Giveaway: Etsy Cuteness, 3 Winners! US/CAN, 07/31

I am so excited to introduce you to the cuteness behind three Etsy Shops; Sunshine Printables, Birds on a Line and SodaPop Designs.

The three ladies (and a husband) behind the shops would like to make three of you smile. Yes, you read that correctly, this giveaway will have three winners! Check out what could be yours (whether you win or not!).

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The first Etsy shop, Sunshine Printables is run by a West Coast Canadian. Here's some interesting information about Sasha...

I live in Port Moody, B.C. with my husband, 17 month old daughter Evey and our kitty Winston! I am a teacher and have honed my graphic design skills by sponsoring my school's yearbook program for several years. We are currently awaiting the arrival of our second child, and while on maternity leave with our first, I decided to take the plunge and open up my Etsy shop, Sunshine Printables.

I create customized birthday, bridal shower and wedding invitations, birth announcements and other printables for all of life's amazing moments! My clients choose a design listing and provide me with their photos and information and I customize a high resolution digital file for them to take to the printer of their choice (or I can also print and ship them).

Prize: Sasha is offering one of you a free custom invitation, birth announcement or holiday card (coming soon), that's a gift worth $15-18CDN!

Discount: From now until July 31, Sasha at Sunshine Printables is offering a 10% discount on any customized digital design in my shop with the code "ZOO2012".

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Birds on A Line Etsy shop should sound familiar as Sandy graciously sent me two "Zooized" luggage tags. I love monogrammed items! Read about what I had to say in The Zoo's Mailbox, June 26, 2012 and in Sandy's words below.

A great gift idea for the new couple, bridesmaids or as special gift for yourself. The set of two tags comes packaged in a little cello sleeve for easy gift-giving or add a little extra flair by attaching a tag to your shower gift. Our large, colorful and durable tags will make your bags stand out from the crowd!

I first started my Etsy shop with photo luggage tags featuring photos of your pets or kids but they were very time consuming to make. I started doing custom orders for friends and when one of them suggested the tags to attach to a tote bag for a destination wedding, I realized I really enjoyed creating designs and thought that the wedding tags would make a great personalized shower gift.

All of my items are made in-house by me so turn around is super fast! If you need a last minute gift that looks like you planned it for months, just let me know. I try to get all my orders out the door within 48 hours.

Prize: Sandy is offering the winner a choice of one product from their shop. If you pick a set of luggage tags, that's a gift worth $28!

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SodaPop Designs Etsy shop has also been mentioned at The Zoo as Dana kindly gifted me a lovely necklace (that Artemis has yet to share with me). Read all about what I had to say in The Zoo's Mailbox, June 26, 2012 and from the artist herself below.

Here at Sodapop Designs we are a husband and wife team. We are both teachers and have been married for almost a year. I am an elementary art teacher, while my husband is a high school gym teacher. We love working together on our designs.

The beautiful black and brown necklace that we've created for the winner measures 21 inches in length, the copper colored stone measures 1 inch. This is a beaded necklace with classic and elegant touches, the focal beads are separated by black seed beads and has a copper colored lobster clasp. This is the perfect necklace to wear for a night out on the town or can be worn with your favorite jeans.

Prize: Dana is offering the winner the necklace mentioned above, a $17 value!

Discount: From now until July 31, Dana at SodaPop Designs is offering a 10% discount on any item in their store with the code "JourneysofTheZoo".

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Winners: There will be three winners for this giveaway. One for each prize. Awesome, I know!

Eligibility: Open to the USA and Canada.

Duration: The contest will run from Tuesday, July 17 until Tuesday, July 31, 2012, inclusive.

Notes: Free shipping within the USA and Canada is included in each of the prizes (where applicable).

Entry Method: Rafflecopter Form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway was posted to Etsy Giveaways, By-Hand Giveaways and Blog Giveaway Directory.

Besos, The Zoo

What Happens When We Die and Other Questions?

I'm not talking about what happens to us when we die. That would be morbid and this is Monday so happy, happy.

As I was enjoying my weekly "Get out of Jail for One Hour" break (I went to Laz House of course!), I got to thinking (never a good sign and safest when done in the shower).

What would happen to my blog?

• Who would notify the winner? Or better yet, who would pick the winner?
• What about my Alexa rating?
• My multi-million dollar sponsors?
• Would you think that I had abandoned you (I hope you know that I wouldn't)?

And most importantly, where would you go to fill your daily quota of totally useless and mundane information of which my content is endless?

I started to feel verklempt. I was finding it difficult to drive through the pouring tears. The constant sweeping motion required to make my eyes useful was inhibiting my ability to drive. I was drowning in a puddle of salt water. I had to pull over.

Okay, seriously though, I was a bit concerned.

When I got home and shared my whoes with Ed, he set me straight. He assured me that all would continue on as it was without me.

I might as well just say good-bye now.

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So I call myself "PR Friendly" and as far as I'm concerned that means that I don't swear in writing on my blog. Swearing and using proper adult words for body parts are not the same thing. Right?

I'll let you be the judge.

The Kids are two and a half. We must talk about body parts 5,420,912 times a day.

The other day, we were talking about female body parts and Artemis looked down at her chest, back up at me and then down again. I asked her what she was thinking and she said "Moles".

Given her questionable genetics, yes, they might just end up as such. Poor girl.

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The Kids like to categorize people based on their gender. In order to do that, you need to know what's between a person's legs. We've taught them the proper words and they like to use them all.the.time with everyone.they.see.

I might just have the World Record for: Number of Times in one day that a person has stated "Yes, Bob the Builder is a Boy".

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So, did I need to word things such that I didn't use the proper names or should I just have come out and said "It"?

What do your Kids Say?

  Besos, The Zoo

11K Giveaway Bonanza, 8 Prizes ($300), US/CAN, 07/31

It's been almost two years but Young Mom's Deals has finally reached 11,000 Facebook Fans. Congratulations!

As a thank you to all her new and old fans alike, she has teamed up with some GREAT sponsors and fellow bloggers like Journeys of The Zoo to bring you this fantastic giveaway.

Prize: The eight prizes are listed below. Be sure to read the reviews of each product by clicking the links below their images.

>Mohawk Rug

SodaStream Genesis Starter Kit

>Toe Juice

Sound Beginnings

Waxelene (Petroleum Jelly Alternative)-2oz Jar

Picture Keeper P4

Pouchee Purse Organizer

Noxicare 3.5oz Cream + T-Shirt!

Eligibility: Open to the USA and Canada.

Duration: July 15, 2012 through July 31, 2012 at 12:01 AM EST.

Entry Method: Rafflecopter below.

RFF: I Pooped My Pants (But Not Yesterday)

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking:

At the ripe old age of four, everyone has an accident once in a while. Especially considering if it was on the day that you moved into your new house and your parents were neglecting you busy unloading and couldn't get you to the toilet on time. It happens.

Sure. But what if your parents shared this little piece of news with perspective mates and new friends?

Still okay?

Didn't think so.

Thankfully, there's therapy for those embarrassing moments (it kind of sounds like I'm about to launch into some advertisement about feminine products).

As part of my self-prescribed embarrassment therapy (of which I am a frequent client), I thought that I'd just shout it from the rooftops.

I POOPED MY PANTS!

There, I feel better now. Okay, not really.

In fact, not at all.

Did I just admit that "I Popped My Pants?"

I guess it could be worse.

I could have been talking about yesterday.

Get Caught up in the Series, it's Addictive!

8. I Tore my Knee Cartilage Highjumping.,
7. I got a Migraine to Avoid Ballet,
6. I Cut off all my Hair and gave it to Barbie,
5. I Got Kicked out of Brownies,
4. I Pooped My Pants,
3. I Almost Sold my Brother for 25 Cents,
2. I Was Adopted,
1. I Was Born.

  Besos, The Zoo

The Plan: Conquering Dog Overpopulation in Chiapas, Mexico

As I mentioned in my previous post, cultural and financial issues were inhibiting "our" ability to deal with the overpopulation of dogs in Chiapas, Mexico.

Let me start out by explaining who I'm talking about when I say "our".

Through a network of "friends of friends" a group of ten managed to find each other. Interestingly, there were only four foreigners in the bunch. We had all been trying to make a dent in the problem using our own limited resources. We found strength in numbers.

We got organized; appointed a president, created a mission statement (Education, Sterilization, Euthanization and Rescue -- in that order), met with the Mayor (this alone took several months) and received permission to set up a table in the zocalo for the purposes of educating the populace and selling some of our wares donated by local artisans.

One of the members got in touch with a friend in the USA and they in turn got in touch with a big American firm that provides *free sterilization clinics.

Ed is assisting with the neuter of Phoenix.

*They pay for the plane ticket and the vets wages. We were responsible for all other costs. The only additional fee was the cost of medication which turned out to be $7/animal. Considering local vets charge $150-200USD per sterilization, this was a deal! I would tell you the name of the "American firm" if I hadn't forgotten the name wasn't sworn to secrecy.

We coordinated over 50 volunteers, sponsors for food, accommodations, evening activities, transportation, facility rental, the list goes on. It was a big, well thought out and organized affair. Eight months in the making.

Bruce the Vet, a Canadian (small world) arrived in tow with a representative from "Humane Society International" in Washington, D.C, two vets from Monterrey (a two-day drive away) and some local vets.

The local vets came because Bruce offered to educate them in the quick, easy and less invasive (and in turn, less expensive) methods of sterilization.

It was a win-win-win.

We were ready to change the world.

You know the adage, "If you build it, they will come"? Translated into Spanish it reads, I'd love something for free as long as you're willing to do all the work and you...

CAN'T neuter my Male!

Yes, the culture is that macho. We could have all the females we wanted but we had to catch them and then care for them (for one week afterwards). At which time, we could return them to the streets their owners.

Our dedication to the cause remained unfaltered. We rounded up the poor souls and worked into the night.

Ed was fortunate enough to assist with Reina's sterilization surgery and I was there for her recovery. A unique opportunity that is not available in Canada.

I'm in the top left hand corner wearing pink. Perfect colour for the bleed and defecate everywhere recovery room.

When all was said and done, 134 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered over three days. Someone did the math and apparently, over 5 years, that one clinic alone prevented 144,000 new animals from being born. That's a lot of mutts.

The Mayor happened to be holding a recognition ceremony that week so we were all on hand to receive our certificates for "Bettering the City".

You can see Phoenix and I kneeling in the front of the top picture.

The clinic was a great start but if we wanted to have a long-term impact on overpopulation, we had to come up with sustainable and local ways to make a difference.

On to the next challenge... Money.

Besos, The Zoo