CLOSED: CSN Giveaway

 

I love shopping at all of the CSN websites. A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a blog giveaway. Oh it is so fun shopping on someone elses dime.

CSN was generous enough to offer me a $35 gift code for one of my lucky readers.

Isn't that great! You can either buy yourself a present if you win or start your Christmas shopping. If your a savy shopper pick out an item that offers free shipping and it won't cost you a dime of your $35 prize.

Look what you can get if you win my giveaway!

Rachael Ray “Bubble & Brown” 2-Piece Stoneware Baker Set in Green - 51030

 

I can't believe these Rachel Ray Bakeware sets are under $35

Have you ever checked out CSN's contest page? They have some awesome giveaways of their own.

Giveaway Details

Do you want to win a CSN $35 gift code? Of course you do.

 Rules

Giveaway ends November 21st, 2010 11:59 pm eastern

Please follow these rules. They are pretty simple. I do not check every single comment. But when I pick a winner I go through your entries to see if you did what you were suppose to do.

Mandatory Entry

All other entries will be deleted if you do not do this first.

Answer this question: If you win will you be shopping for yourself or for a gift?

Please leave an email address with at least your first comment! I have no way to contact you if you win. I will pick another winner at my own discretion if there is no email address left.

Extra Entries

                                                               

Would you like more chances to win?

 Of course you do! Here is a few ways to get some more entries into this awesome giveaway!

1) Like my Times Are Tuff Facebook page earns you 4 extra entires. If you are nice enough to say hello when you do you get a bonus entry.

Make sure you come back and leave me a comment with your Facebook account name.

Please leave the word BONUS in that comment.

(That makes 5 entries all together for liking my page and leaving a comment )

2) Follow my Times Are Tuff Blog on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment letting me know. Two Extra entries. (Leave two comments)

3) Blog about my giveaway with a link back to my blog post earns you 5 extra entries. Leave 5 comments.

4) Follow Timesrrtuff on Twitter and tweet my giveaway. Leave me a comment with the link to your tweet. 2 extra entires

5) Daily tweets earn one extra entry each day. Come back each day and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

6) Sign up for email updates to my blog earns you 3 entries. There is a place on the right sidebar!

You must confirm your email subscription for this to count!

7) Enter my Wanchai Macaroni Grill Giveaway  earn 1 more entry ( November 14th, 2010)

8) Enter my Pillsbury Love The Pie Giveaway ( Ends November 17th, 2010 )  and earn 1 more entry 

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Disclosure: CSN Stores is allowing me to host this giveaway to help promote their products and website.No monetary compensation was received for this post.All opinions are my own.

Host a Hersey's Cookie Exchange Party

Last year I was lucky enough to be picked to host a Hersey's Cookie Exchange party. Product parties are all the rage and let me tell you I love to do them.

I was so excited to see that Hersey's was doing it again this year!

 Photo borrowed from the Hersey site.

Applications are being taken until November 15th 2010. 

Visit the Hersey Cookie Exchange Site and fill out an application!

Pillsbury Love The Pie Review and Giveaway

 Tell me do you love the pie? I love the pie that's for sure. I love eating the pie and I love making the pie. And making a pie with Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts makes baking a pie so much easier then rolling out your own pie crust. Something I have never been very good at.

This is apple season as most of you probably know. And I am very envious of those of you who live in a area where you can go visit an apple orchard, pick your own apples and then go home and bake a pie with the fresh apples. 

Here in Florida there are no apple orchards to be found. If you do live in apple country Taste of Home and Pillsbury have a great site where you can look for a local orchard event near your home. Go check out the map to find an event, plan a day of apple picking with your family and make some memories.

Take some pictures of you and your family making memories of picking the apples and then baking a pie and share it on the Love The Pie Facebook page.

 This past weekend I made some pie baking memories myself using Pillsbury Pie Crusts and I have to say my apple pie turned out awesome. I have an awesome collection of pie recipes but I decided to make the Perfect Apple pie recipe on the Pillsbury pie crust box.

Wow I was not disappointed. The pie turned out better then any other apple pie I have ever baked and my Pillsbury crust was a lovely golden brown.

I was a bit worried because I was out of aluminum foil and didn't figure that out until I was about to put the pie in the oven. Usually the edges of my pie crust get dark or even burn unless I wrap a band of aluminum foil around it as it bakes but take a look at this picture and tell me what you think..........

BEFORE

AFTER

So what do you think?? It looks purdy! and I didn't even have aluminum on it! WOW!

Now I have a couple of pie baking tips I want to share with you. First you know that little bit of lemon juice you always find in an apple pie recipe? Well when you are slicing up your apples pour the juice over the very first slices and toss. As you add more apple slices to the bowl toss the apples around. The lemon juice is what keeps your apples from turning brown. 

My second tip is use an egg wash on your pie crust and sprinkle with sugar all over the crust before you put it in the oven. That tiny bit of sweetness really makes the flavor of your pie crust come out and shine. Try it just once and I promise you will never back another pie with out adding that light dusting of sugar to the crust again.

Giveaway


Do you want to win a 

Pillsbury “Love the Pie” prize pack which includes a VIP coupon for a free sample of Pillsbury® Refrigerated Pie Crusts, a pie dish, and apple themed kitchen items. 

  Rules


Giveaway Open to US residents

Ends November 17th, 2010 11"59 PM eastern


Mandatory Entry

All other entries will be deleted if you do not do this first.


Tell me what your favorite flavor of pie is. It doesn't have to be apple.

Please leave an email address with at least your first comment! I have no way to contact you if you win. I will pick another winner at my own discretion if there is no email address left.

Extra Entries

                                                               

Would you like more chances to win?

1) Like my Times Are Tuff Facebook page and say hello when you do! earns you 5 extra entries. Come back and leave me a comment with your Facebook account name.

2) Follow my Times Are Tuff Blog on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment letting me know. Two Extra entries. (Leave two comments)

3) Blog about my giveaway with a link back to my blog post earns you 5 extra entries. Leave 5 comments.

4) Follow Timesrrtuff on Twitter and tweet my giveaway. Leave me a comment with the link to your tweet. 2 extra entires

5) Daily tweets earn one extra entry each day. Come back each day and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

6) Sign up for email updates to my blog earns you 3 entries. You must confirm your email subscription for this to count!

7) Enter my Wanchai Macaroni Grill Giveaway earn 1 more entry

 

Disclosure: Pillsbury provided me with the products, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

Decorating with CSN

I don't know if I mentioned this but we moved in August. It's the second move in three years. Like the title of my blog says Times Are Tough! But this last move was a good one. We moved from a small two bedroom duplex into a three bedroom two bath house. Oh my what a difference. There is so much more space in the new house. And it has a garage!!! Yea I know it pretty sad to get so excited over something like a garage but when you have been living cramped up with literally no storage space a garage can make such a difference.

I love the new house but the design of the kitchen is so weird. There is a big long wall that I am not sure what the empty space is for. It makes me think of a breakfast nook but the lay out of the dining area just doesn't make that seem like where a breakfast nook would go. So I told Mr TAT ( LOL get it Mr Times Are Tuff. It's a good thing he doesn't get on the internet to see that!) that we need some type of bar table. Not a bar as in drinking cause we don't drink but a bar that we can  add to the end of the kitchen counter.

I think I found the perfect set of barstools on the CSN website. Now to talk Mr. TAT into buying the Breakfast Kitchen Island set that goes with them. The wood grain and color matches my dining room table perfectly!

Keep an eye out for my up coming CSN giveaway!

Winner: Brilliant Lenses Cleaner

First off I want to say thank you to everyone who commented for a chance to win in my Brilliant Lenses giveaway. Those of you who play by the rules are very appreciated. Those of you who don't can expect to not win. The first winner did not follow my giveaway rules so I had to pick another winner. I am sure Judy is happy to hear that.

Please do not think you can just leave one comment or not do the mandatory entry and still win. Please do not kid yourself and think you only got caught because my giveaway did not have many comments. I happen to know for a fact even the bigger giveaway bloggers check to make sure the commenter who gets picked for their giveaways has followed the rules.

 

Congratulations Judy!

 

Wanchai Ferry Macaroni Grill Date Night Giveaway

Wanchai Ferry Macaroni Grill  Date Night  Party Pack Giveaway  Do you remember your first date with your husband? I'm sad to say I don't remember my first date with my husband. I really can't say that we had a date per say.  We were both very young. Not more then teenagers if you want to know the truth. We've been together almost thirty years so needless to say the old memory isn't what it used to be.  So when I had a chance to  try out these two great meals I thought it would be great to have a date night.  Well I had everything all planned out, cooked and ready to go but my husband had to work late and I was hungry. He wouldn't be home for hours and I didn't want dinner to dry out and get yucky. So what was I to do with all this food I made? I couldn't eat it all by myself! Well what I did do was invite my daughter and her husband over for dinner. And even though it didn't turn out to be a date night for my husband and I it did turn out to be a very nice dinner with some very good food. Oh and guess what? In all the confusion I forgot to take any pictures. It's too bad too. Both meals were very good. I didn't know for sure if I would like the Macaroni Grill Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta Meal because I am not a big basil fan so I was surprised that I loved it. As much as I loved that meal I have to tell you that I LOVED LOVED the Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken Meal.  And I have to tell you that my daughter was a bit leary of it because just a few nights earlier she had tried one of the big chain restaurants frozen meals for two in the same flavor and she did not like it at all. After tasting the Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken she couldn't believe how good it tasted and said it blew the other companies meal out the window and down the road.  So I am going to print out this coupon for $2.25 off any two packages of any flavor of Romanos Macaroni Grill OR Wanchai Ferry Dinner Kits and check out one of their other flavors. Company Product Information  Enjoy an Asian escape with Wanchai Ferry restaurant-inspired dishes by simply adding your own protein to delicious entrees like Cashew Chicken, Spicy Garlic Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. Or bring the romance of Italian cuisine to your kitchen with Macaroni Grill favorites such as Chicken Piccata and Angel Hair Pasta, Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta, Chicken Alfredo with Linguine, Garlic & Herb Chicken Penne, and Chicken Marsala with Linguine. So stay in and go all out!® Make your meal an experience by perhaps adding some ambiance with candles and flowers. For more information and dinner tips, visit WanchaiFerryAtHome.com and MacaroniGrillAtHome.com. And be sure to follow Macaroni Grill on Twitter and “Like” the Facebook page to keep up with all of the latest news on your Macaroni Grill favorites!  Giveaway Details Win a Wanchai Ferry Macaroni Grill Date Night Prize Pack The Date Night Prize Pack includes One Wanchai Ferry Dinner Kit One Macaroni Grill Dinner Kit and  a  $25 Visa Gift Card to help make your date night special. Open to US residents only Giveaway Ends: Sunday November 14th, 2010 at 11:59 pm, Eastern Mandatory Entry All other entries will be deleted if you do not do this first. 1) Go to the Wanchai Ferry website and come back here and tell me one of the other flavors you would like to try. Leave me a comment with an email address! Extra Entries                                                                 Would you like more chances to win? 2) Follow my Times Are Tuff Blog on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment letting me know. Two Extra entries. (Leave two comments) 3) Blog about my giveaway with a link back to my blog post earns you 5 extra entries. Leave 5 comments. 4) Follow Timesrrtuff on Twitter and tweet my giveaway. Leave me a comment with the link to your tweet. 2 extra entires 5) Daily tweets earn one extra entry each day. Come back each day and leave a comment with the link to your tweet. 6) Sign up for email updates to my blog earns you 3 entries. You must confirm your email subscription for this to count! 7) Like my Times Are Tuff Facebook pages earns you 5 extra entries. Come leave me a comment with your facebook account name. Disclosure: Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill supplied me with a free product, product information and a prize pack to share with my readers through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

Seatbelts Do Save Lives

First I want to say THANK YOU to the Florida State Trooper who told my husband on Friday night in Naples Florida "I am saving you $113 and probably saving your life." I am sure I butchered the quote but you get the point.

Twenty minutes after the State Trooper told my husband to buckle up this is what happened.

From this angle it doesn't look like too bad of a wreck but that is only because his Nissan pickup truck is apparently built to do just this in a high speed crash. My husband and his cousin are lucky to be alive. They hit a tree doing 80 miles an hour off I75 here in S.W Florida.

I believe my husband will always wear his seat belt NOW. Something he never did and if it wasn't for that State Trooper my husband would probably be dead right now and I wouldn't be sitting here writting this blog post.

So for all of you out there that think it is a pain in the ass to buckle up you should really reconsider the next time you get in your vehicle.

 

Apple-A-Day Contest Giveaway sponsored by Pillsbury and Taste of Home

We are home from the hospital and my little grand baby Addison is doing wonderful after her surgery. Thank you all for the kind words.

Keep an eye out for my new giveaways coming soon!

An Apple-A-Day  Contest Giveaway sponsored by Pillsbury and Taste of Home at Apple-a-Day-Giveaway will only be accepting entries until this Friday, October 15th.So hurry up for your chance to win.

You can enter for a chance to win a grand prize of $1,000. Each time you enter, you also have a chance at winning daily prizes.

My Granddaughter, Life and What is going on in Our Life

I have tried to keep this bog a bit impersonal but have realized that is crazy. How can I keep my private life separate and keep it real? There is no way to do that and be honest with my readers. I don't want to do that but I also don't want to constantly post about personal things. I will try to keep it brief unless I find that you all are interested. 

I haven't been posting much because I am out of town at the children's hospital in St Petersburg with my daughter. Her daughter Addison had open heart surgery on Wednesday. The surgery was planned. It was no surprise. We knew it was coming even before she was born. My granddaughter Addison was born with some serious heart defects and down's syndrome. We expected her to have surgery at the time of her birth but by some miracle the heart defects as bad as they were still allowed her to get enough oxygen and we were able to come home so she could get bigger and stronger before the surgery.

The surgery was to be done between the ages of 4 and six months. 

That time came this week. 

We were a wreck of course. But the surgery went well. Addison is a trouper!

Today it has been three days since the surgery and she is nursing, most of her tubes and Iv's have been taken out. She still has a chest tube but they will be taking it out today sometime.

 

Here she is the day after surgery. It is so amazing that she is doing so well and looks so good after open heart surgery. So many people have been praying for her. She is really blessed.

The doctors and nurses have been wonderful here at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg Florida.

And if it wasn't for the Ronald McDonald house and the help they have given us I would not have been able to come with my daughter and granddaughter to offer the support my daughter needed just by having her mother here with her. So please toss your change in the collection box the next time you visit your local McDonalds or buy a Happy Meal because part of the price of a Happy Meal goes to help the Ronald McDonald Houses all over the country. 

They have given us a room where we can sleep, shower and just regroup. They also supplied two meals a day at the house. I really hope and pray that you will never need the help the Ronald Mc Donald Houses offer but they are run totally on donations and every little bit helps. 

So needless to say the blog is on the back burner. I have some giveaways I will be posting after we get home and get settled back in.

Thank you!