1800Flowers Made My Irish Eyes Smile - Product Review

Sometimes you enter a sweepstakes because you hope to win a lower-level prize. I know that might sound crazy to you but sometimes when you are evaluating a sweepstakes. It's not that you don't want the Grand Prize but you think believe for whatever reason that there's no way whatsoever that you would win but some of the other prizes sure do look nice.

That's the way it was when I entered the ESPN and 1-800-Flowers' WOW Moment of the Day Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize looked so amazing. The Grand Prize featured a trip two at Disney World in Orlando including a NASCAR racing experience, a baseball game, and more. I LOVE Disney and certainly wouldn't turn down the opportunity to take a trip to the Magic Kingdom but we're talking about a sweepstakes featured on ESPN so there would be thousands of entries and what in the world would make me think that I would or could win.

Actually, I was hoping to win either first or second prize each of which offered a 1-800-Flowers.com Arrangement of the Month. I LOVE flowers and the very possibility of receiving fresh flowers every month for either three months or six month seemed like a WONDERFUL prize.

Can you imagine how shocked I was to learn that I was indeed chosen as the Grand Prize winner of the ESPN and 1-800-Flowers' WOW Moment of the Day Sweepstakes? The prize included a 1-800-Flowers Arrangement of the Month 12 Month Bouquet Club. Yesterday I received the very first installment of floral ecstasy.

While this bouquet features Bells of Ireland and festive green poms it doesn't mean that it's only appropriate for St. Patrick's Day. The Oriental lilies add a touch of sophistication and I just love their sweet fragrance. This arrangement certainly made my Irish eyes smile.

I can't wait to tell you all about the BEST Trip win I've ever won but trust me, if all the bouquets from the 1-800-Flowers Arrangement of the Month 12 Month Bouquet Club wind up as wonderful as this, well then this was definitely the icing on the cake.

Thank you again 1-800-Flowers and ESPN for this AMAZING, ASTOUNDING, IMPRESSIVE, Prize EVER!!!

Davy Jones Dead Of Heart Attack

Davy Jones died today, February 29th of a heart attack at the age of 66. He was found seated in his car complaining of chest pains and having difficulty breathing. Davy was rushed to Martin Memorial South Hospital in Stuart, Florida, where he was pronounced dead of a severe heart attack due to atherosclerosis.



Jones was a child TV star in England. As a teen he played “The Artful Dodger” in a London production of the play “Oliver!” The play came to Broadway, and Jones was nominated for a Tony at age 16.



In the mid-60s he was among the four who successfully auditioned for a part in “The Monkees,”. He was cast as the heart-throb singer and played the role well, despite the fact that he was only 5-feet-3 inches.

The show ran from 1966 to 1968 and I was so in love with him. Then again most of the little girls in my elementary school were in love with him and many even carried "Monkees" lunchboxes.



I'm sure I wasn't the only girl who was jealous when "Marsha" was able to actually meet Davy Jones and have him perform at her prom in the episode of The Brady Bunch entitled "Getting Davy Jones"

For about 20 years he owned a home in Beavertown, a borough of about 950 located 60 miles northwest of Harrisburg in Snyder County.

Jones is survived by his widow, Jessica Pacheco-Jones, and four daughters from previous marriages.

'Welcome Back Kotter'a Juan Epstein Is Dead at 60

Robert Hegyes, the Jersey-born actor who played Jewish Puerto Rican wheeler-dealer Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s classic "Welcome Back Kotter," died from an apparent heart attack after suffering chest pains at age 60.

Hegyes was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where my Grandmother used to live. He was one of four children. What you may not know was that he is the cousin of singer Jon Bon Jovi

Robert made his Los Angeles stage debut to rave notices as "Chico Marx" in the Westwood and National Touring Company engagements of, An Evening with Groucho. Upon returning from the tour, Robert was cast by Producer Barney Rosenswieg to star as a series regular portraying undercover detective "Manny Esposito" in the Emmy Award-winning drama, Cagney & Lacey, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless.

When I was a teen I hated to miss an episode of this show. From the excuse notes from "Epstein's Mother" to a young John Travolata and Horschack's Ooh-ooh-ooooh!" (Used with raised hand when Arnold gets excited because he believes he knows an answer to Mr. Kotter's question. The shout was an imitation of Joe E. Ross's phrase from Car 54, Where Are You?.) to Washington's "Hey, Mister Kot-taire" (how he addresses Mr. Kotter)this show didn't just make me laugh out loud it helped me be the teacher I am today.

After all a little laughter makes the learning go down so much easier. Please do not believe for one moment I was anywhere near as funny as Kotter but my "sweat hogs" were and are just as loveable as these guys were.

Robert Hegyes died on January 26th, 2012 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey from an apparent heart attack. He was taken there after suffering chest pains at his Metuchen in the morning. He was 60.

Publix Best Meals Happen At Home

I was so excited about this deal I kind of jumped the gun by publishing it too soon.

So I want to remind you to take advantage of great savings on some of your favorite participating brands during the “Best Meals Happen at Home” event at Publix from January 26th through February 1st.

As of Jan 26th look for in-store for coupons that will be valid through February 15th

Visit BestMealsatHome.com to sign up and receive emails with weekly recipes and coupon offers that will help you save up to $200 this year.

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway where you have the opportunity to WIN a $25 Publix Gift Card. In keeping with the FTC rules I would like to inform you that I received no financial compensation for this post. The Publix gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Fernbank Presents Georgia Natural: Photographs by Diane Kirkland,

In the new gallery exhibition Georgia Natural, Fernbank Museum of Natural History showcases the diverse landscapes of Georgia in a series of black-and-white and color photos by local artist Diane Kirkland. Georgia Natural will be on view at the Museum from February 4-April 29, 2012.

Georgia Natural includes 35 framed photographs, which highlight Kirkland’s appreciation for the many sanctuaries in Georgia that have remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. She works to portray the mysterious and primordial qualities of each scene while capturing the evocative, other-worldly appearance the natural world can convey in soft and low light.

“I hope my pictures show that these places are worthy of our attention and that we don’t allow these sanctuaries to disappear,” Kirkland said. “Because often, we don’t keep what we don’t value.”

The photos include rivers, streams, trees, swamps, outcrops and more, while moments of fog, dusk, mossy trees, and blooming flowers add depth to the view. Kirkland explores patterns and designs to discover cohesiveness in seemingly random, unrelated elements of nature, which she says requires intense observation to the uniqueness of a view.

“Subtlety enlivens our senses,” she said.

Kirkland’s photos not only capture the beauty of the landscapes but they also capture the essence of the moment. In several coastal plain and barrier island images, a mysterious fog coats the landscape, slow to reveal exactly what has been captured in the lens. Crisp reflections in the water of Sweetwater Creek in the Piedmont region swell and recede as rocks below distort, revealing what appear as upside-down apparitions, sunlit cliffs, or something else. Sunlight pierces through the steam of Moody Swamp, cutting through the dampness that can almost be felt through the photograph. In another image, a glorious expanse of ephemeral clouds greets the viewer in Morning Marsh.

The collection of images includes documentation of the variety of landscapes found in Georgia’s Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, and Barrier Islands regions. All are represented in rich compositions. Kirkland framed her subjects in a manner that leads the eye on a journey within each piece, from swirling vines and roots that lift the eye up and out of an Ocmulgee River Flood Plain to a journey deep into Brasstown Bald Trail.

Kirkland has a long relationship with Georgia’s natural spaces. A 25-year staff photographer for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Kirkland has traveled extensively throughout the state to capture the natural beauty of Georgia’s geographic regions. The Georgia Council for the Arts selected Kirkland to join their 2008-2010Touring Artist Rosters, and she was also invited to join the Southern Arts Federation, which is a multi-media artist registry that spotlights outstanding artists who live and work in the South. In addition, Kirkland was the recipient of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources 2007-2008 Artist in Residence Grant.

Georgia Natural is included with Museum admission, which is $17.50 for adults, $16.50 for students/seniors, $15.50 for children ages 3 to 12, and free for children 12 and under and for members. Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road, NE in Atlanta. Tickets and information are available at www.fernbankmuseum.org and 404.929.6300/404.929.6400.

Ryan Brunn - Convicted Child Killer Dead in Jail Cell

Ryan Brunn had just pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the murder of Jorelys Rivera. Jorley was killed December 2nd at a north Georgia apartment complex where she lived.

Jorley was reported missing after she left the complex's playground to retrieve sodas at her apartment for her friends. Brunn described in detail to the court how he lured the girl into a vacant apartment and sexually assaulted her. Brunn said he was afraid she would tell her parents so he "cut her." When she didn't die right away, he beat and stabbed her.

Brunn placed her body in a garbage bag and dumped it in a trash compactor at the complex where it was found.

You may remember that Brunn's family was adament that there was no possible way Ryan could have done such a heinous thing.

"There's just no way he would do something like this. He's just a kindhearted person. This is just some big mistake. I just honestly think this was a big setup," Connor Brunn said.

I was glad that the judge had sentenced him to life in prison without parole but honestly it was a case that made me wrestle with the death penalty. When someone commits such a violent act upon a young child it's difficult for me to get past the desire for justice in the form of the death penalty. The fact that he was not eligible for parole made me feel that at the very least he was being removed from the general population and would protect other children from him.

According to spokeswoman Kristen Stancil,at the state prison in Jackson, said Ryan Brunn was found unresponsive at 4:15 p.m. Brunn was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m. of an apparent suicide."

It is interesting to note that Braunn was on suicide watch when this happened. An autopsy on his body has been scheduled for tomorrow. The outcome of the autopsy will determine the cause of his death.

Jimmy Castor Dies Of Apparent Heart Failure

Back in 1975 there wasn't a kid who didn't love the Beartha Bump Boogie. Even now when I hear it I can't help but want to get up and dance. Me like! Me like!

Castor is best known as a fun disco/funk saxophonist, with his biggest hit single being 1972's million seller, "Troglodyte (Cave Man)".



Castor had been hospitalized in November before undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery.

Jimmy Castor died of apparent heart failure in a Las Vegas hospital, family members said Tuesday. He was 71. He was a great showman and an amazing talent.