It sure is fun seeing everyone respond to my giveaway from yesterday.  Let’s see what you thing of today’s:

Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Macadamia Clusters from Costco.  These are to.die.for {seriously}.  I’ve had to fend the family off of them and I make no promises that whoever wins these will get an unopened package.  OK, not really but we don’t keep them in the house often because, well, really they don’t stay long when they come to visit.

As a side note, yes, they are also from Costco.  I promise that everything I give away won’t be from Costco but if you know me well you also know that we love Costco and not primarily for the ginormous quantities of food.  My office furniture, the girls’ bedroom sets, our couches, TV, entertainment stand, silverware, several pairs of my earrings…all from Costco.  Costco is about 2 things that resonate with me: quality & service.  Enough with the Costco commercial.

**Note**  I’m going to change things a little bit.  Please leave a SEPARATE comment on the BLOG for each entry.

Here’s how you enter (one entry for each item listed):

• Leave a comment below telling me where YOU like to shop
• “Like” my new Business Page on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter
• Share this post on Facebook
• Retweet this post on Twitter
• Subscribe to my email
• **Bonus 25 entries ** Refer a someone you know of with a real estate need to me

And now for the rules:

This giveaway ends at 9pm MT on Wednesday 12/08. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Must reside in the USA and be 18 years or older to enter.  Odds of winning depend on how many people enter but based on the current readership your odds are pretty good.

Here’s the first item:

These were the inspiration behind the give away idea (every time I see someone walk past these at Costco I’m compelled to tell them how amazing they are).  Matt gave me a pair for Christmas last year and they quickly became our favorites.  In fact, we promptly went back and bought a second set.  They are vacuum insulated AUTOSEAL travel mugs by Contigo.  Did you catch that AUTOSEAL part?  AKA – you can’t spill them unless you try!  As soon as your fingers release the button it quickly seals.  No more coffee stains on the passenger floor of my car!  Whoohoo!  The vacuum insulated keeps your beverage of choice hotter/colder longer.  Shown here in a beautiful Thompson’s Realty blue and attractive green. 

Here’s how you enter (one entry for each item listed):

• Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite hot beverage is
• “Like” my new Business Page on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter
• Share this post on Facebook
• Retweet this post on Twitter
• Subscribe to my email
• **Bonus 25 entries ** Refer a someone you know of with a real estate need to me

And now for the rules:

This giveaway ends at 9pm MT on Tuesday 12/07. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Must reside in the USA and be 18 years or older to enter.  Odds of winning depend on how many people enter but based on the current readership your odds are pretty good. 

Ninety eight years ago today Arizona officially became a state.  We were the last of the 48 contiguous states to be admitted to the union.  This is my favorite AZ history story:

Senator Henry Ashurst presided over the convention that adopted AZ’s state constitution and later became one of our first 2 Senators.  He used to tell on himself the story of his maiden speech in the U.S. Senate. “Mr. President,” he began, “The new baby state I represent has the greatest of potential. This state could become a paradise. We need only two things: water and lots of good people.” A gruff senior senator from New England interrupted, “If the Senator will pardon me for saying so, that’s all they need in Hell!”

Happy Statehood Day, AZ!

Yours Truly,

An AZ Native

Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!

Seriously, do agents not look at the pictures that they post in the MLS…or does someone think this is acceptable?

Happy weekend!

Some of you know the excitement that our family has had with my daughter, Courtney and her prize winning hamburger at Red Robin. Fast forward 2 years and I thought you’d enjoy an update and to know that Courtney (& her burger) will be featured in a cooking segment tomorrow on Fox 15′s Sonoran Living sometime between 9-10am.

Last fall Courtney re-entered a variation of her burger and made it to the top 50 nationally again earning another gift card and a spot in the cookbook that Red Robin is selling to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Here’s an article that ran this month in several community newspapers (North Gilbert Breeze, The Groves Report, & The View) as well as a couple of pictures.

If you’d like to hear the story from the beginning click: here

Thanks for sharing in our fun!

Cactus Jack Cristo

Ingredients:

Hamburger patty

Cornmeal jalapeño roll

Prickly Pear cactus jelly (can be found at AZ specialty shops or the airport or you can make some like we did — someone in your neighborhood is bound to have a prickly pear cactus if you don’t)

Jalapeños (julienned, battered and deep fried)

Pepper-jack cheese

Cilantro coleslaw (basically a good coleslaw with cilantro added)

To build:

The bun should be battered and fried (like a Monte Cristo). Spread jelly on both sides of the bun (Red Robin calls this coast-to-coast). Melt cheese on burger. Add fried jalapeños on top and cilantro coleslaw on the bottom.

Here’s a picture of Courtney’s burger when we built it at home:

Looking for some summer fun for the family?  Try out some of these great activities for free or next to it (click on the title for more detailed information):

• Harkins Theater’s Summer Movie Fun – family movies for all ages, 10 movies=$7, or $2 on the day of the movie.
• IMAX Summer Vacation Series– FREE family friendly movies at the E. Mesa IMAX Tues-Thurs 10:00am & 12:30pm.
• Berean Bookstore Summer Reading Program – ages 5-13 read 7 age appropriate books and earn a $5 gift card.
• Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays at the Heard Museam – Saturdays July 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2008 10:30am-3pm.
• Wild Wednesdays at the Tempe Historical Muesum – Wednesdays June 18-July 23, 2008 10am-4pm.
• ASU Art Museum’s 9th Annual Family Fun Day — Saturday July 14, 2007 10am–2pm.
• Chandler Children’s Summer Workshops — Saturdays June 14&28, July 19, August 2, 10am-12pm & 2-4pm.
• Flashlight Tours at the Desert Botanical Garden — Normal admission price, Thursdays and Saturdays May, June, July and August 7-9pm.

Enjoy!  If you know of any other fun activities feel free to pass them on and we’ll keep you updated!