Christmas Postcards

I received the Kid's Countdown to Christmas Postcards from Simply Smooches and love them! Each card is neatly laminated with cute sayings and jokes on them. Also, they show how many days are left until Christmas to help build the excitement and anticipation for Santa's arrival. I bought them for Gabby who is 4 years old. She doesn't know how to read yet, but I thought she would enjoy the surprise of finding them under her pillow or in her coat pocket. Next year, she might understand the concept a little better and since they're so well made, I will be able to use them year after year. Holly will have fun with them next year as well.

Simply Smooches offers an assortment of postcards for everyone's liking, including brand new postcards for bloggers. What a great idea sending another blogger a note commenting on their blog or just letting them know you are thinking of them. It sure does give blogging a personal touch.

Great job on the postcards, Simply Smooches!(Click on Simply Smooches to access website) Can't wait to start using them.

Big Girl Bed For Gabby

It was time. Long over due. We finally got a new bed for Gabby. So long toddler bed...hello big girl bed! Boy was she excited. Early yesterday, Matt left the house on a mission to find a mattress. Seems he didn't have any trouble because he was home in no time with a brand new twin mattress. When he brought it inside, the girls were screaming and jumping about with pure excitement. I think Holly was just following suite but, needless to say, Gabby couldn't wait to try out her new bed. We left soon afterwards to find a comforter set which we found in a matter of minutes. I guess Gabb knew what she had in mind. A girl knows what a girl wants. Here are a few pictures.

Chocolate Lovers

I never thought about doing this. Perhaps I'm living under a rock and you'll laugh at what I'm about to write. I stumbled across this website when I was searching for great gifts for men. I was curious to see what this site had to offer because I'm always looking for "unique" gifts for my man. As I was going through the list, along came a site that said Bringing Chocolate into Sex so, I clicked onto it (click here) . Wow! Lot's of interesting stuff. Be warned though, if you explore the site, some areas are really raunchy. Check out the video below and hear people's take on this issue:

Food + Sex @ Yahoo! Video

I don't know if I'm sold on the idea...yet. The thought of getting hair(s) in my chocolate grosses me out. A little wine and some dinner, lunch, or breakfast before hand works great for me. How do you feel about mixing food and sex?

GO CARRIE!

I don't usually watch the CMA awards but when I heard Carrie Underwood was hosting it along with Brad Paisley, I decided to tune in. All I can say is "WOW!" Carrie Underwood had a big night. She accepted the female vocalist for the year award for the third year in a row. I lost count of wardrobe changes, but she looked great in all of them. She is on top of the world and the best thing about her is she is the same person today that we grew to know during her debut on American Idol. No wonder her Mom was crying.

How about Kenny Chesney? This is his fourth consecutive year accepting entertainer of the year award. Damn he looks hot wearing that cowboy hat!

There was certainly a lot of highlights last night but one that I want to poke fun at is Kellie Pickler.

What is going on with her hair? Everytime I see her she has a different hairstyle that looks awful. She is really proud of her new booby's. Can't you tell. She is a great entertainer but it seems like she's always searching for a new look. Although, along with Carrie Underwood, she to is a raising star and I have to give her credit for that. Especially since she had a rough upbringing. She's worked hard to get to where she is today, I just hope she finds her image niche soon and sticks with it.

It sure was an energy packed show last night with great entertainment. I really enjoyed it even though I don't consider myself a country music fan. Some songs I've never heard but, some songs like Alan Jackson's song Time For A Good Time, I plan on downloading to my ipod.

Fun Monday

The assignment for Fun Monday is to salute and show our appreciation to our Veterans on Veterans Day. Photo requirement of something patriotic. Thanks for the assignment Life according to Jan and Jer.

I chose two pictures:

Veterans Day Celebration at Arlington National Cemetery 2006
Veterans Day Poster

I did a little digging regarding Veterans Day because I really wasn't sure what to write. What I found was quite interesting.

Many people, including myself, confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day. Veterans Day is set aside to honor and thank ALL those who served honorably in the military - wartime or peacetime. In fact, it is mostly intended to thank the living Veterans for their service and to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring those who died during military service.

Veterans Day is always observed officially on November 11th. Why? Back in 1919, World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Then, after World War II, congress replaced the word Armistice to Veterans and in October 1954, President Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation.

Thanks for the assignment and thanks to all of the Veterans out there who have fought for our security and freedom.

Christmas Project

This year for Christmas, I decided to take part in Operation Christmas Child. A unique mission project to help millions of boys and girls around the globe who live in difficult circumstances and are in need of hope.

What this project entails is filling a shoebox for a specific age and gender with school supplies, toys, hygiene items, and other goodies such as hard candy, sunglasses, flashlights, ect...you enclose a check to cover shipping costs and then, through Samaritan's Purse, it's delivered to the appropriate designation.

Last year, Gabrielle and I picked out a toy and dropped it off at one of the toy run drop offs. My goal is to help Gabrielle and Holly understand that children around the world and even in our own communities, sometimes don't get to experience the thrill of Christmas as we do. So, in efforts to do this, every year for Christmas I hope to find a program that shows Gabb and Holly how different their Christmas is compared to other kids around the world.

Hopefully if my efforts are successful, the girls will be more willing to give at Christmas then receive.

Election Fun Facts

Today, as you travel to your designated polling location to cast your vote for the next President of the United States, did you ever wonder why it always falls on a Tuesday in November? Well, I found some interesting information regarding these significant dates.

Way back when we were a farming nation, congress decided November would be a good month to vote because the harvest would be over and the weather wouldn't be bad enough to prevent people from traveling. Tuesday was the chosen day because congress didn't want to interrupt religious or days of rest. Because horseback was primarily the source of transportation, it would take people one day of traveling to reach their polling location. They would have all day Monday to travel, Tuesday to vote and rest their horses, and Wednesday to travel back home.

Click on the video for a more indepth explanation and to hear what congress is considering. Also, scroll past the video to read a conversation between Gabrielle and I.

Why we vote on Tuesday @ Yahoo! Video

Cute words from Gabby this morning:

I said to her, "Today is a big day. Do you know why?"

Gabb: No.

Me: Who have we been talking about a lot?

Gabb: God?

Me: Well, that's true but who else has Mommy and Daddy been talking about? Who has been on the news a lot?

Gabb: OBAMA!

Me: That's right! You are paying attention.

Count Your Blessings

Each year as a part of the Thanksgiving celebration, our church St. Paul's Lutheran Church, asks members to bring one penny for every year of their life. They gather these pennies for a special offering that will benefit the ELCA-World-Hunger.

This is always a fun way to get everyone in your family involved with the offering. Last year, the pastor set out a wheelbarrow in the center aisle at the front of the church and when it was time to give the offering, the kids excitedly walked up and threw in their pennies. Some members were able to carry the pennies in their hands, but the older ones used bags for transporting allllll of their pennies. Even though they were telling their ages, everyone enjoyed this ritual. What a great way to raise not only money but awareness as well.

If you'd like to donate, click on the link above or send me your pennies and I'll be happy to take them to church. If you have to use a bag, make sure you put your name on it. (Ha! Ha!)