ss_blog_claim=89c5075de08a27469a4c85b7b67a5e81 Rantings Of A Woman: August 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

CAMERA CRITTERS #21

To participate click HERE!

Our new dishwasher!

....and when she isn't cleaning the dishes she spends her time watching the laptop for paid posting opportunities! lol

Saturday, August 30, 2008

TRANSFORMERS



Last year Blake's big thing for Christmas was "Diego"! This year I think it is going to be Transformers and one in particular is "Optimus Prime". So before we go out and spend lots of money of a bunch of transformer stuff we thought we would get him a small one to see how much he would play with it and also to see if he would be able to transform it himself. So while we were out today we finally found him the Optimus Prime transformer for $10 and he loves it. While still in the store he asked me to take him out of the shopping cart so that he could give me a hug! He was so HAPPY and what a big hug it was :0) He was so excited to finally get it out of the package when we got home but it took me FOREVER to finally figure out how to transform it into a truck....GRRRRR Blake was really patient with me and yes I did finally figure it out now I will be probably spending the day showing Blake how to transform his new toy!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Beauty Jobs

Once you have completed your training in the beauty industry and are looking to strike it out on the job front it is important to know where to look to find the jobs you want. There are increasingly more on-line job matching sites that will bring you together with potential employers. For the best available hair salon jobs in your area you can search by zip codes to find jobs around your area and you can also post your information for the potential employers to look at. The beauty industry is an exciting world for those whom enjoy relating to people and building relationships with clientelle to ensure they return for your excellant service.

Fruit Lovin'

I have been going through peaches like crazy, it's hard because we all love them but they only have such a short season. We buy them by the bucket full and once they are ripe we gobble them up in a day or two. I think we are on our 3rd basket in about a week and we are still enjoying them like it was the first one.

Christmas Time

Oh my do you realize it is less than 5 months until Christmas, it is coming fast. Luckily we started shopping for Christmas early and have already bought gifts for many of the relatives and even a few things for the kids here. With so many people to get for it is really important for us to start early. We are hoping to be done shopping by the end of November this year so we can focus on all the social activities around for December and enjoy the holiday cheer.

Texas Attorney

When you find yourself in the unthinkable situation that you have been hurt in an accident or by some other cause that is not of your doing it can be a terrible time for you. You are trying to get recovered and if you are missing work from your injury it can also hurt your budget at home. If you find yourself in this hard position it is important to find someone you can trust to have your best interest at heart. If you are in the State of Texas look for the team of Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney at the Law Firm of OMD. They pride themselves on being compasionate to your needs but being very aggressive against the ones that have harmed you to get you every bit of compensation you deserve.

Need some ZZZ's

I find myself completely exhausted, it has been a long summer and it is time to catch up on some sleep. I am trying to get the kids off to bed early the next few nights until they get back to school to help them catch up too. It was a busy summer and I will miss the kids terribly when they get back to school.

Coffee of Choice

It is the drink of choice for millions of people all around the world, many people choose to start their morning off with a great cup of coffee. The history of coffee dates back over a thousand years ago and has many stories from around the world. There have even been wars started over this wonderful drink. It has been used as a social drink, around the break table and in the evenings. There are many varieties and brews available in coffee houses all around the world some of the best are
chicago coffee
In today's society there is more emphasis than ever put on how products are created and that applies to coffee to the best organic coffee is being produced now and sold all around the world. Where is your favorite brew from, there are many different outlets all around the world or do you choose to brew your own at home? There have been many competitions all around the world to try and prove who has the best coffee around, many might believe that the best coffee los angeles but everyone has there own impression about what makes a good cup.

Fitness for kids

We recently got the coolest gift from my mom, now as you know I have been working out lately. She found mini exercise equipment for the kids to use to feel like they were working out with us. These are really neat and work just like the regular larger ones. We now have an exercise bike, treadmill and glider for the kids to use, they come in bright red/yellow/blue colors and have been a lot of fun for the kids.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

My Bill IQ

We are wanting to plan a trip with the kids before they get too old, but to do that we need to first get our bills under control. We are looking into Debt consolidation to lower our interest rates and have 1 bill to pay each month instead of the many we have now. It's important for us to find some Debt relief as with our move and fixing up our new home it created a lot of debt. We have a wonderful home now and we love it very much but it cost us alot to get there. We began looking into Debt help a few months ago but because we had been late on a few payments it was difficult for us to find anyone that would help us with our debt problems. We had to work on getting our payments back on schedule and keeping up with the minimums for a while to get our credit rating a little bit better. We found help at Bills IQ which is a quick questionaire designed to give you a better idea of your debt smarts and gives you ideas on what you can do to improve your bill iq. I scored a C 73% on my bill IQ questionaire which is very disappointing, it taught me that it was very important for us to make sure we are making our payments on time, and to plan for the future with regular contributions. The biggest thing that got us behind and built our debt loads was the amount of Credit card debt that we had accumulated through our move. It was very expensive to travel back and forth and to finish up all our renovations in the house.


Sponsored by Bills.com

Dance Registration

Getting ready for back to dance, the kids finished up their dance camp today and had a mini show at the end to show us what they have accomplished. It was quite an exciting moment and we were very proud. It was also the day of registration for the fall :0(, lots of money due to keep the kids going in their dance, with Blake entering classes for the first time and Kohl expanding back into jazz/tap along with his hip hop classes. It is going to be an expensive year for dance classes, but they enjoy it so much it makes it worth it.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Military DITY move

Having relocated many times I can honestly say it is a lot of work to get moved and relocated and it can be very stress full. In the military there are many relocations and in most cases you are given an allowance for the move. There are options that can allow you to pocket extra cash in the move if you don't mind doing a little work yourself, perhaps get some of your co-workers or family to help you out. Options like dity moving "do it yourself" moving basically means you get a container "ReloCube" delivered to your location and you load it yourself, once it is loaded it gets picked up and delivered to your new location. You save the expense of renting a truck and paying for workers to load and unload your belongings. Military relocations are just part of the job when you are serving your country so you need to be prepared when they come along. There are companies available to give you the best services with a good reputation ABF U-Pack is ready to assist you on your Military Move by starting you off with a quote for your move.


Friday, August 22, 2008

Camera Critters #20

Click Here to particiapate!
Yes another picture of my puppy lol!

Yesterday while the kids were enjoying the pool I thought I would let the puppy get cooled off! Well she isn't all that fond of the water and she got away from me ( I was worried that she would put a hole in the pool) and managed to wiggle her way up onto one of the kids water boards and no way was she getting off!
We will be spending the weekend at the campground with my sister so "Breigh" our puppy will have lots of time to get use to the water....I will just have to make sure to take along her water board LOL what a cutie she is!

Head Start on Christmas Shopping

With summer winding down and the kids back to school shopping all done my thoughts are beginning to turn to getting ready for Christmas. With 4 little children at home it is a busy time for me and my husband. Christmas morning is always very hectic in our home with the excitement in the air and the early morning risers excited to see what Santa has brought them this year. With only a few more pays before Christmas it is important for me to be always on the hunt for a sale. We generally start shopping for Christmas on Boxing Day and we pick up a few things here and there throughout the year mostly for all our neices and nephews and other family members so we can have all that out of the way by this time of year so we can focus the last few months on our own family. This year there has been some requests for video games so we will be waiting for the black friday specials where we can get the scoop on all the Post Thanksgiving ads that will be out and purchase our items on-line with out having to stand in line at the stores early in the morning, we did this one year and it rained, hard and we were soaked waiting for the store to open up. Some of our favorite ads come from best buy ad which we can usually get some of the games my oldest is looking for. Another one of our favorites online shops is at Walmart Online trying to stretch our dollars around as much as possible we tend to do a lot of our shopping here. This year with the cost of heating up so much and the kids doing more sports than last year it is going to be even more important for me to search out the deals and still try to get them what they really want for Christmas, wish me luck.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

BEDROOM MAKEOVER....

We have only lived in our new home for a year and already miss Trinity is wanting to make changes to it. I don't think so...... she has recently come across a life size wall sticker of Hannah Montana but the cost is outrageous at $90 and the look of disappointment was something. BUT when I looked at this life size sticker I noticed that the colors all matched her room and would have been perfect but still too much money. So I made her a deal and found a picture on google that I think will look great on her wall and match really nice without making expensive changes to her room...............................................................................................................................................



................................................................................................................................this is what I found! I think it cute and will look great. (I will leave out the word tickets) The colors all match nice so I will paint the on her wall along the left side of her room which right now still has nothing on it. Hubby (works retail) just got the Hannah Montana line in at work and he came across some Miley/Hannah pillows, cushions and throws that will all match her bedding so we will be getting her the accessories for Christmas. Oh and I can't forget about the Hannah door mirror. I am sure she will be happy with it all in the end and will love the new makeover!

What do you think????? sound good or should I go for the life size wall mural and surprise the heck out of her?????

Hot Contest

I recently found this cool contest with some fantastic prizes, exclusive to us Canadian Residents. I entered the contest and what a laugh I had listening to a talking Bologna sandwich encouraging me on through the process, I unfortunately didn't win on my try at the Stouffers Panini Contest but they have great prizes from a Vespa LX50 scooters or one of 40Panini Prize Packs that are given away everyday. The contest is an instant win and runs until September 2nd and allows you to find out right there while playing the game if you have one or not, if you're like me you can email the contest out to 3 people and get yourself more chances to win. Wish me lots of luck with that I really wanted the Vespa so Hubby could drive it to work and leave me the van everyday, LOL.
Remember to enter theStouffers Panini Contest soon as the contest end September 2, 2008.


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

APPLES, APPLES AND MORE APPLES



I love my backyard! The kids have lots of space to run, they have the trampoline jump on and the swimming pool for swimming. While the kids are enjoying all these activities I can enjoy sitting back relaxing out of the sun in the shade of our huge apple tree. I thought this was the greatest thing ever when we moved here last summer! Well that all changed once the apples started falling off the tree, what a mess of apples on the ground. Yesterday while the kids were swimming I took the time to raked up all the apples and put them into the compost bin (later on with the help from the kids) then finally the yard looked better and it was ready to mow (which hubby did when he got home)! Well the look of disappointment of my face this afternoon when I stepped foot in the backyard. You guessed it.....more apples and lots more of them so I am pretty sure that I will be spending the evening in the backyard cleaning up apples once again. If this darn tree didn't give really good shade then I would consider, never mind that no considering I would have the tree cut down. But the tree stays...at least for the rest of this summer lol.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Business Solutions

With the current economic conditions that are facing everyone, from individuals, to small, medium or large business it is important to spend time reviewing the current expense structure you are trying to budget to. As a retailer it is important to review all expenses and ensure you are operating your business as cost effectively as possible to ensure your best ROI that is possible. There are so many opportunities to cut expenses from heating, lighting, staffing, or providing upgrades to current operations to more cost effective models. Some expenses can not be avoided but you can shop around to find the best rates available to get the service you need at the best rate. In finding a provider to process and accept credit cards and debit transactions there are many providers that can offer similar services but it is important to get one that you can trust and has a proven track record of providing good merchant services. Merchant Advisors have over 20 years of experience in the payment processing industry and have a reputation of providing quality services. There payment processing solutions are designed to meet all the requirements you may need and their system is completely scalable to meet your needs. Their systems have been time proven to help merchants reduce their transaction processing costs and to make their operations run more efficiently. They have even been able to help merchants increase their sales through allowing different payment options for their customers. Their system can accept all major credit cards from Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. The system also is available for you to try 30 days for free to ensure you find the value in their product, and their is no contract to sign you are only obligated to go month to month and cancel at anytime with no penalty. To ensure your peace of mind they have a fully dedicated customer support line available 24/7 to be there for you if you experience any difficulties or have any questions.


Sunday, August 17, 2008

CAMERA CRITTERS

Here is another great snap shot of our puppy Breigh! This is one of my favorite of her while on vacation. Although she wasn't overly crazy about swimming at the beach, she sure loved running off with the kids beach toys!
To particpate click HERE!

What's your Disney Favorites

As a kid my favorite movies were all the disney movies, I can remember watching all the old movies, like lady in the tramp, fantasia dalmations etc. I can remember being excited to find one on TV, or even better when my Mom would buy us on on Video to watch over and over. I have kept my collection up and know that I have kids of my own they get to collect their own disney movies of course now on DVD so as the older titles come out on DVD I have to replace my older copies so the kids can have them on DVD too.
There is so many memorable characters I can't list them all but some of our favorites would include
Mickey
Donald
Minnie
Goofy
Pluto
Dumbo
Bambi
Peter Pan
Cinderella
Buzz
Woody
Lighting McQueen
Ariel
Belle
Symba

Think about your favorite movies, the list of great Disney movies is so long and so many of our family game/movie nights end with one of our Disney movies:

Cars
Toy Story
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Monsters Inc.
Lion King
Cinderella
Robin Hood
Peter Pan
Fantasia
Lady and the Tramp
101 Dalmations
Dumbo
Alladin
Fox and the Hound

What are some of your favorites movies, characters or songs from Disney movies, I'd love to hear about your top 5 choices from the Disney collection.

As I mentioned we have Game/movie nights in the house and are always looking for games that help lead into the nights movie, we recenly found a game Disney Bingo which is a DVD format game that is like the classic game but with new twists, it helps with learning colors and numbers and shows mini clips from disney movies involving all your favorite characters from your favorite Disney titles. I found this game on Amazon.com and I heard it is also available at Drugstore.com.





Sponsored by Screenlife Games

Friday, August 15, 2008

6 LAYERS OF ME

I got this meme off of Tammy's blog and since I actually had time to do this one I thought I better get it done!

:START::RULES:

1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It’s okey if you only post this questions in one blog as long as you answer them.
2. Get back to Me {YEN} and I’ll add your blogs to the master’s list HERE! Note that you are not ALLOWED to change the link of the here.
3. Copy from Start to End.
4. Tag as many friends online you know. But you don’t need to be tag in order to join.Copy this Participants List:

Me and Mine Creative in Me For the LOVE of Food Little Peanut Pea in a Pod It’s Where the HEART Is Around the World SugarMagnolias I Am Mommy All About The Memories Enchanted Play Just My Scrap Whats Up Simply Me Kitchen Deelite A Mothers Horizon In Depth A Life in Bloom Because Life is a Blessing Digiscraptology Joys iN life Life is What we Make it Photo Blog Dancing in Midlife Tune The Callalily Space Juliana's Site Mom Knows Everything Rantings of a Woman

YOUR BLOGSLAYER ONE:–

Name: Carrie-
Birth date: March 23–
Birthplace: New Brunswick Canada–
Current Location: Nova Scotia Canada–
Eye Color: Brown–
Hair Color: Brown–
Righty or Lefty: Righty

LAYER TWO:-

Your heritage: good question???I guess I will have to look into this one for myself as my family can't seem to help me :0(–
The shoes you wore today: Sandals–
Your weakness: take out–
Your fears: Losing family member–
Your perfect pizza: Extra cheese–
Goal you’d like to achieve in life: Happy and healthy children

LAYER THREE:–

Your most overused phrase on AIM: ?–
Your first waking thoughts: Do I have to get up???–
Your best physical feature:can't tell ya LOL–
Your most missed memory: family gatherings!

LAYER FOUR:–

Pepsi or Coke: I prefer Pepsi–
McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonalds (now I'm hungry).–
Single or group dates: I don't go on dates... We have kids LOL (we will have to change that one).–
Adidas or Nike: Nike–
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Yuck–
Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate–
Cappuccino or coffee: neither

LAYER FIVE–

A famous person, dead or alive, would you interview: can't think of anyone right now???–
Movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors: Annie ( I watched it all the time when younger and I still do today with the kids)–
Name two of your passions in life : My family and friends–
Least favorite time of day: between 2-3pm when the kids get home from school. things get so out of control around that time. (maybe this year will be different...one can only dream lol)

LAYER SIX–

Use hairspray or gel: Hair Spray–
Your favorite meal: Anything take out (chinese)–
Color is the inside of your head when you close your eyes: Black–
Listen to classical music: Nope–
Ever said LOL in real life without thinking about it: Nope:

:END::

There that wasn't so bad and I got it all done in one sitting LOL

I am going to tag Jenn, Matt, jocelyn and Petula!

Name that Number

How often do you find yourself going through your caller display and seeing calls you missed and don't recognize the number. Maybe you won a prize or lottery and never knew. LOL. There is new technology available that can allow you to lookup any phone number in the United States and Canada quickly and easily. You can find out the callers name, address, phone carrier and more and it's all free without a hassel of signing up for a service or paying any charges. This service works for land lines and cell phones and covers millions of phone numbers. Reverse phone look up can be used for any variety of reasons and allows you to search a number without the person you are searching knowing you are looking up their information.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS

I am up fairly early and excited to get the kids back into their dancing. Kohl and Trinity have missed two weeks of their dance camp and really missed it! Trinity goes in for 9:30 and Kohl's class starts at 10:30. With any luck the music picked out for her solo will be suitable for her and she will be able to start her dance solo in the next couple of weeks. Well I guess I should go get the kids breakfast and get ready to go out the door. Oh and the sun if finally shining bright, something it hasn't done here since the first of August! I might even get the lawn mowed, it's starting to look like a hay field!

Payday Loans

We hear a lot about payday loans in the media and newspaper these days about the awful interest rates they charge and nasty behaviors they have to get your money. It is important for you to know what you are signing up for before you accept money from a payday lender. These type of lenders tend to charge pretty hefty interest charges and they can add up fast. Using payday loans to help cover unexpected bills like car repairs, utility bills and other things that come up. It is very important to know what your repayment schedule and costs will be and be sure you can afford to cover the costs. You may ask What happens if I default on a payday loan? well in actually you don't have to worry about going to jail but you may get hit with extra penalties so be very careful

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

IN OVER MY HEAD...

Since we got home from vacation I have been doing nothing but putting things away, cleaning and getting things organized. I didn't sit down until hubby got home from work last night but I did get some stuff done around the house. The kids go back to school the first week of September but I am getting a head start on the school supplies and clothes and everything that goes along with back to school. Usually I will wait until the kids are in school to get their rooms organized but I am looking at going back to work hopefully by then and want things ready to make things easier for hubby in the evenings with the kids. So although it seems a bit overwhelming right now it will be great in the end when we don't have to worry about it in September. I love my family and miss them very much but I am glad they aren't coming for a visit this weekend because my house would be a disaster! For now I will take things one room at a time.

Making business better

In the world of business as in life nothing is free but you can find assistance in providing communication tools to your clients or associates. You can use ShareMeeting to provide you with cheap web conferencing that is easy to use, nothing to download, you simply log in through your browser and start your meeting. You can bring people together from all over to get the same information from the same provider all at the same time. You've got nothing to lose if you subsribe to the service you can try it for 30 days and if you aren't satisfied you can get a free refund. You can use software as a service SAAS to increase your flexibility for your business. Instead of pouring money into investing in software for your business you can simply rent the software and avoid the depreciation, support staff, hardware and other costs that come along with it, all you need is internet access so you can use this software on the road, at home or at the office. For your projects if you are using virtual studio you should subsribe to the hosted team foundation server which features no contracts, no set up fees and allows you to integrate to other hosted products easily. Again these products come with a 30 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose and a world of simplification to gain.

Monday, August 11, 2008

QUIRKS MEME

Jenn tagged me to do this meme and how could I say no to her! :0) So here we go....

Here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules.
Tell six quirky, yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.
If you participate, let the person who tagged you know you've posted your quirks!

1.I am with Jenn on the laundry folding thing.... it drives me crazy when my laundry is folded different than how I fold it. GRRRR

2.When I want a night out by myself I book myself a hair appointment. I'm sure I could think of somewhere else to go but I always end up at the hair salon....now you know why my hair is so short. Time to think of something else to do lol

3. I am always looking for something to renovate in my house and when all the work is finished go looking for something else to get into.... I just finished making Blake a temporary closet for his sweaters!

4.I love a good snow storm. The bigger the better. Unfortunately we haven't had a good winter in a long time....and yes I love the shoveling that goes along with it.

5. I am constantly worrying about something and if there is nothing to worry about I will come up with something. I hate this, it drives me crazy....

6.I wear socks in the summer(only in the house). My feet are always cold.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Slimquick or bust

When you are going into the un-regulated world of supplements and diet programs it's hard to navigate through what is marketing gimmics and what will really work. There are so many diet programs available on the market today and to try them all out you would have to win the lottery. On-line sites can be a good source of information on these supplements and if you take the time you can find review sites that give you the good, bad and ugly on everyone. Think of the popular slimquick supplement you hear and see about it everywhere. I found out that it is actually 50% caffeine and basically works in your system as a stimulant and it will work and speed up you metabolism for a while hence the name slim quick but the draw back is caffeine is a stimulant and it's effects on you will lesson over time, it might be a good choice to kick start your program but be wary of staying on it for a long period, the old fashion exercise and diet will help you better in the long run.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

CAMERA CRITTERS


Thank you Tammy for the reminder for today's Camera Critters. As some of you may already know how much of a baby our new puppy is but I just didn't realize how big of a baby until one night at the campground when I peeked in at her in the shelter and found her laying in my nieces baby swing. How cute is that?????!

Getting Physically fit

As you all know I have been working with a group of friends and family to help keep us all motivated in our weight loss challange. We have been doing great and by posting our results on the blog for all of us to see I think it has done a great job motivating us all to work harder to obtain our goals. I have been working on controlling diet and working hard on the treadmill but I have also looked into other supplements to, trying to find the best diet pills available took some work. I used the internet to help research different types. I found one great source that showed me all the top supplements and rated their effectiveness, ingrediant quality and benefits. The success we are achieving is great and I am very excited to say I bought my first bikini in over 10 years and actually wore it to the beach over vacation.

ANOTHER YEAR OF SURPRISES

It all started with the hat....

Every year my father is dared to do something totally stupid and again this year during our camping trip after someone being smart (my mother) put a nice pink hat on his head he was dared that by the end of the week we wanted to see him in a bathing suit. Surely enough the next afternoon he comes prancing out of the tent wearing a bathing suit and skirt along with his pretty pink hat. What a character he can be and he had the campground laughing! Oh and the hat he wore pretty much the entire week. If someone knows how to have fun in my family it's my father. The dare is on already for next summer so we might just see him in a bikini????? God help us then LOL
Now he just needs a new name???? Right now I am calling him Johnny Pearl!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Shopping Online

Have you ever purchased anything online, it is certainly becoming a more popular form of purchasing goods and services. One of the leaders in the online shopping game is the Cable shopping network, which prides itself on providing customers with unique shopping options like president dollars and other collectibles. They provide an excellant shopping environment and bring a secure checkout system that will ensure your protection with online shopping. There is also fast shipping available so you can get your selections quickly and reliably. The cable shopping network provides a unique product line with something for everyone, whatever you are looking for you can certainly find it quickly.

GOOD BYE TRAINING WHEELS!

Sense we had some extra time on our hands during one of our camping days we decided we would take the training wheels off of Kohl's bike and teach him to ride a two wheeler! At first I thought it was hopeless and that the training wheels should be put back on, well at least until we got home and were a lot closer to a hospital LOL but mom insisted that he could do it and took over and spent some time with him. Well let me tell you that by the end of the evening he could actually ride his bike without the training wheels and had a lot of scraps and cuts to show for all his hard work and he was some proud of the one on his knee! Unfortunately he hasn't had time to ride his bike since.

THE LONGEST BREAKFAST MENU LIST


I was tagged by Tammy for The Longest Breakfast Menu List Meme a while back while we were on vacation or just getting ready to go and I am finally getting around to doing now, so here it is...

*Start copy here*

The Longest Breakfast Menu ListEveryone likes to start their day with a comfort food for breakfast. What kind of food do you take? This would be a good way to find out your blogger friend’s favourite food for breakfast.All you need to do is to put your name down, the country you are in and your favourite breakfast meal. Let’s see how we can have this breakfast ‘menu’ travelled all around cyberspace and learn what each blogger living in different country and what do they eat for breakfast. This meme was created by a little lady with a penchant to spy around little baskets while marketing. Her favorite breakfast of the day is none other than Roti Prata, an indian flat bread. What about you? What is your favorite breakfast meal of the day?

1. Spymama, Singapore - Roti Prata 2. Yyun, Singapore - Wantan Mee 3. A Simple Life, Philippines - Tapsilog (tapa, garlic rice & egg) 4. It Is Nap Time, America, Biscuit with sausage gravy 5. Mom Knows Everything, Canada - Coffee 6. Rantings of a Woman, Canada - mini wheats

Denver Excitement

In a city like no other you will find all sorts of excitement in the city of Denver Colorodo. There is so much to do and see in this beautiful city next to the Rocky mountains and to find out what is going on all around the city you need to turn to the best source of information in the Denver Magazine. You will find coverage on everything in the news from around this beautiful city. If you are interested in sports there is coverage of all the major teams, from Baseball, Football and Hockey. You'll also find coverage of all other sports from around the city. You can also catch up on real estate, banking, developments and retail information from all around the city. For those of more an automotive nature you can find all kinds of information surrounding all types of vehicals and recreational things like planes, boats etc.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

Most nights while sitting around the campfire the kids fell asleep one by one and I think I have to say that the puppy was the biggest baby of them all. For us to get the puppy to sleep at night we had to cover her with a blanket. They only last about 30 minutes around the fire before the first one would fall asleep then it had the domino effect from there.


Thursday, August 7, 2008

IN THE SKY

One of the things I look forward to while camping at Murray Beach is the sunsets. I didn't get a picture of the sunsets every night but I did get some good ones. I would have to say the best ones were right after a thunder storm. These pictures were all taken right from our campsite! What a view!!!!





Radiator Specialist

When looking for replacement parts for your vehical sometimes it is better to turn to a specialist to ensure you are recieving the best possible prices along with great quality. For your Toyota Radiator replacement needs you need to turn to the experts at Radiator.Com, they specialize in everything with radiator systems. They have developed a system of distributors all accross the country that can quickly locate your radiator and get it shipped in most cases it will arrive in your location the next business day. They provide great prices because they have eliminated the middle man and work with clients like you directly. Don't be fooled by other competitors that use import lower quality parts Radiator offers a lifetime guarantee on their products.

CAPE TORMENTINE BEACH


Even though we are camping right on at the beach we took a small drive up the road to Cape Tormentine. This is a beach that my dad goes to quite often in the summer because of the memories. My grandfather grew up in Cape Tormentine and they spent a lot of time at that beach. We had a great time and the view was amazing. While sitting on the beach we could see the cars cross the Confederation Bridge going to Prince Edward Island and the best part was that the puppy was allowed on this beach. She wasn't too fond of the water but loved digging in the sand. I think this was the last nice day we had before the rain.


This was my last day to sun tan and my tan was a bit red...

GETTING SOME SLEEP


Matt is the kindest hubby ever! Usually when we are camping I will get to sleep in for a bit. He gets up with the kids and gets them breakfast then it's off to the park they go. This year our puppy crawled into bed with me and got a bit more sleep. What a baby she is!

Coin Collectors

When you are searching on starting or working on your coin collection whether for a hobby or for investment purposes it is important to have the best resources working for you. When finding a coin dealer you can trust it is important to have someone with a strong reputation on your side. The team at Monaco Rare Coin is exactly that, there team of specialist will work with you to determine your exact needs and what products will match up with your interests. They have access to coin and investment opportunities that other sources won't even be able to access. They also provide the best prices available on rare coins and can help you locate special coins.

CAMPFIRE FUN

Now you can't go camping and not have a campfire. With it being the weekend a lot of my family came camping for the weekend and what wild fun we had. Trinity and my sister Robin led the campfire with Robing playing her guitar and Trinity singing her little heart away. Man that girl has talent, not only can she dance but she can sing. Some of the songs they sang were, Tear Drops on my Guitar, Foot prints in the sand (Leona Lewis), Dixie chicks and so on. We had a great time and loved the entertainment but if that wasn't enough some of us got up and dance to the cha cha slide. I even managed to finally get my mom up and what a hoot she was. Now that she has lost some weight she will get up and have fun with the rest of us! Go mom!

I am in this picture doing the slide. Dressed all in black on the end to your left...My god we had fun! You should have seen the other campers, did they ever get a laugh out of us all weekend LOL. We are just campers who know how to have fun!

CHIPMUNK TROUBLE

Alvin, Simon or Theodor?

We thought is was great that we had some trees on our lot. A great spot to hang a line for the wet towels and a spot to tie the puppy. Well it wasn't long after that we realized that the chipmunks also liked those trees and the first couple of days they tormented our puppy and kept steeling her food. She was good though, she just said there and watched as the chipmunks ran up and down the trees in front of her then would just sit on a branch and stare down at her.

WEDDING IDEAS

I have been married to my husband now for 7 years and looking back at our wedding day just reminds me of all the work and planning that is involved with planning such an event. I wish that I had the help from weddingchannel.com to help with some of the Wedding Ideas to make things a bit easier. With the future plans of my sisters wedding she can take advantage of this great website to make her wedding planning a lot easier. From wedding planning to local vendors, the online registry, free interactive planning tools and so much more this will make her wedding planning as stress free as possible.

GETTING SET UP....

......AND GUESS WHAT???? IT RAINED!
That is no surprise but who would have expected it to have rained as much as it did during the past two weeks. It sucked :0( but that didn't and hasn't stopped us from having fun and with my dad around there is always lots of fun and very funny moments! When we arrived at the campground my parents were already there and had their things set up. We were later arriving as we got held up with Matt's parents and a down pour of rain. The rain let up a bit so we tackled the biggest job of vacation which was setting up camp for a week. We did get wet getting set up but at least it wasn't cold! Yep that character below is my father. He came prepared with his rain hat. Oh and watch for more pictures to come because that isn't the only hat he brought with him. (warning...just keep in mind I did say that he is a character LOL!)

Thanks for the help dad!

THE BEGINNING OF OUR VACATION


And we're off!
The vacation begins....



Getting to our vacation destination point is always a challenge for us. When going away for 2 weeks with four children where in the heck do you put of the gear and clothes etc... that we will be needing. Well we have always managed over the years to get everything in the van (including the kids) and this year was no different but I think we will be making some changes for next summer. I hate travelling with the kids packed in the van so tight with stuff shoved under there feet and barely any room to breathe so we are looking into getting a trailer to store some of our gear. Now we would really like to get a tent trailer so that we can put the years of tenting behind us but that will all depend on how many hours I decide to work when I start hopefully in the fall. But if that doesn't work out by Spring we have a back up plan. My FIL has a small utility trailer that we can buy off him so haul our stuff and that will make a huge difference. I know one thing for sure we WILL have a trailer of some sort.


Our puppy is great when travelling. She has her own little spot between us in the front and just sits back and enjoys the ride.

This was one of the best moments while driving. Blake finally fell asleep and it was quiet. He was so excited to be going camping that he just wouldn't be quiet. LOL Unfortunately it didn't last long.

TIME FOR A HONEYMOON

It has been 7 years since I married the man of my dreams but unfortunately we have never gone on a honeymoon. Well I think it is time to get away just the two of us from the busy, hectic life with four young children. We have been trying to decide where to go and are leaning towards going to Cancun, the place we originally had chosen to get married. While looking into the cancun hotels we have come across some really nice secluded white sand beaches along the Riviera Maya. There is so much to do and see and with their all inclusive packages we are sure to find time for fun and relaxation.

JUST A FEW YEARS BACK...

Growing up I spent most of my days and weeks swimming. It started off as a recreational sport then not long after I joined the competitive team and from then on Synchronized Swimming became my life. I trained 5 days a week from swimming laps in the pool, working on routines, weight training and so much more. In this pictures it was mine and Francine's first year doing a duo together at the competitive level and I can remember all the fun and hard work that went into that routine.
A member of our swim team hosted a reunion for all us swimmers on the weekend so that we could catch up on what everyone has been doing but unfortunately with our wet vacation we couldn't make it. It would have been so fun to get together and talk about old times. I will have to check out facebook later to see if there are any new pictures posted of the reunion.

WHAT A HOUSE!

I can only imagine what is looks like inside, apparently there is a running brook or something that runs through this house covered so that you can see it. It is a beautiful property. This house is near where we live and we see it every time we come home to visit. It is known as the Moffatt Castle and is well talked about in Cape Breton. These pictures were taken during the winter but during the summer it is amazing. I did take pictures of it without the snow but can't seem to find then on my computer. I will try to get some more on our way home in a few days.



PLANNING OUR NEXT TRIP

When it comes to a family vacation we always find ways to make the most of our time together and always create lots of fun memories. Usually we just do the simple camping trip with my family and we are fine with that but now that the kids are getting older we have been considering planning a family trip to Florida to take the kids to Disney. Saving and planning for a family of six will take some time but we are hoping to get the kids there in the next couple of years. Then they will all be at a good age to enjoy all the rides so in the mean time I will spent my time looking for the best deals out there to make this trip more affordable. I will be watching orlandofuntickets.com for discount Disney tickets and all Orlando theme parks tickets, attractions and dinner shows. Every little bit we can save will get us that much closer to a fantastic family vacation!

WHERE TO START?????

It has been a crazy week and the weather sucked. This is unusual for us as we normally get nice weather while on vacation. Last year we didn't get one day of rain and this year we are lucky to get a day of sun. Oh well we have back up plans to keep the kids entertained now this morning we are sitting waiting trying to decide if we will go to Magic Mountain (water amusement park) or wait until tomorrow. I think it will be tomorrow. If we can't get the weather to cooperate we will use our back up plan of Crystal Palace (an indoor amusement park with rides) and a movie night at the theatre. We will have to do something soon as we are running out of time and will be heading home in a few days. I can't wait to get back into my own bed!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Planning a dream home

Once you've made the decision to have your dream home built it is just the beginning of a wonderful journey you will embark on. The best advice I can give to anyone thinking of building a home is to spend a lot of time planning and thinking out the design and functionality of your home. It is important to have the proper House Plans to match your lifestyle and needs to ensure you get the most enjoyment out of your new home. Our homes are generally the biggest investment we make in our lifetimes and it is important to get it right. To plan out your next move many people will contact a architect to design your plan but there are other alternatives to get the house plans you are looking for while saving money. House plans and more is set up to help you find the home layout and size that matches up best with your needs and also provide a contact source for builders in your area to help make your process easier. They have a wide variety of home plans available from Country House Plans which typically feature a welcome porch and dormers in the roof. If your more of the outdoor type with a flair for adventure there is also log home floor plans. Whatever your taste might be they will have a home plan to match up to your budget, size and architecture design choice.

The Vacation Continues

We are moving into the final part of our vacation, with camping, Anniversary and Birthday behind us we are traveling onto our Amusement section of the vacation with a trip to the zoo and the water park on the books for the next few days we have been trying to catch up on some sleep the last few days and trying to dry out our camping gear as we got caught in a rain storm the last 2 days of our camping trip. We set it up again at my in-laws the last few days but it has been stubbornly showering every couple of hours since we arrived here. We are packing up today and will have to pack up the wet tent, etc again and try to set it up again at my parents house when we arrive later today. Surely we can get 1 sunny day in the next 4? Let's hope for the best, we'll see how things go. I'll be back home next week and will fill up the blog with lot's of pictures and stories from the road. It's been a lot of fun.

House Planning

When trying to build our new home a few years back we found we really didn't know where to get started at, it is a big job to undertake and we really needed to have some expert advise to get us through the process of designing our Home Plans that would incorporate everything we needed to function as a family and enjoy our new surroundings. We spent days pouring over floor plans trying to come up with something that would work. Now there is a website that you can use to have experts spend the time to narrow down your search for you. When you enter in your design criteria, house size, rooms and other features you are looking for than the team at house plans and more will go through their database to find selections that best match to what you are looking for. You can use their design or tweek it to match perfectly. They also provide features to provide you with approved builders in your area to ensure you have a quality job done. They provide many catagories of home plans for your from the Contemporary house plans which features modern ideas asymmetrical design and irregular window sizes to allow maximum light. There are other designs available as well like the French Country House Plans which originated in the France country side and feature brick or stone exteriors and high steep roofs. There are so many choices and as the plans are already created they can be sold to you for much less than what it would cost for you to get an architec to design for you.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008