the winner takes it all

ugh. the wan house currently looks like this:

and that's not even close to half of it. i didn't even get to touch the ol' blog yesterday, since MIL came over to help me get us packed. oy.

but we now have a set of shiny new keys and garage and gate clickers. we signed the lease yesterday, and brought a few boxes along when we went to show the teen the new place.

"it's bigger than i thought it would be, but it's still small. it's cool," she proclaimed. whew.

this morning, i finally put all of the names in a hat. well, i couldn't find a hat. i found a salad bowl.

i called the bean over, and she came running to do her part:

(please forgive my blurry pictures, as it was rather difficult to snap away while trying to make sure she didn't just run over and grab a handful of winners from the bowl)

she reached in:

and here's our winner!

and here's melissa's prize:

i actually did try out a variation of your recipe last week, but i did the chicken in the oven rather than the crock pot. and it was a HUGE hit - the hub loved it, and it's going in the rotation for sure. i'm pretty positive that the teen will dig it too, so next time she comes home, your salsa chicken will be on the menu. mmmm!

a big thank you to everyone who submitted ideas and/or links. i really appreciated it, and it helped me tremendously in getting through the last couple of weeks. the pantry and the freezer are a lot less full, too. less to pack, less to move! whee!

now, i'll see if i can get through all of those san diego pics. here's a sneak peek, though, of one of my favorite moments of sea world day:


love.