Last weekย was special.
I mentioned that I won a family giveaway, but I wanted to wait to share exactly what I’d won.
Well, I’m ready to spill the details now. ๐
I entered and won a giveaway for a trip to Chicago to attend the PlayCHIC fashion show, the Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards, and the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. I was already planning on attending the Chicago Toy and Game fair with my family on Saturday, November 22nd, for a media and blogger breakfast. We wanted to go last year as a family, but David was in the hospital at that time.
That being said, when we won this year’s giveaway, we ended up getting to attend more than just that event!
ChiTAG VIP Weekend Giveaway
We technically won a trip to Chicago which included travel and a 3-night hotel stay. However, because we live in the suburbs of Chicago, we didn’t end up having any of the travel expenses covered. That was a bummer because parking at the hotel was expensive.
It was nice to be able to spend a couple of nights in Chicago, though. ๐
Along with the hotel stay, we were given tickets to attend the PlayCHIC fashion show, and I was thankful that they ended up giving us enough tickets for our entire family to attend. It was a fun, light-hearted fashion show that even my kids enjoyed. Truthfully, they liked the experience much more than I thought they would!
The fashion show was on Thursday night, and for the following night, we had four tickets to attend the Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards (also known as the TAGIE Awards). Because we only had four tickets to this elegant dinner ceremony, we decided that Ruben would go with our three older kids while I stayed with our two youngest ones.
As a blogger, I’ve been blessed to attend lots of fun and even fancy dinners/events. I wanted Ruben and the kids to go to the TAGIE Awards and have a great time! And from what I heard afterwards, they did!
On Saturday, we went over to Navy Pier for the ChiTAG media and blogger breakfast, and then subsequently had a fun time exploring the ChiTAG fair. There was a lot to see and experience at the fair, and my kids loved it!
Once we’d finished walking around the fair, we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. And then Ruben and I looked at each other and decided that it was time to pack our things and head back home. We weren’t planning on going back to the fair on Sunday, and all the meals out and parking fees were adding up. So we checked out of the hotel on Saturday afternoon instead of on Sunday morning and headed home.
It was exciting to win the ChiTAG Giveaway. It was certainly a blessing. And going together as a whole family this year was a reminder of just how far David has come.
All I can say is: Praise the Lord!
As for my goals, I had added them to my Google Calendar and was able to get most of them crossed off.
Here’s what I accomplished last week:
Family/Mothering Goals:
1.
Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family2.ย
Go shopping for dressy clothes we need for a family event later this week — We won a family giveaway. More to come on that later.Personal Goals:
3.
Do resistance band exercises 3x4.
Walk a total of 75 minutes on the treadmill5.
Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on Earthย (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth6.ย Wake up by 7:00am every day — I was up by 7:00am four times last week. That’s a big improvement! I’m thankful to now have an accountability partner to help me make getting up before my children a habit.
Home Management Goals:
7.ย
Plan out Thanksgiving menu— We’re keeping things pretty simple. I live with picky eaters, and I’m going to make dishes that they like. I’m skipping the ones I’d end up eating all by myself. I’m sure the scale will thank me later. ๐8.
Clean upstairs bathroomBusiness Goals:
9.
Editand post theย DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner — The video has been edited and uploaded to YouTube, but I didn’t get around to posting it here on the blog just yet.10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post
Here are my goals for this week:
Family/Mothering Goals:
1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family
2. Take time as a family to tell each other what we’re thankful for
Personal Goals:
3. Do resistance band exercises 3x
4. Walk a total of 90 minutes on the treadmill
5. Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on Earthย (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth
6.ย Wake up by 7:00am
Home Management Goals:
7.ย Vacuum upstairs
8. List one thing to sell on ebay
Business Goals:
9. Post theย DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner
10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post
What are your goals for this week?
Looks like you all had a great weekend with lots of fun activities. Much better than last year at this time. God is so good!
Great job getting your exercising in and making such good progress with getting up early too! I hope this week goes well for you too and you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Shelly! I keep thinking about how this year is so different than last year… in a very good way. ๐ God is good!
Sounds like you had a great time! What fun to be able to see all the newest and best toys ๐
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Sandra!
Thank you, Erin! We had a great Thanksgiving spent at home. It was just the seven of us, which made for a fun and relaxing day. ๐
What a fun little getaway for your family! Looks like you had a great time.
Awesome job getting up before 7 for 4 days. All about improvement, and that is awesome!
Thank you for the encouragement, Lydia! After making some progress with getting up early that week, I didn’t do so well the next. But it’s a new week, and I was up at 7am today. Hoping this continues! ๐