The Official Heather Quarnstrom Blog

I just wanted to take a few quick minutes to wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July. (For those of you not in the US, have a happy weekend.)

We will be seeing firework in our town tonight, and in the neighboring town tomorrow night. We’ll see what the baby thinks about fireworks. His next oldest brother would cry hysterically when they went off and I spent the night in the van where it was just a touch quieter. We will also be going to a carnival tomorrow. The kids can barely stand the wait for any of it. Personally all the running around has me tired before we’ve even started.

I’ve been keeping busy with several web related projects, both my own and clients as well as working on getting my gift business programs up and running. I will admit that my writing has taken a back-seat again, but I do have it scheduled for next week if not sooner. (Yes, I’m not above using my sister-in-law being in town as an excuse….)

What are you all doing for the holiday (or weekend, for those that don’t celebrate)? Feel free to leave me a comment. I’d love to have some new ideas for things to do or ways to celebrate.

I hope everyone is doing well.
Have a great day!
Heather

I just ran across a great giveaway for moms with little ones at The Lil’ Mommy that Could. In celebration of her baby’s 5th birthday she has some great prizes lined up including: a nursing cover from Duck Duck Goose, two copies of Dream Baby CD, and a copy of Barenaked Lady’s Snacktime. There are hopes to add more to the prize list, but in my opinion, I’d be happy with any of the prizes.

Personally I am hoping for the nursing cover since my youngest learned a couple fun new games. The first is peek-a-boo while nursing in public. It’s played by ripping the cover off his head at any time. The other one, and this one is my favorite, is let’s flash the passers-by. This is played by him launching himself away to view what’s going on in the world around us. Surprise world!

Well, make sure to go on over and make sure to peruse the site after entering. It’s a great site with some funny posts about motherhood and the joys of children.

Well, better late than never, and it’s only a day, right?

What is my Tuesday Toot? That we finally got my grandparent’s house cleaned out yesterday. (Which is actually why this post is a day late.) We got the complete house cleaned out and emptied, including getting my aunt packed and moved (though she hadn’t even packed a single thing during the past year prior to the insane house clearing.) It was overwhelming and broke all of our hearts because we ran out of room in our own houses for many of my grandparents belongings. We ended up filling a full dumpster and the equivalent of a second dumpster. We just didn’t have room for everything, but we saved the most important and sentimental things. I’m still amazed at how much was accomplished in such a small amount of time.

I just thought I would take a moment to let you all know of another great contest that you can enter:

Contest Details:
Pink Lemonade Bags is giving away a beautiful bag to one lucky lady! The giveaway is being hosted by Notes From My Nest. To enter, visit http://notesfrommynest.blogspot.com/2008/06/week-of-june-23rd-july-2nd.html, for details. Deadline to enter is noon (EST), 7.2.08. Open to US residents only.

Make sure to check back soon for updates and information on the next contest that we are running!

Have a great day!
~ Heather

I just found a new blog meme thanks to a new Plurk friend. It’s called Saturday 9. Feel free to click the link to see what the current Saturday 9 are, if I haven’t already blogged about them.

In celebration of Father’s Day, this one is devoted to the4 topic of fathers.

1. How long since you have been with your dad?

It’s probably been about three months now. The last time I spent time with him was when he came down with my brother when my brother went out to prom with his then girlfriend. We got to hang out for quite a while that night, and I had a blast.

2. How many siblings share your dad?

I have two younger brothers and two younger sisters. My sister, amusingly enough is a day (ok, only 11 hours and some odd minutes) younger than my oldest son. Ok, go ahead and read that last sentence again. It will make sense eventually.

3. Will you see your dad tomorrow?

Nope. Unfortunately he lives too far away and I have to work my out-of-the-house job.

4. Do you give him gifts on Father’s Day?

Honestly I haven’t for years. Writing this makes me feel really guilty about that. I’ll probably get a card and send it to him Monday. It’s the thought, right? (Off to my corner now to berate myself for being a bad daughter….)

5. Have you ever had a tough time in your relationship with your father?

I had a worse relationship with him as a child. He was a more scary figure when it came to punishment. At the same time though, he was always there for me and a good friend. He helped me get through some rough family times with humor. Now our relationship more similar to friendship than father-daughter.

6. What was the last thing that you did with your dad?

Hung out with him while my brother and his then-girlfriend went to prom. Didn’t I already answer a question like this? LOL

7. Growing up, was your dad tough on you?

Yes, and no. Depended on what it was about. If it was something he felt strongly about, such as my choice of attire he would um…. strongly object. I felt that at 14 I could walk out of the house in a half top or a bandanna top, and he thought it wasn’t appropriate. Looking back, I must admit that I can see his point.

8. Are you close to your father?

Off and on. We are both so busy nowadays that it’s hard to connect. We used to talk once a week, but things have been so hectic that neither one of us have called the other in a while. I’d have to say it’s a good month when we connect every other week or so.

9. How long since you have spoke to him?

I talked to him a couple weeks ago on the phone. He called to let me know that my brother was going through a rough time. I really haven’t talked to him since then.

Well, that’s it for me. I hope everyone has a great Father’s Day!

Well, life exploded again… So, to make up for the delay — all my subscribers are winners! (To make up for the delayed drawing.)

You all win the free custom graphic as well as your choice of e-book from the previously listed contests. Please e-mail me at Heather@HeatherQuarnstrom.com with your choice of graphic type as well as which e-book you would like. (Quick tip - to see the e-book choices click on the contest category or word cloud word to see all contests listed.)

I will post more on everything later today.

Have a great day!
~ Heather

Just wanted to post a quick announcement about On Fairy Wings Designs huge sales going on right now.

Limited Time Sales:

• 3 custom banner sale - $15 (regularly $150 if purchased separately)
• Buy one get one free on hosting and advertising. (Plus all hosting clients get a free month for all referrals.
• Client referral special - 100 banner ad impressions on all sites for each client referred.

Please go to On Fairy Wings Designs for the specials listed above.

Pre-order specials:

• Word Cloud advertising will be $5.00/basic link. I am developing one for each of my sites, so if you are interested please let me know and I will tell you when they are live. As of now ALL words are open. Exclusive word links are available for $10.00. If you would like a list of sites that will be offering them or have any questions, please e-mail me.
• I am also developing sites that will have featured WAHMs with heavy promotion. Introductory pricing will be $15 for a month spot-light (regularly priced at $25) and will include a feature on your choice of site. It will include a picture, bio, and unlimited links to your sites. There is only one spot available per site per month. There will also be bargain spots available (up to 10 per month) for $5 for a month introductory pricing (regularly priced at $10.) Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Pre-order questions, inquiries and orders can be made by contacting me or leaving contact information in a comment below.

Have a great day!
~ Heather

I just wanted to add a couple quick notes on the subscriber contests.
Last updated: 05/25/2008

1. Drawings are held each Monday, barring any family complications. In the event of a drawing delay I will add some extra item(s) to the prize.)
2. You must subscribe to this site with a user account. Subscribing to feeds does not count, as it complicates the drawing process. Quick link to create an account can be found here. Why do I do it this way? Honestly to save time. If I had to jump around to all the different options that are available to this site it would become confusing and time consuming.
3. You must confirm your account via the e-mail confirmation sent. These are sent to prevent spam users and bots from registering. Any accounts not confirmed are deleted and will not be entered in the account. You have a full week to confirm your account before it is deleted, but you will miss out on all contests until confirmation takes place. Why do I do it this way? Users are not shown on my subscriber list until their account is confirmed. This helps to simplify the drawing process for me.
4. Only current subscribers are entered during the week. You do not need to post a comment or anything, just have your account validated. Easy peasy.
5. Prizes change weekly. Most prizes are available for purchase for those of you that didn’t win. Keep an eye out for how to purchase them, contact me, or comment asking for more info and it will be made available.
6. Each contest posted in addition to the weekly contest will have additional entry rules, details, etc. Please check the specific contest post for contest particulars. There is also a contest category that you are able to check that will list all contest related posts.
7. If anything changes at any point I will post here. I will update this specific post with details of the change, the date it was made, as well as the reason it was changed. Please feel free to bookmark this post to refer back to.

That’s about it for now. Any questions? Contact me or comment below.

Here is the new contest for the week. This one will be a little different than the others. (In case you are all a little e-booked out….)

The prize:

I will provide winners choice of a static banner, a blog or site header, or signature tag designed by me. (Courtesy of my design site at http://www.onfairywingsdesigns.com.)

To enter:

1. Create an account on this site. You must confirm your account as well with a valid e-mail address. This counts as one entry.
2. Comment on this post telling me which prize you would like and why. This counts as one entry.
3. Exchange links with this site. You can either link the blog name and URL, or contact Heather@HeatherQuarnstrom.com and I can send you a banner to use. (If requesting a banner, please specify the size you would like.) Comment this post or e-mail me with the page URL that I can find my link, and general area to look for it, to be counted. You may also comment or e-mail me the link you would like me to add. This counts as two entries.
4. Refer someone to this site and have them subscribe to the site. (Two fold on this one. You get another entry and they can enter the contest .) Your referral must e-mail me at Heather@HeatherQuarnstrom.com and tell me your user name on this site to qualify. This counts as one entry.

All entrants will be entered in the generator on Random.org once per entry and will be drawn randomly by the top result. To qualify you must remain a subscriber through at least the end of the drawing. (Though we hope you will remain longer. ) Drawing will be held next Monday with results posted the same day.

I just realized that the blog party was over last week. I just got so caught up in the fun that I didn’t want it to end, I guess.

What does this mean? I have to do a drawing for all Mommyfest Blog Party contests and announce the winners All winners will receive their prize(s) at the e-mail they used to comment.

(A HUGE thank you to Mommy Meryl — who has a GREAT site by the way, if you have a second, please visit it — for showing me the wonders of Random.org. This site is fantastic! You can put all the names in and it spits out a random one. I used their “List Generator” and added each name that qualified for an entry in. It then gives you a random listing of the names you entered. I chose the first name in each instance as the winner.)

Contests: (Can’t remember what each was for, or if you entered? Then click on the link for more details.)

50 Favorite Summertime Recipes E-Book (plus resell rights!):

And the winner is…. (drum roll, please….): Shannon

How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety from your Life E-Book:

And the winner is…. (drum roll, please….): Shalise

I will be sending your e-books to the e-mail that you listed with your post. If for some reason you don’t receive them, please let me know by commenting here.

For those of you that did not win and are interested in purchasing an e-book, you may either contact me, or keep an eye up for my follow up post on how to purchase them. (I am putting together an e-book site, but it’s still in development.)

Weekly Subscriber Contest:

101 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination

And the winner is…. (drum roll, please….): littleladybugdesigns

Please remember that I will have a weekly drawing for a prize EVERY SINGLE week, so make sure create an account as a subscriber to be entered.

Want to stay up to date on all contests we are currently offering. You can view all contest related posts by clicking on the Contest category on the right or by clicking here.