Christmas can not get here fast enough!!!!!!

I am so excited for everyone to open their gifts! The kids are getting a Kinnect for Xbox 360, Lauren is getting a Tom Tom and me I am getting an ipad!!!!!!!! I am sooooooo excited! I can not wait to play with it! I am going nuts waiting. Phillip is getting an ipod touch so I have been hunting and downloading apps so that we will be ready to go Christmas day! I think I may even buy a few movies to watch while we are at my inlaws house. Christmas hurry up already!!!

Time to Buckle Down and Save Some Money!!!!

So I have decided it is high time I started clipping coupons and paying attention to what is on sale where. A girl I know from home in Tuscaloosa is amazing at it and through her I have found some great blogs and coupon sites. One of them is.... www.athriftymom.com/2010/05/win-18-coupons-inserts/ . (I tried to put the button on here and it just wasn't working.)

She has a giveaway right now for some coupon inserts. The great thing about this is that not all inserts are the same all over the country. Different areas have different inserts. You get a good variety this way.

I have also printed coupons from http://www.coupon.com/. I am planning a trip to Publix in Daphne later this week. I will let you know how much I save on this trip. I sure wish we had a Publix here.

Hornet Night 2010

I wanted to take a minute and share some photos from Lauren's school pagaent. I was amazed at how serious they were abot this. It was definitely not like the Beauty Walks that Holt High School had back in my day. Then we just walked out told the judges about ourselves (prior to the audience arriving) and then walked the stage after the audience arrived. That however is far from what was done for Hornet Night.

For week the girls met 1-2 days a week to practice the opening dance, walking, talking, interviews and their talent. A pagaent coach came in and gave them advice about interviewing, walking, what to wear and hair and makeup. I think it was a good experience for Lauren. She doesn't always like to put herself out there on her own. I was so proud of her that night. She was so poised and beautiful and she rocked the house with her hip hop routine. All of the girls were lovely and so talented. In the end a senior named Shelby won. You could tell she completely didn't expect it and was beyond happy about winning. She deserved it. A sweet girl. Lauren was happy for her and had so much fun preparing and spending time with friends.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure....Oh and my camera will be here in my hands on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooooooooooo excited I can't stand it!

YEAH! This baby is on it's way to me!

The night of Lauren's junior prom I picked up camera to take pictures and horror of horrors t shutter release button was gone. Disappeared. Never to be seen again. Luckily I had Josey's little Canon A470 with me and used it. It was a little disappointing though. I love my camera. That Sony DSC H2 has been an amazing little camera. I love the built in optical zoom that was equivalent to a 435mm zoom when racked out. I loved the options and the image quality was good. My heart did still long for a DSLR but I do not for see that anytime soon. While researching which camera to buy I ran across this amazing bridge camera. The Fujifilm Finepix HS10 just came out last month or early this month and the internet is abuzz with good reviews and people posting pictures on flckr and everywhere. This baby does everything and more!!!! It has a 30x optical zoom; that is equivalent to having a 26mm-720mm zoom lens built right in. It accepts add on lenses too and filters for added fun. It is 10.3 MP and shoots Full HD video at 1080p..Craig was impressed by that. Check out this link...http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673587-REG/Fujifilm_16018645_HS10_10MP_Digital_Point.html#features.

It should arrive here on Wednesday of this week and I do believe that Thursday will be used for a little photo tour of Mobile. Nothing will escape the zoom on my lens. I have already warned the kids at church to be on the look out for Wed. night as I will be taking their picture!! Watch out you may be next!

The Where Women Create blog is having a give away a day for the 12 days of Christmas. You should check it out and post on the different days. Each day will bring new lovelies created by various mixed media artist. Check out all the pretties to be won.

A Blog question thing-a ma-bob

So your supposed to answer these questions with a one word answer and for the most part I did. Leave me a comment if you answer these.

1. Where is your cell phone?
pocket

2. Your hair?
messy

3. Your mother?
Tuscaloosa

4. Your father?
heaven

5. Your favorite food?
chinese

6. Your dream last night?
none

7. Your favorite drink?
dietcoke

8. Your dream/goal?
business

9. What room are you in?
scrapbook

10. Your hobby?
scrapbooking

11. Your fear?
heights

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
here

13. Where were you last night?
bonfire

14. Something that you aren't?
skinny

15. Muffins?
blueberry

16. Wish list item?
Primas

17. Where did you grow up?
everywhere

18. Last thing you did?
carpool

19. What are you wearing?
comfy

20. Your TV?
small

21. Your Pets?
schnauzer

22. Friends?
stressful

23. Your life?
hectic

24. Your mood?
calm

25. Missing Someone?
Daddy

26. Vehicle?
van

27. Something your not wearing?
jewelry

28. Your favorite store?
Anthologies

29. Your favorite color?
red

30. When was the last time you laughed?
last night

31. Last time you cried?
last night

32. Your best friend?
Karla and Jennifer

33. One place that I go to over and over?
Anthologies and church and dance and taekwondo

34. Facebook?
addicted

35. Favorite place to eat?
Zea's, Banana Docks and Mother Mary's

Leave me a comment if you post this on your blog. I'd love to read the answers. Have a great day!!!

Halloween at the Wales

Just a few picutres from our Halloween. We kept the night pretty simple as Craig was recovering from knee surgery. The kids each carved a pumpkin and this year was the first year that no one needed any help from us. It's kind of sad. It seems everyday there is less and less that they need us for. I miss them asking for help and wanting us to do it with them. It's bittersweet. They are growing up way too fast for me. I find it hard to believe that next year will be Lauren's last year of high school, Josey's last year of middle school and Phillip's first year of middle school. This year is the last year that I will have Christmas parties and halloween snacks. This is the last year that someone will want me to come and eat lunch with them. This is the last year I will attend a fall festival with my kids. I'm going to miss these things. I love doing it with them and for them. I hope they know how much this time together has meant to me.

Anyway....back to our halloween night. Nolan, Lauren's boyfriend of about 8 months came over and helped Lauren carve her pumpkin. He and the boys gave Lauren's pumpkin a paper towel tube cigar and lit it. Lauren was none too happy about this. (She is very againist smoking of any kind. She knows it is what killed my Daddy.) After pumpkins we went trick or treating and then to Mr. Bill's Halloween party and bonfire. I think everyone had a great time. Josey brought two friends with him and Phillip's best friend Colby was there too. It was a good night.

Now it's late and my pillow is calling my name. Night all!

Rest in Peace Kellie Beck...gone too soon

The first memorial service was held tonight for Kellie Beck. Kellie was just 15 years old and about to start her sophmore year in high school. My daughter had just started getting to know Kellie last school year and said she was a super sweet girl. Kellie was taken from us in a tragic accident. Her best friend was playing with a 357 magnum and thought the gun was not loaded. She pulled the trigger once with the gun pointed at a window and nothng happened, so she pointed it at Kellie and pulled the trigger and ended the life of her best friend. It is so sad and so hard to watch the kids go through this. They amaze me though at how they have forgiven the shooter already. They are not only praying for and concerned about the Beck family but April's family as well. God can always show us the good that can come out of a tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to both families and all of the friends as well. Rest in the peace of God's arms Kellie...and April.

April is now facing manslaughter charges in juvenile court. She has a tough road ahead of her and will need the love and support of her family, friends and community. I hope she knows that God is with her and that her friends support and love her and know that this was an accident.

Hold your children tight, lock up your guns tight and be grateful for the life you have and the ones you love.

Fabulous ETSY find!!!!

I ordered some really cool intricate die cuts from...nikilindesigns1225's store ( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5211621). They are so beautiful and I can't wait to get them. They are very reasonably priced. You should check them out. There are butterflies and corner scrolls, birds, small swirls and large swirls, frames and large full sheet pieces. Such a wide variety and they come in different colors too. All of the pieces of designed by the seller and die cut by her out of cardstock. A great addition to any scrapbook page, card or altered project. I can't wait to get mine and play.

I also ordered some yummy Pink Lemonade cookies. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5755374. This sound divine. I could have ordered several others that she offers too, but held back. I think they would make great little gifts to send to friends you don't see often. A nice little sweet treat. I will tell you how they taste after I get them.

Well I'm off to bed now. Long day ahead of me on Sunday. Lots to do.