Daily Haiku... 1

I decided to try and write one haiku a day. A sort of creative exercise to get me in the writer mode...

Here's my first.

Laughing and singing
My boys make my heart grow big
two-fold, three-fold, more.


What's a haiku you ask. You can read an explanation and samples here.

Want to try one. Go ahead... leave yours as a comment!

Mt. Everest A Go?

Is Mt. Everest in this kid's future? He loves to climb!

Lampshade RE-do!

Check out what I did yesterday! I re-covered a lamp shade! It was just a plain old white one before... nothing special and now it's totally pretty and shabby chic!

Here it is sitting on my desk.

Lilli Couture Baby Wipe Case- Product Review

Baby wipes are one of the essentials that every mom uses, sometimes well past the diaper stage, yet the cases we've got to carry them around in aren't always very pretty or fashionable. They serve their purpose and that's about it.

Lili Couture turns an ordinary baby wipe case into a chic, fashionable expression most mothers would love to see in their diaper bags or purses.

Lili Couture offers a wide assortment of styles for girls, boys, or in a neutral pallet. Even though I am a mommy to boys I chose the Bella case- a very girly style because I plan to keep it in my purse for quick cleanups. It came wrapped in tissue and ribbon and even includes baby wipes, ready to use!

Lili Couture is a mom created company that debuted its first line in 2007. Each case is handmade and expertly crafted. As a crafter myself I laid a hard eye onto my case looking for any major imperfections or glue lines and found none. I couldn't find any minor ones usually associated with hand crafted items either.

Besides their line of baby wipe cases Lili Couture also carries a line of nursery size containers perfect for baby's nursery. Both the travel and nursery style cases retail for $25. For a list of retailers or to shop online please pay a visit to Lili Couture.

Thank you to Lilli Couture and MomFuse for sending this review my way!

Dilmah Teas Review

Do you love a nice cup of hot tea, or perhaps a cold refreshing glass of sweet tea. I know I do, I always have so when I was approached to write a review for a tea company I'd never heard of I thought... "Why not?" I am very happy I did.

Dilmah Teas is the number one tea in ten countries and it recently entered the U.S. market. I received a box of an assortment of teas from Dilmah ranging from a gourmet tea called Dombagastalawa Estate, to Ceylon Green Tea. I made both hot tea and an entire pitcher of sweet tea using the teas they sent me, and I enjoyed every single glass. We drink a lot of tea in my house... correction I drink a lot of tea in my home... however when my husband tasted an ice cold glass or tea I made using their Somerset Estate gourmet tea he wanted more. I offered it to all my guests who've paid me a visit recently and each and every one of them remarked on how delicious and refreshing the tea was.

I was very happy to find Dilmah teas at my local grocer, you can find them on the east coast at Stop n’ Shop, Hannaford Supermarkets and Giant Foods, as well as online.

Wear Your Music Product Review

It's no secret that I love music and that my iPod (now iPhone) is with me at all times, like my camera. I've said a number of times that I'd be lost with out my iPod and that I listen to music when I write.

WearYourMusic.Org is a company that recycles guitar strings used by artists like: Avril Lavigne, Carrie Underwood, Brian Adams, John Mayer, James Hetfield of Metalica, Joan Jett and a ton others. Price for artists bracelets can get pricey ranging from $75 to $250 but would make an excellent gift for the die hard fan. Each artist bracelet is handcrafted and custom made to order. With each purchase of an artist bracelet you make "profits are donated to charities selected by the artists." How cool is that!

Wear Your Music.Org also has recycled guitar string bracelets in their fashion line that are perfect for the music enthusiast and come in an assortment of colors and will run you about $10. They are one size fits all and unisex you can wear them alone or stack them for a great look.
The bracelet they sent me was easy to wear and got me a lot of questions as to the design. It also made for a good talking point at a party I recently attended. I wear it pretty much 24-7 now and I think you would too!

I know I'm dreaming of a Justin Furstenfeld artist bracelt. Which artist would you choose?

En La Boca No!

We painted our kitchen this holiday weekend. On our way back from purchasing new curtains at Wal-Mart my son began to become fussy. None of the usual things that cheered him were working (pacifier, books, toys, juice..etc.) so I gave him a paint stirrer and it quieted him... much to my husband's chagrin!

Excuse the messy car... it was a LONG weekend!

What I've Learned About Myself on Facebook

You can learn a lot about yourself on Facebook. For instance just today I learned that I’m gorgeous because I hold the first position in the "Most Gorgeous Person Contest" among all my friends. (I only have 251 of them.) I’m also in sixth place among my friends in the “Kindest Person Contest”, and I come in at number thirty-one with respect to the “Most Lovable Person Contest”. I have no idea who comes up with this stuff but shessh! Thirty-first place for most lovable. I guess people don’t get that all warm and lovey feeling from me…. Punks! I suppose it's a good thing that I have WAY to much self confidence or that thirty-first place might have shattered me completely.

Today I also learned that I’m defined by the color ocean blue and from that color some quiz was able to discern this: Ocean blue: Just like the crashing waves, you can have random mood swings, and sometimes have a bit of an angry side to you. However most of the time you are full of life and completely energized. You most likely rock the world of others, and it's pretty hard NOT to notice you.

Aside from the poorly formed sentences… I sort of agree with this statement…sort of. So I’m a tad hormonal at times… sue me!

I have also learned that I’m most like the Sookie Stackhouse character on True Blood, and Charlotte from Sex in the City because “fairytales were made for you. You're optimistic, romantic, and perfectly put together.” I can honestly tell you that my husband might have created a monster when he gifted me with an Apple iPhone 3GS for my birthday. I mean now I can stay connected, and continually annoy my friends with stupid tweets about the dumb things I’m doing –potentially causing them to kick my ass out of that number one spot of gorgeousness.

There are a few things about social networking that I’ve noticed too. They are:

1. It sucks when you have to break up with someone… what happens to all those damn tagged photos and I’m not even going to go into the awkwardness of mutual pals, or what happens when the other person starts seeing someone new.


2. A quiz about teachers can set off one of your friends, friends causing a rant, about kids and freezers. Teen pregnancy, cutting and Little Debbie cakes. I’m serious – this totally happened to a friend of mine today – I left her page feeling the need for a drink – resulting in my sipping this pomegranate martini and writing while half drunk.
3. You might leave a comment on that same friend’s page- not really meaning to come off as less than nice which results in a fight. Also happened to me. Seriously stupid shit.
   
4. This is a good one. You can find people who knew you when you had a gap in your teeth, wore three pairs of socks, and sucked at pull ups. Who post pictures of you wearing those three socks with your keds, or when you sported that beehive to your junior high prom because you thought it made you look sophisticated and older...
5. You get to pretend you're in a Mafia or get hounded by invites to join someone's Mafia, receive and give little Strawberry Shortcake looking flowers with cute names like buttercup, or get a Fourth of July hot dog thrown at you. Or get to play Sorority Life with all of your sorority sisters, because the first time around obviously wasn't enough!
   

I can't help but wonder what I would be like as a teenager today. I mean I spend way too much time online as it is. I think if I were a teen today, I probably wouldn't be able to maintain the A average I had because I'd be making videos and posting them on YouTube like Fred. Only mine wouldn't be as cool or funny, and I'd be sporting something stupid like black jeans, white socks and penny loafers, Michel Jack style (lucky for me that phase didn't last too long - and the Internet was well... it wasn't-not really- way back in 1994. I'm also VERY grateful that none of my lovely friends who knew me when I rocked that look have posted pics of me... yet.

I also can't help but muse over what fun it's going to be watching my son weave his way through the intricate entity known as social networking. As it is he can find his way on to YouTube to watch Fred or Tech Deck vids and asked me to find Tony Hawk on on Twitter (which I totally did) because he wants to make a video asking Mr. Hawk if he can "teach him to skateboard and to do "fantastic, amazing tricks like a nollie." I don't exactly know what a nollie is but he sure as hell does.

So cheers to Social Networking sites like facebook, MySpace, and Twitter – I’d seriously don’t know where I’d be without them… probably a lot more productive and drunk!

Vibrators Win Over Marriage

I came across this article on Betty Confidential and had to throw my two cents in.

Apparently women in the U.S. are more "likely to own a vibrator than to own a husband." Yes vibrators are more common than husbands. I believe it. All my single friends bitch and complain about how hard it is to find a good decent man, they never wine about their vibrators though.

I also think that women who use vibrators are more in touch with what they want out of life (not just their sex life) and are going to be more choosy about the men they date and commit to. In any healthy marriage sex is going to play a major part of it, if vibrators make for a more satisfactory experience for the couple I say go for it!

Science Daily reported on the two separate Indiana University studies that found that vibrator use during sex is common and was reported by 53% of women and here's the big surprise by 45% of men. The study also showed that people who use vibrators usually tend to have a better physical reaction to sex. In other words they orgasm and get all hot, bothered, and sticky in all the right places.

The study also showed that women who use vibrators are more likely to have regular physical exams leading them to be healthier in general.

Check out Betty Confidential for the full article.

My Little Guy is One!

I can't belive that an entire year has passed since my little guy has turned one. My Copper is a year old!

The Birthday Girl's Reflection

On Sunday I turned...thirty-one. It has become a tradition of sorts for me to write a birthday reflection post. I've done so for the last couple of years, I like doing it... so don't expect me to stop.

This year I decided to do something different.

On the afternoon of the thirty-first year of my birth I was sitting in my car mini-van with my two boys waiting for my husband to lock up the house. We were going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. (I totally got carded at the restaurant BTW!) My son was doing something cute so I snapped a few pics. Then snapped a few more of me. The visor's mirror was down and I started to think about my birthday post... and as I looked at the girl woman in the mirror I reflected on what I saw and how I've changed from the young woman of 21 to now. That twenty-one year old is still here in many respects, she's just a whole heck of a lot wiser. I was very happy with the person I saw in the mirror as her regrets are few and she's perfectly pleased with where she is in life.






Me at 31. What's important to me: My marriage, my children, writing, family, friends.... being fabulous.


Me at 21. What was important to her: family, friends, being fabulous, Phi Mu, having an expertly crafted manicure.

Oh, and apparently we have the same taste in hairstyles.... and if this happens to be the first post of mine that you've read... no I haven't had the same hairstyle for ten years... that would be decidedly un-fabulous!

I'm Moving!

Something I've wanted to occur for quite a while will happen soon. The Pink Chandelier will officially be moving to its own domain! I purchased the domain last February and have been attempting to teach myself how to go about setting it up, waiting on my extremely busy husband to help me, when finally my brother stepped in and did the grunt techinical stuff, while I created the design. I'm very proud of it and can't wait to see the final outcome! I think I might have also stumbled upon a new passion- web design. The design isn't the most spectacular but it's all mine and it's a start... and that my bloggy friends feels sublime!

I plan to run a few giveaways in celebration of FINALLY achieving my goal of having my blog at my own domain and host so check back soon for more details!

Michael Jackson - Dead

The only news outlet (and I use that word loosely) to report that Michael Jackson - the undisputed King of Pop, the gloved one... has indeed died is TMZ.

Either way... I'm reminded of the Michael I'll always love. Childhood nostalgia here folks.

More to say...

It's been a few hours since Michael Jackson's death was confirmed. I find myself fighting tears. I don't care what anyone says about the circus his life became in the last decade or so... he was an incredibly talented person who touched the lives of people world wide.

I'll leave you with these quotes:

In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.

I wake up from dreams and go "Wow, put this down on paper." The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face . . .

If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.

And my goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive: the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance.

Norman PhartEphant™ Product Review & Giveaway

I really enjoying giving unique gifts. Norman PhartEphant™ fits that category perfectly. Norman is a soft plush toy that...well... farts. I know at first thought giving someone a toy that farts isn't all that appealing (O.K., perhaps it is just up your alley) but this plush toy is very cute and does make a great gift for your toddler, as a gift from baby to an older sibling, their father, or pretty much anyone.

For your toddler it can be used as an educational toy to teach about bodily functions and manners, for their father it makes a great gift for him to take to the office. Which is exactly what my husband did this week after receiving his very own Norman PhartEphant for Father's Day.

His co-workers are getting a laugh and it's helping make his day a little bit brighter.

Your purchase of Norman PhartEphant™ will not only make the recipient's day brighter but you'll be helping support some great children's charities. A portion of the proceeds are donated to Smile Train, Half the Sky and Ronald McDonald House Charities®.

I didn't expect to like this toy. I have to admit that I thought it was going to be really lame, but to my surprise it is the exact opposite. As I mentioned earlier it's really cute and it toots! Which as much as I don't want to admit makes me giggle.

Want to win your own Norman to keep for yourself of giveaway as a gift? I'll be giving away one Norman to a lucky reader!

To enter:

1.Visit Norman and tell him about a Mom & Pop Toy Store, Independent Book Store etc. that you love. Come back here and leave a comment telling me too!

2.Tweet this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and leave the link to your tweet.

Tweet as much as you like, each tweet is an entry, just come back here and leave a comment with the link.

Tweet the following message: Win a Norman PhartEphant™ from @2bnicolle & The Pink Chandelier! It's SUPER CUTE! http://tinyurl.com/n3nafs

REMEMBER: Leave the link to your tweet as a comment!

Follow me on Twitter - 2bnicolle

For additional entries:

Leave a comment telling me that you have done any or all of these.

1. Follow this blog.

2. Subscribe via RSS feed.

3. Blog about this giveaway, link back to me.

4. Add my button to your blog. (I'll do the same for you.) You can find my button at the top right hand corner.

5. Become a fan of Norman on Facebook. Check out his fan page to do just that.

Contest ends July 2o, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be selected at random using random.org the more you enter the more chances you have to win. It's that simple! Thank you for reading and good luck!

Thank you to MomFuse and PhartEphant for the opportunity to review this cute toy!

Sun Feather Natural Soap Company

It's no secret that I'm a total girly girl. So having the opportunity to sample beauty products makes my heart skip a beat, or three.

Sun Feather Natural Soap Company sent me their Lemon Verbena soap, Gardener's Herbal Hand Cream with Shea Butter, and Bug Off™ Organic Bug Rub.

The Lemon Verbena bar of soap is two ounces of sheer joy. It comes wraped in a pretty cloth and a cigar style wrapper. It is fragrant and leaves your hands feeling soft, clean, and replenished. This herbal soap can be found in the floral and herbal line of bar soaps and make a wonderful gift or party favor for bridal or baby showers. Their herbal soaps retail for $4.00 and are well worth the price.

The Gardeners Herbal Hand Cream has a delightful scent the soaks into your skin with out leaving your hands greasy. It contains Shea butter, olive oil and Aloe Vera. It It's absolutely wonderful. I want to give my mother (she's a nurse and washes her hands constantly and struggles to keep her hands from becoming chapped) a jar to keep in her desk drawer at work so that she can apply when ever the need arises. Each four ounce jar retails for $13.

The Bug Off Orgranic Bug Rub should be applied to exposed skin to ward off insects like mosquitoes and black flies. It contains a 100% essential oil blend of citronella, lemongrass, rosemary and geranium and contains no DEET. It feels pleasant and works very well. I applied on a recent picnic and it worked and was not unpleasant to wear as a matter of fact my skin actually felt better after wearing it. It felt softer and more nourished. It comes in a cute tin that transports easily. I leave it in a pocket on my stroller so that I'm sure to have it if I need it while we're out and about.

I am really enjoying these products and I'm sure you will too!