A Brand New Year!

Thanks for the post from Heriberto Sanders.

Our house is hoping with News Years excitement! As you are probably aware, we are planning our usual trip down town to the Gallivan center. The ice skating, the music, the entertainment, the fireworks! What more could you ask for? I would have to say the kids are most looking forward to the ice skating. What's not to like about falling down on an icy cold hard as a rock surface? Joking aside, we love New Years Eve. Before we head out for the night we will of course set our home security alarm from http://www.AllHomeSecurity.com/. The Sheppard's and the Powell's will be joining us, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Rees. Everyone will be bundled up to prevent any frostbite.

Maybe this year we can get Phil out on the ice! I know how much he dreads it, but we would love to see him try!

After ice skating we will move on to the live music, and enjoy some hot chocolate while we listen. Each year the music gets better and better, and its nice to see the local talent. I imagine we will take in the entertainment for a while until the FIREWORKS! (My personal favorite) The fireworks as absolutely fantastic. What a wonderful night, with wonderful people, in a wonderful place. Happy New Year!

Charlie Brown's Christmas a Hit on Satellite Television Schedule

Thanks for the guest post by Jonathan Curtis.

Each year our family gathers in the den to watch the animated Christmas special of 'Charlie Brown's Christmas' on satellite television from www.cannonsatellite.com/. Of course when I first saw this wonderful holiday classic it was before cable and satellite television had even been introduced to the viewing world.

Now I am happy to continue this holiday tradition with my kids. Charlie Brown, Linus, Sally and Lucy are just some of the beloved cartoon characters who make us laugh and cry each year as they search for the true meaning of Christmas. Charles Schultz created the Peanut's comic strip many years ago but today these characters are still at the center of my favorite animated cartoon. The bedraggled little Christmas tree that the Peanut's gang transforms toward the end of the show is always my favorite scene.

With popcorn, freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate on the table, and a festive air in the house it is the perfect opportunity to watch 'Charlie Brown's Christmas' and remind ourselves of what is truly important in our lives. This animated cartoon special makes its annual appearance in December, usually within a week or two of Christmas Day.

Thanksgiving and Family

The article written by Debra Herman.

By far, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It seems to be the only holiday where the family is just together and enjoying each other's company without a strict agenda. For me, Thanksgiving is a whole day festivity with family. Often we arrive in the morning and enjoy a light breakfast such as coffee and donuts. The adults catch up with what is going on in everyone's busy lives and the children scurry around and play. Following a light breakfast, the women begin to cook in the kitchen and the men conjugate in the living room and begin to watch football on the directstartv.

In the late afternoon the Thanksgiving meal is ready and we enjoy the typical dishes such as turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni, green beans and pumpkin pie. Most importantly is my grandmother's homemade cranberry sauce. It has the most delicious taste of both sweetness and tartness. It is my favorite and I only get it once a year.

The rest of the day is often for resting, napping, watching satellite television and enjoying family.

My Best friend and I

This guest post from Lenny Mcknight.

When times are tough, I need an ear to listen to my troubles, or if I want to go out and have a good time to celebrate an occasion, my best friend is the one I call. She has been in my life for almost 15 years and I cherish every moment since I met her.

No matter the need, she is always there for me; to give advice for my love life or tips for raising my child, to borrow money if funds are tight or something extra comes up, or to go out for drinks for our birthdays or a holiday.

I especially enjoy going out for drinks at our favorite karaoke bar. We always have such a great time when we hang out with each other and our other friends singing badly at the microphone in between having drinks together and taking shots. It's so nice to spend time together and catch up on what is going on is our personal lives.

I always set my home security alarm from www.inhomesecurity.net/adt-home-security-benefits.html before leaving the house, and then I head to the bar to meet up with my best friend. We usually meet up a little while before other friends will arrive so that we have some time, just the two of us, to talk. I love hearing about what's going on in her life and sharing stories about my life and how my daughter is growing.

Steps to Winter Proof My Home

Contribution by Paula Gonzales.

Though I don't live too far north, winters can sometimes be quite severe. It's not enough to wing it - properly preparing for the winter season is very important. Even if the season is a bust, it's better to be safe than sorry.

The first step is to make sure the house is all sealed up. Drafts make the house uncomfortable, and they can also cost me big money in heating bills as precious dollars float out the door. To this end, I put up storm windows and doors. If there are any problem windows, I'll put up plastic on the inside to cut the drafts. There are also products to help prevent drafts from traveling underneath doors.

I also make sure that my backup systems are all ready. I have a generator ready just in case of a winter blackout, as having an ice cold house would be both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. I also make sure all my winter supplies are ready, including shovels, salt sand, and my snowblower, all in preparation for the first major snow storm.

At the end of my winter proofing regime, I make sure to take some time to relax with some hot cocoa. Sometimes I'll read, while other times I'll sit down and enjoy my satellite TV from www.expertsatellite.com. Whatever my choice, I relax in my toasty, winter proof house and enjoy a job well done.

Famous Hockey Movies

Thanks to Darwin Barton.

Hockey fans will have a consistent stream of games for a majority of the year, but what are they supposed to do during the summer? After watching reruns of their favorite games, many hockey fans begin to turn to the Hollywood version of hockey games. Although they have not been entirely popular, the few movies that have been made have achieved a cult like status amongst all sports fans.

One of the most famous hockey movies produced was the classic movie Slap Shot featuring Paul Newman. Playing for the failing Charleston Chiefs, Newman attempts to learn more about the selling of the Chiefs, as well as what his future holds. Little does he know that his life will be turned upside down once the Hanson Brothers join the team. The three brothers, with matching long hair and thick black glasses turn the team around with their "old school" style of hockey.

One of the other famous hockey series is the Mighty Ducks trilogy. The movie follows Gordon Bombay and Charlie Conway as they form their friendship on the dismal District 5 hockey team. The team turns around with a timely gift and begin competing as the Mighty Ducks. The second movie follows the Ducks as they compete against the world at the Junior Goodwill Games, and the third movie follows the same group of kids as they begin their high school hockey career.

Although I enjoy watching hockey on satellite deals and hd dvr, watching some older hockey movies is a great way to spend the off season.

Giants of San Fran

Guest post written by our friend Trent Horton.

Man, I can't believe the Giants made it all the way to the National League Championship Series so far! I never would have thought it possible seeing the line up they started off with on opening day. But after calling up Buster Posey in June, their offense has really started to take off and help their awesome pitching staff. While I'm not a fan of Brian Sabean, I've got to admit he's made a lot of great moves this season to get the Giants to this point. From the picking up of Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell, the trades for Javy Lopez and Ramon Ramirez and the claiming of Cody Ross off of waivers, it seems like almost every move has worked out to get them into the postseason.

The only thing I have to complain about is manager Bruce Bochy. His over managing has probably cost them a number of games and made things a lot closer than they had to be. This whole season the slogan for the Giants has been "Giants baseball: It's torture." I think a lot of that falls on Bochy and his insistence to make as many changes as possible on each and every day. Thankfully they have the pitching staff to overcome all of Bochy's mistakes and once in awhile even Bochy's shenanigans pays off. So far I've seen every game this year thanks to satellite TV from www.TVByDirect.com and I hope to see them in the World Series!

Playing Doctor for Halloween

Guest post written by Tina Fowler.

My son is really excited about the idea of becoming a doctor when he grows up and he's really smart so I think that he can pull it off. Plus, it would be nice to have a doctor at all of our family functions. But for now he's just going to dress up like a little doctor for Halloween this year.

We didn't have hardly any of the things that we need for his costume, so I started looking onlien for it almost a month ago with my clear wireless internet. It's a good thing that lab coats aren't really that hard to come by and I was able to find one pretty easily. Then I even made a fake doctor badge for him and bought some little laminate paper and a clip to clip it onto his lab coat.

Finding a little fake stethoscope was a lot harder, but I tracked down one through a little kids play doctors kit that I just ended up ordering offline. HeÕs going to be such a cute little doctor!

The Devil Wears Prada

Thank you for this guest post by Oswaldo Blackburn.

My friend Becky and I have a mutual love for the film The Devil Wears Prada. She is an aspiring journalist so she really likes the fact that the main character Anne Hathaway is working for a magazine company. I just like it because there is so much fashion! All the clothes are beautiful and I especially love the transformation of the main character from a bland boring girl to a smart and stylish diva.

Becky and I come together for two reasons. The first reason is to enjoy junk food and gossip and the second is to turn on the satellite and search for our favorite chick flick and now I since I got a dvr I had to learn how to record satellite tv. The Devil Wares Prada does not come up nearly enough but when it does we are so excited.

There is a somewhat tragic love story between the female lead and her boyfriend. He cannot accept her new fast paced life where she loses sight of herself. He seems to be a little selfish but his heart is in the right place. Hathaway hates working for her controlling boss played by Meryl Streep. If she works for this magazine for one year however she has her pick of any job. Seems like a fair price to pay for a lifetime of good career choices. Or does it?

Date Night - The Movie

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 20th Century Fox. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am wishing I can see the movie of Steve Carell and Tina Fey, Date Night, when it comes out in theater on April 9th, 2010 because I am pretty sure it is a funny, adventure one. Just by looking at the trailer I can't help but be amused of the circumstance that this couple are in during their date night. I like both of them as a comedian actors and seeing them together in this new movie is gonna be a blast.

Accordingly, the Date Night Movie tackles about a bored suburbanites couple that went to their usual dinner date and then just find themselves involved in a very intriguing circumstances that involves action and adventure. I am seeing the plot of the film as suspense action but with humor considering this two characters are comedian. I read some review about the film even though it's not yet out that this can be in the list of movies wherein a couple, man and woman, renewed their relationship and become more arduous to each other after an action adventure.

If I am not going to pop yet next week when hubby is already here, we will definitely plan for a date night as well. It will be a good bonding for us during his R&R leave and also a good relaxation for me while waiting for my due date. I like watching this kind of movie and I am pretty sure I will not be disappointed watching it, hopefully. So, plan your weekend date with your loved ones by watching Date Night Movie that will be released tomorrow, Friday, April 9th, 2010. And before heading to your favorite theater, check out the movie trailer below.

Keerchonz

We all know that piracy in music and movie industry is rampant and this happens in the internet. It is killing these industries. Music and movie downloads over the internet is huge and artists don't get paid for it. This is unfair to the artists and those that produce it. This is why a company named Kerchoonz was being created. Keerchonz is a site with a social network platform and free environment that enables artists, film-makers, musicians, fans, and business people can meet and exchange ideas, create music, explore the industry and do a lot of things. The people behind this great innovation have the philosophy that fair play should rule in the vast dimension of the world wide web. They believed that music and art should be compensated even if it is offered to the public for free; thus offering payment to the artist if people are listening to their music for free. So if you are a fan of a musician and you want to download or listen to their music, you can head out to Kerchoonz. You sign up and start listening or downloading music. You can also meet other people and exchange ideas or entertainment. If you are an artist and you want to upload your audio and video streams you can do so and every time someone listens to it you will get paid. I applaud those that are behind this company not only for looking out for the artist and promote fair play but also offering legal free music.

Media Seating

I dream that one day when we have our own place we will have an extra space that we can make as our media room or entertainment area. I know it is still impossible for this little to come true but who knows when luck strikes, isn't it? But anyways, a media seating that I would like to be placed inside this media room is from the Berkline collections that I saw at theaterseatstore.com. I found a wide array of different media seating design that will make your media room a very relaxing hang out for the entire family. So, if you are looking for media seating that will give you comfort and convenience, you can check this site out. They have 50% sale on some of their items and you are guaranteed quality products and great customer service.

Movie: All Roads Lead Home

Me and my husband's past time before our daughter came was going to the movies almost every weekend. Now that we have a tiny one, we just watch movies at home. Hubby will go to the theater if the newly released movie interests him. Together we watch variety of movie genre; horror, comedy, science fiction, drama, and many others. I also love to watch movies that we can get lessons from it; movies that sent a message to its viewers. I must admit that it has been a while that we watched a really touching family movie. When we watch drama and I can relate to it or it just simply touches my emotion, I can cry buckets of tears.

I have heard and waiting for All Roads Lead Home The Movie that will be released in DVD on January 13th. I was watching the trailer below and it is really a touching story of a family torn by a sudden death but after the emotional struggle it made the family strong and intact. The movie accordingly is a true story. I can't wait to see it. This type of movie can really inspire and foster hope amidst the many hurdles in life. If you are interested to watch this movie, click the trailer below and you can also pre-order the DVD at allroadsleadhomethemovie.net.

Baby in Stripes

The pictures above were taken on the 17th when we had our carpet cleaned. The cleaner gave me a foot cover made of plastic so my slippers or socks will not be wet. The carpet takes a couple of hours to get dry. So I put on the covers. Our DD woke up and wanted to get down on the floor. I really don't want to put her down because the carpet is still wet. I waited for another hour before I let her play on the floor. We just stayed in the kitchen for the time being. I fed her, wash dishes, and then prepare something for lunch. After I was done I put her down. She was pulling at the plastic in my feet so I gave it to her and put it on her head like a cap. That explains the picture above. She was laughing when I put it on her. She was dancing too while watching Word World on PBS Channel.

Horse Racing

I only saw horse racing once in my entire life. My father told me before that he likes going to the race track to watch horse racing. I also have a favorite soap opera through which the star has a way with the horse. She is like a horse whisperer and once she whispers to the horse before the race the owner of the horse will win on his bet. Speaking about bet on horse racing, if you are a horse racing enthusiast you don't have to go to the race track and bet for your favorite horse and jockey. You can still bet even at the comfort of your own home. This is through BetAmerica.com.

BetAmerica.com is one among the leading online racing and games in the whole nation. They offers unique racing competitions that the customers will enjoy betting. Their software is one of the most trusted in the industry that wagers on more than 80 Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness tracks across North America. They are licensed, regulated and based in the US. You can be assured of its 100% safe and secure operation. There is no fee when you subscribe and they offer free video streaming. So if you like to bet on horse racing you can check them out and enjoy the race.

Share Your Videos and Win

I have seen a lot of home videos being uploaded on the internet. I myself do it sometimes. I registered to some services that offers such but I haven't seen or heard anything like cash for videos. I did not know then that there is one way you can share your video and at the same time you can earn cash or win. Yes, this is through Viddiction.com. This is the new place to go now to upload all your videos. It is still the same where you can upload your videos and let people see it and they can make comment on it.

Viddiction is a new site but I am very sure they will be in the world wide web for long because their services is very user friendly and it really caters to all that wants to share their video creation. Their offering of cash for videos is unique and gives encouragement to users to make good videos that will catch the masses' attention. I surfed the uploaded videos and I have seen a lot that I like. The thing also that I like with Viddiction is how they set up your account. If you click on a certain video it will show the rest of the account holder's uploaded work. Very neat and so user friendly I would say.

So if you have your video creations and you want to share it to the world and at the same time earn from it, you can go to viddiction.com! It is very easy to join and no fee at all. The more videos you upload and submit the better to maximize your chance of winning. They will have winners in a monthly basis. This is the simple way of joining:

1.) Upload your videos
2.) Promote your videos
3.) Earn a Popularity Point with each view
4.) WE total up your Popularity Points at the end of the month
5.) YOU win! (prizes from $50-$500)

The New Wave of Dating

Modernization comes in many of our life's aspect. Not only have we had the new technology but also for personal life experiences. Say for example dating. Before, you can't date a person without seeing him or her first. Now, with the advent of the new technology you can date a person even if you haven't meet him or her. Even flirting is also taboo before but now the art of flirting can be learned as well just like the game of Ultimate Flirting Championship which is brought by the Extreme Style by VO5 online.

This online flirting game starts by creating a profile at vo5victoryhair.com. After you key in your birth date you can then select your avatar, if you are a male or a female, your hairstyle and hair color. Then you go to the waiting room and wait for somebody to come in and then let the flirting begin. I tried the game and it works by throwing questions to two different participants and whoever you think gives the best answers and win, you will have the chance of having a private conversation with him or her which can be equated to a new wave of dating. Very cool. It does give you the excitement too since the process is very interactive and one thing you will discover that flirting may end up having a Victory Hair. If you want to know what that means you can try the Ultimate Flirting Championship now and enjoy the game.

Hip Hop Videos

Looking for updated and recently released hip hop videos? You can check out rapartists.com. They have the widest database of artists with current video and releases in the market. You can browse and see the videos online as well as found the Song or Rap Lyrics of your favorite music. They add new songs and videos all the time and update the artist bios. Another good thing with this site is they also feature artists as well as their websites if you want to know more about them. So check them out now; watch and listen to your favorite music.

Criss Angel Believe

I am an avid fan of Criss Angel. I used to watch his show on tv at A&E channel when we were still in GA last year. I have been looking on it by surfing our channel guide but unsuccessful. Me and hubby loves to watch how he did his magic so amazingly. He is one of the famous modern illusionists nowadays. His skills is different from the traditional illusionist like Harry Houdini in the sense that it surpasses beyond the preconceived notion of mystery and illusion. I also noticed that his modern skills is more risky as what CRISS ANGEL Believe performance is talking about.

CRISS ANGEL Believe is the new Cirque Du Soleil show wherein his illusions skills and performances will be seen at Luxor Las Vegas. Criss Angel have been performing in Las Vegas and other parts of the world but I think this is the first time I heard about his appearance at Cirque Du Soleil. This show showcase the wild imagination and mysterious imaginative mind of Criss Angel interwoven into an astounding theatrical drama. I would love to see this show one day. If you happen to go to Vegas this is something to check out for. If you want to get a free ticket, you can join the current Text Message contest by texting the code "Believe" to 22122 and you will get 2 free tickets.

Sleepless in Seattle

Involving in a crime is the last thing I want myself to be in to even if I am only a witness. This would surely give me sleepless nights and probably paranoid in my everyday life. If ever the time will come that I will become a witness and will be under witness protection and they will ask me where I want to go hiding, I would tell them that I would rather be sleepless in Seattle than in any other city in the US. It maybe tough but at least I will be in the city I love.

It is very thrilling to note if you live a life like it though. If I am to choose, I'd rather be the one protecting rather than the witness. There is more suspense and action if you are the protector, ain't it? Just like the USA Network's new original series In Plain Sight wherein Mary Shannon is the tough lady that protects witnesses of city crimes. This is another action, suspense tv series that is something to look forward to. It premiered on June 1st already and this new crime drama will surely be a hit in everyone's household.