For all scrapbookers and stampers...

I don't know if you have ever used StampinUp products but they are some of the best out there and their stamps (used for crafts, cards, scrapping, and more) are super high quality and great bang for your buck at a normal price because most of them come several stamps to a pack.

My dear mother is a StampinUp demonstrator and is having a monster sale on her personal discontinued stamp sets. Some sets have never been used!

Check out her for sale collection at Picasa: Stamps for Sale. All stamps are in excellent condition and some are new/unmounted and many are mounted and never used. They are all from a smoke free home. Payment is PayPal, money order, or check. (Shipment will be processed as soon as MO or check is cleared.) Shipping is available using Priority mail, parcel post, or 1st class - Buyer has the option of which method to use and is responsible for shipping costs.

HOWEVER, mention Beaufort Belle sent you

and your shipping is FREE!

Sets range from 2 stamps to 28 stamps in the set. Please check out the site above and contact her at lcarp@nc.rr.com. Don't forget to tell her Beaufort Belle sent you!

Things that make you go hmmmmm........

My post yesterday garnered many comments. 1 ANONYMOUS user (anonymous users are not allowed to comment anymore) posted a link to Urban Legends where my post MAY OR MAY NOT be true. The fact is that no one can say it isn't true...it can not be substantiated at this point. However, it is true that artisans are already sending ornaments to the White House as the do every year. Now whether or not this is happening to the White House trees or to the Capitol trees, I still find it disgraceful. I think most of my readers will find it disgraceful, sickening, and saddening as well.

White House Christmas - A Disappointment

Forwarded to me by someone else: sad :(
When have you ever known a President to NOT have Christmas be part of our countries tradition

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This is a message from my friend who was mayor in Lubbock, Windy Sitton. She attended all the White House Christmas parties during both Bush years. This is a personal message to me and not a "scare tactic from unknowns" on the internet. Pretty much says it all.

Thought you might be interested in this information from the White House. This isn't a rumor; this is a fact.We have a friend at church who is a very talented artist. For several years she, among many others, has painted ornaments to be hung on the various White House Christmas trees. The WH sends out an invitation to send an ornament and informs the artists of the theme for the year.

She got her letter from the WH recently. It said that they would not be called Christmas trees this year. They will be called Holiday trees. And, to please not send any ornaments painted with a religious theme.

She was very upset at this development and sent back a reply telling them that she painted the ornaments for Christmas trees and would not be sending any for display that left Christ out of Christmas.

Just thought you should know what the new residents in the WH plan for the future of America. If you missed his statement that "we do not consider ourselves a Christian Nation" this should confirm that he plans to take us away from our religious foundation as quickly as possible.

A Very Preppy Giveaway...

But you have to hurry because today is the last day to sign up for it. The incredible Beth Dunn of Social Climbers is hosting a wonderful giveaway for all of us preps out there in blogland.

Not only do you get the opportunity to win a signed copy of her book:
But also a deliciously preppy calendar for 2010: So head on over to her site and enter the giveaway fast...remember it ends today!

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This past week has been crazy. DD is still recovering mono but finally made it back to school. She went to her morning 2 classes on Mon, afternoon 2 classes on Tues, 1st 3 classes on Wed, 2-4 on Thurs, and all day today. She is feeling much better but still have pain in the spleen area. This afternoon she left with her church youth group for a girls retreat at the beach. Last Friday, my daddy had surgery but ended up being more involved than originally thought. He was originally only to stay 1 night but ended up coming home late Tuesday. With hubby having to work tomorrow, it is going to be very nice enjoying a day to myself! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Remembering....

Today, I have no words to say.

I am borrowing a post from a dear friend's blog. I don't think she will mind. She is a wonderful writer whose blog is filled with both the provacative and the wit. With seriousness and silliness. Love for her family and for her retail therapy. She is the epitome of True Southerner and more importantly, True American.

Her post today was nothing but a link. A link back to 9/11/2006 (I think her first 9/11 blog post after she started blogging) in which she posts what she had written in her precious new born son #2's baby book on 9/11/2001.

Here is the link itself as I hope that if you have never visited her blog, you will venture over and check it out....you shall not be disappointed.

Southern Somedays: September 11th

And here is the actual post if you just can't get over there now...

September 11th
Written in DS#2’s baby book:

Where were you? Between 8:45 and 9:03…we (dh, ds#2 and myself) were standing outside taking photos to remember how happy we were…little did we know how much our world was changing. Our lives changed along with the world.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a beautiful day. It was warm and the sky was as blue and clear as I can remember. DH and I were excited to be taking DS#2 to his first Doctors appointment that morning.

As we readied ourselves for the trip to the Dr., the morning news had a breaking story about a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in NYC. We watched the photographs being telecast in awe and wonder at such a freak accident.

Before leaving for the Dr.’s office we took Baby outside on the front stoop to take some photos of him. He was so tiny and perfect. I felt so happy and good. All was right with the world.

Upon entering the examination room our Pediatrician walked in with tears in her eyes and said, “They have bombed the Pentagon!” We were in shock, and then learned that the plane we had seen hit the World Trade Center Tower wasn’t an accident and there had been a second plane to hit the other tower. In a few short minutes 3 planes became hurling, death machines for thousands of people. There was even more sadness to come as another plane was crashed in Pennsylvania as part of the same attack.

Our world was under attack. After leaving the Dr.s office I rode in back with my new baby and cried. Fear was there…fear for our country, our way of life, my new baby, my sweet other children…fear of the unknown. We had no idea where these attacks had come from or where they would hit next. There was fear and anxiety on what we should do next to prepare for what ever terrible turn came. DD and DS#1 were in school and we wondered if we should go in and get them from school.

The next few hours held little comfort as we watching in horror as the two landmarks of the western world fell with 1000s of people trapped inside. I was so scared and all we could do was pray.

It was the day that the world stopped turning…a day when we all stopped and stood still.Little did I know that a year later I would find myself holding my precious 1 year old and commemorating the 9-11 attacks in our new home in NY. It was a surreal experience and yes, I took pictures. It was as if I wanted the photos to prove that this attack didn’t stop us or our great Nation. It may seem odd that I included the horrors of the 9-11 attacks in DS#2’s baby book but I need for my children never to forget and know that the world changed for them…that day.

Our church showed this preview for a documentary on the Crosses that rose from the 9-11 rubble and it was a wonderful reminder that God is right there and right here...in the center of it all. He knows, He remembers. Please take the 9 minutes to watch this and see His signs of hope...http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=details&tab=MM&id=5536

As my dear friend "Bella" ended her post that day, so shall I today...

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Since I last posted...

I have celebrated my 41st birthday and my 5th wedding anniversary.

I actually received my birthday gift from my DH and girls while we were at the beach so it could be most appreciated during that time. You see, I received the grandfather of all frozen concoction makers, The FIJI by Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Makers....
No, it is not your typical blender. You fill that top compartment with ice. (If you fill to the max line, you can make 5 pitchers of most frozen concoctions) And you add your ingredients to the pitcher. You select what type of beverage you are making using that first knob on the left, be it a 'rita, daiquiri, slide, or something else. You turn the knob on the far right to either 1,2, or 3 drinks for that pitcher (of course your ingredients should match how many drinks you plan to make) and then you flip that left switch. The little dots in the middle light up as the process goes along and it stops when mixed to perfection. We had delicious margaritas, we had virgin pina coladas (for the girls but we enjoyed them just as much) and we had MILKSHAKES!!!!! Let me tell you, this contraption is LARGE and doesn't even fit on my kitchen counter....it is bigger than my KitchenAid mixer. Thank goodness for the gift from my parents:

The FIJI carrying case!! The FIJI fits in very snugly and it has a storage pocket for your salt and limes and a few other items if needed. Both of the above can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond; QVC, and others...but my favorite place is Margaritaville Cargo.

For my actual birthday, hubby and I went out to eat by ourselves to Carino's and then next night our girls and hubby's closest brother, SIL and their daughter met us for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious!!

September 4th was my 5 yr anniversary (yes, this is my second marriage) and I guess the second milestone anniversary???? We celebrated by going to dinner at Fleming's. This was one of our best dining out experiences ever. The staff was amazing and we were addressed by our formal names by everyone. They do monthly events so if you get the chance to enjoy a Fleming's in your area during September, I highly suggest the Memorable Meal: Trio of Filets. It was Divine!! We were originally supposed to go the beach for the weekend, just the 2 of us, but that changed to going white water rafting in the mountains with hubby's brother Ronnie & his wife and 2 college kids, sister Joan & her boyfriend, daughter, son, and their cousin, hubby and me. Our girls were supposed to go so this would be the 3 youngest of his family and their kids so the cousins could all get together because of their ages, don't get to spend a lot of time together. However, stepdaughter's mom would not let her go and my baby girl has come down with mono. It was 68 degrees, cloudy, occasional rain, and water temps of 44-56 degrees. However we had lots of fun and rafted about 8 1/2 miles and through 2 Cat 3 rapids. Hopefully we can do it again with our girls along as well.

As I just mentioned above, my baby girl developed mono on Friday. It was very rapid which is not usually the case and has hit her hard. She did spend the day we were gone with my parents so she was well looked after. We go back to the doctor tomorrow and get an update on what she can do. Please say a special prayer for her. This is not the way to start out senior year and she is just to active to lie around so still and she is already so tired of being sick.

Until next time...

How Time Flies...

This is my baby on her very 1st day of school years ago....
This is my baby today as she starts her 1st day of her last year of high school!

I am so proud of her...this year she is taking AP English IV, Honors Vocal III, Honors Spanish III, and College Psychology this semester. Next semester she will be taking Critical Thinking and Analysis (a continuation of AP Eng), AP Statistics, Honors Vocal III, and either a class on the Law or another college class.

Yesterday, on her last day of summer, she received a nice thick package from a prestigious university encouraging her to apply. We are now in full senior mode...sr year, sr pics, college apps, and more...all in prep for our goal of graduation and college next year.

Now if only I can keep her from getting senioritis!! :D

Good luck to other moms of seniors, other seniors, and to all the kids that start school this week!