And The Chocolate Goes To......


Not so fast! You know Grandma J doesn't use a random automated winner picker when it comes to important stuff like naming a rubber squeaky toy family member. Instead, she decided to print out the comments, cut them up, fold them, and put them in the official mixing bowl astronaut helmet for a hand drawing. You know, we gotta have a bit of pomp and circumstance.....




So, crab and I paid a visit to my granddaughter and JJ to keep the selection of the winner on the up and up. Of course if my memory was functioning properly, I would have remembered about all the bad blood between JJ and crab! Duh!






Things were going along quite well without any major incidents......Grandma J's granddaughter picks the winning comment....





.......and in the blink of an eye, JJ is flying through the air, lunging at crab! Grandma J shouts out, Mother of all things holy, don't hurt the crab. JJ retreats, and no one got hurt.

Now the reason y'all are here....the winner is.......



Congratulations to Cdub! The crab's new name is Crusty!


Cdub, I hope you enjoy the selection of chocolate goodies I ordered for you. I picked the following three items.......a cross-section of items from the Dove Chocolate Discoveries Catalog.








Enjoy your winnings Cdub! Crusty is a happier crab now that he has a real name! email me so I can get your address to ship your prize: jannieret@hotmail.com



Some of you mentioned that you didn't know that Dove Chocolates had a catalog. Dove Chocolate Discoveries was launched in 2007. Their products are sold exclusively through independent contractors called "Chocolatiers" through fun home parties.

My daughter Kim became a Dove Chocolatier several months ago, and has grown her business to the level of Manager, winning trips to Dove Headquarters twice. Since it's such a new concept in home parties with such a wide variety of products, I thought showcasing Dove as my contest prize would be a great way to introduce you to the products and company.


Check out the Dove Catalog, you will be surprised at the selection of yummy stuff they offer. And, for the next two days, Kim will accept orders via her website if you mention you came from Grandma J's blog....kind of like a virtual party.



If you haven't heard of Dove Chocolate Discoveries, you might be interested in becoming a Chocolatier in your area. You can check out Kim's Dove website.

Thank you to all........

.......who entered the Name That Crab Contest.






A winner will be announced before the rooster crows!

Just a Head's UP...

It's been a hectic week here in Central Texas. Cowboys are rounding up their longhorns for rodeos, and cowgirls are attending line-dance classes.

Well not all cowgirls......




Grandma J has been spending more time than she cares to talk about with her cardio-neuro scientist.

Just so you know, that doesn't mean she's put her blogger friends, or Blisters, as some of you are referred to, on the back burner. no.sir.ee.

So because she loves you all, she wants to remind you that you still have time to vote in Grandma J's Name That Crab Contest.

Like less that five hours... 3 p.m. PDT so don't be a slacker




The prize is a plethora of delicious chocolate products from this Dove Chocolate Catalog worth over $60!

The order has been placed, and awaiting a winner for the purpose of shipping! Could that winner be you? Maybe your Aunt Viola?

Name Me

OK, here it is, the contest you have all been waiting for. Last October, Grandma J had a contest to name her beloved bear, that she referred to as Astro Bear. With a $25 Walmart Gift Card as the prize, lurkers clamored out of the wood works with names like Apollo, Bernie, Sam and BB.





The winning name was drawn from Astro Bear's helmet by A-Ron....and that name was Phillip Johnny Bob! The winner was Mila @ Life With Kaishon.



This new contest is to pick a name for Grandma J's crab. The crab that came back to Texas with Grandma J only to suffer under the teeth of JJ. After some rehab back in his home state of Virginia, crab is back in Texas....in dire need of a name.

Now, besides having a little bit of a dark side, and of course being afraid of dogs, and prone to attacking bears.......




Crab doesn't like baths or fresh water in general.






Crab loves looking in mirrors....crazy crab!



Now....it's time to name that crab! Please, just one entry per person, and the contest will end at 3 PM, PDT on Thursday. This will give everyone time to rub two brain cells together come up with a fancy shmancy name for the newest member of Grandma J's family here at the Spa.





See how happy crab is already??



And what is the prize?

Grandma J personally selected items for a Dove Chocolate Gift Package, worth well over $60 of delicious goodies. Relax with a Dove Chocolate Martini while enjoying decadent Dove Chocolate treats; smooth, crunchy, sweet and amazing!

You can see all the items I had to chose from.... in the new Dove Catalog .

Amen, Dear Brother

On Sunday, Grandma J decided to bring Phillip Johnny Bob to the earliest Mass ever church at 7 A.M. because they serve breakfast burritos afterwards, and they beat the heck out of the donuts after the 9 A.M. Mass. Being a nice guy who wants to bond with Crab in the worst way.....PJB asked if Crab could come with us. Grandma J, who loves to volley between referring to herself in the first and third person the idea of inclusiveness, said sure, why not?

So it was off to church without incident.





Afterwards the Phil and Crab seemed to be getting along, and I could see that eating burritos attending church together was a good idea.






Until Crab went for PJB's throat!





Crab was made to ride shotgun where grandma J could keep an eye on him. But all this brings up other issues that could be contributing to Crab's behavioral problems because I don't think most crabs live in Texas attack bears.

There are some ideas coming down the pike, or since we don't live near a pike, the cow trail. By ideas, Grandma J means a contest...a contest with a super gift.

Check back tomorrow for the details, and how you can be the big winner of the best contest ever. By ever, Grandma J means the best contest ever sponsored by her..

Who's That Knocking At My Door?

Saturday morning, I was jolted out of bed by a constant rapping at my door. By rapping I don't mean LL Kool Ade, or Big Daddy Bitty Boo. I mean knocking as in "Let me in...WOOOOEEEE".

Since the Spa is gated, and the only people with a remote for the gate are every friend and ex-girlfriend of Mr. Holmes the residence, Grandma J was a bit surprised by the racket on the other side of the door.

When Grandma J opened the door, there was an envelope in a crinkled and tattered condition...with a claw protruding....causing all the ruckus.

Upon closer observation...and of course without the aid of her morning coffee, Grandma J realized it was her friend the crab! The very crab she adopted at BlogFest in Mathews, VA.





The very crab she thought JJ would love to have as a playmate and constant companion.






Until it was apparent that JJ was letting his inner wolf surface, and had other motives besides friendship.

Do you remember how bad Grandma J felt? Remember how she cradled her little crab friend and brought him to the Crustation Clinic for immediate first aid?

What Grandma J didn't tell you was that she sent the injured crab back to Mathews, VA for expert care and recuperation with Chesapeake Bay Woman...the queen of crab love and compassion.






And the healing and constant nurturing paid off. My little crab was sent back to me better than new!






He bore a bill immediately due and payable lovely note from the Chesapeake Bay Family. It was the sweetest note, and Grandma J will always be grateful for the care they gave crab.






Grandma J let crab read his "other mother's" blog, and let him know she was fine, but missed him.

Now, while Grandma J is thankful for crab's complete physical healing...she's reminded of his dark side. Yes, it's apparent he has a very dark side. First of all JJ has never gotten aggressive with a crustation before. In fact JJ has never had a desire to hurt anyone except Keith, my daughter's neighbor in this whole wide world.

Another sign that Grandma J has to keep an eye on crab, is some of his bizarre behavior at BlogFest.....





Here's a reminder of some of his actions. And, there are plenty more where these came from.

For now, I can't wait to tell JJ and Phillip Johnny Bob that crab is back, and ready to be part of the family here at the Spa.

Cash For Clunkers........
.....is broke

It seems like you might be out of luck if you wanted to take advantage of the billion dollar stimulus program known as Cash For Clunkers. After less than a week, the program ran out of money.




Of course if you wanted to trade in this Nash Rambler, you probably wouldn't qualify because hellooo, it's a classic it's not a gas guzzler, and why would you trade it in? Just because it uses leaded gas and isn't equipped with Sirius XM radio and SYNC airbags and seat belts and.... well anyway, hold on because another infusion of cash might be on the way...besides, what's another billion down the drain cash anyways?


Now Grandma J is off to see her Friday Matinee. Will it Be G-Force or something else?

**NEWS FLASH**

The Gloucester-Mathews Journal Gazette

has a nice article about Blogfest '09.

Check it out!

.....now back to regular blogging stuff.

Virgina Crab...displaced



That's exactly what's been taking place in Texas ever since Grandma J bought JJ a squeaky crab toy at Blogfest.

Somehow, at Blogfest, when no one was looking, this crab took on a life of his own, and if you don't believe me, check out some of his antics at the beach.


Everyone knows that JJ is spoiled a squeaky toy lover, and Grandma J buys him toys all the time.







She knew he'd love the crab she bought him at Blogfest in Mathews, VA....and she was right.

JJ gently played with his Chesapeake Bay Crab.....and the crab acted like any other squeaky toy........until yesterday.

Things turned ugly, and JJ started playing rough....something he learned from a little puppy called Buttons. When all was said and done.........

Crab was in a pickle....he was de-crabbed, but thank goodness he didn't get boiling mad....if you know what I mean.







Off to the crab vet we went......







Gratefully, crab is on the mend, and the verdict is out on whether he stays in Texas...or goes back to the Chesapeake Bay. Stay tuned.