Monthly Archives: August 2011

Christmas Holidays

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This summer passed so fast, too fast. Before we know it, the holiday season will be here with all its hustle and bustle. Things get so busy during the weeks before Christmas that I try to get as much done early as I can so that I can enjoy the time and not be stressed.

Some people are already ordering their holiday photo cards, shopping for Christmas presents, and getting ready to buy new decorations for the Christmas season. And in all actuality, Christmas products will probably be appearing on shelves in the stores before we know it. My guess it that we’ll start seeing them next month some time. Or have any of you already seen Christmas items in stores?

 

Backyards

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Some magazine pictures of backyard makeovers look like resort getaways. Our backyard definitely needs a makeover after this extreme Texas heat! It would look great with some potted flowering plants (pots are easier to keep hydrated) and maybe new deck furniture.  Maybe something to make it a little special would be nice.
It is not uncommon for backyards to have a little creek or maybe a low place in them. I’ve seen people put cedar bridges in their yards for something like that. In fact, my aunt and uncle had a small bridge in their backyard which was very charming.

I think it helps to have trees, and an adequate amount helps to make it seem more like a park.  If trees are lacking, they can always be planted.  The more greenery and foliage, the better.  That makes for a park-like atmosphere which is very relaxing!

Friendly Friday 8-19-11

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Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Please note – as of this week we’ve started having Friendly Friday begin at 8pm Central Thursday nights. This will give you early-to-bed people time to enter too!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

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Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select a blog at random and will feature a link and a write-up for that blog in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight one of those each week. Say hello to the lucky one for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):.

Amy at We’re In For It  is a Virginian living outside of DC with her husband Luke and her almost-two son Gage. She’s a teacher for her “day job” and is very passionate about what she does. Her blog began when she was pregnant to keep people updated, and has expanded now to chronicle Gage’s life. If you like seeing photos of an adorable little boy then you’ll love Amy’s blog! She also shares some product reviews and giveaways, like one for a Carmex prize pack right now! Stop by and visit Amy and get to know her family a little better – you’ll feel like you’ve made a new friend!

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Now that you know about this wonderful blog, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can get the InLinkz code to share Friendly Friday on your blog!

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Don’t forget – Friendly Friday now begins at 8pm Central on Thursday nights!
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Flowers

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This summer has flown by so fast. In fact, time is passing so fast! Before we know it, it will be Valentine’s Day and people will be thinking about gifts and flowers to give their sweetheart, possibly checking out Boston Valentine’s Day flowers. It’s a nice time of year when people are thinking of others and are giving gifts from the heart. It’s not only for sweethearts, but people also like to send flowers to their grandmother, aunt, or maybe someone who needs cheering up on this special day. And what a good way to cheer someone up with a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

Our Mobile Home

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Years ago (I won’t tell you how many), when my husband and I had been married only a year, we decided to buy a brand new mobile home. It was nice to have a place of our very own instead of renting from somebody else.  It was also a nice place to live.  The two bedroom home had brand new, name brand, quality appliances which included a heavy duty washer and dryer that lasted many years.  For the most part, we used our own furniture which included our own bedroom suite.

We lived in our home for several years, until our daughter was two, and we enjoyed living there.  Storage was plentiful for a mobile home.  My favorite parts were a built in double china cabinet and the abundance of cabinets in the kitchen. And the washer and dryer!

The park where we lived was nice, had an excellent storm cellar, and we actually only had to use the cellar once.  The lots were nice and pretty with trees on every lot.  Like I mentioned, we enjoyed living there and it would be nice to have a mobile home again, this time as a cute, cozy weekend getaway in some beautiful location.

Menu Plan Monday 8/15/11

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We had another great weekend! On Friday, we headed out to get our son moved in for the fall semester of college and also to see our daughter (Christi @ Frugal Novice) and her family on the same trip.  It’s always great being with family!  We had three family birthdays to celebrate, so it was a lot of fun!

Teachers and staff start back tomorrow, so I want a super easy menu.  Plus, I want to lose at least five pounds!   Here’s our menu:

Monday: Chef Salad with turkey

Tuesday:   Chef Salad with fresh veggies and turkey

Wednesday: Chicken Pasta, salad

Thursday: Chef Salad with chicken

Friday: Veggie pizza, salad

Friendly Friday 8-12-11

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Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Please note – as of this week we’ve started having Friendly Friday begin at 8pm Central Thursday nights. This will give you early-to-bed people time to enter too!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

 

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select a blog at random and will feature a link and a write-up for that blog in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight one of those each week. Say hello to the lucky one for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):.

Jayda at Two Children And A Migraine is a happily married mom of two little girls and two dogs and, like most all moms, is working to find just the right the balance in her life. Her blog will take you from great reviews and giveaways to tasty recipes to inspirational quotes to help you through your day to photos of her beautiful girls and more! Whether you are looking to hear about the next great book to read or a shopping deal you won’t want to miss to, you’ll find it all!

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Now that you know about this wonderful blog, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can get the InLinkz code  to share Friendly Friday on your blog!

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Don’t forget – Friendly Friday now begins at 8pm Central on Thursday nights!
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Promotional Products for Businesses

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Have you noticed that some trendy businesses use a promotional product to help customers remember them and to make their companies stand out from the rest?  It might be anything from a pencil or pen to a water bottle.  There are a lot of different products available to use for promoting a business logo.

Here’s an example, we recently ate at the grand opening of a fast food restaurant that is very popular on the east coast and has expanded to include the central U.S. People were standing in line even at 2:30 and 3:30 in the afternoon just to eat there (and it was a hot day). Their workers greeted us at the door and told us goodbye when we left. Not only did they do that, but they gave us hats when we entered and gave us stickers and decals when we left. These promotional products will help us remember how much we like their food. Every time we see these products, we’ll remember them.
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I’m a teacher, and teachers utilize a lot of visuals and hands-on activities to help their students remember the objective in the lessons. It’s really no different with adults. Most of us learn visually, and if we can interact with something then we remember it even better.
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If a company gives out a product that might be used often, such as a stressball,then when people get stressed they might reach for their stressball.  If they were really stressed out, they might use their stressball often.  The company would come to at least their subconscious mind when they used it and saw the logo.  And that’s one of the goals of a promotional product, to expand the logo of a business.

Outdoor Temperatures are Extreme!

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This heat wave all across the country is something else!  We have an outdoor thermometer which we’ll check to see how hot it is outside here in north central Texas. Looking at the weather forecast online, there doesn’t appear to be much hope for cooler weather. We’ve had 40 straight days of 100 degrees and over in the DFW area, and we’re about to break the record and move to the number one spot for the number of consecutive days over 100. Many of the days have been 104, 105, etc., even up to 109!  Whenever the temperature does get below 100 degrees, we won’t know what to think.  We might think a cool front is passing through!

B & B Retreats at the Mansion at Elfindale

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Retreats are great for revitalizing the spirit and connecting with others. Whether it’s a corporate retreat, a ladies’ retreat, a family reunion, a bridesmaids’ retreat, or whatever the occasion, atmosphere has a lot to do with allowing that revitalization and connecting to take place. After spending the night during this past summer and the previous summer at the Mansion at Elfindale in Springfield, Missouri, I highly recommend this B & B!  It’s world class!   Although it was just our family staying there, my imagination could see how this would be an awesome place for a retreat!

Isn’t it fun to get away with your girlfriends and talk “girl talk” until the wee hours of the morning?  A Ladies’ Retreat with a group of ladies from church has always been a lot of fun for me.  Getting away to a special place enhances the enjoyment of the trip, getting away from the hustle and bustle of the busy routine of life, getting to relax and share about things that are really important and things that are on our minds, and last but not least…just having fun together, sharing funny experiences and laughing so hard that we’re almost in tears.
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In order to have a ladies’ retreat, there needs to be ample places to congregate for chit chat, for sharing funny stories, and for serious discussion.  Having stayed at The Mansion, I can see how this Victorian style bed and breakfast would be an awesome place to stay.  The atmosphere of this European like castle is like taking a step back in time, yet keeping all the modern conveniences that we want to have.  The wide hallways provide many places to sit and congregate as seen in the picture below:

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This beautiful breakfast room can also be used for more than just breakfast at retreats:
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Many suites have sitting areas which are great for small group discussions. The Veranda Suite as seen in the picture below is one such room. Not only does this suite have a great sitting area inside but outside as well on the beautiful veranda seen in the second picture. By the way, this is the only suite with a veranda.
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The Rose Suite is the perfect name for this lovely suite as you can tell by the picture. It has an excellent area in the room for conversation and sharing thoughts.
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The Chapel Suite is where we enjoyed staying, and it can sleep four very comfortably. The suite is nice and spacious and also has a great sitting area, perfect for a small group meeting.
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I want to share one more of the 13 suites with you, and that is the tower suite. Note the tall tower on the right-hand side of the Mansion, the tower that reminds me of a castle:
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The Tower Suite contains two levels which makes it so charming and so much fun. There are actually four rooms to this suite being the bedroom, the bathroom, a sitting area in the tower, and then another sitting area up higher in the tower which is reached by a beautiful circular staircase. Below is the highest room in The Mansion. 

To see more, visit The Mansion at Elfindale on Facebook.
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Home Office

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We’re busy getting our son ready to go back to college. This year, he will be living off campus instead of the dorm, so we have been looking for office furniture such as a desk long enough to hold his monitor, laptop, printer/scanner, etc. I don’t know if he needs scanning software or not, but I’m sure he has listed everything he needs on his shopping list.  He has a great chair for his desk and a great laptop and monitor, so he’s all set there.  He does need a bookcase, though.  Once he gets the desk and bookcase, that should complete the major items on the list for his office/study.

Practice, Practice, and More Practice

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Our son knew some kids in high school who were in sports and some who were wrestlers on the school wrestling team. They all had to practice a lot after school just like our son had band practice a lot after school, many days a week sometimes.  Any student who is involved in an extracurricular activity such as a sport or who is involved in band has to commit to the time involved for practice.    These students can’t become good at what they’re doing without practice, practice, and more practice.  This is definitely a huge time commitment, and this commitment to stick it out helps build their character.