Coffee Anyone?- New Giveaway!!!!

• Okay so I'll let you in on a little secret. It is nearly 11:00 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving, I have 20 people coming over for dinner tomorrow, my house is a mess, not even a single pie has been baked and I just ran into my office to get the brining recipe for the turkey. Lucky for you I got side tracked by the computer!
  
  I say lucky for you 'cause I have an awesome giveaway to share with everyone. Here is where you should be imagining a drum roll.......
  
  The giveaway is for a Keurig Platinum Brewer! This brewer's features include 5 cup sizes (4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz, 10oz and 12 oz), a removable 60 oz. reservoir,fully programable features, blue backlit display, quiet brew technology and an award winning design. Keurig Brewers use single use K-Cups to brew some of the best coffee I have ever had. There is also reusable k-cup filter basket available for purchase in case you have a specific type of coffee not available in single use K-cups.
  
  Although I love to cook making coffe has never been a strong point for me. No matter what coffe pot, coffee or water I used it was never good. This meant that whenever Justin or I wanted coffee we would have to run out to our local coffe shop or wait until we were at work to get a cup. My coffee is so seriously bad that when we had some contractors siding our house in the middle of winter they kindly refused my coffee after just one cup. This is no longer a problem for me now that we have our own Keurig Brewer because it is totally fool proof! Making coffe is as simple as filling the reservoir with water, turning one the machine so it heats, popping in a K-Cup and pressing a button. Within a minute a fresh cup of delicious coffee is not in my hot little hands! There are many different types of coffee, tea and hot chocolate that you can choose from including Fair Trade coffee on Keurig's website or you can purchase your K-cups wherever the Brewers are sold. I am able to pruchase them at Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, B.J.'s and some of the better food stores in my area.
  
  Looking for details on how to win your own Keurig Platinum Brewer along with an 18 K-cup variety? You have two chances to win.



• Go to Keurig's website, check out all of their different coffee, tea and hot chocolate and then post a comment about what you would like to try first if you win the brewer. Make sure to use a sepcific coffee, tea or hot chocolate name so I know that you went to the site!



• Receive a second entry by blogging about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to me and a second comment letting me know you did so.

It is seriously that easy! Please make sure to include your email address so I can reach you if you win. This contest ends Wednesday, December 3, 2008. The winner has 3 days to contact me. If he/she doesn't I will randomly select a different winner.

Good luck to everyone and have a great holiday season! Now it is seriously time to brine a turkey!

Just Want To Read To My Kid

One of my favorite "surprise rides" to take Madison on is a trip to the library. It is nearby, we get to spend some quiet time together and it is free (provided I actually return my books on time). Lately however I feel like our library trips are becoming more and more of a hastle. There are tons of books and the library has a wonderful summer program designed for children of all ages but..... since when do libraries need to be filled with toys??? To me the library is a place you take a child for some quiet time and to help develop not only their reading skills but hopefully also a love for books. Over the past year and a half it seems like every time we go there are more and more toys to distract little ones from actually looking at a single book. It seems like the library is also becoming the new hangout for stay at home moms who would rather sip on coffee and gossip rather than read to their child(ren). Honestly while I'm on the topic of what should and shouldn't be in a library does it really need a Dunkin' Donuts inside of it?
I know that I am ranting and probably making no sense at all. It's just that every time we go to the library lately I end up getting completely flustered and find myself starting to go less and less. Our typical trip to the library starts with me loading Madison into the car and occasionally letting her in on where we are going. She is so excited and tells me she can't wait to pick out some books and how she'll be a good listener. We arrive and I slyly distract Madison so she doesn't see the huge Dunkin' Donuts right at the entrance. We then pick out a book or two for me first (so far so good) and then head to the children's section. No matter what time of day we attempt this there are always 3-4 moms sipping on some sort of coffee concoction chatting about one thing or another while their kids run around screaming and playing with a huge amount of toys that would put Toys 'R Us to shame. No books to be seen in any little hands. This is not to say that there are no other moms trying to use a library for what is meant to be used for but we are generally out numbreed. I try to get Madison interested in different books but there is no book in the world that is more interesting to a 3 year old than a bunch of kids and new toys. Within minutes she is off and playing completely ignoring me and my desire to read to her. I quickly select a few books that I know she'll enjoy at home and then try to round her up. By now she has spotted at least one donut or juice and has informed me how hungry/thirsty she is (to the point of seeming to be starved). It takes another 20 minutes or so to actually get her out of the library and back to the car many times resulting in her/I or both of us having a temper tantrum. Either way it is not a pretty sight. Once we finally get loaded into the car I'm usually completely drained and left wondering why I insist on doing this to myself. I guess my question to anyone who cares to respond is am I in the right for wanting the library to be what it once was or should I just get over it and join in with the other mommies leaving story time for home? What are your thoughts. Can;t wait to hear your comments.

Tracy