So how’s everyone planning to ring in the new year? I think we’re going to have a bonfire on the beach (depending on how cold it is) and do our own little fireworks. The roads will likely be too bad to travel on, plus I wouldn’t want to travel during that time anyway. I will tell you though, I think it’d be pretty cool to be in Vegas for New Years. Seems like there are a lot of celebrities planning on making New Years appearances and such, plus it’s Vegas so you know it’s gonna be amazing. I can only imagine how many people will be in Vegas though… other than the celebrities and all. I bet the Vegas hotels are completely booked by now too!

What are your plans for ringing in the new year? Any plans to travel or do anything or are you planning to chill at home?

The last few days have been so frustrating. Jo had given me several ideas about Christmas gifts that he wanted. Well I’ll be gosh darn if those weren’t the hardest things to find in Newfoundland. I know a lot of it has to do with it being so close to Christmas but I’ve also heard that those things are hard to find regardless but I figured we’d surely find it in the larger cities. Boy was I wrong!

The first thing he wanted was Call of Duty 4. Even EB Games didn’t have it. The second thing was the iPod Nano. We still haven’t been able to find it anywhere around here. So, while we did our last minute Christmas shopping yesterday, we figured we’d try a few more places for those two things and the cell phone he wanted. Guess what? No luck with ANY of them. Jo had such a sad look of depression on his face on our way home and it made me sad. I wanted to do something extra special for him this year since we were in the position to spend a bit more this year. I’d just about lost all hope but then remember “The Source” and stopped in today. Of course they didn’t have the iPod Nano but they did have the LG Chocolate phone he wanted - SCORE!!!!! Talk about relief! I also darted over to this place called Jeans Expert (I think) and picked up a pair of jeans and two long sleeved shirts for him.

I only have one gift left to get and that’s for Jo’s dad. We know what we’re getting him though and thankfully know it’s in stock around here.

I really hope that Jo’s mom likes what I got her. I wanted to get her a little something that not only represented how we feel about her but also how she felt about Nan, her mother. You may recall that Nan passed away shortly after we got here and Christmas is going to be so rough without her. I think she’ll like it.. at least I hope she will!

I am so pooped though. I haven’t been sleeping well the last couple of nights, plus we’ve been on the go for the last couple of days doing tons of shopping. Shooooweee! I’m ready for a nap!

Before I made the decision to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional photographer, I had plans of continuing to work in the medical field. I worked in two busy emergency rooms and as an admissions clerk. I love helping people, I love taking care of people and of course, the medical field will always be needed so what better field to work in? There was just something about that environment that I loved, be it the taking care of people part or the always being busy part.

It seems like every time I turn on the TV though, I hear about nursing shortages across the USA and there’s even been mentions of shortages coming in Canada too. The point is, it’s in demand. If the medical field is something that interests you and you are considering applying to programs like radiologic technology program, vocational nursing program, or even a medical assistant program then the Academy of Medical Arts may be worth looking into. By visiting their website you will find out about all their latest news, information about and descriptions of all their available programs, admission requirements, where you can find their campuses, meet their faculty and so much more. To learn more about these exciting, interesting and in demand careers visit Medacademy.org.

You know, one of the things that really stinks about living where we do (a small town in Newfoundland) is that it is nearly impossible to find home decor in the styles my husband and I like. Rustic Furniture happens to be something Jo and I are really into but there isn’t a place selling anything “rustic” for at least 45 miles or more. That really is frustrating because for the first time since Jo and I first met, we finally mutually love a certain style in decor. We have every intention of incorporating a rustic feel and look into our next home, specifically the family room and our bedroom. Of course when we start making our purchases, we will have to turn to the internet for it.

Tres Amigos a really nice, and really large might I add, selection of beautiful rustic furniture and home accessories like; Rustic Hardware, Rustic Wall Decor. I decided to look through some of the “Mexican Rustic” pieces in search of an armoire that featured a little wrought iron. Wrought iron just adds a little something special to furniture (and decor) and just screams “rustic” to me. I am happy to say, I found a gorgeous armoire that features wrought iron legs and would be such a great accent to our future bedroom. And with a price like $420, I will not be shedding any tears when it comes time to pay for it!

Tres Amigos sells gorgeous, 100% solid wood furniture and home accent pieces at prices you can definitely afford and that will not be eating away at your bank account. In fact, you can literally find hundreds of Rustic and Spanish Colonial pieces throughout their website - most of which has been designed for Tres Amigos exclusively.

If you are in the market for beautiful and affordable rustic decor, then look no further than Tresamigosworldimports.com.

It’s true! I finally broke down and bought a new camera. Actually, I have Jo to thank for it! It’s the Olympus e500, which seems to be really fabulous. As much as I would’ve liked to spend a little more on a fancy Nikon or Canon, I can’t at this particular time. Money is tight and we don’t have that kind of luxury right now but Jo wanted to get me a camera that was pretty amazing, that I’d be happy with. I read a lot of reviews on it and browsed tons of pictures taken with it before we mutually agreed on it. I also invested in a 35mm macro lens for it. It came with a 14-45mm lens, which seems to be fairly decent too.

This should help me get back into the swing of this photography thing. I hate “sharing” a camera with my mother in law, though I adore her for allowing me to use it when I have. I’m hoping we have it by Christmas, even though I promised to put it under the tree until Christmas morning (booo!!). Even so, I’ll be so happy to have it in my hands!

My sister in law can be pretty rough with things and at times, even acts a bit careless no matter how much something costs her or someone else (which is usually the case). Last year my mother in law bought her an iPod for Christmas, though she was a bit weary about spending much on it because she was worried that Colleen would wind up scratching it. Well, of course that happened but not as bad as any of us expected. Well, my mother in law has been thinking about upgrading Colleen’s iPod this Christmas and I’ll tell you, she’s going to be happy to learn about the invisibleSHIELD ipod case. It helps to protect iPods and iPhones from scratches and because the nearly invisible film is super thin, it isn’t going to make your iPod or iPhone bigger or bulkier.

If she doesn’t buy this for Colleen, I think Jo and I will. Like I said, Colleen is a little rough with things and as much money as my mother in law spends on things, Colleen could use this kind of protection on her gadget! I think Colleen will like it too because it isn’t like she intentionally tries to scratch or damage her things, she just isn’t careful when handling them all the time.

I think almost everyone loves a little comfort food once in awhile. We’ve all been feeling a little blah today. I think it’s because the weather has been keeping us indoors. After dinner tonight I decided to attempt to bake homemade chocolate chip cookies. Much to my surprise, they turned out super yummy! In fact, all 24 cookies are gone now! I was pretty worried about how they’d turn out because like I said, it was my first time baking cookies from scratch. I was really happy to see only crumbs left on the plate.

If you’re interested in the recipe (which is EASY), I will be posting it to my recipe blog tonight. I’ll link it up here when I’ve typed it all up!

Do you have a favorite comfort food? Besides goodies like cookies, I also love potato soup. In fact, potato soup is my absolute favorite comfort food. Now if I can only perfect that dish.. lol.

You’ll have to forgive me for two things - the delay in announcing the winner and the fact that I can’t record the drawing due to the fact my sister in law took the camera out with her tonight.

Participants and recommendations are as follows;

Lori recommends OhMyStinkyHeck.com
Kecia recommends Jenn.nu
Alyssa recommends Diary Of A Bad Dieter
Erz recommends Contest Blogger
Jill recommends Shoot Fire and Save Matches
Valmg recommends Skeet’s Stuff
Christine recommends Scribbit
Ci recommends Jen of Jayesel
Alexia recommends Because I Said So
ChristiS recommends Ohmanda.com
Karah recommends TinaRenee.com

Drum roll please…….

The winner is Alexia! Congratulations! I will be sending you an email shortly in regards to what email address you’d like me to send your $25 to!

Thank you to everyone who participated. I recommend that anyone browsing my blog check out the blogs of those who participated and those they recommended. They’re all great blogs!

I’ve been trying to put together a Christmas gift list for my friends and relatives for the last couple of weeks. Just when I think I have it all figured out, someone mentions something else they want added to the list. Jo, for instance, has added ram to his list. I don’t notice this need when doing things online myself but he says he needs it for gaming so I’m going to start shopping around. His uncle keeps bringing up fiber optic cables but hasn’t said what he needs them for. He’s an engineer teacher at the technical school here, so I’m wondering if he’s planning on doing something for his class - no idea, really. My mother in law also keeps dropping hints. She’s mentioned a new coat and a new electric can opener, which she does desperately need! Colleen, my sister in law, has mentioned tons of things she wants but you know what? I have tons of things for her and can’t bring myself to keep spending on just her. I’m trying to make it extra special for her since she’s been going through some things lately but I’ve just about overspent on her.

I’m going to pick up a few last minute gifts and then gosh-darnit, I’m done because I’m pooped! LOL

There was a time when I thought about giving up my photography dreams and looking into other career options. Yeah, I know, scary thought. I had tossed around the idea of getting into nursing since I had worked in hospitals for so long. I even thought about becoming a real estate agent or perhaps working with a mortgage lender. Thankfully I snapped out of it and while there are still times when I get frustrated and want to toss my dreams away and swapping it up, I am quickly snapped back into reality by my friends and loved ones. In fact, Jo and I were just talking the other day about how his new interest in photography. We have been joking around with the idea of a “husband and wife” photography team. We both actually love the idea, so who knows!

It’s been a few days hasn’t it? My wisdom tooth problem isn’t nearly gone (thank goodness), the sun is finally shinning again and the temperature is dropping. I’m sorry I was quiet for a couple of days. My tooth had been bothering me so much that the only relief seemed to come when I wasn’t awake, so I slept and slept, and slept some more. When I did manage to spring from my bed, it wasn’t for long and when I was able to bring myself to sit at the computer for a moment, I couldn’t find the energy to type out an entry. Thankfully though, as I mentioned, my tooth is no longer a problem.

I also wanted to make a comment on the contest - I haven’t forgotten about announcing the winner. In fact, I’m hoping to do that later this evening or by lunch time tomorrow at the latest. Thank you to all who participated and good luck!

I hate spending money. Unfortunately I have to spend money to survive. Now that the holidays are drawing near, I want to make sure that when I spend money gifts, that money stretches a long ways. Of course I want to be able to give, give, give but in order to do that, I have to make sure I’m shopping sales, finding good deals and bargains and of course, using coupons. I’ve recently learned about Online Coupons At CouponJelly.com, where I can find coupons for many of my favorite stores like Dell, Gap and Staples to name a few. I could really use some Dell coupons right now because Jo and I are planning to buy a laptop computer in the near future.

CouponJelly.com adds coupons daily which include things like free shipping, some free items and various other discounts. Be sure you sign up for the newsletter when you visit too because they also provide deals of the week in their newsletter.

You have to love saving money when you spend it!

I love movie nights, don’t you? We usually watch movies with the family a couple of nights each week. The last movie night we had was this past Sunday, when we watched 30 Days of Night. I didn’t think I’d like this movie at all because I’m not really into the Vampire type movies, though Interview With a Vampire was definitely an exception. I have to say though, I only decided to watch 30 Days of Night because Josh Hartnett is in it but the movie turned out to be way better than I expected. I definitely recommend it, though you should know it’s a little on the gory side so children shouldn’t watch it.

I think tonight will be a movie night for us too. There’s not much else for us to do considering it’s still snowing and the roads are a mess. Recommend a movie to me?

Also, you have about a day left to enter my contest so you better get cracking!

Many of you know that I have plans of starting up my own photography studio in the future. Some of you (close friends) probably remember me talking about looking into grants and other funding when I had planned on moving to the Savannah area. My dad and I had some long conversations about this because he’s one of those people who “knows” people and I felt like he could help me come up with a decent business plan, whether we went with someone he knew or even if I’d gone with a grant from the government. We never made it as far as working up a plan because Jo and I wound up moving back to Canada instead but even so, I am certain that I would’ve been better off going with a “Business Plan Consultant” rather than doing it own my own (or with my dad) with nothing more than “advice” from the people my dad knows.

Since it’s founding in 2002, MasterPlans has helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs, both small and even Fortune 1000, achieve their business dreams through their professional business planning. They provide different levels of planning which cater to the needs of all of their clients and are designed to meet their (clients) specific needs. Some of their previous clients include celebrities like Al Pacino and Carolyn Kepcher (from the Apprentice), along with many respected business people.

If you’d like to learn more, visit them at Masterplans.com.