Cue the music if my speech is too long. And then a giveaway.

Here it is. The promised blogiversary giveaway.

Yea! Clap clap clap! Woot-woo!

{{tap tap tap. Is this thing on??}}

Before we see what it is y'all are going to be cat-fighting for, I suppose I need to give my obligatory little rambling speech. When I have gone on too long, will someone please cue the music person?

Thanks.

I started this little blogging gig 3 years ago. Yes. Three years ago. Back when it wasn't the cool thing to do, and basically no one did it. I knew only 1 other person who had a blog, and it was my sister who was trying to keep us all updated on her husband's kidney transplant.

I started back in the day when if you wanted to change up your template, you had to do it old school style... by programing it. The"add a widget" thing was not there. The easily installed templates from other bloggers were not available. Whatever you had on your blog... you did by programming it in. It was hard... It was time consuming... and I loved it.

This here little blog saved my sanity. It occupied my time and helped me deal with the sorrow I felt that only a person who has moved across country, leaving behind their established world, would understand.

I have always written original material. Except for that one time that I pulled something from my archives to read. It was written when I was "private" and frankly, I thought it was dang funny. I know its quite popular to pull posts from your archives and re-post them (some bloggers do this multiple times with the same post...over and over) but I am not doing this little blogging gig for anyone but me. If I don't feel like writing, I don't. I write lots of stuff, and save it up for those writers block days. (Can I just add that I LOVE blogger's post ahead feature?? Wow. I can't toot that horn enough!)

Blogging really didn't come alive for me until my Prophet, President Hinckley died. I was blog hopping after his death, and ran across several posts that just touched me. Up until that point in time, I had never commented on a single blog. Never. I read a lot of blogs... I just never commented on them. I was unsure of how I felt letting people into my little world.

What a wonderful, marvelous (insert 10 more adjectives here) experience I had been missing out on. It's the commenting on each others blogs that makes this blogging gig so rewarding. It brings you together... sort of like... a community!?! I actually feel like I have friends-- out there in the big, bad world, and its blogging and commenting that have made that happen.

Blogging has enriched my life. I wish there had been something like this when Thing 1 & Thing 2 had been little. I will remember things from my 2 younger children's lives that I will never be able to recall from the older children's lives. I feel both happy and sad about that. Happy because I can record the minutia of my current daily life: the funny things my kids say, and the daily grind. I am sad because I can not, for the life of my, recall all of the funny things the older children did and said. The memories I have are just that...memories. Blogging makes it possible to re-live the events... over and over... and elicit the same emotions.

Some day my friends, this here little blog of mine will be my children's prize. I hope they cherish it. I hope it brings them comfort, makes them laugh and helps them realize they were loved. If nothing else I at least hope it makes them roll their eyes.

{{music playing in the background...}}

So, there it was. My blogiversary speech.

Now, without further adieu... lets get to the real reason you're here: FREE STUFF!!

You are entering (1 time please in the comments for this post) for a bunch of awesome stuff. Remember my last giveaway? Yeah. It was pretty sweet!

A new mug and some of my favorite Stevens Hot chocolate to go in the mug.
A pen & a new wanderlust travel journal-- but you can use it for all your stellar blog ideas (so you wont forget) --I must say that I am coveting this little journal- big time. Its actually pretty slick!

A set of note cards tied up all fancy with straw crap.

A fall smelling candle

A laugh metal thing-- just cause I think laughing is the best way to stay young. And it feels good to have a good belly laugh!

Chocolate covered Cinnamon bears! *for all my friends who can't get these where they live*

A relaxing piano CD from my friend Sher (it is so good!)

And, no giveaway is complete from the Motherboard without a book. I am not sure what book I will be sending along, but trust me. It will be good!

So. There you have it. My blogiversary giveaway.

Now Go.
Enter.
And, tell all your friends!