and the giveaway winner is...

blue violet from a nut in a nutshell 

congrats, lady!!

*i used random.org to choose a winner

p.s. news you can use! coming later today :)

don't ever say i didn't do anything for you. giveaway time, my loverlies. *CSN stores $40 gift card*

i was recently laying on one of my platform beds checking emails when i received a message from CSN stores asking if i'd be interested in either doing a review of one of their products or a giveaway on my blog for my readers.  duh, i am always thinking of you guys, so i went with the second option.

for those of you who don't know or who are not familiar with amazingness that is CSN stores, i highly recommend you to get familiar with these stores. 

seriously, have you ever checked out any of their websites??  (CSN stores, all modern, cookware, or luxe by CSN stores)  i'm not kidding you - they have everything you can think of.  their website is seriously your one-stop shop kinda place.  wanting something for yourself?  got it.  your mother-in-law?  done.  your house, your kid, your dog, your bird, your tarantula, your backyard, your boss, your family member who is impossible to shop for??  i promise they have stuff for all of them, too.  don't believe me?  check it out for yourself:

need some new throw pillows because your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/dog/bird/cat/child thinks it's okay to sleep on and/or slobber all over decorative throw pillows.  you'll find what you need here.

bird need a mansion?  duh, every bird needs a mansion.  get it here.

your mother-in-law thinks you're a bad cook and you want to show her that although you may be a bad cook, you do have awesome taste in bake ware.  find it here.

ladies, got a hot date and you need a new pair of fierce heels?  go here.

see something you like up there?  well, lucky for one of you, CSN stores if offering one of (flash)'s readers a $40 gift card to get whatever your little heart desires!  

all you have to do is follow tha rules:

entry 1. you must be a follower of my blog in order to win.  following is easy.  leave a comment telling me you're a follower and be sure and check out one of CSN stores' websites (CSN stores, all modern, cookware, or luxe by CSN stores) and tell me what you'd get if you won. (mandatory entry)

for extra entries:

entry 2. follow me on twitter (1 extra entry)

entry 3. tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @flashpasteurize and link to this post in your tweet (1 extra entry)

entry 4-5. grab my button and put it on your sidebar (2 extra entries)

entry 6-7. blog about this giveaway and link back to this post (2 extra entries)

you've got up to 7 ways you can be entered!  giveaway ends next wednesday, june 16th and a random winner will be chosen and announced the following day.

giveaway. i want to win. don't enter.

so THE stephanie (kind of like THE ga) at live.laugh.love. is having a le creuset giveaway.  you all know how much i love to bake (without burning off my eyelashes, though), so i'm sure you all can appreciate how much i realllllly want to win. 

giveaway winner and a bad case of the mondays

first thing's first.  tha giveaway winna is...

auntBT @ sometimes choosing a window is better than a door

so congrats, lady!!  now, go on over to bomobob's etsy shop and shoot me an email letting me know which one of his amazing pieces you just hafta have!

-----

well, it's monday.  obvs.  and i know how much we all love mondays.  i like mondays about as much as i like going to my yearly "woman's wellness" exam.  (fyi - i HATE it, in case you couldn't get that.)  so in honor of today (i.e. monday - i day i'm not particularly fond of), i'm going to share with you some other things i don't particularly care for.  no, this isn't a negative post.  no, i'm not complaining.  i am simply spreading vast amounts of useless very important knowledge that you need to go on today.  so here goes, here are the things that i highly dislike:

first, mcdonald's.  i've already mentioned in news you can use #12 how unfond of mcdonald's i am, so this is just reason #359735707328345 why i dislike the golden arches.  have you ever wondered what exactly is in a "chicken mcnugget"?  no?  okay, well you're much less inquisitive than i thought.  i'm going to tell you even if you're not wondering. the "chicken" alone contains seven ingredients, and that's not even including the breading.  per men's health magazine (i read it because there are hot guys in it), the “meat” in the mcnugget alone contains seven ingredients, some of which are made up of yet more ingredients. nope, it’s not just chicken.  it’s also such non-chicken related stuff like water, wheat starch, dextrose, safflower oil, and sodium phosphates.  the “meat” also contains something called “autolyzed yeast extract.”  (there's your vocabulary word of the day.)  then add another 20 ingredients that make up the breading, and you have the industrial chemical known as the mcnugget.  mmmm, sounds delicious.

{remember last year when that lady called 911 because mcdonald's ran out of chicken mcnuggets??  no?  well, it's a true story.}

when i spend more than five minutes on my hair and the second i walk outside it looks like this:

{i don't have red hair.  and i'm not this pale.}

having to work when the rest of the world is on spring break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ugh.

* it's giveaway time: photography by bomobob *

i hope y'all are as excited as i am because you all are definitely in for a badass treat today.  we've got bob from photography by bomobob hooking one lucky follower up with one of his prints - of the winner's choosing - up to $30.  how ya like them apples, eh?  the winner actually gets to choose what they win.  for those of you who don't win, bomobob is having a spring cleaning sale and clearance that's most definitely worth taking a look.

here's the deal, i coaxed bob to sit down and have a little chat with me.  before we entered this whole co-hosting a giveaway thing, i needed to get to know him a little better and i thought my readers did, too.  my notes are in blue.

how'd you get into photography? 

bomobob: started early, and i'm certain that there's a photo of me somewhere with a kodak brownie hanging off my wrist when i was about 5 or 6.  (mmm, i love brownies.)  i just always loved the notion of being able to freeze a moment in time forever.  the jury is still out as to whether i was an artistic visionary, (i vote artistic visionary) or just preparing for when i was too old to remember anything.  or maybe there's a third choice... the interest never waned, and t began saving those bonus grocery stamps they used to have until i had enough to get a brand new kodak instamatic x-15, which i still use quite often.

{swinging at tibidabo}

where do you get your inspiration?

bomobob: pretty much everywhere.  i tend to look around when i'm outside.  constantly.  like a puppy.  (he clearly doesn't know my puppy. she has not been inspiring this week.)  it looks like ADD, but i'm just always looking.  looking at light and shadow, lines, shapes, near and far objects.  there's so much beauty in everyday, mundane things.  i'd have to say the two themes that dominate though, are nature and color.

 {i love you}

what are you favorite things to photograph? and where do you primarily photograph?

bomobob: didn't you read the previous answer ? :) (wow, bomo's getting a little lippy, huh?  my readers love snark, so you'll fit in just fine.)  as is probably obvious from my shop, nature and carnivals are dominate themes.  (LOVE the carnival photos.  amazing.)  both are very joyous to me, one naturally, and one completely man-made.  while they are opposites in so many ways, they evoke the same childlike amazement, and stimulate my creativity in a similar vein.  i also like to play around with more anachronistic techniques, like polarois transfers, cross-processing, and mixed media.  most of what i sell is shot on film, for no reason other than the fact that i love the tactile nature of film.  (you strike me as a kid who liked play-dough growing up with all that tactile talk.)

 {the unbearable elation of summer}

how do you feel about apolo ohno not responding to my letter?

bomobob: apolo and i disagree on several issues, so it doesn't really surprise me.  and he keeps missing that spot when he shaves... (omg, the soul patch.  i love them.  *sigh*)

 {birds of a feather}

how stoked are you to be hosting a giveaway on my blog?

bomobob: i'm totally pumped!  (i didn't pay him to say that.  swearsies.)  it was complete serendipity that you contacted me and i found your blog.  it's an absolute joy to immerse yourself in, and your readers are a really wonderful, devoted bunch.  (he knows how to get in good, doesn't he?)

{october skies}

of all the pieces you've done, what is your personal favorite?

bomobob: boy, that's a tough one.  so many resonate with me for so many reasons.  what i sell is actually a tiny fraction of what i shoot.  i've been lucky enough to travel around the globe several times, and witness cultures and natural phenomenon that will stay with me forever.  (you live a life so many only dream of.)  so many of those photos are ingrained in my mind.  as for pieces that i've created as artworks, "the unbearable elation of summer", "swinging at tibidabo", and "intimacy" are three of my favourites. (he's canadian, hence the spelling.  so classy!)

 

 {love is the word}

the golden rules:

- you've gotta be a follower of my blog and check out bomobob's etsy site and lemme know which photo (up to $30) you would choose if you won (mandatory entry)

-  follow me on twitter (1 extra entry)

- tweet about this giveaway and leave a link (1 extra entry)

- blog about this giveaway (1 extra entry)

- post this giveaway or my button on your sidebar (1 extra entry)

- become a fan of 'photography by bomobob' on facebook (1 extra entry)

you've got six ways you can enter!

giveaway ends sunday, march 14th at 12:00 p.m. noon CST and a lucky winner will be announced the following day (monday, march 15th)!

good luck!

news you can use #9: giveaway winner, THE ga, psychiatry, samba queen, cows in new zealand, and SVU v-day cards

the winner of my first ever giveaway is... juliana from a blonde walks into a blog.  congrats, m'dear!! 

{i hope you and the hubby luff them!}

THE ga and cydi lauper are the new faces for the M.A.C. AIDS fund.  seriously, y'all i'm obsessed.  thanks to my bff to this information.

{cyndi is sooooo lucky!!!!}

psychiatry's bible rewritten.  don't know what the psychiatric bible is?  it's the DSM - diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.  kind of seems like it should really be called DSMMD, but what do i know.  according to an article from the washington post, "children who throw too many tantrums could be diagnosed with 'temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria.'  and teenagers who are particularly eccentric might be candidates for treatment for "psychosis risk syndrome."  men who are just way too interested in sex risk being labeled as suffering from 'hypersexual disorder.' "  my questions to the DSM are: are you suggesting parents drug their children?  benadryl is an OTC drug, so i supposed that could work.  i don't know a teen who isn't a little weird.  AND what man isn't obsessed with sex??  i can only imagine what disorders i'd be diagnosed with according to the geniuses.

 the winter olympics start TOMORROW.  for the next two weeks my life will be pretty much booked.

seven year old samba queen.  seven year old, julia lira, gets the "ok" to be the samba queen at rio de jainero's carnival.  if you don't know what carnival is in south america, just think of mardi gras on steroids.  i dated a colombian guy and their carnival parties get cuh-ra-zzzzay.

{i have to admit, i'm really jealous.  i wanted to be samba queen this year!!}

new zealand has more cows than it does people.  this is for true.  "a record 5.8 million dairy cattle were counted in the year ended june 2009, statistics new zealand said tuesday — well more than one animal for each of the country's 4.3 million citizens."

{just because i know how much you all loved the cat tattoo.}

law and order: SVU has special valentine's day cards.  don't fret about sunday's big day.  you still have time to get your lover their very own v-day card compliment of my friends at l&o: svu.

{christopher meloni read my mind.}

praise sweet baby Jesus that tomorrow is finally friday.  this has been a hellacious week.

IT'S. MY. FIRST. GIVEAWAY. EVER. (!!!!!!!!)

i'm so excited i can barely freaking contain myself.  

for the past couple of weeks, i've been lying awake in bed wondering what i can do to show my readers how much i heart them and appreciate them and their comments.  and every morning, i've been eating breakfast on one of my new bar stools aimlessly thinking about giveaways.  i've been racking my brain for cool giveaways that would make you want to lift up your shirts like you were trying to catch mardi gras beads.  yesterday morning, i woke up and KNEW i had to do something soon because not having had a giveaway yet was killing me.  sure, i make some of you snicker or laugh, but sometimes you want something materialistic for your time.  i was even considering leaving work early yesterday to go get some goodies for a giveaway when an email from CSN stores came up in my inbox with an opportunity for them to sponsor a giveaway!!!  (thank you, CSN stores!)  i knew i must have done something right because the giveaway gods had heard my cries for help and emailed me!!

one lucky winner is going to be the proud owner of these two gorgeous wine glasses (i know how much you guys like to drink).  the irony in this giveaway is that the only thing i can drink out of them is water or orange juice, seeing as though drinking wine would kill me damn food allergies.  BUT i know plenty of you are wineys and would love to get your hands on a pair of these:

da rules and how you can enter: 

1. for one entry, you obvs have to be a follower.  and you have to live in the u.s. or canada.  (sorrs to my other worldly readers; i promise i'll do a giveaway open to everyone soon!)  AND you have to leave me a comment about why you think you should win.

2. for a second entry, blog about this giveaway.

3. for a third entry, add a link to this giveaway on your sidebar.

that's it!  super easy, huh?  
ends at noon (c.s.t.) on wednesday, february 10th!