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This picture was taken by my 12 year old son...our puppy has been spending a lot of time in Jays room in the window! It's hard to believe that Breigh is already 8 months old!

SNOW DAY!

The kids are home today enjoying a snow day from school. We got a fair amount a snow but the freezing rain and winds is what caused the school closures this morning. Right now it's not to bad outside, I think it's -6 with the windchill. Matt and the kids are outside playing and shoveling the driveway but by the sounds of things they are getting ready to come in....Just in time I made a big pot of turkey soup and it is almost ready!

I'm not sure what we are going to do today but Matt has the day off and I only go to work at 6pm! Since the roads are clear I might just go get some color added to my new hair cut!

Hope you all have a great day!

Hooking up a friend

It's been a while since I was in the dating game and a lot of things have changed with the Internet there have been many sites developed for people to meet each other and get to know each other online before they go out on a date. My husband has a single friend that has trouble meeting women but he is a nice guy, possible a little eccentric and he can sometimes be dramatic but they were talking about getting him into the online dating game to find him a match and get him back out there after many years of not dating. To help him with his search he turned to a Dating Directory Online to find the sites that would best match up to his lifestyle. This is great because it allowed him to narrow down his search to a number of sites quickly instead of hunting all over the net for specific sites that matched up to what he was looking for. It ranks the sites that match your search in order of relevance. The best part for him because he is a bit of a tight wad is that the service is all free. We are hopeful that he will be successful in his search and find that one part of his life he feels is missing.

Snow Day

Well the snow and freezing rain arrived overnight and surprise the kids have a snow day and are home from school. I was lucky because hubby had the day off work too so I got to sleep in. They are heading out to shovel the driveway in a few minutes and it looks thick and heavy as it turned over to freezing rain after the snow fell. There is nothing coming down now and it is at least above freezing so they should be able to get things cleaned up pretty good and keep the driveway wide enough for my new truck!

Finding new Music

Now that I have my own vehical to drive to work and things and find myself not driving the family mobile with DVD all the time I realized that I'm out of touch with the current state of music today. Really the last few years if it wasn't Barney or Mini Pops I didn't hear it. Now being out of touch I decided to search the internet to find some information on what is the coolest music around. I was able to find sites that were designed specifically for people just like me to go and give music reviews of all the latest songs and give their opinions on what was hot or not. This was a great tool for me to get some ideas of what songs were out there for me to take a listen to for my Truck CD. Discovering catchy songs from Alesha Dixon and David Archuleta was fun and to see what others thought of the songs was great information for me. Checking out the Pop Music Reviews I also found some fun songs for my Daughter who is getting into the grown up music stage. She loves to go on and find song titles and than go to listen to the song or watch the video on youtube. This particular review site is also about building community where you can find new friends with similar like in music to you and build your personal profile to help you find these people. There are all kinds of community sites out there and many of them are completely free to use, so click on and start voicing your opinion.

I think its a new Doo

I have been debating my hair the last little while but after spending last night at work going through pictures with the girls(on break of course). I have decided to go back to my short short hair cut. Hubby is off this morning so once the kiddies get off to school we will head off(no pun intended) to the hair dresser and get the cut and style. I am hoping this will help me get through the winter blahs a bit, with some snow/rain coming tonight it should be warming up a little bit at least by tommorrow.

My newest Renovation

When we moved into our home about 2 years ago we envisioned many projects that we wanted to get into to make our home more modern looking. We have been completing a lot of projects around the house and are basically down to 1 major interior project, the new kitchen. I have been eagerly waiting for this project but we wanted to get the smaller projects out of the way first. We have begun searching for design ideas to figure out what Luxury Kitchen Design would best suit our tastes. We have reviewed traditional kitchens online and have found some beautiful kitchens at the link above. The EWkitchens website will guide you through all kinds of kitchen design ideas. With this information you will surely find a design that will match your space and taste. The kitchen is the most important room in your home when it comes to re-sale and just day to day life we spend so much time in our kitchen that it has to have good functionability.

THE WINTER BLUES....

This is the time of year that I dread :0( It is too cold to get to do anything, I have no desire to go shopping or even just walking around the mall. Work is keeping me busy but I am getting tired out and all I want to do is sleep. Now that won't be a problem in September when Blake starts school but now it is hard but thankfully he loves his morning movies! Anyway I'm sure this is just a faze and once the weather starts getting nicer I will get out and walk everyday and start getting back on the treadmill. I just have to get over this hump.

It is fast approaching the kids dance competitions. I will have to book some time off from work mid April for Trinity's week long competition. This will be exciting and I think she is looking forward to our girl time since the boys will be staying home this year.

Now that dance exams are over they are getting focused on their choreography... I don't know if I mentioned this or not but Trinity got commended on her junior 3 jazz exam and Kohl (his first dance exam) for his junior 1 jazz got commended plus!

Well I guess I should go make some lunch, hubby just got home and I will have to go pick the kids up at school soon!

In a pinch

Times are tough and we are all feeling the pinch when it comes to budgeting our money. I know we are and it is getting a little better now that I am back to work, finding a job to work around my husbands hours took a while but it was necessary to not pay child care. In the period that I wasn't working there were times when we had some financial issues and had to look for a payday loan to pay for unexpected house repairs. Payday loans are a bit scary as they come with catches and for us it was important to get the bill paid up quickly to avoid extensive interest charges. They tend to be a bit expensive but they certainly provide a necessary service for many people that find themselves strapped for cash between paydays. When you find yourself in a tough situation turn to experts like Yellow Leaf Financial, they aren't here to judge they are here to quickly process your application and help your regardless of your credit situation.

Enjoying Freedom

It was so nice today, the first weekday with my new wheels, I was able to sleep in this morning as hubby got the kids up and dropped them off at school on his way to work. It was even nicer because it was freezing cold today so I didn't have to freeze my buns off. I really needed the break so I could get some rest and help out my sore back and knee.

Hoping for Spring

As it is so cold here today with temperatures in an arctic deep freeze I have decided it is time for me to take a look at things to get me in a Spring Mood. I am so looking forward to nice weather again, days I can go walk on the beach with the kids. We generally go to the beach here a couple of times a week, which is the good thing about living beside the ocean. These sandles from dani black shoe look so comfortable and I love the tangerine color, the metallic hardware will certainly keep them together, there's nothing I hate more than shoes that fall apart. The best feature of these is the platform, a girl can use every extra inch she can get if you know what I mean. With working afternoons/nights now I find it more difficult to get out and shop around so being able to sit at the computer and shop online for things certainly helps me make discissions easier. The Dani Black Website I found these shoes on even told me what stores in my area I could go to for the shoes. I thought this was great because I can just go and try these on without having to search shoe stores all over the mall, or guess what size to order online. This certainly helped me get out of my frozen funk and I am looking forward to some warmer days.

I'm going into hibernation!

What a change a few hours makes, yesterday was a beautiful day, it had warmed up enough that the snow and ice started to melt and got to a high of 5. This was very convient because it allowed me to send hubby out to widen the driveway so we can fit my new Torrent in the driveway easier. Anyway it started cooling off after supper and this morning I wake up to -21 and with the wind chill -30. I am frozen and spending the day in bed (which is very nice) hubby surprised me by going out and picking up the new Comforter set we were looking at while I was at work to finish up our new Bedroom. A nice benefit of having 2 vehicles as he was able to take the kids out and get groceries and the bedding and I was still able to have a vehicle at work to come home when I was done. Jay and Hubby are supposed to be going to a movie after lunch (Mall Cop) to celebrate their special day (Anniversary of day Hubby adopted Jay). They have been talking about the movie all week so I'm sure they will have a good time. The other kids are feeling a little bit left out but we had our family celebration last week so today is just for the them.

Finishing up !

I am so excited because tonight while I am at work my husband will be finishing up the last of our renovations on our new bedroom. This has been a project of love and has taken us almost a year to get to this point. This bedroom started out as a garage which we didn't need under our youngest sons bedroom. We had to start from scratch and insulate, gyproc the walls, build a closet. Adding a window into one wall which had originally bin the garage door to let some light in. We painted the walls and put down some carpet. The finishing up is some molding work and I think there was rumor of some surprises tonight when I get home, hmmm wonder what is in store. The next renovation project in our old house will be moving onto the kitchen which certainly shows it age. We will be starting with new doors for our cupboards and also sand down the existing cupboards and changing the color to save money. We will also be changing out the counter top and adding in a new double stainless steel sinks to replace our ancient single one. I am very excited to get to the spring time so we can start this project, I think it will really improve the feel of our home.

That's the ticket

What excitement in our area tonight, there is a large lotto, one of the biggest in memory being drawn tonight. The lotto 649 is 43 million I can't imagine what having that much money would be like but wow, someone's life will change forever. It would be kind of neat to see 43 different winners so the wealth could be spread around to different people. What would you do as a millionaire?

Craft Show online

I love handmade gifts there is just something so intriguing about having something that was hand crafted, knowing someone has put themselves into their craft. Shopping and selling all sorts of handmade goods is getting easier through new websites like Artfire.com which is set up to help independant artisans offer their products. Bringing people together is at the heart of this project and to prove it the basic level programs allow sellers to offer 10 items for sale at a time with no fee for listing their products. Another exciting feature of their service is their connection with Trees For The Future which allows 1 tree to be planted for every new member to Artfire.

MY NEW WHEELS!

PONTIAC TORRENT

Well I did! The decision was made today over lunch while Blake played again at MacDonald's. We drove back to the dealership and got the paper work started and I thought the shopping part was stressful, try sitting back waiting to see if the application get approved. Anyway we finally got word just before 4pm, I picked hubby up at work and we went in to sign all the papers! What a great feeling! We are now looking forward to a little less running around and hopefully Matt will be able to get to bed before midnight instead of picking me up at work every night at 1am.

I still can't believe I have my OWN vehicle!

Shoes for the whole family

With signs of spring showing up, slowly that may be I am beginning to thing about getting into spring clean out and shopping to fill the closets. I have been shopping online a lot recently and have found some absolutely fantastic deals on Kids Shoes, having 4 children it is important for me to get good quality shoes at affordable prices. There are many great styles from brands like Addidas and Sketchers which are a hit with the kids. Now with the great savings I was able to find it allowed me to have enough room in the budget to shop for a few pairs of shoes for myself. I like comfortable Women's Shoes and it's important to me to have stylish shoes that are affordable. Finally my husband was searching for some comfortable Men's Shoes for work and shopping online was great for him as he hates going shopping at the mall.

HEEEELLLLPPPPP.....I CAN'T DECIDE....

Ok so making a decision on buying a second vehicle isn't turning out as easy as I had thought. This time we aren't going to rush into buying anything so we are shopping our options. At first I had my mind set on getting a smaller car that would be easier on gas which had me looking into the Dodge Caliber. This car is a great looking car with lots of features that I liked and with the larger tires it "kinda" had the feel of a small SUV!

DODGE CALIBER (CHOICE #1)

After thinking things through I then thought that the car would be ok BUT if I got a Pontiac Torrent then I would have a bit more space for the dance road trips coming up.... I kept struggling with the decision so we kept looking.....

PONTIAC TORRENT (CHOICE #2)

Just last Friday while we were out looking around at vehicles we had come across a white Trailblazer...... :0) Well did I ever fall in love with the truck OMG this is it...and there was enough room for the whole family...it had my name written all over it. I took a couple of days to think it over and came to the decision that this particular truck wasn't the right one....first of all it was a 2004 but I didn't like the noise in the front end, it was a 4 wheel drive and would cost us a lot more on gas.

TRAILBLAZER (CHOICE #3)

While thinking this option over we then turned our focus back to the Pontiac Montana SV6... this is an identical van as the one we have now but without all the bells and whistles that we are used to having, we call our van...."fully spoiled" instead of "fully loaded.... This new van is a 2008, burgundy in color but when we took it for a drive there was just no excitement about buying a vehicle. The fun was gone, the excitement on my face was gone and we were losing interest in purchasing another vehicle, so we ended up leaving the dealership and taking Blake out for lunch so that we could talk things over....Matt had commented that while taking the other van out for a test drive with me was like driving to a funeral. There was just no excitement there. Now don't get me wrong, this van had LOTS of features but would always be compared to the van we have now and just wouldn't be happy.

MONTANA SV6 (CHOICE #4)

So here we are again trying to figure out what to do. Then we discussed the fact that with already having a van that will fit everyone for travelling and what not, why are we so focused on getting another van????? We decided that since I really want to get an SUV then why not turn our focus back to the Pontiac Torrent. The vehicle that I have always had my eye on! There is a used Torrent in silver at the dealership....it's an '06, 4 Wheel drive and 20,000km on it. I didn't have time to look into it further so Friday morning we will go back and take it for a drive. Well after making the decision to look into this vehicle, it got me all excited again to shop for a car and the smile and excitement has come back....I think this is going to be what I get in the end....it just might still be another 2 weeks before it happens!

TORRENT (CHOICE #5)

COULD THIS BE THE ONE?????

A retirement alternative

One of the biggest investments we gather in the course of a lifetime is our home, we buy it and spend money making it a home and upgrading it through a lifetime. When you are approaching retirement there are new ways to unlock the value of your home to help assist your retirement income. A reverse mortgage basically will allow you to borrow from the equity in your home as long as you occupy it. This can be a great alternative for elderly people with out enought retirement income or just wanting to live life for all it's worth during the better years. If you are interested in learning about reverse mortgages take the time to get the facts and make sure that you have someone that will take the time to explain all the reverse mortgage facts to you so you know what you are getting into. Reverse mortgages vary from state to state so ensure you have all the information. To determine what you can borrow you will have to have a home assement completed by a profession appraisor to unlock your California reverse mortgage value.

The search for my Wheels

I have been deliberating on what kind of vehical I want to buy for the last few weeks, it has been very hard for me to decide. I was originally thinkgin I would get a little car, easy on gas to get around town. After some thought and looking at prices I have changed my thinking to a Van or SUV as it would make some scence to have a second vehical that we could still all fit in. I was surprise to see the prices on used vans is the same as small little cars like vibes or matrix. I found a couple of nice vans today that are basically the same as what we have now but a couple of years newer with warranty left.

Part of History

In our daily world we sometimes don't realize how people live in other areas of our world. It seems un-real when we see pictures or video of people in other countries that struggle with little or no food and money. Living in what we would consider desolate conditions with little hope of a long and healthy life. There are stories in history that tell about terrible travesties perpetrated on different groups of people. One such piece in history is the holodomor which took place in areas of the Soviet Union in 1932-33. It is estimated that as many as 8 million peasants starved to death as a direct result of actions of the Government lead by Joseph Stalin. The Communist government of the time actually seized the crops of hard working peasants and exported to the West leaving these people with no way to sustain or feed their families. The real truth of loss from this tragedy may never be known as the government worked hard to cover up the truth from the rest of the world. Was it Genocide an attempt to wipe out the Ukraine countryside is debatable due to the spotty records and reliability of the information. There are many very interesting parts of our history you may have never realized if you take the time to look through the history books.

The Video Game Tragedy.

We packed up to go out van shopping this morning and a few minutes into the drive Blake asked for his Leapster (kids portable video game system, parents sanity device) I reached into his bag and ooops.... it wasnt' there, I know it was there the other day. Back home we went to find it and after searching the house and couldn't I began to think of where it could be. The last reported sighting was at the kids dance school Sunday Night, the kids where great until the last 5 minutes they turned crazy and I scooped them up and out so quick it must have been left behind. When Trin went to class at the other dance school tonight they called over and sure enough it was there and is now safe until we go over tommorrow night.

A new E-xperience

I have been searching for something different than the standard ecard to send to my freinds and family. You can only send so many of the standard ecards before it gets old and boring. I recently discovered a new alternative that uses multimedia to give a whole new experience. Using the Cardfish Phone call you can send your friend or family memeber a unique message that uses their picture and when they open the file on their computer Cardfish will actually call your friends phone number to complete the video message adding a bunch of fun to the regular ecard. If you would like to see how much fun you could have check out the free previews of the various cards offered. To even enhance this even more you can use a free sample card to send to friends or families. Right now they have set up a FREE discount code for people to try the service for yourself. Simply enter word FREE as the coupon code when prompted to enjoy your free card. Take the time and try out the service and enjoy the free previews, you can enter a lot of fun or use the service to scare the crap out of your friends but be prepared what you start you have to be ready to take in return.

Deep Freeze!

It is going on 3 days of completely freezing temperatures, there is rumor that there is will be some relief tonight/tommorrow but it is going to come at a price. We are expecting approx 10cm of snow followed by some rain and then turning back into snow, it shoud be a huge mess. I am guessing there will be no school tommorrow, yippee SNOW DAY! It will have to be a cuddling night. LOL.

A miniature Heaven

Every little girl and many grown up girls love to play with dolls, from tea parties on a Sunday Afternoon to collecting for a hobby. It is incredible the great assortment of Doll house Miniatures that are available today. Anything you can find in your own home you can get for your doll house. Furnish your rooms, add accessories like plants, toys, pets, even pictures to hang on your walls. The qualities are incredible and you will be amazed at how realistic pieces can be. I would love to decorate a room box with the great framed Man and lady holding a child artwork. Of course my room wouldn't be complete without the miniature beagle and beautiful Lilly to complete the accessories. How would you decorate your house?

CSI (It's Over)

It never fails as a successful show ages the stars that made it so good in the first place start to drop off. Normally this happens for a variety of reasons, the actors begin to demand more money, the writers need new characters to write about, or the actors get tired of playing the same role and want to move onto something else. In the last year we have seen 3 major character leave CSI and it is unfortunate that it has to happen this way, tonight Grissom is leaving the show for good. CSI is one of my favorite shows and I am hoping they find a way to keep it interesting now that the major characters have gone on.

BATHROOM RENOVATIONS

One of our New Year's revolutions this year is to get some of our renovation projects finished. Our main goal is our kitchen but right now we have decided to focus on our main floor bathroom. Unfortunately it only has a shower with no tub and could really use some storage space. So we will be starting to look into different styles of tubs and a bathroom vanity to find the one that will best suite this bathroom. Finding the right vanity sounds a lot easier than it is with so many different styles and prices to choose from. My ideal choice for our bathroom is a double vanity
and I have came across quite a few that I just loved but with the small space it isn't possible to go with one that size and it is a bit out of our price range so I think we will focus more on looking into discount bathroom vanities that will fit our budget better. There is still a lot to consider and we aren't going to start the bathroom renovation until the spring so that gives us lots of time to shop around to find just the right look for us. I can't wait to have a full size functioning bathroom again, you sure appreciate that when you don't have it anymore.

UPCOMING FAMILY DAY!

With me working evenings around Matt's schedule, it doesn't leave us much time together as a family, usually the kids are either with myself or their dad which to me is better than leaving them with a sitter. Anyway our schedules have worked out and we are both off tomorrow (day and night) so we are going to have a fun filled afternoon and evening with the kids! Once they are set free from school at 2pm we will head out and do some shopping, ok now that probably doesn't sound like much fun for the kids but we will make up for it after with supper at Boston pizza then run over to the movie theatre to see Hotel for Dogs! The kids are exited for our family night!!!!!! Jay's school is having a dance Friday as well but he won't allow us to change our plans, he wants us to have this family night and says that he will go to the next one. It's nice to hear that he will still put our family nights first, he's a great kid and growing up so fast!

Road to recovery

An awareness of the disease of addiction is a powerful tool to help those around you when they are struggleing with their addiction issues. Addictions come in severity and forms, drugs and alcohol are very destructive disease taking a toll on the individual as well as their family and friends. Addictions are a funny thing, they usually start our very casual but as the drug starts to take control it consumes every waking moment of the individual. Only when they decide they are ready for recovery can progress be made and the addiction recovery begin. Their are many great treatment centres all over the world that can help you once you are ready. The team at Promises treatment centre have years of expertise in guiding people to recovery and re-introduction to the "Real World". The ultimate goal of their treatment centre is not only to get past the addiction but come up with solution to keep you well for the rest of your life. The thing about addictions are once they take control you can not fix things yourself, you need professional help and guidance to over come your need and get better. If you think you or a loved one is suffering from an addiction contact a professional addiction counsilor for guidance on what you can do next to help.

SNOW DAY!

This morning we woke to SNOW and quite a bit of it, so needless to say that the kids had the day off from school! :0) It wasn't long after they got up, everyone was getting ready to go out to help their dad shovel the driveway, it worked out great because hubby didn't have to be to work until noon. By the time they started to shovel the snow had turned to rain and it was falling pretty heavy but that didn't stop them. They stayed outside and had lots of fun. After the driveway was shovelled hubby took them to the back yard to work on their snow fort that we have been working on (yes I've been getting out with the kids LOL). The snow was perfect for packing in around the walls. Once the kids, hubby and dog were soaked right through their coats it was time to come in to dry off and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate with lots of gooey marshmallows! :0)
Later, this afternoon as the weather got nicer and the rain had pretty much stopped, I got ready and took the kids back out to work on their fort once again. Fortunately the rain didn't damage it too bad and we got things fixed right up just in time for the cold temperatures to hit along with the winds. We are hoping that by tomorrow morning the walls of the fort will be good and strong!

Trinity's dance class tonight got cancelled so it is going to be a quiet night here, hopefully next week they will be able to have their dance Christmas party that was also cancelled before Christmas. Well I guess that is all the excitement for today, the winds are really getting strong outside so I should go check things out!

Being wise with finances

Making the most of your investments can be a challange in these trying economic times. Knowing where and how much to invest can take a lot of research, we all want to retire comfortably and it certainly takes good planning and competent financial advise. The Coleman Research Group have been designed to do just that provide you with credible and well education advise on investment choices to ensure your best ROI. Their associates are carefully selected from only the best applicants and go throught rigorous training and conditioning to ensure they offer the best advice possible. Using state of the art technology they can sort through vast amounts of informations to help provide the best investment solutions for you and your business. The Coleman Research Group squidoo operates under the highest standards in independant research for investors, hedgefund managers and money managers. The experts will take the time to complete a full consultation with you and work together to work out the best time frame and plan to create your best investment portfolio. There programs are tried, tested and true and you can take your impression from the customers they have helped already through Coleman Research Group testimonials. Here you'll get the honest opinion of various customers that have used the services and enjoyed the results first hand.

Return of the Idol

Tonight was the return of American Idol, back for it's 9th season I believe and just when you think it can't get any worse it does. It's almost like it's 2 different shows, the first half of the season is the audition or what I call the Comedy Days when we see hundreds of people get humiliated while thinking they can actually sing. AFter this is over we move on to the real talent portion of the show once they get down to the top 20 or so contestants. We will have to wait to see how the contest ends up strap in and get ready for a few laughs along the way.

Super Bowl Watch

My hubby is getting into the Football mode, I have come to expect him to get into this mode usually this time of year when the NFL playoffs get going and of course not far down the road will be his second favorite sport, Nascar and the Daytona 500. He is constantly on the computer looking for the latest updates, news and videos to get caught up on all the action he is missing while he's at work. It's kind of nice that I work most nights now so I don't have to watch him flip through all the information on Comcast.net. He's working himself this weekend which has him in a fury as he will miss all the games on Sunday but at least he knows he will get to watch high-lights and get the scores. He's really hoping the Baltimore Ravens will make the cut and was very excited to watch them score the victory last week 13-10 over Tennessee. My Hubby is so into his comcast that he has been driving me crazy with all this NFL playoff trivia, the scary thing is the more he talks about it the more interested I am getting. I may even have to break down this year and watch the Super Bowl with him, that would shock him for sure.

Excited for a day off

After working 9 days straight I am excited to have a day off tommorrow, I am waiting for the weather as I hear we are expecting a storm which might mean I get to have all the kids home with me tomorrow. They might be disapointed as tommorrow is a New Years lunch at school which they are excited about and tommorrow night is Trinity's Dance Troupes Christmas party which was cancelled before Christmas because of you guessed it a storm. I am really looking forward to having a day off and even more so on Friday I am off again and Hubby changed his day off so he could spend it with me(He must miss me :0>) I'm sure we will end up getting some more trim wood for our bedroom and then the plans are to take the kids out to "Dog Hotel" for Jay and Matt's "special Day", celebrating the day when Matt adopted Jay. It sounds like a full day, I look forward to all the activity and also getting to sleep before 2AM, or maybe not!

Time for some new Wheels

As you all know from my other posts I have been back to work for about 3 months and it has been hard juggling my job with hubby's and still getting the kids everywhere they need to go. We are working complete opposite schedules which makes it very hard, he works 2 nights a week with his job and 3 days and I work the other 5 nights of the week. We decided a while ago once I got past my probation period and was offered my permanent position I would be going out to get a Car Loan and get my own vehical so hubby wouldn't have to wait up until 1AM to pick me up and I wouldn't have to get up in the morning to travel him to work. To make our search for a loan easier we are looking for a service that will find us the best deal available. RainbowGroup is designed to do just that and with a few simple steps, and in about a minute they can have an answer for you. They have all sorts of lending alternatives to get you the money you need regardless of your credit situation. Once approved they can have money for you within days. They offer loans for all sorts of situations perhaps you are looking for a small loan until payday to cover an unexpected bill, you can find pay day loans to help you out. Feeling the pinch with lots of credit card bills after Christmas, perhaps the alternative for you would be a debt consolidation loan that could lower your monthly payments and get you out of debt faster. We are hoping to get our car and debt consolidation loans soon we can start to enjoy the little bit of time we get to spend together.

The Great Escape!

I had a terrible scare today, when I finished my shower I was heading down to the bedroom and the dog wanted to go out. I clicked her chain to her collar and let her out the door. I then went into the bedroom and got dressed and came back to let her in, to my horror there at the door was her chain (no Breigh). I looked around and called for her but didn't see her anywhere, quickly called hubby who was on his way home from work anyway. Luckily there was some snow down so I could see her path and followed her and ended up finding her around the back. There were some scary moments there but in the end everything was alright. I have no idea how she got off her chain but let's hope it doesn't happen again.

Olympic Flame

I can remember when the 1988 Olympics were in Calgary, I was only in my early teens at the time but one of my most relevant memories leading up to the games was the Olympic Torch Run, the torch actually passed directly infront of my home. It was so exciting to see this event take place with all the hype building up to it and the actual day, everyones enthusiasm was incredible. I recently heard that thanks to the great leaders at Coca Cola Canada and through there program SOGO one thousand Canadian kids will get the opportunity to be a torch bearer for the 2010 Olympics. Through involvement with the SOGO program, which was designed to get kids active in their community through sports and physical well being. At the heart of SOGO is the community groups in your local community, they register as hosts to provide their facility, equipment or time to working with youth initiatives to stay active. The
SOGO Active website is all about getting kids interested in being active, with helpful ideas on ways to get physically active. The website also uses stories from young Olympic Athletes to inspire kids to dream big and go for their dreams. Being involved in something as incredible as the Olympics in your community is almost a once in a lifetime opportunity, take advantage of all the great programs that are available to get involved and make memories to cherish.

STORM DAY

Yesterday the kids finally got their first snow day off from school. We didn't get a huge snow storm just really messy conditions enough to close the schools. The kids were excited to have a lazy day at home and I was amazed at how quiet and well behaved they were all morning. Yep all morning, now the afternoon was another thing, they drove me crazy from all the fighting, yelling and crying that went on. Oh well my night ended quiet with a slow night at work!

Today I got a bit more cleaning done around the house, cheated on my diet again :0( what else is new????? BUT I did get my treadmill cleared off and ready to use now the next step is to get on the thing!

I just finished updating my family blog so stop by and check out the pictures! Well that's it for now I must run and get ready for work.

My friends new arrival

I absolutely love shopping for baby things, always from a young age I was excited to see new baby items in the stores to shop for. It was exciting to wonder around the stores and see the new strollers, car seats, sleepers and outfits. I can remember when I was having babies of my own spending hours shopping through all the Baby Clothing at the local stores, looking for just the right outfit for the kids. I am had a lot of fun shopping for all my boys, there is something so handsome about Baby Boy Clothes, I especially like clothes that make them look like little men, so handsome. I am a little sad that I only had one girl of my own, but sometimes I think of how special it is to have had only one girl. It was a special time for me to be able to go out and shop for Baby Girl Clothes, the pinks, and whites with frills and don't forget the hair clips what great memories they bring back. I have a friend at work that is expecting a baby next month so I get a chance to re-visit my baby shopping love for her little one. One of the coolest items I found online is a set of little boy doctor scrubs I thought would be fun for her 2 year old son to walk around in at the hospital when he is visiting his little brother. This site had so many unique clothing items with a lot of vibrant colors that I just love to see for little boys.

Puppy Reward

Hubby arrived home with a new dog food today for the puppy, now we always buy kibbles and bits brushing bites to keep our puppy's breath nice but he saw a new kind of kibbles that had soft pieces and real chunks of chicken so he bought a bag of each and we will mix them together. For a treat we gave her a little bit of the new and she attacked it like a starved creature. I think she liked it and I didn't have to listen to the aweful crunching sound from the other food.

Tactical Fashion

What is your favorite type of TV show to watch, I can remember a few years ago when all you could watch on TV was 1/2 hour sitcoms, then there was the doctor show phase with shows like ER leading the way. This phase was followed by the emphasis reality phase which brought some interesting moments. It seems like these days every show you watch is basically the same, that being crime drama's, they are on every channel almost every hour of the day. You see cool Investigators and officers from shows like CSI, Law and Order and Criminal Minds. What do all these actors have in common, they know how to accessories, they all carry their guns in cool holsters, these seem like a man's purse, they come in all different shapes and sizes and the guys carry their most prized possession in them. The holster has long been a symbol of a good crime fighter going back to the early days of Television, with Dragnet through the Eighties with Don and Michael in Miami Vice to today's crime solving officers. You would think this would be a basic standard issue but it really is a fashion statement with every type, style and color imaginable available for the gun toting individual. Sites like LAPoliceGear specialize in making all your holster dreams come true with a full assortment of holsters available to fit any ones needs. There is such a variety of holsters available from over the shoulder, inside the pant, leg holsters, belt holsters and more. They also come in a variety of colors with brown and black tones being the most popular. When ordering from LAPG now you can take advantage of getting a free "Galco" hat with your order and also free shipping on orders over $75, LAPG also specializes in other types of tactical gear from pants, tops, boots, flashlights and armor to complete your combat look, in style and on budget.

Bad dog!

I believe my dog had a fit because I left her home alone most of the day. All was fine when I left her in the morning and when I came back at lunch she was very happy to see me but when I went to get the kids from school and came home she began the trouble. The garbage can was tipped over and there was garbage all over the kitchen and dining room. Than I heard Kohl crying, he was very upset and I don't blame him, Breigh went up and chewed a hole right in the middle of his comforter. Later on I found a "P" spot on the floor, which she hasn't done in months. She was a complete and utter trouble maker tonight, tempermental teenagers.

Online Search made easy

One of the great uses of the Intranet is to make products easy to find and get information on before you purchase. Bringing this information together in one location is the purpose of Age of Conan Guides this online product review site has the best information available for all sorts of products catagorized to make your search easier. I was looking for things to do with my children and checked out the "Children" Link and found all sorts of sites for activities to keep my kids busy. There was so much information on games and activities that they would love I spent a lot of time gathering up and visiting different sites tours to find the information for them. There are many more catagories you can surely find a use for from, diets, dog training, credit repair to name just a few. Their top product review site is easy to navigate and use. With spare time being so hard to come by these days it's important to find creative ways to quickly find information on products before you spend your hard earned money on them. The guides offer product and site reviews of products and in most cases offers free tours of the sites to give you more information on the site and products.

Yuck.....Winter

Oh, winter hit here tonight, it started around supper time with snow, a lot of it and it came down fast. When I went to work and dropped the van off to hubby at 8 it had turned to hail, big nasty balls of ice. He had to drive home and than come back for me at 1am, when he left work it was freezing rain. All in all it was one messy night and now it is turning over to rain so by morning most likely it will all be gone.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

I know I still have a few months to plan my daughters 9th birthday party but in my opinion there is nothing wrong with planning ahead. This year she would like it to be special and since we probably won't be travelling home to be with family around her birthday I thought it would be nice to do something with all of her friends. Where to start? I have so many different ideas running through my head right now but what would she like. One of the ideas I have come up with is a theme party around her upcoming trip to New York with her dance school. She is so excited about this trip and is always asking questions about what she will see when she is there. Another idea would be the thought of a huge sleep over focusing on the glamour of the girls with makeup, dress up and maybe even karaoke with one of their favorite singers Hannah Montana. Thank goodness I have lots of time to prepare for her party. Before we know it she will be turning 16 and that is another party that we will go all out for! Another birthday I really want to go big on but fortunately I still a few years to prepare for this one, that is my husbands' 40th birthday party! I want this to be a birthday that he will never forget so I will be looking for some great 40th birthday party ideas in the upcoming future.

SITTER TROUBLES.....

I was talking to my sitter last night about watching the kids for me today for my evening shift at work. She had spend most of yesterday at the hospital and was going back in this morning for more test but she said she would let me know around noon if she was feeling ok to watch the kids for me. Well here it is now 5:00pm and I still haven't heard from her. I hope everything is ok with her and that she will be feeling better soon. As for me and work???? hubby is the only manager in tonight so he can't come home to be with the kids and I have no one else to watch the kids. I was already in talking to my supervisor at work and they understand what is going on so for the time being I am planning on going into work late after I get my 4 year old in bed and to sleep then Jay my oldest son can handle things from there since the other 2 kids will be in bed as well and hubby isn't working too late tonight. This is when it's great to have Jay old enough to babysit! Hopefully soon work will have my schedule fixed so that I can let my sitter know ahead of time what days I need her! Well I guess if I'm going to make it to work at a reasonable time I should go get the bedtime routine started!

BODY IMAGE MAKEOVER

I am going to spend the next few months taking steps in getting my body back in shape! It is always a great feeling when the weight starts to drop but sometimes that isn't the only thing that drops. Yes I am talking about the breasts! Now there are other reasons for this to happen but no worries, there is something that can be done. Now since having four children you could say that I could use a breast uplift procedure to give them back some shape and would be a great confidence booster! Now before I would ever consider such a procedure there are so many things and questions to look into. The procedure itself doesn't sound all that bad but with four kids and now working full time how much time recovery would I need is the biggest question for me but with some research the recovery time isn't that long with only needing at least 2 weeks of from work.

This all sounds good and such a big decision, how far would you go to get image that you really want? Is exercise and diet enough or would you take it a step further giving you that younger, rejuvenated look.

LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT VEHICLE...

This morning we spent some time driving around looking for a used vehicle that we now desperately need. We have managed for so many years with only one vehicle but now it is just getting to hard and it is tiring us out. In order for me to continue working I will have to invest some of my hard earned money into a second vehicle, but what do I want. At first I was thinking a little car would be a better choice, something small and easier on gas but as we looked at the prices we are just as better off (if not better) by looking into getting a second van?????? This would be more practical and we wouldn't have to change the kids booster seats around if one of us needed the bigger vehicle. So we have it narrowed down to another van and I have specific features I am looking for, one in particular is the built in DVD player. It is a life saver!!!!!

The picture off to the side is what I'm looking for...the same is what we already have!

This morning we did test drive one van that we had found for an amazing price!!!!! As we pulled in to check it out we noticed that someone else was looking into it also so we waited then he came in and was filling out the application for financing :0( just our luck but the other salesman still took us out to look at it and take it for a drive, like he said "the deal isn't sealed until the check is in their hand" so off we went. Let me tell you that Blake was not impressed one bit and hated it LOL for one it did not have the DVD player and with having middle row captain seats it felt really tight on space. I wasn't impressed either by the van so we returned to the dealer.When I got out Blake shouted out some smart a$$ remark about the van, which I guess I have to agree, the back wiper blade was broke off, then I noticed that the back bumper was dented in and that was when we realized by the price was so low! Anyway that was our first experience at looking for a used vehicle, we are used to buying new but I'm sure when the time is right we will find what is right for us!

Anniversary Planning

With February approaching fast, my hubby and I are coming up on our 10th anniversary together, now he usually tries to do something nice for me for this but usually we are trying to catch up after Christmas so it's a little tight on money. Seeing that it's our tenth anniverary this year I am thinking he will do a little more, I always love some good perfume. I think it is important to have a variety of scents to match my mood and to keep him guessing. He usually shops online to get ideas for me and I found a site for him, hint, hint at Savebuckets that actually compares the prices from various sources to help you get the best price on perfume gift sets and many other products also. I have been getting back on my treadmill that last little while and have been dropping hints at him that I would like a new ipod so I have something to listen to while I am walking off the Christmas Goodies. I find it hard to walk with the cd player playing over the sound of the treadmill so an Ipod would be a great addition to my workout routine as I could plug in some headphones and listen to my workout music without rocking the house.

Post Christmas Catch Up

Now that Christmas is over I have turned my attention to getting bills caught up, it's different for me to be working and getting a regular pay to help out. It was great at Christmas because we were able to do gift giving without using any Credit Cards. Now I can focus my pays on getting other bills caught up, what a great feeling that is, I paid up our kids dance class bills last night. It is one less stress around knowing that we are starting to get caught up on these horrible bills. I really need to get a 2nd vehical for the family soon as it is getting hard to get back and forth to everything with hubby working days and me nights but that will come soon.

Home Renovation

Part of our home renovation projects around the house is starting to go room by room and replacing the old furniture as we go. We have been working on our room since the fall, it was a lot of work as it was an empty shell when we started. We are now getting excited to pick out new furniture. With our time starved lifestyle we have been shopping online and came accross a site time4sleep that has a huge assortment of beds which will be perfect for our new couple suite. It's a pretty cool room because it has our walk in closet, and a living room area right off the bedroom. We are debating between a Leather bed or a wooden frame bed. We are leaning towards a high headboard but it's hard when you have an assortment this good. Now that we have moved into our new bedroom we are re-building our old room into a new guest suite which of course we need to go shopping for guest beds for all our company that comes to visit us. Hint, Hint Mom & Dad. We can't wait to get our room finished because of the great assortment of kids beds that we found while we were shopping the website.

The new edition

Tonight is the first night of the Biggest Loser Season, it is always incredible transformations of character and body. I find it motivating to watch the trainers and participants struggle with changing habits and lifestyles, which is perfect at this time when I am trying to get things back on track here. I am just getting home from picking up hubby and we are going to curl up on the couch and watch the episode, or maybe we'll get on the treadmill and leg machine and watch it side by side while working out:0>

Tax Season is upon us

Well another fun part of the new year is the upcoming tax season, as we all await the arrival of our tax slips and go looking for our receipts to make our claims we also all worry about the dreaded possibility of getting hit with IRS tax audits. These can be stressful for even the most prepared people and trust me you are not alone as many people go through the audit process every year. It's important to make sure you keep all your paperwork accessible and organized to have available in case it happens to you and even better have your tax representative keep everything on file for you to.
It's unfortunate to see but with the tough economic times we are all facing many people are really feeling the pinch and with being unable to pay taxes they could face a lien on their property. If you find yourself in this situation there is still hope if you use the IRS lien subordination process which will allow you temporary relief to allow you time to refinance or sell your property. Take the time to check with your Tax Representative to find the best solutions to your tax concerns and situation. There are forms of
IRS tax relief available for you but it doesn't come without work you need to search for the information or find help through online sources to help you along your way to tax solutions

WHERE TO START?

I am having trouble getting started with the treadmill so I have decided to ease back into my weight loss mode slowly and first I am going to start with watching what I eat and making healthier choices. This morning for breakfast I cut up some strawberries and a banana and added some strawberry yogurt over it. It was delicious and left me wondering why I make it for breakfast every morning. What a great start to the day. Then I spent the rest of the morning cutting up vegetables to make turkey soup. OOOOOHHH my does it ever smell goooooood. The have 2 large pots on the stove right now and it will probably last us most of the week! Anyway I will take things one step and one day at a time but I'm sure I will find time to get on the treadmill and try out my new magic legs machine!

A girl's best friend

Every girl loves jewelery, it's makes us feel great and look great. We love to accessorise our every outfit but keeping with the budget can sometimes be a bit of a hassle. I have been searching online to find great outlets for jewelery to share with all of you. Holsted has been providing great Discount Jewelry to millions of people for years. Their purpose is to deliver fantastic jewelery at prices everyone can afford. They use quality materials and produce beautiful pieces that can be worn for all occasions. Their prices are good but when you order up sets you save even more, saving money and looking great has never been so easy.

THE NEW YEAR HAS BEGUN...

We had a great Christmas this year filled with lots of fun and excitement! We spent Christmas at home again this year then travelled to be with our family the day after boxing day! We had a great trip and enjoyed being with family. This year New Year's Eve was spent with hubby's parents with plans to head back home New Year's Day....well that didn't happen, part way into our New Year's Eve celebration we were visited by a nasty blizzard which ended up keeping us there an extra day. Which I'm not complaining, it was nice to get extra time to visit! :0) Finally once on the road Friday, the roads were snow covered and the traffic driving slow we made it home safely around 3:00pm just in time (ok a bit late) for Trinity to help out with her dance fundraising event then Matt got off to work. So that is a bit of our excitement over the holidays, oh I can't forget to mention the movies we got to see in theatre this year. Christmas day started it off with Bedtime Stories in the evening, boxing day we got to see Marley and Me then while we were away we went to see Despereaux (Blake's pick!). They were all good movies and it was great to have this time together.

So now that the New Year is here what do we have planned??? Wellllllllll.....I am back to work on a permanent position so lots of work ahead for me.... I have a trip to New York to pay for by May then Trinity and I will be off travelling in August! Matt and I have a goal to finally take charge of our debt and try to get a few things cleared up which will be interesting seeing how I need to get myself a vehicle to make things easier to get to work..... But I am confident that things will work out for us money wise this year! Fingers crossed!!!!! Another goal I have set for myself it to lose a bit more weight. Since I started working I have put on all those hard to lose pounds that I lost last year, but I did it before so I know I can do it again ( just not as much time as before to get it off). This will be an interesting year with lots of adjustments for the whole family but I'm sure all the working will pay off in the end!

How about you? What do you have planned for 2009?