When my friend Linda Bradshaw was talking about different ways to promote the Ruritan community service clubs she is involved with, we started talking about how she could buy a vendor table space at area vendor shows and create a display with a nice a custom printed tablecloth covered with brochures and flyers, and run a power point presentation on a laptop, or with a projector onto a screen. She’s really excited about her role as Lt Governor and Publicity Chair in the Rapidan Ruritan District of the community service club. I just hope that she gets some help with all of her good ideas and doesn’t end up burnt out from doing all of the work herself!
Wedding Anniversary Party Plans
My friend Van is having her 10 year wedding anniversary party this summer. I was her maid of honor and she asked me to help plan her celebration. One of the tasks she has charged me with is to find photographers.. I’m also the person she has asked to help her with the food choices.
I’m really excited to be helping her. I’m helping our friend Jill plan her wedding, and now I’m helping Van plan her anniversary party. I bet I can use a lot of the same research for both of the special events.
My Best Friend Is Getting Married
My best friend, Jill, came over tonight for dinner. It was really great to catch up with her. She went home for the holidays and we haven’t got to spend much time together since before Christmas. We filled each other in on our New Year’s resolutions and updated each other with news from over the holidays.
Well, Jill had the biggest news of all. She is getting married and she asked me to be her maid or I guess matron of honor. I’m soo excited to help her plan her wedding. It’s not her first wedding but she has been divorced for 10 years and is starting over with an incredible man.
They want to have a big bash and invite all of their friends and family. Her first wedding was very small and just a few family members and very close friends. I think she wants to go all out and have a big giant party this time around.
I’ve been married now for 12 years myself. Some days it seems like we just got married yesterday and were sending out the wedding invitations. Other days it seems like we’ve spent more than an eternity together already.
I’m soo happy for Jill and Chris. I know it’s going to take a lot of planning and preparations, but that’s what best friends are for right?
Never Ending Cycle of Carpet Cleaning
Lots of family and friends visiting your home is without a doubt going to bring in lots of dirt to your carpets that you worked so hard to clean just the week before. I’ll check out carpet cleaners to see if I can find someone to come and clean up this mess for me. Sometimes it’s really frustrating and can make you feel like a hamster running on a wheel over and over again never to reach an end to the cleaning.
I know I feel that way on occasion and it’s not just with the carpets. The most famous place that makes me feel this way is my children’s toy room. It seems like I can never keep it clean. I spend a good 30 minutes in the evening making sure everything is put away and nice and tidy. Then, by 9 o’clock the next morning it’s a disaster area all over again.
Anyway, it would be nice if cleaning companies offered some type of before and after service for carpet cleaning. Maybe they could come in before your big family gathering or event to get the place in tip top shape, and then return again afterwards to clean up after the big mess everyone has left behind. That would be a package I would definitely purchase.
Free Up Your Counter Space With a Mixer Lift
Guest post by my friend Linda Bradshaw
After watching cooking show after cooking show and seeing all of the fancy gadgets they have, I’ve decided that I would like to find a mixer lift to install in our kitchen. I have one of those high quality Kitchen Aid mixers that I just love. The only thing I don’t love about it is that it takes up a lot of space on my counter. I use it all of the time but I really want a place to put it away and still make it easily accessible.
I’m asking my husband to redo one of the cabinets in the kitchen so that we can install a lift for the mixer so that it can be hidden away and then slide out and up when ever I want to use it. This way I’ll have the best of both worlds and get to use it all of the time and still have the counter space free.
I wish I would have had it earlier this year for all of the holiday baking that I did. It really would have come in handy because I barely had enough room for the mixer because my counters were covered with all of the ingredients and baking pans. I can’t wait to get it and have it installed. Hint, hint, oh husband of mine.
Wedding Favor Bags Can Enhance Your Favors
Once you determine what wedding favors you are going to give your family and friends, your next task will be to determine how to present them. A great option is to use wedding favor bags. Wedding favor bags solve many problems. Maybe your favors are small, don’t come in packaging of their own, or don’t match your decor.
With the use of wedding favor bags your problems are solved. You prevent your guest from loosing their tiny trinkets, everyone has something to carry their favor in, and now you can add personal touches so that the favors blend in with your decor seamlessly.
Organza wedding favor bags are an elegant choice. They add a little flair and color but they still let your favor shine through because they are sheer. They are easy to enhance and embellish as well. Try adding ribbon in the colors of your bridal party or maybe a charm to the bags. Your guests will love the fine details. They are especially great to use for favors that you may have made yourself.
Wedding favor bags look great at every place setting at the reception. Choose favor bags that make a statement and impress all of your guests.
Wine Wedding Favors For Everyone
Wine wedding favors are an excellent addition to any wedding reception because they are so flexible they can fit in anywhere. They can even fill the shoes of the last minute wedding favor because they can accommodate any theme.
Wine wedding favors include all aspects of favors that relate to wine products. These encompass wine stoppers, personalized wine bottles, wine glasses, coasters and more. Wine stoppers are one of my favorite wine wedding favors, well because I love to drink wine and I don’t want to drink a whole bottle by myself. To easily incorporate a wine stopper into your theme simply select a style or design that compliments it. For example, for a Valentine’s Day wedding maybe a stopper in the shape of hearts would be nice. For a garden wedding maybe you could offer a flower or leaf shaped stopper. The possibilities are endless.
If glasses are more your style, try commemorating the occasion with monogrammed or personalized wine glasses or champagne flutes. Every time your guests drink from the lovely glasses they will be reminded of you.
Coasters are a nice practical wine wedding favor to give to your friends and family. These can be used by people of all ages and by those that choose to drink alcohol or not. You could have your favorite quote printed or engraved on them and everyone will love them.
Make wine wedding favors a part of your special day and your guests will thank you.
Online Book Club Using Audio Books
I recently thought about joining a book club. Well, now I’m thinking that would be great but it would also be great if I could listen to audio books online free. I would love to be able to the books as I’m doing other things at the same time like doing the dishes, folding laundry, or even sweeping and mopping.
I’m a busy mom and I have a lot on my plate. I’d like to be able to get in some reading and still take care of all my responsibilities. I’ll have to see what books I can find online and then maybe start a book club myself based on the books I find. I know I can’t be the only one out there that has the same dilemma that I do, and wants to be a productive mom and still get in some fun entertainment time. Audio books sound like the way to go. Pun intended.
Here’s an idea. Do any of you want to join a book club with me? We could do an online book club and check in with each other here or maybe in a Facebook group or something. Any suggestions on books we should read?
Planes, trains, and automobiles
Guest post by my friend Linda Bradshaw
To be perfectly honest, I never saw the movie “Planes, trains, and automobiles.” I know it was a comedy from 1987, and I guess the reason why I never saw the movie was because I was too busy working full time, taking college courses at night, and raising two young children. But from what I understand, the movie is about a few people that started out as strangers that were thrown together by chance when their plane trip “home” for the holidays went awry. Misadventures and hilarity and cussing ensued.
Personally I have great empathy for people that have been having troubles with their travel plans. One time when I was scheduled to fly on an airline that was called “People’s Express” I had to fly from Washington DC to Newark NJ to catch a connecting flight to Portland ME. When I boarded the plane at Dulles I was assured that the connecting flight in Newark was “on time” so I was confident that all was going well. I had a baby with me, and I did not want to be stranded in Newark with a baby. Lo and behold, when I got to Newark I was informed that the connecting flight had been cancelled and I had to wait for five hours for the next flight. Let me just say that was the last time I ever flew on that People’s Express airline! And from that point on I called that airline “People’s Distress!”
Fortunately, I have had really good luck whenever I have used the US Airways airline company. Although there have been a few times when the flight was delayed for about thirty minutes, the airplane was usually able to make the arrival gate close to “on time.” That has always been important to me because I usually have friends or family waiting for me at the destination airport to pick me up and I don’t want them to have to wait for hours for a delayed flight to land. Especially at airports that are not set up with comfortable waiting areas for customers that are stuck there waiting for the delayed flights to arrive.
Health Insurance
I don’t know about you, but I think that insurance is a very important thing to buy. Life insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner insurance, dental, vision, and health insurance. They are all very important things to have. So when Lucy told me that she didn’t have any health insurance for her, or her kids I was pretty passionate about encouraging her to contact a north carolina health insurance agent first thing Monday morning to get some price quotes on health insurance for her and her kids. I am a firm believer in insurance.