




That button leads to an awesome website, designed and run by my brother in law, Dave Hulihan (Amber's Husband).

I love it. It's called the Wishilist Factory, and it has made our birthdays and holidays SO much easier.

Here, I'll let him tell you all about it (and I'll even add more pictures, just for you guys).

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Hi, my name’s Dave, and I’m the owner and developer of WishlistFactory.com, a private wishlist website for friends and families. This website lets you create wishlists(for any event or person) that you can then share with a group of people.

A little background

I have a big family, and my wife’s family is also pretty big. As you can imagine, keeping track of what one individual person wants for their birthday or for Christmas can be a nightmare...

Growing up, I often received bizarre gifts like Volcano Documentaries, Oven Mitts, Socks, Thermometers, etc. Not bad gifts, but not always appropriate for a teenage boy. I think these were the result of people not actually knowing what I had on my wishlist.

Originally, I made this website for my wife, who loves Christmas and buys a ton of gifts for everyone. During the holiday season it can be tough to stay sane while keeping track of what people want and who has already bought a gift on someone’s wishlist. This website helps out with that.

WishlistFactory lets you create a wishlist for yourself or anyone else in your family, and you can create groups(like one for your family and one for your in-laws) of people that can then see that wishlist.

Surprise Protection is very important, the person who the wishlist is for must never know what other people are getting them!

Other people in the group can add gifts to anyone’s wishlist and change the status of the gift(if you bought the gift, you would mark the gift as Purchased and so on) so no one ever buys the same gift as someone else(which prevents awkward moments).

There’s a lot of other cool features on the website, so stop by and check them out. This is a free service, so create an account and try it out. Hopefully it will help with keeping your sanity when it comes to gift-giving.

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So here's the thing- this website has made holidays and birthdays so much easier. Especially since I moved across the country.

No more calling people over and over to say "Do you have any idea what to get this person?"

So go check it out. It's awesome.

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Thank goodness for sisters......and Cosmo.

A year ago tonight (the 8th of July) I was getting a pedicure. In my dads living room. As my feet were soaking in an inflatable pool of hot water, my fingernails were being carefully french-tipped.

"Stop fidgeting! I need to concentrate."

While Amber worked on my fingers, Chantel sat next to me and stared. Creepily.

"Are you nervous?"

"Um, yeah" I said quietly. "Like, a lot. Not about tomorrow, just, you know, about....tomorrow. I should go work on the signs. Or maybe we can go over the music again?"

"No!" They exclaimed together. Looking from one exasperated face to the other, I realized there was no way my sisters were going to let me leave that couch alive.

Sometimes its hard to remember that I'm the big sister. Amber is so much better at it than I am. Probably because she got married a few years before then, and once people are further along in their life stages, it's weird to think of them as younger.

Or maybe it's because she's taller.

"Helena, tonight is about relaxing. While your fingernails are drying, I'll get your bubble bath ready. That is, if I ever finish them. Stop fidgeting."

I rolled my eyes, but it was just for show. I knew they were right.

Chantel leaned back, and rephrased her question carefully. "So, are you excited?"

"I am. Of course. Except....Well...." I took a deep breath, and then blurted it out really fast: "I'm not sure I want to have sex! I mean, not tomorrow."

They stared at me, eyebrows raised. I leaned in and whispered:

"You guys, it's scheduled."

It was true. Tomorrow night, we were scheduled to do it. It had been penciled in (in dark green ink) and mailed to hundreds of people.

There was even a Facebook group devoted to the event! I mean, it was called something different, like "1+1=FOREVER" or something similarly awesome and facebook-group-worthy. But everyone knew what that meant.

WE ARE HAVING SEX ON THIS DATE. BRING PRESENTS.

As I slipped into the bubble bath a few minutes later, I made a vow to myself. I might not make him wait for days, but he could damn well wait until after the reception. No after-brunch quickies, or in-the-car hump fests. No way buddy. I waited 24 years for this night, and he had better make it romantic, or so help me...

I felt a lot better after that. In fact, I was kind of hoping he would try to get it on outside the Temple. I knew just what I would say.

I leaned back in the bubbles, and opened the Cosmo magazine sitting next to the tub.

....Huh. So many choices. Maybe that one, with the handstand? Or hey this one is only a level two difficulty...

(Warning: You aren't gonna want your kids to be staring over your shoulder for either of those. Or, you know, your boss)

So thank you Chantel, for keeping me company. And Amber, you knew just what to say. And Cosmo....what the heck are you doing in my wedding pictures?

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Blog Bash Post

Hi guys, I am participating in




To participate, click on that button and read the rules. It's pretty fun, and you get to answer a bunch of questions about yourself. And who doesn't like talking about themselves? It's why you blog. You know I'm right.


1.) Why do you blog?

I blog for a bunch of reasons.

Because I'm married, and that's what good wives do. Obviously.

Also because my sister in law reads my posts every day, and I don't want to let her down. Peer pressure doesn't end in highschool y'all.

And finally, because it keeps me sane. I suffer from depression, and there are days when blogging is the only thing that gets me out of bed.

2.) What do you blog about?

Myself (of course). But also my friends, family, husband, Pittsburgh, and any crafts I happen to make.

Reading my blog is like having a conversation with me. That's what my sisters tell me when they don't answer my calls.

"Didn't we talk yesterday...? Oh wait, no, I just read your blog. Same thing."

Jerks.

3.) What do you find to be the biggest reward you get from blogging?

Money.

(I wish)

Um, the biggest reward is....all the friends I have made. I love meeting new people, and some of my closest friends I've met through my blog.

4.) How long have you been blogging?

Since last August. Huh. That anniversary is coming up. Maybe I should plan something big...

5.) Let's hear the story behind your blog title! :)

My thought process was pretty simple: My life... In Pittsburgh...



And that's me. Here is a link to my favorite posts, and another to my FAQ page. If you want to get to know me, just start reading there.

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Chic Click

Hi, I'm Helena. And this is my blog.

I'm a 25 year old Newlywed (I think. We just had our 1 year anniversary, so we might be an old married couple now...).

We live in Pittsburgh. I started this blog to keep in touch with my family (who never answer their phones). And it got way out of control...

You will like my blog if: You are into laughing.

You will hate my blog if: You are my mother in law.

Here is a link to one of my favorite posts. And here is a link to ALL of my favorite posts.

And here is my favorite Peep of the Week! Tiffany, from The R Family Diaries. Her hot OB story cracked me up!

To find more awesome blogs, check out this widget. It can normally be found on my sidebar, but I'm putting it here, too, for your convenience.



You're welcome.

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Giveaway With My Sister! (closed) (I'm still mad at her)

You guys met Chantel this weekend when she guest posted about her foot phobia which I didn't cause. And then you got to meet her again yesterday, when she snuck back in my blog and posted all those awful pictures.

(I'm going to add a bunch of pictures to this post, to illustrate our relationship)

She is a terrible person.

And she is lucky it was her birthday.

Don't worry guys, I'm planning my revenge. But I'm going to be really, really nice to her until then. It will be creepier that way.

Let me tell you a few things about Chantel.

We don't actually call her Chantel very often. It's always Tel, or Tellie, or Tubby or Tubs. 

She is 22, and she looks like she is 14. Mostly because she is only 4'11" tall.

Chantel loves the arts. Acting, dancing, painting, writing. She loves doing it, and she loves when other people do it.

She has a new passion for blogging. And jewelry making.

We are so good at gang signs. My favorite is Annies.

And she loves her family. Especially me. Oh yeah, and her husband. And maybe our sister Amber.

She likes animals and small children. No, not to eat. (although she does look creepy that picture...)

She also loves Bath and Body Works. She has an extensive body splash collection, and more soap than she knows what to do with.

Today she is giving away this set of Bath and Body Works hand soaps. The scents are Tangerine Burst, Crisp Cucumber, and White Citrus. Beautiful.

You may be wondering why I agreed to host this giveaway. It's Stage 1 in Operation Be Incredibly Nice To My Future Victim.

This Giveaway is great if:

A. you like pretty smelling things, and

B. you wash your hands after using the bathroom.

I imagine that's most of you...

There are a few ways to enter. You can choose any, or all of them. The more times you enter, the better your odds of winning!

(be sure to leave a comment for each entry. That way we won't miss any)

Optional Entries:

1 Entry: Do you have any funny stories about your sisters? Or maybe you've heard funny stories from friends. Tell us about it in a comment!

1 Entry: Follow My Thoughts And Treasures (Chantel's blog)

1 Entry: Follow Life in the Pitts

1 Entry: "Like" the Life in the Pitts Facebook Page.

Up to 3 Entries: Promote this Giveaway. Tweet, blog, make it your facebook status, etc.

The winner will be contact through email. Or twitter, or their blog, or maybe smoke signal if email isn't provided. 

This Giveaway will close on Sunday the 4th, at Midnight, so be sure to enter before then!
 

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