Aletheia magazine- TOS review

Searching for a wonderful creative writing, art, and photography magazine for your teen?  Look no further.  Aletheia magazine is a writing magazine for Christian teens.  It showcases amazing writing, drawings and photography by and for teens.  I was given a copy of their Fall 2011 issue and asked to review it.

              I was impressed by the quality of work in this magazine!     In each issue there are writer's challenges with pictures used as an inspiration, a book review, a featured professional artist of the month, as well as a featured (teen) contributor.  Of course, there is lots and lots of art by teens, which is what the magazine is all about.   

You can take a peek at their Spring 2011 issue here!

The picture above was drawn by a 17 year old girl.  What a talented young lady!  Her artwork was "matched" to a story written by a 15 year old girl.  I love this concept!  The magazine highlights individual talents and puts them together to make a unique masterpiece!  Teens interested in having their work published can go here to read frequently asked questions.

Please keep in mind that the magazine is written for teens so some of the subject matter is not appropriate for younger children.  Alcoholism, human trafficking and death are some of the topics covered.  The age range is 13-19 so use your own discretion as to what you feel is appropriate for your family.

Aletheia magazine is $26 dollars a year for 4 issues.  Each issue is 40 pages long with color pictures.  A wonderful gift for a budding young artist!

Click here to see what other TOS reviewers thought about Aletheia magazine.

*I was given a copy of the Fall 2011 issue of Aletheia magazine in exchange for my honest opinion.  I received no other compensation.*

Tutus and Touchdowns Beanie Giveaway!

   Fall is here!  Time to break out the cozy sweaters, turtlenecks and jackets!  And don't forget to accessorize!:)  Here to help you out is my dear friend, Susan.  She is the artistic talent behind the etsy shop Tutus and Touchdowns. (How cute is that name?!) 


Beanies and cloches for babies all the way up to teenagers!


**Susan is offering a discount of 15% to my followers with the code GIVEAWAY15…  that is good for Ready to Ship items as well as Custom Items!**

She is also giving away a beanie/cloche of your choice (value of $12- $15) to one lucky person!

    Here are a few of her darling creations:

 She accepts custom orders and I and am thinking orange and black (in the above style) for Halloween!

     Perfect for football games!  So cute and creative for little boys!

                                  What colors would you choose?

       These are completely darling for pictures and for keeping little
     heads warm.:)

                        I love that Susan creates items for girls and boys.

                                 I want one in every color!

     The winner receives 1 beanie in their choice of color(s)

   (value $12-$15)!

Here is how to enter:

Please leave a separate comment (with an e-mail address) for each entry.

#1-Be a follower of my blog (Morning Glories and Moonflowers) for 1 entry.

#2-Visit Tutus and Touchdowns on etsy and leave a comment with your favorite item for 1 entry.

#3-Favorite Tutus and Touchdowns on etsy for 1 entry.

#4-Like Susan's facebook page for 1 entry.

This is for a total of 4 entries.  The giveaway ends Wednesday, September 28th at midnight.

Good luck!


**The winner of the Tutus and Touchdowns giveaway is my dear friend, April!  Congratulations April!   Please e-mail me!:) toosillysisters@cox.net**

Books, books and Egypt

Just finished this book and it broke my heart.

I did not enjoy it at all.

I skimmed as I had to find out how she got away.

Jaycee is a remarkable lady.

I really liked this book.

Sequel coming in April and I cannot wait.

Better than the Hunger Games.:)

         E-mealz.com  $1.25 a week.  Meals planned for you.  Grocery 
      lists pre-made for you to print out.  
      Love this.
                        Review coming in October.:)

             Veritas Press is pricey BUT my girls are I are trying their 30
        day free trial and we LOVE it!  (Thanks for telling us about 
       this, Alicia!)  We are studying the Bible and Ancient Egypt.  
        We are thinking of taking the plunge and enrolling- it's that
        good....

I am going to start reviewing for Book Sneeze.  They will send me free books in exchange for my review.  Free books??  Sign me up.:)

The Curiosity Files FREE TODAY!

 My girls and I LOVE The Curiosity Files!   FREE today only ($46 value!) if you use Code FREECFBLOG. Enjoy!  Click HERE!  Blue Diamonds, Puffer Fish, MRSA, Fire Ants, Quicksand and more!

Olympic Training Center

Olympic Training Center.

Great place to visit.

                                                    We toured inside and out.
                                      The shooting range...

                             Synchronized swimming team practicing...

                    It was quite impressive.  Our tour guide was a para-
              olympian.
             He had competed in the last Olympics and is hoping
             to be in the next.
             Very cool.

                It's amazing how beautiful the flowers are in Colorado.
                             Ours wilted quite awhile ago....

                                             Good times.:)

                               The statues were really big and impressive.
                                       Great photo opps!

                                       Love my girls....

                   
                    It's amazing to me how some people devote so much 
             of their lives to a sport.
             Such dedication.  

            These two little babies were separated from the mother by 
        the fence.
        I prayed that they would be reunited.  It was heartbreaking!

                                         Making the most of the elevator ride!

                                The Broadmoor was lovely even in the rain...

                                     Paddle boats...

                                     Flowers everywhere...

          Those are shops in the background.  They even had a shop
      for pets!

                                         Special touches all over.

                                     See the two people behind the flags?:)

                           The mist on the mountains was breathtaking...

Tomorrow I will show you what it looked like when the sun was shining!:)

Rainy days and Chicken Spaghetti

    It has been a rainy, chilly day.  Love days like this.
   Time to make the clothes shift.  
   Warm weather packed away.  
   Cold weather comes out to play!


   Cookies in the oven as I type.:)
   
   I have been meaning to share this recipe with you.
   It's easy and really yummy comfort food....

   Chicken Spaghetti
      3-4 chicken breasts, cooked
     1 (12 oz.) package of spaghetti
     1 can of cream of mushroom soup (I only had cream of chicken 
     so I used it.)
     1 can rotel
     2 packages of shredded velveeta cheese (I used one and it was
     still yummy!)


     Cook chicken; cut into bite-size pieces (I bought Tyson 
     precooked chicken.:) ).  Set aside.
     Cook spaghetti, when draining the water, leave about 1/4 of the 
     water in the pot with the spaghetti.
     (Don't drain it all.)
      Stir in cut up chicken pieces, cream of mushroom soup, rotel 
     (undrained), and velveeta cheese.
     Add a lid and put in oven at 350 for 20 minutes.


      Let me know what you think.

Garden of the Gods and Focus on the Family

Following in the steps of the Duggar family.:)

Did you see them on TLC?

Here we are at the Garden of the Gods...

              My girls loved it and were so happy to pose for pictures!
         Smiles, everyone, smiles.;)  (Who remembers what TV 
         show that is from?)

                                   Big rocks.
                         A great backdrop for pictures.
                         It blew my mind!

         No charge to explore.  Some of the best things in life are free.

                           I love my girls.  They are the best part of me.

             Love this picture.  No, she is not stuck- just exploring.:)

                                               Breathtaking.

                               Then, we were off to Focus on the Family!
        The Duggars signed their book here or I would never have
        known this existed!

          The bookstore is a dream!  We spent quite a lot of time in it.
        (And quite a bit of $$!)
                           

                              We could not wait to explore Whit's End!

           Whit's End is the kids play area!  It has a 3 floor slide, soda 
       shop, a studio where they can record a radio show to take 
      home, a stage with costumes, and their very own wardrobe 
      from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (below)!

            We walked  into the wardrobe!  It was really very clever!

                 My girls loved the slide!  It actually leaves the building 
           and goes around and around and around and....

      This is where they record the Focus on the Family radio show.

         What a view!  Focus on the Family is free and open to the 
       public.  You should go if you get a chance!:)  

I left my heart at the Broadmoor...

Royal Gorge.

Over-priced and cheesy.

(Almost $100 for the 4 of us.)

That was WITH a discount!

             The bridge (and the actual gorge) were impressive... and a 
          bit scary!
         The kids (all 3 of them) enjoyed the carousel, but the rest 
         was a big disappointment.

               We walked over the bridge and were happy to make it to 
          the other side!

                                   I did take a few pictures- just for you.:)

        On the other side were gun fights to watch, shops, a "petting
      zoo" (with goats- wow), a jail,  "gold mining" with dirt 
     (another big wow) and one funnel cake waiting for us- YUM.

                             Did I mention the day was reaaalllllyyy hot? 

              I did like this shot.  Out of nowhere the sheriff appeared.:)

                                  Then, we arrived at the Broadmoor Hotel.
                     You will hear no more complaints from me.

          The loveliest hotel I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

                   These are all taken from our room.  We stayed next
             door to the penthouse suite.
             This is a view of the pool.  Luxury at it's finest.
             We enjoyed chips, salsa and guacamole while lying 
             by the pool and I was in heaven.:)

                The picture above shows the fire pit.  S'mores enjoyed 
           there every evening.

                          A little bird told them it was our 20th anniversary.
                 They surprised us with some lovely champagne.

          Every evening during the turn down service an itinerary for 
        the next day was left on the bed, along with chocolates.:)

            The hotel had it's own lovely theater with matinee and
            evening shows.
            Sad to say, we never had a change to enjoy this as there 
            were too many other things to do!

               Almost 100 years old.  Once again, I wish the walls could
          talk.  Think of the grand balls and weddings that have been 
          celebrated here....

                      I wanted to take pictures of every inch of the hotel.
                  The people made us feel like royalty.

               Each night you could hear wolves howling faintly in the
          distance.
          Every morning I awoke to the bells ringing.
                                   

          Not the best picture, but I wanted you to get a glimpse of 
            one of the restaurants.
          The resort is so large that you need a map to find your way 
            around.
           

                  Here we are by the fire pit.  It rained for two days and 
            we nestled into the coziness of our room.  Our girls 
            served us hot chocolate and hot cider and we felt warm 
            and content.

              I read 3 books on the trip.  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt was
         my favorite.
         If you liked The Help you need to read Cee Cee, too.  
         Wonderful!

                          A piece of my heart is still at the Broadmoor...