***CHRISTMAS BAKING..

With having company coming for the weekend I have been busy this week cleaning and getting my Christmas baking done...well at least for now...I'm sure there won't be much left after the weekend. LOL! With the help from Blake and the other 3 kidos the other night we have managed to Bake, 4 dozen muffins, 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies and I lost count of how many shortbread cut out cookies we baked!? Now lets not forget the 2 cinnamon loafs and 2 apple pies that we baked last night. Yep that's a lot of baking especially for me...I bake cookies from time to time but that is extend of it...Not sure what happened this year... Unfortunately for my hand mixer this will probably be the last time that they will be used to assist me with my baking...hopping for something new! :0)

***18 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

***MORE GREAT AWARDS!

This morning I was given 2 great awards from Jenn from Enjoying the Ride. Thank you Jenn for thinking of me...:0) I really really appreciate them and the Christmas one...there is nothing better than that. Christmas is my favorite time of year!

I am going to pass these 2 awards on to Anne, Jocelyn, Darlene , Anna and Petula! Enjoy the awards ladies!

Get the code for the Christmas award here!...

THE ART OF GIVING

The Art of Giving, wow! I came across a great website that offers many different times for sale that are beautiful and unique home accessories and jewelry that are hand made in South Africa. These items are sold by JacarandaStyle where they donate a portion of every time sold to the Ethembeni School in South Africa. This school teaches and helps 300 physically disabled and visually impaired children, so not only are you getting a unique and beautiful piece of art but you are also helping out someone who can benefit from this school.

JacarandaStyle is also being featured in a number of national publications because of the beautiful products and the aspects of this charity. While I was browsing through this site I really took a liking to the Ostrish Eggs Tea Light. I enjoy having tea light lit throughout my home and the Wave Tea Light was the design I prefered the most. It gives a beautiful natural glow and is hand painted, carved and polished and the natural shell creates a soft ambience. JacarandaStyle has many different tea lights to choose from as well as bowls. Receive free shopping on orders of $100 or more and get a 10% off coupon code of "JSTYLE" that can be used through December 14,2007.

***PUMPKIN PIE...ME OH MY!

Your Scent is Pumpkin Pie

Warm, comforting, and a bit old fashioned You've got what men want - believe it or not!

What's Your Girl Smell?

I got this from Anne from My Virtual Journal...thought I would check it out to see what my girl smell was. Yep pumpkin pie, same as Anne. If you do this let me know what your smell is!

***19 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

COUPONS AND SAVINGS

Christmas is almost here and some of us still have some shopping left to do. If you are one who is always looking to save a few dollars with coupons and deals, then Webby Planet is a great website for you to find great coupon codes for instant online purchases and occasionally you will find coupons to download and print for instore use. Webby Planet is a search site to help you find coupons, sales, rebates and free shipping.

***THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

Read all the Numbers... Slowly and in Order!! Be Careful not to MISS ANY

1

2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17

18

19 20

21 22 23

24 25

26

27 28

29

30

Finished?

GOOD ! TOMORROW I'LL DO THE ABC's !

***20 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

DENTAL HEALTHCARE

As my children grow up, I have been stressing to them the importance of taking care of their teeth. My biggest fear is having them break or chip a tooth like I did when I was 9 years old. With complete dental health you have may options to choose from for cosmetic dentistry whether you are looking for zoom whitening, dental implants, porcelain crowns and more. Get a healthy looking smile from a great San Diego cosmetic dentist, Dr.David Landau or Dr. Tim Collins. Why hide behind an unflattering smile, check them out and have a reason to smile!

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Winter is here and it's time to escape the cold, messy weather. Where do you turn to when making your holiday travel plans? HotelReservations.com has so much to offer you from information on vacation rentals, resorts, motels, hotels and also you are sure to be satisfied with their competitive pricing and great discounts would wide. If you are planning at making Hotel Reservations for your next vacation why not book through HotelReservations.com. They have the information you need to book.

***SNOW DAY...BUT NO SNOW ?...

Yep, it' s a snow day for the kiddies. The sun is shinning, no snow or rain and it is beautiful outside. The kids had a great time outside this morning this picture was taken around 10:00am. But in the school's defence it was snowing pretty bad at 7:00am this morning. So here we are enjoying the day (snack time so I snuck into my computer room while all was quiet) then we will probably watch a movie this afternoon before going back outside to play.

Hotel Booking in Spanish

I don't know about you but when I plan on travelling alone or with my family, for me finding the right hotel room at the best price is an major concern for me and I'm sure this is the same for many other travelers.

For me finding great hotel prices is fairly easy using the Internet, but for some people finding suitable accommodations for those who prefer to book in Spanish can be a bit more challenging. Well great news for them, now through hotels.com they are making it easier for Spanish speaking travelers through their new comprehensive site. Now you can book your Vacaciones Hoteles in Spanish to make things easier.

***GOOGLE IMAGE MEME

I was tagged by both Jenn and Tammy to do this google image meme. I love doing memes so I thought I would get this one done...besides there is a little less thinking involved with this one LOL.

AGE AT MY NEXT BIRTHDAY... 31 in March

PLACES I'D LIKE TO VISIT... Hawaii, somewhere beautiful and hot

FAVORITE PLACE... Anywhere with my family :0)

FAVORITE OBJECT... My computer without a doubt

FAVORITE FOOD... Definitely Chinese food

FAVORITE COLOR... pink and brown

NICKNAME... Carebear

WHERE YOU WERE BORN... Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

I am going to pass this meme on to Anne, Anna, Petula, Darlene and Matt. Have fun!

***21 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

A SNOW DAY!

Today the kids are home from school due to a snowstorm....YIPEE! Unfortunately the snow will turn over to rain sometime soon but the winds are really strong and it's messy outside.

So it looks as though my plans have changed for the day and will be spending time with the kiddies :0)

OVERSTOCK HOLIDAY CONTEST

Here we are finally the month of December and we all know what that means. That's right, it's Christmas time and what better time for the "All I want for Christmas Giveaway"! This giveaway is promoted by overstock.com where you can win gifts for you and your 5 closest friends worth up to $1000 each or you could win the Grand Prize of 5 gifts worth up to $5000. What could be better than that! All you have to do is register at overstock.com between December 3rd and 7th.

Oh wow, what prize would I want to win? Good question, there are hundreds of items to choose from so lets see. Oh yes, a laptop, how could I choose anything else over that and second would have to be the LCD flat screen TV for my hubby, I can't forget about him. OK so If I were to win then that means that so do 5 of my closest friends. Who to choose? That's easy, how about my dearest friends Kim, Matt, Tammy, Misty and Anne. Keep in mind I have to register and so do they too! So spread the Holiday Cheer with the "All I want for Christmas" Overstock Holiday Contest, where it really is all about what you want for Christmas this year!

***TRUE BLUE AWARD

Once again Tammy has thought of me and passed along another award to my blog. Thank you so much Tammy you are one of my dearest blogging friends. I just love it! And Dolphins, Love them:0)

I am going to pass this award on to Anne, Darlene, Petula, Jocelyn, Mel and Matt. No I didn't for you....Misty, Jenn and Anna :0) Tammy already sent it your way. Enjoy!

GOTH SINGLES

The world of dating has changed so much from when I was dating. Today there are so many different ways to try to meet that special person to share your life with. One of the most common/popular ways is through many Internet dating sites that is offered to many singles. What ever your interest , you will find a website that focuses on it.

If you are looking for Goth singles then this might be what you are looking for. This website at Darkyria.com is focused on goth singles, dating and personals aimed at vampire, dark, fetish, alternative culture, extreme and heavy music. For all you Goth Singles out there, do I have your attention yet? Want more? This dating website will allow their members to upload photos and if you see someone that interests you, then you have the option to use the "send a wink" feature to let that particular person know that you are interested. This sounds easy so far!

This website and membership is absolutely free and you have the opportunity to browse through thousands of singles profiles and pictures. This site also offers you Forums, a world map seeker, a free video chat and so much more. Get out there and explore the world of Goth dating through Darkyria.com and find your soul mate. What are you waiting for?

***22 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

***TODDLER TROUBLE....

*UP TO NO GOOD*

EEEKS----GRRRR-----AAAAH----OMG--(pulling my hair by this time) BLAAAAAKE....

Yup that is pretty much how my day went LOL ( I guess I can laugh now, the day is over and the kids are in bed) As you can see my dear sweet little Blake kept us busy all day. We couldn't get anything done fast enough for him....We still needed to put the molding up on Blake wall so that he would stop picking at the wall paper, but we kept putting it off, well today we had no choice but to get it done. There was Blake sitting in his room with a package of pop tarts and some bad looking wall paper...EEEKS! Off to his brothers room for quiet time while I fixed up his room...He is lucky I had just enough border to go around the room...

PUGGY LOVE!..

Then while Blake was in Kohl's room supposedly having quiet time I peeked in and found him eating a can of Pringles...he somehow snuck into my room and found our Christmas goodie stash...GRRRR! I should have been faster with snack time but I was a bit distracted with his wall. Do you think that I could get supper prepared fast enough for the little bugger...nope...there he was eating the corn right our of the can. AAAAH! He still managed to find room to eat his supper after eating more than half a can of corn. Supper is finished and now time to start thinking about giving the kids a bath...Once again not fast enough, there he was in the tub (thank G*d that this time he didn't turn on the hot water)...OMG, BLAAAAKE! Oh what a day! Now you see why my camera is never to far away and always ready to go...

***CHRISTMAS MEME...

I saw this meme over at Jenn's who got it from sonya's, who got it from annie, and just had to do it...It's about Christmas my favorite time of year! If you join in the fun let me know so I can read your post :0)

Let's get started....
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper of course...more fun for the kiddies!
2. Real tree or artificial? It's been a fake tree as long as I can remember...I can put it up early.
3. When do you put up the tree? The tree goes up the day after Remembrance Day.

4. When do you take the tree down? I take my tree down a day or two before the new year of shortly after...depends on the travelling...

5. Do you like eggnog? I do not like eggnog but it's something my grampie had to have every year :0)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My very first Cabbage Patch Kid doll :0)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have 2...one that was my grammie's, I got it last year when she passed away, it's sitting on our family fire place mantel and the other I left in the box, I made it myself (tole painting)

8. Hardest person to buy for? My Grammie...what do you get someone who has everything...I figured it out, A nicely framed family picture!
9. Easiest person to buy for? If I had of had this question a few days ago I would have said Blake my 3 year old..he doesn't ask for anything specific...until...now he wants a Mr. Buckets game ? (will have to look into this one) and some Diego playset? So much for easy LOL

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? It was back in my teen years when my mom bought me too many shirts(6) (clearance) that I didn't really like...for some reason that has stuck with me...sorry mom

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? We mail out our annual family Christmas letter to our family and friends with a family picture with it.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? One DVD it's The Santa Claus 1,2 and 3! On TV it's the old Santa Claus is Coming to Town...the one I grew up watching!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually get started with the Boxing day sales...this year we didn't, then we moved and OMG things got messed up with the Budget this year...I am looking forward to the Boxing Day Sales this time LOL

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope but I have thought of it....I would feel to guilty.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? COOKIES!! (shortbread with lots of icing)
16. Colored or white lights? I only use white lights....

17. Favorite Christmas song? Thistlehair the christmas bear.....ALABAMA CHRISTMAS

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? we travel at Christmas to be with family but miss staying home like we use to years ago...
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher-Dancer-Prancer-Vixen-Comet-Cupid- Donner-Blitzen-Rudolph! Did I get them all....lol
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open the gifts Christmas morning but the kids get to open one before bed Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Sticking to the budget and getting the gift bought and wrapped...I love delivering them to the family! AND with my hubby being the manager of a retail store (not walmart) it annoying for him and us to try to get time off work to spend with family. Next year we may as well set up our tree in his store so we can spend Christmas with him...shouldn't Christmas be a time for family to be together...
23. What I love most about Christmas? Getting together with family and friends...(With all the travelling and my husbands job it's almost impossible to visit with family)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

***23 DAYS T'IL CHRISTMAS!

LAP- BAND SURGERY

I watch a lot of tv shows on the TLC learning channel and quite often I will watch an episode on obesity where they offer their patients the option for Lap-Band Surgery. The Lap-Band adjustable Gastric Band is designed to help you lose weight and improve your quality of life by reducing the stomach which restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at one time. Journey Lite offers great information on this procedure and on finding a lap-band surgeon. Lap-Band is the safest proven weight loss surgery available.

***IT'S MY TURN....

I have have had the honor to receive so many great blogging awards over the past few months that I thought it would be nice to give an award out to others from myself. I have been trying to come up with a great award for quite some time but haven't had any good ideas until a few days ago I thought it would be nice to recognize the blogs that have been decorated for Christmas since it is my favorite time of year!
So here it is the "CHRISTMAS BLOG AWARD" so if you have decorated your blog then you know this is for you!

Right now I have many blogs I visit that are decorated for Christmas so this award goes out to you...
Tammy
Jenn
Misty
Matt
Jocelyn
If your blog is decorated for Christmas leave me a comment and I will send one out to you !

***OUR FIRST SNOWFALL...

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Today we enjoyed our first snowfall of the winter season. The kids were so excited to finally see the snow, OK so was I LOL! I was quick to get my camera for some snow pictures, This is our front yard where I plan on taking winter pictures of the kids once my oldest son comes home...what do you think red sweaters on the kids? I just hope it starts snowing again by then!

Check out my Christmas window paintings at Jabber Jaws!