Are you finished shopping?

If you haven't finished shopping yet......I have got a tip for you to save a little bit of money.

Thursday, December 18th, 2008 is Free Shipping Day. It's a day when participating merchants give free shipping to online shoppers with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve.

Amazon has some AMAZING toy prices. MANY things under $10 that were originally $25 and more. One example is the Little Mommy Gotta Go Baby. Originally priced at $69.99 and is marked down to $24.99. Many items are shipping free with a $25 purchase as well.

Good Luck............the clock is ticking!!!!

Quest for Greatness

So, the Hot for the Holidays challenge is officially over. I was a little sad because I enjoy having to report to weigh in every Friday. I know I am a little odd......but it helped to make me accountable throughout the week. However.....Christie over at Baby Tea Leaves has organized another challenge.....the Quest for Greatness. Here is the theory. She suggests that you register and pay for an event around March of 2009 and then start to train for it. The thinking is that if you pay for something you will be more prone to stick to a schedule. BUT the great thing is that you don't have to register for an event to be part of the challenge. I understand the whole "accomplishing" feeling and satisfaction from completing something, but I am just NOT an event person. However, I still have goals and think being part of this challenge will help me get there. My goal is to be consistently walking 5 miles per day a minimum of 4 days per week by March 22nd (that is my 12 year anniversary).

This week I have done 2 miles one day and 3 miles another day and after this post I am off to do 3 more miles. I have no change in my weight this week. I know it's not going to be easy. This takes dedication, time and an attitude to push through the yucky days. Make sure to check out the other goals people have made and go ahead.....make a goal of your own!!!!

Aloha Friday

It's time for another edition of Aloha Friday!!! So, I have been doing "some" research and snooping around about starting a Twitter account. I am not the most tech savvy individual and am not sure what kind of things that you do with a Twitter account.

Do you Twitter?

What do you Twitter?

Do you think I need to Twitter?

Check out more great questions at An Island Life.

Thousand Words Thursday

Little J's foot with my husbands and my wedding ring. I miss her tiny feet!!! Check out more Thousand Words Thursday at Cheaper Than Therapy!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Holidays!!!

For more wordless Wednesday head over to Punky Monkeys The Official Site, MomDot, 5 Minutes for Mom, The Not So Blog Blog, Nothing But Purple, What’s That Smell?, Newlyweds, Photo Bug Baby, Mom of 3 Girls,All About Kimberly and Crazy Book Slut

The Weekend of Homemade Gifts....

This was the weekend to get some of our homemade gifts completed. I have blogged about the bath salts before and this weekend we did Vanilla, Cocoa Butter, and Plumeria scents. We also did our "Blizzard Bites". I have never done a "gift in a jar" but I figured anything covered in white chocolate had to be yummy. You can find these recipes and printable tags at Organized Christmas.

Next were some snowman ornaments. Now, my mom came to me with this idea that she had seen at a craft show. I DO NOT sew and knew there was no way I could make a stocking hat and I can guarantee you I am NOT an artist of any kind but I totally copied the face from the original........let's just say they each have their own character!!! We made one for each of the grandkids on my mom's side of the family. I think they turned out cute and it was pretty much just felt, frosted ball ornaments and paints.

Not Me Monday

Time for a look at what I did not do this past week....

I did not give up and start putting my daughters clothes in a laundry basket in her room because I got sick and tired of her pulling EVERY piece out of her drawer and closet and finding it on the floor.

I did not spend the entire weekend making homemade Christmas gifts so we could save some money this year!!!!

I did not do 5 EXTRA loads of laundry since Friday while my 2 1/2 year old has decided she will potty train now.

Check out more "Not Me's" by clicking the banner above at My Charming Kids.

Weekly Winners

Weekly Winners is hosted by Sarcastic Mom. It's where you post your favorite pictures from the past week that YOU took. Since I take a gazillion photos I thought it would be fun to participate. You can check a ton more participants by clicking on the banner above.

Jaise visiting Santa for the first time.

Photo from my first wedding that I photographed


Unity Candle

5 Minutes earlier Jaise was telling me that she wasn't tired "No nite nite"

Virtual cookie exchange

Jen over at Mommay's Mayhem is hosting a virtual cookie exchange. It's pretty simple......all you have to do is share your favorite holiday cookie recipe. I knew right away what recipe I was going to choose.....my grandma's sugar cookies and vanilla butter frosting. It would seriously not be Christmas without these cookies. We always triple this recipe to make a pretty big batch:

1/2 c. shortening (1/2 butter)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1T. milk

1tsp. vanilla

1 1/4c. flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Chill in refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours but overnight is best. Roll out to desired thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 425 for 5-7 minutes. Cool then frost with:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter (softened)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2T. milk

You can add food coloring for different cookie shapes.