***AWARD

Who would have thought that these little awards we often receive can make a difference in some one's life. Often when I am having a bad day I will come across an award being given to me and it ALWAYS puts a smile on my face!
I was given this award from The Egel Nest. I am honored to receive such an award and I wanted to thank Bradley for thinking of me :0)
I am going to pass this award on to Matt, Suzanne, Anne and Darlene ! Congrats :0)

HOLIDAY GIFT NEEDS

Here I am Christmas shopping once again and my oldest son is next to impossible to buy for this year, so what do I buy him? I have noticed in the past little while that he is starting to show some interest in science and what is going on in the sky/universe. He is watching the stars and asking many questions so this year I feel that a telescope would make a great gift idea to help him get a better look at the stars.

Thanks to Optics Planet I was able to find many great telescopes for him along with many other gift ideas from binoculars, flashlights to sunglasses and more with 100% satisfaction guarantee and they offer free ground shopping on all orders over $29.95. Check out 1000's of the best gifts Optics Planet has to offer!

***CHRISTMAS BAKING....

I thought that since we have some company coming in the near future that I better get some Christmas baking done or at least started. This morning that was the first thing I was going to do with Blake after the kids went to school. All was going well, we had the cookie dough mixed and I was getting ready to role it out for cutting when I realized that I didn't have a rolling pin...now what do I do? lol So I got creative and used my role of wax paper to roll it out. To my surprise it worked rather well on we go with the cookies! A-A-A-CHOO....yes you guessed it Blake sneezed all over the rolled out dough and we had to throw it out and start all over GRRR!

OK round 2...the cookie dough is rolled out once again but guess what now? No cookie cutters...after some searching around the house I managed to find some play-doh cutters that worked pretty good (cookies are a little on the small side). One batch of cookies is all that got done today and for the next time I think I will just run to the grocery store LOL.

Blake had fun and really so did I so in the end I guess that's all that matters! :0)

THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

I don't know about you but for me one thing I cannot stand at all is somebody lying to me. I find people who tell a lie is totally disrespectful and really where does it get you anyway? Nowhere, you will usually find yourself in trouble or caught in a the lie somewhere down the road. So when I heard about LiarCard at http://www.LiarCard.com I had to find out more about it.

LiarCard is a voice polygraph that will let you know if you are being lied to or not by your children, spouse, business partner, childcare provider or anyone else you might suspect that they aren't telling you the truth. This LiarCard is 94% accurate and is used in the MTV series
Exposed" and in the upcoming Fox Reality show "Moment of Truth". Just keep in mind that this will only work if the other person isn't aware it's being used and use questions with more than yes or no answers.

So if you are wondering "Are they speaking the truth?" LiarCard is how you can find out without having to ask! Here it is, LiarCard's technology can detect the emotional content of speech patterns that reveal mental state and emotional makeup of the person speaking. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

***I GOT THE CALL...

Missing my Family...

It is getting harder with Christmas getting closer and not having my family around. This year is so much harder because my family is so much further than last year and we can't make those quick trips home to visit. Well my mom called me a little while ago and said that her, my dad and my sister are coming to visit December 7th,8th and 9th and can bring my hubbies parents along with them and that my other sister and her 3 kids are coming the 8th and 9th as well. I am so looking forward to their visit and now I have my work cut out for me getting the gifts ready to send back home with them and my house cleaning done. We just have to pray that the weather stays clear for them to make the 5-6 hour journey :0)

COUPON SAVINGS

Well, here we are getting ready for the holiday season and with this time of year comes lots of shopping. With having a large family I tend to use a lot of coupons, find great deals and promo codes to help with the expense of gift buying. This year I was able to find great savings with dell coupons and got the kids new winter jackets with Old Navy deals. The budget can get pretty tight this time of year but it doesn't have to with couponchief.com.

***CHRISTMAS WARNING....

CHRISTMAS WARNING...
Christmas has been canceled.

It's all YOUR fault!
You told Santa that you were GOOD this year.

AND HE DIED LAUGHING!

(trust me this joke is hilarious with the sound unfortunately I don't know how to add it to my blog?....but you will get the idea...however if you are up to a good laugh I can email it to you...just leave me your address in a comment I am still laughing at it LOL....Tammy I just had to sent it to you :0)

WINTER GETAWAYS

I don't know about you but I am not one for the cold weather here in Canada and we are looking forward to our winter getaway to somewhere warmer but one question I had in making this decision was where are we going to go and what is there to do? To very important questions I think. With the help from Trusted Tours and Attractions, a great website that I came across, we will be able to plan where we want to visit and have all kinds of great excitement with visiting some of the many attractions.

We have it narrowed down to visiting the Key West and at the top of my list of things to do, I would love to take some time to visit the Key West Aquarium that features turtles, tropical fish and one of my biggest fears, sharks. This aquarium also offers guided tours and touch tank feedings. To make this great aquarium adventure a step further why not enjoy a sailing adventure where you will find an abundance of shallow reefs for snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of Key West.

Trusted Tours has so much to offer in finding great attractions and tours for many destinations and right now Trusted Tours is offering a special giveaway where anyone who signs up for the Trusted Travel e-newsletter is automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of their choice. Take your time and enjoy all this great site has to offer.

***MY FIRST MAJOR AWARD!

Awe Shucks....I am speechless. I just received a "Major Award" from Tammy from Mom Knows Everything! This means the world to me especially to have it come from her. She is one of the best:0) Thank you so much Tammy!

Now I am passing this Major Award on to Anne, Darlene, Suzanne, Jocelyn and Mel.

GREAT GIFT IDEA

It's that time of year once again and people are busy getting their Christmas shopping finished in time for the holiday. What are some great gift ideas that you are looking for this year? My family has taken a huge interest in hiking and a good pair of new hiking boots would make a great gift for them. Metboots.com offers a large variety of hiking boots from well known companies and offers free shipping to orders over $100. Metboots has all you work wear needs and if you aren't sure what to get them this website even offers gift certificates for that special someone on your shopping list.

***BLOG BUDDIES AWARD!

I want to thank Jenn from Enjoying the Ride for this great "Blog Buddies Award". This award was created by Jenn for all her blog buddies and I got one :0) yippeee!

Now for another rewarding part of receiving such an award is to pass it along to others.

This award goes out to Anne, Tammy, Misty, Anna, Petula, Matt, Suzanne, Jocelyn, Kitty, Mel, Darlene and Kim.

***THE FIRST LETTER OF YOUR NAME...MEME

I was tagged by Tammy with this "The First Letter of Your Name" meme and thought I would have fun with this one....lets see what I can come up with.

It's pretty simple, just use the first letter of your name to answer the questions. They have to be real answers though, nothing made up and you can't use your own name as an answer. Since my name is Carrie all my answers have to start with a "C".

1.Famous Singer: Celin Dion
2.Four Letter Word: Cake
3.Street: Cameron Street
4.Color: Coral
5.Gifts/Presents: Candles
6.Vehicles: Cobalt
7.Things In A Souvenir Shop: Calenders
8.Boy Name: Connor (nephew)
9.Girl Name: Chelsea
10.Movie Title: Christmas with the Kranks
11.Drink: Coffee
12.Occupation: Cardiologist
13.Celebrity: Calvin Klein
14.Magazine: Cosmopolitan 15.U.S. City: Chicago
16.Pro Sports: Curling...pro ?
17.Fruit: CherriesReason For Being Late For Work: Traffic Jam
18.Something You Throw Away: Cans
19.Something You Shout: CATCH! 20.Reason for being late for work: Coffee

Wow that was harder than I thought...Thank goodness for Google :0) I am going to tag Mel in a Nutshell, New York Portraits, The Males Perspective , My Virtual Journal and Hip Mama Blog...Have fun!

***VOICE OVER TRAINING

If you are a voice actor, actor, public speaker, student, a casting director, voice talent agent, Voice Over Coach, or a producer then you are sure to find this information very helpful to you. Check out voices.com, they have a new podcast for Voice Actors which features voice over coaches from Canada and the U.S. where you can join in every week for more wisdom and tricks of the trade to better improve your voice over career.

***7 WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME...

I've been tagged by Mel from Mel in a Nutshell to do this Weird Things About Me meme....So here it goes...:0) Promise you won't laugh! Weird maybe...you be the judge...

Here are the rules:
*Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
*Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random / weird things about me:

1. The earlier I can put up my Christmas decorations the better (seems to be getting earlier every year)
2. My husband and kids all say that I have premonitions of things happening. I really do and it keeps me worrying all the time...
3. While preparing potatoes for dinner I will eat them raw (I have no idea why, they don't taste all that great?)
4. The toe next to by big toe is bigger than my big toe. (you aren't the only one Mel lol)
5. I always over heat in the shower....quick in/quick out/or look out!
6. I hate owing people money but have no problem maxing out our credit cards...(I guess the cards aren't people?)
7. If our bedroom is messy then there is sure to be no romance happening lol

TAG YOUR IT!...

Tammy

Matt

Anne

Anna

Jenn

Petula

Jocelyn

***ANOTHER AWARD...AWW!

There she goes again. Tammy is handing out more blogging awards and I want to thank her for thinking of me. She is the best and much deserving of this award as well as all the others. Tammy you are definitely an Amazing Blogger!

I am passing this award on to Anne, Mel, Petula, Anna, Kim, Suzanne and Matt because I feel they are too "Amazing Bloggers".

It's hard to believe that Friday is already here! The kids have the day off from school so we are looking forward to some time together, unfortunately it's raining out so we will spend the day inside.

Yesterday I was out shopping most of the morning and meeting with teachers and off to my daughters dance class so I wasn't able to visit many blogs. So while the kids are getting dressed and their rooms cleaned up I will spend some time blog hoppin' :0)

Have a great day!

HOLLYWOOD PROMOTION

If you are a lucky go getter and enjoy entering contests then check this one out. AAMCO has come together in offering a special Hollywood Promotion! Are you ready for this? It's the Drive Hard/Die Hard Hollywood promotion. You can go to http://www.aamco.com/ and enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Hollywood! Sounds great doesn't it. This trip to Hollywood consists of a four day trip to Hollywood and a day with the Live Free or Die Hard Movie Stuntman. Come on now be honest, who wouldn't want to go to Hollywood and spend the day with a stuntman from a great action filled movie it can only add to the excitement. Growing up I have always dreamed of going to Hollywood someday and with Live Free or Die Hard being one of my husbands favorite movies I could only imagine the look on his face if I was to win this great promotion.

For complete sweepstakes details, visit your closest AAMCO dealer or visit them online at http://www.aamco.com/. AAMCO transmissions offers free towing with major repair, certified technicians, less than dealer prices and more. Check out their website for great coupon offers and enter for your chance to win a great action filled trip to Hollywood!

***REPORT CARD DAY

Well it's already that time of the school year when the kids bring home their first term report cards. I was a bit worried for the first time with my oldest sons report with being slack with his work but I was surprised with him having all B's, now don't get me wrong I know he can do much better than this as he has always been an A student but with amazing changes for the better in the past couple of weeks I feel he is getting back on track and will bring his B's back up to the A's we are use to seeing. The other two children are doing well and on the right track to a great school year. The kids are home from school tomorrow due to teacher meetings and we are looking forward to spending the day together!

ST.AUGUSTINE ARTWALK

If you live or plan on visiting St.Augustine, Florida then you are in for some great fun and excitement. As you might already know, St.Augustine is America's oldest city and is home to many artists and art lovers. On December 7th and 8th this city will come alive with it's music and art exhibits and will continue on the first weekend of each month. There is so much to see and do at this event by enjoying the entertainment and refreshments, exhibits, music and the many participating galleries. You can take advantage of the free parking and the complimentary shuttle service to most of the galleries with St.Augustine's Sightseeing Trains and Old Town Trolleys.

First Friday Artwalk Weekend is St.Augustine's most popular cultural events. I have such a great interest in art work and someday I would love to take the time to visit different art galleries. One place I would really enjoy visiting during this event would be the St. Augustine Artwalk. The art galleries of St.Augustine feature the finest collection of art work in Florida and there are many types of art to be seen and appreciated from music, architecture, painting and photography. Take part in this great event and join in on the fun and watch this city come alive!

***CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTEST!

I came across a contest over at Deck The Blogs. Stacey and Marie are looking for blogs that are decorated for Christmas and they have some really great prizes to give away. Get in the Holiday spirit and get your blog decorated for the season then pop on by Deck the Blogs to enter their contest. Join in the fun!

***BLOG AWARDS

I was given 2 great awards from Misty from My Dogs Keep Me Sane. They are so cute aren't they :0) Every time I receive a great award it always puts a smile on my face and I'm reminded of the kind caring people out there in the world. I am glad to have met Misty and look forward to getting to know her better. Thanks Misty!

Now I am going to pass this along to Anne from My Virtual Journal, Tammy from Mom Knows Everything, Petula from It's a Woman's World, Jenn from Enjoying the ride, Anna from Beth and Cory's Mom , Jocelyn from Hip Mama Blog Kim from Stitch-n-stuff and Matt from The Males Perspective.

***THE 5 THINGS MEME...

I came across this meme over at Misty's blog My Dogs Keep Me Sane and since I enjoy doing memes I thought I would join in on the fun!

Found in My Room (well I guess all the rooms are mine in some way...I have to clean them all)lol (the computer room office seems to be where I spend most of my time)
1. My dear computer
2. My Christmas tree
3. Our collection of DVD's
4. My new fireplace...I love it!
5. Lots of family photos
I've Always Wanted to Do ...
1. Take the kids to Disney
2. Win the lottery! (who doesn't?)
3. Move back home with my family
4. Play the guitar (after Christmas)
5. Get a really good good camera and take much better pictures (professional quality)
Found in My Bag
1. Gum
2. Bank cards
3. Driver's License
4. HealthCard
5. pen (notice I didn't say money)lol
Found in My Wallet ...
1. Cheque book
2. another pen
3. pictures
4. grocery coupons
5. Still no money LOL
I'm Currently Into ...
1. Photography
2. Blogging
3. My daughters dance classes ( I love watching her dance)
4. Christmas Spirit
5. Getting the new addition to the house finished!

STAYING IN EUROPE

When planning a vacation or just a travel get away where do you find your travel information on booking your flights, hotels and other bookings that need to be made ahead of time? If you are travelling to the U.K. there are so many places to stay and through cheaperthanhotels.co.uk you are guaranteed the lowest rates. This website is user friendly making it easy for you to find the accommodations you are looking for to make you trip enjoying and relaxing.

If you are looking for accommodations in the U.K then this website offers great London Hotels with a wide range of last minute and year round options in all areas of the city. Paris is one place that I would love to visit and staying in one of the Paris Hotels will sure make your stay enjoyable with their many free extras! Paris is one of Europe's most vibrant cities and is less than one hour apart from London. It doesn't matter where you visit in the U.K. you will be sure to find great and affordable Hotels in Berlin as well as Hotels in Barcelona.

While visiting Europe a great way to get around the cities is by car. Car hire in Europe is the most recommended way of transport. Travelling by car gives you the flexibility you want. There is so much to see and do and you are sure to enjoy your time in Europe.

***MOVIE NIGHT!

It has been a while since we've sat down as a family to watch a movie and with today having the kids report cards sent home with them I thought it would be nice to make some time for us to enjoy a movie together. It is a yearly tradition for us to purchase a new Christmas DVD and yesterday we bought "The Santa Claus 3" DVD to add to our collection so tonight we will get to watch it. We did see this movie last year in the theatre and the kids really enjoyed it. I will have to make sure I have lots of popcorn ready for tonight. I am really looking forward to this family night. I great break from the everyday week night :0)

Boston Red Sox Tickets!

It's coming up to the beginning of another brand new baseball season. Of course spring training is our first chance to see what our favorite teams will have to offer. Coming off another World Series win the Red Sox certainly have a lot of expectations for this season to be successful. We are beginning to make plans for our spring vacation and are looking forward to taking in a few spring training games while we are away. What would be better then getting Boston Red Sox Spring Training tickets to see the beginning of another successful season. It will certainly be exciting to travel to Florida to see some baseball action.

Today was a great day with lots of Christmas shopping done and the finishing touches to the Christmas decorating are now done with lots of lights to light up the nights. The kids were off to bed early tonight which gave me some extra time to do some blog hoping and now I guess it's off to bed. Tomorrow the kids bring home their report cards so if all goes well with the reports we will be having a family movie night watching The Santa Claus 3.

Have a good night everyone :0)

AUSTRALIA HOLIDAYS

With the holiday season fast approaching a lot of people are getting ready to make plans to be with their family during the holidays. A close friend of the family is going to visit her daughter in Australia this year and through dialaflight.com she was able to find cheap flights and great holiday offers. Dial A Flight offers flights, hotels and travel ideas around the world and also provides some very useful travel information.

Dial a Flight offers many flight destinations including flights to Brisbane which is Australia's most lived in City and is known for its good living and style. Check out dial a flight for best priced flights to Brisbane and save by booking your flights and hotels together.

***FRIENDS

FRIENDS!

I was given a great Friend Award from Jenn from Enjoying the Ride. I have just recently met Jenn and I am really enjoying her blog and getting to know her more everyday. Thank you so much Jenn for this cute award! Those puppies are adorable! I love it!

I am passing this along to Anne from My Virtual Journal, Anna from Beth and Cory's Mom and Mel from Mel in a Nutshell.

I also was given this award from Tammy which I posted on my other blog Jabber Jaws...

NEW YEARS VACATIONS

Nothing is more enjoyable and relaxing than a great vacation get away and for us here in Canada we are entering some very cold months which means a great excape to a warmer climate. Before you choose a great vacation destination take some time to consider Oregon Beach Vacations.

Oregon Beach Vacations has so much to offer you with a great selection in private beach rentals rather than booking a hotel room. With these private rentals it gives you privacy fro yourself and your guests with access to a full kitchen and laundry facilities. If you are travelling with children then you will feel comfortable with their great family setting. Oregon Beach has more to offer with their beach vacation homes that are most suitable for Honeymoons, Anniversaries or just a romantic get away. Enjoy a family reunion big or small with their ocean front, beach front and garden view properties with studios to our 8 plus bedroom homes.

Enjoy some peaceful moments and book with OregonBeachVacations.com. With the holiday season getting nearer it might be the right time to look into an Oregon New Years vacation and bring in the new year somewhere relaxing and special with your family. Make it a great way to start off the year!

***WINTER HAS ARRIVED....BRRR!

No we still don't have any snow but I'm sure with the cold temperatures it's one its way. Today it was a chilly walk up to get the kids at school with the temperature of -5 with the windchill. Blake doesn't care much for the cold and wanted cuddled in his stroller with a blanket and just minutes after we left the house he fell asleep. That isn't like him at all and this morning he slept in until just before 8:00am instead of 6:30am. He must be coming down with something. I turned the heat up and we will get settled in for the night and keep warm. Flurries are expected for tonight. You never know we might wake up to a nice snow covered grown. There is something magical about the first winter snowfall!

WALL FOUNTAINS

If you are looking for that perfect gift with the holiday season approaching fast then look no further! Garden-Fountains.com offers a large selection of Wall Fountains online and here you will also find table top fountains, indoor fountains, garden planters, waterfalls and many more. One great feature that I like is that they don't require any special plumbing or electrical hookups. Just hang on your wall, add, water and enjoy.

***GET READY...IT'S AWARD TIME!

I am so grateful for all the awards I was given over the weekend and now it's time to share them with you and to pass them along to other deserving bloggers.

Let the Award Ceremony begin...

*First of all I received 2 great awards from Jocely from Hip Mama Blog thanks Jocelyn!

I am passing these two awards on to Anne from My Virtual Journal and Suzanne from Miss Kitty Fantastico.

*I was then given the Winning Attitude Award from Misty from My Dogs Keep me Sane...thank you Misty!

I am passing this award on to Jenn from Enjoying the Ride and to Mel from Mel in a Nutshell

*And last but not least, I was given this BTB award from Tammy from Mom Know Everything....thanks Tammy!

I am passing this award on to Petula from It's a Woman's World and Matt from The Males Perspective.

This concludes the award ceremony for today! See you next time... :0)

Have a great day!

POLICE GEAR

511tacticaloutdoors.com is a great website to serve the 511 tactical customer by carrying a large inventory of Police Gear. 511 tactical pants now offers three new colors in coyote brown, sage and tundra. These pants offer efficiency, convenience and durability and they are designed as a piece of equipment not just clothing. Check out their website for other great related features and most orders are shipped to you within 24 hours.

***TIME FOR THE TREE

Well since some of you have looking for some pictures of my Christmas tree I thought I should get my tree posted! Here it is and as you can see our new color (3 years) is blue and silver but I was talking of changing to burgundy and gold for next year...what do you think?

The garland around the doorway as you can see isn't completely decorated yet...didn't realize it until I took this picture...oop I will have to get it done today.

***MORE FAMILY PHOTOS...

A TIME FOR FAMILY

I thought that since I was sharing some family photos with everyone I would post a picture of my sister and her 3 girls. We live 5 hours away from one another and we really miss seeing the girls. It's a hard to believe that Alexis the baby will be turning 1 in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to our visit with them over the Christmas holiday.

And this picture was taken summer '07 while camping at the beach. It isn't too often that everyone is together at the same time and willing to cooperate for a picture but I finally got this done for my mom so she would have a picture of ALL her grand kids (one more to add to the picture next summer...)

***FALL FAMILY PHOTOS

Today we took advantage of a clear day to get some family photos taken for our Christmas cards...although it was clear and sunny it was very cold but we hung in there and after about 10 or so pictures and freezing fingers and red noses it was time to head home to warm up.