Little things...

One little thing that has been good for me lately is Swagbucks. Have you heard of it? You just register, use their search engine just like any other search engine when you are looking for stuff online, and get randomly rewarded with Swagbucks, which you can then redeem for gift certificates (from loads of places) and other swag. If there's a catch I haven't found it. They actually add up pretty quickly. I recommend it, it's a super easy way to get a little bonus from something you use every day. I have already 'earned' $20 in Amazon.ca gift certificates!


I used my gift certificates towards a new cookbook from the fantastic restaurant rebar in Victoria, B.C., which we visited when we were out on the west coast a few weeks ago. I found it kind of similar to another amazing restaurant in Toronto called Fresh. They are both vegetarian restaurants that serve simply amazing dishes that are inventive, full of flavour, super good for you, and so filling. Both are ranked MUST GO (according to me) if you are anywhere nearby. So on visiting rebar I knew I had to buy their cookbook... I can't wait until it comes. Yum!

Thanks for the encouraging words on Friday... I was having a rough day. I think sometimes I just need to let it out, have a good cry, and then I can get on with things. It is getting easier despite my feeling that it never would... but there are still rough spots.

I spent the weekend cooking which is totally my way of comforting myself when I'm feeling down... I made more pickled beets, two carrot-apple loaves and some carrot wheat muffins, four batches of pesto, froze a pile of prepared tomatoes, made a beet-greens and bocconcini pizza that was AMAZING (based on this recipe from Vegetarian Times), made an Indian Lentil Pilaf (one of our go-to meals for easy, yummy dinners)... all this mostly with stuff from our garden (carrots, beets & greens, basil, tomatoes).

And of course finished moving the furniture from the house painting which is finally done! Well... except he touched up our ceilings in a whole bunch of places with the wrong colour and sheen of white, which looks crappy... And then the regular vaccuuming and tidying that goes into every weekend. Busy.

We visited last night with our good friends and their 2.5 week old little girl... she has more hair and a stronger cry than she did a week ago when we saw her last! She is simply adorable. I sure hope it's our turn soon.

Okay. Now it's been a few days and of course there are some giveaways to catch up on! Here's a start:

For baby:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to JamTots at Organic Girl. Ends October 25th.
• Win a $75 gift certificate to Lola & Ben at {Natural} Mommie. Ends October 7th.
• Win a BabyBjorn Synergy Baby Carrier and bibs at Organic Girl! Ends October 15th.
• Win your choice of outfit from Kumquat at Piece of Me! Ends October 11th.
• Win a Hello Baby Gift Pack by All Things Jill from Trees and Tots at Canadian Natural Mama. Ends October 20th.
• This is a big one... win a City Jogger Micro Stroller from Country Moose Kids at Organic Girl! Ends October 19th.
• Win your choice of shirt from SnugFits at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends October 26th.
• Win a Mini Toy Wrangler at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends October 2nd.
• Win a Wet Happened? Wet Bag from Let's Go Strolling at The First Time Around. Ends October 9th.
• Win a 50-piece block set by Wonderworld (age 2+) from All Modern Baby at Babies Gotta Have It. But hurry, ends September 30th.
• Win a $30 gift certificate to the All Childrens Furniture store by CSN Stores at A Mom's Balancing Act! Ends October 12th.
• Win a set of Bummas cloth wipes at Mommy Loves Giveaways. Ends October 2nd.
  

For the ladies:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to GoJane (women's shoes, clothing and accessories) at All Ruby Cakes. Ends October 8th.
• Win a Bumblewee nursing top and bra at Organic Girl! Ends October 4th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $70 gift certificate to AllModern.com (furnishings & accessories for the home) at Traditionally Modern Designs. Ends October 5th.
• Win a Coffee Beanery Gift Set at Things Moms Like! Ends October 10th.
• Win a 1 pound box of Enstrom's Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee at Sweeps4Bloggers. Mmm. Ends October 4th.
• Win a Maple prize pack from Coombs Family Farm at Wishing Penny! Another mmm. Ends October 8th.
• Win a $55 gift certificate to CSN Mirrors at It's Trickey! Ends tomorrow, September 29th, so hurry!