Blue Monday : Teenage Years

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My son just turned 13 last month and now it finally happened, he wants to shop for his own clothes, Mom's choice just doesn't work anymore, he has to shop at the "COOL" stores. I have to say that he has pretty good taste and this is one of the choices he made, I love the blue it's so bright the outfit has a sweater with it that I was able to get a shot of him sitting on the blue couch with his puppy. He's still a great photo poser. Happy Blue Monday to everyone.

Kitchen renovations

The kitchen renovations are in full force and going great, we area almost ready to start the staining process, we are a little nervous but I think we will make out just fine with a little patience. I am so excited to finally get the room finish, I have been waiting for 2 years since we moved in to get this finished and it makes it even more exciting to know we did it all our selves. I can't wait to post pictures of the finished work.

A golden opportunity

There are so many choices when thinking about what investment choices to make to help secure you financial security. There are different options that you can make depending on where you are in your investing lifestyle. A fairly secure option has always been gold and precious metal, it has proven over time that it can be a very stable growth investment with little risk of failure. It has always been a sign of wealth and works as a form of beauty, jewelery, as well as monetary uses too. It truly is a great time to buy gold coins with the opportunity to see your investments grow.

Vacation Flood

Kohl has been away visiting with Grandma and Grandpa for 2 weeks now, he was lucky it was only going to be 1 week but everyone was having a great time so we agreed to the extra week. The other day we got a report of some heavy rain from the vacation report and sometimes you need the picture to appreciate what really happend. As you can see there was certainly lot's of rain. We are going to pick him up tommorrow, it will be great to have him home again.

Farmer Blake

We had a visit home last weekend and the kids always love exploring Grandpa's farm. There are fields, a garden and the barn full of animals to keep them busy. A new addition is Grandpa's Antique Tractor parked in the front yard. The kids took turns trying out the seat and pretending they were working on Grandpa's farm with the tractor. Lot's of fun.

Investing in the future

It can start with a little or a lot but everyone had to plan for the future. Investing can be considered a hobby or a past time. Gold has long been considered the most precious of metals and is used in everything from jewellery, medicine, coins and other forms of jewellery to provide elegance with style. As with any investment plan it can be a little intimidating at first but with some guidance and an open mind you could invest. It can be very fun to buy gold coins and collect them to see all the different designs and sizes of coins. The United States Gold Bureau is an expert force of professionals that are prepared to assist you with any gold investment questions you might have. They can assist you with your purchase and arrange for immediate delivery or for your investment to be securely held in a depository or independent bank. Precious metals can be an extremely rewarding investment opportunity with just a little research and commitment.

Fathers Day made simple

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

What to get for my husband to celebrate Father's day, he has a little bit of everything, tools, clothes so I figured why not look into upgrading his TV. He spends his quite time in the evenings after the kids are in bed and I'm at work enjoying movies and shows. I recently found Father's Day special deals from Charter that reward up to a $300 home depot gift card just for signing up for their best value bundle including HD TV with DVR, Internet and unlimited Long Distance. Even better as right now they have a promotion that allows us to
Enter now to win an iPod Touch. My daughter has an IPod and I am always trying to borrow hers all the times when I go for a walk or jog. My husband recently got his own IPhone and is always downloading new apps, with the new app for Charter he will be able to get updates, fun extras, and facebook only deals on Charter’s Facebook page. It should be a Father's day to remember for a long time to come with the gift that will keep on giving every day. Take some time and check out the exciting deals that are available from Charters right now, they have a solution to meet whatever your needs are, from simple internet access to full bundles including phone, internet and cable needs.

wild life trip

I had the pleasure of chaperoning Blakes class field trip to the wild life park, it was a great day and the kids had a blast visiting with all the animals even getting to feed some. It was so nice out with a beautiful sunny day. Blake had a great time and was buddies up with his good friend Emily the whole day, they were inseperable with lots of hand holding, how cute.

Spring Time Picture

At the kids year end dance show I got all the kids together and they were dressed very nicely to boot so it was time to snap a few shots of them all together. It has been a very busy year for all of us with me working nights and the kids going almost every night to some activity from dance, to basketball to youth group it makes for an exhausting year, especially for hubby who does most of the running. Summer is coming and with it a major slow down in activities, time to catch up on some much needed rest.

Dog Days of Summer

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Softball Rampage. All opinions are 100% mine.

The grass is green, the sun is out and it's starting to feel a lot like summer. The kids love this time of year because they can get out and spend the whole day enjoying the sun. With it being the long weekend we had some extra time off and the kids took advantage today by getting Dad to take them over to the ball field to practice some batting and catching. I think they even managed to have a mini game when a few of the neighborhood kids joined in. They called themselves the Super Smith's and they squeaked out a close win 4-3 in a mini 4 inning game. The kids had a great time coming up with names for their team, Burchelle Batters named after our street and Dancing Dogs for our pups. In the end the Super Smith's fit as they just felt Super being out playing in the hot Summer heat. What kind of softball team names do you have in your area that are unique and special. I just came accross a new contest at Baseballrampage.com a great online source of baseball gear at affordable prices. By visiting the Softball Rampage website you can enter your unique ball team names for your chance to win $200 RampageBucks rewards that you can use for your website purchase.

The final tree stump experience

Last summer we cut down an giant apple tree out of our back yard, it had developed a split in the trunk and had to come down before it became a hazard. The other anoying thing about the tree was it would drop literaly 10's of thousands of apples every season from June to September. Now it is time to get rid of the last bit of the stump, it took a bit but as you can see the stump did light up. We didn't get through the entries.

Long weekend weather

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of henderson bas. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's here it is really here, the first long weekend of the summer and I can't wait. I had to pick up an extra shift tommorrow for training on a new account but at least it is for a day shift which will leave the evening open to spend with the kids. We have a big bonfire and bbq planned for the evening. We have all our supplies ready to go including the steaks, potatoes for supper and of course marshmello's and hotdogs for our fire pit later on in the evening.I spent a day this week cleaning up the back yard and getting things ready for company. We will of course sit back and enjoy a few steaks that have been seasoned with our favorite spices from Club House. Club house is one of our families favorites, with so many sauces and spices that have great quality. If you are interested in finding out how to grill the best steaks you can check out the videos from Chef Micheal where he will share all the best secrets. While visiting the site you can check out the La Serious Griller Contest for your chance to win a $300 gift card from Canadian Tire to use on anything that you like. What will your plans be for the long weekend, the weather looks like it is going to be excellant so make plans to get outside and enjoy the long weekend

Next up Recital

With the kids finishing up their last dance competition for the year it is now time to focus on their year end recitals. Here is the tap girls getting ready for their performance last weekend. It's a fun time of year but there isn't much time to rest as I heard we are starting rehersals for next years production numbers the week after the recital and all through the summer, should be fun. We'll have to really enjoy the week off.

Happy Birthday Jay

Today our son turns 14 years old, it only seems like yesterday when he was born, now he towers over both of us so I can only imagine how big he'll grow. We are very lucky to have a well rounded young man that is doing very well with school and is responsible around the house. Of course there are moments but he is a teenager so you have to expect that sometimes.

A new Coffee Experience

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nestle Nescafe Dolce Gusto. All opinions are 100% mine.

We have a lot of things that we want to do over the next year or so and one of the biggest things is saving up for a family vacation away. It will take a lot of changes to our lifestyle to make this happen as soon as we want and one of them is giving up the daily trips to Timmie's for coffee. We started shopping around for a machine that we could get quality beverages right at home quick and easy. The new Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine provides instant hot beverage with the same high quality you would get at your local coffee shop. The new design of the Gusto Machine is very elegant and provides beauty to any kitchen. You can find the Gusto machine at many local retailers all over Canada including the Bay, Home Outfitters, Walmart and many others. The machines retail normally from 159 and 179 and you can buy the capsules at your local grocery store or the retailer you bought your machine. Nescafe is also offer Canadian residents only a chance to win 1 of 10 Gusto machines by visiting Divine.ca, the contest is open for all Canadian Residents only until June 20, 2010 so make sure to check out the site soon to be sure to have your entry in. It would be a great opportunity to
win a NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine of your very own.

Dance competitions

Well it's all over for another year, we just spent 5 days at the final dance competition for the year. The kids did over 25 performances all together and had a great time. Of course after many hours watching and competing they are all exhausted and I think we are too. They were very excited to get lot's of metals for their hard work and dedication. Now it's getting ready for their year end recital, much more relaxing and than a short break before we start getting ready for next year classes.

Flaming Stump

Now that things have started to dry up we decided it was time to start working on burning up the old stump from our Apple tree. It was last year when we brought the old tree down and now the stump has dried up enough to work on burning it up. We have a pit and will be working over the weeked to destroy the last of the tree. We will have to get some marshmellows and hot dogs to enjoy around the bonfire.

Online shopping supplies

Not everything in life can be easy, everyday brings you new challenges. We are more time starved now then ever with the never ending demands on our time anything we can do to make life easier is a blessing. With the improvements in online shopping avenues we can save ourselves time, money and many miles in comparing and researching our purchases from the comfort of our own home. Jazz medical offers a wide range of products to make your life easier and because they deal with bulk orders through hospitals, nursing home and other facilities they can also offer great savings over retail establishments to all consumers. You can shop for any number of items online with great assortment and details you will have a comfort level of what your ordering. Saving money on regular items you need on a regular basis like kendall briefs can save you money and time with the convienence of getting what you want delivered directly to your home.

Summer or Winter?

I guess Summer isn't quite here yet, it had been so nice here lately that one could think the summer was coming early and going to be great. I got to sleep in a little bit after a long night at work. When I woke up I was greated with a rude awakening with a dusting of snow all over the ground. It didn't last long but a good reminder for us not to get overly optimistic on the early summer.

Exciting Career Options

With the economy so tight in our new reality it is becoming increasingly difficult to decide what career path to follow. Increasingly people are turning to the service industry type careers that tend to be in some degree recession proof. If you have an interest in the beauty industry there is a growing group of campuses from the Regency Beauty School. The Regency Beauty school was founded more than 50 years ago and has rapidly expanded from 2 locations in 2002 to over 30 locations in 9 states in the last 8 years. Regency also offers its students valuable assistance with job placement through it's network of connections. If you are searching for your career path I would suggest you check out the Cosmetology school in Louisiana for more information on the school, locations and much more.

Spring time means renovation time

It's one of my favorite times of the year when things start to heat up outside we start to get down to business with our home renovations. This year we are laying down new laminate flooring in a bunch of rooms on the main level of our home. We have one room done now and it looks fantastic. I can't wait until we get back from our trip to finish the remaining rooms.

Chipmunk Mania

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a family we really enjoy going to the theatre with the kids, we normally end up there at least a couple of times of month to check out the latest films. It givees us the opportunity to decide what movies we buy for home for our collection. One of our favorites of last fall was the Chipmunks:Squeakquel the kids have been waiting for this movie since the first one came out. They loved it so much we actually went back a second time to see it again. The movie just came out on DVD and we had to make sure the Easter bunny got a copy for the kids, when we went to pick it up for him we noticed that not only could we get the dvd but there was a bonus pack available with a disc full of music and singalongs so it was a no brainer. If you have little ones in your home I would suggest you get out and buy it now. Alvin and the chipmunks was a favorite of mine as a kid and I loved listening to their music and watching the old show. If you and your gang are looking for More Munk Mayhem check out the link for all kinds of Chipmunk activity including the "munk" yourself feature. The kids will have a blast with this one. Get ready for a movie fun night with the kids, you'll be giggling the whole night away.

Dance Competion

Our first Dance competition of the year is officially over, the kids had a good day overall, Kohl recieved a silver for his tap solo and Trinity was a bit more busy, she had 6 performances with 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze overall. They were both tuckered out at the end of last night and were not long falling asleep while we were hanging out on the couch. It was a good run through for their next competion in a couple of weeks.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

No it's not Christmas but it is approching the year end for the kids dance classes. Competitions and year end shows are coming up fast. They had a warm up show last weekend for a fund raiser to get a chance to strut their stuff out on stage in front of an audiance, the kids did great even in the cramped space. We are looking forward to a great year end.

Party Fun

We had a sleep over party for Trin's 10th Birthday party and what better thing for a batch of girls to do than to have a spa night. We picked out some facial packages, Chocolate and Strawberry of course and let the girls loose. They turned into a bunch of animals literaly (Monkeys) and had a blast, I think it will take us a week to catch up on the sleep we lost but it was a lot of fun.