Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Giveaway winners! (and our Mini-Vacation)

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I'm back from my mini-vacation at the beach! It was just two days and one night away, and it was relaxing at all, but I totally enjoyed the change of scenery. And what beautiful scenery it was! 

Oh, to be a child again!
All of us woke up at 5:30 in the morning to walk down to the beach and wet our feet in the sand. I wasn't really sure I would be able to rouse a sleeping 20 month old at that early hour, but all I had to do was lean over and whisper in her ear, "Baby, Mommy's going to the beach now. Do you want to come?" She sat up within 30 seconds, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and said, "Mommy. Beach. Water. Shoes. Come on. Let's go." And so, she got her shoes on and we played on the hammocks while Dadda freshened up. She walked all the way to the beach. A really looong walk, and when we got there, the look on her face was worth every minute of lost sleep! Mommy and Aimee splashed about in the waves, and when she had had enough, she said, "Mommy. Sleep. Mimi (milk). Let's go." I carried her back to our cottage, got her into some dry clothes and gave her a bottle, which she chugged down. Within minutes, she was back in the Land of Nod.
Have you seen a smile THIS pretty at 5:30AM?
The long walk to the beach
There at last!
Sandy toes...
Aimee had some wonderful (and new) experiences on this trip. She picked a mango from a mango tree, enjoyed running over manicured lawns, dug in the sand and played 'catch' with some other little girls. And the sights! She saw crocodiles, snakes and turtles, oh my! And while we were at the crocodile park, we also saw some beautiful, bright blue kingfishers and some gorgeous, colorful butterflies. She saw mallards, and little love birds, too. 
Aimee, my husband and I loved our little getaway, and we have decided that we are going to do this more often. Hooray! And speaking of 'Hooray', hooray for the winners of my first giveaway!

I had a fun time drawing the names, because I couldn't get the numbering to work on my Disqus system. I ended up having to do the whole thing manually. I had to copy the comments, format them, delete ineligible comments (unless Jill would like to win a copy of her own book! LOL), and then number them on an Excel spreadsheet. Then, I used Random.org to draw the winners, and they are -


Manu, from Manu's menu, who said, "Ahhh and I already like both The Harried Cook and Mad About Macarons on Facebook! ;-))))"
AND
Elisabeth, from Food and Thrift Finds, who said, "I popped over from Lizzy's blog. Your mousse pie looks beautiful, and light as feather...no doubt absolutely divine! Such a nice giveaway...will be checking her site out, and follow. I'm also following your blog...happy to say! Please visit my blog, and follow, if you'd like! 


CONGRATS, Manu & Elisabeth, and please email me at foofoofoodie(at)gmail(dot)com with your address, and I will pass that information on to Waverley books, so they can send you each a copy of Jill Colonna's best seller, Mad about Macarons
I finally got to do some baking today, and I am looking forward to sharing that with you soon. Tomorrow, perhaps? 
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27 comments:

Roxana GreenGirl said...

Congrats on your vacation, looks and sounds like lots of fun.
I knew you have a daughter few months older than mine, but boy, she's so beautiful and big. Aww, and that big smile!
She has long hair. You can probably make her pig tails. Aww, wish Tiffany had longer hair too. Her hair is a little over an inch long :(

Joyti said...

A smile like that at 5.30...no I haven't. What a gorgeous smile!
And it looks like you guys had a great time on the beach - how nice.

Galexicupcakes said...

Yr baby is super adorable!!

Maris Callahan said...

Congrats to the lucky winners! Glad you had a fun vacation!

Inside a British Mum's Kitchen said...

sounds like it was great fun - looks lovely and your daughter is just SO gorgeous! enjoy, enjoy!
Mary x

Manu said...

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot believe this!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooo HAPPY (can you tell??!!!!) that I am jumping up and down!!!! hahahaha  I've been dying to get a copy of Jill's book!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MARSHA!!! <3 <3 <3

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation even though it was a short one. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

Congrats to Manu and Elisabeth!

Sandras Easy Cooking said...

You little one is so so adorable..ahh yes being a child again!:) It looks like you had great time on your mini vacation! Congrats to both ladies on winning that wonderful book! 

Jill Colonna said...

Marsha, that mini vacation was such a wonderful experience that I'm sure it felt like you were away for longer. I loved reading about this - imagine seeing all these beautiful creatures - even love birds?  Fantastic.  Aimee at 5.30 am is just adorable.  
Poor you, going through everything manually; yes, it would have been so funny to have found myself with a winning copy LoL ;-) I was so flattered you wanted to do a Giveaway of the book - thank you.

Bravo to Manu and Elisabeth!

theharriedcook said...

Hi Roxana... Yes, my little girl is a little older than yours, I think. She'll be 21 months old come July. How old is Tiffany? Aimee's hair is really long. When I brush it out, it is close to waist length. I can do a LOT with it - from french braids, to pig tails to elaborate 'dos' :) haha :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Joyti! :) We did have a great time, and I agree with you about my baby's gorgeous smile :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Jackie!!!! :D

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Maris! :)

theharriedcook said...

It really was fun! :) Thank you for the sweet comment, Mary! :) And thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

I am SO happy for you! :D I almost feel like jumping up and down with you after reading your comment... I know what it feels like to not be able to find a book! I'm so glad you won this giveaway! :) Congrats, Manu! Hugs :)

theharriedcook said...

I did, Biren! :) We had a lot of fun :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Aww thanks, Sandra! We did have a lot of fun! :) Thanks for stopping by!

theharriedcook said...

Jill, I should be the one thanking you, and Waverley Books, for this wonderful giveaway!

The vacation really was wonderful, and most importantly, Aimee loved every minute of it! She loves animals and birds, and so this was a special treat for her. And yes, she really surprised me by being so cheery at 5:30A.M. I guess the beach brings out the best in people! :) Thanks again for everything! :) Hugs

elisabeth@foodandthriftfinds said...

Marsha-I just checked my twitter msgs. and found yours. I am oh, so, so, excited that I one...just cannot believe it. I won!...yeayyy! I won! I am sitting here, smiling to my self...talking to mysel...I won, I won!
Thank you so much, and thanks to Jill for her beautiful and generous offer...thank you Marsh, for being such a gracious hostess!
I'm so happy for you and your beautiful family...Aimee is a precious and adorable little girl with such beautiful long hair at such a young age...she looks so  happy on your beach vacation geteaway. What a lovely place to relax, and unwind:DDD
I did not check my e-mail yet, but when I do, I will reply back with my address...and I thank you from the bottom of my heart !
xoxo

theharriedcook said...

Congrats, Elisabeth! :) I am glad you won :) 

Thank you for your sweet words about my vacation... Yes, Aimee had a really wonderful time being at the beach :) Thanks, and again - congrats! :)

Lizzy said...

Sounds like the prefect get way!  Aimee is adorable!  And congrats to a couple of my favorite bloggers :)

Nami @ Just One Cookbook said...

She is SO CUTE!!!!  Oh yeah she has a happy smile.  ^_^ Looks like you all had a great vacation!  My son used to say Mimi for milk too.  My mom will come in 2 weeks and then I'll take a little break then...can't wait...but before that I have so much to do including cleaning the house! >_<  I'm glad you had a great time.

theharriedcook said...

Thanks, Lizzy :) It was a great getaway! :) 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Nami! I love baby talk :) So good to hear that you have a break coming up :) I hope the cleaning goes by quick :) Thanks for stopping by!

Roxana GreenGirl said...

 Tiffany is going to be 20 months next week. She rarely lets me brush her hair, well, to be honest I don't quite have what to brush :)) When she's in a good mood she brushes her little hair all by herself, or at least she pretends :))
Can't wait for her hair to grow so I can make pony tails or braids!

Rachel said...

Marsha, your daughter is beyond precious!  How beautiful and I'm so glad your family enjoyed the mini getaway.  My husband and I had a wonderful time on ours.  I wish we had mango trees to pick fruit from like you! 

theharriedcook said...

Thank you, Rachel! :) I am so glad you had a great time too... The mango trees were pretty fun! :) Thanks for stopping by...

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