A Holiday Memory

This guest post from Errol Chang


I look forward to television on Thanksgiving because of all the memories it holds. To this very day it would not be the same without watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I can remember the kids sitting in front of the television watching with delight as those big balloons passed overhead and waiting patiently waiting for Santa to arrive. The sounds of the marching bands had everyone pumped up for the turkey that was about to be brought out of the oven. Family coming from out of town, everyone helping in the kitchen, more laughter coming from the kids and love throughout the house. What a wonderful day and so much to be thankful for. Now the kids are grown and many have moved away, but the love for the parade is still there. It's now Grandpa and I, sitting in front of the tv, but not the small little screen anymore, it's a big screen and our Direct TV HD Channels bringing the parade up close and personnal. I can't help but wonder, what it would have been like to have the kids all sitting around watching, laughing and loving these big balloons and to see Santa Claus on this very large tv set.

Excited for Ultrasound

Hubby and I are getting more excited for my ultrasound tomorrow. I'm 19 weeks pregnant now and tomorrow is my schedule for the ultrasound to check how the baby is growing and for sure we want to know if it's a girl or boy.  I'm just hoping that the baby is growing good and developing normally. Will post the ultrasound images of my baby later tomorrow.

Getting Ready for the Winter

Post contributed by Patricia Singleton

I just started getting ready for the winter weather this past weekend. All too often I've been caught unprepared and had to deal with the conditions as they were. Experience has taught me the things that I need to do for the types of weather conditions I'll be likely to face around these parts.
I actually just finished preparing my car on Saturday for the winter by checking the radiator system and the antifreeze level among other things and will get started on the house this week. During my preliminary checks (as I call them) on Sunday, I made sure to recaulk and weather strip the doors and windows, check to make sure that the walls and attic's insulation hasn't suffered from the past year and that the insulation on the water lines are still up to code, so to speak. I also went to the store on Sunday to stock up on extra food and supplies. I'm thinking about checking the generator either tonight or tomorrow. After that the only thing that is left is the storm windows and doors (along with some plastic covering from the inside). I'll probably get started on that this weekend. That will be all for this winter. Hopefully, it won't take too long as I also plan to cozy up in the living room and watch some satellite TV from www.cannonsatellite.com with my family this weekend.

Snow Tires

Thanks to hubby the regular tires on my car has been changed to snow tires. I won't worry too much about driving on a snowy road. First thing I told hubby when I woke up this morning was asked him if he could take my car to Discount Tires to put my snow tires on. He was meaning to wake up early to go there coz he needed to change his trucks tires to and put his snow tires on the truck too. Since, I couldn't go with him to drive my car, Mom-in-Law did it for me. I needed to study this morning for my quiz this afternoon. I'm so glad the vehicles were taken cared of. I hate driving when it's snowing though. I'm hoping it will not snow again this afternoon so I can drive smoothly especially coming back home coz it gets dark so early.

Keeping My Home Safe While Visiting My Best Friend

A guest post written by Wm Rowe


Whoever coined the adage “Never say never!” was a wise person, because I have discovered that the phrase inevitably holds true when a person uses the word “never” in regard to any situation. At least, this is what I have experienced in my own life, which is how Dawn came to be my best friend.
Dawn and I used to work together and she was one of those people who just rubbed me the wrong way; her mannerisms irritated me and I told myself that I would never become friends with her. After working with her for a few months, I discovered that she and I shared something in common: we were both suffering from discrimination at our workplace. We started spending time together during lunch and as we got to know one another, we started connecting on a personal level which led to visiting each others' homes and meeting each others' families. I tend to shy away from close, personal relationships and I had not had a close female friend since I was a child, so when Dawn and I started connecting so quickly, it was exciting and scary all at the same time.
Time has passed since Dawn and I first met and our friendship has grown from questionable to solid and true. She has taught me to look beyond the superficial make-up of a person and focus on the similarities people share as well as how they make you feel. Dawn has been there for me through significant health problems, through heartache and joy, and I have done the same for her. We spend time shopping, sharing meals, and just hanging out, usually at her house because her Internet connection speed is much speedier than mine. Each time I visit her, and I visit her often, I make sure to set my home security alarm from www.Home-Alarm-Systems.com/ so I can continue to come home to happy pets and safe belongings.

Talking Tyler

Tyler is learning to talk more and more as he is able to imitate almost every word we say. That's why I told hubby to be very careful in his words. I know before he gets 2 yrs old he will be able to talk fluently. He isn't even 2 yet but hubby said he is now acting and behaving the terrible 2's. I am hoping that Tyler will be a smart and a good boy as he grows up. 

How I Get My Home Ready for Winter

Guest post written by Sidney Owens

Getting my house ready for winter is not the highlight of my year. It takes me at least a week to finish the entire process. It is important to do this though because the house needs to be as warm as possible in order to keep down our heating costs.
The first thing that I do is remove the air conditioners from all of the windows in the house. After this, I install storm windows in my windows. I like to replace mine every five years and I then seal the windows with plastic on the inside in case there are any cracks. After this, I install my storm doors in my home. The storm doors help to keep out the cold and thee wind and make my property even more secure which is a huge plus.
Finally, I make sure that my heat pump is working. I also have someone come and clean my furnace so that we do not have to deal with furnace issues when it is cold. Then, I put gas in my generator and start it up to make sure that it works. The process is long and tedious but it makes me feel like a productive man that is looking out for his family and his wallet. After I am finished, I plan to sit on the couch and watch Direct TV and know that I have a completely winterized home.

Cold and Freezing

It's not even winter yet but it's getting colder and colder everyday which makes me feel lazy to go out and even do things in the house coz it' still cold even if we have the heater on. I don't look forward to the winter cold but I would love to see the snow all around. Kinda a confusing huh? We will have our family christmas photo tomorrow at Sears. So, everyone in the family are expected to be there.

My step son is engaged

My step son just recently got engaged to a wonderful young woman with a charming personality. His now fiancée is from a small town in Nebraska and has now lived in our little town in Colorado for several years. Oh to reflect back and remember the excitement of becoming engaged. How could I ever forget that wonderful day when hubby proposed to me. My step son and I were at the mall awhile back,  he was scanning the stores for an engagement ring and wedding ring, of course I was more than happy to accompany him when he invited me to tag along. We saw so many wonderful engagement rings at every store we visited. Yes, I was constantly thinking about my hubby and the romantic way he proposed to me years ago as we went from store to store. I truly love to look at wedding rings. I have mine cleaned often. There seems to be excitement in the air as my step son’s wedding day gets closer and closer. So remember the next time your at the mall, take a moment, maybe even a few, and stop by to take a glance at the never ending beauty of jewelry. Oh what a marvelous time to remember.

Drive Thru Breakfast

This morning hubby and I had to run errand at Sam's Club. We grab Tyler with us since we didn't have anything to eat yet I told hubby if we could do Drive-Thru at Mc Donald's. I always love their pancakes and sausage. So, we dropped by and had breakfast inside the truck as we parked. We didn't want to go in coz Tyler is with us, sometimes he can't tolerate long sitting on high chair. We decided just to eat our meal in the vehicle coz Tyler behaves better plus he can't get out from his car seat. Tyler liked pancakes and sausage too. After we were done we headed to Sam's Club and got the stuff we needed.

A Sweet Thanksgiving

Guest post written by Ella Thompson


When I think of winter weather and Thanksgiving, I just imagine tasting all of these super rich and luxurious things. Also, a whole lot of really sweet things. I just think that it isn't really Thanksgiving, or really any descent meal if you can't satisfy your sweet tooth. A whole lot of times I even plan whole meals around sweet dishes.
Once I found out that I was going to be hosting our family Thanksgiving lunch this year, I looked up all kinds of sweet dishes with my clear wimax to fix.
One of the things that I'm going to fix is candy yams. They really are a classic, whether you like them with marshmellows on top or not. I'm also going to serve honeybaked ham instead of turkey, which I know that my friends are going to really love. Lots of my other friends have sweet teeth too because we Õre always going out for ice cream or Pinkberry or to get cupcakes together. A lot of the time IÕll even fix them cakes just for fun.

Ultrasound

I am getting more excited as my ultrasound appointment gets nearer. Hubby and I will find out the baby's gender on Tuesday the 23rd of this month. We are hoping for a girl but if it's another boy, we are still excited about having another boy. Tyler is growing more mature and is aware of what is going on around him. He is able to say more and more words everyday. He can express himself even better now that he can say a lot of words. I am proud of my little boy. To me he is a smart little one. Hubby and I are planning to potty train him anytime soon coz he can understand simple instructions and directions now. So, we thought that he will be ready to learn to go potty in a pot or in the bathroom. Wish us luck!

Leaves keep falling

It's fall season and what else to expect but falling leaves everywhere. Hubby couldn't stand seeing those fallen leaves on the ground in our front yard. So, he decided to have them raked so the front yard would look cleaner. Tyler and I helped raking those leaves but then while we are trying to clean the front yard those leaves from the trees keep falling on the ground. I know it will be useless cleaning them now coz I'm sure by the next day the ground will be covered again with dead leaves. But I guess it's better to rake them and not wait till all those leaves are gone from the trees coz it will be harder to clean them up.

Here's Tyler trying to help raking the leaves.

He always want to get involved in everything we do.

Spending less on Christmas

I can’t believe how the days go by so quickly. Christmas is getting closer and closer. I have been thinking about what presents I can give to hubby, my little boy and the rest of the family. Hubby and I are for sure will try to spend less this Christmas season.  I am always thinking about ways on how we could earn extra money to be able help with hubby especially now that I had quit working. It’s not easy at this time when the economy is not doing well. Maybe the best thing is to find ways how to spend less and save more since I can’t work right now because of my pregnancy. I have been searching and reading a lot of articles over the internet that give information on ways to be able to cut expenses and save money. Talking about saving, I thought about maybe checking out cheaper cell phone plans that is available in the market today. I am trying to check and compare prices with AT&T wireless plans that we are using now for almost 4 years if we could get a better deal. If not then maybe we could find cheaper than other providers offer, I heard that Sprint cell phone plan prices are very affordable too. I might check it out and compare both providers and see which one I could save more.

My little helper

Tyler is 16 mos old now and he has been learning a lot of things. He is learning to talk and has been learning more words each day. He would repeat every word I or his daddy would say. I told hubby to be careful in every word we say coz Tyler would definitely utter the same words. Tyler wants to get involved in almost everything we do in the house. One time he saw me sweeping the kitchen floor and he started to grab the broom from me. He started fuzzing so I gave it to him after I got done sweeping and look what he did? He started sweeping the floor too. He looked so cute and funny trying to sweep the floor. Now, I have a little helper. Great job Tyler!