Review of a Great History Book

I was given a complimentary copy of the book The American Patriot's Almanac by William J Bennett and John T.E. Cribb, by booksneeze.com.  This book is layed out in a fabulous form.  It's chapters go by month and the days in each month.  Each day has a few paragraphs on a certain event in history that happened on that day as well as a few other facts in year order at the bottom.  Also included in the book are the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation.  It contains facts on all of the states and songs and poems of American Patriotism. 

I was able to learn so many new facts that I never would have unless I read quite a few books.  The way this is written makes it either a great book to read cover to cover or as a book to use as a reference tool at any time.  I can't wait to share all of the facts with my children at different times during the year while we are learning different things about our country.

While I was given this book to review, the opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced by anyone.

Have Been Thinking........

The last couple of days have had me thinking about how very lucky I am.  I have a very loving, kind family and many friends who care about me (us).  My oldest son is saying that he doesn't really need anything for Christmas and I'm wondering if it's because he's realizing how much things cost and how much he really has already.  He is saving for his own laptop, along with his sister.  They put half of their allowance each week into savings and the other half they keep adding to their stash for their laptop.  What dedication at he ages of 10 and 8!  I wish I had been taught a little more about money when I was younger.  I'm definitely going to be paying attention to my kids cues and teaching them as necessary about money and how important saving and working with what you have is.  Many things that we own can be repurposed for many things or used in place of other things.  In this day and age of being mindful to the environment and our wallets, this is a very good thing to keep in mind. 

During this holiday season, I'm going to try my best to keep it about family and friends and not all of the commercialism.  Yes, I will still decorate my house and go all out, but if some of it doesn't get done because something more important comes up, I'll be okay with it.....................

A Day of Remembrance

Today is a day to remember our veterans and those who are currently serving in our military.  They do so much on a daily basis to keep our country safe and make sure that we can continue living the life we live.  They can be away from their families for months at a time and they never complain.  They see this as a duty of theirs and make so many sacrifices.  Many of us couldn't imagine being away from our families for a day or a week, let alone months or a year. 

I have had family members killed in a war, family members survive a war and many friends serve in the military.  I hear stories of survivors and non survivors on a daily basis and it makes me happy/sad/proud, depending on the circumstance.

We should be remembering these people on a daily basis, instead of just a couple of days a year.  They should be in our hearts and our prayers, right along with everything else we are thinking of, at all times. 

To all of our military members and your families -----  THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!  Your service is appreciated!!

Monday After A Time Change

What a weekend we had!  It was the weekend of the time change and of course, being fall, that meant we were supposed to gain an hour of sleep.  Of course, no one told my kids about this, as they have done what they have since they were little, and got up at the usual time, even though it was an hour earlier!  Hopefully the next couple of weeks will straighten them out.........

I guess I shouldn't complain, because there are so many things that I am thankful for.  My family, friends, my scout troops, the kids at school, who light up whenever I am in the building!  I am even thankful for the person who was at the springs last Friday morning, when I went to fill my water jugs.  She was there with her husband and they were waiting for their BIG jug to fill and she decided since she wasn't doing anything, she would help me carry my jugs to the car.  It was nice to be reminded that there are very nice people out there, who will go out of their way to help other people.  Sometimes people can be so caught up in their everyday lives, that they forget about everything else. 

I know that I want to continue to make a conscious effort to continue to treat people the way that I would like to be treated.  A lot of people are surprised when I see them behind me when I'm leaving a building and I wait at the door after I open it, so I can keep it open for them!  To me, it is just a sense of using your manners and treating people with respect.  It is something that I am hopefully passing along to my kids and hoping that they will learn how to treat people properly.

This is a very busy time of the year and I know that I will be trying to help other people out as much as I can.  I will offer to help out friends with dinner or watching their kids, if they need to go out to do some shopping or just need some "ME" time.  Within the last couple of years, it hasn't seemed to matter to me if everything is perfect for the holidays.  I get what I can done and I just enjoy the time with my family and friends. It seems like the perfect solution to me and I hope that you all will follow along with it. 

I will be trying to pace myself as I make muffins, breads, cookies and other baked goods.  I will also be trying to make some meals ahead and work on some of my foods for the holiday itself.  I will be making lists of what I will be serving on these important days, so I'm not trying to remember at the last minute what I need to do.  I will do my wrapping of gifts in a semi-orderly fashion and get them stacked in piles, so I know which pile I need to grab as we're running out the door to someone's house.  I will work on the decorating slowly and get everything up when I can.  That can be a feat in itself, because I decorate quite a bit for Christmas.  I will have to try to get pictures up for you all to see.

Now, I'm off to start on those lists and finish off some Christmas gifts I'm working on.  I have quite a few gifts to make and I'm hoping I'll be organized enough to get it all done.

Back From Las Vegas

I just got back from a fun filled vacation in Las Vegas!  I didn't have a lot of internet access out there, so I was unable to update the blog.  I can't wait to write about all of the things that I did while I was there.

Kyle was in training for 4 of the days, so I had them all to myself and either walked around sightseeing or sat by the pool reading.  The weather wasn't that great for the most part, so a lot of the time I was in jeans and the one sweatshirt I had taken with me.  I think I went in to almost all of the casinos on the strip and I can tell you that my favorites didn't change from the last time I was there.  My list of the top casinos are Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Palazzo and the Venetian.  Sahara is also another favorite of mine, but for different reasons. 

At the Bellagio, they have the fountains up front and they have a beautiful garden on the inside that they change with the seasons.  This time they had a covered bridge, orchid house and a huge scarecrow.  The fountains outside go every half hour during the day and every 15 minutes at night.  What a sight they are to see when you're at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Mandalay Bay has wonderful shops, a wonderful place that makes crepes and a beautiful pool.  Their spa is also wonderful!  I had a 50 minute facial and a 50 minute massage.  Pure heaven!  Talk about relaxation........................

The Venetian and the Palazzo are just beautiful to be in and walk around.  You feel like you're in Italy and yes, you're supposed to be walking on the wrong side of the hallways, because that's how they do it over there.  It's just a very relaxing place to be.

I love the Sahara mainly because of the Nascar Cafe inside.  I love the atmosphere of the cafe and the whole sports feel.

I loved a lot of the food we ate while we were there and I liked the fact that Kyle and I could get something different, especially since I am a little bit more adventurous than he is.  He still says that Emeril's Stadium has the best burger he has ever eaten! 

We went to Hash House A Go Go for breakfast twice while we were there this time and they have the best orange juice.  It is fresh squeezed and I am thinking that I'm going to have to start doing that at home.  We went to La Salsa Cantina another day for breakfast and that was really good as well.

One of the lunches we had was at KGB (Kerry's Gourmet Burgers) and I don't recommend it.  I wasn't too impressed with the food at all.

Margaritaville was awesome (of course) but very loud inside.  The food was delicious though.

We did three buffets.  The one at Harrah's was the best in my opinion.  The one at Imperial Palace came in second and the one at Flamingo Bay I would never go back to. 

We went to Coyote Ugly one night and I definitely recommend that everyone go there!  I had the best time!!  The girls there make everyone feel great and welcome and they genuinely want you to have fun.  It was definintely an experience I would love to repeat in the future................

We saw two shows while we were there.  The first was Cirque du Soleil's Mystere and it was fabulous!  Definitely worth the money we spent on the tickets. 

The other show we saw was Nathan Burton's comedy magic show.  It was a free show for us, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but boy did he deliver!  He was so funny and the magic that he did was great.  He told us things about when he was younger and when he started to do magic.  After the show, he took time out to meet everyone and talk to all of us.  He didn't seem rushed about it either.  It was so nice to have someone who is in show business actually care about the people who come to see him.  It is definitely a go to show that should be on everyones list.

As I remember more of what I did and saw in Vegas, I'll update you all.  If you have any comments you would like to add, please feel free to do so.  I would love to be able to get into discussions with all of you about travel and other things.......................

I hope you all have a great day!

Rough Week

It's been a rough week around here. I had a bad cold, a headache and did a lot of sleeping. While I was sleeping one day, my husband finished up with painting the kitchen. He sure knew I wasn't feeling well, because I slept through all of the banging and vacuuming, etc....

We had a great weekend last week!  We went to Liberty Ridge Farms for the all scouts weekend and the kids had a blast!  :)  Bonus for mom and dad.......  They went through the huge corn maze, saw pigs race, sat in a hen house filled with corn,walked in giant gerbil wheels, drove pumpkin vine 500 cars and had their faces painted.  There was a lot more there, but that's all that time would allow.  This weekend, my youngest has his "homecoming" football game and then we're thinking of heading up to Great Escape for their frightfest. Also, I see some apple picking in our future. Kyle is taking Jared to the super dirt races on Sunday in Syracuse and he is taking both boys hiking with the cubscouts on Monday. Prospect Mountain get ready, 'cuz some cubs are coming to climb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I accomplished a lot this week, despite everything. I went through all of the gifts I ordered and put them on my Christmas list and put them in bins. I organized the office a little and cleaned out some things. Today I went to the springs to get water, went to Price Chopper for the deals and went to the library to return some books and get one they were holding for me. I've also done laundry, dishes and cleaned out my daughter's closet (not pretty!).  Now I've been relaxing and catching up on some computer stuff, before I go swap out laundry and I'm thinking about making FishMama's Apple Slab Pie.  You can find the recipe on her website at http://www.lifeasmom.com/.  She's got a lot of make ahead freezer recipes and I can't wait to try this one.  It is definitely the day for it. 

Then my evening will start as will the rest of my countdown to my vacation without children next weekend.  I'll spend a wonderful week in Las Vegas with my husband and no children.  I see many hours relaxing by the pool and seeing the sights and hopefully reading lots of books.  Also, I am hoping that my foot will hurry up and continue with the recovery process.  Still hanging in there with it, but boy is it getting tough!  (as you could probably tell, since you all know I can't go into stores myself without my crutches. So you all know I was cheating when I was shopping earlier today)  I can't wait until I can walk again without the crutches and without the cast.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend with your families and I know some of you will have a longer weekend because of Columbus Day.  Let me know if you find any great deals out there this holiday weekend!

By the way, Old Navy has coats on sale for the whole family tomorrow. $16 each with a limit of 5 per customer. Get there early for the best selection!

Finally Friday!!

It's finally Friday and I'm sitting here relaxing with not much planned for the evening! What a rare event......and with all of the rain we have had the last 2 days, there will not be a soccer game tomorrow. That means that tomorrow afternoon will be free as well. Wonder what I should do with all of my time? Don't worry, I have a list.

I have to go through all of the gifts I have purchased for the holidays the past few weeks. Then I have to make sure that I have them all written down and know who they are going to. Then I have to put them away. I have to figure out who I still have to shop for and get the whole amount of money for each person figured out. Then I hope that I can find things on super deals to save even more money.

I have to also clean up the house and reorganize the office/craft area. I have really been putting this one off, since I broke my foot, because I don't think it is going to be an easy job. I also have all of the usual cleaning that needs to be done every week. I try to split it up so that I'm doing the same jobs on the same days each week, but guess what? Life happens and the best plans always get messed up! I am getting better at being okay with this. I have found that it doesn't go anywhere if you don't get to it right away.

I would also love to have some extra quality time with my kids and with my husband. That is always the best part of my weeks! Nothing could ever be better than that. Not a million dollars or all of the possessions in the world.

Speaking of family, I think I'll go and see what they are all up to. I love updating the blog, but sometimes there are better things in life to do!

Tuesdays Adventures

I was just trying to think of a few things while I was clearing out my email inbox and going through my rss feeds. I have decided that those are two things that I really need to keep up with on a more regular basis. I do get my emails on my phone, but I only deal with the really important ones on there. The others get filtered to my computer, where they sit until I have time. My rss feeds don't sit as long, but sometimes I miss a really good thing, because I didn't get to it quickly enough! That really bums me out......

I have been trying to get really organized lately and I can definitely say that it is a work in progress. I believe that I will take another lesson from my children and say that you learn new things every day and that you can never be perfect, so don't even try! I seem to be telling my kids to just do their best on everything, so why can't I seem to follow that same philosophy??  I think I need to learn to give myself a break and let things slide and realize that there is always tomorrow. Especially with the RA and fibro, I need to learn that my health and family should come first and everything else should come later. You would think that since I have had this for a while now, I would actually have this engraved in my brain, but it is still difficult to do.  So, for everyone else out there, who is living with an illness of any kind: RELAX, let things happen as they will and just take your time! The dishes will wait and if someone needs something bad enough, they'll get it done themselves.

Now, I'm off to get some laundry, dishes, cooking, baking and organizing done. If I can accomplish just one thing today, I will feel like I conquered the world  :)

Very Lazy Sunday

I have been hanging out this afternoon, watching reruns of CSI NY. My husband has our oldest son at the races, since it's the last one of the season. My youngest son and daughter are somewhere in the house and are being very quiet! I know I should be asking why but right now I'm too busy relaxing.....

I have had lots of things running through my mind lately and have been trying to keep up with all of them. I would love to get my house organized, plan for my upcoming trip and get a lot more cooking and baking done. Then I end up with a day like this and decide that I really don't want to do anything!   :)

I think I'm going to take a page from my children and just hang out and do whatever I feel like. I thankfully have that mind frame that my children do not have to be busy all of the time. I don't over schedule them, they can only play one sport each at a time. They also do scouts and my oldest does violin through school, but that's it. They don't need to have a play date all of the time, they don't need meetings and activities, they can actually be bored for a little bit. AND I'm not totally against TV and video games on occasion......

I know that these last couple of hours of quiet from my kids are all I'm going to be getting for a while. I know reality will set in, they will need me for something, want something for dinner, need showers before bed, etc...

And as I typed that last part, my youngest did indeed come up to me and ask "Can we look to see what we have around for Halloween costumes and also put up the fall decorations?" 

I don't think I would have it any other way!!

It's just going to be one of those days.........

I had to go to the doctor today, so they could take an xray of my foot and let me know if it's healing properly. Of course, I knew the answer before they even did all of that.. No, the bones have not healed, I'm back to no weight on it at all, they are trying to get me a wheelchair, I need to have a bone stimulator and this will all be going on for the next six weeks! I also will be going to Las Vegas in 4 weeks with my wonderful husband and the kids will be staying home with family. After these next six weeks, if the bones have not healed enough, I will probably be looking at surgery! So, now for the good news of the day.....

I have a wonderful husband, 3 fabulous children, 3 great step children and an oh so cute and handsome step grandson!  Life doesn't get much better than that!  I am trying to stay on the positive side of things and not worry about what I cannot change. Besides, as I said, I'm going to Vegas.

On another note, I ran into Hannaford this morning and stocked up on some meat and some beans, so I can get to making some meals ahead. I want to go to Price Chopper in the next couple of days to stock up on some of their sales (they have 3 pound bags of apples this week for only $1.00). I have some yummy new recipes that I found and would SOOO love to try!

Guess I'll go back to doing what I should right now (dishes, relaxing and maybe a load of laundry) then get the kids off of the bus and snuggle with them a little and then make dinner.  So much for staying off of my feet!

Triumphant Tuesday

I feel as if I conquered the world today! I woke up, made glittersticks for a teacher, got 3 kids off to school, came home and made more glittersticks, did dishes, laundry and cleaned the shower.  The reason I feel as if I conquered the world is because my shower has not been cleaned since I broke my foot 8 weeks ago. I guess no one else feels that it is necessary to do any cleaning. I, on the other hand, like things really clean and in their place. I think it's from the RA and fibromyalgia, so if I'm having a bad day, I know that I can go to a certain spot, without my glasses on, and find exactly what I'm looking for by touch. I know, probably too much info! (but that's my life)   :)

I have many things to do and I am famous for making lists, but I have also been learning that I need breaks during the day and even with so much to do, it is VERY important for me to take them. It makes life much better when everyone gets home later in the day to have a happy, relaxed mom. Then, of course, the stress returns when I'm helping with homework, getting everyone ready for sports that night and getting dinner onto the table. (we won't even talk about whether or not everyone will eat that meal....)

I have had so many ideas going through my head, as to what direction I want this blog to take and since it's been up for a year and I haven't concentrated on it as much as I would like, I have decided that I need to do this for me. The blog may take some time to find it's way, but I know that I will enjoy every minute of it! I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and making new friends along the way. I feel that life is important and even more important is learning something new everyday. We all need assistance with that and meeting new people and sharing ideas is one step toward making that happen.

I can't wait to see how all of this turns out and can't wait to finalize some of the things that have been going through my head. It should be a lot of fun and I hope you're all ready to join me on that fun.

Until tomorrow.........

JCPENNEY $10 off $10 code plus free shipping on shoes today only!

I was browsing thru all the blogs I follow and I noticed a link on moneysavingmom.com that gave the above info for jcpenney's. I just ordered my daughter a pair of sandals for a whopping $2.05!!! Just what I needed to make my day!

I also ordered a few Christmas gifts online earlier today. Since I'm confined mainly to my chair, I decided I better make good use of my time. You never know when I'll be able to sit down and do nothing for awhile again!

There seems to be a lot of good sales starting for the back to school season and I'm hoping that we'll all be able to take advantage of them.

I just finished reading a book today, The USA Today's The Busy Family's Guide to Money. It was really good and had some very helpful ideas of where to put your money, what you need to use your money for, finding out how much you need for certqain things, how much you should have in good debt at the most, etc... The only thing I wish it had more of is ideas on how to cut expenses and how to earn extra money on the side. I am looking for ways to increase our income without taking time away from my family. My family definitely comes first and that will always be the case. I couldn't tell you how many jobs I left in the past, because they were not family friendly at all.

The end of July and hoping that August will be a little better!!

Well, I was on a roll with getting this blog up and running, but while visiting family and vacationing in VT, I managed to break my left foot. Three broken bones in multiple places and the only good thing that came out of it, is that my husband felt sorry for me and bought me a laptop. So, now I can get back to trying to set up this blog!

It is reported that Target has had many of their toys on clearance and you may want to head over there quick, before they are all gone. (Remember, you won't have to worry about me getting their first and clearing it all out).

Price Chopper had triple coupons in the newspaper this past week and they expire today, so head on out and use them up!

Hannaford has a the scratch off game pieces and they will continue to give them out until the end of August. My husband went to the store for me the other day, and brought a game piece home for me, but as my luck went, I didn't win anything.

If you head on over to www.smartbalance.com you can score a $2.00 coupon off a half gallon of milk. A couple of weeks ago I was able to score a half gallon of milk for $0.66.

What a Week!!!!!!

I can't believe the week I had! I had all of these grand plans of things to do on and offline and my computer crashed! We finally finished our boys' room and now we are working on our daughter's room. We started the painting today and we will finish it tomorrow and then put up her loft bed and put her new desk together. Today was the shopping day for new curtains and a couple of new floor pillows and she talked me into an ottoman. Not the cheapest shopping experience but definitely a memorable one and it's not like we do this redecorating thing all of the time.

I'll be back to doing the shopping for deals things tomorrow, as well as the see what we have in the house to use as something else that we need and just try to keep up with my goal as reducing, reusing and recycling. As the days, weeks, months go on, this concept seems to get even more important to me. I guess it has something to do with going back to the basic times and listening to my grandmother telling me stories about when she was growing up. It was a good time, except for the great deprssion, but they learned a lot from that time period. I want to teach my kids to respect everyone and everything and to live well within their means. They need to learn how to save up for things and only buy them when they have the money and when they REALLY NEED them. I wish I had been taught that a little more.... But, you learn as you go and you can't go back in time to change anything. You can just change the way you think about certain things and THAT DEFINITELY DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT!!!

Staples is starting their big back to school shopping deals tomorrow and Target has started putting their school supplies out.

Target also has a lot of clearance in the toy department, but not sure how much it is marked down, because I wasn't able to look while I was out shopping today.

I'll keep you all posted as I get into this more and more this week.

Friday, July 2, 2010

There are quite a few deals out there this weekend, if you want to take the time away from the holiday weekend to go out and get them. Myself, I think I will just plan on hanging out with my family. We're going to Massachussetts for the day and then to the beach at Lake George for a day. The other day we will just hang out at home and relax.

For those of you who enjoy the deals, here are a couple to get you through tomorrow:

Target has started marking down their stuff for clearance. When I was there earlier this week, it was just at 30%, so unless you really love something, you might want to wait.

Hannaford has Edy's ice cream for $1.99 and Klondike bars for $2.00. There is a limit of 4 each, but who says you can't go back into the store or have your children go thru the line with their "own" money. If you check Hannaford's new website, you can print some great coupons of it. I've managed some great deals the last few weeks!

Price Chopper has a few good deals this week, which will be even better with coupons. They also had 3 double coupons in their ad last weekend, which are good through tomorrow. You can also find coupons on their facebook page and the coupons are awesome!! :) They have Ball Park meat franks buy 1 get 2 free and there should be a coupon out there for $1.00 off of 2. They have quite a few items that will get you double points for cents off gas at participating Sunoco stations. And don't forget that if you need any gift cards that you can't get for free through different freebie sites, purchase them through Price Chopper and they amounts count towards your cents off for gas!

Freihofer outlets are having a great sale tomorrow as well!! If you live by one, they are having breads at $0.79 and cake items at $0.99. These are while supplies last, so you might want to get there early.....

Old Navy has a coupon out there for flip flops for tomorrow. You can get up to 5 pairs for only $1.00 each.

It has been reported that some CVS stores have Pampers swaddlers on clearance for $2.99 and there is an extra buck printing for $1.00.

If you are looking for free samples, go to the sample section at walmart.com. They have secret clinical deodorant, purina dog or cat food, and prilosec.

I hope that you all enjoy your holiday weekend with your families and friends and I'll see you next week with more deals.

If any of you have anything that you would like to add, please let me know. I am always looking for ways to get more deals out there for everyone. Also, I will be listing a few things that are free or cheap to do this summer with the kids and your family. Look for these next week.

I was just able to request my home made simple coupon book again, so the site must have been reset.

I shouldn't be so excited , but I love coupons!! I was in CVS the other day and they just added one of the price check/coupon kiosks to my store. I was so happy! :) I saved so much with my coupons and extra bucks and I have almost $16 in extra bucks to use on a future purchase.

I haven't finished my shopping for the week yet. Sometimes I get a little lazy and don't get to the store right away and sometimes not at all for the week. I always remember that there will always be another sale and I have enough of just about everything stockpiled to get us thru yet another week. It might not be exactly what the family wants to eat, but it's food.

Last week in Target I was happy to see the kids crest toothpaste was marked down to $1.54 and target had put out a coupon for $1 off that I received in the mail. If I had a coupon from the inserts I would have made out even better but I didn't think that $0.54 was that made for a tube of toothpaste!